Express gratitude for what your spouse does for you. Express that love and gratitude often. That will make life far richer and more pleasant and purposeful.
You will have challenges and hard decisions to make throughout your life. But determine now to always do what is right and let the consequence follow. The consequence will always be for your best good. Richard G. Scott, "Do What is Right," Ensign, June 1997, 53.
I
have recently given thought to that of service. I recalled a talk I read by
Elder Oaks about the reaons we serve. Yes, it’s good to serve, but it’s even
better if our reason behind it is the right reason. And so I pose the same
question to you, as he posed to me in his talk, Why do we serve?
Service has always been an important part of the church. King Benjamin told us
that when we are serving others, we are serving God (Mosiah 2:17). And Christ
was the ultimate example of service. He spoke of feeding the hungry, clothing
the naked, and visiting the sick.
Although
we may do these things, the Lord looketh on the heart and knows the intents of
our hearts. “These scriptures make clear that in order to purify our service
in the Church and to our fellowmen, it is necessary to consider not onlyhowwe serve, but alsowhywe serve…. we should all strive to
serve for the reasons that are highest and best.”
Elder
Oaks lists 6 reasons of why we serve, from the lesser to the greater.
1.Hope
of earthly reward – they do this to receive prominence
or wealth, honors or power. Such service earns no gospel reward
2.Motivated
by a personal desire to obtain good companionship
– they only serve when fellow workers are acceptable
3.Fear
of punishment – they know they need to keep the commandments in order
to be happy and be blessed
4.Sense
of duty or loyalty – instinctively do what they are
asked without question
5.Hope
of an eternal reward – the expectation of enjoying the
fruits of our labors in the Celestial Kingdom
6.Charity
– motivated by the pure love of Christ
“If our service is
to be most efficacious, it must be accomplished for the love of God and the
love of his children…. Service with all of our heart and mind is a high challenge
for all of us. Such service must be free of selfish ambition. It must be
motivated only by the pure love of Christ.”
We
are all on different spectrums of the service scale. May we each try to do a
little better in serving our neighbor, but also in our reason behind it.
That is when we run into trouble. Delighting in being richer than our neighbors, more athletic than our friends, or better looking than others is being prideful.... God does not look for the richest, the most beautiful, or the cleverest person. He blesses the humble and meek who are willing to submit to His will.
As author C. S. Lewis wrote, “Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man.”
… It is the comparison that makes you proud: the pleasure of being above the rest. Once the element of competition has gone, pride has gone” (Mere Christianity [1952], 109–10). …
The proud stand more in fear of men’s judgment than of God’s judgment (see D&C 3:6–7; 30:1–2; 60:2). “What will men think of me?” weighs heavier than “What will God think of me?” …
“Lift up your soul in prayer and explain to your Heavenly Father what you are feeling. … Pour out your heart and express your gratitude. Let Him know of the trials you are facing. Plead with Him in Christ’s name for strength and support. Ask that your ears may be opened, that you may hear His voice.”
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, “The Hope of God’s Light,” Ensign, May 2013, 75.
When you face burdens in life, the key to access the Savior’s enabling power is to submit cheerfully and with patience to the will of the Lord. Allow the enabling power of the Savior to make your burdens light.
From a devotional address, “The Truth Shall Make You Free,” given at Brigham Young University–Idaho on November 10, 2014. For the full address, visit web.byui.edu/devotionalsandspeeches.
“When we keep the commandments, our lives will be happier, more fulfilling, and less complicated. Our challenges and problems will be easier to bear, and we will receive [Heavenly Father’s] promised blessings. But while He gives us laws and commandments, He also allows us to choose whether to accept them or to reject them. Our decisions in this regard will determine our destiny. …
“May we realize that our greatest happiness in this life will come as we follow God’s commandments and obey His laws!”
President Thomas S. Monson, “Keep the Commandments,” Ensign, Nov. 2015, 83, 84.
“… As you submit your wills to God, you are giving Him the only thing you can actually give Him that is really yours to give. Don’t wait too long to find the altar or to begin to place the gift of your wills upon it! No need to wait for a receipt; the Lord has His own special ways of acknowledging.” Neal A. Maxwell, “Remember How Merciful the Lord Hath Been,”Ensign, May 2004, 44, 46.
From a devotional address, “Religious Freedom and Fairness for All,” delivered at Brigham Young University on September 15, 2015. For the full address, go to speeches.byu.edu.
Protecting conscience is about safeguarding the way someone thinks and feels and safeguarding that person’s right to act on those beliefs. I am talking about someone telling you that the thoughts, feelings, and beliefs you have are not allowed, valued, or acceptable because your views are not popular. A war in heaven was fought for agency, and it is a gross violation of that agency to force you to betray your conscience because your views do not align with the crowd....
