Mormon Musings

The scriptures are our Father in Heaven’s letters; only He knows more than I did as a father what you and I would need.  There are times in our lives when we need to open the letter and communicate with our Father in Heaven, and understand what He is like and His concern for us.  I would like to share this morning, with you, four letters from my Father in Heaven that have been very important to me—that I hope will be indicative of the power that the scriptures can be for us as we face different trials and challenges of our lives.  The first letter is called "The Fourth Watch." That letter comes from the sixth chapter of Mark.  The Savior has fed the five thousand that day, and in the late afternoon, early evening, He is sending his apostles down into the ship. He will dismiss the multitude. He wishes to pray that evening, and then He will meet the apostles a little later on the shore and they are to pick Him up.  In late afternoon, early evening, the apostles get on the sh

Amazing talk about the nature of God, answers to prayer, adversity, etc.: https://devotionalarchive.byuh.edu/node/332.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dR2xdzkEIQk&feature=youtu.be Bread or Stones: Understanding the God We Pray to Devotional Talk Given at  Brigham Young University-Hawaii  March 31, 2009 S. Michael Wilcox  Religion Instructor & Author CES Institute of Religion A number of years ago when my daughter was about your age, she was just out of high school, she went to one semester at BYU and then she got an opportunity to go to the Soviet Union (former Soviet Union) and teach English in Russia. Now this was before e-mail and cell phones, and communications between the United States and the Soviet Union were not going to be really good. She was eighteen; we were a little bit worried that there might be moments or times when she would need to talk with a parent, and not be able to because of communication difficulties.  So I decided that I would write her a series

You know the history of "Mormonism;" and if this is not the Lord's work, we had better quit it, for we should derive no benefit from remaining in it. If this is the Church of Christ, God will take care of his people and carry on this work. Brother Cannon stated that one gentleman he conversed with said that there is a power in this work beyond the power of Brigham Young. If we did not know this, we should quickly scatter. All that any man can do is to do his duty. No one possesses power in himself to bear off the work of God and build up the Lord's kingdom. It is His work, and the Lord will accomplish it by the means He will employ. Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 8:145

...At Christmastime...we celebrate a special star that announced Jesus' birth at Bethlehem. Thus, the so-called "little star of Bethlehem" was actually very large in its declaration of divine design! It had to have been placed in its precise orbit long, long before it shone so precisely! Persuasive divine design is underscored in what the Lord has said: "All things must come to pass in their time" (D&C 64:32). His overseeing precision pertains not only to astrophysical orbits but to human orbits as well. This is such a stunning thing for us to contemplate as to our obligations to "shine as lights" within our own orbits and personal responsibilities! (See Philippians 2:15.) In Jesus there is a unique blend of both meekness and majesty. Though the Lord of the Universe, Christ was meekly willing to live in this world, which he created under the Father's direction. In Paul's words, he agreed to reside on earth as a person of no reputation (see

"From the Atonement of the Savior flows the soothing salve that can heal our spiritual wounds and remove guilt. However, this salve can only be applied through the principles of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, and consistent obedience. The results of sincere repentance are peace of conscience, comfort, and spiritual healing and renewal." —David A. Bednar, " We Believe in Being Chaste "

  43  And  I  now  give  unto  you  a  commandment  to  beware  concerning  yourselves,  to  give  diligent   heed  to  the  words  of  eternal  life.   44  For  you  shall  live  by  every  word  that  proceedeth  forth  from  the  mouth  of  God.   45  For  the  word  of  the  Lord  is  truth,  and  whatsoever  is  truth  is   light ,  and  whatsoever  is  light  is  Spirit ,  even  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  Christ.   46  And  the  Spirit  giveth  light  to  every  man  that  cometh  into  the  world;  and  the  Spirit  enlighteneth  every  man  through  the  world, that  hearkeneth  to  the  voice  of  the  Spirit.   47  And  every  one  that  hearkeneth  to  the  voice  of  the  Spirit   cometh  unto  God,  even  the  Father. D&C 84:43-47

"Persistence will do what cannot be achieved by force—persistence is the twin sister of excellence. Do not be afraid of struggle. Remember that what is a present struggle is a key to future happiness."  Elder L. Tom Perry, BYU Fireside, March 1990 http://speeches.byu.edu/index.php?act=viewitem&id=539