The touch of the Master's hand

I was just watching a video link a friend had posted that moved me. It is a video clip of woman performing on the 'Britains got talent' show. What really moved me was the reaction of the audience by this woman's appearance. Notice the audience's and the judge's response to her prior to her performance and the change that was wrought on them as she sang.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

It reminded me of one of my favorite stories: The touch of the Master's Hand.

'Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer
Thought it scarcely worth his while
To waste much time on the old violin,
But held it up with a smile: "What am I bidden, good folks," he cried,
"Who'll start the bidding for me?"
"A dollar, a dollar"; then, "Two!" "Only two?
Two dollars, and who'll make it three?
Three dollars, once; three dollars, twice;
Going for three—" But no,
From the room, far back, a gray-haired man
Came forward and picked up the bow;
Then, wiping the dust from the old violin,
And tightening the loose strings,
He played a melody pure and sweet
As a caroling angel sings.


The music ceased, and the auctioneer,
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said, "What am I bid for the old violin?"
And he held it up with the bow.
"A thousand dollars, and who'll make it two?
Two thousand! And who'll make it three?
Three thousand, once, three thousand, twice,
And going, and gone!" said he.
The people cheered, but some of them cried,
"We do not quite understand
What changed its worth." Swift came the reply:
"The touch of a master's hand."


And many a man with life out of tune,
And battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd,
Much like the old violin.
A "mess of pottage," a glass of wine,
A game—and he travels on.
He's "going" once, and "going" twice,
He's "going" and almost "gone."
But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd
Never can quite understand
The worth of a soul and the change that's wrought
By the touch of the Master's hand."

How quick that crowd was toss her aside like an old violin, scarcely worth their time. We are very human and prone to error in our judgement as the worth of someone or something.

I will leave you to ponder the connections between the two. It was a beautiful reminder.

Grateful for life

Life has been busy to say the least. :) I was reminded yesterday of how the Lord has blessed my life in so many ways. Even though I haven't posted for a long while, I have continued to feel that. I wanted to write something here, however brief, to help me get back in the habit.
Yesterday was a busy day-these past months have been busy. :) It seems as the semester is coming to a close, more projects and papers have come due. I had a presentation due yesterday and had been up a little late the night before, assuring I had everything all together. I had spent the majority of Monday evening with Aaron (as he is getting ready to leave-spent the evening visitng with friends for dinner) and came home to work on it a little bit. I was having a hard time focusing when I finally was able to sit down and work on it, so I opted to go to bed and get up early the following day when I was fresh. It worked out better to do that and had a few hours before class (between teaching spanish in the morning and class) and was able to focus on my part of the presentation. I was able to focus and get my part all together and even had an idea of something to add to the presentation and had the time to get it all together.
I went to my first class (not the one we were presenting in) and my professor held up a book and asked if anyone had left a book in class last week. I had misplaced my book and wasn't able to study the information I needed and was wondering what I was going to do as I couldn't afford to buy a new book. I had been praying about it and then she held up the book. It was my book, with my same bookmark I had in it. I was grateful for a Father who hears my prayers and knows my needs.
I arrived at the class I was to present in only to find out our professor was out of town presenting himself to a group and wouldn't be there. He had a substitute from our same department and she said we would wait to present when our professor was there so he could hear what we had presented. Some were upset that we had to postpone it but I was fine either way. I was reassured everything happens for a reason and we cannot SEE sometimes why things have to be as they are. So, as upsetting as change can potentially be, we must rely on that truth: God can see the big picture and is in the details of our lives. It was a group presentation with 5 other girls, so maybe it was for one of them. A couple of them weren't having the best days ever, maybe it needed to be postponed for them. All I know is that it doesn't help to get upset about it. Now we are just extra prepared and if we wanted to, we could research more and fine tune more-which I could definitely use the time to do. :)
There were several other experiences that continued throughout the day that again reminded me how the Lord is mindful of me and knows me. I am so grateful to be alive. Grateful for a weekend full of words of our leaders from General Conference, men and women called of God to guide us and direct us today.

