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Showing posts from December 30, 2012

confidence in God (Uchtdorf)

“Because God has been faithful and kept His promises in the past, we can hope with confidence that God will keep His promises to us in the present and in the future.” President Dieter F. Uchtdorf -“The Infinite Power of Hope,” Ensign, Nov. 2008, 23.

"the resurrection cheers my soul..." (Joseph Smith)

“More painful to me are the thoughts of annihilation than death.  If I have no expectation of seeing my father, mother, brothers, sisters and friends again, my heart would burst in a moment, and I should go down to my grave. “The expectation of seeing my friends in the morning of the resurrection cheers my soul and makes me bear up against the evils of life.  It is like their taking a long journey, and on their return we meet them with increased joy.” Joseph Smith - History of the Church , 5:362

Can ye feel so now? (Cook)

C. S. Lewis, the striving, pragmatic Christian writer, poignantly framed the issue. He asserted that Christianity tells people to repent and promises them  forgiveness ; but until people know and feel they need forgiveness, Christianity does not speak to them. He stated, “When you know you are sick, you will listen to the doctor.” Elder Quentin L. Cook, October 2012 General Conference http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/can-ye-feel-so-now?lang=eng#11-10491_000_12cook

men can change (Monson; Duffy)

During the 1940s and 1950s, an American prison warden, Clinton Duffy, was well known for his efforts to rehabilitate the men in his prison. Said one critic, “You should know that leopards don’t change their spots!” Replied Warden Duffy, “You should know I don’t work with leopards. I work with men, and men change every day.” President Thomas S. Monson, October 2012 General Conference Priesthood Meeting http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/see-others-as-they-may-become?lang=eng

"I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it" (Joseph Smith)

It caused me serious reflection then, and often has since, how very strange it was that an obscure  a boy , of a little over fourteen years of age, and one, too, who was doomed to the necessity of obtaining a scanty maintenance by his daily  b labor , should be thought a character of sufficient importance to attract the attention of the great ones of the most popular sects of the day, and in a manner to create in them a spirit of the most bitter  c persecution  and  d reviling . But strange or not, so it was, and it was often the cause of great sorrow to myself. However, it was nevertheless a fact that I had beheld a  a vision . I have thought since, that I felt much like Paul, when he made his defense before King Agrippa, and related the account of the vision he had when he saw a light, and heard a voice; but still there were but few who believed him; some said he was dishonest, others said he was  b mad ; and he was ridiculed and reviled. But all this did not destroy the reality

Of Regrets and Resolutions (Uchtdorf)

When it comes to living the gospel, we should not be like the boy who dipped his toe in the water and then claimed he went swimming. As sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, we are capable of so much more. For that, good intentions are not enough. We must do. Even more important, we must become what Heavenly Father wants us to be...  Discipleship is the pursuit of holiness and happiness. It is the path to our best and happiest self... The more we devote ourselves to the pursuit of holiness and happiness, the less likely we will be on a path to regrets. The more we rely on the Savior’s grace, the more we will feel that we are on the track our Father in Heaven has intended for us.  President Dieter F. Uchtdorf (2012 October General Conference, Of Regrets and Resolutions, Sat. Morning Session) http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/of-regrets-and-resolutions?lang=eng