THE 72 HOUR RULE

2012-01-24T15:58:00.000-05:00

DAVID & GOLIATH..cody f miller

What do Samson and David and Nephi have in common?

You know, kids in primary say the most amazing things. Stuff that makes you think and then want to find out what is really going on. I teach 11 year old girls, and this past Sunday we finished discussing Lehi’s Dream. The girls thought that Laman and Lemuel were just the worst group of siblings ever! So I asked them if they could think of other siblings in the scriptures who were worse. For some reason, Samson’s name came up. I said, I think Samson may have been an only child, but God had a special work for him to do. They said that he was “good at the start” but “turned bad” at the end. So I asked, why he was bad, and one of the girls answered that he was “bad with Delilah, meaning he had broken his covenants with God concerning chastity. Wow what an astute observation. So I had to go back read the story of Samson, which led me to the story of David, which rounded out with the story of Nephi. As our conversation diverted off the path so to speak, the girls wondered how Samson was able to do those things he did. You know, kill a bunch of Philistines with the jawbone of an ass, or fight off an entire army of Philistines by himself and took no prisoners. They all said that it must be his hair, and it was so to speak, but the hair was just an outward sign. A non-believer seeks a sign, but signs follow those who believe.

Where is David in this, well he was just a young lad, and he was a giant killer. He took a rock and “slung it” and it landed in the forehead of the giant Goliath. But that’s not all, David took Goliath’s sword and chopped his big ole head off and presented it to King Saul. What made these men do these seemingly superhuman things?
Nephi chopped off the head of Laban. There is a lot of discussion on that part and I asked my students how they would feel if they had to do such a thing. The answers were along the lines of that they would be afraid and maybe freeze and not be able to do it. One girl said that she would probably run away with fear, even after the angel had appeared.
So my companion teacher and I thought that this was a pretty traumatic thing for a young person with no prior violent tendencies to go and literally kill another human being, even if God told you. Why would God tell you to do such a thing? Did Nephi or David or even Samson grieve for their loss of innocence?

Who were these guys anyway? Well first and foremost they were men, just regular guys, and they were chosen by God for his purposes. You know some people think that in order to be chosen you have to be perfect in the extreme. Only one man was required to do this and that was Jesus Christ himself. These chosen men made a choice in their lives to learn of God, to love him and his people and ultimately serve him. Some were called as priests and prophets, others as kings and prophets also, and in Samson he was called to be a judge of Israel. The girls wondered if he was called to be a Bishop.

DOCTRINE & COVENANTS 107:2-3
2 Why the first is called the Melchizedek Priesthood is because Melchizedek was such a great high priest.
3 Before his day it was called the Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God

With this ordination, came the ability to do the work of the Lord, regardless of whatever obstacles that man faced, as long as that man kept his covenants, and was faithful and obedient.

Mosiah 13:10
10 But this much I tell you, what you do with me, after this, shall be as a type and a shadow of things which are to come

All of Gods prophets were a type and shadow of the coming Messiah. Aspects of each prophet’s personality told the story of Jesus, of his primary mission on earth, his life and death on the cross and his resurrection. Each prophet was named by God, either at birth by revelation to the parents, or by Heavenly Father himself changing the name. Some examples were Abraham formerly known as Abram, Jacob also known as Israel (which means to persevere with God.) Each of these men and their life’s work were consecrated for Gods purposes. All of these men made covenants with God and were set apart, and they were all ordained into the Melchizedek priesthood. What? In the Bible, at times you will find words such as “God’s favor”, anointing; or “the spirit worked mightily upon him”. I have found that these words refer to the Holy Spirit, but the favor or the anointing of these particular men have to do with being ordained of the priesthood of Melchizedek

1 Nephi 3:6 -8 (I am pretty sure, that Lehi being a Melchizedek priesthood holder, ordained his son Nephi.)
6 Therefore go, my son, and thou shall be favored of the Lord, because thou hast not murmured.
7 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord gives no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commanded them.
8 And it came to pass that when my father had heard these words he was exceedingly glad, for he knew that I had been blessed of the Lord.

DOCTRINE & COVENANTS 84:109
109 Therefore, let every man stand in his own office, and labor in his own calling; and let not the head say unto the feet it hath no need of the feet; for without the feet how shall the body be able to stand?

So who was Samson? Wikipedia says this

Samson, , meaning "man of the sun the third to last of the Judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible) (Book of Judges chapters 13 to 16). Samson was granted supernatural strength by God in order to combat his enemies and perform heroic feats such as wrestling a lion, slaying an entire army with only the jawbone of an ass, and destroying a pagan temple. (Judges 13).

I remember a “Samson “moment in 1 Nephi 7:17-18 (Judges 15:12-14)

17 But it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound.
18 And it came to pass that when I had said these words, behold, the bands were loosed from off my hands and feet, and I stood before my brethren, and I spoke unto them again.

In my Book of Mormon study group, our teacher wondered what this statement “strength that I may burst these bands” referenced. So I was so excited and of course the scripture reference was at the bottom of the page, but I raised my hand and said “Samson!!” I said “Remember when the Philistines tried to capture Samson by tying his hands with rope and he simply broke them? Remember?” Of course I got the strangest looks, and the teacher said, are you talking about the movie Samson? “No I said, it’s in there, in the Bible.” And he still gave me a funny look and then so did everyone else. I said “It’s in the Bible in the book of Judges.” I don’t think that they believed me. But apparently Nephi did, because of his increasing faith in God, and being a newly ordained Melchizedek priesthood holder, he remembered the counsel of his Father Lehi. So faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God.
Most people think that Samson was an imposing man. Some think that he had the physique of a body builder, and since he was a Nazarite and was forbidden to cut his hair or shave, he may have been pretty intimidating in his presence. I remember old movies where he was portrayed almost like a “playboy” type. But in reading the record, I did not find any reference to Samson’s physicality, only his long hair. Here are some facts

Judges 13:24-23
24 ¶And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him.
25 And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol
Judges 14:5-6
¶Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him.
6 And the aSpirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.
Judges 14:19
19 ¶And the Spirit of the LORD came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave change of garments unto them which expounded the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father’s house.

Still no mention of how tall he was, how much he weighed.

Judges 16:17
17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.

So you know the rest of the story, Delilah shaves off 7 locks of his hair, she shouts “Samson the Philistines are upon thee,” he tries to fight them, but he notices that his hair is gone, and he becomes weak and his taken prisoner. But was it really the shaving of his hair that caused his weakness and capture. Was it Delilah? Nope.Was it really the hair?
I believe that it was Samson. He trusted not in the arm of the Lord for his own salvation, but he started to believe that his hair was the reason for his strength and not the principles of his covenants with God. He failed to obey God’s commandment and took for granted his Priesthood.

D&C 130:20-21
20 There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—
21 And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.
D&C 82:9-10
9 Or, in other words, I give unto you directions how you may act before me, that it may turn to you for your salvation.
10 I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise

Does this make Samson a” bad man”? I don’t think so. I believe that if Samson had gone into his captivity without remorse, or at least a sense that he had failed in his mission to God then he could be termed as “unrepentant”. But Samson loved the Lord and he had the sense to want to finish the work he had started. He had a broken heart and a contrite spirit.

Judges 16:21-23;28-29
21 ¶But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house
22 Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.
23 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand.
28 And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.
29 And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left.

Ok, so I remember this scene in the movie, Samson, pitiful, blind and bound in chains. His integrity was intact and he was sorry. I believe that Heavenly Father looked at his heart, and accepted his apology, his change of heart and allowed him to receive His Spirit that one last time so that he could finish the work that he was charged to do.
The end.
Oh, one more thing, there is a David moment in the life of Nephi: Can you guess what it is? Tell me.

So this is what I have learned from this, the true meaning God's Holy Priesthood. I have felt an impression in my own life to study Doctrine & Covenants along with my study of the Book of Mormon. I feel that Doctrine & Covenant's can further shed light on the lives of the people of the Book of Mormon, at least to me. For every story, such as Lehi's Dream, and the record of the Jaradites,even questions I have, there is a further explanation in selected Doctrine and Covenant sections. Concerning the Melchizedek Priesthood,what I have taken away from this lesson is that for every worthy man there is a worthy woman in his life, whether it be a mother, sister, wife, etc. The ideal is husband and wife because we serve together in the family unit in that new and everlasting covenant of marriage and family. I am really happy that my husband has finally become comfortable in his calling in the Priesthood, because it has helped him to "grow stronger spiritually" and also he seems happier.

2012-01-19T17:17:00.000-05:00

THE PATH OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

We are now 19 days into the New Year, and I am still psyched!! I have been studying Lehi’s Dream in the Book of Mormon. Suffice it to say, there is a lot of symbolism and I won’t even try to go there. But Nephi has offered a challenge to all who read the book of Mormon and that is to “feast upon the words”and to“liken the scriptures as ourselves”.
My boss sent me a list of about 30 challenges to improve myself in 30 days. It’s not a list of resolutions, but a list of challenges. Here is one that I chose #13:

• Don’t tell a single lie for 30 days. – With all the seemingly innocent, white lies that trickle out of us, this is way harder than it sounds. But you can do it. Stop deceiving yourself and others, speak from the heart, speak the whole truth.

Wow, this one stopped me cold. Stop lying; I know that there are many, many reasons people lie. I googled the word lie and I could not believe what I found. There was a site that broke down the various types of lies. I talked to my husband about this and even he had to pause. My husband is from the “good ole boy” school of telling stories and stretching the truth. I could say that “I know he means well, no harm intended, just having fun. But you know that Nephi, this is what he had to say about lies:

2Nephi 28:8
And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.

Lying is serious business. The scriptures report that the Lord “abhors” the liar. Now wait does that mean that I will suffer from “eternal hatred” if I lie. No, and then yes if I don’t repent. But to lie and become a liar, to live a lie is a lifestyle choice. In the scriptures a liar and his lifestyle is often referred to as a “crooked path”. The word lie means “prevariance” which is related to a medical term called “pre-varus” or bowleg. It literally means to straddle, or to straddle the truth. So in “likening myself” to the scripture, I put myself on that path, the strait and narrow path. I think that everyone who has been baptized starts out at that tree. We start at the tree because we have all accepted Christ as our Savior; we have performed the required ordinances, so we have a chance to taste of that fruit. Then we start out on the path, which is the same path we were on before baptism and now it’s changed a bit. Instead of a wide road, it is more narrow, but as we continue to hold on to the iron rod, we have road maps; the scriptures, the sacrament, church meetings, the Temple, etc. All of those are road maps that help guide us, back to the tree. So I have pondered on what it means to live in the truth where no lie will be found in me.

Ephesians 4:24-26
24And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
25Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another.

We are now “new men and women” after the order of God. What is that order?

Doctrine & Covenants 3:2
2 For God doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to the right hand nor to the left, neither doth he vary from that which he hath said, therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round.

I love the language that is articulated in this verse. I have noticed that there are at least 2, possibly 3 “voices” of expression of language documented in the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants. Maybe Joseph Smith noted it too. The one voice or language I have noted is “archaic”, which means this:

1. Archaic of, relating to or characteristic of a much earlier, often more primitive period, especially one that develops into a classical stage of civilization: an archaic bronze statuette; Archaic Greece.
2. Of, relating to, or characteristic of words and language that were once in regular use but are now relatively rare and suggestive of an earlier style or period.
From the Greek arkhaikos: old-fashioned, from arkhaios: ancient, from arkhē: beginning, from arkhein: to begin. (In the beginning; original language of God)

So Heavenly Father has spoken this truth from the very foundation, from the beginning and throughout eternity. This is our guide to the abundant life.
Note: In a previous post I wrote about language, specifically concerning the confounding of the language of the people at the tower of Babel. There has been much speculation about that and I wanted to get to the bottom of it. I have to consider that not only was the “spoken word” confused or confounded, but the language that was used to worship, pray, and even officiate sacrifices to God were confounded also. The language or speech of the people had become corrupt not only in their verbal communication but also in their hearts and their ability to be truthful and obedient to God. At Babel the Lord is taking a preemptive strike.
(I am diverging the path, but stay with me and you will see where this leads)

Genesis 11:6-7
6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
7Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech

By confounding the speech, then this would hold back, at least temporarily a means where “false prophets” could continue to teach false doctrine, and lead away many from God. Now why would the Lord allow a temporary fix? It is probably not temporary but it is a “way” to allow those who choose to continue to worship the Lord in the spirit of truth will have an opportunity to do so.

D&C 3:1;3-2 (Note: Revelation given to Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Harmony, Pennsylvania, July 1828, relating to the loss of 116 pages of manuscript translated from the first part of the Book of Mormon, which was called the book of Lehi. The Prophet had reluctantly allowed these pages to pass from his custody to that of Martin Harris, who had served for a brief period as scribe in the translation of the Book of Mormon. (Martin Harris was a big fat liar and in subsequent revelations he was called “that wicked man”.
1 The works, and the designs, and the purposes of God cannot be frustrated, neither can they come to naught.
3 Remember, remember that it is not the work of God that is frustrated, but the work of men;
4 For although a man may have many revelations, and have power to do many mighty works, yet if he boasts in his own strength, and sets at naught the counsels of God, and follows after the dictates of his own will and carnal desires, he must fall and incur the vengeance of a just God upon him.

This is where the record in the book of Ether comes in.

Ether 1:34 And the brother of Jared being a large and mighty man, and a man highly favored of the Lord, Jared, his brother, said unto him: Cry unto the Lord, that he will not confound us that we may not understand our words

I have been curious about the brother of Jared. When I first read this, I wondered why Jared was so adamant that his brother pray to the Lord for mercy and not to confound the language. Why didn’t Jared pray? But, look at the description of Jared’s brother, not only was he physically imposing, but he was a man “highly favored of the Lord”. Does that mean he had the ability to communicate with God in the language that was appropriate? Was he a prophet of God, a priesthood holder who had not “defiled” his priesthood authority? Who are these people anyway? They were the posterity of Adam. The Lord considered them “His people”. They were a Zion type, with all things in common; set apart, all worthy men were ordained of the High Priest hood. The Lord granted that Jared and his family and friends retain the “spoken” language of Adam or Adamic, also he granted that they would not be cut off from his presence, that they would be allowed to “speak” with Him, worship Him, receive blessing from Him; as long as they obeyed his commandments.
This people residing in “Babel” were the posterity of Noah, the posterity of Adam. They all spoke the same language at the time, which was Adamic or the language of Adam, which was a pure language.

Moses 6:5-6
5 And a book of remembrance was kept, in the which was recorded, in the language of Adam, for it was given unto as many as called upon God to write by the spirit of inspiration;
6 And by them their children were taught to read and write, having a language which was pure and undefiled.

Zeph 3:9 For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent.

But what happened? The Tower of Babel was a “temple” built to worship false gods.

Moses 6: 49 Behold Satan hath come among the children of men, and tempt them to worship him; and men have become carnal, sensual, and devilish, and are shut out from the presence of God
Moses 5:55 And thus the works of darkness began to prevail among all the sons of men

So cue in the “mists of darkness”, according to the symbolism of that word, it’s all about the evils of the world, or in other words Satan’s devices. I believe that “opportunities to lie” are in the mists. They come “shrouded” in the truth, using the truth as a cover up. Lies can come as things just too good to be true, asking us to buy into them. A lie is part of that filthy garment of the wicked. There it is. Prayer can absolutely help to discern the truth from the lie. It is definitely an ongoing process.
I know that this a big honking post. But I feel that the events from the tower of Babel, the event of the losing of 116 pages of the book of Mormon, the events of the family of Jared. They were on the on the path, we are on the path. I want to be the best I can be for God. I don't know if I am one of the highly favored ones, but I hope that I am in favor. I want to speak the truth in love and in deed. I am believing I can.

PRAYED UP

2012-01-17T16:46:00.001-05:00

CODY F MILLER: Daniel

Isaiah 54:16-18 (Amplified Bible (AMP)

16Behold, I have created the smith who blows on the fire of coals and who produces a weapon for its purpose; and I have created the devastator to destroy.
17But no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall show to be in the wrong. This [peace, righteousness, security, triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the Lord [those in whom the ideal Servant of the Lord is reproduced]; this is the righteousness or the vindication which they obtain from Me [this is that which I impart to them as their justification], says the Lord.

Every now and again, we believers find ourselves targeted in spiritual crossfire. It must needs be as our Brother Nephi so eloquently counsels. But sometimes, the heat so to speak is turned up a notch.

Ephesians 6:12

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places

This a post about my husband P. Most of the time he is comic relief in my post, but not today. So last week P. slipped and fell at work, bumping his head, losing consciousness, waking up, getting in his rig and driving back to his work place. I know that quite a few people have accidents at work with various outcomes.
Here's is what happened according to "eye witness's" at the gas station:

P. was walking across a wet floor, that did not have any signs posted (OSHA violation), to warn of danger. He did a full body slip and fall, and bang his head on the floor. He did not get up, he lay on the floor for almost 15mins. No one called 911.

Another "eye witness" said that they "thought he was dead", so they did not call 911.

Again a 3rd "eye witness said that after my husband had lain on the floor, very still, he got up with no help and walked out of the store. They said that he got into his big rig, and drove off." He did however return to ask if he had paid for his gas and also ask if he had left his wallet, which was still in his hand."

I called my husband about the time he had left the building. He told me that he had slipped and fell at the gas station. He was very coherent, but dazed. He said he thought he lost his wallet. So he turned his truck around and went back. I prayed to Heavenly Father that He would please help my husband.

So I spoke with P. at least 5-6 times before he got back to his shop, and each time he said the same things. " Boy, I took a bad spill, that was really bad, I haven't fell like that since I was younger, oh I think I lost my wallet", to which I would tell him that his wallet was in his bag.
When P. got home, he had a big knot on the back of his head, which was hard to find, because his head is knotty any way.:)
He told me what happened and it matches what the 3 witness's said. But what really happened? Why didn't any one call 911, or shake him or yell at him to see if he would respond? How did he regain consciousness to get up and walk and drive like that?
I asked the question, that in the event that there is no "Good Samaritan" available to "help", does God send angels? A perfectly logical question. Does He reach out and touch?
Now here is the good part, my husband is the "Good Samaritan". After he left another truck driver came in and slipped on the same wet floor. I know its just so unbelievable that maybe the "witness's who worked there, would put out a "Wet Floor"sign or even a rug down. This man fell into a wire shelf and injured his eye. This time 911 was called, and they finally told them about my husband.

So my husband is doing fine, the headaches are gone, his doctor pronounced him well. He went back to the station and found the 2nd injured mans wife there, trying to find out what happened. The 3 witness's refused to talk to her and they tried to "throw" her off the property. My husband stopped to talk to her and told her everything he knew and gave her a card for his lawyers and his phone number if she needed anything. The lady and her husband had just moved here and started a new job, she is 9 months pregnant and all of that.

Maybe my husband arrived to early, maybe he was supposed to find the 2nd guy and help him out. Either way the Lord will work it out in ways that are mysterious to us.

What I have learned from this is that we need to prayer, stretch out our hearts and souls in prayer to Heavenly Father, every day. Out thoughts should always be on Him. We need to be "prayed up" as it were.

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble

LOVE THY NEIGHBOR

Echoes of the Dreamer

2012-01-16T18:06:00.000-05:00

Today is Dr Martin Luther King Jr's 82^nd birthday anniversary. On my list of 51 things that I am grateful for in this life is that of the life and work of this man.

When I was 8 years old, he was assassinated. I lived in Louisiana with my parents and little brother. What I remember about that day is my mother crying hysterically in her bedroom. I remember my dad coming home from work, really upset and angry. He and my mom were talking and crying together. They turned on the television and watched the news. They gathered me and my brother together and hugged us and told us that "Dr King was dead" We cried too, because somehow we thought that the world as we knew it was changed forever. And it was, but so much more for the better than the worse.
A favorite quote from his "I Have a Dream "speech is this:

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

This quote was an inspiration to a generation to strive for educational and personal excellence in their lives. I remember how all of my teachers from that moment until I graduated high school reaffirmed the goal to live according to the content of our characters and to be person of integrity, to be an asset to our families.
So much happened after his death, but the one moment that stands out for me was when African Americans no longer had to "ride in the back of the bus". The South held on to segregation long after the laws were passed. As a kid, I remember my mom paying our bus fare at the front of the bus, but then walking to the back door of the bus to get in. There were only a limited amount of seats and if they were full you had to stand. If seats ran out in the front of the bus for white riders, the bus driver would kick off any black rider to make room. So in response to this unfairness, many African American men started independent taxi services to help their friends and neighbors. They would usually post themselves near bus stops, grocery stores, doctors' offices, etc.

Excerpt from Noble Peace Prize acceptance speech:

But, [he continues] our method will be that of persuasion not coercion. We will only say to the people, "Let your conscience be your guide." Our actions must be guided by the deepest principles of our Christian faith... Once again we must hear the words of Jesus⁵ echoing across the centuries: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, and pray for them that despitefully use you."

I have heard commentary over the years that speculate that if Dr King were alive today he would be disappointed even angry with the events of the world today. I don't think so. I feel that the United States is a much better place because of him and his sacrifice, all races can benefit from it. I am happy to have grown up not feeling burdened by the "color of my skin", but I grew up in the knowledge that it was my choice to either be somebody or not, to keep my eyes on the prize.

What would Dr King think of the "Occupy" protests? Maybe he would encourage them to make more definitive goals, organize peaceful protests that invite an intelligent dialogue. I think that he would have been intrigued at News Week's person of the year was the "Protester".
What would he think about the conflicts overseas?

Beyond Vietnam -- A Time to Break Silence
Delivered 4 April 1967, Riverside Church, New York City
Now, it should be incandescently clear that no one who has any concern for the integrity and life of America today can ignore the present war. If America's soul becomes totally poisoned, part of the autopsy must read: Vietnam. It can never be saved so long as it destroys the deepest hopes of men the world over. So it is that those of us who are yet determined that America will be -- are -- are led down the path of protest and dissent, working for the health of our land.
As if the weight of such a commitment to the life and health of America were not enough, another burden of responsibility was placed upon me in 1954¹; and I cannot forget that the Nobel Peace Prize was also a commission, a commission to work harder than I had ever worked before for "the brotherhood of man." This is a calling that takes me beyond national allegiances, but even if it were not present I would yet have to live with the meaning of my commitment to the ministry of Jesus Christ. To me the relationship of this ministry to the making of peace is so obvious that I sometimes marvel at those who ask me why I'm speaking against the war. Could it be that they do not know that the good news was meant for all men -- for Communist and capitalist, for their children and ours, for black and for white, for revolutionary and conservative? Have they forgotten that my ministry is in obedience to the One who loved his enemies so fully that he died for them? What then can I say to the Vietcong or to Castro or to Mao as a faithful minister of this One? Can I threaten them with death or must I not share with them my life?
And finally, as I try to explain for you and for myself the road that leads from Montgomery to this place I would have offered all that was most valid if I simply said that I must be true to my conviction that I share with all men the calling to be a son of the living God. Beyond the calling of race or nation or creed is this vocation of son ship and brotherhood, and because I believe that the Father is deeply concerned especially for his suffering and helpless and outcast children, I come tonight to speak for them "

Happy Birthday Martin

2012-01-06T15:40:00.000-05:00

Cody Miller: True Religion

LIVE LIKE YOU MEAN IT

Our religion must find expression in our everyday lives. George Albert Smith

A few things for Friday……

John 9:1-3
1And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
2And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
3Jesus answered, neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him

Lately I have had to take the bus and metro to work. Usually it is because of some car issue, either mine or my husbands. I am usually “put out” by this and I almost always have a bad attitude about it. But, the last time I had an opportunity to ride the bus to work was due to a flat tire, and I was blessed with a moment or two of clarity. I decided to change my attitude and look for opportunities to be a blessing in someone’s life. I really strive to come out of my comfort zone of shyness.
On the bus route I take, there is a young man who is blind, who rides also. He is always well dressed; he carries his guide stick, and lunch and a brief case. I often wonder who cares for him, and do they come to the bus stop at the end of his day? He climbs aboard the bus and pays his fare with little assistance. But, the passengers on the bus seem to care for him, because they make sure he is guided to his seat.
So on this day, I noticed that 2 passengers, a man and a woman were talking about this blind man. They were speaking in French. Apparently they hadn’t seen him in a few days and they wanted to make sure he got a seat on the bus. (I don’t speak French).
So the man got on the bus and the couple made sure he had a seat. They made such a loving fuss over him, but he didn’t seem to acknowledge them, but he said “Thank you”. After we all got off the bus, I saw the man walking toward the Metro terminal, maybe to another bus or train. I wondered who was going to take care of him then; did he expect this help every day?
I prayed in my heart to know how did God take care of the blind. Who keeps them safe? Who makes sure that they don’t step into oncoming traffic? At that point I felt the most amazing feeling of warmth that rose from my heart to my head.
So later that day…... I was sitting exhausted at the bus stop, waiting for the bus. I vaguely noticed a woman and a rather large young man walking toward me. The man sat down, really close to me and the lady started to talk to me. You know, you can see the mouth moving, but not hear the words. She was smiling and gestured toward the young man and I thought I heard her say “Could you please tell him when his bus comes?” Then she said good bye to the young man and disappeared into the crowd. So I wondered if she was talking to me. The young man was still sitting too close, and he was listening to his IPOD and singing. He was blind. So I wondered how to get his attention to ask what bus he rode. A bus pulled up and out of nowhere or maybe in the crowd a man came up to this man and told him his bus was here and guided him to the door. He got on the bus, paid his fare, while still listening to the IPOD and humming.
Somewhere I thought I heard someone laughing, well maybe not laughing but definitely a chuckle. So that’s how it’s done. We are our brother’s keeper.

2. I had a fresh take on this scripture:

James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

I wanted to know just who are those widows and orphans. An alternate definition of orphan is one that lacks support, supervision, or care. And the same for the widow is to deprive of anything cherished or needed.
Needless to say, a widow or orphan can be anyone who finds themselves, due to circumstances, in their control or out, to be deprived of support, care, even love and concern.

