LDS Gem Archives, February 2009
Family Gems - 27 February 2009
The Home Is God’s Laboratory of Love and Service
“Individual progression is fostered in the family, which is ‘central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.’ (“The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Liahona, Oct. 2004, 49; Ensign, Nov. 1995, 102). The home is to be God’s laboratory of love and service. There a husband is to love his wife, a wife is to love her husband, and parents and children are to love one another.”
Topics: Family
Church History Gems - 27 February 2009
Entrance into the Salt Lake Valley
"In an impoverished condition with virtually no material possessions, Henry Ballard set sail on a sixty-three-day trip from Liverpool to New Orleans, took a riverboat to Winter Quarters in Omaha, Nebraska, and then walked all the way to Utah. He drove a herd of sheep across the plains to pay his way. Later in life, Henry recalled his entrance into the Salt Lake Valley:
" 'In October as I drove the sheep down little mountain and through the mouth of Emigration Canyon, I first beheld the Salt Lake Valley. While I rejoiced in viewing the "Promised Land," I lived in fear that some one might see me. I hid myself behind bushes all day until after dark for the rags I had on did not cover my body and I was ashamed to be thus exposed. After dark I crossed over the field to a house where a light was shining, near the mouth of the canyon, and timidly knocked on the door. Fortunately, a man answered the door and the candle light did not expose me to the view of the other members of his household. I begged for clothes to cover my naked body so that I might continue my journey and locate my parents. I was given some clothing and the next day continued my journey and arrived in Salt Lake City 16th October 1852, feeling very thankful to God that I had reached my future home in safety.' "
Topics: Faith
Daily Gems - 27 February 2009
The Will of God
"Discerning and accepting the will of God in our lives are fundamental elements of asking in faith in meaningful prayer. However, simply saying the words 'Thy will be done' is not enough. Each of us needs God's help in surrendering our will to Him.
" 'Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other' (Bible Dictionary, "Prayer," 752-53). Humble, earnest, and persistent prayer enables us to recognize and align ourselves with the will of our Heavenly Father. And in this the Savior provided the perfect example as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, 'saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. . . . And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly' (Luke 22:42, 44)."
Daily Gems - 26 February 2009
God Is at the Helm
"The world can at times be a frightening place in which to live. The moral fabric of society seems to be unraveling at an alarming speed. None—whether young or old or in-between—is exempt from exposure to those things which have the potential to drag us down and destroy us. Our youth, our precious youth, in particular, face temptations we can scarcely comprehend. The adversary and his hosts seem to be working nonstop to cause our downfall.
"We are waging a war with sin, my brothers and sisters, but we need not despair. It is a war we can and will win. Our Father in Heaven has given us the tools we need in order to do so. He is at the helm. We have nothing to fear. He is the God of light. He is the God of hope. I testify that He loves us—each one."
Topics: Temptation, Youth
Daily Gems - 25 February 2009
Access unto the Father
"While the Apostles hold all of the priesthood keys, all leaders and members alike may receive personal revelation. Indeed, they are expected to seek it through prayer and to act on it by faith.
" 'For through him we . . . have access by one Spirit unto the Father' (Ephesians 2:18)."
Topics: Apostles, Priesthood Keys
Church History Gems - 25 February 2009
Tithing Develops and Tests Our Faith
"Just over three months after the Martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith, at the time the Saints were building the Nauvoo Temple, Brigham Young wrote on behalf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: 'Enter steadily and regularly upon a strict observance of the law of tithing, . . . : then come up to the House of the Lord, and be taught in his ways, and walk in his paths' (History of the Church, 7:282).
"The strict observance of the law of tithing not only qualifies us to receive the higher, saving ordinances of the temple, it allows us to receive them on behalf of our ancestors. When asked whether members of the Church could be baptized for the dead if they had not paid their tithing, President John Taylor, then of the Quorum of the Twelve, answered: 'A man who has not paid his tithing is unfit to be baptized for his dead. . . . If a man has not faith enough to attend to these little things, he has not faith enough to save himself and his friends' (History of the Church, 7:292-93).
