LDS Gem Archives, May 2008
Church History Gems - 30 May 2008
Worthy of Respect
"One hundred and fifty years ago our people were leaving Nauvoo and threading their way across the prairies of Iowa. None of us, I am confident, can appreciate the measure of sacrifice which they made in leaving their comfortable homes to brave the tempests of the wilderness on a journey that would not end until they reached this valley of the Great Salt Lake. Their suffering was immeasurable. They died by the hundreds for this cause of which each one of us is a part.
"I was in Palmyra this past summer and in Nauvoo, and in Council Bluffs, Iowa, which they had called Kanesville out of respect and love for a loyal friend. I stood where the Grand Encampment assembled when they reached the Missouri River. I have been over the trail from the Missouri to this valley a number of times. For me it is always a sacred experience. I am so deeply grateful for our inheritance. . . .
"Ours is the blessing to live in a better season. The terrible persecutions of the past are behind us. Today we are looked upon with respect by people across the world. We must always be worthy of that respect. We must earn it, or we will not have it."
Topics: Pioneers
Young Single Adult Gems - 30 May 2008
What We Learn by Reading the Scriptures
"The brass plates were a record of Lehi's fathers, including their language, genealogy, and, more importantly, the gospel taught by God's holy prophets. As Lehi searched the plates, he learned what all of us learn by studying the scriptures:
•Who we are.
•What we can become.
•Prophecies for us and for our posterity.
•The commandments, laws, ordinances, and covenants we must live by to obtain eternal life.
Topics: Scripture
Daily Gems - 30 May 2008
Humble, Trusting Prayer
"We pray to our Heavenly Father in the sacred name of His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. Prayer is most effective when we strive to be clean and obedient, with worthy motives, and are willing to do what He asks. Humble, trusting prayer brings direction and peace."
Family Gems - 30 May 2008
Children Can Influence Parents for Good
"My dear brothers and sisters, may the laughter of children gladden our hearts. May the faith of children soothe our souls. May the love of children prompt our deeds. 'Children are an heritage of the Lord' (Ps. 127:3)."
Topics: Children
Daily Gems - 29 May 2008
Seeing God's Hand in Our Past
"Inspiring stories and anecdotes from our past punctuate [President Gordon B. Hinckley's] writings and sermons. As our living prophet, he consciously emphasizes the past and the future to help us live more righteously in the present. Because of his teachings, we understand that remembering enables us to see God's hand in our past, just as prophecy and faith assure us of God's hand in our future. President Hinckley reminds us how members of the early Church faced their challenges so we, through the grace of God, can more faithfully face our own. By keeping our past alive, he connects us to the people, places, and events that make up our spiritual heritage and, in so doing, motivates us to greater service, faith, and kindness."
Topics: Family History, Pioneers
Youth Gems - 29 May 2008
Blessings of Faith and Obedience
"Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is evident when we believe His teachings and claim His 'exceeding great and precious promises' and become 'partakers of the divine nature' (2 Peter 1:4). Innumerable promises are proclaimed by His prophets, and the Lord assures us, 'My word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same' (D&C 1:38).
"In these latter days, the Lord revealed that 'when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated' (D&C 130:21). The Lord makes generous promises, and He certifies that He will not vary from these promises, for, said He, 'I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise' (D&C 82:10)."
Daily Gems - 28 May 2008
Being Grateful Will Make Us Happy
"Mercies and blessings come in different forms--sometimes as hard things. Yet the Lord said, 'Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things' (D&C 59:7). All things means just that: good things, difficult things--not just some things. He has commanded us to be grateful because He knows being grateful will make us happy. This is another evidence of His love."
Church History Gems - 28 May 2008
A Day of Reverence
Carthage, Illinois, Sunday, June 26, 1994
"This is a day of quiet reverence and deep respect.
"This is June 26. One hundred and fifty years ago, June 26 was a Wednesday. That morning Governor Thomas Ford of Illinois, who had come to Carthage, visited Joseph Smith in the jail.