3 This Sunday the Relief Society lesson is" Living What We Believe, from the life of George Albert Smith." I was really intrigued by this lesson, especially after my last post of power walk scriptures to live by.
“

When he was 34 years old, George Albert Smith made a list of resolutions that he called his “personal creed”- 11 ideals that he committed to live by: From the life of George Albert Smith

This one stood out to me:

“I would visit the sick and afflicted and inspire in them a desire for faith to be healed”

Sometimes the “sick and afflicted” walk among us every day. They ride the bus to work and depend on the kindness of strangers to make their way home.

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE !!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR:2012 OR BUST

2011-12-30T14:35:00.000-05:00

CODY F MILLER

THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME BE MYSELF; AGAIN

Wow, 2012 is upon us. It’s a leap year, and it promises to be a good year. I am so excited.
2011 was a good year, it was a year that seemed to demand that loose ends be tied, that any procrastination stop and most of all fear is gone. In the Dec Ensign, President Eyring challenged all the believers to express their gratitude to our Heavenly Father in 100 different ways. So I thought about it and off the top of my head and the bottom of my heart I came up with about 51 items. I was surprised at what was on the list and I was immediately grateful and humbled and I even felt bad because I know that I had taken for granted quite a few things.

Here is a list of the top 10:
1. I am thankful for Agency; that I used to choose the Right
2. The Savior
3. A new heart, that continues to experience the “Mighty Change”
4. My husband and eternal partner
5. The Sealing Ordinance
6. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir and my once in a life time opportunity to see & hear them in concert this year.
7. Dr Jennifer B., a wonderful, kind Dentist who believes in “pain free” as much as possible.
8. The Book of Mormon
9. My good friend K. Miller, who is Thelma to my Louise
10. To be born, and living at this time.

So when I look at this list I fully realize how Heavenly Father has blessed me with all things, even a “pain free” dentist according to his riches in glory. I want to do my best and to be my best for God, worthy to be called a disciple. But I know in my “flawed” estate, it can be hard and I know I need some divine help in my every day walk. So instead of New Year’s resolutions, which never work, I have sought out what I call, “Earth shaking, and power walking scripture” to help me along my way.”

Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

This is a pretty powerful scripture, one to read daily before I "walk" out the door so to speak. The Apostle Paul is admonishing us or reminding us that we have been set at liberty by virtue of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Because of this, we have a responsibility to continue in that strait and narrow path and not be enticed by the sins of the world. Or rather revert to our old habit patterns of sin.

Doctrine & Covenants 84:54
And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief and because you have treated lightly the things you have received.

We are reminded to treasure this precious gift of “eternal life” that we have received.
One of my “fatal flaws” is that at times I become unsure of just who I am in this world. I become entangled with self doubt, and I tend to retreat instead of pushing forward and trusting in God. In Doctrine & Covenants 25, the Lord speaks directly to Emma Smith, wife of the Prophet Joseph Smith. During the time of this revelation, Joseph had just started to translate the golden plates. He and Emma had only been married a short time. I have a feeling that Emma’s sense of “who she was”, and her own carefully constructed identity was starting to falter. The Lord gave her much assurance in this revelation

Doctrine & Covenant 25:1-2
1 Hearken unto the voice of the Lord your God, while I speak unto you, Emma Smith, my daughter; for verily I say unto you, all those who receive my gospel are sons and daughters in my kingdom.
2 A revelation I give unto you concerning my will; and if thou art faithful and walk in the paths of virtue before me, I will preserve thy life, and thou shalt receive an inheritance in Zion.

I usually insert my name where Emma’s is because I know that the Lord is speaking to me also. But I asked the question, what is this path of virtue?

Philippians 4:8-9
8 Finally, brethren:

Whatsoever things are true,

Whatsoever things are noble,

Whatsoever things are just,

Whatsoever things are pure,

Whatsoever things are lovely,

Whatsoever things are of good report,

If there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.
9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

The final verses of Doctrine & Covenants 25, verses 10; 13-14 echo what is said in Philippians 4:8

Doctrine & Covenants 25:10:13-14
10 And verily I say unto thee that thou shalt lay aside the things of this world, and seek for the things of a better.
13 Wherefore, lift up thy heart and rejoice, and cleave unto the covenants which thou hast made.
14 Continue in the spirit of meekness, and beware of pride. Let thy soul delight in thy husband, and the glory which shall come upon him.
15 Keep my commandments continually, and a crown of righteousness thou shalt receive. And except thou do this, where I am you cannot come.

We are to lay aside and not become entangled “again” into the things of this world. But seek for those things which are true, noble, just, pure, and lovely and of a good report. We are to lift up our hearts and rejoice in our covenants that we have made. Wow!!
Beware of pride, which comes in all disguises,even self doubt, depression, murmurings. In Ether 12:27 the Lord gives insight into continuing in meekness

Ether 12:27
27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them

I have struggled with some of these issues and I thought that if I could just work them out myself, then I could serve better, be better, do better.I consider Ether 12:27 a life line, so for me this is an "Earth Shaking" promise.
And finally,

1 Nephi 10:19 For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old; and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round.

These are my personal “Power walk” Scripture. I know that there are more that I will be adding, but when I sought guidance, these scripture were all familiar to me. That is how God is. His words we have hidden or treasured up in our hearts that we may not have an occasion to sin against him and fall off that strait and narrow path.

Happy New Year everyone. The future’s so bright, we gotta wear shades

2011-12-23T15:15:00.000-05:00

Mary Did You Know?

Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you're holding is the great I am.

Have you heard this song? It is a beautiful and introspective song. Has anyone ever asked a new mother if she “knew” that her new baby girl or boy would turn out a certain way? How did they know?
How did Mary know? Of course the obvious answer could be that the Angel of the Lord, Gabriel told her. Did Mary listen to the records of Isaiah in the synagogue? Do you think that she would ever speculate that she would be chosen to be the mother of the Savior? Whenever I have read the account in Luke 1 concerning the “Annunciation”, or the visitation of Gabriel to Mary, I would always wonder, where was she when Gabriel appeared to her? In paintings she is seen kneeling near a small desk or table; most movies place her just casually walking in her neighborhood. She could be daydreaming, or just thinking and then “poof” “Hail Mary”. All of a sudden this glorious and awesome being is standing in front of you. He is speaking to you and telling you some amazing stuff and it concerns you Mary!! What would anyone in that situation do? Would you pass out from fear, would you run away?
According to Jewish tradition Mary was between 12-14 years old, betrothed to a man whose age is not given. She is engaged to be “taken in marriage” within 6months to a year according to the laws of matrimony at the time. During that time she must prepare herself to become a virtuous wife and mother, and keep herself chaste and out of trouble until the big day. She has moved out of her own family home into that of her husband’s family.

“In keeping with Jewish custom, the betrothal would have taken place when she was around 12 and the birth of Jesus about a year later” Wikipedia: Mary Mother of Jesus
“The most typical marriageable age for a girl was just after puberty. At twelve or thirteen, she would still most likely do exactly what her father told her to do. So, if the marriage was something the father wanted, his daughter generally consented. Once married, the young woman typically moved from her father's house to her husband's. As for the wedding, the ancient Israelites surely had them, but the Bible sheds little light on the ceremony. Most likely, families followed whatever local customs in the couple's village or region dictated.”

So I have been “searching” for Mary in the scriptures and I can tell you that she is “mentioned” in the most subtle and humble of circumstances. In ancient times, a person was known or recognized not only by their name and family ties, but also by their purpose in life. A woman’s entire purpose in that time was to be a good wife and a good mother.

Proverbs 31:10-11
10 Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies.
11 The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain.

I found a reference to Mary in Psalm 116:16

16 O LORD, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and {of} the son {Jesus} of thine handmaid {Mary}: thou hast loosed my bonds. (Atonement)

(In scripture children are most often identified with their father’s name, not often with the mother).
I searched through a few translations; it seems that the more “archaic” the translation, the closer to the original intent and meaning of the verse it is.

Psalm 116 is a psalm of David, his testimony in this verse is that he is not only a servant of Heavenly Father, but also of the Son, who is Jesus Christ, who is the son of the handmaid (Mary) of God. Awesome, there she is David spoke of her in her “calling” or station of purpose” for her life.

Mary is here also in Genesis 3:15

15And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise his heel.

The “her” referenced here is Mary, a daughter of Eve, and her seed is Jesus the Christ.
In the book of Mormon, Nephi has a vision or revelation of Mary and of the infant Jesus. Nephi describes her in this manner:

1 Nephi 1:13-15
13 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city of Jerusalem and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth. I beheld a virgin and she was exceedingly fair and white.
14: And it came to pass that I saw the heavens open and an angel came down and stood before me and he said unto me: Nephi what beholdest thou?
15: And I said unto him: A virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins.

Nephi describes Mary as a virgin who was exceedingly fair and white. I have heard some explain that fair and white meant that she was beautiful and white symbolizes her spiritual purity. So I checked out the definitions of fair and white in Miriam Webster and here is what I found:
Fair: unblemished and White is pure and innocent. These words have been used to describe the requirements for a lamb for sacrifice. The sacrificial lamb must be unspotted, free from blemish. I am not sure if the color “white” is a requirement because sheep come in a variety of breeds and colors, but possibly within those coloration's, there is a perfect blend of color and skin tone.

So Mary is ascribed the attributes of a perfect lamb for sacrifice, or in her case offering. She would represent a ewe lamb, which is female.
The account in Luke 1:26-28 validates what Nephi saw. What a gift Nephi was given, to have actually seen a foreshadowing of those events

Luke 1:26-28
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women

Where was Mary during this encounter? In my search for information concerning ancient Hebrew traditions, she would have probably been praying, possibly in the Temple since Hebrews prayed 3 times a day. Now compare this to the young Joseph Smith, who went into a secluded grove and fell on his knees to seek out the Lord with the desires of his heart.
What was Mary’s prayer? Did she know? Had she pondered the prophecies of the coming Messiah? Mary’s linage was also of the house of David. Do you think that all of the young women of that “House” considered that they could be the mother of the Messiah?

In 1 Samuel 1, I found Hannah, who is called “handmaiden” of the Lord, for she is a type and a shadow of Mary.Hannah was barren, but her heart’s desire was to be a good wife and a mother of children.

1 Samuel 1:9-11
9 So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the tabernacle of the LORD.
10 And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD and wept in anguish.
11 Then she made a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your handmaiden and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your handmaiden a male child, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.”

It is an honor to be called the handmaiden of the Lord. It is not random, because this calling is one that requires great faith, worthiness and it calls for at times extreme sacrifice. For Hannah, she “vowed a vow” that if the Lord would grant her a “male child” she would “give him to the Lord all the days of his life”. Her son was the prophet Samuel, who by no coincidence anointed David as King of Israel.
Another “handmaiden” in the scriptures was Emma Smith. Do you see how these women’s lives intersected? Emma was married to the Prophet Joseph Smith.

President John Taylor, the third President of the Church, wrote, "Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the Lord, has done more, save Jesus only, for the salvation of men in this world, than any other man that ever lived in it" (D&C 135:3).

Her sacrifice was great, right from the start. Her family opposed her marriage to Joseph and eventually she would leave them and never see them again. Many of her children died a birth or at a young age. The threat of death or peril was always on her husband’s head. I am sure that this was hard on her and Joseph and probably put a strain on their marriage. She asked in a prayer,” How much can one heart take? “The Lord spoke to her in D&C 25. Imagine the honor it is, as a woman to have a record of the Lords words to you.

Doctrine and Covenants 25
1 Hearken unto the voice of the Lord your God, while I speak unto you, Emma Smith, my daughter; for verily I say unto you, all those who receive my gospel are sons and daughters in my kingdom.
2 A revelation I give unto you concerning my will; and if thou art faithful and walk in the paths of virtue before me, I will preserve thy life, and thou shalt receive an inheritance in Zion.
3 Behold, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou art an elect lady, whom I have called.
4 Murmur not because of the things which thou hast not seen, for they are withheld from thee and from the world, which is wisdom in me in a time to come.
5 And the office of thy calling shall be for a comfort unto my servant, Joseph Smith, Jun., thy husband, in his afflictions, with consoling words, in the spirit of meekness.

This revelation was given to Emma, at the very beginning, when Joseph started translating the Book of Mormon. Can you feel the love of the Lord in those verses? The Lord is asking Emma, as with Mary,and Hannah and yes even you and I, for faith in Him and obedience, even complete obedience.

Again in D&C 132:54, the Lord remembers Emma Smith and her state of mind during a time of great trial; the Lord calls her “handmaid”.

54 And I command mine handmaid, Emma Smith, to abide and cleave unto my servant Joseph, and to none else. But if she will not abide this commandment she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord; for I am the Lord thy God, and will destroy her if she abide not in my law

Mary’s calling:

Luke 1:30-33
30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

I can see a pattern with the lives of these women, from Mother Eve whose calling was to be the mother of all the living, and to love her husband. Hannah voluntarily vowed to "lend" her son Samuel for the Lords great purpose,it was not accident. And Mary, who history has portrayed as a simple peasant girl, but when you search out the scriptures, she was anything but simple. Mary knew that she knew.

Mary’s Testimony:

Luke 1:34 Then said Mary unto the angel, how shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

God Assurance: Luke 1:35-37

35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”

Mary’s obedience: Luke 1:38

38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her

So what did Mary know?

Joel 2:27-29
27 Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the LORD your God, and there is no other.
My people shall never be put to shame.
28 “ And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.
29 And also on my menservants and on my handmaids, I will pour out My Spirit in those days

I would ask, can we know what Mary knew? Can we obtain favor with our Heavenly Father? Yes we can.

"Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the first principle of the gospel and is more than mere belief. Faith is a “hope for things which are not seen, which are true.” “Faith always moves its possessor to … physical and mental action.”“To have faith in Jesus Christ means to have such trust in him that we obey whatever he commands. There is no faith where there is no obedience.”
Faith comes from hearing the word of God and is a spiritual gift. Faith increases when we not only hear, but act on the word of God as well; in obedience to the truths we have been taught.
Mary’s reply to the angel’s announcement provides an excellent example. Mary was told by the angel Gabriel: “Thou shall conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest.” Mary then obediently said to Gabriel, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” Help Thou Mine Unbelief” Elder Whitney Clayton of the seventy

Merry Christmas everyone, celebrate love.

THOUGHTS FOR FRIDAY: CHRISTMAS CARDS

2011-12-09T12:46:00.000-05:00

The Birth of Jesus: Cody F. Miller

Luke 2:1-14

1And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.
2(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
4And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
5To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
6And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
7And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
8And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Last Saturday I bought my 2011 Christmas cards. You know in my fantasy life, I live in the White House, and of course every year I design a special card for that Christmas season and everyone will treasure it and keep it, even auction it on EBay. But seriously, I love picking out cards to send all of my friends and family. I think that it is becoming a lost art, with email, evite,photo shop,etc.
I remember my first Christmas's. My mother was the center of my world, and to me every thing she did was indeed magic. She loved sending out Christmas cards, and she would allow me to put the stamps on the envelopes, back then you had to lick them. All of the cards had glitter. Most depicted Christmas trees and snowmen, and of course the baby Jesus in the manger. I remember Christmas being all about the Baby Jesus.
So the Christmas card I found was to say the least, audacious. The card is long like a rectangle, and white. On the front the scripture from Luke 2:1-14 is written and in the middle of the writing is a picture of Mary cuddling Jesus.
What's so amazing about this card is that it spoke to my heart. It was a brave little card, and it had the nerve to put that entire scripture record on the front, with a picture of the mother and child. So as I read the record of Luke, the Holy Spirit did bear witness to me in my heart, that these things are true.And like the Grinch, my heart grew a few sizes larger and I knew.
Every Christmas is a little different for me. My favorite one was when I decided to be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I learned a lot of things about the Saviour during this time and how to have a wonderful Christmas without the worldly hoopla, the black Fridays and Super Tuesdays. Even now, I feel a sense of anticipation that I haven't really felt in the past. We are waiting for the Savior. Those of us who know and serve and love the Savior. We are waiting for His arrival. There are birth pains and threatenings of higher taxes. We have all but lost faith in our elected officials, citizens run amok, holding towns hostage with violence. We are waiting and as we wait, we are anxiously involved in a good work.
"Peace on earth and good will to all men". The Lord consoled us in the book of John, when we mourned the time of his crucifixion, his leaving of us. What will become of us? we said. He said be of good cheer, fear not, my peace I leave you, not the peace of this world." It is a perfect peace that surpasses the understanding of the world.

Monday Devotional

2011-12-05T15:45:00.000-05:00

GOD ON THE BUS
Have you had this happen; A flat tire on a Monday, had to take the Metro, which you made it to the stop in 5 minutes flat. Missed the train,and after huffing up the escalator, missed the shuttle, only to find out that the shuttle bus was broken down too.
Last year I wrote a post about a song called "God on the Bus". Its a cool little song, and the singer wondered if God "was one of us", just a stranger on the bus, trying to make his way home, Would we speak to Him.
So as I was struggling to hold my purse and lunch in the bus line, a young lady asked if she could look at my book of Mormon Student manual. I said are you sure you want to look at this book, she said sure, I love to look at pictures of Jesus. This statement led to a really interesting and deeply spiritual conversation. She asked the question: "Can you see God?" I replied that "Although you cannot "see" God in the present, when we love our Heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ, and we follow him. He wants us to love him with everything we have, heart, might and mind and then he wants us to also share that love with our fellow man. I said its easy to love someone we know, but the challenge is to love and care for those we don't know. When you help someone, speak kind words, give a pan handler a couple of bucks, notice their response and notice their smiles of gratitude, then you see God.
God does ride the bus.

THE GOOD SON: FINDING MYSELF IN THE BOOK OF MORMON

2011-12-01T16:33:00.000-05:00

KELLY RAE ROBERTS

2 Timothy 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Have you experienced those “spiritual” growing pains, but then how would you know? It starts with the courage to believe and then to enter the pool of baptism. It can also be that “Mighty Change of Heart”. So this on Dec 29 I will note my 4th year of baptism. Is there a celebration for this, I haven’t heard of too many people marking this with balloons or parties, or whatever. But then I think we should mark each anniversary with reflection, prayer and with a review. My thoughts are this, how is our growth measured post baptism? I am speaking as a recent convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and to other converts, but not exclusively. When I was taking discussions post baptism, I wondered if there was a “Dummies” book. You know the “_____” for Dummies books. There is a “Mormonism for Dummies” book.

So recently I have been attending a Book of Mormon Study Group. This is where the scriptures really pop. When I was investigating the Church, my primary assignment was to read the Book of Mormon. I tried, and I did read some, but I struggled. I know that Missionaries have a Study Plan for investigators, and it is usually contingent on the one who is seeking to desire the book. At that time, I don’t know if I was seeking but I know I was waiting for God to point me in the direction of a new church, I just didn’t expect a new set of scriptures. So it was hard, and my missionaries almost gave up on me, but they persevered. I remember slogging through 1 Nephi, specifically chapters 1-5. I was really frustrated with the brothers Laman and Lemuel. They were a piece of work, and how about that Nephi? One minute he’s a kid, a teenager living the good life and then he’s camping in the wilderness. He is narrating the record and he is a prophet. It was too much for me, but I wanted to have a testimony of the Book of Mormon . So another tactic, I was introduced to Joseph Smith, the founding Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS. I only knew the “hearsay” concerning him. So I watched the movie about his life, and I identified with him, as one who was seeking, who was not perfect, but had a whole hearted love for God and Jesus Christ. And because of a single and heartfelt desire, he was granted a personal visit from the Father and the Son. Ok, I believe and I know the truth. (How simple was that?)

My question was then; “Is that it, is that all?” How do you get to do the good stuff? What is that good stuff anyway? When does it start?

One of God’s promises to me in my Patriarchal Blessing was that “I would learn to love the Book of Mormon and it would become a beloved book to me just like the Bible.” It’s started…..

For this class, I bought myself a small Triple (Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants and Pearl of Great Price).and at first I thought I should transcribe some of my notes from my Quad. But I felt I should write fresh notes, different observations. I have taken the advice and challenge of Sister Julie Beck, a challenge from her talk in 2010 at the BYU Women’s Conference:

“I have a little exercise for those of you who want something specific to do in your scripture study. Get a new little copy of the Book of Mormon. In the front of it, open to a blank page and write three questions: Who am I? What are my responsibilities in the house of Israel? How do I fulfill my responsibilities? As you read and study, you will find some blank pages in the back. You can add Post-it notes if you like. Start writing your answers in the back as you read and you will have a journey of discovery about who you are. It doesn’t matter how long this study takes. Take one month, take ten years, and discover who you are. When you finish studying those questions in the Book of Mormon, study them in the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price, and the Old Testament. The Lord knows who you are. He knows what your responsibilities are and how you can fulfill them. Power and strength will come to you as you understand who you are in the Lord’s kingdom.” Julie B. Beck Relief Society General President

That first question was a hard one: Who am I? I can add to that question, can Heavenly Father help me to find out who I am? How will I know?

EPHESIANS 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

I think that 1 Nephi 1-1 should be noted as one of the most profound introductions to a book and/or character study.

1 Nephi 1:1 I Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father, and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless having been highly favored of the Lord in all of my days; yea having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God, therefore I make a record of my proceedings in my days

My question for Nephi is what did he do to become highly favored?

1 Nephi 2:16 And it came to pass that I Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God,, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers.

I was surprised to note that Nephi’s heart was softened so that he could receive the word of God as the truth. At first I thought that Nephi was maybe the son who was like an ally to his father. He was his “Dads boy” so to speak. But I remember that even though I truly wanted to find a new church and to have confirmation in my life that God knew who I was, my heart was not soft. As a matter of fact, I felt at times it was frozen. I don’t think I was a diligent as Nephi, but after all of my lessons, one missionary gave a moving testimony of Joseph Smith. She spoke in her own words about how he suffered so much to establish the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, how he gave himself as a martyr for the faith.

Romans 10:16-18
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

I found some characteristics that Nephi had that I want to emulate; He was a good son, a good brother. He had 2 very obnoxious siblings in Laman and Lemuel but somehow he saw beyond that and loved them anyway. He sought out a relationship with his Father Lehi. If you read the history of the Jews in the Old Testament during this time period, the times were much like our own. Children were at odds with their parents, and parents were feeling displaced, even in their own homes. Nephi was an obedient son.

Philippians 2:13-15
13For it is God which worketh in you; both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
14Do all things without murmurings and disputing
15That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

Wow, this is so much to take in. I did not see this my first or even 2nd attempt a reading the Book of Mormon. All of this info came to my heart, even this week. I love the way that God shows us that we all have many things in common and that is a good thing. By having things in common we can learn from each other and become what God wants us to be.
So the question is asked: Who am I? I believe that I am a "daughter" of God.

Nephite was a sunbeam.

PERSONAL 5 (SCRIPTURE TO GET YOU THROUGH TOUGH TIMES)

2011-11-18T09:56:00.000-05:00

Cody F, Miller

If you were stranded on a deserted island or maybe you were the lone survivor of a plane crash, do you have at least 5 scriptures hidden in your heart that would help you through it?

The closest I would come to being stranded, would have to be sheltering in at work, on a Friday, in the event of a snow storm and of course the usual mania on the Beltway. I imagine in that instance, I would have already packed a 72 hr kit, charged up my portable DVD player and portable lantern and they are in my office. (Not so much). Of course I would have some food stashed in case of electrical failure. I am searching in my imaginary kit, and I hope I at least put a Book of Mormon in there. But what if I am stranded, with no kit, no book, and no food? I can tell you that everywhere I go I have at least 1 bottle of water.

One of my favorite movies is “Castaway” with Tom Hanks. The very title implies that he was not only stranded, but literally cast away from his friends, family and life. The mindset of the people he loved back home was that he was gone and there was nothing they could do about it. His character was a survivor and one of the more telling moments in the movie was his “surreal” relationship with a soccer ball, Wilson.
I know that if I were stranded on a deserted island, I would be hysterical for at least a week. The first thing I would probably do is to kick myself for not having something in my pocket or purse to eat or even start a fire with. It sound’s irrational but then I am sure I would be. After about an hour of recriminations I would have to face reality and get into survival mode.
I was inspired by a book that I have never read (yet), but I listened to some of the MP3 recording. It is a book by a man named John Byetheway
When Times Are Tough: 5 Scriptures That Will Help You Get Through Almost Anything"

Earth life has been characterized as a series of tests, trials, temptations, and tragedies, but through the gospel and the scriptures, our Heavenly Father has given us answers that will help us survive and find joy in the midst of our troubles.
So writes bestselling author John Bytheway in When Times Are Tough. In this uplifting book for all ages, the author shows how power, hope, and perspective are found in the scriptures. In addition to identifying five scriptures that will help us get through difficult time, John offers scriptural insights that will strengthen marriages, improve family relationships, build faith, and motivate to action. In his distinctive way, John explains how we can be lifted by the gospel when times are easy and lean on the gospel "when times are tough

I feel that we are at times "cast away" in this world, through trials and just everyday life. I feel that every day I walk out of my door, I need to be fortified and have something to help me brace myself for the oncoming assault. Lately some of my fears have come to fruition, earthquakes at work, white out snow storms that clog the roads for more than 24 hrs and getting stuck in my car on them. I believe that our temporal survival hinges on our spiritual strength. Its OK to be scared, but have a plan too. So I thought about 5 verses that would help me in a "cast away" type of situation:

I am not good a foraging for food.....
Psalms 81:1010 I am the Lord your God, Who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.

I am afraid of the dark, and things that go bump......
Psalm 91:5
You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
I would hate to be alone.......
Psalm 46:1
God is our refuge and strength,A very present help in trouble.
I think that I would spend a lot of time talking to myself; pretty much as I do now, but I want to exercise rational thoughts: The Lord is our cheerleader
Samuel 22:32-34

“For who is God, except the LORD?And who is a rock, except our God?
God is my strength and power,And He makes my way perfect.
I would need to have proof that I was not alone, and I had a chance of being rescued, but most of all that the Lord was there to "see about me" That I could "hang in there" for my rescue.
Hebrews 6:10-12

For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end,

Thy word have I hid in my heart.....

2011-11-11T15:04:00.000-05:00

BUZZ!!!!!!!.......

