Measuring Up...Sabbath Quotes

Sabbath
In the 19th century, England and France decided to observe the Sabbath only every 21 days in order that they might have time to build up their war-torn countries.  After a trial period, however, a careful check showed that they had accomplished less total work than when they had rested every seventh day as prescribed by the Lord.

The Sabbath to us is also an appropriate opportunity to visit nearby relatives or friends, provided the conduct of such visits is in keeping with the spirit of the day. If we emphasize such visiting the other six days of the week, we can guard against our Sundays being regularly absorbed by that activity.

Orson Scott Card, "Sunday Meetings: A Preparation for Work," Ensign, Jan. 1978:

“It’s possible to be so active in the Church that you forget to be active in the gospel.” But perhaps a better way to think about it is this: The meetings that we attend are for our preparation. Attending meetings should only be a small portion of our Church activity. Meetings are where we learn how to be active.

"Gospel activity is just as much in our homes, among our friends, at work, in the community, among strangers, or alone in prayer, as it is in a meeting!

"The Church provides many opportunities for activity: home teachers and visiting teachers have splendid opportunities to serve others; teachers can uplift, inspire, and renew the faith of their students; quorum leaders can organize their brethren in good works.

"But if we stop there, feeling satisfied that our attendance record means that we are sufficiently active, then in a sense we are like the servant who hid his talent in the earth. The Church provides us with a certain number of opportunities—but we have a responsibility to improve on that, to magnify those opportunities.

"If all our good works are within the walls of the meetinghouse, then are we letting our light shine before men?

"If we, like the Levite and the priest, are so intent on our Church business that we miss opportunities for charity to strangers, are we loving our neighbor as ourselves? “And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.” (1 Cor. 13:2.)

"A paraphrase: And though I attend all my meetings faithfully, and fulfill all my callings, and make a home teaching visit during the first week of the month; and though in all ways I am an active Church member, yet if I do not spend time in love and service for others, then I am not yet a Saint, for I do not yet love the Lord with all my heart, might, mind, and strength; and I do not love my neighbor as myself.

"Let the Sabbath be a day for taking stock. (How active have we been during the week in serving the Lord and his children?)

"Let the Sabbath be a day for attending meetings, sharing with others our spirit, our understanding of how to serve the Lord.

"And then let us use the other six days of each week as Christ did: in bringing joy to everyone we can, “I was an hungred,” said the Lord, “and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: “Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.” (Matt. 25:35–36.)

"We are surrounded by those in need, both spiritually and physically. To be active in the Church, we must take the time from our busy schedules to fill those needs. For the gifts we offer to those around us, we also offer to our Savior."

Measuring Up: Integrity Quotes
Measuring Up: Improvement Quotes
Measuring Up: Time and Preparation
Measuring Up: Testimony Quotes
Measuring Up: Service and Empathy Quotes

Measuring Up...Service and Empathy Quotes

Service

Are we not sometimes like Naaman, looking for big or important things to do and bypassing simple things which we could do?  ~Elder Rex D. Pinegar, (Ensign, Nov. 1994, 80)

We don't need a bishop's assignment to be kind.  We don't need to sign up to be thoughtful.  ~Chieko N. Okazaki

Now, do not get me wrong.  I am not here to say that if you pay an honest tithing you will realize your dream of a fine house, a Rolls Royce, and a condominium in Hawaii.  The Lord will open the windows of heaven according to our need, and not according to our greed.  If we are paying tithing to get rich, we are doing it for the wrong reason.  The basic purpose for tithing is to provide the Church with the means needed to carry on His work.  ~President Gordon B. Hinkley, (Ensign, May 1982, 40)


Shame on you if your house is dusted, and a neighbor needs help.

Empathy

If I make errors [in judging people,] I want them to be on the side of mercy.  ~Hugh B. Brown

In my relationships with others who sometimes annoy or offend me, I will abide by the advice of a carpenter friend who says, "it's always wise to measure twice before sawing once."  


