Sunday, March 18, 2012

Between You and God


According to Ken Alford this was reportedly found in Mother Teresa's home after her death:

BETWEEN YOU AND GOD

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It never was between you and them anyway.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

The terrible one is brought to nought

"And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness. The meek also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.  For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off: That make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought. . .

"They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine. (Isaiah 29:18-21, 24)

Great scriptures about the days we are living in - the restoration of the Gospel and the Book of Mormon and the days that soon will come I hope - when the terrible one is brought to nought - when the scorner, the ones who make a man an offender for a word, who lay a snare for him that reproveth, who turn aside the just for a thing of nought are consumed and cut off.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

There is none other name given ---

"Yea behold, I say unto you . . . as the Lord God liveth, there is none other name given under heaven save it be this Jesus Christ of which I have spoken, whereby man can be saved."

"And now behold, I say unto you that the right way is to believe in Christ, and deny him not; and Christ is the Holy One of Israel; wherefore ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul; and if ye do this ye shall in nowise be cast out."

"But behold, the righteous that hearken unto the words of the prophets, and destroy them not, but look forward unto Christ with steadfastness for the signs which are given, notwithstanding all persecution - behold, they are they which shall not perish."

These are some of the verses I loved in 2 Nephi 25 and 26 this morning.


Men should not . . .


"I say unto you that the Lord God worketh not in darkness."

And again, the Lord God hath commanded that men should not murder; that they should not lie; that they should not steal; that they should not take the name of the Lord their God in Vain; that they should not envy; that they should not have malice; that they should not contend one with another ; that they should not commit whoredoms; and that they should do none of these things; for whoso doeth them shall perish.." "And he inviteth all and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female and . . . all are alike unto God., both Jew and Gentile." (2Nephi 26)

This is the way we can judge who are followers of Christ and which organizations and movements are right and good..  "every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by" him.  "Wherefore, take heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge that which is evil to be of God, or that which is good and of God to be of the devil."  "See that ye do not judge wrongfully;"  "Search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil;" "lay hold upon every good thing . . ." And the way to lay hold upon every good thing is to exercise faith, hope and charity. (Moroni 7)

Thursday, March 1, 2012

"Make the heart of this people fat"

The Old Testament Institute Student Manual says something that caught my attention today.  I was reading about Isaiah 6:9-13.  It says "The words the prophet Isaiah was commissioned to deliver were in part to bring the people to a full accountability for their choices, so that they would be left without excuse. . . The command to 'make the heart of this people fat, . . their ears heavy, and shut their eyes' is used to describe the process of making the people accountable. . . . 'There is a self-hardening in evil . . . . sin from its very nature bears it own punishment. . . . An evil act in itself is the result of self-determination proceeding from a man's own will.' (quoted from Keil and Delitzsch; Commentary, 7:1:201). An individual cannot resist or reject the truth without eventually becoming spiritually hardened (see History of the Church 4:264)."  So time again for self examination - is there some truth, some facet of gospel living, some Christlike characteristic, that I am resisting or rejecting?