KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS

Sisters!  How fun to be back with you after I have missed a couple weeks.  Every time I return after even a week away, I get so excited to be part of things with you again!

Today was our Conference Talk Sunday with our lovely Suzann Garner.  We went over the talk by Elder Bruce Carlson of the seventy from April Conference entitled “When the Lord Commands”.

I read this talk last night and was so impressed by the power in which he taught, using great experiences from the scriptures as well as how he taught in simple terms. 

He taught us that generally when we aren’t keeping the commandments it is because of  3 basic reasons:

1.       We have convinced ourselves that the commandment does not apply to us

2.       This commandment is NOT important

3.       This commandment is just TOO hard!

One of my favorite quotes out of this talk is the following:

“At times we may rationalize that the Lord will understand our disobedience because our special circumstances make adherence to His laws difficult, embarrassing, or even painful.  However, faithful obedience, regardless of the apparent size of task, will bring the Lord’s guidance, assistance and peace.”

This talk was perfect for me at the moment.  I personally needed it to reconfirm to me that a recent conversation I had with a friend, was on point with the gospel teachings.  We know that this world is getting increasingly BLACK AND WHITE.  Being a “fence sitter” is just not enough any more.  We are all being forced to DEFINE our beliefs and HOLD TO THEM. 

One of the heart breaking things that I personally have been going through for years is a lot of my dearest friends in the gospel are choosing a different path, a path that takes them COMPLETELY out of the  path of the Plan of Salvation.  Many of my friends are choosing to lead a homosexual life and giving into those tendencies.  I was having a conversation with one of my best guy friends who I have worked with in gospel teaching situations before. It was a tearful, agonizing conversation in which he was telling me that he has made the choice to continue with this type of lifestyle.  He was talking to me about how heart wrenching it has been for him and how much he has missed teaching in the church, and how he loves the gospel and yet he has “CONVINCED” himself that those 3 things (discussed above) apply to him.

 I talked to him about the Atonement and that he can come back, he doesn’t ‘have to” live this lifestyle.  He told me that it is “just too hard” not to. When he said that, the spirit filed my mind and I was able to talk to him boldly and yet be filled with love.  I told him, “Do you know what the only difference between you and me is?”  He of course said, “What?”  I continued, “The only difference between you and me is that I am straight and you are gay and I choose to bridle my passions and you choose to act on them.  If you chose to be not act on them, you could have all the same rights, covenants and blessings that I do.”  It was silent on the phone for what seemed like 5 minutes, knowing that he was thinking about what I was saying I left it at, “ You know I love you.  Anytime you need me to remind you, I will be here.” And that was the end of a very long conversation that we had that night.  Just when I was at my emotional end, just at the part of the conversation when I was spent “dealing with it”, the spirit took over and said what needed to be said in a way that I personally had not thought of before.

When we choose to live the commandments even when it is HARD.  Even when it is inconvenient.  Even when we have to trade something that we really want for something we want even more, we receive peace and all the blessings that are associated with keeping the commandments.  Living the commandments is ALWAYS the right choice!

  I appreciated the reminder in today’s lesson from the teaching of Joseph Smith.  It was discussing when he kept going to the Lord to allow Martin Harris to take the plates and finally after the third round of asking, The Lord agreed and through that process, Martin lost the manuscript and the plates were taken away from Prophet Joseph for a time.  After this painful lesson Joseph taught, “ I made this my rule: When the Lord commands, DO IT!”

Growing up my Mother would always say, “When the prophet speaks, the debate is over!” as she was teaching us a certain principle that we found particularly hard to hear.   I think that mantra fits the teachings from Joseph Smith as well.  And the great news is when we do, WE WILL BE BLESSED!  Keeping the commandments saves us from so much UNNECESSARY heartache we just need to DO IT! 

Sister’s you are all example’s to me of Women trying hard to keep the commandments.  None of us are perfect but the more time we can stay close to the commandments without faultering, the better we will be in this world of so much contradiction.  May you be blessed as you follow the Lord and heed to the teachings of our leaders today!

Keep the Commandments! Keep the Commandments!

In this there is safety; in this there is peace.

He will send blessings; He will send blessings,

Words of the prophet; Keep the commandments.

In this there is safety and peace.

WHEN YOU OPEN YOUR MOUTH, IT WILL BE FILLED

Sisters!