Have you heard it, that noise, that rabble. Lately the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints "has been in the news, and the irony of understatement is not lost on me. I had a conversation with a man, and it started out with me asking if he was from Utah. I am not from Utah, but I have quite a few friends from there, and there is a distinct "accent". So I asked this man if he was from Utah. He said "What? No, do I sound like a Mormon? Then he asked me if I was Mormon, and I said yes, I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints." So then he said, "looks like we're going to have a "Mormon" President". He asked what my views were of Brother Romney, and I told him that I did not know a lot about him as a politician, but he seems like a nice person with good values. So that was the end of that conversation.
Today another co-worker asked if I had watched the debates. Most people ask me that, and I tell them that there is better television to watch . Of course I am then regaled with all of the antics and drama and comparing of religions.So I take the opportunity to be a good missionary, and pose a question? Do you believe in God? This question is usually a stumper for most people. This is a yes or no question, but most people have approached this question like a therapy session. The upside of this particular conversation was that I invited this person to visit our church. He says that he and his wife would like to find a church, where they can raise their children. Wow, what a statement. He and his wife don't have any children yet but I get the impression that there are some waiting in the wings. A place to raise your children, what a concept. I believe in my heart that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the place.

So for Fix it Friday, I found some really great quotes from past and present President's of the Church.

“We desire it distinctly understood that "Mormonism," as it is called, has come to the world to stay.” ( Conference Report, Oct. 1903, 4.) Joseph F. Smith

The time has come for us to stand a little taller, to lift our eyes and stretch our minds to a greater comprehension and understanding of the grand millennial mission of this, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” ( “This Is the Work of the Master,” in Conference Report, Apr. 1995, 95.) Gordon P Hinckley

Let us have the courage to defy the consensus, the courage to stand for principle. Courage, not compromise, brings the smile of God’s approval. Courage becomes a living and an attractive virtue when it is regarded not only as a willingness to die manfully, but also as a determination to live decently. A moral coward is one who is afraid to do what he thinks is right because others will disapprove or laugh. Remember that all men have their fears, but those who face their fears with dignity have courage as well.” ( “The Call for Courage,” Ensign, May 2004, 55–56.) Thomas S Monson

“One of the main purposes of our existence is that we might conform to the image and likeness of Him who sojourned in the flesh without blemish—immaculate, pure and spotless! Christ came not only to atone for the sins of the world, but to set an example before all men and to establish the standard of God's perfection, of God's law, and of obedience to the Father.” ( Improvement Era, Dec. 1917, 104.)Joseph F.Smith

I love the challenge in the first quote by President Joseph F Smith, that we desire the world to know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is here to stay. Amen Brother.

In light of all of this, lets not go fighting battles, but I think that these are the times to exercise the pure love of Christ and to look for opportunities to be a good missionary. Invite someone to church, go pick them up if you have too.
HAPPY FRIDAY

REAL INTENT

2011-11-03T11:37:00.011-04:00

MORONI 10:4

4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost

I have been attending a Book of Mormon Study Group, and last night was our 2nd meeting. Our teacher is a former bishop of the ward. He has a wealth of knowledge and experiences and tid bits and he is a really good teacher. I love how the class is organizing, we seem to be following the "Book of Mormon Timeline" that is featured in the Oct issue of the Ensign.We are starting with the history of the Jaredites, along with other info pertaining to Joseph Smith and the translating of the plates. So last evening, our teacher started the class by reading a list of names that included Jesus Christ,and his original 12 apostles, the Nephite 12, and Moroni just to name a few, and the list ended with Eve. So after reading this long list, he looked us, and then he said this was a list of the known names of beings who visited and assisted Joseph Smith while he was translating the Book of Mormon. There was complete silence, and then someone asked him if it was true. He said that all of the information concerning this can be found in books,talks,etc, he had a list if we wanted it. I was impressed, because I have a very short history with the Book of Mormon.

I thought about this a lot during the class, and I got the impression that we/I had better take this class seriously. Our teacher warned us last week that the class was serious business.
It's all coming back to me now, and it usually does. During my investigation of the Church, the missionaries would come over and endeavor teach the Book of Mormon to me and my husband. It was hard for me because I found it to be foreign. I did my best, but I was not a good pupil, I wouldn't read my lessons and my husband would hog the conversation.I did believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and I found it credible that he would be chosen to restore the Gospel. My patriarchal blessing promised that I would learn to love the Book of Mormon as well as I love the Bible. Its true, I do and now I want to learn of it.
Moroni warns us in Moroni 10:4 that we should pursue this with real intent, having a sincere heart and most of all faith in Jesus Christ.

As I was sitting in that class, it occurred to me that everyone in the class will be held accountable for how we conduct ourselves, how we prepare ourselves. We must study our book of Mormon and try to come to as many classes fully prepared to participate.

Ezra 7: 10 For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.

WEEK-AT-A-GLANCE

2011-10-31T13:17:00.000-04:00

Peace, Love and Understanding (This is a post in progress, and I have been working on it since last Monday,so here we are, Monday again.)
Time & Space: It occurs to me that the concept of "TIME" is a true reality only to each person. We as beings inhabit time in our own moments. I say this because, here it is,Monday again, and I seem to be doing much of the same activities that I was doing last week, at pretty much the same time. The names and faces of the innocent have been changed for their protection.
So here we go:

Tuesday Oct 25 2011Can you stop “Late” from happening! Have you heard this one, “God created time….So he could take a day off” LOL:) I know, my husband told me this one, and when I thought about it, I got such a giggle.

So, this past week, I have been commuting to work on the metro bus and train. It started out pretty dicey this past Tuesday morning. The first bus (5:29 sharp), did not show up. I have to wonder if that bus driver called in sick, or maybe this was a different route than he was used to and he drove his regular route. Back before budget cuts, when a bus went missing, a route supervisor would travel the route stops and at least let customers know what the problem was, maybe give tokens for a free ride. Not so any more, the budget cuts did not allow for customer service and certainly no one rides for free.
So, I had to take the 6:00 am bus, which if you do the math, put me 1.5 hrs late for the whole day. It was just too funny to get mad, but I was though. And I let that 6:00 am bus driver know it in a nice way. I finally made it to the Metro, and I totally blanked on how to buy a ticket, because I haven’t had to take the Metro since last year this time. (Why? that’s a whole different post). So I am preparing for my stop, which has two sides, and I can’t remember which way to go, left or right, so I went left and as I came off the escalator, I thought I had landed on Mars. Luckily for me, some nice old guys handing out newspapers were very helpful. For the rest of the week I had to remember to go right.
I am always amazed at how the Lord prepares our hearts to face the “dailyness” of everyday life. For sure the behavior of people that we interact with will drive you to distraction or cause some serious speculation on bodily harm. We are “acted upon” whether we want it or not. But how do we defend ourselves against the "agency" as it were of others. Those who choose to love and those who only love themselves. I remember praying once and I was impressed upon to "Put upon the whole armour of God.". This impression has stayed with me for a while and I believe that the potency of the armour of God is :
Three things; Peace, Love, and Understanding. I know, what’s love got to do with a missed bus? Plenty.

Matthew 22:35-40
35 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying,
36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself

A man asked Jesus, what is the greatest commandment, and of course Jesus had a two fold answer that had one meaning. He said first we are to love God, meaning himself also, and to love one another. I am sure that was a stumper, because no more is said about it. So what does love have to do with missing the bus and changing the course of a day?
The Apostle Paul preaches that love is a gift, that must be shared. He says that no matter who you think you are, what talents and gifts you have, without love, you are nothing, and those gifts you may have are of no effect, they won't work without it.

1 Corinthians 13:1;4-7
¹ Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;
5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;
6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things

1 Corinthians 13:8 Love never fails.

Have you heard this song by Elvis Costello, "What so funny about Peace,Love and Understanding"

As i walk through

This wicked world
Searchin' for light in the darkness of insanity.

I ask myself
Is all hope lost?
Is there only pain and hatred, and misery?

And each time i feel like this inside,
There's one thing i wanna know:
What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding? ohhhh
What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding?

I think that throughout most of these endeavors, I showed restraint, and then I started to think about people's attitude toward me. Most of the people who were a part of this "space, time continuum "behaved very nice and were helpful to me. I realized that I was going to have to "renew" my mind as it were and be patient, because I was travelling through the speed of the Light of the Saviour, and I got to work basically around the same time as I do when I drive in. Go figure!!

My husbands truck is out of order, so he is driving my car in, we work different shifts, no bus his way, etc. This is where peace and understanding comes in. I would like to remind my husband of the time warp continuum, where if you do not take control of a situation the first time around, it will continue on the merri-go round until you fix it.

There is a lesson in all of this, even today, Monday Oct 31, when I came to work on what is ususally my day off, and my boss is here. I ask her why is she here ?and the conversations goes on...
Who should I be upset with, her for her garbled and misleading communication, or me for not taking a moment to pay attention?
Peace, love and understanding.

Isaiah 26:3-4
3Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

4Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:

Aha moment; Our minds and hearts are one, and when we purpose to keep them in line and focused on the Savior, He becomes our guiding light. We may still miss a bus, but we will be right on time for what ever. We may have do some extra time at work, but we will be blessed in the end.

COUNT YOUR BLESSING MONDAY

2011-10-17T11:57:00.000-04:00

So today is Count your Blessings Monday. I have been thinking about a lot of stuff these days.
Here it is:
For the past month, my work computer has been dying a slow death. It was like anticipating where that "dead" satellite was going to crash(oops bad computer speak) land.

So I asked my handy IS representative if he could check out the problem, he said no problem, you need a new computer, and that was that. So he reported later that when he put in a request for the new computer, it was turned down. Someone had recorded (erroneously) that I had refused a new computer during a recent upgrade. Why would I do that? I asked my boss to intervene, and she gave me the "Don't hold your breath" lecture. That I wasn't on a priority list, the chance of getting a new computer, was slim and a snow ball in a hot place. I love a challenge. So the IS man offered to "re-image" my computer. A quick fix, but short term. I went for it because anything is better than a dying computer. I took a much needed 3-day weekend and hoped for the best. It was better than best,my boss left me a note to say I received a new computer. Wow. Thanks.
So this weekend was set aside for "Stake Temple Day". My husband and I looked forward to this day,but we were not prepared. There is a lot to said about "preparing your heart" for the Temple. The spirit was willing but the body was not ready. So we did not go, and I felt bad about it all day. But on Friday my husband suggested that we invite some very dear friends to have some "Bar be Que". He has a new grill that he got himself for his birthday. (You know how that is). It rained the entire day, but the sun came out eventually. As it turned out, our friends were really blessed with this gesture. They had experienced a recent death in their family and was preparing to mourn. I am glad we were able to send them off with a good meal and some love.
Lately I have been beating my self up because of my less than desirable organizing skills. My husband and I both work,and sometimes we literally kiss each other hello and goodbye at the same time.

Sometimes after a long day of tedium, I want to come home and be productive, I have an entire list. So I prayed about it, but I had to build a testimony that Heavenly Father can help us to motivate our mind and body.
I have noticed that since I started to walk up more steps, and take less elevators, my breathing has improved and walking actually feels better.(The skinny jeans are a distant possibility). So much better that I found the strength to do some major cleaning this weekend. It was a 4 advil kind of day, but it was all good.

But when I woke up on Sunday, I was not as enthusiastic to get up and go to Church. So I felt in my heart that the Lord had a lesson for me and that if I would just make the effort I would be blessed. So I did, and I was late, but I made it. This is what I learned:

Mosiah 2:17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God

More and more I realize that my life,our lives and not just about us.I suppose that when we can come to a realization, that the layers and excuses and murmerings we build up around our hearts and mind, can be easily shed with love. Just as I know that Heavenly Father heard my "complaints" and took them seriously and allowed an answer, a result,a warm feeling in my heart. I am realizing slowly how much He loves me,not just because of the "stuff", but the fact that he cared enough to hear me and even grant my petition.
So the best part of Sunday, was getting a sweet hug from one of my primary students. Hugs from children are the closest thing to hugs from Heavenly Father.

2011-10-04T16:21:00.000-04:00

PROVERBS 31:10

KEEPING OUR EYES ON THE PRIZE
Every now and then I like to indulge in junk food, including junk food TV. I know it can be mindless and mind numbing, but sometimes a lesson can be learned, if you stay awake.
So, I was watching an episode of “Rachael Zoe”. You know she is a Hollywood stylist fronting her life on “Reality TV.” She is one busy woman, who has it all. She’s got the great job, the great house, and the supportive handsome husband, etc. She has the “Golden Ticket”. But wait, there’s more, she is 6 months pregnant with her first child. It’s all that and a bag of chips too. But she doesn’t seem to grasp the life changing implications of this, because, oh yeah, she’s a work a holic too. Her husband has obviously prayed for this baby, and in one scene he tells her that she must begin to change her priorities; she must delegate her work schedule to her partners. This is what he said to her, “You need to keep your eyes on the prize!!” She said yes I know my new business, he said no, Keep your eyes on the prize and he pointed to her belly, and said, this is the prize, nothing else matters”. For once, Rachael Zoe was literally speechless. What else could she say?

Wow, I thought, where do husbands get this wisdom? Where does it come from? Who told Rachael’s husband the secrets of fatherhood? The secrets of family. So I called my husband and thanked him, because sometimes when I am listening to him, he spouts out profound wisdom and good advice that I know I should pay better attention to.

I have been reading the transcript of Sister Julie B Becks talk at the 2011 BYU Women’s Conference. It is awesome, a continuing dialogue of her talk from 2010. If you have not had an opportunity to read this talk, and literally pour over it, please hop over to http://womensconference.byu.edu Look under transcripts.

She gives a clear and uncompromising answer to what a woman’s responsibility is in this society, whether she is married, single, divorced, etc. I am going to put in this big fat quote, it is long and detailed, but when you read it, it is a power punch that will knock you off your feet.

The first thing I had learned from the history of Relief Society is that it strengthens and supports the unique identity of daughters of God. Our Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, love, value and rely on their daughters. God’s daughters, we know, have equal importance in His sight with His sons. They have unique responsibilities and duties in the plan of salvation, and they share some responsibilities in the plan with Heavenly Father’s sons. They also have a unified purpose in our Heavenly Father’s plan with His sons.
There is an interesting, exciting, and unique female identity of greatness, richness that is choice beyond comparison. And this identity that the Lord has given us and that we understand through the gospel of Jesus Christ is in direct contrast to the debased and devalued identity of women that we find in the world today. We find an elevated, strong identity that comes from our Heavenly Father. This identity and purpose can only be fully understood through a spiritual confirmation. There is an intellectual study that can be made, but a spiritual confirmation is what teaches us who we are and what we are to do. There is much out in the world that is false by way of identity. There are identities of sensuality, women seeking power, prestige, money, leisure—all of these things are different identities. But the identity of a daughter of God is precious beyond compare, and rich, and full.
We know that women are the guardians of the hearth and the home. And they have the responsibility for the hearts and souls of men and women and the children of our Heavenly Father. They are given this powerful and influential leadership role. Female responsibilities include being a wife; include being a mother, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a friend. This is all about nurturing, teaching, and influencing. These are non-negotiable responsibilities. We can’t delegate them. We can accept them and live them, but these are things we understood before we were born, and we can’t negotiate with the Lord about whether or not these are our responsibilities. They have been part of the plan from the beginning; they are not going to change because of any clamor to the contrary. These are our responsibilities. Julie B Beck

Sister Beck says: “There is an interesting, exciting, and unique female identity of greatness, richness that is choice beyond comparison. And this identity that the Lord has given us and that we understand through the gospel of Jesus Christ……”

Proverbs 31; Verse 10 poses either a question or a challenge. Who can find a virtuous woman or wife? Because her worth is far above rubies. Have you watched some of the shows on TV where people can purchase buckets of rocks that may or may not have gemstones in them? You can literally purchase a big bucket of “rocks” from a specific mine that will quarry either rubies or sapphires or whatever. A person only needs a chisel and hammer to start. You could spend all day looking for that perfect stone, but I found out some criteria for the perfect ruby;

First, supply and demand determine the price as do size and color. Like diamonds, color is one important determining factor for the price and rarity of the ruby. The cut of the ruby is another determining factor of its price and value. The advice for beginning prospectors is to examine at least ten different rubies and choose the few which satisfy you. Your final group of rubies should have slight variations in size, color, cut, and clarity so the worth of a ruby is subjective, and the choice determines the worth, compared to others in the same category.

So suffice it to say, that the worth of a ruby is based in part by supply and demand, and then the color, size and cut of the stone. But most of all it is subjective to the one who searches for this stone and the stone itself must possess all of these qualities. The worth of the stone is determined by the virtue of that stone.

Proverbs 10:31:10 Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies.

"We didn't come to earth to gain our worth, we brought it with us," Sherry Dew

I would encourage you to go back and read Proverbs 31:10-31 in its entirety. I am sure Sister Beck was inspired by the listing of the attributes of a daughter of God. I remember reading this after my husband and I were sealed. I thought to myself, I want to be this woman, but she seems to be such an over-achiever. Now I can revisit this Daughter and I see that I can be her, I have even accomplished some of her many tasks. I taught a lesson in the Relief Society that focused on 7 key virtues of Women of God. The inspiration for this teaching came from Doctrine & Covenants 25:1-2 (Just say your name instead of Emma Smith, it makes a big difference.)

1 Hearken unto the voice of the Lord your God, while I speak unto you, Emma Smith, my daughter; for verily I say unto you, all those who receive my gospel are sons and daughters in my kingdom.

2 A revelation I give unto you concerning my will; and if thou art faithful and walk in the paths of virtue before me, I will preserve thy life, and thou shalt receive an inheritance in Zion.

Here are at least 7 key virtues of women of God: Faith, Knowledge, Obedience, Purity and Integrity and Identity

FAITH: Incorporates patience

KNOWLEDGE: We attain knowledge by study. Study the scriptures daily, ponder over them; think about them. Pray daily

OBEDIENCE: Keep the Commandments; our reward is a crown of righteousness

PURITY: Lay aside the things of the world, keep your covenants

INTEGRITY: Walk in the ways of the Lord

IDENTITY: Remember who you are and believe it; don’t be a victim to Identity theft

COURAGE: Incorporates trust, patience and faith

And finally my sisters, remember this;

Proverbs 31:29-31
29 “Many daughters have done well, But you excel them all.”
30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates.

2011-09-22T13:17:00.000-04:00

"Wisdom" Cody Miller

CHANGES

Alma 5: 14 And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?

I believe that the “mighty change of heart” comes by wisdom. The conversion process is that gradual turning away from old habits, from old ideas, from old ways of speaking and communicating. That turning process is a 360 degree turn. And as you are turning, the process is like a rotation, even a rotational turn of the earth, from darkness to light. As you are rotating around the “Son”, who is that perfect light, old things are made new.

1 Corinthians 5:7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover was sacrificed for us.

What is that new old thing that helps us in our conversion? It is wisdom. Wisdom is that thing that we must “seek” early while it may be found. It can only be found in the light of the “Son”. What is that new “new” thing? It is the new and everlasting covenant of Christ.

Hebrews 8: 13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth bold is ready to vanish away.

This is a simple post. I was inspired to update my blogger profile. When I started this blog, “The 72hour Rule”, I wasn’t sure if I would continue with it after my first posts. I wasn’t too sure about my levels of concentration during that time and I honestly felt that I could not commit to the upkeep. So I put in the most minimal of info, and the most frivolous. When I decided to add a picture, I put one of my favorite pictures of me. But, as I was reading my profile, I realized that what was written before does not represent who I am now. And for a moment I was amazed at the subtle changes I had made in my likes and dislikes. The change in what movies I liked to watch, music I listened too, books that I am now reading; even activities I participated in. I looked at the picture I had chosen and I felt that it did not represent “me” as I am now, so I found a favorite picture of me and my husband. It was taken on the day we were sealed. It is the most lovey picture of us together and even though my husband does not post on this blog, he is represented in many ways. The “image” of me has changed. I realize that my life is not just about me, or even my husband, but now everything is about Christ and his plans for us.

So I am a convert, and I have in the past experienced some interesting and mildly negative connotations with that word, that state of being. For the longest time, I could not form that word in my mouth, because I felt that it meant “other”. But lately the Lord has put a new language in my mouth, a new song. Lately I have felt that I belong in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I have felt a connection and even kinship with the founding pioneers of this church. Their stories inspire me to continue to write my blog, build my testimony of Jesus Christ, regardless.

Psalm 40:2-3
2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps.
3 He has put a new song in my mouth—
Praise to our God;
Many will see it and fear,
And will trust in the LORD

TUESDAY DEVONTIONAL

2011-09-20T12:16:00.000-04:00

Cody F.Mill "Sorjourner"

2 Corinthians 4:16-19
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,
18 While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Psalms 84:5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.

So the exhortation today is not to lose heart. Back in April, I had minor surgery on my right knee, and my doctor assured me that recovery time would be short, a little uncomfortable but overall successful. He promised me that I would be back in “heels” in a month. So I decided not to go to physical therapy, I figured I could save money by continuing with my daily routine of lunchtime walks at work and stretching. It worked and my right knee was pain-free, and limber enough for me to consider taking a yoga class. Oops, my left knee started to hurt at the beginning of August. I took a proactive approach and stretched some more and stepped up my lunch time walking. But my left knee got progressively worse, I thought maybe it wanted the same type of attention the other knee had, maybe a rivalry of sorts. When I considered going back to my orthopedic surgeon for a diagnosis, I just couldn’t do it. I had to tuff this out; I had to see it through. So I started to climb stairs instead of elevators at work. (Unfortunately work is where I spend at least 75% of my day, most of it sitting in a windowless, airless cubicle.) I have been taking the long way across the campus in the mornings before work. It worked, and at least for the time being, both of my knees are working at 85% to 90%.

Psalms 84:5 acknowledges that we are on a pilgrimage, well I am on a pilgrimage and I hope you are too.

2Corinthians 4:17 Encourages us to be patient in our trials and afflictions for they are but for a moment, and even if a bum knee doesn’t seem like something that plays a part in our eternal progression, it does.

I am thankful for a Savior who can succor us in all of our physical, and mental and emotional ailments.

THE EMPOWERMENT SERIES

2011-09-16T09:08:00.000-04:00

President Gordon B Hinckley

Ten Gifts from the Lord
So, in my last post, I posed a question concerning my "role" as a woman in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

"I suppose that you could name attributes or those things that we do, but what is our role, or rather how can we effectively inhabit our roles as women comfortably?"

I found this "Womens Conference Talk" given by former president of the church Gordon B Hinckley in some of my files. I started to read it and I realized that I have God's attention, and at first I thought my questions were some what frivoulous but I proceeded anyway. So I am including an excerpted version of this talk, specifically 10 blessings that President Hinckley has lovingly detailed for women. Here is a link to this talk :

http://lds.org/ensign/1985/11/ten-gifts-from-the-lord?lang=eng

(Introduction)
Some are prone to complain that you are discriminated against. All of us rejoice in the enlargement of opportunities for women. Under the law, there are few opportunities afforded men that are not now also open to women. With this enlargement of opportunity, a few Latter-day Saint women are asking why they are not entitled to hold the priesthood. To that I can say that only the Lord, through revelation, could alter that situation. He has not done so, so it is profitless for us to speculate and worry about it. May I suggest, rather, that you dwell on the remarkable blessings that are yours, the great positive privileges of your lives as women of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the transcendent spiritual gifts that may be yours. I should like to name ten of these, with their coincident responsibilities. I shall have time to comment only briefly on each.

(BLESSINGS)
1.You have the gift, the opportunity, and the responsibility of doing good. You possess an instinctive inclination to help those in distress, and you have a peculiar and remarkable way of doing so. There are so many who need your help.
Jesus was described as one “who went about doing good” Acts 10:38. Can you, as His followers, do less? In organizing the Relief society, the Prophet Joseph Smith said concerning the women, “They will pour in oil and wine to the wounded heart of the distressed; they will dry up the tears of the orphan and make the widow’s heart to rejoice.” (History of the Church, 4:567.)

2. Prayer. Here is a great spiritual gift available to all. Every woman has as certain a right to approach the throne of deity in prayer as does any man. I am convinced that our Father in Heaven loves his daughters as much as He loves His sons and that He is as ready to hear their pleas and grant their petitions.
It is your privilege to pray in the meetings of the Church—not only in the meetings of the women’s organizations, but in the sacrament meetings when all of the saints are admonished to gather together. It is your privilege to pray in such tremendous gatherings as this.

3. It is your privilege and right to teach. You come within the province of the admonition given by the Lord:
“And I give unto you a commandment that you shall teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom.
“Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand.” (D&C 88:77–78.)
Yours, my sisters, is the privilege to teach, yours the responsibility, yours the opportunity. There are few resources of which we are in greater need than dedicated teachers of the gospel who teach with faith, with conviction, and with the knowledge that comes of study.

4. Yours is the opportunity to preside. You have heard from Sister Young, who presides over the Primary Association, with combined enrollments of 825,000. You have heard from Sister Kapp, who presides over some 300,000 young women. You have heard from Sister Winder, who presides over the Relief Society, which includes 1,682,000 women across the world.
These women have counselors. They have general boards. They have their counterparts in stakes and wards. They deal with vast responsibilities, vast resources, and large numbers of people. They are executives in the truest sense.
My dear sisters, you, as women, have tremendous executive responsibilities in this Church. And no one appreciates more than I the wonderful contributions you make and the great wisdom you bring.

5. Yours may be the spirit of prophecy. That may sound strange to some of you. Miriam in the Old Testament is spoken of as a prophetess. Peter, on the day of Pentecost, repeated the words of the prophet Joel, saying:
“And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
“And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.” (Acts 2:17–18.)
Can anyone doubt that many women have a special intuitive sense, even a prescient understanding of things to come?

6. Yours is the opportunity to proclaim the gospel. Exclusive of missionary couples, we now have 5,872 sister missionaries serving in the field. For the most part, these are young women who are called as other missionaries are called. Many mission presidents give their sister missionaries credit for being more effective than the elders in opening doors and minds to the teaching of the gospel.
Nevertheless, you have the privilege. You have the right, conditioned upon worthiness. You have the opportunity, whether serving as full-time missionaries or on a local basis, to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ with power and conviction.

