The Time Shall Come

(find the talk here)

I have been reading a lot lately about prophesies and their fulfillment. Maybe I was motivated to study the fulfillment of prophesy because I have been reading in Matthew, and that gospel is basically an accounting of all the prophesies that were fulfilled by the life of Christ.

Elder L. Whitney Clayton’s talk pointed out the fulfillment of several prophesies concerning the growth of the Church. I have always loved this quote from the Prophet Joseph Smith, “You know no more concerning the destinies of this Church and kingdom than a babe upon its mother’s lap… this Church will fill North and South America—it will fill the world.” I can’t even imagine being among the members there at that meeting – and now, that prophesy has come true. This Church is indeed filling the world. It is incredible!

President Hinckley’s prophesy is just as amazing, though we have not completely seen if fulfilled at this time. He said, “We have scarcely scratched the surface. …Our work knows no boundaries. … Those nations now closed to us will someday be open.” It will be amazing to see nations opened for missionary work that are close to us today. The nation I am most excited for is China. Can you imagine what will happen when China is opened for missionary work? I can only imagine the rapid growth that will happen there.

I saw this video once in a Sunday School class years ago, and it was amazing to watch the growth of the Church happen right before your eyes.

“This work of the Lord is indeed great and marvelous, but it moves forward essentially unnoticed by many of mankind’s political, cultural, and academic leaders.” It is ironic that the growth of the Church has been so rapid, so world-encompassing, and yet people have hardly noticed. I loved that Elder Clayton pointed out “It progresses one heart and one family at a time,silently and unobtrusively, its sacred message blessing people everywhere.” This is probably the reason the growth goes unnoticed. There are not huge mass baptisms. Large groups of people don’t join the Church all at once. Conversion is a personal event, something that happens to one person’s heart. And as each person joins the Church and begins living the gospel, other hearts are touched. The Lord’s work progresses on an exceptionally personal level - “one heart and one family at a time.”

“Our most important message, which we are both divinely commissioned and commanded to take everywhere in the world, is that there is a Savior. He lived in the meridian of time. He atoned for our sins, was crucified, and was resurrected. That matchless message, which we proclaim with authority from God, is the real reason this Church grows as it does.” At our Regional Stake Conference yesterday, Elder David A. Bednar talked about this principle. We cannot be converted to programs, people, or policies. We are converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ – which is that He lives and that He atoned for our sins. Sometimes I think that we lose sight of the “most important message” of the Church. We need to remember that our message is of the Savior – and that is the message that we need to take to the world.

When we think about the gospel we need to remember that “this mighty latter-day work is not about [us]. It is the work of Almighty God and His Son, the Prince of Peace.” This work isn’t about the Prophet Joseph Smith – it isn’t about any of the prophets, it isn’t about us, it isn’t about our neighbors, our bishop, or anyone else – this work is about our Father and His Son. We are humble recipients of what they have to offer us, and their work will go forth regardless of our imperfections. Yesterday Elder Bednar testified that He alone does not have any of the capacity or ability to be an apostle – but that through the atonement of the Savior and through the power of the Holy Ghost, he is made to be more than he is. I loved Elder Bednar’s thoughts about that and I think they fit in with Elder Clayton’s testimony that this work is God’s work. We participate in God’s work as we allow the Savior to make us more than we are – and God does his work through us, but it is still God’s work. And we would do well to remember that.

In what ways have you seen prophesy fulfilled around you? In the world? Do you remember that this work is God’s work? Have you felt your abilities and capacities enlarged through the Lord?

Find more insight on this talk over at
Diapers and Divinity’s General Conference Book Club

The Sabbath Part V – Worthy and Holy Activities

(This is Part V of a five part series on The Sabbath)

Several months ago I had a conversation with a friend of mine who is a recent convert to the Church. I mentioned something about not going to the pool on Sunday, and she said to me, “Wait, we can’t go to the pool on Sunday?” My friend was sincerely wanting to learn more about the Sabbath, and later when she and her boys moved in with us for a few weeks, we had an opportunity to talk more about the Sabbath.

The first thing that struck me when she asked, “Wait, we can’t go to the pool on Sunday?” was that word “can’t.” To me, it’s not as much about can’t  as it is about don’t. We don’t go to the pool (or participate in other recreational activities) on the Sabbath because we are too busy participating in “worthy and holy activities.” President Kimball said, “The Sabbath is a holy day in which to do worthy and holy things.” Of course, that leaves us with the question “What is a worthy or holy activity?”

When the Church reorganized the meeting schedule to have only the three hour block of meetings on Sunday, they issued some instruction about what to do with all the time they would now have on the Sabbath. When before, families were attending meetings or traveling between meetings nearly all Sunday long, now they would attend their three hour block, then have the rest of the day to choose their activities. “Because the new schedule will give families time together on Sundays, parents will want to plan activities for the Sabbath that will spiritually strengthen the family.” So there is the key – worthy and holy activities will be those that spiritually strengthen families.

The Family Home Evening Manual has a really good “test” for Sabbath day activities. “To determine whether a specific activity is appropriate, ask, ‘Does it bring me closer to my Heavenly Father?’” This should be a pretty easy question to answer,  but the answer for this question might not be the same for every person. Each of us must ask this question about our own situation. Prayerfully ask this question, and you will probably be keeping the Sabbath day holy.

President Kimball had some suggestions for appropriate Sabbath day activities. “The Sabbath … is a day for consistent attendance at meetings for the worship of the Lord, drinking at the fountain of knowledge and instruction, enjoying the family, and finding uplift in music and song.” He also said that to observe the Sabbath day, “one will be on his knees in prayer, preparing lessons, studying the gospel, meditating, visiting the ill and distressed, writing letters to missionaries, taking a nap, reading wholesome material, and attending all the meetings of that day at which he is expected.”

The Church News listed some good suggestions as well.

[Families] may wish to spend some time with the family each Sunday in gospel discussion and instruction, under the direction of the head of the household. They may use the scriptures, the most recent general conference talks, family home evening manuals, Church publications, and other publications as a resource.

Other appropriate Sunday activities include (1) writing personal and family journals, (2) holding family councils, (3) establishing and maintaining family organizations for the immediate and extended family, (4) personal interviews between parents and children, (5) writing to relatives and missionaries, (6) genealogy, (7) visiting relatives and those who are ill or lonely, (8) missionary work, (9) reading stories to children, and (10)singing Church hymns.

As somewhat of an illustration of what is not appropriate for the Sabbath, President Kimball shared this story, “A seminary group planned a service in the mountains on Sunday. They felt justified in the have their meeting and enjoyed a spiritual hour together, but after that hour the day became a day for picnicking, games, hiking,and climbing, with no further thought of the Sabbath. The one hour of devotion did not make of that day a holy day.” We have to make sure that we don’t fall into the mindset of being able to whatever we want to on the Sabbath just because we spent a few hours meditating and studying the gospel.

Further, the Church News article stated, “Many activities are not appropriate on the Sabbath day, such as gardening, family parties, and household projects. Families may wish to plan family household and recreational activities for Saturday or other weekdays when parents are home with their children.” I thought it was interesting that they included “family parties” in this, because I know many people who use Sunday dinner as an excuse to get all the family together, but often that means getting together for a very labor-intensive meal, followed by chatting, games, movies, or other not-so-appropriate Sunday activities. It would be one thing if a mother and father had all their grown children over on the Sabbath for a light dinner (think sandwiches, or a crockpot soup prepared the night before, or a casserole or something prepared the night before) and followed their dinner with a gospel discussion, reading from the scriptures and the words of the prophets, or watching Church videos about Christ and the plan of salvation. But too often, “visiting family” on the Sabbath turns into a chance to “play” with your family, watch a movie together, and partaking in worldly activities.

