The Shield

"Examine your armor. Is there an unguarded or unprotected place? Determine now to add whatever part is missing. No matter how antiquated or lacking in parts your armor may be, always remember that it is within your power to make the necessary adjustments to complete Your armor."

N. Eldon Tanner

Learned At Church

Jon Rutter, wrote:

Look at the world, everything all around us
Look at the world and marvel every day.
Look at the world: so many joys and wonders,
So many miracles along our way
Praise to thee, O lord for all creation.
Give us thankful hearts that we may see
All the gifts we share, and every blessing,
All things come of thee.
Look at the earth bringing forth fruit and flower,
Look at the sky the sunshine and the rain.
Look at the hills, look at the trees and mountains,
Valley and flowing river, field and plain.
Think of the spring, think of the warmth of summer
Bringing the harvest before winter’s cold.
Everything grows, everything has a season,
till it is gathered to the Father's fold:
Every good gift, all that we need and cherish.
Comes from the Lord in token of his love
We are his hands, stewards of all his bounty
His is the earth and his the heavens above

A question to start the day, What good should I do today? A question to finish the day: What good have I done today?

Ben Franklin

Fitbit

Something below to ponder:

"Using the analogy of my new Fitbit, our trials, challenges, opportunities and relationships take on new meaning and literally change our attitude when we have purpose to our steps and lives.

"Two guiding questions can be helpful as we periodically and prayerfully assess our load: “Is the load I am carrying producing the spiritual traction that will enable me to press forward with faith in Christ on the strait and narrow path and avoid getting stuck? Is the load I am carrying creating sufficient spiritual traction so I ultimately can return home to Heavenly Father?"quoting David A. Bednar."

Becky Thomas

A Thought

Today's technology is simply amazing.  I remember one phone in our home years ago. Now I can connect by text, FaceTime or Instagram, on multiple devices with my loved ones whenever I want, even as a group chat. I can maintain connectivity with the living, and oh by the way- to even our ancestors. The lord's connectivity, my covenants, is a personal journey with him.  All well worth its advantage. These thoughts are expressed like this feeling below from Todd Christofferson:

"I readily attest to the reality and greatness of our God, to his goodness and grace, to his justice and mercy, to the truth of his gospel and the power of his priesthood and the authenticity of the calling of his latter-day seers. At the outset of this ministry, I acknowledge that anything I may achieve will be by virtue of the power and the grace and the gift of God. I am not, in Isaiah's words, the axe that shall "boast itself against him that heweth therewith"; I am not the saw that shall "magnify itself against him that shaketh it." (Isa. 10:15.) With Nephi, I know in whom I have trusted. (See 2 Ne. 4:19.) 

Live Your List

Let our hearts be pure. 
Let our lives be clean. 
Let our voices be heard. 
Let our actions be felt.

Thomas S. Monson

A New Life

I knelt in prayer the minute a text was delivered from my wife, reading my daughter was close to delivering her baby when she had dilated to where she was going to push. I knew that this would be the hard part.  Especially the strength for her to do so.  Little did I know that this baby would be over nine pounds. And the effort it took her, perhaps beyond her.  Then to see the beauty of them all together, a couple and their child healthy and happy through it all. Then I thought of a scripture my son quoted just the day before; 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made, 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. (New Testament, John 1)

Learned At Church

I learned from the Old Testament, of prophets, awaiting the blessed gift foretold to come to earth. To them, a Savior to earth was their gift to open. "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6)." And to Joseph, 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. (New Testament, Matthew 1)

The last paragraph of this post is a quote from Spencer W. Kimball.

And reaffirmed: of the gospel-

And the blessing of the interpretation of Daniel "These verses] tell one that Providence is over all, and that he holds the nations in the holly of his hand; that he is using not only his covenant people, but other peoples as well, to consummate a work…. [God] is using men as his instruments.  Nor is he limited in the choice of instruments to his own people…. Outside the pale of their [prophetic, priesthood] activities other good and great men, not bearing the Priesthood but possessing profundity of thought, great wisdom, and a desire to uplift their fellows, have been sent by the Almighty into many nations, to give them, not the fulness of the gospel, but that portion of truth that they were able to receive and wisely use.  Such men as Confucius… Zoroaster… Buddha… Socrates and Plato…. They were servants of the Lord in a lesser sense, and were sent to those pagan or heathen nations to give them the measure of truth that a wise Providence had allotted to them"

Perhaps the Lord needs such men on the outside of His Church to help it along. They are among its auxiliaries, and can do more good for the cause where the Lord has placed them, than anywhere else. … Hence, some are drawn into the fold and receive a testimony of the truth; while others remain unconverted … the beauties and glories of the gospel being veiled temporarily from their view, for a wise purpose. The Lord will open their eyes in His own due time. God is using more than one people for the accomplishment of His great and marvelous work. The Latter-day Saints cannot do it all. It is too vast, too arduous for any one people. … We have no quarrel with the Gentiles. They are our partners in a certain sense.” (Orson F. Whitney, Conference Report, April 1928, p. 59,  )

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was restored in 1830 after numerous revelations from the divine source; and this is the kingdom, set up by the God of heaven, that would never be destroyed nor superseded, and the stone cut out of the mountain without hands that would become a great mountain and would fill the whole earth.

