So I was recently sent this short video from Sun Swing Media to review and share with all of you. They are a new company that is creating short videos based off of stories found in the Friend magazine.The video I watched is called, “The Decision.”It costs $1 to download and the money goes toward making the next short video called, “ The Do-Gooders.”
The video is about pornography and is geared toward young children.It is sad that it has come to the point when talking about pornography can’t be put off until older years but pornography is there and it is there early.
At first I wondered how young people would respond to the quite simple animations but I knew that the simple yet profound story-line would be perfect for young audiences.So I tested it on my 4 year old and I think his review is much more significant than mine. Although I must say that an article I read said it was geared more toward 6-12 year olds.
I started the video for my little boy and he immediately seemed engaged.Afterward, he instantly asked if he could watch it again.I played it one more time and then we talked.I asked him what the video was about and he answered “pornography”.We talked about what happened and he definitely recognized the good choice that the boys made in the film and how proud all of their parents were of them.After our short discussion he asked, “Could I watch it again sometime if I want to?”I said yes and told him that we could maybe watch it for FHE sometime and he said, “We should’ve watched that video last night for FHE.”
So if you can’t tell, my 4 year old seemed to enjoy it quite a bit and he seemed to comprehend the important principles taught in the video. I would recommend the video to anyone with young children.
"See CombatingPornography.org to find resources to help prevent or overcome pornography addiction.
Also, you can read, watch, or listen to Elder Jeffrey R. Holland’s April 2010 general conference address, “Place No More for the Enemy of My Soul,” which is excerpted in this video." - lds.org
I've had a lot on my mind. Change. Newness. New goals. BECOMING something better. Creating. Desires. Priorities. Time.
I've determined it is time to Simplify and to Organize. Some things are going to slip away and some new things may take their places.
I am one who gets overwhelmed, stressed, and anxious pretty easily and yet I tend to add things to my plate by my own choice. Good things. But there are better.
We just got back from a vacation and while we were traveling near a larger city my husband took a wrong turn and we ended up downtown with two tired children (it was bedtime) one of them crying. I was grumpy, impatient, and frustrated (this was not the first time this has happened ;) I was getting after him and saying things like, "why didn't you just go the way we came?" On and on. Contention. Then just as we were about to get back on the freeway in the right direction my son said, very enthusiastically, "It's okay Mom. It's good. We saw flags. You saved the day!" He felt the contention and in his 4 year old way brought a smile to my face. I didn't even see any flags but to him that drive, that wrong turn saved the day because of a few simple flags! And I was again reminded that I need to find joy in each moment and strive to be positive. Later I found out that despite my pessimism and criticisim in that moment that little adventure that led us downtown was one of my husbands favorite moments from the trip. He enjoys exploring new places. But there I was and I couldn't see it. I couldn't see that moment with my family with eyes of joy.
Then today I taught the lesson in Relief Society on families and again was reminded that I need to enjoy and take hold of each moment as a Mother not just get through each day but SAVE each moment and cherish it. Not just go about my agenda but grasp those small moments in time that truly matter.
And then yet again I came across another reminder in this video. It is too perfect for all of the thoughts I have been having. I think the Lord is trying to teach me:
Let us all cherish the moments that matter most. Let us all try to "Save" and enjoy each day and recognize each moment for what it is. Let us all recognize the things that need to slip from our lives so that we might simplify and have our eyes opened to the joy that those little moments bring.
Over the past few months we have dealt with many various difficult situations and behaviors with our children. It has been a ride and it is, for the time being, slowing down a bit. Whew! One day while thinking about what I could do to change the way things were going once again I actually had an idea that "worked"!
My 4 year old son and I sat down at the computer and printed out a beehive, some bees, and various flowers and then for FHE we colored and colored and then later I cut and cut and when all was said and done we created this:
The idea originally stemmed from President Hinckley's B's but we put our own family twist on it so that it would encourage us to work on the things that our little family needs to work on right now. Our "Bees" include: Be Prayerful, Be Patient, Be Polite, Be Kind, Be Brave, Be Happy, Be Obedient and Be Clean.
At FHE we talked about all of these things we were going to try to become and we set off to become better each and everyday.