If I had known what trouble you were bearing;
What griefs were in the silence of your face;
I would have been more gentle, and more caring,
And tried to give you gladness for a space. ~Mary Carolyn Davies



Measuring Up: Integrity Quotes
Measuring Up: Improvement Quotes
Measuring Up: Time and Preparation
Measuring Up: Testimony Quotes
Measuring Up: Sabbath Quotes

Measuring Up...Testimony Quotes

Some people succumb to the taunt [of the crowd] because thy are not converted enough to their own beliefs of right to give them power they need.  ~Caroline Eyring Miner

Rebellious people are those who either have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ or have not understood it.  Receptive people think the gospel is true--but their actions lag behind.  Righteous people know Christ and practice what he preached.  ~Elaine Cannon

Seek for a testimony, as you would...for a diamond concealed.  If someone told you by digging long enough in a certain spot you would find a diamond of unmeasured wealth, do you think you would begrudge time or strength, or means spent to obtain that treasure?  Then I will tell you that if you will dig in the depths of your own hearts you will find, with the aid of the Spirit of the Lord, the pearl of great price, the testimony of the truth of this work.  ~Zina D.H. Young

Often we spend great effort in trying to increase the activity levels in our stakes.  We work diligently to raise the percentages of those attending sacrament meetings.  We labor to get a higher percentage of our young men on missions.  We strive to improve the number of these marrying in the temple.  All of these are commendable efforts and important to the growth of the kingdom.  But when individual members and families immerse themselves in the scriptures regularly and consistently, these other areas of activity will automatically come.  Testimonies will increase.  Commitment will be strengthened.  Families will be fortified.  Personal revelation will flow.  ~President Ezra Taft Benson, (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson,[1988], 44)

Latter-day Saint women must be strong and immovable in their faith.  They can and should excel in living and sharing their testimonies of the Lord Jesus Christ and His restored gospel.  We do this as we:

1. Make and keep covenants with Him.
2. Are worthy and worship in His temples. 
3. Study His doctrine in the scriptures and the words of prophets.
4. Qualify for, recognize, and follow the Holy Ghost.
5. Share and defend His gospel.
6. Participate in sincere personal and family prayer.
7. Have family home evening.
8. Live principles of self-reliance and provident living.

Measuring Up: Integrity Quotes
Measuring Up: Improvement Quotes
Measuring Up: Time and Preparation
Measuring Up: Service and Empathy Quotes
Measuring Up: Sabbath Quotes

Measuring Up...Time and Preparation

Time

To everything there is a season...Yes, a season to be young and doing the inimitable things of youth and a time to be relishing in the richness and understanding that maturity brings.  But some people's timing is off.  They marry when they're supposed to be having fun and have "fun" when they're supposed to be married...They learn to cook after they're married and study the scriptures when they arrive in the mission field...or learn to behave properly after they've been embarrassed in a social situation...or value gospel principles after they've suffered the pangs of repentance.  Personal timing should be clocked because there is a time to every purpose under the heaven.  ~Elaine Cannon


Material objectives consume too much of our attention.  The struggle for what we need or for more than we need exhausts our time and energy.  We pursue pleasure or entertainment, or become overinvolved in associations or civic matters.  Of course, people need recreation, need to be achieving, need to contribute; but if these come at the cost of friendship with Christ, the price is much too high.

'For my people have committed two evils,' said the Lord to Israel; 'they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.' (Jer. 2:13)

The substitutions we fashion to take the place of God in our lives truly hold no water.  To the measure we thus refuse the 'living water,' we miss the joy we could have.  ~Elder Marion D. Hanks, (Ensign, July 1972, 105). 


