The ability to speak several languages is an asset, but the ability to keep your mouth shut in any language is priceless.
Be decisive. Right or wrong, make a decision. The road is paved with flat squirrels who couldn’t make a decision.
Happiness is not having to set the alarm clock.
When I get a headache I take two aspirin and keep away from children just like the bottle says.
Just once, I want the prompt for username and password to say, “Close enough.”
Becoming an adult is the dumbest thing I’ve ever done.
If you see me talking to myself, just move along. I’m self-employed. We’re having a meeting.
“Your call is very important to us. Please enjoy this 40-minute flute solo”.
Does anyone else have a plastic bag full of plastic bags, or is it just me?
I hate it when I can’t figure out how to operate the iPad and my tech support guy is asleep. He’s five and it’s past his bedtime.
Today’s three-year-olds can switch on laptops and open their favorite apps. When I was three, I ate mud.
Tip for a successful marriage: Don’t ask your wife when dinner will be ready while she’s mowing the lawn.
So, you drive across town to a gym to walk on a treadmill?
I didn’t make it to the gym today. That makes five years in a row.
I decided to stop calling the bathroom “John” and renamed it the “Jim”. I feel so much better saying I went to the Jim this morning.
If God wanted me to touch my toes, He would’ve put them on my knees.
Last year I joined a support group for procrastinators. We haven’t met yet.
Why do I have to press one for English when you’re just going to transfer me to someone I can’t understand anyway?
Now, I’m wondering . . . did I send this to you, did you send it to me or have I only sent one copy?
The Commandments for Seniors……
You don’t need anger management. You need people to stop pissing you off.
Your people skills are just fine. It’s your tolerance for idiots that needs work.
“On time” is, when you get there.
Even duct tape can’t fix stupid – but it sure does muffle the sound.
It would be wonderful if we could put ourselves in the dryer for ten minutes, then come out wrinkle-free…and three sizes smaller.
Lately, you’ve noticed people your age are so much older than you.
“One for the road” means peeing before you leave the house.
USA: are we on the ropes?
———- Original Message ———-
From: Ron Bailey
Subject: Fw: A very profound excellent essay from a friend
Men, like nations, think they’re eternal. What man in his 20’s or 30’s
doesn’t believe, at least subconsciously, that he’ll live forever? In
the springtime of youth, an endless summer beckons. As you pass 70,
it’s harder to hide from reality.
Nations also have seasons: Imagine a Roman of the 2nd century
contemplating an empire that stretched from Britain to the Near East,
thinking: This will endure forever…. Forever was about 500 years, give
or take.
France was pivotal in the 17th and 18th centuries; now the land of
Charles Martel is on its way to becoming part of the Muslim ummah.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the sun never set on the British
empire; now Albion exists in a perpetual twilight. Its 95-year-old
sovereign is a fitting symbol for a nation in terminal decline.
In the 1980s, Japan seemed poised to buy the world. Business schools
taught Japanese management techniques. Today, its birth rate is so low
and its population aging so rapidly that an industry has sprung up to
remove the remains of elderly Japanese who die alone.
I was born in 1948 almost at the midpoint of the 20th century – the
American century America’s prestige and influence were never greater.
Thanks to the ‘Greatest Generation,’ we won a World War fought
throughout most of Europe, Asia and the Pacific. We reduced Germany to
rubble and put the rising sun to bed. It set the stage for almost
half a century of unprecedented prosperity.
We stopped the spread of communism in Europe and Asia, and fought
international terrorism. We rebuilt our enemies and lavished foreign
aid on much of the world. We built skyscrapers and rockets to the
moon We conquered Polio and now COVID. We explored the mysteries of
the Universe and the wonders of DNA…the blueprint of life.
But where is the glory that once was Rome? America has moved from a
relatively free economy to socialism – which has worked so well
NOWHERE in the world.
We’ve gone from a republican government guided by a constitution to a
regime of revolving elites. We have less freedom with each passing
year. Like a signpost to the coming reign of terror, the cancel
culture is everywhere. We’ve traded the American Revolution for the
Cultural Revolution.
