Nearing the End

So, we are nearing the end of this semester and final projects are being handed in left and right. Today, my blog is due. I have had such a wonderful time focusing on family and digging in deep to the Proclamation. I know that the knowledge and experiences that I have gained from this project will bless my life and the life of my family through and through. 

Today, Pedro and I will be attending our first sealing ceremony in the temple, (other than our own)! My cousin is going to be married today at 2pm in the Newport Beach Temple. What a beautiful way to end this course, by attending a sacred ceremony and watching love sweethearts kneel together to be sealed for time and all eternity to begin their own family. I am very excited, and my heart is so full. I couldn't be more happy for them. This event also turns my heart towards my own husband, and I thank my Father in Heaven for the eternal marriage we have together as well. I also thank Him for giving me such a wonderful man to spend eternity with. 

I know that families are essential to plan of salvation. I know that marriage is ordained by God between a man and a woman. I know that there are needs and responsibilities that need to be met by the parents within a family. I know and understand that The Family, A Proclamation to the World is an inspired document that will bless my life. I love this gospel. I love my Father in Heaven and I love my family. I am so thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, who has made eternal families a possibility here on the earth. I am in love with this church. I would not be in this wonderful position in life without the church bringing me here. I could not be happier, but I know that the Lord has plans and he will help me find even more happiness along the way.

I hope you enjoyed reading through my blog, because I have really enjoyed writing it. I hope that it has helped you strengthen your own testimony of families, and has given you some ideas on how we can defend the traditional family in this crazy world today as well. I want to wish everyone well, and know that I am constantly praying for the safety and watchful care of those wonderful members of our church, no matter where they may be. 

With love, 

Leah

My Inspiration- The Proclamation

"Drawing Specific Inspiration from the Proclamation"

When my husband, Pedro and I were married last September, we had the opportunity to be sealed together for time and all eternity in the Los Angeles temple. We waited together in the Celestial room, as our family entered the sealing room, Pedro was nervously trying to crack jokes to ease the slight stress. I was excited and nervous at the same time. The sealer came over to meet us just before we were taken in to begin the ceremony. He talked about how things would go and asked us a few questions about ourselves. We were excited to meet him and thought that he would do a wonderful job. 

The sealer, gave some very inspirational word during out sealing, just as we had expected. But something important to me has particularly stood out. He referenced the Proclamation. He told us to heed its teachings and honor the responsibilities that it has provided for us as a family. He told us to learn from it and keep it in our home, because it would surely bless our lives. 

Now, Pedro and I have been married for ten months, and I often find myself looking back at the Proclamation to judge myself and my efforts. I want to obey its teachings, and I want to make a habit of following it. Living in this day and age, I have seen so many different people fall away from the church and give up their eternal families. I refuse to be one of those who give up. I will raise a family that is proud to be members of this church and cherishes family.  I will follow the Proclamation with all of my heart and soul because I know that it is an inspired document. I have seen my parent's marriage and family life flourish because of their followings of it. I know that they do their best to live up to its teachings as well. 

I am so thankful for a sealer who engrained the words of the Proclamation into my mind on such a pivotal day in my life. I will forever remember his advice and I will know where to turn when times become confusing. I do not think that it was a coincidence, but I know that he shared these ideas and promptings with us for a reason. Our Father in Heaven wants us to pull from the Proclamation and use it as inspiration in this world, especially when the light from the traditional family is continually growing more and more dim. 

This is my husband and me walking out of the temple for the first time together as husband and wife!

After receiving great counsel and advice inside of the temple during our ceremony, we were excited to walk outside to to greet or families and friends!

Eternity with Them, My Family

Chapter 32 "The Eternal Family: A Plain and Precious Part of the Plan of Salvation" 

"The family is central to the creator's plan for the eternal destiny of his children…In the pre mortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshiped  God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress towards perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life."

Being members of this wonderful church, we have the privilege of knowing about the plan of salvation, the plan our Father in Heaven has created for us in order to help us return to him one day. 

Thankfully, in my family, thus far I have not lost a close family member or relative yet. I have not had to struggle with death or loss in my life at this point. But, I have had a life changing experience with my family that helped me better understand the Plan of Salvation at a young age.

