The Following Blog Description Explains Why My Blog is named: "Four Books of Scripture Testify of Jesus Christ!
Jesus the Christ -by Del Parson
 |
| Jesus the Christ -by Del Parson |
WELCOME, NEW AND REGULAR
VIEWERS OF THIS BLOG: In this and
in every additional post of this blog you will
be led on a carefully and prayerfully planned
exciting and inspiring journey as you prepare
by means of a guided study of the four sacred
books of scripture I am shown holding above;
which will assist you in becoming more
righteously happy now and more fully
prepared for eventual After-Mortality Eternal
Endeavors on your part, along with your loved
ones and countless other mortals who are
seeking to qualify as our Heavenly Father's
worthy children.
Those enabling Books of Scripture were
brought about through the love of the
Heavenly Father of our immortal spirits
which now inhabit our mortal bodies; and
were a key part of the Restoration of the
Gospel, and of the establishment of The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, through the Prophet Joseph Smith
early in the Nineteenth Century.
Leading out in all of this, was of course,
Our Heavenly Father's Only Begotten Son
who is our Lord, Savior, and Redeemer,
Jesus Christ (who initially was our eldest
spirit brother and is the only one of us
our Heavenly Father will have ever
sired into mortality).
Jesus accomplished His Infinite Atonement,
the Ultimate Mortal Sacrifice, along with
His infallibly witnessed Resurrection. He is
our Redeemer and Savior who opened the
way for each of us to learn with certainty
through those four books of scripture, and
through the inspired teachings of His
prophets, seers and revelators of our day
and those authorized by them; that some
time after our mortal deaths, because of
His atonement and resurrection, and
depending on the level of individual
righteousness we each attain to,
through His grace, we can eventually
experience Eternal Life in our own
resurrected bodies, which in the case
of those who fully heeded all of His
scriptural guidance and the guidance
of His authorized living servants,
there will be full possession of
Godly capabilities!
J. Neil Birch
VIEWERS OF THIS BLOG: In this and
in every additional post of this blog you will
be led on a carefully and prayerfully planned
exciting and inspiring journey as you prepare
by means of a guided study of the four sacred
books of scripture I am shown holding above;
which will assist you in becoming more
righteously happy now and more fully
prepared for eventual After-Mortality Eternal
Endeavors on your part, along with your loved
ones and countless other mortals who are
seeking to qualify as our Heavenly Father's
worthy children.
brought about through the love of the
Heavenly Father of our immortal spirits
which now inhabit our mortal bodies; and
were a key part of the Restoration of the
Gospel, and of the establishment of The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, through the Prophet Joseph Smith
early in the Nineteenth Century.
Leading out in all of this, was of course,
Our Heavenly Father's Only Begotten Son
who is our Lord, Savior, and Redeemer,
Jesus Christ (who initially was our eldest
spirit brother and is the only one of us
our Heavenly Father will have ever
sired into mortality).
the Ultimate Mortal Sacrifice, along with
His infallibly witnessed Resurrection. He is
our Redeemer and Savior who opened the
way for each of us to learn with certainty
through those four books of scripture, and
through the inspired teachings of His
prophets, seers and revelators of our day
and those authorized by them; that some
time after our mortal deaths, because of
His atonement and resurrection, and
depending on the level of individual
righteousness we each attain to,
through His grace, we can eventually
experience Eternal Life in our own
resurrected bodies, which in the case
of those who fully heeded all of His
scriptural guidance and the guidance
of His authorized living servants,
there will be full possession of
Godly capabilities!
J. Neil Birch
To Access This Blog's Index, Please Scroll Down To the Fifth
Paragraph From the End of This Post! For Those of You Who May
Be In a Hurry to Access it, Here it is now: Neil Birch's Blog Index.
Paragraph From the End of This Post! For Those of You Who May
Be In a Hurry to Access it, Here it is now: Neil Birch's Blog Index.
****
TODAY'S THEME:
I, J. Neil Birch, Author of this Blog Post as you have
been informed in my Introduction, have chosen this
week to feature an October 2013 General Conference
talk given by President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor
in the First Presidency of the Church mentioned above.
First, I desire that you each learn about his background
before he was called to his position as a Councilor to the
President of the Church. You will also be informed about
his family.
http://www.lds.org/church/leader/henry-b-eyring
Now I invite each of you to listen to President Eyring's
talk given at the October 2013 General Conference of
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, entitled:
TO MY GRANDCHILDREN!