7. Women have the great opportunities of the blessings of the temple. The right to receive the temple ordinances pertains as much to women as it does to men. The blessings to be received through that experience are as great for women as they are for men….
For the woman who is married in the temple, there is afforded the opportunity for happiness and for security, for time and for all eternity, to a degree to be found in no other type of marriage. In fact, only in marriage in the house of the Lord can there be the promise of eternal companionship, conditioned, of course, upon the faithfulness of both parties to that marriage. The man cannot be exalted without the woman; neither the woman without the man. (See 1 Cor. 11:11.)

8. Yours is also the privilege to minister in the temples. Women do the vicarious work for women. It is as important that this work be done in behalf of those beyond the veil in the case of women as it is in the case of men. The work you so do is as acceptable to the Lord. It is necessary for the accomplishment of his purposes. It is as spiritually uplifting as is that which men do.

Furthermore, women fill very important responsibilities as ordinance workers in the temple. As surely as there is a temple president, there is also a temple matron. There must be many who assist her in carrying forward the sacred ordinance work of the House of the Lord.

9. I mention next the unique and God-given privilege of motherhood. There is no miracle in the entire world like the creation of new life. There is no responsibility greater than rearing children in “the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” (Eph. 6:4.)
Without a mother’s efforts, her pain, her family concerns and service, it goes without saying that the race would soon die. The purposes of God would be totally frustrated. Her partnership with the Almighty in bringing to pass His eternal plan is a blessing that no man can enjoy in the same sense.
I recognize, of course, that there are many within the sound of my voice who are not married and who may never be married in this life. The number of adult women who are presently unmarried constitutes approximately a third of the female members of the Church in the United States and Canada. However, this blessing is afforded two-thirds of the women of the Church. To you who are mothers, I wish to say that I know that your labors are heavy, that your burdens are many, that the task of rearing children in this complex age is a serious and demanding one. But there can be no doubt that as the years pass you will enjoy a sense of satisfaction that will come in no other way. You will enjoy a measure of peace, of love, of that gladness which is deep and sweet and good and which can come from no other source.
To you who are single parents with families to rear, I know that yours is a particularly heavy burden. We pray that the Lord will bless you and sustain you and that you will have resources to do that which must be done and to do it well. The resources of the Church can be mobilized to help you when you need help.

10. I conclude with the tenth great privilege and opportunity you have. This is the opportunity and the encouragement to educate your minds and hands, to refine your talents, and to so qualify yourself to work in the society in which you will live

Enjoy. Let me know if the link works, I am new with this stuff.
Have a great weekend everybody

kelly rae roberts

2011-09-14T17:29:00.000-04:00

THE 72 HOUR RULE: THE EMPOWERMENT SERIES PART 1

Mary Magdalene: A Woman's Worth

What is the role of women? I know this to be a very hard test question. It’s one of those open ended kind of questions that may have more than one answer. I suppose that you could name attributes or those things that we do, but what is our role, or rather how can we effectively inhabit our roles as women comfortably? Sometimes our role measures our worth. I would ask, why do we have to have a “role” anyway, but I am impressed to believe that roles are “patterns”.
I am pondering this because I don’t think that I have ever allowed my self to consider that my life as a woman was any different than that of a man’s. As a matter of fact, when I was growing up, the trend was to teach and empower young girls and women. The empowerement came first in the form of education for all and then better job opportunities. Young women considering college were encouraged to select educational goals outside of the box as it were. We were encouraged to be nurses and docters, artists and architects. All of that. The doors were opening for us to have a more specific role in the military. I joined the Navy during a time of great change. The war in Vietnam was winding down and there was a need for a “peace keeping” type of military. A kinder, gentler, carry a big stick kind of military. What better way to promote this than to enlarge the profile of women in the military. So I joined, but alas there was a quota on how many women could join each year. There was also a limit on specific job opportunities for women in the military. The rhetoric was there, but the reality was still divided. The one thing I learned as a young woman during that time, was that for a brief moment a woman could at least verbalize what her perceived role was in society. We would identify ourselves by our professions or our ranks in the job hierarchy,like men. The media would identifiy us by our “worth”, or salary expectations, calling us “men in skirts”. I think that most women were happy with this designation, at least for a while. What was missing ?

So, one day I was at the check out counter of my local bookstore, I was purchasing a magazine that had a picture of a famous female singer. This lady is known for her “fierce” outlook on how she works and lives her life. Everything must be stimulating and challenging and most of all fierce. So the cashier looked at the picture on the magazine and made this remark: “Humph , I can’t believe that she is trying to get pregnant” She made a face and she said it like the woman owed her money. So I said to her, “That’s great. She is married you know, and that’s what married people do, they have children. The cashier looked at me, and couldn’t say anything else. Hopefully the child will be “fierce”.

When I joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, I noticed that there was a lot of women who were married, and had several children and most were highly educated. I was really impressed with this and I tried to approach a common thread of communication with these sisters, based on those criteria. I was surprised to find out that quite a few women were struggling with their sense of self worth, their sense of “place”, not only in the church but in their family dynamic. There are quite a few sisters who are trying to find a “name” for themselves. I understand that, because as I have received different callings and assignments, I have referenced them like “jobs”. I know a calling is not a job, but some callings can work you like an unpaid job. I have found myself wondering if I am really qualified for some of the things I have been called to do. I have wondered if anyone appreciates what I am doing and are they interested. I know this is how a lot of sisters feel. When you are released from a calling that you worked so hard on,you will be thanked, but also forgotten after the next Sunday. So I have wondered, what is my reason, and my purpose in this church, besides functioning in the “mother role”, the sister role”, the help meet role. Who is my role model?

So I have been looking for female “role models” in the church. Someone to whom I can look at the details of their lives and their testimony of the the church. I believe that we should all have someone to look up to and we should endeavor by our lives and testimonies be a person that someone else can reference. Sister Julie B Beck, President of the Relief Society,exemplifies a good example to me. She is a mother and grandmother, a daughter,and wife. The whole package. I can say that I am probably a Julie B Beck groupie, and I hope that one day I will have an opportunity to meet her or at least attend a Womens Conference where she will speak. My second spiritual role model would be Mary Magdalene. I have a picture that shows the resurrected Christ presenting himself to Mary Magadelane. Jesus is standing, almost bowing slightly to her, and she is on her knees, with her face raised to him. Then I noticed her hands, what is she doing with her hands? and what is Jesus doing also? This is a wonderful Tempel reference, that I am sure is not lost on anyone who attends the temple regularly. Mary Magdalene was the first person, and woman to see the resurrected Christ. She was his disciple.

There is so much speculation about Mary Magdalene.Who was she? Was she a Jew or a Gentile? Was she married or single? There is not a lot of info about her, but I found a scripture that historians believe make reference to to place where she may have lived and how Jesus came to meet her.

Matthew 15:39 and He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala.

Magdala, a town thought to have been on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee and Jesus spent a lot of time there on his misson. I believe that the sea of Galilee is where is he first walked on water. How did Jesus meet her?

Luke 8:2 and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, out of who had come seven demons

Mary was lumped into a group of women, who were distinguished by being called “certain women”. This woman had been possessed of seven demons; maybe she came to one of the meetings Jesus had. Did he find her, like he found the man who was possesed of devils in a cave on the outskirts of a town?This man was subject to fits and seizures, tearing off his clothes and running through town naked, and being a public nuisance. Was Mary Magdalene that person too? I can imagine that she probably lived with her parents, maybe they hid her in the basement and tied her to the bed. Did her mother come and implore with Jesus to heal her daughter, like this mother?

Matthew 15:21-25;28
21 Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.”
23 But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.”
24 But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”
26 But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.
27 And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.
28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour

It is a modern assumption, that “demon” possession may have included mental illness, epilepsy; touret’s syndrome and others that in the ancient world was probably frightening to witness.

In Luke 13:10-16 there is an example of an unamed woman with a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years. The scriptures do not tell us how old she was, or if she was married or a widow. Did Mary attend the synagogue?

Luke 13:10-11;16
Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.
11 And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up.
12 But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.”
13 And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.
16 So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen years, is loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?

Could this be Mary’s story? For some reason, Mary of Magdalene gets a bad rap throughout history, due to the lumping together of a group of women who were labeled as sinful women in the book of Luke. It was assumed falsely that since she had seven demons exorcised, then she must have been a bad woman, and worse a prostitute.

(Wikipedia)“Pope Gregory the Great's homily on Luke's gospel dated 14 September 591 first suggested that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute: "She whom Luke calls the sinful woman, whom John calls Mary, we believe to be the Mary from whom seven devils were ejected according to Mark. And what did these seven devils signify, if not all the vices? ... It is clear, brothers, that the woman previously used the unguent to perfume her flesh in forbidden acts."(Homily XXXIII)[”
In 1969 the Vatican, without commenting on Pope Gregory's reasoning, [13] implicitly rejected it by separating Luke's sinful woman, Mary of Bethany, and Mary Magdala via the Roman Missal.

What a horrible assumption, and this role distinction has followed Mary throughout history. The world will always separate women into two types or patterns that fit specific roles. Those roles are narrowly defined, either good or bad; saint or prostitute. It is interesting how this is so narrowly defined but based solely on someone’s opinion. However, the roles can interchange depending on the woman and her job, her personal life, if she has kids and no husband, etc.
There are quite a few references to various women who were either disciples of Jesus, or if they were healed by him; they sustained him, provided a place for him to stay and eat. The one thing I know for sure is that when any of the named or un-named women met Jesus and was healed by him, they were also empowered by him. What is that power, it is the power of God's holy priesthood. I am sure they were baptized. Some may have given up homes and families to follow him; some brought their families with them.

Mary Magdalene is mentioned 2 specific times in the New Testament that tell when she met and started to follow Jesus, and the second is a validation of her service and dedication to Christ.

Mark 16:9 Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.

This is how we establish a pattern or role for Mary Magdalene. We know that somehow she made a decision to seek out the Savior, and because of her infirmities, she was having a hard life. Jesus healed her; he “loosened” her from that spiritual and physical bondage and forgave her of her sins. She repented and was baptized, and it seems that she made a decision to follow him.

Part 2 will be on How does the Savior empower us? Or rather give us a sense of self-worth?

2011-08-25T17:08:00.000-04:00

LOT’S WIFE AND THE EARTHQUAKE IN DC.

So what do Lot’s wife and the earthquake that shook from Virginia to Washington DC to New York. I think plenty. Scientists have not yet found a way to predict earthquakes or even detect them with pin point accuracy, say like the weather. But, last year around this time, there was an earthquake measuring about 4.5 on the scale. Most people slept through it. I believe that it was because of God’s tender mercies that most did. I of course was awake and trying to get dressed for work. This time around one my greatest fears came to fruition. I was sitting at my desk, and I was discussing a report with my boss on the phone. My office is in the basement and the walls and floors are so thin that whenever anyone walks by our office, the walls will shake a bit. So, needless to say when someone is moving heavy furniture, the whole room moves with it. But, this day I heard what sounded and felt like someone dragging a large piece of equipment across the linoleum floor, and the room started to shake and stop. Then all of a sudden it started to shake and jerk and then shake hard. My boss on the phone said “What is that?” I said, did you feel that too? She said yes and we both hung up. Now I don’t know the protocol for earthquakes. But I grabbed my purse, and I told the rest of my co-workers to grab their bags and get out of the office. I ran out to the nearest exit, up two flights of stairs and outside. There were a lot of people running with me, but not my co-workers. So after standing outside until the shaking stopped, we all decided to go back in. Now, what was conspicuous was that no alarms or overhead announcements went off in our building. There was a little widespread panic, but no help or assurance from the Powers that Be.

When I returned to my office everyone was there and they laughed at me. They said that the Operating Room was built to withstand bombs, they felt safe there. I told that we were not hit by a bomb, we had an earthquake. I told them that “when” and not “if” the next quake hits, I am leaving the building. If they wanted to wait and become trapped underneath rubble and/or die, I know that the hospital will bulldoze over the area and rebuild and dedicate a plaque to their memory. That’s pretty harsh isn’t it?

It seems that my co-workers have forgotten the “winter of 2010-11”. It was pretty bad from January to March. On one particularly bad snow day, the weather man all but told everyone to leave their places of work by 1:00 and go home. There was a bad storm coming in around 3:00pm. He was right. My boss practically sprinted out of the office without so much as a second glance to us; she knew what her priorities were. I made the decision to close the office; I was walking out the door at 1:30pm. I told everyone to follow me. Again, they just looked at me, and I heard that they stayed until 3:00 pm when the storm came roaring in, on time. The roads were so bad; most people did not get home until the next day. Seriously; now after all of this earthquake business, we have been experiencing aftershocks for 2 days now. Now there is a man with a sign, walking up and down the sidewalk proclaiming “The End is Near”. Someone made a statement to me that “maybe they should start tithing”. Why does everything have to be the “END OF THE WORLD”? I know that the Lord wants’ us to get our priorities in line. He wants us to come unto Him, and partake of his rest. I can’t speculate about “natural disasters”, but personal adversity is something that everyone has to endure, whether you believe in God or not.

Now the story of Lot’s wife is about obedience versus complacency.

Luke 17:28-32
28 Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, and they built;
29 but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.
30 Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
31 “In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one, who is in the field, let him not turn back.
32 Remember Lot’s wife.

Luke 17:32 Remember Lot’s wife
Neal A. Maxwell
“The reasons prompting Lot's wife to take one more tempting look back at Sodom and Gomorrah, instead of being obedient to the command she and Lot had received, were inconsequential in comparison with the consequences of her disobedience. Looking back, said Jesus, will not do for us either. Wistfulness or uncertainty over leaving the ways of the world brought the Master's stern advice to ‘Remember Lot's wife.’ (Luke 17:32.)“While our temptations or difficulties are very real, we can pass such breaking points without actually breaking if we keep our perspective!” (We Will Prove Them Herewith [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1982], 27.)

The second glance that Mrs. Lot took spoke volumes about her character, her role as wife and the state of her marriage to Lot. She didn’t seem care about her daughters, or even her husband. She wanted to remain in her comfort zone of Sodom. Maybe she thought that God would change his mind, and she could just watch for a while on that mountain ridge. It is not so much that she was turned into a pillar of salt, but that she was lazy. For all of the wonderful blessings she had enjoyed in her life as Mrs. Lot, her heart was not prepared to receive instructions from Heavenly Father. She did not obey, even to save her life.

Now we are indeed blessed beyond measure that so far the earthquakes haven’t been devastating. I am really discouraged to listen to my co-workers and even my boss just act as if it never happened. Everyone speaks as if “We dodged a bullet”. So I have refurbished my emergency back pack and I have it in a prominent place in my office. I suggested that everyone should do something. Again the laughter.

WE TALK OF CHRIST: A PEOPLE PREPARED

2011-08-19T10:56:00.000-04:00

Dieu vous bénisse (God bless you)
I am preparing myself to learn, and immerse myself in the French language and culture.
It seems that “language” has been an unofficial buzzword for me lately. I have enjoyed the process of learning about the “language “of our Heavenly Father and how he chooses to communicate with us. In my last 2 posts I was inspired to write about the confusion of the language in Babel (there was only one at that time), and the dispersion of the peoples. Their subsequent fate and the fate of their posterity rested on whether they would call out to God for help and forgiveness as the Jaradites did, or would they suffer as the people of Zarahemla, to be a group of people dispersed by the wars and captivity during the reign of King Zedekiah? They were a remnant of a larger group of Jewish people, who through years and years of wars and captivity were gradually becoming worn down. They did not keep records of their families, they assimilated into the cultures of their captors, spoke the language of their captors and thus put on the “name” of their captors instead of taking on the “name” and the language of Christ. But God had a plan. Even in his wrath against the constant evil that men do, He still loved them/us. His plan was always to prosper us and not hurt us. What restraint He continues to show us.
I have a better insight as to how the children of Israel could “wander” in the “wilderness” for 40 years, only to not be allowed into the “promised land”. The first generation of those people all died and did not have the opportunity to live in the land of promise. The Lord had pronounced them a rebellious and stiff-necked people. Only their children would be allowed to cross over.

What is your experience with “wandering”?

How did the Lord help you in your search?

My own testimony continues to evolve daily. When I look back at my own search for God, my search for a sign that there was a better path to take then the one I was on, I believe that like the Jaradites, he heard my prayers, and crying out. He sent people, even my husband along with the missionaries who seemed to be always on his trail.

So my Friday scriptures are these:

Malachi 4:5-6
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.
6 And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse

What is that curse? Could it be the inability to speak with Heavenly Father? Could it be dispersion of the family? Is it spiritual wandering that causes a people to:

Deut. 28:29 And thou shall grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and thou shall not prosper in thy ways: and thou shall be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee

Luke 1:16-18
16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.
17 He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

2 Nephi 27:26We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins"

2011-08-17T16:32:00.000-04:00

SPEAKING IN TONGUES

Western depiction of the Pentecost, painted by Jean Restout, 1732

I have decided to learn to speak French. Has anyone been checking out the Mormon.org website that features profiles of members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints? My favorites are the video clips. Lately there are quite a few clips of members from French speaking countries. I love that language. I grew up in Louisiana, and of course I am always asked if I speak French. Some people for whatever reason will come up to me and start to converse in French. I get the gist of what they are saying, but I can’t communicate with them.

It’s funny, when I was growing up in La; French was a rogue language that was at first taught to all children as a second language. The practice was stopped. One of reasons was due to a group of people living in the southern most part of the state, we call them Cajuns, but they are a people descended from the French Acadians.

Many later settled in Louisiana, where they became known as Cajuns Acadians speak a dialect of French called Acadian French. The Louisiana Cajun descendants mostly speak English, with a distinct local dialect known as Cajun English being prominent, but some still speak Cajun French, a French dialect developed in Louisiana Wikipedia

My mom told me,that the Acadians at that time persisted in speaking their own dialect of French, most resisting speaking English, or having their children attend schools that taught English. So laws were passed, and unfortunately they were enforced harshly. There were penalties for advertising in a language other than English. Everyone had to speak and be taught English. This sounds eerily familiar to events in the present doesn’t it? But when I was in the first or second grade, I was taught beginning French during summer school. It was fantastic; I looked forward to regular school so I could enroll in the 2nd part. Sadly there was no French class part 2. I later attended a parochial school, and Latin was the language taught. I can understand why Latin is a “dead language”. It is only used in a church setting. I suppose that the Catholic Church felt that Latin was the perfect language to praise God

During the early part of the 20th century, attempts were made to suppress Cajun culture by measures such as forbidding the use of the Cajun French language in schools. After the Compulsory Education Act forced Cajun children to attend formal schools, American teachers threatened, punished, and sometimes beat their Cajun students in an attempt to force them to use English (a language many of them had not been exposed to before). In 1968 the organization of Council for the Development of French in Louisiana (CODOFIL) was founded to preserve the French language in Louisiana. Besides advocating for their legal rights, Cajuns also recovered for themselves a sense of ethnic pride and appreciation for their ancestry. WIKIPEDIA

Do you ever wonder why any religious entity would choose a specific language to speak with God?

And for this official worship the Catholic Church uses official liturgical language - Latin, which being a dead language, is not subject to the constant changes of meaning which we find in all living languages.

In my previous post, I wrote about “The Tower of Babel” and the subsequent destruction of that city and dispersion of that people. What happened to those people, and their descendants? We know that Heavenly Father did spare some of them. We have a record of the Jaradites who vigorously petitioned the Lord to preserve their way of life and save their language. If you love watching the National Geographic Channel like I do, you can watch so many programs about prehistoric civilizations. There is one program that is an ongoing study on a group of people called the “Clovis People”

The Clovis culture (sometimes referred to as the Llano culture[1]) is a prehistoric Paleo-Indian culture that first appears 11,500 RCYBP (radiocarbon years before present[2]), at the end of the last glacial period, characterized by the manufacture of "Clovis points" and distinctive bone and ivory tools. Archaeologists' most precise determinations at present suggest that this radiocarbon age is equal to roughly 13,500 to 13,000 calendar years ago.

I love the description “they first appeared”. Did these people just pop out of nowhere? I have the impression that the effects of the dispersion at Babel lasted for generations. Probably enough generations that each culture did not have an adequate record of their existence of who they were. They had no language in which to express themselves, they had no name.

Gen: 11:4 …………… and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the earth

They are identified only by the tools they left behind. They were a nomadic group of people, and judging from what has been found of them, they had no end or beginning, or rather no family ties to trace them to another group of prehistoric people. No books or cave drawing, and no scratched out attempts at a language. So scientists are in debate over how old this group is.
In the Book of Mormon in Omni Chapter 1: 6- 7 gives reference to the “wickedness” of the Nephites and even though they did not keep the commandments of God, he did preserve them, but he didn’t cut them any slack either. As they wandered throughout their history, because of their disobedience they did not prosper. Their civilization did not grow, and leave a lasting record. He did spare those righteous few.

Omni 1:6-7
6 For the Lord would not suffer, after he had led them out of the land of Jerusalem and kept and preserved them from falling into the hands of their enemies, yea, he would not suffer that the words should not be verified, which he spoke unto our fathers, saying that: Inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall not prosper in the land.
7 Wherefore, the Lord did visit them in great judgment; nevertheless, he did spare the righteous that they should not perish, but did deliver them out of the hands of their enemies.

Deut. 28:29 And thou shall grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and thou shall not prosper in thy ways: and thou shall be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee.

Omni 1:16-17 Tells the story of a people, who had come out of Jerusalem and who had been led away captive by King Zedekiah

16 And they journeyed in the wilderness, and were brought by the hand of the Lord across the great waters, into the land where Mosiah discovered them; and they had dwelt there from that time forth.
17 And at the time that Mosiah discovered them, they had become exceedingly numerous. Nevertheless, they had had many wars and serious contentions, and had fallen by the sword from time to time; and their language had become corrupted; and they had brought no records with them; and they denied the being of their Creator; and Mosiah, nor the people of Mosiah, could understand them.
18 But it came to pass that Mosiah caused that they should be taught in his language. And it came to pass that after they were taught in the language of Mosiah, Zarahemla gave a genealogy of his fathers, according to his memory; and they are written, but not in these plates.

Here was a group of people, who were dispersed, and wandered around in the “wilderness “of the world. They were nomadic, and they seemed to lose a sense of being civilized. They grew in numbers and fought with one another, etc. Eventually, they forgot their language; the language of their fathers. They forgot God and all that they had been taught about him. They were lost and then found by Mosiah, who taught them his language, he taught them the gospel in his language, and they were able to give an account of their history because of that.

Now the reason for this long winded rant is because I “saw” something in Acts 2 that caught my attention. And I know that it was the Holy Spirit whispering to me, because I needed to look at it again. This is the record of the Day of Pentecost, and of the Apostles manifesting the gift of “Speaking in Tongues”. I realized that the significance of this day was not so much that the apostles were speaking tongues, but to whom they were speaking to. (Do you see where this is going?)

Acts 2:4-12
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven.
6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and was confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language.
7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans?
8 And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?
9 Parthian and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,
11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.”
12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?”

In verse’s 9-11 we get a demographic sampling of people from the known world. They were Jews, and other devout men from every nation under heaven. Picture the crowds that gather at “Mecca”. This was a large group of people, all speaking their various languages. If you could picture this meeting in our time, as a United Nations meeting, with everyone seated with an interpreter apparatus, so that they could hear the Apostle Peter speak.

In verse 12; an amazed and perplexed by stander wonders “Whatever could this mean?” It means that our Heavenly Father keeps his promises, and loves his children. It means that now these people will be able to hear the Gospel in their own tongues and then they will know about the Savior. Faith comes by hearing the word of God. That ancient curse has been lifted.

Genesis 22:18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”

Galatians 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, in thee shall all nations be blessed.

Luke 24:46-47
46 Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,
47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem

Zechariah 8:22-23
22 Yes, many peoples and strong nations Shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, And to pray before the LORD.’
23 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”’”

2011-08-09T17:35:00.000-04:00

"The Tower of Babal" by Pieter Brugel the Elder

BABEL

In Primary, we are studying the account of the Jaradites. The lesson focused on having faith in Jesus Christ, but of course the kids related to the account of the building of the barges that would carry everyone across the ocean to the “choice land”, the America’s?
When I first read of the record of the Jaradites in the book of Ether in the Book of Mormon, I was surprised to know that these people had a link to the Biblical account of the building of the Tower of Babel and the resulting “confounding of the language of everyone”. I have heard this record preached and taught, but no one could really determine what led up to this building of the tower, and why was God so mad. Some people attributed this tower as an affront to God and his holy dwelling. You get the picture. The one statement that everyone could agree on was that man was inherently evil, and even after the total destruction of the earth during the time of Noah, you would think that these descendants of Noah would know better. Do we know any better?

Here’s the story:

Genesis 11: 1 – 9
1And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.
2And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
3And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar.
4And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
5 The LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men built.
6And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
7Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
8So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off building the city.
9Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

Verse 1: And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech

Moses 5:55 And thus the works of darkness began to prevail among all the sons of men.

Check out verse 1, two words “one language, and of one speech. Aren’t they the same? Nay they are not. Why is language important to God in the context of this scripture, and subsequently in the context of our lives right now?

“Speech is the motor act of articulation, producing sound, whereas language is the knowledge/use of a symbol system to communicate”

So everyone was reasonably intelligent, even educated and could talk and converse with one another in the language that everyone understood. There was only one language that had been spoken in and taught since Adam. This language had been taught to Adam who taught it to his kids and so forth. What was so special about this language? It is language to converse with Heavenly Father.

Zephaniah 3:9 “For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, which they all may call on the name of the LORD, to serve Him with one accord.

The language is now corrupted, and perverted. Now the language is used to persuade people to sin, to transgress the laws of God.

Moses 6: 49 Behold Satan hath come among the children of men, and tempt them to worship him; and men have become carnal, sensual, and devilish, and are shut out from the presence of God.

Verse 4: And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth

Isaiah 24:6 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.

Verse 6: The LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

Hugh Nibley (Gospel Doctrine)
They gave away the rites of the temple, and they perverted them. The whole thing is a rite of perversion. They had all the same things, but they perverted them and claimed that they were being holy, that they had the priesthood, and that they had the covenants. This was their great crime, of course, that they had perverted the real thing. Fortunately, we are told they didn't have enough knowledge. Their knowledge was limited, so they weren't able to destroy everything. "They knew not the mind of God," as we are told in this book. So their system was not the system God gave Adam

GENESIS 6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Verse 7: Go to let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.

