Inspiration for our times ~ devotion

     Today I went to church for the first time in 4 months. The congregation was small, no more than 30 people were there. All had come to pay their devotions to God, to partake of the sacred sacrament- to renew their covenants, and to sing praises to their Eternal Father and His Son Jesus Christ.

     I was moved to tears as I watched the tender and devoted way the young men prepared the emblems to be blessed. I was inspired by the music- "There Is a Green Hill Far Away" one of my favorites. I was grateful for our leaders in their preparations that I had taken for granted as we use to attend each week. 

     I hope you enjoy paying your devotions to the Lord in your homes. I intend to devote more time, more love and more of myself to the Lord.

   

Listen or watch Larry L. Thurgood "True Devotion"

Music:
Lord, Accept Our True Devotion (Arr. D. Zabriskie)- Brigham Young University Singers

Blessed Assurance - Fountainview Academy
 I Know Who Holds Tomorrow - The Petersens

Voices of Lee - What A Beautiful Name

How Great Thou Art - Как Ты велик - English & Russian - ELENYI, feat. Jarom Hansen


Words for you to ponder today-Devotion

Inspiration for our times ~peacemaker~

Jesus Christ is called the Prince of Peace (see Isa. 9:6), and his message is a message of peace to the individual and to the world. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the plan of life that will restore peace to the world, remove inner tensions and troubles, and bring happiness to the human soul. May we be peacemakers and follow the Prince of Peace today and always.

Listen or watch Mary Ellen Edmunds as she speaks at BYU Idaho Education week - 2017 

Music:
The Peace Prayer of St Francis of Assisi - Orchestra & choir
Katherine Jenkins - Make Me A Channel Of Your Peace
Peace Maker - Greg Ferguson
Heritage Singers - Peacespeaker
Galaxy Children's Choir of Beijing with Tabernacle Choir - Let There Be Peace on Earth

Additional short messages from LDS Leaders

• “Blessed Are the Peacemakers” (July 2009 Liahona and Friend)
  President Henry B. Eyring teaches about being peacemakers. Includes a brief history of the Beatitudes and an activity.
• "Different but the Same" (October 2018 Friend)
  President Henry B. Eyring says we should focus on finding common ground and avoiding conflict with those different from us. Includes fill-in-the-blank activities.
• “Three Ways to Get Along with Others” (September 2019 Liahona and Friend)
  President Russell M. Nelson teaches that to get along with others we should love people, forgive them, and treat them the way we want to be treated.
• “Peacemaking” (October 1994 Friend)
  Elder Robert E. Wells teaches about the Sermon on the Mount and being a peacemaker.

Inspiration for our times ~ encourage, edify, build up~

During these months of staying home have we forgotten how to let others know they are special? One of the most basic of all human needs is to feel loved. And one of the easiest ways to show that we care for someone is to thank them. Some other things you can do are: listen carefully, tell others what they mean to you, honor their feelings, focus on them, be a light. I made two images and selected two scriptures to express different elements of edifying. I hope you enjoy!

Watch, listen, or read "Building Up the Soul" by Russell T. Osguthorpe 

Ponder this:

"We came to this earth to prove ourselves. But we can't go through this test alone. We're in this complex, mixed-up world together. In that Great Council in Heaven before we came here, we probably had some premonition of how challenging mortality might be. But a loving Heavenly Father told us that his Only Begotten Son would save us from any calamity that might befall us. Any calamity. So we looked to the Lord and smiled. We knew that with His help, and only with His help, we would be able to make it through this life and return and live with Him forever. 

From the very beginning we knew that mortality would not be a solo venture. We needed a Savior to atone for our sins, and a loving Father assured us that Christ would provide that atonement. But this was not all. Salvation is not a do-it-yourself project. It cannot be gained alone. Mortality is something we work on together. That is precisely why the doctrine of the eternal family is so central to all that we believe. We grow up in families so that we can gain the strength we need to reach out and help others. 

President Spencer W. Kimball taught that "God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs."  

Music:

LIFT ME UP -Jericho Road 

Maroon 5 - Memories - One Voice Children's Choir

You Raise Me Up -  COLOR MUSIC Children's Choir

Don't Give Up - David Archuleta

Be Thou My Vision - BYU Noteworthy

When You Say Nothing At All - The Petersens 

Short video clip: 
No Cussing Club-  one boy’s crusade to encourage clean language has far-reaching effects.

Inspiration for our times ~Connected to Heaven~

This is a short clip of the complete talk you can watch, listen, or read below.  

                    


Watch complete video, listen, or read transcript: Authentically Connected to Heaven by Christian Mawlam


Ponder:
"Have you ever thought why the Savior directed such withering criticisms at the scribes and Pharisees? As influential Church members, they reduced valuable human interactions to performance-based exchanges between themselves as actors and all others as an audience. They then sought to impress and influence and control their audience with their dress, manners, virtue-signaling, and very public piety. They felt threatened and had contempt for anyone who was not like them.
Tragically, they actually could have had and maintained lasting influence over those they sought to lead, if only they had thought to do so “by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile.”

Music:
Now Let Us Rejoice - Tabernacle Choir
Father In Heaven - BYUI Combined Priesthood Choir
John Rutter - Look at the World - The Advent Heralds
Abide With Me - Fountainview Academy
My Own Sacred Grove - The Piano Gal & Members of One Voice Children's Choir
Be Thou My Vision - ELENYI