The Merciful Obtain Mercy

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Sunday morning session of the April 2012 General Conference.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf's (then Second Counselor in the First Presidency) address, The Merciful Obtain Mercy, touched me deeply. It brought to mind President James E. Faust's April 2007 talk, The Healing Power of Forgiveness, on the same subject. Less than a year after President Faust's talk I had the opportunity to put into practice that very principle of forgiveness.

I won't give the specific details, but a close family member made choices that betrayed my trust and hurt me deeply. I pled with the Lord to take away my anger and hurt, and was miraculously and immediately relieved of my burden and able to forgive the person. He later told me that my act of forgiveness helped him understand better the Savior's atonement. Almost two decades later I've come to the realization that I had been a witness of Jesus Christ "in all times and in all things, and in all places." (Mosiah 18:9) 

President Uchtdorf said, "Forgiveness for our sins comes with conditions. We must repent, and we must forgive others."

I learned from reading Amish Grace by Kraybill, Nolt and Weaver-Zercher, that the Amish, about whom President Faust spoke, don't have some special ability to forgive, but that that particular teaching of Jesus is cultivated daily and supported by the ethos of the group. 

Forgiving ourselves and others is not easy. In fact, for most of us it requires a major change in our attitude and way of thinking--even a change of heart. But there is good news. This "mighty change" of heart is exactly what the gospel of Jesus Christ is designed to bring into our lives.

How is it done, President Uchtdorf asks? Through the love of God. When our hearts are filled with the love of God, something good and pure happens to us. 

I've learned that forgiving others is not for their benefit, but for mine. By giving grace and mercy through forgiveness, I remove from my heart the poison that will fester and canker my heart and soul. I can move forward with my life unburdened by anger and hatred. I can feel the peace of the redemption of my Savior's Atoning love, mercy and grace towards and for me.

Forgiveness and mercy seem to me to be a gift we give ourselves so we can receive the greater gift of forgiveness and mercy from the Savior for our own sins. It blesses our own life more than those we forgive, some of whom may never even know of our forgiveness, such as the person who cuts in front of us in traffic; or others who make life tense and uncomfortable.

President Uchtdorf sums it up saying, "Remember, in the end, it is the merciful who obtain mercy." I can testify that has been true in my life, and I have hope for the life to come.

Priesthood Power

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Priesthood session of the April 2012 General Conference.

We raised four boys to adulthood and every one of them had, and has an interest in guns, explosives, and such. They all have or are serving in the military. They all own guns; and shooting activities are always part of our family reunions. As they were growing up I tried to impress on them that while guns and bombs are powerful, there is something much more powerful and they possess it.

Just recently my sister asked me what my favorite Old Testament story is. That's easy, it's the story of Elijah and the Priest of Baal. I told her that if I could time travel that's what I'd like to see! Elijah is the coolest prophet ever! Then she asked what is the personal message to me. "The priesthood is the most powerful force!" 

Elder Adrián Ochoa spoke to the "Aaronic Priesthood", asking them to "Arise and Use the Power of God." I loved it!! So much so that I sent the link to our oldest son, who is the most vocal about needing more guns to protect his family and possessions. 

What greater power can you acquire on earth than the priesthood of God? What power could possibly be greater than the capacity to assist our Heavenly Father in changing the lives of your fellowmen, to help them along the pathway of eternal happiness by being cleansed of sin and wrongdoing?

You are often told about your great potential. Well, now is the time to put that potential into action, to make use of the abilities God has given you to bless others, bring them out of obscurity and into the light, and prepare the way of the Lord.

I am reminded of what President Russell M. Nelson said to the men in April 2016,

I urgently plead with each one of us to live up to our privileges as bearers of the priesthood. In a coming day, only those men who have taken their priesthood seriously, by diligently seeking to be taught by the Lord Himself, will be able to bless, guide, protect, strengthen, and heal others. Only a man who has paid the price for priesthood power will be able to bring miracles to those he loves and keep his marriage and family safe, now and throughout eternity.

The proclamation on the family says that husbands are to preside, provide and protect. It is through the use of priesthood power that men can do so. The priesthood is truly the most powerful force in the world. Through it miracles are wrought. 

