Cheerfulness Brings Others

One of my favorite scriptures of all time is D&C 68:6 "Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come."

I love this scripture for so many different reasons but I want to focus on two phrases "be of good cheer" and "ye shall bear record of me". Finding Joy in the journey that lies before us is very important in carrying out God's ways. We are always counseled to be of good cheer and to be optimistic. The plan of salvation is also referred to as the plan of Happiness. We are a church of happy living and good cheer. When we are full of happiness we have the desire share our testimonies with others of what we know and feel. We have a desire to help others to feel of the joy that we also feel in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Missionary work is carried out in such a different way when we are living a happy and loving life.

Elder Holland profoundly said, "Surely there is no more powerful missionary message we can send to this world than the example of a loving and happy Latter-day Saint life. The manner and bearing, the smile and kindness of a faithful member of the Church brings a warmth and an outreach which no missionary tract or videotape can convey. People do not join the Church because of what they know. They join because of what they feel, what they see, and want spiritually. Our spirit of testimony and happiness in that regard will come through to others if we let it."

We are all missionaries and by living happy and loving lives we can bring so many to the fold! Just by a smile or an act of kindness we can "bring an warmth and an outreach which no missionary tract or videotape can convey"! How powerful our optimism in our everyday lives really is! How powerful our words and testimony can be! How powerful our smile can be to someone else. We are to be examples of the believers in all that we do and say. I pray that we each can share our testimonies, talents, and smiles a little more. I hope that we can reach out to others in kind acts of service! We are The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and let us represent well!

The Finished Story

"With the Lord, nothing is impossible, but we each have to finish our story. He sends His Spirit, we call our encouragement to each other, but we have to keep writing, keep walking, keep serving and accepting new challenges to the end of our own story. "Still walking" is the fundamental requirement in the journey of life. He wants us to finish well. He wants us to come back to Him. I pray that each of our stories will end in the presence of our Heavenly Father and His Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, the authors and finishers of our faith. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen." - Gayle M. Clegg

I wish to echo the words uttered by Sister Clegg that with the Lord, nothing is impossible. Our stories must be finished. Christ has promised as declared in D&C 84:88, "... I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my spirit shall be in your hearts, and my angels round about you, to bear you up." I can't think of a better promise. How could any of us afford to keep Christ out of the details of our story? As Sister Clegg states,""Still walking" is the fundamental requirement in the journey of life." All that Christ requires of us is to keep walking and He will be on our right hand and on our left. As we keep moving He will send angels to be round about us to bear us up. As we keep writing our story and keep trekking along His spirit shall be in our hearts. Nothing is impossible with the Lord! Our stories began with our loving Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ... It is our Heavenly Father's and Savior's plea that we might end mortality and begin Eternity with them. I know this to be true with all of my heart. Keep writing, Keep walking, Keep Serving and remember Christ in the details. Our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ love us. They want us to succeed. They want us to return! So keep moving and find joy in the journey!

Heavenly Help

Mark Mabry Photography: Reflections of Christ -Angels

Elder Holland profoundly said," I have spoken here of Heavenly help, of angels dispatched to bless us in time of need. But when we speak of those who are instruments int he hand of God, we are reminded that not all angels are from the other side of the veil. Some of them we walk and talk with- - here, now, everyday. Some of them reside in our neighborhoods. Some of them gave birth to us, and in my case, one of them consented to marry me. Indeed heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God manifested in the kindness and devotion of people so good and so pure that angelic is the only word that comes to mind."

I believe in this with all of my heart and soul. I have no doubt in my mind that everyone has someone in their lives that is truly angelic! I am lost for words when it comes to the gratitude I feel for the people in my life who are like this. One person I know who really emulates this profound concept of angelic is always so close to God and so pure and so good that is scares me. Sometimes I think this person could just move to the other side of the veil at any given moment. I am so grateful for that person and the example that has been shown to me. I hope that all of us have people like this in our lives. I hope that there are angels around each one of you to bless and help you in times of need. I hope you walk and talk with many of them. I know that there are SO many of you out there that are purely angelic! I love you! I am grateful for you! (Thanks for the amazing quote! You know who you are and I love you!). May God bless each one of you!