These are essential things which must be done before nonessential things.  These are simple, indispensable practices that almost seem mundane.  ...No one can do these things for us--these are personal practices and habits that set us apart as strong and immovable for that which is correct.  ~Julie B. Beck Relief Society general president, ("What Latter-day Saint Women Do Best:  Stand Strong and Immovable," Ensign, 11/07)

Preparation

Some of the brethren...approached [President Wilford Woodruff] and ... inquired of him as to when he felt the end would be--when would be the coming of the Master?  These, I think, are not his exact words, but they convey the spirit of his reported reply:  'I would live as if it were to be tomorrow--but I am still planting cherry trees!'  I think we may well take this as a page for our own book and live as if the end might be tomorrow--and still plant cherry trees!  In worrying about things that are beyond our reach, we should not overlook our opportunities with our own families and friends; in worrying about possible eventualities we should not neglect the things that need to be done here and now, and that are within our reach.  ~Elder Richard L. Evans, (Conference Report, Apr. 1950, 105-6)



Measuring Up: Integrity Quotes
Measuring Up: Improvement Quotes
Measuring Up: Testimony Quotes
Measuring Up: Service and Empathy Quotes
Measuring Up: Sabbath Quotes

Measuring Up...Improvement Quotes

Take a hard look at those things which we needlessly, foolishly turn into burdens when they were meant to be blessings.  ~Elaine Cannon

What's the difference between ignorance and arrogance?  I don't know and I don't care.

Those who resist correction, resist perfection. ~President Snow

Too frequently we strive to live as good a life as our peers, when we should be striving to live like the Savior.  (Dr. Jae R. Ballif, physics professor at Brigham Young University)

Elder Marion D. Hanks, Assistant to the Council of the Twelve, said of the Apostle Paul:  "The Lord called him to the ministry, not because of what he had done (or hadn't done), but because of what he was going to be able to do."  (Eastern Atlantic States Mission leadership seminar, summer 1968.)

I find that when I get casual in my relationships with divinity and when it seems that no divine ear is listening and no divine voice is speaking, that I am far, far away.  If I immerse myself in the scriptures the distance narrows and the spirituality returns.  ~Spencer W. Kimball, (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, [1982], 135).

Elder Harold B. Lee reminded us that a certain amount of spiritual preparation is necessary
before we can receive divine communications.  He said, "The Lord will bring us his blessings to that extent that we have diligence in keeping his commandments.  Each of you, in other words, must stand on your own feet if you will receive the great blessings which the Almighty has in store for you...Stand upon your own feet, so the Lord can speak to you.  In humility be prepared to say with Paul, 'Lord, what wilt thou have me do?'  And with dauntless courage say with the boy Samuel, 'Speak, Lord, thy servant heareth.'  Be humble, be prayerful and the Lord will take you by the hand, as it were, and give you answer to your prayers."  ("But Arise and Stand upon Thy Feet"--and I Will Speak with Thee, Brigham Young University Speeches of the Year, Provo, 7 Feb. 1956, pp. 7, 11.)

The way of the gospel is a simple way.  Some of the requirements may appear to you as elementary and unnecessary.  Do not spurn them.  Humble yourselves and walk in obedience.  I promise that the results that follow will be marvelous to behold and satisfying to experience.  ~Elder Gordon B. Hinckley, (Ensign, Nov. 1976, 96)

If you want praise more than instruction -- you may get neither.  ~Henry B. Eyring


Measuring Up: Integrity Quotes
Measuring Up: Time and Preparation
Measuring Up: Testimony Quotes
Measuring Up: Service and Empathy Quotes
Measuring Up: Sabbath Quotes

Measuring Up...Integrity Quotes

If we were to be arrested for being Christians, I wonder if there would be enough evidence to convict us?  ~Choose You This Day, N. Elden Tanner

Conversion must mean more than just being a "card carrying" member of the Church with a tithing receipt..."  ~Harold B. Lee, "The Iron Rod," Ensign 6/71


Members of the church need to influence more than we are influenced.  We should work to stem the tide of sin and evil instead of passively being swept along by it.  We each need to solve the problem rather than avoid or ignore it.  ~Elder M. Russell Ballard


An eternal bond doesn't just happen as a result of sealing covenants we make in the temple.  How we conduct ourselves in this life will determine what we will be in all the eternities to come.  To receive the blessings of the sealing that our Heavenly Father has given to us, we have to keep the commandments and conduct ourselves in such a way that our families will want to live with us in the eternities.  ~Elder Robert D. Hales, ("The Eternal Family," Ensign, 11/96)

