You Matter to Him

"This is a paradox of man: compared to God, man is nothing; yet we are everything to God. While against the backdrop of infinite creation we may appear to be nothing, we have a spark of eternal fire burning within our breast. We have the incomprehensible promise of exaltation—worlds without end—within our grasp. And it is God’s great desire to help us reach it.

The Folly of Pride

"The great deceiver knows that one of his most effective tools in leading the children of God astray is to appeal to the extremes of the paradox of man. To some, he appeals to their prideful tendencies, puffing them up and encouraging them to believe in the fantasy of their own self-importance and invincibility. He tells them they have transcended the ordinary and that because of ability, birthright, or social status, they are set apart from the common measure of all that surrounds them. He leads them to conclude that they are therefore not subject to anyone else’s rules and not to be bothered by anyone else’s problems.

.............

We Are Not Forgotten

"Another way Satan deceives is through discouragement. He attempts to focus our sight on our own insignificance until we begin to doubt that we have much worth. He tells us that we are too small for anyone to take notice, that we are forgotten—especially by God.

...........

"The Lord doesn’t care at all if we spend our days working in marble halls or stable stalls. He knows where we are, no matter how humble our circumstances. He will use—in His own way and for His holy purposes—those who incline their hearts to Him.

God knows that some of the greatest souls who have ever lived are those who will never appear in the chronicles of history. They are the blessed, humble souls who emulate the Savior’s example and spend the days of their lives doing good.^16"

 ^{President Dieter F. Uchtdorf}

^{"You Matter to Him"}

^Ensign

^{November, 2011}

Life Lessons

 ......

"I’d like to share with you a few of what I refer to as life lessons. Some I’ve learned along the way and others are lessons a few of my last semester students share; lessons they have learned as well as lessons they wish they had known when first coming to BYU–Idaho. Recognize that these lessons do not involve any financial commitment or monetary sacrifice––they can’t be purchased! But they can be developed and bless not only our lives but the lives of those around us. As you listen and ponder the thoughts shared today, I would challenge you to identify at least one life lesson that you can learn from and then be willing to do so!

"Life Lesson #1: Learn to be Kind

"Think for a moment of someone whom you consider to be kind. What is it about that individual that leads you to define him or her as kind? Possibly you would describe them as thoughtful, non-judgmental, compassionate, friendly, charitable, caring, or Christ-like. How well do those words describe you? Would those who know you consider you to be kind? How do we recognize kindness in others?

 Life Lesson #2:  Learn to be Responsible

 “If you and I have the spirit of entitlement, it means we have an attitude and belief that the world owes us what we want. Like Laman and Lemuel, some who harbor the spirit of entitlement believe they have been shortchanged in life or aggrieved in some way and that they deserve more than they are getting. Often those who succumb to the spirit of entitlement feel superior to those around them, or believe certain rules should not apply to them, or that they should not be required to do what everyone else has to do. They believe they are entitled to special treatment and special privileges. They want something for nothing.”²


 Life Lesson #3:  Learn to be Thankful

"Two of the most powerful words in the English language are “thank you.” These words have the power to change an attitude, lift a burden, brighten a dark day, or soften a heart.


Life Lesson #4: Learn to be Steadfast 

"What does it mean to be steadfast? According to Dictionary.com, steadfast is an adjective meaning fixed in direction; firm in purpose; unwavering. In relating steadfastness to the gospel, we can see it refers to our being steadily directed on the gospel path, firm in our faith, and unwavering in our commitment to living gospel principles. Steadfastness also relates to our role as students. I propose that if we are steadfast we are committed to seeing our studies through “to the end,” course by course. We are firm in our purpose for gaining an education, recognizing that the Lord has commanded us to “…seek learning, even by study and also by faith” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:118).

"I hope I haven’t led you to believe this path will be without challenges or heartaches; that it will be easy and require little effort on our part. That is not the case. I can assure you that each of Heavenly Father’s children will experience trials and challenges in our efforts to be steadfast; but in the same way I can assure you that we are not left alone in meeting those trials and challenges."

Life Lessons
by Joyce Anderson
BYU-I Devotional
August 9, 2011

Anonymous

"Recently, I approached the reception desk of a large hospital to learn the room number of a patient I had come to visit. This hospital, like almost every other in the land, was undergoing a massive expansion. Behind the desk where the receptionist sat was a magnificent plaque which bore an inscription of thanks to donors who had made possible the expansion. The name of each donor who had contributed $100,000 appeared in a flowing script, etched on an individual brass placard suspended from the main plaque by a glittering chain.

"The names of the benefactors were well known. Captains of commerce, giants of industry, professors of learning—all were there. I felt gratitude for their charitable benevolence. Then my eyes rested on a brass placard which was different—it contained no name. One word, and one word only, was inscribed: “Anonymous.” I smiled and wondered who the unnamed contributor could have been. Surely he or she experienced a quiet joy unknown to any other.

