Mormon Bloggers

Wow! It’s been a long time since I’ve posted something. Two months! I’ve gotta do better. Graduation is sneaking up on me pretty quick. We have ceremonies two weeks from tonight, even though school doesn’t end for two months. And just today I selected my room for next year! It’s exciting! Anyway, here are a few things that I’ve been thinking about lately:

A while ago, one of the girls in my class asked me and a girl from my ward about Temple Marriage. She asked who can go into the temple. That brought us to the topic of temple recommends. In past conversations, she’s also asked about missions. It’s only really been in the past year that I’ve realized that non-members don’t know that we don’t choose where we go.

I’ve also been getting excited for this summer. It’s going to be so CRAZY!!! On July 1st, my family is driving to Calgary (for those of you who don’t know much Canadian geography, that’s in the mid-west) which is a few hours from us. The next day we’re flying to Hamilton, Ontario (which is out east) and then we’re driving to Palmyra. Then we get to check in as part of the Hill Cumorah Pageant cast. Did I ever mention that in a previous post? You’d think I would have, but maybe I didn’t. Anyway, after pageant’s over, we’re going to visit my mom’s family (who live a few hours away from Palmyra). I won’t even be back in Alberta until the end of July. Then a week after getting home, I’m leaving to go to Calgary again for EFY! Yay! After EFY, there’s just a short period of time before I move down to Provo for the year!

A few years back I was asked in a interview something along the lines of “how comfortable are you learning new software?” I calmly and with as much attitude as was acceptable, this was a job interview, said “I can learn any software.” Well, those words came back to haunt me recently.

For the last couple of years my career has been focused on developing online learning materials. You know those online classes, we all have to take on safety in the work place or defensive driving.  I build these materials using a number of different tools, that then output the materials into online learning compliant Flash files. So for the last two years I have been asking my manager if I could take a Flash class. This year I finally got my wish.

I signed up for the online Flash course offered through Adobe. I did the first part of the course with no problems. Thinking in frames instead of time or space was a change, but I got it. Then I started the second part FlashScript…..Suddenly the class was talking about classes and objects and functions, Oh My! I don’t have any experience in programming. The closest I’ve gotten to coding was HTML web pages.

I’ve been able to complete the class, but I will never again say I can learn any software.

Jesucristo es la figura sobre cual se basa la cristiandad. Debido a la importancia de su misión todo profeta antes de su nacimiento testificó de Él. Y a partir de Su muerte todo profeta hasta el día actual ha profetizado concerniente al Unigénito del Padre (Hechos 10:43). Jesucristo estando en la tierra nos mandó a seguirle y a ser como El, perfectos. Para lograr esta perfección, es necesario estudiar la vida y las enseñanzas de Jesucristo, arrepentirnos, hacer convenios con El y seguir fiel hasta el fin de nuestras vidas.

Jesús quiso que Su Evangelio se enseñara a todos los habitantes de la tierra; por lo tanto, eligió a Doce Apóstoles para que testificaran de Él. Jesucristo edificó Su Iglesia de cierta forma y mandó que se hiciera así, para que hubiera un fundamento:

Así que ya no sois extranjeros ni advenedizos, sino conciudadanos de los santos, y miembros de la familia de Dios, edificados sobre el fundamento de apóstoles y profetas, siendo la principal piedra del ángulo Jesucristo mismo…”

Los mormones enseñan que este mismo fundamento se restauró en 1820 por medio de José Smith, y que ese fundamento existe en La Iglesia en la Actualidad Estos primeros apóstoles fueron los primeros líderes de Su Iglesia, quienes recibieron La Autoridad para actuar en Su nombre y para llevar a cabo las obras y Ordenanzasque le habían visto hacer a Él. Las personas que recibieron la autoridad de ellos, también pudieron enseñar, bautizar y efectuar otras ordenanzas en Su nombre. Luego de Su muerte, ellos continuaron haciendo Su obra hasta que la gente se volvió tan inicua que mataron a los apóstoles y la verdad y la Iglesia de Jesucristo Desapareció.

