- Our minds were sharpened as we followed the daily practice of individual and companion study.
- When we leave the mission field, we no longer have companions to help us discipline our study habits, but that does not mean that the practice should be discontinued. As we return home, how great it would be to hold daily family scripture study. If we leave home, couldn't we invite roommates and friends to study with us?
- Opportunities to teach the gospel and baptize are not exclusive to those who wear the badge of a full-time missionary. I wonder why we allow the fire of missionary service to diminish when we return to the activities of our life in the world.
- I call on you to look the part, to be the part, and to act the part of a servant of our Father in Heaven.
- Strange, in a time otherwise obsessed with entitlements, how little concern there is over our becoming entitled to the blessings of heaven.
- "Nature cares nothing [for] chastity, ... human nature ... cares about it a great deal."
- Divine nature cares infinitely more!
- One of the best ways we can put "off the natural man" is to starve him. Weakened, he is more easily dislodged. Otherwise, he insists on getting his ticket punched at every stop on the temptation train. Sadly, corrective words do not usually help the natural man either, because lust chokes the word.
- God does not have two sets of Ten Commandments, one indoor and another outdoor! Nor are there two approved roads to repentance.
- Yes, we mortals are still free to choose. Yes, a war was even fought in heaven to preserve our moral agency. Yet down here, the great fight of agency is often surrendered without so much as a mild whimper!
- True, strident souls may even fake laughter amid bondage and sin, but another proverb applies: "Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the end of that mirth is heaviness."
- Ever wonder why the sensual scene so often features flashing but fading lights? Or why all the reinforcing glitz? Or why all the loudness masquerading as music? Because, fearful of the dawn, evil cannot stand the steady scrutiny of bright truth, nor can it endure the quiet reflections of soul-searching!
- Thus the drumbeat of desensitization deadens the tastebuds of the soul by responding illegitimately to the legitimate need for belonging and for love, as predators and victims sadly become "past feeling."
- Lust dies at the next dawn, and when it returns in the evening, to search where it may, it is with its own past erased.
- As we take our stand, the faithful will not be alone--not that alone, however. Of necessity, the angel who stood by Christ in Gethsemane to strengthen Him left Him. If we hold aloft the shield of faith in God and faith in His commandments, His angels will be "round about [us], to bear [us] up" and "have charge over [us]."
- Hatred is the antithesis of love.
- I thought for many years that love was an attribute. But it is more. It is a commandment.
- "Love is like the Polar Star. In a changing world, it is a constant. It is the very essence of the gospel."
- "Without love ... there is little else to commend the gospel to us as a way of life."
- Love is the driving force behind faith.
- The symbol of life is to give.
- I conclude that, given the purpose of our existence, if we do not love God and neighbor, whatever else we do will be of little eternal consequence.
- In most encounters we can determine the kind of experience we are going to have by how we respond.
- In today's fast-pace world there seems to be a greater tendency for people to act aggressively toward each other. Some are quick to take offense and respond angrily to real or imagined affronts.
- It may seem natural to react to a situation by giving back what is given to us. But it doesn't have to be that way.
- Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms--to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."
- "We sow our thoughts, and we reap our actions; we sow our actions, and we reap our habits; we sow our habits, and we reap our characters; we sow our characters, and we reap our destiny."
- "A soft answer turneth away wrath."
- I invite you to focus on the commandment fro living prophets that bothers you the most. Do you question whether the commandment is applicable to you? Do you find ready excuses why you cannot now comply with the commandment? Do you feel frustrated or irritated with those who remind you of the commandment? Are you slothful in keeping it? Beware of the deception of the adversary. Beware of murmuring.
- A powerful testimony is grounded in the personal assurance that the Holy Ghost can guide and inspire our daily acts for good.
- A testimony is fortified by spiritual impressions that confirm the validity of a teaching, of a righteous act, or of a warning of pending danger. Often such guidance is accompanied by powerful emotions that make it difficult to speak and bring tears to the eyes. But a testimony is not emotion. It is the very essence of character woven from threads born of countless correct decisions. These choices are made with trusting faith in things that are believed and, at least initially, are not seen. A strong testimony gives peace. comfort, and assurance. It generates the conviction that as the teachings of the Savior are consistently obeyed, life will be beautiful, the future secure, and there will be capacity to overcome the challenges that cross our path. A testimony grows from understanding truth, distilled from prayer and the pondering of scriptural doctrine. It is nurtured by living those truths in faith and the secure confidence that the promised results will be obtained.
