“I pray for them … that they may be one, as we are. …
“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us.”1
I was deeply moved while reading these words and found myself praying in that sacred place that I could ever be one with my family and with my Heavenly Father and with His Son.
Our precious relationships with families, friends, the Lord, and His restored Church are among the things that matter most in life. Because these relationships are so important, they should be cherished, protected, and nurtured.
“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us.”1
I was deeply moved while reading these words and found myself praying in that sacred place that I could ever be one with my family and with my Heavenly Father and with His Son.
Our precious relationships with families, friends, the Lord, and His restored Church are among the things that matter most in life. Because these relationships are so important, they should be cherished, protected, and nurtured.
M. Russell Ballard
Christ said to his disciples, If ye are not one ye are not mine. Dad and I have tried to teach you to love each other and to remember and communicate with each other. When Jen and Melissa went off to college we got a special 1-800 number so they could call home for free. We try to write a weekly letter so you know what we are doing. We try to talk to all of you each week even while we are serving a mission. WE are one as we pray for John to do better. We are sad when he chose to run. A family shares the good and the bad times. I also think the share the spiritual things. I pray that even though we are separated by distance that we will try hard to be united in spirit and we will make extra efforts to communicate with each other. Please keep remembering each person's birthday and give them something for Christmas. It shows you value them and think of them on their special days. Each of you are special and you are each loved.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite quotes from this talk: "Our precious relationships with families, friends, the Lord, and His restored Church are among the things that matter most in life. Because these relationships are so important, they should be cherished, protected, and nurtured."
ReplyDelete"Sometimes we can learn, study, and know, and sometimes we have to believe, trust, and hope."
This past week I had a conversation with one of my past seminary students and Bree. They were both struggling a bit with why we have so much "church" stuff through out the week and why we should go to them. I told them that it isn't about "church" or "blindly obeying" or "doing the right thing" as much as it's Heavenly Father's way of trying to provide as many opportunities for us to feel the spirit as He can since He can't physically be here with us. The spirit is what communicates His love and concern for us. By engaging in the gospel, that allows Him to bless us. I don't want to walk away from that, I don't think any of us do. This week made me really stop and think about why I do things the way I do with concern to church and the gospel. Do my actions match my convictions. If they don't, am I willing to pay the price and accept the consequences if they don't. Am I willing to put myself out there without my spiritual armor and take the chance that someone or something could harm me, my family, or friends?
What matters most? What gets most of our time? Are these two consistent? In my life I need the continual reminder to give my time and effort to the things that matter most. Too often I find that I let my efforts become the servant of the things that matter least. I think it was Covey that put it a different way,"Do we spend our time on the important things or on the urgent things? They are not always the same." Elder Ballard reminds us of what is both important and matters most.
ReplyDeleteBefore I forget to do this week that is very important and not take the for granted and I think the other thing that I have been thinking about is praying for John right because he needs his family to know that we still love him and I know he will learn from his mistakes and he will see us again too ! Those are my thoughts for this week !
ReplyDeleteMariah Sparrow
I love Mariah comments! This talk is full of his reminders. Can't wait for me conference soon.
ReplyDeleteThere are lots of amazing things going on around us. Yet there is much to distract us from what really matters. It's easier to put physical needs over the spiritual hunger if we do not pay attention. We will find ourselves drifting from what matters. Would we rather sit and play around with our techie stuff than really give heed to the relationships we should be caring for around us? I feel like we are becoming numb to the the Lord's cry to care for human relationships.
ReplyDeleteThe more I study the Savior the more I realize that he always welcomed everyone. Do we read that He rejected adulterer, or turned his back and didn't speak to Peter again, or ignored Judas for his betrayal. He faced them, and still choose to loved them. When love is our motivation for our actions, we do not need to justify our choices. He always extends His hand out beckoning us that it's not too late. That we may be one.