Mormon Musings

“… greatness is not always a matter of the scale of one’s life, but of the quality of one’s life. True greatness is not always tied to the scope of our tasks, but to the quality of how we carry out our tasks whatever they are. In that attitude, let us give our time, ourselves, and our talents to the things that really matter now, things which will still matter a thousand years from now” (“A Gift of Gratitude,” Liahona, Dec.1977, 2). President Spencer W. Kimball

Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent.  Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated failures.  Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race. Calvin Coolidge

"Because love is the great commandment, it ought to be at the center of all and everything we do in our own family, in our Church callings, and in our livelihood. Love is the healing balm that repairs rifts in personal and family relationships. It is the bond that unites families, communities, and nations. Love is the power that initiates friendship, tolerance, civility, and respect. It is the source that overcomes divisiveness and hate. Love is the fire that warms our lives with unparalleled joy and divine hope. Love should be our walk and our talk." -Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "The Love of God," Ensign, Nov. 2009, 21

http://www2.byui.edu/Presentations/Transcripts/Devotionals/2011_11_15_Zivic.htm BYU Idaho Devotional Elder Claudio D. Zivic First Quorum of the Seventy

Recognizing the Lord’s Hand Naturalism’s explanations of the origins of life and the miracle of our bodies often appear convoluted when placed side by side with the simple truths of the revealed word and divine scripture. With its 107 million cells, connected to the brain by over 1 million neurons, the eye is more perfect than any camera ever invented. It caused Charles Darwin to humbly admit, “That the eye with all its inimitable contrivances … could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest sense.”   1 The Psalmist wrote, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God” ( Psalm 53:1 ). Such a foolish disbeliever ought to look at his hands. Seventy muscles contribute to hand movements. Much of the rest of the body is devoted to optimizing the complex function of the hand. There are no muscles in the fingers. The sole purpose of the forearm, its muscles and bones, is to move and position the hand. To observe a miracle, look at a baby’s crea

I will inform you that it is contrary to the economy of God for any member of the Church, or any one, to receive instruction for those in authority higher than themselves; therefore you will see the impropriety of giving heed to them; but if any person have a vision or visitation from a heavenly messenger, it must be for his own benefit and instruction; for the fundamental principles, government, and doctrine of the Church are vested in the keys of the kingdom. Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith , sel. Joseph Fielding Smith [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1976], p. 21]

Do you read the Scriptures, my brethren and sisters, as though you were writing them a thousand, two thousand, or five thousand years ago?  Do you read them as though you stood in the place of the men who wrote them?  If you do not feel thus, it is your privilege to do so, that you may be as familiar with the spirit and meaning of the written word of God as you are with your daily walk and conversation, or as you are with your workmen or your households.  You may understand what the Prophets understood and thought--what they designed and planned to bring forth for their good. When you can thus feel, then you may begin to think that you can find out something about God, and begin to learn who He is. Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 7:333