In His Constant Care

"Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value then many sparrows."
-Luke 12:6-7

Hope

When Mary came to the tomb, she found the stone rolled away and the tomb empty. She ran to the disciples crying, "They have taken away the Lord…and we know not where they have laid him" (John 20:2). Peter and John immediately ran to the tomb. What did they think as they ran? Were they simply curious to see for themselves? Did they fear, like Mary, that their enemies had stolen the body? Or did they remember His promise, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up"? The decision that faced Peter and John that Sunday morning is the same decision that faces each one of us today. Will we doubt? Will we hope? Or will we know that He lives? I know that He lives.

In a Woman's Heart

“There is in every true woman's heart, a spark of heavenly fire, which lies dormant in the broad daylight of prosperity, but which kindles up and beams and blazes in the dark hour of adversity.” --Washington Irving

Ephraim K. Hanks

In early October of 1856, Ephraim K. Hanks received a message from heaven. After a fishing trip to Utah Lake, he spent the night in Draper at the home of Gurney Brown. Soon after retiring to bed, but while still awake, a voice called him by name and said, "The handcart people are in trouble and you are wanted. Will you go and help them?" He answered, "Yes I will go."

Hastening to Salt Lake City the next day, he was seen on his way over the east mountains with a wagon and supplies. Many other men were also called by Brigham Young to join in this rescue attempt. Many wagons "loaded to the bows" with food, blankets and clothes traveled several hundred miles east through severe storms and deep snow. Many eventually turned back, believing it to be an impossible mission. Ephraim was among those who chose to push on, trusting that if God calls, he will provide a way to those with faith.

Near South Pass, Wyoming, he encountered a freezing blizzard. He and Reddick Allred waited out the storm for three days. The wagons were snowbound. Ephraim left Reddick to watch after the teams and wagons, while he saddled up and leading a pack horse continued forward, encountering snow three to four feet deep in places. One night he prayed for a buffalo, needing the meat and warm hide. Looking up from his prayer, he saw a buffalo bull fifty yards away, and downed it with one well placed shot from his rifle. God was near to his faithful servant. Ephraim cut the meat into long strips and loaded the horses with it. When he finally discovered the Martin handcart company, not far from Devil's Gate. The meat provided nourishment to the starved and freezing immigrants. Ephraim provided hope and help, promising them that wagons loaded with supplies were near at hand. He blessed them, anointing them with oil in the name of Jesus Christ. Many were healed instantly. With his hunting knife he amputated many toes, fingers, even hands, feet, and legs to save them from gangrene. They looked on him as an angel of mercy. Along with the other rescuers, Ephraim K. Hanks brought the survivors into Salt Lake, arriving the last day of November. More than 600 of these people owed their lives to these courageous men. The names of these men, including Ephraim Knowlton Hanks are still spoken of with reverence and deep respect.

Peace With God

Just before Thoreau died, he was asked if he had made peace with God. He replied, “I was not aware we had ever quarreled” (in Mardy Grothe, comp., Viva la Repartee [2005], 181).

The Book of Mormon

"Love for the Book of Mormon expands one's love for the Bible and vice versa. Scriptures of the Restoration do not compete with the Bible; they complement the Bible. We are indebted to martyrs who gave their lives so that we could have the Bible. It establishes the everlasting nature of the gospel and of the plan of happiness. The Book of Mormon restores and underscores biblical doctrines such as tithing, the temple, the Sabbath day, and the priesthood."

-Elder Russell M. Nelson

He Heals the Heavy Laden

"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'. 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."
-Elder Dallin H. Oaks

Prayer Is a Form of Work

As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are his children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part. Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship. Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work, and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings.

-LDS Bible Dictionary

The Gospel is Not Hard

"The Lord’s way is not hard. Life is hard, not the gospel. There is an opposition in all things, everywhere, for everyone. Life is hard for all of us, but life is also simple. We have only two choices. We can either follow the Lord and be endowed with His power and have peace, light, strength, knowledge, confidence, love, and joy, or we can go some other way, any other way, whatever other way, and go it alone—without His support, without His power, without guidance, in darkness, turmoil, doubt, grief, and despair. And I ask, which way is easier?"
-Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge

Your Light

"Some may brighten that light by which we can find our way. When you walk in the light, you will feel at that moment some of the warmth and the happiness that will finally be yours when you are welcomed home again with the hundreds and perhaps thousands of others whom you will bring with you, who have walked in the light because you did."

-President Henry B. Eyring

Lead Me, Guide Me

Like a child in the woods I lost my way, Alone and afraid I stopped to pray. "Father in Heaven" I cried in my need, "Please guide me home, I'll go where you lead." Like a light in the forest he sent down his son, My heart became warm, and new hope had begun. "Take my hand and I'll lead you", I heard him say, "Stay by my side for I know the way". Now a child in the woods all filled with delight, The journey is joyous as I walk in his light. No longer alone in a shadow filled land, He leads me home as we walk hand in hand.

