Good Things to Come

As life keeps changing, which it always seems to do, and seems unbearably difficult this quote from Elder Holland is a hopeful reminder. Find the full talk here.

"Every one of us has times when we need to know things will get better. Moroni spoke of it in the Book of Mormon as “hope for a better world.”  For emotional health and spiritual stamina, everyone needs to be able to look forward to some respite, to something pleasant and renewing and hopeful, whether that blessing be near at hand or still some distance ahead. It is enough just to know we can get there, that however measured or far away, there is the promise of “good things to come.”

My declaration is that this is precisely what the gospel of Jesus Christ offers us, especially in times of need. There is help. There is happiness. There really is light at the end of the tunnel. It is the Light of the World, the Bright and Morning Star, the “light that is endless, that can never be darkened.”  It is the very Son of God Himself. In loving praise far beyond Romeo’s reach, we say, “What light through yonder window breaks?” It is the return of hope, and Jesus is the Sun.  To any who may be struggling to see that light and find that hope, I say: Hold on. Keep trying. God loves you. Things will improve. Christ comes to you in His “more excellent ministry” with a future of “better promises.” He is your “high priest of good things to come."

Discipleship and Trust

I had stake conference today and the theme that stood out to me was one of becoming disciples. They discussed how we are all going to have trials, but we should work on how we handle what life throws us instead of focusing on the trial. Our visiting authority suggested that we let discipleship be the defining characteristic of our lives. We should be doing what we are doing because we want to be like the Savior, not because we are expecting it to bring us a specific blessing or to keep trials away. Life is going to happen and when we let discipleship define us we can take what comes and make the best of it. That just struck me that our outlook and perception on life and what we choose to let define us make such a difference.

The other thing that struck me today came from my reading in Alma chapter 8. One of the questions that came up in stake conference was why, when we are doing all that we are supposed to be doing do we not get what we want or think we want or need. Ultimately it comes down to the Lord's timing not ours. I gained some comfort though from Alma 8 where Alma is trying to teach the people of Ammonihah and in verse 10 it describes Alma laboring with the Spirit and wrestling in prayer that the people's hearts may be softened. It didn't happen. The people hardened their hearts and threw Alma out of the city. Later in verse 15, Alma is told he has cause to rejoice because he has been faithful. It wasn't until later that the people accepted the gospel.

This story struck a chord because how many of us have righteous desires? Whether it be to have children, to serve a mission, or to be married, there are many righteous desires that sometimes no matter how much we pray and desire those things they don't happen when we want. But the hope comes from verse 15, as long as we are living righteously we will be blessed, perhaps not with what we want when we want it, but with what the Lord knows we need and on His timing. We just have to have the faith to trust Heavenly Father and keep moving forward.

Beautiful Savior

This passage of scripture was shared in fast and testimony meeting this week and then I happened to come across it in my Book of Mormon reading and it kind of hit me. The Savior of the world was not desired of the world. He was not highly esteemed of men, but in reality He is all that we should esteem and desire. He is how we are healed.

Isaiah 53/Mosiah 14

"For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of 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 has borne our briefs, 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."

It goes on, but this part is what really stood out to me. Christ is the only one that can comfort me and bring me peace regardless of the situation I am in. All of my joys, sorrows, grief, heartache, iniquities, and peace come from the Savior. What a truly beautiful thing.

To the Women

I have been failing at this blog thing, but today I have something for the women of the church out there. I am teaching in Relief Society tomorrow on the purpose of Relief Society and came across this gem by President Gordon B. Hinckley. Enjoy!

“Let me say to you sisters that you do not hold a second place in our Father’s plan for the eternal happiness and well-being of His children. You are an absolutely essential part of that plan. Without you the plan could not function. Without you the entire program would be frustrated . . . Each of you is a daughter of God, endowed with a divine birthright. You need no defense of that position. There is strength and great capacity in the women of this church."

New Year Perspective

This talk was given at BYU my freshman year and it is one of my

all-time favorite talks. It is a good reminder that we can learn from

the past, but that we should be looking forward

and having faith in good things to come. You can find the talk here.

Elder Holland quotes a poem by Robert Browning that I really like:

Grow old along with me!

The best is yet to be,

The last of life, for which the first was made:

Our times are in His hand

Who saith “A whole I planned,

Youth shows but half; trust God: see all,

nor be afraid.

Happy New Year!

Definition of Christmas

One more post for today that helps me get in the right Christmas mindset.
I have read this a couple of times this last week and I love how it reminds
me of what Christmas is truly about.

"Christmas is more than trees and twinkling lights, more than toys and gifts and bulbs of a hundred varieties. It is love. It is the love of the Son of God for all mankind. It reaches out beyond our power to comprehend. It is magnificent and beautiful. It is peace. It is peace which sustains, which blesses all who accept it. It is faith. It is faith in His wondrous ways and message. It is faith in Him as our Redeemer and Lord. We testify of the divinity of His nature. In our times of grateful mediation, we acknowledge His priceless gift to us and pledge our love and faith. That is what Christmas is really about." - Gordon B. Hinckley

Trusting Change

Today I flipped open to Alma 48:17 and found a glue-in from the good old seminary days.
This verse talks about how if men/women were as valiant as Moroni, "the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever." The quote I found relates to how we can become more
valiant. It reads:

"Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace." - Ezra Taft Benson

That quote sounds so full of potential! Letting go of what we want can sometimes be hard, but if we can have faith it will be worth it. I once had a bishop tell me that transformation is risky, which is so true, but when we are transforming to become like our Savior it is worth all of our effort.