Of the Sabbath

I know I've neglected this blog, but I DID have a baby, so hopefully you'll forgive me for that. :)

I have a strong testimony of the Sabbath day. I didn't appreciate it as much as I should have before this focus we've had in the past year. But now I understand more. I also have a part-time job now, so I appreciate the Sabbath even more!! My mind is constantly thinking about the business, so it's nice to have that weight lifted off each Sunday and really focus on other things.

I know that as we focus on Christ and truly make the Sabbath a delight, we will be blessed!

Of Jesus Christ

The scriptures my family chose for the last two weeks went really well together.

Last week was Helaman 5:12:

And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

This week is Job 19:25:

For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shallstand at the latter day upon the earth:


I know that Jesus Christ lives and that He's my Savior and Redeemer. Nothing else in this world matters if you know those truths. I try to base my life on Him and on His teachings, because I know that's where real joy is found. Nothing else really matters. Either things will align with those beliefs or they're water under the bridge.

If you base your life on Jesus Christ, everything else will work out. He's waiting for us to turn to Him so that He can bless us. And He does bless us, with more than we can ever imagine!

Of Inspired Leaders

Today, Elder Bednar spoke at Education Week (you can watch or read it here). We truly have inspired leaders! His entire message was on how we can utilize social media in spreading the Gospel. I highly recommend watching it!

One of my favorite lines in his devotional was something like, "Social media needs to be our servant - not our master." That's definitely not a direct quote, but that's the message I heard. And I must admit that it has been my master way too many times! I'm ready to take over and show it who's boss! :)

I'm so grateful for the leaders of our Church. They truly are inspired to share with us what we need to hear on that very day!

Of Forgiveness

Whenever I start thinking about past experiences and people in my past that I know I need to continuously forgive, I turn to the Gospel. The Church has wonderful videos that can help us through those tough times, if we let them. This video is one of my favorites on forgiveness. If he can forgive this young man, I can surely forgive people in my past.



When we don't forgive, we are essentially telling Christ that His Atonement isn't good enough for that person. We have to forgive. It's as simple as that. And I know that when we do, our lives are filled with peace.

Of Personal Progress

Tonight I noticed that there's still a steady stream of page views for this blog, so I'm going to try to get it back up and running. :)

Tonight, I'd like to share my testimony of Personal Progress. I was called to Young Women's in February. It's the first time I've ever taught anyone over the age of 11! So I was overwhelmed at first, but now I can't imagine life without these girls in my life!

Part of the neat experience of Young Women is Personal Progress. I earned my medallion as a teenager, but now that I'm working on it again, I have a renewed love for it! As I go through the scriptures and the experiences set forth, I can feel the Spirit more easily in our home. And I can feel a deeper testimony within myself.

If you're not sure what you want to study, I suggest working through some of the Personal Progress goals. The combination of scriptures that they present are amazing. You'll learn lots about yourself and about the Savior!

GC Notes - Elder Clayton, October 2011

http://diapersanddivinity.com/2011/10/23/gcbc-week-4-the-time-shall-come-by-elder-l-whitney-clayton/

- God has a work for ME (and you!) to do - what is it? how can we figure that out? (patriarchal blessing...)
- We have scarcely scratched the surface, even with 14 million members. We EACH have a work to do!
- Our most important message is that there IS a Savior.
- I need to bear my testimony more, in every day activities.

I do know that Christ IS our Savior!!

GC Notes - Sister Thompson, October 2011

NOTES FOR GCBC - Barbara Thompson, "Personal Revelation and Testimony"

- personal revelation is how we gain our testimony
- personal revelation guides us (how do we know what to do in life without it?)
- "have ye inquired of the Lord?" - have I?
- to receive - desire to receive, not harden our hearts, ask in faith, diligently keep the commandments
- study D&C 6
- most often, it will come as we study the scriptures, listen to prophets, seek to live a righteous life - I need to do these things if I want revelation
- be humble and faithful
- seek for wisdom instead of power
- seek guidance from the Holy Ghost
- your soul is satisfied when you are filled with the Spirit (formula for contentment)
- "It is our testimony, combined with our faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ, and our knowledge of the Plan of Salvation which helps get us through these times of trial and hardship."
- "The testimony kept me."
- we must nourish and strengthen our testimony to keep it strong
- sometimes the Spirit is so delicate that we may not be conscious of it - to me, that means I need to be more aware of everything around me and in me - the Spirit isn't going to yell messages to me


I know the Lord can and WILL guide each of us as we seek His guidance and try to do what He asks us to do.

