Week 45: The Divine Gift of Gratitude

Hello Friends,


As I considered what to share this month, I found this wonderful talk by President Monson from last year's October Conference. As we begin the Thanksgiving Season, we have an opportunity to focus on our many blessings and encouraging our families to also practice recognizing blessings. I just spoke with a mom who plans to challenge her children to write a thank you note each day to someone they know.

President Monson shares many wonderful insights. Here are a couple of my favorites:

--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.

--Notice that the Savior gave thanks for what they had—and a miracle followed. (The 7 loaves and a few fishes miracle. Gratitude was expressed for the little they had.)

-- If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues. Someone has said that “gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.”

--Let us follow Him. Let us emulate His example. Let us obey His words. By so doing, we give to Him the divine gift of gratitude.


I am grateful for the inspiring story of Corrie & Betsie ten Boom from "The Hiding Place." They learned to thank God for the fleas in their prison room, for the fleas kept the guards away and allowed the sisters to conduct forbidden Bible study meetings. We don't usually have to look so hard or find things so unpleasant to be grateful for.

I would like to add my testimony that gratitude is a divine gift. Through it we open ourselves to feel the Spirit and Heavenly Father's love for us. The more we exercise this character trait, the more readily we see and feel gratitude for our countless blessings. Gratitude is one of our most meaningful forms of worship. You might like saying a gratitude only prayer.

A marvelous Season of Gratitude and Thanksgiving to each of you!


Much Love,

The Divine Gift Of Gratitude

President Thomas S. Monson

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Week 40: President Thomas S. Monson: Taking Temples to All the World

Hello Friends!

I hope you had an amazing Conference Weekend. If you didn't yet get to hear Elder Holland's talk from the Priesthood Session, I highly recommend it. A friend recently sent some notes from Brother Coburn's Devotional at BYU-I titled "President Thomas S. Monson: Taking Temples to All the World." It was delightful to hear Brother Coburn's insights as President of the Temple Department. His personal stories of President Monson and details we don't often hear were a real treat for me.

He challenged us to write in our journals about this time of miraculous temple building and I realized I have come to expect that at each General Conference, and often in between, 3, 4 or 5 new temples are being announced. I never want to take for granted the miracle it is to witness the fulfillment of prophecy that temples will dot the earth. President Brigham Young promised there would be "hundreds of temples" throughout the earth! And in a time of economic uncertainty for the rest of the world, what a miracle that each of these is built to the highest specifications and fully paid for before it is dedicated.

Other things Brother Coburn challenged us to do are:

--read President Monson's Biography

--always have the temple in our sights

--attend often.


How grateful I am for a living Prophet who speaks to us and builds His holy temples.


Much love to each of you,

President Thomas S. Monson: Taking Temples to All the World

Thomas E. Coburn

MP3 Link

Text Link





Week 35: Teach Them to Understand

Hello Friends,


I love the new start we get at the end of summer as we begin a new year of school and schedules. I often feel more energized to make changes and improvements in my life at this time than in the cold and dreariness of January. I discovered this gem by Elder Bednar and hope it will be as inspiriing and insightful for you as it has been for me. I am grateful for Elder Bednar's gifts as a teacher, a preacher really, as you will see by this devotional talk he gave in 1998 at the Ricks College Education Week.

His teaching has caused me to consider what I might do to better create an environment where we as parents invite the Spirit into our home. The Spirit is the master teacher for our children.Elder Bednar teaches that in our homes, we cannot hide from who we really are. This produces a desire for us to be better. Within a Christ-centered home, love, trust, and confidence invite the Spirit of the Holy Ghost. He explains that as children truly understand, action will follow. This will not be out of a desire to please us or stay out of trouble, but motivated by a desire to obtain promised blessings and fulfill pre-ordained missions. Why do we teach of the necessity of daily pray and scripture reading? Not to mark off our to do list, but to invite the Spirit and put us in a position to receive the daily revelation necessary for us to thrive each day in the world in which we live. His question to parents of "Please help me understand what it is in your life that is so important that you cannot make time for these spiritually essential activities" is still working in me as I plan and ponder and clear schedules to create the time we must have together as a family.

Enjoy! Love and Blessings to each of you as we begin a new Season,

Teach Them to Understand

David A. Bednar

Text Link

Audio Link

Week 31: To Always Remember Him

Hello Friends,


As I read and pondered this devotional talk by Elder Christofferson, I once again felt great gratitude for the blessing of living Prophets and Apostles on the earth. Elder Christofferson teaches brought new insights and determination to me and increased my love for and understanding of the Savior's role. Truly, as we seek to know and remember our Savior more, we can always reach and stretch a little more.

