Counsel from the Saturday Morning Session - April 2011

Saturday Morning Session

Thomas S. Monson

·    ”May I suggest that if you are able, you might consider making a contribution to the General Missionary Fund of the Church.”

L. Tom Perry

·    “We must commit ourselves to study [the New Testament] and treasure it!”

·    “As we consider the pattern of the Sabbath and the sacrament in our own lives, there appear to be three things the Lord requires of us: first, to keep ourselves unspotted from the world; second, to go to the house of prayer and offer up our sacraments; and third, to rest from our labors.”

·    “To keep ourselves unspotted from the world, He expects us to avoid such worldly distractions of businesses and recreational facilities on the Sabbath day.”

·    “I believe He also desires us to dress appropriately. Our youth may think the old saying ‘Sunday best’ is outdated. Still, we know that when Sunday dress deteriorates to everyday attire, attitudes and actions follow. Of course, it may not be necessary for our children to wear formal Sunday attire until the sun goes down. However, by the clothing we encourage them to wear and the activities we plan, we help them prepare for the sacrament and enjoy its blessings throughout the day.”

·    “Sometimes we think of resting from our labors as merely letting the hay baler stand idle in the field or putting a Closed sign on the business door. Yet in today’s world, labor includes the everyday work of our lives. This could mean business activities we may accomplish from home, athletic competitions, and other pursuits that take us away from Sabbath day worship and the opportunity to minister to others.”

·    “Parents, now is the time to teach our children to be examples of the believers by attending sacrament meeting. When Sunday morning arrives, help them to be well rested, properly dressed, and spiritually prepared to partake of the emblems of the sacrament”

·    “Let your family be filled with love as you honor the Sabbath all day long and experience its spiritual blessings throughout the week.”

·    “Let us remember the blessings and opportunities that are ours as we attend sacrament meeting each week in our wards and branches.”

Jean A. Stevens

·    ” If we have a heart to learn and a willingness to follow the example of children, their divine attributes can hold a key to unlocking our own spiritual growth…May each of us have a heart to…become as a little child, and thereby return to our heavenly home.”

Walter F. Gonzalez

·    “As Latter-day Saints, ours is the duty to invite millions such as these to come and see what our church can add to the good things that they already have.”

·    “To those members who are not active in the gospel, please come back.”

Kent F. Richards

·    “Our great personal challenge in mortality is to become ‘a saint through the atonement of Christ.’ The pain you and I experience may be where this process is most measured. In extremity, we can become as children in our hearts, humble ourselves, and ‘pray and work and wait patiently for the healing of our bodies and our souls…if we will but come unto Him with humble hearts.”

Quentin L. Cook

·    “Women are confronted with many options and need to prayerfully consider the choices they make and how those choices affect the family.”

·    “There are two principles that we should always keep in mind. First, no woman should ever feel the need to apologize or feel that her contribution is less significant because she is devoting her primary efforts to raising and nurturing children. Nothing could be more significant in our Father in Heaven’s plan. Second, we should all be careful not to be judgmental or assume that sisters are less valiant if the decision is made to work outside the home. We rarely understand or fully appreciate people’s circumstances. Husbands and wives should prayerfully counsel together, understanding they are accountable to God for their decisions.”

Henry B. Eyring

·    “To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Church welfare program, members worldwide will be invited to participate in a day of service. Leaders and members will seek revelation as they design whatever the projects will be. I will make three suggestions as you plan your service project. First, prepare yourself and those you lead spiritually…My second suggestion is to choose as recipients of your service people within the kingdom or in the community whose needs will touch the hearts of those who will give the service…My last suggestion is to plan to draw on the power of the bonds of families, of quorums, of auxiliary organizations, and of people you know in your communities.

Cluttered

I have been bombarded lately by a clutter induced funk.  I say lately, because it has seeped into my soul and started to really, really nip at me lately BUT it truly has been a life-long struggle.  The other day I started to say to my husband that I was in a clutter funk and then I went to put a time line for how long this has been going on and then I almost put an actual time on it like a few weeks or a few months and then without much thought the truth came out my mouth, "I have been in a clutter funk (pause) for well, my whole life."  Yikes!  The reality struck as I truly acknowledged that this has been a never ending cycle. 

In some areas of my life I can be so organized and on top of things and then there is "the clutter".  Some of the clutter is simply papers that I am not sure what to do with.  Some of it is a pile of clothes left to be hung in the closet.  Some of it is hidden behind closet doors or bathroom drawers but it is there.  Some of it is things that have been started that came to abrupt halts and were left to be finished at a later time. 

