Sunday, March 29, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
These are the Times that Try Men's Souls
Before I get into the meat of what is on my mind, Mike Best has notified us that Costco is running a sale on their 2009 Quicken Premier money management personal software. You can purchase the program right now for $20 plus tax. (50% off). Mike has coupons for four copies. It is a valuable tool, and is easier than doing finances by hand. Most credit unions, banks and credit cards have automatic downloads of statements to make reconciling even easier. I am about 5 days late in getting this out, so hopefully he has some left. Please contact Mike if you could benefit from this: (404-368-7110)
I was tracked down by an old friend this week. We started by catching up, exchanging stories, talking about our families, and how we’ve arrived at where we are. He told me that he was in the process of moving. He felt that he was being exploited by his employer and it was taking time away from his family. He acknowledged that the pay was good and he had gained considerable experience, but was asked to work more often than he would like to do. With the current economy as a backdrop, I felt anxiety for him in making the decision to willingly change jobs when so many people are without work, working week to week, or will soon be without work. But he spoke with an optimism. He was confident in his abilities. He said that they have made conscious efforts to not live beyond their means, to do what they know they should be doing and to fulfill their callings and they have always felt comfortable financially.
As we study the scriptures, we tend to keep a study companion book nearby at all times to help shed light on what seem to be even the most simple verses. After reading Doctrine and Covenants 24: 3-9, Joseph Smith is told, “In temporal labors thou shalt not have strength.” The Doctrine and Covenants student manuals refers to Smith and Sjodahl’s commentary and explains, “The Prophet Joseph’s gifts were of a spiritual, not financial nature, but the Lord promised him that, if he would magnify his calling, he would always have what he needed. Financial ability is also a gift that can be used for the glory of God, but the Prophet was not a financier. He did not live for the accumulation of wealth. The Kingdom of God was his first and chief concern.”
It’s OK to not be “of great means.” It’s amazing how happy one can be by making the Kingdom of God a first and chief concern. At the same time, the reality is that we live in a society that requires money for food, shelter, medical care and other necessities. Often, when we are unable to satisfy even these basic needs, it become very difficult to focus on much anything else in life, including our Church responsibilities, building of the Kingdom, and strengthening the foundation of our testimonies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9uynrzqftI
I was tracked down by an old friend this week. We started by catching up, exchanging stories, talking about our families, and how we’ve arrived at where we are. He told me that he was in the process of moving. He felt that he was being exploited by his employer and it was taking time away from his family. He acknowledged that the pay was good and he had gained considerable experience, but was asked to work more often than he would like to do. With the current economy as a backdrop, I felt anxiety for him in making the decision to willingly change jobs when so many people are without work, working week to week, or will soon be without work. But he spoke with an optimism. He was confident in his abilities. He said that they have made conscious efforts to not live beyond their means, to do what they know they should be doing and to fulfill their callings and they have always felt comfortable financially.
As we study the scriptures, we tend to keep a study companion book nearby at all times to help shed light on what seem to be even the most simple verses. After reading Doctrine and Covenants 24: 3-9, Joseph Smith is told, “In temporal labors thou shalt not have strength.” The Doctrine and Covenants student manuals refers to Smith and Sjodahl’s commentary and explains, “The Prophet Joseph’s gifts were of a spiritual, not financial nature, but the Lord promised him that, if he would magnify his calling, he would always have what he needed. Financial ability is also a gift that can be used for the glory of God, but the Prophet was not a financier. He did not live for the accumulation of wealth. The Kingdom of God was his first and chief concern.”
It’s OK to not be “of great means.” It’s amazing how happy one can be by making the Kingdom of God a first and chief concern. At the same time, the reality is that we live in a society that requires money for food, shelter, medical care and other necessities. Often, when we are unable to satisfy even these basic needs, it become very difficult to focus on much anything else in life, including our Church responsibilities, building of the Kingdom, and strengthening the foundation of our testimonies.
- If we find ourselves paying more money each month than we are bringing in I would challenge each of us to try to step back from our own lives ask God to help us separate needs from luxuries.
- Take out a sheet of paper.
- List the needs on one side of the paper and how much they are costing.
- On the other side of the paper list the luxuries and how much they are costing.
- Take that evaluation to God, ask Him for to help you figure out a way to make you income exceed your expense.
