Great Article on Mormons and Satire

This is a masterpiece written by Michael Otterson, the Public Affairs spokesman for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-faith/post/why-i-wont-be-seeing-the-book-of-mormon-musical/2011/04/14/AFiEn1fD_blog.html

I quite enjoyed it!

some of my favorite verses of Scripture and other thoughts

These are some of my favorite verses of all scripture found in Doctrine and Covenants 6: 33-37

33 Fear not to do good, my sons, for whatsoever ye sow, that shall ye also reap; therefore, if ye sow good ye shall also reap good for your reward.

34 Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail.

35 Behold, I do not condemn you; go your ways and sin no more; perform with soberness the work which I have commanded you.

36 Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.

37 Behold the wounds which pierced my side, and also the prints of the nails in my hands and feet; be faithful, keep my commandments, and ye shall inherit the kingdom of heaven.


I especially like verse 36. Raising children right can seem like a daunting task, but if we teach them and love them and do our part and follow the guidance of the Holy Ghost, then we have no need to fear. I am so thankful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I just read a Christian lady's blog post and she described Melchizedek from what she could learn of him from the Bible. I was very impressed with her understanding and her study and insight she gained from the Bible. I sent her a couple links from the Book of Mormon and from the Joseph Smith translation of the Bible which give even more information about Melchizedek. I hope she will appreciate it.

Anyway, I am just so grateful for the added light and knowledge we have in addition to the Bible. I love the Book of Mormon so much. I don't feel right when I don't read it regularly. I'm so grateful to Joseph Smith for going through what he did to restore the fullness of Christ's church to the earth. We have the Melchizedek priesthood. The worthy male members of the church hold it and my family was benefited today by receiving father's blessings for the new year from their own father who holds the Melchizedek priesthood. I'm thankful for the temple and that my sweet family is sealed together for eternity. We will be together forever not just here on earth. I'm grateful for the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price we have in addition to the Bible. I'm thankful for our living prophet, Thomas S. Monson, as he receives revelation for us and Christ's church directly today just as the Bible prophets did in their day.

What a glorious although precarious time to be here on earth. I am most thankful for our Saviour, Jesus Christ and his willingness to give his life for us that might return to Him again. I know He loves me and my family and you. We are all his children and He wants us home. I'm so thankful for the love and guidance I receive. I'm thankful to have been baptized and received the gift of the Holy Ghost to guide me in my life. I have certainly been guided. I love my husband and my children. I am truly blessed.

If you have never read the Book of Mormon, please do. I will send you a copy with my testimony or you can read it online here or the missionaries would love to deliver one personally and answer your questions. Check out www.lds.org and www.mormon.org for more information. We love our religion so much we want everyone to hear the Good News and share in the joy.

LDS General Conference Oct. 2010

I love listening to conference. It is the voice of reason, truth and happiness in a crazy world. I have to admit that I really don't get much out of it during conference with soccer on Saturday and a bunch of happy kids needing things during the sessions, but I love to relisten to the entire sessions on my mp3 player at night while I tidy up and get ready for the following day.

We did get everybody to sit quietly and listen to Pres. Monson's talk on gratitude. I especially liked this quote found at the Deseret News of his talk:

President Monson asked, "Do material possessions make us happy and grateful?" He answered, "Perhaps momentarily. However, those things which provide deep and lasting happiness and gratitude are the things which money cannot buy: our families, the gospel, good friends, our health, our abilities, the love we receive from those around us. Unfortunately, those are some of the things we allow ourselves to take for granted…. We often take for granted the very people who most deserve our gratitude. Let us not wait until it is too late for us to express that gratitude."

What a wonderful simple reminder of how to find happiness!! Just be grateful for what you have. I am soooooo grateful for my sweet family, my husband, the gospel, our health, my abilities and my friends and many loved ones. It's true, money can't buy any of those things and life would be so empty and lonely without them. Gratitude!!

A Great Talk and New Church Websites

I was checking out the some of my churches' new websites. I really like the www.newsroom.lds.org It has a lot of basic info about the church as well as church news that is quite interesting.

I also like www.new.lds.org. The search is really great. I'm looking forward to using it. But I couldn't find the link for the online ward directory so I gave up and went to the old site to find a phone #. I'm sure I'll get used to it and find other great stuff on the new site. I really want to start having my kids watch Mormon Messages and download them to watch on my mp3 player. Then I read a great quote on the site and followed the link to the whole talk here:

https://new.lds.org/new-era/2010/09/line-upon-line-precept-upon-precept-2nephi-2830?lang=eng&signmein#

It was given by Elder Bednar in 2001, actually on 9-11, anyway-- it is a great talk on listening to the promptings of the Holy Ghost and how to tell if it is just yourself or if it is really a prompting. Elder Bednar points out that the Lord works line upon line, and often gives us many small answers that lead up over time to a big answer. He gives the example of dating his wife. He never felt like he got a specific one answer that this is the one, but rather over time as they got to know each other he could see that she was a good person and that they would get married. He said they dated for 15 months and knew each other 4 months before that before they got married. I very much enjoyed the talk and feel edified from having read it. Here is a quote I especially liked:

The process of discerning between our will and God’s will becomes less and less of a concern as time goes by and as we strive to rid ourselves of worldliness—and thereby cultivate the spirit of revelation in our lives. That is, as we mature spiritually, we begin to develop sound judgment, a refined and educated conscience, and a heart and mind filled with wisdom. It is not just that we have grown older, nor have we simply become smarter and had more experiences on which to draw, as important as those experiences are. Rather, the Holy Ghost has over time been expanding our intellect, forming our feelings, sharpening and elevating our perspective, such that we increasingly think and feel and act as the Lord would under similar circumstances. In short, we have made steady progress in obtaining “the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).

Thanks for reading!