Hello Family!
I hope you all are doing well. We are doing great out here in Nevada! Liam has been here for a month now, and we're having alot of fun getting to know him. Emily is enjoying having a little brother and helping mommy.
It's Sunday and time for the S.S. I choose one of my favorite scriptures Moroni 7:47. Mostly because it reminds me of Dad, but also it's a scripture that comes to my mind often when I have the opportunity to help others.
Moroni 7:47
But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.
We love you all!
Love, Jodi, Chris, Emily, and Baby Liam
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Our Mother Knows It!
Hello Family!
I'm excited that it is finally child #7's turn for the S.S. (Sunday Sermon). This last week I read
Mosiah 26 & my soul truly was fed. The entire chapter was a feast for my spirit...here are a few of the highlights...REJOICE IN OUR LORD! Alma the younger & the sons of Mosiah are rejoicing in the redemption of Christ. They tried with all their might to destroy the Church, after a visitation from an angel calling them to repentance they changed their hearts & it was their only desire to offer others the same salvation they had found it the Lord.
15 Yea, they were encircled about with everlasting darkness and destruction; but behold, he has brought them into his everlasting light, yea, into everlasting salvation; and they are encircled about with the matchless bounty of his love; yea, and we have been instruments in his hands of doing this great and marvelous work.
16 Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel.
17 Who could have supposed that our God would have been so merciful as to have snatched us from our awful, sinful, and a polluted state?
The 3 steps of repentance...
22 Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance.
Because of their conversion, they were able to teach the Lamanites the gospel. The Lamanites in turn burried their weapons of war...many years down the line the Lamanites came to a point where they had to defend their families & their sons who did not make the covenant-bury their swords- became the Armies of Helaman- The 10,ooo Stripling warriors. These scriptures always gave such confidence on my mission...
Mosiah 56:
47 Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.
48 And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it.
As we allow ourselves to be encircled with the bounty of his matchless love, our only desire will be for others to have this same forgiveness in their lifes. It becomes such a ripple affect, one life touches another & so on. We can be eternally grateful to those who came before us who touched our father, who in turned shared with our mother, & we can say like the 10,000 Stripling Warriors(although at times we protest it) We Do Not Doubt because our mother Knows IT!
It is my prayer that we can pass along the ripple to the rising generation & they can say because of us, "I Do Not Doubt, My Mother(Father) Knew It!"
I'm excited that it is finally child #7's turn for the S.S. (Sunday Sermon). This last week I read
Mosiah 26 & my soul truly was fed. The entire chapter was a feast for my spirit...here are a few of the highlights...REJOICE IN OUR LORD! Alma the younger & the sons of Mosiah are rejoicing in the redemption of Christ. They tried with all their might to destroy the Church, after a visitation from an angel calling them to repentance they changed their hearts & it was their only desire to offer others the same salvation they had found it the Lord.
15 Yea, they were encircled about with everlasting darkness and destruction; but behold, he has brought them into his everlasting light, yea, into everlasting salvation; and they are encircled about with the matchless bounty of his love; yea, and we have been instruments in his hands of doing this great and marvelous work.
16 Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel.
17 Who could have supposed that our God would have been so merciful as to have snatched us from our awful, sinful, and a polluted state?
The 3 steps of repentance...
22 Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance.
Because of their conversion, they were able to teach the Lamanites the gospel. The Lamanites in turn burried their weapons of war...many years down the line the Lamanites came to a point where they had to defend their families & their sons who did not make the covenant-bury their swords- became the Armies of Helaman- The 10,ooo Stripling warriors. These scriptures always gave such confidence on my mission...
Mosiah 56:
47 Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.
48 And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it.
As we allow ourselves to be encircled with the bounty of his matchless love, our only desire will be for others to have this same forgiveness in their lifes. It becomes such a ripple affect, one life touches another & so on. We can be eternally grateful to those who came before us who touched our father, who in turned shared with our mother, & we can say like the 10,000 Stripling Warriors(although at times we protest it) We Do Not Doubt because our mother Knows IT!
It is my prayer that we can pass along the ripple to the rising generation & they can say because of us, "I Do Not Doubt, My Mother(Father) Knew It!"
I Believe It Was My Turn!
