Brightening My Light

I got to watch the General Relief Society Meeting Saturday night, something I have not had the privilige of doing the last couple years. I was excited to meet the new presidency, and they are wonderful! They are so loving and sweet, so meek and mild, and very tenderhearted. I enjoyed and learned from each of their talks. Linda K. Burton, President, talked about cheerfully keeping our covenants. She also shared an excellent analogy on self-worth another woman shared with her: a $20 bill, though it may be torn, dirty, worn out, wrinkled, and used, is still worth $20. Carole M. Stephens, First Counselor, talked about being wide awake to our duties. She shared an experience she had on a pioneer trek she did with the youth. On a part of the journey called the women's pull, the women had to push the handcarts up a hill without the men's help. A young woman who had already pushed her cart up came back down and helped Sister Stephens and her companion with their car...

Part 3 of my sacrament talk (read Part 1 and Part 2 ): With so much responsibility to teach by good example, show love, and learn along with and from our children, it is important that we have good examples to follow. Heavenly Father gave us the best example: His Son, Jesus Christ. “What manner of men ought ye to be?” asked the Savior. “Even as I am” (3 Nephi 27:27). We will never fail by doing what He did. Sometimes it is hard to emulate the Savior because He was so perfect, so he has given us other examples to follow: Christ-like Church leaders and family members. If we ever do not know how to act in a situation, we can watch and imitate them, and in turn be imitating Christ. Our children will also be inspired to follow good examples as they see us strive to do the same and see the happiness and peace it brings to our lives. Being an example in our homes and following the example of our Redeemer fulfills His call for us to be a light unto the world and a standard unto the na...

Part 2 of my sacrament talk ( read Part 1  and Part 3 ): A good example by itself is not enough, however. It must be joined with love. An incident in President McKay’s life illustrates this point: When one of [President McKay’s] sons, David Lawrence, was a young boy, he accompanied his father in a horse-drawn carriage. “ We forded a swollen river in a thunderstorm,” David Lawrence later recalled, “ and got caught between that river and a mountain torment. I thought the end of the world had come, and started to cry. Father held me on his lap in his arms all night until we were rescued in the morning. It’s hard to disobey a man who loves you and puts his arms around you.” David Lawrence remembered that David O. and Emma Ray McKay made their expectations clear to their children and that they, as parents, “ were so self-disciplined that we were never confused by seeing them behave in a way different from the way we were supposed to behave. . . . Our parents’ expectations prov...

Today, my husband and I spoke in sacrament meeting. Here is the first part of my talk ( read Part 2  and Part 3 ): “The effect of our words and acts is tremendous in this world. Every moment of life you are changing to a degree the lives of the whole world.” Those are the words of President David O. McKay.* If we have such an astounding influence over the world, we need to be examples of righteousness. As Paul counseled, “Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. . . . Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in so doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee” (1 Timothy 4:12, 16). The Lord said, “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also” (John 14:12). So to be an example of the believers is to do what the Lord has done so that we can “save [ourselves], and them that hear [us].” We usually apply this principle to missionary work, but it also e...

Guest post by Sal, a member of the LDS Etsy team . I was listening to a church lesson on Wednesday and loved how the teacher explained a scripture. It left such an impression on me that I would like to share it with you. "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man." - Luke 2:52 This is one of the only scriptures we have mentioning the Savior's childhood years. I love that it mentions that he had to increase and grow too, just like all of us. What surprised me is when the teacher drew on the white board a diagram similar to this one: He then went on to explain that, as the scriptures says, Jesus deveolped and grew in four areas: 1. Wisdom 2. Stature 3. Favor with God 4. Favor with man We too must strive to grow in all of these areas. It is really easy to get fixated on one, however. For example, some people spend too much time in the "stature" area and focus mainly on their appearance or physical fit...

lds.org Two years ago I wrote a post about our attitude toward mission calls . Yesterday, I read this passage from Elder W. Christopher Waddell's General Conference talk, " The Opportunity of a Lifetime ," in October 2011. We have a Father in Heaven, who knows us—our strengths and weaknesses, our abilities and potential. He knows which mission president and companions and which members and investigators we need in order to become the missionary, the husband and father, and the priesthood holder we are capable of becoming. Prophets, seers, and revelators assign missionaries under the direction and influence of the Holy Ghost. Inspired mission presidents direct transfers every six weeks and quickly learn that the Lord knows exactly where He wants each missionary to serve.   A few years ago, Elder Javier Misiego, from Madrid, Spain, was serving a full-time mission in Arizona. At that time, his mission call to the United States appeared somewhat unusual, as most y...

lds.org A great way to learn scripture trivia is to combine it with a game. The whole family can have fun and spend time together while also learning more about the scriptures. Here are some game ideas: Play Jeopardy! Categories could include the ten commandments, Latter-day prophets, and Book of Mormon stories. Play as individuals or in teams. Play Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? This idea works well for couples and for families with children of various ages—play in teams and have the younger children answer the easier questions and the older children answer the harder questions. Play Wheel of Fortune using scripture phrases or names. Make a small spinning wheel by inserting a brad into a cardboard circle on top of a cardboard square. An easier option is to play Hangman. Make your own board game. Use the board from a board game you already have, like Candyland, find some dice, and let everyone write a stack of questions and answers. Make your ow...

From " Keeping the Faith in a World of Confusion " by Bishop Gérald Caussé , in the August 2012 Ensign . In our search for truth, we can be tempted to want to understand everything right away. However, the intelligence of God is so infinite that “it is impossible that man should find out all his ways” ( Jacob 4:8 ). We must accept living for a time without answers to all of our questions. Like Nephi, we faithfully acknowledge that God “loveth his children; nevertheless, [we] do not know the meaning of all things” ( 1 Nephi 11:17 ).   The Lord, nevertheless, supplies us with the knowledge necessary for our salvation and exaltation. He promises, “Whatsoever ye ask the Father in my name it shall be given unto you, that is expedient for you” ( D&C 88:64 ). We receive these answers progressively, “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little” ( 2 Nephi 28:30 ), depending on our needs and our capacity to comprehend.   It is up to us to d...