Daily Scripture

Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do;
3 Nephi 27:21

Alma 52-63 Nancy Baird - September 27, 2011

                                                            
                                              

Quotes Alma 52-63
Nancy Baird

The Second Coming   (verse one)
    by William Butler Yeats
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

"I used to think the causes of war were predominantly economic.  Then I came to think they were psychological.  I am now coming to think that they are decisively personal arising from the defects and ambition of those who have the power to influence..."
                     B. H. Liddell Hart, war commentator


"We have grasped the mystery of the atom and rejected the Sermon on the Mount...Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants.  We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living."       
                    General Omar Bradley, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff
   

"We think of children as vulnerable.  In my experience, they're giants.  Their bodies and souls are amazingly resilient.  What we often mistake for fragility is their openness..."       
                    Fred Epstein, pediatric neurosurgeon


"At 20 years old, struggling to make her way, Maya Angelou took a life-changing trip to San Francisco to visit her mother.  When it was time to leave, her mother walked the young poet down the hill to wait for the streetcar.  As they kissed good-bye, the mother said, "You know, baby, I think you are the greatest woman I have ever met."  Waiting for the streetcar, Maya Angelou recalls, "I sat there thinking:  Just suppose she's right. Suppose I really am somebody.  It was one of those moments when the sky rolled back.  At times like that, it's almost as if the whole earth holds its breath.""
                Fred Bauer, "The Double Blessing of Encouragement"

"Believing that another person offended us is fundamentally false.  To be offended is a choice we make; it is not a condition inflicted or imposed upon us by someone or something else..."
                David A. Bednar, Conference Report, Oct. 2006, 95-97
 
This is a letter left at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC.  It was a three-page letter to a North Vietnamese soldier, left in 1989 by a former member of the 101st Airborne Division.  It was accompanied by a photo of the enemy soldier posing with a young girl who probably was is daughter.
    "Dear Sir," the American began.  "For 22 years I have carried your picture in my wallet.  I was only 18 years old that day that we faced one another on that trail in Chu Lai.  Why you did not take my life I'll never know.  You stared at me so long, armed with your AK-47, and yet you did not fire.  Forgive me for taking your life. So many times over the years I have stared at your picture and your daughter, I suspect.  Each time my heart and guts would burn with the pain of guilt.  I have two daughters myself now...As of today we are no longer enemies.  I perceive you as a brave soldier defending his homeland.  Above all else, I can now respect the importance that life held for you.  I suppose that is why I am able to be here today. 
    It is time for me to continue the life process and release my pain and guilt.  Forgive me Sir, I shall try to live my life to the fullest, an opportunity that you and many others were denied."
                The letter was signed by Richard A. Luttrell, who could not be located.
           
"In the end, more than they wanted freedom, they wanted security.  They wanted a comfortable life and they lost it all -- security, comfort and freedom...When the Athenians finally wanted not to give to society but for society to give to them, when the freedom they wished for most was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free."            
                 Edward Gibbon, author/historian


D&C 1:35    "...the day speedily cometh; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when peace shall be         taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his dominion."       

James 1:8    "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways."       
       
Matthew 10:34        "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth:  I came not to send peace, but a sword.  He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.  And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.  He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it."

Ecclesiastes 1:18    "For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge                     increaseth sorrow."

2000 STRIPLING WARRIORS

Alma 53:20, 21 (Mormon)
              " And they were all young men, and they were exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity ... men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted.
                Yea, they were men of truth and soberness, for they had been taught to keep the
commandments of God and to walk uprightly before him."

Alma 54:5 (Helaman)
             "...never had I seen so great courage, nay, not amongst all the Nephites."


Alma 54: 5, 4 (Helaman)
             "Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.
              And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it."

Alma 57: 19 - 21 (Helaman)
           "... my little band of two thousand and sixty fought most desperately; yea, they were firm before
the Lamanites, and did administer death unto all those who opposed them.
            ... those two thousand and sixty were firm and undaunted.
            ... Yea, and they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea,
 and even according to their faith it was done unto them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me that their mothers had taught them."


Alma 57: 25 -27 (Helaman)
          "... there was not one soul of them who did perish ...
           ... And we do justly ascribe it to the miraculous power of God, because of their exceeding faith in that which they had been taught to believe - - that there was a just God, and whosoever did not doubt, that they should be preserved by his marvelous power.
           Now this was the faith of these of whom I have spoken: they are young, and their minds are firm, and they do put their trust in God continually."


Alma 58:40 (Helaman)
          " They have received many wounds; nevertheless they stand fast in that liberty wherewith God has made them free; and they are strict to remember the Lord their God from day to day; yea, they do observe to keep his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments continually; and their faith is strong in the prophecies concerning that which is to come."