Okay, so I haven't been on the email machine this week until today. I should have been better about it. I do think it was my turn, though; so, here it is: There are a lot of prayers we offer formally or informally to God. There are things we want in our lives. We lose the keys and we want to find them. We want time from work to spend with our families. We want money. We want health. We want the means to help others. We sometimes want selfish things. We want suffering to stop. We want good times to last. Again, we look to God and ask Him for some of these things formally and informally. I have prayed for lost keys like a good boy and never found them physically (I'm pretty sure they were thrown away). I have I have wanted and prayed to know what I am "supposed to be" when I grow up... nothing yet; though I hear the whisper, "a good father" (I was looking for something a little more specific). Point being, maybe it's the way I ask, maybe I'm not always "in tune", maybe the things I ask for are not of a significant spiritual nature, or maybe my time-table to receive an answer is off, but I don't always see an answer to my prayers. Except one... When Alma the Younger was caught in heavy rebellion against God this was a turning point for him: Alma 36:17-2117 And it came to pass that as I was thus aracked with torment, while I was bharrowed up by the cmemory of my many sins, behold, I dremembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.
18 Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, ahave mercy on me, who am bin the cgall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting dchains of edeath.
19 And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my apains bno more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.
20 And oh, what ajoy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!
21 Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy.
Notice, no delay. He cried to Christ and the Spirit came. Again to the woman taken in adultery...
John 8:10-12
10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I acondemn thee: go, and sin bno more.
Yes, He saved her life in this instance but the greater miracle is in His ability to free her from sin and His willingness to do it. Last one for today: Christ speaking to Joseph Smith after he allowed the original first book in the Book of Mormon to be stolen shortly after its translation...
1 Now, behold, I say unto you, that because you adelivered up those writings which you had power given unto you to translate by the means of the bUrim and Thummim, into the hands of a wicked man, you have lost them.
2 And you also lost your gift at the same time, and your amind became bdarkened.
3 Nevertheless, it is now arestored unto you again; therefore see that you are faithful and continue on unto the finishing of the remainder of the work of btranslation as you have begun.
4 Do not run afaster or labor more than you have bstrength and means provided to enable you to translate; but be cdiligent unto the end.
5 aPray always, that you may come off bconqueror;
The one prayer that I know God will answer is the only prayer that we really need God to answer. It is that He loves us and so we can be forgiven. He knows we are imperfect and still He loves us. He knows we rebel at times and He loves us. He knows we won't listen at times and still he loves us. He knows that we fear the world more than Him sometimes and still He loves us. He loves us so He sent His son. And as often as we'll turn to Him and ask Him for forgiveness and ask Him if He loves us, He will answer, "Yes."
I love you guys. Don't listen to the adversary. Listen to the Spirit. Pick yourself up as often as you fall and keep moving in the right direction.
Casey
P.S. I am well aware that S.S. does not stand for Sunday SERMON.
18 Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, ahave mercy on me, who am bin the cgall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting dchains of edeath.
19 And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my apains bno more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.
20 And oh, what ajoy, and what marvelous light I did behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!
21 Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy.
Notice, no delay. He cried to Christ and the Spirit came. Again to the woman taken in adultery...
John 8:10-12
10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I acondemn thee: go, and sin bno more.
Yes, He saved her life in this instance but the greater miracle is in His ability to free her from sin and His willingness to do it. Last one for today: Christ speaking to Joseph Smith after he allowed the original first book in the Book of Mormon to be stolen shortly after its translation...
1 Now, behold, I say unto you, that because you adelivered up those writings which you had power given unto you to translate by the means of the bUrim and Thummim, into the hands of a wicked man, you have lost them.
2 And you also lost your gift at the same time, and your amind became bdarkened.
3 Nevertheless, it is now arestored unto you again; therefore see that you are faithful and continue on unto the finishing of the remainder of the work of btranslation as you have begun.
4 Do not run afaster or labor more than you have bstrength and means provided to enable you to translate; but be cdiligent unto the end.
5 aPray always, that you may come off bconqueror;
The one prayer that I know God will answer is the only prayer that we really need God to answer. It is that He loves us and so we can be forgiven. He knows we are imperfect and still He loves us. He knows we rebel at times and He loves us. He knows we won't listen at times and still he loves us. He knows that we fear the world more than Him sometimes and still He loves us. He loves us so He sent His son. And as often as we'll turn to Him and ask Him for forgiveness and ask Him if He loves us, He will answer, "Yes."
