Have you done anything lately to find Joy?
"Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy."
2 Nephi 2:25
Showing posts with label Book of Mormon Forum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Book of Mormon Forum. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Men (and Women and Children) Are, That They Might Have Joy
This past year has been rather intense in our household with many financial, career, educational, and even emotional concerns. Granted, there are many around us whose situations in life are much more stressful than ours, but earlier this month I decided that my theme for 2012 is to bring some more balance to my life and find ways to slow down, learn new things, be more creative, relax, have more fun and more joy. I haven't yet bought my new paint by number set that I promised myself, but last night the girls and I (keep in mind that the youngest, DD4 is now 16) had a few joyous moments singing fun songs and creating snowpeople.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
God will never give us more than we can handle.
I read a post last weekend that has kept me thinking about it this entire week. Here is the introduction to Ru’s post at And then she was like blah blah blah
“Something I do not believe: God will never give us more than we can handle.
First of all, for the religious folks out there, this sentiment isn't found in any religious text I've ever read. It's far more likely to show up on bumper stickers. In general, I am wary of things people throw around like scripture that I've never actually read in scripture. ("I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it" ring a bell for anyone?)
In fact, this sentiment is actually just a misstatement of a scripture found in Corinthians (God will not allow you to be tempted beyond your ability, and let's not get into some big theological discussion about how those are two distinct ideas.)”
Ru then goes on to talk about some of the terrible things that can happen in life and concludes:
“So while half of me believes in a loving God who knows me personally and cares about my struggles, the other half believes in that old clockmaker God who put his chips down on the table and let it ride. (Ah yes, the patented Ru mixed metaphor.)
Personally, I don't find those two visions of God particularly at odds with each other -- I just think of God as the anti-helicopter parent. He cares, but there will be no swooping to my rescue.”
Ru, I agree with you that God is not always swooping down to rescue us from life's challenges and that we need to live to help others. However, I know that God loves and cares about us very much and is always aware of what we're going through. We need to have difficult experiences that will help us to learn and to grow. We need to live and act and work and serve others. Experiencing pain and illness and heartache and even death is part of life. However, I do know that through the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ we can be strengthened to successfully “handle” anything that life has to throw at us.
There are many scriptural examples from The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ that give me comfort and help to explain this concept. The first verse that came to my mind when I read Ru’s post was this one:
And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.
1 Nephi 3:7
In this instance, the young man Nephi and his brothers had been given a difficult assignment from the Lord through their father, the prophet Lehi. When Nephi’s older brothers complained that it would be too hard, Nephi had the courage to lead the way. The brothers traveled to Jerusalem to obtain a sacred record from a distant relative, and even though they did experience failure at first, by seeking the guidance of the Lord, eventually they were able to complete the assignment and carry the record to their father Lehi. (you can read the entire story here at 1 Nephi chapters 3 & 4.)
Yes, bad things happen to everyone during this life time. That is actually part of God’s plan and purpose for us, to give us experience and to help us grow, and also to help us recognize and appreciate the good things in life:
For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my first-born in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.
Wherefore, it must needs have been created for a thing of naught; wherefore there would have been no purpose in the end of its creation. Wherefore, this thing must needs destroy the wisdom of God and his eternal purposes, and also the power, and the mercy, and the justice of God.
2 Nephi 2:11, 12
God has granted free agency to all men, and he will not force anyone to be righteous. Therefore, mostly because of the actions of other people, and sometimes because of acts of nature, bad things do and will happen to good people. This has happened often in the history of our difficult world. One particularly troubling example is found in these Book of Mormon verses. A group of righteous saints who believed in Jesus Christ were trying to live by his teachings. These saints were being persecuted by wicked unbelievers, even to the point of death.
And they brought their wives and children together, and whosoever believed or had been taught to believe in the word of God they caused that they should be cast into the fire; and they also brought forth their records which contained the holy scriptures, and cast them into the fire also, that they might be burned and destroyed by fire.
