Book of Mormon Reading: Helaman 6-8

More so than any other time I have read the Book of Mormon, I have noticed the teaching and the doctrine of the gathering of Israel. It is as real. It is a global and spiritual as it is personal and temporal.

In his October 2006 General Conference talk, then Elder Russell M. Nelson said,

The Book of Mormon is central to this work. It declares the doctrine of the gathering. It causes people to learn about Jesus Christ, to believe His gospel, and to join His Church. In fact, if there were no Book of Mormon, the promised gathering of Israel would not occur.

Here's how the scattering and the gathering is real to me.

Scattering is when I send my children out to serve full time missions to Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and Bolivia- - -

Gathering is when those dear children of mine preach and invite and baptize those who are eager to live the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Sin is a form scattering. Sin scatters us abroad, like chaff in the wind.

Repentance is a form of gathering. Repentance gathers us together in Christ.

And as President Nelson says

 . . . Gathering is the most important thing taking place on earth today. Nothing else compares in magnitude, nothing else compares in importance, nothing else compares in majesty. And if you choose to, if you want to, you can be a big part of it. You can be a big part of something big, something grand, something majestic!

Book of Mormon Reading: Jacob 1-4

The writings of Jacob teach me that the word of God is not always about feeling peace and joy and love.

Although His word can and does heal the wounded soul, the harried mind, the heavy heart, His word can also be filled with rebuke, with chastisement, and with wrath for those who have made covenants with Him and have not kept His word.

Sometimes, as a parent, as a teacher, as a friend, as a saint of God, I have to share the word of God with those around me and it isn't always comfortable. Especially, when I am required to invite others to come to Him in a way that may seem too strict or too churchy.

Sometimes, as a parent, as a teacher, as a friend, and as a saint of God, others have to share His word with me and it's not comfortable because they need to chastise me for not doing as He has asked.

But I am learning that "the Spirit speaketh the truth and lieth not. Wherefore, it speaketh of things as they really are, and of things as they really will be; wherefore, these things are manifested unto us plainly, for the salvation of our souls" (Jacob 4:13).

And when I learn to listen to and follow that Spirit in the way that God has intended for me, truly His words that are spoke and received are for the salvation of my soul.

Family Home Evening - Charity, the Pure love of Christ

We gave each family member the assignment to study about charity.  We actually gave the assignment about 30 minutes before our lesson because if we had given it any sooner (a week, a day, an hour before, for example), it would have been forgotten.

Here's what we did.

1. Everyone took a moment to share ONE principle they discovered about Charity.

2. We read aloud the following about Charity.  We read each paragraph one at a time, but we read it twice.  We were to write down anything we learned or felt from that paragraph.  Then, we briefly discussed what we learned before moving on to the next one.

3. We worked in pairs for the next activity.  We took a piece of paper and divided it in half.  One one side we examined the definition of Charity in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 and on the other side Moroni 7:45-46.  We shared in partners the things that were the same and different and why.

4. Finally, we discussed together why having Charity is so important and how we receive it.

Each of us discovered something important about Charity. 

One of my sons made a very insightful observation, "One cannot have charity towards the things of the world." 

Another son remarked that Charity is not service.  Rather, service is a vehicle by which charity can be felt.

For me, I am in the process of learning why Charity is a bestowed gift.  Perhaps the Savior's charge to "watch and pray" can pertain to Charity. For if I do not watch and pray, as another of my sons taught me, I could mistakenly begin to love and embrace the sin or hate and despise the sinner.  Both of which are contrary to the pure love God has for all His children.

Family Home Evening - Repentance

Tonight we took our lesson from HERE.

To begin, we assessed understanding and had a great family discussion by asking these two questions:
1. What is sin?
2. What is repentance?

Then we divided our family into three groups.  Each group was given a piece of paper and a pen.  On one side of the paper they were to write: Sin is like and on the other side they were to write Repemtance is like.

These six objects were placed on a table so each member of the family could see them.  We were instructed to discuss in our groups what item would be placed under which list and why.  The objects were:
1. Soap
2. A pair of scissors
3. A bottle of oil
4. A lighter
5. Ice
6. Neosporine

After group discussion we shared what we learned as a family.  WOW!  I was impressed with some of the things my children came up with.  And what we found was that most of those items could represent either sin or repentance.

In the end we were able to testify of the purifying power of the Atonement that allows each of us to repent from sin and be cleaned.

