Drug Use Is Not Funny

I keep seeing reminders about how many lives are destroyed by drugs. It's a sorry road for all involved; that's for sure. And the people who claim drugs make them more creative. Yeah right. Are they the walrus?

What I've seen are mothers in rehab programs trying to keep the babies that they are pregnant with or just delivered, because their other children have already been put in foster care. (Incidentally, I am glad that I could be involved in serving a group of these women. I know that I made a difference in their day-to-day lives for a short time; but, the reality of it is that very few of them break out of being users for very long.)

I've also seen people who are sickly thin, very unhealthy physically and emotionally, and who have teeth rotting out of control. I've seen people falling asleep-mid sentence in a conversation with me.

A friend of mine has a daughter who spent many years in jail because of drugs. My friend picked her up on the daughter's release date planning to have her daughter stay with her until she got her bearings. She didn't even stay at her mom's home one night.

One of my best friends started using marijuana when we were in middle school. She was one of the brightest people I've ever met, but that decision took her down an entirely different road than the one she envisioned in her childhood dreams. So whether legal or not, it is destructive. That goes for alcohol as well; and, alcohol has had detrimental effects on some of my family members. I don't know why anyone would consider mind-altering drugs which limit our abilities to think logically and react skillfully or intelligently as a form of recreation. What is funny about losing control? Sometimes it might look funny if someone can't walk straight; it mind sound funny if someone's speech is slurred. But is it really funny? Is it funny to puke your guts out, or piss yourself? Is it funny to get raped, or to cause fatal accidents? Is it funny to limit your potential to learn and grow, maybe to the point that you can never hold a good job? Is it funny to be a slave?

We have a friend that recently had a stroke. She realized something was wrong because she couldn’t speak coherently and she didn’t have control of her one arm. Is that funny? No. It’s tragic. So why would the same effects be funny if the cause is self-induced?

I’m just thinking about this currently. I know I personally can’t change things. But we have an epidemic in our world. People want quick fixes, and they are hooked on seeking a way out. Life is hard; but, it is so much simpler if you are playing with a full deck of cards. I might be scoffed for writing this, because why would I know what I’m talking about? There are plenty of users out there who say they are just doing it for the recreation. It’s twisted recreation when people are willing to sell away their freedom and hand over control of their own minds and bodies. That’s slavery, in my opinion. And most honest, thinking people would never sell themselves into slavery. (Or, rather, most wouldn't pay to be slaves.)

So rather than wanting more substances legalized, I wish that we were creating defensible space that would make it virtually impossible to entrap our youth. It’s a shame that so many adults are getting rich off enslaving those who are our future. And I wish that there could be a greater chance for rehabilitation. But drugs are a powerful master. People need to desire what is real, what is hard, and what takes work if they are going to break the cycle. And they are going to need supporters that believe in their worth until enough self-worth, confidence, and ability are restored.

More than anything else, those who have been using drugs need to know there is a way out. They need to honestly acknowledge that they need help, and then they need to seek it. They need to hungry after help like they hunger after the loved and despised substances. Prayer is always a great place to start, because God can put the right people in our lives to offer us help. But seeking help and following through is mandatory. Loving life, loving family, and seeking a hopeful future need to become what is paramount. And it is possible. But not a smidgen of one ounce of the dreaded substances can ever be sought ever again for recreation or escape or any other purpose. To break free from slave masters, we need to walk a new road. 

Lift with Love

Lift with Love

While so many are claiming to stand on the Lord's side or with his prophets, we need to remember that we were all key players on the Lord's team in heaven, every single human soul. Jealousy, mistrust, lack of understanding, forgetfulness, pride, and deceit have blinded so many of us to our true purpose.

Jesus's gospel is one of love. We cannot invite others to come unto Him if we continually display an attitude of superiority. Jesus continually reminds us that as the greatest of all, He came to be the servant to all. He also reminds us that if we exalt ourselves, we will be abased; and if we humble ourselves, we shall be exalted.

