Hope

If we heed the commandments and the words of the living prophets then "the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name's glory."

What a powerful promise this is that we are given.  Doctrine and Covenants 21:4-6

4 Wherefore, meaning the church, thou shalt give heed unto all his words and commandments which he shall give unto you as he receiveth them, walking in all holiness before me;

5 For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith.

6 For by doing these things the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name’s glory.

The Sacrament

The Sacrament Prayers

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints there are set prayers that are used each time to bless the Sacrament before passing it to the congregation. Here are the prayers that we use, they can be found in the book Doctrine & Covenants 20:75-79:

75 It is expedient that the church meet together often to partake of bread and wine in the remembrance of the Lord Jesus;
76 And the elder or priest shall administer it; and after this manner shall he administer it—he shall kneel with the church and call upon the Father in solemn prayer, saying:
77 O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it, that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them; that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.
78 The manner of administering the wine—he shall take the cup also, and say:
79 O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this wine to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.

In my online class that I am taking on the Doctrine & Covenants, I am studying the sacrament. One of the things that I read was something that I had never thought of before, even after 30+ years of hearing those prayers every Sunday. The course mentioned that the sacrament prayers don't actually bless the bread and the water, but they bless the souls of those who partake of the emblems. It does say in the prayers, "to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it," and " to bless and sanctify this wine to the souls of all those who drink of it. " I had never considered that these prayers aren't actually blessing the bread and water, but were blessing them to the good of my soul. If we take of the sacrament worthily we are made holy, not the emblems. I'm looking forward to going to church today and considering this element of the Sacrament prayer as I partake.

Communion with the Lord

I have been trying to find ways to make partaking of the Sacrament more meaningful to me. Recently I was called to direct the music in Sacrament meeting. This calling has placed me on the stand during the sacrament with my husband managing the children down in the seats. I am blessed by this calling to be able to sit (without any children on my lap) and be able to actually think during the sacrament. Reading this quote today, made me realize this blessing. It also pointed out to me that I need to take full advantage of this time to meditate and commune with the Lord.

"Meditation is one of the most secret, most sacred doors through which we pass into the presence of the Lord. . . . I believe the short period of administering the sacrament is one of the best opportunities we have for such meditation. . . .

Great events have happened in this Church because of such communion, because of the responsiveness of the soul to the inspiration of the Almighty. I know it is real. . . . You will find that when these most inspirational moments come to you that you are alone with yourself and your God. They come to you probably when you are facing a great trial, when the wall is across your pathway, and it seems that you are facing an insurmountable obstacle, or when your heart is heavy because of some tragedy in your life. I repeat, the greatest comfort that can come to us in this life is to sense the realization of communion with God.

If we partake of it mechanically, we are not honest, or let us say, we are permitting our thoughts to be distracted from a very sacred ordinance." (David O. McKay, in Conference Report, Apr. 1946, p. 115.)

Quote of the Day

"Holiness is religious principles put into action--it is faith gone to work--it is love coined into conduct--devotion helping human suffering, and going up in intercession to the great source of all good." (Delbert L. Stapley, Improvement Era , Dec. 1968, p. 55; or Conference Report, Oct. 1968, p. 29.)

The Work of God

I have been struggling today after speaking with one of my close friends this morning.  She had seemed interested in my church a little but today informed me that she is going to start attending another church.  I have been wondering if I missed something. Was there something life changing I was supposed to say to her and I wasn't "in tune" with the Spirit and missed it.  I woke up this morning before my kids and thought I should read my scriptures but I was tired and compromised and read in my bed (which didn't last too long).   

Then tonight I was rereading today's lesson on Sacred Family Relationships by Lorenzo Snow and even though he was talking about parenting it applied to my concerns of today. 

"This is not our work that we are engaged in, it is the work of God."

