Mormon Musings

It has always been a wonderful testimony to me of the Prophet Joseph’s greatness and the greatness of all of our prophets, including and especially the Savior of the world in His magnificence, that in the midst of such distress and difficulty they could remain calm and patient, charitable, and forgiving—that they could even talk that way, let alone live that way. But they could, and they did. They remembered their covenants, they disciplined themselves, and they knew that we must live the gospel at all times, not just when it is convenient and not just when things are going well. Indeed, they knew that the real test of our faith and our Christian discipleship is when things are not going smoothly. That is when we get to see what we’re made of and how strong our commitment to the gospel really is... Remaining true to our Christian principles is the only way divine influence can help us. The Spirit has a near-impossible task to get through to a heart that is filled with hate or anger or ...

 

"God, who oversees the interlacings of galaxies, stars, and worlds, asks us to confess His hand in our personal lives, too." Neal A. Maxwell

 "When we read in the Scriptures of man's 'weakness,' this term includes the generic but necessary weakness inherent in the general human condition in which the flesh has such an incessant impact upon the spirit (see Ether 12:28-29).  Weakness likewise includes, however, our specific, individual weaknesses, which we are expected to overcome (see D&C 66:3; Jacob 4:7).  Life has a way of exposing these weaknesses."   Elder Neal A. Maxwell, "Lord, Increase our Faith" [1994], 84

 “There is an underlying reason, brothers and sisters, for all this fleetingness: those who bestow the transitory things of the world are, themselves, transients. They cannot confer that which is lasting because they do not possess it! Some, so sensing and seeing so little, want to have it all now!” Elder Neal A. Maxwell

Revelations are not reserved for a limited few or for those called to positions of importance in the Church...Rather, it is personal righteousness; it is keeping the commandments; it is seeking the Lord while He may be found.  God is no respecter of persons.  He will give revelation to me and to you on the same terms and conditions.  I can see what Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon saw in the vision of the degrees of glory--and so can you.  I can entertain angels and see God, I can receive an outpouring of the gifts of the Spirit -- and so can you. Bruce R. McConkie, October 1969 General Conference

  Personal, spiritual symmetry emerges only from the shaping of prolonged obedience.  Twigs are bent, not snapped, into shape. Neal A. Maxwell