The Lord Has Beheld Our Sacrifice…

1. The Lord Has Beheld Our Sacrifice… Khinckley1@yahoo.com

2. Watch carefully for these people.. Kingman, KS I live in a semi-rural area. We recently had a new neighbor call the local township administrative office to request the removal of the Deer Crossing sign on our road. The reason: "too many deer were being hit by cars" and he didn't want them to cross there anymore. Kansas City My daughter went to a local Taco Bell and ordered a taco. She asked the person behind the counter for "minimal lettuce."? He said he was sorry, but they only had iceberg lettuce. Wichita KS The stoplight on the corner buzzes when it's safe to cross the street. I was crossing with an intellectually challenged coworker of mine when she asked if I knew what the buzzer was for. I explained that it signals blind people when the light is red. Appalled, she responded, "What on earth are blind people doing driving?!" Dallas County Sheriff’s Office: I work with an individual who plugged her power strip back into itself and for the life of her couldn't understand why her system would not turn on. Canton, Mississippi; When my husband and I arrived at an automobile dealership to pick up our car, we were told the keys had been locked in it. We … found a mechanic working feverishly to unlock the driver's side door. As I watched from the passenger side, I instinctively tried the door handle and discovered that it was unlocked. "Hey! ," I announced to the technician, "it's open!" To which he replied, "I know - I already got that side."

3. Along those lines NEW YORK (AP)— A drum-maker who imports raw animal hides from Africa has been infected with anthrax in what is believed to be an isolated accident that poses no public health threat, officials said Wednesday… Bloomberg said the man had treated the unprocessed animal hides at a work space in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn.

4. Elder Jeffrey Holland I wish to speak … of the demands of discipline and discipleship, of the responsibilities we have to face when we choose to follow Jesus Christ. In the Savior's life and in ours, Satan counters such discipline with temptations of an easier way, with an offer of "convenient Christianity.“… Surely fluttering somewhere over the highway to hell is the local chamber of horrors banner reading, "Welcome to the ethics of ease."

5. Question What role does sacrifice play in living a Christian life? Adam and Eve left the garden with only two recorded commandments • Multiply and replenish the earth • Sacrifice

6. Joseph F. Smith The spirit of the Gospel is designed to make all men good in the sight of God. The Gospel is calculated to remove from us everything that is not consistent with God and the plan of salvation which He has revealed to men… The principles of the Gospel are calculated to make us unselfish, to broaden our minds, to give breadth to our desires for good, to remove hatred, animosity, envy and anger from our hearts, and make us peaceful, tractable, [and] teachable … A man who cannot sacrifice his own wishes, who cannot say in his heart, "Father, Thy will be done, not mine," is not a truly and thoroughly converted child of God; he is still, to some extent, in the grasp of error and in the shades of darkness that hover around the world…

7. Set of Strengths Ether 2:27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble Ether 2:27 …for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them

8. JST Genesis 22:1-14 2 And the Lord said, Take now thy son, thine only Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering, upon one of the mountains of which I will tell thee. 7 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon his back; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and Isaac his son; and they went both of them together. 9 And [Issac] said, Behold the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 10 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering… 11 And Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar… 12 And Abraham stretched forth his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 13 And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham! Abraham!... 14 And the angel said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him; 15 For now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only Isaac from me.

9. D&C 101 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 mine 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. Two Reasons for Trials: Chastening: Because of our sins Trials: Because of righteousness

10. President Hinckley Over the past years it has been my responsibility to extend calls to scores of men, their wives, and their families to leave all behind and go into the mission field. … They will, in effect, say, "Of course, I am ready to go whenever and wherever the Lord calls." They and their wives will gather their children around them. There will be tears as the children think of leaving their schools and their friends. The family will kneel together in prayer, and when they arise from their knees, although their eyes will be moist, they will say in unison, "We'll go where you want us to go, dear Lord; we'll do what you want us to do." I confess that at times I feel reluctant to ask people to do things in the Church because I know they will respond without hesitation. And I know also that those responses will entail great sacrifice. But I know this also, in the case of mission presidents and their families, there will be more tears shed when they leave the mission field to return home than will be shed when they leave home to go into the field.

