TO WALK THROUGH THIS NIGHT

Surely this heavy grief I cannot bear -
And yet it will not lift its' weight from me,
Nor can I now reach back to summers where
The days hang warm and ripe in memory.
If by my will I could just sink and die,
I would - a sunless future chills me so!
My small faith quavers, crying to deny,
The very God I prayed, childlike to know.
But death has not been given to me to choose,
And there is no backward path to Eden's gate
And standing numb - or railing - is no use,
No matter how unbearable the weight.
Like Abraham, like Job, like The One Light
To find the dawn I must walk through this night.

- Tamara J. Hinkley

IN GOD'S IMAGE

An old rabbi once said that every man ought to carry two pieces of paper in his pocket. In times of self-satisfaction and complacency he should read the one that says: "I am dust and ashes". When dejected and dispirited he should read the other that says: "For my sake was the world created". And at all times he should remember: "I am made from the dust but it is in God's image I am made".

- Author unknown

TIME AND ETERNITY

'T was just this time last year I died
 I know I heard the corn,
When I was carried by the farms -
 It had the tassels on.

I thought how yellow it would look
When Richard went to mill;
And then I wanted to get out,
 But something held my will.

I thought just how red apples wedged
The stubble's joints between:
And carts went stooping round the fields
To take the pumpkins in.

I wondered which would miss me least,
And when Thanksgiving come,
If father'd multiply the plates
To make an even sum.

And if my stocking hung too high,
Would it blur the Christmas glee,
That not a Santa Claus could reach
The altitude of me?

But this sort grieved myself, and so
I thought how it would be
When just this time, some perfect year
Themselves should come to me.

- Emily Dickinson

YOUR LONGING FOR FAMILY JOY

"I promise you that you can experience the fulfillment of your desire for eternal love, if you really want it, so long as you don't want anything else more. I pray that you will do the work required to fulfill your family dream. The longing of the heart for this fulness is a central vision of the gospel. It is also a source of great power, especially on those cloudy days, or years, when your dreams seem impossible. Even when love wounds you, that's because love matters so much. The deep hurt is the mirror image of the deep joy that still awaits you. Your longing to belong forever to a loving family comes from God, and He has promised its fulfillment, if you are faithful: "For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness" (Psalm 107:9). I know His promise is sure."
(Elder Bruce C. Hafen, "Your Longing For Family Joy",  Ensign October 2003, p 28-33)

FOR THE ONE

"For many years I thought of the Saviour's experience in the garden and on the cross as places where a large mass of sin was heaped upon Him. Through the words of Alma, Abinadi, Isaiah, and other prophets, however, my view has changed. Instead of an impersonal mass of sin, there was a long line of people, as Jesus felt 'our infirmities', bore our griefs....carried our sorrows...and was bruised for our iniquities....He learned about your weaknesses and mine. He experienced your pains and sufferings. He experienced mine. I testify that He knows us. He understand the way in which we deal with temptations. He knows our weaknesses, But more than that, more than just knowing us, He knows how to help us if we come to Him in faith." (Merrill J. Bateman, "A Pattern for All", Ensign, Nov. 2005, p 74)

HUNGRY FIRES OF COURAGE

They cut desire into short lengths
And fed it to the hungry fires of courage.
Long after, when the flames had died
Molten gold gleamed in the ashes.
They gathered it into bruised palms
And handed it to their children
And their children's children forever.

- Vilate C. Raile

WHERE THE GREAT ONES ARE

I'm tired of sailing my little boat
Far inside of the harbour bar;

I want to be out where the big ships float -
Out on the deep, where the great ones are!

And should my frail craft prove too slight
For storms that sweep those wide seas o'er;

I'd rather go down in the stirring fight
Than drowse to death by the sheltered shore!

- Daisy Rhinehart

HE WHO WOULD BE CHIEF AMONG YOU

And he rose from supper,
Poured water in a basin,
And washed the disciples' feet.

Those hands,
Hardened by the heat of a desert sun,
Comfortable with cutting trees
And turning them to tables
In Joseph's shop -

Those hands,
That with a wave could stop
The troubled sea,
Could touch a leper clean,
Or triumphantly turn death away.

Those hands,
That could gesture the heavens open -
Poured water in a basin
And washed the disciples' feet.

The lesson lies unlearned
But to a few,
Who trust the paradox
And hear the call:

"He who would be chief among you,
Let him be the servant of all."

- Carol Lynn Pearson

CROSSING THE BAR

Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me,
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea.
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep,
Turns again home.

Twilight and the evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place,
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.

- Lord Alfred Tennyson

PAIN STAYED SO LONG

Pain stayed so long, I said to him today;
I will not have you with me anymore!
And paused there, startled at the look he wore.
I, who have been your friend, he said to me.
I who have been your teacher.
All that you know of understanding and love,
of sympathy and patience, I have taught you.
Shall I go?
He spoke the truth,
This strange unwelcome guest;
I watched him leave and knew that he was wise.
He left a heart grown tender in my breast.
He left a far, clear vision in my eyes.
I dried my tears and lifted up a song,
For one who'd tortured me so long.

