This quote was in the "Come Follow Me" lesson for this week. I liked it enough to post to my blog.
“When our lives are filled with purpose and service, we avoid spiritual apathy; on the other hand, when our lives are deprived of divine purpose, meaningful service to others, and sacred opportunities for pondering and reflection, we gradually become suffocated by our own activity and self-interest, risking losing our savor. The antidote to this is to continue to be involved in service—being anxiously engaged in good works and the betterment of ourselves and the society we live in.”
This quote from Elder Teixeira is a good reminder that focusing on serving others rather than ourselves and our own interests, is how we stay close to our Savior and avoid spiritual apathy. More and more the world is focused on selfishness and self-serving activities. The more we focus on ourselves and what's in it for me, the farther we drift from our Savior and our divine purpose. True happiness is found in trying to be like Jesus, in serving others and following His commandments.
I was looking for a specific quote by President Holland, but can't seem to locate it right now. But in my search I found some other good quotes by President Holland. This is from a talk he gave in April 2016 called Tomorrow the Lord Will Do Wonders among You. Here are a few excerpts that I liked.
"Please remember tomorrow, and all the days after that, that the Lord blesses those who want to improve, who accept the need for commandments and try to keep them, who cherish Christlike virtues and strive to the best of their ability to acquire them. If you stumble in that pursuit, so does everyone; the Savior is there to help you keep going. If you fall, summon His strength. Call out like Alma, “O Jesus, … have mercy on me.” He will help you get back up. He will help you repent, repair, fix whatever you have to fix, and keep going. Soon enough you will have the success you seek.
“As you desire of me so it shall be done unto you,” the Lord has declared.
“… Put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good—yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously.
“… [Then] whatsoever you desire of me [in] righteousness, … you shall receive.”
"I love that doctrine! It says again and again that we are going to be blessed for our desire to do good, even as we actually strive to be so.
…"Now, with that majestic devotion ringing from heaven as the great constant in our lives, manifested most purely and perfectly in the life, death, and Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, we can escape the consequences of both sin and stupidity—our own or that of others—in whatever form they may come to us in the course of daily living. If we give our heart to God, if we love the Lord Jesus Christ, if we do the best we can to live the gospel, then tomorrow—and every other day—is ultimately going to be magnificent, even if we don’t always recognize it as such. Why? Because our Heavenly Father wants it to be! He wants to bless us. A rewarding, abundant, and eternal life is the very object of His merciful plan for His children! It is a plan predicated on the truth “that all things work together for good to them that love God.” So keep loving. Keep trying. Keep trusting. Keep believing. Keep growing. Heaven is cheering you on today, tomorrow, and forever." – Tomorrow the Lord Will Do Wonders among You, By Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, April 2016
If we desire to do good and keep trying to do so, the Lord will bless us. Trying counts. Even when we keep failing. But we need to keep trying and trust in the Lord. He will bless us for our efforts. He wants to bless us.
Here are a few more quotes from President Jeffrey R Holland that I really like. I got these off of someone's blog and they didn't include the reference and I'm too lazy to look it up right now. Sorry about that. But they are still great quotes from President Holland.
“However late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don’t have, or however far from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement.” Jeffrey R. Holland
“Whether you are not yet of our faith or were with us once and have not remained, there is nothing in either case that you have done that cannot be undone. There is no problem which you cannot overcome. There is no dream that in the unfolding of time and eternity cannot yet be realized.” Jeffrey R. Holland
“No one has failed who keeps trying and keeps praying.” Jeffrey R. Holland
“God is eagerly waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams, just as He always has. But He can’t if you don’t pray, and He can’t if you don’t dream. In short, He can’t if you don’t believe.” Jeffrey R. Holland
The Lord loves effort. He wants us to pray. He wants us to believe. He wants us to try. We will all fall short, but that's what His Atonement is for. None of us are beyond redemption. I love Elder Holland's quote, "It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ's Atonement". Never give up. There is always hope.Keep praying, keep desiring to believe until that desire becomes faith, then exercise that faith by trying to keep His commandments. We have not failed if we keep trying. We fail when we give up.Trying counts.That's my two cents.
I love the fourth of July! It's always nice to celebrate defeating the British. :-) This nation, the United States of America, is divinely designed, as God's promised land, to be free! No monarchs, no kings, nobody ruling over us. Independence! Freedom!
I am indeed grateful for our founding fathers who signed and ratified the Declaration of Independence on this day, July 4, 1776 – 249 years ago – asserting our independence from Great Britain. Our founding fathers recognized that our rights and freedoms come from God and not governments. The Declaration of Independence and also our Constitution are divinely inspired documents. God's hand was in the founding of this great nation and He has divinely preserved our freedoms throughout its 249 year existence.
I'm thankful for all the men who have fought and died to preserve our independence and freedoms over the last over 250 years. Freedom isn't free. It comes at a cost. A big thank you to all those who have sacrificed so much to preserve our freedoms in this great nation.
Also, thank you to President Trump and all those in his administration who are working tirelessly to preserve our freedoms and undo the damage done by the previous administration and all those evil, conspiring men trying to destroy our great nation. President Trump's life was preserved by God nearly a year ago for this purpose. He has already done so much good to make America great again in the few months he's been in office. This is why God preserved his life from evil assassins.
Yes, God's hand is still divinely guiding and protecting His promised land.
