Yesterday during our family scripture study, we discussed Adam and Eve and reviewed several scriptures in Genesis and Moses. In our church, we do not believe that Adam and Eve made a mistake. We believe it was a necessary transgression to enable children to come to the world.
Deseret Book recently published a pamphlet called "Give of Life - Lessons from Eve." It is a condensed portion of the book by Camille Fronk Olson called "Women of the Old Testament."
As I read through this pamphlet, I was amazed by the truths taught and wanted to record a few of them here.
I loved this quote from the first page, "If we consider Eve's decision in the Garden of Eden as courageous and faith-driven and the results of that decision to be conducive to God's plan, we are more likely to recognize intelligence, strength, rational thinking, and great ability in women in general."
God called Adam AND Eve "good" (Genesis 1:31). "Nowhere in scripture is man given dominion over woman, nor is woman given dominion over man.
What is a "Help meet"?
This term has often been misunderstood...by myself, included. I always thought of it like "helper," meaning that my husband does all the "important" stuff, and then I help him out. Although he does do important things, and although I DO help him with a variety of things, there's more to the role that that.
In Hebrew, the word 'ezer (translated "help") "implies not a subordinate but rather someone who has strength to do what another cannot do for himself." Women have life-giving power. Men cannot produce children on their own.
Sister Olson also explains that the same Hebrew word appears throughout the Bible and "frequently appears in reference to God. For example, God is the One who rescues us in our distress and has strength and power to save. In this way, women are types of Christ."
The word translated as "meet" is "kenegdo" in Hebrew. This "is a compound of three common words," and the root word (ngd) means "to be conspicuous" or "to be apparent." In Jewish tradition, "The word means 'equal.'"
I love that. A woman is a man's equal, who has strength to do what man cannot do for himself.
There are plenty more lessons within the pamphlet, and I plan to purchase the entire book. It's amazing how these little ideas can shape the way we see our first parents, our Creator, the world around us, and ourselves.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Friday, September 3, 2010
Tired?
I have been working hard--really hard--for the past several years. Building The Power of Moms, raising four children, supporting my husband as our bishop, going through lots of health issues, writing for a variety of blogs and publications, speaking at conferences, and being in volved in a variety of school and church activities has left me feeling a bit tired (but happy).
Today I read Helaman 10, where Nephi is given the sealing power:
4 Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments.
5 And now, because thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will.
Because I'm so "weary" lately, this really popped out at me. I think it's interesting that when the Lord is speaking to Nephi regarding such a sacred privilege, he uses the words "unwearyingness" twice. The only other place in the scriptures where this word is used is in Helaman 15:6:
Yea, I say unto you, that the more part of them (the righteous Lamanites) are doing this, and they are striving with unwearied diligence that they may bring the remainder of their brethren to the knowledge of the truth; therefore there are many who do add to their numbers daily.
As I try to serve the Lord, to share His words and His love with others, and to be an instrument in His hands, I need to keep this idea of "unwearied diligence" in mind.
This also reminds me of the EFY theme this year to "Be of good courage." In Joshua 1:9, it says, "Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."
Brother Adam McBride, the session director for the week I was teaching, taught us that one definition for "dismayed" is "to lose enthusiasm."
The Lord wants us to remain enthusisastic and unwearied as we do His work. This means that we need to get sufficient rest so our bodies are strong, but it also means that we need to keep the faith, stand strong, and move forward with absolute confidence in the Lord, His grace, His mercy, His power, and His ability to do all things.
Today I read Helaman 10, where Nephi is given the sealing power:
4 Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments.
5 And now, because thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will.
Because I'm so "weary" lately, this really popped out at me. I think it's interesting that when the Lord is speaking to Nephi regarding such a sacred privilege, he uses the words "unwearyingness" twice. The only other place in the scriptures where this word is used is in Helaman 15:6:
Yea, I say unto you, that the more part of them (the righteous Lamanites) are doing this, and they are striving with unwearied diligence that they may bring the remainder of their brethren to the knowledge of the truth; therefore there are many who do add to their numbers daily.
