Love Your Enemies

And whosover shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 
Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn thou not away.
And behold it is written also, that thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy;
But behold I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you.

3 Nephi 12:41-44

I just realized the other day how blessed I am in that I really have not ever had enemies  . . . at least not that I'm aware of.  I do know that at times I may have offended people, and I have had others tease or taunt me at times, but no one has ever done or said anything that would make me feel that they were an enemy. Hopefully this will always be the case as I am not exactly sure how well I would handle having an enemy.  Hopefully I am able to give to those who ask, and am willing to walk a mile or two with anyone who has the need.  And If I have every hurt or offended you, I am truly sorry, and I hope that you will forgive me, or at least talk to me about it!

I Love the Temple

I Love the Temple!!

I am so grateful to live in a time and place where I can easily take the time to visit the House of the Lord.  I am grateful to all those who have worked and sacrificed and served to bring forth this day when temples litterally cover the earth.

The Temple is a place of peace.

The Temple is a place of comfort.

The Temple is a place of instruction.

The Temple is a place of service.

The Temple is a place of joy.

If you have not been to visit or serve in an LDS Temple lately, please consider making plans to do so soon.  I don't think that you will be disappointed with your visit.

The Prophet Joseph Smith, and my father, Hyrum Smith, Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, and other choice spirits who were reserved to come forth in the fulness of times to take part in laying the foundations of the great latter-day work, Including the building of the temples and the performance of ordinances therein for the redemption of the dead, were also in the spirit world. I observed that they were also among the noble and great ones who were chosen in the beginning to be rulers in the Church of God. Even before they were born, they, with many others, received their first lessons in the world of spirits and were prepared to come forth in the due time of the Lord to labor in his vineyard for the salvation of the souls of men.

D&C 138: 53-56

(D&C 138 is a vision given to President Joseph F. Smith in Salt Lake City, Utah, on 3 October 1918. In his opening address at the 89th Semiannual General Conference of the Church, on 4 October 1918, President Smith declared that he had received several divine communications during the previous months. One of these, concerning the Savior’s visit to the spirits of the dead while his body was in the tomb, President Smith had received the previous day. It was written immediately following the close of the conference. On 31 October 1918, it was submitted to the counselors in the First Presidency, the Council of the Twelve, and the Patriarch, and it was unanimously accepted by them.)

Wisdom for Today

And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones; And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures; And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint. And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen.

 D&C 89:18-21



Today one of the speakers in the meeting I was attending was commenting on how for the past several years he had made it a goal to write more regularly in his journal, especially noting blessings in his life and the lives of those around him . . .(like my goal that I have not been doing so well in).  He mentioned how he had also been thinking of a scripture that really stood out to him each day, and recording it with his journal entry.  It was not necessarily a scripture that he had read during the day, but one that just fit the day and what he had been dealing with or thinking of during the day.  So . . . . .

Today Marissa taught our CTR class lesson in Primary on the Word of Wisdom.  This is one subject that the 4 and 5 year olds in our class already seem to know quite well.  Their parents have taught them to eat good  healthy foods and to avoid substances that are harmful to them.  It made me glad to know that at this young age they already know these truths.  We talked about how having wisdom means being smart.  They also had A LOT of fun feeding small pictures of healthy foods to our monkey puppet.  It was a good day. 

Today I am grateful for modern revelation and for prophets and parents who have taught us how to care for our bodies and our health.  So . . . eat your fruits & veggies & grains, limit your meats, drink your milk and your juice and water, get plenty of sleep and rise early and excercise.

 And Smile be Happy!



Cease to be idle; cease to be unclean; cease to find fault one with another; cease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated.  And above all things, clothe yourselves with the bond of charity, as with a mantle, which is the bond of perfectness and peace. Pray always, that ye may not faint, until I come. Behold, and lo, I will come quickly, and receive you unto myself. Amen.


D&C 88:124-126

I Love General Conference

This has been a wonderful weekend!  There is no greater blessing than gathering with my loved ones to listen to the counsel of God's chosen prophet and apostles, and feeling and knowing the messages that were meant for me personally.  The amount of snow was a bit of a surprise, but the love and contentment I have felt for both our church leaders and my family and even myself made for a weekend that I did not want to end.  Thank you to all who were a part of it!  I love all of my family!  I am so grateful for a living prophet and for so many who dedicate so much time and effort to serving their fellow beings here on this earth. 

Trip to Logan

When I first decided to venture into the world of blogging, I really didn't know exactly what I had in mind, other than trying to discover what blogging was all about, hense the original name of this blog:  Random Thoughts. I decided to ocasionally post a few random thoughts just to see what transpired.   Then in October of 2007 Elder Henry B Eyring gave a talk in General Conference that really hit me hard as something that I should be doing.

