tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58514360618990821882024-03-07T22:05:30.365-08:00TEACHINGS OF THE LIVING PROPHETSAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03056554419841752535noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851436061899082188.post-11531772884502138502012-12-11T12:34:00.001-08:002012-12-11T13:18:40.461-08:00ATONEMENT<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1. “That
is the promise of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Atonement: to take anyone
who comes, anyone who will join, and put them through an experience so that at
the end of their life, they can go through the veil having repented of their
sins and having been washed clean through the blood of Christ.<u1:p></u1:p>”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Boyd K.
Packer “The Atonement” October 2012</span></span></div>
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<u1:p><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.
“Simply put, the good news is that death is not the end of existence and our
separation from God is temporary. We have a Savior, Jesus Christ, the divine
Son of God, who by His Atonement has overcome death and hell so that all will
be resurrected and all who will repent and be baptized in His name may have
place in the heavenly kingdom of God forever.<u1:p></u1:p>”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u1:p><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-D.
Todd Christofferson “Building Faith in Christ” June 2011</span></div>
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<u1:p><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.
“ Indeed, it is my personal belief that in all of </span><a href="http://jesuschrist.lds.org/"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">Christ</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">’s
mortal ministry the Father may never have been closer to His Son than in these
agonizing final moments of suffering. Nevertheless, that the supreme sacrifice
of His Son might be as complete as it was voluntary and solitary, the Father
briefly withdrew from Jesus the comfort of His Spirit, the support of His
personal presence. It was required, indeed it was central to the significance
of the Atonement, that this perfect Son who had never spoken ill nor done wrong
nor touched an unclean thing had to know how the rest of humankind—us, all of
us—would feel when we did commit such sins. For His Atonement to be infinite
and eternal, He had to feel what it was like to die not only physically but
spiritually, to sense what it was like to have the divine Spirit withdraw,
leaving one feeling totally, abjectly, hopelessly alone.<u1:p></u1:p>”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u1:p><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Jeffrey
R. Holland “None Were With Him” April 2009</span></div>
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<u1:p><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.
“Abandonment and, at least once, outright betrayal, must <i>never</i> be
reenacted by us. He has walked alone once. Now, may I ask that never again will
He have to confront sin without our aid and assistance, that never again will
He find only unresponsive onlookers when He sees you and me along His <i>Via
Dolorosa</i> in our present day. As we approach this holy week—Passover
Thursday with its Paschal Lamb, atoning Friday with its cross, </span><a href="http://lds.org/ensign/2000/05/resurrection?lang=eng"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">Resurrection</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Sunday with its empty
tomb—may we declare ourselves to be more fully disciples of the Lord Jesus
Christ, not in word only and not only in the flush of comfortable times but in
deed and in courage and in faith, including when the path is lonely and when
our cross is difficult to bear. This Easter week and always, may we stand by
Jesus Christ “at all times and in all things, and in all places that [we] may
be in, even until death,”</span><a href="http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/04/none-were-with-him?lang=eng#21-PD50015887_000_029"><sup><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">21</span></sup></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> for surely that is how He
stood by us when it <i>was</i> unto death and when He had to stand entirely and
utterly alone.<u1:p></u1:p>”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u1:p><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Jeffrey
R. Holland “None Were With Him” April 2009<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u1:p><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;">“There is an imperative need for each of us to strengthen our understanding
of the significance of the Atonement of Jesus Christ so that it will become an
unshakable foundation upon which to build our lives.” </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Richard G. Scott, </span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;">“He Lives! All Glory to
His Name!” May 2010</span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6. “There is no greater evidence of the
infinite power and perfection of God’s love than is declared by the Apostle
John: ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son’ (John
3:16). Another Apostle wrote that God ‘spared not his own Son, but delivered
him up for us all’ (Romans 8:32). Think how it must have grieved our Heavenly
Father to send His Son to endure incomprehensible suffering for our sins. That
is the greatest evidence of His love for each of us!”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Dallin H. Oaks, </span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Love and Law,” Ensign,
Nov., 2009, 26</span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">7. "Every incorrect choice we make, every sin we
commit is a violation of eternal law. That violation brings negative results we
generally soon recognize. There are also other consequences of our acts of
which we may not be conscious. They are nonetheless real. They can have a
tremendous effect on the quality of our life here and most certainly will
powerfully affect it hereafter. We can do nothing of ourselves to satisfy the
demands of justice for a broken eternal law. Yet, unless the demands of justice
are paid, each of us will suffer endless negative consequences.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Only the life, teachings, and particularly the atonement
of Jesus Christ can release us from this otherwise impossible predicament. Each
of us has made mistakes, large or small, which if unresolved will keep us from
the presence of God. For this reason, the atonement of Jesus Christ is the
single most significant event that ever has or ever will occur. This selfless
act of infinite consequence, performed by a single glorified personage, has
eternal impact in the life of every son and daughter of our Father in
Heaven—without exception. It shatters the bonds of death. It justifies our
finally being judged by the Master. It can prevent an eternity under the
control of the devil. It opens the gates to exaltation and eternal life for all
who qualify for forgiveness through repentance and obedience."</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Richard G. Scott, </span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;">"Finding
Forgiveness," May 1995</span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u1:p><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">8. </span></b><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">"[The]
testing of our limits in priesthood service is made necessary by God's plan to
qualify His children to live with Him again forever. Heavenly Father loves His
children. He offered us eternal life, to live with Him again in families and in
glory forever. To qualify us to receive that gift, He gave us a mortal body,
the opportunity to be tempted to sin, and a way to be cleansed from that sin
and to rise in the First Resurrection. He gave us His Beloved Son, Jehovah, as
our Savior to make that possible. The Savior was born in mortal life, was
tempted but never sinned, and then in Gethsemane and on Golgotha paid the price
of our sins so that we could be cleansed. The purifying can come only to those
who have faith enough in Jesus Christ to repent of sin, be cleansed through the
ordinance of baptism, and make and keep covenants to obey all His commandments.
And there was to be a fierce enemy of our souls, Lucifer, who would with his
legions relentlessly try to capture every child of God to keep him or her from
having the joy of eternal life."</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Henry B. Eyring, </span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;">"O Ye That Embark,"
Nov. 2008</span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">9. "The Atonement of Jesus Christ and
the healing it offers do much more than provide the opportunity for repentance
from sins. The Atonement also gives us the strength to endure 'pains and
afflictions and temptations of every kind,' because our Savior also took upon
Him 'the pains and the sicknesses of his people' (Alma 7:11). Brothers and
sisters, if your faith and prayers and the power of the priesthood do not heal
you from an affliction, the power of the Atonement will surely give you the
strength to bear the burden." <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Dallin H. Oaks "He Heals the Heavy
Laden" November 2006</span></span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">10.” </span></span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I energetically encourage you to establish a personal
study plan to better understand and appreciate the incomparable, eternal,
infinite consequences of Jesus Christ’s perfect fulfillment of His divinely
appointed calling as our Savior and Redeemer. Profound personal pondering of
the scriptures accompanied by searching, heartfelt prayer will fortify your
understanding of and appreciation for His priceless Atonement. Another powerful
way to learn of Jesus Christ and His Atonement is through consistent temple
attendance.<u1:p></u1:p>”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<u1:p><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Richard
G. Scott “He Lives! All Glory to His Name” May 2010<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is hard
to put into words how I feel about the Atonement. It is the most important
topic we can discuss. I know I do not completely understand the Atonement but I
know it is real. I know there are so many times in this life when I cannot
continue on by myself. When I keep His commandments, the Savior makes up the
difference for my weakness and helps me keep pushing through. I know that
through the Atonement, I can be forgiven of my sins and am so grateful for that.
