Today I realized that Spring is really coming. And, do you know what that means? In less than a month the Semi-Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is happening! Mark your calendar now to enjoy one of the most inspirational, heart-healing, soul-feeding and life-changing weekends of the year; filled with beautiful music and inspired messages.
SPRING 2017
- Saturday March 25
- Saturday April 1
- Sunday April 2
All sessions can be live streamed online or watched in multiple ways via satellite television or heard through radio broadcast (details here.)
Starting today, I will be sharing excerpts of past General Conference messages as we “Count down to Conference”! Enjoy! Love, MoSop
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JOY and SPIRITUAL SURVIVAL
My dear brothers and sisters, today I would like to discuss a principle that is key to our spiritual survival. It is a principle that will only become more important as the tragedies and travesties around us increase…
…Indeed, you and I “wrestle … against the rulers of the darkness of this world, [and] against spiritual wickedness in high places.”[Ephesians 6:12]
As conflicts between nations escalate, as cowardly terrorists prey on the innocent, and as corruption in everything from business to government becomes increasingly commonplace, what can help us?
What can help each of us with our personal struggles and with the rigorous challenge of living in these latter days?…
…Life is filled with detours and dead ends, trials and challenges of every kind. Each of us has likely had times when distress, anguish, and despair almost consumed us.
Yet we are here to have joy?
Yes! The answer is a resounding yes! But how is that possible? And what must we do to claim the joy that Heavenly Father has in store for us?…
Joy is powerful, and focusing on joy brings God’s power into our lives.
As in all things, Jesus Christ is our ultimate exemplar, “who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross.”
“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” – Hebrews 12:2
Think of that!
In order for Him to endure the most excruciating experience ever endured on earth, our Savior focused on joy!
And what was the joy that was “set before Him“?
Surely it included the joy of cleansing, healing, and strengthening us; the joy of paying for the sins of all who would repent; the joy of making it possible for you and me to return home—clean and worthy—to live with our Heavenly Parents and families.
If we focus on the joy that will come to us, or to those we love, what can’t we endure that presently seems overwhelming, painful, scary, unfair, or simply impossible?
Read the entire message – Joy and Spiritual Survival by Elder Russell M. Nelson, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, given at the October 2016 General Conference.
Latter-day Soprano 