Mothers Who Know

Good Morning, or Good Afternoon, or Good Evening, 

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

This post focuses on a October 2007 General Conference talk and it is called "Mothers Who Know" by Sister Julie B. Beck." I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the talk.

Sister Beck mentioned, 

"Mothers Who Know Bear Children

Faithful daughters of God desire children. In the scriptures we read of Eve, Sarah, Rebekah and Mary, who were foreordained to be mothers before children were born to them. Some women are not given the responsibility of bearing children in mortality, but just as Hannah of the Old Testament prayed fervently for her child, the value women place on motherhood in this life and the attributes of motherhood they attain here will rise with them in the Resurrection. Women who desire and work toward that blessing in this life are promised they will receive it for all eternity, and eternity is much, much longer than mortality. There is eternal influence and power in motherhood.

Mothers Who Know Honor Sacred Ordinances and Covenants

Mothers who know honor sacred ordinances and covenants. I have visited sacrament meetings in some of the poorest places on the earth where mothers have dressed with great care in their Sunday best despite walking for miles on dusty streets and using worn-out public transportation. They bring daughters in clean and ironed dresses with hair brushed to perfection; their sons wear white shirts and ties and have missionary haircuts. These mothers know they are going to sacrament meeting, where covenants are renewed. These mothers have made and honor temple covenants. They know that if they are not pointing their children to the temple, they are not pointing them toward desired eternal goals. These mothers have influence and power.

Mothers Who Know Are Nurturers

Mothers who know are nurturers. This is their special assignment and role under the plan of happiness. To nurture means to cultivate, care for, and make grow. Therefore, mothers who know create a climate for spiritual and temporal growth in their homes. Another word for nurturing is homemaking.

Homemaking includes cooking, washing clothes and dishes, and keeping an orderly home. Working beside children in homemaking tasks creates opportunities to teach and model qualities children should emulate. Nurturing mothers are knowledgeable, but all the education women attain will avail them nothing if they do not have the skill to make a home that creates a climate for spiritual growth.

Mothers Who Know Are Leaders

Mothers who know are leaders. In equal partnership with their husbands, they lead a great and eternal organization. These mothers plan for the future of their organization. They plan for missions, temple marriages, and education. They plan for prayer, scripture study, and family home evening. Mothers who know build children into future leaders and are the primary examples of what leaders look like. They do not abandon their plan by succumbing to social pressure and worldly models of parenting. These wise mothers who know are selective about their own activities and involvement to conserve their limited strength in order to maximize their influence where it matters most.

"MOTHERS WHO KNOW ...

Bear Children Faithful daughters of God desire children.

Make Covenants Mothers who know honor sacred ordinances and covenants.

Are Nurturers Mothers who know are nurturers.

Are Teachers Mothers who know are always teachers.

Do Less Mothers who know do less.

Stand Strong & Immovable Who will prepare this righteous generation of sons and daughters?"

Mothers Who Know Are Teachers

Mothers who know are always teachers. Since they are not babysitters, they are never off duty. Think of the power of our future missionary force if mothers considered their homes as a pre–missionary training center. Then the doctrines of the gospel taught in the MTC would be a review and not a revelation. ..

Mothers Who Know Do Less

Mothers who know do less. They permit less of what will not bear good fruit eternally. They allow less media in their homes, less distraction, less activity that draws their children away from their home. Mothers who know are willing to live on less and consume less of the world’s goods in order to spend more time with their children more time eating together, more time working together, more time reading together, more time talking, laughing, singing, and exemplifying. These mothers choose carefully and do not try to choose it all.

Mothers Who Know Stand Strong and Immovable

Who will prepare this righteous generation of sons and daughters? Latter-day Saint women will do this women who know and love the Lord and bear testimony of Him, women who are strong and immovable and who do not give up during difficult and discouraging times. We are led by an inspired prophet of God who has called upon the women of the Church to “stand strong and immovable for that which is correct and proper under the plan of the Lord.” He has asked us to “begin in [our] own homes” to teach children the ways of truth. Latter-day Saint women should be the very best in the world at upholding, nurturing, and protecting families."

I encourage you to read the whole talk in your own time. Here's the link.
www.lds.org/general-conference/2007/10/mothers-who-know

Stay Tuned until next time.

Because She Is a Mother} Part Two

Good Morning, or Good Afternoon, or Good Evening, 

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

This post is part two. This post focuses on an April 1997 General Conference talk called "Because She Is a Mother" by Jeffrey R. Holland and I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the talk.

But one thing, she said, keeps her going: “Through the thick and the thin of this, and through the occasional tears of it all, I know deep down inside I am doing God’s work. I know that in my motherhood I am in an eternal partnership with Him. I am deeply moved that God finds His ultimate purpose and meaning in being a parent, even if some of His children make Him weep.

“It is this realization,” she says, “that I try to recall on those inevitably difficult days when all of this can be a bit overwhelming. Maybe it is precisely our inability and anxiousness that urge us to reach out to Him and enhance His ability to reach back to us.

Sometimes the decision of a child or a grandchild will break your heart. Sometimes expectations won’t immediately be met. Every mother and father worries about that. Even that beloved and wonderfully successful parent President Joseph F. Smith pled, “Oh! God, let me not lose my own.” That is every parent’s cry, and in it is something of every parent’s fear. But no one has failed who keeps trying and keeps praying. You have every right to receive encouragement and to know in the end your children will call your name blessed, just like those generations of foremothers before you who hoped your same hopes and felt your same fears.

Remember, remember all the days of your motherhood: “Ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.”

Rely on Him. Rely on Him heavily. Rely on Him forever. And “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope.” You are doing God’s work. You are doing it wonderfully well. He is blessing you and He will bless you, even no, especially when your days and your nights may be the most challenging."

I encourage you to read the whole talk in your own time. Here's the link below.
www.lds.org/general-conference/1997/04/because-she-is-a-mother

Stay Tuned until next time.

Because She Is a Mother} Part One

Good Morning, or Good Afternoon, or Good Evening, 

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

This post is part one. This post focuses on an April 1997 General Conference talk called "Because She Is a Mother" by Jeffrey R. Holland and I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the talk.

Brother Holland mentioned,
"To the women within the sound of my voice who dearly want to be mothers and are not, I say through your tears and ours on that subject, God will yet, in days that lie somewhere ahead, bring “hope to [the] desolate heart.” Today I wish to praise those motherly hands that have rocked the infant’s cradle and, through the righteousness taught to their children there, are at the very center of the Lord’s purposes for us in mortality.

In speaking of mothers generally, I especially wish to praise and encourage young mothers. The work of a mother is hard, too often unheralded work.