 I hope this email finds you well and happy.  I am sorry that I missed you today.  Know that I really did miss you.  Today’s lesson was taught by Kristal Burton.  I didn’t get to hear her lesson but heard she was great!  Her lesson was lesson 15, The Lords Covenant People. 

I loved reading this and knowing that EACH OF US have that title.  We have ALL been baptized and taken on those special covenants and what an honor it is that we each carry that title.   In the lesson it says;

“Along with the blessings we receive as the Lord’s covenant people, we have great responsibilities.  The Lord promised Abraham that through his descendants the gospel would be taken to all the earth.  WE are fulfilling this responsibility though the full-time missionary program of the church and the missionary work done by the members. The opportunity to preach the gospel to all the world belongs ONLY to the Lord’s Church and HIS covenant people.”

I have felt so blessed since living in Arizona in many ways.  Not only the wonderful friends and families I have come close to here in the ward but also the ample opportunities I have had with missionary experiences.  I can not wait for the Gilbert temple to get done.  I already have people waiting in line to go through the tour!  The Lord has blessed me with some great people in my life that have a desire to know more about what I am about.

I had an interesting experience last month that I am going to try to explain to you over email.  I tried out for the show “The Biggest Loser” in 2008.  Through that experience I met some WONDERFUL people that I have continued facebook and phone conversations with for the past 2 years.  We have become pretty close for people that had not previously known each other and do not live in the same area.  One of those people, Josh, who I have been talking to for 2 years now, ended up moving to Arizona around the same time as I did and we didn’t even figure out we were living in the same state until recently.

I participated in a 7.5 mile urban race with him a few weeks ago and that experience opened GREAT opportunity for missionary work.  Why you might ask?  Well I am going to tell you! Haha

When Josh started spending more time with me training and working out he started to see that I was different than other girls he hangs out with.  My language is different, my goals are different the things I do with free time is different.  So he started going through my facebook and blog and found out that I am LDS.  One night when we were finalizing things about the race by phone he said to me,

“ Well I will try really hard not to corrupt you when we spend time together!”  I said, “Corrupt me?  Were you planning too?!”

 He then said,

 “ Well I noticed yesterday on your facebook that you are LDS and so I know that you are a really good girl”

 I said,

“ I am LDS.  It sounds like you have met other LDS people in your life.”

He then said something that was jaw dropping to me. He told me that he was once baptized LDS!  I fought through shock and asked him for more details on that.  He agreed that the night of the race we would talk about it.

He kept up to his bargain and I was told the most tragic tale of someone who the gospel found him, he accepted.  He JUMPED right into activity and responsibility in the church.  Was working on mission papers and then was anti- mormon-ed 2 years after baptism by an previous member. Josh came back to the right sources (members of the church) for the answers to the questions he then had.  His questions were ignored.  They all told him that “all your questions will be answered in time and why don’t you just focus on getting on your mission right now”.

Because Josh’s questions (which by the way ALL have answers through scripture) weren’t answered he has spent the last 8 years out of the church, and from what I can tell pretty lonely and searching.  Something very tragic and unnecessary being that answers could have been given and concerns over come.

I was so thankful that day to be one of the “Lord’s Covenant People” and have the spirit with me to know how to reply to what he was talking to me about.  It felt so good to be in missionary mode again.  It felt good that he knew I lived up to a certain standard and it felt good that Heavenly Father trusted me with starting the teaching process with his child who is wandering.

I have since had many spiritual discussions with Josh and I am still getting the bug into him to start working with the missionaries again.  He said to me, “Why is it that is 20 minutes you could answer all the questions that I have had for 8 years!” I just replied that I didn’t know, but that they were always there. 

Sisters, if we can just remember when we get in situations like this that there are answers in the scriptures.  We are all the Lords’ covenant people and he wants ALL his children to have what we have, and will lead us to the elect. “for mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts” (D&C 29:7).  All we have to do is open our mouths.  I know that is easier said then done, but the spirit that comes into your heart when that happens, is so beautiful, it is worth opening your mouth!

Have a great week!  Let’s start praying for those missionary experiences!  One thing that I love about my church is the sister’s that come with it!!  I love you ladies!!

Things As They Really Are

Happy Sabbath Sisters!!

Can you believe that the summer is coming to a close?! Next week for most the school year will be starting! One of the great things that comes with a new School Year is new goals. Both individually and as family members. That is why I LOVED the topic that Ashlee prayerfully selected to teach on this month. It is a CES talk that was put in the July Ensign called, “Things as they really are” by Elder David Bednar.

