Gods Love and Laws

October 2009
General Conference: Saturday Afternoon
Elder Dallin H. Oaks

Nothng can separate us from the love of god. God instituted laws so that we can advance like himself. He wants us to obey his commandments because it is only through these commandments can we learn to be like him. (Alma 42, mercy and justice) The blessings we receive are because of the commandments, or laws that we keep.

He will not prevent the choices of others.....even if their choices effect us....but he will strengthen us to overcome the effects. The kingdom of glory that will be blessed with isn't given by love but law. If we do not live the laws of the celestial kingdom, we will not be given a celestial glory, and so on.

Devine Love

October 3 2009
General Conference:Saturday Morning Session
Elder Dieter F Uchtdorf, 2nd Counselor of the First Presidency


How do we become true disciples of Jesus Christ?
The lord said "If you love me keep my commandments." The first great commandment is Love. Love should be at the center of everything we do....not only in our church live but in our family and daily life. Love is a defining character of being a disciples of Jesus Christ.

God loves us perfectly because we are his children. Our infinitely compassionate Eternal Father loves us all the same...no respecter of persons. He offers hope to everyone. We show our love to God by keeping his commandments. We increase that love by aligning our lives with the lord. The first step to walking in righteousness is to try...we do not have to be perfect at first, but as we consistently try it will become second nature. Listen for the Voice of the Lord.

More Dilligant and Concerned In Homes

October 3 2009
General Conference:Saturday Morning Session
Elder David A. Bednar; Apostle of Jesus Christ

-Express love and show it!
Tell the people we love that we love them....it doesn't have to be long and drawn out. Saying I love you is only the beginning. We need to feel it, say it, and show it. We should never assume that they now...regrets will come if those things are omitted. Show love through our regularly daily living....not just on special occasions.

-Bare testimony and live it
Need not be long or just on Sunday. We should bare pure testimony of Jesus Christ, the plan of happiness, the Restoration at home and to the people that we love the most. We are not merely striving to know more but to be more. Bare it, mean it, declare it, live it! We should try to overcome any embarrassment, or hesitancy to share our testimony with our family. It gives the Holy Ghost and opportunity to bare witness our the truths we speak.

-Be consistent
Have regular family pray, scripture study, and family home evening. Sometimes these important acts do not create the instantaneous results. But when consistent with intent and work is sometimes more the greater lesson the the individual lessons, prayers, and scripture reading. It is like many brush strokes in a painting.....one by it self might not be impressive or memorable but when put together it creates something beautiful. Children are very aware of hipocracy. Be and Become more consistent.

Teach Key Doctrine

October 3 2009
General Conference:Saturday Morning Session
brother Russel T. Osguthorpe, Sunday school general president

We will be saved by the truth because we receive it and act on it. The goal of gospel teaching is not to fill others with facts but to encourage to study, ponder, and act on the teachings. We as teachers are on the errand. A good teacher will help others think about, feel about, and do something about the teachings of the gospel. Teach with the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Help others feel confidence in themselves through showing love, patience, kindness. Learn the principles for ourselves then teach.

Teach key doctrine
Give invitation to action
Receive promised blessing

Burdens of Life

October 3 2009
General Conference:Saturday Morning Session
Elder Whitney Clayton-president of the seventy

Our burdens come from three sources.
-No fault of our own....natural circumstances sickness, natural disasters
-Imposed by others....abuse, repression, crime, sin, gossip, unkindness
-Those that we impose upon our self.....through sin

We must do everything we can to endure our burdens well. They give us opportunities to lean principles of the gospel, to exercise patients, faith, charity. Blessing will come from enduring those burdens well. They are not always apparent at the time but they do come.

Apostle paul taught to help bare one another burdens. When we bare others burdens we are in the service of our lord.

Keeping our baptismal covenants help us overcome our burdens. The lord will strengthen us and deliver us when we keep our covenants. Christ suffered these things for all so we wouldn't suffer if we would repent. When we repent he blesses us and will give us peace.

Blessings of Eternity

President Hinkley said this about temples...
"Those who enter the temple gain blessing there that are not found anywhere else on the face of the whole earth. the temple stands as a monument for all to see. It stands as a statement that we as a people believe in the immortality of the human soul. Everything that occurs in the temple is uplifting and speaks of life here and life beyond the grave. It speaks of the importance of the individual as a child of god. It speaks of the importance of the family as a creation of the almighty. It speaks of the eternity of the marriage relationship. It speaks of going on the greater glory. It is a place of light, a place of peace, a place of love, where we deal with the things of eternity."

Today in church we talked all about temples. I absolutely love this quote by President Hinkley....It is at the end of the movie Nauvoo: A Temple Reborn. On my mission I loved to listen to the end of the film over and over again to hear the testimony of the prophet on the blessings that come from the temple. The Saints in Nauvoo knew the importance of the temple, they, even after knowing that there were going to leave that beautiful city, finished building the temple to their God! They left it behind when they were forced out of Nauvoo but they blessings they received within the walls of the temple....they took with them. I am grateful for their faith and sacrifice...I have felt and witnessed the blessings of the temple in my life and am so grateful to know of the importance of temples. It has been a strength and a light among the storms in life.

