This week we have a special treat. Not only will you find a link for the MP3 version of the choosen talk but also you will find a link for a message from our contributor Sarah.
Sarah's message to you:
Click here
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Week 7: World Wide Leadership Training
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Week 6: My Peace I Give Unto You
Since last month the topic of peace has been on my mind. I was planning on sharing something regarding peace this month and then I had an experience where I was granted the gift of peace during a trial that many women face and I wondered why I was so blessed. While listening to this talk I learned two specific things for me. First, how we arrive to peace doesn't matter and second, peace is rooted and comes from our Savior, Jesus Christ.
I want to add my personal testimony that through our faith and hope in the Lord, Jesus Christ we can have peace in our hearts for even the most troubling personal issues. Turn to Him in prayer, seek for Him in scripture, look for the good He is giving you now and in the darkness of pain you will find Him. He will give you light, He will replace the pain with joy and He will give you peace. I know by personal experience that this is true. I have felt the Savior's caring and healing touch. I KNOW He lives.
May you be able to see your blessings,
Mp3 Link
Transcript
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Week 5: Unleashing the Dormant Spirit
Hello Friends!
A friend shared this wonderful YouTube clip with me which inspired me to
further study Elder Busche's devotional talk "Unleashing the Dormant
Spirit." My greatest quest as a mother, wife, and disciple of Jesus
Christ is the constant companionship and recognition of the promptings
of the Holy Ghost in my life. I am grateful for Elder Busche's teaching
about this great gift that is to be ours every minute of every day. What
is it that I am holding back or unwilling to completely sacrifice that
removes me from this privilege? How do I awaken and deepen my desire
for this gift so that it overcomes all obstacles? Elder Busche gives a
wonderful, detailed checklist of questions we can ask ourselves to help
in our quest for the constant guidance of the Holy Ghost. He promises
that we will rejoice every day if we take the Holy Spirit as our guide.
It is through this gift that we will "abide the day" and will not be
deceived ( D & C 45:56-57) as we prepare for and participate in the
Second Coming of the Savior.
Much love to each of you,
MP3 and Transcript Link
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Week 4: The Best is Yet To Be
We're four weeks into a brand new year. 27 days down....648 hours...38,880 minutes. As you read this, seconds are ticking into the past. The New Year for me always signifies a fresh start, a new day, an exciting look towards the future. I recently read something that said, "Do you know why a car's windshield is so large and the rearview mirror is so small? It's because what's behind us isn't as important as what's ahead of us...so look ahead, move on and enjoy the journey" We are going through some major transitions in our home right now. We're adjusting to a new baby, 6 kids, a new city, a new home (8 people in a small 3 bdrm duplex), my husband returning to school for his Master's and living as "students" but with a huge family. With all these changes bring uncertainty, I don't know what lies ahead for us. I'd rather not admit it but I've spent the better part of the month wishing for yesterday. Wishing I could turn back the hands of time and change the last 4 months of craziness. Somedays I go farther back and dwell in the glory of days past and wallow in self pity of where I stand now. As I searched for comfort and prayed for guidance I found these words by Jeffrey R. Holland, "...faith is always pointed toward the future. Faith always has to do with blessings and truths and events that will yet be efficacious in our lives." I realize I need to exude more faith in the Lord. More faith in his plan for me and my family. More faith in the fact that he guided us here and we are in his hands. I need to stop doubting the Lord's ability to give me something more, something better than I've already had. In his time. I'm starting to feel like my future is bright...the best is yet to be.
My contribution this week is two part. First, please watch this Mormon Message entitled "New Year's: Look Not Behind Thee". Then listen to or read Jeffrey R. Holland's talk entitled, "The Best is Yet to Be"
**Before you play the video be sure to pause the music player on the right side of the blog**
MP3 and PDF text here
Text of talk here
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Week 3: Come unto Me with Full Purpose of Heart and I Shall Heal You
This week's talk is from the Priesthood Session October 2010. Yes, I love Elder Kearon's accent, but I also love the impact his talk has had on my life as well as that of my oldest son. Elder Kearon reminds all of us that when we come unto the Savior with FULL purpose of heart we can be healed. We have to listen and obey the council of those who are leading us (that means not wearing flip flops in the desert among other things). We must not respond with laziness and rebelliousness when it comes to living the gospel.