Do the best you can through these years, but whatever else you do, cherish that role that is so uniquely yours and for which heaven itself sends angels to watch over you and your little ones. Husbands especially husbands as well as Church leaders and friends in every direction, be helpful and sensitive and wise. Remember, “To everything, there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”

"Few of us will reach our potential without the nurturing of both
 the MOTHER who bore us and the MOTHERS who bear with us."
- Sheri L. Drew.

Mothers, we acknowledge and esteem your faith in every footstep. Please know that it is worth it then, now, and forever. And if, for whatever reason, you are making this courageous effort alone, without your husband at your side, then our prayers will be all the greater for you, and our determination to lend a helping hand even more resolute.

One young mother wrote to me recently that her anxiety tended to come on three fronts. One was that whenever she heard talks on LDS motherhood, she worried because she felt she didn’t measure up or somehow wasn’t going to be equal to the task. Secondly, she felt like the world expected her to teach her children reading, writing, interior design, Latin, calculus, and the Internet all before the baby said something terribly ordinary, like “goo goo.”

Thirdly, she often felt people were sometimes patronizing, almost always without meaning to be, because the advice she got or even the compliments she received seemed to reflect nothing of the mental investment, the spiritual and emotional exertion, the long-night, long-day, stretched-to-the-limit demands that sometimes are required in trying to be and wanting to be the mother God hopes she will be.

But one thing, she said, keeps her going: “Through the thick and the thin of this, and through the occasional tears of it all, I know deep down inside I am doing God’s work. I know that in my motherhood I am in an eternal partnership with Him. I am deeply moved that God finds His ultimate purpose and meaning in being a parent, even if some of His children make Him weep."

Stay Tuned until next time.

Your Greatest Challenge, Mother

This post is based on an October 2000 General Conference talk called "Your Greatest Challenge, Mother" by Gordon B. Hinckley. I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the talk.

President Hinckley mentioned, "Your hearts are all of one kind. You are gathered together because you love the Lord. You have a testimony and conviction concerning His living reality. You pray unto the Father in Jesus’ name. You understand the efficacy of prayer. You are wives and mothers. You are widows and single mothers carrying very heavy burdens. You are newly married women, and you are women who have not married. You are a vast concourse of women of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Along with Sister Dew, I charge you to stand tall and be strong in defense of those great virtues which have been the backbone of our social progress. When you are united, your power is limitless. You can accomplish anything you wish to accomplish. And oh, how very, very great is the need for you in a world of crumbling values where the adversary seems so very much to be in control.

Teach your children when they are very young and small, and never quit. As long as they are in your home, let them be your primary interest. I take the liberty tonight of suggesting several things that you might teach them. The list is not complete. You can add other items.

Teach them to seek for good friends. They are going to have friends, good or bad. Those friends will make a vast difference in their lives. It is important that they cultivate an attitude of tolerance toward all people, but it is more important that they gather around them those of their own kind who will bring out the best they have within them. Otherwise they may be infected with the ways of their associates.

Teach them to value education. “The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth” (D&C 93:36).

Teach them to respect their bodies. The practice is growing among young people of tattooing and piercing their bodies. The time will come when they will regret it, but it will then be too late. The scriptures unequivocally declare:

“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

“If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are” (1 Cor. 3:16–17).

Teach them to be honest. The jails of the world are filled with people who began their evil activities with small acts of dishonesty. A small lie so often leads to a greater lie. A small theft so often leads to a greater theft. Soon the individual has woven a web from which he cannot extricate himself. The broad road to prison begins as a small and attractive pathway.

Teach them to be virtuous. Teach young men to respect young women as daughters of God endowed with something very precious and beautiful. Teach your daughters to have respect for young men, for boys who hold the priesthood, boys who should and do stand above the tawdry evils of the world.

Teach them to pray. None of us is wise enough to make it on our own. We need the help, the wisdom, the guidance of the Almighty in reaching those decisions that are so tremendously important in our lives. There is no substitute for prayer. There is no greater resource.

God bless you, dear friends. Do not trade your birthright as a mother for some bauble of passing value. Let your first interest be in your home. The baby you hold in your arms will grow quickly as the sunrise and the sunset of the rushing days. I hope that when that occurs you will not be led to exclaim as did King Lear, “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child!” (King Lear, I, iv, 312). Rather, I hope that you will have every reason to be proud concerning your children, to have love for them, to have faith in them, to see them grow in righteousness and virtue before the Lord, to see them become useful and productive members of society. If with all you have done there is an occasional failure, you can still say, “At least I did the very best of which I was capable. I tried as hard as I knew how. I let nothing stand in the way of my role as a mother.” Failures will be few under such circumstances."

If you can't see the Image for this post, it says "I know of no better answer to [the] foul practices that confront our young people than the teachings of a mother, given in love with an unmistakable warning."

I encourage you to read the whole talk in your own time. Here's the link below.
www.lds.org/general-conference/2000/10/your-greatest-challenge-mother

Stay Tuned until next time.

True Friends} Part Two

Good Morning, or Good Afternoon, or Good Evening, 

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

This post is focuses on a April 2002 General Conference talk and it is called, "True Friends" by Henry B. Eyring. This post is part two. I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the talk and I hope you will learn something new.

Brother Eyring mentioned the following, "There are limits on what friends can do to help the ones who must endure. It is the new members who must pray. It is they who must rely on the strength they will receive in answers to their prayers. They must choose for themselves in faith to be baptized, trusting in their perfect friend, the Savior. They must choose in faith in Him to repent, to be humble and contrite.

They must choose to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. The words of confirmation into the Church are an invitation: “Receive the Holy Ghost.” And that choice must be made not once, but every day, every hour, every minute. Even when the Holy Ghost comes and inspires them what they should do, doing it or not is a choice. Even when they read the scriptures regularly, it takes a choice to “feast upon the words of Christ.”

And even the feast is not nourishing without a choice to do what the words of Christ tell them to do. With faith and obedience practiced long enough, the Holy Ghost becomes a constant companion, our natures change, and endurance becomes certain.

"Anything is possible when you have the right people
there to support you." - Misty Copeland.

The member must make the choices, but the true friend is vital. There are important ways for us to share the new member’s burden that it may be bearable. We can love, listen, show, and testify.

First, we must love them. That is what the Savior does. We can do it with Him and for Him. He showed us the way in His mortal ministry. .. “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

.. The Savior watches over the struggling member as a friend. He laid down His life for all of us. He loves us and will grant us, if we are faithful, the gift of feeling a part of His love for them. ..

