Love at Home

“What is most important almost always involves the people around us. Often we assume that they must know how much we love them. But we should never assume; we should let them know. Wrote William Shakespeare, ‘They do not love that do not show their love.’ We will never regret the kind words spoken or the affection shown. Rather, our regrets will come if such things are omitted from our relationships with those who mean the most to us.” ~Thomas S. Monson

Peace at Home

Homes should be a place that we want to return to. Homes can offer protection from the world. But some homes today are filled with anger and disrespect. What are you doing to build a happy home? Are you calling your siblings names? Are you listening to your parents? Are you telling your family that you love them? The First Great Commandment is to love God with all of your might mind and strength. The very next commandment is to love our neighbor as ourselves. We are all children of a Heavenly Being. He loves us. And He want us to love others. Why tear down a brother or sister's confidence in themselves as they are striving to be good and return to our Heavenly Father. That is not what we should be doing. It doesn't help them and especially doesn't help us. We have no room to judge. Worry about what you're doing to become more like Christ. We will not be judging them with Christ. Christ will be judging us. And He will be fair. So let's make our communities and specifically our homes a place where we can all feel loved. Homes are a place of learning, a place where families come together and be themselves. Being with your family should be a time where all can feel comfortable and happy. From a document entitled The Family: A Proclamation to the World, it reads: "Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ." 

The Divine Example of Jesus Christ

When we have Christ in our homes, we become more like Him. We will talk with kindness to our siblings, desire to serve our family, and we will most importantly, love one another. Christ is the greatest example of love. He suffered all the pains and sicknesses everybody. Jesus Christ loved us so much that He was willing to give up His life for us, so that we can live with our Father in Heaven once again. He volunteered in the Pre-Mortal existence. He will always love you. He is watching over you. May we all make Jesus Christ our example of loving our neighbor.

Blessings of a Happy Home

 

When our homes become full of love, full of learning, and full of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we will become more like Christ. We will know how to love, how to learn, and we will have the knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This will give our children the tools to build their own happy home as the future fathers and mothers of the world. There is a song that explains this better than I can, entitled: "Love at Home"

1. There is beauty all around
   When there's love at home;
   There is joy in ev'ry sound
   When there's love at home.
   Peace and plenty here abide,
   Smiling sweet on ev'ry side.
   Time doth softly, sweetly glide
   When there's love at home.
   Love at home, love at home;
   Time doth softly, sweetly glide
   When there's love at home.
2. In the cottage there is joy
   When there's love at home;
   Hate and envy ne'er annoy
   When there's love at home.
   Roses bloom beneath our feet;
   All the earth's a garden sweet,
   Making life a bliss complete
   When there's love at home.
   Love at home, love at home;
   Making life a bliss complete
   When there's love at home.
3. Kindly heaven smiles above
   When there's love at home;
   All the world is filled with love
   When there's love at home.
   Sweeter sings the brooklet by;
   Brighter beams the azure sky.
   Oh, there's One who smiles on high
   When there's love at home.
   Love at home, love at home;
   Oh, there's One who smiles on high
   When there's love at home.
    
   I know that love will help us become better people. I know that if we love like our Savior, we will touch the hearts of many, like He did when He was on the Earth. We can be disciples of Christ by giving service and loving others. We will be blessed by doing so, and feel the joy of serving. I know that having love in our homes is essential to making a peaceful home for our families. I know for a fact that God lives and has a plan for us. We all have a mission on this Earth to perform. Continue to serve. Continue to be faithful. Continue to love. And I say that in the name of my Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

    

The Courage of Abinadi.

Hello everyone! Brothers and sisters! Children of God! :) I have been reading in the Book of Mormon. I am trying to finish it before this new year of Seminary being the Book of Mormon. As I am nearing the midpoint, I have learned so much! I'm getting into Alma pretty soon and that brought me to the story of Abinadi. He is a true hero. Everyone was against him. Yet he had a strong enough faith to not deny his testimony when he was facing death. It makes me question...Do I have enough faith right now, that if I was sentenced to death for blogging about the Church, would I take all of it back? Or, would I be like Abinadi and stand for what is right and true? Ask yourself this question. What is your answer? If no, what can you do to strengthen your faith?

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles recently gave a talk in General Conference titled, "Lord, I Believe" I strongly encourage those who feel that their faith is lacking, to re watch or read this talk. It is so awesome. He knows what he says is true. I'll pull a few quotes from his talk, that I found interesting. 

"In moments of fear or doubt or troubling times, hold the ground you have already won, even if that ground is limited."

"Hold fast to what you already know and stand strong until additional knowledge comes."

"The size of your faith or the degree of your knowledge is not the issue—it is the integrity you demonstrate toward the faith you do have and the truth you already know."

"I am asking you to be true to the faith you do have. Sometimes we act as if an honest declaration of doubt is a higher manifestation of moral courage than is an honest declaration of faith. It is not!"

