Scripture Power

In Sunday School, we were having a discussion on the scattering of the 12 tribes of Israel. The scattering was always the plan, how else would the gospel go throughout all the world? The people could have remained a righteous people and followed the guidance from the spirit to go throughout all the nations, but they were not. They had become wicked and as a result, they did not have the protection of the Lord. They were taken captive by the Assyrians and carried away captive to all the lands. They forgot who they were. They did not continue to live the gospel. They turned aside the things of the spirit and eventually became completely spiritually lost. 

On the other hand, we have the account of Lehi's family as recorded in the Book of Mormon. Under the great mercies of Heavenly Father, and under His protection, Lehi's family was prompted to leave the southern kingdom of Israel and travel across the Great Deep to eventually make it to the promised land (which we know to be the North and South American continent). 

The teacher asked, how can we make sure that we do not become spiritually lost in our day? I didn't answer, because I was still formulating my thoughts, but here is my answer.

Knowing what we know about the scattering, we know that the 10 tribes of Israel became lost not necessarily because they had become captive and scattered, but rather it was because they had forgotten who they were. They had forgotten the Lord and His customs. They forgot who Israel was meant to be. They no longer worshiped the God of Israel. 

When Lehi's family left Jerusalem, they had to go back to get the brass plates. According the Nephi, the brass plates contained a genealogy of their fathers which linked his family back to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, thereby perpetuating the patriarchal covenant-- "The promises made to their fathers" in the new hemisphere. It also contained the books of Moses and the Mosiac law (1 Nephi 4:15-16, 1 Nephi 5:11). Thus, this knowledge then tied the Nephites to their Old World kinsmen in both cultural and spiritual belief and practices. According to Sidney B. Sperry, (Answers to Book of Mormon Questions, Salt Lake City; Bookcraft, 1967, pp. 43-44.) it is likely that the Brass Plates may have been the official scripture of the 10 tribes. Sidney B. Sperry says, "the prophets in both nations probably paid little attention to the political lines of division (the Northern and Southern kingdoms of Israel), but it is improbable that all of them had their words recorded in the scriptures of both nations... The brass plates may have been the official scripture of the Ten Tribes. It is probable that some prophets wrote on these plates whose writings may not have been recorded on the records kept in Judah. Were Zenos, Zenock, Neum, and Ezias among them?" We know little about these prophets, but they are prophets that testified of Christ in the writings contained on the brass plates, however these prophets are not mentioned in the bible. We know of them because they have been quoted in the Book of Mormon by Nephite leaders, they are quoted as testifying of Christ (Helamen 8:1-20, 1 Nephi 19:10, 3 Nephi 10:14-16, Alma 33:15-17). Of Zenos and Zenoch, Mormon states: "Many have testified of these things [signs of the Savior's death] at the coming of Christ, and were slain because they testified of these things. Yea, the prophet Zenos did testify of these things, and also Zenock spake concerning these things, because they testified particularly concerning us, who are a remnant of their seed." This suggests that they were of the lineage of Joseph. This link to Joseph was crucial because it tied Joseph Smith to the prophecy contained in 2 Nephi 3:5, "that out of the fruit of his loins [Joseph who was carried away captive into Egypt] the Lord God would raise up a righteous branch unto the House of Israel; not the Messiah, but a branch to be remembered in the covenants of the Lord." In 2 Nephi 3:6-24 we are told that many of Joseph's seed would write and that a great Joseph would translate the record in the latter days, and also about Moses. See also 2 Nephi 4:2.

Many of the Nephite prophets used the words of these earlier prophets from the plates of brass (Alma 33:3-11, Jacob 5). There are other instances in which Book of Mormon prophets speak on things contained in their ancient scripture which is not contained in the Bible. Three of the most significant truths are: 1. The fall of Lucifer (2 Nephi 2: 17-18). 2. The great fall and the atonement (2 Nephi 2:22). 3. Abraham's knowledge of the Savior, the Messiah (Helamen 8:16-17).

The plates of brass were crucial to the spiritual survival of Lehi's family and his descendants. The Lord commanded Lehi's family to return to Jerusalem and obtain the plates, even by the eventual beheading of Laban, “it is better that one man should perish than that a nation should dwindle and perish in unbelief” (1 Nephi 4:13).

