He who seeks God has already found him

 

“It was an English novelist who was quoted as saying:

 

“He who seeks God has already found him.”

 

Harold B. Lee

“However large the kingdom of God will grow and it will fill the earth, you will not ever feel lost or forgotten, and you need never feel overwhelmed. God will call people to care about you and to teach you.”

Henry B. Eyring

 

“….. we compromise our blessings, we rationalize ourselves out of the sure and safe way,

 

when we do not ask our God to guide us in the decisions that are part of our daily lives.”

 

Marvin J. Ashton

 

“Sometimes those blessings in our lives that we have yet to receive lie beyond the scope of mortal eyes.”

 

Anne C. Pingree

When you are living a virtuous life, you are attracted to things that are virtuous. When your thoughts have been flooded with goodness, you are drawn to things that are good. The principle works the other direction too. When you have given the world the reins to your desires, you begin to drift toward those things that satisfy the world that is in you. There is a light in everyone who is born into this world. It is attracted to light. Goodness is attracted and drawn to goodness. The more we increase in light, the stronger that desire grows. The more we fill our lives with things of the Spirit, the more we seek  for an added measure. Feeding the wrong desires though, leads to the loss of light. As we turn our attention to the appetites of the flesh think, say, and act like we love something else more than God–our attraction to light begins to lessen. Sometimes a person can get to the point where they have spent so much time in the shadow that their eyes have adjusted, and the sudden burst of light causes a retracting reaction. Perhaps this is why some are repulsed by those who are filled with light. They are bothered by what they say and do and stand for.

In reality they are bothered by their own misdirection. The light that still glows dimly inside  still taps and hopes they recognize and remember that they are meant to be in the light.

But that would require change. And change can be painful. But so good.

So welcome to a new day. A new round of tug of war in the heart. A dual nature–attracted in opposite directions. It’s time to stand in the light. And receive more light. And then you will find yourself surrounded by good.

It will flock to you.

Emily Freeman

 

Turn your face to the SON and all of the Shadows fall Behind You.

 

 

We should look to the Lord for our blessings because, among other reasons, he owns everything.

 

Hartman Rector, Jr.

“When we encounter challenges and problems in our lives, it is often difficult for us to focus on our blessings. However, if we reach deep enough and look hard enough, we will be able to feel and recognize just how much we have been given.”

Thomas S. Monson

“Write down your blessings. Recording our blessings in a journal helps focus our minds on them and enables us to recall them later when we may have forgotten. Others, too, might benefit. President Spencer W. Kimball said, “Those who keep a book of remembrance are more likely to keep the Lord in remembrance in their daily lives. ‘Journals are a way of counting our blessings and of leaving an inventory of these blessings for our posterity’

 

Carolyn Wright

 

 

 

The flame within us

Light Attracts Light

 

By Emily Freeman

To the Girl With the Strawberry Blonde Hair,

I wonder if you know you are an answer?

You, walking through the door with eyes sparkling and laugh ringing, bringing happy into the room with you, and filling up the whole house with it.

Did you know when you settled in at the counter for lunch

that you settled right into a heart that was longing for light?

You, carrying a burden, could easily have spent the afternoon focused inward.   I watched you, knowing it had been several lonely days and two unsettling weeks.  And yet the light spilled out of you and sparkled in the air around you and seeped into the dark spaces.

Watching you there, I couldn’t help but wonder why, in spite of all of the dark days you have been wading through, the light flooded out of you.  How have you captured all that light?  What is it that buoys you up so that you have strength to sustain you during your own dark days, and still have light to offer?

You wouldn’t know this…but we needed your light just then.

We had been twelve hours praying.  And that was just on that day.  It doesn’t count the hours of praying if you put together all the mornings and dark nights, and waking hours that have filled the last months.

Praying for light.

And then you walked in, bringing the light with you.

And those who longed for light were drawn to you.

Drawn to the glitter and sparkle and shimmer that escapes from you unaware.

Your goodness.

It draws people to you.

Because light attracts light.

I know that light.

It is the Spirit.

And I felt it when you walked in.

And within five minutes I knew you were an answer.  In more ways than just one.

And I was grateful that you have lived your life in such a way that you qualify for the light that allows you to act as an instrument in the hands of the Lord.

Thank you for being an answer.

But even more important, thank you for living in the light.

Because I know your life hasn’t been perfect lately.  

I know that you know what it is to press forward through the dark.

And, still you bring the light.

 “At times our own light goes out
and is rekindled by a spark from another person.
Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude
of those who have lighted the flame within us.”

Albert Schweitzer

Is there someone who has rekindled the flame in you?

Someone who you are drawn to because of the light you feel within them?  

Someone who is led by the Spirit and shares that warmth with you?

