In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives,and our children--.

In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives,and our children--.
This is the Title of Liberty that captain Moroni raised up because a man named Amalackiah was desirous to be King and he had many followers. Alma 46:10 “Yea, we see that Amalickiah, because he was a man of cunning device and a man of many flattering words, that he led away the hearts of many people to do wickedly; yea, and to seek to destroy the church of God and to destroy the foundation of liberty which God had granted unto them, or which blessing God had sent upon the face of the land for the righteous' sake.” Which land is he talking about? This land our great country. These are scriptures from the “Book of Mormon” which The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has because the Prophet Joseph Smith was led to the plates and by the Power of God translated them. It is another testament of Jesus Christ and I give my testimony that it is true and if we read it, it will help us with our daily lives.

Moroni after writing the title of liberty, knelt down and prayed and this is what he said Alma 46:13 “...he prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his bretheren, so long as there should be a band of Christians remain to possess the land-” and in verse 16-17 “...that the cause of the Christians, and the freedom of the land might be favored ...yea, and in fine, all the land both on the north and on the south--- A chosen land, and the land of liberty.
Then he went crying with a loud voice saying “Behold, whosever will maintain this title upon the land, let them come forth in the strength of the Lord, and enter into a covenant that they will maintain their rights, and their religion, that the Lord God may bless them.”

Then Moroni and the people he gathered together took up arms and chased out Amalackiah and his followers from the land.

I've been thinking a lot lately about our own government and it seems to me to parallel with this time in the Book of Mormon. Now our president has not come out and said he wants to be king. Although it is worrisome to me that he is on the wrong side when this very thing happened in Honduras. If you don't know what that means look it up please. In a nutshell their president wanted to change the law and run for a second term which is prohibited in their constitution as well as trying to change their law. So their “congress” or whatever it is called removed him and he had to leave the country. Well our president is siding with their president and has put sanctions on Honduras.

Our governing body right now wants to pass laws that take away our rights and while there is not one person claiming to be king our Government wants to rule over us instead of working for us. Now truthfully I believe this has been happening for decades now, only very slowly. Like frogs in water that is turned up little by little who swim and stay in until its too late and they are boiled we have let it go until now we are in boiling water. Fortunately it is not too late. We as Americans who desire freedom need to pay attention to what our representatives and Senators in Washington are doing. The Health care reform and also the cap and trade bill are big government spending and growing bills, and they take away our rights. You will no longer have a choice not to buy health insurance (not that that is a very good idea anyway), but young single people often don't want to pay the premiums for just them. But that would no longer be a choice. If this passes this is something that our children and grandchildren will be paying for. We don't need universal health care it doesn't work. We need to quit suing one another and our doctors for not being perfect. And if there is true malpractice sue for what is fair not this pain and suffering that has huge 0s attached to it.

The cap and trade bill puts higher taxes on energy sources that we use everyday which would make our utilities higher and this is not in the bill but could happen households with more children put off more carbon dioxide which is now a poison could have higher taxes put on them. Which will cause people to have less children. Satan is very cunning and knows how to get his way and make Gods ways seem wrong.

Our freedoms are in jeopardy. It is time to jump out of the boiling pot we are in. It is time to use our rights and our voices and change who is in congress. Now I am not saying we all need to become republicans. They are the problem as well. It is not restricted to one party.

We need to be fiscally conservative. Less spending smaller government. We need to pray for good men and women who love freedom to run for office. When elections come around pray for which candidate is best, who will help us maintain our rights, freedom, our religion. Protect this great country. Our leaders right now want it to be like every other country. Well the reason we are great is because we are different. Our freedom makes us different and great. Don't change that and take it away. It is time to raise our voices and our votes and fight for these things that are dear to us. I hope and pray and believe that they are still dear to the majority of the people. We did vote in our leaders now but I hope we can see them for who they truly are kingmen, destroyers of freedom. I know that sounds harsh but that is what they are doing don't turn away and let it happen lets fix this and fight against it with our voices and votes.

In memory of our God, our religion, our freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children. In the name of Jesus Christ amen.

Marriage and Family

I have been thinking a lot on this subject the last couple of weeks. It is something that has been concerning me for a little while now. Over the past 2 or 3 years I have seen as many if not more divorces than I have all the years previously combined. It is very sad to me to see this trend. I feel I don't have the experience to offer any advice, for while I am in a very happy marriage of 13 years, I haven't been through any teenage years with children or unemployment or loss of children. Not that these trials would or should lead to divorce but they would be very trying on a marriage and family. So with that being said, I want to post some advice from scriptures and from latter day Prophets and Apostles.

Elder Russell M. Nelson said “My purpose in speaking out on this topic is to declare, as an Apostle of the Lord that marriage between a man and a woman is sacred- it is ordained of God. I also assert the virtue of a temple marriage. It is the highest and most enduring type of marriage that our Creator can offer to His Children.

