"I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.
We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before
us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask what is
our policy? I will say: It is to wage war, by sea, land, and air, with
all our might and with all our strength that God can give us. . . .That
is our policy. You ask, What is our aim? I can answer in one word:
Victory--victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror; victory,
however long and hard the road may be." [Churchill: the Life Triumphant, American Heritage, 1965, p. 90]
Doesn't that get you just pumped up?!?!?!?!
Whatever good thing we face in life, there's always some sort of problem or challenge attached to it. It's guaranteed for the most part. "When you pick up one end of the stick, you pick up the other". Sure...a lot of the time you can endure while kicking and screaming until you're blue in the face and then after a while it subsides. For anyone that has any sort of friends, you all know that that is the waaaaaay hard path to take. It gets you there, but causing grief to you and others. Surprisingly, it is easy to avoid. (For someone like me who has been known as a big worrier, this is definitely something i should take the advice of, huh?) It is in the HOW you face it and deal with it; that is how you grow and succeed.
(To start...i have some self-incriminating. Recognizing my weaknesses right away isn't a sign of putting myself down, it's just making myself aware of something to work on.)
-When it comes to failing a test or an assignment, i get upset but i get over it soon after.
-When it comes to not landing a job that i want, again...i get upset but i get over it soon after.
-When it comes to dating and getting turned down......yeeeaaahhhh....not so much that soon after.
While i have my "Captain Obvious" cape on, i'll just say that im a vocal person certain facets. Particularly in competitive circumstances and when i'm being stubborn. When disappointment hits in areas such as dating, my family and friends and many-a-roommate have heard about it...many times, to say the least.
While being back home in Colorado for the week break before the Spring semester starts, i've done a lot of sitting and staring off into space; to contemplate of course...And while looking ahead to the next semester, im working on curbing my attitude when it comes to dating disappointments. Just recently, i learned about another situation where i got my ticket down to the "friend zone", where i have been a frequent visitor in the past. At first, it was a little bit bummed out, but minutes later after processing it, i came to terms with it. Why? Well why not? If that was going to happen, then there's nothing i can do about it. I'm not going to beg or plead for a change of mind. It's a "Dang...but, oh well!" Gotta move on, simple as that.
Some things tend to take awhile for my mind to soak it all in, but when it does it usually stays there.
There's a quote from my oldest brother's high school graduation many years ago with a line at the end that says: "I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how i react to it."
To dig into the Book of Mormon, there's the story of Laman and Lemuel. Sure, they made the trip from Jerusalem to the wilderness, back to Jerusalem, back into the wilderness for the next 8 years and then a boat ride to the Promised Land...but we read how whiny and a bunch of murmuring pansies they were. They endured through the challenges, but not well. When Joseph Smith was incarcerated in Liberty Jail through a freezing Missouri winter, the Lord told him "if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes". (Doctrine & Covenants 121:8) Although the conditions sucked, he did endure it well and was taught many revelatory things by the Lord.
So the lesson i want to learn here is...just enjoy the show. Things come and go and happen for a reason. No need to give myself an ulcer constantly showing anger or emotion. Yeah, it'll show at first, but quickly getting over it is the goal. Speaking of "just enjoy the show", i took that from watching Moneyball the other night. To be more scriptural:
"Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed."
So...Just Enjoy the Show.
Yep, that's us :)
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Saturday, April 7, 2012
What to say?
So i wrote a blog the other day about the end of the semester and what i learned and hope to accomplish this coming semester. Since then, i havent had much really to say or share!!!! WHAT?!?!
Which leaves me with this...what should i share about?
-It could be about my trip back to Colorado for the week. Yesterday was a reeeeeeeeeeeeeally long day. Got up super early to shower and finish up packing. On top of that, i had a bunch of my stuff from under my bed to put on top of my bed so that i wouldnt get in trouble with those sneaky Idaho White Glove people. Adding to that, i woke up and found out it was snowing after having a couple of gorgeous days in Rexburg....dang. I got all ready and headed out. Might i add and repeat once more for those who don't already know, i HATE driving through Wyoming. It's basically Kansas with mountains. Plus, when i stopped to get gas in Kemmerer, WY i got some basic beef jerky (Jack Links, baby) so i could eat on the go. No price tag on it didn't immediately tell me "hey, this is sketchy". When i bought it....$7!!! SERIOUSLY?!?!?!?! Paying that price it should've been the best dang jerky ever, and it wasn't!!!! Curse you, Kemmerer. But after 11 long hours i made it home to enjoy some Qdoba and watch the Muppets movie.
