Genealogy

 As I was reading the scriptures this week in Ether 1-15 I was impressed at how diligent they were at keeping their family records, especially with the writing tools they had to use. I have always been interested in geology and love hearing more about my ancestors and looking at old pictures. There is an old picture of my great grandparents coming out of an ice cream shop with a bunch of treats for grand kids, and I always thought it was sweet and glad that moment was captured. My father was really interested in genealogy and worked hard at researching names and gathering information. The information that he has gathered has helped other family members for their own research. I have always had this desire and hope one day to be able to be more skilled at doing genealogy. I have started to learn how to use the Indexing program and index documents on the LDS church database on Family search. This is a wonderful service to do and using your time for a great cause.

            My stake was challenged to do our own research and take names to the temple. This was a great activity for us as a family to do and to teach our children. If you are not sure how to do this there are resources out there to assist you as well as Ward and Stake Family History consultants. I hope that as my children get older I will have more time to spend on this great work.

             I have recently read a talk given by Elder David A. Bednar, The Hearts of the Children Shall Turn, which was a great talk on this topic. I hope you will take the time to read it.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/10/the-hearts-of-the-children-shall-turn?lang=eng

Here is a great Video about Genealogy.

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2011-08-03-genealogy-is?lang=eng

Protect And Strengthen Our Family.

I found this Mormon Message fitting for what I was reading this week in the Book of Mormon.

I was reading in Alma 43-63 about the many wars and it makes me think of the things that we need to do to prepare our own army our family and how to protect it.



In Alma 43:23 it says that we should inquire of the Lord in all our doings. The Lord wants to hear from us and He wants to bless us. He can help strengthen us and our families.



In Alma 23:26 it mentions that we are to prepare and unite to defend our liberties, rights, family and our God. We are counseled to take care of and defend what is most important to us.



In Alma 48:8-9 We are counseled to strengthen and fortify our Army(family). We can do this in multiple ways such as Family Home Evening, Family scripture study and Family Prayer, attending the temple, regularly attending church and other meetings, holding family councils and spending time as a family and making strong bonds. Our families are under attack every day and we need to do what we can to strengthen them.



In Alma 50:1 We are counseled to never stop preparing. When we let our guard down is when Satan will find a way to get in and poison our families.



In Alma 59:9 we are counseled that it is easier to prepare and prevent than it is to repent and repair.



I hope that we can find ways that best suit our families to be strengthened in this great war that we face. We can win and God is on our side. We need to stand strong against the many temptations that Satan will throw at us. I know that when we obey with exactness to what the prophets, past and present, tell us we will benefit from their counsel

Prayer

I found this video on mormonchannel.com and loved it.



This week I was reading in Enos in The Book of Mormon and I loved his example of prayer. I thought it was interesting that in Enos verse 4 he talks about how he knelt before his Maker in mighty prayer. What is mighty prayer? How is different than regular prayer? I didn't really know there was a difference. I thought about it and read on and Enos said that he poured his soul to the Lord, all day and all night. He prayed to be forgiven of his sins. He prayed for the well being of his brethren and he was so humbled he prayed for his enemies. So I thought about this and decided to really look into what a mighty prayer is vs. a regular prayer. I guess to me a mighty prayer is where you truly have a desire to be forgiven of your sins. You truly have a desire to know the truth of all things and to gain a stronger testimony for yourself. A mighty prayer is where you pour your heart out to the Lord and bear your soul and humble yourself.  A regular prayer is almost like those prayers that are almost memorized and said all the time. There is no real thought in them and you are just saying it to get it done. Prayer is to be a line of communication to our Heavenly Father. He doesn't want to hear the same things over and over. He wants to hear about our lives and he wants us to come to him in fervent prayer. I am grateful for the power of prayer in my life. I know that when we keep that communication open he will continually bless us. He loves us so much and wants the best for us. He will never leave us. I hope one day I can pray mightily like Enos. He is a wonderful example of the power of faith and prayer. 

I also enjoyed this talk I found at lds.org.
 https://www.lds.org/new-era/2011/12/what-is-mighty-prayer?lang=eng

Do Not Be Decieved.

This week I have been pondering about how we can be easily deceived by Satan. In the scriptures he is called the father of all lies. He is very good at making bad things seem good and good things seem bad. He is so careful in using the right kind of trickery to deceive us into doing his will. There are so many people that are his instruments to entice us to doing things that aren't right. In 2 Nephi 28 it talks about many ways that Satan tries to lead us astray. He makes sin look fun and harmless with little to no consequences. He makes the doctrine of Jesus Christ look foolish.  However, I know that when we give in to these temptations of man and not heed to the guidance of the spirit we can be led down a very dark path. I also know that if we have a change of heart and turn to the Savior and repent, we can be saved by His grace. The way of the Savior is the way of truth and light! He is the light of the world and we are his disciples and should always be striving to be more like him. I know that if we stay on his path and obey the commandments we will be back in His presence.
I watched this Mormon Message and loved it! The Holy Ghost is real and He will help to lead and guide us throughout our life in all circumstances.

I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true restored gospel of Jesus Christ and I pray that we all can not be deceived into the trickery of Satan and stay in tune to the guidance of the Holy Ghost.

The small and simple things

I wanted to share my thoughts on what I have taken away this week in my Book of Mormon class. In my gathering on Thursday this question was asked, 

"What would you do to avoid the temptations of Satan and take advantage of the blessings of the Atonement? 

My first thought was that little things mean a lot. When we do those little things to stay close to the Savior such as; scripture study, personal and family prayers, going to church each week, attending the temple and keeping the commandments.  When we do these little things in life then the big and harder things get easier. These little things that we have been counseled to do have the biggest effect and are sometimes are the hardest to do. Consequences are very clear if we choose to fall off the straight and narrow path that we should strive to be on. We have been counseled by President Gordon B. Hinckley to be a ensign and a light to the world. I hope we can accomplish this and be better Disciple of Christ by keeping hold to the Iron Rod by doing the little things that affect the big things.