To be perfect, one can turn to many areas as a starting place. He or she must become the perfect husband, the perfect wife, the perfect father, the perfect mother, the perfect leader, the perfect follower. The way to perfection seems to be a changing of one’s life—to substitute the good for the evil in every case. Changes can come best if we take one item at a time.
-Spencer W. Kimball
June 1979 Liahona
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Humility
In Sunday School yesterday, (ok, day before yesterday, apparently I wrote this after midnight) we read Ether 12:27. It was only a small part of the lesson (which wasn't based in Ether) but it stood out to me. Probably in part that the scripture is a scripture mastery one from seminary.
It goes...
"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."
Recently, I've been trying to improve in some of my weaknesses. I've also met with some frustration and wondered why things weren't going better. Fault finding, for one, is something I've been really striving to be better at. But it wasn't identifying or being shown my weaknesses that was interesting to me.
I realized as I read this that I frequently will rely on myself in overcoming my weaknesses. I figure that it's my problem, I should be able to sort it out. Furthermore, sometimes someone will suggest something and I get the attitude of "well, that's nice for you or them or whomever, but I think my way will work just fine." I can definitely look back and see that as a pattern in my life.
A couple days ago, I read a part of an article by President Ezra Taft Benson given in the May 1989 Ensign. He says:
"Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart, or core, is still missing.
"The central feature of pride is enmity—enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen. Enmity means “hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition.” It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us.
"Pride is essentially competitive in nature. We pit our will against God’s. When we direct our pride toward God, it is in the spirit of “my will and not thine be done.” As Paul said, they “seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.” (Philip. 2:21.)
"Our will in competition to God’s will allows desires, appetites, and passions to go unbridled. (See Alma 38:12; 3 Ne. 12:30.)
"The proud cannot accept the authority of God giving direction to their lives." (Emphasis added.)
Since humility is the antithesis of pride, it stands to reason, then, that Ether essentially was saying that we need to trust in the Lord entirely in order for our weaknesses to become stengths. So, then, my unwillingness to do the small and simple things that some people suggest is just pride getting in my way.
Another scripture mastery verse teaches this same principle. Proverbs 3:5-6 says: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."
Here, then, is the key to overcoming weaknesses. This discovery has already improved my life. Just understanding this one thing has made me feel better - has helped me find humility and helped me be a happier person. For as Proverbs 3:13 says "Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding."
It goes...
"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."
Recently, I've been trying to improve in some of my weaknesses. I've also met with some frustration and wondered why things weren't going better. Fault finding, for one, is something I've been really striving to be better at. But it wasn't identifying or being shown my weaknesses that was interesting to me.
I realized as I read this that I frequently will rely on myself in overcoming my weaknesses. I figure that it's my problem, I should be able to sort it out. Furthermore, sometimes someone will suggest something and I get the attitude of "well, that's nice for you or them or whomever, but I think my way will work just fine." I can definitely look back and see that as a pattern in my life.
A couple days ago, I read a part of an article by President Ezra Taft Benson given in the May 1989 Ensign. He says:
"Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart, or core, is still missing.
"The central feature of pride is enmity—enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen. Enmity means “hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition.” It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us.
"Pride is essentially competitive in nature. We pit our will against God’s. When we direct our pride toward God, it is in the spirit of “my will and not thine be done.” As Paul said, they “seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.” (Philip. 2:21.)
"Our will in competition to God’s will allows desires, appetites, and passions to go unbridled. (See Alma 38:12; 3 Ne. 12:30.)
"The proud cannot accept the authority of God giving direction to their lives." (Emphasis added.)
Since humility is the antithesis of pride, it stands to reason, then, that Ether essentially was saying that we need to trust in the Lord entirely in order for our weaknesses to become stengths. So, then, my unwillingness to do the small and simple things that some people suggest is just pride getting in my way.
Another scripture mastery verse teaches this same principle. Proverbs 3:5-6 says: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."
Here, then, is the key to overcoming weaknesses. This discovery has already improved my life. Just understanding this one thing has made me feel better - has helped me find humility and helped me be a happier person. For as Proverbs 3:13 says "Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding."
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Regarding Temple Marriage
"Any of you would go around the world for the sealing ordinance if you knew its importance, if you realized how great it is. No distance, no shortage of funds, no situation would ever keep you from being married in the holy temple of the Lord."
