Songs of Thanks

Graduation!

Hooray! It has been a week of celebration in our household. Our son graduated from high school last night. I just loved the whole evening, but especially the crowd outside the SunDome after graduation.
    
It was about 8:30 and just beginning to get dark and to cool off after a hot Florida summer day. I loved seeing all the seniors in their blue or white robes scattering through the crowd to find their friends and family. I loved being in the happy crowd, everyone dressed up to honor,support, love, and cheer on the graduates. I loved finding all the people we have come to know and care about as our son has grown from an elementary aged boy to a young man, and meeting their families from far places who came for the occasion. I loved the feeling of unity, accomplishment, and rejoicing in the achievements of others. I think it felt just a little bit like heaven will feel. (Don't you think we will all be so excited to be there, busy looking for those we love, enjoying happy reunions, making new acquaintances, and rejoicing in the accomplishments of others? I do.) I am grateful for the little piece of heaven we got to enjoy last night.
Now, despite Rick's comments that high school graduation should just be expected (well, yes) and what is the big deal, I think we have a lot to celebrate!
This year has been an especially noteworthy one for you, son...
Drum Major and Band Captain of the award winning Wharton Regiment!

National Honor Society!
Eagle Scout!

"Semper Fidelis" Award for Musical Excellence by the US Marine Corps! ("Every year the Marine Corps takes pride in recognizing outstanding performances in academics, athletics, and music. All three fields exemplify the qualities that are inherent to the Marine Corps -- smart, tough, and elite.")
Graduating with Honors, (34th in a class of 578) with a GPA of 4.12!
$36,000 Academic scholarship to…

GO KNIGHTS!
Roo, we love you and are so proud of you and the young man you have become!

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Choose to Live by Faith and not Fear

The Fifth D is Disobedience and the Sixth is Disbelief

“For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.” Titus 3:3

Lack of diligence ultimately leads to disobedience, which undermines the very basis of faith.

Each person's success and happiness, both now and in the eternities, depends largely on his or her responses to the difficulties of life. … Trials may come as a consequence of a person's own pride and disobedience. These trials can be avoided through righteous living. … If a person's trials come because of disobedience, he or she should correct the behavior and humbly seek forgiveness. —See True to the Faith (2004), 8–11

"The more obedient you are, the more you stand for true principles, the more the Lord can help you overcome temptation. You can also help others because they will feel your strength. Let them know about your standards by consistently living them. Answer questions about your principles when you are asked, but avoid being preachy. I know from personal experience that works.

"No one intends to make serious mistakes. They come when you compromise your standards to be more accepted by others. You be the strong one. You be the leader. Choose good friends and resist peer pressure together." —Richard G. Scott, Ensign, Nov. 1994

So often the result is disbelief, the conscious or unconscious refusal to believe. The scriptures describe disbelief as the state of having chosen to harden one’s heart. It is to be past feeling.

“If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. “And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” Mark 9:23–24

“Jesus labored. Jesus loved. Jesus served. Jesus testified. What finer example could we strive to emulate? Let us begin now, this very night, to do so. Cast off forever will be the old self and with it defeat, despair, doubt, and disbelief. To a newness of life we come—a life of faith, hope, courage, and joy. No task looms too large; no responsibility weighs too heavily; no duty is a burden. All things become possible.” —Thomas S. Monson, GC Apr 2008

I loved collecting these scriptures and words of the prophets on this destructive cycle. It gave me pause to evaluate myself and how I am doing. It was great to share with my family. If you want to read the original talk that inspired these thoughts, you can find it here. As Elder Pearson says, "In a household of faith, there is no need to fear or doubt. Choose to live by faith and not fear."

Be Diligent

Lack of diligence is a reduced commitment to remain true and faithful and to carry on despite hardship and disappointment. Disappointment is an inevitable part of life, but it need not lead to doubt, discouragement, distraction, or lack of diligence.

“I do not want my mind to be a dumping place for shabby ideas or thoughts, for disappointments, bitterness, envy, shame, hatred, worry, grief, or jealousy. If you are fretting over such things, it’s time to clean the yard. Get rid of all that junk! Get rid of it! Put up a “no trespassing” sign, a “no dumping” sign, and take control of yourself. Don’t keep anything that will not edify you.” —Boyd K. Packer, New Era, Aug 1979

“And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.” Doctrine and Covenants 130:19

“Mormon describes two steps along the path of life that, if taken, will transform a person into a spiritually begotten son or daughter of Christ. … In both the searching and the living, diligence is required. The Lord told the Prophet Joseph Smith that the process of learning truth or acquiring knowledge and intelligence comes through “diligence and obedience”. Laying hold upon or living truth also requires energy or effort, because the Lord expects us to serve with all our “heart, might, mind and strength” (D&C 4:2)” —Merrill J. Bateman, Ensign, Apr 2006

Don't Get Distracted

Distraction is a lack of focus. Distraction eliminates the very focus the eye of faith requires. Discouragement and distraction are two of Satan's most effective tools, but they are also bad habits.

We cannot and we must not allow ourselves to get distracted from our sacred duty. We cannot and we must not lose focus on the things that matter most." -- Dieter F. Uchtdorf, April 2009 General Conference

"Attend upon the Lord without distraction." -- 1 Corinthians 7:35

Don't Get Discouraged

Discouragement comes from missed expectations. Chronic discouragement leads to lower expectations, decreased effort, weakened desire, and greater difficulty feeling and following the Spirit. Discouragement and despair are the very antithesis of faith.

“Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.” Colossians 3:21

“Keep trying. Be believing. Be happy. Don’t get discouraged. Things will work out.” —Gordon B. Hinckley

“If you sometimes get discouraged, consider this fellow. He dropped out of grade school. Operated a country store. Went bankrupt. Took 15 years to pay off his bills. Took a wife. Unhappy marriage. Ran for U.S. House of Representatives. Lost twice. Ran for U.S. Senate. Lost twice. Delivered speech that became a classic. Audience indifferent. Attacked daily by the press and despised by half the country. Despite all this, imagine how many people all over the world have been inspired by this awkward, rumpled, brooding man who signed his name simply, A. Lincoln.” —Wall Street Journal

Don't Doubt

In "Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ", Kevin Pearson teaches us that "Doubt is not a principle of the gospel. It does not come from the Light of Christ or the influence of the Holy Ghost. Doubt is a negative emotion related to fear. It comes from a lack of confidence in one's self or abilities. It is inconsistent with our divine identity as children of God."

"We cannot know what faith is if we have never had it, and we cannot obtain it as long as we deny it. Faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other. ... If our desire is to discard all doubt and to substitute therefor an abiding faith, we have but to accept the invitation extended to you and to me in the Epistle of James [to ask of God]." --Thomas S. Monson, Ensign, Mar 2009

"But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed." James 1:6

This Year... Erosion Control (Firmer Faith)

I came across Kevin W. Pearson's spring conference address as I was preparing for a family home evening a couple of weeks ago, and I love it! It's full of what I want to remember this year, and so I'm posting it for the New Year!

To give an indication of how much I love this article, I have created two family home evenings from it, some affirmation flash cards, and a quote for the fridge from it. Now I'm going to share it here. And not just today. I'm going to share my thoughts on it for weeks! One week for each of what he calls the Six Destructive D's. Pearson refers to them as FORCES THAT ERODE OUR FAITH. So...


Stay tuned for thoughts on Doubt.