Our situations are all different, and that is the beauty of personal revelation. The Lord can help us find, through revelation, the activities that are appropriate for the Sabbath and the things that will bring us closer to Him and help us worship Him on His holy day. Whether you are single, married with no children, a part member family, or a grandma and grandpa with many grown children, you can still put forth an effort to keep the Sabbath day holy, and the Lord will bless your efforts.

The prophet Isaiah taught

If thou turn away … from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways,nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:

Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

The Sabbath day isn’t a day to deprive us of “fun” things – it is a day for us to practice putting our will in line with the Lord’s will, finding the things that He would have us do, and growing closer to Him in the process.

What a blessing it is that the Lord would set aside an entire day so that we can devote all that time to growing closer to Him without having to worry about all our worldly cares!

So this Sunday, as you plan activities with your family, ask yourself, “Does it bring me closer to Heavenly Father?”

What kinds of activities do you participate in on the Sabbath? Do you have specific struggles that make Sabbath day observance a challenge?

Part IV

Friday Fragments

I am running the Las Vegas Ragnar Relay this weekend! (I am actually writing this post on Thursday, and our run start time is at 6:00am, so I am probably either already running, or getting ready to run my first leg! 7.3 miles downhill, whoa!) I am running with my mother-in-law and a bunch of her friends, and a friend of mine from our ward who we roped into it at the last minute because we ran out of substitutes and too many of our runners got injured in other races… bummer!

I attended a beautiful wedding last weekend of a dear childhood friend. We have  known each other since we were in primary, and in fact, our last primary teacher (our teacher when we were all turning 12 and going into Young Women’s) was at the wedding! It was so nice to see her. She made a profound impact on all of our lives. She was young and single and ended up getting engaged and married while she was our teacher. She only taught us for about 9 months, but I think that she was by far one of the most significant teachers in my life. I have had so many good teacher who have truly loved me and cared for me it is incredible! I am trying to learn to have more love for people, like these great teachers have shown me.

The wedding was beautiful, and they had a bishop marry them (my friend has been less active since college, and her new husband is not a member). It was a really nice ceremony, and the bishop did a great job. I am so happy for my friend and her new husband, and I am grateful that I was able to be there for that special time for her. She was a bridesmaid in my wedding, nearly six(!) years ago.

Because the wedding was in my home state (Arkansas) last weekend, I flew there (all by myself! No kids!) and stayed with my brother and sister-in-law one night, my dear cousin the next night, and then my mom and dad the last night I was there. It was a whirlwind trip, but I loved getting to see everyone. The first morning I was there up at my brother’s house I went for a run in the morning before I had to leave for the wedding. I got up, ate breakfast, laced up my running shoes and as I was doing it I felt strange. I didn’t figure out exactly what it was until I was running and thinking about things (I feel like I am close to Heavenly Father when I run – just me, my feet methodically striking the pavement, and this particular time, listening to General Conference talks). I felt like something was missing, and I realized that I didn’t have any responsibilities here, away from my home. I didn’t have children to tend, dishes to wash, or laundry to do – and instead of feeling liberating, it felt scary. I am a mother and wife, first and foremost – so how do I live if I am not living for my family? It was the first time that I realized how much I truly love being home, taking care of my children, my husband, and my home. I don’t like being away from home and away from my family. I thought I would like it. Love it, even. For months leading up to the wedding weekend I was sure that I was going to be so glad to spend a weekend away from it all – the screaming, the crying, the potty accidents, the dishes, the picky eaters. But instead I missed it. I missed having to arrange for someone to tend the kids while I ran. I missed having to wash the dishes and start a load of laundry before I could get out the door. I didn’t like being able to do whatever I wanted to do whenever I wanted to do it.

I wanted to be a mother – with everything that encompasses. And I missed it this past weekend. I am leaving again this weekend for that Ragnar Relay, and I realized that I don’t want to go away again! I want to stay home! I want to take care of my kids and my house and my family. 
I am making a Reverence Book for the kids for Church. This is just the “reverent child” page. The thought bubble is going to have a flip book of pictures of Jesus that my four-year-old picked out at the distribution center. I had searched and searched for a Quiet Book I could make for the kids that would help them participate in Sacrament meeting, rather than distract them from Sacrament meeting. When I finish the book (sometime next week, hopefully) I will post pictures of the finished book and a post about teaching children to worship in Sacrament meeting. I am really excited about this Reverence Book, even though it has been a lot of work (I had to make up the pattern myself…) 

If you won a picture from my giveaway and you are wondering where your print is, I promise I will send them. They are sitting on top of my desk with addresses attached, waiting to be mailed. I have been so busy going out of town and such, and it’s been kind of a rough month, so I will probably mail them out the first of November. No promises, though. I will try my best to get them to you by Christmas. Ha ha.

Meet some other crazy folk over at Heather’s Friday Five linkup.

Personal Revelation and Testimony

(find the talk here)

My very favorite quote from this talk, and something that has been on my mind since General Conference, was the quote from Eliza R. Snow, “Let them seek for wisdom instead of power and they will have all the power they have wisdom to exercise.” I have felt this principle in my life – as I seek for wisdom, as I study the scriptures and listen to the prophets and ask the Lord for revelation, I feel as if there is a power within me to do the right thing, to know what and how to teach my children, to know how to talk to my husband, and how to act in many other relationships in my life. I have a really hard time when I do not know what I should do in a situation, or when I do what seems like it would be the right thing, and it ends up hurting people or causing more trouble than there originally was. A few years ago, when my son was a toddler, I would get exasperated when he would cry endlessly and furiously and I could not figure out what the problem was. I would shut myself in my bedroom and pour out my heart to the Lord,  begging Him to reveal to me what I should do as a mother. I did, and still do, have faith that the Lord blesses my efforts as a mother, and that as I come to Him in faith, with an open mind and an open heart, He will reveal His will for me as a mother. And I testify that He has.

The story that Sister Barbara Thompson told of Nephi and his brothers, and their trouble receiving revelation, is a very good description of those who don’t seek revelation, and an illustration of the principles to follow in order to receive revelation. When his brothers did not know that what Lehi (their father) had taught them was true, Nephi asked them, “Have ye inquired of the Lord?” The brothers’ excuse for not asking was a little contradictory. They told Nephi, “We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us.” Obviously the Lord would not make anything known to them if they hadn’t asked yet. The Lord tells us “ask, and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you.” We can’t expect God to just come down and tell us what we should do if we don’t even ask first.

In another talk in October General Conference, Elder J. Devn Cornish mentioned that “But because He will not infringe upon our agency, we must ask for His help.” Of course, revelation and testimony fall under the same principle. The Lord does not usually reveal things to people who do not ask sincerely for revelation. Some notable exceptions are Alma the Younger (whose father, and many members of the Church prayed for Alma to be “brought to a knowledge of the truth” – however, the choice to repent was still Alma’s), and Saul of Tarsus who saw Christ while he was running around persecuting Christians (who in the end had a choice whether or not to follow the Savior). And, of course, even Nephi’s brothers, Laman and Lemuel, had seen angels and miracles – and yet they still did not believe in the things their father was teaching them. Because in the end, it was their choice – whether to believe or not.

