Precious Things: Lehi departs into the wilderness and leaves the land of inheritance, his gold, his silver, and his precious things and took nothing with him save his family because he listened to the Lord. Much of our life is spent gaining "things," but if called upon to do so could we really leave them all behind. Makes me wonder what I should consider "precious" in my life.
Murmuring: It's easy to look at Laman and Lemuel and judge their murmuring, without realizing that I murmur many times a day (and in regards to church things as well). Ex: Why does church have to be at 9:00 or 1:00....why not 10:00? Why does it have to be so hard to get my visiting teaching done? Etc. Etc. These are little things but I think your testimony can be chipped away with one "murmuring"at a time. Maybe I should do as Nephi and desire to know the mysteries of God and pray for understanding. Even though I should know the importance of all the things I am asked to do, maybe getting an answer in prayer would cease the murmuring.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Scripture Study
I don't know why it is so hard for me to read my scriptures. I love to read! Books, Church Magazines...pretty much anything. I thought back to when I got the most out of scripture study and I remembered in a high school seminary class we had to come up with a "golden nugget" for each chapter. A NUGGET is defined as "a solid lump of precious of precious metal (especially gold) as found in the earth." So I was essentially recording "precious or golden" TRUTHS found in the Book of Mormon.
So I am going to give it a try!
INTRODUCTION: onr thing that jump out at me 1) In the 2nd paragraoh it talks about the purpose of the BOM that it "puts forth the doctorine of the gospel, outlines the plan of salvation, and tells man what they must do to gain peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come." Peace. Couldn't we all use a little peace in this life? Daily struggles, hardships, trials...how do we get through them? How do we feel peace?
1 NEPHI Chapter 1: Of course when Nephi talks about being born of goodly parents that always stick with me. I feel like I had parents who loved the Lord and taught me the gospel and I hope one day my children can say that of me.
Also I think about Lehi crying repentance unto the people and them mocking him trying to slay and stone him. It made me wonder how I respind to my leaders their counsels, suggestions and call to repentance...how do I handle it?
Also I love the expression "Tender Mercies." That people are chosen because of their FAITH to make them mighty even unto delieverance. I recently learned that a preschooler of mine has lukemia. When I read this last verse I think of her. That because of her (and her families') faith, she will, in due time, find deliverance.
So I am going to give it a try!
INTRODUCTION: onr thing that jump out at me 1) In the 2nd paragraoh it talks about the purpose of the BOM that it "puts forth the doctorine of the gospel, outlines the plan of salvation, and tells man what they must do to gain peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come." Peace. Couldn't we all use a little peace in this life? Daily struggles, hardships, trials...how do we get through them? How do we feel peace?
1 NEPHI Chapter 1: Of course when Nephi talks about being born of goodly parents that always stick with me. I feel like I had parents who loved the Lord and taught me the gospel and I hope one day my children can say that of me.
Also I think about Lehi crying repentance unto the people and them mocking him trying to slay and stone him. It made me wonder how I respind to my leaders their counsels, suggestions and call to repentance...how do I handle it?
Also I love the expression "Tender Mercies." That people are chosen because of their FAITH to make them mighty even unto delieverance. I recently learned that a preschooler of mine has lukemia. When I read this last verse I think of her. That because of her (and her families') faith, she will, in due time, find deliverance.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Quail
As I was driving to the store the other night I saw ahead of me a little group of quail trying to cross the street. They started out and possibly feeling the change in air as the truck in front of me approaching the quickly darted back for cover, all in a group.
I worried about the quail getting run over. Then I thought "well they are probably a family of quail and one parent is at the front and one is at the rear." The Dad will probably make sure none of his little chicks gets ran over.
Sure enough when I came back on that same road the family was safely on the other side pecking at the ground.
This got me thinking about the leaders in our lives. Choosing good leaders and examples will help determine whether we make it through okay. Some will lead us into danger others will keep us from harm.
How glad I am that I had parents who always led me in the right direction. How grateful I am for good friends who helped me avoid danger. How blessed I am to be part of a church where we have a prophet to guide and direct us!
Now the challenge is for me to be a good leader to my little girls, my younger siblings and those around me. I found a lesson on lds.org that talked about five traits of a righteous lead.
