Arthur’s Court

If you want to be notified the next time I write something, sign up for my email alerts or subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for reading.

My mother in so many ways has done so much for me that I feel I stand in a very similar position to that detailed by the ancient and wise King Benjamin. The righteous king told his people that their Father in Heaven not only had provided them with all they had, but that he continues to bless them each time they show, through obedience, their gratitude. Because of this none can ever expect to repay him.

I owe so much to my mother that no amount of honor I bring her, no dollar value, no amount of words can adequately express how much she’s done to bless my life.

Though this is the case, I want to note several ways in which my mother has consistently blessed my life. Her example in each of the following areas has meant more to me than I can adequately express.

Faith - My mother has stepped into the darkness with the hope that the way would be lit for her. She was a convert to the Church at age 26 and has continued on to receive her temple endowments, serve faithfully in her callings and open the way for many of her ancestors to receive the blessings & ordinances of the gospel. She’s helped build my foundation of faith.

Hope - My mother reminds me often that Christ has power to overcome all fears, doubts and challenges that face me. She reminds me that there are many people praying for my success in life. She remains firm in the hope that she will one day receive the greatest blessings that can be afforded the faithful in this life. Her hope has been a strength to me.

Charity - My mother gives of her time to lift others. Preparing meals for those in need, making holiday treats to let neighbors know that she is thinking of them and taking the time to visit the sick and afflicted are living memories that I have of my mother. The noblest action is for one to care for another who cannot care for themselves. This is my mother.

Love - My mother makes a point to remember important things in my life and ask me about them. She has always encouraged me throughout my life, whether it be in dating, school or in sports…and believe me, I needed a LOT . Her oft expressed words, “I love you” hold weight because I see that they are accompanied by thoughtful actions, words of encouragement and meaningful attention. I am lifted by my mother’s love.

This is my mother. She means so much to me and in the shadow of her greatness I seek only to do what is good and right and true.

Thanks Ma! I love you!

Your Eldest and Only Son,

Ryan

Tags: charity, Faith, hope, love, mother's day

The Holy Ghost is a precious gift…

• Do I harden my heart? Then I’ll receive LESS of the Lord’s word.
• Do I soften my heart? Then I’ll receive MORE of the Lord’s word.

Responsibilities of the Holy Spirit…

comforts, teaches, warns, enlightens and inspires us.

It will show unto you ALL things what you should do.

How the Holy Ghost Speaks…

He whispereth

- to hearts
- to mind

• Do I want to be visited by the Holy Ghost?
• Do I want the Lord to draw near unto me?
• Do I want joy and consolation in my life?

Then I must carefully assess the condition of my heart. It is one of the most important things I can do in this life.

The heart is a tender place. It is sensitive to many influences. It can be:

• softened by love
• hardened by sin (Moroni 10:22)
• hurt by others

to protect our precious gift of agency: Holy Ghost carries messages TO the heart, but not INTO it….

State of a Heart necessary to feel the Holy Spirit: Purity

When my heart’s on the things of the world…

• I seek to hide my sins
• I seek vain ambitions over the things of God
• I seek unrighteous dominion

+ This is pride

The condition of my heart directly affects the things of the Spirit….this is why anger, bitterness, blame, frustration can leave me feeling empty.

————————-

Sachi’s thoughts on Opening Our Hearts

Tags: heart, holy ghost, pride, purity

Elder Kenneth Johnson
Of the Seventy

“Stable families provide the fabric that holds society together, benefiting all mankind, even those who may feel they live in less-favorable circumstances.”

There have been a handful or two times in this life where I have felt so overwhelmed with the Spirit of God that both His existence and the truth of the moment were undeniable. I consider those times my “tender mercies” from a loving Father. Most of those treasured moments have been experienced when I have been taught truth about the importance of the family. They are precious and special to me.

“Although spiritual truths may appear less tangible, to the humble heart their impact is undeniable.”

I have also had many moments of quiet peace in which I realize small and simple truths that help support the deeply personal moments I mention above. I cherish those moments as well and feel the Lord teaching me line upon line and precept on precept. Each time I am quiet enough and ready to hear these soft impressions I have a calm sense of gratitide because I know that my Father in Heaven loves me, is mindful of me and delights in teaching me things of eternal significance.

The things of eternity can only be taught by the Spirit. When we learn things that way, we have eternal truths imprinted on our souls, never to be forgotten. Elder Kenneth Johnson of the Seventy spoke humbly and gratefully about gaining “an appreciation for the core values that are necessary for the development of a sound character.” I’m sure in his home atmosphere of love these qualities are some of his most valuable possessions:

Loyalty, dependability, integrity, selfless service, honor, respect for the daughters of God, provident living, dignity of work, ability to make important decisions, accountability, consideration for others, and encouragement to pursue educational opportunities.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

More:

• Facebook Group: Walk the Talk
• Ideas From: Restoring Faith in the Family
• Originally given during: 178th Annual General Conference, April 2008

Elder Michael J. Teh
Of the Seventy

• Talk
• Audio 

“We need to enlarge the circle of our influence” - This reminds me to break free from any cliques that we can quite easily establish and seek to include all.

