Mormon Musings

Chemists who are familiar with analyzing matter, inform you that the globe we inhabit is composed of small particles, so small that they cannot be seen with the unaided natural eye, and that one of these small particles may be divided into millions of parts, each part so minute as to be indiscernible by the aid of the finest microscopes.  So the walk of man is made up of acts performed from day to day.  It is the aggregate of the acts which I perform through life that makes up the conduct that will be exhibited in the day of judgment, and when the books are opened, there will be the life which I have lived for me to look upon, and there also will be the acts of your lives to look upon.  Do you not know that the building up of the Kingdom of God, the gathering of Israel, is to be done by little acts?  You breathe one breath at a time; each moment is set apart to its act, and each act to its moment.  It is the moments and the little acts that make the sum of the ...

http://www2.byui.edu/Presentations/Transcripts/Devotionals/2004_06_08_Christensen.htm

“If I do not know the will of my Father, and what He requires of me in a certain transaction, if I ask Him to give me wisdom concerning any requirement in my 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 judgement will teach me, He is bound to own and honor that transaction, and He will do so to all intents and purposes.”  Brigham Young

Many individuals preoccupied by the cares of the world are not necessarily in  transgression.  But they certainly are in  diversion  and thus waste “the days of [their] probation” ( 2 Ne. 9:27 ). Yet some proudly live “without God in the world” ( Alma 41:11 ), with gates and doors locked from the inside! Mark it down, brothers and sisters, people too caught up in themselves will inevitably let other people down! Let us adopt the attitude recommended by President Brigham Young: “Say to the fields, … flocks, … herds, … gold, … silver, … goods, … chattels, … tenements, … possessions, and to all the world, stand aside; get away from my thoughts, for I am going up to worship the Lord” ( Deseret News,  5 Jan. 1854, 2). There are so many ways to say to the world, “stand aside.” Periodically, husbands and wives can reason together, taking inventory. Minor corrections may be needed, and besides, such conversations can be more precious than we know. Alas, so many c...

“President Marion G. Romney (1897–1988), First Counselor in the First Presidency, gave us encouragement: ‘You can make every decision in your life correctly if you can learn to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This you can do if you will discipline yourself to yield your own feelings to the promptings of the Spirit. Study your problems and prayerfully make a decision. Then take that decision and say to him, in a simple, honest supplication, ‘Father, I want to make the right decision. I want to do the right thing. This is what I think I should do; let me know if it is the right course.’ Doing this, you can get the burning in your bosom, if your decision is right. … When you learn to walk by the Spirit, you never need to make a mistake.” President Dieter F. Uchtdorf -in Conference Report, Oct. 1961, 60–61; quoted in “On the Wings of Eagles,”  Ensign , July 2006, 15

If men decide firmly what they will not do; then they will be free vigorously to do what they ought to do. -Mencius Whenever you see a job to do, ask yourself these two questions: If not by me--by whom?  If not now--when?                                                                         -Arthur Lagueux If we are ever in doubt what to do, it is a good rule to ask ourselves what we shall wish on the morrow that we had done. -Sir John Lubbock