Category: 2018

Dear Matthew

Every year at Christmas I write each of my kids a letter from me that I put in their stocking for them. Sometimes they read them but most of the time it is quickly forgotten in the excitement of Christmas. I keep them for them each year and when they are older they can have them. I came across an article the other day that was about starting middle school. It got me thinking and I decided that I wanted to write Matthew and Allison a letter for starting school this year. I left it on their pillows for them but I decided to put it here for when they are older. It is my proof that I told them these things at some point too. Don’t worry Emilee, I will make you a fun picture or something with a note. You can’t read yet anyway. 🙂

Dear Matthew,

I’ve been thinking about you starting middle school next week a lot. I am excited for you. When I look back at any time in my life and what I was doing, most of the time there are a few “I wish I had known…” or “I wish I had done…” thoughts mixed in with all the memories and experiences. A little perspective it always helpful but ironically when you are in the middle of something it is sometimes the hardest point to get perspective from. It is hard to remember every specific thing you are taught but the hope is that eventually with enough reminders and repetition things will start to sink in and help you grow and develop your character, habits, and traits into a happy successful person. So, here are a few things I want you to remember as you start your middle school adventure.

Pick good friends. Friends are important. Friends feel like everything sometimes between now and through college, but if you don’t choose wisely, you can easily end up where you don’t want to be. Pick friends that have high standards. That think learning is cool, and that make you feel good about yourself. Pick friends that aren’t into being petty, and controlling you, and putting others down. Pick friends that want to do good, and value being kind, even when someone isn’t kind back.

Be yourself-confidence looks good on you. Middle school is a time to figure out who you want to be. You are trying to fit in, and that’s totally normal, but don’t blur who you really are with who you think you should be. Just because all your friends want to do something, doesn’t mean you have to. When they question you, don’t be afraid to just tell them that you’re not that interested. True friends will admire your confidence in being true to yourself. Confidence will always be a good look on you. I have seen your confidence growing the past year. I love it. I know you are more on the shy side and that is hard to overcome. Your dad and I both had that too, we know how you feel. When we push you we are trying to help you realize that the uncomfortableness is okay to push through so you don’t hold yourself back. Challenge yourself to continue to overcome that and develop your confidence.

Take care of your body. Wear deodorant, and take pride in how you look. That doesn’t mean having the trendiest clothes or the coolest shoes. It means that you should take the time to look presentable, put together, and ready for whatever life throws at you. No need to impress anyone with your clothes, but instead focus on treating your body as a gift. It is one. Feed it good healthy food, hydrate it, and trim your toe nails. J You know dads saying, ‘don’t be the stinky kid’. You are pretty good at this but as you get another year or two older it might feel like more of a struggle to do. You are gifted with a pretty good athletic ability Matthew. Use your talent to have fun, learn, and grow. Remember to take care of your body physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. All are very important.

School is important. You will have a lot more social activities, but school work is actually good. I am very impressed with your self-motivation and responsibility since you were in kindergarten to come home and do your school work and stay on top of all your assignments with very little if any reminding or help from me. Remember to enjoy learning and really learn stuff. Not just learn it enough to pass the test then forget it. I wish I had taken more time to enjoy things I was learning and process and internalize it more. It is hard to imagine now but when you are older and done with school, you will miss it sometimes. Having no responsibilities other than learning doesn’t happen as much the older you get, if ever. Enjoy that opportunity now.

Have fun. You’re going to be adjusting to a lot of new experiences in middle school, and it’s important to have fun. Try not to worry about being perfect, and relax into everything that gets thrown your way. You only get to be this age once– you don’t need to grow up too fast.

Talk to us. If you’ll talk to me, I promise I’ll try to be understanding. I’ve been there. I was awkward. Friends hurt my feelings. I hurt my friends’ feelings. I made mistakes. I also know you’ll hear and see a lot of things that might make you scared, or worried, or just plain confused. Talk to your dad and I about them, and I promise, you’ll feel better. Friends are a great resource, but your dad and I love you like no one else does, and we have a pretty decent perspective since we already went through middle school.

Don’t get wrapped up in girl drama. Middle school girls are full of hormones and drama. It’s a given. Be kind and honest with them, don’t make fun of or tease them for their feelings. Don’t play games with people’s emotions and feelings, or let them play games with yours. Respect them, and expect respect back. They are a person just like you, talk and act like yourself around them.

