Tender Mercy

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When considering the tender mercies in my life, I was having a hard time this week. Then, I was overcome with the spirit as we sang "The Star Spangled Banner" in Sacrament Meeting today. I am privileged to be a citizen of the most wonderful country in the world. I have the freedom to worship as I see fit. I have the freedom to vote. I have the freedom to speak out when I feel that thing are not right. I have many other freedoms that some people take for granted. I am honored to be chosen to be born in and be able to continue to live in such a wonderful country.

Tender Mercy

My tender mercy this last week was a wonderful talk that was given in Sacrament Meeting last week. It really made me think about the things that I needed to do differently with my kids to try to continue to teach them the gospel in the home. It seems like the older they get, the more resistant they get to the teachings of the gospel. I knew I had been lacking on a few things like Family Home Evening and scripture study, but I needed the reminder. I have talked to my husband,and we decided to start having Family Home Evening again. I think this will really make a difference in my family.

The Lord Will Find a Way

When the Lord has a message that needs to be shared, He will find a way for that to happen. In Jeremiah 36, Jeremiah is not able to go into Judah to preach to and warn the people. The solution was that he dictated his message to Barauch and these prophesies are made into a book. The king responds to this by destroying the book. Rather than giving up, Jeremiah dictates to Barauch again. This time he adds to his message. (Jeremiah 36)
We have seen this in modern times as well. Joseph Smith dictated the 116 pages in the Book of Mormon. He allowed Martin Harris to take them temporarily, and Martin Harris lost the manuscript. Joseph Smith was instructed by the Lord to not re-translate the pages because those who were seeking to destroy the message of the Book of Mormon would alter the words (Doctrine and Covenants 10:10-11). Luckily, the Lord had known this would happen when the Book of Mormon was being written in Nephi's days. Nephi had been instructed to write some of the same things as his father (1 Nephi 6:1).
These are examples of how the Lord will find a way for his message to be taught to those who need it at the time they need it. We are privileged to have a prophet on the earth today who continues to receive revelation for the Church. Elder James E. Faust told us in a conference talk, "The prophets, seers,and revelators have had and still have the responsibility and privilege of receiving and declaring the word of God for the world." Once great thing about living in our day is that when these revelations are revealed to us, we can hear the prophet tell them to us in conferences. If for some reason we miss those conferences or want to refer to them again, they are published the following month in the Ensign which we can access online and though apps on our phones/tablets.

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When I was 17, my mom told me excitedly about a proclamation that was revealed to the women of the Church at women's conference on September 23, 1995. This proclamation has continued to be used to teach us about the divine nature and purpose of the family. My mother loved this doctrine. She passed away less than a year later. I truly believe that the timing of this revelation being given to the church prior to my mother's death was not a coincidence. She needed to learn this doctrine in this life, and she needed to feel the excitement she felt about the gospel in that moment.

Tender Mercy Research

I found an article/conference talk about tender mercies by Elder Bednar from the February 2012 issue. He pointed out that we are are able to have tender mercies in our lives. There is not a qualification process. My favorite quote from that article is, "I testify that the tender mercies of the Lord are real and they do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence. Often, the Lord's timing of His tender mercies helps us to both discern and acknowledge them."

Fasting

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Isaiah 58 has so much packed into the 14 verses it comprises, I would suggest everyone read it. The principle that stuck out to me was in verses 5-8, fasting. 

Growing up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, I was taught to fast the first Sunday of every month. I do not really remember being told until I was older what the purpose of the fast was. It was a continued struggle for me to follow this principle. When I was pregnant and nursing, I thought it was great that I did not "have to" fast for a while. It was not until June of 2009 that I was taught the true meaning of the fast. 

The first part of 2009 was very difficult for me. My husband at that time was more interested in talking to a girl online than spending time with me or the kids. He even took a month off of work to "write," but ended up chatting with her most of the time instead. In June he went on a trip to meet his "writing friends." While he was gone, I talked to my friend about the troubles I was having in my marriage. She suggested that I fast and pray about it that Sunday which just happened to be fast Sunday. She told me to read an article in the Ensign to help me know how to have a more meaningful fast. I followed her advise. I read the article. Then, I fasted. I remember praying and crying to know what to do to save my marriage. A few days later, it was confirmed that my husband had been cheating on me while away with his "friends." I was so confused. 