"The next morning, Dan Jones, who had spent the night in the jail with Joseph and Hyrum, left to carry a message. He talked with Frank Worrel, one of the Carthage Grays. He reported that Worrel said: 'We have had too much trouble to bring old Joe here to let him ever escape alive, and unless you want to die with him, you had better leave before sundown. . . . You'll see that I can prophesy better than old Joe, for neither he nor his brother, nor anyone who will remain with them will see the sunset today.' . . .
"At 10:30 that morning, Governor Ford and his troops left for Nauvoo, leaving those in the jail behind at the mercy of the mob militia. As the afternoon of that sultry day wore on, the Prophet asked John Taylor to sing 'A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief.' He sang all seven verses, and Joseph asked him to sing them again. He replied, 'I don't feel like doing it.' But at Hyrum's importuning he repeated the song.
Topics: Joseph Smith
Young Single Adult Gems - 28 May 2008
Repent and Be Made Clean
"Most of you have held to high standards. Possibly some few of you have slipped. I would like to say that I assure you that even if this is the case, you have not lost everything. With sincere repentance on your part, the Lord will forgive, and those about you will forgive. I hope that you will somehow come to forgive yourselves and put your trust and faith in the Lord, who will be kind and gracious to you. Already you've paid a terrible price for your mistakes. They have haunted you day and night. They seem never to leave you. "Confess them if that is necessary and then get them behind you. Parents and bishops stand ready to help. Your bishops have been ordained and set apart and promised wisdom beyond their own in working with you and assisting you. Isaiah said: 'Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool' (Isaiah 1:18)."
Topics: Repentance
Daily Gems - 27 May 2008
Properly Preparing to Be Born Again
"You and I can be prepared with 'the words of faith and of good doctrine' (1 Timothy 4:6) and initially cleansed through the ordinances and covenants administered by the authority of the Aaronic Priesthood. . . .
"Proper preparing and cleaning are the first basic steps in the process of being born again.
". . . You and I are born again as we are absorbed by and in the gospel of Jesus Christ. As we honor and 'observe the covenants' (D&C 42:13) into which we have entered, as we 'feast upon the words of Christ' (2 Nephi 32:3), as we 'pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart' (Moroni 7:48), and as we 'serve [God] with all [of our] heart, might, mind and strength' (D&C 4:2), then:
" 'Because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters' (Mosiah 5:7)."
Topics: Ordinances and Covenants, Prayer, Scripture
Youth Gems - 27 May 2008
Personal Testimony
"Because family life can continue beyond the thresholds of death. Because the royal priesthood has been restored upon the earth. And because the Spirit has spoken to my spirit, giving me a testimony that my Savior Jesus Christ lives and that through His intercession I shall be able, in accordance to my faithfulness, to live with Him. For these reasons and others still, I am a member of the only true Church upon the face of the earth, and I shall be eternally grateful for this."
Topics: Kingdom of God
Young Single Adult Gems - 26 May 2008
Seeking and Nurturing Faith
"Faith . . . is a heavenly gift, but it can be sought and cultivated. As our Bible Dictionary suggests, often 'faith is kindled by hearing the testimony of those who have faith' (Bible Dictionary, "Faith," 669). Faith is then nurtured as we allow ourselves to believe. Like all other virtues, faith is strengthened as we practice it, as we live and act as if our faith were already deep. Faith is the product of righteous desire, belief, and obedience."
Topics: Faith
Church History Gems - 26 May 2008
This Gospel Will Save the Whole Human Family
"This Gospel will save the whole human family; the blood of Jesus will atone for our sins, if we accept the terms he has laid down; but we must accept those terms or else it will avail nothing in our behalf."
Topics: Gospel of Jesus Christ
Family Gems - 26 May 2008
Families Have Two Special Times to Be Together
"The Church has established two special times for families to be together. The first is centered around the proper observance of the Sabbath day. This is the time we are to attend our regular meetings together, study the life and teachings of the Savior and of the prophets. 'Other appropriate Sunday activities include (1) writing personal and family journals, (2) holding family councils, (3) establishing and maintaining family organizations for the immediate and extended family, (4) personal interviews between parents and children, (5) writing to relatives and missionaries, (6) genealogy, (7) visiting relatives and those who are ill or lonely, (8) missionary work, (9) reading stories to children, and (10) singing Church hymns.'
