Elder Nelson speaks of a personal journal he wrote in daily where he listed events that had shown the hand of God in his life.

While my posts aren't daily they are a similar record of God's workings in my life and in the life of those around me.

I leave this record as a testimony to future generations of my testimony of God's existence, his knowledge of us and his desire to mold and shape us into better people if we surrender our will to his.

Mirrors

Brad Wilcox
House of Glory

In sealing rooms at the temple the mirrors are placed directly across from each other so that the images reflect off each other into eternity. Brad Wilcox noticed that it is hard to see the image of yourself going back into eternity, even as you move side to side or stand on tippy toes. Really the best way to see into eternity is to look at someone else, perhaps your spouse. You can see eternity much better when you focus on your spouse. Are we getting in the way of our own eternal perspective. Focus on others and our own destiny will become clearer.

Lighting a Fire

Uchtdorf Nov GC 2009

 I understood firsthand the words of an old saying: Education is not so much the filling of a bucket as the lighting of a fire.

For members of the Church, education is not merely a good idea—it’s a commandment. We are to learn “of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad.”

Joseph Smith loved learning even though he had few opportunities for formal education. In his journals, he spoke happily of days spent in study and often expressed his love of learning.7

Joseph taught the Saints that knowledge was a necessary part of our mortal journey, for “a man is saved no faster than he [gains] knowledge,”8 and that “whatever principle of intelligence we attain … in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.”9 During challenging times, it is even more important to learn. The Prophet Joseph taught, “Knowledge does away with darkness, [anxiety], and doubt; for these cannot exist where knowledge is.”10

Brethren, you have a duty to learn as much as you can. Please encourage your families, your quorum members, everyone to learn and become better educated. If formal education is not available, do not allow that to prevent you from acquiring all the knowledge you can. Under such circumstances, the best books, in a sense, can become your “university”—a classroom that is always open and admits all who apply. Strive to increase your knowledge of all that is “virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy.” Seek knowledge “by study and also by faith.” Seek with a humble spirit and contrite heart. As you apply the spiritual dimension of faith to your study—even of temporal things—you can amplify your intellectual capacity, for “if your eye be single to [God’s] glory, your whole [body] shall be filled with light, … and [comprehend] all things.”

In our learning, let us not neglect the fountain of revelation. The scriptures and the words of modern-day apostles and prophets are the sources of wisdom, divine knowledge, and personal revelation to help us find answers to all the challenges in life. Let us learn of Christ; let us seek out that knowledge which leads to peace, truth, and the sublime mysteries of eternity.

Holy Ghost works equally among all mankind

This process is not reserved for the prophets alone. The gift of the Holy Ghost operates equally with men, women, and even little children. It is within this wondrous gift and power that the spiritual remedy to any problem can be found.
Packer Nov 2009 G Conf

The Voice of Inspiration - Description

That sweet, quiet voice of inspiration comes more as a feeling than it does as a sound. Pure intelligence can be spoken into the mind. The Holy Ghost communicates with our spirits through the mind more than through the physical senses. This guidance comes as thoughts, as feelings through promptings and impressions. We may feel the words of spiritual communication more than hear them and see with spiritual rather than with mortal eyes.


Packer Nov 2009 G Conf

I served for many years in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles with Elder LeGrand Richards. He died at the age of 96. He told us that as a boy of 12 he attended a great general conference in the Tabernacle. There he heard President Wilford Woodruff.

President Woodruff told of an experience of being prompted by the Spirit. He was sent by the First Presidency to “gather all the Saints of God in New England and Canada and bring them to Zion.”7

He stopped at the home of one of the brethren in Indiana and put his carriage in the yard, where he and his wife and one child went to bed while the rest of the family slept in the house. Shortly after he had retired for the night, the Spirit whispered, warning him, “Get up, and move your carriage.” He got up and moved the carriage a distance from where it had stood. As he was returning to bed, the Spirit spoke to him again: “Go and move your mules away from that oak tree.” He did this and then retired once again to bed.

Not more than 30 minutes later, a whirlwind caught the tree to which his mules had been tied and broke it off at the ground. It was carried 100 yards (90 m) through two fences. The enormous tree, which had a trunk five feet (1.5 m) in circumference, fell exactly upon the spot where his carriage had been parked. By listening to the promptings of the Spirit, Elder Woodruff had saved his life and the lives of his wife and child.8

That same Spirit can prompt you and protect you.

The Lord Looketh on the Heart

1 Samuel 16:

Samuel the prophet is sent by the Lord to find a new ruler for Israel. Saul the current leader is not living righteously and Samuel apparently has been praying in vain for him. Finally the Lord admonishes Samuel to mourn no more but to get up and do something - to go find a new leader in the fields of Jesse the Beth-lehemite.

Samuel is afraid that Saul will be displeased with him in obeying this command. The Lord says take a lamb and create a diversionary sacrifice, so that Saul will let you go peaceable. This Samuel does and invites Jesse and his family to the sacrifice, sanctifying them. As he watches Jesse's family parade before him, the prophet Samuel is struck by the good looks of the strong and handsome son Eliab "Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him." he says. But the Lord rebukes his presumption.


"Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord ^aseeth not as ^bman seeth; for man looketh on the outward ^cappearance, but the ^dLord looketh on the ^eheart."


The Lord chooses his servants by their heart, by their intention by the character that is within and not manifested physically. Jesse continues to examine Jesse's sons one at a time until all seven have passed before him. But none of them resonate as God's chosen.


Samuel "Are here all thy children?" And [Jesse] said, "There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep." And Samuel said unto Jesse, "Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither."


When the young David arrives, Samuel looks upon him and sees a healthy, vigorous, strong and good looking young man but most importantly he sees before him a young man of good character. Samuel then hears the Lords voice say to him, "Arise, anoint him: for this is he."


David is then and there anointed to become God's chosen leader of the Israel.


What would the Lord see if you were paraded before his prophet. Would he be struck most by your outward appearance or by your inner character? 


God looketh on the the heart.
Take a minute and look on your own heart. But then I want you to look on the heart of those you associate. Do you choose your friends and mentors in the way the Lord does. Do you model your life and try to surround yourself with good-hearted people or are you instead drawn by people with worldly allure, physical stature, prominence in society, beauty.  


Remember it is most important in choosing your friends, your mentors, your associates what

Music Calms a Troubled Soul

In the Old Testament we read about Israel's strong leader Saul, who at times was troubled in mind. His servants suggested that when he began to fret and think negative thoughts that he have someone on hand to play music to calm his soul and reject the evil thoughts. The young boy and future king David is elected to the post.

Similarly we can use the beautiful tones of music to heal our own souls.

Samuel Chapter 16

  14 ¶ But the ^aSpirit of the Lord ^bdeparted from Saul, and an evil spirit ^cfrom the Lord troubled him.

  15 And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit ^afrom God troubleth thee.

  16 Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit ^afrom God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.

  17 And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.

  18 Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-lehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and ^aprudent in matters, and a comely person, and the Lord is with him.

  19 ¶ Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep.

  20 And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul.

  21 And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer.

  22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight.

  23 And it came to pass, when the ^aevil spirit ^bfrom God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.

Consider also the Jaredites being tossed to and fro on the rough ocean waters. Secured in a tight boat with no light but small stones miraculously lit by the finger of God their ships rolled over and over and at times were submerged under water for long periods of time.How did they survive...
Ether 6:
9 And they did ^asing praises unto the Lord; yea, the brother of Jared did sing praises unto the Lord, and he did ^bthank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord.


They sang their way through the trials of rough sea. Until...

 12 ...they did ^aland upon the shore of the ^bpromised land. And when they had set their feet upon the shores of the promised land they bowed themselves down upon the face of the land, and did humble themselves before the Lord, and did shed tears of joy before the Lord, because of the multitude of his ^ctender mercies over them.

  13 And it came to pass that they went forth upon the face of the land, and began to till the earth.

Music can ease a troubled soul, comfort in times of trial and bring peace to our minds.

DC 25:

12 For my soul ^adelighteth in the ^bsong of the ^cheart; yea, the ^dsong of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads.

Consider here as well, the prophet in his final hours. Sitting and sweltering in the heat of Carthage jail. Duly warned that a mob congregated outside with the intent to kill them. With his comrade they prepared to defend themselves as best they could. Did he know his own death was at hand, did he worry about how the church would survive without him, did he worry about leaving his wife and young family at the early age of 33. i'm sure he did. So he asked John Taylor to sing. to sing a sweet ballad The Poor Wayfaring Man of Peace and when he had finished the Prophet asked him to sing it again, which John Taylor did.

At night the pioneers brought their wagons into a circle, with the openings of the wagons facing out. The horses and oxen were tied inside the circle. Some people had brought musical instruments with them, and the pioneers loved to sing and dance. William Clayton had written “Come, Come, Ye Saints” (Hymns,no. 30) during the difficult journey to Winter Quarters, and the pioneers sang this hymn often to give them courage to face their problems

Tempered Glass

LDS General Conference Fall 2009 Kent Watson

A few years ago, I was driving home from work when a large semitruck, traveling in the opposite direction, lost one of its dual tires. The tire flew over the median separating our lanes. It came bouncing down my side of the freeway. Cars were swerving in both directions, drivers not knowing which direction the tire would bounce next. I dodged left when I should have dodged right, and the tire took its final bounce right on the corner of my windshield.

A friend called my wife to inform her of the accident. She told me later that her first thought was of lacerations from shattered glass. Indeed, I was covered with beads of broken glass but did not suffer a single scratch. It was definitely not because of my driving skills; rather, it was because the windshield of my little car was made of tempered glass.

Tempered glass, like tempered steel, undergoes a well-controlled heating process which increases strength. Thus, when tempered glass is under stress, it will not easily break into jagged shards that can injure.

Likewise, a temperate soul—one who is humble and full of love—is also a person of increased spiritual strength. With increased spiritual strength, we are able to develop self-mastery and to live with moderation. We learn to control, or temper, our anger, vanity, and pride. With increased spiritual strength, we can protect ourselves from the dangerous excesses and destructive addictions of today’s world.