Always, without fail I hit a more severe funk and determine, "That is IT!  It will never get this bad again."  And then, once again, without fail it begins again.  Some of it results from laziness.  Some of it results from too much stuff in too little of a space.  Some of it results from children who add to the mess and then give me a hard time when I try to clear up the clutter.  Some of it results because of having a husband gone several nights a week and dishes get left in the sink  (once again after dinner has been made the children are ready for there Mommy, not ready for a Mommy to be in the kitchen even longer).

Now I am not saying that my entire house is always a complete tornado of a mess but more often than not I feel behind, overwhelmed, and quite simply stressed by the task that lies ahead of me. This weekend I was determined to get some things done and told my husband that the kids would be his for a while and I was going to work, work, work.  And after several hours of working I feel like a very small dent was made.  Far less than my expectations had demanded. 

And there my friends is half of the problem I presume...EXPECTATIONS.  I see other's houses looking pristine, emaculate, and well quite near perfect and wonder what I am doing wrong, what is the matter with me, or how do they do it?  And then I place an expectation of what our home should look like and the guilt and frustration just pile on.  The last thing someone who has a pile filled house needs is a pile of frustration and guilt to add to the top of it all.  *Sigh*

When I started this post I was merely venting my feelings with no real direction or end in mind and then I found THIS...a much needed read.

Here is a small glimpse of Stephanie's words at Diapers and Divinity:

"I don’t think we’re supposed to have a clean house. I think we’re supposed to WANT a clean house and work toward it.  This phrase from April’s General Conference about Mary and Martha’s house fit in perfectly with my philosophy on this:

“It was a welcome place for the Master, where He could rest and enjoy the surroundings of a righteous home.” ~ Elder Gregory A. Schwitzer"

Her words gave me relief and comfort.  I still have some issues to work on but I think more importantly I will work on my expectations and spending quality time with my little ones.

Are You In There?

Are you in there? Or are you in your own world? Are you focused on the things that you want to do or feel like you should do or do you put YOUR things aside and take interest in YOUR CHILDREN'S wants and needs on a consistent basis? I know I too often am thinking of the next thing I need or want to do while in the midst of "giving my children attention." I need to work on giving them my full and undivided attention and simply forget about my agenda or my list and think about what is important on theirs. I needed this wake up call.

Elder Perry said, "Parents must bring light and truth into their homes by one family prayer, one scripture study session, one family home evening, one book read aloud, one song, and one family meal at a time. They know that the influence of righteous, conscientious, persistent, daily parenting is among the most powerful and sustaining forces for good in the world."
-"Mothers Teaching Children in the Home," Ensign, May 2010, 30

How do you make sure you spend the time and are "in there" for your children? How do you balance your agenda with the things that are REALLY important?

Movie Monday: Modest is Hottest

“Many of you are trying too hard to be unique in your dress and grooming to attract what the Lord would consider the wrong kind of attention. In the Book of Mormon story of the tree of life, it was the people whose ‘manner of dress was exceedingly fine’ who mocked those who partook of the fruit of the tree. It is sobering to realize that the fashion-conscious mockers in the great and spacious building were responsible for embarrassing many, and those who were ashamed ‘fell away into forbidden paths and were lost’ (1 Nephi 8:27–28).” -Elder L. Tom Perry

Mormonad - Trash Talk

Matthew 12:36

But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

What a bold reminder that we will be accountable for the words that we speak.

My son is at the age where he repeats everything we say. It has caused us to watch ourselves and we have started to notice that some of the things we say are not needful and definitely not the best thing to be saying. It has made me ask myself, "Do I really need to use the "sister" words or the substitute words to swear words to express my feelings?"

Q&A: Questions and Answers,” New Era, Mar 2001, 16

Many people try to substitute other words for swear words, but Elder L. Tom Perry warns that so many times those substitute words are so similar to the swear words or vulgar phrases that everyone knows what you meant to say and your vocabulary hasn’t really changed. Elder Perry suggests a simple activity to break the habit:

“First, make the commitment to erase such words from your vocabulary. Next, if you slip and say a swear word or a substitute word, mentally reconstruct the sentence without the vulgarity or substitute word and repeat the new sentence aloud. Eventually you will develop a nonvulgar speech habit” (New Era, Aug. 1986, 7).