And it came to pass that they took Alma and Amulek, and carried them forth to the place of martyrdom, that they might witness the destruction of those who were consumed by fire.
And when Amulek saw the pains of the women and children who were consuming in the fire, he also was pained; and he said unto Alma: How can we witness this awful scene? Therefore let us stretch forth our hands, and exercise the power of God which is in us, and save them from the flames.
But Alma said unto him: The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory; and he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the blood of the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last day.
Alma 14:8-11
Sometimes God will step in and save us from our problems and challenges, and sometimes he cannot. We cannot see the whole picture like he can. In this instance these innocent people needed too suffer to stand as a witness against the wicked. However, they were blessed to return to the presence of the Lord.
What does it mean to handle something? Does it mean to never have to face a difficult situation? Does it mean to always turn the other cheek? Does it mean to never become angry or depressed or even mentally ill? Does it mean never dying? No one is perfect, and I don’t believe that God expects us to be perfect, but only to strive towards perfection, one step at a time. It is because of the atonement of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that we can handle anything and everything. Jesus Christ suffered for all our sins and all of our sorrows in the Garden of Gethsemane. If we repent, we need not suffer or atone for our sins. He has already paid the price. He allowed himself to be crucified. He died and was resurrected on the third day. Because he was resurrected, we can all be resurrected live again with God, our Heavenly Father.
For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.
Mosiah 3:19
How can we take advantage of the atonement of Jesus Christ and use the power of the atonement to handle anything and everything? By developing a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We can study his life and teachings and his example, and try to emulate him in our own lives. We can pray to him, asking for help and strength and guidance as we encounter the challenges of our lives, knowing that he understands us and our challenges perfectly. The Savior has already experienced everything we could ever experience in this life.
I love reading about Jesus Christ and his selfless life. I wish I could always selflessly love and serve others the way that he did, and hope to become more like him each day. None of us will ever perfectly handle everything that life throws at us, but I believe that by drawing on the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ, we can successfully handle most challenges that God gives to us.
This video shares more about how Christ's Atonement can bring peace and lift burdens:
You can learn more about The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ right here.
You can read from The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ right here.
If you would like your own personal copy of The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, please email me at marcyhowes@gmail.com and I will see that you receive a copy.
“Something I do not believe: God will never give us more than we can handle.
First of all, for the religious folks out there, this sentiment isn't found in any religious text I've ever read. It's far more likely to show up on bumper stickers. In general, I am wary of things people throw around like scripture that I've never actually read in scripture. ("I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it" ring a bell for anyone?)
In fact, this sentiment is actually just a misstatement of a scripture found in Corinthians (God will not allow you to be tempted beyond your ability, and let's not get into some big theological discussion about how those are two distinct ideas.)”
Ru then goes on to talk about some of the terrible things that can happen in life and concludes:
“So while half of me believes in a loving God who knows me personally and cares about my struggles, the other half believes in that old clockmaker God who put his chips down on the table and let it ride. (Ah yes, the patented Ru mixed metaphor.)
Personally, I don't find those two visions of God particularly at odds with each other -- I just think of God as the anti-helicopter parent. He cares, but there will be no swooping to my rescue.”
Ru, I agree with you that God is not always swooping down to rescue us from life's challenges and that we need to live to help others. However, I know that God loves and cares about us very much and is always aware of what we're going through. We need to have difficult experiences that will help us to learn and to grow. We need to live and act and work and serve others. Experiencing pain and illness and heartache and even death is part of life. However, I do know that through the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ we can be strengthened to successfully “handle” anything that life has to throw at us.
There are many scriptural examples from The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ that give me comfort and help to explain this concept. The first verse that came to my mind when I read Ru’s post was this one:
And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.
1 Nephi 3:7
In this instance, the young man Nephi and his brothers had been given a difficult assignment from the Lord through their father, the prophet Lehi. When Nephi’s older brothers complained that it would be too hard, Nephi had the courage to lead the way. The brothers traveled to Jerusalem to obtain a sacred record from a distant relative, and even though they did experience failure at first, by seeking the guidance of the Lord, eventually they were able to complete the assignment and carry the record to their father Lehi. (you can read the entire story here at 1 Nephi chapters 3 & 4.)