"Tithing develops and tests our faith. By sacrificing to the Lord what we may think we need or want for ourselves, we learn to rely on Him. Our faith in Him makes it possible to keep temple covenants and receive eternal temple blessings. Pioneer Sarah Rich, wife of Charles C. Rich, wrote in her journal after leaving Nauvoo, 'Many were the blessings we had received in the House of the Lord, which [have] caused joy and comfort in the midst of all our sorrows, and enabled us to have faith in God, knowing He would guide us and sustain us in the unknown journey that lay before us' (journal of Sarah De Armon Pea Rich, Archives, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University [typescript], 42).
"Like the pioneers, the obedient payment of tithing fortifies our faith, and that faith sustains us through the trials, tribulations, and sorrows in our life's journey."
Topics: Tithes and Offerings
Daily Gems - 24 February 2009
Loving Relationships
"Jacob taught that the Lord delights 'in the chastity of women' (Jacob 2:28). I delight in the chastity and purity of all women and men. How it must grieve the Lord to see virtue violated and modesty mocked on every side in this wicked world. The Lord has provided for His children great joy through intimate, loving relationships, as my grandchildren were learning. I delight in the clarity of the proclamation to the world on the family which warns that 'individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God.' "
Daily Gems - 23 February 2009
Gospel Consistent from the Beginning of Time
"As the restored Church of Jesus Christ blossoms throughout the globe—now with more than 13 million members—'the faith of our fathers' has an expanded meaning. . . . Often when people learn of the restored gospel, they are impressed by it—many even want to join the Church. But they are reluctant to disappoint their ancestors; they feel they should be true to the faith of their fathers. . . .
"What, then, is the faith of our fathers? Is it the religion of our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents?
"But what of the faith of the ancient ones before them? What of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? . . .
of the Savior and those disciples who followed Him?
"The faith of our Father in Heaven has been consistent since the beginning of time, even from before the foundation of this world. . . .
"We believe in the great plan of happiness, the plan of redemption, the plan of salvation, whereby God's children may experience mortality and return to the presence of the Father—a merciful plan established from before the foundation of this earth.
"This is the plan and the faith of our Father!"
Topics: Restoration, Purpose of Mortality
Family Gems - 23 February 2009
A Happy Home Is a Haven
“A happy home is but an earlier heaven. President George Albert Smith asked, ‘Do we want our homes to be happy? If we do, let them be the abiding place of prayer, thanksgiving and gratitude’ (in Conference Report, Apr. 1944, p. 32.)”
Topics: Gratitude
Church History Gems - 23 February 2009
He Drove the Stake
"That prayer of consecration [dedicating the Salt Lake Temple] is filled with thanksgiving for the blessings of the Lord upon His people. The occasion was the greatest and most significant event in the history of the Latter-day Saints in the Salt Lake Valley.
"It is a thing of note that Wilford Woodruff had been the one to drive the stake marking the site of the temple four days after the 1847 arrival of the pioneers. On that occasion President Brigham Young had declared, 'Here we will build a temple to our God.'
"Brother Woodruff saw with his own eyes the forty-year pageant of the construction of this magnificent house of the Lord. At the time of the temple dedication he was eighty-six years of age. He had been sustained President of the Church four years earlier. He had known all of the latter-day temples that had been built before this—Kirtland, Nauvoo, St. George, Logan, and Manti. He had presided in the St. George Temple from the time of its dedication in 1877 until 1884.
"Few, if any, had a better understanding of the purposes for which these structures are built. He grasped with eagerness and taught with clarity the importance of the ordinances in the house of the Lord and, particularly, of the validity of work for the dead and the manner in which families should be linked together in a great patriarchal chain.
"Beautiful is the prayer that he offered in the dedicatory service of what was then the newest temple in the Church and which has remained the largest."
Topics: Temples
Family Gems - 20 February 2009
The Lord Has Given Parents Instruction for Teaching Children
“How can we best teach our children? The Lord has given us specific instruction:
“ ‘No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;
“ ‘By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—
“ ‘Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy’ (D&C 121:41–43).”
