My thoughts on Elder Ballard's talk "Learning Lessons of the Past"
Elder Ballard's humor is so sweet. The generation gap is sometimes so huge and yet so sweet.
This talk is one I hope my boys and girl read. There is so much wisdom for them in it. I remember when it was given we were struggling with a son and he was rebelling and not willing to listen to the conference talks that Sunday. My heart ached that he wasn't there listening to this wonderful talk. But as Elder Ballard said one must be "willing to listen and learn,". Do you think he will ever? I pray he will. I know I was more like him than I want to admit and it scares me. I just hope he is learning and listening and doing it willingly.
"When you are willing to listen and learn, some of life’s most meaningful teachings come from those who have gone before you. They have walked where you are walking and have experienced many of the things you are experiencing. If you listen and respond to their counsel, they can help guide you toward choices that will be for your benefit and blessing and steer you away from decisions that can destroy you. As you look to your parents and others who have gone before you, you will find examples of faith, commitment, hard work, dedication, and sacrifice that you should strive to duplicate."
"It is my message and testimony to you today, my young friends, that for the most important questions of your eternal lives, there are answers in the scriptures and in the words and testimonies of apostles and prophets. The fact that these words come largely from older men, past and present, doesn’t make them any less relevant. In fact, it makes their words even more valuable to you because they come from those who have learned much through years of devout living."
"There are great lessons to be learned from the past, and you ought to learn them so that you don’t exhaust your spiritual strength repeating past mistakes and bad choices."
I rejoice when my children have something happen to them and they handle it correctly and then say something like, "Well, I remember when we read about (prophets name) in the scriptures and how he handled a similar situation," or something like that. My heart rejoices.
I know trying to tell my kids about my experiences is like talking to a brick wall. They don't care. They don't want to know. Everything that is happening to them is new and never been done before. I have to remind them that it isn't new. Yes, the medium of delivery might be new, but hurt feelings, broken promises, failed classes, broken fenders, broken hearts all happened long before and will continue to happen. Not much is new on the human emotional learning scene.
" Time and again we see the cycle of righteousness followed by wickedness,"
"...spiritual darkness results when His children turn their collective backs on Him."
Do we have this happening in our own little lives? Are we learning from those repeating patterns in the scriptures? Are we turning our backs on the Lord because we think we can do it ourselves? We don't need his help? He is out to punish us? The windows of heaven are closed?
"Does any of this sound familiar, my young brothers and sisters? Do you see the historical pattern emerging again—the pattern of righteousness followed by prosperity, followed by material comforts, followed by greed, followed by pride, followed by wickedness and a collapse of morality—the same pattern we’ve seen again and again within the pages of the Old and New Testaments and the Book of Mormon? More importantly, what impact will the lessons of the past have on the personal choices you make right now and for the rest of your lives?"
Eye opening statement! and his question is profound. What choices am I making? Am I following his council to learn?
"The voice of the Lord is clear and unmistakable. He knows you. He loves you. He wants you to be eternally happy. But according to your God-given agency, the choice is yours. Each one of you has to decide for yourself if you are going to ignore the past and suffer the painful mistakes and tragic pitfalls that have befallen previous generations, experiencing for yourself the devastating consequences of bad choices. How much better your life will be if you will follow the noble example of the faithful followers of Christ such as the sons of Helaman, Moroni, Joseph Smith, and the stalwart pioneers—and choose, as they did, to remain faithful to your Heavenly Father’s commandments."
"Learning the lessons of the past allows you to walk boldly in the light without running the risk of stumbling in the darkness. This is the way it’s supposed to work. This is God’s plan: father and mother, grandfather and grandmother teaching their children; children learning from them and then becoming a more righteous generation through their own personal experiences and opportunities. Learning the lessons of the past allows you to build personal testimony on a solid bedrock of obedience, faith, and the witness of the Spirit."
Let's all sing, "The wise man built his house upon a rock." Where is my house being built?
Now this next statement is a wow for those of us who homeschool. I need to expound on this one some more.
