I read more of the Ensign I did yesterday and finished Russell M. Nelson's article on preparing to go to the temple. I think it really is an excellent article for those who are preparing to enter the temple. I want to use it as a resource when it is time for me to help my children prepare to enter. I really liked the section on the temple garment. He quoted a letter the First Presidency wrote in 1988 and I especially love the last sentence of that: "How it is worn is an outward expression of an inward commitment to follow the Savior."
I also really liked the section on how keeping the covenants is protective and enabling. I really believe that is true. He compares it to using a water filter: "When we choose to deny ourselves of all ungodliness, we lose nothing of value and gain glory known only to those who obtain eternal life." It is enabling, elevating, protecting... helping us to "soar" above and through the skies.
There was a quote by Elder Neal A. Maxwell that really stood out to me, because I often hear (and have probably said myself) other say things like, "I love to be in the temple because I can get away from the world." Well, here is his quote: "Temple work is not an escape from the world, but a reinforcing of our need to better the world while preparing ourselves for another and far better world. Thus, being in the Lord's house can help us to make more difference in the world." Because I really have great desires to make a difference in the world, this quote really spoke to my heart. I love it. I would love to put it up with a picture of the temple to remind myself of how important temple work is in helping me to be the person I want to be.
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
December 12, 2010
Today I read from the October Ensign on temples. I began reading Russell M. Nelson's article called Prepare for the Blessings of the Temple. A part of it really stood out to me. He says: "The temple is the object of every activity, every lesson, every progressive step in the Church." I thought of all the things we do (and will do) as a family, the family home evening lessons, the activities... and wondered if I've ever thought about them with that perspective before: that their purpose, their objective is to lead my family to the temple. I realized I had not thought that before, but would like to from here on out. And the temple objective lessons don't end once we've made it to the temple. After receiving those ordinances, the focus needs to be on consistently remaining committed to the covenants we've made and returning to the temple often so that the promised blessings to our family that we receive in the temple will be ours because of our faithfulness. I really feel a great desire to really focus more on the temple and helping my family prepare to go there. And this temple-focused Ensign is a really good resource to use. There is even a really cute "road map" to the temple for young children. I'm going to be really using this in all I do and say.
November 28, 2010
Tonight I was turning through the pages of my new conference Ensign and my eye caught on a talk called Courageous Parenting by Elder Larry R. Lawrence of the Seventy. I read it and really feel there was some wise counsel in it. This talk was written specifically for parents of teenagers. I don't have teenagers yet, but just like I have prepared myself mentally, emotionally, and spiritually for being a mother, I do the same thing for being a mother of teenagers (as well as other things, like serving a mission when I'm older and becoming a grandparent.) I really feel it's important for me to look to the future in that way and to prepare myself mentally and emotionally and spiritually for what I may encounter. So while I am not a parent of teenagers, I really appreciated this talk and was able to apply it to myself.
First of all, I really liked his analogy of having a child sitting on the railroad tracks and hearing the train whistle blowing. How would I act under those circumstances? Certainly I would not casually stand by and hope my child heard the whistle, or resign myself to watching them get run over by a train if they chose to ignore my warnings. "[I] would value [their] life more than [their] temporary goodwill" and do everything I could to quickly move my child to a safe place. He says, "challenges and temptations are coming at our teenagers with the speed and power of a freight train." That means it is vitally important for me, as a parent, to protect my children "spiritually as well as physically."
I want to teach my children to recognize and heed spiritual promptings from a young age, and I believe they will then appreciate my spiritual warnings because they will have experience themselves with "trying to recognize the Spirit when He speaks," and they will respect my attempts to do the same. I feel it is so important for children to receive their own spiritual witnesses and stand on their own testimony from as early of an age as possible. This is what I hope to help my children develop.
I really appreciated the counsel he gave about supporting and respecting a spouse's spiritual feelings about things, because truly it is "important for husbands and wives to be united." It takes trust, love and support to get rid of something, turn something off, avoid something, or say 'no' if one spouse "feels uncomfortable about a movie, a television show, a video game, a party, a dress, a swimsuit, or an Internet activity." I want to parent that way with my husband.
I also thought it wise counsel when he said that "peer pressure becomes more powerful when our children are away from our influence and when their defenses are weakened late at night," in talking of being careful about sleepovers. It's definitely something to be mindful of. He mentioned "five fundamental practices that have the power to fortify our youth: family prayer, family scripture study, family home evening, family dinner together and regular one on one interviews with each child." Those are all practices that I am striving to develop into habits within our family because I do believe they offer great spiritual protection.