Here is how it works: We try to do things that will help us be more like the Bees we have chosen and make an effort to notice when we are doing them and at the end of the day we head to our chart for "Bee Time". We even have a Bee Song that we sing each night before our bees start flying around on our chart. And if you read THIS post from a while back this song will be familiar, it comes from a cheerleading chant from Saved By the Bell. "B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B. B-B-B-B-B-B-B. It's Bee Time!" Repeated two times. You gotta love it.
After our ever so lovely song we notice what others in our little family did during the day to be more like one of the attributes we have selected. For example, if we saw someone being really patient then the Patient Bee gets to fly to his next flower (each attribute has a certain color of flower and each flower is numbered). When all of the bees have made it back to the hive we get to do something special as a family, because we are doing this TOGETHER. We just received our first family reward last night when we went to Chuck E. Cheese (it took us a while to redeem it we are about to reach the end of another round).
As simple as it is, it has helped a ton. When my son is doing something that doesn't match one of our bees, I will sometimes say, "Are you being like one of our bees?" Or "what bee should you try to be like right now?" Or sometimes I will be specific and say, "are you being kind?" Occasionally I will simply make a buzzing sound at him as a little reminder. Kind of silly but hey it works (some of the time :).
It has been amazing what an incentive it is to just simply get to move a bee or two each night. Of course the family "prize" helps as well but it isn't an immediate reward.
So here we are buzzing along and Conference comes shortly after with this perfect gem from Elder Robbins "What Manner of Men and Women Ought Ye to Be?". It was perfect. It helped to pull all of my thoughts together and to expand and teach me so much more.
Those of you who have followed my blog for a while know that I love the word "BECOME" so our Bee Chart and this talk about Being were right up my alley. Here are a few tidbits I pulled out of this great talk:
To become as He is, we must also do the things He did: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do” (3 Nephi 27:21; emphasis added).
To be and to do are inseparable. As interdependent doctrines they reinforce and promote each other.
While He recognized the importance of do, the Savior identified be as a “weightier matter.”
Many of us create to do lists to remind us of things we want to accomplish. But people rarely have to be lists. Why? To do’s are activities or events that can be checked off the list when done. To be, however, is never done. You can’t earn checkmarks with to be’s.
Because be begets do and is the motive behind do, teaching be will improve behavior more effectively than focusing on do will improve behavior.
I hope that we can do more to become better and be more by doing better.
Oh and if you are still wondering what the title is about. Ever since we have started doing all of this Bee Business my son has asked for help in his prayers by saying, "Help us to be prayerful. Help us to be kindFUL." Too Cute. Let us all BE CHANGEFUL!
I was asked to speak this last Sunday about families. It was such a broad topic that I felt I had so many directions I could go but very quickly came thoughts that stemmed from a previous post that I wrote and a post that Stephanie at DiapersandDivinity wrote. So if you read either of those posts than you will recognize some similarities. The thoughts from both are intertwined and expounded upon.
I was only able to give a small portion of my talk (it was a mission farewell and time was lacking) and so I thought that I'd share my talk here for you all to read. Sorry for the lack of pictures and for the length but I hope you'll read on and enjoy!
First, take a look at this video and notice the paranoia of this Dad.
Yes, he might seem quite paranoid and over the top but it is very apparent that he had very intentionally decked his kids out in these floaties to "keep them safe".
In contrast a several months back I was talking to a mom who is not currently active in the Church who has a teenage son who had been struggling. She made this statement to me, "I'm just holding my breath and hoping that everything turns out okay."
Because I had already been thinking about these things I immediately pictured her holding her breath under water trying to keep her son afloat and I realized that they were taking quite a risk. She can only hold her breath for so long and he doesn't have any floaties.
Do we sometimes find our families in this situation? Do we find ourselves treading water or that we constantly need to jump in after a child to rescue them? Or that we are holding our breath trying to keep them afloat? Or have we equipped our families with plenty of floating devices so that we can swim right along side each other without too much concern?
On the Mormon.org family page it says, "A loving and happy (and I add a righteous) family doesn’t happen by accident."
Sister Beck adds her voice on this topic by saying, "We have the responsibility and the challenge from the prophet to believe deeply and actively in the family. We will need to do that in order to preserve our families. That means we have to be intentional about everything we do.
