Inspired Topic: Are You Prepared?

"Those who are wise and faithful will be prepared when the Lord comes again."  --Joseph Smith

Sisters, perilous times are coming again. We know this is the Last Harvest and Christ is returning soon.

Are you prepared?

In D&C 106:4–5 we are warned, "...the coming of the Lord draweth nigh, and it overtaketh the world as a thief in the night— Therefore, gird up your loins, that you may be the children of light, and that day shall not overtake you as a thief."

How are you prepared?

Prepare yourselves spiritually.  Prepare yourselves temporally.

I often speak of how my life is governed by Plans.  Fr'example, I've got a 5-year plan (education), a 20-year plan (raising Their Ladyships), and a Thousand-Year Plan (my eternal salvation).

Everyone should have a Thousand-Year Plan. After all, aren't we sharing the same goal?

I encourage you all to prepare yourselves now, while there is time and room.  When the disasters and destruction which has been foretold falls upon us, we are not going to escape unscathed. Bad stuff is going to happen to many of us. But if we are prepared, the Lord will be with us during that time. (D&C 63:34)  This will be an advantage for the righteous.

But only if they are prepared. (I am in favour of gaining as many advantages I can to help me in those last days. How about you?)

To start your preparations, here is a list of ways you can prepare now. Please add to this list as you see fit; this is only a beginning.

Spiritual Preparation	Temporal Preparation
Personal Prayers	Keep your body physically healthy
Scripture study	Keep your mind mentally healthy
Attend meetings	Be financially stable
Give service	Build up your food storage
Serve cheerfully in your callings	Laugh often
Attend the Temple	Plant a garden
Treat your family well	Spent time with your family
Gain an education	Gain an education
Practice Christ-like attributes	Live within your means
Pay your tithing	Learn new skills
Family History	Read more
Lead by example	Lead by example
Share the Gospel with others	Be reliable
Desire to increase spiritually	Desire to grow as a person

Do not think that where you at is adequate and you can be complacent. Many people make that mistake. Acknowledge the good you have already accomplished, but also seek to improve on that. There is always something you can do better, something you can improve on. Increase the quality of your actions, your deeds, and your preparation.

Those who are inadequately prepared are going to get caught short.  They will regret their lack of preparation. You have the power Right Now to not be one of those. I encourage you to exercise it.

Keeping Life's Demands in Balance

In Sister Gloria Leavitt's lesson last week (19 May, 2013 - Chapter 8: “Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart”), she referred to a conference talk given by Elder M. Russell Ballard "Keeping Life's Demands in Balance" (Ensign, May 1987).

As she was unable to cover everything she prepared, we're posting an excerpt from her notes here:

In his Conference talk, Elder Ballard offers some tips for helping us keep our lives in balance.

1. Think about your life and set your priorities. (ed note: see chart below for more hints on how to set priorities.)
   
2. Set short-term goals that you can reach.
   
3. Through wise budgeting, control yoru real needs and measure them against your many wants in life.
   
4. Stay close to your spouse, children, relatives and friends.
   
5. Study the scriptures.
   
6. Find time for sufficient rest, exercise and relaxation. Schedule it in if you need to.
   
7. Families should teach one another the gospel, preferrably in Family Home Evening.
   
8. Pray often as individuals and families.

A member of the Church by the name of Stephen Covey once came up with a matrix to help determine priorities of everyday tasks.

For every thing in our day, we need to ask ourselves, is it Urgent? Is it Important?

1. If it is Urgent and Important, it needs doing right away. Things such as a crisis, medical emergency, crying baby, and pressing problems count as Urgent and Important. These things are of Necessity.
   
2. Is it Important, but not Urgent, you're better off doing it sooner, rather than later. Preparation/planning, prevention, important relationships (like family) and true recreation are Important, but not necessarily urgent. These things are of Quality.
   
3. Is it urgent, but not important? Sometimes some things seem more important than they are. Many phone calls and emails, other people's emergencies, some popular activities (like television shows) are urgent, but not important. These are the things of Deception.
   
4. What about the things that are not Important or Urgent? Trivia, busywork, mindlessness, some leisure pursuits that do not benefit your health, the mundane. These are the things of Waste and should be avoided.

Sometimes some women mistake Urgency for Importance. Do not make that mistake. If something Urgent crops up, determine if it is Important. If it's not, consider giving it a miss for now and go focus on something Important but not Urgent.