 (You can read the talk here: http://lds.org/general-conference/2007/10/o-remember-remember?lang=eng&query=O+Remember,+Remember   or watch a short video based on the talk here:  http://lds.org/pages/o-remember-remember?lang=eng&query=henry+b+eyring) 

The talk basically tells about how Elder Eyring decided one day when his children were small that he should be recording each day the ways he observed the Lord blessing the lives of his family.  He wrote down a few lines every day, never missing a day.  His gratitude for his blessings grew, as did his testimony.  He made copies of the record for his children, which strengthened their gratitude and testimonies.  

It has been over four years since I first heard this talk, but I am often reminded of it, and my desire and intent to do the same.  My own father has been a wonderful example to me and others of keeping a daily journal or record of his life, and also of writing and sharing his experiences and thoughts with his family on a regular weekly basis, and has often encouraged us to do the same.  Both he and my mother have written their own life stories and continue to add to them and to write regularly to their children.

 At some point I realized that this blog would perhaps be a good venue for recording the daily blessings or tender mercies that  I recognize in my life.  It was at then that I changed the name of this blog from "Random Thoughts" to "Random Thoughts and Tender Mercies".
 
(another wonderful General Conference talk given by Elder Bednar on Tender Mercies can be read here:
http://lds.org/general-conference/2005/04/the-tender-mercies-of-the-lord?lang=eng&query=tender+mercies)
 
Anyway, even with all of the wonderful examples of friends and family members who regularly post inspiring thoughts and experiences on their blogs, I'm still not a regular blogger, and I am still procrastinating on my intent or goal of recognizing and recording the blessings of the Lord in my life.  So, though it may still take some time for me to develop this habit, I can only begin if I begin.
 
This afternoon my daughter #1 and I drove to Logan to visit daughter #2 and attend Parent's Day in her Student/Singles Ward.  (Dad had other comittments and could not come) The weather this weekend, though not terrible, has been forcast all week to be windy with rain and snow.  For those of you who may not be aware, though I do enjoy driving and traveling, I do not enjoy driving in rain or snow, especially in canyons, in the dark, or in traffic where the other drivers are more confident and driving much faster than I am.  This trip to Logan could have met any or all of these conditions.  On the way to Logan the weather was clear except for a bit of rain through the Mantua and Sardine Canyon areas.  So far, so good.  In every single one of the meetings we attended, the students/single adults who offered the prayers thanked the Lord that the parents and families who had come to visit were able to do so, and asked that we would all be able to travel and return to our homes in safety.  I was very grateful for their prayers.  Additionally, since the meetings began at 1:30 pm, by the end of the meeting block and linger longer, at this time of year it would normally be approaching dusk.  But, since Daylight Savings Time began last Sunday  (I know, I know, I've been grumping about it all week . . . it's way to early to start Daylight Savings Time when I have to get up in the morning  while it's still dark), even though it was raining when we left Logan there was still plenty of daylight time left.  We did hit a bit of snow in the Canyon, but just before we hit Ogden it stopped raining, and we did have a safe and uneventful trip home, in the daylight.  We enjoyed the meetings and music and testimonies and lunch, a nice (although short) visit with daughter #2 and her roommate, and arrived safely home in the daylight.  Simple, I know, but blessings indeed.

Creation and Compassion

I finally picked up and read a wonderful little book that my dear Hubby gave me for my birthday: "The Remarkable Soul of a Woman" by Dieter F Uchtdorf. It took me about 15 minutes, or less to read, but is full of short gems from the wonderful talks we have heard from our wonderful Elder Uchtdorf. He always makes me feel better! He knows what we need to be happy! I plan to keep this book on my nightstand with my scriptures, and hopefully I'll remember to pick it up when I start feeling down and gloomy.



Here are just a couple of my very favorite snippets:



"Heavenly Father . . . is a God of creation and compassion. Creating and being compassionate are two objectives that contribute to our Heavenly Father's perfect happiness. Creating and being compassionate are two activities that we as His spirit children can and should emulate."



"In the end, the number of prayers we say may contribute to our happiness, but the number of prayers we answer may be of greater importance."



Ever since Elder Uchtdorf gave the first advice, I believe it was in a General Relief Society Broadcast, I have been trying to conciously be more creative and more compassionate. Hopefully I'm succeeding a little bit?

Nanowrimo

November is over. Fifty Thousand Three Hundred and Thirty One words in Thirty Days. Still needs lots more work, but We'll see what it looks like tomorrow.