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)

Relief Society – a Priesthood Organization

I had the privilege of attending the General Relief Society Broadcast on Saturday at the Stake Center. I call that a privilege because I didn’t have to watch it with the kids clamoring at my feet. My sweet husband kept the kids, put them to bed, and took care of the house while I sat at the feet of our General Relief Society presidency and the prophets and soaked up what they had to teach me.
Lately I feel like I have been learning a lot about the Relief Society. A lot of that is due to the new manual that has been published by the Church, Daughters in My Kingdom. But to be honest, I have only read the first chapter. Most of what I have been learning I think has been listening to the prophets speak. Don’t get me wrong, I am excited to read the Daughters in My Kingdom book, I have just been immersed in other scripture right now, including General Conference talks, which are my lifeline, usually.

The thing has really been striking me lately (and I think that a lot of it is due to Heather’s inspired words over at Women in the Scriptures) is that the Relief Society is a Priesthood organization. Between Heather, the new manual, and the Relief Society broadcast on Saturday I have a very firm testimony that the Relief Society is a Priesthood organization. That changes things for me. No longer is Relief Society just about doing nice things for people and taking care of the sisters – it is a divinely appointed organization with leaders called the same way prophets and apostles are called.

We believe that a man (or woman) may be called of God by prophesy and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority to preach the gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.

Growing up, and even in my first few years in Relief Society I thought of Relief Society as just that – a society that provides relief. We find people who need help, and we give them help. Of course, that is part of the Relief Society – but the larger part is the Priesthood calling of the Relief Society. Just as Deacons, Teachers, Priests, Elders, and High Priests have Priesthood responsibilities, so do the sisters in God’s Kingdom.

They are very explicitly spelled out in The Family: A Proclamation to the World, “Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children.” Over at Empowering LDS Women, Kels quoted Sister Julie B. Beck from her Women’s Conference 2011 talk where she said, “the priesthood duty of sisters is to create life, to nurture it, to prepare it for covenants of the Lord. Don’t confuse the power with the keys and the offices of the priesthood. God’s power is limitless and it is shared with those who make and keep covenants.” If we as women are not covenant makers, I don’t know who is. God’s power is available to us as women. We do not have keys or offices of the priesthood, but the power of the priesthood is limitlessly available to us as we serve the Lord.

Do you feel like you have the power of the priesthood in your life and service? Do you feel that you have the power of God to assist you in your righteous efforts?

The Sanctifying Work of Welfare

(find the talk here)

I have been gaining a stronger testimony recently that many Church programs are not simply organizations made up by man to help the members of the Church. They are revealed programs by the Lord, and existed in the ancient Church, whether they were called by the same name. Recently the leaders of the Church have been testifying of the organization of the Relief Society and the Welfare program, reminding us that these programs existed in Christ’s day, even if they were called something else.

Bishop H. David Burton said, “It is in the benevolent practice of sacrifice and giving of ourselves to others that we learn the celestial principles of sacrifice and consecration.” Since celestial glory is the goal of members of the Church, learning to live celestial principles is definitely our goal here on earth. The principles of welfare are really principles of sacrifice and consecration, two covenants that we make with our Father.

The welfare work is led by bishops all over the world to help the members of the ward – not just those who attend their congregation, but those within their ward boundaries who are in need of assistance. That seems like a huge responsibility, but the bishops are assisted by ward councils including Relief Society presidents, who, President Eyring said, may receive revelation for how to help before the bishop does.

I was really impressed by the story Bishop Burton told of the priesthood leader in South America who was distressed by the hunger and poverty of the members of his ward. Instead of writing to Church headquarters for food or clothing, the priesthood leader found a little plot of land, and with help from the brethren and sisters in the ward cultivated the land and grew crops to feed the ward member – despite trials and setbacks.

I think this is the key to the welfare program of the Church – it is not simply to help people, but to “help people help themselves.” The whole gospel message is that – the leaders of the Church can teach us the principles of the gospel, and can provide a place to meet, and manuals and scriptures to study, but we have to do the actual work. We have to want to become spiritually self-sufficient, just as we have to want to become temporally self-provident. Of course, we cannot become self-proficient at anything without the necessary tools, so it is our job as members of Christ’s kingdom to help give our neighbors the things they need to learn how to help themselves.

Bishop Burton gave a great illustration of how we have to take care of the temporal needs of those who also have spiritual needs.

In 1897 a young David O. McKay stood at a door with a tract in his hand. As a missionary in Stirling, Scotland, he had done this many times before. But on that day a very haggard woman opened the door and stood before him. She was poorly dressed and had sunken cheeks and unkempt hair.

She took the tract Elder McKay offered to her and spoke six words that he subsequently would never forget: “Will this buy me any bread?”

