LDS Gem Archives, August 2010
Youth Gems - 31 August 2010
Scriptures and the Holy Ghost
"Because they expound the doctrine of Christ, the scriptures are accompanied by the Holy Spirit, whose role it is to bear witness of the Father and the Son (see 3 Nephi 11:32). Therefore, being in the scriptures is one way we receive the Holy Ghost. Of course, scripture is given through the Holy Ghost in the first place (see 2 Peter 1:21; D&C 20:26–27; 68:4), and that same Spirit can attest its truth to you and me. Study the scriptures carefully, deliberately. Ponder and pray over them. Scriptures are revelation, and they will bring added revelation."
Topics: Gift of the Holy Ghost, Scripture
Daily Gems - 31 August 2010
Make Your Way Back to Peace and Joy
“Keep the commandments of God. If you have sinned, the sooner you begin to make your way back, the sooner you will find the sweet peace and joy that come with the miracle of forgiveness. Happiness comes from living the way the Lord wants you to live and from service to God and others.”
Topics: Commandments
Daily Gems - 30 August 2010
Trust God Enough to Follow His Plan
“All you have to do is trust your Heavenly Father. Trust Him enough to follow His plan.”
Topics: Adversity
Church History Gems - 27 August 2010
What Have I Lost?
"Brother [Thomas B.] Marsh was one of the first modern-day Apostles . . . . He eventually became President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
"While the Saints were in Far West, Missouri, Elizabeth Marsh, Thomas's wife, and her friend Sister Harris decided they would exchange milk in order to make more cheese than they otherwise could. . . . They agreed that they should not save what were called the strippings. . . . Strippings came at the end of the milking and were richer in cream.
"Sister Harris was faithful to the agreement, but Sister Marsh, desiring to make some especially delicious cheese, saved a pint of strippings from each cow and sent Sister Harris the milk without the strippings. This caused the two women to quarrel. . . . The matter was referred to the home teachers to settle. They found Elizabeth Marsh guilty of failure to keep her agreement. She and her husband were upset with the decision, and the matter was then referred to the bishop for a Church trial. The bishop's court decided that the strippings were wrongfully saved. . . .
"Thomas Marsh appealed to the high council, and the men comprising this council confirmed the bishop's decision. He then appealed to the First Presidency of the Church. Joseph Smith and his counselors considered the case and upheld the decision of the high council.
"Elder Thomas B. Marsh, who sided with his wife through all of this, became angrier with each successive decision—so angry, in fact, that he went before a magistrate and swore that the Mormons were hostile toward the state of Missouri. . . .
"After 19 years of rancor and loss, Thomas B. Marsh made his way to the Salt Lake Valley and asked President Brigham Young for forgiveness. . . . Said Brother Marsh: 'The Lord could get along very well without me and He . . . lost nothing by my falling out of the ranks; But O what have I lost?! Riches, greater riches than all this world or many planets like this could afford' (Thomas B. Marsh to Heber C. Kimball, May 5, 1857, Brigham Young Collection, Church History Library)."
Topics: Patience
Daily Gems - 27 August 2010
Parents’ Influence
“It is impossible to overestimate the influence of parents who understand the hearts of their children. Research shows that during the most important transitions of life—including those periods when youth are most likely to drift away from the Church—the greatest influence does not come from an interview with the bishop or some other leader but from the regular, warm, friendly, caring interaction with parents.”
Topics: Children
Family Gems - 27 August 2010
Parents Have Abundant Opportunities to Teach Their Children Important Gospel Principles
"When we have a family home evening, a family council, or a meaningful gospel conversation with our children, we have the opportunity to look into their eyes and tell them that we love them and that Heavenly Father loves them. In these sacred settings, we can also help them understand, deep in their hearts, who they are and how fortunate they are to have come to this earth and to our home and to participate in the covenants we have taken in the temple to be a family forever."
Topics: Family Home Evening
Youth Gems - 26 August 2010
Patience Is Active Enduring
"Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can—working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!"
Topics: Enduring to the End, Patience
Daily Gems - 26 August 2010
Listening to the Holy Ghost
“We are given the gift of the Holy Ghost after our baptism, but often we leave this gift on the shelf, forgetting that He will help us in the most important judgments of our lives. The Lord gave us this gift, knowing we would face difficult decisions in life. Listening to this voice is vital in developing good judgment. A relationship of listening often requires a quiet environment in which we can take time to ponder and hear the still, small voice. This peaceful environment is both external and internal.”
Topics: Baptism
Daily Gems - 25 August 2010
Your Testimony Will Never Leave Your Children
“If a child is not listening, don’t despair. Time and truth are on your side. At the right moment, your words will return as if from heaven itself. Your testimony will never leave your children.
“As you reverently speak about the Savior—in the car, on the bus, at the dinner table, as you kneel in prayer, during scripture study, or in late-night conversations—the Spirit of the Lord will accompany your words.”
Topics: Children
Young Single Adult Gems - 25 August 2010
Finding Happiness in Your Life
“He is your beloved Heavenly Father, who seeks your good, your happiness. He desires with all the love of a perfect and pure Father that you reach your supernal destination. . . . All you have to do is trust your Heavenly Father. Trust Him enough to follow His plan.”
Topics: Faith
Church History Gems - 25 August 2010
Ancient Record
"During the three years following his First Vision, Joseph felt very humble. Often, he said, 'I . . . felt condemned for my weakness and imperfections' (Joseph Smith—History 1:29). But he did not lose faith or forget the power of prayer.
