China and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

News about The Church in China (click here).

Happy Family Home Evening

Yes!

We had a Happy Family Home Evening tonight!!!

YEAH!!!

Let me clarify...it was formal...ish...kind of...but not.

It really led off like some kind of circus affair. Hmmm. Not what I had in mind for FHE.  But it was happy all through FHE.

We began with me conducting FHE tonight...and well...I was conducting a formal meeting of one (me).

So, noticing that everyone else was really in a FUN mood, I tried changing my tone  from formal to ... semi formalish but trying to be fun... (okay, truth be told...I hate admitting it...but too often I act like Rabbit from Winnie the Pooh. Ish)!.

As the opening song started, "Love at Home", oh my, I wondered about FHE for this night. 
The redition was...Something Unlike I've ever heard...truly!

I believe from the sound of the family, 
we all sang the hymn...
in our own key...
with parts...
on purpose.

Really.

I exagerate not!

It was really something else to hear. I wonder if I will get to hear a replay of this one day.

I think by at his point I figured out that what I really needed to do was smile and breathe and listen and watch...because everyone was Happy! And FHE is about happy.

When the laughter died down, we did have as quiet and reverent of a prayer as we could.

The playful mood continued and so we had some kind of move and stretch and laugh some more before we moved to scripture and motto.

Our lesson started with a brief 2 minutes of Q&A of "What makes you Happy?"

Answers that were common were: no school, playing with family, laughing, being kind, love at home. 

Then, we divided into teams. Each team picked a scripture from the Topical Guide under HAPPY, and then prepared a song with actions to sing for the family.

Team dad and daughters 2&3 read from Psalms 127:3-5. They sang a medley of "Daddy's Homecoming" and "Happy Family" and ended with a Cheer. It was AWESOME!

Team 11 year, Mom and 2 year old read a scripture from John 13:15, 17. We sang "Jesus Said Love Everyone" with actions from all three of us. It was SWEET!

By this time, we were all together in a Happy Family mood.

We rallied together and played a round of 3 five minute games that included everyone:
Build up blocks and let the youngest knock 'em down... Lots of laughter
Chase after the youngest for the missing block...More laughter
and finally....
Hide and seek!

There were no tears. It was a great night of games!

When the games ended, we joined together for a final closing of FHE and reviewed that things that make us Happy.

We agreed that how we treat each other affects us being Happy.  Being kind to each other makes a happy home.

So, for our activity this week:

Each of us drew a secret "Happy Person" out of a hat. 
For the rest of this week, we are to do something for our "Happy Person" to feel happy.

I'd say, tonight's FHE's was HAPPY!

To boot, we had fudgy yummy no bake cookies for a treat.....mmmm!

Spirit testifies Truth

I love feeling the spirit.

I love having the spirit work through me to touch others.

Today, I spoke in church, and I felt both.

Something I learned today, I need a lot of repentance. And to think I thought I was repenting enough...is there really such a thing?

This was a subject that I needed to give because I have been forgetting to Come to Him.

The Lord is very kind to remind me this way.

These are the sources I used for the talk.

Elder Neil A Anderson gave a wonderful discourse on this repentance (click here).

Elder Jeffrey R Holland talked about coming to Christ through Faith in Christ, repentance, baptism and temple covenants, and then living our covenants (click here).

The people of King Benjamin are a great example of Coming to Christ. They followed the same pattern that Elder Holland outlines (click here...see chapters 1-6).

Anyway, I felt the the spirit witness as I shared thoughts from these lovely scriptures. I felt the spirit witness as I shared my own testimony that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. His church is restored on the earth TODAY and is led by LIVING PROPHETS. And these truths can be known by everyone...as stated in the introduction of the Book of Mormon:

"We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true. Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost. (See Moroni 10: 3-5.)



Those who gain this divine witness from the Holy Spirit will also come to know by the same power that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, that Joseph Smith is his revelator and prophet in these last days, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s kingdom once again established on the earth, preparatory to the second coming of the Messiah."

