Sunday, July 27, 2008
I have a calling!
I am now the "publications specialist" for the Newburgh ward. I'm in charge of putting the bulletin together each week, and eventually I'll do a newsletter and update the website. Sounds like my kind of job!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Philippians 4:4-8
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Monday, June 2, 2008
The Faith of our Father
Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Faith of Our Father,” Ensign, May 2008, 68–70, 75
True religion should not originate from what pleases men or the traditions of ancestors, but rather from what pleases God, our Eternal Father.
The Faith of Our Father
What, then, is the faith of our fathers? Is it the religion of our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents?
But what of the faith of the ancient ones before them? What of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Are they not our fathers? Are we not of the house of Israel? What of Noah and Enoch and our first parents, Adam and Eve?
What of the Savior and those disciples who followed Him?
The faith of our Father in Heaven has been consistent since the beginning of time, even from before the foundation of this world. John the Revelator described a great war in heaven. The issue was moral agency, as it is today. All who have ever lived on this earth were among those who fought against Satan and stood with the Son and the Father. Therefore, do we not owe our allegiance to God, our Heavenly Father?
As members of the Church of Jesus Christ, “we believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.” And “we believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.” We believe in the great plan of happiness, the plan of redemption, the plan of salvation, whereby God’s children may experience mortality and return to the presence of the Father—a merciful plan established from before the foundation of this earth.
This is the plan and the faith of our Father!
I testify that the doctrine of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is the faith of our Heavenly Father. It is His truth, revealed to His servants the prophets from the days of Father Adam until our own time. The Father and the Son appeared to Joseph Smith to restore the faith of our Father on this earth, never to be taken away again. God desires that all of His children receive it, irrespective of their background, culture, or tradition. True religion should not originate from what pleases men or the traditions of ancestors, but rather from what pleases God, our Eternal Father.
Continuing revelation is a fundamental feature of this faith. Joseph Smith’s first prayer is a powerful testimony of this. Revelation is a constant compass that keeps us always true to the will and the faith of our Heavenly Father.
Our Heavenly Father loves His children. He hears the prayers of the humble and sincere of every nation, tongue, and people. He grants light to those who seek and honor Him and are willing to obey His commandments. We joyously proclaim that the faith of our Father is on the earth today.
We invite everyone on this beautiful planet to taste of His doctrine and see if it is not sweet and good and precious. We ask those of sincere heart to learn of this doctrine and ask their Father in Heaven if it is not true. And by doing so, all can discover, embrace, and walk in the true faith of their Father, which faith will make them whole.
That is our message to the world.
I bear solemn witness of the reality of God the Father; His Son, Jesus Christ; the Holy Ghost; and living prophets who hold the keys, which have come in unbroken succession from Joseph Smith to Thomas S. Monson today. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
True religion should not originate from what pleases men or the traditions of ancestors, but rather from what pleases God, our Eternal Father.
The Faith of Our Father
What, then, is the faith of our fathers? Is it the religion of our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents?
But what of the faith of the ancient ones before them? What of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Are they not our fathers? Are we not of the house of Israel? What of Noah and Enoch and our first parents, Adam and Eve?
What of the Savior and those disciples who followed Him?
The faith of our Father in Heaven has been consistent since the beginning of time, even from before the foundation of this world. John the Revelator described a great war in heaven. The issue was moral agency, as it is today. All who have ever lived on this earth were among those who fought against Satan and stood with the Son and the Father. Therefore, do we not owe our allegiance to God, our Heavenly Father?
As members of the Church of Jesus Christ, “we believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.” And “we believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.” We believe in the great plan of happiness, the plan of redemption, the plan of salvation, whereby God’s children may experience mortality and return to the presence of the Father—a merciful plan established from before the foundation of this earth.
This is the plan and the faith of our Father!
I testify that the doctrine of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is the faith of our Heavenly Father. It is His truth, revealed to His servants the prophets from the days of Father Adam until our own time. The Father and the Son appeared to Joseph Smith to restore the faith of our Father on this earth, never to be taken away again. God desires that all of His children receive it, irrespective of their background, culture, or tradition. True religion should not originate from what pleases men or the traditions of ancestors, but rather from what pleases God, our Eternal Father.
Continuing revelation is a fundamental feature of this faith. Joseph Smith’s first prayer is a powerful testimony of this. Revelation is a constant compass that keeps us always true to the will and the faith of our Heavenly Father.
Our Heavenly Father loves His children. He hears the prayers of the humble and sincere of every nation, tongue, and people. He grants light to those who seek and honor Him and are willing to obey His commandments. We joyously proclaim that the faith of our Father is on the earth today.