“it is lawful that [a man] should have one wife, and they twain shall be one flesh, and all this that the earth might answer the end of its creation.” D&C 49:16; see also Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5; Mark 10:7-9; D&C 42:22;Moses 3:24; Abraham 5:18.

“the man [is not] without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord” 1Corinthians 11:11

Harmony in marriage comes only when one esteems the welfare of his or her spouse amont the highest of priorities. When that really happens, a celestial marriage becomes a reality, bringing great joy in this life and in the life to come.”

Elder Dallin H. Oaks said “ We live in a world in which the whole concept of marriage is in peril and where divorce is commonplace. I strongly urge you and those who advise you to face up to the reality that for most marriage problems, the remedy is not divorce but repentance. Often the cause is not incompatibility but selfishness. The first step is not separation but reformation. Divorce is not an all-purpose solution, and it often creates long-term heartache. Spouces who hope that divorce will resolve

conflicts often find that it aggravates them, since the complexities that follow divorce-especially where there are children- generate new conflicts. To avoid so-called “incompatibility,” they should be best friends, kind and considerate, sensitive to each other's needs, always seeking to make each other happy. They should be partners in family finances, working together to regulate their desires for temporal things. Don't treasure up past wrongs, reprocessing them again and again. In a marriage relationship, festering is destructive; Forgiving is divine (see D&C 64:9-10). Plead for the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord to forgive wrongs ...to overcome faults, and to strengthen relationships.

...we should realize that a good marriage does not require a perfect man or a perfect woman. It only requires a man and a woman committed to strive together toward perfection.”

President Spencet W. Kimball taught: “ Two individuals approaching the marriage altar must realize that to attain the happy marriage which they hope for they must know that marriage... means sacrifice, sharing, and even a reduction of some personal liberties. It means long, hard economizing. It means children who bring with them financial burdens, service burdens, care and worry burdens; but also it means the deepest and sweetest emotions of all.

President Gordon B. Hinkley said “How wonderful a thing is marriage under the plan of our Eternal Father, a plan provided in His divine wisdom for the happiness and security of His children and the continuity of the race. He is our Creator, and He designed marriage from the beginning. At the time of Eve's creation, “Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh:...

“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh” (Gen. 2: 23- 24.)

In modern revelation, the Lord has said, “ And again, verily I say unto you, that whoso forbiddeth to marry is not ordained of God, for marriage is ordained of God unto man.” (D&C 49:15)

The sweetest feelings of life, the most generous and satisfying impulses of the human heart, find expression in a marriage that stands pure and unsullied above the evil of the world.

Such a marriage, I believe, is the desire- the hoped-for, the longed-for, the prayed-for desire- of men and women everywhere.

Why all of thes broken homes? What happens to marriages that begin with sincere love and a desire to be loyal and faithful and true one to another?

There is no simple answer. I acknowledge that. But it appears to me that there are some obvious reasons that account for a very high percentage of these problems. I say this our of experience in dealing with such tragedies. I find selfishness to be the root cause of most of it.

I am satisfied tht a happy marriage is not so much a matter of romance as it is an anxious concern for the comfort and well-being of one's companion.

Selfishness so often is the basis of money problems, which are a vey serious and real factor affecting the stability of family life. Selfishness is at the root of adultery, the breaking of solemn and sacred covenants to satisfy selfish lust. Selfishness is the antithesis of love. It is a cankering expression of greed. It destroys self-discipline. It obliterates loyalty. It tears up sacred covenants. It afflicts both men and women.

Too many who come to marriage have been coddled and spoiled and somehow led to feel that everything must be precisely right at all times, that life is a series of entertainments, that appetites are to be satisfied without regard to principle. How tragic the consequences of such hollow and unreasonable thinking!

Marriage is beautiful when beauty is looked for and cultivated. It can be ugly and uncomfortable when one is looking for faults and is blinded to virtue. As Edgar A. Guest once remarked, “ It take a heap o' livin' in a house t' make it home.” (“Home”, in Collected Verse of Edgar A. Guest, Chicago: Reilly and Lee Co., 1934, p. 12) That is true. I can show you throughout this church hundreds of thousands of families who make it work with love and peace, discipline and honesty, concern and unselfishness.

There must be recognition on the part of both husband and wife of the solelmnity and sanctity of marriage and of the God-given desing behind it.

There must be a willingness to overlook small faults, to forgive, and then to forget.

There must be a holding of one's tongue. Temper is a vicious and corrosive thing that destroys affection and casts out love.

There must be self-discipline that constrains against abuse of wife and children and self.

There must be the Spirit of God, invited and worked for, nurtured and strengthened. There must be recognition of the fact that each is a child of God- father, mother, son, and daughter, each with a divine birthright- and also recognition of the fact that when we offend one of these, we offend our Father in Heaven.

There may be now and again a legitimate cause for divorce. I am not one to say that it is never justified. But I say without hesitation that this plague among us, which seems to be growing everywhere, is not of God, but rather is the work of the adversary of righteousness and peace and truth.

