Quotes - more Oil for our Lamps

This past Sunday Owenna shared a couple of wonderful, thought-provoking quotes as comments to the Relief Society & Sunday School lessons, and I've asked her to send them to us all for the blog.  They really made me think and ponder, as some of the best quotes are known to do!  Here they are in Owenna's own words:

I e-mailed my sister (Kathleen Bahr; retired BYU prof) to ask for her exact words. She told me I was actually quoting her paraphrase of Kiekegaard. Since I like hers better, I've included it as well as the original. I am grateful that these quotes that I have repeated to myself so often might be of help to someone else as well -- even though over time I have managed to garble them from the original.

"To the Christian, love is the works of love. To say that love is a feeling or anything of the kind is really an un-Christian conception of love. That is the aesthetic definition and therefore fits the erotic and everything of that nature. But to the Christian, love is the works of love. Christ's love was not an inner feeling, a full heart and what-not: it was the work of love which was his life." —Søren Kierkegaard on Christianity

Owenna's version of Kathleen's version of Kierkegaard:

"When Christ commanded us to love one another, I do not believe he was commanding our emotions, because they cannot, in fact, be commanded. I believe he was commanding our behavior. Love is an action verb. He was commanding us to behave in loving ways toward each other, even when love, as an emotion, is weak or absent."

Gale, visiting our RS from Kansas, also asked for the definition of faith that I attributed to Elder Gene R. Cook in SS. Well, I was wrong again - with my memory it is a wonder that I remembered the quote at all. It is properly attributed to Elder Stephen Nadault (Ensign, Dec. 95), not Elder Cook.

Elder Nadault pointed out that "when Joseph Smith re-translated parts of the Bible, he changed the word "substance" to "assurance," the way it is in Greek. So we could re-word the scripture to read 'Faith is having or accepting an assurance of things hoped for, and accepting evidence of things not seen.'"

When I read this years ago, it really turned on a light for me. My own paraphrase is: "Faith is a willingness to accept the assurances our Heavenly Father has given us as being sufficient."
Owenna

Thanks Owenna for these great morsels to savor and ponder.  We can always use more oil to put in our spiritual lamps!

Developing Your Talents for the Lord

Here is an excerpt from Sister Beck's remarks that she recently gave to an assembly of Relief Society sisters in Idaho about how we can develop our talents for the Lord (Thanks Ellen for your previous link to this article!).  I loved this story she told about Sister Ruth Funk.  These are Sister Beck's words:

Last week I went to the funeral of Sister Ruth Funk, who was the general Young Women president when I was a Young Woman. Sister Funk was an amazing, talented woman.

When she was a young woman, Leopold Stokowski, the famous pianist, traveled to Salt Lake. He happened to be staying in the home next to her family’s home. Sister Funk was a talented pianist and her father had told her if she could master a certain Chopin piece, he would buy her a grand piano. At age 14, she had just earned that piano.

So now she’s listening to this world-famous artist play the piano in the home next to hers, and he’s playing the same piece she just learned to earn her piano. So she went and sat on the porch and listened to him.

When he came out, he said, ‘What are you doing here?’

She said, ‘I’m just listening to you practice. It’s interesting, but I struggle on the same passage as you do.’

He said, ‘You don’t play that piece. I’m the only person I know who can play that piece.’

She said, ‘Oh, I’ll play it for you if you like.’

She did, and he invited her to go to New York City and be his personal student at no charge.

This was something that became a matter of prayer in the Hardy family with her father and mother and her. They fasted and they prayed. She received a priesthood blessing. In that blessing, she was told, ‘If you go to New York and pursue this career, you will leave the Church, and you will give up the promise and the blessings Heavenly Father has for you, and that you covenanted to make before the world was.’ And she didn’t go.

She graduated from East High School in Salt Lake City, she graduated from the University of Utah, she went to Chicago with her husband as a young woman. There the director of the symphony in Chicago asked her if she would come and travel with the symphony and solo with them. She said it was the greatest trial of her life to have this gift and not do the things she dreamed of doing.

