Lorenzo Snow Lesson #6: Becoming Perfect Before the Lord; a Little Better Day by Day

Becoming perfect before the Lord; a Little Better Day by Day.

This was a favorite theme of President Snow.  He often reminded the Saints of the Lords command to be perfect. 

Genesis 17:1

And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.

Matthew 5:48

Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

He said:

We learn that the Lord appeared to Abraham and made him very great promises, and that before he was prepared to receive them a certain requirement was made of him, that he [Abraham] should become perfect before the Lord. And the same requirement was made by the Savior of his Disciples, that they should become perfect, even as He and His Father in Heaven were perfect. This I conceive to be a subject that concerns the Latter-day Saints;

When I looked at this lesson and saw the topic, I immediately felt discouraged.  I was thinking how unqualified I was to teach this topic.  So what I thought I would do was block out some time for those sisters who are perfect to come and share their thoughts.  Who would like to go first?

Many years ago when we lived in Seattle, a Relief Society teacher asked the questions, “If you had enough time and worked really hard at it, do you think you could get to where you could be perfect for a week?”  I remember thinking, NO!!  Everyone else must have had the same reaction, because she eventually reduced her time frame to one second.  At that point I felt pretty confident I could manage it.

What are some of the reasons we sometimes feel discouraged about achieving perfection?

1.    We may know how difficult it is to change; we may have failed many times before.

“I’ll never do it again”, we say—and then we do it.  “Now I really mean it.  I’ll never do it again.” And then we do it.  “This has got to stop.  I swear I’ll never do it again.” And we do it.  In this passage, Brother Wilcox is talking about addictive behaviors, but it sounds so familiar to me for just everyday mistakes and weaknesses.  “We fast, pray, seek blessings and still wonder if the needed changes will ever occur.”

2.    There are so many things entailed in the idea of perfection.

Our actions, the keeping of the negative commandments

Our words

Our thoughts and intents

Our lack of actions, the keeping of the positive commandments

Alma 12:14 warns:

For our words will condemn us, yea, all our works will condemn us; we shall not be found spotless; and our thoughts will also condemn us; and in this awful state we shall not dare to look up to our God; and we would fain be glad if we could command the rocks and the mountains to fall upon us to hide us from his presence.

3.    The standard can seem too high

In 3 Nephi 27:27, the Savior asks, Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? His answer: Verily, I say unto you, even as I am.

When we think about who Christ is, the characteristics and perfection he encompasses, it can seem daunting to be asked to be like him.

President Snow said:

We may think that we cannot live up to the perfect law, that the work of perfecting ourselves is too difficult.  This may be true in part, but the fact still remains that it is a command of the Almighty to us and we cannot ignore it.

Despite the challenges, President Snow assured the saints that through their own diligence and with the Lord’s help, they could obey that command.  He said:

So in reference to the Latter-day Saints; they could not possibly come up to such a moral and spiritual standard except through supernatural [heavenly] aid and assistance. Neither do we expect that the Latter-day Saints, at once will or can conform to this law under all circumstances. It requires time; it requires much patience and discipline of the mind and heart in order to obey this commandment. And although we may fail at first in our attempts, yet this should not discourage the Latter-day Saints from endeavoring to exercise a determination to comply with the great requirement.

The manual gives a story about President Snow to illustrate this point, but last week, I was going through some papers and found this story about Heber J. Grant that was so wonderful I decided to use it instead.

I Have Learned to Sing (Ensign Sept 1984)

https://www.lds.org/ensign/1984/09/i-have-learned-to-sing-president-heber-j-grants-struggle-to-sing-the-hymns-of-zion?lang=eng

President Snow also said,

“Do not expect to become perfect at once. If you do, you will be disappointed. Be better today than you were yesterday, and be better tomorrow than you are today.”

For me, at least, I can’t always achieve this continual, linear progress.  So, I am encouraged by the words of Brother Wilcox in the Continuous Atonement, when he says:

When I slip, instead of saying, “I have failed,” I try to say, “I have not yet succeeded.” Instead of saying, “Look how far I have to go,” I try to say “Look how far God and Christ have brought me.” Instead of saying, “I can’t keep my covenants,” I try to say, “I can’t do it now, but with heaven’s help I can learn.”  We need to remember that perfection is not our immediate goal.  Progress is.

