Mormon Musings

We all know that it is easier to talk about a testimony than to acquire one. The process to receive one is based on the law of the harvest: “For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” ( Galatians 6:7 ). No good thing comes without effort and sacrifice. If we have to work hard to obtain a testimony, it will make us and our testimony even stronger. And if we share our testimony, it will grow. A testimony is a most precious possession because it is not acquired by logic or reason alone, it cannot be purchased with earthly possessions, and it cannot be given as a present or inherited from our ancestors. We cannot depend on the testimonies of other people. We need to know for ourselves. President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “Every Latter-day Saint has the responsibility to know for himself or herself with a certainty beyond doubt that Jesus is the resurrected, living Son of the living God” (“Fear Not to Do Good,”  Ensign,  May 1983, 80). The source of this sure knowledge and f

"I am grateful that early in my life I was blessed with a simple faith that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, that he saw God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, in a vision. Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon by the gift and power of God. That testimony has been confirmed to me over and over again." President  Dieter F. Uchtdorf, " Precious Fruits of the First Vision ",   Ensign and Liahona , February 2009

“The first step on the path of discipleship begins, luckily enough, in the exact place where we stand!  We do not have to prequalify to take that first step.  it doesn’t matter if we are rich or poor.  there is no requirement to be educated, eloquent, or intellectual.  We do not have to be perfect or well-spoken or even well-mannered.  You and I can walk in the path of discipleship today…. It is always the right time to walk in His way.  It is never too late.” President Dieter F. Uchtdorf -”The Way of the Disciple,”  Ensign,  May 2009, 77, 78

“President Marion G. Romney (1897–1988), First Counselor in the First Presidency, gave us encouragement: ‘You can make every decision in your life correctly if you can learn to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This you can do if you will discipline yourself to yield your own feelings to the promptings of the Spirit. Study your problems and prayerfully make a decision. Then take that decision and say to him, in a simple, honest supplication, ‘Father, I want to make the right decision. I want to do the right thing. This is what I think I should do; let me know if it is the right course.’ Doing this, you can get the burning in your bosom, if your decision is right. … When you learn to walk by the Spirit, you never need to make a mistake.” President Dieter F. Uchtdorf -in Conference Report, Oct. 1961, 60–61; quoted in “On the Wings of Eagles,”  Ensign , July 2006, 15

The words written in the scriptures and spoken in general conference are for us to “liken them unto [ourselves],” not for reading or hearing only.   Too often we attend meetings and nod our heads; we might even smile knowingly and agree. We jot down some action points, and we may say to ourselves, “That is something I will do.” But somewhere between the hearing, the writing of a reminder on our smartphone, and the actual doing, our “do it” switch gets rotated to the “later” position. Brethren, let’s make sure to set our “do it” switch always to the “now” position! As you read the scriptures and listen to the words of the prophets with all your heart and mind, the Lord will tell you how to live up to your priesthood privileges. Don’t let a day go by without doing something to act on the promptings of the Spirit. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, April 2011 General Conference  http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/your-potential-your-privilege?lang=eng

“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.

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

"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

"We are created in the image of our heavenly parents; we are God's spirit children. Therefore, we have a vast capacity for love—it is part of our spiritual heritage. What and how we love not only defines us as individuals; it also defines us as a church. Love is the defining characteristic of a disciple of Christ." —Dieter F. Uchtdorf, " The Love of God ",  Liahona and Ensign , November 2009

Isn’t it true that we often get so busy? And, sad to say, we often even wear our busyness as a badge of honor, as though being busy, by itself, were an accomplishment or sign of a superior life. Is it? I think of our Lord and Exemplar, Jesus Christ, and His short life among the people of Galilee and Jerusalem. I have tried to imagine Him bustling between meetings or multitasking to get a list of urgent things accomplished. I can’t see it. Instead I see the compassionate and caring Son of God purposefully living each day. When He interacted with those around Him, they felt important and loved. He knew the infinite value of the people He met. He blessed them, ministered to them. He lifted them up, healed them. He gave them the precious gift of His time. President Uchtdorf, October 2012 General Conference http://www.lds.org/prophets-and-apostles/unto-all-the-world/of-regrets-and-resolutions?lang=eng

