What Ifs- When Stuck in a Rut

When stuck in a rut
How can we get out?
Get rid of the "but"
And question each doubt

Explore all our motives
And get rid of each fear
Change "I can'ts" to "what if's"
And see what appears

It's time for learning...
A new way... to do
Powerful yearnings
Give strength to follow through

Accept a suggestion
Gain new information
Explore and re-question
Insights flow in formation

More than anything else
Recognize but this fact
God knows our best self
And gives the strength that we lack

A young boy of fourteen
Believed this very thing
When to the scriptures he leaned
He saw heavenly beings

His questioning gave proof
That our lives have purpose
And mountains can move
When faith's found strong within us


"More than anything else, I want you to recognize that learning to ask meaningful questions really can change your life. This was never better exemplified than when a young, fourteen-year-old boy accepted the familiar invitation from James - "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God" - and decided to ask God which church he should join. That single question not only changed his life forever but also changed the world. Truly, questions can be powerful agents of change. So go ahead - start asking for change in your life!"


Asking for Change
Wendy Watson Nelson
LDS Living Magazine
January 5, 2010

"Questions can be powerful! They can help us to see, feel, think, and do things differently. In fact, I have found that one of the most effective ways to change your life is to simply change the questions you ask yourself, your friends, and the Lord. "

All the Way Home- Love Like Jesus

 

By God's divine design 

Each much choose for themselves

Even, that wayward child

Who doesn't want your help

What are we to do then?

Such despair and heartache!

Not preach at to reach them

On their own, they must awake

So be interested in them

In what they are working toward

Keep your cheerful countenance

And celebrate each step forward

Turn over to Jesus

Your despair and trust in His hand

He knows what's within us

We cannot change hearts, but He can

He has paid for our sins

The errant choices that we make

He gave His very life

To bring them home, For them He waits

Keep praying, keep loving

Keep hoping for a change

He gave His life to bring them home

All the way home, have faith

[Verse 1] By God’s divine design, Each must choose for themselves, Even that wayward child Who doesn’t want your help. [Pre-Chorus] What are we to do then? Such despair and heartache! Not preach at them, but reach them; On their own, they must awake. [Chorus] So be interested in them, In what they’re working toward. Keep your cheerful countenance, Celebrate each step forward. Turn over to Jesus Your despair; trust in His hand. He knows what’s within us; We cannot change hearts, but He can. [Verse 2] He has paid for all our sins, The errant choices that we make. He gave His very life To bring them home; for them He waits. [Chorus] So be interested in them, In what they’re working toward. Keep your cheerful countenance, Celebrate each step forward. Turn over to Jesus Your despair; trust in His hand. He knows what’s within us; We cannot change hearts, but He can. [Bridge] Keep praying, keep loving, Keep hoping for a change. He gave His life to bring them home; All the way home, have faith. [Outro] Keep praying, keep loving, Keep hoping for a change. All the way home, have faith.

“I ask you to turn over to Jesus Christ your despair for those wayward souls. We cannot change their hearts, but He can; He is a God of miracles.”

“Love is not stepping back or sanctioning others’ decisions and actions. Love is being interested in their lives, their successes and their challenges. Love is being there with arms outstretched and a cheerful countenance. Love is lifting with faith and hope in our Lord and Savior.”

“He has already paid for the sins and errant choices of all of God’s children, including those for whom you grieve. He knows them. He knows their hearts; He loves them. He gave His very life to bring them home, all the way home.”

 

Ronald A. Rasband

@RonaldARasband

·

8h

Many of our hearts ache for loved ones who have stepped away from obedience to God’s laws. In our grief, we continuously ponder the whys, hows, and what ifs. We feel we have failed. We preach, teach, and invite—but often to no avail. By divine design, brothers and sisters, everyone must choose for themselves to follow Jesus Christ. I ask you to turn over to Jesus Christ your despair for those wayward souls. We cannot change their hearts, but He can; He is a God of miracles. Our Savior has already paid for the sins and errant choices of all of God’s children, including those for whom you and I grieve. He knows them. He knows their hearts; He loves them. He gave His very life to bring them home, all the way home. By the power of Jesus Christ’s Atonement, there is always a way back! In the vernacular, the Savior says to all who grieve, “I’ve got this!” Never, never, give up on those you love. Remember Jesus Christ is the answer. He is, always has been, and always will be. Trust Him. He’s got this! #GeneralConference

Then Came The Morning (With Gloria Gaither Reading)

The emotion of a mother
Left without her son
A pain like no other
T'was more true with this one

He of humble nature
Had served all selflessly
The hope of the future
Now lay cold...breathlessly

Her life had become empty
Grown dark as the night
He'd suffered so greatly!
What could offer her light?

