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Showing posts with label Understanding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Understanding. Show all posts

Friday, March 9, 2018

Genuine conversion brings “meekness, and lowliness of heart,” which invites “the Holy Ghost [and fills us with] perfect love,

Church history gives ample evidence of our members being treated with hatred and bigotry. How ironically sad it would be if we were to treat others as we have been treated. The Savior taught, “Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.”29 For us to ask for respect, we must be respectful. Furthermore, our genuine conversion brings “meekness, and lowliness of heart,” which invites “the Holy Ghost [and fills us with] perfect love,”30 an “unfeigned love”31 for others.

Our Good Shepherd, Dale G. Renlund, April 2017 General Conference

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

We all need to remember: men are that they might have joy—not guilt trips!


We all need to remember: men are that they might have joy—not guilt trips!2 We also need to remember that the Lord gives no commandments that are impossible to obey. But sometimes we fail to comprehend them fully. 

Russell M. Nelson, October 1995 General Conference, Perfection Pending

Thursday, June 15, 2017

There is need for another education

Each day we are made increasingly aware of the fact that life is more than science and mathematics, more than history and literature. There is need for another education, without which the substance of secular learning may lead only to destruction. I refer to the education of the heart, of the conscience, of the character, of the spirit—these indefinable aspects of our personalities which determine so certainly what we are and what we do in our relationships one with another.
"With All Thy Getting Get Understanding", Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign August 1988

Monday, April 10, 2017

The Older I Get, The Less Judgement I Become. The Greatest Form of Charity May Be To Withhold Judgement.

Some years ago a cherished friend noted, “The greatest form of charity may be to withhold judgment.”4 That is still true today.

Recently, as three-year-old Alyssa watched a movie with her siblings, she remarked with a puzzled expression, “Mom, that chicken is weird!”

Her mother looked at the screen and responded with a smile, “Honey, that is a peacock.”

Like that unknowing three-year-old, we sometimes look at others with an incomplete or inaccurate understanding. We may focus on the differences and perceived flaws in those around us whereas our Heavenly Father sees His children, created in His eternal image, with magnificent and glorious potential.

President James E. Faust is remembered to have said, “The older I get, the less judgmental I become.”5 That reminds me of the Apostle Paul’s observation:

“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became [older], I put away childish things.

“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”6

When we see our own imperfections more clearly, we are less inclined to view others “through a glass, darkly.” We want to use the light of the gospel to see others as the Savior does—with compassion, hope, and charity. The day will come when we will have a complete understanding of others’ hearts and will be grateful to have mercy extended to us—just as we extend charitable thoughts and words to others during this life.
"I Will Bring the Light of the Gospel Into My Home", Jean B. Bingham

Monday, December 7, 2015

The Tilt of Our Souls In First Moments Is So Vital...Which Will We Do Most, Murmur or Ponder?


The tilt of our souls in first moments is so vital. Will what follows be viewed with disdain or as having some design? Which will we do most, murmur or ponder?...For the faithful, what finally emerges is an understanding of “things as they really are” (Jacob 4:13), such as the reassuring realization that we are in the Lord’s hands!

Neal A. Maxwell, April 1985 General Conference, "Willing to Submit"

Defer of Gratification is a Sign of Real Maturity


Just as the capacity to defer gratification is a sign of real maturity, likewise the willingness to wait for deferred explanation is a sign of real faith and of trust spread over time.
Neal A. Maxwell, April 1985 General Conference, "Willing to Submit"

Friday, October 9, 2015

Hidden Wedges--Blame Keeps Wounds Open


I am acquainted with a family which came to America from Germany. The English language was difficult for them. They had but little by way of means, but each was blessed with the will to work and with a love of God.

Their third child was born, lived but two months, and then died. Father was a cabinetmaker and fashioned a beautiful casket for the body of his precious child. The day of the funeral was gloomy, thus reflecting the sadness they felt in their loss. As the family walked to the chapel, with Father carrying the tiny casket, a small number of friends had gathered. However, the chapel door was locked. The busy bishop had forgotten the funeral. Attempts to reach him were futile. Not knowing what to do, the father placed the casket under his arm and, with his family beside him, carried it home, walking in a drenching rain.

If the family were of a lesser character, they could have blamed the bishop and harbored ill feelings. When the bishop discovered the tragedy, he visited the family and apologized. With the hurt still evident in his expression, but with tears in his eyes, the father accepted the apology, and the two embraced in a spirit of understanding. No hidden wedge was left to cause further feelings of anger. Love and acceptance prevailed....Blame keeps wounds open.

A Prophet's Voice--Messages from Thomas S. Monson, Threads in Your Tapestry, p428
Hidden Wedges, Thomas S. Monson, April 2002 General Conference

Thursday, May 28, 2015

The Son of God Perfectly Knows and Understands, For He Has Felt and Borne It Before

There is no physical pain, no spiritual wound, no anguish of soul or heartache, no infirmity or weakness you or I ever confront in mortality that the Savior did not experience first. In a moment of weakness we may cry out, “No one knows what it is like. No one understands.” But the Son of God perfectly knows and understands, for He has felt and borne our individual burdens. And because of His infinite and eternal sacrifice (see Alma 34:14), He has perfect empathy and can extend to us His arm of mercy. He can reach out, touch, succor, heal, and strengthen us to be more than we could ever be and help us to do that which we could never do relying only upon our own power. Indeed, His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
BEAR UP THEIR BURDENS WITH EASE By Elder David A. Bednar - April 2014

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Real Wisdom Is A Real Pleasure; Real Wisdom, Prudence, And Understanding, Is A Real Comfort

It is the privilege of man to search out the wisdom of God pertaining to the earth and the heavens. Real wisdom is a real pleasure; real wisdom, prudence, and understanding, is a real comfort (DBY, 262).

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, (1997), 192–201