Have you been stung by a scorpion? If so, return to HIM for healing and peace.
MP3 Link
Tonight I would like to share a message of comfort and healing with any of you who feels alone or forsaken, has lost peace of mind or heart, or feels that you have thrown away your last chance. Complete healing and peace can be found at the feet of the Savior.....
Read the rest HERE
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Week 2: Fundamental To Our Faith
I recently read this weeks talk choice from the January 2011, Ensign Magazine. As I read the address given by Elder Dallin H. Oaks to the faculty and students of Harvard Law School, I was amazed at his courage! I can't imagine speaking to those of our faith about this topic let alone try to educate very educated people about our beliefs.
What I loved most about this article was the simplicity of the message as well as the description of our beliefs. I loved how he put everything in a way that would be easy to understand as well as easy for us to use in our conversations to those who want to know more about who we really are and what we really believe.
One of my most favorite lines is found in the section on "The Purpose of Mortal Life". It explains why families are so important to our religion. I have personally grown in understanding and testimony of the importance of a complete family, meaning a mother, father and the children during the past six months as we have had the unique opportunity to help a child without this blessing. I even wondered why I was feeling so passionate about my newly developed testimony. This line helped me to understand what I was feeling as a truth of the Lord's plan of happiness.
We look on the bearing and nurturing of children as part of God’s plan and a sacred duty of those given the power to participate in it. We believe that the ultimate treasures on earth and in heaven are our children and our posterity. And we believe that we must contend for the kind of mortal families that provide the best conditions for the development and happiness of children—all children.
Notice how it says "we must contend" for this kind of family? Elder Oaks also explains that this desire to have a family is extended to ALL children. Knowing and understanding this truth has given me a greater desire to have a close mortal family as well as a challenge to look for those whom we could help. I know that with prayerful consideration the Lord will guide us to those whom we can help as well as ways to help them.
Lastly the Ensign gives a challenge that I think is worth taking. We are challenged to share this article with those who could benefit. From the link I share below you will be taken to the site of the article. There is an easy way to share just by clicking on the "share" button.
May your week be abundantly blessed!
....I have chosen three clusters of truths to present as fundamental premises of the faith of Latter-day Saints:
1. The nature of God, including the role of the three members of the Godhead and the corollary truth that there are moral absolutes.
2. The purpose of life.
3. The threefold sources of truth about man and the universe: science, the scriptures, and continuing revelation—and how we can know them......
Go HERE to read the entire article.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Volume III Week 1: A Gift Worthy of Added Care
Hello friends! Happy New Year!
As I look to the year ahead and consider changes I need and want to make in my life, spiritual changes are those I most desire. I was very impressed by "A Gift Worthy of Added Care," by Elder Neil L. Andersen in the December 2010 Ensign. I am grateful that the Ensign provides a medium for us to frequently read from Prophets and Apostles. I appreciate Elder Anderson's witness that the Holy Ghost:
- enlightens our minds and fills our souls with joy
- shows us what we should do
- sanctifies us
- can influence seekers of truth
- is a gift for all if we diligently seek our way back to our heavenly home.
Wonderful promises and blessings for each of us,
MP3 Link
It has been more than 50 years, but I vividly remember Christmas morning 1959. With childish anticipation, I hoped desperately for a new bicycle. My older brother and sister and I shared the same bicycle, a 24-inch (61 cm) antique we had each used to learn to ride. It had long been less than stylish, and I had appealed to my parents for a new bicycle. Looking back, I am a little embarrassed that I did not have more sensitivity to the cost of such a present to a family with limited income.
Christmas morning came, and I leaped up the stairs from our basement bedroom. Running into the living room, I looked in vain for a bicycle. My heart dropped as I noticed a small present under my stocking, and I tried to control my disappointment.