Electronics are not required. Your dad and I have talked to you about this often and a lot, and we will keep doing it. There are relationships to work on, books to read, and life to live. Don’t get sucked into what is happening on social media, the older you get the more you will feel the pressure for this. Social media is not required or necessary for having a happy social life. Video games are not required for a happy successful life. Go outside and live life, do something good for someone, create a memory, develop your talents.

Be the example. It’s hard being the example, and sometimes it sucks. But, people will look up to you for standing out, making good choices, and being kind even when you feel awkward or uncool. Kids can be mean. But, you’re not. So, stand up to the bullies, speak out against things you know are wrong, and don’t be afraid to be different. Even when it sucks. Sure, you might miss out on things, but I promise it’s not the end of the world, even though it feels like it. Be the example when you can, because you are brave, and strong.

Remember that we love you. I may not always know exactly how you feel, but you are never alone. You have a family that loves you, and we’ll always try to be a soft landing place for you when you fall. No mistake you make will ever make us feel different. YOU WILL ALWAYS BE LOVED. No matter what. Your Heavenly Father loves you too. No matter what situation or where you are, you are never alone. Heavenly Father is always there and will here and answer your prayers. I know this Matthew. I promise you this. There have been many times in my life when He has comforted me, helped me, protected me, guided me, and reminded me that I am never alone and He loves me. Learn to listen and follow the promptings you receive from the Holy Ghost. You get them daily. You will never regret it.

As you start middle school, remember that you’ve got this. You’re ready. You’ve got parents at home that always have your back. You are a very good person Matthew. I truly enjoy watching you grow and become the person you are. You have a good, kind, gentle, generous, loving heart. You came that way straight from Heaven the day you were born. I am blessed to be your mom. I love you!

 

Allison turns 8!

I remember having count downs for the next exciting thing when I was younger. Shoot, I still do it sometimes. It is different when you are a kid though. Allison’s count down for her birthday finally arrived! We only do a big party every other year or so and this year was a party year. She debated on a party at Main Event and doing bowling and laser tag, or Urban Air and doing a glow in the dark trampoline party. She decided on Urban Air. Sometimes it is a little tricky finding people home in July but we had a fun party with ten friends, lots of pizza, cake, glow sticks, presents, and fun. I think she had a great time and it was fun to see her having fun. Her friends know her well and gave her all kinds of stuff to make all different kinds of slimes. She was beyond ecstatic.

For her actual birthday Allison gave me a list of things that would make her birthday the ‘best birthday ever’ some of it was pretty specific. First up was her cousin Leah spending the night the day before her birthday and the day of her birthday. Then she had a friend with her on her birthday the moment she woke up until she went to bed.  She requested crapes for breakfast. Her and Leah like to cook together so they helped me make them. Then filled them with powdered sugar, brown sugar, and whip cream, and blueberries so they would be healthier. Their words not mine. They played with slime and makeup for a bit after breakfast, then we met the rest of the cousins at the Olathe Community Center Pool to go swimming. She has wanted to go to an indoor pool for a long time. We have four neighborhood pools that we can swim at so I am not very willing to pay to go to another pool. I gave in for her birthday though and we all went and had a great time swimming at an indoor pool. It was nice to not bake in the sun and have to worry about sun screen.

When we were done swimming we went home and had cake and ice cream, followed by opening presents. Allison requested mini chocolate bundt cakes with hot fudge so it looked like a lava cake and everyone could have their own.  She also wanted her cake to have some sort of decoration on it that was not a candle and was not laying flat on the cake. I found a happy birthday banner that she thought was perfect. By the time we got the candles and banner on the cake there wasn’t much room left. I liked her individual cake idea, great idea for birthday cakes so you don’t get a cake that is blown all over, kids especially can get a little free with their saliva when blowing out birthday candles. We opened presents after her cake. She got sequence color changing back pack and pillow, birthday money, a soap making kit, tile painting kit, squishies, and more slime stuff, oh and a whoopi cushion that she had her heart set on too. I haven’t figured out if her fascination with less appealing bodily functions is to get a rise out of me or simply extra funny to her, either way she never fails to bring up her ‘potty humor’ whenever she feels like it. Most of her gifts are probably pretty self explanatory except for the squishies. I will fill you in on an 8 year old must have. A squishy is basically really soft foam in the shape of any number of things. Food is a popular one. You squish it, and it bounces back to hits original shape. That is it. I think it originated as something to help relieve anxiety and has expanded to be a collectible toy like stuffed animals or barbies.

