Sunday, October 16, 2011

Opportunities to Do Good

First Counselor in the First Presidency

"Our Heavenly Father hears the prayers of His children across the earth pleading for food to eat, for clothes to cover their bodies, and for the dignity that would come from being able to provide for themselves. Those pleas have reached Him since He placed men and women on the earth.

You learn of those needs where you live and from across the world. Your heart is often stirred with feelings of sympathy. When you meet someone struggling to find employment, you feel that desire to help. You feel it when you go into the home of a widow and see that she has no food. You feel it when you see photographs of crying children sitting in the ruins of their home

destroyed by an earthquake or by fire.

Because the Lord hears their cries and feels your deep compassion for them, He has from the beginning of time provided ways for His disciples to help. He has invited His children to consecrate their time, their means, and themselves to join with Him in serving others."

We have the power to serve.

to lift the burdens of our fellow man,

to show our love through service.

Mosiah 2:17

And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.

I have found the paradox .............

that if I love until it hurts,

then there is no hurt,

but only more love.

~Mother Teresa

How wonderful it is that

nobody need wait a single moment

before starting to improve the world.

~Anne Frank

We can do no great things,

only small things with great love.

~Mother Teresa

If you can't feed a hundred people,

then feed just one.

~Mother Teresa

I've seen and met angels wearing the disguise

of ordinary people living

ordinary lives.

~Tracy Chapman

Let no one ever come to you without

leaving better and happier.

~Mother Teresa

"Heavenly Father’s love for His children is the core message of the plan of happiness, which plan is made active through the Atonement of Jesus Christ—

the greatest expression of love the world has ever known.¹⁶

How clearly the Savior spoke when He said that every other commandment hangs upon the principle of love.¹⁷If we do not neglect the great laws—if we truly learn to love our Heavenly Father and our fellowman with all our heart, soul, and mind—all else will fall into place.

The divine love of God turns ordinary acts into extraordinary service. "

DIETER F. UCHTDORF, 10-2009

October Conference Report

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Faith

“When you get to the end of all the light you know

and it's time to step into the darkness of the unknown,

faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen:

either you will be given something solid to stand on,

or you will be taught how to fly.”
― Edward Teller

Alma 32:21

And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect

knowledge of things;

therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen,

which are true.

Elder Neal A. Maxwell on Faith in God
---------------------------------------------------

"God watches the times and seasons. He knows your individual bearing capacities. . . .

"You can have full faith and trust in God, His mercy and goodness."

Come unto Him

I wander through the still of night,
When solitude is ev’rywhere—
Alone, beneath the starry light,
And yet I know that God is there.
I kneel upon the grass and pray;
An answer comes without a voice.
It takes my burden all away
And makes my aching heart rejoice.

When I am filled with strong desire
And ask a boon of him, I see
No miracle of living fire,
But what I ask flows into me.
And when the tempest rages high
I feel no arm around me thrust,
But ev’ry storm goes rolling by
When I repose in him my trust.

It matters not what may befall,
What threat’ning hand hangs over me;
He is my rampart through it all,
My refuge from mine enemy.
Come unto him all ye depressed,
Ye erring souls whose eyes are dim,
Ye weary ones who long for rest.
Come unto him! Come unto him!

Text: Theodore E. Curtis, 1872–1957
Music: Hugh W. Dougall, 1872–1963

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Become as a Child

Matthew 18:2

And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,

Matthew 19:14 18:4-5

Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child,

the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.

But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me:

for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 18:3

Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted,

and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Become as a Little Child

JEAN A. STEVENS

First Counselor in the Primary General Presidency

April 2011 LDS Conference

If we have a heart to learn and a willingness to follow the example of children, their divine attributes can hold a key to unlocking our own spiritual growth.

What is it we should learn from children? What qualities do they possess and what examples do they demonstrate that can help us in our own spiritual development?

They are often the first to love and the first to forgive.

These precious children of God come to us with believing hearts. They are full of faith and receptive to feelings of the Spirit. They exemplify humility, obedience, and love.

It is here in our families, in an atmosphere of love, where we see and appreciate in a more personal way the divine attributes of His spirit children. It is here in our families where our hearts can be softened and in humility we desire to change, to become more childlike. It is a process by which we can become more Christlike.

Have some of life’s experiences taken from you the believing heart and childlike faith you once had? If so, look around at the children in your life. And then look again. They may be children in your family, across the street, or in the Primary in your ward. If we have a heart to learn and a willingness to follow the example of children, their divine attributes can hold a key to unlocking our own spiritual growth.