976. Watch and Pray -- #Light the World , and other beautiful thoughts for this Christmas Day 2017.

The picture below is about 30 years old! 

 Wayne, Julie, Josh, Emily and Missy Eckman!    

Last night we did the Nativity scene with Wayne and Julie's grandchildren.  But in this picture it was them and their children!  Last night Spencer, their grandson, was wearing the same poncho that Julie had on 30 years ago -- he was a shepherd.  Julie said it is a poncho she brought home from her mission in Ecuador.  That is where Wayne and Julie originally met -- both on a mission in Ecuador 1975-1977.

December 25, 2017 Doing Good    #Light the World SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY Matthew 5:16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." QUOTE OF THE DAY Lorenzo Snow "We have been sent into the world to do good to others; and in doing good to others we do good to ourselves. We should always keep this in view, the husband in reference to his wife, the wife in reference to her husband, the children in reference to their parents, and the parents in reference to their children. There is always opportunity to do good to one another" (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Lorenzo Snow, p. 259).                     December 24, 2017 Watch and Pray    #Light the World

SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY 3 Nephi 18:15-16 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always, lest ye be tempted by the devil, and ye be led away captive by him.  And as I have prayed among you even so shall ye pray in my church, among my people who do repent and are baptized in my name. Behold I am the light; I have set an example for you."

QUOTE OF THE DAY Thomas S. Monson "Not a day has gone by that I have not communicated with my Father in Heaven through prayer. It is a relationship I cherish---one I would literally be lost without. If you do not now have such a relationship with your Father in Heaven, I urge you to work toward that goal. As you do so, you will be entitled to His inspiration and guidance in your life---necessities for each of us if we are to survive spiritually during our sojourn here on earth. Such inspiration and guidance are gifts He freely gives if we but seek them. What treasures they are!" ("Stand in Holy Places," Ensign, November 2011). .

December 23, 2017 Prison    #Light the World

SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY Matthew 25:36 "Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me."

QUOTE OF THE DAY Joseph Smith "And we need not say to you that the floodgates of our hearts were lifted and our eyes were a fountain of tears, but those who have not been enclosed in the walls of prison without cause or provocation, can have but little idea how sweet the voice of a friend is; one token of friendship from any source whatever awakens and calls into action every sympathetic feeling" (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, p.464).

December 21, 2017 I Was Hungered  #Light the World

SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY Matthew 25:34-36 "Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me."

QUOTE OF THE DAY Gordon B. Hinckley "I heard a man of prominence say the other day, 'I have amended the language of my prayers. Instead of saying, 'Bless the poor and the sick and the needy,' I now say, 'Father, show me how to help the poor and the sick and the needy, and give me resolution to do so.' "In this, my brethren and sisters, lies the great challenge we face in our hurried, self-centered lives. . . . If the world in which we live is to improve, that process must begin with a change in the hearts of men, with an upward looking beyond self to love for God, given with all of one's heart, with all of one's soul, with all of one's mind" ("'And the Greatest of These Is Love'," BYU Devotional, February 14, 1978).

December 19, 2017 Happiness  #Light the World

SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY Matthew 5:10-12 "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."

QUOTE OF THE DAY Brigham Young "The person who enjoys the experience of the knowledge of the Kingdom of God on the earth, and at the same time has the love of God within him, is the happiest of any individuals on the earth" (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, p. 185).

December 17, 2017 Meet Together Oft  #Light the World

SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY 3 Nephi 18:22 "And behold, ye shall meet together oft; and ye shall not forbid any man from coming unto you when ye shall meet together, but suffer them that they may come unto you and forbid them not."

QUOTE OF THE DAY Henry B. Eyring "She partakes of the sacrament, and she renews a covenant. She remembers the Savior, and she tries to keep His commandments. And so she takes His Spirit with her, always. Her problems may not be resolved. Most of them come from the choices of others, and even the Heavenly Father who hears her prayers and loves her cannot force others to choose the right. But He can send her to the safety of the Savior and the promise of His Spirit to be with her. And so I am sure that she will, in the strength of the Lord, pass the test she faces, because she keeps the commandment to gather often with the Saints. That is both the evidence that she is enduring well and the source of her strength for what lies ahead" ("In the Strength of the Lord," Ensign, May 2004).