So a few weeks ago a realtor knocked on our door and asked if he could put this sign in the corner of our yard and as you can see we allowed him to stick it in our lawn. Then yesterday I looked out our window and saw that someone had turned it so that it was pointing the wrong direction.
Often Satan and his helpers are found doing this very thing and they make us think that we will find what we are looking for down that road that they point us to but as many of us have discovered the hard way the "house" or the destination we had hoped for is not there. Where we thought we'd find joy and fulfillment we find frustration, dissapointment, confusion, guilt, and heart-ache.
We must be in tune to the Spirit so that we might recognize when Satan is trying to change our course and quickly point our arrows toward the correct Way.
John 14 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that whereI am, there ye may be also. 4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. 5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? 6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Jesus Christ is the Way and if we follow Him we will never be lost and our journey and our final destination will bring great joy, fulfillment, and peace.
So this is just a little reminder post about the Question and Answer portion of this blog. If you have a gospel question (that fits in this criteria) I would love it if you would leave a comment on any post or email me at becominglds@gmail.com with your question and I will post it as soon as I can.
Or if you'd like to read and possibly answer other's questions then click on the Question and Answer button on the side of the blog and help someone out or learn something new from someone else.
I hope to keep this rolling but I don't want all of the questions to just come from me so keep them coming. :)
I recently was introduced to this new Wave Study Bible that you can use on iPhones and iPod Touch. It has 4 versions of the Bible including the King James Version. I thought some of you might be interested in checking it out. It is completely FREE so to find out more click HERE.
This is a statement from one of the creators -
"Other study Bibles are like libraries. They are full of a lot of reference works, and are real good at putting you in touch with what other people have seen in the Bible. Wave Study Bible is like a magnifying glass and is real good at putting you in touch with what *you* see in the Bible. It is not full of the results of other people's study, it fills you with the results of your study."
I hope that I can learn to cherish the moments I have with my children, the wonderful moments I have in this life. I hope that I can push through the hard times and trust in the Lord. What a wonderful example Stephanie Nielson is of this. What a wonderful Mother.
Sound familiar? Of course, right? Coming from the mouth of your kids, oh uh just kidding, wait second, turn that finger around. Someone in my ward gave a talk and shared phrases like this about children and their responses to our requests and I thought, uh that's us. Not just kids. Anyone. Is there an echo in here?
Do you echo those types of phrases when the Spirit asks something of you?
I had a wake up call when I realized my children and I shared those responses. Time to act quickly, to not ignore, to respond as instruments, and to respond cheerfully and willingly.
No more echos. I will do it. I will do it now. I will make time for this because it is important. I did hear that and I won't forget do respond. I will do it now or write it down.
I really shouldn't have made everyone turn their finger around because maybe you are really good at this. Do you have an experience when you listened to a prompting and were blessed? Or even maybe an experience that taught you because you didn't follow through?
"You've seen them around. Maybe they've even knocked on your door. Have you ever wondered who they are and what they're doing? Find the answers in this video."
Paddle, paddle, kick, kick, sink, sink, HELP!!!. Learning to swim can be tough. Do your kids know how to swim? Most of us can answer yes to this question (unless your children are too young). Did they take a class or did you teach them? Either way they had to learn certain techniques somehow to keep their head above water. But even when they finally can venture out and do a little paddling and kicking solo we like to send them on their way with some added protection - wonderful cute little floaties. Not to mention we don't mind when there is a pair of eyes perched up above watching just in case their life guard expertise is in need.
Recently I was talking with a mom who has a struggling teen and her words struck me, "I'm just holding my breath and hoping that everything turns out okay."
Because this post was already in the works 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.
Have you given your kids oodles of floaties...
...spiritual floaties?
They need them. And maybe we as parents should grasp the paranoia of this Dad and plaster our kids with their protective floaties even though our children at times may roll their eyes at us. We can't afford to have their heads sink below the water because they can only hold their breath for so long and eventually will gasp in some of the worldly waters.
But why do some of us not give our kids the floaties and if we did initially why don’t we continually pump them up? The scriptures give us three reasons:
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.”
When we choose not to pump up or use our floaties our children begin to sink and we do not progress in our journey. Our families experience afflictions (Alma 37:42) because of our contentment, or our worldly wisdom, or our laziness.
But if we realize the risks in not putting the floaties on and listen to the counsel we’ve been given we can prepare our families so that our heads will not sink even remotely close to the worldly waters.
In General Conference Elder Andersen said, “In our world today, each child, each young man and young woman needs his or her own conversion to the truth. Each needs his or her own light, his or her own “steadfast and immovable” faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, independent of parents, youth leaders, and supportive friends.
Like Elder Andersen said, our children need to have their own foundation, their own testimonies, their own techniques but as they learn they will also need protective floaties and they will continually need air pumped into them to keep their heads high above the worldly waters that may drown them spiritually. They will need the extra protection that comes from doing the Small and Simple things. Because by doing small and simple things great things are brought to pass (Alma 37:6-7).
Here are four small and simple floaties that will buoy our families high above the potential drowning effects of worldly waters (and that promised buoyancy is indeed a great thing that will come to pass):
Family Prayer - President Gordon B. Hinckley: “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).
Scripture Study - President Ezra Taft Benson: “The Book of Mormon will change your life. It will fortify you against the evils of our day. It will bring spirituality into your life that no other book will. It will be the most important book you will read in preparation for a mission and for life. A young [person] who knows and loves the Book of Mormon, who has read it several times, who has an abiding testimony of its truthfulness, and who applies its teachings will be able to stand against the wiles of the devil and will be a mighty tool in the hands of the Lord” (Ensign, May 1986, 43).
Family Home Evening - President James E. Faust:“’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.’ This is as true today as it was almost 30 years ago. If we go forward with our family home evenings, our homes will be enriched, our wards and branches will grow and prosper, our lives will be purified, and the gates of hell will not prevail against us” (Ensign, Jun ‘03, 2–6).
Temple Attendance - President Boyd K. Packer: "No work is more of a protection to this church than temple work and the genealogical research which supports it. 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).
Let us recognize the need for our children to have their own techniques, their own testimonies, but also let us recognize that to keep their testimonies strong and to protect them from the raging waters of the world we must give them spiritual floaties and continually pump them up. We must strive to do the “small and simple” things and if we do we are promised great things.
I think we are all looking for new ways to help us hold family scripture study with young ones. Let's get some ideas rolling.
So a few weeks ago a realtor knocked on our door and asked if he could put this sign in the corner of our yard and as you can see we allowed him to stick it in our lawn. Then yesterday I looked out our window and saw that someone had turned it so that it was pointing the wrong direction. 
So this is just a little reminder post about the Question and Answer portion of this blog. If you have a gospel question (that fits in this criteria) I would love it if you would leave a comment on any post or email me at becominglds@gmail.com with your question and I will post it as soon as I can. 
Here are four small and simple floaties that will buoy our families high above the potential drowning effects of worldly waters (and that promised buoyancy is indeed a great thing that will come to pass):
