Sunday, October 28, 2012

A bit o'advice

So if I were to give you a bit of advice, what do you think it would be? 

Some of the most helpful advice I have been given came from my grandmother. I have used it throughout my life. She said, "If life hands you a lemon, make lemonade.” She was such a positive thinker and believed everything could be turned to our advantage. Grandpa used that bit of advice often, and it helped a lot.

The Lord promised us he would help us, too. The apostle Paul wrote to the Romans "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God..." Romans 8:28 

Even hard things that initially look bad and destructive can be changed to our good.

So what's my bit of advice? Love God. Serve him. Let him change your life. 

He can make all things turn for your good.

You can know this for yourself.

That's it.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Blessed with Daughters

It's a funny story to think back on how we came about having five daughters. I never imagined it in my wildest dreams. Perhaps more accurately, I never contemplated the possibility. So when it happened as it did, it was such a surprise! But when I think back now on what a blessing it has been to have five wonderful daughters, I feel very fortunate.

The Young Women's theme appropriately describes you, your eternal value, and limitless potential:

“We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us, and we love him. We will ‘stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places …’ as we strive to live the Young Women Values, which are Faith, Divine Nature, Individual Worth, Knowledge, Choice and Accountability, Good Works, and Integrity. We believe as we come to accept and act upon these values, we will be prepared to make and keep sacred covenants, receive the ordinances of the temple, and enjoy the blessings of exaltation.”

I see each one of you far surpassing my fondest dreams. Your mother and I admire and love you. We are privileged to be associated with you.

There is no question in my mind that you were among the "noble and great ones" in the premortal world foreordained to fill important roles in this our day. Abraham 3:22-23

I'm the luckiest man alive.




Saturday, October 20, 2012

The Lord is in the Details

I feel so grateful for the multitude of blessings that we all share. We are called to go through challenges, and of course these obstacles provide an opportunity for us to glean strength and demonstrate our commitment. But perhaps one of the reasons we are faced with obstacles is so we can witness the handiwork of God as he exhibits his might. I recently attended a 30-year reunion of the WordPerfect family. There, Kurt Bestor performed a renown and loved song for us, which I had heard decades earlier when I was working at WordPerfect.

There are dozens of renditions of this moving song--THE PRAYER OF THE CHILDREN, which he produced back in those days. Bestor served his mission in Serbia during the 1970s. He lived with many different races and religions of people in this war torn country: Serbians, Muslims, and Croatians. At one point, he was working in a hospital caring for the children who had been devastated by this war that was not of their choosing. While he retrieved supplies from a neighboring town, this hospital was bombed. Bestor came back to find it destroyed and all the innocent children he had come to care for dead. When he returned to the US, he was inspired to write a song in tribute to the children, the innocent, who were the ones suffering the most from this war. Near the end of the song, for a brief moment--in memory of these children--the words change from English to Serbian. 


Yes. Especially amid hardship, gratefully, the Lord is in the details.



Monday, October 15, 2012

Breaking Stride

I am sitting in my office. There is quite a commotion going on around the house. A dish just fell in the kitchen...this time, it can't be fixed--it shattered into a million pieces. Of course, this isn't the first time. A beautiful hand-made bowl fell victim a few months ago. I remember as a child, a family heirloom that had been entrusted to my mother was damaged, much to Granny's dismay. I couldn't begin to number the broken glasses and bowls or plates or watches or vases or windows...or much more significant losses. But there is One who can and does.

To us these things are lost never to be reclaimed. But that is not necessarily the case in the great plan of happiness. All broken things can be healed because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, relieving the blind, lame, deaf, and downtrodden. No infirmity, situation, or hardship is outside the healing power of the Savior Jesus Christ. Healing through Jesus Christ includes physical, spiritual, and emotional conditions.

Elder David Bednar recognizes that this truth may be misunderstood even among latter-day saints:
I suspect that many Church members are much more familiar with the nature of the redeeming and cleansing power of the Atonement than they are with the strengthening and enabling power. It is one thing to know that Jesus Christ came to earth to die for us—that is fundamental and foundational to the doctrine of Christ. But we also need to appreciate that the Lord desires, through His Atonement and by the power of the Holy Ghost, to live in us—not only to direct us but also to empower us.
So how does this work? How can the Atonement of Jesus Christ enable us to overcome our challenges today?

