Do You Love Him More Than Things Of This World?

 

“Lovest Thou Me More Than These?”

By President M. Russell Ballard

Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Do you wonder what Jesus was referring to when He asked Peter, “Lovest thou me more than these?”

Relating this question to ourselves in our day, the Lord may be asking us about how busy we are and about the many positive and negative influences competing for our attention and our time. He may be asking each of us if we love Him more than the things of this world. This may be a question about what we really value in life, who we follow, and how we view our relationships with family members and neighbors. Or maybe He is asking what really brings us joy and happiness...

How would we answer the question “Lovest thou me more than these?”..

At my age, I have attended many funerals. I am sure many of you have noticed what I have noticed. When celebrating the life of a deceased family member or a friend, it is rare for the speaker to talk about the size of the person’s home, the number of cars, or the bank account balances. They usually don’t speak about social media posts. At most of the funerals that I have attended, they focus on their loved one’s relationships, service to others, life lessons and experiences, and their love for Jesus Christ.

Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying that having a nice home or a nice car is wrong or that using social media is bad. What I am saying is that in the end, those things matter very little compared to loving the Savior.

When we love and follow Him, we have faith in Him. We repent. We follow His example and are baptized and receive the Holy Ghost. We endure to the end and stay on the covenant path. We forgive family members and neighbors by letting go of grudges we may be holding. We earnestly strive to keep God’s commandments. We strive to be obedient. We make and keep covenants. We honor our fathers and mothers. We set aside negative worldly influences. We prepare ourselves for His Second Coming....

As we focus on loving our neighbors as He loves them, we start to truly love those around us.

I ask again, how would you respond to the Savior’s question “Lovest thou me more than these?”

As you consider this question, as I have done, I pray that you may answer as Peter did so long ago, “Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee,” and then show it by loving and serving God and all those around you.

*Aang Christmas morning*

Today's Secret Combinations

 "If we are not careful, today's secret combinations can obtain power and influence just as quickly and just as completely as they did in Book of Mormon times. Do you remember the pattern? The secret combinations began among the 'more wicked part' of society, but eventually 'seduced the more part of the righteous' until the whole society was polluted [Helaman 6:38]. 

Elder M. Russell Ballard, October 1997 General Conference

Bear Your Testimony of Jesus Christ More Often

 

Remember What Matters Most

By President M. Russell Ballard

Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

I invite you to bear your testimony of Jesus Christ more often. Bear testimony of what you know and believe and what you feel, not just of what you are thankful for. Testify of your own experiences of coming to know and love the Savior, of living His teachings, and of His redemptive and enabling power in your life. As you bear testimony of what you know, believe, and feel, the Holy Ghost will confirm the truth to those who earnestly listen to your testimony. They will do so because they have watched you become a peaceful follower of Jesus Christ. They will see what it means to be His disciple. They will also feel something they may not have felt before. A pure testimony comes from a changed heart and can be carried by the power of the Holy Ghost into the hearts of others who are open to receive it.

Praying for Opportunities to Serve

 Praying for Opportunities to Serve

“In your morning prayer each new day, ask Heavenly Father to guide you to recognize an opportunity to serve one of His precious children. Then go throughout the day with your heart full of faith and love, looking for someone to help. … If you do this, your spiritual sensitivities will be enlarged and you will discover opportunities to serve that you never before realized were possible.”

President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Be Anxiously Engaged,” Liahona, Nov. 2012, 31.

Waiting on the Lord Implies Action

 

Hope in Christ

By President M. Russell Ballard

Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

waiting upon the Lord implies continued obedience and spiritual progress toward Him. Waiting upon the Lord does not imply biding one’s time. You should never feel like you are in a waiting room.

Waiting upon the Lord implies action. I have learned over the years that our hope in Christ increases when we serve others. Serving as Jesus served, we naturally increase our hope in Him....

To you stake presidents, bishops, and quorum and sister leaders, I ask you to consider every member of your stake, ward, quorum, or organization as a member who can contribute and serve in callings and participate in many ways.

No Food During Sacrament

In speaking about the sacrament meeting experience in general, President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, suggested, “Our primary goal is for everyone to have a spiritual experience and a strengthening faith in our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ through Sabbath day observance.” He added, “Surely we can expect that cell phones and iPads, games and food can be set aside for one precious hour out of 168 hours in a week for the sacrament meeting that is devoted to Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

M. Russell Ballard, “Elder Ballard’s Closing Testimony” (video), part of April 2015: Sabbath Day Observance video collection, ChurchofJesusChrist.org/media-library.