From humble birth without a room
He'd submitted to all that came
His body in a borrowed tomb
What would become of His good name?

She would attend to His last needs
And care for His battered body
Remembering His greatest deeds
Which He'd done for everybody

Then word came, His body was gone?
The stone had been rolled away!
He had risen along with the dawn
And, oh, the brightness of day!

What greater joy could a mother know
Than that her child will live again
Overcome with tears endless in flow
Life would go on without an end

https://youtu.be/V9zsIy7JgKI?si=LXU9aWeBcb6rBJ8u

https://youtu.be/V9zsIy7JgKI?si=LXU9aWeBcb6rBJ8u

I was on the phone with a dear friend who has been like a mother to me.
She told me this utube had given her comfort.
She has already lost two children and
now has a daughter with brain cancer
who has progressed to the point she cannot talk.
I watched the video and felt the emotion and
I love the words.

I picture this woman- without the crowd, makeup, and fancy hair
Telling the story out in nature just as Mary would have if she'd been here
I picture this man in flowing gown
on a hillside with angels to surround


They all walked away, with nothing to say. They'd just lost their dearest friend.
All that He said, no He was dead, so this was the way it would end.
The dreams they had dreamed, were not what they'd seemed, now that He was dead and gone.
The garden, the jail, the hammer , the nail. How could a night be so long?

Then came the morning, night turned into day.
The stone was rolled away, hope rose with the dawn.
Then came the morning, shadows vanished before the sun.
Death had lost and Life had won, for morning had come.

The angel, the star, the kings from afar, The wedding, the water, the wine.
Noe it was done, they'd taken her son. Wasted before his time.
She knew it was true, she'd watched him die too, she'd heard then call Him just a man.
But deep in her heart, She knew from the start. Somehow her Son would live again

Then came the morning, night turned into day.
The stone was rolled away, hope rose with the dawn.
Then came the morning, shadows vanished before the sun.
Death had lost and Life had won, for morinng had come.

The came the morning, shadows vanished before the sun,
Death had lost and Life had won, for morning had come
Morning had come

https://ldspoetrybykellymiller.blogspot.com/2011/01/then-came-morning-by-gloria-gaither-guy.html

The Bible is a Springboard

The Bible is a springboard
For leaps of faith and action
Here we can find our Lord
And purpose with expansion

When we've faith, then comes miracles
King James proved this is so
Translating its books and chronicles
That all might read and know

In James 1:5 we learn
We can pray and receive
If in prayer we turn
And have faith to believe

We can pray to know
That the gospel is true
With faith we can follow
In His footsteps, too

Always with the intent

To act on what we learn

Where we lack in wisdom

In faith, to God we turn

James 1:5
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

upbraid: verb, express criticism towards

http://www.ldsliving.com/story/63598-king-james-version-of-the-bible-turns-400

[Verse 1] The Bible is a springboard For leaps of faith and action Here we find our Lord And purpose for expansion [Verse 2] When we have faith, then come miracles King James proved this is so Translating books and chronicles That all might read and know [Chorus] We can pray to know That the gospel is true With faith we can follow In His footsteps, too [Verse 3] In James chapter one, verse five, we learn We can pray and receive When to God in prayer we turn And have faith to believe [Chorus] We can pray to know That the gospel is true With faith we can follow In His footsteps, too [Bridge] Always with the intent To act on what we learn When we lack in wisdom In faith, to God we turn [Final Chorus] We can pray to know That the gospel is true With faith we can follow In His footsteps, too [Outro] When we lack in wisdom In faith, to God we turn

The song lyrics highlight James 1:5 from the King James Bible, urging prayer for wisdom, faith in the gospel, and following in Jesus' footsteps through action.

Father Abraham- How I Love Thee

There were jarrings and contentions

Envy and strife came at every chance

They were lustful and covetous

They polluted their inheritance

Their ears were slow to listen

In their days of blessed peace

They did not heed and hasten

Counsel given and put in place

Now afflicted and persecuted

And cast from their inheritance

As one chastened and uprooted

They have endured the consequence

Here, in the days of their trouble

They do feel after God in prayer

They cry for mercy and comfort

In their hearts, now still, they feel Him everywhere

Father Abraham
How we love thee!
Order, from thy hand
Renders family!