Swine Flu seems to be a rather controversial subject at the moment.  Some people think it’s not being handled seriously enough and others think it’s being handled too seriously, possibly causing a panic over something that is not as serious as it sounds.  I’m not sure what to think, but I detest getting sick at all, so I’m going to take the advice I have found and apply it to preventing all sickness, because even the typical flu kills thousands of people every year.

Tips for preparing for a pandemic are found here on the church’s website providentliving.org.  The best things you can do are:

Stay away from sick people

Keep your distance from people in public (you never know what people are carrying)

Wash your hands frequently

Cover your mouth properly when you cough or sneeze

Because my family has been having a problem with health insurance, we have already been limiting where we go because we can’t afford to see a doctor right now (much to the annoyance of friends who want us to come over) and we have been quite healthy – unusually healthy for our family.  I started to have some guilt over not sending my son to a birthday party, but then it turned out the next day, the birthday boy got pink eye, followed by the rest of his family, and they came down with a nasty virus.  Not too long before that, their baby had RSV and their daughter had pneumonia, so I just wasn’t comfortable bringing my children there no matter how much they claimed everyone was healthy now.

Follow your instincts and do what you have to to keep your family safe.  My son had a cough the other morning and though I thought it was allergies, I kept him home just in case.  The news now said that there are suspected cases of swine flu in our county.  I was pretty stressed out to hear it, but prompt treatment can prevent it from becoming serious, so I am going to relax about it and do what I have been doing already – cleaning grocery cart handles, avoid shaking hands with others, not touching my face when I’m out in public and washing my hands as soon as I get home, and not allowing my kids to touch doorknobs and other surfaces in public, especially when I take them for their well child check-ups, which I hate doing.  I put off my son’s well child appointment until flu season would be over (he’s perfectly healthy and I would like to keep it that way), but I didn’t count on swine flu making an appearance.

Perhaps it sounds like I have OCD.  I don’t.  I had to take one of my kids to the emergency room not too long ago and not only was it emotionally distressing, the bill that came later was overwhelming. 

Our church has been teaching for many years the importance of being prepared, in having enough food and supplies for emergencies, and our area even had a drill the year before last to see if we were prepared for a pandemic.  If needed, could we stay in our houses for a month?  Would we have enough food for our family?  Would we have enough entertainment for our kids?

We live in a two bedroom apartment with four children and it would be a nightmare, but at least I know we have enough activities to keep them occupied and we have food.  It won’t be food that everyone loves, but I think we could survive.  I think today I will take a look at how much food I have to take care of our baby.  We have cans of formula we have never used and friends have given us boxes of baby cereal their children never got around to eating.  I am so grateful for that.

Is your family prepared to deal with an emergency like this?  What are you doing to prepare?

Yes, we are.

And with that, I will conclude this post.  Ok, well maybe I’ll elaborate a bit.

When I was a kid, it never occurred to me that someone might think that I am not a Christian.  Every week I went to church and learned about Jesus.  We learned about being His disciples, about being baptized in His name, we read about His life, and when I was really little, I would sit in my room and talk to Him as if He were right next to me.  I remember one particular time that I was sent to my room for some reason and telling Him, “Hi Jesus!  I got sent to my room because I’m in trouble.  These are my toys I like to play with.”  I talked to Him like I would anyone else and I loved Him (and still do).

I went to seminary as a teenager (an early morning scripture study class that goes from grades 9-12) and learned even more about our Savior, we memorized meaningful verses, taking a year to study The Old Testament, a year to study The New Testament, The Book of Mormon, and then The Doctrine and Covenants/Church History.  It was hard getting up so early, but always worth it and a wonderful way to start my day.  I had a strong desire to live in a way that would please our Father in Heaven.

At some point during high school, I started hearing comments like, “You’re going to Hell because you don’t believe in Jesus.”  I was shocked and I thought a simple, “You’re incorrect.  I do believe in Jesus.” would suffice, but it didn’t.  I was confused.  When people tell me they believe in something, I typically take their word for it.