Moses 5:56-57
56And God cursed the earth with a sore curse, and was angry with the wicked, with all the sons of men whom he had made;
57For they would not hearken unto his voice, nor believe on his Only Begotten Son, even him whom he declared should come in the meridian of time, who was prepared from before the foundation of the world.

There is a pattern of events, the sons of men have not changed their behavior since the flood, and the resident evil as it were was a stowaway on the ark.

Verse 8: So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off building the city.

Isaiah 24:10-12
10 The city of confusion is broken down, every house is shut up, and that no man may come in.
11 There is a crying for wine in the streets, all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone.
12 The city is left in desolation and the gate is smitten with destruction.

Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge, because thou has rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee. That thou shall be no priest to me, seeing thou has forgotten the law of thy God I will also forget thy children.

Who are the righteous few? There are no names of prophets or priests given in this record. Was there someone who was called of God, who tried to persuade the people to turn away from their sins?

Omni 1:7 Wherefore the Lord did visit them in great judgment, nevertheless he did spare the righteous that they should not perish, but did deliver them out of the hands of their enemies.

Amos 3:6-8
6 If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, will not the LORD have done it?
7 Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
8 A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken! Who can but prophesy?

It took a long time for me to realize that the brother of Jared was a prophet, I thought that he was the only person in Jared’s family who kept his covenants, and of course he did. I wondered why Jared just didn’t pray himself.

ETHER 1:34-40
34 And the brother of Jared being a large and mighty man, and a man highly favored of the Lord, Jared, his brother, said unto him: Cry unto the Lord, that he will not confound us that we may not understand our words.
35 And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord, and the Lord had compassion upon Jared; therefore he did not confound the language of Jared; and Jared and his brother were not confounded.
36 Then Jared said unto his brother: Cry again unto the Lord, and it may be that he will turn away his anger from them who are our friends, that he confound not their language.
37And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord, and the Lord had compassion upon their friends and their families also, that they were not confounded.
38And it came to pass that Jared spoke again unto his brother, saying: Go and inquire of the Lord whether he will drive us out of the land, and if he will drive us out of the land, cry unto him whither we shall go. And who knows but the Lord will carry us forth into a land which is choice above all the earth? And if it so be, let us be faithful unto the Lord, that we may receive it for our inheritance.
39And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord according to that which had been spoken by the mouth of Jared.
40And it came to pass that the Lord did hear the brother of Jared, and had compassion upon him……….

I love this record, but is there a happy ending, nope not until Jesus comes back. There are warning for our time

Verse 9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.

Ether 2:8-11
8And he had sworn in his wrath unto the brother of Jared, that whoso should possess this land of promise, from that time henceforth and forever, should serve him, the true and only God, or they should be swept off when the fullness of his wrath should come upon them.
9And now, we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fullness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fullness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity.
10For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God. And it is not until the fullness of iniquity among the children of the land, that they are swept off.
11And this cometh unto you, O ye aGentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God—that ye may repent, and not continue in your iniquities until the fullness come, that ye may not bring down the fullness of the wrath of God upon you as the inhabitants of the land have hitherto done.

Are we there yet? The Lord has decreed three times in this record, each with emphasis. Does this apply to us? Yep it does. Who shall stand in his presence, who shall abide in his coming?

Psalms 15:2
2 He that walketh uprightly and worketh righteousness and speaketh the truth in his heart.

Speech and Language.

2011-07-26T13:28:00.000-04:00

THE AGE OF ACCOUNTABLILITY

I remember teaching a class in Relief Society on the Blessings of the Sacrament and struggling through it. It was one of those teachings, where “everyone knew everything there was to know about the subject”. What could I bring to the table, except questions? I asked a question concerning the sacrament, and a sister who had obviously lost her patience with me,answered, "We all know this, “we” have all been taught this since we were 8 years old in Primary. So I said, “I am 8 years old” and I have only been a member for 3 short years, please answer my question to that reply, there was much laughter. Serendipitously, I am “teaching” Primary for the 7-8 year group. God loves us and has a sense of humor.

When I was 8 years old, I was baptized and joined Baptist Temple Baptist Church. I was almost baptized against my wishes when I was 6 or 7. I had spent the summer with my grandmother in the “country”. I remember this because I was sent to vacation bible school at a local church. My cousin was a member and she was planning on being baptized. And she did. There was a line of people waiting to go into the little pond at the back of the church. The congregation was singing Amazing Grace; people were crying and laughing at the same time. I remember being intimidated about this, and I stepped out of the line, I didn’t want to be baptized without my mom’s permission. Of course this didn’t go over well with my Aunt and cousins.

But I wanted to be baptized at my own church. I remember discussing this with my mom, and she said it was ok with her. So I had to speak with the Pastor of the church. I remember having a very serious conversation with him, which was interrupted by giggles from me. On the Sunday I was baptized, no one in my family came to church, at least not the first service. My mom and I had picked out a dress for me to wear afterwards. I remember putting on the baptismal clothes, a white t-shirt and shorts, and I walked into the pool. The pastor and his assistant were there. Before I was lowered into the water, he preached a short sermon, and then “in the name of the Father, the Son and Holy Ghost, I was baptized. Just like that, total immersion, (I had a swimming cap on to keep my hair dry).

I marvel at the audacity of my 8 year old self. What motivated me to do this? I know that a few of my friends had turned 8 and I thought they were special. So I wanted to be special too, I suppose. I knew I had a testimony of Jesus Christ, this I know for sure.

So what is the age of accountability, why 8 years old?

I have the special privilege to “teach” 7-8 year old boys and girls in Primary. I don’t know if teach is the right word, because they seem to know so much more than me. They have been taught by their parents and it shows. They know what it means to be accountable. Does the Lord start to speak to your heart at 8? Does he “open up” long lost instructions to prepare you for the progression into “big kid” life, and teenage life and eventually adulthood? The Lord has a lot to say on this issue, and I feel that I have taken a lot for granted. Jeremiah was a “child” when the Lord called him to perform his duty as a prophet. Even Samuel was called as a little child, not fully knowing who “God” is, but only what they were taught by their “goodly parents”.

Jeremiah1:5- before I formed thee in the belly, I knee thee, and before thou came forth of the womb, I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations

6 Then said I: “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a child

1 Samuel 2:26 And the child Samuel grew and was in favor both with the Lord and also with men.

1 Samuel 3:4; 7; 10

4 that the Lord called Samuel and he answered “Here am I”

7 And Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord revealed to him.

10 And the Lord came and stood and called as at other times “Samuel, Samuel”. Then Samuel answered, “Speak Lord, for thy servant heareth”.

The Lord does speak to our “hearts” as children. We are protected, even in the most abusive of life’s circumstances. This was a plan that has been “written” in our hearts, even from the foundation of the world.

Doctrine & Covenants 29:46-47
46 But behold, I say unto you, that little children are redeemed from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten;
47: Wherefore they cannot sin; for power is not given unto Satan to tempt little children, until they begin to become accountable unto me.

There are two key words here, redeemed and sin. I was a pretty good kid growing up but I had my moments of mischievous behavior, and I know that I transgressed many of my mother’s commandments. My paternal grandmother pronounced me “bad”. She told me that if I didn’t change my ways, I was going to hell. That scared me for a long time, and I did try to be good. I wish that I had known that Jesus had this covered too, that even from the foundation of the world, when all the rules and guidelines were being hashed out, our Heavenly Father put this term on the table. I have the impression that this was a deal breaker, that children from infancy until the age of 8, would not be responsible for the sins of Adam, and they would be sinless until they were at an age whereby after all of the teachings of their parents or not,they would have a way out through baptism and the confirmation of the Holy Spirit. Children have agency, but it is a powerful thing agency, and the opportunity to be instructed and taught was given to us.The Atonement was in full effect at the foundation of the world. The war in Heaven was on, and there would be no negotiations and no hostages taken.

Romans 9:11 (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls).

Who is He, who calls? Jesus the Christ

Mark 10:13-16
13 Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them.
14 But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.
15 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”
16 And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them

The kids in my class are so smart and independent, they know who they are. I want to be like them when I grow up. I can see my 8 year old self in these kids. Where did they get this information? From their parents, whose parent’s also taught them.

Psalms 78:5-7
5 For He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers,
That they should make them known to their children;
6 That the generation to come might know them, the children who would be born, that they may arise and declare them to their children,
7 That they may set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments.

Alma 56:48
48: And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers saying, “We do not doubt our mothers knew it.”

Job 38:7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the Sons of God shouted for joy.

TO DO LIST

2011-07-12T09:53:00.000-04:00

DID JESUS HAVE A TO DO LIST?
I have many, so many I could probably write a small self help book, if only I could find those "to do" lists. I have a really good list that tends to "float" around, landing sometimes in my purse/wallet so as to remind me to buy healthy treats instead of junk food. The last time I found the list stuck between some pages of a book that would help me to be more organized. The funny thing about this list is that I have had it for almost 3 years and it has about 4-5 bullet points and only 1 "do" is crossed off.

Jesus had a to do list, and he gave it to Isaiah so that he would find it when he needed it.

Isaiah 61:1-2
1 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,

Luke 4:16-21
16 So He (Jesus) came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
18 “ The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor;He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,To proclaim liberty to the captives,and recovery of sight to the blind,to set at liberty those who are oppressed;
19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.
20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.

Jesus outlined his entire mission, it's start,its cumulation with his death and resurrection and his return in those scripture. He had a 3 year plan, that at the end he would be able to cross off every item.But wait,was it just the crossing off of the "do's" that made His plan/list successful. Here is wisdom, that I found:In the Revelation to John in Patmos, the Savior is reiterating that list, the plan, the promises. He is affirming that what he said he would do.

Revelation 21:4-5
4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

The words of the Lord are true and faithful. Wow. Each responsibility was a promise, and those promises were meant to be kept and performed with success. A light bulb went off for me. What is the "to do" list that the Savior left for us to do? What is our mission in this life filled with the every dayness of life?

Mosiah 18:7-9
7And it came to pass after many days there were a goodly number gathered together at the place of Mormon, to hear the words of Alma. Yea, all were gathered together that believed on his word, to hear him. And he did teach them, and did preach unto them repentance, and redemption, and faith on the Lord.

8And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;

9Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—

We are now responsible for that "list". The desire to "wipe tears from the eyes of those who mourn, give comfort to those in need, to lift up the heavy arms is now our "To Do List".But maybe the title should be "Promises to Keep and a Life to Live " list.If I look at what is required as how I will live my life and what I can do for my brothers and sisters in Christ, then my perspective will shift. Self improvement is important, but more so, our eternal progression requires that the words we speak and and write and the subsequent actions taken be true and faithful.

So here is a new list:

1. Be a better Visiting Teacher, not only to my assigned sisters, but also to my own Visiting Teacher.
2. Magnify my calling as a Primary Teacher. Love those little ones as if they were my own. Help them to build their testimonies of Jesus Christ.
3. Serve,serve,serve

WISDOM WEDNESDAY

2011-07-06T16:41:00.000-04:00

kelly rae roberts

"Do the best you can in the place where you are and be kind" Scott Nearing

You can only be kind to others when you can be kind to yourself.

RESOLVE that you will focus on progress not perfection and be kind to yourself and others while you are doing it.

Lately, I have been having these days that consist of snippets of scriptures in my head. Sometimes just a few words, and sometime’s a whole verse. It goes like this all day, and sometimes for days. I would like to say it is distracting, but it is just the opposite. I believe that it is the course for the day, the “to do list” as it were. At the end of the day, I try to remember at least one pivotal scripture and I go and read it, and one verse leads to another and then a chapter and then a book. Then I am full for that particular day.
Just saying.......

2011-07-01T12:23:00.000-04:00

It Must Needs Be
"A companion gospel doctrine, and and essential element to our mortal experience, is understanding that we will always have opposition in our lives, indeed "there is an opposition in all things". So lets stop being surprised when it arrives--our expectation should be that it will! Indeed, opposition holds a vital position in our mortal experience. As Lehi explained, "For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so,....righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad.....It must needs be that there was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter. Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other (2 Nephi 2:11, 15-16)" Lynn A. Samsel Director, Humanitarian Emergency Response and Community Services at Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 2010 BYU WOMEN'S CONFERENCE

2 Nephi 2:14
14And now, my sons, I speak unto you these things for your profit and learning; for there is a God, and he hath created all things, both the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are, both things to act and things to be acted upon.

So, we have trials and bad days and good days. We are encouraged to prepare our hearts and minds and mights to endure. They will be back.
But when they come back, will they find us cowering in the corner as it were? Will they find us waving a white flag. Nope, they will find us holding a sign that says "Bring it On". (no false bravado here)

Sometimes in the midst of our trials, there are lessons to be learned, and an opportunity to serve.
My husband P. works at a job that he and his coworkers call, "The Worst Job Ever." I must say that whenever I hear him say that, I cringe because I know that the Lord provided this job for him against a few odds in his favor. The "drama" is never ending to hear him speak, perfect material for a reality show. A few weeks ago he experienced some incidents that on looking back on them, I can literally see the hand of the Lord guiding my husband and the subsequent outcome.
He was called in the office one evening because he closely resembled another coworker who was caught on camera violating some rules. He had the presence of mind to ask if the film could be slowed down to get a good look at the perpetrator. It wasn't him, but the person in question was one of his accusers.
The following day, as he drove in he was greeted by security and several big bosses. The same accusers were there and this time he was mistaken for another "big guy" who on the previous evening had caused some problems. They searched his truck and his person, nothing. The security officers asked his accusers to verify the charges, everyone started to point fingers at each other because it was all hearsay. The real perpetrator was again one of his accusers. It gets weirder.
So P and I talked about this and we prayed about it. The Lord did show me what my husband couldn't see. My husband is living and breathing the blessings of his Patriarchal Blessings. In those blessings to us, they are also to be used to bless others. I saw P. as a beacon of light and instead of the adversary's minions running away from him, they were running toward him,only to be blindsided by the light.
P. was so upset by all of this, he asked the question, "Who can stand up for me, who can be an advocate, I am not doing anything wrong"
When he went to work later that evening, one of his accusers decided to play a trick on him. I must say this about that person; When my husband first started this job, he had an opportunity to save his life. The guy was being beat up by several other guys and my husband stopped the fight and helped him. Did he say thank you, Nope.
So the trick was to hold back some important paperwork that my husband needed to deliver. He drives a truck, like a courier. He called my husband and tells him that he has to return for the missing paper work. P tells him no, you have to catch me. The guy jumps in his car, drives 85mpr to try and catch him, and of course he gets pulled over. The state trooper asked the guy what was his hurry. He told the officer that he was trying to catch a courier to deliver some important papers. He had an attitude about and the officer asked him about the driver of the truck. Then he said my husbands name. Oh yes, I know Mr P, the officer said and he is my friend. (Did you hear that?).The officer was about to give him a humongous ticket for 25 miles over the speed limit, but instead he literally bore his testimony to this man.
Apparently my husband had been pulled over by the same officer about a year ago. P had started to pray concerning the impending ticket. The officer was so intrigued with P, that he said "Son, if you're gonna pray, why not pray for me instead". So P took his hands in his, and opened his mouth and prayed a powerful prayer for this man. And afterward P told the officer, that "the Lord wants you to go home to your family." Talk about calling down the power of heaven. The officer was literally standing there with tears in his eyes. Apparently he was experiencing some family upheaveals. He tore up the ticket and thanked him. He went back and reconciled with his family.
This very same officer was an advocate for P. He told the coworker that he would hold on to the ticket until he could talk to my husband about it.
So by this time the guy is a blithering idiot, he drives back to the shop and sleeps there until my husband returns in the morning. He confronted my husband about this, and again, my husband verified his words to be true, and he prayed for the coworker and forgave him.
Now there should be a happy ending of sorts, but life goes on the same course. The victory is not what can be seen but what is not seen. There is power in the Holy Priesthood of God of which we as his sons and daughters do benefit from.There are still bad days, but we say to them "Bring it on"

Philippians 4:11-13
11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:
12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

THE MORMON TABERNACLE CHOIR

2011-06-24T17:34:00.000-04:00

OMG!!!
Have you ever wished a wish as a child or even as an adult, and in your heart of hearts hoped that it would come true? One day?
In this day and age, the desires of our heart are granted with the swipe of a card, the push of a button, but sometimes, "one day" happens.
When I was a kid growing up in Louisiana, I had no idea who Mormons were. However I do remember watching televised broadcasts of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir straight from BYU. I remember this because there was a limited amount of good "television" where I lived, especially on a Saturday night. My mom limited what we could watch to Hee Haw, Lawrence Welk and Saturday night wrestling matches.
My brother and I loved listening to to the music and the beautiful voices. When I asked my mom who these people were, she said they were the Mormons, and this was their choir. I was amazed that a church could have such a large choir. The choir at the church we attended had just enough people to fill the choir stand and they never sounded this lovely. So I told my mom that I wanted to go to Utah and hear the choir sing in person. She laughed and said that Utah was too far. I remember saying to her, that it didn't matter how far, I wanted to go and see them. Maybe I could join their church and sing with them. She laughed some more.
So fast forward some 40 odd years later. I have joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I don't sing in the choir, but I am always blown away at how lovely the congregation sings every Sunday.

So last evening (June 22) my husband and I and 5 of our most cherished friends gathered together and (for me at least) witnessed a dream come true. I think a lot of the people who came, had their dreams come true that night. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir came to Wolf Trap in Washington DC ( a beautiful out door theater, built in a beautiful wood that was chosen for its acoustic ability).

Mormon Tabernacle Choir Receives Warm Reception in Nation’s Capital

News Release
On a hot summer evening at Wolf trap National Park for the Performing Arts, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir received a warm reception on 22 June 2011 during the second concert of its 2011 summer tour.
The enthusiastic crowd of over 5,600 people in Vienna, Virginia, included government officials, diplomatic dignitaries and avid fans of the choir from all walks of life.
“This isn’t just a concert, it’s an amazing worship experience,” Paul Monterio, who leads religious outreach for the White House Office of Public Engagement, said.
“Personally, I am a big fan of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. If you looked at my iPod right now, you would notice how many songs I have of theirs on my phone,” he said. “Professionally, I am here because the administration is committed to working with all religious communities and the Church is a major one.”
The program for the concert included a wide variety of songs, including American folk hymns and spirituals, music from the movies and patriotic numbers. Senator Mark Warner of Virginia was the guest conductor for the evening, enthusiastically leading the choir in “This Land Is Your Land.”
“It was great,” Senator Warner said. “What an extraordinary group of musicians. I only wish my colleagues in Congress worked together as harmoniously as this choir.”

newsroom.lds.org/article/Mormon-tabernacle-choir

My husband and I have gone to Wolf Trap many times for various concerts, but this night was so very special .It was like a home coming of sorts. It was so easy to make new friends or at least start up a conversation. I saw quite a few of my ward members there, the Senior Missionary's from our ward were there.The missionary's from the Washington D.C area received free lawn tickets, they all came in their white shirts and name badges.
Even the announcer Brother Lloyd D. Newell said as much. He said that of all the places on the tour, Washington , D.C. was the most anticipated.
The place was packed, and it was so very hot. But unlike most of the concerts I attended in the past, there was no smoke clouds, not too many people drinking, no loud or obnoxious behaviour and every one picked up after themselves, seriously. My husband said that this was the first time at a venue where we knew at least 1/4 of the people there.
I have to say, that this choir brought the "Spirit" with them, from their first song to the last, it was just awesome

My favorites were these:
Guide Us, O Thou Great Jehovah (the first song)
Cum Sancto Spiritu from Petite messe solenell Gioacchino Rossini
(this song reminded me of the soundtrack from the Exorcist, but it was lovely any way, very intense and spare)

The next group of songs were my absolute favorite from American Folk Hymns and Spirituals

Brother Alex Boye singing

Down to the River to Pray
I Want Jesus to Walk with Me (which was sung with Alex Boye, who has a very powerful voice and stage presence.)
Rock-a-My Soul ( also sung by Alex Boye, he had some funny stage antics, dancing like a chicken and a robot, lots of fun)

The next group of songs were called: Glory! Music of Rejoicing
Ah,el novio no quere dinero (Sephardic wedding song)
Betelehemu (Nigerian carol, Via Olatunji and Wendell Whalum (this song rocked, there was Congo drums, and choreographed hand dancing, and it was awesome.

The final 2 songs Two Signature Hymns
Come, Come Ye Saints (which everyone in the building sang)
and of course The Battle Hymn of the Republic which was oddly enough guest directed by Senator Mark Warner, so funny)

We had to give them at least 3 standing ovations. You could feel the love. Is this a glimpse of what it will be like when the Savior comes back? The home coming, the reunion of Saints?

What a great night, even the traffic going home didn't bother me. Look at that stage setting,I really appreciate all of those choir members. Brother Newell made a point of letting the audience know that all these good people were members of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and they were all non paid volunteers. But I know that they are rewarded in more than money, think of the blessings of being musical missionary's.

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir at Wolf Trap

EZEKIEL: FAMILY HISTORY WORK

2011-06-17T16:12:00.000-04:00

EZEKIEL/Sistine chapel

Ezekiel 37:1-14
1 The hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones.
2 Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry.
3 And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”So I answered, “O Lord GOD, You know.”
4 Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!

5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.
6 I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone.
8 Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.
9 Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.
10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.
11 Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’
12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
13 Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves.
14 I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed it,” says the LORD.’”

I asked a question once, "Who is responsible for the "family history" work of all those who died, thousands and even millions of years before? I was told that in effect "we are". Maybe not the total we of the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS,but because the church encourages each and every member to do their own genealogy, it has rubbed off in a big way. I love watching the National Geographic programs that feature archaeological work. I recently watched a program called

"THE WORLD'S OLDEST CHILD" on the National Geographic Channel

"Last year, while a Penn team of archaeologists was working in Morocco, members uncovered a treasure beyond anything they'd imagined - a skeleton of a child from 108,000 years ago.

They don't know what killed him at about age 8, but his remains are believed to be one of the most complete ever found of this period.
The skeleton promises to open a window into a pivotal time in human evolution when Neanderthals still ruled Europe, and Africans were inventing art and symbolic thought.

One of the earliest sites where people left evidence of artwork and symbolism is in Morocco, where a team led by Penn Museum's Harold Dibble found the child."

Wow, isn't that awesome? Do you think that the archaeologists realize the magnitude of the work that they are doing? I know that the purposes of these scientists are to establish "links" from this ancient specimen to modern man,but they are really establishing the "eternal round" as it were.They are recording the genealogy of those people, God's children, who did not have an opportunity in life to come to the gospel. Do you think that if these archaeologists knew that they were assisting in the Lord's work, would they do more?

In the book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price,God showed Moses the "world or the history of the world that was, and is". He saw "all" of the children of men, all that were created from Adam, to his present to our present.

Moses 1:7-8
7And now, behold, this one thing I show unto thee, Moses, my son, for thou art in the world, and now I show it unto thee.

8And it came to pass that Moses looked, and beheld the world upon which he was created; and Moses beheld the world and the ends thereof, and all the children of men which are, and which were created; of the same he greatly marveled and wondered

"The documentary focuses on a Moroccan skull more than one hundred thousand years old that is revealed to be that of a 6-year-old child. Dental examinations confirm that the child lived and died well before the founding of modern religion, the construction of Egypt's pyramids and even the advent of agriculture "Lone Wolf Documentary Group

National Geographic

In Ezekiel 37:1-14; the Lord takes the prophet Ezekiel to a place called "the Valley of Dry Bones", which to me can be related to the archaeological site where the skull of this ancient child was found.
I have wondered if in this vision, was the prophet Ezekiel shown the "technology" of this modern day when the bones were reassembled and brought back to life.
One of the scientists working on the project, created a computer program using the C-AT Scan images of the ancient skull,that would digitally reassemble the broken bones and bits together anatomically and present a "face". It was awesome. The archeaologists were obviously deeply affected by the result.

National Geographic

Ezekiel 37:1-2;5-6;8-9

1 The hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones.
2 Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry

National Geographic

5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live.

6 I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the LORD

8 Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them

Bouchra, meaning good news in Arabic.

9 Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.

This is so exciting. I really love it when I can "see" the scriptures come alive in a good way. There is so much that is negative,but the positive outweighs it. Look at that face, and now he has a name.

Malachi 4:5-6

5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.
6 And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse

THE 72-HOUR RULE: What can we learn from Noah about Self Reliance

2011-06-09T13:27:00.000-04:00

NOAH

"Noah was the son of Lamech who named him Noah, saying, "This same shall comfort us in our work and in the toil of our hands, which come from the ground which the LORD hath cursed." wikipedia

The record of Noah starts in the book of Genesis, chapters 6-7 and also in the book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price.
Note that the blessing of Noah is that he is a comforter, and a restorer. After the flood waters receded, Noah cultivated a vineyard on good ground, that during the time of Adam the ground had been cursed with thistles and thorns.

Moses 7:42-43
42And Enoch also saw Noah, and his family; that the posterity of all the sons of Noah should be saved with a temporal salvation;
43Wherefore Enoch saw that Noah built an ark; and that the Lord smiled upon it, and held it in his own hand; but upon the residue of the wicked the floods came and swallowed them up

How did Noah hold on to his faith during those turbulent days and nights of that storm? How did he help his family maintain their faith? What happened after the flood?

Genesis 6:18 But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons’ wives with thee

Every month, I look forward to the new issue of "The Ensign Magazine", and even more so the new Visiting Teaching message. So as I eagarly flipped the pages for the new message, there it was again, Self Reliance. Another article about self reliance; I thought this subject had been taught to the final degree. So I glanced over it and I didn't think about it until yesterday when I was preparing to meet with my VT sisters. I re-read it and prayed to find the message.
What is the difference between being prepared and becoming self reliant? Aren't they the same? What I am learning is that spiritual prepardness leads to temporal self reliance and the two compliment one another. You can't have one with out the other. The principle of self reliance is based on the covenants that we have made with Jesus Christ, and our obedience to His commandments. The Lord has prepared our hearts, even from the very foundation of the world.To manifest temporal self reliance is to trust in our Heavenly Father.

