quotes and misc items from the back of my missionary scripture set

i've recently decided to focus on transferring my "highlights" from my missionary scripture set to my lds 'notes and journal' which is on-line.  i've already completed my 'book of mormon inspection' via blog, but now i'm going back and transferring all my highlights and sidebar comments from my physical set of scriptures to my digital set.

as i've been doing this, i've found lots of little inserts and other quotes either sitting in the set or written in.  i figured i could transfer these to a single post and have them placed here on this blog.  each "item" is detailed below between the asterisks.

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taken from elder loren c dunn's article in the june 1995 ensign: elder marion g romney said, "a testimony comes when the holy ghost gives the earnest seek a witness of the truth.  a moving testimony vitalizes faith; that is, it induces repentance and obedience to the commandments.  conversion, on the other hand, is the fruit of, or the reward for, repentance and obedience.  (of course ones testimony continues to increase as he is converted)“Conversion is effected by divine forgiveness, which remits sins. The sequence is something like this. An honest seeker hears the message. He asks the Lord in prayer if it is true. The Holy Spirit gives him a witness. This is a testimony. If one’s testimony is strong enough, he repents and obeys the commandments. By such obedience he receives divine forgiveness which remits sin. Thus he is converted to a newness of life. His spirit is healed.” (see conference report october 1963)

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 i did have one non-quote item in my scriptures that i kept from december 1996 ... back then, we had to actually use pens and pencils and paper to write letters.  we then had to fold the paper and put it in an envelop and mail it off which required postage.  from guatemala, we would send our letters to the mission office who would put all the letters in a pouch which got delivered to salt lake city.  the contents of the pouch were then dumped in the u.s. postal service system.  so my letters to my family in the u.s. only cost me $.32 (compared to $.49 today).  my family would send me books of stamps so i could write them back.  i kept one stamp from december 1996.  why did i keep it?  not exactly sure, but whenever i look at this stamp, i get these warm nostalgic feelings - a reminder of home, i guess.

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one quote is in spanish and is attributed to "dr. cristian barnard", but when i found the quote on-line, it is actually attributed to walter wintle.  regardless, i like the quote.
If you think you are beaten, you are,
If you think you dare not, you don’t.
If you like to win, but you think you can’t,
It is almost certain you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost,
For out in the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow’s will.
It’s all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are,
You’ve got to think high to rise,
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man.
But soon or late the man who wins,
Is the man who thinks he can.

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i had a clipping from a church news article (August 31, 1996) that summarized the various reasons people serve.  this was from a talk given by elder dallin h oaks from the october 1984 general conference.  here is the link to the whole talk: why do we serve?

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some hand-written notes ... not sure where they came from ... maybe from a talk given at a zone conference.
at the top is the thought: there must be law or government from a supreme being for happiness to exist.

below that thought i have the word LAW circled.  below is a line to two columns:
disobey - action - obey
punishment - consequence - blessing
misery - feelings - happiness

other notes
through diligent study, faith & prayer we gain knowledge.
knowledge allows us to decide wisely - to choose consequences.
we must decide what we want to receive.
who or what makes us act?  we must be given choices and then choose
satan - enticement/agency - god

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another couple of quotes; i got these from the church news as well.
the english writer william thackeray put it this way: to endure is greater than to dare; to tire out hostile fortune; to be daunted by no difficulty, to keep heart when all have lost it; to go through intrigue spotless, to forego even ambition when the end is gained - who can say this is not greatness? (the virginians)

henry wadsworth longfellow wrote a few lines that are frequently quoted:
the heights by great men reached and kept
were not attained by sudden flight,
but they, while their companions slept
were toiling upward in the night
(the ladder of st. augustine)

***

another non-quote item ... this is from my parents who were serving in the prague czech republic mission at the same time.  they were on a church education mission, helping set up institutes and seminaries in central europe.  my mom wanted to show me they were trying to memorize section 4 in the czech language.

Willing Heart

After reading my cousin's wife's post about Helman 6:36, I wrote some additional commentary on my Book of Mormon Inspection blog ... you can read the whole entry here.

