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