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The LDS Daily WOOL© Archive - Robert E. Wells


(2/6/02)
"We are Christians because 'we believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.' (A of F 1:4.) All these things are centered in Christ." — Robert E. Wells, "We Are Christians Because...," Ensign, Jan. 1984, p. 19

(2/16/02)
"We have, in original form, everything that has ever been brought to earth that is part of the great Plan of Salvation--nothing altered, nothing modified. We believe in the same priesthood authority held by the ancients; the same organization as the primitive Church, headed by Apostles and prophets; the same spiritual gifts; the same ancient scriptures as well as new latter-day scriptures--the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price." — Robert E. Wells, "Our Message to the World," Ensign, Nov. 1995, p. 66

(9/14/04)
"In his teachings, Christ said that we cannot love two masters (something that controls or dominates our thoughts and actions) for either we will love one and hate the other or we will begin to despise the one and love the other. Service is a powerful master. Elder Marvin J. Ashton has said that we learn to love that which we serve, and we serve that which we love. An example of this truth is the mother who serves her family with barely any thought for herself; the love she has for those whom she serves is beautiful to behold. Elder Ashton describes the effects of service on what we love: 'If our top priorities are constantly directed toward the acquisition of more and better worldly goods, it will not take long to increase our love in those directions.... How can we decrease our love for things not for our best good? We must... stop the expenditure of time and effort in these directions.... We must constantly emphasize the truth that we love that to which we give time, whether it be the gospel, God, or gold.' (Ye Are My Friends, pp. 13-14.)" - Robert E. Wells, "The Mount and the Master," [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1991], p. 158

(11/29/04)
"We are Christians because we believe in the Christian lay ministry, established in the original Church. 'We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.' (A of F 1:5.) We believe that a call to the ministry is something that 'no man taketh... unto himself,' but that he must be 'called of God, as was Aaron.' (Heb. 5:4.) In other words, we do not believe that a man may call himself to the Lord's ministry." - Robert E. Wells, "We Are Christians Because... ," Ensign, January 1984, p. 19

(7/3/04)
"In our Church work it is hard to be as spiritually prepared as we need to be. Sometimes others think that if we are where we are supposed to be and are attending our meetings that we are doing our best. However, we know if we are faking it. It takes great effort to be spiritually inspiring to those about us. It means regular daily study, pondering, and prayer about the scriptures. It means not losing our cool in a tense situation. It means never giving in to anger or cutting words. It means being thorough in our reports, in our lesson preparation, in our study of the manual and job description for the position we accept.

"At times we are thrown suddenly into positions that seem too big for us and for which we have little preparation. The Lord stimulates our growth this way.... The Lord blesses us far beyond our natural ability and experience. However, it has been my experience that he expects us to quickly exert ourselves and acquire the things we need. He gives us a little time to improve our management skills and detailed knowledge so that we don't have to rely upon him for everything. We'll always need inspiration in these areas we couldn't possibly understand without his help." - Robert E. Wells, "Faking It and the Fourth French Horn," New Era, Apr. 1977, 6

2/26/06
"One of the principal purposes of this life is to find out if the Lord can trust us. One of our familiar scriptures says, 'And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them' (Abr. 3:25). We are destined to be tried, tested, and proven during our sojourn on earth to see if we are trustworthy.

"The Prophet Joseph Smith indicated that to attain the highest blessing of this life, we will first be tested and proved thoroughly until the Lord is certain that he can trust us in all things, regardless of the personal hazard or sacrifice involved. The Lord loves all of his children, but he can trust some more than others. It is far better when he can both love and trust each one of us.