The two greatest days of my life
were the day I was born and the
day I knew why I was born.
--Russel Honoré

Gratitude

This is a talk I am giving tomorrow at church, I thought I would post it here for any who want to read.

Gratitude
The children of God have always been commanded to give thanks
1 Thes. 5:18 “ In EVERYTHING give athanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
In a time of spiritual and temporal adversity, the people of God were ‘suffering all manner of afflictions’, the Lord commanded them to ‘give thanks in ALL things.” Mosiah 26:38-39, p. 198, 199
The prophet Alma taught, ‘When thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God’ Alma 37:37, p. 303
In modern revelation the Lord declared, “he who receiveth ALL things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold.” DyC 78:19, p..148
Also in DyC 59:7, the Lord states “thank the Lord thy God in ALL things.” P. 108
The phrase “All things” includes blessings great and small—of life, of health, of family and friends, of bounties rarely noticed but given to us freely. Certainly some of our greatest blessings are associated with the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” -Visitng Teaching Message “With a Grateful Heart,” Ensign, Aug 1999, 53
Story of Lepers, Luke 17:12-19 (read all verses)
-asked for mercy, to be healed (v13)
-gave them direction on what they should do to find healing (v14)
-they heeded that counsel and were cleansed (v14)
-ONE of them when he saw he was healed turned back and ‘glorified God’, giving him thanks (v15-16)
-Lord pronounces another blessing, ‘thy faith hath made thee whole’ (19)
What is the connection between his faith and gratitude?
Why was it ‘key’ that he return and give thanks for this gift? Why was his faith pronounced whole?
I wish to talk today about how having gratitude blesses our lives. How does having gratitude make us whole?



1-USE IT OR LOSE IT
DyC 88:33 “For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift?”
Gratitude is part of ‘receiving’, if we don’t show gratitude, we haven’t truly RECEIVED a gift (whether it be from God or fellowman)
President James E. Faust said “…ingratitude is self-centered. It is a form of pride.” Gratitude as a Saving Principle, Ensign December 1996
In the Book of Mormon we read of the state of the Nephites and Lamanites after having been at war for years with each other. In Alma 62:41, it reads, “because of the exceedingly great length of the war between the Nephites and the Lamanites many had become hardened, because of the exceedingly great length of the war; and many were softened because of their aafflictions, insomuch that they did humble themselves before God, even in the depth of humility.” Some had become hardened, some humbled from the affliction of war. Moroni then continues with the state of the people, “they did again establish the church of God , throughout all the land…notwithstanding their riches, or their strength, or their prosperity, they were not…slow to remember the Lord their God…yea, they did remember how great things the Lord had done for them, that he had delivered them from death, and from bonds, and from prisons, and from all manner of afflictions, and he had delivered them out of the hands of their enemies.” (v46-50)
President Gordon B. Hinckley has taught: “Gratitude is of the very essence of worship. ..When you walk with gratitude, you do not walk with arrogance and conceit and egotism, you walk with a spirit of thanksgiving that is becoming to you and will bless your lives” (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [1997], 250).
“You cannot be bitter, resentful, or mean-spirited when you are grateful.” True to the faith, 78-79
President James E. Faust said “It seems as though there is a tug-of-war between opposing character traits that leaves no voids in our souls. As gratitude is absent or disappears, rebellion often enters and fills the vacuum. I do not speak of rebellion against civil oppression. I refer to rebellion against moral cleanliness, beauty, decency, honesty, reverence, and respect for parental authority. A grateful heart is a beginning of greatness. It is an expression of humility. It is a foundation for the development of such virtues as prayer, faith, courage, contentment, happiness, love, and well-being.
But there is a truism associated with all types of human strength: “Use it or lose it.” When not used, muscles weaken, skills deteriorate, and faith disappears. President Thomas S. Monson, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at the time, stated: “Think to thank. In these three words is the finest capsule course for a happy marriage, a formula for enduring friendship, and a pattern for personal happiness” (Pathways to Perfection [1973], 254) - President James E. Faust, Gratitude as a Saving Principle, Ensign December 1996

