BLOGGER TEMPLATES AND TWITTER BACKGROUNDS

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Our Founding Fathers--God Bless the USA!


My Thoughts:

Below is a background of the Founding Fathers and the kind of men they were. Much respect needs to be there for them, for they were looking after you and I, in my opinion. They were raised up for the very purpose of writing the Constitution. We must, as a nation, do all we can to preserve our Constitutional Rights and not allow the Constitution to be destroyed. America is a choice land and we must not take it for granted. The Church is very supportive of our right to be free and the Constitution as was inspired of God and written by these men.

Our Founding Fathers:

In the Doctrine and Covenants, [one of the Standard Works of the Church] the Lord said that he had “raised up … wise men” for the “very purpose” of writing the Constitution of the United States. (D&C 101:80.) President George Albert Smith added, “I am saying to you that to me the Constitution of the United States of America is just as much from my Heavenly Father as the Ten Commandments.” (Conference Report, April 1948, p. 182.)

Who were the men who wrote the Constitution? What personal characteristics qualified them for the task of creating a document which the Lord says he “established”? (D&C 101:80.)

We can divide the fifty-five men who attended the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 into three groups. First, there were those who wanted a strong central government; their leaders were James Madison, James Wilson, Gouverneur Morris, Robert Morris (not related), and Alexander Hamilton. They believed that the states had already demonstrated their inability to survive as a loosely knit confederation and that governmental power must be centralized or America would be split into small, warring nations as was Europe.

Second, at the other end of the political continuum were Elbridge Gerry, Roger Sherman, William Patterson, and Luther Martin. This group feared the overpowering control of a strong national government above all else and felt that the states were the only place to trust the bulk of governmental power. They believed that the federal government’s chief function should be to protect the United States from foreign nations and wanted to limit the federal government to regulating foreign trade and to maintaining an army.

In the middle was a third group led by George Mason, John Dickinson, Oliver Ellsworth, and John Rutledge. This group wanted a strong central government, but also believed that the states must play an important role in the affairs of their own citizens.

There were two men whose roles in the Convention were so significant that they must be considered separately. One, George Washington, was elected president of the Convention and therefore did not participate in the debates except as a moderating influence. The other was the aged Benjamin Franklin, whose role was to mold divergent opinions into a working compromise. These men were so revered by their countrymen that their very presence gave the Convention’s work a stamp of approval.

The Philadelphia summer of 1787 was stifling hot. The members of the Constitutional Convention were so determined that their work would be free from outside pressures that one of their first rules prohibited talking with any outsider about Convention proceedings. To prevent some enterprising newspaper reporter from crouching below an open window and taking notes, the doors and windows were locked. No breeze softened the oppressive heat of Constitutional Hall or cooled the rising tempers of its occupants.

Few would have supposed that a worthy document could ever be produced under such difficult circumstances. Yet that was the situation in which the Founding Fathers did their work. Let us now examine the characteristics they had in common which qualified them for their task.

The framers of the Constitution were mostly young men, aggressive and energetic. Their average age was forty-four. That included Benjamin Franklin, who was eighty-one years old and at least fifteen years the senior to everyone else. Five of the delegates were in their twenties. Many others, including James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, were in their thirties. James Wilson, Luther Martin, and Oliver Ellsworth were between forty-one and forty-five. George Washington and a few others were fifty-five. Only four were sixty or older.

The Founding Fathers were well educated. Of the fifty-five, thirty-one had been to college, and these included all of the active participants. William Samuel Johnson of Columbia and Abraham Baldwin of Georgia were college presidents; James Wilson, George Wythe, and William C. Houstoun were or had been college professors; and a dozen others had taught grammar school at one time or another. James McClurg and Hugh Williamson were physicians. Four of the delegates had studied law at the prestigious Inns of Court in London.

Yet they were significantly more than scholars—they were men of wisdom. “In no other period of history,” writes Edmund Morgan, “would it be possible to find in politics five men of such intellectual stature as Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson; and there were others only slightly less distinguished.”

His point is well taken. In 1740, a mere generation before the Revolution, the intellectual life of America was dominated by clergymen; by 1840, a generation or so after the Revolution, it would be dominated by scientists and inventors. Only for the brief span of a single lifetime would America’s statesmen and her brightest thinkers be the same men.

