Excuses

"People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are.  I don't believe in circumstances.  The people who get on in this world are the people who  get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, make them." - George Bernard Shaw

"Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anyone else expects of you, never excuse yourself" - Henry Ward Beecher.

"Excuses are the tools of the incompetent, and those who specialize in them seldom get far."

"For many people, an excuse is better than an achievement because an achievement, no matter how great, leaves you having to prove yourself again in the future; but an excuse can last for life."

Oaths

It seems as though our society has lost the ability to keep our word.  Someone committing to do something is almost never a guarantee that they will do that thing. In 1 Nephi 4:37, we find a different story.  Nephi, after killing Laban and deceiving his servant Zoram, convinces Zoram that he should flee into the wilderness with them.  They were afraid that if they left Zoram in Jerusalem, he would tell everyone where they had gone.  But, "When Zoram had mad an oath unto us, our fears did cease concerning him." 

Some of the best oath keepers in the Book of Mormon are the Lamanites.  Not even the good Lamanites.  In Alma 44:8, the Lamanite armies have attacked the Nephites and are being destroyed.  Moroni offers the Lamanite leader Zerahemnah a choice - Surrender your weapons of war and swear to never fight against the Nephites again, and we will let you walk away.  But Zerahemnah replies by saying "We will not suffer to take an oath unto you, which we know we shall break."  So the fighting continued and the Lamanites were destroyed.  It is amazing to see that Moroni believed that Zerahemnah would keep the oath.  He would have let the Lamanites walk away if they promised to not fight again.  Not only that, but Zerahemnah was unwilling to make the oath, simply because he knew he would break it.  

Perhaps we need to be more consistent in following through with the things we say we will do.  

"It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something. That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for."  - Samwise Gamgee, in the Two Towers.

Light of Knowledge

"Scriptures are like packets of light that illuminate our minds and give place to guidance and inspiration from on high. They can become the key to open the channel to communion with our Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ." Elder Richard G. Scott The Power of Scripture

The Man in the Glass

When you get what you want in your struggle for self And the world makes you king for a day Just go to the mirror and look at yourself And see what that man has to say. For it isn't your father, or mother, or wife  Whose judgment upon you must pass The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life Is the one staring back from the glass. He's the fellow to please – never mind all the rest For he's with you, clear to the end And you've passed your most difficult, dangerous test If the man in the glass is your friend. You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years And get pats on the back as you pass But your final reward will be heartache and tears If you've cheated the man in the glass.  - Peter Dale Wimbrow Sr.

Be Grateful

In the December 2011 Ensign, President Henry B. Eyring talks about The Choice to Be Grateful.  He says that in order to better value our blessings, we must do two things.  First, we have to pray and ask for help to see our blessings amid our challenges.  Second, we have to help God bless others.  By offering service, we realize those things that we have to be grateful for.  This Christmas season is about gratitude, about being grateful for the greatest gifts we have been given through the Atonement of Christ.  We can best show our gratitude for anything by serving in return.  Mosiah 2:17 tells us that we serve God by serving others.  That's what Christmas is all about - serving God by serving others.

Fear Not

During the book of Numbers, the children of Israel are wandering through the Sinai desert.  Numbers 13 and 14 tell us the story of the twelve men who scouted out the promised land.  They found it full of good things, much better than the wilderness they were in.  But when they returned to report to Moses, ten of them allowed their fear ro get the better of them.  They convinced the people that the giant inhabitants of the land would be too hard to fight.  Joshua and Caleb, though, had faith that the Lord would help them.  But because of the doubt of the other ten, the people were too afraid to move forward.  Because of this fear, they wandered in the wilderness for forty more years.