The Atonement and Faith

"Faith in the Lord is trust in the Lord. We cannot have true faith in the Lord without also having complete trust in the Lord’s will and in the Lord’s timing. As a result, no matter how strong our faith is, it cannot produce a result contrary to the will of Him in whom we have faith. Remember that when your prayers do not seem to be answered in the way or at the time you desire. The exercise of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is always subject to the order of heaven, to the goodness and will and wisdom and timing of the Lord. When we have that kind of faith and trust in the Lord, we have true security and serenity in our lives."

--Dallin H. Oaks, "The Atonement and Faith", Ensign, Apr. 2010, 30–34

The Atonement & Faith

"Faith in the Lord is trust in the Lord. We cannot have true faith in the Lord without also having complete trust in the Lord’s will and in the Lord’s timing. As a result, no matter how strong our faith is, it cannot produce a result contrary to the will of Him in whom we have faith. Remember that when your prayers do not seem to be answered in the way or at the time you desire. The exercise of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is always subject to the order of heaven, to the goodness and will and wisdom and timing of the Lord. When we have that kind of faith and trust in the Lord, we have true security and serenity in our lives."

--Dallin H. Oaks, "The Atonement and Faith", Ensign, Apr 2010, 30–34

2 Nephi 2:7

I Believe in Christ, Hymn #134

Scripture Enlightening Moment

Last night, I read in The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, Alma 24:30, it reads "And thus we can plainly discern, that after a people have been once enlightened by the Spirit of God, and have had great knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness, and then have fallen away into sin and transgression, they become more hardened, and thus their state becomes worse than though they had never known these things."

I think about this, in that we all sin, but if we fall into sin w/out repentance, and part of repentance is acknowledging the wrong (our own actions or not actions) in the first place. But even with the atonement, if a trial you're going through is a direct result of someone else we can still put these trials in the Lord's hands, do our best and move forward. I think sometimes people blame others even if it isn't their fault - either way, you have a choice not to stay in misery, you have a choice to leave it behind you, forgive, forget, and move forward. We've all been given a great gift of atonement, we have all be given the opportunity to choose a better path, through prayer and through the spirit or the holy ghost we can know truth, we can gain a testimony and we can move forward by nurturing. If we altogether stop nurturing, of course our strong testimony is going to falter, doubts will come, bitterness, hate, depression amongst so many other feelings that can either destroy our knowledge of truth or strengthen our knowledge of truth. And you know, truth will set you free esp if you choose to take that truth into your life and live it.

Relief Society Birthday

The Relief Society was founded by the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1842 in Nauvoo, Illinois. The Relief Society serves under the direction of the priesthood. It assists priesthood leaders to help sisters and their families come unto Christ. It helps each sister and their families receive all essential priesthood ordinances, keep the associated covenants, and qualify for exaltation and eternal life.

The following objectives support the purpose of Relief Society:

1. Build faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His Atonement.
2. Uphold, nourish, and protect families.
3. Provide Relief.

All women 18 years and older as well as women younger than 18 who are married or are single mothers, are welcomed into the sisterhood of Relief Society.

The motto is "Charity Never Faileth".

The Atonement and the Value of One Soul

"If we could truly understand the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, we would realize how precious is one son or daughter of God."

--Elder M. Russell Ballard, "The Atonement and the Value of One Soul", May 2004 Ensign pg 84

Peace & Happiness

"True, enduring happiness, with the accompanying strength, courage, and capacity to overcome the greatest difficulties, will come as you center your life in Jesus Christ. Obedience to His teachings provides a secure ascent in the journey of life. That takes effort. While there is no guarantee of overnight results, there is the assurance that, in the Lord's time, solutions will come, peace will prevail, and happiness will be yours."

(Richard G. Scott, "The Atonement Can Secure Your Peace and Happiness," Ensign, Nov. 2006, 41)

He Loves Us

I am not perfect. I have weaknesses. I try and make my weaknesses become strong. I have made mistakes, some the same more than once. And it has been at those times that I have felt [even though, I know that my Heavenly Father has forgiven me], that perhaps my quota has been up on saying "I'm sorry." I know that the atonement doesn't work that way. I know that I am harder on myself than others are, and sometimes it is harder to forgive yourself than it is for our Father in Heaven to forgive us of our shortcomings.

I also think about the comparison of as a parent we know what is best for our children, and sometimes our children don't understand why they need to go to bed at a certain hour. They may resist, they may do everything they can under the sun to delay because for them, they are just not ready to go to sleep. As a parent, we love our children and we know they need sleep to be at their best emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Sometimes, our children don't know understand why we do what we do, but it is for the good. God or Heavenly Father does the same for us, His children ~ sometimes we may not understand the trials we face, but we do because He knows us better and He loves us and He knows what we need to become our best.

This quote came to me from LDS Nuggets.com today ~ to me, it relates to the above thoughts.

"Oh, it is wonderful to know that our Heavenly Father loves us—even with all our flaws! His love is such that even should we give up on ourselves, He never will. We see ourselves in terms of yesterday and today. Our Heavenly Father sees us in terms of forever. Although we might settle for less, Heavenly Father won’t, for He sees us as the glorious beings we are capable of becoming."

--Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, "The Great Commandment", October 2007 General Conference

1 John 4:7–8

God is Love, Hymn #87

The Atonement and the Value of One Soul

"The Savior's Resurrection assures all of us that someday we, too, will follow Him and experience our own resurrection. What peace, what comfort this great gift is which comes through the loving grace of Jesus Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of all mankind."

(M. Russell Ballard, "The Atonement and the Value of One Soul," Ensign, May 2004, 84)

Post Easter

I came upon this while I was reading my daily email subscription [I'm just behind at the moment] to Meridian Magazine... I thought, even though Easter has come and gone - the meaning behind Easter should be in our very hearts every day. So please, have a seat and enjoy this 4 min 25 sec segment:

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland on None were with Him