Puzzle Pieces

In fall GC 2009 - Elder Todd Callister of the 70

In many ways the gospel of Jesus Christ is like a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. When Joseph Smith came on the scene, perhaps 100 pieces were in place. Then Joseph Smith came along and put many of the other 900 pieces in place so that people could say, “Oh, now I understand where I came from, why I am here, and where I am going.” As for Joseph Smith’s role in the Restoration, the Lord defined it clearly: “This generation shall have my word through you” (D&C 5:10).


I like the analogy but I would say that when Joseph Smith came on the scene there were a lot more than a 100 pieces in place and secondly that while JS did add many more peices that the puzzles was by no means completed. Perhaps we are seeing the images in the puzzle and some things we can identify with accuracy but there are still many, many more truths and clarifications (puzzle peices) to be found and added to the puzzle.

Missionary Stride

14 year old Mitch was talking to a friend. Somehow the subject of religion came up and the friend, an Atheist, began challenging Mitch. For several hours they talked back and forth. In the end, Mitch told him, "Pray and ask if it is true or not." A few days later the friend approached Mitch and said, "I did what you said. I prayed and I found out for myself that your church is true." "I want to learn more." The friend said. Mitch mentioned the missionaries and talked about getting them to come teach some discussion. The friend agreed. 


However, several days went by and Mitch did nothing. One day he had a strange urge to take a walk. He left the house and began walking down the street.


The missionaries drove by and recognizing Mitch had the strange urge to turn around and pull up beside him and yell something silly out the window, like  "Hey, go back to Utah!", which is ironic because that is what is yelled at them. They turned around and pulled up beside Mitch. They got out of the car and stared talking. Then Elder had a strange impulse to ask, "Do you know anyone we could teach?" Mitch replied, "Well, yes, actually I do." 


Mitch gave the missionaries his friends address and arrangements are currently being made with the friends parents on when and where the discussion can be given.


Littleton 5th Ward testimony meeting Nov 2009

Lost in the Wood

Brother Ole had gone hunting with his son. His wife was out of town, out of the country actually. Father and son were well prepared to enter the forest and hunt. At one point they decided to split up but were still connected by walkie talkie. However at some point they wandered beyond even walkie talkie range. Brother Ole found himself lost in the woods. He spent several hours trying to find himself to a road, or a lookout spot where he could better get his grounds, and one point he fell into a stream, wet and now tired darkness and the oncoming storm came.

The ground was wet but he collected some fairly dry wood and tried to start a fire with some kindling. He had three matches. He struck the first and it immediately went out. He struck the second without success. He took his plastic water bottle and cut the bottom off created a protective shelter. Into this basin he tore up pieces of paper (his Sunday School lesson) and along with dry grasses created a ball of kindling. He then struck the third match it failed to lite but rather broke in half near the red tip. Still using a credit card he was able to start the match and create a small fired in the dry kindling. He transfered the fire to the pile of dry wood he had created. He had fire.

Through the night he did not suffer from the cold, but rather suffered from separation. In the drifting snow he could hear his son calling for him, but the way the storm blew, his son couldn't hear his responses. About 7pm that night, even though he did not have cell phone reception he tried sending a text message to his wife who was visiting friends in London. As night fell his separation sadness increased. He was sad that he had worried his son and probably so many others. He only wished to be reconnected to them.

As the search and rescue teams gathered they checked the local cell phone tower records and were able to determine that a call was attempted. From the GPS signals they could determine the location from where the call came within a mile. About 2am they arrived at that spot and Ole's son once again found himself within walkie talkie range of his father.

He was relieved to find  him safe and warm. They encouraged him to stay put until morning, at which point they would be able to see and guide him out of his camp site.

They next morning as several members from the ward arrived to assist in the effort, Ole was found. Alive, safe, warm unhurt. A happy ending.

Littleton 5th Ward testimony meeting Nov 2009

An Omer of Manna

Where does the title of this blog come?
The Israelites wandering in the desert after their miraculous release from Egyptian slavery became extremely famished. God heard their mumblings and sent Manna from heaven. Every morning their gathered the honey flavored substance. Everyone gathered as much as they needed for the day and whether you gathered a lot or a little you had enough for your purposes. If you tried to store more it turned rancid the next day. On Saturdays they gathered twice the amount they usually did, so that on Sunday they would not have to work at gathering this food. The manna kept over Saturday night remained fresh.

God then commanded the Israelites to gather an omer of Manna and keep it in the tabernacle as witness to future generation of God's arm of mercy, his extension of a canopy of care over his people and an example of the precepts of God and benefit of living by them.

The Story of Manna is a beautiful story and the storage of the manna as an example to future generations reminded me of my aims here in storing a collection of tidbits of wisdom for future generations.

Life's Lessons Learned

I feel prompted to write the stories that have influenced my life here on this blog. I do so hesitantly as I am well aware that nothing placed on the world wide web remains completely private. But I also feel it is a place where I can store these examples of faith so that future generations can access them, and more practically where I can access them anywhere and anytime I have internet access. So over the next little while I will upload stories from my past collection and add new ones as they come to me.