I was invited to my friend’s Presbyterian youth retreat at Canon Beach and the youth pastor told me I wasn’t Christian because we believed more in works than in faith.  I said, “That’s not true.  We believe in both.  Faith without works is dead.”  Oddly enough, the shirts they had made for the retreat had that scripture on it, which is James 2:17-18.  I didn’t understand.  How is it that he is a Christian and believes in that scripture, but a Mormon having the same belief makes them not Christian?  John 14:15 says, “If ye love me, keep My commandments.”  That’s a simple and beautiful teaching to me.  Love is an action.  The Bible is full of examples of works being important, even the fact that we are judged by our works.  But we believe that without Jesus Christ, no one could be saved.  We can’t be saved by our works.

One day while I sat eating my lunch in school, a boy pulled up a chair behind me and said, “Mormons aren’t Christian.”  I ignored him.  He repeated, “Did you hear me?  Mormons aren’t Christians!”  He wanted to bait me into an argument and I did defend my beliefs, then he pulled out some anti-Mormon literature he received from his church that contained many falsehoods.  I couldn’t believe my ears.  Here was this kid telling me what I believed when I knew full well what my true beliefs were, telling me that because I didn’t believe x, y, and z, I wasn’t a Christian like he was.  Even more baffling, the same kid gave my sister a hard time a week later because she wouldn’t let him cheat off of her during a German test.  He whispered to her what a jerk she was. 

To me it’s simple.  I believe that Christ was born in Bethlehem to the virgin Mary, He lived the perfect life and set the perfect example for us, He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, raised Lazarus from the dead, He suffered and died for our sins, was resurrected, etc.  To this explanation I have been told, “Well you believe in a different Jesus.”  No, really.  I don’t.  I believe in the same Jesus from The Bible.  We may interpret The Bible differently which is why there are so many religions.  If we all interpreted The Bible the same, would there be so many different faiths?  I don’t think so.

I am happy to state that we do have big differences from other Christian faiths due to our belief in continuing revelation, but you will never convince me that I am not a Christian.  The last time someone gave me the, “You believe in a different Jesus” line, I said, “Well it sounds like your Jesus and my Jesus could have been best friends.”

It gets tiresome.

This subject is often on my mind.  When we are wronged by someone and we set limits, this can be perceived as not forgiving the person vs. setting healthy boundaries for ourselves.  I liked this description about the Eiffel Tower in an article I found called “Hold On“:

The tower was completed in 1889 as part of an international exposition. In the early days, several individuals fell to their death because the enclosure around the top floor was not high enough. Since those early days, a very high glass and wire enclosure has been installed, making it virtually impossible to fall. On a windy day, the top of the tower may sway as much as two feet. It is frightening to be there at such a time. Still, visitors are free to walk on the top-floor platform and look for miles or take pictures in any direction and yet always feel secure because of that enclosure. It protects them and gives them tremendous reassurance. Visitors are at peace knowing it is in place.

Although this article is about having standards that protect us from spiritual harm, I think it can be applied in many ways, including our relationships with others.  Recently I found myself in a complicated situation with a person who doesn’t respect my boundaries or even seem to have an understanding of what boundaries are. 

I had attempted many times to communicate to her what was acceptable and what wasn’t, but she continued to push the limits, as if she wants to know just how much I love her.  I do love my friends and enjoy helping them, but I also appreciate it when they are considerate of my circumstances – my health, my time, and my family.  Her view is that you do anything for a friend, even if it’s to your detriment.

Sadly, because she established a pattern of this behavior – calling at inappropriate hours, asking me to run errands or watch her children while I was sick and less than two weeks after giving birth, and refusing to leave when asked to repeatedly, which caused me to be almost an hour late to a family gathering, I finally had to request no contact from her for a while.  After an especially bizarre display of possessive behavior recently and denial that she had done so, my stress level was so high, it was the only thing I felt I could deal with.  I knew she would be hurt, which she was, but I had to do it because her actions were negatively impacting my family.

I think in her eyes, I am being unforgiving.  In my eyes, I am setting boundaries to protect myself.  Any attempts to explain my views were met with guilt trips and comments like, “I would do that for my friends.” 

To me, forgiveness is to harbor no resentment and I wish her all the happiness in the world and hope that she will get the help she needs in making meaningful friendships.  I still see the many wonderful qualities she has, but her refusal to take responsibility for her behavior has emotionally drained me.  So for the time being at least, this boundary will have to remain. 

