Love & Praise

2 Nephi 1:15
Father Lehi said: “But behold, the Lord hath redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about eternally in the arms of his love.”

2 Nephi 4:30
Then Nehpi his son said:“Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say:O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation”.

Elder Maxwell: "What will we and those who witness these marvelous events speak of, then and later? Not the solar display with falling stars! Instead, we will speak of Jesus'"loving-kindness." For how long will we so exclaim? "Forever and ever" (D&C 133:52). The more we come to know of Jesus and the Atonement, the more we shall praise and adore Him "forever and ever."
(Neal A. Maxwell, That Ye May Believe)

I hope that you have felt as Lehi did – that you can feel His love about you, and that it causes you to praise Him forever. I love my Saviour, and I know He loves you - I really feel that sometimes when I send these thoughts out, that your souls are so precious. I hope you have a wonderful day.

All the World must go to Bethlehem

"All the world must go to Bethlehem though some but shut the door to Christ--all the world must go to Bethlehem and some will find the world's wisdom there. All the earth must go to Bethlehem, for there is earth's hope."

—John F. Mulholland- "We Must Go to Bethlehem,"Treasury of the Christian Faith

Who the Savior is

"A babe born in a stable of the village Bethlehem, boy reared as a carpenter of Nazareth...a man who never received a school degree, who never spoke from great pulpit, who never owned a home...is actually the Creator of heaven and earth and all that in them are."

—Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, December 1983

What does Christianity consist of?

"Christianity consists not in abstaining from doing things no gentleman would think of doing, but in doing things that are unlikely to occur to anyone who is not in touch with the spirit of Christ".

—R. H. L. Sheppard, Treasury of the Christian Faith

My Thoughts on Fishing - Part 2

A few days ago I shared some thoughts about the experience of Simon Peter & co fishing and the miracle of catching the fish provided by the Saviour. Well, another thing I really liked was Simon Peter's reaction to receiving this huge blessing, Luke
records:

"When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’
knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man,
O Lord.
"For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:
"....And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men." (Luke 5: 8-10)

This showed what a humble man Simon Peter was, and imperfect too - like the rest of us - and he definately did not feel worthy of such a great blessing. Nevertheless the Lord saw fit to bless him, and showed His grace in the miracle He gave, showing
that the Saviour looks for opportunities to bless us, and that He uses those who are imperfect who know they need the Redeemer in their lives, and who show gratitude for what they have received.

I hope you have a wonderful day and feel of the Saviours love for you, and that you feel Him smiling upon the good things that you are doing.

Prince of Peace

"The Prince of Peace was sent to "bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound"(Isaiah 61:1). The Lord Jehovah, who is Jesus Christ, is the Great Physician, the One sent of the Father to heal our wounds, to dry our tears, to settle our souls."

—Robert L. Millet, Alive in Christ-

Go Back to Bethlehem

"Let us go back in our hearts to Bethlehem—to Jesus, the infant who grew to teach saving principles, to work miracles, to be our Redeemer."

—Elaine Cannon, Woman's Choices: The Relief SocietyLegacy Lectures-

My Thoughts on Fishing - Part 1

Peter, James and John had worked through the night trying to catch some fish, but had caught nothing.

The Saviour then comes to them and says:

"Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught (or catch)". (Luke 5:2-11)

Simon Peter replies that they had tried all night to catch fish, but have been unsuccessful, nevertheless they will try again, because He has asked them to.

As they followed the Saviour they caught a great multitude of fish, that filled two boats, so much so that the boats were in danger of sinking.

The miracle that happened wouldn't have been so great, and Simon Peter's faith in the Saviours instruction to cast their nets again wouldn't have meant so much, if success had not been witheld from them previously.

Sometimes the Lord witholds blessings from us, not because He doesn't love us, but so that He can show us HOW MUCH He loves us, and sometimes it takes us to 'launch out into the deep' to find those things which have been hidden from our view previously, and to really find ourselves.

