April 2012 Ensign - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

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& ? & ? & ? & ? b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b b 68 Ensign Joyfully q = 108–120 4 4 œ œ œ œ 1. Rise 2. Rise 3. Ye 4. Rise to Sav up Christ œ up, up who up, ye and have all œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ . . . . œ œ œ œ œ œ Saints, re - joice! And let your hearts take praise the Son Who light and hope does suf - fered loss, Shake off de - spair and ye who mourn And lay a - side your œ œ œ œ œ the heav’n - ly choir your voice As all cre - a - tion - ior, the A - ton - ing One, Has died that we might and see the va - cant cross, Be - hold the emp - ty has all our sor - rows borne That we may smile a - œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ long - a - wait - ed day Has dawned o’er all the Christ did come to save, To break the chains of Christ has con - quered death, And all shall be re - tears He’ll gent - ly dry, As we be - hold His œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ . . œ nœ . œ œ nœ bœ œ n œ œ œ œ œ . œ wing! give. gloom. pain. . . . . sings. live. tomb. gain. . . . . earth. sin, stored. face. death and sor - row now give way To glo - ri - ous re - con - quer sor - row and the grave, And new life ush - er loved ones shall a - gain draw breath, Through Je - sus Christ, our bid all mor - tal cares good - bye And glo - ry in His œ œ œ œ Rise Up, Ye Saints, Rejoice! œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ œ Copyright © 2011 IRI. All rights reserved. This song may be copied for incidental, noncommercial home and church use. This notice must be included on each copy made. œ œ œ œ œ Words by Larry Hiller Music by George J. Elvey œ œ œ Add Our Look For œ œ œ The Yea, Yea, Our bœœ œ And To Our We’ll . b œœ ww birth. in. Lord. grace. w
When I was young we had a special family home evening at the end of each school year. Our parents selected a small but meaningful gift for each of us and wrapped it. We then gathered in the living room, and my parents took out one of the gifts. They read clues they had prepared that corresponded to a member of our family. These clues usually described accomplishments of that family member. The clues started out FAMILY HOME EVENING IDEAS Celebrating Each Other’s Accomplishments general and grew more specific. At the end of the list, everyone called out the name of the person, which was obvious by this point, and the person stepped forward to open his or her present. This continued until everyone had been recognized and had received a gift. These family home evenings helped each family member feel accepted and appreciated. They also HELPS FOR HOME EVENING “Temple Service and Unexpected Blessings,” on page 24: Summarize the article for your family, emphasizing the blessings the temple workers received as they served in the temple. Ask family members to share how they have been blessed by the Lord’s temples. Encourage children who have not had the opportunity to enter the temple to prepare now to enter. “Everybody Knows Bleck,” on page 64: Consider singing “Do What Is Right” (Hymns, no. 237) as an opening song. Read or summarize the story about Bleck. Ask family members if they have an experience they would like to share about a time when they had to make a tough decision about whether to pursue one path over another and what consequences came from the decision they made. You may want to conclude with the quote by President Thomas S. Monson. brought us closer together as a family as we celebrated the accomplishments of the year. We always took the time afterward to pray Not my will, but thiNe, be doNe, by Harry anderson, © Pacific Press PublisHing association, inc. together and thank the Lord for the blessings we received that year. ◼ Michael Young, Utah, USA “Thy Will Be Done,” on page 48: Read and discuss the story with your family. Invite family members to see their trials as a way to better align their will with Heavenly Father’s. If appropriate, you may wish to provide an opportunity for family members to bear testimony of the power of the Atonement. I By Kevin Jeffs Thy Will Be Done n September of 2002, I was diagnosed with severe cancer. I had four surgeries and two grueling months of chemotherapy. One evening during my second week of chemotherapy, I was resting in an overstuffed chair in my parents’ living room. I was exhausted, without the strength or will to do anything more than think. The question that I had repeatedly pushed aside came back with greater force: Why me? Sorrow overwhelmed me, and I could do nothing but cry out as Joseph Smith did from the darkness of Liberty Jail, “O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?” (D&C 121:1). As sorrow threatened to swallow me, the gentle and loving rebuke came to my mind: “The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?” (D&C 122:8). Instantly my thoughts were drawn to the suffering the Savior willingly took upon Himself for me— suffering that caused Him, “even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit” (D&C 19:18). Lying there in my own pain and sorrow, I gained some sense of the eternal vastness of Christ’s agony and pain. How small my suffering seemed when compared to that of the Infinite and Eternal. Gratitude filled my heart as I thought about how He loved me so much that He willingly took upon Himself my suffering and more! Peace entered my soul as I felt His love comfort me. How true Alma’s words are: “And he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities” (Alma 7:12). I understood and felt that He truly did know what I was feeling and shared in my sorrow, as His gentle words testify: “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. “Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me” (Isaiah 49:15–16). As this light and understanding lifted my heart from the depths of sorrow, I felt as Alma the Younger did when he expressed, “Oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!” (Alma 36:20). That day I learned firsthand that just as the Atonement can make our scarlet sins as white as snow (see Isaiah 1:18), it can also ease our pain and change our sorrow to hope. As we answer the Lord’s call to come unto Him, He will truly “ease the burdens which are put upon [our] shoulders, that even [we] cannot feel them upon [our] backs,” (Mosiah 24:14). Life will never be easy. When those difficult In the depths of pain, I learned the reality of the Atonement and the Savior’s power to bring peace and comfort. times come, it is up to us whether we curse God, as Job’s wife would have had him do (see Job 2:9), or trust in the Lord and seek to learn what He would have us learn. Elder Richard G. Scott said: “Just when all seems to be going right, challenges often come in multiple doses applied simultaneously. When those trials are not consequences of your disobedience, they are evidence that the Lord feels you are prepared to grow more (see Proverbs 3:11–12). He therefore gives you experiences that stimulate growth, understanding, and compassion which polish you for your everlasting benefit. To get you from where you are to where He wants you to be requires a lot of stretching, and that generally entails discomfort and pain. . . . This life is an experience in profound trust—trust in Jesus Christ.” 1 Through my experience I have come to understand many things about myself and about my relationship with my Heavenly Father that I would not have gained otherwise. I only hope that I can continue to say “not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39) and seek to be what my Heavenly Father would have me be. ◼ Kevin Jeffs passed away August 6, 2008, at age 29. He asked that his testimony be read at his funeral. Note 1. Richard G. Scott, “Trust in the Lord,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 16–17. April 2012 49 ILLUSTRATION BY BETH WHITTAKER April 2012 69
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THE ENSIGN OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS C
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MESSAGES FIRST PRESIDENCY MESSAGE 4
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A MAGAZINE OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS C
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“And dead we would remain but for
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ONE BY ONE, BY WALTER RANE, COURTES
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LEFT: PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT CASEY; R
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PHOTOGRAPH OF SISTER WIXOM © BUSAT
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Prioritizing Our Eternal Purpose La
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ILLUSTRATION BY PAUL MANN MY SEARCH
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Page 27 and 28: ILLUSTRATIONS BY DAN BURR Temple Se
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April 2012 Ensign - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

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