"The second time is Monday night. We are to teach our children in a well-organized, regular family home evening. No other activities should involve our family members on Monday night. This designated time is to be with our families."
Topics: Family Home Evening, Family, Sabbath Day
Daily Gems - 26 May 2008
The Same Tongue Can Utter Blessings and Cursing
"At least some things we say can be destructive, even venomous--and that is a chilling indictment for a Latter‑day Saint! The voice that bears profound testimony, utters fervent prayer, and sings the hymns of Zion can be the same voice that berates and criticizes, embarrasses and demeans, inflicts pain and destroys the spirit of oneself and of others in the process. 'Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessings and cursing,' James grieves. 'My brethren [and sisters], these things ought not so to be' (James 3:10)."
Topics: Gospel Standards
Daily Gems - 23 May 2008
Opportunities and Dangers
"You have come into this world at a time that has been anticipated from the beginning--a time prior to the Second Coming of the Lord, in which, on one hand, the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored in its fulness and, on the other, there is great turmoil, confusion, and wickedness. The proving ground that you were born into is wonderful, affording great opportunities, but at the same time there is danger in abundance, even danger to one's very soul. Now is the time to commit yourself to the Lord as to what you will become during this mortal probation. Along with your parents, living prophets, and the scriptures, the Holy Ghost will help you distinguish between right and wrong so correct decisions can be made."
Topics: Adversity, Second Coming, Holy Ghost
Family Gems - 23 May 2008
The Home Is the Most Significant Classroom
"Perhaps most significant of all classrooms is the classroom of the home. It is in the home that we form our attitudes, our deeply held beliefs. It is in the home that hope is fostered or destroyed. Our homes are the laboratories of our lives. What we do there determines the course of our lives when we leave home. Dr. Stuart E. Rosenberg wrote in his book The Road to Confidence, 'Despite all new inventions and modern designs, fads and fetishes, no one has yet invented, or will ever invent, a satisfying substitute for one's own family.' "
Topics: Family
Church History Gems - 23 May 2008
Jesus Is the Christ
"Joseph [Smith] told us that Jesus was the Christ—the Mediator between God and man—and the Savior of the world. He told us that there was no other name in the heavens nor under the heavens, neither could there be, by which mankind could be saved in the presence of the Father, but by and through the name and ministry of Jesus Christ, and the atonement he made on Mount Calvary. Joseph also told us that the Savior requires strict obedience to all the commandments, ordinances and laws pertaining to his kingdom, and that if we would do this we should be made partakers of all the blessings promised in his Gospel."
Topics: Atonement, Atonement, Jesus Christ
Young Single Adult Gems - 23 May 2008
Seek to Feel the Lord's Love
"The Savior's invitation is clear and direct, and importantly for us, it is constant: 'Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden. . . . Take my yoke upon you, . . . for . . . my burden is light' (Matthew 11:28-30). This is the Lord's promise to me and to you.
"My prayer for each of us is that we will remember when the Lord has spoken His peace to us and has encircled us in the arms of His love. And just as important, will you, if you haven't felt that love for a while, seek to see it and feel it as you go about the ordinary tasks of your life. As you do this, over the days and months and years of your life, the memories of those interactions with the Lord will become sweet gifts to open a second time--or many times--to bolster you when life is difficult.
" 'Peace I give unto you,' the Lord promises, 'not as the world giveth, give I unto you' (John 14:27). Peace. Strength. It is what we long for and what is possible. We only need to turn toward His reaching arms."
Topics: Jesus Christ
Youth Gems - 22 May 2008
No Respecter of Persons
"As General Authorities of the Church, we are just the same as you are, and you are just the same as we are. You have the same access to the powers of revelation for your families and for your work and for your callings as we do.
"It is also true that there is an order to things in the Church. When you are called to an office, you then receive revelation that belongs to that office that would not be given to others.
"No member of the Church is esteemed by the Lord as more or less than any other. It just does not work that way! Remember, He is a father--our Father. The Lord is 'no respecter of persons.' "
Topics: Revelation
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