Remembering 9/11: Our Prophet's Thoughts

9/11 destruction allowed us to spiritually rebuild 
(From the Washington Post)

By Thomas S. Monson

 The calamity of September 11th, 2001 has cast a long shadow. Ten years later, many of us are still haunted by its terrible tragedy of lost lives and broken hearts. It is an episode of anguish that has become a defining moment in the history of the American nation and the world. This week, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, along with Tom Brokaw, will pay its own homage to the unforgettable events of September 11, 2001.

There was, as many have noted, a remarkable surge of faith following the tragedy. People across the United States rediscovered the need for God and turned to Him for solace and understanding. Comfortable times were shattered. We felt the great unsteadiness of life and reached for the great steadiness of our Father in Heaven. And, as ever, we found it. Americans of all faiths came together in a remarkable way.

Sadly, it seems that much of that renewal of faith has waned in the years that have followed. Healing has come with time, but so has indifference. We forget how vulnerable and sorrowful we felt. Our sorrow moved us to remember the deep purposes of our lives. The darkness of our despair brought us a moment of enlightenment. But we are forgetful. When the depth of grief has passed, its lessons often pass from our minds and hearts as well.

Our Father’s commitment to us, His children, is unwavering. Indeed He softens the winters of our lives, but He also brightens our summers. Whether it is the best of times or the worst, He is with us. He has promised us that this will never change.

But we are less faithful than He is. By nature we are vain, frail, and foolish. We sometimes neglect God. Sometimes we fail to keep the commandments that He gives us to make us happy. Sometimes we fail to commune with Him in prayer. Sometimes we forget to succor the poor and the downtrodden who are also His children. And our forgetfulness is very much to our detriment.

If there is a spiritual lesson to be learned from our experience of that fateful day, it may be that we owe to God the same faithfulness that He gives to us. We should strive for steadiness, and for a commitment to God that does not ebb and flow with the years or the crises of our lives. It should not require tragedy for us to remember Him, and we should not be compelled to humility before giving Him our faith and trust. We too should be with Him in every season.

The way to be with God in every season is to strive to be near Him every week and each day. We truly “need Him every hour,” not just in hours of devastation. We must speak to Him, listen to Him, and serve Him. If we wish to serve Him, we should serve our fellow men. We will mourn the lives we lose, but we should also fix the lives that can be mended and heal the hearts that may yet be healed.

It is constancy that God would have from us. Tragedies are not merely opportunities to give Him a fleeting thought, or for momentary insight to His plan for our happiness. Destruction allows us to rebuild our lives in the way He teaches us, and to become something different than we were. We can make Him the center of our thoughts and His Son, Jesus Christ, the pattern for our behavior. We may not only find faith in God in our sorrow. We may also become faithful to Him in times of calm.

Thomas S. Monson is president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

More On Faith and 9/11: (from other prominent world religious leaders)

Desmond Tutu: Our post-9/11 failures

Thomas Monson: Rebuilding our souls

T.D. Jakes: Spirituality after the attack

Feisal Abdul Rauf: Radical Islam on its way out

Donald Wuerl: Peace begins internally

Katharine Jefferts Schori: Live the memorial

Mark Driscoll: Death and the hope of resurrection

Karen Armstrong: Unite through compassion

Deepak Chopra: Divided hearts, divided world

Yasir Qadhi: Americans still don’t know Islam

"Why do we need such resilient faith?"

The same reason the Pioneers did. "Because difficult days are ahead. Rarely in the future will it be easy or popular to be a faithful Latter-day Saint. Each of us will be tested. The Apostle Paul warned that in the latter days, those who diligently follow the Lord “shall suffer persecution.” That very persecution can either crush you into silent weakness or motivate you to be more exemplary and courageous in your daily lives." - Elder Russel M. Nelson

Let us prepare to stand in the face of persecution.  Let us be filled with faith and determination like the Pioneers.  Let us be modern-day pioneers and carry on. 

Firm as the mountains around us,
Stalwart and brave we stand
On the rock our fathers planted
For us in this goodly land—
The rock of honor and virtue,
Of faith in the living God.
They raised his banner triumphant—
Over the desert sod.

And we hear the desert singing:

Carry on, carry on, carry on!

Hills and vales and mountains ringing:

Carry on, carry on, carry on!

Holding aloft our colors,

We march in the glorious dawn.

O youth of the noble birthright,

Carry on, carry on, carry on!

Let us remember them on this Pioneer Day.  And let us strive to have resilient faith.

Waiting For Two Marshmallows

I am going to openly admit a weakness here; I am NOT the most patient person. President Benson said, "Patience is composure under stress" and this is the greatest area of my impatience. When I am stressed or tired, as sad as it is, patience with loved ones seems to be the first thing to go.

I like a quote by Jacob de Jager which says, "Patience is learning to hide your impatience."

