I don't know how to organize all these links and data that I hope to share for the Gospel Doctrine lesson. Struggling, humbled to be asked to teach! Seeking to learn, to find, to be directed to what I should share!
The Old Testament chapters we are to cover are the story of Abram and Lot.
"“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least [he] fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.” (17)
Do not be just a spectator or a critic. You didn’t do that in the premortal realm. You weren’t neutral then. You stood firm. Do not allow the very voices who cry for tolerance to not tolerate you or your view. This is the arena where all that you defended and chose then is taking place now. Do not get tired or distracted or disqualified! Be willing to step out of your comfort zones and “press forward with . . . a perfect brightness of hope” (2 Nephi 31:20)." Elaine S. Dalton: Zion Is the Pure in Heart By Elaine S. Dalton, Young Women general president, Published: Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009
I Love President Hinckley! I hope to share this clip from 2:10 to 4:26 story of the young man returning to his homeland of Pakistan.
I can't find this talk on the internet in any form but this audio file. I love these parts later in this talk by President Hinckley:
Awesome Article on Noelle Pikus-Pace, Silver medalist in the Olympics this past week.
So she did what she has done every time life has tried to break her heart or shake her faith. She went to her knees with her husband and asked for support and guidance.
“Any time I’ve had an injury or doubts or fears, that’s something we’ve really had strength in is our testimony of the priesthood power,” Pikus-Pace said. “Not just that (blessings from priesthood holders) should be given at the beginning of a school year or maybe necessarily when something traumatic comes up.”
It's an LDS doctrine that Pikus-Pace believes has sustained her throughout her tumultuous journey to the medal stand in Sochi, Russia.
“That’s something so sacred and so special that we have here on earth,” she said. “Heavenly Father’s power within the priesthood power to bless our lives any time that we feel Satan’s power over us, we can use in our lives and that’s something that we’ve really strengthened our faith in, is the power of the priesthood. It’s one of God’s greatest tools that we can use on earth today, to help us in this battle that really is going on.”
It’s prayer that brought her comfort when she faced disappointment — on or off the track. It is prayer that helped her make decisions when she questioned whether she was doing what she wanted or following God’s directives.
Her faith has also helped her keep any competitive desires in perspective.
“There’s a lot of times when you start looking at one person, and thinking, ‘I just want to beat them,’ ” she said. “You start getting these negative thoughts about a person, a team or a country, and it’s really hard. When you start to feel those things, you have to think, ‘OK, is this leading me toward Christ? Or away from him?’ There is always this black and white area, where you can say, 'Am I getting closer to my Savoir? Or is this pulling me farther away?’ ”
And then, if she decides those feelings are taking her away from God, she has a unique solution for an elite athlete.
“You really have to find a way to show love,” Pikus-Pace said. “And one of the best ways is to serve or compliment or just get outside that mentality that Satan wants us to be in and stop comparing ourselves to each other and really focus on being our best.”
Elder Neal Anderson in 2006 said:
How do we find our way through the many things that matter? We simplify and purify our perspective. Some things are evil and must be avoided; some things are nice; some things are important; and some things are absolutely essential. The Savior said, “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” 4
Faith is not only a feeling; it is a decision. With prayer, study, obedience, and covenants, we build and fortify our faith. Our conviction of the Savior and His latter-day work becomes the powerful lens through which we judge all else. Then, as we find ourselves in the crucible of life, as Elder Oaks explained, we have the strength to take the right course.
President Hinckley said it this way: “When [an individual] is motivated by great and powerful convictions of truth, then he disciplines himself, not because of demands made by the Church but because of the knowledge within his heart.” 5
Are we sufficiently motivated by “great and powerful convictions of truth”? Do our choices reflect this motivation? Are we becoming who we want to become? It’s true, isn’t it? Then what else matters?
.....
Many of the quiet acts of deep faith are known only to God. But they are recorded in heaven. It’s true, isn’t it? Then what else matters?
The Savior said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” 6
I testify that it is true and that it does matter.
President Hinckley in July of 1993 Ensign wrote:
The Savior did not equivocate when he said to Nicodemus: “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5.) There were no exceptions. There was no permissiveness in complying with the rule. It was so in other matters of which he spoke.
Paul never hedged nor quibbled when setting forth the requirements of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is so today. The Lord himself declared that “strait is the gate, and narrow is the way.” (Matt. 7:14.) Any system dealing with the eternal consequences of human behavior must set guidelines and adhere to them, and no system can long command the loyalties of men and women which does not expect of them certain measures of discipline, and particularly self-discipline. The cost in comfort may be great. The sacrifice may be real. But this very demanding reality is the substance of which comes character and strength and nobility. Permissiveness never produced greatness. Integrity, loyalty, and strength are virtues whose sinews are developed through the struggles that go on within as we practice self-discipline under the demands of divinely spoken truth.