"It has been said that one measure of a man is not how much he is worth, but rather how much he can borrow, how much he can be trusted with someone else's money. I feel that the banker's formula for measuring trust has a direct application to spiritual trust. Just as a banker measures a person's character, capacity, and capital, so the Lord might measure our character, our capacity, and our spiritual capital (or spiritual reserves) to identify those in whom he might trust the more." - Robert E. Wells, "The Cs of Spirituality," Ensign (CR), November 1978, p.24

1/6/07
"In a revelation given to Joseph Smith in 1832, the Savior said: 'Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God.' (D&C 88:119.) We each can use this pattern in building our own personal 'home'—our thoughts, our words, our actions can be 'built' after the pattern of this revelation of God. And to make our home with our family more celestial, we also can follow the Master Architect's blueprint that he has provided in this revelation." - Robert E. Wells, "The Mount and the Master," p.211

6/2/07
"Many individual spiritual and physical blessings result from a monthly fast that is properly begun with a prayer dedicating that fast to the Lord, and ended with a prayer consecrating it to the Lord. Any important decision in one's life should be made after due fasting and prayer. When I have faced the biggest decisions of my life, such as choosing an eternal companion and selecting a discipline to study for my life's profession, I have postponed the making of those decisions until after I have prayed and fasted, and the Lord has blessed me most generously. Of course, I have presented my questions to the Lord, following the pattern outlined in Doctrine and Covenants 9, by studying them out in my mind, making my own decision, and then presenting my request to the Lord for his approval or rejection. Every time I have gone to him in this manner I have received either a quiet, peaceful assurance or a clearly defined no." - Robert E. Wells, "The Mount and the Master," p.145

12/23/07
"This is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We are Christians. We know additional details about the Saviors role in the premortal existence before we came here: we have new information about His part in the creation of the world under the direction of our Father; we can identify Him as Jehovah of the Old Testament, communicating with the prophets of Israel. We have the Book of Mormon, which is another testament of Jesus Christ, which has great illuminating doctrines and information about the Savior. Our modern prophets have given revealed explanations, doctrines, light, and knowledge on the Christ as the Redeemer to whom we look for the remission of our sins. We have a wealth of information of tremendous value to all Christian churches. We do not diminish or tear down the faith others have in Christ, but seek only to share with them our additional knowledge of the Lamb, the Shepherd, the Holy One of Israel (see
Ps. 71:22)for their benefit and salvation." - Robert E. Wells, "Be a Friend, a Servant, a Son of the Savior," Ensign (CR), November 1982, p.69

6/20/08
"Those who are meek will turn to God in order to learn his will, and they will follow the promptings of the Spirit. Christ, in the Garden of Gethsemane, is our prime example of this. Great strength came to him as he faced his supreme test in which he willingly submitted to the will of the Father. Wise parents try to instill in their children the kind of faith that will enable them to face life's uncertainties. Some child psychologists believe in order to have a healthy personality, children need to develop trust in God and in the order of the universe. This kind of trust will give them strength to banish fear." - Robert E. Wells, "The Mount and the Master," p.37


1/31/09
"Fasting and prayer go hand in hand. An old Islamic proverb states that 'prayer gets us halfway to heaven, fasting gets us to the door of heaven, and generous alms open the door.' Fasting for spiritual purposes goes together with charitable giving for the benefit of the poor. This is an inspired concept. It is designed as a system to take care of the poor and needy. Very few people today, aside from the Latter-day Saints, combine fasting with giving to the poor. We have our monthly fast of two meals (twenty-four hours), and we give to the poor the money that is saved by forgoing those meals. Then we add even more so we can do what President Spencer W. Kimball asked: Give generously several times more than the value of two meals—'much, much moreten times more.' (See Conference Report, April 1974, p. 184.) " - Robert E. Wells, "The Mount and the Master," p.145


