Friday, August 11, 2006

   Hi! I applied for a bank job!
“We came to mortal life to encounter resistance. It was part of the plan for our eternal progress. Without temptation, sickness, pain, and sorrow, there could be no goodness, virtue, appreciation for well-being, or joy” (“God Will Have a Tried People,” Ensign, May 1980, 25).
~ quoted by Dallin H. Oaks in “Adversity,” Ensign, July 1998, 7

(paraphrasing a quote and some things I've learned)

When Jesus Christ visited the Americas after His Resurrection, He had everyone come up and feel the wounds in his hands, feet, and side. Every single one. And there were a lot of people. Can you imagine the patience, love, and care, for even just fifteen seconds to see him, perhaps be embraced and hear "I love you"? For He most certainly does. They were led to that moment, hearing and listening to the Holy Spirit, seeing Him come, realizing Who it was (God's Only Begotten Son, in Whom He is well-pleased) and then this.
"How great the wisdom and the love that filled the courts on high, and sent the Saviour from above to suffer, bleed, and die." And then to live again, so we could, too. I testify that this is true, and you can know it, too, through His Spirit. He wants us all to return, because He loves us all. And you can.

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Equus: It was kinda cool. We had my mom, dad, two brothers, my sister (via phone), and me all together last night. It was funny, too, because my second-oldest brother stopped by to talk, and I heard them saying my oldest brother, his wife, and their son would be coming today. A little bit later, who comes in but my oldest brother. o.o XD Then tonight we had dinner together, except for my sister (who's at home in another state) and my second brother, who got there late so we had to leave.

Xihuitl: Equus has made an animated gif--of a certain Hiei. If anyone's interested, we'll post it soon. Oh, and back to do his job...(drags in Kyo-clone)

K-C: Here are your pocket-hugs. Have a good day. (gives out packets of pocket-hugs and scampers off)

Xihuitl: (looks after him) I think K-C is up to something...

Equus: God be with you, and Jesus Christ loves you. Take care, too, and have a good day!

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Fact of the day: A horse's hoof is really a toe--maybe it's mostly the toenail. *shrug*

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Night Shade2, it would be awesome to visit the Middle East, including the Holy Land. Can you imagine the history and the Spirit at some of those places like Jordan? Hope you make it there someday, when it's safer--when there will be peace again. ^_^

You know, there is a tomb that some people have expressed opinions as having been Christ's temporary tomb? Isn't it wonderful that it was only temporary? And the Garden of Gethsemane--what a wonderful place. Such love and mercy.

God bless!
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Thursday, August 10, 2006

   Hi!
I challenge you to stand up to your peers as an example of righteous living.
~ Elder L. Tom Perry, Ensign, Nov. 1996, 38

