Last updated on December 29th, 2024 at 10:26 pm
December 22, 2024
Here is the best thing I heard (What?), saw (Eye.), and read (Read.) this week, as well as the best idea (💡) I developed.
What?
followHim Podcast – Moroni 10 – Dr. Anthony Sweat:
- [Dr. Anthony Sweat] “If I’m not being clear enough or if Moroni is not being clear enough, let me just try to say it in my own words. Sometimes we do a disservice when we say, ‘Get The Book of Mormon, pray about it, and then pay attention to how you feel.’
“That is one thing we should do. However, that’s not what Moroni is telling us to do here. Moroni is saying, ‘Get The Book of Mormon, ponder these stories, how merciful God’s been. Let that rest in your heart. Ask God if that’s not true.’ And one of the ways you’re going to know it’s true is that he’s going to manifest to you through the gifts of the Spirit certain things in your life that … point you to Christ.
“Instead of asking, how do I feel? Ask, did this point me to Christ? Did this help me to understand the Savior, His teachings, His ministry, His mercy, His grace better? Did it make me love God? And then the second thing we should start to ask is, and did I start to have certain gifts of the Spirit manifest in my life as I read this book?
“Now we can go into those gifts, but there are things like, have I been filled with knowledge? Have I been filled with wisdom? Have I started to see miracles in my life? Have I started to speak with the tongue of angels? I can speak and understand truth? Have I seen healing come to my soul or my mind or my body through these words? That is a broader way of getting a witness of the truthfulness of these things than ‘I prayed about it and I got a really powerful spiritual experience.’
“Now, I want to be very clear here, I’m not undercutting that. There have been too many countless saints and friends of the Church and people who have read these potent words, who have kneeled down and like Parley P. Pratt, overnight, they have been so filled with spiritual experiences that they know the book’s true. There seems to be a broader thing that he’s teaching here, that he’s saying, ‘As you’re pondering and reading these things, pay attention to the fruits that are produced in your life, not just a feeling.’ We can’t reduce the Holy Ghost down to feeling.
“I often give what I like to call the tripod of truth, which the Holy Ghost will speak to our mind and our heart as section eight verse two and three says, but it also produces a certain fruit in our life, mind, heart and fruit. By fruit I mean things that are good, more Christ-like and more kind and more merciful and charitable and loving. We have more divine experiences in our life, more revelations and miracles and gifts and he seems to be saying, when you see these things manifest in your life, you’re going to know that what I’ve taught you in this book about the mercy of God is true.” - Also shared in General Conference Applied S4 E9
Eye.
“Want to Be More Likable? The Science Behind Popularity” | dmptakeaways | Instagram:
- “Vanessa Van Edwards explains a fascinating study by Dr. Van Sloan, which uncovers that the most popular kids aren’t the smartest, funniest, or most athletic—they’re the ones who like the most people. By actively expressing positive regard for others, they create micro-moments of connection, boosting their own likability. This insight shows that becoming more likable is a skill you can develop by simply being a ‘first liker.'”
Read.
“An Early Resurrection: Life in Christ before You Die” by Adam Miller:
- “In Christ, I’m dead. Whatever future remains is not mine, it’s his. Whatever life is left to me is not mine, it’s his. My talents? His. My money? His. My life? His. Everything he’s given me? His. Even my time? Yes, please, my time. In the temple, I promise to consecrate everything to God. Part of this promise is financial. I promise, for instance, to consecrate all my money. But, in the end, the law of consecration isn’t about money – it’s about time. By working, I convert my time into money. Money is just time made fungible. In the end, the only thing I have to give is my time. If I cling to it, time will ruin me. If I think of my time as my own, then every unchosen obligation will feel like theft. Every call to give my time will feel like I’m being robbed of what ought to have been mine. I’ll roll out of bed in the morning expecting to do as I please instead of looking to serve. Occasions for care will look like failures to succeed. Quiet moments will look like boredom. Ordinary work will look like a waste of time. The only way to be saved from this ruin is to return this time to Christ. The only way to care for time is to give it away.
“Taking care is the mechanism by which we consecrate – and, thus, redeem – time. Once these things are Christ’s, then I can live in him. Once I’ve given him my future, he can give me his present. But as long as I try to claim my life as my own, I’ll never be able to live it properly. As long as I try to claim my future as my own, I’ll never be properly present. I’ll never be able to care for time’s weakness. This is the world’s oldest story: I have to die in order to live. I have to give my life away in order to find it.”
💡
For help in preparing a family plan for healthy technology use (see General Conference Applied S4 E9), share the questions from the Church’s Life Help – Media Safety resource (see below) and ask for insights on how others manage healthy technology use in their homes.
- “When is using technology OK, and for how long?
“What is acceptable and what isn’t?
“What level of monitoring will there be?
“What are the consequences when rules are intentionally broken?
“What is our turn-away plan when we accidentally encounter bad media?
“How will we record our plan?”