Sing the Hymns

"If you love the Lord, if you love his doctrine, you'll love the hymns. And when you love them, you sing them."

Thomas S. Monson, "New Hymnbook," 105

When We are Wrong or Need to Improve

“None of us likes to admit when we are drifting off the right course,” agrees Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. “… Consequently, when we do examine our lives, we look through the filter of biases, excuses, and stories we tell ourselves in order to justify unworthy thoughts and actions.”

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Lord, Is It I?” Ensign, Nov. 2014, 58.

#aang

Forgiving Others

Forgiving Others: Misconceptions and Tips

By Elizabeth Lloyd Lund

April 2018 Ensign

Forgiveness means pardoning an offense. To forgive, we must first acknowledge that what happened was wrong and caused pain. We pardon the fault because we too are imperfect. We turn the judgment over to God and allow Him to relieve the burden.

Forgiveness and trust are two different things. We can forgive without developing a trusting relationship. If someone continually hurts us, God commands us to forgive, but we are also responsible to set boundaries to keep ourselves safe.

“The Savior asks us to forsake and combat evil in all its forms, and although we must forgive a neighbor who injures us, we should still work constructively to prevent that injury from being repeated.”4—Elder David E. Sorensen

The atoning power of the Savior is available to each of us. As we access that power, we become more empathetic toward others and understanding of each other’s faults.

Once you have forgiven and you have accepted peace into your life, thoughts of the hurt may occasionally return. When this happens, don’t let Satan convince you that you haven’t forgiven. Recognize that you have forgiven, say it aloud to yourself, and let the memory go.

“The Savior’s Atonement is not just for those who need to repent; it is also for those who need to forgive. If you are having trouble forgiving another person or even yourself, ask God to help you. Forgiveness is a glorious, healing principle.”7—Elder Kevin R. Duncan

Exclamation Marks After Prophet's Statements

In 1982, two years before being called as a General Authority, Brother Russell M. Nelson said: “I never ask myself, ‘When does the prophet speak as a prophet and when does he not?’ My interest has been, ‘How can I be more like him?’” And he added, “My [philosophy is to] stop putting question marks behind the prophet’s statements and put exclamation points instead.”

Russell M. Nelson, in Lane Johnson, “Russell M. Nelson: A Study in Obedience,”Ensign, Aug. 1982, 24; Tambuli, Jan. 1983, 26.

Countless Second Chances

Until Seventy Times Seven

By Elder Lynn G. Robbins

Of the Presidency of the Seventy

April 2018 Conference

We may wonder—if both Nephi and Moses were on the Lord’s errand, why didn’t the Lord intervene and help them achieve success on their first try? Why did He allow them—and why does He allow us—to flounder and fail in our attempts to succeed? Among many important answers to that question, here are a few:

• First, the Lord knows that “these things shall give [us] experience, and shall be for [our] good.”4
• Second, to allow us to “taste the bitter, that [we] may know to prize the good.”5
• Third, to prove that “the battle is the Lord’s,”6 and it is only by His grace that we can accomplish His work and become like Him.7
• Fourth, to help us develop and hone scores of Christlike attributes that cannot be refined except through opposition8 and “in the furnace of affliction.”

No one is more on our side than the Savior. He allows us to take and keep retaking His exams. To become like Him will require countless second chances in our day-to-day struggles with the natural man, such as controlling appetites, learning patience and forgiveness, overcoming slothfulness, and avoiding sins of omission, just to name a few. If to err is human nature, how many failures will it take us until our nature is no longer human but divine? Thousands? More likely a million....

Only with time-lapse photography or growth charts can we discern our physical growth. Likewise, our spiritual growth is usually imperceptible except through the rearview lens of time. It would be wise to regularly take an introspective look through that lens to recognize our progress and inspire us to “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope.”

Put God’s Laws First

“The word religion literally means … ‘to tie back’ to God. The question we might ask ourselves is, are we securely tied to God so that our faith shows, or are we actually tied to something else? … Many put other priorities ahead of God. … God’s laws must ever be our standard. In dealing with controversial issues, we should first search for God’s guidance. …

“The temptation to be popular may prioritize public opinion above the word of God. … Even if ‘everyone is doing it,’ wrong is never right. … I pray that you will be securely tied back to God, that His eternal truths will be etched on your heart forever.”

Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Let Your Faith Show,” Ensign, May 2014, 29, 30, 31.

Difficult Days of Young Mothers

Am I a Child of God?

By Elder Brian K. Taylor

Of the Seventy

April 2018 Conference

As we follow the examples of the Savior and the Prophet Joseph in earnestly seeking God, we will come to understand in a very real way, as Jen did, that our Father knows us by name, that we are His children.

To mothers, especially young mothers, who often feel overwhelmed and underwater while striving to raise “a sin-resistant generation,”23 never underestimate your central role in God’s plan. In stressful moments—perhaps when you are chasing little ones and a charred smell from the kitchen informs you that your lovingly prepared dinner is now a burnt offering—know that God sanctifies your most difficult days....

When you feel hurt, lost, scared, upset, sad, hungry, or hopelessly abandoned in life’s extremities31—open the Book of Mormon, and you will come to know that “[God] will never desert us. He never has, and He never will. He cannot do it. It is not His character [to do so].”