In gratitude for His sacrifice for all of us, let's impart goodwill towards one another, instead of resentment, jealousy, or disdain. When we think that we are doing way better than our neighbors, we place ourselves on slippery slope. It is as true in the real world, as it is in Greek mythology, that pride comes before the fall. The thing that is so sad to see is that many times, the actions of the proud hurt the humble as well.

So I hope that my fellow Christians and other followers of the Father of us all, will seek to lift and help each other, instead of using each other's faults as a pedestal to expose their own virtues. It doesn't work. We all stumble together when that is our initiative and purpose.

Jesus's initiative and purpose was to lift us all up until we could become exalted through Him. We cannot be true followers of Him until His love grows inside our hearts to such a degree that this is also our initiative and purpose.

I'm thankful for the Atonement and for one more day to try to follow him better. He continues to lift me with His love, and I hope that each day I can find someone to lift with my love and help him or her find the Savior's love as a result.

Gathering Israel

I enjoy being a ward missionary. With that call, I have the opportunity to teach Gospel Principles every other Sunday. Last Sunday, Sister Fisher taught about the Gathering of Israel. It is clear that there are both a physical gathering (Judah to homeland, Joseph to the Americas, and the 10 tribes eventually to be gathered in more fully as well); and a spiritual gathering (which happens when we make our baptismal covenants and enter the waters of Judah, and become part of covenant Israel). And the Church today asks that as we are gathered, we remain in the countries we reside in, and build up Zion there.

As Saints gathered in these last days, we have the opportunity to unite in worship and instruction twice a year at conference time. I am so grateful for that. Under the leadership of a prophet of God, we will receive our marching orders for the next six months. That's a beautiful blessing. We can trust those things that are taught to us as if spoken directly from God's own mouth.

I am also grateful for the privilege of belonging to the Relief Society. Here we should be learning to be one in heart. We are all at different ages and different stages, but like we heard in our Women's Meeting last week, we all matter, and we are all needed.

So under Jesus's constant call, we hear again the words, "Come, Unto Me," and "Come, and See." His words are words of the gathering. His words are not ones of turning us away or saying that some are more important than others. I will look to the Shepherd as the True Gatherer of Israel, and under His direction I will seek to be united with my brothers and sisters; because, it is He who said, "If ye are not one, ye are not mine."

With that, I hope that we are all wary of unauthorized invitations to unite or to gather under any other Head than Christ's. No person or persons have the authority to ask us to gather in a Facebook setting whether or not they purport to believe as we believe or think ask we think. We are already gathered in our Church membership.

Jesus asked us to let the wheat and the tares grow together, because if we think we are "gathering" wheat, we might actually be disturbing the growth of wheat that we have mistaken for tares. I for one would not want to be responsible for that. We need not take on being a catalyst for the latter-day sifting process. Our goal should be to invite all to come unto Christ and be perfected in Him, because this is the mission of His Church.

Have a happy conference weekend.

Reclaiming the Rainbow

Reclaiming the Rainbow

                                                             (Original Web Photo)

The rainbow has been a
token of the covenant
which God made with Noah,
and it remains a token
of that covenant today.

"And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth."

(Genesis 9:12-16)

(Orginal Web Photo)

The rainbow has been a token of the covenant which God made with Noah, and it remains a token of that covenant today.

During Noah’s time, the world was in an awful disarray of wickedness which is mirrored in today’s world. Noah preached repentance to the people and warned them that the floods would come if they did not repent. The people chose to not listen to the words of the prophet. And while they lived to see the beginning of the fulfillment of the prophecy, they could not remain on the earth to enjoy the fresh new world.

While many adopt the rainbow as a symbol for their particular causes, because it is indeed a sign of something beautiful; today, when we see the beautiful rainbow, we should remember that not only is it a covenant of God’s grace in not flooding the world again, but it is also a reminder that the prophets’ words are verified, and that there can only be lasting beauty and peace in obedience to God’s commandments.

So while Satan would adopt a thing of beauty to promote his own dominion and flaunt that there is no virtue in keeping God’s commandments, and there will be no repercussions for broken laws because the Lord has promised that He will not flood the entire earth again; we should reclaim the rainbow as a token of God’s covenant with Noah, and we should determine to become a part of His covenant people through making and keeping covenants with Him, and by being obedient to His commandments and adhering to the words of His prophets, for indeed their words will all come to pass as the Lord has so promised. And if we are faithful and obedient, we can be a part of the ushering in of His new and beautiful world and enjoy with Him His peaceful Millennial Reign.

