Big Search

Showing posts with label Accountability. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Accountability. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Parents cannot counsel children adequately from personal experience, fear, or sympathy.18 But when parents face children as would the Creator who gave them life, parents will be endowed with wisdom beyond that of their own.


Facing upward is crucial for successful parenting. Families deserve guidance from heaven. Parents cannot counsel children adequately from personal experience, fear, or sympathy.18 But when parents face children as would the Creator who gave them life, parents will be endowed with wisdom beyond that of their own. Wise mothers and fathers will teach members of their family how to make personal decisions based upon divine law.19 They will teach them that “this life is the time … to prepare to meet God.”20 They will teach them that decisions of a moral and spiritual character cannot be based on freedom to choose without accountability to God for those choices.21 With that understanding, parents and children will be rewarded with strength of character, peace of mind, joy, and rejoicing in their posterity.22
Russell M. Nelson, April 1996 General Conference,  Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods

Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Blaming others, even if justified, allows us to excuse our behavior.

Blaming others, even if justified, allows us to excuse our behavior. By so doing, we shift responsibility for our actions to others. When the responsibility is shifted, we diminish both the need and our ability to act. We turn ourselves into hapless victims rather than agents capable of independent action.13

Repentance: A Joyful Choice, Dale G. Renlund,  October 2016 General Conference

Friday, April 21, 2017

If We Keep the Commandments We Abide In the Savior's Love

“If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.”7
To “continue in” or “abide in” the Savior’s love means to receive His grace and be perfected by it.8 To receive His grace, we must have faith in Jesus Christ and keep His commandments, including repenting of our sins, being baptized for the remission of sins, receiving the Holy Ghost, and continuing in the path of obedience.9

"Abide in My Love", D. Todd Christofferson, General Conference October 2016

My thoughts:  So if you're not keeping the commandments you are not in His love.

God’s love is infinite and it will endure forever, but what it means for each of us depends on how we respond to His love.

There are many ways to describe and speak of divine love. One of the terms we hear often today is that God’s love is “unconditional.” While in one sense that is true, the descriptor unconditional appears nowhere in scripture. Rather, His love is described in scripture as “great and wonderful love,”3 “perfect love,”4 “redeeming love,”5 and “everlasting love.”6 These are better terms because the word unconditional can convey mistaken impressions about divine love, such as, God tolerates and excuses anything we do because His love is unconditional, or God makes no demands upon us because His love is unconditional, or all are saved in the heavenly kingdom of God because His love is unconditional. God’s love is infinite and it will endure forever, but what it means for each of us depends on how we respond to His love.

"Abide in My Love", D. Todd Christofferson, General Conference October 2016

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

He Realized That He Could No Longer Sit Around Moping

I read the account of a young man who had experienced some severe personal trials. In the course of a few months his brother died, then he lost his job, and finally his girlfriend broke up with him. Although he was feeling misunderstood by his boss and somewhat betrayed by his girlfriend, he didn’t lose his faith. In fact, he prayed to the Lord for counsel because he really wanted to be happy.
After praying, he opened the scriptures, determined to act on whatever verse he found. The book fell open to section 88 of the Doctrine and Covenants. Almost immediately he recognized a call to action contained in these words of scripture:
Cease to be idle; cease to be unclean; cease to find fault one with another; cease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated.
And above all things, clothe yourselves with the bond of charity. [D&C 88:124–25]
As the young man pondered this counsel and applied it to his own situation, he realized that he could no longer sit around moping. He needed to be anxiously engaged in a good cause, like finding another job—and another girlfriend. There was a lot about his life that he decided to change, including his sleeping habits. He also decided to begin to pray for the gift of charity. This timely advice helped him put the past behind him and look forward to the future.
Choose Happiness, Larry R. Lawrence, BYU Speeches Mar 08, 2016

Saturday, April 2, 2016

My Strength Is As the Strength of Ten, Because My Heart Is Pure

President David O. McKay, ninth President of the Church, advised, “I implore you to think clean thoughts.” He then made this significant declaration of truth: “Every action is preceded by a thought. If we want to control our actions, we must control our thinking.” Brethren, fill your minds with good thoughts, and your actions will be proper. May each of you be able to echo in truth the line from Tennyson spoken by Sir Galahad: “My strength is as the strength of ten, because my heart is pure.”7
Thomas S. Monson, "He Is Risen", April 2010 General Conference

Thursday, July 9, 2015

We Must Defend Accountability Against Persons and Programs That Would Make Us Dependent

We must defend accountability against persons and programs that would (sometimes with the best of intentions) make us dependent. And we must defend it against our own inclinations to avoid the work that is required to cultivate talents, abilities, and Christlike character.

Free Forever, to Act for Themselves, D. Todd Christofferson, October 2014 General Conference