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Showing posts with the label Hope

despair

When the hopes of humans are riddled and blasted, it is usually when mortals assume that familiar formation: the circular firing squad. Elder Neal A. Maxwell, " Even As I Am " p. 5

Work through Large Problems in Small, Daily Bites

Asking God for our daily bread, rather than our weekly, monthly, or yearly bread, is also a way to focus us on the smaller, more manageable bits of a problem. To deal with something very big, we may need to work at it in small, daily bites. Sometimes all we can handle is one day (or even just part of one day) at a time. Let me give you a nonscriptural example. A book I read recently, titled  Lone Survivor,  recounts the tragic story of a four-man team of U.S. Navy SEALs on a covert mission in a remote sector of Afghanistan five and one-half years ago. When they were inadvertently discovered by shepherds—two men and a boy—these specially trained Navy servicemen had a choice either to kill the two or let them go, knowing that if they let them live they would disclose the team’s location and they would be attacked immediately by al Qaeda and Taliban forces. Nevertheless, they let the innocent shepherds go, and in the firefight that followed, only the author, Marcus Luttrell, survived agai

Never Lose Hope

My message to you today, my brothers and sisters, is simply this: the Lord is in control. He knows the end from the beginning. He has given us adequate instruction that, if followed, will see us safely through any crisis. His purposes will be fulfilled, and someday we will understand the eternal reasons for all of these events. Therefore, today we must be careful to not overreact, nor should we be caught up in extreme preparations; but what we must do is keep the commandments of God and never lose hope! M. Russell Ballard , “The Joy of Hope Fulfilled,” Ensign, Nov. 1992, 31

genuine hope is needed

Genuine hope is urgently needed in order to be more loving even as the love of many waxes cold; more merciful, even when misunderstood or misrepresented; more holy, even as the world ripens in iniquity; more courteous and patient in a coarsening and curt world; and more full of heartfelt hope, even when other men’s hearts fail them. Whatever our particular furrow, we are to ‘plow in hope,’ without looking back or letting yesterday hold tomorrow hostage (1 Cor. 9:10). Neal A. Maxwell ,  "Brightness of Hope,"Ensign, Nov. 1994, 3

Ultimate hope

Ultimate hope and daily grumpiness are not reconcilable.  It is ungraceful, unjustified, and unbecoming of us as committed Church members to be constantly grumpy or of woeful countenance.  Do we have some moments of misery of some down days?  Yes!  But the promise is that Christ will "life thee up" (Moroni 9:25).   The disciple can note the depressing signs without being depressed.  He can be disappointed in people without being offended at life.  Thus it is that ultimate hope, if it does not finally dissolve our daily disappointments, at least puts them in perspective.   Elder Neal A. Maxwell (Local Thanksgiving speech [untitled], November 26, 198 0

Be Still, My Soul

http://mormonthoughts.wordpress.com/2010/10/31/be-still-my-soul/ P.S. for those who might wonder, I've been having issues with this Blogger version, so I'm now slowly migrating over to the Wordpress version of this blog.  

God will never desert us

No matter how serious the trial, how deep the distress, how great the affliction, God will never desert us. He never has, and He never will. He cannot do it. It is not His character. He is an unchanging Being; the same yesterday, the same today, and He will be the same throughout the eternal ages to come. We have found that God. We have made Him our friend by obeying His Gospel; and He will stand by us. We may pass through the fiery furnace, we may pass through deep waters; but we shall not be consumed nor overwhelmed. We shall emerge from all these trials and difficulties the better and purer for them, if we only trust in our God and keep His commandments. George Q. Cannon Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.   Isaiah 41:10 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee:

Remember Lot's wife

“...the Savior cautions, ‘Remember Lot’s wife.’   Hmmm. What did He mean by such an enigmatic phrase?   To find out, I suppose we need to do as He suggested. Let’s recall who Lot’s wife was. The original story, of course, comes to us out of the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, when the Lord, having had as much as He could stand of the worst that men and women could do, told Lot and his family to flee because those cities were about to be destroyed.   ‘Escape for thy life,’ the Lord said, ‘ look not behind thee . . . ; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed’ (Genesis 19:17; emphasis added). With less than immediate obedience and more than a little negotiation, Lot and his family ultimately did leave town, but just in the nick of time.   The scriptures tell us what happened at daybreak the morning following their escape: The Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities. [Genesis 19:24–25] …Surely, surely, wit

The trap of self-pity

“One man has said that 'hell is being frozen in self-pity.'  Indeed, at times when we think our lot is hard or when we feel ourselves misunderstood, it will be so easy for us to indulge ourselves in feeling some self-pity.  A contrasting episode comes to us out of ancient Greece: several hundred Spartans were holding the pass at Thermopylae, that narrow pass, and the Persians came in overwhelming numbers and urged the Spartans to surrender.  Hoping to intimidate them further, the Persians sent emissaries to the Spartans, saying they had so many archers in their army they could darken the sky with their arrows. The Spartans said, 'So much the better. We shall fight in the shade.'   Now, brothers and sisters, the disciple has to be ready to fight in the shade of circumstance.  One of the ways we can have perspective that will permit us to fight in the shade of circumstances is to read the scriptures and have involvement—intellectually and spiritually—with the case studies