This week a series of intense storms blew through the area where I live. The debris closed roads around the region, the intense rains caused flooding in other regions, and thousands lost power.
There are times in our own lives when it seems our lives are being blown about, when the troubles raining down on us dampen our spirits, and when it seems we are cut off from the power of God.
These times of trouble will pass. Like the sunny sky after an intense storm, we will see a time when our troubles have passed, and the now in which we live in that future will be bright and fresh.
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Day 32 (Saturday)
Today’s reading in the Book of Mormon contains one of my favorite verses:
And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall. – Helaman 5:12
As a child, you may have delighted to sing the song of the foolish man who built his house upon the sand or the little pig who built his house of straw. In our mature lives, however, it is no laughing matter to see those we love who have built their lives on falsehood, protected by the seeming security of transient things. We don’t delight when their “house” goes splat or the big bad wolf of reality blows their protections away.
In our own lives, let us build upon the rock of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer. His protection will not fail to shepherd us to eternal life in God’s kingdom, if we remain within the arms of his love.
Book of Mormon: Read Alma 63 – Helaman 5: Helaman and his son Helaman reign as chief judge. The Gadianton band is formed and the Nephites become wicked. Helaman’s sons, Lehi and Nephi, miraculously convert the Lamanites to Christ.
Complete Faith 4: For three weeks you pondered Christ’s atonement during the sacrament. Write about the difference this hs made to your Sunday worship.
There’s no long-term experience scheduled to start today. Take a glance at future long-term experiences – there might be something you’d like to get started earlier than planned in my schedule.
Remember to:
- Review and keep your standards
- Act each day to remember the Lord Jesus Christ and develop your divine qualities (day 14 of 14)
- Treat your parents with respect and kindness and do as they ask (day 13 of 14)
- Strive to make a divine quality a part of daily life. (day 12 of 14)
- Teach a family home evening lesson on service (reminder 3 of 7)
- Invite someone to Church who isn’t already attending and share your testimony (reminder 2 of 7)
Day 33 (Sunday)
When we take upon us the name of Christ, we have an obligation to Him, and He promises to commit Himself to us.
He loves us without condition. He has sacrificed himself for us, both by giving up his life and by performing the atonement. This is a gift that stands ready for us to accept.
But i a way, this is like receiving a gift card, which may be redeemed – a card which has been fully paid for by someone else. It is still incumbent on us to use the card, or we will never receive the value of the sacrifice made and given to us.
Book of Mormon: Read Helaman 6 – Helaman 10: The Gadianton band murders the chief judge. Nephi proclaims the wickedness of the people. God grants Nephi the power to save the people.
Complete Divine Nature 4: For two weeks you have tried each day to develop your divine qualities and live as one who has taken the name of Jesus Christ. Write about this experience.
Start Knowledge 2: Learn a new skill/talent and share what you have learned – I give you a week for this because I am supposing that many people doing this in 46 days (18-year-olds) have actually already done this at some earlier point. Also, with youtube and instructables available online, this isn’t actually beyond the realm of the possible in a week even for someone who hasn’t done this before.
Remember to:
- Review and keep your standards
- Treat your parents with respect and kindness and do as they ask (day 14 of 14)
- Strive to make a divine quality a part of daily life. (day 13 of 14)
- Teach a family home evening lesson on service (reminder 4 of 7)
- Invite someone to Church who isn’t already attending and share your testimony (reminder 3 of 7)
- Learn a new skill/talent and share what you have learned (reminder 1 of 7)
Day 34 (Monday)
This past week a friend offered us the chance to accompany him to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert at Strathmore, the famous music center just north of Washington DC.
The music was sublime.
After the third standing ovation, the conductor offered the baton to a local/national dignitary – Secretary Jay Johnson of the Department of Homeland Defense. As Secretary Johnson led the Choir in the final number, there were times when the orchestra and the choir interpreted Secretary Johnson’s leadership differently. In real life, such clashes sometimes produce anger and finger pointing. But in this closing number, the minor disagreement between choir and orchestra just made us laugh for joy.
Book of Mormon: Read Helaman 11 – Helaman 16: These chapters begin with Nephi calling down a famine to chasten the people, and end with the prophecies of Samuel, the Lamanite, foretelling the coming birth of Jesus Christ.
Complete Divine Nature 5: For two weeks you have treated your parents with respect and kindness and done as they asked. in your journal, write about the difference this has made in the home.
Start Knowledge 3: Use Article of Faith 13, evaluate a performance and share your thoughts. Yes, this is a formal assignment to go see a movie or play or concert.
Remember to:
- Review and keep your standards
- Strive to make a divine quality a part of daily life. (day 14 of 14)
- Teach a family home evening lesson on service (reminder 5 of 7)
- Invite someone to Church who isn’t already attending and share your testimony (reminder 4 of 7)
- Learn a new skill/talent and share what you have learned (reminder 2 of 7)
- Using Article of Faith 13, evaluate a performance and share your thoughts (reminder 1 of 7)
Day 35 (Tuesday)
[I’m in a race with my husband, who is writing a review of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert for M*. So I’m going to post this now for those who need the Saturday plan, and continue updating this until all the place-holder text is replaced…]
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Book of Mormon: Read 3 Nephi 1 – 3 Nephi 6: These chapters tell of the sign that Christ was being born, saving the believers from being put to death. In the years when Christ lived on the other side of the world, we read of the vast changes in society, and how prosperity led the people to pride and wickedness.
