LDS.org - CES Fireside - To Have Peace and Happiness

LDS.org - CES Fireside - To Have Peace and Happiness

As We Meet Together Again

by President Thomas S. Monson
Saturday Morning October 2010

I love listening to the Prophet.  He is so inspiring and loving.  It seems that he has been very emotional the last few times I've listened to him.  Has anyone else noticed?

He announced 5 new temples!! 

"We continue to build temples. This morning I am pleased to announce five additional temples for which sites are being acquired and which, in coming months and years, will be built in the following locations: Lisbon, Portugal; Indianapolis, Indiana; Urdaneta, Philippines; Hartford, Connecticut; and Tijuana, Mexico.

The ordinances performed in our temples are vital to our salvation and to the salvation of our deceased loved ones. May we continue faithful in attending the temples, which are being built closer and closer to our members."

However the main message the Prophet brought was about missionary work. I had a nephew return home from his mission the Saturday evening of Conference so this was especially meaningful.

"First, to young men of the Aaronic Priesthood and to you young men who are becoming elders: I repeat what prophets have long taught—that every worthy, able young man should prepare to serve a mission. Missionary service is a priesthood duty—an obligation the Lord expects of us who have been given so very much. Young men, I admonish you to prepare for service as a missionary. Keep yourselves clean and pure and worthy to represent the Lord. Maintain your health and strength. Study the scriptures. Where such is available, participate in seminary or institute. Familiarize yourself with the missionary handbook Preach My Gospel."

He also welcomed any sisters that would like to serve missions although it is not a Priesthood responsibility as it is with the men.

"And now to you mature brothers and sisters: we need many, many more senior couples. To the faithful couples now serving or who have served in the past, we thank you for your faith and devotion to the gospel of Jesus Christ. You serve willingly and well and accomplish great good.

To those of you who are not yet to the season of life when you might serve a couples mission, I urge you to prepare now for the day when you and your spouse might do so. As your circumstances allow, as you are eligible for retirement, and as your health permits, make yourselves available to leave home and give full-time missionary service. There are few times in your lives when you will enjoy the sweet spirit and satisfaction that come from giving full-time service together in the work of the Master."

I did not serve a full-time mission but it has been a goal of mine and my husband. I am so thankful to those that sacrifice to serve the Lord.

Courageous Parenting

by Elder Larry R. Lawrence
Of the Seventy
Sunday Afternoon Session

I LOVE General Conference!  I was so excited when my in-laws made a last minute visit on Conference weekend and brought tickets to a few sessions with them.  I was not in the Conference Center for this talk but because I was in Salt Lake for the morning session (we had to leave really early) I have to admit I fell asleep during parts of the afternoon session and missed most of this talk.

After conference my sister and others told me that I would LOVE this talk so I had to read what I'd missed.

  ********************************************

“Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid” (Joshua 1:9).

"Imagine for a moment that your daughter was sitting on the railroad tracks and you heard the train whistle blowing. Would you warn her to get off the tracks? Or would you hesitate, worried that she might think you were being overprotective? If she ignored your warning, would you quickly move her to a safe place? Of course you would! Your love for your daughter would override all other considerations. You would value her life more than her temporary goodwill.

Challenges and temptations are coming at our teenagers with the speed and power of a freight train. As we are reminded in the family proclamation, parents are responsible for the protection of their children. That means spiritually as well as physically."

Sometimes parents have to take drastic measures to keep their children from getting derailed.  A member of our Bishopric was giving a combined Sunday School lesson about safe guarding our children.  A couple of his oldest children were choosing not to go on missions and then falling away so they made some drastic changes which affected the rest of their children in a positive way. As he said, "You have to invest the time and money to help our children have positive spiritual experiences."

"I am inspired every time I read these courageous words from Alma: “And now the Spirit of the Lord doth say unto me: Command thy children to do good . . . ; therefore I command you, my son, in the fear of God, that ye refrain from your iniquities” (Alma 39:12). This early intervention by his father became a turning point for Corianton. He repented and served faithfully thereafter (see Alma 42:31; 43:1–2).

Contrast Alma’s example with that of another father from the scriptures, Eli in the Old Testament. Eli served as the high priest in Israel during the childhood of Samuel the prophet. The scriptures explain that the Lord rebuked him severely “because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not” (1 Samuel 3:13). Eli’s sons never did repent, and all of Israel suffered because of their folly. The story of Eli teaches us that parents who love their children cannot afford to be intimidated by them.

Several years ago at general conference, Elder Joe J. Christensen reminded us that “parenting is not a popularity contest.” In the same spirit, Elder Robert D. Hales has observed, “Sometimes we are afraid of our children—afraid to counsel with them for fear of offending them.”"

I got in a debate with someone a few years ago about what kind of things teenagers should be allowed to do or use. i.e. - cell phones, social websites
They were telling me that I just didn't understand because my kids weren't quite teenagers yet and that everyone does these things nowadays.  My argument was - "What ever happened to being different?"    When I was a teenager we knew that our rules were different than everyone else's because we had to make a stand.   I know that I don't have all of the answers or do things perfect, but if we listen to the Spirit, make our own decisions and not base them on what everyone else is letting their kids do we will be way ahead.

"Young people understand more than we realize because they too have the gift of the Holy Ghost. They are trying to recognize the Spirit when He speaks, and they are watching our example. From us they learn to pay attention to their promptings—that if they “don’t feel good about something,” it’s best not to pursue it."

I liked this. He had a feeling that he shouldn't let his son do something and he didn't have a good reason why just that he didn't feel good about it. He was honest and his son understood. The son had probably been having a similar nudging from the Spirit.

"It’s so important for husbands and wives to be united when making parenting decisions. If either parent doesn’t feel good about something, then permission should not be granted. If either feels uncomfortable about a movie, a television show, a video game, a party, a dress, a swimsuit, or an Internet activity, have the courage to support each other and say no."

In principle this is easy but it is often challenging to practice. It is however so important to be united as parents.

"Parents can prevent a lot of heartache by teaching their children to postpone romantic relationships until the time comes when they are ready for marriage. Prematurely pairing off with a boyfriend or girlfriend is dangerous. Becoming a “couple” creates emotional intimacy, which too often leads to physical intimacy. Satan knows this sequence and uses it to his advantage. He will do whatever he can to keep young men from serving missions and to prevent temple marriages.

It is vital that parents have the courage to speak up and intervene before Satan succeeds. President Boyd K. Packer has taught that “when morality is involved, we have both the right and the obligation to raise a warning voice.”"

Sometimes parents tend to re-live their teenage years through their kids and maybe this is why they push relationships in kids so much. It is dangerous and much better for kids to just date a lot of different people and not date anyone exclusively.

The next block is a lot of really good stuff so sorry that this is getting so long.

"I have always believed that nothing really good happens late at night and that young people need to know what time they are expected to come home.

There is a great deal of wisdom displayed when parents stay up and wait for their children to return home. Young men and women make far better choices when they know their parents are waiting up to hear about their evening and to kiss them good night.

May I express my personal warning about a practice that is common in many cultures. I am referring to sleepovers, or spending the night at the home of a friend. As a bishop I discovered that too many youth violated the Word of Wisdom or the law of chastity for the first time as part of a sleepover. Too often their first exposure to pornography and even their first encounter with the police occurred when they were spending the night away from home.

Peer pressure becomes more powerful when our children are away from our influence and when their defenses are weakened late at night. If you have ever felt uneasy about an overnight activity, don’t be afraid to respond to that warning voice inside. Always be prayerful when it comes to protecting your precious children.

Courageous parenting does not always involve saying no. Parents also need courage to say yes to the counsel of modern-day prophets. Our Church leaders have counseled us to establish righteous patterns in our homes. Consider five fundamental practices that have the power to fortify our youth: family prayer, family scripture study, family home evening, family dinner together, and regular one-on-one interviews with each child.

It takes courage to gather children from whatever they’re doing and kneel together as a family. It takes courage to turn off the television and the computer and to guide your family through the pages of the scriptures every day. It takes courage to turn down other invitations on Monday night so that you can reserve that evening for your family. It takes courage and willpower to avoid overscheduling so that your family can be home for dinner."

Parenting is hard and we weren't given a guidebook but through scriptures, prayer, modern day Prophets and Apostles, and the Holy Ghost as our guide we have many useful tools to help us on our journey.

Now is the Time

by President Thomas S. Monson
Sunday Morning October 2001

I have a bad headache tonight so I'm just going to post the text for the entire talk.  I read this one last night and didn't get around to posting then either.

