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So not only is my brother the 1st counselor in the single's ward bishopric, but my son is the first counselor in his ward bishopric. These two Dave's are too much alike! Love them both!
Wendy Watson Nelson, Ph.D., wife of Elder Nelson, also spoke at the gathering about the need for families to have increased spiritual strength. “We need families who look to God and who remove anything from their lives that is spiritually corrupting,” she said. “Families who are spiritually strong are the only hope for the future of our nations.”
Also speaking at the conference was Sheri L. Dew, who formerly served as a counselor in the Church’s general Relief Society presidency. Dew said: “A virtuous life is an easier, more fulfilling life. And it is one of the most powerful keys to strengthening families and therefore to strengthening our world.”
Sunday our High Councilor spoke. I had an amazing experience. It had been a really painful week. Someone had said something to me that really hurt and caused me to question what on earth to do with such information. Talking to them was of no use. As usual I just had to deal with my feelings and forgive.
So at church our speaker talked about this scripture:
Alma 56:15-17 15 "And these are the cities which they possessed when I arrived at the city of Judea; and I found Antipus and his men toiling with their might to fortify the city.
16 Yea, and they were depressed in body as well as in spirit, for they had fought valiantly by day and toiled by night to maintain their cities; and thus they had suffered great afflictions of every kind.
17 And now they were determined to conquer in this place or die; therefore you may well suppose that this little force which I brought with me, yea, those sons of mine, gave them great hopes and much joy."
My immediate thought was "I need someone to fortify me...to reach out and strengthen me. I hurt." But even as I thought it another thought replaced it "you know that's not how it works. You are healed as you reach out to others." I know but sometimes you just long for someone to reach out to you.
The speaker then went on to quote from the baptismal covenant in Mosiah 18:
8 "And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;
9 Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life— "
Yes, I thought, that is the covenant I made and that is how I want to be. Sometimes it's just a little harder than other times.
Next he spoke of the new commandment our Savior gave to his disciples found in John. Our Savior knew that what they would miss most when He was gone was His love. That is what we all miss but rarely recognize it.
John 13:33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.
34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
We feel His love for us as we share His love with His children.
He went on to quote from Matthew which I have quoted here before:
Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you crest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Ah...there's the key. We can be comforted and find strength to be healed even in the midst of great adversity if we "come unto" Him. And as Neal Maxwell taught "Empathy during agony is a portion of divinity."
As I was contemplating all of this a little boy, about 2 years old, left his family on the other side of the chapel from where I was sitting and came over to me. He handed me a half stick of gum and walked back to his family. I sat and marveled. A minute later he walked back over and shyly stood at the end of the bench where I was sitting. I motioned to him several times to come over but he didn't. Finally he walked to me and whispered "do you need more gum?" "No" I said. “I am fine. But thank you!" and he walked away.
The speaker ended his talk with a quote from Elder Holland's conference talk of October 2008. I love this:
“My beloved brothers and sisters, I testify of angels, both the heavenly and the mortal kind. In doing so I am testifying that God never leaves us alone, never leaves us unaided in the challenges that we face. “[N]or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man [or woman or child] upon the face thereof to be saved.” On occasions, global or personal, we may feel we are distanced from God, shut out from heaven, lost, alone in dark and dreary places. Often enough that distress can be of our own making, but even then the Father of us all is watching and assisting. And always there are those angels who come and go all around us, seen and unseen, known and unknown, mortal and immortal.
“May we all believe more readily in, and have more gratitude for, the Lord’s promise as contained in one of President Monson’s favorite scriptures: “I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, . . . my Spirit shall be in your [heart], and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.” In the process of praying for those angels to attend us, may we all try to be a little more angelic ourselves—with a kind word, a strong arm, a declaration of faith and “the covenant wherewith [we] have covenanted.” Perhaps then we can be emissaries sent from God when someone… is crying,.. .”
