LDS Gem Archives, June 2010
Young Single Adult Gems - 30 June 2010
The Deadly Sin of Lust
“Why is lust such a deadly sin? Well, in addition to the completely Spirit-destroying impact it has upon our souls, I think it is a sin because it defiles the highest and holiest relationship God gives us in mortality—the love that a man and a woman have for each other and the desire that couple has to bring children into a family intended to be forever.”
Topics: Obedience
Daily Gems - 30 June 2010
A Permanent Change for Good
“The best way to make a permanent change for good is to make Jesus Christ your model and His teachings your guide for life.”
Topics: Conversion
Church History Gems - 30 June 2010
More Useful to God
"Conversion brings a drive to learn. From the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ in the time of Joseph Smith to our own day, you can see evidence of this. Joseph Smith, as a very young man, translated the Book of Mormon from plates inscribed with a language no one on earth understood. He did it by a divine gift of revelation from God. But he later hired a tutor to teach him and other leaders of the Church ancient languages. Joseph Smith had essentially no formal schooling, yet the effect of the gospel of Jesus Christ on him was to make him want to learn more so that he could be more useful to God and to God's children."
Topics: Joseph Smith
Youth Gems - 29 June 2010
Obedience
"Obedience to the Lord's commandments provides us confidence in our chosen path, qualifies us for His guidance and direction as we pursue our efforts, and offers us the potential to become like our Savior, Jesus Christ, and return to our Father's presence."
Topics: Commandments, Obedience
Daily Gems - 29 June 2010
The Resurrected Christ
"Jesus Christ lives. He is our Savior, our Redeemer. He is a glorious, resurrected being. He has the capacity to communicate love that is so powerful, so overwhelming as to surpass the capacity of the human tongue to express adequately. He gave His life to break the bonds of death. His Atonement made fully active the plan of happiness of His Father in Heaven.”
Topics: Atonement
Daily Gems - 28 June 2010
Ministering as Christ Ministers
“Christ knows how to minister to others perfectly. When the Savior stretches out His hands, those He touches are uplifted and become greater, stronger, and better people as a result. If we are His hands, should we not do the same?”
Topics: Children of God
Young Single Adult Gems - 28 June 2010
The Most Correct of Any Book
“The Book of Mormon is the most correct of any book on earth because it centers upon the Truth (see John 14:6; 1 Nephi 13:40), even Jesus Christ, and restores the plain and precious things that have been taken away from the true gospel (see 1 Nephi 13:26, 28-29, 32, 34-35, 40).”
Topics:
Church History Gems - 28 June 2010
Inherent Qualities of Sanctity
"To be worthy of such a sacred designation as Zion, the Church must think of itself as a bride adorned for her husband, as John the Revelator recorded when he saw in vision the Holy City where the righteous dwelled, adorned as a bride for the Lamb of God as her husband. Here is portrayed the relationship the Lord desires in his people in order to be acceptable to our Lord and Master even as a wife would adorn herself in beautiful garments for her husband.
"The rule by which the people of God must live in order to be worthy of acceptance in the sight of God is indicated by the text to which I have made reference. This people must increase in beauty before the world; have an inward loveliness which may be observed by mankind as a reflection in holiness and in those inherent qualities of sanctity. . . .
"While the Church was in its infancy, the Lord pointed to a time when those earlier gathering places would not have room for all who would be gathered for reasons for which he declared that his church should be united. Here are his words:
" 'For thus shall my church be called in the last days, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.' And then this command: 'Arise and shine forth, that thy light may be a standard for the nations.' (D&C 115:4–5.)
"Here is clearly inferred that the coming forth of his church in these days was the beginning of the fulfillment of the ancient prophecy when 'the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains. . . .' (Isa. 2:2.)"
Topics: Zion
Family Gems - 28 June 2010
Never Give Up on Those Who Stray
"With the help of priesthood leaders, parents must continue to go back and find their lost ones, assuring them there will always be a 'home' within the family and the Church, waiting for their return. We never know when a heart may be turned. We never know when a soul may be weary and worn out by the world. When that happens, it seems our children almost always turn first toward Mother."
Topics: Teaching, Parenthood
Daily Gems - 25 June 2010
The Worth of Souls
“We sometimes confuse sin with sinner, and we condemn too quickly and with too little compassion. We know from modern revelation that ‘the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.’ We cannot gauge the worth of another soul any more than we can measure the span of the universe.”
Topics: Children of God
Young Single Adult Gems - 25 June 2010
Obedience to the Lord’s Commandments
“Obedience to the Lord’s commandments provides us confidence in our chosen path, qualifies us for His guidance and direction as we pursue our efforts, and offers us the potential to become like our Savior, Jesus Christ, and return to our Father’s presence.”