Exercise: Make a list of everything you do in a day. Determine if it's Urgent. Determine if it's Important. Make a priority of the things that are Important.

What If...

Time for a game of "What If...?".

What If you were born to a faithful and loving family and raised in the Church? What if you attended Primary as a child, YM/YW as a youth and graduated from Seminary and Institute, then served and returned from an honourable mission before getting married for Time and All Eternity to your sweetheart? What if you did all the right things?

So, pretending that this has been your life, what are the little things that you would have done in your life today? What would you have done when you woke up? What would you have said to your spouse?

What would you have done getting dressed, getting children ready, going to work or school? What would you have done while driving or taking the train? What would you have said to your coworkers?

What would you do when you got home? What would you have said to you family, or done? What would you do that evening, when you eat dinner, and before you go to bed?

(Feel free to write these things down in your "Filling My Reservoir" journal, if you wish. These sorts of things are marvelous dreams!)

Looking over this list of little things that you would do, do you do them now?

If so, mazel! Keep up the good work.

If not, why not?

Over the years, I've had several conversations with several people about lifestyle choices. And they have, invariably, said to me, "Oh, it's easy for you. You were born in the church" or "Oh, well, you've always done that sort of thing," or "Well, I've had a lot of challenges in my life."

Honey, every single one of us has challenges in our lives, some of them so dire and powerful that it nearly killed us. Every. Single. One. Of. Us. Is put here on this earth to be tested. Sometimes the bad things that happen to us are consequenses of our poor choices. But other times, bad things happen not as a consequence, but as a challenge given to us by the Lord.

Regardless, it's unfair and self-pitying to think that we might be more challenged than someone else and we should be cut some slack.

Why should we use that as a pithy excuse for not doing or behaving or being the sort of person we, ultimately, want to be?

It might be that in the past you were abandoned, orphaned, abused, neglected, starved, forgotten, bullied and ran over by a truck. But why should that disqualify you from saying, "Today, I shall be a Disciple of Christ."

Yeah, the past happened. Sometimes it's regretful or painful. But will it disqualify me from making a choice today, right now?

A friend of mine, a few weeks ago, declared she and her husband were going to stop smoking. Alas, her resolve didn't last long. A week ago, she excused herself from our little gathering to go out for a puff.

Boldly, I said to her, "Don't smoke that cigarette."

Her reply: "You don't know what it's like. You've never smoked." She's right. I never have. Granted, that makes it easier for me to choose to not smoke a cigarette.

Yet has her past history of poor choices and bad experiences mean she can't choose not to smoke? No. She will always have that choice. "You can smoke the next one, if you wish," I explained. "Just don't smoke that one."

So what if you weren't born in the church and constantly nurtured within the arms of the Gospel, as it should truly be lived? Does that mean you can't live today as if you had been raised thus?

There is absolutely no reason at all that you can't behave today as if you were the noble Latter-Day Saint you aspire to be. You cannot be stopped if you don't want to be.

Excuses are the Adversary's tool to discourage you and beguile you to behaving less than you are worth. Stop making them.

This might not seem fair to you, but if you behaved today as if you had been a Saint your whole life (regardless of your past), you will get the blessings of being that Saint, because of today. That is the Saviour's way.

What If... I behaved today as a strong, faithful Latter-Day Saint, full of joy and the spirit of Christ?

Who cares what yesterday was like? This is today.

Choose today to make your stand.

Resolve to Act

Last week I treated Their Ladyships to a bit of fast food. While we were waiting for an order, a young child, about two years old or so, trailed after her mother while sipping on a drink.

The drink, damp with condensation, slipped from her hands and fell to the floor. It did not spill, but lay there, waiting at her feet.

To my surprise, the child stared at it for a moment, then started wailing. She cried and stamped her feet uselessly until her mother came over, picked up the drink and handed it back to the child.

I was surprised and disappointed at this whole scenario. This child, quite able-bodied from what I could tell, was utterly helpless. And what was worse, her mother enabled her helplessness.

Most other children of my acquiantance would have picked up the drink immediately and continued on their merry way. Had one of my daughters behaved as this little girl had, I would have said, "Go ahead and pick it up, dear. It's okay." But it would have been up to her to act.