This encounter left a lasting impression on the young missionary. He later wrote: “From that moment I had a deeper realization that the Church of Christ should be and is interested in the temporal salvation of man. I walked away from the door feeling that that [woman], with … bitterness in[her heart] toward man and God, [was] in no position to receive the message of the gospel. [She was] in need of temporal help, and there was no organization, so far as I could learn, in Stirling that could give it to[her].”¹

The Savior himself often healed physical infirmities before healing spirits. He knew that when people feel taken care of they are more likely to accept the gospel. I would not believe in a gospel or a Church that preached anything but left its members out in the cold. President Gordon B. Hinckley told members in distress that, “As long as the Church has resources, we will not let you go hungry or without clothing or without shelter. We shall do all that we can to assist in the way that the Lord has designated that it should be done.” Bishop Burton quoted President Heber J. Grant who said he would “close the seminaries, shut down missionary work for a period of time, or even close the temples, but they would not let the people go hungry.” What a beautiful statement – the welfare program of the Church is truly inspired.

It seems to me that the success of the Church’s welfare program is based on the self-sufficiency of the members, and the education and eventual self-sufficiency of those who may receive assistance at one time or another. Bishop Burton listed the foundational principles of self-reliance, “avoid debt, implement principles of thrift, prepare for times of distress, listen to and follow the words of the living oracles, develop the discipline to distinguish between needs and wants and then live accordingly.” I thought it was interesting that a principle of self-reliance would be to listen to and follow the words of the prophets. But, indeed, following the prophets leads not only to spiritual prosperity, but temporal prosperity as well.

Bishop Burton’s talk is inspiring me to be more self-sufficient so that I can contribute to the welfare work of God’s kingdom. It also gives me the courage to ask for help when I need it. When we help each other and consecrate our time and means for each other and for the Church, we are truly learning the meaning of sacrifice and consecration.

In what ways do you participate in the Church’s welfare program? Have you had to accept help from the welfare program? Did you feel more able to provide for your family because of the assistance of the Church? How have you been able to help others as you have become self reliant?

This is the last week to enter my 100th Blog Post giveaway! I’m giving away framed prints of the Salt Lake Temple. Make sure you enter!

The Sabbath Part II – Staying Unspotted

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

To Keep Ourselves Unspotted from the World

In President Kimball’s article, he gave several examples of communities which kept the Sabbath, and communities that broke the Sabbath. He spoke of communities where the hay balers stood idle in the field and the businesses were all closed. He spoke of other communities where people were lined up at the theater, or heading off for the hunt on the Sabbath. The Lord expects us to avoid recreation and business transactions on the Sabbath. Elder Perry called these “worldly distractions.”

President Kimball clarified the problem with recreation and business on the Sabbath. “There is no criticism of legitimate recreation—sports, picnics, plays, and motion pictures… But there is a proper time and place for all worthwhile things—a time for work, a time for play,a time for worship.” It is good to have one day where we remove ourselves completely from the world and simply worship. He went on to say, “Sometimes Sabbath observance is characterized as a matter of sacrifice and self-denial, but it is not so. It is merely a matter of shifting times and choosing seasons. There is time enough, particularly in our era of the world’s history, during the six days of the week in which to do our work and play. Much can be done to organize and encourage weekday activities, avoiding the Sabbath.” There is a time and a season for all things, and with careful planning, we can do all our work and play in the other six days of the week, and save the Sabbath for worshipping the Lord. As I have been working on preparing for the Sabbath each Saturday (all the while singing in my head the song “Saturday is a special day, it’s the day we get ready for Sunday.”) I have discovered this counsel from President Kimball to be true.

There is some work that must be done on the Sabbath. People don’t stop getting sick on the Sabbath, no matter how healthy we all try to be (although there are probably people who would go to the hospital on the Sabbath instead of waiting for Monday when they really could wait), people don’t stop breaking the law on the Sabbath, and accidents and tragedies don’t rest on the Sabbath, unfortunately. So there is a place for those jobs that never sleep. However, President Kimball pointed out, “Many industries have processes which, it is said, cannot be interrupted for the Sabbath—in those industries the workers ‘have to work’ on Sunday.This may be true. But ‘necessity is the mother of invention,’ and I have often wondered how long it would take to invent new methods of production, which would not require Sunday work, if everyone in a particular industry simply decided to keep the Sabbath day holy.” There are certainly industries where I think this is true, but there are also industries (such as the ones I mentioned) that truly do have a need on the Sabbath.

There are some “jobs” that we must do on the Sabbath that may actually be good to do on the Sabbath. President Kimball said, “some of the work that is truly necessary—caring for the sick, for example—may actually serve to hallow the Sabbath.” Because caring for the sick, and offering that service to the feeble is something that we may do to keep the Sabbath even if it isn’t our paid job, working that job can be an experience that brings us closer to Heavenly Father, and helps us honor Him. President Kimball, however, cautioned, “in such activities our motives are a most important consideration.”

