Showing posts with label Blessings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blessings. Show all posts

Monday, March 14, 2011

Enos 1:1-17

"Behold, it came to pass that I, Enos, knowing my father that he was a just man—for he taught me in his language, and also in the nurture and admonition of the Lord—and blessed be the name of my God for it—
"And I will tell you of the wrestle which I had before God, before I received a remission of my sins.
"Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forests; and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart.
"And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens.
"And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed.
"And I, Enos, knew that God could not lie; wherefore, my guilt was swept away.
"And I said: Lord, how is it done?
"And he said unto me: Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen. And many years pass away before he shall manifest himself in the flesh; wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made thee whole.
"Now, it came to pass that when I had heard these words I began to feel a desire for the welfare of my brethren, the Nephites; wherefore, I did pour out my whole soul unto God for them.
"And while I was thus struggling in the spirit, behold, the voice of the Lord came into my mind again, saying: I will visit thy brethren according to their diligence in keeping my commandments. I have given unto them this land, and it is a holy land; and I curse it not save it be for the cause of iniquity; wherefore, I will visit thy brethren according as I have said; and their transgressions will I bring down with sorrow upon their own heads.
"And after I, Enos, had heard these words, my faith began to be unshaken in the Lord; and I prayed unto him with many long strugglings for my brethren, the Lamanites.
"And it came to pass that after I had prayed and labored with all diligence, the Lord said unto me: I will grant unto thee according to thy desires, because of thy faith.
"And now behold, this was the desire which I desired of him—that if it should so be, that my people, the Nephites, should fall into transgression, and by any means be destroyed, and the Lamanites should not be destroyed, that the Lord God would preserve a record of my people, the Nephites; even if it so be by the power of his holy arm, that it might be brought forth at some future day unto the Lamanites, that, perhaps, they might be brought unto salvation—
"For at the present our strugglings were vain in restoring them to the true faith. And they swore in their wrath that, if it were possible, they would destroy our records and us, and also all the traditions of our fathers.
"Wherefore, I knowing that the Lord God was able to preserve our records, I cried unto him continually, for he had said unto me: Whatsoever thing ye shall ask in faith, believing that ye shall receive in the name of Christ, ye shall receive it.
"And I had faith, and I did cry unto God that he would preserve the records; and he covenanted with me that he would bring them forth unto the Lamanites in his own due time.
"And I, Enos, knew it would be according to the covenant which he had made; wherefore my soul did rest."

Friday, March 11, 2011

Institute on March 3rd, 2011

  1. What's wrong with being GOOD? --nothing.
  2. Is there power in being GOOD? Why or why not? --Yes, the more obedient or "good" you are, the more the Lord will bless you with the Spirit. The Spirit is power.
OBEDIENCE = BLESSINGS = HAPPY :)

  • D&C 93:6 "And John saw and bore record of the fullness of my glory, and the fullness of John’s record is hereafter to be revealed."
  • D&C 130: 20-21 "There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated--And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated."
  • D&C 89: 18-21 "And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones; And shall find wisdom of knowledge, even hidden treasures; And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint. And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen." and great treasures
  • D&C 130:19 "And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come." 

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

How an Attitude of Gratitude Can Help Strengthen our Marriages

Remember the talks that my husband and I gave on Sunday?
Here is his notes for his talk..Enjoy!