Yes, bad things happen to everyone during this life time. That is actually part of God’s plan and purpose for us, to give us experience and to help us grow, and also to help us recognize and appreciate the good things in life:
For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my first-born in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.
Wherefore, it must needs have been created for a thing of naught; wherefore there would have been no purpose in the end of its creation. Wherefore, this thing must needs destroy the wisdom of God and his eternal purposes, and also the power, and the mercy, and the justice of God.
2 Nephi 2:11, 12
God has granted free agency to all men, and he will not force anyone to be righteous. Therefore, mostly because of the actions of other people, and sometimes because of acts of nature, bad things do and will happen to good people. This has happened often in the history of our difficult world. One particularly troubling example is found in these Book of Mormon verses. A group of righteous saints who believed in Jesus Christ were trying to live by his teachings. These saints were being persecuted by wicked unbelievers, even to the point of death.
And they brought their wives and children together, and whosoever believed or had been taught to believe in the word of God they caused that they should be cast into the fire; and they also brought forth their records which contained the holy scriptures, and cast them into the fire also, that they might be burned and destroyed by fire.
And it came to pass that they took Alma and Amulek, and carried them forth to the place of martyrdom, that they might witness the destruction of those who were consumed by fire.
And when Amulek saw the pains of the women and children who were consuming in the fire, he also was pained; and he said unto Alma: How can we witness this awful scene? Therefore let us stretch forth our hands, and exercise the power of God which is in us, and save them from the flames.
But Alma said unto him: The Spirit constraineth me that I must not stretch forth mine hand; for behold the Lord receiveth them up unto himself, in glory; and he doth suffer that they may do this thing, or that the people may do this thing unto them, according to the hardness of their hearts, that the judgments which he shall exercise upon them in his wrath may be just; and the blood of the innocent shall stand as a witness against them, yea, and cry mightily against them at the last day.
Alma 14:8-11
Sometimes God will step in and save us from our problems and challenges, and sometimes he cannot. We cannot see the whole picture like he can. In this instance these innocent people needed too suffer to stand as a witness against the wicked. However, they were blessed to return to the presence of the Lord.
What does it mean to handle something? Does it mean to never have to face a difficult situation? Does it mean to always turn the other cheek? Does it mean to never become angry or depressed or even mentally ill? Does it mean never dying? No one is perfect, and I don’t believe that God expects us to be perfect, but only to strive towards perfection, one step at a time. It is because of the atonement of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that we can handle anything and everything. Jesus Christ suffered for all our sins and all of our sorrows in the Garden of Gethsemane. If we repent, we need not suffer or atone for our sins. He has already paid the price. He allowed himself to be crucified. He died and was resurrected on the third day. Because he was resurrected, we can all be resurrected live again with God, our Heavenly Father.
For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.
Mosiah 3:19
How can we take advantage of the atonement of Jesus Christ and use the power of the atonement to handle anything and everything? By developing a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We can study his life and teachings and his example, and try to emulate him in our own lives. We can pray to him, asking for help and strength and guidance as we encounter the challenges of our lives, knowing that he understands us and our challenges perfectly. The Savior has already experienced everything we could ever experience in this life.
I love reading about Jesus Christ and his selfless life. I wish I could always selflessly love and serve others the way that he did, and hope to become more like him each day. None of us will ever perfectly handle everything that life throws at us, but I believe that by drawing on the power of the atonement of Jesus Christ, we can successfully handle most challenges that God gives to us.
This video shares more about how Christ's Atonement can bring peace and lift burdens:
You can learn more about The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ right here.
You can read from The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ right here.
