"Most Putts Don't Drop" Quote

I wanted to share what I found regarding one of my favorite quotes by President Hinckley.  Turns out he was quoting Jenkins Lloyd Jones when he stated what me and a gazillion other people have attributed to President Hinckley.  And I firmly believe that he (President Hinckley) would definitely want to give credit to the person responsible for the words.

So if you, like me, find great inspiration in the statement beginning,  “Anyone who imagines that bliss [in marriage] is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he has been robbed.", please click HERE to read the whole talk, and the whole quote.

"A Conversation With Single Adults"

September 22, 1996

President Gordon B. Hinckley

Keeping Your Spiritual Balance

"Here is a picture of my wife, LaDawn, and me. She was a teacher here when we were courting. Sometimes in conversation with friends someone will make a comment about a fact that is new to me. I might say, “I didn’t know that. That is very interesting.” My wife always delights in saying, “You didn’t know that? Why I learned that in the fifth grade!” The reason she says that is because I skipped the fifth grade. The teachers at my school moved six of us from the fourth grade to the sixth grade. During the year they realized their mistake and so I spent two years in the sixth grade but no time in the fifth grade—a serious gap in my education. 

Now I mention kindergarten and fifth grade for this reason: too many people are trying to solve the serious complex problems of life with a sketchy, superficial, fifth grade understanding of gospel doctrine. This is not only unwise—it is dangerous. So here is the question: Are you smarter than a fifth grader? Getting an academic education is important––a high priority in life to be sure, but it is not even in the same ballpark as getting an education in gospel principles.

Don’t neglect your education in the things of the Spirit. Don’t you dare settle for a kindergarten or a fifth grade education in the doctrines and principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ. You will be wise to devote a significant portion of time, energy and effort to a serious study of the doctrine and principles of the gospel so you can apply them with skill every day of your life. Some of you are strong in subjects like philosophy or mathematics but weak in subjects like faith and the Atonement. Watch your balance!    

Don’t make life’s most important and defining decisions based on what you learned studying biology or Shakespeare, and don’t make them based on a shaky fifth grade foundation of spiritual knowledge. 

 We value all truth. Truth is truth. But some truth is more important than other truth. Understanding principles of chemistry and sociology is less important than understanding principles of honesty and repentance. Furthermore, the principles taught in the science of chemistry might change with new discoveries over time. The principles of repentance will not change. If you understand the science of medicine so well that you become one of the world’s greatest physicians but do not understand the principles of honesty and charity, you will not be happy. If you understand and live the principles of honesty and charity, even if you were a run-of-the-mill doctor or teacher, you have a good chance to be supremely happy.

Have you learned that answers to prayer usually come a piece at a time, line upon line, rather than all at once? Have you learned this so you do not get discouraged when you pray earnestly and the answers don’t seem to come? Have you learned that the Lord has His own timetable for answering? God’s clock and ours are rarely synchronized. The Lord says over and over in the scriptures that He will do things in his own due time.  

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf: I was assigned to accompany then-Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf to reorganize a stake and select a new stake president in Texas. After our interviews, we both had good feelings about a certain man. He asked me if I felt this was the right man. I answered that I thought he was the right man, but that I did not feel that I had received a firm spiritual confirmation. We continued to discuss and pray and still I did not feel that I had the solid confirmation I wanted, so he simply asked me, “Well, do you have a better idea?” It was time to make the decision. We went ahead and called the man and as we went forward, it became clear that he was certainly the Lord’s choice. Brigham Young said it this way:

“If I do not know the will of my Father, and what he requires of me in a certain transaction, if I ask Him to give me wisdom concerning any requirement in life, or in regard to my own course, ...or those I preside over, and get no answer from Him, and then do the very best that judgment will teach me, He is bound to…honor that transaction, and He will do so to all intents and purposes.”⁸

If you do your homework, study it out, and earnestly plead with the Lord for an answer and do not feel you have received it––go ahead with your best judgment and the Lord will either back up your decision or He will soon warn you that you are going down the wrong path. "

 

Keeping Your Spiritual Balance

Elder Larry W. Gibbons

Second Quorum of the Seventy

I Feel This Way As Well

Thank you, my dear, for posting this.

Helping without Hovering

"One of the challenges facing parents today is a tendency to hover over their children and become overprotective to the point of being so involved that children can’t function or make decisions for themselves. Such overparenting is often referred to in today’s culture as “helicopter parenting.”

"Such parents have wonderful intentions. However, by constantly hovering over their children, they send the message that they have little faith that their son or daughter can make it through the day without their aid. Helicopter parents may even interfere in the lives of their adult children, negotiating salaries for their child’s first job and coming to his or her defense against employers, difficult neighbors, or seemingly unfair Church leaders. These parents cushion their children’s lives as they make sure that their problems are solved and that pain, harsh reality, and the natural consequences of living in a fallen world are minimized."

 Helping  Without Hovering

 By Mark D. Ogletree

Ensign

March, 2012

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