But there is another side of the coin, without which this self-discipline is little more than an exercise. Discipline imposed for the sake of discipline is repressive. It is not in the spirit of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is usually enforced by fear, and its results are negative.
But that which is positive, which comes of personal conviction, builds and lifts and strengthens. In matters of religion, when an individual is motivated by great and powerful convictions of truth, then he disciplines himself not because of demands made by the Church, but because of the knowledge within his heart that God lives; that he is a child of God with an eternal and limitless potential; that there is joy in service and satisfaction in laboring in a great cause.
The remarkable progress of this Church is not so much the result of the requirements of the Church upon its members as it is the result of the conviction in the hearts of those members that this is in very deed the work of God, and that happiness and peace and satisfaction are found in righteous service.
The strength of the Church is not in its thousands of houses of worship across the world nor in its universities or seminaries and institutes. These are all facilities, desirable means to an end, but only auxiliary to that which is the true strength. The strength of this Church lies in the hearts of its people, in the individual testimony and conviction of the truth of this work. When an individual has that witness and testimony, the requirements of the Church become challenges rather than burdens. Declared the Savior, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:30.)
The Old Testament chapters we are to cover are the story of Abram and Lot.
"“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least [he] fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.” (17)
Do not be just a spectator or a critic. You didn’t do that in the premortal realm. You weren’t neutral then. You stood firm. Do not allow the very voices who cry for tolerance to not tolerate you or your view. This is the arena where all that you defended and chose then is taking place now. Do not get tired or distracted or disqualified! Be willing to step out of your comfort zones and “press forward with . . . a perfect brightness of hope” (2 Nephi 31:20)." Elaine S. Dalton: Zion Is the Pure in Heart By Elaine S. Dalton, Young Women general president, Published: Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009
I Love President Hinckley! I hope to share this clip from 2:10 to 4:26 story of the young man returning to his homeland of Pakistan.
I can't find this talk on the internet in any form but this audio file. I love these parts later in this talk by President Hinckley:
Remember the story of the rich young ruler who came to the master asking what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? He kept the commandments, but that was not enough, the Lord required sacrifice of him, saying “Come take up the cross and follow me.” The narrative concludes “He was sad at that saying, and went away grieved for he had much possessions.”
How so like ourselves, my brethren and sisters, how so like ourselves who give a little to the Lord but oh so little and then when asked to give a little more, go away grieving, clutching our possessions!
Our pioneer forebears who laid the foundation for that which we enjoy, having recognized the truth, no price was too great to pay for it! Let me share with you the story of a 13 year old young girl….
“Polly, I want to go to Zion while my children are small, no matter what it costs. So they can be raised in the gospel of Christ for I know that this is the true church.”
There comes seasons and days in the lives of each of us when we have to face decisions concerning these great and eternal things which are the substance of our faith.
Too often those decisions are made in terms of loaves and fishes instead of truth and testimony!
"Said Jesus unto the twelve, “Will ye also go away?” “Lord to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life, and we believe and are sure that thou are that Christ the Son of the Living God.”
Peter and his brethren… declared with their lives, “It’s true isn’t it” and so nothing else really matters.
My dear young friends,… let us also contemplate the meaning and the implication in our own lives, of the witness of the spirit that he lives, that He is the son of God, the only begotten in the flesh, the redeemer of mankind. That he and His father appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith and ushered in a new dispensation of gospel truth, the partakers of which have serious and sometimes demanding obligations. God help us to realize that this being true, it transcends in importance all other things.
For we believe and are sure that He is that Christ, the Son of the living God….
My Dear young friends, with increased faith and strengthened resolution to live a little as he would have us live, for if this be true and it is, then nothing else really matters. Think of that when you face the decisions of your lives, think of that when you are tempted to compromise. Think of that when your loyality, your time, and your substance are needed for the cause of the Lord. For it is true!
Awesome Article on Noelle Pikus-Pace, Silver medalist in the Olympics this past week.
Love this clip talks about her support team helping her along the way!
The article reads:
"One of those miracles included recovering from what she suspected might be a concussion. Pikus-Pace blacked out while training a week and a half before her Olympic competition. She didn’t feel well so she had an MRI, which was clear of any problems. She only took two of her allowed eight training runs, and she admits she struggled with doubt in that moment. Had she come this far to miss the competition for which her family, friends and community had helped her prepare?So she did what she has done every time life has tried to break her heart or shake her faith. She went to her knees with her husband and asked for support and guidance.
