Many of us including myself have at one time or another felt picked on because of what we might have seen as restrictions put on us by the church. I remember being a young teen and wishing with all my heart to go to dances with my friends. But because I was younger than ALL of them and had not reached the age of fourteen I could not go. At the time it was earth shattering but what I did not understand was that the suggestion to wait to go to dances, or to date at the age of sixteen, no sooner, were only meant to keep me safe. Suggestions given from a loving Heavenly Father who was once a man and is now exalted. A father who knows what it takes for me to make it back home to Him. A Heavenly Father who desperately wishes for me to join him in his heavenly home, but who will not compromise my free agency in any way to help me to get there. I must seek Him. I must want to be with Him again. I must desire to be like Him. This parable was mentioned in one of Elder Dallin H. Oaks General Conference addresses that I read today for my religion class. A wealthy father knew that if he were to bestow his wealth upon a child who had not yet developed the needed wisdom and stature, the inheritance would probably be wasted. The father said to his child: “All that I have I desire to give you--not only my wealth, but also my position and standing among men. That which I have I can easily give you, but that which I am you must obtain for yourself. You will qualify for your inheritance by learning what I have learned and by living as I have lived. I will give you the laws and principles by which I have acquired my wisdom and stature. Follow my example, mastering as I have mastered, and you will become as I am, and all that I have will be yours.” As I read this parable it touched my heart and helped me to remember, "The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become." (Elder Dallin H. Oaks General Conference, October 2000) ![]() In the Book of Mormon we read about 2,000 exemplary young men who were exceedingly valiant, courageous, and strong. “Yea, they were men of truth and soberness, for they had been taught to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before him” (Alma 53:21). These faithful young men paid tribute to their mothers. They said, “Our mothers knew it” (Alma 56:48). I would suspect that the mothers of Captain Moroni, Mosiah, Mormon, and other great leaders also knew. The responsibility mothers have today has never required more vigilance. More than at any time in the history of the world, we need mothers who know. Children are being born into a world where they “wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12).1 However, mothers need not fear. When mothers know who they are and who God is and have made covenants with Him, they will have great power and influence for good on their children. Mothers Who Know Bear Children Mothers who know desire to bear children. Whereas in many cultures in the world children are “becoming less valued,”2 in the culture of the gospel we still believe in having children. Prophets, seers, and revelators who were sustained at this conference have declared that “God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force.”3 President Ezra Taft Benson taught that young couples should not postpone having children and that “in the eternal perspective, children—not possessions, not position, not prestige—are our greatest jewels.”4 Faithful daughters of God desire children. In the scriptures we read of Eve (see Moses 4:26), Sarah (seeGenesis 17:16), Rebekah (see Genesis 24:60), and Mary (see 1 Nephi 11:13–20), who were foreordained to be mothers before children were born to them. Some women are not given the responsibility of bearing children in mortality, but just as Hannah of the Old Testament prayed fervently for her child (see 1 Samuel 1:11), the value women place on motherhood in this life and the attributes of motherhood they attain here will rise with them in the Resurrection (see D&C 130:18). Women who desire and work toward that blessing in this life are promised they will receive it for all eternity, and eternity is much, much longer than mortality. There is eternal influence and power in motherhood. Mothers Who Know Honor Sacred Ordinances and Covenants Mothers who know honor sacred ordinances and covenants. I have visited sacrament meetings in some of the poorest places on the earth where mothers have dressed with great care in their Sunday best despite walking for miles on dusty streets and using worn-out public transportation. They bring daughters in clean and ironed dresses with hair brushed to perfection; their sons wear white shirts and ties and have missionary haircuts. These mothers know they are going to sacrament meeting, where covenants are renewed. These mothers have made and honor temple covenants. They know that if they are not pointing their children to the temple, they are not pointing them toward desired eternal goals. These mothers have influence and power. Mothers Who Know Are Nurturers Mothers who know are nurturers. This is their special assignment and role under the plan of happiness.5 To nurture means to cultivate, care for, and make grow. Therefore, mothers who know create a climate for spiritual and temporal growth in their homes. Another word for nurturing is homemaking. Homemaking includes cooking, washing clothes and dishes, and keeping an orderly home. Home is where women have the most power and influence; therefore, Latter-day Saint women should be the best homemakers in the world. Working beside children in homemaking tasks creates opportunities to teach and model qualities children should emulate. Nurturing mothers are knowledgeable, but all the education women attain will avail them nothing if they do not have the skill to make a home that creates a climate for spiritual growth. Growth happens best in a “house of order,” and women should pattern their homes after the Lord’s house (seeD&C 109). Nurturing requires organization, patience, love, and