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| This is my happy face post talk. |
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Many years ago, a woman lived with her family in military housing on Long Island, New York. She would often visit with friends from all over the country who were not members of the church. One day she was visiting with a neighbor and explaining some of our Church’s basic beliefs. She told her friend about the Book of Mormon and that we believe the Church is led today by a living prophet. The neighbor became very interested and asked her what the prophet had said lately. After thinking about it for a few seconds, she was embarrassed to admit that she did not know what the Prophet had said most recently. Her neighbor concluded the conversation by saying, “You mean you have a living prophet and you don’t know what he said?”
I have to admit, there have been times in my life when I would not have known what the Prophet had said lately either. But as I have listened to the words of our prophets over the past several years, I have felt the holy Ghost witness to me that there really IS a LIVING PROPHET on the earth TODAY! He tells us what the Lord wants us to do. Do YOU know what the Prophet has said lately?
Let me tell you what He said in the last general conference. I have it written on my journal this year. The prophet encouraged us to "Let God Prevail” in our lives. That means, that we listen to the Lord and do what he asks us to do.
President Nelson said:
The question for each of us (whether young or old) is the same…. Are you willing to let God prevail in your life? Are you willing to let God be the most important influence in your life? Will you allow His words, His commandments, and His covenants to influence what you do each day? Will you allow His voice to take priority over any other? Are you willing to let whatever He needs you to do take precedence over every other ambition? These are great questions for all of us.
Think for a minute of something you know God wants you to do that you are struggling to do. Maybe, you struggle to always tell the truth. Maybe it’s difficult to pay tithing. Maybe it’s hard to forgive someone who has hurt you. Maybe you could do better at reading your scriptures and saying your prayers. Maybe you have felt prompted to reach out to someone, but you haven't done it yet.
Sometimes when the Lord asks me to do something hard it turns into something like a spiritual game of tug of war. Do you know how to play tug of war? One person holds one end of a long rope and another person holds the other end. They each try to pull their opponent over the center line and onto your side.
Imagine for a minute that God is on one end of the rope and I am on the other. He pulls on the rope and says, sister Fuller, you need to forgive the person you are struggling to forgive, and I pull back and say, it’s too hard, she keeps doing things that hurt our family. And he pulls back and says, it’s alright, if you will forgive, I will fill your heart with peace.
Or maybe for you kids: The Lord may pull on the end of the rope and whisper to you through the still small voice: hey, there is a kid sitting all alone, you should go say hello. And you pull back and say, but I don’t know that kid, I wouldn’t know what to say. And he says: it’s alright, I am here, I will help you.
Or maybe to a youth: God might pull on his end of the rope and say: Some of your friends are taking you down the wrong path, it might be time to choose friends that will help you make good choices and stay in the Covenant path. And you pull back and say, But i have so much fun with my friends, and what if I don’t make other friends? And he pulls back and says: I am here for you, I promise I will enable you to get through it.
For parents, He might pull on the end of the rope and say, please take time to teach your children the gospel. You might pull back and say: I’m so busy, and tired and my kids complain every time we study the gospel. And he pulls back and says: you can do this, just make some effort, a little every day and I will bless you.
Whatever it is that you are struggling to do, stop playing spiritual tug of war and Let God Prevail. He knows what is best for you.. Let Him be the winner, let him be victorious. Let him pull you over to His side where I assure you he will give you a great big hug and a huge reward. Rearrange you life so that you can be obedient. You will learn that when you are obedient, blessings ALWAYS follow.
Yesterday afternoon and again this morning the Lord, through his spirit told me to talk for a minute directly to the parents who have children in Primary.
The evil that is facing our youth may never have been greater. As a mother of 6 children, 5 of whom are teenagers, I plead with you to do everything in your power, before your children graduate from Primary, to prepare them for their teenage years. Do not wait, until the world has weaseled it's way into your children’s hearts and they are surrounded by the temptations of the devil.. start today. Help them build a firm foundation in Christ now. So that they will be able to stand strong through their teenage years and throughout the rest of their lives.
Primary teachers, please do everything in your power to support the parents. If you know of a child in your class who is not getting spiritual nourishment at home, please pray to be guided to know how you can help that child. We do not want to lose a single one of these precious children.
So, what are some of the rewards or blessings we win when we Let God be victorious?I’ve always been curious about a scripture we read In Doctrine and Covenants Section 30: 21
21 ...when we obtain any ablessing from God, it is by bobedience to that law upon which it is predicated.
Wouldn’t it be great if there was one big list with two columns. One column that showed the law we are supposed to obey, and in the other column the blessing we obtain when we obey? I don’t have that list, but I will share some of the blessings we have been promised for doing what the Lord has asked.
-If you keep the commandments…..you prosper in the land.
-When you attend the temple with regularity...the Lord will bring the miracles He knows you need and you will be endowed with power.
-When you Hear and Heed the word of the Lord...you will be blessed with additional power to deal with temptation, struggles, and weakness.
-When you feast on the words of Christ daily: the words of Christ will tell you how to respond to difficulties you never thought you would face.
-When you are baptized and confirmed... you will have the Holy Ghost as your constant companion.
-When you pay tithing… God will open the ewindows of heaven, and pour you out a fblessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
-When you repent...you are forgiven, and the Lord remembers your sins no more.
Those are just a few of the blessings we can obtain as we Let God Prevail. I want all of those blessings for you and your family.
Now, before I close, a quick thought for those of you that are trying to do everything the Lord has asked you to do but you're not seeing the promised blessings. I want to share with you one of my favorite quotes from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, with a small word adjustment.
“Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven. But for those who "Let God Prevail" in their lives, THEY COME. Trust God.
Brothers and sisters, I testify that Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ are real. I have felt their love for me many times in my life. They love you and will only ask you to do things that will bless your life. Whatever it is that the Lord asks you to do, even if it is a hard thing to do, I invite you, I urge you, I plead with you to Let God Prevail. If you are willing to “Let Him Prevail, He will “fight your battles, and [your] children’s battles, and your children’s children’s [battles] … and eventually all that the Father hath shall be given unto you.
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
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