Relief Society Lesson -- An Unspeakable Gift from God

An Unspeakable Gift from God

Elder Craig C. Christensen
Of the Presidency of the Seventy

Who Is the Holy Ghost?

The Holy Ghost is the third member of the Godhead.

The Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit who communicates to our spirits through feelings and impressions.

The Holy Ghost is an agent through which personal revelation is received.

What Is the Mission of the Holy Ghost?

The primary purpose of the Holy Ghost is to bear witness of God the Father and of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to teach us the truth of all things.

The Holy Ghost is also known as the Comforter. During times of trouble or despair or simply when we need to know that God is near, the Holy Ghost can lift our spirits, give us hope, and teach us “the peaceable things of the kingdom,” helping us feel “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding.”

The Holy Ghost is a teacher and a revelator. As we study, ponder, and pray about gospel truths, the Holy Ghost enlightens our minds and quickens our understanding. He causes the truth to be indelibly written in our souls and can cause a mighty change to occur in our hearts.

The Holy Ghost inspires us to reach out to others in service.

How Does the Holy Ghost Speak to Us?

“Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.” Doctrine and Covenants 8:2

President Boyd K. Packer has taught: “The Holy Ghost speaks with a voice that you feel more than you hear.”

 
What Does It Mean to Receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost?

Before baptism, all honest and sincere seekers of truth can feel the influence of the Holy Ghost from time to time. However, the opportunity to receive the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost and the fullness of all the associated blessings is available only to worthy, baptized members who receive the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands through those holding the priesthood authority of God.

 
Through the gift of the Holy Ghost, we receive added capacity and spiritual gifts, increased revelation and protection, steady guidance and direction, and the promised blessings of sanctification and exaltation in the celestial kingdom.

Tuna

This might be a silly blog post but, I thought some of you might be interested. Earlier this week we bought some canned tuna and so I started thinking about the actual fish and wanted to learn about it. So I did a Google search and read all about tuna. I don’t know if it’s the biologist in me or if everybody will find it interesting so I’m  going to share a few of the things I learned with you here.

I’m going off memory so I hope it’s fairly accurate.

The blue fin tuna can swim 55 mph. Which I think is the fastest of any fish. If I remember correctly.

Another interesting thing about tuna is they maintain an internal temperature of over 90°F even in water as cold as 40°F or thereabouts.

It is due to an amazing countercurrent heat exchange system in the blood vessels. I do remember learning this as an undergraduate in biology. I don’t remember the details but it has something to do with the way the veins and arteries are close together and transfer heat with blood flow in opposite direction. The cold oxygenated blood in the arteries collects the heat from the warm deoxygenated blood leaving the muscles through veins. I think. J

The blue fin tuna has a large heart and high blood volume. Along with the warm body temperature this allows faster nerve impulses and therefore muscles respond faster which is why they’re so quick. I’m also wondering if that’s not why their flesh is pink or red compared with most fish which is white. The extra hemoglobin?

The only predator that can catch a blue fin tuna is the mako shark and killer whale. And man of course.

A single blue fin tuna was sold at auction to a Japanese buyer earlier this month for an average of $3600 per pound. I believe the fish weighed about 500 pounds and sold for approximately $1.8 million. I can’t help but wonder if this is not a publicity stunt. Can he actually recoup $3600 per pound? Maybe in Japan I guess.

Blue fin tuna can weigh up to 1500-2000 pounds. And live as long as 40 years.  Although now, it is rare to find a blue fin tuna that big because of overfishing. Most of the tuna caught nowadays is about 5 to 7 years old, I believe. I think the old ones can be about 10 feet long.

The blue fin tuna population has gone down 96.4% or thereabouts since commercial fishing began decades ago. They are on the verge of extinction. To clarify that means that for every 100 Pacific Bluefin tuna that were in the ocean a few decades ago now there are only 3.6.

Of course there are other tuna species such as yellowfin and albacore. They don’t get nearly as big. I don’t know which species of tuna are endangered or near extinction. But I do know that they have been fished extensively. I think Japan consumes 80% of all the tuna that is caught commercially.

