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Friday, May 31, 2024

eternal choices

Our Father wants a deeper relationship with all His sons and daughters, but it is our choice. As we choose to draw nearer to Him through a covenant relationship, it allows Him to draw nearer to us and more fully bless us.
Put Ye On the Lord Jesus Christ  
By Sister J. Anette Dennis
April 2024

Alma 3:26-27 
James 4:8
Doctrine & Covenants 88:63

The power to choose is divinely given. The responsibility is ours. The generosity of the Lord when we choose the right is greater than we can imagine. No matter what we choose it is eternal. 

Thursday, May 30, 2024

Anger is satan's tool

President Thomas S. Monson taught that anger is “Satan’s tool,” for “to be angry is to yield to the influence of Satan. No one can make us angry. It is our choice.”
Love Your Enemies  
By President Dallin H. Oaks
Oct 2020
Original quote: 
School Thy Feelings, O My Brother  
By President Thomas S. Monson
Oct 2009

3 Nephi 11:29-30

This thought sometimes helps me because I don't want to hand over any power to satan

Wednesday, May 29, 2024

scattered among us


Doctrine and Covenants 43:8
Alma 1:26

I will always loved these scriptures. They speak of unity and equality. 

"President Packer introduced a phrase to me that I’ve never forgotten: ‘Revelation is scattered among us.’ It’s a beautiful phrase. We all receive revelation and inspiration.”
Neil L. Andersen

Friday, May 24, 2024

character of Jesus Christ

Let us consider some of the attributes of our Lord, as found in the Book of Mormon, that show that Jesus is the Christ. Then let us confirm each of those attributes about Him with a brief quote from the Book of Mormon.

He is Alive: (Mosiah 16:9). 
He is Constant: (2 Ne. 27:23). 
He is the Creator: (Mosiah 4:9). 
He is the Exemplar: (2 Ne. 31:9, 10). 
He is Generous: (2 Ne. 26:24). 
He is Godly: (see 2 Ne. 27:23). 
He is Good: (Moro. 7:12). 
He is Gracious: (2 Ne. 2:6). 
He is the Healer: (1 Ne. 11:31). 
He is Holy: (2 Ne. 9:20). 
He is Humble: (2 Ne. 31:7). 
He is Joyful: (3 Ne. 28:10). 
He is our Judge: (Mosiah 16:10). 
He is Just: (Mosiah 29:12). 
He is Kind: (1 Ne. 19:9). 
He is the Lawgiver: (3 Ne. 15:5). 
He is the Liberator: (Mosiah 5:8). 
He is the Light: (Mosiah 16:9). 
He is Loving: (2 Ne. 26:24). 
He is the Mediator: (2 Ne. 2:27). 
He is Merciful: (1 Ne. 8:8). 
He is Mighty: (1 Ne. 4:1). 
He is Miraculous: (2 Ne. 27:23). 
He is Obedient: (2 Ne. 31:7). 
He is Omnipotent: (Mosiah 4:9). 
He is Omniscient: (1 Ne. 9:6). 
He is our Redeemer: (1 Ne. 10:6). 
He is the Resurrection: (2 Ne. 2:8). 
He is Righteous: (2 Ne. 1:19). 
He is the Ruler: (2 Ne. 29:7). 
He is our Savior: (2 Ne. 25:20). 
He is Sinless: (Mosiah 15:5). 
He is Truthful: (Ether 3:12). 
He is Wise: (Mosiah 4:9).

“Come unto Christ”  
By President Ezra Taft Benson
October 1987

Tuesday, May 21, 2024

knowing vs doing

Mosiah 27:16

Nothing deep or meaningful. This is one of those verses that sticks with me. I know I'm missing something. It's not sitting right. It hasn't clicked into place yet.  

Alma freaks out when he hears that he will be cast off if he continues tobtry to destroy God's church. It wasn’t the angel, or knowledge that he really was fighting God’s word. It was self preservation. He believed in eternity. It wasn’t new information. Maybe the moral of rge story is that knowing better is easier than doing better. It's the doing part that's hard.

Saturday, May 18, 2024

storytelling

I'm going to talk about storytelling in class tomorrow. Mosiah 7-14 is just stories. There's very little "ministry". After a 300 year gap and the words of Benjamin Mormon still included it. What do we learn from stories?  

Several philosophers have noticed this.
"Man is the storytelling animal, the only creature on earth that told itself stories to understand what kind of creature it was. The story was his birthright, and nobody could take it away."
Salman Rushdie, Joseph Anton: A Memoir

1/3 of Jesus's recorded teachings are stories / parables. It must be useful.  

Scripture stories
Conference stories
Personal and family stories

I'm looking forward to hearing how these stories have influenced everyone.

Thursday, May 16, 2024

Hushed anxiety

Mosiah 23:28

Notice Alma did not hush the people’s fears. Rather, Alma counseled the believers to remember the Lord and the deliverance only He could bestow (see 2 Nephi 2:8). And knowledge of the Savior’s protecting watchcare enabled the people to hush their own fears.
Doc&Cov 19:23
Doc&Cov 59:23
Therefore They Hushed Their Fears  
By Elder David A. Bednar

Elder Bednar talks about the worldly fears we encounter. Unfortunately, anxiety is a flood of fear for no actual reason. That doesn’t make the fear any less real. Fortunately, Jesus Christ covers irrational fears just the same as rational ones. 

You might have guessed I have some things I need to do in the next week that's causing some lovely anxiety. Here I am trusting and trying to hush my fears.