Revelation can come in a lot of different ways. Sister Thompson highlighted several of those. Sometimes, we don’t feel the spirit or receive revelation in just one way. When I received my patriarchal blessing, I was told that there was a principle of the gospel that I would know for sure and I would feel it was true by a burning in my bosom. For a long time, I thought that was how the Spirit would always speak to me. But as I have grown in the gospel, I have experienced the Spirit speaking to me in nearly all of the ways Sister Thompson pointed out. Specifically, I have heard a voice, clearly speaking to me. Other times revelation has come as a thought to my mind – recalling a scripture, or a quote, or something I had thought before. I have seen visions in my mind (which could probably also be classified under “thoughts”). Revelation and inspiration frequently comes to be when I listen to music – through the words of the songs I listen to.

Sister Thompson said, “Our testimonies fortify us and strengthen us as we face challenges in our daily lives.” I can’t tell you how true this is! This year has been full of many trials for me, serious challenges that have at times crushed my heart. But as I remember my testimony, I am given strength to bear my trials, and often I am given inspiration and revelation how to deal with those trials, and frequently how to make them easier to bear, or solve those trials that can be resolved. I echo Sister Hedwig Biereichal’s testimony as she said, “I didn’t keep a testimony through those times—the testimony kept me.”

Have you asked sincerely for revelation and received it? How have you obtained a testimony? How does the Spirit speak to you? Does your testimony keep you in hard times? How do you strengthen and preserve your tes

Find more insight on this talk over at
Diapers and Divinity’s General Conference Book Club

Some other good blog posts about Sister Thompson’s talk:
Whisperings of the Spirit
Living a Big Story

Their Mother

One of my favorite articles of all time is titled Washing, Weeding, and Worshipping. It is more or less a tribute to a mother who “wove gospel teachings into everyday activities.”

As I re-read this article a few months ago (the first time I read it it was before I had children of my own – I think it was even before I was married or even engaged) I thought “This is how I want my children to think of me when they are older.” And that got me thinking about the kinds of things I want my children to say about me when they are grown. I decided that I would write down a “tribute” to myself written from the eyes of my grown children. I know that sounds a little self-absorbed, but I think of it as writing down a goal of what I want to be. If I can imagine what my children will say about me when they are grown, I will have something to live up to – expectations to live up to.

This past General Conference, as Sister Barbara Thompson spoke about cleaving to covenants, I was gently reminded by the Spirit about this idea to write down what I want my grown children to say about me.

And so here I write what I want my children to say about me when they are grown. This is not a description how I see myself right now – but it is how I would like to be…

Mother
what I want my children to say about me when they are grown

All through my life there have been a few things I know for sure. One of those things is that my mother loves me, and another is that she has a testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

When I would make a mistake, or go down a wrong path, my mother would gently show me the way to go, and hold my hand until I got back on the right path. She taught me how to repent, and she taught me that repentance is not scary, but the joyful way we come back to the Lord when we have made a mistake. I watched her repent. When she would make a mistake, she would admit it, and I could tell that her heart would break a little. But then I would watch her pray to Heavenly Father and I could see her trying to do better afterwards, and the joy you could see on her face was indescribable. She had a way of teaching by example.

She taught me to be a missionary, and to share my testimony. She was always posting videos from the Church on her social networking pages, and always blogging about the gospel and the scriptures. She was fearless in declaring her beliefs, but was respectful of the beliefs of others at the same time. She studied the gospel every day and memorized scriptures. She would always be quoting some scripture or other that applied to our life circumstances at the moment. She truly sought first to obtain the word.

She also had a song for every occasion. More often than not, those songs came from the hymns or from the Children’s Songbook. She was always singing. We loved to sit with her around the piano and sing the hymns. She never pressured us to live the gospel – only invited us. And she made it look like so much fun that we couldn’t help accepting her invitation!

She adored our father. She was always doing nice things for him, and always had something nice to say about him to her friends. She never spoke negatively about father, and as far as we could tell, never though negatively about him either. He was her first priority. Our interjections of “Mamãe!” we frequently met with “I’m talking to your father right now, you’ll have to wait.” She enjoyed being with him and would drop whatever she was doing to greet him when he came in the room, or to listen to what he had to say.

She made life fun. She always had something for us to do, and it was always something fun – even if it was a “chore” – she made it fun for us. She always praised us for a job well done, even if we hadn’t done the job perfectly. She rarely criticized our actions, and was rarely disappointed in us. Whenever we fell short of her expectations for us, she would simply spend more time teaching us, walking beside us, and caring for us as we tried to live the gospel as she taught us.

She taught us how to love others. We learned from her that everyone is a child of God. She wouldn’t let us speak ill of any person, and she herself never spoke ill of anyone. She always found a positive light for every person, every situation, and every action. She taught us not to judge people for their actions, because we can never completely know their heart. She taught us how to serve and take care of those in need. Our home was open to anyone who needed a warm bed, a hearty meal, or simply a family to love them. My mother especially loved children. Any child was as precious as us to her, and she would do anything in her power to help every child have the opportunity to succeed.

She taught us to obey the commandments. Especially the law of the Sabbath and the law of the tithe. But instead of seeing commandments as a chore, mother made them seem exciting to live. We loved finding new ways to worship the Lord each Sunday, and mother let us help choose ways to worship.

Mother taught us to “seek ... out of the best books wisdom.” She always made sure we had books, and would read to us consistently. We loved to gather around mother as she would read to us from the scriptures and from other good books. When we left home, we each had our own collection of good books to take with us. Mother made sure of it.

Mother taught us to be like the Savior because she was like the Savior.

What kinds of things do you want your children to say about you when they are grown? Will they know the Savior better because they saw Him in you? Will they “not doubt their mothers knew” the gospel was true?

Being Mormon – the Priesthood in the Family

(read the handbook of instruction here)

One of perhaps the most misunderstood principles of the Gospel (both outside and inside the LDS Church) is that of the priesthood and patriarchal leadership. I have to admit, until I attended a class at BYU Campus Education Week back in August, I didn’t really completely understand it either.

We believe that the father (hopefully a Melchizedek Priesthood holder) “presides in righteousness and love, serving as the family’s spiritual leader. He leads the family in regular prayer, scripture study, and family home evening.” We call this the “patriarchal order” and some people have a hard time with it.

First, let me talk about the priesthood. When a young man turns 12, he is ordained to the Aaronic (or “preparatory”) priesthood. Basically this priesthood is teaching young men how to be worthy Melchizedek priesthood holders. As a young man grows up, and as his knowledge increases, and as he remains worthy, he is ordained to each additional office of the Aaronic priesthood – a teacher, at fourteen; and a priest, at sixteen. When he turns eighteen, with plans of serving a full time mission, his ordained to the Melchizedek priesthood in the office of an Elder – now ready to preach the gospel to the world, and to ordain others to the priesthood (as authorized by Church leaders).

One of the biggest hang ups that some people have about men holding the Priesthood is just that – it’s men who hold the Priesthood. Many people (inside and outside the Church) assume that means that the LDS Church is a chauvinistic, man-run organization. That men get to tell the women what’s up, and that women are somehow inferior to men.

Not so.