Elder Bednar continues by giving a scriptural example and shares how he has learned to use this tool in his life.
Nephi is an example of one who knew, understood, and relied upon the enabling power of the Savior. Recall that the sons of Lehi had returned to Jerusalem to enlist Ishmael and his household in their cause. Laman and others in the party traveling with Nephi from Jerusalem back to the wilderness rebelled, and Nephi exhorted his brethren to have faith in the Lord. It was at this point in their journey that Nephi’s brothers bound him with cords and planned his destruction. Please note Nephi’s prayer: “O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound” (1 Nephi 7:17; emphasis added).
Do you know what I likely would have prayed for if I had been tied up by my brothers? “Please get me out of this mess NOW!” It is especially interesting to me that Nephi did not pray to have his circumstances changed. Rather, he prayed for the strength to change his circumstances. And I believe he prayed in this manner precisely because he knew, understood, and had experienced the enabling power of the Atonement.
But you may ask, how is this done? Elder Bednar uses another example from the Book of Mormon for our benefit. Alma is directing a mission to reclaim the apostate Zoramites. Alma did not pray to have his afflictions removed, rather he prayed for strength to bear his infirmities.
And the Lord provided for them that they should hunger not, neither should they thirst; yea, and he also gave them strength, that they should suffer no manner of afflictions, save it were swallowed up in the joy of Christ. Now this was according to the prayer of Alma; and this because he prayed in faith. (Alma 31:38)
We can, too.

Pray for strength to suffer your challenges with faith.
The Savior has suffered not just for our iniquities but also for the inequality, the unfairness, the pain, the anguish, and the emotional distresses that so frequently beset us. There is no physical pain, no anguish of soul, no suffering of spirit, no infirmity or weakness that you or I ever experience during our mortal journey that the Savior did not experience first. You and I in a moment of weakness may cry out, “No one understands. No one knows.” No human being, perhaps, knows. But the Son of God perfectly knows and understands, for He felt and bore our burdens before we ever did. And because He paid the ultimate price and bore that burden, He has perfect empathy and can extend to us His arm of mercy in so many phases of our life. He can reach out, touch, succor—literally run to us—and strengthen us to be more than we could ever be and help us to do that which we could never do through relying upon only our own power.
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
“For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28–30).
With Elder Bednar, I declare my witness and appreciation for the infinite and eternal sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. He lives. I have experienced both His redeeming and His enabling power. I testify that these powers are real and available to each one of us.

As you employ this principle in your life, you will find a renewed strength and optimism to overcome life's hardship.

Listen or read the whole talk here. There are many applications made that teach us about the enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It's well worth your time. Please take time to read or listen to it.


Saturday, October 6, 2012

General Conference

I love watching and listening to General Conference. Enjoy!

Come listen to living prophets

Mosiah 2:6
And they pitched their tents round about the temple, every man having his tent with the door thereof towards the temple, that thereby they might remain in their tents and hear the words which King Benjamin should speak unto them...

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Saving the Ship

Grandpa used to tell me a story about a sailor in the navy who was ridiculed because he knelt by his bunk each day and offered prayer. Nevertheless, this young man was undeterred.

Later in one particularly heated battle, the ship was struck mortally, and the men on deck fell to their knees in droves pleading for heaven's help, hopeless as it looked, because of fear. This particular cadet, however, did not cry for help but continued trying to save the ship. After the incident, when the battalion had returned to normalcy, his comrades gathered around him and asked of all people why didn't he begin to pray on the deck of the ship at the time when they needed heaven's help so badly, like many of the other sailors did.

He replied "I had already said my prayers that morning. God knew of my needs. Then was time for me to do everything I could given the situation at hand."  

I have always appreciated that sentiment and felt strength and security knowing that if I stand for Him, He will stand by me, especially in the heat of battle. I like this story because it applies to all our lives in every situation we may find ourselves. It's a matter of priority.

And that makes all the difference!