Thoughts and stories, by Pal

If it seems we are having more trials these days, perhaps if we look carefully, we can also recognize more blessings! Not a Punishment, But a Pathway: Identifying the Gifts in Our Trials By  Lynne Perry Christofferson  · August 19, 2020 If I had known beforehand what was about to unfold, would I have stayed in bed that morning? I could have rolled onto my side, tugging the comforter snugly around me, and saved myself some pain. But trouble rarely gives advance notice. No, it shows up on your front porch, uninvited, and pushes its way into your life before you can slam the door. I remember exactly what I wore that day: the deep red turtleneck sweater to ward off January’s chill, my favorite worn-in jeans, and sturdy brown lace up shoes. I even recall thinking it was a decent hair day as I stowed my comb in its designated bathroom drawer and stepped back into the bedroom to pray. But in the end, none of that mattered. Just as I knelt at my bedsi...

I wrote on Sunday that I would write about my notes from our West Bountiful Stake Women's Conference, held Saturday, January 27, 2018.   I will write what I can here, but I have references to a 32 minute you-tube talk about grace, and a speech he gave at BYU on Grace.  I encourage you if you have time to check them out, by copying and pasting the links below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLXr9it_pbY The following link is the above talk written out to read: https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/brad-wilcox_his-grace-is-sufficient/      I had never met Brad Wilcox, but I had heard so much about him over the years.  My son Wayne had been his teacher for Spanish when Brad was in the MTC, and having struggles learning the language at that time.  Later he was a wonderful missionary, and became a Mission President in Chile.  I was anxious to go up after and speak to him.  When I told him I was Wayne's...

This is a lovely article about how the Holy Ghost is truly a comforter. Accessing the Gift of the Holy Ghost By Joni Hilton  · January 17, 2018 I love to attend baptisms. I have yet to witness one where I didn’t feel the Spirit, and I can see the moist eyes of others experiencing the same thing. Recently I watched an eight-year-old girl in my ward enter into the waters of baptism, after her grandmother gave a beautiful talk about the Holy Ghost. The grandmother showed a quilt of her great-grandfather’s, truly a comforter, which is how the Holy Ghost is often identified. Of course we all know he is a member of the Godhead, and does much more than comfort. He also testifies of truth, he enlightens our minds, he prompts and inspires us to take righteous and charitable actions, he helps us make decisions, he warns us of danger, on and on. But we call him   The Comforter.  We don’t call him the Enlightener, or the Teacher, the Prompter, or the...

This is a very inspirational article.  But first I want to post a link to the talk to listen to today -- Sorry it is late.  Perhaps you can listen tomorrow.  Remember the 40 day challenge?  Here it is, the talk by Sister Sharon L. Eubank, which was in the Women's Conference.  It will lift your day, whether you are a man or woman! https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/10/turn-on-your-light?lang=eng Let None of His Gifts Fall to the Ground By Wallace Goddard  · October 9, 2017 Sign up for Meridian’s Free Newsletter, please  CLICK HERE Recently my mother gave me some delicate, hand-painted china that had belonged to her grandmother. It is lovely. I imagine my great-grandmother cherishing this small bit of elegance in their hard lives. Imagine that I allowed our grandchildren to use that china in the sandpile. Or, worse yet, imagine that I allowed the grandchildren to take it anywhere they played. Ima...

This is a lovely story about a dream, which has a deep spiritual meaning, from LDS Living. A Hawaiian Man Shares His Dream of Heaven That Might Change the Way You Pray by Cameron C. Taylor, excerpted from "The Way of Aloha: Lanai"  | Jun. 10, 2017 Makes You Think Mormon Life Comments The following is an excerpt from the book  The Way of Aloha: Lanai  by Cameron C. Taylor. Manu is a Hawaiian Kahuna teaching two missionaries, Elder Taylor and Elder Balane, who are serving on the Hawaii island of Lanai. Keahiakawelo, also known as Garden of the Gods, is a rock garden located in the mountains of Lanai. Manu gestured to the scene before us. “Welcome to Keahiakawelo, the Garden of the Gods,” he said. This landscape was different from anything I’d ever seen. It was as if we’d traveled to a different planet. The garden’s beauty went beyond merely its external appeal. The Garden of the Gods had a distinctive spirit of peace...