Monday, November 7, 2005

   Hi, guys!
I went to church yesterday. We had a good Relief Society lesson about not taking offence. One good point was that sometimes we take offence when none was meant. Another thing about itis, do we really want to be weighed down by the anger and grief that comes with being offended?

I was able to spend time with the kids during choir practice, have a friend visit afterwards, and have brownies for a late birthday cake. ^_^ (We weren't able to make a cake on my birthday.) Brownies coated with mint chocolate chips...yummy. And cow sprinkles. :D

You know how we're supposed to work, to prove ourselves worthy of good grades? And we can only earn those good grades (ideally) by learning from the teacher and applying it to our class and work? It's the same with salvation...and our Teacher wants to bless us all with salvation.

John 3:16-17
For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son...

Good verses; that's why they're used so much. If you want to read the whole thing, tell me. ^_^

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Life is hard, but it is life. It makes the joys so much more appreciated. Who appreciates the sweet without knowing the bitter? And who is truly worthy of the sweet if they haven't endured the bitter? That endurance of hardship means they'll be able to truly appreciate the sweet. It's hard, but it's worth it.

Jesus Christ never shirked His duties and the hardships in life. And Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ both completely understand our hardships. They love us. They are an ideal Father and elder Brother.

Love! Hugs.

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Les Miserables

The Bishop is a pivotal character in the book and the play. He is the catalyst for Jean ValJean's reformation, and hence the whole story. The Bishop is kind and selfless; he seeks to do all he can to bring people closer to Jesus Christ and to be Christ-like himself. He doesn't care that ValJean is an ex-convict, only that he is someone who needs shelter for the night. He is able to put his self completely in the Lord's hands to do all he can for the Lord.

We are allowed to defend and protect ourselves from dangers in the world. "Trust in God, [and] lock your doors." But can you imagine the higher level of faith and Christ-like love, to forget yourself for God's children?

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Fact of the day: One of the most common colorations you will see in horses is bay. A bay horse is brown with black points--black ear tips, lower legs, mane, and tail. And I think the nose...at least maybe.

A bay can have white markings on the face and legs, as well.

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(from an article in Meridian)

President James E. Faust said, “When parents try to teach their children to avoid danger, it is no answer for parents to say to their children, ‘We are experienced and wise in the ways of the world, and we can get closer to the edge of the cliff than you.’ Parental hypocrisy can make children cynical and unbelieving of what they are taught in the home” (Ensign Oct. 2005, p. 3). We believe there is a direct application of this warning when it comes to fashion.

[...]

In his General Conference address a few weeks ago Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, speaking directly to the women and young women of the Church, said, “For you to fully claim Heavenly Father’s blessings and protection, we ask you to stay true to the standards of the gospel of Jesus Christ and not slavishly follow the whims of fads and fashions.

The Church will never deny your moral agency regarding what you should wear and exactly how you should look. But the Church will always declare standards and will always teach principles ... [O]ne of those principles is modesty. In the gospel of Jesus Christ, modesty in appearance is always in fashion. Our standards are not socially negotiable.” (General Conf. Oct. 2005)

At this same conference Young Women General President, Susan W. Tanner, said, “Modesty is more than a matter of avoiding revealing attire. It describes not only the altitude of hemlines and necklines but the attitude of our hearts.”

[...]

An inspiring concept to teach your daughters was given by former General Young Women President, Margaret Nadauld. She said, “Grateful daughters of God guard their bodies carefully, for they know they are the wellspring of life and they reverence life. They don’t uncover their bodies to find favor with the world. They walk in modesty to be in favor with their Father in Heaven. For they know He loves them dearly” (Ensign Nov. 2000).

[...]

In conclusion, help your daughters apply this final step of the Modesty Test: Look in the mirror and ask, “Would Heavenly Father be proud of me in this outfit?” If the answer is yes, then she can feel secure in buying it and wearing it. If there is the least bit of doubt, then she must follow her heart and not buy it or wear it. Apply this final step to your own purchases as well. Had this been applied by a woman we know who would never wear an immodest dress, but appeared at the community pool in a scanty bikini swim suit, this never would have happened. Modesty applies to swim wear as much as anything else we wear.

In her General Conference talk, Sister Tanner reminded us of this teaching of Joseph Smith: “We came to this earth that we might have a body and present it pure before God in the Celestial Kingdom.” (Oct. 2005) It is our experience that the majority of Latter-day Saint mothers are the example of women who are striving to achieve this purity and are helping their daughters do likewise. We hope our young women will look to these women for a righteous example, and find their own mothers among them.

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David A. Bednar, “The Tender Mercies of the Lord,” Ensign, May 2005, 99

Now, the music for the various conference sessions had been determined many weeks before—and obviously long before my new call to serve. If, however, I had been invited to suggest an intermediate hymn for that particular session of the conference—a hymn that would have been both edifying and spiritually soothing for me and for the congregation before my first address in this Conference Center—I would have selected my favorite hymn, “Redeemer of Israel.” Tears filled my eyes as I stood with you to sing that stirring hymn of the Restoration.

Near the conclusion of the singing, to my mind came this verse from the Book of Mormon: “But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance” (1 Ne. 1:20).

My mind was drawn immediately to Nephi’s phrase “the tender mercies of the Lord,” and I knew in that very moment I was experiencing just such a tender mercy. A loving Savior was sending me a most personal and timely message of comfort and reassurance through a hymn selected weeks previously. Some may count this experience as simply a nice coincidence, but I testify that the tender mercies of the Lord are real and that they do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence. Often, the Lord’s timing of His tender mercies helps us to both discern and acknowledge them.

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Robert J. Whetten, “Strengthen Thy Brethren,” Ensign, May 2005, 91
Responding to the question, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus answered: “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. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

To ancient Israel and down through the generations of time, His prophets past and present have always taught this all-encompassing eternal truth—that to inherit eternal life we must have love in our souls: love for God our Eternal Father and love for our fellowmen.

In the closing hours of His earthly ministry, Jesus said to Peter, “But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”

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3 Ne. 21:1, 22

“I shall gather in, from their long dispersion, my people, O house of Israel, and shall establish again among them my Zion.[...]

“[...] I will establish my church among them, and they shall come in unto the covenant and be numbered among this the remnant of Jacob, unto whom I have given this land for their inheritance.”

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Remember Heavenly Father's love and tender mercies.
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