I have felt that cleansing power personally. I know Jesus Christ died for my
sins and that he lives!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03056554419841752535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851436061899082188.post-88291395759692516832012-12-11T12:34:00.000-08:002012-12-11T13:06:56.849-08:00AGENCY<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.”Agency
is more powerful than the adversary’s will, agency is precious. We can
foolishly, blindly give it away, but it cannot be forcibly taken from us.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<u1:p><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Boyd
K. Packer “Cleansing the Inner Vessel” October 2012<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<u1:p><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.
“Let us resolve to follow the Savior and work with diligence to become the
person we were designed to become. Let us listen to and obey the promptings of
the Holy Spirit. As we do so, Heavenly Father will reveal to us things we never
knew about ourselves. He will illuminate the path ahead and open our eyes to
see our unknown and perhaps unimagined talents. The more we devote ourselves to
the pursuit of holiness and happiness, the less likely we will be on a path to
regrets. The more we rely on the Savior’s grace, the more we will feel that we
are on the track our Father in Heaven has intended for us.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Dieter
F. Uchtdorf “Of Regrets and Resolutions” October 2012 General Conference <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<u1:p><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Agency—our power to choose—is fundamental to the gospel plan that brings
us to earth. God does not intervene to forestall the consequences of some
persons’ choices in order to protect the well-being of other persons—even when
they kill, injure, or oppress one another—for this would destroy His plan for
our eternal progress (compare Alma 42:8). He will bless us to endure the
consequences of others’ choices, but He will not prevent those choices (compare
Mosiah 24:14–15).”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Dallin H. Oaks </span></span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Love and Law” November 2009<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<u1:p><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4. "We tend to think of agency as a
personal matter. If we ask someone to define 'moral agency,' the answer will
probably be something like this: 'Moral agency means I am free to make choices
for myself.' Often overlooked is the fact that choices have consequences; we
forget also that agency offers the same privilege of choice to others. At times
we will be affected adversely by the way other people choose to exercise their
agency. Our Heavenly Father feels so strongly about protecting our agency that
he allows his children to exercise it, either for good or for evil."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-M. Russell Ballard </span></span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Answer to Life’s Questions” May 1995<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<u1:p><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p></span></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;">"If pain and sorrow and total punishment immediately followed the
doing of evil, no soul would repeat a misdeed. If joy and peace and rewards
were instantaneously given the doer of good, there could be no evil--all would
do good and not because of the rightness of doing good. There would be no test
of strength, no development of character, no growth of powers, no free agency.
. . . There would also be an absence of joy, success, resurrection, eternal
life, and godhood."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Spencer W. Kimball </span></span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball”
1982<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6.” Endowed with agency, you and I are
agents, and we primarily are to act and not just be acted upon. To believe that
someone or something can make us feel offended, angry, hurt, or bitter
diminishes our moral agency and transforms us into objects to be acted upon. As
agents, however, you and I have the power to act and to choose how we will respond
to an offensive or hurtful situation."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-David A. Bednar, </span></span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“And Nothing Shall Offend Them”
November 2006<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">7. "The way to exaltation is not a
freeway featuring unlimited vision, unrestricted speeds, and untested skills.
Rather, it is known by many forks and turnings, sharp curves, and controlled
speeds. Our driving ability is being put to the test. Are we ready? We’re
driving. We haven’t passed this way before. Fortunately, the Master Highway
Builder, even our Heavenly Father, has provided a road map showing the route to
follow. He has placed markers along the way to guide us to our destination."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Thomas S. Monson, “Crisis at the
Crossroads” November 2002 <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">8. "You are to do the choosing here and
now during this exciting and wonderful time on earth. Moral agency, the freedom
to choose, is certainly one of God's greatest gifts next to life itself. We
have the honorable right to choose; therefore, we need to choose the right.
This is not always easy."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Dieter F. Uchtdorf,"Your Right to
Choose the Right” May 2005 <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">9. "As we learn in [the] scriptures,
the fundamental purposes for the gift of agency were to love one another and to
choose God. Thus we become God's chosen and invite His tender mercies as we use
our agency to choose God. . . .</span></span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">". . . The Father's work is to bring to pass the
immortality and eternal life of His children. Our work is to keep His
commandments with all of our might, mind, and strength—and we thereby become
chosen and, through the Holy Ghost, receive and recognize the tender mercies of
the Lord in our daily lives."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-David A. Bednar, </span></span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“The Tender Mercies of the Lord” May
2005<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">10. "Life's journey is not traveled on
a freeway devoid of obstacles, pitfalls, and snares. Rather, it is a pathway
marked by forks and turnings. Decisions are constantly before us. To make them
wisely, courage is needed: the courage to say, 'No,' the courage to say, 'Yes,'
Decisions do determine destiny. The call for courage comes constantly to each
of us. It has ever been so, and so shall it ever be."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Thomas S. Monson, </span></span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“The Call For Courage” May 2004<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><u1:p>Position Statement</u1:p>:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The
gift of choice from a loving Heavenly Father is such a blessing. To know that I
have the opportunity to choose for myself, and to be blessed greatly when I do
what is right is so important. However, I know that consequences follow when we
use our agency in unrighteous ways. I am grateful for a loving God and His
commandments that bring us happiness as we use our agency to follow Him and His
ways.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03056554419841752535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851436061899082188.post-26431303180125015842012-12-11T12:32:00.000-08:002012-12-11T13:03:34.604-08:00PORNOGRAPHY<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">PORNOGRAPHY<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1. “Please
heed these warnings. Let us all improve our personal behavior and redouble our
efforts to protect our loved ones and our environment from the onslaught of
pornography that threatens our spirituality, our marriages, and our children.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Elder
Oaks (Pornography) April 2005 <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.
“Pornographic or erotic stories and pictures are worse than filthy or polluted
food. The body has defenses to rid itself of unwholesome food. With a few fatal
exceptions, bad food will only make you sick but do no permanent harm. In
contrast, a person who feasts upon filthy stories or pornographic or erotic
pictures and literature records them in this marvelous retrieval system we call
a brain. The brain won’t vomit back filth. Once recorded, it will always remain
subject to recall, flashing its perverted images across your mind and drawing
you away from the wholesome things in life… And young women, please understand
that if you dress immodestly, you are magnifying this problem by becoming
pornography to some of the men who see you.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Elder
Oaks (Pornography) April 2005<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3. “Pornography
is like a raging storm, destroying individuals and families, utterly ruining
what was once wholesome and beautiful. … The time has come for any one of us
who is so involved to pull himself out of the mire.”</span><a href="http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/beware-concerning-yourselves?lang=eng&query=pornography#35-10491_000_33perkins"><sup><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">35</span></sup></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> If you are tempted to
violate the law of chastity in any form, follow Joseph of Egypt’s example, who
“fled, and got him out.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Gordon B.
