Let Him Do It With Simplicity - Elder L. Tom Perry

Our Teaching for our Times lesson taught by Venda Kawai recounted Elder L. Tom Perry's lesson "Let Him Do It With Simplicity". As always Venda prepares her lesson with highlights from the talk and then we are able to discuss and apply them personally. Following are the quotes we read allowed in class.



1. We can't predict all the struggles and storms in life, not even the ones just around the next corner. But as persons of faith and hope, we know beyond the shadow of any doubt that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true.


2. "The Lord has commanded you to take good care of your body. To do this, observe the Word of Wisdom found in Doctrine and Covenants 89. Eat nutritious food, exercise regularly and get enough sleep. When you do all these things, you remain free from harmful addictions and have control over our life." (For the Strength of Youth)


3. "We do not want to harm our mortal bodies, for they are a gift from God, and part of our Heavenly Father's great plan of happiness is the reuniting of our immortal bodies with our spirits." (For the Strength of Youth)


4. "Worldly trends in women's fashion are always inviting extremes. With their latest styles many fashion designers appear to be trying to make two or three dresses out of the amount of
fabric necessary for one. Mostly, they are taking too much off the top and too much off the bottom of women's clothing, and occasionally they skimp in the middle. Men's fashions are also adopting extreme styles. In my day they would be called sloppy and inappropriate. I believe very casual dress is almost always followed by very casual manners."


5. Modesty in dress is a quality of mind and heart, born of respect for oneself, one's fellowmen, and the Creator of us all. Modesty reflects an attitude of humility, decency and propriety. Consistent with these principles and guided by the Holy Spirit, let parents, teachers, and youth discuss the particulars of dress, grooming and personal appearance, and with free agency accept responsibility and choose the right." (President N. Eldon Tanner, "Friend to Friend", Friend, June 1971, 3)

6. "From my earliest recollections, from the days of Brigham Young until now, I have listened to men standing in the pulpit...urging the people not to run into debt; and I believe that the great majority of all our troubles today is caused through the failure to carry out that counsel." President Heber J. Grant, Conference Report, October 1921, 3)

7. "One of the better ways to simplify our lives is to follow the counsel we have so often received to live within our income, stay out of debt and save for a rainy day. We should practice and increase our habits of thrift, industry economy and frugality. Members of a well-managed family do not pay interest; they earn it.

8. "The Lord has given us a beautiful plan about how we can return to Him, but the completion of our mortal journey requires spiritual fuel. We want to emulate the five wise virgins, who had stored sufficient fuel to accompany the bridegroom when he came."

9. "In righteousness there is great simplicity. In every case that confronts us in life there is either a right way or a wrong way to proceed. If we choose the right way, we are sustained in our actions by the principles of righteousness, in which there is power from the heavens. If we choose the wrong way and act on that choice, there is no such heavenly promise or power, and we are alone and are destined to fail." (Elder William R, Bradford, Ensign, November 1999, 85.)

If we search to obtain relief from the stressed of life, we must earnestly seek ways to simplify our lives. We must comply with the inspired counsel and direction the Lord has given us.

It's just that simple.