If you would like your own personal copy of The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, please email me at marcyhowes@gmail.com and I will see that you receive a copy.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Friday Show and Tell Saturday Confession
Hi. My name is Marcy, and I am a blogger.com addict. Oh, it all started out innocently enough about four years ago when I started my first blog. I posted very sporadically and started following the blogs of family members and close friends. Sometimes I would read a book that I loved, and then look up and follow the blog of the author.
Soon I decided that one blog was not enough. I needed a separate blog to chronicle the news of my extended family and share photos with those who live on opposite sides of the country. Then of course I needed another blog for the other side of the family. Now I was actually posting to my different blogs on a somewhat regular schedule.
One day I noticed a little tab entitled “Blogs of Note”. This led me to the blog Baking My Way Through Germany. I love to bake! Baking in Germany sounded interesting, so of course I started to follow this blog, written by someone I had never before met. Soon I was following other blogs about sewing and quilting such as The Doodles of My Mind and Why Not Sew? Someday I really do want to make more quilts, and these blogs are brimming with wonderful ideas. This was really starting to be fun!
Several months ago I found Tristi Pinkston’s blog where I was introduced to blog hops. Free books? Of course I was into that, and soon I was following even more blogs of readers and writers. I kept finding great writing advice and more books that I wanted to add to the growing stack of “to be read” next to my bed, and I found myself spending even more time reading and following blogs.
This, of course led me to fun activities such as Rachel Harrie’s Third Writers’ Platform-Building Campaign. Now I was following even more wonderful blogs, and taking on new writing challenges as well.
Along the way I learned about commenting on favorite blogs, but sometimes they wouldn’t let me and I would get this message:
“We're sorry, but we were unable to complete your request.
The following errors were found:
Input error: Cookie value is null for FormRestoration”
Yesterday at Boys Buttons and Butterflies and Spotted Stones I found the answer! if you are using Internet Explorer or Firefox, just go to your privacy settings and set them to accept third-party cookies for http://www.blogger.com/! Thank you!! I can now post comments!
Back to my story. Things were now getting a bit hairy. All of my spare time was being used up by either reading other campaigner’s blog posts or writing my own. This seriously was cutting into my morning writing time, my reading time, my family time, my gardening time, my housework time (already very limited!) and my precious sleeping time. This was even more addicting than Farm Town on Facebook!
Every evening I began promising myself that I would only blog for an hour or two after dinner, but many nights I would be surprised to find it was 1am and I was still trying to finish reading through the blogs that I followed, and adding even more wonderful blogs to follow. Each morning I would promise myself that I would not even check my email until I had written a substantial amount on my WIP, but then I would think of something that I needed to blog about, and before I knew it the morning would be shot.
Now I discovered that I was following the blogs of several fellow members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (also sometimes known as Mormons), and I found The Book of Mormon Forum Of Course I had to join and take the opportunity to share my testimony of The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, as some of you may have already read. I’m finding more wonderful blogs there, and I hope that you will take a few minutes and read some of the posts of others participating in the forum.
This brings me to today, and the fact that something has to give, and soon, because next month is:
NaNoWriMo I was introduced to NaNoWriMo by DD1 several years ago and I have been a participant for four years and a "winner" twice. I thrive on the word wars against other participants, and am motivated to keep my word count above the line of death as I try to write 50,000 words during the month. My current WIP is a revision of the results of the last two years of NaNoWriMo. I have had a very slow writing summer and I am looking forward to the boost of participating again this year. But now I have a dilemma. In the past I was not a blogger.com addict. This year I will need to take drastic steps during November in order to reach my 50,000 word goal, and I will probably put a hold on my blogging during the month.
But, in making my blogging rounds this week I have found suggestions for preparing for NaNoWriMo. Elizabeth Spann Craig’s recent post listed links to many helps for preparing for NaNoWriMo, including links to Larry Brooks’ posts at Storyfix.com. These almost constitute a book in and of themselves! Zan Marie blogged about the Books and Writers Community 30-day Character Building Exercise for September. I missed out on doing this during September but am definitely going to make the time during October to get to know some new characters in preparation for National Novel Writing Month.