OR MAYBE I COULD SHARE...
-Today i reunited my mouth and stomach to the amazing heavenly taste of Blue Bell ice cream. I got my favorite flavor, too: Southern Blackberry Cobbler. AND it was $3 off at King Soopers so it only cost $3.99 for a whole half gallon! YEESSSSS!!!! And i also found out that underneath all that dirt and grime from the drive through the Idaho snow and Wyoming wind, my van is green afterall!
PERHAPS MAYBE THIS...
-I'm in definite "what is gonna happen this semester?" mode. I'll sit and stare out into space and try to think and overthink, but not too much. I know i've said much about that as well as dating, so i will try to not include that one here, haha. Besides i need some of that material once the semester is actually underway!
OR IT JUST MIGHT BE THIS...
-Easter is tomorrow, and we get to commemorate and celebrate the Resurrection of the Savior, Jesus Christ. That event gave me and you and you and you and you and you and everyone the ability to be resurrected after this life. It was the capstone on the Atonement, which is awesome in of itself. Gives you hope that in spite of the fact that life gets really hard and confusing sometimes, it really all works out in the end. Once again, i'll share an Elder Holland quote.
"My testimony to you this morning is that God does live and good does triumph. This is the true and living Church of the true and living Christ. And because of him and the restored gospel and the work of living prophets---there is for each of us individually and for all of us collectively, if we stay fixed and faithful in our purpose, a great final moment somewhere when we will stand with the angels "in the presence of God, on a globe like a sea of glass and fire, where all things for [our] glory are manifest, past, present, and future" (D&C 130:7). That is a triumphant day for which I dearly long, and for which I earnestly pray for all of you. To earn the right to be there may we, as Alma said, "stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that [we] may be in, even until death" (Mosiah 18:9) (Jeffrey R. Holland, "The Bitter Cup and the Bloody Baptism, Jan. 1987)
So what will i share and talk about?
Nothing, really. I just rambled on and on.
But kudos to you for staying and actually reading it all.
...You're welcome :)
Which leaves me with this...what should i share about?
-It could be about my trip back to Colorado for the week. Yesterday was a reeeeeeeeeeeeeally long day. Got up super early to shower and finish up packing. On top of that, i had a bunch of my stuff from under my bed to put on top of my bed so that i wouldnt get in trouble with those sneaky Idaho White Glove people. Adding to that, i woke up and found out it was snowing after having a couple of gorgeous days in Rexburg....dang. I got all ready and headed out. Might i add and repeat once more for those who don't already know, i HATE driving through Wyoming. It's basically Kansas with mountains. Plus, when i stopped to get gas in Kemmerer, WY i got some basic beef jerky (Jack Links, baby) so i could eat on the go. No price tag on it didn't immediately tell me "hey, this is sketchy". When i bought it....$7!!! SERIOUSLY?!?!?!?! Paying that price it should've been the best dang jerky ever, and it wasn't!!!! Curse you, Kemmerer. But after 11 long hours i made it home to enjoy some Qdoba and watch the Muppets movie.
OR MAYBE I COULD SHARE...
-Today i reunited my mouth and stomach to the amazing heavenly taste of Blue Bell ice cream. I got my favorite flavor, too: Southern Blackberry Cobbler. AND it was $3 off at King Soopers so it only cost $3.99 for a whole half gallon! YEESSSSS!!!! And i also found out that underneath all that dirt and grime from the drive through the Idaho snow and Wyoming wind, my van is green afterall!
PERHAPS MAYBE THIS...
-I'm in definite "what is gonna happen this semester?" mode. I'll sit and stare out into space and try to think and overthink, but not too much. I know i've said much about that as well as dating, so i will try to not include that one here, haha. Besides i need some of that material once the semester is actually underway!
OR IT JUST MIGHT BE THIS...
-Easter is tomorrow, and we get to commemorate and celebrate the Resurrection of the Savior, Jesus Christ. That event gave me and you and you and you and you and you and everyone the ability to be resurrected after this life. It was the capstone on the Atonement, which is awesome in of itself. Gives you hope that in spite of the fact that life gets really hard and confusing sometimes, it really all works out in the end. Once again, i'll share an Elder Holland quote.
