Daily Thoughts

In the D&C we read that we can tell if a man has repented of his sins because he will confess them and forsake them.  And if he truly repents, the Lord will forgive him and remember his sins no more.  D&C 58: 42-43 "Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more. By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins—behold, he will confess them and forsake them."

In the Old Testament we read that before Jeremiah was born, the Lord knew him and ordained him to be a prophet.  Jeremiah wasn't the only one was known by the Lord before their birth.  We all lived before we were born and the Lord was well acquainted with all of us.  And even though most of us weren't ordained to be prophets, we each have callings and purposes that we are to fulfill in our lives--things that we're supposed to accomplish.  Even before we were born, the Lord knew what we were capable of and expects great things from each of us.  Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations."

Some verses with a thought booklet advise us on how to react when someone has done something to hurt us.  Instead of seeking revenge and becoming angry, we need to do good for the person who has harmed us.  If he's hungry, feed him.  If he's thirsty, give him something to drink.  Instead of allowing evil to overcome us, we need to overcome evil with good. Easy to say, but not so easy to do.  However, this is how we've been commanded to act.  Romans 12:19-21 "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good."

Daily Thoughts

In the D&C I read that if we don't obey the commandments, the Lord will not hold us guiltless and He will revoke the blessings that He promised He would give us if we had obeyed.  Some people grumble and complain because they don't get blessings promised to them.  But they forget that those blessings were contingent upon their obedience.  We need to make sure we don't keep the commandments with a "slothful heart" and that we go forward and do whatever the Lord has commanded us.  D&C 58:29-33 "But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned. Who am I that made man, saith the Lord, that will hold him guiltless that obeys not my commandments? Who am I, saith the Lord, that have promised and have not fulfilled? I command and men obey not; I revoke and they receive not the blessing. Then they say in their hearts: This is not the work of the Lord, for his promises are not fulfilled. But wo unto such, for their reward lurketh beneath, and not from above."

In the Old Testament we read about how the sicked will be destrooyed and the Gentiles will hear the gospel.  The Lord will make a new heaven and a new earth and all flesh will come to worship before the Lord.  But they shall see the carcases of the men that have transgressed against Him.  Those who are slain of the Lord will be many.  Isaiah 66:14-24 "And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb: and the hand of the Lord shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies. For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many. They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the Lord. For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.  And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles. And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the Lord out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the Lord, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord. And I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the Lord. For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord. And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh."

In some verses with a thought booklet we read that if we put the Lord for our rock and our fortress, He will lead and guide us.  He will be our strong rock and a house of defense to save us. The scriptures are full of references to building our sure foundation upon the rock of our Redeemer.  A rock is solid and sure and firm--something we can rely on. Let's make sure that the foundation we build our lives on is rock solid, built upon the sure foundation of Christ.   Psalms 31:2-3 "Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me. For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me."

Daily Thoughts

In the D&C I read that we shouldn't have to wait to be commanded in all things, but rather do many good things of our own free will and be anxiously engaged in a good cause. We should be agents unto ourselves to seek out opportunities to serve others without waiting around to be asked.  D&C 58:26-28 "For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward. Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward."

In the Old Testament we're told that wonderful thigns await those who wait for the Lord.  In fact, nothing we've ever seen or heard can prepare us for the reward that will be ours.  Isaiah 64:4 "For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him."

Some scriptures with a thought booklet tell us that we can be forgiven for our transgressions and our sins can be covered by the Lord.  Even though the wicked will have many sorrows, if we trust in the Lord, He will encompass us about with His mercy.  The righteous can be glad in the Lord and shout for joy!  Psalms 32:1-2, 10-11 "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart."

Daily Thoughts

In the D&C we read that we should obey the laws of the land and be subject to the leaders of our government, until Christ comes to reign and subdues all enemies under His feet.  D&C 58:21-22 "Let no man break the laws of the land, for he that keepeth the laws of God hath no need to break the laws of the land. Wherefore, be subject to the powers that be, until he reigns whose right it is to reign, and subdues all enemies under his feet."


In the Old Testament we read about the great loving kindness the Lord has towards His children, and the great goodness and mercy He has for us.  When we are afflicted, He is afflicted also because of the love and pity He feels for us.  However, often we rebel, which vexes His Holy Spirit.  Isaiah 63:7-10 "I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses. For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour. In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them."

A verse with a thought booklet helps us put things into perspective when we're suffering or going through trials in our lives.  Any suffering we might be experiencing at the present time is not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us.  Whatever trials we bear are for our own good and if we endure them well, the glory we eventually receive will be well worth it.  Romans 8:18 "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

Daily Thoughts

In the D&C we read that it is after much tribulation that we'll receive the blessings.  But if we keep the commandments and are faithful, we'll receive a great reward in heaven and crowned with much glory.  D&C 58:2-4 "For verily I say unto you, blessed is he that keepeth my commandments, whether in life or in death; and he that is faithful in tribulation, the reward of the same is greater in the kingdom of heaven. Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation. For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand."

In the Old Testament we read that the Lord's hand isn't shortened so it's unable to save us, and His ears are heavy so He's prevented from hearing us.  But it is our own iniquities that have separated us from God, and it's our own sins that have hidden His face from us and prevents Him from hearing us.  If we're feeling distant from God, He's not the problem, we are.  And we need to repent and start keeping the commandments if we want to feel close to Him once again.  Isaiah 59:1-2 "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear."

A verse with a thought booklet tells us to rejoice in hope and be patient in tribulation, continuing in prayer. I think prayer is a very necessary ingredient in being able to be patient in our tribulations and being able to have hope, which causes us to rejoice.  It's hard to get through difficult times and to maintain hope in times of trouble, but the Lord will help us if we'll ask.  Romans 12:12 "Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;"

Daily Thoughts

In the D&C we read that the gospel needs to be preached to those who sit in darkness.  D&C 57:10 "And thus provide for my saints, that my gospel may be preached unto those who sit in darkness and in the region and shadow of death."

In the Old Testament we're again told that there is no peace unto the wicked.  But the wicked are like a troubled sea that cannot rest and whose waters cast up mire and dirt. That sounds like a pretty unsettled existence.  If we want peace in our lives, we need to keep the commandments.  Isaiah 57:20-21 "But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked."

A verse with a thought booklet tells us that it is good and pleasant for us to dwell together with our brethren in unity.  Psalms 133:1 "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!"

Daily Thoughts

In the D&C we read that woe will be unto rich men who refuse to give to the poor and woe will also be to the poor whose hearts are not humble and whose hands try to lay hold upon other people's goods.  But the humble poor who seek after the Kingdom of God will be blessed.  D&C 56:16-19 "Wo unto you rich men, that will not give your substance to the poor, for your riches will canker your souls; and this shall be your lamentation in the day of visitation, and of judgment, and of indignation: The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and my soul is not saved! Wo unto you poor men, whose hearts are not broken, whose spirits are not contrite, and whose bellies are not satisfied, and whose hands are not stayed from laying hold upon other men's goods, whose eyes are full of greediness, and who will not labor with your own hands! But blessed are the poor who are pure in heart, whose hearts are broken, and whose spirits are contrite, for they shall see the kingdom of God coming in power and great glory unto their deliverance; for the fatness of the earth shall be theirs. For behold, the Lord shall come, and his recompense shall be with him, and he shall reward every man, and the poor shall rejoice;"

In the Old Testament we read that we need to seek the Lord and call upon Him while He is near and may be found.  The wicked need to forsake his unrighteous ways and return to the Lord.  The Lord will have mercy and abundantly pardon.  The Lord's thoughts are not the same our our thoughts, nor His ways our ways.  But just like the heavens are higher than the earth, so are the Lord's ways and thoughts higher than ours.  Isaiah 55:6-9 "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Some scriptures with a thought booklet give us a wonderful example of what to do when it seems like one things after another goes wrong in our lives.  We've all had times like that.  But I doubt any of us have had all the double and triple whammies that Job had.  First he's told that his animals have been killed, and his servants as well.  In other words, he's lost his wealth and all his possessions.  Then he's told that all his children have been killed.  Can you imagine getting news like this?  Of course he's distressed.  But instead of cursing God or blaming Him, Job praises the Lord.  He says that he was naked when he came out of the womb and everything he had was given to him by the Lord, so he blesses His name.  In all these things, Job did not sin.  Can we praise God during times of trouble?  Can we still see that the Lord's ways are higher than ours, He knows what's best for us, and place our trust in Him?  Job 1:14-22 "And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them: And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.  While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.  Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.  In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly."

Daily Thoughts

In the D&C we read that those who take pleasure in unrighteousness and have many things to repent of but refuse to obey the truth, will not be pardoned. D&C 56:14-15 "Behold, thus saith the Lord unto my people—you have many things to do and to repent of; for behold, your sins have come up unto me, and are not pardoned, because you seek to counsel in your own ways. And your hearts are not satisfied. And ye obey not the truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness."

In the Old Testament we read Isaiah's prophecies about the atonement of Christ.  He would suffer for our transgressions.  He would make a soul offering for our sins and make intercession for us.  He would be hated and rejected and carry our griefs and sorrows.  He would be smitten and afflicted. He would go through all this for us!  Isaiah 53:1-12 "Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.  He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.  He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."

In some verses with a thought booklet we read the account of Jesus being tempted by Satan.  I've read this account many, many times before but this time I noticed something I hadn't noticed before.  Every time Satan presented a temptation to Jesus, Jesus responded by quoting from the scriptures, saying "it is written."  Even when Satan tried to quote scriptures himself to try to persuade Jesus to his way of thinking, Jesus quoted other scriptures to show why that line of thinking was not correct. The scriptures provide all the ammunition we need to fight Satan and his temptations.  The scriptures give us answers to life's problems.  They guide us in how we should live our lives and what we should do in the various circumstances we find ourselves in.  Sometimes I've felt like I'm not retaining what I'm reading every day. But I can't begin to count the many times over the years when scripture verses I'd previously read have popped into my mind at the very hour I've needed them.  They were there in my mind all along and came to me at the appropriate time.  And no matter how many times we've read the scriptures, there is always more to learn.  Today's reading is a good example, as I learned something new from this account. Studying the scriptures is a lifelong pursuit and is something we need every day of our lives.  Just because we ate three good meals yesterday doesn't mean we can now skip eating for a week or two.  Our bodies need nourishment every day to remain strong.  Likewise we need spiritual nourishment every day to remain strong in the gospel. If Jesus needed to be thoroughly familiar with the scriptures in order to resist Satan's temptations, how much more do we need the Word of God in our lives?   Matthew 4:1-10 "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."

Daily Thoughts

In the D&C we read that if we will not take your cross the follow the Savior, keeping His commandments, we will not be saved. D&C 56:2 "And he that will not take up his cross and follow me, and keep my commandments, the same shall not be saved."

In the Old Testament we read about how ridiculous it is to forget the Lord who created the heavens and the earth and who will comfort us, while fearing mortal man that will die. Other men are so tiny when compared to the great power and might of the Lord.  Why should we fear them when we have the Lord to watch over us?  Isaiah 51:12-13 "I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass; And forgettest the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor?"