"My thoughts turned backward in time—back to the Holy Land; back to Him whom we especially remember this Easter Sunday; back to Him who redeemed from the grave all mankind; back to Him who on that special mountain taught His disciples the true spirit of giving when He counseled, “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them. …

“But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.” (Matt. 6:1, 3.)

...

" When the magnificent ocean liner Lusitania plunged to the bottom of the Atlantic, many lives were lost with the vessel. Unknown are many deeds of valor performed by those who perished. One man who went down with the Lusitania gave his life preserver to a woman, though he could not swim a stroke. It didn’t really matter that he was Alfred Vanderbilt, the American multimillionaire. He did not give of worldly treasure; he gave his life. Said Emerson, “Rings and other jewels are not gifts, but apologies for gifts. The only gift is a portion of thyself.” (“Gifts,” in The Complete Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, New York: Wm. H. Wise and Co., 1929, p. 286.)

"When the magnificent ocean liner Lusitania plunged to the bottom of the Atlantic, many lives were lost with the vessel. Unknown are many deeds of valor performed by those who perished. One man who went down with the Lusitania gave his life preserver to a woman, though he could not swim a stroke. It didn’t really matter that he was Alfred Vanderbilt, the American multimillionaire. He did not give of worldly treasure; he gave his life. Said Emerson, “Rings and other jewels are not gifts, but apologies for gifts. The only gift is a portion of thyself.” (“Gifts,” in The Complete Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, New York: Wm. H. Wise and Co., 1929, p. 286.)

 ....

 "It is not only in dying that one can show forth the true gift. Opportunities abound in our daily lives to demonstrate our adherence to the Master’s lesson. 

"Loving service anonymously given may be unknown to man—but the gift and the giver are known to God."

"Anonymous"

President Thomas S. Monson

Ensign, May 1983

See the End from the Beginning

...

"Allow me to share with you an experience from my own boyhood. When I was 11 years old, my family had to leave East Germany and begin a new life in West Germany overnight. Until my father could get back into his original profession as a government employee, my parents operated a small laundry business in our little town. I became the laundry delivery boy. To be able to do that effectively, I needed a bicycle to pull the heavy laundry cart. I had always dreamed of owning a nice, sleek, shiny, sporty red bicycle. But there had never been enough money to fulfill this dream. What I got instead was a heavy, ugly, black, sturdy workhorse of a bicycle. I delivered laundry on that bike before and after school for quite a few years. Most of the time, I was not overly excited about the bike, the cart, or my job. Sometimes the cart seemed so heavy and the work so tiring that I thought my lungs would burst, and I often had to stop to catch my breath. Nevertheless, I did my part because I knew we desperately needed the income as a family, and it was my way to contribute.

If I had only known back then what I learned many years later—if I had only been able to see the end from the beginning—I would have had a better appreciation of these experiences, and it would have made my job so much easier.

"Many years later, when I was about to be drafted into the military, I decided to volunteer instead and join the Air Force to become a pilot. I loved flying and thought being a pilot would be my thing.

To be accepted for the program I had to pass a number of tests, including a strict physical exam. The doctors were slightly concerned by the results and did some additional medical tests. Then they announced, “You have scars on your lung which are an indication of a lung disease in your early teenage years, but obviously you are fine now.” The doctors wondered what kind of treatment I had gone through to heal the disease. Until the day of that examination I had never known that I had any kind of lung disease. Then it became clear to me that my regular exercise in fresh air as a laundry boy had been a key factor in my healing from this illness. Without the extra effort of pedaling that heavy bicycle day in and day out, pulling the laundry cart up and down the streets of our town, I might never have become a jet fighter pilot and later a 747 airline captain.

"We don’t always know the details of our future. We do not know what lies ahead. We live in a time of uncertainty. We are surrounded by challenges on all sides. Occasionally discouragement may sneak into our day; frustration may invite itself into our thinking; doubt might enter about the value of our work. In these dark moments Satan whispers in our ears that we will never be able to succeed, that the price isn’t worth the effort, and that our small part will never make a difference. He, the father of all lies, will try to prevent us from seeing the end from the beginning."

...

"See the End from the Beginning"

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Ensign

May, 2006

The Mystery of Life

We know that this life is a test, that life did not begin with birth, nor will it end with death.

Then life begins to make sense, with meaning and purpose even in all of the chaotic mischief that mankind creates for itself.

Imagine that you are attending a football game. The teams seem evenly matched. One team has been trained to follow the rules; the other, to do just the opposite. They are committed to cheat and disobey every rule of sportsmanlike conduct.

While the game ends in a tie, it is determined that it must continue until one side wins decisively.

Soon the field is a quagmire.

Players on both sides are being ground into the mud. The cheating of the opposing team turns to brutality.

Players are carried off the field. Some have been injured critically; others, it is whispered, fatally. It ceases to be a game and becomes a battle.

