Children are NOT a Distraction.....

C.S. Lewis says it beautifully:

"Children are not a distraction from more important work.  They are the most important work."  - C.S. Lewis

Mother's Influence

"It's a mother's influence during the crucial formative years that forms a child's basic character.  Home is the place where a child learns faith, feels love, and thereby learns from mother's loving example to choose righteousness."  - Benson

"...there is no greater good in all the world than motherhood. The influence of a mother in the lives of her children is beyond calculation." - James E. Faust

"When mothers know who they are and who God is and have made covenants with Him, they will have great power and influence for good on their children." - Julie B. Beck

No Greater Good in ALL THE WORLD.....

 

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad - 55 Years of "Wedded Bliss"?

I asked my dear Mother, to write her feelings about her special day November 25th, 2014, her 55th Wedding Anniversary with my Father.  Life has not been perfect.  They've had lots of ups-and-downs.  But, their faith in God has helped them endure the trials and appreciate the blessings.  

Mom and Dad on 50th Anniversary

What Mom won't tell you is that she's had diabetes for over 45 years and, the results of that over the past 10 years have been several back surgeries, nearly constant 'neuropathy' pains and...the inability to walk very far.  She hurts most of the time, sometimes severely, but is patient, understanding, kind, and loves all people.  Though she's told me that she feels badly that she can't do as much as she used to (who of us can?) I remind her of all the good she continues to do.  She writes birthday, sympathy, and welcome cards for the local Home Owner's association, keeps up with all the doings of her grandchildren on Facebook, teaches Sunday School to adults in our church congregation, and continues to write in her online journal everyday. (She has kept volumes of journals with details that could fill a small library.)  Whenever any of us need a historical date, good article, or clipping for something, we call Mom.  She's a walking encyclopedia of sorts. 

LDS Church and Birth Control, Contraception

In this time of political risings and having had the "Mormon" church be in the spotlight - I thought it both applicable and important to share some of the teachings of church leaders concerning Birth Control/Contraception.  This is a hot topic in the media at present and I am not going to argue that point.  Rather, I will share what the LDS beliefs are so as to shed some light on the subject.

The current argument in the U.S. is more about insurance covering (or not) the price of birth control pills.  This posting is NOT about that.  I'm sure it will be fully argued (sigh) until some kind of conclusion is made.  There are those much more savvy than I as to the validity of the argument and the Constitutionality of it.  But, I do refer you to a talk given by Ezra Taft Benson "The Proper Role of Government" and it's You Tube version.  I share those beliefs and feel that each of us have a personal obligation to defend those principles.  The current decisions will be affected by how well those in power live to these standards.  I strongly believe that the Lord has spoken and that we would do well to heed that counsel.

LDS Home "Environment" - Elder McConkie

I read this yesterday and it touched me deeply.  I had read it a few years previously and it moved me back then, too.  But, this time, it meant even more as I'm at the stage of life where I'm truly recognizing the truthfulness of keeping or not keeping these types of values in our homes.  As I see the ramifications of not heeding Prophetic counsel in all areas of our lives and -- because of meeting and mingling with some of the youth that my children deal with - I am even more aware of the reasons that the Lord has given us such counsel.  I share it by way of personal testimony as well as in hopes that others' will be blessed by this powerful insight and .....prophetic warning.

"Environment"

"Two obligations face the saints where the matter of environment is concerned:  1.  To create for themselves and their families the most wholesome and edifying environment possible, so there will be less chance of any member of the family circle being lost through transgression; and 2. To rise above every unwholesome environmental situation that may be encountered during the course of this mortal probation.

"When the spirit offspring of God pass from pre-existence to mortality, they bring with them the talents, capacities, and abilities acquired during a long existence and experience in their first estate.  At the time of mortal birth all children are innocent and pure.  Then as they begin to become accountable, they are swayed by the "tradition of their fathers."  (D&C 93:38-39)  Their lives and destinies are shaped and altered by their environment -- the circumstances, external surroundings, and influences in which they find themselves.  The command to bring up children in light and truth includes a requirement to create for them a wholesome environment.