Then Ye Will Always Abound in Good Works

We had an excellent lesson in my SFL 100 (Strengthening Marriage and Family) class today about "The Meanings and Blessings of Family Work."

When Adam and Eve had to leave the Garden of Eden, Adam wasn't cursed by having to begin working... the ground was cursed "for his sake." The fact that the ground would now bring forth thistles and briers instead of automatically flourishing with fruits and life enabled Adam the opportunity to work for his family and with his family. Work is intended to be a blessing to us and our families!

Some interesting facts about how family work has changed since industrialization:
-fathers' work went from centered in the home to taking him away from the home
-housework and homemaking are considered menial tasks...and now those tasks are looked down upon. Work that requires complete focus and brain activity is valued far more in our society than the everyday menial tasks of maintaining a home.
-children (because they started working away from the home, and then were sent back to the home after child labor laws were passed) are no longer expected to work the same way as part of the family. Their privilege is playing while mom does the housework. Many think that if they do work, they should be paid.
-Industrialization increased isolation in family work. Instead of all of the family members working together to maintain the household, fathers leave the home, mothers work to maintain the home, children play or do homework, etc.
-the home is no longer a producing place, but a consuming place.
-children are seen as liabilities rather than assets.
-modern technologies meant to make housekeeping easier have actually made mom's work more demanding. She feels more isolated now, there are higher expectations for the home, home's are bigger and require more maintenance, and more time is actually required for housework than before in order to meet those expectations.
-Time is worth so much in our minds these days that we are more worried about getting the jobs done rather than enjoying the journey. The focus is on efficiency.

These are just a few ways that family work has changed over the years. But we don't have to let these modern changes squelch the potential for great family work in our own homes!

Here are some ways we can enjoy and take advantage of family work today!:

-Take advantage of the menial tasks that don't require lots of brain work. Doing these jobs as a family, or with a few family members, actually enables family members time to connect and bond. Because your mind isn't required to do the work, your mind is available to interact and connect with your family! Nowadays we often like to keep our brains busy in every possible second (checking our phones, using social media), but having a time when your mind is free to wander and connect with loved ones is extremely valuable and healthy for you and your family!
-Instead of stressing about efficiency, we can make our time spent doing work more effective by using it to teach our children and connect with our family members. It may not be efficient to let your 4 year old help you do the dishes, but it is one of the best ways to teach your child valuable lessons, to create special bonds, and to maintain a family focus even while doing chores.
-Teach children that work is a lifestyle! It isn't something they can just do at home whenever they want when they want to earn some money. It's great to offer extra opportunities for children to earn some money when they are saving up for something, but by teaching them that there is always basic work required, your children will be more prepared for a productive and happy family life in their future.
-Dad's can remember that their work doesn't end when they come home from their job. Just like for mom, the work never actually ends. Dad's work just changes from the work environment to the home environment.

It could seem discouraging for both parents and kids to look at work as something that never ends, but this is a more recent negative perspective change that we can potentially reverse. Back when work was required of all family members on a regular basis (on the farm, etc), families learned to enjoy their work together! It wasn't just seen as an endless list of to-do's, but they spent the time talking, laughing, and sometimes making games out of the work. It was industrialization that largely contributed to the new idea we have that work and the rest of our lives should be separate, and that work cannot be enjoyed.


A wise husband was once was confronted by a woman and asked, "Tell me, do you really believe that a woman's first place is in the home?"
The wise husband replied boldly, "Yes." Then continued, "And so is a man's."

As we learn to have these changes in perspective- that family work can be enjoyed, that it is an important part of our home life, that it should be focused on effective (with teaching moments and  connecting moments) rather than efficiency- I believe we can create a more positive and hard working culture for our future families and generations.

"And see that ye have faith, hope and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works."
-Alma 7:24 (The Book of Mormon)

The Everlasting Father

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we very commonly speak of Jesus Christ as our Brother. We love to know that we, like him, are each a child of our Heavenly Father. But in all of our excitement to acknowledge that he is our Brother, many of us may have become uncomfortable with the idea of calling Christ our Father. 

