Mormon Musings

‎"Gratitude is a mark of a noble soul and a refined character. We like to be around those who are grateful. They tend to brighten all around them. They make others feel better about themselves. They tend to be more humble, more joyful, and more likable." -Joseph B. Wirthlin, "Live in Thanksgiving Daily," Ensign, Sept. 2001, 8

“Life isn’t fair. We know some people who have done some very bad things, and yet they seem to have everything they want or need.” Dr. Arthur Wentworth Hewitt suggested some reasons why the good suffer as well as the wicked: “First: I don’t know. Second: We may not be as innocent as we think. Third: … I believe it is because He loves us so much more than He loves our happiness. How so? Well, if on a basis of strict personal return here and now, all the good were always happy and all the bad suffered disaster (instead of often quite the reverse), this would be the most subtle damnation of character imaginable.” 1 -Where Do I Make My Stand? -President James E. Faust, November 2004 Ensign

Our submission to God is not simply a question of duty or obligation. The blessings that flow from welcoming God's rule in our lives are so enticing, and the alternative so appalling, that if we see things in their true light, we cannot be kept from walking in wisdom's paths. Among the greatest of the blessings that come from yielding to His will, though it seems ironic to some, is freedom. Let me explain. First, we must recognize that there are only two options available to us, two paths. Alma put it this way: Behold, I say unto you, that the good shepherd doth call you; yea, and in his own name he doth call you, which is the name of Christ; and if ye will not hearken unto the voice of the good shepherd, to the name by which ye are called, behold, ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd. And now if ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd, of what fold are ye? Behold, I say unto you, that the devil is your shepherd, and ye are of his fold; and now, who can deny this?  [Al

Surely such a loving Father in heaven, who gave commandments to prevent human misery, will not forget the needs of each of his children. William Law observed: “It is said that the very hairs of your head are all numbered; is it not to teach us that nothing, not the smallest things imaginable, happen to us by chance? But if the smallest things we can conceive of are declared to be under the divine direction, need we, or can we, be more plainly taught that the greatest things of life, such as the manner of our coming into the world, our parents, the time, and other circumstances of our birth and condition, are all according to the eternal purposes, direction, and appointment of divine Providence?” ( A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life,  William Law, Sovereign Grace Publishers, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1971.) God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Spencer W. Kimball, First Presidency Message, December 1974 http://

It is by loving and not by being loved that one can come nearest to the soul of another. ( George MacDonald Anthology,  Geoffrey Bles, London, 1970.) 

http://lds.org/ensign/1974/12/small-acts-of-service?lang=eng

http://lds.org/ensign/1974/12/small-acts-of-service?lang=eng