Thought for the Day

[Robert E. Chatfield]

"Honesty and integrity are not old-fashioned principles. They are just as viable in today's world."          Elder Sheldon F. Child

"Honesty is more than a policy. It is a happy way of life."                          Marvin J. Ashton

The true test of a man's honesty is not to look at his income tax return---it is to look at the zero setting on his bathroom scale.

The Make-Up Test

Chad and his three friends were college seniors and doing well in their classes. Even though the final physics exam was on Monday, Chad persuaded his buddies to take a weekend trip several hundred miles away. He told his worried friends they could study in the car, during the trip, and when they got back Sunday night. Instead, the boys partied all weekend. By Sunday night, they knew they weren’t ready for the exam.

Chad, an A student, told them to relax. He had a plan. He called the professor at home Monday morning and told him they were on the road and ready to take the final, but they’d had a flat tire. They didn’t have a spare and couldn’t get help. Chad convinced the professor to let them take a make-up exam the following day.

When they showed up, the professor placed them in separate rooms and handed each a test booklet. They were relieved that the first problem, worth 5 points, was simple. They were less pleased when they read the second problem, worth 95 points: “Which tire was flat, and what time did the repair truck come?”

Chad’s exam had an additional note: "Chad, I just received a reference request for you from Harvard. How you do on this exam will determine how I fill it out."

Then he added a P.S.: "You took two exams today. One was on physics. The other was on integrity. It would have been much better if you only flunked physics."

Kids will be kids, but all choices have consequences. Chad and his buddies took a risk by not studying, but they took a greater one when they made up a phony excuse.

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.

[Robert E. Chatfield]

And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble, and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong in them. Ether 12:27

The weakest areas of our lives are where God shows His strength.  So don't be afraid of your weaknesses.  Relish them. Because in those very weaknesses, He is strong.  And in them, He will give you His victory. Bonnie Ricks

"Our weaknesses are like dogs, you see. If we walk toward them, they will run away from us. But if we run away from them they'll chase us." Hugh Nibley

Weakness is [our] present condition, glory [our] everlasting birthright." Hugh Nibley

Failure: Never Final

God..... “Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God."¹

In his book, Beginning Again, Terry Hershey writes, "God not only says that failure is never the final word, but that your area of weakness will become your area of strength. Where you were weak and learned grace will become a means whereby you can reach out and touch the lives of others who need the same good news.

"God is not only working to heal you, but to heal others through you, to make you what Henri Nouwen called a 'wounded healer.' 

"Such healing doesn't happen through the man or woman who has all the answers. It happens through the man or woman who understands pain and grace. Nouwen explains, 'For a deep understanding of his own pain makes it possible for the [wounded healer] to convert his weaknesses into strength and to offer his experience as a source of healing to those who are often lost in the darkness of their own misunderstood suffering.'"

I believe it was Ernest Hemingway who first used the phrase, "Growing strong in the broken places." The idea being that where a bone is broken and heals, it becomes the strongest part of the bone. 

The same is true of our broken places—where we have been hurt, have fallen, or failed. When we bring these to Christ for his healing, his strength is then made perfect in and through our weaknesses. This is certainly true in ministering effectively to other people. They are helped, not through our brilliant logic, nor persuasive speech, but through the sharing of our struggles, and how, with God's help, we have overcome. It is a case of one beggar showing other beggars where to find bread. 

This is why the Apostle Paul could say, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."² 

1. 2 Corinthians 1:4

2. Romans 8:28 

[Robert E. Chatfield]

"Respect is love in plain clothes." Frankie Byrne

He who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.--- Saint Basil * 7-10-07

"Kindness makes a fellow feel good, whether it's being done to him or by him." -- Frank A. Clark

The Cowboy Code

I grew up in much simpler times. Television was in its infancy, and the idea of a hero was exemplified by a white-hatted cowboy. There was a clarity and simplicity to this hero’s moral code that left no doubt there is a right and wrong.

As I became more sophisticated, it was easy to ridicule these simplistic approaches to ethics and living. Yet the more I’ve learned, the more I’ve come to think there’s just as much danger in muddying our choices into endless shades of gray.

