A WONDERFUL FUTURE

"I see a wonderful future in a very uncertain world. If we will cling to our values, if we will build on our inheritance, if we will walk in obedience before the Lord, if we will simply live the gospel, we will be blessed in a magnificent and wonderful way. We will be looked upon as a peculiar people who have found the key to a peculiar happiness. And many people shall go and say, 'Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord....for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:3). Great has been our past, wonderful is our present, glorious can be our future."

- President Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, November 1997, p 69

TOGETHER

Perhaps we can be together there,
In that next place
Where bodies are so pure
They pass through planets -

Perhaps there,
Where the light that lighteth the sun
Is kept on all night every night,
And no one watches for morning
Holding the cold off with a candle -

There, perhaps,
Where pain is exchanged
For peace and a memory -

You and I can touch as we pass
And gather in the good of one another.
We can love and give
In whatever loving, giving ways
There finally are.

We still will wish
To be together then, I think.
Perhaps then we shall know how.
Perhaps, even, we shall know why
We cannot be together now.

-  Carol Lynn Pearson

MARY, DID YOU KNOW?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy will someday walk on water?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you've delivered, will soon deliver you.

Mary, did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with His hand?
Did you know that your baby boy walked where angels trod?
And when you kissed your little baby, you have kissed the face of God.

Mary, did you know, the blind will see, the deaf will hear,
The dead will live again,
The lame will leap, the dumb will speak
The praises of the Lamb.

Mary, did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy would one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you're holding is the great I Am.

- Mark Lowry

TO A CHILD GONE

I thought I was ahead of you in line.
You would take your turn
After I took mine.
Like we did before.

I guess you don't need new shoes
For starting heaven.
Or a light left on against the dark
The way I always did.
But I'm so used to parenting,
I wanted just to be there -
To do whatever needed to be done.

But you went first.
And now, my little one,
Suddenly you are my senior.
Morning, I know, will come.
But, bring close your light -
This time it is I who fear the night.

- Carol Lynn Pearson

WITHIN US

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us".

-  Ralph Waldo Emerson

FULNESS

"He wept - He who had descended below all things, the Man of Sorrows, He who bore all our griefs. The height of His infinite capacity for joy is the inverse, mirror image of the depth of His capacity to bear our burdens. So it is with the enlarged caverns of feeling within our own hearts; as the sorrows of our lives carve and stretch those caverns, they expand our soul's capacity for joy. Then, when the Man of Sorrows turns our bitter tastes to sweet, our joy - and His - will fill the widened chambers of our hearts with what the scriptures call 'fulness'. That is when we have accepted His Atonement and love with such completeness that His purpose for us is fully satisfied. Then will we know that we were made for this. Then will we know where, and why, and to whom, we belong.
'For He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.' (Psalms 107:9)'"

- Bruce C. Hafen, "The Belonging Heart", p 315)

ALWAYS THERE

IF I could catch a rainbow
I would do it just for you
And share with you its beauty
On the days you're feeling blue.

If I could build a mountain
You could call your very own
A place to find serenity
A place to be alone.

If I could take your troubles
I would toss them in the sea
But all these things I'm finding
Are impossible for me.

I cannot build a mountain
Or catch a rainbow fair
But let me be what I know best
A friend that's always there.

- Author unknown

BELIEVE

Believe in yourself, in the power you have
To control your own life day by day....

Believe in the strength that you feel deep inside
And your faith will show you the way....

Believe in tomorrow and what it will bring,
Let a hopeful heart carry you through -

For things will work out if you trust and believe
There is no limit to what you can do!

- Author unknown

THE FAR SIDE OF FAILURE

On the far side of failure
Beyond the path of rejection
Far past the ghosts
Of doubt and dejection.

Even surpassing
The road travelled less
Lies the hidden valley
Of massive success.

-  David Wolfe

THE ONE YOU FEED

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said: "My son, the battle is between two 'wolves' inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jelousy, hatred, greed, arrogance, self-pity, resentment, inferiority, pride, superiority and ego. The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee replied: "The one you feed."

- Author Unknown

GOD'S BOXES

I have in my hands two boxes
Which God gave me to hold.
He said, "Put all your sorrows in the black
And all your joys in the gold".

I heeded his words and in the two boxes
Both my joys and sorrows I stored.
But though the gold became heavier each day
The black was as light as before.

With curiosity I opened the black,
I wanted to find out why.
And I saw in the base of the box
A hole which my sorrows had fallen out by.