Much Love,

 
 
 
To Always Remember Him- Text
 
Audio
 
Video
 

Week 22: Your Potential, Your Privilege

Hello Friends,

This week's Talk of the Week is "Your Potential, Your Privilege"
President Uchtdorf from the April 2011 General Conference Priesthood
Session. This month, our talks are focusing on Fatherhood and the roles
of the Priesthood. When I receive the Conference issue of the Ensign,
the Priesthood sessions are the first I read. I find much in them that
is applicable and helpful for me. I am grateful for President
Uchtdorf's masterful teaching and insights.

President Uchtdorf teaches that the blessings of the priesthood
transcend our ability to comprehend and that the fact that Heavenly
Father entrusts this power and responsibility to man is evidence of His
great jove for us and a foreshowing of our potential. He challenges
that we partake of the abundant feast available to us through Priesthood
opportunities. He encourages that our "do it" switch does not get
rotated to the "do it later" position and challenges that not a day goes
by without doing something to act on the promptings of the Spirit. He
encourages us to seek personal revelation and teaches that the
Priesthood is a channel through which the Almighty reveals Himself to
His children. If we do not seek to use this channel of revelation, we
are living beneath our privileges. He continues, "Think of what a
glorious thing it is to reach beyond our earthly limitations, to have
the eyes of our understanding opened and receive light and knowledge
from celestial sources!" He encourages that we feel the bliss that comes
from daily, practical priesthood service and that we may find true joy
in daily service.

A joyful June to you!

Much love,

Your Potential, Your Privilege

Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Audio

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Week 18: Nourishing and Protecting the Family

Happy Mother's Day friends!  I hope this weekend will be a sweet time for each of you.  As I was pondering and searching for a talk to share about motherhood and the roles of nurturing, I came across this wonderful talk from Sister Beck given at the 2009 BYU Women's Conference.  Each time I hear Sister Beck speak, I think of the scripture "for such a time as this." She teaches us with such courage and clarity.  How grateful I am for her insights and wisdom. 

I am grateful for the specific teachings Sister Beck gives in this talk:

She reiterates that The Creation, The Fall and The Atonement are the three pillars of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Families are the key of our doctrine--families being established before the world was.
Male and Female spirits complete each other and are both needed to raise children.
Those who do not have the opportunity to bear children, will have every blessing in the next life.
At 17, the Prophet Joseph knew about the blessings of eternal families.
She calls on us to stand up and defend the family as the social restraints that once preserved and protected it have been              removed.
Fight-fight against the power of the adversary against our families.

She quotes Joseph F. Smith"Whenever...temptations became most alluring and most tempting to me, the first thought that arose in my soul was this: remember the love of your mother." What an insight to us as mothers to keep trying!  She teaches ."we will need the Spirit of the Lord with us in greater abundance in times to come than we have ever had. We need to be the ones seeking every day to qualify for the Spirit, to recognize the voice of the Spirit, and to follow the voice of the Spirit because other voices will lead us in the wrong ways."  Difficult challenges are coming, but through our challenges we grow and will have eternal joy.

I hope Sister Beck's talk brings you much joy and that your Mother's Day is delightful for you.

Much love,

Nourishing and Protecting the Family

Julie Beck

MP3 HERE

Go HERE for the Text of this talk

Watch a video HERE

Week 14: The Purifying Power of Gethsemane

Dear Friends,

I am excited for the opportunity to focus on testimony of the Savior this month. As I pondered what to share, I remembered the powerful experience I had listening to Elder Bruce R. McConkie bear his last testimony of the Redeemer. I found these tender insights from his wife as shared by ward member Jane P. Merrill, which I believe only deepen the significance of his testimony:

The "I Believe in Christ Legacy" by Jane P. Merrill (Read the account from Sister McConkie by going to THIS link and a reference of the account mentioned is also found HERE)

I hope Elder McConkie's testimony blesses you as it has me. I am grateful that we continue to benefit from his powerful witness as we worship by singing the Hymn "I Believe in Christ."


Love and Blessings,

The Purifying Power of Gethsemane

 Bruce R. McConkie

No Audio

Go HERE for the text

Here are YouTube Videos

Week 9: Follow the Prophet

Hello Friends!


