A Trump from the Mouths of Babes

My daughter, our daughter, Samantha (Sami is how she addresses herself) finally got ahold of a toy recorder that she walks around the house blasting and which my wife will secretly dispose of if that continues for much longer, and she calls it, "a trumpet" (which it isn't).  She loves to go to the temple and touch the side of the temple.  She loves to admire the glowing golden angel Moroni who blows a trumpet to the East.

Sami blows the trumpet (in any direction) a bunch of times and shouts-out, "THE CHURCH IS TRUE!!!"

From the mouths of babes we hear pure testimony given: "THE CHURCH IS TRUE!!!"

JPS

Causing Him further Grief

"We developed an intense desire to stop causing him further grief'" - Elder Dale G. Renlund said in his April 2016 talk, "That I Might Draw All Men unto Me".

There are no "neutral moves" in life...  you are either moving away from God or towards Him!  We are only causing him or adding to His and our Heavenly Father's joy.  By so, adding to Christ's joy, we are also not "causing Him further grief".

I remember having a serious conversation when I was in my teens, where my mom came to tears as she was explaining to me this same exact concept: not only when I did something "wrong" was I likely to get "in trouble" with my mom or dad or bishop, but, more importantly, when I sinned, I was adding to Jesus Christ's pain and suffering in Gethsemane.

Since God is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent, and Christ suffered the consequences of every sin that you or I or anyone ever does (that isn't repented of....  mind you, that is a very important caveat!), when I sinned knowingly (and didn't repent of it), I was adding to the pain and sorrow and even the spilled blood that Christ freely spilt in the Garden of Gethsemene for every one of our Heavenly Father's children.

I will remember that chat and my mom's tears forever!

I will not "cause Him further grief"!

JPS