work. Helping growth occur through nurturing is truly a powerful and influential role bestowed on women. Mothers Who Know Are Leaders Mothers who know are leaders. In equal partnership with their husbands, they lead a great and eternal organization. These mothers plan for the future of their organization. They plan for missions, temple marriages, and education. They plan for prayer, scripture study, and family home evening. Mothers who know build children into future leaders and are the primary examples of what leaders look like. They do not abandon their plan by succumbing to social pressure and worldly models of parenting. These wise mothers who know are selective about their own activities and involvement to conserve their limited strength in order to maximize their influence where it matters most. Mothers Who Know Are Teachers Mothers who know are always teachers. Since they are not babysitters, they are never off duty. A well-taught friend told me that he did not learn anything at church that he had not already learned at home. His parents used family scripture study, prayer, family home evening, mealtimes, and other gatherings to teach. Think of the power of our future missionary force if mothers considered their homes as a pre–missionary training center. Then the doctrines of the gospel taught in the MTC would be a review and not a revelation. That is influence; that is power. Mothers Who Know Do Less Mothers who know do less. They permit less of what will not bear good fruit eternally. They allow less media in their homes, less distraction, less activity that draws their children away from their home. Mothers who know are willing to live on less and consume less of the world’s goods in order to spend more time with their children—more time eating together, more time working together, more time reading together, more time talking, laughing, singing, and exemplifying. These mothers choose carefully and do not try to choose it all. Their goal is to prepare a rising generation of children who will take the gospel of Jesus Christ into the entire world. Their goal is to prepare future fathers and mothers who will be builders of the Lord’s kingdom for the next 50 years. That is influence; that is power. Mothers Who Know Stand Strong and Immovable Who will prepare this righteous generation of sons and daughters? Latter-day Saint women will do this—women who know and love the Lord and bear testimony of Him, women who are strong and immovable and who do not give up during difficult and discouraging times. We are led by an inspired prophet of God who has called upon the women of the Church to “stand strong and immovable for that which is correct and proper under the plan of the Lord.”6 He has asked us to “begin in [our] own homes”7 to teach children the ways of truth. Latter-day Saint women should be the very best in the world at upholding, nurturing, and protecting families. I have every confidence that our women will do this and will come to be known as mothers who “knew” (Alma 56:48). In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
![]() I bought the audio cassette tapes of Gary Chapman's book, "The Five Love Languages". I pulled out the old Walkman and have been listening to them while I walk. Each of my family members have taken the Love Language Test and it has been an eye opening experience. A few of them had different love languages than I thought they would have. Everyone should at least take the Love Language Test if not read or listen to the book. What's your love language? Click the button to find out.
With each passing day the world is becoming increasingly more wicked. The time of which Isaiah warns, "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness" (Isaiah 5:20) is here.
The division between the followers of Christ and the followers of the Evil One is clearly apparent. That seemingly comfortable spot on the fence is no longer an option. Either you are headed toward the light or you are not. By not making a choice you are, by default, headed toward the darkness. Without the teachings of Jesus Christ there is no hope. Only in Him can we find safety and peace. Only in Him can we find redemption from our sins. Only through Him can we enter into the presence of the Father. Doctrine and Covenants 88: 15-22 15 And the spirit and the body are the soul of man. 16 And the resurrection from the dead is the redemption of the soul. 17 And the redemption of the soul is through him that quickeneth all things, in whose bosom it is decreed that the poor and the meek of the earth shall inherit it. 18 Therefore, it must needs be sanctified from all unrighteousness, that it may be prepared for the celestial glory; 19 For after it hath filled the measure of its creation, it shall be crowned with glory, even with the presence of God the Father; 20 That bodies who are of the celestial kingdom may possess it forever and ever; for, for this intent was it made and created, and for this intent are they sanctified. 21 And they who are not sanctified through the law which I have given unto you, even the law of Christ, must inherit another kingdom, even that of a terrestrial kingdom, or that of a telestial kingdom. 22 For he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory. The celestial kingdom is where God is and even though our Heavenly Father wants us to be with Him forever, "No unclean thing can dwell with God" (1 Nephi 10:21). Any person who has not utilized the Atonement to its fullest, anyone who has sinned and not repented of those sins, cannot abide the Glory of God. His hands are tied if we choose to not follow His sons example. He is always waiting for us to come to Him. If we feel alone it is only because we have chosen the path leading way from God. Inspired answer to a sensitive question. Listen to the entire clip. Well worth the time! |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
March 2016
Categories |
Ponder
Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us, or our children, or our family today?