As I try to serve the Lord, to share His words and His love with others, and to be an instrument in His hands, I need to keep this idea of "unwearied diligence" in mind.
This also reminds me of the EFY theme this year to "Be of good courage." In Joshua 1:9, it says, "Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."
Brother Adam McBride, the session director for the week I was teaching, taught us that one definition for "dismayed" is "to lose enthusiasm."
The Lord wants us to remain enthusisastic and unwearied as we do His work. This means that we need to get sufficient rest so our bodies are strong, but it also means that we need to keep the faith, stand strong, and move forward with absolute confidence in the Lord, His grace, His mercy, His power, and His ability to do all things.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
The Liahona
This morning, I was reading in 1 Nephi 16, when Lehi and his family received the Liahona from the Lord. It was a ball (or compass) made of fine brass that would direct the family on their journey to the promised land.
I think it's interesting that this guide was made out of the same material as the scriptures Nephi and his family brought with them from Jerusalem. The brass plates were their guide, spiritually, and this Liahona was their guide physically. It contained two spindles, "the one pointed the way whither we should go into the wilderness" (v.10).
As I read that this morning, I wondered why their were TWO spindles--wouldn't they only need one?
Then I did a google search and found this: http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/jbms/?vol=3&num=2&id=59.
It's a beautiful article published by the Neal A. Maxwell Institute, which teaches an engineering principle called "voting." Basically, there needed to be two spindles so they could verify that the Liahona was operational. It's a common engineering principle today, though it wasn't known back in Lehi's time or Joseph Smith's time.
I want to be in tune to the messages that the Lord is sending to me. I don't have a brass ball, but I have my scriptures, I am able to pray to the Lord each day, and I hear Him helping me, guiding me, and providing the way for me to draw closer to Him.
I think it's interesting that this guide was made out of the same material as the scriptures Nephi and his family brought with them from Jerusalem. The brass plates were their guide, spiritually, and this Liahona was their guide physically. It contained two spindles, "the one pointed the way whither we should go into the wilderness" (v.10).
As I read that this morning, I wondered why their were TWO spindles--wouldn't they only need one?
Then I did a google search and found this: http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/jbms/?vol=3&num=2&id=59.
It's a beautiful article published by the Neal A. Maxwell Institute, which teaches an engineering principle called "voting." Basically, there needed to be two spindles so they could verify that the Liahona was operational. It's a common engineering principle today, though it wasn't known back in Lehi's time or Joseph Smith's time.
I want to be in tune to the messages that the Lord is sending to me. I don't have a brass ball, but I have my scriptures, I am able to pray to the Lord each day, and I hear Him helping me, guiding me, and providing the way for me to draw closer to Him.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
What's a Leader?
I've been thinking a lot about leadership lately. Partly because I am using the FranklinCovey Leadership planner--which has excellent quotations at the top of each page (I'll include some below), and partly because I'm heavily involved with The Power of Moms right now--making lots of decisions and doing a lot of work to move the organization forward.
I read this quotation by President Hinckley this morning in this month's Ensign (p. 31):
"It is so very important that you do not let praise and adulation go to your head. Adulation is poison. You better never lose sight of the fact that the Lord put you where you are according to His design, which you don't understand. Acknowledge the Lord for whatever good you can accomplish and give Him the credit and the glory and do not worry about that coming to yourself. If you can do that, you'll get along all right and you will go forward with a love for the people and a great respect for them and you will try to accomplish what your office demands of you."
I think that's the biggest challenge of leadership--remembering that you are only in the service of the Master.
Here are some other quotations I like:
"Men never plan to be failures; they simply fail to plan to be successful." --William A. Ward
"A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit." --Arnold Glasow
"An army of a thousand is easy to find; but, ah, how difficult to find a general." --Chinese Proverb
"You cannot antagonize and influence at the same time." --J.S. Knox
"We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down." --Eleanor Roosevelt
"Every shot you don't take is a guaranteed miss." --Richard Sanders
I read this quotation by President Hinckley this morning in this month's Ensign (p. 31):
"It is so very important that you do not let praise and adulation go to your head. Adulation is poison. You better never lose sight of the fact that the Lord put you where you are according to His design, which you don't understand. Acknowledge the Lord for whatever good you can accomplish and give Him the credit and the glory and do not worry about that coming to yourself. If you can do that, you'll get along all right and you will go forward with a love for the people and a great respect for them and you will try to accomplish what your office demands of you."