I have come up with 10 Spiritual Floaties that We Must Intentionally Equip Our Families With to Buoy Them High Above the Worldy Waters That Surround Us
1 – Be There – Elder Hales said, "Several years ago I was reading the newspaper when one of my young grandsons snuggled up to me. As I read, I was delighted to hear his sweet voice chattering on in the background. Imagine my surprise when, a few moments later, he pushed himself between me and the paper. Taking my face in his hands and pressing his nose up to mine, he asked, “Grandpa! Are you in there?”
Mother, Father, are you in there? Grandpa, Grandma, are you there? Being there means understanding the hearts of our youth and connecting with them. And connecting with them means not just conversing with them but doing things with them too."
Do you have "newspaper" that you need to put aside to spend more time with your family? Children and Youth, are you there? We all need to make an intentional effort to be there with our families.
2 – Meal Time – Elder Hales said, "When we sit down at the dinner table, is our whole family there? I remember as a young man asking permission to play baseball through dinnertime. “Just put my meal in the oven,” I said to my mother. She responded, “Robert, I really want you to take a break, come home, be with the family for dinner, and then you can go out and play baseball until dark.” She taught all of us that where family meals are concerned, it’s not the food but the family interaction that nourishes the soul."
3 – Express Love – Elder Bednar said, "We simply should sincerely and frequently express love. Brethren and sisters, when was the last time you took your eternal companion in your arms and said, “I love you”? Parents, when was the last time you sincerely expressed love to your children? Children, when was the last time you told your parents that you love them?"
4 – Bear Testimony – Elder Bednar said, "Within the walls of our own homes, we can and should bear pure testimony. Brethren and sisters, when was the last time you bore testimony to your eternal companion? Parents, when was the last time you declared your witness to your children about the things you know to be true? And children, when was the last time you shared your testimony with your parents and family?"
5 – FHE - President Faust said, "Regular participation in family home evening will develop increased personal worth, family unity, love for our fellow men, and trust in our Father in heaven. It is our promise that great blessings will come to all who conscientiously plan and hold weekly family home evenings.’ If we go forward with our family home evenings, our homes will be enriched and the gates of hell will not prevail against us”
6 – Family Scripture Study – Marion G. Romney said, "I feel certain that if, in our homes, parents will read from the Book of Mormon prayerfully and regularly, both by themselves and with their children, the spirit of that great book will come to permeate our homes and all who dwell therein. The spirit of reverence will increase; mutual respect and consideration for each other will grow. The spirit of contention will depart. Parents will counsel their children in greater love and wisdom. Children will be more responsive and submissive to the counsel of their parents. Righteousness will increase. Faith, hope, and charity—the pure love of Christ—will abound in our homes and lives, bringing in their wake peace, joy, and happiness. … "
7 – Family Prayer - President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “I submit that a return to the old pattern of prayer, family prayer in the homes of the people, is one of the basic medications that would check the dread disease that is eroding the character of our society. We could not expect a miracle in a day, but in a generation we would have a miracle” (Ensign, Feb 1991, 2).
8 – Church Attendance – President Benson said, "May I now direct your attention to the importance of attending all of your Church meetings. Faithful attendance at Church meetings brings blessings you can receive in no other way. Attend your sacrament meeting every Sunday. Listen carefully to the messages. Pray for the spirit of understanding and testimony."
9 – TempleAttendance - President Boyd K. Packer said, "No work is more of a protection to this church than temple work. No work is more spiritually refining. No work we do gives us more power. No work requires a higher standard of righteousness. Our labors in the temple cover us with a shield and a protection, both individually and as a people” (The Holy Temple, 265). 10 – Teach Values – If we want children who are respectful we must intentionally teach respect.If we want children who are hard working we must teach them to work.If we want children who are kind we must teach them to be kind.
If we don’t make an INTENTIONAL DECISION to do these things and then follow through with INTENTIONAL EFFORT then we may never equip our families with the necessary floaties, or we may initially give them the floaties but then fail to continually pump them up.
