Living on the Lord’s Side of the Line

My dad shared this with me today. I don't remember ever hearing it before. I recommend the whole talk. Here are some parts that stood out to me. 

'There is power in making covenants. Weekly, as we renew our covenants and promise to take upon ourselves the name of the Son, to always remember Him, and to keep His commandments, we receive in return a transcendent promise, one filled with heavenly power: that we “may always have his Spirit to be with [us]” (Moroni 4:3). Having the Holy Ghost with us—and learning to hear His voice—is a key, perhaps the single most profound key, to remaining steadfast and immovable on the Lord’s side of the line. And it all begins by making a covenant.'

...

'In today’s world, where immorality is celebrated on nearly every world stage, succumbing to moral temptation is depicted as being easier and even more desirable than maintaining moral purity. But it isn’t. The moment of sexual transgression is the last moment immorality is easy. I have never known anyone who was happier or who felt better about themselves or who had greater peace of mind as a result of immorality. Never.'

...

'It is so much more comforting to live with the Spirit than without, so much more joyful to have relationships of trust and true friendship than to indulge in a physical relationship that would eventually crumble anyway. Whereas Satan’s lies lead only to enslavement, the Savior’s promise is that if we will seek the riches our Father wishes to give us, we “shall be the richest of all people, for [we] shall have the riches of eternity” (D&C 38:39). In other words, we shall have joy in this life and a fullness in the life hereafter. Righteousness begets happiness.'

From "Living on the Lord’s Side of the Line" by Sheri L. Dew of the General Relief Society Presidency 21 Mar 2000 https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/sheri-l-dew/living-lords-side-line/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfeyxFLhdPk  

What is the Office of Marriage

 From D. Todd Christofferson, 4 Apr 2015

'Knowing why we left the presence of our Heavenly Father and what it takes to return and be exalted with Him, it becomes very clear that nothing relative to our time on earth can be more important than physical birth and spiritual rebirth, the two prerequisites of eternal life. This is, to use the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the “office” of marriage, the “post of responsibility towards … mankind,” that this divine institution “from above, from God” occupies. It is the “link in the chain of the generations” both here and hereafter—the order of heaven.'

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2015/04/why-marriage-why-family?lang=eng 

What is my True Identity?

I was thinking about an identity that I have been focusing on. I then asked myself "What identities are healthier for me to focus on?" 

My mind went to a recent post of Russell M. Nelson. 

Labels can be fun and indicate your support for any number of positive things. But if any label replaces your most important identifiers, the results can be spiritually suffocating. I believe that if the Lord were speaking to you directly, the first thing He would make sure you understand is your true identity. My dear friends, you are literally spirit children of God.

No identifier should displace, replace, or take priority over these three enduring designations:

- Child of God

- Child of the covenant

- Disciple of Jesus Christ

Any identifier that is not compatible with those three basic designations will ultimately let you down. Make no mistake about it: Your potential is divine. With your diligent seeking, God will give you glimpses of who you may become.

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From this post on Facebook

Prophets Can See Around Corners

 A BYU-Hawaii Devotional given By Sheri Dew, November 02, 2022


https://youtu.be/jqFKbnzuF-M

https://speeches.byuh.edu/prophets-can-see-around-corners

She tells 

- how all missionaries got smart phones before the Covid-19 pandemic.

- how President Nelson was instructed to share his #GiveThanks video

- a moving story of how she gave her often quoted talk in Oct 2001, “Are We Not all Mothers?”

- even though prophets are fallible, they are one of the most trusted sources for moral truth today. 

It is a powerful witness to me of who I can trust most. She tells of the most recent counsel of President Nelson. 

"To increase our capacity to receive revelation, spend more time in the temple, and become a major force in gathering Israel. To understand who we are as children of God, children of the covenant, and disciples of Christ, and to never allow other identifiers to replace those three primary designations. And to let God prevail in our lives."

This is what Dallin H Oaks spoke about 12 years ago, "Two Lines of Communication", Oct 2010.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2010/10/two-lines-of-communication?lang=eng 

Jesus at the center of it all

The reason we have general conference two times a year.

35 And it came to pass, that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging:
36 And hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant.
37 And they told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by.
38 And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
39 And they which went before rebuked him, that he should hold his peace: but he cried so much the more, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
40 And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be brought unto him: and when he was come near, he asked him,
41 Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight.
42 And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.
43 And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God: and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God.  (Luke 18:35-43) 

The blind man had the good sense to have spiritually sensitive people around him.

