@Contrary
to what some might say, you have every reason in this world to be
happy and to be optimistic and to be confident. Every generation
since time began has had some things to overcome and some problems to
work out. @When we come to the Savior, He will ease our burdens and
lighten our loads. @“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. “Take my yoke upon you, and learn
of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto
your souls. “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matt.
11:28–30.) @… This marvelous offer of assistance extended by the
Son of God himself was not restricted to the Galileans of his day.
This call to shoulder his easy yoke and accept his light burden is
not limited to bygone generations. It was and is a universal appeal
to all people, to all cities and nations, to every man, woman, and
child everywhere. @In our own great times of need we must not leave
unrecognized this unfailing answer to the cares and worries of our
world. Here is the promise of personal peace and protection. Here is
the power to remit sin in all periods of time. We, too, must believe
that Jesus Christ possesses the power to ease our burdens and lighten
our loads. We, too, must come unto him and there receive rest from
our labors. @Of course, obligations go with such promises. “Take my
yoke upon you,” he pleads. In biblical times the yoke was a device
of great assistance to those who tilled the field. It allowed the
strength of a second animal to be linked and coupled with the effort
of a single animal, sharing and reducing the heavy labor of the plow
or wagon. A burden that was overwhelming or perhaps impossible for
one to bear could be equitably and comfortably borne by two bound
together with a common yoke. His yoke requires a great and earnest
effort, but for those who truly are converted, the yoke is easy and
the burden becomes light. @Why face life’s burdens alone, Christ
asks, or why face them with temporal support that will quickly
falter? To the heavy laden it is Christ’s yoke, it is the power and
peace of standing side by side with a God that will provide the
support, balance, and the strength to meet our challenges and endure
our tasks here in the hardpan field of mortality. @Obviously, the
personal burdens of life vary from person to person, but every one of
us has them. … Of course, some sorrows are brought on by the sins
of a world not following the counsel of [our] Father in Heaven.
Whatever the reason, none of us seems to be completely free from
life’s challenges. To one and all, Christ said, in effect: As long
as we all must bear some burden and shoulder some yoke, why not let
it be mine? My promise to you is that my yoke is easy, and my burden
is light. (See Matt. 11:28–30.) @Latter-day Saints need not fear
the tribulations of the last days. @The scriptures … indicate that
there will be seasons of time when the whole world will have some
difficulty. We know that in our dispensation unrighteousness will,
unfortunately, be quite evident, and it will bring its inevitable
difficulties and pain and punishment. God will cut short that
unrighteousness in his own due time, but our task is to live fully
and faithfully and not worry ourselves sick about the woes of the
world or when it will end. Our task is to have the gospel in our
lives and to be a bright light, a city set on the hill, which
reflects the beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the joy and
happiness that will always come to every people in every age who keep
the commandments. @In this last dispensation there will be great
tribulation. (See Matt. 24:21.) We know that there will be wars and
rumors of wars (see D&C 45:26) and that the whole earth will be
in commotion (see D&C 45:26). All dispensations have had their
perilous times, but our day will include genuine peril. (See 2 Tim.
3:1.) Evil men will flourish (see 2 Tim. 3:13), but then evil men
have very often flourished. Calamities will come and iniquity will
abound. (See D&C 45:27.) @Inevitably the natural result of some
of these kinds of prophecies is fear, and that is not fear limited to
a younger generation. It is fear shared by those of any age who don’t
understand what we understand. @But I want to stress that these
feelings are not necessary for faithful Latter-day Saints, and they
do not come from God. To ancient Israel, the great Jehovah said: “Be
strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for
the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail
thee, nor forsake thee. … “And the Lord, he it is that doth go
before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither
forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.” (Deut. 31:6, 8.)
@And to you, our marvelous generation in modern Israel, the Lord has
said: “Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and
hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they
cannot prevail. … “Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear
not.” (D&C 6:34, 36.) @Such counsel is laced throughout our
modern scriptures. Listen to this wonderful reassurance: “Fear not,
little children, for you are mine, and I have overcome the world, and
you are of them that my Father hath given me.” (D&C 50:41.)
