LDS Gem Archives, November 2010
Youth Gems - 30 November 2010
Christlike Love
"Love is what inspired our Heavenly Father to create our spirits; it is what led our Savior to the Garden of Gethsemane to make Himself a ransom for our sins. Love is the grand motive of the plan of salvation; it is the source of happiness, the ever-renewing spring of healing, the precious fountain of hope. As we extend our hands and hearts toward others in Christlike love, something wonderful happens to us. Our own spirits become healed, more refined, and stronger. We become happier, more peaceful, and more receptive to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit."
Family Gems - 30 November 2010
The Role of Fathers
"Fathers are expected by God and His prophets not only to provide for their families but also to protect them. . . .
". . . On a day-to-day basis, fathers can and should help with the essential nurturing and bonding associated with feeding, playing, storytelling, loving, and all the rest of the activities that make up family life."
Topics: Fatherhood
Young Single Adult Gems - 29 November 2010
Repent—Now
"If one of you has seriously sinned, repent—now. It is not good to violate the commandments of the Lord. It is worse to do nothing about it. Sin is like cancer in the body. It will never heal itself. It will become progressively worse unless cured through the medicine of repentance."
Topics: Repentance
Church History Gems - 26 November 2010
Unwavering Faith
"Lorenzo Snow was a great early missionary. He had been a member of the Church for less than a year when he set out on his first mission in 1837. He tells about his first experiences preaching the gospel in the following words:
" 'I . . . traveled about thirty miles, and just as the sun was setting I made my first call for a night's lodging, as a "Mormon" Elder, and was refused; then another, and so on, until the eighth call, when I was admitted to a night's lodging—going to bed supperless, and leaving in the morning, minus a breakfast.
" 'The first meeting I held was in the neighborhood of my uncle, by the name of Goddard, near the county seat of Medina County, Ohio. The people were notified and a respectable congregation assembled. It was a sore trial to face that audience in the capacity of a preacher, but I believed and felt an assurance that a Spirit of inspiration would prompt and give me utterance . . . [it did, for he] baptized and confirmed into the Church my uncle, aunt and several of my cousins' (quoted in Eliza R. Snow Smith, Biography and Family Record of Lorenzo Snow, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1884, p. 16).
"Brothers and sisters, we need to learn that early members of the Church succeeded in the face of all opposition because they had the unwavering faith to open their mouths and declare the truth and because they took with them the mighty sword of the Lord's Spirit (see D&C 27:16–18). They remembered their baptismal covenant 'to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places . . . even until death' (Mosiah 18:9)."
Topics: Faith, Missionary Work
Family Gems - 26 November 2010
It Is a Sacred Duty and Privilege to Have Children Grace Our Lives
"It is our solemn duty, our precious privilege—even our sacred opportunity—to welcome to our homes and to our hearts the children who grace our lives."
Topics: Children
Young Single Adult Gems - 26 November 2010
Don't Fritter Away Your Life
"It is necessary to prepare, to plan, so that we don't fritter away our lives. Without a goal, there can be no real success. The best definition of success I have ever found goes something like this: Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal. Someone has said the trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never crossing the goal line."
Topics: Plan of Salvation
Youth Gems - 25 November 2010
A Badge of Courage
"May our conversations with others always be marked by the fruits of the Spirit—'love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, [and] temperance' (Galatians 5:22–23). To be meek, as defined in Webster's dictionary, is 'manifesting patience and longsuffering: enduring injury without resentment' (Webster's Third New International Dictionary [1976], 'meek,' 1403). Meekness is not weakness. It is a badge of Christian courage."
Daily Gems - 25 November 2010
Always Faithful Obedience
"At times we may rationalize that the Lord will understand our disobedience because our special circumstances make adherence to His laws difficult, embarrassing, or even painful. However, faithful obedience, regardless of the apparent size of the task, will bring the Lord's guidance, assistance, and peace."
Young Single Adult Gems - 24 November 2010
The Sanctity of Womanhood
"So many of our sisters are disheartened, even discouraged, and disillusioned. Others are in serious trouble because of the choices they make. Satan has unleashed a seductive campaign to undermine the sanctity of womanhood, to deceive the daughters of God and divert them from their divine destiny. He well knows women are the compassionate, self-sacrificing, loving power that binds together the human family. He would focus their interests solely on their physical attributes and rob them of their exalting roles as wives and mothers."
Topics: Worthiness
Church History Gems - 24 November 2010
No Way to Extract Himself
"A few years after the pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, a young man took an ox team up Millcreek Canyon on a cold winter day to get logs to build a house. It was extremely cold, and the snow was deep. His sled held five large logs. After he loaded the first one, he turned around to load another. In that instant, the log already on the sled—22 feet long and about 10 inches in diameter—slipped off the sled and rolled down on him, striking him in the hollow of his legs. He was thrown face-forward across the four logs still on the ground and pinned there, alone, with no way to extract himself. He knew he would freeze to death and die alone in the mountains.
"The next thing this young pioneer remembered was waking up, sitting on a load of five logs nicely bound on his sled with his oxen pulling the load down the canyon. In his personal history he wrote, 'Who it was that extricated me from under the log, loaded my sled, hitched my oxen to it, and placed me on it, I cannot say' (Marriner Wood Merrill, in Jeaneen Merrill Anderson, "Pinned to the Ground," Church News, Sept. 6, 1997, 16). Thirty-three years later, that young pioneer, Marriner Wood Merrill, was ordained an Apostle.