After presents and digesting our cake a little more Allison picked dinner at Pizza Street and invited her cousins too. She loves pizza, so the buffet is great but the reason she really likes to go to Pizza Street is their cinnamon hot rolls with icing. She loves them.  She got her fill and then we came back home her and Leah played with her new toys the rest of the night. When it was all said and done she said it was a great day and she had a fun time. Mission accomplished!

Now we are focusing on the next big part of turning 8- her baptism! We ordered her scriptures and got a white dress to wear. Aunt Lauren was really nice and took her out and took some nice pictures of her in her dress. She is growing up fast. Tonight she went to her first Activity Days activity with the girls in our ward. She is very excited to get to go to that all on her own.

A day on the beach in Kansas?!?

We did go to the beach for the day! Our cousins invited us to go to a lake with them. It was a fun day. We packed a picnic and went to the Hillsdale Lake and spent the day playing in the water and sand on a little swim beach. The girls dug a moat and built a castle. They all skipped rocks. Jumped around on the floaties. Screamed like little girls (even the ones that aren’t girls) when a dead fish floated by. Then screamed again when a live fish swam by.  They made up a game where they got a big rock and named it Timmy. Then they threw it in the lake and tried to find it. The water was a little murky so eventually they lost Timmy, but then replaced him with John, then Jacob, and I think there was a Jovee in there too. It was great just relaxing and letting them play and be silly and enjoy the day. If we hang out with the cousins to often then they get more into sibling mode and start fighting and arguing more but if it has been a little bit between seeing each other then they all get a long great and it is perfect because they all have a buddy to play with.  When we were done at the lake they asked to keep playing so Lauren kept the younger girls and the boys and the older girls came home with me.

Find the silver lining.

With Alli getting sick and being stuck home for a few days and then the not so great school supply shopping incident, we were ready for a reboot.

Luckily, the McDonalds who had been gone for over a month were finally home, and when your kids are around other people they are supposed to be on their best behavior and stop fighting. Unluckily, we have known the McDonald’s for years and years so my kids are way past impressing them with good behavior, they are more like family then friends to them-but they still fought less than usual.

We made super fun plans to pack a picnic and go check out this really cool park in North Kansas City (40 minute drive) that has GIANT animals like a penguin, giraffe, elephant, and a kangaroo to climb and play on that they kids have wanted to play at! Not so super, steady rain with intermittent down pours settles in over the entire KC area for the day and being outside isn’t going to happen.

Luckily, I remember that the Rainbow Play Ground Store lets you bring your kids in to play on all the play sets for free in hopes that your kids will love them so much you have to buy one. Unluckily, Rainbow Store has decided that you are welcome to come in and play on the play sets but they now charge $7.50 per person and Lori and I won’t pay that on the principle that we don’t go to stores that have decided to charge an entrance fee.

Luckily, we remember that the 360 Gym has open gym and we can all head over there. Unluckily open gym doesn’t start for 40 more minutes when we arrive. Luckily they have a big empty room that they let us eat our picnic lunch in on the floor while we wait for open gym to start and restrooms to use as needed, which is handy with seven kids and two adults, one of them pregnant.

Open gym is great fun and everyone loves it but only lasts an hour. That is not near long enough for the moms to catch up and the kids to be worn out. Luckily the rain looks like it is done, and even though we don’t have time to go to the original park we find a fun one close to home. We had towels in the car (we tried really hard to make the first plan work) that we used to dry the slides and basically everything else at the park off so the kids could play. Unluckily the before mentioned available restrooms were not used by the children and within minutes of arriving at the park, and emergency bathroom trip to a near by Walgreens was made, Once we returned it was smooth sailing for the next several hours and we had a great time with our friends. We are glad to have the McDonalds back in Kansas.

360 Open Gym

School supply shopping…I fall for it every year.

Not all my posts have a purpose other than for me to write something but this one does. The purpose of this post is to remind me to not take my kids school supply shopping! So to my  future self I say, “Leave the kids home to fight in peace without you. Go late at night when ‘normal’ shopping hours are long gone. And buy yourself a Kit Kat for a job well done afterwards.”

