Come, Listen to a Prophet's Voice

"Resolve to make the Lord Jesus Christ the living center of your home. Be sure that every decision you make, whether it be of a spiritual or physical nature, be guided by the thought “What would the Lord Jesus Christ have me do?” When the Savior is the center of your home, it is filled with peace and serenity. There is a spirit of calm assurance that pervades the home that is felt by the children and adults alike."  Elder Richard G. Scott, "He Lives! All Glory to His Name!" April 2010

Come, Listen to a Prophet's Voice

"There is an imperative need for each of us to strengthen our understanding of the significance of the Atonement of Jesus Christ so that it will become an unshakable foundation upon which to build our lives." Elder Richard G. Scott, "He Lives! All Glory to His Name!" April 2010

Come, Listen to a Prophet's Voice

"What eternal purpose would our Father’s plan of happiness have had except it be made alive through the infinite and eternal Atonement of His gloriously obedient Son? What eternal purpose would have come from the Creation of the earth, where intelligences tabernacled with spirits would receive a body, if death were the end of existence and none would be resurrected? What a glorious moment [Easter] morning was for all who understood its significance. ...Jesus Christ lives. He is our Savior, our Redeemer. He is a glorious, resurrected being. ...He gave His life to break the bonds of death. His Atonement made fully active the plan of happiness of His Father in Heaven. ...Without the Atonement, Father in Heaven’s plan of happiness could not have been placed fully into effect. ...It is vital that we each learn what we can about [the Atonement.  It is the] essential ingredient of our Father in Heaven’s plan of happiness without which that plan could not have been activated." Elder Richard G. Scott, "He Lives! All Glory to His Name!" April 2010

Come, Listen to a Prophet's Voice

"When I think of the Savior, I often picture Him with hands outstretched, reaching out to comfort, heal, bless, and love. ...He loved the humble and the meek and walked among them, ministering to them and offering hope and salvation.  That is what He did during His mortal life; it is what He would be doing if He were living among us today; and it is what we should be doing as His disciples and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. ...Christ knows how to minister to others perfectly. When the Savior stretches out His hands, those He touches are uplifted and become greater, stronger, and better people as a result.  If we are His hands, should we not do the same?"  President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "You Are My Hands," April 2010

Come, Listen to a Prophet's Voice

"From the cross on Calvary, the Savior announced, 'It is finished.' Then His spirit left His body, and His mortal remains were placed lovingly in a tomb. He taught us a lesson by what He did in three days in the spirit world, before His Resurrection, which I remember whenever I am tempted to feel that I have finished some hard task in His service and deserve a rest.

The Savior’s example gives me courage to press on. His labors in mortality were finished, but He entered the spirit world determined to continue His glorious work to save souls. He organized the work of the faithful spirits to rescue those who could still be made partakers of the mercy made possible by His atoning sacrifice"  President Henry B. Eyring, "Act in All Diligence," April 2010

Family Night Field Trips: Part III

After talking about the Savior, his life and atonement, death and resurrection, we focused our third field trip on the doctrine of Christ:

Faith

Repentance

Baptism

The Gift of the Holy Ghost

We went to our church building and talked about the important ordinances that happen there, particularly baptism and the sacrament.  We talked about the word covenant. We talked about Jesus' invitation: "Come unto me and have everlasting life."   We talked about how we do that.

"Wherefore, they shall come to the knowledge of their Redeemer and the very points of his doctrine that they may know how to come unto him and be saved." (1 Nephi 15:14)

Faith
Repentance
Baptism
The Holy Ghost

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart...with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism—yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost."

We continued the conversation as we walked across the street to the temple grounds.  It was a beautiful evening.

"And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is one God, without end. Amen."

And amen. =)

Come, Listen to a Prophet's Voice

"Looking back, I know for sure that the promises of the Lord, if perhaps not always swift, are always certain. ...Patience means to abide in faith, knowing that sometimes it is in the waiting rather than in the receiving that we grow the most."  President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Continue in Patience," April 2010

Come, Listen to a Prophet's Voice

"As the Lord is patient with us, let us be patient with those we serve. Understand that they, like us, are imperfect. They, like us, make mistakes. They, like us, want others to give them the benefit of the doubt.
Never give up on anyone. And that includes not giving up on yourself.
I believe that every one of us, at one time or another, can identify with the servant in Christ’s parable who owed money to the king and who pled with the king, saying, 'Lord, have patience with me.'
...It is my prayer that patience will be a defining characteristic of we who hold the priesthood of Almighty God." President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Continue in Patience," April 2010

Come, Listen to a Prophet's Voice

"Patience [is] far more than simply waiting for something to happen—patience require[s] actively working toward worthwhile goals and not getting discouraged when results [don't] appear instantly or without effort.

