Ordained Women Movement....and why I'm not a fan.

http://fromdctobc.blogspot.com/2013/09/why-i-am-becoming-uncomfortable-with.html?m=1

I read this. It's more intellectual approach to the "Ordain Women" Movement trying to get the Priesthood. 

Tonight, when Trent and I were discussing this, we felt that the root of this is their own pride and selfishness-----they think they are "unequal" or suffering in some way by not having the "title" or "power" that the men have. 

I believe the contrary....if there is any inequality, it's on the men's side. If I am sick, Trent can bless me. If Trent is sick, I cannot bless him. He suffers his pain without a priesthood power being exercised whereas if I am sick, I receive a blessing that he cannot in return receive. 

Deseret News did a piece on this and had the official response from the church: 

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865586996/LDS-Church-responds-to-priesthood-meeting-request-by-activists.html

"Kate Kelly, one of the organizers of the action to request priesthood meeting tickets for women. "This is an important step toward a future where Mormon women will participate side by side with our brothers in all areas of church leadership and life." 

“To me, agitating on the issue is a question of self-respect,” she said. “I respect and value the church and myself too much to be silent on this question. I truly believe that God wants us all to equally share the burdens and blessings of the priesthood. The ordination of women would put us all on equal spiritual footing with our brethren, and nothing less will suffice.”"

I admit confusion...I don't see where this Kate Kelly thinks that we do not participate in church leadership and life. Women carry leadership roles and are needed to fulfill responsibilities just like men...not the same, but similar. We are not supposed to be the same. It's just not genetically engineered that way, and I'm glad. Again, I think she is prideful and selfish. She has let a perceived inequality seep in and has not stepped back to actually view just how much she DOES receive by allowing the men to be ordained to the Priesthood. Frankly, I thought the issue was going to die when I first heard about it because I thought it was so idiotic on so many different levels and the reasoning was flawed and biased. But it looks like this whole movement is not going away quietly and now trying to assimilate themselves to the Blacks before they received the Priesthood. 

http://mormon.org/faq/women-in-the-church

"This Thing Was Not Done in a Corner"

President Hinckley was already getting these types of questions in interviews with Mike Wallace (scroll down a bit to the question and answer segment. Mike asks him an initial question on women and their role, and then after health and moral code, he tries again to dig deeper in the "men running the church" question): 

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1996/10/this-thing-was-not-done-in-a-corner?lang=eng

And I really like what this lady said: 

Kathryn Skaggs, who writes her widely read blog, A Well-Behaved Mormon Woman, from her home in Murrieta, Calif., said she believes she speaks for that vast majority of Mormon women when she expresses frustration "that this small element within the church who are pressing for the priesthood use the media to draw attention to themselves, as if they speak for all Mormon women."

"They don't represent us," Skaggs said in a telephone interview. "That's not to minimize those who have these passionate feelings about women being ordained to the priesthood. But my personal church experience suggests that most of us are at peace with how the Lord has chosen to establish his kingdom upon the earth. And there's a bit of resentment that the beautiful messages of conference might be overshadowed by this small group that doesn't even represent the feelings of mainstream Mormon women.

"I just really have a hard time feeling good about it," Skaggs continued. "They are taking the attention away from the reason we have general conference in the first place: to listen to what living prophets have to say to us. Instead, they are trying to get the living prophets to listen to them. That just seems wrong to me."

Elder Maxwell said, "events will require of each member that he or she decide whether or not he or she will follow the First Presidency. Members will find it more difficult to halt longer between two opinions"  (http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=909)

Pro Choice v Pro Life

I hesitate to share this. Mostly because of it's content. But, it's very much a part of what is happening...and unfortunately, used in the last election with Obama and Romney. The Pro-choice advocates were trying to say that Mitt Romney wanted to take away a woman's choice because he was Pro-Life...but I wonder how many of them have ever been to one of these clinics or seen exactly what is done. And I wonder how many would continue to push for this agenda after witnessing the "procedure" being performed. This is a highly controversial subject. But we are supposed to be active advocates in our communities. And I'd like to spread factual content knowledge regarding this topic and state that though a woman does have a choice, someone needs to be a 'voice' for the baby who is very much 'alive' inside of her. She cannot disregard the responsibility of her initial 'choice' to engage in intercourse that resulted in a pregnancy...and it's connected consequence. Is there a disjointed view that one can bypass the natural consequence of a choice to have sex? The two are irreparably connected. And the child is not to be dismissed as a footnote. We can be the voice for the child who does not yet have one...but will if given the chance.

Priesthood.

Something has been on my mind lately. Elder Bednar's talk entitled, ThePowers of Heaven, quoted a Prophet, David O. McKay saying: “If at this moment each one of you were asked to state in one sentence or phrase the most distinguishing feature of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, what would be your answer?” (“The Mission of the Church and Its Members,” Improvement Era, Nov. 1956, 781). "The response President McKay gave to his own question was the “divine authority” of the priesthood."

