In contrast to the institutions of the world, which teach us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something

Our needed conversions are often achieved more readily by suffering and adversity than by comfort and tranquillity. Lehi promised his son Jacob that God would “consecrate [his] afflictions for [his] gain” (2 Ne. 2:2). The Prophet Joseph was promised that “thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high” (D&C 121:7–8).

Most of us experience some measure of what the scriptures call “the furnace of affliction” (Isa. 48:10; 1 Ne. 20:10). Some are submerged in service to a disadvantaged family member. Others suffer the death of a loved one or the loss or postponement of a righteous goal like marriage or childbearing. Still others struggle with personal impairments or with feelings of rejection, inadequacy, or depression. Through the justice and mercy of a loving Father in Heaven, the refinement and sanctification possible through such experiences can help us achieve what God desires us to become.

We are challenged to move through a process of conversion toward that status and condition called eternal life. This is achieved not just by doing what is right, but by doing it for the right reason—for the pure love of Christ. The Apostle Paul illustrated this in his famous teaching about the importance of charity (see 1 Cor. 13). The reason charity never fails and the reason charity is greater than even the most significant acts of goodness he cited is that charity, “the pure love of Christ” (Moro. 7:47), is not an act but a condition or state of being. Charity is attained through a succession of acts that result in a conversion. Charity is something one becomes. Thus, as Moroni declared, “except men shall have charity they cannot inherit” the place prepared for them in the mansions of the Father (Ether 12:34; emphasis added).

Dallin H. Oaks

“The Challenge to Become”

Ensign, Nov 2000

Faith

Faith is taking the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase.

Martin Luther King Jr.

The Farmer & the Mule

This parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer's well. The farmer heard the mule praying (or whatever mules do when they fall into wells). After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbors together, told them what had happened, and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery.

Initially the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back, a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back, he would shake it off and step up!

This he did, blow after blow. "Shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up!" he repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, or how distressing the situation seemed, the old mule fought panic and just kept right on shaking it off and stepping up!

It wasn't long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well. What seemed like it would bury him actually helped him...all because of the manner in which he handled his adversity.

Facing Challenges with Faith in God

Life is hard. It is a challenge. At every age life presents trials to bear and difficulties to overcome. Growing up is hard. There are often the heartaches of feeling wronged or rejected. Pursuing an education can press us to our financial, emotional, and intellectual limits. Serving a mission is not easy. It requires total dedication, spiritually and physically. The problems accompanying marriage, rearing a family, earning a living, or coping with illness, old age, and death are realities of life which we are required to meet, but with which we may be unprepared or unwilling to deal.

We will be able to face and solve these challenges more willingly and courageously when we understand that such obstacles are encountered as a natural part of living.

C. S. Lewis wrote: “The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one’s ‘own,’ or ‘real’ life. The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one’s real life—the life God is sending one day by day.” (They Stand Together: The Letters of C. S. Lewis to Arthur Greeves, ed. Walter Hooper, London: Collins, 1979, p. 499.)

An old Asian tale describes a prince who was reared in a castle and kept sheltered from the hardships of life. He never saw anyone who was ill. He never saw anyone who was aged. He never saw anyone die.

When the prince grew to be a young man, he desired to go out into the kingdom he ruled. As he was being carried along on a litter, he saw for the first time an old man, toothless, wrinkled, and bent with age.

The prince said to his bearers, “Stop! Wait! What is this?”

The chief bearer replied, “This is a man who is bent with age. Though you are young and strong, the time will come when you too must be bent with age.”

This disheartened the prince. His confrontation with aging was more than he could bear. He asked to be taken back to the castle.

After a few days in familiar surroundings he felt rejuvenated. He decided to venture forth again. This time as he passed by a group of men he noticed that one of them was on the ground, overcome with fever and convulsing in pain.

“What is this?” the prince asked.

“This is a man who is ill,” said the porter. “Though you are now young and strong, you too will have to suffer the problems of sickness.”

The prince was again saddened and returned immediately to the palace. But again in a few days, he wanted to visit his kingdom once more.

They hadn’t gone far from the castle when the prince saw a coffin being carried to its place of burial.

“What is this?” he asked.

When the meaning of death was explained to the inquiring young prince, he became depressed by the inevitable vision of the future. As he returned to the immediate comfort of his palace, he vowed he would never come out again.

The prince interpreted life to be an evil trick because no matter what a man did or what a man was, he had to suffer sickness, aging, and death.

Perhaps some of us feel about life the way the young prince in this fable did. We may feel that life is cruel and unfair to us, that we would like to retreat into our own shelter and never have to venture forth into the world. To do so, however, would be to deny ourselves the opportunities for growth which life and its experiences are designed to bring to us.

The Lord has made available to us a power which will turn these challenges into opportunities, a power which will enable us to understand the Apostle Peter’s declaration that such trials of our faith are indeed more precious than gold. (See 1 Pet. 1:7.)