About a month after the revelation that would later change my life, the man I was married to and I decided through counseling that we were going to try to work things out in our marriage and stay married.  About an year and a half later, he moved out for good. I questioned why we got back together if it was going to end up in divorce anyway. When I prayed about it, I was reminded of my righteous desire that I had fasted and prayed about. The Lord was trying to help me.

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Asking for help is not the only reason to fast, though. As a classmate of mine pointed out it also helps us feed the poor. When we fast, we donate money to the Church. It is called Fast Offerings. We are asked to donate the money that we would have spent for the meals we went without. That money is then used to help feed people in need. 

I have struggled with this principle most of my life. I am going to try harder to follow it in the future to have an honest fast that will help lift the burdens of myself or others. 

Two Tender Mercies

I have been listing to the scriptures as I get ready for work, and it has made a big difference in my day. I can really see how my mood is better, and I am more ready to deal with the challenges that life puts in front of me. I did not realize what a difference it would make.
I have continually been able to see tender mercies in my life. This week the main one was the change I recently had with my job. I was miserable working in the call center at work and stressed out by all of the changes and with not knowing if I would have a job by the time they were done with the restructuring. I prayed for help a few months ago daily because I was so stressed out and depressed that I did not know what to do with myself. I had also been applying for jobs because I though that a change was what was needed. One day, a supervisor came over to talk to my supervisor to see if he knew anyone wanting to work in the billing department. I overheard the conversation and knew that this was meant for me. That day, I started the process of contacting the supervisor in the billing department and made sure he knew I wanted the job. I have now been working in that department for about three weeks. It has made a big difference in my life at home as well as at work. I have been getting back on track with my school work,and I have more patience with my kids.

Tender Mercy of this Week

I have been looking for more tender mercies in my life. As I have done this, I have not only been able to recognize the tender mercies in my life now, but also some of the tender mercies I was given in the past. Yesterday, while I was facilitating a self-reliance class, the circumstances of my divorce were revealed because I was explaining why I had to go back to work when my daughter was so young. As I explained this, I realized that meeting my current husband when I did and getting married when we did was a tender mercy. He is completely a different person than my ex-husband. He loves me unconditionally and respects me. For many years in my first marriage, I wished my husband would treat me the ways that my friends' husbands treated them. I longed to feel loved no matter if I finished my "chores" that day or not. I have that now. Meeting him and becoming friends with him as I was going through the divorce, and then marrying him about a year after filing was what I needed. I did not have the skills needed to take care of myself and three kids. Even though I was working, I needed him to help me learn to be the strong person I am today.

Missionary Work

First of all, I have to say that I got something different out of this scripture than one of my classmates. Isn't it wonderful how the Lord will speak to us in different ways depending on what we need at the time?
We are commanded to be missionaries. Not just if/when we are set apart to serve, but always. In Isaiah 6, we are told, "...Go, and tell this people..." (verse 6) He continues on in verse 9 to say, "Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and convert, and be healed." Isaiah is not telling us to "go, and tell this people" when you are called to a full-time missionary. In fact, there is not a provision added to that.

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In more recent times, we have been commanded to teach the gospel to those around us as well. When I was a child in primary I learned the saying, "Every member a missionary." This means that we are all to teach those around us the gospel. In the November 1997 Ensign, Richard G. Scott addressed the need for every member to be a missionary. He told us to prayerfully seek for missionary opportunities. He says that we start today to find the joy and excitement of doing missionary work. This can be scary, but if we pray for help, He will help us. It could be as simple as answering questions when ask. It could be as intimidating as correcting the wrong information that people have. Years ago, when I worked in a doctor's office, I had a friend that was searching for help with her children. I did not have children yet, so I really did not feel I had the answers for her even though I wanted to help. The visiting teaching message for that month had the answers that she was looking for. I made a copy of that page out of my Ensign, and gave it to her one day before work. As she read it, she had tears in her eyes as she thanked me for the help she had been praying for. I do not know if she ever joined the Church or searched out any other information about the Church. What I do know is that I was prompted to help her, and I followed that prompting. I know it is not always that easy.
For those who think that they are not able to perform missionary service, Elder Scott advised us, " There are other ways you may not think of as missionary service. For example, a young mother can teach each growing son to prepare to be a missionary to preach the gospel and share his testimony of truth. As a mother and father cultivate that thought through his growing years, he will be a missionary. that is excellent missionary service." This is something I did not even think of as being missionary service. We are told that service starts in the home. Elder Scott shows us in this example that missionary service starts tin the home as well.
We have also learned that doing work for our ancestors in the temple is also temple work. In the same talk, Elder Scott tells us, "...identify your ancestors and arrange for ordinance work to be done for them in the temples..." This may be a less intimidating way to serve those searching for the gospel. We need to remember that they are real people, and did not have the chance to learn the gospel in this life. This is their chance to accept the gospel in their lives.
We have been promised that if we bring one soul unto the Lord, our joy would be great. (Doctrine and Covenants 86:15) We all would like to have joy. Sharing the gospel may be scary at first, but that fear would not continue. The Lord gives us that promise. How often do we know what the blessings are going to be for our obedience to the Lord's commandments?