I had a brief visit to the ‘Panic Phase’ of summer this week. Next week is AUGUST! Yikes! It seems like once August gets here summer starts to get run over with activities and school stuff starting back up. I hadn’t registered the kids for school so I did that and the school supply lists where attached to registration so after three days of being stuck at home because Alli was sick, we decided to make going school supply shopping our first outing when she felt better. We went through all the stuff they brought home to see what they already had. Which was not a lot.

Emilee didn’t have anything except a backpack she has used for two years and Allison used for two before that so it was pretty sad looking so we ended chucking it, so she had no supplies to start.

Allison decided she would donate her supplies to ‘new kids’ for next year. I asked her what that meant because they do have donations at the end of the year that takes unwanted school supplies and will find ways to reuse almost anything-recover notebooks, take the middle of dried out markers out and make jump ropes with them, they even remelt crayons and make new ones from them and give them to kids that need them. It is pretty awesome. I have told my kids that if they want to donate their notebooks and crayons, markers and things like that they can, but to bring home scissors and head phones and rulers-things they will need again for the next several years. So when I asked Allison where all her stuff was she said she donated it. I asked her what exactly she put in the box and she said she didn’t put anything in a box she left EVERYTHING in her classroom for the ‘new second graders’ except for her clip board which she doesn’t really like anymore and wants a new one. I try and think that it was a sweet gesture but honestly it was more likely motivated by laziness. So besides her backpack zero supplies for Alli to start except for the clip board which I told her she can use unless she wants spend her own money on a new one. Which got a big eye roll from her.

Matthew had all the notebooks I bought last year with his name and a subject written across the cover in giant permanent marker and then…not a single page used. He had scissors and a protractor and his backpack.

Not as big of a dent in the shopping list as I hoped for. I am pretty sure I spent over a hundred dollars on supplies last year and all we have to show for it is three notebooks, a protractor and a pair of scissors.  I remind them all we are only getting what is on the list and be good listeners and help me check stuff off the list as we find it so we don’t forget anything, they all agree and we hop in the car excited about our school supply shopping adventure. I always get excited about school supply shopping and look forward to it. The preparer/organizer gets to come out in me and imagine how fun it is to go and find new folders and pencils and come home and organize it-sounds like fun right!?

About five seconds after we walk into the store Allison has already stormed off mumbling about some injustice she has endured and Emilee has already made the rounds and has an armful of things she ‘needs’ for school that have nothing to do with school. Plus the craziness of the hundred other people with their kids all doing the same thing squeezing into the same four aisles that look like they have been ransacked three times over. Then the arguing of who is copying who, who saw it first, who gets to put it in the cart, who needs a new this or a new that. Convincing them if they bring a 24 pack of crayons because the 16 pack is gone they will not be kicked out of school. Then crying over having to settle for the cheap boring regular pencils instead of the perfect $10 glitter glow in the dark forever sharp pencil. I got another eye roll when I said that even if the pencil wrote by itself and sang a song I wouldn’t spend $10 on it. Even Matthew who is usually fine, thought he was being hilarious by grabbing something ridiculous and saying “Mom I need this” ten times was driving me crazy.  Over an hour and $150 later and no Kit Kat because “No one behaved well enough to earn a treat!” I was irritated and mad walking out to the car, reliving the memory of myself saying last year (and every year before that), “Next year I am doing this without them.”

 

“I’ll take the physical challenge!”

The other day Allison asked if she could watch a new show called Double Dare. I started laughing and said I would watch it with her. It is the same show I watched growing up! I love it! They have kept the same logo and style and even have Mark Summers(the old host) as the announcer. It seems a little tamer than the original-not as messy in the physical challenges-but the same silly questions and rounds and finishing with the obstacle course (picking the giant nose, and sliding down the giant throat) and finding the flags. Ha! It made me smile. Good times watching a little Double Dare.

There was a show called Wipe Out that we watched for a while until it went off the air. It was some crazy obstacles that regular people did to win money at the end. The first obstacle always had three giant red balls that you had to jump across and of course it was hilarious watching people try and do it. It was a family favorite. The other day we found a similar show to Wipe Out with two teams- one celebrities, one ‘regular’ people. Each person on the team races through the course against someone on the other team and gets a point for winning. It was called Exalton. Which if you are thinking is Spanish, you would be correct. I saw the advertisement for it on an English channel and set it to record, but the show is actually on a Spanish channel so everyone is speaking Spanish. I thought the kids would get bored because we had no idea what they were saying but we figured out the gist of the show and each picked our team to cheer for and had fun watching it together. We decided next time to have Ryan watch it with us so he can help us figure out some of the rules we were a little fuzzy on since we are not Spanish speakers.

