--Thought--

Paraphrasing Charles Peirce ~ Action is the finale of the symphony of thought.

More to be said later...

"Strong Men Shed Blood Before They Shed Tears." - Iron Monkey

the title says it all. . .

More Great Quotes!

Here are some more great quotes that I heard in my New Testament class:

Greater Blessings, Greater Trials

"I ask, is there a reason for men and women exposed more constantly and more powerfully to the power of the enemy by having visions than by not having them' There is and it is simply this. God never bestows upon His people, or upon an individual, superior blessings without a severe trial to prove them, to prove that individual or that people, to see whether they will keep their covenants with Him, and keep in remembrance what he has shown them. Then the greater the vision the greater the display of the power of the enemy. So when individuals are blessed with visions, revelations, and great manifestations, look out, then the Devil is nigh you, and you will be tempted in proportion to the visions, revelations or manifestation you have received." (Pres Brigham Young JD 3:205-206)

The Shield of Faith

“Lest parents and children be “tossed to and fro,” and misled by “cunning craftiness” of men who “lie in wait to deceive” (Eph. 4:14), our Father’s plan requires that, like the generation of life itself, the shield of faith is to be made and fitted in the family. No two can be exactly alike. Each must be handcrafted to individual specifications. The plan designed by the Father contemplates that man and woman, husband and wife, working together, fit each child individually with a shield of faith made to buckle on so firmly that it can neither be pulled off nor penetrated by those fiery darts. It takes the steady strength of a father to hammer out the metal of it and the tender hands of a mother to polish and fit it on. Sometimes one parent is left to do it alone. It is difficult, but it can be done. In the Church we can teach about the materials from which a shield of faith is made: reverence, courage, chastity, repentance, forgiveness, compassion. In church we can learn how to assemble and fit them together. But the actual making of and fitting on of the shield of faith belongs in the family circle. Otherwise it may loosen and come off in a crisis. This shield of faith is not manufactured on an assembly line, only handmade in a cottage industry. Therefore our leaders press members to understand that what is most worth doing must be done at home. Some still do not see that too many out-of-home activities, however well intended, leave too little time to make and fit on the shield of faith at home.” (Boyd K. Packer, "“The Shield of Faith”", Ensign, May 1995, 7)

Power of the Word

“When individual members and families immerse themselves in the scriptures regularly and consistently, … other areas of activity will automatically come. Testimonies will increase. Commitment will be strengthened. Families will be fortified. Personal revelation will flow” (Ezra Taft Benson, “The Power of the Word,” Ensign, May 1986, 81).

The Quest for Excellence

“I speak of the need for a little more effort, a little more self-discipline, a little more consecrated effort in the direction of excellence in our lives. This is the great day of decision for each of us. For many it is the time of beginning something that will go on for as long as you live. I plead with you: don’t be a scrub! Rise to the high ground of spiritual, mental, and physical excellence. You can do it. You may not be a genius. You may be lacking in some skills. But so many of us can do better than we are now doing. We are members of this great Church whose influence is now felt over the world. We are people with a present and with a future. Don’t muff your opportunities. Be excellent.” (Gordon B. Hinckley, "The Quest for Excellence", Ensign, Sept. 1999, 2)

desire

"...You can't see anything properly while your eyes are blurred with tears. You can't, in most things, get what you want if you want it too desperately: anyway, you can't get the best out of it. 'Now! Let's have a real good talk' reduces everyone to silence. 'I must get a good sleep tonight' ushers in hours of wakefulness. Delicious drinks are wasted on a really ravenous thirst. Is it similarly the very intensity of the longing that draws the iron curtain, that makes us feel we are staring into a vacuum...?

- C. S. Lewis, A Grief Observed p. 45

"The time when there is nothing at all in your soul except a cry for help may be just the time when God can't give it: you are like the drowning man who can't be helped because he clutches and grabs. Perhaps your own reiterated cries deafen you to the voice you hoped to hear. On the other hand, 'Knock and it shall be opened.' But does knocking mean hammering and kicking the door like a maniac? ...Perhaps your own passion temporarily destroys the capacity [to receive]."

- C. S. Lewis, A Grief Observed p. 46

Can we want something too much, even if it is a good thing? Is it possible to bang too hard on the door? I wonder how often it is that I pray so hard for something and yet forget to be still and listen. This leads to a very important point: Is not listening just as important as asking, if not more so?

C S Lewis makes another point: we can say with words that we want something, but can we really know how serious we are unless we have to choose, unless something is truly at stake? Honestly, I wish sometimes the Lord would just choose for me, but I've found he typically doesn't. He wants me to choose, to struggle, to learn, and to choose again. Of course he is there to inspire and to impress, but I must make the choice. I have to step into the dark in order to see the light. To the brother of Jared, the Lord asked, 'what will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea?' In other words, 'What do you want me to do?' When the saints were building the Salt Lake Temple, the Lord allow the saints to work so arduously to build the foundation, only to find out later that it was flawed, causing them to start anew. Nephi and his brother were commanded to retrieve the plates of brass, yet the first two tries failed miserably almost leading to there death. The question is, Why? Why didn't the Lord simply inspire them to know? Why let them choose? I can say in all honesty, I don't know, but I suspect there is something to be learned in choosing, in make our own choices. I don't know for sure, but what I do know is the Lord has a purpose and reason for everything he does.

Ultimately, he is guiding me so that I may become the man he needs me to be. He does not pull or prod, but as a shepherd, He leads me to green pastures.

Am I willing to listen? Am I willing to step into the darkness in order to see the light?

Great Poem!

Okay, so I realize that practically every other one of my posts is a poem, but I have another one I want to post. I heard this one in Stake Conference today. It was so great.

	I Wish My Daddy Was a Dog by Elrod C. Leany
	One day when Bruce was just a lad, first starting out in school, He came into my workshop and climbed upon a stool. I saw him as he entered but I hadn't time to play. So I merely nodded to him and said, "Don't get in the way." He sat awhile just thinking.... As quiet as could be, Then carefully he got down and came and stood by me. He said, "Old Shep, he never works and he has lots of fun. He runs around the meadows and barks up at the sun. "He chases after rabbits and always scares the cats He likes to chew on old shoes and sometimes mother's hats. But when we're tired of running and we're sitting on a log, I sometimes get to thinking. . . 'I wish my daddy was a dog.' " 'Cause then when I came home from school you'd run and lick my hand And then we'd jump and holler and tumble in the sand And then I'd be as happy as a little boy could be If we could play the whole day through--just my dad and me. "Now I know you have to work real hard to buy us food and clothes. And you need to get the girls those fancy ribbons and bows. But sometimes when I'm lonesome I think t'would be lots of fun, If my daddy was a dog, and all his work was done." Now when he'd finished speaking, he looked so lonely there, I reached my hand out to him and ruffled up his hair. And as I turned my head aside to brush away a tear, I thought how nice it was to have my son so near. I know the Lord didn't mean for man to toil his whole life through, "Come on, my son I'm sure I have some time for you." You should have seen the joy and sunlight in his eye, As we went outside to play - just my son and I. Now, as the years have swiftly flown and youth has slipped away, I've tried always to remember to leave some time to play. When I pause to reminisce and think of joys and strife, I carefully turn the pages of this wanderer's book of life. I find the richest entry recorded in that daily log, Is the day that small boy whispered, "I wish my daddy was a dog."