Those of us with sight.

What does it all mean?

General Conference "will mean little or nothing unless we find Jesus at the center of it all. To grasp the vision we are seeking, the healing that He promises, the significance we somehow know is here, we must cut through the commotion (joyful as it is); and fix our attention on Him.

The prayer of every speaker, the hope of all who sing, the reverence of every guest; we are all dedicated to inviting the spirit of Him whose church this is: the Living Christ, the Lamb of God, the Prince of Peace. But we don't have to be in a conference center to find him. When a child reads the Book of Mormon for the first time and is enamored with Abinadi's courage or the march of 2,000 stripling warriors. We can gently add that Jesus is the central, omnipresent figure in this marvelous chronicle standing like a colossus over virtually every page of it; and providing the link to all the other faith promoting figures in it."

(Jeffrey R. Holland 5 Oct 2019, at 1:15:31)
https://youtu.be/YFTqZFjqcTE?t=4531

Likewise, when a friend is learning about our faith.

Jeffrey R. Holland 1:15:31

If Thou Endure Well

Notes from “If Thou Endure Well”, Neal A. Maxwell, December 4, 1984 • BYU Devotional, BYU Link to MP3


"We all have enough strength to endure the misfortunes of others." Francois de La Rochefoucauld (Francois de La Rochefoucauld Quotes. BrainyQuote.com)

"For there was never yet philosopher that could endure the toothache patiently" (Much Ado About Nothing, Act 5 Scene 1, William Shakespeare, )

“I can endure my own despair, but not another's hope”(William Walsh, From GoodReads.com)

“Some of your hurts you have cured, and the sharpest you've even survived. But what torments of grief you've endured from evils which never arrived" (Ralph Waldo Emerson, From GoodReads.com)

“That toil of growing up; The ignominy of boyhood; the distress Of boyhood changing into man; The unfinished man and his pain.” (William Butler Yeats, From QuoteFancy.com)

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And now, my beloved brethren, I know by this that unless a man shall endure to the end, in following the example of the Son of the living God, he cannot be saved.
...
Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.
(2 Nephi 31:16,20)

"We are not simply to exist to the end. Rather we are to persist in following the example of the Son of the Living God. " - Neal A. Maxwell

“There is no disappointment we endure one-half so great as what we are to ourselves.” (Philip James Bailey, from quotefacncy.com)

Especially for Latter-day Saints, where we have great expectations; and then must endure the difference of what we could be and what we are. And try to make of that some useful, divine discontent rather than corrosive affliction of the self. 

This quality about which we are speaking therefore is graceful endurance. And it includes becoming and growing. It includes but is not limited to hanging on for one moment more. It is, as has been observed, a circumstance in which all virtues at the testing point, take the form of courage. And then after you and I have passed breaking points without breaking, our virtues take the form of endurance.

Besides, this life is not lineal. It is experiential. It is not really chronological, though we use clocks and calendars and wristwatches.

--

Wrestling with Comparisons

Notes from "Wrestling with Comparisons" BYU Devotional J.B. Haws, Associate Professor of Church History and Doctrine, May 7, 2019

From the story in John 21 and D&C 7
"Our perfect, loving God makes no horizontal comparisons in this story. In this verse, Jesus only compared John with John's former self, John with old John. He only compares Peter with old Peter, former Peter. He only compares me with old me."

comparisons "can fuel envying and coveting or self-loathing and the paralysis of inaction can really be just that debilitating can keep us from play the vital role that has been allotted to us."

Podcast links: Apple, Spotify, iHeartRadio

Stand Forever

Melanie Price Wellman referred to this talk in her podcast. Lawrence E. Corbridge talks about primary questions and secondary ones. I recommend this talk.

"We must be grounded on the rock of revelation, and although we may not know the answer to every question, we must know the answers to the primary questions. And if we do, the gates of hell shall not prevail against us and we will stand forever."