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/
10/to-my-grandchildren?lang=eng&query
=to+my+grandchildren
You are next invited to thoughtfully and prayerfully
read through the printed version of President Eyring's
talk in which you will come across, each of the three
reference notes he has inserted through which he,
with some assistance from me gives you further guidance:
To My Grandchildren
****
TODAY'S THEME:
I, J. Neil Birch, Author of this Blog Post as you have
been informed in my Introduction, have chosen this
week to feature an October 2013 General Conference
talk given by President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor
in the First Presidency of the Church mentioned above.
First, I desire that you each learn about his background
before he was called to his position as a Councilor to the
President of the Church. You will also be informed about
his family.
http://www.lds.org/church/leader/henry-b-eyring
been informed in my Introduction, have chosen this
week to feature an October 2013 General Conference
talk given by President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor
in the First Presidency of the Church mentioned above.
First, I desire that you each learn about his background
before he was called to his position as a Councilor to the
President of the Church. You will also be informed about
his family.
http://www.lds.org/church/leader/henry-b-eyring
Now I invite each of you to listen to President Eyring's
talk given at the October 2013 General Conference of
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, entitled:
TO MY GRANDCHILDREN!
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/
10/to-my-grandchildren?lang=eng&query
=to+my+grandchildren
You are next invited to thoughtfully and prayerfully
read through the printed version of President Eyring's
talk in which you will come across, each of the three
reference notes he has inserted through which he,
with some assistance from me gives you further guidance:
To My Grandchildren
talk given at the October 2013 General Conference of
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, entitled:
TO MY GRANDCHILDREN!
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/
10/to-my-grandchildren?lang=eng&query
=to+my+grandchildren
You are next invited to thoughtfully and prayerfully
read through the printed version of President Eyring's
talk in which you will come across, each of the three
reference notes he has inserted through which he,
with some assistance from me gives you further guidance:
To My Grandchildren
There is one overarching
commandment that will
help us to meet the
challenges and lead to
the heart of a happy
family life.
This year our first two grandchildren will be married.
Within a few years as many as 10 of their cousins are
likely to reach a point in their lives where they will
follow into the wonderful world of family creation.
That happy prospect has caused me deep
contemplation as they have asked me for advice.
Essentially they have asked, “What choices could
I make that will lead me to happiness?” And on the
other hand, “What choices are likely to lead me
to unhappiness?”
Heavenly Father has made each of us unique. No
two of us have exactly the same experiences.
No two families are alike. So it is not surprising
that advice about how to choose happiness in
family life is hard to give.
Yet a loving Heavenly Father has set the same
path to happiness for all of His children.
Whatever our personal characteristics or whatever
will be our experiences, there is but one plan of
happiness. That plan is to follow all the
commandments of God.
For all of us, including my grandchildren
contemplating marriage, there is one overarching
commandment that will help us to meet the
challenges and lead to the heart of a happy
familylife. It applies to all relationships
regardless of circumstances. It is repeated
throughout the scriptures and in the teachings
of the prophets in our day. Here is the Bible
wording of the Lord’s advice to all who want to
live together forever in loving happiness:
“Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a
question, tempting him, and saying, “Master, which is
the great commandment in the law?
“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
mind. “This is the first and great commandment. “And
the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor
as thyself.
“On these two commandments hang all the law and
the prophets.”1
Matthew 22:35-40
From that simple statement it is not hard to summarize
all I have learned about what choices lead to happiness in
families. I start with the question, “What choices have led
me toward loving the Lord with all my heart and soul and
with all my mind?”
For me it has been to choose to put myself where I felt
the joy of forgiveness through the Lord’s Atonement.
Years ago I baptized a young man in Albuquerque,
New Mexico, whom my missionary companion and
I had taught. I put the young man down into the water
and brought him up. He must have been nearly as tall
as me because he spoke directly into my ear. With
water from the font and tears running down his face
and with joy in his voice, he said, “I’m clean,
I’m clean.”
I have seen those same tears of happiness in the eyes of
someone who recounted the words of an Apostle of God.
He had said to her, after a searching and tender
interview, “I forgive you in the name of the Lord. He will
give you the assurance of His forgiveness in His own time
and in His own way.” And He did. I have seen why the
Lord can say that when sins are forgiven, He can
remember them no more. By the power of the
Atonement, people I know well and love became new,
and the effects of sin were wiped away.
My heart has been filled with love for the Savior and the
loving Father who sent Him.
That great blessing has come by encouraging people I
care for to go to the Savior for relief from pain, a relief
only He can give. That is why I urge those I love to
accept and to magnify every calling offered them in
the Church.
That choice is one of the great keys to family
happiness.
The pressures at every stage of life can tempt us to reject
or neglect calls to serve the Savior. That can put us in
spiritual peril for ourselves, our spouse, and our families.