Because Lehi's family returned for these scriptures, they did not become a lost people. They continued to prophesy and write, and their writings came forth in the Book of Mormon. Because they were not spiritually lost we have the Book of Mormon in our day. Through the Book of Mormon we have been given the beautiful account of Lehi's vision of the Tree of Life. We have knowledge that the Iron Rod as depicted in that account is the Word of God. By holding tightly to the Word of God, we can then press onward on that path that leads us to the Tree of Life, the Love of God, to Eternal Life in His Presence, to Exaltation. The answer to not becoming spiritually lost is this: hold onto the scriptures, seek to hear from the prophets of old and the prophets today. Stay on the path that leads home to Him, it is a path full of covenants and promises, it is a straight and narrow path that has the sure grip of the Iron Rod to guide us through the mists of darkness.  

Short answer: Plates of Brass=> Book of Mormon => key to our spiritual survival in the Last Days.

Angels Among Us

 

This post has a lot of songs mentioned, hopefully you can keep up.

There are two, really great songs that I love. The first is called, Angels Among Us, and the second is called, I Believe. Both songs reaffirm gospel principles. Both songs poetically describe how our loved ones continue to guide, influence, and protect our lives on the other side of the veil. The chorus of Angels Among Us says, "I believe there are angels among us, sent down to us from somewhere up above. They come to you and me in our darkest hours, to show us how to live, to teach us how to give and guide us with a light of love." 

It's been my experience that to those who have turned away from God, this concept seems foreign. Some may even scoff. There's a line in I Believe that says, "and the people who don't see the most, see that I believe in ghosts, if this makes me crazy than I am." I understand that line. Those who scoff at religion, those who are past feeling the things of the spirit, cannot understand. They may chalk it up to superstition or silly ghost stories, and convince themselves that they know more, that they are more educated; truly they are not grasping the deeper and more complete feelings of the spirit. They have forgotten that this earthly language is our second language, and it is a broken language, an incomplete language that cannot fully describe spiritual matters. Our first language is that of the spirit and it is the language of souls. 

So, to those of you who may not understand this post, please know this--I feel these things, and the following experience, in a way that is not adequately expressed in English. If you think that I believe in ghosts, that's okay. It does not diminish the feelings that I have experienced today. Today was a good day. Today, I felt my Heavenly Home more near. 

Sometimes I get homesick for my heavenly home, and the only way to assuage the homesick feeling is to have spiritual experiences. It's no wonder why I long for them, we are spiritual beings having an earthly experience, and while we may be far from home, home does not have to be far from us. In fact, our loved ones are not far from us at all. 

Today I went to the temple with my primary presidency. We did initiatories. The women that guided that experience were very touched by the spirit and at one point during a blessing, the woman leaned down and whispered the blessing close to my ear. I felt a flood of emotion, I felt the spirit testify to me of how wonderful the blessings of the temple are. Another woman said the words with such emotion and conviction. The names that I read in front of me became more real. I felt that perhaps those ladies were ever present and excited that their work was being done. Later in the afternoon, I went on a bike ride.

For whatever reason, sometimes when I am riding my bike, I feel as though my Grandma Peterson is there. The feeling is so strong at times that I will say hello to her and smile. I've wondered how it is on the other side, is she riding a bike too? I've wondered why it happens most often when I am exercising. I think it's because I am contemplative, and often I am listening to spiritual or uplifting music. I always felt that my grandma had a special bond with me, but I think all of the grandkids felt that way (the sign of a good grandma). Others have told me that too, though, so maybe that's why I always feel her near? Today I think it was because I had had the neat experience in the temple and I already felt as though angels were near. 

