Life is Hard, Not the Gospel!

Today I'd like to share a quote my family and I have memorized. It is by Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge of the Seventy from his Oct. 2008 General Conference talk, The Way.

"Life is hard, not the gospel. 'There is an opposition in all things,' everywhere, for everyone. Life is hard for all of us, but life is also simple. We have only two choices. We can either follow the Lord and be endowed with His power and have peace, light, strength, knowledge, confidence, love, and joy, or we can go some other way, any other way, whatever other way, and go it alone . . . without guidance, in darkness, turmoil, doubt, grief, and despair. And I ask, which way is easier? . . . Life is hard, but life is simple. Get on the path and never, ever give up. You never give up. You just keep on going. You don’t quit, and you will make it."

This is so true. After we have faith, repent, are baptized, and receive the Holy Ghost, we need to endure to the end. ALL the way to the end. We can't quit as soon as we start, we can't quit halfway through, we can't even quit when we're in sight of the finish line--or else we will not make it. We need to "finish our course". Even if there are hard things along the way, or tempting 'Detour' signs. Even if everyone around us is turning back, or sitting down, or running off the road to chase temporary ideals. We must stay on the strait and narrow. We must "press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope". We must keep our minds and hearts fixed on the goal of eternal life.

President Harold B. Lee taught, "You may not like what comes from the authority of the Church. It may contradict your political views. It may contradict your social views. It may interfere with some of your social life. But if you listen to these things, as if from the mouth of the Lord Himself, with patience and faith, the promise is that 'the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name’s glory' (D&C 21:6)." This seems particularly relevant with the recent hype surrounding the Church's new policy. There has been a distinct contrast here between two different groups of people: Group A, whose members have chosen to leave the Church, claiming that the Brethren are bigots, or that Mormons are gay-haters, and Group B, which includes those who sought confirmation from the Lord and were able to feel peace regarding this policy.

I know that the prophet and apostles are called by God, that they receive revelation from Him, and that they will never lead us astray. I love them and pray for them.

Endure to the end!

PS: Another great article on this is "The Whole Earth Shall be in Commotion", by MMM.

Elder Richard G. Scott: 1928-2015

“He'll be remembered as a tireless worker, a tireless servant, and a friend of the Lord who wore out his life in the Lord's cause and was happy to do it,” were the words that fellow Apostle D. Todd Christofferson used in describing Richard G. Scott.

<--- In no particular order, pictures of Elder Scott from Mormon Newsroom.

Elder Richard G. Scott passed away at 1:45 MDT today, Tuesday, September 22, 2015, at age 86. His life was full of service to the Lord and His children. 

Though the members of the Church are saddened by Elder Scott's passing, the majority of thoughts I have heard on this matter pertain to Jeanene, his beloved wife, who passed away on May 15, 1995. Elder Scott never remarried, and he is undoubtedly ecstatic to be with her again after over twenty years of separation! They were sealed in the Manti, Utah temple in 1953.

Leader Bio of Elder Scott
Elder Scott Dies at 86
Yet Another Apostle Departs – My Brush With Richard G. Scott--This is from Middle-aged Mormon Man, and I loved his story about Elder Scott so much that I wanted to share. Also, if you have some time, read a few of his other works! TLPB approved for sure!

*sigh* Can you believe that there are now three vacancies in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles?!?!? The First Presidency and the remaining Apostles need your prayers!!!!!!!!!!! They are going to be calling, through inspired revelation, THREE new Apostles in just two and a half weeks! Talk about some pressure! Pray for them to be at ease as they strive to be in tune with the Spirit.

How wonderful it is to have living prophets and Apostles on this earth who testify of Christ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Elder Richard G. Scott magnified his calling to the fullest as he served faithfully in his holy callings. I am so grateful to know that he will continue to serve just as faithfully on the other side with his beloved Jeanene next to him.

Double Duty!

Before I 'officially' start the post...Did you hear about Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles? He passed away yesterday of cancer. Prayers for his family and for the First Presidency as they ponder who to call in replacement (in October). (Here is a link to the news article.)

Today is a special day for two reasons. First, it is my little sister's eighth birthday! She is now accountable for her own actions, able to know right from wrong, and old enough to be BAPTIZED!!! She will be baptized in about a month.

Second, it is PARENT'S Day. Wait - before you go squealing off to look for a late gift let me tell you: you didn't forget ANYTHING. This is just something I kind of made up. It is the day that falls directly between Mother's Day and Father's Day. Parent's Day! 21 days in either direction and you will hit one of those parental holidays. 

In honor of these two occasions, I did two experimences! What??? You don't know what an experimence is?? Well, keep reading and I'll tell you.

Experimence #1...

A few weeks ago, I finished Divine Nature Required Experience #3:

Make your home life better. For two weeks make a special effort to strengthen your relationship with a family member by showing love through your actions. Refrain from judging, criticizing, or speaking unkindly, and watch for positive qualities in that family member. Write notes of encouragement, pray for this family member, find ways to be helpful, and verbally express your love. Share your experiences and the divine qualities you’ve discovered with that family member or with a parent or leader.

I chose my now-eight-year-old sister as the family member I tried to strengthen my relationship with. As I did this - not only as an experience, but an experiment (thus the word experimence) - I noticed things about my sister I hadn't known before. For example, she's really fun to talk to at night before we fall asleep. She's also very sweet with our baby sister. She happily and enthusiastically plays 'people' or 'house' with our Sunbeam sister, and is always up for a round of roughhousing with her older brother, even if she'd rather be doing something else. She is wonderful with people and is always ready to serve. I was way excited for the opportunity to write her a note at the end of all this telling her just how wonderful she is and how her divine nature really shines through!

Experimence #2...

Today, I completed Divine Nature Elective Experience #5:

Obedience is an attribute of the Savior. Strive to be more obedient to your parents. Read Luke 2:40–51 and John 6:38. Develop a pattern of obedience as you make a special effort to treat your parents with respect and kindness and do what your parents ask you to do without having to be reminded. After two weeks record in your journal how being more obedient motivated you to want to continue doing so and how it has helped you understand your divine nature and the divine roles of mothers and fathers.

In honor of Parent's Day, I chose to do this Divine Nature experience--which really ended up being another experimence. Throughout the two weeks, as I decided to do what my parents wanted or needed me to do (which was hard; sometimes I forgot), I found that the Spirit directs my parents when they pray for me and helps them to know what choices they need to place before me and how to help me stay on the straight and narrow path. I am so grateful to my parents for the obedient example they set and I hope I'll be able to do the same for my children. And if you really want a gift for your parents, you can start this experimence. Trust me, they'll love it!