Red Flags of Pride

SO, I'm in an LDS Marriage and Family class

SUCH A GOOD CLASS 

In one of our recent lectures, we talked about overcoming the natural man.  At a BYU devotional, Kim B. Clark, President of BYU-Idaho, asked the following questions:  

1. Do you find yourself critiquing the talks in sacrament meeting?

2. Are you critical of others? Do you look down on others? Do you scorn or ridicule them?

3. When adversity strikes, do you hear a voice inside that says, “Why me?

4. Do you react to prophetic counsel by ignoring it, being upset by it, or interpreting it to suit your own desires?

5. When you do something good, do you hear a voice inside congratulating yourself?

6. Do you feel self-gratification and a sense of importance in your knowledge and skill?

7. If someone you know receives something good, do you hear a voice inside saying, “What about me?”

8. Do you find ways to let others know of your success without appearing to boast?

9. If someone corrects a mistake you made, do you feel defensive and resentful?

10. When someone does something that creates inconvenience for you, do you feel annoyed?


“I could go on. There are many, many red flags of pride. Brothers and sisters, I did not get this list from a book. I have firsthand experience with the questions I have asked you, and I know that if you and I ever feel any of them or hear any of them in our minds, we need to recognize them for what they are—the echoes of the Great Lie, the beginning of a call to enmity with our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Kim B. Clark, “Are Ye Stripped of Pride, BYU Speeches, 29 September 2009, 4-5).

This was an especially good lecture.  How many of those things do I, myself, do?  It is so important to remember why we are here, and who we are here for.  Not ourselves, for Heavenly Father.  We are here to prove ourselves worthy to enter into his kingdom.  How can we even come close if we are still prideful?  It is not our place to judge.

 I'm rambling now, but this is a seriously good talk.  You should check it out here

Condoleezza Rice

Condoleezza Rice spoke today at a BYU Forum.

It was AMAZING.  

this post will be long, but I thought I would share my notes

For BYU's article on the event, click here

To start off, did you know that Dr. Rice is one of my biggest idols?

I almost cried many times today.

It was so overwhelming, I can't even explain.

AND she's from Birmingham, Alabama : )

now, for her thoughts:

"Today's headlines and history's judgement are rarely the same"

It is not the large countries that we should be worried about war with. A broken, FAILED, weak country, Afghanistan attacked us.  Ironically, Taliban means students, so a group of students attacked our country. 

Every man, woman and child deserves to live in freedom.  The United States is the only country who truly advocates this truth. 

Every dictator fears the moment when their people no longer fear them. 

Creativity and innovation remain the forte of the United States. 

Despite the bad thoughts, people are glad that the U.S. is there to fight battles, aids, hunger, and tragedy. 

It doesn't matter where you came from, it matters where you are going... 

that is what draws people to the United States. We want people who are energetic and ambitious to be a part of the U.S. for generations to come. 

There is a transforming power about education.

Our greatest national threat is the decay of our k-12 educational system.

We are not held together by religion, blood, or nationality.  We are held together by the American myth/dream. 

Faith and education combined - the essence of being human is to integrate the knowledge of what is with the truth of what might be

Find your passion - what will make you get up every day and say, "I want to do this."  Take the time to find your passion and opportunities will open up that you never imagined. 

When you overcome something that is hard, you know you can handle all of life's challenges.  

So take something hard.

Take advantage of the study abroad opportunities, learn languages,

KEEP YOUR OPTIMISM.

As educated people, you have a responsibility to be optimistic. If we cannot be optimistic, with all the opportunities available to us, then who can be?

You might not be able to control your circumstances - but you can control your response to those circumstances.

When feeling non-optimistic, remember that

What at the time seems impossible - 

in retrospect often seems inevitable

Though Dr. Rice is of the Presbyterian faith, I actually received a lot of Gospel insight in her words.

We are aware of the large threats to our personal happiness and eternal salvation - pornography, adultery, addiction, etc. - but more often than not, it is the smaller things that will take us down.  Becoming relaxed in our daily studies and prayer, not paying our tithing, service.  Overlooking these things will allow the ultimate terrorist, Satan, to attack us. 

The Atonement is one of the greatest blessings of the Gospel, it is what allows us to return to our Heavenly Father.  None of us are perfect, and without the Saviors ultimate sacrifice, we would not be able to return to live with him again.  It is absolutely true, "It doesn't matter where you came from, it matters where you are going."  It doesn't matter what mistakes you have made, we have the opportunity to be cleansed of it all. Through baptism, repentance, and through taking the sacrament every week. 

We are all given trials.  How we handle our trials defines who we are. We all have the capability to overcome every trial that is laid before us. It is hard, very hard.  But not impossible. Embrace the trial with absolute faith. When you make it through, you will be a thousand times happier, stronger, more faithful than before.  You will look back on that period in your life, grateful for the trial; for without it, you would not be the person you are now. 

I could go on and on about my thoughts from this forum, but this post is already way past long.

It was amazing. Period.

If you ever have the opportunity to hear her speak

DO IT.

You will not regret it.   

Live Day by Day

excerpts from tonight's fireside by Elder D. Todd Christofferson

Live day by day- yes, look to the future- but it is a bunch of days that make up a full lifetime...

