THAT WE MAY ALWAYS REMEMBER REMEMBER HIS SACRIFICE. REMEMBER YOUR PROMISE. REMEMBER YOU CAN BE FORGIVEN. REMEMBER TO FORGIVE. REMEMBER GOD STILL SPEAKS. REMEMBER TO LISTEN. REMEMBER HE SHOWED THE WAY. REMEMBER TO FOLLOW. REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE. REMEMBER WHO YOU CAN BECOME. REMEMBER THE GOSPEL IS TRUE. REMEMBER TO BE TRUE.
We may have to struggle to achieve our goals, but our struggles may yield as much growth as our learning. The strengths we develop in overcoming challenges will be with us in the eternities to come. We should not envy those whose financial or intellectual resources make it easy. The stuff of growth was never made of ease, and persons who have it easy will need to experience their growth with other sacrifices or forego the advancement that is the purpose of life. Dallin H Oaks Learning and Latter-day Saints Ensign, April 2009
True greatness comes not from worldly success but from “thousands of little deeds … of service and sacrifice that constitute the giving, or losing, of one’s life for others and for the Lord.... True greatness is never a result of a chance occurrence or a onetime effort or achievement. Greatness requires the development of character. It requires a multitude of correct decisions in the everyday choices between good and evil that Elder Boyd K. Packer spoke about when he said, “Over the years these little choices will be bundled together and show clearly what we value.” (Ensign, Nov. 1980, p. 21.) Those choices will also show clearly what we are.
Who are good parents? They are those who have lovingly, prayerfully, and earnestly tried to teach their children by example and precept “to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord.” This is true even though some of their children are disobedient or worldly. Children come into this world with their own distinct spirits and personality traits. Some children “would challenge any set of parents under any set of circumstances. … Perhaps there are others who would bless the lives of, and be a joy to, almost any father or mother.” Successful parents are those who have sacrificed and struggled to do the best they can in their own family circumstances.
A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation".
That is the great secret that "progressive" and "inclusive" Christian leaders are too high on the fumes of humanism to notice or understand. Religions grow when they expect more of their adherents, not less. Religions thrive when they provide a lifestyle that is radically different from the dull, hollow lifestyle provided by the world. People turn to religion for identity. And if all they find is more of the same, more of what caused them to go looking in the first place, they will not be converted. If a church wants to grow (and, more importantly, if it wants to save souls), it must have the boldness to completely and entirely reject the teachings of the world and preach instead the teachings of Christ.
All the Lord asks of us is a heart full of love and willingness to share that love. We’ve all made covenants to “mourn with those that mourn … and comfort those that stand in need of comfort” (Mosiah 18:9), but that doesn’t mean to run ourselves ragged. Doing better doesn’t always mean doing more. And if you do just one inspired thing each day, you are nevertheless the Lord’s agent.
President Eyring said, “It’s natural to feel some inadequacy when we consider what the Lord has called us to do. In fact, if you told me that you feel perfectly capable of fulfilling your … duties, I might worry that you do not understand them. On the other hand, if you told me that you feel like giving up because the task is too far beyond your abilities, then I would want to help you understand how the Lord magnifies and strengthens [His servants] to do things they never could have done alone”
One day, I realized I will never be done. My lists will never be finished. It isn’t possible. I want to tell every woman what I have learned. You don’t have to do it all, and you are never done, and you can be okay with that, and you can accept that. Do what you can each day, ask the Lord to fill in the gaps, and then a new day starts and you begin again. That is part of the beauty of being disciples of Jesus Christ—that we are never done, that there is always something else to do, and that there is always room for improvement.
I want to reassure you that the Lord accepts all your efforts. The announcements in general conference about ministering in a higher and holier way weren’t necessarily asking us to do more. Our lists are already very full! But maybe we can do the right things. The simple things. The things the Lord Himself wants done.
“As we invest time in learning about the Savior and His atoning sacrifice, we are drawn to participate in another key element to assessing His power: we choose to have faith in Him and follow Him. True disciples of Jesus Christ are willing to stand out, speak up, and be different from the people of the world. They are undaunted, devoted, and courageous.”