You need not be his victims. You can rise above his wiles and entreaties. Get rid of the titillating entertainment, the pornography that leads to evil desires and reprehensible activity. Wives, look upon your husbands as your precious companions and live worthy of that association. Husbands, see in your wives your most valued asset in time or eternity, each is a daughter of God, a partner with whom you can wald hand in hand, through sunshine and storm, through all the perils and triumphs of life. Parents, see in your children sons and daughters of your Father in Heaven, who will hold you accountable for them. Stand together as their guardians, their protectors, their guides, their anchors.

The strength of the nations lies in the homes of the people. God is the designer if the family. He intended that the greatest of happiness, the most satisfying aspects of life, the deepest joys should come in our associations together and our concerns one for another as fathers and mothers and children.

God bless the homes of our people. May He bless those homes that there may be loyal and true fathers and good and wonderful mothers, and obedient and ambitious children reared in “ the nurture and admonition of the Lord”(Enos 1:1). I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Jacob 3:7 Speaking of the Lamanites he said "Their husbands love their wives, their wives love their husbands and their husbands and their wives love their children," May we all do the same in our families and strive for strong, righteous, celestial families. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen

How I lost 25 lbs. in 6 months

I am so excited that I reached my weight loss goal. I thought I'd share how I did it. In Feb. or March I found out my 15th year high school reunion was going to be in Sept.. So I knew I had 6 months to lose weight. I decided in that amount of time I should be able to lose 25lbs. I wanted to start running and just eat what I wanted and hope that that would work.

Well after reading about exercising and dieting I discovered that I would have to diet. I decided I would eat 1200 calories a day and I ran 30 mins. 3 times a week. If I had exercised for an hour a day I would have lost the weight faster. Running was something my husband and I did together and 30 mins. was our limit. Running everyday is not recommended because you could get injured. It was hard to find other ways and time to exercise. So we did 30 mins. 3 times a week.

1200 calories was not very hard for me because I don't eat breakfast anyway so that gives me 600 calories a meal or 500 a meal and a 200 calorie snack. I read some things that said you should eat 6 meals a day so that would be 6 200 calories meals a day. That is really hard for me to do because 200 calories depending on what you eat is hardly anything. I just did what worked for me. It does say that lots of small meals is better for you metabolism. Anyway, 1200 calories a day with 2 main meals and a small snack worked for me. Now there were days when I was hungry and so I ate more. Probably one day a week I would eat a little more and not be super strict with my diet.

What I ate: I stopped drinking milk and drank more water and Lemonade after runs. Lunch was a lunch meat sandwhich no cheese and miracle whip rather that mayonaise. I would eat salad or grapes and strawberries with it or light yogurt. Dinner was the regular things I would cook for my family I would just eat smaller portions and a salad or vegetables or fresh fruit with it. I would pay more attention to how many calories were in my food and watch my portion sizes. If we went out to eat I would look it up on line and find out what I could eat for fewer calories. There are some places I would not eat, like Quiznos and Wendys. Everywhere else I could eat for under 600 calories but no French fries. Pizza I still ate but 1 slice with salad and fruit or/and light yogurt. Anyway this worked for me. I've decide to lose 5 more lbs. and then I am done. Dieting that is not running. The running I hope I can continue for many years to come.


My main keys: My best friend, my husband Jon, did this with me. We ran together and dieted together. We would weigh ourselves and share our excitement or our disappointment and we would encourage and help each other. My high school reunion was big motivation for me as well as just wanting to look good and be healthy. Reading and finding what you can do and what works for you is important.

Now I did have some weeks when my weight loss stalled. It happened when I had lost about 7 lbs. and then again after I had lost 15 lbs. Even though it was discouraging I kept to my diet and exercise and the wieght started to come off again.

I wanted to share this for anyone wanting to lose weight and just not quite sure how. This was my first experience with weight loss. I wish I had done it a long time ago. I thought dieting would be so hard. But I discovered you don't have to stop eating just eat more fruits and vegetables which are low in calories you can still fill your tummy just with better things.

You can still eat higher calorie things like meat and sugar just in moderation. You have to pay attention to what and how many calories are going into your body. After I started paying attention to calories and learned how many calories a lot of things had it was easy for me to see why I had gained the weight in the first place. I ate terrible and a lot of food. More than I needed. I ate candybars and full meals at fast food places. Anyway I was not surprised I needed to lose 25lbs. after more than 6 months eating that way and never losing all the weight from my 4th baby. Now I think I can keep it under control and keep it off. And if I start to gain it back I know what works for me and can do it again. I am not trying to brag. I just wanted to post this in case it can help someone struggling with weight loss.