- Anonymous

WITHIN THESE SACRED WALLS

"Before the Saviour comes the world will darken. There will come a period of time where even the elect will lose hope if they do not come to the temples. The world will be so filled with evil that the righteous will only feel secure within these walls. The Saints will come here not only to do vicarious work but to find a haven of peace. They will long to bring their children here for safety's sake...We will not be alone in our temples... The covenants and ordinances will fill us with faith as a living fire. In a day of desolating sickness, scorched earth, barren wastes, sickening plagues, disease, destruction, and death, we as a people will rest in the shade of trees, we will drink from the cooling fountains. We will abide in places of refuge from the storm; we will mount up as on eagles' wings; we will be lifted out of an insane and evil world. We will be as fair as the sun and clear as the moon. When the Saviour comes He will honour His people. Those who are spared and prepared will be a temple-loving people. They will know Him. Our children will bow down at His feet and worship Him as the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings. They will bathe His feet with their tears and He will weep, and bless them for having suffered through the greatest trials known to man. Let us prepare them with the faith to surmout every trial and every condition. We will do it in these holy, sacred temples".

- Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone, Manti Temple, April 1987

THE LESSON

Yes, my fretting, frowning child,

I could cross the room to you more easily,

But I've already learnt to walk so I make you come to me.

Let go now, there, you see!

Oh, remember this simple lesson child,

And when in later years you cry out with tight fists and tears,

Oh help me God please!

Just listen and you'll hear a silent voice,

I would child, I would, but it's you, not I, who needs to try

Godhood.

-  Carol Lynn Pearson

AND GOD SAID "NO"

I asked God to take away my pride, and God said "No".
He said it was not for Him to take away, but for me to give up.
I asked God to grant me patience, and God said "No".
He said that patience is a by-product of tribulation, it isn't granted, it is earned.
I asked God to give me happiness, and God said "No".
He said He gives us blessings, happiness is up to me.
I asked God to spare me pain, and God said "No".
He said "suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to Me".
I asked God to make my spirit grow, and God said "No".
He said I must grow on my own, but He will prune me to make me fruitful.
I asked God if He loved me, and God said "Yes",
That's why He gave His only Son to die for me,
And I will be in heaven someday because I believe.
I asked God to help me love others as much as He loves me,
And God said, "Ah, finally you understand what you really need".

-  Author unknown, revised by Cathryne Allen

IN GOD'S FOLD

Twas a sheep, not a lamb that went astray in the parable Jesus told,
Twas a grown up sheep that wandered away from the ninety and nine in the fold,
And out on the hill tops and out in the storm twas a sheep that the good shepherd sought,
And back to the flock and back to the fold twas a sheep that the good shepherd brought.
Now why should the sheep be so carefully fed and cared for still today,
Because there is danger if they go wrong they will lead the lambs astray.
For the lambs will follow the sheep you know wherever they wonder wherever they go.
If the sheep go wrong it will not be long till the lambs are as wrong as they.
So still with the sheep do we earnestly plead for the sake of the lambs today,
If the lambs are lost what a terrible cost some sheep will have to pay.

- Author unknown

BORN TO BE A KING

"King Louis had been taken from his throne and imprisoned. His young son, the prince, was taken by those who dethroned the king. They thought that inasmuch as the king's son was heir to the throne, if they could destroy him morally, he would never realise the great and grand destiny that life had bestowed upon him. They took him to a community far away, and there they exposed the lad to every filthy and vile thing that life could offer. They exposed him to foods the richness of which would quickly make him a slave to appetite. They used vile language around him constantly. They exposed him to lewd and lusting women. They exposed him to dishonour and distrust. He was surrounded twenty-four hours a day by everything that could drag the soul of a man as low as one could slip. For over six months he had this treatment - but not once did the young lad buckle under pressure. Finally, after intensive temptation, they questioned him. Why had he not submitted himself to these things - why had he not partaken? These things would provide pleasure, satisfy his lusts, and were desirable: they were all his. The boy said, "I cannot do what you ask for I was born to be a king".

"Let the mountains shout for joy, and all ye valleys cry aloud; and all ye seas and dry lands tell the wonders of your Eternal King.....and let the sons of God shout for joy...!"  D&C 128:23

GOD'S WINGS

GOD'S WINGS -

An article in National Geographic several years ago provided a penetrating picture of God's wings. After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess the inferno's damage. One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree. Somewhat sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick. When he gently struck it, three tiny chicks scurried from under their dead mother's wings. The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings, instinctively knowing that the toxic smoke would rise. She could have flown to safety but refused to abandon her babies. When the blaze had arrived and the heat had scorched her small body, the mother had remained steadfast. Because she had been willing to die, those under the cover of her wings would live. 

"O, ye nations of the earth, how oft would I have gathered you together as a hen gathered her chickens under her wings, but ye would not!" D&C 43:24