2-Gratitude gives us helps our ability to see -‘LENS OF SPIRITUALITY’
Elder Dallin H. Oaks stated “When we give thanks in all things, we see hardships and adversities in the context of the purpose of life. We are sent here to be tested. There must be opposition in all things. We are meant to learn and grow through that opposition, through meeting our challenges, and through teaching others to do the same.”
“If we see life through the lens of spirituality, we can see many examples of the works of God being furthered through the adversities of His children.” - “Give Thanks in All Things,” Liahona, May 2003, 95–98
What blessing did the one leper who returned to thank the Lord receive? His ability to truly ‘see’ things as God intended them to be increased as will ours as we follow his example.
In a Visiting Teaching message from an Ensign in 1993, it reminds us that “For three days, more than 4,000 people had stayed in the wilderness with the Savior without eating, and Jesus did not want to send them away hungry. But even His disciples questioned, “Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?” (Matt. 15:33). Like many of us, the disciples saw only what was lacking. Nevertheless, Jesus gave thanks for what they did have (see Matt. 15:36), and a miracle followed: “They did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full” (Matt. 15:37).
We all face times when our focus is on what we lack. Maybe our time, means, patience, or even feelings of love do not measure up to our expectations. At such times, we would find it helpful to adopt President Brigham Young’s attitude and view our difficulties with a grateful heart: “There is not a single condition of life [or] one hour’s experience but what is beneficial to all those who make it their study, and aim to improve upon the experience they gain” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young [1997], 179).
“Miracles can happen in our lives as we look to God with a grateful heart. Understanding comes, and strength to endure grows.
One sister struggled with negative feelings after a divorce. She found it difficult not to dwell on what she no longer had. Her marriage had fallen apart—along with so many hopes and dreams. She would sit next to families at church and wonder what was wrong with her. During this difficult time, she remembered the counsel of her patriarchal blessing: “Sister, be grateful for all your blessings.” And so she sincerely tried to be.
Each day, as she paused to thank God for all He had given her, a healing took place in her soul. She was able to fight off feelings of bitterness and despair and felt an outpouring of God’s love. “Gratitude,” she says, “kept my heart soft.”
When we understand …that God offers us opportunities for blessings and blesses us through our own adversities and the adversities of others, we can understand why He has commanded us again and again to “thank the Lord thy God in ALL things” (D&C 59:7).” Visiting teaching message
My mind turns to the Israelites as they left Egypt. The Lord so abundantly blessed them with manna from heaven, yet they continued to forget Him and murmur. They would turn their thoughts to when times were good in Egypt, all the good food they had to eat.
I wonder how long their sojourn in the wilderness might have been had they ‘remembered’? How many times are we left to wander in our own wilderness incessantly on account of our unwillingness to simply acknowledge the Lord’s hand in our lives? There is great power behind this principle.
President Henry B. Eyring counsels us “…find ways to recognize and remember God’s kindness. It will build our testimonies. You may not keep a journal. You may not share whatever record you keep with those you love and serve. But you and they will be blessed as you remember what the Lord has done…. It won’t be easy to remember. Living as we do with a veil over our eyes, we cannot remember what it was like to be with our Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, in the premortal world; nor can we see with our physical eyes or with reason alone the hand of God in our lives. Seeing such things takes the Holy Ghost. And it is not easy to be worthy of the Holy Ghost’s companionship in a wicked world.” G.C. October 2007
We not only show gratitude for what the Lord has done for by vocalizing it or writing it down, but also in our actions. Mosiah 2: 21, 22 “I say unto you, my brethren, that if you should render all the athanks and bpraise which your whole soul has power to possess, to that God who has created you, and has kept and cpreserved you, and has caused that ye should drejoice, and has granted that ye should live in peace one with another—
21 I say unto you that if ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is bpreserving you from day to day, by lending you cbreath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own dwill, and even supporting you from one moment to another—I say, if ye should serve him with all your ewhole souls yet ye would be funprofitable servants.
22 And behold, all that he arequires of you is to keep his commandments; and he has cpromised you that if ye would keep his commandments ye should prosper in the land; and he never doth dvary from that which he hath said; therefore, if ye do ekeep his fcommandments he doth bless you and prosper you.”
President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “Meekness implies a spirit of gratitude as opposed to an attitude of self-sufficiency, an acknowledgment of a greater power beyond oneself, a recognition of God, and an acceptance of his commandments” (“With All Thy Getting Get Understanding,” Ensign, Aug. 1988, 3–4).
President Faust also says that “A grateful heart is a beginning of greatness. It is an expression of humility. It helps us develop such virtues as prayer, faith, courage, contentment, happiness, love, and well-being. “ -President James E. Faust, Grateful Heart, Liahona, Nov 1998, 5
I don’t know that I fully understand how the life of the one leper was truly affected by his decision to ‘turn back’ and glorify God. I do understand the power in giving thanks in ALL things and how it has blessed my life. It has provided me with understanding that I lacked, it has been a healing balm to deep wounds of the heart, it has been a means of lifting the hands that hang down. I know that if we but pause each day to reflect and thank God, God will honor His promises He has given us in the scriptures. He ‘never doth vary from what He hath said.” Mosiah 2:22. He IS preserving you from day to day, he will lend you breath when you feel you have none left in you, IF you but remember Him. I know this is true.