My Conversion process

A little while ago I posted a blog on Testimony vs. Conversion. I've been thinking the last couple of days about my conversion to the gospel of Christ. I've been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints since I was eight years old. I've been attending church since I was a baby. Looking back I feel I've had a testimony most of my life but I feel like I've been converted to the gospel only the last couple of years. I thought I'd share my process with you. I call it a process because it wasn't a one time "WOW" thing, it happened over a period of time. It first started when I was reading a book series by Chris Stewart, an LDS author, called "The Great and the Terrible". The first book starts out in the premortal life or the time before we were born. (As Latter Day Saints we know that our spirits lived before we were born, with Heavenly Father where we learned and progressed as much as we could but need to get bodies and be tried and tested here in mortality.) The characters were righteous and when they were ready to come to earth they would have important missions to fulfill. Well this started me thinking about my mission and what I was supposed to do here. I started to read my patriarchal blessing. ("Patriarchal blessings are given to worthy members of the Church by ordained patriarchs. Patriarchal blessings include a declaration of a person's lineage in the house of Israel and contain personal counsel from the Lord. As a person studies his or her patriarchal blessing and follows the counsel it contains, it will provide guidance, comfort, and protection." LDS.org).
I started to read my blessing and realized I was falling short of the things I was supposed to be doing. I realized I could have a great work to do if I was doing the things my blessing counseled me to do. I started to think of the scripture "Many are called few are chosen." I read my blessing every week for a while and started wondering if it was too late to be chosen for the mission I felt I had been called at one time to do. A few months later I started reading "The Miracle of Forgiveness" by Spencer W. Kimball. I read the chapter about sins of omission. Which talks about how we keep the don'ts of the commandments but leave out the do's. It helped me once again to realize there was so much more I could be doing. Then a few weeks later I was asked to speak in church about spiritual experiences. As I prepared for the talk I thought back about spiritual experiences I had and realized that Heavenly Father had blessed me greatly and yet I hadn't really changed or became better. I once again was given the oppertunity to see a need for change. I began to desire this change. I wanted so much to be better and be the person my patriarchal blessing described. I desired to be one of the chosen and not just called. I still worried that it could be too late. Then when I was reading the Book of Mormon ,in Alma of course (love that book) the answer came to me of how I still could be chosen. Alma 13:3-10. Now these scriptures are talking about High priests in the priesthood but I likened these scriptures unto myself. It talks about people called for the work and in the premortal life are on the same standing as those chosen but because of choices and hardening their hearts the privilege was not theirs. verse 4 "And thus they have been called to this holy calling on account of their faith, while others would reject the spirit of God on account of the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their mind, while, if it had not been for this they might have had as great privilege as their brethren." And then verse 10 told me what I needed to do ".... and it was on account of their exceeding faith and "REPENTANCE" and their righteousness before God, they CHOOSING TO REPENT AND WORK RIGHTEOUSNESS rather than perish." So I needed to repent, have exceeding faith, and work righteousness. I really tried to be better. Pray, Ponder, Study the scriptures, attend the temple, work hard in my calling, do my visiting teaching, family scripture reading. Now I am not perfect at these things at all but as I tried to work hard at doing them, changes happened. I could feel the Holy Ghost so much more and recognize promtings better, easier. I loved doing these things instead of feeling like I had to do them. I saw people as brothers and sisters and desired and still desire to help and care for them. I desired to share the gospel and when those around me had life questions I was able to share gospel principles that I knew to be true and a great help. I loved living the gospel and it wasn't a sacrifice at all to do these things because the blessings were so great. I also started to see how much I still had to work on. The closer I felt to God the more I could see I needed to do. I still have a lot to work on but I never want to go back to the time before when I feel like I was spiritually surviving. Spiritually living AKA conversion to the gospel is so much better. Now please don't think that I think that I am ready for Celestial Glory or anything. I still fall short a lot repentance is a big part of my life. I have a lot to work on, but I know who I am and what I can be and I feel closer to my Heavenly Father than I ever have before. I feel my heart has been changed. I am so greatful for a loving Heavenly Father who has given me this great blessing and for my Savior who made this change and continued repentance possible. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Politics and Health care reform

Sorry to be political today. I use my blog for religious thoughts but today I felt strongly to write some feelings on the health care reform bill that congress or the majority of congress thinks they need to push through. I read a blog today that talked about how some members of congress want to pass the bill with the public option even though the american people are against it. This is what the leaders want so, too bad for the people basically. Why is it only reform if there is a public option. Why is that one thing so important? Can health care be made better without it? Yes. Can health care be made better with it? In my opinion No. So why are we pushing so hard on this thing that most Americans don't want? Here is a quote from an anonymous source in the white house from a blog I read called Stratosphere, "

“I don’t understand why the left of the left has decided that this is their Waterloo,” said a senior White House adviser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “We’ve gotten to this point where health care on the left is determined by the breadth of the public option. I don’t understand how that has become the measure of whether what we achieve is health-care reform.”

“It’s a mystifying thing,” he added. “We’re forgetting why we are in this.”

