Sunday, November 15, 2015

Ex. 1:20 Revere God over man

Elder Gary Stevenson: “There will be times when you … will have to demonstrate your righteous courage in plain view of your peers, the consequence of which may be ridicule and embarrassment. … He will reward you for your courage and righteous behavior--with happiness and joy. Such courage will be a byproduct of your faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, your prayers, and your obedience to commandments” (“Be Valiant in Courage, Strength, and Activity,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2012, 52).

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Gen. 49:3 Patriarchal blessings

“The same Lord who provided a Liahona for Lehi provides for you and for me today a rare and valuable gift to give direction to our lives, to mark the hazards to our safety, and to chart the way, even safe passage—not to a promised land, but to our heavenly home. The gift to which I refer is known as your patriarchal blessing. Every worthy member of the Church is entitled to receive such a precious and priceless personal treasure.”
President Thomas S. Monson, “Your Patriarchal Blessing: A Liahona of Light,” Ensign, Nov. 1986, 65.

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Gen. 37:4 Most important relationships

President Ezra Taft Benson taught: “Your most important friendships should be with your own brothers and sisters and with your father and mother. Love your family. Be loyal to them. Have a genuine concern for your brothers and sisters. Help carry their load” (“To the ‘Youth of the Noble Birthright,’” Ensign, May 1986, 43).

Gen. 37:11 Envy

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland: “Brothers and sisters, there are going to be times in our lives when someone else gets an unexpected blessing or receives some special recognition. May I plead with us not to be hurt--and certainly not to feel envious--when good fortune comes to another person? We are not diminished when someone else is added upon. We are not in a race against each other to see who is the wealthiest or the most talented or the most beautiful or even the most blessed. The race we are really in is the race against sin, and surely envy is one of the most universal of those.

“Furthermore, envy is a mistake that just keeps on giving. Obviously we suffer a little when some misfortune befalls us, but envy requires us to suffer all good fortune that befalls everyone we know! What a bright prospect that is--downing another quart of pickle juice every time anyone around you has a happy moment! … Coveting, pouting, or tearing others down does not elevate your standing nor does demeaning someone else improve your self-image. So be kind, and be grateful that God is kind. It is a happy way to live” (“The Laborers in the Vineyard,” Ensign, May 2012, 31–32).

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Gen. 33 Rattler Revenge

Rattler gets last bite after man chomps its head
United Press International
Deseret News 8/1/1993
  Elton, Va. - When Jarrette Arlo Dean got bit by a rattlesnake, he bit back, and took the critter's head to clean off.
  The snake head, severed from its body, bit him twice more before breathing its last.
  Dean, 44, who lives in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains, is recuperating at home after being hospitalized several days.
  "They said it was a miracle he's alive," his 19-year-old daughter, Tina, said Saturday.
  Doctors said Dean was in shock when he got to Rockingham Memorial Hospital "and almost dead," according to his daughter.
  His family, from a community called Naked Creek, doesn't know what possessed him to bite off the snake's head last Saturday.
  "He said it had bit him first so he bit it," his daughter said.
  She said her father was riding his bicycle when he spotted the rattler, more than 3 feet long, and got off to catch it. "He's not afraid of snakes," she said.
  Holding the snake in one hand, he continued his trip, but the snake bit him on the thumb and fingers, so he headed for a friends house.
  When he got there, angry at being snake-bit, he retaliated in kind. But when he went to take the head out of his mouth, the dying snake bit him on the tongue and lip.
  Inside the house, his mouth began to swell, so a nephew drove him to the Elkton Emergency Squad, which took him to the hospital.
  He was released Wednesday, but his daughter said he could not speak for several days after the incident.

Gen. 33:1-11 Forgiveness and grudges

Gen. 33:1-11 President Thomas S. Monson: 
“Many years ago I read the following Associated Press dispatch which appeared in the newspaper: An elderly man disclosed at the funeral of his brother, with whom he had shared, from early manhood, a small, one-room cabin near Canisteo, New York, that following a quarrel, they had divided the room in half with a chalk line, and neither had crossed the line or spoken a word to the other since that day--62 years before. Just think of the consequence of that anger. What a tragedy!” (“School Thy Feelings, O My Brother,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2009, 68–69).

Gen. 33:1-11 Elder Marion D. Hanks
“What is our response when we are offended, misunderstood, unfairly or unkindly treated, or sinned against, made an offender for a word, falsely accused, passed over, hurt by those we love, our offerings rejected? Do we resent, become bitter, hold a grudge? Or do we resolve the problem if we can, forgive, and rid ourselves of the burden?

“The nature of our response to such situations may well determine the nature and quality of our lives, here and eternally. …

“… Even if it appears that another may be deserving of our resentment or hatred, none of us can afford to pay the price of resenting or hating, because of what it does to us” (“Forgiveness: The Ultimate Form of Love,” Ensign, Jan. 1974, 20, 21).