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/lawrence-e-corbridge_stand-for-ever/


https://youtu.be/NSEsLtwKzvw

Keep All the Commandments

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"Keep All the Commandments", LDS Media Library

Teach of faith to keep all the commandments of God, knowing that they are given to bless His children and bring them joy.4 Warn them that they will encounter people who pick which commandments they will keep and ignore others that they choose to break. I call this the cafeteria approach to obedience. This practice of picking and choosing will not work. It will lead to misery. To prepare to meet God, one keeps all of His commandments. It takes faith to obey them, and keeping His commandments will strengthen that faith. ("Face the Future with Faith", Russell M. Nelson, Apr 2011 General Conference)

Sacrifice: give up something good for something of far greater worth

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An acceptable sacrifice is when we give up something good for something of far greater worth. 

Giving up a little sleep to help a child who is having a nightmare is a good sacrifice. We all know this. Staying up all night, jeopardizing our own health, to make the perfect accessory for a daughter’s Sunday outfit may not be such a good sacrifice. 

Dedicating some of our time to studying the scriptures or preparing to teach a lesson is a good sacrifice. Spending many hours stitching the title of the lesson into homemade pot holders for each member of your class perhaps may not be. 

Every person and situation is different, and a good sacrifice in one instance might be a foolish sacrifice in another. 

How can we tell the difference for our own situation? We can ask ourselves, “Am I committing my time and energies to the things that matter most?” There are so many good things to do, but we can’t do all of them. Our Heavenly Father is most pleased when we sacrifice something good for something far greater with an eternal perspective. Sometimes, that may even mean nurturing small but beautiful forget-me-not flowers instead of a large garden of exotic blooms. ("Forget Me Not", Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Oct 2011, Timestamp 5:45, https://youtu.be/6mplF_y-7O8?t=345) 

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"Bring With You All That You Have Of Good And Truth"

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We invite all, the whole earth, to listen to this account and take measure of its truth. God bless us as those who believe in His divine manifestations and help us to extend knowledge of these great and marvelous occurrences to all who will listen. To these we say in a spirit of love, bring with you all that you have of good and truth which you have received from whatever source, and come and let us see if we may add to it. ("The Marvelous Foundation of Our Faith", Gordon B. Hinckely, Oct 2002, https://youtu.be/-NWJEZkn9bU?t=1125)

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Serious Trouble

"Many years ago, I was first counselor to a district president in the eastern United States. More than once, as we were driving to our little branches, he said to me, 'Hal, when you meet someone, treat them as if they were in serious trouble, and you will be right more than half the time.' Not only was he right, but I have learned over the years that he was too low in his estimate. Today I wish to encourage you in the troubles you face."

Henry B. Eyring, Oct 2018
https://youtu.be/_aSsN2vru1A?t=28
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2018/10/try-try-try?lang=eng

Practice, Practice, Practice.

I was assigned to speak in Sacrament Meeting today. I was told to speak on the scripture where Jesus told John the Beloved, "Behold Thy Mother".

I searched the phrase and found a talk by Jeffrey R. Holland "Behold Thy Mother" from the Oct 2015 GC.

Today I declare from this pulpit what has been said here before: that no love in mortality comes closer to approximating the pure love of Jesus Christ than the selfless love a devoted mother has for her child.

Elder Holland then tells a story.

[A] young man who entered the mission field worthily but by his own choice returned home early due to same-sex attraction and some trauma he experienced in that regard. He was still worthy, but his faith was at crisis level, his emotional burden grew ever heavier, and his spiritual pain was more and more profound. He was by turns hurt, confused, angry, and desolate.

  

His mission president, his stake president, his bishop spent countless hours searching and weeping and blessing him as they held on to him, but much of his wound was so personal that he kept at least parts of it beyond their reach. The beloved father in this story poured his entire soul into helping this child, but his very demanding employment circumstance meant that often the long, dark nights of the soul were faced by just this boy and his mother. Day and night, first for weeks, then for months that turned into years, they sought healing together. Through periods of bitterness (mostly his but sometimes hers) and unending fear (mostly hers but sometimes his), she bore—there’s that beautiful, burdensome word again—she bore to her son her testimony of God’s power, of His Church, but especially of His love for this child. In the same breath she testified of her own uncompromised, undying love for him as well. To bring together those two absolutely crucial, essential pillars of her very existence—the gospel of Jesus Christ and her family—she poured out her soul in prayer endlessly. She fasted and wept, she wept and fasted, and then she listened and listened as this son repeatedly told her of how his heart was breaking. Thus she carried him—again—only this time it was not for nine months. This time she thought that laboring through the battered landscape of his despair would take forever.

