This morning in my seminary class we watched the movie, "Treasure in Heaven: The John Tanner Story". I first saw the movie several years ago on the TV when it was shown in between General Conference sessions. The movie touched me when I saw it then, and it touched me again this morning. John Tanner was a fine example of living what one believes. Enjoy the film.
"Treasure in Heaven" is the true story of John Tanner, a wealthy New York landowner and convert to the church who in 1834 sold his properties to assist the church. He freely gave all he had, displaying an example of generosity and consecration in serving the Lord.
How to fail successfully. Isn't that an intriguing thought? On Jan. 6, 2015, Kevin J Worthen shared thoughts on that very topic in his first devotional as BYU president. I'm glad that I just happened to be able to listen to his speech on the Internet the day that he gave it.
Today I was happy to find in my email inbox a link to a summery of his speech. If you have 5 minutes, click onto the summery video of his speech.
You can also see the above video by clicking here.
You can read and/or watch the full speech by clicking here.
This video was brought to my attention by Rachel. She sees this every day as she works as a cancer nurse at Huntsman Hospital.
The refiner’s fire is not a comfortable place to be. It involves intense heat and repeated hammering. But it is in the refiner’s fire that we are purified and prepared to meet God.
After I watched the video, I remembered a talk given by Jeffery Holland on January 13, 2009 at a BYU Devotional about Lot's wife. I loved his message of forgiveness and moving on.
I found this 6 minute summery of Elder Holland's talk On Taylor Holsinger's Youtube page. Taylor explains that Elder Holland counsels us to have faith in the future and let go of the past - both in terms of forgiving mistakes and not attempting to keep living in the past.
Below is a copy of part of Elder Holland's talk given on January 13, 2009. You can also see the whole talk on BYU' Devotional Speeches web page by clicking here.
Remember Lot's Wife
by Jeffery R. Holland
As a scriptural theme for this discussion, I have chosen the second-shortest verse in all of holy scripture. It is Luke 17:32, where the Savior cautions, “Remember Lot’s wife.”
The original story, of course, comes to us out of the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, when the Lord, having had as much as He could stand of the worst that men and women could do, told Lot and his family to flee because those cities were about to be destroyed. “Escape for thy life,” the Lord said, “look not behind thee . . . ; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed” (Genesis 19:17; emphasis added).
With less than immediate obedience and more than a little negotiation, Lot and his family ultimately did leave town, but just in the nick of time. The scriptures tell us what happened at daybreak the morning following their escape:
The Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities. [Genesis 19:24–25]
With the Lord’s counsel “look not behind thee” ringing clearly in her ears, Lot’s wife, the record says, “looked back.”
It is possible that Lot’s wife looked back with resentment toward the Lord for what He was asking her to leave behind. It isn’t just that she looked back; she looked back longingly. In short, her attachment to the past outweighed her confidence in the future.
I plead with you not to dwell on days now gone, nor to yearn vainly for yesterdays, however good those yesterdays may have been. We remember that faith is always pointed toward the future. Faith always has to do with blessings and truths and events that will yet be efficacious in our lives. So a more theological way to talk about Lot’s wife is to say that she did not have faith. She doubted the Lord’s ability to give her something better than she already had. She thought that nothing that lay ahead could possibly be as good as those moments she was leaving behind.
There is something in us, at least in too many of us, that particularly fails to forgive and forget earlier mistakes in life—either mistakes we ourselves have made or the mistakes of others. That is not good. It is not Christian. It stands in terrible opposition to the grandeur and majesty of the Atonement of Christ. To be tied to earlier mistakes—our own or other people’s—is the worst kind of wallowing in the past from which we are called to cease and desist.
I can’t tell you the number of couples I have counseled who, when they are deeply hurt or even just deeply stressed, reach farther and farther into the past to find yet a bigger brick to throw through the window “pain” of their marriage. When something is over and done with, when it has been repented of as fully as it can be repented of, when life has moved on as it should and a lot of other wonderfully good things have happened since then, it is not right to go back and open up some ancient wound that the Son of God Himself died trying to heal.
