One of the missionaries made a great comment at zone conference last week. He shared with us that as he leaves his apartment each day, he says to himself, "Don't forget your hat!" H-A-T stands for humble and teachable. Don't forget to be humble and teachable. Don't forget that there is a lot to learn today. Go with it. Take it as it comes. It's going to be a great day!

 

"It [The Book of Mormon] has been for me a rod of safety for my soul, 

a transcendent and penetrating light of revelation, an illumination 

of the path I must walk when mists of darkness come. The Book 

of Mormon is the conduit. The power is in Christ. We cling to this book, His book, to cling to Him."

(Matthew S. Holland, "The Path and Power for Your Promised Land," BYU Devotional)

I was strengthened by the testimony of the Book of Mormon that Elder Matthew Holland offered in this devotional. I will add my witness to his, that the reading of the Book of Mormon has led me closer to Christ, and has brought light and power into my life.

 

When St. Francis of Assisi was asked what he would do if he were suddenly to learn that he would die at sunset that day he answered, "I would finish hoeing my garden." I have wondered what he meant by that reply, and this is what I think. Some people worry about the future or wonder if what they are doing really matters because something might happen to knock their work down or destroy their happiness, but they (we) need to go on hoeing and not stop. It is good to concentrate on the tasks at hand today. We cannot control the future, but we have great agency in the gift of today and how it plays out. There is meaning and purpose in what we do each day, and through our tasks we are building character.

Dorothy Van Doren wrote: "The task is still here--the house to build, the book to write, the examination to prepare for. However dark it seems today, we shall meet life better if we have fulfilled the present to the best of our ability. Today is still ours, along with the obligation to live it to the full."

 

I saw this piece by YongSong Kim titled "Lord of Prayer" in the January Friend Magazine. I am in admiration of the way Mr. Kim blended colors, his portrayal of anguish, the radiating light, Christ's clasped hands, and His bowed head. This is beautiful to me. 

 

I did something I have not done for a while. I read a book! Besides Preach My Gospel, Come Follow Me and the scriptures, I have not ventured far in my gospel study these past six months, but I enjoyed this book by Elder Ucthdorf and felt uplifted. Not only is he an optimistic person, but he teaches hope and optimism in a great way. 

Hope is not knowledge, but rather the abiding trust that the Lord will fulfill His promises to us. It is confidence that if we live according to God’s laws and the words of His prophets now, we will receive desired blessings in the future—even “peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come” (Doctrine and Covenants 59:23). It is believing and expecting that our prayers will be answered. It is manifest in confidence, optimism, enthusiasm, and patient perseverance (pg. 18).

We hope in Jesus Christ, in the goodness of God, in the manifestations of the Holy Spirit, in the knowledge that prayers are heard and answered. Because God has been faithful and kept His promises in the past, we can hope with confidence that God will keep His promises to us in the present and in the future. In times of distress, we can hold tightly to the hope that things will work together for our good (pgs. 19, 20).

The reason these words rang true with me is that I have seen evidence of God being faithful and keeping His promises in my life. Over and over again, I lean on God and ask for His support and I am delivered. I trust that He will keep His promises in the present and future too. I know my prayers are heard, and that God showers us with blessings as seek to draw near to Him.

 

"It has seemed to me that each year one should pause to take stock of himself, to ask: Where am I going? What am I becoming? What do I wish to do and become? Most people whom I encountered were without purpose, people who had given themselves no goal.  The first goal need not be the final one, for a sailing ship sails first by one wind, then another. the point is that it is always going somewhere, proceeding toward a final destination" (Louis L'Amour in The Walking Drum).

January has been a time of reflection for me. What do I want to have happen this year? I am busy and I am trying to do good things, but am I becoming what God wants me to be? Doing is different than becoming. A mission is good at softening one's heart, or should I say cracking it open. "God," I plead, "tell me how I can change and improve. Help me with this, and with this." I wonder sometimes if my rough spots really can be smoothed. Not on my own, that's for sure, but with the grace of Jesus Christ I can change.