You become very frustrated and upset. “Why let this go on? Neither team can win. It must be stopped.”

Imagine that you confront the sponsor of the game and demand that he stop this useless, futile battle. You say it is senseless and without purpose. Has he no regard at all for the players?

He calmly replies that he will not call the game. You are mistaken. There is a great purpose in it. You have not understood.

He tells you that this is not a spectator sport—it is for the participants. It is for their sake that he permits the game to continue. Great benefit may come to them because of the challenges they face.

He points to players sitting on the bench, suited up, eager to enter the game. “When each one of them has been in, when each has met the day for which he has prepared so long and trained so hard, then, and only then, will I call the game.”

Until then, it may not matter which team seems to be ahead. The present score is really not crucial. 

There are games within games, you know. Whatever is happening to the team, each player will have his day.

Those players on the team that keeps the rules will not be eternally disadvantaged by the appearance that their team somehow always seems to be losing.

In the field of destiny, no team or player will be eternally disadvantaged because they keep the rules. They may be cornered or misused, even defeated for a time. But individual players on that team, regardless of what appears on the scoreboard, may already be victorious.

Each player will have a test sufficient to his needs; how each responds is the test.

When the game is finally over, you and they will see purpose in it all, may even express gratitude for having been on the field during the darkest part of the contest.

I do not think the Lord is quite so hopeless about what’s going on in the world as we are. He could put a stop to all of it any moment. But He will not! Not until every player has a chance to meet the test for which we were preparing before the world was, before we came into mortality.

There is no way to make sense out of life without a knowledge of the doctrine of premortal life.

The idea that mortal birth is the beginning is preposterous. There is no way to explain life if you believe that.

The notion that life ends with mortal death is ridiculous. There is no way to face life if you believe that.

Boyd K. Packer

The Mystery of Life

Ensign, November, 1983

Spencer W. Kimball

Every good teacher knows that one of the best ways to get the attention of students is to whisper. President Kimball whispered, not because he wanted to, but because cancer had taken most of his vocal cords. And he got our attention! We listened raptly to his inspired counsel:

“I find that when I get casual in my relationships with divinity and when it seems that no divine ear is listening and no divine voice is speaking, that I am far, far away. If I immerse myself in the scriptures the distance narrows and spirituality returns.”

“Grow all the food that you possibly can on your own property.”

“We ask you to clean up your homes and your farms. … Make our properties a thing of beauty to behold.”

“Every person should keep a journal and every person can keep a journal.”

“Suffering can make saints of people as they learn patience, long-suffering, and self-mastery.”

“Marriage can be successful as long as selfishness does not enter in.”

“The spectacle of a nation praying is more awe-inspiring, more powerful, than the explosion of an atomic bomb.”

“Security is not born of inexhaustible wealth but of unquenchable faith.”

“I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God and that he was crucified for the sins of the world. He is my friend, my Savior, my Lord, my God.”

Church Magazines

Talents

....................Seek earnestly to discover the talents the Lord has given you. The talents God has given us first become apparent in the interests we pursue. If you are wondering about your talents, make a list of the things you like to do. Include all the activities you enjoy from different dimensions of your life—spiritual, musical, dramatic, academic, athletic, and so on. Study and ponder your patriarchal blessing for insights and inspiration.  Consult family members, trusted friends, teachers, and leaders; others often can see in us what we find difficult to see in ourselves. 

Sister Rasband, throughout our life together, and Brother Huntsman in my many years of working with him, helped me in this effort.  They saw in me gifts and talents that I did not recognize in myself.  Choose wisely your friends and mentors, as they will help you identify the gifts and talents you have been blessed with.  Listen to your parents and grandparents.  They know you well and we are never too old to take the counsel of those who have already travelled the road we are now on.

Eldred G. Smith, former Patriarch to the Church, gave this wonderful counsel:  “Everyone has inherent talents. From a study of your [Family History] genealogy, find the talents you have inherited by the things you like to do, and do easily, that some of your ancestors have done. Then become an expert or a specialist in some phase of that field. The Lord will bless your efforts in your studies and in your daily work.”¹⁹

.................  Let me reassure you my young brothers and sisters, each one of you has been blessed with special talents.  Each of you has been blessed with divine talents by our Father in Heaven. He is waiting for you to identify, develop, and magnify those talents He has blessed you with.

..................I remember a wonderful Primary teacher who frequently invited me to read the scriptures in front of the class. I was not comfortable reading in front of the other children.  She told me what a nice reading voice I had and how well I read. What she said and the way she encouraged me helped me gain confidence and realize one of my talents from the Lord at an early age.  I have often thought since then, that one of her great talents was to help children, especially me at that time, gain the self assurance needed to accomplish, what seemed to be, a very frightening assignment..............

BYU Idaho Devotional
January 25, 2011
Elder Ronald A. Rasband