Some scriptures with a thought booklet talk about how even though the tongue is a small thing, it is very powerful!  Just as a tiny bit in a horse's mouth controls where the horse goes and a small helm determines which way a mighty ship will sail, so can our tongues determine the direction of our lives.  It is difficult to rule our tongues.  Sometimes fiery words come out of our mouths before we even realize what is happening.  If untamed, nasty words coming out of our mouths can be like poisen.  It is not good that both blessings and cursings should come out of the same mouth.  A wise man will show his good works and wisdom by his good conversation.  James 3:3-13 "Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.  Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!  And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.  Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.  Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?  Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom."

Daily Thoughts

In the D&C we read that we need to be patient in tribulation until the Lord comes.  He comes quickly and will reward those who have sought Him early.  They will find rest to their souls.  D&C 54:10 "And again, be patient in tribulation until I come; and, behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, and they who have sought me early shall find rest to their souls. Even so. Amen."

In the Old Testament we read a prophetic verse that talks about how Jesus would give His back to the smiters and would be put to shame and spit upon.  This was foretold hundreds of years before it happened.  Isaiah 50:6 "I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting."

A verse with a thought booklet tells us that we need to be at peace with all men, and practice holiness, or we cannot expect to see the Lord.  Do we have grudges against others?  Do we have bitterness, anger, or hatred in our hearts?  Unless we rid ourselves of things things and make peace with our fellowmen, it will separate us from the Lord. If we truly love the Lord, we need to find a way to let go of our bitter feelings toward others. As we're able to forgive, joy will fill our hearts.  Hebrews 12: 14 " Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:"

Daily Thoughts

In the D&C we read that those who keep their covenants and observe the commandments will be blessed and shall obtain mercy.  D&C 54: 6 "But blessed are they who have kept the covenant and observed the commandment, for they shall obtain mercy." 

In the Old Testament we read the Lord lamenting about the wickedness of His children and their unwillingness to hearken unto His words.  If only they would obey Him, they would be blessed and guided and find peace in their lives.  But alas, there is no peace unto the wicked.  Isaiah 48:17-22 "Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea: Thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me. Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, The Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob. And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts: he caused the waters to flow out of the rock for them: he clave the rock also, and the waters gushed out. There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked."

In some scriptures with a thought booklet, David asks the question of who will dwell in the Lord's holy hill. The answer is:  the righteous, the honest, and those with integrity.  Is this the kind of person we are?  Psalms 15:1-5 " Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.  In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.  He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved."

Daily Thoughts

In the D&C we read that Jesus Christ was crucified for the sins of the world and we are commanded to forsake the world.  D&C 53:2 "Behold, I, the Lord, who was crucified for the sins of the world, give unto you a commandment that you shall forsake the world."

In the Old Testament we read about the greatness and magnitude of God who created the heavens and the earth, and also us.  How can we strive against our Maker?  It's as ridiculous as a something made of clay complaining to the potter about how it was made.  Isaiah 45:9-12 "Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?  Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth? Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.  I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded."

Some scriptures in a thought booklet describe Jesus healing the sight of a blind man by making a clay our of mud and spit and putting into the man's eye.  The story is told of a mother overhearing a conversation in which her preschool daughter was showing a Bible story book to her little brother.  She heard the little girl explain, "That's Jesus.  He is good.  Even though he put mud on that guy's eyes, it's okay because He's God."  Now Jesus could have healed the blind man by simply speaking healing words.  But He chose dirt and spit and His holy touch to heal him.  Sometimes when we need healing in our lives, the Lord chooses to apply His healing touch to tough times to produce good results.  And we need to trust in Him, knowing that it's all okay because He is God and He is good.  John 9:1-11 "And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.  And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.  I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,  And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing. The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged? Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he. Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened? He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight."

Daily Thoughts

A verse from the D&C reminds us that we need to not forget the poor and needy, the sick and the afflicted.  If we don't remember them, we are not disciples of Jesus Christ.  D&C 52:40 "And remember in all things the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted, for he that doeth not these things, the same is not my disciple."

In the Old Testament we read that the Lord our our Redeemer who blots out our transgressions.  We need to return to Him and glory Him.  False idols which are created by men who should be ashamed for making them, and are good for nothing but to be used as fuel for a fire to keep us warm and cook our food.  Isaiah 44:9-24 "They that make a graven image are all of them vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed.Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing?Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed: and the workmen, they are of men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together.The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint.The carpenter stretcheth out his rule; he marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house. He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it.Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto.He burneth part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied: yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire:And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god.They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand.And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree?He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me.I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.Thus saith the Lord, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;"

A verse with a thought booklet tells the people not to worry about the great multitude ready to fight against them--the battle is God's and He will fight for them. When we feel problems and troubles piling up against us, we too need to place our trust in God and know that He will fight our battles for us.  When we find ourselves worrying it's probably because we're fretting about how we're going to deal with issues that may arise, rather than trusting in God to handle things in His way.  2 Chronicles 20:15 "And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's."

Daily Thoughts

In the D&C we read that Satan tries to deceive us, but there is a pattern to tell whether something is of God or not.  If someone prays with a contrite spirit and obeys the commandments they are accepted by the Lord.  But if they don't bring forth fruits of righteousness, they are not of God.  D&C 52:14-19 "And again, I will give unto you a pattern in all things, that ye may not be deceived; for Satan is abroad in the land, and he goeth forth deceiving the nations— Wherefore he that prayeth, whose spirit is contrite, the same is accepted of me if he obey mine ordinances. He that speaketh, whose spirit is contrite, whose language is meek and edifieth, the same is of God if he obey mine ordinances. And again, he that trembleth under my power shall be made strong, and shall bring forth fruits of praise and wisdom, according to the revelations and truths which I have given you. And again, he that is overcome and bringeth not forth fruits, even according to this pattern, is not of me. Wherefore, by this pattern ye shall know the spirits in all cases under the whole heavens."

In the Old Testament we read about how the Lord blots out our transgressions and will not remember our sins.  What a great blessing we have to be able to repent and be forgiven of our sins!  Can we do any less for our fellowmen who trespass against us?  It's been told that when somebody asked Betsy Ross to forgive them for something they'd done against her, she replied, "I distinctly remember forgetting that."  Betsy Ross was not a perfect person, but she modeled perfect forgiveness.  This is the kind of forgiveness that the Lord gives us when we repent of our sins.  When we find it difficult to forgive, we need to remember the mercy of the Lord and realize that as we forgive others, He will forgive us.  Isaiah 43:25 "I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins."

A verse with a thought booklet gives us advice about what to do if someone we know is overtaken in sins and faults.  We should humbly and gently try to help them return to a good path. It takes courage and wisdom to try to speak to others about their wrongdoing.  We need to make sure our approach to them is gentle instead of harsh. Our purpose must be conviction, not condemnation. We want to rescue the person and help them return to the pathway that will lead them to a purposeful life and eventually eternal life with God.  But we also need to consider ourselves and make sure we aren't drawn into their sins with them, being overcome with temptation.  Galatians 6:1 "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted."

Education Week Notes -- Friday

KNOW THEM THAT LABOR AMONG YOU:  PRESIDENT DIETER F. UCHTDORF (MARK D. OGLETREE): His is the first apostle who was born behind the Iron Curtain.  He has a great sense of humor and great warmth.  He has rock solid faith. He was born in Czechoslovakia,, although we associate him with Germany.  He married his wife Harriet in the Swiss Temple.  He was raised in a war torn country.  Even before his family were members of the church, his mother felt impressed to get out of a building and within minutes it was bombed.  The family moved to East Germany.  He remembers planes flying above their home and terror all around.  His father was conscripted into the German Army.  Because of his father's political views, their lives were in danger.  While the family was standing in line for food, they met a lady who was a member of the church.  They accepted the gospel and this changed their lives.  The gospel meant everything to this family.  His first assignment in church was to pump the organ.  He was baptized in a swimming pool.  The church became their family.  When he was 11, they had to flee again, from East Germany to West Germany.  He traveled with his mother and other family members traveled separately, but they reunited in Frankfort.  They were refugees with an uncertain future, leaving everything behind.  They opened a laundry.  He picked up laundry and delivered it on a bike.  He later found out he had a lung disease but his body had healed itself because of the exercise he got on the bike.  Because of this, he was able to pass his physicals and become a pilot.  He had to learn English but had great difficulty in doing so.  He knew if he didn't learn English he couldn't be a pilot, so that was his strong motivation.  As part of the German Air Force he came to America to pilot school.  He always felt that if he put the Lord first, everything else would fall into place.  Many of his talks can be tied into some kind of story regarding aviation.  He told the story of how a plane was off course by just two degrees, but it put them into the path of a huge mountain where they crashed and everyone was killed.  His wife Harriet was given gum by Americans when she was a child so she thought Americans were nice.  So when two Americans knocked on her door, she let them in and was happy to hear the gospel message they brought.  As her family accepted the gospel, light returned to their lives.  They found joy in their life again.  When they started attending church, it was the same church that Dieter was attending.  He noticed Harriet and fell in love with her from the first moment he saw her.  However, she did not feel the same way about him.  But he was persistent.  They married in 1962 and had two children.  He was a great husband and father.  In 1970 at age 29 he was made captain and kept souring up the ranks at the airlines.  He was called as the stake president at Frankfort.  In October 2004 he was called to the Quorum of the Twelve.  He is one of the most powerful speakers in the church.  He loves people.  He's engaging and genuine.  He inspires people and has a great gift.  He has emphasized having proper priorities.  We need to be focused on the right stuff, the things that have eternal consequences.  He also cautions that we need to anchor on the Savior.  There are great blessings for doing so. The opposite of patience isn't impatience, it's lack of faith in Heavenly Father.  If we have faith, we're firm, steadfast, and immovable and willing to submit our will to the Lord. 