“When men and women are willing to work on the Sabbath to increase their wealth, they are breaking the commandments.” To me, this would be like a nurse taking on Sunday shifts at the hospital because she wants to earn more money to buy a car or a house. On the other hand, I’ll share an experience my sister had. She works in a hospital lab. She normally works a week day shift, but a few weeks ago, when they were working out the winter holiday schedule at work, a mother who usually works the Sunday shift asked if someone would take her shift on Christmas day (since Christmas day this year is a Sunday). My sister doesn’t have any children of her own, and she offered to take the shift – not because she wants to work on the Sabbath, but because she knew that this woman would be able to spend Christmas (and the Sabbath) with her children if my sister took her shift. My sister was also more than willing to switch a shift with this woman. My sister’s motivations were pure – she wanted her colleague to be able to spend Christmas with her children. Her heart was not set on the extra money she would earn from the shift, but helping the other woman’s family. If we work on the Sabbath, we would be wise to carefully consider our motives, as well as the need – is it really necessary?

Sometimes, even if we do not work on the Sabbath, the ox may fall in the mire, and we are not condemned if we pull out our ox to save it. However, President Kimball pointed out that “no one deliberately puts the ox in the mire every week, or lets him get in the mire with no effort to keep him out.” I like both parts of this – we should not deliberately put the ox in the mire (that is, we shouldn’t try to make there be situations where we must break the Sabbath) and we should try to keep the ox out of the mire. An example of deliberately putting the ox in the mire would be choosing to cook a meal on the Sabbath that requires an ingredient you don’t have, therefore “requiring” that you go to the store to obtain the necessary ingredient. An example of taking no steps to keep the ox out of the mire would be letting your car run empty on Saturday evening and thus you must purchase gas on the Sabbath in order to get to your Church meetings. I think most of us would not deliberately put ourselves in a situation in which we must pull the ox out of the mire, but I know that I have sometimes neglected to take the necessary precautions to keep the ox out of the mire.

Elder Perry also explained that the way we dress on the Sabbath has something to do with keeping ourselves unspotted from the world. “We know that when Sunday dress deteriorates to everyday attire, attitudes and actions follow…by the clothing we encourage [our children] to wear and the activities we plan, we help them prepare for the sacrament and enjoy its blessings throughout the day.” I think this is important. And at the same time, I worry that sometimes the Saints judge each other because of their Sunday dress, perhaps thinking that Sister So-and-so isn’t as righteous because she brings her children to church in sneakers and a t-shirt. The greatest thing I ever learned about the term “Sunday best” is that “best” is relative to the other things in your closet, not the other things in someone else’s closet. The reason I don’t put my children in sneakers for church on Sunday is because I have dress shoes and a suit for my son, and I have nice dresses for my daughter. The reason I don’t wear flip-flops to Church is because I own dress shoes. We should wear our Sunday best, but we should also be careful not to judge others whose Sunday best might be more casual than our Sunday best.

How do you keep yourself and your family “unspotted from the world” on the Sabbath? If you work on the Sabbath, what is your motivation? What steps do you take to keep the ox out of the mire? How do you organize your week so that you can devote the Sabbath to the Lord? What does “Sunday best” mean to you?

Part I            Part III

That Our Children May Know

I put my two year old down for a nap in my bed a few weeks ago. When I came back to check on her, this is what I found:

If you can’t tell or don’t know what the book is, it is an economy edition of the Book of Mormon (I have a picture of one on the sidebar over there ----> ) I use an economy edition when I read the Book of Mormon straight through so it is like a fresh slate and I leave myself open to new inspiration.

She even had a pencil (she was marking her favorite scriptures, I’m sure!)

“And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.”

                               ~2 Nephi 25:26

And in Church on Sunday during sacrament meeting, our four year old pulled out his Book of Mormon and started underlining the words. I showed him the word “Cristo” (Christ, in Portuguese – it was his Portuguese edition) and “Deus” (God, in Portuguese). He proceeded to go through the pages, underlining those two words when he found them. This honestly surprised me, because he doesn’t read (yet). What touched my heart, though, was how excited he was to be finding “Christ” and “God” in the scriptures (and I’m sure part of it was how excited he was to write in his scriptures).

“For my soul delighteth in the scriptures, and my heart pondereth them, and writeth them for the learning and the profit of my children.”

                           ~2 Nephi 4:15

This is why I study the scriptures. This is why I write about them. And this is why I talk to my children about them. I may start adding a post for Tuesdays and Thursdays about teaching your children about the scriptures.

How do you teach your children about the scriptures? How do you feel when your children seem to understand something important about the scriptures?

The Eternal Blessings of Marriage

Remember to enter my 100th blog post Giveaway!

(find the talk here)

I loved Elder Richard G. Scott’s talk when I heard it in Conference, and I have loved it each of the 10+ times I have read or listened to it since. The love that he expresses for his wife was really touching, and made me crave to have that in my own marriage.

“Two of the vital pillars that sustain Father in Heaven’s plan of happiness are marriage and the family.” Marriage and family are under attack by Satan, because he wants to do everything he can to destroy God’s plan for us. We need to fight back with strong, righteous families and rock-solid temple marriages.

I struggle sometimes with the words of the prophets on marriage, because they are usually speaking to the men about how to treat their wives, or to both partners about how to have a strong marriage, but the prophets don’t usually speak about how to be a good wife. I have been married for six years, and I still feel like I’m just doing the best I can, but that I don’t have a clue how to be a good wife.