 

But with the grace of God, her own tenacity, and the help of scores of Church leaders, friends, family members, and professionals, this importuning mother has seen her son come home to the promised land. Sadly we acknowledge that such a blessing does not, or at least has not yet, come to all parents who anguish over a wide variety of their children’s circumstances, but here there was hope. And, I must say, this son’s sexual orientation did not somehow miraculously change—no one assumed it would. But little by little, his heart changed.

 

He started back to church. He chose to partake of the sacrament willingly and worthily. He again obtained a temple recommend and accepted a call to serve as an early-morning seminary teacher, where he was wonderfully successful. And now, after five years, he has, at his own request and with the Church’s considerable assistance, reentered the mission field to complete his service to the Lord. I have wept over the courage, integrity, and determination of this young man and his family to work things out and to help him keep his faith. He knows he owes much to many, but he knows he owes the most to two messianic figures in his life, two who bore him and carried him, labored with him and delivered him—his Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, and his determined, redemptive, absolutely saintly mother.

I know that many mothers strongly dislike mother's day. They feel like they do not measure up. I thought that comparing mothers to Jesus might do this even more.  So I shared this story from Brad Wilcox's BYU Devotional in July 2011, "His Grace Is Sufficient"

A BYU student once came to me and asked if we could talk. I said, “Of course. How can I help you? 

 

She said, “I just don’t get grace.”

 

I responded, “What is it that you don’t understand?”

 

She said, “I know I need to do my best and then Jesus does the rest, but I can’t even do my best.”

 

She then went on to tell me all the things she should be doing because she’s a Mormon that she wasn’t doing.

 

She continued, “I know that I have to do my part and then Jesus makes up the difference and fills the gap that stands between my part and perfection. But who fills the gap that stands between where I am now and my part?”

 

She then went on to tell me all the things that she shouldn’t be doing because she’s a Mormon, but she was doing them anyway.

 

Finally I said, “Jesus doesn’t make up the difference. Jesus makes all the difference. Grace is not about filling gaps. It is about filling us.”

 

Seeing that she was still confused, I took a piece of paper and drew two dots—one at the top representing God and one at the bottom representing us. I then said, “Go ahead. Draw the line. How much is our part? How much is Christ’s part?”

 

She went right to the center of the page and began to draw a line. Then, considering what we had been speaking about, she went to the bottom of the page and drew a line just above the bottom dot.

 

I said, “Wrong.”

 

She said, “I knew it was higher. I should have just drawn it, because I knew it.”

 

I said, “No. The truth is, there is no line. Jesus filled the whole space. He paid our debt in full. He didn’t pay it all except for a few coins. He paid it all. It is finished.”

 

She said, “Right! Like I don’t have to do anything?”

 

“Oh no,” I said, “you have plenty to do, but it is not to fill that gap. We will all be resurrected. We will all go back to God’s presence. What is left to be determined by our obedience is what kind of body we plan on being resurrected with and how comfortable we plan to be in God’s presence and how long we plan to stay there.”

 

Christ asks us to show faith in Him, repent, make and keep covenants, receive the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end. By complying, we are not paying the demands of justice—not even the smallest part. Instead, we are showing appreciation for what Jesus Christ did by using it to live a life like His. Justice requires immediate perfection or a punishment when we fall short. Because Jesus took that punishment, He can offer us the chance for ultimate perfection (see Matthew 5:48, 3 Nephi 12:48) and help us reach that goal. He can forgive what justice never could, and He can turn to us now with His own set of requirements (see 2 Nephi 2:7; 3 Nephi 9:20).

 

“So what’s the difference?” the girl asked. “Whether our efforts are required by justice or by Jesus, they are still required.”

 

“True,” I said, “but they are required for a different purpose. Fulfilling Christ’s requirements is like paying a mortgage instead of rent or like making deposits in a savings account instead of paying off debt. You still have to hand it over every month, but it is for a totally different reason.”

I was very emotional sharing my talk. I often feel like I am lacking before the Lord. I did not share it, but this same Brad Wilcox talk has what I call the parable of the piano practice. All I have to do is practice, practice, practice. 

Strong Self-Restraint

The phrase "strong self-restraint" stood out to me as I listened to David A. Bednar describe the Christ-like attribute of meekness.