I think of how the Lord used her to help build up His kingdom. She not only served as the Young Woman general president, but she served for over a decade on the Church Correlation Committee and knew prophets and apostles by name. President Monson spoke at her funeral and commended the work and the faithfulness of her life. Her grandchildren said the crazy thing was that she probably spent as much time doing Church work as she would have if she had been a concert pianist. She was away from home a lot, serving the Lord.

She recognized that the Lord owned her gift, and He could call upon it to do whatever He desired to do.

Isn't that a remarkable woman, to give up her "dreams" for the Lord?  I love it, and it makes me want to look inside myself and ponder what I am willing to give up for the Lord.

If you haven't had a chance to read Sister Beck's remarks, you can read more of them here.  Enjoy!

Devon
 
Image Credit

Temper, temper, temper...

Ellen has asked each of us in the presidency to occassionally share our thoughts on gospel principles here on the blog as a guest blogger. If any of you would like to do the same, feel free to e-mail Ellen your thoughts! We’d love to hear from you!

Guest Blogger Devon Linn

Children are not always easy to live with. This morning while I was having a grouchy moment, I lost my temper at my children and instantly felt terrible about it. I have been trying to become more patient this year, and I get so discouraged when I don't parent my children in the way that I'd like to. I wanted to figure out how to avoid another moment where my nerves were frayed and I let little things get the better of me.

I got on LDS.org and searched “temper,” and I found a great article from the Ensign called Tempering our Tempers by Douglas Brinley (A BYU professor). In it he says, “I can think of no positive context for displaying anger, though certainly righteous indignation and the righting of wrongs can be justified. The scriptures indicate that undisciplined anger is always cankerous and destructive. It is one of Satan’s primary tools for destroying marriages and family relations.” I remember President Monson saying something very similar in his previous Priesthood session talk he gave, and I realized it is true. There really is no positive reason for displaying anger.

But how can I change the way I’m wired? I think I have more of a "grouchy" problem rather than an "anger problem," but I know I have a lot of room for improvement. I want to be the kind of woman who always parents with love and speaks kindly all the time, but it isn't easy to ALWAYS be that way when little things all seem to pile up!

This was from Dr. Brinley’s article, and I think the concepts can apply to all of us when we'd like to change any of our behavior:

“So how does someone who struggles with anger learn self-discipline? The world would try to help people conquer their tempers by setting up some kind of behavior modification program that might take years and yet produce only marginal results. But the Lord and the prophets tell us that we already know how to control anger. The problem of anger results from not understanding and applying the doctrines of the gospel. President Boyd K. Packer, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said: ‘True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior.’”

He then quotes Elder Holland of the quorum of the twelve, who said, “You can change anything you want to change and you can do it very fast. That’s another Satanic sucker-punch—that it takes years and years and eons of eternity to repent. It takes exactly as long to repent as it takes you to say ‘I’ll change’—and mean it. Of course there will be problems to work out and restitutions to make. You may well spend—indeed you had better spend—the rest of your life proving your repentance by its permanence. But change, growth, renewal, repentance can come for you as instantaneously as it did for Alma and the Sons of Mosiah.”

I am probably going to be working on learning to temper my temper for years to come, but hopefully as I learn to study the scriptures, apply the gospel to my life, and just strive to become more like the Savior, I can begin to overcome the grouchiness that creeps into my life and keep the Spirit with me. I know that the principles of repentance work and really can change lives, and I know they can even change our behavior and emotions.


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Are we there yet?

By Devon Linn

This probably won’t come as too much of shock to anyone, but I’m a still quite a few blocks away from perfection. I'm not expecting to be even close to perfect yet, but I keep hoping that I’ll see a sign somewhere that will tell me I’m at least getting a little closer on my journey (actually, something like the sign up above would be very helpful.) And luckily I don’t have to do it all on my own. The Lord helps continually by sending the Holy Ghost to let me know the ways I can improve in my life. But what can be frustrating at times is that I so often fail to follow these wonderful, divine promptings I receive that tell me what I need to fix. These promptings sometimes come to me while listening to General Conference, or a lesson in church on Sunday, or reading my scriptures, and then I usually do try to be better for at least a few days but then….*poof* they're just gone and I've forgotten the prompting and moved onto something else I need to work on. And I don’t think I forget because I’m lazy or don’t really want to be better, but it’s more because life just seems to get too darn busy and my brain just has too much going on to remember everything (or sometimes anything at all!)