Second, we must listen to the new member with understanding and empathy. That also will take spiritual gifts, since our experience will rarely parallel theirs. It will not be enough to say, “I understand how you feel,” unless we do. But the Savior does. He is prepared to help you be a friend who understands even those you have just met, if you ask in faith. Before He was born, prophets knew what He would do to be able to help you be a friend for Him. ..

Third, we must be an example for the new member. We can feast upon the word of God. We can ask for and live for the companionship of the Holy Ghost. We can be obedient out of our faith in Jesus Christ. And in time we can become an example of a disciple who is born again through the Atonement. It may be gradual. It may be hard for us to discern in ourselves. But it will be real. And it will give hope to the new member and to all those we befriend on the path to eternal life.

Fourth, we must testify of the truth to the new member. It must be sincere, and it is best when it is simple. It is most helpful when it is about the reality and mission of the Savior, about our Heavenly Father’s love, and of the gifts and companionship of the Holy Ghost. And it is essential to testify that the Father and the Son appeared to the young Joseph Smith and that the full gospel and the true Church have been restored by heavenly messengers. The Holy Ghost will confirm those simple declarations as truth.

The new member will need that confirmation, again and again, even when we are not there to testify. Should they choose to reject the companionship of the Holy Ghost, he or she will not endure. But that is true for all of us, wherever we are and however faithful we have been. All of us will be tested. And all of us need true friends to love us, to listen to us, to show us the way, and to testify of truth to us so that we may retain the companionship of the Holy Ghost. You must be such a true friend.

.. And your friendship to even one new member may, in this life and in the next, cause hundreds or even thousands of their ancestors and their descendants to call you blessed. .."

If you would like to read the whole talk in your own time, here is the link below.
www.lds.org/general-conference/2002/04/true-friends

Stay tuned until next time.

True Friends} Part One

Good Morning, or Good Afternoon, or Good Evening, 

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

What's your definition of true friends? Do you think that you choose friends wisely?

This post is focuses on a April 2002 General Conference talk and it is called, "True Friends" by Henry B. Eyring. This post is part one. I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the talk and I hope you will learn something new.

Brother Eyring mentioned, ".. The Savior warns that if we start along the path and go far enough and then fail and deny Him, it would have been better if we had never begun. ..  It is to keep the promise we made in the waters of baptism “to bear one another’s burdens.” It is to be a friend.

These words of President Hinckley energize me: “I hope, I pray, I plead with you, every one of you, to embrace every new member of the Church. Make a friend of him or her. Hold onto them.”

President Hinckley can’t be there as a friend for every new member. But you can be there for at least one. All it takes is to feel something of what they feel and something of what the Savior feels for them. .. All it takes is a friend to bring such a mighty change in one’s life.”

.. He introduced his friend to the missionaries. He saw that his friend was baptized and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. He took his friend, even before baptism, to where he would study the scriptures and thus be nurtured by the good word of God.

Even before baptism he helped his friend discover this promise: “Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.” The words must have told him to buy scriptures, which he did. .. 

"Sometimes our preoccupation is on having friends. Perhaps we should focus on being a friend." - Elaine S. Dalton.

.. We know from the scriptures what caused those changes in him. He had to be praying with faith in the Savior. He was receiving testimony and directions through the Spirit. And then he was not only doing what he was inspired to do but he was asking God to let the Atonement work in his life.

Nephi, describing that miracle of change and what brings it, said this:

“And now, my beloved brethren, I perceive that ye ponder still in your hearts; and it grieveth me that I must speak concerning this thing. For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray.

“But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.”

.. When we are called to serve, we can pray for the Holy Ghost to be our companion with assurance it will come. When we ask in faith, a change can come in our natures both for the welfare of our souls and to strengthen us for the tests we all must face."

Stay Tuned until next time.

Insights, Recognized, and Acknowledged Friendships Throughout My Life

Good Morning, or Good Afternoon, or Good Evening, 

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

I would like to share with you, of my insights about friendships and how did I recognized friendships over the past years of my life. Most times, I saw myself constantly learning something new with most friends that I have met throughout my life.

Insights:

Meeting and making instant connection with new friends, why not? It can be easy to some people while it can be difficult to others. Sharing the common interests or similar interests with someone, seems easy to some people while it can be difficult to others. Getting out of comfort zone, seems easy to some people while it can be difficult to others. 

I know that some friends would comment "congratulations" whenever they see a social media post of their friends who recently got into a new relationship - boyfriend and girlfriend, who recently got engaged, who recently got married and who recently gave birth. Some people would also comment "congratulations" whenever they see a social media post of their friends who recently got accepted into a new job, and a new employment position. Those types of "congratulations" does means a lot to people. 

I know that not some friends doesn't know how they can effectively support their friends' own business/s. Wouldn't it be just simple to just share their friends's business/s via words of mouth?

"Hard times will always reveal true friends."

Recognized and Acknowledged: 

I have been able to recognized different type of friendships over the past years since I was in teen years. I always had different type of friendships, I had friends who has the same religion as me and I had friends who isn't church members of the same religion as me. 

I still do have friends who I have met during my years in primary schools, and my years in High School. 

I still do have some friends who I have met during EFY in Brisbane 2012, SMYC in Brisbane 2014, stake youth conference and stake youth dances. I still do have some friends who I have met during Annual Priest and Laurel's Balls and Annual YSA Balls.

I still do have some friends who I have met during YSA dances, YSA devotional firesides and YSA Conventions, Perth - 2014 and Gold Coast - 2016. I still do have some friends who I have met at times when I went to Brisbane Latter-Day Saint Temple and during institute classes. I still do have some friends who I have met elsewhere such as during my travels, while I was employed, and so. forth. 

I already acknowledged who my close friends, my best friends and who my true friends are by knowing that they are always there for me, even at times when they can't, they are always here with me in spirit. I know it's a good feeling for me that I know that I can rely on them, a lot. 

Over the years; I acknowledged that some people who goes through their friends list and unfriend bunch of people on Facebook, I acknowledged that some people goes through their following list and followers list, and they have unfollowed bunch of people and removed their followers on their Instagram. I have done those things. I learned to always choose friends wisely, I have recognized who my true friends are and worked out how many friends do I want to keep on Facebook. 

As I have experienced different stages throughout my life thus far; I have gone through losing friends, losing trust, certain amount of people who doesn't respect my feelings, and listening to different opinions what people think is best for me to follow. 

Stay Tuned until next time.

What Is a Friend} Part Two

Good Morning, or Good Afternoon, or Good Evening, 

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

This post focuses on October 1972 General Conference talk and it is called, "What Is a Friend?" by Marvin J. Ashton. This post is part two. I hope you will learn something new while reading throughout this post.