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Meekness is a defining attribute of the Redeemer and is distinguished by righteous responsiveness, willing submissiveness, and strong self-restraint.

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Pahoran was blessed with perspective and strong self-restraint to act rather than react as he explained to Moroni the challenges arising from a rebellion against the government.

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As we come unto and follow the Savior, we increasingly and incrementally are enabled to become more like Him. We are empowered by the Spirit with disciplined self-restraint and a settled and calm demeanor. Thus, meek is what we become as disciples of the Master and not just something we do.

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The consistency of the Lord’s willing submission and strong self-restraint is both awe-inspiring and instructive for us all. As an armed company of temple guardsmen and Roman soldiers arrived at Gethsemane to seize and arrest Jesus, Peter drew his sword and cut off the right ear of the high priest’s servant. The Savior then touched the servant’s ear and healed him. Please note that He reached out and blessed His potential captor using the same heavenly power that could have prevented Him from being captured and crucified. 

Consider also how the Master was accused and condemned before Pilate to be crucified. Jesus had declared during His betrayal, “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?” Yet the “Eternal Judge of both quick and dead” paradoxically was judged before a temporary political appointee. “And [Jesus] answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.” The Savior’s meekness is evidenced in His disciplined response, strong restraint, and unwillingness to exert His infinite power for personal benefit.

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("Meek and Lowly of Heart", David A. Bednar, Apr 2018 GC)

A Bright Red Shawl

https://youtu.be/6J4cbItCoX0

Listen for what the story told by Elder Bateman can teach us about scripture study.

In order to come unto Christ and be perfected in him, each person needs to receive a testimony of the Lord’s words. Some individuals falter because they fail to open the books, others because they read casually. As one would expect, there is a difference between diligent searching or “pondering over the scriptures” and casual reading. A Church history story illustrates the difference. 

A small six-year-old boy wandered away from his handcart company during a storm and was lost. When the storm subsided, Robert and Ann Parker realized their boy was missing and began searching. For two days an organized search was unsuccessful. The decision was made that the company must move on because of the approaching winter. 

A pioneer journal records the following: 

“Ann Parker pinned a bright [red] shawl about the thin shoulders of her husband and sent him back alone on the trail to search again for their child. If he found him dead he was to wrap him in the shawl; if alive, the shawl would be a flag to signal her. Ann and her children took up their load and struggled on with the company, while Robert retraced the miles of … trail, calling, and searching and praying for his helpless little son.” 

One suspects that he did not just casually look behind a few trees or leisurely walk along the trail, but that he vigorously investigated every thicket, every clump of trees and gully or wash. 

“At last he reached a … trading station where he learned that his child had been found and cared for by a woodsman and his wife. [The boy] had been ill from exposure and fright. [But] God had heard the prayers of his people. 

“Out on the trail each night Ann and her children kept watch and, when, on the third night the rays of the setting sun caught the glimmer of a bright red shawl [above her husband’s head], the brave little mother sank in a pitiful heap in the sand. … [She] slept for the first time in six … days.” 

The story illustrates the difference between just looking and searching diligently. A casual, infrequent exposure to the scriptures will generally not open the door to the whisperings of the Spirit or provide insights into the Savior’s life and character. We need to search the scriptures with the same vigor that Robert hunted for his son and with the consistency of the mother searching the horizon if we expect to hear his voice and know his words.

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True Principles Applied Bring Success & Happiness

I first listened to this devotional talk at Ricks College in 1991. It is a perennial favorite of mine.

"True Principles Applied Bring Success & Happiness", 5 Mar 1991, Ed J. Pinegar, Former President of the MTC
Download the MP3, BYUI Link to MP3

He talks here about how gratitude is the key to desire.

He talks about how faith is a principle of belief, action and power.

Faith is the first, great governing principle of this earth life. Faith is the power by which it was created. Faith is the moving cause of all action. Faith has three degrees, that of belief, that of action and that of power. The prophet Joseph Smith taught back in the school of the prophets in 1832 (First Lecture on Faith). 

From his obituary 

Ed Jolley Pinegar peacefully passed away on August 18, 2020 with his sweetheart, Pat, by his side.  He was born in Provo, Utah on February 12, 1935 to James Emery Pinegar and Effie Jolley Pinegar.  Ed will be remembered as a beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, and as a teacher, speaker, author, dentist, and friend.  His life was filled with service - praising, inspiring, and encouraging others (PIE) with humor and love.

