Nothing in this life which will bring you greater happiness

What a wonderful montage!
"If you choose wisely and if you are committed to the success of your marriage, there is nothing in this life which will bring you greater happiness." (Thomas S. Monson, Priesthood Power, Apr 2011).

Brightly Beams Our Fathers Mercy

I love the imagery of the higher and the lower lights.

His Love Will Find You

I love the hymn Come Unto Jesus

Come unto Jesus, ye heavy laden,
Care-worn and fainting, by sin oppressed.
He'll safely guide you unto that haven
Where all who trust him may rest.

Come unto Jesus; He'll ever heed you,
Though in the darkness you've gone astray.
His love will find you and gently lead you
From darkest night into day.

Come unto Jesus; He'll surely hear you,
If you in meekness plead for his love.
Oh, know you not that angels are near you
From brightest mansions above?

Come unto Jesus from every nation,
From ev'ry land and isle of the sea.
Unto the high and lowly in station,
Ever he calls, "Come to me"

Character Ethic and the Personality Ethic

Stephen Covey explaining the character ethic and the personality ethic

Be Satisfied

On the way home from work yesterday I listened to this song


Rapunzel had filled her day with good activities, yet she was not satisfied.  She knew that there was something missing.  In short it was relationships with her parents, her soul-mate and others in her life.

Even human relationships cannot fully satisfy us.  Nephi said,

Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy. Hearken diligently unto me, and remember the words which I have spoken; and come unto the Holy One of Israel, and feast upon that which perisheth not, neither can be corrupted, and let your soul delight in fatness. (1 Ne 9:51)

There are many good and better things we can fill our lives with.  None of them will matter if we don't find and hold on to the best and vital things of life.  This scripture identifies some of those things as
- Come unto Jesus Christ
- Feast upon the scriptures and the other words of God
- Delight in the abundance the Lord will bless you with as you follow the guidance of the Holy Ghost

President Packer gave an illustration that came to mind about being satisfied.  He told a story about someone who lived in the forest.  When winter came there was not much food for the deer to eat.  They decided to feed the deer hay.  The deer loved it.  Later though, they started to die.  They were eating but were not being nourished.  The hay did not have the nutrients they need to be healthy.

In the same way, we can fill our lives with food-like substances.  Something that looks like and perhaps even tastes like food and is very attractive.  But we will starve spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically if we are not seeking out and preserving sources that really satisfy us.

How will you know if you are starving?  You feel it.  You will sense it.  Perhaps you recognize it now.  I know I do.  Things that I know will not satisfy me.  Ways of acting and reacting to my loved ones that do not give me the results that I want.  If I am to have satisfying relationships, I must follow the perfect Example to nurture them.  I must do as Jesus would do.  Or at the least stretch towards it, asking for His Grace in my efforts.

Seek First to Understand

"If you want to interact effectively with me, to influence me - your spouse, your child, your neighbor, your boss, your coworker, your friend - you first need to understand me. And you can't do that with technique alone. If I sense you're using some technique, I sense duplicity, manipulation. I wonder why you're doing it, what your motives are. And I don't feel safe enough to open myself up to you." (Stephen R. Covey, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, p 238)

"When another person speaks, we're usually 'listening' at one of four levels. We may be ignoring another person, not really listening at all. We may practice pretending. 'Yeah.  Uh-huh. Right.'  We may practice selective listening, hearing only certain parts on the conversation. We often do this when we are listening to the constant chatter of a preschool child. Or we may even practice attentive listening, paying attention and focusing energy on the words are being said. But very few of us ever practice the fifth level, the highest form of listening, empathetic listening.
...
When I say empathetic listening, I mean listening with the intent to understand. I mean seeking first to understand, to really understand. It's a completely different paradigm.

Empathetic (from empathy) listening gets inside another person's frame of reference. You look out through it, you see the world the way they see the world, you understand how they feel.
Empathy is not sympathy. Sympathy is a form of agreement, a form of judgement. And it is sometimes the more appropriate emotion and response. But people often feed on sympathy. It makes them dependent. The Essenes of empathetic listening is not that you agree with someone; it's that you fully, deeply, understand that person, emotionally as we'll as intellectually."

Les Miserable

I watched the new Les Miserable movie tonight.  It was wonderfully acted. Such raw emotion and tragedy. The personification of mercy and justice.  Here are some great quotes from the book.