I read this one to remember what President Monson said about the September 11th attack.  Anyway, here it is.

                       **************************************************

As I stand before you this morning, my thoughts return to the time of my youth when in Sunday School we often sang the lovely hymn:
Welcome, welcome, Sabbath morning;
Now we rest from ev'ry care.
Welcome, welcome, is thy dawning,
Holy Sabbath, day of prayer.¹
This Sabbath day I pray for an interest in your faith and prayers as I respond to the invitation to address you.
All of us have been dramatically affected by the tragic events of that fateful day, September 11, 2001. Suddenly, without warning, devastating destruction left death in its wake and snuffed out the lives of enormous numbers of men, women, and children. Evaporated were well-laid plans for pleasant futures. Substituted, therefore, were tears of sorrow and cries of pain from wounded souls.
Countless are the reports we have heard during the past three and a half weeks of those who were touched in some way—either directly or indirectly—by the events of that day. I should like to share with you the comments of a Church member, Rebecca Sindar, who was on a flight from Salt Lake City to Dallas on the morning of Tuesday, September 11. The flight was interrupted, as were all flights in the air at the time of the tragedies, and the plane grounded in Amarillo, Texas. Sister Sindar reports: "We all left the plane and found televisions in the airport, where we crowded around to see the broadcast of what had happened. People were lined up to call loved ones to assure them we were safely on the ground. I shall always remember the 12 or so missionaries who were on their way to the mission field on our flight. They made phone calls, and then we saw them huddled in a circle in a corner of the airport, kneeling in prayer together. How I wish I could have captured that moment to share with the mothers and fathers of those sweet young men as they saw the need for prayer right away."
My brothers and sisters, death eventually comes to all mankind. It comes to the aged as they walk on faltering feet. Its summons is heard by those who have scarcely reached midway in life's journey, and often it hushes the laughter of little children. Death is one fact that no one can escape or deny.
Frequently death comes as an intruder. It is an enemy that suddenly appears in the midst of life's feast, putting out its lights and gaiety. Death lays its heavy hand upon those dear to us and at times leaves us baffled and wondering. In certain situations, as in great suffering and illness, death comes as an angel of mercy. But for the most part, we think of it as the enemy of human happiness.
The darkness of death can ever be dispelled by the light of revealed truth. "I am the resurrection, and the life," spoke the Master. "He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die."²
This reassurance—yes, even holy confirmation—of life beyond the grave could well provide the peace promised by the Savior when He assured His disciples: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."³
Out of the darkness and the horror of Calvary came the voice of the Lamb, saying, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit."⁴ And the dark was no longer dark, for He was with His Father. He had come from God, and to Him He had returned. So also those who walk with God in this earthly pilgrimage know from blessed experience that He will not abandon His children who trust in Him. In the night of death, His presence will be "better than [a] light and safer than a known way."⁵
Saul, on the road to Damascus, had a vision of the risen, exalted Christ. Later, as Paul, defender of truth and fearless missionary in the service of the Master, he bore witness of the risen Lord as he declared to the Saints at Corinth: "Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
" . . .  He was buried, and  . . .  he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
" . . .  He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
"After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once . . .  .
"After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
"And last of all he was seen of me."⁶
In our dispensation this same testimony was spoken boldly by the Prophet Joseph Smith, as he and Sidney Rigdon testified:
"And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!
"For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—
"That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God."⁷
This is the knowledge that sustains. This is the truth that comforts. This is the assurance that guides those bowed down with grief out of the shadows and into the light. It is available to all.
How fragile life, how certain death. We do not know when we will be required to leave this mortal existence. And so I ask, "What are we doing with today?" If we live only for tomorrow, we'll have a lot of empty yesterdays today. Have we been guilty of declaring, "I've been thinking about making some course corrections in my life. I plan to take the first step—tomorrow"? With such thinking, tomorrow is forever. Such tomorrows rarely come unless we do something about them today. As the familiar hymn teaches:

There are chances for work all around just now,
Opportunities right in our way.
Do not let them pass by, saying, "Sometime I'll try,"
But go and do something today.⁸

Let us ask ourselves the questions: "Have I done any good in the world today? Have I helped anyone in need?" What a formula for happiness! What a prescription for contentment, for inner peace—to have inspired gratitude in another human being.
Our opportunities to give of ourselves are indeed limitless, but they are also perishable. There are hearts to gladden. There are kind words to say. There are gifts to be given. There are deeds to be done. There are souls to be saved.
As we remember that "when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God,"⁹ we will not find ourselves in the unenviable position of Jacob Marley's ghost, who spoke to Ebenezer Scrooge in Dickens' immortal A Christmas Carol. Marley spoke sadly of opportunities lost. Said he: "Not to know that any Christian spirit working kindly in its little sphere, whatever it may be, will find its mortal life too short for its vast means of usefulness. Not to know that no space of regret can make amends for one life's opportunities misused! Yet such was I. Oh! such was I!"
Marley added: "Why did I walk through crowds of fellow-beings with my eyes turned down, and never raise them to that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode? Were there no poor homes to which its light would have conducted me!"¹⁰
Fortunately, as we know, Ebenezer Scrooge changed his life for the better. I love his line, "I am not the man I was."
Why is the story A Christmas Carol so popular? Why is it ever new? I personally feel it is inspired of God. It brings out the best within human nature. It gives hope. It motivates change. We can turn from the paths which would lead us down and, with a song in our hearts, follow a star and walk toward the light. We can quicken our step, bolster our courage, and bask in the sunlight of truth. We can hear more clearly the laughter of little children. We can dry the tear of the weeping. We can comfort the dying by sharing the promise of eternal life. If we lift one weary hand which hangs down, if we bring peace to one struggling soul, if we give as did the Master, we can—by showing the way—become a guiding star for some lost mariner.
Because life is fragile and death inevitable, we must make the most of each day.
There are many ways in which we can misuse our opportunities. Some time ago I read a tender story written by Louise Dickinson Rich which vividly illustrates this truth. She wrote: "My grandmother had an enemy named Mrs. Wilcox. Grandma and Mrs. Wilcox moved, as brides, into next-door houses on the main street of the tiny town in which they were to live out their lives. I don't know what started the war between them—and I don't think that by the time I came along, over thirty years later, they themselves remembered what started it. This was no polite sparring match; this was total war. . . .
"Nothing in town escaped repercussion. The 300-year-old church, which had lived through the Revolution, the Civil War, and the Spanish-American War, almost went down when Grandma and Mrs. Wilcox fought the Battle of the Ladies' Aid. Grandma won that engagement, but it was a hollow victory. Mrs. Wilcox, since she couldn't be president, resigned in a huff. What's the fun of running a thing if you can't force your enemy to eat crow? Mrs. Wilcox won the Battle of the Public Library by getting her niece, Gertrude, appointed librarian instead of Aunt Phyllis. The day Gertrude took over was the day Grandma stopped reading library books. They became 'filthy germy things' overnight. The Battle of the High School was a draw. The principal got a better job and left before Mrs. Wilcox succeeded in having him ousted or Grandma in having him given life tenure of office.
"When as children we visited my grandmother, part of the fun was making faces at Mrs. Wilcox's grandchildren. One banner day we put a snake into the Wilcox rain barrel. My grandmother made token protests, but we sensed tacit sympathy.
"Don't think for a minute that this was a one-sided campaign. Mrs. Wilcox had grandchildren, too. Grandma didn't get off scot free. Never a windy washday went by that the clothesline didn't mysteriously break, with the clothes falling in the dirt.
"I don't know how Grandma could have borne her troubles so long if it hadn't been for the household page of her daily Boston newspaper. This household page was a wonderful institution. Besides the usual cooking hints and cleaning advice, it had a department composed of letters from readers to each other. The idea was that if you had a problem—or even only some steam to blow off—you wrote a letter to the paper, signing some fancy name like Arbutus. That was Grandma's pen name. Then some of the other ladies who had the same problem wrote back and told you what they had done about it, signing themselves One Who Knows or Xanthippe or whatever.
"Very often, the problem disposed of, you kept on for years writing to each other through the column of the paper, telling each other about your children and your canning and your new dining-room suite. That's what happened to Grandma. She and a woman called Sea Gull corresponded for a quarter of a century. Sea Gull was Grandma's true friend.
"When I was about sixteen, Mrs. Wilcox died. In a small town, no matter how much you have hated your next-door neighbor, it is only common decency to run over and see what practical service you can do the bereaved. Grandma, neat in a percale apron to show that she meant what she said about being put to work, crossed the lawn to the Wilcox house, where the Wilcox daughters set her to cleaning the already-immaculate front parlor for the funeral. And there on the parlor table in the place of honor was a huge scrapbook; and in the scrapbook, pasted neatly in parallel columns were Grandma's letters to Sea Gull over the years and Sea Gull's letters to her. Though neither woman had known it, Grandma's worst enemy had been her [very] best friend. That was the only time I remember seeing my grandmother cry. I didn't know then exactly what she was crying about, but I do now. She was crying for all the wasted years which could never be salvaged."
My brothers and sisters, may we resolve from this day forward to fill our hearts with love. May we go the extra mile to include in our lives any who are lonely or downhearted or who are suffering in any way. May we "[cheer] up the sad and [make] someone feel glad."¹¹ May we live so that when that final summons is heard, we may have no serious regrets, no unfinished business, but will be able to say with the Apostle Paul, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith."¹² In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Living in the Fulness of Times

by President Gordon B. Hinckley
Saturday Morning October 2001

The full Relief Society talks aren't published yet so I thought I would take a walk down memory lane and pick an older talk.  I decided to read Pres. Hinkley's address the weeks following September 11, 2001  - - the day we shall never forget.  I wondered if re-reading this after 9 years my perspective would change.