Daily Gems - 24 November 2010
Offering Spiritual Help Invites All to Come to Christ
"The Lord's work and glory truly is 'to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man' (Moses 1:39). Many around us need spiritual help. As we offer a saving hand to less-active members, to part-member families, and to those not of our faith, we invite all to 'come unto Christ.' "
Topics: Jesus Christ, Fellowship
Youth Gems - 23 November 2010
The Requirement of Baptism
"Baptism is a requirement, but why? Why is it necessary to be baptized in this way and by one holding particular authority? I do not know. But what I do know is that the remission of sins is made possible only by the atoning sacrifice of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and that He has prescribed that condition, again and again. His sacrifice paid the price for my sins, and He has prescribed the conditions upon which I can be saved by His payment. That is reason enough for me."
Topics:
Church History Gems - 22 November 2010
Truth Is Mormonism
"From Church history we read:
" 'Certain residents of Hiram, Ohio, vented their personal feelings with mob action directed against the Prophet and Sidney Rigdon. Stimulated by whiskey and hidden behind blackened faces, a gang of more than two dozen men dragged Joseph from his bed during the night of March 24, 1832. Choking him into submission, they stripped him naked, scratched his skin with their fingernails, tore his hair, then smeared his body with tar and feathers. A vial of nitric acid forced against his teeth splashed on his face; a front tooth was broken. Meanwhile other members of the mob dragged Rigdon by the heels from his home, bumping his head on the frozen ground, which left him delirious for days. The Prophet's friends spent the night removing the tar to help him keep a Sunday morning preaching appointment. He addressed a congregation that included Simonds Ryder, organizer of the mob' (James B. Allen and Glen M. Leonard, The Story of the Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1992, p. 81).
"Ryder was a convert who turned away because the Prophet Joseph had misspelled his name, apparently concluding that a prophet was one who had to be a perfect speller.
"Later, the Saints in Missouri found out in a tragic manner how the armies of the enemy may
assemble.. . .
"In the midst of all these trials, Joseph said: 'Hell may pour forth its rage like the burning lava of Mount Vesuvius, or of Etna, or of the most terrible of the burning mountains; and yet shall "Mormonism" stand. Water, fire, truth and God are all realities. Truth is "Mormonism." God is the author of it. He is our shield' (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 139)."
Topics: Opposition
Family Gems - 22 November 2010
There Is Power in Couple Prayer
"There is great power in prayer. I strongly encourage personal and family prayer, which are important in building strong families. . . . I'm wondering if many of you parents, you couples, have lost that essential moment of kneeling together at the end of the day, just the two of you, holding hands and saying your prayers. If that has slipped away from your daily routine, may I suggest you put it back—beginning tonight!"
Topics: Prayer
Daily Gems - 22 November 2010
A Way to Escape Temptation
"Whenever temptation comes, remember the wise counsel of the Apostle Paul, who declared, 'There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it' (1 Corinthians 10:13)."
Topics: Choice and Accountability, Temptation
Young Single Adult Gems - 22 November 2010
We Need to Be More Grateful
"We need to be more grateful. It's one of the marks of strong character, to have a feeling of thanksgiving and gratitude for blessings that are ours. We need more of that spirit in our homes, in our daily associations, in church, everywhere. It's so easy to cultivate the spirit of appreciation."
Topics: Gratitude
Daily Gems - 19 November 2010
What to Do When Wronged
"If you feel you have been wronged—by anyone (a family member, a friend, another member of the Church, a Church leader, a business associate) or by anything (the death of a loved one, health problems, a financial reverse, abuse, addictions)—deal with the matter directly and with all the strength you have. 'Hold on thy way' (D&C 122:9); giving up is not an option. And without delay, turn to the Lord."
Topics: Enduring to the End, Adversity, Forgiving Others
Church History Gems - 19 November 2010
Faith Is the Teacher
"It is a marvelous and wonderful thing that thousands are touched by the miracle of the Holy Spirit, that they believe and accept and become members. They are baptized. Their lives are forever touched for good. Miracles occur. A seed of faith comes into their hearts. It enlarges as they learn. And they accept principle upon principle, until they have every one of the marvelous blessings that come to those who walk with faith in this, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
"It is faith that is the converter. It is faith that is the teacher.
"Thus it has been from the beginning.
"I marvel at the quality of the men and women who accepted Joseph Smith's testimony and came into the Church. They included such men as Brigham Young, the Pratt brothers, Willard Richards, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, the wives of these men, and a host of others. They were people of substance. Many of them were well educated. They were blessed of the Lord with the faith to accept the story which they heard. When they received the message, when the gift of faith touched their lives, they were baptized. The brethren gladly gave up what they had been doing and, with the support of their families, responded to calls to go across the sea to teach that which they had accepted on faith."
Topics: Conversion
Family Gems - 19 November 2010
Give Family Study the Highest Priority
"Certainly there are times when getting the family together to read the scriptures does not stack up as a spiritual experience worthy of a journal entry. But we must not be deterred. There are special times when the spirit of a son or daughter is just right and the power of these great scriptures goes down into their heart like fire. As we honor our Heavenly Father in our homes, He will honor our efforts."
Topics: Family
Young Single Adult Gems - 19 November 2010
Your Life Is Your Own
"Your life is your own, to develop or to destroy. You can blame others little and yourself almost totally if that life is not a productive, worthy, full, and abundant one."
Topics:
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