Be a Diligent Minister and Do Temple Work as much as I am able

Shall We Not Go On in So Great a Cause?

By President M. Russell Ballard

Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

As we celebrate this joyous occasion, the 200th anniversary of the First Vision, we should always remember the price Joseph and Hyrum Smith paid, along with so many other faithful men, women, and children, to establish the Church so you and I could enjoy the many blessings and all of these revealed truths we have today. Their faithfulness should never be forgotten!

I have often wondered why Joseph and Hyrum and their families had to suffer so much. It may be that they came to know God through their suffering in ways that could not have happened without it. Through it, they reflected on Gethsemane and the cross of the Savior. As Paul said, “For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.”...

As we listen to the Spirit during this 200th anniversary celebration this weekend, consider what offering you will present to the Lord in righteousness in the coming days. Be courageous—share it with someone you trust, and most important, please take the time to do it!

Preparing for the Restoration

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2020/01/how-the-lord-prepared-the-world-for-the-restoration?lang=eng

Fantastic article about ways the world changed in preparation for the restoration. It talks about the printing revolution and how the bible was translated.

Control our evil desires

Giving Our Spirits Control over Our Bodies
BY PRESIDENT M. RUSSELL BALLARD Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

I suppose most of us fail to fully appreciate what others do for us until they are gone. I knew Barbara was always busy, but I did not fully understand the constant family, Church, and community demands upon her time. There were daily consecrated efforts repeated thousands of times through the years that kept our family functioning. And through it all, no one in our family ever heard her raise her voice or say an unkind word....

#goals

Brothers and sisters, please do not miss an opportunity to look into the eyes of your family members with love. Children and parents, reach out to each other and express your love and appreciation. Like me, some of you may wake up one day to discover that the time for such important communication has passed. Live each day together with hearts filled with gratitude, good memories, service, and much love....

It seems clear to me that one of the most important things we can learn in this life is how to emphasize our eternal spiritual nature and control our evil desires....

#coveting #judging

Learning to choose the things of the Spirit over the things of the flesh is one of the primary reasons why this earthly experience is part of Heavenly Father’s plan. It’s also why the plan is built upon the solid, sure foundation of the Atonement of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ so that our sins, including the errors we make when we yield to the flesh, can be overcome through constant repentance and we can live spiritually focused. Now is the time to control our bodily appetites to comply with the spiritual doctrine of Christ. That is why we must not procrastinate the day of our repentance....

Every night as I review my day in prayer with my Father in Heaven, I ask to be forgiven if I did anything wrong and promise to try to be better tomorrow. I believe this regular daily repentance helps my spirit remind my body who is in charge of me....

Brothers and sisters, I encourage you to slow down a bit and think about where you are now in subjugating your carnal nature and empowering your divine, spiritual nature so when the time comes, you may pass into the spirit world to a joyful reunion with your loved ones

How to Tap into our Spiritual Nourishment

An Epistle from an Apostle

By President M. Russell Ballard

Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

From an address, “An Epistle to the Saints of the Utah Salt Lake Area,” delivered at a multistake conference on September 11, 2016.

The Lord outlined simple, personal habits that keep us rooted, grounded, and connected to Him. Such habits, when done with full purpose of heart, real intent, and without hypocrisy and deception, allow us to be unwavering disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.

These essential habits include the things that seem to easily slip away in the rush of our very busy lives, even when we are engaged in good things like pursuing an education, working to support a family, and involving ourselves in community and Church service.

They include sincere daily prayer, faithful fasting, regular study and pondering of the scriptures and the words of the living prophets, making the Sabbath day a delight, partaking of the sacrament with humility and always remembering the Savior, worshipping in the temple as often as possible, and, finally, reaching out to the poor and lonely—both those close by and across the world.

