Category Archives: Hope

Christ, Holy Ghost, Hope, Walk The Talk

None Were With Him

2 Comments

“Brothers and sisters, one of the great consolations of this Easter season is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so. His solitary journey brought great company for our little version of that path—the merciful care of our Father in Heaven, the unfailing companionship of this Beloved Son, the consummate gift of the Holy Ghost, angels in heaven, family members on both sides of the veil, prophets and apostles, teachers, leaders, friends. All of these and more have been given as companions for our mortal journey because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the Restoration of His gospel. Trumpeted from the summit of Calvary is the truth that we will never be left alone nor unaided, even if sometimes we may feel that we are. Truly the Redeemer of us all said, ‘I will not leave you comfortless. [My Father and] I will come to you [and abide with you].’ “

Three promises came to my mind as I began to ponder and study this talk. They stemmed from a question that I asked myself after I read Elder Holland’s words. The question is, “How can I receive the Lord’s comfort in troubled or lonely times?”

Here are the three promises that sunk into my heart:

  1. aDraw bnear unto me and I will draw near unto you; cseek me diligently and ye shall dfind me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. (Doc & Cov 88:63)
  2. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and aopen the door, I will bcome in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. (Rev. 3:20)
  3. “I will not leave you acomfortless: I will bcome to you…If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will alove him, and we will come unto him, and make our babode with him.” (John 14:18,23)

I learned the other day in my studies that the Lord extends so many individual promises to all of us. We can know these as we seek to know his will in the scriptures. When we find them we can cling to them with hopeful hearts. AND if we “prove him” by living so that those promises have chance to sprout, we will come to know through the Holy Ghost that he loves us, we will become more fully pure and we will be full of his light.

This said, the Savior’s grace or enabling power comes into our lives and we realize our reliance upon it. None are saved in any other way than by Christ. He makes ALL the difference.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Original Talk: Jeffrey R. Holland – None Were with Him
Discuss Here: None Were with Him @ Walk The Talk

Christ, Hope, Self Creation, Words

Power of The Word

1 Comment

Through the mists of darkness
there shines a perfect light
To those who hold fast the rod
and seek to follow right

Day by day and hour by hour
we choose our paths, our fate
Joy awaits the faithful
their souls to liberate

Each step we take towards His love
each moment we endure
We’re given strength to lengthen strides
our destiny’s made sure

Within God’s word we find a power –
the truth our heats can see
And through His Son’s atonement
the gift of being free

(Written December 9, 2006 by R.M.)

Gratitude, Hope, Self Discovery, Walk The Talk, Words

Simplicity

1 Comment

Storms & struggles

Sadness & strife

These are but gifts

Blessings of life

We ride the cycles of happiness and sorrow. With every rotation we learn more of what it is to be human, to have strains, to have challenges, to have difficulties. To recognize that these down times are but part of the whole allows us to let hope into our hearts and understand, as my grandmother used to say, “this too shall pass.”

At times we run faster than we’re able. We fill our lives, and rightly so, with good activities. But there comes a point when the busyness of life robs from us the precious gift of reflection. In quiet moments we can look back on our behavior, let the solemnity of special moments sink in and we can assess our thinking on important topics. Simplifying our lives can provide us with many such opportunities. In these sacred times we can come to accept & love ourselves as well as see life more clearly.

Shelter, food, clothes and heat. These are the few basic things that Henry David Thoreau determined were necessaries for man while he lived a simplified life on Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Walden Pond. I am thankful for my meager apartment and cramped room. I am grateful that I have clothes to wear, including my cowboy boots. I am pleased that my house is warm when the weather outside has other plans. I am grateful for my 5 pound bag of pretzels and chocolate milk that sustain somehow my life.

Breaking from philosophy and entering practicality: In considering a shelter Dave Ramsey counsels to spend no more than 25% of your monthly take home pay on your monthly home payments. Also, providing at least 20% in down payment on a 15 year loan will allow you the most flexibility if you need to immediately sale the home.

Thrift, industry, economy and frugality are traits that I seek. At present time I think I’m running about 50/50 on most of them. Hopefully my kids someday will be able to learn these from their bearded father.

Finally, I’m grateful for my agency. I needn’t choose simplicity because that’s what I was advised to do. Rather, I choose simplicity because I can conceive of its benefits in a busy and rushed world.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thoughts taken from Let Him Do It with Simplicity, a talk by Elder L. Tom Perry in the October 2008 LDS General Conference.

Gratitude, Hope

…they shall be as white as the fallen snow.

Leave a comment

Gazing momentarily into the immediate heavens this morning I couldn’t help but wonder how many snowflakes filled the sky. It was a sight reminiscent of the visual description given to the ancient father Abraham as the Lord spoke to him of the vastness of his future posterity: “I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore” ~ Gen. 22: 17.

Very well could the Lord have said, I will multiply thy seed as the flakes of the falling snow…today they seemed infinite.

The thought of cleasing us from our sins is an amazing one. I do not fully comprehend the meaning of that truth. But to contemplate the idea that as infalable as we are, God the Father has set in place a process to remove from his memory the mistakes which we, in our fallen state fall so quickly into, is incredible…it fills me with hope.