Letter to the Class

Liberty University Our lives are full of trouble. A prophet once said to let us not ask our trials to meet our strength but that our strength through the Lord meet the trial. The Psalms asked the Lord that He would not hide His face from us but that He would make us clean to see Him.  Brothers and sisters, trials are meant to be hard. A weight lifter doesn't keep the same challenge to build muscle but keeps making his or her challenge harder and harder to increase strength. The same goes for all our talents; music, gymnastics, architecture, engineering, science, or any other self-investment. Spiritual growth is no different and Heavenly Father is like a coach or teacher. He navigates trials to test and build our spiritual muscles and that strength prepares us for the harder and hard things; church assignments, callings, missions, and moments that call for our testimony. Sister Bingham tells how when she lived in Lynchburg Virginia how she was put in circumstances where ...

image Palms discusses repentance and hardship. The biggest thing is what sin and hardship do to us. The psalms discus creation, the plan of salvation, Gods mercy and justice. All these things are a part of our lives. There is a parable of the potato, egg, and coffee. (Just a note, we do not condemn not condone coffee use. Here it makes a good allegory or metaphor.) The story goes a chef's daughter was having a tough time with life. She didn't understand how to approach problems, school, or life. The father took three pots of water and in one he boils potatoes, another, eggs, and in the third, coffee. When they are complete, the father dressed and presents them to the girl.  "What do you see?" The girl gives a reply of confusion. "Potatoes, eggs, and coffee. So what?" The father presents the three in dishes. "What do you see?" He asks again. The daughter is now frustrated. "Potatoes, eggs, and coffee. So what?" The father then ...

Image   Class,  For nearly two hundred years we have sung hymns of praise and warship. The poems we sing are songs of praise, of hope, and of warning. We sing about the sacrament, of repentance, of faith, and celebration. We sing of our pre-existence, trials, and of a kingdom yet to come.  Brothers and sisters, we are no different than the saints of the past. For five hundred years the saints of the old testament, our ancestors, have written songs of praise too that we're used for thousands of years. Jesus referred to the psalms because he probably sang them often. We sing songs from primary as often as adults sing hymns.  Psalms we sing to recognizable tunes and like most music, one person wrote the lyrics and another the songs. Sometimes the song tune is lost but the poem isn't and that would describe the psalms.  Like in all things, music can be used for good and bad. Satan loves to take the things we love and put an evil twist by putting certain ...

imag e  Children, Today we are talking about Job. He was a prophet that had everything; family, servants, money, and property but above all, he knew he was a child of God. It was at this time this father of ten, business owner, master of servants, and wealth was tested.  In our lives, we must come to terms that this is the second act of our immortality. In the second act, a hero has left home and is so far that they must press forward; failure is not an option. We are in the second act. It is tough. Some of us are real trials while some are between trials. In this act, the antagonist shows his real power and has some powerful advantages. In this act, there are victories on both sides but in the act, the heroes and villains reach a pinnacle. For mortality, we will die. But for some, it seems like the end of the show. It's not. The whole point of act two is self-discovery. What will we do to succeed? What point will we drive to get the job done? The hardest point is ...

image Class,  Heavenly Father loves each of us and knows how we can help Him and all of our brothers and sisters. For some of us, it's as simple as a smile or pat on the back to encourage others. We can make new friends, share stories or jokes. Simple acts are a great way to show how much you care. We cannot emphasize how important you are to heaven and earth.  Esther was a wonderful and obedient daughter. She was beautiful and wise. When she was faced with trials she went to Mordecai, her guardian, and parental figure. When they learned of the evil desire to kill the children of Judah, she and her uncle formulated a plan. The plan was theirs but everything depended on the Lord. The King of Persia had rules that could get his queen Esther killed. It took the fasting prayer and faith of all of the people of Israel to bless the Queen. The plan worked and the monster that had made the king desire to kill the Jews hung from the very gallows he made to kill them wi...

image Children,  When Israel was taken from their lands by Babylon, it was at this time that the hand of God was revealed that God is in charge, He is merciful. For decades the people were in bondage but then one day, the Holy Ghost inspired, Cyrus, the king of Persia. He wanted to return the Israelites to their homelands. He commissioned the saints of that time to choose among them who was ready. At the time Ezra and Nehemiah were prophets. These two men found those that we're ready and with them built the wall and the temple.  This was no small task. The enemies of Israel and Judah wanted the people to fail. They taunted them and fought them. They petitioned the kings not to allow this. They wanted to tear down and destroy. They wanted Judah and Israel to tear down and destroy. How easy is that, for us, to follow that same disaster? Hurt and destroy others. Lose faith or doubt others. We cannot go down this path. We must follow the example of the prophets. All th...

image Class,  We are going to talk about the kings today. There are two great kings that we're great men who followed the Lord our God. The first was Hezekiah. This man was dealt a hard hand as the Assyrians wanted the city they could not take by force. A speaker of the enemy boasted of their success with other empires, clans, and tribes. They then were demanding the done to be open so that they could walk in. The King and his people ignored the promptings. The prophet said that they would succeed if they honored and obeyed the Lord and His prophet. On the day of the war, the destroying angel killed the entire army. Israel didn't need to fight the war because God had already done it. Heavenly Father wants us to compare ourselves to the city of Israel, Jerusalem. When we are surrounded by the advisory and his legions, we are encouraged to fortify our souls and ignore the devil and his angels. When we're prepared we will not fear. The prophet Elijah, from decades ...