Mormon Musings

If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation  upon revelation,  knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries  and  peaceable things—that which bringeth  joy , that which bringeth life eternal. D&C 42:61

...being in an increasingly secularized world, we should recognize the truth of Paul’s words, “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14). Many individuals refuse to be informed by the Spirit. However, as we all know, when speaker and hearer—writers and readers—are spiritually conjoined, it is a special thing, as revelatory reciprocity occurs: “Therefore, why is it that ye cannot understand and know, that he that receiveth the word by the Spirit of truth receiveth it as it is preached by the Spirit of truth? “Wherefore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together” (D&C 50:21–22). John Taylor confirmed this by saying: “There is no man living, and there never was a man living, who was capable of teaching the things of God only as he was taught, instructed and directed by the spirit

If you are ever called upon to chasten a person, never chasten beyond the balm you have within you to bind up. Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 9:125-25 "Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;" D&C 121:43

In section 20 of the Doctrine and Covenants, which directed the Prophet Joseph Smith to organize the Church again in this dispensation, we have a revealed summary of some of the basic doctrines of salvation. As to Deity the revelation says: '. . . there is a God in heaven, who is infinite and eternal, from everlasting to everlasting the same unchangeable God, the framer of heaven and earth, and all things which are in them.' (D&C 20:17.) . . . God is our Father; he is the being in whose image man is created. He has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's (D&C 130:22), and he is the literal and personal father of the spirits of all men. He is omnipotent and omniscient; he has all power and all wisdom; and his perfections consist in the possession of all knowledge, all faith or power, all justice, all judgment, all mercy, all truth, and the fullness of all godly attributes. Joseph Fielding Smith ,  "The Most Important Knowledge," Ensign, May 1971, 3

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Micah 6:8 Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work.  And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.  Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and the willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days. D&C 64:33-34

But all things must come to pass in their time. D&C 64:32 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1 Patience is not indifference. Actually, it means caring very much but being willing, nevertheless, to submit to the Lord and to what the scriptures call the "process of time."  Patience is tied very closely to faith in our Heavenly Father. Actually, when we are unduly impatient we are suggesting that we know what is best--better than does God. Or, at least, we are asserting that our timetable is better than His. Either way we are questioning the reality of God's omniscience as if, as some seem to believe, God were on some sort of postdoctoral fellowship and were not quite in charge of everything. Elder Neal A. Maxwell, " Patience " (BYU Devotional, November 27, 1979)

…whenever I have had anything that was great or important to accomplish, I have been impressed with my own weakness and inability to perform the task imposed upon me, and that of myself I was as nothing, only as I trusted in God, and under these circumstances I was certain to speak by the power and influence of the Holy Ghost.   When I have trusted in books, or in my own acquirements that I had gleaned from reading the productions of different authors…I was sure to be foiled in my attempt, for all would leave me.   But when I have trusted in the Lord, and relied upon Him for strength, it has come out right. Jedediah M. Grant, May 30, 1855, Journal of Discourses 3:11 Therefore, verily I say unto you, lift up your voices unto this people; speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not be confounded before men; For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say.   But a commandment I give unto you, that ye shall declare wh

http://mormonthoughts.wordpress.com/2010/10/26/courage/

Let us...be like the young man with Elisha on the mount.  At first intimidated by the surrounding enemy chariots, the young man's eyes were mercifully opened, and he say "horses and chariots of fire," verifying "they that be with us are more than they that be with them" (2 Kings 6:16).  Brothers and sisters, the spiritual arithmetic has not changed! Our own intellectual shortfalls and perplexities do not alter the fact of God's astonishing foreknowledge, which takes into account our choices for which we are responsible.  Amid the mortal and fragmentary communiques and the breaking news of the day concerning various human conflicts, God lives in an eternal now, where the past, present and the future are constantly before Him (see D&C 130:7).  His divine determinations are guaranteed, since whatever He takes into His heart to do, He will surely do it (see Abraham 3:17).  He knows the end from the beginning!  (see Abraham 2:8).  God is fully "able t

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose...What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?...Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?...Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:28,31,35, 37-39 "... I will not forget thee, O house of Israel.  Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; they walls are continually before me." Isaiah 49: 15-16; 1 Nephi 21:15-16 "... I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not

In the next world, we will finally receive what we have persistently desired and chosen during mortality (Alma 29:4).   Individually, we will have made so many incontestable, on-the-record choices.   The final outcome, therefore, will be perfectly just, and all mortals will so acknowledge (Alma 29:4; Mosiah 27:31).   In effect, we will receive the degree of joy we have demonstrably chosen and which we have developed the capacity to receive… Only in the framework of faith in God’s mercy and justice can we ponder the interplay of agency and joy so central to God’s plan.   Of necessity, God’s gift of agency operates in the context of genuine alternatives among which we choose.   This is a condition fully consistent with God’s plan of happiness.   Without the very important condition of agency amid alternatives, life would be an undifferentiated “compound in one” (2 Nephi 2:11).   God’s creations would then be without real purpose, and His plan would certainly not be worthy of being cal

We talk about trials and troubles here in this life; but suppose that you could see yourselves thousands and millions of years after you have proved faithful to your religion during the few short years in this time, and have obtained eternal salvation and a crown of glory in the presence of God. Then look back upon your lives here, and see the losses, crosses, and disappointments, the sorrows....; you would be constrained to exclaim, “but what of all that? Those things were but for a moment in our mortality, and now we enjoy eternal life and glory, with power to progress in all the boundless knowledge and through the countless stages of progression, enjoying smiles and approbation of our Father and God, and of Jesus Christ our elder brother.” Brigham Young (Deseret News, Nov. 9 th , 1859, 1) "...thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes." D&