How many of us have been taught to be "helpless"? When something happens that we are not happy with, do we say nothing, or shirk away or regret not acting? Do we give in when others are more assertive than us? Do we let things be?

Or do we realise our true power to change our world?

I have been guilty in the past of not acting in favour of my own best interests. There have been times when I've witnessed things happen in my life and, instead of acting for change, acted helpless.

I'll tell you, when I took the coward's path, things always went against my favour.

Our Relief Society lesson last Sunday was Pres. Dieter F Uchdorf's excellent Conference talk "Of Regrets and Resolutions". If you weren't in Relief Society (Or Elder's Quorum) last Sunday, I encourage you to read through it. (Well? Why are you sitting there, doing nothing? Go READ!)

As the New Year comes upon us, it is a time to make resolutions to be better people. The best change for yourself comes when you act.

Resolutions don't always have to be about trying to be "better". Sometimes simply changing something for the sake of change can be good for you. Sometimes we get stuck in ruts and don't realise it.

I would hope you put some thought and action into resolutions. Include some little things as well as big things in your list.

Meanwhile...
What will you do in 2013?

The Benefit of Technology

Do you know how technology can enhance your spiritual life?

The Church has put out many, many tools to make good use of the advanced technology most of us have access to. At no other time in human history have so many people had such great access to the fulness of the Gospel.

How many of these tools do you know about? How many do you use?

• www.lds.org This is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints' official web site. Anything and everything you could possibly want could be found here.
  • Church magazines including the Friend, New Era and Ensign, including back issues
    
  • Hymns and Children's Songbook, including the Interactive Music Player
    
  • Scriptures, in many languages
    
  • Videos from the Mormon Channel
    
  • Visiting Teaching and Home Teaching messages
    
  • Lesson Manuals and Class Study Guides
    
  • General Conference talks/videos/etc.
    
  • And more!
    
• Want to make the most of the lds.org site and other online church resources? Get an LDS Account. Some sites, such as New Family Search and ward.lds.org (Our ward's website) require an LDS Account to access it.
  Register for an LDS Account. You will need your name and your Membership Record Number (which you can get from Ethan Stokes the Ward Clerk, or you can find on your Temple Recommend.) You'd be surprised what you can do.
  
• Do your genealogy and take names to the temple through New Family Search. This excellent tool helps you avoid duplication of ordinances and tapping into the research done by others in your family. A must for every temple-attending family.
  
• The Church Calendar is available online. Want to know when our Ward Temple Night is, or when the Temple is closed? you can find it here. The Relief Society is hoping to put this online calendar to better use in the new year.
  
• For our Youth, Duty to God ( dutytogod.lds.org) and Personal Progress (personalprogress.lds.org) can help them keep track of their progress.
  
• LDSTech (tech.lds.org) has plenty of nifty computery tools to empower you. Download Gospel Library to your iPhone, Android device, iPad, laptop, eBook reader and more. This powerful little app gives you access to the full Scriptures, all church magazines, all class manuals and more. There's even a feature for you to take notes, underline scriptures and save those markings across the board.
  
• The Online Store (store.lds.org) Give you online shopping access to Church resources. Buy anything from scripture sets to manuals, official products and, for endowed members, sacred clothing.
  

If technology is baffling or frightens you, ask one of our Relief Society Presidency to show you how. You're a strong and clever woman who deserves all the benefit she can get. We're happy to show you (or point you in the direction of a mentor) to enable you to access these wonderful and powerful tools to enhance your spiritual growth.

Read Your Scriptures -- This is Why:

The other day I was reading Romans in the New Testament. One particular verse struck me. As I read that verse, it was as if a light shone into my head and my mind was opened.

I was enlightened. I gained greater wisdom and consciousness. I now lived on a higher plane.

As I gained greater understanding of the Gospel, I was then blessed again with inspiration: this is why we read the Scriptures; it is for the opening of our minds and to make us greater beings.

Our Heavenly Father wants us to learn and grow and change.

We are given the basic skills regarding the Gospel. We are taught to pray, we are taught to sing, we are taught to read. Then the rest is left up to us.

Our minds are capable of understanding great and powerful things. However, these great and powerful things will not always seek us out. We must go find them.

Enlightenment comes to those who place themselves in its way. There is no other single concentrated source of the Gospel than through the Scriptures. By placing ourselves to read the Scriptures, we are more likely to harvest inspiration.

