Tag Archives: hope

You Priorities or the Lord’s Priorities

Do you ever find yourself wondering why things are just not working out the way that you want them to? This can be an extremely frustrating thing to happen, especially if you tend to plan things out and arrange them perfectly in your head. I am a detail-oriented person who loves to plan my life out in advance years at a time. I often get frustrated because things do not seem to go the way that I think they should. I often find myself telling the Lord what I want done, and how I want it. As I have grown … Continue reading →

Fighting for Peace

As my family was remembering 9/11 this week, I have been pondering peace and what it means to me in my life, both as an American, and as a mother. I think that for me, peace is freedom from fear. If I had absolute peace of mind, I wouldn’t have to worry about my children going to school and being potential targets of assassins or terrorists. I wouldn’t have to agonize over their health and wonder how disease might negatively affect their lives. I’d never worry that people could bully or take advantage of them. And I’d be free from … Continue reading →

Faith Is a Decision

As I read the conference talk this week, one comment that Elder Neal A. Anderson made really stuck with me. He said, “Faith is not only a feeling; it is a decision.” Elder Anderson went on to talk about how you can choose to build up your faith through studying the gospel and making righteous decisions. As I have contemplated that faith is more than a feeling, I have come to realize that it is really true. You can say that you believe something, but if you truly believe it, you will act on it. I believe that faith grows … Continue reading →

Hope – a Gift from God

Today is a day of sadness for America as we commemorate the sixth anniversary of the World Trade Center bombings. However, it is not a day for despair. God wants us to have hope in all our trials, and today is no different. Elder M. Russell Ballard, in his Ensign article “The Hope of Joy Fulfilled,” November 1992 said: “My message to you today, my brothers and sisters, is simply this: the Lord is in control. He knows the end from the beginning. He has given us adequate instruction that, if followed, will see us safely through any crisis. His … Continue reading →

The Lottery Can Be Good For You

Even if you don’t win, playing the lottery can give you a different sort of payoff — an emotional one. The anticipation and excitement and hope of a lottery win activate exactly the same parts of your brain that an actual win does! Neuroscientists have been investigating the power of anticipation, and when it comes to the lottery and other cash prizes, you’ll still win big even if you don’t hit the jackpot. Think about it for a second — buying that lottery ticket kicks your imagination into gear. Whenever I buy a ticket, I spend a lot of time … Continue reading →

Learning from Your Trials

My husband uses the analogy of the rubber band when he talks about trials and faith to our daughter. He points out that if a rubber band is made out of real rubber it needs to be stretched every few days so that it holds its elasticity. If you neglect this task the rubber band quickly becomes brittle and breaks very easily. Trials help us to continue to grow spiritually. Similarly when you are tested and tried, the trial may not be taken from you, but rather you are given the strength that you need in order to bear up … Continue reading →

The Widow’s Might – Ann Bennion Brown

“The Widow’s Might” by Ann Bennion Brown is a compilation book for women who have lost their spouses. The title comes from the parable of the widow’s mite, reminding us of the poor woman who came in to pay her tithing and only donated two of the smallest pieces of money in existence at that time. She was ridiculed by the rich, who had donated quite a bit, but Christ said that her donation was worth more, because she had given all she possessed for the building up of the kingdom. With spelling the title “might” rather than “mite,” this … Continue reading →

The Lottery Rose – Irene Hunt

Irene Hunt is one of my favorite young adult historical fiction authors, and I looked forward to starting “The Lottery Rose.” It was completely different from what I expected, but I can honestly say it is one of the most impacting books I’ve ever read, and certainly the best so far this year. Georgie Burgess is a seven-year-old boy who is being severely abused by his mother’s boyfriend, with his mother’s full knowledge and sometimes cooperation. She’s an alcoholic who depends on her boyfriend for whiskey, and neither of them care much to have Georgie around. His physical abuse partially … Continue reading →

RS/EQ: Hope and Repentance

The Relief Society and Elder’s Quorum lesson this week bears the same name as the title of one of my favorite books – The Miracle of Forgiveness (by, who else? President Kimball!). I am really looking forward to studying and hearing this lesson. As I read the first segment, “From the Life of Spencer W. Kimball”, I was touched by the woman who had no hope. According to President Kimball, “hope is…the great incentive for repentance, for without it no one would make the extended effort required.” Well, it certainly cannot be argued that full and total, leaving-the-sin repentance is … Continue reading →

The Sad (?) Tale of Gordon Lee

Yesterday my friend Kim sent me an email with a link to the website for 9 News, a news station in Denver, Colorado. The subject of her email read: “This is so sad.” My heart instantly dropped, because not too long ago Kim had to put her dog Caddis to sleep. She still had trusty dog Rusty, though, so when I saw her email my first thought was something had now happened to him. Instead, accompanying her link was this question: “Why do people do such things?” I clicked on the link to read about a poor little Lhasa Apso … Continue reading →