"On September 21, 1823, at the age of 17, he knelt to ask 'for forgiveness of [his] sins and follies, and [to receive] a manifestation . . . of [his] state and standing before [God]' (Joseph Smith—History 1:29). As he prayed, a light once again appeared, increasing 'until the room was lighter than at noonday' (Joseph Smith—History 1:30). In that light there stood a personage dressed in a robe of 'exquisite whiteness' (Joseph Smith—History 1:31). He called Joseph by name and introduced himself as Moroni. He said 'that God had a work for [Joseph] to do' (Joseph Smith—History 1:33) and told him of an ancient record written on gold plates, which, when translated, became the Book of Mormon. The book contained a record of the fulness of the gospel, as taught to Moroni's ancestors by Jesus Christ. Joseph was directed to obtain that record, buried near his family's home in a nearby hill, which is now called Cumorah."
Topics: Humility
Daily Gems - 24 August 2010
Look Straight Ahead
“A month ago I visited a group of young women. I asked the older girls what advice they would give a new Beehive to help her to remain faithful and virtuous in every setting that she may encounter. One young woman said, ‘When you walk down the halls of your school, you might, out of the corner of your eye, see something that catches your attention, something that doesn’t seem quite right. You may be curious and want to look. My advice to you is this: Don’t look. I promise you’ll regret it if you do. Believe me; just look straight ahead.’ ”
Topics: Example
Youth Gems - 24 August 2010
Faithful Priesthood Holders
"You will feel your heart changing as you become a faithful priesthood man. You will seek to be completely clean and administer the sacrament worthily. You will treat every young woman with kindness and respect. You will honor your parents. You will avoid offending the Spirit in what you think, say, or do. You will come to know the Lord, whom you serve, and you will ever strive to be like Him."
Topics: Serving Others
Church History Gems - 23 August 2010
Through but Not from Joseph Smith
"A . . . marvel of the translation process is that although he was intensely involved in translating an ancient record, the Prophet Joseph himself was clearly unschooled in things ancient. For example, early in the work he came across words concerning a wall around Jerusalem and asked Emma if the city indeed had walls. She affirmed what Joseph simply hadn't known. (See E. C. Briggs, "Interview with David Whitmer," Saints' Herald, 21 June 1884, 396.)
"He knew nothing, either, of the literary form called chiasmus, which appears in the Bible at various places and, significantly, also appears in the Book of Mormon. . . .
". . . We marvel that the Prophet Joseph Smith worked completely without referring to any other sources. None of the 12 people who either participated or merely observed mentioned Joseph's having any reference materials present. . . . Since the Prophet dictated openly, these individuals would have been aware of any suspicious behavior or procedures. Emma was emphatic on this very point: 'He had neither manuscript nor book to read from, [and] if he had anything of the kind he could not have concealed it from me' ("Last Testimony of Sister Emma," 289, 290).
"Thus the Book of Mormon came through, but not from, Joseph Smith!"
Topics: Book of Mormon
Young Single Adult Gems - 23 August 2010
Endure It Well
“Patience is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can—working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!”
Topics: Patience
Daily Gems - 23 August 2010
The Vision of Young Women
“This is a magnificent time to be on the earth and to be a young woman. Our vision remains the same. It is to be worthy to make and keep sacred covenants and receive the ordinances of the temple. This is our superlative goal! And so we will continue to lead the world in a return to virtue—a return to chastity and moral purity. We will continue to do all we can to help each other ‘stand . . . in holy places’ and receive, recognize, and rely on the Holy Ghost.”
Topics: Chastity
Family Gems - 23 August 2010
Girls Need to Develop Their Nature to Nurture
"Satan is always attempting to undermine the most precious element of a woman's divine nature—the nature to nurture.
"A mother-daughter relationship is where a daughter learns how to nurture by being nurtured. She is loved. She is taught and experiences firsthand what it feels like to have someone care about her enough to correct her while continuing to encourage and believe in her at the same time."
Topics: Motherhood
Church History Gems - 20 August 2010
Pioneer Houses of God
"Upon my return from my visit to Sanpete County, I felt the desire to learn more about its early pioneers. I decided to spend a few hours in the new Church History Library and read a little about their history.
"It was in the year 1849, just two years after they had arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, when Brigham Young, the great colonizer of the West, called a group of Saints to journey south and start building their homes and communities all over again in another desert wasteland. A short time after they had settled in Sanpete, President Heber C. Kimball, a counselor to President Brigham Young, visited the Manti community and promised them that on the hill overlooking the valley, a temple would be built using stone from the mountains to the east. . . .
"The cornerstone was laid on April 14, 1879, some 30 years after they had arrived in the Sanpete Valley. There are many stories that could be told about the diligence of the workmen, who put their very best into the construction of this beautiful temple. President Gordon B. Hinckley said several years ago at the rededication of the Manti Temple, 'I have been in the world's great buildings, and in none of these have I had the feeling I get in coming to these pioneer houses of God' (quoted in "Manti Temple Rededicated," Ensign, Aug. 1985, 73). The Hinckley family has a very special connection with the Manti Temple. Sister Marjorie Hinckley's grandfather lost his life from an injury sustained in its construction."
Topics: Example
Young Single Adult Gems - 20 August 2010
Prayers Must Be in Harmony with Heaven
“For prayers to be efficacious, they must be in harmony with the plan of heaven. The prayer of faith bears fruit when such harmony exists, and this harmony exists when prayers are inspired by the Holy Spirit.”
Topics: Prayer
Family Gems - 20 August 2010
Parents, Speak Frequently about Jesus Christ
"To fathers and mothers, to grandfathers and grandmothers, and to those without children of their own who lovingly nurture children and youth, my counsel is to speak more frequently about Jesus Christ. In His holy name is great spiritual power. 'There [is] no other name given nor any other way. . . whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ' (Mosiah 3:17)."
Topics: Parenthood, Jesus Christ
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