“Marriage provides an ideal setting for overcoming any tendency to be selfish or self-centered.” I am a very stubborn person, so I think that marriage has helped me to become less stubborn. It also helps me to look outside of myself and serve others. I can serve my husband and my children. “I think one of the reasons that we are counseled to get married early in life is to avoid developing inappropriate character traits that are hard to change.” Hopefully by being married early in my life I will be able to avoid developing inappropriate character traits! I feel myself softening as the years go by in my marriage. Marriage is hard, and I can feel my soul stretching and expanding as I try to be a righteous wife and mother. Sometimes the stretching hurts, but I am trying to be open minded and humble. I don’t always succeed (actually, most of the time I am still just stubborn – but I am trying!)

Finally, I want to be more like Elder Scott’s wife who, “in her morning prayer she would ask her Father in Heaven to lead her to someone she could help. That sincere supplication was answered time and again. The burdens of many were eased; their lives were brightened. She was blessed continually for being an instrument directed by the Lord.” Sometimes I feel like I am barely able to keep my own head above water, but I think that as I continue to look outside myself for ways to help God’s children He will give me strength to bear my own infirmities.

What blessings have you received from Eternal Marriage? Do you share sweet messages with your spouse, like Elder Scott described with his wife? Does marriage stretch you? If you are not married, are you actively seeking someone to spend eternity with?

The Miracle of the Atonement

Remember to enter the giveaway of the temple prints!

(find the talk here)

Sometimes we have to get to the depths of despair in order to experience the depths of humility necessary to partake of the atonement. Elder C. Scott Grow said, “We access the Atonement through repentance. When we repent, the Lord allows us to put the mistakes of the past behind us.” But finding our way to repentance is not always easy. Sometimes we have a lot of bitterness and anger and guilt. Finding my way to humility is usually my roadblock to repentance and partaking of the atonement – not only in my own weaknesses, but in my hurt.

“He heals not only the transgressor, but He also heals the innocent who suffer because of those transgressions. As the innocent exercise faith in the Savior and in His Atonement and forgive the transgressor, they too can be healed.” There is something required of us to be healed when we are suffering because of the sins of others – we have to forgive. “The Atonement is available to everyone all the time, no matter how large or small the sin, ‘on conditions of repentance.’” For the one who has been wronged, that repentance comes through forgiving the person we feel has wronged us. “Repent—repent, lest … your sufferings be sore—how sore you know not,how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not.” If we don’t come to the Lord and partake of the atonement our suffering will be so hard to bear. I find myself carrying around a lot more than I really need to be carrying around because of that lack of humility that will allow me to repent and forgive.

“As you consider your own life, are there things that you need to change?Have you made mistakes that still need to be corrected?” I know that there are things that have need to change, but getting to the depths of humility where repentance is possible can be hard, especially when there is bitterness and hurt. I know that I need to let go of the hurt and forgive so that I can be healed, and so that I can change. “Forgive those who have wronged you. Forgive yourself.” It sounds easy, but it is hard – both to forgive others and to forgive ourselves. I struggle with both sides of forgiveness – both forgiving myself and forgiving others. “When we sin, Satan tells us we are lost. In contrast, our Redeemer offers redemption to all—no matter what we have done wrong—even to you and to me.” Satan’s lies come when we deny forgiveness, too. Maybe we aren’t good enough to forgive. Maybe the person we need to forgive isn’t worth it. All these are lies. The atonement covers all sin and all pain.

Elder Grow mentioned that Christ “inherited power over physical death.That allowed Him to sustain His life as He suffered ‘even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death;’” I have always understood that the Savior had power over death and that’s why he was resurrected, but it is profound to think that the suffering that Christ endured would have caused a man to die – but Christ had power over death. He was the only one who could suffer for us.

What changes do you need to make in your life? Do you need to more freely forgive, whether yourself or another? Do you need to be more humble so that you can change things in your life? How have you allowed the atonement to work in your life? Have you come unto Christ and been healed?

To Be and a Christ Centered Home

(find the talks here and here)

I am a parenting how-to junkie, especially when it comes to parenting methods that line up with gospel principles, such as Doctrine & Covenants 121:41-44, which I think is the one scripture that sums up exactly how we should parent. Whenever I read parenting books, I measure the advice next to this scripture. If the advice fits, and if I feel confirmation from the Holy Ghost that the principles in the parenting book echo the principles of the gospel, then I accept the advice and try to apply it in my parenting. I have read a lot of parenting advice (in books, on the internet, etc) that makes me feel so dirty and wrong just reading it that I would never dream of applying it in my parenting with my children (not knowingly, anyway).

I love the way Elder Lynn G. Robbins speaks. His sentences are simple, his concept easy to understand, and his language straightforward. While Elder Robbins seemed to speak about being, Elder Richard G. Maynes focused a little more on the doing part of parenting and our children’s behavior – however, the things that he stressed doing are really a part of being, too. “We learned that our children might not remember everything about the family home evening lesson later in the week, but they would remember that we held it. We learned that later in the day at school they would probably not remember the exact words of the scriptures or the prayer,but they would remember that we did read scriptures and we did have prayer. Brothers and sisters, there is great power and protection for us and our youth in establishing celestial traditions in the home.”

