BYU Devotional

BYU Devotional
Elder Stanley G Ellis First Quorum of the Seventy

Would I be thought of as a kind and helpful friend?
Story of Esther and the reminder it is to have courage. Pilate was
the opposite. He was only merciful when there was no cost.

Many things known and unknown.
There will always be surprises in life.
Long and short term plans change.
Won't plan on most of what happens but a lot of it will be good.

Seek the lord's guidance and follow the Spirit. If it is silent and
you are worthy. Continue with your plans. Do things the Lord's way.

Keep making plans. We need them to be guided, but don't ignore the
Lord in favor of old plans. Have a plan for all things you can.

Lord instructed saints that they would be in Nauvoo for a short time
but that they should act as if they'd be there for years. Settle in,
unpack, and be there. Don't be a floater! Be involved, grow, and
share.

Death and final judgment are sure to come someday. Have a plan: follow Christ.
Christ will always be just and merciful.
We judge ourselves
-by what we choose.
-standard which we judge/deal with others
-value others
No secrets in eternity
No anonymous trolls~
Imagine your judgment and prepare now
-repent and be spotless

Choose the right and be in control of yourself

Have the courage to choose wisely
Story of Esau being short-sighted
Don't trade blessings for pottage
There are eternal consequences

Our heavenly father knows and loves us

I Walk The Line

She said... ...[Yes!]

Victor is on his way to see me, and my big brother took off work to be a part of it--what ever 'it' will be (I had a pretty good idea). I went to bed early, sometime around 8:30 so I would get at least some sleep that night, as I would be spending 11:30-12:30 with him and then getting up to go perform baptisms for the dead at the Rexburg temple. That night when I announced to Benjamin that Victor was to pick me up at 7:30 so we could be at the temple a bit before 8am (the time they open the baptistery for walk-ins) Victor took a hesitant breath and said...ok. I wanted to be to the temple when it opened so we could have more of the rest of the Saturday together to do other things too, as the baptistery is often packed busy on Saturdays. Victor and I took a short walk and said our good nights (or good morning, as it was after midnight).

After arriving in Rexburg, late at night with a carpool including Janell’s brother Benjamin, I got everything lined up for the next day, set my alarm for 5:30 am, and went to bed.  I needed to be up really early, because Janell always gets up really early, and if I wasn’t up early, I’d be too late and the surprise would be spoiled.

Good Stress, Bad Stress,

Ring, check.   Plan for asking, check.  Transportation to her town, check.
I've got it all planned out for this next weekend.  I hope the following weekend isn't so stressful as this week was and I have a lot of reason for it to be a great weekend.
This week I had two finals.  My physics final, which I'm really stressed about finding out how I did, and my biology final.  The Lord helped me a lot on that one to know what was important and I got a 92% on the test.  Tomorrow I'm giving a big presentation on Maria Theresia of the Habsburg Empire.
Work is going okay.  My mom sent my tools to Pocatello with Naomi so in a week I'll be able to pick them up from her and I'll have them again.
My car broke down this week too.  The rear left wheel bearings went out as well as the rear brakes.  Wore down to metal on metal.  We checked the brakes and they were fine in December.  My dad was surprised how much I talked them down for the labor.
Janell's cousins are really starting to pressure me to know my plans with Janell.  They'll sure have a surprise next weekend.

Mark Damoss- BYU devotional 1/24/2012

Mark Damoss- BYU devotional 1/24/2012
-Author of the "little red book of wisdom"
"If you're representing the lord you have nothing to worry about. It's
the Lord who should be worried."

If it's Christian, it ought to be done better.
The only Christian work is work well done.

Doctrinal differences have caused an ugly divide between evangelical
Christians and Latter-day Saints.
Those violently protesting our faith are a small and ugly minority.
Mistreatment of Mormons by those who claim to follow Christ has
inspired many attempts at more Christ-like dialogue--the Civility
project.
Incivility is a problem with both liberals and conservative.
Be respectful of adversaries.
Write nice letters.
Let each esteem others better than himself. - Phillipians
1st amendment gives right to demonize with public speech but it
doesn't make it right.
Conduct yourself with love.
Disagree without being disagreeable Quentin l cook
Can't claim to be a follower of Christ without treating others civilly.

Most people associate wisdom with age power affluence or importance.
Know that wisdom can come from the mouth of babes.

Ways to get wise
1. Spend time with wise people
2. Read the textbook -the Bible- Proverbs
Read a chapter a day. All 31 each month.
3. Ask for it. It comes down from above. James 1:5

If you see a turtle on a fence post, he didn't put himself there.
There are no self made men. God puts us where we are.
There are self starters. God won't get us going.
He started a successful public relations firm, I could start a medical
equipment testing firm.

Losing a family member gets you thinking about death.
God set limits of our time.
Be aware of that limit.
Have a sense of purpose.

By following God, if you gain you gain all. If you lose, you lose nothing.
When you get to the top there is nothing there. The affluence of the
world offers nothing.

Christ is center of all. Following him always brings happiness.
Love your wife.

Both our eternity and life ahead depend on how we answer. Now what?