Sheri L. Dew
Without the presence of the Spirit, it is impossible to comprehend our personal mission or to have the reassurance that our course is right.
By the time I turned 12, I was a 5-foot 10-inch social disaster. Towering over my friends was the bane of my adolescence.
I have 17 nieces and nephews, who are a pure delight. We have hiked and biked and fasted and prayed together.
In this world, the only true joy comes from the gospel - the joy that radiates from the Atonement and from ordinances that transcend the veil, and from the Comforter that salves our souls.
I was raised on a farm in Kansas where we lived next door to my Grandma Dew, and I was her shadow. We went everywhere together - to the bank, the doctor, the Early Bird Garden Club, and to an endless procession of Church meetings.
The Lord needed the strength of the women of this Church as the seeds of the Restoration were planted and nourished.
Regardless of your marital status, your age, or the language you speak, you are a beloved spirit daughter of Heavenly Father who is destined to play a critical part in the onward movement of the gospel kingdom.
God our Father and His Son Jesus Christ, with Their perfect foreknowledge, already recommended every one of you to fill your mortal probation during the most decisive period in the history of the world.
My mother made me take piano lessons, and because I am her oldest and she had not yet been worn down by the task of prodding five children to practice every day, she kept me practicing despite my whining.
My progress on the piano and my motivation to practice increased dramatically when I caught a vision of my potential.
It is no accident that faith in Jesus Christ - not only believing in Him but believing Him - is the first principle of the gospel.
We no longer have the luxury of spending our energy on anything that does not lead us and our families to Christ.Collection: Luxury
Noble and great. Courageous and determined. Faithful and fearless. That is who you are and who you have always been. And understanding it can change your life, because this knowledge carries a confidence that cannot be duplicated any other way.Collection: New Year
None of us come to this earth to gain our worth; we brought it with us.Collection: Earth
There is a direct relationship between our personal experience with the Lord and how we see ourselves. The closer we grow to him, the more clear and complete becomes our vision of who we are, who we have always been, and who we may become.Collection: Vision
No woman is a more vibrant instrument in the hands of the Lord than a woman of God who is thrilled to be who she is.Collection: Hands
If we don't have a clear sense of our identity and purpose, we are much more vulnerable to Lucifer. He of course knows this and accordingly attempts to blur our vision. He lies. He shades and obliterates truth. He makes evil look good and good look unenlightened and unsophisticated. Make no mistake about it: Lucifer will do anything to derail, disappoint, dishearten, discourage, and deceive us—and particularly those who have made and are seeking to keep sacred covenants. His motives are entirely self-centered, selfish, destructive, and evil.Collection: Mistake
While we tend to equate motherhood solely with maternity, in the Lord’s language, the word 'mother' has layers of meaning...Mothe rhood is more than bearing children, though it is certainly that. It is the essence of who we are as women. It defines our very identity, our divine stature and nature, and the unique traits our Father gave us.Collection: God
Life is a test. It is only a test--meaning that's all it is. Nothing more, but nothing less. It is a test of our convictions and priorities, our faith and faithfulness, our patience and resilience, and in the end, our ultimate desires. It is a test to determine if we want to be part of the kingdom of God more than we want anything else.Collection: Priorities
We're not alone--at least, we're alone only if we choose to be alone. We're alone only if we choose to go through life relying solely on our own strength rather than learning to draw upon the power of God.Collection: Strength
As daughters of our Heavenly Father, and as daughters of Eve, we are all mothers and we have always been mothers. And we each have the responsibility to love and help lead the rising generation.Collection: Mother
Motherhood is not what was left over after our Father blessed His sons with priesthood ordination. It was the most ennobling endowment He could give His daughters, a sacred trust that gave women an unparalleled role in helping His children keep their second estate. As President J. Reuben Clark Jr. declared, motherhood is ‘as divinely called, as eternally important in its place as the Priesthood itself.’Collection: Daughter
It is not possible to sin enough to be happy. It isn't possible to buy enough to be happy, or to entertain or indulge or pamper ourselves enough to be happy. It is not possible to hide enough or run far enough away from trials and troubles to be happy. Happiness and joy come only when we are living up to who we are... I have never met anyone who was happier because he was immoral, or because he was addicted to something, or because he was dishonest and compromised his integrity.Collection: Running
True leaders understand that leadership is not about them but about those they serve. It is not about exalting themselves but about lifting others up.Collection: Leadership