CHARLES DARWIN--THE SEEKER:  DISCOVERING THE ADMIRABLE MAN BEHIND THE THEORIES (S. MICHAEL WILCOX): Darwin was not contentious.  He would not argue with you.  He got along with everybody and everybody liked him. Darwin had a sense of wonder at the world around him.  He had an intense curiosity.  He wanted to know about everything.  He studied earthworms.  How many of you are really interested earthworms?  He was versed as a geologist, a biologist, and a botanist. He took a trip and followed his footsteps and started to read about him.  The more he read, the more he loved the man. He doesn't see the old, bald man but sees him as a young man who collected everything.  As a boy, he collected beetles.  He once tore the bark off a tree and found two species of beetles he didn't have so grabbed one in each hand.  Then he saw a third beetle.  What could he do?  He popped the beetle in his mouth.  It spit a bitter liquid in his mouth so he spit it out and lost it.  Darwin had a desire to discover everything regarding living things.  He collected butterflies in rain forests.  His father was a doctor.  His mother died when he was 8.  He was raised by his father.  He idolized his father and wanted to please him.  He could not abide seeing things suffer.  He liked to fish but it distressed him to put the worms on the hook.  He killed a bird and that haunted him all his life.  He tried to collect already dead insects so he wouldn't have to kill them in order to collect them.  He did experiments in everything.  He and his brother checked out more books in the library than any other student.  He read Shakespeare.  After he witnessed an operation on a child, he decided he could not study medicine.  He couldn't stand hearing the child scream.  This was in the days before ether.  He couldn't stand to see suffering.  When he saw one man attack another in a bitter debate, he was very troubled.  His father decided that since he didn't want to be a doctor, he should be a clergyman.  He was fine with that, but he was not comfortable with some of the doctrines of the Anglican Church, such as their agreement with slavery.  He then got an offer to be an naturalist and traveling companion to Fitzroy.  He went to his father and his father said it was a crazy, wild idea and would ruin his future.  However, he said if he could find one man of common sense who agreed that taking a two year trip around  South America was a good idea, he could go.  He talked to his uncle who thought it was a great idea and wrote a letter saying as much.  So he accepted the position and went.  But it didn't turn out to be two years, it was five years.  He shipped specimens back to Henslow and won the admiration and love of everyone on the ship.  A child with a new toy could not have been more delighted with everything.  Fitzroy said he was a very hard working man.  He was perpetually seasick.  When the ship would dock, he'd go on long inland journeys to get away from his seasickness.  He hated controversy and would never defend himself.  But his friends defended him.  He was distressed by slavery.  He was thrilled with a Brazilian rain forest, beautiful nature.  His diary recounts glorious days.  He said no one could stand in those solitudes and not be moved.  He said he was in a delirium of delight.  He made friends with the gauchos.  This was wild west South America, but he had safe passage wherever he went.  He said they never knew in the morning where they would stay at night.  They carried their homes with them and camped around a fire where they would pity all those who were confined to houses.  He wondered about the mutability of nature and chewed on that for decades before he came up with his theory of the original of man.  When he came back, he fell in love with his first cousin.  She was not a neat housekeeper.  She was known as Little Miss Slipslop.  He wrote on a paper the pros and cons of marrying her.  On one side he wrote:  Less freedom to come and go as he pleased, more money to spend on books, not having to visit in-laws.  On the marrying side of the paper he wrote things like companionship, someone to talk to and grow old with, children, a nice soft wife on a sofa with music.  He decided to marry Emma.  He had ten children.  They watched their parents interaction and said their father was tender and caring.  Emma said he was sweet tempered and kind to animals.  He was warmly affectionate.  When his daughter Annie died, this was a very dark time for him.  Darwin passed on to his children his love of nature.  His son said he liked to hear his father admire the beauty of a flower.  It was a kind of gratitude to the flower itself.  He would gently touch a flower, admiring it.  He went to the Lake District with his daughter and they had a perfect day.  He could hardly sit still but would get up and admire the view from every fresh viewpoint.  He could not accept the Biblical story of the creation in six days.  He had concerns about religion.  He told Emma all his concerns before he married her so she could back out if she wanted to.  He wanted to be honest with her.  She encouraged him to read the New Testament and said she was afraid he hadn't given his whole attention to both sides.  He admitted he had spent much more time and attention on science than religion.  She told him she wanted them to be together forever and did not want this to be prevented either because there was no forever or because of his belief he would go to a different place than he would.  He kept that letter all his life and cried over it many times.  He said he could not believe in a God who would allow innocent animals to suffer.  His health was very difficult all his life.  He had trouble sleeping at night.  He'd become exhausted by his mind working constantly and unable to get to sleep.  A friend suggested that he could not be an expert on all species of animals until he became an expert on just one species.  So he studied barnacles for 8 years.  He got sick of barnacles. He had an extreme desire to perfect his work.  In his autobiography he wrote that as a young man he loved music.  But science took over.  He said if he could live his life over again, he would listen to music and poety at least once a week throughout his life.  He understood that he was too scientific and not well rounded.  At the end of his life he said he was not afraid of death and wanted Emma to know what a good wife she was to him.  For a man who loathed contention, it is ironic that he is responsible for so much controversy.  The deeper Darwin is the excited boy exploring the wonders of nature.  He can picture him surrounded by butterflies.  It's a pity that in all his searching of the wonders of nature, he never found God.  He can picture Darwin meeting God and asking question after question.  Who can resist the hungry student?  Darwin was the hungriest student on the earth.  The death of his daughter Annie at the age of 10 gnawed at his dwindling faith.  He knew he had not given the question of religion adequate thought and avoided the subject.  If more people were non contentious like him, there would not be doctrinal debates that have caused contention in Christianity.  We can disagree with others but still admire the people that they are.  May all of us, including Darwin, maintain our sense of wonder, worlds without end. 

THERE ARE TRUE PROPHETS OF GOD ON THE EARTH TODAY (RANDAL A. WRIGHT):  If we ignore warning signs on the beach we might get sucked into dangerous water.  If we ignore warnings of the prophets, we'll likewise be in spiritual danger.  If there is a problem in the world, the prophets will know.  If pornography is destroying marriages, they will know it.  If we don't look to prophets for guidance, who do we look to?  Celebrities?  Politicians?  Our parents?  That might be dangerous.  We have to be very careful who we follow.  Even the very elect can be deceived.  Failure to follow instructions can result in death.  Look a little closer at life and recognize what is going on around you.  Often parents can be the ones to bring in the videos or Internet connection that brings things into the home that destroy the children.  There are scary things happening in families.  Children might say, "Don't you trust me?"  We need to let our children know there are some things we do not do.  We need to stand up for what's right, even if it's lonely.  Wouldn't it be easier if all LDS families followed the prophet?  There's only one group that gives in to peer pressure more than kids, and that's the parents.  There may be parties missed, movies unseen, but we need to heed warnings.  But think about the blessings when we follow the prophet!  Give heed unto all his words.  The Lord will disperse the powers of darkness before you and the heavens will shake for your good.  Do we do things against our better judgment and get mixed up in things to be popular?  The plaguing sin of this generation is sexual immorality.  It is causing people to stumble.  Our youth are leaving the church in huge numbers and it's a frightening thing.  After the 1960's births out of wedlock spiral upward.  This is about the time the movies started becoming more sexual.  91 percent of those who start dating at the age of 12 are immoral before they graduate from high school, compared to only 20 percent of those who wait until they're 16 years old to date.  There is wisdom is the prophet saying to wait until you're 16 to date.  Parents who permit or encourage early dating, in the name of staying with what everyone else is doing, are asking for trouble. Steady dating should be avoided until they are of marriageable age. This should be after serving a mission.  If we fail to follow the Lord because of peer pressure it is to fear man more than God.  Why would we care more about what other people think of us than what the Lord thinks of us?  No one likes to be left out.  They want to fit in.  The world thinks that if you follow the First Presidency that's blind obedience, but it's okay to listen to three Budweiser frogs and do what they say.  Satan tries to tell us that if we commit one sin there is no hope for us so we may as well commit a variety of sins.  This is like if you shoot yourself in the foot and then figure you may as well continue to shoot yourself in various other places.  It only makes things go from bad to worse.  What happens when we fall for the world?  It's so sad.  He has a granddaughter with Down's Syndrome.  She is beautiful and loving and has brought such joy to their family. 91% of babies with Down's Syndrome are aborted.  That is heartbreaking. It's important not to judge others.  One time he was at a gas station filling up and noticed a man also getting gas.  The other man had a straggly beard with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.  He found himself thinking poorly of that man.  Then he went to pay for his gas and realized he didn't have his wallet with him and didn't have any money to pay for the gas.  He started looking around his car but couldn't find any money.  He went to the cashier to explain his dilemma and she told him that the man with the cigarette had noticed his problem and paid for his gas.  This man was living the gospel by showing love and service!  When we live outside ourselves, we invite a beautiful spirit into our lives.  God notices our needs and watches over us, but it is usually through another person that He meets our needs. 

RECEIVING THE SUPPORT OF GOD DURING TRIALS, TROUBLES, AND AFFLICTIONS (S. DEE BARRETT):  Matthew 11:28-29 tells about the atoning yoke.  We can come unto the Savior and He will give us rest.  What an invitation!  Come yoke yourself with Him.  If you yoke two oxen together, which way do they go?  Whichever way the stronger one wants to go.  The Savior wants to help and enable us.  He wants to help us with all our concerns and troubles.  He invites us to learn of Him, understand His ways.  He may head up a steep hill and we'll think we want to go around an easier way, but we need to understand Him.  He is meek and lowly of heart.  We will find rest to our soul.  He's inviting us to come walk with Him.  Come look and see what He does.  Learn what He does.  If we're already yoked with God and walking with Him, now we just need to learn how He views trials and uses afflictions.  He'll carry us.  If you are hassled and you can't find quiet moments when reverence can proceed your receiving revelation, you are going to miss out on one of the most important blessings of being a member of the church.  Find time to be with the Lord.  If you think you're going to have a very busy day, you may need to spend an extra hour on your knees.  Don't ever think you're too busy to pray.  What a sweet gift to have this be a part of us.  Learn to be on time for sacrament meeting.  Make it a habit.  There should be soft prelude music for you to enjoy.  You can be still and know that He is God.  Sacrament Meeting is a powerful tool for revelation.  People receive their own revelations for taking care of their problems.  Renew covenants.  Be in tune so the spirit can come in and testify.  Many of your problems will be answered in Sacrament Meeting.  Pray more.  Take care of Sacrament Meeting. Stand still.  You can be in the midst of a trial, but you can stand still and know that He is God.  He can fix or correct anything.  Powerful thing.  Hear the words of the Lord and learn of Him.  Whoever puts their trust in God will be supported in their trials, troubles, and afflictions.  That covers all our concerns.  What are trials?  Things that happen to us without any action on our part.  Pranks of nature.  They could be health issues, disasters, earthquakes.  We shouldn't feel that the Lord is punishing us.  We need to yoke ourselves with God and learn how God will work with us.  The Jews believed that blindness was due to sin.  Jesus had to deal with this attitude.  When a blind man who had been healed testified of Christ, the Jews wouldn't listen to him, saying he was a sinner.  His mother was having health problems and somebody told her if she'd repent, she'd get better.  That isn't how it works.  The Spirit will help us to see this is not a punishment or something God uses to get even with us, it's just something we need to go through.  We need to move onward and move heavenward.  If we approach adversities wisely, they can be times of greatest growth.  We need to be thankful in all things.  We need to learn to laugh.  Have you ever seen an angry driver who acts like the other driver has insulted his honor?  Keep things light.  The way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we are in life.  When you go through adversity, that's when people are watching.  That's when we reveal who we are the most.  If you want to bear witness to your testimony of your knowledge of Heavenly Father and send that message to your kids or neighbors or others, it is during your times of trial that you will testify of that the most.  That's kind of hard.  A couple of years ago he had three hernias and decided to get all of them done at once.  He couldn't use either side.  He was in so much pain.  He couldn't do anything.  He was down and out.  It took a long to heal.  He didn't see it as a punishment from God.  But he asked why.  What did he do to deserve this?  He had to keep reminding himself that this was just a trial.  We're going to have these trials so we need to learn to get through them.  Have you ever been in trouble?  The Lord will support us in our troubles.  Troubles are personal mistakes.  John 8:1-11 tells about a woman taken in adultery who others wanted to stone.  Jesus said he who was without sin could cast the first stone.  They were convicted in their own consciences and slunk away.  That is a miracle to give people a conscience. He asked the woman where her accusers were.  Had no one condemned her?  Neither did He.  He told her to go and sin no more.  He was telling her to repent.  He told her to go and be better.  There are times when we'll make our personal mistakes.  We'll fall short.  But the Lord is not condemning us, He's calling us home.  He wants us to repent and come back.  We should not condemn either, ourselves or others.  If you make a mistake, do better.  When Alma the Younger was wracked with torment because of his sins, he was not paying for his sins.  The Spirit was preparing him for the atonement to take away his sins.  Godly sorrow us a gift.  Sometimes people who have sinned feel the Spirit chastising them and react by avoiding reading the scriptures, attending church, praying or doing anything that allows the Spirit to talk to them.  But instead of avoiding things of the Spirit, we need to repent so we can feel good again.  The Holy Ghost wants us to be men and women and take the consequences.  Do you take the beating or avoid the beating?  Take the beating and then it's over and done.  The Lord works with us to change our hearts so we have no more disposition to commit sin.  How much will you allow the Spirit to beat you up?  How intense?  The process will take longer if you don't allow the beating.  Let the Spirit beat you up and move on.  The Lord cares about you.  He's going to call you.  When He stops calling you, that's when you've got something to worry about.  He uses those He corrects.  If He's correcting you, He needs to use you.  Afflictions are other people's actions that affect you.  The Lord can come to us in our afflictions and deliver us.  He will comfort and cheer us.  It takes an act of faith to be of good cheer during afflictions.  The Lord says He'll take care of us.  He will ease our burdens so we cannot feel them.  He had terrible pain for six months and then had surgery.  He had to lay in his bed for six weeks.  What a trial!  But as he expressed gratitude for small things, his pain lessened.  If we are cheerful and grateful, the Lord will lift our burdens even in the midst of our trials.  If you persist, your burdens will begin to lift.  Submit cheerfully and with patience all the will of the Lord.  The act of faith is to be cheerful.  Mortality is a period of testing.  It is a time to prove ourselves worthy.  In order to be tested, we must sometimes face challenges and difficulties.  Turn to your Heavenly Father in faith.  This means to be cheerful.  He will lift you and guide you.  He will not always take your afflictions from you but He will lift you and guide you through whatever storms you face.  The Savior has suffered not only for our iniquities for also for our inequalities, the unfair things that beset us.  The enabling powers of the atonement are connected and complimentary.  The Lord empowers us to be able to deal with the affliction.  We'll all have trials, troubles, and afflictions.  It doesn't mean we're doing less than what we should.  Hopefully when we sin, we can repent quickly.  But trials are going to happen.  Things will happen.  But know that God, the Father of our Spirits, knows and is prepared and will take care of us.  He is kind.  He is forbearing, and He is much more merciful than anything we deserve. 

