Jet Mariano

Tag: Charity

  • MIT8 – “Confidence in the Presence of God”

    November 8, 2025 – Oquirrh Temple Reflections

    Joshua Tree National Park – The Milky Way at 2 AM. 30 sec exposure, f/11, ISO 2400. Manual focus locked on the brightest star to prevent lens hunting. A quiet lesson in light, patience, and faith.

    Excerpt
    We all will experience illness, disappointment, temptation, and loss. These challenges can knock our self-confidence. However, disciples of Jesus Christ have access to a different kind of confidence — the confidence that comes from covenants, virtue, and the Spirit.

    Intro
    While I sat in the Celestial Room of the Oquirrh Temple, I heard a quiet assurance: “In due time.” It echoed the nudges I felt early Friday morning. I had come seeking peace, but what I received was perspective — that confidence before God comes not from circumstance, but from virtue and covenant faithfulness.

    Notes from President Nelson (April 2025 General Conference)
    From his talk “Confidence in the Presence of God”:

    “We all will experience illness, disappointment, temptation, and loss. These challenges can knock our self-confidence. However, disciples of Jesus Christ have access to a different kind of confidence.”

    “When we make and keep covenants with God, we can have confidence that is born of the Spirit. The Lord told the Prophet Joseph Smith that our confidence can ‘wax strong in the presence of God.’ Imagine the comfort of having confidence in the presence of God!”

    President Nelson continued:

    “When I speak of having confidence before God, I am referring to having confidence in approaching God right now! I am referring to praying with confidence that Heavenly Father hears us, that He understands our needs better than we do.”

    He reminded us that confidence is the byproduct of charity and virtue.

    “Let thy bowels be full of charity… and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God.”

    He also promised:

    “Regular worship in the house of the Lord increases our capacity for both virtue and charity. Thus, time in the temple increases our confidence before the Lord. Increased time in the temple will help us prepare for the Second Coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.”

    And finally:

    “Then, as we go to our Heavenly Father with increasing confidence, we will be filled with more joy, and your faith in Jesus Christ will increase. We will begin to experience spiritual power that exceeds our greatest hopes.”

    What Is Virtue?
    This is what I learned in the Celestial Room of the Oquirrh Temple:
    If you let virtue — morally clean and excellent thoughts, kindness, and all that is positive — fill your mind, then the bad actors on the stage of your mind like doubt, fear, and depression will evaporate.

    Why? Because we control the stage of our mind.

    We can divert our thoughts to virtue: our favorite Church talk, a meaningful scripture, or a motivating experience. These are our arsenal to protect the mind from intrusive darkness.

    As Elder Boyd K. Packer taught:

    “The mind is like a stage… There is always some act being performed. Virtue determines which act takes the spotlight.”

    Darkness will never have power over light. When virtue becomes our daily focus, we begin to understand what it means to “garnish our thoughts unceasingly.”

    Perspective
    D&C 124 teaches, “Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly.” To “garnish” means to arm or equip. Virtue, then, is our spiritual armor — the unseen force that steadies the mind and protects confidence.

    In IT, confidence is also earned — through repetition, study, and mistakes turned into mastery. When knowledge becomes daily practice, it forms character; and character, in time, becomes wisdom — the quiet confidence that endures.

    Practice
    Virtue doesn’t silence thoughts; it trains them. It replaces anxious noise with light. It equips us to approach God not as strangers but as sons and daughters who trust His timing — His due time.

    Final Reflection – Light in One of the Darkest Places
    The photo above was taken at Joshua Tree National Park — one of the darkest places on earth. Out there, you can hardly see your own hands.

