Conference Address
Joy and Spiritual Survival, Russell M. Nelson (Oct. 2016)
www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/10/joy-and-spiritual-survival?lang=eng
When the focus of our lives is on Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening, or no happening in our lives.
These are the latter days, a host of prophets including Isaiah, Paul, Nephi, and Mormon foresaw that perilous times would come, that in our day the whole world would be in commotion, that men would be "lovers of their own selves... without natural affection... lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God," and that many would become servants of Satan. Indeed you and I "wrestle against the rulers of the darkness of this world, [and] against spiritual wickedness in high places."
As commotion in the latter days continues, what can help us? What can help each of us with our personal struggles and with the rigorous challenge of living today? The prophet Lehi clearly knew opposition, anxiety, heartache, disappointment and sorrow, yet he declared "Men are, that they might have joy," (2 Nephi 2:25). Of all the words he could have used to describe the nature and purpose of our lives here in mortality he chose the word joy!
Life is filled with detours and dead ends, trials and challenges of every kind. Each of us has likely had times when distress, anguish and despair almost consumed us. Yet we are here to have joy? The answer is a resounding yes! But how is this possible? And what must we do to claim the joy that Heavenly Father has in store for us? We can choose not to complain. We can be happy under every circumstance. We can feel hoy even while having a bad day, a bad week, or even a bad year!
The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives. When the focus of our lives is on God's plan of salvation, and on Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening, or not happening in our lives. Joy comes from and because of Him. He is the source of all joy. Just as the Savior offers peace that "passeth all understanding," He also offers an intensity, depth, and breadth of joy that defy human logic or mortal comprehension. It doesn't seem possible to feel joy when we are in the midst of our toughest trials, or when brought low by horrible circumstances. Yet that is precisely the joy the Savior offers. His joy is constant, assuring us that our "afflictions shall be but a small moment" and be consecrated to our gain.
How do we claim this joy? We can start by "looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith" "in every thought." We can give thanks for Him in our prayers and by keeping covenants we've made with Him and our Heavenly Father. As our Savior becomes more and more real to us and as we plead for His joy to given to us, our joy will increase. Joy is powerful, and focusing on joy brings God's power into our lives. In all things Christ is our ultimate exemplar. In order for Christ to endure the most excruciating experience ever endured on the earth, our Savior focused on joy. Anything that opposes Christ or His doctrine will interrupt our joy. We learn to "suffer with joy," for suffering can be swallowed up in the joy of Christ.
If we look to the world and its formulas for happiness, we will never know joy. The unrighteous may experience any number of emotions and sensations, but hey will never experience joy. Joy is a gift for the faithful. It is the gift that comes from intentionally trying to live a righteous life, as taught by Jesus Christ.
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Sunday, February 19, 2017
February 19, 2017: Lesson Recap
Teachings of Presidents of The Church, Gordon B. Hinckley
Chapter 4: The Pioneer Heritage of Faith and Sacrifice
https://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-of-presidents-of-the-church-gordon-b-hinckley/chapter-4-the-pioneer-heritage-of-faith-and-sacrifice?lang=eng
"Whether you have pioneer ancestry or came into the Church only yesterday, you are a part of this whole grand picture of which those men and women dreamed... They laid the foundation. Ours is the duty to build on it."
President Hinckley's great-grandfather, [Ira Hinckley] was baptized in Nauvoo and subsequently crossed the plains in the migration of the pioneers. During that journey Ira's young wife and his brother died. Ira Hinckley made rough coffins and buried them, then picked up his infant child and carried her to the Salt Lake Valley. President Hinckley's own father became president of the largest stake in the Church with more than 15,000 members. President Hinckley came from faithful "pioneers" that crossed the plains, and help build the Church in its early years. Although proud of his instrumental ancestors, President Hinckley emphasized that "pioneering" continues around the word to the present day. There are saints all over the world that are carrying forward the work of the Lord in all nations and lands. While showing gratitude and pride in his pioneering ancestors, President Hinckley also reflected upon his own posterity, and the "tremendous obligation" that was his to pass on all that he had received as an inheritance from his forebears to the generations who came after him.
When President Hinckley spoke of the early pioneers, his purpose was much bigger than focusing on those who lived in the past. He looked to the future, hoping that the faith and sacrifices of those Saints would "become a compelling motivation for us all, for each of us is a pioneer in his own life and family."