After reading this talk it isn't the one that he specifically talks about the terrorist attacks so I'll post that in a minute but it is still great none the less.

I found it interesting that he chose this to open the conference ...

"This morning I can scarcely restrain my emotions as I think of what the Lord has done for us.

I do not know what we did in the preexistence to merit the wonderful blessings we enjoy. We have come to earth in this great season in the long history of mankind. It is a marvelous age, the best of all. As we reflect on the plodding course of mankind, from the time of our first parents, we cannot help feeling grateful."

The Prophet didn't dwell on the negative but looked at all the blessings we have been given. It is amazing to look at the technological advances of the past century especially from the perspective of those that lived it.

"There has been more of scientific discovery during these years than during all of the previous history of mankind. Transportation, communication, medicine, public hygiene, the unlocking of the atom, the miracle of the computer, with all of its ramifications, have blossomed forth, particularly in our own era. During my own lifetime, I have witnessed miracle after wondrous miracle come to pass. We take it for granted."

But he does mention that with all these blessings comes an increase of evil and he told us that the Prophecy of Joel had been fulfilled.

"The vision of Joel has been fulfilled wherein he declared:

"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:

"And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.

"And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.

"The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.

"And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call" (Joel 2:28–32)."

The Times in Which We Love
by President Gordon B. Hinckley
Sunday Morning October 2001

In this talk President Hinckley specifically addresses the terrorist attacks. He talks about the times ahead and the horrible realities of war.

"You are acutely aware of the events of September 11, less than a month ago. Out of that vicious and ugly attack we are plunged into a state of war. It is the first war of the 21st century. The last century has been described as the most war-torn in human history. Now we are off on another dangerous undertaking, the unfolding of which and the end thereof we do not know. For the first time since we became a nation, the United States has been seriously attacked on its mainland soil. But this was not an attack on the United States alone. It was an attack on men and nations of goodwill everywhere. It was well planned, boldly executed, and the results were disastrous. It is estimated that more than 5,000 innocent people died. Among these were many from other nations. It was cruel and cunning, an act of consummate evil."

All of us remember where we were that day and what we were doing. My husband had left early to the airport for a business trip. The first plane struck just before they were about to board. He called and told me I had to wake up and turn on the TV. I was still on the phone with him when the second plane hit and then watched as they mentioned the hits in Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon. I, as did many others, spent the next week or more glued to the TV. I remember my 3 year old telling me that bad guys and flown and airplane into a building and how bad that was.

I looked forward with great anticipation to General Conference to hear the words and guidance of the Prophet. I listened, was lifted up and learned, but looking back at this talk there is something that I missed and I wish I had paid more attention.

"I do not know what the future holds. I do not wish to sound negative, but I wish to remind you of the warnings of scripture and the teachings of the prophets which we have had constantly before us.

I cannot forget the great lesson of Pharaoh's dream of the fat and lean kine and of the full and withered stalks of corn."

The terrorist attack was 9 years ago and the recession started roughly 2 years ago making it 7 years from the time this talk was given. He was a Prophet, so I don't know why this is so surprising to me. I don't know if surprising is the right word but a testimony that he was a Prophet.

He also mentioned ...

"I cannot dismiss from my mind the grim warnings of the Lord as set forth in the 24th chapter of Matthew."

Matthew 24 talks about the Great Calamities preceding the Second Coming.

Women's Conference

Tonight was Women's Conference!  It was so wonderful.  My sister was able to get a few tickets, so she, my mom, and I were able to attend.  For now I'm just going to post my notes which may not be very coherent but will go through the talks one by one one they are posted on the Web. 

Sister Beck
* plan of salvation dependent upon our faithfulness
* signs of great struggle everywhere
* myth that we are less important than men & we are sweet but don't know mush
BofM - all is well in Zion. 2Ne??
Growing view of entiltement - if we aren't careful we will be as the scriptures say - silly women
Day of warning not of many words
Relief Society to help women & clarifies our work & a compass & guide to teach truth
What would God have us do?
Sister should know & learn of history of Relief Society
-one is being created & ready for use next year
-Lord's purpose of Relief Society was NOT meant for a sleepy mtg onSunday
We study our history to know who we are
July 1830 revelation to Emma
Teaches us Heavenly Father knowa & love daughters
Elevates women
Have special purpose
How to prepare for blessings of Eternal Life
Progress toward blessing of Temple
We study our history b/c it helps us change
As we move the work forward history is continually being written

Sister Sylvia Allred
1. Be prayerful
2. Study scriptures
3. Be obedient
4. Service

Sister Thompson
Christ moved w/ compassion on the people
Compassion means to have love & mercy on another
Savior has asked us to be like him VT
VT gives women opportunity to love & serve one another
1.  Blessings you bring to others
     Assist Bishop in watching over Ward
Beauty is not to see 100% on report
VT is never done
Increase in unity & love
At times most important thing is to just listen
2.  Blessings you receive b/c you VT
*know & become friends w/ those we wouldn't otherwise know
*Lifted & blessed
It may take longer to get to know some sisters


Pres. Monson
Man of memories
•never home on Christmas b/c visiting widows
•one time 3 in one day (funerals of widows)
•young couple - watched neighbor hang laundry & Lisa said they don't know how to clean
-one day clean laundry & husband had cleaned window
Are we looking thru window that needs cleanin?  Are we judging w/o knowing all the facts
None of us are perfect
We have tendency to point out others weaknesses
••JUDGE NOT
•47 yrs ago called to 12 apostles
Someone asked Sis. Monson to sit w/ board not knowing Pres, Monson was about to be newest apostle
• Appearances can be so deceiving. Judge not b/c of appearances
•  photo doesn't reflect who we really are
•  each of us unique we are all different - do these difference tempt us to judge one another
Savior love one another
•Can we love one another if we judge?  No we cannot
•Charity never faileth
•Charity is pure love of Christ - opposite of critism & judgement
• Serious need for charity to those that are unnoticed
•true charity is love in action
•resist impulse to be offended easily
•look beyond phyisical appearance
•Come sit by us
•All of us wear the mantle of Charity
•life is perfect for none of us!
•highest, noblest, strongest kind of love

Remember Who You Are!

by Elaine S. Dalton
 Young Women Session March 2010

I love the Young Women of the church!  What a fun and exciting age!  I loved being a young woman and I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to work with them as an adult.  I love watching them come into their own and recognize Who they are and develop testimonies of Jesus Christ.

Sis. Dalton put this beautifully ...

"This is a magnificent time to be on the earth and to be a young woman. Our vision remains the same. It is to be worthy to make and keep sacred covenants and receive the ordinances of the temple. This is our superlative goal! And so we will continue to lead the world in a return to virtue—a return to chastity and moral purity. We will continue to do all we can to help each other “stand … in holy places” and receive, recognize, and rely on the Holy Ghost.

We will continue to talk of Christ, to rejoice in Christ, that each of us will know to what source we may look for a remission of our sins. And yes, we will continue to stand firm no matter what storms may rage around us because we know and testify that “it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that [we] must build [our] foundation … , a foundation whereon if [we] build [we] cannot fall.”"

Most of us don't often think of our life before we came to Earth. At our Regional Stake Conference this month Sister Julie B. Beck reminded us that we chose to come to the earth to face the trials we would face. And Sister Dalton echoes the same sentiment ...

