Mon Nov 1
Alma 47:36 Nephites dissenters are more hardened and wild than even the Lamanities- "having the same instruction and information as the Nephites"- what we do with what we are given has more of an impact on who we become than what we are given. What am I doing with my knowledge this week? Also, a caution that I need to treasure the light I have been given because Satan works even harder on those with light.
Tues Nov 3
Alma 48:7-9 preparation. Moroni had been "preparing the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God." What does "preparing my mind" consist of? Why is that essential in overcoming sin? So many of the negative experience We deal with are triggered with thoughts for positive or negative (see Alma 36:17-18?) Moroni also fortified all the weakest areas & the city in multiple levels. What are the different levels of my preparation? Spiritual habits are different levels of fortification.
Alma 48:12 Moroni's heart did "swell with thanksgiving"- gratitude is a principle of the Gospel.
3 things I am grateful for this morning (from yesterday):
1. I work on a committe of people (calling) that are responsive and willing to follow through with commitments.
2. The sense of family that exists within the church community- I don't always feel that in a singles ward, but I was reminded of this yesterday talking to a guy not LDS who just moved to UTAH and was struggling to find friends. After I went to FHE, I realized that I have a built-in support system and more so a built-in system in which I can feel useful as I serve.
3. Opportunity to expand my mind in graduate school- not only spiritually but also temporally. And even for free!
Wed 11/4
"If we reach deep enough and look hard enough, we will be able to feel and recognize just how much we have been given." The Divine Gift of Gratitude (Thomas S Monson)
-difference between expressing gratitude, enacting gratitude, and living with gratitude--> what does it mean to live with gratitude?
-taking advantage of the blessings we have leads us to be less grateful.
-service and unselfishness breeds gratitude
Grateful: rainy day runs, hard work, and friends that know your imperfections and still stick around.
Thurs 11/5
-missing Pres. Hinckley today. "If every husband and every wife would constantly do whatever might be possible to ensure the comfort and happiness of his or her companion, there would be very little, if any, divorce." The Women in our Lives (President Hinckley)
"You gave me wings to fly, and I have loved you for it." -Sister Hinckley
-I love this - true love gives people space to develop and encourages people to reach their full potential, not hold them back.
-Such a beautiful talk about women and marriage. Pres. Hinckley has a way of saying things so tenderly and yet powerfully. Any person who truly understands the doctrine of the church will be a feminist! (in a sense of the word).
Fri 11/6
Alma 34:38 "live in thanksgiving daily for the mercies and blessings he doth bestow upon you"
D&C 78:19 "he who receives all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea more."
-when I think of gratitude, I think of 1 Nephi 17: 1-3 although Nephi and his family could have focused on the difficulty of their journey, they chose to focus on the nourishing of God through their afflictions as their greatest blessing. In what ways do I witness that God nourishes me through hardship? Don't choose to dwell on hardship, choose to see the blessing of life itself and the nourishing power of God in our lives, and His providing means to accomplish much in our lives.
Sat 11/7
Alma 50:1-22 (esp vs. 1) Moroni "did not stop making preparations for war"--> Moroni could have easily thought, "Ok, I think we're good;" he obviously had spent extensive amounts of time preparing every aspect of their city. BUT NO! Are there times in my life when I mistakenly think that my spiritual preparation is good enough? Because it never is! There will never come a time in my life when "I'm good." It's always necessary and I always will need it. Struggling lately with motivation. Realizing that Satan is the author of that by making me think, "Ok you're good I think."
Alma 50:23 "there never was a happier time" (Mosiah 2:41 keeping commandments=true happiness, always)
"We might even say that having descended beneath it all, He is perfectly positioned to lift us and give us the strength we need to endure our afflictions."- The Atonement is the source of all healing from every affliction and the source of "strength to bear" Strengthened by the Atonement of Jesus Christ (Dallin H. Oaks)
Sun 11/8
"Any calling we receive in the Lord's kingdom requires more than our human judgment and our personal powers."-- am I calling on the Lord for revelation for my calling? I can do better at that.
"...the Lord's purpose is not simply to have people partake of bread and water. It is to have them keep a covenant that will move them along the path to eternal life. And for that to happen, the Lord must GIVE a spiritual experience to the person..." My purpose in taking the sacrament is to KEEP the covenant. Spiritual experiences are a gift from Heavenly Father. You are Not Alone in the Work (Henry B Eyring)
-missionary work is being kind to people we interact with everyday, listening, and testifying.
Alma 50:1-22 (esp vs. 1) Moroni "did not stop making preparations for war"--> Moroni could have easily thought, "Ok, I think we're good;" he obviously had spent extensive amounts of time preparing every aspect of their city. BUT NO! Are there times in my life when I mistakenly think that my spiritual preparation is good enough? Because it never is! There will never come a time in my life when "I'm good." It's always necessary and I always will need it. Struggling lately with motivation. Realizing that Satan is the author of that by making me think, "Ok you're good I think."
Alma 50:23 "there never was a happier time" (Mosiah 2:41 keeping commandments=true happiness, always)
"We might even say that having descended beneath it all, He is perfectly positioned to lift us and give us the strength we need to endure our afflictions."- The Atonement is the source of all healing from every affliction and the source of "strength to bear" Strengthened by the Atonement of Jesus Christ (Dallin H. Oaks)
Sun 11/8
"Any calling we receive in the Lord's kingdom requires more than our human judgment and our personal powers."-- am I calling on the Lord for revelation for my calling? I can do better at that.
"...the Lord's purpose is not simply to have people partake of bread and water. It is to have them keep a covenant that will move them along the path to eternal life. And for that to happen, the Lord must GIVE a spiritual experience to the person..." My purpose in taking the sacrament is to KEEP the covenant. Spiritual experiences are a gift from Heavenly Father. You are Not Alone in the Work (Henry B Eyring)
-missionary work is being kind to people we interact with everyday, listening, and testifying.
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