I realized this same thing as I have grown and left my parents home. I couldn’t tell you what we studied in the scriptures, or what the topics of our family home evening were. I couldn’t even really tell you how often we did any of these things. Because we did have family scripture study, family prayer, and family home evening, it seems to me like we did it consistently, ever day and every week, even though I know that’s not true. But the point is that my parents made an effort, and what I remember is that we read scriptures together as a family (and I remember how we read scriptures), I remember that we prayed as a family (and I remember how we prayed), and I remember that we had family home evening (and I remember how we had family home evening). The content probably just blended in with all the other gospel content I have learned over the years. I am sure I cannot tell you where I first learned a gospel principle, but chances are I learned them in the home.

Elder Maynes also talked about the be. He said, “Learning, teaching, and practicing the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ in our homes helps create a culture where the Spirit can dwell.” The principles of the gospel are what will help us be like the Savior and what will help us teach our children to be like the Savior. Elder Robbins said, “When we teach children doctrine by the Spirit, that doctrine has the power to change their very nature—be—over time.” Teaching those principles of the gospel will change our children (and ourselves).

Elder Robbins counseled us to focus our parenting on teaching our children how to develop Christ-like attributes. We need to teach them to learn to be like the Savior, and not just do good things, or “behave” properly.

Elder Robbins’ talk reminded me of a talk by President Boyd K. Packer in which he said, “The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior. Preoccupation with unworthy behavior can lead to unworthy behavior. That is why we stress so forcefully the study of the doctrines of the gospel.” Elder Robbins reiterated this sentiment when he said “Because be begets do and is the motive behind do, teaching be will improve behavior more effectively than focusing on do will improve behavior.” When we worry about what our children are doing, we forget that more important than what they do is who they are becoming. If we want our children to become Christ-like, then we need to teach them about Christ and teach them how to become like Christ.

Elder Robbins gave a lot of good advice on how to focus on teaching our children be while still talking about the do. I challenge everyone to read his talk. A really good parenting you might want to check out for more advice is The Soft Spoken Parent by my former institute teacher, Bro. Wallace Goddard. He teaches correct principles in all of his books and talks and lessons. He is probably my favorite parenting expert because he bases his parenting advice on the scripture, the prophets, and gospel principles.

I really liked Elder Robbins’ inclusion of the quote from Alma that “the preaching of the word had a great tendency to lead the people to do that which was just—yea, it had had more powerful effect upon the minds of the people than the sword.” I recently read this exact verse in my personal scripture study and I was struck by the same principle – punishing the do – whether in children or adults – is not half as powerful as teaching the be. This is one thing that I learned from Brother Goddard and his teaching of the scriptures – Heavenly Father doesn’t usually punish us. There are, of course, consequences for our actions, and our Father does not shield us from those consequences. However, our Father’s number one method of parenting is to teach us. He teaches us daily, through the prophets, the scriptures, prayer – however we will come to Him, He will teach us.

I think of my role as a parent the same way – I was given children to teach, not to punish or consequence. Sometimes I think that as parent we get carried away thinking that it is our job as parents to “make” our children behave in a certain way. That is grossly false. First of all, thinking that we can make our children do anything is to laugh in the face of our Father and His Son who provided agency for everyone – even (and especially) little children. Second, our job is to teach our children. Going back to D&C 121, we should discipline (teach) our children “by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; by kindness and pure knowledge.” Elder Robbins said, “Discipline comes from the same root word as disciple and implies patience and teaching on our part.” We are not task masters, we do not parent with a whip. We teach.

Elder Maynes ended his talk with this statement, that “we understand and believe in the eternal nature of the family.This understanding and belief should inspire us to do everything in our power to establish a Christ-centered home.” I feel like I can do a much better job of having a Christ-centered home by teaching my children about Christ-like attributes and focusing on be rather than do, both with them, and with myself.

Do you find yourself wanting to “make” your children behave? Have you seen changes in your children’s behavior as you teach them correct principles of the gospel? Do you follow the counsel given in Doctrine & Covenants 121 as you parent your children?

PS – Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for framed prints of the Salt Lake Temple! (see more information on the sidebar, or follow this link)

The Sabbath Part I – A Holy Day

(this was going to be one article, but it started getting really long, so I decided to divide it into a five part series. I will be posting one part of the article each week for the next four weeks. I hope it can help someone who is trying to deepen their understand of the Sabbath)

I have been thinking a lot about Sabbath day observance lately, thanks to Elder L. Tom Perry’s General Conference talk at April General Conference

I had already had proper Sabbath day observance on my mind because of a post I read over at LDS Women of God about the Sabbath day.

From the Church website, I read, “Because the Sabbath is a holy day, it should be reserved for worthy and holy activities. Abstaining from work and recreation is not enough. In fact, those who merely lounge about doing nothing on the Sabbath fail to keep the day holy.” This is similar to what Elder Perry mentioned in his talk. It is not enough just to “rest” from our labors. We need to devote the time on the Sabbath to the Lord and His work.