I love you guys. Don't listen to the adversary. Listen to the Spirit. Pick yourself up as often as you fall and keep moving in the right direction.
Casey
P.S. I am well aware that S.S. does not stand for Sunday SERMON.
Toni's Scripture
The beatitudes are found at Matthew 5: 3-12
Blessed are the poor in spirit,for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,for they shall possess the earth.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice,for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure of heart,for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice sake,for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
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1 The poor in spirit are those who are conscious of their sins and know in their hearts that they are completely unworthy of the grace that a most holy and loving God pours down upon them
If you can all reply to this with what you think the rest of the beatitudes mean..I think that would be fun.
Blessed are the poor in spirit,for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,for they shall possess the earth.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice,for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure of heart,for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice sake,for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 The poor in spirit are those who are conscious of their sins and know in their hearts that they are completely unworthy of the grace that a most holy and loving God pours down upon them
If you can all reply to this with what you think the rest of the beatitudes mean..I think that would be fun.
Larry's Scripture
Hey Family this is Larry of course, here to address to you the scripture of the week, which is...3rd Nephi 17:11-12, 16-17
11. And it came to pass that he commanded that their little children should be brought.
12. So they brought their little children and set them down upon the ground round about him, and Jesus stood in the midst; and the multitude gave way 'till they had all been brought unto him.
16. And after this manner do they bear record: they eye hath never seen neither hath the ear heard, so great and marvelous things as we saw and heard Jesus speak unto the father;
17. And no tongue can speak neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak; and noone can conceive of the joy that filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the father.
I chose this scripture because of the new babies which we have recently welcomed into our family, and which we will welcome into our family. All of these children have recently come to us from our heavenly father. These children have recently been at the feet of Christ and our Heavenly Father. If they could speak, what great things they could utter to us. As we live during these last days where the adversary is so strong it is my prayer and hope that we can teach and somehow guide these little children, children of our Heavenly Father, back to him. I know God lives, I know Jesus is our Savior and He died for us. And I share these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
I love you all. Have a good week.
SURE LOVE YA!!
11. And it came to pass that he commanded that their little children should be brought.
12. So they brought their little children and set them down upon the ground round about him, and Jesus stood in the midst; and the multitude gave way 'till they had all been brought unto him.
16. And after this manner do they bear record: they eye hath never seen neither hath the ear heard, so great and marvelous things as we saw and heard Jesus speak unto the father;
17. And no tongue can speak neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak; and noone can conceive of the joy that filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the father.
I chose this scripture because of the new babies which we have recently welcomed into our family, and which we will welcome into our family. All of these children have recently come to us from our heavenly father. These children have recently been at the feet of Christ and our Heavenly Father. If they could speak, what great things they could utter to us. As we live during these last days where the adversary is so strong it is my prayer and hope that we can teach and somehow guide these little children, children of our Heavenly Father, back to him. I know God lives, I know Jesus is our Savior and He died for us. And I share these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
I love you all. Have a good week.
SURE LOVE YA!!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
Patti's Scripture
D&C 64:23---Behold, now it is called called today until the coming of
the Son of Man, and verily it is the day of sacrifice, and
a day for the tithing of my people; for he that is tithed
shall not be burned at his coming.
This scripture tells me that tithing is our fire insurance. I have had my testimony of tithing strengthened. When Neal and I were
First married, we didn’t think we had enough money to pay our tithing. We barely had enough to pay bills and buy food. We wanted to
go through the temple and paying tithing was a requirement to do so. We started paying our tithing and we were blessed to still have
enough money to pay all our bills. At first it was hard, but we had faith that the Lord would take care of us. Now it’s just part of me. If I forget to pay my tithing, I get worried and get it paid as soon as possible. The Lord has continued to bless us.
In the footnotes, there is a cross reference to D&C 119 in the heading. Joseph Smith asked how much is required to give. I thought it was interesting that the early saints (mainly the leading elders) were asked to live the law of consecration but many failed to do so. The saints were then asked to give of their surplus property and then give, as tithing, one-tenth of their interest annually.
This is one commandment that I can be perfect at.
Love ya’ll
Patti
the Son of Man, and verily it is the day of sacrifice, and
a day for the tithing of my people; for he that is tithed
shall not be burned at his coming.