THE TRANSFORMING POWER OF GRACE--WHEN THE WORLD SAYS "GIVE UP" HOPE WHISPERS "TRY IT ONE MORE TIME" (JACK S MARSHALL):  If we humble ourselves before God and come unto Him, He will show us our weaknesses and He will make weak things strong unto us.  How can we change unless we really see ourselves for what we are?  We have to see our faults to change them.  When a natural man is confronted with his weaknesses, he becomes angry and defensive.  He may use justification, rationalization, denial, shift the blame, or attack back. Remember when you were younger thinking you'd never become like your parents?  Look what you've become.  Sometimes we're blind to our own weaknesses.  It's painful to see our weaknesses, but a blessing. Some are tested by poor health, some by the passions of youth, some by the infirmities of age, some by the disappointments in marriage, some in poverty, some by the ease of luxury.  When half the world is starving, you have a house for your car.  The Lord gives us weakness so we can be humble.  Humility is to believe, not to counsel God.  There is a God in Heaven, and you're not it!  The Lord's tender mercies are the Lord's personal love, kindness, grace, support, gifts, which we receive because of and through the Lord Jesus Christ.  We all come out of different environments and we'll all be judged accordingly.  He takes into consideration all aspects of our lives.  The Lord's grace is sufficient.  He taught a wonderful young man in Seminary years ago.  He called him excited when he was set apart as a missionary.  He wrote to him while on his mission, telling him about his mission companion in the MTC.  His companion was from Australia and they were heading for Asia.  He and his companion would talk about their hopes and goals.  They shared worry about unfinished business back home and together they went to the branch president and shared their concerns and they both got sent home. This young man began to trust in the grace of Jesus Christ and to study and believe.  He attended Institute classes and did whatever he could to put his life in order.  Six months later he went back out on his mission.  He'd had a repentant attitude and Heavenly Father was pleased with his efforts.  He went back to the MTC for a refresher before leaving to go into the mission field.  When he got his assignment and was assigned to the very same companion that he'd had six months ago.  They had entered the MTC on the very same day. One from Utah and one from Australia, with no contact with each other, had made the same changes in their lives to make things right.  Heavenly Father can make us new creatures in Christ.  We cannot attain perfection with simply our own human effort.  Whenever we fail, we need to pick ourselves up and try again.  Keep going!  We need to learn to depend on God and His grace.  We cannot trust ourselves even in our best moments.  The one things that will condemn us is saying, "This is just the way I am.  I give up."  When we fail, we just need to keep at it and keep at it.  When Peter tried to tell the Savior that bad things would not happen to Him, Jesus said, "Get thee behind me, Satan."  This is the tactic that Satan tried on Jesus, telling him that nothing bad would happen.  Bad things do happen, even to the best of us.  Jesus told Peter that he would deny Him three times, which he did, even though he said he'd never do that.  Peter went out and wept bitterly.  He felt very, very badly.  But notice what grace will do for Peter.  After Jesus is crucified, He is resurrected.  He calls His apostles to life's missions.  He asks Peter three times if he loves Him.  He allows Peter to express his love three times and tells him to feed His sheep.  He is calling him on a mission.  There was healing going on to allow Peter to reiterate his love three times.  He tells Peter to follow Him.  He took the gospel to the ends of the earth to feed His sheep.  When Nero hears that Peter is in Rome, he wanted to kill him.  Disciples encourage Peter to leave Rome.  But he sees in vision Jesus going to be crucified but says no, Lord, this time I will die for you.  He doesn't even feel worthy to be crucified as Jesus was, so insists of being crucified upside down.  If we're willing to take ownership for our weaknesses, by the grace of God we can be saved.  When the world whispers give up, the Spirit whispers try it one more time.  Be patient with yourself. 

DYING WITH DIGNITY: THE TRUTH ABOUT DEATH, DYING, AND HOSPICE (STEVEN EASTMOND): There are myths about death and dying.  Some myths about death: 1. Death is always painful.  That is not always true.  Pain can be well managed.  2.  If you talk about death, someone will actually die--so don't talk about it.  3.  If you tell someone who is terminally ill that they are dying from an illness, they will give up--so don't tell them.  Medicare says people qualify for Hospice is they have a life expectancy of six months or less, even if they have no symptoms.  The reason for this is because the family refuses to talk about the subject and the person needs someone to talk to.  4.  Being present when someone dies is a horrible experience.  This is not necessarily true. It doesn't work like the movies say.  5.  Sudden, unexpected death is harder to deal with than death that is anticipated (such as due to illness).  6.  Because I have strong faith and religious beliefs, I will not have a hard time with a loved one's death, or with my own (conversely, since I am having a hard time, I must not have very strong faith).  Some common myths about dying.  1.  It's bad to cry in front of the dying.  You don't want to do it all the time, but it can be therapeutic.  People who try to be stoic usually try to avoid the topic.  They don't discuss what is happening and they don't discuss feelings.  We need an adequate balance between talking about fun things and talking about what is going on.  2.  Children should not be around people who are dying because it will scare them.  The most traumatic experiences for children are when people tried to keep the children away from the dying person.  That is worse.  It scares the children and makes them feel like death is bad and scary.  3.  Talking about a dying person's experience or feelings a about death with them will always depress them.  Actually, the opposite is true.  If they don't want to talk about it, they'll let you know.  We need to let them lead out in what they want to talk about.  4.  I (or my loved one) will get addicted to pain medicine like morphine if it's taken to control pain, or the morphine will actually kill them.  It might create a dependence but it's not something to worry about when their life expectancy is short. 6. If my loved one does not eat they will starve to death.  I am a bad caregiver if I can't get them to eat. Often nothing sounds good to the dying person.  The appetite is not there.  This is normal and part of the process that the body is doing something to get ready to die.  The body doesn't want to do food right then.  Hard choices when a person is dying.  Preparing advance directives.  This is a living will, or listing interventions, or giving someone a medical power of attorney.  Making funeral arrangements ahead of time.  You can find a funeral home that will work with you ahead of time.  It's odd going in there and picking out your own casket, but things can then go the way they want them to go.  One woman had terminal kidney failure.  Two years later she was still around and she participated in arranging her own funeral.  She decided she wanted to speak at her own funeral and made a video tape of herself to be played at her funeral.  It went just beautifully!  Care centers.  Often a son or daughter will say, "Mom made me promise never to put her in a home."  But she gets in a situation where she needs 24/7 care and it isn't feasible anymore.  You promised mom when she was in good health.  What ought to happen is that if mom's needs are too great and she needs to be put in a center, the family should visit her as often as possible.  You can accomplish things within the home, but there are worse things than going into a care facility.  If the needs are too great, that sometimes needs to be the next step.  Feeding tubes and artificial hydration.  As a person is getting ready to pass away, the body doesn't assimilate food well so these choices at the time of death only prolongs what is going to happen anyway and often puts the person in a miserable place.  It is not pretty in most cases.  If a healthy person gets sick and has a good likelihood of getting well, these things are helpful.  But they are not useful to a dying person.  Taking a person off life support is a difficult decision.  The family member can feel guilty for doing this.  They may feel like they made them die.  But by the time they're on life support they can't usually communicate their wishes.  You need to do what they decided on beforehand.  When we're healthy and strong it's good to be resuscitated, but if we're near death, there may not be any benefit.  There comes a point when we're ready do go.  It's a hard choice to put people on Hospice care, comfort care instead of trying to make them well.  Some people feel their loved one will give up if they're put on Hospice.  If you are prepared, you shall not fear.  Get your advance directives in place.  Trust, will, estate planning.  You don't even need a notary but only a witness for a living will and medical power of attorney.  Have a "When it happens" file.  It might include banks, loans, account numbers, passwords, where extra keys are kept, funeral plans, burial wishes,insurance, names of who to contact, information for taxes, mortuary, things no one else knows how to do (where to hit the fridge so it stops rattling), last words to loved ones.  Think ahead.  You never know when something will happen to you, even if you're young and healthy.  What would your husband or wife not be able to do if you were suddenly gone?  Look it at from the perspective of other people.  Death doesn't have to be painful.  There is a balance between pain management and lucidity.  Let the individual control that.  Dignity can be preserved.  Dying s a process of the body shutting down.  The body knows what it is doing.  It's programmed for this.  When a woman is pregnant, the woman's body knows what to do.  This is the same way.  Trust that the body knows what to do.  The body will go into a process of active dying.  The breathing patterns shift.  The digestive system will change where it isn't interested in food.  As a person gets weaker, they don't need energy.  If you feed them too much they'll actually get sick because the food just sits there.  Also, they can aspirate the food.  One man would eat a Wendy's Frosty every day. It was the only thing he could eat.   But then one day he decided he couldn't eat another Frosty.  A nurse had to sit down with the wife and tell her he couldn't eat any more Frosties.  Also taste buds change.  You can't taste food anymore so you don't want to eat it.  One lady said her food tasted like cardboard or curtains.  Don't feel guilty if the individual doesn't feel like eating. A rule of thumb for eating is: Always offer, never force.  When the body loses it's ability to process fluid, it's part of the process of dying.  If you try give them artificial hydration, all they'll do is swell up and retain the fluid.  It's a time to say what needs to be said:  I love you, I'm sorry, thank you.  You just can't say it enough.  During the actively dying phase, say things to the loved one like "You've been a great dad.  It's okay for you to go now."  Services are available to help your loved one through the physical and emotional issues of death and dying.  Going on Hospice isn't giving up, it's giving more.  It gives them more options, more potential to work through things.  Hospice doesn't necessarily mean that a person will die soon.  Many people live longer than the six months.  As long as they still qualify, it can be renewed.  Bringing Hospice in doesn't hurry up the process.  Hospice is not just for cancer patients.  It's for anyone with a terminal diagnosis.  If you go on Hospice once and then get better and don't need it anymore, you can get Hospice again at a later date.  Hospice is not a specific place.  All hospice programs are not the same. Some send a nurses' aide once a week.  Others send chaplains, social workers, nurses, bereavement support, volunteers, massage therapists, or provide other services.  Check out hospice companies before you pick one.  83% of people don't even understand Hospice care.  It's not just service, it's helping people to be comfortable during their last days.  It's not just physical comfort but also emotional and spiritual comfort.  It is helpful to patients to be able to talk about their spiritual beliefs.  Based on a person's belief system and thoughts about what is coming next, relationships here, etc.  It is NOT about being okay with one's religion or making sure the person's testimony is strong.  You need to open up the opportunity for people to talk, regardless of their religious background.  Even if they seem strong in their faith, they may be feeling scared and are afraid to tell anybody for fear they'll be judged for having a lack of faith.  Death is the separation of our spirit from our bodies; and the end of our mortal existence on the earth.  It comes to everyone.  It's a necessary part of the plan.  People perceive it differently.  The child and teen:  something that does not happen or should not happen to them.  People may need help processing it.  The young and/or healthy:  something awful and bad; to be shunned and not discussed.  But it does need to be discussed and processed.  The aged and/or sick:  a release to be welcomed with open arms when it comes; a reunion with loved ones.  But every person sees it differently and even someone aged or sick may not be ready to go.  People fear death because they fear the unknown, they fear the dying process (pain, trauma, loss of dignity), they fear loss of control, they fear leaving relatives behind, or they fear leaving loose ends or not being ready or prepared to meet God.  He has attended many deaths and every one except for one had a peaceful feeling.  The one who didn't was a very wicked man who had done terrible things in his life.  He died very agitated and was fighting to the end because he knew he was not prepared to meet God.  We laugh, we cry, we work, we play, we love, we live.  And then we die.  And dead we would remain but for one man and His mission, even Jesus of Nazareth.  As people get close, they seem to have one foot in and one foot out--and that seems normal to them.  Often they can see people who have passed on, and talk to them.  The veil is real but it is just a veil.  Often there is a feeling that people are near us.  We can feel their presence and know they are there.  The veil separates us from the other side, it does not erase the other side.  Sometimes when with a dying person, you can feel like there's a whole room full of people there. Special things happen.  There is nothing to fear in death.  He has learned so much from patients not to be afraid.  One woman had a daughter caring for her.  The daughter's husband had died of cancer a year earlier.  Just before the mother died she said to her daughter, "George says to tell you he loves you."  Then she died. 