I love the rainbow;
and as a covenant people,
we should cherish
this token of the covenant
God made with Noah.

(http://tinyurl.com/odezgqd)

Temples Bless Us with Power from on High

Temples Bless Us with Power from on High

It once was said that all roads lead to Rome. But the Roman Empire has since fallen. Today some people think that all road lead to the temple. While we know that the Lord’s Kingdom will not fail, not all roads lead to the temple. In fact, most roads will lead us away from the temple. Temples certainly do dot the earth, and we can even see the Redlands Temple from our own backyard; but, the real road to the temple is discipleship. When we comply to the principles, ordinances, and commandments found in the gospel of Jesus Christ, then we are on the road to the temple.

How do we begin?

We must become acquainted with our Heavenly Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. This is the most important thing we can so. As mothers especially, I feel that it is important to teach our children very young that they are children of God, that He loves them, and that He has expectations for them. 

In the Lord’s Mission Statement, we read, 

“For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man (Moses 1:39).”  

The day that the Prophet Joseph Smith spoke about will soon be here: 

 “If any man does not know God, . . . he will realize that he has not eternal life; for there can be eternal life on no other principle” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 344).  

So it is important to make these things known unto the children of men (2 Nephi 2:8). 

It is interesting to note, that many in the world today think that knowing about God is enough. If they acknowledge that He exists, they think that they have done their part and all will be well with them. They do not realize that like any loving parent, God has expectations for them and of them. Remember, that even Laman and Lemuel believed in God; they knew He existed; they were visited and reprimanded by an angel. But when they expressed unbelief or resentment towards Nephi for his understanding and his relationship with God, 

Nephi asked them, “Have ye inquired of the Lord?” 

And their response was, “We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us (See 2 Nephi 15:8-9 ).”  

You see, they failed to become acquainted with God, and they failed to see their relationship to Him. In essence, even though they believed in God, they did not believe in themselves or in God’s love for them.

Satan perpetuates this lie: that none of us can know God. Why? Because, if he can divert us from the path back to our Heavenly Father, he feels that he’s won. Yet we know that because of God’s Plan for us and our Savior’s Atonement for us, They won a long time ago. It is just up to us to choose to be on the winning team, and to invite others to be as well; and as parents, we must begin with our own families.

There are others who have abandoned any belief in God. They claim superiority to those who have faith, saying that we are childish. There are many examples of this type in The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. Basically, this group does not want to live by the teachings of the gospel, so it becomes more convenient for them to deny God than to deny themselves of their godlessness.

Also, we live in a day when diversity is the thing to be prized and celebrated. Even though diversity abounds and can add richness to society, I prefer to celebrate our commonality—that we are all children of God, that we have a common parentage through Adam and Eve, and that we have unlimited potential if we make and keep covenants with our Father. I feel it is a shame that there is so much pride in belonging to a special interest group. Our Father and our Savior have invested greater interest in all of us than any special interest group ever will, and They have so much more to offer. Some celebrate their individual struggles as making them more special or more blessed. In Ether 12:27, we learn that God gives unto men weaknesses that they may be humble, and then if they turn to Him in humility and faith, he will make weak things become strong unto them.

So it isn't our weaknesses or our diversity that we should celebrate most; but, we should celebrate the grace of the Lord, that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ we can become stronger, and better, and be made whole.  

I have chosen to give this background information to this talk, because it is of paramount importance that we become acquainted with God; that we help our children to become acquainted through reading, study, prayer, service, devotion, meditation, work, and genuine love and kindness. We cannot maintain a relationship with our Heavenly Father if we become too casual in our devotion.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been restored in our day, and all the Priesthood power along with it, that can bind us as families for eternity and deliver us to God’s throne spotless, where we can receive a full extension of His grace, and move forward in our progression to become like Him. That is powerful. That is merciful. That is brilliant. And Satan knows it. We live in a time where we can go to the temples and be endowed with power from on high. Why would Satan and his minions allow that? No, he will do all in his power to thwart that from happening. And that is why we see the confusion over the family unit, gender identity, and proper use of priesthood power. 