With vision, labor, and confidence in the power of God working through them, the early Latter-Day Saint pioneers brought their faith to reality.
Faith is what kept the pioneers pressing forward. It was by faith that a small band of early converts to the Church moved from New York to Ohio, from Ohio to Missouri, from Missouri to Illinois, and eventually to west, in search for peace and the freedom to worship God according to the dictates of conscience.
These early Saints moved forward amid vicious persecution and physical deprivation and hardship. Many lost loved ones along the dangerous trek. Many lost loved ones from being disowned and cut off from their families due to their decision to join the Church. These Saints pressed forward with faith not knowing their immediate fate or future, but trusted that the Lord would guide and bless them. With faith in their hearts and the dream of Zion in their minds the Saints pressed forward.
Faith in God was not exclusive to the early Saints of the Church. Paul wrote to the Hebrews "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Heb. 11:1.) With great vision, with labor, and with confidence in the power of God working through them, [the early Saints] bought their faith into reality. This was the same great faith and power that made possible the exodus from Egypt, the passage through the Red Sea, the love journey through the wilderness, and the establishment of Israel in the promised land.
The early Saints moved west with a personal and individual recognition of God their Eternal Father. They could look in faith upon him, this was the very essence of their strength. They believed in that great scriptural mandate: "Look to God and live." (Alma 37:47.) With faith they sought to do his will. With faith they labored until they dropped, always with a conviction that there would be an accounting to him who was their Father and their God. Behind us is a glorious history. It is the product of faith. Before us is a great future. It begins today. We cannot pause. We cannot slow down. We cannot slacken our pace or shorten our stride.
Each of us is a pioneer.
It is good to look to the past to gain appreciation for the present and perspective for the future. It is good to reflect upon the work of those who labored before us. Their tremendous example can become a compelling motivation for us all, for each of us s a pioneer in his/her own life, often in his/her own family, and many of us pioneer daily in trying to establish a gospel foothold in distant parts of the world. We are still pioneering. We have never ceased pioneering. We are reaching out all over the world to spread the gospel to all nations, kindreds, and tongues, and that takes pioneering. The early Saints of the Church marked the path and led the way, but it is OUR obligation to enlarge and broaden and strengthen that path until it encompasses the whole earth... Faith was the guiding principle in those difficult days. Faith is the guiding principle we must follow today.
Ours is a great and solemn duty to reach out and help them, to lift them, to feed them if they are hungry, to nurture their spirits if they thirst for truth and righteousness. Our forebears laid a solid and marvelous foundation. Now ours is the great opportunity to build a superstructure, all fitly framed together with Christ as the chief cornerstone. With so great an inheritance, we must go forward. We must never let down. We must hold our heads high. We must walk with integrity. We must "do what is right [and] let the consequences follow."
Chapter 4: The Pioneer Heritage of Faith and Sacrifice
https://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-of-presidents-of-the-church-gordon-b-hinckley/chapter-4-the-pioneer-heritage-of-faith-and-sacrifice?lang=eng
"Whether you have pioneer ancestry or came into the Church only yesterday, you are a part of this whole grand picture of which those men and women dreamed... They laid the foundation. Ours is the duty to build on it."
President Hinckley's great-grandfather, [Ira Hinckley] was baptized in Nauvoo and subsequently crossed the plains in the migration of the pioneers. During that journey Ira's young wife and his brother died. Ira Hinckley made rough coffins and buried them, then picked up his infant child and carried her to the Salt Lake Valley. President Hinckley's own father became president of the largest stake in the Church with more than 15,000 members. President Hinckley came from faithful "pioneers" that crossed the plains, and help build the Church in its early years. Although proud of his instrumental ancestors, President Hinckley emphasized that "pioneering" continues around the word to the present day. There are saints all over the world that are carrying forward the work of the Lord in all nations and lands. While showing gratitude and pride in his pioneering ancestors, President Hinckley also reflected upon his own posterity, and the "tremendous obligation" that was his to pass on all that he had received as an inheritance from his forebears to the generations who came after him.
When President Hinckley spoke of the early pioneers, his purpose was much bigger than focusing on those who lived in the past. He looked to the future, hoping that the faith and sacrifices of those Saints would "become a compelling motivation for us all, for each of us is a pioneer in his own life and family."