See you around! (At least until November)
Marcy
Soon I decided that one blog was not enough. I needed a separate blog to chronicle the news of my extended family and share photos with those who live on opposite sides of the country. Then of course I needed another blog for the other side of the family. Now I was actually posting to my different blogs on a somewhat regular schedule.
One day I noticed a little tab entitled “Blogs of Note”. This led me to the blog Baking My Way Through Germany. I love to bake! Baking in Germany sounded interesting, so of course I started to follow this blog, written by someone I had never before met. Soon I was following other blogs about sewing and quilting such as The Doodles of My Mind and Why Not Sew? Someday I really do want to make more quilts, and these blogs are brimming with wonderful ideas. This was really starting to be fun!
Several months ago I found Tristi Pinkston’s blog where I was introduced to blog hops. Free books? Of course I was into that, and soon I was following even more blogs of readers and writers. I kept finding great writing advice and more books that I wanted to add to the growing stack of “to be read” next to my bed, and I found myself spending even more time reading and following blogs.
This, of course led me to fun activities such as Rachel Harrie’s Third Writers’ Platform-Building Campaign. Now I was following even more wonderful blogs, and taking on new writing challenges as well.
Along the way I learned about commenting on favorite blogs, but sometimes they wouldn’t let me and I would get this message:
“We're sorry, but we were unable to complete your request.
The following errors were found:
Input error: Cookie value is null for FormRestoration”
Yesterday at Boys Buttons and Butterflies and Spotted Stones I found the answer! if you are using Internet Explorer or Firefox, just go to your privacy settings and set them to accept third-party cookies for http://www.blogger.com/! Thank you!! I can now post comments!
Back to my story. Things were now getting a bit hairy. All of my spare time was being used up by either reading other campaigner’s blog posts or writing my own. This seriously was cutting into my morning writing time, my reading time, my family time, my gardening time, my housework time (already very limited!) and my precious sleeping time. This was even more addicting than Farm Town on Facebook!
Every evening I began promising myself that I would only blog for an hour or two after dinner, but many nights I would be surprised to find it was 1am and I was still trying to finish reading through the blogs that I followed, and adding even more wonderful blogs to follow. Each morning I would promise myself that I would not even check my email until I had written a substantial amount on my WIP, but then I would think of something that I needed to blog about, and before I knew it the morning would be shot.
Now I discovered that I was following the blogs of several fellow members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (also sometimes known as Mormons), and I found The Book of Mormon Forum Of Course I had to join and take the opportunity to share my testimony of The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, as some of you may have already read. I’m finding more wonderful blogs there, and I hope that you will take a few minutes and read some of the posts of others participating in the forum.
This brings me to today, and the fact that something has to give, and soon, because next month is:
NaNoWriMo I was introduced to NaNoWriMo by DD1 several years ago and I have been a participant for four years and a "winner" twice. I thrive on the word wars against other participants, and am motivated to keep my word count above the line of death as I try to write 50,000 words during the month. My current WIP is a revision of the results of the last two years of NaNoWriMo. I have had a very slow writing summer and I am looking forward to the boost of participating again this year. But now I have a dilemma. In the past I was not a blogger.com addict. This year I will need to take drastic steps during November in order to reach my 50,000 word goal, and I will probably put a hold on my blogging during the month.
But, in making my blogging rounds this week I have found suggestions for preparing for NaNoWriMo. Elizabeth Spann Craig’s recent post listed links to many helps for preparing for NaNoWriMo, including links to Larry Brooks’ posts at Storyfix.com. These almost constitute a book in and of themselves! Zan Marie blogged about the Books and Writers Community 30-day Character Building Exercise for September. I missed out on doing this during September but am definitely going to make the time during October to get to know some new characters in preparation for National Novel Writing Month.