If the Priesthood is the most distinguishing feature of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or the Mormon Church, then-why? What's so special or important about that above all other things? Among other answers, I believe it's because all the saving ordinances and special blessings we can receive on this earth to prepare us for Heaven are given through Priesthood power being exercised: baby blessing, baptism, reception of Holy Ghost, endowment in the Temple and Sealing of marriage. Not to mention other blessings one can receive when sick or need guidance. The ability and usage of the Priesthood is almost too hard to enumerate.

I’m a woman, so obviously I cannot hold the priesthood. Lately, some women have taken offense to that. They believe that the absence of the Priesthood somehow lessens them. In whose eyes? If it’s man’s eyes they are worried about, then they need to refocus their priorities. It should be God’s eyes that they are worried about. And God has designed the Priesthood to men for good reason. If you’re still worried about what that reason may be and cannot figure it out after searching, then just go on a thing called faith. Men and women are created differently, thank goodness. To be honest, there has been a couple times where I thought I could do something just as well as the guys alongside me. I was very wrong. They are stronger physically-I cannot shovel as hard, walk as long, lift as much as they can. But, to be honest, I don’t think they have as much patience with screaming children, figuring out meals week after mundane week, or the ability to run on as little sleep for the better part of a year as a woman...and then voluntarily choose to do that again. Now, there are some exceptions to the generalities, but for the most part, men have different strengths than women. And that plays out well with the Fathers responsibility to preside and provide for the family and the Mothers to nurture the children.

 I happen to have lived with someone holding the Priesthood in my home at all times. There was never a time when I couldn’t just go to a room inside the house, and ask for a blessing. I have never been at a disadvantage just because I didn’t have the Priesthood. The men cannot use the Priesthood on themselves, so just by having it does not give them some kind of advantage that the rest of us are not able to receive. I admire the way some men honor their Priesthood. Not all men are created equal and not all men hold their Priesthood with the same honor. Those that do, are blessed and able to bless. Even some of Christ’s 12 Apostles had to learn this lesson: Matt 17:14 ¶And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,

  15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he ^afalleth into the fire, and oft into the water.

 16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.

 17 Then Jesus answered and said, O ^afaithless and ^bperverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.

 18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.

 19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?

 20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your ^aunbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have ^bfaith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this ^cmountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be ^dimpossible unto you.

 21 Howbeit this ^akind goeth not out but by prayer and ^bfasting.

I’m sure they weren’t out doing something wrong. And they were obviously preaching so they were being proactive…not lazy or slothful. But they still had something to learn about the POWER  that comes with the AUTHORITY of the Priesthood. Authority does not guarantee Power. The disciples who came to Jesus after the man left with his son learned that very lesson.

Elder Bednar also quoted another prophet, President Ezra Taft Benson, and said:

“It is not enough to receive the priesthood and then sit back passively and wait until someone prods us into activity. When we receive the priesthood, we have the obligation of becoming actively and anxiously engaged in promoting the cause of righteousness in the earth, because the Lord says:

“‘… He that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned’ [D&C 58:29]” (So Shall Ye Reap [1960], 21).

“President Spencer W. Kimball also pointedly emphasized the active nature of the priesthood: “One breaks the priesthood covenant by transgressing commandments—but also by leaving undone his duties. Accordingly, to break this covenant one needs only to do nothing” (The Miracle of Forgiveness [1969], 96).

The men who hold the Priesthood should be different. They should be separate and distinct from those who do not. That’s not to say that there aren’t good men out there who do not hold the Priesthood, and that all men who do hold the Priesthood are good. However, the very act of a man who holds the Priesthood laying his hands on another man to confer the power of the Priesthood to another, is special. It forever grants that man access to the very Powers of Heaven. He can assist in washing someone’s sins away, have command over the body’s immune system, seal two people with a power that will be in force after we die, and give a personal revelation to someone as a guide map to use throughout their life.

After a personal story regarding a conversation Elder Bednar had with his dad, he said, his dad had a “correct assumption that men who bear God’s holy priesthood should be different from other men. Men who hold the priesthood are not inherently better than other men, but they should act differently. Men who hold the priesthood should not only receive priesthood authority but also become worthy and faithful conduits of God’s power. “Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord” (D&C 38:42).

Imagine a conduit:

And the Priesthood acts as a direct conduit of heavenly power that can stream from His throne directly to us. That is how special that power is…and what a bold declaration we give that this Church is the only one found with that power.   

Men who are worthy, are given a great gift. The very power by which this earth and our bodies were created is the same power that worthy Priesthood holders possess. There are, of course, different degrees and keys associated with this power, but it stems from the same source…and one must learn well their duty and how to obtain power with their conferred authority before they can advance in their Priesthood. Maybe it’s like graduating to a bigger size conduit. You gain a greater capacity to bring down more blessings from Heaven.

