Preservation and Deliverance

In these perilous times when we are confronted with widespread disregard for God's commandments and uncertain economic conditions, we can take great heart from the scriptural account of the courageous young "sons of Helaman" and the Nephite armies, who were preserved and delivered through God's miraculous power.

Helaman commented on the preservation of the 2,060 young men:

" ... we do justly ascribe it to the miraculous ^bpower of God, because of their exceeding ^cfaith 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 ^afaith of these of whom I have spoken; they are young, and their minds are ^bfirm, and they do put their trust in God continually. (Alma 57:26)

Gid, one of the chief captains, spoke of the miraculous power of deliverance:

" ... we are again delivered out of the hands of our enemies. And blessed is the name of our God; for behold, it is he that has delivered us; yea, that has done this great thing for us."  (Alma 57:35)

Helaman commented further:

" ... I was filled with exceeding joy because of the goodness of God in preserving us, that we might not all perish ..." (Alma 57:36)

Like these valiant young men, we must be "firm and undaunted" and "obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness."  Then, even as "according to their faith it was  done unto them" we also will be delivered and preserved by the miraculous hand of God. (Alma 57:20-21)

Love,

Dad/Mark

Treasures in Heaven

Over the weekend of September 13th and 14th, two major financial services firms underwent massive change.  Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy and Merrill Lynch agreed to be purchased by the Bank of America. They had fallen victim to the excesses associated with the sub prime mortgage meltdown.

On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted over 500 points.  The next morning, the headline on the USA Today financial section screamed, "Dow Tumbles 504 ... over $750 billion in wealth obliterated."

The following scriptural references immediately came to mind:

Helaman 13: 31

"And behold, the time cometh that he curseth your riches, that they become ^aslippery, that ye cannot hold them; and in the days of your poverty ye cannot retain them"

Matthew 6: 20

"But lay up for yourselves ^atreasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor ^bsteal:

"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

In these times of economic uncertainty, I pray that we will recognize that real safety and security come only through the gospel of Jesus Christ. We do need to provide for our families. We should definitely follow the prophet and store food to help in time of need. But most of all, our real treasure, that which we hold most dear, must be our families and testimonies of Christ.

Love,

Dad/Mark

Lessons from Liberty Jail

Last night's CES Fireside with Elder Jeffrey R. Holland was fantastic. He discussed in detail the horrific experiences that Joseph Smith and his fellow Saints had during the harsh winter of 1838-39, particularly those in Liberty Jail. He explained how the atrocities they endured could be likened to experiences we have in the temple -- a place of spiritual instruction.

Elder Holland suggested three lessons we might learn from that "jail temple."

1. Everyone (including and perhaps especially the righteous) will be called upon to endure trying times and feel "spiritual loneliness." We must not succumb to the fear that God has abandoned us; He is right there with us!
2. Just because difficult things happen, we are not unrighteous or unworthy of blessings. The same thing happened to the Savior and because He rose above it, so can we.
3. In the midst of difficult situations and feelings, we must remain clam, patient, charitable, long-suffering, kind, and forgiving. The real test of our faith is when things are not going smoothly.

He then quoted D&C 121:36 and explained that if we are to call upon the powers of heaven, we must live and act in accordance with God's commandments.

Elder Holland concluded with a beautiful apostolic blessing upon all who could hear his voice. That was wonderful to witness. He also encouraged us to read D&C sections 121, 122, and 123, which were all revelations Joseph received while incarcerated in Liberty Jail. Since we all have difficult circumstances in our lives, we can learn from those who have suffered far worse.

Please watch the CES Fireside if it is rebroadcast in your area! It was wonderful!

Love,

Heidi

Vision of Eternal Life

Many of you probably read Angie's recent blog post about her Vision Board. Her motivation for this wonderful project? "Having a piece of my brain/soul hanging on the wall of my craft room helps me keep things in perspective & remember daily that [God is so good.]"

This reminded me of Elder Perry's talk in the last General Conference:

"In many cookbooks there are pictures of the perfect dishes that recipes make—the fulness of the joy of cooking. These pictures are important because they help us envision the outcome if we strictly follow the directions as given in the recipe. It is important to begin with the end in mind ...

"When we think of eternal life, what is the picture that comes to mind? I believe that if we could create in our minds a clear and true picture of eternal life, we would start behaving differently. We would not need to be prodded to do the many things involved with enduring to the end, like doing our home teaching or visiting teaching, attending our meetings, going to the temple, living moral lives, saying our prayers, or reading the scriptures. We would want to do all these things and more because we realize they will prepare us to go somewhere we yearn to go."

Elder L. Tom Perry, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, The Gospel of Jesus Christ, April 2008 General Conference, Saturday Afternoon Session.

Whether our individual visions of eternal life are displayed on the wall of a craft room, or written in a journal, or posted on a blog or sketched in the margins of our scriptures is not the most important thing. The important thing is that we see clearly see that vision and continually strive to attain it. If we "yearn to go," we will achieve it.

I pray that each of us can deeply etch a vision of eternal life with our Zion Family deep upon the tender parts of our hearts and minds and yearn to be there. My vision of eternal life is life with each of you. We can all be there!

Love,

Dad/Mark