Why is it so important. In my humble opinion this is no longer about health care, I'm not sure it ever was to tell you the truth because there are much simpler ways to fix it, this is about growing goverment. Bigger than it ever has been before. It is about taking away freedoms that were fought so hard for and that men and women in uniform still fight for today. We cannot allow our goverment to ignore our voices. We need to pay attention to what our Representatives and Senators vote for and if it is against our wishes Vote them out. We cannot allow them to take our freedoms and make this country a socialist state. I truly believe that this is not about health care but getting as much control over us as they can and we as americans cannot let this happen.

Testimony vs. conversion

I began pondering on the difference of testimony and conversion and Elder Dalin H. Oaks of the quorem of the 12 apostles has a really good talk on this subject "The Challenge to Become". You can find that on LDS.org and search for testimony conversion. Anyway I read his talk and I remembered Alma in the Book of Mormon had a great chapter on this. It is in Alma chapter 5. He asks the members of the church, not non members, but the baptized members of the church if they "have spiritually been born of God. "Have they received His, Jesus Christs', image in their countenances? Have ye experienced a mighty change in your hearts? Alma goes on to explain what we would be doing if we have been born again and converted to the gospel of Christ. "Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality..., to stand before God to be judged according to the deeds which have been done in the mortal body?" "Have ye walked keeping yourselves blameless before God? "Have ye been sufficiently humble"? "Are ye stripped of pride, of envy"? Do we help the poor and needy? And then he tells the people of the church to repent and gives it by way of commandment and then he says to non members "I speak by way of invitation, saying come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye also may be partakers of the fruit of the tree of life." I believe when we truly become converted to the gospel and are spiritually born of God we see people as brothers and sisters and want to teach them and help them and love them. We want to keep the commandments and go to the temple and attend church and serve those around us because we love God and know we are His children and feel close to him when we do these things. Now once we have been born again does that mean we are beyond making mistakes? No, Alma asks in chapter 5 verse 26 "...if ye have experienced a change of heart... can ye feel so now." this verse says to me that without diligence to the commandments we can succomb to the power of temptation and fall away. We have to be vigilant and "watch and pray always lest ye enter into temptation." May we as members of the church be converted to the gospel be born again, Born of God and then help those around us In the name of Jesus Christ amen.

Agency

I have been thinking about agency lately, not only pertaining to things on earth, but ultimately our final destination is about choice. Many scriptures tell us that we are free to choose. Free to choose life and happiness or darkness and misery. If we desire things of the telestial world then that is where we will want to be. If we choose things of the celestial world then that is what we will strive for. These are some of my favorite scriptures about this subject. 2 Nephi 2:27-29 "Wherefore men are free according to the flesh;.... And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life through the great Mediator of all men or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself. "
"And now my sons, I would that ye should look to that great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit;
And not choose eternal death, according to the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein, which giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom.
And then 2 Nephi 10:23-25 "Therefore cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves-to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life."
"wherefore my beloved brotheren, reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not the will of the devil and the flesh ; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved."
"Wherefore, may God raise you from death by the power of the resurrection, and also from everlasting death by the power of the atonement, that ye may be received into the eternal kingdom of God, that ye may praise him through grace divine. Amen.
Alma chapters 12 and 13 are really good as well.
If we can overcome our own desires, through faith on Jesus Christ and repentance, and desire the things of the spirit then we will receive eternal life and happiness. May we all be able to overcome the flesh and desire all that is good and of God, that we may live with Him again. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

The Infinite and Eternal Sacrifice

My last few posts have been about sacrifice. Sunday was Fast and Testimony meeting in the LDS church's sacrament meeting, so I have been thinking since then of the great and last sacrifice the infinite and eternal sacrifice, that of Jesus Christ our brother, friend, and Savior. My 4 children were sick on Sunday and my husband stayed home with them. My niece and nephews (2) that come with us did family things so I was at church by myself. Before the Sacrament ( bread and water) was to be passed, I thought no children to quiet down or take care of what am I going to do. So I had decided to use this time to pray and think about things in my life I need to repent of and change and how I can be better this week. Then the thought came to me that I should open up my scriptures and read about the Atonement and Crusifiction of the Savior Jesus Christ. So I argued with myself for a second or 2 about which was better and then decided that both were equally good and better yet the thought to open my scriptures most likely came from the Holy Ghost. I took out my bible and read in Matthew and Luke about the sacrifice for sin in the garden of Gethsemane and in Matthew Luke and John about the death on the cross. I felt the spirit so strongly as I read these scriptures. And some things really stood out to me. For Example it is incredible to me that he would suffer so much pain and anguish for me. I know it is not just for me but He did it for me as well. Also, how loving and perfect our Savior is. While on the cross, after suffering so much in the garden of Gethsemane, being whipped enough times to kill a normal man, a crown of thorns placed on His head and then nails driven into His hands and feet and wrists and a sword wound in His side, with all of this pain he still has the love and patience to take care of His mother and then asks Heavenly Father to forgive the soldiers because "they know not what they do". I thought of how when Iam sick or in pain or even just tired how impatient I am with my children and yet here He is suffering more than any of us will ever know and He is thinking about all those around Him. It is Amazing to me. Then because of this Great and Last Sacrifice, Infinite and Eternal, we are able to repent and return to our Heavenly Home again. And They are there patiently waiting for us to figure it out, to accept the plan and live it, once again as we accepted it before we came to earth. Those of us who have made mistakes or just not really figured things out quite yet, we can learn and grow and accept the truth and then like the Prodigal Son we can return to waiting, open, forgiving arms. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Enos's Sacrifice

