Press Forward with a Steadfastness in Christ

Hello Family:

Each of us face unique challenges in this troubled time of the world.   We struggle to cope  with our individuals problems day by day, and can be disheartened by the flood of discouraging news that bombards us. 

But this morning, I read again a verse that should be the foundation of our efforts not just to cope, but to prosper in the midst of our challenges:

2 Nephi 31:20
Wherefore, ye must press forward with a ^asteadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of ^bhope, and a ^clove of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and ^dendure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have ^eeternal life.

Nephi wrote that verse for his family nearly 2,600 years ago, but it applies directly to us today.  I pray that each of us and all of us collectively will be able to press forward in Christ and grasp the hope that comes from him.  I know he will sustain us.

Love,

Dad

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