-Greg Olsen (artist)

Hope is a Commandment

"Hope is a gift of the Spirit. It is a hope that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the power of His Resurrection, we shall be raised unto life eternal and this because of our faith in the Savior.This kind of hope is both a principle of promise as well as a commandment, and, as with all commandments, we have the responsibility to make it an active part of our lives and overcome the temptation to lose hope. Hope in our Heavenly Father’s merciful plan of happiness leads to peace, mercy, rejoicing, and gladness. The hope of salvation is like a protective helmet; it is the foundation of our faith and an anchor to our souls."
-President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Simplicity in Righteousness

“In righteousness there is great simplicity. In every case that confronts us in life there is either a right way or a wrong way to proceed. If we choose the right way, we are sustained in our actions by the principles of righteousness, in the which there is power from the heavens. If we choose the wrong way and act on that choice, there is no such heavenly promise or power, and we are alone and are destined to fail.”
-Elder William R. Bradford

Spiritual Fuel

"The Lord has given us a beautiful plan about how we can return to Him, but the completion of our mortal journey requires spiritual fuel. We want to emulate the five wise virgins, who had stored sufficient fuel to accompany the bridegroom when he came. What is required to maintain a sufficient store of spiritual fuel? We must acquire knowledge of God’s eternal plan and our role in it, and then by living righteously, surrendering our will to the will of the Lord, we receive the promised blessings."
-Elder L. Tom Perry

Great was the Prophet Joseph Smith

"Great was the Prophet Joseph Smith's vision. It encompassed all the peoples of mankind, wherever they live, and all generations who have walked the earth and passed on. How can anyone, past or present, speak against him except out of ignorance? They have not tasted of his words, they have not pondered about him, nor prayed about him. As one who has done these things, I add my own words of testimony that he was and is a prophet of God, raised up as an instrument in the hands of the Almighty to usher in a new and final gospel dispensation. Of the Prophet Joseph Smith, we could say: When a man gives his life for the cause he has advocated, he meets the highest test of his honesty and sincerity that his own or any future generation can in fairness ask. When he dies for the testimony he has borne, all malicious tongues should ever after be silent, and all voices hushed in reverence before a sacrifice so complete." (Ezra Dalby, manuscript, Dec. 12, 1926.)

-President Gordon B. Hinckley

Hymns

"How incomplete and empty sacrament meetings would be without hymns of worship. Sacred among all hymns are those that capture the sacrifice and the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ and His infinite Atonement. My earliest memories of the healing power of the Savior are associated with sacrament hymns. This sentence is real to me: I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me, confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me. My understanding of the doctrines of the Atonement is connected to the hymns."
-Elder Jay E. Jensen

Gender Is Essential

“[Gender] in large measure defines who we are, why we are here upon the earth, and what we are to do and become. For divine purposes, male and female spirits are different, distinctive, and complementary. … The unique combination of spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional capacities of both males and females were needed to implement the plan of happiness.”
-Elder David A. Bednar

Obedient Because We Can See

"Latter-day Saints are not obedient because they are compelled to be obedient. They are obedient because they know certain spiritual truths and have decided, as an expression of their own individual agency, to obey the commandments of God. … We are not obedient because we are blind, we are obedient because we can see."

-Elder Boyd K. Packer

Resist Labeling

"A while ago a woman approached me after a fireside and asked: Don't you feel guilty for choosing a career over marriage? Her words hurt. But I'm sure her comment would have been different if she had known my heart, or if she had known how much time I've spent fasting and pleading with the Lord in the temple, seeking to understand His will for me. Only He knows how painful this process has been. But He also knows how grateful I am for the process, because it has sealed my heart to Him.

How often have you and I made judgments that are equally unfair? Why can't we resist the urge to second-guess and evaluate each other? Why do we judge everything from the way we keep house to how many children we do or do not have? Sometimes I wonder if the final judgment will be a breeze compared with what we've put each other through here on earth!

Another kind of judging is more subtle but equally destructive. How often do we describe a sister with words like these: She's a convert. She's been inactive. She's a Utah Mormon. She's single. She's a stay-at-home mom.

When we label one another, we make judgments that divide us from each other and inevitably alienate us from the Lord. The Nephites learned this lesson the hard way. After the Savior appeared on this continent, those converted to the gospel lived in harmony for two hundred years. Because they loved God, they also loved each other. And though previously there had been Nephites and Lamanites and Ishmaelites, there were now no '-ites,' as the scriptures tell us (4 Nephi 1:17). They were one. The result? There was not 'a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God' (4 Nephi 1:16). It wasn't until they again divided into classes that Satan began to win many hearts. The Nephites never recovered spiritually.

We gain nothing by segregating ourselves based on superficial differences. What we have in common-particularly our commitment to the same glorious cause-is so much more significant than any distinctions in our individual lives."

-Sheri Dew

Be Good For Something

"You are good. But it is not enough just to be good. You must be good for something."
-President Gordon B. Hinckley

Follow Thou Me

"I testify of the sacrifice and service of the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave everything for us and in that spirit of giving said: Follow thou me. If any man serve me, let him follow me.

He said: And where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour. Such service inevitably brings challenging decisions about how to balance priorities and how best to be the disciples He wishes us to be. I thank Him for His divine guidance in helping us make those decisions and for assisting us to find the right way for all concerned. I thank Him that he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows and that He has called us to do some of the same for each other."

-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Strength Through Struggle

"The strengths you develop [through struggling] will be with you in the eternities to come. Feel no envy for those whose financial or intellectual resources make it easy. The stuff of growth was never made of ease, and the persons who have it easy will need to experience growth with other sacrifices, or forgo the advancement that is the purpose of life."

-Elder Dallin H. Oaks

Happiness Depends On You

"Happiness does not depend on what happens outside of you but on what happens inside of you; it is measured by the spirit with which you meet the problems of life."

-President Harold B. Lee

Success

"At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a child, a friend or a parent.

You must read to your children, hug your children, and you must love your children. Your success as a family ... our success as a society depends not on what happens in the White House, but on what happens inside your house."

-Barbara Bush

Unanswered Prayers

I can tell, looking back, that God truly loves me by the petitions that, in his perfect wisdom and love, he has refused to grant me."

-Elder Neal A. Maxwell

Feel The Love of the Lord Daily

"I know that the Lord loves the women of the Church. If I could have one thing happen for every woman in this Church, it would be that they would feel the love of the Lord in their lives daily. I have felt the love of the Lord in my life, and I am so thankful for that. I'm thankful for the peace that I have felt."
-Bonnie D. Parkin