They had at their fingertips the best wisdom of their age, for they were in constant touch with the exciting minds of the Enlightenment: Rousseau, Montesquieu, Voltaire, Hume, Pope, Mandeville, Locke, and Adam Smith.

In those days, no education could be considered complete without a thorough background in ancient and modern history. The Founding Fathers were conversant in the history and philosophy of the Greek democracies, the Roman republic, and the British constitutional system. Their study and their experience combined to qualify them for their role in the Convention by preparing them to test their theories against the whole history of mankind’s struggle for freedom.

The Founding Fathers were men of affairs. They had learned from experience to be down-to-earth, practical men. Most of the Southerners owned large plantations. George Mason, with 5,000 acres, was one of the most prosperous farmers in America. Pierce Butler was both planter and merchant. Their experience with the land had taught them to pay close attention to the myriad daily details of plowing, planting, harvesting, milling, marketing, and the like.

Their Yankee counterparts included many wealthy merchants who had built their success on careful attention to details. Boston’s Elbridge Gerry began as a shoemaker and became one of the wealthiest men in Massachusetts. Pennsylvania’s Robert Morris had once been a shopkeeper. Yet during the Revolutionary War he proved to be so talented at the art of high finance that he dominated both the politics and the economy of America by the time the Revolution ended.

Most of the Constitutional delegates were lawyers; eight were judges. All were accustomed to making decisions that affected the courses of other men’s lives. Each played important and complex roles in society. For example, Benjamin Franklin had often made decisions with international implications. He had associated with kings and generals, spies and pirates. He had little formal education, but he was one of the most learned men in America. He was printer, inventor, politician, wit, scientist, statesman, sage, and all-purpose, public-spirited citizen.

The framers of the Constitution were men of brilliance—but not the ivory-tower sort. They were practical-minded men who understood the enormity of their task and conducted themselves with a studied determination to succeed.

The Founding Fathers were men of vision and hope. George Washington expressed all of their attitudes when he wrote, “In the first place it is a point conceded, that America, under an efficient government, will be the most favorable Country of any in the world for persons of industry and frugality. …” They were all aware that they must not create a government which would stifle the individual enterprise of its people. They believed that America’s economic and cultural development depended upon the government they created.

John Adams predicted, “Many hundred years must roll away before we shall be corrupted. Our pure, virtuous public spirited, federative republic will last forever, govern the globe and introduce the perfection of man.”

Political freedom does not exist in a vacuum. The framers of the Constitution believed that political freedom would foster excellence in literature, the arts, science, and all other human achievements. Thomas Jefferson may have said it best of all: “We have spent the prime of our lives in procuring [for the youth of America] the blessing of liberty. Let them spend their lives in showing that it [freedom] is the great parent of science and of virtue; and that a nation will be great in both, always in proportion as it is free.”

The Framers were religious men—in their own way. But we must be careful about making them religious in ways they were not.

There is a tradition among many that the Constitutional Convention began each day with prayer. That is not true. At one point, when their debate was exceedingly hot and Franklin feared that the Convention might fall apart on account of its intensity, he suggested they have a prayer. Since there was no clergyman in the Convention, they would have had to hire an outsider to come in and say the prayer. But Alexander Hamilton pointed out that the Convention had been in session for some time, and if it sent for a preacher, it now would be taken as a public announcement of deadlock or imminent failure. In the end, someone observed that the Convention had no money with which to employ a minister anyway, so the matter was dropped and no official prayer was ever pronounced at the Constitutional Convention.

That does not mean, however, that the individual members did not pray. Only a minority of the Founders, such as James McHenry, who was president of the first Bible Society in Baltimore, considered themselves “religious” men in the sense that they attended a church. Most of the Convention’s leaders were Deists.

These men, like Washington, Madison, and Jefferson, believed that the world had been organized by a Divine Creator. They recognized his majesty and glory as reflected in the order and beauty of his creations, but they did not believe that the organized religions of their time represented the omnipotent power, majesty, or wisdom of this great Creator. Their political enemies often called them atheists, but such a characterization was false and slanderous. These framers of the Constitution saw man’s intellect and his ability to act for himself as the surest evidence of the wisdom and power of a Divine Creator. Consequently, they viewed any infringements upon the freedom of that intellect as the most flagrant obstructions of the divine purpose. Thomas Jefferson expressed this philosophy in this single sentence: “I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.”

