5. Learn from the Past, Prepare, Live
Learn from the past, prepare for the future, live in the present. --
a quote from our Prophet Thomas S. Monson. And a poem written by my mother: Ruth Allen Miles, who was a school teacher for 40 years. First President Monson's quote: Very wise words :
"I have chosen to provide the three pieces of your treasure map to guide you to your eternal happiness.
First, learn from the past. Each of us has a heritage—whether from pioneer forebears, later converts, or others who helped to shape our lives. This heritage provides a foundation built of sacrifice and faith. Ours is the privilege and responsibility to build on such firm and stable footings.
Second, prepare for the future. We live in a changing world. Technology has altered nearly every aspect of our lives. We must cope with these advances—even these cataclysmic changes—in a world of which our forebears never dreamed.
Remember the promise of the Lord: "If ye are prepared ye shall not fear." Fear is a deadly enemy of progress.
It is necessary to prepare and to plan so that we don’t fritter away our lives. Without a goal, there can be no real success. One of the best definitions of success I have ever heard goes something like this: Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal. Someone has said the trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never crossing the goal line.
Third, live in the present. Sometimes we let our thoughts of tomorrow take up too much of today. Daydreaming of the past and longing for the future may provide comfort but will not take the place of living in the present. This is the day of our opportunity, and we must grasp it.
There is no tomorrow to remember if we don’t do something today, and to live most fully today, we must do that which is of greatest importance. Let us not procrastinate those things which matter most."
I have always loved collecting wise thoughts. My thoughts about his quote bring me to learning from the past. I will include a poem my mother wrote many years ago:
WE ALL HAVE A MOUNTAIN
We all have a mountain to climb,
Some rocks will be placed in our way.
Unknown paths will lead right,
Others beckon us left –
There is much to tempt us to stray.
We all have a mountain to climb,
Our breath will come deeply and fast;
For our strength will be taxed
To its uttermost depths
Ere we grope to the summit at last.
We all have a mountain to climb,
How else can we prove our strength
Than to carry our load
And help others along
Till we all reach the hilltop at length?
We all have a mountain to climb,
The view from the top is sublime.
God’s hand reaches out, His voice is to all –
“Follow me, while yet there is time.”
We all have a mountain to climb,
We all have a cross to bear,
But God showed us the way
On Calvary’s Hill –
Courage and Patience will guide us “there.”
Ruth A. Miles
This is my mother, Ruth Allen, when she was about 22, and a young school teacher. She had a beautiful soprano voice, and sang solos, in trios, and in operas, etc. Also she and my father Orson Pratt Miles sang duets many years.
This is my father about the time my parents got married in 1933. He was a gentle soul, and loved to do kind things, and not have anyone know who did it. He was in World War I and suffered shell shock badly -- now would be called Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. I'll tell more about both parents later.
a quote from our Prophet Thomas S. Monson. And a poem written by my mother: Ruth Allen Miles, who was a school teacher for 40 years. First President Monson's quote: Very wise words :
"I have chosen to provide the three pieces of your treasure map to guide you to your eternal happiness.
First, learn from the past. Each of us has a heritage—whether from pioneer forebears, later converts, or others who helped to shape our lives. This heritage provides a foundation built of sacrifice and faith. Ours is the privilege and responsibility to build on such firm and stable footings.
Second, prepare for the future. We live in a changing world. Technology has altered nearly every aspect of our lives. We must cope with these advances—even these cataclysmic changes—in a world of which our forebears never dreamed.
Remember the promise of the Lord: "If ye are prepared ye shall not fear." Fear is a deadly enemy of progress.
It is necessary to prepare and to plan so that we don’t fritter away our lives. Without a goal, there can be no real success. One of the best definitions of success I have ever heard goes something like this: Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal. Someone has said the trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never crossing the goal line.
Third, live in the present. Sometimes we let our thoughts of tomorrow take up too much of today. Daydreaming of the past and longing for the future may provide comfort but will not take the place of living in the present. This is the day of our opportunity, and we must grasp it.
There is no tomorrow to remember if we don’t do something today, and to live most fully today, we must do that which is of greatest importance. Let us not procrastinate those things which matter most."
I have always loved collecting wise thoughts. My thoughts about his quote bring me to learning from the past. I will include a poem my mother wrote many years ago:
WE ALL HAVE A MOUNTAIN
We all have a mountain to climb,
Some rocks will be placed in our way.
Unknown paths will lead right,
Others beckon us left –
There is much to tempt us to stray.
We all have a mountain to climb,
Our breath will come deeply and fast;
For our strength will be taxed
To its uttermost depths
Ere we grope to the summit at last.
We all have a mountain to climb,
How else can we prove our strength
Than to carry our load
And help others along
Till we all reach the hilltop at length?
We all have a mountain to climb,
The view from the top is sublime.
God’s hand reaches out, His voice is to all –
“Follow me, while yet there is time.”
We all have a mountain to climb,
We all have a cross to bear,
But God showed us the way
On Calvary’s Hill –
Courage and Patience will guide us “there.”
Ruth A. Miles
This is my father about the time my parents got married in 1933. He was a gentle soul, and loved to do kind things, and not have anyone know who did it. He was in World War I and suffered shell shock badly -- now would be called Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. I'll tell more about both parents later.
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