I teach 11 year olds at Church. I’m new at it. I only have about 3 Sundays under my belt. But, when we talked about the Priesthood being restored to the earth, there was a certain boy that is usually not a very good listener…but this time, he was listening-and with a sponge-like attitude. It was as if he could sense that the Priesthood was something to sit up and pay attention to. It was something that distinguishes the goats from the sheep. Something to be serious about and know well the duty he was about to be recommended for. I cannot put into words the excitement I feel for the time when my little boy will be recommended, and found worthy for the Priesthood. I hope in this home, he will get a real good sense of what the Priesthood does by watching his father and how wonderful that gift is by watching his mother. I hope to support the Priesthood. I’m not entirely sure what that all entails. But it sounds like if I do it right, my husband’s Priesthood authority will have the capacity to develop great power. If it’s Power from Heaven, sign me up. Get me on the list. Let me know how to increase that kind of power. I’d like to do my part to support my husband in his effort to honor his Priesthood.

For a great portion of the history of the world, a relatively few men have held the Priesthood. And out of those few, we have some pretty remarkable records of what they were able to do with their Priesthood…people healed and even raised from the dead, seas calmed, gates to Heaven opened through baptism, and small things like preaching, prophesying so that others will know what to do to prepare for the future so they will experience a feeling called peace in place of fear. Matthew could have been referring to the Priesthood when he said in 22:14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Heaven won’t be reserved for only those who were able to move a mountain or cure leprosy. In The Book of Mormon, there’s a book called Alma and in 37:6 a prophet says, “Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.” That probably also can apply toward the Priesthood. Home teaching, month after month, may bring about a change that a single, great event could not. Partaking of the sacrament is a small and simple thing…but by it, we gain forgiveness and a life more near Christ...possibly one right next to Him forever. That’s pretty great stuff.  

Doctrineand Covenants says in 123rd section:

15 Let no man count them as small things; for there is much which lieth in futurity, pertaining to the saints, which depends upon these things.

 16 You know, brethren, that a very large ship is ^abenefited very much by a very small helm in the time of a storm, by being kept workways with the wind and the waves.

 17 Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us ^acheerfully ^bdo all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the ^csalvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.

In Preach My Gospel, it defines Priesthood as: “the power and authority given to man to act in God’s name for the salvation of His children.”

This Church has that power and authority. This Church has men who act in God’s very name and by the power that these men hold, I and my family, have the chance at salvation. Without these men and the power they hold, it is not possible to gain entrance through the pearly gates. God is governed by laws, and there are no shortcuts or byways. Only one path has been declared by God to give access to a Celestial life. And that path must be accompanied by, watched over, and guarded by men who hold the Priesthood. And the only way to access that Priesthood is through this Church. It distinguishes us from all other Churches on the earth. And it’s power is available to be felt by any who would wish to receive a blessing. I have personally been the fortunate recipient of a few blessings that have altered the course of my life. I would not be the same without the Priesthood.

Perspective

Walking by this blue column, I think it's a support beam for the store and a place they hang their phone and can be inconvenient when maneuvering around it.
The kids see it and think, ”a portal/passageway to another land and place to hide from Mom!”
What a difference perspective can make.

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Prayer is Powerful

http://nathangreenestudio.com/tag/lincoln-praying/

I was watching The Eternal Christ by Truman G. Madsen and he was discussing Christ's Intercessory Prayer. The disciplines had just eaten the Passover meal, which was the best they had probably eaten in awhile. They had repeated all the phrases they go over during that time, including thanking God for "our" deliverance (they didn't say "their deliverance" as in the Israelites back then, but it was a current pronoun they used; remembering that it was a blessing still to be delivered from slavery in Egypt-although they were in a different slavery at the hands of their Pharisee and Sadducee leadership to which Christ had come to free them from, but that's a different story.)
And this is reminiscent of what we do during Sacrament meeting...repeat the same phrase from an event that happened thousands of years ago to which we continue to reap a blessing from.

Truman Madsen said that he was with an apostle when he described seeing the Last Supper and was struck with the tenderness he saw Christ exhibit during that night. It makes sense...He washed the Apostles' feet and then wanted them to know that although He was going to die and they would be scattered, they would not be comfortless-He would send a Comforter and they would have peace, not like the kind the world gives, but a heavenly kind. Christ knew He was about to face the hardest and darkest night this world has yet or will see, and yet He was worried about his group of disciples. He wanted to make sure they were comforted. That they could find peace.
   And you know what, I don't think that tenderness and concern has ceased once He ascended into Heaven. He is an unchangeable God. He has not stopped caring about whether we feel alone, comforted, and find solace in a troubled world. So when taking the Sacrament, and thinking about that night that Christ blessed and broke the bread Himself and gave it to His close friends, it reminds me that He still cares.
   He has given us the Sacrament as a weekly reminder...He doesn't want us to forget!!!...that He is tenderly watching over us and promises to send us the Comforter as our constant companion...if we will allow it into our lives.




So the disciples had finished a nice meal, one of the best all year, went through many recitations of Passover, and then were taught new doctrine from Christ about a Comforter about to come to them once He left for Heaven, that they were about to be scattered, then tells them of His death and Resurrection and that He is the Son of God. There was quite an emotional and physical weariness from all the day's events. So when they get to the mount, they were all exhausted. No wonder it was hard to stay awake. But someone was awake and recorded what He said.
"For I have given unto them the ^awords which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I ^bcame out from thee, and they have ^cbelieved that thou didst send me.