First let me quote from The Family: A Proclamation to the World: “In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners.” (emphasis added) So, if men and woman are “equal partners” then why don’t women have the priesthood? The short answer is that they do have the priesthood (or at least all the power of the priesthood). By the Holy Ghost, which is received at baptism, women have all the power of the priesthood within them that men have. (see D&C 84: 64-68)

Many gospel principles come in pairs, and if you take them out of their pairs, they get all messed up. Take faith and works – by faith we are saved through the grace of Jesus Christ, but faith without works is dead. We need both. Again, justice and mercy – we don’t need mercy if there wasn’t justice that needed to be satisfied, and we couldn’t satisfy justice without mercy (and still return to Heavenly Father) because we are all so imperfect. When we look at gospel principles as a whole, things make so much more sense.

So, we have the doctrine of patriarchal order in the Church – the Priesthood holder (a man) is the spiritual leader (notice I said spiritual – and it pretty well stops there). But we also have a very important doctrine that men and women are complete equals as well. President Howard W. Hunter said, “A man who holds the priesthood accepts his wife as a partner in the leadership of the home and family with full knowledge of and full participation in all decisions relating thereto.” Women have full participation in all the decisions a man could make when it comes to the leadership of the home. The way our instructor at Education Week described it was the husband and wife are co-presidents, rather than the man “president” of the home and the wife “vice-president” – they are co-presidents, each holding equal veto power for all decisions, and making all decisions together. Being a little more stern, President Hunter continued, “For a man to operate independent of or without regard to the feelings and counsel of his wife in governing the family is to exercise unrighteous dominion.” So this principle of equality between man and woman is actually very significant and important. A husband is not the “head” of the family – he presides over the family – and it is a spiritual presiding.

What does that mean? What does it mean to preside spiritually over something?

Let’s look to the life of the Savior. The Savior is the spiritual leader of everything. He’s basically the end-all,  be-all of spiritual leadership – and rightly so, since it is His Church. But how did the Savior lead? He blessed children, He healed people, He washed His disciples feet. “

He led by serving.

And so it is with the priesthood. There is something significant about the priesthood, and that is the priesthood can never be used for personal benefit. A man who holds priesthood cannot give himself a blessing – he has to ask another priesthood holder for that blessing. And another significant principle of the priesthood is that every woman on the earth has available to her every blessing of the priesthood. What’s that you say? Every blessing. There is nothing a man can receive that a woman cannot receive – including blessings of the priesthood. In the same talk, President Howard W. Hunter said, “Of necessity there must be in the Church and in the home a presiding officer.” That presiding officer comes from the priesthood – but remember, the presiding officer is really the serving officer. Basically, then, a man is given the priesthood of God so that he will serve. Serve his family, serve the Church, serve God, serve others.

So the priesthood calling and authority is really just a calling to serve – and women have that same calling and authority, just no formal ordination to the priesthood – however, we are entitled to the power and blessings of the priesthood. There is nothing keeping us from anything the priesthood has to offer. President Joseph Fielding Smith said, “While the sisters have not been given the Priesthood, that does not mean that the Lord has not given unto them authority.  Authority and Priesthood are two different things.  A person may have authority given to him, or a sister to her, to do certain things in the Church that are binding and absolutely necessary for our salvation, such as the work that our sisters do in the House of the Lord.”

To better understand this concept – that no blessing or power of the priesthood is withheld from women – I recommend an article written by Heather at Women in the Scriptures about the history of Relief Society sisters blessing each other. It is a really interesting article, and very enlightening. I want to share part of a scripture that she quoted.

"Therefore, as I said unto my apostles I say unto you again, that every soul who beleiveth on your words, and is baptized by water for the remission of sins, shall receive the Holy Ghost. And these signs shall follow them that believe. In my name they shall do many wonderful works; In my name they shall cast out devils; In my name they shall heal the sick...." (D&C 84: 64-68)

From Heather’s post, she said “The gift to heal is a gift given to all the followers of Christ, male and female. Women in the early days of the church often participated in healing as demonstrations of faith… Women who gave blessings never claimed priesthood power but always closed their blessings in the name of Jesus Christ.” And that “Joseph Smith clarified that women had the gift to heal and administer because of their faith and not because of their priesthood authority.” Women are eligible for every single blessing of the priesthood, because those blessings only come through the Holy Ghost, which is bestowed by the priesthood. Women can and do receive all the blessings of the priesthood.

In the Church Handbook of Instructions, the section I am reading today has a heading “Use of Priesthood Authority.” In this section, there is instruction given on delegating priesthood authority. If you still aren’t convinced that women can have ever blessing of the priesthood, let me tell you that they are also organized under priesthood authority and are given authority to preside in the Church. When the prophet Joseph Smith organized the Relief Society, he told them “This organization is divinely made, divinely authorized, divinely instituted, divinely ordained of God to minister for the salvation of the souls of women and of men.” (Daughters in My Kingdom, p.7) The Handbook of Instruction says that “Priesthood leaders can delegate authority by assigning others to assist them in fulfilling a calling.” By delegating responsibilities to Relief Society presidencies, Young Women presidencies, and Primary presidencies, and other callings, women have, by delegation, authority over their callings, under the direction of their priesthood leaders.

The ultimate illustration of the participation of women in the priesthood is that the priesthood needs woman for exaltation (to live with God and receive all that He has), and woman needs the priesthood for exaltation. A man holding the priesthood cannot be exalted without a woman, and a woman cannot be exalted without a man holding the priesthood. The full blessings of the priesthood can only be obtained with a man and a woman enter into the new and everlasting covenant of the priesthood – that of eternal marriage.

Do you feel that men and women are equal? Do you understand your priesthood privileges? How do you experience the blessings of the priesthood in your life? How do you bless others because of the priesthood?

Book of Mormon Blog Hop

Scripture Power

This is V’s favorite song these days. He hadn’t heard it before we started attending our English speaking ward. The first day he heard it he came home from Church singing “Scripture Power is the power to win!” and pumping his fist in the air like some crazy activist. But the words are true, and the tune is catchy, so it’s perfect for him.

Yesterday we read Elder Scott’s talk from October General Conference for GCBC, The Power of Scripture. There is definitely power in the scriptures. We have been trying to teach our children the stories of the scriptures.

Each day I try to have the kids pick a picture from the Gospel Art Book and then I read to them the story (direct from the scriptures), and ask them questions about what is going on in the book. Usually we do this at meal time – either breakfast or lunch. I find that my children are more attentive when they are sitting still (and eating helps them sit still). We have read the story of David and Goliath, the story of Captain Moroni, and the story of Jesus calming the sea. There are pictures to so many of the scripture stories in this book, I am excited to share them all with my children.

Our children also watch the Church’s Scripture Story videos. They are produced by the Church and are simply still motion videos of the Scripture Story books also produced by the Church. I love these books because they are a very simple introduction to the stories of the scriptures. Of course, they do not replace reading the actual words of the scriptures, but the nice thing about the books is that they include the scripture reference for each picture, so if you want, you can read the actual text from the scripture to go along with the pictures. We often do that for our family scripture study.

I am always excited to share the scriptures with my children, and it is a blessing to have all these materials made available by the Church to help us teach them about the scriptures. I need to be more consistent in sharing the scriptures with my children so that they will develop a testimony of the power of the scriptures in their lives.

How do you teach your children about the scriptures? Do you read to them? Do you show them pictures? Do you have a schedule? Are you consistent? What resources do you use?

The Power of Scripture

(find the talk here)

I love the scriptures. Just last night my husband and I were talking and reading to each other from the scriptures and I got excited over them! It felt like when I was in college and I would understand a new physics or math concept and I just got all warm and fuzzy inside, knowing that I had just learned something amazing. The feeling I get from reading the Book of Mormon is usually more like an old friend, hearing the plan of salvation explained the way it is over and over again in the Book of Mormon makes my heart leap for joy. But in the same moment, I get the excitement of learning something new, as I did in college when I was learning so many new things.

