Faith-the Choice is Yours - Richard C. Edgley

  You can boil all the confusion and temptation down to his suggestion;  "That choice is faith."  To make that choice to have faith requires us to ask and then follow Alma's 7 words to be used following our choice to have faith.

1. Awake
2. Arouse
3. Experiment
4. Exercise
5. Desire
6. Work
7. Plant

See if you can find the use of these actual action words in relation to gaining faith within his talk.  All were used but one was only alluded to unless you can find it.
  The daily use of the actions regarding faith will then result in being able to testify and know that Jesus is the Christ and that Joseph Smith was a Prophet.
  This would be a good talk to use in a Family Home Evening with a game being made at the end using the 7 words in some activity.

Let There Be Light! - Quentin L. Cook

  Elder Cook gives us a commentary on the declining morality of the nations of the world and how we should and must relate to it.  "...we need to do our best to preserve light and protect our families and communities from this assault on morality and religious freedom.  Rather than repeat the factors that we have heard often and try to live, I would suggest that a detour to the reference to the commencement address given by Clayton Christensen at South New Hampshire University last year.  The title and topic may be important to our quest to understand a live a better and more careful life.  "The Importance of the Right Question" leads to thinking about how we might better approach our life's journey.  He says; "Unfortunately, most of us are so eager to formulate the right answer and then begin implementing it that we often forget to think about whether the right question has been asked."  Here are the questions he recommended to the graduates to ask themselves:

• What is the purpose of my life?
• Does my behavior reflect the instincts of honesty, integrity, respect and consideration for others that must be my contributions to our nation?
• If not, what changes must I resolve to make?
• How can I do for others the things that bring me enduring happiness?

  If you really have the desire and time to ponder (and interpret the old scottish language), I recommend finding the Robert Burns poem referred to in Note 21 of Elder Cook's talk.  It is sweet and brings our focus back to the foundation of family.  This effort to ponder and understand has great blessings in store for each humble seeker.

Agency: Essential to the Plan of Life - Robert D. Hales

  It is interesting that the online dictionary had 10 definitions of the word "agency" and not one of them expressed the most important defininition in light of our happiness and progress.  That definition is key to our understanding the plan of salvation and happiness.  "Agency is to act with accountability and responsibility for our actions."
  I loved the story, oft repeated, of painting himself into a corner.  We do not always see the impending consequence of a choice, but perhaps with more care in our choices we can at least avoid our self-imposed consequences or corners.
  "Selective Obedience" illustrated by the story of Saul is always a risk in our lives.  Perhaps one of the most important issues with our society is the selective obedience regarding debt.  It is easy to think that debt is ok when used to start or build a business.  Isn't that different from credit card debt or other personal debt?  But his counsel is; "As we obey the counsel to avoid and get out of debt now, we use our agency and obtain the liberty to use our disposable income for helping and blessing others."  At least in this matter, are we like Saul being selectively obedient?
  We should use this test in conjunction with prayer whenever our personal wisdom seems to be contradicted by scripture or prophetic counsel.  This tool is readily available, now more than ever.
  It is wonderful that when we find ourselves "painted into a corner" we have the opportunity to repent and therefore pay the price to get back.

Of Things That Matter Most - Dieter F. Uchtdorf

  In reading President Uchtdorf’s talk, several things resound to experiences more current and also on point for me.  Talking about slowing down for the “speed bumps” we understand this at one level in North America.  In Brasil however, it has a much more poignant meaning.  The name of these very large bumps here is “quebra molas” or translated “break the shocks.”  If you do not slow down, you will very likely break the shocks or maybe even worse.  Like the speed bumps of life, sometimes here they are not marked and at night you may hit them at speed to your detriment. 

  Commenting also about “...what does it have to do with flying an airplane?”  I remember early in my flying lessons coming in too low and too slow for a landing at the Glendale airport.  I became very concerned as I could see the large vehicles on Grand Avenue there in front of us.  I expected my instructor to take over and make the corrections needed but he just sat there with his arms folded and asked; “what are you going to do, let us crash?”  The natural response to this situation would have been to pull back on the yoke and lift the plane higher, but that would have had the most dangerous effect of slowing the plane down, perhaps even to the stall level.  Fortunately, I remembered to apply power and slowly seek the appropriate approach configuration.  The same lesson is here to approach challenges and difficulties carefully and appropriately and not to overreact and make it worse.

  While not expanding our "to do list," his counsel includes these four important activities to improve upon:

1. First, our relationship with God is most sacred and vital.
2. Our second key relationship is with our families.
3. The third key relationship we have is with our fellowman.
4. The fourth key relationship is with ourselves.

  I love this talk and am so thankful for this Senior Mission time where we have been given the gift of time to use in these most important relationships.