“Verily I say unto you my friends, fear not, let your hearts be
comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks.”
(D&C 98:1.) @In light of such wonderful counsel, I think it is
incumbent upon us to rejoice a little more and despair a little less,
to give thanks for what we have and for the magnitude of God’s
blessings to us, and to talk a little less about what we may not have
or what anxiety may accompany difficult times in this or any
generation. @A time of great hope and excitement @For Latter-day
Saints this is a time of great hope and excitement—one of the
greatest eras in the Restoration and therefore one of the greatest
eras in any dispensation, inasmuch as ours is the greatest of all
dispensations. We need to have faith and hope, two of the great
fundamental virtues of any discipleship of Christ. We must continue
to exercise confidence in God, inasmuch as that is the first
principle in our code of belief. We must believe that God has all
power, that he loves us, and that his work will not be stopped or
frustrated in our individual lives or in the world generally. … @I
promise you in the name of the Lord whose servant I am that God will
always protect and care for his people. We will have our difficulties
the way every generation and people have had difficulties. But with
the gospel of Jesus Christ, you have every hope and promise and
reassurance. The Lord has power over his Saints and will always
prepare places of peace, defense, and safety for his people. When we
have faith in God we can hope for a better world—for us personally,
and for all mankind. The prophet Ether taught anciently (and he knew
something about troubles): “Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might
with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right
hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the
souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always
abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.” (Ether 12:4.)
@Disciples of Christ in every generation are invited, indeed
commanded, to be filled with a perfect brightness of hope. (See 2 Ne.
31:20.) @Seeking to dispel fear @… If our faith and hope are
anchored in Christ, in his teachings, commandments, and promises,
then we are able to count on something truly remarkable, genuinely
miraculous, which can part the Red Sea and lead modern Israel to a
place “where none shall come to hurt or make afraid.” (Hymns,
1985, no. 30.) Fear, which can come upon people in difficult days, is
a principal weapon in the arsenal which Satan uses to make mankind
unhappy. He who fears loses strength for the combat of life in the
fight against evil. Therefore the power of the evil one always tries
to generate fear in human hearts. In every age and in every era,
mankind has faced fear. @As children of God and descendants of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, we must seek to dispel fear from among
people. A timid, fearing people cannot do their work well, and they
cannot do God’s work at all. The Latter-day Saints have a divinely
assigned mission to fulfill which simply must not be dissipated in
fear and anxiety. @An Apostle of the Lord in an earlier day said
this: “The key to the conquest of fear has been given through the
Prophet Joseph Smith. ‘If ye are prepared ye shall not fear.’
(D&C 38:30.) That divine message needs repeating today in every
stake and ward.” (Elder John A. Widtsoe) @Are we prepared to
surrender to God’s commandments? Are we prepared to achieve victory
over our appetites? Are we prepared to obey righteous law? If we can
honestly answer yes to those questions, we can bid fear to depart
from our lives. Surely the degree of fear in our hearts may well be
measured by our preparation to live righteously—living in a way
that should characterize every Latter-day Saint in every age and
time. @The privilege, honor, and
responsibility
of living in the latter days @Let me close with one of the greatest
statements I have ever read from the Prophet Joseph Smith, who faced
such immense difficulties in his life and who, of course, paid the
ultimate price for his victory. But he was victorious, and he was a
happy, robust, optimistic man. Those who knew him felt his strength
and courage, even in the darkest of times. He did not sag in spirits,
or long remain in any despondency. @He said about our time—yours
and mine—that ours is the moment “upon which prophets, priests
and kings [in ages past] have dwelt with peculiar delight; [all these
ancient witnesses for God] have looked forward with joyful
anticipation to the day in which we live; and fired with heavenly and
joyful anticipations they have sung and written and prophesied of
this our day; … we are the favored people that God has [chosen] to
bring about the Latter-day glory” @What a privilege! What an honor!