An Angel

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. (New Testament, Luke 2)

Holiday Wisdom

From my wife, she said, "it's more fun to open a wrapped Christmas present".

A Good Laugh

The  holiday movie "Home Alone".

All Possible

I love this series of scripture. The Lord dealing with Mary prior to the beginning of the messianic dispensation. You can see an excellent portrayal of this, videos lds.org-embrace it, share it.

27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.
32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.
38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
(New Testament, Luke, Luke 1)

"Foster your faith. Fuse your focus with an eye single to the glory of God. "Be strong and courageous" (2 Chr. 32:7), and you will be given power and protection from on high. "For I will go before your face," the Lord declared. "I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up""(D&C 84:88). Russell M. Nelson

Reviewing a Memorized Scripture

Topic: Temple, House of the Lord

Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths;

2 Nephi 12:3

Reference:

2= twin peaks
Nephi= prophet high in the mount building ship
12+3= current # of apostles

Verse, key words or phrase:

Go up, mountain, teach/ways, walk/paths
He will, we will

Learned from Worship

The Muppet's make me happy! Today I learned to be a neighbor, to share my cookies, and to sing with the choir.

Now hum these tunes through the Christmas Holiday:

Pocket Full of Miracles

Pee-racticality dee-oesn't interest me.
Love's the life that I lead.
I've got a pocketful of miracles.
And with a pocketful of miracles,
One little miracle a day is all I need.

I hear sleigh bells ringing, smack, in the middle of May.
I go around like there's snow around.
I feel so good; it's Christmas ev'ery day.

Some Children See Him

Some children see Him lily white,
The baby Jesus born this night.
Some children see Him lily white,
With tresses soft and fair.

O lay aside each earthly thing
And with thy heart as offering,
Come worship now the infant King.
'Tis love that's born tonight!

The Candy Man

Who can take tomorrow
(Who can take tomorrow)
And dip it in a dream
(Dip it in a dream)
Separate the sorrow
And collect up all the cream
The candy man
(The candy man)
Oh the candy man can
(The candy man can)
The candy man can cause he
Mixes it with love and
Makes the world
Taste good

The candy man can cause he
Mixes it with love and
Makes the world
Taste good

Recording Scriptures

These two scriptures came up this week from a talk and the other from a letter. Take a minute one night, and record the scriptures that were presented to you during a four to five day period. Note them in a journal. Sometimes I find them from my daily scripture study pattern: teachings of the prophet manual weekly chapter reading, Sunday school student study guide weekly assignment, and my daily, personal Book of Mormon reading.

2 Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

28 If thou art merry, praise the Lord with singing, with music, with dancing, and with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving. 

29 If thou art sorrowful, call on the Lord thy God with supplication, that your souls may be joyful. (Doctrine and Covenants136:28-29)

Surprises

Certainly some pleasant surprises in life can catch you off guard. But when they happen they are wonderful encounters. The laughter, joy, happiness and smiles are well worth it.  Children are full of them, and adults should every once in a while consider doing them more often. It produces spontaneous thought, and quick, active, positive interaction.

Surprises can be found in reading stories.  Little children love to hear them when found in a good picture book being read. Consider reading one this holiday season.

When days are not going well scripture stories work well. And if you need a little humility read and ponder a story. Like this one, the Nativity, Luke 2:8–16.

"Can any soul read this and not be touched with the spirit of humility and be impressed with the simple truth of the story?" (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith, Chapter 25: The Birth of Jesus Christ: “Good Tidings of Great Joy”)

Posts

Since I have written a number of posts in this blog, it is a great exercise to review past posts. Great insight can be gleaned by doing it.  This was written a few days ago, and I want to add a scripture to it.

"I really liked how in Ezekiel's discussion of the temple, as water depths and lengths-like with life's issues, our measuring tape starts over each time we return from the temple with added personal depth perception." (ScriptureMan, Post) For who do we find therein:

35 It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The Lord is there. (Old Testament, Ezekiel 48)

3 D's

I swam a length in the pool with the butterfly stroke without a breathe. I felt good power with my arms coming over my shoulder, and with consistency. It feels good to swim.  It is a good workout and I highly recommend it.  Much of my blog has the swimming themes such as Diving for a topic to study, experiencing the scripture in a Rip Dive, and experiencing a Deep-Dive by exploring in more detail a chosen topic.

