Mormon Musings

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

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

I would like to urge you brethren to read the scriptures, not somebody's interpretation of them. Read them. They are the original sources. You go to them and read them. Make up your own minds about them. When the Prophet, Seer and Revelator speaks, when he interprets, we follow. So with the brethren when they speak under the influence of the Holy Ghost. We have a growing lot of books, a growing lot of courses of study, but I urge you to read the scriptures, so that you may get your own idea as to what they mean. J. Reuben Clark, April 1950 General Conference

The gospel of Jesus Christ is the only means by which we may hope to find a place in the celestial kingdom. Sometimes we feel that we are sure of it because we have membership in the Church. I take this occasion to call to the attention of the older members of the Church, who have lived a part of their lives and feel quite secure, the fact that nobody is secure unless he is on the Lord's side of the line (   Ex. 32:26 ). President George Albert Smith, April 1950 General Conference

I should like to emphasize the fact that today is the day for Latter-day Saints to prepare to meet God by keeping all of his commandments, lest the night cometh wherein we cannot repent. If we do not render obedience now, we might find ourselves at the judgment day in the condition that the lady found herself in a dream, as reported by one of the stake presidents at a conference I attended in Salt Lake City about a year ago. I do not recall the stake, and so I don't know which stake president to give credit to for this story. STORY OF THE TEAPOT He reported that there was a certain lady living in his ward who had joined the Church over in Europe when she was a Girl; and like many of the European people she had formed the habit of drinking tea. After she joined the Church of Jesus Christ, like quite a few Mormons (I am sorry to say) she continued the habit of drinking tea. She reared a large family. Her children married. Her husband died, and she became a widow. And then s

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/the-first-great-commandment?lang=eng&media=video

"Our Heavenly Father sees our real potential. He knows things about us that we do not know ourselves. He prompts us during our lifetime to fulfill the measure of our creation, to live a good life, and to return to His presence." —Dieter F. Uchtdorf, " Of Regrets and Resolutions ",  Liahona and Ensign , November 2012

When men, women, and children are honest with God and pay their tithes and offerings, the Lord gives them wisdom whereby they can do as much or more with the remainder than they could if they had not been honest with the Lord. Many times they are blessed and prospered in various ways—spiritually, physically, and mentally, as well as materially. Franklin D. Richards, April 1971 General Conference http://www.lds.org/general-conference/1971/04/the-law-of-abundance?lang=eng

Certainly the most successful lives are those that have the most worthwhile experiences. The religion of  Christ  itself is not so much a set of ideas as it is a set of activities. The purpose of the Church is to help us translate the principles of the gospel of Christ into constructive, meaningful human experience. And everyone should work toward this end by a daily practice of thinking some uplifting thoughts, listening to some fine music, reading some stimulating literature, doing some good deeds, and having some great experiences every day. Because we draw so much from the rebellion, weakness, and evil with which we are surrounded, we tend to load ourselves up too heavily with guilt complexes, mental problems, insecurity, and mediocrity. I recently heard of a man who compounded the problem by hoarding his mistakes. He often referred to the fact that his D.F.T. drawer was the largest file in his office. Someone once asked him what these file letters stood for, and he said they i

Redeeming Jesus also “poured out his soul unto death” ( Mosiah 14:12 ; see also  Isa. 53:12 ;  D&C 38:4 ). As we on occasion “pour” out our souls in personal pleadings, we are thus emptied, making room for more joy! Another fundamental scripture describes Jesus’ having trodden the winepress of the “fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God” ( D&C 88:106 ; see also  D&C 76:107 ;  D&C 133:50 ). Others can and should encourage, commend, pray, and comfort, but the lifting and carrying of our individual crosses remains ours to do. Given the “fierceness” Christ endured for us, we cannot expect a discipleship of unruffled easiness. As we seek  forgiveness , for example, repentance can be a rough-hewn regimen to bear. By the way, let us not, as some do, mistake the chips we have placed on our own shoulders for crosses! Uniquely, atoning Jesus also “descended below all things, in that he comprehended all things” ( D&C 88:6 ; see also  D&C 122:8 ). How deep that desce