I ^apray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which ^bthou hast given me; for they are thine. Neither ^apray I for these alone, but for them also which shall ^bbelieve on me through their word;

That they all may be ^aone; as thou, ^bFather, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be ^cone in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be ^aone, even as we are ^bone:

 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made ^aperfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast ^bloved them, as thou hast loved me."

Does the tone of the prayer sound like the Lord as described by the Israelites after being freed from Pharaoh's rule?
 Exodus 15
The Lord is a man of ^awar. Pharaoh’s ^achariots and his host hath he ^bcast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the ^cRed sea...they sank into the bottom as a ^astone.

Thy ^aright ^bhand, O Lord, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy. 

And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as ^astubble.

Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters.

Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them. The people shall ^ahear, and be afraid:

(then they continue with):
sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of ^bPalestina.
Then the ^adukes of ^bEdom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall ^cmelt away. ^aFear and ^bdread shall fall upon them.
 (As if to say, if you just destroyed the Egyptians, everyone else will cower and be afraid to mess with us because you have our back).

 But later in Exodus 20, all their praising of God turned to fear and they said to Moses when he came down after receiving the 10 commandments,
"And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God ^aspeak with us, lest we die."
 THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND THE NATURE OF GOD! They believed Him to be a man of war who would rather sink a bunch of worthless captains as lead to the bottom of the Sea and consume people as stubble....just to protect them. But then when it came to God offering to speak to them, they would not. It was not God who distanced Himself or tried to make himself unknown or hidden. It was the people. They thought he was full of wrath when dealing with Pharoah's captains and they must have still held that idea when they thought of meeting Him at Mount Sinai.
God wants to be with us, comfort us, teach us and help us. He does not enjoy destroying people. I doubt he was singing like the Israelites. He was more likely saddened that some of His own creations were drowning.


When Alma prayed to God to help his son, Alma the younger, an angel appeared to Alma the younger and told him specifically that "the Lord hath head the prayers of his people...for he has prayed with much faith...that the prayers of his servants might be answered according to their faith". (Mosiah 27:14)
God did not hire someone else to be his telecommunicator for Him. He has more kids than we can count, yet He wants to hear every one of our pleas.
Doctrine and Covenants 90:1 says, "Thus saith the Lord, verily, verily I say unto you my son, thy sins are forgiven thee, according to thy petition, for thy prayers and the prayers of thy brethren have come up into my ears.

In Matt. 23:37 Jesus said, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!"

And in 2 Nephi 9:41 gives another glimpse of what kind of Man is listening on the other end of that prayer, "O then, my beloved brethren, ^acome unto the Lord, the Holy One. Remember that his paths are righteous. Behold, the ^bway for man is ^cnarrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him, and the keeper of the ^dgate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name.

I enjoy reading how Christ prays to His Father...He knew the right relationship. In Bible Dictionary under Prayer, I have always wondered what it really meant when it said, "As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are his children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part (Matt. 7:7–11). Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship."

What does a prayer look like that is natural and instinctive?
What are the so-called difficulties about prayer?

If you read Matt 7:7-11, seems like we can receive alot from our Father in Heaven if we understand this relationship.

 7 ¶^aAsk, and it shall be ^bgiven you; ^cseek, and ye shall find; ^dknock, and it shall be opened unto you:

 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that ^aseeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

 9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask ^abread, will he give him a stone?

 10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

 11 If ye then, ^abeing evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

Continuing in Bible Dictionary, "Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God, but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work, and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings."

Prayer, to a loving, tender, watchful Father in Heaven, from an obedient child can secure for ourselves and for others so very many blessings.  He always picks up the receiver when we call. We will never find a busy signal. And can you imagine speaking to a divine Heavenly Being who awaits what we have to say and then blesses us with what will help us the greatest? Think about what is happening! He employes no servant as the prayer taker, and as oft as we will gather, He will receive us. He is tireless and an enduring optimistic. 

Prayer is a way to obtain the "highest of all blessings". That sounds like being able to live with Him once we die. If we do prayer right...because there are difficulties with prayer/ways to not pray correctly....then we can come to know Him and be one with Him...just as Christ prayed for that night in Gethsemane. We use prayer to align our will to His. Like Elder Bednar said,Revelation is communication from Heavenly Father to His children on earth. As we ask in faith, we can receive revelation upon revelation and knowledge upon knowledge and come to know the mysteries and peaceable things that bring joy and eternal life (see D&C 42:61). The mysteries are those matters that can only be known and understood by the power of the Holy Ghost (see Harold B. Lee, Ye Are the Light of the World [1974], 211). There may be things in our character, in our behavior, or concerning our spiritual growth about which we need to counsel with Heavenly Father in morning prayer. After expressing appropriate thanks for blessings received, we plead for understanding, direction, and help to do the things we cannot do in our own strength alone. For example, as we pray, we might:

• Reflect on those occasions when we have spoken harshly or inappropriately to those we love the most.
• Recognize that we know better than this, but we do not always act in accordance with what we know.
• Express remorse for our weaknesses and for not putting off the natural man more earnestly.
• Determine to pattern our life after the Savior more completely.
• Plead for greater strength to do and to become better.