This is what I added:

Hardened vs. Willing Heart

This morning, I read a blog post by my cousin's wife about her thoughts on Helaman 6:36. She had some really good insight into this verse. So I read Helaman 6:36 as well as the preceding two verses.

Mormon contrasts the hardened Nephites with the willing Lamanites. Helaman 6:34-36 says, "And thus we see that the Nephites did begin to dwindle in unbelief, and grow in wickedness and abominations, while the Lamanites began to grow exceedingly in the knowledge of their God; yea, they did begin to keep his statutes and commandments, and to walk in truth and uprightness before him.

"And thus we see that the Spirit of the Lord began to withdraw from the Nephites, because of the wickedness and the hardness of their hearts.

"And thus we see that the Lord began to pour out his Spirit upon the Lamanites, because of their easiness and willingness to believe in his words."

She cross-referenced the word "willingness" to Exodus 25:2 and 2 Corinthians 8:12. Then she noted that "willingly" in Exodus 25:2 is cross-referenced to the Topical Guide entry of Initiative. She comments, "Do I take the initiative to ask and find out what the Lord wants, rather then wait till the last minute and decide to follow him when things get difficult, or complain and make excuses? I have experienced both scenarios and I can say that I have felt the blessings of taking the initiative and being willing. Not only do I experience great blessings but my faith is strengthened."

Regarding taking the initiative in keeping the commandment and following the will of God, there are two people who are great examples of keeping this counsel … President Henry B. Eyring and our current stake president Gary Riding.

When President Eyring was called to the Apostleship, there was an article in the September 1995 Ensign that talked about his life. There are two sentences I remember from this article. In talking about his father Matthew Eyring said, "My father has told us that there are two things that he prays for every night. The first is, ‘What blessings do I have that I am not aware of?’ and the second is, ‘Whom can I help?’ And,” Matthew adds, “Dad says there has never been a day that his prayers haven’t been answered.” (Gerald N. Lund, “Elder Henry B. Eyring: Molded by ‘Defining Influences’,” Ensign, Sep 1995, 10)

I am such a laid back person that I’m afraid I feel pretty content with what I have been blessed with. But after rereading part of that quote and also what my cousin's wife said, I wonder how many blessings the Lord has for my family and me that I have not asked for. In her post she says, "I think sometimes it is easy to say, "I don't want any more or I have all that I need." I have met many people who have said this. When we have a willing mind, then I believe our minds are enlightened and the power of the Spirit is able to expand our learning and knowledge."

The other person who I think takes the initiative is our stake president Gary Riding. I have heard him speak on more than one occasion of how he prays for guidance from the Lord. Like President Eyring, he specifically asks the Lord what he needs to do that day … who he can serve. Then he would proceed to give examples of how his prayers have been answered.

One example of his that I remember is when he was jogging through the park and came across a man who seemed to be in mental anguish. President Riding felt inspired to stop and talk to the man. I don't remember all the details, but I think the man was having some marital and other problems in his life. A missionary moment ensued and the man was later baptized. After President Riding finished his talk, the man stood up and testified how his life was changed because of President Riding's prayers and his willingness to listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost.

So I guess the personal application here is that I need to be more earnest in my prayers, have a willing heart … be willing to accept the Lord's will and then do it, and then be diligent in seeking the Lord's will through daily and constant prayer. Then I need to recognize and heed the promptings of the Holy Ghost through the course of the day. And in order to recognize those promptings, I need to listen. In the July 2008 Ensign in another article about President Eyring, he teaches, "The key to hearing those answers and knowing that God has an interest in our lives, he says, is to develop a listening ear. “We’ve got to be quiet and listen. In my life, when I have failed to receive a clear feeling or have missed the voice of the Spirit, it is because I was too busy, too noisy inside, and too full of my own world.” (Robert D. Hales, “President Henry B. Eyring: Called of God,” Ensign, Jul 2008, 8–15)

Recent Conversion Story

Every once in a while, I do a blog search for the phrase "Book of Mormon" Most of the links it returns are positive meaning they're pro-BoM. Today I ran accross this little conversion story:

After much soul searching, scripture reading, and prayer Ive decided to be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Ive came along way in my search for Truth. I was an atheist working at a group home for at risk youth working the night shift. I had a young kid that would relive past molestations when he slept at night. I called out for God to help him. That was around six years ago and from that time on I have been studying the Bible and trying to find God's will for my life. I have went through different stages on my quest. I studied "Things that Differ" and "The Plot" at one point. And attended a few Baptist Churches. Then I saw the power of God in a "Oneness" Church called Truth Tabernacle. I went there for a year learning all I could. Finally one day helping my Dad clean out his house I came upon a Book of Mormon. He told me to throw it away, but I asked for it instead. He gave it to me and I started reading it. I liked it so much I orderded a Triple Combination off of ebay and was reading a lot every night at work. I asked God if the Book of Mormon was true, and felt a warmth descend on me. A few days later the missionaries were out tracking and happened upon my house. It was two sister missionaries. They said that they were not going to come inside because I have a fenced in yard and a dog. But one of the sisters felt the Holy Ghost leading her and told the other sister that they had to knock on my door. I had no idea that Mormons came door to door at the time and was shocked that they had come to my house. I thought they were local church members but later found out they came from California and Idaho to Indiana to teach the Gospel. This was in November of last year. I have went to Church, had many lessons by a few different missionaries, ate and had classes with other members. Fought with my parents and girlfriend over going to the Mormon Church. After much pondering and study I can no longer deny the testimony in my heart. The Book of Mormon is true, Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, Gordon Hinckley is the Prophet today, and Jesus Christ is the head of the LDS Church. I have a deep desire to be baptized, and to follow the commandments of the Lord. I pray that everyone on this board gives the Book of Mormon a read through and prays about it. The Church of Christ has been Restored. God is Good.

It's interesting to note that the author is from Indiana. Perhaps the Book of Mormon his dad had in the garage came from Bookslinger whose blog (Flooding the Earth With the Book of Mormon) is about how he distributes dozens (if not hundreds) of copies of the Book of Mormon ... Bookslinger lives in Indiana.

Today At Church

A lot of the times at church (Sunday meetings) I am really occupied with tending to our kids and getting things ready for my calling. I don't have a whole lot of time to focus on the spiritual. It is a sad commentary on today's church. We're so busy that we often don't make time to listen to the Spirit at church.

But other times, like today, I "get" a few things out of the meetings.

Missionary Marathon

The first one was from a sister's testimony. She ran a marathon last month. Despite being on Sunday, the marathon proved to a be a spiritual experience for her as well as a missionary opportunity. She said that she didn't know anyone at the race and it was at mile 7 before she talked to anyone. This other lady jogged up next to the sister and they started talking. By mile 21, they had had a somewhat deep conversation about religion. The sister was able to tell this other lady about the LDS church. The other lady was so impressed that she decided to check out LDS.org when she got home that day. It was a really neat testimony and I learned that no matter what you're doing or where you are, there are missionary opportunities to be had.

Service

The second significant event happened in Priesthood. Sunday School was good too, but since I was teaching and was so nervous, I don't remember a whole lot. But in Priesthood meeting, we were discussing a talk given by President Faust. His talk was entitled "Spiritual Nutrients." One of the nutrients is service. The teacher gave this example of when he was a teenager about how they gathered a bunch of food and gifts and then took them to an orphanage south of Tiajuana, Mexico. As soon as he mentioned that, I remembered the time I went to TJ.

It was my first Christmas home from my mission. I served in Central America and learned to speak Spanish. I was in San Diego for Christmas with my brother and his family. One day we rounded up a ton of gifts and then drove to TJ to an orphanage. I remember crossing the border and then seeing all the Latin buildings ... it was like I was back in Central America. We arrived at the orphanage and distributed the gifts and then sat around and played with and talked to the kids. I remember holding a few younger kids and reading them some books in Spanish. My brother and his wife speak Spanish too, so it was really neat for all of us to speak freely with those orphans and nuns who ran it.

But that memory lit a small fire in my heart. I remembered how much fun it was to serve others and to see the smiles on their faces. That memory gave me more desires to find opportunities to serve.

Today was a good day at Church.