I’m sure everyone has failed at least once or twice to follow a prompting (but just once or twice, right?). Usually for me, it begins with listening to a lesson or a talk and thinking, “Yes! I can do that and be better! I can improve in my efforts to ______________ (fill in the blank: pray more, work on family history, judge less, prioritize my time better, study my scriptures, etc etc etc).” But when it comes time to actually and consistently IMPLEMENT the change, I find myself too busy wiping peanut butter and jelly out of a 2 year old’s hair and simultaneously trying not to yell at my 3 year old who has just broken another lamp (true story) and I’m just so busy and exhausted that I’ve totally forgotten the prompting I received in the first place. Does this happen to everyone? Luckily the Lord knows and loves us, so he sends a lot of “reminder” promptings, because He just won't give up on us.

So when my wonderful visiting teachers came this week and read this quote from General Conference, it really hit home for me. It is from Sister Beck’s talk, and she said,

Good women always have a desire to know if they are succeeding. In a world where the measures of success are often distorted, it is important to seek appreciation and affirmation from proper sources. To paraphrase a list found in Preach My Gospel, we are doing well when we develop attributes of Christ and strive to obey His gospel with exactness. We are doing well when we seek to improve ourselves and do our best. We are doing well when we increase faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and seek out and help others who are in need. We know we are successful if we live so that we qualify for, receive, and know how to follow the Spirit. When we have done our very best, we may still experience disappointments, but we will not be disappointed in ourselves. We can feel certain that the Lord is pleased when we feel the Spirit working through us. Peace, joy, and hope are available to those who measure success properly.

Oh, if I could only read this quote every day! Sister Beck’s words were exactly what I needed to hear to re-commit myself to try harder and keep working in the right direction. It’s not important to be hard on ourselves if we aren't perfect already, but it is important that we are trying to improve ourselves every day. I love that Sister Beck specifically mentions trying to develop attributes of Christ, because that goal seems to encompass all the other promptings I receive. I also love that she pointed out that doing our best still won’t keep disappointments away, because that’s just not how the plan works, but at least we won’t be disappointed in ourselves when we’ve followed the Spirit and done our best. I have felt the peace and hope that comes when we feel the Spirit working through us, and it is worth every effort I make to strive to feel that love and joy as often as I can while on this earth.

I love having the Gospel in my life, and I am truly grateful for promptings from the Spirit because I know I need to keep trying to be better. It can be hard to not let the world define success for us, but rather to let the Holy Ghost tell us when we have succeeded in our efforts to become more like Christ. I know that I won’t be able to reach perfection tomorrow or follow every good intention and good desire that I have, (in fact, probably by next General Conference time I’ll need another big kick in the pants to re-commit myself to implementing the promptings I receive again!), but I will keep pushing forward on my journey. Our Heavenly Father loves each of us, and He also NEEDS each of us to keep working hard to improve ourselves so that we can also help lift those around us. Women have the capacity to do so much good, and I am grateful to be surrounded by so many amazing women in the church, all who are on the same “road” so we can help each other on the journey!

If any of you has a suggestion on how you remember to implement changes you receive from promptings, feel free to use the comments portion to share your experiences. I'd love to hear other sisters' ideas on how we can be more successful in our efforts!

April Theme: Empowerment

As some of you know I'm always talking about the power we can feel in our lives through our testimonies and the knowledge of the gospel, through knowing who we are, through Christ's atonement, and through feeling the Spirit.

There are so many ways we are empowered.

This month I want to hear from you about empowerment.  

How are you as a woman empowered in the Church?

Here are a few articles and stories to get you thinking:

Understanding Christ's Love Empowers 
Understanding who we are and that Christ loves us can empower us to do good and strive for perfection. It can be liberating as well as encouraging to realize Christ’s love for individual souls

The Empowerment of Humility
Humility can bring empowerment. ...as we learn about the workings of God, the power of a humble and submissive spirit becomes apparent. In the kingdom of God, greatness begins with humility and submissiveness. These companion virtues are the first critical steps to opening the doors to the blessings of God and the power of the priesthood. It matters not who we are or how lofty our credentials appear. Humility and submissiveness to the Lord, coupled with a grateful heart, are our strength and our hope.

