Sunday Thoughts

So, these are actually thoughts from last Sunday, but I never finished this post and have been thinking about them through the week too...

* Song is a prayer (D&C 25). God hears our prayers....even if we can't sing well. :)

* Bible Dictionary - GRACE: "It is likewise through the grace of the Lord that individuals, through faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance of the sins, receive strength and assistance to do good works that they otherwise wound not be able to maintain if left to their own means."

* Elder Cook gives a neat talk on the True Path to Happiness in this month's Ensign. The five main points he makes include:

• Be grateful for your heritage.
• Commit yourself to the family.
• Be involved in a positive way.
• Live and communicate your standards.
• Be a light.

I have been thinking a lot about happiness this week. I just finished another book on the topic (more on this soon). For me happiness all comes back to the teachings and blessings of the gospel and this quote that Elder Cook shares by Joseph Smith, "Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God."

* In the same Ensign there is another talk that I LOVED...by Elder Porter, Defending the Family in a Troubled World. This is a GREAT talk and so important today!!! Be sure to read it! Three of my main takeaways include:

• Truth is truth. It's eternal. In a world that shies away from any standards and any moral right and wrong, we must remember and be strong in our convictions of eternal truths.
• Charity is a far greater virtue than tolerance!
• While others tell us to "find ourselves" the Savior teaches, "He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it."