Brightening My Light

Guest post from Jean Vogler of www.scripturesisters.com These past couple weeks as we’ve been reading about Moses being tempted by Satan and ultimately casting Satan out, I thought of how this is a great witness to us that true power comes only through our Savior, Jesus Christ. As I imagine Satan “weeping, wailing, gnashing his teeth,” and the earth trembling because of his anger, it brings to mind a very irate child, throwing one major tantrum because he can’t have what he wants. He realizes he truly has no power over us. So what does the child do? He uses fear to demand our personal power and freedom be given to him – fear of his anger or of his potential to destroy or embarrass (breaking things, making a mess on purpose, screaming in the store or kicking the dog). He may threaten (I’m going to run away!) or try emotional wounds (I hate you! You don’t love me.). But there is not true power in these words and actions. It is only a strong (and ...

photo from lds.org A previous set of elders put me on the 12-week course for new missionaries. Last night as I was finishing up the week on revelation through the Book of Mormon, I came upon this study activity: Read Moroni 10:3-5 and discuss how these verses show what an investigator must do to gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon. Discuss the meaning and importance of real intent and how to help investigators develop real intent. I considered skipping it since I had read that scripture passage countless times, especially with studying Preach My Gospel , and because the discussion seemed to focus on real intent, which had been covered thoroughly in that week's study. But I decided to humor myself and do it anyway. And what I learned surprised me. There are actually four steps an investigator must complete before asking God with real intent and receiving an answer: Read the Book of Mormon. How can we know if something is true if we haven't even read it? We have to b...

[The second half of my talk given 1/11/15. Read the first part here .] The second reason why we need scripture power is to receive personal revelation. We can find guidance in the word of God. Nephi wrote, “feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do” ( 2 Nephi 32:3 ). By following the counsel in the scriptures, we can always know what we need to do to stay on the path back to Heavenly Father. A great example is when Joseph Smith read James 1:5 and followed its advice, praying to God and thus bringing about the entire Restoration. We may not be able to find a specific answer in the scriptures as Joseph did, but diligent scripture study invites the Holy Ghost, who will reveal to us answers to our gospel questions and life decisions. Third, scripture power protects us from temptation and sin. The best way it does so is preventively. President Packer said, “True doctrine, understood, changes attitude and behavior....

lds.org [The first half of my talk given 1/11/15. Read the second part here .] The chorus to one of the Primary songs reads: Scripture power keeps me safe from sin. Scripture power is the power to win. Scripture power! Every day I need The power that I get each time I read. The power found in the scriptures is always there, waiting for us to tap into it, like the electricity in our homes. All we need to do is flip the switch to feel its power and let it light our way. We learn in Alma 17:2–3 how to do this: Now these sons of Mosiah . . . had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently , that they might know the word of God. But this is not all ; they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting ; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God. [emphasis mine] Why...

photo from disneystore.com Disclaimer: I normally take Disney movies at face value, as purely entertainment. I only wrote this to show that what you look for is what you will find, and I looked for and found the good.  Ever since Frozen came out, many have argued that it has a gay rights hidden agenda. While it can be interpreted that way, the directors revealed the message is that love conquers negativity--more specifically, fear. That statement may apply to fear of homosexuals, but it made me see the movie from a different perspective--a Christian one, in fact. When the king and queen bring Elsa to the troll leader, he tells her that "fear will be your enemy." Paul wrote, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear" ( 2 Timothy 1:7 ). Discouraging feelings do not come from God but from the devil, our biggest enemy, who seeks to destroy us. Elsa leaves the kingdom to avoid hurting anyone, but she is still a danger because she still operates under fe...

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has released a short video on the sacredness of temple garments and clothing and has included shots of what they look like. As you can see, the garments are similar to regular underwear for men and bodyshaping wear for women. The fabric shown is only one of many options we can choose from. There are some variances in design for the women's tops as well and longer bottoms available for colder areas. For more information on temple garments, click here . The temple clothing is worn over a modest white dress for women and a white dress shirt and dress pants for men. The clothing understandably may look strange or funny to you, but please be respectful of them and to us. Thank you. Discussion: Do you have any other questions regarding temple garments or temple clothing?

In case you missed conference, here are some of the most popular quotes from the 184th Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: For more quotes, visit the Facebook pages The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and LDS General Conference . Sharing Time: What were your favorite quotes from General Conference?