The pathetic creature in the White House is an empty vessel filled by
his handlers. At the G-7 Summit, ‘Dr. Jill’ had to lead him like a
child. In 1961, when we were young and vigorous, our leader was too.
Now a feeble nation is technically led by the oldest man to ever serve
in the presidency.
We can’t defend our borders, our history (including monuments to past
greatness) or our streets. Our cities have become anarchist
playgrounds. We are a nation of dependents, mendicants, and misplaced
charity. Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens
are put up in hotels.
The president of the United States can’t even quote the beginning of
the Declaration of Independence (‘You know — The Thing’) correctly Ivy
League graduates routinely fail history tests that 5th graders could
pass a generation ago. Crime rates soar and we blame the 2nd
Amendment and slash police budgets.
Our culture is certifiably insane. Men who think they’re women. People
who fight racism by seeking to convince members of one race that
they’re inherently evil, and others that they are perpetual victims. A
psychiatrist lecturing at Yale said she fantasizes about ‘unloading a
revolver into the head of any white person.’
We slaughter the unborn in the name of freedom, while our birth rate
dips lower year by year Our national debt is so high that we can no
longer even pretend that we will repay it one day. It’s a $28-trillion
monument to our improvidence and refusal to confront reality. Our
‘entertainment’ is sadistic, nihilistic and as enduring as a candy bar
wrapper thrown in the trash. Our music is noise that spans the
spectrum from annoying to repulsive.
Patriotism is called insurrection, treason celebrated, and perversion
sanctified.
A man in blue gets less respect than a man in a dress.
We’re asking soldiers to fight for a nation our leaders no longer believe in.
How meekly most of us submitted to Fauci-ism (the regime of face
masks, lockdowns and hand sanitizers) shows the impending death of the
American spirit.
How do nations slip from greatness to obscurity?• Fighting endless
wars they can’t or won’t win • Accumulating massive debt far beyond
their ability to repay • Refusing to guard their borders, allowing the
nation to be inundated by an alien horde • Surrendering control of
their cities to mob rule • Allowing indoctrination of the young •
Moving from a republican form of government to an oligarchy • Losing
national identity • Indulging indolence • Abandoning faith and family
– the bulwarks of social order.
In America, every one of these symptoms is pronounced, indicating an
advanced stage of the disease.
Even if the cause seems hopeless, do we not have an obligation to
those who sacrificed so much to give us what we had? I’m surrounded
by ghosts urging me on: the Union soldiers who held Cemetery Ridge at
Gettysburg, the battered bastards of Bastogne, those who served in the
cold hell of Korea, the guys who went to the jungles of Southeast Asia
and came home to be reviled or neglected.
This is the nation that took in my immigrant grandparents, whose
uniform my father and most of my uncles wore in the Second War. I
don’t want to imagine a world without America, even though it becomes
increasingly likely.
During Britain’s darkest hour, when its professional army was trapped
at Dunkirk and a German invasion seemed imminent, Churchill reminded
his countrymen, “Nations that go down fighting rise again, and those
that surrender tamely are finished.”
The same might be said of causes. If we let America slip through our
fingers, if we lose without a fight, what will posterity say of us.
While the prognosis is far from good, only God knows if America’s day
in the sun is over.
There is always hope
When I was in High School, I was required to take algebra. I remember the teacher always talking about how often we would find ourselves using algebra in our daily lives. I saw a meme that summed up my feelings on that: “Yet another day has gone by that I did not use algebra.”
Well, 2020 has been like a huge math problem: “If you are going down a river at 2 MPH and your canoe loses a wheel, how much pancake mix would you need to re-shingle your roof?”
One thing that this year has brought me though is the opportunity to both read and listen to books. Recently, we have been listening to the Lord of the Rings, specifically the Fellowship of the Ring.
A story where two hobbits (they would look like children to your eyes) readied themselves to leave the Shire on an “adventure.” Their quest was to return the One Ring (because Hobbits were particularly immune to evil.) to Mt Doom to be destroyed.
