First Presidency Message

Sharing the gospel.I should be praying every day to meet someone who is prepared to recieve the gospel. Missionary work is great, but not as difficult as I make it. All I need is to be close to the spirit.

A is for attitude.

We can’t direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.

B is for belief.

...in yourself, ppl, and eternal principles. You can achieve what you believe you can. Trust and believe and have faith.

C is for Courage.

Courage is required to make the thrust toward your goals. Captain Moroni had courage. He mounted his title of Liberty with courage.

Stake Conference Notes

Our stake conference way way good this past weekend! Here are some of the key points:
1. Be an actor, not acted upon. Nephi was an actor but Lamen and Lemual were reactors. Take initiative and go and do!
2. Be less concerned about looking good and more concerned about how Heavenly Father looks at you. Wanting to look good often hinders us from doing what the Lord wants us to do: say hi to someone even if we forgot their name; talk to someone even though you are embarrased of saying something wrong.
3. In marriage, just say, your right. And never raise your voice in marriage-there's no need.
4. Learn to listen to the right spirit. There will be whisperings to give up, but that is not the Holy Ghost, he does not know that word. Even though a voice might make you feel calmed down, it could be the adversary giving you a false sence of security. To the spirit, if you do not make a temple session, it is not because you did not try! To the adversary, it is ok to give up because there's no point in being frustrated trying to get there and then you may not even make it anyway. Pick out these different voices and listen to the one that says, TRY.
5. Callings are never meant to separate a marriage. They will only bring a marriage closer. As one or both of a couple gets closer to the Lord, they will get closer together.

So my goals for today:
1. Listen to that voice that says, TRY TRY TRY!!! with all your heart. And recognize the give up voice and knock it out of my head.
2. Take initiative and not be lazy or negative, but positive and faithful
3. Keep the spirit with me all day.

I am thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life! The focus on persoal progression is amazing!

Trial

I realized that trial does not mean something bad is going on in your life. Trial means your faith is being put to the test, or something is being put to the test. It has nothing to do with what is going on externally in our world. The only way it correlates to the world is how something in the world might trigger an inner trying of our faith. Someone can have a tragic thing in life happen and that is merely where we see the faith come to fruition or not. Faith is built in the everyday life and apparent in times of trial, which do not even have to be triggered by anything external. These thoughts come from James 1:2-4. Interestingly these are the verses that proceed the verses that encouraged Joseph's first vision. Joseph was tempted in the first vision, and trials continued flowing all his life thereafter. But we only saw the great strength that had be manifest.

"My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into temptation. Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." _James 5:2-4

My favorite part of this verse is the end where it states that if you let faith work patience in you, you will not want anything and you will be "entire". Right now in my life I have huge tendencies to fill incomplete in life-negative, ungrateful, bitter, sad, jealous, slothful, etc. This feeling of incompletion can only be fulfilled through the atonement of Jesus Christ.

My new motto is...No Bad Thoughts. I used a motto similar to this last year at school, to not think any bad thoughts of others. And it was life changing! And made life beautiful, and let so much love into my life. I knew the next step up was to not think any bad thoughts, but thought of what an impossibility that would be for me. Now that I have accomplished my first motto, I know I can do the second. It will help turn around my negative attitude. I need an attitude change, this I know for sure. And I'm not gonna sit around and wait for something to change around me, because even if it does, my attitude won't change with it. I have to clean the inner vessel first.

January 8, 2011. "our Very Survival" by David R. Duncan

1. obey the prophets-its the only sure way to happiness.

2. The prophets speaking to me is basically God speaking to me.

3. Living prophet more vital to us than the written works.

4. The prophet doesnt have to say "thus sayeth the Lord" to give us instruction.

What has the prophet(s) insturcted me to do?