I think that's the biggest challenge of leadership--remembering that you are only in the service of the Master.
Here are some other quotations I like:
"Men never plan to be failures; they simply fail to plan to be successful." --William A. Ward
"A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit." --Arnold Glasow
"An army of a thousand is easy to find; but, ah, how difficult to find a general." --Chinese Proverb
"You cannot antagonize and influence at the same time." --J.S. Knox
"We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just a step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down." --Eleanor Roosevelt
"Every shot you don't take is a guaranteed miss." --Richard Sanders
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Arise and Build
I never intended to be a blogger. I actually have no interest in blogging--odd, considering I have five blogs, right?
To me, blogs are a great way to compile, store, reference, and share information, so I put a lot of things into blogs. I don't try to make the blogs look pretty, and I don't try to attract readers to my blogs.
However, a few years ago I felt impressed to start a website (www.powerofmoms.com), and now I feel impressed to keep a blog going with it, but I find myself in a bit of a quandary.
As I look through the "blog world," I feel overwhelmed by the huge task of "going big." I just have no desire to try to compete for attention out there. But last night, as I went to bed feeling somewhat discouraged, I opened my scriptures and saw a few verses I previously marked in Nehemiah (of the Old Testament).
"Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me.... Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.... The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build" (from verses 18 and 20 of Nehemiah 2).
I have no idea how big The Power of Moms will get, and I do not know if this is simply a path to other projects that I am supposed to do, but I do know that the Lord wants me (and all the good, strong mothers of the world) to arise and build.
To me, blogs are a great way to compile, store, reference, and share information, so I put a lot of things into blogs. I don't try to make the blogs look pretty, and I don't try to attract readers to my blogs.
However, a few years ago I felt impressed to start a website (www.powerofmoms.com), and now I feel impressed to keep a blog going with it, but I find myself in a bit of a quandary.
As I look through the "blog world," I feel overwhelmed by the huge task of "going big." I just have no desire to try to compete for attention out there. But last night, as I went to bed feeling somewhat discouraged, I opened my scriptures and saw a few verses I previously marked in Nehemiah (of the Old Testament).
"Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me.... Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.... The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build" (from verses 18 and 20 of Nehemiah 2).
I have no idea how big The Power of Moms will get, and I do not know if this is simply a path to other projects that I am supposed to do, but I do know that the Lord wants me (and all the good, strong mothers of the world) to arise and build.
Those are two new words going up on my vision board today.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
What Am I Among So Many?
My favorite account of this is in John 6:5-14.
The Question: Jesus asked Philip, "Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" Jesus knew they only had 200 pennyworth, but He didn't ask the question because He didn't know the answer. Verse 6 says, "And this he said to prove him; for he himself knew what he would do."
Sometimes the Lord asks us questions that do not have logical explanations, but when you ponder the answer to that question, you see that the answer is in His matchless power.
Out of Small and Simple Things: The bread and fish that are now famous, didn't come from a king or a ruler--or even from one of the disciples. They came from "a lad." My favorite part of verse 9 says that the boy "hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes:; but what are they among so many?"
What are they among so many?
Now that we know the answer to that question, it seems silly and short-sighted that a disciple would even ASK that question. They knew of the Lord's mission and His divinity. Did they doubt that He could defy logic and feed the multitude with just a small amount of food?
The question seems less silly when when we realize that WE ask that every day. We have been placed here to do an important work--to perform miracles in the name of the Lord--through faith with His power. Yet when we look out at all the people with websites, all the movie stars, all the people with tons of money and resources, etc., it's easy to look at our own meager offerings and ask, "What am I among so many?"
YOU are just as powerful to the hungry world as the loaves and fish were to the hungry multitude. YOU have the Spirit of the Lord to go with you, to strengthen you, and to magnify your talents, time, and energy 5,000 fold--and more.