One Ring to rule them all, One ring to find them; One ring to bring them all
and in the darkness bind them.
So off they go. “I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.
“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
To me, it is a story of hope in the future, faith in our friends and in ourselves, and that through hard times avail us, there is always hope. There is always a way. There is always a solution.
Moroni 7:42 Wherefore, if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope. Hope is a combination of setting goals, having the tenacity and perseverance to pursue them, and believing in our own abilities.
Further, hope can be learned
“This is tough, but I can do it!”
Behold! A royal army, With banner, sword, and shield,
Is marching forth to conquer On life’s great battlefield.
Its ranks are filled with soldiers, United, bold, and strong,
Who follow their Commander And sing their joyful song:
Allow me to report on the state of the Foothills Ward at this point. There are 283 people in our ward. We are averaging about 75 people in our Sacrament meeting with an average of 25 signing in to watch the streaming. If we assume 2 people per sign-in, then we have about 125 people participating in Sacrament meetings. Last week we had 105 brothers and sisters in attendance and 49 checked in to our online streaming brought to you by Christian. Who is a Christian by the way.
I witness a Ward before me that is both welcoming and quick to step up. From helping someone move, to sawing wood, to pitching in wherever and whenever the need exists. I like what I see!
A Royal Army.
We have John Nilson, Sherri and David Hibbert, Wayne and Leatha Adams, Jay and Michele Westwood serving Service Missions in the area.
Stephen and Denise Egan and Steve and Marsha Holding have both returned with honor from missions at Church Sites. Though both couples experienced (in understatement) the unexpected. The Holdings will report to us once Covid is vanquished and life returns to normal.
Life will return to normal.
We have Alisse Metge, Kevin Erickson, Ray Riggin, Donna Riggin, Jennifer Hite, Aaron Peterson, Duncan Bean, Stephen Egan, Rob Lemly, and Rich Collins serving in Stake Callings. (forgive me if I forgot someone)
Chandra Strong is teaching Early Morning Seminary.
A Royal Army indeed.
2. And now the foe advancing, That valiant host assails,
And yet they never falter; Their courage never fails.
Their Leader calls, “Be faithful!” They pass the word along;
They see his signal flashing And shout their joyful song:
When we were first married, we had a son; Joseph who was just a few days old when Alicia woke me in the middle of the night where the outside temperature was hovering below zero, with, “somethings wrong!” I awoke to see yellow streaked with orange dancing a reflecting on our white, open bedroom door. The time on our little bedside clock with flip type numbers, showed 1:30 in the morning. Throwing myself out of bed, I raced to the living room to see the wall paper turning brown and then flames bursting out of the wall and curling over my head across the high 1920’s ceiling. I threw a box of baking soda against the wall, useless effort. I then ran back to the bedroom, got little Joseph and Alicia gather up and outside, down the long, concrete steps and into the old Ford. Started it, turned the heat on full and ran back up to the house to rescue what I could, The door burst open at my touch, flames exploding into the cold night air. I ran to the neighbor, fire engines were called, power was cut. The house, was a compete loss. The next morning, digging through the rubble I found that old melted and warped clock with the flip down numbers. It showed 1:37 ….7 minutes from the time of her waking until the house was totally engulfed in flames.
We do not get to chose our adversity, mostly, but we do get to chose how we deal with adversity. It is not the measure of a person by what they experience, the true measure of a person is how they handle that experience.
The first people on the scene the next morning, were two Elders from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We did not call them. They simply heard and came to support us. They came with boxes of food and other supplies. I was not a participating member, however Alicia was. They were not home-teachers, rather two men who took it upon themselves to follow the promptings of the spirit.
More than anything, those two brethren brought “Hope.” Though we had lost everything, we still had our lives and our little son. We would be ok. We will rebuild and start again. This time though, we bought fire insurance!