Sure, there are extenuating factors and exceptions that challenge the validity of every ethical principle, but on balance we need clear prescriptive benchmarks of virtue. Such guidelines are provided in the quaintly old-fashioned Cowboy Code promoted by the late Gene Autry:

1. Don’t shoot first, hit a smaller man, or take unfair advantage.

2. Don’t go back on your word or a trust confided in you.

3. Tell the truth.

4. Be gentle with children, the elderly, and animals.

5. Don’t advocate or possess racially or religiously intolerant ideas.

6. Help people in distress.

7. Be a good worker.

8. Keep yourself clean in thought, speech, action, and personal habits.

9. Respect women, parents, and the law.

10. Be patriotic.

With a little updating, this code still works.

[Robert E. Chatfield]

And thus we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled. And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them; wherefore, he did provide means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness. 1 Nephi 17:3

COMPARED TO PERFECTION  

A man walks into the street and manages to get a taxi just going by. He gets into the taxi, and the cabby says, "Perfect timing. You're just like Frank.”

Passenger: "Who?"

Cabby: "Frank Feldman. He's a guy who did everything right - all the time.  Like my coming along when you needed a cab, things happened like that to Frank Feldman every single time."

Passenger: "There are always a few clouds over everybody."

Cabby: "Not Frank Feldman. He was a terrific athlete. He could have won the Grand-Slam at tennis. He could golf with the pros. He sang like an opera baritone and danced like a Broadway star and you should have heard him play the piano.   He was an amazing guy."

Passenger: "Sounds like he was something really special."

Cabby: "There's more.......He had a memory like a computer. Could remember everybody's birthday. He knew all about wine, which foods to order and which fork to eat them with. He could fix anything. Not like me. I change a fuse, and the whole street blacks out. But Frank Feldman, he could do everything right."

Passenger. "Wow, some guy then."

Cabby: "He always knew the quickest way to go in traffic and avoid traffic jams, not like me, I always seem to get stuck in them. But Frank, he never made a mistake."

Passenger. "Mmm, there's not many like him around."

Cabby: "And he really knew how to treat a woman and make her feel good and never answer her back even if she was in the wrong; and his clothing was always immaculate, shoes highly polished too - he was the perfect man! He never made a mistake. No one could ever measure up to Frank Feldman."

Passenger: "An amazing fellow. How did you meet him?"

Cabby: "Well, I never actually met Frank."

Passenger: "Then how do you know so much about him?"

Cabby: "I married his widow."

     It's hard to live in the shadow of someone great.  That's true not only in marriage, but in other areas as well.  Those of you who are younger children may have constantly been compared to your older siblings ("Why can't you bring home good grades like your brother?!").  You may have this problem in the workplace if you have replaced someone who was a particularly good worker ("Bob didn't seem to have any trouble meeting his sales quota.  Why do you?")

     As Christians, we face a similar difficulty in that our goal is to follow after the example of Jesus Christ.  The problem with our attempt to do that is that Jesus had no sin, and any comparison we make is going to fall far short!

     "For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow in his steps:  'Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth.' " (I Peter 2:21-22)

     There is a big difference, though, between Jesus and others whom we may seek to emulate.  Christ not only set the standard for us, but he seeks to strengthen us as we resolve to follow his example.  "For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted." (Hebrews 2:18).  "And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all..." (I Thess. 3:12).

    Thanks be to God for not leaving us to feel helpless at our inability to "measure up", but rather strengthens us as we grow closer and closer to that perfect example.

Have a great day!

Alan Smith

[Robert E. Chatfield]

"I AM ONLY ONE. BUT STILL I AM ONE. I CANNOT DO EVERYTHING, BUT STILL I CAN DO SOMETHING. AND BECAUSE I CANNOT DO EVERYTHING, I WILL NOT REFUSE TO DO THE SOMETHING THAT I CAN DO."                                                              Edward Everett Hale

The Power of One
  Dick Innes

"And I [God] sought for a man [person] among them that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found none."1

Have you ever felt helpless in light of the seemingly overwhelming problems we face in today's world—either at home or abroad? The truth of the matter, however, is
that one person can make a world of difference to at least one other person and, more often than not, to a host of other persons.
Some time ago a friend sent the following anonymous poem to me. I'd like to share it with you today.

