Be Your Best Self

I really should have recorded my thoughts from last week but I will combine them with today.
Last week Jake gave his "Farewell" talk because he is headed out to Tennessee until he leaves for Uruguay in March. The speakers were wonderful! They talked of service, commitment, hard work, being faithful and more. When we sang one of the Hymns my heart was touched. We don't hear this song much and my testimony grew yet again.

THE TIME IS FAR SPENT
The time is far spent; there is little remaining, To publish glad tidings by sea and by land.
Then hasten, ye heralds; go forward proclaiming:
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven's at hand, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven's at hand.

Shrink not from your duty, how ever unpleasant, But follow the Savior, your pattern and friend.
Our little afflictions, tho painful at present,
Ere long, with the righteous, in glory will end, Ere long, with the righteous, in glory will end.

What, tho, if the favor of Ahman possessing, This world's bitter hate you are called to endure?
The angels are waiting to crown you with blessings!
Go forward, be faithful, the promise is sure. Go forward, be faithful, the promise is sure.

Be fixed in your purpose, for Satan will try you; The weight of your calling he perfectly knows.
Your path may be thorny, but Jesus is nigh you;
His arm is sufficient, tho demons oppose. His arm is sufficient, tho demons oppose.

This song goes right into the next chapter of "Be Your Best Self". It's titled, The Way Home. President Monson talks about how History records tells that most men did not come unto Christ when he was on the earth. Nor did they follow the way He taught. Crucified was the Lord; slain were the apostles; rejected was the truth. The bright daylight of enlightenment slipped away, and the lengthening shadows of a black night enshrouded the earth.

Ages went by and there were honest men with yearning hearts, at the peril of their very lives, attempted to establish points of reference, that they might find the true way. Persecutions would be severe, personal sacrifice overwhelming, and the cost beyond calculation. The reformers were like pioneers blazing wilderness trails in a desperate search for those lost points of reference which, they felt, when found would lead mankind back to the truth Jesus taught.

When John Wycliffe and others completed the first English translation of the entire Bible from the Latin Vulgate, the then church authorities did all they could to destroy it. Many of the followers of Wycliffe were severely punished and some burned at the stake.

Martin Luther was threatened and persecuted, yet he declared boldly: "Here I stand. I can do not otherwise. God help me."

Several other men were persecuted but stood firm in their testimonies of goodness and faith. Such were the teachings and lives of the great reformers. Their deeds were heroic, their contributions many, their sacrifices great - but they did not restore the gospel of Jesus Christ. Was their sacrifice in vain? Was their struggle futile? NO!

Finally the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ, had appeared to Joseph Smith. The morning of the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times had come. From then to now, truth has been and is available to us. Today we may hear God's prophet speak. Come from your wandering way, weary traveler. Come to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Come to that heavenly haven called home.

I am so thankful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I am thankful for the knowledge of eternal families and the guidance we get to Be Our Best Self and to help our families return to our Heavenly Father. All of us will have trials and tribulations but we must have faith in our Heavenly Father. And we must press on and find the positive in EVERY situation. I am thankful for the missionaries that dedicate their time and pray that they will be protected and blessed.

Be Your Best Self

It is so hard to condense these chapters with just SOME of the messages. This whole book is wonderful!

A HOPELESS DAWN - JOYFUL MORNING

     President Monson talks about visiting an art gallery in London. He saw a piece that not only caught his attention, but also captured his heart. The artist, Frank Bramley, had painted a humble cottage facing a wind-swept sea. Kneeling at the side of an older woman was a grief-filled wife who mourned the loss of her seafaring husband. The spent candle at the window ledge told of her fruitless, night-long vigil. The huge gray clouds were all that remained of the tempest-torn night.
     He sensed her loneliness, felt her despair. The hauntingly vivid inscription that the artist gave to his work told the tragic story. It read: A HOPELESS DAWN.
     For her and countless others who have loved and lost dear ones, each dawn is hopeless. Such is the experience of those who regard the grave as the end and immortality as but a dream.
     The famed scientist Madame Marie Curie returned to her home the night of the funeral for her husband, Pierre Curie, who was killed in an accident in the streets of Paris, and made this entry in her diary: "They filled the grave and put sheaves of flowers on it. Everything is over. Pierre is sleeping his last sleep beneath the earth. It is the end of everything, everything, everything."
     The atheist Bertrand Russell adds his testament: "No fire, no heroism, no integrity of thought and feeling can preserve an individual life beyond the grave." And Schopenjauer, the German philosopher and pessimist, was even more bitter. He wrote: "To desire immortality is to desire the eternal perpetuation of a great mistake."
     In reality, every thoughtful person has asked himself this question: Does the life of man continue beyond the grave? Death comes to all mankind. The aged, the middle age, the young. No one can escape the tragic fact.
     We can all be inspired by the apostle Paul's words as he declared: "I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Roman 8:38-39.)
     Perhaps no statement in scripture more dramatically reveals a divine truth than Paul's epistle to the Corinthians: "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." (1 Corinthians 15:22.)
     He talks about a couple of stories in the bible about widows losing sons and about a couple of widows in our day who have lost sons and husbands and how they were comforted by apostles.
     But what about us? Is there comfort for the grieving heart? Does God just remember the widows in the bible. Or those that live close to a prophet of God?
     The darkness of death can ever be dispelled by the light of revealed truth. "I am the resurrection, and the life," spoke the Master; "he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die." (John 11:25-26).
     This reassurance, even holy confirmation of life beyond the grave, could well be the peace promised by the Savior when He assured his disciples: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubles, neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27)
     "Ye believe in God, believe also in me." He will not abandon His children who trust in Him.
     The Prophet Joseph Smith, as he and Sidney Rigdon testified: "And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That He lives! This is the knowledge that sustains. This is the truth that comforts. This is the assurance that guides those bowed down with grief out of the shadows and into the light. This help is available to all of us.
     "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." (Psalm 30:5)
     He concludes with his testimony: "With all the strength of my soul, I testify that God lives, that His Beloved Son is the first fruits of the resurrection, that the gospel of Jesus Christ is that penetrating light that makes of every hopeless dawn a joyful morning.

I have lost aunts and uncles and grandparents but the one that hurt the most was when I lost my dad just over two years ago. I never knew such grief was possible. I now know some of the grief that others go through when they lose a loved one. I also know that we can and will be comforted and that there is Eternal Life. We WILL be reunited with our loved ones. We need to do our part to Be Our Best Self and help those around us.

Be Your Best Self

Years ago Doran's sister, Lisa, gave us a book entitles "Be Your Best Self", by Thomas S. Monson.

It is such an inspiring book of encouragement and hope. It has been my favorite book since we have received it.

I thought that this year I would begin from page one and share with you each week the lessons, feelings and goals I have. Along with what I learn from the current month's Ensign.

One cannot read this book and NOT be filled with the spirit. This is the first I have read it since President Monson has been called to be our Prophet. When I read the "forward" this morning by President Spencer W. Kimball (the prophet when I started activity in the church),  my testimony burned that these men are men of God. That they love us and are called to help us to do those things that would get us back to our Heavenly Father.

A couple of the articles we read last night out of the Ensign focused on Missionary Work and Charity. This past month we, as families, friends, neighbors have had so much charity for good reason. Why should we stop when the "Christmas season" stops? Why don't we try to have charity ALL the time? Well this is one goal I will work on ONE month at a time, ONE week at a time, even ONE day at a time if needs be. Why don't you join with us seeing the good in ALL things and ALL people and have CHARITY towards everyone.

My favorite quote is: "Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting their own battle."

As this new year is upon us, may we all strive to "Be Your Best Self".