I believe there have been efforts to farm tuna but I don’t think they have been very successful.

Tuna travel extensively. To maintain oxygen levels they are constantly swimming. They migrate across oceans—thousands of miles yearly.

I know this is mostly about blue fin tuna but they are the most interesting to me. I didn’t really do much research --just read a few articles. So take these facts with a grain of salt. Some of them are probably wrong. I’m not getting graded on this so it’s not the most well-written article -- it’s just for fun. But anyway I thought was interesting so I wanted to share.

That’s my two cents

Thomas S. Monson Quote

"The person who is working on his or her family history fits the description of one who is fulfilling his or her duty. I know the effort, I know the expense. I know the difficulties through which one may go to uncover one name. I know our Heavenly Father is aware of these efforts. And those for whom we perform sacred ordinances are aware of our efforts. Oftentimes, in a miraculous way, there shall appear before us a clear pathway through a field of turbulence."

—Thomas S. Monson, "The Key of Faith", Liahona and Ensign, February 1994

Affordable Care?

Thanks a lot, Obama voters. (Yes, I’m being sarcastic) Thanks for causing me grief for the past month. Because of you, Obama voters, much havoc has been wreaked in my life this month.

To try to make a long story short: I went to the doctor, first mistake! The doctor ordered a test. When the people called to schedule the test, I asked how much it would cost before I agreed to have it done. When they called to remind me of my appointment, I once again reiterated and asked the price. To which they agreed upon said amount. When I went to the appointment I asked if I could pay beforehand, as to avoid any confusion in the price. They said I would have to wait until I was billed because they weren’t sure what the exact amount was going to be. Red flag! Against my better judgment, I went ahead and had the test done. I received a bill about a week later and was shocked to see the amount. It was 4 to 5 times the amount I was quoted.

Needless to say, I called them up to straighten everything out. I kept getting the runaround. Every time I called, was put on hold for 10 to 20 minutes just to get a voicemail or someone who pawned me off to another department where I would get another voicemail. This happened many times over the past month. I would wait for a return call which would never come. So I would call them back. Anyway, I finally got someone today who helped me.

 As I explained for the umpteenth time what happened, the lady on the other end discovered why I was quoted a much smaller amount than I was billed. She said they quoted me the price of the procedure before “the affordable care act”. So I said, “So this is all Obama’s fault?” She hemmed and hawed and said something about how people don’t understand what this has done… blah, blah, blah. I told her that’s quite an increase in price. She agreed. I got the sense that she didn’t want to get in trouble for bad mouthing Obama because calls are recorded.  Sounds to me like we’re already living in a socialist/communist country.  Where you can’t say anything bad about the government leaders. But I digress.

So, all this trouble with my bill, which I tried to avoid in the beginning, is because of Obama and the “affordable care act” or in other words, Obamacare. It makes no sense to me how increasing the price of medical procedures by 500% makes it more affordable. Apparently Obama, and half of the people of this nation who voted for the cheese bag, can’t do third grade math. Obviously Obama voters have much lower IQ’s than the rest of us. Unfortunately, they are now the majority. And what’s even worse is their horrible choices are affecting me and my life already! I’ve already shed many tears and had many bad days because of being lied to and come to find out, it all goes back to Obama. But we can’t really blame one bad man, the blame goes on the voters. Because Obama would not be able to wreak havoc with my life if it wasn’t for stupid Obama voters. So thanks a lot! You, uninformed, unintelligent, selfish Obama voters.

That’s my two cents.

L. Tom Perry Quote

"The onslaught of wickedness against our children is more subtle and brazen than it has ever been. Building a strong family culture adds another layer of protection for our children, insulating them from worldly influences."

—L. Tom Perry, "Becoming Goodly Parents", Liahona and Ensign, November 2012

Head in the Sand

For the past 2 1/2 months I have deliberately kept my head in the sand, so to speak. Ever since the election on November 6, I have kept myself fairly uninformed about what's going on in the world. I don't watch the news. I do see headlines and glance at a few stories on the Deseret News online. I have been so distraught at the realization of what our nation has become and is becoming, that I don't want to deal with it. It's probably not the best way, but that's how I've been coping.