-Spencer W. Kimball
-Spencer W. Kimball
Friday, October 17, 2008
Eliza's Wish
I'm not sure how I first came across elizaswish.org but I've stopped by a couple times. While there, I read this quote by Orson F. Whitney that I recorded, and present here.
"No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God... and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven."
It's a pretty strong statement. For me, the part about enduring patiently is probably the hardest.
It reminds me of a scripture I read a couple nights ago that really stood out. It's Mosiah 27:21
"21 And he caused that a multitude should be gathered together that they might witness what the Lord had done for his son, and also for those that were with him."
What was interesting to me about this verse is specifically the way it was worded. Alma rejoiced and gathered together people to witness what had been done FOR his son. Granted, Alma the younger experienced a life-changing experience and went on to bless many, many people. But the word "for" still really is interesting to me.
Most of us, when enduring trials, (myself included) frequently wonder "why is this happening TO me?" instead of being grateful that our trials are happening FOR us. I have a really hard time with this, but I hope that I can focus more on what's happening FOR me to build me up as a better person. And if I can focus more on enduring patiently, I can receive all the blessings that Orson Whitney spoke of.
"No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God... and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven."
It's a pretty strong statement. For me, the part about enduring patiently is probably the hardest.
It reminds me of a scripture I read a couple nights ago that really stood out. It's Mosiah 27:21
"21 And he caused that a multitude should be gathered together that they might witness what the Lord had done for his son, and also for those that were with him."
What was interesting to me about this verse is specifically the way it was worded. Alma rejoiced and gathered together people to witness what had been done FOR his son. Granted, Alma the younger experienced a life-changing experience and went on to bless many, many people. But the word "for" still really is interesting to me.
Most of us, when enduring trials, (myself included) frequently wonder "why is this happening TO me?" instead of being grateful that our trials are happening FOR us. I have a really hard time with this, but I hope that I can focus more on what's happening FOR me to build me up as a better person. And if I can focus more on enduring patiently, I can receive all the blessings that Orson Whitney spoke of.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Where do we go from here?
My last blog was called "Trivial Pursuits." haha I realize that's a kinda sad name. I could have called it "The Pursuit of That Which Doesn't Matter." But, in large part, that is the content of it. So, with this one, I think I'd like to record some things that aren't, to me, very trivial.
They probably aren't very ground breaking, and Heaven knows that I'm not one to stick with something like this for very long, but we'll see what happens. The name "Hope Hiding" comes from a Michael McLean album. Hopefully he won't beat me down.
I probably won't have a whole lot of personal thoughts up here, but will mostly collect stuff that I find interesting, inspiring, or whatever. I suppose I could have called this "Not-So-Trivial Pursuits" but... I didn't.
I've been reading "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. It's got some good stuff in there. One thing in there jumped out at me. Apparently he had a football coach that was pretty rough on him. After a particularly painful practice, an assistant coach came to him and said something that stuck with him for life. "When you're screwing up and nobody says anything to you any more, that means they've given up on you." Mr. Pausch made the following remarks about it. "When you see yourself doing something badly and nobody's bothering to tell you anymore, that's a bad place to be. You may not want to hear it, but your critics are often the ones telling you they still love you and are about you, and want to make you better."
I have friends like that. And sometimes it's bitter medicine, but I'm glad they don't give up on me.
They probably aren't very ground breaking, and Heaven knows that I'm not one to stick with something like this for very long, but we'll see what happens. The name "Hope Hiding" comes from a Michael McLean album. Hopefully he won't beat me down.
I probably won't have a whole lot of personal thoughts up here, but will mostly collect stuff that I find interesting, inspiring, or whatever. I suppose I could have called this "Not-So-Trivial Pursuits" but... I didn't.
I've been reading "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. It's got some good stuff in there. One thing in there jumped out at me. Apparently he had a football coach that was pretty rough on him. After a particularly painful practice, an assistant coach came to him and said something that stuck with him for life. "When you're screwing up and nobody says anything to you any more, that means they've given up on you." Mr. Pausch made the following remarks about it. "When you see yourself doing something badly and nobody's bothering to tell you anymore, that's a bad place to be. You may not want to hear it, but your critics are often the ones telling you they still love you and are about you, and want to make you better."
I have friends like that. And sometimes it's bitter medicine, but I'm glad they don't give up on me.
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