Hard Times?

This is so true, we will have hard days.  I know that even though things seem so tough and difficult to face, the Lord will not leave us comfortless.  He will help us!  I love the the scriptures they teach us so much about this. 

1 Nephi 21: 14-16 read, "But, behold, Zion hath said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me—but he will show that he hath not.  For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel.  Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me."

"Touch of the Master’s Hand"





By Myra Welsh

T’was battered and scarred, and the auctioneer
Thought it scarcely worth his while
To waste much time on the old violin,
But held it up with a smile.

"What am I bidden, good folks," he cried,
"Who’ll start the bidding for me?"
"A dollar, a dollar," then, two! Only two?
"Two dollars, and who’ll make it three?

"Three dollars, once; three dollars, twice;
Going for three . . . "But no,
From the room, far back, a grey haired man
Came forward and picked up the bow;

Then, wiping the dust from the old violin,
And tightening the loose strings,
He played a melody pure and sweet
As a caroling angel sings.

The music ceased, and the auctioneer,
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said: "What am I bid for the old violin?"
And he held it up with the bow.

"A thousand dollars, and who’ll make it two?
Two thousand! And who’ll make it three?
Three thousand, once; three thousand, twice;
And going and gone," said he.

The people cheered, but some of them cried,
"We do not quite understand
What changed its worth?" Swift came the reply:
"The touch of a master’s hand."

And many a man with life out of tune,
And battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd,
Much like the old violin.

A "mess of potage," a glass of wine;
A game, and he travels on.
He is "going" once, and "going" twice,
He’s "going" and almost "gone."

But the Master comes and the foolish crowd
Never can quite understand
The worth of a soul and the change that’s wrought
By the touch of the Master’s hand.

Image found at:

http://www.sugardoodle.net/sdclipart/?category_name=jesus-christ&paged=4

Easter, Remembrance of Christ

Easter is all about Christ!  It is a celebration of what He did for all of us.  Easter is a time to remember the death and resurrection of our Lord.  A time to remember the sacrifice made; a sacrifice that we could not do.  "For behold, he surely must die that salvation may come; yea, it behooveth him and becometh expedient that he dieth, to bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, that thereby men may be brought into the presence of the Lord."(Helaman 14:15).  A sacrifice that has opened the door to Heaven.  Opened the gate to all if we repent and turn to Him.  "Yea, thus we see that the gate of heaven is open unto all, even to those who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God."(Helaman 3:28).

"RISE ABOVE THE BLUES"

Change can be difficult.  I have had a lot of experiences on my mission that have really made me change.  It is interesting to be able to look back on my life and see how things were placed in front of me to remind me who I am.  Every experience we go through is for a reason.  Our whole mortal life is for a reason.  Our purpose is to find out who we are, and change to become what we were meant to become!

Do We Know Christ, Or Do We Just Know About Christ?

Do we know Jesus Christ?  I am not saying know about him, but do we know our Savior?  How can we really know our Savior?

Justice and Mercy

Rules are great and terrible, depends on which side you are on.  They are important to keep us safe, and they allow us to grow.  What happens if rules are established that we can't possibly live up to?  We are all found in this predicament.  The rules are the rules of Heaven.  We all agreed to live them before we even came to earth, so that we could have a chance to progress.  The problem is that in order to succeed we have to be perfect.  If we can't do it, how can it be paid in full?  I was reading through some old Ensigns the other night, one talk really caught my attention.  I have included a quote from it.  The talk is from James E. Faust.  It's title is, The Atonement: Our Greatest Hope.  This part really stuck out to me:

Sick and Tired

For the past few days I have been sick.  It is no fun being sick.  I have a cold; the sore throat is not any fun.  I have been takeing medicine, but I still don't know what is wrong.  The weather has been really cold.  This isn't helping my cause.  I think I need to figure out something different to get rid of this.  Maybe I need to recoup.  On this same subject, I would like to address those of us who may be sick and tired, spiritually, who haven't been able to find help.  To get better takes medicine, it takes change, and it takes time.  Just like what I am going through with the cold, concoring spiritual sickness takes this too.

The Greatest Act Ever Done

I wish to write about the Atonement.  This is the single most important act in all human history.  There is so much I could say about this, but I will only write just a little.  With reverence I wish to address this topic.  First I would like to address why it is so important.  Jacob, a Prophet from the Book of Mormon, wrote,

"Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more. O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more. " (2 Nephi 9:7-8)