In my last post about sacrifice I mentioned Enos, a prophet in the Book of Mormon. I have been thinking about his story and sacrifices and decided to post about it.
Enos went into the wilderness one day to hunt and started thinking about the things his father had taught him. (I am so glad there were no cell phones or Mp3 players, or ipods). As he pondered on his father's teachings, he "hungered" (is what the scriptures say) and he knelt and prayed for his own soul. he prayed all day and into the night. Then he felt the Lord tell him that he was forgiven and he knew the Lord could not lie so it must be so. Now unlike many of us, he stayed on his knees and prayed for all his people the nephites. The Lord answered him and said that He would "visit them according to their diligence in keeping my commandments", Enos 1:10. Now he still continued to pray this time for his enemies the Lamanites and their souls. He desired that if his people fell into iniquity and were destroyed that their records could be preserved so the Lamanites could eventually come unto Christ. They had tried to teach the Lamanites but with no success. The Lord told Enos that his fathers have also "required this of Me". The Lord told him that because of his faith and the faith of his Fathers, that this would be done. Now, Enos finished his prayer but his sacrifice just began. He preached and prophesied to his people from that time forth to keep them in the way of the Lord. He and the Nephites did continue to teach the Lamanites with no success. When he was about to die this is what he said, Enos 1:26-27 "I must preach and prophesy unto this people, and declare the word according to the truth which is in Christ. And I have declared it in all my days, and have rejoiced in it above that of the world."
"And I soon go the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer; for I know that in him I shall rest. And I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father. Amen."
Enos sacrificed and gave his life to the teaching of his people and his enemies the Lamanites and because of this he did not fear jugdement day. He rejoiced in it and knew he would not be guilt ridden as he stood before God but he would be accepted. His sacrifice was enough because of his repentance and service to God and His children. I am so grateful that we can try and do all that is asked of us and repent when we fall short as we all do. I am grateful for my Brother, Jesus Christ who was willing to sacrifice and suffer for us all and die for us that we may be resurrected as He was and live again as He does now live. In the name of Jesus Christ amen.

Sacrifice

I have been reading the bible lately and I was reading in Exodus when the children of Israel were working on the Tabernacle. They were asked to donate their gold and silver and jewels and material and wood. The cloth had to be spun. So the women spun cloth. Eventually the men blessed with wisdom to do the building of the Tabernacle came to Moses and told him that they had too much. So Moses gave commandment, "Let neither man nor woman make any more work for the offering of the sanctuary.... The stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much." Exodus 36:6-7. I was impressed with the generosity of the children of Israel and their willingness to sacrifice and help. And then I started thinking of the things which we are asked to do and how we are asked to sacrifice and wouldn't it be so wonderful if at the end of our earthly lives we could be told it is sufficient. Like Enos, to be told "Come unto me ye blessed there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of My Father. Enos 1:27.
Also when I think about the things we are commanded to do I have a hard time considering it a sacrifice. We are blessed with so much as we strive to do what is right and repent when we fall short it is hard to consider it sacrificing. King Benjamin puts it well when he talks of our debt to Heavenly Father in Mosiah 2:21-25. We are indebted to Him for our very lives and then when we keep His commandments He blesses us and we are still indebted to Him forever. And the only way it is possible for our sacrifices to be considered sufficient is because of our debt being paid by the greatest sacrifice of all, that of our Brother, and Savior Jesus Christ. We all fall short without His sacrifice, but because of His great love for us and His atoning for our sins, our meager sacrifices can be enough. I am so grateful for my Savior and all He has done for me. In the name of Jesus Christ amen.