Some of those calls may seem unimportant, but my life,
and my family, was changed for the better by my
accepting a call to teach a deacons quorum. I felt the
love of those deacons for the Savior and His love for
them.
I have seen that happen in the life of a former stake
and mission president in his call to him to advise a
teachers quorum. I know of another who has been a
bishop and then an Area Seventy who was used by
the Lord to succor a boy in a teachers quorum who
was hurt in an accident. The miracles from that
service touched many lives, including mine, and increased
heir love for the Savior.
While serving others, we are most likely to plead
for the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Success in
the Lord’s service always produces miracles beyond
our own powers. The parent facing a child in serious
rebellion knows that is true, as does the visiting
teacher approached by a woman seeking comfort
when her husband told her he was leaving her.
Both servants are grateful they prayed that morning
for the Lord to send the Holy Ghost as a companion.
It is only with the companionship of the Holy Ghost
that we can hope to be equally yoked in a marriage
free from discord. I have seen how that companionship
is crucial for felicity in a marriage. The miracle of
becoming one requires the help of heaven, and it takes
time. Our goal is to live together forever in the presence
of Heavenly Father and our Savior.
My father and my mother were very different from
each other. My mother was a singer and an artist.
My father loved chemistry. Once at a symphony
concert, my mother was surprised when my father
stood up and began to leave before the applause
began. My mother asked him where he was going.
His response was, in all innocence: “Well, it’s over,
is'n't it?” Only the gentle influence of the Holy
Ghost got him there with her in the first place
and brought him back to concerts time and
time again.
My mother lived in New Jersey for 16 years so that
my father could support the family by doing research
and teaching chemistry. To her it was a sacrifice being
separated from her widowed mother and her unmarried
sister, who had cared for her in the old family
farmhouse. They both died while Mother was far away
in New Jersey.Those were the only times I ever saw
my mother cry.
Years later my father was offered a job in Utah.
He asked my mother, again in all innocence,
“Mildred, what do you think I should do?”
She said, “Henry, do whatever you think is best.”
He turned down the offer. The next morning she wrote
him a letter that I wish I still had. I remember that she
told him, “Don’t open it here. Go to the office and open
it there.” It began with a rebuke. He had promised her
years before that if he ever could, he would take her to
be near her family. He was surprised by her
expression of irritation. He had not remembered the
desire of her heart. He immediately sent a message
accepting the job offer.
He said, “Mildred, why didn’t you tell me?” She said,
“You were supposed to remember.”
He always spoke of that choice to move to Utah as his
own, never as a sacrifice of his professional career.
They had received the miracle of becoming one. It
would have been better if Dad had been reminded
by the Holy Ghost of the promise he had made years
earlier. But he did allow the Holy Ghost to soften
his heart so that her choice became his.
Heavenly Father has perfect foresight, knows each of
us, and knows our future. He knows what difficulties we
will pass through. He sent His Son to suffer so that He
would know how to succor us in all our trials.
We know that Heavenly Father has spirit children in
this world who sometimes choose sin and great
unhappiness. That is why He sent His Firstborn to be our
Redeemer, the greatest act of love in all creation.
That is why we must expect that it will take the help of
God and time to polish us for eternal life, to live with
our Father.
Life in families will test us. That is one of God’s
purposes in giving us the gift of mortality—to strengthen
us by passing through tests. That will be especially true in
family life, where we will find great joy and great sorrow
and challenges which may at times seem beyond our
power to endure them.
President George Q. Cannon said this about how God
has prepared you and me and our children for the tests
we will face: “There is not one of us but what God’s love
has been expended upon. There is not one of us that
He has not cared for and caressed. There is not one of us
that He has not desired to save, and that He has not
devised means to save.
There is not one of us that He has not given His angels
charge concerning. We may be insignificant and
contemptible in our own eyes, and in the eyes of others,
but the truth remains that we are the children of God,
and that He has actually given His angels —invisible
beings of power and might—charge concerning us, and
they watch over us and have us in their keeping.”2
http://www.lds.org/manual/the-life-and-teachings-of-
jesus-and-his-apostles/section-8-pauls-witness-as-a-
missionary/chapter-41-el
ected-before-the-foundations
-of-the-world?lang=eng&query=George+Q.+Cannon,
+%22Our+Pre-existence+and+Present+Probation,%3a+
Contributor,+Oct.+1890,
What President Cannon taught is true. You will need that
assurance, as I have needed it and depended on it. I have
prayed with faith that someone I loved would seek and feel
the power of the Atonement. I have prayed with faith that
human angels would come to their aid, and they came.
God has devised means to save each of His children.
