Wisdom from the wise
John Taylor
A pearler of a quote that encourages us all to be more, to be better and the fruits that await if we are, are many. May we live faithful to this end. CP
A powerful realisation
"To find real happiness, we must seek for it in a focus outside ourselves. . . . No one has learned the meaning of living until he has surrendered his ego to the service of his fellow man. Serivce to others is akin to duty, the fulfillment of which brings true joy. "We do not live alone---in our city, our nation or our world. There is no dividing line between our prosperity and our neighbor's wretchedness. Try as some may, we cannot escape the influence our lives have upon the lives of others. Ours is the opportunity to build, to lift, to inspire and to lead" (Thomas S. Monson - Church News, May 9, 2009, p. 3). |
Todays thought.....
The only sobering thing about that whole statement is this question I pose;
How much can we bear?
We are stretched and tested in ways that will allow us to seem or feel we carry the weight of the world upon our shoulders and may feel so alone. But we are not. Never give up, never stop, give your best and be your best. CP
A stitch in time.....
I think that it was a way of the Saviour letting us know that in a real and direct sense, when we put our trust in him, our needs no matter how small shall be met.
Whether we are hungry or whether we are lonely, or whether we are reaching out for a lift or even if we are seeking for a higher and more profound experience. I am of the firm belief that only when we approach the metaphorical table before the Saviour and truly place our heart felt wishes and feelings upon that metaphorical table and then leave it up to him, that we are blessed. If we then work to our best ability to bring our wishes and feelings about, we are led. Doors will open, people will be placed on our path to help us achieve them.
One thing I have noticed in particular is that sometimes the journey can take unexpected twists and turns and whilst we may feel blindsided or completely without hope, the time will soon come when amidst prayer and reflection we will notice a higher hand has been leading us in a path which may have differed from what we wanted but will ultimately be better for us.
I heard it said once that Someone was led kicking and screaming to a place they had never wanted to be only to find it is where they needed to be.
I think to state and summarise the point more, would be to share an experience I once had in the Philippines. I lived and in Dumaguete at the time and noticed an aspect of my high school biology class come into being right before me. The principle was Geotropism.
Geotropism describes the condition that no matter which way a seed or tree or plant is planted - even upside down, the seedling, tree or plant will eventually right itself and grow upward.
I walked and worked amongst coconut trees that often from the ground were bent and disfigured, their trunks would often never grow straight up in the places where I served a mission. I became very aware and accepting of the chaos the trees looked like from the ground.
Only when I was transferred to Cebu and was flying out did I notice that tops of the trees were in perfect alignment, the canopy of palms formed perfect lines and from the sky looked ordered and symmetrical.
I was humbled and more aware than ever before that the Saviour and our Heavenly Father have all things before them they know the plan, they know us and see us so differently from where they reside.
We here on the ground have a distorted view and see our lives and perhaps the circumstances we live or find ourselves in, a little like the twisted coconut trees. I testify that if we place our trust in, and desires on, a loving Heavenly Father and His son, we will one day be participant witnesses to know that we were part of something too glorious for our present understanding. We will yet come to know that we were loved and led all the way, and the only time we were not, was when we thought we knew better and marched in a different direction. May we have the humility and wisdom sufficient to truly trust in the authors of life and walk humbly in the paths they will lead us in. CP
Why Are The Hungry Never Fed?
Instead, He spent the majority of His time ministering to the needs of the poor in spirit, the sick, afflicted, hungry souls. In other words, he fed those who were hungry.
So when an Apostle recently visited Sydney, what did he spend a whole day doing? It was spent with the priviledged few, the mighty leaders, the Stake Presidents, the Bishops; those who get fed the most. Those who spend time with an Apostle every single time one visits Sydney.
What about those who were hungry? What about those who have NEVER spent time with an Apostle?
Warn The Squirrel
Portion of a talk "Where Will It Lead?" given by Dallin H. Oaks who is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
© Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
"The setting was a beautiful campus in central Illinois. My informant, a participant in a summer workshop, saw a crowd of young students seated on the grass in a large semicircle about 20 feet from one of the large hardwood trees that are so common and so beautiful there. They were watching something at the base of the tree. He turned aside from his walk to see what it was.
There was a handsome tree squirrel with a large, bushy tail playing around the base of the tree—now on the ground, now up and down and around the trunk. But why would that beautiful but familiar sight attract a crowd of students?
Stretched out prone on the grass nearby was an Irish setter. He was the object of the students’ interest, and, though he pretended otherwise, the squirrel was the object of his. Each time the squirrel was momentarily out of sight circling the tree or looking in another direction, the setter would quickly creep forward a few inches and then resume his apparent indifferent posture. Each minute or two he crept closer to the squirrel, and the squirrel apparently did not notice. This was the scene that held the students’ interest. They were silent and immobile, attention riveted on the drama—the probable outcome of which was becoming increasingly obvious.
Finally the setter was close enough to bound at the squirrel and catch it in his mouth. A gasp of horror arose, and the crowd of students surged forward and wrested the beautiful little animal away from the hound, but it was too late. The squirrel was dead.
Anyone in that crowd of students could have warned the squirrel at any time by waving their arms or crying out, but none had done so. They just watched while the inevitable consequence got closer and closer. No one asked “Where will this lead?” and no one wished to interfere. When the predicable outcome occurred, they rushed to the defense, but it was too late. Tearful and regretful expressions were all they could offer.
That true story is a parable of sorts. It has a lesson for things we see in our own lives, in the lives of those around us, and in the events occurring in our cities, states, and nations. In all these areas we can see threats creeping up on things we love, and we cannot afford to be indifferent or quiet. We must be ever vigilant to ask “Where will it lead?” and to sound appropriate warnings or join appropriate preventive efforts while there is still time. Often we cannot prevent the outcome, but we can remove ourselves from the crowd who, by failing to try to intervene, has complicity in the outcome."
