Commemorating Memorial Day with Kids

Commemorating Memorial Day with Kids | Military.com

Power of Prayer

If it's one thing my kids know from family experiences, it's that God hears and answers our prayers. Often I will hear my youngest say, "See Mom! Heavenly Father heard our prayers!"

Little children, young people, and adults alike, please believe how very much your loving Heavenly Father wants to bless you. But because He will not infringe upon our agency, we must ask for His help. This is generally done through prayer. Prayer is one of the most precious gifts of God to man.

This was a great talk! I try to read this right before I'm scheduled to teach in young women. I taught an Easter lesson month ago and was so impressed at how the spirit touched hearts more than the teacher (me) because I was clearly a mess (blubbering) trying to share my testimony of the Atonement and the gift of eternal life and forever families.

While we are all teachers, we must fully realize that it is the Holy Ghost who is the real teacher and witness of all truth. Those who do not fully understand this either try to take over for the Holy Ghost and do everything themselves, politely invite the Spirit to be with them but only in a supporting role, or believe they are turning all their teaching over to the Spirit when, in truth, they are actually just “winging it.” All parents, leaders, and teachers have the responsibility to teach “by the Spirit.” They should not teach “in front of the Spirit” or “behind the Spirit” but “by the Spirit” so the Spirit can teach the truth unrestrained.

Moroni helps us understand how we can teach by the Spirit without replacing, diluting, or dismissing the Holy Ghost as the real teacher. Moroni said the Saints conducted their experiences “after the manner of the workings of the Spirit.”3 This requires more than just having the Spirit with us. To conduct ourselves “after the manner” of the Holy Ghost means that we may need to change our way of teaching to emulate the way the Holy Ghost teaches. As we align our manner with the Holy Ghost’s manner, then the Holy Ghost can teach and testify without restraint.

New Ensigns are Out!

We had ours come through the mail, but the etras were finally put on the shelf at our local Distribution Center/Deseret Book store. The kids were able to get their own copies last night during FHE. They put their names on the cover (and all over by our 2 youngest) and we handed out new red pencils for highlighting. I take silver duct tape and wrap once around so I can then mark each pencil with initials so that there aren't any arguing over whose pencil it is- crazy what little things kids can fight over! :) We had them bring out their notes from Conference and tell us what talk was their favorite and some of the things they wrote down while listening. It was fun to hear what each thought.

Stand in Holy Places/ Choose Eternal Life

I was intrigued by the article he mentioned by Jonathan Sacks. I looked it up on the Wall Street Journal website and it was both fascinating and scary.

“There are large parts of [the world] where religion is a thing of the past and there is no counter-voice to the culture of buy it, spend it, wear it, flaunt it, because you’re worth it. The message is that morality is passé, conscience is for wimps, and the single overriding command is ‘Thou shalt not be found out.’”

My brothers and sisters, this—unfortunately—describes much of the world around us. Do we wring our hands in despair and wonder how we’ll ever survive in such a world? No. Indeed, we have in our lives the gospel of Jesus Christ, and we know that morality is not passé, that our conscience is there to guide us, and that we are responsible for our actions.

I love when people share stories that aren't so flattering, that show they are human. This story of swimming in unsafe waters was a good one.

In reality we have only two eternal choices, each with eternal consequences: choose to follow the Savior of the world and thus choose eternal life with our Heavenly Father or choose to follow the world and thus choose to separate ourselves from Heavenly Father eternally.

We cannot successfully choose both the safety of righteousness and the dangers of worldliness. Wading or dabbling in worldliness may seem harmless, but so did my “refreshing” swim!

Like the current that could have changed the course of my family’s lives, today’s currents of worldliness, deceptive philosophies, false teachings, and rampant immorality seek to drag us away and eternally separate us from our families and from our Heavenly Father.

Teachings of Jesus/ Importance of a Name

Our youngest used this talk in FHE a couple weeks ago and did a fabulous job! It was simple for him and easy to understand and share with the rest of this.

I address believers but others as well. As Elder Tad R. Callister taught us this morning, some who call themselves Christians praise Jesus as a great teacher but refrain from affirming His divinity. To address them, I have used the words of Jesus Himself. We should all consider what He Himself taught about who He is and what He was sent to earth to do.

Elder Ballard gave a beautiful talk on the importance of the name of the church and started off with a beautiful comparison of naming a child.

Because the full name of the Church is so important, I echo the revelations from the scriptures, the First Presidency’s instructions in letters of 1982 and 2001, and the words of other Apostles who have encouraged the members of the Church to uphold and teach the world that the Church is known by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the name by which the Lord will call us at the last day. It is the name by which His Church will be distinguished from all others.