- Your personal security and happiness depend upon the strength of your testimony, for it will guide your actions in times of trial or uncertainty.
- A powerful testimony distills from quiet moments of prayer and pondering as you recognize the impressions that will accompany such effort. Humble, trusting prayer brings consolation, solace, comfort, direction, and peace the unworthy can never know.
- At times the Lord will give you an answer before you ask. This occurs when you are unaware of a danger or may be doing the wrong thing, trusting that it is correct.
- As your testimony is fortified, Satan will try harder to tempt you. Resist his efforts. You will become stronger and his influence on you weaker.
- Even now, he must operate within bounds set by the Lord. He cannot take away any blessing that has been earned. He cannot alter character that has been woven from righteous decisions. He has no power to destroy the eternal bonds forged in a holy temple between a husband, wife, and children. He cannot quench true faith. He cannot take away your testimony. Yes, these things can be lost by succumbing to his temptations. But he has no power in and of himself to destroy them.
- Hone your spiritual susceptibility by being constantly alert to the guidance that will come through the still, small voice of the Spirit.
- I hope that the noise of our homes will drop a few decibels, that we will subdue our voices and speak to one another with greater appreciation and respect.
- Our safety lies in the virtue of our lives. Our strength lies in our righteousness. God has made it clear that if we will not forsake Him, He will not forsake us. He, watching over Israel, slumbers not nor sleeps.
Ellen W. Smoot -Steadfast and Immovable
- Remain steadfast and immovable and faithful to the God who made us.
- "When [we] joined this Church [we] enlisted to serve God. When [we] did that [we] left ... neutral ground, and [we] never can get back on to it. Should [we] forsake the Master [we] enlisted to serve it will be by the instigation of the evil one, an d[we] will follow his dictation and be his servant."
- We go to Relief Society each week not only to be fed, nurtured, and loved, but also to report for duty. Sometimes the most important duty is right within the walls of our own homes. Lucifer is doing all that he can to divert us from those things of first importance. One of his most effective tools is to convince us that it is impossible to stay centered on spiritual things when the demands of life are so pressing.
- We cannot abandon our faith when challenges come our way. We will not turn away; we will not retreat; we will not become discouraged. We will move boldly and clearly forward and be an example for all those around us in modesty, humility, and faith.
- "I will go forward. ... I will smile at the rage of the tempest, and ride fearlessly and triumphantly across the boisterous ocean of circumstance. ... And the 'testimony of Jesus' will light up a lamp that will guide my vision through the portals of immortality, and communicate to my understanding the glories of the Celestial kingdom."
- "Stand firm!"
- To maintain a firm stance for ourselves and help others stand firm, the message of the restored gospel must be firmly planted in our hearts and taught in our homes.
- Seek God's approval, not man's.
- Let us arm ourselves with faith and stand firm in our convictions. Let us never forget that we are building a foundation for and with our family upon the rock of our Redeemer. Let us put our hand into God's hand. With the Lord's help we can build homes that are a righteous fortress.
- Loving and leading--these words summarize not only the all-consuming work of the Father and the Son, but the essence of our labor, for our work is to help the Lord with His work.
- Stan has declared war on motherhood. He knows that those who rock the cradle can rock his earthly empire. And he knows that without righteous mothers loving and leading the next generation, the kingdom of God will fail.
- "Men have to have something given to them [in mortality] to make them saviors of men, but not mothers, not women. [They] are born with an inherent right, an inherent authority, to be the saviors of human souls ... and the regenerating force in the lives of God's children."
- Mothers heal the souls of men.
- First, fill your mind with truth.
- We do not find truth groveling through error. Truth is found by searching, studying, and living the revealed word of God. We adopt error when we mingle with error. We learn truth when we associate with truth.
- Though we may not necessarily be called upon to forfeit our lives, let us remember that He hears our silent prayers. He who observes our unheralded acts will reward us openly when the need comes.
- Second, fill your heart with love.
- Third, fill your life with service.
- "The highest tribute to the dead is not grief but gratitude."
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
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