Such a prayer is a key part of the spiritual preparation for our day.

At the end of our day, we kneel again and report back to our Father. We review the events of the day and express heartfelt thanks for the blessings and the help we received. We repent and, with the assistance of the Spirit of the Lord, identify ways we can do and become better tomorrow. Thus our evening prayer builds upon and is a continuation of our morning prayer. And our evening prayer also is a preparation for meaningful morning prayer."

He also said, "Simply saying prayers is quite a different thing from engaging in meaningful prayer. I expect that all of us already know that prayer is essential for our spiritual development and protection. But what we know is not always reflected in what we do. And even though we recognize the importance of prayer, all of us can improve the consistency and efficacy of our personal and family prayers." 

"Such meaningful prayers are instrumental in obtaining the highest blessings God holds in store for His faithful children."

We are given a commandment to Pray Always. Remembering the nature of the Person to whom we are praying will help our prayers become natural and instinctive....not repeated, quick and without much thought. Using Prayer like Elder Bednar explained, will help us grow more united with God....which will allow us to receive Eternal Life-to know God. And that is one of the highest blessings I can think of. What a wonderful gift we have been given to Pray. It is our blessing and privilege, not a mundane task to do before starting our day or ending it. God does not treat them lightly and once we come to know who is on the other end, we can't wait to go back and talk with Him some more. It will be a sweet thing to see Him face-to-face when we die and return to Him and not have to feel like we need to build a relationship with this stranger, for He has so obviously not been far from our thoughts.

a

Why I am a Mormon

I am a Mormon because God is real. He desires us to return to live with Him in Heaven. This life has an end and I wish to learn and do all I can to make sure that once I stand before my Maker in Judgment day, I will have done all that He has required to enter into His Holy Place.
We did not come here on accident or without a purpose. We lived before we came to this Earth and we will live again after we die. However, exactly where we will live after we die, is up to us, NOT God. He has given us countless examples and witnesses of His divine love for us and desire for our return, however, He cannot force us to be good. That is our choice. If we choose to listen to the Prophets and do all they say, then will we be rewarded with the promised blessings of a place in Heaven. It would not be fair or just to reward those who traveled through this life with careless abandon and no desire to follow God's commands the same place in Heaven as those who made constant efforts to do good, to live God's commands and follow Christ's example.
I am a Mormon because I believe God has a plan. That plan is given to His Prophets...in times of old as in modern times. God called Adam, Noah, Abraham and Moses. He sent His own Son, Jesus Christ. And He has not stopped loving or caring for us once His Son returned to live with Him in Heaven. He has continued to call Prophets, with the same authority and power as given to those who used to carry a cane and wear a tunic...He speaks and directs the current Prophet today. His name is Thomas S. Monson and just as those who followed Noah and got in the boat and were saved temporally, all those who listen to Prophet Monson have the same promise and will be saved spiritually.
I know this is true because I have asked God in prayer if He calls Prophets today and my prayer was answered.

Gratitude

Lately, I've been learning more about and earnestly trying to have more gratitude. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude. What an amazing principle it is. I thought it was more of a thing of saying 'thanks' when someone did something nice for you. How little did I know. My husband and I were asked to give a talk in Sacrament meeting, our 4th time in under a year, and this time, instead of asking for help to prepare a talk, I asked for help to learn the doctrine. I wanted to really understand Gratitude and not just prepare a talk on it. Marjorie Hinckley was right, Gratitude will give you a touch of refinement that can come in no other way.
Being grateful, and making more conscious efforts to do so, has helped me see more of and be grateful for, the blessings that I normally take for granted or think are commonplace. I have most definitely found out that what our Prophet Thomas S. Monson promised was true, I have gained a closer relationship with Heavenly Father in looking for, acknowledging and showing thanks for His blessings He has so very freely and frequently given me. What a lucky and looked over girl I am.
My dad once taught me about Lehi's vision of the Tree of Life and how we do not need to look around for what else the world or anyone else has to offer. I've tasted of God's love. I loved it. It was sweet. Why should I look anywhere else for happiness, success, or acceptance? Yet, everytime I choose to allow myself to wish for or want the material things or luxuries this life seems to so freely offer, I choose to look elsewhere for happiness. With a grateful heart, I would see no lack, but a life rich with all the things I need and a few areas overflowing. This makes me happy. Not the comparing to others or what's out there, not giving into advertising's gimmicks to make me think that what I currently have isn't good enough, modern enough or attractive enough. On whose standard? Well, with my heart becoming more and more full with gratitude, I'm having less time and room for wanting, wishing or feeling a lack for more. I like this new feeling. The Prophet's words and promises are true. I think I'll let this trend stick around.

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Jesus Christ. The Atonement and Resurrection is real

I have a little 2 year old boy who still doesn't speak much. His vocabulary is probably still down to about 25 words. But today, he taught me something....