Things I recently read

Today I was reading "Mine Errand from the Lord Selections from the Sermons and Writings of Boyd K. Packer". He is an apostle of Jesus Christ. Here are some quotes about the light of Christ that were interesting to me. "The First Presidency has written, "There is a universally diffused essence which is the light and the life of the world, "Which lighteth every man that cometh into the world," which proceedeth forth from the presence of God throughout the imensity of space, the light and power of which God bestows in different degrees to "them that ask him," according to their faith and obedience." "Regardless of whether this inner light , this knowledge of right and wrong, is called the Light of Christ, moral sense, or conscience, it can direct us to moderate our actions---unless, that is, we subdue it or silence it."
"The more we know about the Light of Christ, the more we will understand about life and the more we will have a deep love for all mankind. We will be better teachers and missionaries and parents, and better men and women and children. We will have deeper regard for our brothers and sisters in the Church and for those who do not believe and have not yet had conferred upon them the gift of the Holy Ghost."
"There is a "true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." This Light of Christ is the ingredient which binds the whole human familly together and forms something of a universal conscience. There is nothing that is right that we cannot achieve if our individual and our national conscience is clear."
"The Light of Christ existed in you before you were born, an it will be with you every moment that you live and will not perish when the mortal part of you has turned to dust. Every man, woman, and child of every nation, creed, or color-everyone, no matter where they live or what they believe or what they do- has within them the imperishable Light of Christ. In this respect all men are created equally"
"If we understand the reality of the Light of Christ in everyone we see and in every meeting we attend and within ourselves, and understand the great challenge that we have-the surroundings in which we live, the danger that sometimes besets us-we will have courage and inspiration beyond that which we have known heretofore. And it must be so! And it will be so! All of this is a dimension of gospel truth that too few understand."

Easter message

I love Easter. I remember a talk a year or 2 ago in general conference where it was said that without Easter we would not have Christmas. Now this took me a few minutes to understand. I thought He was still born. Then I got it, we would not celebrate His life and Birth had it not been for His Atoning Sacrifice for us and Resurrection. Because of that first Easter we celebrate our Savior Jesus Christ's life. Those who are members of His church strive to always remember Him and His sacrifice for us. I know that Jesus Christ is God's Son, body and spirit. He lived a perfect example for us and suffered for our sins that we might not have to and died for us so He could take His body back the third day so we can live again as He does. We can repent and be able to live with Him again. I know these things are true. I am going to end with a few paragraphs of my favorite talk during general conference, given by Elder Jefferey R. Holland
"Brothers and sisters, one of the great consolations of this Easter season is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so. His solitary journey brought great company for our little version of that path—the merciful care of our Father in Heaven, the unfailing companionship of this Beloved Son, the consummate gift of the Holy Ghost, angels in heaven, family members on both sides of the veil, prophets and apostles, teachers, leaders, friends. All of these and more have been given as companions for our mortal journey because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the Restoration of His gospel. Trumpeted from the summit of Calvary is the truth that we will never be left alone nor unaided, even if sometimes we may feel that we are. Truly the Redeemer of us all said, “I will not leave you comfortless. [My Father and] I will come to you [and abide with you].”²⁰

My other plea at Easter time is that these scenes of Christ’s lonely sacrifice, laced with moments of denial and abandonment and, at least once, outright betrayal, must never be reenacted by us. He has walked alone once. Now, may I ask that never again will He have to confront sin without our aid and assistance, that never again will He find only unresponsive onlookers when He sees you and me along His Via Dolorosa in our present day. As we approach this holy week—Passover Thursday with its Paschal Lamb, atoning Friday with its cross, Resurrection Sunday with its empty tomb—may we declare ourselves to be more fully disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, not in word only and not only in the flush of comfortable times but in deed and in courage and in faith, including when the path is lonely and when our cross is difficult to bear. This Easter week and always, may we stand by Jesus Christ “at all times and in all things, and in all places that [we] may be in, even until death,”²¹ for surely that is how He stood by us when it was unto death and when He had to stand entirely and utterly alone. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen." For full text see www.lds.org

Book of Mormon

"As part of the Restoration of the gospel, God brought forth the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. By the power of God, Joseph Smith translated this book from an ancient record written on gold plates. The Book of Mormon is “a record of God’s dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains, as does the Bible, the fulness of the everlasting gospel” (Introduction to the Book of Mormon).

The Book of Mormon is a powerful witness of Jesus Christ. It helps us understand His teachings, including those in the Bible." www.mormon.org

I know that the Book of Mormon is the record of a people long ago. It is true and will lead us to Christ and help us live His gospel. I know that after He was resurrected Jesus Christ visited these people. The prophets of the Book of Mormon taught of Jesus Christ and continually testified of His coming and Atoning Sacrafice to save all men if they will believe in Him and follow Him. If we read The Book of Mormon and take Moroni's challenge (Moroni 10: 4-5) to pray and ask if it is true we will know the truth of it through the power of the Holy Ghost. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Member Missionaries

