Latest / Scripture Central / ”Stand Forever” | Peace–Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled | Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge

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”Stand Forever” | Peace–Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled | Elder Lawrence E. Corbridge · Scripture Central

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  Will you stand forever, or will you go away?
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  And if you go, where will you go?
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  How do you live in a troubled world to not be troubled?
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  How can you live in a fearful world to not be afraid?
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  Can you learn to live happily with sorrow?
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  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
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  Where will you go? Peace I leave with you, My peace
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  I give unto you. Not as the world giveth, give I
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  unto you. Let not your heart be troubled,
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  neither let it be afraid. Those words are among the most
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  hopeful of all words ever spoken because of the invitation and
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  promise they convey and who said them.
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  They are also among the most challenging.
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  Like the crippled man whose heart filled with hope when
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  asked, Would thou be made whole not knowing how it might be
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  done? Our hearts stir at the prospect
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  of not being troubled or afraid, but also not knowing how it
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  might be done. Hello, I'm Larry Corbridge, and
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  this is one of the last episodes of the series titled Stand
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  Forever. Welcome to the Stand Forever
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  series. I'm so glad you're joining us.
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  The purpose of this series is to believe and follow Christ to the
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  end, engaged in His work, and help others do the same.
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  The series arises out of a book of the same name, Stand Forever,
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  but that book may never be published.
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  Once written, the recommendation was given to present the content
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  in small segments through a digital channel, culminating in
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  this audio video series presented in a master class
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  format. Now, I don't know that I'm a
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  master of anything other than maybe mistakes, but that's the
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  at least that's the format of the series.
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  The book and now this series are the broader umbrella to a more
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  narrow message I gave at Brigham Young University in 2019.
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  Also with the title Stand Forever.
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  The book and now this series is my special witness of Jesus
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  Christ. While this and the next episode
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  are the last in this series, they're being released first
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  because they're particularly timely given the conditions of
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  the world today. This particular episode is
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  episode 41. It's titled Peace.
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  Let not your heart be troubled. It is by far the longest of all.
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  So don't give up. Don't let its length deter deter
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  you. Listen, watch or study its
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  content in segments if necessary.
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  All the other episodes will be much shorter.
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  A new episode will be posted each week on YouTube and
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  Scripture central.org. You may watch or you may listen
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  to it, or you can study the downloadable content as as you
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  wish. Please join me on this journey
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  and stand forever. Everyone yearns for peace, but
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  how do you live in a troubled world to not be troubled?
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  How can you live in a fearful world to not be afraid?
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  And can you learn to live happily with sorrow?
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  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
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  Is similar to another admonition of the Lord when he's said to be
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  of good cheer and do not fear. Jacob also says, Let your hearts
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  rejoice. Those beautiful words are
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  hopeful and comforting, but also perplexing.
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  What do they mean? Are they expressions of
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  consolation only, like don't worry, everything's going to be
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  all right? Or are they words of admonition,
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  as in don't let it happen, don't let your heart be troubled or
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  afraid? Maybe they are both.
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  Mostly they are words of encouragement and hope, a
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  combination of comfort and admonition.
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  I don't believe the Lord is talking about a trouble free
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  life, or smiling more, or whistling a happy tune while
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  skipping down the yellow brick road, or putting a happy face on
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  a bad situation. Fake it till you make it.
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  The power of positive thinking, optimism, or a perpetual worry
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  free heart. As in, don't ever let your heart
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  be troubled or afraid. I don't think one should feel
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  weak or ashamed when troubled or afraid.
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  The last thing a troubled heart needs is to feel more troubled
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  about being troubled. While the Garden of Eden was
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  trouble free and Adam was told to be happy in it, the lone and
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  dreary world is something altogether different.
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  To Eve the Lord God forewarned of sorrow greatly multiplied,
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  and to Adam he said, Cursed shall be the ground for thy
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  sake. In sorrow shalt thou eat of it
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  all the days of thy life. That is daunting and does not
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  portend a trouble free life. Far from it.
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  There is much to suggest Jesus Christ.
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  The one who said, Let not your heart be troubled or afraid was
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  himself a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, and
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  greatly troubled at times, And of course no one more than he in
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  Gethsemane. The apostle Paul also knew much
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  about trouble. He said the whole of creation
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  groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
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  And not only they, he said, but ourselves also, which have the
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  first fruits of the Spirit. Even we ourselves groan within
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  ourselves, waiting for the redemption of our body.
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  Paul seems to say that even they, the first to receive the
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  Holy Spirit, or the first fruits of the Spirit, still groaned
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  within themselves at times, waiting for a better day.
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  And if the whole of creation, groaning and travailing, were
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  not enough, Heavenly Father, the Almighty God of heaven and
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  earth, whose creations cannot be numbered or measured, weeps,
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  weeps, and all of heaven weeps with him, troubled over the
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  great wickedness of his children.
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  What then does it mean? Let not your heart be troubled
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  neither let it be afraid. Never be troubled, never be
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  afraid. I don't think so.
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  I think the Lord is saying don't give in, resist, push back
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  against trouble, worry and fear. Don't succumb, don't surrender.
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  When the Lord says, Be of good cheer and do not fear, I think
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  he's saying, take heart more than encouraging cheerfulness,
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  as wonderful as cheerfulness is. This may also be what Paul
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  intended when he said, we are troubled on every side, yet not
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  distressed. We are perplexed, but not in
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  despair, persecuted but not forsaken, cast down but not
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  destroyed. Hacart, be of good cheer, don't
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  give in, resist, push back against sorrow, trouble, worry
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  and fear and press forward. That is probably the most
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  important thing I will say. We have no say about many
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  burdens that fall to our shoulders, but with the help of
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  heaven we can bear them up and not be crushed.
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  Bear the burdens without breaking.
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  Take heart, don't give in, keep going, don't quit, and you will
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  make it. Let not your heart be troubled,
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  neither let it be afraid. And other encouraging statements
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  like Be of good cheer and do not fear appear to be more than
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  comforting platitudes. And if so, again, how does 1
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  comply and keep the word of Wisdom?
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  If drink and drugs are off the table, how do you do it?
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  If those expressions suggest volition and admonition
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  bordering on the realm of commandment, then they are are
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  are also among the most difficult to keep.
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  They are in the upper reaches of commandments with Forgive all
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  men and love your enemies. Bless them that curse you.
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  Do good to them that hate you. There are commandments and then
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  there are commandments. Tithing thou shalt not commit
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  adultery. Thou shalt not steal.
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  Thou shall not bear false witness.
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  Are easy by comparison, clear cut, black and white, easy to
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  understand what to do and not do.
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  But what? What buttons do you push?
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  What switches do you flip? What levers do you pull to
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  confidently confront a troubling and fearful world and not be
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  troubled or afraid? How do you do it?
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  As with most of life's great endeavors, this one is also the
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  consequence of several converging principles and
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  practices rather than anyone. Silver bullet or, and I'll do
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  all solution, I will mention twelve.
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  Yes, you heard me right. I did say 12.
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  All I can say is I am sorry. I don't like talks like this.
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  I don't like talks comprised of a long list of things to do,
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  especially not a list of 12/3 or 4 maybe, but 12 is nuts.
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  I can only say I am sorry, but if you will hear me out, I
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  believe the journey will be worth it.
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  Everything I share with you now is based on scripture and my
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  experience, compiled for my own benefit to bear up the
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  unrelenting burden and anxiety of caregiving without breaking.
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  I hope it will be of benefit to you as well.
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  I knew it all to be true. Most of what I have to say
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  relates to how we think. We rightly place a great deal of
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  emphasis on the Spirit, and no one more than I.
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  But do not discount your mind. Your world is in your head.
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  Get your head straight and your heart will follow.
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  Your brain can be your worst enemy or your greatest ally.
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  First, take ownership of your head and heart.
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  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
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  Does imply volition, some degree of control, as in don't let it
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  happen when trouble and fear raise their ugly heads.
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  Remember we are not victims of circumstance.
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  The Lord said. Keep all the commandments and
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  covenants by which ye are bound, and I will cause the heavens to
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  shake for your good, and Satan shall tremble, and Zion shall
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  rejoice upon the heels and flourish.