During lunch, we went over all the people that love Brenden. I usually start by saying, "Daddy loves Brenden" ... and then Brenden picks it up by saying, "Mommy" to which I say, "Yep, Mommy loves Brenden", then B says "Pop Pop", "Aunty", "Sissy", to which I repeat how each one of them loves Brenden. We usually end with "And Jesus loves Brenden".

We have a picture of Jesus hanging in the kitchen and he usually looks up at it and points to Him when we get to that part, but this time, after I said, "Jesus loves Brenden", he said, "Ouch. Up." and pointed to the ceiling.

I can't help but think he was referring to the suffering and Atonement Jesus made for us after which He was resurrected and lifted "Up" to Heaven.
Why else that combination of words?

Last night, at 2 am, Brenden climbed into our bed and I asked him if he had bad dreams, to which he replied yes. He's only done that once before. Trent took him back down to his bed, set the heater to go on for another hour, and told him everything would be alright.

I wonder if Brenden was comforted by Jesus last night, made the bad dreams go away, and let him know that he really was loved, and then today Brenden remembered the Atonement and Resurrection: "Ouch. Up." (how? I don't remember telling him that Jesus suffered alot of pain and death for him and then was lifted up to Heaven).....yet, after telling him that "Jesus loves Brenden", he said "Ouch. Up." and pointed heavenward. He probably knows it better than I do.

Jesus Christ sure does love the little children.

Joseph Smith

I just wanted to share my thoughts and beliefs about the Prophet Joseph Smith. First of all, I am so grateful to know that God loves us enough to call a Prophet. He still cares and is involved in our lives. The Prophet Joseph Smith is evidence of God's loving concern for His children in these latter days and not just during Biblical times. I believe that Adam, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Noah, and Moses were all Prophets. They were men who were choosen and actually spoke with God. They had a divine communication with the Heavens to help guide and direct the people of their times. Noah's ark would not have been much help to Moses as he parted the Red Sea, and vice versa. Each Prophet was needed to lead the people of their time, according to the 'needs' of the time and could not rely on the revelations received through past Prophets. The same is true for our day. We cannot simply rely on the revelations given to Moses and Abraham, as times have changed. God knows we need as direct and continuous revelation as Adam, Abraham, and Noah all had.
When Jesus Christ was on the earth during His personal ministry among the children of men, He organized a Church. Christ set up the Church to give all God's children a chance at hearing the gospel and choosing for themselves whether they would show their faith and make the efforts to follow Christ or not. He even called His Apostles and gave them direction and authority to continue leading the Church after He was gone. Unfortunately, even the 12 Apostles knew that the Church would not last and would eventually fall into an Apostasy, the same that has occured thoughout the Old Testament. The Apostle Paul, among others, prophesied of an Apostasy to the Thessalonians in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. Christ had been crucified and resurrected by this time and the people knew that He was to return again. However, they thought the Second Coming was immenient but Paul assured them that it would not happen until after the Apostasy, "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, excet htere come a falling away first...". The Apostasy did happen as all the Apostles were either killed or rejected and the authority to act in God's name was taken when the people refused to listen to God's choosen leaders. The gospel is too precious and too great a priviledge to give to a world who will not listen to Christ nor His Apostles. If they were not going to listen to Jesus, and would crucify Him, they were definitely not going to listen to those He chose to continue His teachings. The world went through a dark time until 1820 when a young boy of 14 years old, confused at all the differing religions who all interpreted the Bible a different way, went to ask God the Father which of all the churches was correct. God told us in James 1:5, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." Joseph believed that God was serious when He made that promise, so he went to God in prayer and received an answer. God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to the young boy and told Joseph that none of the Churches were correct, that the authority was not found on the earth. He called Joseph to be a Prophet and open up a new dispensation in the latter days.

I believe that God the Father and Jesus Christ both appeared to Joseph Smith. I believe that they called him to be a Prophet because they do not change the method with which they communicate with their children here on the earth. They called Prophets anciently and they continue to call Prophets today. They cared about their children in Biblical times and gave them direction according to their needs, and They continue to operate in the same loving manner. They still hold the power to call Prophets and have used that power to do so in our time. We are just as loved as those who listened to Moses preach and lead the people. We still are given direction and assistance as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob provided to their people to help them come unto Christ. The only true way to know whether Joseph Smith was called by God himself to be a Prophet is to do as James directs, that is, to ask God. Pray to find out if God has opened the Heavens once again and established a Prophet, with the correct Priesthood authority and revelation to lead and guide His Church. Either Joseph Smith was a Prophet or not. There is no other option. If you ask God with a sincere heart, with faith that you will receive an answer and intend to act upon that answer, God will fulfill His promise as He has said He would. He loves us.

Los Angeles, CA Temple

This is a departure from a 'regular' post. It is a letter I received via email from a lady who works in the temple. I thought it was a light of hope in the midst of some pretty bleak times going on in the world. Hope you enjoy. I would love to hear your thoughts on this.