Marvin mentioned the following, "Please share this recent experience I had while visiting in South America. I was traveling with a mission president 200 miles from his office. Word reached him one of his elders was in the hospital with a ruptured appendix. His condition was grave because of the six-to seven-hour delay in getting medical attention. The mission president gave immediate instructions by telephone, getting the best physician possible, leading sixty missionaries assembled in zone conference in united prayer. He and his wife were at the elder’s bedside the following morning. Prayers continued, medical attention increased, companions took turns sitting at his bedside around the clock. Parents in Idaho were notified. “The best is being done for your son. We feel he will make it. Please have your family join us in our prayers.”

Here was friendship in action. Here was a friend at work. Here was an example of leaving the ninety and nine for the immediate attention of the one.

"A friend Cares. A friend Shows love. A friend Listens.
A friend Reaches out." - Thomas S. Monson.

No greater reward can come to any of us as we serve than a sincere “Thank you for being my friend.” When those who need assistance find their way back through and with us, it is friendship in action. When the weak are made strong and the strong stronger through our lives, friendship is real. If a man can be judged by his friends, he can also be measured by their heights.

How can we help a friend? An Arabian proverb helps us answer: “A friend is one to whom one may pour out all the contents of one’s heart, chaff and grain together, knowing that the gentlest of hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping, and with the breath of kindness blow the rest away.”

Yes, a friend is a person who is willing to take me the way I am but who is willing and able to leave me better than he found me. ... I pray God to help us to be friends. We need God’s friendship. He pleads for ours. God lives. He is near. He is available."

Feel free to read the whole talk either now or in your own time, here's the link below.
www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1972/10/what-is-a-friend

Stay Tuned until next time.

What Is a Friend} Part One

Good Morning, or Good Afternoon, or Good Evening, 

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

This post focuses on October 1972 General Conference talk and it is called, "What Is a Friend?" by Marvin J. Ashton. This post is part one. I hope you would learn something new as you read throughout this post. 

Marvin mentioned the following; "This day I greet you wherever you are as friends. ... 

Acts of a friend should result in self-improvement, better attitudes, self-reliance, comfort, consolation, self-respect, and better welfare. Certainly the word friend is misused if it is identified with a person who contributes to our delinquency, misery, and heartaches. When we make a man feel he is wanted, his whole attitude changes. Our friendship will be recognizable if our actions and attitudes result in improvement and independence.

It takes courage to be a real friend. Some of us endanger the valued classification of friend because of our unwillingness to be one under all circumstances. Fear can deprive us of friendship. Some of us identify our closest friends as those with the courage to remain and share themselves with us under all circumstances. A friend is a person who will suggest and render the best for us regardless of the immediate consequences. 

... It is well for us to be reminded that we are friends to ourselves when we keep our lives unspotted from the sins of the world and leave ourselves better tomorrow than we are today. It is a worthy daily goal to be a true friend to one’s self. Our responsibility to the widow and the fatherless is to accept them as we find them, but to not leave them without improvement. Ours is to lift the heavy heart, say the encouraging word, and assist in supplying the daily needs.

Aren’t we something less than a friend if we have the gospel of Jesus Christ and are unwilling to share it by word and example with a family, a member, neighbor, or the stranger? Aren’t we something less than a friend if we have a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and are unwilling to share it?

FRIEND
F - fight for you, R - respect you, I - involve you, E - encourage you,
N - need you, D - deserve you, S - save you.

A friend is a possession we earn, not a gift. ... Let me share with you quickly a few of the many “friend” references in the Doctrine and Covenants referred to by our Savior: “And again, verily I say unto you, my friends … “Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."

“… my friends, behold, I will give unto you a revelation and commandment. …” (D&C 103:1.)

“… my friends, fear not. …” (D&C 98:1.)

“… I will call you friends, for you are my friends, and ye shall have an inheritance with me.” (D&C 93:45.)

I bear you my witness that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is our friend. In his loving processes of command, rebuke, greeting, revelation, encouragement, and long-suffering, he daily proves this. Certainly he is willing to take us the way we are, but he wants to leave us improved in his word and his paths.

... It was Emerson who said, “The only way to have a friend is to be one.” No one can be a friend until he is known. A friend is a person who will really take the time not only to know us, but to be with us. One of the finest presents you can give anyone is your best self.

Joseph Smith gave us a glimpse of his measure of friends when he said, “If my life is of no value to my friends, it is of no value to me.” ... A friend in the true sense is not a person who passively nods approval. A friend is a person who cares."

Stay tuned until next time.

The Miracle of Atonement

Good Morning, or Good Afternoon, or Good Evening, 

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

This post is focus on April 2014 General Conference talk, and it is called "Your Four Minutes" by Bishop Gary E. Stevenson. I would love to share with you some highlights while I was reading the talk. 

Bishop Stevenson mentioned, "You are an eternal being. Before you were born, you existed as a spirit. In the presence of a loving Heavenly Father, you trained and prepared to come to earth for a brief moment and, well, perform. This life is your four minutes. While you are here, your actions will determine whether you win the prize of eternal life.

The prophet Amulek described, “This life is the time to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day to perform [your] labors.” In a sense, your four minutes have already begun. The clock is ticking. The words of the Apostle Paul seem so fitting: to run the race, that you may obtain the prize.

My young friends, wherever you are in your “four-minute performance,” I urge you to ponder, “What do I need to do next to ensure my medal?” Perhaps during this conference, the Spirit has whispered to you what that may be: to prepare more thoughtfully for an ordinance in your future or to receive an ordinance that you should have received a long time ago.

Whatever it may be, do it now. Don’t wait. Your four minutes will pass quickly, and you’ll have eternity to think about what you did in this life.

Self-discipline is needed. Daily prayer, scripture study, and church attendance must be the foundation of your training. A consistent pattern of obeying the commandments, keeping the covenants you have made, and following the Lord’s standard found in For the Strength of Youth is required.

"The Miracle of the ATONEMENT can make up for imperfections
in our performance." - Gary E. Stevenson.

It is not yet too late to repent. But it soon may be, because no one really knows when your four minutes will be over. Now, you may be thinking to yourself, “I already blew it. My four minutes are already a disaster. I may as well give up.” If so, stop thinking that, and never think it again. The miracle of the Atonement can make up for imperfections in our performance. As Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has taught:

“To those of you who may still be hanging back, I testify of the renewing power of God’s love and the miracle of His grace. “It is never too late so long as the Master says there is time. Don’t delay.”