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  Lift up your hearts and be glad, he said.
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  Patty Bartlett Sessions, an ancestor of mine, said don't
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  give in to your feelings. She was baptized a member of the
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  church in 1834. She was known as Mother Sessions
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  because as a midwife she's reported to to have delivered
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  about 4000 babies, mostly in the Salt Lake Valley and several
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  along the track from Nauvoo. She made this entry in her
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  journal in May of 1846. Brother Kimball she said, came
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  to the wagon, said I must not feel bad.
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  I was crying when he come. I could hardly tell for what
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  for. I had many things to hurt my
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  feelings. I told him some things and he
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  said all would be right and not to give in to my feelings.
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  That's the idea, yes. Confront your feelings, but
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  don't give in to them. While genetics play a role in
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  one's baseline disposition, they are not determinative nor the
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  whole story. Not hardly.
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  You have some control and responsibility for your head and
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  heart. That is a big deal.
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  Believing you can exercise some control over the condition of
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  your heart may not be the end all do all solution.
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  It may not be the flip of a switch kind of control to go
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  from the depths of despair to the soaring heights of bliss.
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  But it is an essential, indispensable step toward Peace
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  of Mind and heart. You can't get to peace without
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  it. I repeat, you can't get there
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  unless you believe you can. However, don't expect to reach a
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  point of becoming impervious to circumstances that won't happen.
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  Do not think godliness somehow soars untouched above sorrow and
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  trouble. As I already mentioned, Heavenly
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  Father weeps and is troubled over the great wickedness of his
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  children. Mormon records that when the
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  resurrected Christ appeared among the Nephi people, he
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  groaned within himself and said, Father, I am troubled because of
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  the wickedness of the people of the House of Israel.
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  And then after he prays words that cannot be written, he then
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  looks upon the people and says, And now behold, my joy is full.
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  In both instances he was affected by circumstances.
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  Even godliness is not a shield against sorrow and trouble.
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  The idea rather is don't give in to your feelings, resist, push
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  back against sorrow, trouble, worry and fear and press forward
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  to learn to do that is one of the reasons we draw breath and
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  our hearts beat. Still the greatest work or the
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  greatest achievement of all time and eternity, The Atonement of
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  Jesus Christ was accomplished in the depths of the greatest
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  suffering and opposition of all time and all eternity.
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  A baby elephant chained to a small stake against which it
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  vainly struggles to be free, learns it cannot do it.
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  But as the elephant grows to a size sufficient to easily uproot
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  the stake, it still remains securely restrained because it
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  wrongly thinks it can't. This is known in psychology as
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  learned helplessness. But we are not helpless.
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  Recently, while Jackie was washing dishes, I put my arm
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  around her and asked, Are you OK?
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  She looked up at me with her big brown eyes and smiled and said
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  Yep, I'm always OK. I said that's probably true,
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  you're one of the few people I know who can say that, not many
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  can. She quickly replied well they
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  should, life is short and then went on washing dishes.
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  I asked how do you do it? She has plenty of reasons to get
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  down and out, especially now struggling with Alzheimer's
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  disease. She replied, I don't like to be
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  down and it's not hard to turn it upside down.
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  As she gestured as if turning a knob.
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  She has found the knob to turn. I haven't found it yet.
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  Life is simple for her and she doesn't need my list of 12
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  things to do. When trouble and fear well up
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  within you, reciting in your mind the words Let not your
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  heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid or I will be happy,
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  or I will be strong in the strength of the Lord, or I'm
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  not. A victim may not sweep away all
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  worries from every core corner and bar the door forever more,
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  but it will help push them back. Take a deep breath and stand a
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  bit taller. Say the words.
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  Ask yourself, why be sad? Why worry?
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  Why be angry or upset? What good will come from it?
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  What purpose will it serve if you do?
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  If you ask those questions, you won't have any good answer, and
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  lacking any good answer, you'll be able to dial it down.
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  Few strategies have helped me more to pause and step out of an
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  emotion than asking those critical questions.
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  Why be sad, Why worry? Why be angry or upset?
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  What good will come from it? What purpose will it serve?
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  First and foremost, recognize and on the truth that you can be
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  the master of your head and heart.
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  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
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  It is hard for everyone, but impossible for no one.
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  Take heart, don't give in, push back, resist 2nd do whatever you
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  must do to receive the Holy Ghost.
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  Ask anyone what they most want in life and three things will
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  emerge toward the top of the list.
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  Lovejoy and peace, Paul said all three are fruits of the Spirit
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  of God. I repeat all three, Lovejoy and
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  peace are fruits of the Spirit of God.
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  In the same breath the Christ promised peace, not of this
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  world. He spoke of the Comforter, the
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  Holy Ghost, and he said, But the Comforter, which is the Holy
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  Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you
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  all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever
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  I have said unto you. And then with the promise of the
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  Holy Ghost hanging in the air, He adds, Peace I leave with you,
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  My peace I give unto you not as the world giveth, give I unto
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  you. Let not your heart be troubled,
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  neither let it be afraid. Christ promises the Comforter,
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  the power to offset or calm trouble and fear, the power to
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  reach breaking points without breaking, the power from on
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  high. We can only have because of Him.
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  The object is the peace of the Spirit of God rather than a
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  trouble free life, which is the world's version of peace, the
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  peace of ease. Be careful, however, with your
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  expectations. Mormon records that Alma was
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  very sorrowful. Nevertheless, the Spirit of the
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  Lord did not fail him. Note that Alma was sorrowful and
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  yet endowed with the Spirit of the Lord.
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  We may mistakenly expect the Spirit of God to always lift us
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  out of sorrow, but it may at times rather endow us with the
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  strength to endure sorrow, to be consecrated for our gain, rather
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  than wash it away entirely. Above all, do not withdraw
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  yourself from the Spirit of the Lord.
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  Nature abhors a vacuum in an empty houses more prone to
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  unwelcome guests than an occupied home.
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  Paul said neither give place to the devil.
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  And in the Old Testament we read that when the Spirit of the Lord
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  departed from Saul, an evil spirit troubled him.
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  Don't let your house be empty. Jesus taught this same chilling
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  truth in the parable of the empty house, saying, when the
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  unclean spirit is gone out of the man, he walketh through dry
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  places seeking rest and findeth none.
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  Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came
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  out. And when he has come, he findeth
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  it empty, swept, and garnished. And that's the point.
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  Although clean, swept, and garnished, it's empty,
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  unoccupied. He continues.
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  Then go with he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more
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  wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there.
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  And the last state of that man is worse than the first.
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  Don't let your house be empty because it won't be empty for
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  long. There are many more homeless
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  than what we see on the streets. The peace Christ promises
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  springs from the gift of God's Spirit, a well of water
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  springing up into the gift of God's life. 3rd Build your
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  foundation on the rock of Christ.
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  That doesn't mean the Church of Christ, but it also does not
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  mean Christ independent of his church and work.
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  Do not, do not make the fatal mistake of uncoupling Christ
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  from his church thinking or saying I can live a good
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  Christian life without the church telling me how to do
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  that. Building on a sure foundation or
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  the sure foundation of the Rock of Christ is more than living a
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  good Christian life. Rather it is a combination of
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  Christ and His work, especially in His church, on both sides of
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  the veil, at the very heart of the Sermon on the Mount.
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  Christ said, Seek not the things of the world, but seek ye first
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  to build up the Kingdom of God, and to establish his
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  righteousness, and all these things, meaning all you need,
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  shall be added unto you. He then concluded his sermon,
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  saying, Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine,
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  and do with them, I will liken unto a wise man, which built his
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  house upon a rock. And the rains descended, and the
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  floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon the house, and it
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  fell not, for it was founded upon a rock.
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  Christ and His work. And everyone he said, That
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  heareth the sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened
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  unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand.
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  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew.
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  It beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of
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  it. In a like manner Helaman
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  succinctly said to his sons. And now Remember, Remember that
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  it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son
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  of God, that ye must build your foundation.
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  That when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, Yeah,
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  his shafts and the whirlwind. Yeah, When all his hail and
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  mighty storm shall beat upon you and shall have no power over you
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  to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless woe because
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  of the rock upon which ye are built.