This scripture tells me that tithing is our fire insurance. I have had my testimony of tithing strengthened. When Neal and I were
First married, we didn’t think we had enough money to pay our tithing. We barely had enough to pay bills and buy food. We wanted to
go through the temple and paying tithing was a requirement to do so. We started paying our tithing and we were blessed to still have
enough money to pay all our bills. At first it was hard, but we had faith that the Lord would take care of us. Now it’s just part of me. If I forget to pay my tithing, I get worried and get it paid as soon as possible. The Lord has continued to bless us.
In the footnotes, there is a cross reference to D&C 119 in the heading. Joseph Smith asked how much is required to give. I thought it was interesting that the early saints (mainly the leading elders) were asked to live the law of consecration but many failed to do so. The saints were then asked to give of their surplus property and then give, as tithing, one-tenth of their interest annually.
This is one commandment that I can be perfect at.
Love ya’ll
Patti
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Wayne's Scripture
Well, I don’t really have a favorite scripture to pull from at this time but maybe a few chapters from the Bible which depicts a great example of doing the Lords work. In Genesis, chapters 37-47 (or so), Joseph, the son of Jacob, was basically mistreated by his brothers to the point of possible destruction, but events turned for Joseph as he was sold to Potiphar, of Eqypt. This is a very interesting story as it resembles and is an example of how Joseph continued to serve our Lord not matter what. Joseph had the ability because of his faithfulness to turn everything he experienced in to something good and of godly characteristics. I know we all have knowledge of stories such as this throughout the scriptures, but this one depicts a man that turned not so good situation in to good.
As it pertains to us in current day and as it pertains to our individual lives and situations, we can perceive any negative situation as a problem, but, what are we really doing with this problem if we don’t counteract with a solution to the problem…and where do we go to seek guidance?
This is my Sunday Commentary or Scripture.
Love from California
Wayne
As it pertains to us in current day and as it pertains to our individual lives and situations, we can perceive any negative situation as a problem, but, what are we really doing with this problem if we don’t counteract with a solution to the problem…and where do we go to seek guidance?
This is my Sunday Commentary or Scripture.
Love from California
Wayne
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Justin's Scripture
Hello everyone,I am honored to have been asked to be a sub for the"scripture of the week".One of my favorite scriptures in the Book of Mormoncomes from King Benjamin in Mosiah 2:41 where he isgiving his last address to his people. He says:"And moreover, I would desire that ye should consideron the blessed and happy state of those that keep thecommandments of God. For behold, they are blessed inall things, both temporal and spiritual; and if theyhold out faithful to the end they are received intoheaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in astate of never-ending happiness. O remember, rememberthat these things are true; for the Lord God hathspoken it."This scripture gained meaning for me personally as Isaw how it became the motto for my mom as she enduredher ten year battle with cancer. She kept her eyes onthe spiritual goal and held out faithful until theend. I am sure that each of us would love to 'dwellwith God in a state of never-ending happiness' so thetrick is to hold out faithful to the end. We can doit with our Savior's help. The gospel of Jesus Christoffers hope for our eternal futures, it is a gospel ofhappiness.Thanks to all of you for accepting me so graciouslyinto your family. I have felt so welcomed and havereally come to love each and every one of you over thelast five years.Love,Justin
Mom's Scripture
D&C 10:5 Pray always, that you may come off the conqueror; yea, that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants fo Satan taht so uphold his work.
6; Behold, they have sought to destroy you; yea, even the man in whom you have trusted has sought to destroy you.
This means to me, dont put your trust in the world, but pray always and God will never let you down and you will wnin with him on your side.
I couldnt decide which one , so here is a second
D&C 14:7 And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gift of God.
I think God has a lot to give us, if we just remember him and know that he is our Father in Heaven.
Thanks for reading my scriptures. LOve Mom
6; Behold, they have sought to destroy you; yea, even the man in whom you have trusted has sought to destroy you.
This means to me, dont put your trust in the world, but pray always and God will never let you down and you will wnin with him on your side.
I couldnt decide which one , so here is a second
D&C 14:7 And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gift of God.
I think God has a lot to give us, if we just remember him and know that he is our Father in Heaven.
Thanks for reading my scriptures. LOve Mom
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