Friends

Doctrine and Covenants 93:45
45 Verily, I say unto my servant Joseph Smith, Jun., or in other words, I will call you friends, for you are my friends, and ye shall have an inheritance with me—

We had some special friends from Tennessee come for a visit for General Conference. They came the Wednesday before and left the Tuesday after. They had never been to Utah before. It was a great experience to have them come and stay with us. We were able to do lots of sight seeing and also took them to the Salt Lake Temple to do a session there. We also got to go to a session of General Conference. For us and hopefully for them it was a great spiritual experience. This gospel is true and it is because of the gospel that we met and were brought together. In serving our Heavenly Father in Tennessee we had some wonder experiences and felt of his guidance and spirit many times. We love the people that we served and pray for their success always. They are all special friends and we hope to be with them in the eternities. I am very grateful that we followed the counsel of our prophet and leaders and served a mission. I would encourage everyone to set a goal to serve with your eternal companion when the time comes that you are able to do that. It can be a blessing to you and to your family.

My Family

I have not written for a while. We returned home from our mission and things have been busy. We have been working on family reunions and had a family vacation with our children and grandchildren. I know that family is the the most important social unit on the earth. I love the times when all my children and spouses and grandchildren are all together and we are having a good time and enjoying each others company. If family is important, then we should be kind and loving to our family members. I know that when we die and return to our Father in Heaven, if we have lived our lives to be able to live with him again, then we can be together as a family. I know that it is through the restoration of the gospel and the priesthood authority that families can be sealed together for time and eternity. What a great blessing it is to have that knowledge and goal to be able to work for. It is the gospel and my family that bring joy to my life.

Returning Home

My husband and I have completed our mission in the Nashville Tennessee Mission and have returned to our home. It was a great experience to come home to our children and grandchildren that we had not seen in 15 months. There were lots of hugs and they all seemed happy to see us and we were happy to see them. As I have been thinking about it all, I wonder what it will be like when we pass on from this life to the next life and meet our Heavenly Father and other family members. Will there be lots of hugs and will everyone be happy to see us. I think it may all depend on how we have lived our lives and if we have made them happy or whether or not we have done things to disappoint them. It all comes down to the choices we make. Those choices I hope will be made thinking of our love for our Heavenly Father and wanting to please him by keep his commandments and living a life of serving him by loving and serving others. I am very grateful for the opportunity to serve Heavenly Father by serving a mission and sharing the message of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If accepted and lived can bring a lot of joy and happiness into our lives.

I would love to hear from anyone that would like to share their feelings about Returning Home.

Joseph Smith the Prophet

“By the Gift and Power of God”

BY RICHARD LLOYD ANDERSON

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What do we know about how Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon?

The Three Witnesses proclaimed that the ancient plates were “translated by the gift and power of God, for his voice hath declared it unto us.” Since we know the Book of Mormon is correctly translated, why review how it was done? Because such a study can add further testimony of Joseph Smith’s great work. It can also help expand the concepts of those who tend to oversimplify the work of translation. For the Book of Mormon came into English through considerable spiritual, intellectual, and physical labor, and it takes similarly dedicated efforts on the part of its readers to fully receive the book’s benefits.

I know that the Book of Mormon was translated by Joseph Smith the prophet and that the full gospel is in this book.  I know that any one who comes to read it and truly wants to know of its truth can find our for your self by asking God the Eternal Father and He will manifest the truth of it to you.  

To read this full article follow this link. 

http://lds.org/ensign/1977/09/by-the-gift-and-power-of-god?lang=eng

Heading West

We have been learning a lot about the Saints as there were driven out of their homes and the mobs killed many and burned their homes.  They just kept being driven West to escape persecution.  We may ask why did they go through all that did and just continue to move forward?  They made that choice because of their strong testimony of the Savior and their deep faith and trust in the Lord.  Many made a great sacrifices for the gospel of Jesus Christ even though they suffered greatly.  It took them many months to travel across the country and finally make it to the Salt Lake Valley.  They endured all that they went through to the end.  They never quit or look backed.  We are now heading West as well.  However, we are not suffering or riding in a wagon or fighting bad weather.  We are riding in the comfort of our car flying down the freeway and spending the nights in Motels.  One thing we do have in common is our faith and testimony of Jesus Christ.  We put our trust in him as we served for 14 months sharing the message of the gospel hoping that others could gain that same faith and testimony of its truth.  We all must do the same and go forward with great faith and endure to the very end.  Then we can all be reunited with our Father in Heaven and our families eternally.