As I have pondered what to share for this Week's Talk of the Week, I felt impressed to share two brief talks from the October 2010 General Conference which both emphasized President Benson's "Fourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet ." I have thought it significant that two of the Seventy felt impressed to repeat what an earlier Apostle and future Prophet of the Church, Elder Ezra Taft Benson, taught about living prophets. Elder Duncan spoke at our Stake Conference just a couple of weeks before the October Conference and knew that he and Elder Costa would both be sharing the same "14 Fundamentals," yet the impression and urgency to testify of these truths burned within him. This past week, our missionary son began teaching a new investigator. As they showed him pictures of the Prophets of this Dispensation the man exclaimed about President Monson, "And he is living?!!"

As I have pondered these talks, I have wondered what I might do to better follow every word of the Prophet and how to prepare to quickly follow what future things he may ask us to do. I am grateful to know that "surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." (Amos 3:7) Elder Duncan teaches that one of the crowning blessings of membership in this Church is being led by living prophets of God. I think the title of his talk is also significant "Our Very Survival."

"For his work ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith.

"For by doing these things the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name's glory." (D & C 21:5-6)

How grateful I am for living Prophets and Apostles who teach us all things that are needful for us to know for our particular time and circumstances. I know that they speak for God and that as we heed their words we will be safe.



Love and Blessings,

Obedience to the Prophets 

 Claudio Costa

Listen HERE

Our Very Survival

 Kevin R. Duncan

Listen HERE

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

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.

 Elder Andersen counseled us to make the gift of the Holy Ghost a conscious, daily, prayerful part of our lives. He encouraged us that even in our weaknesses, we can feel him and that we must pray, ask, and seek and then not be afraid when answers come into our mind and heart. We need to keep our hearts open to this gift. Elder Anderson cautions us to be vigilant about what we allow to influence our spirits and to provide quiet, reflective times for us and our children. He counseled us more than once to never postpone a prompting. He quotes the Lord, in speaking of His Second Coming, who emphasized that the gift of the Holy Ghost must be powerfully active among His Saints: "For they that are wise and have received the truth, and have taken the Holy Spirit for their guide, and have not been deceived--verily I say unto you, they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day" (D&C 45:57) He closes with a promise that as evil increases in the world, there will be a compensating power of the gift of the Holy Ghost for the righteous.

Wonderful promises and blessings for each of us,

MP3 Link

A Gift Worthy of Added Care

Neil L. Andersen

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

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

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Week 44: The Constitution--A Glorious Standard

This week's talk is "The Constitution--a Heavenly Banner" a devotional given by President Ezra Taft Benson 16 September 1986. I recently read this talk and felt there is much more I must do to follow a prophet of God. Here are a few points that especially impressed me. The following are quotes from President Benson:


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,

The Constitution--A Glorious Standard

President Ezra Taft Benson

Read the article HERE



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,

Charity Never Faileth

President Thomas S. Monson

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.



Week 37: Blessings Upon our Heads

Hello Friends,

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,

Note: Hymns can be downloaded on-line at THIS link or CD's of the Hymns can be

purchased through distribution centers. Giving a Hymnbook and the Hymn

CD's have become my favorite wedding gifts to share.

NO MP3 link

Blessing Upon our Heads

John S. Tanner

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.

Week 31: Sister Julie B. Beck

Dear Friends,

I have been anxiously awaiting the posting of this talk by Sister Beck so that I could share it with you. I hope it lifts and inspires you as it has me. I am so grateful for Sister Beck's leadership at this critical time and for her willingness to teach and counsel us so clearly. I know that she has been foreordained to lead us at this pivitoltime in the earth's history. She speaks with urgency about holding emergency meetings, gaining more fromour temple worship, and details how we can qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation--the single most important ability we can acquire in this life. I know as we study and ponder her words and work to apply them, great and eternal blessings will come to each of us and our families.

Love and Blessings,

Video Link

BYU Women's Conference

Juile B. Beck

As I have thought about this meeting, I have had the Spirit confirm to me that this—like many other meetings that I have enjoyed while visiting South America, Central America, Mexico, and other parts of the world this past year, and that I have felt every time I meet with the sisters of the Church—is an emergency meeting and a training meeting, a time for us to learn. I feel a great urgency for the daughters of God to do all they need to do to strengthen and lift not only themselves, their families, sisters who are in their wards, but also the world. I feel that the sisters in this Church who know and understand their covenants will be a significant force in helping this world, which seems to have lost its moral moorings.


