Inspirational Words To Live By LDS Style

[Dr Exiled]

https://youtu.be/5lIjptSlg_4

Gordon B Hinckley
Stand up for the truth 1996

Brother, you may well yet convince me to leave my adulterous lifestyle. Too much blow and strippers leads one to self-reflection and I am in need of structure, brother. Yet, alas, the natural man consumes me ....

[Everybody Wang Chung]

[Jeff]

By Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Honestly acknowledge your questions and your concerns, but first and forever fan the flame of your faith, because all things are possible to them that believe.

On one occasion Jesus came upon a group arguing vehemently with His disciples. When the Savior inquired as to the cause of this contention, the father of an afflicted child stepped forward, saying he had approached Jesus’s disciples for a blessing for his son, but they were not able to provide it. With the boy still gnashing his teeth, foaming from the mouth, and thrashing on the ground in front of them, the father appealed to Jesus with what must have been last-resort desperation in his voice:

“If thou canst do any thing,” he said, “have compassion on us, and help us.

“Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

“And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”

This man’s initial conviction, by his own admission, is limited. But he has an urgent, emphatic desire in behalf of his only child. We are told that is good enough for a beginning. “Even if ye can no more than desire to believe,” Alma declares, “let this desire work in you, even until ye believe.” With no other hope remaining, this father asserts what faith he has and pleads with the Savior of the world, “If thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.” I can hardly read those words without weeping. The plural pronoun us is obviously used intentionally. This man is saying, in effect, “Our whole family is pleading. Our struggle never ceases. We are exhausted. Our son falls into the water. He falls into the fire. He is continually in danger, and we are continually afraid. We don’t know where else to turn. Can you help us? We will be grateful for anything—a partial blessing, a glimmer of hope, some small lifting of the burden carried by this boy’s mother every day of her life.”

“If thou canst do any thing,” spoken by the father, comes back to him “If thou canst believe,” spoken by the Master.

“Straightway,” the scripture says—not slowly nor skeptically nor cynically but “straightway”—the father cries out in his unvarnished parental pain, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” In response to new and still partial faith, Jesus heals the boy, almost literally raising him from the dead, as Mark describes the incident.

With this tender scriptural record as a backdrop, I wish to speak directly to the young people of the Church—young in years of age or young in years of membership or young in years of faith. One way or another, that should include just about all of us.

Observation number one regarding this account is that when facing the challenge of faith, the father asserts his strength first and only then acknowledges his limitation. His initial declaration is affirmative and without hesitation: “Lord, I believe.” I would say to all who wish for more faith, remember this man! In moments of fear or doubt or troubling times, hold the ground you have already won, even if that ground is limited. In the growth we all have to experience in mortality, the spiritual equivalent of this boy’s affliction or this parent’s desperation is going to come to all of us. When those moments come and issues surface, the resolution of which is not immediately forthcoming, hold fast to what you already know and stand strong until additional knowledge comes. It was of this very incident, this specific miracle, that Jesus said, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” The size of your faith or the degree of your knowledge is not the issue—it is the integrity you demonstrate toward the faith you do have and the truth you already know.

The second observation is a variation of the first. When problems come and questions arise, do not start your quest for faith by saying how much you do not have, leading as it were with your “unbelief.” That is like trying to stuff a turkey through the beak! Let me be clear on this point: I am not asking you to pretend to faith you do not have. I am asking you to be true to the faith you do have. Sometimes we act as if an honest declaration of doubt is a higher manifestation of moral courage than is an honest declaration of faith. It is not! So let us all remember the clear message of this scriptural account: Be as candid about your questions as you need to be; life is full of them on one subject or another. But if you and your family want to be healed, don’t let those questions stand in the way of faith working its miracle.

Furthermore, you have more faith than you think you do because of what the Book of Mormon calls “the greatness of the evidences.” “Ye shall know them by their fruits,” Jesus said, and the fruit of living the gospel is evident in the lives of Latter-day Saints everywhere. As Peter and John said once to an ancient audience, I say today, “We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard,” and what we have seen and heard is that “a notable miracle hath been done” in the lives of millions of members of this Church. That cannot be denied.

Brothers and sisters, this is a divine work in process, with the manifestations and blessings of it abounding in every direction, so please don’t hyperventilate if from time to time issues arise that need to be examined, understood, and resolved. They do and they will. In this Church, what we know will always Trump what we do not know. And remember, in this world, everyone is to walk by faith.

So be kind regarding human frailty—your own as well as that of those who serve with you in a Church led by volunteer, mortal men and women. Except in the case of His only perfect Begotten Son, imperfect people are all God has ever had to work with. That must be terribly frustrating to Him, but He deals with it. So should we. And when you see imperfection, remember that the limitation is not in the divinity of the work. As one gifted writer has suggested, when the infinite fulness is poured forth, it is not the oil’s fault if there is some loss because finite vessels can’t quite contain it all. Those finite vessels include you and me, so be patient and kind and forgiving.