I Am a Child of God

We are all children of our Heavenly Father and he loves each one of us and wants us to live our lives so that we can return and live with him some day.  I am so grateful for this knowledge, it gives me guidance in my life and something to live for.  I know that if I keep his commandments that I can live with our Father in Heaven again some day.  I know that he is our Father and that we were created in his image and that he loves and cares for each of us.
YouTube - I Am a Child of God

Mighty Change of Heart

I would like to talk a little more about the story I told about my third great grandfather in my last blog and the words that found lodgment in his heart.  When he heard the words that were spoken that day the Holy Ghost bore witness to his heart that what was said was true.  The Holy Ghost is a third member of the Godhead and is a personage of spirit unlike the Father and the Son who have a body of flesh and bone.  His responsibility is to bear witness to us of the truth.  That is what happens when anyone is prepared and has a desire to know for themselves.

Acts 2:37  Now when they heard this, they were ^apricked in their ^bheart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, ^cwhat shall we do?


They had been pricked in their hearts and knew that it was the truth and then knew that there needed to be a change and wondered what to do from then on.

Alma 5: 13And behold, he ^apreached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts, and they humbled themselves and put their ^btrust in the true and ^cliving God. And behold, they were faithful until the ^dend; therefore they were saved.

 14And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye ^aspiritually been ^bborn of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty ^cchange in your hearts?

When you are truly converted to the truth and the spirit causes a mighty change in your heart you will have no more desire to do evil but to always seek the things of God, to obey his will and keep his commandments.

Because the Holy Ghost bore witness to my Grandfather's heart he had been spiritually born of God and had that mighty change in his heart.  He then dedicated the rest of his life to the Lords service.  

That is our Father in Heaven's desire for each of us, and I hope I can stay true and endure to the end as my Grandfather did.  

Does anyone have another experience they would like to share?  Please do.

Their Words Found Lodgment in My Heart

We can learn a lot from our past. To hear their stories and the struggles they went through can give us courage and strength to stand true to what we believe.  I know with me I love to hear the stories about my ancestors and what they went through for the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I am thinking of my third great grandfather.  He was born in Denmark.  His father died when he was only 2 years old.  His mother raised three children alone.  They studied and read the bible.  He tells of a time when he wants so bad to be a preacher but knows that he cannot because the family could not afford for him to go to school to become one.  He eventually gets married and is working for a brick layer who invites him to attend a religious meeting.  As he attends the meeting and listens to what is said and the songs sung, he writes in his journal that, "their words found lodgment in my heart".  He talks to his wife and they learn more about the gospel of Jesus Christ and its restoration through the prophet Joseph Smith.  They eventually are baptized a member of the church.  He serves in the mission there in Denmark for a while.  They eventually come to the United States and settle in a small community in southern Idaho in the Bear Lake Valley.  After a while he is called by the leaders to go back to Denmark and serve a mission there and preach the gospel for two years.    Then about 11-12 years later he gets another call to go back to Denmark to serve as the President of the mission.  While there he and another gentleman translates the Book of Mormon into the Danish language so the people there could have the opportunity to read it in their native tongue and thereby gain a testimony of its truth. He eventually dies there in Denmark.  So his dream finally came true that he become a preacher.  He could share the message of the gospel and did not have to go to school to do it.  He is a great example to me of his strength and commitment to his testimony of the truth of the restoration of the gospel.  I hope that I will never let him down for the things he helped bring to pass because of his commitment and courage.  Likewise the gospel of Jesus Christ has found lodgment in my heart as well.  I know that if anyone has a desire and wants to know the truth the spirit can touch their hearts and bear witness to them of its truthfulness as it did my grandfather.

Stop and Turn

I am not sure just what I want to talk about, so I am going to put down a few things that seem to be going through my head.  We had a great conference meeting this morning at church.  We watched a broadcast directly from Salt Lake City, Utah and were able to listen to some encouraging and strengthening words from four great leaders.  It was a spiritual experience.  I always enjoy getting the instructions from our leaders.  This gospel is a great influence on my life.  I know that it is the truth and I love the direction it gives me to live my life and the hope that I feel for me and my family as I strive for Eternal life and a chance to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  I know that families can be eternal, what a great thing to look forward to.