The writings of the Founding Fathers overflow with references to God and the divine nature of man. Freedom was their watchword, and reverence for the individual was their driving principle. In the Doctrine and Covenants the Lord says that he raised up these “wise men” to establish a government which would nurture and defend individual freedom, “that every man may act in doctrine and principle … according to the moral agency which I have given unto him.” (D&C 101:78.) The fundamental philosophy of the Founding Fathers was very consistent with that purpose.

Written by: Frank W. Fox and LeGrand L. Baker



Saturday, June 27, 2009

Mormon MESSAGES!


The Church does so many wonderful things to help all of us be uplifted and edified. To have something wonderful to view and keep in our hearts, in these 2-7 minute video clips, in this troubled and difficult world to live in, all the positive that we can plant in our hearts, does help to make the days go better and certainly does help to put perspective in all that we do.
Log on and ENJOY!
http://www.youtube.com/MormonMessages


By Marion G. Romney of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles, now deceased:
The gifts named in the 7th Article of Faith are gifts of the Holy Ghost. The enjoyment of them has always been a distinctive characteristic of the Church of Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, without the gift of revelation, which is one of the gifts of the Holy Ghost, there could be no Church of Jesus Christ. This is apparent from the obvious fact that in order for his Church to exist, there must be a society of people who individually have testimonies that Jesus is the Christ. According to Paul, such testimonies are revealed only by the Holy Ghost, for said he, ". . . no man can [know] say that Jesus is the Lord. but by the Holy Ghost." (See 1 Cor. 12:3.) In the 46th section of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord specifically lists such knowledge as one of the gifts of the Holy Ghost, as follows: "To some it is given by the Holy Ghost to know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (D & C 46:13.) Everyone who has a testimony of Jesus has received it by revelation from the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is a revelator, and everyone who receives him receives revelation.

Wherever and whenever revelation is operative, manifestations of other gifts of the Holy Ghost are prevalent. Among the gifts of the spirit manifest in the Apostolic Church, Paul lists wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, diverse kinds of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. The New Testament records numerous examples of the manifestation of these gifts.

MY THOUGHTS:
In Doctrine and Covenants 46:11 it reads "For all have not every gift given unto them; for there are many gifts, and to every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God."

In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the gifts of the Spirit are manifest, which is a sign of the Lord's Church. In the verse quoted above, I fully believe it. I have gifts that have been given to me and they bless my life and the life of others. If someone were to say to me that they have not gifts, according to the verse above, that is not true. All have at least a gift given to them.

Revelation is another sign of the Lord's Church. If the Church is the Lord's then He is at the helm and directs it through His Prophets. We have a Prophet who stands at the head of the Church and is guided and directed by the Savior Himself. What the Prophet says to me is what the Savior is telling me. I know that the Prophet is the mouthpiece of the Lord and what He says is what the Savior says.

We need revelation in this world probably more than ever before. I am so grateful for it. That the Lord cares enough about us in our time and day to reveal His words to us through the prophets. I believe in living prophets, not just those of the past.

By President Uchtdorf

When the force that is pushing us heavenward is greater than the temptations and distress that drag us downward, we can ascend and soar into the realm of the Spirit.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Stories: Lessons Learned


Monday, January 12, 2009

Music: This is the Christ






My Thoughts:
I believe it is the Mormon Tabernacle Choir that is singing this song. I so love this one. Pres. Faust, who has since passed away was in the First Presidency of the Church. These words are his. The part that I love so much is the fact that the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are "Special Witnesses of Christ." They know Him personally and can therefore testify of Him. The words here so testify of that statement. I have my own testimony of our Savior. I know that THEY know. It totally governs my life because of it. I read and study all I can of our Savior Jesus Christ. I so want to be like Him. Come to know the Savior and Redeemer of mankind. He CAN heal your soul, he is the only one who can.

Saturday, January 3, 2009

LDS Gems!


TOPIC: Seeking for the Honors of Men

Those who "shine as lights in the world" have no
need to seek the spotlight! (See Philip. 2:15.)
The world's spotlights are not only fleeting,
but they employ inferior light!