"You fought with your faith and testimony to defend the plan that was presented by God. You knew the plan was good, and you knew that the Savior would do what He said He would do—because you knew Him! You stood with Him, and you were eager for your opportunity to come to earth. You knew what was going to be required of you. You knew it would be difficult, and yet you were confident not only that you could accomplish your divine mission but that you could make a difference."

It really puts things into perspective when we think upon these lines. One stops thinking of the day to day but of our Eternal Purpose here on Earth. What can I do to make a difference ... WE ARE OF NOBLE BIRTHRIGHT!

What Have I Done for Someone Today?

by President Thomas S. Monson
Sunday Morning October 2009

Remember this quote?

“And what did you do for someone today?

I didn't think that I remembered this talk until I came to this story. We tried for a time to implement into our nightly family prayers but it didn't last long. We'll have to try again. It is so important that we think of others before ourselves and that we teach our kids this principle.

I was listening to talk radio the other day and the host said that when he has couples come to him saying they aren't in love with their spouse anymore. He tells them they haven't been serving them enough. We love who we serve.


We see many verses in the Scriptures telling us to serve and love one another. President Monson says,

"I believe the Savior is telling us that unless we lose ourselves in service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives. Those who live only for themselves eventually shrivel up and figuratively lose their lives, while those who lose themselves in service to others grow and flourish—and in effect save their lives."

"I am confident it is the intention of each member of the Church to serve and to help those in need. At baptism we covenanted to “bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light.”8 How many times has your heart been touched as you have witnessed the need of another? How often have you intended to be the one to help? And yet how often has day-to-day living interfered and you’ve left it for others to help, feeling that “oh, surely someone will take care of that need.”

We become so caught up in the busyness of our lives. Were we to step back, however, and take a good look at what we’re doing, we may find that we have immersed ourselves in the “thick of thin things.” In other words, too often we spend most of our time taking care of the things which do not really matter much at all in the grand scheme of things, neglecting those more important causes."

I'll be the first to admit that this is definitely one of my weaknesses.  I often have thoughts of others.  Little things I should say or do and most of the time I get going about my day and forget to act upon those promptings.  Most of the time I think my thoughts are silly.  I tell myself they would think I was silly for doing that.  Anyone else do this?

I will be better at this!! Will you? 

What have you done today for someone?

Continue in Patience

by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Priesthood Session April 2010


Patience is a virtue  After receiving my Patriarchal Blessing which said, "You will be an excellent mother.  You have been taught well since childhood." ... I thought I would be patient naturally because my mom is the most patient person I know.  I deduced that I had learned from her so it was a given, but  I had a lot to learn!

The Marshmallow Test

A group of kids were given a marshmallow and told if they waited 15 minutes to eat it they would be given 2.  Only 30% of the group waited to get double the fun.  Unfortunately, I would have fit in the failed group.  I am getting better at this but still find times where I can't stand waiting.

Waiting Can Be Hard

"We live in a world offering fast food, instant messaging, on-demand movies, and immediate answers to the most trivial or profound questions. We don’t like to wait. Some even feel their blood pressure rise when their line at the grocery store moves slower than those around them.

Patience—the ability to put our desires on hold for a time—is a precious and rare virtue. We want what we want, and we want it now. Therefore, the very idea of patience may seem unpleasant and, at times, bitter.

Nevertheless, without patience, we cannot please God; we cannot become perfect. Indeed, patience is a purifying process that refines understanding, deepens happiness, focuses action, and offers hope for peace. "

I am so concerned with the trends I see in today's society. Children and adults live in a world where we get want we want when we want it. You don't often hear people talking about scrimping and saving for things anymore. I think it has gotten a little better in the recession but I am still amazed at the spending I see all around.

Patience isn't Merely Waiting

"...patience was far more than simply waiting for something to happen—patience required actively working toward worthwhile goals and not getting discouraged when results didn’t appear instantly or without effort."

I am always trying to teach my kids this. When they try new things, they want to be the best at it. They try to quit when that doesn't immediately happen. I often tell them that being the best requires a lot of work and time.


Patience Requires Faith

"We must learn that in the Lord’s plan, our understanding comes “line upon line, precept upon precept.” In short, knowledge and understanding come at the price of patience."

I was taught well from childhood and over the years have been able to become more and more patient with my children. It wasn't instant like I thought it would be but a process over time. I'm not perfect, or even close, but as I stay prayerful my patience increases.

O Remember, Remember

by President Henry B. Eyring
Sunday Morning October 2007

I saw this video on Mormon's Message and decided to go back a few years and re-read the talk. As I began reading I remembered this talk and was filled with the Spirit because of the truthfulness of what he is saying.

“Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?”

Many years ago Oprah started the "gratitude journal" rage. She told her audience to look over their day and find all the things they had to be thankful for. Doing this would help you to be a happier and more positive person.

Elder Eyring takes this concept much more in depth as we look for and recognize the hand of the Lord in our lives.

"More than gratitude began to grow in my heart. Testimony grew. I became ever more certain that our Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers. I felt more gratitude for the softening and refining that come because of the Atonement of the Savior Jesus Christ. And I grew more confident that the Holy Ghost can bring all things to our remembrance—even things we did not notice or pay attention to when they happened."

Because of the veil placed over us as we came to Earth it is easy for man to forget God's hand in our lives. This weekend at our Stake Conference Sister Julie Beck said, "We fought a war so we could have a difficult life in mortality!" She reminded us that we chose to come here.

Further, we need to stay humble. Pride is a huge stumbling block!

"And the challenge to remember has always been the hardest for those who are blessed abundantly. Those who are faithful to God are protected and prospered. That comes as the result of serving God and keeping His commandments. But with those blessings comes the temptation to forget their source. It is easy to begin to feel the blessings were granted not by a loving God on whom we depend but by our own powers."

" Sadly, prosperity is not the only reason people forget God. It can also be hard to remember Him when our lives go badly. When we struggle, as so many do, in grinding poverty or when our enemies prevail against us or when sickness is not healed, the enemy of our souls can send his evil message that there is no God or that if He exists He does not care about us. Then it can be hard for the Holy Ghost to bring to our remembrance the lifetime of blessings the Lord has given us from our infancy and in the midst of our distress.

There is a simple cure for the terrible malady of forgetting God, His blessings, and His messages to us. Jesus Christ promised it to His disciples when He was about to be crucified, resurrected, and then taken away from them to ascend in glory to His Father. They were concerned to know how they would be able to endure when He was no longer with them."

We have been given a tool to help us along the way. THE HOLY GHOST

We need to learn to listen and use the Holy Ghost in our lives. We could all improve a little, or a lot ... none of us are perfect.

" I testify to you that the warm feelings you have had as you have listened to truth being spoken in this conference are from the Holy Ghost. The Savior, who promised that the Holy Ghost would come, is the beloved, glorified Son of our Heavenly Father.

Tonight, and tomorrow night, you might pray and ponder, asking the questions: Did God send a message that was just for me? Did I see His hand in my life or the lives of my children? I will do that. And then I will find a way to preserve that memory for the day that I, and those that I love, will need to remember how much God loves us and how much we need Him. I testify that He loves us and blesses us, more than most of us have yet recognized. I know that is true, and it brings me joy to remember Him."

Stake Conference

What a great weekend!  We had stake conference and the Sunday portion was broadcast to our Region.  We were privileged to hear from Sister Beck, Elder Holland, and Pres. Packer

Last night Pres. and Sister Bateman came to our adult session so we were able to hear from them also.  I couldn't take notes with the kids so I'll do my best to give a synopsis from what I remember.

Pres. Bateman

• importance of attending the Temple - the more we go the deeper our understanding - after 54 years he's just starting to understand some new things
• Almost everything in the Temple points to Christ 
• he was reading in the 1st Temple President of the Provo Temple's journal and he talked about a time when Christ visited the Temple - when we enter the Temple we are walking on Hallowed ground

Sis. Beck 

• we are doing better than we think we are but we could still be doing better
• it all comes down to priorities (a theme she's spoken of a lot this year)

Elder Holland

• We are facing troubling times ahead
• To illustrate how we should handle the times ahead he looked to the Pioneers who settled further south in Utah
• nobody wanted to get sent to "the muddy" so when a girl found out their family was asked to go she was sobbing - a friend asked why she was so upset & told her that her father could just say no - she said "I'm crying because I know my dad will say yes and I wouldn't own him as a father any other way"
• Are we willing to drop everything to answer the Lord's call?
• Difference between sacrifice (we're giving up something that is ours) and consecrate (we're offering all we have to the Lord)
• We need to be willing to consecrate

Pres. Packer 

• turned 87 yesterday
• we are living in a terrible world with horrible times ahead
• we have it harder than the pioneers
• As a young missionary Elder Bednar helped bride a train conductor $20 to let Sis. Packer stay on the train in East Germany b/c her passport wasn't valid there

Mother Told Me

by Elder Bradley D. Foster
Sunday Afternoon April 2010

Alright -- I have a hard time sitting down on the weekend to do this.  The first step is admitting, right?  I'm good with the reading on the weekend but the blogging ... not so much.  So this is the talk I read Friday.  With Stake Conference last night I didn't get a chance to read an entire talk but did read bits and pieces of lots because I was searching for a specific one from years ago.