What have you found that helps you to "HIDE" your impatience (especially with your children)?

What have you done to not simply hide impatience but to truly gain greater patience?
What helps you to wait to receive the second marshmallow?

"My New Life" - A Beautiful Mother

I hope that I can learn to cherish the moments I have with my children, the wonderful moments I have in this life. I hope that I can push through the hard times and trust in the Lord. What a wonderful example Stephanie Nielson is of this. What a wonderful Mother.



I hope you all have a Happy Mother's Day!

Finding Hope After 9/11

"Do Your Children Know That You Know?"

Well, I have had this post on my mind for a couple of months now. I was so impressed by this talk and the important nature of the message that it shares that I just haven't known where to begin in expressing my thoughts, but it is time and I guess I will just say whatever comes to mind.

Elder Kevin W. Pearson of the Seventy gave a talk entitled, "Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ" this last conference and I enjoyed it when I heard it but it was when I read it that the message had a profound effect on me. It is powerful and life-guiding. (I'm sorry that it is such a long post but I couldn't do it any other way :) I hope you will read on or if anything simply go read his talk.

A Commandment to Teach Faith -

He shares so perfectly the importance of teaching our children Faith in Jesus Christ, "As parents, we have been commanded to teach our children “to understand the doctrine of . . . faith in Christ the Son of the living God” (D&C 68:25)...faith is truly a spiritual gift worthy of our utmost efforts. We can give our children education, lessons, athletics, the arts, and material possessions, but if we do not give them faith in Christ, we have given little."

I love that last statement. We live in times of chaotic and full schedules. We live in times when people measure themselves on the total of their material possessions. We live in times that urge us to give our children both experience and material things. But are we making sure that during this time we are taking the time to give them faith? He clearly states that those other things add up to be much of nothing, that if we give them those things without faith "we have given little".


Throughout the rest of Elder Pearson's talk I have pulled 3 ways to build and strengthen the faith our children (all along the way strengthening our own faith in Jesus Christ):

1 - Bear Testimony to Your Children (this stirs up a seed of faith)

“Faith is kindled by hearing the testimony of those who have faith” (Bible Dictionary, 669; see also Romans 10:14–17). Do your children know that you know? Do they see and feel your conviction?"

I love the use of the word 'kindled' here. As we simply give our children opportunities to hear us bear our testimonies or to hear the testimonies of others their faith will light up, it will start burning, it will be ignited.

Do Your Children Know That You Know?

2 - Be an Example of Exact Obedience (this strengthens faith)

"If we desire more faith, we must be more obedient. When we teach our children by example or precept to be casual or situational in obeying God’s commandments, we prevent them from receiving this vital spiritual gift. Faith requires an attitude of exact obedience, even in the small, simple things."

I was struck by the bolded phrase above and particularly the word PREVENT. This thought simply multiplies the feeling of obligation we as parents must have be strictly and exactly obedient in our example because when we as parents are examples of casual obedience we are responsible for preventing our children of receiving the vital spiritual gift of faith. We rob ourselves of more faith and as our children follow our example we prevent them from gaining their own personal faith. What a responsibility the Lord has entrusted us with.

3 - Avoid and Overcome the Forces that Erode Faith

"Because there is an opposition in all things, there are forces that erode our faith. Some are the result of Satan’s direct influence. But for others, we have no one but ourselves to blame. These stem from personal tendencies, attitudes, and habits we can learn to change. I will refer to these influences as the “Six Destructive Ds.” As I do, consider their influence on you or your children."

You may watch this video of the 6 Destructive Ds or read a short definition of each below:

1. Doubt - Lack of confidence in one's self or abilities



2. Discouragement - Missed expectations
   


3. Distraction - A lack of focus



4. Lack of Diligence - A reduced commitment to remain true and faithful
   


5. Disobedience - Lack of obedience



6. Disbelief - The state of having CHOSEN to harden one's heart.
   

I find it powerful that each D leads to the next. It makes it simple to know that if we stop the destruction early we will never reach the state of disobedience or disbelief. If we recognize and avoid the work of Satan in our lives and overcome the bad personal tendencies that we have formed we will never be lead to the destruction of our faith and we can help our children to avoid and overcome these influences in their lives.

The D's are a well thought out plan or map in watching ourselves and our children. It is a guide to checking where we are at and where we should be. I will use these 6 Destructive D's in my life and as a parent. I am so excited for such a simple list because looking back on my life I can see some of the steps taking place little by little and I wish I would've caught them sooner.

I also find it interesting that the destruction begins with each of us personally and our faith in ourselves, it does not necessarily begin with the eroding of our faith in Christ, although they are so closely connected. Elder Pearson doesn't explain the first D of Doubt as doubting our faith but simply the lack of confidence in ourselves. Satan works in such small ways to bring us down in such big ones. He starts with confidence in ourselves to eventually lead us to a state of disbelief.