  • "Attitude" of Gratitude
    • It's more than just saying "Thank you"
    • Gratitude must be sincere
    • We show sincerity through our actions, as well as words, and that sincerity must be present at all times and not just after someone has done something for you.
  • Gratitude to the Lord
    • Why are we told to "remember" so often in the scriptures?
      • Remembering a lot of times represents gratitude
    • What are we "remembering?"
      • To keep the commandments
      • To build our lives on Christ
      • To remember what the Lord has done for us
    • King Benjamin emphasized the importance of gratitude in conjunction with service
      • Mosiah 2:18-21
    • Why/What else do we remember?
      • It is part of our Baptismal Covenant to always remember the Sacrifice of the Atonement made by Christ
      • Christ describes this in 3 Nephi 18:11
    • When we forget, that's when problems start
      • Laman and Lemuel
        • 1 Nephi 7:11
        • 1 Nephi 17:45
        • "Ye are swift to do iniquity but slow to remember the Lord your God"
      • Children of Israel
        • Another example of a lack in "sincere" gratitude
        • Read Headings to Exodus 14-17
        • Moses goes into Sinai, they quickly forget and worship a golden calf
        • One of the main reasons for the lower law of Moses was so that the people would remember God!
          • Deuteronomy 6:7-9
    • Good examples of those who remembered to be grateful
      • Story of Leper who returned
        • Luke 17:12-19
          • All 10 were obedient
          • Was truly grateful and blessed for it.
      • There are many good examples of gratitude in the scriptures
      • Christ, Himself, is another good example
        • Disciples are baptized and receive the Holy Ghost; he commands them to pray, and then he prays
        • 3 Nephi 19:20
        • the Disciples continued to pray unceasingly; Jesus prays again
        • 3 Nephi 19:28
        • Christ was the perfect example of gratitude
    • Gratitude to our spouses
      • Story of a family from mission
        • Lack of gratitude
        • She was baptized and he was not (her 2 kids were, too)
        • He began to avoid her because of her decision to be baptized
        • Resented her for the change she made in her life
        • He was not grateful for anything that she did
        • They divorced
      • Story of last Christmas with the decorations and Brittany
      • Gratitude is a form of service
      • It feels good to be appreciated
      • Strength in a marriage comes from happiness, love, and peace. These blessings come as a result of the presence of the Spirit in the home. When we show sincere gratitude to the Lord and to our spouses, we invite the Spirit into our homes.
  • With Thanksgiving coming up, I wanted to share some of the things I am grateful to my wife for:
    • Sher left school, friends, and family to be with me
    • She works hard to provide for us while I'm in school
    • She helps keep our home a clean place where the Spirit can dwell
    • She makes me feel good about myself when I am down
      • Saturday's test
    • She puts up with my imperfections
    • She led a clean and worthy life so that we could be married in the temple
    • She has a testimony of Christ and of the Gospel
  • I am also grateful to my Heavenly Father:
    • Eternal Families
    • Holy Ghost
    • The Gospel (It's saving ordinances and covenants)
    • Prophets and Scriptures
    • Personal Revelation
    • The Sacrifice of His Son
It is my testimony that we will grow closer to the Lord and to our spouses as we exercise an attitude of sincere gratitude.

Sunday Talk

So today my husband and I spoke in sacrament meeting and it went well! I was extremely nervous, I am not one to feel comfortable about talking in front of a large group. Plus, the spotlight on me is never fun for me. Sooo yeah. But the talks went really well and I just wanted to share our talks with you! I will post mine on this one and will post Kyle's notes on another (he doesn't write his talk out, but just goes off the notes...which I envy him for ;)).

(I hope this doesn't become too boring for you to read..but if you do read the whole thing, kudos. and Thanks!)
 
