What We Are Learning and Will Never Forget

Good Morning or Good Afternoon or Good Evening, 

this post should take four minutes to seven minutes to read from start to finish.

This post focuses on a April 2021 General Conference talk, and it is called "What We Are Learning and Will Never Forget" by President Russell M. Nelson. I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the talk. 

President Nelson has mentioned the following; 

"... Much has happened in the past two years! Some of you have lost loved ones. Others have lost jobs, livelihood, or health. Still others have lost a sense of peace or hope for the future. My heart goes out to each one of you who has suffered these or other losses. 

I pray constantly that the Lord will comfort you. As you continue to let God prevail in your life, I know that He is just as optimistic about your future as He has ever been. ... Some have found deeper faith in our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. 

Many have found a fresh perspective on life even an eternal perspective. You may have found stronger relationships with your loved ones and with the Lord. ... Difficult trials often provide opportunities to grow that would not have come in any other way.

Think back on the past two years. How have you grown? What have you learned? You might initially wish you could go back to 2019 and stay there! But if you look at your life prayerfully, I believe you will see many ways in which the Lord has been guiding you through this time of hardship, helping you to become a more devoted, more converted man a true man of God.

I know the Lord has great and marvelous plans for us individually and collectively. With compassion and patience, He says: “Ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath … prepared for you; “And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along.”

... He wants us to grow and to learn, even through perhaps especially through adversity. Adversity is a great teacher. What have you learned in the past two years that you always want to remember? Your answers will be unique to you, but may I suggest four lessons I hope we have all learned and will never forget.

Lesson 1: The Home Is the Center of Faith and Worship

Often when the Lord warns us about the perils of the last days, He counsels thus: “Stand ye in holy places, and be not moved.” ... But as our ability to gather in these places has been restricted in varying degrees, we have learned that one of the holiest of places on earth is the home - yes, even your home.

Brethren, you bear the priesthood of God. “The rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven.” You and your family have received priesthood ordinances. It is “in the ordinances [of the priesthood that] the power of godliness is manifest.” That power is available to you and your family in your own home as you keep the covenants you have made.

Just 185 years ago, this very day, April 3, 1836, Elijah restored the keys of the priesthood that allow our families to be sealed together forever. ... You may feel that there is still more you need to do to make your home truly a sanctuary of faith. If so, please do it! 

If you are married, counsel with your wife as your equal partner in this crucial work. There are few pursuits more important than this. Between now and the time the Lord comes again, we all need our homes to be places of serenity and security. Attitudes and actions that invite the Spirit will increase the holiness of your home. ...

Have you ever wondered why the Lord wants us to make our homes the center of gospel learning and gospel living? ... However, your commitment to make your home your primary sanctuary of faith should never end. As faith and holiness decrease in this fallen world, your need for holy places will increase. ...

Lesson 2: We Need Each Other

God wants us to work together and help each other. That is why He sends us to earth in families and organizes us into wards and stakes. That is why He asks us to serve and minister to each other. That is why He asks us to live in the world but not be of the world.

We can accomplish so much more together than we can alone. God’s plan of happiness would be frustrated if His children remained isolated one from another.

The recent pandemic has been unique in that it has affected everyone in the world at essentially the same time. ... Because of this, our common trial has the potential to help unite God’s children as never before. ... In this regard, the two great commandments can guide us: first, to love God and, second, to love our neighbor. 

We show our love by serving. If you know of anyone who is alone, reach out even if you feel alone too! ... Just say hello and show your love. Technology can help you. Pandemic or not, each precious child of God needs to know that he or she is not alone!

"Think back on the past two years. How have you 
grown? What have you learned? You might initially
wish you could go back to 2019 and stay there! But
if you look at your life prayerfully, I believe you will see
many ways in which the Lord has been guiding you 
through this time of hardship."
- President Russell M. Nelson.

Lesson 3: Your Priesthood Quorum Is Meant for More Than Just a Meeting

... Nevertheless, the work that the Lord has given to priesthood quorums was never meant to be confined to a meeting. Meetings are only a small part of what a quorum is meant for and what it can do. 

My brethren of the Aaronic Priesthood and elders quorums, expand your vision of why we have quorums. 