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  Which is a sure foundation. A foundation where on if men
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  build. Listen to this.
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  A sure foundation Where on if men build.
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  They cannot fall. That is a stunning promise.
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  They cannot fall. What does that mean?
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  Never. Never make a mistake?
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  Live a perfect life? Well, of course not.
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  But then what? In this context, fall, it seems
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  to me, may be understood to mean fail, as in systemic collapse.
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  It may also mean fall away. You cannot fall or fail unless
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  you quit. You may be wounded, but not
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  mortally wounded, not defeated. You won't surrender.
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  You won't quit. Give in or up.
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  You won't leave the path that leads to Him, His work, His
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  Spirit, and His life. You cannot fall if your
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  foundation is on the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son
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  of God and His work. Get on the path of the gospel of
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  Jesus Christ, stay on it and press forward engaged in His
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  work on both sides of the veil and you will make it.
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  You will make it. You will arrive at the
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  destination of the gifts of God's Son, His Spirit and His
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  life. Stay the course, and you cannot
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  fall or fail. The Lord also said, And by
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  hearkening to observe all the words which I, the Lord their
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  God, shall speak unto them, they shall never cease to prevail,
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  until the kingdoms of the world are subdued under my feet, and
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  the earth is given unto the Saints to possess it forever and
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  ever. He said, I think hearkening to
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  observe all the words of the Lord is different from perfectly
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  obeying all his words. It is trying to observe his
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  words and the promise is they shall never cease to prevail.
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  Keep trying and you will win. 4th Look up and submit to God
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  rather than Satan. Trouble and fear, Offer that in
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  prayer. Yes, pour out your heart to
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  Heavenly Father for all that you need, but also express your
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  trust in Him and His purposes. Submit as his Son did, saying
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  Thy will be done. Trust in the Lord.
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  To yield to the Holy Spirit and put off the natural man involves
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  A willingness to submit to all things which the Lord sees fit
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  for you to experience, James said.
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  Submit yourselves therefore to God.
• 31:21
  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
• 31:25
  Draw nigh to God and He will draw nigh to you.
• 31:30
  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall lift
• 31:35
  you up. Larry and Laurie Beardahl are
• 31:41
  dear friends of ours. Laurie fought for her life in a
• 31:45
  desperate struggle with cancer until her last day only a few
• 31:51
  weeks ago. That struggle was marked by a
• 31:55
  sweet cheerfulness that is characteristic of both of them.
• 32:01
  Months before her passing, they said these words.
• 32:06
  While far from perfect, we are learning how to trust in the
• 32:10
  Lord. We have learned, largely by
• 32:13
  experience, that the love our Heavenly Father and the Savior
• 32:17
  have for each one of us is perfect.
• 32:21
  Knowing their love for us is perfect, we can trust that our
• 32:26
  journey through mortality will consist of every experience
• 32:30
  needed for us to eventually be exalted and return home.
• 32:37
  While we are, of course, praying fervently that Laurie will be
• 32:41
  allowed to remain here in mortality for many more years,
• 32:45
  our faith is not dependent on outcomes.
• 32:51
  We are exercising faith that his will be done and that we will
• 32:55
  accept it regardless of the outcome.
• 33:01
  End Quote. Most, if not all of us struggle
• 33:05
  for control over our lives. Most of the frustration and
• 33:11
  anger we experience really is the result of failed
• 33:15
  expectations, or in other words, the failure of control.
• 33:22
  On a day in May of 2001, I felt great anxiety about my life
• 33:28
  which seemed to be spiraling further out of control.
• 33:32
  There just wasn't enough time in the day and resources to do
• 33:36
  everything that needed to be done.
• 33:39
  A certain degree of guilt haunted me much of the time and
• 33:43
  while I when working, I felt guilty that I wasn't more at
• 33:48
  home and in the church. And when I was at home I was
• 33:52
  concerned about all I needed to be doing at work.
• 33:54
  And when I was serving in the church, I felt I was neglecting
• 33:58
  family and work, not to mention exercise, community service, and
• 34:03
  a long list of unfulfilled goals.
• 34:07
  Wherever I was, whatever I was doing, I was always aware of how
• 34:11
  much more needed to be done. I was trying to live righteously
• 34:16
  and be a worthy father, husband, lawyer, and disciple of Christ.
• 34:20
  And yet I was overwhelmed. And they lived with a constant
• 34:24
  sense of, I guess, guilt. As I was driving to work that
• 34:30
  day, my mind was caught up in the frenzy of all of that, of
• 34:35
  all that needed to be done. And I asked myself, what is the
• 34:38
  Lord revealed about all of this? What has He said about dealing
• 34:42
  with anxiety, with the pressures and the frenzied pace of life?
• 34:50
  I prayed about it as I was driving.
• 34:54
  And I thought we should probably hire some more lot lawyers or
• 34:58
  another lawyer or or additional paralegals to help with the work
• 35:02
  of the firm. I considered other things I
• 35:05
  could do to get control of my life.
• 35:07
  But because if I could just get control of my life, just finally
• 35:15
  somehow get on top of things, get things in order, then maybe,
• 35:19
  maybe I could stay there and be happy.
• 35:24
  I thought I just need to get control of my life.
• 35:27
  The commute was probably about 30 minutes, and by the time I
• 35:32
  arrived at the parking lot, my thoughts had shifted and I they
• 35:38
  were overrun with the more urgent tasks of the day.
• 35:42
  The deposition in the morning, the hearing in the afternoon,
• 35:46
  and the brief that needed to be filed with the court.
• 35:50
  And I wasn't thinking at all anymore about it.
• 35:54
  Getting control of my life. I had moved on in my thoughts,
• 35:58
  but as I crossed the street to enter our building, I heard
• 36:02
  these words. You will never be in control.
• 36:09
  I am. Those words were totally
• 36:17
  unrelated to everything I was thinking in the moment.
• 36:22
  I had moved on from fussing over the lack of control of my life
• 36:26
  to the challenges of the day. But those words cut through my
• 36:32
  thoughts like a knife, and everything else fell away in an
• 36:37
  instant. I was changed.
• 36:41
  I experienced what some people call a paradigm shift.
• 36:46
  My perspective on life shifted, and I've never been the same
• 36:51
  since. I understood that statement in
• 36:55
  two ways. One, God is in control.
• 37:01
  Secondly, the declaration of the name of God, I am.
• 37:11
  The truth that lives in those words had never occurred to me.
• 37:18
  Never. I needed to get control of my
• 37:22
  life. I needed to get on top of
• 37:26
  things. I needed to manage my life
• 37:29
  better. Oh sure, I prayed for guidance
• 37:33
  and for help, as I had done that very day on the way to work, but
• 37:38
  I was not sufficiently taking God into account, which is my
• 37:45
  independent nature. I suppose the nature of the
• 37:48
  natural man. It is the nature and disposition
• 37:53
  of almost all men to vainly expect to control everything and
• 38:01
  to do it poorly. Most of the frustration and
• 38:06
  anger we experience is the result of failed expectations,
• 38:12
  or in other words, the failure of control.
• 38:16
  Again, you will never be in control.
• 38:22
  I am. I believe those words.
• 38:27
  I'm not in control. It is hard for me to remember
• 38:32
  that, but I never was. It is an illusion to think
• 38:36
  otherwise. I draw breath and my heart
• 38:38
  beats. By the grace of God, no, I'm not
• 38:42
  saying we just turn everything over to God and expect Him to
• 38:46
  fix everything and do everything.
• 38:48
  Rather, it is by the grace of God we are saved in every way,
• 38:55
  spiritually, temporally, emotionally and mentally.
• 38:59
  After all we can do. But all we can do is never
• 39:06
  enough. Standing alone, the Lord said,
• 39:11
  Come unto me, all ye that labor, and are heavy laden, and I will
• 39:17
  give you rest. I know a little more about that
• 39:23
  rest. I still work as hard as ever to
• 39:27
  do all I can, and I may not be any more on top of things, but
• 39:32
  the guilt of what remains undone has dissipated and I take
• 39:39
  comfort and find confidence, knowing the foundational truth
• 39:43
  deep in my bones that God is in control.