When we pray daily for help for the things out of our power, we must first be sure we are doing all that IS within our power...

manna today can be as real as the physical manna of biblical times

SMALL DAILY BITES

I don't want you to give in to the pressure of the moment.  Look through it and get through the day.  Don't look ahead to the pain, just get through the day. Take it one day at a time. 

our consistency in small simple things can lead to great things.  Even the mundane daily tasks become the building blocks of a great and glorious future....

before bed each night, think about the successes and failures of the day and thank the Lord for the manna he gave you

Redeemer of Israel

The congregation sang a beautiful rendition of this song for the closing number of conference on Sunday.

The final verse was set apart by a wonderful, profound bridge 

and I was moved to tears. 

It was beautiful.

Redeemer of Israel,

Our only delight,

On whom for a blessing we call,

Our shadow by day

And our pillar by night,

Our King, our Deliv'rer, our all!

We know he is coming

To gather his sheep

And lead them to Zion in love,

For why in the valley

Of death should they weep

Or in the lone wilderness rove?

How long we have wandered

As strangers in sin

And cried in the desert for thee!

Our foes have rejoiced

When our sorrows they've seen,

But Israel will shortly be free.

As children of Zion,

Good tidings for us.

The tokens already appear.

Fear not, and be just,

For the kingdom is ours.

The hour of redemption is near.

a week of General Authorities

We have had a wonderful week full of General Authorities here at BYU

on Sunday, we had regional conference.

Elder Boyd K. Packer

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

and Sister Julie B. Beck spoke.

That evening we had a devotional and Elder Richard G. Scott spoke. 

We sat just to the side of Elder Scott.  

You could see us in the broadcast!

Today, we had a devotional and Elder Robert D. Hales spoke.

4 GA's in 3 days!

Good times

favorite thoughts from the speakers:

"You're doing better than you think you are, 

but we're not doing as well as we could be."

"Testimonies should be simple and deep,

not complex and superficial."

The Lord's voting for you.

Satan's voting against you.

it's your vote that counts.

"The pioneer times were the easy times, 

the hard times are about to come."

"Righteous love is the foundation of a 

successful marriage."

"Get a life - get an ETERNAL LIFE"

"When we use our agency,  we choose to move either

towards an open door  with endless possibilities

or to a corner with very few options

"The life our Heavenly Father has planned for us is far more glorious than anything we can imagine ourselves - but it does not come without trial"

second day of class.
not too terrible.
I wont be pulling my hair out.
1st in the class is possible.
perhaps not in COMP PROGRAMMING...
there are some pretty good programmers.
and I'm a newbie.
but i'll see to it that I have a solid A.
PHYSICS, not bad.
I've already had 2 years of it.
I think I can handle another.
THEATRE, FUN.
My play is going to be the bomb dot com
I'm thinking of taking inspiration from Dan in Real Life...
real life situations,
not overblown drama or comedy
real.
so real that its funny.
not overdone.
but thats just the beginning of a thought process.
we'll see where it goes.
MATH, I've got this.
It will get tough later on
but no worries.
I'll be good to go.
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING.
I have it on Thursday.
I'm excited.
Its going to be a blast
I think I might be the only girl
but bring it on.

in the library studying
devotional in 20 mins
its a good day

dealing with contention....

In light of recent events, this weeks devotional really hit home for me.
"too often we focus on the noise raised by a person instead of focusing on the point they are trying to make"

it was my favorite devotional thus far, period.

click here to read it for yourself :)

5 key principals to a happy life

In this week's devotional, President Layton quoted verses in D&C section 59 outlining the 5 key principals of the Lords plan to a happy life and it really hit home with me. I have been struggling with petty little concerns such as boys. I have convinced myself that there is no shame in asking for such a thing; and often get discouraged and ask why when I do not receive the answers and outcomes I hope for. I say, "Is this not a righteous desire? I just want to find a close friend- to have someone besides my family and girls to talk to; someone I can trust completely who I know wants the same in me. I am not asking for wealth or worldly things; just happiness. Is that not a righteous desire?" 

I have realized since this week's devotional, that perhaps I have been taking this the wrong way. Happiness does not have to come from a companion. Happiness, as the Lord has planned it, comes from serving the Lord and striving to be the best we can be. Righteous desires are those that will help us to accomplish that. Though a man may help me through rough times righ now, now is not the time for that to happen. Marriage and family will happen when it is supposed to happen. It will fall into place if I simply focus on those 5 key principals of the Lord's plan to a happy life.

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy might, mind and strength; and in the name of Jesus Christ thou shalt serve Him. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Thou shalt not steal; neither commit adultery, nor kill, nor do anything like unto it. Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things. Thou shalt offer a sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in righteousness, even that of a broken heart and a contrite spirit."

I need to completely sacrafice for the Lords work, I need to recognize his hand in all that I do and thank him ALWAYS, never forgetting what he has done for me. If I could just try and comprehend all that he has sacraficed and given for me because he LOVES ME, I would never forget.

This was a fantastic devotional and I am so grateful to President and Sister Layton for making the long journey out here to speak to us.

Shropshire Music Foundation

There was a FANTASTIC devotional given this past Tuesday, by Liz Shropshire, founder of the Shropshire Music Foundation.  Click here for her devotional and to hear more about the program and her amazing story : )