Am I my brother's keeper?

I loved this quote from a talk Elder Rasband gave in the April 2012 General Conference. 

“God bless all who endeavor to be their brother’s keeper, who give to ameliorate suffering, who strive with all that is good within them to make a better world. Have you noticed that such individuals have a brighter smile? Their footsteps are more certain. They have an aura about them of contentment and satisfaction … for one cannot participate in helping others without experiencing a rich blessing himself.” (President Thomas S. Monson)

There really is such a power that comes into our lives from serving.  Elder Rasband tells about a family trial they've been experiencing with their grandson having a rare chromosomal deletion which has been life-changing for their family in the time, money, energy, etc. required in rearing this sweet child.  They've had so many "angels" around them to bear them up that have given countless hours of selfless service, much of which has been given without being asked.  I love the special lesson learned from this trial:

"If you come upon a person who is drowning, would you ask if they need help—or would it be better to just jump in and save them from the deepening waters? The offer, while well meaning and often given, 'Let me know if I can help' is really no help at all.  We continue to learn the important value of being aware of and interested in the lives of those around us, learning not only the importance of giving help but also the overwhelming joy that comes from helping others."

"Special Lessons", Elder Ronald A. Rasband

Turn On the Light of Faith and Move Ahead

Here is a great quote my dear friend Ashley sent me awhile back I just visited again tonight and wanted to share. It's about moving forward with faith! Something so hard to do sometimes.

"So often we are tentative and don‘t move forward with conviction. We feel along our way as if we were afraid in the dark. It is so much better to turn on the light of faith and move ahead with energy and commitment. If our course is wrong, we will quickly recognize it and make the necessary adjustments. But if we pursue a course tentatively and indecisively, it is difficult to know whether it is right or wrong in time to correct it and make a difference. The Lord said, 'I would thou wert cold or hot' (Revelation 3:15). I hope we choose being active and being hot. We should decide now to make our decisions prayerfully and then move forward with faith, energy, and determination. As one novelist said, 'If you‘re going to have steam in the kettle, you‘ve got to have a fire in the stove' (Louis L‘Amour)."

(Living Life by Axioms by Robert D. Hales; 14 August 2003)

Life and Death

I had a wonderful experience this past week. I made friends with a young man sitting next to my mom and I on our plane ride to Florida. He told us about some of the hard times he's been through in his life this past year, including the death of 6 people dear to him. I was so grateful for the conversation that we had about the hope that believing in God brings and that He does have a plan for us. I am grateful for the joy that the gospel gives us knowing that because our Savior Jesus Christ gave His life for us, death is not the end, but a "part of the process by which we are transformed from mortality to immortality" (PMG 52). I love this Mormon message that explains so perfectly what we believe about the purpose of death as a part of our life on this earth.

A Consecrated Life

I went home for a little bit this weekend and my dad was out working in the yard so I happily volunteered my help. I LOVE being outside when winter's changing into spring (and it was on Saturday..) So I got to be the mower of the lawn. I like mowing the lawn because it's a great chance to just think. As I was mowing away, my thoughts turned to the talk Elder Christofferson gave in October 2010 conference, Reflections on a Consecrated Life, and I was just thinking about how even when we're doing things like mowing the lawn :) or maybe studying for finals, we can be consecrating our lives to God. Pretty sweet. That makes me happy. This is a bit of what he said about work and consecration...

"A consecrated life is a life of labor. Beginning early in His life, Jesus was about His Father’s business (see Luke 2:48–49). God Himself is glorified by His work of bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of His children (see Moses 1:39). We naturally desire to participate with Him in His work, and in so doing, we ought to recognize that all honest work is the work of God. In the words of Thomas Carlyle: 'All true Work is sacred; in all true Work, were it but true hand-labour, there is something of divineness. Labour, wide as the Earth, has its summit in Heaven.'

"God has designed this mortal existence to require nearly constant exertion. I recall the Prophet Joseph Smith’s simple statement: “By continuous labor [we] were enabled to get a comfortable maintenance” (Joseph Smith—History 1:55). By work we sustain and enrich life. It enables us to survive the disappointments and tragedies of the mortal experience. Hard-earned achievement brings a sense of self-worth. Work builds and refines character, creates beauty, and is the instrument of our service to one another and to God. A consecrated life is filled with work, sometimes repetitive, sometimes menial, sometimes unappreciated but always work that improves, orders, sustains, lifts, ministers, aspires."

Life is great. So let us happily work hard and play hard, after all, "wholesome recreation is the friend and steadying companion of work!"

Goodnight My Angel

I went to an amazing fireside/piano performance last night with Marvin Goldstein. The entire thing was really touching and he's quite the hilarious man. He ended the night by playing "Goodnight My Angel" by Billy Joel :) It really touched me thinking of it in a different sense after he'd sung a bunch of songs about the Savior so I just thought about why he chose to end a religous performance with this song, but I felt like it made a lot of sense. So I just wanted to share the beautiful song...

The Transforming Power of Service

I was just reading some of Sister Beck's devotional she recently gave at BYU Idaho and it is very inspiring concerning our role in serving others. “The poor will always be with us,” she said, “the poor in spirit, the poor in heart, the poor in the things of the world. They’re placed there to sanctify [us]. It is as we work on the Lord’s work that we become sanctified, because the problems are bigger than we are and the solutions can come only from heaven.”

Here's the link to some clips and a summary of what she taught. I am so grateful for inspired leaders of the church!!

mormon.org

There was a training at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) several months ago and it was all about mormon.org. The Director of Training, Richard Heaton, encouraged us to find out about what the Lord is doing to bring seekers of His gospel to Him. I'm sure many have explored the newly renovated mormon.org.

Here's one story that's very touching to me...




You can also create your own profile for people around the world to learn about who you are and your experiences being a mormon. It's incredible and an amazing way you can learn and share more about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.