Talks
Quotes
Gods grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the thing I can and the wisdom to know the difference. – AA
Start where you are with what you have.
The late John F. Heidenreich, served for several years as a Protestant minister before his conversion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He shared with many of his friends his “Morning Resolve,” which illustrates an attitude and frame of mind that can be most helpful at the beginning of a day:
This day is the day that I resolve to live a happy, serene, and useful life, repelling promptly every thought of antagonism, discontent, anxiety, discouragement, impurity, and self-seeking. I will cultivate a spirit of tolerance, cheerfulness, magnanimity, charity, and a love for serving others. I will reserve a time each day for reading some uplifting literature, and the practice of quiet medication. I will exercise generosity in giving, economy in expenditure, carefulness in conversation, diligence in appointed service, faithfulness in every trust, and child-like faith in God!
In particular, I will be faithful every day in those habits of prayer, work, the study of the scriptures, physical exercise, eating, and sleeping which I believe the Holy Sprit has shown me to be right!
Each of us is constantly growing and changing. What is important, vitally important, eternally and everlasting important is what direction are you going in? Where is the constant change in your life taking you? Are you better today than you were yesterday, and will be better tomorrow than you are today? If not, then the irrevocable law of change will eventually take you and make you what you would not like to be
When you stop growing you begin dying.
If you don’t learn from your mistakes, what’s the use of making them?
It’s hard for a bird to learn to fly. But it’s even harder for an egg to fly. Hatch or go rotten.
Imagine yourself a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised.
But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense.
What on earth is He up to??
The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of; throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there; running up towers, making courtyards.
You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage; but He is building a palace. – C. S. Lewis, from Mere Christianity
The higher you climb the harder it gets
But the greater the risk the better the view
Those who are truly developed will find a perfect harmony between their flesh and their spirits, a harmony that will bless them with peace and give them the ability to help others. “Embraced by the Light” – Betty J. Eadie
The devil offers short-term freedom followed by long-term submission. Christ is the opposite.
We can’t submit control of our lives to Christ if we don’t have control of our lives.
The words disciple and discipline come from the same root.
Object lesson about setting goals: Toss seven coins to a member of the class and count how many are caught. Then toss one at a time and count again. We should only work on one goal at a time.
If the going gets easy beware. You may be going downhill and don’t even know it
Today is the first day of the rest of your life. No matter what has happened in the past, your future is spotless.
There’s always free cheese in the mousetraps, but the mice there ain’t happy.
Once, when a TV sports reporter was interviewing a football coach about his team’s prospects for the next season, the coach replied, “Well, I’d say our greatest weakness is our lack of strength. Of course, I think you’ll see some improvement as we get better.” James Dent in Readers Digest
What we are is God’s gift to us. What we become is our gift to God. Louis Nizer
Speed is not as important as direction.
Stop being ashamed of your temptations. It’s not a sin to be tempted. Even Christ was tempted, but he was still perfect.
Focus your mind on victory, not past failures. Imagine Christ there lovingly placing his arm around your shoulder and giving you encouragement.
You can’t solve spiritual problems with human solutions.
I am a disciple of Christ. I will do nothing to disappoint him.
Beware of what you truly want, for you will get it.
The message is clear: Put the Lord in control of your life, set only those plans that fit his pattern; and be prepared at any time to abandon your direction if he calls you, through his priesthood, to take another course. Quite often spiritual calls come ahead of planned goals.
The Sabbath is the time to spiritually create our lives. Meditate and evaluate.
If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there. – Old saying
An obstacle is something you see when you take you eyes off the goal you are trying to reach.
Confusion: It seems to me that we’re all in the same boat with Christopher Columbus. He didn’t know where he was going when he started. When he got there, he didn’t know where he was, and when he got back, he didn’t know where he had been.