• 39:50
  Peter similarly said, Humble yourselves, therefore, under the
• 39:55
  mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, and
• 40:01
  listen to these words, casting all your care upon Him.
• 40:08
  For he careth for you. I love that promise.
• 40:17
  The Lord also said Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
• 40:23
  You will never be in control. He is if you let him be.
• 40:30
  Take heart, don't give in, push back, resist, surrender to God
• 40:38
  rather than Satan. And as the Lord said, trust in
• 40:44
  the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own
• 40:49
  understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him
• 40:54
  and he shall direct thy paths. 5th To look back and look around
• 41:02
  to so many who overcame or overcome great tribulation, and
• 41:07
  to see many good, inspiring people in the world.
• 41:15
  It seems to me, at least, that the greatest, most phenomenal
• 41:19
  acts of obedience and sacrifice in any era usually happen at the
• 41:27
  beginning of the dispensation, setting a high standard against
• 41:32
  which all that subsequently follows may be measured.
• 41:37
  This was true for Adam and Eve, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses,
• 41:44
  Lehigh, Jesus Christ, and it was certainly true in this
• 41:49
  dispensation as well, no less than any others in any prior
• 41:55
  dispensation. Joseph Smith and the early
• 41:59
  Saints suffered greatly and sacrificed homes, worldly
• 42:04
  possessions, and for many their very lives to establish the
• 42:08
  Kingdom of God on earth once again.
• 42:12
  Some say nothing breeds success like success.
• 42:16
  But if that is the story, the story of Joseph Smith and the
• 42:20
  Restoration and the early Saints should have been a very
• 42:24
  different story, because it is a story of not only unrelenting
• 42:30
  opposition and suffering, but failure as well.
• 42:34
  It is the story of success slowly arising out of the ashes
• 42:38
  of repeated failure. For them there was no pillar of
• 42:44
  cloud by day, nor fire by night to lead them, no manna from
• 42:48
  heaven, no parting of the Seas or other dramatic manifestation
• 42:53
  of God's hand as repeatedly witnessed by the children of
• 42:57
  Israel. The early Saints were driven
• 43:00
  from home and lands in New York to Kirtland, OH, where they
• 43:05
  built homes in a community and the first temple of this
• 43:08
  dispensation. After an 800 mile March, Zions
• 43:13
  Camp failed to regain land from which the Saints had been
• 43:17
  dispossessed. The bank established under the
• 43:21
  direction of Joseph Smith failed.
• 43:24
  Forced to leave Kirtland, they were then driven to Missouri,
• 43:28
  but soon an order was issued from the highest level of the
• 43:31
  state government to expel or even exterminate the Saints.
• 43:38
  Some were massacred, others beaten, tarred and feathered and
• 43:42
  left for dead. Many women were brutally
• 43:45
  assaulted time and again, houses robbed, food wagons, tents and
• 43:51
  clothing stolen, and livestock driven off Joseph Smith and
• 43:56
  other leaders were imprisoned for many months.
• 43:59
  Opposition came from every direction, from without and from
• 44:03
  within. There was apostasy, dissent and
• 44:06
  betrayal on every side and even among trusted leaders.
• 44:13
  The Saints were then next driven from Missouri to Illinois, where
• 44:17
  out of the swamps of the Mississippi River, they built
• 44:20
  another temple and the beautiful city of Nauvoo.
• 44:26
  But even then again, within a few years, persecution and
• 44:29
  discord also knocked on Nauvoo's door.
• 44:33
  The newspaper and the printing office were ransacked and
• 44:36
  closed. The Prophet Joseph Smith and his
• 44:40
  brother Hiram were imprisoned and martyred by a mob of 200
• 44:46
  men. In nearby Carthage, the Saints
• 44:49
  were again driven into the bleak winter, this time without a
• 44:52
  clear destination in mind. The temple was ransacked and
• 44:57
  burned during the trek across the western plains.
• 45:04
  Hundreds died along the trail once arriving in the Salt Lake
• 45:09
  Valley. Homes and farms, communities had
• 45:12
  to be carved out of the desert wilderness.
• 45:15
  Surely some, if not many, questioned if this is God's
• 45:19
  work, where is He? People ask a similar question
• 45:26
  today. Some lose faith because of
• 45:31
  hardship. A daughter dies and in their
• 45:35
  grief parents questioned their faith in God.
• 45:39
  Another thinks her life should be happier and better because of
• 45:42
  her righteousness. It is more than why me, Rather,
• 45:48
  it is where is God? Why would He allow this to
• 45:54
  happen despite my faithfulness? It essentially denies God
• 46:00
  because 1 does not get one's way, however good that way may
• 46:05
  be. It is to trust in God only so
• 46:10
  far as things go well according to plan.
• 46:16
  It is the stubborn mindset of my way or no way.
• 46:23
  God declared His purpose for the creation of the heavens and the
• 46:28
  earth, saying and we will prove them herewith to see if they
• 46:32
  will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command
• 46:37
  them. The question is not whether we
• 46:43
  will be faithful so things will go well so we can get our way,
• 46:49
  rather will we be faithful when they don't go well?
• 46:55
  That's the question, and that is faith.
• 47:00
  Faith is faithfulness in uncertainty and disappointment.
• 47:08
  Faithfulness not to get one's way, rather faithfulness
• 47:13
  regardless of the outcome, steady in the storm in each
• 47:21
  dispensation. The level of obedience and
• 47:24
  sacrifice of The Pioneers is so unusually and undeniably high
• 47:31
  that all who later follow cannot fairly refuse or complain when
• 47:36
  asked to do lesser things. It all depends on your point of
• 47:41
  reference. Although our troubles may, and
• 47:47
  of course do, weigh heavily and loom large, when we make the
• 47:53
  comparison to those who were in the beginning the initiators,
• 47:58
  The Pioneers, they shrink to actual size.
• 48:03
  And considering what has been our will and capacity to do,
• 48:09
  what we must do is strengthened, or should be.
• 48:15
  Because The Pioneers of each dispensation stretched so very,
• 48:20
  very far and so very, very high. We who follow are inspired and
• 48:26
  encouraged to willingly stretch as well, and do more than we
• 48:31
  thought we could and thereby become more than what we would
• 48:36
  otherwise ever be. Looking to them, we may rightly
• 48:42
  say they did that, so I can do this.
• 48:48
  We also need not look as far as the beginning of a dispensation
• 48:53
  to find courage and faith amid great suffering and good people
• 48:59
  trying to help. We need only look around here
• 49:03
  and now, in every corner of the world, just up the street or
• 49:09
  right next door, to see there are always, always many, many,
• 49:15
  many whose circumstances are far, far more challenging, far
• 49:20
  more onerous than ours. And to see there are always good
• 49:25
  people willing to help. Just a few days ago, last
• 49:32
  weekend, my wife and I, Jackie landed at what is known as the
• 49:37
  Pinners Conference. This was a new experience for
• 49:42
  me. It was a massive humanity,
• 49:45
  mostly of the female variety. Browsing through a vast array of
• 49:50
  merchandise, I was definitely out of my element.
• 49:55
  There was a moment, however, when time stood still, never to
• 50:01
  be forgotten. When we arrived, I finally saw,
• 50:09
  to my horror, Jackie, who again has Alzheimer's disease, that
• 50:16
  she had applied a coat of toothpaste to her face, thinking
• 50:25
  it was makeup. My bad.
• 50:29
  I tried to clean it off, but it was like trying to remove super
• 50:33
  glue with nothing more than a tissue.
• 50:36
  We ended up at the Shine Cosmetics booth where some women
• 50:42
  were providing free touch up for service for customers.
• 50:47
  I explained briefly to Jen the situation.
• 50:52
  She was one of the attendants. She then did her cosmetic magic
• 50:59
  on Jackie so tenderly, so sweetly, and so lovingly that
• 51:08
  she melted my heart. I loaded up a bag of product to
• 51:14
  purchase, but when I tried to pay Darcy Wilde, the CEO of
• 51:20
  Shine, push my credit card away, there were tears in the eyes of
• 51:27
  several of the women and in mine as well, and I gave a hug of
• 51:34
  gratitude instead of a credit card.
