Israel, in the Hebrew language, literally means “Champion of God” (From the Book, ‘Wisdom of Israel’). Israel was the name given to Jacob when he ‘prevailed with God’ at Penuel in the wilderness. Jacob (Israel) was the son of Isaac who was the son of the great Abraham. Israel had twelve sons who eventually became…
Category: The Book of On – Volume 4
On The Greatest Achievement
Different persons will give a different answer as to what is the greatest achievement in a person’s life. If I were a long distance runner winning a marathon might be my answer. Many would say to marry a good person whom you love and raise several children who grow to be good citizens who contribute…
On Mating
Boyd K. Packer stated in a talk years ago titled “The Plan of Happiness,” ideally, mating begins with romance. Though customs may vary, it flourishes with all the storybook feelings of excitement and anticipation, even sometimes rejection. There are moonlight and roses, love letters, love songs, poetry, the holding of hands, and other expressions of…
On The Personal Fruits of Our Labors
There are times in our lives when we wonder if anything that we have done or accomplished in this life has had any positive effect in the lives of others, especially those of our own family. My wife and I have been most fortunate to have loving children who have often expressed their love and…
On Incentives
An incentive is a reason, a reason to move, to do, to think, to even live. It is the motivating force that causes us to accomplish the things in life that we do. For some there is only a limited incentive, enough to accomplish the bare minimum, to do only enough to pay the bills…
On Empathy And Eternity
This is a very difficult thought that I am attempting to put down on paper and hopefully it will never be taken in the wrong way and cause hurt and/or resentment by those who may read it. Rather, as is my intention, it will create a better understanding of the eternal nature of life and…
On Mother Nature
The word “nature” comes from the Latin word, “natura,” meaning birth or character. …In English its first recorded use was in 1266 A.D.. “Natura,” and the personification of Mother Nature, was widely popular in the Middle Ages. The concept, places the term, Mother Nature, somewhere between the divine and the human. It has also been…
On God’s Humanity
Through this short thought, I am going to ‘try’ to see us, (people), the way that God sees us. God could have adopted any title that He would like but His primary choice was ‘Father,’ God, the Father. Why would He choose that title unless He were, in some way, our actual Father. We often…
On Energy
Energy is associated with almost everything, for an individual it is an evaluation of what makes him move, work and think. It may be associated with a person’s job, how they make a living. It is associated with how the person plays and exercises. And it determines what a person does when they get home…
On The Charitable Person
On a less charitable note, Sargent Tarzy told the following story “ On a street corner in downtown Manhattan, an old woman had a cardboard booth where she sold pretzels for 25 cents each. Everyday a well-dressed young man would hurry by and toss a quarter into her cup without taking a pretzel. One day,…