On HIS own time! Prayer

William E. Berrett, one of our finest gospel teachers, who served as an administrator at BYU and for the Church Educational System, said this about the matter of constant or continuous revelation: “Those who pray that the Spirit might give them immediate guidance in every little thing throw themselves open to false spirits that seem ever ready to answer our pleas and confuse us. … The people I have found most confused in this Church are those who seek personal revelations on everything. They want the personal assurance from the Spirit from daylight to dark on everything they do. I say they are the most confused people I know because it appears sometimes that the answer comes from the wrong source.”

The Prophet Joseph Smith said something similar. When the Saints “supplicate at the throne of grace,” he counseled, they shouldn’t do so over trivial matters but rather should “pray earnestly for the best gifts.”  That is an important principle. We pray continuously for guidance, but we shouldn’t expect continuous revelation. We expect continuing revelation, which is the continuing assurance of revelation whenever we seek guidance and our circumstances are such that a wise and loving Lord chooses to give it to us.

In His Own Time, in His Own Way, ELDER DALLIN H. OAKS

From an address delivered to new mission presidents on June 27, 2001.

Threats Only Cause a Problem! Love this!

“Love is often difficult to show, especially when it results in pain.  When someone we love abuses alcohol or other drugs that are harmful, our tendency is to help him out of his problems because we love him…The problem drinker [and other addicts] must experience for himself the consequences of his drinking [or addiction]…The object is not to be vengeful, but rather to motivate him to receive the help he needs to overcome his problem.  By showing “tough-love,” we do what is best for him.  Circumstances and inescapable choices motivate change.  Threats only cause a problem drinker [or other addicts] to make promises that he seldom keeps. (Resource Manual for Helping Families with Alcohol Problems, LDS Church, 1984 pg 99.)

A general rule for those wishing to be helpful is:  Do nothing to alleviate the pain of an addict!  (Hold On To Hope., P 102.)

We Cannot Flog Family Into Heaven.....

A great many (parents, spouses, and loved ones) think that they will be able to flog people into heaven, but this can never be done, for the intelligence in us is as independent as the Gods.  People are not to be driven and you can put into a gnat’s eye all the souls of the children of men that are driven into heaven by preaching hellfire.  (President Brigham Young, Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 64)

No Matter How Difficult The Experience......You will not be denied...

The power of hope expressed in these examples is sometimes rewarded with repentance and reformation, but sometimes it is not. Personal circumstances vary greatly. We cannot control and we are not responsible for the choices of others, even when they impact us so painfully. I am sure the Lord loves and blesses husbands and wives who lovingly try to help spouses struggling with such deep problems as pornography or other addictive behavior or with the long-term consequences of childhood abuse.

Whatever the outcome and no matter how difficult your experiences, you have the promise that you will not be denied the blessings of eternal family relationships if you love the Lord, keep His commandments, and just do the best you can. When young Jacob “suffered afflictions and much sorrow” from the actions of other family members, Father Lehi assured him, “Thou knowest the greatness of God; and he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain” (2 Nephi 2:1–2). Similarly, the Apostle Paul assured us that “all things work together for good to them that love God” (Romans 8:28).

Dallin H. Oaks, “Divorce,” Liahona, May 2007, 70–73

Faith to Forgive....Love this!

n our live-and-let-live society, we may believe that being forgiving is just etiquette and good manners. It is not. We may think that forgiveness requires us to let mercy rob justice. It does not. Forgiveness does not require us to give up our right to restitution. It simply requires that we look to a different source. The non-judgmental worldly phrases “don’t worry about it” and “it’s no big deal” are not illustrations of the doctrine of forgiveness. On the contrary, when a person sins against us, it can be a very big deal.  The point is that the Atonement is very big compensation that can take care of very big harms. Forgiveness doesn’t mean minimizing the sin; it means maximizing our faith in the Atonement.

My greatest concern is that if we wrongly believe forgiveness requires us to minimize the harms we suffer, this mistaken belief will be a barrier to developing a forgiving heart. It is okay to recognize how grave a sin is and to demand our right to justice—if our recognition triggers gratitude for the Atonement. Indeed, the greater the sin against us—the greater the harm we suffer—the more we should value the Atonement.

Faith to Forgive Grievous Harms: Accepting the Atonement,

James R. Rasband, BYU, October 23, 2012

What do I accomplish? One Day at A Time...Love this!!!!!!

What do I accomplish?

One Day at A Time

Have I ever accomplished anything good while my emotions were churning with hysteria?  Am I aware that reacting on impulse—saying the first thing that pops into my head—defeats my own purposes?  I couldn’t lose by stopping to think: Easy does It.  Wouldn’t any crisis shrink to manageable size if I could wait a little while to figure out what is best to do?  Unless I’m sure I’m pouring oil on troubled waters, and not on a raging fire, it might be best to do and say nothing until things calm down. Easy Does it.

Today’s Reminder

It may take a bit of self-control to back away from conflict and confusion.  But its wonderful protection for my peace of mind, unless I can say or do something to quell the storm, I’ll only be inflicting punishment on myself.  And each little battle I win—with myself—makes the next one easier.  Take it easy, for easy does it.  It will all seem much less important tomorrow!

“Quietness is a great ally, my friend.  As long as I keep my poise, I will do nothing to make bad matters worse?

Forgiveness requires us to consider the other side of the Atonement....

Forgiveness requires us to consider the other side of the Atonement—a side that we don’t think about as often but that is equally critical. That side is the Atonement’s power to satisfy our demands of justice against others, to fulfill our rights to restitution and being made whole. We often don’t quite see how the Atonement satisfies our own demands for justice. Yet it does so. It heals us not only from the guilt we suffer when we sin, but it also heals us from the sins and hurts of others.

Faith to Forgive Grievous Harms: Accepting the Atonement,

James R. Rasband, BYU, October 23, 2012