There's right and there's wrong.  You got to do one or the other.  ~John Wayne

Measuring Up: Improvement Quotes
Measuring Up: Time and Preparation
Measuring Up: Testimony Quotes
Measuring Up: Service and Empathy Quotes
Measuring Up: Sabbath Quotes

Young Women Favorite Things

Even though a lot of Personal Progress requirements can be accomplished as a group in Young Women's, some have to be done at home.  It's always nice when family members help and share with these experiences.  A favorite YW site to begin with is Christy's Young Women Pages, (also known as Christy's Clipart).

The schedule to this YW camp can be found at my post:  Camping, part 1.  The girls camped at one of our family's favorite Georgia State Parks:   F.D. Roosevelt.  They visited the nearby attraction, Wild Animal Safari in Pine Mountain, Georgia.

I wish more of these were kept short and sweet!  With lots of food!!!

I was so disappointed when I went to my first YW camp.  I finally skipped the third year (and had to make it up later), because I expected to really do some camping!!!  Like hikes that were in picturesque locations and fun instead of drudgery.  I wanted to cook real food over an open fire--not just make s'mores.  Most years it was down-right boring--no camp songs, no wide games, no time to make friends.  That's why, even though I was never a Girl Scout, I became a Girl Scout leader where I learned all of the things I always felt were lacking from YW Camp (not the YW Relief Societyish Retreat that they have now become)!  At least my daughters got to do the things (and me too) that I had always wanted to do in Young Women's.  At my post, Camping, part 1, you'll find recipes, etc. for YW or Girl Scouts.

See my post, Camping, part 1, for YW craft ideas.  They never did these at our YW camps so we had fun doing these crafts over the summer at home.

See my post for beautiful knitted hangers that the young women might enjoy learning to make:  Active Meditation.  The shown hangers were store-bought and presented to the young women at a Stake New Beginnings.  There was a poem about wearing a white dress at the girls' temple marriages.

The Real McCoy: Authentic People

Authentic People Quotes Collection

Real integrity calls us TO BE and not To SEEM.

No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true.  Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter

A lie is any communication given to another with the intent to deceive.  ~Marvin J. Ashton,
(Ensign 5/80)

Who are you without your stuff?

Truth has a certain ring to it. ~Earnest Hemmingway

The Lord knows us for what we are, and eventually, everyone else does, too. ~Lorraine Henroid

...Never do in secret, what [you] would not do in the presence of millions.  ~Lucy Mack Smith

We never know when people have values until they are challenged.

I live on good soup and not fine words. ~Moliere

An honest man is the noblest work of God ~Byrne

Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle which fits them all. ~O.W. Holmes

Honesty about our own weaknesses leads to a more compassionate view of others. ("A Change of Heart: Key to Harmonious Relationships," Ensign 2/84)

The chains of habit are generally too small to be felt until they are too strong to be broken. ~Samuel Johnson

Help me, O Lord, to be free not only of personal deceit, but grant me also the wisdom to avoid those who would damage me or mine through devious means.

Stand with anybody that stands right.  Stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong. ~Abraham Lincoln

No virtues in the perfection we strive for are more important than integrity and honesty.  Let us then be complete, unbroken, pure, and sincere, to develop in ourselves that quality of soul we prize so highly in others.  ~Spencer W. Kimball, (Faith Precedes the Miracle, pp. 247-48)

The matter of trust is the principle taught in the Savior's parable of the talents.  You will recall that, in this story, an honorable effort, given to the full by the two honest servants, brought the same reward from the Master, even though the product of their efforts was not the same.  Deep within our own hearts we generally know when we have paid the price, when we have done the best our personal resources and abilities would have allowed us to do at the moment, regardless of the outcome of our effort or the way it may be viewed by others.  It is at these times that we know real peace, even though the product of our effort may not be all that we would have hoped it to be.  The full return on this kind of investment cannot always be determined at the next audit period.  When Jesus was crucified by his detractors, it appeared to all observers--even to his disciples--that his efforts had accounted for nothing.  But the Savior knew he had paid the price.  History has borne record to the quality of his investment.  ~Thomas S. Monson