Are 'Mormons' Christians? YES!

I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I believe in Jesus Christ and all that He did for us. 

I'm a Mormon AND a Christian.

Of the Atonement

I'm so grateful for my knowledge of Christ's Atonement for me. It gives me peace to know that I can turn to Him and Heavenly Father after I've done everything I can. I know that They know how I feel, and They can help. I know I can feel peace, no matter what life throws at me. I'm so grateful for this knowledge.

He Lives: Testimonies of Jesus Christ

An Apostle's Role - Elder Bednar

The Book of Mormon in 90 Days

About once every year or so, I get the urge to read The Book of Mormon at a fast pace. I love studying individual verses and chapters at a more leisurely pace, but there's something about reading it quickly that helps me get the big picture.

So once again, I'm going to read The Book of Mormon in 90 days, and I invite you all to join me! I wanted to end on Christmas Eve, and that means starting on September 27th. I have a schedule made up with how many chapters to read each day, so just let me know if you'd like one. I'll also keep a list in the sidebar of what chapters to read for each given week.

The Book of Mormon is a wonderful book, and I know that as we read it, the Spirit will fill our homes. I know Autumn is a busy time for many, but please consider reading it with me!

Of the Temple

Today was the dedication of the Gila Valley Arizona Temple. Church was cancelled throughout Arizona so we could attend it, via satellite to our stake centers. The dedication was beautiful, as is the temple. We weren't able to go to the open house, so it was nice to see what the inside looked like.

One of the stories President Monson shared in his talk was very powerful to me. Hopefully, I get the details right. He spoke of the time when he went to Tonga to organize the first stake there. He was talking to one of the men who was called to be a high councilor, and he asked if he had been to the temple. He said yes. He then asked if he had been sealed to his wife and children. The man got emotional as he said that he and his wife had 10 children. Because of the cost of making a trip to the temple (the closest being in New Zealand at the time), they were only able to take four of their children with them to be sealed to them. They were, of course, saving money to take the other six to the temple - even if it took his entire life, he said.

I started crying when I heard this! I live 5 minutes away from a temple, and how often do I appreciate it like I'm sure this man did? I can't imagine only being able to be sealed to half of my children!

The story has a happy ending, however. When he got home from Tonga, President Monson told the story of this man to his family one night. One of his teenage daughters was a part of the seminary council at the time, and they decided to have a fundraiser for temple funds for the Polynesian people. They raised enough money for that family to all be sealed, in addition to several others.

I'm so grateful for the temple, and especially for the ability to be sealed together as a family. I'm glad I chose to be married in the temple, so my children are automatically sealed to us. I'm also grateful for the chance to live my life so that I'm worthy of that sealing.

Of the Priesthood

I have a great testimony of the power of the Priesthood. This testimony was strengthened last night.

Being almost 8 months pregnant, I've had a lot of heartburn for a few months now. Over the last week or so, it had gotten worse and worse, lasting longer and longer. Finally, last night, I was in so much pain - I was even getting heartburn from milk! It was really bad. So I asked my husband for a Priesthood blessing.

It was a simple blessing, but it was perfect. The heartburn immediately left. It's been 24 hours now, and I haven't had heartburn once. To me, that's a miracle! I'm so grateful for the Priesthood and its power to heal.

Of the Book of Mormon

This is an excellent video to watch over and over again. Today, there's a Facebook/YouTube challenge going on to see if we can get it at the top of the YouTube lists, so make sure you watch it again and again today! :)

Of Service

I'm about seven and a half months pregnant right now, and unfortunately, the extra hormones tend to make me kind of depressed sometimes. It comes in waves, so I'm thankful for the ups! However, my last "down" was a couple of weeks ago. It was just a hard week; it seemed like everything went wrong all at once. But of course, the Lord works through angels on earth! (Who gave that talk a few Conferences ago? Elder Holland? ... Found it!)