In one of the most well-known scriptures of the Bible (as heard in Handel's Messiah!) we learn the doctrine that Christ is our Everlasting Father. 

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." -Isaiah 9:6

The doctrine that Christ must become our Everlasting Father is taught in the Bible, Book of Mormon, and the Doctrine and Covenants.

John 5:43 (Bible)

1 Corinthians 4:15 (Bible)

Mosiah 7:27 (Book of Mormon)

Mosiah 15:3

Mosiah 15:11

Mosiah 16:15

Helaman 14:12 (Book of Mormon)

Ether 3:14 (Book of Mormon)

Doctrine and Covenants 11:30

Doctrine and Covenants 50:41

Doctrine and Covenants 76:24

Christ is our Father in three ways:

1. He is the Father of the heavens and earth because He created them!

2. He is the Father in the fact that He comes representing His Father and speaking in His Father's words.

3. He becomes our Father when we are baptized in His name. 

We have three Fathers, and each one offers us a new life. 

1. Our Heavenly Father: the Father of our spirits. He offered us life as He created our spirits!

2. Our mortal fathers: the father of our physical body. He offers us mortal life with a physical body for our spirit.

3. Jesus Christ: the Father who offers us eternal life! He offers us spiritual rebirth!

We cannot enter the Kingdom of God unless Christ becomes our Father. I know that He truly is (or must become) our personal Everlasting Father. We must become His sons and daughters through our baptism. This is a rebirth, becoming His child. 

At first it was a little hard for me to think of my Brother also being my Father....but then it struck me: My mortal father, for me: Jon, was also my brother before he participated in offering me new life. Jon is a spiritual son of our Heavenly Father. He and I are and were spiritual brother and sister. We have the same Father of our spirits. But when Jon offered me the opportunity to come into this mortal life and gain a physical body, he forever became my father! My mortal father. 

Jesus Christ can be thought of in a similar way. He lived with us before this life in the presence of our Heavenly Parents. The Father of His spirit is also the Father of our spirits. (The difference being that our Heavenly Father is also Christ's mortal Father! Christ was physically begotten by our Heavenly Father.) But when Christ participated in offering us new life (when He came to earth as our Savior, and performed the Atonement in our behalf) He became our Father. If we accept Him as our Father, He will help prepare us for life in our Heavenly Father's presence.

I know these things are true. I am eternally grateful for each of my Fathers. I am eternally indebted to my Savior- who is also my Brother, but who saves me as my Everlasting Father.

"...but his hand is stretched out still."

I was reflecting recently on how we can increase our sense of hope in the future.

I was studying in the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi chapters 19 and 20. These chapters quote Isaiah 9 and 10. At first glance, the last message they seem to give is that there is hope. These chapters are filled with prophecies of how wicked the people will become and how they will turn away from the Lord over and over again.

But as I was reading, I began to focus on one phrase that I noticed was reoccurring:

"...but his hand is stretched out still."

This is the message of hope! No matter how bad the world becomes, no matter how wicked society becomes, or how many trials we go through, the Lord will always stretch His hand out to us. We simply need to accept that hand- to reach out and grab hold of Him.

There is incredible hope in the consistency of the Savior. I know He lives, and that He is our source of hope. As long as He lives, there will always be hope. And He will always live!

Creating and Perfecting Families

In a reading I did this morning for my Strengthening Marriage and Family Class, this quote stood out to me:

“There is nothing in this world as important as the creation and perfection of family units” -Elder Bruce R. McConkie.

Bruce R. McConkie teaches us of two things that are of vital importance in this life:
1.) Creating family units
2.) Perfecting family units

The idea of perfecting the family unit is very beautiful to me. Every family has struggles- whether they struggle with each other, or they struggle together against hard situations life has dealt them.