• 51:39
  It is the best purchase I never made and a shining moment I will
• 51:50
  not forget. Not because of the free
• 51:59
  merchandise, rather the love that washed over all of us in
• 52:05
  the moment. Love from above, shared among
• 52:09
  strangers. No more strangers, no more, Fred
• 52:18
  Rogers once said. When I was a boy, I would see
• 52:22
  scary things in the news. My mother would say to me, look
• 52:28
  for the helpers. You will always find people who
• 52:33
  are helping. I believe that.
• 52:38
  I believe there are helpers everywhere.
• 52:43
  This leads us to yet another important and powerful
• 52:46
  conclusion. The world is full of great
• 52:50
  suffering and good people who are helping.
• 52:56
  Whatever my circumstances. They are less than so many
• 53:03
  others and could be a lot worse. Therefore, I will be grateful
• 53:11
  and content for what I have and not flag or fail and try to be a
• 53:19
  helper wherever and whenever I can.
• 53:24
  Number six, accept the brutal reality of storms, meaning the
• 53:29
  short view, but remember the destination, in other words, the
• 53:34
  Longview. The promise is not for storms to
• 53:41
  pass you by, nor that you not be dragged down at all when they
• 53:46
  come, as they do and will rather whatever misery you experience
• 53:53
  not be endless. And above all, you will not
• 53:57
  fall. You cannot fall, but stand
• 54:02
  forever. But don't be surprised by
• 54:07
  storms, and don't think that life is somehow out of whack
• 54:12
  when they come. Storms are as common as sunny
• 54:15
  days. We all know that He, God's
• 54:19
  perfect Son, was a man of sorrows and acquainted with
• 54:24
  grief. He groaned in the Spirit and was
• 54:28
  troubled. He had not where to lay his
• 54:31
  head, and He descended below all things.
• 54:34
  Even He, God's only begotten Son, was not spared the
• 54:39
  bitterest cup of all. Are we greater than He?
• 54:44
  Should we expect to somehow be exempt from pain and suffering,
• 54:48
  while He suffered more than man can suffer, except it be unto
• 54:55
  death? Alma said.
• 54:58
  And I have been supported under trials and troubles of every
• 55:03
  kind, yay, and all manner of afflictions.
• 55:08
  He didn't say I have been spared trials.
• 55:11
  He didn't say I have been spared troubles of every kind in all
• 55:15
  manner of afflictions. Not hardly.
• 55:19
  There is a lovely description in Psalms of the Lord's
• 55:23
  intervention when our hearts are broken, saying He healeth the
• 55:30
  broken heart. I love that and bindeth up their
• 55:35
  wounds, but the promise is not to protect the heart from
• 55:41
  breaking, but to heal it when it does.
• 55:48
  If God intervened as fully as we would like, it would negate the
• 55:53
  purpose of mortality. We walk by faith to evolve and
• 55:58
  realize our divine potential. We are God's children, but he
• 56:04
  can no more endow us with the qualities and characteristics of
• 56:10
  godliness any more than earthly parents can instil in their
• 56:15
  children their virtues won by their experience.
• 56:20
  Experience is essential in both realms.
• 56:26
  When conditions are chaotic, dark and menacing, it's not life
• 56:32
  gone awry, it's just life. It is never A1 and done, but a
• 56:38
  constant effort to resist, push back every day.
• 56:45
  Again, life is not about avoiding storms, but weathering
• 56:50
  them when they come and cherishing the sunshine when it
• 56:55
  happily shines. There is also a spectrum of
• 57:01
  responses to adversity in crisis.
• 57:04
  This is known sometimes to some, by the 1080 Ten principle.
• 57:11
  It holds that 10% of people will respond poorly.
• 57:17
  They freak out and make the situation worse.
• 57:23
  The majority, 80%, of us wait for help to come or for someone
• 57:30
  to tell them what to do. They are usually paralyzed in a
• 57:34
  state of denial, subject to what is sometimes called the normalcy
• 57:39
  bias, underestimating or refusing to accept the harsh
• 57:44
  realities of the day, desperately clinging to the hope
• 57:48
  life will somehow return to normal.
• 57:52
  Only 10% of people act rationally.
• 57:57
  They assess and accept the harsh realities of the moment and make
• 58:04
  decisions that improve the situation or at least don't make
• 58:08
  it worse. One of the key characteristics
• 58:11
  of that particular group, that 10%, is adaptability.
• 58:17
  They are less less reliant on normalcy and readily adapt to
• 58:22
  change. To this point, the author, Ben
• 58:27
  Sherwood, the author of the book The Survivors Club, said this.
• 58:32
  Indeed, normalcy may seem steady and constant, but it's really
• 58:38
  just the intermission between the chaos and messiness of life.
• 58:45
  Survivors accept that life probably won't ever return to
• 58:49
  the way it used to be, so they let go, adapt, and embrace the
• 58:56
  new normal. End Quote now.
• 59:00
  Admiral James Stockdale was the highest ranking ranking American
• 59:06
  prisoner of war in Vietnam. He suffered unimaginable
• 59:12
  repeated torture during his seven years of captivity,
• 59:17
  including four years in solitary confinement and total darkness.
• 59:24
  He witnessed who survived and who didn't.
• 59:28
  When later asked to explain which prisoners perished in
• 59:32
  captivity, the Admiral replied, Oh, that's easy.
• 59:38
  The optimists, they were the ones who were going to be said
• 59:43
  we were going to be out by Christmas and then Christmas
• 59:45
  would come and Christmas would go and then it would be
• 59:49
  Thanksgiving and then it would be Christmas again.
• 59:52
  And they died of a broken heart, he said.
• 59:57
  And then he went on to say this, this is a very important lesson.
• 1:00:03
  He said. You must never confuse faith
• 1:00:07
  that you will prevail in the end.
• 1:00:11
  That's the Longview, which he said you can never afford to
• 1:00:15
  lose. Never confused that, he said,
• 1:00:20
  with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your
• 1:00:24
  current reality, whatever they might be.
• 1:00:28
  That's the short view. George Washington also was known
• 1:00:33
  for seeing things as they were and not as he wished them to be,
• 1:00:39
  but also ever mindful of what he described as the glorious cause,
• 1:00:47
  the glorious cause of the American Revolution set forth in
• 1:00:51
  the Declaration of Independence. It was the combination of those
• 1:00:57
  two qualities to accept and adapt to the harsh realities of
• 1:01:01
  of the day. Again, the short view, and yet
• 1:01:05
  never lose sight of the ultimate purpose, the Longview that
• 1:01:10
  enabled him to lead and inspire A ragtag army of
• 1:01:15
  revolutionaries, ill prepared and vastly outgunned and
• 1:01:21
  outnumbered, to ultimate victory arising out of the ashes of
• 1:01:26
  repeated defeats against the mightiest military power of the
• 1:01:30
  day. Washington, his officers, and
• 1:01:35
  most of those who took up the glorious cause had no illusions
• 1:01:41
  about the gravity of what lay ahead, and yet they did not lose
• 1:01:45
  sight of what the war was about. And while that vision certainly
• 1:01:51
  dimmed at times, it was never entirely obscured, and in the
• 1:01:57
  end it was the only thing that carried them through to victory.
• 1:02:03
  The combination of those two qualities were succinctly summed
• 1:02:07
  up by the Lord and His Sermon on the Mount saying, Wherefore seek
• 1:02:12
  not the things of this world, but seek ye first to build up
• 1:02:17
  the Kingdom of God and to establish his righteousness.
• 1:02:22
  That's the Longview and the ultimate glorious cause.
• 1:02:27
  And then continuing, he said, And all these things should be
• 1:02:32
  added unto you. Take therefore no thought for
• 1:02:36
  the moral force of For the moral shall take thought for the
• 1:02:40
  things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the
• 1:02:44
  evil thereof. That's the short view.