Now it's true that our mission is to know the Savior so well that we can reach out to His children in love and compassion like Him, for Him but He loves us and will send angels when we really need them. They may come in the form of a loved one calling to chat, a co-worker telling us we are doing a great job, a friend who waves as they drive by our house, a speaker in sacrament meeting who listens to the spirit and speaks to our heart. Or they may come as a little child offering a half stick of gum.
Ether 12: 27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.
Psalm 119: 114 Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.
Romans 8: 24-25 For we are saved by hope but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
And...as always..."With God Nothing Shall Be Impossible"!"Those great men and women, and I’m thinking now, in particular, of the great men and women of the early part of this dispensation, did not leave their homes and bury children along the plains and have their lives absolutely turned upside-down just so you and I could go to church in lovely meeting houses, and go to school on lovely church campuses, and watch General Conference on Satellite or streaming live on the internet. Their part was to lay the foundation of the Kingdom of God and our part is to help build up and defend that kingdom. We are here now because we are supposed to be here now. Of that I have a solemn witness and testimony. You are not here by accident, you were held in reserve for this day.
1. DID YOU DATE SOMEONE FROM YOUR SCHOOL? What's a date? OK I did go on a few dates but I didn't "date" anyone!
2.WHAT KIND OF CAR DID YOU DRIVE? Are you kidding? I got to drive the car to school once my senior year!
3. DID YOU PASS YOUR DRIVER’S LICENSE TEST YOUR FIRST TRY? Hmmmm....I think so.
4. WHERE YOU A PARTY ANIMAL? No. Not even kind of.
5. WERE YOU CONSIDERED A FLIRT? NO WAY!
6. WERE YOU IN BAND, ORCHESTRA, OR CHOIR? Choir and madrigals.
7. WERE YOU A NERD? Absolutely but I didn't know it!
8. WERE YOU ON ANY VARSITY TEAMS? HUH? No!
9. DID YOU EVER GET SUSPENDED/EXPELLED? no way!
10. CAN YOU STILL SING THE FIGHT SONG? " Beer , beer for old Carlmont high." Oh, wait. that's not an official fight song. "all hail to thee our alma mater honored. Richardson, we're loyal to you..."
11. WHO WERE YOUR FAVORITE TEACHERS? There was that one teacher and then there was that accounting teacher...I'm too old to remember names!
12. WHERE DID YOU SIT FOR LUNCH? I wandered so I wouldn't have to sit alone.
13. WHAT IS YOUR SCHOOL’S FULL NAME? Carlmont High School, Ygnacio Valley High school, Richardson High School.
14. WHAT IS YOUR SCHOOL’S MASCOT AND COLORS? Richardson was an Eagle and the colors were purple and white.
15. DID YOU GO TO HOMECOMING AND WITH WHO? As I said....i didn't date.
16. IF YOU COULD GO BACK AND DO IT AGAIN WOULD YOU? Not a chance!!!
17. WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER MOST ABOUT GRADUATION? After never being noticed I sat by the jocks who were fun and friendly. What a waste. If they had known how fun and cute I was they surely would have dated me!
18. WHERE DID YOU GO SENIOR SKIP DAY? I probably stayed home.
19. WERE YOU IN ANY CLUBS? dance club
20. HAVE YOU GAINED SOME WEIGHT SINCE THEN? Are you kiddin?
21. WHO WAS YOUR PROM DATE? I did go to one prom with Tommy Mannawitz.
22. ARE YOU PLANNING ON GOING TO YOUR 10 YEAR REUNION? way past but I haven't been nor will I go to any.
23. DID YOU HAVE A JOB IN HIGH SCHOOL? summers at the Medallion and Develo Tronics. I was the queen circuit board maker.
A number of years ago I was taking a math class in preparation for teaching that subject the coming school year. We were studying vectors and I just could not grasp how they worked. I had studied and studied, worked problems over and over. I had obtained tutoring but still I did not understand. The night before the test I was becoming frustrated as I tried problem after problem to no avail. Suddenly it occurred to me that Heavenly Father and our Savior know everything. Even vectors! I realized that there could be no greater tutor than them. So I got on my knees and poured out my hea
If he knows how to do vectors, He knows how to help us with all our needs and concerns.