Anyway on to the talk - which was great!

Elder Foster starts off telling a cute story about a mother's influence over her kids.  We are the nurturer's ... and our kids soak up what we do and say.  When I was a young newlywed I became great friends with the ladies I worked with in the YW Presidency.  We all had babies within a few months of each other so our talk inevitably turned to motherhood and our babies.  One of the ladies became very concerned because her baby had developed a twitch in his neck.  She thought her baby may have some sort of disability and became very concerned for a few days.  She watched her baby make this movement frequently and then noticed that she was cracking her neck a lot.  She was so relieved to realize that he was simply mimicking her movements but we were all in awe at the influence we had on these tiny babies.

"As President James E. Faust said: “There is no greater good in all the world than motherhood. The influence of a mother in the lives of her children is beyond calculation” (“Fathers, Mothers, Marriage,” Liahona and Ensign, Aug. 2004, 3)."

He then reminds us to always go after the lost sheep. He says,

"Brothers and sisters, in a world where everyone is granted agency, some of our loved ones may stray for a season. But we can never give up. We must always go back for them—we must never stop trying. Our prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, has issued a plea for us to go rescue those of our loved ones who may be lost (see, for example, “Stand in Your Appointed Place,” Liahona and Ensign, May 2003, 54­–57). With the help of priesthood leaders, parents must continue to go back and find their lost ones, assuring them there will always be a “home” within the family and the Church, waiting for their return. We never know when a heart may be turned. We never know when a soul may be weary and worn out by the world. When that happens, it seems our children almost always turn first toward Mother"

"Perhaps the reason we respond so universally to our mothers’ love is because it typifies the love of our Savior. As President Joseph F. Smith said, “The love of a true mother comes nearer [to] being like the love of God than any other kind of love” (“The Love of Mother,” Improvement Era, Jan. 1910, 278)."

I love being a mother!! I find no greater joy. We need to watch our behavior because our children are watching and learning.

Last night at Stake Conference our Stake President referenced another talk from this past conference about motherhood.

"Now may I share a few thoughts with you mothers about the special role you play in your daughters’ lives. We have a family friend who travels often with members of her extended family. Her primary observation after each trip is how much the young women behave like their mothers. If the mothers are thrifty, so are their daughters. If the mothers are modest, so are the girls. If the mothers wear flip-flops and other casual clothing to sacrament meeting, so do their daughters. Mothers, your example is extremely important to your daughters—even if they don’t acknowledge it." (Mothers and Daughter, Elder Ballard)

Prayer and Promptings

by President Boyd K. Packer
Saturday Afternoon October 2009

When you send your child out the door for the day, don't you prepare them? We check the weather and dress them appropriately. If they are going to be gone a long time we make sure they have something to eat and drink. Pres. Packer gives a similar analogy of a child leaving our Father in Heaven for Earth.

He knew that each of us would be on Earth where Lucifer was able to tempt us, so he sent us with the tools that we needed.

"No Father would send His children off to a distant, dangerous land for a lifetime of testing where Lucifer was known to roam free without first providing them with a personal power of protection. He would also supply them with means to communicate with Him from Father to child and from child to Father. Every child of our Father sent to earth is provided with the Spirit of Christ, or the Light of Christ.1 We are, none of us, left here alone without hope of guidance and redemption."

We need to have regular and personal communication with our Father in Heaven. After Baptism we also have been blessed with the Gift of the Holy Ghost. We need to listen and act upon the promptings we receive.

"That sweet, quiet voice of inspiration comes more as a feeling than it does as a sound. Pure intelligence can be spoken into the mind. The Holy Ghost communicates with our spirits through the mind more than through the physical senses. This guidance comes as thoughts, as feelings through promptings and impressions. We may feel the words of spiritual communication more than hear them and see with spiritual rather than with mortal eyes."

The Holy Ghost protects us. He tells a story of President Wilford Woodruff's life being saved due to listening and acting upon a prompting.

We also need to pray even if we don't feel worthy.

" One of the adversary’s sharpest tools is to convince us that we are no longer worthy to pray. No matter who you are or what you may have done, you can always pray.

The Prophet Joseph Smith promised that “all beings who have bodies have power over those who have not.”

Learn to pray. Pray often. Pray in your mind, in your heart. Pray on your knees. Prayer is your personal key to heaven. The lock is on your side of the veil. And I have learned to conclude all my prayers with “Thy will be done” (Matthew 6:10; see also Luke 11:2; 3 Nephi 13:10).

Do not expect to be free entirely from trouble and disappointment and pain and discouragement, for these are the things that we were sent to earth to endure."

I know that prayer works. I have seen it work many times in my life. I am always amazed and the faith my children have. There simple, humble prayers are often answered swiftly and precisely. May we learn from the children and pray always.

Generations Linked in Love

by Elder Russell M. Nelson
Sunday Afternoon April 2010

Genealogy has always overwhelmed me.  I even took a class devoted to it in college but seemed to just get by with work that others in my family had already done.  I need to repent of that and spend some time figuring it out.  The church's new website Family Search has really made it simple for anybody to do.

My neighbor was telling me that their daughter - age 12 - gets on and finds names for them all the time.  Either for her to go to the Temple and perform baptisms or for the adults to take.

" Because of the importance of this work, the Church has built temples closer to the people, and family history research is being facilitated as never before. Methods to find and prepare names for temple ordinances are also improving. At the October 2005 conference, President Gordon B. Hinckley announced an exciting step forward in family history and temple work. He said: “One of the most troublesome aspects of our temple activity is that as we get more and more temples . . . across the earth there is duplication of effort in proxy work. . . . We, therefore, have been engaged for some time in a very difficult undertaking. . . . The solution lies in complex computer technology.”

Since then, not only has duplication been reduced, but procedures have been simplified so that virtually every member of the Church can participate in temple and family history work. Gone are the days when this sacred work was done only by specialists. No matter your situation, you can make family history a part of your life right now. Primary children can draw a family tree. Youth can participate in proxy baptisms. They can also help the older generation work with computers. Parents can relate stories of their lives to their posterity. Worthy adult members can hold a temple recommend and perform temple ordinances for their own kin."

I love how at the beginning of this talk Elder Nelson talks about his great-granddaughter and the love and connection we feel for our families. I know that if we studied and learned more about our ancestors and their stories that we would feel this same connection.

Healing the Sick

by Elder Dallin H. Oaks
Saturday Priesthood Session April 2010

In this talk Elder Oaks addresses the Priesthood holders about three areas involved with the healing of the sick. - "by medical science, by prayers of faith, and by priesthood blessings".

Medical Science

We believe that people can be healed by faith but we need to do our part. God has helped the medical field advance for the use of man.

" Latter-day Saints believe in applying the best available scientific knowledge and techniques. We use nutrition, exercise, and other practices to preserve health, and we enlist the help of healing practitioners, such as physicians and surgeons, to restore health.

The use of medical science is not at odds with our prayers of faith and our reliance on priesthood blessings."

My nephew was born with a heart defect and had to have open heart surgery the first week of his life. He received a Priesthood Blessing but we also prayed for the medical team working on him. I believe they were Divinely Guided in the surgery and were an answer to many prayers.

Prayers by Faith

"We know that the prayer of faith, uttered alone or in our homes or places of worship, can be effective to heal the sick."

"Truly, as the Book of Mormon teaches, God “manifesteth himself unto all those who believe in him, by the power of the Holy Ghost; yea, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, working mighty miracles . . . among the children of men according to their faith” (2 Nephi 26:13).

Priesthood Blessings

There are five parts to the use of priesthood authority to bless the sick: (1) the anointing, (2) the sealing of the anointing, (3) faith, (4) the words of the blessing, and (5) the will of the Lord.

Anointing

The Old and New Testament teach of anointing with oil to heal the sick.

