Forget Me Not

President Uchtdorf said it best in the Relief Society session of the October 2011 General Conference when he said,

"The lesson here is that if we spend our days waiting for fabulous roses, we could miss the beauty and wonder of the tiny forget-me-nots that are all around us."





Participate

From the First Presidency Message in the July 2002 Ensign, President James E Faust said,

"Francis Webster, a member of the Martin Company, stated, “Everyone of us came through with the absolute knowledge that God lives for we became acquainted with him in our extremities.”⁷ I hope that this priceless legacy of faith left by the pioneers will inspire all of us to more fully participate in the Lord’s work of bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of His children."

Here is another photo I took at Martins Cove in central Wyoming.  I think of those Saints there in Martins Cove exactly 155 years ago today.  They were in the cove in a blizzard from November 4th to the 9th of 1856. 

Worth of Souls

In life we experience many ups and downs.  The adversary continually works to make sure that we stay down as much as possible.  However, Heavenly Father wants us to experience joy.  I love this quote from Elder Uchtdorf during the October 2011 General Conference when he said,

"But even though man is nothing, it fills me with wonder and awe to think that “the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.”⁷

And while we may look at the vast expanse of the universe and say, “What is man in comparison to the glory of creation?” God Himself said we are the reason He created the universe! His work and glory—the purpose for this magnificent universe—is to save and exalt mankind.⁸ In other words, the vast expanse of eternity, the glories and mysteries of infinite space and time are all built for the benefit of ordinary mortals like you and me. Our Heavenly Father created the universe that we might reach our potential as His sons and daughters.

This is a paradox of man: compared to God, man is nothing; yet we are everything to God. While against the backdrop of infinite creation we may appear to be nothing, we have a spark of eternal fire burning within our breast. We have the incomprehensible promise of exaltation—worlds without end—within our grasp. And it is God’s great desire to help us reach it."



Adversity

Elder Neal A Maxwell said, "...unless we are filled with resolve, what will we say to the heroes and heroines of Martin’s Cove and the Sweetwater? That “we admire you, but we are reluctant to wade through our own rivers of chilling adversity”?"

This is the photo I took at Martins Cove of the statue for the Sweetwater Rescue.  This was for the 3 young men who ended up giving their lives to save the lives of the Martin Company.

Hope

I want to start this post by quoting Elder Steven E Snow's talk in April General Conference.  He said,

"We should never let hope be displaced by despair. The Apostle Paul wrote that we “should plow in hope” (1 Corinthians 9:10). The exercise of hope enriches our lives and helps us look forward to the future. Whether we are plowing fields to plant or plowing through life, it is imperative we, as Latter-day Saints, have hope.

In the gospel of Jesus Christ, hope is the desire of His followers to gain eternal salvation through the Atonement of the Savior.

This is truly the hope we must all have. It is what sets us apart from the rest of the world. Peter admonished the early followers of Christ to “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).

Our hope in the Atonement empowers us with eternal perspective. Such perspective allows us to look beyond the here and now on into the promise of the eternities. We don’t have to be trapped in the narrow confines of society’s fickle expectations. We are free to look forward to celestial glory, sealed to our family and loved ones."

 

 

     I am so grateful for hope in my life.  I am grateful for my pioneer ancestors that relied on hope to guide them here and establish a new life for themselves.  They followed the prophet, they gave up what comforts they had for a long trek west in a covered wagon.  I am grateful for my wife and I have the hope that I can be as good as she is.  You have to know that I definitely married up.  As in the quote above, she was ready as Peter admonished to give that answer and in so doing has helped to turn a life around and to show a daughter of our Heavenly Father that He is there and that He does watch over us and is concerned about us.  She told this person about prayer and talking to our Heavenly Father since He truly does want to know how we are doing.

     In this picture I took recently, I think of the raging storm that rolled through downtown Salt Lake City like a freight train.  The House of the Lord stands as a beacon of hope to us all of being reunited with loved one's who have passed on and most importantly of being reunited with our Heavenly Father.  The storms of life will continue to rage around us but as we look to the temple, we see a rock that is unwavering, unchanging and it gives us a hope to be a better person.

  

Treasured

This photo is right after the large thunderstorm from the previous post.  The skys parted and left this beautiful sight.  Temple Square is at the bottom of the picture.

I also love this quote from Elder Jeffrey R Holland,

"I testify that not one of us is less treasured or cherished of God than another. I testify that He loves each of us—insecurities, anxieties, self-image, and all. He doesn’t measure our talents or our looks; He doesn’t measure our professions or our possessions. He cheers on every runner, calling out that the race is against sin, not against each other."

Standard of Truth

I took this photo yesterday evening when a really bad thunderstorm rolled through downtown.  The clouds were very ominous and when I saw how this one turned out, I really liked it.  It looks as if the clouds are going to gobble up the temple, in fact it almost looks like a face looking down at the temple.  The temple however, stands there boldly and nobly proclaiming the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  In viewing this photo I can't help but think of the Standard of Truth, which states,

“No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear; till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.”