Alma 52-63 - Nancy Baird - September 27, 2011(Audio)

Daily Thought

You Are Not Forgotten

As a child, when I would look at the little forget-me-nots, I sometimes felt a little like that flower—small and very insignificant. I wondered if I would be forgotten by my family or by my Heavenly Father.

Years later, I can look back on that young boy with tenderness and compassion. And I do know now I was never forgotten.

And I know something else. As an Apostle of our Master, Jesus Christ, I proclaim with all the certainty and conviction of my heart and soul—neither are you!

You are not forgotten.

Sisters, wherever you are, whatever the circumstances may be, you are not forgotten. No matter how dark your days may seem, no matter how insignificant you may feel, no matter how overshadowed you think you may be, your Heavenly Father has not forgotten you. In fact, He loves you, with an infinite love.

—President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
General Relief Society Meeting, September 2011

Daily Scripture

…And this is the blessing which hath been bestowed upon us, that we have been made instruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work.
Alma 26:3

Daily Thought

"What is most important almost always involves the people around us.  Often we assume that they must know how much we love them.  But we should never assume; we should let them know.  Wrote William Shakespeare, 'They do not love that do not show their love.' 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."   
President Thomas S. Monson

Daily Scripture

…. I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.
Alma 36:3

Daily Thought

First Presidency Message

General Conference—No Ordinary Blessing

By President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Second Counselor in the First Presidency

---

Close Audio

General Conference—No Ordinary Blessing

09689_000_003

A fine member of the Church was talking with a neighbor who was not of our faith. When the topic of discussion turned to general conference, the neighbor asked, “You say you have prophets and apostles? And twice a year in a worldwide conference they reveal the word of God?”

“Absolutely,” the member replied with confidence.

The neighbor thought about that for a moment. He seemed genuinely interested and then asked, “What did they say in the last general conference?”

At this point the good member of the Church went from feeling excited about sharing the gospel to feeling embarrassed. Try as he might, he couldn’t think of the details of a single talk.

His friend found this troubling and said, “You mean to tell me that God speaks to man in our day and you can’t remember what He said?”

The brother felt humbled by this exchange. He vowed that he would do better to remember the words spoken by the Lord’s servants in general conference.

We all know how hard it is to remember every message of general conference, and I’m confident that we need not be embarrassed if we don’t remember everything. Nevertheless, there are messages in each general conference given as a gift and a blessing from heaven specifically for our personal life situations.

In preparation for general conference, let me suggest three basic concepts that may help us to better receive, remember, and apply the words spoken by the Lord’s servants.

 

1. Members of the Church are entitled to personal revelation as they listen to and study the inspired words spoken at general conference.

As you prepare for general conference, I invite you to ponder questions you need to have answered. For example, you might yearn for direction and guidance by the Lord regarding challenges you are facing.

Answers to your specific prayers may come directly from a particular talk or from a specific phrase. At other times answers may come in a seemingly unrelated word, phrase, or song. A heart filled with gratitude for the blessings of life and an earnest desire to hear and follow the words of counsel will prepare the way for personal revelation.

 

2. Don’t discount a message merely because it sounds familiar.

Prophets have always taught by repetition; it is a law of learning. You will hear repetition in themes and doctrines in general conference. Let me reassure you: this is not due to a lack of creativity or imagination. We continue to hear messages on similar issues because the Lord is teaching and impressing upon our minds and hearts certain foundational principles of great eternal importance that must be understood and acted upon before we can move on to other things. A wise builder first lays the foundation before erecting the walls and the roof.

 

3. The words spoken at general conference should be a compass that points the way for us during the coming months.

If we listen to and follow the promptings of the Spirit, they will serve as a Liahona, guiding us through the unknown, challenging valleys and mountains that are ahead (see 1 Nephi 16).

Since the world began, God has raised up prophets who speak the will of heaven to the people of their times. It is our responsibility to listen and then apply the messages the Lord provides for us.

Our merciful and loving Heavenly Father has not forsaken and will not forsake His children. Today, as well as in times past, He has appointed apostles and prophets. He continues to reveal His word to them.

What a marvelous privilege it is to hear God’s messages for each of us during general conference! Let us prepare well for this great blessing of divine guidance delivered by His chosen servants.

For this is no ordinary blessing.