One of the talks during General Conference was about something I have been thinking about for a while now and just didn't really know where to start. That was my reason for starting my blog, member missionary work. I know I am not reaching many people with my little blog but it was something that I felt like I should do.
Elder L Tom Perry in his Sunday afternoon talk said this "As members of the church we seem to be missing in action. A member oriented program is the key to success for missionary work." He then gave us 3 objectives, 1 All of us should remember to be better missionaries. D&c 88:81- Every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor. 2 pray for help to find people for missionaries. "We are missing golden opportunities to grow the church when we wait for the full time missionaries to do the finding" Missionaries should do the teaching and we should do the finding. 3. We must open our mouths and testify, we must warn our neighbors D&C 33:7-8. "Thrust in your sickle and reap with all your might, mind, and strength. Open your mouths and 1 Declare our belief in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, and the chance for eternal life. 2 Share the story of the first vision in our own words. 3 Testify of the Book of Mormon, another testament of Jesus Christ.
He ended with this counsel, Ponder how it feels to be lost and what it means to be spiritual shepherds who will leave the 99 and find the one that is lost. D&C 18:10-15

The Prophets message

I was having a hard time today deciding what to blog about. I wanted it to be on conference but I was trying to kind of summarize the first day and couldn't do it very well. So I decided to pick one talk to write about today. I chose our Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson's Sunday morning talk. These are the notes I took from His talk. It is full of hope and comfort.
"It would be easy to become fearful of the future if we allowed ourselves to dwell only on that which is wrong in the world and in our lives. We should concentrate on our blessings and remember none of us make it through life without suffering. But God will be with us if we keep our faith in Him and keep His commandments. Remain steadfast and of good cheer as we make the Gospel of Jesus Christ the center of our lives. This will pull us through whatever comes. We have examples of this in family histories and in other members of the church dong these things. "In the world ye shall have tribulation but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world"John 16:33. We are not left to walk alone no matter how dark our pathway. Our promised blessings are beyond measure. Our knowledge of the gospel and the love of our Heavenly Father and of our Savior Jesus Christ will sustain us. If we walk uprightly and keep the commandments there will be Nothing that can defeat us. Be of Good cheer. Our Future is as bright as our Faith!!!

General conference

General conference is a wonderful 2 days of guidance and council given to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (and all others who want to watch it) by the Prophet and the Apostles and other General Authorities.
I learned this conference that you get out of conference what you put into it. I have watched many other General conferences, but I came away from this one feeling renewed, recommitted, comforted, hopeful. I sat down with my kids through all 4 sessions (2 Saturday and 2 Sunday) I had paper to take notes. I ended up taking 8 pages front and back of notes. And I came away thinking that this was the best General conference ever. Now was it? I'm going to say probably not, but for me it was because I got more out of it than ever before. During this week I will blog about the things I learned and what was said. But if I do it all today it will be way too long.
I think in all that we do we get out what we put in as one of the speakers said you reap what you sow. This has to do especially with the Gospel. Are we putting in that which we would like to get out. Do we expect Eternal Life and Salvation and our we putting in our whole hearts and minds and strength? Or do we expect all this and half heartedly live the teachings of our Savior Jesus Christ. Are we spectators, sideline sitters, or are we out doing and being what we can and hope to be.

What a blessing it is to have a living Prophet on the earth to day to give us revelation and guidance from our eternal Father in Heaven.
I know that a boy 14 years old went into a grove of trees to pray to God and ask which church he should join. The answer came as God the Father and His Son, our Savior Jesus Christ appeared to him and told him that none were right and called him to a great work. Joseph Smith was the first Prophet of these the last days and there has always been a living Prophet on the earth since that time. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is The only true church on the earth with Priesthood power and the saving ordinances needed to return to our Heavenly Father and receive eternal life and exaltation. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Happiness

In 1995 The church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints wrote "The Family: A Proclamation to the World". In this Proclamation it says "Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ."
Now in my life, I have learned that individual happiness is "most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ." When we keep our bodies healthy, and stay away from mind altering substances whether that be drugs, alcoholic beverages, prescription pain killers that are so addicting, when we are morally clean (immorality leads to sorrow, confusion, and emptiness), when we are trying to help and lift others around us like our Savior Jesus Christ always did, when we are honest in all that we do, these things bring happiness.
The thing that will make us the happiest is a close relationship to our Heavenly Father, God. When we have trust and faith in Him, and can turn to Him in prayer and know that those prayers will be answered, when we strive to do what he has asked us to do, this brings us true happiness. When we know who we are, children of God, and that we can live with Him again we are truly happy.
Now does this mean that trials won't come and that we will never be sad, No. But we will have faith and the strength and support to get through it. We will be better for it and trials become learning and growing experiences. We can look at trials this way, as Elder Wirthlin said in October conference, "Come what may and Love it."

Who we are

A truth that I have come to know and rely on is that I am a daughter of God. He lives, He knows me, and He loves me. I am here on earth to overcome weaknesses and temptations so I can live with Him again. Now I know that I cannot overcome anything without the atoning sacrifice of my Savior Jesus Christ. Without Him I am a sinner and always will be. But because He suffered and died for me I can repent of my sins and be forgiven. What a wonderful gift our Savior has given us.
For more info see www.mormon.org


"God is your Father in Heaven. He knows you personally. Jesus Christ is the Son of God and your Savior. His life and teachings are the way to peace and happiness." Quote from ww.mormon.org