How to Be a Good Missionary
When missionaries first come into the field, they usually lack self-confidence. So we put them with good companions, and those companions teach them the way of missionary work. In a few months they are filled with the Spirit. They are filled with the joy that comes from bringing souls to Christ. They understand that they are helping Heavenly Father and the Savior in the great work of redemption. When they realize that, they are on fire.

This empowerment comes from their obedience, dedication, hard work, and enthusiasm. If they are not obedient, if they are not working hard doing the best they know how every day, they won’t have the same impact as those who radiate the spirit of the gospel.


There are so many good things about being a woman in the Church today. Please share with us a few of your thoughts. How are you as a woman empowered in the Church?

That’s our theme for April.

Send me an e-mail and I'll post it for discussion.
egkmail [at] verizon [dot] net.

e

The New Gospel Principles Manual

The updated Gospel Principles manual will be the textbook for Relief Society and priesthood meeting lessons in 2010 and 2011.

The manual contains information on 47 core principles of the gospel for personal study and teaching.

For the next two years, this manual will be used in Melchizedek Priesthood and Relief Society classes, as well as the Sunday School Gospel Principles class for investigators and new members.

Access it online.

The Gospel Principles manual has been around for 30 years.

Wonder why we are going back to basics?

There are several reasons I can think of. 

Maybe we all need to focus on the basics. We may have forgotten or not learned some of the basic truths and it's time to make sure we are clear on church doctrine.

Perhaps this will help us and the people around us ask questions about the church and gospel (missionary work). We'll have no excuse for not knowing the gospel and sharing it with others.

I think it's good to look at it as filling our lamps with the essential oil of preparation for these last days and perhaps Christ's return as the bridegroom. So we must learn and apply the gospel into our lives daily.

We have been commanded to teach one another the pure truths of the gospel and nothing more.

What do you think?

Other views and articles:
The Millenial Star
A Brief History of the Gospel Principles manual 
New Cool Thang: Mormon Musings

Ellen

The Very Hairs of Your Head

By guest blogger: Owenna Nagy

In May 2003 we were busy with preparations for our daughter Kathleen’s upcoming wedding.  Scott’s family was buying them a new queen-sized bed as a gift, and Kathleen had wondered if we could get them a table, and said even a used one would suit them just fine.  I wasn’t sure how I was even going to pull that off, along with the reception expenses, etc., but I knew they had nothing, and they were determined to incur no debt.

I was in Norristown running errands and happened past a yard sale with a table in the yard.  I turned around and drove back to take a closer look, and loved what I saw.  On the spot I bought an oval wooden table with two extension leaves and four chairs, matching china closet, plus a coffee table, all in  new condition, and a few assorted other items, all for a song.  I was really patting myself on the back for my shopping skills. 

The small car I was driving was inadequate for my finds, so I called Doug, who just “happened” to be five minutes away on his way home from NJ, and he came by with the van.  With a lot of creative jockeying and a lot of rope, we got everything home.

I started for home floating high on the deal I had found, when the humbling thought came that the Lord was the real author of the deal.  It became clear in my mind that He was pleased with Kathleen’s and Scott’s decision to marry, and in particular their decision to remain morally clean, and to live frugally without debt, and had an interest in helping them start their life together.  I knew I hadn’t made this up—such a connection would never have crossed my mind.  It always amazes me, but shouldn’t, when I am reminded that Heavenly Father is aware of and concerned about even the ordinary cares of our lives, such as helping a young couple with no money get a table.

If I can’t comb my hair in the morning without our Father being aware of how many hairs fell out (see Matt 10:29,30), why should I be surprised that he noticed a young couple’s need.  He didn’t provide them with a household of new things, nor ease in their married life; removing all the struggles of our lives is not in our best interest.  But a loving Father sent a little wedding present, to witness to our family His support of the union that was about to take place.

Owenna Nagy

Thoughts on a Gospel Principle: Agency & Eternal Progression

Part 3 of a 3-Part Series
By Guest blogger: Jenn Low

DO something about it

Not only as a teacher, but as a student, I try to act on what I learn as well.