Lucifer whispers that life's not fair and that if the gospel were true, we would never have problems or disappointments. ... The gospel isn't a guarantee against tribulation. That would be like a test with no questions. Rather, the gospel is a guide for maneuvering through the challenges of life with a sense of purpose and direction.Collection: Disappointment
On those days when we're not ready to stop being offended, not ready to forgive, still determined to dish out the silent treatment, what we're actually saying is, "Thanks, but I don't want to become more like the Savior today. Maybe tomorrow, but not today." Perhaps those are the times when we need to pray the hardest, the times it becomes clear that a change in behavior is not enough--that we must have a change in nature.Collection: Maybe Tomorrow
I can't imagine pain greater than stepping across the veil and realizing I had not done what I came here to do - or realizing that I had given up my life to little or nothing, only then to find that it was gone. p 3Collection: Pain
We must each walk through life on our own, but we don't have to do it alone. God wants a powerful people. He gives His power to those who are faithful. We have a sacred obligation to seek after the power of God and then to use that power as He directs. And when we have the power of God with us, nothing is impossible.Collection: Powerful
We are here to influence the world rather than to be influenced by the world.Collection: Inspirational
There is one thing the power of God and the power of Satan have in common: Neither can influence us unless we allow them to.Collection: Common
It is simply not for us to judge each other. The Lord has reserved that right for Himself, because only He knows our hearts and understands the varying circumstances and complexities of our lives.Collection: Heart
Do you think there is any chance the Lord would have inspired his prophets to prophesy about us, only to then take a chance on the outcome of the latter days by sending men and women he couldn't count on? There is no chance - zero chance - He would have done that.Collection: Zero
The gift of the Holy Ghost is a gift of power. The Holy Ghost inspires and heals, guides and warns, enhances our natural capacities, inspires charity and humility, makes us smarter than we are, strengthens us during trials, testifies of the Father and the Son, and shows us "all things" that we should do. He helps us do more and become more than we could ever do or become on our own.Collection: Father
If you're serious about sanctification, you can expect to experience heart-wrenching moments that try your faith, your endurance, and your patience.Collection: Patience
These are the days in which a true leader wants to live. These are days when opportunities to change lives and even destinies are nearly endless. You are running the anchor leg of the relay because you were born to lead. You were born for glory.Collection: Running
Motherhood is more than bearing children...It is the essence of who we are as women.Collection: Children
Am I the woman I think I am, the woman I want to be? More importantly, am I the woman the Savior needs me to be?Collection: Thinking
Life, like classical music, is full of difficult passages that are conquered as much through endurance and determination as through any particular skill.Collection: Determination
Few of us will reach our potential without the nurturing of both the mother who bore us and the mothers who bear with us.Collection: Inspiring
We just can't let the Lord down. And if the day comes when we are the only women on earth who find nobility and divinity in motherhood, so be it. For mother is the word that will define a righteous woman made perfect in the highest degree of the celestial kingdom, a woman who has qualified for eternal increase in posterity, wisdom, joy, and influence.Collection: Mother
Thus, when we plead for the gift of charity, we aren't asking for lovely feelings toward someone who bugs us or someone who has injured or wounded us. We are actually pleading for our very natures to be changed, for our character and disposition to become more and more like the Savior's, so that we literally feel as He would feel and thus do what He would do.Collection: Character
While life is meant to test, challenge, and strengthen us, if we are attempting to negotiate the twists and turns and ups and downs of mortality alone, we're doing it all wrong. Mortality is a test, but it is an open book test. We have access not only to the divine text but to Him who authored it.Collection: Book
No woman who understands the gospel would ever think that any other work is more important or would ever say, "I am just a mother," for mothers heal the souls of men.Collection: Mother
No amount of time in front of the mirror will make you as attractive as having the Holy Ghost with you.Collection: Inspirational
The more we sense...our ultimate potential, the more determined we become to achieve it. It's the difference between your mother hounding you to practice the piano and reaching the point where you want to do it yourself. You simply will not be denied the ultimate reward and the joy of the Big Finish. p 90Collection: Mother
The last days are not for the faint of heart or the spiritually out of shape.Collection: Heart
We don't really know what we believe in or care about until what we believe in or care about is threatened, challenged, or measured.Collection: Believe
Happily, though we must each walk through life on our own, we don't have to do it alone.Collection: Walks