www.kevinhinckley.com

10 — They have already been on many a mission.9 — Army chow is no problem for folks

accustomed to eating green Jell-o and shredded carrots.

8 — It's not a problem if they don't know what rank someone is, they just refer to them as Brother or Sister so-and-so.

7 — They never go AWOL. They just call it being less active.

6 — They will seize any objective swiftly if you tell them refreshments will be served.

5 — They know how to make things happen. In fact if you ever need a base built quickly in a barren wasteland, stride out to where you want them to start, plant your walking stick down and say in a loud voice, "This is the place.“

4 — They have innovative ideas for handling insurgents — like assigning them home teachers.

3 — They always have a years' supply of provisions on hand.

2 — They are the world's most reliable designated drivers.

1 — They understand how far Iraq has come over the last seven years, and they think that Iraq's old spot in the "Axis of Evil" can now be filled by the University of Utah.

We only have these two letters

This one written slightly before 62 or 63 AD

Finally, along with Paul, imprisoned by Nero in Rome.

Crucified, tradition says upside down.

Joseph Smith“Peter penned the most sublime language of the apostles”

1 Peter 1:1-7Question:Can the ‘trial of your

faith’ be different from ‘trials’ and why would we need it?

3 Nephi 26: 9-11

…all things in our premortal existence were done in accord with a preparatory redemption. That is to say, the atonement of Jesus Christ already operated on our behalf in premortality in preparation for our mortal sojourn.

His infinite and eternal atonement – meaning it was effective both before and after mortality – made it possible for us to enter mortality without stain or guilt, unmarred, born with a clean slate, so to speak.

The Lord put it more powerfully: “Every spirit of man was innocent in the beginning; and God having redeemed man from the fall, men became again, in their infant state, innocent before God” (D&C 93:38). From the beginning of mortal life on this earth it was revealed that the atonement of Jesus Christ operated from the “foundation of the world” (Moses 6:54; see also 7:47). (p. 39) (Temple Worship)

One time when I was serving in the Presiding Bishopric, I had a remarkable week during which we were dealing with a series of tough problems.

I met with the First Presidency four or five times during that week, and in each meeting I was supposed to suggest answers to some very, very hard problems.

In every instance I felt the hand of heaven touch me and guide me so that I knew what to say. In one case the First Presidency even confirmed that my proposed solution was what needed to be done. That's a wonderful feeling, and I started thinking that things were rolling along pretty well in my life.

Then I came home, and my wife and I got into a conversation about some problem that she and I were working on at that time. During the conversation I expressed my opinion a little too forcefully, as if I knew the answer and there didn't need to be a lot more discussion.

I immediately felt the Holy Ghost leave the room. I was about to leave for a stake conference, and I was almost frightened because I knew I could do no good without the Lord's help.

So on that stake conference trip I began to analyze what had gone wrong, and I suddenly realized that you can have a trial of your faith from success. I had thought that I was doing wonderfully well, and that led me to act as if I were someone special—to act in a way that grieved the Holy Ghost.To Draw Closer to God: A Collection of Discourses ( 1997)

1 Peter 2: 7-11Question:How can I be “nothing”,

according to Moses, and a ‘chosen generation according to Peter?

…If men come unto me, I will show unto them their weakness

…surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of man he is… Surely what pops out before the man has time to put on a disguise is the truth…

If there are rats in a cellar you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does not create the rats: it only prevents them from hiding.

In the same way the suddenness of the provocation does not make me an ill-tempered man: it only shows me what an ill-tempered man I am”

(C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity)

And the greater my gratitude, the less I judge and the more quickly I forgive.

The sooner we understand both, the greater will be our gratitude.

…If men come unto me, I will show unto them their weakness

…For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls

The Great Gap

(This note was included with a check for $1000 to the presiding Bishop from Elder Groberg)

“Recently, while visiting one of the far distant islands that is very difficult to get to, I went late in the day to the home of one of the good widow sisters there.

“When I first approached her hut the sun was still quite bright and I could not help but notice the stark poverty of her surroundings. It had been raining earlier. The mud and decay and the ever-present smell of drying fish were at first repulsive. But the warmth of meeting with a fellow Church member—especially after years of separation—together with tears of appreciation for the long-awaited visit, soon pushed the unpleasantness of the surroundings temporarily into the background.

“As we conversed in her fluid native tongue and she told of her love for and faith in the Church and of all the blessings she had received, I could not help but think about her apparently miserable circumstances. … All sorts of ideas went through my mind, and I must have let my thoughts wander as I suddenly became aware that somewhere between phrases about blessings and poverty and service she had gone to her hut and was now returning with a small knotted rag.

“Suddenly my mind seemed to fill with light, and the words ‘fast offerings’ flooded in. I was so excited with the idea that had come so suddenly and so clearly, that you can imagine my utter amazement and unpreparedness when she took a threepence (a coin worth about 3¢) from her rag and said softly, ‘Here is my fast offering … to help the poor.’

“I wanted to explain that fast offering was to help her, not for her to help others. The explanation never came, for as I looked through misty eyes, first at the threepence then back at the good sister, the whole scene changed.

“The hut was a glowing mansion and the mud was gold. … The world seemed to stand still for a moment. All of nature seemed to stop and listen as from the heavens the whole universe seemed filled with the reassuring words: ‘Blessed are the poor … for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’ (  Matt. 5:3.)

“As the setting sun signaled the end of the day, so it also told of the approaching end of her beautiful life of service.

“I took the threepence, and as I write this check the whole experience once again fills my mind and I wonder,

‘How many threepences to make a thousand dollars?’