That Day of Judgement

 

A Calling You Don't Feel Up To

 

Sir, We Would Like to See Jesus

By Elder Robert M. Daines

Of the Seventy

A few years ago, I got a calling I didn’t feel up to. I awoke early, nervous—but with a phrase in mind I had not heard before: that to serve in this Church is to stand in the river of God’s love for His children. This Church is a work party of people with picks and shovels trying to help clear the channel for the river of God’s love to reach His children at the end of the row.

Whoever you are, whatever your past, there is room for you in this Church.²⁹

Grab a pick and shovel and join the team. Help carry His love to His children, and some of it will splash on you.

Liahona Nov 2023

Life is Like a Game of Tennis...

 Life is like a game of tennis; the player who serves well seldom loses. 

-Anonymous 

Heartfelt All

 

Our Heartfelt All

By Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

In praising this faithful widow, the Savior gave us a standard to measure our discipleship in all of its many expressions. Jesus taught that our offering may be large or it may be small, but either way, it must be our heartfelt all....

Don’t look at your feet.

Look ahead.

Keep your eyes on the road in front of you. Focus on your destination. And get pedaling. Staying balanced is all about moving forward.

Similar principles apply when it comes to finding balance in our lives as disciples of Jesus Christ. How to distribute your time and energy among your many important tasks will vary from person to person and from one season of life to another. But our common, overall objective is to follow the Way of our Master, Jesus Christ, and return to the presence of our beloved Father in Heaven. This objective must remain constant and consistent, whoever we are and whatever else is happening in our lives....

Just as forward momentum keeps a bicycle balanced and upright, moving forward helps an aircraft overcome the pull of gravity and drag.

What does this mean for us as disciples of Jesus Christ? It means that if we want to find balance in life, and if we want the Savior to lift us heavenward, then our commitment to Him and His gospel can’t be casual or occasional. Like the widow at Jerusalem, we must offer Him our whole souls. Our offering may be small, but it must come from our heart and soul....

As we seek to purify our lives and look unto Christ in every thought,¹² everything else begins to align. Life no longer feels like a long list of separate efforts held in tenuous balance.

Over time, it all becomes one work.

One joy.

One holy purpose.

It is the work of loving and serving God. It is loving and serving God’s children.¹³

When we look at our lives and see a hundred things to do, we feel overwhelmed. When we see one thing—loving and serving God and His children, in a hundred different ways—then we can work on those things with joy.

This is how we offer our whole souls—by sacrificing anything that’s holding us back and consecrating the rest to the Lord and His purposes.

Safety of the Fold

Come into the Fold of God

By Elder Randy D. Funk

Of the Seventy

Alma’s baptismal covenant invitation to those gathered at the Waters of Mormon begins with this phrase: “Now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God.”⁵

A fold, or sheepfold, is a large enclosure, often constructed with stone walls, where the sheep are protected at night. It has only one opening. At the end of the day, the shepherd calls the sheep. They know his voice, and through the gate they enter the safety of the fold.

Truly in Awe of Jesus Christ

 

In Awe of Christ and His Gospel

By Elder Ulisses Soares

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

My brothers and sisters, when we truly are in awe of Jesus Christ and His gospel, we are happier, we have more enthusiasm for God’s work, and we recognize the Lord’s hand in all things. Additionally, our study of God’s words is more meaningful; our prayers, more intentional; our worship, more reverent; our service in God’s kingdom, more diligent. All these actions contribute to the Holy Spirit’s influence being more frequent in our lives.⁵ Thus, our testimony of the Savior and His gospel will be strengthened, we will keep Christ alive in us,⁶ and we will live our lives “rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, … abounding therein with thanksgiving.”⁷ When we live in this way, we become more spiritually resilient and protected against falling into the trap of spiritual apathy.

Such apathy is characterized by the gradual loss of our excitement to engage fully in the Lord’s gospel. It generally begins when we are feeling that we have already attained all the necessary knowledge and blessings for our happiness in this life. This complacency, so to speak, causes us to take the gospel gifts for granted, and from then on, we run the risk of neglecting both our regular immersion in the essentials of the gospel of Jesus Christ⁸ and the covenants we have made. Consequently, we gradually distance ourselves from the Lord, weakening our ability to “hear Him,”⁹ becoming indifferent and insensitive to the greatness of His work. Doubt regarding the truths we have already received may enter our mind and heart, making us vulnerable to the enemy’s temptations.¹⁰

Pastor Aiden Wilson Tozer, a renowned writer and valiant Christian, wrote, “Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth.”¹¹ Wasn’t this exactly what happened to the people of Nephi shortly after the birth of Christ? They “began to be less and less astonished at a sign or a wonder from heaven, … [disbelieving] all which they had heard and seen.” Thus did Satan “blind their eyes and lead them away to believe that the doctrine of Christ was a foolish and a vain thing.”¹²

My beloved brothers and sisters, in His perfect and infinite love and knowing our human nature,¹³ the Savior has established the way for us to avoid falling into the trap of spiritual apathy. The Savior’s invitation gives us a broader perspective, especially considering the complex world in which we live: “Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me.”¹⁴ As we accept the Savior’s invitation, we demonstrate our humility, our desire to be teachable, and our hope to become more like Him.¹⁵ This invitation also includes serving Him and ministering to God’s children “with all [our] heart, might, mind and strength.”¹⁶ At the core of our effort in this journey are, of course, the two great commandments: to love the Lord our God and love our neighbor as ourselves.¹⁷

This type of behavior is part of Jesus’s divine character and was evident in everything He did during His earthly ministry.¹⁸ Therefore, when we intentionally and truly dedicate ourselves to look unto Him and learn from His perfect example,¹⁹ we come to know Him better. We grow in enthusiasm and desire to incorporate into our lives the ultimate standard of how we should live, the example we should set, and the commandments we should follow. We also gain additional understanding, wisdom, divine character, and grace toward God and our neighbors.²⁰ I can assure you that our ability to feel the Savior’s influence and love will be intensified in our lives, magnifying our faith, our desire to act righteously, and the motivation to serve Him and others.²¹ In addition, our gratitude for the blessings and challenges we experience in mortality will solidify and become part of our true worship.

What is the Holy Ghost Teaching Me As I Read These Chapters?

 

Conversion Is Our Goal

By Mark L. Pace

Sunday School General President

To be most effective, your experiences with the scriptures must be your own.⁵ Reading or hearing about another person’s experiences and insights can be helpful, but that won’t bring the same converting power. There is no substitute for the time you spend in the scriptures, hearing the Holy Ghost speak directly to you.

What Is the Holy Ghost Teaching Me?

Each week when I open my Come, Follow Me manual, I write this question at the top of the page: “What is the Holy Ghost teaching me this week as I read these chapters?”

As I study the scriptures, I ponder that question over and over again. And without fail, spiritual impressions come, and I make note of them in my manual.