Let people repent. Let people grow. Believe that people can change and improve. Is that faith? Yes! Is that hope? Yes! Is it charity? Yes! Above all, it is charity, the pure love of Christ. If something is buried in the past, leave it buried. Don’t keep going back with your little sand pail and beach shovel to dig it up, wave it around, and then throw it at someone, saying, “Hey! Do you remember this?” Splat! And soon enough everyone comes out of that exchange dirty and muddy and unhappy and hurt, when what God, our Father in Heaven, pleads for is cleanliness and kindness and happiness and healing.
Such dwelling on past lives, including past mistakes, is just not right! It is not the gospel of Jesus Christ. I call out, “Remember Lot’s wife.” Faith is for the future. Faith builds on the past but never longs to stay there. Faith trusts that God has great things in store for each of us and that Christ truly is the “high priest of good things to come.”
Several years ago, one of my close relatives had a suicide attempt. It was devastating for everyone involved. Because of his experience, I have been more aware of the this topic.
Recently, I had a discussion with one of my friends on this topic. Through our discussion I learned that suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the US.
Starting at 2:00 in the video below, a young man discusses his experience about how he seriously tried to take his life because of his depression. He describes how his brother “lifted” him starting with taking a week off of work just to be there. He explained that the fact that his family reached out to him in love is what got him on the road to healing. The message at the end of the video is: “There is nothing more powerful than the arm of love that can be put around those who are struggling.” We need to watch out for each other. We need to love one another."
You can also view the video on You Tube by clicking here.
Several months ago I heard about a movie that was going to be produced by our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to be shown in movie theaters. As I have watched the different trailers come out one by one, I have been impressed by each story. Take a half a minute to watch each clip. You, too, will be uplifted....
Col. Gail Halvorsen (Ret.) Known as “The Candy Bomber” during the 1940s Berlin Airlift, Gail Halvorsen sparked a movement when he started dropping candy tied to parachutes out of his airplane window to children below. This small act of kindness quickly became a life-saving boost to the morale of the people of West Berlin and soon caught worldwide attention and support.
Meet the BISHOP: Jermaine Sullivan works full-time as an academic counselor to 200 students in order to support his wife and three kids. He also volunteers full-time as a Bishop of a Mormon church in Atlanta, Georgia. He leads his diverse congregation with youthful exuberance while shattering stereotypes of what it means to be a Mormon Bishop.
Meet the MOM Dawn Armstrong, a struggling single mother, had hit rock bottom and lost all hope. Then she met some Mormon missionaries who helped her and her son get back on their feet and start a new life. Her son is now older and ready to fulfill his two-year voluntary missionary work. As she helps him prepare to leave home for the first time ever, she also prepares to say goodbye.
Meet the FIGHTER:
With her husband’s help, extreme sports enthusiast Carolina Muñoz Marin has fought her way to the top of women’s amateur kickboxing in Costa Rica, challenging the traditional stereotypes of a Mormon woman. In between family time and training for competitions, Carolina and her husband run a charity to help those in Costa Rica who are less fortunate.
Meet the COACH:
As Head Football Coach of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, Ken Niumatalolo balances the pressures of his high-stress job by putting his family and faith first. In the competitive, high-stakes world of college football, he made the shocking decision to cancel staff meetings on Sundays, traditionally seen as critical to the team’s success, to instead honor the Sabbath day.
After leaving his village to receive a degree in Engineering, Bishnu Adhikari returned to his home in Nepal with a newfound faith and a determination to help improve the living conditions of the area. Bishnu now travels to remote villages in the Himalayan Mountains to build roads, schools and water systems, all while living with his faith and respecting his culture and his family’s expectations.
Net proceeds from the film will be donated to charity. (The Red Cross).
From the LDS newsroom homepage:
A new uplifting song recorded by Mormon artist David Archuleta is being enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people around the world. The single, "Glorious," is from #MeettheMormons, a new feature-length documentary that was released in 250 theaters across the country on 10 October by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
You can also see the video by clicking here. This is the full video. Pass the popcorn and enjoy the show!
You can also see the whole video by clicking here.
Frozen's Santin Fontana was the guest artist at the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's 2014 Summer Celebration of Song Concert. The last number was a series of songs about being happy. Enjoy!