It is so easy to attend our church meetings and enjoy the Spirit and edification we receive there and then leave and go about our busy weekly schedule without acting upon those impressions and insights. The full purpose of those meetings is left unrealized.

Just as we are commanded to liken the scriptures to ourselves, so we should do with talks and lessons we participate in (1 Nephi 19:23).

After all the material is taught, and the Spirit testifies and instructs, and testimonies are shared, we then must ask ourselves: well, now what? What am I going to DO about it (D&C 41:5)?

When on top of my game, I do this by posing a question to myself related to the material covered that demands action, that demands faith. For example, after a lesson on temples I could ask, “What will I do to increase my ability and readiness to be instructed by the Spirit when I attend the temple?” This question could easily have been posed to the whole class, but my answer is personal and specific. I write it down and put it someplace where I can easily and frequently be reminded of it.

We call this a goal.

A goal precedes a determined and directed action.

The week that follows provides action-proving time… a miniature probationary state. The cycle is complete with the dawning of the next Sabbath: a time for accountability, renewal, and needed adjustments.

Isn’t it wonderful that the Father knew that life would be more manageable when viewed in little chunks?

The gospel of our Savior is one of action.

The gospel demands it. His divine mercy and grace are only available to us after we have acted to the point of exhausting all of our own resources. This time we have been given here and now is a gift in which to do just that.

Learn. Plan. Act. Repeat. Until that blessed day when, through actions that become more and more like those of the Savior, we are found to be like Him (Moroni 7:48).

And even then we will continue to act.

Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3

Thoughts on a Gospel Principle: Agency & Eternal Progression

Part 2 of a 3-Part Series
By Guest blogger: Jenn Low

The Principle of Progression

Reflecting on the topic of The Gospel in Action called to my remembrance this principle of progression. With it was brought a renewed desire to not waste this precious gift of heightened progression time. Why wait to alter a flaw in our character which would take five times as long (okay, so I obviously don’t know the exact ratio… I just like the number five) to fix in the eternities?

I doubt we will be any less busy!

Think of it like a limited time offer for that fabulous, must-have, as-seen-on-TV item which is being presented during the next half hour for one easy payment of $29.95 instead of the normal six payments! Act now and you’ll also get a physical body and the chance to make essential temple covenants—a priceless value—absolutely free! Hurry—a deal this good won’t be around forever!

As a teacher, I am constantly creating opportunities for my students to act upon instruction and information learned and discussed.

It is through the action that the principles taught take on personal significance and value.

It is through the action that the greatest learning and change occurs.

It is through the action that they are able to demonstrate to me what they have learned.

When there is no action as reinforcement, knowledge gained, no matter how significant or impressive, is not integrated and internalized at the needed level and all-too-quickly melts away.

(Part 3: DO something about it)

Thoughts on a Gospel Principle: Agency & Eternal Progression

Part 1 of a 3-Part Series
By Guest blogger: Jenn Low

Somewhere in the middle of an hour-long conversation I had with a colleague about the church she queried, “Does everyone in your church know as much about your religion as you do?”

My answer was a resounding YES!

I replied that the church encouraged all of its members to gain as much knowledge of things eternal as possible and that the organization of the church required members to do so, for we are in a constant state of being called upon to instruct others.

My friend remarked that this was a wonderful thing. It is wonderful that I could just as truthfully have said to her that such attainment of truth and knowledge is essential in gaining exaltation.

Why?

Because if one truly believes in something, they will act upon it.

Faith, in the Bible dictionary, is defined as a “principle of action” for we know that it is by our works that we able to reap salvation and exaltation (Mosiah 5:15). As our active faith becomes stronger in the Savior, we become more like Him.

This earth life has been afforded to us as a probationary time of action, of preparation, of progression, of growth, of molding our characters to become like God’s (Alma 12:24).

However, such progression does not end with this earthly existence. We will learn, and grow, and act, and become more like God in the Spirit World and then again in whichever kingdom of glory our actions have made us worthy of.

To be unable to grow and progress and become more glorified is the very definition of being damned.