“To love or have loved, that is enough. Ask nothing further. There is no other pearl to be found in the dark folds of life."

“Let us study things that are no more. It is necessary to understand them, if only to avoid them.”

“He who despairs is wrong.”

“As for methods of prayer, all are good, as long as they are sincere.”


 

The Enabling Power of the Atonement

I found this talk from Elder Bednar from the most viewed section on speeches.byu.edu.  He gives several examples from the scriptures and church history of how people accessed the power of the Atonement in the difficulties of their lives.

All that I have read thus far is a preparation for the next line from Daniel W. Jones’ journal. It illustrates how those pioneer Saints may have known something about the enabling power of the Atonement that we, in our prosperity and ease, are not as quick to understand: “We asked the Lord to bless our stomachs and adapt them to this food” (Jones, Forty Years, 81; emphasis added). My dear brothers and sisters, I know what I would have prayed for in those circumstances. I would have prayed for something else to eat. “Heavenly Father, please send me a quail or a buffalo.” It never would have occurred to me to pray that my stomach would be strengthened and adapted to what we already had. What did Daniel W. Jones know? He knew about the enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He did not pray that his circumstances would be changed. He prayed that he would be strengthened to deal with his circumstances. ("In the Strength of the Lord". David A. Bednar. October 23, 2001. BYU Devotional)

The grace of the Lord can help us in all aspects of our lives,

If I were to emphasize one overarching point this morning, it would be this: I suspect that you and I are much more familiar with the nature of the redeeming power of the Atonement than we are with the enabling power of the Atonement. It is one thing to know that Jesus Christ came to earth to die for us. That is fundamental and foundational to the doctrine of Christ. But we also need to appreciate that the Lord desires, through His Atonement and by the power of the Holy Ghost, to live in us—not only to direct us but also to empower us. I think most of us know that when we do things wrong, when we need help to overcome the effects of sin in our lives, the Savior has paid the price and made it possible for us to be made clean through His redeeming power. Most of us clearly understand that the Atonement is for sinners. I am not so sure, however, that we know and understand that the Atonement is also for saints—for good men and women who are obedient and worthy and conscientious and who are striving to become better and serve more faithfully. I frankly do not think many of us “get it” concerning this enabling and strengthening aspect of the Atonement, and I wonder if we mistakenly believe we must make the journey from good to better and become a saint all by ourselves through sheer grit, willpower, and discipline, and with our obviously limited capacities.

My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean

One of my earliest memories is my mother singing this song to me as she rocked me to sleep. My older sister told me that she would sing it to their children but used each of their names instead of Bonnie. My wife and I have done so with our children too. A few nights ago as I was putting one of my children to bed I asked her if she knew why I sing this song to her.

Years ago as I was singing this song something came to my mind. An image of my child over the ocean and over the sea.  I recognized that I only have so much influence over my child. That their agency, their will, is so paramount that even God would not breech it. Our moral choice is really the only thing we have that is truly our own.  It is the only thing we can give to God. It is granted to us by God and He will never, ever force it from us. It is the root of love. That we are willing to give our heart, might, mind and strength to what we will.

So as I think of my children, over the ocean and over the sea. What I ask the Lord through this song is that He bring them back to me. Or that through His grace, the gospel of peace might be brought unto but not into the hearts of my children. And that through one and many cases the most sacred of moments, that my children will open their hearts and give space for the word of God in their lives. That they will recognize the value of the word and nurture it in their lives. That they will begin to see the word growing in them. Changing their nature from a fallen one to a spiritual one. That it opens a world of gratitude, and love and service throughout a lifetime.

That through their lives they might become the sons and daughters of God. Born again as children of Christ. He being the Father of their new lives. That they give their whole soul as an offering to God and be sealed to him and to each other for ever and ever.

My prayer continues that I might keep myself in remembrance of the covenants that I have made. Of the change of heart I have experienced. That I might preserve this change of heart. This tree of life in my soul that brings me hope and life and light. That I might continue to bind myself to God and to those who love Him. That I might continue in service and love as my wife and children and parents and on and on from generations long ago to generations to come. Joined in a link that connects all the sons of Adam and Eve. Joining all who will Come unto Him. That our hearts will forever be turned towards God and each other.

This is my prayer. This is what my heart yearns for as I sing this song to my children. As I heard it from my mother.