Satan Uses 4 Traps to Lure Us Into Wordly Waters Without Spiritual Floaties
1.We are at “ease in Zion” and think “All is well” (2 Nephi 28:24-25). We think things like, “We are doing just fine. We go to church. We’ve got the basic techniques down.” 2.We are confused by our worldly wisdom. How will doing the small and simple things even make a difference or make great things come to pass (Alma 37:6-7)? We think things like, “It won’t make a difference if we miss FHE this week or don’t hold family scripture study. Floaties are so small they barely do anything.” 3.We are simply slothful (lazy) or forgetful (Alma 37-41-42). We think things like, “I don’t want to get the kids up for scripture study. Let’s just watch TV instead of FHE. We forgot family prayer AGAIN. Where did I put those “floaties”? I don’t feel like putting them on right now.” 4.We meet opposition – President Hinckley said, "The family is under attack. All across the world families are falling apart." We may think things like, “They are so hard to keep pumped up.Or our families floaties already have holes in them.”
Satan IS working to lure us out into the worldly waters without our floaties but if we are intentionally equipping our families with them are families will be buoyed high above the worldly waters that surround us and we will be able to swim along side each other and have a loving, happy, righteous, and safe family. But without an intentional decision followed by intentional action or effort then Satan may lure us into one of his traps.
"My mother was an older single and living and loving life. She was introduced to my father, who was a young bishop and a widower with three children. (They married soon after.) She had had a lot of great experiences. Now all of a sudden she was a mother to three beautiful children.
As she and Daddy were traveling along on their honeymoon, she wanted to talk about how they were going to proceed with this family. What are our goals? What is our family going to be like? How are we going to do things in our family? She started writing the answers and their goals, she said, on a paper sack. It was the only paper she had. As they were talking, they said, “What do we want for our children? Are our children going to be married in the temple? Yes, they are. Okay, if we want our children to be married in the temple, what kinds of things do we have to teach them in our home? Well, we will have to have scripture study.” So they wrote that down.“How about family prayer?” Daddy said. “We already have family prayer. That is our habit.” “How about going to church?” Going to church every week was on the list. They wrote down things such as manners. “Are we going to teach our children to be polite?” That was a challenge for some of us. They made a goal about who was going to serve a mission. They certainly wanted their sons to serve missions and their daughters to serve missions if they had a desire. They made goals about education, university education, and so on. But Dad said, “Well, I’m not going to pay for it.” So Mother said, “Okay, then we’ll teach them to work.” So they wrote “work” after that.
And they began to develop the culture of their family, which was a Latter-day Saint culture.They were preparing their family to make the covenants and receive the ordinances they needed to prepare them for eternal life, and they knew that there were things their family had to do every day. They started out with family prayer, family scripture study, family home evening, and preparing children. I am so grateful for parents who were intentional about preparing a family.They created a personalized family plan for our family."
I know that if we determine to create a family that is run very intentionally, just as Sister Beck's parents, we will be blessed. We will be blessed to have a more unified family. We will be blessed to have a more righteous family. We will be blessed to be closer to the Lord. We will prepare our families for eternal life by equipping our families with floaties everyday.
"The men and women who desire to obtain seats in the celestial kingdom will find that they must battle with the enemy of all righteousness every day." -Brigham Young
Are you prepared for the battle today? Were your children shielded with armor as they walked out to battle this morning? It is a daily battle but a battle that we can win by putting on the armor of God and always being prepared for even the slightest blows by the adversary. Let us remember the seat that awaits us if we battle with all of our might. Good luck with your battle today...I'm going to go fight mine.
A few weeks back I saw something that baffled me, that scared me, that quite simply left me stunned, and angry, and puzzled at the amount of stupidity that was before my eyes. My two little ones and I were enjoying the afternoon shade in our front yard when all of a sudden comes a car whizing around our corner, going quite fast, with much whooping and hollering coming from its open windows and then through that open window I saw it. I saw the thing that sent me into such great shock and rage. I saw a young man sitting in the drivers seat blindfolded. He had a beanie pulled down over his eyes and all of the passengers, as well as the driver, seemed to be having a joyous adventure without thought to the consequences that could have and may have resulted.
What if my son had been riding his bike on that corner and they had clipped it. What if they hit another car. What if they hit a child who was crossing the street to play with a friend. What if they hit a tree or a poll or really what if anything bad had happened. I immediately got out my phone and reported the incident to the police. Then the rest of the day was spent with feelings of frustration, anger, and complete shock at what I had witnessed.
Then as time went on, a thought came to me: in essence we sometimes actually might do this ourselves. Really? Are you kidding me? I would never get into a car and put something over my eyes so that I can't see and risk hurting myself or others. But do I?