“To some degree we all depend on each other to be able to make it back to our heavenly home.” - I don’t think to some degree, but to a LARGE degree we depend on each other. It’s with a little help from my friends that I survive. I realized while running in St George and again in the Wasatch Back Relay that without the help of others I would have had a much harder time keeping strong and courageous. Its in the helping hands, the smiling faces, the mutual strength that I draw from my friends and those who serve that I can become anything great.

“Do what you will, there is going to be some benevolence, as well as some malice, in your patient’s soul. The great thing is to direct the malice to his immediate neighbours whom he meets every day and to thrust his benevolence out to the remote circumference, to people he does not know. The malice thus becomes wholly real and the benevolence largely imaginary.” - I have enjoyed recently to listen to C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce and have read most of The Screwtape Letters. In a simple way Mr. Lewis clearly exposes the subtle ways we feed ourselves a steady meal of self deceit and garbage. It’s beautiful to me how clearly I see things after reading or listeningn to a few of his thoughts on Christian living.

This statement also reminds me of when Christ said if you can’t be kind to your brothers and sisters who are nearby then how can you show love to a God whom you can’t even see? (paraphrased)

My Walk will be simple. I will not bicker about “dirty dishes,” literally and figuratively and will do one kind, out-of-my-way act for each of my roommates and family members this week.

Walk This Talk Extras

• Sachi
• Mindy
• Shara

Tags: cs lewis

I had a great week leading up to Easter today. I enjoyed studying about the last week of our Savior and felt closer to Him as I did so.

I often feel the pull of the world and today, to know that through Christ’s resurrection I have life was a good feeling. Though I walk through the valley of death I know that He is my Lord and that He knows all my troubles and sorrows.

Though I fall short I know that through him I may conquer all my fears!

He is Risen and I know this to be true.

Tags: easter, resurrection

Our company, ioVentures, was never really set up with the intention of servicing a large number of clients, none of us wanted that. Our goal has been from the start to build our own little projects that could provide us multiple streams of income. Here are our first little guys. Just as a newly sprouted plant looks like most other newly sprouted plants our little sprouts are in their infancy, so judge not by their outer appearance.

• natural anxiety cures -
• how to stop snoring -
• tmj treatment -
• angular cheilitis -
• adult dyslexia -
• run your car on water -
• how to jump higher -
• save my marriage -
• how to play the piano -
• learn to speak german -

That’s all for now.

Tags: adult dyslexia, angular cheilitis, anxiety, how to play the piano, jump higher, learn to speak german, panic attacks, save my marriage, tmj treatment, water powered cars

Alright, it’s not like those bible stories that you hear about where someone goes off into the wilderness and starves for 40 days…I’m still curious about that. Can someone really survive on no food/drink that long? Wow!

But rather this fast is a media fast. In the course of the last several months I’ve found myself completely engrossed in the world of technology and although Kip had it just right when he sand to La-fawn-duh, “I love technology!” I feel that there are things the Lord cannot tell me because “my line is busy.”

Over the course of the next 40 days I am going to scale down my use of media, the internet, texting, twitter and all the other noise, noise, noise (Intentional reference to Dr. Suess)!

Because of my scale down it may seem to some of you that may not be as available as I was before. However, I am making it a point to accept phone calls. I do love my people and you mean a lot to me.

So, as far as what this all means. Here’s my standard:

• Music: Instrumental, Mo-tab & Jack Johnson :o) He inspires me!
• Movies: None. Go see a play, play some sports, or some other fun thing. Exception: You can see ONE PG movie during this time. Make it a good one.
• TV: None. Replacement - write some guitar songs, poetry, read or do some family history instead.
• Internet Use:
  • At work - 3 hour daily max. Plan time well to accomplish.
  • At home - Only goal-oriented browsing. 30 45 min daily limit.
• Computer: For journaling, writing & planning only. No games, or other programs. 1 hour daily max.
• Facebook: for Walk the Talk & Clean Hands groups only - once a week on Sunday every other day for 30 minutes.
• Email: Check once a week for 30 minutes Check only once for 5 minutes every other day or if someone needs to get me something urgent. (This is down from several times each day, spending upwards of 30 minutes each day.)
• Texting & Twittering: Stop all Facebook, twitter and other social notifications. No replies via text. Talk on phone or in person if nearby.

