We’re finishing up our antibiotics (we’ve all had strep, if you missed that from last week). Except for my 5 year old. He lasted a while without getting any really bad symptoms, but this weekend he started manifesting symptoms, so he’s just starting his while we’re all finishing up. Poor kid.
We’re over half way done with General Conference Book Club! That means that we’re halfway to October General Conference. I have really been enjoying this go around with GCBC. Hosting the book club keeps me more accountable, and so far I have studied all the talks.
As I was studying this talk I thought of the Sanctus Real song, Lead Me. It’s an excellent song about a man who wants to stand up and lead his family, being their support, their strength, and their spiritual leader – and understands that he needs God’s help in that role.
There is nothing that has come or will come into your family as important as the sealing blessings. There is nothing more important than honoring the marriage and family covenants you have made or will make in the temples of God.
The way to do that is clear. The Holy Spirit of Promise, through our obedience and sacrifice, must seal our temple covenants in order to be realized in the world to come.
There is a lot in President Eyring’s talk about how to have your marriage and family sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise. This is a talk I would like to study with my husband.
How did President Eyring’s talk impact you?
I loved the idea that salvation is a family affair. I need and want to better teach my children to pray for and help each other. I feel a little frantic at times with the constant squabbles that are, to some extent, normal childhood behaviors. Frantic, I suppose, because I have watched the damage done by squabbles allowed to fester into adult grudges.
ReplyDeleteI also felt profoundly touched by the "and keep" part of the admonition to gain and keep a sure witness of priesthood keys. The world is a loud place and it can become too easy to listen to the loud lies. We all know people who have fallen by the wayside, who forget the miracles they have seen, the power of the priesthood in their lives. Allowing ourselves to lose our witness brings such deep sadness in ripples through the generations; it seems the exact opposite of having our hearts turned to our fathers and children, they are being turned off.
Angie--I love your point about the squabbles turning into adult grudges. When I'm trying to referee my kids, I worry that it's not always easy to discern and follow the Spirit in those situations. (ie--most often, the one crying the loudest gets the sympathy, even if they were probably the most at fault). My husband and I have been trying to teach respect/obedience/kindness to our kids, and it is SO HARD. We just don't know how to do it. So I loved President Eyring's admonition to teach them to pray for each other and serve each other. :)
DeleteThere were several things that I like about this talk (Angie really touched on some of them), but one of the things that stood out to me the most was when he quoted Elder Melvin J. Ballard saying "The Holy Ghost is the one who reads the thoughts and hearts of men, and gives his sealing approval to the blessings pronounced upon their heads. Then it is binding, efficacious, and of full force." For some reason, that was so clearly stated--that the *Holy Ghost* is the one who knows my thoughts and desires--it struck me in a whole new way. It made me want to try harder, do better, be more pure in my desires and intentions. So good.
ReplyDeleteI also loved the quote by Elder Melvin J. Ballard about the Holy Ghost reading our thoughts and hearts.
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