Mormon Musings

I recall sitting in the Salt Lake Tabernacle when I was 14 or 15—up in the balcony right behind the clock—and hearing President Heber J. Grant tell of his experience in reading the Book of Mormon when he was a boy. He spoke of Nephi and of the great influence Nephi had upon his life. And then, with a voice ringing with a conviction that I shall never forget, he quoted those great words of Nephi: “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them” ( 1 Ne. 3:7 ). There came into my young heart on that occasion a resolution to try to do what the Lord has commanded. What marvelous things happen when men and women walk with faith in obedience to that which is required of them! I recall reading the story of Commander William Robert Anderson, the naval officer who took the submarine   Nautilus   beneath t

http://jdquotes.wordpress.com/2011/09/14/applying-our-hearts-to-wisdom-hearing-the-prophet-joseph-smith/

http://jdquotes.wordpress.com/2011/09/14/revelation-from-the-almighty/

"[John Taylor] was given a special call to go to New York City to organize and publish a newspaper whose purpose would be to present the doctrines and practices of the Church in such a way as to neutralize the groundswell of anti-Mormon feeling that had been mounting for over a year. . . . ". . . He responded with boldness, challenging his critics to prove their charges: " 'We have said before and say now, that we defy all the editors and writers in the United States to prove that Mormonism is less moral, scriptural, philosophical; or that there is less patriotism in Utah than any other part of the United States. We call for proof; bring on your reasons, gentlemen, if you have any; we shrink not from the investigation, and dare you to the encounter' (in Roberts, Life of John Taylor, 249). "He then sketched for readers the salient characteristics of a converted Latter-day Saint: 'He grasps at all truths, human and divine. . . . He has nothing to lose but

http://jdquotes.wordpress.com/2011/09/06/god-is-determined-to-make-something-of-us/

http://jdquotes.wordpress.com/2011/09/06/the-gospel-will-save-all-that-are-governed-by-its-principles/

...there must be balan ce. The inordinate reading of t he living scriptures that crowd ed out one's family, one's nei ghbors, and Christian service w ould be an error. One could bec ome monastic though scholastic. Christian service to mankind c ould crowd out the living scrip tures and become so consuming t hat one could forget his dutie s to family and to God, being a  do-gooder almost as an escape  from the family framework. Neal A. Maxwell, Things As They Really Are , p. 106 The blend of studying, servin g, and praying is a powerful bl end. Some try serving without t he studying of the gospel and  lose their moorings, even thoug h some good is being done. Some  individuals study to the excl usion of service, which could h eighten guilt or desensitize. S tudy is not a substitute for se rvice, nor is serving a substi tute for praying. Each law to b e obeyed has its own requiremen ts.  Neal A. Maxwell Deposition of a Disciple ,  p.34