What Motivates You?

In my study of the Book of Mormon the other day, I was comparing the war stories of Mormon and or Moroni.  Both were leaders, captains even, of the Nephite armies.  In Alma 48:16 and Mormon 7:2 show us that both of them were men of God that worked hard to keep the faith of their people.  During both of their eras of war, they were at some point depended upon to strengthen the moral of their men to keep them from fleeing from the enemy.  During their speeches, they both used their homes, families, and country to motivate them.  The difference though, was that Moroni's army was an army of God.  They cried unto the Lord for His support.  Even though Mormon was a God fearing man, his army didn't care for the things of God and because of that, they eventually lost the battles and in the end the war.  This comparison shows us that if we don't have God in our lives, and if he isn't the main motivating factor behind why we do what we do, we will in the end lose the war.  God was ready and willing to support both armies if they would turn to Him, but only one did.  Just the same, God is ready and willing to help any of us in our lives if we will just turn to and trust in Him.  But like the army of Captain Moroni, that starts with the basics.  Pray, every day.  Read every day.  Trust in Him every day, and He will support you through every bump in the road, every disappointment, and trial or problem that confronts you. 
 _Elder Halbert

Nails and Wood

Berny had a temper problem.  He would fight and kick and scream at the other kids if he didn't get what he wanted.  Tantrums were frequent with Berny.  He was still young and his mother wanted him to learn to control it before he grew up and the problem went out of hand.  So, she proposed an idea to Little Berny.  She told him that every time that he was angry or when his temper was out of whack, he could go and take his Dad's hammer and nail a nail into the picket fence in the back of the yard.  In no time at all the fence was full of nails and looked a bit dingy.  Berny didn't really like that.  He was slowly learning to control his temper because he really didn't like that it was starting to ruin the back fence.  So he asked permission from his mother to take them out.  The condition, she told him, was that in order to take a nail out, he had to do something nice for someone.  Well, Berny was starting to become quite the pleasant little fellow.  Occasionally, another nail would get pounded in by an angry Berny and, and even more often, a nail would be pulled out.  With some time, soon all the nails were pulled out of the fence and Berny was beaming.  A few years down the road, Berny realized something wasn't quite right.  There were still holes left in the fence even though the nails were gone. Then the awful symbolism hit him as he imagined an angry little boy with a hammer and some nails and a wooden board, and a man on a cross.   
That is why we need a Savior.  Though we can try our very hardest to repair the damage that we have done, we can't make the wood the same again.  We can fill it, putty it, sand and paint it, but the wood still isn't the same as it was.  If it weren't for the Atonement, no matter what we do, there will always be a fence full of nails and holes at the end of our lives.  The miracle of the Atonement, is that those holes can be filled.  Put back the way they were, as if it never happened.  I am so grateful for the blessing of the Atonement in my life and that no matter where I am or what I have done, I can be forgiven, completely forgiven.  That blessing is available to everybody who wants it. 
_Elder Halbert