Get a good education; be financially frugal and smart; focus on what is most important and that is those around me; strengthen home and family by working on my relationships with others especially those in my family; temple marriage; be spiritually clean; fear God more than man

"the Word is Commitment" by Marvin J. Ashton

1. "Be something, Abe"
2. We should be anxiously engaged in a good cause and DO many good things of their own free will and bring to pass much righteousness.
3. He who does not do anything until he is commanded the same is damned.
4. In setting our own goals we need to consider our own needs and abilities.

• What are my own needs and abilities: 1. good ability to say no and stay away and feel good about it 2. i need rewards frequently 3. I need to feel good about myself and that i am accomplishing my goals. 4. I need to feel like I am not being too harsh on myself nor living too rigidly and unrelaxedly. 5. I need to feel like I am a free spirit and do what I want to

1. "The direction in which we are moving is more important than where we are at the moment."
2. Don't blame your failures on other people or external sources.
3. is it I? Am I sufficiently committed to righteous goals?
4. William Clement Stone, a Chicago millionaire, in an interview said, “Only if you have drive, the push, ‘the want to’ will you succeed in any field.”
5. Why do we do the things we do? Positive motivation is the best. Being fully committed to the gospel bring joy, satisfaction and the abundant life.
6. Dale Carnegie once said if you are not going in the direction of becoming the person you want to be, then you are in the direction of becoming the person you do not want to be.
7. Realize that God will judge you based on your use of all your possibilities.
8. Making the decision or declaration of a goal, does not constitute your success or commitment to it and does not make you committed to it.
9. Once you become wholly committed to something, you will find help from sources you never even knew existed. The Lord says that he does not give any one a commandment except he prepares a way for them to accomplish it.
10. Ashton relates a story about a five year old boy who fell out of his bed at night and came running to his mom's bedside and when she asked him why he fell out, he responded, "Because I wasn't in far enough." We can see a similar pattern in people who fall out of commitments, like the gospel. It is because they were not in far enough.
11. What makes the difference between those who are committed and uncommitted is the words want and will. "I want to be a good student but I want to have fun too." " I will be a good student." "I want to have a successful career but I have really bad grades." "I will have a successful career."
12. From this talk, I learned that I need to be more committed by thinking "I will" rather than "I want". I am also reminded of the quote from Inception, when a character remarks, "You musn't be afraid to dream bigger, love." If I am not "in far enough" in my endeavors (which should be good causes), then i make it easier for myself to fall out. Also, if I am not on the path that is leading to being the person I want to become, then I am going in the direction of becoming the person I do not want to become. We must set small, obtainable goals every day that will help us master the art of goal reaching and then that will help us in accomplishing the bigger goals. I should try to use "want" less and replace it with "will". I am going to try to recognize throughout the day where I say i want to when i should say i will. I know goal setting is a righteous endeavor and actually crucial to our eternal salvation. If we cannot accomplish goals, we cannot return to our heavenly father.

Faith in Jesus Christ, by Elder Pearson

1. If we want more faith, we must be more obedient.
2. Do not be casual or situational in obeying God's commandments.
3. Faith requires exact obedience in even the small simple things.
4. Desire, hope, and belief are forms of faith but faith as a principle of power comes from consistent behavior and attitudes.
5. You can have spiritual power with faith.
6. The eye of faith: ability to focus and be steadfast, nothing wavering, holding fast to gospel principles.
7. However, there is opposition in all things. Because we can act for ourselves and must be enticed by one other the other (decisions).
8. If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believe th. Faith and fear cannot co-exist.
9. Faith as a grain of a mustard seed.
10. Net faith= faith - doubt - fear - disbelief
11. doubt leads to discouragement and greater difficulty following the spirit.
12. Distraction eliminates the focus the eye of faith requires. It also leads to a lack of diligence. Disappointment does not have to lead to doubt or distraction.
13. Disbelief is choosing to harden one's heart and be past feeling.
14. God lives and loves each of us his children. Jesus Christ is our savior and redeemer. He lives. And becuase of that there is always hope smiling brightly before us.
15. Choose to live by faith and not fear!
16. AMEN!