My dear family, brothers and sisters, friends and leaders:

My heart is overflowing with joy and gratitude to our
Heavenly Father for His tender mercies and mighty miracles
in our behalf. I just have to share this with you. As most
of you know, I am a Temple ordinance worker and work the
morning shift in the LA Temple every Saturday. Today, I had
the privilege of translating sister Martz-the new assistant
Matron's-message during our devotional.
She started like this "The prophet Joseph Smith said
that no unhallowed hand would be able to stop this Work from
progressing. These past few weeks when mobs have combined
and armies have gathered against the saints, the Lord has
protected His house". She went on to say that those,
like her, who were inside the Temple when mobs were
surrounding it, did not realize how scary and terrifying
this looked on TV to the rest of us, because inside the
House of the Lord all was calm and there was peace abundant.
After Proposition 8 passed, the Temple began receiving
threatening calls and mail from those opposing it. They
were warned that more than 5000 people would come to the
Temple and burn it to the ground, and stop Its work. The
first Thursday when the mob came, the new LA Temple
President called the Salt Lake City Temple Offices for
instructions. He was instructed to call the local police and
to insure the safety of those attending the Temple by
closing
the gates. The assistant Matron said today, that it was a
tender mercy from the Lord that the mob chose that Thursday
to come since they had only one person coming to receive his
own endowment that day, which he received in time to leave
before trouble started. The LAPD and the FBI responded
quickly to the Temple Presidency's summons and patrolled
the grounds and kept the mob from entering the same. Most
of them had never been there before and expressed their
surprise at how beautiful and peaceful all around was. They
were invited to come back during the Christmas season to see
the lights and they promised they would. On Thursday,
November 13th, sister Campbell, a secretary in the Temple,
was opening the mail and upon opening a large manila
envelope found inside a smaller one. When she opened this
one, a white powder flew all around her desk. She thought
this could be related to the demonstrators and feared the
worst-ANTHRAX. She contacted the
President, who in turn called the Salt Lake City Temple
office again for instructions. The FBI, the LAPD, and even
the SWAT teams were once again in the grounds to
investigate, and the Temple once again had to close from
around 11:30 AM to 5PM. They closed the gates and were
instructed to keep all the people there wherever they were
found at the time. Those in the parking lot had to remain in
the parking lot. Those entering the Temple had to remain in
the first floor and those already upstairs were taken to the
Celestial Room. Then, the miracles began to happen: A
brother serving as a recorder that day is a Microbiologist
by profession and used to deal with hazardous substances
every day. He was the first to say the white powder in the
envelope was only talc, and put every one at ease. Then the
sister coordinator upstairs was impressed to call upstairs
to the sealing area, and said "They said we can't
go down but no one said we can't go up, and I
have many people in the Celestial room with their
ceremonial clothes on ready to work. Could they do some
sealings?" As it happened, there were four sealers
present that day and they ran four sealing sessions non stop
while the Temple was closed. Downstairs, someone else
thought to invite those in the Lobby to do some
initiatories, which they promptly did for all those hours
too, brothers and sisters alike. Among those waiting in the
parking lot there was a large group of young men and women
with their leaders who had come to do Baptisms for the dead,
and who waited patiently all those hours and decided when
the Temple was reopened to go ahead and fulfill their
assignment instead of driving back home. The Temple reopened
in time for the 5:30 PM session. The next day when recording
the ordinances, they discovered that they had performed 2000
sacred ordinances on Thursday, only one less than the day
before when three stakes had been visiting the
Temple. Once again the assistant matron reminded us of the
words of the prophet Joseph Smith, "No unhallowed
hand can stop the Work from progressing...". But, this
is not all, a prophecy was fulfilled also. When the new LA
Temple President was set apart by President Uchdorft of the
First Presidency, he received a blessing and these words
were pronounced: " The time has come for the LA Temple
to come out of obscurity and become an Ensign for
Righteousness to the world under your presidency." The
pictures of the Temple have been shown on TV, newspapers and
the internet, not only in this country but worldwide. People
of other faiths have called and sent letters to the
Temple thanking the Church for defending marriage and
protecting the family, and commenting how impressed they are
by how beautiful and majestic the Temple looks . One
minister of an African American church, who by his own
admission had harbored ill feelings against the Mormons
before
said " I am impressed by your integrity and Christ
like behavior, and even if I am not ready to consider you my
brothers and sisters in Christ, we can be first
cousins!". I asked the assistant matron if I could
share her comments and she said to go ahead. I can only add
my own testimony that I know the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints has the power and authority of God on
earth. God Lives and Jesus, His only Begotten Son and our
Savior is coming soon to redeem His people. I am grateful to
know this and I pray we stand firm, steadfast and immobile
while the prophecies of the signs before His Coming are
fulfilled. "Be not afraid, only believe" He has
said, and also " What I the Lord have spoken, I have
spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and
the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall
all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice
of my servants, it is the same." I testify that this is
true and
testify it in the Holy Name of Whom I strive to serve,
even Jesus Christ. Be faithful and safe is my humble prayer.
Your sister in Christ, Patricia A


(Photos found from websites:
http://www.kendalldavenport.com/los_angeles_temple.html
http://ldspictures.wordpress.com/2007/12/09/los-angeles-temple-at-christmas/ )