The very next Sunday after my hard week, our sacrament meeting topic was President Monson's talk from last October, What Have I Done For Someone Today? One of the speakers gave an excellent talk that was just what I needed to hear.

She related a story of one of her dear friends, whose entire family suffered from clinical depression. She knew all of her friend's siblings were on some kind of medication for it, but she also knew her friend wasn't taking anything. One day she asked her how she could handle the depression without taking anything. Her friend said, "I try to serve someone outside of my family every single day, as early in the day as I possibly can. I don't need medication when I do this." What a testimony of service! Because of her service to others, her body was physically able to produce what it needed to, to keep the depression under control.

I know service has that capability! I'm so much happier when I'm serving others. (As a side note, I have noticed that it's the days that I'm physically unable to serve others that my spirits fall. However, even sending a friendly email is something almost anyone can do while not feeling well!) I know that as we serve, we're not only helping those we serve, but we're blessing our own lives, as well.

Of the Book of Mormon

This video is much more powerful than any words I could write. But my testimony is the same. I know The Book of Mormon is true!

He Lives

We were out of town for Easter, so I didn't post anything. But this message is true all year long!

Gospel Principles

The new manual for the next two years for the Priesthood and for Relief Society is Gospel Principles. I just wanted to bear my testimony of this book! I remember reading it growing up - sometimes on my own, sometimes as part of family scripture study. It was definitely one of those books that I would go to if I had a question.

And now as a mother, I've begun to read it with my oldest daughter. We homeschool, and a few months ago, I was trying to decide on a "reader" to use (something for her to read out loud to me, to practice enunciation, etc.), and as I was thinking about it, I had a very distinct thought that I should use Gospel Principles. I'm not one to get very distinct thoughts like that very often, so I definitely listened to it! And now, I love that she reads it on her own, and I love hearing her say things like, "Mom, I'm on Chapter 4, and we're only on Chapter 2!"

As we study from this book for the next two years, I know my testimony of the basic Gospel principles will be strengthened. And I know yours can, too, as you read it!

Of Tithing

Over the summer, I really gained a stronger testimony of tithing. I've always had a testimony of it, but there were a few instances this summer, that made my testimony even stronger.

In June, my husband asked if we could round our tithing up a little. He's always liked it to be exactly 10%, so taxes are easier, and then we'd just put a little more in fast offerings. But he felt like we should give a little more toward tithing. Of course, I said sure!

In July, my husband's boss let them know that someone from their department would need to be laid off. There were only 8 people in his department. Unfortunately, his friend was laid off, but what a blessing to our family for my husband to keep his job.

His boss had also mentioned that if they didn't start to get more work, everyone would have to have pay cuts by the end of August. We continued to pay our tithing in faith, knowing Heavenly Father would bless us. Around the middle of August, we received the news that business had picked up enough that they were going to postpone pay cuts! It's been two months since then, and it seems like they keep getting more and more work. That's quite a blessing!

The last miracle was one that especially touched me and made me grateful to our Heavenly Father for truly being mindful of all His children. Our daughters were going to start a music class in August. Combined, their tuition would have been close to $70 a month. Thanks to my dear friend, the teacher of this music class, we traded babysitting for the "sibling tuition" for my second daughter. That still left me with $45 a month to come up with, out of my own budget! My husband didn't see music class as a true necessity, so I said I'd take care of it. I didn't know how I would, but it was really important to me that the girls started this music class.

Halfway through July, I got an email from my friend, saying that there was going to be a scholarship offered for the music classes to those who qualified. I had to answer a few questions, and send them in to the founder of these specific classes.

Not two days after hearing about not having pay cuts, we got the blessed phone call that we had qualified for the music scholarship! Our materials fee was waived ($98), tuition was cut in half ($22.50 a month now, instead of close to $70 in the beginning), and the scholarship is renewable next year!

Some people would call this a coincidence, but I don't believe that. I know we were blessed for faithfully paying our tithing.