As we sat as a family in the living room, my father asked me to get a knife from the adjoining kitchen so we could open a box holding a present for my brother. I walked into the small kitchen and fumbled for the light switch to find my way. As the light illuminated the room, my excitement soared. Right before me stood a beautiful black 26-inch (66 cm) bicycle! For many years I rode that bicycle, took care of it, watched over it, and befriended it—a gift long appreciated and treasured.
Read the rest HERE
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Week 50: Holiday Greetings
With the holiday season well in full swing I thought it would be fun to share some of my current favorite Mormon Messages. I just love these little videos. They are great for a pick me up and they aren't too long either. These three were some I watched recently that were full of christmas spirit. I hope you enjoy them too!
Love and blessings,
**Before you play them be sure to pause the music player on the right side of the blog**
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Week 49: A Prayer for the Children
This talk was inspired by a repentant heart, mine. Have you ever gone somewhere with your children that you thought was harmless only to reflect later on the eternal implcations that it might produce. That happened to me this week.
I am recommitted to looking at all aspects of my choices - Who will be there? What will it look like to others? What will my kids think of the experience? and on and on!
I am grateful for new beginnings and the Atonement and I pray that my children will make great choices in their life!
MP3 Link
At the close of His first day teaching among the Nephite faithful, the resurrected Jesus turned His attention to a special audience which often stands just below the level of our gaze, sometimes nearly out of sight.
The sacred record says: “He commanded that their little children should be brought [forward]. . . .
“And . . . when they had knelt upon the ground, . . . he himself also knelt . . . ; and behold he prayed unto the Father, and the things which he prayed cannot be written, . . . so great and marvelous [were the] things . . . [He did] speak unto the Father. . . .
“. . . When Jesus had made an end of praying . . . , he arose; . . . and . . . wept, . . . and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and [again] prayed unto the Father for them.
“And when he had done this he wept again; . . . [saying] unto the multitude, . . . Behold your little ones.”
We cannot know exactly what the Savior was feeling in such a poignant moment, but we do know that He was “troubled” and that He “groaned within himself” over the destructive influences always swirling around the innocent.1 We know He felt a great need to pray for and bless the children.
Read the rest HERE.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Week 48: That Our Children Might See the Face of the Savior
Hello Friends,
Happy December! I hope this Christmas Season will be one of joy and peace for you. As I have looked forward to sharing this month, I reviewed Sister Cheryl C. Lant's April 2010 Conference Talk "That Our Children Might See the Face of the Savior." Is there anything we want more for ourselves or our children than to see the face of the Savior? Christmastime gives us a unique opportunity to remember and seek Him more as we are given extra daily reminders of our Savior and His love for us. I have two friends who have recently shared ideas about remembering Him during this season-- one adorns her tree with pictures of the Savior, another's daughter found their ornament of the baby Jesus and asked where they should place in on their tree--then responded, "Right in Front!" Isn't that where we want the Savior to be now and always?
I appreciate Sister Lant's insights on what we can do to see the face of the Savior. She teaches that coming to Christ and eventually seeing His face, comes only as we draw close to Him through our faith and our actions. It comes from a lifetime of effort. As we seek to bring our children to the Savior, we also bring ourselves. First, we must Love the Lord with all our hearts and we must love our Children. Second, we must be a worthy example by continually seeking the Lord and striving to live the Gospel. Third, we must teach our children the Gospel and how to live its teachings.
She asks, "What do my children see when they look at my face? Do they see the image of the Savior in my countenance because of how I live my life?...we are the ones given a sacred, noble stewardship ...to encircle today's children with love and the fire of faith and and understanding of who they are...we are the angels that Heavenly Father has sent today to bless the children...we can help them see the face of the Savior as we teach principles of the gospel and fill our homes with the joy of living them. "
May this be a wonderful season of seeking the Savior for each of us.
Much love,
Noni
Video
Text
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Week 46: The Divine Gift of Gratitude
A very fitting topic for this month and our upcoming holiday next week, Gratitude. The talk I featured today is from the most recent General Conference. I read it to my family last night and truly felt gratitude for this great man, President Thomas S. Monson. His simple way of story telling really helps to bring his message straight to one's heart. There were several quotes from this talk that I loved below is one of them.
