Some thoughts on Faith and Obedience

This morning I read in Alma 43 and observed the following:

45 The Nephite’s cause was righteous – fighting for their homes, liberties, families, rites of worship and church.

46 In fact, they recognized and felt it was a duty they owed God. It was something Moroni, their leader, told them they should do.

48 When they saw the fierceness and anger of the Lamanites they considered fleeing rather than fighting. Moroni inspired them by reminding them why they were fighting.

49 The Nephites recommitted and appealed in unity to the Lord for their cause.

50-54 At the moment the Nephites cried to the Lord, they began to stand with such power that the Lamanites began fleeing from them, even though there were more than twice as many Lamanites as Nephites. The Nephites encircled the terrified Lamanites. WOW! Talk about a turn of events.

We cannot comprehend what we can accomplish when we obey the Lord and his servants.

My thoughts turned to the book, Fire of the Covenant, which Roger and I have been reading again. The obedience of the handcart saints is something I am trying understand better. Try as I might, I know I cannot comprehend what they endured for so many days, or how they endured with such faith. I wonder, did they know how much their examples would strengthen those who strive to follow them?

Turning my thoughts back to what I read in Alma, I asked myself:
How obedient am I to the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Do I follow the teachings of our church leaders with faith, even when I am afraid or feel overwhelmed? Do I know (and remember) that when I am obedient I will always be able to succeed?

Interestingly, I also read Elder Richard G. Scott's messge from the Oct 2010 General Conference, “The Transforming Power of Faith and Character.” (I haven't received the April 2011 GC in the May Ensign yet.) I was going to add some quotes from what he taught pertaining to my thoughts this morning, but this talk is so insightful that I'd have to add the whole thing.

What Mothers Want

We had a great time on our trip to visit Grandpa & Grandma and Kathy & Don.

We enjoyed everything we did, including Roger finally getting a boat to practice his sailing skills on.



I wish I had taken some photos of the 20 tulips we gave Roger's mom for Mother's Day and the beautiful orchid corsage Les gave her. It was so nice to see her smile.

The only ward we could find that was having Sacrament Meeting at 9 am yeterday was a student ward, so that's where we went. We were a little late, and of course the only empty seats were on the front row, but that was okay. I received a HUGE Snickers bar instead of the usual bedding plant. :) Well worth it!

We listened to 3 young men, labeled by the bishopric as "mama's boys" - They all gave great messages about mothers. The first one had asked his mom to send some comments via email, which he shared. Her final comments were something like this:

The greatest gift any mother can receive is to know that her children are living the gospel of Jesus Christ and that they are raising their families to do the same.

How profound! She expressed well how I feel. I don't need anything else.