My Tender Mercy This Week

I feel that I must explain. I am working on being thankful for the tender mercies the Lord has shown me for  a class for school. I chose to work on this because I have once again found myself plagued with depression and anxiety. I think that if I can not only recognized the tender mercies in my life, but show gratitude for them as well, I can pull myself out of this at least a little bit.

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Psalms is so full of the tender mercies of the Lord. The best part about studying Psalms was that it made me feel normal. I have been struggling with my mental health and begging Heavenly Father to help me. My tender mercy for this week was readying Psalm 13: 2 when David says, "How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily?" I could feel David's pain. I have been there. I have been depressed daily, begging for my Heavenly Father to rescue me. There is comfort in knowing that I am not alone in this.

The Lord Will Help

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I have learned a lot as I have been reading in Ezra and Nehemiah this week. There is more than one story that shows how the Lord will help us to do as he as asked.
As primary children, we learn about Nephi's courage when he was asked to go back to Jerusalem to get the brass plates. Even though he older brothers do not want to go back and are afraid to ask Laban for the plates, Nephi boldly tells his father:

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We, however, do not hear of stories like this in the Old Testament very often as children (or as adults who teach these children). In fact, this week was the first time I had heard of these stories.
In Ezra 4, a temple is being built. The "people of the land" offered to help them, but hindered the progress instead. They reported back to the king and chancellor who then wrote a letter forbidding the people of Jerusalem to continue building the temple. Rather than giving up, they wrote their own letter to explaining why they are building the temple. They started with saying, "...We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and build the house that was builded many years ago, which the great king of Israel builded and set up." (Ezra 5: 11) As a result of this letter, they were aloud to continue building the temple.
Next, in Nehemiah 4, we are given another example of how the Lord will help us do what He as asked of us. The Jews are trying to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem. These efforts are not seen as a good thing by their enemies. They are mocked and attacked. The people of Jerusalem "made (their) prayer unto (thier) God and set a watch against them day and night, because of them."(Nehemiah 4: 9) The people were brave and trusted the Lord to help them keep out the people who were trying to hurt them.
These are such great examples of doing what is asked of them and trusting the Lord to help them find a way to do it.
In today's world, we are not generally writing government leaders to allow us to build a temple. (I know someone has to get permits, but that is not my point.) Also, most of do not have to fight to keep our home safe or build a wall to keep people out. We are asked to fight other "enemies." We fight pornography. We fight media with foul language and loose morals. We fight the bad influences of peers. We fight to keep temptations out of our homes. How do we fight? We stand up for our beliefs. We turn off the TV. We teach our children the gospel.
I am not the expert in this, of course. To learn more you can read President Henry B. Eyring's talk from October 2010 titled "Trust in God, Then Go and Do."