For many, that involves being placed with a brother or
a sister or a grandparent who loves them no matter what
they do.
Years ago a friend of mine spoke of his grandmother.
She had lived a full life, always faithful to the Lord and to
His Church. Yet one of her grandsons chose a life of crime.
He was finally sentenced to prison. My friend recalled that
his grandmother, as she drove along a highway to visit
her grandson in prison, had tears in her eyes as she prayed
with anguish, “I’ve tried to live a good life. Why, why do I
have this tragedy of a grandson who seems to have destroyed
his life?”
The answer came to her mind in these words: “I gave him
to you because I knew you could and would love him no
matter what he did.”
There is a wonderful lesson for us all. The way for loving
parents and grandparents and all of God’s servants will not
be easy in a decaying world. We cannot force God’s children
to choose the way to happiness. God cannot do that because
of the agency He has given us.
Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son love all of God’s
children no matter what they choose to do or what they
become. The Savior paid the price of all sins, no matter how
heinous. Even though there must be justice, the opportunity
for mercy is extended which will not rob justice.
Alma expressed that hope to his son Corianton in these
words:
Jesus the Christ by: -Heinrich Hofmann
Alma 42:13
“Therefore, according to justice, the plan
of redemption could not be brought about,
only on conditions of repentance of men
in this probationary state, yea, this
preparatory state; for except it were for
these conditions, mercy could not take
effect except it should destroy the work
of justice. Now the work of justice could
not be destroyed; if so, God would cease
to be God.”3
My message then to my grandchildren, and to all of us trying
to forge eternal families, is that there is joy guaranteed for the
faithful. From before the world was, a loving Father in Heaven
and His Beloved Son loved and worked with those who They
knew would wander.
God will love them forever.
You have the advantage of knowing that they learned the plan
of salvation from the teachings they received in the spirit world.
They and you were faithful enough to be allowed to come into
the world when many others were not.
With the help of the Holy Ghost, all truths will be brought to
our remembrance. We cannot force that on others, but we can
let them see it in our lives. We can always take courage from
the assurance that we all once felt the joy of being together as a
member of the beloved family of our Heavenly Father. With
God’s help we can all feel that hope and that joy again.
I pray that may be so for all of us in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ, amen.
There is one overarching
commandment that will
help us to meet the
challenges and lead to
the heart of a happy
family life.
commandment that will
help us to meet the
challenges and lead to
the heart of a happy
family life.
This year our first two grandchildren will be married.
Within a few years as many as 10 of their cousins are
likely to reach a point in their lives where they will
follow into the wonderful world of family creation.
Within a few years as many as 10 of their cousins are
likely to reach a point in their lives where they will
follow into the wonderful world of family creation.
That happy prospect has caused me deep
contemplation as they have asked me for advice.
Essentially they have asked, “What choices could
I make that will lead me to happiness?” And on the
other hand, “What choices are likely to lead me
to unhappiness?”
contemplation as they have asked me for advice.
Essentially they have asked, “What choices could
I make that will lead me to happiness?” And on the
other hand, “What choices are likely to lead me
to unhappiness?”
Heavenly Father has made each of us unique. No
two of us have exactly the same experiences.
No two families are alike. So it is not surprising
that advice about how to choose happiness in
family life is hard to give.
two of us have exactly the same experiences.
No two families are alike. So it is not surprising
that advice about how to choose happiness in
family life is hard to give.
Yet a loving Heavenly Father has set the same
path to happiness for all of His children.
path to happiness for all of His children.
Whatever our personal characteristics or whatever
will be our experiences, there is but one plan of
happiness. That plan is to follow all the
commandments of God.
will be our experiences, there is but one plan of
happiness. That plan is to follow all the
commandments of God.
For all of us, including my grandchildren
contemplating marriage, there is one overarching
commandment that will help us to meet the
challenges and lead to the heart of a happy
familylife. It applies to all relationships
regardless of circumstances. It is repeated
throughout the scriptures and in the teachings
of the prophets in our day. Here is the Bible
wording of the Lord’s advice to all who want to
live together forever in loving happiness:
contemplating marriage, there is one overarching
commandment that will help us to meet the
challenges and lead to the heart of a happy
familylife. It applies to all relationships
regardless of circumstances. It is repeated
throughout the scriptures and in the teachings
of the prophets in our day. Here is the Bible
wording of the Lord’s advice to all who want to
live together forever in loving happiness:
“Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a
question, tempting him, and saying, “Master, which is
the great commandment in the law?
“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
mind. “This is the first and great commandment. “And
the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor
as thyself.