Here are my thoughts on the situation:
When we choose to make certain choices it may fulfill a desire for entertainment or pleasure right now but in the end we might hurt (or kill) others or ourselves spiritually, emotionally, and/or physically.
Our sins can blind us from current and future decisions. We may rely on very unreliable sources to guide us through the roads of life. In the end we'll crash.
The passengers in the car were, in a way blindfolded, as well. They all did not have their eyes wide open to choices they were making. They were allowing the "blind to lead the blind".
Little wrong choices may only fog our vision but as we continue to make wrong choices slowly but surely are eyes are darkened more and more and it is harder to see the Light.
Just as I looked on this situation with abhorrence. We should "not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence" (Alma 13:12). Let us make concious choices to keep our vision acute and alert and ready for the choices that lie before us. Let us stay away from choices that may blind us and lead us down a path of darkness and danger. Let us be spiritually aware, always seeing what lies ahead.
In the past I have pondered the significance of doing the small and simple things which I have always looked at as the positive and important things we've been asked to do which isn't necessarily a bad thing but then I read this quote and saw small and simple things in a new light.
"Small and simple things can be negative and destructive to a person’s salvation. A series of seemingly small but incorrect choices can become those little soul-destroying termites that eat away at the foundations of our testimony until, before we are aware, we may be brought near to spiritual and moral destruction." - M. Russell Ballard
The choices may be small, they may be simple, they may be little, BUT then Elder Ballard says they are DESTROYING our souls.
Let us be watchful so that we may see when these destroying termites are lurking near and push them away with all of our might.
Let us follow the counsel of Mosiah 4:30: Watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord.
As I was putting my little boy to bed last night I was thinking of my bout of Labyrinthitis and this post when I suddenly drew a conclusion...experiencing vertigo is like receiving several world-sized swirlies, not that I have ever experienced the typical head in the toilet kind myself. But really, it is like having your head stuck in your little world and then having that world just spin and spin around you. Honestly, I think I'd prefer to receive a good old fashion swirly in the bathroom thrown to what I have experienced with this whole inner ear problem. It has been a ride.
So two weeks ago today, I woke up at 5:00 am with the room just spinning around me. I thought it was weird but fell back to sleep when it stopped but then just 15 minutes later it started up again, but worse. I then began my vertigo ride of terror. It was horrid. I was spinning and whirling and swirling all the while having the garbage can as my only view. I was certain that something was really wrong, terribly wrong. As my husband went to the computer in search of some clarity the thought seriously crossed my mind that I had a brain tumor and then he came back with a few options. He said it could be an inner ear problem and one more option that I don't recall and then he paused and said it also mentioned brain tumor. I was scared to say the least. While I whirled and spinned and lost my cookies several times I looked at my kids and my honey and cried. I really was scared, scared that what I had would cause me to leave my little family.
As we know the story ends much better than that - Labyrinthitis a deep inner problem, not a brain tumor or anything close to that in severity. I still think of this as the most horrible sickness I have ever experienced considering I get motion sick probably easier than anyone I have ever met. I can get sick driving in my own neighborhood if I am not paying attention. But with all of that said I would take a bout of physical vertigo any day over the spiritual whirlwind we can experience when we are selectively obedient.
" In the premortal existence, ours was not a selective obedience. We did not pick and choose which parts of the eternal plan to follow. I learned that lesson on our first night flying solo in pilot training when all of us were given the instruction: “Don’t fly acrobatic patterns at night. You are beginning pilots without instrument flight training.” Some time later, an otherwise good pilot and a great friend chose to disobey that command. As he flew loops and barrel rolls through the night sky over Texas, he looked through the cockpit canopy and thought he saw stars above him, but he was really seeing the lights of oil rigs below. He was experiencing vertigo: the g-forces on his plane made it seem he was right side up, yet he was upside down. As he pulled up on the stick to climb higher into the night sky, he dove toward the earth and crashed into the twinkling lights of the oil field below.