My Eric

I am not sure if I have ever shared this story with many people. My oldest child was a great blessing in a time of sorrow and grief. I had been trying to get pregnant for about two and a half years. The only thing that the doctor could figure out before I lost my health insurance was that I had hypothyroidism. I had been told that once I had my hormones regulated, I would mostly likely be able to have a baby. I wanted this more than anything.
A few months after I started trying to get on the right dosage of thyroid replacement medication, I walked out on my job and lost my health insurance. I stopped taking the medicine and figured that I just wouldn't be able to get pregnant until we got insurance again and went back to the doctor for the prescription. I was wrong. About two months later, I had a positive pregnancy test! I was both excited and scared. How were we going to afford a baby with just one of us working and no insurance? What if I miscarried (so many people did)? What if something was wrong with the baby?
I worked in the temple at the time. One day as I sat in the chapel, I prayed to know if this baby was going to be mine. I was given a definite answer that the baby not only be mine to raise, he was going to be health and strong and grown to be an adult. This was such a great revelation!
This kid is now 15. He is finishing up his freshman year of high school. He is growing into an amazing young man that surprised me every day.
I had the privilege of watching my son this week play percussion with his high school band. I could see the passion and excitement in his eyes as he played. This brought great joy to my soul. Tears streaked down my face as I remembered that this boy continues to be one of my greatest blessings.

We Are Not Alone

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We were never meant to navigate through this world without guidance. We have a loving Heavenly Father that not only is willing to help us when we are struggling, He is waiting for us to ask him for help and follow His commandments. If you think about it, our part is easier in comparison. (We do not have as many people to talk to.)
Look at the story of David and Goliath. David was facing a daunting task. He did not run from it. He trusted that the Lord would guide him in his fight to the death. When his abilities were questioned he said, “…The lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine…”  By following the guidance of the Lord, David was able to kill Goliath with is first shot (he used a sling shot and smooth stones).
Later in life, David needed direction on where to go in battle. He once again relied on the Lord. In 2 Samuel 5: 23, it says, , “And when David inquired of the Lord, he said Thou shalt not go up, but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees.”  
 I can honestly say, I have and probably will never have to fight a real giant to the death, but I have had to struggle with problems I thought were too big to face including divorce, financial struggles, and the death of my mom and brother. One thing that I learned from these struggles was that I can't get through them on my own. I have to rely on my Heavenly Father. I know that I will not always get specific directions like David did in 2 Samuel, but He will direct me in the way that is best for me and the situation I am in at the time. 
I am so thankful to have a loving Heavenly Father who is willing and able to help me navigate though life when I am willing to ask for help and choose the right.

Answer to My Prayers

I have learned a lot this week as I have worked on being more like Christ and studied the Old Testament. This semester, I have been working on being more prayerful. It has been working wonderfully. I have gotten back into the routine of praying in the morning on my own and with my family at night. I have noticed that the more often I pray personally, the less scripted my prayers feel. I am able to really reach out and ask for help and tell my Heavenly Father the good and rough things that have been going on. This brings me to a big lesson I learned while reading my scriptures this week.

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I have been struggling at work with the way some people talk about Christians. A week ago I left feeling defeated and worthless because of the things a few people were saying. One guy was brave enough to speak up for himself. I wished that I had been brave enough as well. 

One morning on the way to work, I prayed for help. I knew that I needed to change something in me to make my anxiety about the situation better. I asked my Heavenly Father to help me be the example to my coworkers that I needed to be and to have the courage to stand up for my religion. 

When I got home, I started to read the assignment for the week looking for principles that I could apply to my life. I was shocked to see the answer to my prayers not long after I started reading (this kind of thing rarely happens to me)! 

• "...be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest." (Joshua 1:7)

The Lord was telling me that I need to be strong and courageous. I need to keep the commandments. I need to not turn away from my struggles. He will help me not matter where I go. 

When I read this it reminded me of my seminary days (more years ago than I want to admit) and the scriptures that I had memorized. 

• "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16)

I am not going though the same struggles as Joshua and the children of Isreal when though. I have a home and plenty of food. I have not been wondering around most of my life waiting for the Lord to tell the prophet where the promised land is. However, I can still learn from the same teachings that they were given.

He Will Send Help/Do Not Complain

I enjoyed reading in Numbers 11 this week. In this chapter the children of Israel are all complaining to Moses about the difficulties of wondering around in the wilderness. For example, they complain that they are not able to eat meat like they were when they were in Egypt. These complaints had more than one result.
First of all, Moses became overwhelmed. He was trying to lead the people and take care of their needs and wants. He goes to the Lord with his problems. In verse 11 he says, "wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me." Then in verse 14 he continues, "I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me." The Lord does not turn away from Moses in his time of need. Instead, He tells Moses, "Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people,and officers over them...(Numbers 11:16)" Moses was then able to have some of his burden lifted because he could delegate some of his responsibilities to the seventy men that were chosen.
The other result to the complaints Moses brought to the Lord was that the people were finally given meat to eat, but there was a catch. They were given so much that they had more than they needed. At that time, the Lord used the meat to make the people sick with the plague (Numbers 11:33).
I really liked reading this chapter of the Old Testament. If you have been putting off reading this great book of scripture, stop reading what you have been reading and read this instead.