Doctrine and Covenants 29:34–35;
34 Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal; neither any man, nor the children of men; neither Adam, your father, whom I created.
35 Behold, I gave unto him that he should be an agent unto himself; and I gave unto him commandment, but no temporal commandment gave I unto him, for my commandments are spiritual; they are not natural nor temporal, neither carnal nor sensual

VISITING TEACHING MESSAGE

Strengthening Families through Temporal Self-Reliance
Developing self-reliance—
1. the ability to care for ourselves and our families—is the responsibility of every sister.
2. We become self-reliant as we learn to love work,
3. as we seek inspiration to find the best ways to provide for ourselves, and
4. as we work with family members to meet basic needs.

When we are self-reliant, we use our blessings and resources to prepare for and avoid problems.
Self-reliance, however, is enhanced as we pray for the courage to meet with faith the challenges that will surely come.
Self-reliance also enables us to keep our covenant to care for others.

Back to my original question concerning Noah. How did he start over again,or maybe the question is how do we start? We seek inspiration (through prayer) to find the best way to provide for ourselves and our families.
God had began to prepare Noah's heart to serve him.

Genesis 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD

Psalm 10:17 LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble;You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear,

God revealed his plan to Noah;and in addition to building a home to live in, he and Mrs Noah and their family were responsible for the "food storage" or the emergency preparedness plan, if you will.

Genesis 6:19-21
19 And of every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every sort into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female.
20 Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind, two of every kind will come to you to keep them alive.
21 And you shall take for yourself of all food that is eaten, and you shall gather it to yourself; and it shall be food for you and for them.
22 Thus Noah did; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.

In the book of Moses, of the Pearl of Great Price;we are named as the "posterity of Noah". This is the promise or the covenant made for us

Moses 7:42 And Enoch also saw Noah, and his family; that the posterity of all the sons of Noah should be saved with a temporal salvation

What is that temporal salvation? Is it Temporal Self Reliance?

(Noah's patriarchial blessing)
Moses 8:
8And Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and begat a son,
9And he called his name Noah, saying: This son shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the Lord hath acursed.

What is the work of our hands? Is it our homes and families, is it our jobs,our possesions. I believe that being temporally self reliant teaches us how to be good stewards of all that God has given us. I am sure this ties in with tithing. I am humbled by this information, and now I can just "get over myself".
Sister Julie Beck, General Relief Society President, relates a personal story that I feel sums up what the Lord is teaching us, what it is that he wants us to do.

Julie B. Beck, Relief Society general president, explains that “providing for ourselves and others is evidence that we are disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. … When [my mother-in-law] passed away suddenly last year, she left evidence of her self-reliant life. She had a current temple recommend and well-used scriptures and gospel study manuals. We lovingly divided up the pots, pans, and dishes with which she had prepared thousands of meals. She left us quilts she had made from old clothing. She believed in the old adage ‘Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.’ We saw the supply of food she had grown, preserved, and stored. Particularly touching were her little account books in which she faithfully recorded her expenditures over many years. Because she lived providently, she left some money she had saved for emergencies, and she left no debts! Most importantly, she had taught and inspired many others with the skills she had acquired during her faithful life.”

Wow, what a great lesson this is. Earlier this week, I cleaned out and reorganized my food storage closet. It is not much, not even a years worth, I have had to use some of it the last 2 years. I am running out of water and my husband is still eating all of the peanut butter. I was a little panicky because food costs are going up, along with everything else. But I now realize that the Lord has given us sufficientcy in all things, even food and water, even our homes and cars, even our families. I feel that the lesson for us is to trust in God at all times, and in all situations, feast or famine. He will bring everything to pass.

2 Corinthians 3:4-6

4 And we have such trust through Christ toward God.
5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God,
6 who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

THE 72-HOUR RULE: STAYING VILIGANT

2011-05-27T16:34:00.000-04:00

kelly rae roberts

Is it just me, or did anyone else miss “The End of the World”. Obviously I wasn’t in that number; 200 million to be exact, and if you are reading this, you weren’t either. I heard about this late Friday (May 20) and I thought to myself why are people still doing this? The adversary never changes his game, just his tactics. The goal of this activity was to make a mockery of the Word of God, to take away the truth of the word and replace it with error, and sensationalism and lies.

I was curious as to what kind of person this California preacher was. Here is what the news article said:

*A California preacher who foretold of the world's end only to see the appointed day pass with no extraordinarily cataclysmic event has revised his apocalyptic prophecy, saying he was off by five months and the Earth actually will be obliterated on Oct. 21.
Harold Camping, who predicted that 200 million Christians would be taken to heaven Saturday before catastrophe struck the planet, apologized Monday evening for not having the dates "worked out as accurately as I could have."

I believe that one of the greatest gifts and opportunities that our Heavenly Father gave us was agency.
Agency is our opportunity to choose to God and his son Jesus Christ and the plan of salvation or to choose the world. I believe that in the U.S. alone, many people have had an opportunity to read the bible and even the Book of Mormon and to accept it as the word of God or not.
Judging by the reactions of some people to this type of activity, you can tell that the Light of World continues to shine. You could ask any random person on the street, what they know about the return of Jesus Christ, and even if they couldn’t tell you the chapter, they could quote the verse, (Matthew 24:36) Most people regardless of their church or religious affiliation can agree with this verse.

Matthew 24:36
But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

My husband and I were talking about this and I asked the question, why are people still doing this thing? How in this day and time, with access to so much information, how are people deceived? My husband reminded me of a time in our lives that brought back a flood of memories for both of us. He reminded me of a church we both attended a number of years before we left and later joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day saints.
My husband and I were both members, maybe attendees is a better word of “The Way International.” Even now when I think of the name, I get a nauseous feeling in my stomach. (It is a cult in every sense of the word).

* The Way International describes itself as a biblical research, teaching and fellowship ministry. It was founded in 1942 by Victor Paul Wierwille, a former Reformed minister. L Craig Martindale succeeded Wierwille in 1982.

The only good thing that came out of that experience was that I met my husband.I know this was a journey that we both had to take, we had to find each other. Now this isn’t your typical romantic story of a boy meeting a girl and living happily ever after, this was more like a fire walk on hot coals barefoot. I know that the Lord has a plan for each and every one of us, and those of us who inadvertently choose that plan, and walk; we will come out on the end side better.

When I was investigating the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS,I was a hard sell. I knew that deep in my heart,I wanted to have a truthful relationship with our Heavenly Father.I had many questions and situations and bad memories. I remember the Missionary's challenging me to read the book of Mormon with the intent of having my questions answered.
I read this passage from Alma in the Book of Mormon, I literally saw in my mind how anyone can be deceived and lead away, even God’s elect.
Alma 1:2-3
2 And it came to pass that in the first year of the reign of Alma in the judgment-seat, there was a man brought before him to be judged, a man who was large, and was noted for his much strength.
(Why was it important to note "the man's " physical appearance?)
1Samuel 16:7
7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees;for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

3 And he had gone about among the people, preaching to them that which he termed to be the word of God, bearing down against the church; declaring unto the people that every priest and teacher ought to become popular; and they ought not to labor with their hands, but that they ought to be supported by the people.
(In my own person experience, this is a valid statement of an agenda.This agenda attacks any church or group that is different. The agenda is a hostile entity to any one who challenges the authority of said organization)
4 And he also testified unto the people that all mankind should be saved at the last day, and that they need not fear nor tremble, but that they might lift up their heads and rejoice; for the Lord had created all men, and had also redeemed all men; and in the end, all men should have eternal life.(The philosophies of men, mingled with scripture, to make it believable)
5 And it came to pass that he did teach these things so much that many did believe on his words, even so many that they began to support him and give him money.(The constant repetitiveness's of his message combined with a charming or forceful or even a non-threatening demeanor,tends to break down a person's natural impulse to be cautious and then question their own beliefs)
6 And he began to be lifted up in the pride of his heart, and to wear very costly apparel, yea, and even began to establish a church after the manner of his preaching.
Proverbs 21:24
24 A proud and haughty man—“Scoffer” is his name; He acts with arrogant pride.

Before I joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day saints, I was searching, and I needed to find a church that told the truth, a church that would teach me about the Savior,about our Heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit. I needed to know what would happen to me when I died. Where would I go, would I cease to exist? I needed to know what the scriptures were talking about, and if they were true.I grew up in the South, attending the local Baptist Church. When I left home for college and the Navy, I was always looking for familiar churches to go to. I asked a co-worker one day if he could tell me where a local church was. He said yes, and not only that,” My wife and I would love to have you come to our church.” I said great; would you mind if I joined you one Sunday? He said yes, but he said, you can come with us on Thursday, because we don’t meet on Sundays. I asked him, what denomination are you, he said “non-denomination”. He was so happy that I was coming that he told me that all would be explained at “the meeting”.

So we met in the house of a married couple, Doug & Rita. I loved them immediately, because they seemed like long lost relatives. Doug led the meeting and Rita introduced the hymns and then we had refreshments. I wanted to come back because Doug seemed to know what he was talking about in the Bible. So I came back many times, and we all grew as friends, and we had outings and etc. But you know what? I really didn’t have a clear explanation of who these people were and what was their church all about.

Finally I was told that the name of the group was called this: *The Way International. I thought to myself, the Way? OK that sounds good. So how do I join? I told them that I needed to be baptized, but they scoffed at the idea. They said that I didn’t need to be baptized with water any more; I could be saved by confessing with my mouth that I believed that Jesus Christ was the son of God and presto, you are born again and saved. I had a problem with that, but I agreed at the time. I signed up for a class that would tell me everything I ever wanted to know about God, the Son and the Way Ministry and it would cost a onetime fee of 50.00 and I could take it again if wanted to, for free.
The class was 4 weeks long and I couldn’t miss a day. It was tedious to say the least, but if this was the way to find answers I would hang in there. The “class” was a black and white film, where the original founder of this organization expounded on his own personal theories about God. He made this statement: “God spoke to me audibly, just like I am talking to you now, He said that he would teach me the Word as it had not been known since the first century, if I would teach it to others”

I found out years later that he had plagiarized portions of his own “foundational” textbook from the writings of other authors. He called himself a Doctor of Theology, but that also was false, it was purchased. But at the time he came across as sincere, loving and down to earth ,on film at least because apparently by the time I took the class in the late 80”s the founder had been dead for at least 10 years. Something that wasn’t lost on me, but I filed it away.
So at the end of the class, he prayed for us (on the film) and blessed us with the Holy Spirit and then led us into speaking in tongues. I could never master speaking in tongues; it sounded a lot like babbling to me. Not once did I ever “feel” the presence of the Holy Spirit in any meeting. After that we had refreshments and everyone was hugging and crying. I still have a picture. I joined this group and stayed with them on and off for almost 10 years.
I had an opportunity to meet the new “leader” of this organization. He was an imposing man, extremely stressed, and a little scary. He was and I will call him the Anti-Christ, because as I learned, that this group denounced that “Jesus Christ was not God” and the Holy Spirit was a figment of the imagination of God. They said that Jesus was not really the Son of God, just an exalted human being. I had a problem with that, but not knowing much, I was at a loss. I had always believed that Jesus Christ was the only begotten Son of God. I asked them why would the Bible tell us this if it wasn’t true? I was told that the current Bible was full of errors and the Way only taught from the Epistles, and they declared the Old Testament as meaningless, and they called the Book of Revelation, “Star Wars”. Why didn’t I leave then? God had a plan for me.

After 10 years of this, I decided to leave this organization. I prayed for guidance on this, I asked Heavenly Father if he would see fit to find me a husband and help me start a family. That was it. So He did. My future husband was attending a foundational class and I introduced myself to him, because he looked lost and I thought I was supposed to be his helper. I wasn’t, but I felt as if I knew him. What I remember about my then future husband was the big fuss that was made over him, and not in a good way. The coordinator of the class was reproving him for bringing the wrong Bible to class. She tried to make a spectacle of him. She took his bible from him and showed it to the class, and she said, “Class, what’s wrong with this bible? Of course I couldn’t tell if anything was wrong, she said, it’s a Mormon Bible and she made a face, and held it in her hands like it was something distasteful. I was curious. My future husband stood up took the book away from her and defended the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day saints. He said that the book of Mormon was the true word of God. They asked him what was he doing at their meeting, and he said," I am trying to find my way back."
It took us another 10 years to find our way back. The Lord says that he knows the end from the beginning. We are now at the beginning of our journey together. If I could sing this would be a gospel song. Someone was praying for us.
What I have learned from this is that personal knowledge,a personal testimony of our Heavenly Father, and of His son Jesus Christ and of the Holy Spirit, is power .

Hosea 4:1;6
1Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land
6¶My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children

This my testimony in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

THE 72-HOUR RULE: LOVE ONE ANOTHER

2011-05-20T16:18:00.000-04:00

John 13:34-35
34 A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another, as I have love you, that ye also love one another
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another

I never realized the extent of this scripture, and not until recently did I realize just what the Savior is saying to his disciples and to us, as we are his disciples also. A commandment to love one another; this makes me think of the times when my mom had to pull me and brother apart from the frequent “knock-down, drag out fights” we would have. Both my mom and my dad told us that we would have to learn to get along, and we would have to love each other.
I remember thinking to myself that there was no way I would ever love this horrible little boy, who unfortunately was my brother. But I remember asking my grandmother about this, I told her that I had a hard time trying to love such a bad little boy. She told me that I had to try. I had to try and find something loveable in him. So I did the best I could, and now even in our adult hood, our relationship is often strained due to time and distance from one another. But I made a decision last year to change something about myself, so that I could find a way to love my brother, as the Savior commanded, and as he deserved to be loved by me. My brother and I communicate mostly through letters, and the interpretation of those letters can be subjective. My husband made a very good suggestion, he said, “Why don’t you write a cheerful letter?” Stop complaining, because I am sure your brother is aware of your issues and he is probably as stressed about them as you are”. I was speechless, so I swallowed my pride and I wrote a cheerful and concerned letter. He appreciated it and now we can move on in our relationship.
So this leads me to the next dilemma, we say “Lord, some people are really hard to love”.

Matthew 5:43-45
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
45 That you may be sons of your Father in heaven, for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust

That’s hard, isn’t it? Someone said to me that one way to overcome this is to endeavor to serve that person or persons. Serve? How do we serve an enemy? I believe that the first line of defense is prayer. Is anyone beyond prayer?

Luke 23:33-35
33 And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.
34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do:And they divided His garments and cast lots.
35 And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.”

Jesus prayed to our Heavenly Father and asked that He would forgive them. Wow, Jesus was dying, and struggling just to find the strength to say his last words to his mother and friends. What an effort it must have been to say that prayer,both physically and mentally.
The Roman soldiers were gambling for his clothing,and one of the two criminals that was hanging beside him taunted him, saying to him that he should just get off the cross if he were the son of God. Have we met these people? Even when they are just as bad off as we are, they still throw rocks.

Luke 28:29-30
29 To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either.
30 Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.

About a week ago, I was the recipient of a random act of kindness. How do you figure. It was interesting how the day developed. The "Big Boss" of the hospital where I work posted his thoughts on his blog. His thoughts were this:

"Small acts of kindness, indeed small acts of kindness often randomly performed, can make huge differences in the lives of men and women".

He went on to say that in our jobs we could all practice random acts of kindness, a smile, a friendly greeting, listening to another's distress,etc. He said that it didn't matter what job or title we held, we all have the opportunity to make others lives better through kindness. I was really blessed at that moment. So I told my husband about this, read the post to him, and we both got warm and fuzzy all over, but it didn't last, because we immediately started to complain about some unfair treatment or what ever. So we complained and complained, and you know what happened? A car; loaded with 2 adults and assorted kids drove up. We looked at this car and we recognized some of the youth leaders and some of the young men and women. My husband went up to the window and asked if they were lost. Someone shoved a plate of cookies in his hands. They told my husband that he was the recipient of a "random act of kindness" and that he was to pay it forward. We were stunned, so we asked "Why us?" They looked at us and laughed and said because we love you, and then they drove off. Its almost like Jesus was listening to our complaints, and he said, "Put a cookie in it" LOL:). Those were delicious cookies. I wanted to pay it forward, but I can't bake a lick. So I sent my husband to help our neighbors do some minor repairs on their home.

Thank you to everyone who reads my blog, this is my 100th post, and looking back at my older posts,I am surprised at how much I have learned. Thank you for all of you kind words and friendship; keep reading
Ramona

THE 72-HOUR RULE: WITH FULL PURPOSE OF HEART

2011-05-06T13:42:00.000-04:00

Testimony Sunday honestjoncomics@blogspot.com

TESTIMONIES,TEMPLE'S & TITHING

Exodus 35:21 Then everyone came whose heart was stirred,and everyone whose spirit was willing,and they brought the Lords offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting,for all its service and for the holy garments

This past Sunday was "Testimony Sunday" and the message was Tithing, Testimony and Temple. Not to say that there was a lesson taught or a sermon preached, but it seems that this was the Word of the Lord by way of various testimonies was on those topics.
The first person up was a Sister who had just moved into the ward. She stated that her recent tithe offering had come about after much soul searching and insistent prompting of the Holy Spirit. She had recently written a check to cover expenses for school and because of that she had considered delaying paying her tithe this Sunday.She had recalled a teaching in the Relief Society last week concerning Tithing and the statement was made that "If you aren't tithing, you don't have a testimony of the gospel". Wow, that was a powerful statement. These words apparently affected this Sister, who said that because of that teaching and subsequent promptings, she withdrew money from her account, knowing that it would probably cause an overdraft and bought a money order and paid her tithing. She checked her account on line and noticed that the previous check had been paid but she had a overdraft fee to pay. She felt that it would be better to pay the overdraft fee then to not have paid her tithing. What a testimony and it was one that took a lot of courage and made everyone a little uncomfortable.

Another sister came to the pulpit and her testimony was this, that she too had struggled as to either delay paying tithes and pay an important bill or pay the tithes. After hearing the previous sister's words, she wrote the check, put it in the envelope and then she gave it to the Bishop. Wow, what a testimony. So I wrote out my check for the tithe offering and gave it to the Bishop, knowing that my husband and I will be really tight until the end of the week. What a sacrifice.
Through all of this I realized that the Lord loves us and obviously has great patience with us. He is aware of our situations, our overdrawn bank accounts, our ill advised spending sprees, etc. He wants to teach us how to trust in Him, and how to prioritize.
Throughout the remainder of this week I have been listening to my favorite gospel station, and listening to a preacher in Texas attempt to teach his congregation the joys of giving. I had to admire his courage and conviction in taking on this subject. There seems to be varying explanations and rules about tithing's and offerings. How much to give, when to give, how to give, etc. It's no wonder that most people are confused and even hostile when the topic is brought up. It's like people see it as a jagged little pill.What if there was another word for it, would it be easier to swallow? I have found that the will to give has already been planted in our hearts. This will has to be stirred up by the Spirit of God in order for us to recognize it and then move forward with full purpose of heart.
What I have learned is that the Lord wants us to give with a cheerful heart and countenance. No giving grudgingly, no frowns. He would rather have us give with full purpose of heart, or rather, with a willing spirit and a stirred up heart.
What does "stir" mean? Doesn't it mean to cause an external action that incites an internal reaction? Its obvious isn't it? When we take a spoon and stir a pot of water it moves, but when the heat is turned up and the water starts to boil; and then stir the water with a spoon. The boiling water is agitated by the spoon. If you are not careful the water might bubble up and splash out of the pan.
So how is a heart stirred up, how does God stir up our hearts? He causes an internal action that incites an external reaction.

John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

By virtue or the power of our Baptismal ordinance and the gift of the Holy Spirit the Lord has began a great work in us. He has given us a new heart, and in that new heart, therein lies the keys to happiness and obedience and a willingness to trust God and serve him. Its like the Heavenly Father placed an appt there for us.

Jeremiah 24:7 I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.
Jeremiah 32:39-40
39: I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them.
40: I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me.

These scripture are deep like a river and I have been pondering over them both day and night. I want to give and "honest tithe" as it were. What is an honest tithe? I believe that an honest tithe is when you purpose in your heart to give,and when we ask in prayer for guidance we will receive it. I did, and the Lord challenged me and my husband to work out the details of our earnings, and then give that. We tithe each pay period and that works for us. Like most everyone,we live from pay check to pay check. See, the Lord would not have us to live from pay check to pay check, but from the abundance that comes from simple obedience.

So we gave and I knew we were going to be very tight financially for some time to come. I felt the answer to that was "What are you afraid of?. Wow, what was I afraid of, going hungry, no money for gas or what ever. But then again, I was impressed to realize that this "discomfort" was only for a short while, all of our needs would be met. As a people we have a fear of money, we fear the results of loss and even fear the blessings of abundance. But what was the reward for this simple act of obedience? We got 2 checks in the mail, one a small refund that we had already tithed on and another was a rebate check that we had thought was lost in the mail. Another blessing of this simple act of obedience is that my husband and I have started to brainstorm ways to decrease our household debt. The first thing to go is the cable. The Lord counsels us that there is no fear in love. He has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love and a sound mind.

2 Peter 1:2-4
2: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,
3: as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,
4: by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

In Exodus 3:21 Moses was commanded to tell the children of Isreal to provide of their substance to "finance" the construction and building of the "Tabernacle of Meeting "and also for the meetings in it and the holy garments for the priests. As you read the entire chapter, the children of Israel were stirred up in their hearts to give until Moses had to tell them to stop. Can you imagine? This is what we do when we tithe.

Luke 6:38
Give and it will be given unto you,good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.

Amen

2011-05-04T14:14:00.000-04:00

So Beautiful or So What by Paul Simon
"Tender, vulnerable and yet very assured, "So Beautiful or So What" shows the wisdom and skill of the 70-year-old (as of next October) auteur, whose career was at the peak four decades ago and two decades ago - and now it should be again. Multi-colored yet instantly recognizable, the songs sing, offer some endearingly melodic moments, although not as many as they could. Lyrically, Paul plays a man who would like to know better, but the result is dubious - almost every single song deals with mortality, eternal love, angels or afterlife." (Review on Amazon.com)

A few days ago, I was searching my computer music collection for something to "soothe the savage beast". (I was at work and it was a particularly trying day.) Lately my music of choice has been the music of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. It is interesting to me that I have listened to this choir most of my life, but I didn't know it.
So my ear has been re-trained to listen more to the soft refrain, or maybe the subtlety of the words. I love gospel music in any form, but I love music that bears the testimony of the artist.

So I needed to find some new music to add to my "Office Playlist". I remember walking around Borders bookstore recently ;( a favorite and now dying past time) and I heard a familiar voice singing. It sounded like Paul Simon, I thought it was his album "Graceland" a fav of mine, but it sounded different. It reminded me of Johnny Cash and his last album. The theme of Johnny's last album before he died was to inquire about God. This new Paul Simon music had a different feel and melancholy to it. So I was surprised when I ran across the cd again on a blog post I was reading. I went to Amazon.com and listened to the samples. You know when you listen to a piece of music and it reaches into your soul and you know that you will enjoy every song. This is one of those cds. I watched an interview of Paul Simon where he talked about the inspiration for this cd.

One statement stood out to me; He says of his new album

"God comes up a lot in my songs….. A theme that is not intentional …that God seemed to be in 5 or 6 songs, its funny, for somebody who's not religious. He said that after a show about a year ago, Paul McCartney came up and asked him "Aren't you Jewish?" he chuckled."

I have already picked out my favorite songs, and I haven't bought it yet.

1. Getting Ready For Christmas Day

2. The Afterlife (I thought this was pretty funny)

The Afterlife
After I died and the makeup had dried
I went back to my place
No moon that night, but a heavenly light
Shown on my face
Still I thought it was odd there was no sign of God
Just to usher me in

Then a voice from above sugarcoated with love
Said, “Let us begin”
You got to fill out a form first
And then you wait in the line
You got to fill out a form first
And then you wait in the line

3. Dazzling Blue
4. Rewrite

5. Love And Hard Times (When I heard the melody which is haunting and melancholy, my first thought was of the first vision.)

God and His only Son
Paid a courtesy call on Earth
One Sunday morning
Orange blossoms opened their fragrant lips
Songbirds sang from the tips of Cottonwoods
Old folks wept for His love in these hard times

6. Love Is Eternal Sacred Light

Love is eternal sacred light
Free from the shackles of time
Evil is darkness, sight without sight
A demon that feeds on the mind

How’d it all begin? Started with a bang
Couple of light years later, stars and planets sang (Did Paul read Job, concerning the morning stars and the sons of God singing and shouting for joy?
Fire warmed the cold, waves of colors flew
Moonlight into gold, earth to green and blue

7. Amulet
8. Questions For The Angels (This song reminds me of a children's prayer)
A pilgrim on a pilgrimage
Walked across the Brooklyn Bridge
His sneakers torn
In the hour when the homeless move their cardboard blankets
And the new day is born

Folded in his backpack pocket
The questions that he copied from his heart
Who am I in this lonely world?
And where will I make my bed tonight?
When twilight turns to dark

Questions for the angels
Who believes in angels?
Fools do
Fools and pilgrims all over the world

9. Love And Blessings
10. So Beautiful Or So What

This is just a simple post, just musing. I love music and I was once an avid musciophile. I remember having an extensive collection of albums and cd's that tended to chronicle the seasons of my life. Some music reflected my inner emotions, but most music reflected my own personal statements about life or politics or just plain rock and roll.
When I listen to music like this with this particular theme, I wonder if the words are the testimony of the singer. Does the Savior appreciate music that we all sing from our hearts?

In a revelation given to Emma Smith, the Lord reveals something so very personal and sweet about His person:

Doctrine & Covenants 25:11-12
11And it shall be given thee, also, to make a selection of sacred hymns, as it shall be given thee, which is pleasing unto me, to be had in my church.

12For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads.

The Lord delights in the song of the heart.

HAPPY EASTER

2011-04-22T16:54:00.000-04:00

I have been thinking about the upcoming Easter holiday and trying to grasp the awesomeness of the Atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ. I am overwhelmed, but I am endeavoring to break it down to its most manageable parts.

I was impressed to find out how the Atonement of Jesus Christ overcame physical death and spiritual death or rather the victory over the grave. I looked at the words death and dead in the Topical Guidelines and I found quite a few records from the Old Testament on through the Book of Mormon, and Doctrine & Covenants; etc. These records stood out to me. The first one is from Isaiah.