“Any time I’ve had an injury or doubts or fears, that’s something we’ve really had strength in is our testimony of the priesthood power,” Pikus-Pace said. “Not just that (blessings from priesthood holders) should be given at the beginning of a school year or maybe necessarily when something traumatic comes up.”
It's an LDS doctrine that Pikus-Pace believes has sustained her throughout her tumultuous journey to the medal stand in Sochi, Russia.
“That’s something so sacred and so special that we have here on earth,” she said. “Heavenly Father’s power within the priesthood power to bless our lives any time that we feel Satan’s power over us, we can use in our lives and that’s something that we’ve really strengthened our faith in, is the power of the priesthood. It’s one of God’s greatest tools that we can use on earth today, to help us in this battle that really is going on.”
It’s prayer that brought her comfort when she faced disappointment — on or off the track. It is prayer that helped her make decisions when she questioned whether she was doing what she wanted or following God’s directives.
Her faith has also helped her keep any competitive desires in perspective.
“There’s a lot of times when you start looking at one person, and thinking, ‘I just want to beat them,’ ” she said. “You start getting these negative thoughts about a person, a team or a country, and it’s really hard. When you start to feel those things, you have to think, ‘OK, is this leading me toward Christ? Or away from him?’ There is always this black and white area, where you can say, 'Am I getting closer to my Savoir? Or is this pulling me farther away?’ ”
And then, if she decides those feelings are taking her away from God, she has a unique solution for an elite athlete.
“You really have to find a way to show love,” Pikus-Pace said. “And one of the best ways is to serve or compliment or just get outside that mentality that Satan wants us to be in and stop comparing ourselves to each other and really focus on being our best.”
Elder Neal Anderson in 2006 said:
How do we find our way through the many things that matter? We simplify and purify our perspective. Some things are evil and must be avoided; some things are nice; some things are important; and some things are absolutely essential. The Savior said, “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” 4
Faith is not only a feeling; it is a decision. With prayer, study, obedience, and covenants, we build and fortify our faith. Our conviction of the Savior and His latter-day work becomes the powerful lens through which we judge all else. Then, as we find ourselves in the crucible of life, as Elder Oaks explained, we have the strength to take the right course.
President Hinckley said it this way: “When [an individual] is motivated by great and powerful convictions of truth, then he disciplines himself, not because of demands made by the Church but because of the knowledge within his heart.” 5
Are we sufficiently motivated by “great and powerful convictions of truth”? Do our choices reflect this motivation? Are we becoming who we want to become? It’s true, isn’t it? Then what else matters?
.....
Many of the quiet acts of deep faith are known only to God. But they are recorded in heaven. It’s true, isn’t it? Then what else matters?
The Savior said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” 6
I testify that it is true and that it does matter.
President Hinckley in July of 1993 Ensign wrote:
The Savior did not equivocate when he said to Nicodemus: “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5.) There were no exceptions. There was no permissiveness in complying with the rule. It was so in other matters of which he spoke.
Paul never hedged nor quibbled when setting forth the requirements of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is so today. The Lord himself declared that “strait is the gate, and narrow is the way.” (Matt. 7:14.) Any system dealing with the eternal consequences of human behavior must set guidelines and adhere to them, and no system can long command the loyalties of men and women which does not expect of them certain measures of discipline, and particularly self-discipline. The cost in comfort may be great. The sacrifice may be real. But this very demanding reality is the substance of which comes character and strength and nobility. Permissiveness never produced greatness. Integrity, loyalty, and strength are virtues whose sinews are developed through the struggles that go on within as we practice self-discipline under the demands of divinely spoken truth.
But there is another side of the coin, without which this self-discipline is little more than an exercise. Discipline imposed for the sake of discipline is repressive. It is not in the spirit of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is usually enforced by fear, and its results are negative.
But that which is positive, which comes of personal conviction, builds and lifts and strengthens. In matters of religion, when an individual is motivated by great and powerful convictions of truth, then he disciplines himself not because of demands made by the Church, but because of the knowledge within his heart that God lives; that he is a child of God with an eternal and limitless potential; that there is joy in service and satisfaction in laboring in a great cause.
The remarkable progress of this Church is not so much the result of the requirements of the Church upon its members as it is the result of the conviction in the hearts of those members that this is in very deed the work of God, and that happiness and peace and satisfaction are found in righteous service.
The strength of the Church is not in its thousands of houses of worship across the world nor in its universities or seminaries and institutes. These are all facilities, desirable means to an end, but only auxiliary to that which is the true strength. The strength of this Church lies in the hearts of its people, in the individual testimony and conviction of the truth of this work. When an individual has that witness and testimony, the requirements of the Church become challenges rather than burdens. Declared the Savior, “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:30.)