We turn to Him. We prepare ourselves for His blessings (notice that all the people sat down to eat before the abundance of food was apparent?). We give gratitude for what we have, and then we let the Lord enlarge our capacities so that none who come in contact with us will go away hungry.
Sometimes the Lord gives us directions (like in Mark 6:37, He told the disciples "Give ye [the multitude] to eat), and sometimes those directions have no specifics attached. But the Lord is with us to answer our questions and to ask us further questions that invite us to ponder His power.
I know that without the Lord, I am nothing more than a little boy's lunch. But WITH the Lord, I have the capacity to work miracles.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Candy Balls
I keep thinking back to the sweet story in the January 2010 Friend called "The Candy Ball" (p.44). It tells about a little girl named Rachel who sneaked some candy balls out of the pantry, and she went into the upstairs bathroom to eat them. She threw one up in the air and caught it in her mouth, but it went down her throat, and she couldn't breathe.
Her dad was in the hallway, and felt the Spirit tell him his daughter was in trouble, so he ran into the bathroom, and the Spirit told him to pick her up. When he did, the candy popped out of her throat.
I want to always be in tune with the Lord so I can know if my children need ME. This is such a powerful experience, and I'm grateful it was printed. Grace had been reading the Friend, and she said, "Mom, there's a story in here I want you to read." I said, "Okay, well, I'm doing the laundry now. Just leave it out for me." She said, "No. I want you to read it right now." So I dropped the laundry and read it, and it was well worth it! I think it's sweet how Grace felt the Spirit as she read it, too!
Friday, January 22, 2010
Sister Beck's BYU Hawaii Commencement Speech
I just read this in the Church News (week ending January 16, 2010), and I wanted to record my favorite parts:
Sister Beck listed four things she thought the graduates ought to take with them as they leave college:
(1) The Lord has a plan for you.
(2) You have responsibilities which you have already been taught.
(3) The Atonement of Christ will help you overcome.
(4) The Spirit will guide you.
"As you seek, receive, and act on personal promptings of the Holy Ghost, you will be guided and directed, and you don't ever need to feel alone or make any decision alone. You can have a member of the Godhead as your companion, your senior companion, every day."
Sister Beck also tells about her life--how her parents wanted her to graduate from college, but her scores weren't very high (she'd moved around a lot and had been ill a lot as a child). It took her a long time to get through school (she worked to help her husband finish and then became a mother), but she did it. About the experience, she said,
"I learned many things. I learned how to discipline myself, how to set goals and achieve them, how to study and think better, how to manage my time better, how to set priorities, and how to take tests. I also learned the importance of receiving help when I needed it, working on a goal with others, not giving up, and celebrating small achievements. My husband and I learned to work together in amazing ways. We learned to counsel together better and pray together better. We improved our ability to seek the Lord's help and listen to what He was telling us to do. We knew this was a goal the Lord approved of so we kept going.
"I learned many things that helped prepare me for my current responsibilities. The Lord was preparing me. It didn't really matter what I chose to study. It was the process that taught us so much."
I just loved this. I have felt this in my life--the Lord teaching me through processes. He is wonderful, and I love Him.
Sister Beck listed four things she thought the graduates ought to take with them as they leave college:
(1) The Lord has a plan for you.
(2) You have responsibilities which you have already been taught.
(3) The Atonement of Christ will help you overcome.
(4) The Spirit will guide you.
"As you seek, receive, and act on personal promptings of the Holy Ghost, you will be guided and directed, and you don't ever need to feel alone or make any decision alone. You can have a member of the Godhead as your companion, your senior companion, every day."
Sister Beck also tells about her life--how her parents wanted her to graduate from college, but her scores weren't very high (she'd moved around a lot and had been ill a lot as a child). It took her a long time to get through school (she worked to help her husband finish and then became a mother), but she did it. About the experience, she said,
"I learned many things. I learned how to discipline myself, how to set goals and achieve them, how to study and think better, how to manage my time better, how to set priorities, and how to take tests. I also learned the importance of receiving help when I needed it, working on a goal with others, not giving up, and celebrating small achievements. My husband and I learned to work together in amazing ways. We learned to counsel together better and pray together better. We improved our ability to seek the Lord's help and listen to what He was telling us to do. We knew this was a goal the Lord approved of so we kept going.
