Sunday, September 14, 2014

Less Conspicuous Gifts

I miss Elder Marvin J. Ashton.  He had so much wisdom to share.  He gave a talk in 1987 about helping us to realize the gifts that Heavenly Father has given us that might not be as noticeable or recognizeable, but gifts nonetheless.  I posted about this once before, because he lists one of those gifts as "the ability to weep".  Here is a link to another great talk by Elder Ashton.

Here is the link to the talk:  https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1987/10/there-are-many-gifts?lang=eng

Here are a few quotes from it to think about:

One of the great tragedies of life, it seems to me, is when a person classifies himself as someone who has no talents or gifts. When, in disgust or discouragement, we allow ourselves to reach depressive levels of despair because of our demeaning self-appraisal, it is a sad day for us and a sad day in the eyes of God. For us to conclude that we have no gifts when we judge ourselves by stature, intelligence, grade-point average, wealth, power, position, or external appearance is not only unfair but unreasonable.

God has given each of us one or more special talents. Socrates made the famous statement, “The unexamined life is not worth living” (“Apology,” The Dialogues of Plato, trans. Benjamin Jowett, Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1952, p. 210). It is up to each of us to search for and build upon the gifts which God has given. We must remember that each of us is made in the image of God, that there are no unimportant persons. Everyone matters to God and to his fellowmen.

Taken at random, let me mention a few gifts that are not always evident or noteworthy but that are very important. Among these may be your gifts—gifts not so evident but nevertheless real and valuable.

Let us review some of these less-conspicuous gifts: the gift of asking; the gift of listening; the gift of hearing and using a still, small voice; the gift of being able to weep; the gift of avoiding contention; the gift of being agreeable; the gift of avoiding vain repetition; the gift of seeking that which is righteous; the gift of not passing judgment; the gift of looking to God for guidance; the gift of being a disciple; the gift of caring for others; the gift of being able to ponder; the gift of offering prayer; the gift of bearing a mighty testimony; and the gift of receiving the Holy Ghost.

Okay, so I am basically quoting almost the whole talk.  It really is worth reading and pondering.

Thursday, September 11, 2014

BYU Devotionals- I love them!

In the early morning hours, BYU tv runs BYU devotionals.  These are so inspirational.  I am getting a lot of favorites.  I thought I would use this post as a place to post links to the ones that I wanted to be able to find again easily:

J.B. Haws- Wrestling with Comparisons
Brad Wilcox- His Grace is Sufficient
Gifford Nielson- Rise and Shout and Shine Forth
Todd B. Parker- “True Doctrine, Understood, Changes Attitudes and Behavior”
Lawrence E. Corbridge- Stand Forever



Here is the link to the general site:
http://speeches.byu.edu/index

Weatherford T. Clayton:  Christ: The Rock of our Redeemer

Ed Eyestone: Following Worthy Mentors

Chad Lewis: The World Needs to See and Feel Your Light

Scott Esplin: "Daddy, is Jesus real?" Overcoming Fear Through Faith in Christ


Gordon Limb: Recognizing and Responding to the Promptings of the Holy Ghost

Mike Middleton: Adding Star's to Your Life's Stars

Paul Farnsworth:  Avoiding Spiritual Drift

Elder David Evans
Elder Ron R. Clarke

Celia Peek- "Yea, They May Forget, Yet Will I Not Forget Thee."
http://www.byutv.org/watch/a974c56f-cbd1-483f-9f5f-92b6394add2b/byu-devotional-address-cecilia-m-peek-11910


https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/osguthorpe-russell-t_what-if-love-were-our-only-motive/


Marilyn Berrett
Earnest Prayer

Damon Bahr
https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/bahr-damon-l_the-unique-opportunities-of-living-at-this-time-in/

Jeff Bellison- Gospel Gifts
https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/belliston-c-jeffrey_gospel-gifts/


 Trenton Hickman- Weaknesses into Strengths in our Search for Knowledge
http://speeches.byu.edu/index.php?act=viewitem&id=2183