With life’s hardships I have learned that faith in God develops a personal love for Him which is reciprocated through his blessings to us in times of need. To all who are meeting new or challenging times, I say: Do not fear the challenges of life, but approach them patiently, with faith in God. He will reward your faith with power not only to endure, but also to overcome hardships, disappointments, trials, and struggles of daily living. Through diligently striving to live the law of God and with faith in Him, we will not be diverted from our eternal course either by the ways or the praise of the world.

May each of us develop faith in God sufficient to fight the battles of life victoriously “with the strength of God; yea, … with [His] miraculous strength; and … mighty power.” (Alma 56:56.) We will then find the happiness we so much desire in our lives.

Rex D. Pinegar

“Faith—The Force of Life,”

Ensign, Nov 1982

Blanket for Aunt Wanda

Yesterday, my mom and I had the privilege of delivering a blanket to my Aunt Wanda, my mother's eldest sister. Wanda resides in an Assisted Care Center.

In order to fully appreciate this experience, let me share a little history about this woman. Wanda is Carole's mother. The one I recently wrote about who got in a car accident when she was 16 and spent the remainder of her life in a wheelchair under the care of her mother. Now you may ask ..."What about Carole's father? Didn't he help care for his daughter?" Well, Art, Wanda's husband, died of a heart attack about 7 years after Carole's accident. Wanda was left to care for her crippled daughter and 2 sons on her own.

Even prior to Carole's accident, Wanda's childhood had it's own twists and turns. As a young child, she had experiences that left her feeling displaced and rejected... something she never came to understand or make peace with. It was an underlying current her entire life that was probably buried deep in her soul while so much of her time and energy was spent caring for her daughter.

However, after Carol died, there was a huge void in Wanda's life. She had always been a spunky woman but as she has aged she has become a little "cranky" and "bitter". She has many health issues and has felt frustrated as doctors have not always been able to ease her pain. Addressing issues from her past has been too uncomfortable and painful to confront. She has become demanding of family members who live near by (one son lives in Utah with his family while the other moved to Arizona). In her old age, when she needs her family the most, she has nearly driven them all away. God bless her son Earl who tries so hard to comfort his mother while she makes it so difficult. My mother and Aunt Janet, Wanda's two younger sisters, are incredibly patient and committed to loving and helping their older sister...through good times and bad times.

So, back to delivering the blanket... My mother has vacillated back and forth for many weeks on whether or not Wanda would appreciate this blanket. Finally, yesterday we decided to make the delivery. We gave her a blanket in her favorite color...red. Who would have guessed just how much she would love and appreciate that blanket? She could not quit talking about how soft it was. She recently had surgery on her arm and said it was perfectly soft for her wounded arm. She is sure that her arm will heal quicker now that she has such a soft surface! She was noticeably touched by this gift of hope & comfort. My mother & I were both relieved and thrilled that it was so well received.

As we left the care center, I reflected on all these blankets & dogs that have been delivered over the past 4 months. I can only hope that each item has provided their recipient that much hope, comfort & love!

Fond farewell to Larry H. Miller

Larry H. Miller is a man who has done such incredible things and made such a huge impact on our community. Just shortly after he had his legs amputated from type II diabetes, I felt inspired to provide him one one of Jason's blankets of hope & comfort. The tricky part...how would I get it to him? After asking around for a day or two, I was still unsure how to make it happen. While I could guess which hospital he was in, I couldn't use any of my Intermountain connections to find out for sure. After hitting a dead end (or two), I happened to mention my idea to Janet (Jason's mom). She responded, "Oh I know Gail (Larry's wife). I can get it to him." With the help of Janet, and her sister Nancy, the blanket was delivered about 3-4 weeks ago.

I was touched as I listened to his tribute on the television yesterday -- I never really knew HOW MUCH he had done for our community. Most impressive was the 300 college scholarships per year. He wanted to give others the opportunity to further their education so they could give back to their communities. He was a huge proponent of teachers and providing exceptional educational experiences as witnessed with his involvement with the Clark Planetarium.

As I listened to his wife and children in their press conference last night, what impressed me most was how motivated and driven he was to "do good". Gail shared a phrase that Larry lived by which I really loved..."Go about doing good until there is too much good in the world".

Thanks for reading!

Finding Joy in the Journey

Throughout our lives, we must deal with change. Some changes are welcome; some are not. There are changes in our lives which are sudden, such as the unexpected passing of a loved one, an unforeseen illness, the loss of a possession we treasure. But most of the changes take place subtly and slowly.

This is our one and only chance at mortal life—here and now. The longer we live, the greater is our realization that it is brief. Opportunities come, and then they are gone. I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and nonexistent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey—now.

President Thomas S. Monson

President/Prophet of LDS Church

November 2008 Ensign