"I learned many things that helped prepare me for my current responsibilities. The Lord was preparing me. It didn't really matter what I chose to study. It was the process that taught us so much."
I just loved this. I have felt this in my life--the Lord teaching me through processes. He is wonderful, and I love Him.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Things as They Really Are
My husband forwarded me this article from CNN about people feeling depressed after seeing the movie Avatar. Here are a couple of quotations:
"That's all I have been doing as of late, searching the Internet for more info about Avatar. I guess that helps. It's so hard I can't force myself to think that it's just a movie, and to get over it."
"Ever since I went to see Avatar I have been depressed. Watching the wonderful world of Pandora and all the Na'vi made me want to be one of them. I can't stop thinking about all the things that happened in the film...I even contemplate suicide thinking that if I do it, I will be rebirthed in a world similar to Pandora..."
It's not as though the audience didn't love the movie...its just that they didn't want to leave. According to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held last week in Las Vegas, the new push is for everything to be 3-D, so it feels more and more real to the viewer. I'm guessing once people can create a very realistic world within their own homes, they'll spend all day just plugged in, pretending they're somewhere else. What kinds of marriages and families will result from THAT?
Interestingly enough, the therapy for this is to create real relationships in THIS world, so you won't feel compelled to live in a non-existent one.
I was speaking about this problem with my children and said, "It's like you saying you want to live your whole life in Build-a-Bearville."
Ethan got a very distressed look on his face and said, "But that IS how I feel! The animals are so cute! I want to live there!"
So...we had a long, long talk (and I'm limiting our computer time to about 15 minutes a day).
Our talk centered around Elder David A. Bednar's CES Fireside "Things as They Really Are."
This is an excellent, excellent talk. He teaches that one way the adversary tries to get us to misuse our bodies is simply not to use them--to get so consumed with a virtual world that we ignore real relationships (loving our spouses, children, friends, etc.).
These images from his talk have impressed me so much--I included them below.
The top one is a computer-generated rendering of a sealing room in the Newport Beach Temple. The bottom one is an actual photo. Amazing, right?
This image above is a computer-generated rendering of the foyer of the Copenhagen, Denmark Temple. Below is an actual photo.
It's almost frightening how similar they can look. I mean, it's great that they can really know how the temple will look before it is actually built, but it's shocking that the two images can be almost identical. Even uploading these to Blogger, I had to be careful not to get them confused. The only difference I could find in the foyer images was the reflection of the lamp light on the wall. In the real photos, it's a "v-shape" and in the rendering, it's more of an oval.
I'm speaking at BYU Women's Conference this April about avoiding emotional infidelity, and I think I'm going to include some of these ideas in my presentation.
As wives, it's easy to get sidetracked by the unrealistic idea of the "perfect" husband. We see movies like Twilight and wonder why our husband can't be Edward. Why does OUR man have to eat, sleep, use the restroom, and spend time on hobbies?
We might see a Facebook profile of someone we used to date and imagine that he is never grumpy or impatient.
Or we could just go ga-ga over the stars featured in the magazines, TV shows, and YouTube videos, and imagine that there is this better world waiting for us out there.
Well, the best world is RIGHT HERE. In our homes. These other images and ideas proliferated by the media simply don't exist. It is pretend. It is imagined. These pretend husbands won't earn an income for you, won't take your children to the park, won't stand by you while you're hormonal or grumpy, and won't be with you through the thick and thin of it all. The secret is to learn how to see the beauty and love and romance that's right within your home, and then do everything you can to capitalize on it--to support it--enrich it--magnify it--appreciate it--and create it.
We need to be able to see things as they really are.
Jacob 4: 13 Behold, my brethren, he that prophesieth, let him prophesy to the understanding of men; for the aSpirit speaketh the btruth and lieth not. Wherefore, it speaketh of things asthey really care, and of things as they really will be; wherefore, these things are manifested unto us dplainly, for the salvation of our souls. But behold, we are not witnesses alone in these things; for God also espake them unto prophets of old.