Time to unpack

I heard a familiar phrase brought into a new light this week and have encorporated it into my vocabulary with its new meaning. 'Unpack' it. In my foundations of education class, my professor used that term. He wasn't referring to what we do after we take a trip somewhere, but to a figurative action we can take to better understand something. Question it, disect it. All in attempts to better understand whatever the subject may be. I have been doing that this morning.

I have been reading a different conference talk from the last General Conference and today it was Elder Carlos A. Godoy, from the Sunday afternoon session. The title of his talk was 'Testimony as a Process.' His talk focuses on the importance of the Spirit, that precious memember of the Godhead that helps us to teach us the truth of ALL things, (Moroni 10:5, 2 Nephi 32:5) being able to 'discern' and 'hear' the things of God.

The voice of the Spirit is described in the scripture as being neither loud nor harsh. It is not a voice of thunder, neither...a voice of a great tumultuous noise. But rather, a still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper." (3 Nephi 11:3, http://scriptures.lds.org/en/hel/5)

Something I have always been fascinated with is how not everyone who comes in contact with these quiet promptings can 'hear' them. I feel in part it is because these promptings that usually come in form of a feeling are not shouted at us, but are whispered. Sometimes we are preoccupied with life that we cannot hear.

In the scriptures the words are often used to describe these feelings as a still small voice that did 'pierce' them 'that did hear'. I have been pondering on that phrase: 'pierce them that did hear.' Some questions arose in my mind:
-Why is it that only certain people could 'hear' it?
-How are we able to 'hear'?

I wondered: What say ye? I would love to hear what you have to say on the subject.

The faith to move forward

Today has been a great day-I have been out of my 'normal' routine over the holidays, meaning up by 5:30 a.m.: reading, getting ready for the day which has been a challenge. I have been doing my routine...just not at such an early hour as it needs to be. Little by little I am getting back to where I need to be, trying to continue to be consistent in my efforts. I have been talking with a friend and have been reminded of the power in such a simple act, in being consistent in your efforts. If you set a goal to get up and exercise every morning, get up and do it. Even if it is for 15 minutes, you do it. It reminds me of the words of President Hinckley in a story he related about such seemingly small decisions and there effect in our lives.