Daily Thoughts

In the D&C we read that if we're faithful, just, and a wise steward, we'll be able to enter into the joy of the Lord and inherit eternal life. D&C 51:19 "And whoso is found a faithful, a just, and a wise steward shall enter into the joy of his Lord, and shall inherit eternal life."

In the Old Testament we read about the great strength and power of the Lord. He never tires nor becomes weary.  He created the ends of the earth and gives power to those who are faint, increasing their strength.  If we patiently wait upon the Lord, He will renew our strength.  We'll be able to run and not be weary and walk and not faint.  This is an important scripture to remember when we're feeling overwhelmed with the tasks before us.  We might feel like we have so much to do and not enough time to do it in.  But if we'll turn to the Lord, He will help us--either by giving us guidance in prioritizing what really needs to be done or by giving us strength beyond our own to accomplish what we could not do on our own.  We can always turn to Him for help.  Isaiah 40:28-31 "Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

In some scriptures from a thought booklet we're admonished to refrain from judging one another.  Often we judge others harshly while we overlook our own faults and shortcomings.  In other words, we're trying to remove a speck from our neighbor's eye while we have a big plank of wood in our own.  Matthew 7:1-5 "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye."

Education Week Notes -- Thursday

MINISTERING ANGELS--ATTENDING TO SPIRITUAL AND TEMPORAL NEEDS (DONALD W. PARRY):  The older we get, the more we will be aware that there are angels.  This refers not alone to the angel Moroni, but also to those more personal ministering angels who are with us and around us, empowered to help us and who do exactly that.  Angels are translated beings who have not entered into so great a fulness as those who are resurrected from the dead.  John was translated and became a ministering angel. Melvin J. Ballard had an experience when he was a young bishop, in 1884.  Their daughter came in with a newspaper for her dad, while he was busy giving temple recommends.  She said a man came to her while she was out playing on the sidewalk and gave her the newspaper.  It contained the names of dead relatives who needed their temple work done.  It had been printed in England, in the home town Elder Ballard had come from.  And the paper was four days old.  At that period of time is was absolutely impossible for a newspaper to travel from England in four days.  It would have taken weeks.  They decided that the man who brought the newspaper must have been an angel.  They have an advanced travel system.  They can show themselves to those they have permission from the Father to do so.  They have no pain like mortals have.  When the three Nephites were cast into a pit with beasts, they played with the beasts and suffered no harm.  If your grandmother or your father or whoever was a righteous person, they are not far from us and they understand our thoughts and feelings.  They are often pained by them.  After the death of Joseph Smith, Brigham Young sought the Lord's will about what to do.  While fasting and praying, Brigham Young had a vision of Joseph Smith.  Joseph showed him a vision of Ensign Peak and told him to build under it, and he would prosper and have peace.  Wilford Woodruff said that he had had many interviews with Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, and others who had died, and said that they had attended conferences and meetings.  One time Wilford asked Brigham to speak to the conference, but he said no.  He said he'd finished his testimony to the saints on earth, but he told Wilford to tell them to seek and keep the Holy Spirit with them at all times.  Angels attend the rank and file of the church.  They are not only for prophets and apostles.  They are also for Relief Society presidents and other faithful members.  While a man was sealing children to parents in the Cardston Temple, he stopped and asked the mother if the list contained all her children.  She said yes, it contained all her children.  He proceeded but stopped again and again asked her.  This happened three times and finally the mother said that she had had a baby who died shortly after birth.  He then continued with the sealing and sealed that baby as well.  He later told her that every time he tried to do the sealing he heard a child's voice calling out "Mother, don't forget me!"  An angel brought food and water to a prophet of God, Elijah.  An angel provided money for Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball.  They were on a mission, doing the Lord's work.  They had to pay for food and lodging.  They had only had $13.  But later they figured out what they'd spent and realized they'd spent $86.  The money only could have come from an angel.  A man who had been in the Martin handcart company was so weary he could hardly put one foot in front of the other.  He later said, "The cart began pushing me.  I knew then that the angels of God were there."  Our loved ones who have passed away from this earth having been faithful and worthy, may have a mission given them to visit their relatives and friends upon the earth again, bringing messages of love, or warning, or reproof and instruction.  Little children have special privileges with regard to angels.  Jesus said the greatest in the Kingdom was a little child.  In 3 Nephi it tells us that angels descended out of heaven and came down and encircled those little ones about and ministered unto them.  A girl was recovering from a 14 hour operation and her parents were by her bedside.  They were praying that she would make it.  When she awoke, she said there were people in the room and started naming them. They were deceased relatives she had never met.  She said one of them looked like her dad and said his name was Jimmy.  He'd had a brother Jimmy who had died when he was 10.  She said these people had helped her calm down when she was really in pain.  And also said that all the children in the hospital had similar people helping them.  He showed a picture of a phone from 20 years ago which was state of the art back then.  It plugged into the wall and had buttons that you could assign to various people so all you had to do was push one of the buttons and it would automatically dial that person.  Back then this phone was the latest technology and when he got it he thought it was really cool.  But now it is archaic, compared to a modern cell phone.  If we could understand the ways angels communicate, we would think of our ways of communicating are archaic by comparison.  Their ways of communicating are so much superior to anything we can understand. 

FORENSIC DNA TESTING:  HOW ARE CRIMES SOLVED WITH DNA ANALYSIS?  (JOHN M. BUTLER): In the OJ Simpson case, the DNA actually matched.  There was blood on his boot that matched Nicole Brown.  There were 100 pieces of DNA evidence submitted, but like the defense said, "If the glove doesn't fit, you must acquit!" One of the things that came out of the OJ trial was that the public became more aware of DNA testing.  It has helped exonerate 297 people.  We've made a lot of progress since 1995.  The DNA testing took 8 weeks back then.  Now it can be done in 8 hours.  This has changed the way DNA is used.  DNA could be used in an airport to decide if someone should come into the country.  CSI has real instruments but real labs have better lighting.  Also, you can't get results during a commercial break.  He showed a funny that showed a child at a science fair.  It said, "We need to take back your first place ribbon.  Your parents' DNA was found all over your project."  When comparing printed information with genetic information:  Library=Body, book=cell, chapter=nucleus, page number=chromosome, line on page=locus.  You get half your DNA from your mother and half from your father.  Each person's DNA is unique unless they are an identical twin.  DNA typing must be performed efficiently and reproducibly for information to hold up in court.  We are not looking at genes.  We're looking at regions of DNA to read out their sequence.  STR are short tandem repeat markers.  The FBI has selected 13 core STR loci that must be run in all DNA tests in order to provide a common currency with DNA profiles.  Applications for Forensic DNA Typing:  Forensic cases, paternity testing, missing persons, military DNA, convicted felon DNA databases, mass disasters, putting pieces back together, historical investigations. A DNA profile by itself is fairly useless because it has no context.  DNA analysis for identity only works by comparison--you need a reference point.  August 17, 1998 the FBI did an analysis on a stain on Monika Lewinski's dress which matched President Clinton.  Biological relatives served as references to determine Saddam Heisein. There will be no more unknown soldiers due to DNA testing.  175,000 crimes have been solved due to DNA testing.  Different states have different number of samples they have collected.  Utah only has 77,199 profiles.  California has 1,400,221.  In Utah 58 crimes have been solved, but 21,667 have been solved in California.  Utah has one lab and California has 22 labs.  Victims of mass disasters can be identified through DNA.  More than 20,000 bones were processed from the World Trade Center.  DNA samples were given from toothbrushes by family members.  Without DNA testing only 736 victims would have been identified.  The Romanovs, Russia's royal family were captured and imprisoned by the Bolsheviks.  In 1918 the family was killed.  The 11 bodies were stripped of their clothing and thrown down a mind shaft.  Grenades were exploded to try and collapse the mine, which fragmented the bodies.   In 1991 9 bodies were found and excavated.  They used DNA to identify them.  Prince Phillip is a relative of the Tzarina and they matched his DNA to her and the children.  Two of the children were missing.  But in 2007 they found the remains of the other two.  They only found a few charred bone fragments and one nail.  They still had bone samples from the ones they did in 1991 and were able to compare them.  They matched perfectly.  A living male relative was found to confirm Y chromosome testing. He was a distant cousin, and was a perfect match to their samples.  So they verified though other means that the bodies of the entire family had been found.  All the family members have now been identified.  Mystery solved!  DNA testing will continue to play an increasing role in the future.