    To capture the Milky Way, I did what years of practice taught me:

    • Mounted my camera on a tripod
    • Pointed the lens toward the brightest star in the Milky Way using the LCD screen
    • Let the autofocus lock in until the stars were sharp
    • Then switched both the 14–24mm f/2.8G lens from AF to M and the camera to Manual so the lens wouldn’t “hunt” in the dark
    • Set the exposure to 30 seconds, f/11, ISO 2400
    • Hit the 30-second timer and walked into the frame, shining a small LED flashlight toward the Milky Way

    I became both the subject and the seeker — trusting the focus, the settings, and the process. The sky didn’t suddenly change; the Milky Way was there the whole time. The difference was confidence built from quiet, repeated attempts.

    Faith works the same way. We may feel surrounded by darkness, but if we’ve prepared, practiced, filled our minds with virtue, and kept showing up in God’s house, the light eventually appears — and our confidence, in His presence, slowly waxes strong.

    Pocket I’m Keeping
    Virtue will free you from anxious, troublesome thoughts. In time, it becomes confidence — the kind that lets you stand in God’s presence without fear.

    What I Hear Now

    “In due time.”
    “Charity and virtue open the way.”

    Full talk: Confidence in the Presence of God – President Russell M. Nelson (April 2025)

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • “Peacemakers Needed” – President Russell M Nelson

    Salt Lake Temple, sunset from the JSB window. Waiting for the flare taught me: contention is toxic—anger never persuades; hostility builds no one. Be a peacemaker.

    BTS (behind the shot): From the Joseph Smith Building, shooting through the window glass with my trusty 14–24mm f/2.8 at 14mm. I bracketed exposures and waited for the sun to flare behind Moroni without losing the cloud detail. Patience, angle, and a clean pane made the rays sing.

    Excerpt

    When words run hot, the Spirit runs quiet. President Russell M. Nelson’s call—“Peacemakers Needed”—reminds me that covenant disciples build and bless, even under fire. Today I’m choosing to cool my speech, lift my neighbors, and let charity do the heavy lifting.

    Intro

    The world feels loud. But on the temple roofline tonight, light broke through and stitched the sky together. President Nelson’s sermon lands the same way: direct, steady, hopeful. Peacemakers aren’t passive; they’re disciplined disciples who speak higher and holier. This post is my small practice at that.

    Notes from President Nelson (Sep 2023)

    • Contention is toxic and common—even at home. “Anger never persuades. Hostility builds no one. Contention never leads to inspired solutions. Regrettably, we sometimes see contentious behavior even within our own ranks… spouses and children belittled, angry outbursts used to control, ‘silent treatment,’ youth who bully, and employees who defame colleagues.”
    • Contention is evil. “Make no mistake about it: contention is evil! Jesus Christ declared that those who have ‘the spirit of contention’ are not of Him but are ‘of the devil’… Those who foster contention are taking a page out of Satan’s playbook.”
    • What people really need from us. “If a couple in your ward gets divorced… a missionary returns early… a teenager doubts his testimony—they do not need your judgment. They need to experience the pure love of Jesus Christ in your words and actions.”
      “If a friend on social media has strong views that violate everything you believe in, an angry, cutting retort will not help. Build bridges of understanding.”
    • Peacemaking is a covenant choice. We can choose contention or reconciliation; charity is the antidote and the temple empowers us to cast the adversary out of our relationships.
    • Our standard of speech: If anything is “virtuous, lovely, of good report, or praiseworthy,” say that—to faces and behind backs.

    Perspective

    Peacemaking isn’t “peace at any price.” It’s covenant keeping with our mouths, our posts, and our reactions. The temple in view—Salt Lake—reminds me: God gathers, builds, and refines. If I’m with Him, my words should too.

    Practice (today, not someday)

    • Pause before post. If it won’t lift, it won’t live on my feed.
    • Bridge the gap. Ask one sincere question where I disagree.
    • Name the good. Offer one specific, praiseworthy sentence to someone who needs it.
    • Close the loop. Repair one relationship where my words cooled the room.

    Final Reflection

    Light rays don’t fight the clouds—they pass through and transform them. Peacemakers do the same with hard moments. Charity takes the sharpness out of sentences and puts strength back into souls.