"My testimony to you this morning is that God does live and good does triumph. This is the true and living Church of the true and living Christ. And because of him and the restored gospel and the work of living prophets---there is for each of us individually and for all of us collectively, if we stay fixed and faithful in our purpose, a great final moment somewhere when we will stand with the angels "in the presence of God, on a globe like a sea of glass and fire, where all things for [our] glory are manifest, past, present, and future" (D&C 130:7). That is a triumphant day for which I dearly long, and for which I earnestly pray for all of you. To earn the right to be there may we, as Alma said, "stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that [we] may be in, even until death" (Mosiah 18:9) (Jeffrey R. Holland, "The Bitter Cup and the Bloody Baptism, Jan. 1987)
So what will i share and talk about?
Nothing, really. I just rambled on and on.
But kudos to you for staying and actually reading it all.
...You're welcome :)
Thursday, April 5, 2012
"The Semesters: Off-Track"
Sounds like a movie title, doesn't it?
Right now i should be packing and doing my Idaho White Glove cleaning since i head home for a week in the morning, but i need some kind of distraction. So how charming...a blog entry will do. Since the beginning of the my first semester Fall 2010, i end each one with a little summary of things i accomplished and what i want to do for the coming semester. The second one for Spring 2011 was totally BS-ed, so i won't revert to that for this one. But i actually do have a few things, even though i was off-track.
If i had to come up with a choice of words to sum this last few months would be this: "gut check". Both good and bad happened...
-A got a really good job at a developmental disability care center working with some awesome people. It has opened my eyes of understanding to those who have developmental disabilities and how challenging it must be for there care-takers, who spend countless hours with them.
-I was called to be the executive secretary in my ward and got to meet and become familiar with most people in my ward and make a lot of new friends
-This was the best semester i've had so far with having roommates, we all got along great. All but one are returning for Spring (give 'em heaven in France, Blake) We might lose up to three in the Fall because of mission plans and two possible marriages, but we'll see on those last two.
However, the big moment came when i was broken up with back in January. Most of you are familiar with this, so i'll end it right here.
The happened at the beginning of the semester, and it set me back quite a bit. Only lately have i been coming back out of my shell and being my complete self. *Fingers Crossed* that it continues.
So what do i want to do differently for Spring 2012?
-Be more organized and planned out. I'll have work, school, church calling, and a social life....YES IT IS POSSIBLE PEOPLE!!! It just has to be planned out and scheduled. Im not one to hide myself in my room doing nothing but homework. By being balanced out, i get to be greedy and have all four. The trick i want to do is to be "effective" in all the categories, not just skim across them just to say that i did them all. I want to be magnifying my calling, do well on my school work, continue to have my job and operate at a good level, and have meaningful dates.
-Speaking of dating, i want to get back out there and date. Now that im crawling back out of my shell, i need to be a bit proactive. I WILL NOT BE A DATE-MONGER! I do not believe that going on tons of dates with tons of girls just for the heck of it to be affective. I want to date, get to know personally, and then see what goes from there. I'm pretty excited to see what can happen.
-Be a better home-teacher. I barely got to know the guys i home taught, and i visited the girls and made sure i got the "at least 1 visit a month" deal, but i want to be more than that. I want to be a home-teacher that is a friend and can be counted on to help.
Not to be anti-climatic, but thats about the gist of what i want to do. So many other little details will happen, but i can only type and procrastinate cleaning for so long.
Well Mr. Off-track, i wont miss you too terribly. Lets get Spring going good
Right now i should be packing and doing my Idaho White Glove cleaning since i head home for a week in the morning, but i need some kind of distraction. So how charming...a blog entry will do. Since the beginning of the my first semester Fall 2010, i end each one with a little summary of things i accomplished and what i want to do for the coming semester. The second one for Spring 2011 was totally BS-ed, so i won't revert to that for this one. But i actually do have a few things, even though i was off-track.
If i had to come up with a choice of words to sum this last few months would be this: "gut check". Both good and bad happened...
-A got a really good job at a developmental disability care center working with some awesome people. It has opened my eyes of understanding to those who have developmental disabilities and how challenging it must be for there care-takers, who spend countless hours with them.