Hinckley (A Tragic Evil Among Us) October 2004<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4. We hope
that our parents and leaders will not tolerate pornography. It is really
garbage, but today is peddled as normal and satisfactory food. Many writers seem
to take delight in polluting the atmosphere with it. Seemingly, it cannot be
stopped by legislation. There is a link between pornography and the low, sexual
drives and perversions. We live in a culture which venerates the orgasm,
streaking, trading wives, and similar crazes. How low can humans plunge! We
pray with our Lord that we may be kept from being in the world. It is sad that
decent people are thrown into a filthy area of mental and spiritual pollution.
We call upon all of our people to do all in their power to offset this ugly
revolution.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Spencer
W. Kimball (Fortify Your Homes Against Evil) April 1979<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5. In our
day the dreadful influence of </span><a href="http://www.lds.org/study/topics/pornography?lang=eng"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">pornography</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> is like unto a plague
sweeping across the world, infecting one here and one there, relentlessly
trying to invade every home, most frequently through the husband and father.
The effect of this plague can be, unfortunately often is, spiritually fatal.
Lucifer seeks to disrupt “the great plan of redemption,”</span><a href="http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/cleansing-the-inner-vessel?lang=eng#11-PD50021411_000_4020"><sup><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">11</span></sup></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> “the great plan of
happiness.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Boyd K.
Packer “Cleansing the Inner Vessel” October 2012<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6. The
priesthood holds consummate power. It can protect you from the plague of
pornography—and it is a plague—if you are succumbing to its influence. If one
is obedient, the priesthood can show how to break a habit and even erase an
addiction. Holders of the priesthood have that authority and should employ it
to combat evil influences.<u1:p></u1:p> We raise an alarm and warn members of
the Church to wake up and understand what is going on. Parents, be alert, ever
watchful that this wickedness might threaten your family circle.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Boyd K.
Packer (Cleansing the Inner Vessel) October 2012<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">7. Like
thieves in the night, unwelcome thoughts can and do seek entrance to our minds.
But we don’t have to throw open the door, serve them tea and crumpets, and then
tell them where the silverware is kept! (You shouldn’t be serving tea anyway.)
Throw the rascals out! Replace lewd thoughts with hopeful images and joyful
memories; picture the faces of those who love you and would be shattered if you
let them down. More than one man has been saved from sin or stupidity by
remembering the face of his mother, his wife, or his child waiting somewhere
for him at home. Whatever thoughts you have, make sure they are welcome in your
heart by invitation only. As an ancient poet once said, let will be your
reason… Like Joseph in the presence of Potiphar’s wife,</span><sup><a href="http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2010/04/place-no-more-for-the-enemy-of-my-soul?lang=eng&query=pornography#4-PD50021388_000_020"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">4</span></a></sup><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> just run—run as far away
as you can get from whatever or whoever it is that beguiles you. And please,
when fleeing the scene of temptation, do <i>not</i> leave a forwarding address.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Elder
Holland “Place No More For the Enemy of My Soul” April 2010<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">8. How can
a man, particularly a priesthood bearer, not think of the damage emotionally
and spiritually caused to women from such abhorrent activity? The participation
in pornography in any of its lurid forms is a manifestation of unbridled
selfishness.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Richard
G. Scott “The Sanctity of Womanhood” May 2000<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">9.
Pornography is especially dangerous and addictive. Curious exploration of
pornography can become a controlling habit, leading to coarser material and to
sexual transgression. Avoid pornography at all costs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Thomas S.
Monson “Preparation Brings Blessings” May 2010<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">10.
Strangely enough, it may be that the simplest and most powerful prevention and
cure for pornography, or any unclean act, is to ignore and avoid it. Delete
from the mind any unworthy thought that tries to take root. Once you have
decided to remain clean, you are asserting your God-given agency. And then, as
President Smith counseled, “Don’t look back.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Elder
Boyd K. Packer (Cleansing the Inner Vessel) October 2010<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Position
Statement:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sadly,
this is a rampant evil in our time. It is readily available for anyone. The
hurt and pain from it makes me so sad. I am grateful for leaders that warn us
about it repeatedly to help keep us from hurting ourselves and those who love
us. I know that it must be avoided at all costs and am committed to ALWAYS
doing so.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03056554419841752535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851436061899082188.post-81746669195270751622012-12-11T11:46:00.000-08:002012-12-11T13:01:07.414-08:00VIRTUE AND CHASTITY<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1. “Sexual
relations out of wedlock are tolerated or advocated by many. So is the rapidly
expanding culture of pornography. All who have belonged to these cultures of
sin must repent and change if they are to become the people of God, for He has
warned that “no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Dallin H.
Oaks (October 2003) Repent and Change<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.”Everyone
is tested. One might think it is unfair to be singled out and subjected to a
particular temptation, but this is the purpose of mortal life—to be tested. And
the answer is the same for everyone: we must, and we can, resist temptations of
any kind.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Boyd K.
Packer “Guided By the Holy Spirit” April 2011<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">3. </span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;">"Most
people in trouble end up crying, 'What was I thinking?' Well, whatever they
were thinking, they weren't thinking of Christ. Yet, as members of His Church,
we pledge every Sunday of our lives to take upon ourselves His name and promise
to 'always remember him' (D&C 20:77). So let us work a little harder at
remembering Him."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Jeffrey R. Holland, "Place No More for the Enemy of
My Soul" May 2010" <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.
</span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">"You will need [courage] to be chaste and virtuous. You live in a
world where moral values have, in great measure, been tossed aside, where sin
is flagrantly on display, and where temptations to stray from the strait and
narrow path surround you. Many are the voices telling you that you are far too
provincial or that there is something wrong with you if you still believe there
is such a thing as immoral behavior. Isaiah declared, 'Woe unto them that call
evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness'
(Isaiah 5:20). Great courage will be required as you remain chaste and virtuous
amid the accepted thinking of the times."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Thomas S. Monson, "May You Have Courage,"
Ensign, May 2009<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.
</span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“A wise man once said, ‘Music is one of the most forceful instruments for
governing the mind.’ Whether it governs in a positive way or a negative way is
determined by what it brings onto the stage of your mind. If you can say that a
song is spiritually inspiring or that it urges you to see yourself in a more
noble perspective, the music is worthwhile. If it merely entertains or lifts
your spirits, then it also has a useful place. But if it makes you want to
respond in a carnal, sensual way or to consider unrighteous desires, then that
music should be avoided. It is not worthy.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Boyd K. Packer, “The Message: Worthy Music, Worthy
Thoughts,” April 2008 <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6.