    Pocket I’m Keeping (one-liner)

    “Charity is the antidote to contention.”

    What I Hear Now (direct quotes from President Nelson)

    • “Anger never persuades. Hostility builds no one. Contention never leads to inspired solutions.”
    • “Contention is a choice. Peacemaking is a choice.”
    • “Make no mistake about it: contention is evil!”
    • “If there is anything virtuous, lovely, of good report, or praiseworthy we can say about another… that should be our standard of communication.”
    • “Now is the time to bury your weapons of war. The pure love of Christ is the answer to the contention that ails us today.”

    Link to the talk

    President Russell M. Nelson — “Peacemakers Needed.” (Official text/video on ChurchofJesusChrist.org)

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • Marked in Time — Sep 14, 2025 “The Enmity of All Flesh Shall Cease”

    I waited for silence—no wind, no fountain—then the temple doubled in the pond. “The enmity of all flesh shall cease” (D&C 101:26).
    BTS: [x trips], [y minutes/hours] of watching the surface until the last ripple
    disappeared.

    Intro
    News this week was hard to take. A familiar U2 refrain kept circling my mind—“How long?” When the world feels loud and unsteady, I go back to the Lord’s promises. In 1833, as Saints were driven from their homes in Missouri, the Savior described what His return will bring (see Doctrine and Covenants 101:23–34): we will see Him together; all things will become new; the enmity of all flesh will cease; Satan will lose his hold; sorrow will yield to life; and truth will be revealed in full. That is not wishful thinking—it’s a covenant future.

    Straight line

    • Begin living heaven’s law now. When the Savior appeared in the Americas, He warned plainly: “He that hath the spirit of contention is not of me” (3 Nephi 11:29).
    • It really can happen. After His ministry, the record reports: “There was no contention among all the people” for many years (4 Nephi 1:13).
    • Zion prepares the way. Elder D. Todd Christofferson taught that the Lord will return to a people prepared to receive Him—Zion: “of one heart and one mind,” righteous, with “no poor among them” (April 2019, Preparing for the Lord’s Return).
    • Preparation looks practical. Lower our voices. Lift burdens. Trade hot takes for holy listening. Replace talking points with personal service.
    • Practice the peace you’re praying for. The future promise is sure; the daily choice is mine.

    Final reflection
    I can’t rush His timetable, but I can reduce contention in my sphere. If I want a world where enmity ends, I can start with my words, my replies, my assumptions—and my willingness to build bridges where the world builds walls.

    Pocket I’m keeping

    • Live heaven’s law now.
    • No contention—beginning with me.
    • Zion = one heart, one mind, no poor.
    • Practice peace: listen, serve, reconcile.
    • Hope is a covenant, not a mood.

    What I hear now
    “The enmity of man, and the enmity of beasts … yea, the enmity of all flesh, shall cease” (D&C 101:26).

    Link to the talk
    “Preparing for the Lord’s Return,” General Conference, April 2019

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • “In Him All Things Hold Together” Elder Neal A Maxwell

    Syracuse Utah Temple at blue hour beneath a setting first-quarter moon. I lingered long; the nudge lingered longer. In Him, the night—and I—held together.

    Intro
    I lingered at the Syracuse Utah Temple until the first-quarter moon slid above the spire and the stars came on. The nudge I felt there was the longest I’ve ever carried from any temple—it stayed even while I was shooting. Elder Neal A. Maxwell’s cadence kept pacing me:

    “In Christ all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:17)

    And he widened the frame of my night with this:

    “I wish to talk about your unfinished journey. It is the journey of journeys… The trek awaits—whether one is rich or poor… married or single, a prodigal or an ever faithful. Compared to this journey, all other treks are but a brief walk in a mortal park or are merely time on a telestial treadmill.” —Elder Neal A. Maxwell

    The temple path made that “journey of journeys” feel less abstract and more immediate—boots on stone, heart in hand.

