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Showing posts from October, 2013

Homecoming 2013

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Talks that have changed me: Part 5 (Continue in Patience)

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To be honest, there is not a talk of Elder Uchtdorf's that I don't love.  But I am NOT a very patient person.  I have to work at it.  Alot.  Having five children has helped a little.  This talk has helped even more.  I have read it atleast 25 times all the while repeating the mantra, "Continue in Patience".  Please watch the video! It's only 2.42 and it is well worth it. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf Waiting Can Be Hard Waiting can be hard. Children know it, and so do a dults. We live in a world offering fast food, instant messaging, on-demand movies, and immediate answers to the most trivial or profound questions. We don’t like to wait. Some even feel their blood pressure rise when their line at the grocery store moves slower than those around them. Patience—the ability to put our desires on hold for a time—is a precious and rare virtue. We want what we want, and we want it now. Therefore, the very idea of patience may seem unpleasant and, at time

Talks That Have Changed Me: Part Four (Listen Together)

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Ok.  I might be cheating again but this is one I can't leave out.  It's not a conference talk.  It is from a BYU Address in 1988 when I was there as a little Freshman.  But for me, it's profound and I was just talking to a friend on the phone about it earlier today.  It made me want to look it up and include it in this series.  It comes with a confession.   I used to be arrogant enough that I might have been guilty of being critical of speakers and teachers if their knowledge level or delivery wasn't very good.  This talk changed that for me.  Now I know that  there is no such thing as a bad church talk.   If you disagree, see if Elder Eyring can change your mind...    I am grateful for the opportunity to be with you tonight, and I pray that the Holy Spirit may help us learn something about listening. I believe the Savior was speaking to you and me in the very first verse of the Doctrine and Covenants. It reads: Hearken, O ye people of my church, s

Talks That Have Changed Me: Part Three (Parents In Zion)

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Read it and you will understand why this one has been a game changer for me.  I love how President Packer defends the importance of spending time as families.  I think about the counsel in this talk weekly.  Especially at the stage of life we are in right now.  Our children's ages and activities require alot of us.  This talk helps remind me of what the priorities should be.  And it's not always church callings and commitments. In 1831 the Lord gave a revelation to parents in Zion.   1   It is about parents that I wish to speak. I have served in the Quorum of the Twelve for 28 years, and 9 years as an Assistant to the Twelve. Put together, that makes 37 years—exactly half my life. But I have another calling which I have held even longer. I am a parent—a father and a grandfather. It took years to earn the  grandfather  title—another 20 years the title of  great-grandfather.  These titles— father, grandfather, mother, grandmother —carry responsibility and an authority wh