Where I stand on this topic:
“And go ye out from among the wicked. Save
yourselves. Be ye clean . . . (D&C
38:40–42),” quotesPresident Henry B. Eyring. He then asserts, “The Lord
always prepares a way to keep His commandments, you can expect that He will do
that for each of you.”
Elder L Tom Perry directs, “We must not pick and choose which commandments we think are
important to keep but acknowledge all of God’s
commandments. We must stand firm and
steadfast, having perfect confidence in the Lord’s consistency and perfect
trust in His promises.”
Elder
Dallin H Oaks reminds us, “[Jesus Christ] invites all of us who are heavy laden
to come unto Him, to learn of Him, to follow Him, and thus to find rest to our
souls (see Matthew 4:19; 11:28).” [iii]
I am certain
of these truths. The Lord does prepare a way, and we can have confidence in His
promises. There is hope and peace for each of person. Elder Richard G Scott
assists me to understand more: “Exercise faith and remember that there are
some things that must be left to the Lord.. . . .When you feel that there is
only a thin thread of hope, it is really not a thread but a massive connecting
link, like a life preserver to strengthen and lift you. It will provide comfort
so you can cease to fear.”
How this affects my future:
I
struggle with public speaking and leadership. Elder Eyring teaches, “The
Savior’s only motivation was to help people.” I am able to serve when I
remember this and focus on serving and helping others. Elder Eyring also teaches
about forgiveness. It is important to soften our hearts, especially towards
family members and frankly forgive them. He said, “I have seen the Lord melt
hearts . . . I challenge you to go for the Lord to someone, despite any fear
you may have, to extend love and forgiveness.
. . . You will feel the love of the Savior for that person and His love for
you. . . . If you go for the Lord to bless others, He will see and reward it.
If you do this often enough and long enough, you will feel a change in your
very nature through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. . . .” [vi] I have accepted Elder Holland’s challenge,
and work to ensure my heart is not hardened towards others. I desire to feel a
change in my nature.
Elder
Eyring taught, “Sometimes we will receive counsel that we cannot understand or
that seems not to apply to us, even after careful prayer and thought. Don’t
discard the counsel, but hold it close. If someone you trusted handed you what
appeared to be nothing more than sand with the promise that it contained gold,
you might wisely hold it in your hand awhile, shaking it gently. Every time I
have done that with counsel from a prophet, after a time the gold flakes have begun to
appear and I have been grateful. The Lord
said, ‘Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and
give thee answer to thy prayers’ (D&C
112:10)." Emphasis mine. [vii]
Elder M
Russell Ballard shared, “Come to an honest, open self-examination, an awareness
within as to who and what [you] want to be.
. . . Keep foremost in mind the sacred covenants [you] have made … [Your]
main goal should be to seek ‘immortality and eternal life’. . . Eliminate
from [your life] the things that clamor for and consume [your] thoughts,
feelings, and energies without contributing to . . . ‘immortality and eternal life’ (Moses 1:39).
. . Just do the very best you can each
day. Do the basic things and, [soon] your life will . . .[know] that your
Heavenly Father loves you. . . Then life will be full of purpose and meaning,
making balance easier to maintain.” [viii] Elder Ballard reminds
us, “Failure is only when you quit
trying...if you keep working at a task and try to do what's right and honest,
ultimately it works out
When we
are assured of God’s love and our own purpose in life, we can more readily
follow Elder Robert D Hales counsel: “Sometimes we become the lightning rod,
and we must “take the heat” for holding fast to God’s standards and doing His
work. I testify that we need not be afraid if we are grounded in His doctrine.
. . . we are never alone. . . . It is our sacred privilege to stand with [the
Savior]! Ironically, standing strong sometimes means avoiding and even fleeing
from the world. . . .As we diligently live the gospel, we
become strong in the Lord . . . to stand against any philosophy or creed
that denies the Savior and contradicts the great, eternal plan of happiness for
all of God’s children. . . . Let us glorify God’s name by standing
strong with our Savior, Jesus
Christ.”
