Dear Family and Friends
I hope this post finds you all healthy and happy. It has been a sort of stressful week here in my world – not so much for me as for those around me, both at home and at work😊 I am sure you all have had those weeks, where things are just so ‘loud’ and so ‘confusing’ all around you.
I sometimes feel so guilty because I can feel so at peace during my trials and tribulations in my life when everyone around me seem to be totally stressed out and frustrated when troubles come their way. I want you to know that if you are one of the ones that are stressed out or confused in your life when troubles, trials, tribulations come your way or if you have not done it yet – You need to Learn of Him.
Only He can give you the peace and comfort that you desire during the trying times in your life.With that thought in mind I want to share part of a talk with you. It was the First Presidency Message in the March 2016 Ensign magazine.
“Learn of Me” By President Thomas S. Monson
Because Jesus Christ was perfectly obedient and submissive to His Father, He “increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” ( Luke
2:52. And Jesus increased in
wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.) Do we have the determination to do likewise? Just as Jesus “received grace for grace,” (Doctrine and Covenants 93:12.And I, John, saw that he
received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace;) we must patiently and persistently seek light and knowledge from God in our efforts to learn the gospel.
Listening is an essential element of learning. When preparing to be taught, we prayerfully seek inspiration and confirmation from the Holy Ghost. We ponder, we pray, we apply gospel lessons, and we seek the Father’s will for us. (John 5:30. I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear,
I judge: and my judgment as just; because I seek not mine own will, but the
will of my Father which hath sent me.)
Jesus “taught … many things by parables,” ( Mark
4:2. And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them
in his doctrine,) which require ears to hear, eyes to see, and hearts to understand. As we live worthily, we can better hear the whisperings of the Holy Ghost, which can “teach [us] all things, and bring all things to [our] remembrance.” ( John 14:26. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost,
whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring
all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.)
When we respond to the Lord’s gentle invitation, “Learn of me,” we become partakers of His divine power. Let us, therefore, go forward in the spirit of obedience, following our Exemplar by teaching as He would have us teach and learning as He would have us learn.
Here are a
few other scripture references that were mentioned in this talk. I wanted to
share them with you, just in case you don’t have your scriptures handy right
now😊
Matthew 11:29. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;
for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
John
3:2. The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we
know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles
that thou doest, except God be with him.
Luke 18:22. Now when Jesus heard these things, he said
unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute
unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
3 Nephi 18:16.
And as I have prayed among you even so shall ye pray in my church, among
my people who do repent and are baptized in my name. Behold I am the light; I have
set an example for you.
Matthew 18:1–3; emphasis added. 1 At the same time came
the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3
And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little
children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Doctrine and Covenants 88:77–78. 77 And I give unto you
a commandment that you shall teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom. 78
Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be instructed
more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel,
in all things pertaining unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to
understand;
1 Peter 3:15. But sanctify the Lord God in your
hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a
reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
Moroni 7:41. And what is it that thee shall hope for?
Behold I say unto you that ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ
and the power of his resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal, and this
because of your faith in him according to the promise.
John
5:39. Search the scriptures: for in them ye think ye have eternal
life: and they are they which testify of me.
I found this
story that I really enjoyed so I thought I would share it with all of you. I hope
it inspires you as it has me to learn more about our Savior and His teachings. This
story is from the Friend magazine of February 1996.
Learn of Him
By Virginia Carter
It
was at the well where I first heard the talk. I listened intently as I waited
for my turn to draw water. Everyone was talking about him. There seemed to be
so many different accounts and opinions. How do I know which is right? I
wondered. Can any of this talk be true?
A touch on my arm
brought me swiftly back to awareness. “Anna,” my neighbor said, “draw your
water.” I took my turn at the well and drew my pitcher full of water. There
were so many questions in my mind that I wanted to linger and listen, but it
was nearly dark and Mother was waiting. As I hurried along the familiar path
home, my mind kept reviewing all the things I had heard at the well.
Some said he was a
miracle worker—a healer! He caused the blind to see!
Someone called him the
Messiah! Could this be true? Could he be the promised Messiah of the
scriptures?
Others said, with
scorn in their voices, that he was only a Galilean—and a carpenter’s son, at
that! The miracles were only tricks, they told each other. Turning water into
wine was just a magic trick done to fool people.
As I was walking away
from the village well, I heard someone say “… tomorrow on the hillside
above the village.” Did she mean our village? There was only one way for me to
know. …
I was up at daylight.
I worked hurriedly to finish my chores. Before I was finished, though, my
little brother, Timothy, called to me from his bed. “Anna, why are you up so
early?”
I went to his bedside
and said, “I want to go to the hillside as soon as my chores are done.”
“What for?”
“Come with me, and
you’ll see.” I handed him his crutch and told him to get ready.
Timothy has a crippled
foot, and I have always been the one, besides Mother, who has helped him.
After my work is done
each day, I often walk with him to the street so he can watch the children run
and play. Some children come over to speak to him, but others make fun of him.
My heart aches for him then, and I try to apologize for their behavior. He
always tells me, “It’s all right. They just don’t understand.”
But I can see the hurt
in his eyes.
My chores finished, I
asked Mother if Timothy and I could go to the hillside for some sunshine and
fresh air. With her permission, I put a little bread in my pocket, and Timothy
and I hurried along the path out of the village as best we could. As we walked,
I told Timothy all that I had heard at the well.
Soon we saw the people
who followed him—I think they were called disciples—gathering on the hillside,
more and more coming from all directions. Some seemed excited; some looked very
thoughtful. A few had tears in their eyes. I wondered why. My brother and I sat
down on the ground at the back of the crowd.
The man I had heard so
much about looked strong but gentle too. His face seemed to have a shining look
about it. His eyes were full of compassion and love for all the people at his
feet.
Then He spoke.
Timothy and I could
not take our eyes from Him, and like the others there, we listened in awe. His
voice was filled with the same love that was in His eyes, and He said wonderful
things!
“Blessed are the poor
in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. …
“Blessed are the pure
in heart: for they shall see God.
“… but whosoever
shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
“… Love your
enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for
them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
“That ye may be the
children of your Father which is in heaven. …
“After this manner
therefore pray ye. …
“Ask,
and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be
opened unto you. …”*
With surprise, I
suddenly realized that it was nearly evening, and His Apostles were asking the
people to go to their homes.
“Anna,” Timothy asked,
“can we come again? Can we see Him again?”
“We will come again,
Timothy, I promise! There is more we need to know—much more we must learn of
Him.”
Timothy did not want
to leave, and the others around us seemed to feel the same way. For Timothy—and
for myself—I promised once more, “I’ll take you to see Him again, but now we
must hurry. Tonight there is much we must tell at home!”
Timothy and Anna
learned of Him and His teachings and wanted to get right home and share what
they had learned from the Savior with their family and maybe their friends as
well. Just like Timothy and Anna, I want to share with each of you what I have
learned in my life about my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
I know what a difference
for good learning of Him and of His teachings has made in my life and I can not
think of anything more important that I can share with you.
With this thought in
mind I offer the challenge for each of you to take this opportunity to Learn of
Him! Get to know Him personally by studying about Him in the scriptures. Read and learn of Him every day. Make the time! you only need fifteen minutes!
I promise that it will be the best thing in your lives if you learn of Jesus Christ and learn of His teachings. Go to your Heavenly Father in prayer to know if what i say is true. Jesus Christ is His Only Begotten Son and He is each of our own personal Savior.
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