I was listening to a song and the song said, "My grandma is smiling down on me". I kept riding, and then came that very familiar feeling of my grandma being near me. I smiled, and I said hello. I continued to smile just hoping that the feeling of her presence was real, had I imagined it? I began to doubt--but, I did feel it, I knew I did. I asked, is this real? Grandma, are you really there? Am I really feeling you? I think you are... Then, immediately after those thoughts, something neat happened. A song came on my playlist. It was, Fly Me to the Moon. My grandma loved that song. She often sang it or told me about it. She had a music box that played that song, and I believe I may have been the one that bought it for her, but it's been too long, I can't remember. Anyway, I knew it wasn't a coincidence, but the tender mercies didn't end there. The version that I have on my playlist is a mash up of two songs. They're both love songs, but they totally apply to this experience. It was as though my grandma said the words to me and then I replied. The words sung were, "can you hear me, I'm talking to you, across the water, across the deep blue ocean, into the open sky, oh, baby I'm trying..." then the reply, "yes, I hear you in my dreams, I feel you whisper across the sea, I keep you with me in my heart--you make it easier when life gets hard." Then, there's a long solo of whistling. My grandma loved to whistle and she was very good at it. She whistled all the time. Then, as if to say, I gave you one of my favorite songs, the words apply, can you hear me whistling? Here, here is one more sign that I am near you... all of a sudden, a mommy quail and all of her little babies scurried right in front of my bike on the trail. My grandma LOVED birds and seeing baby quail would have made her so happy. So, once that happened, I said, yes, I hear you, Grandma. Thanks for being near me. Then, I thanked Heavenly Father for my angels. I pointed to the sky and said, daddy's girl. I know that I can't adequately describe the experience, I warned you that my words would fall short. However short it may be, I am thankful for having had it.

Tonight, I retold the experience to Mercedes on our drive to Young Women's. She was so happy and emotional about it, it was a good mother-daughter moment. She told me she didn't have the words to tell me how wonderful she felt that I had had that experience--she just didn't have the words. It was so neat. She was another witness. She also knew that it was real. She testified so. And, right during this retelling, on the other side of the intersection, turning left (we were also turning left, so our cars were face to face), there were my parents smiling and waving at us, seeing them smile and wave made us filled us with happy emotions, and we smiled and waved back. Her grandparents "happened" to be right there, right at the same moment that I was telling her about my grandma and the connection we had. It was almost as if the spirit was telling me, see, it's just like that, you just can't see her smiling back... 

I let Mercedes listen to the song in the van. As the song continued to play, she pointed something else out. She said, "Mom, I know it's a love song, but the words here are still true. The words are telling you what it'll be like when you go home to heaven and see her again." The rest of the words are, "lucky I'm in love with my best friend, lucky to have been where we have been, lucky to be coming home again. Lucky we're in love in every way, lucky to have stayed where we have stayed, lucky to be coming home someday." then, there's another long Fly Me to the Moon whistling solo, and the final words, "in other words, I love you."

I hope this post made sense. I just didn't want to forget, so I wrote it down. 

Parenting the Christlike Way

 

I heard an analogy once that I thought was insightful. It gave a positive spin on teenage rebellion. Teenage rebellion is not something that I have personally dealt with (at least not yet), but I liked the analogy enough that I wanted to record it along with some other thoughts. Most of these thoughts were taught to me as I listened to an All In podcast that had parenting advice from Justin Coulson. It went something like this:

When you ride a roller coaster the first thing anyone does is click into the harness. You hear the click, click, click, click as it pulls down over the shoulders. Feeling more secure but wanting assurance that the harness will do what it is meant to do, intuitively, you push up on it to make sure that the bar is tight and reliable. It is a boundary that is meant to keep you safe and help you to be able to enjoy the ride without fear of falling loose.

In this analogy, good, consistent parenting with clear standards and expectations make up the harness, it is the boundary that helps our children stay safely on the path that leads to a covenant-filled life. As parents, we know that if boundaries stay intact, that child will be able to enjoy a righteous, virtue-filled life more fully. At times, the child will push on the harness and test out its strength. They push as if to test whether you care enough to hold the harness intact and that you will not let them fall.

Good parenting focuses on developing Christ-like attributes, and those Christlike attributes permeate into everything we do as a parent. While on the earth, Christ was full of compassion towards those who made mistakes. We know then, the Heavenly Father, being the perfect parent, deals compassionately unto His wayward children. John 5:19, “Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.” The scriptures are full of examples of when Jesus showed compassion and empathy to those who sinned. He learned those traits from His Father.

So, when dealing with our own children who may be testing boundaries and who may be using their agency to choose poor choices, how can we help them? We hold strong to our standards, but we offer compassion and love to them freely.

