No "World" Allowed...Do Not Enter

My husband and I have had worldliness on our minds.  And recently had a portion of this talk by Elder Ballard thrown into our laps.  Awesome! It stirred things up in both of us but I would love, love some additional thoughts from all of you.  It is a little long but well worth the read.  Please read on and then stick around to share.  I'd love it.

Now the words from Elder Ballard:

"In the Church, we often state the couplet: “Be in the world but not of the world.”...we often wish we could lock out the world in some way and isolate our families from it all (this is kind of how we have been feeling).

...Perhaps we should state the couplet previously mentioned as two separate admonitions. First, “Be in the world.” Be involved; be informed. Try to be understanding and tolerant and to appreciate diversity. Make meaningful contributions to society through service and involvement. Second, “Be not of the world.” Do not follow wrong paths or bend to accommodate or accept what is not right.

...In spite of all of the wickedness in the world, and in spite of all the opposition to good that we find on every hand, we should not try to take ourselves or our children out of the world. Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven,” or yeast. (Matt. 13:33.) We are to lift the world and help all to rise above the wickedness that surrounds us. The Savior prayed to the Father:

“I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.” (John 17:15.) 

Members of the Church need to influence more than we are influenced. We should work to stem the tide of sin and evil instead of passively being swept along by it. We each need to help solve the problem rather than avoid or ignore it.  (This seems like a hard balance, how do we do this?  How do we stay away from worldliness, yet stay positively involved in the world?)

I like this simple little poem:

 

All the water in the world

No matter how it tried

Could never sink the smallest ship

Unless it got inside.

All the evil of the world

And every kind of sin

Could never damn a human soul

Unless we let it in.

We can live in the world, brothers and sisters, without letting the world into us. We have the gospel message that can carry men and women buoyantly through the “mist of darkness” (1 Ne. 8:23) to the source of all light. We can raise children who have been taught to discern and to make personal righteous decisions.

The Lord does not need a society that hides and isolates itself from the world. Rather, he needs stalwart individuals and families who live exemplary lives in the world and demonstrate that joy and fulfillment come not of the world but through the spirit and the doctrine of Jesus Christ."

So what do you do to help keep the world out and still let the world in? Make sense. Please Share.

Behind the Scenes

Sorry for the lack of posting.  Behind the scenes there have been some opportunities to share the Gospel  and I have been occupied by that.  It is neat to see the Spirit work in other's lives. I have been amazed by an individual who has taken so much initiative in learning about the Church.  This person has read many books including all of the standard works, Church History, and Articles of Faith.  What an example to us all. 

I Finally Did It!

Yep, that's right I created my profile on Mormon.org.  I am not quite done, I don't think. I think I will head back and answer a few more questions and add a few more stories, but it is there.  And yes, this means my identity will be revealed, well at least a picture.  Oooo, aaaaah!  I know, I know, not that big of a deal but I have been pretty private thus far.  This is a little weird for me.  So enjoy!  Now join me and create a profile of your own, you never know who it might help. 

"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.

Focus Desires...Simplify Life...Become Better

Yep...so that is what has been on my mind lately.  Cutting things out.  Adding things in.   Intentionally noticing where improvements are needed. 

I've started to realize that although I do many good things some of them aren't necessarily the best or take time away where it is more importantly needed.  I've been letting some things start to slip from my routine or at least not be so high on my list.  It has been good.  I am looking forward to a continued journey of simplifying.

This all started from this talk - Desire by Elder Dallin H. Oaks.  I actually sat down and started writing down what my desires are and then I realized that what I was really writing down was what my desires SHOULD be.  Some of them match the actions that I take and some I realized I am not truly following through with.  I realized that some of the ways I was using time showed that different desires were somehow eeking up on my priority list.  Not good.

So of course while I was thinking on what I desired most and what I desire to BECOME I thought back to another one of my favorite Conference gems:  What Manner of Men and Women Ought You to Be? by  Elder Lynn G. Robbins. 

My brain and my heart and my spirit have been churning with all of these ideas of simplifying, righteous desires, and becoming who I can become.  It has turned into a mush of goodness and still has me making changes and pondering and trying to grasp what needs to be done and what needs not to be done, and where things need to slip and where things need to expand or be emphasized.  I sense a great push to simplify life and yet a great push to expand spirtual things and be more intentional and present at each stage of rearing my children.

After much of this reading and thinking and pondering was done I went and read this talk - Daughters of God by Elder M. Russell Ballard.  So good.

It is time to focus my desires, simplify my life, and strive to become better in very specific and intentional ways.  Off to work (well, off to bed of now but you know what I mean). 

Combating Pornography: Watch Your Step

"See CombatingPornography.org to find resources to help prevent or overcome pornography addiction.

Also, you can read, watch, or listen to Elder Jeffrey R. Holland’s April 2010 general conference address, “Place No More for the Enemy of My Soul,” which is excerpted in this video." - lds.org

Read a firsthand account of someone helping a spouse overcome a pornography addiction