First of all, I really liked his analogy of having a child sitting on the railroad tracks and hearing the train whistle blowing. How would I act under those circumstances? Certainly I would not casually stand by and hope my child heard the whistle, or resign myself to watching them get run over by a train if they chose to ignore my warnings. "[I] would value [their] life more than [their] temporary goodwill" and do everything I could to quickly move my child to a safe place. He says, "challenges and temptations are coming at our teenagers with the speed and power of a freight train." That means it is vitally important for me, as a parent, to protect my children "spiritually as well as physically."
I want to teach my children to recognize and heed spiritual promptings from a young age, and I believe they will then appreciate my spiritual warnings because they will have experience themselves with "trying to recognize the Spirit when He speaks," and they will respect my attempts to do the same. I feel it is so important for children to receive their own spiritual witnesses and stand on their own testimony from as early of an age as possible. This is what I hope to help my children develop.
I really appreciated the counsel he gave about supporting and respecting a spouse's spiritual feelings about things, because truly it is "important for husbands and wives to be united." It takes trust, love and support to get rid of something, turn something off, avoid something, or say 'no' if one spouse "feels uncomfortable about a movie, a television show, a video game, a party, a dress, a swimsuit, or an Internet activity." I want to parent that way with my husband.
I also thought it wise counsel when he said that "peer pressure becomes more powerful when our children are away from our influence and when their defenses are weakened late at night," in talking of being careful about sleepovers. It's definitely something to be mindful of. He mentioned "five fundamental practices that have the power to fortify our youth: family prayer, family scripture study, family home evening, family dinner together and regular one on one interviews with each child." Those are all practices that I am striving to develop into habits within our family because I do believe they offer great spiritual protection.
November 22, 2010
I read Alma 51 tonight. It is an account of another battle between Moroni's people (the Nephites) and Amalakiah's army (the Lamanites.) Two things stood out to me. The first, is that the year this battle commenced, before the Lamanites attacked, contention arose among the Nephites between people who claimed noble blood who wanted the government to be changed so they could attain positions of power, and those people who maintained a free government. They had to fight for their liberty against these "kingmen." And they fought through voting. The "voice of the people" favored the "freemen." Unfortunately, when the Lamanites were on their way to attack, the kingmen though they would get revenge by refusing to fight. Moroni was really angry at their stubbornness and requested permission from the governor to force the kingmen to either fight or be put to death. Permission was granted and it ended up that the Nephites were fighting among themselves, against these dissenters. Four thousand of them were killed and the rest agreed to defend their standard of liberty, but while all this was going on, Amalakiah and his armies were able to take control of a good number of the Nephites' cities that were on the coast, and many Nephites were killed. This story illustrates how important unity is in defending our families and country. Sadly, because there was not unity among them, many were killed.
The second thing that stood out to me comes in the second part of this account, where Teancum and his men pursue Amalakiah and his army all through the day. Finally, when night came and everyone pitched their tents, everyone fell asleep except for Teancum and one of his servants, who snuck into the Lamanites' camp and into Amalakiah's tent, where Teancum put a javelin in Amalakiah's heart. I thought, what if Teancum had simply chosen to fall asleep and fight in the morning? Certainly he was tired along with everyone else who had been fighting all day long, yet he chose to stay awake and his actions ended the battle a lot sooner, as well as the life of an extremely wicked man. To me this is a great example of pushing yourself just beyond that point where most everyone else takes a break, gives up, or "goes to sleep" and thus creating a victory out of circumstances that wouldn't have happened were it not for your determination, tenacity and perseverance.
The second thing that stood out to me comes in the second part of this account, where Teancum and his men pursue Amalakiah and his army all through the day. Finally, when night came and everyone pitched their tents, everyone fell asleep except for Teancum and one of his servants, who snuck into the Lamanites' camp and into Amalakiah's tent, where Teancum put a javelin in Amalakiah's heart. I thought, what if Teancum had simply chosen to fall asleep and fight in the morning? Certainly he was tired along with everyone else who had been fighting all day long, yet he chose to stay awake and his actions ended the battle a lot sooner, as well as the life of an extremely wicked man. To me this is a great example of pushing yourself just beyond that point where most everyone else takes a break, gives up, or "goes to sleep" and thus creating a victory out of circumstances that wouldn't have happened were it not for your determination, tenacity and perseverance.