I have had friends in abusive marriages who stayed because they wanted to be forgiving, but I truly believe that you can forgive a man who abuses you while setting the boundary that you will no longer live with them.  A friend who patiently worked with her husband who committed adultery for years, she finally had to tell him, “I love you, but I can’t be married to you anymore.  It is hurting me.”

This isn’t to say that we should cut off contact with anyone who wrongs us, because that would be impossible.  None of us is perfect.  Boundaries could include, “Because you criticize my home when you visit, our visits need to be somewhere else.”  Or, “No, you may not borrow my white shirt because you have ruined three of my shirts in recent history, but I hope you find something nice to wear to the dance and have a great time.” 

We have a right to protect ourselves from harm and to say no.  That is an important lesson I have learned these past couple years.  What are your thoughts on this?

Last night I decided to start reading the Book of Mormon over again. I’ve read it through many times now but i figured I still have more to learn. As i was reading the 1Nephi 1:1 i found something interesting, right there in the first verse of the Book of Mormon is the answer to why bad things happen to good people!
Now Nephi was a Prophet of the lord, he is a great man and when he starts he feels to tell the reader that he experiences many sore afflictions in his days, yet he was highly favored of the lord. How Often do we feel favored of the lord when we are in the midst of trials and afflictions? I will admit there are times when i don’t feel so Favored, but i have learned i am wrong in this belief. The lord give those whom he favors trials, not only because they can handle it but it is his way of preparing each of us for great blessings.

Have you ever knocked a spider into the toilet and watched him drown? Remember that feeling of relief that it’s dead?Don’t be too sure . . .Like zombies, spiders in a lab twitched back to life hours after “drowning”—and the scientists were as surprised as anyone. The spiders, it seems, enter comas to survive for hours underwater, according to a new study.Scientists at the University of Rennes

I try not to worry, but I do. I worry about a lot. I have basically been a worrier all my life. It’s kind of wired in me to worry.There are lots of things weighing on me right now, and I’ll admit that the flu thing is one of them. The potential of what could happen freaks me out. It could just pass, but it could be big. It could not affect me personally, or it could.We are told that if we are

Isaías 18-23: Uma Voz de Advertência aos Ímpios Parte 2_Por Edson Artêmio

Apresentação usada na aula do curso de Isaías. Compreende os capítulos 18 a 21. O tema central é a coligação de Israel.

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Family is a very important part of my life. And the fact that my family and I can be together forever is even more important to me. I would like to share a talk with all of you from my personal archives that I delivered on Sabbath day afternoon, 20 October 2002, to the congregation of the Severn Ward, in Odenton Maryland. At that time I was serving as a member of the Annapolis Maryland Stake High Council. I am currently serving as the High Priest Group Leader for the Annapolis Maryland Ward.

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Good afternoon Brothers and Sisters. I bring you love and greetings from our Stake Presidency with whom I had the privilege of meeting with this morning. I wish to extend to all of you their sincere love and appreciation for each of you and all that you do as you humbly serve in this Stake of Zion.

On September 23, 1995 the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a proclamation which emphasizes the importance that our Heavenly Father places upon the family. The title of that proclamation reads: “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.” Because our Heavenly Father loves His children, He will not leave us to guess about what matters most in this life concerning where our attention could bring happiness or our indifference could bring sadness. Sometimes He will tell a person such things directly, by inspiration. But He will, in addition, tell us of these important matters through His servants. In the words of the prophet Amos recorded long ago, “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). He does this so that even those who cannot feel inspiration can know, if they would but listen, that they have been told the truth and have been warned.

The proclamation on the family begins with these words, “We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children. All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of Heavenly Parents. And, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose. In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshipped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize his or her divine destiny as an heir of eternal life. The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.“

A careful study of the proclamation will ensure us that God won’t just tell us a few interesting things about the family, but rather, He will tell us what a family ought to be and why. Further, we know that our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ, want us to become like them so that we can dwell forever with them as families. We know that from this simple statement of their intent: “This is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). By following our Heavenly Father’s plan, families can return to God’s presence, united eternally.