 

 

 

Faith and Fortitude

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Saturday afternoon session of the April 2012 General Conference.

Mortal life is hard. It is supposed to be, and no one gets through it without challenges. Several speakers in this session spoke to this theme. 

Elder David S. Baxter specifically spoke to single parents.

Although you may at times have asked, why me? it is through the hardships of life that we grow toward godhood as our character is shaped in the crucible of affliction, as the events of life take place while God respects the agency of man.

I have to ask myself if my trials and hardships are hardening me or softening me. Am I more cynical? More jaded? Less patient with others?  Or am I becoming more compassionate? More charitable? More Christlike? Progress isn't a straight line for me, unfortunately; it's more jagged with ups and downs. Hopefully my ups are higher and my downs are too as I climb toward the goal of completeness in Christ.

Elder Quentin L. Cook said, "Please understand that having faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and keeping His commandments are and always will be the defining test of mortality." Will I be obedient no matter what hardships befall me? Will I continue faithfully enduring to the end? That is my goal. I want to make it to the promised land.

Elder Richard G. Scott gave this comfort, "Our Heavenly Father did not put us on earth to fail but to succeed gloriously." I have found Him to be endlessly patient with me; endlessly loving and forgiving. He seems to know what my breaking point is and provides relief just before I reach it, allowing me to be stretched and refined just a bit more through this trial or that.

I have many more rough spots to polish off before I'm ready to return home. I'm so grateful for my Savior providing a way to be forgiven and cleansed, comforted and restored through the trials of life.

 

Teaching to Understand

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Saturday morning session of the April 2012 General Conference.

My mom worked as a secretary at an adult night school until I was about eight or nine. We had dinner at 5:00 each night and then she would leave to go to work. My older siblings would clean up from dinner, and then at bedtime dad would put my younger brother and I to bed. He was never as gentle and kind as my mom. When I was eight or nine, the bishop counseled my parents that my mother should quit work and stay home as my older siblings were teens and needed her home more than we needed any money she was earning. My parents obeyed that counsel and she found other ways to bring in a little money to help the family budget.

Before I married I made sure that my husband knew that when I became a mother I'd stay home and raise our children. He didn't think we could make it on one income, but I assured him that I knew how to do it. I worked until about six weeks before our first child was born. Then again when she was 19 I took a job because my husband had lost his and we needed some income. Those two years I worked were some of the worst ever.

Sister Cheryl A. Esplin, Second Counselor in the Primary General Presidency, talked about teaching children to not only know the doctrine but, as we are instructed in Doctrine and Covenants 68:25, to understand the doctrine.

She tells a wonderful story of her daughter and granddaughter's experience with a teaching moment, then says, "These moments are spontaneous and unplanned and happen in the normal flow of family life. They come and go quickly, so we need to be alert and recognize a teaching moment when our children come to us with a question or worry, when they have problems getting along with siblings or friends, when they need to control their anger, when they make a mistake, or when they need to make a decision."

Because of a confluence of forces today there are very few stay-at-home mothers. Women are stretched to the breaking point with being a wife, mother, homemaker and breadwinner. Families allow or encourage their children to be in so many after school activities that there is little to no time for parents to pick up on those spontaneous and unplanned teaching moments. If they do recognize them, most are too tired and stressed to act upon them. 

I don't know what the answer is for each individual, that will require individuals, couples and families to study, ponder and pray about their situation; but I'm sure grateful my mother was obedient to the counsel to stay home.

Sister Esplin explains, "We can know our children are beginning to understand the doctrine when we see it revealed in their attitudes and actions without external threats or rewards. As our children learn to understand gospel doctrines, they become more self-reliant and more responsible. They become part of the solution to our family challenges and make a positive contribution to the environment of our home and the success of our family."

That sounds wonderful.   

Don't Forget

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the General Relief Society session of the October 2011 conference.

It seems appropriate at this Christmas season to quote from President Uchtdorf's talk:

If you will only allow His divine love into your life, it can dress any wound, heal any hurt, and soften any sorrow.

The gift of Jesus Christ is the best, most precious gift of all eternity.