"A grateful heart, then, comes through expressing gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His blessings and to those around us for all that they bring into our lives. This requires conscious effort—at least until we have truly learned and cultivated an attitude of gratitude. Often we feel grateful and intend to express our thanks but forget to do so or just don’t get around to it. Someone has said that “feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”I made a handout above as a reminder to learn to cultivate an attitude of gratitude. I hope you can have a great Thanksgiving holiday and enjoy this message too.
MP3 Link
...My brothers and sisters, do we remember to give thanks for the blessings we receive? Sincerely giving thanks not only helps us recognize our blessings, but it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God’s love.
My beloved friend President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “When you walk with gratitude, you do not walk with arrogance and conceit and egotism, you walk with a spirit of thanksgiving that is becoming to you and will bless your lives.”
In the book of Matthew in the Bible, we have another account of gratitude, this time as an expression from the Savior. As He traveled in the wilderness for three days, more than 4,000 people followed and traveled with Him. He took compassion on them, for they may not have eaten during the entire three days. His disciples, however, questioned, “Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?” Like many of us, the disciples saw only what was lacking.
“And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And [the disciples] said, Seven, and a few little fishes.
“And [Jesus] commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.
“And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.”
Notice that the Savior gave thanks for what they had—and a miracle followed: “And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.”
We have all experienced times when our focus is on what we lack rather than on our blessings. Said the Greek philosopher Epictetus, “He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”
Read the complete talk HERE.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Week 45: For God Did Send Me
This week's talk is one I used for a talk I gave in my ward a few weeks ago. One of my favorite parts is the analogy of a puzzle and how our lives are just like one.
"Our lives are a little like a jigsaw puzzle. The Lord has the finished picture on the box, but we don’t. We can begin turning pieces over and putting in place the corners and edges that make up the framework already revealed to us through the words of prophets, ancient and modern. Then we might start to guess at how the middle pieces should go together. If we get our mind set on the picture we envision, we may completely miss the picture the Lord intends. Although we can do much to discover which pieces fit where, we need His guidance to complete the picture. As we work on the puzzle and struggle trying pieces together for a fit, He guides us as he helps us see a fit here or there that we hadn’t noticed before. Occasionally He will show us that an entire section of the puzzle fits at the top of the picture, not at the bottom as we had imagined. Then we keep working."
I dare say we all go through moments like this, where we question our life's path. I can say that the Lord does answer our questions. I know He sends each of us EXACTLY where we need to be, gives us exactly the challenges or blessings we need to DO the work or fill the empty spot in someone elses puzzle. I am so grateful for this knowledge and for all of you who have been a piece of my puzzle, completing the beauty and complexity of my life. I am also so grateful to have a loving Father in Heaven and Savior who are so patient with my stubborness and so gently encourage me to rearrange my puzzle pieces now and then.
All my love and prayers,
NO MP3
Read the Talk HERE
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Week 44: The Constitution--A Glorious Standard
The war that began in heaven over this issue (agency) is not yet over. The conflict continues on the battlefield of mortality. And one of Lucifer's primary strategies has been to restrict our agency through the power of earthly governments.
Freedom as we know it has been experienced by perhaps less than one percent of the human family.
In a revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Savior declared, "I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose" (D&C 101:80). These were not ordinary men, but men chosen and held in reserve by the Lord for this very purpose.
The Lord approved the Constitution.
A constitution was therefore designed to limit government to certain enumerated functions, beyond which was tyranny.
"Our constitution," said John Adams (first vice-president and second president of the United States), "was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."
In the Kirtland Temple dedicatory prayer, given on March 27, 1836, the Lord directed the Prophet Joseph to say: "May those principles, which were so honorably and nobly defended, namely, the Constitution of our land, by our fathers, be established forever" (D&C 109:54).
For the past two centuries, those who do not prize freedom have chipped away at every major clause of our Constitution until today we face a crisis of great dimensions.