Remember, you are not alone. The Savior has promised that He will not leave you comfortless. You also have family, friends, and leaders who are cheering you on.

With that in mind, is there someone who needs your encouragement? a family member? a friend? a classmate or fellow quorum member? How can you help them with their four minutes?

Dear friends, you are in the midst of an exhilarating journey. In some ways, you are racing down the half-pipe or sled track, and it can be challenging to perform each element or navigate each turn along the way. But remember, you’ve prepared for this for millennial. This is your moment to perform. This is your four minutes! The time is now!

I express my utmost confidence in your abilities. You have the Savior of the world on your side. If you seek His help and follow His directions, how can you fail?"

I encourage you to read the whole talk in your own time. Here's the link to the talk.

www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/04/your-four-minutes

Stay Tuned until next time.

While Employed in Domino's Industry in Australia; Quick Miracles Happened

Good Morning, or Good Afternoon, or Good Evening, 

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

During multiple occasions whilst I was living in Australia and being employed in Domino's industry, I was able to see myself countless times of miracles. This post focuses on a variety of quick miracles that has happened.

After a four hours to five hours shift, I was able to a conversation with one of the former employees that I worked with. I was asking him if he would be interested to accept a copy of The Book of Mormon if I would give him one. He was able to explain to me that he was in active of the religion, followed by he was able to mentioned to me that he was a church member but he left when he was eighteen years old and have a copy The Book of Mormon on his desk. He hasn't read it, and was able to explain to me why he left the Church. Who knows, he might return back to Church one day. - 2019

Several times at work, I would leave my scriptures in the scriptures case and leave inside a store the I was employed at during my shift. My wallet and my personal keys able to fit inside of my scriptures case. Managers, shift runners and surely employees as well would have thought I had a big purse. One afternoon during my shift, I thought to become friends with an in-store employee. I asked her if she was a Mormon and she replied "Yes." She was able to explain to me that she just knew straight away who was employed is a Church member but didn't know who it was at first. She was surprised and seemed so happy that it was me because she saw my scriptures case during work.  She was planning on serving a full-time mission one day. - 2019

Another opportunity when I was rostered on a night off from work one evening, I left home and drove with my uniform on and I drove halfway mark from home to work. I called my youngest sister and I was able to talk to her for awhile and then I drove back home. I was able to see the group messages from work, and a manager was seeking for a delivery driver to come to work straight away. I was able to message to state that I was on my way. Who would have thought that I ended up working on my night off plus working from 10pm ish to 4am ish the next morning? It was super crazy and tiring. - 2018

One afternoon after my shift and an employee's shift, I was able see an employee is waiting for a ride from her relative to take her home. There has been multiple times when I offered to take her home and she constantly mentioned, no until one day, she might have soften her heart and decided to take my offer for me to take her home from work. I was able to get to know her very well, and finding out that she is less active of the same religion as mine. It was so cool. She always enjoyed those conversations, and she hopes to return to church one day. - 2017

"All of us have equal access to miracles."
- Donald L. Hallstrom.

While I was employed at a few particular Domino's stores of course not all at the same time, I was always have the strength and availability to work long shifts whether it was for rostered to work nine hours a day or twelve hours a day. I also had strength to have plenty of energy with no caffeinated drinks to keep me awake during my rostered shifts to work late nights and when I was rostered for shorter shifts but get asked to stay back and ended up working for closing shifts. I know it may seem crazy to you, but it was certainly insane for me at times. I still had energy at times to do groceries shopping after long shift at work and it would be about 2:30am ish or 3am ish the next day. - 2017

One week I was rostered to work for either fifteen hours or twenty hours but the shift runner who was in charge of making changes to the rosters constantly changed my roster so often because other employees was either too busy studying or having other commitments or just not available to work during that week. I was perfectly okay with the roster as long as I didn't get rostered to work on Thursday evenings from 7pm to 9pm.

At the end of the week, I ended up working close to sixty hours. I still remembered meeting up with the new store managers and shift runners. They asked a simple question to my previous store manager and shift runners if it was true for me to work that many hours, and the previous store manager says "Yes."

You might be amazed about it, but I was able to do it. I was studying at the time period as well, I was studying BYU-Idaho online for doing Pathways program.  - 2017

These miracles doesn't happen by chance, these miracles has helped me to talk and reach out one another. I didn't ever thought those employees in my life would be church members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Sometimes, it does take a new friend who is a church member to reach out those individuals who has lost their way and haven't been able to go to Church for either ages or still presently active.

Stay Tuned until next time.

Miracles Then and Now

Good Morning, or Good Afternoon, or Good Evening, 

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

This post is part one. This post focuses on October 1992 General Conference talk and it is called, "Miracles, Then and Now" by Thomas S. Monson. I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the talk and I hope you will learn something new.

Brother Thomas S. Monson mentioned the following, ".. In our lives, sickness comes to loved ones, accidents leave their cruel marks of remembrance, and tiny legs that once ran are imprisoned in a wheelchair.

Mothers and fathers who anxiously await the arrival of a precious child sometimes learn that all is not well with this tiny infant. A missing limb, sightless eyes, a damaged brain, or the term “Down’s syndrome” greets the parents, leaving them baffled, filled with sorrow, and reaching out for hope.

There follows the inevitable blaming of oneself, the condemnation of a careless action, and the perennial questions: “Why such a tragedy in our family?” “Why didn’t I keep her home?” “If only he hadn’t gone to that party.” “How did this happen?” “Where was God?” “Where was a protecting angel?” If, why, where, how those recurring words do not bring back the lost son, the perfect body, the plans of parents, or the dreams of youth. Self-pity, personal withdrawal, or deep despair will not bring the peace, the assurance, or help which are needed. Rather, we must go forward, look upward, move onward, and rise heavenward.

It is imperative that we recognize that whatever has happened to us has happened to others. They have coped and so must we. We are not alone. Heavenly Father’s help is near.

"Believe in miracles. .... Hope is never lost." - Elder Jeffrey R. Holland.

Perhaps no other has been so afflicted as the man Job, who was described as “perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.” (Job 1:1.) He prospered by every measurement. In other words, he had it all made. Then came the loss of literally everything: his wealth, his family, his health. ...

To all who have suffered silently from sickness, to you who have cared for those with physical or mental impairment, who have borne a heavy burden day by day, year by year, and to you noble mothers and dedicated fathers - I salute you and pray God’s blessings to ever attend you. To the children, particularly they who cannot run and play and frolic, come the reassuring words: “Dearest children, God is near you, Watching o’er you day and night.” (Hymns, 1985, no. 96.)

