The start of a new year is the traditional time to take stock of our lives and see where we are going, measured against the backdrop of where we have been. Several years ago at BYU, I shared my thoughts on the scriptural story of Lot’s wife.

Often, like Lot’s wife, we long to return to past days. I have come to the conclusion that Lot’s wife did not just look back; she looked back longingly. In short, her attachment to the past outweighed her confidence in the future. That, apparently, was at least part of her sin.

So, as a new year starts and we try to benefit from a proper view of what has gone before, I plead with you not to dwell on days now gone, nor to yearn vainly for yesterdays, however good those yesterdays may have been. The past is to be learned from but not lived in.

To all such of every generation, I call out, “Remember Lot’s wife.” Faith is for the future. Faith builds on the past but never longs to stay there. Faith trusts that God has great things in store for each of us and that Christ truly is the “high priest of good things to come.”

Keep your eyes on your dreams, however distant and far away. Live to see the miracles of repentance and forgiveness, of trust and divine love that will transform your life today, tomorrow, and forever. That is a New Year’s resolution I ask you to keep this new year. -Jeffrey R. Holland & Greg Thorpe

Hope your Sunday is the Best! Love, Joy

I Love This Time of Year!

I am so grateful for our Savior. I’m grateful for His birth. I am grateful for His life.

I hope your Sunday was the Best! Love, Joy

If our lives are centered in Jesus Christ, He can successfully mold us into who we need to be in order to return to His and Heavenly Father’s presence in the celestial kingdom. The joy we experience in this life will be in direct proportion to how well our lives are centered on the teachings, example, and atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. -Elder Richard J. Maynes

Hope your Sunday is the Best! Love, Joy

“Our Heavenly Father’s plan contains the ultimate expressions of true love. All that we hold dear, even our families, our friends, our joy, our knowledge, our testimonies, would vanish were it not for our Father and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Among the most cherished thoughts and writings in this world is the divine statement of truth: ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’” —President Thomas S. Monson

I believe that our Heavenly Father loves us so much that He gave His Son as a sacrifice to pay the price for our sins. I love the Savior and I’m so grateful for His life and Atonement.

I hope your Sunday was the Best! Love, Joy

1 Timothy 4:12

“Let no man despise thy youth;

but be thou an example of the believers,

in word,

in conversation,

in charity,

in spirit,

in faith,

in purity.”

President Thomas S. Monson used this scripture in his talk during General Conference. I’ve decided to put it on the fridge. I’ll read it everyday. I’ll try to put an extra effort into being “an example of the believers.” 

I’ll use kind words, and try to make a bigger effort into not using negative words.

I’ll build people up, and speak only of their strengths.

I’ll think to myself how the Savior loves everyone and treat them as a brother or a sister.

I will choose happiness and focus on what matters most in the grand scheme.

I’ll trust and believe that I can do whatever God has asked me to do in life.

I will choose to put positive and good thoughts in my mind and drive the negative out.

Hope your Sunday was the Best! Love, Joy

“We become examples of the believers by living the gospel of Jesus Christ in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, and in purity. As we do so, our lights will shine for others to see.” -President Thomas S. Monson

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There is no choice, sin, or mistake that you or anyone else can make that will change His love for you or them. -Elder Ronal A. Rasband

We had the opportunity to watch General Conference over this weekend.

My favorite weekends are General Conference weekends!

Why is it my favorite time? After hearing the speakers I know that there is a prophet on the earth today, that there are apostles, and other wonderful leaders who lead the restored church of Jesus Christ. I know that Heavenly Father loves me and that He gave us a wonderful plan to come to earth and let us have experiences and have families. When I watch General Conference, I am learning what God wants me to know, learning how I can have a happy life. I am also learning what Heavenly Father expects from me.

If you would like to know more click on here! 

Hope your Sunday was the Best! Love, Joy

“Let us be wise in all things, and keep all the commandments of God, that our salvation may be sure. Having our armor ready and prepared against the time appointed and having on the whole armor of righteousness, we may be able to stand in that trying day”-Joseph Smith

Hope your Sunday is the Best! Love, Joy

“When we’re healing the body, it’s always an inward effort….when we heal the soul turning inward doesn’t work. And the triage of the soul is found in turning outward to other people.”

It is such a blessing to serve. 

Hope your Sunday is the Best! Love, Joy

“We must flood the earth and our lives with the Book of Mormon. We each need to get our testimony of the Book of Mormon through the Holy Ghost. Then our testimony, coupled with the Book of Mormon, should be shared with others so that they, too, can know through the Holy Ghost of its truthfulness.”

-Ezra Taft Benson

I taught a lesson today “Flooding the earth and our lives with the Book of Mormon, and when I first heard President Benson say “flood,” I was thinking flooding ins’t a good thing. So I thought, what did he mean? Then I thought of irrigation, and how the land is flooded and after that happens the plants grow. It is a good thing, in this context. President Benson was the US Secretary of Agriculture. He was a farmer, and that’s what farmers do.

I used the analogy of the jar with rocks that Stephen Covey used to use in his time management seminars. He starts off with rocks, gravel, and sand on the table. He asked the helper he calls from the audience if they can get all of it in the jar. They can’t do it. Then Stephen has them put the large rocks in, then the gravel, then the sand, then he has them add water. You think there’s no way that it will all fit, but it does. I think in this analogy the water could represent the Book of Mormon. If we add it to our lives (let it flood our lives), even if our lives are full and busy, then it will bless and touch everything we do and make it wonderful.

I enjoyed so much teaching today, and I love the Book of Mormon and know it is true. If you want to know more about the Book of Mormon go here!

Hope your Sunday was the Best! Love, Joy

“Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.” -Abraham Lincoln

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 My country, ’tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing;
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims’ pride,
From ev’ry mountainside
Let freedom ring!

 My native country, thee,
Land of the noble free,
Thy name I love;
I love thy rocks and rills,
Thy woods and templed hills.
My heart with rapture thrills
Like that above.

 Let music swell the breeze
And ring from all the trees
Sweet freedom’s song;
Let mortal tongues awake;
Let all that breathe partake;
Let rocks their silence break,
The sound prolong.

 Our fathers’ God, to thee,
Author of liberty,
To thee we sing;
Long may our land be bright
With freedom’s holy light.
Protect us by thy might,
Great God, our King!

Text: Samuel F. Smith, 1808-1895

Music: From Thesaurus Musicus, London, 1744

God Bless America, my home sweet home.

Hope your Sunday is the Best! Love, Joy