Mormon Musings

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

"Every man is a missionary now and forever, for good or for evil--whether he intends or designs it or not. He may be a blot, radiating a dark influence outward to the very circumference of society, or he may be a blessing, spreading benediction over the length and breadth of the world; but a blank he cannot be. There are no moral blanks, there are no neutral persons. We are either the darkness that sows and corrupts, or the light that splendidly illuminates, and the salt that silently operates, but being dead or alive, every man speaks." Steven L. Richards

Since life is such a brief experience, there must be regular exit routes.   Some easy.   Some hard.   Some sudden.   Others lingering.   Therefore, we cannot presume, even by faith, to block all exits, all the time, and for all people.   Nor, if possessed of full, eternal perspective, would we desire so to do. Neal A. Maxwell, Ensign, May 1982, p.22 At funerals our tears are genuine, but not because of termination—rather because of interruption.   Though just as wet, our tears are not of despair, but are of appreciation and anticipation.   Yes, for disciples, the closing of the grave is but the closing of a door which will later be flung open with rejoicing.   Neal A. Maxwell, “All Hell Is Moved” p. 181 As we wait with those who are dying we brush against the veil, as goodbyes and greetings are said almost within earshot of each other. Neal A. Maxwell, “Patience” p. 219 On the other side of the veil, there are perhaps seventy billion people.   They need the same Gospel, and

God does not begin by asking about our ability, but only our availability, and if we then prove our dependability, He will increase our capability! Neal A. Maxwell, “Its Service, Not Status, That Counts”   p. 7 The large attributes, those that cover the most ground, are almost always developed incrementally—by small steps, small decisions, and small initiatives.   These attributes and talents we bring with us from the premortal world were most likely developed there in the same way.   Yet upon seeing someone with highly developed cardinal attributes, we may respond that “he was born that way”.   Whatever the case, so far as mortal life is concerned, it is what we do with these qualities that matters.   Neal A. Maxwell, “If Thou Endure It Well”   p. 35

Quickly forgotten by those who are offended is the fact that the Church is “for the perfecting of the saints” (Ephesians 4:12).   It is not the well-provisioned rest home for the already perfected.   Likewise, unremembered by some is the reality that in the kingdom we are each other’s clinical material; the Lord allows us to practice on each other, even in our imperfections.   And each of us knows what it is like to be worked on by a “student” rather than senior surgeon.   Each of us, however, unintentionally, has also inflicted some pain. Neal A. Maxwell, “ Ensign ” May 1982, p. 38 We are Christ’s kingdom builders.   Those who build the heavenly kingdom have always made nervous people who are busy building worldly kingdoms.   Noah’s ark-building was not politically correct… The reactions to us will vary: there will be almost Agrippas, the puzzled Pilates, the timed Van Burens, and the stout Colonel Kanes, and, of course, there will be some scorn and some rage.   But deep within

...save for the exception of the very few who defect to perdition, there is no habit, no addiction, no rebellion, no transgression, no apostasy, no crime exempted from the purpose of complete forgiveness.   That is the promise of the atonement of Christ.   How all can be repaired, we do not know.   It may not be accomplished in this life.  We know from visions and visitations that the servants of the Lord continue the work of redemption beyond the veil.   This knowledge should be as comforting to the innocent as it is to the guilty. I am thinking of parents who suffer unbearably for wayward children and are losing hope. Boyd K. Packer, Conference Report, October 1995

Out of the night that covers me, Black as the pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the full clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud, Under the bludgeoning of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds, and shall find me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul. William Ernest Henely