A comedian's bit once included the joke, "Being a parent is easy, as long as you don't care how your kids turn out." But when you do care, things get tough. You have the responsibility to help your kids become good people (as much as you can--they have their own agency). But underlying that responsibility should be love. Then, after the conflicts and the hard conversations, you can return to a place where "roses bloom beneath your feet."
Showing posts with label forever families. Show all posts
Showing posts with label forever families. Show all posts
2/23/23
Does "Love at Home" Always Mean "Peace at Home"?
In the hymn "Love at Home," there are some lines that are questionable: "Peace and plenty here abide..." "Roses bloom beneath our feet..." "Making life a bliss complete..." But life is rarely that simple. But maybe there's a reason it's hard to keep "bliss complete."
A comedian's bit once included the joke, "Being a parent is easy, as long as you don't care how your kids turn out." But when you do care, things get tough. You have the responsibility to help your kids become good people (as much as you can--they have their own agency). But underlying that responsibility should be love. Then, after the conflicts and the hard conversations, you can return to a place where "roses bloom beneath your feet."
A comedian's bit once included the joke, "Being a parent is easy, as long as you don't care how your kids turn out." But when you do care, things get tough. You have the responsibility to help your kids become good people (as much as you can--they have their own agency). But underlying that responsibility should be love. Then, after the conflicts and the hard conversations, you can return to a place where "roses bloom beneath your feet."
11/9/15
Temple Trip!
Multiple times people expressed that they felt the presence of those we were doing the work for or that of their family.
At the Bountiful Temple we had to wait for around 3 hours for all the other mutual groups. Even after us there were many more people waiting to do ordinances. Even though they were rushing through people, the young man doing the confirmation prayers for us emphasized each prayer differently as if he was doing it for the actual person, rather than doing it proxy. At the time I wondered why he didn't hurry up, but as I was changing I realized that he was able to make the temple ordinances special and feel the peace even when everything else was crazy around him. Other girls with us also commented on it. It was amazing.
Finally, we noticed that there was a profound peace to be felt just on the temple grounds. At the St. George temple we weren't able to go in because they were renovating their baptismal font, so we just relaxed around the grounds. Even though we were occasionally goofy and crazy we mostly just chatted and wandered, visualizing our weddings and talking about the different temples.I received a stronger testimony of the power that temples have and of the work that happens in them.
Now, in New York, we are an hour and a half away from the closest temple. While this isn't a terrible distance, it's much different from being 15-30 min.s away from two :). I've made it a goal to visit the temple once a week, and to accept the LDS Church's Temple Challenge, which is approximately 1300 names, and I've already done 642!! Almost half way there and a few more months to go :S (I started late, that's my excuse).
The work that happens in temples is the work of God. You can grow so much closer to Him in the temples or even just on the temple grounds. I challenge anyone who reads this to visit an LDS temple sometime this month if it's possible. Even if you can't go inside, just take a moment on the grounds to "be still and know that I am God." He will bring you peace.
Amen.
4/30/15
More Scriptures
Death is a scary thing.
So it might be weird that I've spent the last five minutes looking up scriptures on death.
But the scriptures offer a lot of comfort.
If you've lost a love one recently, have moments of grief remembering someone who's passed away, or if you have a friend who needs help coping with loss turn to the scriptures. They provide simple truths about the reality of death; not the giant wall our human minds have set up, but the doorway it is meant to be.
Here are some of the scriptures I found, and a basic summary next to them:
So it might be weird that I've spent the last five minutes looking up scriptures on death.
But the scriptures offer a lot of comfort.
If you've lost a love one recently, have moments of grief remembering someone who's passed away, or if you have a friend who needs help coping with loss turn to the scriptures. They provide simple truths about the reality of death; not the giant wall our human minds have set up, but the doorway it is meant to be.
Here are some of the scriptures I found, and a basic summary next to them:
24:21, 26 (those killed as civilians in a war)
40:12 (state of paradise)
46:39 (having faith)
46:41 (those dying of old age)
56:11 (soldiers)
101:36 (joy after death)
122:9 (days are numbered)
12/18/14
My Journey to... FAMILY HISTORY! (stop groaning!)
When the phrase "Family History" crops up, there are usually four responses:
"(HUGE GROAN!) Not family history AGAIN! That's what grandparents are for!"
"Family History... yeah, I look through scrapbooks occasionally."
"What's family history?"
or, if you're in the 5% of the population:
"FAMILY HISTORY! That's, like, my LIFE!"
I used to be in the first category. I was so tired of hearing people tell me about how fun Family History was.
That is, until I started doing it :).
It all started with indexing. Indexing is the manual transcribing of images of names to a digital record, making it possible to search them.
(If you'd like to try it for yourself, here's a link to help you get started)
I'd do these about once a week (more if there was a Census... especially a typed Census. You'll know what I mean when you do it). Then I kind of trickled off, and stopped doing it.
After I graudally stopped indexing, I went for a year or so without doing anything besides listening to the talks and grumbling. But then, a friend showed me how to use the "Descendancy Chart" on familysearch.org . HOLY COW! It was amazing!
It's easy, fast, and a contribution. What more could you want?
Basically, using Descendancy Chart takes one of your ancestors, and shows you their descendants (no, duh :)). Next to the list of names are little icons telling you that this person needs more research, or that their *temple work* has already been done, or that you can request their ordinances.
