Mormon Musings

True law enforcement depends on the policing of one's self.  If the sentry of self fails, there are simply not enough other policemen to restrain those who will not restrain themselves, and beating the system will become the system. Elder Neal A. Maxwell, Ensign, May 1975, p. 101

15  So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.   17  Now the  Lord  had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish  a three  days and three nights. Jonah 1:15, 17 Consider what this incident from the life of Jonah teaches us about the Lord, about His omniscience and His power to accomplish His purposes.  The great fish that swallowed Jonah would have been "prepared" many, many years previously by the Lord, whether through His use of evolution, genetics, etc. or otherwise.  In other words, we may safely assume that this fish was NOT just magically "poofed" out of nowhere just prior to its appearance in the water at the moment it swallowed Jonah.  Rather, it was born and grew to maturity, over the course of many years... In addition, consider the fact that this "great fish" was in the exact place and at exactly the right time to be able to swallow Jonah, save Jon

...At Christmastime...we celebrate a special star that announced Jesus' birth at Bethlehem. Thus, the so-called "little star of Bethlehem" was actually very large in its declaration of divine design! It had to have been placed in its precise orbit long, long before it shone so precisely! Persuasive divine design is underscored in what the Lord has said: "All things must come to pass in their time" (D&C 64:32). His overseeing precision pertains not only to astrophysical orbits but to human orbits as well. This is such a stunning thing for us to contemplate as to our obligations to "shine as lights" within our own orbits and personal responsibilities! (See Philippians 2:15.) In Jesus there is a unique blend of both meekness and majesty. Though the Lord of the Universe, Christ was meekly willing to live in this world, which he created under the Father's direction. In Paul's words, he agreed to reside on earth as a person of no reputation (s

For my part, I am glad the book will be with us “as long as the earth shall stand.” I need and want additional time. For me, towers, courtyards, and wings await inspection. My tour of it has never been completed. Some rooms I have yet to enter, and there are more flaming fireplaces waiting to warm me. Even the rooms I have glimpsed contain further furnishings and rich detail yet to be savored. There are panels inlaid with incredible insights and design and decor dating from Eden. There are also sumptuous banquet tables painstakingly prepared by predecessors which await all of us. Yet, we as Church members sometimes behave like hurried tourists, scarcely venturing beyond the entry hall to the mansion. May we come to feel as a whole people beckoned beyond the entry hall. May we go inside far enough to hear clearly the whispered truths from those who have “slumbered,” which whisperings will awaken in us individually the life of discipleship as never before. The Book of Mormon: A Great Ans

God is infinitely more interested in our having a place in His kingdom than with our spot on a mortal organizational chart. We may brood over our personal span of control, but He is concerned with our capacity for self-control. Father wants us to come home, bringing our real résumés, ourselves! Even so, our mortal jealousies still occur regularly over money, turf, a slight, or the “robes” and the “fatted calf” given to others (see  Luke 15:22–23 ). True belonging occurs when we know who we are and to whom we really belong! Remember the popular lines in  Fiddler on the Roof  about Anatevka? There, “everyone knows  who  he is and  what  God expects him to do ” (Joseph Stein,  Fiddler on the Roof  [1964], 3; emphasis added), to which might be added “and what God expects him to  be. ” Yes, we are free to choose the mortal perks with their short shelf life. However, ahead lies that great moment when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ! (see  Mosiah

Many individuals preoccupied by the cares of the world are not necessarily in  transgression.  But they certainly are in  diversion  and thus waste “the days of [their] probation” ( 2 Ne. 9:27 ). Yet some proudly live “without God in the world” ( Alma 41:11 ), with gates and doors locked from the inside! Mark it down, brothers and sisters, people too caught up in themselves will inevitably let other people down! Let us adopt the attitude recommended by President Brigham Young: “Say to the fields, … flocks, … herds, … gold, … silver, … goods, … chattels, … tenements, … possessions, and to all the world, stand aside; get away from my thoughts, for I am going up to worship the Lord” ( Deseret News,  5 Jan. 1854, 2). There are so many ways to say to the world, “stand aside.” Periodically, husbands and wives can reason together, taking inventory. Minor corrections may be needed, and besides, such conversations can be more precious than we know. Alas, so many couples are too busy. M

Like the prodigal son, we too can go to “a far country,” which may be no further away than a vile rock concert. The distance to “a far country” is not to be measured by miles but by how far our hearts and minds are from Jesus! (see  Mosiah 5:13 ). Fidelity, not geography, really determines the distance! Elder Neal A. Maxwell, October 2000 General Conference  http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2000/10/the-tugs-and-pulls-of-the-world?lang=eng

Peter counseled, “Of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage” ( 2 Pet. 2:19 ). Brothers and sisters, there are so many personalized prisons! Elder Neal A. Maxwell, October 2000 General Conference  http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2000/10/the-tugs-and-pulls-of-the-world?lang=eng

Isn’t it marvelous, brothers and sisters, that God,  who knows everything,  still spends time listening to our prayers? Compared to that cosmic fact, what does the world really have to offer us? One round of applause, one fleeting moment of adulation, or an approving glance from a phantom Caesar? Elder Neal A. Maxwell, October 2000 General Conference http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2000/10/the-tugs-and-pulls-of-the-world?lang=eng