When you are flying an airplane, if you change your position by just one degree at a time, your inner ear cannot detect the change. Brethren young and old, when we practice selective obedience, we change our position relative to the Lord—and usually by only one degree at a time. As the deceptive forces of the adversary work on us, we cannot detect them, and we experience spiritual vertigo. While it may seem like we are going in a safe direction, we are in fact headed for disaster. In the preexistence, our decision to follow the Lord was all-or-nothing. Following that pattern through our mortal probation will get each of us back to our Heavenly Father" (Robert D. Hales, “To the Aaronic Priesthood: Preparing for the Decade of Decision,” Ensign, May 2007, 48–51).
Let us keep our "spiritual inner ears" strong so that we don't begin to lose our balance, to become dizzy along the straight path, and thus lead ourselves to a deadly spiritual fall caused my spiritual vertigo. Let us remember that we cannot afford to be selectively obedient. I have seen too many lose focus, begin to wobble, and finally spin out of control. Let us stay away from the world-sized spiritual swirly that Satan offers.
Here is a simple printable memory game to play with young children - click HERE.
by Diane Brown
1. Print 2 copies of the "Choose The Right cards" (Cards 1-5) 2. Print 1 copy of the "Choose The Wrong" cards (2 cards) 3. You should have a total of 12 cards. Mix them up well and place them face down in 3 rows of four or 4 rows of three. 4. A child turns over two cards. (Have the child read each card or the teacher may read the them.) If they are a CTR match they keep the set. If they do not match they are replaced face down in the same spot. (In eather case it is now the next childs turn.) 5. If at any time a child turn over a CTW Card they stop playing, replace the card(s) and it is the next students turn. 6. Play until all the CTR matches are found.
Something fell out the dishwasher and as a natural reaction I quickly moved out of the way and then this is what I saw:
Yikes! Yeah, the floor could have been my foot, my bare foot. It was a close call, I'd say. I can't believe it actually fell so straight that it stuck right into our hard wood floor. I am sure glad that I had to just simply pluck the knife out of the floor ever so easily rather than the very possible alternative.
This experience got me thinking about the phrase "close call" and I decided to look up the definition. So I discovered in other words I had just experienced a "narrow escape" and another definition added a "narrow escape from danger". Yes this was a narrow escape from a dangerous situation. I was indeed grateful of the outcome.
And now after replaying the scenario in my head I can't help but think of a much more dangerous narrow escape we sometimes experience in life.
Do we sometimes play with fire? Do we sometimes toy with sin?
Or do we break the glass and run or simply swim away?
There truly is no need to experience a close call when it comes to sin. We can have a very wide escape if we never tip-toe close to the line. Let us stay away from Spiritual Close Calls, it is much better than the alternative! Don't you think?!?
A few weeks ago we had a great lesson in Relief Society from the manual titled, "Valiant in the Cause of Christ". The whole lesson was great but there was one line in particular that was read and discussed that stuck out to me. I'll share the line with you shortly, so read on.
Have you ever thought that there was such a thing as being too good? If you do not now, think back to the time when you were a teen...maybe you were the one who people thought was "too good" or maybe you looked at others and thought that the things they did were silly and that they were "too good". Or that they or you were a "Molly Mormon" or a "Peter Priesthood". I think that we all have been and thought in one or both of these perspectives at some point in our lives, whether now, when we were younger, or both.
"You Cannot Be Too Good."
The line that so profoundly struck me was this great declaration from the Prophet Joseph Smith, “You cannot be too good." The word 'too' means "to an excessive extent" or "more than should be". So basically he stated clearly that we can't be overly good. There comes no point when the good that we choose to do and the righteous choices we make become too much when kept in balance with the guidance of the Spirit.
Of course we can excessively engage in something that is good, for example, we could read our scriptures (a good thing) too much if it was taking us away from being good parents. (I don't think too many of us have that problem, but it is just an example :) So it is possible for us to over exert ourselves in one area causing us to neglect other important and good things.But with that said, I want to move away from the exceptions and focus more on the wonderful side of this statement - "You cannot be too good."
Commandments Can Be Made Personal
The Lord said, “And they shall also be crowned with blessings from above, yea, and with commandments not a few, and with revelations in their time—they that are faithful and diligent before me” (D&C 59:4, emphasis added).
The commandments that we have received from God are not few in number but we can dig deeper by seeking and then following the personal revelations that we each can receive. I believe that the Lord expects this of us as He said, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is Perfect” (Mat. 5:48)."