WATCHMEN on the Tower: Our Living Prophets & Apostles


Pres. Monson: Be strong. The philosophies of men surround us. The face of sin today often wears the mask of tolerance. Do not be deceived; behind that facade is heartache, unhappiness, and pain. You know what is right and what is wrong, and no disguise, however appealing, can change that. The character of transgression remains the same. If your so called friends urge you to do anything you know to be wrong, YOU be the one to make a stand for right, even if you stand alone. Have the moral courage to be a light for others to follow.

There is no friendship more valuable than your own clear conscience, your own moral cleanliness--and what a glorious feeling it is to know that you stand in your appointed place clean and with the confidence that you are worthy to do so.

My Thoughts:
Living a life where you are true to your own moral conscious is truly a wonderful feeling of happiness and joy. There is the outside of us that can be so easily influenced by the evil and wrong in the world; there is also the inside of us that truly knows right from wrong and it is when we betray the inside part of us that misery and unhappiness prevail. If we continuously betray what is right for that which is wrong, we can reach a point where we have no conscious at all, we have seared it. We have truly killed the true self when we do that.

Live a life that is good to God, mankind and self. Care, be kind, choose the right and listen to your own moral compass more than you listen to mankind, who can and will lead you astray.

Listen to the words of the Prophet. He will not lead you astray.

WE BELIEVE: Sixth Article of Faith


by James Talmage:
We find, operating in their sacred callings in the Primitive Church, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, elders, bishops, priests and deacons. The purpose of these several offices is declared to be "For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." (Ephesians 4:12)

Every office so established is necessary to the development of the Church, which has been aptly compared to a perfect body with its several members, each adapted to particular function and all coordinated for the common good. In an organization planned and established through Divine wisdom, there are neither superfluities nor parts wanting. Eye, ear, hand, and foot, each is essential to the symmetry and physical perfection of the body; in the Church no one in authority can rightly say to his fellow: "I have no need of thee." (See 1 Cor 12:12-21).

The Primitive Church was of comparatively short duration. The world fell into spiritual darkness, and a restoration of power and commission from the Heavens became necessary to the reestablishment of the Church with its ancient blessings and privileges. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints proclaims the imperative need of "the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church," and solemnly avers that through the ministration of heavenly beings the Church of Jesus Christ is restored to earth, for the salvation of mankind both living and dead.

My Thoughts:
To me, when Christ was on the earth, He established his Church, for it WAS HIS CHURCH. He knew what was needed in this church to help bring souls back to Him.

To me, the question is asked: When Christ established His Church on the earth in the meridian of time, why do we think, as man, that we can change things around and expect it to be alright.

Christ who is perfect, knew exactly what we needed and thus the Church was established on the earth.

Why does man think he know more than God or Christ himself? What makes man think that he can change things to suit himself or appeal to mankind in general and still say it is Christ's church?

To me it is quite simple. The way the Church was intended and established ORIGINALLY is how it should be now. If you take away or change anything from the original, it is now not the Lord's. Since it is the Lord's church and if I want to know the way back to him, I want to do it the right way, the way the "author" intended, if you will.

Originally it was established with prophets, apostles, pastors, teachers and evangelists, all of which exist in His church today, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Why would anyway want to have a substitute church for the intended Church Christ established?

A pastor is a Bishop, an overseer or a shepherd; An evangelist is a patriarch and Apostles, prophets and teachers should be understood.

For me, I am grateful to be a part of the Lord's Church as He established it originally. It not the works or interpretations of man, it was from Christ himself.

Friday, December 26, 2008

TREASURING the Scriptures

Treasuring the Word of God

"Saving the Book of Commandments." A Summary Story
In July 1833, people in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, were angry with the Mormons and wanted them to leave. A mob broke into William W. Phelp's print shop and threw his printing press and printed pages out the window. The pages contained revelations given to the Prophet Joseph Smith that were to be bound into a book called the Book of Commandments. Two girls, Mary Elizabeth Rollins and her sister Caroline, were hiding nearby and decided to save as many pages as possible. They ran out, fill their arms with papers, and hid in a cornfield. The mob tried to find the girls but failed. The pages the girls saved and others were later used to make up copies of the Book of Commandments. Today the contents of this book are part of the Doctrine and Covenants.

My Thoughts:
This Church History story is quite a touching story, and independent of the story itself, it teaches other great principles, one of which to me is: What do you treasure in this life? What truly is important to you that if your home were on fire, besides family, what else would you save or have a great need to save.

