Hello...Sisters...I am so excited...to be discussing these General Conference talks with each of you...This week's talk...will be Elder L. Tom Perry's talk entitled: "Let Him Do It With Simplicity"...Would love to see what thoughts came to your mind...as you read this apostle's Conference address....
You can find this talk at this address site: http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-947-2,00.html
In regards to this past week's talk...of President Monson's....have any of you had any experiences regarding "missionary" work...? Even though he urged us to pray to see nations open for the work...I figure...we might as well be praying...for OUR MISSIONARIES in our WARD...helping US OPEN UP OUR LONGWOOD WARD BOUNDARIES (smile)...Of course, we could be helping OTHER WARDS...if the Lord places someone for them...in our paths...(smile)
I have always YEARNED for a "Walden's Pond" experience...However, I don't know if I could have ended it in a TWO year period...(smile) There is a paragraph in "Walden" by Henry David Thoreau that I fell in love with...the first time I read it..."I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear....I wanted to live DEEP and SUCK OUT all the MARROW OF LIFE..."
ReplyDeleteRight up my alley and yours Debbie - nature, that is, and Henry David Thoreau - yeah, one of my alltime favorites!!
ReplyDeleteMy comment to this talk is from Elder Perry's comment about the body and soul being connected....I heard this from a devotional from who knows where, but it has always stuck with me...think about taking a lie detector test - you can't lie right? if you do, your BODY, no matter how hard you try and fake it, will register on their machine and they'll know you're lying....something in our cells and blood REGISTER that lie - well if our BODY has been affected by that lie because it shows up on a machine....what about our SPIRIT? What has that lie done to our Spirit?....it has soaked in there like a cankerous tumor, lodged and with us - not a pleasant thought right?
Remember they are "connected"...body and soul...we don't have a measuring machine to see how our spirit reacts (to that lie, etc.)....or do we!? maybe it IS manifested by the lives we live, how we react, how we comfort, how we "let go" some hurtful things said, how we lift and "look" to help others, how we talk, what we find pleasure in "viewing" or "reading" -- actually I think our spirits are speaking louder than our bodies!
And if ONE little lie could upset my body so much as to be registered on a machine,then what does it do to my spirit?...puts "pure and clean" into a whole new perspective I'd say...
I think it is interesting to think of food, clothing, shelter and clothing as the basics especially in this time of economic downturn. This talk along with others from the last conference was a reminder to me that this is not a time to panic. This is a time to take stock of the basics. Are we out of debt or doing our best to work toward that? Are any assets we have secure? Have we inventoried our food storage to make sure it is complete and in date? Are we building our spiritual strength in every way possible?
ReplyDeleteI tend to be a huge doom and gloomer and I admit this election and the recent socialization of so many aspects of our economic life have me worried. But calm comes when I remember to simplify and concentrate on the basics. As I reassessed our non-food storage items (soap, toilet paper, razor blades etc.) and made plans to purchase what we may need I felt a calm of knowing our dear Prophet will make sure we are as ready as possible so that what may come is as stress free as possible. That after all is all we can do! We will continue at a good pace and make right choices! And God will bless!!
Sandee
Hey, I'm a little slow, but here are my comments -
ReplyDeletefirst, you are all wise women and have done a great job with your comments. Just one little addition. I liked the line when Thoreau was asked if he'd made peace with God and he replied that he didn't know that there was a problem! I hope that at the end of my life I can have a peaceful feeling and not feel like I've left anything unresolved or repented of!
Sandee...the word you used...is critical...the word "CALM"...In the other talk we are all reading - Elder Holland's CES address...he states that "remaining true to our Christian principles is the only way divine influence can help us." Inotherwords...we are to remain "calm, patient, charitable, and forgiving." And Becky...I, too, LOVED Thoreau's final statement. I have had TWO priesthood blessings over my health...in the last few years...and TWO of them said...that I will be able to FINISH my WORK...and when it comes time for me to die...I will know I have done all that I was suppose to do.....One of the statements of Elder Perry's that caught my eye was his reference to the BOM and referred to the people whose "manner of dress was exceedingly fine" who mocked those who partook of the fruit of the tree. It is sobering to realize that the fashionable-conscious mockers in the great and spacious building were responsible for embarrassing many, and those who were ashamed...." I LOVED President Tanner's quote on MODESTY...This quote would be wonderful for the files...I thought it was so beautifully stated what modesty represented...And Joanna...I knew you would love that quote by Thoreau...regarding "nature"...(smile)
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