Pray Always

Every year we have General Conference, where members and friends from all over the world gather for two days to hear the Prophet's voice and other leaders. A talk by one of the members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder Bednar, spoke on Praying Always. (Click here to read the full text). I really enjoyed his words and those quoted from scripture helping me to understand more of the purpose of prayer and how to make my prayers more meaningful. Here is a brief section of his talk regarding how our prayers can and should be connected and linked together:

"Consider this example. There may be things in our character, in our behavior, or concerning our spiritual growth about which we need to counsel with Heavenly Father in morning prayer. After expressing appropriate thanks for blessings received, we plead for understanding, direction, and help to do the things we cannot do in our own strength alone. For example, as we pray, we might:

Reflect on those occasions when we have spoken harshly or inappropriately to those we love the most.
Recognize that we know better than this, but we do not always act in accordance with what we know.
Express remorse for our weaknesses and for not putting off the natural man more earnestly.
Determine to pattern our life after the Savior more completely.
Plead for greater strength to do and to become better.

Such a prayer is a key part of the spiritual preparation for our day.

During the course of the day, we keep a prayer in our heart for continued assistance and guidance—even as Alma suggested: “Let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord” (Alma 37:36).

We notice during this particular day that there are occasions where normally we would have a tendency to speak harshly, and we do not; or we might be inclined to anger, but we are not. We discern heavenly help and strength and humbly recognize answers to our prayer. Even in that moment of recognition, we offer a silent prayer of gratitude.

At the end of our day, we kneel again and report back to our Father. We review the events of the day and express heartfelt thanks for the blessings and the help we received. We repent and, with the assistance of the Spirit of the Lord, identify ways we can do and become better tomorrow. Thus our evening prayer builds upon and is a continuation of our morning prayer. And our evening prayer also is a preparation for meaningful morning prayer.

Morning and evening prayers—and all of the prayers in between—are not unrelated, discrete events; rather, they are linked together each day and across days, weeks, months, and even years. This is in part how we fulfill the scriptural admonition to “pray always” (Luke 21:36; 3 Nephi 18:15, 18; D&C 31:12). Such meaningful prayers are instrumental in obtaining the highest blessings God holds in store for His faithful children."

I am grateful to God for inspiring His servants to help me learn how I can improve my worship and relationship with Him through a basic and simple principle, such as Prayer. It has made a difference in my life as I try the word and taste of its fruit.

Personal Testimony of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

My name is Trent(Nicole's husband), and I want to take a couple minutes to share my testimony. I know that my Heavenly Fathers lives and loves me. I know that I am his son. I know that Jesus Christ is my Saviour and Redeemer. I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith, and through a living prophet, they established their true church once again upon this earth with the proper authority and modern revelation. I know that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God. I know that through God's power, he translated the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ. I know it to be true scripture, for God has confirmed it unto me. I know the Bible to be the word of God. Lastly, I testify that our modern day prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, has been called by God to be our prophet in these latter days. I know this to be true, for the spirit has confirmed it unto me.

Atonement

There are few things in life I am more grateful for than my family. One of these is the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I know the Atonement is real. I know Jesus Christ went into the Garden of Gethsemane and paid for sins committed by the entire world. After he endured all that pain and suffering, "which 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—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink— Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men" (D&C19:18-19) He then willingly took the beatings of the guards and people as they began to crucify him. Then to have to die a traitors death, all because He loved us first. And to have all the pains suffered from the Garden of Gethsemane return to him on the cross. I often wonder what the reunion of the Son of God would have been as the Father embraces His most obedient Son. It truly was only but a moment of suffering in God's time, and we have the most incredible promise possible-to receive all that the Father hath if we endure it well. I'm very grateful for a speaker I heard a few years ago tell us that "enduring to the end" was not meant to be something of a long and bleak experience, but instead can and should be something to look forward to-enduring to the end. We get to show our God that we have faith in Him, not in any devices of man or our own strength, but His power and timetable. It is very difficult to wait on God's timetable sometimes and I wish things would happen when I want, but that would not be teaching me many Godlike qualities. My faith is dead though, according to James, if I do not bring forth fruit. The fruit of faith is repentance. To repent is to change ones heart. If there are things I should change, I change them. If I have not been doing something, I need to start. If I need to stop doing something, I stop. To say that I cannot change because, "that's simply who I am", is the same as denying the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He paid for all sins. Not most of them, or part of them, but all. If there is anything in my behavior or person that is not a thing Jesus would do, or that I would be comfortable doing in the presence of God, I need to change it. To not do so is not showing proper gratitude for our Savior who suffered for the world, and each individual. It's like receiving the greatest gift man could ever receive but putting it aside simply because I cannot let go of the former habit/behavior or I don't want to make the effort of letting it go and changing it. Many songs have been written and many books, stories and parables have been given to help man and our finite mind comprehend something infinite and glorious. I hope to come to comprehend a greater portion of the Atonement and all its power sometime in my life, but only if I'm willing to work (have faith and repent) to get there. Our God is great.