Reading the Scriptures is like unto standing in a sweet, freshwater lake. Should we thirst, all we have to do is dip and drink. (Indeed, as long as we stand in that lake, we would never thirst again.)

Not reading the Scriptures is like unto standing in the desert. Where is the water that would come? From time to time it may rain and we could slake our thirst. But we cannot drink daily and we would suffer for it.

Our Heavenly Father would like to see us achieve a higher plane of consciousness. It is least likely to happen if we sit around and do nothing. We can attend our church meetings, and we'll get a few sips to drink. Attend the temple, and we'll get a glass or two. But if you wish to hasten your enlightenment and become a greater being every morning, take some time each day to read the scriptures.

Forgiveness

Some of you have asked for my notes from my First Sunday Inspired Lesson for September.

Here you go. May they bless your life.

---

1
Forgiveness is letting go of the negative emotions within. And that's all-- nothing more.
Forgiveness had nothing to do with another person. It is wholly an act of self.
The cause of the negative emotions has nothing to do with you letting them go.
2
Sometimes some people mistakenly believe that to forgive a person who hurt you means to mitigate what they did wrong, to lessen or even eliminate the wrongness of the action. That's not what it does. Sometimes the Adversary tries to use our sense of rightness and justice against us to prevent us from practicing forgiveness.
"I forgive you," is not the same as "I accept what you did as okay," or "I absolve you." To forgive someone is not saying that you are acknowledging what happened between you is acceptable. What they did might be very wrong. The nature of the wrong will not change if you forgive them. What changes is you, and for the better.
3
Physical effects of unforgiveness: stress, anxiety, muscle tension, nail biting, the fidgets, inflammation, increased blood pressure, poor digestion, poor sleep patterns, headaches, disrupted diet, lack of focus, poor health.
Emotional effects include anger, depression, hopelessness, inability to think straight, defensiveness, argumentativeness, being easily offended, lack of patience, frustration, apathy, insensitivity and more. Perceptions may change, errors in judgement may be made. It creates 'baggage' that can hinder future experiences.
Release your feelings and be freed.
Once you have released the emotions, then you can proceed with a clear mind.
4
How you feel is a choice.
We experience Emotions because of our thoughts and experiences. Sometimes they come unbidden, and we may not realise we are experiencing a particular emotion at first. But once we do, we have a choice: continue experiencing that feeling, or change it.
To be a forgiver is to be able to let go of negative emotions. It takes practice. Sometimes to let go of a particular feeling permanently can take some time and vigilance. But it can be done. Get into the habit of undoing negative feelings as soon as you encounter them. Do not dwell on them, or let them grow like weeds. Experienced forgivers find it easier to forgive.
5
Do not let forgiveness interfere with justice. You can let go of the anger of someone breaking into your house, but you can still report it to the police. Let justice be fulfilled for justice's sake, and not out of a need for revenge. Getting even is not true justice.
Do not let your forgiveness depend on seeing justice served. Man's justice is imperfect, and mistakes will happen in its course.
Eventually, our Heavenly Father will sort out everything. But that will take time, and you will need patience.
6
Forgive 7 times 70 means that every time you feel hurt, let it go. Look upon it each time as an act of freedom.
Any time you have a negative emotion, release it, regardless of the cause.
7
But it also means that you should not put yourself in the way of repetitive pain. If you find that you are having to forgive for an offence that happens over and over and over, take some action to change the circumstances. If it's a case of self-forgiveness, change your pattern. If it's a case of forgiving someone else, take appropriate steps to change the situation.
Sometimes this can be as simple as having a productive talk with the person. But sometimes, if all other attempts at diplomacy fail, it might be that you need to distance yourself from this person.
Protect yourself. You are a precious soul that needs to return to Heavenly Father.

The Strengthening Power of Faith

A few sisters have asked for my notes from my lesson a couple of weeks ago.

Faith requires:

• Courage. It takes some courage to practice faith.
  
• Hope. Belief in things not seen requires a bit of hope that they are true.
  
• Steadfastness. Stay true and endure to the end.
  
• Farsightedness. Look beyond the moment to see the bigger picture.
  
• Trust. Can you place your trust in the Lord?
  
• Obedience. Give yourself over to the wisdom of our Heavenly Father.

Faith is a gift from the Lord through which the righteous are empowered to do remarkable things.