Saturday, October 25, 2014

Grateful in Any Circumstances

I love President Uchtdorf's talk on gratitude. So many things ring true!

How blessed we are if we recognize God’s handiwork in the marvelous tapestry of life. Gratitude to our Father in Heaven broadens our perception and clears our vision. It inspires humility and fosters empathy toward our fellowmen and all of God’s creation. Gratitude is a catalyst to all Christlike attributes! A thankful heart is the parent of all virtues.

The Lord has given us His promise that those “who [receive] all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto [them], even an hundred fold, yea, more.”

I sometimes feel as though I have been too blessed, and that at some point the other shoe is going to drop. Am I the only one who feels that way? Of course the Lord doesn't want me to spend my time worrying about what trials may or may not be ahead in my life. He wants me to be more grateful regardless of my circumstances, and He wants to give me all things and make me glorious. That process will look different for everyone, and in the end all of it is part of the process of Father making me whole and preparing me for greater blessings.

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Determined.

I believe that when we determine within our hearts that by and with the blessings of God our Heavenly Father we will accomplish a certain labor, God gives the ability to accomplish that labor; but when we lay down, when we become discouraged, when we look at the top of the mountain and say it is impossible to climb to the summit, while we never make an effort it will never be accomplished.

-Heber J. Grant
Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Heber J. Grant, 37.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

What the Savior's Sacrifice can do

Oh Elder Packer, you know just what I need to hear.

If we are not aware of what the Savior’s sacrifice can do for us, we may go through life carrying regrets that we have done something that was not right or offended someone. The guilt that accompanies mistakes can be washed away. If we seek to understand His Atonement, we will come to a deep reverence for the Lord Jesus Christ, His earthly ministry, and His divine mission as our Savior.

Sometimes living back in my hometown brings back memories of unfortunate things I've said and done that could have hurt feelings and offended. There is a part of me that worries about what others might remember when we inevitably run into each other at Target or Costco or the park (i.e. the only places I go aside from Church). And I have a hard time not going back in my mind, remembering with a knot in my stomach foolish things said or done. Granted, I'm not talking anything horrible here, just things I wish I hadn't said. And I need to remember that the Atonement can right all those wrongs for me and for others, and that it should give me hope, not guilt, to think how far I've come and how much farther I can go.

On a mostly unrelated note, I love that our bishop recommended reading a conference talk each day in preparation for this conference; adding in the new talks just seems like the continuation of an established habit, and I hope I'll keep it up more consistently than in the past.

Friday, October 3, 2014

Alike in Glorious Potential

From President Eyring's talk in the last Women's Meeting:

What I didn’t know when I was young was that my Heavenly Father, your Heavenly Father, sees greater potential in His children than we or even our earthly mothers see in us. And whenever you move upward on that path toward your potential, it brings Him happiness. And you can feel His approval.

He sees that glorious potential in all of His daughters, wherever they are. Now, that puts a great responsibility on each of you. He expects you to treat every person you meet as a child of God. That is the reason He commands us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves and to forgive them. Your feelings of kindness and forgiveness toward others come as your divine inheritance from Him as His daughter. Each person you meet is His loved spiritual child.

As you feel of that great sisterhood, what we thought divides us falls away. . . . You are more alike as daughters of God than you are different.