Mormon Musings

I should like to emphasize the fact that today is the day for Latter-day Saints to prepare to meet God by keeping all of his commandments, lest the night cometh wherein we cannot repent. If we do not render obedience now, we might find ourselves at the judgment day in the condition that the lady found herself in a dream, as reported by one of the stake presidents at a conference I attended in Salt Lake City about a year ago. I do not recall the stake, and so I don't know which stake president to give credit to for this story. STORY OF THE TEAPOT He reported that there was a certain lady living in his ward who had joined the Church over in Europe when she was a Girl; and like many of the European people she had formed the habit of drinking tea. After she joined the Church of Jesus Christ, like quite a few Mormons (I am sorry to say) she continued the habit of drinking tea. She reared a large family. Her children married. Her husband died, and she became a widow. And then s

So we come at the end to the simple question whether religion is a revelation of God with enduring validity in all times, and through the practice of which man may work his way up to perfection, or is it a human creation with no higher sanction than the wisdom of man and subject to change with the passing moods of changing times? The one gives stability and constancy and purpose to life, the reason for being, with freedom to choose one's course: the other sets man adrift with nothing enduring to hold on to and little hope to inspire noble living... I recall here the words of Henry George, the economist and political scientist, many of whose political and economic and sociological views are in greater favor today than when he first propounded them: "Political economy and social science," George said, "cannot teach any lessons that are not embraced in the simple truths that were taught to poor fishermen and Jewish peasants by one who 1800 years ago was crucified.

There is another responsibility correlated and even coexistent with free agency, which is too infrequently emphasized, and that is the effect not only of a person's actions but also of his thoughts upon others. Man radiates what he is, and that radiation affects to a greater or less degree every person who comes within that radiation. Of the power of this personal inkiness William George Jordan impressively writes: Into the hands of every individual is given a marvelous power for good or evil—the silent, unconscious, unseen enhance of his life. This is simply the constant radiation of what man really is, not what he pretends to be. Every man, by his mere living, is radiating sympathy, or sorrow, or morbidness, or cynicism, or happiness, or hope, or any of a hundred other qualities. Life is a state of constant radiation and absorption: to exist is to radiate; to exist is to be the recipient of radiation. Man cannot escape for one moment from this radiation of his chara

I will not doubt, I will not fear; God’s love and strength are always near. His promised gift helps me to find An inner strength and peace of mind. I give the Father willingly My trust, my prayers, humility. His Spirit guides; his love assures That fear departs when faith endures. 2 Timothy 1:7 D&C 6:36 https://www.lds.org/churchmusic/detailmusicPlayer/index.html?searchlanguage=1&searchcollection=1&searchseqstart=128&searchsubseqstart=%20&searchseqend=128&searchsubseqend=ZZZ&lang=eng

I mention the gift of discernment (   D&C 46:27 ), embodying the power to discriminate, which has been spoken of in our hearing before particularly as between right and wrong. I believe that this gift when highly developed arises largely out of an acute sensitivity to impressions—spiritual impressions, if you will—to read under the surface as it were, to detect hidden evil, and more importantly to find the good that may be concealed. The highest type of discernment is that which perceives in others and uncovers for them their better natures, the good inherent within them... The gift and power of discernment in this world of contention between the forces of good and the power of evil is essential equipment for every son and daughter of God. There could be no such mass dissensions as endanger the security of the world, if its populations possessed this great gift in larger degree. People are generally so gullible one is sometimes led to wonder whether the great Lincoln was righ

The majority of us lead quiet, unheralded lives as we pass through this world.  There will most likely be no ticker-tape parades for us, no monuments created in our honor.  But that does not lessen our possible impact, for there are scores of people waiting for someone just like us to come along; people who will appreciate our compassion, our unique talents.  Someone who will live a happier life merely because we took the time to share what we had to give.  Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have a potential to turn a life around.  It’s overwhelming to consider the continuous opportunities to make our love felt. Leo Buscaglia -in  Born to Love

We do not have to prove the Book of Mormon is true.  The book is its own proof.  All we need to do is read it and declare it.  The Book of Mormon is not on trial–the people of the world, including members of the Church, are on trial as to what they will do with this second witness for Christ. President Ezra Taft Benson - A Witness and a Warning,  13