November 4, 2010
Tonight I read another Conference talk called Temple Mirrors of Eternity by Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Seventy. I love the imagery he used as he talked of looking in the reflecting mirrors of the temple and seeing our eternal reflection. I love how he compared it to our place in the generations of our family. By looking one direction I can see being a daughter, granddaughter, great granddaughter and so on. And looking the other way I can see being a mother, grandmother, great grandmother and so on. I am so grateful for my eternal family. My favorite quote from this talk is "mortality's great lessons distill upon our souls as we learn and teach in eternal roles, including child and parent, parent and child." I really have learned so many eternal lessons through my experiences and role as a daughter. And now, as a mother, I am just beginning to teach in that eternal role and it is truly an honor. Even teaching, I am still learning so much. I love my eternal roles as mother and daughter and am so grateful for the blessing of an eternal family, knowing I will participate in those roles forever.
November 3, 2010
Tonight I read a Conference talk by Quentin L. Cook called Let There Be Light. It was a great talk. He spoke of how weekly family home evening and daily family prayer and scripture study are essential protections from evil. We have started doing just those things with our son since General Conference and it has been a lot of fun to see all that he has learned already. I really appreciated the optimistic tone of this talk. I liked that he included all those who are striving to uphold religious moral values as bearers of light even though they may not be members of the LDS church. Because all bearers of light are helping to prepare the world for the Second Coming and I am proud to be a part of that group.
October 31, 2010
I read Alma 44:11-24 and 45:1-14. The rest of the first chapter concluded the rest of the war that was being fought between the Nephites and Lamanites. The Nephites gave the Lamanites an option to give up their weapons of war and enter into a peace covenant with them. Their leader adamantly refused and continued in his anger. Finally, when he saw that, quite literally, all of his people with him were going to be killed, then he changed his mind and pleaded for the offer that had been extended. Moroni granted it.
I think of how much destruction among the Lamanite people could have been avoided if their leader had been willing to accept a covenant of peace. I think of our interactions in our relationships. There is much "destruction" that can be avoided if we strive to make and keep a covenant of peace. I hope that my family will not get carried away in anger and will choose the path of peace the soonest possible. It is something I will always try to be an example of.
I think of how much destruction among the Lamanite people could have been avoided if their leader had been willing to accept a covenant of peace. I think of our interactions in our relationships. There is much "destruction" that can be avoided if we strive to make and keep a covenant of peace. I hope that my family will not get carried away in anger and will choose the path of peace the soonest possible. It is something I will always try to be an example of.
October 29, 2010
I read Alma 43 tonight which is an account of a war between the Lamanites and Nephites. The war accounts are a very interesting part of The Book of Mormon. I believe they were included by Mormon for an inspired reason, so I try to find meaning in them and ways I can apply things from even these chapters into my own life.
In this chapter, I noticed in verse 19 it speaks of how prepared the armies of Moroni were, with breastplates, arm shields, shields, and thick clothing. On the other hand, all the opposing army had was their swords, bows and arrows, stones and slings, and they were naked except for their loincloth. I really like the imagery of this comparison in thinking of the importance of preparation and dressing ourselves with armor of God... the armor of daily, righteous living. Even though there were more Lamanites than Nephites, the Lamanites were "exceedingly afraid" of the Nephite armies because of the way they were prepared, compared to their own vulnerable nakedness.
Another thing that stood out to me was described as "designs" of the Nephite army compared to the Lamanite army. The Nephites designed to support their families, their lands and houses, their rights and liberty. The Lamanites designed to instill great anger in their armies in order to usurp power over the Nephites. The Nephites' main focus was on family and liberty and the Lamanites' main focus was on anger and power. The Lord supports those who fight with designs such as the Nephites had. At some point, sooner or later, all will be held accountable before God for their actions. Even if every war isn't won by those fighting for liberty and family, that doesn't mean those fighting on that side will never see justice meted out. I believe that justice will always be served and I want to always be found on the Lord's side of fighting for liberty and family.
In this chapter, I noticed in verse 19 it speaks of how prepared the armies of Moroni were, with breastplates, arm shields, shields, and thick clothing. On the other hand, all the opposing army had was their swords, bows and arrows, stones and slings, and they were naked except for their loincloth. I really like the imagery of this comparison in thinking of the importance of preparation and dressing ourselves with armor of God... the armor of daily, righteous living. Even though there were more Lamanites than Nephites, the Lamanites were "exceedingly afraid" of the Nephite armies because of the way they were prepared, compared to their own vulnerable nakedness.
Another thing that stood out to me was described as "designs" of the Nephite army compared to the Lamanite army. The Nephites designed to support their families, their lands and houses, their rights and liberty. The Lamanites designed to instill great anger in their armies in order to usurp power over the Nephites. The Nephites' main focus was on family and liberty and the Lamanites' main focus was on anger and power. The Lord supports those who fight with designs such as the Nephites had. At some point, sooner or later, all will be held accountable before God for their actions. Even if every war isn't won by those fighting for liberty and family, that doesn't mean those fighting on that side will never see justice meted out. I believe that justice will always be served and I want to always be found on the Lord's side of fighting for liberty and family.
September 17, 2010
Tonight I read The Family: A Proclamation to the World. These are the things that stood out to me: "All human beings male and female are created in the image of God." Note that both genders are created in the image of a singular God. This is very profound for me. I take that it could mean two different things. One, that "God," as a being, is made of both genders. The other is that "God" is a term that actually includes both a male and female; a husband and wife, working together as one. I believe the second is true. And thus, whenever I read in the scriptures any references to "God" my mind and heart always include both my Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother.
I love that the family proclamation is a declaration of what God's standard is... what his commandments are... not a mandate that everyone must follow, but a presentation of a choice: if one wishes to follow God's pattern, this is it.
I love this paragraph: "Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to LOVE and CARE for each other and for their children." "Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives - mothers and fathers - will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations."
Later in the proclamation it says, "By divine design, fathers are to preside [be in authority; administer, conduct, control, direct, govern, lead, manage, operate, run...] over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners."
I looked at the definition of "responsible" and feel it is definitely worthy to make note of: it means "accountable, in charge." "Responsible is liable to be required to give an account, as of one's actions or of the discharge of a duty or trust." So when one is responsible for something, it doesn't necessarily mean they themselves have to be the only one to fulfill the duty... it means they will be accountable as to how that duty was fulfilled. So fathers are responsible for providing the necessities of life and protection for their families. I imagine a father who wants to fulfill his divine responsibility would constantly be asking himself: "How are my family's needs being provided for? How is my family being protected?" Those are the questions a father will need to answer come accountability time. And a mother's responsibility is for the nurture of her children. So a mother will be answerable for these questions: "How are my children developing? How and what are my children being taught? What are my children learning? How and what are my children being fed?" I envision a husband and wife working together in council and asking each other for help in certain areas to ensure that they can give the best possible answers for those questions as to what they will be held accountable for.
I did note that there is an expectation of fathers... not a responsibility, an expectation: fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness. Synonyms of "preside" that I found worthy of noting are: "administer, conduct, direct, govern, lead, manage, operate, run..." So if this is the Lord's expectation of his sons as fathers, then I, as a mother, want to ensure that along with teaching my sons to be loving and righteous, that I am teaching them the skills to govern, lead and manage so they will be prepared to fulfill the Lord's expectation of them. It's important to remember that a good leader is a good follower as well. I want to teach leadership skills to both my sons and daughters for they both will have many opportunities to be in positions of leadership. Even in my patriarchal blessing it tells me to accept the leadership opportunities that will come into my life. I want my sons to clearly understand the Lord's expectation of them in presiding over their families in love and righteousness. I love the family proclamation and do believe it to be divinely inspired. I have enjoyed my study of it tonight and feel like it will help me become a better parent and to better fulfill my responsibilities.
I love that the family proclamation is a declaration of what God's standard is... what his commandments are... not a mandate that everyone must follow, but a presentation of a choice: if one wishes to follow God's pattern, this is it.
I love this paragraph: "Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to LOVE and CARE for each other and for their children." "Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives - mothers and fathers - will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations."
Later in the proclamation it says, "By divine design, fathers are to preside [be in authority; administer, conduct, control, direct, govern, lead, manage, operate, run...] over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners."
I looked at the definition of "responsible" and feel it is definitely worthy to make note of: it means "accountable, in charge." "Responsible is liable to be required to give an account, as of one's actions or of the discharge of a duty or trust." So when one is responsible for something, it doesn't necessarily mean they themselves have to be the only one to fulfill the duty... it means they will be accountable as to how that duty was fulfilled. So fathers are responsible for providing the necessities of life and protection for their families. I imagine a father who wants to fulfill his divine responsibility would constantly be asking himself: "How are my family's needs being provided for? How is my family being protected?" Those are the questions a father will need to answer come accountability time. And a mother's responsibility is for the nurture of her children. So a mother will be answerable for these questions: "How are my children developing? How and what are my children being taught? What are my children learning? How and what are my children being fed?" I envision a husband and wife working together in council and asking each other for help in certain areas to ensure that they can give the best possible answers for those questions as to what they will be held accountable for.
I did note that there is an expectation of fathers... not a responsibility, an expectation: fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness. Synonyms of "preside" that I found worthy of noting are: "administer, conduct, direct, govern, lead, manage, operate, run..." So if this is the Lord's expectation of his sons as fathers, then I, as a mother, want to ensure that along with teaching my sons to be loving and righteous, that I am teaching them the skills to govern, lead and manage so they will be prepared to fulfill the Lord's expectation of them. It's important to remember that a good leader is a good follower as well. I want to teach leadership skills to both my sons and daughters for they both will have many opportunities to be in positions of leadership. Even in my patriarchal blessing it tells me to accept the leadership opportunities that will come into my life. I want my sons to clearly understand the Lord's expectation of them in presiding over their families in love and righteousness. I love the family proclamation and do believe it to be divinely inspired. I have enjoyed my study of it tonight and feel like it will help me become a better parent and to better fulfill my responsibilities.
September 12, 2010
Tonight I read 3 Nephi chapter 17 where Jesus prays with the people, heals the sick and blesses the children. It is a beautiful chapter and an experience that I would absolutely love to share in one day. I do have the hope and look forward to one day being able to experience ourselves (my family & I) in the presence of Jesus Christ, whether in this life or the next. I know that day will come and I look forward to it so much. I hope that my faith is sufficient that Christ should heal me, as he did these people of long ago. I love this part of the Book of Mormon. I wish I could have heard his prayer to the Father that they heard on their behalf.
August 30, 2010
Tonight I read various scriptures listed under the topic "woman" in the index for my triple combination of scriptures. Because of my gender class in sociology, I have become very interested in what the Lord's will is and definition would be for males and females in eternal life. What is it that we should be striving for? In The Family: A Proclamation to the World, when it says that "gender is an essential characteristic of our premortal, mortal and post mortal identity and purpose..." what does that mean and what does it imply? I'm seeking for a revealed definition from God, not a socially or culturally structured definition.
July 18, 2010
Today I read what I believe is my favorite talk from the last General Conference titled You Are My Hands by Dieter F. Uchtdorf. His talk was about following the example of the Savior in loving others. I thought a lot about my sister and the awareness her choices has provided our family about homosexuals. I have had five people that I can think of who, knowing about my sister and her choices, have sought to ask me, "How do you do it? How can you still be so loving and supportive of her?" My answer is that I truly feel I have been learning how to love like Jesus Christ loves.
There was so much in this particular talk that was so absolutely relevant to what I try to share with others about "how I do it." He says, "I hope we welcome and love God's children, including those who might dress, look, speak, or just do things differently."
"In our zeal, we sometimes confuse sin with sinner, and we condemn too quickly and with too little compassion."
"Every person we meet is a VIP to our Heavenly Father."
"As disciples of Jesus Christ, our Master, we are called to support and heal rather than condemn."
"True love requires action. We can speak of love all day long - but until we manifest that love in action, our words are nothing but sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal."
"Without this love ... we are only the form of His Church - without substance. What good is our teaching without love? What good is missionary, temple, or welfare work without love?"
In my youth, I really took to heart the suggestion of asking "what would Jesus do?" What would He do? That is such an important question to ask ourselves before we jump to quick conclusions about a person and treat them as lesser than. Not a single person is "lesser than." Learning to love others has been my favorite thing about life I've learned so far. There is so much to see when truly looking into the eyes of another individual and seeing them as valuable, lovable, a priceless treasure... a child of God. I've noticed I've had a ton more patience with others since seeing them that way, and also with myself. I find myself saying often, "We're all in the same boat!" I really believe that!
We all fall short of the glory of God. A sin is a sin, no matter what it is, it separates us from God, then it's up to each of us individually if we want to choose to come unto Christ and be reconnected to God through Christ's redemption. We need to allow others their choice without attempting to force them or condemning them. Every person is loved by God unconditionally, so if I want to truly follow His example, I should be striving to emulate that same unconditional love towards all I meet. What we are is children of God and that never changes, and never will. That's at least one commonality that I will always have with everyone else.
I try to focus on commonalities I have with others and look past all the differences, the poor choices, the different choices that I don't understand... I just focus on what we have in common and that helps me to love with that unconditional love. I don't have to agree with someone, or embrace their lifestyle, or even support their lifestyle choices to still be able to love them fully. I love my sister tremendously. She loves to serve and loves to help others. She takes the time to reach out to others in a real and personal way. We definitely share that in common and I love that about her. She is a shining example to me of loving service and wholeheartedly working towards bringing awareness and understanding to issues that she feels passionately about and I really admire that about her.
There was so much in this particular talk that was so absolutely relevant to what I try to share with others about "how I do it." He says, "I hope we welcome and love God's children, including those who might dress, look, speak, or just do things differently."
"In our zeal, we sometimes confuse sin with sinner, and we condemn too quickly and with too little compassion."
"Every person we meet is a VIP to our Heavenly Father."
"As disciples of Jesus Christ, our Master, we are called to support and heal rather than condemn."
"True love requires action. We can speak of love all day long - but until we manifest that love in action, our words are nothing but sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal."
"Without this love ... we are only the form of His Church - without substance. What good is our teaching without love? What good is missionary, temple, or welfare work without love?"
In my youth, I really took to heart the suggestion of asking "what would Jesus do?" What would He do? That is such an important question to ask ourselves before we jump to quick conclusions about a person and treat them as lesser than. Not a single person is "lesser than." Learning to love others has been my favorite thing about life I've learned so far. There is so much to see when truly looking into the eyes of another individual and seeing them as valuable, lovable, a priceless treasure... a child of God. I've noticed I've had a ton more patience with others since seeing them that way, and also with myself. I find myself saying often, "We're all in the same boat!" I really believe that!
We all fall short of the glory of God. A sin is a sin, no matter what it is, it separates us from God, then it's up to each of us individually if we want to choose to come unto Christ and be reconnected to God through Christ's redemption. We need to allow others their choice without attempting to force them or condemning them. Every person is loved by God unconditionally, so if I want to truly follow His example, I should be striving to emulate that same unconditional love towards all I meet. What we are is children of God and that never changes, and never will. That's at least one commonality that I will always have with everyone else.
I try to focus on commonalities I have with others and look past all the differences, the poor choices, the different choices that I don't understand... I just focus on what we have in common and that helps me to love with that unconditional love. I don't have to agree with someone, or embrace their lifestyle, or even support their lifestyle choices to still be able to love them fully. I love my sister tremendously. She loves to serve and loves to help others. She takes the time to reach out to others in a real and personal way. We definitely share that in common and I love that about her. She is a shining example to me of loving service and wholeheartedly working towards bringing awareness and understanding to issues that she feels passionately about and I really admire that about her.
July 3, 2010
Tonight I am reading Julie B. Beck's conference talk called And Upon the Handmaids in Those Days Will I Pour Out My Spirit. Sister Beck expresses that she feels that there has never been a greater need for faith, personal righteousness, strong families and homes, and never been more to help others in need. If that is truly the case, then I feel humbled and grateful that I have oriented my life to focus on these exact things. I appreciate her reminder that the way to "navigate this life confidently" is through personal revelation. I am learning more and more about how to receive this and I am loving the journey. I remember her saying at Women's Conference that she strives to spend some time in the scriptures every day. That is what inspired me to do this gospel study every day, with paper and pen in hand, which is something she reiterates again in this talk. I love what she said, "Insight found in scripture accumulates over time, so it is important to spend some time in the scriptures every day." It's like a bank account and every day I have spent studying the gospel is depositing insight into my "personal revelation account." I want to have as much as I can deposited into this account. My favorite part of her talk is her measure of success to use. I like this measurement a lot. She says we can know we're "doing well when we develop attributes of Christ and strive to obey his commandments with exactness, when we seek to improve ourselves and do our best, when we increase faith, personal righteousness and strengthen homes and families, seek out and help others in need and when we live to qualify to receive the Spirit and know how to follow it." I liked this quote: "We may still experience disappointments, but we will not be disappointed in ourselves." What a treasure... to so live as to not be disappointed in oneself. That is what I am striving to do and I must say I am pleased with where I am and the way I am growing.
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