I am reminded of a New Testament scripture in Matt 6:19-21 which reads: " Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal; For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

What value do we place upon the word of God? Does His word have place in our hearts where a difference can be made in how we live and what we do? or Do we have hard hearts and the things of this world matter far more than the Living Water of the scriptures and where there is no place in us where there is room to plant this word?

There is much to think about with this picture. Maybe you could give some thought by taking a few moments each day to ponder and think upon what is of value to you most. You may find that over the years, your values may have changed, you heart may have become more hardened or more soft. Take some reflective time to ponder what you personally do truly treasure. You may find that a shift in your own value system has taken place, whether for the worse or for the better.

The pressures of this world and the values of man and society in general may have caused us to be something we would rather not be. Take time to reflect and ponder upon such valueable questions and see if that won't make a difference in your own life in helping you to determine truly what is of most value to you.

May I suggest that the Word of the Lord planted deeply in our hearts can and will take root and make a difference in how we are able to be who we want to be and live how we want to live, IF we choose to make room for these precious words.


Saturday, December 20, 2008

My Christmas Thoughts

The Nativity
The Reason for the Season

My Thoughts: I love Christmas and every time the seasons begins, I always want to have the Christmas Spirit. I love the Savior who is the Light of the World. All good in the world comes because of the example he was. I am so grateful for GOOD!

I have a hard time getting and keeping that Christmas Spirit every year. Last year my sister in law sent me a book called: "A Christmas Treasury for Latter-day Saint Families" by Lloyd and Karmel Newell


I began that season by reading from the book and before long the Christmas feeling and Spirit seemed to be with me. I read a short story daily for nearly the entire holiday and what a difference it made for me in the season. I have so loved the feeling that it brought to me and into my heart. There is a "Reason for the Season."

So again this year I did the same thing. I have so loved it. I will share with you some short sayings that may make a difference for you in enjoying the holiday season as you maybe would like to.

Gratitude: No matter which holiday we're observing, gratitude can enrich every aspect of every celebration. We're happy when we're grateful.

Gratitude is the sign of noble souls. Aesop

Simplicity: Sometimes our efforts to make Christmas "the most wonderful time of the year" have the reverse effect of making us feel stressed and overwhelmed. Learning to eliminate holiday hassle can begin with small changes like shopping early, shopping less, not over scheduling, trying to pause and relax, and saving time for expressions of love. Look back to pioneer Christmases reminds us how simple, yet satisfying, festivities can be.

Simplicity: We just need to simplify and remember what we are celebrating. Marjorie Hinckley

Compassion: One of the miracles of Christmas is that compassion pervades our hearts and homes more fully. We think of others more often, we do for others more readily. Imagine what could happen if this compassionate spirit were in our hearts always.

Compassion: As we open our hearts to others, kindness and compassion freely flow. George Albert Smith

Pres. Thomas S. Monson: "Giving, not getting, brings to full bloom the Christmas Spirit. Enemies are forgiven, friends remembered, and God obeyed. The spirit of Christmas illuminates the picture window of the soul, and we look out upon the world's busy life and become more interested in people than things. To catch the real meaning of the "spirit of Chrstmas," we need only drop the last syllable, and it becomes the "Spirit of Christ."

Monday, September 22, 2008

Time for a MORMON-AD



My Thoughts:
This particular MormonAd is one of my favorites. The picture is so telling of how life is. We have to be careful or we can be hurt; hurt is so many ways. The world is a hard place and sometimes it can be very overwhelming to try and handle our lives. If I walk the straight and narrow path, meaning keeping my life, my actions, and my thoughts in harmony with what the Savior would do and say, I can be safe in this world. It takes effort and a true desire to want that though, but the Savior is there if we reach out. The path back to God is straight, but how to get their is strait, meaning we can weave all over the board and still be heading straight. We just have to be like a ship coming into the strait, he has to maneuver very carefully every turn he makes so as to stay on course and eventually he will be docked. Such is the case for each one of us. We carefully maneuver our lives, through the smallest of actions, thoughts and deeds and eventually we will be docked where we want to be. Life with God!