When someone stops doing these simple but essential things, they cut themselves off from the well of living water and allow Satan to muddy their thinking with his deceptively polluted water, which clogs arteries of faithfulness and drains the spirit with counterfeit nutrition. Sin and guilt cloud the mind—leading many to deny past inspiration and revelation and causing a “de-conversion” from the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Celebrate the Beauty of our Differences

It takes courage and faith to celebrate and appreciate the beauty of our differences, to give others space to discover their own paths, and to trust that God will help us just as He helps those around us. This may include celebrating the wedding of a friend when you have no marriage prospects on the horizon. It may include being excited for someone who just got into the graduate school of their dreams even though you didn’t. I know what it is like to feel forgotten or insecure when others get the things I hoped for, but if we can learn to celebrate and appreciate differences, I believe our hearts will be more open to what God has in store for us.

At BYU Women’s Conference in 2015, Elder M. Russell Ballard counseled:

Each of you must come to know what the Lord wants for you individually, given the choices before you. . . .

Once you know the Lord’s will, you can then move forward in faith to fulfill your individual purpose. One sister may be inspired to continue her education and attend medical school, allowing her to have significant impact on her patients and to advance medical research. For another sister, inspiration may lead her to forgo a scholarship to a prestigious institution and instead begin a family much earlier than has become common in this generation, allowing her to make a significant and eternal impact on her children now.

Then he posed this question: “Is it possible for two similarly faithful women to receive such different responses to the same basic questions?” He emphatically responded:

Absolutely! What’s right for one woman may not be right for another. That’s why it is so important that we should not question each other’s choices or the inspiration behind them.⁷

With this understanding we can encourage each other, celebrate and appreciate our differences, and move forward in a partnership with the Lord. We need not judge or criticize. Our encouragement and love amid our differences will enhance our capacity to celebrate together. It will also enhance our capacity to understand God’s plan for us as we create that plan with Him.

Erin Kramer Holmes, "On Loss and Waiting, BYU Magzine, Winter 2018, 28. 

Greet Everyone

The True, Pure, and Simple Gospel of Jesus Christ

By President M. Russell Ballard

Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

April 2019 Conference

As we minister in a higher and holier way, please consider how essential it is that we greet everyone who comes to our Church meetings, especially new members and visitors. We should all enjoy singing the hymns and listening carefully to the words of the sacrament prayers with an open heart and mind....

As we keep our testimonies simple and focused on the gospel of Christ, He will provide spiritual renewal as we share our testimonies with one another....

Let’s not complicate things with additional meetings, expectations, or requirements. Keep it simple. It is in that simplicity that you will find the peace, joy, and happiness I have been talking about.

For years the leadership purposes of the Church, as stated in Handbook 2, are outcomes that are clear and simple, from which I quote:

“Leaders encourage every member to receive all essential priesthood ordinances, keep the associated covenants, and qualify for exaltation and eternal life. …

“Adults: Encourage each adult to be worthy to receive the ordinances of the temple. Teach all adults to identify their ancestors and perform vicarious temple ordinances for them.

“All Members: Help priesthood and auxiliary leaders, ward councils, ward and full-time missionaries, and members work cooperatively in a balanced effort to rescue individuals, strengthen families and Church units, increase priesthood activity, and gather Israel through conversion, retention, and activation. Teach members to provide for themselves and their families and to assist the poor and needy in the Lord’s way.”

Nonmember Friends

"I encourage you to build personal, meaningful relationships with your nonmember friends and acquaintances. Interest in the gospel may come later as a natural extension of a good friendship... If they are not interested in the gospel, we should show unconditional love through acts of service and kindness, and never imply that we see an acquaintance only as a potential convert."

M. Russell Ballard

Addiction

“To those who are dealing with an addiction personally or within your family, I repeat, fervent prayer is key to gaining the spiritual strength to find peace and overcome an addictive craving. Heavenly Father loves all of His children, so thank Him and express sincere faith in Him. Ask Him for the strength to overcome the addiction you are experiencing. Set aside all pride and turn your life and your heart to Him. Ask to be filled with the power of Christ’s pure love. You may have to do this many times, but I testify to you that your body, mind, and spirit can be transformed, cleansed, and made whole, and you will be freed. Jesus said, ‘I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life’ (John 8:12).”

Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “O That Cunning Plan of the Evil One,” Liahona and Ensign, November 2010, 110.

Q&A with Elder Ballard

Questions and Answers

M. RUSSELL BALLARDof the Quorum of the Twelve ApostlesNov. 14, 2017 • BYU Devotional

Question: How do we differentiate between ­debilitating perfectionism and Christ’s invitation to become perfect like Him?

