Mormon Message: Voice of the Spirit

Life's Experience

I am learning a lot from being in school, and it's not all curriculum based. What an exciting time! It's definitely not easy, but worth the struggle. The biggest lesson is: "it is not requisite that a man run faster than he has strength" (Mosiah 4:27).

Take my garden for instance. I don't know what I was thinking planting such a huge garden this year! O.K., that's not true. I was hoping to get a lot of canning done and try some dehydrating. My plot is 76" x 27", and you better believe it's full! And yes, my garden is becoming a lost cause - it's lost in all the weeds! Hahahaaa... We returned home from our recent trip, and still haven't found a whole hill of musk melon. I know I planted two, but one has vanished!

The other thing I'm really learning is the importance of me being at home. I know I've had times where I feel so swallowed up in the responsibility of it all, I loose sight of the value and purpose. Have you ever felt like you give give give and don't get any thing except more work in return? I've been able to study the psychology and development associated with mothers and their influence, and it is incredible. To turn this information around and study how it affects the population through education in general is AMAZING!!! Then, to top it off, I can see how my return to school affects my children. Don't ever feel like you're not of worth.

Repeat with me, "I am of infinite worth with my own divine mission which I will strive to fulfill."

Whether you stay at home, work, or don't have children, know that you are an influence in the lives of so many! Cherish your opportunities and "delight in your children," whoever they may be.

Good Things to Come

Go Forth with Faith

Do you ever feel like there's too much to do and you don't know where to begin? Where do you start? How do you start? How is it going to be accomplished? I've been pondering this a lot the last little while. Even without a lot of non-essentials, life is involved. Family, work, church, and school are consuming with their slew of things to be done. So how do we do it?

I was reading in this month's Ensign and ran across a quote by President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He said, "If you are helpless, he is not. If you are lost, he is not. If you don't know what to do next, he knows. It would take a miracle, you say? Well, if it takes a miracle, why not?"

Why not let a miracle happen in your life? The Lord will fight your battles for you if you just begin.

This quote was used in, "What Mothers Can Learn from the Savior." To read the entire article, click here.

First Presidency Appeals to Church Members to Help People in Haiti - LDS Newsroom

To read the entire article, statement from the First Presidency, and news release on relief efforts in Haiti, please click this link:

First Presidency Appeals to Church Members to Help People in Haiti - LDS Newsroom

In a statement published on the Church’s official Web site, Church President Thomas S. Monson and counselors Henry B. Eyring and Dieter F. Uchtdorf said they are “keenly aware that many in America are dealing with economic challenges brought on by the recent recession.” Many Church members have made substantial contributions to Church Humanitarian Services, but more is needed. Church members and others wishing to contribute to the aid efforts may do so by using the Donation Slip they normally use for Church donations or by logging onto lds.org and clicking on Humanitarian Services Emergency Response.

“Money is not the only need in Haiti,” the statement continued. “People are frightened, bewildered, and wholly uncertain about their future. In addition to what people can do in helping with food, water and shelter, there needs to be a calming influence over that troubled nation. We invite people everywhere to supplicate God for a spirit of calm and peace among the people.”

Go Forth with Faith

Do you ever feel like you need to do something, and you want to do it, but don't know how to accomplish it? And then, to top it off, without the Lord's help, it would be impossible. And you know the only reason it will work out is because you have His help?

That's where I am, and I know I'm not the only one. I was reminded of a quote by President Harold B. Lee (1899–1973). It says, “You must learn to walk to the edge of the light, and perhaps a few steps into the darkness, and you will find that the light will appear and move ahead of you.” 2

Rely on the Lord, follow His promptings, and "Go forth with faith."

December's Visiting Teaching Message

Good morning, good morning. It's great to stay up late. Good morning, good morning to you, and you, and you! This is a link to the Visiting Teaching message for December. It was so wonderful, I had to share it with everyone! Enjoy!

http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?locale=0&sourceId=9e7b26a816c25210VgnVCM100000176f620a____&vgnextoid=f318118dd536c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD

Rudyard Kipling - Not an Official Brother

Teach us delight in simple things...