The river Jordan marked the historic meeting place when Jesus came down from Galilee to be baptized of John. At first John pleaded with the Master: "I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?"6 Came the response: "It becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. . . . And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
John freely declared and taught, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."
Of John, the Lord declared, "Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist."
[...]
Many who were pioneers in spirit and action were called by Jesus to be His Apostles. Much could be told of each.
Peter was among the first of Jesus's disciples. Peter the fisherman, in response to a divine call, laid aside his nets and hearkened to the Master's declaration: Come "follow me, and I will make you [a fisher] of men." I never think of Peter without admiring his testimony of the Lord: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."
John the Beloved is the only one of the Twelve recorded as being at the Crucifixion of Christ. From the cruel cross Jesus uttered the magnificent charge to John, referring to His mother, Mary: "Behold thy mother," and to Mary, "Behold thy son."
The Apostles went before, showing others the way to follow. They were pioneers.
[...]
In due time honest men with yearning hearts, at the peril of their very lives, attempted to establish points of reference, that they might find the true way. The day of the Reformation was dawning, but the path ahead was difficult. Persecutions would be severe, personal sacrifice overwhelming, and the cost beyond calculation. The reformers were pioneers, blazing wilderness trails in a desperate search for those lost points of reference that they felt would lead mankind back to the truth Jesus taught.
Wycliffe, Luther, Hus, Zwingli, Knox, Calvin, and Tyndale all pioneered during the period of the Reformation. Significant was the declaration of Tyndale to his critics: "I will cause a boy that driveth the plough shall know more of the scripture than thou doest."
Such were the teachings and lives of the great reformers. Their deeds were heroic, their contributions many, their sacrifices great—but they did not restore the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Of the reformers, one could ask: "Was their sacrifice in vain? Was their struggle futile?" I answer with a reasoned no. The Holy Bible was now within the grasp of the people. Each person could better find his or her way. Oh, if only all could read and all could understand! But some could read, and others could hear, and all had access to God through prayer.
The long-awaited day of restoration did indeed come. Let us review that significant event in the history of the world by recalling the testimony of the plowboy who became a prophet, the witness who was there—even Joseph Smith.
[...]
Describing his experience, Joseph said: "I was one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."
"At length I came to the conclusion that I must either remain in darkness and confusion, or else I must do as James directs, that is, ask of God. . . .
" . . . I retired to the woods to make the attempt. It was on the morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty. . . .
" . . . I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. . . .
" . . . I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. . . .
" . . . When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!"
The Father and the Son, Jesus Christ, had appeared to Joseph Smith. The morning of the dispensation of the fulness of times had come, dispelling the darkness of the long generations of spiritual night.
[...]
[W]e learn of the ultimate pioneer—even Jesus Christ. His birth was foretold by the prophets of old; His entry upon the stage of life was announced by an angel. His life and His ministry have transformed the world.
With the birth of the babe in Bethlehem, there emerged a great endowment, a power stronger than weapons, a wealth more lasting than the coins of Caesar. This child was to be the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Promised Messiah, even Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Born in a stable, cradled in a manger, He came forth from heaven to live on earth as mortal man and to establish the kingdom of God. During His earthly ministry, He taught men the higher law. His glorious gospel reshaped the thinking of the world. He blessed the sick. He caused the lame to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear. He even raised the dead to life.
One sentence from the book of Acts speaks volumes: Jesus "went about doing good, . . . for God was with him."
He taught us to pray: "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven."
In the garden known as Gethsemane, where His suffering was so great that blood came from His pores, He pleaded as He prayed, "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done."
He taught us to serve: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."
He taught us to forgive: "I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men."
He taught us to love: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
"This is the first and great commandment.
"And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."
Like the true pioneer He was, He invited, "Come, follow me."
Let us turn to Capernaum. There Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, came to the Master, saying, "My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live."26 Then came the news from the ruler's house: "Thy daughter is dead."
Christ responded, "Be not afraid, only believe." He came to the house, passed by the mourners, and said to them: "Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn,"29 knowing that she was dead. "He . . . put them all out. . . . And he took [her] by the hand, and said unto her, . . . Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. . . . And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; . . . and they were astonished."

~President Thomas S. Monson, Led by Spiritual Pioneers, Ensign, August 2006

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Equus: If you visit Refi-chan's site, she has a link to a site by Inuyasha311--a forum for us anime fans (and maybe especially us rabid bishie fangirls XD).

Xihuitl: God be with you. Hope you liked the quotes.

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Fact of the day: The morning and evening stars are actually planets. Generally, the really bright "stars" are. And real stars are actually suns. ^_^

Kurama-clone: Here are your pocket hugs. Have a good day. ^_^
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Wednesday, August 9, 2006

"How grateful I am to know that God loves us. The incomprehensible depth of that love found expression in the gift of His Only Begotten Son."
~ President Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, Dec. 2000, 2

Alma 8
18 Now it came to pass that after Alma had received his message from the angel of the Lord he returned speedily to the land of Ammonihah. And he entered the city by another way, yea, by the way which is on the south of the city of Ammonihah.
19 And as he entered the city he was an hungered, and he said to a man: Will ye give to an humble servant of God something to eat?
20 And the man said unto him: I am a Nephite, and I know that thou art a holy prophet of God, for thou art the man whom an angel said in a vision: Thou shalt receive. Therefore, go with me into my house and I will impart unto thee of my food; and I know that thou wilt be a blessing unto me and my house.
[...]
22 And it came to pass that Alma ate bread and was filled; and he blessed Amulek and his house, and he gave thanks unto God.
23 And after he had eaten and was filled he said unto Amulek: I am Alma, and am the high priest over the church of God throughout the land.
24 And behold, I have been called to preach the word of God among all this people, according to the spirit of revelation and prophecy; and I was in this land and they would not receive me, but they cast me out and I was about to set my back towards this land forever.
25 But behold, I have been commanded that I should turn again and prophesy unto this people, yea, and to testify against them concerning their iniquities.
26 And now, Amulek, because thou hast fed me and taken me in, thou art blessed; for I was an hungered, for I had fasted many days.
[...]
29 And the word came to Alma, saying: Go; and also say unto my servant Amulek, go forth and prophesy unto this people, saying—Repent ye, for thus saith the Lord, except ye repent I will visit this people in mine anger; yea, and I will not turn my fierce anger away.
30 And Alma went forth, and also Amulek, among the people, to declare the words of God unto them; and they were filled with the Holy Ghost.
[...]
32 And it came to pass that they went forth and began to preach and to prophesy unto the people, according to the spirit and power which the Lord had given them.