But just as Elder Pearson said, sometimes "we have no one but ourselves to blame". We must make sure that we both avoid the influences of Satan as well as overcome our own bad tendencies and habits.

The Savior's Promise

"Challenging times require greater spiritual power. Consider carefully the Savior’s promise: “If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me” (Moroni 7:33)." What a wonderful promise.

I don't think that I have even skimmed the surface of explaining what this talk has taught me and the profound effect it has had on me, I don't know how. I do know that it was a powerful message, one that we as parents need to listen to and follow. With all that is going on in the world today adding more faith to both our own and our children's lives will be essential.

Let us strive to bear our testimonies to our children more often. Let us strive to be more exact examples of obedience. Let us recognize, avoid, and overcome the destructive influences that attempt to erode our faith. Let us remember that these thoughts are not only to help us gain stronger faith but that it is a commandment to teach our children the doctrine of faith. "Challenging times [do and will] require greater spiritual power."

What is Faith?

We are supposed to have faith. It is the first principle of the gospel. But do we really even understand what faith is? It is somewhat of an abstract concept.

A while back I set out on a study of faith and shortly after my studies died down with hardly any conclusions made. This last Sunday during Sunday School faith again peaked my interest and I have since done some more studying. I have reached some conclusions but know there is still much to learn about this basic and necessary principle of the gospel.

So here is what I discovered:

My main goal was to come to an understanding of what it truly means to have faith:

The dictionary shares many definitions of faith including the following:

1 - confidence or trust in a person or thing
2 - belief that is not based on proof
3 - belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion

I felt that they all held a portion of what faith entails but I felt like something was missing. I ended up turning to a different type of dictionary, the Bible Dictionary, where I formed my own definition of faith:

A confident belief in something or someone based on correct knowledge, that moves its possessor to some kind of action.

In other words, to have Faith in Jesus Christ is to have confident belief in Him that moves us to be obedient and/or righteous. So I determined that it is not enough to just believe in Jesus Christ, to have faith, we must follow Jesus Christ.

The Bible dictionary shares a lot about What Faith IS:

• Faith is to hope for things which are not seen, but which are true.
• Faith is to have confidence in something or someone.
• Faith is a principle of action and power.
• Faith is more than belief.

The Bible dictionary also shares a lot about How to Obtain and Strengthen Faith:

• Faith is kindled by hearing the testimony of those who have faith.
• Strong faith is developed by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• Faith comes by righteousness.
• All true faith must be based on correct knowledge.
• Faith must be cultured and sought after until it grows from a tiny seed into a great tree.

And lastly, the Bible dictionary shares the Effects of Faith:

• By faith one obtains a remisssion of sins.
• True faith always moves its possessor to some kind of physical or mental action.
• Faith carries an assurance of the fulfillment of things hoped for.
• Lack of faith leads to despair, which comes because of iniquity.

Through this process I have started to realize that a principle which I thought I understood I am far from grasping fully.

The remaining portion of this Sunday School lesson we covered the rest of the Fourth Article of Faith which reads:

We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

I am beginning to realize that there are many aspects of the gospel that are seemingly so simple that I have overlooked the room for greater understanding and application. And faith is definitely one of those seemingly simple principles that I have overlooked.

I challenge us all to look more closely at our gospel knowledge and study out and come to understand the principles and ordinances necessary for our salvation. I challenge us all to share our testimonies more that our words might be the kindling that sparks the beginning of another's faith. I also challenge us all to continue to seek after faith, to culture our faith, and to develop our faith by our obedience.

Coming soon will be a sister post on Hope.

BRitD

I am also a contributor on Modern Molly Mormon and just made a post there. I am known as Mysti or Mystery Molly there, if you would like to read some of my posts there.

Here is the beginning of the post found on MMM:

My husband and I have been trying to get our house in order. This means cleaning out closets, going through boxes, and taking a whole slew of things to the D.I. It has been quite the undertaking and is still a work in progress. But as I have gone through some boxes of things I haven’t seen in a very long time I came across a t-shirt, in fact I came across way to many t-shirts. Most of them I put in a box to carry downstairs and sort them later. One of the t-shirts ended up in my drawer. It was a shirt given to me as part of an extended family reunion. I have many of these kinds of shirts all with a different acronyms on them. I was unable to attend this specific reunion but still was given a shirt.

The back of the shirt reads like this:


The other night I chose it as the shirt I was going to wear to bed and I quickly remembered what those letters represent – Be Righteous in the Dark. At first glance I felt like I knew what our reunion was about even without being in attendance but then my brain started stewing over this seemingly simple phrase. What did it really mean or what could it mean?

To read what I discovered you can read the remainder of the post HERE.