My topic today is on an attitude of gratitude and how it affects our marriage.
 Gratitude is a key to help strengthen our marriages. As President Monson said, in our marriages, we need to “Accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative.” Celestial marriage is essential to returning home to our Heavenly Father to receive the greatest blessings of Exaltation.
Sister Michelle Van Tassell told a story for an ensign article back in February of 2009. It reads, “For several years I struggled to understand why I had felt so confident that the Lord had confirmed my decision to marry when obviously it had been a mistake. I felt abandoned by the Lord. I prayed for help in understanding and improving the quality of my marriage, but I felt no improvement. I thought about divorce but could not find any comfort as I considered the option. After our first child was born, I felt that I would be forever trapped.
“One morning I was doing laundry when I caught a glance of myself in a mirror. The reflection surprised me. I had not showered or groomed for the day, and as I looked at myself, I thought I was lucky that anyone would want to wake up next to me every day. For the first time, I found myself feeling grateful to my husband for loving me. I examined myself with new eyes and thought about our marriage from his perspective. The revelation that followed had little to do with bad hair and no makeup but much to do with my behavior. I considered all the contention I had introduced into our home. For the first time, I felt real gratitude for my husband—he had continued to love me even though I had been critical and ungrateful.
“That simple moment changed my perspective as well as my relationship with my husband.”
Each day we become closer to our Heavenly Father as we strive to live righteously so that we may return home to him again. In order to strengthen our relationship with God, we must show effort on our part to do the things that will bring us closer to Him. One way that we may do this is through fervent prayer to Him, expressing our gratitude to Him and the things that He has done for us. Our marriage is very similar to this concept. When we go to our spouse to show gratitude and thanks, we are strengthening our relationship and showing them that we appreciate them for what they do.
Gratitude is like service, it’s contagious. When you show gratitude to someone for something that they did for you, they feel appreciated. And when someone feels appreciated, they give back and it becomes a cycle. For anyone, feeling appreciated feels good and it lightens your mood and causes you to be happy. When this cycle of gratitude and giving begins in a family, the Spirit dwells more in the home. When the Spirit is present, it allows good feelings to occur and you grow closer to the Lord. The Lord will then pour out blessings upon you which will strengthen your marriage and cause you to live a happier life.
President J. Reuben Clark once said, “Hold fast to the blessings which God has provided for you. Yours is not the task to gain them, they are here; yours is the part of cherishing them.” Blessings from the Lord may be coming continually, but you need to appreciate them and thank Him in return. The same goes for when your spouse does something for you; you need to show gratitude to them for what they have done for you. When you express to them that you appreciate the helpful hand, it builds a stronger bond within the relationship.
Work can be exhausting for me, and when I get done with work I just want to go home and crash on the bed. Kyle is always the one to blame for his loving and caring attributes. On so many occasions I have come home to a clean home where everything looks so nice and neat. I know he may not think he is doing a lot, but to me he is. Several times I have even come home to surprise gifts that he got for me and it amazes me how much Kyle just keeps giving. Recently, while Kyle was at school, I found some time at home to clean up the house a little bit. When Kyle got home he showed appreciation towards me for what I did and it really made me feel good. It made me want to do more for him each day because I knew it made Kyle happy, which made me happy. It is always those days that we do things for each other that I can feel closer to the Spirit and I feel closer to Kyle.
President Thomas S. Monson once said, “Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family. One day each of us will run out of tomorrows.” Enjoy life now as we are living it. Be positive in the things that we do and we may be blessed. Show gratitude towards your spouse and you may feel the Spirit of the Lord touch your home and your life, which will then make you and your spouse happy together.
Remember to “accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative” and your home will be filled with the Spirit and will cause you and your husband or wife to be happy.
I know these things to be true, for I have experienced these things myself. Life is hard, but we need to keep moving forward and have an “attitude of gratitude”, for it will cause our marriages to be strong and to be joyful.
And I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Preparing to Enter the Holy Temple (continued)

Worthy to Enter
  • "Once you have some feeling for the value of the temple blessings and for the sacredness of the ordinances performed in the temple, you would be hesitant to question the high standards set by the Lord for entrance into the holy temple."
  • "You must possess a current recommend to be admitted to the temple" (recommend must be signed by the ward bishop and stake president).
  • "The bishop has the responsibility of making inquiries into your personal worthiness. This interview is of great importance to you."
  • "If anything is amiss in your life, the bishop will be able to help you resolve it."
First and Every Time
  • "If you are going to the temple for the first time it is quite normal for you to be a little unsettled. We are naturally anxious about the unknown. We often become nervous over new experiences."
  • "Be at peace." (Specifically the first time you enter into the temple)
  • "When we enter the temple we should be reverent."
  • Before entering..the members wait (in a chapel inside the temple) until the full company is assembled. Generally in life we would become impatient with waiting. To be first in a room and then be compelled to wait for the last to enter before proceeding would in other circumstances cause irritation. In the temple it is just the opposite. That waiting is regarded as a choice opportunity. What a privilege it is to sit quietly without conversation and direct the mind to reverent and spiritual thoughts! It is a refreshment to the soul."
  • "When you come to the temple, remember that you are a quest in the house of the Lord."
To be continued...

Without A Doubt

You can know for yourself.
Seek the witness of the Spirit.
John 20: 24-29
"But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."