9/21/09
“We saw sharp-toothed mountains, snow-covered but blue, stretching left into the distance, and to the right off into infinity. At intervals, giant peaks, crowned with a lenticular cloud denoting high winds and turbulence ahead, rose up to 23,000 feet above us, and we could see the pass beneath us. God’s creations had never been grander or more majestic, with a sense of mystery that made us aware of our own puny limitations. We had been somewhat arrogant, feeling that we had conquered the length of the hemisphere, but suddenly we recognized that we needed to humble ourselves before our Creator and acknowledge that it was he who had allowed us to view his works and that we should be grateful and worship him. The mountains spread out before us like an infinite wonder and we knew there was no end to his greatness. I have never fully recovered from that humbling experience. My copilot was equally subdued. We continued our journey in silence, silently praising the Lord for the privilege of witnessing his true artistry.” - Robert E. Wells, “The Mount and the Master,” p. 13


5/18/10
"The attitude of revenge is completely counterproductive. It creates a vicious cycle: If you break off my tooth, then, so help me, I will break off your tooth! If carried to the extreme, such retribution can escalate and stretch out to infinity and even lead to a spirit of destruction. This is apparently the attitude that the wicked reached in the time of Mormon's last battle. Only when someone is strong enough, through meekness, to break this chain can the spirit of retaliation stop. By refusing to seek revenge, those who are meek stimulate peace within themselves and in society in general, a peace that can lead to the survival of individuals and of nations." - Robert E. Wells, "The Mount and the Master," p. 40


6/27/11
"Like Nephi of old, 'we believe in Christ, we … look forward with steadfastness unto Christ. … We are made alive in Christ because of our faith. … We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ. … We … look forward unto that life which is in Christ.' (2 Ne. 25:24–27.) Can anyone doubt that we are Christians in the full sense of the word?" - Robert E. Wells, "Be a Friend, a Servant, a Son of the Savior," Ensign (CR) October 1982


6/8/12
One of the principal purposes of this life is to find out if the Lord can trust us. One of our familiar scriptures says, “And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them” (Abr. 3:25). We are destined to be tried, tested, and proven during our sojourn on earth to see if we are trustworthy. - Robert E. Wells, "The Cs of Spirituality," Ensign (CR) November 1978


9/20/12
Tenderly Christ speaks: “Blessed are the peacemakers.” (Matt. 5:9.) Another Bible translator quotes the Savior, saying, “Happy are those who make peace.” (The New Testament in Modern English, trans. J. B. Phillips, New York: The Macmillan Co., 1958, p. 9; italics added.) Either way, we focus on the strong verb make as in “make peace” or “peacemakers.” To follow Christ and bring forth the blessings of heaven, we must actively make peace in the world, in the community, in the neighborhood, and above all, in the home we live in. - Robert E. Wells, "Peace," Ensign (CR) May 1991


6/28/14
No matter what the reason, the solution to achieve peace is always the same: Turn to Christ; follow his example; repent of all transgressions. His command to the storm-tossed sea, “Peace, be still” (Mark 4:39), can also apply to his calming influence in our lives as we experience the buffetings of life’s storms. - Robert E. Wells, “Peace,” Ensign (CR) May 1991


12/29/14
How do we develop spiritual capital and reserves? We need to make an investment in time studying the scriptures and the words of our living prophets; an investment in more meaningful communication with our Father in Heaven; an investment in service to others; an investment in unconditional, unselfish love of others; an investment in missionary labor, which lays up in store blessings and forgiveness of our sins; an investment in being wiser parents and more obedient children; an investment in doubling our performance in every calling. These investments will provide such spiritual capital and reserves that the Lord can truly trust us to overcome the temptations and frustrations of the world. - Robert E. Wells, “The Cs of Spirituality,” Ensign (CR) October 1978


3/22/16
The honest person finds greater meaning in life by the Prophet's answers to the philosophical questions, Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going? Because of revelations given to Joseph, the memory veil between this life and our premortal existence becomes almost transparent at times. And the veil between this life and the spirit world becomes thinner, causing family ties to become stronger, sweeter, and more meaningful as the hearts of the children turn to their fathers and the hearts of the fathers turn to their children. - Robert E. Wells, "Our Message to the World," Ensign (CR), November 1995, p.65


 
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