Last observation: When doubt or difficulty come, do not be afraid to ask for help. If we want it as humbly and honestly as this father did, we can get it. The scriptures phrase such earnest desire as being of “real intent,” pursued “with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God.” I testify that in response to that kind of importuning, God will send help from both sides of the veil to strengthen our belief.

I said I was speaking to the young. I still am. A 14-year-old boy recently said to me a little hesitantly, “Brother Holland, I can’t say yet that I know the Church is true, but I believe it is.” I hugged that boy until his eyes bulged out. I told him with all the fervor of my soul that belief is a precious word, an even more precious act, and he need never apologize for “only believing.” I told him that Christ Himself said, “Be not afraid, only believe,” a phrase which, by the way, carried young Gordon B. Hinckley into the mission field. I told this boy that belief was always the first step toward conviction and that the definitive articles of our collective faith forcefully reiterate the phrase “We believe.” And I told him how very proud I was of him for the honesty of his quest.

Now, with the advantage that nearly 60 years give me since I was a newly believing 14-year-old, I declare some things I now know. I know that God is at all times and in all ways and in all circumstances our loving, forgiving Father in Heaven. I know Jesus was His only perfect child, whose life was given lovingly by the will of both the Father and the Son for the redemption of all the rest of us who are not perfect. I know He rose from that death to live again, and because He did, you and I will also. I know that Joseph Smith, who acknowledged that he wasn’t perfect, was nevertheless the chosen instrument in God’s hand to restore the everlasting gospel to the earth. I also know that in doing so—particularly through translating the Book of Mormon—he has taught me more of God’s love, of Christ’s divinity, and of priesthood power than any other prophet of whom I have ever read, known, or heard in a lifetime of seeking. I know that President Thomas S. Monson, who moves devotedly and buoyantly toward the 50th anniversary of his ordination as an Apostle, is the rightful successor to that prophetic mantle today. We have seen that mantle upon him again in this conference. I know that 14 other men whom you sustain as prophets, seers, and revelators sustain him with their hands, their hearts, and their own apostolic keys.

These things I declare to you with the conviction Peter called the “more sure word of prophecy.” What was once a tiny seed of belief for me has grown into the tree of life, so if your faith is a little tested in this or any season, I invite you to lean on mine. I know this work is God’s very truth, and I know that only at our peril would we allow doubt or devils to sway us from its path. Hope on. Journey on. Honestly acknowledge your questions and your concerns, but first and forever fan the flame of your faith, because all things are possible to them that believe. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Notes

Mark 9:22–24; see also verses 14–21.

Alma 32:27; emphasis added.

Mark 9:22; emphasis added.

Mark 9:22, 23; emphasis added.

See Mark 9:24–27.

Matthew 17:20.

Helaman 5:50.

Matthew 7:16.

See Acts 4:16, 20.

Adapted from Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, 2 vols. (1883), 2:108.

2 Nephi 31:13.

Mark 5:36.

See Gordon B. Hinckley, in Conference Report, Oct. 1969, 114.

See Articles of Faith 1:1–13.

See Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007), 522.

2 Peter 1:19. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/stu ... _p1#title1

[Jeff]

“I Have Nothing More to Give You”

By Elder Eduardo Gavarret

Of the Seventy

This change of heart is not an event; it takes faith, repentance, and constant spiritual work to happen.

On Friday, October 28, 1588, having lost its rudder to being governed solely by oar, the ship La Girona, belonging to the great Spanish Armada, collided with the rocks of Lacada Point in Northern Ireland.

The ship capsized. One of the castaways struggling to survive wore a gold ring given to him a few months earlier by his wife with the inscription, “I have nothing more to give you.”

“I have nothing more to give you”—a phrase and a ring with the design of a hand holding a heart, an expression of love from a wife to her husband.

When I read this story, it made a deep impression on me, and I thought of the request made by the Savior: “And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit.”

I also thought of the people’s reaction to King Benjamin’s words: “Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us … , which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.”

Let me share with you an experience I had when I was 12 years old, the effect of which lasts to this day.

My mother said, “Eduardo, hurry up. We are late for the Church meetings.”

“Mom, I’m going to stay with Dad today,” I replied.

“Are you sure? You have to attend your priesthood quorum meeting,” she said.

I replied, “Poor Dad! He is going to be left alone. I’m going to stay with him today.”

Dad was not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

My mother and sisters went to Sunday meetings. So I went to meet Dad in his workshop, where he liked to be on Sundays, and as I had told my mother, I spent a while, that is, a few minutes with him, and then I asked, “Dad, is everything all right?”

He kept up his hobby of repairing radios and clocks, and he just smiled at me.

Then I told him, “I’m going to go play with my friends.”

Dad, without looking up, said to me, “Today is Sunday. Aren’t you supposed to go to church?”

“Yes, but today I told Mom I wouldn’t go,” I replied. Dad went on about his business, and for me, that was permission to leave.

That morning there was an important soccer game, and my friends had told me that I couldn’t miss it because we had to win that game.