“On these two commandments hang all the law and
the prophets.”1
Matthew 22:35-40
From that simple statement it is not hard to summarize
all I have learned about what choices lead to happiness in
families. I start with the question, “What choices have led
me toward loving the Lord with all my heart and soul and
with all my mind?”
For me it has been to choose to put myself where I felt
the joy of forgiveness through the Lord’s Atonement.
all I have learned about what choices lead to happiness in
families. I start with the question, “What choices have led
me toward loving the Lord with all my heart and soul and
with all my mind?”
For me it has been to choose to put myself where I felt
the joy of forgiveness through the Lord’s Atonement.
Years ago I baptized a young man in Albuquerque,
New Mexico, whom my missionary companion and
I had taught. I put the young man down into the water
and brought him up. He must have been nearly as tall
as me because he spoke directly into my ear. With
water from the font and tears running down his face
and with joy in his voice, he said, “I’m clean,
I’m clean.”
New Mexico, whom my missionary companion and
I had taught. I put the young man down into the water
and brought him up. He must have been nearly as tall
as me because he spoke directly into my ear. With
water from the font and tears running down his face
and with joy in his voice, he said, “I’m clean,
I’m clean.”
I have seen those same tears of happiness in the eyes of
someone who recounted the words of an Apostle of God.
He had said to her, after a searching and tender
interview, “I forgive you in the name of the Lord. He will
give you the assurance of His forgiveness in His own time
and in His own way.” And He did. I have seen why the
Lord can say that when sins are forgiven, He can
remember them no more. By the power of the
Atonement, people I know well and love became new,
and the effects of sin were wiped away.
My heart has been filled with love for the Savior and the
loving Father who sent Him.
someone who recounted the words of an Apostle of God.
He had said to her, after a searching and tender
interview, “I forgive you in the name of the Lord. He will
give you the assurance of His forgiveness in His own time
and in His own way.” And He did. I have seen why the
Lord can say that when sins are forgiven, He can
remember them no more. By the power of the
Atonement, people I know well and love became new,
and the effects of sin were wiped away.
My heart has been filled with love for the Savior and the
loving Father who sent Him.
That great blessing has come by encouraging people I
care for to go to the Savior for relief from pain, a relief
only He can give. That is why I urge those I love to
accept and to magnify every calling offered them in
the Church.
care for to go to the Savior for relief from pain, a relief
only He can give. That is why I urge those I love to
accept and to magnify every calling offered them in
the Church.
That choice is one of the great keys to family
happiness.
happiness.
The pressures at every stage of life can tempt us to reject
or neglect calls to serve the Savior. That can put us in
spiritual peril for ourselves, our spouse, and our families.
Some of those calls may seem unimportant, but my life,
and my family, was changed for the better by my
accepting a call to teach a deacons quorum. I felt the
love of those deacons for the Savior and His love for
them.
or neglect calls to serve the Savior. That can put us in
spiritual peril for ourselves, our spouse, and our families.
Some of those calls may seem unimportant, but my life,
and my family, was changed for the better by my
accepting a call to teach a deacons quorum. I felt the
love of those deacons for the Savior and His love for
them.
I have seen that happen in the life of a former stake
and mission president in his call to him to advise a
teachers quorum. I know of another who has been a
bishop and then an Area Seventy who was used by
the Lord to succor a boy in a teachers quorum who
was hurt in an accident. The miracles from that
service touched many lives, including mine, and increased
heir love for the Savior.
and mission president in his call to him to advise a
teachers quorum. I know of another who has been a
bishop and then an Area Seventy who was used by
the Lord to succor a boy in a teachers quorum who
was hurt in an accident. The miracles from that
service touched many lives, including mine, and increased
heir love for the Savior.
While serving others, we are most likely to plead
for the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Success in
the Lord’s service always produces miracles beyond
our own powers. The parent facing a child in serious
rebellion knows that is true, as does the visiting
teacher approached by a woman seeking comfort
when her husband told her he was leaving her.
Both servants are grateful they prayed that morning
for the Lord to send the Holy Ghost as a companion.
for the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Success in
the Lord’s service always produces miracles beyond
our own powers. The parent facing a child in serious
rebellion knows that is true, as does the visiting
teacher approached by a woman seeking comfort
when her husband told her he was leaving her.
Both servants are grateful they prayed that morning
for the Lord to send the Holy Ghost as a companion.
It is only with the companionship of the Holy Ghost
that we can hope to be equally yoked in a marriage
free from discord. I have seen how that companionship
is crucial for felicity in a marriage. The miracle of
becoming one requires the help of heaven, and it takes
time. Our goal is to live together forever in the presence
of Heavenly Father and our Savior.
that we can hope to be equally yoked in a marriage
free from discord. I have seen how that companionship
is crucial for felicity in a marriage. The miracle of
becoming one requires the help of heaven, and it takes
time. Our goal is to live together forever in the presence
of Heavenly Father and our Savior.
