Forget Me Not

I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE this talk. Pres. Uchtdorf did it again. Another fabulous talk that touches the heart.

A while ago I was walking through a beautiful garden with my wife and daughter. I marveled at the glory and beauty of God’s creation. And then I noticed, among all the glorious blooms, the tiniest flower. I knew the name of this flower because since I was a child I have had a tender connection to it. The flower is called forget-me-not.

I’m not exactly sure why this tiny flower has meant so much to me over the years. It does not attract immediate attention; it is easy to overlook among larger and more vibrant flowers; yet it is just as beautiful, with its rich color that mirrors that of the bluest skies—perhaps this is one reason why I like it so much.

And there is the haunting plea of its name. There is a German legend that just as God had finished naming all the plants, one was left unnamed. A tiny voice spoke out, “Forget me not, O Lord!” And God replied that this would be its name.

Tonight I would like to use this little flower as a metaphor. The five petals of the little forget-me-not flower prompt me to consider five things we would be wise never to forget.

The Time Shall Come and We Are All Enlisted

This was a good talk. I enjoyed hearing about the prophets of the Old Testament. Daniel in particular. Elder Clayton quoted Wilford Woodruff when he shared a personal experience of hearing the Prophet Joseph Smith prophesy of the future of the church to the small band of Priesthood Brethren. Elder Clayton said,

These prophecies that:
1) the kingdom of God like a stone cut out of a mountain would fill the earth;
2) the name of Joseph Smith would be known throughout the world; and
3) the Church would fill the Americas and fill the world

might have seemed laughable 170 years ago. The little band of believers, eking out a living on the American frontier and moving to escape persecution, didn’t look like the foundation of a faith that would cross international borders and penetrate hearts everywhere.

I've not been shy of my love for Elder Holland. I love his boldness and great strength in testimony. This talk was no exception.

Do I need to hum a few bars of “We Are All Enlisted”? You know, the line about “We are waiting now for soldiers; who’ll volunteer?”2 Of course, the great thing about this call to arms is that we ask not for volunteers to fire a rifle or throw a hand grenade. No, we want battalions who will take as their weapons “every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.”3 So I am looking tonight for missionaries who will not voluntarily bind their tongues but will, with the Spirit of the Lord and the power of their priesthood, open their mouths and speak miracles. Such speech, the early brethren taught, would be the means by which faith’s “mightiest works have been, and will be, performed.”

Power of Scripture

Chris really liked this talk. He's really gotten in to Seminary this year and it's great! His Seminary teacher, Sis Allen, gave each of her students their own copy of the Oct 2011 Conference Report Ensign. He gave a good FHE lesson on this talk. He seemed to connect to some of the principles Elder Scott taught. He's trying hard to memorize his Scripture Mastery verses. Now Joshua is starting to memorize scriptures. He almost has all of D&C Section 4 memorized! The Bishopric member over Primary came into their Sharing Time a couple weeks ago and asked if any of the kids had memorized any scriptures. Josh raised his hand and recited, "And my father dwelt in a tent" and then shared, "And Jesus wept." The Bishopric member was eager to share his amusement.

The scriptures provide the strength of authority to our declarations when they are cited correctly. They can become stalwart friends that are not limited by geography or calendar. They are always available when needed. Their use provides a foundation of truth that can be awakened by the Holy Ghost. Learning, pondering, searching, and memorizing scriptures is like filling a filing cabinet with friends, values, and truths that can be called upon anytime, anywhere in the world.

First Presidency Christmas Devotional

Every year brings a great Christmas Message from our First Presidency. I loved all of the talks and will use parts from each messagae in our Young Women Presidency christmas message in a week or so.
I loved Pres Uchtdorf's message of what gifts we can bring to the Savior.
I loved Pres Eyring's sharing of the bible videos.
And I loved the message from Pres Monson about the true meaning of Christmas. Last year he mentioned the novel The Mansion by Henry Van Dyke and I forgot that I wanted to look into that book this year. I found it on Kindle and downloaded it for Free!!

Words of a Living Prophet

President Monson always comes to Conference with such enthusiasm and energy. His energy and joyfulness is infectious. My kids loved hearing from him this time. He came in late to conference, because of traffic (a friend was there in the conference center and said, his seat was empty at the start and when he finally did come in they immediately announced his talk- that's why he was so funny at the start of his talk- "Hello!"). Did you notice he wasn't the first speaker and they didn't show his seat?

He then ends Conference with a talk on thanks- expressing thanks for the music of conference, to the participants of conference, to his counselors, to the Quorum of Twelve, to the Savior, to the general officers and general authorities, and to us for our service to others and our service in the gospel.
He asked us to continue to serve with kindness.