3. Oh, when the war is ended, When strife and conflicts cease,
When all are safely gathered Within the vale of peace,
Before the King eternal, That vast and mighty throng
Shall praise his name forever, And this shall be their song:
Victory, victory, Thru him that redeemed us!
Victory, victory, Thru Jesus Christ, our Lord!
Victory, victory, victory, Thru Jesus Christ, our Lord!
Text: Fanny J. Crosby, 1820–1915
Music: Adam Geibel, 1855–1933
2 Timothy 2:3, 22
Doctrine and Covenants 104:82
2 And the things that thou hast heard of me …..among many witnesses, the same …..commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
22 Flee also youthful lusts: but…. follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, [walk] with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
Many of us never suspected that just a few months ago our lives would be turned upside down. We would have had it different for sure. Fortunately, we don’t get to pick our struggles, though we wish those struggles were of a different sort.
“So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them [us] to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
― J.R.R Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
We have, you and I, the Gospel, or the Good News, of Christ and Him resurrected. That if we will but find the strength to live His commandments, we will prosper in the Land. Our burdens will be made light, out pathways clear, and our purpose defined. To comfort others, to serve others, and to be a witness of Christ in all places and conversations.
“May it (your faith in Christ) be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
Be Still my Soul
Lyrics
- 1. Be still, my soul: The Lord is on thy side;With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain.Leave to thy God to order and provide;In ev’ry change he faithful will remain.Be still, my soul: Thy best, thy heav’nly FriendThru thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
- 2. Be still, my soul: Thy God doth undertakeTo guide the future as he has the past.Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;All now mysterious shall be bright at last.Be still, my soul: The waves and winds still knowHis voice who ruled them while he dwelt below.
- 3. Be still, my soul: The hour is hast’ning onWhen we shall be forever with the Lord,When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.Be still, my soul: When change and tears are past,All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.
As we face the storms of life, I know that if we make our best effort and rely upon Jesus Christ and His Atonement as our refuge, we will be blessed with the relief, comfort, strength, temperance, and peace that we are seeking, with certainty in our hearts that at the end of our time here on earth, we will hear the words of the Master:
“Well done, thou good and faithful servant: … enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matthew 25:21).
Finding Refuge from the Storms of Life
April 2020
General Conference
Ricardo P. Giménez
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2020/04/53gimenez?lang=eng&verse=#p
I shall end now with this:
I love how I feel when I am around our young people. They are active, interesting, and are constantly serving.
I see them playing cellos,
I see them playing violins, and marimbas,
One just won awards for playing the tuba, some are playing trumpets,
I see them playing pianos, uke, and (if they are wise) the guitar.
I watch them greeting people at the door, blessing and passing the sacrament, offering prayers for all of us, and cleaning the chapel before and after every meeting
They are indeed a Royal Army. They make me believe the future is bright. They serve in the spirit of Charity and Faith. They are wise and desire to do good.
They strengthen me. They remind me constantly;
“There is always, hope.”
Tranquility Base Ranch
We purchased 40 acres close to where I was raised. Here are a few pictures:
we have nearly finished the driveway. We put down about 4” of gravel over fabric. It is just short of a 1000 feet in length.
Perhaps, there are some who might suggest that we are too old to take on this large of a project, pshaw! :-). We were never ones to sit very long anyway….
As long as we can, we like to add beauty to our world . Besides, I’m having a blast driving dozers again, leveling a build site, building roads, and completely enjoying being out here! Alicia is already clearing brush and packing rocks to build features with!
We both are finding great joy in working this little hilltop property!
“Does it snow much here?” “oh no, usually just rains.”..!?
A little snow fell a couple of weeks ago so work has stopped for now. So, I’m having a great time hiking around and exploring our little mountain place
This part is a little more inclined….
Remember then there is only one time that is important…now! It is the most important time because it is the only time when we have any power. (Tolstoy Twenty – three tales)
We are living in a time of “stay home save lives.” I think it has caused many of us to reconsider the pace of our lives and those items we deemed important have somehow changed for many of us. Some may have discovered that being home is a like a quarantine. Others have found this time to be of use to ground ourselves in what is most important; our families and our peace of mind.