I showed the hole to God and mused aloud:
"I wonder where my sorrows could be?"
I asked: "God why give me the boxes,
Why the gold and the black with a hole?"

"My child, the gold is for you
To count your blessings,
And the black is for you to let go".

- Author Unknown

GIFTS OF FRIENDSHIP

If gifts of friendship could be counted

Like small shells beside the sea;

I would own an endless shoreline

Of the joys you've given me.

- Emily Dickinson

IF I CAN

If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.

-  Emily Dickinson

A REFINER AND PURIFIER OF SILVER

 "Some time ago, a few women met in a certain city to study the scriptures. While reading the 3rd Chapter of Malachi, they came upon a remarkable expression in the 3rd Verse: "And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver". One woman proposed to visit a silversmith and report to them on what he said about the subject. She went accordingly, and without telling the object of her errand begged the silversmith to tell her about the process of refining silver. After he had fully described it to her, she asked, "But sir, do you sit while the work of refining is going on?". "Oh yes, Madam", replied the silversmith, "I must sit with my eye steadily fixed on the furnace, for if the time necessary for refining be exceeded in the slightest degree, the silver will be injured". The woman at once saw the beauty, and comfort of the expression, "He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver". God sees it needful to put His children into a furnace; His eye is steadily intent on the work of purifying, and His wisdom and love are both engaged in the best manner for us. Our trials do not come at random, and He will not let us be tested beyond what we can endure. Before she left, the woman asked one final question, "When do you know the process is complete?" "Why, that is quite simple", replied the silversmith. "When I can see my own image in the silver, the refining process is finished".

THE WEAVER

My life is but a weaving

Between my God and me.

I let Him choose the colours,

He worketh steadily.

Oft times he worketh sorrow

And I in foolish pride,

Forget He sees the pattern

While I see the under side.

Not till the loom is silent

And the shuttles cease to fly,

Shall God unroll the canvas

And explain the reason why,

The dark threads were as needful

In the Weaver's skillful hand,

As the threads of gold and silver

In the pattern He has planned.

- Anonymous

THE CHALLENGE TO BECOME

"A wealthy father knew that if he were to bestow his wealth upon a child who had not yet developed the needed wisdom and stature, the inheritance would probably be wasted. The father said to the child: 'All that I have I desire to give you - not only my wealth, but also my position and standing among men. That which I have I can easily give you but that which I am you must obtain for yourself. You will qualify for your inheritance by learning what I have learned and by living as I have lived. I will give you the laws and principles by which I have acquired my wisdom and my stature. Follow my example, mastering as I have mastered, and you will become as I am, and all that I have will be yours.' Many Bible and modern scriptures speak of a final judgment at which all persons will be rewarded according to their deeds or works or the desires of their hearts. But other scriptures enlarge upon this by referring to our being judged by the condition we have achieved."

- Dallin H. Oaks

WAIT

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried: 
          Quietly, patiently, lovingly God replied.

I pled and wept for a clue to my fate from the Master who gently said:
           "Child, you must wait".

"Wait? You say, wait!" my indignant reply. 
           "Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!"

Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
            By faith, I have asked, and am claiming your word.

My future and all to which I can relate hangs in the balance, 
             and you tell me to wait?"

I'm needing a 'yes', a go ahead sign, or even a 'no' to which I can resign.
And Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry:
             I'm weary of asking!  I need a reply!"

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate as my Master replied once again:
             "You must wait."

So, I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut and grumbled to God:
             "So, I'm waiting....for what?"

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes wept with mine, and He tenderly said: 
              "I could give you a sign.

I could shake the heavens, and darken the sun. I could raise the dead,
               and cause mountains to run.

All you seek I could give, and pleased you would be. You would have 
               what you want - but, you wouldn't know Me.

You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint:
               You'd not know the power that I give to the faint,

You'd not learn to see through the clouds of despair:
                You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there;

You'd not know the joy of resting in Me, when darkness and silence
                were all you could see;

You'd never experience that fullness of love as the peace of My 
                Spirit descends like a dove;

You'd know that I live and I save....(for a start),
                 but you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

The glow of My comfort late into the night;
                 the faith that I give when you walk without sight.

The depth that's beyond getting just what you asked of an infinite God,
                 who makes what you have last.

You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,
                 what it means that "My grace is sufficient for thee.

Yes, your dreams for your loved one overnight would come true;
                 but, oh, the loss, if I lost what I'm doing in you!

So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see that the greatest
                 of gifts is to get to know Me.

And though oft may My answers seem terribly late;
                 My most precious answer of all is still "wait".

                 - Author Unknown