Obedience

As I was studying from Preach my Gospel this morning, I was studying chapter 6 about patience, diligence and obedience.  There are so many good scriptures to study on each of these virtues.  PMG also includes great quotes on each page.  I thought I would share a couple of the quotes that I really liked this morning.
       President Monson said,  "Life is full of difficulties, some minor and others of a more serious nature.  There seems to be an unending supply of challenges for one and all.  Our problem is that we often expect instantaneous solutions to such challenges, forgetting that frequently the heavenly virtue of patience is required."
      Elder L. Tom Perry said, "the discipline contained in daily obedience and clean living and wholesome lives builds an armor around you of protection and safety from the temptations that beset you as you proceed through mortality."

I read the story of Naaman in 2 Kings 5:1-14.  He was the captain of the host of the king of Syria.  It describes him as a great man and honorable and very courageous, but he was a leper.  He finds out about the prophet Elisha from a little maid that was captured in Israel and brought into slavery and given to wait upon Naaman's wife.  And so Naaman goes to Elisha's house to see what Elisha can do for him.  Elisha sends a messenger to this great man who tells Naaman to go dip himself seven times in the River Jordan and he will be whole again.  Naaman is really mad that Elisha didnt come himself and talk to him.  He is really mad that they told him to dip himself in a river of Israel.  And so he went away mad. But the servants ran after him and said, "Wait, what are you thinking.  Don't you want to be healed?  If he asked you to do some mighty task, you would have done it, but this is so simple, why don't you do it.  A mighty miracle will occurs if you will just do this simple thing."  And so he did go down to the river Jordan and dip himself seven times, and "his flesh came again like  unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean."

This story is a great reminder that we need to obey the prophet when he tells us to do the small things that seem just ordinary, like read our scriptures and pray everyday.  Since conference is coming up in a few days, I hope that we can all listen to what the prophet tells us to do.  Make a list of everything he asks us to do.  Write down what you hear and send me a list in an email.  I'd love to put up this list on my frig. for the next six months.