LDS Church Magazines




I would now like to introduce to you the LDS Church Magazines. The church has the Ensign and the Liahona, which is international and which both are for adults. The next magazine is The New Era, which is geared towards the youth 12-18 years. The last is The Friend, which is geared for children. I have had these magazines in my home for years. I currently do not have the Friend as I no longer have children living at home. The magazine that I would like to spotlight in the next post is the"The New Era," aside from all the wonderful articles and a well layed out magazine, the page I love the most is "The New Era Poster." That is what it is called now, but from years past, it was called the MormonAd. I choose to keep calling it that. I have collected these MormonAds since the beginning of time, it seems like. I hope you will enjoy the MormonAd's that I scrapbook. It highlights a different AD that has been placed in the New Era magazine. I will share with you alot of my thoughts about each one in particular as I post them. I do hope that you can enjoy the truths of what they say and maybe it will make a difference in your life. These are good things to think about. You can subscribe to any or all of these magazines at http://lds.org.


Wednesday, September 3, 2008

God Speaks to man TODAY! pt. 1

God Speaks to man TODAY! pt. 2

SOIL vs SOUL~



MY THOUGHTS:
I have been through so many trials and adversities in my life; some have been so very difficult and seem like they will never end. My insides have truly felt like this turned up soil, nothing feels right UNTIL I get through the trial. When I have passed through the trial, I then have noticed that my increase, not only to myself but to others is truly there. I feel more valuable to mankind because of what I have gone through and hopefully have been able to help make a difference in someone else's life. Oh the VALUE of trials!

WE BELIEVE: Fourth & Fifth Articles of Faith


CLICK images to enlarge

The fourth and fifth articles refer to our belief in the first principles of the gospel. They are faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and repentance. We also learn that the first ordinances of the gospel are baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. These ordinances are bestowed by men “called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those” who have the authority to administer them (A of F 5).

We believe that from the very beginning the Lord established a plan for His children on earth. He would, in times and seasons, have the priesthood on earth to bless mankind with the authority to perform the sacred ordinances that would prove man’s obedience to His will. There were tests to be conducted as we progressed in each step towards achieving God’s greatest gift, the gift of life eternal. Fundamental, then, is having faith in His plan, in His law, to be clean and holy and to repent of our sins, and to partake of the sacred ordinance of baptism required for admission into His celestial kingdom. And after baptism to be given the great gift, that Comforter, to abide with us, to lead and guide and direct us as we progress through mortality—all of these done under the authority given to mankind from God. Each man who officiates can trace that authority directly back to the Lord Himself, who bestowed that right on mankind. by Elder L. Tom Perry

My Thoughts:
Christ's Church, as organized by himself, has outlined the way we are to live and how to be. He established that we must first have Faith in Him and then repent, because of that faith; he then said that with that repentance be baptized by immersion and then receive the Holy Ghost. All this was to be done by someone who had the authority given to him from God in order to do God's work in God's Church. Not just anyone could do it, he MUST have the authority to do so. These principles, faith and repentance and these ordinances, baptism and receiving the Holy Ghost, has been established as the pattern we must follow to put us on the path back to God.

To me there is so much comfort in knowing what I must do. There is no confusion in the matter and that I so much appreciate. It is very clear and concise, no questions at all. It all begins with a Belief or Faith in the One who is mighty to save, our Savior Jesus Christ!

Saturday, August 23, 2008

LDS Gems!

We'd better want the consequences
of what we want!

(Ensign, November 1995, p. 23.)
Elder Neal A. Maxwell

My Thoughts:
Many people think that they can do anything in this world without having to pay a consequence for their choice. Consequences can be good as well as not so good. When you pick up one end of the stick, you also pick up the other. It might be a good idea to think all the way through to the end of the choice we are considering to make. If we like it, then go for it, if we don't, we may want to make a different choice. Thus, "we'd better want the consequences of what we want!"