Hanging out with Emilee…Allison gets it done.

Emilee and I got to hang out together while Matthew and Alli were at theater camp. Just list old times. While she loves hanging out with me she likes being like her older siblings and wanted to do a camp too. I asked her what she wanted to do for her camp and she said, “Go to Ms. Sheila’s” Ms Sheila is one of the people that watches her while I work sometimes. Which sounds about right, I have tried a few different activities like soccer and basketball for Emilee and she is not a fan. She just wants a few buddies to run around and play with and do whatever their imaginations come up with. I was happy to oblige her wish so for Monday and Wednesday she went to ‘Ms Sheila Camp’ while I had two days to catch up on my to do list-and a little R & R. The other days we tried to do something different than the usual too. We invited her bestie Reese over to play one of the days. We went to Crown Center and did the 50 States Exhibit and Kaleidoscope by Hallmark with some friends. Kaleidoscope is basically an amazing room decorated for kids with tons of different stations for them to be creative at. They just let them in and they have 50 minutes to craft to their hearts content however they want. They had a great time playing together and I got to catch up with my friends too. It is nice when your kids friends are parented by your friends too. We finished off that day with a meal at the train restaurant, Fritz’s. It is a favorite for kids. It is a burger and fries place that you get to order over the telephone at your table from, and then it is delivered to your table by trains that are driving around on the tracks above you while you are eating. The food is okay at best but that doesn’t matter because they bring your food to you by train.

The last day we played at home together and did a favorite activity of both of ours ‘snuggle and a Disney movie’. We had a good week. It was nice to get a little bit of one on one time before she starts school all day in the Fall. The pictures of her in the red cape tug at my heart strings a little. She bounced out on the porch making her ‘pewpewpew’ sounds with the squirt bottle. I asked her what she was doing and she said she was a super hero so she was getting the bad guys. She has a great imagination and I love seeing her use it. It will be a sad day when she outgrows it and there are no more super hero’s, dragons, puppies, mermaids, or whatever else she comes up with running around the house.

When it was time for the showcase she was excited to cheer them on. She wanted to dress up a little so she could be like Allison. This is an irritation to Allison, but I tell her she needs to get used to it and make sure she is setting a good example for her sister because she is going to copy her a lot. Allison gave me a big eye roll and a ‘whatever’ as her and her attitude walked off. Emilee loved the show. I asked her if she would want to do it sometime and she said she would think about it. She likes to live vicariously through others it seems.

Actually she is the most shy of any of my kids.  A trait they have unfortunately inherited from Ryan and I when we were younger. Matthew is a close second but he is getting a little more confident. Allison doesn’t have a shy bone in her, anywhere…ever. Both Matthew and Emilee have been caught sending Alli to knock on a door for a lost ball, or ask an adult a question for them, and when they are together Allison does all the talking for everyone if I let her while Matthew and Emilee stand behind her and try to avoid eye contact. Allison’s boldness comes in handy for all of us. Just the other night we went to dinner with Ross and Lauren and Texas Roadhouse. We waited the 40 minutes, plus 10. Ross checked on the wait and they said it would be another 10-15. So 20 minutes later we let Allison go ask how long our table would take, I told her she had to be polite.  I don’t know if it was a coincidence or not but they buzzed us shortly after she went in to talk to them. Allison can be determined and I like letting other people besides me to have a turn sometimes. One year when we were handing out cookies for Christmas to friends, the kids were taking turns ringing the bell and handing the cookies to whoever answered the door and saying Merry Christmas. Emilee refused to get out of the car for all of them except Ms. Cristi. Matthew would ring the bell and hold the cookies out and then crank his head around as far as he could to avoid eye contact and mumble Merry Christmas and make a run for the car as soon as they took the cookies. Allison checked her hair and stance before allowing the doorbell to be rung for her. Then clear her throat and say in her loudest voice, “Merry Christmas Ho! Ho! Ho!” when they answered the door.

Ryan’s talk

It was Ryan’s turn to give a talk. He did a great job.