He said: "I approached a large farm gate one day. I lifted the latch and opened the gate. The movement at the hinges was so slight as to be scarcely discernible. But the other end of the gate cut a great arc sixteen feet in radius. Looking at the movement of the hinges alone, one would never dream of the magnified action that came as a result of that tiny movement."

In this same talk he also shares another one of my favorite stories of his when he worked for the Union Pacific Railroad. He continues "Many years ago, I worked in the head office of one of our railroads. One day I received a telephone call from my counterpart of another railroad in Newark, New Jersey, who said that a passenger train which had passed over our line had arrived without its baggage car. The patrons were angry.

We discovered that the train had been properly made up in Oakland, California, and properly delivered to St. Louis, Missouri, where it was to be transferred to another railroad to be carried to its destination on the east coast. But we discovered that in the St. Louis yards, a thoughtless switchman had moved a piece of steel just three or four inches. That piece of steel was a switch point, and we found that the car that should have been in Newark, New Jersey, was in New Orleans, Louisiana—thirteen hundred miles away. It had gone south instead of east.

So it is with the decisions in our lives. Some small thought, some small word, some small action can lead to tremendous consequences" -President Hinckley, Keep the Faith, Ensign, September 1985

We never know the impact our small and simple efforts can have for good in our lives-how they have the potential to do so. As we continue in these efforts, we continue to move forward and before we know it, we find ourselves exactly where our hearts desired to be. We find ourselves full of joy and happiness beyond mortal understanding. I believe it possible, starting with the small and simple. The powerful.


I have also been dealing with some of my fears as of late that have left me wanting to curl up in the fetal position on the floor. But I haven't. :) I have shed tears which have come from fear, but also from the knowledge that Heavenly Father knows me and will make me what I need to be-if He sees it fit to be. So lastnight, my mind was racing with thoughts of these fears and I kept having this image of someone standing on the edge of a cliff looking down into the valley below. This valley below is pitch black-no visability. This person needs to jump, but doesn't know what they are jumping in to. So there they stand on the edge. That is how I have been feeling, so I stayed up last night and painted it out in its entirety. It is no masterpiece, I know. But to me it is an expression of faith and a willingness in my heart to step into the dark that, as President Packer said once it is often necessary to “walk to the edge of the light, and perhaps a few steps into the darkness, and … the light will appear and move ahead of you.” I am grateful to have the faith to move forward.

"I cannot tell you in detail how to decide everything. But I can promise that if you will make your decisions according to the standards of the gospel and the teachings of the Church, and if you will keep the faith, your lives will bear fruit of great good and you will know much of happiness and accomplishment." -President Hinckley

Free to choose

I have had cause to reflect lately on the gift we have been given to choose. I was reading in the scriptures about the agency Adam and Eve were given in the garden of Eden, "..thou mayest choose for thyself.." (Moses 3:17) This scripture coupled with several conversations as of late with friends and choices that they have made have caused me to ponder on this great gift. There are a lot of different choices in our daily living, but all of our choices boil down to whether we choose to follow God or not: plain and simple.

I was listening to a talk by Elder Neal A Maxwell where he spoke of the joy that our Father in Heaven wants us to have. He continues, "We cannot do that UNLESS we are free to choose...neither can we have joy unless we are willing to be spiritually submissive day in, and day out, and unless we exercise that grand and glorious freedom to choose..." (Freedom to Choose?, BYU Devotional, March 2004)

Our obedience to God's laws is our choice, it has to come from us. God will not force it upon us. He also said "Choosing to be obedient is a choice. Jesus chose to let His will be 'swallowed up in the will of the Father' (Mosiah 15:7)...He will not force us."

I am grateful for such a precious gift I have been given and the price that was paid that I might be able to make choose for myself how I live my life. I am grateful for the peace that comes when I do make good choices.