- Ask for an interview with a member of the bishopric. Bring your sheet of paper with your needs and luxuries listed. Ask for their help. Most often, a new set of eyes will be able to see things that you have never been able to.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9uynrzqftI
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Message-Ryan Inns Lesson
Time ran short on Sunday to finish the lesson. Such being the case, Ryan Inns has been nice enough to share his notes on the lesson with us all and we are copying them here. Please take time to prayerfully read through the summary.
President Peterson asked if I would give him a copy of my notes I prepared for the Elders Quorum lesson today since our time was cut short and I was not able to deliver everything I had prepared. I have also taken a little time to summarize my notes, including some topics that were already discussed, in order to connect everything in its entirety.
I started the lesson talking about how life is so unpredictable at times, and despite our greatest efforts we can never guarantee how our life will unfold itself. All of us have experienced, at one time or another, both uplifting and discouraging experiences. These experiences can be seen as peaks and troughs within our lives, and to illustrate this concept I shared a quotation from C.S Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters.
Humans are amphibians -- half spirit and half animal... As spirits they belong to the eternal world, but as animals they inhabit time. This means that while their spirit can be directed to an eternal object, their bodies, passions, and imaginations are in continual change, for to be in
time means to change. Their nearest approach to constancy, therefore, is undulation -- the repeated return to a level form which they repeatedly fall back, a series of troughs and peaks...
This quote reminds me of the ubiquitous saying, “The only thing in life that is constant is change.” Everything changes, but through the cycle of peaks and troughs we need to remember to always have a positive trend. To clarify this concept I would like to use something that Brother Alexander told me shortly after Church when he said, “It is important that when you take a step back you always counter with two steps forward.” If we try to live our lives while keeping this concept in mind, then we can count on progressing toward the ultimate goal of obtaining eternal life with our Heavenly Father.
The source of these peaks and troughs can be found in nearly everything and almost everywhere. The troughs could be as simple and innocent as a car accident where you are at fault or as serious as a death in the immediate family, while the peaks could be a promotion at work or a birth of a child. Sometimes we may have control over our circumstances, but on the flip side, we may not. Regardless of the control that we have over our circumstances, we need to remember it is how we react to change that is important. Elder Neal A. Maxell shared a keen insight regarding irony in life and how we react to it when he said,
"Irony is the hard crust on the bread of adversity. Irony can try both our faith and our patience. Irony can be a particularly bitter form of such chastening because it involves disturbing incongruity. It involves outcomes in violation of our expectations. We see the best laid plans laid waste.
"Amid life’s varied ironies, you and I may begin to wonder, Did not God notice this torturous turn of events? And if He noticed, why did He permit it? Am I not valued?
"Our planning itself often assumes that our destiny is largely in our own hands. Then come intruding events, first elbowing aside, then evicting what was anticipated and even earned. Hence, we can be offended by events as well as by people.
"At the end, meek and lowly Jesus partook of the most bitter cup without becoming the least bitter." (“Irony: The Crust on the Bread of Adversity,” May 1989).
Examples in the scriptures of this principle are numerous and range from Enoch to Joseph Smith; however, I would like to focus on examples of both Nephi and Laman. The simultaneous lives of Nephi and Laman are interesting to study because they both were raised similarly, but they nevertheless reacted differently to the same circumstances. The following table shows three examples from Nephi and Laman’s life that demonstrate different ways we
each can react to changes in our lives. While reading these passages, please note
their attitudes and how each reacted to the same situation.
Leaving Jerusalem:
The Brother of Jared gives a wonderful example of this principle when he was asked by the Lord to prepare means to travel to the Promised Land. After finishing the construction of the barges, instructions of which came from the Lord, the Brother of Jared was asked to perform one more task. The task involved creating a way to provide light within the barges for the entire duration of the journey, but for this task the Lord did not give the Brother of
Jared any instructions. Therefore, the Brother of Jared was required to use his own initiative, creativity, and spiritual understanding to solve the problem at hand. The brother of Jared did not let the circumstance overcome him; rather, he conquered the circumstance. By the way, what was the Brother of Jared’s solution to the light conundrum? He fabricated sixteen (two for each barge) white and clear stones, and then asked the Lord to touch them with His finger
so that the stones might “shine forth in darkness.”
Was this the only possible solution? Probably not, but it is important to note that after the Brother of Jared made the stones he approached the Lord and asked for help because he knew that he could not do it all by himself. This example shows that if we begin to do our part then the Lord will eventually step in and help in whatever may be left over to accomplish. The following quotation from President Ezra Taft Benson reiterates this idea,
"I work as hard as I can, and then I try my best to be obedient so that the Lord knows I am mindful of Him. Then, I have the faith that He will make up the difference between what I am able to do, and what I am not able to do."
