Mormon Musings

“A great many people feast upon imagination instead of feasting upon that which is tangible, and they will allow their minds to be led away by fancy, and will make out some great that they will be in some future time, and how good they intend to be and how much of the Holy Ghost they expect to receive; but the idea is, what do you enjoy at the present time, and what are the blessings you enjoy at this present moment, right now?  Am I doing right today?  Is the Holy Ghost in me now?  Is God’s blessing with me now (not at some other time)?  If so, then all is well.   I want the Saints to be impressed with the motto of being happy all of the time; if you cannot be happy today, how can you be happy tomorrow ?  I speak this from what I have learned myself; though it has given me much of trouble, and a great amount of perseverance, to be happy under all circumstances.   I have learned not to fret myself .  It has taken me a great while to arrive at thi...

“If I ask [God] to give me wisdom concerning any requirements in life, or in regard to my own course, or that of my friends, my family, my children, or those that I preside over, and get no answer from Him, and then do the very best that my judgment will teach me, He is bound to own and honor that transaction, and He will do so to all intents and purposes.” Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses  3:205

"...you and I are much more familiar with the nature of the redeeming power of the Atonement than we are with the enabling power of the Atonement. It is one thing to know that Jesus Christ came to earth to die for us. That is fundamental an d foundational to the doctrine of Christ. But we also need to appreciate that the Lord desires, through His Atonement and by the power of the Holy Ghost, to live in us—not only to direct us but also to empower us. I think most of us know that when we do things wrong, when we need help to overcome the effects of sin in our lives, the Savior has paid the price and made it possible for us to be made clean through His redeeming power. Most of us clearly understand that the Atonement is for sinners. I am not so sure, however, that we know and understand that the Atonement is also for saints—for good men and women who are obedient and worthy and conscientious and who are striving to become better and serve more faithfully. I frankly do not think many...

If we do not enjoy the Spirit of the Lord, there are reasons that we ourselves can assign for the absence of that Spirit.  The practice of the Saints, if good, will always bring the Spirit of the Lord, and keep that Spirit with them day to day.  I am aware that the Spirit is grieved with different individuals for different causes; some do not attend to their prayers in the season thereof, they do not attend to their duties of the present moment, they do not concentrate their feelings, but allow their minds to wander like the fools’ eyes to the four winds of heaven, hence they are left to grope for themselves as the blind for the wall.  But those who live up to their duties, the duties of the present hour, and always make those duties the primary duties of life, live in the light of the Lord, and walk in the path laid down by the Savior of the world; they are never in the dark, for the light of the Lord is shining upon them. Jedediah M. Grant, Journal of Discourses 3:58...

In the second chapter of Ether, the Lord teaches the brother of Jared important principles about receiving answers to prayer.   Since we are to “liken all scriptures unto us,” we can learn much by pondering the story and the lessons taught therein.   The Lord commanded the Jaredites to build barges (boats), after the manner that they had previously built barges and “according to the instructions of the Lord.” [1]   These barges were to carry the Jaredites across the ocean to the “land of promise.” [2]   It is significant that they followed the Lord’s instructions in building the barges.   Among other things, it shows that the Lord fully intended the tutoring experience that followed.   It is also important to note that, just as with Noah, Nephi and others, the Lord did not do for them what they could do for themselves, He did not build the ships for them.   After the barges were completed, according to the instructions the Lord had given them, ...