Here's a video with a more coherent explanation.
If you'd like to learn more about family history, here's a lesson outline that gives you all sorts of resources: https://www.lds.org/youth/learn/ss/marriage-and-family/history?lang=eng
** Don't know about temple work? Read at one (or both!) of these sites:
https://www.lds.org/topics/baptisms-for-the-dead?lang=eng
http://www.mormon.org/faq/baptism-for-the-dead
"(HUGE GROAN!) Not family history AGAIN! That's what grandparents are for!"
"Family History... yeah, I look through scrapbooks occasionally."
"What's family history?"
or, if you're in the 5% of the population:
"FAMILY HISTORY! That's, like, my LIFE!"
I used to be in the first category. I was so tired of hearing people tell me about how fun Family History was.
That is, until I started doing it :).
It all started with indexing. Indexing is the manual transcribing of images of names to a digital record, making it possible to search them.
(If you'd like to try it for yourself, here's a link to help you get started)
I'd do these about once a week (more if there was a Census... especially a typed Census. You'll know what I mean when you do it). Then I kind of trickled off, and stopped doing it.
Recently, my grandparents (how are Family HIstory gurus, my Oma majored in Genealogy), returned from Germany where they'd been serving a Senior Mission. While there, they started to help a woman do Family History. This woman (we'll call her Sis. Schmidt) had been forced out of her home during the French occupation of Germany, and had lost almost all of her records.
When they started doing her family history, they were able to search for names of people she did remember (ie, parents, grandparents) and because of the indexing people had done, they were able to find many more of her ancestors and distant cousins.
After I graudally stopped indexing, I went for a year or so without doing anything besides listening to the talks and grumbling. But then, a friend showed me how to use the "Descendancy Chart" on familysearch.org . HOLY COW! It was amazing!
It's easy, fast, and a contribution. What more could you want?
Basically, using Descendancy Chart takes one of your ancestors, and shows you their descendants (no, duh :)). Next to the list of names are little icons telling you that this person needs more research, or that their *temple work* has already been done, or that you can request their ordinances.
Here's a video with a more coherent explanation.
If you'd like to learn more about family history, here's a lesson outline that gives you all sorts of resources: https://www.lds.org/youth/learn/ss/marriage-and-family/history?lang=eng
I know that through my work, I'm continuing the work of salvation. I challenge you to do it to.
** Don't know about temple work? Read at one (or both!) of these sites:
https://www.lds.org/topics/baptisms-for-the-dead?lang=eng
http://www.mormon.org/faq/baptism-for-the-dead
6/11/13
Forever Families
One of the most comforting beliefs in the LDS church is that families can live together FOREVER!! If you are sealed in the temple, and stay faithful to each other and to God then you can be together even after you die.
These are a few stories about people who have found comfort, and grown through this belief:
While Catherine and Kimball Herrod and their four young children, ages nine months to seven years, were driving home from a family dinner at their grandparents’ place, a double wheel from a huge semitruck on the opposite side of the freeway suddenly sprang loose, flew across the median, and pounded into the driver’s side of the family van. Kimball, the driver, husband, and father, was severely injured and unconscious. Catherine somehow guided the car to the shoulder and called for emergency help. While she watched the paramedics work on her husband and two older children, she sat in a police car with her two little ones on her lap and prayed vocally, “Heavenly Father, we know that Thou hast the power to heal Kimball if it is Thy will, but if not, we have faith that somehow Thou wilt sustain us through this.” Kimball was life-flighted to the hospital, but he did not make it there alive.
These are a few stories about people who have found comfort, and grown through this belief:
While Catherine and Kimball Herrod and their four young children, ages nine months to seven years, were driving home from a family dinner at their grandparents’ place, a double wheel from a huge semitruck on the opposite side of the freeway suddenly sprang loose, flew across the median, and pounded into the driver’s side of the family van. Kimball, the driver, husband, and father, was severely injured and unconscious. Catherine somehow guided the car to the shoulder and called for emergency help. While she watched the paramedics work on her husband and two older children, she sat in a police car with her two little ones on her lap and prayed vocally, “Heavenly Father, we know that Thou hast the power to heal Kimball if it is Thy will, but if not, we have faith that somehow Thou wilt sustain us through this.” Kimball was life-flighted to the hospital, but he did not make it there alive.
After
the children were treated for cuts, bruises, and other minor injuries,
dismissed from the hospital, and safely home in bed, Catherine returned
to the hospital to say her final earthly good-bye to her husband. As
difficult as it was, she declared to her parents, who were with her, “I
know that Kimball and I are sealed by our temple covenants, and we will
be together again someday.” In the most terrible trial of a young
mother’s life, her covenants sustained her.
At
the funeral, we were reminded of the power of covenants to sustain us
in moments of distress and grief. As we joined in the closing song, we
all heard above the crowd the voice of Taylor, the five-year-old son,
loudly singing, “Families Can Be Together Forever” (Hymns, no.
300). It was joyous for the congregation to know that a child had been
taught of the sealing covenants that would bind him to his father and
mother. --Susan B Tanner (former YW's president)
I know that we can live forever with our families. I know that I can be with my little brother again, and remember him, know him, and love him.
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