HOW TO STOP TAKING AND GIVING OFFENSE (S. DEE BARRETT):  Mark on a piece of paper how many times you pull your heart away.  It's the beginning process of recognizing how often we pull our hearts away over little things.  As we start to recognize them, we can have less of them.  We can learn from watching people, seeing how they handle things.  You can watch a parent losing it at a children's sporting event.  We remember that one person who went ballistic, but didn't pay attention to all the parents there just quietly supporting their kids.  When we're driving, we'll focus on the traffic accident, but don't pay any attention to the thousands of other cars we pass.  We tend to focus on the few bad things instead of the many good things.  He was in a restaurant where a waitress accidentally dumped a salad all over a guy.  He just laughed and said, "Well, I really don't like Ranch, but okay."  The waitress gave him napkins to wipe up and offered him a free meal.  He said that wouldn't be necessary, he was having a great time.  A guy sitting nearby heard this and said, "I've got some salad dressing on my shirt.  What about a free meal for me?"  What a difference in attitude!  We need to be a preventer of contention--a peacemaker.  As you read the New Testament, watch the Savior interact with other people.  He tried to minimize situations where people began to get offended.  There are people out there struggling with anger and we'll still have to deal with them. But a lot can be taken care of with our actions.  As the second coming gets closer, more and more of grace will be given to us to become peacemakers.  There is hope.  As the world gets more and more angry, we'll see more peace as we live our covenants.  It's easy to evaluate how good your relationship is with your Heavenly Father by seeing how your relationship is with your spouse, your neighbor, your co-worker.  If you wife ticks you off and you're mad at the neighbor, you probably don't have a good relationship with your Heavenly Father.  Work on doing better in your relationships with your family and friends.  How is your heart?  If you want to improve communication with other people, get better at receiving revelation.  The better you can communicate with Heavenly Father, the better you'll be able to communicate with other people.  When people asked Peter if Jesus paid tribute, he said yes.  Jesus later pointed out to him that he didn't need to pay tribute. Notwithstanding, lest He would offend, he instructed Peter to find a coin in the mouth of a fish and pay it as tribute.  The Savior often gave up rights to keep from offending someone.  There was a dispute about eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols.  Should you eat meat sacrificed to an idol if you're invited to a barbecue by an idol worshiper?  We should base our decisions on charity.  An idol is nothing so it doesn't really matter if we eat the meat or not.  But we need to avoid becoming a stumbling block to someone who is weak.  If you're at a party and the host serves meat sacrificed to an idol, we eat it.  But if we're at another party where there are people present who have a real problem with the issue, we don't eat, to avoid upsetting them.  To put this as an issue for today, we could use the example of coke.  Some have been raised in families that don't drink coke, others think nothing about drinking coke.  Do we make a big deal out of someone drinking coke around us?  Coke isn't the issue.  It's how we treat other people around us.  There are some things we have to hold true to, and it's better to offend the world than compromise on them.  But other grey area issues, it might be a greater offense to not compromise on them.  Can we defuse moments that could turn to contention?  Jesus is very good at not wanting to offend, but He stood up and told the people that He was the Bread of Life and they needed to follow Him.  Many people were offended and left.  We cannot compromise on core doctrines, even if it offends others. When Jesus was heading through Samaria on His way to the feast of the passover, He administered unto the Samaritans.  This was a problem for some Jews, who would travel far out of their way to avoid Samaria.  They accused Jesus of being a Samaritan and a devil.  Jesus doesn't take offence, or defend Himself by saying he's a Jew. He did not correct their comment about being a Samaritan, but did correct their statement that he was the devil.  How do we react when people call us names?  They might have meant to insult us.  But we need to try to create unity.  We might respond "Thank you!"  That defuses their comment.  If you get offended, your judgments become unjust. We get pride involved.  Be careful of listening to people who are offended and who are making judgments.  They want to feel justified in feeling what they're feeling.  Contention results.  Our commission is to become skillful peacemakers who calm troubled waters before harm is done.  To do this we need revelation, we need to be humble, and we need to speak well of others.  We want to get better at this.  Satan goes about spreading rumors and contentions so he can harden the hearts of the people against that which is good.  Contention is destructive because it hardens the hearts of the people against the Savior.  Peacemakers soften hearts so that people can feel the presence of the Savior and come unto Him.  May we get better at being peacemakers and calm the troubled waters. 

LESSONS FROM THE SAVIOR:  MANAGING STRESS BOTH MENTALLY AND EMOTIONALLY (E. KAREN SHORES):  You can't get rid of stress, but you can learn to manage it.  Stress is part of our eternal progression.  It was given to us by design.  Stress is not an event, it is a process. It goes from the event to your brain where you perceive it and then you give a physiological response.  Our bodies, minds, and spirits are connected.  As a man thinketh, so is he.  Let our thoughts be directed to the Lord.  Cast away your idle thoughts.  Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly.  What are the filters in your brain?  Definitions, past experiences, current situation, resources, past wounds, values, beliefs, self esteem, explanatory style, optimism/pessimism.  Which ones are we drawing from?  It could be the most recent filter we put in our brain.  Or it could be one that's really strong because we had a past experience with it.  Or it could be something repetitive.  Something that has happened more often will stick in your brain more than something that happened infrequently.  Something your mother said might stick more than something a stranger said.  Where did the information come into your brain?  Some filters are automatic, and may be negative.  Always/never, black/white, negativity, blame, personalization, labeling, fortune telling, mind reading, believe feelings, guilt.  Worry and anxiety.  The Savior told us not to take thought what we'll eat or drink.  Heavenly Father knows what we need.  We need to put our faith and trust in the Lord and not be consumed with worry and anxiety.  Worry causes us to be apprehensive.  Worry is future oriented.  Anxiety is excessive worry about many things and tends to be pervasive.  Most of what we worry about never happens.  It is wasted energy and unnecessary physical response.  Worry and anxiety have a significant physiological impact.  Medications for worry and anxiety are one of the most frequently prescribed and used medications in the United States.  Worry can wear you down and harm the nervous system and brain.  It can sever the connections inhibiting memory function.  It can increase blood pressure and asthma. Learn to solve problems efficiently.  Create wiser, more rational ways of thinking.  Stop yourself.  Is there a different way to look at the situation that doesn't have so much worry in it?  Quiet the physical stress by paying attention to your breathing.  Close your eyes.  Get comfortable.  Focus on your breathing for one minute.  Think about nothing but your breathing.  Inhale and exhale to the count of five.  Breath slowly and deeply.  Do you feel more relaxed?  Try this when you're stressed.  Breathing alone will help break a physical response.  Sometimes we take a small event and turn it into a huge one.  One lady gets stressed over breaking a shoe lace.  If her shoe lace is broken, she can't run her errands, she can't get groceries, she can't feed her children.  It keeps escalating until in her mind her children are in the hospital.  If you break your shoe lace, tie it together and move on!  Focus on what is going right.  Challenge the perceived danger or threat behind the anxiety or fear.  Challenge your selective perception.  Look for evidence that your thoughts aren't true. Change your perception from worry to excitement.  One lady at the Olympics look at it as excitement instead of being paralyzed with fear like some others.  She didn't focus on worry, she focused on excitement.  Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel.  Have you been around somebody that's really angry?  Their anger is hot.  Cease from anger and forsake wrath.  He that is soon angered does foolishly.  Many people have angry filters.  When somebody accidentally bumps their grocery cart, they are enraged.  Other people are just "Oh, that's okay."  Anger is a transient emotional response that depends on the way one chooses to think about events, usually triggered by perceived provocation or mistreatment or unmet expectations. If we have unrealistic expectations, like that our children will never spill their milk, we're  not going to have our expectations realized.  Hostile people usually are angry.  Any little thing will trigger their anger.  Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.   Angry and hostile people also tend to be pessimistic, lack social support, be overweight, sleep poorly, and have increased health problems.  Anger and hostility cause significant negative events because of the way you interact with other people.  If you're angry and hostile toward other people, you'll increase the negative events that will occur in your life.  Physical results of being angry and hostile are headaches, pain sensations, increased blood pressure and nose bleeds, increased muscle tension, slowed digestion, decreased immune system.  How do you keep yourself from getting angry?  Distract yourself.  Meditate/visualize.  Listen to calming music.  Pet a dog or cat.  Take 2-3 slow deep breaths.  Smile or laugh.  Learn to forgive and practice it.  If you can forgive, you're not angry as much.  Get socially connected to others.  Stop!  Look at the negative thoughts that triggered the anger.  Consider that you might be wrong in what you're thinking.  When we feel overwhelmed, let us recall the assurance that God will not over program us.  He will not press upon us more than we can bear.  Let us simplify our lives a little.  Let's make the changes necessary to refocus our lives on the sublime beauty of the simple, humble, path of Christian discipleship--the path that leads always toward a life of meaning, gladness, and peace.  Hurry sickness--We're running from one thing to another. Instead of trying to be in five meetings at the same time, attend the most important one and figure out other options in not going to the others, such as delegating someone else to attend for you.  Daily hassles--If life and its rushed pace and many stresses have made it difficult for you to feel like rejoicing, then perhaps now is a good time to refocus on what matters most.  If we over commit ourselves, we need to learn to just say no.  There is a plimsoll line on ships that shows them what their capacity is.  Even if there seems to be more space in the ship, once the ship goes down to the plimsoll line, they need to stop loading more cargo on it.  Since they passed a law about this plimsoll line, there were fewer ships sunk and fewer lives lost.  We need a plimsoll line on our lives, so we stop loading more and more on ourselves after we've reached our limits.  Throw out the non essential things that are making our lives too heavy.  A sense of being constantly overwhelmed causes much stress.  Don't labor for the non essentials.  Seek first the Kingdom of God and other things will be added to us.  Set your priorities straight.  When you're overwhelmed, think about the needful things and see if you can get rid of unnecessary things.  Plan your time wisely.  Don't plan multiple high stress events in a close proximity of time.  Plan "downtime" to give yourself a break.  Expect things to take twice as long as you anticipate.  Allow time for others to do their part.  Manage daily hassles.  Be honest with yourself on what you realistically can handle.  It is okay to say no to things that will overwhelm you.  Remember the 02 mask principle from the airplane.  Put the mask on yourself first before you put one on your child.  If you pass out, you can't help your child.  If your child passes out, you need to make sure you're okay to take care of them.  Avoid the BusyNess trap. Expect surprises.  Factor in your physical strengths and social supports.  Don't waste your time watching others break the commandments.  Think about movies, music videos, pornography.  Don't waste your time watching others break commandments.  Prioritize.  If you're trying to put various sized rocks in a jar, put the big ones in first.  If you fill it up with little rocks first, there will be no room for the big rocks.  Organize yourselves.  See that all things are done in wisdom and order.  Set your houses in order.  Keep slothfulness and uncleanness far from you.  The Lord's house is a house of order and not a house of confusion.  Are we committing our time and energy to the things that matter most?  When we sacrifice something good for something better of eternal value, the Lord is pleased.  Judge not that you be not judged.  There is no way we can know of the intentions of the person we're criticizing.  We don't know all the facts.  Judgments are your negative thoughts about another person.  When we have judgment filters in our brain, the information that we receive about another person becomes distorted.  Our thoughts will also condemn us.  Negative judgments can lead to criticism and relationship problems.  How does it feel when someone judges you wrongfully?  Don't do that to someone else.  Assume you don't know all the facts about the other person, because you don't.  Change your focus to the blessings you've been given.  Ignore the annoying part and focus on the good part.  Cultivate a spirit of happiness.  There are over 800 glad passages in the Bible.  Optimism is a virtue that allows us to see God's loving hand in the details of our life.  The pessimist sees the ravages of war and has no hope.  The optimist has hope but doesn't see the ravages of war.  A realist sees the ravages of war AND has hope.  We know what the challenges are, we're not blind to them, but we focus on having hope.  Pessimists see one negative event as an omen that the rest of their life will turn out bad as well.  They think the problems will never go away.  Focus on gratitude.  Have thanksgiving and cheerful hearts.  See a glass as half full.  Practice looking for the good in everything.  Optimism increases the belief that you can do whatever you need to do.  Optimists are 9% less likely to develop heart disease and live 9.5 years longer than pessimists.  Even in the darkest times, trials and challenges, there is always reason to have hope and optimism that things will get better. Laughter boosts our mood.  Once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it.  Thoughts produce energy.  Light energy is high and fast.  Dark energy is low and slow.  Negative dark energy is anger, depression, built, anxiety. Positive ones are love, joy, service, peace, trust, forgiveness.  When you bright the light energy to dark places, it lifts it.  Change the dark filters in your brain to light ones.  These are the lessons from the Savior.  Bring light to what feels dark.  Bring hope and love to what brings stress.  The Savior teaches us to build our capacity to deal with stress. 

