Junie's birthday, Aviation Fair, and other sundries

Shall we talk about Gus-Gus? Sweetest little Gus got an idea in his head to draw a picture of a dinosaur, and then give it "the worker at the dinosaur museum." I didn't know if he had a specific worker in mind or what had given him this thought. But he was insistent. Luckily, when we brought in the picture, the museum workers were very nice and Gus and Ziggy ended up talking to one of them about dinosaurs, fossils, amber, and all sorts of interesting things for over an hour! And he put Gus's picture up on the wall.

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They matured in the gospel

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Priesthood Session of the October 2009 Conference.

My favorite talk this week was one by Elder Yoon Hwan Choi called "I Love Loud Boys," and the title really sums up the talk! It thought it was sweet to read about the ways that Elder Choi came to love a group of rowdy boys in his ward:

Most of them were not good students in school and were considered by many to be troublemakers.

I was a young father of two sons, who were seven and nine years old at the time. I did not know what I could do for these young men. They were so rowdy that once my wife, Bon-Kyoung, asked me if we could move to another ward so that our sons could see good examples from other young men. I pondered and prayed to Heavenly Father to help me to find the way to help these young men. Finally I made the decision to try and teach them how they could change their lives.

A vision came upon my mind very clearly. I felt that if they were to become missionaries, their lives would be changed. From that moment on, I became very excited, and I tried to spend as much time as possible with them, teaching them the importance of missionary service and how to prepare for a mission.…

The boys visited our home almost every weekend and even on some weekdays. We fed them and taught them. We taught them the principles of the gospel as well as the application of the gospel in their lives. We tried to give them a vision of their future life.

They sang together every time they came to our home. Their loud sound hurt our ears. But we always praised them because listening to them sing was far more enjoyable than seeing them get into trouble.

Through the years these activities continued. Most of these young men matured in the gospel, and a miracle happened. Over time, nine of the boys who were not members were baptized. They changed from loud, rowdy boys into valiant stripling warriors.

I'm not serving in Primary anymore, but this talk made me think so much about what a difference love and patience can make in the lives of children. A couple of my primary classes definitely had some "loud boys" in them, and it was so easy to feel impatient with them. (Not to mention the six "loud boys" I have in my own family, ha!) I love this reminder that the gospel is helping all of us mature; it's helping all of us become who we need to be! We can be patient and let God do His work. Even loud boys are beloved children of God, and it's our job as parents and leaders to help them realize it.

Other posts in this series:

Just happy to be obedient—by Rozy

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They were not back alone

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Saturday Afternoon Session of the October 2009 Conference.

Good talks in this session, including Elder Oaks' "Love and Law" treating a theme he's returned to over and over again in this past decade and a half—the balance of justice and mercy, the first commandment and the second commandment, love of God and love of others. He never says (because he can't) exactly how to achieve this difficult balance. But he seems to want to teach us again and again that we must grapple with the "how" ourselves, continually seeking the Spirit's guidance to help us figure it out.

As I am struggling with this very question right now in my own life, it's sobering to feel the weight of that responsibility, especially when Elder Oaks says things like this: 

…when family members are not united in striving to keep the commandments of God, there will be divisions. We do all that we can to avoid impairing loving relationships, but sometimes it happens after all we can do.

In the midst of such stress, we must endure the reality that the straying of our loved ones will detract from our happiness, but it should not detract from our love for one another or our patient efforts to be united in understanding God’s love and God’s laws.

However, in another talk, Elder Andersen's, I found this story:

Once I was asked to meet an older couple returning to the Church. They had been taught the gospel by their parents. After their marriage, they left the Church. Now, 50 years later, they were returning. I remember the husband coming into the office pulling an oxygen tank. They expressed regret at not having remained faithful. I told them of our happiness because of their return, assuring them of the Lord’s welcoming arms to those who repent. The elderly man responded, “We know this, Brother Andersen. But our sadness is that our children and grandchildren do not have the blessings of the gospel. We are back, but we are back alone.

There are plenty of conference talks warning of this very situation—reminding us how one person's gospel carelessness can have such lasting consequences for their children and grandchildren, and about the sadness of descendants having to wander again in search of covenant blessings their ancestors had already found. But I loved this story because of what Elder Andersen (surprisingly!) said next:

They were not back alone. Repentance not only changes us, but it also blesses our families and those we love. With our righteous repentance, in the timetable of the Lord, the lengthened-out arms of the Savior will not only encircle us but will also extend into the lives of our children and posterity. Repentance always means that there is greater happiness ahead.