Thursday, August 21, 2008

WATCHEMEN on the tower: Our living Prophet and Apostles

Pres. Thomas S. Monson, Living Prophet, Seer and Revelator

Home and Family
"Perhaps most significant of all classrooms is the classroom of the home. It is in the home that we form our attitudes, our deeply held beliefs. It is in the home that hope is fostered or destroyed. Our homes are the laboratories of our lives. What we do there determines the course of our lives when we leave home. Dr. Stuart E. Rosenberg wrote in his book The Road to Confidence, 'Despite all new inventions and modern designs, fads and fetishes, no one has yet invented, or will ever invent, a satisfying substitute for one's own family.' "

Sunday, August 17, 2008

WE BELIEVE: Third Article of Faith

CLICK to enlarge

The second and third articles announce our belief in the Atonement of our Lord and Savior, that through Him all mankind will be blessed with immortality [to live forever without ever having to die again along with having our body and spirit reunited, never to be separated again]. They state that we have the responsibility for accepting Him as our Savior, and we will only be responsible for our “own sins and not for Adam’s transgression.” Elder L. Tom Perry

MY THOUGHTS: I believe in the power of the Atonement which enables us to rise from the dead, reunited with our bodies and spirits, along with the possibility to live with God. This last part is conditioned upon our repentance and obedience to the Lord's gospel, ordinances and commandments that He established on the earth today; not by man's. Since the Savior paid the price, He has the right to establish the conditions and the 3rd Article of Faith clearly establishes the conditions, which, if followed, will enable us to be able to return one day and live with our Father in Heaven. The Atonement to me is truly Love and Mercy in action. "For God so loved the world [so much] that he gave His only Begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16. That scripture says it all to me. God loves me, the Savior loves me and if I believe and do what is required by accepting Christ and His gospel, I can return to live with God. This is so comforting to me. I just need to do the work.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Mormon Tabernacle Choir: I Believe in Christ



Words written by Bruce R. McConkie

Jesus Christ as told by Bruce R. McConkie--part 1



This was the last talk Elder McConkie gave as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was on the 6 Apr 1985. He passed away June 1985.

Jesus Christ as told by Bruce R. McConkie--part 2

Jesus Christ as told by Bruce R. McConkie--part 3



My Thoughts:
I heard this talk originally when Elder McConkie gave it in 1985. I have never forgotten it either. What he said penetrated my soul and shall never be removed. There is nothing anyone could say to me that could erase the feelings and knowledge that penetrated my soul when he spoke.

Have you ever not known and yet know? Well such was the case with me. When he spoke, my soul KNEW that he KNEW. I will always know that there is a Savior and Redeemer of World. At times when I have been down and have wondered, this soul penetrating experience that I felt in 1985 comes back to me and renews my faith and hope. That is the effect the Spirit has on one. Spirit speaks to Spirit and that cannot be easily removed. I KNOW my Savior Lives. I KNOW that He died to save me and everyone else in this world! Of this I know to be true with all my heart.

STORIES: Lessons Learned

3 Towels and .25 cent Newspaper

In 1955, after my freshman year of college, I spent the summer working at the newly opened Jackson Lake Lodge, located in Moran, Wyoming. My mode of transportation was a 14-year-old 1941 Hudson automobile that should have received its burial 10 years earlier. Among the car’s other identifying traits, the floorboards had rusted so badly that, if not for a piece of plywood, I could have literally dragged my feet on the highway. The positive is that unlike most 14-year-old cars in this time period, it used no oil—lots of water in the radiator, but no oil. I could never figure out where the water went and why the oil continually got thinner and thinner and clearer and clearer.

In preparation for the 185-mile (298-km) drive home at the end of the summer, I took the car to the only mechanic in Moran. After a quick analysis, the mechanic explained that the engine block was cracked and was leaking water into the oil. That explained the water and oil mystery. I wondered if I could get the water to leak into the gas tank; I would get better gasoline mileage.

Now the confession: after the miracle of arriving home, my father came out and happily greeted me. After a hug and a few pleasantries, he looked into the backseat of the car and saw three Jackson Lake Lodge towels—the kind you cannot buy. With a disappointed look he merely said, “I expected more of you.” I hadn’t thought that what I had done was all that wrong. To me these towels were but a symbol of a full summer’s work at a luxury hotel, a rite of passage. Nevertheless, by taking them I felt I had lost the trust and confidence of my father, and I was devastated.

The following weekend I adjusted the plywood floorboard in my car, filled the radiator with water, and began the 370-mile (595-km) round trip back to Jackson Lake Lodge to return three towels. My father never asked why I was returning to the lodge, and I never explained. It just didn’t need to be said. This was an expensive and painful lesson on honesty that has stayed with me throughout my life.