The spirit is wonderful!


I know Jesus wants us all to come to Him.

               Today!

His atonement can make me/us clean, and happy.

And that is worth living for!

Happy Post

Hmmmm.

I am speaking tomorrow in church about testimony and Christ and coming to Him.
This week has been an exceptionally doozy of a week.

Sweet and sour...

So, while I am trying to "get the spirit" for this talk to come together and knowing I haven't met my own expectations for the day...for the week...for the year...

I think this is a test of the Emergency "Good-Better-Best" Broadcast System!

So, here's to tuning in so I can hear.

Sink into the Heart

I am currently reading in the book of Mosiah.

A quick summary of where I am...

Abinadi, a prophet sent to call the people and more particularly a wicked king to repentance, has been captured,  imprisoned, and now tied up, is presented to the king.

His BOLD declaration of God's call to repentance and promises for the people and the king  if they choose to repent or not to repent mulls around and hardens the hearts of the wicked priests.

They try to slay him.

But, because he has not finished delivering God's message to the king, no one can touch him.

So, bound before the king, prophet Abinadi declares redemption through Jesus Christ. Repentance and Salvation.

Okay, so for the purpose of this post...

I was struck by a couple of verses where Abinadi BOLDY tells them the condition of the their hearts...

Mosiah 12:27

"Ye have not applied your hearts to understanding; therefore, ye have not been wise..."

Mosiah 13:7
"Yea, and I perceive that it cuts you to your hearts because I tell you the truth concerning your iniquities..."

Mosiah 13:11
"And now I read unto you the remainder of the acommandments of God, for I perceive that they are not written in your hearts..."

I was struck by the contrast of the condition of the heart of righteous King Benjamin and his people. 

Before he turns over his reign to his son, he too preaches repentence and redemption through Christ to his people.

Preparing them for his message he declares:

Mosiah 2:9
"My brethren, all ye that have assembled yourselves together, you that can hear my words which I shall speak unto you this day; for I have not commanded you to come up hither to trifle with the words which I shall speak, but that you should hearken unto me, and open your ears that ye may hear, and your hearts that ye may understand, and your minds that the mysteries of God may be unfolded to your view. "

First they are instructed to use their senses.

And they do...

And, in contrast to the wicked king and his people, we read:

Mosiah 4:2
"And they had viewed themselves in their own carnal state, even less than the dust of the earth. And they all cried aloud with one voice, saying: O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who created heaven and earth, and all things; who shall come down among the children of men."

Mosiah 5:2
"And they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually."

And this change of heart caused for outward actions...and the people covenant to follow Christ.

And again with the heart...

Mosiah 5:7
"And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters."

finally...

Mosiah 5:11,12,13
"11 ... therefore, take heed that ye do not transgress, that the name be not blotted out of your hearts.

12 I say unto you, I would that ye should remember to retain the name written always in your hearts...
13 For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?"
 
There is something peaceful and enriching about letting Christ sink deep into my heart...

...something beautiful about REMEMBERING to retain HIS name in my heart

...and something POWERUL and SAFE, KNOWING HE is the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIGHT.

I know that He makes the heart soft...

When I REMEMBER Him, and He is sunk into my heart, I am softer and kinder...patient and more understanding...

I am His.

So, tomorrow, I'll try again to rememember...

Knowing that when I forget...which I do too often as life busies around me...

I can trust in His perfect atonement...and repent and try again...

And when I do, I will feel His love just as King Benjamin's people did.

School and Blessings

With the beginning of school I've heard the anxieties of our children.

They are real. They have taken up a bulk of their thinking the past couple of weeks.

Some of these anxieties are familiar anxieties I had at the beginning of the school year and some are different.

Here are just a few:

Am I going to do well in school?  What if I don't? What if I am behind?

Will I make any friends? What if no one wants to play with me?

What if my friends want me to choose wrong things? If I don't do what they want me to, they might not like me.

Are there bullies?

Is my teacher nice?  What if she's not?