Count Your Blessings: Hymn. "... When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings; name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord has done. …

Are you ever burdened with a load of care? Do not be discouraged; God is over all. Count your many blessings; angels will attend, Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end."

To any who from anguish of heart and sadness of soul have silently asked, “Heavenly Father, are you really there? … Do you hear and answer every … prayer?” (Children’s Songbook, no. 12), I bear to you my witness that He is there. He does hear and answer every prayer. .."

If you would like to read the whole talk in your own time or now, here is the link below.
www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1992/11/miracles-then-and-now

Stay Tuned until next time.

A God of Miracles

Good Morning, or Good Afternoon, or Good Evening, 

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

I would like to encourage you to ask and answer the following questions "What is your definition of your understanding of who is God to you?" "Do you believe in God?" either now or in your own time.

This post is based on an April 2001 General Conference talk called "A God of Miracles" by Sister Sydney S. Reynolds. I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the talk. 

Sister Reynolds mentioned, "Behold, I will show unto you a God of miracles, and it is that same God who created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are” (Mormon. 9:11). Moroni proclaimed that Jesus Christ did many mighty miracles, that many mighty miracles were wrought by the hands of the Apostles, and that a God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever must be a God of miracles today (Mormon 9:18; Mormon 9:9).

Think of the miracles of the Old Testament. Remember Moses and the parting of the Red Sea. For all future generations of Israelites, the great miracles that led to their deliverance from Egypt provided undeniable proof of God’s existence and His love for them.

In this dispensation we witness the great miracle of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth. It began when a young boy entered a grove of trees near Palmyra, New York, and poured out his heart and his questions to a God he believed could answer him the God of miracles. And miracles have followed in this dispensation mighty miracles including the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, which is itself another testament of Jesus Christ.

Just as important as these “mighty miracles” are the smaller “private miracles” that teach each of us to have faith in the Lord. These come as we recognize and heed the promptings of the Spirit in our lives.

I believe that all of us can bear witness to these small miracles. We know children who pray for help to find a lost item and find it. We know of young people who gather the courage to stand as a witness of God and feel His sustaining hand. We know friends who pay their tithing with the last of their money and then, through a miracle, find themselves able to pay their tuition or their rent or somehow obtain food for their family. 

We can share experiences of prayers answered and priesthood blessings that gave courage, brought comfort, or restored health. These daily miracles acquaint us with the hand of the Lord in our lives.

How do we access the quiet miracle that the Lord works as He transforms us, His children, into worthy heirs of the kingdom of God? I believe it is made possible because “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). I believe it comes as we yield to the enticings of the Spirit, put off the natural man, and are filled with the love of God (see Mosiah 3:19). 

“Through the Atonement of [Jesus] Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel” (A of F 1:3). All mankind that includes me, that includes you we can each have part in the Atonement, the greatest of all God’s miracles."

I encourage you to read the whole talk in your own time. Here's the link below.

www.lds.org/general-conference/2001/04/a-god-of-miracles

Stay Tuned until next time.

Joy and Spiritual Survival} Part Two

Good Morning, or Good Afternoon, or Good Evening, 

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

This post focuses on a October 2016 General Conference talk and it is called, "Joy and Spiritual Survival" by President Russell M. Nelson. This post is part two. I would like to share with you some highlights while I reading the talk.

President Nelson mentioned the following: "How, then, can we claim that joy? We can start by “looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” “in every thought.” We can give thanks for Him in our prayers and by keeping covenants we’ve made with Him and our Heavenly Father. As our Savior becomes more and more real to us and as we plead for His joy to be given to us, our joy will increase.

Joy is powerful, and focusing on joy brings God’s power into our lives. ... And what was the joy that was set before Him? Surely it included the joy of cleansing, healing, and strengthening us; the joy of paying for the sins of all who would repent; the joy of making it possible for you and me to return home clean and worthy to live with our Heavenly Parents and families.

If we focus on the joy that will come to us, or to those we love, what can we endure that presently seems overwhelming, painful, scary, unfair, or simply impossible?

... A dear colleague recently told me of his past two decades of heavy trials. He said, “I have learned to suffer with joy. My suffering was swallowed up in the joy of Christ.”

"The greater our sorrow, the greater our capacity to feel JOY."
- Mormon Messages, The Refiner's Fire.

What will you and I be able to endure as we focus on the joy that is “set before” us? ... What weakness will become a strength? ... What disappointments, even tragedies, will turn to our good? And what challenging service to the Lord will we be able to give?

As we diligently focus on the Savior and then follow His pattern of focusing on joy, we need to avoid those things that can interrupt our joy. ... Anything that opposes Christ or His doctrine will interrupt our joy. ...

If we look to the world and follow its formulas for happiness, we will never know joy. The unrighteous may experience any number of emotions and sensations, but they will never experience joy! Joy is a gift for the faithful. It is the gift that comes from intentionally trying to live a righteous life, as taught by Jesus Christ.

He taught us how to have joy. When we choose Heavenly Father to be our God and when we can feel the Savior’s Atonement working in our lives, we will be filled with joy. Every time we nurture our spouse and guide our children, every time we forgive someone or ask for forgiveness, we can feel joy.

Every day that you and I choose to live celestial laws, every day that we keep our covenants and help others to do the same, joy will be ours. ... As this principle is embedded in our hearts, each and every day can be a day of joy and gladness."

Feel free to read the whole talk in your own time and here is the link below.
www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2016/10/joy-and-spiritual-survival

Stay Tuned until next time.

Joy and Spiritual Survival} Part One

Good Morning, or Good Afternoon, or Good Evening, 

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

What's your understanding of spiritual survival? Do you have any great tips of how to keep on track for your spiritual survival whether it's daily or weekly or monthly?

This post focuses on October 2016 General Conference talk and it is called, "Joy and Spiritual Survival" by President Russell M. Nelson. This post is part one. I would like to share with you some highlights while I reading the talk.

President Nelson mentioned the following, "When the focus of our lives is on Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening or not happening in our lives. My dear brothers and sisters, today I would like to discuss a principle that is key to our spiritual survival. It is a principle that will only become more important as the tragedies and travesties around us increase.

These are the latter days, so none of us should be surprised when we see prophecy fulfilled. ... As conflicts between nations escalate, as cowardly terrorists prey on the innocent, and as corruption in everything from business to government becomes increasingly commonplace, what can help us? What can help each of us with our personal struggles and with the rigorous challenge of living in these latter days?

The prophet Lehi taught a principle for spiritual survival. First, consider his circumstances: ... He had lived in a tent and survived on what food could be found on the way to an unknown destination, and he had watched two of his sons, Laman and Lemuel, rebel against the teachings of the Lord and attack their brothers Nephi and Sam.

