Mormon Musings

...one cannot "call down" the Spirit as some are prone to say.  We can create an appropriate environment for the Holy Ghost to instruct us.  Spiritual communication cannot be forced.  We must qualify ourselves and be ready to receive the Lord's guidance and direction when He determines to provide it.  No matter how urgent our personal timetable, the Lord responds according to His will. Richard G. Scott, address to religious educators, given at BYU August 11, 1998

And while we may look at the vast expanse of the universe and say, “What is man in comparison to the glory of creation?” God Himself said we are the reason He created the universe! His work and glory—the purpose for this magnificent universe—is to save and exalt mankind. 8  In other words, the vast expanse of eternity, the glories and mysteries of infinite space and time are all built for the benefit of ordinary mortals like you and me. Our Heavenly Father created the universe that we might reach our potential as His sons and daughters. This is a paradox of man: compared to God, man is nothing; yet we are everything to God. While against the backdrop of infinite creation we may appear to be nothing, we have a spark of eternal fire burning within our breast. We have the incomprehensible promise of exaltation—worlds without end—within our grasp. And it is God’s great desire to help us reach it... Disciples of  Jesus Christ  understand that compared to eternity, our existe...

 “We are all indebted to God for the ability to use time to advantage, and he will require of us a strict account of [its] disposition”  ( Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young  [1997], 286).

The crucial test of life, I repeat, does not center in the choice between fame and obscurity, nor between wealth and poverty. The greatest decision of life is between good and evil. We may foolishly bring unhappiness and trouble, even suffering upon ourselves. These are not always to be regarded as penalties imposed by a displeased Creator. They are part of the lessons of life, part of the test. Some are tested by poor health, some by a body that is deformed or homely. Others are tested by handsome and healthy bodies; some by the passion of youth; others by the erosions of age.  Some suffer disappointment in marriage, family problems; others live in poverty and obscurity.  Some (perhaps this is the hardest test) find ease and luxury. All are part of the test, and there is more equality in this testing than sometimes we suspect. Boyd K. Packer, October 1980 General Conference

The poor use of time is a close cousin of idleness. As we follow the command to “cease to be idle” (D&C 88:124), we must be sure that being busy also equates to being productive. For example, it is wonderful to have the means of instant communication quite literally at our fingertips, but let us be sure that we do not become compulsive fingertip communicators. I sense that some are trapped in a new time-consuming addiction—one that enslaves us to be constantly checking and sending social messages and thus giving the false impression of being busy and productive. There is much that is good with our easy access to communication and information. I have found it helpful to access research articles, conference talks, and ancestral records, and to receive e-mails, Facebook reminders, tweets, and texts. As good as these things are, we cannot allow them to push to one side those things of greatest importance. How sad it would be if the phone and computer, with all their sophistication, d...

Even with the logic of nature’s regeneration and even with the testimony of that empty garden tomb, there are still those who feel the grave is a final destination. But the doctrine of the Resurrection is the single most fundamental and crucial doctrine in the Christian religion. It cannot be overemphasized, nor can it be disregarded. Without the Resurrection, the gospel of Jesus Christ becomes a litany of wise sayings and seemingly unexplainable miracles—but sayings and miracles with no ultimate triumph. No, the ultimate triumph is in the ultimate miracle: for the first time in the history of mankind, one who was dead raised himself into living immortality. He  was  the Son of God, the Son of our immortal Father in Heaven, and his triumph over physical and spiritual death is the good news every Christian tongue should speak. The eternal truth is that Jesus Christ arose from the grave and was the firstfruits of the Resurrection. (See   1 Cor. 15:23 .) The witnesses of ...

But here comes the command of God to this man [Abraham] who has been taught so scrupulously about the sinfulness of murder and human sacrifice, do to these very things.  Now, why did the Lord ask such things of Abraham?  Because, knowing what his future would be and that he would be the father of an innumerable posterity, [God] was determined to test [Abraham].  God did not do this for His own sake; for He knew by His foreknowledge what Abraham would do; but the purpose was to impress upon Abraham a lesson, and to enable him to attain unto knowledge he could not obtain in any other way.  That is why God tries all of us.  It is not for His own knowledge; for He knows all things beforehand.  He knows all your lives and everything you will do.  But He tries us for our own good, that we may know ourselves; for it is most important that a man should know himself.  He required Abraham to submit to his trial because He intended to give him glory, exaltat...