Elder Jeffery R. Holland said, “…If those children are unresponsive, maybe you can’t teach them yet, but you can love them. And, if you love them today, maybe you can teach them tomorrow.”

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin said, “Kindness is the essence of a celestial life. Kindness is how a Christlike person treats others. Kindness should permeate all of our words, and actions at work, at school, at church and especially in our homes.” … “But,” you ask, “what if people are rude?” Love them. “If they are obnoxious?” Love them. “But what if they offend? Surely I must do something then?” Love them. “Wayward?” The answer is the same. Be kind. Love them.”

In the All In podcast featuring Justin Coulson, he explains, “Sometimes in our angry moments, or in our tired moments, or, let’s be honest, in our selfish moments, we might be less loving than we could be towards our children. Sometimes we feel inclined to hurt rather than to help, or … we’re neutral or ambivalent, or we shrug our shoulders and say ‘Whatever’. But He doesn’t. The scriptures tell us again and again, His hand, His arm is stretched out still.”

So, how do we follow the Savior’s example if your child has left the church or is struggling with their faith? What is the balance between giving your child room to use his or her agency while showing your love for them? You exemplify Christlike attributes and you be the best disciple of Jesus Christ that you know how to be. You cling to your covenants and trust in the Priesthood power that binds and seals those covenants. You do all that is in your power to do, you seek for revelation and you pour out your heart in prayer and then you sit back and trust in the Lord to do His part. D & C 123:17, “Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for His arm to be revealed.”

Mourning with those who mourn, and comforting those who stand in need of comfort is a covenant we made at baptism and it applies to mourning and comforting alongside of our children as we parent them.

One final thought is this. Heavenly Father respects the gift of agency. He understands that it is by agency that we can learn and grow. This whole world is a spiritual weight room designed to break us down only to build us up stronger if we turn to Him. Struggle is not only part of the plan, it is the plan. Our mortal experience is full of trials, heartaches, and loss, as we constantly strive to overcome our weaknesses. Some trials come by happenstance and some by our own agency. But Heavenly Father will never force us to choose the right path that leads back to Him. He loves us too much to do so. He will entice and encourage, but we must choose Him for ourselves. And He will stand with outstretched arms full of compassion waiting for us to run to Him. We can follow that example too.

Hello, Again!

 I haven't been good about updating this journal for my family. I believe we are in the busiest time of our lives. Life is going good for our family. I love my children and I love my husband. I couldn't ask for better extended family and church is an extension of family as well. I truly feel as though we have successfully built a Zion community here in my home. The rest of the world is in turmoil, a quick gander at the news will cause anyone to get depressed. There's a war in Ukraine. Russia invaded Ukraine and it's driving up inflation, gas prices, and disrupting the supply chain. I am told that this is the beginning of really hard financial times and economic turmoil. The attack on the family is still strong, gender confusion, transgenderism, cohabitation and sexual sin are all pervasive. Suicide is an epidemic. Men's hearts are failing them. But, all of that is depressing, so this blog I mostly ignore the bad and try to focus on the good of my own family and the little Zion we've built here. I have fallen so far behind that I will have to let the previous pictures speak for themselves. Here are some highlights to catch you up to speed:

Family:

Jon Mark was made a partner at the law firm last year and enjoys his associations with his collogues. He is the YM advisor over the Teacher's quorum and does quite a bit to magnify that calling. He and I like to walk 2-4 miles every night. It gives us time to talk and a little bit of exercise as well. He has to do three knee surgeries to repair a completely torn ACL. He has been working so hard for me to demolish and lay new flooring. Our house is a demolished disaster right now, and it has been back breaking work, but the end result will be fantastic. I have so much love for him in my soul and I believe our spirits are connected and can communicate where words cannot. He is patient and selfless and loving. He is a wonderful father and he does so much for us. The other day he went grocery shopping and came home with a LOT of junk food. Caleb yelled out, "YES!!! I love it when dad goes to the store!"

