Prophets In Our Day

We have Modern Day Prophet's and Apostles...just like those of old. God continues to speak to His servants, the prophets. People in the times of the Bible accepted or rejected the words of God's Holy prophets . We have the opportunity to hear the word's of God's Prophets in our day ...let us be among the believers as in the days of old. Watch or read their addresses here.

Families Can Be Together Forever

A dear friend and neighbor passed away yesterday.  He was like family to us.  I am feeling so much for his family who is left behind to mourn his loss.  I hope they know that they will see their Husband/Father/Grandfather again someday and have the opportunity to be together as a family once again. He was a very good man.  A very good example of someone who tried to serve the Lord and serve others every day of his life.  We love him very much and are so grateful we were blessed to have him be a part of our lives as well.

Temple Blessings

This weekend I had to speak at our Stake Conference Saturday Evening Session.  I was asked to speak about the blessings that I have recieved from attending the temple.  Of course they are many.  I just want to share part of my talk..

"
Being sealed to my family has definitely been one of the greatest blessings in my life. I have thought a lot about this lately. This blessing has especially meant more to me in the past couple of years. Most of you know that my husband Kary had a stroke almost 3 years ago. We almost lost him but through faith and many prayers in his behalf he lives. He was left paralyzed on his left side and legally blind and also is in much pain most of the time. Because of this, I have much of the responsibility for caring for his needs. I don’t begrudge having to care for him. I love him and feel so blessed that he is still with us. I would rather be the one to care for him than anyone else. Some days are tough, though when I’m trying to juggle caring for him and the 2 children and cooking meals, paying bills, cleaning house, etc… One of the main things that keeps me going though is knowing that Kary and I have been sealed in the temple. We will be together not only in this life but the next. I am very blessed to have Kary in my life. He has always been so good to me. I figure it’s my turn to pay him back for the best years of my life. I also know that if I take good care of Kary in this life he’s going to spoil me in the next life! All kidding aside, this blessing of being sealed in the temple to my family and knowledge I have gained there does help me carry on each day….it gives me hope and it gives me purpose.


Richard G. Scott, one of the twelve apostles shared (in a 2009 April Ensign article) an experience of an ancestor of his wife. This ancestor’s name is Sarah DeArmon Pea Rich. Her words show the impact that the temple can have in our lives. When she was 31 years old, she received a calling from Brigham Young to work in the Nauvoo Temple, before the Saints had to abandon that temple. This is what she wrote:
“Many were the blessings we had received in the house of the Lord, which has caused us joy and comfort in the midst of all our sorrows and enabled us to have faith in God, knowing He would guide us and sustain us in the unknown journey that lay before us. For if it had not been for the faith and knowledge that was bestowed upon us in that temple by the influence and help of the Spirit of the Lord, our journey would have been like one taking a leap in the dark. To start out on such a journey in the winter as it were and in our state of poverty, it would seem like walking into the jaws of death. But we had faith in our Heavenly Father, and we put our trust in Him feeling that we were His chosen people and had embraced His gospel, and instead of sorrow, we felt to rejoice that the day of our deliverance had come.”2
Just as the pioneers had to trudge along on the trek west, some days I feel like I’m trudging along the same way in my daily routine that seems overwhelming and hard sometimes. The knowledge and blessings of the gospel and the temple kept them going. So does my knowledge of the gospel and the blessings of the temple keep me going. I don’t want to give up or give in. I want to keep going so that I can enjoy my forever family in this life and in the next.

Ten months after my husband's  stroke we were able to attend the temple together. It was one of the most blessed and peaceful experiences I’ve had since the onset of Kary’s stroke. Being with him there just really helped me to put our life in perspective. I know Kary’s physical ailments are temporary. I know that if we endure this life well and with faith in our Father above and our Savior Jesus Christ that we will be blessed far more than we can even comprehend. I felt our Father’s love for us there. I felt His understanding of our situation. The Holy Ghost spoke peace and comfort to our hearts and minds and helped us understand that just as this pioneer sister said so beautifully that He “would guide us and sustain us in our unknown journey that lay before us.” We don’t know exactly what our future holds with Kary and his recovery. Each day we take one step forward in faith, knowing that God will be with us. He has provided so much. More than I probably even realize or recognize sometimes. Somehow our experiences will be for our good and God will help us every step of the way. We just need to endure it and endure it well with faith in God and our Savior."

 I have a very dear friend who has recently been told that her husband only has 2-4 months left to live as he is suffering from cancer.  Before she found out about her husband's cancer earlier in the year we had been able to have many gospel discussions.  She asked me once if I believed if we recognized our loved ones in the next life.  I of course replied that we would and explained a little about God's plan for families to be together not only in this life but the next.   She told me that she didn't believe we would recognize our loved ones in the next life because she knows there will be no sadness or tears in Heaven and if she gets to the next life and sees that a member of her family isn't there because they have not been baptized then she will cry and be sad.  So, with her belief that we won't recognize our loved ones in the next life and her husband given his news I can only imagine how devastating it will be for her to lose her husband.  So much more devastating for someone who has the belief that they will someday get to see their loved one again, but not only that, they will be able to still have the relationship of husband and wife.  I so much want to share with her my knowledge that she will see and recognize her husband in the next life and even has the opportunity to be sealed to him for time and all eternity...never to be separated again. 

This is God's plan...for us to continue our family relationships into the next life.  I'm truly grateful for this knowledge.

Repentance

I had to speak in church today on repentance.  I haven't posted in a very long time so I thought I would share it here:

To start off I’d like to relay a story that was told by President David O. McKay :

“One day, a group of small boys were swimming. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say, they were learning to swim; for none could take more than a few strokes. Just below them a short distance down the stream was a treacherous hole much beyond their depth. Into this, either through bravado or accident, one daring youngster either plunged or fell. He became helpless to save himself; and for a moment his companions were powerless to aid him. Fortunately, one with presence of mind and quick action, jerked a long stick from a willow fence and held one end of it toward the drowning lad. The latter grasped it, held on tightly, and was saved. All the boys declared that the venturesome lad owed his life to the boy who furnished the means of rescue.” (The Gospel of Work, Instructor, Jan 1955, p 1.)

We are all like the young boy in this story who fell. We all fall into sin and have need to repent and be saved . Jesus is like the rescuer and His atonement is like the stick. Jesus offers us the Atonement as the way to receive forgiveness. When we repent, we reach out to accept the Atonement just as the drowning boy reached out to grasp the stick and was saved. If we accept the Atonement by repenting, we will be forgiven and be saved from our sins.

　

Let’s go into a little more detail and ask ourselves, “Why is it necessary for us to repent in this life?” We know that we can find all the answers to our questions in the scriptures. In D&C 1:31, The Lord says, “For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. “ When we are brought to this earth we are clean and pure. During this time of testing and trial we all make mistakes and we sin. We are no longer clean and pure when we sin. We used to use an analogy on my mission where we ask our investigators to imagine that we live in a beautiful mansion with our Father and Mother and brothers and/or sisters. Our home is beautiful, and clean, and all white. One day we decide to go out to play and find ourselves too tempted and can’t resist the mud puddles. We run and jump in the mud puddles and get all dirty. Well, we are tired now and desire to go back inside our home. Our Father is standing at the door shaking his head and telling us that we can’t come in looking as we are. We are devastated and don’t know what to do now. Well, our older brother comes around the corner with a water hose and asks us if we want him to help us get cleaned up so we can go back inside. He helps us get cleaned up and we are able to now enter our beautiful home. The analogy isn’t perfect by any means but it gets us to see that as it says in 1^st Nephi 10:21, “…no unclean thing can dwell with God.” We must be cleansed from sin before we can inherit the kingdom of heaven.

Which brings us to ask How do we become clean? How is Repentance made possible? Referring back to the analogy of the boy who fell…he needed rescued and so do we need rescued from our sins. In Alma 34:8-9 Amulek answers the question as to how we can become clean :

“8 ...Behold, I say unto you, that I do know that Christ shall come among the children of men, to take upon him the transgressions of his people, and that he shall atone for the sins of the world; for the Lord God hath spoken it.

9 For it is expedient that an atonement should be made; for according to the great plan of the Eternal God there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish except it be through the atonement which it is expedient should be made.”

So Christ, because he suffered for our sins has grabbed the stick and is holding it out to us. He has done his part and now we must do ours by exercising our faith unto repentance. We must grab hold of the stick and use the atonement to help pull ourselves out of the treacherous hole that sin leads us into.

In Doctrine and Covenants 19:16-17 Christ solidifies this teaching by saying,

“16 For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;

17 But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;”

Richard G. Scott declared in the Apr 1995 conference,

“Each of us has made mistakes, large or small, which if unresolved will keep us from the presence of God. For this reason, the atonement of Jesus Christ is the single most significant event that ever has or ever will occur. This selfless act of infinite consequence, performed by a single glorified personage, has eternal impact in the life of every son and daughter of our Father in Heaven—without exception.”
“Finding Forgiveness,” Ensign, May 1995, 75

The ability that we have to grab on to the stick or the atonement is such a great and life saving gift that has been given to us. What love our older brother, our Savior, and friend has for us that He would rescue us. May we come unto Him and be perfected in Him.

I’d like to read the words to a favorite hymn: “Come Unto Jesus”

“1. Come unto Jesus, ye heavy laden,
Careworn and fainting, by sin oppressed.
He’ll safely guide you unto that haven
Where all who trust him may rest.

2. Come unto Jesus; He’ll ever heed you,
Though in the darkness you’ve gone astray.
His love will find you and gently lead you
From darkest night into day.

3. Come unto Jesus; He’ll surely hear you,
If you in meekness plead for his love.
Oh, know you not that angels are near you
From brightest mansions above?

4. Come unto Jesus from ev’ry nation,
From ev’ry land and isle of the sea.
Unto the high and lowly in station,
Ever he calls, “Come to me.”

Text and music: Orson Pratt Huish, 1851–1932 (LDS Hymns, No. 117)

Brothers and Sisters, Repentance takes effort on our part. There are things that we must do in order to be forgiven.

The first step to repentance is for us to have faith in God. Repentance is an act of faith, because it requires us to really believe there is a God and that it is worth the effort required to repent of our sins.

We must recognize our sins. Alma counseled his son Corianton, who had been unfaithful in his missionary calling and had committed serious sins: “Let your sins trouble you, with that trouble which shall bring you down unto repentance. …Do not endeavor to excuse yourself in the least point” (Alma 42:29-30)

We must feel sorrow for our sins. We must feel that our sins are terrible. We recognize the heavy burdens that our sins place upon us and wish to unload and abandon them.

We must forsake our sins. Our sorrow should lead us to forsake our sins. In D&C 58:43 the Lord revealed to the prophet Joseph Smith, “By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins--behold, he will confess them and forsake them.”

We must also Confess our sins. The Lord has commanded us to confess our sins. Confession relieves a heavy burden from the sinner.. The Lord promised in D&C 61:2,” I, the Lord, forgive sins, and am merciful unto those who confess their sins with humble hearts.”

We must make restitution. As much as possible we must make right any wrong that we have done.

We must forgive others. In Doctrine and Covenants 82:1 we read , “Verily, verily, I say unto you, my servants, that inasmuch as you have forgiven one another your trespasses, even so I, the Lord, forgive you.”

One final thing that we need to do to make our repentance complete is to keep the commandments of the Lord. When we repent we have a change of heart and have a desire to serve God and keep His commandments.



Brothers and Sisters as we repent, the Atonement of Jesus Christ becomes fully effective in our lives, and the Lord forgives our sins. We are rescued from the treacherous hole , and we experience peace and joy. Alma recounted his experience of repenting from his sinful past:

“My soul was harrowed up [troubled] to the greatest degree and racked with all my sins.

“Yea, I did remember all my sins and iniquities, for which I was tormented with the pains of hell; yea, I saw that I had rebelled against my God, and that I had not kept his holy commandments.

“… So great had been my iniquities, that the very thought of coming into the presence of my God did rack my soul with inexpressible horror.

“… It came to pass that as I was … harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy … concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.

“Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me. …

“And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more. …

“And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!

“… There can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy” (Alma 36:12–14, 17–21).

I think that we have all felt the anguish that sinning brings to our hearts and souls.
The Savior is holding the stick out to us. I know that if we come unto Him; if we grab hold of the stick and use the atonement and repent of our sins every day that we will experience the sweet joy that comes from repenting and being once again pure that we will one day return to live with our Father in Heaven again.

In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

　

Heaven is Here

I just finished reading "Heaven is Here" by Stephanie Nielson.  She and her husband were in a plane crash and survived.  Stephanie's body was 80% burned and her husband also suffered from burns.  This book tells her amazing journey.  It's an amazing love story as well.  What an inspiration she and her husband are to me.  I started reading excerpts of the book to Kary of when she was in the hospital and I know that Kary experienced similar things.  He just hasn't voiced them.  I  really want Kary to be able to share his feelings someday.  He has been through so much and continues to struggle with different things every day.  It's an emotional and physical and mental roller coaster. One thing that we have in common with Stephanie is our faith and trust in God and love of family. These are the two things that truly help us carry on.

Stephanie quotes from a conference address given by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland (an Apostle) Her family knows Elder Holland and he told her family that when he wrote this talk he had them specifically in mind.  I just want to quote it too because the words are so comforting and true.

"When lonely, cold, hard times come, we have to endure, we have to continue, we have to persist...Keep knocking on that door.  Keep pleading.  In the meantime, know that God hears your cries and knows your distress.  He is your Father, and you are His child."  

Patience and faith are key here.  We must trust in Father above and know that all will be done in His way and in His timing.  Sometimes we may feel that our prayers are not being heard or answered.  We want them to be answered our way and in our timing.  I know that if I continue to put my faith in God that it will all work out somehow.  He's got it all under control.  Somedays I really need to remember that! =)

She also quotes Elder Holland in another talk, "But when we speak of those who are instruments in the hand of God, we are reminded that not all angels are from the other side of the veil.  Some of them we walk with and talk with---here, now, every day...Indeed heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God manifested in the kindness and devotion of people so good and so pure that angelic is the only word that comes to mind."

We have so many earthly angels that have surrounded us in our time of need.  Angels is the word that we use to describe everyone that has helped us on our journey.   I know that we have had unseen angels surrounding us and petitioning Father above in our behalf as well.

I especially love this quote from Elder Holland, " I testify that bad days come to an end, that faith always triumphs and that heavenly promises are always kept."

We have the promise of Kary being healed. We have the promise of our Savior's love and His ability to make our burdens light. We have been promised that if we endure that we will be blessed.

Yay!

Thursday Reflection: Revelation

I recently had a discussion with a very good friend of mine on the topic of Religion.  I thoroughly enjoy talking with people on this subject. I haven't written on this blog for a few weeks because I simply ran out of ideas but our conversation has produced some spark in me to write about our main topic of conversation that day.

We got on the topic of a passage of scripture in Revelations Chapter 22 vs. 18-19.  Some people have used this passage to defend the idea that there can be no more revelation or scripture after the Bible because that would be adding to the Bible. In this way they try to discredit the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price.

Moses, wrote the same about his books (Deuteronomy 4:2). If those words of Moses were interpreted in the same way some have interpreted what John wrote, then there would be no Bible after the first five books. John, like Moses, was simply referring to what God had directed him to write—the book of Revelation.

To me it just makes so much sense that God would communicate with His people today as He has since the beginning of time. Why would one generation of people be more favored of the Lord if He was the same yesterday, today, and forever? Why would one nation (Jews) be more favored than another? (The Ancient Americans) The testimony of two nations stands as a greater witness that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

The great thing about all of this confusion is that we can know the truth for ourselves regarding the scriptures and their meaning.  In James 1:5 we are told that 5 ^aIf any of you lack ^bwisdom, let him ask of God, that ^cgiveth to all men liberally, and ^dupbraideth not; and it shall be given him.  Also in Luke 11: 9-10 it says, "9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."

I believe that God answers our prayers through scriptures most definitey but we can also recieve personal revelation from God through the Holy Ghost.  In John 14:26 Jesus says, "But the ^aComforter, which is the ^bHoly Ghost, whom the Father will send in my ^cname, he shall ^dteach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."  In Galatians 5: 22-23 we are taught, "But the ^afruit of the ^bSpirit is ^clove, ^djoy, ^epeace, ^flongsuffering, ^ggentleness, goodness, ^hfaith,

23 ^aMeekness, ^btemperance: against such there is no law."

I have a very firm and strong testimony that we can recieve a witness that God has revealed his truths to His servants in the Bible, in the Book of Mormon, and continues to reveal things to His servants, the prophets, in our day.  God IS the same yesterday, today, and forever.  I have recieved a personal witness from the Holy Ghost that the Bible is the word of God as far as it is translated correctly, the Book of Mormon IS another testament of Jesus Christ, and that God does indeed speak to His Prophets in our day.  Joseph Smith did indeed pray in a grove of trees to know which church to join and was visited by God, our Father, and His son, Jesus Christ. His Gospel has been restored on the earth today through the prophet Joseph Smith. Christ is the head of His church on the earth today:  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  We have a Prophet and Apostles who teach us God's will and truth's in our day just as in times of old.  God has provided a way for us to know His truth's through the power of the Holy Ghost.

I issue an invitation to everyone who has not gained a personal witness for themselves of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and of continued revelation through His holy prophets, that they experiment on the word of God and indeed, "Ask God in faith"  and He will let you know the truth through the power of the Holy Ghost.

Sunday Reflection: Family History

I have recently joined a couple of genealagy websites and am starting to feel a desire and a fire to be connected with my ancestors.  Not only to be connected to my ancestors but to help my friends and family be connected to their ancestors as well.  I love this little video and the analogy of the string.  I want to be thought of and remembered someday.  I don't want to be forgotten.   God wants us to be connected with our ancestors.  In Malachi 4: 5-6 it says, "

 5 ¶Behold, I will ^asend you ^bElijah the prophet ^cbefore the coming of the ^dgreat and dreadful ^eday of the Lord:

 6 And he shall ^aturn the ^bheart of the ^cfathers to the ^dchildren, and the heart of the ^echildren to their fathers, lest I come and ^fsmite the ^gearth with a ^hcurse."

Family history work and journals help us to “turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers” (Mal. 4:6). As we learn stories about our ancestors, we see into their hearts and we appreciate them. As we write in our journals, we remember the Lord’s blessings and we help our future children see into our hearts.

I love hearing stories of my ancestors and reading things they have written because I gain a better understanding of who they are and as I come to understand who they are it gives me a greater understanding of who I am and who I can become. 

I am grateful to be part of a great heritage.  Learning about my ancestors and the great people they were and how hard they worked, and the trials they faced and how true they were to their knowledge and beliefs about God gives me strength to endure my trials. I want to have the same kind of faith they had.  I think that if they can do it so can I because I'm part of them. 

 "We are who we are because they were who they were."  Anonymous

If you haven't started any family history and would like to get started here are a couple of websites I use that have been helpful:

 

http://www.ancestry.com/

http://familysearch.org/

Writing in a journal is a good way to get started, too, for your own posterity.  The things we experience are not just for us to learn from but also our posterity.

You can also click here to find out more about why The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints emphasizes Family History work.

(Kary's Great Grandma and Grandpa Behm with most of their children.  Kary's Grandpa is in the front row, in the middle. They are Russian Born Germans.)  So COOL!