What a responsibility! And what joy! We have every reason in time and
eternity to rejoice and give thanks for the quality of our lives and
the promises we have been given. @Suggestions for Study and Teaching
Questions • How can it help us to know that adversity is part of
God’s plan for our eternal progress? (See section 1.) Why do you
think adversity is a necessary part of mortality? • Review
President Hunter’s teachings in section 2 about some of the
purposes of adversity. How have you seen that adversity can be for
our benefit? How can we come to see adversity from the Lord’s
eternal perspective? • Why, as President Hunter teaches, do we have
reason to be happy and optimistic even in times of difficulty? (See
section 3.) How can we develop greater optimism during such times?
What are some blessings we continue to have even during the most
severe adversity? • How do we accept the Savior’s invitation to
let Him carry our burdens and lighten our loads? (See section 4.)
What does it mean to take His yoke upon us? How has the Savior helped
you in times of difficulty? • President Hunter teaches that
feelings of fear about the tribulations of the last days do not come
from God (see section 5). How is living by fear harmful? How can we
live with hope and faith rather than by fear?Study Help -“Many find
that the best time to study is in the morning after a night’s rest.
… Others prefer to study in the quiet hours after the work and
worries of the day are over. … Perhaps what is more important than
the hour of the day is that a regular time be set aside for study”
(Howard W. Hunter, “Reading the Scriptures,” Ensign, Nov. 1979,
64).The End. Bps, if you were really into processing and learning you
would answer each of the above questions on a fly leaf in a book you
will soon release so KJ n VJ can read them! Options, options, there
are always options for helping you to learn and progress. @ I knew a
member of my stake presidency who would get up with his wife at 4 or
5am in the morning to have their morning devotions. They went to bed
early at night and apologized for not answering their phone at night
after they had gone to bed. CommitmenT! They had commitment!
@@selena gomez not sent8/24 Selena became the ambassador of
DoSomething.org
after being involved with the charity Island Dog, which helped dogs
in Puerto Rico. She began her involvement while filming Wizards of
Waverly Place: The Movie in Puerto Rico. Gomez is also involved with
the charity RAISE Hope For Congo, an initiative of the Enough
Project, which helps raise awareness about conflict minerals and
violence against Congolese women. Gomez was named spokesperson for
UNICEF's 2009 Trick-or-Treat campaign, for the second year in a row.
Gomez, who raised over $700,000 for the charity in 2008, stated that
she hopes to be able to raise 1 million dollars in 2009. Gomez
participated in a celebrity auction and hosted a live web cast series
on Facebook in support of the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign.
From 2009 to 2012, Gomez was involved in "Disney's Friends for
Change", an organization which promoted
"environmentally-friendly behavior", and she appeared in
its public service announcements. Gomez, Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus,
and the Jonas Brothers, as the ad hoc musical team "Disney's
Friends For Change", recorded the charity single "Send It
On", all of whose proceeds were accepted into the Disney
Worldwide Conservation Fund. It debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at
No. 20. @Gomez returned as the UNICEF spokesperson for the 60th
anniversary of Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign in 2010. In
celebration of the organization's 60th anniversary, Gomez and her
team, The Scene, held a benefit concert donating all proceeds to the
campaign. In February 2011, Gomez traveled to Chile to witness and
meet with the families of UNICEF's supported program, "Programa
Puente", which helped families better understand, and developed
skills to deal effectively with, early childhood education,
development and other issues related to raising children. From her
field trip experience, Gomez said, "UNICEF is helping Chilean
families get out of poverty, prevent violence within the home and
promote education. To witness first hand these families' struggles,
and also their hope and perseverance, was truly inspiring." In
March 2011, Gomez participated in the UNICEF Tap Project's "Celebrity
Tap Pack" limited-edition, custom-made water bottles which
featured tap water from the homes of each celebrity advocate, in
order to raise funds and increase profile for the clean water and
sanitation programs. She was also featured in videos that promoted
the campaign. In April 2012, Gomez was named ambassador to the Ryan
Seacrest Foundation. She was also a spokesperson for State Farm
Insurance and appeared in numerous television commercials, which
aired on the Disney Channel, to raise awareness of being a safe
driver. @ Well, drawing this one to a close. 12:29pm gby-bltpjs-vj
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