Loneliest Walk

 heavenlyfathersplan.blogspot.com/2010/07/do-y...

He pushes up the board they've tied onto His shoulders

He bears, with dignity, disgrace

He hears the jeering and the wind is getting colder

Tastes the blood upon His face

His body bruised and back still open from the scourges

The consequence of wicked men

He knows no man on earth has ever deserved this

But still He bears it all for them

And He keeps moving up the hill to do His father's will

With each step He takes there's another to follow

and one more ache, one more tear to swallow

We all stand by and watch as the price is paid

Through the loneliest walk of His life

So we don't feel alone in the night

We can have His hand holding the light

Through the loneliest walks of our lives

Keep pushing through this lonely walk you're going through

Cause someones walked this way before

This song is one that I have loved for awhile. Life is hard for everyone and there is devastation, heartache, and loss all around us. We knew when we came here that it wasn't going to easy but that it would be worth it. The greatest thing about life is that Christ can be the center if we will let Him. Christ brings me hope and faith to keep going even when it is hard. I love Him with all of my mind, heart, and soul. Christ is my brother and my best friend. For me and for you, He suffered and died. "He knows no man on earth has ever deserved this, but still He bears it all of them." He did that for me and for you so that we don't have to feel alone. He loves us and I know that without a doubt in my mind. Someday I will be able to thank Him and kiss the hands and feet that were driven with nails for me. I hope that each of you will take 4 minutes and 34 seconds to listen to this song. I hope that through it we can remember that life is hard but it is worth it because of Christ. He loves us.

If you would like to listen you can find the song here.

Lessens The Power



Taken by Shantell Giles

"Every foundation stone that is laid for a Temple, and every Temple completed according to the order the Lord has revealed for his holy Priesthood, lessens the power of Satan on the earth, and increases the power of God and Godliness, moves the heavens in mighty power in our behalf, invokes and calls down upon us the blessings of the Eternal Gods, and those who reside in their presence"(Millennial Star, 12 November 1877, page 743).

The temple alone in all of its beauty lessens the power of Satan on the earth because of its purpose. I am grateful for this truth that we know and very privileged to have a temple within walking distance. With every temple built Satan's power becomes less and the power of God increases! This is a remarkable truth that we each can see. What happens inside those sacred walls is an increase in power and the heavens are moved in mighty power in our behalf. I can't help but thing that what happens inside those walls is more than a physical description. What happens inside changes things for eternity and we are left speechless.

The temple is our way "out of the world". When we as members of the church are troubled or when decisions truly weigh heavily upon our minds and hearts we commonly go to the temple. While preparing for my talk last Sunday I came across this article by Boyd K. Packer entitled The Holy Temple.

President Packer states, "Sometimes our minds are so beset with problems , and there are so many things clamoring for attention at once that we just cannot think clearly and see clearly. At the temple the dust of distraction seems to settle out, the fog and the haze seem to lift, and we can "see" things that were not able to see before and find a way through our troubles that we had not previously known." He says,"Our Labor in the temple covers us with a shield and a protection, both individually and as a people."

I testify that this is true. I know that in the midst of our troubles the temple is the place where the fog and haze lift and the dust of distraction settles out. Our minds and hearts are open new ways through our troubles and trials. I can testify from my own experience that this is true. The temple is truly a place where we are out of the world. I am so grateful for the temple and the privilege I have to go and to feel of the power of God. I am so grateful for my testimony of the temple and its importance in my life! I hope that we can all be better at attending the temple and claiming the blessings that are ours! Have a wonderful weekend! :)