The Lord may not give to us the same tasks He gave to the Brother of Jared or Nephi because those were experiences that the Brother of Jared and Nephi needed for their own salvation. Meaning, the principles and concepts they learned as they struggled through those experience are necessary for their eventual salvation. The same can be said for everything we experience. Since the Lord is familiar with each of lives, then He is able to customize and tailor
everything we experience for our eternal benefit. Brigham Young could not have said better when he said,
"Every calamity that can come upon mortal beings will be suffered to come upon the few, to prepare them to enjoy the presence of the Lord. ... Every trial and experience you have passed through is necessary for your salvation." (Discourses of Brigham Young, pg. 345)
The trials and experiences of our life shape and mold us into something far greater than we could ever imagine. The Lord in His infinite grace and wisdom understands what each of us need to experience in this life in order to obtain the divine gift of eternal life. Sometimes we resist, but we all must come to the understanding that these experiences, both good and bad, are for our benefit (D&C 24:8).
I concluded the lesson with one of my favorite quotes that constantly reminds me to do my best and not always be worried with the outcome.
"In the battle of life it’s not the critic that counts. Not the one who points out how the strongman stumbles, or how the doer of great deeds might have done better. The credit actually belongs to the man in the arena whose face is marred by sweat, and dust, and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again. Who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends his time in a worthy cause. Who if he wins knows the triumph of great achievement and who if he fails at least fails daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls that know neither victory nor defeat." (Theodore Roosevelt).
President Peterson asked if I would give him a copy of my notes I prepared for the Elders Quorum lesson today since our time was cut short and I was not able to deliver everything I had prepared. I have also taken a little time to summarize my notes, including some topics that were already discussed, in order to connect everything in its entirety.
I started the lesson talking about how life is so unpredictable at times, and despite our greatest efforts we can never guarantee how our life will unfold itself. All of us have experienced, at one time or another, both uplifting and discouraging experiences. These experiences can be seen as peaks and troughs within our lives, and to illustrate this concept I shared a quotation from C.S Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters.
Humans are amphibians -- half spirit and half animal... As spirits they belong to the eternal world, but as animals they inhabit time. This means that while their spirit can be directed to an eternal object, their bodies, passions, and imaginations are in continual change, for to be in
time means to change. Their nearest approach to constancy, therefore, is undulation -- the repeated return to a level form which they repeatedly fall back, a series of troughs and peaks...
This quote reminds me of the ubiquitous saying, “The only thing in life that is constant is change.” Everything changes, but through the cycle of peaks and troughs we need to remember to always have a positive trend. To clarify this concept I would like to use something that Brother Alexander told me shortly after Church when he said, “It is important that when you take a step back you always counter with two steps forward.” If we try to live our lives while keeping this concept in mind, then we can count on progressing toward the ultimate goal of obtaining eternal life with our Heavenly Father.
The source of these peaks and troughs can be found in nearly everything and almost everywhere. The troughs could be as simple and innocent as a car accident where you are at fault or as serious as a death in the immediate family, while the peaks could be a promotion at work or a birth of a child. Sometimes we may have control over our circumstances, but on the flip side, we may not. Regardless of the control that we have over our circumstances, we need to remember it is how we react to change that is important. Elder Neal A. Maxell shared a keen insight regarding irony in life and how we react to it when he said,
"Irony is the hard crust on the bread of adversity. Irony can try both our faith and our patience. Irony can be a particularly bitter form of such chastening because it involves disturbing incongruity. It involves outcomes in violation of our expectations. We see the best laid plans laid waste.
"Amid life’s varied ironies, you and I may begin to wonder, Did not God notice this torturous turn of events? And if He noticed, why did He permit it? Am I not valued?
"Our planning itself often assumes that our destiny is largely in our own hands. Then come intruding events, first elbowing aside, then evicting what was anticipated and even earned. Hence, we can be offended by events as well as by people.
"At the end, meek and lowly Jesus partook of the most bitter cup without becoming the least bitter." (“Irony: The Crust on the Bread of Adversity,” May 1989).
Examples in the scriptures of this principle are numerous and range from Enoch to Joseph Smith; however, I would like to focus on examples of both Nephi and Laman. The simultaneous lives of Nephi and Laman are interesting to study because they both were raised similarly, but they nevertheless reacted differently to the same circumstances. The following table shows three examples from Nephi and Laman’s life that demonstrate different ways we
each can react to changes in our lives. While reading these passages, please note
their attitudes and how each reacted to the same situation.