Clearly, Lehi knew opposition, anxiety, heartache, pain, disappointment, and sorrow. Yet he declared boldly and without reservation a principle as revealed by the Lord: “Men are, that they might have joy.” Imagine! Of all the words he could have used to describe the nature and purpose of our lives here in mortality, he chose the word joy!

"The JOY we feel has little to do with the CIRCUMSTANCES
of our lives and EVERYTHING to do with the FOCUS
of our lives." - Russell M. Nelson.

Life is filled with detours and dead ends, trials and challenges of every kind. Each of us has likely had times when distress, anguish, and despair almost consumed us. Yet we are here to have joy?

Yes! The answer is a resounding yes! But how is that possible? And what must we do to claim the joy that Heavenly Father has in store for us? ... Saints can be happy under every circumstance. We can feel joy even while having a bad day, a bad week, or even a bad year!

My dear brothers and sisters, the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives. When the focus of our lives is on God’s plan of salvation, which President Thomas S. Monson just taught us, and Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening or not happening in our lives. Joy comes from and because of Him. He is the source of all joy. ...

That is why our missionaries leave their homes to preach His gospel. Their goal is not to increase the number of Church members. Rather, our missionaries teach and baptize to bring joy to the people of the world!11

Just as the Savior offers peace that “passeth all understanding,” He also offers an intensity, depth, and breadth of joy that defy human logic or mortal comprehension. For example, it doesn’t seem possible to feel joy when your child suffers with an incurable illness or when you lose your job or when your spouse betrays you. Yet that is precisely the joy the Savior offers. His joy is constant, assuring us that our “afflictions shall be but a small moment” and be consecrated to our gain."

Stay Tuned until next time.

Living the Gospel Joyful} Part Two

Good Morning, or Good Afternoon, or Good Evening, 

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

Have you ever ask yourself or any of your relatives or any of your closest friends a question that relates to living the gospel joyful. For an example, "How can you live the Gospel joyfully?"

This post is focuses on a October 2014 General Conference talk and it is called. "Living the Gospel Joyful" by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf." I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the talk and I hope you will learn something new.

President Uchtdorf mentioned, "The choice is yours!
.. He is offering the grand recipe for happiness, peace, and eternal life! To qualify for these glorious blessings, you must humble yourself, exercise faith, take upon you the name of Christ, seek Him in word and deed, and resolutely “stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places.”

The Why of Obedience
Once you understand the true nature of God and His commandments, you will also better understand yourselves and the divine purpose of your existence. With this, your motivation for following the commandments changes, and it becomes your heart’s desire to live the gospel joyfully. ..

Living the Gospel Joyful
My dear sisters in the gospel, whether you are 8 or 108, there is one thing that I hope you truly understand and know: You are loved. You are dear to your heavenly parents. The infinite and eternal Creator of light and life knows you! He is mindful of you. Yes, God loves you this very day and always.

He is not waiting to love you until you have overcome your weaknesses and bad habits. He loves you today with a full understanding of your struggles. He is aware that you reach up to Him in heartfelt and hopeful prayer. He knows of the times you have held onto the fading light and believed even in the midst of growing darkness. He knows of your sufferings. He knows of your remorse for the times you have fallen short or failed. And still He loves you.

"Live Joyfully. Live Happily."

And God knows of your successes; though they may seem small to you, He acknowledges and cherishes each one of them. He loves you for extending yourself to others. He loves you for reaching out and helping others bear their heavy burdens even when you are struggling with your own.

He knows everything about you. He sees you clearly. He knows you as you really are. And He loves you today and always!

.. He loves you not only for who you are this very day but also for the person of glory and light you have the potential and the desire to become. More than you could ever imagine, He wants you to achieve your destiny to return to your heavenly home in honor.

.. It is my prayer that you will experience a renewed and an expanded measure of the beautiful love of God in your lives; that you will find the faith, determination, and commitment to learn God’s commandments, treasure them in your hearts, andlive the gospel joyful.

I promise that as you do so, you will discover your best self your real self. You will discover what it truly means to be a daughter of the everlasting God, the Lord of all righteousness. 

I would like to encourage you to read the whole talk in your own time and here is the link. www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/living-the-gospel-joyful

Stay Tuned until next time.

Living the Gospel Joyful} Part One

Good Morning, or Good Afternoon, or Good Evening, 

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

Have you ever ask yourself or any of your relatives or any of your closest friends a question that relates to living the gospel joyful. For an example, "How can you live the Gospel joyfully?"

This post is part one. This post focuses on a October 2014 General Conference talk and it is called. "Living the Gospel Joyful" by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf." I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the talk and I hope you will learn something new.

President Uchtdorf has mentioned, " .. And, of course, I am eternally grateful to my wife, Harriet, who enchanted me as a teen, bore the heaviest burdens of our young family as a mother, stands with me as a wife, and loves and cherishes our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She has been the strength in our home during both good times and bad. She brings sunshine into the lives of all who know her.

.. Daughters of God
.. It is good to remember that you are always a child of God. This knowledge will carry you through the most difficult times in your life and will inspire you to accomplish remarkable things. .. You will always and forever remain a daughter of God.

Your Heavenly Father has high aspirations for you, but your divine origin alone does not guarantee you a divine inheritance. God sent you here to prepare for a future greater
than anything you can imagine. ..

For this reason, we speak of walking the path of discipleship. We speak of obedience to God’s commandments. We speak of living the gospel joyfully, with all our heart, might, mind, and soul.

God Knows Something We Don’t
And yet for some of us, obedience to God’s commandments doesn’t always feel very joyful. .. Perhaps during times such as these, we might find ourselves asking, “Do we really need to obey all of God’s commandments?”

"He is not waiting to love you until after you have overcome your weaknesses and bad habits. He loves you today with a full understanding of your struggles." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf. 

My response to this question is simple:
I think God knows something we don’t things that are beyond our capacity to comprehend! Our Father in Heaven is an eternal being whose experience, wisdom, and intelligence are infinitely greater than ours. .. He is also eternally loving, compassionate, and focused on one blessed goal: to bring to pass our immortality and eternal life.

In other words, He not only knows what is best for you; He also anxiously wants you to choose what is best for you. If you believe this in your hearts if you truly believe the great mission of our Heavenly Father is to exalt and glorify His children and that He knows best how to do it, doesn’t it make sense to embrace and follow His commandments, even the ones that appear difficult? ..

They mark the way back to our heavenly home! By choosing Heavenly Father’s path, you lay a divine foundation for your personal progress as a daughter of God that will bless you throughout your life.

