- Increasingly, the balance between living in the world ad not being of the world is becoming more delicate.
- Some of the television programming has caused such a negative public outcry that a rating system has been established so viewers can evaluate the content of the programs. Surely this is an admission that that there is a great deal available to us that must be avoided. The question is whether or not we can trust others to make rating decisions for us.
- "To me, the gift of the Holy Ghost is as important to man as sunshine and water are to the plants. you take them away, ad the plants would die. You take the Holy Ghost out of this Church, and this Church would not be any different than any other church. And it is manifest in so many ways in the lives and the devotion of the members of the Church."
- Gifts have only limited value unless they are used.
- "The gift of the Holy Ghost ... quickens all the intellectual faculties, increases, enlarges, expands and purifies all the natural passions and affections; and adapts them, by the gift of wisdom, to their lawful use. It inspires, develops, cultivates and matures all the fine-toned sympathies, joys, tastes, kindred feelings, and affection of our nature. It inspires virtue, kindness, goodness, tenderness, gentleness, and charity. It develops beauty of person, form and features. It tends to health, vigor, animation, and social feeling. it invigorates all the faculties of the physical and intellectual man. It strengthens, and gives tone to the nerves. In short, it is, as it were marrow to the bone, joy to the heart, light to the eyes, music to the ears, and life to the whole being."
- Energy is always required to provide lift over opposing forces. These same laws apply in our personal lives. Whenever an undertaking is begun, both the energy and the will to endure are essential.
- Whatever your work may be, enduring at the beginning, endure through opposing forces along the way, and endure to the end. Any job must be completed before you can enjoy the result for which you are working.
- Stick to your task till it sticks to you; Beginners are many, but enders are few. Honor, power, place, and praise Will always come to the one who stays. Stick to your task till it sticks to you; Bend at it, sweat at it, smile at it too; For out of the bend and the sweat and the smile Will come life's victories, after a while.
- Most often, intense physical challenges are accompanied by spiritual challenges as well.
- Simon Peter answered him, Lord ... thou hast the words of eternal life. "And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God." Peter's answer defines the real core of commitment. When we know without a doubt that Jesus is the Christ, we will want to stay with Him. When we are surely converted, the power to endure is ours.
- Enduring love provides enduring lift through life's trials.
- Loyalty to the Lord carries an obligation of loyalty to those called by the Lord to lead His Church.
- Without a strong commitment to the Lord, an individual is more prone to have a low level of commitment to a spouse. Weak commitments to eternal covenants lead to losses of eternal consequence.
- Settle this in your hearts, that ye will do the things which I shall teach, and command you."
- When priorities are proper, the power to endure is increased. And when internalized, those priorities will help keep you from "going overboard."
- I find many parallels with building a temple and fulfilling a calling. We being with bare ground, and we start to work. We survey the situation, pray for inspiration, thoughtfully formulate plans, send them for review, adjust, and plan again. We firm up a foundation and then add walls, a roof, and even gardens. Each administration builds on the solid bedrock of the past.
- Brothers and sisters, the time is past when we can merely believe in this gospel; we must be passionate in our belief and in our commitment to Jesus Christ and His plan. We must know, unequivocally, that He is with us, that He will guide and direct us.
- Our joy in the gospel of Jesus Christ and our place in His plan will draw people to us and change lives. We will lift and inspire a world so desperately in need of goodness.
- This Church has been built and will continue to grow through the steady efforts of the members who quietly do their part, who are struggling with daily challenges, who are humble, patient, and long-suffering.
- "Why do ye adorn yourselves with that which hath no life, and yet suffer the hungry, and the needy, and the naked, and the sick and the afflicted to pass by you, and notice them not?"
- Good Samaritanism is contagious.
- To help relieve suffering is to cultivate a Christlike character.
- The Lord counseled, or perhaps even commanded, "After this manner therefore pray ye." Now, focus your minds, and your hearts, on how He began this noble prayer: "Our Father [who] art in heaven." What a stunning moment it was! What a revelation! "Our Father," He declared, "Our Father."
- Oh, He could have chose so many ways to begin the prayer: "O mighty Creator of heaven and earth, O might God who is omnipresent omniscient, or omnipotent." These grand titles contain grand and noble truths. But He taught in one single word, "Father," so very much that we need to know, that indeed we long to know. God is our Father. And we are His children.
- The Lord Jesus Christ teaches us to pray and covenants that answers will be forthcoming. "Therefore ye must always pray unto the Father in my name," He declares. "Pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed."
- Note His insistence that "ye must always pray ... in my name." There is "no other name given ... whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent."
- "Who art thou? For behold, I am a son of God, in the similitude of his Only Begotten; and where is thy glory, that I should worship thee?"
- When we use these sacred words, "in the name of Jesus Christ," they are much more than a way to get our of a prayer or out of a testimony or out of a talk. WE are on holy ground, brothers and sisters. We are using a name most sublime, most holy, and most wonderful--the very name of the Son of God. We are now able to come unto the Father through His Beloved Son. What power and reassurance and peace come when we really pray in His name. This conclusion to the prayer may, in many ways, be the most important part of the prayer. We can appeal to the Father through His victorious Son with confidence that our prayers will be heard. We can ask and receive we can seek and find and subsequently find the open door.
- A desire to know the truth is like a seed which grows in the fertile ground of faith, patience, diligence, and long-suffering.