I hope that you have a great day, and if things don't seem to be working out the way that you had hoped despite your best efforts, then take courage, the blessings are just around the corner waiting to be found. Things always work out when we exercise faith.

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

*Mute the music on this blog before playing*

A Grateful People

"Of all of these wondrous, challenging things with which we live, I hope you regard it a blessing to be alive in this great age of the world. . . . I hope you walk with gratitude in your hearts, really. Grateful people are respectful people. Grateful people are courteous people. Grateful people are kindly people.

Be grateful."

—Gordon B. Hinckley, Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley-

Joseph B. Wirthlin Tribute Video

This was realeased yesterday.

*You'll need to mute the music on my blog first*

"Come What May, and Laugh" - Joseph B. Wirthlin

Elder Wirthlin passed away yesterday, aged 91 years old. I was reading his last conference address from his talk called ;Come What May, and Laugh', and loved the 'Learn to Laugh' section. Here it is, I hope it brings a smile to your face too:

"The first thing we can do is learn to laugh. Have you ever seen an angry driver who, when someone else makes a mistake, reacts as though that person has insulted his honor, his family, his dog, and his ancestors all the way back to Adam? Or have you had an encounter with an overhanging cupboard door left open at the wrong place and the wrong time which has been cursed, condemned, and avenged by a sore-headed victim?

There is an antidote for times such as these: learn to laugh.

"I remember loading up our children in a station wagon and driving to Los Angeles. There were at least nine of us in the car, and we would invariably get lost. Instead of getting angry, we laughed. Every time we made a wrong turn, we laughed harder.

Getting lost was not an unusual occurrence for us. Once while heading south to Cedar City, Utah, we took a wrong turn and didn’t realize it until two hours later when we saw the “Welcome to Nevada” signs. We didn’t get angry. We laughed, and as a result, anger and resentment rarely resulted. Our laughter created cherished memories for us.

I remember when one of our daughters went on a blind date. She was all dressed up and waiting for her date to arrive when the doorbell rang. In walked a man who seemed a little old, but she tried to be polite. She introduced him to me and my wife and the other children; then she put on her coat and went out the door. We watched as she got into the car, but the car didn’t move. Eventually our daughter got out of the car and, red faced, ran back into the house. The man that she thought was her blind date had actually come to pick up another of our daughters who had agreed to be a babysitter for him and his wife.

We all had a good laugh over that. In fact, we couldn’t stop laughing. Later, when our daughter’s real blind date showed up, I couldn’t come out to meet him because I was still in the kitchen laughing. Now I realize that our daughter could have felt humiliated and embarrassed. But she laughed with us, and as a result, we still laugh about it today.

The next time you’re tempted to groan, you might try to laugh instead. It will extend your life and make the lives of all those around you more enjoyable."

(Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin , General Conference, October 2008)

Thank you Elder Wirthlin, you will be missed.

Star in Bethlehem

"Whether the world accepts Jesus Christ as the literal Son of God or not does not change the absolute truth that he is. If the Lord Jehovah can place billions of stars in the cosmos, he can certainly cause one star to hang in suspended brilliance over Bethlehem."

—Vaughn J. Featherstone, More Purity Give Me-

Careful & Keep

Philippians 4:6-7
"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God".
"And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus".

There are a couple of footnotes I like to these verses: Verse 6 - 'Careful' - meaning 'don't be unduly concerned' (GR). I think it's easy to get caught up with things that in the long run don't really matter. Sometimes our priorities and perspective get confused, and we put the most effort into the things that matter the least- neglecting the 'weightier matters'(Matt 23:23).

Verse 7 - 'keep' - meaning 'guard' (GR). The blessing of peace is such a wonderful thing. When it is absent confusion and despair reign, when it is present faith carries you through your trials giving you hope and purpose. I like the use of the word 'guard' here - it makes me feel as if God is protecting us from unnecessary pain and anguish of heart, which I know He will as we come unto Christ more fully.