Part of our challenge is, I think, that we imagine that God has all of His blessings locked in a huge cloud up in heaven, refusing to give them to us unless we comply with some strict, paternalistic requirements He has set up. But the commandments aren’t like that at all. .. It is our fear, doubt, and sin that, like an umbrella, block these blessings from reaching us.

.. We need to accept that the commandments of God aren’t just a long list of good ideas. .. So we have a choice. On the one hand, there is the opinion of the world with its ever-changing theories and questionable motives. On the other hand, there is God’s word to His children, His eternal wisdom, His certain promises, and His loving instructions for returning to His presence in glory, love, and majesty."

Stay Tuned until next time.

Be of Good Cheer

Good Morning, or Good Afternoon, or Good Evening, 

this post should take approximately five minutes to read from start to finish.

I would encourage you to think about and answer the following question either now or in your own time.
What is your definition on "Be of Good Cheer?"

This post is focuses on a April 2009 General Conference talk and it is called, "Be of Good Cheer" by President Thomas S. Monson. I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the talk and I hope you will learn something new.

President Monson mentioned,
"It would be easy to become discouraged and cynical about the future or even fearful of what might come if we allowed ourselves to dwell only on that which is wrong in the world and in our lives. Today, however, I’d like us to turn our thoughts and our attitudes away from the troubles around us and to focus instead on our blessings as members of the Church. ....

None of us makes it through this life without problems and challenges and sometimes tragedies and misfortunes. After all, in large part we are here to learn and grow from such events in our lives. We know that there are times when we will suffer, when we will grieve, and when we will be saddened. However, we are told, “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.”

How might we have joy in our lives, despite all that we may face? Again from the scriptures: “Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you.”

The history of the Church in this, the dispensation of the fulness of times, is replete with the experiences of those who have struggled and yet who have remained steadfast and of good cheer as they have made the gospel of Jesus Christ the center of their lives. This attitude is what will pull us through whatever comes our way. It will not remove our troubles from us but rather will enable us to face our challenges, to meet them head on, and to emerge victorious.

"Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith. - President Thomas S. Monson."

Too numerous to mention are the examples of all the individuals who have faced difficult circumstances and yet who have persevered and prevailed because their faith in the gospel and in the Savior has given them the strength they have needed.

From the holy scriptures we read, “Behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in [Him], they who have endured the crosses of the world, … they shall inherit the kingdom of God, … and their joy shall be full forever.”

I testify to you that our promised blessings are beyond measure. Though the storm clouds may gather, though the rains may pour down upon us, our knowledge of the gospel and our love of our Heavenly Father and of our Savior will comfort and sustain us and bring joy to our hearts as we walk uprightly and keep the commandments. There will be nothing in this world that can defeat us.

My beloved brothers and sisters, fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith."

You may or may not read the whole talk in your own time,. Here's the link to the talk below.

www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/04/be-of-good-cheer

Stay Tuned until next time.

He Healeth the Broken in Heart} Part Two

Good Morning, or Good Afternoon, or Good Evening, 

this post should take approximately five minutes to read from start to finish. 

This post focuses on an Ensign article from July 2005 and it is called, "He Healeth the Broken in Heart" by President James E. Faust. This post is part two. I would like to share with you some highlights while I was reading the article and I hope you will learn something new. 

President Faust has mentioned the following; "The reading and study of the scriptures can bring great comfort. President Marion G. Romney (1897–1988), First Counselor in the First Presidency, stated:

“I feel certain that if, in our homes, parents will read from the Book of Mormon prayerfully and regularly, both by themselves and with their children, the spirit of that great book will come to permeate our homes and all who dwell therein. The spirit of reverence will increase, mutual respect and consideration for each other will grow. The spirit of contention will depart. ... Righteousness will increase. Faith, hope and charity the pure love of Christ will abound in our homes and lives, bringing in their wake peace, joy, and happiness.”

Marrow has long been a symbol for vibrant, healthful living. ... It is comforting to worship with, partake of the sacrament with, and be taught in a spirit of humility by neighbors and close friends who love the Lord and try to keep His commandments. Our good bishop assigns the speakers to treat a gospel subject or principle.

... The messages are given in humble witness and sweet counsel. We of the audience understand that which is taught by the Spirit of Truth and verify the accompanying testimonies.

Our sacrament meetings should be worshipful and healing, restoring those who attend to spiritual soundness. Part of the healing process occurs as we worship through music and song. ...

Spiritual healing also comes from bearing and hearing humble testimonies. A witness given in a spirit of contrition, thankfulness for divine providence, and submission to divine guidance is a powerful remedy to help relieve the anguish and concerns of our hearts. ..

"When we offer our broken heart to Jesus Christ, he
accepts our offering. He takes us back, no matter what
losses, wounds, and rejection we have suffered, his grace
and healing are mightier than all. Truly yoked to the
Savior, we can say with confidence, "It will all work out."
- Neill F. Marriott.

Of all that we might do to find solace, prayer is perhaps the most comforting. .. The very act of praying to God is satisfying to the soul, even though God, in His wisdom, may not give what we ask for.

President Harold B. Lee (1899–1973) taught us that all of our prayers are answered, but sometimes the Lord says no. The Prophet Joseph taught that “the best way to obtain truth and wisdom is … to go to God in prayer.” Prayer is most helpful in the healing process.

Wounds inflicted by others are healed by the “art of healing.” President Joseph F. Smith (1838–1918) stated, “But the healing of a wound is an art not acquired by practice alone, but by the loving tenderness that comes from universal good will and a sympathetic interest in the welfare and happiness of others.”

There is hope for all to be healed through repentance and obedience. The prophet Isaiah verified that “though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” The Prophet Joseph Smith stated, “There is never a time when the spirit is too old to approach God. All are within the reach of pardoning mercy.”

After full repentance, the formula is wonderfully simple. Indeed, the Lord has given it to us in these words: “Will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?” In so doing, we have His promise that “He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.”

We find solace in Christ through the agency of the Comforter, and the Savior extends this invitation to us: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” The Apostle Peter speaks of “casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

As we do this, healing takes place, just as the Lord promised through the prophet Jeremiah when He said: “I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow. … I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.”

And in the celestial glory, we are told that “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.” Then faith and hope will replace heartache, disappointment, torment, anguish, and despair, and the Lord will give us strength, as Mormon says, that we “should suffer no manner of afflictions, save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ.”

If you would like to read the whole article in your own time, here is the link below.
www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2005/07/he-healeth-the-broken-in-heart

Stay tuned until next time.