Complete Divine Nature 6: Two weeks ago you selected a attribute of divinity and for two weeks strove to live this in your daily life. Write about this experience in your journal.
There’s no long-term experience scheduled to start today. Take a glance at future long-term experiences – there might be something you’d like to get started earlier than planned in my schedule.
Remember to:
- Review and keep your standards
- Teach a family home evening lesson on service (reminder 6 of 7)
- Invite someone to Church who isn’t already attending and share your testimony (reminder 5 of 7)
- Learn a new skill/talent and share what you have learned (reminder 3 of 7)
- Using Article of Faith 13, evaluate a performance and share your thoughts (reminder 2 of 7)
Day 36 (Wednesday)
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Fusce est. Vivamus a tellus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Proin pharetra nonummy pede.
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Book of Mormon: Today is a free day. If you’re behind in your reading or any of the value experiences, use this time to catch up.
Begin and complete Good Works 3: Read Alma’s sermon in Mosiah 18 and list three ways you can comfort others or help them bear their burdens. Then do the things on your list.
Start Knowledge 4: Prepare and give a talk about a gospel principle you’d like to understand better.
Remember to:
- Review and keep your standards
- Teach a family home evening lesson on service (reminder 7 of 7)
- Invite someone to Church who isn’t already attending and share your testimony (reminder 6 of 7)
- Learn a new skill/talent and share what you have learned (reminder 4 of 7)
- Using Article of Faith 13, evaluate a performance and share your thoughts (reminder 3 of 7)
- Prepare and give a talk about a gospel principle you’d like to understand better (reminder 1 of 7)
Day 37 (Thursday)
Today’s activities focus on service.
Our life is a gift of service to the “god” that we worship. What does your life say about what you actually worship? Do you spend your hours making life better for your family and fellowmen?
The education we pursue, the vocation we spend our mature years pursuing, the way we spend our personal time, all of these accumulate over time to represent our gift to the “god” we worship.
May we be able to say, as Joshua, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Book of Mormon: Read 3 Nephi 7 – 3 Nephi 12: Terrible tempests and earthquakes testify that Christ has died on the other side of the world. The land is covered in darkness for three days. Sometime later, Christ appears to the people, calling twelve to minister to the people and teaching the people the same beatitudes he taught in the Old Word.
Complete Good Works 4: Write in your journal about teaching a family home evening lesson on service. (Didn’t have a chance yet? Feel free to request a special family home evening tonight so you can talk about service.)
Start Knowledge 5: Learn about some kind of work or service that interests you and interview someone in that field.
Remember to:
- Review and keep your standards
- Invite someone to Church who isn’t already attending and share your testimony (reminder 7 of 7)
- Learn a new skill/talent and share what you have learned (reminder 5 of 7)
- Using Article of Faith 13, evaluate a performance and share your thoughts (reminder 4 of 7)
- Prepare and give a talk about a gospel principle you’d like to understand better (reminder 2 of 7)
- Learn about work/service that interests you and interview someone in that field (reminder 1 of 7)
Day 38 (Friday)
Two hundred and forty years ago, in 1775, tensions boiled over in the American Colonies. Shots were fired at Lexington, Massachusetts – no one knows who fired that first shot. The fighting continued to Concord, at which point the armed colonists forced the British forces to retreat back to Boston. After a siege of several months, the British left Boston.
The next summer, on July 4, 1776, the leaders in the American Colonies declared that they were an independent nation. Battles in the succeeding years would fight for the freedom envisioned in the heat of Philadelphia that summer of 1776. And as those subsequent battles were required to secure the hoped-for liberty, so our lives continue to re-earn and protect those freedoms each and every day.
Book of Mormon: Read 3 Nephi 13 – 3 Nephi 19: Jesus ministers to the people, teaching them, healing their sick, and instituting the sacrament.
Begin and complete Good Works 6: Spend at least three hours giving service outside your family. (I expect an 18-year-old has already done.) If you can’t do this today, schedule a chance to give three hours of service sometime soon.
Start Knowledge 7: List supplies and skills needed in an emergency , and share/teach about this
Remember to:
- Review and keep your standards
- Invite someone to Church who isn’t already attending and share your testimony (last reminder)
- Learn a new skill/talent and share what you have learned (reminder 6 of 7)
- Using Article of Faith 13, evaluate a performance and share your thoughts (reminder 5 of 7)
- Prepare and give a talk about a gospel principle you’d like to understand better (reminder 3 of 7)
- Learn about work/service that interests you and interview someone in that field (reminder 2 of 7)
- List supplies and skills needed in an emergency , and share/teach about this (reminder 1 of 7)
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New Post: A Lenten Personal Progress – Days 32 – 38: This week a series of intense storms blew th… http://t.co/sEOUc1rrA4 #LDS #Mormon
TheMillennialStar: A Lenten Personal Progress – Days 32 – 38 http://t.co/pCCkp2kjjx #lds #mormon