Richard B. Miller- Repentance and Forgiveness in Marriage
http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1880

Jane Lassetter- Lead me, Walk Beside Me: Life Lessons with the Holy Ghost
http://speeches.byu.edu/index.php?act=viewitem&id=2169


Barbara Heise- Growing Toward Christ
http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1885


Brent Nelson- I Know That He Loveth His Children
http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=2189&view=2

Elder Anthony Perkins- Nevertheless, I Went Forth
http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=2164


Bishop Gerald Causse- "For When I Am Weak, Then Am I Strong"
 http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=2157 

Jeff Ringer- Finding Sanctuary
http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1899 

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Hello, I'm my Super Self!


A couple weeks before school got out, there was a day that the kids were supposed to dress up as their hero.  In the hallway, I overheard a little girl talking.  She was probably 1st or 2nd grade.  Anyway, she was wearing a cape and I heard her tell someone, “I’m my super self!”   She was so proud of herself.

That really struck me.  We should all try to be our super self! We should all try to be the best version of ourselves that we can be.  We may not always be able to do it on our own, but we can surely do it with the help of God our Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and our friend, the Holy Ghost.

I need to try harder to be my super self!

Friday, February 14, 2014

My life- the War chapters

 I am reading in Alma in my gospel study.  You know- the War chapters.  As I read these, it makes me tired.  They spend so much time preparing for war and then they fight in the battles and they win.  Then they go home and continue preparation and then they have more battles.  Then it looks like peace is established and they might be able to relax a little, but no.  There is an army approaching and they have to fight.  It seems relentless.  They never get a chance to take a break!

Sometimes my life feels that way.  There always seems to be something challenging occurring.  When you think the challenge is over, you turn around and there is more to be done.  It is relentless.  You work hard all day, you go to sleep, you wake up and do it over again, and on and on it goes.

But, always, there is the help of the Lord to spur you on and encourage you.  Good luck with your "War Chapters"!

Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel, who hath ordained, before the world was, that which would enable us to redeem them out of their prison; for the prisoners shall go free.
                                                                                                        Doctrine and Covenants 128:22
                                                                                         

Church Service

Years ago, I was invited to a couples shower where the gift we brought the soon-to-be married couple would reflect something in our own lives that had helped our marriage.  I brought a basket of church resources and manuals and I said that from the first day Kevin and I entered our first ward as a married couple, we introduced ourselves to the bishop and said we were ready to serve.  I feel that this attitude about serving in the church has been a great blessing in our lives.  We have served in various callings and have encouraged and helped each other in various callings and that has been a huge benefit to our marriage.  That is why this thought from Pres. Eyring's conference message  (To My Grandchildren  Nov. 2014 Ensign)  resonated with me:

I urge those I love to accept and to magnify every calling offered them in the Church. That choice is one of the great keys to family happiness. The pressures at every stage of life can tempt us to reject or neglect calls to serve the Savior. That can put us in spiritual peril for ourselves, our spouse, and our families. Some of those calls may seem unimportant, but my life, and my family, was changed for the better by my accepting a call to teach a deacons quorum.

Sunday, January 5, 2014

10 scriptures to cheer you up

This is from the LDS.org site:

10 Scriptures to Cheer Up Your Friends

Know people who are having a bad day? Sharing a scripture with them might be just the thing to brighten their day. And if they see that you believe in the scriptures, they may ask you more about your beliefs or the Church. Here are 10 scriptures that inspire with hope and provide comfort to the soul.
There are other things at the site, like 10 videos to share and 10 conversations starters.  I thought I would add the link to the whole thing so that I can find it again.

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Book of Mormon page titles- pretty cool

Here is a link to a pdf of Book of Mormon page titles that is pretty neat. This is from The Red Headed Hostess who got it from A Slacker Mom. http://www.theredheadedhostess.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Book-of-Mormon-Page-Titles.pdf