My stake president shared something with the missionary academy that I really enjoyed. It was a quote from Richard G. Scott, a talk he gave in 2003. It reads, "Faith will forge strength of character available to you in times of urgent need. Such character is not developed in moments of great challenge or temptation. That is when it is used. Character is woven patiently from threads of principle, doctrine, and obedience. In James we read: “The trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” ⁶ The bedrock of character is integrity. Worthy character will strengthen your capacity to obediently respond to the direction of the Spirit. Righteous character is what you are becoming. It is more important than what you own, what you have learned, or what goals you have accomplished. It allows you to be trusted. Righteous character provides the foundation of spiritual strength. It enables you in times of trial and testing to make difficult, extremely important decisions correctly even when they seem overpowering. I testify that neither Satan nor any other power can weaken or destroy your growing character. Only you could do that through disobedience. 

No matter what occurs, no matter how topsy-turvy the world becomes, you can always have the sustaining power of faith. That will never change. The perfect love of your Father in Heaven will never change. His gospel plan gives life meaning and can assure your happiness. His plan is not only to prove yourself here on earth but also that you may receive the growth that comes from correct decisions prompted by faith, enabled by your obedience." 

 

I know that if we have a strong faith in Jesus Christ, our trials will become easier through our Redeemer. If we are continuous in strengthening our faith, we will have the strength and courage that Abinadi had.  I know that our trials on this Earth are but a moment compared to the eternal happiness that we will feel when we are with our families and our loving Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother.  I know that if we listen to the counsel of our Latter Day Prophet here on the Earth today, we will be blessed and be strengthened. And I say that in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

"I am forever changed, And I'll never be the same."

This past month has been a spiritual roller coaster...that only goes up! I have become closer with my loving Heavenly Father. It really hit me how much He loves us. He loves us so much, that He gave us His Son, to redeem the world. I can't live without it. I am so grateful for that. It feels good to know that I am a son of God. And He wants the best for me. He loves me. And you. He wants us to return to Him. And with that, we have the potential to literally become like God. This brings so much peace into my life. Our Savior Jesus Christ, was willing to take upon the sins of the world. He was willing to go through all of the trials and hardships that we face in our lives. And He is willing to help. So why ignore a friend when they have already gone through what you are and they can help you overcome it?

I realized how much my days are filled with Him. He is always there. Even if we don't see it. At EFY this past week (A 5 day camp for mormon youth), I understood how important it was to always have the Spirit with me. He can influence my life greatly. I realized that I can be an instrument in His hands when I have the Spirit with me. I can be an influence to those around me. And I love it. I've received so many promptings in the past weeks, and I am so grateful that I followed them. I know that having the Spirit is essential in spreading forth the Gospel to all of the world. His work is moving forward. We cannot take this lightly. We can all become instruments in His hands if we simply read the Book of Mormon every day, pray earnestly, and seek for opportunities to serve others. I have seen the influence of the Holy Ghost so much and I love it!!!! I am so grateful for this Gospel, I don't even know how to describe it. While at EFY, my counselors guided me and I believe, were influenced with everything they told me. I love them to death! So I would just like to show you this video that one of my counselors showed us on Friday. And also, a song that comes from a past EFY (they make CD's for us.) I know that this Church is the only true church that has the power of the Priesthood that was given to Joseph Smith almost 200 years ago. I know that President Monson leads and guides this Church today. I know that the Book of Mormon is the keystone of our religion and can change your life. And I would like to say this in the name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkliq8McLmw

Holland's First Great Commandment Talk: SO GOOD.

How can you relate this to your life?

My Humanitarian Experience for Youth Trip - Dominican Republic

HEFY is an organization where for 2 weeks you go to a country and give service to the people. On this particular trip that I went on, we were building a better school for kids in the Dominican Republic. It was a life changing experience. 

The people there were truly happy. They didn't need iPods or A/C or warm water to be happy. They had their families and friends, and the Church. It really gave me a new perspective on what matters most in our lives. I really enjoyed giving service every day. There were some days when I really didn't want to wake up, because I was so tired. But once I started working, I saw how happy the kids were and how grateful they were for us gringos to come down and do this for them. I think on that trip I was the happiest I had ever been in my life. I was serving. And I now have a testimony that when you serve others, you are really serving God and I received so many blessings on that trip. I tried to read my scriptures every day. And I did somewhat well, and when I did study them, I became even happier. I loved that feeling. I want to serve so badly now that I was so happy. 

This whole experience really increased my testimony of love also. C.S. Lewis once said: "Before you can truly love others, you have to love God first." The youth that I went with on this trip were so great too. We all understood our purpose. We were there to serve the people. We gave our best efforts every day and had so much fun doing it. I miss them so much. I know that we were all in that group for a reason. Because I learned something from each person in that group that I needed to learn. They all had such great testimonies. And one of my leaders said this: "It's a developing country, but they certainly don't have developing testimonies." I love this Church and I am even more grateful for all of the service opportunities that the Church offers. We become closer to God when we serve. And I felt the Spirit so strongly on my trip. I love you all, and I know that God loves you. Pray to him. Sincerely. He longs to hear from you. I would like to end this with a quote by one of our past prophets, President Gordon B. Hinckley. He stated: "If we want joy in our hearts, if we want the spirit of the Lord in our lives, let us forget ourselves and reach out." And I say that in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.