Fences

Dear Reader,
I know some of you come here to read about my depression. Others of you like updates on my family. Even more of you are apparently fascinated with my warped sense of humor and my ability to "keep things real," as it were. However, lately I've been adding a lot of Church/Spiritual things to my blog. This is a good thing, because if I am to use this blog as my hobby, scrapbook, and journal, then I want to record the most important things about my life and who I am. A great majority of who I am is my testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So, here we go again!
This subject may not sit well with all of you. But it is on my mind constantly. I usually feel like I am in a continual battle with Satan --trying to fight discouragement and depression is just the tip of the iceberg. On all sides I see the influence of Satan to try and force me into complacency and doubt, and much Internet-based information out there whines of intellectual complacency and arrogant doubt. When I find myself getting discouraged, I try to reach for the scriptures, lds.org, the Ensign, and prayer. It helps so much more than blogs dedicated to embracing independent thinking and over-analyzing spiritual experiences.
So, today, I bring you some more wondrous spiritual finds. I hope you enjoy it. If you have anything to say or add, feel free. I like discussion. And validation. Gotta love all that validation!
Happily and Crazily,
Cheryl
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One activity which often leads a member to be critical is engaging in inappropriate intellectualism. While it would seem the search for and discovery of truth should be the goal of all Latter-day Saints, it appears some get more satisfaction from trying to discover new uncertainties. I have friends who have literally spent their lives, thus far, trying to nail down every single intellectual loose end rather than accepting the witness of the Spirit and getting on with it. In so doing, they are depriving themselves of a gold mine of beautiful truths which cannot be tapped by the mind alone.
Elder Faust describes this type of intellectual as “a person who continues to chase after a bus even after he has caught it.” We invite everyone to get on the bus before it’s out of sight and you are left forever trying to figure out the infinite with a finite mind. In the words of Elijah, “How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him.” (1 Kgs. 18:21.)...

...There are some of our members who practice selective obedience. A prophet is not one who displays a smorgasbord of truth from which we are free to pick and choose. However, some members become critical and suggest the prophet should change the menu. A prophet doesn’t take a poll to see which way the wind of public opinion is blowing. He reveals the will of the Lord to us. The world is full of deteriorating churches who have succumbed to public opinion and have become more dedicated to tickling the ears of their members than obeying the laws of God.
In 1831, some converts wanted to bring a few of their previous beliefs into the Church with them. Our problem today is with members who seem very vulnerable to the trends in society (and the pointing fingers which attend them) and want the Church to change its position to accommodate them. The doctrinal grass on the other side of the fence looks very green to them.
The Lord’s counsel in 1831 is relevant today: “Behold, I say unto you, that they desire to know the truth in part, but not all, for they are not right before me and must needs repent.” (D&C 49:2.)
--Bishop Glenn L. Pace, “Follow the Prophet,” Ensign, May 1989, 25
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Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
Matthew 10: 34-39
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This is for M&M. I love this song, and I know she does, too.
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I recently heard a woman of another faith say she didn’t think much of Mormons because
she believed an LDS friend of hers wasn’t allowed to participate at Church. What a tragic
misperception! From the time we can string three words together, we’re serving. There is
no group of women anywhere who teach more, lead more, or speak more—or are better
at it. Right now, hundreds of thousands of us are teaching children, youth, and adults.
Hundreds of thousands more are serving in presidencies. I’ve looked, and I can’t find any
religion, government, or business where so many women have as much influence as in
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But we are the only ones who can send
that message. We are the ones who need to define Latter-day Saint womanhood, not
anyone else. This means speaking up and reaching out. It means seeking to have
influence in as many ways and with as many people as possible.
--Sheri Dew, Awake, Arise, and Come Unto Christ , May 1, 2008, at the BYU Women’s Conference
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Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail.
--Doctrine and Covenants 6:34