We live in a world of comparison. Social media has made this worse as we go online and compare our seemingly less exciting lives with the “fake lives” we see online. Many of those fake lives are edited, boastful, and unreal. Some may have unrealistic expectations that they should be happy all the time, and if they are not, they feel like something is wrong with them.6

We should not compare ourselves with others. Please remember that the Savior is interested only in our personal growth. Even He “continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness.”

Question: If I have family or friends who are less active, how far do I go in my attempts to bring them back?

My answer is please do not preach to them! Your family members or friends already know the Church’s teachings. They don’t need another lecture! What they need—what we all need—is love and understanding, not judging. Share your positive experiences of living the gospel. The most powerful thing you can do is share your spiritual experiences with family and friends. Also, be genuinely interested in their lives, their successes, and their challenges. Always be warm, gentle, loving, and kind.

...I close with three suggestions about seeking answers to gospel questions.

First, while searching, studying, and praying for answers, please remember that you have to be living right to get the answers you seek. As one well-known historian wrote:

Guilt clouds the mind. If you are knowingly sinning, you will subconsciously want to separate yourself from God and find reasons for denying his power.18

Second, my dear young friends, please take time to “be still, and know that I am God.”19 Most all of our concerns in life are answered in the quiet times of thinking, praying, and reaching out to Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ for guidance, peace, and joy as we strive to live the gospel.

Balancing Life's Demands

Eight Suggestions for Balancing Life’s Demands

By President M. Russell Ballard

Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

From an April 1987 general conference address.

• Write down the tasks you would like to accomplish each day. Keep foremost in mind the sacred covenants you have made with the Lord as you write down your daily schedules.
• Second, set short-term goals that you can reach. Set goals that are well balanced—not too many nor too few, and not too high nor too low. Write down your attainable goals and work on them according to their importance. Pray for divine guidance in your goal setting....
• We never will have balance in our lives unless our finances are securely under control....
• Build relationships with your family and friends through open and honest communication.....
• #aang
• Sixth, we must schedule time on our daily calendars for sufficient rest, exercise, and relaxation if we are to enjoy a healthy and balanced life. ...
• Remember, too much of anything in life can throw us off-balance. At the same time, too little of the important things can do the same thing....
• Our main goal should be to seek “immortality and eternal life” (Moses 1:39). With this as our goal, why not eliminate from our lives the things that clamor for and consume our thoughts, feelings, and energies without contributing to our reaching that goal?
  Just do the very best you can each day. Do the basic things and, before you realize it, your life will be full of spiritual understanding that will confirm to you that your Heavenly Father loves you. When a person knows this, then life will be full of purpose and meaning, making balance easier to maintain.

Read D&C Section 138

The Vision of the Redemption of the Dead

By President M. Russell Ballard

Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

On this special 100th anniversary, I invite you to thoroughly and thoughtfully read this revelation. As you do so, may the Lord bless you to more fully understand and appreciate God’s love and His plan of salvation and happiness for His children.

Greatest Source to Real-life Problems

Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles testified:

“The Book of Mormon, above all other books that I know of, is the greatest source we have for answers to real-life problems. …

“How many times peace has come into the lives of those who are struggling with real problems when they read the Book of Mormon! The examples of spiritual guidance that emanate from the book are without number.”

M. Russell Ballard, in “We Add Our Witness,” Tambuli, Dec. 1989, 13; Ensign, Mar. 1989, 8–9.

Progress, But Not There Yet

As we build the kingdom of God, I can’t think of anything more important than having a well-prepared sacrament meeting where speakers speak of Christ, testify of Christ, and share testimonies from the apostles and prophets in the scriptures and other sources.

As a Church we’ve been focused on the Sabbath day. We’ve made progress, but we are not there yet. We’ll continue our efforts until every member and missionary is so spiritually motivated during their Sabbath day worship that each says to his or her neighbors, investigators, and relatives, “Come and see. Come and worship with us.” This is where we want to be.

If we could all do this as a Church, those who accept our invitation to “come and see” will feel the power of the message of the restored Church of Jesus Christ. As they worship with us in our sacrament meetings, their hearts will be touched and the light of the gospel will be lit in their hearts and minds.

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Our Sabbath Sanctuary

By President M. Russell Ballard

Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

From “The Chapel: Our Sabbath Sanctuary” at prophets.lds.org.