Three Choices - TOTW

"Tomorrow’s joy or tomorrow’s despair has its roots in decisions we make today. Perhaps some people think to themselves: 'I know I need to change some things in my life. Maybe later, but not now.'

Those who stand at the threshold of life always waiting for the right time to change are like the man who stands at the bank of a river waiting for the water to pass so he can cross on dry land.

Today is the day of decision."

--Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Three Choices,” Ensign, Nov. 2003, 78

TOTW - Sunday Will Come

"After the Resurrection, the disciples became renewed. They traveled throughout the world proclaiming the glorious news of the gospel.
"Had they chosen, they could have disappeared and returned to their former lives and occupations. In time, their association with Him would have been forgotten.
"They could have denied the divinity of Christ. Yet they did not. In the face of danger, ridicule, and threat of death, they entered palaces, temples, and synagogues boldly proclaiming Jesus the Christ, the resurrected Son of the living God.
"Many of them offered as a final testimony their own precious lives. They died as martyrs, the testimony of the risen Christ on their lips as they perished.
"The Resurrection transformed the lives of those who witnessed it.
Should it not transform ours? We will all rise from the grave. . .
"Because of the life and eternal sacrifice of the Savior of the
world, we will be reunited with those we have cherished.
"On that day we will know the love of our Heavenly Father. On that day we will rejoice that the Messiah overcame all that we could live forever."

(Joseph B. Wirthlin, "Sunday Will Come," Ensign, Nov. 2006, 30)

TOTW - The Virtue of Kindness

"We are all children of our Heavenly Father. And we are here with the same purpose: to learn to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves (see Mark 12:30-31)."

(Joseph B. Wirthlin, "The Virtue of Kindness," Ensign, May 2005, 28)

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