Discerning Truth

Last week in Priests Quorum, I told them I was speaking this week and told them my topic, and asked them what I should talk about.  The suggestions ranged from – you should start with an interesting or funny story or I’ll probably lose interest, to a suggestion of talking about fake news stories about how much ice cream Donald Trump eats after his meals.  I thought that was kinda funny and I looked into the story and it probably isn’t appropriate to talk about that particular story here, but I did think it was insightful that in today’s world we are bombarded by fake news, not just about political items, but far more importantly about spiritual things.

In reality, while fake news is a somewhat recently coined term, the pursuit of truth isn’t something new.  Sometimes I wonder why truth isn’t always easier to find for people.  The answer is actually probably simple – because the adversary doesn’t want us to know the truth.

Elder Ballard talks about the adversary’s deception in a recent conference talk, he says…Like the fly fisherman who knows that trout are driven by hunger, Lucifer knows our “hunger,” or weaknesses, and tempts us with counterfeit lures which, if taken, can cause us to be yanked from the stream of life into his unmerciful influence. And unlike a fly fisherman who catches and releases the fish unharmed back into the water, Lucifer will not voluntarily let go. His goal is to make his victims as miserable as he is

Lucifer is a clever and cunning intelligence. One of the main methods he uses against us is his ability to lie and deceive to convince us that evil is good and good is evil. Satan and his minions have their lures all around us, hoping that we will falter and take his flies so he can reel us in with counterfeit means.

In he kingdom of God, the search for truth is appreciated, encouraged, and in no way repressed or feared. Church members are strongly counseled by the Lord Himself to seek for knowledge.2 He said, “Seek ye diligently … ; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.”3However, how can we recognize truth in a world that is increasingly blunt in its attacks on the things pertaining to God?

And our Heavenly Father has given us agency to grow and to learn.  But he also has given us several ways to discern truth in our lives – and I’d like to talk about a few of them.

The first way we can learn truth is through personal revelation.

The question of truth is really what spurred the restoration of the gospel and our church.  In the early 1800’s, Joseph Smith wanted to know the truth.  He struggled with the worthy question of what church to attend – in his words he described that time as “an unusual excitement on the subject of religion” in the area he lived.  He said

Joseph Smith History:  10 In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often said to myself: What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?

11 While I was laboring under the extreme difficulties caused by the contests of these parties of religionists, I was one day reading the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

12 Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did; for how to act I did not know, and unless I could get more wisdom than I then had, I would never know; for the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question by an appeal to the Bible.

13 At length I came to the conclusion that I must either remain in darkness and confusion, or else I must do as James directs, that is, ask of God. I at length came to the determination to “ask of God,” concluding that if he gave wisdom to them that lacked wisdom, and would give liberally, and not upbraid, I might venture.

So Joseph Smith, before he had the First Vision, was taught by personal revelation.  Not all of us will have miraculous experiences and see visions, but we all learn truth, as Joseph did, through the personal revelation through the Holy Ghost.

2Nephi2:6-8  Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth.

7 Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered.

8 Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah

I had an experience when I was a missionary in South America.  Many communities in South America have open markets… he told a story here in his own words about a lady that asked about the church. His companion started talking with her, he was a new missionary and thought they would never get anywhere talking with her in a crowded loud market. They basically gave her the first discussion (thats how missionaries taught at the time) and there was no doubt the spirit was there and confirmed the truth to her of Joseph Smith praying and having God appear and answer his question.

The second way we can discern truth is by observing it’s fruits, and experimenting on the word. During the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord said:

“Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. …

“Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”4

In Alma 32, Alma is teaching those that had been kicked out of their places of worship because they were poor as to the things of the world.  He said…

28 Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.

29 Now behold, would not this increase your faith? I say unto you, Yea; nevertheless it hath not grown up to a perfect knowledge.

30 But behold, as the seed swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, then you must needs say that the seed is good; for behold it swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow. And now, behold, will not this strengthen your faith? Yea, it will strengthen your faith: for ye will say I know that this is a good seed; for behold it sprouteth and beginneth to grow.

31 And now, behold, are ye sure that this is a good seed? I say unto you, Yea; for every seed bringeth forth unto its own likeness.

Thus the scriptures teach us that we can know the truth by observing its fruits or by experimenting with it personally, giving place for the word in our hearts and cultivating it like unto a seed.