"Of course, it’s not enough to learn these lessons as a matter of history and culture. Learning the names and dates and sequence of events from the printed page won’t help you very much unless the meaning and the message are written in your hearts. Nourished by testimony and watered with faith, the lessons of the past can take root in your hearts and become a vibrant part of who you are."
"And so it returns, as it always does, to your own personal faith and testimony. That is the difference-maker, my young brothers and sisters. That is how you know. That is how you avoid the mistakes of the past and take your spirituality to the next level. If you are open and receptive to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit in your lives, you will understand the lessons of the past, and they will be burned into your souls by the power of your testimonies."
And I add my amen to this statement:
"That you may find joy and happiness and peace in the future by learning the great and eternal lessons of the past is my prayer for each of you—for my grandchildren and all of the youth of the Church, wherever you may be".
Gut check time! What am I learning from history, both church, gospel and family? What am I learning from my own personal history? Am I making the same mistakes? What am I teaching my children? Date? Places? Times? or am I teaching them consequences to actions. Am I teaching them moral lessons? Gospel lessons? Courage in the face of trial? And am I living like I learned them?
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Adversity
My thoughts on President Eyring's talk "Adversity"
A timely talk.
I'm not sure if anyone else was listening because this talk was just for me.
"The anger comes at least in part from a feeling that what is happening is unfair."
Our children use the "unfair" line on us all the time, but how often do we use it on our Lord? I'm guilty of it. Probably have said it way too often as of late. I'm not a perfect person, but I know life isn't fair and bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people. But as my mom always said, "It is how your react to those things that put you on the good side or the bad side of heaven."
I know that adversity is part of the Lord's plan. I knew it before and I know it now and will know it after. "Opposition in ALL things." It is also very important for us as Children of God to use that opposition in all things to prove ourselves to the Lord.
Pres Eyring said, "The very opportunity for us to face adversity and affliction is part of the evidence of Their infinite love. God gave us the gift of living in mortality so that we could be prepared to receive the greatest of all the gifts of God, which is eternal life. Then our spirits will be changed. We will become able to want what God wants, to think as He thinks, and thus be prepared for the trust of an endless posterity to teach and to lead through tests to be raised up to qualify to live forever in eternal life."
We are here to prove ourselves worthy and it is through these trials that we prove ourselves. I just hope I pass.
Pres. Eyring gives us great words of hope and blessings.
"It is clear that for us to have that gift and to be given that trust, we must be transformed through making righteous choices where that is hard to do. We are prepared for so great a trust by passing through trying and testing experiences in mortality. That education can come only as we are subject to trials while serving God and others for Him."
"In this education we experience misery and happiness, sickness and health, the sadness from sin and the joy of forgiveness. That forgiveness can come only through the infinite Atonement of the Savior, which He worked out through pain we could not bear and which we can only faintly comprehend.
"The Lord will rescue His faithful disciples. And the disciple who accepts a trial as an invitation to grow and therefore qualify for eternal life can find peace in the midst of the struggle."
"He had begun to prepare his heart to be worthy of the Lord’s help which he knew he would in the near future need."
"Tragedy did not erode their faith; it tested it and strengthened it. And the feeling of peace the Lord has promised has already been delivered in the midst of the storm. Other miracles are sure to follow."
"He set a course for each of us that can polish and perfect us to be with Him."
I can only pray and hope that I will finish the work he has asked me to do and do it well. I can only pray and have faith that I will weather every storm, every trial and every illness that befalls me and my family with the hope that President Eyring asks and shows us. Adversity will come. It will! I just pray I will be able to stand up to it, beat it down, deal with it and come out the other end polished.
A timely talk.
I'm not sure if anyone else was listening because this talk was just for me.
"The anger comes at least in part from a feeling that what is happening is unfair."
Our children use the "unfair" line on us all the time, but how often do we use it on our Lord? I'm guilty of it. Probably have said it way too often as of late. I'm not a perfect person, but I know life isn't fair and bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people. But as my mom always said, "It is how your react to those things that put you on the good side or the bad side of heaven."