Sunday, September 5, 2010

The Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

We are beloved spirit daughters of God, and our lives have meaning, purpose, and direction. As a worldwide sisterhood, we are united in our devotion to Jesus Christ, our Savior and Exemplar. We are women of faith, virtue, vision, and charity who:
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Increase our testimonies of Jesus Christ through prayer and scripture study.
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Seek spiritual strength by following the promptings of the Holy Ghost.
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Dedicate ourselves to strengthening marriages, families, and homes.
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Find nobility in motherhood and joy in womanhood.
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Delight in service and good works.
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Love life and learning.
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Stand for truth and righteousness.
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Sustain the priesthood as the authority of God on earth.
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Rejoice in the blessings of the temple, understand our divine destiny, and strive for exaltation.

Friday, September 3, 2010

"'Come to the temple.' If not now, come soon....So come to the temple--come and claim your blessings. It is a sacred work." --President Boyd K. Packer

Thursday, September 2, 2010

"And Upon the Handmaids in Those Days Will I Pour Out My Spirit"

By Julie B. Beck

Personal Revelation

"Qualifying for the Lord's Spirit begins with a desire for that Spirit and implies a certain degree of worthiness. Keeping the commandments, repenting, and renewing covenants made at baptism lead to the blessing of always having the Lord's Spirit with us. Making and keeping temple covenants also adds spiritual strength and power..."

"...Reading the scriptures...are an aid to revelation. Insight found in scripture accumulates over time, so it is important to spend some time in the scriptures every day. Daily prayer is also essential."

"...Earnestly seek help through prayer and scripture study..."

"Revelation can come hour by hour and moment by moment as we do the right things. When women nurture as Christ nurtured, a power and peace can descend to guide when help is needed."

"Mothers...can be distanced from the Spirit if they lose their temper with children. Being in the right places allows us to receive guidance."

"Personal revelation gives us the understanding of what to do every day to increase faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and seek those who need our help."

"Personal revelation is a constantly renewable source of strength."

"To do justly to walk humbly, to judge righteously...[the] Spirit will enlighten our minds, fill our souls with joy, and help us to know all things we should do."

"Promised personal revelation comes when we ask for it, prepare for it, and go forward in faith..."

Relief Society--Teaching, Inspiring, and Strengthening

"[Relief Society] has at its very core the responsibility to help sisters increase faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and seek out and help others who are in need."

"It is sacred trust, a guiding light, and a system of watchcare that teaches and inspires women to be strong and immovable...'Charity never faileth'"

"'We can assist each other in not only doing good but in refining ourselves...Women should be women and not babies that need petting and correction all the time...the greatest good we can do to ourselves and each other is to refine and cultivate ourselves in everything that is good and ennobling to qualify us for those responsibilities'" --Eliza R. Snow of The second general Relief Society President

Measuring Success

"We are doing well when we seek to improve ourselves and do our best. We are doing well when we increase faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and seek out and help others who are in need. We know we are successful if we live so that we qualify for, receive, and know how to follow the Spirit."

"We can feel certain that the Lord is pleased when we feel the Spirit working through us. Peace, joy, and hope are available to those who measure success properly."

"'...The women of the Church are seen as distinct and different--in happy ways--from the women of the world...Thus it will be that female exemplars of the Church will be a significant force in both the numerical and spiritual growth of the Church in the last days.'" --President Spencer W. Kimball

"The Lord depends on His daughters"

"As [we] seek and qualify for personal revelation, the Lord will pour out His Spirit upon His handmaids in these latter days."

Notes

Jacob 2:17
Mosiah 4:26
D&C 38:35; 44:6
D&C 20:77
2 Nephi 32:3
3 Nephi 19:24-33
D&C 11:12-14
1 Corinthians 13:8
Joel 2:28-29

Friday, August 13, 2010

An Attitude of Gratitude

"Through divine intervention, those who were lepers were spared from a cruel, lingering death and given a new lease on life. The expressed gratitude by one merited the Master's blessing, the ingratitude shown by the nine, His disappointment. Let us follow Him. Let us emulate His example. Let us obey His word. By so doing, we give Him the divine gift of gratitude."
              President Thomas S. Monson