- When new members come out of the world into the kingdom of God, they leave much behind them. Oftentimes they too must leave behind friends and even family as well as social contacts and a way of life that is not compatible with the standards of the Church.
- Knowing the truth and gaining a testimony strengthen us to stay on the straight and narrow path that leads to eternal life.
- To labor for the conversion of one's self and others is a noble and joyful task.
- No matter our circumstances, we can be an example to others, we can lift them, we can inspire them to seek righteousness, and we can bear testimony to all of the power of Jesus Christ.
- The Lord didn't say tend my sheep when it is convenient, watch my sheep when you aren't busy. He said feed my sheep and my lambs; help them survive this world, keep them close to you. Lead them to safety--the safety of righteous choices that will prepare them for eternal life.
- Help me reach a friend in darkness; Help me guide him through the night. Help me show thy path to glory By the Spirit's holy light. ... Help me find thy lambs who wander;; Help me bring them to thy keep. Teach me, Lord, to be a shepherd; Father, help me feed thy sheep.
- We have nothing to fear and everything to gain. God is at the helm. We will seek His direction. We will listen to the still, small voice of revelation. And we will go forward as He directs.
- His Church will not be mislead. never fear that. If there were any disposition on the part of its leaders to do so, He could remove them. All of us are beholden to Him for life and voice and strength.
- Brigham Young and a handful of others are remembered from our pioneer history. But what of the unsung, the unheralded, the unrecognized who lived the gospel, loved the Lord, and did their daily work without fanfare or applause? Will their eternal reward be any less? I think not.
- So it is with us. We each make our own contribution, and that contribution adds up to the building of the cause. Your contribution is as acceptable as ours. Jesus said, "If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all."
Bonnie D. Parkin -Finding Faith in Every Footstep
- Our path may not be crossing an ocean or walking alone from an empty train station. But whatever it is, it will demand faith in every footstep.
- Look in the mirror tonight. You'll see someone unique, strong, and courageous. A pioneer. Hold on to that thought.
- Most of our lives are not a string of dramatic moments that call for immediate heroism and courage. Most of our lives, rather, consist of daily routines, even monotonous tasks, that wear us down and leave us vulnerable to discouragement. Sure, we know where we're going, and if it were possible we would choose to jump out of bed, work like crazy, and be there by nightfall. But our goal, our journey's end, our Zion is life in the presence of our Heavenly Father. And to get there we are expected to walk and walk and walk.
- Do you se yourself as a heroic pioneer because you get out of bed every morning, comb your hair, and get to school on time? Do you see the significance of doing your homework every day and recognize the courage displayed in asking for help when you don't understand an assignment? Do you see the heroism in going to church every single Sunday, participating in class, and being friendly to others? Do you see the greatness in doing the dishes over and over and over? or practicing the piano? Or tending children? Do you recognize the fortitude and belief in the journey's end that are required in order to keep saying your prayers every day and keep reading the scriptures? Do you see the magnificence in giving time a chance to whittle your problems down to a manageable size?
- "True greatness ... always requires regular, consistent, small, and ordinary and mundane steps over a long period of time.
- How easy is it to want quick and dramatic results in exchange for a day's labor! And yet how happy people are who have learned to bend to the rhythm of paced and steady progress--even to celebrate and delight in the ordinariness of life.
- Don't be discouraged. Thing of those who reach a hand into the wagon to give you courage. Be the person who reaches out your hand toward others as we all move forward together.
- When you get into bed at night, rehearse the things you have accomplished during the day. Allow yourself to feel the satisfaction that comes of work completed or even partially completed.
- "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine."
- There isn't just one thing that can make everything all right.
- 'Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.'
- We may not see it now, but everything we do, every day we live is for a purpose. And we have a Heavenly Father who will always be there to lift us up and cheer us on."
- When we grew older, I had another test of being a pioneer. I had many friends, and a lot of them didn't know Jenny. Although they were never rude, I always felt torn between Jenny and my other friends. It was hard and definitely a conscious effort, but I decided to help them get to know her. In time my other friends felt more comfortable with Jenny.
- If you happen to be the only Latter-day Saint young woman I your ward or high school, just know that you have thousands of other young women standing right beside you.
- "Do you find difficulties in opportunities or opportunities in difficulties?"
- I am so grateful for the opportunity we have been given to choose between right and wrong, and I am also grateful for the opportunity to learn from our mistakes.
- You young women often have struggles just as difficult to face as the pioneers who came before.
- "You always hear about people today saying they don't know how the pioneers got through all their hardships, but I'm sure that some are in heaven are saying the same things about us today."
- One important step of faith for you as a pioneer is to resist going along with the crowd in ways that would lead you astray. A modern pioneer also encourages others to stay on course. When you lead out in righteousness, others will follow you.
- The Lord loves you for your strength and your courage. He is always there for you. You are not alone.
- I have tremendous faith in you young women. I see you struggle to overcome difficulties. I see so many of you living righteously--courageously "holding aloft our colors."
- "How glorious and near to the angels is youth that is clean. This youth will have joy unspeakable here and eternal happiness hereafter."
- You young women, wherever you are this night, can indeed be pioneers in courage, in faith, in charity, in determination.
- You can strengthen one another; you have the capacity to notice the unnoticed.
- "A teacher affects eternity; [she] can never tell where [her] influence stops."
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
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