I have lots of specific ideas for how to do this with your own marriage (like listening to your favorite love songs right before your husband gets home from work or creating a collection of photos/memories of your most romantic times together and focusing on that when you're in the middle of a busy week). I'll keep brainstorming/compiling these ideas, but to close this post, I want to emphasize two questions Elder Bednar asked about technology in our lives.
1. Does the use of various technologies and media invite or impede the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost in your life?
2. Does the time you spend using various technologies and media enlarge or restrict your capacity to live, to love, and to serve in meaningful ways?
I love technology--there are great opportunities to blog, to publish ideas, to connect with friends, to encourage others, and to make a difference in the world when you aren't able to leave your home very often. However, our time online needs to invite the Holy Ghost to be with us. It needs to give us a greater capacity to fulfill our personal mission, and it needs to enable us to be strong, loyal, loving members of our family. That's my goal.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Quotations About God
Any fool can count the seeds in an apple. Only God can count all the apples in one seed. ~Robert H. Schuller
God loves each of us as if there were only one of us. ~St. Augustine
What we are is God's gift to us. What we become is our gift to God. ~Eleanor Powell
A man with God is always in the majority. ~John Knox
Certain thoughts are prayers. There are moments when, whatever be the attitude of the body, the soul is on its knees. ~Victor Hugo
I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much. ~Mother Teresa
I cannot imagine how the clockwork of the universe can exist without a clockmaker. ~Voltaire
I would rather walk with God in the dark than go alone in the light. ~Mary Gardiner Brainard
Every morning I spend fifteen minutes filling my mind full of God; and so there's no room left for worry thoughts. ~Howard Chandler Christy
A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell. ~C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain
God loves each of us as if there were only one of us. ~St. Augustine
What we are is God's gift to us. What we become is our gift to God. ~Eleanor Powell
A man with God is always in the majority. ~John Knox
Certain thoughts are prayers. There are moments when, whatever be the attitude of the body, the soul is on its knees. ~Victor Hugo
I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much. ~Mother Teresa
I cannot imagine how the clockwork of the universe can exist without a clockmaker. ~Voltaire
I would rather walk with God in the dark than go alone in the light. ~Mary Gardiner Brainard
Every morning I spend fifteen minutes filling my mind full of God; and so there's no room left for worry thoughts. ~Howard Chandler Christy
A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell. ~C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain
Personal Mission
I've noticed a lot of focus on pursuing one's personal mission lately. I know that's something extremely important to me--we all want to know we're doing what we were intended to do. We are reading Moses 1 for our Sunday School today, and I was impressed that this chapter also teaches principles about one's personal mission.
Verse 6 says, "And I have a work for thee, Moses, my son; and thou art in the similitude of mine Only Begotten; and mine Only Begotten is and shall be the Savior, for he is full of grace and truth; but there is no God beside me, and all things are present with me, for I know them all."
I imagine the Lord saying to me, "And I have a work for thee, April." My work is clearly different that Moses' work, but it is still important to God. My work is centered on my husband and children, my neighborhood, the Church, and various ways in which I can have influence for good in the world. The beautiful thing is that even though I don't know my complete purpose right now, the Lord has "all things present" with Him, and I can simply learn to listen to and follow His voice--He will lead me where I need to be.
In verse 9, we learn "...the presence of God withdrew from Moses, that his glory was not upon Moses; and Moses was left unto himself. And as he was left unto himself, he fell unto the earth."
This is a GREAT reminder--something we need to remember each and every day. When the glory of the Lord is with us, we can do anything He would have us do, but when He withdraws from us (when His Spirit withdraws because we have made a poor choice(s)), we will fall. Alone we are nothing.
I love the quotation by John Knox that says, "A man with God is always in the majority."
In Moses 1, we also see how the adversary tried to tempt Moses to worship him, but Moses called upon God for strength. We, like Moses, have the ability to discern between the Lord and Satan. The Light of Christ, which is in each one of us, will help us to know what will bring us true purpose and happiness in this life.