There is an important concept here: patience is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can—working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our hearts are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!" President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Continue in Patience," April 2010

Come, Listen to a Prophet's Voice

"The father of [a] girl whose life was taken by cancer in her teen years declared, 'Our family’s faith is in Jesus Christ and is not dependent on outcomes.' Those teachings ring true to me. We do all that we can for the healing of a loved one, and then we trust in the Lord for the outcome." Elder Dallin H. Oaks, "Healing the Sick", April 2010

Come, Listen to a Prophet's Voice

"As children of God, knowing of His great love and His ultimate knowledge of what is best for our eternal welfare, we trust in Him. The first principle of the gospel is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and faith means trust."  Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Healing the Sick, April 2010

Come, Listen to a Prophet's Voice

"In some priesthood blessings—like a patriarchal blessing—the words spoken are the essence of the blessing. But in a healing blessing it is the other parts of the blessing—the anointing, the sealing, faith, and the will of the Lord—that are the essential elements. ...The words spoken in a healing blessing can edify and energize the faith of those who hear them, but the effect of the blessing is dependent upon faith and the Lord’s will, not upon the words spoken by the elder who officiated."  Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Healing the Sick, April 2010

Come, Listen to a Prophet's Voice

“The need of faith is often underestimated. The ill one and the family often seem to depend wholly on the power of the priesthood and the gift of healing that they hope the administering brethren may have, whereas the greater responsibility is with him who is blessed."  President Spencer W. Kimball, quoted in, "Healing the Sick," by Elder Dallin H. Oaks, April 2010

Come, Listen to a Prophet's Voice

"When someone has been anointed by the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood, the anointing is sealed by that same authority. To seal something means to affirm it, to make it binding for its intended purpose. When elders anoint a sick person and seal the anointing, they open the windows of heaven for the Lord to pour forth the blessing He wills for the person afflicted.

President Brigham Young taught: 'When I lay hands on the sick, I expect the healing power and influence of God to pass through me to the patient, and the disease to give way. . . . When we are prepared, when we are holy vessels before the Lord, a stream of power from the Almighty can pass through the tabernacle of the administrator to the system of the patient, and the sick are made whole.'" Elder Dallin H. Oaks, "Healing the Sick,"  April 2010

Family Night Field Trips, Part II

Sometimes we talk about the plan of salvation with our children in terms of gifts our Heavenly Father has given us - gifts that enable His plan to progress, gifts that make our "immortality and eternal life" possible.   We find ourselves generally focusing on four central gifts (although, of course, there are more): bodies, agency, the Savior, and the Holy Ghost. 

Our first family night field trip centered on the gift of physical bodies, and the gift of agency - our innate ability to choose between right and wrong.

Of course, all of us, at times, make poor choices, disqualifying us from returning to God's presence if it were not for another gift - the most central gift in God's plan for our happiness  - the gift of Jesus Christ. 

Our second field trip took us to the James Tissot "Life of Christ" exhibit at the MOA.

We looked at pictures of the Savior's birth, life, death, and resurrection, and rejoiced that "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

And it was wonderful!
(We'll do a repeat of this field trip again in November when the Carl Bloch (!!) exhibit opens.  And someday, when we don't live next door to a museum replete with religious art, maybe we'll set up our own "gallery"  in the church or in our backyard with pictures from the New Testament gospel art picture kit, etc.  Wouldn't that be fun???)

Family Night Fileld Trips, Part I

Alma 24:14
"And the great God has had mercy on us, and made these things known unto us that we might not perish; yea, and he has made these things known unto us... because he loveth our souls...; therefore, in his mercy he doth visit us by his angels, that the plan of salvation might be made known unto us."

Wes and I are so grateful for our knowledge of God's plan of salvation.  His plan of happiness.  His great and eternal plan of redemption.  We are grateful for the perspective it provides for us personally and we've been overwhelmingly grateful for it as parents. 

There have been times when I've grappled a little to know how to discuss the topic of Wes's cancer diagnosis with our children (our oldest daughter in particular).  What should we tell them?  What should we not tell them?  The last thing we want is to burden them with "what ifs," but neither do we want to neglect conversations that might be needful or helpful in any way.  So we've prayed and mulled over the subject  a bit.  The [very clear!] guidance we've consistently received is simply:  teach them the plan of salvation. 

Duh. =)

Understanding the plan of salvation is pretty much the ultimate preparation for life, isn't it - no matter our various challenges and trials?!

Yes. It is.

So we, like you, try to spend time teaching our children the plan.  Most of that teaching is informally and naturally connected to our day to day living.  But of course we've also tried to find ways to teach the topic deliberately and directly.  We thought it would be fun to share some of the things that have worked for us in hopes that you'll share some of the things that have worked for you!  (Deal?! =)

One idea we discussed and carried out this summer involved a series of family night field trips.  You'll see right where this is going, but I'm going to do a separate post for each different trip (to save me from uploading a gazillion more pictures and to save you from reading a gazillion more paragraphs!).

Our first Monday outing was to the hospital where our children were born. 

We reminisced about each of their special birth-days.  We found pictures of tiny babies on the walls and talked about where our spirits lived before birth, why Heavenly Father sent us to earth, and why it was important for us to have bodies.  We sang I Am a Child of God, and I Lived in Heaven (I love that song!), and it was all very simple and low key. 

But it was fun and memorable and I know we'll do it again because it was so nostalgic of those near-to-heaven newborn days.  (Next time we'll take pictures of our kids as newborns!  It would have been fun to look through those as we reminisced!)

Another field trip post next week!  In the meantime, thanks to Jeanine for sending a link to this celebration of the Family Proclamation!  Check it out!  And thanks to Katie for the heads up about approved art!!!