Faith as a Principle of Power

"And ye may know that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever." -Moroni 10:7

-Am I functioning properly in terms of being worthy; having proper motives, being obedient, making constructive use of my time, avoiding inappropriate conversation, and directing all my thoughts to the work?
-Do I understand the Process Necessary to draw on the powers of heaven?
-Do I always seek inspiration in selecting righteous desires?
-Do I set goals that require the lords help to be achieved?
-Do I approach everything I desire to achieve with faith as a principle of power in mind?
-When I plead my case before the lord, do I explain my particular desire and rationale in selecting it?
-Are my daily prayers earnest and sincere?
-Am I conscious of my thoughts?
-When I pray or meditate, can I keep my mind from wandering?
-Do I devote certain periods of time each day to meditate?
-To what degree do I allow Doubt and fear to occupy my mind?
-Am I controlled by my circumstances?

We Will Never Be Left Alone

I am getting so excited for general conference.....to listen to the prophets and apostles speak, to be uplifted, strengthened, and enlightened! To get my self ready and excited I decided to read a talk from Aprils conference tonight. Elder Holland is probably one of my favorite speakers and I loved his talk about Christ on that Easter Sunday. "None Were With Him."




In this talk he spoke of the lonely journey that Christ had to take to atonement. I will not go into much detail on this talk....I feel as though I would not be able to re-tell it in a way that would come close to doing it justice. I just want to share with you what I found to be uplifting and full of hope.

Elder Holland said, "...because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so. His solitary journey brought great company for our little version of that path--the merciful care of our father in heaven, the unfailing companionship of this Beloved Son, the consummate gift of the Holy Ghost, angels in heaven , family members on both sides of the veil, prophets and apostles, teachers, leaders, friends. All of these and more have been given as companions for our mortal journey because of the atonement of Jesus Christ....Trumpeted from the summit of Calvary is the truth that we will never be left alone or unaided, even if sometimes we may feel that we are."

John 14:18
"I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you."

I have a testimony that this is true. I know that Christ is our Savior in every way. He is so aware of our feelings; our joys to our heartaches. He has felt and been through the worst that anyone can suffer. And he did it so that when we are in our darkest abyss.....we can call upon him....and he will always be there. He will not leave you comfortless......he who even notices a sparrow fall to the ground will especially watch over his own. And you are one of his, he will guide and direct your life in the direction you need to go to receive all the blessings he has in store for you.

Is it worth it?

"I would hope that we are wise enought to realize that we can excel, we can reach the top, we can be the very best in any field or endeavor - if we are willing to pay the price. But in order to be great in whatever we attempt to do in life, we have to decide in advance that it is indeed worth it!"

This is a quote by Elder Ballard in his book When Thou Art Converted. I love this thought and have found it to be true in life. I really think that we as children of God have an unimaginable potential. I know that we can be the very best in anything that we choose but we have to be willing to put in the required effort. I think that in order to do that we do need to know if it is worth it...or if it is not. because, when things get tough and all you want to do is give up....You will already know that it is worth the price!

He goes on to ask that question in regards to our eternal goals and priorities. "Although salvation (immortality with a resurrected body) is available to all mankind through the loving grace of the lord Jesus Christ, Exaltation (life eternal...in the place where God and Christ dwell) requires great faith and service on our part. We must sacrifice. We must be obedient. We must repent of our sins and work to take full advantage of the remarkable possibilities afforded to all mankind through the Atonement of christ. It isn't easy. No one ever said that it would be. The question for us to consider is, Is it worth it? Is it worth giving all the attention and all the energy of wich we are capable for the building of God's freat kingdom here upon the earth in exchange for 'all that my Father hath?' Yes it is!"

I know that it is! I feel the love of the lord each day in my life. I know that as a daughter of God I have a great potential. Not only am I blessed in this life for keeping the commandments of the Lord but I can not even imagine the blessings of Exaltation! As I study the scriptures I come to learn more about my Heavenly Father, who he is...his character and divine attributes. I know that it will be worth the trials and the challenges that we face in this life to once again live in his presence. I am grateful for the Atonement of our Savior I know that it is through him we are able to enjoy those blessings!

I am a child of God

(D&C 78:17-18)
17.Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you;
18. And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours.

We are all children of a Heavenly Father.....and I don't think that we can yet understand what that means. As his children we are full of great potential and great blessings await us if we are faithful.

Gifts of the Spirit

"if you will obey the Gospel with honest hearts, i promise you in the name of the lord, that the gifts as promised by our Savior will follow you." (Joseph Smith)

Today I was reading in the "Teachings of the Presidents of the Church" Manual on Joseph Smith. (p115-123) The chapter that I read was about the gifts of the spirit. It had an interesting point that i never really thought of before. It taught that the gifts of the spirit are usually received quietly and privately, without outward manifestations. It said that we are all given gifts of the spirit.....and they are given through the holy ghost. It suggests that we are given these spiritual gifts and at the time not know what it is that we have been given...it would require time and circumstances to call these figts into operation. Sometime we are given gifts from the spirit and will not know about it untill a situation arises that we need to use or exercise that gift. It is also important to remember that these gifts are given through the holy ghost. If we do not have the companionship of the holy ghost, when the situation arises that our gift might be needed....we will not have access to it. So, we must always live our lives worthy of the guidence and direction of the spirit if we want to exercize those gifts!

Hello World

I am so excited to start this scripture study blog. I have always thought this would be a good way to keep track of all my study notes and help me better focus, think and apply the principles that I am learning! In my patriarchal blessing it states that I have been given the gift of writing. I haven't done much with this talent and feel that If I don't practice and use it I will loose it.