Mormon Musings

In his book,  The Politics of Experience , R. D. Laing said, “What we think is less than what we know: What we know is less than what we love: What we love is so much less than what there is, and to this . . . extent, we are much less than what we are” (R.D. Laing in  Love , p. 19). Quoted by Patricia T. Holland in BYU Devotional, January 8, 1983 http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=873

It is present salvation and the present influence of the Holy Ghost that we need every day to keep us on saving ground. When an individual refuses to comply with the further requirements of Heaven, then the sins he had formerly committed return upon his head; his former righteousness departs from him, and is not accounted to him for righteousness: but if he had continued in righteousness and obedience to the requirements of heaven, he is saved all the time, through baptism, the laying on of hands, and obeying the commandments of the Lord and all that is required of him by the heavens—the living oracles. He is saved now, next week, next year, and continually, and is prepared for the celestial kingdom of God whenever the time comes for him to inherit it.  Brigham Young 8:125

 "I made up my mind at that time that I would observe the Sabbath faithfully so that I could qualify for the blessings of spiritual growth and the companionship of the Spirit that come from observing faithfully the Sabbath of our Lord. I testify to you that I realized those blessings in measurable ways on innumerable occasions. My concern for the Sabbath is to earn the blessings available to those who observe it, not to keep myself from sinning. My attitude is to look on the commandment of the Sabbath as a gift of my Heavenly Father to teach me what I should do if I want to enjoy his richest blessings. That is the attitude I encourage each of us to develop toward each of our Father in heaven’s commandments." —Dallin H. Oaks "The Blessing of Commandments" http://speeches.byu.edu/ ?act=viewitem&id=569

The men and women who desire to obtain seats in the celestial kingdom will find that they must battle with the enemy of all righteousness every day...Thus let every Saint protect and guard his little castle against every effort of the enemy to assail, and secure a foothold therein.  Let us see to it that we are ready for the enemy, to baffle him at every point, contending bravely against him until he is successfully repulsed. Brigham Young Journal of Discourses 11:14

Whenever you and I witness and experience in a human being impressive loving-kindness, we marvel—and we should marvel.  But such highly developed loving-kindness is still not closely comparable to Jesus’ loving-kindness.  So it is with each of His qualities about which I have spoken…When we are fortunate enough to experience the stirring samples of likeness, these are real and wonderful experiences, but they are not yet fullness.  They are not the fullness found in Jesus.  Even so, He of fullness clearly and kindly beckons us to develop that greater likeness in our lives which precedes fullness.  It is that likeness that will give us the light in our lives so that we might, as Paul says, shine as lights in the world.  These are the attributes that convey us to the added authority of example.  And as we emulate Him, by developing likeness in these attributes, He will bless and magnify us for His purposes.   Elder Neal A. Maxwell, BYU Devoti...

Wilford Woodruff had a clear vision of life and was faithful to it. He once said: “What will it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Not much. What will a man give in exchange for his soul, when he gets on the other side of the veil? I marvel very much at the little interest manifested by the inhabitants of the earth generally in their future state. There is not a person here today but what is going to live on the other side of the veil as long as his Creator--to the endless ages of eternity, and the eternal destiny of every individual depends upon the manner in which the few short years of the life in the flesh are spent. I ask, in the name of the Lord, what is popularity to you or me? What is gold or silver, or this world’s goods to any of us, any further than to enable us to obtain what we need to eat, drink, and wear, and to build up the kingdom of God. And for us to stop praying, and to become crazy after the riches of the world, is the very height of fooli...

Now, brethren and sisters, what hinders you from enjoying all you anticipated [when you prepared to accept the Gospel and join the Church]? The calm reflections of your own minds, and the conclusions of a well balanced judgment, enlightened by the Spirit of the Lord, will give you a correct answer to this question. I can answer it for myself, and perhaps for many of you. If I do not enjoy all I anticipated, if my happiness is not as complete as I anticipated, if the light of the Holy Spirit is not in my heart to that degree which I expected it would be, if I have not obtained all I anticipated when I was down in yonder world, mingled with the wicked, the cause is in myself, in my own heart, in my own disposition, in the weakness of human nature; it is my own will that prevents me from enjoying all I anticipated, and more. It is a mistaken idea to suppose that others can prevent me from enjoying the light of God in my soul; all hell cannot hinder me from enjoying Zion in my own heart, ...