PRACTICAL TOOLS TO HELP US LOVE WHAT COMES (SHERRIE MILLS JOHNSON):  The Spirit will keep you in truth.  But if you let the body overcome the spirit, it will destroy you.  Sometimes there's such a large distance between where we are and where we want to be, the adversary will tell us it's hopeless and we can't make it.  But if we allow the Spirit to take over, it will take us the rest of the way.  All you need to worry about is stopping the negative emotions that are sinking you.  Truth tools will help us stay in the realm of truth.  If you go to build a house, you need a hammer.  But a hammer isn't enough.  Just like building a house, you need more than one tool.  You need a whole toolbox.  If you pull out the hammer and it doesn't work for you, pull out the saw.  Keep trying until you find something that does work.  The more you do this, the more you'll find what works best for you in various situations.  You get in the pit of illusion by thinking things should be different from what it is.  When you assume you're not happy because somebody else didn't do what they were supposed to do, you start thinking you're not happy because of other people.  You can't change somebody else just because you want to change them.  The truth isn't about what your spouse or the bishop should or shouldn't have done.  The truth is what happened, and that's all you have to deal with. A truth tool that helps with deep seated problems is identifying your story.  Start by saying "I feel.... angry, sad, hurt, offended, worried, fearful, or whatever...because....."  Get all that negative feeling out of your system in writing.  Writing it out will make it more effective.  What is my expectation?  With every should there will be an expectation.  The truth is that they did it,  Don't deal with what other people shouldn't have done.  Deal with the truth.  What is the truth.  Instead of saying "My father should not have abused me" and becoming a victim, deal with the truth.  When confronted with the truth, you have two choices--can you fix it or do you need to learn to live with it?  One woman whose daughter was killed by a drunk driver could not bring her daughter back, but she became involved with a group to prevent drinking and driving.  Ask if what you're feeling is necessary or unnecessary pain.  If it's a vexation, it's usually unnecessary pain.  Your expectation is what is causing the problem.  How would you feel if you let go of the expectation?  If I stopped expecting my spouse to do such and such, what would be the result?  Sometimes we need to accept that fact that our spouse will never do certain things.  By coming to the truth, the Spirit will speak to you.  What is the Spirit saying to you, and telling you to do right now?  A woman had a child who died and her in-laws accused her of not being righteous enough or the child wouldn't have died.  Take that situation through the truth test.  Her expectation is that the grandparents shouldn't say the things they're saying.  People say awful things all the time.  It's the reality of life.  It happens.  The fact that they shouldn't say it isn't the truth.  She has to deal with what they ARE doing.  It is unnecessary pain, by taking offense at what they said.  You don't have to feel it.  You have a choice.  How would she feel if she stopped expecting them not to say such things?  She'd feel fine.  What is the Spirit telling me to do?  The answer can be a myriad of things, sometimes surprising.  The Spirit might prompt her to go to the in-laws and ask for forgiveness for her ill feelings because of what they said.  That is something that could be done, but isn't always the right answer.  It might not be the right answer all the time.  Listen to the Spirit.  Maybe you need to realize that their thinking is wrong.  Think, "Those poor grandparents have shut themselves off from spiritual experiences because of their wrong thinking."  The Spirit might prompt you to love them all the more, even though they're saying hurtful things.  There are always a myriad of answers.  People get depressed because they can only see two alternatives and they don't like either one.  But when you depend on the Spirit, you begin to see that there are many options.  You can use these on short term things.  A married daughter invited her parents to have dinner with her on her birthday.  She decided on an Italian restaurant.  The mother asked her if she'd rather go to her favorite restaurant.  The daughter snapped at her, and screamed at her for not respecting her choice of going to the Italian restaurant.  They got through the dinner, but the mother had hurt feelings, continuing to think about about her daughter snapping at her.  Later she overheard her daughter telling her siblings the same story from her side--how her mother had tried to manipulate her in her choice of restaurant for her birthday.  What was the truth?  Sometimes we think others are manipulating us when they aren't.  She realized that if she kept telling this story, she'd continue to have negative feelings.  From a new neutral viewpoint, she realized the problem wasn't suggesting the restaurant, but maybe she'd tried to change her mind in the past.  Maybe she was upset about something else.  For whatever reason, what happened had happened and that was the truth.  The mother felt an overwhelming increase in love for her daughter, something that would not have happened if she'd persisted in her negative story.  The truth test is powerful.  If you write your feelings you might be afraid of other people reading them.  Just take your paper to a metal garbage can and burn it!  She had an MRI for over an hour.  It made loud noises, but that doesn't begin to cut out the noise.  She was worried that she had cancer and she'd be dead in six weeks.  She anchored herself.  She put herself in the present moment and engaged all her senses in that.  Let the feelings of the present moment fill you instead of worry about the future or thinking of the past.  Experience anchoring.  Just engage your senses and feel what is here in this present moment. You feel peace and security.  You feel lighter like you're floating.  You feel the Spirit.  The Spirit is always available in the present moment.  If our minds are so full of the past or worried about the future, we can't feel the Spirit.  We can feel separated from our worries and see them more objectively.  We can feel less hopeless.  We can feel gratitude.  In the present moment there is always joy.  When she was in the MRI she anchored herself in the present moment and listened to the repetitive noises the machine made and it became music to her. Instead of worrying that she was going to die or go blind, she felt like dancing to the music.  If she went blind later, worrying about it wouldn't do her any good.  Breath in the hope and move on.  Another tool is to revise, or rewrite.  Stop and rewrite your story.  When you know that something WILL bother you, in a non-threatening, quiet moment rewrite what you will do next time you encounter the situation.  Good courage.  Be not afraid nor dismayed.  The Lord will be with us wherever we go.  It's a commandment to be of good courage, not just good advice.  When the Bible was translated, courage did not mean bravery but meant feelings of the heart.  So we're told to only let good feelings into our heart.  We can do this because the Lord is with us.  He is with us and will help us.  She wrote on her mirror, "I have commanded you, Sherrie!  Be strong and only let the best of feelings into your heart.  Don't ever be afraid or discouraged because I, the Lord your God, am always with you."  Put your name in place of hers.  There is something powerful there!  Say it out loud!  It is empowering!  Sometimes when she questions things, she finds herself laughing.  We can see how ridiculous some of our thoughts are.  Surrounding yourself with good music can keep you in truth.  Take good music with you.  Make up your own music.  You cannot be mad and sing it.  There was a rule in her house, with 9 daughters, that if you were feeling upset, you had to sing it.  She'd hear one of her daughters singing, "You took my blouse and you didnt' wash it."  You cannot stay mad when you sing it.  You're late for work and you have a flat tire.  Sing it!  "Oh, why did this have to happen today?"  It brings laughter.  Sing your troubles away.  Humor.  Be careful you don't use humor in sarcastic ways to hurt.  Her father was mayor of Centerville, Utah back when she was a teenager.  He was trying to put a curb and gutter on Main Street and the farmers didn't want it.  They got mad in a big meeting.  One farmer told her father to go to hell.  Somebody else got up and said he'd read the laws on the books and the mayor didn't have to go to hell if he didn't want to.  This got everybody laughing and they were able to work together. One time her husband was in a grumpy mood.  When they sat down to dinner, one of her daughters dumped a bunch of sugar on her father's plate of food.  He demanded, "Why did you do that?"  "Because I thought it might make you sweeter."  That got them laughing.  Learn to laugh at yourself instead of getting so upset.  Realize that you made a mistake but you have a Savior who will take care of it.  Move on.  Distraction.  Remove yourself.  Do something else.  Go for a walk.  Read.  Curiosity.  Instead of worrying use your sense of wonder.  What new doors will open because of this?  What does God want me to learn from this?  Tell yourself you can do it.  Always set goals and give yourself instructions in the affirmative.  Eat healthy.  Get to bed on time.  Don't beat yourself up.  Learn from your mistakes.  Gospel principles are truth tools. Gratitude.  Service.  Forgiveness.  Repentance.  Sacrament.  Prayer.  Scripture Study.  All of these are truth tools.  They keep you in truth.  They help you.  Use truth tools to live in joy. 

