Brightening My Light

lds.org Our stake conference today focused on missionary work, a responsibility of every member of the Church. Some of us are very enthusiastic and fearless about sharing the gospel. Others are very intimidated and clueless as to how to start. If you fit in the latter category, here are some ways you can create missionary opportunities and bring up the Church or the gospel easily by arousing people's interests non-aggressively: Wear jewelry and clothing with LDS sayings on them, such as CTR or I love to see the temple . You can also put decals with LDS sayings and symbols on a backpack, tote bag, car, laptop, phone, etc. When someone asks you about your weekend, talk about any church activities you attended, like baptisms, ward activities, temple weddings, and, of course, church on Sunday. Display beautiful photos of Jesus and temples in your home and work area. Read the Ensign , scriptures, or LDS books at the doctor's office, bus stop, and other waiting a...

I have always loved the parable of the laborers in the vineyard , which I shared in a previous post . But when Elder Holland spoke in General Conference about that parable , his deeper interpretation really struck me, particularly when he said: Then this piercing question to anyone then or now who needs to hear it: “ Why should you be jealous because I choose to be kind? ” Brothers and sisters, there are going to be times in our lives when someone else gets an unexpected blessing or receives some special recognition. May I plead with us not to be hurt—and certainly not to feel envious—when good fortune comes to another person? We are not diminished when someone else is added upon. We are not in a race against each other to see who is the wealthiest or the most talented or the most beautiful or even the most blessed. The race we are really in is the race against sin, and surely envy is one of the most universal of those. Furthermore, envy is a mistake that ...

"The same Lord who provided a Liahona for Lehi provides for you and for me today a rare and valuable gift to give direction to our lives, to mark the hazards to our safety, and to chart the way, even safe passage—not to a promised land, but to our heavenly home. The gift to which I refer is known as your patriarchal blessing. . . . "Patriarchs are humble men. They are students of the scriptures. They stand before God as the means whereby the blessings of heaven can flow from that eternal source to the recipient on whose head rests the hands of the patriarch. He may not be a man of letters, a possessor of worldly wealth, or a holder of distinguished office. He, however, must be blessed with priesthood power and personal purity. To reach to heaven for divine guidance and inspiration, a patriarch is to be a man of love, a man of compassion, a man of judgment, a man of God. "A patriarchal blessing is a revelation to the recipient, even a white line down the middle o...

In conjunction with the articles " Priesthood Power vs. Keys " and " 'He Ain't One Bit Better' ": Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote : “ The priesthood is greater than any of its offices. No office adds any power, dignity, or authority to the priesthood. All offices derive their rights, prerogatives, graces, and powers from the priesthood. This principle may be diagramed by dividing a circle into segments. The priesthood is the circle; the segments of the circle are the callings or offices in the priesthood. Anyone who serves in a segment of the circle must possess the power of the whole circle. No one can hold an office in the priesthood without first holding the priesthood. “Thus it is that priesthood is conferred upon worthy individuals, and they are then ordained to offices in the priesthood; and thus it is that all offices in the priesthood and in the Church are specifically designated as appendages to the priesthood; that is, they grow out of th...

Submitted by Brother McKnight of the Port Washington Branch in Grafton, WI. Challenge: Live the standards in the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet.

My favorite moments from the 182nd Annual General Conference: Favorite Quotes " 'You can't be right by doing wrong; you can't be wrong by doing right.' " ~Elder Soares quoting President Monson " 'Don't judge me because I sin differently than you.' " ~President Uchtdorf (from a bumper sticker he saw) "If a printing shop explodes, will it produce a dictionary?" ~Elder Nelson Favorite Talks Sister Esplin on teaching children. She gave very touching real-life examples. Elder Holland on the parable of the laborers in the vineyard ( Matthew 20:1-16 ). This parable has great meaning to me ( read my post on it here ), so I appreciated how enlightening and in depth his talk was. Elder Wilson on proper priesthood usage. I especially liked his opening story about driving with his wife. Favorite Musical Number "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty" by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in the Sunday morning session. T...