L. Tom Perry -Becoming Goodly Parents
- Lessons taught in the home by goodly parents are becoming increasingly important in today's world, where the influence of the adversary is so widespread. As we know, he is attempting to erode and destroy the very foundation of our society--the family. In clever and carefully camouflaged ways, he is attacking commitment to family life throughout the world and undermining the culture and covenant of faithful Latter-day Saints. Parent must resolve that teaching in the home is a most sacred and important responsibility. While other institutions such as church and school can assist parents to "train up a child in the way he [or she] should go," this responsibility ultimately rest on the parents. According to the great plan of happiness, it is goodly parents who are entrusted with the care and development of Heavenly Father's children.
- "By divine design, father are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mother are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners."
- I believe it is by divine design that the role of motherhood emphasizes the nurturing and teaching of the next generation. But it is wonderful to see husbands and wives who have worked out real partnerships where they blend together their influence and communicate effectively both about their children and to their children.
M. Russell Ballard -Be Anxiously Engaged
- Great things are brought about and burdens are lightened through the efforts of many hands "anxiously engaged in a good cause."
- There is power in our love for God and for His children, and when that love is tangibly manifest in millions of acts of Christian kindness, it will sweeten and nourish the world with the life-sustaining nectar of faith, hope, and charity.
- "God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other."
Larry Echo Hawk -"Come unto Me, O Ye House of Israel"
- "And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost."
Robert C. Gay -What Shall a Man Give in Exchange for His Soul?
- Today it is so easy to get caught up in the noise of the world--despite our good intentions. The world presses us to "[look] beyond the mark."
- This is the exchange the Savior is asking of us: we are to give up all our sins, big or small, for the Father's reward of eternal life.
- We are to forget self-justifying stories, excuses, rationalizations, defense mechanisms, procrastinations, appearances, personal pride, judgmental thoughts, and doing things our way. We are to separate ourselves from all worldliness and take upon us the image of God in our countenances.
- "Satan need not get everyone to be like Cain or Judas ...," said Elder Neal A. Maxwell. "He needs only to get able men ... to see themselves as sophisticated neutrals."
Scott D. Whiting -Temple Standard
- I learned that even though mortal eyes and hands may never see or feel a defect, the Lord knows the level of our efforts and whether we have done our very best. The same is true of our own personal efforts to live a life worthy of the blessings of the temple.
Neil L. Andersen -Trial of Your Faith
- The gift of faith is a priceless spiritual endowment.
- Peter later encouraged others: "Think it not strange," he said, "concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you."
- These fiery trials are designed to make you stronger, but they have the potential to diminish or even destroy your trust in the Son of God and to weaken your resolve to keep your promises to Him. These trials are often camouflaged, making them difficult to identify. They take root in our weaknesses, our vulnerabilities, our sensitivities, or in those things that matter most to us. A real but manageable test for one can be a fiery trial for another.
- When faced with a trial of faith--whatever you do, you don't step away from the Church! Distancing yourself from the kingdom of God during a trial of faith is like leaving the safety of a secure storm cellar just as the tornado comes into view.
- When you are faced with a test of faith, stay within the safety and security of the household of God. There is always a place for you here. No trial is so large we can't overcome it together.
- There is an important principle that governs the doctrine of the Church. The doctrine is taught by all 15 members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve. It is not hidden in an obscure paragraph of one talk. True principles are taught frequently and by many. Our doctrine is not difficult to find.
- Joseph Smith said, "I never told you I was perfect; but there is no error in the revelations." The miracle of God's hand in the history and destiny of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is understood only through the lens of spiritual inquiry. President Ezra Taft Benson said, "Every [person] eventually is backed up to the wall of faith, and there ... must make his stand." Don't be surprised when it happens to you!
- By definition trials will be trying. There may be anguish, confusion, sleepless nights, and pillows wet with tears. But our trials need not be spiritually fatal. They need not take us from our covenants or from the household of God.
- Like the intense fire that transforms iron into steel, as we remain faithful during the fiery trial of our faith, we are spiritually refined and strengthened.
- I suffered then, as I look back now, I am grateful that there was not a quick solution to my problem. The fact that I was forced to turn to God for help almost daily over an extended period of years taught me truly how to pray and get answers to prayer and taught me in a very practical way to have faith in God. I came to know my Savior and my Heavenly Father in a way and to a degree that might not have happened otherwise or that might have taken me much longer to achieve. ... I learned to trust in the Lord with all my heart. I learned to walk with Him day by day.
Dallin H. Oaks -Protect the Children
- "Throughout history, marriage has first and foremost been an institution for procreation and raising children. It has provided the cultural tie that seeks to connect the father to his children by binding him to the mother of his children. Yet in recent times, children have increasingly been pushed from center stage."
- "The [current] American story about marriage, as told in the law and in much popular literature, goes something like this: marriage is a relationship that exists primarily for the fulfillment of the individual spouses. If it ceases to perform this function, no one is to blame and either spouse may terminate it at will. ... Children hardly appear in the story; at most they are rather shadowy characters in the background."
- Our Church leaders have taught that looking "upon marriage as a mere contract that may be entered into at pleasure...and severed at the first difficulty .. is an evil meriting severe condemnation," especially where "children are made to suffer." And children are impacted by divorces. Over half of the divorces in a recent year involved couples with minor children.
- The most powerful teaching of children is by the example of their parents. Divorcing parents inevitably teach a negative lesson.
Until you next read these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!
-Sarnic Dirchi
No comments:
Post a Comment