Lamb of God

Lamb of God is a wonderful musical presentation about the Savior written by Rob Gardner. He is trying to get funding for a concert film about it.

Which Way Ought I To Go?

Elder Marcos A. Aidukaitis was the visiting General Authority for our recent stake conference.  He shared a story in his talk in the Saturday night session from Alice in Wonderland.

Alice: Oh, no, no. I was just wondering if you could help me find my way.
Cheshire Cat: Well that depends on where you want to get to.
Alice: Oh, it really doesn't matter, as long as...
Cheshire Cat: Then it really doesn't matter which way you go. (Disney 1951, book)

He then proceeded to teach us how Good our Father is.  That is the phrase he kept saying as he described the three degrees of glory God has prepared for his children.

In the telestial, it is more about what you don't do rather than what you do do.  He described the kind of people who would inherit it.  Then he read how "the glory of the telestial which surpasses all understanding" (D&C 76:89).  He told us how he was a mechanical engineer.  That he had studied quite a few things; that he had some understanding.  He said that if Father asked him to choose the kind of place to inherit after this life, that he come probably come up with a pretty good place.  What God has prepared in the telestial kingdom surpasses all understanding, what a Good Father we have.

He then proceeded to describe the terrestrial and celestial kingdoms and how they excel the lowest kingdom of glory.  He repeated again and again how good our Father is.

He ended by reminding us of Alice.  He said where we go, what we become is part of the most important question of our existence, "What kingdom do I want to inherit?"  Once we decide what kingdom, all other moral questions are easy to answer.  Do I want a Celestial, Terrestrial or Telestial kind of existence?

So I am fulfilling my assignment now.  

I Choose the Celestial Kingdom!

I want my children, my friends, my neighbors and anyone else who may be interested.  I plan to rely on the merits of Jesus Christ.  To work and live and become what He wants me to be.  To serve and love and live life to the fullest.  To suck the marrow out of life.  To pass on that fire to all you will hear. 

The message of the good news is wonderful.  It is so wonderful that the lowest of the kingdoms of glory surpasses all the understanding of humankind.  

Power of the Priesthood

Power of the Priesthood comes by persuasion not by any right to the obedience of others. This is a wonderful article that made me think about agency in a different way.

The Lord is bound when we do what He says, because He CHOOSES to be bound. This is how he can reject the sacrifice of Cain, but accept Abel’s because of intent. God is not a vending machine for blessings. We can’t pray our way to anything. Rather, prayer and fasting are invitations, a process to humble ourselves and invite God to bless us or, at least, to comfort or enlighten us.

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."