I love this idea of personal commandments. There are so many things within the Church that are left without specific and exact command. There are many things that are left to our own personal choosing and thus require us to set these "personal commandments" or boundaries for ourselves.
My Personal Story of a Personal Commandment
I hesitate to bring up this personal example but I feel it will better illustrate the blessing of seeking and following these personal promptings and setting commandments or guidelines for ourselves. I also think that it perfectly illustrates Satan's desire to make us think we are being "too good".
Now the reason I hesitate to share this story is because I don't want you to think that I think I am just great or too good but what I hope to convey is that personal commandments can uplift us and strengthen us especially in our own areas of weakness. I also want to convey that although we all know we have much to work on and are trying our best, Satan can squeeze his way in and try to make us feel that what we are choosing to do is "too good" or rather that we are going overboard and/or being silly.
So here is my story. Just after I graduated from High School my best friend and I set a goal for ourselves. We often sat in front of her house in my car and talked about all sorts of things from boys to spiritual matters. On this particular occasion we talked about movies. We talked specifically about PG-13 movies.
By the end of the conversation we both had resolved to not watch PG-13 movies anymore. There was more to it than just a simple conversation between two teenage girls, I felt the Spirit confirm to me that this is what I was to do. I have not watched a PG-13 movie since. This of course was a personal decision, not a commandment given directly or specifically from the Church. For me it was a matter of my own weaknesses, the feeling I had when I watched these movies, and lastly the realization that almost all, if not all, of these movies had at least that "one part" or that "one scene".
As I have followed this "personal prompting and commandment" I have received blessings, and of course some opposition. The blessings were of my weaknesses being made stronger, my sensitivity to violence, language, and sex greatly heightened, and an increased amount of self-control.
As our journey began with this new boundary it was difficult at times but not too hard because we were generally together and so we went through it together. After that Summer we both went our separate ways to college. At first it became a little tougher. I often had to warn dates of my decision and sometimes I was greeted with simply a surprised look and others a more direct questioning of my choice. At times I wondered by Satan's encouragement, if I was being silly or if I had gone overboard in my choice. But after more time passed it became easier to forgo watching these movies. It became more natural and if others were to find out about my choice there reactions began to not matter so much to me. There now have even been instances where the material displayed in PG movies becomes offensive or hard for me to watch. The making and keeping of this personal goal or commandment has been a great blessing in my life.
Testimony
I know that what Joseph Smith said is true. "[We] cannot be too good." We can always be better. We can set personal commandments for ourselves. We can make personal decisions with the guidance of the Spirit which will strengthen our weaknesses and help us become better, not too good, but better.
I know that Satan will try to convince us otherwise. He will try to make us uncomfortable. He will try to make us feel silly or even weird. But I know that as we follow the commandments of the Lord and as we listen to the promptings of the Spirit and make choices in our lives accordingly we will be strengthened, we will become more sensitive to the Spirit, and we will gain greater self-control in our lives. I know that as we do these things we will draw closer to reaching this commandment given from the Lord, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is Perfect” (Mat. 5:48)." We will never be too good but we can become better as we strive to be more like our Father in Heaven and our Savior, Jesus Christ.
I read a wonderful post yesterday on Diapers and Divinity called Who's the Boss? and just had to make mention of it here. The story told is of a wonderful teaching moment about us being our own boss. It is a great read - check it out!
After reading it I thought, do we allow other's to become our boss because we want to impress them? Do we allow a situation to become our boss when we respond negatively? In reality we cannot allow anyone to be our boss because we are ultimately in charge of ourselves but do we blame others or situations for our own actions?
Well, when it comes down to it - You are the boss of you and I am the boss of me. What an awesome way to think of and teach accountability. We are in charge of ourselves and can choose whatever we want, bad or good, but we must be accountable for that choice and greet the consequences.
Here is the end of Steph's post from Diaper's and Divinity. It lends a great visual to this concept of "Being your own Boss" and I think it presents a great challenge to teach this concept to our children and well, ourselves:
"So today, after I snuck downstairs to watch the Inauguration while the kids were eating snack, they made some choices. Choices like “I think I’ll try to go get more yogurt than mommy gave us, and maybe I’ll get it out with my hands, and then I think we’ll throw it on each other.” So I came back up the stairs to find Clark and Natalie in the kitchen wearing yogurt on their faces, hands, and most of their clothing. Oh, and the floor. Clark immediately said, “It was Natalie’s idea!” I replied, “Is Natalie your boss?” “Nope.” “Who’s your boss, Clark?” “(Sigh.) I am.”"