As a family, we have been praying for several weeks that our children will feel the Lord's love for them. That they would have the courage to make good choices in school. That they would feel confident in their learning.

Knowing that the Lord is ALWAYS aware of us and will bless us IF WE ASK HIM, we have been asking and waiting.

Today, listening to their school experiences and watching them as they did homework, I saw and felt a reassurance of the Lord's love for them. I saw His hand in their lives.

One child came home overjoyed that she found a friend.

Another child was able to concentrate and FINISH her homework. Her focus and determination was AMAZING! By the end of the night, she was reassured that she can learn...VERY WELL! She could feel the happiness that comes from growing

Our other child felt confident in understanding her studies. I could hear her excitement for learning. This same child, after several years of feeling like she has been without true friends, has extended friendship to others. 

I see the Lord's hand in these small...yet big things today.

"In the STRENGTH of the LORD, we can do hard things!"

Music Appreciation

D&C 25:12
     "For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing on their heads."

I lead the music for sisters in Relief Society.

Today, the music was BEAUTIFUL!

We have a small group of sisters that attend this meeting. When we sing, the voices are few. But, today, it was enriched with Primary children's voices...and voices of testimony!

As our practice song/hymn for August, the RS president asked us to learn, "I Know that My Savior Loves Me".

So, for the past weeks, we've been learning this song (Click Here to Listen).

Today, before singing together, a sister read about how the song came to be (Click Here).

I invited the older classes in Primary to sing with us...
So, after this sister read, the children sang...
and the sisters joined in...
and the Spirit was sooooo beautiful...
testifying of Jesus Christ and His love for each of us. And our love for Him.

Music is such a powerful tool!

It can Bring us to Christ.


It can Remind us of our Divine Nature and Potential.

It can Testify that God lives and loves us and is very much aware of our needs and cares and lives.


It can Testify of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.

A couple of great short reads about the power of music
click here and click here and click here and finally click here.

Today, I witnessed the power of music. I felt the love that the we sisters and the children have for Jesus Christ and I felt His love for each of us.

It was BEAUTIFUL!

Book of Mormon Game

Before reading to our children tonight, we played a game that was introduced to us by the Sister Missionaries in our area.

They call it "The Scripture Search Game".

So the object of the game is to see how a randomly picked scripture applies to the subject chosen.

The first subject our 9 year-old daughter chose was baptism.

I opened the book and let the pages fan through my fingers until one of the other children shouted, "STOP!"

I asked, "Left or right"(referring to which side of the page we would read from).

Another daugher answered, "Right".

I asked, "Left or right" again (now picking the column from which we would be reading).

"Right."

Then I had them pick one of the verses (31-34 in this particular column)from that column.

So, think baptism.

And this is the verse that was randomly picked.

Moroni 10: 32
"Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God."

Our 11 year-old described it this way...
When we come to Christ, we have faith in Him. And when we deny ourselves of all ungodliness and love God with all our might mind and strength, we repent. And that leads to Baptism.

She talked about the steps that lead to baptism.

I thought about how having faith in Christ leads us to repentance...wanting a change of heart. Which leads us to making covenants with Him. Because we trust that His grace is sufficient for us and we can nowise deny the power of God.

The second topic was prayer.
And the scripture was 3 Nephi 11:7

"Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name—hear ye him."

So, the answer from our daughters, "The people of Nephi were praying a lot and because they had been praying, they could hear Heavenly Father speak."

Finally, the last topic was missionary work.
We landed on Alma 11:23

Amulek is preaching to the people of Ammonihah.

"Now Amulek said: O thou child of hell, why tempt ye me? Knowest thou that the righteous yieldeth to no such temptations?"

And with this verse, there was a laugh and giggle because Amulek is preaching repentance and faith on Christ.

So, thank you, Sister Missionaries for introducing this game.

Caused for some pondering and really nice gospel discussion.

Sorry I'm reading

Sorry, I'm reading, so I'm going to take the night off (another one from blogging).
I'm reading with my daughter.

Hope to post tomorrow...

Goodnight!