Sadly, some of the greatest missing values in today’s world are honesty and integrity. In the past few years an increasing number of business leaders have been exposed for dishonesty and other forms of bad behavior. As a result, tens of thousands of loyal, long-term employees have lost their livelihoods and pensions. For some this has resulted in loss of homes, change of education and other life plans. We read and hear of widespread cheating in our schools, with more concern about receiving a grade or degree than learning and preparation. We hear of students who have cheated their way through medical school and are now performing complicated procedures on their patients. The elderly and others are victims of scam artists, often resulting in the loss of homes or life savings. Always this dishonesty and lack of integrity are based on greed, arrogance, and disrespect.

Story by Bishop Richard C. Edgley, 1st Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric

Scripture Thought:
“Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight”
(Proverbs 12:22.)


My Thoughts:
There are values which have been in this world from the very creation. These are values which if honored help us to become a better person and one which, if honored, pleases God. What pleases God, should please us. Having morals and values which have been tried and tested and proven over the eons of times is what our lives should reflect. Trying to incorporate values when maybe it has not been role modeled in our lives can be a very difficult thing to do. But I know that when we do, we are a happier person. This happiness is what we all should seek for and that comes when we please God. There is a calm and peaceful feeling to one's soul as his life is in harmony with what God wants us to be. What He wants us to be is Happy and to have morals and values.

Like Bishop Edgley said, sometimes in order to learn the lessons of life which are extremely important to learn
can be very painful and expensive. But in the end, if we have learned the value, we are the better for it. This lesson on honesty and integrity truly shows the value that was so strong in his home that was taught.

I believe that what is important to parents is often what becomes important to us, whether they have values or not, it oftentimes shows up in our own lives somehow.


Thursday, July 31, 2008

The BREAD of LIFE


WE BELIEVE: Second Article of Faith

CLICK on image to enlarge

God has paid us the ultimate compliment: He holds us responsible and respects us as free, rational beings. He has given us this freedom through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The concepts of individual freedom and personal responsibility are at the very center of the Atonement. As Lehi [a prophet in the Book of Mormon] noted, the sacrifice of the Messiah removed from us the consequences of the Fall of Adam, which bound our bodies to death and our spirits to hell. Being redeemed from the Fall, we are “free forever, knowing good from evil; to act … and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day. … Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man” (2 Ne. 2:26–27). In the words of the second article of faith, “We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.”
By: Elder Robert S. Wood, March 2002 Ensign

My Thoughts:
To be free and to have choice is a great freedom we have and it is God-given. Because someone made the choice to partake of the fruit of the tree, Adam, we his posterity, are NOT responsible for that choice. The Atonement of Christ took care of that. The thing that we must remember though is that we ARE responsible for our own choices. I have so appreciated the fact that I don't have to bear the responsibility of the choices of another, only for my own and through the atonement of Christ, I can repent and be forgiven for those choices I have made. I don't have to repent or be reponsible for something that I did not do, namely Adam's choice.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

WATCHMEN on the Tower: Our Living Prophet & Apostles


How fragile life, how certain death. We do not know when we will be required to leave this mortal existence. And so I ask, "What are we doing with today?"

President Thomas S. Monson, prophet, seer, and revelator

Keeping Scripture Study Alive

Scripture study can be a hard thing to do regularly and understanding what is being said as well. I have made it a habit to study. Studying daily over the years has helped me to understand the scriptures better than when I first began. As I live the kind of life that our Savior has asked us to do, I qualify for an even greater understanding through the promptings of the Spirit, for which I would be lost without.

The Church admonishes us to read daily from our scriptures, particularly the Book of Mormon.

I have thoroughly loved reading the scriptures
over the years. In addition to the Bible, we also have the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. I read daily from any of the above books and record those things that the Lord is trying to each me. I so love immersing myself into the scriptures. At the bottom of our scriptures there are footnotes that helps me to understand more of what I am reading and it cross references all the other books.


I found this quote by President Kimball, one of our past prophets who has since passed away. I have experienced what he has said and know that it is true. Immersing is the answer!

Our church uses the King James version of the Bible.

CLICK on image to enlarge

Sunday, July 27, 2008

August Visiting Teaching Message


I have finished the Visiting Teaching message for August. Do hope that you enjoy it. It speaks for itself. If you would like to have the complete article, as this is only an excerpt of it, you can find it online at LDS.org>gospel library>Magazines>Ensign


CLICK on image to view in a larger format