He's right, this is not my work, it is His.  I have already shared many things with my friend and I will continue to try to be more "in tune" with the Spirit so that I will be ready to answer any questions if she does have any.  The Lord is so kind to give me these gentle reminders that He is in charge and I need not worry. 

Baptism Talk

Had to write a talk on baptism for one of my best friends' children's baptism.   Why reinvent the wheel so I found a great start to writing a talk on a blog. The original baptism talk I found was here at Strong Armor blog. I cut and pasted the talk into Word and began editing it to fit the kids I was speaking to. I felt a little guilty copying someone else's talk, but in the end I was amazed at how personal it had become and it was perfect for my friends two kids. It was such an amazing night.

Here is my talk on Baptism:

I am so excited to be here today. I have watched A. and J. learn about the church and have seen their faith grow. I am very proud of both of you and how you have prepared yourself for this day. You have both listened learned about Christ and on your own decided that you want to follow Christ by being baptized.

J. and A., Do you know that you are about to participate in your very first ordinance and make your very first official promise to Heavenly Father?

Today when you are baptized you will promise Heavenly Father that you will remember Jesus, follow Him and keep His commandments. And our Heavenly Father loves us so much that whenever we make a promise to Him, He makes a promise right back to us.

Today Heavenly Father will also make a promise to you. He promises you that He will forgive you if you make mistakes and do something wrong - if you are sorry for what you did and get on your knees and repent he will forgive you. He also promises that you can have the gift of the Holy Ghost with you and that you can return to live with Heavenly Father again someday.

When we make a promise to Heavenly Father and He makes one right back to us, those promises are called covenants. Heavenly Father never breaks His promises to us, and we need to try our hardest not to break our promises to Him.

Let’s go over once again what you will promise today:
1. To take upon you the name of Christ (D&C 18:21-25)
2. To bear one another’s burdens that they might be light (Mosiah 18:8)
3. To stand as a witness of God at all times, in all things, and in all places. (Mosiah 18:9)
4. To obey the commandments of God and to serve him (Mosiah 18:10)

God promises:
1. To accept you as a member of his Church
2. To forgive your sins if you repent
3. To give you the gift of the Holy Ghost
4. To bring you into the kingdom of God in heaven if you keep doing what is right and keeping the commandments.

When you are baptized and go under the water you are washed clean of any mistakes or sins. And you have a fresh start as the newest member of Christ’s church. Try to remember the feelings you feel after you are baptized and confirmed and write them down in a journal to help you remember those feelings. Heavenly Father is so please with the choice you have made and you will feel of His love.

Even though you are only eight and ten years old, you know how hard it is not to make mistakes, don’t you. It is hard for everyone to choose the right every single minute of every single day. Heavenly Father knows that. None of us is perfect, Jesus was the only one that was perfect and so when we make mistakes, cause we all do, Heavenly Father wants us to repent and try harder to do what is right.

Every Sunday you have a chance to remember the covenant or promise you made today. That is what people do when they bow their heads during the Sacrament. They remember the promises that they made to Heavenly Father and the promises He made to them. They think about what kind of person they were during the week between Sundays and if they have been obedient. They also make a decision on how to do better the next week. But most importantly they remember that Jesus died and was resurrected so that they might live again someday. And that he suffered in Gethesmane to atone for their sins so that they could live with Him some day if they choose the right, read the scriptures, always say their prayers, and obey the commandments.

Heavenly Father gives you another great gift to help you make good choices – it is the gift of the Holy Ghost. Someone else will talk about this wonderful gift after you are baptized. The Holy Ghost will help you choose the right.

Your Heavenly Father loves you so very much (even more than your mom, which is pretty hard to beat) and he is so proud of you J. and A. for choosing to follow Christ.

Remember that this is the first day of the rest of your life. After you are baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, you will be absolutely clean in the eyes of your Heavenly Father. I pray that you will always remember your promise and the feelings you feel today and do all you can to keep yourself spiritually clean-- like today.