If the sisters who have made covenants with God know what they are supposed to do, that they are in for the long haul, and that they are in with all their faith, then this world will be okay and we will be all right. The theme of the conference is, “Say unto this people: Choose ye this day, to serve the Lord God who made you. Behold my Spirit is upon you, wherefore all thy words will I justify; and the mountains shall flee before you, and the rivers shall turn from their course; and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore walk with me.”1 What a beautiful theme.

As we visit today I will cover three things. What it means to choose to serve the Lord, what that spirit is that is put upon us, and how we walk with the Lord.  Read the rest HERE.

Week 26: Honorably Hold a Name and Standing

Hello Friends,

This week's Talk of the Week is Elder Bednar's April 2009 Conference Talk "Honorably Hold a Name and Standing." ThisConference talk is one I frequently reflect on. What does it mean to honorably hold a name and standing? What does it mean to worship as we attend the temple? As I have pondered and sought teaching on these ideas, it has been interesting the insights that have come and the increase in love and appreciation for temples and for our Heavenly Father and our Savior. I love the words of Hymn 70 and the insights that have come as I have pondered and sung this wonderful hymn.

I am grateful for Elder Bednar's teaching about the significance of temples and the opportunities and blessings that come as we allow the "fire of the covenant" to burn within us. I am grateful for the protection and the power that come to us as we attend the temple and ponder on the covenants and blessings we receive there. I think there is much for us to understand about the protections and blessings that come that we do not yet grasp. At the BYU Women's Conference, Sister Beck counseled us to attend the temple more frequently and to PAY ATTENTION to who blessings are given by and what powers are given each of us. I have found it helpful to consider 3 Nephi 17:3 in light of temple attendance:

1/ Go unto your homes
2/ ponder
3/ ask—pray
4/ prepare minds for the morrow
5/ come again

I testify that great blessings come from committing to attend and attending the temple as frequently as we are able. I know that our abilities to complete necessary tasks and be more efficient with our time is a blessing that comes as we commit to attend the temple more often. I have increased patience and greater insights into the responsibilities and challenges I face as I increase my temple attendance. The temple is the place we can come to know the Savior better and understand more fully our relationship to Him. It truly is the House of the Lord. How grateful I am to be a witness of this marvelous season of accelerated temple building! It is magnificent to see the work of the Lord rolling forward in significant ways.

Much love,

MP3 Link

Honorably Hold a Name and Standing

Elder David A. Bednar

Shortly after I was called to serve as a stake president in 1987, I talked with a good friend who recently had been released as a stake president. During our conversation I asked him what he would teach me about becoming an effective stake president. His answer to my question had a profound impact upon my subsequent service and ministry.

My friend indicated he had been called to serve as a temple worker soon after his release. He then said: “I wish I had been a temple worker before I was a stake president. If I had served in the temple before my call to serve as a stake president, I would have been a very different stake president.”

I was intrigued by his answer and asked him to explain further. He responded: “I believe I was a good stake president. The programs in our stake ran well, and our statistics were above average. But serving in the temple has expanded my vision. If I were called today to serve as a stake president, my primary focus would be on worthiness to receive and honor temple covenants. I would strive to make temple preparation the center of all that we did. I would do a better job of shepherding the Saints to the house of the Lord.”

That brief conversation with my friend helped me as a stake president to teach relentlessly about and testify of the eternal importance of temple ordinances, temple covenants, and temple worship. The deepest desire of our presidency was for every member of the stake to receive the blessings of the temple, to be worthy of and to use frequently a temple recommend.

My message today focuses upon the blessings of the temple, and I pray the Holy Ghost will illuminate our minds, penetrate our hearts, and bear witness of truth to each of us.

Read the rest HERE

Week 22: The Divine Nature and Destiny of Women

Hello Friends,

This week's talk is "The Divine Nature and Destiny of Women" a BYU
Devotional given by Glenn L. Pace March 9, 2010. I am grateful for Elder
Pace's inspired teaching which has helped me to see my nature and gifts
as a daughter of God with a new perspective. I found his teaching about
the Creation most insightful and his teaching about the roles of women
in marriage most encouraging. I feel newly inspired after reading and
pondering his counsel to better fulfill my roles as a woman, mother and
wife. What a sweet and tender privilege it is to be a woman during the
winding up scenes and to have the blessings and teaching of the Gospel
to direct our lives. I especially appreciated his teaching of the
essential roles of male and female and their interplay together to
achieve exaltation. I hope his words will lift and inspire you as they
have me.