I have known since the election that Obama -- in line with his communistic/socialistic agenda -- wants our guns.

Now, I am fairly uninformed, as I mentioned, about the shooting that took place not too long ago. But it triggered or was the catalyst for Obama's call for strict gun control. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if the whole thing wasn't an inside Job.

Gun control is an absurdly ridiculous solution to gun violence. It makes no sense whatsoever. Yet, a large part of the population, looking through their wool covered eyes, believes it will stop violence. I've already done a blog post about this so I will not elaborate.

The reason I wanted to do this blog today is to share an analogy I thought of this morning.

Now, I don't know the statistics -- and I'm not even sure they are available -- but it seems logical to me that if we want to prevent deaths, we should ban cell phones -- not guns.

I would venture to guess that there are more deaths and injuries as a result of cell phone usage while driving than there are from guns. And that doesn't even take into effect the potential carcinogenic factor of cell phones.

Yes, I am a cell phone hater. I have never owned one, and never will. I do see the potential benefit for emergency purposes, and convenience. But I feel that the detriment that cell phones cause outweighs the benefits. Not only the physical death and injuries that cell phones cause, but also the spiritual/emotional death. I wonder how many families/relationships have been killed (torn apart)/harmed by smartphones. People, especially teenagers, don’t even know how to interact socially anymore. All they know how to do is text message or communicate via the Internet, i.e. social media such as Facebook and twitter. Pretty sad.

Okay, I will get off my soapbox about cell phones for now.

Obviously there are many other things I could talk about that results in death and injury such as drugs and alcohol and driving while intoxicated, etc.

Many harmful drugs are illegal, it doesn't seem to stop people from using them. Alcohol, was illegal in this country for a certain time, during Prohibition. It didn't seem to stop people from obtaining and drinking alcohol.

Making guns illegal, will not prevent gun violence. It will just make it harder for law-abiding citizens to protect themselves.

I have a solution to stopping violence. Or at least curtailing it.

It's a rather simple solution but it will never happen. Stop making and selling violent media. Violent movies, violent television shows, violent video games, violent music, etc. -- this is where it starts.

Unfortunately, Satan is very good at what he does. He knows how to influence people for evil. He knows how to make good seem evil and evil seem good--In the eyes of the world. He knows how to use rationalization as one of his main tools. And it works.

The world is becoming more and more desensitized to evil, including violence. That's the way Satan wants it.

This is why we are given commandments. To help us be in the world but not of the world. To be able to resist Satan's influence. To be able to recognize right from wrong. The Holy Ghost is there to help us. But we have to be willing to listen to and heed the still small voice.

I understand we are living in the last days. I understand things will only get worse. All we can do is try our best to live righteously and follow the commandments and listen to the Holy Ghost. I know our country is heading in a downward spiral towards communism/socialism. It is prophesied that the Constitution will hang by a thread.

I just can't stand to watch. So, for the time being, I will continue to keep my head in the sand as much as possible.

That's my two cents.

Bigger Fish to Fry

I feel bad for Manti Te’o. I don’t know the whole story. And perhaps never will. But it seems like when the media latches onto something they keep digging until they get what they want. As far as I’m concerned, Manti is the victim of a cruel hoax. Until proven otherwise. I don’t find it too hard to believe that a young 21-year-old --or however old he is –is gullible and naïve. I want to believe Manti. I watched him all season at Notre Dame. He seems like a nice young man. Yet the media seems to have turned on him and are now going after his jugular. Even if it does come out that Manti was in on the hoax, which I don’t think it will – but in this day and age nothing really surprises me anymore, is it really worth the amount of press it’s been getting?

What I find quite strange about this whole media frenzy is that there are so many more newsworthy stories right now in sports. For example, the whole Lance Armstrong scandal. Apparently he finally came clean and admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs. Which to me, was obvious from the get go. There is no way that one person can dominate a sport for so long without cheating. But that’s a whole other story.

