Category: July

Fourth of July in Lincoln 2019

We headed up to Lincoln for the Fourth of July as usual this year. Everyone was at the Terry Grandparents house, except for Allison. She gets to go on a three week adventure with Grandma and Grandpa Jones and visit Florida, Utah, and Idaho before meeting us in Colorado for the reunion later this month. For the 4th, she was in Florida and had a fun day swimming, grilling, having a bonfire and ending the day off with fireworks. Early the next morning she flew to Utah with them and will spend the next two weeks there playing with more cousins and family.

The rest of us were in Lincoln. The kids had a blast playing with cousins. Lauren, Leah and I got our toes done. We had yummy food, set off tons of fireworks, and watched even more. It was a fun holiday. July 4th is one of my favorite holidays. It is low key and doesn’t require a lot of fuss and it’s fun to do summer activities.

After the fourth we were in Lincoln a few more days. I had a stomach bug one of them. Everyone else went on a scavenger hunt at the Mall. Aunt Becky put together a list and divided everyone into teams and they raced to see who could find everything first. Everyone loved it and had a fun time. That night they had a firepit and roasted smores. Everyone was healthy the next day. We played games, got our fingernails painted, and watched a movie together.

On Sunday, after church we headed back home. Emilee and Ethan switched spots in our cars for the drive back. We stopped at their house and traded back kids. I decided to ride in the back with Emilee the last little bit to our house. Matthew was playing around with the Tesla computer and turned on the whoopee cushion feature. There are different options but he set it to go off anytime Ryan used the turn signal. About 30 seconds from our house Emilee says, “I think I’m hungry.” In my head I think, “That’s weird she said she thinks she is hungry. Wait…that is what I thought right before I got sick and threw…” I turn to check her just in time to see her puke all over herself and the car. The new car. The same car I was told I had to wait until I got out to eat my granola bar so I didn’t get crumbs on the floor. The same car we are asked to take our shoes off once we get in so they don’t accidently scuff something. The same care Ryan has cleaned more times then days we have had it so far. After she puked, everyone kind of held their breath for a second. Then Ryan let a little swear word out of his mouth. I guess I should say I think he did. By the look on his face, I’m guessing it was something along those lines. I didn’t actually hear it though because at the exact same time he said it he turned into our neighborhood and the whoopee cushion went off so all we heard was a loud farting noise. Then there are three more quick turns basically back to back to get to our house so the whoopee cushion sounds kept coming. By the time we got to the house we were all laughing…except for Ryan but he was smiling and not swearing so that is something. We got Emilee out and cleaned up and were happy to discover that the carpet in the car was treated with stain protector so it cleaned up pretty easily. Yay for road trips!!

Summer happenings.

I have some ‘random’ pictures on my phone from this summer that I thought I would put in my blog.

These first ones are a double rainbow. We have had lots of rainbows this summer! Big beautiful full ones and at least two double ones that I can remember. Pictures don’t do it justice of course but it helps you remember.

 

 

double rainbow

Then we have Joaquin, Matthew, and Jake in that order. These buddies play on the same baseball team and they clicked immediately when they met. They have a lot of fun together and work hard at baseball together. Joaquin and Matthew play short stop and second and they are fun to watch. They are both little speed demons and are athletic and make some great plays. Joaquin’s family is going to be living in the Philippines for the next three years. They will come home for a 6-8 weeks in the summer and Joaquin will play with us when he is here but it is sad to see him go. They had one last sleep over together before he left. They stayed up late, played way to much video games, had pillow fights, talked baseball, and stayed fueled with pop tarts. An incredible night in Matthew’s words. 🙂

Three Amigos

Baseball buddies sleep over.

Emilee and dad were taking silly pictures on his phone together the other night and he ended up with this one of her and him among the silly ones. He told me he loves this picture and I need to do something with it. I think that means he wants a physical copy of it. He has a picture of Matthew about a week old that he keeps in his wallet, and a favorite of Alli and him making silly faces at work. Isn’t that so sweet!?! Ryan says he isn’t the sentimental type but he is. Pictures and t-shirts, he can’t get rid of either of them. 🙂

Dad and Emi, looking way to grown up for being our little peanut.

 

Emilee usually sleeps with the clothes she is wearing the next day under her pajamas-for time saving purposes obviously. When she wakes up in the morning she takes her pajamas off then usually comes and crawls in bed with me. I woke up the other morning and she wasn’t laying next to me so I went to see who was awake and who was still sleeping. Sometimes Alli likes to sleep in her bean bag instead of her bed and when Emilee woke up she decided to snuggle Alli in her bean bag and dozed off. I sat there and watched them like a creepy person and enjoyed their positive sister interaction. We are past the mid point of summer, happy sister moments are fewer and farther between the constant fighting and picking at each other. I will take it when I can get it, even if they are not conscious.

They do like each other!

We finally made it to the Penguin Park. We invited several people to go with us but it never worked out with schedules so we decided to just go ourselves one morning. It was a 40 minute drive. The kids thought it was cool but it just isn’t as fun to not have a bunch of people to play with at the park (heaven forbid you make friends with someone already there) so after 30 minutes the last kiddo (Emilee) came and said she was done playing. I think I have decided to not do park destinations for a while.

I tried to start some creative summer fun the other day to get the kids doing something different and stop begging me to play or watch electronics. I was hoping they would take off with it and do it on their own but instead they humored me and I kind of made them do it. Allison got mad before we started filming and wouldn’t participate anymore, but she was invited. Thanks for being good sports boys!

We tried to do some service related activities this summer. One of our favorites is the Harvesters Food Service facility. Most of the time the youngest you can be in 8 to help so Emilee wasn’t able to go with us yet but Matthew and Allison love it. We were able to go three times. The first time it was just the three of us. Then after that we tried to take friends with us. This last time we went we had a full car. Five boys, two girls and one me. I felt a little out numbered with that many kids. It was a little hard to keep some of them on task the whole time but it was still fun. It is good service, way better than video games and boredom. We grabbed some lunch afterwards and took everyone home. We also found a fun project that we can do at our house whenever we have time and that everyone can do together. We decorate book marks, place mats, and lunch sacks for the Meals on Wheels program. When we have a bunch decorated we drop them off at the office and they use them for the meals. Emilee can help us do that one too so it is perfect for Sundays, FHE, or times when they are bored.

This last picture is Allison and her friend Michael Dunn. These two are two peas in a pod. They get each other that is for sure. They have known each other since they were born and they tell their parents all the time that they are going to get married someday. Our families went swimming together for one of our last days of summer. We were there all afternoon, the first little bit was a little rough for these two. They had to work their grumpiness out and get along with people. Not each other, they were both having issues with other people. This is both of them in time out taking a break until they can be nice. About two minutes after this picture was taken they went back and played just fine for three more hours.

Allison and Michael working through their emotions together.

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.”

 

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.