Only One God

This week, as I was reading in Exodus, I payed attention to how many times we are told to only worship the one true God. I started reading this week in Exodus 20. This, as many people know, tells us the ten commandments given to Moses.
The first commandment given was, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me (Exodus 20:3)." The fact that this is the first commandment given by God means that it is the most important. Then again in Exodus 34: 14 he says, "For thou shalt worship no other god; for the Lord...is a jealous god." When looking at the footnotes, I was also directed to Deuteronomy 6: 14. This verse says, "ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round you about you." The Lord repeated this direction several times because it is important. He wants to make sure that we understand that He is the only God we are to worship.
I think that the commandment to not covet (Exodus 20: 17) goes hand and hand with this commandment as well. In the Topical Guide, it says to "see also desire; envy; greedily; greediness; greedy; jealous; lust." When we are jealous or lusting after objects that other people have, we are in a way worshiping those items. For example, if my neighbor had a really nice car and I wanted that car so much that it was all I could think of. In a way, I would be worshiping that car.
One of the more shocking things that I read concerning this topic was in Exodus 22: 20. The Lord says, "He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the Lord only , he shall be utterly destroyed." Could you imagine what would happen if this law was still in place? I think that maybe the world could be a better place if people would worship our Heavenly Father rather than the opinion of others.

My Brother and My Son

Yep, they're related!

Our Summer of Fun

This summer, my family and I made plans to have a lot of fun. My scheduled had changed from working overnights to working early in the morning and getting home around 2pm. We made a list of things we wanted to do: hiking, fishing, camping, going to a water park, swimming at the rec center, roller skating, and going to see a movie. We actually accomplished most of the items on our list and added a few more. I think Eric actually accomplished doing everything.

At the beginning of June, Eric went on a 50 mile hike/camping trip with the scouts. He was very excited and had attended most of the preparatory hikes they planned. He had a lot of fun and came back with some beautiful pictures on his phone.

While he was gone, we had a hail storm that tried to kill my rose bush. Some of the buds survived, and the bush is actually looking better now than it has for a long time. It was a blessing in disguise.

Then, we finished making our first garden box. Very few plants have survived my brown thumb, but I have hopes to get enough pickles off the the ones that are thriving somehow to make my grandmas pickles. Next year, I will plant earlier.

Sean went to Camp Chris Dobbins for the first time with his scout troop. He loved it. He got to ride horses, shoot a gun, and work of game design. 

The first week in August, we went camping as a family with my sister's family. We went to Lake Jackson. It was beautiful. The lake was perfect for swimming. My brother-in-law caught a fish. The dogs loved being outdoors. The first night and following day were wonderful! Then it rained and hailed. After sticking it out for a few hours we decided it was best to just go home. It took two trips to get everything and everyone there. Somehow, we go everything back in one, extremely uncomfortable, ride home. 

That Friday, before the kids woke up, Chad and I went to a small fishing pond in Hudson and caught our first fish since we started fishing together two years ago.

That Saturday, Chad's brother took us and the kids to the Wierd Al concert. It was a blast and the perfect way to end the week.

Now, the kids are back in school. Hopefully, we can continue to make good memories.

A Great Treasure

In my earliest memories, there were six members living in my family: Mom; Dad;, Anthony, my older brother; Marleah, my younger sister; Grandma; and me. I have few memories before the age of ten when there weren’t six of us sitting at the dinner table, going on vacation, or going to church. We loved each other, and I could not imagine my life any different.  

When I was ten, my grandma went to visit my aunt for my cousin’s missionary farewell. Instead of coming home later that week as planned, she went into the hospital because her skin and eyes were mysteriously yellow. A few days later, my brother, sister, and I lined up on the couch as my mom delivered the tragic news, “Grandma is very sick. We don’t know when or if she will be able to come home. She has cancer.” I wanted her to come home and keep taking care of us. I prayed every night pleading for her to get better. Two months later she came home, and I thought everything would be back to normal. I was wrong. My mom flew with my grandma back to Arizona to see the doctors who had originally diagnosed her cancer a few months later. Three weeks after that, May 29, 1989, my dad received a phone call from my mom informing him that my grandma had passed away. After he told us, I didn’t want to eat. I just wanted to go back to bed.  I didn’t understand how we could live without her.