Elder Richard G. Scott’s talk at October General Conference resonated deeply with me. As you can tell from the title of this blog, My Soul Delighteth, I love the scriptures. I always have. My favorite part about Seminary as a youth was memorizing the scripture mastery verses. Unfortunately, as I graduated and moved on from Seminary, I didn’t keep all of those scriptures memorized – I didn’t refer to them as I should have, and I didn’t add to my “collection” of memorized scriptures. They have faded away, like an old friend we loose touch with.

Elder Scott’s talk inspired me to re-memorize those scripture mastery verses, as well as add new scriptures to my arsenal of memorized scriptures - “packets of light.”

The scriptures are incredibly important in our lives. They are one of the tools Heavenly Father has provided for us to “be successful in our mortal probation.” The scriptures are “a type of handbook.” If you wish God had written a handbook about life, He did – it is the scriptures. If you wish God had written a handbook for parenting, He did – it is the scriptures. The scriptures can enlighten our minds and help us find solutions to all of life’s difficult challenges. Elder Scott said that scriptures “can become the key to open the channel to communion with our Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ.” If you are wondering how to communicate with Heavenly Father, the answer is to read the scriptures. Through the scriptures you can find answers to your problems, and they will open the door to personal revelation and inspiration from Heavenly Father.

“Learning, pondering, searching, and memorizing scriptures is like filling a filing cabinet with friends, values, and truths that can be called upon anytime, anywhere in the world.” Over and over again as Elder Scott spoke of the scriptures, I felt inspired to memorize scriptures. Scriptures that I have memorized have come to my mind at important times in my life, and have been those “friends” that I have needed. I was intrigued by Elder Scott’s declaration that “Scriptures can calm an agitated soul, giving peace, hope, and a restoration of confidence in one’s ability to overcome the challenges of life. They have potent power to heal emotional challenges when there is faith in the Savior. They can accelerate physical healing.” I knew the first part, sure – that scriptures can help us overcome the challenges of life. However, when he spoke of the scriptures healing emotional challenges and accelerating physical healing, my curiosity was piqued. Really? I have been enduring so many emotional challenges lately, and I desperately need healing. Perhaps as I immerse myself in the scriptures I will receive a more powerful healing.

The interesting thing about life is that our perspective changes every day – nearly every minute. The more we live, the more our perspective changes, just because we are having more experiences. “A scripture that we may have read many times can take on nuances of meaning that are refreshing and insightful when we face a new challenge in life.” Just last night I experienced this as I read the story of Amalickiah and the Lamanites in the Book of Mormon. I was reminded of Governor Bogg’s extermination order in Missouri. I was reminded of Hitler’s attempted extermination of the Jews in Europe, and the brave people who helped Jews hide and escape. And then I gained new insight about the way Satan works to carefully lead us down to @#!*% . I have read this story before, but as I have grown in the gospel, my perspective has changed and my understanding has increased.

One of the scriptures that Elder Scott quoted struck me today. He quoted Samuel who said, “Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel  15:22) Last night my husband and I were talking about how interesting it was the the descendents of Lehi and Ishamael had the fullness of the gospel on the American continents (even though they still obeyed the Law of Moses) while in the middle east, the children of Israel could barely even keep the Law of Moses. We compared Laman and Lemuel to the children of Israel who saw miracles, and yet continued to harden their hearts. And then, I read the scripture in Samuel which Elder Scott quoted. “To obey is better than sacrifice.” That is part of the fulfillment of the Mosaic law – the sacrifices that the Jews performed under the Mosaic law were symbols of obedience and of the atonement of the Savior. But the actual obedience was the most important part – and that was the part the children of Israel had a hard time with. But it wasn’t a completely unknown truth. I imagine the prophets tried to get the Israelites to live God’s law more fully, and I wonder how heartbroken they were when they realized that the children of Israel were often not even willing to keep the Law of Moses.

Elder Scott said, “the Book of Mormon teaches truth with unique clarity and power.” I also believe that to be true. There is a feeling that I get when I read the Book of Mormon that I don’t really get anywhere else. However, I am realizing that I need to expand my study of the scriptures and search out truth in all of the Standard works. Elder Scott asked, “Do you use all of the standard works, including the Old Testament?” To be honest, I use mostly the Book of Mormon in my study of the scriptures. One of the goals I took away from Elder Scott’s talk was to read all of the standard works. I am going to try to complete the entire standard works before next General Conference. That might be a little ambitious, and I won’t be completely sad if I don’t make it, but I want to make the effort, and I want to read all of the scriptures. I am going to make sure I pick out some verses to memorize from the Old Testament. There is a lot of really good truth in the Old Testament, and I want to make it a bigger part of my life.

My final goal came from listening to Elder Scott talk about his wife, Jeanene. I have a feeling he will probably mention her at least once in every conference talk he gives from now on. How he loved his wife. I admire her a lot, just from the way Elder Scott speaks about her. This talk was no different. “My precious wife, Jeanene, loved the Book of Mormon. In her youth, as a teenager, it became the foundation of her life.” I am not a teenager any more, although the Book of Mormon was a large part of my life when I was a teenager – but it is not too late to make the Book of Mormon the foundation of my life. “For I don’t know how many years, as the end of the year approached, I would see her sitting quietly, carefully finishing the entire Book of Mormon yet another time before year’s end.” This was my final goal from Elder Scott’s talk. To read the Book of Mormon at least once all the way through each year.

I purchase an economy copy of the Book of Mormon each time I read it, so that it is a fresh slate and I can mark it up new again and write in the margins. I put the start date and the finish date. So far in the past several years I have only used two copies (I am almost finished with copy #2). At the end of this year, though, when I finish the Book of Mormon again, I am going to read the Book of Mormon once each year. If I start new in January with a new economy copy, I will be able to judge my progress as the year goes by. I am really excited to start reading the Book of Mormon each year. My husband, who speaks several languages, is going to read the Book of Mormon in a new language each year and I get to surprise him with the language.

In summary, the goals I came away with from Elder Scott’s talk are:
1.) Memorize the scripture mastery verses from Seminary, and add other scriptures, including scriptures from the Old Testament
2.) Read the entire Standard Works (including the Old Testament)
3.) Read the Book of Mormon once every year

How do you study the scriptures? How do you memorize scriptures? Do you keep your memorized scriptures around like an old friend? How often do you read the Book of Mormon? Do you read the Old Testament and the other standard works? What goals have you made concerning the scriptures?

Find more insight on this talk over at
Diapers and Divinity’s General Conference Book Club

The Sabbath Part IV – Rest From Our Labors

(This is Part IV of a five part series on The Sabbath)

To Rest From our Labors

Elder Perry said, “Sometimes we think of resting from our labors as merely letting the hay baler stand idle in the field or putting a Closed sign on the business door.” President Kimball said, “Abstinence from work and recreation is important, but insufficient.”

Our “work” these days is often done in the home, from the home, and sometimes it is hard to stay away from those work related activities in our homes. There are also other types of “work” we must rest from. “business activities we may accomplish from home, athletic competitions, and other pursuits that take us away from Sabbath day worship and the opportunity to minister to others.” I think that Elder Perry’s description of “work” can help us make our own judgments about what we should and should not do on the Sabbath. Anything that “takes us away from Sabbath day worship and the opportunity to minister to others” is probably not an appropriate activity for the Sabbath.