Rudyard Kipling

Motivational Monday

Some of the greatest battles you will face will be fought within the silent chambers of your own soul.

Ezra Taft Benson

Motivational Monday

"Service to others deepens and sweetens this life while we are preparing to live in a better world. It is by serving that we learn to serve. When we are engaged in the service of our fellowmen, not only do our deeds assist them, but we put our own problems in a fresher perspective. When we concern ourselves more with others, there is less time to be concerned with ourselves! In the midst of the miracle of serving, there is the promise of Jesus that by losing ourselves, we find ourselves!"

--Spencer W. Kimball, "Speaks Out on Service to Others", New Era, Mar. 1981, 47

Motivational Monday

"The Lord loves you for your strength and your courage. He is always there for you. You are not alone. He has promised us that when we are trying to live righteously and are serving Him, 'I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.'"

Janet Hales Beckham, D&C 84:88 quoted

Motivational Monday

“There is no infirmity, affliction, or adversity that Christ did not feel in Gethsemane. . . .President Howard W. Hunter said: ‘If our lives and our faith are centered on Jesus Christ and his restored gospel, nothing can ever go permanently wrong. On the other hand, if our lives are not centered on the Savior and his teachings, no other success can ever be permanently right.’" (The Teachings of Howard W. Hunter, ed. Clyde J. Williams [1997], 40).”

Motivational Monday

"I have always found that when we do the little things correctly, the Lord gives us the strength to accomplish big things... You might not always understand the reasons for some rules or commandments, but if you will follow them even in the little things you will have more strength to do big things... And you will have the great blessing of knowing that you are on the Lord's side and that He is on yours."

--Donald L. Hallstrom, "Friend to Friend: On the Lord's Side," Friend, Sept. 2002, 8

Motivational Monday, One Day Late

"You are a child of God with great strength. You have the ability to choose righteousness and happiness, no matter what your circumstances."

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day saints, For the Strength of Youth, Copyright 2001, P. 5

Motivational Monday

For the Righteous the gospel provides a warning before a calamity, a program for the crises, a refuge for each disaster.

Ezra Taft Benson, “Prepare Ye,” Ensign, Jan 1974, 68

An interesting side note: When this talk was given, President Benson hadn't become the President of the Church yet. To read the full text please click on the link above.

Motivational Monday

“If you live up to your privileges, the angels cannot be restrained from being your associates.”

“Chapter 39: Relief Society: Divine Organization of Women,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, (2007),448–57

Motivational Monday

“Be virtuous and pure; be men of integrity and truth; keep the commandments of God; and then you will be able more perfectly to understand the difference between right and wrong—between the things of God and the things of men; and your path will be like that of the just, which shineth brighter and brighter unto the perfect day [see Proverbs 4:18].”8

Chapter 13: Obedience: “When the Lord Commands, Do It”, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, (2007),158–70

John Taylor, while serving as President of the Quorum of the Twelve, reported: “I well remember a remark that Joseph Smith made to me upwards of forty years ago. Said he, ‘Elder Taylor, you have been baptized, you have had hands laid upon your head for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and you have been ordained to the holy priesthood. Now, if you will continue to follow the leadings of that spirit, it will always lead you right. Sometimes it might be contrary to your judgment; never mind that, follow its dictates; and if you be true to its whisperings it will in time become in you a principle of revelation so that you will know all things.’ ”19

“Chapter 10: Prayer and Personal Revelation,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, (2007),125–34

Motivational Monday

Motivational Monday

"Because of Christ there is hope smiling brightly before you, and you need not worry too much about sickness, death, poverty, or other afflictions. The Lord will take care of you. Your responsibility is to keep the commandments, feast upon the words of Christ, and stay in the path to your heavenly home."

--Julie B. Beck, "There Is Hope Smiling Brightly before Us", Ensign, May 2003, 103

Motivational Monday

"We can never go wrong when we choose to follow the Savior."

President Thomas S. Monson, "Choose You This Day," Ensign, Nov. 2004, 68