“‘We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in number, wealth, and power as no other Nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and reserving grace, too proud to pray to the God who made us.

“‘It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended power, to confess our . . . sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.’ (John Wesley Hill, Abraham Lincoln, Man of God, 4th ed., New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, p. 391.)”

Marion G. Romney
“Gratitude and Thanksgiving,” Ensign, Nov. 1982, 50

The Word of the Day for April 23 is:

truculent \TRUCK-yuh-lunt\ adjective
1 : feeling or displaying ferocity : cruel, savage
2 : deadly, destructive
*3 : scathingly harsh : vitriolic
4 : aggressively self-assertive : belligerent

Example sentence:
“I lived with that THING for 17 years,” said the truculent man of his ex-wife.

“True, enduring happiness, with the accompanying strength, courage, and capacity to overcome the greatest difficulties, will come as you center your life in Jesus Christ. Obedience to His teachings provides a secure ascent in the journey of life. That takes effort. While there is no guarantee of overnight results, there is the assurance that, in the Lord’s time, solutions will come, peace will prevail, and happiness will be yours.”

Richard G. Scott
“The Atonement Can Secure Your Peace and Happiness,”
Ensign, Nov. 2006, 41

Finally, his friend Eddy came over and forced him to go out. There’s a dance over at the club,” he said. “So what if one of your eyes is made out of wood?”

“All right,” said Dobbins, “but if anybody makes fun of my eye I’m leaving.”

He went to the dance and stood around, trying to build up his courage. And then he saw a woman standing alone in the corner. She was very attractive, but she had a hunchback.

“She’s worse off than me,” Dobbins thought. “The least I can do is ask her to dance.

He walked across the crowded dance floor and approached the girl. “Would you care to dance?” he asked.

“Would I?!” she exclaimed.

“That does it,” he shouted, “Hunchback! Hunchback!”

Henry Ward Beecher
1813-1887, American Preacher, Orator, Writer

(Click to Enlarge)

He’s adorable!

Dave told Annika, “Nevertheless, you can’t do that.”

I said, “Hey, nevertheless is one of my words.”

Dave immediately went on WordReference.com and started to look up words he could use.

He asked me if he could have “theretofore” or did I already have dibs on that one as well.

I told him that he could have that one, because heretofore, I have not used it.

We both laughed hysterically. Annika asked what she missed.

Dave then spent fifteen minutes looking up the difference between “theretofore” and heretofore.”

“The truth is that our only safety, our only security, our only hope is to hold fast to that which is good. As the mists of darkness gather around us, we are only lost if we choose to let go of the iron rod, which is the word of God.”

David S. Baxter
“Faith, Service, Constancy,” Ensign, Nov. 2006, 14