In the Book of Mormon, we learn about a father named Lehi who passed through struggles with his family. There were times his family struggled with contention, times they had to sacrifice together, and times they just had to do really, really hard things together.

Our families go through similar experiences and trials.

At one point, Lehi is talking to his young son, Jacob. Jacob was born in the wilderness, in a time of great sorrow for Lehi and his family. Not only did he grow up in the wild, but Jacob had struggled a lot because of the way his older brothers treated him. ("...And behold, in thy childhood thou hast suffered afflictions and much sorrow, because of the rudeness of thy brethren." -2 Nephi 2:1) It sounds like a very extreme case of a younger brother being bullied by older brothers.

Yet despite living in the wild, being hungry, and seeing his sons constantly fighting and causing contention in the family, Lehi knew that he was expected (as we are) to work on perfecting his family. I can imagine this could seem like a daunting task for a parent. But the source of hope: Christ. Jesus Christ is the only one who can perfect us as individuals and as families.

I love these words of comfort that Lehi gives to young Jacob:

"Nevertheless, Jacob, my firstborn in the wilderness, thou knowest the greatness of God; and he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain" -2 Nephi 2:2

There is nothing as meaningful and important in this life as creating and perfecting ourselves and our families! It will not be an easy journey for any of us. But the great comfort is that Christ is the one who can perfect us, and he will help us. He will consecrate all of the hard and unfair things we face in this life to be for our gain! That means that the struggles we go through can actually benefit us, and turn from sour to sweet as we are healed and changed by Jesus Christ. I know that he truly can perfect our families- slowly but surely- if we turn to him and invite him into every aspect of our lives. Only he can make bitter turn to sweet. He can make our family become our heaven.






To read the article I read this morning, called "Marriage and the Great Plan of Happiness" by Elder Joe. J. Christensen, click here: https://www.lds.org/ensign/1995/05/marriage-and-the-great-plan-of-happiness?lang=eng&query=Joe+J.+Christensen

"When all is said and done, this is what the gospel is about."

"When all is said and done, this is what the gospel is about. The family is a creation of God. It is the basic creation. The way to strengthen the nation is to strengthen the homes of the people.
...
You will know no greater happiness than that found in your home. You will have no more serious obligation than that which you face in your home. The truest mark of your success in life will be the quality of your marriage."

-Gordon B. Hinckley, President of the Church, April 1998

"...and call her blessed..."

This morning as I was studying in the Book of Mormon, some questions came to my mind, and I found myself in the Bible, reading in Luke. I read this verse:

"For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck." -Luke 23:29

Today this verse struck me in a different light than it ever had before.

In my Family Processes class yesterday, a few of the many topics we discussed were changing trends in marriage and fertility rates around the world.

Modern research shows that the way people think about marriage is becoming increasingly disconnected from child-bearing. Many people don't feel there is or needs to be a connection between the two.

 As far as re-population rates, most Western countries are far below the fertility rate (2.1- meaning that 2.1 children per woman are required to keep our population at the same number) required to repopulate their own country. Some countries are so far below the 2.1 rate (at 0.7) that they fear their entire population will be made of foreigners in less than 20 years. Governments of countries who are concerned about their re-population rates try to give their people incentives to have children (like writing out a check for thousands of dollars for a couple who has a baby, or guaranteeing up to 3 years of maternity leave and a guaranteed position at their job for 7 years after that for a mother who has a baby, or even matching any amount that parents put in a saving account for their new baby). Yet despite these high incentives, the re-population rates have not improved.

Now back to the scripture in Luke. As I read it, it struck me that this exact thing is happening today. "...they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck." While many (if not most) individuals still believe in families and desire to have a family, our society and perhaps much of our world are sending us this message... "blessed is a woman who is free from the responsibility of motherhood, who can be independent, who has an incredible career, who can travel whenever she wants, who can do what she wants..."