How does the Lord wish you would use your quorum to accomplish His work now? Seek revelation from the Lord. Humble yourself! Ask! Listen! 

If you have been called to lead, counsel as a presidency and with quorum members. Whatever your priesthood office or calling, let God prevail in your commitment as a member of your quorum and in your service. 

Experience with joy the righteousness you will bring to pass as you are “anxiously engaged in a good cause.” Quorums are in a unique position to accelerate the gathering of Israel on both sides of the veil.

Lesson 4: We Hear Jesus Christ Better When We Are Still

We live in a time prophesied long ago, when “all things shall be in commotion; and surely, men’s hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all people.” ... Commotion in the world will continue to increase. In contrast, the voice of the Lord is not “a voice of a great tumultuous noise, but … it [is] a still voice of perfect mildness, [like] a whisper, and it [pierces] even to the very soul." 

In order to hear this still voice, you too must be still! ... Soon we may be able to choose to fill that time again with the noise and commotion of the world. Or we can use our time to hear the voice of the Lord whispering His guidance, comfort, and peace. 

Quiet time is sacred time - time that will facilitate personal revelation and instill peace. Discipline yourself to have time alone and with your loved ones. Open your heart to God in prayer. Take time to immerse yourself in the scriptures and worship in the temple.

My dear brethren, there are many things the Lord wants us to learn from our experiences during this pandemic. I have listed only four. I invite you to make your own list, consider it carefully, and share it with those you love.

The future is bright for God’s covenant-keeping people. The Lord will increasingly call upon His servants who worthily hold the priesthood to bless, comfort, and strengthen mankind and to help prepare the world and its people for His Second Coming. ... We can do this! ..."

If you would like to read the whole talk either now or in your own time, here is the link below.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/04/36nelson

Stay Tuned until next time.

Learning the Lessons of the Past ~ Part Two

 Good Morning or Good Afternoon or Good Evening, 

this post should take three minutes to read from start to finish.

This post focuses on a April 2009 General Conference talk, and it is called "Learning the Lessons of the Past" from Elder M. Russell Ballard. This post is part two and I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the talk. 

Elder Ballard has mentioned the following;  

"In every dispensation, God’s loving desire to bless His children is manifest in the miraculous restoration of the gospel truth to the earth through living prophets. The Restoration of the gospel through the Prophet Joseph Smith in the early 1800s is only the most recent example. ... The 179 years that have passed since The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was officially organized have been extraordinary by any measure. 

... We live in an era when the boundaries of good taste and public decency are being pushed to the point where there are no boundaries at all. ... Certain factions of society seem generally mistrustful of anyone who chooses to live according to religious belief. 

And when people of faith attempt to warn others of the possible consequences of their sinful choices, they are scoffed at and ridiculed, and their most sacred rites and cherished values are publicly mocked. ... More importantly, what impact will the lessons of the past have on the personal choices you make right now and for the rest of your lives?

The voice of the Lord is clear and unmistakable. He knows you. He loves you. He wants you to be eternally happy. But according to your God-given agency, the choice is yours. Each one of you has to decide for yourself if you are going to ignore the past and suffer the painful mistakes and tragic pitfalls that have befallen previous generations, experiencing for yourself the devastating consequences of bad choices. 

... With all my heart I hope and pray that you will be wise enough to learn the lessons of the past. ... You don’t have to follow the path of Cain or Gadianton in order to realize that “wickedness never was happiness” (Alma 41:10). And you don’t have to allow your community to become like Sodom or Gomorrah in order to understand that it isn’t a good place to raise a family.

"Learning the lessons of the past allows you to build
personal testimony on a solid bedrock of obedience, 
faith, and the witness of the Spirit."

Learning the lessons of the past allows you to walk boldly in the light without running the risk of stumbling in the darkness. This is the way it’s supposed to work. This is God’s plan: father and mother, grandfather and grandmother teaching their children; children learning from them and then becoming a more righteous generation through their own personal experiences and opportunities. 