From verses 25 and 27, think of these phrases as they pertain to you: "I have chosen thee." "I am with thee." This applies to each of us, if we simply accept the Lord's role in our lives.
I'll close with verse 37 "And the Lord God spake unto Moses, saying: The heavens, they are many, and they cannot be numbered unto man; but they are numbered unto me, for they are mine."
Even though there are SO many of us, God knows each of us because we are His.
Verse 6 says, "And I have a work for thee, Moses, my son; and thou art in the similitude of mine Only Begotten; and mine Only Begotten is and shall be the Savior, for he is full of grace and truth; but there is no God beside me, and all things are present with me, for I know them all."
I imagine the Lord saying to me, "And I have a work for thee, April." My work is clearly different that Moses' work, but it is still important to God. My work is centered on my husband and children, my neighborhood, the Church, and various ways in which I can have influence for good in the world. The beautiful thing is that even though I don't know my complete purpose right now, the Lord has "all things present" with Him, and I can simply learn to listen to and follow His voice--He will lead me where I need to be.
In verse 9, we learn "...the presence of God withdrew from Moses, that his glory was not upon Moses; and Moses was left unto himself. And as he was left unto himself, he fell unto the earth."
This is a GREAT reminder--something we need to remember each and every day. When the glory of the Lord is with us, we can do anything He would have us do, but when He withdraws from us (when His Spirit withdraws because we have made a poor choice(s)), we will fall. Alone we are nothing.
I love the quotation by John Knox that says, "A man with God is always in the majority."
In Moses 1, we also see how the adversary tried to tempt Moses to worship him, but Moses called upon God for strength. We, like Moses, have the ability to discern between the Lord and Satan. The Light of Christ, which is in each one of us, will help us to know what will bring us true purpose and happiness in this life.
From verses 25 and 27, think of these phrases as they pertain to you: "I have chosen thee." "I am with thee." This applies to each of us, if we simply accept the Lord's role in our lives.
I'll close with verse 37 "And the Lord God spake unto Moses, saying: The heavens, they are many, and they cannot be numbered unto man; but they are numbered unto me, for they are mine."
Even though there are SO many of us, God knows each of us because we are His.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Building a Great Marriage
As Eric and I have been talking about our goals for 2010 and about strengthening marriage in general, I thought it would be good to study the topic of marriage today. The Topical Guide has several different categories under marriage, so first I'm going to go through them and pick out the principles that I want to focus on today.
Marriage, Celestial:
Genesis 2:24 "...cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh."
The first book of scripture in the Old Testament lays the foundation for the rest of my study. When you marry, you become one with your spouse. You "leave" your parents and "cleave" to your eternal companion.
The next three scriptures are from the Old and New Testments, and they describe what we, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, believe about marriage for time and all eternity. In holy temples, couples can be sealed for eternity by men who hold the sealing power. They are given this power from the prophet or one of the apostles, and this power allows them to "bind on earth" and "bind in heaven."
Eccl. 3: 14
whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever.
Matt. 16: 19
(Matt. 18: 18) whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.
Mark 10: 9
What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
Our goal is to marry a companion we want to be with for eternity, and then to have complete fidelity in that marriage. Clearly, there are times when divorce is necessary, but we do all we can to strengthen our marriages and build strong families.
One of my very favorite topics in the Topical Guide is "Marriage, Continuing Courtship In." We believe that marriages need to be nurtured in order to remain strong. Once we're married, we continue to date, to show love and affection for each other, and to "court" each other. Eric and I do our best not to take each other for granted. We go on dates and getaways as much as we can (which hasn't been as often as we would like this past year), we flirt with each other, we speak kindly to one another, and we try to make the other person happy.
Matt. 7: 12 sums it up very well: "whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye. "
I love the sentiments in these scriptures, as well:
(Col. 3: 19) Husbands, love your wives. 1 Pet. 3: 7 giving honour unto the wife. Jacob 3: 7 their husbands love their wives. D&C 25: 14 Let thy soul delight in thy husband. D&C 42: 22 Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart. D&C 42: 45 Thou shalt live together in love.