When I was eleven years old, my little brother Scott was born. My younger sisters and I were so excited to finally have a little brother! We had waited and waited for him. After visiting him in the hospital, our father told us that Scott would be staying for a little while longer in the hospital because he had become sick. This sickness turned into more and more issues, and our little Scott was not able to come home for quite some time. He became very close to the face of death, multiple times. Being a young eleven year old, and trying to be strong for my sisters, as well as trying to help my parents bear this large burden, I knew that I had to find some answers. I had to turn to my Father in Heaven and find the faith to accept his will. I was scared and nervous. I hardly knew how to handle myself at times, all I knew was that if I was upset my sister would follow suit and that wasn't going to get us anywhere. With many prayers and conversations with loved ones, I came to understand that our little Scott had come to our family for a reason. We may never know this reason as to why he joined us, but there is good to it. He was able to come to the earth, and gain the body that he needed to house his spirit. I was able to better understand the love that our Father has for all of his children here on earth. I knew that the Plan of Salvation was real and that no matter what happened, my family would be together forever. We would be able to meet again in heaven no matter the circumstances. Thankfully, ten years later, our little Scott is healthy and strong, and has moved forward and far away from his wrestle with death. I was definitely able to learn a wonderful lesson about having faith, prayer, and the plan of salvation during these nerve-wracking times in my life. 

Meet our "Scotty"

He has continued to teach our family so much about the gospel and Father in Heaven.

Now eleven years old, he is a happy and healthy little boy who loves trains, trucks, and dirt. We definitely love him and are so thankful that he was placed in our family!

"True to the Faith that our Parents Have Cherished!"

Chapter 34 "Sharing and Defending Family Proclamation Principles"

"We call upon responsible citizens…everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society."

When I think of defending my beliefs as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the hymn, 'True to the Faith' instantly starts playing in my mind. What better lyrics than these, to pump you up about standing firm and letting the world know that we are proud of being members of this great gospel.

 Shall the youth of Zion falter

In defending truth and right?

While the enemy assaileth,

Shall we shrink or shun the fight? No!

True to the faith that our parents have cherished,

True to the truth for which martyrs have perished,

To God's command,

Soul, heart, and hand,

Faithful and true we will ever stand.

While we know the pow'rs of darkness

Seek to thwart the work of God,

Shall the children of the promise

Cease to grasp the iron rod? No!

We will work out our salvation;

We will cleave unto the truth;

We will watch and pray and labor

With the fervent zeal of youth. Yes!

We will strive to be found worthy

Of the kingdom of our Lord,

With the faithful ones redeemed

Who have loved and kept his word. Yes!

I have had an experience recently where I have had to stand up for my beliefs concerning the Proclamation and the safeguarding of the traditional marriage. 

I have a very good childhood friend who has decided to leave the church because her ideas and opinions about the practices of the church. I was hurt when I heard this news, and quite frankly shocked to hear that she had chosen to live a life committed to her same-sex attraction. Unfortunately, she allowed the gates of sin to open completely, and is now fully involved in a life of  alcohol, premarital sex, partying and does not support the teachings of the prophet or the church. I was able to have a conversation with her about the church principles and teachings of the family. Although we did not see eye to eye, I was able to bear my testimony to her about how I felt. I can only continue to do this with her, as well as pray that she will remember the feelings of the spirit and someday come back to the fold. Though it is not always easy, I have continued to try to be Christ-like and show her an unconditional love as well.

I would like to challenge other members of the church to show love and compassion to those who are struggling with their testimonies and faith. It is important to let those people know that we are true Christian, and that we do not just turn the other cheek. We need to be prepared to show compassion, as well as help other understand or beliefs and feel the spirit  as often as possible. If we are prepared, our approach and our answers will come easier and kinder. 

Dare to Stand Alone By President Thomas S. Monson

President Monson also encourages us to stand up for what is right, even when times get tough. 

Learning to Let Go, Working on Forgiving our Family Members

Chapter 20 "Repentance and Forgiveness in Family Life"

"Successful marriages and families are establish and maintained on principles of…repentance [and] forgiveness."

When I was a high school student, I was always busy… I always had something to do or somewhere to go. One day in Sacrament meeting, a ward member included this story, "Seminary Donuts" in their talk. Let's just say that it gave me a whole different perspective on the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the gift that he gave us.