Topics: Obedience
Family Gems - 25 June 2010
A Parent's Duty Is to Lead by Example
"For youth, there is no substitute for seeing the gospel lived in our daily lives. The stripling warriors did not have to wonder what their parents believed. They said, 'We do not doubt our mothers knew it' (see Alma 56:47–48). Do our children know what we know?"
Topics: Parenthood, Teaching
Church History Gems - 25 June 2010
Dan Jones
"Dan Jones was born 4 August 1810 in Halkin, Flintshire, Wales. . . . In 1840 he came to America. . . . By 1842, when he was thirty-one, the short, stocky Welshman owned a half interest in the Maid of Iowa, a boat large enough to carry three hundred passengers.
"While engaged in river traffic, Dan learned of the Mormons, who had been driven from Missouri and had found temporary refuge in Quincy, Illinois, and then had gone on to establish 'Nauvoo the Beautiful.' . . . He wanted to learn more about these people. He met them, was taught, and accepted the truth. In January 1843, he was baptized in the cold waters of the Mississippi River. . . .
"In June of the following year, Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were arrested and taken to Carthage. Dan Jones was among those who accompanied them and was locked in jail with them. On the last night in Carthage, when apparently the others had gone to sleep, Joseph Smith whispered to Dan Jones, 'Are you afraid [to die]?' He replied, 'Has that time come, think you? Engaged in such a cause, I do not think that death would have many terrors.'
"To this Joseph responded with the last words of prophecy he is known to have spoken: 'You will yet see Wales and fulfill the mission appointed you before you die.' "
Topics: Joseph Smith
Daily Gems - 24 June 2010
Our Only Real Control in Life Is Self-Control
“Along with filters on computers and a lock on affections, remember that the only real control in life is self-control.”
Topics: Choice and Accountability
Youth Gems - 24 June 2010
Service to Others
"We live in a day when many people are faced with calamities and are in need of help due to the devastating effects of earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. The Church is reaching out to these people through humanitarian aid. Church members faithfully give generous fast offerings each month and perform service in a spirit of love. They literally offer helping hands in the Lord's way. They follow the commandment of the Lord to 'remember in all things the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted, for he that doeth not these things, the same is not my disciple' (D&C 52:40)."
Topics: Serving Others
Church History Gems - 23 June 2010
Receive with Faith
"Once we realize how the Lord feels about this book [the Book of Mormon], it should not surprise us that He also gives us solemn warnings about how we receive it. After indicating that those who receive the Book of Mormon with faith, working righteousness, will receive a crown of eternal glory (see D&C 20:14), the Lord follows with this warning: 'But those who harden their hearts in unbelief, and reject it, it shall turn to their own condemnation.' (D&C 20:15.)
"In 1829, the Lord warned the Saints that they are not to trifle with sacred things (sSee D&C 6:12). Surely the Book of Mormon is a sacred thing, and yet many trifle with it, or in other words, take it lightly, treat it as though it is of little importance.
"In 1832, as some early missionaries returned from their fields of labor, the Lord reproved them for treating the Book of Mormon lightly. As a result of that attitude, he said, their minds had been darkened. Not only had treating this sacred book lightly brought a loss of light to themselves, it had also brought the whole Church under condemnation, even all the children of Zion. And then the Lord said, 'And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon' (D&C 84:54–57)."
Topics: Book of Mormon
Daily Gems - 23 June 2010
The Tuition of Diligence and Learning
“The tuition of diligence and of learning by study and also by faith must be paid to obtain and personally ‘own’ such knowledge. Only in this way can what is known in the mind also be felt in the heart. Only in this way can a child move beyond relying upon the spiritual knowledge and experiences of parents and adults and claim those blessings for himself or herself.”
Topics: Children
Young Single Adult Gems - 23 June 2010
Strength to Rescue Others
“Sometimes we feel that we are weak and lack the strength to rescue others, but the Lord reminds us, ‘Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me’ (Matthew 25:40).”
Topics: Service
Daily Gems - 22 June 2010
Blessings of Obedience
“Obedience to the Lord’s commandments provides us confidence in our chosen path, qualifies us for His guidance and direction as we pursue our efforts, and offers us the potential to become like our Savior, Jesus Christ, and return to our Father’s presence.”
Topics: Commandments
Youth Gems - 22 June 2010
The Blessing of Scripture
"Through the scriptures, God does indeed 'show forth his power' to save and exalt His children. By His word, as Alma said, He enlarges our memory, sheds light on falsehood and error, and brings us to repentance and to rejoice in Jesus Christ, our Redeemer."
Topics: Scripture
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
- 2010
- 2009