The one I want to focus on this morning is "Let thy soul delight in thy husband." In the world today, is it typical for wives to say, "My soul delights in my huband!"? That's not what I see. On TV shows, husbands and wives are usually being sarcastic with each other, fighting, or simply tolerating one another. VERY few movies or TV series feature happy, functional marriages. It's also very common to hear wives complain about or degrade their husbands in front of other people.
Instead, you see married women fawning over Edward and Jacob, Hollywood stars, Heroes from Romance Novels, etc.
Ethan (age 6) just came over and sat by me, and I showed him the scriptures I was reading. I told him about how husbands and wives need to love each other, and I told him that some married couples aren't nice to each other. He looked totally shocked. Then we talked about things he could do to be a good husband and things his wife could do to be a good wife. He wants her to buy some Playmobil sets so they can play together. He said he would make angel food cake for her, and maybe she would buy him candy. So, so cute.
The family needs me, so I'll close with this scripture:
D&C 130: 2 And that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy.
We can't think that we can be unkind to our families here on earth and then have a great, strong marriage in heaven. We need to create eternal families now. That's so hard to do (especially on days when you didn't get enough sleep the night before, and you're feeling grumpy...uh hem...).
Marriage, Celestial:
Genesis 2:24 "...cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh."
The first book of scripture in the Old Testament lays the foundation for the rest of my study. When you marry, you become one with your spouse. You "leave" your parents and "cleave" to your eternal companion.
The next three scriptures are from the Old and New Testments, and they describe what we, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, believe about marriage for time and all eternity. In holy temples, couples can be sealed for eternity by men who hold the sealing power. They are given this power from the prophet or one of the apostles, and this power allows them to "bind on earth" and "bind in heaven."
Eccl. 3: 14
whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever.
Matt. 16: 19
(Matt. 18: 18) whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.
Mark 10: 9
What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
Our goal is to marry a companion we want to be with for eternity, and then to have complete fidelity in that marriage. Clearly, there are times when divorce is necessary, but we do all we can to strengthen our marriages and build strong families.
One of my very favorite topics in the Topical Guide is "Marriage, Continuing Courtship In." We believe that marriages need to be nurtured in order to remain strong. Once we're married, we continue to date, to show love and affection for each other, and to "court" each other. Eric and I do our best not to take each other for granted. We go on dates and getaways as much as we can (which hasn't been as often as we would like this past year), we flirt with each other, we speak kindly to one another, and we try to make the other person happy.
Matt. 7: 12 sums it up very well: "whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye. "
I love the sentiments in these scriptures, as well:
(Col. 3: 19) Husbands, love your wives. 1 Pet. 3: 7 giving honour unto the wife. Jacob 3: 7 their husbands love their wives. D&C 25: 14 Let thy soul delight in thy husband. D&C 42: 22 Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart. D&C 42: 45 Thou shalt live together in love.
The one I want to focus on this morning is "Let thy soul delight in thy husband." In the world today, is it typical for wives to say, "My soul delights in my huband!"? That's not what I see. On TV shows, husbands and wives are usually being sarcastic with each other, fighting, or simply tolerating one another. VERY few movies or TV series feature happy, functional marriages. It's also very common to hear wives complain about or degrade their husbands in front of other people.
Instead, you see married women fawning over Edward and Jacob, Hollywood stars, Heroes from Romance Novels, etc.
Ethan (age 6) just came over and sat by me, and I showed him the scriptures I was reading. I told him about how husbands and wives need to love each other, and I told him that some married couples aren't nice to each other. He looked totally shocked. Then we talked about things he could do to be a good husband and things his wife could do to be a good wife. He wants her to buy some Playmobil sets so they can play together. He said he would make angel food cake for her, and maybe she would buy him candy. So, so cute.
The family needs me, so I'll close with this scripture:
D&C 130: 2 And that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy.
We can't think that we can be unkind to our families here on earth and then have a great, strong marriage in heaven. We need to create eternal families now. That's so hard to do (especially on days when you didn't get enough sleep the night before, and you're feeling grumpy...uh hem...).
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