Even though this couple had strayed from what they knew to be right for all that time, and I'm sure their coming back seemed "too late" in so many ways, it was not too late for God to turn it for their good. It was not too late for Him to do His miracles. And it's true as we seek to balance love and law for our families and our children as well. Even if we do it imperfectly, even if our families do feel the pain of those "divisions" Elder Oaks speaks of for a time, that state of division and unhappiness is not the end. Our own efforts to press forward, repent, and keep walking toward God will be enough with God's help. The Savior's loving arms "will also extend into the lives of our children and posterity," and His perfect love and His perfect law will work in perfect balance to bring all of us the greatest happiness possible.

Other posts in this series:

God's love and laws—by Rozy

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Growth will come as you struggle

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Saturday Morning Session of the October 2009 Conference.

Three of the talks in this session are "classics;" talks I've revisited already more than once and which I frequently run into quotes from. They're Elder Scott's "To Acquire Spiritual Guidance," Elder Bednar's "More Diligent and Concerned at Home," and Elder Uchtdorf's "The Love of God." They're all so good I wasn't sure which to write about! But as I was looking through my favorite parts of all of them, those parts all seemed to be circling around the idea of patience or consistency in living the gospel. That must be the message I need right now! So, here are some of those excerpts.

Elder Scott starts by talking about something I've thought a lot about lately:

Today, world conditions change so rapidly that such a course of action is often not available to us.

Personally, I rejoice in that reality because it creates a condition where we, of necessity, are more dependent upon the Spirit to guide us through the vicissitudes of life.

Personally, I do not rejoice in that reality because it's so hard! I can't ask my parents how they handled smartphones or online pornography or social media. It feels so daunting to cope with all these challenges! But, I would like to follow Elder Scott's example and see the good side: more chances to rely on and learn from the Holy Ghost! Then he says,

I am convinced that there is no simple formula or technique that would immediately allow you to master the ability to be guided by the voice of the Spirit.…[Heavenly Father and Jesus] know that essential personal growth will come as you struggle to learn how to be led by the Spirit.

It's so hard to be patient sometimes with the gap between wanting the Spirit and actually qualifying for and understanding it! There are SO many things I need help with, and SO many things I feel I'm not getting that help with! Not that the Spirit isn't helping me, but I'm just not comprehending it or following it well enough! So it's comforting to think that as I'm struggling, I am learning. And as I'm feeling confused, I am learning. And as I am fighting off discouragement, I am learning. All of that is part of the learning! 

Elder Bednar brings up a similar idea when he talks about his family's efforts to have scripture study, prayer, and Family Home Evening. He says

At times Sister Bednar and I were exasperated because the righteous habits we worked so hard to foster did not seem to yield immediately the spiritual results we wanted and expected.

I'm sure every parent in the church related to that statement. I did when I first heard it—but I did even MORE when I read it this time. So, after feeling that exasperation, it seems almost too good to be true to think that just as struggles with hearing the spirit are part of the learning we need, struggles with our family and our children are part of what we need too!—that those struggles and intense efforts are even an essential part of family growth:

Sister Bednar and I thought helping our sons understand the content of a particular lesson or a specific scripture was the ultimate outcome. But such a result does not occur each time we study or pray or learn together. The consistency of our intent and work was perhaps the greatest lesson—a lesson we did not fully appreciate at the time.

And then Elder Uchtdorf reiterates the same point: being a disciple of Christ just means keeping up the struggle!:

My dear brothers and sisters, don’t get discouraged if you stumble at times. Don’t feel downcast or despair if you don’t feel worthy to be a disciple of Christ at all times. The first step to walking in righteousness is simply to try. We must try to believe. Try to learn of God: read the scriptures; study the words of His latter-day prophets; choose to listen to the Father; and do the things He asks of us. Try and keep on trying until that which seems difficult becomes possible—and that which seems only possible becomes habit and a real part of you.

He reminds us:

If you listen for the voice of the Father, He will lead you on a course that will allow you to experience the pure love of Christ.

And that's the main lesson I felt from all these talks, I guess. Just that I need to trust the covenant path. Wherever it takes me, whatever difficulties and failures I encounter as I try to keep my covenants to qualify for the Spirit, to teach my children, to love my neighbors, to always remember the Savior—God has already provided the way through. It requires confusion and uncertainty at times. It requires being frustrated. It requires going through periods where I can see no good results coming from my efforts. It requires having to try again a hundred times to acquire a virtue I think I should have already mastered. And all of those discouraging, frustrating elements are not detours from, but important parts of, the path Heavenly Father has designed for me to walk. All I need to do is keep walking on it, trusting the Savior, and He will lead me to where I need and desire to be!

Other posts in this series:

Be Still—by Rozy

Spiritual Confidence—by Jan

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Virtue and Power

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Young Women's Session of the April 2009 Conference.