We invite everyone on this beautiful planet to taste of His doctrine and see if it is not sweet and good and precious. We ask those of sincere heart to learn of this doctrine and ask their Father in Heaven if it is not true. And by doing so, all can discover, embrace, and walk in the true faith of their Father, which faith will make them whole.
That is our message to the world.
I bear solemn witness of the reality of God the Father; His Son, Jesus Christ; the Holy Ghost; and living prophets who hold the keys, which have come in unbroken succession from Joseph Smith to Thomas S. Monson today. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Dream
I had a dream last night that my Dad found out that I'd joined the church. He had gotten a card in the mail from the church and he made a comment like, "Guess who's gotten mixed up with the Mormons?" I said, "Dad, I was baptized on April 13th". He asked me to leave his house (we were visiting for a couple of weeks in the summer). I said, "okay" and started packing up our stuff. That's when I woke up.
I don't really think that would be his reaction, but obviously I'm concernd about what it WILL be...
I don't really think that would be his reaction, but obviously I'm concernd about what it WILL be...
Monday, May 19, 2008
It's been a while
Well, I've been letting this blog slip! Oops...
I've been reading the scriptures daily for about 25 days now! I finished The Pearl of Great Price, The Acts of the Apostles, Romans, and 1 Nephi. I really like reading a chapter each day from the Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine & Covenants. I figured the PGP is so short that I'll just read it again when I finish D&C.
Yesterday I got my baptismal certificate, however, there is a mistake on it. It says I was baptized by Benjamin Bellamy Brown... and I'm pretty sure I wasn't! I haven't even met an Elder Brown... So, I need to get that reprinted.
I'm still waiting for my calling, but I'm waiting patiently :)
I don't think the missionaries will be teaching me anymore which makes me sad. I really liked having them over! Elder Stirland moved to a new ward last week and his replacement is Elder Harold. I think the new guy is really new... but he seems really nice (and young!).
I've been reading the scriptures daily for about 25 days now! I finished The Pearl of Great Price, The Acts of the Apostles, Romans, and 1 Nephi. I really like reading a chapter each day from the Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine & Covenants. I figured the PGP is so short that I'll just read it again when I finish D&C.
Yesterday I got my baptismal certificate, however, there is a mistake on it. It says I was baptized by Benjamin Bellamy Brown... and I'm pretty sure I wasn't! I haven't even met an Elder Brown... So, I need to get that reprinted.
I'm still waiting for my calling, but I'm waiting patiently :)
I don't think the missionaries will be teaching me anymore which makes me sad. I really liked having them over! Elder Stirland moved to a new ward last week and his replacement is Elder Harold. I think the new guy is really new... but he seems really nice (and young!).
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Name extraction
Well, I have a new hobby in the family history field... name extraction!! Anyone can volunteer by going to http://www.familysearchindexing.org . You go through an online tutorial that's fairly involved to learn all the rules, then you can download a batch of documents and enter the data into a searchable database! I'm currently working on indexing death certificates from the 1940's from Louisiana. There is plenty of older stuff, but I wanted to start off with stuff that I thought I might actually be able to read. A lot of that 19th century handwriting is tough for me to read!!
I can't wait for Oklahoma's death certificates to be available.
I can't wait for Oklahoma's death certificates to be available.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Fast Sunday and Meck Mom
Today was the Fast and Testimony Sacrament Meeting. Nineteen people bore their testamonies today! Lots of the youth got up today, which was really sweet. All four of the Sutton boys were up there, and each of them said, "Mom is going to kill us when she finds out all of us gave our testamonies and she wasn't here to see it!" Since there were so many, the meeting ran LONG. My kids did really well until about 10 minutes past the regular ending time... then it got a bit ugly.
Hannah took her "new" scriptures to church today, and she did a fantastic job being responsible for them. I was pretty impressed. Someone on my 'naturalLDSmoms' Yahoo group posted these Gospel Art Stickers to put into your scriptures. Tonight, I put them in Hannah's. You have to be familiar with the pictures to tell what they are, and that is a bit disappointing. But you CAN read through them, which is really cool. I'm going to print off the footnote stickers and scripture mastery stickers for my new quad.
Hannah took her "new" scriptures to church today, and she did a fantastic job being responsible for them. I was pretty impressed. Someone on my 'naturalLDSmoms' Yahoo group posted these Gospel Art Stickers to put into your scriptures. Tonight, I put them in Hannah's. You have to be familiar with the pictures to tell what they are, and that is a bit disappointing. But you CAN read through them, which is really cool. I'm going to print off the footnote stickers and scripture mastery stickers for my new quad.
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