Later that year, mom my struggled with depression and mental illness triggered by the loss of her mother. By the end of the year, she was admitted to a mental hospital. The following years were difficult. My mom was in and out of the hospital due to suicidal thoughts. Then, she left home without telling anyone where she was going. Two months later she was found back in the hospital. We had been abandoned; we only found out where she was because the health insurance was though my dad.

The next few years brought more challenges to my relationship with my mom. When I was sixteen, my parents were divorced, and my mom moved about 20 miles away. I did not understand why my mom left or why she did not want to live with my brother, sister, and me. Finally, when I was seventeen, I realized the problem was not me or her, it was her mental illness. I forgave her and our relationship grew stronger as I visited her whenever my schedule allowed.

The summer of my eighteenth birthday, I felt life could not be better. I had the relationship I had always wanted with my mom, my brother had just moved into his first apartment, and my sister and I were starting our junior and senior years of high school. As my mom worked on her relationship with her children, she came to the conclusion that the best way to feel closer to her mother would be to do temple work for her parents. After a few weeks of talking to her sisters and making plans, she decided to visit her sister in Arizona to do the work and be sealed to them. One night my mom stopped by my job to let my sister and I know she would be leaving early in the morning as planned. She gave us each a hug and said, “Goodbye, I will see you when I get back.” We did not know that would be our last hug. When my sister and I got home from work, we saw our brother’s dog locked up in the kitchen as our exhausted dad explained Anthony had decided to visit our aunt in Arizona with our mom and her roommate, and they had left around midnight instead of early morning because my mom’s roommate believed they were being stalked by her ex-husband. Then, we went to bed not knowing how much our lives would change the next day.

The following morning, Friday, August 30, 1996, is a morning I will never forget. My sister and I woke up and went to seminary and school as usual. While I was in the second class of the day, a note from the front office was brought to me telling me my dad was waiting for me. I walked into the office and saw my dad standing there looking sick and expressionless. When my sister arrived, we were taken into an empty room. “Mom and Anthony were in an accident this morning,” he managed to choke out. When we asked how badly they were hurt, he explained the circumstances of the accident: since they didn’t sleep before leaving Denver, Mom and Anthony, were sleeping in the car when my mom’s roommate feel asleep at the wheel and crashed into the guard rail. My mom was wearing her seat belt, but was crushed by the guard rail. Anthony was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown out the back window with such a force that he didn’t survive the impact. My whole world had changed in that instant. How could life go on without Mom and Anthony? My head was spinning. I had no idea how I was supposed to feel. As we stood questioning why, we were taken into the counseling office to wait for our bishop to arrive and help us go safely home.

The next task was to plan a double funeral. By Sunday, we had most of the plans in place. As we walked into church, it felt different than the previous weeks. It was announced Mom and Anthony passed away followed by the opening hymn, “Families Can Be Together Forever.” I sat expressionless for the rest of the meeting as people bore testimonies of the sealing ordinance and talked about memories of my mom and brother.

Through tragedy and grief, I learned the greatest treasure we have on earth is our family. There are many things people take for granted when their loved ones are still on earth: talking to family members on the phone, wishing them a happy Mother’s or Father’s day, celebrating birthdays, telling them happy news such has marriages and pregnancies, having a mother help with the new babies, getting advice, hearing them laugh, and seeing them smile. Embrace these moments. You never know when they will be gone; leaving you mourning the experiences you are not able to share with them.

Defenders of the Family

https://pondsguidetopersonalprogress.wordpress.com/tag/bonnie-l-oscarson/

As the world defines family with less and less standards, as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we are to defend the sanctity of marriage in a loving and caring way. By doing this, we share the greatest blessings possible to a family (being sealed for eternity). Even if we are not formally called to serve a mission, we can still share the gospel by teaching those around and being good examples. As the hymn says, we should "all press on in the work of the Lord."

Heavenly Father's Plan

https://blogs.bencrowder.net/mormon/2006/plan-of-salvation/