This article focuses a lot on the internet and how it has potential to “lull us into carnal security” as is talked about in 2 Nephi 28:21 or basically Satan tactics work in such a clever way that before we even know it, we are wasting away our time on things that appear to be good, but are taking away the BEST parts of our lives; family time, teaching time, listening time, pondering time.

Some of the examples that we gave that are things that aren’t real (not necessarily are they bad, but if used out of balance, they can take away the BEST parts of our life that we mentioned above.)
• Blogging or Blog Stocking  Blogging is used for so many things and in my family I have seen our relationships grow stronger because people are better able to candidly speak their mind in a safe place. But this can also consume A LOT of your time. You could be so addicted to see what your friends are posting about their kids and “perfect lil families” that you are neglecting important things with you own.
• Games could also fall into this category. If you are constantly playing solitaire, bejeweled, Farmville, family feud or other games that you can play mindlessly by yourself, are you taking away from better things?
• Shopping could fall into this category. Are you going shopping cause your bored, or to fill a need fro retail therapy?
• Grooming. So you go to get a pedicure to ESCAPE a day of badly behaved kids or to get away with a best girlfriend or are you going to keep yourself in order?
• Movies, TV, Video game systems- are they the babysitters of your kids or are you? Do they take away quality CAR TALKING TIME from your kids cause it is just easier to have them on? Are you missing opportunities to teach, talk or giggle with your kids because these have become big distractions in your homes?
There are so many more things we could add to the list of things that have the potential to get us distracted from the real picture! From the REAL things that lead us back to our Father in Heaven, the eternal things. We all know what those are… prayer, family time, scripture study, teaching gospel principles through life experiences, bearing testimony through life experiences.

It all comes down to this. We are all susceptible to the cunning deceiving ways of Lucifer. He can slowly and creatively use GOOD things and make them things that distract us from being who we really are or seeing things and they REALLY are. Something that Elder Bednar said struck me:

 "The Lord KNOWS who WE really are, what WE really think, what WE really do, and who WE really are becoming”

 Because Satan was there with us in the war in Heaven, he too knows who we are, and what we are to become and that is why he tries his HARDEST to make GOOD things to become distractions and wedges in our family relationships and our relationships with our Father in Heaven!

One of the parts to this talk that REALLY stood out to me personally was this.

“Obedience opens the door to the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. And the spiritual gifts and abilities activated by the power of the Holy Ghost enable us to avoid deception—and to see, to feel, to know, to understand, and to remember things as they really are. You and I have been endowed with a greater capacity for obedience precisely for these reasons. Moroni declared:

“Hearken unto the words of the Lord, and ask the Father in the name of Jesus for what things soever ye shall stand in need. Doubt not, but be believing, and begin as in times of old, and come unto the Lord with all your heart, and work out your own salvation with fear and trembling before him.

“Be wise in the days of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God” (Mormon 9:27–28).

As we heed that inspired counsel, we can and will be blessed to recognize and repel the attacks of the adversary—today and in the days that lie ahead. We can and will fulfill our foreordained responsibilities and contribute to the work of the Lord in all the world.”

We all have weaknesses. We all have things that keep us just a little farther away from God. Things that we are constantly struggling on overcoming. We all have to take these times of the year to RE-EVALUATE where we stand in relationship to our journey home. Where we can make a small change or a course correction that will steer us closer to our eternal home and realign our compass yet again. It’s not hard to do, many of the things we need to change are there right within the walls of our OWN homes. Just small course corrections that can make HUGE differences on the lives of our family members.

“When a man makes war on his own weaknesses he engages in the holiest war that mortals ever wage. The reward that comes from victory in this struggle is the most enduring, most satisfying, and the most exquisite that man ever experiences…The power to do what we ought to so is the greatest freedom” – Bryant Hinckley , father of Gordon B. Hinckley ( That Ye Might Have Joy, p. 83)

Sisters, may we have the courage to evaluate how we are spending our “free time” both in our families and our individual lives and make sure we have the balance that we need to spiritually safeguard ourselves from the threatening of Satan. I am so thankful that we have Prophets, Seers and Revelators in our midst and that they know OUR day and know the things that we need to make it back to our eternal home. May we help, encourage and love each other through our journey home.