We believe...

Articles of Faith state exactly what we believe as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Through the next couple of weeks I am going to be giving scriptures that back up the Articles of faith.

Let's start with #1!

"We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost."
 Break it down-

We believe in God, the Eternal Father.

Mormon 6:22 "...and the Father, yea, the Eternal Father of heaven..."
Moroni 4:3; 5:2 "...O God, the Eternal Father..."
Moroni 10:4 "...ask God, the Eternal Father..."

And in his Son, Jesus Christ

1 Nephi 11:21 "...Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the son of the Eternal Father..."
1 Nephi 13:40 "...That the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world; and that all men must come unto him, or they cannot be saved."
Alma 5:48 "...I know that Jesus Christ shall come, yea, the Son, the Only begotten of the Father, full of grace, and mercy, and truth.  And behold, it is he that cometh to take away the sins of the world, yea, the sins of every man who steadfastly believeth on his name."

And in the Holy Ghost

1 Nephi 10:17 "...the things which he spake by the power of the Holy Ghost... By the power of the Holy Ghost, which is the gift of God unto all those who diligetnly seek him..."

Moroni 10:4 "...He will manifest the truth of it unto you, bu the power of the Holy Ghost.  And by the power of the Holy Ghost you may know the truth of all things."

Got FHE?

When you think of the place that you have learned the most lessons in life, where would that be?

For me, it would be in this home.

I was born and raised in this home.  I took my first steps, rode my first bike, cried my first tears, laughed my first laugh all in this home surrounded in a loving family.  The church has given us a program to help us grow closer together and more united.  This is Family Home Evening (FHE).  It is were you take one night out of the week and spend it with family. What do you do?  ---->

 "Families were to take time to

 pray and sing together,

read the scriptures,

teach the gospel to one another,

 and participate in other activites

that would build family unity." 

Joseph F. Smith

The scriptures even emphasize how important it is that the parents are teaching their children how to follow God!

Dueteronomy 6:7

"And thou shalt teach them

 diligently unto thy children,

and shalt talk of them when

thou sittest in thine house,

and when thou walkest by the way,

and when thou liest down,

and when thou risest up."

It is the duty of parents to teach their children what is right and what is wrong. 

"The home is the most important

place for gospel learning. 

No other organization can

take the place of the family."

We need to make our homes a safe haven from the world and strenthen the families within.  I know that I am the person I am today because of the home I had the privelage to live in. 



Mother's day

I just wanted to give a shout out to my mother.  I wanted to thank her for all the love and support she has given me in my life.  THANK YOU!  She is a beacon and a strength to me.  I know that families are eternal and I feel extremely blessed to be able to call her mom for eternity.  She is a great example of someone who "stands immovable and steadfast and always abounding in good works."  

I LOVE YOU MOM!

What think YE of Christ?

I was reading one of our church magazines the other day and read a talk by Elder Dallin H. Oaks. The talk was based on that question, "what think ye of Chirst?"  I have since asked this question and have pondered what do I think of Jesus Christ? 

I know he is more than a teacher.  I know he is the son of God.  But I want to talk about some other things that he did for each of us.  I am basing it out of the talk and if you want to read it you can click on this link.

1. Jesus Christ is the ONLY begotten son of God. 

John 3:16-17 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his ONLY begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not his Son into the world to comdemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."

2. Under the direction of Heavenly Father, Christ was the creator of this world. 

John, 1:3 "All things were made by him; and whithout him was not any thing made that was made."

3. Through Him we can ALL recieve Eternal life. 

John 10:28 "And I give unto them eternal life..."

4. Does the will of the Father. In Matthew 7:21 it says only those who do 'the WILL of my Father which is in heaven' can enter the kingdom of Heaven.'

5.  He returned the Priesthood to the earth so we could all partake of those sacred promises we need to make with Heavenly Father to return to God. 

6. The last one that I want to say is the most important one.  He died for each one of us.  That through this atonement he provided an opportunity that every person will be resurrected.  Also, that everyone can repent of our sins and return to our Father in Heaven.

Elder Oaks said,

"Where is our ultimate loyalty?... Ther is no middle ground.  W are followers of CHrist... We should honor His name, keep His commandments, and 'seek not the things of this world but seek first to build up the kingdom of God."

I challenge each of you to ask yourself, "What think ye of Christ?"  If you feel comfortable, I would love you to write down your feelings in the comment box to share with others your testimony of Jesus Christ.

steps of faith + big decisions!

Sometimes we see the future and it looks scary!  Change is hard.  We can't comprehend how things will work out the way they are suppose to or how they were promised by God to turn out.  Being forced, or prompted, to make a change can be nerve wracking. 

Let's look at a bible story to help us trust in God.  Let's look at Moses.  He is a strong man and leader.  The Children of Israel where slaves to the Egyptians and were freed from their grasp after God allowed 10 plagues to come.  These plagues soften the Pharaoh's heart and Pharaoh let the Children of Israel go.  After Pharaoh allowed them to leave, Pharaoh questioned why he allowed them to leave!  So he sent 600 Chariots to go after them and destroy them or force them to come back and be their slave. 

When the people got to the Red Sea they turned and looked and saw the chariots coming after them and began to be afraid.  Because all they could see what the sea in front of them and the chariots coming behind them.  They begin to plea with Moses and ask him why he would bring them out here if they were only going to die?!

Moses says:
"Fear ye not, stand still,
and see the salvation of the Lord,
which he will shew to you to day:
for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day,
ye shall see them again no more for ever. 
The Lord shall fight for you,
and ye shall hold your peace." 
Exodus 14:13-14

Then Moses, in his great faith asks God what to do and God tells him to lift up his arms and part the Red Sea.  Then the Children of Israel walked through on dry land, and all the chariots were destroyed.

In life we sometimes feel like the Children of Israel.  We are not sure of the future and the past is trying to drag us back down into misery.  It is HARD to change.  But as we come closer to God and strive to change for the better, we have the promise that Moses gave that the Lord will fight for you, so stand still.  Know that you are making a great choice, and even though we may not see the outcome, God knows it and will provide for it to come to pass if we rely on him with full faith. 

A couple of scriptures that I repeat in my head to help me through big trials or facing big decissions. 

"If God be for us,
who can be against us?"  Romans 8:31

"I can do all things through
Christ which strengtheneth me."  Philippians 4:13