Teachings of the Presidents of the Church

I just have to share how much I am enjoying reading the teachings of Spencer W. Kimball this year. I know it's only been a few weeks but I have thoroughly enjoyed each lesson so much.

In Chapter one, these are some of my favorite quotes:
"We understood well before we came to this (life) that there would be sorrows, disappointments, hard work, blood, sweat and tears; but in spite of it all, we looked down and saw this earth being made ready for us, and we said in effect, "Yes, Father, in spite of all those things I can see great blessings that could come to me as one of they sons or daughters..."

"You are sent to this Earth not merely to have a good time or to satisfy urges or passions or desires... and have what the world calls "fun." You are sent to this world with a very serious purpose. You are sent to school, for that matter, to begin as a human infant and grow to unbelievable proportions in wisdom, judgment, knowledge and power."

This one really hit me-
"One of the most serious human defects in all ages is procrastination, an unwillingness to accept personal responsibilities now. Men came to Earth consciously to obtain their schooling, their training and development, and to perfect themselves, but many have allowed themselves to be diverted and have become... addicts to mental and spiritual indolence and to the pursuit of worldly pleasure."

Again this topic...
"There are many members of the church who are lax and careless and who continually procrastinate. They live the gospel casually but not devoutly. They have complied with some of the requirements but are not valiant.... The Lord will not translate one's good hopes and desires and intentions into works. Each of us must to that for himself..."

"When one realizes the vastness, the richness, the glory of that "all" which the Lord promises to bestow upon his faithful, it is worth all it costs in patience, faith, sacrifice, sweat and tears."

Overall from this lesson I felt a call to be more committed, more dedicated to fulfilling my calling, and being a strong member in the gospel. To me, this means trying harder to go to the temple monthly, strengthen my family, increase my testimony, and share this good news with others. I also LOVE his words about the purpose of this life. I truly believe that we came down to earth knowing exactly what we were getting into. At that point it probably seemed really easy. I imagine myself saying, "Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. I know I will have hardships and some terrible things might happen. But I have a strong faith and I want to do it. I can prove myself..." etc. It's a different story now that we're here, isn't it? Our view is so clouded and we are bombarded with challenges every day. Like the First Presidency message by President Faust this month says, the line between good and evil just seems to get harder and harder to discern. "We will need greater spirituality to perceive all of the forms of evil and greater strength to resist it." Does this frighten anyone else?



In Chapter two:
This lesson was on death- "Tragedy or destiny?"
He mentions a number of tragedies, like a parent killed in a car accident, a plane crash killing 43, a young mother dying of cancer leaving 3 small children, etc. Many people ask "Why did God let this happen?" I love his answer. "Did the Lord cause these things to happen? Answer if you can. I cannot, for though I know God has a major role in our lives, I do not know how much he causes to happen and how much he merely permits. Whatever the answer to this question, there is another I feel sure about. Could the Lord have prevented these tragedies?" He can prevent all these things if he will. But he will not. "If all the sick whom we prayed for were healed, if all the wicked were destroyed... the whole program of the Father would be annulled and the basic principle of the gospel, agency, would be ended. No man would have to live by faith."

"No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude, and humility... it builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our soul... it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education we came here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven."



Of course all I could think about was my first pregnancy. My oldest child, Austin, had a twin brother who passed away at about 28 weeks, in utero. (Austin was delivered one week later, via emergency C-section) I often thought to myself, "Why did I get pregnant with twins in the first place if that baby wasn't going to survive?" Because I believe that God has a plan and that He knows all things, He obviously knew from the beginning that my child, Thomas, was not going to survive. So why did I have to go through 6 1/2 months of pregnancy with those expectations only to be so saddened and grieved by the loss of his life? I believe it was in The Plan, but why? Clearly based on President Kimball's words, it's because I had to grow from that experience. It has allowed me to teach my children about death and The Plan of Salvation. We believe that we will have the opportunity to meet Thomas and be with him once we have passed on. It gives me motivation to make good choices in this life and keep myself worthy to go to the place where he is. I believe that Thomas may have known the plan and made the choice to have a physical body, for even that short time, to serve his purpose. It also gives me the opportunity to comfort and help other women who go through similar experiences. I know what it feels like to lose a baby. It's almost strange how many women I have met in the past 6 years who have gone through the same type of experience (losing a baby far into pregnancy- like 5+ months), including my MTC companion, two wives of my husband's friends, our Primary president in one ward, someone I worked with, etc. I had someone ask me once, "How did you get through that?" in regards to losing Thomas and the clear answer came quickly, "I believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that I will be able to be with him again one day."

I am so thankful for my religion. I look around me and I see people who seem so lost and confused. People my age who have nothing to look forward to but get drunk and party all weekend. I heard a guy in the grocery store the other day say, when asked if he had big plans for the holiday weekend,"Oh, yeah, I do, I'll be drunk." Seriously. That was his "plan". It sounded so sad and pathetic. I am just thankful to have purpose. To have answers. To have a real plan.