F. Michael Watson -Statistical Report, 2007
- Total Church Membership -13,193,999
- Full-Time Missionaries -52,686
- Members Who Have Passed Away since Last April -Gordon B. Hinckley, James E. Faust
Dallin H. Oaks -Testimony
- A testimony of the gospel is not a travelogue, a health log, or an expression of love for family members. It is not a sermon. President Kimball taught that the moment we begin preaching to others, our testimony is ended.
- The idea that all important knowledge is based on scientific evidence is simply untrue.
- We gain or strengthen a testimony by bearing it. Someone even suggested that some testimonies are better gained on the feet bearing them than on the knees praying for them.
- Anyone can disagree with our personal testimony, but no one can refute it.
- In all of our testifying we must avoid arrogance and pride.
Robert D. Hales -Gaining a Testimony of God the Father; His Son, Jesus Christ; and the Holy Ghost
- It is very enlightening and touching to me to consider how Jesus talks to His Father. In His great Intercessory Prayer, which is found in the Bible I the book of John, it is unmistakably clear that Jesus acknowledges He is the Son. Listen to His words as He reports the obedient completion of His earthly mission to His Father in Heaven: "I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. ... For I have given unto them [the disciples] the words which thou gavest me ..., and they have believed that thou didst send me. ... As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. ... And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one."
- "I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil."
Gerald N. Lund -Opening Our Hearts
- The Spirit almost always speaks to our minds and to our hearts rather than to our ears.
- "The Holy Ghost speaks with a voice that you feel more than you hear."
- "The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart."
- The heart is a tender place. It is sensitive to many influences both positive and negative. It can be hurt by others. It can be deadened by sin. It can be softened by love. Early in our lives, we learn to guard our hearts. It is like we erect a fence around our hearts with a gate in it. No one can enter that gate unless we allow him or her to.
- In some cases the fence we erect around our hearts could be likened to a small picket fence with a Welcome sign on the gate. Other hearts have been so hurt or so deadened by sin that they have an eight-foot chain-link fence topped with razor wire around them. The gate is padlocked and has a large No Trespassing sign on it.
- Let us apply the idea of a gateway to the heart to receiving personal revelation. Nephi taught, "When a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carried it unto the hearts of the children of men." Elder David A. Bednar noted the use of the word unto: "Please notice how the power of the Spirit carries the message unto but now necessarily into the heart. ... Ultimately, ... the content of a message and the witness of the Holy Ghost penetrate into the heart only if a receiver allows them to enter."
- Why just untothe heart? Individual agency is so sacred that Heavenly Father will never force the human heart, even with all His infinite power. Man may try to do so, but God does not. To put it another way, God allows us to be the guardians, or the gatekeepers, of our own hearts. We must, of our own free will, open our hearts to the Spirit, for He will not force Himself upon us.
- Pride is a natural consequence of setting our hearts on the things of the world. Pride quickly desensitizes our hearts to spiritual promptings.
- HIs doctrine is one of love, forgiveness, and mercy. It is the way to live in peace and harmony among men and the way to return to live with God.
- Christ cannot help us if we do not trust Him.
- The more we give of ourselves, the more our capacity to serve, understand, and love will grow.
William R. Walker -Three Presiding High Priests
- "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
- "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."
- Every one of us who serve in presidencies anywhere in the Church should look to the First Presidency as our pattern and the example that we seek to follow as we carry out our stewardships. We should strive to be like them and to work together in love and harmony as they do.
- We work together. ... You can't be a one-man operation in a presidency. Counselors--what a wonderful thing are counselors. They save you from doing the wrong things, they help you to do the right things.
Richard G. Scott -To Heal the Shattering Consequences of Abuse
- The rising tide of this vicious, abominable sin may not have touched your life personally. Yet it is pervasive enough in the world that it may have touched someone you love.
- Healing comes through the unwavering love of Heavenly Father for each of His children.
- The power of healing is inherent in the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
- Do not let Satan convince you that you are beyond help.
- Satan uses your abuse to undermine your self-confidence, destroy trust in authority, create fear, and generate feelings of despair. Abuse can damage your ability to form healthy human relationships. You must have faith that all of these negative consequences can be resolved; otherwise they will keep you from full recovery. While these outcomes have powerful influence in your life, they do not define the real you.
- As impossible as it may seem to you now, in time the healing you can receive from the Savior will allow you to truly forgive the abuser and even have feelings of sorrow for him or her. When you can forgive the offense, you will be relieved of the pain and heartache that Satan wants in your life by encouraging you to hate the abuser. As a result, you will enjoy greater peace. While an important part of healing, if the thought of forgiveness causes you yet more pain, set that step aside until you have more experience with the Savior's healing power in your own life.
- Now, to the perpetrator who has shattered the life of another by abuse: Recognize that you need help with your addiction or it will destroy you. You will not overcome it by yourself. You likely need specialized professional help. I plead with you to seek to be rescued now. You likely have deceived yourself in the false, temporary security that you have successfully hidden your transgression from the civil or Church authorities. But know that the Lord Jesus Christ is completely aware of your sins. He has warned: "Whoso shall offend one of these little ones ... , it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea." Know that even without action by a victim, your act of abuse will be publicly known, for Satan will expose you, then abandon you.
L. Tom Perry -The Gospel of Jesus Christ
- It is important to begin with the end in mind.
- "Baptism is twofold, and has a double mission to perform. It not only cleanses--it [illuminates] the soul, making manifest the things of God, past, present, future, and imparting a sure testimony of the Truth. The soul, cleansed of sin, is in a condition to enjoy the abiding influence of the Holy Ghost, which 'dwelleth not in unclean tabernacles.' Water baptism begins the work of purification and enlightenment. Spirit baptism completes it."
- Enduring to the end is definitely not a do-it-yourself project.
- The gospel takes deeper root in those who share it frequently.
Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
No comments:
Post a Comment