Daily Scripture

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28

Alma 43-51 Diane Adair - September 20, 2011

Quotes Alma 43-51

"Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can.  He will deepen their joys, strengthen their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace."    
President Ezra T. Benson


"Of course the War in Heaven over free agency is now being waged here on earth."  
 President Ezra T. Benson



"The record of the Nephite history just prior to the Savior's visit reveals many parallels to our own day as we anticipate the Savior's Second Coming."   
President Ezra T. Benson

"There us no greater protection from the adversary than for us to know the truth---to know the plan!!!"                        
Boyd K. Packer

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf article "General Conference--No Ordinary Blessing" Ensign, September 2011; page 4


8 Ways/Patterns We Can Follow That Moroni Does As We Fight This Battle:
1.  Title of Liberty - Alma 46: 12-13, 36
      Diane's Family Motto:  We are children of our Heavenly Father and we follow Jesus;
      Go Adair Family; Love one another as Jesus and Heavenly Father love us.
2. Seek and Heeds Prophet - Alma 43:23-25, 28
3.  God First - Alma 44:3-5; 45:1
4.  Power of Word - Alma 48:19-20; 49:30
5.  Prayer - Alma 43:50; 46:16-17
6.  Unity and Power - Alma 43:49-52
7.  Make the Weakest Point Strong - Alma 48:8-9; 49:3-8, 12-14
8.  Daily Make Preparations - Alma 50:1, 6


"For nearly six thousand years, God has held you in reserve to make your appearance in the final days before the Second Coming of the Lord.  Some individuals will fall away, but the kingdom of God will remain intact to welcome the return of its Head--even Jesus Christ.

…God has saved for the final inning some of His strongest and most valiant children, who will help bear off the kingdom triumphantly.  That is where you come in, for you are the generation that must be prepared to meet your God.

Make no mistake about it--you are a marked generation.  There has never been more expected of the faithful in such a short period of time than there is of us.  Never before on the face of this earth have the forces of evil and the forces of good been so well organized. Now is the great day of the devil's power.  But now is also the great day of the Lord's power, with the greatest number of priesthood holders on the earth.

Each day the forces of evil and the forces of good enlist new recruits.  Each day we personally make many decisions showing the cause we support.  The final outcome is certain--the forces of righteousness will finally win.  But what remains to be seen is where each of us personally, now and in the future, will stand in this battle--and how tall we will stand.  Will we be true to our last days and fulfill our foreordained missions?

Great battles can make great heroes and heroines.  You will never have a better opportunity to be valiant in a more crucial cause than in the battle you face today and in the immediate future.  Some of the greatest battles you will face will be fought within the silent chambers of your own soul.  David's battles in the field against the foe were not as critical as David's battles in the palace against a lustful eye. 

Each of us has his or her own battle field.  The tactics which the enemy will use against us will vary from time to time.  He will seek to exploit our weak spots, so we must be alert to the devil's devious designs--the subtle sins and clever compromises as well as the obvious offenses.

We must remember that the devil seeks to make all men miserable like unto himself.  We must also remember that the Lord loves us and seeks for us the fullness of joy which He enjoys.  We must choose whom we will serve."
      
"IN HIS STEP" President Ezra T. Benson; Dedication:  Boise Institute of Religion Building, November 20, 1983



Alma 43-51 - Diane Adair - September 20, 2011 (Audio)

Daily Thought

“We are the Lord's hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children.”
Thomas S. Monson, in Daughters in My Kingdom, page 103

Daily Scripture

 2 Waiting patiently on the Lord, for your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, and are recorded with this seal and testament—the Lord hath sworn and decreed that they shall be granted.

  

3 Therefore, he giveth this promise unto you, with an immutable covenant that they shall be fulfilled; and all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good, and to my name’s glory, saith the Lord.

D & C 98: 2-3

Daily Thought

 "To you who are parents, I say, show love to your children.  You know you love them, but make certain they know it as well.  They are so precious.  Let them know.  Call upon our Heavenly Father for help as you care for their needs each day and as you deal with the challenges which inevitably come with parenthood.  You need more than your own wisdom in rearing them."      
President Thomas S. Monson

Daily Scripture

…remember, that as much as ye
Alma 38:5

Daily Thought

"We are to become not only good but holy men and women."
Elder D. Todd Christofferson

Alma 40-42 Nancy Baird - September 13, 2011

Quotes Alma 40 - 42

"Either life is always and in all circumstances sacred, or intrinsically of no account; it is inconceivable that it should be in some cases the one, and in some the other."

Annie Dillard, For the Time Being, 160

"The whole history of the Christian life is a series of resurrections.  Every time a man bethinks himself that he is not walking in the light, that he has been forgetting himself, and must repent; that he has been asleep and must awake; ...every time this takes place there is a resurrection in the world.  Yes, every time a man finds his heart troubled, that he is not rejoicing in God, a resurrection must follow; a resurrection out of the night of troubled thought into the gladness of the truth...however much the souls on which it shines may be obscured by the clouds of sorrow, troubled by fears, or shot through with the lightnings of pain."