Here's the story

Seminary Donuts

Brother Christianson taught Seminary. He had an open-door policy and would take in any student that had been thrown out of another class as long as they would abide by his rules. Steve had been kicked out of his sixth period and no other teacher wanted him, so he went into Brother Christianson's Seminary class. Steve was told that he could not be late, so he arrived just seconds before the bell rang and he would sit in the very back of the room. He would also be the first to leave after the class was over. One day, Brother Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. After class, Bro. Christianson pulled Steve aside and said, "You think you're pretty tough, don't you?" Steve's answer was, "Yeah, I do." Then Brother Christianson asked, "How many push-ups can you do?" Steve said, "I do about 200 every night." "200? That's pretty good, Steve," Brother Christianson said. "Do you think you could do 300?" Steve replied, "I don't know... I've never done 300 at a time." "Do you think you could?" Again asked Brother Christianson. "Well, I can try," said Steve. "Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I need you to do 300 in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it," Brother Christianson said. Steve said, "Well... I think I can... yeah, I can do it." Brother Christianson said, "Good! I need you to do this on Friday." Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room. When class started, Brother Christianson pulled out a big box of donuts. Now these weren't the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited-it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend. Bro. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, "Cynthia, do you want a donut?" Cynthia said, "Yes." Bro. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?" Steve said, "Sure," and jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Bro. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia's desk.. Bro. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, "Joe do you want a donut?" Joe said, "Yes." Bro. Christianson asked, "Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?" Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut. And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten pushups for every person before they got their donut. And down the second aisle, till Bro. Christianson came to Scott. Scott was captain of the football team and center of the basketball team. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship. When Bro. Christianson asked, "Scott, do you want a donut?" Scott's reply was, "Well, can I do my own pushups?" Bro. Christianson said, "No, Steve has to do them." Then Scott said, "Well, I don't want one then." Bro. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten pushups so Scott can have a donut he doesn't want?" Steve started to do ten pushups. Scott said, "HEY! I said I didn't want one!" Bro. Christianson said, "Look, this is my classroom, my class, my desks, and my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it." And he put a donut on Scott's desk. Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow. Bro. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry. Bro. Christianson asked Jenny, "Jenny, do you want a donut?" Jenny said, "No." Then Bro. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve, would you do ten pushups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn't want?" Steve did ten, Jenny got a donut. By now, the students were beginning to say "No" and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks. Steve was also having to really put forth a lot of effort to get these pushups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved. Bro. Christianson asked Robert to watch Steve to make sure he did ten pushups in a set because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's work for all of those uneaten donuts. So Robert began to watch Steve closely. Bro. Christianson started down the fourth row. During his class, however, some students had wandered in and sat along the heaters along the sides of the room. When Bro. Christianson realized this; he did a quick count and saw 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it. Bro. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set. Steve asked Bro. Christianson, "Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?" Bro. Christianson thought for a moment, "Well, they're your pushups. You can do them any way that you want." And Bro. Christianson went on. A few moments later, Jason came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled, "NO! Don't come in! Stay out!" Jason didn't know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, "No, let him come." Bro. Christianson said, "You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten pushups for him." Steve said, "Yes, let him come in." Bro. Christianson said, "Okay, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?" "Yes." "Steve, will you do ten pushups so that Jason can have a donut?" Steve did ten pushups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down. Bro. Christianson finished the fourth row, then started on those seated on the heaters. Steve's arms were now shaking with each pushup in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. Sweat was dropping off of his face and, by this time, there was not a dry eye in the room. The very last two girls in the room were cheerleaders and very popular. Bro. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, "Linda, do you want a doughnut? Linda said, very sadly, "No, thank you." Bro. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve, would you do ten pushups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn't want?" Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow pushups for Linda. Then Bro. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. "Susan, do you want a donut?" Susan, with tears flowing down her face, asked, "Bro. Christianson, can I help him?" Bro. Christianson, with tears of his own, said, "No, he has to do it alone, Steve, would you do ten pushups so Susan can have a donut?" As Steve very slowly finished his last pushup, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 pushups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor. Brother Christianson turned to the room and said, "And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, pleaded to the Father, "Into thy hands I commend my spirit." With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, he collapsed on the cross and died. And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten." After hearing about this real life demonstration of the Atonement, I realized that it is my obligation to utilize the powers of forgiveness and repentance in my life. It is not my choice to withhold forgiveness from anyone, because our brother, Christ, suffered for each and everyone of us, even our own family members. I have been hurt before, and I have become frustrated and upset because of the actions and words of my own family members, but when I calm myself down and remember the love that I have for them and the special meaning they hold in my heart, I realize that forgiveness is always the best option. In family life, we cannot afford to turn against one another. We need to constantly have each other's backs, no matter the circumstances. We cannot allow grudges to create wedges between relationships within our families. We are here to build one another up, and we all have a common goal of making it to the Celestial and being there together. When we look at the bigger picture, grudges and arguments do not even hold a candlestick. This story, about the donuts and the price that had to be paid for each and every student, is a great demonstration of the Atonement, as well as how the Atonement should be used in our lives. Reading this story for Family Home Evening can definitely help a family understand that forgiveness and repentance is truly essential to the plan of happiness. I am grateful for a family who understands that we are here on earth to learn and at times we may make mistakes.  They are not afraid to forgive when needed. Thankfully, we know and understand that together we can accomplish our goals!