 

Filling the Lamp 

by Rosemary Noble Palmer

A drop at a time.
One thought at at a time.
One good deed at a time.
One prayer, one smile.
One scripture memorized and applied in daily life.
One Church meeting attended, Spirit felt.
One time sticking up for the downtrodden.
One obedient act.
One honest friend made.
One day lived joyously.
One courageous choice.
One duty done well and promptly.
One chore finished without complaint or reminder.
One inspiring song heard, book read.
One mistake fixed.
One offense forgiven.
One grateful expression.
One kindness shown.
One recollection of divine worth that transforms.
One hug given.
Each drop of oil, small,
Together fill the lamp
Just one drop at a time.

 

I listened to Susan Porter's talk during the Christmas Devotional 2025, and I appreciated her message about feeling God's light no matter the life experience she was going through. 

She told about a memorable Christmas Eve when her husband was in the hospital fighting for his life after surgery. Their family fasted and prayed. Due to the alertness of a nurse in the hospital, Bruce Porter was diagnosed with a respiratory illness and treatment was provided. The darkness they experienced was replaced with light and hope and Bruce recovered.

Six years later on Christmas Eve, Susan's husband was again in the hospital. He received a diagnosis and the doctors had a plan, but Bruce was told by the Spirit that there was nothing the doctors could do to save his life. Two days later he passed peacefully away at home surrounded by his family.

"Although each Christmas Eve had a different outcome, each one is sacred to us. Were tears shed, deep sorrow felt, along with loss and loneliness? Yes! And did we feel the light of God's love? Yes! At what felt like the going down of our sun in our lives, He gave us light and understanding."

"During our lives, there will be times when the sun may go down on our hopes and dreams. But because Jesus Christ came to earth and rose on the third day triumphant over sin and death, there will be no permanent darkness at the going down of the sun."

"There will be no permanent darkness when our nights come."

 

George Rickford is a hero of mine. In 1969 he was taught the gospel of Jesus Christ. He prayed to God about the doctrines he had been taught, and "then I had a wonderful experience by way of a response. The word ‘faith’ was just spelled out letter by letter before my closed eyes and I heard myself respond to that. I just felt a glow inside and I heard myself say, ‘Yes, Lord, I will. I will take it in faith. And thank you, by the way, thank you.’”

Rickford wrote in 1975 that he accepted the priesthood ban “in faith, without any reservation” and expressed his belief that, whatever his own condition then, God was just. “I am just grateful that the Lord’s priesthood is once again upon the earth, with all its attendant blessings, authority, and responsibility. It matters less to me who has it and who hasn’t, but much more how it is utilised.”

On the day her received the news that the priesthood would now be extended to all worthy males, he and his wife June talked all through the night about what the news would mean for their family. The change was monumental. The next morning, George Rickford was ordained a priest in the Aaronic Priesthood. Two months later, he was ordained a Seventy, and two months after that, George and June Rickford were sealed in the London England Temple, along with their four children.

"I find it significant that when I asked my Heavenly Father in all earnestness, whether the Church was true, He didn't answer me either 'Yes, it's true,' or 'No, it isn't.' Instead He asked me to demonstrate my faith and trust in Him, and in His appointed messengers whom He had sent to give me the restored gospel. From that moment on, I decided to exercise more faith in spiritual matters than I had ever done before, and to leave it up to the Lord to guide me into His paths, because He knew that my heart was right and that I wanted only to find Him and to follow Him."

George remained resolute in his obedience through the years, both before he held the priesthood and afterwards. He exercised great faith in joining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and in waiting for promised blessings.

(https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/content/pioneers-in-every-land/i-will-take-it-in-faith?lang=eng)

    

 

The funeral for President Jeffrey R. Holland was inspiring. I have thought deeply about what Mary Alice Holland McCann said at the conclusion of her remarks:

"Please permit me to say one thing to the grandchildren of Jeffrey R. and Patricia Holland, and by extension to every member of this church. While this is a very sad day for this family, there is only one thing that could make this day truly sad in any sort of an eternal way, and that would be for us to turn our backs on the gospel of Jesus Christ, to which your grandparents dedicated their lives. The only way we could break their hearts is to abandon the source of truth and light that they lived and died to show us. Now it is time for each of us to pick up their baton and to carry on the fire of faith that they flamed within each of us."