</span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Moral discipline is learned at home. While we cannot control what others
may or may not do, the Latter-day Saints can certainly stand with those who
demonstrate virtue in their own lives and inculcate virtue in the rising
generation. . . . Our teaching should draw upon our own faith and focus first
and foremost on instilling faith in God in the rising generation. We must
declare the essential need to keep the commandments of God and to walk
uprightly before Him in soberness, or in other words, with reverence. Each must
be persuaded that service and sacrifice for the well-being and happiness of
others are far superior to making one’s own comfort and possessions the highest
priority.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-D. Todd Christofferson, “Moral Discipline” November 2009<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">7. "Supernal blessings are promised to
those who walk in virtue before the Lord and before all men. How wonderful are
the ways of our Lord. How glorious His promises."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Gordon B. Hinckley, "A Tragic Evil among Us,"
November 2004 <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">8. “Because sexual intimacy is so sacred,
the Lord requires self-control and purity before marriage, as well as full
fidelity after marriage. In dating, treat your date with respect, and expect
your date to show that same respect for you. Tears inevitably follow
transgression. Men, take care not to make women weep, for God counts their
tears.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;">-Thomas S. Monson, “Standards of Strength,” October</span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">r</span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"> 2008<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">9. “You cannot afford in any degree to
become involved with pornography, whatever its form. You simply cannot afford
to become involved in immoral practices--or to let down the bars of sexual
restraint. The emotions that stir within you which make boys attractive to
girls and girls attractive to boys are part of a divine plan, but they must be
restrained, subdued, and kept under control, or they will destroy you and make
you unworthy of many of the great blessings which the Lord has in store for
you.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Gordon B. Hinckley, “A Chosen Generation,” May 1992<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">10. "A quarter of a century ago
historian John Lukacs perceptively warned that sexual immorality was not merely
a marginal development but, instead, was at the center of the moral crisis of
our time (see John Lukacs, The Passing of the Modern Age, New York: Harper
& Row, Publishers, 1970, p. 169). Some thought Lukacs was overstating it,
but consider the subsequent and sobering tragedy of children having children,
of unwed mothers, of children without parents, of hundreds of thousands of
fatherless children, and of rampant spousal infidelity. These and related
consequences threaten to abort society's future even before the future arrives!
Yet carnalists are unwilling to deny themselves, even though all of society
suffers from an awful avalanche of consequences!"<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;">-Neal A. Maxwell, </span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Deny Yourselves of All Ungodliness” May 1995<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Position
Statement:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In this
world, it is so refreshing to be reminded of virtue and chastity. We know the
Lord “delights in chastity”. I know the peace of conscience that comes when we
live a chaste and virtuous life and it is worth it. There is nothing in this
world that feels better than that. I am grateful for the Savior who leads us
along as we strive to live our lives in such a way. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03056554419841752535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851436061899082188.post-49270854689913267072012-12-11T11:43:00.000-08:002012-12-11T12:58:27.064-08:00REPENTANCE<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1. “Every
soul confined in a prison of sin, guilt, or perversion has a key to the gate.
The key is labeled ‘repentance.’ If you know how to use this key, the adversary
cannot hold you. The twin principles of repentance and forgiveness exceed in
strength the awesome power of the tempter. If you are bound by a habit or an
addiction that is unworthy, you must stop conduct that is harmful. Angels will
coach you, and priesthood leaders will guide you through those difficult times.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Boyd K.
Packer “Cleansing the Inner Vessel” –October 2010<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.
Throughout your life there may be times when you have gone places you never
should have gone and done things you never should have done. If you will turn
away from sin, you will be able one day to know the peace that comes from
following the pathway of complete repentance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">No
matter what our transgressions have been, no matter how much our actions may
have hurt others, that guilt can all be wiped out. To me, perhaps the most
beautiful phrase in all scripture is when the Lord said, “Behold, he who has
repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no
more."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">-</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Boyd K. Packer “The Atonement” - October 2012<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3. The
invitation to repent is rarely a voice of chastisement but rather a loving
appeal to turn around and to “re-turn” toward God.<u><sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">14</span></sup></u>It is the
beckoning of a loving Father and His Only Begotten Son to be more than we are,
to reach up to a higher way of life, to change, and to feel the happiness of
keeping the commandments. Being Disciples of Christ, we rejoice in the blessing
of repenting and the joy of being forgiven. They become part of us, shaping the
way we think and feel… I am amazed at the Savior’s encircling arms of mercy and
love for the repentant, no matter how selfish the forsaken sin. I testify that
the Savior is able and eager to forgive our sins. Except for the sins of those
few who choose perdition after having known a fullness, there is no sin that
cannot be forgiven.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Neil L.
Anderson “Repent That I May Heal You” October 2009<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4. The
gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to change. “Repent” is its most frequent message,
and repenting means giving up all of our practices—personal, family, ethnic,
and national—that are contrary to the commandments of God. The purpose of the
gospel is to transform common creatures into celestial citizens, and that
requires change.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Dallin H.
Oaks “Repentance and Change” October 2003<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.
Repentance plays a prominent role in building faith in Christ. Receiving the
word of Christ generates the faith needed for repentance, and repentance, in
turn, nourishes a growing faith. Mormon declares, “And [Christ] hath said:
Repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me, and be baptized in my name,
and have faith in me, that ye may be saved”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-D. Todd
Christofferson “Building Faith In Christ” June 2011<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6. We all
depend on the Savior; none of us can be saved without Him. Christ’s Atonement
is infinite and eternal. Forgiveness for <i>our</i> sins comes with conditions.
We must repent, and we must be willing to forgive others. Jesus taught:
“Forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not … [stands] condemned before the
Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin”</span><a href="http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/the-merciful-obtain-mercy?lang=eng&query=forgiveness#3-10485_000_41uchtd"><sup><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">3</span></sup></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> and “Blessed are the
merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Dieter F.
Uchtdorf “The Merciful Obtain Mercy” April 2012<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">7. If some
of you are carrying such wounds—and I know that you are—to you is extended the
peace and renewal of repentance available through the atoning sacrifice of the
Lord Jesus Christ. In such serious matters the path of repentance is not easily
begun nor painlessly traveled. But the Savior of the world will walk that
essential journey with you. He will strengthen you when you waver. He will be
your light when it seems most dark. He will take your hand and be your hope
when hope seems all you have left. His compassion and mercy, with all their
cleansing and healing power, are freely given to all who truly wish complete
forgiveness and will take the steps that lead to it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Jeffrey
R. Holland “Personal Purity” November 1998<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">8. </span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;">"If
one of you has seriously sinned, repent—now. It is not good to violate the
commandments of the Lord. It is worse to do nothing about it. Sin is like
cancer in the body. It will never heal itself. It will become progressively
worse unless cured through the medicine of repentance." </span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Richard G. Scott, "Don't Face the
World Alone," February 2007<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">9.
</span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">"If any has stumbled in his journey, there is a way back. The process is
called repentance. Our Savior died to provide you and me that blessed gift.
Though the path is difficult, the promise is real: 'Though your sins be as
scarlet, they shall be as white as snow' (Isaiah 1:18)."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Thomas S. Monson, "Preparation Brings
Blessings," May 2010</span></span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">10.
</span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“The truth is that we all need repentance. If we are capable of reason and
past the age of eight, we all need the cleansing that comes through applying
the full effects of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Henry B. Eyring, "Do Not Delay,”
November 1999 <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Position Statement:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As a very
imperfect individual, I know I NEED repentance every day of my life. I know the
Atonement makes that repentance possible. I know when I sincerely repent I can
be cleansed from sin through my Savior. Through the Savior, I know I can repent
and strive to become better. The Savior guides me and lifts me up as I keep His
commandments and offer Him my heart. Repentance is hard but it provides healing
and relief that nothing else can.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p><br /></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03056554419841752535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851436061899082188.post-83817727251896635562012-12-11T11:42:00.000-08:002012-12-11T12:55:00.598-08:00SERVICE<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1. I think
of our Lord and Exemplar, Jesus Christ, and His short life among the people of
Galilee and Jerusalem. I have tried to imagine Him bustling between meetings or
multitasking to get a list of urgent things accomplished. I can’t see it.
Instead I see the compassionate and caring Son of God purposefully living each
day. When He interacted with those around Him, they felt important and loved.