President Kimball warned, “Strange as it may seem, some Latter-day Saints, faithful in all other respects, justify themselves in missing their church meetings on occasion for recreational purposes, feeling that the best fishing will be missed if one is not on the stream on opening day or that the vacation will not be long enough if one does not set off on Sunday or that one will miss a movie he wanted to see if he does not go on the Sabbath.” Anything that takes us away from Sabbath worship is not keeping the Sabbath day holy, for sure. Our place is in our meetings on the Sabbath day – particularly sacrament meeting, but also Sunday School and Relief Society and Priesthood meetings.

I know some people (I won’t name names…) who like to nap all Sunday afternoon, or sleep in Sunday morning if they have afternoon Church meetings, but President Kimball says, “The Sabbath calls for constructive thoughts and acts, and if one merely lounges about doing nothing on the Sabbath, he is breaking it.” What? It’s breaking the Sabbath to lounge around? I thought we were supposed to “rest from our labors”?

A few weeks ago we studied the Gospel Principles lesson on the Spirit World and one of the characteristics of the Spirit world is that “The spirit world is a place of waiting, working, learning, and, for the righteous, resting from care and sorrow.” It seems contradictory to talk about “working” and “resting” in the same sentence, but that is exactly what the Spirit world will be like – we will rest from care and sorrow (from worldly things) and yet we will be working to save souls. Do you see the parallel with the Sabbath? On the Sabbath we rest from worldly pursuits and instead focus all our efforts on spiritual pursuits.

Taking a nap to rejuvenate your body and mind is obviously very appropriate for the Sabbath, but if your nap is three hours long you are probably missing out on “the opportunity to minister to others” on the Sabbath. And if you are needing a nap or to sleep in because you were out partying all night long on Saturday, or because you stayed up late Saturday night playing videos games or watching movies, then that is not really a good reason for a nap. Our preparation for the Sabbath day begins on Saturday. Remember that Primary song? “Saturday is a special day it’s the day we get ready for Sunday.” My family used to sing that song on Saturday as we did chores around the house getting it ready for the Sabbath. We try to retire early on Saturday night so that we will be rested and refreshed for the Sabbath day.

How do you rest on the Sabbath day? Do you choose only activities that will allow you to attend your meetings and that will allow you to find opportunities to minister to others?

Part III            Part V

Friday Fragments

 I am going out tonight to meet one of my favorite bloggers, and possibly a few other bloggers. I admire these women – their strength, their testimony, their motherhood – and I hope to have a good time and learn a lot from these ladies. And there promises to be a good show and good chocolate afterwards. Yum. I like chocolate.
I was reading about scripture journaling this morning over on a link Heather posted, and I realized that I can scripture journal even with my youngest children. My mom homeschooled all of us, and even when we were really little, before we knew how to write, my mom kept a journal for us. Not of her words about us, but of our words – she would write down what we had to say. I recently read about doing this on a blog somewhere – that letting children who can’t write dictate things to you shows them that their words are important and can encourage them to start writing. Recently I have started letting the kids choose a picture from the Gospel Art Book and I will pull out the scriptures and read to them about the story, and ask them questions. We talk about faith, obedience, and other simple gospel principles my children can understand. Reading this blog post I realized that I can help even my preschoolers keep a scripture journal. I simply need to inform them of what I am doing, get a separate journal for their “scripture journal” and then write down their answers when I ask them questions about the stories we are reading. It’s simple, and not super in depth,  but it will help my children understand the importance of really studying the scriptures – before they can even write! I am super excited about this. I’ll let you know how it goes!
Speaking of the Gospel Art Book, I am mourning the discontinuance of the Gospel Art Kit, and have been for a while. I grew up on that Gospel Art Kit – we would pull pages out and read the backs of them for family home evening, devotionals, Primary talks, you name it. I want them for my kids, and I’m will to pay the $30, but they just aren’t making them anymore, which is a bummer. Does anyone know where I can find one? I’ve looked on eBay and the local classifieds (in Utah) but I can’t seem to find anything. I was sure someone might be selling one. But nothing. I really really want a Gospel Art Picture Kit. Badly. I’ve thought about just making my own with the 11x17 posters from the distribution center, which I will probably do, but first I’ll have to make a  box and dividers and stuff for them. And it will end up being more expensive. There were so many pictures in that kit! In the mean time, we just use the Art Book and the scriptures, which is just fine. Except sometimes I have to look up where the stories are because I don’t remember… so it’s probably good for me, too, right? 

We sold our trampoline yesterday. It was huge, and way too big for our backyard, so we sold it. The kids are going to be sad, but we’ll buy a new one next spring. It’s going to start snowing here soon anyway, and trampolines + snow = saggy springs. So it was about time to take it down anyway. It was also on a part of our yard that doesn’t have any grass, and we want to put grass in next spring. Home ownership is great… but there is so much to do!

I think is going to be my new theme song:

I have work enough to do, Ere the sun goes down,
For myself and kindred too, Ere the sun goes down,
Every idle whisper stilling With a purpose firm and willing
All my daily tasks fulfilling Ere the sun goes down.

I must speak the loving word, Ere the sun goes down,
I must let my voice be heard, Ere the sun goes down,
Every cry of pity heeding, For the injured interceding,
To the light the lost ones leading, Ere the sun goes down.

As I journey on my way, Ere the sun goes down,
God’s commands I must obey, Ere the sun goes down,
There are sins that need confessing; There are wrongs that need redressing
If I would obtain the blessing, Ere the sun goes down.

Every night when I go to bed I think that first line to myself: “I have work enough to do, ere the sun goes down.”  I don’t think I have really ever gone to bed thinking that I had done all there was to do. Sure, I have lots of evenings where I go to be feeling productive and as if I have made a difference in the world. But most nights I am just afraid that I haven’t done all I could do, and I really don’t like that feeling. What about when you have to choose between being productive, and spending time with someone you love? I know that theoretically you can be productive and spend time with the people you love, but in my situation, I often have to either choose being productive, or doing something unproductive with the person I love. This is a cause for a lot of my anxiety about not getting enough done. What do I do?

Linked up at Heather’s Five Things for Friday @ Women in the Scriptures

Sweet Testimony

“… inasmuch as parents have children in Zion… that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents.”
                                                                Doctrine & Covenants 68:25

The first Sunday of each month is what members of the Church call “Fast Sunday”. It is a day that we all fast (abstain from eating or drinking for twenty-four hours) and during our worship services, rather than have sermons or talks, we have the opportunity to share our testimonies with each other, when moved upon by the Spirit. We then donate the money that we would have used to feed our family to the Church to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and shelter the homeless.

In September, Fast Sunday was the first Sunday we had in our new ward. We had been attending a Portuguese ward, but in September we started attending our neighborhood, English speaking ward.

We were sitting with our friend who is living with us and her two boys who are eight and seven. They wanted to bear their testimonies, so Russ (my husband) went up with them. Then our four-year-old wanted to bear his testimony. Usually a four year old needs a little help with his testimony, but V? Nope. He went right on up there, didn’t even want my help, and proceeded to say things like “I know Jesus loves me and love all the people.” (all the people = everyone… our son says the funniest things) – I had him tell me what he was going to say before he went up there, just to make sure he wasn’t going to be a goof ball at the pulpit. I completely underestimated him.