One song can spark a moment,
One flower can wake the dream.
One tree can start a forest,
One bird can herald spring.
One smile begins a friendship,
One handclasp lifts a soul.
One star can guide a ship at sea,
One word can frame the goal.
One vote can change a nation,
One sunbeam can light a room.
One candle can wipe out darkness,
One laugh will conquer gloom.
One step must start each journey,
One word must start each prayer.
One hope will raise our spirits,
One touch can show you care.
One voice can speak with wisdom,
One heart can know what's true.
One life can make the difference,
You see it's up to YOU!

As another has said, "All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of one small candle." And as Edward Everett Hale so eloquently said, "I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do." Don't ever forget how very important you are in your world, and remember too, that "One person is very important to God, too." Most of His work on earth has been started by one person. God is always looking for people who will do His work on earth. Will you be the one He is looking for today?
Ezekiel 22:30

[Robert E. Chatfield]

Pounding In and Pulling Out Nails

When my daughter was confronted with the fact that she had really hurt another child with a mean comment, she cried and immediately wanted to apologize. That was a good thing, but I wanted her to know an apology can’t always make things better. So I told her the parable of Will, a nine-year-old whose father abandoned his mom two years earlier. Will was angry, and he often would lash out at others with hurtful words. He once told his mom, “I see why Dad left you!”

Unable to cope with his outbursts of cruelty, she sent Will to spend the summer with his grandparents. His grandfather’s strategy to help Will learn self-control was to make him go into the garage and pound a two-inch-long nail into a four-by-four board every time he said a mean and nasty thing. For a small boy, this was a major task, but he couldn’t return until the nail was all the way in. After about ten trips to the garage, Will began to be more cautious about his words. Eventually, he even apologized for all the bad things he’d said.

That’s when his grandmother came in. She made him bring in the board filled with nails and told him to pull them all out. This was even harder than pounding them in, but after a huge struggle, he did it.

His grandmother hugged him and said, “I appreciate your apology and, of course, I forgive you because I love you, but I want you to know an apology is like pulling out one of those nails. Look at the board. The holes are still there. The board will never be the same. I know your dad put a hole in you, but please don’t put holes in other people; you are better than that.”

*A fourth-grade teacher recently told me how she tells this story to her class in the beginning of the semester and uses it throughout the year. When she comes upon a child saying or doing a mean or unkind thing, she will say, “Did you put a nail in someone?” Then she’ll ask, “Did you take it out?”

She says her students always know what she’s talking about and recognize what they did was wrong, which isn’t always the case if she simply asks the child what happened (that usually results in a string of blaming everyone else).

She urges her students not to use the automatic “That’s all right” after an apology because usually what was done was not all right and the person saying it, rightfully, doesn’t feel it was all right. She tells her class to say “I accept your apology” or “I forgive you” instead.

The teacher also uses the story to help her kids understand difficult family matters outside of the classroom. She tells them some people will never take out the nails they’ve pounded into the children, but everyone has the power to pull them out themselves and get on with their life rather than let others rule them.

She told me, “The story is simple, but the message is powerful — especially when reinforced with: “You’re better than that!”

[Robert E. Chatfield]

"We are told in scriptures both ancient and modern that temptations do not come from God, but from Satan, or are a result of our own desires or weaknesses."

Robert J. Matthews, "Searching the Scriptures: How to Face Temptation," Ensign, Aug. 1973, 68

“We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it; and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means - the only complete realist.” C. S. Lewis

"The men and women who desire to obtain seats in the celestial kingdom will find that they must battle with the enemy of all righteousness every day." Brigham Young

Sweet Temptation

 Dick Innes

Jesus said, "Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation."1

I read recently about certain ants that have a passion for the sweet glandular substance given off by the caterpillar of a large blue butterfly. According to the
article, the ants can become so enthralled by the substance; they carry the supplier into their nest with great delight. What they don't realize is that the
caterpillar gorges himself on the ant larva.

