Mormon Musings

  God has no distracting hobbies off somewhere in the universe. We are at the very center of His concerns and purposes. What a sharp contrast to those who believe that man lives in an “unconscious universe” (Bertrand Russell, “A Free Man’s Worship,” in  Mysticism and Logic and Other Essays  [1917], 50), a “universe … without a master” (Albert Camus,  The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays,  trans. Justin O’Brien [1955], 123)... Notably, at the last day the adversary “will not support” those who followed him anyway (see  Alma 30:60 ). He cannot. Jesus will triumph majestically, and the adversary’s clever constructs, “pleasing to the carnal mind,” will also collapse, and “the fall thereof will be exceedingly great” (see  Alma 30:53 ;  1 Ne. 11:36 ). Even now, one can see in the lives of those prodigals who come to themselves the devil’s doctrines dripping in early meltdown (see  Luke 15:17 ). Many, having experienced the utter emptiness of the l...

Materialism, which gives priority to material needs and objects, is obviously the opposite of spirituality. The Savior taught that we should not lay up 'treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal' (Matthew 6:19). We should lay up treasures in heaven: 'For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also' (Matthew 6:21). ... There is nothing inherently evil about money. The Good Samaritan used the same coinage to serve his fellowman that Judas used to betray the Master. It is 'the love of money [which] is the route of all evil' (1 Timothy 6:10). The critical difference is the degree of spirituality we exercise in viewing, evaluating, and managing the things of this world and our experiences in it. If allowed to become an object of worship or priority, money can make us selfish and prideful, 'puffed up in the vain things of the world' (Alma 5:37). In contrast, if used for fulfilling our l...

Repentance means more than simply a reformation of behavior. Many men and women in the world demonstrate great will-power and self-discipline in overcoming bad habits and the weaknesses of the flesh. Yet at the same time they give no thought to the Master, sometimes even openly rejecting Him. Such changes of behavior, even if in a positive direction, do not constitute true repentance. ...True repentance is based on and flows from faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no other way. True repentance involves a change of heart and not just a change of behavior (see Alma 5:13). Ezra Taft Benson, Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson [1988], 71.

By Elder Neal A. Maxwell Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles Elder Neal A. Maxwell passed away on 21 July 2004 as this issue of the  Ensign  was being prepared for publication. After reciting a litany of social ills during his time, Mormon consoled his son, Moroni, suggesting that somber world conditions could unnecessarily “weigh thee down” ( Moro. 9:25 ). 1   Today, I write lest you be unnecessarily “weighed down.” What follows will include several stern but needed prophecies, yet my comments will mostly be about some very reassuring and positive things. Though I write primarily to the youth of the Church, these assurances have ready application to all gospel teachers who have been entrusted with nurturing this royal generation. My text is a later Nephi’s phrase about his own time and season on earth. As he became less nostalgic for an earlier time and more submissive as to doing his duty in his particular season, he said, “I am consigned that these are my days.” I inv...

“This is the time for our best effort, not our worst. This is a time for our greatest hope, not a retreat into calamity. We're going to be okay. Everything's going to be alright. This will pass.” “Everybody has troubles,” he said. “Everybody feels a little broken in life. . . Broken things are made whole. That's the story of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It takes broken clouds to nourish the earth. It takes broken earth to nourish grain. It takes broken grain to make bread, broken bread to nourish us . . . Things are broken in order to be whole, in order to give life. And the most precious broken thing of all was the broken heart of the Son of God.” “The Saviour asks us for a broken heart and contrite spirit. That’s what we need to be prepared to give. That’s what our sacrificial gift is supposed to be,” said Elder Holland. https://news-uk.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/elder-jeffrey-r-holland-honours-and-strengthens-british-latter-day-saints-at-online-devotional-invites-al...

Our "fears,"...are dangerous, because they can cause us to worry too much about what might happen to our bodies and not enough about what could happen to our spirits. Our fears can cause us to wonder whether, after all, God will really protect us. These fears reflect a lack of faith in both God's capacity and character, including His love for us. We worry, for example, that we might be hurt or put down because He is inattentive to our needs. Oh, how familiar we all are with such worries! The surging adrenaline of our "fears" of the flesh can blot out our spiritual memories. Laman and Lemuel feared what Laban could do. Yet they knew how marvelously God had delivered Moses and his hundreds of thousands of people from Pharaoh and his thousands in the remarkable passage through the Red Sea! Similarly, our fears can cause us to question God's plan of salvation, even when we know beforehand that there are some things we must either die from, live with, or pass thr...

  "...the world you now enter holds challenges and difficulties. In the days and years ahead, you may suffer some discouragement and disappointment. On occasion you may feel genuine despair, either for yourself or for your children or for the plight and conditions of others. You may even make a personal mistake or two—serious mistakes, perhaps, though I hope not—and you may worry that any chance to be happy and secure in life has eluded you forever. When such times come, I ask you to remember this: This is the Church of the happy endings. Troubles need never be permanent nor fatal. Darkness always yields to light. The sun always rises. Faith, hope, and charity will always triumph in the end. Furthermore, they will triumph all along the way. Our English preacher [John Donne] said of this: We ask our daily bread, and God never says you should have come yesterday, he never says  [I have run out,]  you must  [come]  again to-morrow, but  to-day if you will hear...