We are fast approaching that moment prophesied by Joseph Smith when he said:
Even this Nation will be on the very verge of crumbling to pieces and tumbling to the ground and when the constitution is upon the brink of ruin this people will be the Staff up[on] which the Nation shall lean and they shall bear the constitution away from the very verge of destruction.
Will we be prepared?
Will we be among those who will "bear the Constitution away from the very verge of destruction"? If we desire to be numbered among those who will, here are some things we must do:
1. We must be righteous and moral. We must live the gospel principles--all of them.
2. We must learn the principles of the Constitution and then abide by its precepts. Have we read the Constitution and pondered it? Are we aware of its principles? Could we defend it? Can we recognize when a law is constitutionally unsound?
3. We must become involved in civic affairs.
4. We must make our influence felt by our vote, our letters, and our advice.
I have faith that the Constitution will be saved as prophesied by Joseph Smith. But it will not be saved in Washington. It will be saved by the citizens of this nation who love and cherish freedom. It will be saved by enlightened members of this Church--men and women who will subscribe to and abide by the principles of the Constitution.
We, the blessed beneficiaries, face difficult days in this beloved land, "a land which is choice above all other lands" (Ether 2:10). It may also cost us blood before we are through. It is my conviction, however, that when the Lord comes, the Stars and Stripes will be floating on the breeze over this people. May it be so, and may God give us the faith and the courage exhibited by those patriots who pledged their lives and fortunes that we might be free..." (End President Benson's quotes.)
I am grateful for Prophets of God and pray that each of us might step up to protect the Constitution.
Much love,
Read the article HERE
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Week 42: What is Your Calling in Life?
My Top 5 Takeaways from this talk were:
1. Be anxiously engaged in a good cause...for the POWER is in them! D&C 58:27-28
2. Spiritual gifts are endless in number and infinite in capacity. Just because they are not listed in D&C 46:11-12 does not mean that you do not have a certain gift or that you can not seek to develop a gift. Come to KNOW yourself and define yourself by your gifts and not by the JOB that you do or the title you hold. Develop and show others the VALUE of your gifts. Serve others.
3. Some days will be full of sacrifice.
4. KNOW that the world may not take notice of the work you have been called to do. That does not mean that God does not notice. Live and work to glorify God and amplify your gifts.
5. Meaningfulness at work MUST NOT distract us from the more important things of eternal value.
Hugs -
MP3 Link
Read the talk HERE.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Week 39: Charity Never Faileth
Hello Friends,
This Week's talk is President Monson's talk from the 2010 General Relief Society Meeting. As I watched this talk, I realized how much I have come to love and revere our Prophet. It is amazing to me that he can bring us all to laughter without saying a word as he begins his talk. I am grateful for his powerful reminder of something I need much improvement with. He is a master teacher. His visual parables have given me much to ponder as I seek to apply his counsel. What powerful stories he shared! I appreciate his quote from Mother Teresa that "If you judge people, you have no time to love them." I also appreciate his insights about charity as it applies to how we look at each other.
How blessed we are to have a Prophet of God who speaks to us of things significant and applicable today. I think the Relief Society meeting is the perfect segway to prepare our hearts and minds to receive more direction from the Savior this coming weekend. I know as we prayerfully consider and prepare, answers will come and testimonies will be strengthened. Truly, we have the opportunity to sit at the feet of the Savior and be taught by the Spirit as we listen to Prophets and Apostles.
A wonderful Conference weekend to you,
MP3 Link
Our souls have rejoiced tonight and reached toward heaven. We have been blessed with beautiful music and inspired messages. The Spirit of the Lord is here. I pray for His inspiration to be with me now as I share with you some of my thoughts and feelings.
I begin with a short anecdote which illustrates a point I should like to make.
A young couple, Lisa and John, moved into a new neighborhood. One morning while they were eating breakfast, Lisa looked out the window and watched her next-door neighbor hanging out her wash.
“That laundry’s not clean!” Lisa exclaimed. “Our neighbor doesn’t know how to get clothes clean!”
John looked on but remained silent.
Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, Lisa would make the same comments.
A few weeks later Lisa was surprised to glance out her window and see a nice, clean wash hanging in her neighbor’s yard. She said to her husband, “Look, John—she’s finally learned how to wash correctly! I wonder how she did it.”
John replied, “Well, dear, I have the answer for you. You’ll be interested to know that I got up early this morning and washed our windows!”
Tonight I’d like to share with you a few thoughts concerning how we view each other. Are we looking through a window which needs cleaning? Are we making judgments when we don’t have all the facts? What do we see when we look at others? What judgments do we make about them?
Said the Savior, “Judge not.”1 He continued, “Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?”2 Or, to paraphrase, why beholdest thou what you think is dirty laundry at your neighbor’s house but considerest not the soiled window in your own house?
None of us is perfect. I know of no one who would profess to be so. And yet for some reason, despite our own imperfections, we have a tendency to point out those of others. We make judgments concerning their actions or inactions.
There is really no way we can know the heart, the intentions, or the circumstances of someone who might say or do something we find reason to criticize. Thus the commandment: “Judge not.” Read the rest HERE.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Week 38: When My Prayers Seem Unanswered
I have shared this talk before but recently I have been hearing about this topic again. I wanted to share this talk once more because of its wonderful counsel and help in understanding the way the Lord answers our prayers.
I recently experienced an answer to a prayer that I have been asking for more than 18 years! While traveling alone from an appointment. In the solitude of my van the Lord answered my hearts prayer peacefully and quietly. I felt overwhelmed by the simplicity of the answer. Then as if to prove further the answer was true, my mind was filled with memories of experiences I have had over the past years that have prepared me to receive and accept the words sent to my heart and mind at this time. Little did I know that over the years, my prayers were indeed being answered by the Lord. He was preparing a "holding place in my heart to put the answer". I will never be able to look at my past again without deep gratitude and humility.
I know the Lord Jesus Christ lives! I know He loves us. I know that more than anything He wants to rescue us from our mortal strife and He has through his atoning sacrifice. Never ever give up. When things get to where they seem to hard to bear remember that somewhere somehow He is answering your prayer and that you are deeply and personally known and loved.
All my love,
MP3 Link
No Text
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Week 37: Blessings Upon our Heads
This week's talk is "Blessings Upon our Heads" by John S. Tanner,
husband of Susan W. Tanner and author of the text for Hymn 138 "Bless
Our Fast.". The start of the school year is a second new beginning for
us. We set goals in January, but also enjoy a new start in the Fall as
our family returns to a bit more of a schedule and we try more
diligently to incorporate things we hope will bless our family. I love
the Hymns and have a testimony of their power to lift, inspire, and
comfort. Now we are striving to use them even more frequently to bless
our family. Throughout my days, it is often the words of hymns that come
to mind as I ponder solutions to challenges or seek encouragement. I
know of no faster way to invite the Spirit than through listening to
sacred music.
Our family enjoys singing a Hymn as we begin our scripture study. This
consistently gives me a spiritual and emotional boost. We sing through
the Hymn book and it has been wonderful to become familiar with each of
the Hymns. They are powerful teachers of truth. I love the promise that
the song of the righteous is a prayer and will be answered with a
blessing upon our heads. (D&C 25:12) I feel those blessings!
I am grateful for the medium Hymns provide us to worship as they best
communicate my feelings for our Father and His Son. I appreciate
Brother Tanner's teaching that "music doubles the delight and deepens
the power of words to teach...music brings the message home to our
hearts." Truly the Hymns do bring blessings upon our heads.
How grateful I am for the them--for their power to teach, elevate and
edify.I am especially grateful for the medium they provide for us to
express our adoration for Our Heavenly Father and for the Savior.
Love and Blessings,
CD's have become my favorite wedding gifts to share.
NO MP3 link
In the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord declares that He delights “in the song of the heart” and that He will answer “the song of the righteous … with a blessing upon their heads” (D&C 25:12). The Lord has surely showered blessings upon me and my family as we have sung hymns to Him with all our hearts. Through hymns, I have taught and been taught lasting and life-changing gospel lessons. The hymns have moved me to “repentance and good works,” strengthened my “testimony and faith,” comforted me, consoled me, and deepened my determination to endure. 1 I have felt the Spirit through the hymns in powerful ways. Indeed, some of my sweetest and most tender spiritual experiences are associated with hymn singing.
I recall a precious family experience on a Sunday evening not long ago, when my wife, Susan, and I spontaneously gathered around the piano with our teenage children and a few of their friends to sing the songs of Zion. This scene has been repeated often in our family. On this occasion, I went to the living room by the piano and started to sing. Soon I was joined by Susan, who sang with and accompanied me. One by one our children joined us. One daughter brought her friends. As we sang, the Spirit came tangibly into the room, filling our hearts with love for the Lord and for each other. We each chose favorite hymns. The texts let us speak of truths that lay close to our hearts, while the music let us express tender feelings of testimony and joy which, in contemporary culture, parents and teenage children rarely share so openly or without embarrassment.
As I looked around the room, my heart swelled with joy, and I felt the urge to seize this precious moment in time, for “the fugitive moment refuses to stay.” 2 So I fixed the scene in my mind as a treasure for future reflection, like Wordsworth’s jocund daffodils, 3 and will remember always that tender tableau of loved ones gathered around the piano, fervently singing hymns from our hearts as the sun cast its soft, fading glow on a peaceful Sabbath. Surely this moment was a taste of heaven on earth and a foretaste of what joys await us in heaven when we shall sing a new song before the throne of God (see Rev. 5:9; Rev. 14:2–3). We lifted our hearts in song to God, and He answered with a blessing upon our heads.
Read the rest HERE.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Week 34: Christlike Attributes-The Wind Beneath Our Wings **Repost**
**Reposted from THIS week**
As I thought about what I should share with you this week I was completely at a loss until my October Ensign arrived on Monday afternoon. As if an answer to my prayer I began to read it hoping to receive some direction. I was so happy when I found President Dieter Uchtdorf’s talk entitled “Christ-like Attributes-the Wind Beneath our Wings,” which was originally given in the October 2005 session of general conference. THIS WAS IT!
In July, I was asked to give a talk in Sacrament meeting in front of my brand new ward (in a brand new state) on the topic of DEVELOPING CHRIST-LIKE ATTRIBUTES. I was excited, I was scared, and I was an emotional wreck! I am a fairly good writer but when speaking in front of large groups I sometimes find it hard to put two sentences together without stumbling over my words. Along with the Preach My Gospel manual I used the above-mentioned talk to help guide me through what I needed to say. Through much prayer and preparation the thoughts came easily and I was able to deliver my talk.
After reading it again, listening to the mp3 and re-watching it on my computer through lds.org (don’t you just love the internet?!) I felt doubly impressed to share it with all of you as you too strive to live according to the basic gospel principles and develop Christ-like attributes.
CHALLENGE: This week I suggest choosing a specific attribute you would like to work on. Write it down and include a definition and a description of the attribute. Search your scriptures for passages that teach about the attribute you are working on. Apply that in your life and pray for the Lord to help you more fully draw closer to Christ as you develop the attribute. As you do so, it will become easier to emulate Christ in all your doings. Remember, that learning to be Christ-like is a lifelong pursuit!!!! : )
MP3 Link
My dear brothers and sisters, my dear friends:
During my professional life as an airline pilot, I sometimes had passengers visit the cockpit of my Boeing 747. They asked about the many switches, instruments, systems, and procedures and how all this technical equipment would help such a huge and beautiful airplane fly.
As with all pilots, I enjoyed the fact that they were impressed by the apparent complexity of this plane and that they wondered what kind of magnificent and brilliant person it takes to operate it! At this point of my story, my wife and children would kindly interrupt and say with a twinkling in their eyes, "Pilots are born with a great measure of natural humility!"
To the visitors in my cockpit, I would explain that it takes a great aerodynamic design, many auxiliary systems and programs, and powerful engines to make this flying machine equal to the task of bringing comfort and safety to those joining the flight.