Isaiah 26:19
19Thy dead men shall live; Together with my dead body shall they arise.
Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust:,for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

As I read this scripture, I could imagine being there with Isaiah, almost hearing the voice of Jehovah, telling him of the plan of salvation. I suspect that Isaiah was as overwhelmed with this information as I am.

Job 38:7 When the morning stars sang together,And all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Can you see the correlation with this scripture?)

(Its like a puzzle. This past Testimony Sunday, someone said that we receive revelation at times, like puzzle pieces, We must exercise our faith to put those pieces together to form the whole.)
Now here is the 2nd witness:

Matthew 27:51-53
51: And behold the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent
52: And the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints which sleep arose,
53: and came out of the graves after his resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared unto many.

I found that Matthew was the only gospel writer who made note of this. When you read this in context, it seems like its shoved in between vs 50 where Jesus has yielded up the ghost and 54 when the centurion see's the earthquake.) Just saying...

When I read this, I can understand the concept of exalted beings with bodies, like the Moroni. I remember hearing many sermons on this record on Easter Sunday's past.I remember the enthusiasm of the preacher and of course everyone said "Amen preacher" and we believed that these resurrected persons walked the earth. So it lends the question, if you can believe this word, why not the Book of Mormon?

What inspired me to write this, was the beautiful music of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir; specifically the CD "Come Thou Font of Every Blessing". This is a compilation of various folk hymns and spirituals.

When I joined this church, I really missed listening to Gospel music, so someone suggested this CD. It took me about a year after I got it to listen to it. I have to say that I really love this CD. It is very soothing and you can feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. I think that maybe this what the Heavenly Host sound like when they sing for joy.

Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

By: Robert Robinson, 1735-90

Come, Thou fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
While the hope of endless glory
Fills my heart with joy and love,
Teach me ever to adore Thee;
May I still Thy goodness prove.

Here I raise my Ebenezer,
Hither by Thy help I’ve come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.

2011-04-13T17:10:00.000-04:00

It's my birthday; or rather April 15 is my "appointed day". This year on my birthday I will be having minor surgery on my knee.Some one asked why I would schedule surgery on my birthday. Truthfully, I never thought about it that way. When I mention the date, most people say "Oh you were born on tax day, well tax day has been officially moved to the 18th. (The stigma still remains).
I remember my last birthday, one that I considered a personal milestone, my 50th. However that one totally fizzled and was a great disappointment. I am sure I wanted some king of party, maybe a surprise party. I made a gift list, even a favorite restaurant list. Nothing, even my best friend forgot me. The highlight of that day was having dinner at a restaurant called Carrabas. The waiter was so nice, he brought out a birthday sundae (I am horribly lactose intolerant) and he and my husband sang the sweetest happy birthday song to me.
How can you top that? This year has been so full of "busyness" and trials and afflictions, I have forgotten about me. Isn't that what we are supposed to do? I have endeavored to overcome the Ego in favor of the Id.

I have searched the scriptures to find out if "birthdays" are celebrated. Of course I found two records that actually said "birthday".

Genesis 40:20 now it came to pass on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants….
Matthew 14:6 But when Herod’s birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod
Mark 6: Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, and the chief men of Galilee.

These parties ended badly,and it is interesting to note that each birthday boy received a gift of someone's head on a platter. In the book of Job, there is a mention of an "appointed day". It seems that Jobs son's had planned festivities on this day and invited their siblings to eat with them.

Job 1:4 4 And his sons would go and feast in their houses, each on his appointed day, and would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

It seems that party ended badly also. This could also explain why most parties I gave for myself ended not as I had hoped. I must say that 2 birthday parties stand out to me.
The first party was when I turned the grand old age of 7. I remember asking my mom for a piñata, a pin the tail on the donkey game and of course the required chocolate cake. My mom granted all of my wishes, including inviting some friends from school and the neighborhood. I shared this party with a cousin whose birthday is a day after mine. My mom, ever the diplomat, baked not one chocolate cake but two; one for me and my cousin. She also baked a special white cake for my brother, who was born in January. Sounds like a great party. It was great up until the candles were blown out and we took turns at the piñata. It was really a paper bag of candy that we tied to a tree and took turns flailing away at it with a big stick. I am sure that anyone who has had a piñata knows the ending to this story. It ends badly. Next we tried to encourage everyone to play pin the tail on the donkey. We couldn't pin the tail on that donkeys butt, with our eyes open. (We blind folded all players and spun them around.). Of course after about an hour, everyone was cranky including my mother, who put a stop to the party. I know you're asking, how can she remember all of that stuff? Believe me, I hoard memories.
My second memory of the best "Birthday Party Ever" was when I turned 25. (This was the party I should have had when I turned 21, but I couldn't get the day off). My then very best friend on the planet threw me a surprise party, that I organized my self. It really was a surprise. I was in the Navy at the time, and of course I had duty on my special day and had to work late. My friend Maggie came to get me and we walked to the barracks where we lived. I could smell bar be que and I heard the music and I knew everyone had started without me. But wait, I walked onto the patio and it was dark, and then it got quiet and all of a sudden all of these sparklers went off, (I wanted fire works for my day, so they had sparklers) and then everyone started to sing Happy Birthday to me, in perfect harmony, just like a choir. And then they cheered me and toasted me 25 years old. I have no remembrance of what happened after. (That's my story and I'm sticking too it.)
Now how can I ever top those memories? I can't. But I decided to dig deep in the scriptures, to find out about our appointed day. I suppose that if we were to receive a birthday card from Heavenly Father it would include a few of these scriptures:

He would tell us that we are loved passionately and that He never forgets us.

Isaiah 49:15-17
15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you.
16 See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands;your walls are continually before me.

We are special to Him:

Matthew 10:29-31
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.
30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows

He has loved us from the beginning and has planned our paths:

Psalm 139:1-3:13-16 (Amplified Bible)
1O LORD, you have searched me [thoroughly] and have known me.
2You know my down sitting and my uprising; you understand my thought afar off. (A)
3You sift and search out my path and my lying down, and you are acquainted with all my ways.
13For you did form my inward parts; you did knit me together in my mother's womb.
14I will confess and praise you for you are fearful and wonderful and for the awful wonder of my birth! Wonderful are your works, and that my inner self knows right well.
15My frame was not hidden from You when I was being formed in secret [and] intricately and curiously wrought [as if embroidered with various colors] in the depths of the earth [a region of darkness and mystery].
16Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in your book all the days [of my life] were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them.

It was a great day when you were born; He celebrates that day :

PSALMS 118:24
24 This is the day the LORD has made;we will rejoice and be glad in it.

This would be the best birthday card ever, and it is, because I can search out these pearls and read them. What about the gifts. Because we chose his son to be our Savior, we received all things that pertain to life and godliness. All that we could ever think about and even partially comprehend, he has given to us. One of the best gifts is the Holy Spirit,and even better the gift of Eternal Life and exaltation. Wow what a party.
All nature declares his greatness and love. One of the best examples is the first clear night of the full moon, and all the stars are shining. What a great gift. I am thankful.These are the gifts that continue to give and bless.
Happy Birthday to Me.

THE 72-HOUR RULE: DO YOU WANT TO BE MADE WELL?

2011-04-12T17:02:00.000-04:00

A Man Healed at the Pool of Bethesda

1 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.
3 In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.
4 For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.
5 Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.
6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”
7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
8 Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.”
9 And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath.
14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.”
15 The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well

Observations:
Vs: 3 in these (porches) lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.
(Were these people homeless? Did they live out there around the pool, each one waiting for a sign like the movement of the water, and would each person try to get into the pool first. The atmosphere had to be very tense, hopeless and desperate.
Did these people have families who provided for them? Were they beggars? Did they resort to petty crimes such as pick pocketing, con games, etc? Were the weakest victimized more?

Vs 4: For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.
I have always been curious about this statement; An angel would go down into the pool at a certain time? Was this true, why would an angel be commissioned to perform miracles when the Son of God was on the earth?
Was this a hoax, sort of like "faith healing"? Did the people who were there to be healed, spend all of their money to come to this place and once there, they were victimized. The scriptures do not say if any one was healed.

Proverbs 22:22-23
22 Do not rob the poor, because he is poor,
or crush the afflicted at(C) the gate,
23 for the LORD will plead their cause
and rob of life those who rob them

Vs 5 There was a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.
This man had been sick for 38 years, how long had he lain at that pool? He had been sick at least half of his life.
Vs 6: When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”
Can you sense the mood? Jesus saw him lying there, and by revelation, he knew among other things, that this man had been sick for a long time. But Jesus asks a very straight forward question:" Do you want to be made well?"
You may be tempted to think that Jesus posed a rhetorical question, one that requires no answer. But this question is loaded.
What kind of question is that, of course he wants to made well, why else would he be lying here? Right?

Vs 7: The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
It seems like this man does not understand the question. He seems to immediately make excuses for his inability to be healed. He complains of not having any one, friend or family to help him into the water.

Vs 8 Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.”
So the question and statement is "Why have you been lying here all of these years?" Jesus is saying, I know you. Even though you have been sick for 38 years of your life, there was a point in your life you when you were healthy, when your body was whole. Do you remember what it was to be healthy, then remember, and rise up and take your bed and walk. Your sins are forgiven.

(Remembering, repenting and walking in that strait way)
I have been pondering this record.I have searched this record to find myself in it. I have. My testimony is this, that about 2 months ago, I woke up one morning for work (4:30) and in opening my eyes I realized that even in the dark, I could not see very well out of my left eye. So I lay there for a minute and my mind immediately started to do damage control. I told myself that this was familiar; I actually heard my self saying, "Its ok, we've gone through this before, its just your allergies, your eye is reacting to that." So as I made an attempt to get out of bed and take a look in the mirror, I felt an excruciating pain in my right hand and my right knee. It was almost comical in a pitiful kind of way. So I lay there and again my brain was assesing the damage .
So I told myself that I knew what the issue was, because I had experienced them before and in a short while I would feel better. But the pain in my knee, well that was a new one. So I hobbled to the bathroom mirror and my eye was entirely red, and my right hand was so tender to touch,I knew that I was going to have a hard time driving to work. So I asked in prayer, Lord, if you could just allow me to see out of my good eye, I think that I can make it.
So it took a few days for everything to settle down, my eye cleared up but the knee and hand remained the same for a few weeks until I decided to see a Doctor. I knew what he would say, and the tests I needed even before he told me. My curse for working in the heath field. I was reluctant,and I was afraid because I knew what I needed. So I dragged my feet and my bad knee. I really suffered for it, more mentally then physically. I felt that the Lord had outlined a plan, and just like a few in biblical records, I had to take charge of the healing process.
So to make a long story short, I had the MRI, I made the date for surgery, (the day before my birthday).
But after I did this, I felt a weight lift and I have felt a peacefulness come over me.
Yesterday I had to take a stress test. Because of my knee and other reasons, I have been slack in the exercise department. I was really skeptical; I didn't feel that I would be able to run on a treadmill for 10-15 minutes without passing out. Even my doctor's assistants looked at me funny. But I felt the love and encouragement of my Doctor and her team and I did it 100%. All of my hypochondria issues were resolved, my blood tests are good, my heart is healthy.I believe that I will do well. The Lord has prepared me for this, I can see that now.
So when the Lord ask's us "Do you want to be made well"?, I suppose the answer is yes Lord. Because not only will you be healed but you will be a part of the process. With each step of the healing process, we can build our faith and our love for our Savior.

THE 72-HOUR RULE: PETER

2011-03-24T16:41:00.000-04:00

CONFIDENCE

1. full trust; belief in the powers, trustworthiness, or reliability of a person or thing:

2. belief in oneself and one's powers or abilities; self-confidence; self-reliance; assurance

Matthew 14-22-33
22 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.
23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.
24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.
25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea.
26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.
27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”
28 And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
29 so He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.
30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”
31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
33 Then those who were in the boat came and[c] worshiped Him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

I have recently taken up the challenge to "liken myself " according to the scriptures. I am sure that means to find a person in the scriptures whose life was similar to yours, and if they eventually turned out OK,then there is hope for me.
I love Peter. I think that he is the "Patron Saint" of all the wise and foolish. The record in Matthew 14:22-33 is about confidence. There are quite a few records of the dialogue between the Savior and Peter, concerning his somewhat rash behavior? His habit of speaking before giving thought to what is being said and it seems that most of all Peter tended to take everything at "face" value. Meaning that if he saw something and it was extraordinary, he may have reasoned that it really wasn't. He seemed not to believe what he was told was true. He did not believe his eyes, he didn't listen well with his ears, and as in the case of walking on the water, he did not hold on and believe what the Lord was showing him.
I believe that at times Peter had issues with authority, as we all do from time to time. What I have learned is that obedience is the key to fulfilment.

How did Jesus walk on that water? It is obvious that He is the Son of God and surely,Heavenly Father made it so. Are you sure?
The first two verses state that after a long and hard day of teaching and ministering to many people, Jesus told the apostles to push out ahead with their boat, he probably told them that he would meet back up with them. "Yeah, Yeah sure boss". they said. He probably said, and I am just guessing, "Wait for me, I will meet you at the boat at the fourth watch which is about dawn. He probably told them to stay awake. I'm just saying, given the text.
I was in the Navy, and we had duties to perform, called "Watch duty". Guess what we did, we patroled an assigned area, we made sure all was secure, and we "watched". We were alert and watchful for any signs of the unususal. If someone was expected we looked for them.

So Jesus went up into the mountain and he was alone and he prayed. He was there until the fourth watch of the night, until dawn.
He started out to meet them, and he took the most direct route, the sea. The men thought he was a spirit or ghost, he called out to them "Fear not, be of good cheer, it is I".
Why didn't they recognize him?
Here is the good stuff; Peter said Lord "If" it is you bid me to come to you on this water, with the winds blowing like crazy,swells and waves. Why did Peter do that? Was he trying to overcome his own fear or to help the men overcome their fears? He seemed to establish doubt and a shakey confidence with his first word, "If". Sort of like the confrontation between Satan and Jesus. "If" thou be the son of God, prove it. Peter seems to say are you really the son of God? Prove it, and then help me in my own unbelief. I will walk out on faith, if you command me to do so.
The Savior always had a teaching moment in everything that he did. The sea was calm when he started to walk out on it. How did he do it. He commanded the elements to remember and obey.

Abraham 4:9-10
9 And the Gods ordered, saying: Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto bone place, and let the earth come up dry; and it was so as they ordered;
10 And the Gods pronounced the dry land, Earth; and the gathering together of the waters, pronounced they, Great Waters; and the Gods saw that they were obeyed

So why did Peter start to sink? Why didn't the water obey Peter? Did he remember previous teachings concerning faith?

Matthew 21:21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

So this is where I put my name into this record,is this me Lord?
Sister Julie Beck has a powerful talk that I love to reference. To me each quote is filled with power.

QUOTE:Let us talk now about how we choose to walk with the Lord. First of all, we have to know what our responsibilities are and how to fulfill them. We know that, as women of God, this is a time when we need an increase of faith and personal righteousness. Never at any time in the world have we needed more faith from the women of God. By this I mean a faith of power as was taught by Joseph Smith. The kind of faith that creates miracles and calls down the powers of angels and heavenly help. That kind of increase of faith and personal righteousness will strengthen us.END QUOTE Julie B. Beck
Relief Society General President

There it is, how we choose to walk with the Lord is pivotal. Do we only walk with him on Sundays, or only on bad days, or when we want to look good in the eyes of others.
Peter started to sink. Did he sink because the other men in the boat started to call him back, or scream more in fear. Were they quiet, did anyone else get out of the boat, did Peter expect others to follow? Sometimes we tend to believe bigger in a crowd.
He cried out "Lord save me !!". Jesus said, I got you, ye of little faith, why did you doubt? Did Jesus berate him for his foolishness. Was it foolishness? Jesus loved him.

For my own self, I struggle with self doubt a lot. I have to believe every minute of my day, that my life has a purpose and I am at this moment living this purpose. Like Peter, I need to listen with heart and ears, when the Holy Spirit affirms what I am doing. I have to keep on walking in the direction of the Savior, regardless of what is going on around me. Most of all, I have to put away doubt, be quiet, not talk so much, but listen more.

QUOTE:With the Lord’s Spirit, weak and simple women can know what to do. I have been to places in the world where women aren’t able to read. They haven’t had the opportunity or have not been taught, but because of the Lord’s power that is placed upon them, the covenants they have made in the temple, and His Spirit that is poured out upon them, they are powerful women. They can discern His will, solve major problems, and feel peace, comfort, and guidance in their lives. Education is wonderful, but being able to feel the Lord’s power and Spirit upon us is the highest education we can achieve. With that, we have power and influence. Without it, we will not be able to navigate in this life. The adversary will pick us off one by one, and we will be drawn off course by the many, many voices that are out there distracting us. With the Lord’s Spirit upon us, we are strong and solid and will be able to walk with Him.END QUOTE
Julie B. Beck Relief Society General President

Amen Sister
I feel better already.

2. Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul; the waves and winds still know

His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be Still, My Soul"
by Catharina Von Schlegel, 1697-?

THE 72-HOUR RULE: EZRA

2011-03-10T15:29:00.000-05:00

Ezra from "Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum

Ezra 7:10 For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel
I have been preparing for a "Preparedness Fair" for our Stake.
I signed up for this, knowing full well that this undertaking was not without it's challenges. I should have learned from my last foray in to the "Joys of Preparedness". This Fair is a little bit more organized, we have a plan that has been vetted. We have signs and posters, meetings, etc. We (all who signed up) have been put in pairs. I am sure there is some symbolism there. I have been paired up with a lovely sister, who I haven't met and who apparently does not want to meet until the Fair. We have spoken or rather emailed a couple of times, and she has outlined her agenda/or plans. It has been decided that we will have a lecture format, no refreshments, we/she won't talk about kits of any type or food storage for that matter. The Title of our presentation is Family Management. She has some really great and somewhat radical ideas, I will support her efforts,but, I really have to talk about a kit, you can't just omit a kit. So you can imagine my dilemma. I don't want to seem to support her extremist, radical ideas as my own, but then I want to present info that is along the lines of the title of the class, Family management.
So I humbled myself, and I asked for guidance. The Lord is awesome in his power and authority. I went back and read a favorite old Testament record, Ezra. Who was he? Take note of his record of genealogy

EZRA 1:5-8

5 the son of Abishua, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the chief priest—
6 this Ezra came up from Babylon; and he was a skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given. The king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him.

Ezra 7:10 For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel

The Lord had given Ezra, who was a priest and a scribe, learned in all the laws of Moses, the responsibility to rebuild the Temple.
He was responsible for organizing a willing group of people,the children of Israel to return to Jerusalem,who would learn the statutes and the laws of God, and who would help to re-build the the Temple.
Ezra's responsibility to to raise up a people who would obey God commandments,and keep his covenants.

Ezra 8:1 lists the names of all the families, the patriarchs of those families, the children, grandchildren, etc. The list includes servants and children of servants. A census is taken of the people, and of their servants, of their possessions, of their records

Ezra 8:1 These are the heads of their fathers’ houses, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me from Babylon, in the reign of King Artaxerxes..

There is an entire laundry list of everyone from heads of house holds to the servants of these people, even a listing of some house hold items, donkeys, and other sundry farm animals.
After everyone was gathered together, they camped out by a river for 3 days. During this time they prayed for humility and guidance as to how organize themselves and their possesions, they prayed for protection during the journey

Ezra 8:21-23
²¹ Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions.
²² For I was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had spoken to the king, saying, “The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him.”
²³ So we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer.

Ezra 2:1 Now these are the people of the province who came back from the captivity, of those who had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away to Babylon, and who returned to Jerusalem and Judah, everyone to his own city.

Ezra 2:59 And these were the ones who came up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, Addan,and Immer; but they could not identify their father’s house or their genealogy, whether they were of Israel:
60 the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, and the sons of Nekoda, six hundred and fifty-two;
61 and of the sons of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Koz, and the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called by their name.
62 These sought their listing among those who were registered by genealogy, but they were not found; therefore they were excluded from the priesthood as defiled.
63 And the governor said to them that they should not eat of the most holy things till a priest could consult with the Urim and Thummim.

The responsibility of the children of Israel, even while in captivity was to obey God commandments, to remember and keep Gods covenants. Each family was responsible to keep a record of themselves, it included not only their genealogy, but if they had servants, their records were also to be maintained. The families were responsible for documentation of all of their possessions to establish stewardship.
Everything belongs to God including ourselves. In order to prepare ourselves, we must have our hearts prepared by God, by obeying all of Gods commandments, keeping our covenants, keeping the sabbath day holy,paying our tithes. How can we manage our homes and our lives and the lives of our children if we don't know what we have? .... there is eternal significance in everyday life; preparation is needed for the rule of Messiah, the law being the schoolmaster to bring men to Christ
So again the question is asked, what does this have to do with preparedness? I want to substitute a new word for preparedness, how about "having sufficiency in all things"

2 Corinthians 3:4-5
4 And we have such trust through Christ toward God.
5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God,

Is being sufficient in all things all about our stuff? We are overwhelmed with stuff, so much so that we worry more about what will happen to this stuff, then about what is needful. I thought about what 5 things I would need to have with me at all times,regardless of whether or not its an emergency. The problem with preparedness fairs and the like, is that the top concern is with the" EMERGENCY". What about daily living? What about the small things in life that eventually if you live long enough may erupt into the big EMERGENCY.
Here are my 5 things:

My temple Recommend
A water proof and fire proof file/safe that has either copies or originals of all records of vital importance, including my Family History records;patriarchal blessings;marriage and sealing record; etc. (A flash drive of what ever size will work too.)
A 72 hour kit (s) that is not limited to a book bag, but will have in it the standard supplies, but also provisions for the temple.(a) The logic is this, if you can't go home for a while, but you can leave on foot or by a vehicle, you can have these items stored and ready. It seems that the people, who were prepared in the Book of Ezra, were prepared to attend the temple, even preparing for its rebuilding.)
Scriptures
A multipurpose radio (that is a weather station; has a flashlight built in and a windup charger for a cell phone; cell phone.(maybe a kit or designated area with batteries and stuff)

MONDAY MOMENT

2011-02-28T16:37:00.000-05:00

kelly rae roberts

IT'S "TIME TO BELIEVE IN WHAT GOD SAID"

Time to believe in what God said

Time to believe in what he promised.

We see small he sees great.
When we speak doubt he speaks faith

It's time to believe in what God said
Don't allow your past to predict where you're going
Or lead you to believe you can't go on
Because Gods promise is true and what he said he will do

It's time to believe oh believe I will believe
I will believe what God said
I will believe what he promised
When I see small I'll see great
I spoke in doubt now I'll speak faith

I will believe in what God said
I do believe what God said
I do believe what he promised

When I see small I'll see great
I spoke in doubt now I'll speak faith
When I see small I'll see great

I spoke in doubt now I'll speak faith
I do believe

I do believe
I do believe

It's time to believe in what God said (FOREVER JONES)

I listen to this song every day when I am driving to work and back home. It is a simple, sweet and peaceful song, that packs a big punch. At first you get lost in the cuteness of it, but then, the simple statement, "Time to believe in what God says". This verse is song by a sweet voiced little girl. It is time to believe isn't it?

What did the Savior say?
John 14:1-3

1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

Your future is not determined by the conditions around you. It is determined by your faith, your choices, and your efforts. Paul V. Johnson, "Make Yours a Great Life", Ensign, Jan. 2011, 38–40

I am looking forward to the return, to the homecoming.

BELIEVE IN MIRACLES

2011-02-16T12:46:00.000-05:00

Kellie Rae Roberts

2 SAMUEL 9: 3-4; 6-7; 3

3 Then the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, to whom I may show the kindness of God?”
And Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in his feet.”
4 so the king said to him, “Where is he?”
6 Now when Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face and prostrated himself. Then David said, “Mephibosheth?”
And he answered, “Here is your servant!”
7 So David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually.
13 So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the king’s table. And he was lame in both his feet.

The OWN has a show called "Our America", hosted by a reporter named Lisa Ling. She travels all over America looking for unique stories that are indigenous to "us". Last night I watched her first show called "Faith Healing".
The story started out profiling a "charismatic" young man who called himself a "Faith Healer". He was not an ordained minister, or pastor.He didn't even profess to be "Born Again". Lisa Ling even asked him if he considered himself a prophet. "No, I'm no prophet !" he said emphatically. He was a guy,who felt that he had overcome some adversity in his life, he believed that it was because of the grace of God, that he had overcome those trials. He felt that he had been given a gift of "healing".OK!!

So he utilized this "gift", to invite people who were desperate for a cure. The philosophies of men mixed with religion.Folks would line up to meet him, they were all so emotional and desperate and they saw him as their last hope. They lined up and he would carry on a continuous patter of "talk", and he would touch them, or lay hands on them and then say "Power,power, power and then he would say "Bam, Bam,Bam!!!"They would fall to the floor convulsing and spasming, and he would walk on. Of course he collected a fee for this.
So, Lisa Ling, the reporter was skeptical.She said that she was a Christian, and although she had seen a lot, this "profession" did not seem right, it seemed a little off center. She was not comfortable with it.
Then she met a man, in a wheel chair. The event was for 3 nights and Lisa noticed that this man was there for each of the 3 nights,parked in his wheel chair by the door.
She obviously felt compassion for this man, because she expressed concern for him. She went to him and asked him why he was there:

Lisa Ling follows Steve, a wheelchair-bound man who was told by God that he would walk again after being healed at Morning Star Ministries

It seems that Steve was in a car accident at the age of 18 that left him partially brain damaged, and 15 years ago he fell off of a roof and injured his spine, causing paralysis of legs and feet.

He was a very positive person. Lisa asked him if he believed that the faith healer was a prophet:, He said "No, I do not believe in him". He said I believe in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who has the ability to heal me"

The question was called: "Whom do ye say that I am?

John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life

Steve was a wonderful example of keeping your faith and
he summed it up perfect.He said this life is over in a blink and eternity is forever

And then it was time for Steve to take the line.It was an amazing spectacle. You could sense that the environment around him had become different. He was there by himself, some of the attendants were there to help him to his feet. The reporter, Lisa said that he seemed to be in a different place, he seemed to be praying,his mouth was moving slowly, he seemed to be at peace. Of course, after the "Faith Healer" came by and laid his hands on his head , and shouted Power, power, bam, bam,......