President Spencer W. Kimball once said, “It is important for us to cultivate in our own family a sense that we belong together eternally, that whatever changes outside our home, there are fundamental aspects of our relationship which will never change” (CR, October 974, p.161.) And it was President Lorenzo Snow who warned, “Let families put themselves in possession of all the good they can—be in a position to do right, and be continually in the path to exaltation and glory” (JD, 5:316.)

The family unit is fundamental not only to society and to the Church but to our hope for eternal life. Within the family, people experience most of life’s greatest joys and greatest sorrows. Happiness in our own lives as well as the lives of our families is most likely to be achieved when our thoughts and actions are founded upon the principles of the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Matthew 7:24-25 Christ likened those who hear His sayings and follow them to a wise man who built his house upon a rock. We read these words, “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.” In the Book of Mormon in Helaman 5:12 we are reminded, “And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.“ To all who will listen our Savior said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28). With a foundation built upon Christ and His teachings we can all find that rest which includes peace and joy.

Just as a man on a journey in the wilderness relies upon a compass to point him in the direction that he needs to go, there is a compass that will always point us in the direction that we should go and lead us to the path that we should take. That compass is the Scriptures. By applying the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ found therein, we will learn to overcome anger and contention and bring greater peace and joy into our lives and family relationships. Jesus taught us in 3 Nephi 11:30, “Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away.“

The gospel of peace and love must be taught in our homes and practiced in our family relationships. Husbands and wives have a solemn responsibility to set the example and to love and care for each other and their children. Parents have a sacred responsibility to ensure that their children are taught in the ways of the Lord. Parents are instructed in Proverbs 22:6 to, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” In Doctrine and Covenants 68:25-28 we read these words, “And again, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized, that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents. For this shall be a law unto the inhabitants of Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized. And their children shall be baptized for the remission of their sins when eight years old, and receive the laying on of the hands. And they shall also teach their children to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord.“ President Joseph F. Smith taught, “Let love, peace, and the Spirit of the Lord, kindness, charity, sacrifice for others, abound in your families. Banish harsh words,. . .and let the Spirit of God take possession of your hearts. Teach to your children these things, in spirit and power. . .Not one child in a hundred would go astray, if the home environment, example and training, were in harmony with. . .the gospel of Christ” (IE, December 1904, p. 135.)

As we read further into the proclamation on the family we are taught, “The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God’s commandment for his children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.

We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God’s eternal plan.

Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalms 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.“

The spirit of a righteous home is love. President Gordon B. Hinckley once stated, “Love is the very essence of family life. Why is it that the children we love become so frequently the targets of our harsh words? Why is it that these children who love their fathers and mothers sometimes speak as if with daggers that cut to the quick? “There is beauty all around,” only “when there’s love at home.” (Hymns, 985, no. 294.) (Ensign, May 989, p. 67.) The Lord said, “Thou shalt live together in love” (D&C 42:45) – Love of heavenly parents, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost; of husband and wife; and of parents for children, children for parents, and siblings for each other. Making one’s home a place of peace and joy takes effort. That effort requires consistent planning, cooperation, and prayer. President Thomas S. Monson once stated, “Family prayer is the greatest deterent to sin, and hence the most beneficient provider of joy and happiness. The old saying is yet true: “The family that prays together stays together.” (Ensign, November 988, p. 69.) The Church encourages families to hold weekly family home evenings, in which all members of the family study eternal gospel principles and ordinances and do things together that bring them joy. Two Church Presidents have stated, “The most important of the Lord’s work [you] will ever do will be the work you do within the walls of your own homes” (Lee, p.7), and “No other success can compensate for failure in the home” (McKay, p. iii).

Brothers and Sisters, the world is filled with subtile and hidden dangers that threaten to ensnare each of us. To fortify ourselves as well as our family members aginst the onslaught of the world, we must earnestly strive to live our lives in accordance with the teachings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. True protection is found in the teachings of the Savior. An ancient prophet once wrote, “We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.” In order to strengthen our families we need to learn to pray together as a family, read Scriptures together as a family, hold Family Home Evenings, and love one another. No greater joy can be found in a home than when family members genuinely love one another and strive to earnestly follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. In such a home God can and will work miracles. Of these solemn truths I do so testify this day in the name of our Lord and Savior, even Jesus the Christ. Amen.