1. Gives service.
2. Trusts and obeys the Lord.
3. Has faith in God.
4. Teaches from the scriptures.
5. Follows the prophets.
A tall order and I need to rise to the challenge!
Heartache and Loss
It seems over the summer I have heard many stories of heartache and loss. Some of the families I know personally like my former preschool Student Cami Carver who at the age of 4 was diagnosed with Luekemia. Others I have learned about through their blogs like the Sullengers of Rexburg, Idaho who lost their 1 1/2 year old daughter after she fell into a canal. And just last night I read of a couple whose first baby was stillborn.
My heart breaks for these families and my thought generally lead me to ask "what would I do if I were in their situation?" "How could I handle all that grief and pain?" Instantly I know that it is only through the atonement of Jesus Christ that one can go endure and be made whole.
A family member recently revealed that he no longer believed in this church. He had questions about church doctorine and stories from church history. In reality I think he merely wasn't willing to live the church doctorine and didn't want to feel guilty about the choices he was making.
I feel so sorry for him. His lack of involvement in the church will only stagnate his relationship with his savior. When hard times come (and they always do) where will he turn for peace and comfort? I don't know everything about the gospel, and I acknowledge that there are stories from Church History that may be confusing, but what I do know is that I know that this is the only true church on the face of the earth. And if I continue to live it's teachings I can come develop a deep relationship with Jesus Christ. I can come to understand more fully the atonement. And when heartache and loss come I can turn to Him.
This is my testimony. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
I love the Mormon Messages and this one by our prophet exemplifies the feelings I tried to express in this post!
My heart breaks for these families and my thought generally lead me to ask "what would I do if I were in their situation?" "How could I handle all that grief and pain?" Instantly I know that it is only through the atonement of Jesus Christ that one can go endure and be made whole.
A family member recently revealed that he no longer believed in this church. He had questions about church doctorine and stories from church history. In reality I think he merely wasn't willing to live the church doctorine and didn't want to feel guilty about the choices he was making.
I feel so sorry for him. His lack of involvement in the church will only stagnate his relationship with his savior. When hard times come (and they always do) where will he turn for peace and comfort? I don't know everything about the gospel, and I acknowledge that there are stories from Church History that may be confusing, but what I do know is that I know that this is the only true church on the face of the earth. And if I continue to live it's teachings I can come develop a deep relationship with Jesus Christ. I can come to understand more fully the atonement. And when heartache and loss come I can turn to Him.
This is my testimony. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
I love the Mormon Messages and this one by our prophet exemplifies the feelings I tried to express in this post!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Significant Experiences
Sometimes my day to day life takes over everything! I've been trying to do more journaling. I sit down every Sunday and I write about our family and then each of the girls individually. I write about the fun things we've done, what's going on in our lives, cute things the girls say, etc., etc. There are other times when I find myself having spiritual thoughts and experiences that I want to record and share. Since the advent of the computer I hate writing. I am not the greatest typer (I still don't use the right fingers on the right keys) but I get my thoughts down faster and I can edit as I go.
Recently a friend of a friend started a blog entitled "tender mercies" to document the spiritual experiences in her life. Another friend of a friend had this quote from President Hinckley on her blog:
"You will have significant experiences. I hope that you will write them down and keep a record of them, that you will read them from time to time and refresh your memory of those meaningful and significant things. Some may be funny. Some may be significant only to you. Some of them may be sacred and quietly beautiful. Some may build one upon another until they represent a lifetime of special experiences." Gordon B. Hinckley, 2006
So I decided I would start a blog to record significant experiences, tender mercies, and spiritual thoughts. This blog is primarily for me to focus more on my "spiritual life." If anyone else wants to read along, great...if they don't fine.
Recently a friend of a friend started a blog entitled "tender mercies" to document the spiritual experiences in her life. Another friend of a friend had this quote from President Hinckley on her blog:
"You will have significant experiences. I hope that you will write them down and keep a record of them, that you will read them from time to time and refresh your memory of those meaningful and significant things. Some may be funny. Some may be significant only to you. Some of them may be sacred and quietly beautiful. Some may build one upon another until they represent a lifetime of special experiences." Gordon B. Hinckley, 2006
So I decided I would start a blog to record significant experiences, tender mercies, and spiritual thoughts. This blog is primarily for me to focus more on my "spiritual life." If anyone else wants to read along, great...if they don't fine.
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