The attendants lifted him to his feet, but there was no strengh there, he could not stand. The disappointment was visible on the attendants face, the reporter was so distraught. She left the room, because she did not want to see "Steve" devestated by his disappointment.

But guess what , Steve was not disappointed. He simply said, I guess its not yet my time to walk. But, he said my faith is still strong and present. Lisa the reporter kneeled down in front of him, and he put his hands on her head and prayed for her, and gave a blessing to her. At that moment, I believe that Steve was the faith healer. I felt the Holy Spirit bubble up inside of me and say to me that Steve will walk; he will walk into the presence of our Heavenly Father in that last day.

LUKE 5:20-24

20 When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”
22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts?
23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise up and walk’?
24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”

Women in the Scriptures Challenge: SISTER JULIE B. BECK

2011-02-01T15:27:00.000-05:00

BLESSINGS OF THE HANDMAID

Sister Julie B. Beck

"If the sisters who have made covenants with God know what they are supposed to do, that they are in for the long haul, and that they are in with all their faith, then this world will be okay and we will be all right. The theme of the conference is, “Say unto this people: Choose ye this day, to serve the Lord God who made you. Behold my Spirit is upon you, wherefore all thy words will I justify; and the mountains shall flee before you, and the rivers shall turn from their course; and thou shall abide in me, and I in you; therefore walk with me.” What a beautiful theme. BYU Women’s Conference April 2010Julie B. Beck Relief Society General President

I have been reading and pondering over this awesome "Talk", given by Sister Julie Beck, Relief Society General President. I started reading this last year, and I was so blessed by it. I wanted to share this with my Relief Society Sisters, so I made copies and gave it to them. This talk is filled with so many blessings; I endeavored to "teach" on it in Relief Society and also the President and the Second Counselor. It's that big. For myself, I feel that each time I read it; I have to break it down to its most component parts and read it one section at a time.

• "If the sisters who have made covenants with God know what they are supposed to do, that they are in for the long haul, and that they are in with all their faith, then this world will be okay and we will be all right

I have pondered over this statement for a long time. Sister Beck challenges the sisters in this statement to go back and review their covenants. What are they? Baptismal Covenants, Sacrament covenants; Marriage and Sealing Covenants, those we make in the Temple. I have been reviewing my Baptismal Covenants and the Covenants of the Sacrament.

Mosiah 18:9-10
9 Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life— (the long haul)

10 Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?

Jeremiah 31: 33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Hebrews 10: 16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them

The next challenge in that very statement is this:

"If the sisters ………… know what they are supposed to do, that they are in for the long haul"

Again I thought, what am I suppose to be doing? I entered into the Covenant of Baptism to become part of a people. "This People" to be exact. The desire of my heart had been established before the foundation of the world, to be a part of "This people". But now the Lord requires that we do that which is needful or that which we are supposed to do.
In Luke 10; the discourse between Martha,Mary and Jesus, the question was called: "Whom do ye say that I am.? The answer to this question carries with it the potential for eternal life. The answer is straightforward but the responsibility for the answer is our Mission.

Luke 10:40-42
40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,
42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Mary, had chosen to literally and spiritually sit at the feet of the Savior and have the Lord prepare her heat to receive blessings and instructions.Mary had a new calling as a Handmaid of the Lord. Who is the handmaid of the Lord? We are, the elect ladies.The estate or position of Handmaid has many blessings added to it and many opportunities for personal and spiritual growth.
The Lord reveled His plan to Emma Smith in D&C 25

Doctrine & Covenants 25:1-2;5;7-8;10;13-16
1 Hearken unto the voice of the Lord your God, while I speak unto you, Emma Smith, my daughter; for verily I say unto you, all those who receive my gospel are sons and daughters in my kingdom.
2 A revelation I give unto you concerning my will; and if thou art faithful and walk in the paths of virtue before me, I will preserve thy life, and thou shalt receive a inheritance in Zion.
5 And the office of thy calling shall be for comfort unto my servant Joseph Smith, Jun, thy husband, in his afflictions with consoling words, in the spirit of meekness
7 And thou shalt be ordained under his hand to expound the scriptures, and to exhort the church, according as it shall be given thee by my spirit
8 For he shall lay his hands upon thee, and thou shalt receive the Holy Ghost, and thy time shall be given to writing and to learning much.
10 And verily I say unto thee that thou shalt lay aside the things of this world and seek for the things of a better.
13Wherefore lift up thy heart and rejoice and cleave unto the covenants which thou has made.
14Continue in the spirit of meekness, and beware of pride. Let thy soul delight in thy husband, and the glory which shall come upon him.

15Keep my commandments continually, and a crown of righteousness thou shalt receive. And except thou do this, where I am you cannot come.

16And verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my voice unto all. Amen

MISSON POSSIBLE
Sister Beck's talk is a feast, its like Thanks giving Dinner with multiple desserts. I urge you to read it in its enterity.
She has a suggestions for us that will help us to better define who we are in the House of Israel, What it means to follow the Savior and What is that Spirit he gives to us.

"I have a little exercise for those of you who want something specific to do in your scripture study. Get a new little copy of the Book of Mormon. In the front of it, open to a blank page and write three questions: Who am I? What are my responsibilities in the house of Israel? How do I fulfill my responsibilities? As you read and study, you will find some blank pages in the back. You can add Post-it notes if you like. Start writing your answers in the back as you read and you will have a journey of discovery about who you are. It doesn’t matter how long this study takes. Take one month, take ten years, and discover who you are. When you finish studying those questions in the Book of Mormon, study them in the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price, and the Old Testament. The Lord knows who you are. He knows what your responsibilities are and how you can fulfill them. Power and strength will come to you as you understand who you are in the Lord’s kingdom." BYU Women’s Conference April 2010 Julie B. Beck Relief Society General

2011-01-28T15:55:00.000-05:00

SCATTER (noun): to spread; a haphazard distribution in all directions

So, Wednesday we had a snow storm. Actually, it was supposed to be a rapidly moving system, actually 2 systems, the first a slower more commute friendly system that would only shower snowflakes and it would be followed by a rapidly moving system that would include rain. Now rain was the key word used by the weather people. It would rain first, no problem, we have all driven home in cold, sleety rain, and it would include snow pellets and from time to time thunder and lightening. What really happened was a fast moving "dump" of wet snow, that covered our region so fast, even Superman couldn't fly out fast enough. I will spare you of the carnage on said commute, 4 hrs to move 6 miles (seriously).Some people are still walking home.
I digress. We lost power in our neighborhood. An hour after my grueling commute, I walked into my warm and cozy house only to have the lights zap out 30 minutes later. This wasn't supposed to happen. The electric company spent a lot of time and money re-wiring and burying our power lines, cutting down trees needlessly, etc. It must have been a transformer.
So I should have activated my trusty 72 hour kit and plan. You know the one with the flash lights and portable food. The one with the camp stove and propane tank ready to move out into the kitchen.
What about that 24 hour plan? My house was dark in a minute, but I did have some emergency flashlights plugged in, and they were good for at least a few hours, and my portable old school radio had batteries. I had a small flashlight, but I had to search for it. I must've went brain dead. I was using the emergency flashlight to find the battery powered lantern(s) and a second flashlight. I didn't familiarize myself with the lantern so it was kinda hard to read the directions. You know with the Eco friendly bulbs in just about everything, seeing isn't a priority. So I got the light on and I went search of the 2nd lantern which was in the basement. It has a radio, but I haven't changed the batteries since I bought it almost 2-3 years ago. Good batteries.
I had McDonald's before coming home, so I was spared of trying to find portable food. I couldn't find the camp stove and propane tanks. This was a 24-hour rule flop.
I looked back in my "archives" of posts and here are some greatest hits:

TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 2009
I have two large containers that have small emergency food stash to take to work to put in my desk drawer and for my husband to put in his rig. It has 3 servings of a breakfast (instant grits or oatmeal, powdered drink mix to put in a regular water bottle, hot chocolate mix; packages of oodles of noodles, I need to put in a couple of snacks. a six pack of water). I need more. What's left is to find a small stove, usually at a sporting goods store.

The 2nd part of this kit is to have a change of clothing, underwear, rain gear, socks, shoes and a heavy coat or jacket...
The word of wisdom concerning the emergency preparedness is that most of our emergencies are personal ones. Such as unexpected hospitalizations, job loss, or in my husband's case, truck emergency where he has to wait for roadside service.
Now the goal of the 24 hr kit is to be used. Especially by my husband who is a tractor trailer driver. He could use this if he becomes stranded or can't get back from his run on time. I can use this at work

FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 2009

"…..when your mind is as cluttered as your physical surroundings are, forgetfulness is common. Maybe forgetfulness is not a good choice of words. What it is then is the lack of awareness, the overwhelmed-ness of it all. My own lack of awareness comes from the fact that it has not occurred to me that what I am doing is an ongoing permanent task, one that requires a commitment from me. Commitment! I never thought of that."

FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2009
When I look around my house/home I see lots of clutter, lots of mess, lots of possessions, clothing, shoes, etc. The only beings living here are myself, my husband and a dog. Who else is living here? Who keeps bringing this stuff in?

So, I have volunteered to do a presentation of Family Preparedness in March.
What I have been pondering over even before this "Emergency" drill is that I need to have my plan vetted by our Heavenly Father.

Psalms 37:5
5 Commit your way to the LORD,Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.

THE 72-HOUR RULE: THE FUTURE'S SO BRIGHT, I HAVE TO WEAR SHADES

2011-01-14T13:38:00.000-05:00

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE

A Bright Future for You
Your future is not determined by the conditions around you. It is determined by your faith, your choices, and your efforts. Yes, you live in challenging times, but so did Mary, Moroni, and Joseph Smith. You don’t have to be carried along in the current of the times. The Lord can and will help you set your own course. The challenges you face will serve to strengthen you as you move forward with your life. Each of you has a bright future, a future you cannot now fully comprehend. Paul V. Johnson, "Make Yours a Great Life", Ensign, Jan. 2011, 38–40

I read this awesome article in the latest Ensign, and I knew that the message was for me.
After I read it,then I read it twice and I shared it with my husband. In fact, this past Testimony Sunday, I bore my testimony on the truth of this article.
Sometimes we all feel sorry for ourselves, and I do at times. But to quote Oprah, I had an AHA moment. I can't in good faith do it anymore. I can ponder over my trials, and I can pray over them and then I can ask our Heavenly Father for guidance. But I can't whine anymore and if I do I will feel insincere. If I am overtaken in a problem or situation, I will ask for help, for prayers, for priesthood blessings, I will pray and believe. I will endure until the end. I will do my best not to whine or complain, I will speak only blessings. I will remember that this is what I signed up for. When I was in the Navy, a popular statement was this "Life Is hard and then you Die".
Well I suppose that is one way to look at it. Nephi son of Helaman seemed to allow himself a luxury moment to wish for the good old days
Helaman 7:8-9

7 Oh, that I could have had my days in the days when my father Nephi first came out of the land of Jerusalem, that I could have joyed with him in the promised land; then were his people easy to be entreated, firm to keep the commandments of God, and slow to be led to do iniquity; and they were quick to hearken unto the words of the Lord—

8 Yea, if my days could have been in those days, then would my soul have had joy in the righteousness of my brethren.

9 But behold, I am consigned that these are my days, and that my soul shall be filled with sorrow because of this the wickedness of my brethren.

Elder Johnson answers that statement with this:
……."You don’t have to be carried along in the current of the times. The Lord can and will help you set your own course"

Sometimes my husband and I will have conversations of future good days, and what if days, and when we pay this bill off days. We seemed to be content of waiting for those future good old days, and in effect not living to the fullest, in the present good day. We are in effect, believing the lies of the Adversary

"There are no better days than these days, because “these are [your] days” (Helaman 7:9). You are here on earth at this time for a reason. You have what it takes. You have skills, knowledge, and natural talents given to you from God. If you live righteously, you will have access to the inspiration and strength you will need to triumph over any challenge you face. You will have the protection of a worthy life; guidance from the Lord through the Holy Ghost and prophets, seers, and revelators; and the power of sacred promises that are yours because you keep your covenants." Paul V. Johnson, "Make Yours a Great Life", Ensign, Jan. 2011, 38–40

These are the good old days.

THE 72 HOUR RULE:RISE AND SHINE

2011-01-13T09:30:00.000-05:00

ISAIAH 60:1 ARISE, SHINE;FOR YOUR LIGHT HAS COME! AND THE GLORY OF THE LORD IS RISEN UPON YOU.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY

"The Lord’s invitation to follow him is individual and personal, and it is compelling. We cannot stand forever between two opinions. Each of us must at some time face the crucial question: “Whom say ye that I am?” (Matt. 16:15.) Our personal salvation depends on our answer to that question and our commitment to that answer. Peter’s revealed answer was “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). Many, many witnesses can give an identical answer by the same power, and I join with them in humble gratitude. But we must each answer the question for ourselves—if not now, then later; for at the last day, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is the Christ. Our challenge is to answer correctly and live accordingly before it is everlastingly too late."Howard W. Hunter, "He Invites Us to Follow Him," Ensign, Sep 1994, 2

What an interesting question the Savior asks. "Whom do ye say that I am"? There are several instances of the Savior asking his disciples this question in the New Testament. He even declares to the Pharisees "Before Moses was, I Am".
I like the build up in the record of Mary and Martha of Bethany and their brother Lazarus.

John 11:20-27
20 Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.
21 Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.
22 But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.
26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

In this record, Martha sends word to Jesus that her brother, Lazarus has died. I can only assume that she has sent this message because of their friendship, and that she feels that if Jesus would come soon, he could help Lazarus in his illness. In verses 21 she even gently rebukes him, by says," Lord if you had been here my brother would not have died" But in verse 22 she acknowledges that she recognizes Jesus as a "man of God with some authority", she says that "But even now, I know that whatever You ask of God, He will give to You.
How did she know that? Did she receive revelation like Peter?

Luke 10:22 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

Luke 10 38-42
38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.
39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.
40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,
42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

In a previous meeting, Martha had invited Jesus to her home for dinner. She was bustling about with preparations for her honored guest, while her sister Mary was no where to be found to help. Mary had decided to sit in the room where Jesus was, at his feet and listen to his teachings. Did Jesus ask Martha "whom do ye say that I am?" He had to share this information with her because in response to Martha's tirade he basically said to her, "Martha you seem to be stressed and overwhelmed with the preparations of dinner" I know that I have been Martha, and I probably would have rolled my eyes at that statement or at least defended my self. The logic in Jesus statement, reminded me of a "good husband" response. He said, "but few things are needed, (some bread,cheese,etc,) or indeed really only one…… Your sister has chosen that which is better……

John 6:35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

Did He say:" Martha, I am the bread of life"?

2 Nephi 9:51 Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy. Hearken diligently unto me, and remember the words which I have spoken; and come unto the Holy One of Israel, and feast upon that which perish not, neither can be corrupted, and let your soul delight in fatness

Wow, and a collective "duh". I keep coming back to this record in the scriptures, I think that I have posted on it at least 2 times. I think I got it. So many people including myself, focus on the plight of Martha, some don't like Mary. But Martha and Mary are us, we is them. Jesus is I AM. So,the busyness, or even the nothingness of our days, the phone apps and the I- this and I- that. Can we get an APP for Jesus? Oh yeah ,that's right there is one available, its called "The Holy Spirit".
2010 was a hard year, but when I looked back at my New Years 2010 post, I was so excited to welcome that year in. I felt that it was full of promise. It would be so easy to list all of the "hardships;et al" I experienced during that year, but I want to ponder over the many blessings of 2010. I want to count my blessings and there were so many.
One blessing was that of Obedience. I endeavored to obey the commandments,listen to the prophet and in effect get closer to Christ.
We experienced events that were one of a kind, but even the most basic aspects of being prepared helped my husband and I through it. We experienced a return of some familiar events, temporary joblessness and health emergencies. We saw these as an opportunity to "prove" the Lord by continuing to pay our tithes and seeing our "storehouse" not go empty.
We experienced the loss of dear friends and close relatives, but the blessings of the Plan of Salvation is in full effect. We have had the opportunity to perform Temple work for our relatives.
What a blessing.
I have a new appreciation for the blessings of my job; the Lord "opened my eyes" one day at a meeting. I had been dozing off listening to all the stats and figures and numbers. But I was literally jerked awake, when I realized that all of those numbers and figures applied not only to the whole of my job, but to the more personal aspect. Every employee including my self would have health insurance, (at the same rate for 2 years, a 5% raise was being considered, a small bonus,etc.) Wow, and this was all taking place in our "economy". I thanked our Heavenly Father, from whom all blessings flow. What an eye opener. I can't complain any more about my job.

".....feast upon that which perish not, neither can be corrupted, and let your soul delight in fatness"

Happy News Years everyone. I feel that 2011 is shaping up to be a great and dynamic year. I believe for myself and my husband, this will be a period of intense growth, for the past 10 years we experienced the "growing pains", now its time to walk out on all of this with faith in God.
I am excited.
Mazel Tov

GOD ON THE BUS

2010-12-09T13:03:00.000-05:00

What if God were One of Us?

Joan Osbourne

If God had a name, what would it be
And would you call it to his face
If you were faced with him in all his glory
What would you ask if you had just one question

And yeah yeah God is great yeah yeah God is good
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

What if God was one of us
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to make his way home

I am trying a new thing, "Micro blogging". Which is probably old school "Tweeting". Just a short post.
So the past 2 weeks I have been riding the bus and metro to work. You know when the goings get tough, I ride the bus. Anyway, my husband was tuning up his truck and something broke, and he needed about 25 new tools to fix it. Ask and ye shall receive. My husbands friends were so happy to help him, they were leaving "special" tools on his windshield.
So I was riding the bus home on Tuesday night. I finally figured out what bus to take, after taking the wrong bus the previous night. I am not particularly fond of riding the bus, in a word its creepy, and the most dangerous person on the bus in the Driver. Don't get me started. But on Tuesday night there was a man on the bus who was a little different. He was a large man, with a beard, and a sweet expression, no he wasn't Santa. But he had an inner energy that was very sweet. When people would get off the bus, he would say goodbye and tell them to be careful stepping off the bus.He was smiling at everyone. Not a creepy smile, but a benevolent smile.
I remembered a favorite song, " What if God were one of Us?" Would He ride the bus?
Talk among yourselves

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

2010-11-24T15:27:00.002-05:00

WHY WERE THE PILGRIMS THANKFUL?

I asked a question, "Why were the Pilgrims thankful?" seriously. Why were they thankful and why did having dinner with the Native Americans of that time; propitiate into what is now Thanksgiving Day, replete with food, family and fun. Maybe some college football games, and of course the Macys Thanksgiving parade with Mr. Claus. Now there is a new holiday, "Black Friday", coming to a store near you.

"In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn't until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November

I am sure I did not know this already,it has been eons since I was in grade school, where all of this information is ususally passed down. I never knew the names of the Native American tribe, but maybe I did. Who were these pilgrims?

"In September 1620, during the reign of King James I, around 100 English men and women–many of them members of the English Separatist Church–set sail for the New World aboard the Mayflower, a three-masted merchant ship. The ship landed on the shores of Cape Cod, in present-day Massachusetts, two months later, and in late December anchored at Plymouth Rock, where they would form the first permanent settlement of Europeans in New England. Though more than half the original settlers died during that grueling first winter, the survivors were able to secure peace treaties with neighboring Native American tribes and build a largely self-sufficient economy within five years."

I found a really good explanation of why the pilgrims were thankful. Just like all stories and holidays and traditions that have been handed down over the years, the real meaning has been distorted. I have always liked Thanksgiving. I remember saying once that I liked it because all you did was eat and be with family and friends. No church or whatever . But I have spoken many things in ignorance.

I found this wonderful write up in "ALL ABOUT HISTORY .ORG"

Pilgrims: The Escape of Courageous People
The Pilgrims were English Separatists who founded Plymouth Colony in 1620. The Pilgrims, fleeing religious persecution, broke away from the Church of England because they felt the Church violated biblical principles of true Christians. Due to persecution and economic distress, they believed they had to break away from the Church of England to form congregations which were more in keeping with divine requirements. Coming out of the recent Reformation, the pilgrims believed the Church of England had not come far enough. The Church was under strict rule of the State so their actions were considered treasonous and these Separatists had to flee their homeland.
Determined and very courageous men and women committed themselves (in all aspects of their lives) to life based on the Bible and a relationship with God. They brought their only known culture and spiritual values to the New World and attempted to establish an improved foundation of English society on an unfamiliar new continent.
Pilgrims: A Matter of Survival
These unprepared new arrivals knew little of how to survive the harsh winters in the New World. After arriving in December of 1620, more than half of them had died of starvation before spring. By the next winter, an English-speaking Indian named Squanto taught the immigrants how to build homes fitting to the climate, when to plant indigenous crops (maize), and how to cook it. But there are other parts of the story that are less known. Governor William Bradford wrote that Squanto was “a special instrument sent by God for their good beyond their expectations…” With gratitude of God sending Squanto and providing the following year’s bounty, the Colonists, Squanto, Chief Massasoit, and the Wampanoag people feasted on the crops' harvest and wild game, giving thanks to God.

These early Plymouth Colony settlers were deeply religious people. To express their gratitude for survival and the harvest appropriately, they looked to the Bible. They read of the Hebrew’s celebrated Feast of Sukkot, also called Feast of the Tabernacles or Feast of Ingathering. This festival was the most joyous of all celebrations, ingathering the people and the harvest. Following the bible verses, they gave all honor to God for providing and for sending the Wampanoag people to help them survive.

Leviticus 23:33-34 says, “The LORD said to Moses, ‘Say to the Israelites: “On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the LORD's Feast of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days.”’” Verse 39-40 continues “. . .after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to the LORD for seven days. . .and rejoice before the LORD your God. . .” God required them to build covered structures in remembrance of their deliverance from bondage in Egypt and bringing them out of the desert of Sinai. They were led to a ‘promised land’ as His freed people. This feast commemorates both deliverance and the season’s harvest.

Pilgrims: Giving Thanks

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God" (Philippians 4:6).

What is religious freedom? Our first "right" as citizens of the United states is this:
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances

Ok, we have the peace of mind to know that congress cannot make a law that establishes a "state religion" that forces everyone to worship there. We can exercise our freedom of speech,and the right to assemble peacefully, but attending the churches,mosques,synagogues,etc we want. We can assemble and read our scriptures. We can choose the scriptures we want to read. So this is freedom of "religion".
But wait, there is a better explanation:

John 8:31-32
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.
32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

Jesus said "I am the Way, and the Truth and the Light". No man comes unto the Father, except through me".
In order to be truely free, free to believe and free to pray, we must abide in "the Word".
So, were the Pilgrims really separatists? They were disciples. They paved the way for other pilgrims, most noteably, those righteous pilgrems who fled Missiouri and walked across the deserts of Utah, and endeavored to establish the true church of Jesus Christ. The Mormons. We all owe those pilgrims a big Thank you.
So what does believing in our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ have to do with Thanksgiving? Apparently a lot.

72-HOUR RULE: FEARLESS FRIDAY

2010-11-19T16:34:00.000-05:00

psalms 57:1

DISSAPEAR FEAR

Psalm 91:4-6 (New King James Version)

4 He shall cover you with His feathers,And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday
Psalm 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation;Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?

THE 72-HOUR RULE: THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE

2010-11-18T11:40:00.027-05:00

REVELATION 3:15-16

AFFIRMATION THURSDAY

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. --Marianne Williamson

"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. Peace, joy, and hope are available to those who measure success properly"“And upon the Handmaids in Those Days Will I Pour Out My Spirit”Julie B. Beck :Relief Society General President

Great women think along the same lines.

Matthew 5:13-14
13 You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
14 You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in Heaven
OK, THIS IS THE 3RD TIME I AM ATTEMPTING TO POST THIS BLOG. SORRY FOR THE 1ST TWO.

THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE, I'M GONNA LET IT SHINE, LET IT SHINE ,LET IT SHINE

72-HOUR RULE: BREAKFAST:THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY

2010-11-10T08:59:00.000-05:00

BREAKFAST IS MY FAVORITE MEAL OF THE DAY

This is a feel good post about the importance of breakfast. Have you seen that commerical with the kid playing out in the snow, but you see a snowman. The little snowman comes inside and sits down to a steaming hot bowl of soup, yum yum. And gradually the snow melts and so does the heart of this cute little kid. I felt like that kid this morning. I am not a morning person, but because of my vocations in life, I have been forced to awake every day at 0 Dark-thirty . I woke up hungry this morning. Not just the growl in your tummy hungry, but more like the emptiness in your stomach that needs to be filled. I also felt spiritually hungry and you could probably add tired and cranky to the mix. By the time I got to my office this morning, I was a pitiful sight. I was feeling sorry for my self, woe is me,no one likes me at work, my boss is mean. You know how it goes.

So my boss (the afore-mentioned "mean boss" suggested that we go and get some breakfast. I didn't expect much, but I really wanted some tater tots. I found some yummy, creamy breakfast potatoes instead. They were creamy with fresh parsley and chopped peppers and onions. I added some yummy scrambled eggs with cheese and 4 slices of bacon and just to help me tip the scales an old fashioned milk doughnut.

When I sat down to eat this, I thanked our Heavenly Father for this yumminess. Afterward I thanked my boss for such a great idea. She said that she actually felt more cheerful and bright after eating breakfast. Now I don't always feel this way after breakfast, but I did to day. I feel like this is what breakfast with Jesus would be like. How would you like to have your breakfast prepared by the Savior?

Breakfast by the Sea

JOHN 21:4-13
4 But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.
5 Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?” They answered Him, “No.”
6 And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.
7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea.
8 But the other disciples came in the little boat (for they were not far from land, but about two hundred cubits), dragging the net with fish.
9 Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread.
10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.”
11 Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken.
12 Jesus said to them, “Come and eat breakfast.” Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who are You?”—knowing that it was the Lord.
13 Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish.

This is my testimony today, on this Happy Wednesday, that our Heavenly Father Loves us with a deep and everlasting love. If the Saviour personally made breakfast for his disciples, how much more will he do for us? We are fed with spiritual food. I came away with a better understanding of how the Lord wants us to treat each other. How can we "love" our neighbor if we are feeling bitter towards them. Food is a great conversation starter.