Ralae: I am busy subbing. The schools would like me to sub every day but I try to keep it to 2 or less days a week. I got to sub Caleb's class at school for three days and that was special for me. I am also the primary president still--going on 3 years in October. We have such a good rhythm and our primary is another Zion for me. I feel as though I have been on a spiritual high with this calling and I have seen the Lord's hand in this work so many times. I hug each and every child each and every Sunday. We are a family in our primary and I believe that the Lord is pleased with the special spirit that is present there. I am very hands-on as the president and so as a result, I am very close to each of those children. It will be sad for me to be released. My presidency is the best of the best. I was very directly drawn to calling each of them to serve with me. I knew that I was going to be the primary president a few months prior to being called, I just had a feeling. I even felt impressed on who I would want my counselors to be. It was very clear to me that the Lord called them through me. Each of them are going through really difficult trials. For the sake of privacy, I will not disclose what those trials are on this platform. But, needless to say, they are life-altering, BIG trials. Nevertheless, they carry on and fulfil their callings so well. They are earthly angels and I feel blessed to serve alongside of them. We have done some great things together. We have had an old-fashioned Christmas where we dressed as pioneers and churned butter, sang to guitars by lantern light and caroled to the bishopric. We have had fun-filled Easter egg hunts and quarterly neighborhood parades. We have had a Halloween party that included a flash mob dance and a fashion walk costume contest and dance party. We have linked arms during singing time and sang as a primary family. We surrounded fellow members of our primary who lost their grandparents and sang Families Can Be Together Forever as a way to honor our baptismal covenants and mourn with those that mourn. We were combined for a lengthy time period as we navigated the world post quarantine. We got though Covid together. We have discussed at length what it means to build Zion and gather Israel. Our primary knows the doctrine. They know how they feel the spirit on an individual level. Our teachers are more than just Sunday teachers. They are also involved in building this Zion primary. It's the best to serve in primary!

Joshua: Joshua has found a new sport that he is excelling at. Wrestling! He's a good wrestler with some natural talent. Truly his uncles have been wrestling with him since he could walk, so he's been preparing for it his whole life. He came in third place at his last tournament and he pinned a guy after he had sprained his ankle. He has been into shooting his siblings with Rival nerf guns and they don't like it. Today, as I walked out of my bedroom to wake up the kids, he shot me in the hand. It's not necessarily the way I'd like to be greeted first thing in the morning, but it's not that big of a deal. But, I told him, "Please, please don't shoot your siblings when they first wake up". Did he listen to me??? Nope. So, one by one I heard each kid crying and whining about being shot. I took away his guns, but he wasn't surprised. He's been somewhat of a teenager. He's easy going and pretty stable emotionally, he's a really good kid. But, it does seem that he tried to dampen positive emotions: How was the dance? Fine, I guess. Did you have a good time? Whatever. Are you glad you went? Mom! Sheese! Why are you asking me so many questions?! Stuff like that. 

Mercedes: As much as it pained me to do it, I did take her out of her Mexican dance class. She loved it and was so good at it, but the teacher made it difficult to participate. She wanted Mer at practices in Gilbert everyday and practice went from 7-10 pm. It was too much. She's involved in her last season of regular dance. Next year we hope she will be given opportunities to dance through the school. She very interested in Ballroom. She is also turning into a teenager. Her emotions are all over the place, but she is a sweet girl who always tries to do the right thing, and whenever her temper gets the better of her, she is quick to course correct and ask for forgiveness. She has a tender, teachable, heart. She loves to snuggle and she loves alone time. She is quick to jump into the car with me to run errands, and she doesn't like it if one of her siblings had the same idea and also jumps into the car. She is a good friend to Hannah and they are very close.

Luke: Luke had his first wrestling tournament Saturday. For his first time, he did great. He doesn't know much about wrestling yet, but he shows great potential. His coach came up to Jm after he had lost his match and said, "He doesn't know a thing about wrestling, but he sure is scruffy!" Luke isn't afraid to be aggressive and go after it. He isn't afraid to throw down a little. He is a great kid. He still wants to be an OBGYN someday, he knows what it is ;) he just really wants to deliver babies. He LOVES babies. He loves his cousin Rose as much as Mercedes does, and they really fight over her affection.