A wonderful summer of creating good to each of you,

MP3 Link

The Divine Nature and Destiny of Women 

Glenn L. Pace

The Family: A Proclamation to the World” states:
All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.1
My focus this morning will be on the divine nature and destiny of women and the sacred role they play in the sanctification and purification of men.
I’m going to start by giving you two exclusive scoops. First, males and females are different. Second, those differences are more than physical.
I developed a love and appreciation for womanhood in my childhood. My mother, sisters, grandmas, aunts, and female cousins and friends brought immeasurable love into my young life. This set the stage for the adult relationships with my wife, daughters, and granddaughters.
All of the above have contributed to my feelings of reverence, adoration, and even veneration of righteous women.  Read the rest HERE 

Week 18: My New Life

Hello Friends, A very Happy Mother's Day to each of you. I hope the day is great for you and that as you ponder on your motherhood, you can focus on the great things you are doing right! Motherhood gives us the greatest opportunities to lift and bless others. Truly a process which helps us become like Our Heavenly Father. Our motherhood experiences mold and purify us as nothing else can. I would like to share something a little different this week--a wonderful Mormon Message.

As I have read Stephanie's blog over the past year and a half, I have been completely changed by her passion for mother and wifehood. Her clear vision of who she is and the significance of her role is blessing thousands of lives--even helping some to find the Gospel. As you watch this video, I hope you will feel renewed and empowered to continue on in the missions you are sent to complete.

Much love and a very sweet Mother's Day to you,

*Before playing video Be sure to pause the embeded radio on the right side of the blog.

Week 13: None Were With Him

Hello Friends,

This Easter Conference Week's talk is Elder Holland's "None were with
Him" from the April 2009 General Conference. How I am looking forward to
hearing from The Brethren this weekend! As we prepare to celebrate
Easter and I pondered what I could share this week, Elder Holland's
sweet witness came to mind. What power and conviction he shared as he
bore his tender testimony of the Savior and the Savior's love for us.
His final plea that "we declare ourselves to be more fully disciples of
the Lord Jesus Christ, not in word only and not only in the flush of
comfortable times but in deed and in courage and in faith, including
when the path is lonely and when our cross is difficult to bear" is a
resounding call to action. His reminder of all that we enjoy because of
the Atonement: "Brothers and sisters, one of the great consolations of
this Easter season is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path
utterly alone, /we/ do not have to do so. [We have been given] the
merciful care of our Father in Heaven, the unfailing companionship of
this Beloved Son, the consummate gift of the Holy Ghost, angels in
heaven, family members on both sides of the veil, prophets and apostles,
teachers, leaders, friends...Truly the Redeemer of us all said, “I will
not leave you comfortless." "

What sweet privileges and blessings we receive as members of His Church,
given access to eternal covenants and tender opportunities to be taught
at the feet of Prophets and Apostles. May the surety of our blessings
and the testimony of our Redeemer fill you with peace, joy and faith
throughout this Easter Season and the months ahead.

Much love,

MP3 Link 



Currently the LDS.org Website does not have this talk available. This is the link for future reference:

http://www.lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-1032-27,00.html

Week 9: Remember Lot's Wife

Hello Friends,

This week's talk is "Remember Lot's Wife," a devotional given by Elder
Jeffrey R. Holland in January 2009 at BYU. I appreciate Elder Holland's
insights about how to move forward with faith and the dangers of living
in the past. He counsels us to reach forth for things which are
beyond. Let go of past hurts and shortcomings. God has great things in
store for each of us and the best is yet to be. I especially enjoyed
his recounting of his lack of courage as he was a BYU student. Somehow
it gives me greater courage to do hard things, knowing he struggled too.
"Faith builds on the past, but never longs to stay there." May our faith
and confidence in the future grow as we "trust that God has great things
in store for each of us and that Christ truly is the 'high priest of
good things to come.' "

Best Wishes,



MP3 Link

Remember Lot's Wife

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

The start of a new year is the
traditional time for us to take stock of our
lives and see where we are going
measured against the backdrop of where
we have been. However, I don’t want to
talk to you about New Year’s resolutions
per se because you only made five of
them and you have already broken four. (I
give that remaining one about another
week.) But I do want to talk to you today
about the past and the future, not so
much in terms of New Year’s
commitments, but more with an eye
toward any time of transition and change,
and those moments come virtually every
day of our lives.

Read the rest HERE.