With vision, labor, and confidence in the power of God working through them, the early Latter-Day Saint pioneers brought their faith to reality.
Faith is what kept the pioneers pressing forward. It was by faith that a small band of early converts to the Church moved from New York to Ohio, from Ohio to Missouri, from Missouri to Illinois, and eventually to west, in search for peace and the freedom to worship God according to the dictates of conscience.
These early Saints moved forward amid vicious persecution and physical deprivation and hardship. Many lost loved ones along the dangerous trek. Many lost loved ones from being disowned and cut off from their families due to their decision to join the Church. These Saints pressed forward with faith not knowing their immediate fate or future, but trusted that the Lord would guide and bless them. With faith in their hearts and the dream of Zion in their minds the Saints pressed forward.
Faith in God was not exclusive to the early Saints of the Church. Paul wrote to the Hebrews "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Heb. 11:1.) With great vision, with labor, and with confidence in the power of God working through them, [the early Saints] bought their faith into reality. This was the same great faith and power that made possible the exodus from Egypt, the passage through the Red Sea, the love journey through the wilderness, and the establishment of Israel in the promised land.
The early Saints moved west with a personal and individual recognition of God their Eternal Father. They could look in faith upon him, this was the very essence of their strength. They believed in that great scriptural mandate: "Look to God and live." (Alma 37:47.) With faith they sought to do his will. With faith they labored until they dropped, always with a conviction that there would be an accounting to him who was their Father and their God. Behind us is a glorious history. It is the product of faith. Before us is a great future. It begins today. We cannot pause. We cannot slow down. We cannot slacken our pace or shorten our stride.
Each of us is a pioneer.
It is good to look to the past to gain appreciation for the present and perspective for the future. It is good to reflect upon the work of those who labored before us. Their tremendous example can become a compelling motivation for us all, for each of us s a pioneer in his/her own life, often in his/her own family, and many of us pioneer daily in trying to establish a gospel foothold in distant parts of the world. We are still pioneering. We have never ceased pioneering. We are reaching out all over the world to spread the gospel to all nations, kindreds, and tongues, and that takes pioneering. The early Saints of the Church marked the path and led the way, but it is OUR obligation to enlarge and broaden and strengthen that path until it encompasses the whole earth... Faith was the guiding principle in those difficult days. Faith is the guiding principle we must follow today.
Ours is a great and solemn duty to reach out and help them, to lift them, to feed them if they are hungry, to nurture their spirits if they thirst for truth and righteousness. Our forebears laid a solid and marvelous foundation. Now ours is the great opportunity to build a superstructure, all fitly framed together with Christ as the chief cornerstone. With so great an inheritance, we must go forward. We must never let down. We must hold our heads high. We must walk with integrity. We must "do what is right [and] let the consequences follow."
Monday, February 6, 2017
February 5, 2017: Lesson Recap
Premortality, a Glorious Reality, By Elder Neal A. Maxwell
One’s life, therefore, is brevity compared to eternity—like being dropped off by a parent for a day at school. But what a day!
Consider how long the Earth existed before you, and how long the Earth will exist after you leave it. If you life is but one day, then all your pain and suffering is but one hour.
If our time on this Earth is like "One day at school," then how will we use our time here? Will be take advantage of all the classes available to us? Will we study diligently and learn as much as we can? Will we help others during the day? How will we spend "our lunch hour"? Will we waste time worrying what others think of us?
Our "one day of school" is short. We must use the precious seconds, minutes, and hours we have on the Earth to learn as much as we can, help others and do the Lord's will. We must remember that we are literal sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father and Mother, who brought unique talents with us on Earth that need to be developed. Let us use our time wisely to enhance these talents and abilities and not waste time worrying about the past and fretting about the future.
Thomas H. Morris, a professor at BYU gave a devotional titled, Time: A Precious Commodity; a finite resource.
Carl Sagan, the author and great spokesman for the television series Cosmos, used to browbeat us by telling us that we as humankind are arrogant to assume that there is not life beyond our planet, given the immensity of space and the universe. Sagan found no solid evidence for extraterrestrial life. In fact, in viewing our tiny blue planet from space, he said, “It underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another and to preserve and cherish the only home we’ve ever known: the pale blue dot.”2
Let us be mindful of our short time on Earth, and learn as much as we can and help as many people as we can during our "one day at school."
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