Sealing the Anointing

"When someone has been anointed by the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood, the anointing is sealed by that same authority. To seal something means to affirm it, to make it binding for its intended purpose. When elders anoint a sick person and seal the anointing, they open the windows of heaven for the Lord to pour forth the blessing He wills for the person afflicted."

Faith

Faith is essential for healing by the powers of heaven.

Faith is a crucial element in the healing of the sick. The person being anointed needs to exercise their faith to be healed.

President Spencer W. Kimball said: “The need of faith is often underestimated. The ill one and the family often seem to depend wholly on the power of the priesthood and the gift of healing that they hope the administering brethren may have, whereas the greater responsibility is with him who is blessed. . . . The major element is the faith of the individual when that person is conscious and accountable."

Words of Blessing

Another part of a priesthood blessing is the words of blessing spoken by the elder after he seals the anointing. These words can be very important, but their content is not essential and they are not recorded on the records of the Church. In some priesthood blessings—like a patriarchal blessing—the words spoken are the essence of the blessing. But in a healing blessing it is the other parts of the blessing—the anointing, the sealing, faith, and the will of the Lord—that are the essential elements.

I had never thought of the words this way before. That puts things into perspective for me and I know that I need to work on my faith.

Fortunately, the words spoken in a healing blessing are not essential to its healing effect. If faith is sufficient and if the Lord wills it, the afflicted person will be healed or blessed whether the officiator speaks those words or not. Conversely, if the officiator yields to personal desire or inexperience and gives commands or words of blessing in excess of what the Lord chooses to bestow according to the faith of the individual, those words will not be fulfilled.

Will of the Lord

Young men and older men, please take special note of what I will say now. As we exercise the undoubted power of the priesthood of God and as we treasure His promise that He will hear and answer the prayer of faith, we must always remember that faith and the healing power of the priesthood cannot produce a result contrary to the will of Him whose priesthood it is. This principle is taught in the revelation directing that the elders of the Church shall lay their hands upon the sick. The Lord’s promise is that “he that hath faith in me to be healed, and is not appointed unto death, shall be healed” (D&C 42:48; emphasis added). Similarly, in another modern revelation the Lord declares that when one “asketh according to the will of God . . . it is done even as he asketh” (D&C 46:30).

Welcome to Conference

by President Thomas S. Monson
Saturday Morning April 2010

The church continues to grow. We are building Temples and helping those in need around the world.

"Thank you, my brothers and sisters, for your faith and devotion to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank you for all that you do in your wards and branches, in your stakes and districts. You serve willingly and well and accomplish great good. May the Lord bless you as you strive to follow Him and to obey His commandments."

It is important that we are always doing our part to build up the Kingdom of God.

I love how tender the Prophet speaks of his wife. What a great and tender example of love and how we should treat our spouses and loved ones.

"Many of you are aware that a short time after October conference, my dear wife, Frances, suffered a fall, which left her with a broken hip and a broken shoulder. After two successful surgeries and several weeks of hospitalization, she was able to return home. She is doing well and continues to make progress toward a full recovery. She was able to attend the general Young Women meeting last Saturday and plans to attend a session or two this weekend. In fact, at the last minute she said, “I’m going today!” And she’s here! She joins me in expressing our deep gratitude to our Heavenly Father and to all of you for your prayers and your well wishes in her behalf."

He is Risen!

by President Thomas S. Monson
Sunday Morning April 2010

" To understand the meaning of death, we must appreciate the purpose of life. The dim light of belief must yield to the noonday sun of revelation, by which we know that we lived before our birth into mortality. In our premortal state, we were doubtless among the sons and daughters of God who shouted for joy because of the opportunity to come to this challenging yet necessary mortal existence. We knew that our purpose was to gain a physical body, to overcome trials, and to prove that we would keep the commandments of God. Our Father knew that because of the nature of mortality, we would be tempted, would sin, and would fall short. So that we might have every chance of success, He provided a Savior, who would suffer and die for us. Not only would He atone for our sins, but as a part of that Atonement, He would also overcome the physical death to which we would be subject because of the Fall of Adam.

Thus, more than 2,000 years ago, Christ, our Savior, was born to mortal life in a stable in Bethlehem. The long-foretold Messiah had come."

I don't think I can sum up the story of our Savior better than the Prophet. I have been thinking about our Savior, Jesus Christ, a lot lately. Not that I wasn't thinking of the Savior before but I have been watching myself. Am I teaching my kids enough specifically about Jesus? Am I letting others know of my testimony in the Savior? Of my testimony of the Atonement and Resurrection?

When I was in college I was so blessed to be able to live in Jerusalem for the summer. What an opportunity that was to deepen my testimony of Jesus Christ. I was able to walk where He walked, to learn and understand more about His boyhood, ministry, atonement, crucifixion, and ultimately His Resurrection.

"No mere mortal can conceive the full import of what Christ did for us in Gethsemane. He Himself later described the experience: “[The] suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit.”

Following the agony of Gethsemane, now drained of strength, He was seized by rough, crude hands and taken before Annas, Caiaphas, Pilate, and Herod. He was accused and cursed. Vicious blows further weakened His pain-racked body. Blood ran down His face as a cruel crown fashioned of sharp thorns was forced onto His head, piercing His brow. And then once again He was taken to Pilate, who gave in to the cries of the angry mob: “Crucify him, crucify him.”

He was scourged with a whip into whose multiple leather strands sharp metals and bones were woven. Rising from the cruelty of the scourge, with stumbling steps He carried His own cross until He could go no farther and another shouldered the burden for Him.

Finally, on a hill called Calvary, while helpless followers looked on, His wounded body was nailed to a cross. Mercilessly He was mocked and cursed and derided. And yet He cried out, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”

The agonizing hours passed as His life ebbed. From His parched lips came the words, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.”

As the serenity and solace of a merciful death freed Him from the sorrows of mortality, He returned to the presence of His Father.

At the last moment, the Master could have turned back. But He did not. He passed beneath all things that He might save all things. His lifeless body was hurriedly but gently placed in a borrowed tomb.

No words in Christendom mean more to me than those spoken by the angel to the weeping Mary Magdalene and the other Mary when, on the first day of the week, they approached the tomb to care for the body of their Lord. Spoke the angel:

“Why seek ye the living among the dead?

“He is not here, but is risen.”"

I know that this is true! I am so grateful to my Savior and the victory that he gave us over death. My very favorite place to visit in Jerusalem is the Garden Tomb. There is so much peace and serenity there.

The Power of the Priesthood

by President Boyd K. Packer
Saturday Morning Session April 2010

" This “dispensation of the fulness of times” opened with the appearance of the Father and the Son to the boy Joseph Smith. Next the angel Moroni showed Joseph where the plates containing the Book of Mormon had been buried. Joseph was given power to translate them.

During translation Joseph and Oliver Cowdery read about baptism. They prayed to know what to do. There appeared to them an angelic messenger, John the Baptist. He conferred upon them the Aaronic Priesthood, “which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins.”

The Apostles Peter, James, and John, who were closest to the Lord in His ministry, appeared next and conferred upon Joseph and Oliver the higher priesthood, or “the Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God.” The priesthood, the scriptures direct, was to be named after Melchizedek, the great high priest to whom Abraham paid tithes.

This then became their authority. Through the keys of the priesthood, they had access to all of the powers of heaven. They were commanded to carry the gospel unto all nations."

What a blessing it is to live on the earth with the Priesthood restored to the Earth. I have seen its power and know that the power of the Priesthood is real.

" Some years ago I gave a talk entitled “What Every Elder Should Know: A Primer on Principles of Priesthood Government.” Later, when it was to be published, I changed the title to read “What Every Elder Should Know—and Every Sister as Well.”

I include the sisters because it is crucial for everyone to understand what is expected of the brethren. Unless we enlist the attention of the mothers and daughters and sisters—who have influence on their husbands, fathers, sons, and brothers—we cannot progress. The priesthood will lose great power if the sisters are neglected.

Priesthood is the authority and the power which God has granted to men on earth to act for Him. When priesthood authority is exercised properly, priesthood bearers do what He would do if He were present."

What are we as sisters doing to help our Priesthood bearers? What are we, as sisters, doing to uplift and encourage them? What are we teaching our sons and future Priesthood holders about the Priesthood? Are we teaching them the standards that they need to keep to be worthy to hold and exercise the Priesthood?

President Packer says,

"We have done very well at distributing the authority of the priesthood. We have priesthood authority planted nearly everywhere. We have quorums of elders and high priests worldwide. But distributing the authority of the priesthood has raced, I think, ahead of distributing the power of the priesthood. The priesthood does not have the strength that it should have and will not have until the power of the priesthood is firmly fixed in the families as it should be."

