God Decides

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Saturday afternoon session of the April 2006 conference.

In an age when people want to do their own thing it is good to be reminded that God sets the standards, entrance requirements, and rewards. Elder Bednar's talk on always having His Spirit to be with us resonated with me.

You and I do not decide the nature or elements of a covenant. Rather, exercising our moral agency, we accept the terms and requirements of a covenant as our Eternal Father has established them.

I find that comforting and encouraging. I can rely on Him because He is not capricious and fallible. Rather He is steadfast, reliable, eternal and unchanging. 

Spiritual Gifts

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Saturday morning session of the April 2006 conference.

Sister Julie B. Beck's talk "An Outpouring of Blessings" touched my heart. I looked up my notes from this conference and saw that I had only written down her major theme, nothing specific. But hearing her words and reading along opened my eyes this time around.

She was addressing concerns that were just coming over the horizon in the culture. That is, women seeking equality in holding and exercising the priesthood. Sister Beck taught eternal truths that we all are equal in God's sight and He pours out His blessings equally upon His sons and daughters. 

What interested me most was her description of Spiritual Gifts. I have struggled to know what my gifts are because they are not mentioned directly as such in my patriarchal blessing. One, in her talk, stood out to me.

I know people who are given the spiritual gift of a believing spirit. When they hear the gospel, it rings true in their hearts.

My patriarchal blessing says that ". . . as soon as [I] heard the gospel, it rang true to [me] and [I] accepted it readily." I always thought that line odd because I was born into a covenant family and raised by faithful, covenant keeping parents. I have always known that the church is the true church of Jesus Christ, and that Joseph Smith was who he said he was, and did what he says he did. So I guess that answers the question of whether or not I would have accepted the gospel if I hadn't been so blessed.

I'm so grateful for the Plan of Salvation and Happiness; for the Restoration of the Fullness of Christ's Gospel; and for modern prophets and apostles to lead and guide us as we prepare for the Second Coming of Our Savior, Jesus Christ.

 

Instruments in the Hands of God

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the General Relief Society session of the October 2005 conference.

Sister Kathleen H. Hughes is married to one of my favorite LDS authors, Dean Hughes. One of his books, Before the Dawn, was inspired, in part, by the unity of sisterhood he felt among the women when his wife served in the General Relief Society presidency. I enjoyed her talk so much in this session because she addressed some of my most glaring faults.

All of us long to possess Christ's pure love, called charity, but our humanness--the "natural woman" in us--gets in the way. We get angry, we become frustrated, we berate ourselves and others--and when we do, we cannot be the conduit of love we need to be if we are to become an instrument in Heavenly Father's hands. Being willing to forgive ourselves and others becomes an integral part of our ability to have the love of the Lord in our lives and to do His work.

I often think of the quote from C.S. Lewis about entering a cellar turning on the light and discovering rats. The light didn't create the rats, it revealed them. I have rats in my cellar! Big, ugly ones that are revealed when I'm frustrated by things I can't control. I often pray to be able to kill the rats and rid myself of them, to clean up my cellar.

Sister Hughes shared something she learned from a woman she had recently met.

Alicia told me something I will never forget. She said, "I only do one thing for myself when I go to church: I take the sacrament for me. The rest of the time I watch for others who need me and I try to help them and nurture them."

That is an insight I needed to be reminded of. And I tried it this past Sunday. At the potluck after the meetings I sat with sisters I don't normally sit with. We had a delightful time. I felt better for having done so. Not that I was better than them, rather that they gave me hope, strength, and sisterhood.

We can only be instruments in the hands of God if and when we are willing to forget our own troubles and inadequacies and reach out to serve others. He will sustain us, and though we may not know the outcome of our service each time, it is surely recorded in heaven. I look forward to seeing the effects of my efforts someday when I return Home.  

 

Conference Session Highlights

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Sunday afternoon session of the October 2005 conference.

Elder Russell M. Nelson - "Through times good and bad, the Lord expects each of us to endure to the end. . . . Thanks to Him, no condition is hopeless. Thanks to Him, brighter days are ahead, both here and hereafter. Real joy awaits each of us--on the other side of sorrow."

Elder Robert D. Hales - "The Lord expects us to be as faithful, as devoted, as courageous as those who went before us. They were called to give their lives for the gospel. We are called to live our lives for the same purpose. . . . Do we have eyes to see that the events and prophecies of our time are preparing us for the Savior's Second Coming?"

Elder Won Yong Ko - ". . . these sacrifices cannot be easily made unless we have the mind and the determination to make the sacrifices that are needed to be able to keep those commandments. . . . do not be afraid of sacrifice. Please enjoy the happiness and blessings from the sacrifice itself. . . . And then greater blessings will be poured out on us. It will be just like our surprise and joy when we receive an unexpected gift."

Elder Paul E. Koelliker - "As in Noah's day, our efforts to live these covenants may often be accompanied by a measure of sacrifice. This sacrifice, regardless of how great or small, often determines how committed in mind and heart we are to be submissive to the will of our Heavenly Father."

Elder Lowell M. Snow - "This very general conference is a modern Liahona, a time and place to receive inspired guidance and direction that prospers us and helps us follow God's path through the more fertile parts of mortality. . . . prophets and apostles through the ages are our compass from the Lord."

Elder Ulisses Soares - "People will remain in the Church when they feel someone cares for them."

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf - "As we strive to understand, internalize, and live correct gospel principles, we will become more spiritually self-reliant. . . . Developing Christlike attributes can be a painful process. We need to be ready to accept direction and correction from the Lord and His servants. This worldwide conference with its music, and spoken word offers spiritual power, direction, and blessings 'from on high' (D&C 43:16). It is a time when the voice of personal inspiration and revelation will bring peace to our souls and will teach us how to become more Christlike. This voice will be sweet as the voice of a dear friend, and it will fill our souls when our hearts are sufficiently contrite."

President Gordon B. Hinckley - "We leave you with our testimony of the divinity of this work. What a wonderful work it is. How empty our lives would be without it. God our Eternal Father lives. He loves us. He watches over us. Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of mankind. They have restored their work in this last and final dispensation through the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph. I so testify in all solemnity and leave my love and my blessing with you, my beloved brethren and sisters of this grateful Church. God bless you every one."

Ministering and Forgiveness

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Sunday morning session of the October 2005 conference.

So many good talks this session, but I'm choosing just two quotes from President Hinckley's address. 

I do not enjoy travel [he had given figures of how many miles he'd recently traveled, about 35,000] but it is my wish to get out among our people to extend appreciation and encouragement, and to bear testimony of the divinity of the Lord's work.

This struck me as how I should feel about ministering. I should want to get out and visit personally with my sisters to encourage them, and strengthen their faith in the Savior. I've been working at doing better this year.

Somehow forgiveness, with love and tolerance accomplishes miracles that can happen in no other way.

The older I get the more I understand how important it is to forgive others. Not for their sake, but for mine. To harbor grudges and hurts without forgiving is like rust or rot to our soul. Part of the miracle that happens is a lighter feeling from letting go of burdens.