Quote 1:

Elder Bruce C. Hafen has said that developing a Christlike character “requires patience and persistence more than it requires flawlessness.”

Quote 2:

Elder Neal A. Maxwell said, “This is a gospel of grand expectations, but God’s Grace is sufficient for each of us if we remember that there are no instant Christians.”

A few weeks ago, Tricia gave a wonderful lesson on the Atonement.  She taught that Christ has paid the full price for our sins.  Why, then, are we given the commandments to show good works, and to become perfect?

1.     Nephi 27:19 And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end.

The limitations of this reason are that when we lived with God, we WERE perfect, or at least we were sinless.  If the requirement to live with God is to be perfect, why did we leave?

1.     To gain a body

2.     Abraham 3:25:  And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;

Since I was small, I remember being taught that life was a test, ending with the judgment day.  The reality, and the reasons we are commanded to be obedient and seek perfection are so much deeper and more profound.

1.     D&C 52:4: And inasmuch as they are faithful unto me, it shall be made known unto them what they shall do.

When we are faithful, we can avoid deception, find our mission on earth.

2.     Luke 14:27 with JST footnote:  And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. Wherefore, settle this in your hearts, that ye will do the things which I shall teach, and command you.

When we understand that disciple means student, we see that life is more like a school.  It may be a test, but it is open book, with limitless retakes.

Most importantly, we are here to grow in knowledge and ability to become like God in order to progress.

Brother Wilcox said the following:

Quote 3

“If our whole goal were just to be in God’s presence again, why would we have left in the first place?  We were already with God in the premortal existence, but were painfully aware that we were not like him physically or spiritually.  We wanted to be like our Heavenly Parents and knew it was going to take a lot more than just dressing up in their clothes as little children do.  We needed to fill their shoes, not just clomp around in them.  The atonement reconciles us with God so that we can again be with him and enjoy sweet association, but how sweet can that association be if we remain unchanged?  The goal is not just being with God, but being like God”.

Quote 4

“For a child learning to walk, falling down might not be desirable, but the lessons learned from it are.  Similarly, before we came to the world, God knew we had progressed as far as we were able without an earthly experience.  He could no longer carry us by keeping us in his presence.  It was time for His children to learn how to walk on their won.  That’s why He lovingly placed us here, across the room, so to speak, and stepped just beyond our reach, all the while beckoning us to come. He knew the tumbles that awaited us.  He knew the ups and downs ahead.  That’s why He planned from the very start to send our older brother to hold our hands, lift us up, and guide us across the room back to His outstretched arms.  We left those arms crawling.  We can return to them running.”

In order to return, some people see a long checklist that must be completed before we get to Heaven.  We do those things not to earn or pay our way, but to become.  All of these commandments are all means to the real end, which is for each of us to become like God and Christ. 

Elder Tad R. Callister said:

“The atonement was designed to do more than restore us to the starting line, more than just wipe the slate clean.  Its crowning purpose is to endow us with power so that we might overcome each of our weaknesses and acquire the divine traits that would make us like God.”

Through the atonement, Christ became our Redeemer.  Brother Wilcox taught:

A redeemer is one who changes us for the better, one who reforms and reshapes us.  Redemption is more than paying justice and bringing us everyone back to God.  It is mercifully giving us the opportunity of being comfortable there.  Not only can we go home, we can also feel at home.  The atonement is fundamentally a doctrine of human development.

As we discussed earlier in the lesson, no unclean thing can enter God’s kingdom, but, as Brother Wilcox says,

No unchanged thing will even want to.  Sinlessness is only one of God’s attributes.  There are many others that must also be obtained. 

Elder Dallin H Oaks wrote,

“The final judgement is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts—what we have done.  It is an acknowledgement of the final effect of our acts and thoughts—what we have become.

These teachings are right in line with what President Snow taught many years ago:

Now we are told by the Apostle John, that “we are the sons of God, but it does not appear what we shall be: but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he, Christ is pure.”The Latter-day Saints expect to arrive at this state of perfection; we expect to become as our Father and God, fit and worthy children to dwell in his presence.

I love this doctrine, and find it so invigorating and motivating.  It is such a positive, encouraging doctrine.