See you around! (At least until November)
Marcy
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Reading Aloud with Kids (and Adults)
Have you ever been reading along through all of the wonderful posts of your favorite bloggers, found something wonderful that you wanted to share, and then never found it again? That's been my experience over and over again. So many blogs, so little time, so many books, so little time! This is my continual lament. Recently I have read several wonderful blog posts about reading aloud, and being read to, especially as children. I thought I had saved links to the blogs, and even thought that I had added my comments, but now I can't find them. So, today I've been conducting searches. I haven't found the blog posts that I was looking for yet, but I did find some new thoughts on reading to children:
Becky Morecraft's Blog shares a favorite poem by Stickland Gillian.
Pages of Julia talks about being read to as a child, audiobooks, and reading aloud as an adult.
This March 2010 New York Times Article tells how a Mr Brozina read to his daughter for 3,218 straight nights.
I personally was read to as a child, by parents, grandparents and siblings. I love reading, and I have loved reading stories to my own children throughout the past 27 or so years, even on the nights when I was so tired that I would start to doze off, and the words coming out of my mouth didn't exactly match the words in the storybooks.
Were you read to as a child? Do you read aloud to your children? Do you read aloud as an adult? Do you enjoy listening to audio books? Have you recently blogged about this topic? Leave me a comment and let me know!
Now most of my children are adults and on their own, and we don't read storybooks aloud to each other much anymore, but we do all read. One thing we do try to do each is evening is gather together with whomever is home read aloud from The Book of Mormon.
One of the first stories in The Book of Mormon takes place 600 years before Christ. It tells of the prophet Lehi being warned by the Lord to take his family from their home in Jerusalem into the wilderness because wicked men desired to take away his life, and Jerusalem was to be destroyed. Lehi was then commanded by the Lord to send his sons back to Jerusalem for a set of records containing the history and the genealogy of their people. Lehi's sons had some harrowing adventures before they returned with the records, but they were successful in their quest:
And we had obtained the records which the Lord had commanded us, and searched them and found that they were desirable; yea even of great worth unto us, insomuch that we could preserve the commandments of the Lord unto our children. Wherefore, it was wisdom in the Lord that we should carry them with us, as we journeyed in the wilderness towards the land of promise.
1 Nephi 5:21&22 (pg 11)
Lehi and his family knew firsthand the importance of having history and scripture to teach their children. Almost 500 years later, one of Lehi's decendants, King Benjamin also recognized the importance of the records:
For it were not possible that our father, Lehi, could have remembered all these things, to have taught them to his children, except it were for the help of these plates; for he having been taught in the language of the Egyptians therefore he could read these engravings, and teach them to his children, that thereby they could teach them to their children, and so fulfilling the commandments of God, even down to this present time.
Mosiah 1:4 (pg 145)
I'm grateful for good books. I'm grateful for language. And I'm grateful for books of scripture, including The Book of Mormon, that teach us of our Savior Jesus Christ and the things that will be of most worth to ourselves and our families.
You can read the story of Lehi's family from The Book of Mormon here. You can learn more about The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ at The Official Book of Mormon website. If you would like to read from other bloggers who love The Book of Mormon, just click on The Book of Mormon Forum link on the top right of this blog.
Thanks for stopping by!
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Raspberry Jam
Yesterday I made 3 pints of freezer raspberry jam with raspberries that I planted, weeded, trimmed, watered, and picked with my own hands. Since DH and I married, we have moved about 6 times. Almost every time we have lived in a place where I could garden, I have planted raspberry plants. Several times we moved just as the plants started producing a fair amount of raspberries. Almost 15 years ago we bought our current home, and shortly thereafter I bought and planted several raspberry bushes. For nearly 15 years I have gathered the berries handfuls at a time . . . just enough for a little snack for myself and my family. Finally after nearly 15 years, yesterday I was able to gather a whole 6 cups of berries, enough to make one batch of raspberry freezer jam! Hooray!