• 1:02:48
  Squarely facing the evils challenges, the realities of the
• 1:02:54
  day, Christ's assumption of all sin and problems of all mankind
• 1:03:02
  is the ultimate example and pattern of confronting harsh
• 1:03:07
  reality and not shrinking as He wanted to do while holding fast
• 1:03:14
  to the ultimate purpose. He said His suffering caused
• 1:03:18
  him, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain,
• 1:03:26
  and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit
• 1:03:31
  and wood, that he might not drink the bitter cup and shrink.
• 1:03:37
  And yet Paul described Christ as the author and finisher of our
• 1:03:43
  faith, and said he, Christ, for the joy that was set before him,
• 1:03:49
  endured the cross, despising the shame, and set down at the right
• 1:03:55
  hand at the throne of God. Those two qualities were also
• 1:04:01
  revealed to Joseph Smith, who cried out to God for relief for
• 1:04:05
  the suffering Saints. The Lord said to him, These
• 1:04:10
  words that you know, my son, peace be unto thine soul.
• 1:04:17
  Thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small
• 1:04:22
  moment. That's the short view.
• 1:04:25
  And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee at on
• 1:04:30
  high, and thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.
• 1:04:35
  That's the Longview of that Longview.
• 1:04:39
  The Lord later amplifies with this powerful conclusion and
• 1:04:43
  profound promise. After describing a parade of
• 1:04:49
  horrors that might be experienced by someone, all of
• 1:04:53
  which were endured by Joseph Smith, the Lord said.
• 1:04:57
  And above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the
• 1:05:04
  mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these
• 1:05:10
  things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy
• 1:05:16
  good. The Son of man hath descended
• 1:05:20
  below them all. Art thou greater than he?
• 1:05:25
  And then adding these, some of the most beautiful and
• 1:05:28
  compelling words of all Scripture, therefore, hold on
• 1:05:35
  thy way. I know of nothing that provides
• 1:05:40
  greater strength to continue on, to hold on thy way, than the
• 1:05:46
  very absolute real promise that in a world in which we have so
• 1:05:53
  little control, everything that happens, everything that
• 1:05:58
  happens, will give us experience and be for our good if we endure
• 1:06:06
  it well. Resilience requires the
• 1:06:11
  expectation that things will work out in the end, and coupled
• 1:06:18
  with confronting problems, suffering and fear without
• 1:06:21
  shrinking or without withdrawing, may be at the heart
• 1:06:27
  of godliness. The infinite Atonement required
• 1:06:33
  infinite foresight and courage. Everyone has a cross, a burden
• 1:06:41
  to bear, and they are not all the same, but they're all too
• 1:06:46
  heavy to bear alone. Rather than say take up my cross
• 1:06:51
  and follow me, Jesus said take up your cross and follow me.
• 1:06:59
  Don't turn away or wait for someone else to do it.
• 1:07:04
  Take up your cross and follow the Lord and He.
• 1:07:11
  He will give you sufficient strength to bear it.
• 1:07:17
  Absolutely. We believe all things, we hope
• 1:07:23
  all things. We have endured many things and
• 1:07:26
  hope to endure all things. And if we do so well, all things
• 1:07:35
  will give us experience and work together for our good.
• 1:07:40
  Therefore, as the Lord said, hold on thy way.
• 1:07:49
  Now we're at #7 engage in God's work, the ultimate glorious
• 1:07:57
  cause. Make His work your work.
• 1:08:04
  Jesus invites us to have peace engaged in his work, saying,
• 1:08:11
  Come unto me, all ye that labor, and are heavy laden, and I will
• 1:08:16
  give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn
• 1:08:20
  of Me, for I am meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest
• 1:08:26
  unto your souls, for My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.
• 1:08:34
  The promise of rest or peace is given to those who take the yoke
• 1:08:40
  of Christ upon them, and His yoke is His work.
• 1:08:45
  To take His yoke is to engage with Him in His work and thereby
• 1:08:52
  abide in Him, and He in you. That really is the essence of
• 1:08:59
  enduring to the end and the path to find rest unto your souls.
• 1:09:05
  If you want to get close to the Lord, engage in His work. 8th
• 1:09:15
  Fear not and know that God is with you, especially as you do
• 1:09:21
  your part. In Psalms we read Be still and
• 1:09:29
  know that I am God. The Lord of hosts is with us at
• 1:09:36
  the height of the suffering and persecution of the early Saints
• 1:09:40
  in this dispensation. The Lord said, let your hearts
• 1:09:44
  be comforted, for all flesh is in my hands.
• 1:09:47
  Be still and know that I am God. Learn to be still.
• 1:09:56
  Find time and space to be still, literally still, physically
• 1:10:01
  still, mentally, emotionally still, in quiet reflection, and
• 1:10:09
  let your heart be comforted knowing that God is aware of you
• 1:10:13
  and will stand by you and strengthen you.
• 1:10:20
  One of the most repeated admonitions in all of Scripture
• 1:10:25
  is fear. Not is usually directed to those
• 1:10:31
  who serve Him, and it almost never stands alone, but is
• 1:10:36
  coupled with the supernal truth. I am with thee.
• 1:10:41
  Here are a few examples. To Joshua the Lord said, Be
• 1:10:46
  strong and of good courage. Be not afraid, neither be thou
• 1:10:51
  dismayed. But he didn't end it there.
• 1:10:53
  He said, For the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou
• 1:10:59
  goest. Isaiah 41.
• 1:11:03
  Fear thou not, the Lord said, for I am with thee.
• 1:11:08
  Be not dismayed, for I am thy God.
• 1:11:12
  I will strengthen thee. Yeah, I will help thee.
• 1:11:16
  Yeah, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my
• 1:11:20
  righteousness. For I, the Lord thy God will
• 1:11:23
  hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not, I will help
• 1:11:30
  thee. Isaiah 43 He said, When thou
• 1:11:35
  passeth through the waters, I will be with thee, and through
• 1:11:40
  the rivers they shall not overflow thee.
• 1:11:44
  And when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be
• 1:11:48
  burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
• 1:11:52
  For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior.
• 1:11:59
  Fear not, for I am with thee in our day.
• 1:12:05
  The Lord said something very similar.
• 1:12:07
  He said, Wherefore be of good sheer and do not fear, for I the
• 1:12:13
  Lord am with you and will stand by you, and ye shall bear record
• 1:12:19
  of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God,
• 1:12:26
  that I was, that I am, and that I am to come.
• 1:12:32
  The power of the knowledge of God's sustaining presence was,
• 1:12:38
  it seems to me, never more evident than in the lives of
• 1:12:41
  Joshua and Caleb as recorded in the Old Testament.
• 1:12:47
  Early in the sojourn of the children of Israel in the
• 1:12:51
  wilderness, Moses sends 12 spies to assess the prospects of
• 1:12:56
  taking possession of the land of Caleb, and Joshua and Caleb are
• 1:13:03
  two of the 12 chosen. The other 10 all return with a
• 1:13:08
  daunting, discouraging report, exaggerating the challenges and
• 1:13:13
  leaving God out of the picture all together, saying The land
• 1:13:21
  eateth up the inhabitants thereof, and all the people that
• 1:13:24
  we saw in it are men of great stature, They said, and there we
• 1:13:29
  saw the giants, and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers,
• 1:13:36
  and so we were in their side. As a result of their report, the
• 1:13:43
  children of Israel lose heart and weep, saying they should
• 1:13:48
  rather have died in Egypt or in the wilderness than to possess
• 1:13:51
  the land of their inheritance. Against such seemingly
• 1:13:56
  impossible odds. Caleb and Joshua, however,
• 1:14:00
  exclaim, If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into
• 1:14:06
  this land and give it to us, a land which floweth with milk and
• 1:14:11
  honey. Only Rebel not ye against the
• 1:14:15
  Lord, they said, neither fear ye, the people of the land the
• 1:14:19
  Lord is with us. Fear them not, but Israel will
• 1:14:26
  have none of it, and they threaten to stone Caleb and
• 1:14:30
  Joshua. As a result, the Lord leaves
• 1:14:33
  petulant and faithless Israel to languish and wander in the
• 1:14:38
  wilderness more than 40 years later, when Caleb, at age 85, is
• 1:14:44
  presented with the prospect of taking possession of the land of
• 1:14:48
  Hebron. No small task, he responds,
• 1:14:52
  saying, 40 years old was I when Moses the servant of the Lord,
• 1:14:57
  sent me to a spy out the land, and I brought him at word again,
• 1:15:02
  as was in my heart. Nevertheless, my brethren that
• 1:15:06
  went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly
• 1:15:10
  followed the Lord my God. And now behold, the Lord hath
• 1:15:13
  kept me alive. As yet I am as strong this day
• 1:15:18
  as I was in the day that Moses sent me.
