Mormon Musings

“Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence. True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to appellation. ” George Washington

As the Lord communicates with the meek and submissive, fewer decibels are required, and more nuances are received. Even the most meek, like Moses (see Num. 12:3), learn overwhelming things they “never had supposed.” (Moses 1:10 .) But it is only the meek mind which can be so shown and so stretched—not those, as Isaiah wrote, who “are wise in their own eyes.” (Isaiah 5:21 ; see also 2 Nephi 9:29  and 2 Nephi 15:21 .)  Elder Neal A. Maxwell  (1985 April General Conference)

It is so easy to be half hearted, but this only produces half the growth, half the blessings, and just half the life, really, with more bud than blossom.  A superficial view of this life, therefore, just will not do, lest we mistakenly speak of this mortal experience only as coming here to get a body, as if we were merely picking up a suit at the cleaners.  Or, lest we casually recite how we have come here to be proved, as if a few brick push-ups and deep knee bends would do. Elder Neal A. Maxwell, April 1985 General Conference https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1985/04/willing-to-submit?lang=eng

And were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of  earths  like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy  creations ; and thy curtains are stretched out still; and yet thou art there, and thy bosom is there; and also thou art just; thou art merciful and kind forever; Moses 7:30

...we so blithely say in the Church that life is a school, a testing ground. It is true, even though it is trite. What we don't accept are the implications of that true teaching—at least as fully as we should. One of the implications is that the tests that we face are real. They are not going to be things we can do with one hand tied behind our backs. They are real enough that if we meet them we shall know that we have felt them, because we will feel them deeply and keenly and pervasively. Elder Neal A. Maxwell, BYU Fireside, September 1, 1974 http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1022

"Lift up your soul in prayer and explain to your Heavenly Father what you are feeling. Acknowledge your shortcomings. Pour out your heart and express your gratitude. Let Him know of the trials you are facing. Plead with Him in Christ's name for strength and support. Ask that your ears may be opened, that you may hear His voice." —Dieter F. Uchtdorf, " The Hope of God's Light "

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.  The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. Nelson Mandela

“It will take unshakable faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to choose the way to eternal life. … It is by acting on that faith we build the strength to do the will of God. And it is by exercising that faith in Jesus Christ that we can resist temptation and gain forgiveness through the Atonement. … “The best time to resist temptation is early. The best time to repent is now. The enemy of our souls will place thoughts in our minds to tempt us. We can decide early to exercise faith, to cast out evil thoughts before we act on them.” President Henry B. Eyring -“Spiritual Preparedness: Start Early and Be Steady,” Ensign, Nov. 2005, 38, 40

It was never the intention of our Father in heaven to leave men to grope and feel their way in darkness and that without any light to guide them, and expect them under such conditions to find their way back into his kingdom and into his holy presence. That is not the way of the Lord. All down the ages from the beginning our Father in heaven has shown his kindness for his children and has been willing to give them direction. From the earliest times the heavens have been opened, the Lord has sent messengers from his presence to divinely appointed servants, men holding the authority of the priesthood who have been commissioned to teach the principles of the Gospel, to warn the people and teach them righteousness; and these men have received this knowledge, this inspiration and guidance from these messengers from the presence of God. This is true of our own dispensation. There is no need for men to shut their eyes and feel that there is no light only as they may depend upon their reason, f

"I invite each of us to evaluate how much we love the Savior, using as a measure how joyfully we keep our covenants." —Linda K. Burton, " The Power, Joy, and Love of Covenant Keeping "