Did God know this would happen? Of course He did, and that is why He had the prophet and the apostles issue The Family: A Proclamation to the World nearly 19 years ago. As we study that document, we can equip ourselves and our family with the necessary knowledge to combat both personal doubts and assaults from within and without the church. In saying this, I am not suggesting that we argue, fight, or force our opinions down anyone’s throats. That has never been the Lord’s way, and it isn't today. But we do need to have the boldness NOW to hasten the work. 

• As mothers and fathers, there is no better way to hasten the work than to teach our children and to be an example to them. 

• Second to that, let’s hasten the work by being more valiant home and visiting teachers and by magnifying our callings. 

• As individuals, couples, and families, let’s hasten the work by sharing our testimonies, our faith, The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, our food, our time, our homes, and our lives. 

The souls of all around us are in danger, and we have the means to help them. 

Let’s point them in the direction of our Heavenly Father, of His Son’s Atonement, of access to their mercy and grace through the first principles and ordinance of the gospel, which are Faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism by immersion for remission of sins by proper priesthood authority, and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost (See Article of Faith 1:4). And we cannot stop there. 

Let’s point them to the temple, and let’s develop the faith to take them there! 

I feel that too many of us are more worried about our rights of worship, and the rites performed in our temples, being taken away from us than we are in making it known that these blessings are available to all and inviting them to join us.

As a young mother, I felt it was important to read the scriptures and the Friend magazine with my children. It was important to teach them to share and to get along, and to rejoice in each other’s accomplishments. It was important for Bob and me to read with them, play with them, and teach them. Bob was very involved in all of this. He made sure that the children always had a good supply of books and music and that our family had wonderful daycations together.

Mother and Father need to work together as a team. This is especially true as the children grow older. Parents offer many prayers on behalf of their children, because they love them and want the best for them. And we point them in the right direction; but, we cannot coerce them or break them like a horse. They are sons and daughters of God, and they will learn to love Him more easily if their earthly parents love them. I would never purport to say that Bob and I were perfect parents, and our children may be quick to agree with that. But I know as they grow older in years and experiences with their own children, they will realize that we did the best we could. (And so did their grandparents.)

Our children were taught the gospel in our home through prayer, scripture study, Family Home Evening, and service to one another. They were prepared to enter the waters of baptism, and each had the personal desire to do so. It is a commandment to parents in the church to teach their children the first principles and ordinances of the gospel so that they will be prepared to be baptized when they are eight-years-old (Doctrine and Covenants 68:25).

Since the Gift of the Holy Ghost will be such a blessing in every facet of their lives, we should never adopt the worldly philosophy to not teach them and let them decide when they are older if they want to learn and convert or not. We can have the greatest influence on them for good while they are still young. And we should not want to deny them the privilege of the Gift of the Holy Ghost.

Besides the family nights and church attendance and teaching our children the importance of the gospel, how can we help them feel the Savior’s love and know how special they are to Him and their Heavenly Father? I won’t answer that question fully, and I really can’t. But The Family: A Proclamation to the World is a great starting point. Plus, the parents in each family unit can pray for direction on how they can most fully implement the teachings of the gospel in their home, what experiences will best help to invite the Spirit, and how they can help their children learn how to recognize the Spirit in their lives. The truer that we become in our own discipleship, the more our children will recognize the importance of developing their own relationships with God.

One of the most important things we can do is teach them about revelation. 

• As children of God we are all born with the Light of Christ and the ability to discern good from evil (See John 1). 

• Also, as children of God, even before being members of the church, we are all entitled to being influenced through the power of the Holy Ghost, which will lead us to truth (See 1 Nephi 10:17 and 2 Nephi 26:13).
  
  
• We should teach them that everyone is entitled to seek personal revelation, and if they are humble and faithful, and are seeking truth, they can expect to receive it.
  