Alma 10
7 As I [Amulek] was journeying to see a very near kindred, behold an angel of the Lord appeared unto me and said: Amulek, return to thine own house, for thou shalt feed a prophet of the Lord; yea, a holy man, who is a chosen man of God; for he has fasted many days because of the sins of this people, and he is an hungered, and thou shalt receive him into thy house and feed him, and he shall bless thee and thy house; and the blessing of the Lord shall rest upon thee and thy house.
8 And it came to pass that I obeyed the voice of the angel, and returned towards my house. And as I was going thither I found the man whom the angel said unto me: Thou shalt receive into thy house—and behold it was this same man who has been speaking unto you concerning the things of God.
9 And the angel said unto me he is a holy man; wherefore I know he is a holy man because it was said by an angel of God.
10 And again, I know that the things whereof he hath testified are true; for behold I say unto you, that as the Lord liveth, even so has he sent his angel to make these things manifest unto me; and this he has done while this Alma hath dwelt at my house.
11 For behold, he hath blessed mine house, he hath blessed me, and my women, and my children, and my father and my kinsfolk; yea, even all my kindred hath he blessed, and the blessing of the Lord hath rested upon us according to the words which he spake.
12 And now, when Amulek had spoken these words the people began to be astonished, seeing there was amore than one witness who testified of the things whereof they were accused, and also of the things which were to come, according to the spirit of prophecy which was in them.

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Fact of the day: Friesian horses are pure-black (or, at the most, only allowed a tiny bit of white marking). Percherons are draft horses that are born black, but many of them become lighter as they grow, even to a very pale gray, I think.

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Love, hugs, and pocket hugs. God be with you all!
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Tuesday, August 8, 2006

Hi!
I picked some of the blueberries, mineraled the cows, washed most of the dishes (though I haven't put them away), read most of the day, done 90% of my assigned chores...and I'm tired. I think that's because of sleep-deprivation, though. XD

"Full repentance results in forgiveness with spiritual renewal. One can feel the cleansing, the purity, the freshness that accompanies sincere repentance at any time in life."
-Elder Richard G. Scott
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Monday, August 7, 2006

Testimony
Jesus is the Christ and our Savior, our Elder Brother who died and lives again so that we will be resurrected and can attain salvation. Let us follow Him (as He and we follow our Heavenly Father, God), repent and obey (as He Atoned so we could) and help each other (as He helps us). In His holy name, the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

Love, hugs, and pocket hugs. Take care.

Fact of the day: Spring peepers are actually little frogs, not insects. They sound wonderful. ^_^
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Saturday, August 5, 2006

Cattle work is done!
"Peace and good tidings; good tidings and peace. These are among the ultimate blessings that the gospel of Jesus Christ brings to a troubled world and the troubled people who live in it, solutions to personal struggles and human sinfulness, a source of strength for days of weariness and hours of genuine despair. . . . The search for peace is one of the ultimate quests of the human soul."
~ Jeffrey R. Holland, "The Peaceable Things of the Kingdom," Ensign, Nov. 1996, 82

"That person who never forsaketh his trust, should ever have the highest place of regard in our hearts, and our love should never fail, but increase more and more, and this is my disposition and these my sentiments."
~ Joseph Smith. November 19, 1833. Kirtland, Ohio. History of the Church, 1:444

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Equus: Well, I got to help Mom and Dad with cattle when I got home from work. I mostly just checked off numbers.

Xihuitl: And now we're going to head off from this post. Equus is feeling too lazy to write anymore.

Equus: ^^; I have books I want to read...heh....