I believe I have found a new topic.  I will reveal the topic, appropriate for the season, in a few days.

Three Stories to Tell

A child should hear these three stories many times from a parent:

The Creation and the Fall
The First Vision
The Birth of Christ-share the gift, embrace the gift

Scripture to Memorize

3 Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; (Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 12:

Learned At Church

Today was fast and testimony meeting.  So many gems were revealed.  Two individuals each having severe mental and physical health issues counseled 1) the Lord helps each of us to understand "the bigger whys and the better reasons", and 2) the Lord will provide the "message of peace, as there is joy in the journey; there is an end to everything" (of difficulties and challenges). One young man said, "if you don't believe you won't receive". Someone's life motto quoted, "the church is true, and God is real". And another, advice to live, "serve in the church, marry a good woman, and drive a pickup truck".

I really liked how in Ezekiel's discussion of the temple, as water depths and lengths-like with life's issues, our measuring tape starts over each time we return from the temple with added personal depth perception.

1 Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.
2 Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.
3 And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles.
4 Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.
5 Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.
8 Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.
9 And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh. (Old Testament, Ezekiel, Ezekiel 47)

And, 88 And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up. (Doctrine and Covenants, Doctrine and Covenants, D&C 84)

Dive Thoughts

The prophet Isaiah sure declared much about the temple, and our service in them.  I love the Isaiah scriptures. Indexing has now become a worship activity for the family, as well as regular temple service.  Read this below:

President Joseph F. Smith, in a mighty declaration, stated, “Through our efforts in their behalf their chains of bondage will fall from them, and the darkness surrounding them will clear away, that light may shine upon them and they shall hear in the spirit world of the work that has been done for them by their children here, and will rejoice with you in your performance of these duties.”⁵ My brothers and sisters, the work is ours to do."

Temple, House of the Lord

A rich Dive:

3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi, 2 Nephi 12

7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people. (Old Testament, Isaiah, Isaiah 56)

1 Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar. (Old Testament, Ezekiel, Ezekiel 47)

46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, (New Testament, Acts, Acts 2)

12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. (New Testament, Revelation, Revelation 3)

22 And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. 

23 And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father’s house. 

24 And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons. (Old Testament, Isaiah, Isaiah 22)

Half Measure

"For me maybe half measure sometimes".  But I can tell you from experience and I can honestly say that blessings from God are beyond my comprehension and plentiful, overflowing my cup, and spilling beyond the pitcher. 

On the other hand, Some people live bitter and in depressing environments they build for themselves, sipping from measuring cups and selling on the sidewalks- thinking an expensive lemonade for people to buy, mostly waiting and empty returns. 

Topic

The topic to choose is-

Temple, house of the lord:

I thought of this quote;

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”

― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

This quote rings true.  If we approach temple activity from a "decent little cottage" to a "he building a palace" for me and my prosperity, we would live beyond half measure.

Searching for a Dive Topic

Yes, Ezekiel 47: 1-8; surely implies descriptive visualization about what flows from the temple, like unto a river- "waters of river, measured a thousand, ankles, knees, loins, then to swim in." Like, spiritually. Most rivers comply to a source. Here the power of God, flowing from the temple I believe describes the majestic power or inspiration from temple worship and service. And the multiplicity of flowing inspiration and guidance that comes by such worship. These verses are leading me to a topic. Prophets often used the description of the river flowing, "living waters". Or to be like unto a river, as expressed to Laman, 1 Nephi 2:9.  Are we taking temple privileges for granted? Are we fulfilling promises to those beyond the veil, and obtaining power personally and for our family through our regular temple attendance? For me maybe half measure sometimes.

Learned At Church

Today I don't know if I learned much at church. It was a little disjointed, and staying on the regular schedule was disrupted because of some family obligations. Sometimes these situations come up. I do remember one speaker who recommended holding on to the simple plainness of gospel teachings. Some people go beyond the mark and get lost in things beyond what really matters. "Doctrine usually answers the question “why?” Principles usually answer the question “what?” Whenever we emphasize how to do something without reference to why we do it or what we do, we risk looking beyond the mark. At the very least, we fall into the trap Paul described to the Corinthians: “For the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life”." Elder Q. Cook.  He says, "God uses us “not according to our works, but according to his own purpose” (2 Tim. 1:9). We are looking beyond the mark if our consecration is conditional or does not involve daily devotion."

I do remember one brother who mentioned, in an answer, "is all we have to do is turn away from evil and turn toward good". His focus was on "daily devotion", our heartfelt intent.

30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. (Old Testament, Ezekiel, Ezekiel 18)

If we turn not, meaning to not repent, or to justify are selfish behavior without acknowledging the love christ offered to us by his suffering, and the beauty of his mercy extended we have missed the mark.