June 15, '97

1) that Sis. Edmunds taught in Relief Society... in fact, I forgot my notebook to take notes so my journal gets to benefit from her great words.

What a privilege it is to be in the MTC on Father's Day when we can pray to our Father and thank him reverently.

"Pray as if everything depended on God, then work as if everything depended on you."

3 Nephi 18:15 -- Jesus taught to watch and pray always lest ye be tempted by the devil -- so prayer is a protection...

Nephi taught in his last lecture (2 Nephi 32:8-9)

"7 days without prayer makes one weak"
"Life is fragile, handle with prayer"

Pray always and don't faint -- literally means don't fall asleep!

Doctrine and Covenants 136:28-29 revelation given through Brigham Young -- if happy OR sad, call on the Lord!

Sister Elaine Jack (previous general Relief Society president or boss of the world for women) is now a primary pianist! side note ***

There are miracles that happen, it just won't always appear to you that way...

Prayer is a critical key for the things that we yearn for.

We are women now, not children -- we must pray maturely.

"Prayer is the soul's sincere desire"

Prayer should be some of the hardest work we ever engage in.

Prayer is not just words but communication... stay on your knees until communication is made. (President Kimball)

Draw near unto him with our hearts -- not just our lips.

Heavenly Father wants to "catch us" doing good things. He wants us to pray in every situation, not just when we're good but when we're bad so that we can partake of the atonement. We don't have to go through his secretary to get to him. He never leaves the phone off the hook. He's never on vacation.

Prayer IS a commandment, but it is also a blessing and opportunity.

"If I don't feel like praying, I say 'Brigham, get down on your knees and stay there until you feel like praying'" Brigham Young

Our hearts keep on working even when they're broken

Have you ever taken notes in response to a prayer? Joseph Smith did -- a lot -- and we read his notes in the Doctrine and Covenants!

Be able to say: Thy Will Be Done.

Trust Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. They will never ask us to do something dumb or useless. They may ask us to do challenging things, tho.

Don't hang up on Heavenly Father -- when you're done saying what you want to say LISTEN -- or even STOP to listen during your prayer.

3 Nephi 18:20
Moroni 7:26 - pray for that which is RIGHT and remember God knows better than we do WHAT is right.

Sometimes it's nice to have a prayer just of thanks.

Be specific in your prayer.

Heavenly Father won't get mad if you ask "Did that really happen to Joseph Smith?"

Ask, and he'll answer: What do I need to work on?"

It matters not how simple our words are if they are sincere and we have a broken heart and a contrite spirit." J.F. Smith

The words don't matter as much as the Spirit.

"If I am slow, will he wait for me?" YES!