The Many Kinds of Voices in the World

"Paul said, “There are … so many kinds of voices in the world” (1 Cor. 14:10) that compete with the voice of the Spirit. Such is the situation in the world. The Spirit’s voice is ever present, but it is calm. Said Isaiah, “And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever” (Isa. 32:17).

The adversary tries to smother this voice with a multitude of loud, persistent, persuasive, and appealing voices: murmuring voices that conjure up perceived injustices, whining voices that abhor challenge and work, seductive voices offering sensual enticements, soothing voices that lull us into carnal security, intellectual voices that profess sophistication and superiority, proud voices that urge us to rely on the arm of the flesh, flattering voices that puff us up with pride, cynical voices that destroy hope, entertaining voices that promote pleasure seeking, commercial voices that tempt us to “spend money for that which is of no worth” and our “labor for that which cannot satisfy” (2 Ne. 9:51), and delirious voices that spawn the desire for a “high.” James E. Faust, “The Voice of the Spirit,” Liahona, Sep 1995, 17

My husband shared this quote in his talk last Sunday and it really stuck out to me. I think I can definitely do better at ignoring the many voices that try to sneak their evil ideas into my head.

How do you keep the voice of the Spirit stronger than the other voices in your life?

WOWW: Family Home Evening Blessings

“Regular participation in family home evening will develop increased personal worth, family unity, love for our fellowmen, and trust in our Father in heaven. It is our promise that great blessings will come to all who conscientiously plan and hold weekly family home evenings. I testify that this is as true today as it was almost 30 years ago.

If we go forward with our family home evenings, our homes will be enriched, our wards and branches will grow and prosper, our lives will be purified, and the gates of hell will not prevail against us."

James E. Faust, “Enriching Our Lives through Family Home Evening,” Ensign, Jun 2003, 2–6

Have you seen the blessings of Family Home Evening in the lives of you and your family?

The Value of Self-Esteem

I came across this great talk and couldn't resist posting it here. Self-Esteem seems to be such a universal problem and I thought we all could benefit from Elder Fausts great words. This was a CES Fireside given by Elder Faust in May of 2007, titled "The Value of Self-Esteem".



I will share a few excerpts here or you can click on the link above to read the talk in it's entirety:

"Tonight I would like to talk about self-esteem—what we think of ourselves, how we relate to what others think of us, and the value of what we accomplish...Self-esteem goes to the very heart of our personal growth and accomplishment. It is the glue that holds together our self-reliance, our self-control, our self-approval or disapproval and keeps all self-defense mechanisms secure. It is a protection against excessive self-deception, self-distrust, self-reproach, and plain old-fashioned selfishness."

He goes on to share Six Keys for Healthy Self-Esteem:

First: Keep Your Agency
This means that we must not surrender self-control nor yield to habits that bind, to addiction that enslaves, nor to conduct that destroys. To keep our agency we must avoid the deadly traps and pitfalls from which there may be no escape.

Second: Humility
I mean the humility that comes with inner strength and peace. It is the humility that allows us to accept and live with our own warts, without cosmetics to hide them.

Third: Honesty
Being true to one’s own self is the essence of honesty and a keystone of self-esteem.

Fourth: Love of Work
While there are those who are gifted, most of the world’s work and some of the greatest contributions come from ordinary people with a talent which they have developed.

Fifth: Ability to Love
The commandment given by the Savior was to love others and yourself.3 Am I secure enough in my love of myself to laugh at myself, to admit mistakes, to graciously accept a compliment? Am I secure in my love of others to smile and say hello to a perfect stranger?

Sixth: Love of God
The sixth and most essential key to self-esteem is the love of God. King Benjamin reminds us, “How knoweth a man the master whom he has not served . . . ?” (Mosiah 5:13). In Paul’s epistle to Titus he reminds us that there are many who “profess that they know God; but in works they deny him” (Titus 1:16).

Here is a portion of his closing remarks, "...Nobody is a nobody...I testify that God loves each of us—warts and all. I testify that he knows each of our names. I testify that each of us has a potential in this life and beyond the grave that exceeds our fondest dreams. I testify through the gifts of the Holy Spirit that we are engaged in His holy work."

I've always loved lists in talks. They help me to have a direct plan of how to acheive the objective hoped for, in this case better self-esteem. Along with these six keys one of my favorite lines was that "Nobody is a nobody." I think we all have moments when we forget that.

This talk also reminded me of a small portion from a talk given by President Benson called "Beware of Pride". He addresses a different side of pride that we don't often think of:

"The proud depend upon the world to tell them whether they have value or not. Their self-esteem is determined by where they are judged to be on the ladders of worldly success. They feel worthwhile as individuals if the numbers beneath them in achievement, talent, beauty, or intellect are large enough. Pride is ugly. It says, “If you succeed, I am a failure.”

If we love God, do His will, and fear His judgment more than men’s, we will have self-esteem."

What powerful messages from President Faust and President Benson. Let us strive to see our individual worth and let us strive to see the worth in others because "nobody is a nobody".

Book of Mormon: Laying Down Our Weapons of Rebellion

Last night I was reading from Alma and came across these verses that stuck out to me...

Alma 23:7 For they became a righteous people; they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more...

Alma 24:16 ...behold, we will hide away our swords, yea, even we will bury them deep in the earth, that they may be kept bright, as a testimony that we have never used them...

The Anti-Nephi-Lehis' weapons could commit physical death but more importantly they were creating in them their own spiritual death. Our weapons of rebellion may not be bringing about the physical death of others but just as the Anti-Nephi-Lehis our personal weapons of rebellion can slowly but indefinitely lead us to our own spiritual death and leave bad examples for others to follow to their spiritual decline.

Are our choices holding us down and causing us to use our weapons to fight against God? That statement really stuck out to me, "they did not fight against God any more." It made me realize that when I sin or when I make bad choices I am literally fighting against Him. Luke 11:23 says, "He that is not with me is against me...".

Let us all bury our weapons of rebellion deep in the earth. Let us keep our weapons that were once dirty with sin bright as a testimony that we never used them again. Let us find weapons of righteousness within ourselves. Let us beat the enemy we all find within ourselves and submit to will of our Heavenly Father.

President James E. Faust said it perfectly, "Each of us needs to train ourselves to be bold, disciplined, and loyal men [and women] who are prepared with the proper weapons to fight against evil and to win.

Mormonad - Lies

James E. Faust, “Honesty—a Moral Compass,” Ensign, Nov 1996, 41

"We all need to know what it means to be honest. Honesty is more than not lying. It is truth telling, truth speaking, truth living, and truth loving...Honesty is a moral compass to guide us in our lives."

We are expected to be honest with others as well as honest with ourselves but I don't think it is unusual to find ourselves telling little white lies to others, to ourselves, to our children, or to our spouses. We live in a world where this has become common place. It is time to do as President Faust said and live truthfully. It doesn't take long for a little bit of yarn to create a big mess. So I give a challenge to us all to find an area in our lives where more honesty is needed.

This is an old Church Commercial (sorry it isn't great quality).

It is both entertaining and a good reminder to be honest.