Give Our All to the Lord

Sisters, are we giving our all to the Lord without reservation? Are we sacrificing of our time and talents so the rising generation can learn to love the Lord and keep His commandments? Are we ministering both to those around us and to those we are assigned with care and with diligence—sacrificing time and energy that could be used in other ways? Are we living the two great commandments—to love God and to love His children?5 Often that love is manifest as service.

The Joy of Unselfish Service

By Cristina B. Franco

Second Counselor in the Primary General Presidency

Happiness Doesn't Come Through World Travel

Family: The Fountain of Happiness

By Elder Erich W. Kopischke

Of the Seventy

From a devotional address, “What Do You Envision in Life?” delivered at Brigham Young University on December 2, 2014. For the full text, visit speeches.byu.edu.

Mar 2018 Ensign pg 58

Nothing has provided more happiness and satisfaction in our lives than the joy we have found in one another and in our posterity. Once we understood that these are just the beginnings of our eternal progression and therefore only the very first levels of our joy and happiness, we were—and are—willing to sacrifice all we have to live the doctrine of the family and to see our vision fully realized.

I invite you to ponder this doctrine and to come to know for yourself what really matters most. This type of happiness is at the heart of our existence. And the happiness that stems from congenial relationships among husband, wife, and children always grows.

I invite you to set personal goals regarding your vision. In Preach My Gospel we read: “Goals reflect the desires of our hearts and our vision of what we can accomplish. Through goals and plans, our hopes are transformed into action. Goal setting and planning are acts of faith.”

11 Day Journey in 40 Years

• MARCH 2018
• ISRAEL’S EXODUS AND DELIVERANCE—THEN AND NOW

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Israel’s Exodus and Deliverance—Then and Now

By Kerry Muhlestein

Professor of Ancient Scripture, Brigham Young University

The book of Deuteronomy begins with a striking verse. In parentheses between verses 1 and 3, verse 2 reads, “(There are eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadesh-barnea)” (Deuteronomy 1:2). Because it is set within parentheses and because it seems to be relaying minutia, this verse is easily passed over. But, at closer examination, it can be one of the most thought-provoking verses in the Old Testament.

Identifying two of the sites in the verse makes this clearer. Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai, and Kadesh-barnea is the place where Moses and the children of Israel camped as they sent men into the promised land as spies. Kadesh-barnea was on the border of the promised land, and it was intended that the children of Israel would go from there and inherit the land.

In other words, it took the children of Israel 40 years to travel the distance they could have traveled in 11 days.

Healing Blessings

Elder Dallin H. Oaks has taught: “Healing blessings come in many ways, each suited to our individual needs, as known to Him who loves us best. Sometimes a ‘healing’ cures our illness or lifts our burden. But sometimes we are ‘healed’ by being given strength or understanding or patience to bear the burdens placed upon us.”

Dallin H. Oaks, “He Heals the Heavy Laden,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2006, 7–8.

Turn to the Savior

Turn to the Lord

By Bishop W. Christopher Waddell

Second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric

In this mortal experience, we cannot control all that happens to us, but we have absolute control over how we respond to the changes in our lives...

In these latter days, the Lord has provided us with numerous resources, our “brazen serpents,” all of which are designed to help us look to Christ and place our trust in Him. Dealing with the challenges of life is not about ignoring reality but rather where we choose to focus and the foundation upon which we choose to build.

These resources include, but are not limited to:

• Regular study of the scriptures and the teachings of living prophets.
• Frequent, sincere prayer and fasting.
• Worthily partaking of the sacrament.
• Regular temple attendance.
• Priesthood blessings.
• Wise counseling through trained professionals.
• And even medication, when properly prescribed and used as authorized.

Whatever change in life’s circumstance may come our way, and whatever unexpected path we may have to travel, how we respond is a choice. Turning to the Savior and grasping His outstretched arm is always our best option.