He knew the infinite value of the people He met. He blessed them, ministered to
them. He lifted them up, healed them. He gave them the precious gift of His
time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">-</span></b><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Dieter F. Uchtdorf “Of Regrets and Resolutions” October
2012<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2. These
simple, daily acts of service may not seem like much in and of themselves, but
when considered collectively they become just like the one-twelfth teaspoon of
honey contributed by a single bee to the hive. There is power in our love for
God and for His children, and when that love is tangibly manifest in millions
of acts of Christian kindness, it will sweeten and nourish the world with the
life-sustaining nectar of faith, hope, and charity.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-M.
Russell Ballard “Be Anxiously Engaged” October 2012<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">3. </span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;">"Love
is what inspired our Heavenly Father to create our spirits; it is what led our
Savior to the Garden of Gethsemane to make Himself a ransom for our sins. Love
is the grand motive of the plan of salvation; it is the source of happiness,
the ever-renewing spring of healing, the precious fountain of hope. As we
extend our hands and hearts toward others in Christlike love, something
wonderful happens to us. Our own spirits become healed, more refined, and
stronger. We become happier, more peaceful, and more receptive to the
whisperings of the Holy Spirit."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "You Are My Hands,” May 2010<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4. “My brothers and sisters, we are
surrounded by those in need of our attention, our encouragement, our support,
our comfort, our kindness—be they family members, friends, acquaintances, or
strangers. We are the Lord’s hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to
serve and to lift His children. He is dependent upon each of us.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Thomas S. Monson, “What Have I Done for Someone Today?”
November 2009<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5. “Help others in their race of life.
Remember that when you help another up a mountain, you are a little nearer the
top yourself.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Thomas S. Monson, “Great Expectations,” CES fireside for
young adults, Jan. 11, 2009<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6. “It is not easy to give up our personal
priorities and desires. . . . [But] ‘he who lives only unto himself withers and
dies, while he who forgets himself in the service of others grows and blossoms
in this life and in eternity’ (Gordon B. Hinckley, Teachings of Gordon B.
Hinckley [1997], 588).”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Dallin H. Oaks, “Unselfish Service,” May 2009<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">7. "As we look heavenward, we
inevitably learn of our responsibility to reach outward. To find real
happiness, we must seek for it in a focus outside ourselves. No one has learned
the meaning of living until he has surrendered his ego to the service of his
fellow man. Service to others is akin to duty, the fulfillment of which brings
true joy. We do not live alone—in our city, our nation, or our world. There is
no dividing line between our prosperity and our neighbor's wretchedness. 'Love
thy neighbor' is more than a divine truth. It is a pattern for perfection."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Thomas S. Monson, "The Joy of Service,"
October 2009<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">8. “When we seek to serve others, we are motivated not by
selfishness but by charity. This is the way Jesus Christ lived His life and the
way a holder of the priesthood must live his. The Savior did not care for th
ehonors of men; Satan offered Him all the kingdoms and glory of the world, and
Jesus rejectet the offer immediately and completely (see Matthew 4:8-10).
Throughout His life, the Savior must have often felt tired and pressed upon,
with scarcely a moment to Himself; yet He always made time for the sick, the
sorrowful, and the overlooked.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Dieter F. Ucthdorf “Lift Where You Stand” October 2008<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">9. “My brothers and sisters, I thank you for
your faith and devotion to the gospel. I thank you for the love and care you
show to one another. I thank you for the service you provide in your wards and
branches and in your stakes and districts. It is such service that enables the
Lord to accomplish His purposes here upon the earth.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Thomas S. Monson, “Welcome to Conference,” May 2009<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">10. “‘No one can assist in this work
[unless] he shall be humble and full of love' (D&C 12:8). 'By love serve
one another' (Gal. 5:13). Just as service is a natural consequence of love, so
is love a natural consequence of service. Husbands, serve your wives. Wives,
serve your husbands. Husbands and wives, serve your children. And to all we say,
serve God and neighbor. As we do so, we will come to love the object of our
devotion and thus be obedient to the first and great commandment of love."</span></span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Robert F. Orton, "The First and Great
Commandment," November 2001 <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Position Statement:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The
Savior’s life was a life completely full of service. He did so much for others
in His day to day living, and of course when he completed the Atonement. The
Lord asks me to have hands willing to serve. I know that from serving others,
most often the one more blessed or touched is the one who gives the service. I
know the Lord places opportunities for such service in my path and that I must
have open eyes and a willing heart to do these things. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03056554419841752535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851436061899082188.post-19495209823530263512012-12-11T11:40:00.001-08:002012-12-11T12:50:29.429-08:00FORGIVENESS<br />
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> <span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">1. Most of
us need time to work through pain and loss. We can find all manner of reasons
for postponing forgiveness. One of these reasons is waiting for the wrongdoers
to repent before we forgive them. Yet such a delay causes us to forfeit the
peace and happiness that could be ours. The folly of rehashing long-past hurts
does not bring happiness…If we can find forgiveness in our hearts for those who
have caused us hurt and injury, we will rise to a higher level of self-esteem
and well-being. Some recent studies show that people who are taught to forgive
become “less angry, more hopeful, less depressed, less anxious and less
stressed,” which leads to greater physical well-being.</span><a href="http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2007/04/the-healing-power-of-forgiveness?lang=eng#9-"><sup><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">9</span></sup></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Another of these studies
concludes“that forgiveness … is a liberating gift [that] people can give to
themselves.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<u1:p></u1:p>
</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<u1:p><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">-James
E Faust (The Healing Power of Forgiveness) April 2007<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<u1:p></u1:p>
</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<u1:p><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">2.
“If you have been offended, forgive, forget it, and leave it alone.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
<u1:p></u1:p>
</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Boyd K.
Packer “Guided by the Holy Spirit” April 2011<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">3. </span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;">“I
testify that the Savior is able and eager to forgive our sins. Except for the
sins of those few who choose perdition after having known a fulness, there is
no sin that cannot be forgiven (see Boyd K. Packer, “The Brilliant Morning of
Forgiveness,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 19). What a marvelous privilege for each of us
to turn away from our sins and to come unto Christ. Divine forgiveness is one
of the sweetest fruits of the gospel, removing guilt and pain from our hearts
and replacing them with joy and peace of conscience. Jesus declares, ‘Will ye
not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may
heal you?’ (3 Nephi 9:13).”<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">-Neil L. Andersen, “Repent . . . That I May
Heal You,” Ensign, Nov. 2009, 40–41<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">4. “Is there someone in your life who
perhaps needs forgiveness? Is there someone in your home, someone in your
family, someone in your neighborhood who has done an unjust or an unkind or an
unchristian thing? All of us are guilty of such transgressions, so there surely
must be someone who yet needs your forgiveness? Jesus Christ was the purest and
only perfect person who ever lived. He is the one person in all the world from
Adam to this present hour who deserved adoration and respect and admiration and
love, and yet He was persecuted, abandoned, and put to death. Through it all,
He would not condemn those who persecuted Him.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<u1:p></u1:p>
</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">-Jeffrey R. Holland, “Amazed at the Love
Jesus Offers Me,” December 2008<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">5. "Sometimes we carry unhappy feelings
about past hurts too long. We spend too much energy dwelling on things that
have passed and cannot be changed. We struggle to close the door and let go of
the hurt. If, after time, we can forgive whatever may have caused the hurt, we
will tap 'into a life-giving source of comfort' through the Atonement, and the
'sweet peace' of forgiveness will be ours ("My Journey to Forgiving,"
Ensign, Feb. 1997. 43). Some injuries are so hurtful and deep that healing
comes only with help from a higher power and hope for perfect justice and
restitution in the next life. . . . You can tap into that higher power and
receive precious comfort and sweet peace."<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
<u1:p></u1:p>
</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">-James E. Faust, "Instruments in the
Hands of God," Nov. 2005<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">6. "Of all the necessary
steps to repentance, the most critically important is for you to have a
conviction that forgiveness comes in and through Jesus Christ. It is essential
to know that only on His terms can you be forgiven. You will be helped as you
exercise faith in Christ. That means you trust Him and His teachings. Satan
would have you believe that serious transgression cannot be entirely overcome.
