Helping others soften their hearts...

(quoted in someone's testimony as given by Eyring)

You cannot help someone soften their heart unless they can feel your love.
*second great commandment is to love ALL our fellowmen*

If you do something out of duty....

If you do something out of duty, it will deplete you but if you do something out of love, it will energize you.  Mother Teresa

Doubt Not, Fear Not

D&C 6:36
Favorite verse

Can't always see the results of missionary work...

You can count the amount of seeds in a single apple.  You can't count the apples in a single seed.

Covenants

Covenants with God help us to know who we really are. They connect us to Him in a personal way through which we come to feel our value in His sight and our place in His kingdom. In a way we can’t fully comprehend, we are known and loved individually by Him. Think of it—each of us holds such a place in His heart. His desire is that we will choose the path that will bring us home to Him. As essential and significant as the covenant of baptism is, it is only the beginning—the gate that puts us on the path to eternal life. Ahead on our journey are temple covenants to be made and priesthood ordinances to receive. As Elder David A. Bednar reminds us, “As we stand in the waters of baptism, we look to the temple.” 1 It is not only in making covenants but also in faithfully keeping these covenants that we are prepared to receive eternal life. That is our hope, our goal, and our joy.

The example of their lives is reflected in the words of Sister Linda K. Burton: “The best way to strengthen a home, current or future, is to keep covenants.

Consistent worthiness

We learn from Elder Richard G. Scott that “personal worthiness is an essential requirement to enjoy the blessings of the temple. . . . Worthy character is best forged from a life of consistent, correct choices centered in the teachings of the Master.” 8 I love the word consistent. To be consistent is to be steady, constant, and dependable. What a great description of the principle of worthiness!

10 Virgins application

As we consider this parable as a pattern for temple preparation, consider the words of a latter-day prophet who taught that “the oil of spiritual preparedness cannot be shared.” 6 President Spencer W. Kimball helped clarify why the five “wise” young women could not share the oil in their lamps with those who were “foolish” when he said: “Attendance at sacrament meetings adds oil to our lamps, drop by drop over the years. Fasting, family prayer, home teaching, control of bodily appetites, preaching the gospel, studying the scriptures—each act of dedication and obedience is a drop added to our store. Deeds of kindness, payment of offerings and tithes, chaste thoughts and actions . . . —these, too, contribute importantly to the oil with which we can at midnight refuel our exhausted lamps.” 7