Here are some more quotes because my narration won't do them justice.

President Harold B. Lee stated: “It seems clear to me that the Church has no choice—and never has had—but to do more to assist the family in carrying out its divine mission, not only because that is the order of heaven, but also because that is the most practical contribution we can make to our youth—to help improve the quality of life in the Latter-day Saint homes. As important as our many programs and organizational efforts are, these should not supplant the home; they should support the home.”

President Joseph F. Smith made this statement about the priesthood in the home: “In the home the presiding authority is always vested in the father, and in all home affairs and family matters there is no other authority paramount. To illustrate this principle, a single incident will perhaps suffice. It sometimes happens that the elders are called in to administer to the members of a family. Among these elders there may be presidents of stakes, apostles, or even members of the first presidency of the Church. It is not proper under these circumstances for the father to stand back and expect the elders to direct the administration of this important ordinance. The father is there. It is his right and it is his duty to preside. He should select the one who is to administer the oil, and the one who is to be mouth in prayer, and he should not feel that because there are present presiding authorities in the Church that he is therefore divested of his rights to direct the administration of that blessing of the gospel in his home. (If the father be absent, the mother should request the presiding authority present to take charge.) The father presides at the table, at prayer, and gives general directions relating to his family life whoever may be present.”

Women all too often try to take then man's place in the home as the Patriarch of the Home. A lot of women state that they don't think family prayer and scripture reading would happen if they took charge. Instead we should be more equal partners with our husbands and encourage him to take his proper place.

I recently took a class by John Bythway about this very subject. He said work out a deal with your husband that you can let him know when a good time to do these things would be but then step back and let him lead the way. I will often call the family down for prayers but then step back and let my husband lead the actual event.

I think we can also positively influence our Priesthood bearers by letting them know how much it means to us that they are living worthily to hold and use the Priesthood. Also, Br. Bytheway

"The authority of the priesthood is with us. After all that we have correlated and organized, it is now our responsibility to activate the power of the priesthood in the Church. Authority in the priesthood comes by way of ordination; power in the priesthood comes through faithful and obedient living in honoring covenants. It is increased by exercising and using the priesthood in righteousness."

“And upon the Handmaids in Those Days Will I Pour Out My Spirit”

by Julie B. Beck
Saturday Morning April 2010

Take a look around the world. It doesn't take long to realize that we are living in troubling times. So how are we, as mother's, supposed to 1) raise a family in the way they should go and 2) increase our faith and personal righteousness.

Sister Beck gives us some tools to help along the way.

Personal Revelation

"A good woman knows that she does not have enough time, energy, or opportunity to take care of all of the people or do all of the worthy things her heart yearns to do. Life is not calm for most women, and each day seems to require the accomplishment of a million things, most of which are important. A good woman must constantly resist alluring and deceptive messages from many sources telling her that she is entitled to more time away from her responsibilities and that she deserves a life of greater ease and independence. But with personal revelation, she can prioritize correctly and navigate this life confidently."

At Women's Conference in May, Sister Beck gave a talk similar to this about our priorities. She said to divide our list into 3 categories: Have to do, Need to Do, and Would like to do. The top category should be filled with things that will bring us closer to God. ie Temple Attendance, Personal Prayer and Scripture study

There is so much that needs to be done and it is impossible to get everything done, but, as she reminds us, personal revelation can help us along the way.

She says here,

"The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life."

However, we must do our part to be worthy to receive personal revelation.

"Revelation can come hour by hour and moment by moment as we do the right things. When women nurture as Christ nurtured, a power and peace can descend to guide when help is needed."

Relief Society—Teaching, Inspiring, and Strengthening

"Additionally, the Lord in His wisdom has provided a Relief Society to help His daughters in these latter days. When Relief Society functions in an inspired way, it lifts women up and out of a troubled world and into a way of living that prepares them for the blessings of eternal life. This society has at its very core the responsibility to help sisters increase faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and seek out and help others who are in need. Through Relief Society, sisters can receive answers to their questions and be blessed by the combined spiritual power of all the sisters. Relief Society validates the true and eternal nature of daughters of God. It is a sacred trust, a guiding light, and a system of watchcare that teaches and inspires women to be strong and immovable. Its motto, “Charity never faileth,”7 is embodied in all good women"

I personally have felt the benefit of being involved in such a large sisterhood. I have been spiritually fed, physically fed, and mentally fed over the years. When we lived in Arizona, a friend of mine had her first baby. She is not a member of our Church but I called and told her that I was bringing dinner over to her. She could not believe that I would be willing to help her like that. I told her this is what we do ... help and strengthen our sisters.

Measuring Success

"Good women always have a desire to know if they are succeeding. In a world where the measures of success are often distorted, it is important to seek appreciation and affirmation from proper sources. To paraphrase a list found in Preach My Gospel, we are doing well when we develop attributes of Christ and strive to obey His gospel with exactness. We are doing well when we seek to improve ourselves and do our best. We are doing well when we increase faith and personal righteousness, strengthen families and homes, and seek out and help others who are in need. We know we are successful if we live so that we qualify for, receive, and know how to follow the Spirit. When we have done our very best, we may still experience disappointments, but we will not be disappointed in ourselves. We can feel certain that the Lord is pleased when we feel the Spirit working through us.9 Peace, joy, and hope are available to those who measure success properly."

I know that I am not perfect, not even close, but I am always working on being a better person. I think it is so important that everyone knows who they are and especially that they are a "Child of God" who knows and loves them personally.

Tell Me the Stories of Jesus

by Elder Neil L. Andersen
April 2010

Are we teaching our children about Jesus Christ? Do they have an understanding of his ministry, life, Atonement, Resurrection?

Elder Andersen quotes President Monson
"President Thomas S. Monson has described the rising generation as “the very best ever” and has said to our youth: “You have come to this earth at a glorious time. The opportunities before you are nearly limitless.” But he also warned, “We have been placed on earth in troubled times.” “It is a time of permissiveness, with society in general routinely disregarding and breaking the laws of God.” We are surrounded by so much that is designed to divert our attention. “The adversary is using every means possible to ensnare us in his web of deceit.”"

We have such a huge responsibility to teach our kids the way of God and not of the world.

He says, "In our world today, each child, each young man and young woman needs his or her own conversion to the truth."

When I was 18 I was able to live in Nauvoo for a semester in college. I had always been a church going girl and knew what I needed to do to be happy in life but I had a twinge of doubt in my mind. I wasn't sure if I had a testimony of my own. I had always heard people sharing experiences of this life altering event where they just knew without a doubt that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was true. I couldn't think back to a time where I had this great significant event or "Tadaaa" moment as I like to call it, so it made me wonder if maybe I didn't know.

During this 4 months I studied and had many spiritual experiences that testified to me but most importantly I came to understand that for me I didn't need a big moment like that. I already had a testimony of Jesus Christ and his teachings. I had been taught my entire life about Him and His Gospel. I had been raised in a good Christian family who taught me about Christ, his ministry, good values, to be kind to others and about the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ on the Earth.

Elder Andersen says,
" The stories of Jesus can be like a rushing wind across the embers of faith in the hearts of our children. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”8 The stories of Jesus shared over and over bring faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strength to the foundation of testimony. Can you think of a more valuable gift for our children?

Are the life and teachings of Jesus Christ embedded in the minds and souls of our children? Do they think about the Savior’s life when they wonder what to do in their own lives? This will be more and more important in the years ahead"

I realized I had been given this gift and I will be forever indebted to my parents for giving it to me. And eternally indebted to my Savior for the Gift he gave me.

Our Duty to God: The Mission of Parents and Leaders to the Rising Generation

by Elder Robert D. Hales
Sunday Afternoon April 2010

On Sunday we had a combined Sunday School with the YM and their parents to go over the new Duty to God program so I thought it appropriate that I read this talk. It doesn't talk about the YM program but our duty to the youth. How can we help them along their path.

First, we need to lead them by example.
"For youth, there is no substitute for seeing the gospel lived in our daily lives. The stripling warriors did not have to wonder what their parents believed. They said, “We do not doubt our mothers knew it” (see Alma 56:47–48). Do our children know what we know?"

Second, he says we need to walk along side (not in front or behind) them along their path with understanding hearts. "To truly understand their hearts, we must do more than just be in the same room or attend the same family and Church activities. We must plan and take advantage of teaching moments that make a deep and lasting impression upon their minds and hearts." .... "It is impossible to overestimate the influence of parents who understand the hearts of their children."