  
• They should understand that only the prophet can receive revelation for the church and for the world; the stake president for the stake; the Bishop for the ward; parents for their families; and individuals for themselves. (We only receive revelation over that which we have stewardship.)

We need to teach them that those things that deny the Christ, or that deny the scriptures and the prophets, or that make all beliefs relative and equal are false doctrines. Truth is eternal; it is what God has established, and it is not what each individual person or civilization redefines it to be. Once we have the Gift of the Holy Ghost, we should seek our Father’s direction continually so that we can be led by truth and chart a proper course in our lives, and lovingly help others to do so as well.

In the temples, we will receive even more light and knowledge, and the personal revelation that we are prepared to receive. In the temples, we are endowed with power from on high. Yet we are not exempt from the struggles of our present-day world, and we will yet fall if we do not cleave unto the truths that we know, and if we do not follow the prophet. We will fall if we embrace the things of the world and let go of the things of God. What an amazing gift we have been given. We don’t just get to go to the temple once for ourselves and then stop. We can and should go back often. That way as we help our kindred dead receive their endowment, so that they can be blessed with power from on high, and so that they can be sealed eternally with their loved ones; as we go back ourselves, our own endowment is renewed in our lives, and we gain more power to resist evil and to pursue good. We also become a blessing to our family and friends, because we are enlightened by the Spirit of Truth, and we are carriers and keepers of the covenant. 

Our family has been blessed bountifully through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the gifts poured out to us in the temple. What a comfort it is to know that our son Robby has gained eternal life, that he is sealed to our family, and we can all be together after this life if we live worthily. As Bob and I grow older, it’s a comfort to us to know that our marriage was performed by the correct authority in the temple of God, and that it will be sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise if we keep our covenants to God and to each other. We have been blessed that, so far, four of our children have been endowed and served missions; and that Christine is preparing to do the same. We are blessed that our children have decided to marry in the temple, and that three of them have already had that opportunity; that our grandson Jacob could be sealed to Tom and Whitney on their wedding day, and that our granddaughter Amanda was born in the covenant. Great are the blessings to our family because of the temple; and greater will be the blessings if each family member chooses to remain faithful to their covenants. Agency is paramount in our Father’s plan. But without proper teaching and guidance, there is not proper agency. We need to make known the benefits of the gospel of Jesus Christ to our own children, our own family, and to the world. We have been called upon to hasten the work. Let us do so. Let us take the high road of true discipleship which leads to the temple and back to our Heavenly Father's presence; and, let us invite all to come unto Christ, so that they can do the same.

Marriage and Family #1

The Family: A Proclamation to the World is important to me; actually, it is important to all of us, whether we accept it yet or not. I have felt impressed to write my thoughts and feelings concerning this document one paragraph at a time. In this post, you will read the first paragraph, as presented by The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles; then you will read my thoughts concerning the paragraph, which support why I believe their words and also why I claim them to be true:

“WE, THE FIRST PRESIDENCY and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children (See The Family: A Proclamation to the World)."

As a Latter-day-saint, I believe in the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In saying this, I acknowledge that I believe in the following away that way prophesied by the Apostle Paul (See 2 Thessalonians 2:3), and in the restoration of all things as prophesied by the Prophet Peter, and many others (See Acts 3:19-21). I do not claim any superiority for my beliefs, and I value deeply my relationship with Christians and righteous people of all faiths that seek to follow all of the commandments of God, particularly as they have been taught in the Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible.

Since I do believe in the restoration of the gospel, I also believe in the books of scripture that have come to us in this last dispensation: The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ; The Doctrine and Covenants; and The Pearl of Great Price. In all the books of scriptures, those from The Bible and those found in modern-day scriptures, we find the commandments of God, the plan of salvation, and examples of those who are blessed or those who are cursed depending upon their adherence to God’s laws, His commandments, and the words of the prophets whom he sent to the various people.

I believe in prophets. Whenever there has been a dispensation of the gospel upon the earth, there have been prophets. Adam, the first man, was also the first prophet. We know that Elijah was a prophet. Noah was a prophet. So were Melchizedek and Abraham. In reading the Old Testament, you will find the words of God spoken through many prophets. This continues in the New Testament. John the Baptist was a prophet sent to prepare the way for Jesus Christ.