-I was called to be the executive secretary in my ward and got to meet and become familiar with most people in my ward and make a lot of new friends
-This was the best semester i've had so far with having roommates, we all got along great. All but one are returning for Spring (give 'em heaven in France, Blake) We might lose up to three in the Fall because of mission plans and two possible marriages, but we'll see on those last two.
However, the big moment came when i was broken up with back in January. Most of you are familiar with this, so i'll end it right here.
The happened at the beginning of the semester, and it set me back quite a bit. Only lately have i been coming back out of my shell and being my complete self. *Fingers Crossed* that it continues.
So what do i want to do differently for Spring 2012?
-Be more organized and planned out. I'll have work, school, church calling, and a social life....YES IT IS POSSIBLE PEOPLE!!! It just has to be planned out and scheduled. Im not one to hide myself in my room doing nothing but homework. By being balanced out, i get to be greedy and have all four. The trick i want to do is to be "effective" in all the categories, not just skim across them just to say that i did them all. I want to be magnifying my calling, do well on my school work, continue to have my job and operate at a good level, and have meaningful dates.
-Speaking of dating, i want to get back out there and date. Now that im crawling back out of my shell, i need to be a bit proactive. I WILL NOT BE A DATE-MONGER! I do not believe that going on tons of dates with tons of girls just for the heck of it to be affective. I want to date, get to know personally, and then see what goes from there. I'm pretty excited to see what can happen.
-Be a better home-teacher. I barely got to know the guys i home taught, and i visited the girls and made sure i got the "at least 1 visit a month" deal, but i want to be more than that. I want to be a home-teacher that is a friend and can be counted on to help.
Not to be anti-climatic, but thats about the gist of what i want to do. So many other little details will happen, but i can only type and procrastinate cleaning for so long.
Well Mr. Off-track, i wont miss you too terribly. Lets get Spring going good
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Not a question of "what if"...
I've had this song stuck in my head all day, plus i've sung to tons of people too...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5_y0s-COl8
But anyways...the other day when playing some basketball at the apartment again, i was musing with a friend of mine about when i came home from the mission about 2 1/2 years ago and plans i had in mind at that time. I thought back to the time that i had so much that i was "going to" accomplish when i got home. They were:
-Marrying the girl i was writing the whole time and then...
-get a job ASAP so i could...
-Go to BYU-Idaho in Spring 2010
Sounds fine with a young, naive RM back in 2009, right? I sure thought so. How the plans really worked out:
-Got let go by the girl i was writing the very next day being home on Facebook, and then...
-took 9 months to get a job, by then i couldn't...
-Go to BYU-Idaho in Spring 2010, but had to wait til Fall 2010, in total waiting 15 months to come here.
In 2012, i've accepted these changes a looooong time ago, so this is not a blog about how i wish they had worked out. Don't get confused. But this did give me some kind of idea like this: where would have my life been had it gone that way, instead of where it is now?
When i pass away some day and have my lovely wife and children and all my earthly experiences with me as i approach the awaiting glories of eternity, i'll be pretty happy where my life took me to that point. All my experiences would have made me the person that i am with no regrets. I hope to not be like the quote i heard from a mission companion once: "Hell is the person you are meeting the person you could've become."
But when i think about it, what if the other choices has happened instead of the things that are meant to happen? Where would my life be? Where would it have gone differently? Would i have a different career choice? And so on...
If i did get married to her, i might not have come to BYU-I. If i got accepted to school in spring instead of fall, then i wouldnt have been able to have the roommates i had and the friends i made that fall semester. A job really early might have stunted the spiritual growth i needed by attending institute all that time. This whole thing reminds me of a talk looooooonnnnngggg ago by Hugh B. Brown, who was an apostle in the Church many years ago. He gave a talk called, "The Currant Bush" regarding changes...
"You sometimes wonder whether the Lord really knows what he ought to do with you. You sometimes wonder if you know better than he does about what you ought to do and ought to become. I am wondering if I may tell you a story that I have told quite often in the Church. It is a story that is older than you are. It’s a piece out of my own life, and I’ve told it in many stakes and missions. It has to do with an incident in my life when God showed me that he knew best.