There are real dangers—subtle and obvious—when members fall into lockstep with the world’s ways. In so many respects, the world’s ways head in opposite directions from gospel destinations. Moreover, as a covenant people, our behavioral loyalties are to be with the Lord, not with the Caesars of this world. But the tugs of the world are real and persistent. Besides, following the fashions of the world is merely to pursue eventual obsolescence, “for the fashion of this world passeth away” ( 1 Cor. 7:31 ). Typically, President Brigham Young spoke sternly concerning popularity and what can be its ruining acclaim: “I do not want ‘Mormonism’ to become popular. … I would rather pass through all the misery and sorrow, the troubles and trials of the Saints, than to have the religion of Christ become popular with the world” (in Journal of Discourses,  10:297). President N. Eldon Tanner cautioned, “This craving for praise and popularity too often controls actions, and as [people] succumb th

...At Christmastime...we celebrate a special star that announced Jesus' birth at Bethlehem. Thus, the so-called "little star of Bethlehem" was actually very large in its declaration of divine design! It had to have been placed in its precise orbit long, long before it shone so precisely! Persuasive divine design is underscored in what the Lord has said: "All things must come to pass in their time" (D&C 64:32). His overseeing precision pertains not only to astrophysical orbits but to human orbits as well. This is such a stunning thing for us to contemplate as to our obligations to "shine as lights" within our own orbits and personal responsibilities! (See Philippians 2:15.) In Jesus there is a unique blend of both meekness and majesty. Though the Lord of the Universe, Christ was meekly willing to live in this world, which he created under the Father's direction. In Paul's words, he agreed to reside on earth as a person of no reputation (see

God's extraordinary work is most often done by ordinary people in the seeming obscurity of a home and family. Elder Neal A. Maxwell 

The laughter of the world is merely loneliness pathetically trying to reassure itself. Elder Neal A. Maxwell

...as we look at the universe, we do not see unexplained chaos or cosmic churn. Instead, the faithful see God “moving in His majesty and power” (D&C 88:47). It is like viewing a divinely choreographed, cosmic ballet—spectacular, subduing, and reassuring! Even so, in the midst of our feeling overcome by the wonder and awe, the “cares of the world” can overcome us (see D&C 39:9). Humdrum routineness and repetition can cause us to look indifferently downward instead of reverently upward and outward. We can become estranged from the Creator, who then seems like a far, distant star: “For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?” (Mosiah 5:13). We know the Creator of the universe is also the Author of the plan of happiness. We can trust Him. He knows perfectly what brings happiness to His children (see Mosiah 2:41; Alma 41:10). ...as some experience daily life situations in which

The past of each of us is now inflexible. We need to concentrate on what has been called “the holy present,” for now is sacred; we never really live in the future. The holy gift of life always takes the form of now. Besides, God asks us now to give up only those things which, if clung to, will destroy us! And when we tear ourselves free from the entanglements of the world, are we promised a religion of repose or an Eden of ease? No! We are promised tears and trials and toil! But we are also promised final triumph, the mere contemplation of which tingles one’s soul. My friends, there are footprints to follow where we must go—made not by a leader who said, safely from the sidelines, “Go thither,” but by a leader who said, “Come, follow me.” And our mortal leader is a prophet who is showing us how to lengthen our stride. Yes, for those in the Church’s courtyard or on its porch, ask not “for whom the [Church] bell tolls; It tolls for thee.” (John Donne,  Devotions upon Emergent Occa

Whenever you and I witness and experience in a human being impressive loving-kindness, we marvel—and we should marvel.  But such highly developed loving-kindness is still not closely comparable to Jesus’ loving-kindness.  So it is with each of His qualities about which I have spoken…When we are fortunate enough to experience the stirring samples of likeness, these are real and wonderful experiences, but they are not yet fullness.  They are not the fullness found in Jesus.  Even so, He of fullness clearly and kindly beckons us to develop that greater likeness in our lives which precedes fullness.  It is that likeness that will give us the light in our lives so that we might, as Paul says, shine as lights in the world.  These are the attributes that convey us to the added authority of example.  And as we emulate Him, by developing likeness in these attributes, He will bless and magnify us for His purposes.   Elder Neal A. Maxwell, BYU Devotional March 31, 1991

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/1987/10/yet-thou-art-there?lang=eng

Amazing pictures and powerful testimony from Elder Maxwell and others: http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=bazILfQd1uQ

worth a repeat post...: "The great Jehovah contemplated the whole of the events connected with the earth, pertaining to the plan of salvation, before it rolled into existence, or ever 'the morning stars sang together' for joy; the past, the present and the future were and are, with Him, one eternal 'now'; He knew of the fall of Adam, the iniquities of the antediluvians, of the depth of iniquity that would be connected with the human family, their weakness and strength, their power and glory, apostasies, their crimes, their righteousness and iniquity; He comprehended the fall of man and his redemption; He knew the Plan of Salvation and pointed it out; He was acquainted with the situation of all nations and with their destiny; He ordered all things according to the council of His own will; He knows the situation of both the living and the dead, and has made  ample provision  for their redemption, according to their several circumstances, and the laws of the kingdo

“…there are real costs associated with meekness. A significant down payment must be made. But it can come from our sufficient supply of pride. We must also be willing to endure the subsequent erosion of unbecoming ego. Furthermore, our hearts will be broken in order that they might be rebuilt. As Ezekiel said, one's task is to "make you a new heart and a new spirit" (Ezekiel 18:31). There is no way that such dismantling, such erosion, such rebuilding can occur without real cost in pain, pride, adjustments, and even some dismay. Yet since we cannot be "acceptable before God save [we are] meek and lowly in heart" (Moroni 7:44), the reality of that awesome requirement must be heeded. Better to save one's soul than to save one's face.” Elder Neal A. Maxwell September 05, 1982 BYU Fireside Speeches of the Year