Topics: Holy Ghost
Daily Gems - 20 February 2009
Time for Each Other
"We live in a world that is filled with options. If we are not careful, we will find every minute jammed with social events, classes, exercise time, book clubs, scrapbooking, Church callings, music, sports, the Internet, and our favorite TV shows. One mother told me of a time that her children had 29 scheduled commitments every week: music lessons, scouts, dance, Little League, day camps, soccer, art, and so forth. She felt like a taxi driver. Finally, she called a family meeting and announced, 'Something has to go; we have no time to ourselves and no time for each other.' Families need unstructured time when relationships can deepen and real parenting can take place. Take time to listen, to laugh, and to play together."
Topics: Children, Family, Motherhood
Church History Gems - 20 February 2009
Quietly and Faithfully
"My mind has turned to those early Saints who are too often lost to history, those who quietly and faithfully bore the kingdom forward through far more difficult days. So many of them seem almost nameless to us now. Most went unheralded to their graves—often early graves. Some few have made it into a line or two of Church history, but most have come and gone with neither high office nor history's regard. These folks, our collective ancestors, slipped into eternity as quietly and anonymously as they lived their religion. These are the silent Saints of whom President J. Reuben Clark once spoke when he thanked them all, 'especially,' he said, 'the meekest and lowliest of them, [largely] unknown [and] unremembered, [except] round the hearthstones of their children and their children's children who pass down from generation to generation the story of their faith' (in Conference Report, Oct. 1947, 155).
"Whether longtime member or newest of converts, we are all the beneficiaries of such faithful forebears. In this beautiful new [Conference Center] and in this historic conference convened in it, I have sensed how much I owe to those who had so much less than I but who seem in virtually every case to have done more with it to build the kingdom than I have done."
Daily Gems - 19 February 2009
Solemn Witness of Jesus Christ
"The Book of Mormon is a book that testifies that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world. Great prophets throughout the Book of Mormon have borne solemn witness that Jesus Christ is the Creator of the earth (see Mosiah 3:8), the Redeemer of mankind (see Helaman 5:9-12), the Only Begotten of the Father (see 1 Nephi 11:18-21; Jacob 4:11). These Book of Mormon prophets knew Him, as Abraham and Moses did, and received and taught His everlasting gospel. As we read and study their words, we gain a deeper understanding of the Savior's matchless love, His perfect life and example, and the blessings of His great atoning sacrifice."
Topics: Book of Mormon, Prophets
Church History Gems - 18 February 2009
"Talked Big Things"
"These are surely some of the days which our faithful and farsighted ancestors saw in the earliest years of the Restoration. In a general conference of the Church in April 1844, the brethren recalled those first gatherings of 1830. One of them said: 'We [talked] about the kingdom of God as if we had the world at our command; we talked with great confidence, and talked big things, although we were not many [in number]; . . . we looked [and] if we did not see this [congregation], we saw by vision, the church of God, a thousand times larger [than it was then], although [at the time] we were not enough to well man a farm, or meet a woman with a milk pail. . . . All the members [of the Church] met in conference, in a room 20 feet square. . . . We talked about . . . people coming as doves to the windows, that all nations should flock unto [the Church]. . . . If we had told the people what our eyes behold this day, we should not [have been] believed' (Times and Seasons, 1 May 1844, 522-23).
"If this was their feeling in that fateful year of 1844, just prior to Joseph Smith's martyrdom, what must those same brethren and sisters see from their eternal home on a day like this! So much has happened since then for which they and we need to be grateful. And, of course, this is not the end. We have much work yet to do, in both the quality and quantity of our faithfulness and our service. George A. Smith, counselor in the First Presidency to President Brigham Young, once said by way of caution, 'We may build temples, erect stately domes, magnificent spires [and] grand towers, in honor of our religion, but if we fail to live the principles of that religion . . . , and to acknowledge God in all our thoughts, we shall fall short of the blessings which its practical exercise would ensure' (Deseret News Weekly, 17 July 1872, 348). We must be humble and conscientious. The honor and the glory of all that is good goes to God, and there is much still ahead of us that will be refining, even difficult, as He leads us from strength to strength."
Topics: Proclaim the Gospel
Young Single Adult Gems - 18 February 2009
No One Wants Adversity
"It is so hard when sincere prayer about something we desire very much is not answered the way we want. It is especially difficult when the Lord answers no to that which is worthy and would give us great joy and happiness. Whether it be overcoming illness or loneliness, recovery of a wayward child, coping with a handicap, or seeking continuing life for a dear one who is slipping away, it seems so reasonable and so consistent with our happiness to have a favorable answer. It is hard to understand why our exercise of deep and sincere faith from an obedient life does not bring the desired result.