First, try to view others through a lens of fairness. To do this requires you to first acknowledge that Heavenly Father loves all of His children equally. He has said, “Love one another; as I have loved you” (John 13:34). There is no choice, sin, or mistake that you or anyone else can make that will change His love for you or for them. That does not mean He excuses or condones sinful conduct; nor do we—in ourselves or in others. But that does mean we reach out in love to persuade, help, and rescue....
Remember how the Savior handled tough questions and challenging viewpoints. He remained calm, He showed respect, and He taught truth, but He never forced anyone to live the way He taught.
Second, let fairness guide your treatment of others. Jesus Christ looked past people’s ethnicity, rank, and circumstances in order to teach them simple truth....
Do not judge people or treat them unfairly because they sin differently than you, or we, do....
Third, stand up for fairness if you see another’s rights being impeded....
Most important, we need you to engage in dialogue regarding the complexities of this issue and find solutions for how to best extend fairness to everyone, including people of faith. These conversations need to be occurring in our schools, in our homes, and in our relationships with friends and co-workers.
“Pause for a moment and check where your own heart and thoughts are. Are you focused on the things that matter most? How you spend your quiet time may provide a valuable clue. Where do your thoughts go when the pressure of deadlines is gone? Are your thoughts and heart focused on those short-lived fleeting things that matter only in the moment or on things that matter most? …
“Our Heavenly Father seeks those who refuse to allow the trivial to hinder them in their pursuit of the eternal. He seeks those who will not allow the attraction of ease or the traps of the adversary to distract them from the work He has given them to perform. He seeks those whose actions conform to their words.”
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, “We Are Doing a Great Work and Cannot Come Down,” Ensign, May 2009, 60, 62.
“I do not know why we have the many trials that we have, but it is my personal feeling that the reward is so great, so eternal and everlasting, so joyful and beyond our understanding that in that day of reward, we may feel to say to our merciful, loving Father, ‘Was that all that was required?’ … What will it matter, dear sisters, what we suffered here if, in the end, those trials are the very things which qualify us for eternal life?”
Linda S. Reeves, second counselor in the Relief Society general presidency, “Worthy of Our Promised Blessings,” Ensign, Nov. 2015, 11.
“I was reading the newspaper when one of my young grandsons snuggled up to me,” said Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “As I read, I was delighted to hear his sweet voice chattering on in the background. Imagine my surprise when, a few moments later, he pushed himself between me and the paper. Taking my face in his hands and pressing his nose up to mine, he asked, ‘Grandpa! Are you in there?’
“… Being there means understanding the hearts of our youth and connecting with them. And connecting with them means not just conversing with them but doing things with them too. …
“We must plan and take advantage of teaching moments. …
“… The more I live, the more I recognize that the teaching moments in my youth, especially those provided by my parents, have shaped my life and made me who I am.”
“If we faithfully have family prayer, scripture study, family home evening, priesthood blessings, and Sabbath day observance,” said Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “our children will … be prepared for an eternal home in heaven, regardless of what befalls them in a difficult world.” Quentin L. Cook, “The Lord Is My Light,” Ensign, May 2015, 64.
“Our Father in Heaven exemplifies the pattern we should follow. He loves us, teaches us, is patient with us, and entrusts us with our agency. … Sometimes discipline, which means ‘to teach,’ is confused with criticism. Children—as well as people of all ages—improve behavior from love and encouragement more than from fault-finding.” Susan W. Tanner, “Did I Tell You … ?” Ensign, May 2003, 74.
“Give your child a compliment and a hug; say, ‘I love you’ more; always express your thanks. Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved.” Thomas S. Monson, “Love at Home—Counsel from Our Prophet,”Ensign, Aug. 2011, 4.
Served as a General Authority Seventy from 2006 to 2015
From a devotional address, “Pure Religion,” given at Brigham Young University on January 13, 2015. For the full address, go to speeches.byu.edu.
The day missionaries start to care more about others than themselves, they become happy. It is that way for all of us. Our lives will always be happier if we care for and love others.
The opposite of caring for others is thinking about oneself: my car, my studies, my job, my problems. When it is always about us, our connection with heaven isn’t as strong as it could be....
if you want to be happy, feel the Holy Ghost, and grow closer to the Savior, then practice pure religion. ...
Does the Lord trust us to be an answer to someone else’s prayer? Can He count on us to follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost? The more we follow the Spirit’s promptings, the more opportunities the Lord will present to us to be the answer to someone else’s prayer....
As we practice pure religion by visiting and caring for widows, helping orphans, caring for the poor and needy, and feeding His lambs and sheep, we will show the Savior that we love Him! As we do this, we will be happy, feel the Holy Ghost, and feel closer to Him.