Learning the lessons of the past allows you to build personal testimony on a solid bedrock of obedience, faith, and the witness of the Spirit. Of course, it’s not enough to learn these lessons as a matter of history and culture. Learning the names and dates and sequence of events from the printed page won’t help you very much unless the meaning and the message are written in your hearts. 

Nourished by testimony and watered with faith, the lessons of the past can take root in your hearts and become a vibrant part of who you are. And so it returns, as it always does, to your own personal faith and testimony. ... That is how you know. That is how you avoid the mistakes of the past and take your spirituality to the next level. 

If you are open and receptive to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit in your lives, you will understand the lessons of the past, and they will be burned into your souls by the power of your testimonies. And how do you get such a testimony? Well, there’s no new technology for that, nor will there ever be. 

... You gain a vibrant, life-changing testimony today the same way it has always been done. The process hasn’t been changed. It comes through desire, study, prayer, obedience, and service. That is why the teachings of prophets and apostles, past and present, are as relevant to your life today as they ever have been.

That you may find joy and happiness and peace in the future by learning the great and eternal lessons of the past ... wherever you may be ..."

If you would like to read the whole talk, here is the link below.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2009/04/learning-the-lessons-of-the-past

Stay Tuned until next time.

Learning the Lessons of the Past ~ Part One

 Good Morning or Good Afternoon or Good Evening, 

this post should take three minutes to read from start to finish.

This post focuses on a April 2009 General Conference talk, and it is called "Learning the Lessons of the Past" from Elder M. Russell Ballard. This post is part one and I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the talk. 

Elder Ballard has mentioned the following; 

"We live in a fascinating and sometimes bewildering time. ... When you are willing to listen and learn, some of life’s most meaningful teachings come from those who have gone before you. They have walked where you are walking and have experienced many of the things you are experiencing. 

If you listen and respond to their counsel, they can help guide you toward choices that will be for your benefit and blessing and steer you away from decisions that can destroy you. As you look to your parents and others who have gone before you, you will find examples of faith, commitment, hard work, dedication, and sacrifice that you should strive to duplicate.

It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which it would not be worthwhile to consider and learn from the experience of others. ... New missionaries are assigned to work with a senior companion whose experience helps the new missionary learn the right way to effectively serve the Lord.

Of course, there are times when we have no choice but to venture out on our own and do the best we can at figuring things out as we go along. For example, there are not a lot of people in my generation whose experience can help when it comes to the most modern of technologies. When we have problems with modern technology, we must look for someone who knows more about it than we do which usually means turning to one of you young people.

It is my message and testimony to you today, my young friends, that for the most important questions of your eternal lives, there are answers in the scriptures and in the words and testimonies of apostles and prophets. The fact that these words come largely from older men, past and present, doesn’t make them any less relevant. In fact, it makes their words even more valuable to you because they come from those who have learned much through years of devout living.

...There are great lessons to be learned from the past, and you ought to learn them so that you don’t exhaust your spiritual strength repeating past mistakes and bad choices.You don’t have to be a Latter-day Saint you don’t even have to be religious to see the repeating pattern of history in the lives of God’s children as recorded in the Old Testament. 

Time and again we see the cycle of righteousness followed by wickedness. Similarly, the Book of Mormon records that ancient civilizations of this continent followed exactly the same pattern: righteousness followed by prosperity, followed by material comforts, followed by greed, followed by pride, followed by wickedness and a collapse of morality until the people brought calamities upon themselves sufficient to stir them up to humility, repentance, and change.

In the relatively short span of years covered by the New Testament, the historic pattern repeats itself again. This time the people turned against Christ and His Apostles. The collapse was so great we have come to know it as the Great Apostasy, which led to the centuries of spiritual stagnation and ignorance called the Dark Ages.

Now, I need to be very clear about these historically reoccurring periods of apostasy and spiritual darkness. Our Heavenly Father loves all of His children, and He wants them all to have the blessings of the gospel in their lives. Spiritual light is not lost because God turns His back on His children. 

... It is a natural consequence of bad choices made by individuals, communities, countries, and entire civilizations. This has been proven again and again throughout the course of time. One of the great lessons of this historical pattern is that our choices, both individually and collectively, do result in spiritual consequences for ourselves and for our posterity."

Stay Tuned until next time.