He who lies is the servant of the lie.  He who tells the lie must live with the results.  Deacons and Beehive girls should be taught the evils of deceit.  Teachers and Mia Maids should be taught the importance of truth.  Priests and Laurels should be taught the pitfalls that accompany dishonesty.  Missionaries, to be successful and happy, must live by correct principles.  Primary children can learn that telling lies is not good.  Children in the home are entitled to see honesty taught by example.  Unfortunate is the individual or family who is taught that honesty is a policy rather than the proper way of life...We live in a world of law.  We may be able to avoid or skirt laws of the land, but the laws of heaven have an irrevocable effect on us today, tomorrow, and forever..."Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32)  No man will ever be totally free who is living a lie...We should ever bear in mind that a wrong isn't right just because many people do it.  A wrong deed isn't right just because it hasn't become visible.  (Marvin J. Ashton, "This Is No Harm," Ensign, May 1982)

Setting Organizational Goals: organization part 2

In a revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord told us to "Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God." (D&C 88:119) ("Organize Yourselves," Ensign, Nov. 1980).  To me this scripture from The Doctrine and Covenants states the essential purpose of every homemaker.  As homemakers we are to "establish a house."  Our house should have prayer, fasting, faith, learning, glory, order and God as the foundation.  The word establish is defined as:  "To set up; found.  To bring about; generate.  To place or settle in a secure position or condition; install.  To make firm or secure."

In my opinion, being disorganized is simply a matter of having developed bad habits.  I believe being organized can be developed just as any "gift."  Organization begins with the heads of the household.  We must honestly evaluate whether or not we're truly ready for the challenge of being an "organized person."  Just like any gift, the gift of organization requires consistent effort.  Prayer, research, and study are necessary.  

Hide not your talents, they for use were made.  What's a sun-dial in the shade? ~Benjamin Franklin

When I entered the Young Women program at age twelve, I was given a beautiful Personal Progress book. It was white, full-sized, with a picture of the ideal Latter-day Saint Young Woman on the cover.  Inside were six values and homemaking was one of them, as well as my favorite.  We were given excellent step-by-step instruction on how to plan goals.  By following these simple steps, becoming more organized as a goal can be successfully accomplished.

First Evaluate:  What do I want to have happen in my life now and in the future?  Then make a Plan by setting a date for the goal to be accomplished and how this goal will be accomplished.  By having a Target Date, the goal becomes more real.  The plan needs to be broken down into small steps.  It helps to have someone to Report to.  This can be Heavenly Father if the goal is very personal, or it can be to a family member, friend or recorded in a journal.  Last, begin the process again.  The ultimate goal of an organized household can be broken into smaller, achievable goals.

The noblest search is the search for excellence. ~Lyndon B. Johnson

Gordon B. Hinkley, former president of the LDS church said, "We will not become perfect in a day or a month or a year.  We will not accomplish it in a lifetime, but we can keep trying, starting with our more obvious weaknesses and gradually converting them to strengths as we go forward with our lives."

(The Quest for Excellence," Ensign Sep. 1999)

Becoming organized is a process as well.  It can be fun and even addictive (but in a good way).  You may find yourself organizing where ever you go.  Following the goal-setting process outlined in the old Young Women Manuals helped me to earn my Young Women Medallion twice!  And I have been pretty darn organized ever since.  This has brought me much joy.  I've also taught my own children this process and it has helped them to be successful students and earn their own recognitions at church, school and scouting.

Sometimes we can plan to have a goal accomplished by a certain time and devote a particular time to complete the goal (like cleaning out the shed), but it's also true that the best time to organize is when you catch the mood.  For quite some time I may research the best way to organize the shed, and make an inventory of what needs to be in the shed and what to donate, etc. before I actually feel like doing it.  Don't be upset if you have to change the target date.  When I'm "in the mood" to organize, I do a much better job.

80% of success is showing up. ~Woody Allen