Mormon Musings

"Jacob, in 2 Nephi 9:41, in speaking of the straight and narrow, reminds us that 'the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel' and that Jesus 'employeth no servant there.' The emphasis rightly is on the fact that Jesus 'cannot be deceived.' There is another dimension of reassurance, too: not only will the ultimate judgment not be delegated in order to serve the purposes of divine justice, but also divine mercy can best be applied by Him who knows these things, what only He can know--the quiet moments of courage in the lives of His flock, the un-noticed acts of Christian service, the unspoken thoughts which can be 'credited' in no other way, except through perfect judgment." (Elder Neal A. Maxwell, "For the Power Is in Them." [1970], 37)

My beloved brothers and sisters, I am not certain just what our experience will be on Judgment Day, but I will be very surprised if at some point in that conversation, God does not ask us exactly what  Christ  asked Peter: “Did you love me?” I think He will want to know if in our very mortal, very inadequate, and sometimes childish grasp of things, did we at least understand  one commandment, the first and greatest commandment of them all—“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind.” 13  And if at such a moment we can stammer out, “Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee,” then He may remind us that the crowning characteristic of love is always loyalty. “If ye love me, keep my commandments,” 14  Jesus said. So we have neighbors to bless, children to protect, the poor to lift up, and the truth to defend. We have wrongs to make right, truths to share, and good to do. In short, w...

I should like to emphasize the fact that today is the day for Latter-day Saints to prepare to meet God by keeping all of his commandments, lest the night cometh wherein we cannot repent. If we do not render obedience now, we might find ourselves at the judgment day in the condition that the lady found herself in a dream, as reported by one of the stake presidents at a conference I attended in Salt Lake City about a year ago. I do not recall the stake, and so I don't know which stake president to give credit to for this story. STORY OF THE TEAPOT He reported that there was a certain lady living in his ward who had joined the Church over in Europe when she was a Girl; and like many of the European people she had formed the habit of drinking tea. After she joined the Church of Jesus Christ, like quite a few Mormons (I am sorry to say) she continued the habit of drinking tea. She reared a large family. Her children married. Her husband died, and she became a widow. And then s...

We must have our day of trial—an opportunity to become acquainted with the bitter and the sweet. We are so organized as to be able to choose or to refuse. We can take the downward road that leads to destruction, or the road that leads to life. We can constantly act upon the principles that tend to death, or refuse them and act upon the principles that pertain to life and salvation. This is a day of trial; our faith and patience can now be tried: now is the time for your fortitude and integrity to be tried. Let the trials come; for if we should be so unspeakably happy as to obtain a crown of eternal life, we shall be like gold tried seven times in the fire. Let the fiery furnace burn, and the afflictions come, and the temptations be presented;—if we wish to be crowned with crowns of glory and exalted to dwell with our elder brother Jesus Christ, we must choose the good and refuse the evil. According to our faith, we must strive to live our religion when in the kanyons getting wood a...