I know that adversity is part of the Lord's plan. I knew it before and I know it now and will know it after. "Opposition in ALL things." It is also very important for us as Children of God to use that opposition in all things to prove ourselves to the Lord.
Pres Eyring said, "The very opportunity for us to face adversity and affliction is part of the evidence of Their infinite love. God gave us the gift of living in mortality so that we could be prepared to receive the greatest of all the gifts of God, which is eternal life. Then our spirits will be changed. We will become able to want what God wants, to think as He thinks, and thus be prepared for the trust of an endless posterity to teach and to lead through tests to be raised up to qualify to live forever in eternal life."
We are here to prove ourselves worthy and it is through these trials that we prove ourselves. I just hope I pass.
Pres. Eyring gives us great words of hope and blessings.
"It is clear that for us to have that gift and to be given that trust, we must be transformed through making righteous choices where that is hard to do. We are prepared for so great a trust by passing through trying and testing experiences in mortality. That education can come only as we are subject to trials while serving God and others for Him."
"In this education we experience misery and happiness, sickness and health, the sadness from sin and the joy of forgiveness. That forgiveness can come only through the infinite Atonement of the Savior, which He worked out through pain we could not bear and which we can only faintly comprehend.
"The Lord will rescue His faithful disciples. And the disciple who accepts a trial as an invitation to grow and therefore qualify for eternal life can find peace in the midst of the struggle."
"He had begun to prepare his heart to be worthy of the Lord’s help which he knew he would in the near future need."
"Tragedy did not erode their faith; it tested it and strengthened it. And the feeling of peace the Lord has promised has already been delivered in the midst of the storm. Other miracles are sure to follow."
"He set a course for each of us that can polish and perfect us to be with Him."
I can only pray and hope that I will finish the work he has asked me to do and do it well. I can only pray and have faith that I will weather every storm, every trial and every illness that befalls me and my family with the hope that President Eyring asks and shows us. Adversity will come. It will! I just pray I will be able to stand up to it, beat it down, deal with it and come out the other end polished.
The Power of Covenants
My thoughts on Elder Christofferson's talk "The Power of Covenants"
I'm sort of glad I'm not putting my thoughts down on this one until today--my anniversary to my wonderful husband. My thoughts are drawn back to the Seattle Temple some 20 years ago when I was befuddled and twitter pated. I also think of how much my knowledge of the power of those covenants has grown since that day. I'm amazed.
I'm still in awe that our Heavenly Father said 8 was the age to make the first covenant with him. I'm in awe that he grants the rights of the priesthood to 12 year old boys. I have my fourth boy turn 12 in a month and two days (just ask him, he'll tell you how long) and I think of the awesome responsibilities these rights and covenants carry with them and stand in awe that our God would allow us humans, full of well humanness! And then to think me at 19 was granted the right to enter the temple to make eternal covenants with another human and the Lord--SHOCKING! My oldest son is 17 and there is no way he is ready. I can't believe I was ready. Probably wasn't but as the Lord has said over and over, "Line upon line." That is exactly what happens in our knowledge of these great covenants and responsibilities.
Elder Christofferson's thought bring me back to what really matters with the covenants I have made through my life.
"We need strong Christians who can persevere against hardship, who can sustain hope through tragedy, who can life others by their example and their compassion, and who can consistently overcome temptations. We need strong Christians who can make important things happen by their faith and who can defend the truth of Jesus Christ against moral relativism and militant atheism."
Am I that person? Are my children those Christians? Is my family an example? What have I done to show that I am a Christian lately to those I know and love? Are my words and actions speaking my heart? And if not how can I change? Oh, wait Elder Christofferson give the answer.
"The source is God. Our access to that power is through our covenants with Him. A covenant is an agreement between God and man, an accord whose terms are set by God. In these divine agreements, God binds Himself to sustain, sanctify, and exalt us in return for our commitment to serve Him and keep His commandments."
It amazes me still that it is truly that easy. We obey and he blesses us. We love him, serve him and he blesses us. Making it easier for us to stay on the straight and narrow and continue to do those things worth of his sustaining vote of us and our actions. A cycle that spirals upward! (better that than the one that goes downwards ~smile~). **He comes back to this thought later in his talk**
"It is done individually, by name."