My plan to apply it in my life:
Elder Eyring brings up an issue that is a struggle for many women. Should
we work outside our home or only nurture and serve our spouse and families? He
comments, “In our own time, we have been warned with counsel of where to
find safety from sin and from sorrow. One of the keys to recognizing those
warnings is that they are repeated. For instance, more than once in these
general conferences, you have heard our prophet say that he would quote a
preceding prophet and would therefore be a second witness and sometimes even a
third. Each of us who has listened has heard President Kimball give counsel on the importance of a mother in the
home and then heard President
Benson quote him, and we have heard President Hinckley quote them both. The
Apostle Paul wrote that “in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every
word be established” (2 Cor. 13:1). One of the ways we may know
that the warning is from the Lord is that the law of witnesses, authorized
witnesses, has been invoked. When the words of prophets seem repetitive,
that should rivet our attention and
fill our hearts with gratitude to live in such a blessed
time. . .
The Lord
said, ‘Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and
give thee answer to thy prayers’ (D&C 112:10)." [xi] This is never an easy
choice but I find my way back, again and again, to believing it is better for
my family and society when I can be with and available to my family members,
even now when they are grown and have families of their own. This counsel is
not always easy to apply or understand but I know it is the Lord’s will for
women to be focus their time and talents in nurturing their families, as
revealed by his servants the prophets.
Elder Dieter F Uchtdorf reminds us, “Prayer helps us transcend the stormy times. It gives us a glimpse of that blue sky that we cannot see from our earthly vantage point, and it reveals to us another vista—a glorious spiritual horizon filled with hope and the assurance of the bright blessings the Lord has promised to those who love and follow Him.” [xii]
"Jesus revealed that we pray to a wise Father who knows what things we have need of, before we ask Him (Matt. 6:8),” teaches Elder Russell M Nelson. “The Lord said, 'Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good' (D&C 90:24)’. We should pray ‘with all the energy of heart’ (Moro. 7:48) . . . The sweet power of prayer can be intensified by fasting, on occasion, when appropriate to a particular need.”
Elder Oaks teaches us to avoid sin, the
things that separate us from God, and repent quickly of them when we err. He
explains, “In its widest application, sin includes
every irregularity of behavior, every source of uncleanliness. . . . [Some]
wrongly think repentance is easy [and] a person is better off after he has
sinned and repented. . . . [These ideas] are devilish lies of the adversary. .
. . . . . We don’t have to have personal experience with the effects of serious
transgressions to know that they are injurious to our souls and destructive of
our eternal welfare. . . . Conduct your life today so your tomorrows are not
burdened with bad or embarrassing memories.” Emphasis mine [xiv]
NOTES:
[i]
President HENRY B EYRING,
First Counselor in the First Presidency, “We Are
One,” 183rd Annual General Conference, 6 April 2013
[ii]
Elder L. TOM PERRYof
the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Obedience
to Law is Liberty,” 183rd Annual General Conference, 7April 2013
[iii] Elder DALLIN H.
OAKS of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Followers
of Christ,” 183rd Annual General Conference, 7 April 2013
[iv]
Elder RICHARD G.
SCOTT of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “For
Peace at Home” 183rd Annual General Conference, 6
April 2013
[v]
President BOYD K. PACKER,
President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Our
Moral Environment,” 162nd Annual General Conference, April 1992
[vi] Elder HENRY B EYRING,
First Counselor in the First Presidency, “Where
Is The Pavilion?” 182rd Semi-annual General Conference, 7 October 2012
[vii] Elder HENRY B EYRING,
First Counselor in the First Presidency, “Finding
Safery in Counsel” 167th Annual General Conference, April 1997,
Ensign, May 1997 page 26
[viii] Elder M. RUSSELL
BALLARD of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Keeping
Life’s Demands In Balance,” 157th Annual General
Conference, April 1987
[ix]
Elder M. RUSSELL
BALLARD of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “True
to the Faith,” by Kathleen Lubeck, March 1986 Ensign
[x]
Elder ROBERT D HALES of the Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles, “Stand
Strong in Holy Places,”183rd Annual General Conference, 6 April 2013
[xi] Elder HENRY B EYRING,
First Counselor in the First Presidency, “Finding
Safery in Counsel” 167th Annual General Conference, April 1997,
Ensign, May 1997 page 26
[xii]
Elder DEITER F
UCHTDORF, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, "Prayer
and the Blue Horizon," Ensign, June 2009
[xiii]
See Matt. 17:21; Mark 9:29; 1 Cor. 7:5; Mosiah
27:22–23; Alma 5:46; 3 Ne. 27:1; D&C
88:76. Elder RUSSELL M
NELSON of the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Sweet
Power of Prayer,” 173rd Annual General Conference, April 2003
[xiv]
Elder
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