Xihuitl: Love, God be with you. Hugs and pocket glomps. ^_^

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Fact of the day: Ruby-throated hummingbirds are the only type native east of the Appalachian Mountains of the USA. The male adults have a colored "gorget"--that is to say, the throat. The feathers are actually kind of iridescent, I think...^^; But basically, they will shine red, though from other angles they look black. It just depends on the light. They are pretty little things.

Take care. Love, and God bless. May you feel His and Christ's love and Spirit and guidance, and trust in Them. Let's help each other.

"Your life is carefully watched over, as was mine. The Lord knows both what He will need you to do and what you will need to know. He is kind and He is all-knowing. So you can with confidence expect that He has prepared opportunities for you to learn in preparation for the service you will give. You will not recognize those opportunities perfectly, as I did not. But when you put the spiritual things first in your life, you will be blessed to feel directed toward certain learning, and you will be motivated to work harder. You will recognize later that your power to serve was increased, and you will be grateful."
~ Henry B. Eyring, "Education for Real Life," Ensign, Oct. 2002, 18-19
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Thursday, August 3, 2006

An answer.
For you, my dear friend Night Shade2. I believe that all people gain the reward they deserve in the afterlife. We believe that all people can accept Christ's Gospel either in this life or in the next, especially if, for any number of reasons, they didn't get to in this life. All Christians--those people who accept and follow Christ and His word--will have a degree of glory for exceeding this world. We do believe that a person has to accept the fulness of Christ's Gospel to attain a fulness of glory. If a person is truly seeking God and His truth, you will find it. When you're seeking the truth, God's word--not man's--is what matters. He will bring it to you most often through those people who already have it, but you must decide through Christ's Spirit if something introduced to you by another human is God's truth. Your salvation is between you and the Lord.

We are not breathing fire and brimstone at all others, believing that we are chosen and they are not. We are trying to help our fellow men find God's truth and reach salvation, as we should be doing. Not every person is perfect in that goal, but that is the goal of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I hope this helps.

"Recounting the faith of that great band of early Saints, Elder Ben E. Rich said, 'This country was unknown to them. They believed that God had given to President Young a vision of the future home for the Latter-day Saints. They had faith in their leader, and they were willing to go into the unknown with him. . . . Who should ever forget the faith, . . . the bravery, of those who had such confidence in Brigham Young as to follow him into these valleys of the mountains' (in Conference Report, Apr. 1911, 104). As modern-day pioneers looking to the future, we must be willing to go into the unknown, having the same confidence and commitment in following President Hinckley and the other constituted authorities of the Church."
~ James E. Faust, "Pioneers of the Future: 'Be Not Afraid, Only Believe,' " Ensign, Nov. 1997, 44-45
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Wednesday, August 2, 2006

   Hi!
Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are real, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Their true church on the earth. Everything is done by faith--all great and good acts of the world have been done by faith. Believe. In my Lord Jesus Christ's holy name, amen.

Remember, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love you. Listen to Their Holy Spirit, do good to each other, and follow Their will. It will bring you blessings and good, too, because it is all to your benefit when you listen. No matter what. Love.

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Yeahness for my friend Skyelark. He just moved South and is being greatly blessed of the Lord for his faith and obedience. Grateful be and praise bestow on our Lord on High. Love and hugs.

^_^

I've been reading some of the Brother Cadfael series. They are medieval murder mysteries, so there is that to deal with. But the stories are fun and interesting. You get to see (through a fictionalized, and therefore potentially a somewhat flawed account) people's lives in the Middle Ages. Cadfael, while I don't agree with him on everything, is a wonderful character. He is kind, well-travelled, faithful, and just. There are others, of course, but for now, I'll leave it at that.

There are also some of the Cadfael books adapted into short movies, though I personally prefer (of the ones I've seen) the earlier ones.

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Fact of the day: Poplar trees, if cut, will send out shoots from the trunks. Apple trees will send out shoot from their roots, I think, even while still alive.

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"Peace and good tidings; good tidings and peace. These are among the ultimate blessings that the gospel of Jesus Christ brings to a troubled world and the troubled people who live in it, solutions to personal struggles and human sinfulness, a source of strength for days of weariness and hours of genuine despair. . . . The search for peace is one of the ultimate quests of the human soul."

~ Jeffrey R. Holland, "The Peaceable Things of the Kingdom," Ensign, Nov. 1996, 82
Pocket hugs and pocket glomps! God bless.
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