I highlighted this one and it has caused me to pause and think of all the covenants I've entered into and the billions that have been entered in by those who have walked this earth since the beginning of time. We all do it by our own names. The covenants we enter into are done by our OWN NAME. It isn't a blanket, "everyone here" type of thing. We do it in our own name. And he knows us by our name. How wonderful! What a great comfort and thought. I should hold to that thought more often.
Now back to the blessings of covenants.
By gifts and blessings.
Sometimes we don't recognize the blessings of obedience. We take our lives for granted. But there are many blessings to obedience to this words. We are free from addiction. We are free from the bounds of sin. We are blessed with safety and health. We are blessed in "our capacity to deal with these challenges." I can't begin to count how many times I've heard people say, "I don't know how you do it." I do it because I know who to turn to and he blesses me because of my obedience to his laws. He blesses me with insights to problems, concerns and trials. He doesn't bless me that they won't happen (I know that way too well) but I have the ability, the strength and the courage to face them and know where to turn to when I feel alone, confused or in need of advice.
By increased faith.
"...they produce the faith necessary to persevere and to do all things that are expedient in the Lord."
..."but as we honor our covenants, that faith expands. In the first place, the promised fruits of obedience become evident, which confirms our faith. Secondly, the Spirit communicates God's pleasure, and we feel secure in His continued blessing and help. Thirdly, come what may, we can face life with hope and equanimity, knowing that we will succeed in the end because we have God's promise to us individually, by name, and we know He cannot lie. "
This follows closely to what I said in the above paragraph. Obeying and seeing the blessings increases my faith.
"...our faith becomes unbounded, having the assurance that God will in due time turn every affliction to our gain."
The hard part is the "in due time" part. But if we are faithful we can see the blessings of our faith. I think of Job, Abraham, Israel, Joseph Smith Jr., my own mother and many others. Their blessings are there and the faithful can even call on their blessings. Our blessings are there and as we exercise faith we can call upon the blessings too.
"The Apostle Paul understood that one who has entered into a covenant with God is both given the faith to face trials and gains even greater faith through those trials."
That is a promise I hold on to!!
Through the power of Godliness.
The bestowal of divine power.
"Our covenant commitment to Him permits our Heavenly Father to let His divine influence, "the power of godliness", flow into our lives."
WOW!!
"Our participation in those ordinances also demonstrates that we are prepared to accept the additional responsibility that comes with added light and spiritual power."
Double WOW!
I'm thrilled to have this much responsibility and stewardship. I can't believe a Father would do that for his wicked children. But wow!
"When we have entered into divine covenants, the Holy Ghost is our comforter, our guide, and our companion."
I guess that is how we do it. Through the power of the Holy Ghost. A member of the Godhead--our Divine power of Godliness! I can't imagine us doing it any other way. How cool is that?
And in parting he says, "In times of distress, let your covenants be paramount and let your obedience be exact."
If only I can live up to that last statement and teach my children to do so likewise.
I'm sort of glad I'm not putting my thoughts down on this one until today--my anniversary to my wonderful husband. My thoughts are drawn back to the Seattle Temple some 20 years ago when I was befuddled and twitter pated. I also think of how much my knowledge of the power of those covenants has grown since that day. I'm amazed.
I'm still in awe that our Heavenly Father said 8 was the age to make the first covenant with him. I'm in awe that he grants the rights of the priesthood to 12 year old boys. I have my fourth boy turn 12 in a month and two days (just ask him, he'll tell you how long) and I think of the awesome responsibilities these rights and covenants carry with them and stand in awe that our God would allow us humans, full of well humanness! And then to think me at 19 was granted the right to enter the temple to make eternal covenants with another human and the Lord--SHOCKING! My oldest son is 17 and there is no way he is ready. I can't believe I was ready. Probably wasn't but as the Lord has said over and over, "Line upon line." That is exactly what happens in our knowledge of these great covenants and responsibilities.