We seem to have some very mixed emotions as we are coming to the end of an era in our life.  We are planning on leaving the Tennessee Nashville Mission in about two weeks.  We have been teaching and encouraging others for 14 months to join the church, to follow Jesus Christ and our Fathers Plan of Salvation and to find the joy that we have found in being a member of His great Church.  We have come to love the people here very much.  They have found a place in our hearts and we will never forget them.  It is with mixed feeling that we turn our thoughts towards our home in Utah.  We are excited to see our family and grandchildren.  I am excited to get back into my kitchen.  Sometimes I just want to be in two places at the same time.  But life goes on and now we hope that we can move forward and be able to serve others as well as our family back home.  Maybe we can help to make a difference in the life of some one there and we do hope that we have made a difference in the life of a few people here in this great place.

Life is made up of stop signs and turns as we travel down this road of life.  We do something for a while and then we stop and make a turn and go on in another direction.  We are approaching the stop sign and now need to make a turn and go on.  What is most important is that we follow Jesus Christ and focus on that eternal goal and never forget that final destination of life with our Father in Heaven.

Shopping

Shopping is something that takes a lot of time.  Especially if you are looking for one special item, and if there are several models of that item.  I was thinking about shopping for something that can have an impact on your life and the way you live or interact with that item.  Maybe it is a car, or a TV, or some appliance, or a camera.  Maybe something small like a new purse, or as big as a home.  For some reason we need to check out all the pro's and con's of that item and try to come to a decision that the item we are purchasing is just right for us and is just the right price.

Recently I have heard about people that seem to be shopping for a religion.  Some times I have heard it called church hopping.  I was surprised about that.  First they go to one church and try that out.  If someone says something wrong, or they are not treated the way they want to be, they just leave and go try out another church.  Some have said that they do not particularly like the preacher or maybe what he is preaching.  Some have shopped around for a while trying out all kinds of churches trying to decide which one is right for them.  All these churches have some great qualities.  They all have some truths in one area or another.

I can truly say that there is one church on the earth that has been restored and is set up exactly the way Christ set his church up here on the earth before he was crucified.  This church with its Prophet and its apostles, teachers and evangelists, with all the priesthood authority that was given to the ancient prophets is now on the earth.  It has been restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith and his authority has been handed down to the prophet that is on the earth today.  That is President Thomas S Monson and he has 12 apostles that help him to guide this the true church.  It has all the truth and is complete.  Once this church is found and is studied, people by the thousands are joining all over the world.  That is because they have felt the spirit touch their hearts and they know they have found the complete truth and there is no need to shop around any more.  This gospel blesses their lives and they find true joy in living the principles taught there.  I myself do know that it is the truth and it has brought much joy to my life.  If any of you have found this truth, please share your testimony.

Care for the Lambs

I have been doing some thinking since we just had Mothers Day.  I am very grateful for the great Mother that I had.  She taught me a lot by her example as well as her teachings.  I have also been reflecting on myself as a mother.  We have 7 children with 5 spouses and 19 grandchildren that we love dearly.  One thing that I am very grateful for is that because of the priesthood power that has been restored through Joseph Smith, we can now be eternal families.  I know that as I strive to keep the commandments and follow the teaching of Jesus Christ and if my family will do the same, we can be together forever in the next life.  That is my greatest desire.  Richard J. Maynes talked about this in our last General Conference.  He talked about the responsibility we have as parents to teach our children.  I love the poem that he quoted:

         

’Twas a sheep not a lamb

That strayed away in the parable Jesus told,

A grown-up sheep that strayed away

From the ninety and nine in the fold.

And why for the sheep should we seek

And earnestly hope and pray?

Because there is danger when sheep go wrong:

They lead the lambs astray.

Lambs will follow the sheep, you know,

Wherever the sheep may stray.

When sheep go wrong,

It won’t take long till the lambs are as wrong as they.

And so with the sheep we earnestly plead

For the sake of the lambs today,

For when the sheep are lost

What a terrible cost

The lambs will have to pay. 

He goes on to say,

The consequences to parents who lead their children astray are laid before us by the Lord in the Doctrine and Covenants: “And again, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion … 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, … the sin be upon the heads of the parents.”Doctrine and Covenants 68:25

I know that it is so important as parents we teach our children, love them, care for them and make our 

homes a refuge from the world.  Always remember that the family is the most important social unit on the

 

earth.

To read the entire talk go to this link: http://lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/establishing-a-christ-centered-home?lang=eng#7