My challenge was that I had to pass in front of the chapel to get to the soccer field.

Determined, I dashed towards the soccer field and stopped before the great stumbling block, the chapel. I ran to the opposite sidewalk, where there were some big trees, and I decided to run between them so that no one would see me since it was the time the members were arriving at the meetings.

I arrived just in time for the start of the game. I was able to play and go home before my mother got home.

Everything had gone well; our team had won, and I was thrilled. But that well-executed run onto the field did not go unnoticed by the deacons quorum adviser.

Brother Félix Espinoza had seen me running quickly from tree to tree, trying not to be discovered.

At the beginning of the week, Brother Espinoza came to my house and asked to speak with me. He didn’t say anything about what he had seen on Sunday, nor did he ask me why I had missed my meeting.

He just handed me a manual and said, “I would like you to teach the priesthood class on Sunday. I have marked the lesson for you. It is not so difficult. I want you to read it, and I will come by in two days to help you with the preparation for the lesson.” Having said this, he handed me the manual and left.

I didn’t want to teach the class, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell him no. I had planned that Sunday to stay with my father again—meaning, there was another important soccer game.

Brother Espinoza was a person whom young people admired. He had found the restored gospel and changed his life or, in other words, his heart.

When Saturday afternoon arrived, I thought, “Well, maybe tomorrow I’ll wake up sick, and I won’t have to go to church.” It wasn’t the soccer game that worried me anymore; it was the class I had to teach, especially a lesson about the Sabbath day.

Sunday came, and I woke up healthier than ever. I had no excuse—no escape.

It was the first time I would teach a lesson, but Brother Espinoza was there by my side, and that was the day of a mighty change of heart for me.

From that moment on, I began to keep the Sabbath day holy, and over time, in the words of President Russell M. Nelson, the Sabbath day has become a delight.

“Lord, I give You everything; I have nothing more to give You.”

How do we obtain that mighty change of heart? It is initiated and eventually occurs

when we study the scriptures to obtain the knowledge that will strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ, which will create a desire to change;

when we cultivate that desire through prayer and fasting;

when we act, according to the word studied or received, and we make a covenant to surrender our hearts to Him, just as with King Benjamin’s people.

How do we know that our heart is changing?

When we want to please God in all things.

When we treat others with love, respect, and consideration.

When we see that the attributes of Christ are becoming part of our character.

When we feel the guidance of the Holy Spirit more constantly.

When we keep a commandment that has been difficult for us to obey and then continue to live it.

When we listen carefully to our leaders’ advice and cheerfully decide to follow it, have we not experienced a mighty change of heart?

“Lord, I give You everything; I have nothing more to give You.”

How do we maintain the mighty change?

When we partake of the sacrament weekly and renew the covenant to take upon us the name of Christ, always remember Him, and keep His commandments.

When we turn our lives toward the temple. Regular temple attendance will help us maintain a new and renewed heart as we participate in the ordinances.

When we love and serve our neighbors by ministering activities and missionary work.

Then for our great joy, that inner change is strengthened and spreads until it abounds in good works.

This mighty change of heart brings us a feeling of freedom, trust, and peace.

This change of heart is not an event; it takes faith, repentance, and constant spiritual work to happen. It begins when we desire to submit our will to the Lord, and it materializes when we enter into and keep covenants with Him.

That individual action has a positive effect both on us and on the people around us.

In the words of President Russell M. Nelson, “Imagine how quickly the devastating conflicts throughout the world—and those in our individual lives—would be resolved if we all chose to follow Jesus Christ and heed His teachings.” This action of following the Savior’s teachings leads to a mighty change of heart.

Dear brothers and sisters, young people, and children, as we participate in the conference this weekend, let the words of our prophets, which will come from the Lord, enter our hearts to experience a mighty change.

For those who have not yet joined the Lord’s restored Church, I invite you to listen to the missionaries with a sincere desire to know what God expects of you and experience that inner transformation.

Today is the day to decide to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. “Lord, I give You my heart; I have nothing more to give You.”

Just as the ring was recovered from that shipwreck, when we give our hearts to God, we are rescued from the raging seas of this life, and in the process we are refined and purified through the Atonement of Christ and become “children of Christ,” being spiritually “born of Him.” Of this I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/stu ... p58#title1

[Physics Guy]

I'm afraid I don't buy Holland's assertions, but I'll give the apostle his due. His little essay seems well-written to me, and intelligent. At the points where I was thinking, "Yeah, but look, obviously—", the thing that I was thinking really needed to be addressed was the next thing he addressed. Moreover he seems to say what a Mormon apostle should say, and say it about as well as it could be said. I have often compared Mormonism unfavourably to older and larger world religions, but I think that if Holland gave that as a speech at a meeting of world religious leaders, he'd make Mormonism look like a legitimate player.

The other guy didn't hold my attention. Maybe I was just tired, or maybe there's a noticeable difference between an Apostle and a Seventy.

[drumdude]

Jeff doesn't ever engage with anyone he just posts and runs...