Sin never starts with an action. It always starts with a thought. You can therefore never change a habit by focusing on actions. (Paraphrased from Carleen Tanner Ricks Ed Week 1999)
Man’s autobiography
Chapter 1 – I walked down the street. I didn’t know there was a big hole. I fell in the hole. It took me forever to climb out.
Chapter 2 – I walked down the street. I knew a hole was there. I fell in it anyway.
Chapter 3 – I walked down the street. I knew a hole was there. I fell into it again. It has become a habit.
Chapter 4 – I walked down the street. I saw the hole. I walked around it.
Chapter 5 – I walked down a different street
We spend most of our lives climbing in and out of holes. Why not walk down another street? There’s only one street without holes – the strait and narrow one.
Perfect behavior, even when we brush against it, is pretty hard to perform 100% of the time. But being consistent in striving for perfection is something we can accomplish every day.
There is nothing in the church that is directed toward the Telestial or Terrestrial Kingdoms. For us it is a Celestial goal every step of the way. Jeffrey Holland, Ensign Oct. 2006.
Two men were working – one would dig a hole, one would fill it back in. Someone asked them why they were doing that. They replied, “There’s usually three of us – but the second guy who plants the tree couldn’t be here today.” Do we stop often and ask ourselves why we do what we do?
Just remember, when you see a man at the top of a mountain he didn’t just fall there.
If you don’t change your direction you’ll end up right where you’re headed.
That which we persist in doing becomes easy to do; not that the nature of the thing has changed, but our power to do it has increased. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Jennie Curlee speaking in Sacrament Meeting January 1, 2012. “I’m not going to set any new goals or New Years resolutions. I’m already on the right path, pointed in the direction I need to go. I’ve already charted my course. I just pray for the strength to keep going in the right direction.” That is true for so many of us. She also said, “Stay the course, move forward if you can.”
PRAYER
I haven’t gossiped, I haven’t lost my temper
I haven’t been greedy, grumpy,
Nasty or overindulgent,
I’m very thankful for that.
But in a few minutes God
I’m going to get out of bed.
And from then on, I’m probably
Going to need a lot of help.
Amen.
Declaring our testimony of the gospel is good, but being a living example of the restored gospel is better. Wishing to be more faithful to our covenants is good; actually being faithful to sacred covenants—including living a virtuous life, paying our tithes and offerings, keeping the Word of Wisdom, and serving those in need—is much better. Announcing that we will dedicate more time for family prayer, scripture study, and wholesome family activities is good; but actually doing all these things steadily will bring heavenly blessings to our lives. Dieter F. Uchtdorf October Conference, 2012.
BE YOUR BEST SELF – Motto of Distinguished Young Women. I had become immune to the saying because it is such a cliché. I had always placed the emphasis on Be your BEST self. One lady mentioned that phrase in a Sunday School lesson and I thought of it differently – Be YOUR best self. What do we have to do or be to achieve the Celestial Kingdom? We have to reach our own best potential. – Shannon Williams
As you set your New Years resolutions this year, I would encourage you to “set your goals backwards.” Instead of setting daily, weekly or even monthly goals, sit alone in a room and ponder what you hope to accomplish eternally. Then ask yourself what you need to accomplish by the time you die. From there, determine yearly goals broken down into monthly and weekly goals. You may be surprised at how different your goals are when done this way. Interestingly enough, the first time I set goals this way, almost every goal I ended up with had something to do with covenants and attending the temple.
President Uchtdorf said: “God loves you this very day and always. He is not waiting to love you until you have overcome your weaknesses and bad habits. He loves you today with a full understanding of your struggles… He knows of your remorse for the times you have fallen short or failed. And still He loves you. He wants you to achieve your destiny – to return to your heavenly home in honor.”
An old proverb says, “The best time to plan a tree is 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.” There is something wonderful and hopeful about the word now. There is something empowering about the fact that if we choose to decide now, we can move forward at this very moment. Now is the best time to start becoming the person we eventually want to be – not only 20 years from now but also for all eternity.” – See lds.org/go/change15
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