I was living up in Canada. I had purchased a farm. It was run-down. I went out one morning and saw a currant bush. It had grown up over six feet high. It was going all to wood. There were no blossoms and no currants. I was raised on a fruit farm in Salt Lake before we went to Canada, and I knew what ought to happen to that currant bush. So I got some pruning shears and went after it, and I cut it down, and pruned it, and clipped it back until there was nothing left but a little clump of stumps. It was just coming daylight, and I thought I saw on top of each of these little stumps what appeared to be a tear, and I thought the currant bush was crying. I was kind of simpleminded (and I haven’t entirely gotten over it), and I looked at it, and smiled, and said, “What are you crying about?” You know, I thought I heard that currant bush talk. And I thought I heard it say this: “How could you do this to me? I was making such wonderful growth. I was almost as big as the shade tree and the fruit tree that are inside the fence, and now you have cut me down. Every plant in the garden will look down on me, because I didn’t make what I should have made. How could you do this to me? I thought you were the gardener here.” That’s what I thought I heard the currant bush say, and I thought it so much that I answered. I said, “Look, little currant bush, I am the gardener here, and I know what I want you to be. I didn’t intend you to be a fruit tree or a shade tree. I want you to be a currant bush, and some day, little currant bush, when you are laden with fruit, you are going to say, ‘Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for loving me enough to cut me down, for caring enough about me to hurt me. Thank you, Mr. Gardener.’ ”
...After having an experience where he was turned down for a huge promotion in the military for his religion, he felt that he should have had it; a "how could you do this to me, God?" moment. After coming to his senses, he concludes...
And then I heard a voice, and I recognized the tone of this voice. It was my own voice, and the voice said, “I am the gardener here. I know what I want you to do.” The bitterness went out of my soul, and I fell on my knees by the cot to ask forgiveness for my ungratefulness and my bitterness. While kneeling there I heard a song being sung in an adjoining tent. A number of Mormon boys met regularly every Tuesday night. I usually met with them. We would sit on the floor and have a Mutual Improvement Association. As I was kneeling there, praying for forgiveness, I heard their voices singing:
“It may not be on the mountain height
Or over the stormy sea;
It may not be at the battle’s front
My Lord will have need of me;
But if, by a still, small voice he calls
To paths that I do not know,
I’ll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in thine:
I’ll go where you want me to go.” (Hugh B. Brown, "The Currant Bush")
Makes sense now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5_y0s-COl8
But anyways...the other day when playing some basketball at the apartment again, i was musing with a friend of mine about when i came home from the mission about 2 1/2 years ago and plans i had in mind at that time. I thought back to the time that i had so much that i was "going to" accomplish when i got home. They were:
-Marrying the girl i was writing the whole time and then...
-get a job ASAP so i could...
-Go to BYU-Idaho in Spring 2010
Sounds fine with a young, naive RM back in 2009, right? I sure thought so. How the plans really worked out:
-Got let go by the girl i was writing the very next day being home on Facebook, and then...
-took 9 months to get a job, by then i couldn't...
-Go to BYU-Idaho in Spring 2010, but had to wait til Fall 2010, in total waiting 15 months to come here.
In 2012, i've accepted these changes a looooong time ago, so this is not a blog about how i wish they had worked out. Don't get confused. But this did give me some kind of idea like this: where would have my life been had it gone that way, instead of where it is now?
When i pass away some day and have my lovely wife and children and all my earthly experiences with me as i approach the awaiting glories of eternity, i'll be pretty happy where my life took me to that point. All my experiences would have made me the person that i am with no regrets. I hope to not be like the quote i heard from a mission companion once: "Hell is the person you are meeting the person you could've become."
But when i think about it, what if the other choices has happened instead of the things that are meant to happen? Where would my life be? Where would it have gone differently? Would i have a different career choice? And so on...
If i did get married to her, i might not have come to BYU-I. If i got accepted to school in spring instead of fall, then i wouldnt have been able to have the roommates i had and the friends i made that fall semester. A job really early might have stunted the spiritual growth i needed by attending institute all that time. This whole thing reminds me of a talk looooooonnnnngggg ago by Hugh B. Brown, who was an apostle in the Church many years ago. He gave a talk called, "The Currant Bush" regarding changes...
"You sometimes wonder whether the Lord really knows what he ought to do with you. You sometimes wonder if you know better than he does about what you ought to do and ought to become. I am wondering if I may tell you a story that I have told quite often in the Church. It is a story that is older than you are. It’s a piece out of my own life, and I’ve told it in many stakes and missions. It has to do with an incident in my life when God showed me that he knew best.