Hannah: Hannah loves her older sister so much. I am so glad that they are good friends. She also gets along really well with Luke. She and Luke had an idea the other day to give my car a carwash. Hannah came running in a said, "Mom, come look at what we did for you!" I went outside to find Luke on top of the van, dish soap was EVERYWHERE, the sidewalks, the windows, the tires. Not only that, but the dish soap container that was quite pricey was in pieces on the ground. Hannah looked up and asked, "What do you think of our gift? Isn't it such a good gift?" Now, this part I am not proud of... I took that tiny face in my hands, and I whispered back, "This is a bad gift. I don't like this gift. There is dish soap everywhere, the windows are streaked and my new dish soap container is ruined. This is a bad gift." They both cried, and I felt really bad, but I was also laughing because it was all very absurd. Hannah is SO good at dancing. She decided that she was to be done with dance though and try soccer instead. She knows this makes me sad. I am sad because she has so much potential to be really good. But, also because I love dancing so much and it's a way to connect with her. But, she is her own person and I don't want to be a parent that lives through their kids... maybe she will pick it up again someday.

Cubby: Caleb is so funny. He has matured quite a bit since he turned 7. He gets himself half way dressed every night in his school clothes and then sleeps like that: his shorts around his knees and his shirt around his neck but his arms aren't pulled through. I am not sure how safe that is now that I type it. It's because it makes his morning quicker. I remember doing something similar as a teen. I slept in my bra with my hair all done and my clothes for that day. Caleb loves his friend Cade. They are such good friends. He wants to play with Cade every day and it is the first thing he asks for after school. He takes my phone and calls Holly. It's funny to listen to him talk to her. Yesterday it was, "Hey Holly, can Cade come over? My mom might not be home, but Mer is home and she is almost the same as Joshua. Joshua is 14 and she is 12 so that is pretty much the same thing so Cade can come over." Yesterday Caleb also came up to me with a concerned look and said, "I poured myself some juice from the juice on the counter and I drank it but I think it was probably medicine." I assured him it wasn't medicine, but that it wasn't real juice either, I had accidentally bought juice cocktail and that is why it didn't taste good. 

He Lives

It's not about the manger, though sweet was that silent night,

It's not about the drifted snow, a Christmas snowy white. 

It's not about the shepherds, or the wiseman from afar,

It's not about their gifts to bring, it's not about the star.

True meaning lies beyond the reach of that bitter cross to bear,

True meaning is in an empty tomb, the Risen Lord not there.

It is about that baby, who would grow up to be,

Our Savior, Lord--who would atone in Gethsemane.

It is about His teachings, it is about His grace,

It truly is all about returning to His embrace.

For Christmas-time is incomplete without her sister season,

The sweet promises of life anew, Easter is the reason.

For without that dark and empty tomb, and if death still had it's sting,

Would there be cause to rejoice? Hark! Would the angels still sing?

Because He lives, not all is lost, He lives for you and me,

He beckons us to come to Him for all eternity.

I'll follow Him, He knows the way, He is my Savior and Friend,

A gospel of peace forever more, and death is not the end. 

****

Taylor's Birthday:

Here are some things I love about you, my beautiful sister so loyal and true. You come to the rescue of those you love, and I know you'd be there if push came to shove. 

Your spunky and fun and all around pretty, your strong and resilient for when life gets gritty.

You're fashionable and sweet and decor is an art. You pick up a paintbrush and you're great from the start.

When life throws a curve ball you, surely stand ready, your feet may shuffle but they prove to be steady.

You were a limb that was missing from our family tree, I'm thankful there's four where there once was three.

Heaven knew to send you our way, I'm so glad you were born, Happy Birthday!

****

McAvoy Sealing:

April 14th, 1981 was the day you were sealed to your baby son.

Who then would grow up, my husband to be, I then was adopted into your family tree.

The roots go deep, tall branches to climb, a family so blessed through all generations of time. Twas the start of a gift of eternal round, that day in April on the Logan temple grounds.

****

A Painting:

Paint me a sky with sapphire hues, paint me green grass with crisp morning dew.

Paint me a world where peace will abound, then paint me a dream where you are found.

Above in the clouds, it all looks so bright, as we sprinkle the stars with a nice silver light.

The masterpiece not finished, it's only begun, as we paint golden hues of the brightest sun.

Now, wrap me in colors, and then set me free, my soul is wild--come fly with me! 

 

January 2022

 

December 2021