Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Sunday thoughts



We had our ward conference on Sunday, and the leaders all spoke on our stake theme for 2009, preparation.

(I was actually able to take notes, hooray! and although I didn't post these thoughts on Sunday, I still want to have a record of them.)

  • We need to make ourselves ready for that which the Lord has made ready for us.
  • If we follow our prophet, he will lead us to safety and happiness.
  • We must prepare our children, so that when they leave the safety of home, they will be able to succeed and ready to receive the blessings prepared for them.
  • Opportunities to serve others are limitless, but they are perishable. We must prepare ourselves to take the opportunities presented to us.
  • Provident living will help us to be better servants of the Lord.
  • Part of being prepared is taking good care of our physical health. (I had never thought of it that way.)
  • It's not all about you. We can do so much more together than we can do individually.
  • We will undoubtedly be faced with things in life that will find us unprepared, sometimes despite our best efforts. Can we ever truly be prepared for receiving our temple endowment, becoming parents, or receiving certain callings? What do we do in that case? We do the best we can. The Lord will help us and make up the difference. No matter the situation, with the Lord's help, we will be equal to our task.

"Our present day is filled with global distress over financial crises, energy problems, terrorist attacks, and natural calamities. These translate into individual and family concerns not only about homes in which to live and food available to eat but also about the ultimate safety and well-being of our children and the latter-day prophecies about our planet. More serious than these--and sometimes related to them--are matters of ethical, moral, and spiritual decay...
"I ask everyone within the sound of my voice to take heart, be filled with faith, and remember the Lord has said He 'would fight [our] battles, [our] children's battles, and [the battles of our] children's children.' ... The latter days are not a time to fear and tremble. They are a time to be believing and remember our covenants."
(Jeffrey R. Holland, Ensign, November 2008)

"We live in a changing world. Technology has altered nearly every aspect of our lives. We must cope with these advances--even these cataclysmic changes--in a world of which our forebears never dreamed.
"Remember the promise of the Lord: 'If ye are prepared ye shall not fear.' Fear is a deadly enemy of progress.
"It is necessary to prepare and to plan so that we don't fritter away our lives. Without a goal, there can be no real success. One of the best definitions of success I have ever heard goes something like this: success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal."
(President Thomas S. Monson, Ensign, April 2008)

"The great test of life is to see whether we will hearken to and obey God's commands in the midst of the storms of life.
"Most of us have thought about how to prepare for storms... But there is another even more important preparation we must make for tests that are certain to come to each of us. That preparation must be started far in advance because it takes time. What we will need then can't be bought. It can't be borrowed. It doesn't store well. And it has to have been used regularly and recently.
"What we will need in our day of testing is a spiritual preparation. It is to have developed faith in Jesus Christ so powerful that we can pass the test of life upon which everything for us in eternity depends. That test is part of the purpose God had for us in the Creation."
(Henry B. Eyring, Ensign, November 2005)

I love these words from our latter-day prophets and apostles. I was particularly struck by the admonition to not fritter away our lives, the need to develop a powerful faith in the Savior, and fear being a deadly enemy of progress -- all things I will try to keep in mind as I work on my own progress this year.

12 comments:

shannon said...

How did you manage to get all of this down? Do you know shorthand or something? I'm impressed!

What a great message! The quote that stuck out for me personally was "Prepare your children, so that when they leave the safety of home, they will be able to succeed and be ready to receive the blessings prepared for them."

This is definately a wake up call for me to be ever mindful of my crucial roll as a mother...there is such a small portion of time in their life that I have been given to teach and mold them...
It brings me comfort to hear that the Lord will "fight our battles and those of our childrens'"--We so need Him and that assurance in these crazy times!

Thanks for sharing your notes (We were traveling on Sunday and weren't able to attend church)

amy gretchen said...

I've been thinking a lot lately about making my life count, you know "not frittering away my life". I just don't want to waste away the days and regret a thing.

I'm glad you were so inspired Sunday and appreciate you sharing it with us. Great reminder.

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you shared these thoughts! I do get bogged down in fears and worries instead of doing and preparing. Great Sunday insights!

charlotte said...

That sounds like a great way to kick off your word of the year! What a great conference! (Ours was on Sunday, too.)

Neighbor Jane Payne said...

I'm so glad you shared your Sunday thoughts Michelle.

"Frittering away life" ...what a phrase.

Thanks for the beauty and stability you add to blogworld.

Melinda said...

I absolutly love the quote from Jeffrey R. Holland. Even though I feel like we are trying to prepeare for things I always get so scared when I let my mind wander to the what if's. That scripture is such a good reminder. Thanks for posting. This was such a great post to read. Thanks.

Susan said...

Wow, I find your Sunday thoughts both inspiring and sobering---like I'd better shape up!

So many of my professional projects seem like other people's "frittering"! Nothing we do is necessary and certainly not necessary for salvation. I guess I'd better make sure that my personal progress is on target.

Good thoughts. Thanks, as usual.

Denise said...

I always get a little pit in my stomach when I hear a talk about preparation, probably because I don't feel very prepared. The admonition to live providently to be better able to serve the Lord is a good one. So many times I wish I were better equipped, financially speaking, to help others--both with money and with my time (a great deal of which is spent having to earn money). I'm probably not making much sense, but thanks for your notes of encouragement and hope.

Bond Girl 007 said...

Great notes. I always love to see how people take in the information. I don't take notes, but I think when I read things they are more poignant than when I just hear them....funny

Jill said...

How delightful that you were able to take notes! This sounds like an excellent meeting. It's kind of amazing how many meetings end up being excellent when we start taking notes eh? It focuses my attention so much better that I get something out of everything I go to.

carlo said...

are you loving your new word for 09? looks like you are on your way with it.

it is interesting to me where it creeps in and where you need it but may not have known you needed it.

Anonymous said...

"It's not all about you. We can do so much more together than we can do individually." That totally jumped out at me. I am such the 'loner' type when it comes to some of the bigger things and it would serve me and obviously someone else better if I wasn't that way!

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