Not listening to the news everyday has brought simple peace to me as well as recommitting myself to ‘feasting’ on the words of Christ. While I still read enough of the news to be aware of what is going on, I am careful to not become fixated. Unfortunately, too much of the news is simply an overload of negativity.
We have little control over what has already happened and we little control over what will happen in this world. But! We can have complete control over the present time. We can chose how we will spend our day. We can chose today to follow the teachings of the Lord or do something else. There is no profit in worrying about tomorrow (I love to worry, 90% of what I worry about never comes to pass.) or fretting about what happened in the past. Each will take care of itself. My job is to do right…today.
The people cried for want of food and the Lord sent Manna (Literally means: What is it?) from heaven at a certain rate for each day. Any extra gathered simply rotted. It was only good for the day, except on day before the Sabbath, they were to gather two days worth and it was preserved by the Lord.
4 ¶ Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.
The people were taught to be concerned only about the present day. I have days that were very hard to get through and thought, well, I can not do this anymore, but I found that I could do just the one day. Then the next. And so on, to finally accumulate a life-time of employment and ability to provide for my family.
So it is with our commitment to, or our loyalty to, or our faith in the Lord. Some days may seem too much and we can not do another. But we are only required to do the one day. We can do the one day. And not be concerned about the next day. Focus on the this day….only. We simply put one foot in front of the other. Eventually, we will end up at our destination. One step at a time, one rung at a time, one day at a time.
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
It is ours to simply do one day at a time.
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
14 But behold, the Jews were a stiffnecked people; and they despised the words of plainness, and killed the prophets, and sought for things that they could not understand. Wherefore, because of their blindness, which blindness came by looking beyond the mark,
Our understanding of Christ and His doctrine comes to us one line at a time, one precept at a time, one day at a time, like the sun coming up on a clear morning we will finally walk in the full light of His doctrine. There is no gain to by “looking beyond the mark.”
Be careful to not get lost in grandiose plans. I recall taking young men rappelling and how at the bottom they would boast of their great plans when it was their turn to leave the safety of the top of the cliff and “fly” under control back to the warm embrace of Mother Earth. And yet, when they were roped into the harness, given instruction, their desire to show off evaporated. Yet, the task was easy, it just looked a little daunting to leave the ledge and hang out in space 90 feet from the ground. I suppose it is our nature to believe that we must really exert ourselves if we are to be safe. And yet, we are taught that is in fact, an easy way to travel.
43 And now, my son, I would that ye should understand that these things are not without a shadow; for as our fathers were slothful to give heed to this compass (now these things were temporal) they did not prosper; even so it is with things which are spiritual.
46 O my son, do not let us be slothful because of the easiness of the way; for so was it with our fathers; for so was it prepared for them, that if they would look they might live; even so it is with us. The way is prepared, and if we will look we may live forever
“Day by day we can learn the language of the Spirit, we can gain experience in identifying promptings, we can increase in faith and wisdom.” (That We May Be One Tom Christofferson)
I suppose this represents my current thinking. That if I were to focus on doing today, by doing the best I can today, by walking in the path lighted by the doctrine of Christ today, that those days will also accumulate into a full and joyous lifetime.
For strolling down amnesia lane
- Remember back when we were kids and every time it was below zero outside
they closed school? Me neither.
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Sometimes photos need no words…
Was I right?
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Loneliness, something missing in our lives…
I wonder if not each of us feels loneliness at different levels. Perhaps, we try to fill that void with the idea that the right job, or the right spouse, or the right bank balance, or the right friend, the right job, car, toy, etc., will make us feel the opposite of lonely or loved. Some have seemingly everything, yet are not truly happy. Is it because though surrounded by “stuff” they are not encircled by love?
Perhaps, our individual loneliness is a result of a separation from our Father in Heaven. Perhaps, that void we call loneliness could be filled by reconnecting with Him through prayer, reading His word, and serving His other children.
Perhaps that feeling of being loved will grow as we draw closer to the source of pure love.