Nevertheless!! We still have to transition from the doctrine to the application, which is still a challenge.  Humans are resistant to change.  Numerous studies have shown this truth.  If you have ever tried a diet, you know it.

I recently read an article on diet.  The author was a personal trainer who grew frustrated by the last of lasting success in his clients.  What he finally found worked was to have his clients focus on making one small change, such as taking a supplement every morning, and when they had perfected that, choose a new goal.  President Snow also recommends this path to perfection.  He calls these areas “spheres”.  For example, if we are perfect in paying tithing, we are perfect in that sphere.

Since working on each narrow commandment individually would take an enormous amount of time, I thought of 5 broader commandments which, when mastered, would cover many smaller things.

1.    Judgment. 

Many years ago, I was running a half marathon, the Hobble Creek Half in Mapleton.  It was one of my first races I’d ever done.  As we started out, I found myself running by a woman who stood out to me because she had a large bottom that was out of proportion to her body.  That is terrible to say, I know.  After a few minutes, this large bottomed girl asked me to tell her the pace.  When I told her, she thanked me, and said her watch wasn’t working, and she wanted to make sure she stayed on pace for a 1:45 finish.  Well, I was floored.  I was astonished.  That is an 8-minute mile pace, much faster than I could hope to finish the race.  Because of her shape I had judged her to be a slower runner than me, but she soon left me in the dust.  Pretty soon, I had Grandpa passing me on the left, and some skinny girl with a locked-kneed stride on the right.  Pretty quickly, I went from judging others’ potential abilities and just focusing on finishing the race myself. 

We are all in the same race.  We are all hoping to cross the finish line.  When we judge others, it just takes energy and focus away from our own task.

Ask for examples.

2.    Avoid offense.

When Joseph went to Carthage to deliver himself up to the pretended requirements of the law, two or three days previous to his assassination, he said:

“I am going like a lamb to the slaughter; but I am calm as a summer’s morning; I have a conscience void of offense towards God, and towards all men.

President Snow said:

How can a Latter-day Saint feel justified in himself unless he is seeking to purify himself even as God is pure, unless he is seeking to keep his conscience void of offense before God and man every day of his life?

We are always surrounded by the potential to give offense.  We need to be careful in thinking how what we do or say could be interpreted.  On the other hand, we need to be careful not to take offense, because it likely wasn’t intended, and even if it was, holding on to that will primarily hurt us.

Ask for examples.

3.   Humility

Humility recognizes how different we are from Christ, and helps us desire to make that difference less apparent.

D&C 52:17 says:

And again, he that trembleth under my power shall be made strong, and shall bring forth fruits of praise and wisdom, according to the revelations and truths which I have given you.

So, with humility, we shall be made strong, and bring forth good fruits.

Ask for examples.

4.  Help others on their way

D&C 81:5

Wherefore, be faithful; stand in the office which I have appointed unto you; succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees.

Recently, I was in St. George with my children.  We were enjoying climbing on the red rock at a wonderful park along the way when my kids discovered a narrow, about 12 inch wide slot in the rock.  They made their way through the slot several times, and then asked me to join them.  Part way through, I panicked that I was going to get stuck, and would have turned back.  However, with one child and one behind encouraging me on, I was able to finish going through.  Later, climbing down a particularly steep area, I was able to help these children find safe footholds to make it down.

As we all seek ways to help others on their way, we all benefit.

Ask for comments.

5.    Focus on our objective, or in Steven Covey terms, begin with the end in mind.

President Snow said:

One of the chief difficulties that many suffer from is, that we are too apt to forget the great object of life, the motive of our Heavenly Father in sending us here to put on mortality, as well as the holy calling with which we have been called; and hence, instead of rising above the little transitory things of time, we too often allow ourselves to come down to the level of the world without availing ourselves of the divine help which God has instituted, which alone can enable us to overcome them. We are no better than the rest of the world if we do not cultivate the feeling to be perfect, even as our Father in heaven is perfect.

Tell story Finding Joy in Life (April 2013 Ensign)

http://www.lds.org/ensign/2013/04/latter-day-saint-voices/finding-joy-in-life?lang=eng&query=joy

This story is a good illustration of how good people can lose their way, and possibly worse by losing sight of their end goal.