Oh, how things could be different if we all truly grasped the concept of accountability and accepted the ownership of our choices and could say ""I am" in charge of me and "I" made that choice and "I" must accept the consequences." Let us all begin to take responsibility for ourselves and, like Clark, acknowledge that we are in charge of ourselves.
In Sunday School this last Sunday I had a single line from one verse really jump out at me. It said, "Fear not to do good..." (D&C 6:33)
My initial thought and question was "why would anyone fear to do good?" But we do. As I have thought more about this I have realized that we do fear to do good in many ways: We fear losing the approval of our peers. We fear being looked upon as too-good or as a goody-goody. We fear being different. We fear be rejected. In short, we often fear the world's view of our goodness.
Why do we not share the gospel when opportunies arise? We fear to do good. Why do we not walk out of a movie with even one bad scene? We fear to do good. Why do we laugh at an inappropriate joke or a sarcastic remark even when we don't agree with it? We fear to do good. Why do we not stand up for what we believe in? We fear to do good.
Another of my favorite verses says, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7).
Let us be filled with a Spirit of Courage. Let us stand up for what we believe and what we know to be right. Let us not only "fear not to do good" but as Elder Bednar has urged, let us strive to do good, be good, and become better.
“Fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail. … Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not” (D&C 6:34, 36).
Have you had an experience when you were filled with the courage to do good?
Last night I was reading from Alma and came across these verses that stuck out to me...
Alma 23:7 For they became a righteous people; they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more...
Alma 24:16 ...behold, we will hide away our swords, yea, even we will bury them deep in the earth, that they may be kept bright, as a testimony that we have never used them...
The Anti-Nephi-Lehis' weapons could commit physical death but more importantly they were creating in them their own spiritual death. Our weapons of rebellion may not be bringing about the physical death of others but just as the Anti-Nephi-Lehis our personal weapons of rebellion can slowly but indefinitely lead us to our own spiritual death and leave bad examples for others to follow to their spiritual decline.
Are our choices holding us down and causing us to use our weapons to fight against God? That statement really stuck out to me, "they did not fight against God any more." It made me realize that when I sin or when I make bad choices I am literally fighting against Him. Luke 11:23 says, "He that is not with me is against me...".
Let us all bury our weapons of rebellion deep in the earth. Let us keep our weapons that were once dirty with sin bright as a testimony that we never used them again. Let us find weapons of righteousness within ourselves. Let us beat the enemy we all find within ourselves and submit to will of our Heavenly Father.
President James E. Faust said it perfectly, "Each of us needs to train ourselves to be bold, disciplined, and loyal men [and women] who are prepared with the proper weapons to fight against evil and to win.
I thought I would share this talk since most of us probably didn't get to hear it in the YW conference. It is a wonderul message. This will be my last official scheduled post - read the bolded text on the left side of the blog for more details.
President Henry B. Eyring First Counselor in the First Presidency
"You are remarkable, even among those who chose right in the contest in the spirit world. You qualified to come into mortality and to make this journey at a time when the gospel of Jesus Christ was on the earth. And among the billions of Heavenly Father's children now living, you were privileged to find the gospel of Jesus Christ and His true Church. "
I think sometimes I lose sight of how blessed I am to be born into mortality in the circumstances that I am in. As members of the Church we truly are so blessed to have the Gospel on the earth at this time and to have it in our lives.
"You make choices every day and almost every hour that keep you walking in the light or moving away toward darkness. Some of the most important choices are about what you set your heart upon.
There are so many things you may consider desirable. For instance, all of us want, to some degree, the approval of other people. All of us feel a need for friends. All of us are searching for some evidence that we are persons of worth. We make choices based on those desires. Some might lead us away from the light God offers us as a guide. Some may brighten that light by which we can find our way."
I have always really liked the phrase in the scriptures about our hearts being set upon something such as riches. Each day our heart might be set on something different. Is it set on riches? Is it set on being better than others? Or if we checked our hearts would we find it set on the foundation of Christ?
What a wonderful message from President Eyring. To read the whole talk click on the title at the top of the post.
