Commonplace Book

 A Commonplace Book. “Commonplace”, from the Latin 'locus communis', meaning “a theme or argument of general application.”  For me, it is a collection of thoughts, ideas, anecdotes, poems, observations, and quotes that stood out and caught my attention, some with comment, some without. Essentially a scrapbook, a repository of thoughts too good to just pass over and let go.

"Come with full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you."

(Jacob 6:5) 

"As evil increases in the world, there is a compensatory spiritual power for the righteous. As the world slides from its spiritual moorings, the Lord prepares the way for those who seek Him, offering them greater assurance, greater confirmation, and greater confidence in the spiritual direction they are traveling. The gift of the Holy Ghost becomes a brighter light in the emerging twilight.”

(Elder Neil L Anderson, A Compensatory Spiritual Power for the Righteous, BYU Devotional, August 15, 2018) 

"Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."

(Viktor E Frankl, 1905-1997, Austrian neurologist, psychiatrist, and Holocast survivor) 

"When you think about the fact that a distinguished medical doctor is the President of the Church at this time, and that over the past two years he has led changes that prepared us to be able to teach our families at home, and to minister more personally to fellow Church members, it appears the Lord knew what he was doing in calling Elder Russell M Nelson into the Quorum of the 12 so he would be in a position to lead us during this crisis.”

(Raymond Swenson, Line Upon Line, Meridian Magazine, March 13, 2020) 

"And the moon said to me, “my darling, you don't have to be whole to shine."

(Anonymous) 

"Striving to better, oft we mar what's well."

(Shakespeare: King Lear; Act 1 Scene 4) 

"One of the things I learned that will stick with me the most is your quote “If you are not failing now and then, you are not reaching high enough.” I was always afraid of failure, but now I realize it is a normal part of becoming better."

(Daris Howard, What Students Learned in Math Class 2020, Meridian Magazine, March 3, 2020)