Fathers

As I was reading today's Relief Society Lesson this morning this quote impressed me:

"President Snow continued: “This is the last family re-union we have reason to expect this side of the spirit world. May the God of our fathers help us to keep His laws, live honorable lives, preserve inviolate our virtue and integrity, listen to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit, and seek diligently to purify ourselves, that not a single member of this family be lost by deviating from the straight and narrow path, but may we all prove ourselves worthy to come forth in the morning of the first resurrection, crowned with glory, perpetuating in immortality the family union, and continue to increase down through the endless ages of eternity.”

President Snow may have been a prophet and president of the Mormon church, but he obviously understood that his first calling was as a father and patriarch of his family. He gathered his family, all of them, and taught them, testified to them and blessed them.  He is an amazing example of what a father can be and he left profound legacy for his children.

Lessons Learned

Here is a quote from today's Sociadad de Socorro lesson (thank goodness for the LDS Gospel Library app that helps me follow along in English)

[But, like the child with the toy or the plaything, we too often satisfy ourselves with the perishable things of time, forgetting the opportunities we have of developing within us the great, the eternal principles of life and truth. The Lord wishes to establish a closer and more intimate relationship between Himself and us; He wishes to elevate us in the scale of being and intelligence, and this can only be done through the medium of the everlasting Gospel which is specially prepared for this purpose.]

Lorenzo Snow

Today was one of those moments where this quote was speaking directly to me.  God is amazing how he can speak to us so directly through others words.  It warmed my heart hearing from the Lord that he wants a closer relationship with me.  He loves me and I feel it.  He so gently invites me and you back to Him.  He sees my potential. I love how he says that He, "wishes to elevate us in the scale of being and intelligence".  Elevate was particularly poignant as I have felt for a long time like I was in a dark hole and couldn't climb out.  He has gradually lifted me through scripture study and prayer to a place now where I can breath, see a little ahead of me and feel of the Spirit. But He sees more for me to "elevate [me] in the scale of being and intelligence."  I have also found that Spanish has been a little easier to understand as of late.  I see that I need to continue to pray and study for increased understanding in the Gospel and the language.

As I continue to try to change my habits, it is also clear from above that I am too often satisfying myself with "the perishable things of time." And by doing so I am "forgetting (or missing) the opportunities we have of developing within us the great, the eternal principles of life and truth."  I feel that the Lord is pleased with my progress, but is asking me to take it to the next level, or raise the bar.  We learn line upon line, precept upon precept and He is telling me I'm ready for the next step.  I need to continue setting aside the things of the world and focusing more on my home, children, husband, and the Lord.  I feel His confidence in me, and I'm going to need His help.

Small and Simple Things

This morning my girls and I climbed in the car, ready for a special outing to Sea World.  Only to find that my little toddler had left on the fog lights in the car yesterday and we had a dead battery.  Yesterday when coming home from the grocery store I pulled in forward and then thought that maybe I should back in so that my little helper wouldn't be next to the street when helping unload the groceries.  I never, hardly ever back my car into the driveway, but I thought it's not a bad idea. So I pulled out and backed the car into the driveway.  It was helpful for unloading groceries, but was a huge blessing this morning when I needed a jump start. A special thanks to the gardener across the street for letting us use his jumper cables and the neighbor for jumping the car with his truck this morning to get us going.  After attaching the cables from his truck to my car, it was clear that the cables would not have reached if my car was parked front first in the driveway and he had parked his truck next to my car.  What a blessing from the Lord for placing that little thought in my head to turn the car around.  This experience confirmed to me what I had mentioned in my earlier post, that the Holy Spirit speaks to me in such subtle ways they are easily missed if I am not paying attention and listening. I am so grateful for this inspiration from the Holy Spirit and that I listened.  It seemed just a little thing, but it made all the difference!

We were only 20 minutes late meeting our group for the field trip and had a great day! And to my youngest, No more playing with fog lights!