It’s interesting that Pres. Uchtdorf, in his most recent CES fireside address this past Sunday, talked about truth. One thing I took away from that talk is that our perception of truth and reality can be totally different. For instance, e-mail forwards that seem to be running rampant, are full of stories that claim to be true, but are not. Even if you try to do your research to check out the truthfulness, those sources may also be false. In fact, I automatically assume that e-mail forwards are false. Most of them I don’t even take the time to read.

Another example is science. The truths taught in science are always changing. One example: when I was in school Pluto was a planet. Now it’s not.

The truth doesn’t really change, just our perception of the truth changes. Anyway, I found it interesting and probably not coincidental that Pres. Uchtdorf’s talk was all about truth. In the same week there are two big stories in the news concerning truth.

Another thing that is bothersome about this whole Manti Te’o feeding frenzy is that several articles I’ve read have stated that because Manti is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints, that the church will be scarred. And also that Notre Dame will be scarred. How does being the victim of a hoax, a cruel hoax, scar the church you belong to or the university you attended? Even in the worst-case scenario – Manti being involved in the hoax – there seems to be a lot worse crimes/sins out there than making up your girlfriend. Such as using performance-enhancing drugs to win seven Tour de France titles and lying about it for years and chastising those who told the truth about what you did. And finally coming clean after years and years of lying about it only because you were caught and there was no getting around the truth.

I wish the press would leave Manti Te’o alone and let him work through his pain and learn from this challenge and move on. There are bigger fish to fry.

That’s my two cents.

Heroes and Wallflowers

There are several thoughts going through my head today. First of all, I found out about a month ago that my cousin, Jennifer Sabin Sattley, wrote a book! It is titled,  “My Heroes Ask Wallflowers To Dance” and is available on Amazon.com. I ordered a copy the day  I found out about it. My mom and dad have been reading it out loud and we are little over halfway through. I really want to finish it! I never want to stop when it is time to quit. Anyway, there is no way to get through it without shedding many tears. Even though I already know the story, it’s wonderful to learn the details. Reading Jenny’s book makes me want to be a better person. It makes me happy to know that I share about 13% of my DNA with her. J

-May 2002 --

Juliet, Jennifer, Tammy

I didn’t know my cousin, Justin, very well. He was eight years younger than me and for most of our lives we lived several hundred miles apart. But I do have several cherished memories of him. My very first experience with fasting was when Justin was a baby and we held a family fast for him. I remember it quite well. It left a lasting impression on my young life. Justin had quite the personality. Just thinking about him makes me smile. It was fun to read some of the stories about him in Jennifer’s book. Justin was too good for this life. He finished his test early and has already graduated. Once again, I am proud to be related to someone so celestial.

Reading Jenny’s book, for me, is like reading Pres. Monson’s biography (which I just finished). They both remind me of how true disciples of Jesus Christ should be. Although, I am reminded of my woeful inadequacy as a disciple of Jesus Christ, it makes me want to be better. Along with Pres. Monson, my Uncle Gary, Aunt Val, and their children (my cousins) are wonderful examples of disciples of Christ.

To anyone reading this blog, I highly recommend Jennifer’s book.  [Even though we haven’t finished reading it yet] Jenny has a very inspiring story, and she tells it very well. She is a beautiful young woman inside and out. When you buy the book, you might want to buy a couple boxes of Kleenex to go with it. You will need them!

I had a couple of other thoughts I was going to share today but, I think I will leave it at that.

That’s my two cents.

Quote by Elder Richard G. Scott

"Do you young people want a sure way to eliminate the influence of the adversary in your life? Immerse yourself in searching for your ancestors, prepare their names for the sacred vicarious ordinances available in the temple, and then go to the temple to stand as proxy for them to receive the ordinances of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost."

—Richard G. Scott, "The Joy of Redeeming the Dead" October 2012 General Conference 

Quote by President Uchtdorf

"Let us resolve to follow the Savior and work with diligence to become the person we were designed to become. Let us listen to and obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit. As we do so, Heavenly Father will reveal to us things we never knew about ourselves. He will illuminate the path ahead and open our eyes to see our unknown and perhaps unimagined talents."

—Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Of Regrets and Resolutions", Liahona and Ensign, October 2012