• 1:15:22
  As my strength was then, Even so is my strength now.
• 1:15:26
  Now, therefore give me this mountain.
• 1:15:33
  Paul echoed the same. Give me this mountain
• 1:15:36
  conviction, saying I can do all things through Christ, which
• 1:15:41
  strengtheneth me. Ammon famously said.
• 1:15:45
  I know that I am nothing. As to my strength, I am weak,
• 1:15:49
  therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my
• 1:15:54
  God, for in His strength I can do all things.
• 1:16:00
  If you know God is with you, you can say as well in His strength
• 1:16:07
  I can do all things. Now therefore, give me this
• 1:16:13
  mountain, whatever your mountain may be, night, treasure up the
• 1:16:25
  words of God, pray and be grateful for the good in your
• 1:16:29
  life. Throughout the scriptural record
• 1:16:37
  for those who speak of peace and even rejoicing in trouble, 3
• 1:16:42
  common elements emerge. The words of God, prayer and
• 1:16:48
  Thanksgiving. The words of God, prayer and
• 1:16:53
  gratitude. For example, in Jacob's really
• 1:16:58
  sweeping summary of the plan of salvation, he concludes with
• 1:17:02
  these words, saying, Behold, my beloved brethren, remember the
• 1:17:07
  words of God. Pray unto him continually by
• 1:17:11
  day, and give thanks unto his holy name by night.
• 1:17:15
  Let your hearts rejoice. Again we hear the suggestion of
• 1:17:21
  volition. Let your hearts rejoice, which
• 1:17:25
  is not a oh, by the way, one more thing, let your hearts
• 1:17:29
  rejoice, but the direct consequence of God's word,
• 1:17:35
  prayer and gratitude. As for the words of God, Mormon
• 1:17:40
  said that they have a more powerful effect upon the minds
• 1:17:43
  of the people. How we think than the sword,
• 1:17:47
  which might be understood to mean the very fear or threat of
• 1:17:50
  death, or for that matter, he said anything else.
• 1:17:56
  Paul vividly describes this process as being renewed in the
• 1:18:01
  spirit of your mind. He also described it as having
• 1:18:06
  the mind of Christ. As for prayer, Alma said,
• 1:18:11
  Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee
• 1:18:16
  for good. Yeah, when thou liest down at
• 1:18:18
  night, lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in
• 1:18:23
  your sleep. And when you when you risest in
• 1:18:28
  the morning, let thy heart be full of thanks unto God.
• 1:18:32
  And if you do these things, you shall be lifted up at the last
• 1:18:36
  day when the curtain of sleep begins to rise in the morning.
• 1:18:41
  The worries of the day usually are the 1st to take stage.
• 1:18:46
  And absent any resistance, you rise with the weight of the
• 1:18:49
  world already pressing down on you.
• 1:18:53
  And you haven't even begun your day.
• 1:18:55
  And those early, hazy moments of dawning awareness if you rather
• 1:19:02
  choose to raise up a silent prayer of Thanksgiving for all
• 1:19:06
  the good in your life. Yes, counting your many
• 1:19:10
  blessings, naming them one by one as you lay in your bed or
• 1:19:15
  watch the sunrise. Blessings will push worries off
• 1:19:20
  stage and you will rise more buoyant and better able to face
• 1:19:25
  the day. Ingratitude is a form of
• 1:19:29
  deception. There is power in gratitude,
• 1:19:34
  which is to see clearly. It's to see, really see, the
• 1:19:39
  good beyond the trials and trouble.
• 1:19:42
  Try to see the good in the day. We usually don't know how happy
• 1:19:47
  we are until we're not, or how good we have it until we don't.
• 1:19:52
  This is more than optimism. It is to see things as they
• 1:19:56
  really are and to recognize they could be.
• 1:20:01
  Much, much worse. Paul also talked about prayer
• 1:20:07
  and gratitude when he said, But in everything by prayer and
• 1:20:12
  supplication, with Thanksgiving, let your requests be made known
• 1:20:18
  unto God. And the peace of God, which
• 1:20:21
  passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds
• 1:20:28
  through Christ Jesus. That is no small promise, the
• 1:20:32
  peace of God which passeth all understanding.
• 1:20:38
  Paul then concludes with these two compelling statements.
• 1:20:42
  For I have learned, he said, in whatsoever state, I am therewith
• 1:20:50
  to be content, which is the discipline to face and adapt to
• 1:20:56
  the present reality, however harsh it may be.
• 1:21:01
  And then Paul continues, I can do all things through Christ,
• 1:21:06
  which strengtheneth me. Each one of those three
• 1:21:11
  elements, the words of God, prayer and gratitude is
• 1:21:17
  essential for peace. You can't really get to peace,
• 1:21:22
  the peace that Christ offers, the peace that surpasses
• 1:21:28
  understanding, without the words of God, or without mighty
• 1:21:33
  prayer, or without gratitude. Treasure up the words of God,
• 1:21:40
  pray always, and be grateful for the good in your life. 10th Know
• 1:21:47
  your enemy. The sooner you acknowledge the
• 1:21:55
  opposition, the better you will be to defeat them.
• 1:22:00
  You can't resist an enemy you don't acknowledge, President
• 1:22:04
  Henry B Iring said. There is an enemy of your soul
• 1:22:08
  who does not want you and those you love to find peace.
• 1:22:13
  End Quote. Recognize and accept the cold,
• 1:22:17
  hard reality of an enemy to your soul.
• 1:22:22
  Not an enemy in some metaphorical sense, rather an
• 1:22:27
  actual enemy that Joseph Smith described as an actual being
• 1:22:32
  from the unseen world, who had, as he said, such marvelous power
• 1:22:38
  as I had never before felt in any being.
• 1:22:43
  And yet remember that Satan's power is not greater than your
• 1:22:47
  will to resist. The Lord said, Therefore be ye
• 1:22:52
  as wise as serpents, and yet without sin, and I will order
• 1:22:58
  all things for your good as fast as you are able to receive them.
• 1:23:04
  In a sense is a virtue, but naivete, ignorance, or turning a
• 1:23:10
  blind eye are not. Have no doubt, Satan's purpose
• 1:23:17
  and intent is to thwart and oppose your every righteous
• 1:23:25
  intention, your every effort to make all men miserable like unto
• 1:23:32
  himself, and left unchecked, ignored or denied, that is
• 1:23:39
  exactly what will happen. There is a war that began in
• 1:23:45
  heaven before the world was, and it continues to rage on today.
• 1:23:51
  To deny God is a grave mistake, but to deny Satan is almost
• 1:23:58
  equally foolish. Both God and Satan are as real
• 1:24:04
  as the air we breathe. 11th Find refuge, peace and power in the
• 1:24:13
  House of the Lord. In the dedicatory prayer of the
• 1:24:21
  Kirtland Temple, the Prophet Joseph Smith prayed for the
• 1:24:24
  Saints to be endowed with power from on high in the Lord's house
• 1:24:29
  and not faint in the day of trouble.
• 1:24:34
  Again, it's not about avoiding storms, but not failing, not
• 1:24:38
  quitting, not failing, not fainting or flagging when they
• 1:24:43
  come, President Joseph Fielding Smith said.
• 1:24:48
  If we go into the temple, we raise our hands and covenant
• 1:24:52
  that we will serve the Lord and observe his commandments and
• 1:24:56
  keep ourselves unspotted from the world.
• 1:24:59
  If we realize what we are doing, then the endowment will be a
• 1:25:04
  protection to us all our lives, a protection which a man who
• 1:25:10
  does not go to the temple does not have, John A Woodstone said.