There were also prophets in the Americas. Lehi was a prophet who left Jerusalem with his family and sailed to the New World. Many of his descendants were also prophets, and they testified of the coming of Jesus Christ, just as the prophets in the Old Testament did. That is a prophet’s main role, to testify of Jesus Christ.

I believe in the structure of Christ’s church, with Jesus Himself being the Chief Cornerstone (See Ephesians 2:19-20). "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-13)." I believe that the keys of the Priesthood were restored to the earth again through the instrumentality of angels of God to the Prophet Joseph Smith and others. Today we have the Church of Jesus Christ again on the earth, with the structure of apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ being the Head of the Church.

With my belief in both ancient and modern scripture, along with my belief in modern-day spokesmen for God, I must and do believe in the words of our modern-day prophets and apostles. I also believe that God is unchanging, and His laws are eternal and everlasting. If He were to change, He would cease to be God (See Mormon 9:19), and this He will not do. From the very beginning, He commandment both the man and the woman to leave both father and mother and cleave unto each other and to none else (See Genesis 2:24). Adam and Eve were married, and since then, this has been the pattern. God’s law is that marriage is to be between a man and a woman. He ordained it to be so. I do believe and trust in this. But if I did not believe it, it would account for very little, because God’s laws are fixed.

I am thankful for the words of our prophets and apostles in these the latter days when there is so much confusion in the world. As we follow the prophet, we can find safety in troubled times, and we can have the ever-present blessing of the Holy Ghost in our lives to comfort, reassure, and sustain us. We are truly blessed when we follow the commandments of God and are faithful to the covenants and ordinances that we receive (See Doctrine and Covenants 82:10).

A husband and wife legally and lawfully wedded can be blessed to be co-partners with God in bringing His spirit children into the world and housing them with mortal bodies. What a blessing! While children can be born outside of the matrimony of husband and wife, this has never been the ideal, and aside from the commandments of God, studies have proven that children in a stable home with both father and mother fair the very best.

God has ordained it to be so, that fathers and mothers rear the children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (See Proverbs 22:6). As we teach and prepare our children, we and they gain the experiences that we need in order to become more like our Heavenly Father so that we can one day return to His presence and be like Him. Families give us the opportunities to put aside selfishness and work for the common good and progress of the group as a whole. As Malachi taught, there must be a welding link. Fathers’ hearts must turn to their children, and children’s hearts to their fathers (See Malachi 4:6). Since God sent His Son to be our Redeemer, it is our goal and purpose that this gift of redemption be available to all, especially to our own families, and considering that we are all posterity of Adam and Eve, to the whole human family. The only way that the chain can remain unbroken is to have God-ordained marriage firmly in place so that God-ordained families can continue.

God indeed has a plan for our eternal destiny. As stated before, our hearts must turn to our family members past, present, and future; the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers (See Malachi 4:6). Heavenly Father prepared all things for us to live together in family units while here on earth, designed after the order of His Family in heaven, of which we were all a part. God's whole plan, his entire purpose, is for us to grow to become like Him. Indeed, children naturally become like their parents. Our Heavenly Father's mission plan is found in Moses 1:39:  "For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." While this seems like an impossible task, with Him and because of His love for us, we can become like Him. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved (John 3:16-17)." No matter where we have strayed from the commandments of God, He invites us back; and we can again become members of His family through faith in His Son; repentance from our sins; being baptized by immersion by someone who has been called of God and ordained with proper priesthood authority; and through receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, also by one who has been ordained with the authority to do so (See Articles of Faith 1:4-5).

I personally know that these words are true and faithful. I know because of the many times that I have read God’s words and found harmony in all of His teachings found in various sources of Holy Writ and spoken by His prophets. I know because the Holy Ghost has borne witness to me that they are true. I know because I trust in the living prophets and apostles and know that they have been called of God and speaks His words, and His words are truth. You can know too; but, only through studying His words, living His laws, keeping His commandments, and asking Him in faith. Don’t hesitate. He loves you, and He will lead you aright.


Marriage and Family #1