Usually, such a threat would be attacked by an army of ants and destroyed or repelled. However, because they enjoy the caterpillar's tasty secretions so much, they
become "addicted" to it. In so doing, they are oblivious to the fact that their young are being destroyed!

In reality, many of us are addicted to something. It may not be drugs or alcohol, but anything we habitually or compulsively use or do to avoid facing our inner
unresolved problems (such as fears, hurts, losses, anger, guilt, inadequacies, etc.), is an addiction. It may be work, religion, gambling, spending, eating, smoking, relationships, sex or any of a score of other things--some of which may be very enjoyable.

"If we entertain temptations, soon they begin entertaining us!" Neal A. Maxwell (Ensign, May 1987, page 71) * 6-5-00

Of one thing we can be sure when our life is being controlled by addictions, we don't grow and we can damage and even destroy our children, our closest
relationships, and our physical, emotional or spiritual health. Besides, an addiction is often a counterfeit of the real thing, and when we settle for the counterfeit,
we can stop ourselves finding the genuine.

Only when we are ruthlessly honest with ourselves, and admit to God and at least one other safe person that we are addicted, can we get God's help to face the causes behind our addictions, and seek the help we need to overcome them.

1. Matthew 26:41 

[Robert E. Chatfield]

[Robert E. Chatfield]

"Harsh words hurt and burn,

to ashes friends and foes

Sweet words like monsoon showers,

spread sweetness as the rose"

There is one thing you give and still must keep--your word.

Choose your words carefully, you can never take them back.

"Kind words do not cost much. They never blister the tongue or lips. They make other people good-natured. They also produce their own image on mens souls, and a beautiful image it is." Blaise Pascal

Words

The closer you are to someone, the more your words will mean. The higher your position, the more importance will be put on your every idle word. Your children will copy your words. We create our relationships with words. Our friends take us at our word. We build people up with words. We also tear them down with words. We continue conflict with words.

Others form an opinion of us by listening to our words. We forgive using words. We argue and disagree using words. The power of "self-talk" comes from non-spoken words, and all that we will become is broadcast loudly and clearly through our words.

Ray Lammie's, Thoughts for Today 

[Robert E. Chatfield]

"I am in control of how my day turns out. I am in control of how my life goes. It is not what happens to me, but how I choose to react to what happens. Working within God's plan for me gives me the power I need to handle anything."                         Bob Perks

Can it be an accident that STRESSED is DESSERTS spelled backwards?

"When you find yourself stressed, ask yourself one question: Will this matter five years from now? If yes, then do something about the situation. If no, then let it go."                          Catherine Pulsifer

Why Stress is Stressful

"Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your bequests be known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ."¹

A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, "How heavy is this glass of water?" Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.

The lecturer replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

He continued, "And that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on.

"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden.

"So, before you return home tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can."

It is well know that too much stress is a "killer." Writing in Eternity magazine some time ago Fred Stansberry talks about "stress-related diseases such as cancer, arthritis, heart and respiratory diseases, migraines, allergies and a host of other psychological and physiological dysfunctions which are increasing at an alarming rate in our Western culture."

Stress is pretty much common to us all in today's pressure-cooker world. It is our responsibility, however, to do what we can to lessen the stress factors in our life wherever possible. To do this the following tips can help.

Write down all your cares and worries. Put them in order of priority and eliminate those that aren't important.

1. Know what your limit is and limit yourself to what you can handle.

2. With stress comes pent-up feelings. Learn how to express these creatively and get them off your chest.

3. Accept the fact that some things can't be changed.

4. Limit major life changes to as few as possible in any one year.

5. Resolve all resentments immediately.

6. Make time for rest and relaxation … get    sufficient sleep.

7. Watch your diet and eating habits.

8. Maintain a regular physical exercise program.

9. Ultimately, however, we need to learn to trust our life to God in all circumstances.

To test your level of stress go to: http://tinyurl.com/2p2fb7

1. Philippians 4:6-7