Here are some other growth related activities that will replace some of the noise:

• Work Out: Run to and from work at least 3 times a week (prep for marathon), rock climb for an hour at least 3 times a week after work, yoga… :o) that’s all I’m going to say ’bout that.
• Sleep: Bed at 10, up at 6. Exception: Friday night: 12 IF something is planned.
• Scriptures: I spend 1 hour in my scriptures daily and ponder their meaning in the context of my calling - Clean Hands Chair.
• Patriarchal Blessing: Read weekly
• Food: Eat breakfast and prepare a lunch for work.
• Work: Plan for 30 minutes at the beginning of each day. Take a walking/stretching break at least each hour.
• Planning: Nightly plan the next day. Weekly review previous week and plan next week’s main events from goals.
• Journaling: Nightly at 9:30.

This list isn’t comprehensive. I expect to receive guidance along the way during my study, planning and journaling time.

If you need something, call me: 3.6.1.5.0.0.2 - Otherwise, see you in 40!

King Arthur

PS: Oh yeah, and to kick off my 40 days I’m going to shave my head…kind of.

Tags: clean hands, computer, facebook, fasting, media fast, texting, twitter

Jesus entered into Jerusalem today, he cleansed the temple and spent the night in Bethany 2 miles outside of the Holy City. Over the course of this week he showed his power, performed miracles, taught and finally suffered for all mankind in the Garden of Gethsemane and was crucified on Golgotha.

Each day this week spend some private time reading a few scriptures, pray and think about what Christ was doing. Wake up Easter Morning and thank the Father for sending his Son.

Here’s our ward newsletter. Page 4 has a daily reading schedule across the 4 gospels. Day three and four are combined.

BYU 208th March 2008 Newsletter

I am very excited to pause a little each day and remember my Savior like I promised I would when I was baptized.

Let me know how it goes for you!

King Arthur

Tags: Christ, easter, last week

Clean Hands and a Pure Heart
Elder David A. Bednar

“The purpose of our mortal journey is not merely to see the sights on earth or to expend our allotment of time on self-centered pursuits; rather, we are to ‘walk in newness of life’, to become sanctified by yielding our hearts unto God, and to obtain ‘the mind of Christ’.”

“…to have our hearts changed by the Holy Spirit…” is the ultimate purpose of the gospel and thus why Christ came to perform the atonement.

So often I get into the habit of thinking that Christ came merely to save me from my sins. That’s nice and good, but stopping there is so sad. The exciting part of the atonement to me is the transformation into something so amazing through Christ Jesus. “The infinite Atonement is for both the sinner and saint in each of us.”

“Repentance of our sins and seeking forgiveness are spiritually necessary, and we must always remember to do so. But remission of sin is not the only or even the ultimate purpose of the gospel. To have our hearts changed by the Holy Spirit…is the covenant responsibility we have accepted.”

I was richly edified as Elder Bednar emphasized the “becoming” aspect of the atonement and of this gospel of Jesus Christ.

“Brothers and sisters,” he said, “it is possible for us to have clean hands, but not have a pure heart.” He continues a little later, “Clean hands alone will not be enough when we stand before Him who is pure…”

So while I may stop doing bad, if I don’t then progress on and become good, I am missing out. That jump from removing sins of commission in our lives to limiting sins of omission is one of faith and of truly understanding the gospel.

That’s the whole purpose…to BECOME like God, so that when we see him again, we will be prepared, we will know him, because we are like him. And what a joyous day that will be if we have sought to repent and then to come unto Christ.

Tags: clean hands, pure heart

After All We Can Do
by Elder Claudio D. Zivic

I heard a friend ask this last week, “how long must I continue trying so hard?” and quickly thought, well, that’s easy to answer; we should do all that we can do for the WHOLE of our mortal lives. That’s what life is all about, learning!

I didn’t validate my friend’s feelings with that thought and it’s been so easy for me lately to toss out advice and miss how I’m not applying it at the same time.

Yesterday night however, after a friend of mine who was visiting from Logan UT talked to me about wanting to be better, I started to feel my passion for excellence come back. I do love that feeling. It’s exciting. It’s motivating and it’s necessary to push me forward in the cause of right. It’s the desire that the scriptures talk about and it’s the vital prerequisite for action and for accessing the full potential of the atonement of Jesus Christ.

Elder Zivic spoke of several gospel components that allow us to “be someone out of the ordinary.” My desire is to become just such a person. Who am I not to be?

1. Sincere repentance allows us remove the burdens, or chains, of our fallen nature. Once this weight is removed, we can have the hope that lifts us up to be extraordinary people.
2. Looking for and developing the opportunities that the gospel affords us is a key.
3. Sharing the gospel, as I realized on my cruise, is a powerful tool to in feeling and knowing the Spirit.

I’d just like to end with a quote that I’ve always liked. It speaks of who we really are:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light , not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of god. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.

We were born to make and manifest the glory of god that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Authors Details: Marianne Williamson
“Our greatest fear” from her book ‘A return to love ‘

You were never meant to be ordinary!

Tags: fear, repentance