Mormon Musings

"Just as chalk can be removed from a blackboard, with sincere repentance the effects of our transgression can be erased through the Atonement of Jesus Christ." —Boyd K. Packer, " The Key to Spiritual Protection "

"We lighten the loads of others best by helping the Lord strengthen them. That is why the Lord included in our charge to comfort others the command to be His witnesses at all times and in all places." —Henry B. Eyring, " The Comforter "

"God will take you as you are at this very moment and begin to work with you. All you need is a willing heart, a desire to believe, and trust in the Lord." —Dieter F. Uchtdorf, " It Works Wonderfully! "

"We are not and never need be alone. We can press forward in our daily lives with heavenly help." —David A. Bednar, " Bear Up Their Burdens with Ease "

Help from the Lord generally comes in increments. He can immediately cure serious illnesses or disabilities or even allow the dead to be raised. But the general pattern is that improvement comes in sequential steps. That plan gives us an opportunity to discover what the Lord expects us to learn. It requires our patience to recognize His timetable. It provides growth from our efforts and trust in Him and the opportunity to express gratitude for the help given. Often we have difficulty mastering lessons the Lord wants us to learn when things are going too well in our lives. When there is suffering or pain, we ask ourselves a lot of questions. Some of them ought to be: What does the Lord want me to learn from this experience? What do I need to do? What do I need to change? Whom do I need to serve? Or what characteristic must I improve? Pondering and prayer will help us understand what we are to learn from the challenges we are asked to overcome.

"We should decide now, in the light of the morning, how we will act when the darkness of night and when the storms of temptation arrive." —Howard W. Hunter, " Chapter 19: Our Commitment to God "

"The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater" J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings