Accountable

This is just a funny little story.

The other day Joshua told me that his teacher had a sign on her desk that was just plain wrong and that it needed to be taken down.

I braced myself, because earlier that day I became aware that Mercedes had been taught the family unit at school and one of the pictures she brought home appeared to have two dads.  But, I think it went over her head because she told me that one man was the dad and one was the older brother and the others were the younger brothers and sisters and she guessed that the mom had died.  She didn't know why there wasn't a mommy in that picture.  Oh my goodness!  Anyway, back to the funny Joshua story. 

I braced myself and asked him what the sign was that he was so concerned about.  He said, "Mom, it says you are accountable and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise."  I asked him what his objection to the sign was.  I was confused.

He said, "I am not accountable.  I am only accountable when I turn 8.  Until then, I am not accountable."

I explained to him that the teacher's message was that everyone is responsible for their actions and people need to own that responsibility.  I chuckled a little, too.  :)

Men's Hearts Shall Fail Them

I know my last few posts have been a little on the gloomy, end-of-the-world, side.  But, the truth is, it is scary.  Even still, our hearts should hold fast to the knowledge that God is at the helm.  So long as we remain faithful, we do not need to fear.  Fear is the opposite of faith.  We need to have faith, and remember who we are and whose we are.  I wrote the following a little while ago, but didn't have it recorded here.  So, I am recording it here now.

I've often pondered what it means when one uses or hears the phrase "men's hearts shall fail them". I think that when our hearts fail us, we are forgetting who we are. The faith that lifts us is left by the wayside and we allow fear to control our thoughts. There is encouragement in the words found in the hymn Come Come Ye Saints. While it is an LDS hymn, I believe that these particular lines can be applicable to people of all faiths.

 "Why should we mourn or think our lo...t is hard, tis not so all is right. Why should we think to earn a great reward, if we now shun the fight. Gird up your loins, fresh courage take, our God will never us forsake; and soon we'll have this tale to tell-- All is well! All is well!" 

 When I was pregnant with my fourth baby, the doctors and nurses were sure that something was wrong with her. I was encouraged to terminate my pregnancy. Termination was not something that I would ever consider. My baby was my baby and she was sent to me for a reason. I knew that I would love her and keep her no matter what the outcome may be. My husband and I went through a time period of complete worry and stress, some may say that I had a moment in which my own heart was failing me. But, in the darkest moments of that pregnancy, I made a choice. I kneeled in prayer and I accepted the Lord's will for my child. I knew I wasn't getting anywhere on my own. I needed and I desired the Lord's comfort. From that moment on, I felt peace. Complete peace. My faith had been restored and I felt the love of my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ helping me through that trial. I had my baby, and she was just fine. But, she would have been perfect no matter what. I'm grateful that she is healthy, but I also know that if she hadn't been born healthy, my husband and I were prepared to overcome any trial or obstacle that would have come our way, because of where we had placed our faith. We made the choice to trust in our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Update to Previous Post

I just posted a few paragraphs from Presiden Ezra Taft Benson's talk, A Witness and a Warning (October 1979).  His talk was a wake-up call to America.  It talked about how America is a choice land and that the Lord will protect it and make it free from all other nations so long as it's citizens worship the true and living God.  President Benson was concerned for America because he saw that we were beginning to reject God.  His primary concern was that our freedoms would be taken away through communism (the counterfeit form of gospel living). 

Well, that was over thirty years ago, and we aren't communists.  So, I looked up what a communist nation was.  My research concluded that communism is an extreme form of socialism and that socialism is a steep step towards communism. 

It is not a secret that we have twice elected a president who has strong socialist viewpoints and that he is slowly marching our country towards full-on socialism.  The constitution of the United States is disregarded under his "rule" and I do mean "rule".  Our freedoms are being taken away.

In doing my research, President Obama has been pushing strong political agendas that mimic, and sometimes almost entirely mirror the Communist Party USA's same agendas.  There are documented speeches that he has made that support those same viewpoints. 

My research also concluded that the end goal of socialism is communism.  It is not freedom from government, but quite the opposite.  It is progressive (in all the negative sense of the word) and it is bondage. 

America needs to wake up.

Scripture Study: Vineyard Allegory and How it Relates to Us Today

I have always had a difficult time with the "vineyard" allegory in the scriptures.  It's long, and written a little abstractly (at least it appears to me as such).  Sometimes, I am tempted to skip the chapter because I don't really get it.  But, then, on Facebook of all places, I came across something written by my cousin that kind of brought it to light for me.  The following words are her words and her insight, but I liked it, so I am attaching it here for future reference. 

Marci Haws Cole 
Concerning the retribution of God: Isaiah, in chapter 5 of that book, sings a song of the Lord's vineyard, which represents Israel. In the first few verses, Isaiah describes the blessings the Lord pours out on Israel: "And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein." When His vineyard, Israe,l brings forth wild grapes, or in other words, becomes wicked, the Lord describes what happens to those blessings: "I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:
And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it."

I think that these scriptures illustrate the fact that the Lord does not usually destroy wicked persons or people, He merely removes His Spirit, His strength, and His protection from them, and they are left to their own strength, to the buffetings of Satan, and to the wrath of their enemies. Sometimes, this does lead to destruction, and usually that destruction is foretold by God's prophets who speak for God who knows the end from the beginning.

A good example of prophetic warnings can be found in The Family: A Proclamation to the World, which I have mentioned in previous posts which says, "... Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets." We as a church believe that these calamities will occur as natural consequences of wickedness, and the removal of God's protection and blessings. Such warnings are put forth to encourage people to repent, and when they do, God, ever merciful, reinstates His blessings. I think that when the scriptures speak of God's hate, anger, retribution, etc, they are usually referring to this removal of blessings. As a church, we believe that though God's children have strayed, his "hand is stretched out still."

Isn't that great insight?  I really liked it.  In further reading, I came across these verses:

11 ¶Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!

 12 And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the Lord, neither consider the operation of his hands. (We are consumed by selfishness and go about living our lives with little or no regard to the blessings that the Lord has available to us.)

 13 ¶Therefore my people are gone into captivity, (by our own actions, we withdraw from the Lord and we lose our blessings) because they have no knowledge (we have forgotten the Lord, we have not taught our children about the Lord.  We forget who we are) and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst (perhaps thirst for truth and knowledge?).

 14 Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it. (By our actions we have chosen to follow the adversary and rejoice in wickedness).

 15 And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled: (Our rejoicing will eventually be brought to the stark realization of our mistakes.  We will be humbled as we recognize that we have removed ourselves from the Lord. Wickedness never was happiness.)

 16 But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.  (God does not change, his judgements are just.  It is we that change.)

 

 20 ¶Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

 21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! (This is selfishness.  We become so wicked that we come to believe that we know better than our Creator.)

 

25 Therefore is the anger of the Lord kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them (there are consequences for bad behavior): and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.  (There are consequences, but the Lord still stretches forth his hand, gives us every opportunity to choose righteously.)

 26 ¶And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:

 

The Lord is merciful.  It is His children that stray away from Him.  His hand is stretched out all the day long, it is us that reject Him.  We see so much of this happening today.

 

I have often said that I believe we (Americans specifically) have come to the end of the pride cycle.  We have become too haughty and selfish.  All around us mighty men and women call good evil and evil good.  We live in a day and age when all that matters is whatever makes you feel good.  The family is under great assault, Christians are ridiculed and in other countries murdered.  ISIS is an evil organization that is terrorizing any and all people who believe in Jesus Christ.  My five year old child is taught in school that some families have two moms or two dads and that there is nothing wrong with that.  All that is promiscuous is celebrated and embraced. Children are taught that it is their right to experiment with their sexuality and there are no consequences for doing so.  Little girls are encouraged to be sexy.  Pornography is everywhere.  It is the plague of our day.  Our job as parents is to teach our children what to do when they do encounter pornography, because there is no way to completely shield them from it.  We protect as best we can, but it is literally everywhere.  Politicians believe that they know better than parents and they are shoving their liberal agenda down our children's throats.  Preachers are threatened with jail time or hefty fines if they refuse to marry same-sex couples.  Homosexual marriage is recognized in so many states now, it is only a matter of time before it is recognized in all states.  So much is happening.  So much sadness and despair.  I could go on and on and on... We cannot go on like we are and not fall.  This nation will fall.  We have removed ourselves from God and He will withdraw his protection from the wicked.  

 

“For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God. …

“Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ” (Ether 2:10, 12).

 

Way back in 1979, President Ezra Taft Benson warned Americans of what lies ahead (his particular warning was that of communism):

 

Never before has the land of Zion appeared so vulnerable to so powerful an enemy as the Americas do at present. And our vulnerability is directly attributable to our loss of active faith in the God of this land, who has decreed that we must worship Him or be swept off. Too many Americans have lost sight of the truth that God is our source of freedom—the Lawgiver—and that personal righteousness is the most important essential to preserving our freedom. So, I say with all the energy of my soul that unless we as citizens of this nation forsake our sins, political and otherwise, and return to the fundamental principles of Christianity and of constitutional government, we will lose our political liberties, our free institutions, and will stand in jeopardy before God.

No nation which has kept the commandments of God has ever perished, but I say to you that once freedom is lost, only blood—human blood—will win it back.

There are some things we can and must do at once if we are to stave off a holocaust of destruction.

 

First: We must return to worship the God of this land, who is Jesus Christ. Second: We must awaken to “a sense of [our] awful situation, because of this secret combination which [is] among [us]” (Ether 8:24). We must not tolerate accommodation with or appeasement toward the false system of Communism. Third: We must do as the Lord commanded us by revelation in 1833: “Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil” (D&C 98:10).

Men who are wise, good, and honest, who will uphold the Constitution of the United States in the tradition of the Founding Fathers, must be sought for diligently. This is our hope to restore government to its rightful role.

Last: We must study the inspired Constitution and become involved in the political process ourselves. I testify to you that God’s hand has been in our destiny. I testify that freedom as we know it today is being threatened as never before in our history. I further witness that this land—the Americas—must be protected, its Constitution upheld, for this is a land foreordained to be the Zion of our God. He expects us as members of the Church and bearers of His priesthood to do all we can to preserve our liberty.

 

Again, His hand is stretched out still.  I just hope America will wake up and grab hold of His hand before it is too late.  Yet, the righteous are not to fear, because He has promised to bless the righteous.  But, that doesn't mean we are free from suffering. 

 

 

    

A Star Wars Room

Sometimes I amaze myself.  I mean, the following little guy turned out pretty awesome... if I do say so myself.

 

Joshua has been begging me to decorate his room.  But, decorating his room is pretty much last on our financial priority list.  Well, I decided that I could do something after all.  I got out my paints and I painted this little doodle on the wall.  I can outline him when we go to paint the rest of the walls.  I love how Yoda turned out. 

 

I have some major plans for the rest of the room.  So, stay tuned...

 

By the way, this is what happens when I am trying to conserve gas and money.  I get bored, so I paint!

 

Baby Girls

I loved having baby girls.  Bonnets and pink frills, lace and little shoes.  It's all so cute.  My girls grew (grow) hair so slowly, and they (didn't) don't wear bows or flowers.  But, I loved putting them in bonnets.  I have given away most of their baby clothes. The really special sets I have put away in my cedar chest so that at some future day I can hold them up and show a granddaughter what her mommy used to wear.  But, then there were other items that I cut up to put into a quilt.

 

I am not a quilter, and I am not a perfectionist.  I am a firm believer that hobbies should be fun and relaxing.  I guess if I want a challenge I will go run on the treadmill and try to PR.  My hobbies aren't the place for frustration.  As a result, I have dappled in a lot of things, but I am not a master of anything.  So, I guess everyone has their own way of doing things.  I say all of that as a preface for my quilt.  It is not perfect.  Michelle's quilts are perfect.  But, that's because she unpicks threads and spends HOURS accomplishing it.  Her quilts are awesome.  Just don't look too closely at mine. ;)

 

I added the bonnet and a topper with the names Mercedes and Hannah.  I want to hang it in their room.

 

Okay, so the fish onesie was a favorite of mine.  It was so cute on them.  It opened in the back like an apron or pinafore. 

 

The polka dots were a part of a jacket.  It always tricked me because some of the polka dots are the exact same color as infant poop.  I always thought my girls had blown out of their diaper.  Haha!

 

The citrus fruit was a jumper that didn't have any snaps in the crotch so it made diaper changing difficult.  However, it was a cute little romper that whenever my grandma saw it she said it looked "happy". 

 

The gray and red pieces were a shirt and shorts combo that had a rainbow on it.  Hannah used to always pick it out whenever she had the opportunity to choose what she wore.

 

All of the flowers were onesies that were a step up from your everyday onesie.  They were feminine and cute, but fully functional.

 

The checkered onesie was one like the fish one.  It had flowers.

 

I added the bonnet because it is so precious and I loved it.  Hannah wore it.  I had one for Mer too, but I don't know where it is.

 

Anyway, I'd like a girly frame, pink or something, but I had this one on hand.

 

A Day At The Park

My kids have had two weeks off from school.  I feel badly, we haven't done much out of the ordinary.  But, we did go to the park, and they did go swimming (in October).  We went to the park with Grandma and Vanessa and her kids.  The kids loved it! 

 

 

The park had some unusual toys.  The older kids loved climbing on this "spider web".

 

Then, there was this merry-go-round adaptation that kept the kids running in circles.  Luke's little legs couldn't run as fast and he fell, which if it weren't for Tyler's amazing ninja skills, it could have caused quite the domino effect.  Luke fell, in the path of the other runners, Tyler lifted his legs last minute and suspended himself on the ropes long enough for me to grab Luke before the others trampled him.

 

This smile is prior to the fall.

 

Mercedes loved this saucer swing.  She wanted to share the joy with her sister.  But, Hannah was not a fan.  I do think Mercedes would have been content staying there on that swing for hours.

 

Joshua is a booger.  He won't let me take a normal picture.  I tried, but he kept being so goofy.

 

Hannah loved the pumpkin donuts that Grandma brought.

 

I thought I got a picture of everyone there, but I guess that was with the video camera. 

 

It was a warm day, swimming afterward sounded like a good idea until I felt the water.  It was cold.  It didn't stop the kids from jumping in, but all of the adults thought better.

Blue Bandaids and Tummy Pic

 

The other night, Luke was upstairs, goofing off, while he should have been trying to sleep.  He apparently ran into the bunk bed, and he hurt his nose.  He was upset about it, but it wasn't bleeding or anything.  I kissed him, and I told him to go to sleep and stop running around.  Well, when he came back downstairs for the umpteenth time, he was wearing a blue bandaid that Joshua was kind enough to get down for him.  I thought he looked so funny and cute.  I took too many pictures because one just wouldn't suffice.  I only posted three on here.  You'll get the idea.

 

 

Also, here is a belly pic.  I'm not great about taking belly pictures anymore.  #5 is still exciting, and I love the fact that our family will be added upon, but I'm just not great about documenting it.  But, here I am at 17 weeks.  Yes, I'm not even quite half-way and I am looking big.  I don't think that that should surprise anybody. 

 

On some days I feel bigger, and other days I swear I'm smaller.  Jon Mark says I'm not.  My back has been hurting pretty bad recently, a lot.  My weight is pretty much under control so far.  I've only gained about 5 pounds.  I think climbing up and down the stairs must have something to do with that.  Who knows.

 

This past weekend was conference.  I love conference weekend.  It's always refreshing.  Well, I woke up and told the kids that conference would be on in 30 minutes.  Joshua disappeared.  When he came back downstairs, he was dressed in his Sunday best--including a tie and sweater vest.  He told me that he thought he should wear his Sunday clothes and asked if that was okay.  Indeed, it was.  He did get paint all over his sleeve, because I let them do quiet crafts and projects while we watched. 

 

Hannah was really crabby this weekend.  I don't know if she has a tooth coming in, or stomach issues, or whatever.  She was not happy.  I ended up missing the last talk on Saturday because she was crying so hard.  At the end, Joshua came up to me and told me that he listened to the last talk for me.  He's a sweetheart.

 

Mercedes followed her brother's example and went and changed into her Sunday best.  She wants to follow his lead in most things.  She's quite a happy girl now that she and Joshua have 2 weeks off from school.  They play really well with Luke and the neighborhood kids.  I love our house location.  There are a lot of kids for my kids to play with. 

 

Luke and Hannah are becoming good friends.  Luke likes to look out for her and tries really hard to keep her safe.  He will take away toys from her that he thinks might be a choking hazard, sometimes he is right, but most of the time she is in no danger.  She gets mad at him, but he turns to me and says, "say thank you Big Brother."  He likes feeling big. 

 

Hannah has quite a lot of personality.  She likes to answer "yeah" to most questions.  Hannah, are you a stinker?  Yeah.  Do you like to dance? Yeah.  Aren't we best friends?  Yeah.  It's cute.  Papa Mac said to her the other day that she was a yes girl.  She likes to be agreeable and say yes--to which, Hannah actually answered no.  Yesterday, I had Hannah on my lap and she got really big-eyed and happy all of a sudden.  She started pointing at nothing that I could see and started waving and saying hi.  She looked at me, said Mom, and then pointed at the same spot as if she wanted me to see what she was seeing.  Then, she'd wave some more and say hi again.  I think maybe someone I couldn't see was watching conference with us.  Who knows. 

 

Jon Mark has been busy recently.  He does what he needs to do in order to provide for us, and I am thankful that I have a hard-working husband who loves us.  He's been working Saturday's and late nights.  But, when he got home from work last Saturday, we had some family time and it was really nice.  We went to Café Rio and the park.  It's always a lot more fun when Daddy's around.  The kids loved it.  He played tag with the older three while I chased Hannah up and down the hills.  Mercedes fell out of the swing and got pretty upset.  Hannah went over to her and rubbed her back with a concerned look on her face until Mercedes stopped crying and started laughing at how cute Hannah was being.   

 

Well, that's all for now.  Bye!

My Talk on Missionary Work

As a young girl, I came home from primary with a desire to share a copy of the Book of Mormon with a friend of mine.  Neither of us were old enough to know how to read, and yet, I carefully wrapped the Book of Mormon and my mom helped me tie a ribbon around it.  I remember feeling excited to give it to her.  I watched her open it, and even as a young girl, I could sense that she was disappointed in my gift.  It was a natural reaction, I suppose.  I had just given a girl who doesn't even know how to read, a chapter book with very few pictures in it.  Even though she was disappointed, I still felt confident that I had done something good.

As an older child, I often invited another friend to my primary activities.  For a while, she loved going.  I invited her to the Easter Pageant, and afterward she became very interested in the church because of an experience she had had while attending the pageant.  Her mom grew uneasy about her daughter's interest, and eventually, she no longer allowed her daughter to attend any more activities.  Still, I knew that I had done something good.  I had followed the promptings that I had felt, and it felt good to share the gospel with my friend. 

Yet, as I grew older, somehow missionary work became more uncomfortable to me.  I had come to believe that in order to be a missionary, I either had to serve a full-time mission, or I needed to talk very openly about the restored gospel to strangers that I sat by on airplane rides to and from BYU.  While these are both good, they are not the only ways in which all members of the restored church can enjoy the opportunities of sharing the gospel. 

The way we live, what we believe in, our very discipleship, how we defend our faith, should all be a light unto the world.  It begins with our desire to live so that others can see our Savior through our actions.  As we live the commandments, and as we lovingly take a stand on moral issues, we are testifying to those around us about what we believe in.  Our belief in the gospel of Jesus Christ, must resonate through our actions.  And it is not always easy.  We may be ridiculed, or taunted. 

Last conference, Elder Holland said, "With admiration and encouragement for everyone who will need to remain steadfast in these latter days, I say to all and especially the youth of the Church that if you haven’t already, you will one day find yourself called upon to defend your faith or perhaps even endure some personal abuse simply because you are a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Such moments will require both courage and courtesy on your part."

We defend our faith through our testimonies. 

Consider for a moment, these verses found in D&C 88.  Here we find a revelation given to Joseph Smith while in Ohio.  This revelation was given after high priests at a conference prayed “separately and vocally to the Lord to reveal his will {unto us} concerning the upbuilding of Zion.”  The Lord says in verse 81,

 Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor.

Then, it goes on to further talk about the sharing of our testimonies.  Notice how the Lord calls upon the faithful living in the latter days to bear witness of the truth to our neighbor prior to signs of His second coming. 

84 Therefore, tarry ye, and labor diligently, that you may be perfected in your ministry to go forth among the Gentiles for the last time, as many as the mouth of the Lord shall name, to bind up the law and seal up the testimony, and to prepare the saints for the hour of judgment which is to come;

87 For not many days hence and the earth shall tremble and reel to and fro as a drunken man; and the sun shall hide his face, and shall refuse to give light; and the moon shall be bathed in blood; and the stars shall become exceedingly angry, and shall cast themselves down as a fig that falleth from off a fig tree.

Now, in these next verses, notice how the Lord warns us that after we have shared our testimonies, after we have gone forth and declared the restoration of the gospel to those around us, the earth will then bear testimony of the coming of our Savior.

 88 And after your testimony cometh wrath and indignation upon the people.

 89 For after your testimony cometh the testimony of earthquakes, that shall cause groanings in the midst of her, and men shall fall upon the ground and shall not be able to stand.

 90 And also cometh the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and the voice of lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds.

 91 And all things shall be in commotion; and surely, men’s hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all people.

Isn't it interesting that the Lord uses the word "testimony" to describe the events of the last days, the warning signs of His coming?  The Lord is hastening His work and we are living in the last days.  I can feel the hastening, the earth is in commotion.  Are we bearing our testimonies?  Are we living the standards of righteousness?  Can others around us see our faith by the way we live our lives?  Open gospel discussion is good, but are we bearing testimony through our actions?

My sister in law, Michelle, recently told me of an experience she had.  She is serving in the Young Women's program in her ward in Mesa.  One Sunday, there was only one girl in attendance.  Half-way through the lesson, the other leader turned to Michelle and asked her if she had anything to add to the lesson.  She went on to relate to me how she felt impressed to bear a very powerful testimony to this young girl.  She told me how she looked her straight in the eye and told her that there will come a day when a some trial will come into her life.  It will shake her and it will feel like her very world just got rocked.  She told her to build her foundation now, so that when those trials do come, she will be able to stand and say, I believe.  She tearfully told this young woman about her son Gavin, and how when her 14 month old son died, her own world was rocked.  She testified how she was thankful that she had had that sure foundation to fall back on. 

After she bore her testimony, she felt much anxiety about it.  She was sure she had come off way too strong and emotional.  She told me that she stressed about it for days.  Then, one day, while she was contemplating her experience, a thought came to her mind.  The Holy Ghost impressed upon her to replace the word "talents" in the parable of the talents with the word "testimonies". 

The parable of the talents is found in Matthew 25, beginning in verse 14.  It says, For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.

We know that he gave one servant 5 talents (or testimonies), to another he gave 2, and to another he gave one.  Later, when the man comes back, he inquires of his servants to see what they have done with the talents (or testimonies) he had given them.  The one who had 5, went out and shared what he had and was able to get 5 more.  The man who was given 2 talents (or testimonies) used what he had and gained 2 more.  To them the Lord replies,

23...Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

We know what happens to the man who was only given 1.  Afraid of losing his 1 talent, he buries it deep in the earth, but he ends up losing it anyway.  If we liken that parable to missionary work, and we were to replace the word talent with testimony, we discover that when we share our testimonies, it strengthens and multiplies it.  When we don't share it, we end up losing it. 

After contemplating this thought, Michelle told me that her anxiety was replaced with gratitude.  She had offered her testimony to the Lord, by sharing it with another.  The thought that was impressed upon her mind was that the Lord was pleased with her offering. 

When we share our testimonies with others, it is important to be genuine and sincere.  When we have a concern for our fellow man, and we are filled with Christ-like love for our eternal brothers and sisters, the Holy Ghost will guide our thoughts and help us speak the words that will be most beneficial.  Consider the love that filled Enos as he prayed to our Heavenly Father,

  4 And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens.

 5 And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed.

 6 And I, Enos, knew that God could not lie; wherefore, my guilt was swept away.

 7 And I said: Lord, how is it done?

 8 And he said unto me: Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor seen. And many years pass away before he shall manifest himself in the flesh; wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made thee whole.

 9 Now, it came to pass that when I had heard these words I began to feel a desire for the welfare of my brethren, the Nephites; wherefore, I did pour out my whole soul unto God for them.

In Alma 6:6, the saints are commanded to pray mightily for the welfare of the souls who not God. This commandment applies to us today.  Nevertheless the children of God were commanded that they should gather themselves together oft, and join in fasting and mighty prayer in behalf of the welfare of the souls of those who knew not God.

Do we have a love for our neighbor.  We ought to desire to share what we know with those around us because we see them as our brothers and our sisters and we would want them to have all of the blessings available to them that our Father in Heaven would bestow upon them.  That is what it means to have an anxious desire for the welfare of their souls. 

In his conference address, The Kingdom of God, L. Tom Perry states:

We have the obligation when we accept the teachings of the gospel to demonstrate by our lives that we, indeed, keep God’s commandments. We know His son, Jesus the Christ, stands at the head of this Church, and mankind has not been left alone to find the way by himself in a troubled world. There is great joy, satisfaction, and fulfillment in living God’s law as He has declared it and will continue to declare it to His children here on the earth.

The scriptures have instructed us to set the example of living the higher law. Nephi declared:

“Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.

“And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God.” (2 Ne. 31:20–21.) When we press forward with a love of God and of all men, we will want to share the gospel. 

Sister Linda S. Reeves of the Relief Society general presidency, submitted the following words to the Church News this past September.  "According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are over 7 billion of our Father's children upon the earth. With over 15 million members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, each member represents approximately one in every 477 people. I have often wondered, “What if our Heavenly Father gave each of us the responsibility of leading and guiding the other 476 people back home to His presence?” {...} As we {...} boldly testify of our Father's Plan and act as the keeper of the lighthouse {...}  His sons and daughters can feel the power of the Holy Ghost testifying of the truths of the Plan of Salvation, {...}  truths that each one of our Father’s children embraced in our pre-mortal life. As our Father’s children come to know, accept, and live it, they will know how to qualify to return to our Father’s presence and receive all that He has prepared for them that love Him. How grateful we will be as we feel our Savior’s embrace and fall at His feet in reverence, gratitude, and love, knowing that we have helped to lead our brothers and sisters back home."