The last way to discern truth is through the Gift of the Holy Ghost.

Elder Eyring, in speaking of the Holy Ghost said

During our confirmation we heard these words: “Receive the Holy Ghost.”1 From that moment, our lives changed forever.

We can, if we live worthy of it, have the blessing of the Spirit to be with us, not only now and then…but always. You know from the words of the sacrament prayer how that promise is fulfilled: “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.”

And then comes the glorious promise: “That they may always have his Spirit to be with them” (D&C 20:77; emphasis added).

To always have the Spirit with us is to have the guidance and direction of the Holy Ghost in our daily lives. We can, for instance, be warned by the Spirit to resist the temptation to do evil.

For that reason alone, it is easy to see why the Lord’s servants have tried to increase our desire to worship God in our sacrament meetings. If we partake of the sacrament in faith, the Holy Ghost will then be able to protect us and those we love from the temptations that come with increasing intensity and frequency.

The companionship of the Holy Ghost makes what is good more attractive and temptation less compelling. That alone should be enough to make us determined to qualify for the Spirit to be with us always.

Just as the Holy Ghost strengthens us against evil, He also gives us the power to discern truth from falsehood. The truth that matters most is verified only by revelation from God. Our human reason and the use of our physical senses will not be enough. We live in a time when even the wisest will be hard-pressed to distinguish truth from clever deception.

The truths that mark the way home to God are verified by the Holy Ghost. We cannot go to the grove and see the Father and the Son speak to the young Joseph Smith. No physical evidence or any logical argument can establish that Elijah came as promised to confer the priesthood keys, now held and exercised by a living prophet.

Confirmation of truth comes to a son or daughter of God who has claimed the right to receive the Holy Ghost. Since falsehoods and lies may be presented to us at any time, we need a constant influence of the Spirit of Truth to spare us moments of doubt.

Boyd K Packer:  Tolerance is a virtue, but like all virtues, when exaggerated, it transforms itself into a vice. We need to be careful of the “tolerance trap” so that we are not swallowed up in it.

 

The Greatest Showman Showcase

Matthew and Alli did a theater camp last week. It was a day camp and they learned the songs and some choreography to several songs from “The Greatest Showman”. They practiced 9-3 everyday Monday thru Friday and then on Friday they put on their showcase.

They both had a friend to do it with. I think I have decided that when I have my kids try something new in the future I will have them do it without a friend. When they try something new with a friend sometimes the influence from the friend affects their opinions before they make their own mind up if they like it or not. Or they are so distracted talking with their friend they don’t pay attention as much. I think if they decide they like something they will make new friends with the same interests while they are doing it.

Matthew was a little skeptical about doing it. He was not interested at all on Monday because there was a birthday party he wanted to be at instead. I split the difference with him and he went to the party late and left camp early. After that though he really enjoyed it. Allison volunteered him to try out for a solo and he got one. I think he sang it a thousand times the rest of the week before he did it. He was also one of the oldest boys there and he is coordinated and has a little muscle to him so when they practiced some tricks on the silks, he was picked to do it for the show. He explained to me several times how one slip would flip him upside down and crack his head wide open. I assured him I was confident in his abilities which he agreed would not be an issue. 🙂

Allison needed a little reminding after the first day that her job was to participate and listen not hang out in the bathroom with her friend and chat all day.  She learned her parts and new the songs and dances really well but she has no interest in impressing anyone or putting in a little extra work so she just didn’t care to go the extra mile.  She did know all the ‘drama’ that went on with everyone and everything. I don’t know how she does it.

My part was dressing them both up which I had a great time with. Matthew wore whatever I bought him and looked great. Alli requested a few changes with what I originally picked out for her but was all about dressing up and having her makeup done. They were both good sports about it and looked great. Matthew nailed his solo and he and Alli didn’t miss a beat on their dancing.

When it was all said and done they said they had a fun week. Allison is the one I was hoping would love it and want to keep doing it. I have always thought that she would like to be involved in theater. She said she wants to do one with less singing. This one was all singing so I might try another one with her and see if she likes it. The have several theater classes you can take to learn and try different things. I need to look into it more. Matthew asked me on his own if I would look and see what other shows they did and depending on what they are he might be interested. He is working on being a well rounded kid. He is one of those people that is good at whatever they do. So far at least he stays humble with it and has his genuine kind personality.

Matthew is the second soloist in the video above.