Leaving Jerusalem:
- Nephi: 1 Nephi 2:16
- Laman: 1 Nephi 2:12-13
- Nephi: 1 Nephi 3:7
- Laman: 1 Nephi 3:5
- Nephi: 1 Nephi 17:7-9
- Laman: 1 Nephi 17:17
The Brother of Jared gives a wonderful example of this principle when he was asked by the Lord to prepare means to travel to the Promised Land. After finishing the construction of the barges, instructions of which came from the Lord, the Brother of Jared was asked to perform one more task. The task involved creating a way to provide light within the barges for the entire duration of the journey, but for this task the Lord did not give the Brother of
Jared any instructions. Therefore, the Brother of Jared was required to use his own initiative, creativity, and spiritual understanding to solve the problem at hand. The brother of Jared did not let the circumstance overcome him; rather, he conquered the circumstance. By the way, what was the Brother of Jared’s solution to the light conundrum? He fabricated sixteen (two for each barge) white and clear stones, and then asked the Lord to touch them with His finger
so that the stones might “shine forth in darkness.”
Was this the only possible solution? Probably not, but it is important to note that after the Brother of Jared made the stones he approached the Lord and asked for help because he knew that he could not do it all by himself. This example shows that if we begin to do our part then the Lord will eventually step in and help in whatever may be left over to accomplish. The following quotation from President Ezra Taft Benson reiterates this idea,
"I work as hard as I can, and then I try my best to be obedient so that the Lord knows I am mindful of Him. Then, I have the faith that He will make up the difference between what I am able to do, and what I am not able to do."
The Lord may not give to us the same tasks He gave to the Brother of Jared or Nephi because those were experiences that the Brother of Jared and Nephi needed for their own salvation. Meaning, the principles and concepts they learned as they struggled through those experience are necessary for their eventual salvation. The same can be said for everything we experience. Since the Lord is familiar with each of lives, then He is able to customize and tailor
everything we experience for our eternal benefit. Brigham Young could not have said better when he said,
"Every calamity that can come upon mortal beings will be suffered to come upon the few, to prepare them to enjoy the presence of the Lord. ... Every trial and experience you have passed through is necessary for your salvation." (Discourses of Brigham Young, pg. 345)
The trials and experiences of our life shape and mold us into something far greater than we could ever imagine. The Lord in His infinite grace and wisdom understands what each of us need to experience in this life in order to obtain the divine gift of eternal life. Sometimes we resist, but we all must come to the understanding that these experiences, both good and bad, are for our benefit (D&C 24:8).
I concluded the lesson with one of my favorite quotes that constantly reminds me to do my best and not always be worried with the outcome.
"In the battle of life it’s not the critic that counts. Not the one who points out how the strongman stumbles, or how the doer of great deeds might have done better. The credit actually belongs to the man in the arena whose face is marred by sweat, and dust, and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again. Who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends his time in a worthy cause. Who if he wins knows the triumph of great achievement and who if he fails at least fails daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls that know neither victory nor defeat." (Theodore Roosevelt).
Announcements March 3, 2009
1. Home Teaching Reporting:
- Please email Reed Crouch at pazuldesign@gmail.com, Reed Peterson at reed
peterson@gmail.com, Adam Barlow at adamwbarlow@gmail.com, or Sean Maclaurin at seanmaclaurin@gmail.com with your HT reporting if you haven’t already.If you have any questions, comments or insights about your HT, please let us know.
- The Relief Society needs volunteers to provide childcare this Thursday. If you can spare some time on Thursday evening please post a response below or contact Annie Bla
ckwood at ablackwood9@hotmail.com. "We are looking for 4 volunteers and they need to be at the church at 6:45pm. Dinner and dessert will be provided…FREE FOOD!"
- The Bishop has asked that we forward the following funeral information: Funeral services for Sister Janet Louise Bjerkenes will be held on Wednesday, March 4, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. at the: DOBBINS-MAYES-WARD FUNERAL HOME (180 CHURCH STREET,NE, MARIETTA, GA 30060, PHONE 770-428-1511).There will be a public viewing beforehand from 9:00 a.m -10:45a.m. Bishop Waller will be conducting the services.
- Basketball game will begin this Saturday at 11 a.m.
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