"No one wants adversity. Trials, disappointments, sadness, and heartache come to us from two basically different sources. Those who transgress the laws of God will always have those challenges. The other reason for adversity is to accomplish the Lord's own purposes in our life that we may receive the refinement that comes from testing. It is vitally important for each of us to identify from which of these two sources come our trials and challenges, for the corrective action is very different."
Topics: Adversity
Daily Gems - 18 February 2009
Truth Changes Hearts
"Our testimonies are strengthened as we reverently observe the great universe God has created for us. The Lord declared to Enoch, 'All things are created and made to bear record of me' (Moses 6:63). Alma bore a similar testimony to Korihor, the anti-Christ: 'All things denote there is a God' (Alma 30:44). . . .
"The wrestle that Enos had before the Lord demonstrates the power of his father's testimony. Enos said, 'The words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart' (Enos 1:3). Elder M. Russell Ballard said: 'Clear declaration of truth makes a difference in people's lives. That is what changes hearts' (Ensign, Nov. 2004, 41)."
Daily Gems - 17 February 2009
Courage and Spiritual Fortification
"Abinadi was a man of unwavering courage who stood for truth when it was unpopular to do so. As he courageously called the people to repentance, he knew his own life was in jeopardy. In your mind's eye, you can see the riveting scene of Abinadi, who had just had a death sentence pronounced upon him, he had an opportunity to save himself by denying his faith and testimony, but instead he fearlessly proclaimed, 'I say unto you, I will not recall the words which I have spoken unto you concerning this people, for they are true' (Mosiah 17:9).
"We may not have to lose our lives in defense of truth, but we can, just like Abinadi, draw ourselves to full stature, and with full heart and energy, valiantly proclaiming that Jesus Christ is our Savior. He was and is the Son of the Almighty. He lives and He loves us.
". . . The Lord has said to us: 'Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail' (D&C 6:34, 36). We must fortify ourselves. That sure spiritual fortification is found in two words—Jesus Christ."
Family Gems - 16 February 2009
God Will Reward Parents’ Efforts
“Families across the Church are searching for ways to strengthen and protect their children against the evils around them. In some cases those parents are desperately trying to bring back some in their family who have wandered. I am confident that there will be, increasingly, a reward given by God for their efforts. Those who never give up will find that God never gave up and that He will help them.”
Topics: Family
Church History Gems - 16 February 2009
Not Where You Serve but How
"At general conference in April 1951, President David O. McKay was sustained as President of the Church after the passing of President George Albert Smith. Up to that time, President [J. Reuben] Clark had served as the First Counselor to President Heber J. Grant and then to President George Albert Smith. President McKay had been the Second Counselor to both men.
"During the final session of conference when the business of the Church was transacted, Brother Stephen L Richards was called to the First Presidency and sustained as First Counselor. President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., was then sustained as the Second Counselor. After the sustaining of the officers of the Church, President McKay explained why he had chosen his counselors in that order. He said:
" 'I felt that one guiding principle in this choice would be to follow the seniority in the Council [of the Twelve]. These two men were sitting in their places in that presiding body in the Church, and I felt impressed that it would be advisable to continue that same seniority in the new quorum of the First Presidency.' (In Conference Report, 9 April 1951, p. 151.)
"President Clark was then asked to speak following President McKay. His remarks on this occasion were brief but teach a powerful lesson: 'In the service of the Lord, it is not where you serve but how. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, one takes the place to which one is duly called, which place one neither seeks nor declines. I pledge to President McKay and to President Richards the full loyal devoted service to the tasks that may come to me to the full measure of my strength and my abilities and so far as they will enable me to perform them, however inadequate I may be.' (Ibid., p. 154.)"
Topics: Service, Church Callings
Subscribe to Daily Gems
Subscribe through e-mail
Subscribe through RSSGem Archives by Topic
- Atonement
- Book of Mormon
- Children of God
- Faith
- Family
- Jesus Christ
- Joseph Smith
- Plan of Salvation
- Repentance
- Restoration
LDS Gem Archives by date
- 2009
- 2008