So I decided to do a little more research on LDS.org about the Sabbath, and I found a few really helpful articles. The first was an article by President Spencer W. Kimball, The Sabbath: A Delight which gave a lot of really great insight into the purpose of the Sabbath and what kinds of activities are and aren’t appropriate for the Sabbath. The other was an issue of The New of the Church which outlined the change back in the 80s from the old, spread-throughout-the-week schedule of Church meetings to the current three hour block of Church meetings on Sundays. These two articles together really helped me get a better understanding of the Sabbath, and helped me recommit to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.

President Kimball mentioned that we have “become a world of Sabbath breakers.” He pointed out that while some may think the breaking the Sabbath is not a very serious sin, “to our Heavenly Father it is disobedience to one of the principal commandments.” The commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy has been around since before this world. And when God created the world, He even rested on the seventh day. Moses was given the commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy in the ten commandments on Mount Sinai. The commandment was reiterated in latter day revelation. And yet, so many faithful Latter-day Saints (I say faithful because they are faithful in all other respects – paying full tithes, giving service, etc) break the Sabbath and barely bat an eyelash. President Kimball was concerned that “in their breach of the Sabbath they often take their families with them.”

When the Church switched the Church meeting schedule to the three hour block, about two years after President Kimball’s article, they mentioned that one purpose for the change was to “emphasize home-centered Sabbath activities.” Which leads us to the age-old question: “What activities are appropriate for the Sabbath?” or perhaps, the question many ask, “What can I do on the Sabbath?”

Elder Perry said, “As we consider the pattern of the Sabbath and the sacrament in our own lives, there appear to be three things the Lord requires of us: first, to keep ourselves unspotted from the world; second, to go to the house of prayer and offer up our sacraments; and third, to rest from our labors.”

The articles and talks referenced in this series will be:
The Sabbath and the Sacrament, Elder L. Tom Perry, April 2011 General Conference
The Sabbath – A Delight, President Spencer W. Kimball, Ensign January 1978
News of The Church, March 1980
Sacrament Meeting and the Sacrament, Elder Dalin H. Oaks, October 2008 General Conference

The parts of this series will be:

Part II – Staying Unspotted: What it means to keep ourselves unspotted from the world
Part III – Offer Up Thy Sacraments: The Sacrament, sacrament meetings, and what it means to offer up sacraments
Part IV – Rest From Our Labors: a discussion about resting on the Sabbath and appropriate Sabbath day “labor”
Part V – Worthy and Holy Activities: a few pointers to help you decide if your Sabbath day activities pass the test

What questions do you have about the Sabbath? Do you feel like your Sabbath day worship is in line with gospel principles? How do you determine if an activity is appropriate for the Sabbath? Do you feel like Sabbath day worship is a chore, or is it a delight for you?

100 Blog Posts Giveaway!

In honor of my 100th blog post here on My Soul Delighteth, and in response to the counsel of our prophet President Monson from April 2011 General Conference, I will be giving away framed prints of an original edited photograph of the Salt Lake Temple for you to display in your home. The colors are somewhat subdued so that it will hopefully fit in with any decor.

To you parents of young children, may I share with you some sage advice from President Spencer W. Kimball. Said he: “It would be a fine thing if … parents would have in every bedroom in their house a picture of the temple so [their children] from the time [they are] infant[s] could look at the picture every day [until] it becomes a part of [their lives]. When [they reach] the age that [they need] to make [the] very important decision [concerning going to the temple], it will have already been made.”

I think that it is important for all of us to have pictures of the temple in our home, regardless of whether or not we have small children.
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So, I will be giving away the following prints:

- a framed 8x10 print in a 11x14 frame with mat
- a framed 8x10 print
- a framed 5x7 print
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To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on my blog and tell us what temples you display in your home. Is it your local temple? The temple you were sealed in? Your favorite temple?
For extra entries, you can do any of the following (leave a comment for each entry – if you only leave one comment for everything you did, you will only get ONE entry. You MUST leave extra comments for each entry)
- go read President Monson’s talk about the temple and copy and paste your favorite quote from his talk.
- quote your favorite scripture about the temple
Winners will be chosen on Friday, Sept 30, 2011 at midnight – just in time for October General Conference! I will post the winners here on the blog, and attempt to contact you  by email, so either make sure your blogger profile has an email address attached, or leave your email address in your comment (I will delete the email addresses after the giveaway is over). For added security of your email address, you can write it like this: myemail – at – mydomain.com (that way web crawlers won’t be able to steal your email address and spam you).
The winner will be chosen by a random number generator at random.org

The Postmortal Spirit World

(find the lesson here)

(Author's Edit 6/25/2012: I haven't read this post since I wrote it nearly a year ago, and I think that I wrote it when I was in a bad place emotionally and spiritually concerning my brother. If you've read some recent things I have posted about my brother, you'll know that his passing was really hard on me. Due to the other circumstances going on in my life around the time of his passing, I didn't really get the chance to grieve properly. So I spent most of 2011 working through all the grief. I think that I wrote this post shortly before I started going to therapy to work through some of the grief that I had bottled away, among other things. Fortunately, I don't feel this way anymore. I have also had some really great experiences that I won't share specifically, that give me a lot of hope for my brother. I am grateful for my family beyond the veil who I am sure are helping him and loving him. What a beautiful thing this doctrine is of a spirit world and of eternal families.)