I testify that the Savior gave His life so that through repentance the effects
of all sin can be put behind you, save the shedding of innocent blood and the
denial of the Holy Ghost."<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
<u1:p></u1:p>
</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">-Richard G. Scott, "Peace of Conscience
and Peace of Mind," November 2004<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">7. "If there be trouble existing
between me and anybody else, I would meet them half way, yes, I would meet them
three quarters or even all of the way. I would feel like yielding; I would say,
I do not want to quarrel, I want to be a Saint. I have set out for purity,
virtue, brotherhood, and for obedience to the laws of God on earth, and for
thrones and principalities and dominions in the eternal worlds, and I will not
allow such paltry affairs to interfere with my prospects. I am for life,
eternal lives and eternal exaltations in the kingdom of God."<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
<u1:p></u1:p>
</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">-John Taylor, “Teachings of Presidents of
the Church: John Taylor”, pg. 26<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">8. "Don't treasure up past wrongs,
reprocessing them again and again. In a marriage relationship, festering is
destructive; forgiving is divine (see D&C 64:9-10). Plead for the guidance
of the Spirit of the Lord to forgive wrongs . . . , to overcome faults, and to
strengthen relationships."<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
<u1:p></u1:p>
</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">-Dallin H. Oaks, "Divorce," May
2007</span></span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">9. "I know of no more beautiful story
in all literature than that found in the fifteenth chapter of Luke. It is the
story of a repentant son and a forgiving father. It is the story of a son who
wasted his inheritance in riotous living, rejecting his father's counsel,
spurning those who loved him. When he had spent all, he was hungry and
friendless, and 'when he came to himself' (Luke 15:17), he turned back to his
father, who, on seeing him afar off, 'ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed
him' (Luke 15:20). I ask you to read that story. Every parent ought to read it
again and again. It is large enough to encompass every household, and enough
larger than that to encompass all mankind, for are we not all prodigal sons and
daughters who need to repent and partake of the forgiving mercy of our Heavenly
Father and then follow His example?"<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
<u1:p></u1:p>
</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">-Gordon B. Hinckley, "Of You It Is
Required to Forgive," June 1991<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;">10. "There is a glorious miracle
awaiting every soul who is prepared to change. Repentance and forgiveness make
a brilliant day of the darkest night. When souls are reborn, when lives are
changed—then comes the great miracle to beautify and warm and lift. When
spiritual death has threatened and now instead there is resuscitation, when
life pushes out death—when this happens it is the miracle of miracles. And such
great miracles will never cease so long as there is one person who applies the
redeeming power of the Savior and his own good works to bring about his
rebirth. . . .</span></span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
<u1:p></u1:p>
</span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">"The essence of the miracle of forgiveness is that
it brings peace to the previously anxious, restless, frustrated, perhaps
tormented soul. In a world of turmoil and contention this is indeed a priceless
gift."<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
<u1:p></u1:p>
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: small;">-Spencer W. Kimball, “Teachings of
Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball “Pg. 35<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Position
Statement: <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I think
forgiving people is one of the hardest things to do for me. In my efforts to
forgive, I know I need to remember my Savior, who so willingly forgives me as I
repent and turn to Him. I know that it is not my place to hold grudges in this
life because I know that I have been in desperate need of forgiveness
throughout my life. I am grateful for a merciful God and the Savior of the
world who provide me with an opportunity to receive and extend forgiveness. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
<u1:p></u1:p></span></span></span></span><br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03056554419841752535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851436061899082188.post-72406336658938094482012-12-11T11:40:00.000-08:002012-12-11T12:47:11.916-08:00CHILDREN/REARING<br />
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">1.“Supreme happiness in marriage is governed
considerably by a primary factor—that of the bearing and rearing of children.
Too many young people set their minds, determining they will not marry or have
children until they are more secure, until the military service period is over;
until the college degree is secured; until the occupation is more well-defined;
until the debts are paid; or until it is more convenient. They have forgotten
that the first commandment is to ‘be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the
earth, and subdue it.’ ( <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/gen/1/28#28"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Genesis 1:28 </span></a>.) And so
brides continue their employment and husbands encourage it, and contraceptives
are used to prevent conception. Relatives and friends and even mothers
sometimes encourage birth control for their young newlyweds. But the excuses
are many, mostly weak. The wife is not robust; the family budget will not feed
extra mouths; or the expense of the doctor, hospital, and other incidentals is
too great; it will disturb social life; it would prevent two salaries; and so
abnormal living prevents the birth of children. The Church cannot approve nor
condone the measures which so greatly limit the family” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p>-Spencer W. Kimball <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“</i><em><span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball”,
Pg. </span></em>328–29<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p>2.“I am offended by the
sophistry that the only lot of the Latter-day Saint woman is to be barefoot and
pregnant. It’s a clever phrase, but it’s false. Of course we believe in
children. The Lord has told us to multiply and replenish the earth that we
might have joy in our posterity, and there is no greater joy than the joy that
comes of happy children in good families. But he did not designate the number,
nor has the Church. That is a sacred matter left to the couple and the Lord.
The official statement of the Church includes this language:‘Husbands must be
considerate of their wives, who have the greater responsibility not only of bearing
children but of caring for them through childhood, and should help them
conserve their health and strength. Married couples should exercise
self-control in all of their relationships. They should seek inspiration from
the Lord in meeting their marital challenges and rearing their children
according to the teachings of the gospel”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p>-President Gordon B. Hinckley
“Cornerstone of a Happy Home” 1983<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p>3.“The first commandment given
to man was to multiply and replenish the earth with children. That commandment has
never been altered, modified, or cancelled. The Lord did not say to multiply
and replenish the earth if it is convenient, or if you are wealthy, or after
you have gotten your schooling, or when there is peace on earth, or until you
have four children. The Bible says, ‘Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord:
. . . Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them. . . .’ ( Ps. 127:3, 5
)We believe God is glorified by having numerous children and a program of
perfection for them. So also will God glorify that husband and wife who have a
large posterity and who have tried to raise them up in righteousness” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p>-Ezra Taft Benson (in Conference
Report, Apr. 1969, 12).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p>4.“Motherhood lies at the
foundation of happiness in the home, and of prosperity in the nation. God has
laid upon men and women very sacred obligations with respect to motherhood, and
they are obligations that cannot be disregarded without invoking divine
displeasure. In <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/1_tim/2/13-15#13"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">1 Timothy 2:13–15 </span></a>, we are
told that ‘Adam was first formed, then Eve. . . .’ Can she be saved without
child-bearing? She indeed takes an awful risk if she wilfully disregards what
is a pronounced requirement of God” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p>-Joseph F. Smith “Gospel
Doctrine” Pg. 288-289<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p>5. Parents, the days are long
past when regular, active participation in Church meetings and programs, though
essential, can fulfill your sacred responsibility to teach your children to
live moral, righteous lives and walk uprightly before the Lord. With President
Monson’s announcement this morning, it is essential that this be faithfully
accomplished in homes which are places of refuge where kindness, forgiveness,
truth, and righteousness prevail. Parents must have the courage to filter or
monitor Internet access, television, movies, and music. Parents must have the
courage to say no, defend truth, and bear powerful testimony. Your children
need to know that you have faith in the Savior, love your Heavenly Father, and
sustain the leaders of the Church. Spiritual maturity must flourish in our
homes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p>-Quentin L. Cook “Can Ye Feel So
Now” October 2009<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p>6.