While it can be wonderful for a woman to have a great education and career, to travel, and to work towards her individual dreams and goals, it seems that today there is so much emphasis on this idea of a woman's "freedom" that motherhood is looked down upon. Being a wife and mother are often seen as limiting or binding.

After reading that verse and seeing what much of our media and society believe about mothers, I wanted to study a bit more about what God thinks of mothers and motherhood...

"Mother: A sacred title referring to a woman who bears or adopts children. Mothers assist in God's plan by providing mortal bodies for God's spirit children." -LDS Guide to the Scriptures


"Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
"Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain; but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.
Give her the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates."
-Proverbs 31:28, 30-31 (Bible)

"When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!" -John 19: 26 (Bible)


"...yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them." -Alma 56:47 (Book of Mormon)

"Among the great and mighty ones who were assembled in this vast congregation of the righteous were Father Adam, the Ancient of Days and father of all, And our glorious Mother Eve, with many of her faithful daughters who had lived through the ages and worshiped the true and living God." -Doctrine and Covenants 138:38-39 (Latter-day Saints believe the Doctrine and Covenants to be modern scripture and revelations from God)

While we could go into great detail about every one of these verses, they all teach us that God loves mothers. And He always will, regardless of what the rest of the world says. He sends mothers to the earth to play an important role in His plan. He sends them here to teach their children, our future generations, to nurture and love, to testify of Jesus Christ through their deeds. In the world's eyes, a woman who escapes motherhood is blessed, but in God's eyes, mothers are blessed. Regardless of whether a woman has already born children or not, if it is her desire to be a righteous woman and mother, I believe that God is pleased with her desires and will someday (in His timing) bless her to play the sacred role of mother.


Blessed are mothers.

The Closest I Have Ever Been to Heaven

December 22nd of 2015 was the happiest and most important day of my life so far.

The drive to Manti, Utah, was slow, serene, peaceful. The snow was clean and white on the landscape around us as we drove on snow sprinkled roads through the falling sleet and snow. White was everywhere! Almost as if God was sending me an invitation to reflect on the white building I would soon be entering, the white clothing I would soon be wearing, and the purity that resides in the House of the Lord that we would soon enter.

Being sealed to my best friend was an experience I cannot forget. Being in the temple together, with family gathered in the room, a deep sense of peace and light filled me. I felt so close to Heaven.













When we exited the temple, it was still sleeting and snowing, but somehow the cold didn't feel as cold as usual. The warmth felt in the temple still lingered in our hearts. The same warmth that I imagine fills the space of Heaven.









Reflecting on the day, I realize that the reason I felt so close to Heaven was not because of how beautiful the building we were in was, nor how elegant the decorations were, nor because I felt like a princess in the beautiful dress my mom carefully made for me. I felt close to Heaven because of the individuals around me and the gospel of Jesus Christ that enabled that moment to happen. We were in the temple! A place so pure that the Savior Himself could appear there and walk the halls (after all, it is His house). An ordinance was performed there and a covenant was made- these beautiful experiences and promises only possible because Jesus is the Christ and His perfect gospel has been restored to the earth! I felt close to Heaven because my heart was filled with the Holy Spirit of God, witnessing to me that God was pleased with the decision and was rejoicing with us.

But even if I had been in the exact same place, feeling the exact same sweet and wonderful feeling, it couldn't quite have been Heaven without the family and loved ones that were there.

 I felt close to Heaven because I was surrounded by people who I love. I felt so close to Heaven because a new family was being formed. And families are of God. Heaven is family! Heaven is being in the presence of our Father. The Creator of our spirits and bodies! Heaven is being with the people we love, who all are our brothers and sisters! Our earthly parents and siblings! Our grandparents, our aunts, uncles, cousins, extended families! Extended families beyond extended families! Our ancestors and our posterity! Most importantly, our spouse.

 I felt closer to Heaven than I had ever been before because I was being sealed to my new husband- and being with him will make Heaven Heaven for me.


I am forever grateful for my eternal companion.