My father and my mother were very different from
each other. My mother was a singer and an artist.
My father loved chemistry. Once at a symphony
concert, my mother was surprised when my father
stood up and began to leave before the applause
began. My mother asked him where he was going.
His response was, in all innocence: “Well, it’s over,
is'n't it?” Only the gentle influence of the Holy
Ghost got him there with her in the first place
and brought him back to concerts time and
time again.
each other. My mother was a singer and an artist.
My father loved chemistry. Once at a symphony
concert, my mother was surprised when my father
stood up and began to leave before the applause
began. My mother asked him where he was going.
His response was, in all innocence: “Well, it’s over,
is'n't it?” Only the gentle influence of the Holy
Ghost got him there with her in the first place
and brought him back to concerts time and
time again.
My mother lived in New Jersey for 16 years so that
my father could support the family by doing research
and teaching chemistry. To her it was a sacrifice being
separated from her widowed mother and her unmarried
sister, who had cared for her in the old family
farmhouse. They both died while Mother was far away
in New Jersey.Those were the only times I ever saw
my mother cry.
my father could support the family by doing research
and teaching chemistry. To her it was a sacrifice being
separated from her widowed mother and her unmarried
sister, who had cared for her in the old family
farmhouse. They both died while Mother was far away
in New Jersey.Those were the only times I ever saw
my mother cry.
Years later my father was offered a job in Utah.
He asked my mother, again in all innocence,
“Mildred, what do you think I should do?”
He asked my mother, again in all innocence,
“Mildred, what do you think I should do?”
She said, “Henry, do whatever you think is best.”
He turned down the offer. The next morning she wrote
him a letter that I wish I still had. I remember that she
told him, “Don’t open it here. Go to the office and open
it there.” It began with a rebuke. He had promised her
years before that if he ever could, he would take her to
be near her family. He was surprised by her
expression of irritation. He had not remembered the
desire of her heart. He immediately sent a message
accepting the job offer.
him a letter that I wish I still had. I remember that she
told him, “Don’t open it here. Go to the office and open
it there.” It began with a rebuke. He had promised her
years before that if he ever could, he would take her to
be near her family. He was surprised by her
expression of irritation. He had not remembered the
desire of her heart. He immediately sent a message
accepting the job offer.
He said, “Mildred, why didn’t you tell me?” She said,
“You were supposed to remember.”
“You were supposed to remember.”
He always spoke of that choice to move to Utah as his
own, never as a sacrifice of his professional career.
They had received the miracle of becoming one. It
would have been better if Dad had been reminded
by the Holy Ghost of the promise he had made years
earlier. But he did allow the Holy Ghost to soften
his heart so that her choice became his.
own, never as a sacrifice of his professional career.
They had received the miracle of becoming one. It
would have been better if Dad had been reminded
by the Holy Ghost of the promise he had made years
earlier. But he did allow the Holy Ghost to soften
his heart so that her choice became his.
Heavenly Father has perfect foresight, knows each of
us, and knows our future. He knows what difficulties we
will pass through. He sent His Son to suffer so that He
would know how to succor us in all our trials.
us, and knows our future. He knows what difficulties we
will pass through. He sent His Son to suffer so that He
would know how to succor us in all our trials.
We know that Heavenly Father has spirit children in
this world who sometimes choose sin and great
unhappiness. That is why He sent His Firstborn to be our
Redeemer, the greatest act of love in all creation.
That is why we must expect that it will take the help of
God and time to polish us for eternal life, to live with
our Father.
this world who sometimes choose sin and great
unhappiness. That is why He sent His Firstborn to be our
Redeemer, the greatest act of love in all creation.
That is why we must expect that it will take the help of
God and time to polish us for eternal life, to live with
our Father.
Life in families will test us. That is one of God’s
purposes in giving us the gift of mortality—to strengthen
us by passing through tests. That will be especially true in
family life, where we will find great joy and great sorrow
and challenges which may at times seem beyond our
power to endure them.
purposes in giving us the gift of mortality—to strengthen
us by passing through tests. That will be especially true in
family life, where we will find great joy and great sorrow
and challenges which may at times seem beyond our
power to endure them.
President George Q. Cannon said this about how God
has prepared you and me and our children for the tests
we will face: “There is not one of us but what God’s love
has been expended upon. There is not one of us that
He has not cared for and caressed. There is not one of us
that He has not desired to save, and that He has not
devised means to save.
has prepared you and me and our children for the tests
we will face: “There is not one of us but what God’s love
has been expended upon. There is not one of us that
He has not cared for and caressed. There is not one of us
that He has not desired to save, and that He has not
devised means to save.
