Mormon Musings

... by   faith  all things are fulfilled— Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with   surety   hope   for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which   hope   cometh of   faith , maketh an   anchor   to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in   good works , being led to   glorify   God. Ether 12:3-4

"It is not your business to succeed, but to do right; when you have done so, the rest lies with God."  Source: “Yours, Jack: Spiritual Direction from C.S. Lewis” (2008)

"Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done."  Source: “Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis” (2006)

"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world."  Source: “The Problem of Pain” (1940)

“A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word 'darkness' on the walls of his cell.” Source: “The Problem of Pain” (1940

God has spoken, and I know it, because I have heard his voice, and know the voice of the Good   Shepherd, and am thankful that I have felt his power. Do I know that he has given this authority to use his name? Yes, gentlemen, I know it; and not only so, but I know that there are heavenly messengers that are now near me, as near as brothers Watt and Long, who are taking notes as faithfully as they are, and more so. The natural eye cannot see them, but they are here, and by our acts and our words shall we be judged. Yes, and these messengers transmit our words and our acts up on high, which are registered there in books; and by-and-by, when the dead, small and great, shall stand before God, these are the books that will be opened, and the dead will be judged out of the things that are written in the books. Then let us be careful what we do and what we say. The sacred writings on earth contain the law, but the records above contain the facts. Orson Hyde, Journal of Discourses  8:24

God is infinitely more interested in our having a place in His kingdom than with our spot on a mortal organizational chart. We may brood over our personal span of control, but He is concerned with our capacity for self-control. Father wants us to come home, bringing our real résumés, ourselves! Even so, our mortal jealousies still occur regularly over money, turf, a slight, or the “robes” and the “fatted calf” given to others (see  Luke 15:22–23 ). True belonging occurs when we know who we are and to whom we really belong! Remember the popular lines in  Fiddler on the Roof  about Anatevka? There, “everyone knows  who  he is and  what  God expects him to do ” (Joseph Stein,  Fiddler on the Roof  [1964], 3; emphasis added), to which might be added “and what God expects him to  be. ” Yes, we are free to choose the mortal perks with their short shelf life. However, ahead lies that great moment when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ! (see  Mosiah