Thoughts and stories, by Pal

  The Incredible Power of Forgiveness By  Anne Hinton Pratt  · November 14, 2022 This earth life is all about coming down here, having painful experiences, and then choosing whether to forgive those who gave you pain.  Sometimes we don’t realize we have forgiven until a momentous experience happens. Read about these miracles of forgiveness…. Shocking Forgiveness When I was 12 or 13 years old, I was sexually harassed by a friend’s older brother. I was forced to be in a very powerless situation and was abused. Because of it, I felt absolutely enraged when I would think of that day, and that person. I distinctly remember telling someone when I was around 18: “I love everyone, except ___, and I HATE him!” I harbored wrath and ill will for many years because I hadn’t addressed it to let it go. The next few years in college, I began to change. I remember specifically asking the Lord to forgive me for all my bad feelings, and to help me lose the power of the feelings. My fo...

  This is a very insightful article, and can be very consoling to each of us! LATTER-DAY SAINT LIFE How can I know that I have been forgiven? This parable holds the answer By  S. Michael Wilcox   March 16, 2022 07:55 AM MDT Twitter Pinterest Email Print Shutterstock The September 2020 pick for  LDS Living Book Club  is  What Seek Ye?   by S. Michael Wilcox. Follow the LDS Living Book Club  Instagram  for more insights with the author. The most common inquiry I receive from members of the Church is, “How do I get answers to my prayers?” The next most common is, “How can I know I have been forgiven?” Or, in other words, “How can I be assured I have been made whole in this area?” Sometimes the question is, “How can I be confident of my standing before the Lord?” At times, we tend to believe that the Savior’s mercy covers just about everyone but ourselves. I wrestle with this as much as anyone. Much of our anguish over our own failings comes not ...

Beautiful thoughts, to help us forgive others!   The Crucial Skill of Giving Beauty for Ashes By  Kate Piersanti  · July 13, 2021 I love the phrase “beauty for ashes.” It’s from Isaiah 61:1-3. The Spirit of the Lord God  is  upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to  them that are  bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them  beauty for ashes ,  the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, t...

If You Think You've Messed Up God's Plan for You, Read This by Tommy Johnson   | Oct. 21, 2019 Makes You Think Mormon Life To anyone who thinks they’ve messed up God’s plan for them—you have not. More importantly, you cannot. God is the author of eternity. We have the ability to choose, so we are ultimately the commanders of our fate. But no matter what we do, no matter how much we may feel we've distanced ourselves from God or lived a life we believe He wouldn't be interested in helping, this is not true.  Elder Jeffrey R. Holland taught , "There is nothing . . . that you have done that cannot be undone." If you believe you've ruined God's personal plan for your life, you may feel hopeless or helpless. Your pain is real and strong and valid. However, although it may sound unbelievable now, our Heavenly Parent's love for you is real and stronger than anything we know. To gain a better idea of how divine...

The Red Rose and the Mission Call By Daris Howard  · May 21, 2019 Sign up for Meridian’s Free Newsletter, please  CLICK HERE Lewis had fought through World War II in the Pacific. He had seen many of his friends die, and he had himself been wounded. So when he was assigned as a guard at the war crimes trials in Japan, hatred burned in his heart for those he felt had been the cause of this destructive war. In his work at the trial, he did not associate too much with the Japanese people, and Lewis was happy about that. He wanted nothing to do with them. And as he did his guard duty day after day, he had lots of time to think about the war, and his hatred increased. But one little Japanese lady bothered him the most. Whenever she saw Americans, she would offer them a solitary red rose. She especially took notice of Lewis and would single him out for her simple offering. He would reject her gift, as did all other Americans. She seemed hurt by this, b...

I so much love and appreciate Larry Barkdull!   He gave me a chance to have 3 Simplified Favorites books, Hymns, Primary Songs, and Songs for LDS Women, published in 1989 and 1990.  Anything you can read that he wrote, is well worth your time! When Children Fall Away by Deception and Offense By  Larry Barkdull  · February 12, 2019 Sign up for Meridian’s Free Newsletter, please  CLICK HERE Editor’s Note: Our friend and longtime Meridian writer Larry Barkdull passed away. To remember and honor him this is one of a series of his past articles that we are republishing regularly. To the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord revealed an astonishing doctrine that speaks to the far-reaching effects of the Atonement. It also hints that our wayward children’s pre-mortal righteousness will be taken into account when judgments are pronounced. This doctrine seems to make allowance for those who have been deceived by the doctrines of man or who have be...