How can I solve my problems?
The Lord doesn’t always, (Hardly ever) solve our problems for us. However, He always gives us the knowledge we need to overcome those challenges on our own. He never gives us more than we can handle, yet we will see obstacles that do challenge us, to help us grow. He didn’t just give Nephi a ship, or even the tools. He did teach him how to build a ship and how to make the tools he needed to work the timber to build the solution to his current challenge…obstacle. Nephi, then in turn, could teach his own children and thereby his children’s children how to work through personal challenges. Nov Ensign Perry p. 91 The Lord will never do what we can do ourselves.”
The perfect home design for a growing family
My daughter came to me seeking advice on what do about a home for her expanding family. I made a suggestion: See, I love this!
Think of the possibilities! Craigslist is chock full of travel trailers that folks have grown tired of. She could buy one of these, or several, and simply hook them up to her home. IF she wanted an elevated floor plan, she could simply place it up on barrels. Think of it, the kids would each have their own bathroom, their own kitchen to prepare lovely meals for the family on a rotational basis. It’s perfect! IF she wanted the down-home, natural feel, she could dig holes in the ground and allow the frame to sink to the ground. (She could probably accomplish this by soaking the ground good before backing the trailer in.
The ideas are endless! She could build a small commune and have the trailers all placed around a perimeter providing a beautiful courtyard for a water feature ( I happen to have an old toilet she could use, she’s really quite imaginative, I’m sure she’ll think of something great!) and place comfortable benches all about the “inner courtyard.”
Simply lovely is it not!
Just to give a homey feeling, she could have a broken dryer set out with some English Ivy gracing it’s shell. Perhaps, a chicken or two would be fun for the kids to play with and they would help her towards her goal of becoming self-reliant. What better use than an old car up on blocks for the chickens to roost in while being in complete safety from the critters of the wild.
Even a room with a view is a completely reasonable idea:
And the best part! When the kids grow and leave the little nest, so to speak, they could simply hook onto their trailer/bedroom/kitchen/bath, and leave. They would be completely setup for life because of the foresight of a loving parent. There would be no need to “downsize” the home. That would happen naturally.
I am at peace.
Brings a tear to the eye does it not?
Becoming a Disciple of Christ
Baptism is very symbolic.
This ordinance includes a burial of the old man of sin and the rebirth of a clean disciple of Christ. We come forth from the waters of Baptism taking upon ourselves the name of Christ. We become Christians in every sense of the word. Christ has promised each of us that if we are baptized that our sins will be remitted. I believe Him. I have experienced that joy in my own life.
The ordinance comes with this promise: That we can be buried in the water by one holding priesthood authority and come forth a new person, a person where the burdens of a lifetime can be lifted.
Harold B Lee: “If I were to ask you– what is the heaviest burden one may have to bear in this life– what would you answer? The heaviest burden that one has to bear in this life is sin.”(CR Apr 73)
Alma taught (while under a death sentence) the gospel and explained the covenant of baptism at the waters of Mormon:
8 And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;
9 Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—
10 Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?
Mosiah 18:8-10
M Russell Ballard: “When we covenant in the waters of baptism to ‘stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things and in all places’ we are not talking solely about fast and testimony meetings. It may not always be easy, convenient, or politically correct to stand for truth and right, but it is always the right thing to do—always.” (CR Oct 97) (Prop8 in Cal)
Bonnie D Parkin: General Relief Society President) “Covenants—or binding promises between us and Heavenly Father—are essential for our eternal progression. Step-by-step, He tutors us to become like Him by enlisting us in His work. ….Forged through priesthood authority, our kept covenants bring blessings to fill our cups to overflowing. ….Making covenants is the expression of a willing heart; keeping covenants, the expression of a faithful heart.”(“Ensign Nov 02)
In the last conference Elder Holland taught concerning the early Apostles who after the death and resurrection of our Lord, returned to their previous life’s labor. He came to them and said, in effect, “If I wanted fish, I would get fish. What I need are disciples.”
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