Quote 5

Elder Neal A Maxwell taught that when people fall away due to lack of self-discipline, it is because “their perspective shrinks”.  In Elder Maxwell’s biography we learn how he maintained his own self-discipline and bridled his passions by maintaining a sense of mission.  (Brad Wilcox, Continuous Atonement)

This sense of mission can also help keep us from becoming discouraged when we fail. 

Quote 6

President Snow taught:

We doubtless, many of us, walk from day to day and from week to week, and from month to month, before God, feeling under no condemnation, comporting ourselves properly and seeking earnestly and in all meekness for the Spirit of God to dictate our daily course; and yet there may be a certain time or times in our life, when we are greatly tried and perhaps overcome; even if this be so, that is no reason why we should not try again, and that too with redoubled energy and determination to accomplish our object.

Quote 7

Elder Gerald N. Lund wrote: 

Remember that one of Satan’s strategies, especially with good people, is to whisper in their ears: “if you are not perfect, you are failing” This is one of his most effective deceptions…We should recognize that God is please with every effort we make—no matter how faltering—to better ourselves.

I got this wonderful story from my friend Melanie Wilkes.  It is called The Cracked Pot: A Story For Anyone Who’ Not Quite Perfect

A waterbearer in India had two large pots, one hung on each end of a pole, which she carried across her neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it. While the other pot was perfect, and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the mistress's house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to her master's house.

The perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream: "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you."

Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?"

"I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your mistress's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in her compassion she said, "As we return to the mistress's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path."

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some.

But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?

“That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them.

“For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my mistress's table. Without you being just the way you are, she would not have this beauty to grace her house."

Moral: Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots.

But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. We've just got to take each person for what they are, and look for the good in them. There's a lot of good out there.

I want to turn again to the words of Alma, this time Alma 41:3

And it is requisite with the ^justice of God that men should be ^judged according to their ^works; and if their works were good in this life, and the desires of their hearts were good, that they should also, at the last day, be ^restored unto that which is good.

While nearly the same as the scripture previous (Alma 12:14), now we can see that if our desires are to be perfect, even if we fall short, that will be taken into account for our benefit.

Close with:

“We ought to feel in our hearts that God is our Father, and that while we make mistakes and are weak yet if we live as nearly perfect as we can all will be well with us.”

Learning from the Master Servant

Master Servant

Washing the Feet

The Symbol of the Easter Lily

Although I've always loved the beautiful Easter Lily, I've often wondered why and how it came to be associated with Easter.  Yesterday, my wonderful friend, Melanie Wilkes, posted a picture of her dining table with a beautiful arrangement of Easter Lilies around a statue of an angel with a trumpet.  

With regard to her personal love of the Easter Lily, she said, "The shut tight pod of the Easter lily could represent the grave. We wait and wait for it to open. Sometimes we get one that we think is never going to open!...and then it bursts open, almost when you aren't looking, like a trumpet heralding the opening of the grave. It's the loudest, happiest flower in nature."

What a beautiful image: the bud of the lily is a trumpet, that swells, and swells, then bursts open (ideally on Easter Morning) as a glorious trumpet heralding the opening of the tomb.  As stated in Moses 6:63," ...ALL things have their likeness...All things bear record of me."  

Doing some research online, I found the following description of the Easter Lily:

For many, the beautiful trumpet-shaped white flowers symbolize purity, virtue, innocence, hope and life—the spiritual essence of Easter.

History, mythology, literature, poetry and the world of art are rife with stories and images that speak of the beauty and majesty of the elegant white flowers. Often called the “white-robed apostles of hope,” lilies were found growing in the Garden of Gethsemane after Christ’s agony. Tradition has it that the beautiful white lilies sprung up where drops of Christ’s sweat fell to the ground in his final hours of sorrow and deep distress. Churches continue this tradition at Easter time by banking their altars and surrounding their crosses with masses of Easter Lilies, to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and hope of life everlasting.

A mark of purity and grace throughout the ages, the regal white lily is a fitting symbol of the greater meaning of Easter. Gracing millions of homes and churches, the flowers embody joy, hope and life. Whether given as a gift or enjoyed in your own home, the Easter Lily, along with other Easter blooms, serves as a beautiful reminder that Easter is a time for rejoicing and celebrating.

