Don't Take Offense At The Truth

I know that the words of truth are hard against all uncleanness;
but the righteous fear them not, for they love the truth and are not shaken.
2 nephi 9:40

To teach the young to love the truth above personal convenience is the basis of it. They will be taught true courage, which becomes a living and attractive virtue when it is regarded not as a willingness to die manfully, BUT AS A DETERMINATION TO LIVE DECENTLY. They will be taught honesty by habit and as a matter of course...Such is the power gained from loving the Lord, our God, and serving Him in righteousness.
president thomas s. monson

~Truth shall spring forth out of the earth...Psalm 85:11
~The truth will make you free...John 8:32
~Christ is the way and the truth...John 14:6
~The guilty always take the truth to be hard...1 nephi 16:2-3
~Glory in the truth...2 nephi 33:6
~The Spirit will always speak the truth...Jacob 4:13

Blessings Through Faithful Prayers

Suppose...you are a mother or father with a son who is straying from the path of righteousness...You can do much to pray him home...to fast him home. You can repent enough of your own sins that, through your sacrifice, the Lord may intervene more in his life and save the boy. It's not that you're paying for your own sins--Jesus did that. But through your agency, through your sacrifice, you are able to receive blessings that you otherwise would not be able to obtain. (Of course, these things still depend on the agency of others--our prayers can't supersede the agency of those we're praying for. But sacrifice and fervent prayer can do much to help. With such prayer we can accomplish much--even if it doesn't bring our loved ones all the way home.)~Gene R. Cook


And again, the angel said: Behold, the Lord hath heard...the prayers of his servant, Alma, who is thy father; for he has prayed with much faith concerning thee that thou mightest be brought to the knowledge of the truth; therefore, for this prupose have I come to convince thee of the power and authority of God, that the prayers of his servants might be answered according to their faith.
Mosiah 27:14

Gratitude

"True gratitude is the ability to humbly see, feel, and even receive love. Gratitude is a form of returning love to God. Recognize His hand, tell Him so, express your love to Him." -Gene R. Cook

Stand for Something.

I have a blogging friend that has a group of posts that she has labeled Stand for Something. I enjoyed reading through them this morning, especially the most recent ones on personal Goliaths and all of her thoughts on service. There are so many good things that we can do with our lives. Let's go!

When you have gone as far as you can go . . .

I've been learning this week about how the Lord works with us when we need Him most. I'm sure it isn't the last time I will be here, and the next time will most likely be soon. It's just where I am. This is a day and hour at a time world I live in. Monday I was sure I'd start to fall apart as much physically as I was emotionally. The stress had reached an unbearable place, and relief was no where on the horizon. Everywhere I looked, doors were closing on me. It was like being in a hall of mirrors at the carnival - except that each and every door was real. I felt the pain of it intensely as the one I had most hoped would lead somewhere was rudely shoved at me. I took it as a challenge, but at the same time realized that to truly open that door would most likely take a solid year of work. It wasn't an immediate option and I am in a world of immediate need.

So, what did I do? I called my mother. She was a great help. She didn't say it would all be okay and not to worry. She listened to me, she grumbled with me and ached with me. It was just what I needed. She offered ideas, but nothing that I would have thought of myself. She offered ways that she could help me, rather than things that I should try. Heaven knows, the last thing someone needs when they have tied a knot in their rope and are hanging on for dear life is thoughts about what they might try to start climbing back up the rope again. You think of just about everything while you are swinging around there at the end of your rope. Having someone who's just willing to hang there with you is such a blessing - and my mother was willing to do that with me. We weren't murmuring, we were just feeling the pain that comes along with being human, wondering if we could really accomplish the work ahead of us. The fact that she is so willing to work along side me is almost overwhelming. It also helps, when you really truly in your gut feel that your Heavenly Father, and your Savior as well, are watching and mindful of you. You can say, after 'I can't believe what a weak human being I am' . . . 'Well then, if He wants me to go down farther, then I keep going.' It's a hard thing to acknowledge, that even after you've gone way past what you thought was the rope's end, when you've descended into a darker place than you have ever known, there may still be more to come. That's where I was. I was at a kind-of dead end after two weeks of hard work, feeling that I'd have to start over again, very tired and in great need of some consolation.

So, what did we do? We did what we could do, and didn't worry anymore about the things that we couldn't. We registered my five year old for Kindergarten at the elementary school nearest my mother. We went to the grocery store and picked up some milk. The day did get worse, believe it or not - much worse. The next day, however, was better - like the dawn of a new morning after a dark night. I had an opportunity to work in a temporary position for the day - and I was grateful for that day. I proved myself quickly, and impressed the woman I was working with. When someone you've never met before watches what you can do and thinks that you are wonderful, well, how can you not feel good about yourself? (Even if the only others that seems to think you're wonderful are your parents.) It was the consolation that I needed - just enough of it to put some energy into my tired bones so that I could start to think about climbing again. Other things also started to click into place that day. They were small but important things on the grand scale. For the first time in a long time, I felt a little sun shining down through the darkness, falling on my face. When you've been in the dark for a while, you really can appreciate the sun's brilliance.

I don't know what tomorrow will bring. I may be at a new end of the rope in a couple more weeks, who knows. It doesn't really matter. I know a little more about the way the Lord works with his children when they need Him most. If I get to another place like that, I will remember and wait for the bit of sunshine that is sure to come. It will come. And finally, when I've gone as far down the rope as He needs me to go for now, the last tumblers will fall into place, a door will open and I will start walking again. This isn't the life I had planned for myself, but I know it's a life my Father in Heaven is pleased with. It will be a good life.