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.

https://www.lds.org/media-library/images/quote-meme-uchtdorf-1222045?lang=eng

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

http://www.relatably.com/q/fasting-quotes-christian

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.