Don’t think my kid just spontaneously bears his testimony. We had practiced bearing our testimonies at family home evening one week. That particular family home evening we “practiced” going to Church. We set up the chairs in the living room, made a pulpit out of one of our bar stools and some cardboard, put the hymn numbers up on the wall, had our scriptures and crayons and we even made a pretend sacrament table out of the piano bench. We sang the songs in order, had opening prayers, had announcements, had “ward business” and then had a testimony meeting. We didn’t actually bless and pass the sacrament – instead when it got to the sacrament portion of the meeting we simply talked about the importance of the priesthood and the sacrament ordinance, what it means, what we should be thinking about, and we practiced being reverent. The kids did surprisingly well, and it was all in all a great family home evening that I think we will duplicate many times over the course of our children’s growing-up years.

We talk about the gospel doctrines daily in our home. They are a part of our every day conversation. This openness about the gospel is what helps our children learn about the doctrines of the gospel, and since we simply let it be part of our lives instead of something we “teach” our children about formally, I think that our children are developing a love for the scriptures and for the gospel.

Our four year old has his own testimony and isn’t afraid to share it. What an example to me!

How do you teach your children the gospel? How do you teach your children to share their testimonies? Do you encourage your children to talk about the gospel? Do they encourage you? Is gospel conversation an every day part of your home?

Faith

“Faith is to hope for things which are not seen, but which are true, and must be centered in Jesus Christ in order to produce salvation.”
– Bible Dictionary, Faith.

(image credit: Mi9 wallpapers)

I want to understand more about faith. I also want to have more faith. I am always puzzled by the Lord’s declaration “for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove” (Matthew 17:20). Does He mean that we would literally be able to move a mountain? I know that there are figurative mountains that we move every day with our faith. I have a lot of mountains that need moving, and while I’m not perfect at it, I’d say I do a pretty good job of moving them, most of the time. But move a mountain?

 (image credit: donotgiveup.net)

My doubt about the Lord being literal about moving mountains is probably a stumbling block to my faith. I want to believe that I could move a mountain if I had enough faith, but I guess it is the natural man in me that makes that seem impossible.

But with God, all things are possible, right?

So how do I learn to have faith that all things are possible – that I really could move a mountain? I have faith that I can do a lot of thing. Moving a mountain isn’t one of them, and yet the Lord explicitly says that we can move mountains. He did talk in parables a lot, so maybe this was a parable of sorts. Was he speaking literally? Even if he wasn’t speaking literally, couldn’t we still move mountains if we had enough faith?

The Lord has all power, and He has shown us this time and time again. His power is illustrated throughout all four books of scripture, and through a lot more experiences more recently. “The Lord has revealed himself and his perfect character, possessing in their fullness all the attributes of love, knowledge, justice, mercy, unchangeableness, power, and every other needful thing, so as to enable the mind of man to place confidence in him without reservation.” (Bible Dictionary, Faith) And yet, I still have reservations.

“Therefore, blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble; or rather, in other words, blessed is he that believeth in the word of God, and is baptized without stubbornness of heart, yea, without being brought to know the word, or even compelled to know, before they will believe.” (Alma 32:16) I know this doesn’t really have anything to do with moving mountains, but this did remind me that the first principle of the gospel is faith , not knowledge. Faith comes first. We don’t have to know very much in order to get baptized, we mostly just need to have faith. That is why we let people get baptized who have only had six lessons from the missionaries. Definitely not enough instruction to have much knowledge of gospel principles, but they have faith, and that is what is important. As they grow in the gospel, they will receive more knowledge.

“Yea, there are many who do say: If thou wilt show unto us a sign from heaven, then we shall know of a surety; then we shall believe.” (Alma 32:17) Am I waiting for some kind of “sign” before I will believe that faith can move mountains? “Is this faith? Behold I say unto you, Nay; for if a man knoweth a thing he hath no cause to believe, for he knoweth it.” (Alma 32:18) If I know that I can move mountains if I have faith, then I don’t really need to have faith that I could move a mountain. So why don’t I move mountains? What would that faith look like? Would I really be having faith in the Savior if I said “I am going to have faith that this mountain will move so that I can move it.” That doesn’t seem to be faith “centered in Jesus Christ.” Why do we need to have faith? “to produce salvation.” We need to have faith so that we can be saved. We don’t have faith so that we can just move big stuff with our faith. Alma clarified this, “therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.” (Alma 32:21)

I have so much to learn about faith.

What can you teach me about faith? Do you have a hard time believing that faith can move an actual mountain? Do you struggle to have faith about other things? How can we learn more about faith? Where do you study about faith in the scriptures? What words about faith have helped you?

My Personal Prophetic Epistles

Here are the things that I am going to do because of what I heard (or felt) at General Conference. I am going to refer to these as my “personal prophetic epistles” – even though some of these things were never explicitly said, they are things that I felt inspired to do through the Holy Spirit.

Items marked with *’s were promptings I received several times, and have a star for each time I felt prompted about that thing.

- Pray for people BY NAME
- keep my temple covenants
- go to the temple***
- learn how to protect the children of Zion
- be a better visiting teacher
- LEAD the women of the world
- prepare for the second coming
- BECOME more charitable by seeking for it and praying for it
- study the New Testament (specifically the Gospels)
- study the life of the Savior (both in the Gospels and in the Americas)
- have more framed artwork of the Christ in our home. A prominent picture in every room of our house.
- have more charity toward my husband
- find joy even when my own unmet needs are great
- Read my Patriarchal Blessing** (read through it each week)
- do all the different work in the temple each month
- write down what I want my children to say about me when they are grown
- plant forget me nots in the garden
- celebrate my strengths and good efforts
- think of what we can do as a family that will be enjoyable and spiritual and bring us closer as a family
- make GOOD sacrifices rather than foolish ones
- be happy with life NOW
- enjoy each day’s beautiful moments
- every night write down in my journal one moment from the day that was a blessing and brought me joy
- remember the WHY of the gospel (the “to be” list)
- write down WHY I have made the gospel of Jesus Christ a fundamental part of my life
- memorize scriptures
- PONDER the scriptures more often
- STUDY the scriptures more frequently. Read the words of the scriptures daily
- make a goal to read the standard works in a certain amount of time
- ASK IN FAITH
- share the message of the Savior and His plan of Happiness
- testify
- find those who need to be found
- TALK REVERENTLY
- TRUST IN THE LORD
- follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost
- pray each day to find someone to help/serve/love
- be a living witness of my testimony
- teach the youth how to do family history research
- have more babies*
- find more ways to give service
- budget my time
- rid my life of “time-wasting” activities
- be sure that “busyness” is also being productive
- PRAY before I get on the computer
- Identify the time-wasting distractions that need to be “ground to dust”
- turn to the prophet when I feel like I cannot find God – The Prophets lead us to God
- have a “can-do, will-do” attitude
- pray diligently to fulfill and magnify my calling
- look UP!
- call those around me to repentance (when moved on by the Holy Ghost)
- invite all my friends to temple open houses. Announce temple open houses on Facebook
- be a good example of the Church online and in my life
- be BOLD in my declaration of Jesus Christ
- have access to a copy of the all the "Teachings" books
- BE FULLY CONVERTED
- Read the Book of Mormon* (and take Moroni’s challenge)
- Read the Book of Mormon EVERY YEAR
- turn to the Lord in my trials
- do not be impatient for answers to prayers
- Read C.S. Lewis
- issue a challenge to my Facebook friends to read the Book of Mormon and take Moroni’s challenge
- let our children teach us about parenting
- be BOLD in proclaming that I am CHRISTIAN
- look up article about refinement from the Ensign
- teach my children to have CONSCIENCE (to listen to the Spirit)
- be a defender of religion, morality, the Savior, etc.
- learn to be in the world, but not of the world
- offer more prayers of gratitude
- have a “gratitude” fast when I feel very grateful
- be worthy to receive inspiration and then ACT, follow the inspiration I receive
- keep the covenants I made with Russ in the temple
- be a COVENANT KEEPER
- read the WORDS of the Savior in the scriptures
- learn how to refine my life and more fully live the gospel
- learn to do the will of the Father
- turn to the Savior when my heart feels “stirred up” – cast out Satan
- become REAL
- pause to listen, observe, and carefully proceed (when in teaching situations)
- make early and decisive correction
- take time to study the words of God
- learn the language of the Spirit
- magnify my calling

STUDY: faith, hope, charity, Daughters in My Kingdom manual**, covenants, the sermon of King Benjamin, the account of Ammon, Proverbs, RS Theme (memorize it), the names of the Savior, Repentance, the covenants I have made, the Abrahamic covenant.