Why then, with literally eternity in which to become like God (and we will need it!) is there such a push for us to act NOW in full force and without delay?

There are certainly many answers to this question!

Part of the reason is because during this perfectly orchestrated “testing ground” portion of the Lord’s plan (a.k.a., earth life) our ability to mold our characters has the greatest turnaround time we will ever experience in the whole of our existence! Our ability to progress and grow directly correlates with our ability to use our agency.

Agency is only valid when there is a choice available to be made and acted upon. And there will never be another time like this earth life when such magnitudes of unhampered choices are available to the children of God.

The veil and the lack of God’s physical presence ensure this and act as catalysts for growth.

We are utterly and completely free to choose, and because of this our choices have a more profound impact and who we are and who we will become (2 Nephi 2:27).

(Part 2: The Principle of Progression)

Check Out the Gospel Topics Section of LDS.org

If you're like me you've tried to search for something on LDS.org, but with little success. Recently I stumbled on this topical arrangement of gospel principles and have found it handy. It's great for FHE preparation, preparing a talk or lesson, or just for personal study.

First you go to LDS.org. In the top menu mouse over Gospel Library and find Gospel Topics, the 3rd item from the top.



Then you use the alphabet to find your topic. For example tomorrow's lesson is on Forgiveness. Let's see what's there.



Click on Forgiveness and see a simple definition and several expandable sections beneath...Additional Information, Scripture References, Church Magazine Articles, and Additional Online Materials.



Click on a section to open it. You'll find a wealth of information, but not a "glut". They know that you have limited time and want the best resources and quotes. So, they've made it easy to get right to the most focused material.



Don't spend a lot of time hunting for the best talks, scriptures, or quotes on a gospel topic. Take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with this great resource. It will come in handy.

Ellen

Thoughts on a Gospel Principle: Service

Guest blogger: Emily Flinders

Contentment is illusive, is it not?

In General Conference, Elder Oaks talked of the need for service-mindedness and how contrary it is to the worldly doctrine of entitlement. I think this is part of it, but I find myself needing to dig deeper. I'm a yes person, so my willingness to serve is usually a given. But the reasons behind my willingness to serve vary greatly. The contentment I get from service follows suite. Both my husband and I tend to serve out of habit, because it is the right thing to do, and because we always try to do what is right. I'm sure we are blessed for this, but I think we could be more richly, spiritually blessed if we offered a deeper, more spiritual motivation for our service.

All that God has ever asked us to give to Him is a broken heart and a contrite spirit. In theory this is easy enough. Be humble, avoid pride. Thy will be done, the end. In practice.... I am reminded of a favorite quote, "In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is." (Attributed to Yogi Berra).

Overcoming worldliness and the natural man in the midst of the world requires work. It requires purposefulness. When President Uchtdorf said ours is not a secondhand religion, I think he in part meant that ours cannot be a passive testimony. We have to be choosing, every minute, to keep our baptismal covenant and always remember Christ. The entropy that will erode our personal relationship with the Spirit is subtle, but also very constant and opportunistic. We have to choose to resist it about every 12 seconds. Otherwise we (like just about all people) have to navigate the ebb and flow of spiritual highs and lows. Getting from high to low is easy, getting from low to high takes work.

I'm always trying to figure out a secret, a thought that I can keep just below the surface in my mind to keep me on track, or at least make me uncomfortable when I start to coast. Isn't coasting such a temptation? It's the illusion of staying where you are, as though the current won't pull you under if you stopped swimming.

My goal, perpetually elusive, is to be someone that serves because I love God. I think if I can successfully, and continually make that gift to him of my broken heart and contrite spirit, he can fill me with the kind of love that creates eternal perspective and allows us to see one another as Christ sees us. (A view of us that made us worth atoning for). That intense, spiritual love of my fellow man ought to be the motivation behind any service that I do.

I fall so far short so often.

Luckily motherhood is allowing me to love unconditionally without "arriving" at my spiritual maturation. It is teaching me the kind of selflessness I have to embrace in order to achieve that broken heart and contrite spirit. It is stretching my capacities to love and to serve and I'm hoping I come out the other end polished and refined.

"Youth is the gift of nature, but age is a work of art.” Stanislaw J. Lec