To simplify my explanation by focusing on the basics, I would add that all you really need is a strong forward thrust, a powerful upward lift, and the right aircraft attitude, and the laws of nature will carry the 747 and its passengers safely across continents and oceans, over high mountains and dangerous thunderstorms to its destination.
In recent years, I have often contemplated that being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints invites us to ask similar questions. What are the basics, the fundamental principles of our membership in the kingdom of God on earth? After all is said and done, what will really carry us at times of greatest need to our desired eternal destination?
Read the rest HERE.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Week 33: Zion is the Pure in Heart
I heard this talk and just had to share it!
Have a loving and blessed week,
MP3 Link
It is a privilege to stand before you this evening. I want to thank everyone in the choir for that beautiful music. Thank you so much for the spirit that you brought. And thank you for the beautiful prayer. I am happy and humbled to be here, and I pray that tonight each of you will know how much the Lord loves you. I want you to know how deeply I love you.
I am happy that my husband, Steve, and members of my family are also here. I love my husband. He and I attended Brigham Young University, and it is here where we made the decision to marry. I think it is interesting that I am standing before you on our wedding anniversary. Happy anniversary, dear! You know, we have been married as long as it took to build the Salt Lake Temple! Or for the children of Israel to wander in the wilderness! And everything we have to show for it is sitting right here on the front row. Our children are our treasures. I love them. I love being their mother. I have watched them grow in the gospel and be tutored from pulpits of the Church. And I am grateful that they have chosen to heed the counsel of prophets, seers, and revelators.
I have watched the youth of the Church grow in the gospel. I have a unique and special connection with the young women because of the years in which I have served as a member of the Young Women general presidency. We have essentially gone through the Young Women years together. We’ve earned our Young Women medallions together. We have stood every week and repeated the words of the Young Women theme together: “We are daughters. … We will ‘stand.’ … We believe … , we will be prepared.”1 I think of you as my young women. And I have seen many of you young men as you have received and advanced in the priesthood, honored your covenants and priesthood power, and prepared for and served missions throughout the world. I have met many of you in your mission fields. You are my heroes! You are amazing in your strength and courage and desire for righteousness.
Read the rest HERE.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Week 32: To Know and be Known of God **Repost**
**Reposted from this week**
Dear Friends,
I am so excited about this weeks talk and the subject matter. While I was researching for the talk I had an experience that prompted a thought that I should study and get to know the Savior better. I decided that by the law of attraction if I where to study the Savior and His characteristics that maybe just maybe I would attract some of those into my life and I would be a better wife and mother. It is amazing how these thoughts started and how the ways were given to begin my study. I want invite you all on my journey, "To Know and to Be Known of God". Over the next few weeks I will study some of the characteristics of Christ. I thought I would base my studies on these scriptures found in Alma 9:26-27 "...the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, equity, and truth, full of patience, mercy, and long suffering, quick to hear the cries of His people and to answer their prayers. And behold, He cometh to redeem those who will be baptized unto repentance, through faith on His name." If you have a great talk or insight on any of these characteristics please feel free to share!
Here is one of my favorite quotes from this weeks talk. I think it sums up why it is so important for us all to come unto the Savior and to know Him and and be known of Him. "The more we know of Jesus, the more we will love Him. The more we know of Jesus the more we will trust Him. The more we know of Jesus, the more we will want to be like Him and to be with Him by becoming the manner of men and women that He wishes us to be." [Neal A. Maxwell, "Plow in Hope", Ensign, May 2001, 60]
Enjoy the journey,
Shauntell
MP3 link:
In a revelation given through the Prophet Joseph Smith to David Whitmer, we are told that eternal life "is the greatest of all the gifts of God" (D&C 14:7). When we understand that the entire work and glory of the Savior is "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39), a most significant question for us is "How do we obtain eternal life?" The Savior provided the key in His great intercessory prayer recorded by John, the beloved apostle: "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" (John 17:3). The key, then, to eternal life is to know God the Father and Jesus Christ.
Read the rest HERE.
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