I was living up in Canada. I had purchased a farm. It was run-down. I went out one morning and saw a currant bush. It had grown up over six feet high. It was going all to wood. There were no blossoms and no currants. I was raised on a fruit farm in Salt Lake before we went to Canada, and I knew what ought to happen to that currant bush. So I got some pruning shears and went after it, and I cut it down, and pruned it, and clipped it back until there was nothing left but a little clump of stumps. It was just coming daylight, and I thought I saw on top of each of these little stumps what appeared to be a tear, and I thought the currant bush was crying. I was kind of simpleminded (and I haven’t entirely gotten over it), and I looked at it, and smiled, and said, “What are you crying about?” You know, I thought I heard that currant bush talk. And I thought I heard it say this: “How could you do this to me? I was making such wonderful growth. I was almost as big as the shade tree and the fruit tree that are inside the fence, and now you have cut me down. Every plant in the garden will look down on me, because I didn’t make what I should have made. How could you do this to me? I thought you were the gardener here.” That’s what I thought I heard the currant bush say, and I thought it so much that I answered. I said, “Look, little currant bush, I am the gardener here, and I know what I want you to be. I didn’t intend you to be a fruit tree or a shade tree. I want you to be a currant bush, and some day, little currant bush, when you are laden with fruit, you are going to say, ‘Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for loving me enough to cut me down, for caring enough about me to hurt me. Thank you, Mr. Gardener.’ ”
...After having an experience where he was turned down for a huge promotion in the military for his religion, he felt that he should have had it; a "how could you do this to me, God?" moment. After coming to his senses, he concludes...
And then I heard a voice, and I recognized the tone of this voice. It was my own voice, and the voice said, “I am the gardener here. I know what I want you to do.” The bitterness went out of my soul, and I fell on my knees by the cot to ask forgiveness for my ungratefulness and my bitterness. While kneeling there I heard a song being sung in an adjoining tent. A number of Mormon boys met regularly every Tuesday night. I usually met with them. We would sit on the floor and have a Mutual Improvement Association. As I was kneeling there, praying for forgiveness, I heard their voices singing:
“It may not be on the mountain height
Or over the stormy sea;
It may not be at the battle’s front
My Lord will have need of me;
But if, by a still, small voice he calls
To paths that I do not know,
I’ll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in thine:
I’ll go where you want me to go.” (Hugh B. Brown, "The Currant Bush")
Makes sense now.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Conference Lessons
Conference weekend just concluded, which gave many wonderful quotes and stuff to apply to my life (hence the reason for me typing right now) After Conference concluded, i figured i'd get a nice nap in and get to typing. Instead, after having my 5th ot 6th consecutive failed nap, i figure i better get started before i start to forget things.
For the last few years, i've done much better at watching all the sessions of Conference to get the full experience. It's a great time to do a self-check on myself and my own personal progress. Some of the talks given every session seem to be like personally made for me, like they're looking me straight in the eye through the tv going, "Ok Peter...here's some answers from the Lord that He knew you needed." It gives me a good reminder that the Lord is very aware of my life and where i want to go with it, even though in my weak times i fail to see that.
At first when i thought of making this, i wanted to specifically focus on a couple talks, but after finishing all the talks, there were just too many applicable ones to focus on just a couple. But some did hit close...
-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland talked about the parable about the laborers in the vineyard and the lesson to be happy when others are given blessings and how it doesn't reflect on us.This is the one where i turned to my roommates and said, "Yeah...this one is for me". With all the other people i know and see who are having success with dating and/or getting engaged, i sneer and think that i couldn't be happy for them because that is the one thing that i want so badly at this time. Elder Holland helped me realize that i've been showing classic cases of envy for those that are my friends. Suffice to say, i felt super small. It's gonna be a challenge to fix immediately, but i can do it with some work.
-President Uchtdorf talked about how we are able to obtain mercy when we exercise it first on others. The Lord "will forgive whom [He] will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men." (D&C 64:10) I've struggled at times to forgive others for harm or hurt caused to me, but i come to myself and realize how refreshing it is to get that dead weight off myself and forgive. However, sometimes forgiving myself for something dumb can be the hardest. But such a thought is stupid, because the Lord has by then forgiven me for things that i haven't for myself. It's part of what the Atonement is for.