The Gospel Principles manual asks this question “What comfort do you receive from your knowledge that there is life after death?” Well, let me tell you how not comforting this knowledge has been for me recently.

My oldest brother passed away just over a year ago after a fierce battle against cancer. He and his wife (both baptized members of the Church) were not married in the temple and had no desire to be affiliated with the Church in any way. My brother served a mission, but he was married shortly after he got back. My heart always longed for them to accept the gospel again and come back to the Church, but that didn’t happen. And then my brother was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer, which he fought valiantly, but in the end, the cancer won.

When my brother passed away, my heart completely broke. I love my brother and I looked up to him my entire life. I wanted to be just like him. But the thing that broke my heart the most was not knowing what would happen to him in the next life.

When someone dies in the Church, our knee-jerk reaction is to remind the grieving family about the possibility for eternal families. The problem with those “comforting words” in our situation is that they are not entire comforting. To me it is a devastating reminder of my brother’s lack of faithfulness in the gospel. I have tried to reason it away, telling myself that Heavenly Father can be the only judge, and maybe he will be lenient with my brother. Regardless of what I tell myself, the doctrine is clear.

I was reading the Book of Mormon a few months ago and this passage from Alma 34 sat on my mind like a weight:

34 Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.

35 For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked.

You can see how that scripture would not be comforting to someone like me, concerned about the spiritual welfare of my brother. I stewed over this for a few days, until I got to Alma 41 and read

3 And it is requisite with the justice of God that men should be judged according to their works; and if their works were good in this life, and the desires of their hearts were good, that they should also, at the last day, be restored unto that which is good.

If you know my brother, he was a very good person. He cared about people, he was kind, and he always sought out good things. He was not, by any standard, and “evil” person. He was a good person. And although he rejected the gospel in this life (and may reject it in the next) I have hope for him because “if their works were good… and the desires of their hearts were good… they should… be restored unto that which is good.”

When I asked my brother why he and his wife did not get married in the temple, he told me that they were not sure that the gospel was true, they didn’t believe in Christ, so they felt that it would be worse for them to get married in the temple – they felt like they would be lying. I can’t see that being anything but good. Their motives were pure, I felt.

Returning to the question about the comfort I get from a knowledge of life after death – I think that in the end, it is comforting. I know that I will be able to see my brother again. We may not be able to live together in the Celestial Kingdom, but I will be able to see him. I will be able to talk with him, walk with him, hug him. He is not lost to me.

I have always known that the Spirit world is all around us, but I seem to forget just how close it is. “Sometimes the veil between this life and the life beyond becomes very thin. Our loved ones who have passed on are not far from us.” (President Ezra Taft Benson). I believe this with all my heart, and I have experienced it. Most often in the temple, where the veil is very thin. It is comforting to know that we don’t go to some far off place when we die. We stay here, we get to be with the people we love (even if we can’t see them all the time). “President Brigham Young taught that the postmortal spirit world is on the earth, around us.”

As far as our spirits go, like Alma 34 mentioned, “Spirits carry with them from earth their attitudes of devotion or antagonism toward things of righteousness.” I would add that they may have an attitude of indifference toward things of righteousness. Although, my brother did have a devotion to many things of righteousness – he was just indifferent, I believe, toward the basic tenets of the gospel. He did love good things, and was a very kind person.

I wish that I could say I believe my brother will be in Spirit paradise – where there is “rest from all… troubles and from all care, and sorrow.” However, I am certain it is more likely that he will have to endure spirit prison (which is not necessarily a bad place – just a place of learning, and repenting, and suffering for ones sins). Since he did not accept the gospel in this life (or rejected it after he had received it) the scriptures teach that he will have to suffer for his own sins and then, “after suffering… [he] will be allowed, through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, to inherit the lowest degree of glory, which is the telestial kingdom.” But I think perhaps he will be happy there. And maybe he will get a second chance to receive the gospel in the Spirit world and be able to inherit a higher kingdom. I don’t know. Maybe some day I will know.

The lesson taught a few more interesting things about the Spirit world. The priesthood is organized the same way it is here. Also, families are still organized. This part got me upset again because President Jedediah M. Grant said “When I looked at families, there was a deficiency in some, … for I saw families that would not be permitted to come and dwell together, because they had not honored their calling here.” I know that I will see my brother again, I just don’t know if we will be permitted to dwell together. Sometimes I feel like part of that is my fault for not trying harder. But I know that it was his choice.

Spirit prison is also not a horrible place to be. “These spirits have agency and may be enticed by both good and evil. If they accept the gospel and the ordinances performed for them in the temples, they may leave spirit prison and dwell in paradise.”