I like how she compared those who belong to the Lord's church as keepers of the lighthouse.  Again, the way we live, what we believe in, our very discipleship, how we defend our faith, should all be a light unto the world.  It truly begins with our desire to live so that others can see our Savior through our actions.  That is what missionary work is all about.  We don't hide what we believe in.  We let it shine.  With compassion and love we defend our faith, no matter what worldly repercussions we will have to face.  When others see our sincerity, then will they be more receptive to hearing about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.   

In high school, I was a member of the school's dance company.  As a member of the dance company, I was often faced with peer pressure to compromise my modesty.  The night before one concert, I made the choice to wear something entirely different than the other dancers because I believed that the outfit the others had chosen to wear was inappropriate.  I remember feeling a little embarrassed that I was wearing a different dress.  I remember trying to rationalize my choice before I made it.  But, ultimately, I decided to hold true to the standards that I had set for myself.  A few of the other dancers were upset with me, and they let me know it.  I questioned whether or not I had made the right choice.  Was it really that big of a deal?  Then, a few years later, after I had graduated from high school and was attending college, I ran into a younger sister of a friend of mine.  She approached me and asked if I had really chosen to wear something different for a dance concert because I wanted to be modest.  I told her I had.  She then told me that my choice had left a significant impact on her, and that she often thought of my choice when she faced similar issues.  I had no idea that my choice to take a stand for modesty had any positive impact on anyone but myself.  But, this younger sister had been watching me.  My actions had been a testimony of my convictions.

Surely the Lord is hastening His work.  We must stand as a witness of God.  Now is an exciting time to live.    

In a conference report way back in 1980, Elder Bruce R. McConkie said, “The vision of the future is not all sweetness and light and peace. All that is yet to be shall go forward in the midst of greater evils and perils and desolations than have been known on earth at any time.  As the Saints prepare to meet their God, so those who are carnal and sensual and devilish prepare to face their doom.  As the meek among men make their calling and election sure, so those who worship the God of this world sink ever lower and lower into the depths of depravity and despair.  We see evil forces everywhere uniting to destroy the family, to ridicule morality and decency, to glorify all that is lewd and base. … Satan reigns in the hearts of men; it is the great day of his power.  But amid it all, the work of the Lord rolls on. …  Amid it all, there are revelations and visions and prophecies. There are gifts and signs and miracles. There is a rich outpouring of the Holy Spirit of God.  Amid it all believing souls … prepare themselves to dwell with God and Christ and holy beings in the eternal kingdom.  Is it any wonder that we both rejoice and tremble at what lies ahead?  Truly the world is and will be in commotion, but the Zion of God will be unmoved. The wicked and ungodly shall be swept from the Church, and the little stone will continue to grow until it fills the whole earth” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1980, 99; or Ensign, May 1980, 72–73). 

In closing, I add my testimony to his, the work of the Lord rolls on.  It is our duty, and our pleasure to participate in the sharing of the Lord's gospel.  And, this we must do.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

 

    

 

 

 

 

My Pallet Bench

 

Living in a new development means that the builders will sometimes throw away really nice pallets of wood.  The other night, Jon Mark, the kids, and myself went out looking in dumpsters for pallets.  I found two nice ones.  I used my nifty jig saw to cut them down to several boards about 16 inches long.  Then, I screwed them onto two long pine boards, and two end pieces, to make the bench top as shown below.

 

 

I cut more wood to be the legs and the supports and Jon Mark helped me screw those on.  I sanded the heck out of it, and stained it a nice Jaco Bean color.  It was super easy, and it looks great, too!  Now, I have a solid wood bench that cost next to nothing.  Yippee!

 

Luke had so much fun helping me build it.  He was my official screw hander.