11. Bro Truman Madsen "I have indicated that [Joseph Smith] occasionally, deliberately, knowingly, put men to a test, almost as if he could discern the spiritual growth and blessing that would ultimately result. Bishop Edwin D. Woolley was a forbear of President Spencer W. Kimball. He was a stubborn man (he himself said it)-contrary was the word they used in those days. It was said of him, 'If he dies by drowning, look for the body upstream.' Edwin D. Woolley had a store in Nauvoo, and one day the Prophet said to him, 'Brother Woolley, we want all your goods for the building up of the kingdom of God,' or words to that effect. Brother Woolley did as he was asked, packing his whole stock ready to be moved. Then he went to ask Joseph what he wished him to do about the goods he had received for sale on commission. Was he ready to hand all the other goods over to the Church? the Prophet asked. Brother Woolley said he was. His eyes moist, the Prophet put his hand on the other man's shoulder and said, 'The Lord bless you. Put them back on the shelves'."

12. Question Often the first thing to be sacrificed is our pride. How does the Lord use the church to do that?

13. Sister Susan Tanner Several years ago [a friend’s] daughter got married. It was a perfect temple wedding with loving family members, warm, Indian-summer weather, and a beautiful and happy couple. About half an hour before [the reception] was to begin, everything was ready—except that the caterer hadn’t come. She was responsible for the tablecloths, the wedding cake, and all the refreshments. Helpful friends called her business and her home and left desperate messages. Someone drove to her business, but it was all locked up. Friends in the ward rallied and found tablecloths for the tables and flowers for centerpieces. They bought a small cake from the grocery store and decorated it with flowers and even offered to buy refreshments. The family declined this kind offer, because by this time guests had arrived. As people came through the line, my friend gave a simple apology about the lack of refreshments and concentrated instead on celebrating the marriage of this wonderful young couple. Even so, the no-show caterer became quite the topic of conversation, especially among the men at the party. They figured that the bride’s father had planned for this fiasco with the caterer so he wouldn’t have the expense of refreshments…

14. Sis. Tanner Cont. After most of the guests and family members had left, the caterer rushed in with an ashen face. She was absolutely grief-stricken that she had made such a terrible mistake. She had written down the wrong day on her calendar. Never before had she done this. My friend reached out and hugged her. “Don’t even worry,” she said. “We’re just grateful you are all right. We were worried that something terrible had happened to you. We had a wonderful time tonight, so no harm is done for either of us.” My friend was not feigning love or forgiveness; she truly felt it. Her example taught many of us so much. Think what retaliation and anger could have cost the caterer and her business. Think what a mother’s decision to celebrate the wedding rather than worry about the refreshments taught her daughter about what is important. Think what she taught all of us about the power of the pure love of God. Days later, the catoror wrote this:

15. “I find myself with extra time today . . . since I haven’t a wedding to serve tonight as I had planned. First and foremost, once again, please accept my deepest regrets for Thursday evening… Words cannot express the hours of agony I have grilled myself with as I have pondered the evening and what you must have felt. I want to make some sort of restitution for these damages and I hope you will help me create that situation. . . . I am so sorry. “I also wanted to tell you of the profound experience this has been for me from an eternal perspective. In my life, I have never been treated with such Christ-like love and compassion as you did that night. Your first impulse was to embrace me, and to comfort me, when I should have been consoling you! You were not waiting with wrath and anger at my mistake, but rather with love and understanding—as I have always hoped Heavenly Father would be waiting for me. You knew, without asking, the intents of my heart. Over the years, I have dealt with petty complaints (‘I didn’t like the color of the punch!,’ etc.). You had every justification to be angry, and yet you chose a higher road. Since that night, my mind has continually returned to a central theme . . . ‘go and do likewise as you have been forgiven.’ My way has been kinder and gentler with my children, my husband, and my staff. When their work has fallen short of my expectations, I have looked on the intent of their hearts rather than their shortcomings. I am sorry this lesson came to me at your expense, but it is one that will be with me forever. Thank you for your loving example of the higher road.”