    The straight line
    Perishable skills expire; portable virtues don’t. The Lord is shaping “men and women of Christ”—meek, patient, full of love (Mosiah 3:19). When life frays, covenants are the stitching; Christ is the seam that actually holds me together.

    Final Reflection (Maxwell, in his own words)

    “These attributes are eternal and portable… Being portable, to the degree developed, they will go with us through the veil of death.”
    “Since He is risen from the grave, let us not be dead as to the things of the Spirit… In him all things hold together.”

    Standing beside the flower bed and the pale stone, I felt why: if I let Him order my heart, He will also order my steps.

    Another line the night underlined
    Elder Maxwell ties the sky to our discipleship:

    “At Christmastime we celebrate a special star… placed in its precise orbit long before it shone so precisely… ‘All things must come to pass in their time’ (D&C 64:32). His overseeing precision pertains not only to astrophysical orbits but to human orbits as well… our obligation to shine as lights within our own orbits.” —Elder Neal A. Maxwell (see Philippians 2:15)

    Insight: The moon over Syracuse wasn’t an accident; neither is where God has set me. If I stay in my covenant orbit—quiet, steady, on time—He’ll handle the timing and the alignment.

    What I hear now

    • Let Christ carry what’s flying apart. Pray first: “Hold this together in Thee.”
    • Choose portable over perishable. Practice a trait before a technique.
    • Shine in your current orbit. Steward the people and places already set around you; heaven runs on precision and timing.
    • Serve quietly. Authority of example > argument.
    • Take the yoke & learn (Matt. 11:29). Small obediences teach His large qualities.
    • Return, then refine. Revisit the same place (and person) until the light matches the message—the nudge at Syracuse taught me that.

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • That’s You and That’s Me

    Two open hands—one giving, one receiving. Some needs are plain to see; others we carry quietly. That’s you and that’s me.

    Intro
    Some needs are easy to spot—a hand outstretched at a corner, a face weeping in public. Others ride quietly under the surface: worry that doesn’t show, loneliness with a practiced smile, a “load” carried where no one can see. This week I kept thinking about both kinds—the visible and the hidden—and how the Lord is the One who sees them all. The photo below is the obvious kind. But I’m learning to look for the quiet kind too, including in my own life. “No one makes it all alone… we all rely on help from Home.”

    That’s You and That’s Me — Seminary album Free to Choose (1987)

    Some reach out with their hands,
    Some reach out with their eyes,
    And most try hard not to let it show,
    But it’s a thin disguise.

    Some needs can be hidden;
    Some are plain to see.
    No one makes it all alone—
    We all rely on help from Home
    To get us back to where we want to be.

    And that’s you and that’s me,
    Living off His goodness
    And learning how to be.

    And that’s you and that’s me;
    I want to be ever you—like He’s ever you and me.

    Sometimes I can’t hide it;
    Sometimes I just want to cry:
    “I need someone to share my load,”
    When no one’s on my side.

    That’s when I remember:
    You have days like these.
    No one makes it alone—
    We all rely on help from Home
    To get us back to where we want to be.

    And that’s you and that’s me,
    Living off His goodness
    And learning how to be.
    That’s you and that’s me—
    I want to be ever you, like He’s ever you and me;
    And He gives so freely and shows us how to care.

    And that’s you and that’s me,
    Living off His goodness
    And learning how to be.

    Final reflection
    The song names what discipleship looks like in real time: noticing. Some needs are loud; some are quiet. Christ meets both, and He invites us to do the same—“living of His goodness and learning how to be.” Sometimes that means coins in a palm. Sometimes it’s a steady text, a prayer in someone’s name, a ride, a listening ear, or a temple visit offered for a friend. And when the load is ours, we remember we also “rely on help from Home.” Seen or unseen, He sees—and He sends us to see.

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

error: Content is protected !!