Elder Christofferson's thought bring me back to what really matters with the covenants I have made through my life.
"We need strong Christians who can persevere against hardship, who can sustain hope through tragedy, who can life others by their example and their compassion, and who can consistently overcome temptations. We need strong Christians who can make important things happen by their faith and who can defend the truth of Jesus Christ against moral relativism and militant atheism."
Am I that person? Are my children those Christians? Is my family an example? What have I done to show that I am a Christian lately to those I know and love? Are my words and actions speaking my heart? And if not how can I change? Oh, wait Elder Christofferson give the answer.
"The source is God. Our access to that power is through our covenants with Him. A covenant is an agreement between God and man, an accord whose terms are set by God. In these divine agreements, God binds Himself to sustain, sanctify, and exalt us in return for our commitment to serve Him and keep His commandments."
It amazes me still that it is truly that easy. We obey and he blesses us. We love him, serve him and he blesses us. Making it easier for us to stay on the straight and narrow and continue to do those things worth of his sustaining vote of us and our actions. A cycle that spirals upward! (better that than the one that goes downwards ~smile~). **He comes back to this thought later in his talk**
"It is done individually, by name."
I highlighted this one and it has caused me to pause and think of all the covenants I've entered into and the billions that have been entered in by those who have walked this earth since the beginning of time. We all do it by our own names. The covenants we enter into are done by our OWN NAME. It isn't a blanket, "everyone here" type of thing. We do it in our own name. And he knows us by our name. How wonderful! What a great comfort and thought. I should hold to that thought more often.
Now back to the blessings of covenants.
By gifts and blessings.
Sometimes we don't recognize the blessings of obedience. We take our lives for granted. But there are many blessings to obedience to this words. We are free from addiction. We are free from the bounds of sin. We are blessed with safety and health. We are blessed in "our capacity to deal with these challenges." I can't begin to count how many times I've heard people say, "I don't know how you do it." I do it because I know who to turn to and he blesses me because of my obedience to his laws. He blesses me with insights to problems, concerns and trials. He doesn't bless me that they won't happen (I know that way too well) but I have the ability, the strength and the courage to face them and know where to turn to when I feel alone, confused or in need of advice.
By increased faith.
"...they produce the faith necessary to persevere and to do all things that are expedient in the Lord."
..."but as we honor our covenants, that faith expands. In the first place, the promised fruits of obedience become evident, which confirms our faith. Secondly, the Spirit communicates God's pleasure, and we feel secure in His continued blessing and help. Thirdly, come what may, we can face life with hope and equanimity, knowing that we will succeed in the end because we have God's promise to us individually, by name, and we know He cannot lie. "
This follows closely to what I said in the above paragraph. Obeying and seeing the blessings increases my faith.
"...our faith becomes unbounded, having the assurance that God will in due time turn every affliction to our gain."
The hard part is the "in due time" part. But if we are faithful we can see the blessings of our faith. I think of Job, Abraham, Israel, Joseph Smith Jr., my own mother and many others. Their blessings are there and the faithful can even call on their blessings. Our blessings are there and as we exercise faith we can call upon the blessings too.
"The Apostle Paul understood that one who has entered into a covenant with God is both given the faith to face trials and gains even greater faith through those trials."
That is a promise I hold on to!!
Through the power of Godliness.
The bestowal of divine power.
"Our covenant commitment to Him permits our Heavenly Father to let His divine influence, "the power of godliness", flow into our lives."
WOW!!
"Our participation in those ordinances also demonstrates that we are prepared to accept the additional responsibility that comes with added light and spiritual power."
Double WOW!
I'm thrilled to have this much responsibility and stewardship. I can't believe a Father would do that for his wicked children. But wow!
"When we have entered into divine covenants, the Holy Ghost is our comforter, our guide, and our companion."
I guess that is how we do it. Through the power of the Holy Ghost. A member of the Godhead--our Divine power of Godliness! I can't imagine us doing it any other way. How cool is that?
And in parting he says, "In times of distress, let your covenants be paramount and let your obedience be exact."
If only I can live up to that last statement and teach my children to do so likewise.
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