• 1:25:16
  Whoever seeks to help those on the other side receives help in
• 1:25:20
  return. In all the affairs of life.
• 1:25:24
  I can think of no better preparation for one's labor on
• 1:25:27
  the farm, he said, or in the office, or whatever it may be,
• 1:25:32
  than to spend a few hours in the temple to partake of its
• 1:25:36
  influence and to give oneself unselfishly for the benefit of
• 1:25:41
  those who have gone beyond the veil.
• 1:25:43
  Speaking of the temple, the Lord said, I will fill this house
• 1:25:46
  with glory, and in this place will I give peace.
• 1:25:51
  As part of his panoramic vision of the plan of salvation, the
• 1:25:55
  apostle John described the marvellous conclusion of those
• 1:25:59
  who suffer great tribulation, but also worthily serve the Lord
• 1:26:05
  in His temple. This is what he said.
• 1:26:10
  I beheld and lo, a great multitude, which no man could
• 1:26:14
  number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people and
• 1:26:19
  tongues, who stood before the throne, and before the Lamb,
• 1:26:26
  clothed with white robes. And one of the elders answered,
• 1:26:31
  saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white
• 1:26:34
  robes? And whence came they?
• 1:26:38
  And he said to me, These are they which came out of great
• 1:26:45
  tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white
• 1:26:50
  in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the
• 1:26:55
  throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple.
• 1:27:01
  And he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
• 1:27:06
  And then this beautiful promise they shall hunger no more,
• 1:27:10
  neither thirst anymore, neither shall the sunlight on them, nor
• 1:27:16
  any heat. For the Lamb which is in the
• 1:27:18
  midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto
• 1:27:23
  living fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears
• 1:27:31
  from their eyes. Finally, 12th, Congratulations,
• 1:27:39
  you made it to the end without Keeling over and but, but that's
• 1:27:44
  the point. No matter what happens, don't
• 1:27:48
  quit. Endure to the end.
• 1:27:54
  Sometimes there isn't the best way forward, only forward.
• 1:27:58
  The will to keep going requires the mindset of doing rather than
• 1:28:03
  done. I was raised on a ranch which
• 1:28:07
  involved a series of separate jobs.
• 1:28:09
  Life was about getting the job done and moving on to the next.
• 1:28:13
  Whether mowing the hay and raking it into wind rows and
• 1:28:17
  then baling and hauling and stacking the hay, or harvesting
• 1:28:21
  the grain, or tending to the cattle or fixing fences, there
• 1:28:25
  was always a job at hand to be done.
• 1:28:29
  And then on to the next of the never ending next job.
• 1:28:34
  The get the job done mindset actually continued throughout my
• 1:28:38
  professional career as a lawyer. Each case was a different job
• 1:28:42
  consisting of a series of tasks to reach hopefully a successful
• 1:28:47
  conclusion. And for that matter, this is
• 1:28:50
  also the time management mentality of measuring your
• 1:28:54
  value by how many important tasks you can check off by day's
• 1:28:58
  end. Consequently, throughout my
• 1:29:01
  life, my value has been measured largely by getting each job done
• 1:29:06
  well and then moving on inexorably to the next.
• 1:29:11
  But today, for me, the mindset of getting the job done cuts
• 1:29:15
  against my current situation. As your full time caregiver, a
• 1:29:20
  job never done, I'm learning a different way of thinking,
• 1:29:25
  finding fulfillment and doing rather than done.
• 1:29:31
  I am sorry more than I can say. It has taken me so long, a
• 1:29:35
  lifetime really, to learn this. Being task oriented, I didn't
• 1:29:40
  know, I didn't know it. I know it now, more deeply
• 1:29:44
  within my bones. Find fulfilment in doing rather
• 1:29:49
  than done. 9 87 Lastly, consider the concept of single point
• 1:29:58
  failures. Now a single point failure is a
• 1:30:02
  part of a system that, if it fails, will stop the entire
• 1:30:06
  system from working. It does not mean there's only
• 1:30:10
  one point, a single point that will cause systemic failure,
• 1:30:15
  rather one or more potential points of malfunction, each one
• 1:30:20
  of which alone will bring the whole system down 'cause the
• 1:30:24
  entire system to fail without any other malfunction.
• 1:30:29
  It could be a bolt that shears, or in the case of the Challenger
• 1:30:34
  shuttle, O rings that fail. Usually there are multiple
• 1:30:39
  single point failures in a system, each one with the
• 1:30:43
  capacity to scuttle the entire system and cause the whole
• 1:30:47
  mission to fail. The number of single point
• 1:30:50
  failures in a system typically increases with the complexity of
• 1:30:55
  the system. NASA understands single point
• 1:31:00
  failures. For example, the James Webb
• 1:31:04
  Telescope is the largest Space Telescope ever designed and
• 1:31:09
  constructed, reaching far beyond the Hubble Space Telescope,
• 1:31:13
  purportedly as far back as the formation of the first galaxies.
• 1:31:19
  Its first designs were conceived in 1996, and it was launched 26
• 1:31:25
  years later in 2022. It cost $10 billion.
• 1:31:32
  The Webb telescope had 344 potential single point failures
• 1:31:39
  before and during launch and deployment.
• 1:31:42
  That is, there were 344 points at which the machine had to
• 1:31:48
  perform perfectly or the entire mission would fail.
• 1:31:54
  Now, your mission from heaven to earth and back again is
• 1:32:00
  infinitely more complicated and infinitely more important than
• 1:32:05
  the design, creation, and launching and deployment of a
• 1:32:09
  Space Telescope, as phenomenal as that is.
• 1:32:13
  So here's my question. How many single point failures
• 1:32:18
  are there in the design, launch, and deployment of your mission
• 1:32:23
  on Earth? How many things must perform
• 1:32:28
  perfectly or else your entire mission will be a failure?
• 1:32:34
  I'm suggesting there is only one.
• 1:32:39
  I repeat, the Webb telescope project had 344 potential single
• 1:32:46
  point failures. But there's only one single
• 1:32:50
  point failure in your life journey.
• 1:32:54
  And it isn't sin. It isn't failure as we usually
• 1:33:00
  measure failure. While there are multiple ways
• 1:33:04
  you may err in your mission, its success does not presuppose
• 1:33:10
  never making a mistake. The one single point failure of
• 1:33:17
  your mission on Earth is will. Will, or the lack of it.
• 1:33:27
  The will to keep doing, the will to keep going.
• 1:33:33
  If your will fails, your entire mission fails.
• 1:33:40
  Everything is stacked in your favor to succeed.
• 1:33:43
  There's only one thing you can do in your life's mission that
• 1:33:48
  will cause the entire mission to fail, and that is to quit.
• 1:33:54
  It's to stop. Stop trying.
• 1:33:57
  Give up. It is vital you understand that
• 1:34:02
  in the end it is a matter of will.
• 1:34:07
  No matter what happens, never surrender.
• 1:34:12
  Keep going, keep doing. Don't quit.
• 1:34:17
  Resist, push back against trouble, worry and fear.
• 1:34:22
  Stay the course and you will make it.
• 1:34:30
  And there you have it. Take ownership of your heart.
• 1:34:35
  Do whatever you must do to get and keep the Spirit of the Holy
• 1:34:39
  Ghost in your life. Build your foundation on the
• 1:34:45
  Rock of Christ. Look up and surrender to God
• 1:34:50
  rather than trouble and fear, look back and look around to see
• 1:34:56
  what others have done and are doing.
• 1:34:59
  Accept the brutal reality of inevitable storms, but never
• 1:35:04
  lose sight of the ultimate destination.
• 1:35:08
  Engage in God's work. Fear not, and know that God is
• 1:35:15
  with you and will stand by you. Treasure up the words of God.
• 1:35:22
  Pray and be grateful for the good in your life.
• 1:35:27
  Know your enemy. Find refuge, peace and power in
• 1:35:32
  the House of the Lord and don't quit.
• 1:35:38
  Focus on doing more than done and never give up.
• 1:35:47
  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid and
• 1:36:01
  stand forever. May that be your resolve and
• 1:36:08
  highest aspiration, as it is mine, in the name of Jesus
• 1:36:15
  Christ, Amen.