It seems to me like the postmortal world is simply a continuation of this world. “Heaven” is not until after judgment. Spirit paradise and spirit prison are simply the next step. Until the judgment comes, we just continue the work we did here (and for the righteous, they will get to rest from care and sorrow – not necessarily from work).

I am grateful that I had the opportunity to study this lesson, because my mind has been filled with so much lately concerning my brother. While I am not completely comforted (I feel sorrow because of some of the things I know) I am grateful that I have a better knowledge of what will happen to him. And I do know that I will see him again – and that is a comforting thought.

What comfort do you receive from your knowledge about life after death? What things did you learn about the spirit world from reading this lesson in the manual? Do you feel the spirit world around you sometimes? Does the thought of continuing the work on the other side of the veil make you excited, or tired?

Guided by the Holy Spirit

(find the talk here)

Wow. If you want to know what it means to be “Mormon” or a Latter-day Saint, just read President Boyd K. Packer’s talk. I mean, I think that he basically laid it all out, right there.

And if you couldn’t tell that William Tyndale was a really important guy, just check out how many Conference talks have mentioned him. It makes me want to read a lot more about him.

President Packer has a knack for speaking bluntly. Remember his October 2010 General Conference talk? He had all these people up in arms, they (over 100,000 of them) petitioned him (a prophet of God) to retract his words. It was the most incredible (incredibly disturbing) thing I have seen in a while. I felt as if Christ was going to come in that instant. Even members of the Church were wishing he hadn’t said what he had said. That was hard for me to take.

I, personally, love listening to President Packer speak.  He makes me squirm. And when a prophet makes me squirm it means I have some changing to do, and that means I have an opportunity for growth. While I don’t exactly go around looking for people to tell me how wrong I am, and while I usually get grouchy and self-defensive if anyone ever criticizes me, in the end I usually end up looking back on the situation and realizing that I actually did need to change, and the change made me such a better person. I just have a lot of pride, that’s all.

I know that the name of the Church was revealed by the Savior himself, but I had forgotten that when the Lord asked the Nephites what they wanted Him to give them, they asked for a name for the Church. Interesting, because I can think of a million things that I would ask the Savior for and none of them are the name of anything. Those Saints knew about the principle of unity and I think they were concerned that they didn’t have a name to unify them. Can you imagine if we all called the Church by a different name? I think that having a unified name, and that name being Christ’s name, unifies the Church and gives us great power. “If ye are not one, ye are not mine.” (here)

“The world will refer to us as they will, but in our speech, always remember that we belong to the Church of Jesus Christ.” When I think about what Church I belong to, sure I think of the name of the Church – but the thing that I think about the most is that I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ. This is His Church, no matter what the rest of the world says, and no matter how the rest of the world refers to us. It is the Church of Jesus Christ. (the “Latter-day Saint” part just means that we are in the Latter-days, instead of anciently with Christ).

What makes our Church unique? Well, lots of things (including not drinking coffee) – but the thing that really sets us apart is the priesthood (the authority to act in God’s name) and the gift of the Holy Ghost which is only available through priesthood ordinances. “This authority and the attendant gift of the Holy Ghost, which is conferred upon all members of the Church after baptism, set us apart from other churches.”

The gift of the Holy Ghost (and the priesthood) are really what give us all the things that President Packer talked about.

“The work in the Church today is performed by ordinary men and women called and sustained to preside, to teach, and to administer. It is by the power of revelation and the gift of the Holy Ghost that those called are guided to know the Lord’s will. Others may not accept such things as prophecy, revelation, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, but if they are to understand us at all, they must understand that we accept those things.”

“The Lord revealed to Joseph Smith a code of health, the Word of Wisdom,long before the dangers were known to the world. All are taught to avoid tea, coffee, liquor, tobacco, and of course varieties of drugs and addictive substances, which are ever present before our young people.”

“In another revelation, the Lord’s standard of morality commands that the sacred powers to beget life be protected and employed only between man and woman, husband and wife.”

All of these revelations President Packer spoke of come through the power of the priesthood and the Holy Ghost. After spending some time talking about the effects of having the Holy Ghost that make our Church somewhat unique, he said, “A Latter-day Saint is quite an ordinary individual…We are taught to be in the world but not of the world. Therefore, we live ordinary lives in ordinary families mixed in with the general population.” So we have unique principles in our Church, but we are “quite …  ordinary individual[s]” – living ordinary lives with ordinary families. This is actually quite true. Other than those significant principles of the gospel and gifts of the Spirit, we aren’t really extraordinary.

I feel extraordinary sometimes, especially when I feel the Holy Ghost or witness the hand of the Lord in my life and the lives of others around me. But when you look at my life compared to another person, we do just about the same things – get an education, work, have kids, raise families, go camping, etc.

I am so grateful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My membership in Christ’s kingdom is by far the most precious thing to me. I hope that I can remember all the things President Packer reminded us about, and taught the world about. I want to live the gospel more fully.

What did you get out of President Packer’s talk? Do you feel unique? Or ordinary?