Do you want to know how to deal with struggling children or strengthen a faltering marriage? Come unto Him
Do you ache for relief from loneliness and long for peace and joy? Come unto Him
Do you want to know how to comfo
Do you want to feel loved, to know that you measure up, that your offering is acceptable? Come unto Him
Do you yearn for forgiveness and mercy; for solace and healing? Come unto Him!!
Perhaps you feel over-scheduled, overwhelmed but don’t know what to change. Come unto him.
Is there someone in your life causing you grief and pain? Do you feel powerless? Come unto Him!
Elder Neal Maxwell said of this “I testify that he is utterly incomparable in what he is, what he knows, what he has accomplished, and what he has experienced. Yet, movingly, he calls us his friends. (See John 15:15; D&C 84:77.)
“We can trust, worship, and even adore him without any reservation! He is the only perfect person to sojourn on this planet; there is, as Isaiah declared, none like him! (See Isa. 46:9.)
Mandi had this tag on her blog and she is so creative and witty! I know mine will just be boring, except the ones I steal from her, but here goes:
1. Do you like blue cheese? Yes- on lettuce wedges with ranch dressing and bacon
2. Do you own a gun? a glue gun.
3. What flavor of Kool Aid was your favorite? Cherry!!!!
4. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? YES. I hate going to any doctor!
5. What do you think of hot dogs? I love them!
6. Favorite Christmas movie? You'll Shoot Your Eye Out!
7. Favorite thing to drink in the morning? Ovaltine
8. Can you do push ups? RIGHT!
9. Favorite piece of jewelry? the darling bracelet I got for Christmas from a little girl in my primary class!
10. Favorite hobby? hmmm, I used to have hobbies!
11. Do you have A.D.D? UHHHHHH yes!
12. What is one trait you hate about yourself? unmotivated!
13. Middle name? Fox
14. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment. i'm not hungry but NEED to eat, my feet are cold, these nuts taste icky!
15. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink. water, water, water.
16. Current worry? all the things I need to do now that I am back in town!
17. Current hate right now? I don't hate anything but I strongly dislike many things!
18. Favorite place to be? Home with Mike or in PA or TN with my kids and grandkids.
19. How did you bring in the new year? Spent a fortune on an incredible meal at Cucine Toscana. Mike said it was so good it gave him chills. Food normally means next to nothing to him!
20. Where would you like to go? Maui
21. Name three people who might complete this. No one, Nobody and not anybody.
22. Do you own slippers? sort of. I own some pink high top uggs that I wear to keep my feet warm. Wish I had them on right now!
23. What shirt are you wearing? a really large, streched out T-shirt that I sleep in.
24. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? No. Too slippery, and cold.
25. Can you whistle? kinda
26. Favorite color? depends on what it is on. A wall? medium green. A shirt, fushia. Eyes, blue! College Football team BYU blue!
27. Would you be a pirate? Not a chance.
28. What songs do you sing in the AM? "Show me the way to go home. I'm tired and I want to go to bed"
29. Favorite girl’s name? not CYD
30. Favorite boy’s name? Michael ( :D )
31. What’s in your pocket right now? don't have one.
32. Last thing that made you laugh? my son and daughter this weekend in Seattle.
33. What vehicle do you drive? Mercedes C280
34. Worst injury you have ever had? Mandi said "Does an episiotomy count?" I would have to agree but just in case it doesn't it would probably be when I practically cut off my finger while try to get ice cream from a carton using a table knife!
35. Do you love where you live? Love? hmmmm....
36. How many TV’s do you have in your house? 3
37. Who is your loudest friend? I really don't have loud friends but Kash has a great laugh!
38. Do you have any pets? nope, no way, no how!
39. Does someone have a crush on you? Of course! my honey!
40. What is your favorite book(s)? To Kill a Mockingbird
41. Do you collect anything? Nativities
42. Favorite sports team? See favorite color answer
43. What song do you want played at your funeral? Oh, Divine Redeemer
44. What song should have been playing at your birth? She's a Maniac...
Oh yeah, TAG! You’re it!!