Ed was raised in Edgemont, Spanish Fork and Provo, Utah.  He graduated from BYU Elementary Training School and BY High School.  He excelled in athletics playing football, basketball, baseball, and tennis.  He attended BYU on a tennis and basketball scholarship playing for the legendary Coach Stan Watts.  In 1956, he graduated from BYU with a degree in chemistry and mathematics.  He married his college sweetheart, Patricia Peterson, March 28, 1956 in the Salt Lake Temple.  They recently celebrated their 64th wedding anniversary.

Ed attended dental school at the University of Southern California and graduated in 1961.  While attending dental school, he taught early morning seminary to high school students.  He began his dental practice in Provo, Utah.  After one year, he was asked to put his practice aside and serve as a Captain in the United States Army between 1962 and 1964.  Upon returning to Provo to restart his dental practice, he again taught early morning seminary for 3 years and then taught the Book of Mormon, Gospel Principles and Practices, and other religion classes part-time at BYU for 19 years.  He retired in 2000 from the faculty at the Orem Institute of Religion at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.

Ed served in many capacities as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  He served as Bishop (twice) and Stake President.  He also served with Pat as President of the England London South Mission (1985-88), President of the Provo Missionary Training Center (1988-90), full-time missionaries to the church historical sites in the Rochester New York Mission, and as President and Matron of the Manti Temple (2009-12).  His last calling was as a greeter in the Suncrest 10th ward.  He was the author of over 60 books and audio recordings of which many were on missionary work.  

The joy of Ed’s life was his family.  He loved his sweetheart, Pat, an angel wife and mother.  They are the parents of eight children – Karie Bushnell (Bruce), Steve Pinegar, Kelly Hagemeyer (Dale), Kristi Gubler (Ross), Brett Pinegar (Susan), Cory Pinegar (who preceded him in death in 1986), Traci Magleby (Hans), and Tricia Skousen (Jeff).  He has 38 grandchildren, 30 great grandchildren, and 5 on the way. 

Judge Not and Judging

A friend recommended this talk by Dallin H. Oaks. Noting it here for later reference.

"Judge Not and Judging", Dallin H. Oaks, BYU Devotional, 1 Mar 1998

“Lest Ye Be Wearied and Faint in Your Minds”

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How can you and I really expect to glide naively through life, as if to say, ‘Lord, give me experience, but not grief, not sorrow, not pain, not opposition, not betrayal, and certainly not to be forsaken.  Keep from me, Lord, all those experiences which made Thee what Thou art!  Then, let me come and dwell with Thee and fully share Thy joy!
“Lest Ye Be Wearied and Faint in Your Minds”, Apr 1991, Neal A. Maxwell

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 1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
 3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
 4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
(Heb 12:1-4)

Judge Righteous Judgments

This morning, I was listening to "Israel, Israel, God Is Calling" from the Jan 2012 CES Devotional by Elder Jeffrey R Holland

I like his explanation of "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment." (John 7:24)

In this regard—this call for compassion and loyalty to the commandments—there is sometimes a chance for a misunderstanding, especially among young people who may think we are not supposed to judge anything, that we are never to make a value assessment of any kind. We have to help each other with that because the Savior makes it clear that in some situations we have to judge, we are under obligation to judge
...
In this process of evaluation, we are not called on to condemn others, but we are called upon to make decisions every day that reflect judgment—we hope good judgment. Elder Dallin H. Oaks once referred to these kinds of decisions as “intermediate judgments,” which we often have to make for our own safety or for the safety of others, as opposed to what he called “final judgments,” which can only be made by God, who knows all the facts. (Remember, in the scripture quoted earlier, that the Savior said these are to be “righteous judgments,” not self-righteous judgments, which is a very different thing.)

Fire in my Bones

The brethren who came to preach the Gospel to me, I could easily out-talk them . . . ; but their testimony was like fire in my bones; I understood the spirit of their preaching; I received that spirit; it was light, intelligence, power, and truth, and it bore witness to my spirit, and that was enough for me. [Remarks by Brigham Young, 28 July 1861; JD 9:141; also reported in Deseret News Weekly, 2 October 1861, 177]