There is not one of us that He has not given His angels
charge concerning. We may be insignificant and
contemptible in our own eyes, and in the eyes of others,
but the truth remains that we are the children of God,
and that He has actually given His angels —invisible
beings of power and might—charge concerning us, and
they watch over us and have us in their keeping.”2
charge concerning. We may be insignificant and
contemptible in our own eyes, and in the eyes of others,
but the truth remains that we are the children of God,
and that He has actually given His angels —invisible
beings of power and might—charge concerning us, and
they watch over us and have us in their keeping.”2
http://www.lds.org/manual/the-life-and-teachings-of-
jesus-and-his-apostles/section-8-pauls-witness-as-a-
missionary/chapter-41-el
ected-before-the-foundations
-of-the-world?lang=eng&query=George+Q.+Cannon,
+%22Our+Pre-existence+and+Present+Probation,%3a+
Contributor,+Oct.+1890,
jesus-and-his-apostles/section-8-pauls-witness-as-a-
missionary/chapter-41-el
ected-before-the-foundations
-of-the-world?lang=eng&query=George+Q.+Cannon,
+%22Our+Pre-existence+and+Present+Probation,%3a+
Contributor,+Oct.+1890,
What President Cannon taught is true. You will need that
assurance, as I have needed it and depended on it. I have
prayed with faith that someone I loved would seek and feel
the power of the Atonement. I have prayed with faith that
human angels would come to their aid, and they came.
assurance, as I have needed it and depended on it. I have
prayed with faith that someone I loved would seek and feel
the power of the Atonement. I have prayed with faith that
human angels would come to their aid, and they came.
God has devised means to save each of His children.
For many, that involves being placed with a brother or
a sister or a grandparent who loves them no matter what
they do.
For many, that involves being placed with a brother or
a sister or a grandparent who loves them no matter what
they do.
Years ago a friend of mine spoke of his grandmother.
She had lived a full life, always faithful to the Lord and to
His Church. Yet one of her grandsons chose a life of crime.
He was finally sentenced to prison. My friend recalled that
his grandmother, as she drove along a highway to visit
her grandson in prison, had tears in her eyes as she prayed
with anguish, “I’ve tried to live a good life. Why, why do I
have this tragedy of a grandson who seems to have destroyed
his life?”
She had lived a full life, always faithful to the Lord and to
His Church. Yet one of her grandsons chose a life of crime.
He was finally sentenced to prison. My friend recalled that
his grandmother, as she drove along a highway to visit
her grandson in prison, had tears in her eyes as she prayed
with anguish, “I’ve tried to live a good life. Why, why do I
have this tragedy of a grandson who seems to have destroyed
his life?”
The answer came to her mind in these words: “I gave him
to you because I knew you could and would love him no
matter what he did.”
to you because I knew you could and would love him no
matter what he did.”
There is a wonderful lesson for us all. The way for loving
parents and grandparents and all of God’s servants will not
be easy in a decaying world. We cannot force God’s children
to choose the way to happiness. God cannot do that because
of the agency He has given us.
parents and grandparents and all of God’s servants will not
be easy in a decaying world. We cannot force God’s children
to choose the way to happiness. God cannot do that because
of the agency He has given us.
Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son love all of God’s
children no matter what they choose to do or what they
become. The Savior paid the price of all sins, no matter how
heinous. Even though there must be justice, the opportunity
for mercy is extended which will not rob justice.
children no matter what they choose to do or what they
become. The Savior paid the price of all sins, no matter how
heinous. Even though there must be justice, the opportunity
for mercy is extended which will not rob justice.
Alma expressed that hope to his son Corianton in these
words:
words:
|
| Jesus the Christ by: -Heinrich Hofmann |
Alma 42:13
“Therefore, according to justice, the plan
of redemption could not be brought about,
only on conditions of repentance of men
in this probationary state, yea, this
preparatory state; for except it were for
these conditions, mercy could not take
effect except it should destroy the work
of justice. Now the work of justice could
not be destroyed; if so, God would cease
to be God.”3
My message then to my grandchildren, and to all of us trying
to forge eternal families, is that there is joy guaranteed for the
faithful. From before the world was, a loving Father in Heaven
and His Beloved Son loved and worked with those who They
knew would wander.
to forge eternal families, is that there is joy guaranteed for the
faithful. From before the world was, a loving Father in Heaven
and His Beloved Son loved and worked with those who They
knew would wander.
God will love them forever.