The following poem by Louise Lewin Matthews captures the spiritual essence of the Easter lily:

Easter morn with lilies fair
 

Fills the church with perfumes rare, 

As their clouds of incense rise, 

Sweetest offerings to the skies. 

Stately lilies pure and white
 

Flooding darkness with their light, 

Bloom and sorrow drifts away, 

On this holy hallow’d day. 

Easter Lilies bending low
 

in the golden afterglow,
 

Bear a message from the sod
 

To the heavenly towers of God.



I was impressed by the symbolism of the Angel sounding his trumpet, as stated in D&C 45: 45 But before the arm of the Lord shall fall, an angel shall sound his trump, and the saints that have slept shall come forth to meet me in the cloud.  I thought this would be a great tradition for our family to start, as well, so I went out looking for an Angel Statue today.  I couldn't find an Angel statue with a trumpet, but I did find two beautiful pieces of art:

Hope, by Liz Lemon Swindle, purchased at Deseret Book

He is Risen, purchased at Costco from Cultural Hall Traditions

I love the look on the faces of Peter and John in Hope, as they run to see the empty tomb.  

I am grateful for the knowledge that I have that my Redeemer lives, and that he is MY advocate with the Father, as described in D&C 45:3-5:

Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him—Saying: Father, behold the sufferings and death of him who did no sin, in whom thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of thy Son which was shed, the blood of him whom thou gavest that thyself might be glorified;Wherefore, Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto me and have everlasting life.

These are the words of hope and love from our beloved Brother, the cause of our rejoicing.

Happy Easter!

Just Some Thoughts on Homeschool Pros and Cons

I was just reading an article about homeschool pros and cons tonight.  As I read through the comments on the article, I was actually shocked at how many hateful comments there were about home-schoolers, either directed at the parents (unfit to teach, or religious fanatic, etc) or the child (will turn out socially inept and unproductive).  Wow.  To me, homeschooling is about trying to find the best fit for each child.

It is rather crazy how many people think that children can only be taught effectively in a "public school" environment, when in actuality, public schools are, historically, a fairly new system.  I would venture to say that the majority of people throughout history have been taught in their own homes, whether by a parent or by a hired teacher, or taught in a small group setting, (think Socrates "discussion groups"), or a one room school house (with one teacher teaching a variety of levels).

The point being, of course, that there are many methods that have been used successfully throughout history to gain an education, and just because one system has priority today does not mean that it is necessarily the best.

In Utah, parents currently have a huge choice of ways to educate their children.  Public schools are one, but there are also charter schools, private schools, online schools, and homeschooling.  Each of these options has many pros and cons.  However, for me, the most important thing is that now-days, the choice doesn't have to be either/or.  It can be a combination that takes the strengths of each.  Of my 4 kids, 2 are full time in a charter school.  One is mostly full-time in a charter school, but he does several classes online.  One child is home-schooled full-time, but next year he will be part-time at home, and part-time in a regular public middle school.  The great thing is, the public schools here are required to allow part-time students, so if you feel your child would do better being home-schooled in a subject, or doing it online, you have the flexibility to do that.

My middle schooler really struggles in math, so I've chosen to do that subject at home next year, where I can see where the gaps and problems are, and really hit it intensely.  I also feel that certain subjects, like CTE are a waste of time, so I'm opting to do intensive writing classes at home during that time.  At school, he will get to be with his friends and learn to follow a schedule.  Also, he'll take classes there that I don't feel I can provide at home, such as science, choir, and keyboarding.  In addition, having him in school part-time will give me some free time.

For my High schooler, charter schools are great, but often don't have as much diversity in class options as public schools, so by taking 2 courses online, he gets more options.  In his case, he is able to take Japanese as his language, and slow down the pacing of his pre-calc to a level he can manage.  With recently passes legislation in Utah, there are now many online high schools in Utah that offer up to two courses to students who are not enrolled full time in that school. This creates incredible flexibility to parents whose children struggle to succeed in the traditional school system, giving us the tools we need to help our children successfully complete their education in a well-rounded way.

I really love the way so many choices in Utah right now are allowing parents to navigate the pros and avoids the cons of the various options of schooling our children.