In 1979 a large passenger jet with 257 people on board left New Zealand for a sightseeing flight to Antarctica and back. Unknown to the pilots, however, someone had modified the flight coordinates by a mere two degrees. This error placed the aircraft 28 miles (45 km) to the east of where the pilots assumed they were. As they approached Antarctica, the pilots descended to a lower altitude to give the passengers a better look at the landscape. Although both were experienced pilots, neither had made this particular flight before, and they had no way of knowing that the incorrect coordinates had placed them directly in the path of Mount Erebus, an active volcano that rises from the frozen landscape to a height of more than 12,000 feet (3,700 m). As the pilots flew onward, the white of the snow and ice covering the volcano blended with the white of the clouds above, making it appear as though they were flying over flat ground. By the time the instruments sounded the warning that the groun

"Not all will follow the map [Heavenly Father has given us]. They may look at it. They may think it is reasonable, perhaps even true. But they do not follow the divine directions. Many believe that any road will take them to a 'happily ever after.' Some may even become angry when others who know the way try to help and tell them. They suppose that such advice is outdated, irrelevant, out of touch with modern life.... they suppose wrong." Dieter F. Uchtdorf ,  "Your Happily Ever After," Ensign, May 2010, 127

A friend of mine recently wrote to me, confiding that he was having a difficult time keeping his testimony strong and vibrant. He asked for counsel. I wrote back to him and lovingly suggested a few specific things he could do that would align his life more closely with the teachings of the restored gospel. To my surprise, I heard back from him only a week later. The essence of his letter was this: “I tried what you suggested. It didn’t work. What else have you got?” Brothers and sisters, we have to stay with it. We don’t acquire eternal life in a sprint—this is a race of endurance. We have to apply and reapply the divine gospel principles. Day after day we need to make them part of our normal life. Too often we approach the gospel like a farmer who places a seed in the ground in the morning and expects corn on the cob by the afternoon. When Alma compared the word of God to a seed, he explained that the seed grows into a fruit-bearing tree gradually, as a result of our “faith, a

"Today is not different from ages past. The Lord does not love the people of our day any less than in past times. One of the glorious messages of the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ is that God continues to speak to His children! He is not hidden in the heavens but speaks today as He did in ancient days." —Dieter F. Uchtdorf, " Why Do We Need Prophets? ",  Liahona and Ensign , March 2012

"This is a paradox of man: compared to God, man is nothing; yet we are everything to God. While against the backdrop of infinite creation we may appear to be nothing, we have a spark of eternal fire burning within our breast. We have the incomprehensible promise of exaltation—worlds without end—within our grasp. And it is God’s great desire to help us reach it." -Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "You Matter to Him", Liahona and Ensign, November 2011

“We sometimes confuse sin with sinner, and we condemn too quickly and with too little compassion. We know from modern revelation that ‘the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.’ We cannot gauge the worth of another soul any more than we can measure the span of the universe.” -Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “You Are My Hands,” Ensign, May 2010, 69

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/04/we-are-doing-a-great-work-and-cannot-come-down?lang=eng

My dear brethren, divine blessings for priesthood service are activated by our diligent efforts, our willingness to sacrifice, and our desire to do what is right. Let us be the ones to act and not be acted upon. Preaching is fine, but sermons that do not lead to action are like fires without heat or water that cannot quench thirst. It is in the application of doctrine that the purifying flame of the gospel grows and the power of the priesthood ignites our souls. Thomas Edison, the man who bathed the world in glowing electric light, said that “the value of an idea lies in the using of it.” 4  In a similar way, gospel doctrine becomes more precious when it is put to use. We must not allow the doctrines of the priesthood to lie dormant in our hearts and unapplied in our lives. If there is a marriage or family in need of rescue—perhaps even our own—let’s not just wait and see. Rather, let us thank God for the plan of happiness that includes faith, repentance, forgiveness , and new

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/04/we-are-doing-a-great-work-and-cannot-come-down?lang=eng&query=nehemiah#10-PD50015887_000_022

https://www.lds.org/youth/video/god-knows-you?lang=eng