Trouble-free Life !

 Expecting a trouble free life, because you are a good person
                  is like 
expecting the bull not to charge because you are a vegetarian.

Harold S. Kushner

Brigham Young - Prison House

“What do you suppose the fathers would say if they could speak from the dead? Would they say, ‘We have lain here thousands of years, here in this prison house, waiting for this dispensation to come?’...

What would they whisper in our ears?

Why, if they had the power the very thunders of heaven would be in our ears, if we could but realize the importance of the work we are engaged in. All the angels in heaven are looking at this little handful of people, and stimulating them to the salvation of the human family....

When I think upon this subject, I want the tongues of seven thunders to wake up the people.”

Brigham Young at dedication of the
St. George Temple, January 1, 1877

Elder McConke - Preexistence

From "A New Witness For The Articles Of Faith", page 4
Elder Bruce R. McConkie

"Men are not born equal in talents and capacities; mortality commences where preexisence ends, and the talents earned in the life that went before are available for use in this mortal life.

Parable: The Owl Express

A parable by James E. Talmage

During my college days, I was one of a class of students appointed to fieldwork as a part of our prescribed courses in geology. …

A certain assignment had kept us in the field many days. … As the time allotted to the investigation drew near its close, we were overtaken by a violent windstorm, followed by a heavy snow—unseasonable and unexpected, but which, nevertheless, increased in intensity so that we were in danger of being snowbound in the hills. The storm reached its height while we were descending a long and steep mountainside several miles from the little railway station at which we had hoped to take [a] train that night for home. With great effort we reached the station late at night while the storm was yet raging. …

Image © Hemera/Thinkstock, iStock/Thinkstock

… The train for which we so expectantly and hopefully waited was the Owl Express—a fast night train connecting large cities. …

Long after midnight the train arrived in a terrific whirl of wind and snow. I lingered behind my companions as they hurriedly clambered aboard, for I was attracted by the engineer, who during the brief stop, while his assistant was attending to the water replenishment, bustled about the engine, oiling some parts, adjusting others, and generally overhauling the panting locomotive. I ventured to speak to him, busy though he was. I asked how he felt on such a night—wild, weird, and furious, when the powers of destruction seemed to be let loose, abroad and uncontrolled, when the storm was howling and when danger threatened from every side. …

His answer was a lesson not yet forgotten. In effect he said, though in jerky and disjointed sentences: “Look at the engine headlight. Doesn’t that light up the track for a hundred yards [90 m] or more? Well, all I try to do is to cover that hundred yards of lighted track. That I can see, and for that distance I know the roadbed is open and safe. … The light of the engine is always ahead of me!”

As he climbed to his place in the cab, I hastened to board the first passenger coach; and as I sank into the cushioned seat, in blissful enjoyment of the warmth and general comfort, offering strong contrast to the wildness of the night without, I thought deeply of the words of the grimy, oil-stained engineer. They were full of faith—the faith that accomplishes great things, the faith that gives courage and determination. …

We may not know what lies ahead of us in the future years, nor even in the days or hours immediately beyond. But for a few yards, or possibly only a few feet, the track is clear, our duty is plain, our course is illumined. For that short distance, for the next step, lighted by the inspiration of God, go on!

From “Three Parables—The Unwise Bee, the Owl Express, and Two Lamps,”Ensign, Feb. 2003, 8–13.

Pres. Hinckley - "Things Will Work Out"

To no less a publication than the New York Times, President Hinckley recently said in an interview conducted in Nauvoo, Illinois, “I see so many good people everywhere—and there’s so much of good in them. And the world is good. Wonderful things are happening in this world. This is the greatest age in the history of the earth.”

From what source does this irrepressible optimism come to President Hinckley? It comes from that foundation of faith which inspired our forebears in this church to “carry on.” Indeed, the New York Times, in interviewing President Hinckley, received not only a lesson in LDS history, but great insight into the very meaning of faith:

“We have every reason to be optimistic in this world,” President Hinckley insisted. “Tragedy is around, yes. Problems everywhere, yes. But look at Nauvoo. Look at what they built here in seven years and then left. But what did they do? Did they lie down and die? No! They went to work! They moved halfway across this continent and turned the soil of a desert and made it blossom as the rose. On that foundation this church has grown into a great worldwide organization affecting for good the lives of people in more than 140 nations. You can’t, you don’t, build out of pessimism or cynicism. You look with optimism, work with faith, and things happen.”

Whether the reporter for the New York Times knew it or not, he was getting vintage President Gordon B. Hinckley—articulate, knowledgeable, courteous, confident, stirring. And always filled with faith in God and in the future.

“Things will work out” may well be President Hinckley’s most repeated assurance to family, friends, and associates. “Keep trying,” he will say. “Be believing. Be happy. Don’t get discouraged. Things will work out.”

Ensign - June 1995 (Elder Holland)

Elder Bednar - "Observe, Listen, Discern - then Talk"

We were given Elder Bednar's book, "Power to Become" from Josh's family for Christmas (2015) and have enjoyed reading it together, most every night for the past few weeks.

One of the quotes that really stood out was as follows (page 162):

Teaching the gospel the Lord's way includes observing, listening, and discerning as prerequisites to talking.  The sequence of these four interrelated processes is significant.  Please note that active observing and listening precede discerning - and that observing, listening, and discerning come before speaking.  Employing this pattern enables an instructor to identify and teach to the needs of learners.

As we observe, listen, and discern, we can be given "in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man" (D&C 84:85) - the truths to emphasize and the answers to give that will meet the specific needs of a particular individual or group.  Only by observing, listening, and discerning can we be guided by the Spirit to say and do the things that will be most helpful to those whom we teach and serve.  Parents and gospel instructors who talk without observing, listening, and discerning teach neither lessons nor people.  Rather, they talk to themselves in front of learners.

Wonderful insight !  I need to put this in practice, starting in my own life, and my own family.

Bruce R. McConkie - Household of Faith

"In general, though not invariably, the Lord sends a faith-endowed spirit into a household of faith."

Bruce R. McConkie
Doctrinal New Testament Commentary (vol. 3, page 99)

This reminds me of the scriptural thought, "where much is given, much is required"  - Luke 12, D&C 82.