I admit that I like to garden. I enjoy spending time outdoors, digging in the dirt, planting seeds and seedlings, and harvesting food for my family. I don’t always relish pulling and digging weeds in the hot sun, but I do enjoy the satisfaction of seeing, and eating the results of my labors. I don’t get huge yields from my small efforts, but most years we do get a pretty fair variety of vegetables throughout the summer and fall. Some might say that my gardening habit is rather expensive. I admit that it can be, especially if you consider all of the hours that I devote to my garden. I was raised on a farm and though I will be the first to admit that I am not the hardest worker in my family, I did learn that chores needed to be done in a timely manner if good results from crops and animals are expected. The stories of the Little Red Hen and the Ants and the Grasshopper are based on truth!
I am afraid that many in our society have no idea what it would take to be self sufficient. Sometimes I wonder what would happen if some great calamity came upon this country or the world, and no one was able to transport the many goods across this great land in the way that we are accustomed to. How many of us could go for a week, a month, or even longer without making a trip to the local grocery store or mall? How many of us realize and appreciate the work that goes into producing the food that we eat? Many of us spend our days working sedentary jobs and need to make extra time to get the exercise that our bodies need to be healthy.
I do not believe that we all need to revert to an agrarian society where everyone is self sufficient, but I do think it is good for ever individual to have some experience with physical labor, whether it be gardening and food production, or some other form of physical labor. In The Book of Mormon, we can read where King Benjamin taught his people the importance of supporting themselves with their own labors by his own example and teachings:
I say unto you that as I have been suffered to spend my days in your service, even up to this time, and have not sought gold nor silver nor any manner of riches of you . . . And even I, myself, have labored with mine own hands that I might serve you, and that ye should not be laden with taxes, and that there should nothing come upon you which was grievous to be borne—and of all these things which I have spoken ye yourselves are witnesses this day.
Mosiah 2:12,14 (pg 148)
And he also commanded them that the priests whom he had ordained should labor with their own hands for their support. And the priests were not to depend upon the people for their support; but for their labor they were to receive the grace of God that they might wax strong in the Sprit, having the knowledge of God, that they might teach with power and authority from God.
Mosiah 18: 24, 26 (pg 182)
I won’t expound any further except to say that I value work, including physical work, and treasure seeing the fruits of my labor! Gotta love that Rasberry Jam!
(If you would like to learn more about The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ and it’s teachings, you can read about it here. If you would like to read more about what this book means to me, read my post here . If you would like to have your own copy, feel free to email me at marcyhowes@gmail.com, and I will be sure that you receive a copy.)
Friday, September 30, 2011
Friday Show and Tell: A Most Important Book
This week I’ve been writing a bit (1172 words on my WIP) and I've been reading a lot. I've read a lot of entries to Rachel's Second Campaigner Challenge. I've liked a lot of them! I've read a lot of blog posts about writing, and books, and libraries, and parenting, and quilting and more. I've actually even read a few books. Most books I read are for relaxation or entertainment and can be breezed through in a few days or even hours, but others are worth taking the time to read slowly, to savor, and to ponder. Tonight I want to share with you a verse or two from one such book, The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ.
“And now my beloved brethren . . . believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ.”
2 Nephi 33:10 (pg 116-117)
I consider The Book of Mormon to be the most important book in my life. It is a book of scripture, a companion to The Bible. It testifies of the divinity of Jesus Christ through the teachings of ancient prophets who lived on the American Continent. Reading this book brings me peace and the strength I need to face life’s daily challenges. Occasionally during the next few weeks as I blog, I may periodically be sharing more of my favorite verses from this book, and maybe some thoughts and experiences that I've had as I have read. I hope you don't mind!
What have you heard of The Book of Mormon? Have you ever had the chance to read it? If you have ever had questions about The Book of Mormon and where it came from, you can read more about it here, or you can ask me in a comment, and I’ll try to answer either in the comments or in my next Friday Show and Tell. If you would like to read The Book of Mormon on-line, you can find it here. If you would like your own personal copy of The Book of Mormon, just email me your mailing address at marcyhowes@gmail.com and I will see to it that you receive your own copy.
"And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ . . ."
2 Nephi 25:26 (pg 100)
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