Certainly there are times when getting the family together to read the
scriptures does not stack up as a spiritual experience worthy of a journal
entry. But we must not be deterred. There are special times when the spirit of
a son or daughter is just right and the power of these great scriptures goes
down into their heart like fire. As we honor our Heavenly Father in our homes,
He will honor our efforts."</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;">-Neil L. Andersen,
"Prophets and Spiritual Mole Crickets," November 1999<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p>7. "In
these last days it is essential—even critical—that parents and children listen
to and learn from one another."</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;">-M. Russell Ballard,
"Mothers and Daughters," May 2010<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p>8. “With
respect to our stewardship for our families, some have taught that when we
report to the Savior and He asks us to give an account of our earthly
responsibilities, two important inquiries will relate to our families. The
first will be our relationship with our spouse, and the second will be about
each of our children.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p>- Robert D.
Hales, “Understandings of the Heart,” 1988<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p>9. “A
familiar example of losing ourselves in the service of others—this one not
unique to Latter-day Saints—is the sacrifice parents make for their children.
Mothers suffer pain and loss of personal priorities and comforts to bear and
rear each child. Fathers adjust their lives and priorities to support a family.
The gap between those who are and those who are not willing to do this is
widening in today’s world. . . .</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;">“We rejoice that so many
Latter-day Saint couples are among that unselfish group who are willing to
surrender their personal priorities and serve the Lord by bearing and rearing
the children our Heavenly Father sends to their care. We also rejoice in those
who care for disabled family members and aged parents. None of this service
asks, what’s in it for me? All of it requires setting aside personal
convenience for unselfish service. All of it stands in contrast to the fame,
fortune, and other immediate gratification that are the worldly ways of so many
in our day.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p>-Dallin H.
Oaks, “Unselfish Service,” May 2009<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p>10.
"Parents are with their children almost constantly and can observe when
they are ready to be instructed. From questions or behavior or because of
experiences in their own lives, they can sense that it is time to teach. Parents
must know when the time for the lesson is now, right now, for their children
are ready for it."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;">-Boyd K. Packer,
"Ready or Not, You Will Be Taught," December 1977</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">Position Statement:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">As a young married adult, I am grateful for
the inspired counsel we receive concerning children. There are many topics
covered such as when to have them, how many to have, and the Gospel provides us
the BEST possible helps for rearing children. I know children are a blessing in
this life and I am excited to raise a family with my husband.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03056554419841752535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851436061899082188.post-85379198041703490842012-12-11T11:37:00.000-08:002012-12-11T11:50:47.027-08:00ETERNAL MARRIAGE <div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hkOnH36S_pY?fs=1" width="480"></iframe><br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
ETERNAL MARRIAGE</div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1. Two of
the vital pillars that sustain Father in Heaven’s plan of happiness are
marriage and the family. Their lofty significance is underscored by Satan’s
relentless efforts to splinter the family and to undermine the significance of
temple ordinances, which bind the family together for eternity. The temple
sealing has greater meaning as life unfolds. It will help you draw ever closer
together and find greater joy and fulfillment in mortality.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Richard
G. Scott (The Eternal Blessings of Marriage) April 2011<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.
Brethren, do you lead out in family activities such as scripture study, family
prayer, and family home evening, or does your wife fill in the gap your lack of
attention leaves in the home? Do you tell your wife often how very much you
love her? It will bring her great happiness. I’ve heard men tell me when I say
that, “Oh, she knows.” You need to tell her. A woman grows and is greatly
blessed by that reassurance. Express </span><a href="http://lds.org/topic/gratitude/"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">gratitude</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> for what your spouse does
for you. Express that love and gratitude often. That will make life far richer
and more pleasant and purposeful. Don’t withhold those natural expressions of
love. And it works a lot better if you are holding her close while you tell
her. I learned from my wife the importance of expressions of love. Early in our
marriage, often I would open my scriptures to give a message in a meeting, and
I would find an affectionate, supportive note Jeanene had slipped into the
pages. Sometimes they were so tender that I could hardly talk. Those precious
notes from a loving wife were and continue to be a priceless treasure of
comfort and inspiration.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Richard
G. Scott (The Eternal Blessings of Marriage) April 2011<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3. My
purpose in speaking out on this topic is to declare, as an Apostle of the Lord,</span><sup><a href="http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/celestial-marriage?lang=eng#3-PD00009501_000_030"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">3</span></a></sup><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> that marriage between a
man and a woman is sacred—it is ordained of God.</span><a href="http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/celestial-marriage?lang=eng#4-PD00009501_000_030"><sup><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">4</span></sup></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> I also assert the virtue
of a temple marriage. It is the highest and most enduring type of marriage that
our Creator can offer to His children…Harmony in marriage comes only when one
esteems the welfare of his or her spouse among the highest of priorities. When
that really happens, a celestial marriage becomes a reality, bringing great joy
in this life and in the life to come… Celestial marriage is a pivotal part of
preparation for eternal life. It requires one to be married to the right
person, in the right place, by the right authority, and to obey that sacred
covenant faithfully.</span><a href="http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/celestial-marriage?lang=eng#43-PD00009501_000_030"><sup><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">43</span></sup></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Then one may be assured
of exaltation in the celestial kingdom of God.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Russell
M. Nelson (Celestial Marriage) October 2008<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.. If our
bodies are sick, we seek to heal them. We do not give up. The same thing should
be true of our marriages. A marriage, eternal in duration and Godlike in
quality, does not contemplate divorce.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;">- </span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">Elder
Dallin H. Oaks<u1:p></u1:p> “Marriage and Divorce”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5. It is
inconceivable that otherwise intelligent, astute, and highly educated people
should ignore or willfully disregard this great privilege. The doors can be
unlocked. The gap can be bridged. And men can walk safely, securely, to
never-ending happiness, making their marriages timeless and eternal.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">-Spencer
W. Kimball (Temples and Eternal Marriage) February 1995<o:p></o:p></span><u1:p></u1:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6. “<span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;">I am satisfied that a happy
marriage is not so much a matter of romance as it is an anxious concern for the
comfort and well-being of one’s companion.</span> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Selfishness
so often is the basis of money problems, which are a very serious and real
factor affecting the stability of family life. Selfishness is at the root of
adultery, the breaking of solemn and sacred covenants to satisfy selfish lust.
Selfishness is the antithesis of love. It is a cankering expression of greed.
It destroys self-discipline. It obliterates loyalty. It tears up sacred
covenants. It afflicts both men and women. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Too many
who come to marriage have been coddled and spoiled and somehow led to feel that
everything must be precisely right at all times, that life is a series of
entertainments, that appetites are to be satisfied without regard to principle.
How tragic the consequences of such hollow and unreasonable thinking!”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Gordon B.
