The Most Important Thing to ME.....

This morning I woke up to Mosiah Chapter 1.  YEAH!  I probably shouldn't have a favorite book in the Book of Mormon, but let's suppose that I did, it would be Mosiah.  It is the book that I always turn to when I find myself without my own set of scriptures, but needing to read anyway.  As I read the first 9 verses of chapter one, a whole train of thoughts came to my mind.  So here they go, one freight car at a time.....
A few weeks ago in Relief Society, the lesson was on the importance of the scriptures.  The teacher presented a very carefully worded question that has since returned to my mind several times.  "Why do you think the writers of the Book of Mormon felt such urgency to preserve their record?"  After careful consideration, my answer is this - THE CHAIN CANNOT BE BROKEN.  What we see as a people displaced and distant from us, was quite personal to them.  They were talking to their kids, their kid's, kids, and their kid's........
In the final days of my dad's life, I heard him say those exact words.  "THE CHAIN CANNOT BE BROKEN!"  Then he proceeded to tell us that missions must be served, temple marriages must occur, worthiness must be our goal.....We knew what dad expected of us, and we desired the same thing, but how are we to ensure that our kids will desire it also? 
I once read a quote by Elder Quinten L. Cook that has impacted my life to a great degree.  He said, "Walking by my children’s doors and seeing them studying the scriptures or on their knees praying was the single most important thing to me as a father.”
So I will briefly connect the dots, but draw your own conclusions as well.  I believe that the prophets of old wanted to preserve their record for the same purpose as we do, so that their personal chain would not be broken.  That by reading them, desires would stay pure, and obedience would always be the goal. 
My goal, at a very early age of life, is to instill a habit of daily prayer and scripture study into my children, and if I do little else, I will know that they are in GOOD HANDS, that is the most important thing to me!

Tomorrow is National Hug A Widow Day

My mom is going to HATE me for wrting this post....A few months after my dad died, my mom said in her 'very serious' voice, "If another person calls me a WIDOW or tells me that this is a great time to work on my FAMILY HISTORY, I am Going to LET THEM HAVE IT!"  (It was seriously 30 minutes later when the nice sister down the road called and asked her to do a booth for the Annual Family History Fair.....maybe we will go there another day.)  So for Donna Dee's sake, we will rename this National Hug a 'Woman Whose Husband is No Longer Living' Day or National WHALLE Day (Throw in a vowel and make it sound French.) So why a National WHALLE Day you ask?  A few weeks ago in my Sunday School class we were studying the Miracles of Christ and I came across this phrase under the heading of "Miracles" in the Bible Dictionary, "...the law of love is to deal with the actual facts of life."  I had to think about that for a long time. 
A few days later I attended a viewing and heard, "This is not a loss, we know The Plan."  Well.....I am a firm believer in - "Things Will Work Out in the End."  But now is not the end, and the "things" that must be dealt with between NOW and the END are REAL and often more than one person can bear.  The Savior knows this and treats our tender feelings with great care and concern.  Shouldn't I do the same?
So the next time a teenager says to me, "Life is SO HARD!"  I will not say, "Hard?  You just wait until you are my age and you will know what HARD means."  The law of Love is to deal with the ACTUAL FACTS of LIFE.
So to all the Sister Turner's, May's, Applegate's, Bushman's, Canfields, Ishimoto's, Reilly's, Self's, Skoy's, Novelli's, Tole's, William's, Whitney's, and especially, SISTER FOSTER's, the Bolton's LOVE YOU!  We hope you have a great day!

Righteous Indignation!

I am not angry, but righteous indignation is beginning to boil through my blood.  Two Saturdays ago, our Stake President, President Messer, told the congregation that "Combating Pornography would be the handcart we are asked to pull in our lifetime."  At the time I did not know that the handcart would be packed and ready to be pulled by Monday Morning. 
Last week, Ally, (remember that Ally is 7, a 2nd Grader) kept coming home in a really bad mood.  Each night I would try to figure out what was making her so grouchy.  I finally got her to tell me that some of the boys on the bus were "saying nasty things."  To her credit, she was so upset by the entire thing, that she could hardly tell me what they were talking about.  I will not repeat them here, but lets just say that at a very young age, children are taught (whether on purpose or not), that the sacred is more like a cesspool. 
Due to the upheaval in yesterday's afternoon, Family Home Evening quickly took a U-turn, what was planned could wait for another night.  I sat the kids down and I showed them 2 pictures.  One was of a landfill, the other was of the temple.  I asked them how the landfill looked and smelled, and if they wanted to go there.  In turn, I then asked them how the temple looked, and smelled, and if they wanted to go there.  Ally quickly caught on to what was happening.  "Mom, Heavenly Father says that our bodies are temples."  YES!!!  "So how do some people treat them like landfills?" I asked.  "The clothes they wear, the things they say about their bodies, the things they "write" on their bodies...." The list went on.....
The writing on the wall is clear.  This is my handcart.  I will treat it like one.  I would never leave a handcart behind for a day, saying, "we will get it tomorrow."  I will be totally devoted to ridding our house of pornography, and never say to myself, "this situation is different, we will be okay."  I would never go a day without checking my handcart and making sure that it is in good shape for the next day, repairing anything that has been compromised.  When my children come home from school or any other activity, I will do damage repair as well. 
And now for YOUR INPUT (I have to teach a 5th Sunday lesson on Combating Pornography, and would like your help).  President Spencer W. Kimball said that Satan would use the following tools to  infiltrate our lives with pornography.  1 - Use Logic to Confuse 2- Use Rationalization to Destroy 3-Shade Meanings 4 - Open Doors an Inch at a Time 5-Lead from Purest White through all the shades of gray, to the Darkest Black.  Without writing anything inappropriate, could you share how you see this happening? 

Trust Your Gut!

...So I had another dream....(I know it is strange that my dreams talk to me, Don't Judge).  Remember how my last dream was meant to make me feel good...Well, I don't think that this one was intended for that purpose. 
I was at a conference, surrounded by people that I know and really respect.  The presenter did something really wrong, my blood was boiling, and I stood up and told the presenter exactly what I thought  (I know that doesn't shock anyone.  I have always meant to apologize to the Firth Volleyball Coach and the several of the refs).  Anyway, I went into the gathering room of the conference where all of my friends were eating, I mean REALLY EATING.  There was a ton of food.  I was disturbed that I was the only person upset by the presentation.  In my rage I yelled, "TRUST YOUR GUT WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE SOMETHING IS WRONG.  NEVER MIND, YOU CAN'T TRUST YOUR GUT BECAUSE YOU ARE EATING TOO MUCH!" 
Although I was yelling at other people, I am pretty sure that was meant for me.  Maybe it is because I am not 20 anymore and I can tell that what I eat effects everything I do.  I used to think it only effected me physically, but once again I am wrong.  I know it effects me spiritually and emotionally as well.  Coincidentally, I was reading a portion of the Screwtape letters the day before.  The letter addresses Gluttony.  The "Devil in Training" is told to tempt his patient with gluttony and when you catch him, his "charity, justice, and obedience are all at your mercy." 
So guess what Family Home Evening will be about tonight.  You've got it, Word of Wisdom 101, straight out of the Nursery Manual.  Have a great night!