Monday, November 17, 2008

Preview of my talk

"The Lord knows our bearing capacity, both as to coping and to comprehending, and He will not give us more to bear than we can manage at the moment, though to us it may seem otherwise. Just as no temptations will come to us from which we cannot escape or which we cannot bear, we will not be given more trials than we can sustain." --Neal A. Maxwell

And I stole this from the Sheltonites blog (good quote Emily!) from Elder Holland...I think it is perfect!

"If we constantly focus only on the stones in our mortal path, we will almost surely miss the beautiful flower or cool stream provided by the loving Father who outlined our journey. Each day can bring more joy than sorrow when our mortal and spiritual eyes are open to God's goodness. Joy in the gospel is not something that begins only in the next life. It is our privilege now, this very day. We must never allow our burdens to obscure our blessings. There will always be more blessings than burdens--even if some days it doesn't seem so. Jesus said, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." Enjoy those blessings right now. They are yours and always will be." — Jeffrey R. Holland

So if you're in my ward and you are reading this, you just might hear these quotes being used in my talk this Sunday (it's on adversity). But I was touched so much by these that I had to share them now!

5 comments:

Rebecca said...

I really enjoyed what Pres. Uchtdorf had to say about having hope to get through adversity. "With hope, we can "have patience, and bear . . . [our] afflictions." Hope is not knowledge, but rather the abiding trust that the Lord will fulfill His promise to us. It is confidence that if we live according to God's laws and the words of His prophets now, we will receive desired blessings in the future. It is believing and expecting that our prayers will be answered. It is manifest in confidence, optimism, enthusiasm, and patient perseverance."

I look forward to hearing your talk!

Unknown said...

Thanks Mel. These are really great. I hope your talk went/goes well!

Ellen Messerly said...

Excellent quotes! so, both you and Loren are speaking on Sunday? I'm sure you have PLENTY of uplifting material to use with the topic of adversity. I was impacted by Elder Wirthlin's most recent G.C. talk...the principle of compensation is one that I do not remember learning about previously. It's been interesting to ponder how it applies to my life. Hope your talk goes well.
Love, Ellen

Ellen Messerly said...

Excellent quotes! so, both you and Loren are speaking on Sunday? I'm sure you have PLENTY of uplifting material to use with the topic of adversity. I was impacted by Elder Wirthlin's most recent G.C. talk...the principle of compensation is one that I do not remember learning about previously. It's been interesting to ponder how it applies to my life. Hope your talk goes well.
Love, Ellen

Emily said...

I'm glad you noticed that quote on my blog. It not only is there to help others, but mostly to remind myself of all of the joys that I experience in my life. While I was in the hospital, it was very easy to dwell on all of the negative experiences. However, I realized that doing so only made me unhappy. To remedy that, I would think about that quote and focus on the many blessings that I do have.

Now that I am home and William is still in the NICU, I have a new set of challenges. But I still need to take time each day to allow my "mortal and spiritual eyes to open to God's goodness."

Thank you for the reminder, Melanie!