Hinckley (What God Hath Joined Together) April 1991<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">7. </span></b><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Your love, like a flower, must be
nourished. There will come a great love and interdependence between you, for
your love is a divine one. It is deep, inclusive, comprehensive. It is not like
that association of the world which is misnamed love, but which is mostly
physical attraction. When marriage is based on this only, the parties soon tire
of each other. There is a break and a divorce, and a new, fresher physical
attraction comes with another marriage which in turn may last only until it,
too, becomes stale. The love of which the Lord speaks is not only physical
attraction, but spiritual attraction as well. It is faith and confidence in,
and understanding of, one another. It is a total partnership. It is
companionship with common ideals and standards. It is unselfishness toward and
sacrifice for one another. It is cleanliness of thought and action and faith in
God and his program. It is parenthood in mortality ever looking toward godhood
and creationship, and parenthood of spirits. It is vast, all-inclusive, and
limitless. This kind of love never tires or wanes. It lives on through sickness
and sorrow, through prosperity and privation, through accomplishment and
disappointment, through time and eternity”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Spencer
W. Kimball “Faith Precedes the Miracle” Pg. 130–31<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">8. </span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;">"I
urge husbands and fathers of this Church to be the kind of men your wives would
not want to be without. I urge the sisters of this Church to be patient,
loving, and understanding with their husbands. Those who enter into marriage
should be fully prepared to establish their marriage as the first priority in
their lives."</span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-James E. Faust, </span></span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><a href="http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?hideNav=1&locale=0&sourceId=d94b66dfc311c010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Fathers,</span></a></span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Mothers,
Marriage” August 2004 <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">9. "Men and women joined together in
marriage need to work together as a full partnership. However, a full and equal
partnership between men and women does not imply the roles played by the two
sexes are the same in God's grand design for His children. As the proclamation
clearly states, men and women, though spiritually equal, are entrusted with
different but equally significant roles." </span></span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-M. Russell Ballard, </span></span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;">“The Sacred
Responsibilities of Parenthood” March</span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> 2006<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;">10. “I give counsel to husbands and wives. Pray for the
love which allows you to see the good in your companion. Pray for the love that
makes weaknesses and mistakes seem small. Pray for the love to make your
companion’s joy your own. Pray for the love to want to lessen the load and
soften the sorrows of your companion.”</span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;">Henry B. Eyring, </span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">“Our Perfect Example” November 2009<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Position
Statement:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is
one of the most important topics of our day! In this world where society is
trying to change the definition of marriage, I am happy to defend it. I am
grateful for my spouse and for the blessing it is to be working towards the same
goal together-exaltation in the celestial kingdom. The Gospel blesses us with
the beautiful knowledge of eternal families. I am so grateful for it and for
the things I have been taught since I was a little girl that have helped
prepare me for temple marriage.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03056554419841752535noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5851436061899082188.post-27617221765274735172012-12-10T18:50:00.001-08:002012-12-11T12:42:15.243-08:00FAMILY<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">FAMILY<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1. We need
to make our homes a place of refuge from the storm, which is increasing in
intensity all about us. Even if the smallest openings are left unattended,
negative influences can penetrate the very walls of our homes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-L. Tom
Perry (The Importance of the Family) April 2003<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2. “‘We
have a family home evening program once a week [Monday night] across the Church
in which parents sit down with their children. They study the scriptures. They
talk about family problems. They plan family activities and things of that
kind. I don’t hesitate to say if every family in the world practiced that one
thing, you’d see a very great difference in the solidarity of the families of
the world’ (interview, <i>Boston Globe,</i> 14 Aug. 2000).”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Gordon B.
Hinckley “Family Home Evening” March 2003<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.
“The family is the most important organization in time or in eternity. Our
purpose in life is to create for ourselves eternal family units. There is
nothing that will ever come into your family life that is as important as the
sealing blessings of the temple and then keeping the covenants made in
connection with this order of celestial marriage”.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><u1:p>-</u1:p>Joseph
Fielding Smith "Counsel to the Saints and to the World" April 1972<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4. </span></span><strong><span style="color: black; font-family: "Lucida Sans Unicode","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">N</span></strong><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">ear the end of his life, one father looked back on how he
had spent his time on earth. An acclaimed, respected author of numerous
scholarly works, he said, ‘I wish I had written one less book and taken my
children fishing more often.’ Time passes quickly. Many parents say that it
seems like yesterday that their children were born. Now those children are
grown, perhaps with children of their own. ‘Where did the years go?’ they ask.
We cannot call back time that is past, we cannot stop time that now is, and we
cannot experience the future in our present state. Time is a gift, a treasure
not to be put aside for the future but to be used wisely in the present.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<u1:p></u1:p>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thomas S.
Monson (Dedication Day-October 2000)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">5. </span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;">"Through
the restored gospel we learn there is an ideal family. It is a family composed
of a righteous Melchizedek Priesthood bearer with a righteous wife sealed to
him and children born in the covenant or sealed to them. With a mother in the
home in an environment of love and service, the parents teach their children,
through example and precept, the ways of the Lord and His truths." </span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Richard G. Scott "First Things First" May 2001<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;">6. "To parents everywhere, my counsel is simple: Get
a copy of 'The Family: A Proclamation to the World.' Read it and strive to
align your marriage and your family to its inspired, revealed direction from
the Lord."</span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">M. Russell Ballard, "The Sacred Responsibilites of
Parenthood" March 2006<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;">7. "Let us open wide the windows of our hearts, that
each family member may feel welcome and 'at home.' Let us open also the doors
of our very souls, that the dear Christ may enter. Remember His promise:
'Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the
door, I will come in to him' (Revelation 3:20)." </span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Thomas S. Monson,"Hallmarks of a Happy Home"
October 2001<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">8. "When the seas of life are stormy, a wise mariner
seeks a port of peace. The family, as we have traditionally known it, is such a
refuge of safety. 'The home is the basis of a righteous life and no other
instrumentality can take its place or fulfil its essential functions.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Thomas S. Monson, "Dedication Day" November
2000<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">9. “Each family prayer, each episode of family scripture
study, and each family home evening is a brushstroke on the canvas of our
souls. No one event may appear to be very impressive or memorable. But just as
the yellow and gold and brown strokes of paint complement each other and
produce an impressive masterpiece, so our consistency in doing seemingly small
things can lead to significant spiritual results. ‘Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing,
for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things
proceedeth that which is great’ (D&C 64:33).” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-David A. Bednar "More Dilligen and Concerned at
Home" November 2009<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><u1:p></u1:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">10. </span></span><span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Often we assume that [the people around us] <i>must</i>
know how much we love them. But we should never assume; we should let them
know. … We will never regret the kind words spoken or the affection shown.
Rather, our regrets will come if such things are omitted from our relationships
with those who mean the most to us” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">-Thomas S.
Monson "Finding Joy in the Journey" November 2008<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Position
Statement:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I am so
grateful for the emphasis the Church places on the family. I am grateful for
the counsel on ways to strengthen and improve our families. I was so blessed to
grow up in the home I was raised in, with goodly parents who taught me the
Gospel in world where wickedness is ever increasing. I believe the family is
the most important unit in society. I love the little day to day things my
parents did when I was growing up, such as scripture study, prayer, and family
home evening. I love the opportunity I now have to do these things in my own
home and I know there is a strength that comes from it nothing else can bring.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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