Could you write them a letter of gratitude today for the flame they ignite in you?

the author of forgiveness

 

This is the beginning of the miracle of forgiveness….that moment when anger changed to remorse.

 

Forgiveness: My Burden Was Made Light - YouTube

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7zwQ_7q-fU

                8 min - Jul 28, 2010 - Uploaded by Mormon Channel

 

 

Elder Osguthorpe: I agree. It’s truly a miracle. One minute they want to kill Nephi, and then

their hearts soften and they plead for forgiveness.

Sister Osguthorpe: But for me, the even greater miracle was how Nephi responded. His brothers

had just tried to kill him, and how did Nephi respond when his brothers asked him to forgive

them? Did he become defensive? Did he remind them of how cruel they had been to him? Did he

dig in his heels? Did he rub it in? No! He “frankly forgave them.”    ……

 

Every time we forgive ourselves, our own capacity to love others increases.

And every time we forgive others, our capacity and their capacity to love can increase. This is

when we know that we are coming closer to the Lord.

We learn our way back home to our Father in Heaven and his Son Jesus

Christ by developing a forgiving heart.

We become like the Savior. We forgive as He forgives. We love as He loves.

A forgiving heart demands one of the most important types of learning we can experience in mortality.

A forgiving heart can change a marriage. It can change a family.

When we no longer can be offended or hurt, everything gets better. Hate can be turned into love.

Pain can disappear. All because of a forgiving heart.

So we invite each of us to make some decisions. We can all decide to see

things through the eyes of others. We can all decide to never shift blame. We can all decide to not take offense.

And then we can become determined to move forward to leave the mistake

behind. And when we do that, success will come.

And when we experience success in our own efforts to forget the past and

move forward, our desire grows, and we develop a forgiving heart. Each one of us can develop a

forgiving heart. We know it because each of us is a child of God, the author of forgiveness, the

One who forgets our sins and remembers them no more. Each of us can become more like Him.

And the way to do that is to develop a forgiving heart.

I know that God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ live. They love us. I

know that the Savior came to earth not only so that we could be forgiven of every wrong that we

commit, but He came to help us learn how to forgive as He forgives. His example is priceless.

He showed us what it means to forgive. And He continues to show us what it means to feel

forgiven. There’s nothing better than this feeling. It is a feeling of joy both for the one who’s

forgiven and the one who forgives. I bear witness that this joy is available to all of us. This

unspeakable, strength-giving joy is a free gift and a freeing gift. I know that we can experience

this sacred gift every time we seek or offer forgiveness.

I bear this witness in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

 

From the talk by

 

Lolly S. and Russell T. Osguthorpe

 

“I Did Frankly Forgive Them”

 

 

 

It takes Faith to find Joy

 

 

 

It takes Faith to find Joy.

 

 

With an understanding of the purpose of life, of our promised blessings…

let us be grateful that God allows us to struggle, to cry, and to feel pain.

Else how could we comfort others in their tribulation?

 

Let us be grateful to know about hurt and healing.

Else how could we know the Healer, the Great Physician, who invites us to come unto Him and be healed?

 

Let us be grateful to know about fear and faith.

Else how would we recognize the light of faith after the dark night of fear?

 

Let us be grateful to know about discouragement and encouragement.

Else how could we reach out and take another’s hand in empathy, understanding, and love?

 

Let us be grateful to know about offenses and forgiveness.

Else how could we ever begin to appreciate the Atonement?

 

Let us be grateful for His infinite love and hear in our minds and hearts His words of comfort: “What I say unto one I say unto all, be of good cheer, little children; for I am in your midst, and I have not forsaken you”

 

Ardeth G. Kapp

 

 

Prayer works. It does indeed call down the powers of heaven. It reconciles our will with the will of the Father. It consecrates even our most adversive experiences to the welfare of our souls. We may not be granted that which we desire, but we end up grateful with all of our hearts for that which the Lord gives us. And along the way we experience tender mercies over and over those unmistakable messages from Him: “I am here. I love you. You are living your life with my approval. Everything will work together for your good. Trust me.”

 

Even though we may not see, minute to minute, that we are moving forward and making progress, I believe we will be able to one day look back at our lives and see that we were, in fact, doing just what we needed to be doing at just the right time in just the right place. We can trust that the Lord will work in and through us.

 

I do not know all things, but I do know that the Lord works in faithful, prayerful

people to do according to His will. I know that by small and simple means are great things brought to pass.

Of that I bear testimony, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

 

Virginia H. Pearce

 

 

Pray it causes miracles

 

 

God’s love is so powerful it reaches not just in our chapels, or temples, or homes,

 

 it reaches us even in our prisons.

 

Kevin J. Worthen

 

 

Acting on even a twin of Faith allows God to Grow it.