Sunday Morning Session of General Conference in Six Words

Conversion = Death of all things unrighteous


What six words describe what you learned during the Sunday morning session of General Conference??

Tidbit Tuesday - Tragedy

The only real tragedy in life is sin.

Stink

About two weeks ago – okay, maybe three – I put one of those car fresheners in our 15-passenger family van.

It was to fragrance the air of the unmistakable smell of active, energetic children.

I think the packaging said that the freshener is supposed to last SEVEN weeks.

Here we are three weeks into it and all I have is this yellow tree decoration hanging in my van because no yummy vanilla smell exists at all.

In fact, I am afraid to put a name to the fragrance it is now emitting!

Why?

Because my children have sniffed every. single. bit. of the good, sweet air out of it!

Seriously!

Every time we get in or out of the van, they have to take a little sniff.

Sniff. Sniff.

Sniff. Sniff.

And now our van is back to smelling like a locker room.

Because, as you well know, I have SEVEN boys and ONE girl and adding that up equals SMELLY VAN!

Which makes me deliriously aware of what people may think if, by chance, they risk their very lives to ride in our family van.

Not like they would.

But maybe they would.

And if they do, then they will know how much our family s.t.i.n.k.s.

Stinks to High Heaven.

Which made me remember a story told by a Relief Society president.

She was a high school teacher.

Well, she was more than JUST a high school teacher. She was the Home Study teacher – you know the one who oversaw the students who school from home.

Usually because of emotional or social problems or teenage pregnancy.

Things like that.

She would go and make home visits regularly to these students to give assignments and collect the ones that were due.

Those visits helped her to assess each student’s progress, as well as their home environment.

But there was one student who didn’t want her coming into his house.

So she would meet him at the school or in his front yard to give testing or check up on him.

She found out that this student was a young man who recently began to go back to Church and had recently enrolled in seminary - the only class on campus he took.

He was trying to live what he was being taught in those classes.

He was trying to be worthy to use the priesthood he had been given.

And after many months this student finally told his teacher why he didn’t want her to go into his home.

It was because his mom smoked!

And he was so extremely self-conscious of it!

For the smell covered everything.

It covered him!

Which made attending seminary everyday and Church every week so difficult and embarrassing.

And so to his Home Study teacher, in whom he could confide, he said, “I am so afraid people will smell the smoke on me think that I stink!”

To which this wonderful woman – my Relief Society President – responded, “You know, if each sin had a smell, none of us would smell nice. In fact, ALL of us would stink!”

So today, when I saw that overdue air freshener dangling in my van, I was reminded of how much I stink.

And why I have a Savior.

Heartworm

Today I learned about heartworm.

It's what you learn when a canine becomes a part of your family.

Heartworm is transmitted by infected mosquitoes.  They bite the dog and somehow that intermediate host transmits the parasite and it travels and takes up house directly in the heart.

Adult worms, literally, mess up the heart.  They take over: clogging vessels, interfering with blood flow, supressing blood supply to other vital organs like the kidneys and the liver.

Did you know that most dogs infected with heartworm do not show any signs of it for at least two years?!

And in that two years, the worm could grow up to 14 inches and 1/4 of an inch wide.

Ick!

Double Ick!

However, I found out that heartworm is 100% (that is cien por ciento) preventable!

And if caught soon enough, it can even be cured!

But treatment is not just a one-time dose.  Medication MUST BE taken once a month for 12 months to protect the dog from this horrendous parasite.

But, if left to itself, the heartworm will take over and kill the dog.

Then I thought about MY heart.

Do I recognize the intermediate host that can pierce my flesh and transmit the disease that could eat my heart away?

Is my heart full of worms?  Full of parasites that will take over and cause my heart to die, but I don't know it yet?

Ick!

And double ick!

The great news is that spiritual heartworm can be 100% preventable!

But first of all, it requires a heart check!

Alma saw that some of his people, the people in the land of Sidom were "checked as the the pride of their hearts and began to humble themselves before God, . . .watching and praying continually, that they might be delivered from Satan, and from death, and from destruction—"

Preventing spiritual heartworm requires effort.  It requires effort so one will not be destroyed.
 
It is NOT a one time application.
 
It requires daily prayer, daily scripture study, weekly partaking of the Sacrament, and regular temple attendance.  It requires that I give ALL I have to Him who has given to us ALL that He has for me!
 
So today we begin the serious business of preventable treatment for heartworm.
 
Because canine-ly or spiritually - the cost is SO worth the reward!