THE HOLY CRUSADER--TZAR ALEXANDER I, THE CONGRESS OF VIENNA, AND EARLY MORMON MISSIONARY WORK (RICHARD E. BENNETT): The Lord is involved in all the nations.  What does Tzar Alexander have to do with the restoration of the gospel?  The Congress of Vienna was 1814-1815, the era of profound peace.  The purpose is to show by what international means the Lord prepared the nations for the oncoming Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Tzar Alexander interpreted Psalm 91:2, 5, 7 as a thousand falling by his side but no harm coming to him.  He felt like he was the king of the north mentioned in Daniel chapter 11, and that many countries would be overthrown.  Tzar Alexander's grandmother was Catherine the Great.  She made Russia into a great super power.  She modernized Russia and instituted liberal reforms.  Russia has a troubled past.  Catherine tried to change serfdom.  She wanted Russia to become the greatest nation of all.  However, she disdained her own son Paul who she thought was weak and without vision.  So she looked beyond her own son to her grandson Alexander.  She spent her life trying to make him the greatest ruler of Russia.  She'd have him sleep in a bed of straw so he'd know what it felt like to be a peasant.  She'd have cannons go off outside his bedroom so he'd know what it felt like to be in the military.  All those cannons going off effected his hearing.  Catherine made sure Alexander's parents had nothing to do with his being raised. She chose Alexander's wife.   Her name was Elizaveta.  She was charming but not overly forceful.  She was only 15 years old when they married.  Alexander was 16.  Elizabeth was loved by everyone except her husband.  It was a marriage of convenience.  However, they had a good friendship and they talked to each other.  They gained strength from each other.  Paul I was the Mad Tzar, Alexander's father.  He became the Tzar when Catherine died.  Alexander learned from his mother to be kind and tender.  He didn't get to know her until Catherine died.  He rediscovered his parents.  Paul was only Tzar for three years.  He could not run Russia.  He was incapable.  His mother was right about him.  He was an embarrassment.  In 1799, the Mad Tzar, who feared everyone and everything, is murdered by his own countrymen.  We don't know if Alexander had anything to do with it.  He says he didn't do it, but maybe he was aware of the plan to get rid of Paul.  There is always a shadow on Alexander's reputation.  At the age of 23, Tzar Alexander is crowned Emperor of all of Russia.  He was adored.  They looked at him as the savior of Russian, molded and prepared for that moment.  He started out his reign positively.  He's going to pass laws to provide greater freedom, but that won't be easy.  He wanted to make Russia into what his grandmother wanted.  His hero was Thomas Jefferson, and also Napoleon.  He loved the French Revolution.  He wanted Russia to capture the reforms of France and spread them.  The Battle of Austerliz was one of Napoleon's greatest victories, effectively destroying the Third Coalition against the French Empire.  French troops, commanded by Emperor Napoleon I, decisively defeated a Russ-Austrian army, commanded by Tzar Alexander 1, after nearly nine hours of difficult fighting in many sectors.  The battle took place at Austerlitz. The battle is often regarded as a tactical masterpiece.  Alexander goes back to St. Petersberg, weeping as a child. After he regroups, he realizes he's going to have to work out things with the French.  Treaty of Tilsit, 1807.  It was the carving up of Europe and an uneasy alliance with the two emperors.  The Russian people said they must not abide by this treaty. Napoleon got wind of this and felt betrayed by Alexander.  He concluded that the only thing that would work would be to attack.  Napoleon invaded with 600,000 troops, going into Moscow in 1812.  The Russians can't stop the French tidal wave.   Alexander was so depressed.  But he gets a great big Bible and it falls open in his lap to Daniel Chapter 11.  He interprets himself as being the king of the north and Napoleon as the king of the south.  He feels like the Lord is on his side.  The emboldens him.  He played some of the 1812 Overture to us.  Napoleon and his army crawls back. There are only 50,000 left.  This is one of the greatest military defeats.  Alexander heads west.  He enters into Paris.  The Allies call him Freedom's Morning Star.  All the nations of Europe think he's the greatest thing since sliced bread.  He even dances with Josephine, Napoleon's wife.  The Congress of Vienna convenes in 1815.  This is the most important thing that comes from the peace treaties of the great nations.  The main characters at this congress left out the French.  They sat in the hall and drank a lot of the time.  The Battle of Waterloo was June 1815.  Napoleon came back.  It was one of the greatest battles of all time.  Napoleon came close to winning, but finally they put him away. He is banished to St. Helana.  They established the Quadruple Alliance of Great Britain, Austria, Russia and Prussia; insured participation of France in future deliberations.  Established Tzar Alexander's Holy Alliance, a precursor to the League of Nations.  Reduced the power and size of France but not overly punitive.  Recognized the new order, inspired by the French Revolution. After 1815, we had the restoration of the gospel.  If Europe had been at war, how could that have taken place?  It was not coincidental that the gospel came forth in this time of remarkable peace.  This was the greatest peace treaty and it came five years before the restoration of the gospel. 

TURNING FROM DOUBT TO TRUST (KRIS BELCHER):  She grew up in Northern California.  She lives here because it's where her husband's from.  She grew up in a beautiful place with a wonderful family.  Many times they'd travel to Utah for vacation.  They went to Aspen Grove and her dad decided he'd take them on a hike.  Even though it was July, there was still snow on the mountain.  She just had her Keds on.  They started on the path, which was paved until the ice started.  At that time she could still see out of her right eye, although she had limited vision. Her father tied one end of a rope around his waist and the other end around her waist.  She was a teenager and her dad was tying a rope to her waist.  Her younger brothers were running around free. She threw a hissy fit.  Her father said she'd either climb the mountain tied to him with the rope or they'd go back to the car.  Numerous times she slipped on the ice  because she had no depth perception and was wearing Keds.  Her father was able to catch her with the rope and kept her from falling off the mountain.  She went from being irritated and angry to having trust in her father and feeling gratitude to him.  She wouldn't have made it without him.  Coming down was difficult and there were a lot of pictures taken of her wet rear end.  When she thinks about trust she thinks about her relationship with her Heavenly Father.  Think for the next few minutes of your trust for your Heavenly Father.  Are you irritated and bitter because your life hasn't gone the way you think it should or you think He hasn't answered your prayers?  We need to get over doubt in our Heavenly Father's care for us.  It's easier to have a more trusting relationship if we have a good relationship with our Heavenly Father.  Not all of us have good fathers.  Some of us were abused by our fathers, or abandoned by them.  But Heavenly Father is perfect and gives us a perfect love.  We can safely trust in Him.  She lost the sight in one eye when she was very young and lost the sight in the other eye over 30 years later.  There is nothing easy about blind obedience.  When she walks with a sighted person, there is nothing easy about trusting them.  There is a lot of work when we're being blindly obedient.  She questions, "Why are you taking me that way? Why are you running me into that door?"  She is now stronger than when she first went blind.  And she's more trusting.  When she came today her sister lead her through all the people and all the hallways and didn't run her into any doors.  Our goal is to have more experiences with our Heavenly Father so we can have more trust in Him.  We need to trust willingly even though we don't know the end from the beginning.  Our trust in our Savior needs to be stronger than our trust in our own abilities.  Sometimes we think we know what to do and we're stubborn in thinking we don't need anybody to tell us what to do.  If we want to be happy, we need to learn to trust more in our Heavenly Father.  When we're angry it stops progression.  She's had times like that in her life.  She has always loved a good mystery.  There are always patterns to lead us to Christ.  The Lord touched the stones of the brother of Jared to give them light.  If we ask the Lord to touch our testimony and give it light, our testimony will be strengthened.  Can our testimony get is through our journey?  The Jaredites had air and light and provisions and then they got aboard their vessels.  We need to get aboard the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We need to make a conscious decision to get aboard.  She's been in many MRI tubes.  Think of it as being tight like a dish.  What if the Jaredites were claustrophobic?  They commended themselves to the Lord.  We might say, "Thy will be done."  When she found out she had more cancer and her eye had to be removed, she knew that Heavenly Father was a God of healing.  He had healed her many times in her life.  She felt that if she prayed hard enough, He could heal her without the loss of her eye.  But she had to learn a lesson.  As she went for a second and third opinion, everyone told her that her eye would need to be removed if her life was to be saved.  So her option was to not have the surgery, lose her sight, and die.  Or have the surgery, lose her sight and live.  She stood by the temple, felt the sturdiness of the granite, and thought of kneeling across the altar with her husband.  She felt sad feeling like she'd never see him again in this life.  But she felt like this was her time to sacrifice.  She gave Heavenly Father her life and her vision and she put her will on the altar.  She said, "Thy will be done."  All the other times she'd prayed about this, she'd told Heavenly Father what she felt needed to be done and told Him she had the faith to make it happen.  But this time she put her trust in God and told Him "Thy will be done."  The Jaredites got in the barges and then the wind started blowing, a furious wind.  It was blowing them toward the promised land.  Heavenly Father provided the blowing of the wind to get them where they needed to go.  Sometimes the wind is fierce and scary.  What is our barge?  It's our testimony and our commitment to Christ. Is it tight like a dish or is there a crack in it? If it's tight enough, the waters can't hurt us.  Maybe we need to strengthen our barges.  We need to be tight in the safety of the Lord.  We can be safe and secure.  He loves us and is watching over us.  He knows how hard it is to keep going and face difficult things.  Elder Richard Scott said "Trials, disappointments, sadness, and heartache come to us from two basically different sources.  Those who transgress the laws of God will always have those challenges.  The other reason for adversity is to accomplish the Lord's own purposes in our life that we may receive the refinement that comes from testing.  Is our problem connected to sin we're guilty of?  Through the atonement of Christ, we can be forgiven.  What about the trials we don't deserve?  In John is the story of the blind man begging for food.  The apostles asked  Christ who sinned, the blind man or his parents, that he was born blind.  Christ teaches them that the man is blind so that the works of God could be made manifest in him.  All of us are subject to disability and the trials of mortality.  Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously.  When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more.  He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benefit.  To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain.  What a trust that is in us!  Heavenly Father knows what needs to happen in our life to get us from where we are to where we need to be.  When things are hard, sometimes we're tempted to dig in our heels and want to do things our way.  But we can dig in our heels and trust in the Lord, knowing we can get through our journey.  Trust is obeying when we don't know the end from the beginning and looking to the Lord in everything we do.  We keep getting trials because we're not to where God wants us to be yet.  If we're anchored to our Father we can make it because we can rely on His strength.  Look to God and live!  We may not have the golden plates.  They're laying deep in the mountain side.  But we have sacred things.  We have knowledge, truths, covenants we've made.  We've had miracles and revelations and promptings.  We have sacred things that have been given to us.  Look to God and live.  Live looking to God.  It becomes a way of life.  Take our normal complaints and doubts and put "Dear Heavenly Father" in the beginning.  We may find that sharing our complaints with Heavenly Father will help us look up to Him.  If we put "Dear Heavenly Father" in front of it, it will change our language. We can look to God and live.  When the Jaredites arrive in the promised land, they build an altar and give thanks.  It's hard to say we're grateful for our trials, but as we look to God we'll see a better perspective.  You show your trust in Him when you listen with the intent to learn and repent and then you go and do whatever He asks.  And if you then go and do what He would have you do, your power to trust Him will grow, and in time you will be overwhelmed with gratitude to find that He has come to trust you.  We need to listen to the promptings and go and do.  President Monson does that.  He has honed that skill.  He's to the point where Heavenly Father trusts him.  The more you trust, the more He can trust you.  Listen with an intent to repent.  That's not an easy thing when we're told to make a course correction.  But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord ave in the first place \ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ.  That he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that they performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.  Whatever we do, we're asked to pray first and do it unto the Lord, and then He will consecrate it for our good.  Even if we're busy with mundane tasks and feel like we're not accomplishing anything, we can do it to the glory of God and the efforts we're giving will be returned for our growth.  When we consecrate our lives to God, that is a deeper level of trust.  We can put away our doubts and fear and pride and trust in Heavenly Father so He can come to trust us more.  We need to anchor ourselves to Him.