-Elder O. Vincent Haleck of the Seventy talked about the vision of ourselves in the Gospel plan. I get frustrated occasionally because i can't see every little thing in my future that i would like, i.e. my future family, future education, future career, etc. Liked Paul stated, i "...see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." (1 Cor. 13:12) Not losing sight of the vision of who i am in the eternal plan and what i need to do, i keep on keepin' on trying to do what's right. "One does what one can", right?
Those are just a few, again, i hope i do not seem to slight any of the other awesome talks. But a lot of the talks pointed out weaknesses that i currently have. Now...that's not all totally bad. I mean, im not watching Conference going, "oh yeah, i suck at that too! go weaknesses!" No...but it's a good self-check. In Ether 12:27, it says:
"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."
That's the point of all of this...i am weak, but that is because the Lord has a great way of humbling me, so that in the future my weaknesses will become strengths that could define me. It's hard. It's a bit of a pain in the butt. But it needs to happen. To close in the words of C.S. Lewis,
"The work of devils and of darkness is never more certain to be defeated than when men and women, not finding it easy or pleasant but still determined to do the Father's will, look out upon their lives from which it may seem every trace of God has vanished, and asking why they have been so forsaken, still bow their heads and obey." (paraphrased from "The Screwtape Letters")
Overall....good weekend packed with spiritual goodness
For the last few years, i've done much better at watching all the sessions of Conference to get the full experience. It's a great time to do a self-check on myself and my own personal progress. Some of the talks given every session seem to be like personally made for me, like they're looking me straight in the eye through the tv going, "Ok Peter...here's some answers from the Lord that He knew you needed." It gives me a good reminder that the Lord is very aware of my life and where i want to go with it, even though in my weak times i fail to see that.
At first when i thought of making this, i wanted to specifically focus on a couple talks, but after finishing all the talks, there were just too many applicable ones to focus on just a couple. But some did hit close...
-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland talked about the parable about the laborers in the vineyard and the lesson to be happy when others are given blessings and how it doesn't reflect on us.This is the one where i turned to my roommates and said, "Yeah...this one is for me". With all the other people i know and see who are having success with dating and/or getting engaged, i sneer and think that i couldn't be happy for them because that is the one thing that i want so badly at this time. Elder Holland helped me realize that i've been showing classic cases of envy for those that are my friends. Suffice to say, i felt super small. It's gonna be a challenge to fix immediately, but i can do it with some work.
-President Uchtdorf talked about how we are able to obtain mercy when we exercise it first on others. The Lord "will forgive whom [He] will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men." (D&C 64:10) I've struggled at times to forgive others for harm or hurt caused to me, but i come to myself and realize how refreshing it is to get that dead weight off myself and forgive. However, sometimes forgiving myself for something dumb can be the hardest. But such a thought is stupid, because the Lord has by then forgiven me for things that i haven't for myself. It's part of what the Atonement is for.
-Elder O. Vincent Haleck of the Seventy talked about the vision of ourselves in the Gospel plan. I get frustrated occasionally because i can't see every little thing in my future that i would like, i.e. my future family, future education, future career, etc. Liked Paul stated, i "...see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." (1 Cor. 13:12) Not losing sight of the vision of who i am in the eternal plan and what i need to do, i keep on keepin' on trying to do what's right. "One does what one can", right?
Those are just a few, again, i hope i do not seem to slight any of the other awesome talks. But a lot of the talks pointed out weaknesses that i currently have. Now...that's not all totally bad. I mean, im not watching Conference going, "oh yeah, i suck at that too! go weaknesses!" No...but it's a good self-check. In Ether 12:27, it says:
"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."
That's the point of all of this...i am weak, but that is because the Lord has a great way of humbling me, so that in the future my weaknesses will become strengths that could define me. It's hard. It's a bit of a pain in the butt. But it needs to happen. To close in the words of C.S. Lewis,
"The work of devils and of darkness is never more certain to be defeated than when men and women, not finding it easy or pleasant but still determined to do the Father's will, look out upon their lives from which it may seem every trace of God has vanished, and asking why they have been so forsaken, still bow their heads and obey." (paraphrased from "The Screwtape Letters")
Overall....good weekend packed with spiritual goodness
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