The Cart Began Pushing Me

Photo by Papa Michael

"We suffered beyond anything you can imagine and many died of exposure and starvation, but did you ever hear a survivor of that company utter a word of criticism? Every one of us came through with the absolute knowledge that God lives for we became acquainted with Him in our extremities! " I have pulled my handcart when I was so weak and weary from illness and lack of food that I could hardly put one foot ahead of the other. I have looked ahead and seen a patch of sand or a hill slope and I have said, I can go only that far and there I must give up for I cannot pull the load through it. I have gone to the sand and when I reached it, the cart began pushing me! I have looked back many times to see who was pushing my cart, but my eyes saw no one. I knew then that the Angels of God were there." Was I sorry that I chose to come by handcart? No! Neither then nor any minute of my life since. The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay and I am thankful that I was privileged to come in the Martin Handcart Company." - Francis Webster, Martin Handcart Company

There are no adequate words to express my love and absolute gratitude for the pioneers. They suffered more than I can completely comprehend in my mind. They did all that they did because faith encircled their minds. They knew that God was in control and God lead their journey. Trek is just around the corner and I am grateful for the privilege to go and to gain a greater testimony of my brothers and sisters. This quote empowers me to try harder to be better! It pushes me to have greater faith in my journey. Life is hard and sometimes it feels like it never gets better. Sometimes it seems a trial lasts a life time and you can't do it anymore. Sometimes we see a patch of sand or a hill slope. We say we can only go that far and then we must give up because we cannot pull the load through any longer. Suddenly something else is pushing us through and we look back with praise unto our Heavenly Father for His mighty miracles and we thank Him for our trials. Life may be hard but with Heavenly Father and Christ our Savior it's worth going through! I hope we can all read this quote to ourselves when we feel it's just too much to bear and remember they didn't give up and they weren't worry for themselves!

Following Christ to Victory

Simon Dewey- He Lives

"Since we, each of us, are invited to follow the Christ to victory, it seems we should become vitally aware of how he fulfilled his mission, and seek to emulate his example. Surely we will never be able to do precisely what he did, partly because his mission and purpose is different than ours. He is the Savior; we are the saved. He is the Mediator between God and man; we are those for whom he mediates. He is the Redeemer; we are the redeemed. The list of differences is long, and possibly endless. The Master’s statement to Moses is a summation of his mission on earth: “My work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). The immortality portion of this mission he has already accomplished—the resurrection is a reality and all will partake."

"However, we are permitted, encouraged, even commanded to assist in bringing to pass the eternal life of man, which is, of course, the continuing part of his great mission. His promise to us of things which I do, ye can do, and greater things than I do, ye can do (see John 14:12) rings loudly in the ears, stimulating the amazement of everyone who reads the holy scriptures."

This talk was from the ensign many many years ago. I came across this marvelous talk while searching through lds.org. I highly recommend that each of you read this talk on your own because of the power of the entire message. 

I have been thinking a lot lately about what really lies ahead. I have thought a lot about exaltation and eternal life with my Father in Heaven and how important that is to me. I think about victory in that matter and how glorious that idea seems in my mind. I am moved upon by the spirit to realize that I can conquer and I can end  this life with victory. Victory over death because of the Savior Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for me. Victory over Satan by following the commandments and being obedient in following the Prophet. Victory by putting off the natural man and rising above the barrier of the world. And Victory with my own family because of the choice to go to the temple to make and keep sacred covenants with my Heavenly Father. There is power and understanding that lies within my heart that is so precious and simple that leads me to speak. These quotes given by a man called of God are true! Christ's mission here on earth was much different than ours may be. Of  course He is the one who leads us back home if we follow. His mission however is still continuing. As faithful members of His church it is important that we each continue in His work. We are all to assist in bring about eternal life to our dear brothers and sisters. Many may follow and seek the 99, but Christ went after the 1. May we all go after that 1 who may not be physically calling our name but may be seeking out in prayer for a friend or one to love them. We can go undefeated before the Lord if we choose to. Let us all go on in Victory!