I thought it was interesting to read Sister Mary N. Cook's 2009 talk on virtue right after studying President Nelson's most recent conference talk on virtue. The Young Women's program had a big emphasis on virtue during these years (I remember when they added virtue as one of the Young Women Values) so it was a frequent theme. I don't think I had quite been called as YW President yet in 2009, but the emphasis was still there whenever I was called, soon after this, I think. I'm sure President Nelson was even involved with some of the discussions and the adding of the new value, etc., and for all I know this General Young Women Presidency influenced his thinking on the subject!

Sister Cook says,

Why is our being virtuous so important not just to our earthly parents but to our Heavenly Father as well? Virtue brings peace, strength of character, and happiness in this life. Our Heavenly Father knew that we would be faced with many choices and challenges, and virtuous living would prepare us to succeed.

So we definitely need virtue, no doubt about that! But what does it really mean? I have been trying to study the word and concept of virtue since President Nelson's talk, and in all my study I've not really found much difference between the idea of "virtue" and the idea of just "being good." It seems like for most applications, they are synonymous. Virtue does have the specific connotation of sexual purity, and Sister Dalton emphasized this in her talk: "The core of a virtuous life is sexual purity, and yet this definition has almost been erased by the world. The prophet Mormon taught that chastity and virtue are “most dear and precious above all things” (Moroni 9:9). They go together." But as I read through President Nelson's talk, it seemed like replacing the word "virtue" with "righteousness" or "goodness" would really do just as well.

I won't go into all my thoughts about this subject because I'm still figuring out what they are😁, but there is one theme that has been really prevalent in all the reading I've done, and that is the connection between virtue and power. Sister Cook quoted the Personal Progress manual (I miss Personal Progress!) which said:

Determine to partake worthily of the sacrament each week and fill your life with virtuous activities that will bring spiritual power. As you do this, you will grow stronger in your ability to resist temptation, keep the commandments [remain clean], and become more like Jesus Christ.

I also really liked her idea of forming "patterns of virtue" (reminds me of President Nelson's "spiritual momentum") in this encouraging quote:

Just as the Salt Lake Temple took 40 years to build, stone by stone, you are building a virtuous life, step by step. You have made covenants to be obedient. You have made some good choices. The patterns of virtue you develop now will help you to continually hold fast to the iron rod.

Whether virtue is just "being good" or something more than that, I want to gain the spiritual power that living virtuously will allow. I want my children to gain that power as well! Something another speaker, Sister Ann M. Dibb, said in this session was very hopeful along those lines:

Thinking back to when I was a young woman, I recognize that I did not understand the magnitude of what was happening in my life. I did not realize that my participation in each and every Church activity was helping me develop a lifelong pattern and commitment to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. I didn’t understand that I was being prepared for my future life as an individual, a wife, a mother, and a leader. I didn’t understand that as I tried to choose the right, I was honoring my baptismal covenants, exercising faith, increasing my virtue, and preparing to go to the temple. I couldn’t see all of this then, but in very small, incremental steps, I was becoming a believer—and “an example of the believers.”

I know the same thing has happened to me as I've walked step by step along the covenant path, so I have to be optimistic that my children will learn to desire and qualify for those same blessings, by seeking after virtue as best they can at every stage of their lives!

Other posts in this series:

Virtue—by Rozy

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Malachi Promenading (again)

After all his talk about how Daisy should go to Prom in his group because it was his laaaast dance ever in High School etc etc etc…Malachi ended up going to a second prom, this one for his Debate League. He had me take pictures again and for some reason I agreed. (It was fun, actually, because they are fun kids, but the editing takes so long!) Malachi went with his Contractual Girlfriend (long story…and mostly the type of joke of which only Malachi is capable), Cosette, and they made quite a handsome couple! So, because Malachi doesn't get much attention on the blog these days, here are some pictures!

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Holy Week and Easter

I like the fact that Holy Week is becoming more widely celebrated in our church (though I suppose as individuals, there were lots of people doing that already—we have been trying to establish Holy Week traditions for over 10 years now). My mother-in-law was on the church Family Home Evening committee when Sam was young in the 1980s, and when she came up with some Easter Week FHE lesson plans, she was told "No—those make it seem too much like we're celebrating Holy Week!" Ha! I wonder why whoever it was was so bothered by that?

Unfortunately, it is hard to celebrate Eastertide "on the same level" as Christmastide when the world around us goes on busy as ever! Right before Christmas, it seems like "public" things slow down in recognition of family parties and so forth. But for Easter week, if we wanted to do anything together as a family, the kids (and me!) had to say no to a bunch of other things. Well, that's okay. We did it. And we had fun together.

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