He then goes into the YM & YW programs. He says to do the programs along side them and not to just give them the list of requirements. I know that I need to be better at this. I typically ask them to pull their books out and I sit with them while they choose what they are gonna work on and then I go lay down for a Sunday nap while they fulfill their duty. I guess I better fix that :) He says, "But let it be understood: for young men and young women to try to accomplish these goals alone would be a great loss and tragedy!"

Lastly, he says, "It is our imperative duty to help youth understand and believe the gospel in a deeply personal way. We can teach them to walk in the light, but that light cannot be borrowed. They must earn it for themselves. They must obtain their own light of testimony directly from the source of spiritual light—God Himself—through prayer and study and pondering. They must understand who they are and who Heavenly Father wants them to become. How do we help them?"

He says during FHE and other activities to let our children know that Heavenly Father knows who they are and ... alright he says it better

" When we have a family home evening, a family council, or a meaningful gospel conversation with our children, we have the opportunity to look into their eyes and tell them that we love them and that Heavenly Father loves them. In these sacred settings, we can also help them understand, deep in their hearts, who they are and how fortunate they are to have come to this earth and to our home and to participate in the covenants we have taken in the temple to be a family forever. In every interaction we share, we demonstrate the principles and blessings of the gospel.

In these perilous times it is not enough for our youth to merely know. They must do."

We have tried our best to implement this with our kids. I know we could use improvement so we will keep working toward the goal.

** I will hopefully be able to post the talks soon that I read over the weekend **

Help Them on Their Way Home

by President Henry B. Eyring
Saturday Morning April 2010
(click on the title to read entire talk)

Pres. Eyring's talk is a similar theme to the one I read yesterday. He goes over the atonement and that we need to help the youth before they veer far off the path. It is much easier to make little corrections than major road changes.

It is really late and my brain isn't working so I have just included a few quotes that stood out to me.

"Brothers and sisters, our Heavenly Father wants and needs our help to bring His spirit children home to Him again. I speak today of young people already within His true Church and so are started on the strait and narrow way to return to their heavenly home. He wants them to gain early the spiritual strength to stay on the path. And He needs our help to get them back to the path quickly should they begin to wander."



"The Lord has placed a pattern of rescue and rescuers in His kingdom. In His wisdom the Lord has inspired His servants to place some of the most powerful ways to strengthen us and to put in place the best rescuers as we pass through the teenage years."



"Of all the help we can give these young people, the greatest will be to let them feel our confidence that they are on the path home to God and that they can make it. And we do that best by going with them. Because the path is steep and sometimes rocky, they will at times feel discouraged and even stumble. They may at times become confused about their destination and wander after less eternally important goals. These inspired programs make that less likely because they will lead the young person to invite and receive the companionship of the Holy Ghost.

The best counsel for us to give young people is that they can arrive back to Heavenly Father only as they are guided and corrected by the Spirit of God. So if we are wise, we will encourage, praise, and exemplify everything which invites the companionship of the Holy Ghost. When they share with us what they are doing and feeling, we must ourselves have qualified for the Spirit. Then they will feel in our praise and our smiles the approval of God. And should we feel the need to give corrective counsel, they will feel our love and the love of God in it, not rebuke and rejection, which can permit Satan to lead them further away."

Mothers Teaching Children in the Home

by Elder L. Tom Perry
Saturday Morning Session April 2010
(click on title to read entire talk)

We have such a great responsibility to teach our children. Elder Perry says,

"....ultimately, parents must ensure that their children are being taught what their Heavenly Father would have them learn."

Too often in society people expect the teachers both in school and church to raise their kids. While they do have a great responsibility. Ultimately, the parents are in charge. When I was a young Young Women's President, I had a mother chew me out about not doing enough for her daughter. She told me when she was young she was always at her leader's house. I tried to tell her that we were doing the best we knew how to but we can only do so much. I found out later that the parents were going through a divorce so the daughter was having a lot of issues. We can only do so much out of the home.

I don't know if you have ever noticed but Nick and Disney shows really bug me because more and more they are demeaning authority figures and parental figures. Satan is using these tools to teach children that they are better than their parents and that what they say is basically stupid. Are we teaching our children to combat this? He goes on to say ....

"Times are very different today, but while times may change, a parent’s teaching must never be devalued. Many activities link the values of one generation to the next, but perhaps the most central of these activities is parents teaching children in the home. This is especially true when we consider the teaching of values, moral and ethical standards, and faith."


and this goes along with that also ...

"Teaching in the home is becoming increasingly important in today’s world, where the influence of the adversary is so widespread and he is attacking, attempting to erode and destroy the very foundation of our society, even the family. Parents must resolve that teaching in the home is a most sacred and important responsibility. While other institutions, such as church and school, can assist parents to “train up a child in the way he [or she] should go” (Proverbs 22:6), ultimately this responsibility rests with parents."


As my kids are getting closer and closer to the teenage years, I have been feeling this pressure more and more. Have I prepared them enough? We have been trying to instill in them a love of learning the gospel. We load their ipods and mp3 players with John Bytheway talks so that they will love them while they are young. My goal is to create positive spiritual experiences for them to lean on when times are hard.

"Parents must bring light and truth into their homes by one family prayer, one scripture study session, one family home evening, one book read aloud, one song, and one family meal at a time. They know that the influence of righteous, conscientious, persistent, daily parenting is among the most powerful and sustaining forces for good in the world. The health of any society, the happiness of its people, their prosperity, and their peace all find common roots in the teaching of children in the home."

He Lives! All Glory to His Name!

by Elder Richard G. Scott
Sunday Morning April 2010
(click on title to read entire talk)


I know that I have a lot to still learn about the Atonement. I know that I am not fully using this gift in my life. Elder Scott gave us council below to study the Atonement.

"This Easter, as you remember the Resurrection and the price paid and the gift given through the Atonement, ponder what the scriptures teach of those sacred events. Your personal witness of their reality will be strengthened. They must be more than principles you memorize. They must be woven into the very fiber of your being as a powerful bulwark against the rising tide of abomination that infects our world."


What a powerful testimony:
"Jesus Christ lives. He is our Savior, our Redeemer. He is a glorious, resurrected being. He has the capacity to communicate love that is so powerful, so overwhelming as to surpass the capacity of the human tongue to express adequately. He gave His life to break the bonds of death. His Atonement made fully active the plan of happiness of His Father in Heaven."

"The Atonement gives all the opportunity to overcome the consequences of mistakes made in life." - Do we remember to always apologize and ask forgiveness? Sometimes things seem too big, too wrong and we hide away wallowing in guilt, self-pity ... but that isn't true! We are loved and we can be forgiven ... but it is up to each one of us.


I want to study these three points Elder Scott made further. I hadn't thought of breaking down the Atonement before.
"I believe that it is instructive to try to imagine what the Atonement required of both the Father and His willing Son. Three of the challenges the Savior faced were:

First, an enormous sense of responsibility, for He realized that except it be done perfectly, not one of His Father’s children could return to Him. They would be forever banished from His presence since there would be no way to repent for broken laws and no unclean thing can exist in the presence of God. His Father’s plan would have failed, and each spirit child would have been under the eternal control and torment of Satan.

Second, in His absolutely pure mind and heart, He had to personally feel the consequences of all that mankind would ever encounter, even the most depraved, despicable sins.

Third, He had to endure the vicious attack of Satan’s hordes while physically and emotionally pressed to the limit. Then, for reasons we do not fully know, while at the extremity of His capacity, at the time the Savior most needed succor, His Father allowed Him to shoulder the onerous responsibility with only His own strength and capacity.

I try to imagine what an intensely poignant moment it must have been for our Father in Heaven when the Savior cried out from the cross, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34). I don’t believe Father in Heaven forsook His Son on the cross. I do believe the cry was motivated when that Son felt removed the sustaining support He had always enjoyed from His Father. His Father recognized that the Savior needed to accomplish the Atonement totally and completely on His own, without external support. The Father did not abandon His Son. He made it possible for His perfect Son to win the eternal fruits of the Atonement."

Elder Scott points out that our homes can be a refuge from the world. We need to make the Savior the center of our homes. I know a lot of us say that this is so but if we step back and examine our lives and homes ... could we improve? I know I could. What would our homes be like if we knew the Savior was coming over?

"When the Savior is the center of your home, it is filled with peace and serenity. There is a spirit of calm assurance that pervades the home that is felt by the children and adults alike."

I know my Savior lives!! I am so happy to have this knowledge. I am eternally indebted to Him for the price he paid for me and all of my imperfections.