"Temples are more than stone and mortar…"

"They Cannot Be Lost: Temple Covenants Save Families" Chapter 16

President Monson shares a beautiful story about how the temples of the Lord have pulled families together.

Elder Nelson teaches us more about covenants!

These are great FHE lesson videos that can help children learn more about the temple and what making a covenant means, and how it will affect them after receiving their own endowment. 

Definitely share this Mormon message with your family as well!

Help the youth build confidence in the temple, and help them better understand that the temple is beautiful and sacred blessing that the Lord has provided for us. Help the youth focus on more than the wedding or the mission call, and truly understand the meaning behind temple attendance and what we can gain from visiting often.

Before I entered the temple for the very first time, I had no idea what to expect. I was confident that it was where the Lord wanted me to be though. At times, I feel like we stress marriage to the youth more than entering the temple for the first time. We should hold more family home evenings on temples and have regular conversations about temples within our homes with our families. Parents should work to set an example of regular temple attendance to show the children how truly important it is for a marriage relationship as well!

 These are some of my all-time favorite quotes about the temple!

"The temple provides purpose for our lives. It brings peace to our souls—not the peace provided by men but the peace promised by the Son of God when He said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you.”" President Thomas S. Monson

"I urge our people everywhere, with all of the persuasiveness of which I am capable, to live worthy to hold a temple recommend, to secure one and regard it as a precious asset, and to make a greater effort to go to the House of the Lord and partake of the spirit and the blessings to be had therein." -President Gordon B. Hinckley

"I urge all who have not yet received these greatest of all blessings within the walls of the temple to do whatever may be necessary to qualify to receive them." -James E. Faust

"As we come unto Christ and journey to higher ground, we will desire to spend more time in His temples, because the temples represent higher ground, sacred ground." -Joseph B. Wirthlin

"Each temple building is an inspiration, magnificent and beautiful in every way, but the temple building alone does not bless. The endowed blessings and divine functions—come through obedience and faithfulness to priesthood authority and covenants made." -James E. Faust 

"Each holy temple stands as a symbol of our membership in the Church, as a sign of our faith in life after death, and as a sacred step toward eternal glory for us and our families." -Russell M. Nelson

"Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God." -Doctrine and Covenants 88:119

"Your endowment is, to receive all those ordinances in the house of the Lord, which are necessary for you, after you have departed this life, to enable you to walk back to the presence of the Father." -Brigham Young

Hopefully these will help you get thinking more and more about the temple, and visit it some time soon, or even commit to become prepared to enter!

Love, 

Leah

Memorizing the Proclamation!

This post is inspired by chapter 29 from the text book, "The Proclamation: A Guide, Banner, and a Doctrinal Summary of the Church's Emphasis on the Family"

When doing some research on the Proclamation and how it came to be, I was able to find one of President Hinckley's talks. This talk is entitled, "Stand strong Against the Wiles of the World", and it introduced the The Family, A Proclamation to the World. I really enjoyed this talk. It is crazy to think that it was written back in 1995, who would have guessed it would have been so plausible for our day now in 2014. In fact, I think it fits our day and age even better now than it did back then. I think that this talk is wonderful testimony of the connection our prophets have with the Lord. Read it to your spouse and your children and have them guess when it was written, I bet they will think it is a much more modern talk.

Stand Strong Against the Wiles of the World By President Gordon B. Hinckley

I also thought that something great for my little family at the moment would be the memorize the whole proclamation. I think that memorizing it would help us both defend our religion and our beliefs when questions come up, and to be honest, a lot of questions from friends who are not religious have already been asked. I know that if I have the proclamation memorized to my long term memory, I will always be able to refer to it, and so I'm going to make my husband do it with me too :)

If this little guy can do it…so can we!

I also stumbled across this blog where the mother and her children were able to all memorize the Proclamation through index cards and share it with their father/husband as a christmas gift! Such a sweet idea!

Memorizing the Proclamation

Overall, we know that the Proclamation is our safe guard. We are going to need to begin utilizing it more often in our daily lives because of the current attacks on traditional marriage and family life. Tough times are coming and we need to be prepared, both adults and children. We need to work together to learn and practice correct principles that will help us get closer to our Father in Heaven!