Mormon Musings

True faith is not to be brought about by overwhelming and intimidating intervention from God...The Lord is a shepherd with a "mild" and "pleasant" voice--not a shouting and scolding sheepherder.  Those who demand a "voiceprint" of the "voice of the Lord" probably would not like His doctrines anyway.  The things of the spirit are to be "sought by faith"; they are not to be seen through slit-eyed skepticism. Neal A. Maxwell, " Not My Will, but Thine " p. 35

here is a wonderful message from President Hinckley: http://lds.org/broadcast/ces090901/transcript/0,11006,566,00.html

“Each of us will have our own Fridays—those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays. “But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death—Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come. “No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, in this life or the next, Sunday will come.” Joseph B. Wirthlin ,  "Dark Friday, Bright Sunday," New Era, Mar. 2008, 4

Complete honesty is necessary for our salvation. President Brigham Young said, “If we accept salvation on the terms it is offered to us, we have got to be honest in every thought, in our reflections, in our meditations, in our private circles, in our deals, in our declarations, and in every act of our lives”  (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young [1997], 293).

whether you've never heard/read it, or have it memorized, its worth another read/listen: http://lds.org/general-conference/1999/10/an-high-priest-of-good-things-to-come?lang=eng

"Satan would diminish your faith and dilute your priesthood power to work mighty miracles, but a loving Heavenly Father has provided you with providential protection--the gift of the Holy Ghost. In the first chapter of the Book of Mormon we learn that as Lehi read the scriptures 'he was filled with the Spirit of the Lord' (1 Ne. 1:8-12). Nephi later promises us that as we 'feast upon the words of Christ . . . the words of Christ will tell [us] all things what [we] should do' (2 Ne. 32:3). "You may be facing decisions regarding a mission, your future career, and, eventually, marriage. As you read the scriptures and pray for direction, you may not actually see the answer in the form of printed words on the page, but as you read you will receive distinct impressions, and promptings, and, as promised, the Holy Ghost 'will show unto you all things what ye should do' (2 Ne. 32:5)." Spencer J. Condie ,  "Becoming a Great Benefit to Our Fellow Being

"We believe in a God who is engaged in our lives, who is not silent, not absent, nor, as Elijah said of the god of the priests of Baal, is He '[on] a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be [awakened]' (1 Kings 18:27). In this Church, even our young Primary children recite, 'We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God' (Articles of Faith 1:9). "In declaring new scripture and continuing revelation, we pray we will never be arrogant or insensitive. But after a sacred vision in a now sacred grove answered in the affirmative the question 'Does God exist?' what Joseph Smith and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints force us to face is the next interrogative, which necessarily follows: 'Does He speak?' We bring the good news that He does and that He has. With a love and affection born of our Christianity,

Spencer W. Kimball,  Conference Report , April 1952, pp. 20-24 I pray for the Spirit of the Lord to accompany my remarks. My brothers and sisters, my heart goes out to you who are attempting to live the commandments of the Lord. The "strength of the hills" is with you. It is a great joy to me, and my heart is overflowing with gratitude, to shake your hands, to look into your smiling faces, and to feel your spirit. We heard this morning that seventeen thousand newly converted people are today enjoying the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ, are pointed in the right direction, and are on their way toward eternal life and exaltation. Ten thousand foreign and stake missionaries have been instrumental in bringing the message to them. These new members are here because these thousands have borne witness and testimony to them. To all the millions of good, honorable people who live among us, we extend an invitation to investigate the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the po

In section 20 of the Doctrine and Covenants, which directed the Prophet Joseph Smith to organize the Church again in this dispensation, we have a revealed summary of some of the basic doctrines of salvation. As to Deity the revelation says: '. . . there is a God in heaven, who is infinite and eternal, from everlasting to everlasting the same unchangeable God, the framer of heaven and earth, and all things which are in them.' (D&C 20:17.) . . . God is our Father; he is the being in whose image man is created. He has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's (D&C 130:22), and he is the literal and personal father of the spirits of all men. He is omnipotent and omniscient; he has all power and all wisdom; and his perfections consist in the possession of all knowledge, all faith or power, all justice, all judgment, all mercy, all truth, and the fullness of all godly attributes. Joseph Fielding Smith ,  "The Most Important Knowledge," Ensign, May 1971, 3

The year was 1820, the season spring. The boy with questions walked into the grove of his father's farm. There, finding himself alone, he pleaded in prayer for that wisdom which James promised would be given liberally to those who ask of God in faith. (See James 1:5.) There, in circumstances which he has described in much detail, he beheld the Father and the Son, the great God of the universe and the risen Lord, both of whom spoke to him. This transcendent experience opened the marvelous work of restoration. It lifted the curtain on the long-promised dispensation of the fulness of times. For more than a century and a half, enemies, critics, and some would-be scholars have worn out their lives trying to disprove the validity of that vision. Of course they cannot understand it. The things of God are understood by the Spirit of God. There had been nothing of comparable magnitude since the Son of God walked the earth in mortality. Without it as a foundation stone for our faith and org