George McDonald, personal files of Nancy Baird

    "When you lay down this tabernacle, where are you going?  Into the spiritual world...where is the spirit world?  It is right here.  Do the good and evil spirits go together?  Yes they do.  Do they both inhabit one kingdom?  Yes they do.  Do they go beyond the boundaries of the organized earth?  No, they do not.  They are brought forth upon this earth."

Brigham Young, Discourses of Brigham Young, 376.

In the 16th century the great Kabbalistic rabbi Issac Luria presented a beautiful and mystical view of the creation of the world.What he said was that the world began when the vessel holding the source of all light broke open and the light of God was scattered throughout the universe into an infinite number of holy sparks.
 

These countless sparks of holiness are hidden deep in everyone and everything. The purpose of human life is to uncover these sparks of light and restore the world to its original wholeness.  Everyone and everything we encounter is a container for a hidden spark of holiness  Everything we do, he said, that is good and right, repairs and restores the world."

Rachel Naomi Remen, My Grandfather's Blessings, 326  (paraphrased)

"Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life.  Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.  You are already naked.  There is no reason to not follow your heart."

Steve Jobs, address to Stanford graduates, 2005




Cross-referenced scriptures:

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith:  these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone."

Matthew 23:23

"If a man die, shall he live again?"

Job 14:14

"I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death..."

Hosea 13:14

"He will swallow up death in victory;  and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces."    Isaiah 25:8

"Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.  If a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life...he will have so much the advantage in the world to come."

D&C 130:18,19

"...for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."

Galatians 6:7

"Ye are all the children of light and the children of the day:  we are not of the night, nor of darkness."

Thessalonians 5:5

 
"...ye are light in the Lord:  walk as children of light."

Ephesians 5:8

"And that wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth through disobedience, from the children of men..."

D&C 93:39

"And now my son, I would that you should remember, that as much as ye shall put your trust in God even so much ye shall be delivered out of your trials, and your troubles, and your afflictions, and ye shall be lifted up at the last day."

 Alma 38:5

"...if the flesh should rise no more, our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more.
And our spirits must have become like him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself..."

2 Nephi 9:8,9

"For man is spirit.  The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy;  and when separated, man cannot received a fulness of joy."

D&C 93:33,34

"For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth; And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God."

Job 19:25-26       
 

Alma 40-42 - Nancy Baird - September 13, 2011 (Audio)

Daily Scripture

And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
1 John 4:16

Daily Thought

"Holiness begins with small righteous actions done consistently."
Sister Elaine S. Dalton

Daily Scripture

Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.
Alma 26:12

Daily Thought

"When we have sampled much and have wandered far and have seen how fleeting and sometimes superficial a lot of the world is, our gratitude grows for the privilege of being part of something we can count on--home and family and the loyalty of loved ones. We come to know what it means to be bound together by duty, by respect, by belonging. We learn that nothing can fully take the place of the blessed relationship of family life."
President Thomas S. Monson

Alma 36-39 Diane Adair - September 6, 2011

 Quotes from Alma 36-39

For many years I thought of the Savior's experience in the garden and on the cross as places where a large mass of sin was heaped upon Him.  Through the words of (Book of Mormon) prophets, my view has changed.  The Atonement was an intimate personal experience in which Jesus came to know how to help each of us.  He learned about your weaknesses and mine.  He experienced your pains and suffering.  He understands the way in which we deal with temptation.  But more than that, He know how to help us if we come to Him in faith.
Merrill J. Bateman

"Through the simple yet profound influence of the Atonement all healing and forgiveness can take place." 
Howard W. Hunter  Quote to Detention Center

"Alma 36,  in my opinion, is the very best chiasm in the Book of Mormon, if not in all world literature."  
John Welch  Journal of Book of Mormon Studies....





Alma 36-39 - Diane Adair - September 6, 2011(Audio)

Daily Scripture

….if ye will come unto me
3 Nephi 9:14

Daily Thought

"May we make of our homes sanctuaries to which our family members will ever want to return."
 President Thomas S. Monson

Daily Scripture

For the Spirit speaketh…of things as they really are and of things as they really will be
Jacob 4:13

Sisters In Scripture Class.

Classes will resume again this Tuesday, September 6th at 10am at the Stake Center.
We will be studying Alma 36 - 39.
Nursery provided.

Daily Thought

"We've got to be so solidly anchored in our testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ that, regardless of what may come next, we will not waffle; we will stand firm in our belief; we won't question the doctrines that are part of our belief." 
Elder M. Russell Ballard

Daily Scripture

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
2 Tim. 1:7