Lorenzo Snow #4 Follow Up

Just a caution about using a video in your lessons:  with the new YM/TW curriculum, teachers are using a lot more media in their lessons.  ALL the YM/YW teachers wanted the TV!  I was very lucky, and maybe a little pushy to be able to get one.  Which means going into the lesson I was still trying to calm down from a little bit of panic, which is not the greatest state of mind to have before a lesson.  The lesson ended up going really well, and the videos were well received, but still I never want to think end up on a Sunday without the bulk of my lesson.  Bottom line:  I will think long and hard before using a video in a lesson again!

Lorenzo Snow Lesson 4: Strengthened By The Power of the Holy Ghost

In his first general conference address as President of the Church, Lorenzo Snow taught, we are dependent upon the Spirit of the Lord to aid us and to manifest to us from time to time what is necessary for us to accomplish under the peculiar circumstances that may surround us. 

This past week, one day Makenzie was practicing her piano.  She had some new songs, and she was having trouble with one of them.  After working on it for awhile, she asked me to come in and help her.  As I watched her try to play the song, I could see immediately what the main problem was.  The song was in Middle D position.  Although Makenzie has learned to play songs in several different keys, including Middle C, Middle D position is not used often, and it was unfamiliar to her.  More importantly, it is so near to Middle C, that she kept shifting her fingers to the more familiar keys. 

I tried to explain to her what was happening, but she got so worked up, she wouldn’t listen to what I was saying.  Each time she would do it wrong, I would tell her to try again, which made her angrier and angrier.  Rather than trying to get it right, she just wanted to move on to the next song.

As I lay in bed that night, I thought how similar that experience was to the Holy Ghost in our lives. 

Just like Makenzie, we make mistakes.  Just  like Makenzie, we need assistance .

Often, we recognize our mistakes, or challenges, and ask for help.  Often, however, we are so intent on the problem that we can’t or won’t hear the answer, which may often be a simple solution.

Just like Makenzie, there is someone available to help us.  Because of our baptism, every Latter-day Saint can have the Holy Ghost as a friend to give counsel.  We need the assistance of the Holy Ghost as we endure trials, fulfill our duties, and prepare for Celestial glory.

President Snow said:

“We need assistance.  We are liable to do that which will lead us into trouble and darkness, and those things which will not tend to our good, but with the assistance of that comforter which the Lord has promised his Saints, if we are careful to listen to its whisperings, and understand the nature of its language, we may avoid much trouble and serious difficulty.”

Now, a lot of our problems we can and do, work out through our own struggles.  The very next morning I heard Makenzie playing the song, and she had figured it out, but it was not with out a lot of tears.

However, President Snow has a better answer:

We ought to understand, and I presume that we generally do, that the work which we have come into this life to perform cannot be done to the glory of God or to the satisfaction of ourselves merely by our own natural intelligence.  We are dependent upon the Spirit of the Lord to aid us and to manifest to us from time to time what is necessary for us to accomplish under the peculiar circumstances that may surround us.

It would be simply foolish indeed to expect the Latter-day Saints in these days to comply with the celestial law, with the law that proceeds from God, and with his designs to elevate the people into his presence, except they were sustained by a supernatural [heavenly] power. The gospel promises this. It promises the gift of the Holy Ghost, which is divine in its character, and which is not enjoyed by any other class of people, and which we are told by the Saviour, should lead into all truth, and inspire those who possessed it, and give them a knowledge of Jesus, a knowledge of the Father, and of things pertaining to the celestial world; that it should inspire those who possessed it with a knowledge of things to come, and things that were past; and inspire them to an extent that they should enjoy supernatural gifts.

President Snow emphasizes:

“There are many important things required at our hands, and many things which we can do, when assisted by the Spirit of the Lord, which  may at times seem almost impossible to accomplish.”

Through the gift of the Holy Ghost, we are led to all truth and strengthened in our faith.

President Snow said:

Persons come to me very anxious to receive counsel upon some subject or other. They need not come to me always, for the Spirit is within them to bring about good and to accomplish the purposes of God. … It is not always necessary (to go to a church authority) to get counsel; they have it within them; there is a friend that knows just exactly what to say to them. From the time we receive the Gospel, go down into the waters of baptism and have hands laid upon us afterwards for the gift of the Holy Ghost, we have a friend, if we do not drive it from us by doing wrong. That friend is the Holy Spirit, the Holy Ghost, which partakes of the things of God and shows them unto us. This is a grand means that the Lord has provided for us, that we may know the light, and not be groveling continually in the dark.