Woman at the Well

This weekend has been one of spiritual nourishment for me.

There comes a point after each General Conference where I find myself eagerly awaiting the next conference. The past few weeks have been like that for me. I have read, studied, pondered, and acted on the April General Conference talks, and I was just itching to receive more light and knowledge.

That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.
                                                  Doctrine & Covenants 50:24

I really loved what Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said in April about General Conference, “If we teach by the Spirit and you listen by the Spirit, some one of us will touch on your circumstance, sending a personal prophetic epistle just to you.”

I received so many personal prophet epistles I hardly know where to begin! When I was a youth, an inspired instructor told us “When the Spirit moves you, write down what you are going to do!” And it was when I took Teachings of the Living Prophets at Brigham Young University that my instructor taught us to look for instruction at General Conference. That semester she had us write down at least ten things that we were going to do because of what we heard in General Conference, and I have kind of kept up that habit. When I am writing notes during any talk or lesson, I write down the things I am going to do with a little arrow in front of them like this –> Then I can find them easily when I go through my notebook.

How do you record what you got out of General Conference? Do you listen for your own “personal prophetic epistle[s]”?

The Sabbath Part III – Offer Up Thy Sacraments

(This is Part III of a five part series on The Sabbath)

To Go to the House of Prayer and Offer Up Our Sacraments

Elder Perry said, “The Sabbath provides us with a precious opportunity to offer up these—our sacraments—to the Lord.” “Partaking of the sacrament is the center of our Sabbath day observance.” The partaking of the sacrament in our Church meetings should be the most significant event of our Sabbath observance. 

“The Sabbath is not a day for indolent lounging about the house or puttering around in the garden, but is a day for consistent attendance at meetings for the worship of the Lord, drinking at the fountain of knowledge and instruction, enjoying the family, and finding uplift in music and song.” You will see this quote again. I really like that President Kimball points out here that the Sabbath isn’t just a day for us to do nothing. I think it is like the Spirit world – we will still be working in the Spirit world, but we will be allowed to rest from care and sorrow. The Sabbath is kind of like that. We still work, but the work is a spiritual work, rather than a temporal work.

The Sabbath is a day for us to worship the Lord, attending meetings and teaching each other and receiving knowledge and instruction. We go to our Church meetings so that we can be instructed in the gospel and most importantly, so we can partake of the sacrament and renew the covenants that we made at baptism. From the Church news article about the three hour block of meetings, one member said, “We thrilled at the opportunity to come to our first meeting of the day (sacrament meeting) fresh, rested, and in a reverent spirit.” That is the kind of spirit we should be having as we come to sacrament meeting – fresh, rested, and reverent.

President Kimball had a few more words to say regarding attendance at Church meetings. “But we do not go to Sabbath meetings to be entertained or even solely to be instructed. We go to worship the Lord. It is an individual responsibility, and regardless of what is said from the pulpit, if one wishes to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth, he may do so by attending his meetings, partaking of the sacrament, and contemplating the beauties of the gospel. If the service is a failure to you, you have failed. No one can worship for you; you must do your own waiting upon the Lord.”

We have to prepare for our Sunday meetings by reading, studying, and praying, and most importantly by having the right attitude and spirit while we are at our Church meetings. It is not the speaker’s duty to educate, edify, and instruct us. If the speaker is engaging, or the topic particularly relevant to us, or the presentation pleasing, that is fine. But no matter the speaker’s abilities, we can and will receive instruction and edification from the Holy Spirit, who is the true teacher. “You must do your own waiting upon the Lord.”

Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught us how to prepare for sacrament meeting. He reminded us that we are to come to the sacrament table with a broken heart and a contrite spirit. “We are seated well before the meeting begins. ‘During that quiet interval, prelude music is subdued. This is not a time for conversation or transmission of messages but a period of prayerful meditation as leaders and members prepare spiritually for the sacrament.’” Our attitude toward and our behavior during the ordinance of the sacrament can set the tone for the rest of our Sabbath worship, both in our meetings and in our homes.

Elder Oaks also cautioned against being distracted during the ordinance of the sacrament. “During sacrament meeting—and especially during the sacrament service—we should concentrate on worship and refrain from all other activities, especially from behavior that could interfere with the worship of others… Sacrament meeting is not a time for reading books or magazines. Young people, it is not a time for whispered conversations on cell phones or for texting persons at other locations.” I would have addressed the last comment to “Brothers and Sisters” because the problem is not exclusive to our youth. I have seen members of my own family texting during sacrament meeting, even during the sacred ordinance of the sacrament.

“When we partake of the sacrament, we make a sacred covenant that we will always remember the Savior. How sad to see persons obviously violating that covenant in the very meeting where they are making it.” May we offer up our sacraments and be sincere and serious about the covenants we renew each week in sacrament meeting.

How do you prepare to offer your sacraments to the Lord? Do you find yourself struggling to get something out of sacrament meeting? Do you come to your meetings with an attitude to be taught by the spirit? Or do you rather come to be entertained?

Part II            Part IV

Giveaway Winners!

Sorry for the delay in announcing the winners. We spent seven hours yesterday in emergency rooms with our four year old and another hour this morning with a neuro-ophthalmologist. Thankfully he’s fine, but it was a crazy roller coaster ride.

With no further ado, I would like to announce the winners of my 100 Blog Posts Temple Prints Giveaway!

Winner of the 8x10 matted print:

Charlotte & Steve who displays a picture of the Salt Lake Temple in her home (where she and her husband were sealed). I hope you enjoy this addition to your collection!

Winner of the 8x10 non-matted print:

Brandon, Lucie and Aiden Wengert who display a picture of the Mount Timpanogos Temple (where they were sealed). I hope you enjoy this picture!

Winner of the 5x7 print:

Sarah… who was also sealed in the Mount Timpanogos Temple and  displays a picture of that temple in her home.

Please email me your addresses so I can send you your pictures!

Thanks to everyone else who also participated in the giveaway! I enjoyed reading the scriptures you posted, and your dedication to having pictures of the temple in your home as well.

I hope you enjoy General Conference this weekend. How excited that there will be five new temples! I think one of my favorite parts about General Conference is hearing the new temples announced.

And for those who didn’t know what happened to the Provo Tabernacle, it was a terrible tragedy – and a sobering scene to witness when you drive by the shell of that great building. It is a touching thing to know that it will be resurrected into a beautiful temple of the Lord. What better testimony to our belief in a resurrection and life after death than taking the once beautiful Provo Tabernacle and rebuilding it into a sacred house of the Lord.

(image credit: KSL News)