 

Henry B. Eyring

 

 

There is nothing more beautiful in this world than a woman aglow with faith, who has looked within herself and to the Lord for strength a woman filled with compassion and love, willing to serve and lift others everywhere she goes. We all have the ability to become that kind of woman. rejoice in who you are… and be a beacon, radiate the Savior's light to all within your sphere of influence. We have within our power the ability to rise up and influence the world for good….If we do, the richest of our Father in Heaven's blessings will be ours…

He's waiting to bless us. He desires to bless us.

…may we rise up and be powerful beacons unto the world, pointing the way to that eternal harbor of peace and safety. This is my humble prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

 

Mary Ellen W. Smoot

 

 

 

The Great I AM

 

"We do not believe that the heavens are sealed over our heads, but that the same Father who loved and cherished the children of Israel loves and cherishes us. We believe that we are as much in need of the assistance of our Heavenly Father in the directing of our lives as they were. We know that in the day and age in which we live the seal has been broken, and God has again spoken from the heavens."

 

 

Not everything God asks us to do will make sense to us. His perspective is different from ours.

THUS saith the Lord your God, even Jesus Christ, the Great I AM, Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the same which looked upon the wide expanse of eternity, and all the seraphic hosts of heaven,

before the world was made . . .

His ability to see the future, combined with his love for us will occasionally (frequently?) cause him to ask us to do things whose purpose is indiscernible.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

God knew before the earth was ever created that it would be necessary for Adam and Eve to fall so they "would have seed." Thus, even before the earth was created, Jesus Christ had agreed that he would pay the penalty required by the law of justice for the transgression of the law that resulted in the fall of Adam and Eve. The scriptures refer to the Savior as "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world", and they indicate that Jesus Christ had agreed to bring about the atonement before the earth was ever created.

 

 

The Savior makes it possible for us to return to the presence of God, but Adam and Eve made it possible for us to come here to partake of mortality and to be tested and prepared for that return. Does anyone doubt that we were watching breathlessly through the veil while Eve and then Adam considered the fruit? What a cheer must have echoed through heaven when they both partook and opened the gate to what Eve called "the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient." We ought to give thanks for them and for the gift they have given to their posterity.

 

 

The sacred splendor of every one of you

 

 

“Resist the temptation to get caught up in the frantic rush of everyday life. Slow down a little, steady the course, focus on the essentials, lift up our eyes, and truly see the things that matter most.”

 

Dieter F. Uchtdorf

 

The world is a better place today because you decided to be gentle and kind.

 

 

Sometimes God doesn’t change our situation because He is trying to Change our Heart.

 

"Seek heavenly guidance one day at a time. Each of us can be true for just one day  and then one more, and then one more after that, until we've lived a lifetime guided by the Spirit, a lifetime close to the Lord, a lifetime of good deeds and righteousness."

 

Thomas S. Monson

 

 

 

Mistakes are the stepping stones to wisdom.

We learn from trial and error; we become wise by understanding problems.

 

 

When you feel you're "drowning" in life's situations, don't worry your life guard walks on water.

 

 

“In whatever country you live, however young or inadequate you feel, or however aged or limited you see yourself as being, I testify you are individually loved of God, you are central to the meaning of His work, and you are cherished and prayed for by the presiding officers of His Church. The personal value, the sacred splendor of every one of you, is the very reason there is a plan for salvation and exaltation.”

Jeffrey R. Holland

 

 

Just as miracles do not sustain faith by themselves, they do not automatically see us through trials, either.

Daily Faith is what sees us through.

Having daily access to the Spirit, therefore, is better than periodic miracles.”

Neil A. Maxwell

 

 

 

Burn bright, the world needs your light! "Therefore, hold up your light that it may shine unto the world, and let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Behold I am the light which ye shall hold up”

 

Live Brightly

 

 

 

 

Blueberry Cream Cheese Pull Apart

Ingredients

10 Rhodes™ Dinner Rolls, thawed but still cold

2 tablespoons butter, melted

3/4 cup frozen blueberries

6 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 egg

5 tablespoons sugar, divided

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 tablespoons brown sugar

zest of one lemon

Icing:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon milk

Instructions

Cut rolls in half and place cut side down in a sprayed 9-inch round baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 30 minutes. Remove wrap, brush rolls with melted butter and sprinkle with blueberries. Combine softened cream cheese, egg, 2 tablespoons sugar and lemon juice and spread over rolls. Combine brown sugar, remaining white sugar and lemon zest and sprinkle over cream cheese mixture. Cover with plastic wrap again and let rise until double in size. Remove wrap, place pan on a baking sheet to catch drips and bake at 350°F 20 minutes. Cover with foil to prevent over browning and bake an additional 7-9 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Combine icing ingredients and drizzle over rolls.