Among the many associations with the Holy Ghost, one of the most prominent is Light.  On the Mormon Channel website, Elder David A. Bednar presents a series of 3 video clips entitled “Patterns of Light”, each focused on a different aspect or role of the Holy Ghost.

The topic of the first video is The Light of Christ:

http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=1737858982001

  

After  the video, I’ve asked a sister to share an experience

The topic of the second video is Discerning Light.  

http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=1737858984001

After the video, I've asked a sister to share an experience

The topic of the third video is The Spirit of Revelation.   

http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=1737858986001

After the video, I've asked a sister to share the following story, and her thoughts:

(Light Switch)

In 1864, Elders Lorenzo Snow and Ezra T. Benson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles went on a mission to the Hawaiian Islands. They were accompanied by three other missionaries: Elders Joseph F. Smith, William Cluff, and Alma L. Smith. When their ship anchored off the coast of the island of Maui, all but Joseph F. Smith boarded a smaller boat to go ashore. As they approached the island, high waves struck, causing the steersman to lose control of the boat. The boat capsized, and all the occupants were thrown into the water. Soon everyone surfaced except Elder Snow. A group of islanders rushed to help, taking William Cluff and Alma L. Smith in a lifeboat to search for their friend. Elder Cluff related:

“The first I saw of Brother Snow was his hair floating upon the water around one end of the capsized boat. As soon as we got him into our boat, we told the boatmen to pull for the shore with all possible speed. His body was stiff, and life apparently extinct.

“Brother A. L. Smith and I were sitting side by side. We laid Brother Snow across our laps, and, on the way to shore, we quietly administered to him and asked the Lord to spare his life, that he might return to his family and home.

“On reaching the shore, we carried him a little way to some large barrels that were lying on the sandy beach. We laid him face downwards on one of them, and rolled him back and forth until we succeeded in getting the water he had swallowed out of him. …

“After working over him for some time, without any indications of returning life, the by-standers said that nothing more could be done for him. But we did not feel like giving him up, and still prayed and worked over him, with an assurance that the Lord would hear and answer our prayers.

“Finally we were impressed to place our mouth over his and make an effort to inflate his lungs, alternately blowing in and drawing out the air, imitating, as far as possible, the natural process of breathing. This we persevered in until we succeeded in inflating his lungs. After a little, we perceived very faint indications of returning life. A slight wink of the eye, which, until then, had been open and death-like, and a very faint rattle in the throat, were the first symptoms of returning vitality. These grew more and more distinct, until consciousness was fully restored.”

Looking back on this experience, Elder William Cluff knew why he and Elder Alma L. Smith were able to save Elder Snow’s life. “We did not only what was customary in such cases,” he said, “but also what the Spirit seemed to whisper to us.

(Rising Sun)
 

Back in November, I shared with you how Keaton was having such a struggle.  I was so grateful for the inspiration of the Spirit to keep him in his school.  But then, of course, we still had to deal with the issues.  As I looked for a solution,  I can tell you that I truly studied it out in my mind.  Based on the information, I tried to find what fit the symptoms.  I looked at the possibility of drugs, but immediately felt that was not it.  I went back and looked for patterns, I tried to determine if I could see a starting point.  Looking at it in this way, I could see a clear 180˚ change immediately after he broke his hand.  He went from happy and excited about school, friends and so on, to grouchy, poor grades, feeling down and depressed.  That’s when I realized it was depression.  I remember having a clear impression in my mind of Post-surgical depression.”  I looked it up on the computer, and knew what I would find—post surgical depression is a real thing.  We went to the Doctor, and the Doctor agreed.  He talked to Keaton for a long time about how an injury affects males, especially teenagers.  They can’t deal with the fact that they are not invincible, and they get depressed.  Just that visit was the turn around point, and now he is just back to normal.

A sister will then share her thoughts on the Spirit of Revelation.

I would like to close with these words by President Snow:

If we keep the light of the Spirit within us, we can so walk in the gospel that we can measurably enjoy peace and happiness in this world; and while we are traveling outward, striving for peace and happiness that lies in our path, in the distance, we shall have a peace of mind that none can enjoy but those who are filled with the Holy Spirit.