You have the advantage of knowing that they learned the plan
of salvation from the teachings they received in the spirit world.
They and you were faithful enough to be allowed to come into
the world when many others were not.
of salvation from the teachings they received in the spirit world.
They and you were faithful enough to be allowed to come into
the world when many others were not.
With the help of the Holy Ghost, all truths will be brought to
our remembrance. We cannot force that on others, but we can
let them see it in our lives. We can always take courage from
the assurance that we all once felt the joy of being together as a
member of the beloved family of our Heavenly Father. With
God’s help we can all feel that hope and that joy again.
I pray that may be so for all of us in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ, amen.
our remembrance. We cannot force that on others, but we can
let them see it in our lives. We can always take courage from
the assurance that we all once felt the joy of being together as a
member of the beloved family of our Heavenly Father. With
God’s help we can all feel that hope and that joy again.
I pray that may be so for all of us in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes 1. Matthew 22:35–40.
2. George Q. Cannon, “Our Pre-existence and Present Probation,” Contributor,
Oct. 1890, 476. 3. Alma 42:13.
-
Now it is my choice to offer you (and those who may be
with you), the opportunity of singing one of the hymns of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which I
feel conveys the same spirit felt in the inspired talk given
by President Eyring you have just studied:
(If there are others nearby who would like to join you in
singing this hymn, you may want to allow each one to
choose which part: soprano, alto, tenor or base they each
would like to sing! The music is provided!
____________
DISCLAIMER This website is not owned by or affiliated with the Church
Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS
Church). The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position
of the Church.
____________
TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX To Either Read the Full
Index Item Which Refers To This Blog Post, (Or An Item Which Refers To Any Other
Blog Post You May Desire To Access): After Reading All of This Paragraph Please
Click on the Post Title Shown at the End of this following paragraph:
When You See a Portrayal of Our Savior Jesus Christ Sitting Next To
a Little Boy, Please, Scroll Down To our Target: Teaching Our Children!
This Blog Post is Based on the October 2013 General Conference Talk
of President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First
Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. -Post 47w
____________
"Four Books of Scripture Testify of Jesus Christ! Legal /Statement.
Thank you for visiting. The author retains intellectual property and
creative licensing rights. Permission to use or reprint must be given
in writing. © Est.2008 Neil Birch Legal /Statement.
____________
I deeply appreciate your readership and hope you found
very beneficial, that which was presented to you in this
blog post.
If you have any questions about what you have read or
viewed in this post or in any previous posts of mine,
or if you even have a curiosity about the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, and or its teachings, please
e-mail me. I'm Neil and my e-mail address is:
jneilmelva@gmail.com. If you contact me I'll get back
to you just as soon as possible.
Neil Birch
Now it is my choice to offer you (and those who may be
with you), the opportunity of singing one of the hymns of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which I
feel conveys the same spirit felt in the inspired talk given
by President Eyring you have just studied:
(If there are others nearby who would like to join you in
singing this hymn, you may want to allow each one to
choose which part: soprano, alto, tenor or base they each
would like to sing! The music is provided!
with you), the opportunity of singing one of the hymns of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which I
feel conveys the same spirit felt in the inspired talk given
by President Eyring you have just studied:
(If there are others nearby who would like to join you in
singing this hymn, you may want to allow each one to
choose which part: soprano, alto, tenor or base they each
would like to sing! The music is provided!
____________
DISCLAIMER This website is not owned by or affiliated with the Church
Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS
Church). The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position
of the Church.
____________
TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX To Either Read the Full
Index Item Which Refers To This Blog Post, (Or An Item Which Refers To Any Other
Blog Post You May Desire To Access): After Reading All of This Paragraph Please
Click on the Post Title Shown at the End of this following paragraph:
When You See a Portrayal of Our Savior Jesus Christ Sitting Next To
a Little Boy, Please, Scroll Down To our Target: Teaching Our Children!
This Blog Post is Based on the October 2013 General Conference Talk
of President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First
Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. -Post 47w
____________
"Four Books of Scripture Testify of Jesus Christ! Legal /Statement.
Thank you for visiting. The author retains intellectual property and
creative licensing rights. Permission to use or reprint must be given
in writing. © Est.2008 Neil Birch Legal /Statement.
____________
I deeply appreciate your readership and hope you found
very beneficial, that which was presented to you in this
blog post.
If you have any questions about what you have read or
viewed in this post or in any previous posts of mine,
or if you even have a curiosity about the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, and or its teachings, please
e-mail me. I'm Neil and my e-mail address is:
jneilmelva@gmail.com. If you contact me I'll get back
to you just as soon as possible.
Neil Birch