We know we must be tried
Even as thou wert
To become sanctified
And be a true convert

The covenant of thy name
And promise that it sends
Is where our hearts remain
As the gathering now begins

D&C 101
1 Verily I say unto you, concerning your brethren who have been afflicted, and persecuted, and cast out from the land of their inheritance—
2 I, the Lord, have suffered the affliction to come upon them, wherewith they have been afflicted, in consequence of their transgressions;
3 Yet I will own them, and they shall be amine in that day when I shall come to make up my jewels.
4 Therefore, they must needs be chastened and tried, even as Abraham, who was commanded to offer up his only son.
5 For all those who will not endure chastening, but deny me, cannot be sanctified.
6 Behold, I say unto you, there were jarrings, and contentions, and envyings, and strifes, and lustful and covetous desires among them; therefore by these things they polluted their inheritances.
7 They were slow to hearken unto the voice of the Lord their God; therefore, the Lord their God is slow to hearken unto their prayers, to answer them in the day of their trouble.
8 In the day of their peace they esteemed lightly my counsel; but, in the day of their trouble, of necessity they feel after me.
9 Verily I say unto you, notwithstanding their sins, my bowels are filled with compassion towards them. I will not utterly cast them off; and in the day of wraith I will remember mercy.
10 I have sworn, and the decree hath gone forth by a former commandment which I have given unto you, that I would let fall the sword of mine indignation in behalf of my people; and even as I have said, it shall come to pass.
11 Mine indignation is soon to be poured out without measure upon all nations; and this will I do when the cup of their iniquity is full.
12 And in that day all who are found upon the watch-tower, or in other words, all mine Israel, shall be saved.
13 And they that have been scattered shall be gathered.
14 And all they who have mourned shall be comforted.
15 And all they who have given their lives for my name shall be crowned.
16 Therefore, let your hearts be comforted concerning Zion; for all flesh is in mine hands; be still and know that I am God.
17 Zion shall not be moved out of her place, notwithstanding her children are scattered.
18 They that remain, and are pure in heart, shall return, and come to their inheritances, they and their children, with songs of everlasting joy, to build up the waste places of Zion—
19 And all these things that the prophets might be fulfilled.

“Soli Deo Gloria” -Glory to God alone

“Soli Deo Gloria” -Glory to God alone

My talents, I grow unto Thee through faith

They come as a gift, that Thy power be known

For without Thee, I would not have the strength

 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8,9 NASB 1995).

JD Reyes

@Orthographix

I had the phrase “Soli Deo Gloria” (Glory to God alone, or To God alone be the glory) engraved in my iPad and Pencil because I strive to use my meager talents to praise God. It was a slogan used by one of my favorite composers, JS Bach. He began each manuscript with, “JJ” Jesus, Juva (Jesus, help) and ended with “SDG” and his signature. He was a deeply religious man and used his incomparable talents to glorify God. If you’ve ever had the opportunity to experience his music, you could definitely say, “Jesus juvit”!

https://x.com/Orthographix/status/2106151490167717996?s=20

Scarlet Forgiven

To really truly know the reach of divine love

Is to understand that He loves each of us

No matter how far we fall, He lifts from above

Through the infinite atonement of Jesus

Here is what I know, there is no denial

Late one night as an attorney I was called

A man confessed to murder and carjacking

It was late but for the family I did not stall

The county jail was big dark and austere

I got cleared for the elevator, going down

To the basement, where the guards buzzed me there

Through multiple solid steel doors to a hall

The walk was long to a concrete room

The whole way, I wrestled with the fact

At gunpoint he had robbed at point blank shot

And then hijacked a car to flee from the act

When the door opened, I saw the man in chains

Locked around his wrists, feet, and waist

And while this man had committed horrible things

I knew God's love for him and cared for his fate

He would spend many long years locked up

Living out a sentence in concrete

It was here, I learned the extent of Christ's love

And again with every criminal I meet

Yes even the convicted child abuser

Who sobbed uncontrollably

The homeless woman who tried to kill herself

Who got caught robbing and vandalizing

The man who sold his body to pay for drugs

None of these are worthless to the Lord

He paid the price through the atonement

As well as for every atrocity performed

He will save the vilest wicked 

If they're penitent

Though their sins be as scarlet

The same is forgiven

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eclM448kYvc&t=951s

Brigham Young University–Hawaii Devotional | September 29, 2026 Luke J. Nichols teaches that evidence of God’s existence can be found through the testimonies and experiences of countless witnesses. Drawing from experiences as a missionary and criminal defense attorney, he shares personal accounts of miracles, divine guidance, and feeling God’s love for people facing serious challenges. He reminds students that Jesus Christ is the Savior, that no one is beyond the reach of His love and Atonement, and that each person can seek a personal witness of God and the truth of the scriptures. “The evidence exists: God lives, Jesus is our Savior and the scriptures are true. The witnesses are many and each of you can pray to God to know the truth for yourselves.”