Strengthening our Faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ through Sabbath Day Observance and learning the doctrines of the Gospel in our home.

I have been asked to speak on Strengthening our Faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ through Sabbath Day Observance and learning the doctrines of the Gospel in our home.

I am grateful to have this opportunity to return to the Lighthouse Ward and see all of your beautiful smiling faces.

I really want to welcome the Spirit to be here in hopes that we can be uplifted and edified.

In the scriptures we read that “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”

When we read the scriptures our hearts can be changed.  Scripture study will help us turn to God and our Faith will increase.

One of my favorite scripture stories was the Story of Josiah, who was made King of Judah when he was only eight years old.

And even though his father and many of those before him were wicked, Josiah chose to do right in the sight of the Lord, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.

18 years into his reign Josiah directed that the Temple should be repaired.  His High Priest Hilkiah found the book of the law and delivered it to Josiah.

When the book of the law was read to Josiah, he “rent his clothes” and wept before the Lord.

“Great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us,” he said, “because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us.” 2 Kings 22:13.

The king then read the book before all the people, and at that time they all made a covenant to obey all the Lord’s commandments “with all their heart and all their soul.” 2 Kings 23:3. Then Josiah proceeded to clean up the kingdom of Judah, removing all the idols, the groves, the high places, and all the abominations that had accumulated during the reign of his fathers, defiling the land and its people. …

“And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.” 2 Kings 23:25.

Josiah was touched by the Law of Moses.  The scriptures brought about a mighty change in the kingdom of Judah because their Leader Josiah took the time to study and practice the Law.  

I am grateful to live in the fullness of times, when we have the Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, The Pearl of Great Price, The Bible, and many resources to teach our Families.  All of these things are highly accessible and are not hidden within the Temple.

“We are living in the Fullness of Times that is spoken of in the scriptures”.

God has brought together all of the elements of previous dispensations.

Because of this tremendous enlightenment that has been poured out upon the world…….The hearts of men have turned to their fathers and Missionary work is moving forward full force. 

I am so grateful to be able to access this light so easily.

President Kimbel said, “The Lord is not trifling with us when he gives us these things, for “unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.” (Luke 12:48.) Access to these things means responsibility for them. We must study the scriptures according to the Lord’s commandment (see 3 Ne. 23:1–5); and we must let them govern our lives and the lives of our children.⁵

One of my deepest desires is that my children will know how to feel the Holy Spirit so that they can combat the pitfalls of youth.

President Eyring tells us that Doctrine gains its power as the Holy Ghost confirms that it is true. We prepare those we teach, as best we can, to receive the quiet promptings of the still, small voice. That takes at least some faith in Jesus Christ. It takes at least some humility, some willingness to surrender to the Savior’s will for us.

Truth can prepare its own way. Simply hearing the words of doctrine can plant the seed of faith in the heart. And even a tiny seed of faith in Jesus Christ invites the Spirit.

We can teach even a child to understand the doctrine of Jesus Christ. It is therefore possible, with God’s help, to teach the saving doctrine simply.

I grew up in a home were Scripture Study was not a priority and when I met my husband he opened my eyes to the beauty of Scripture Study.

We have been married for about 20 years and my favorite thing to do with him is to go on a long walk and talk about the things we are reading.  I cherish those moments when we are able to liken the stories in the scriptures to our own life and we are able to make changes because of the examples in the scriptures.

As my family studied the life of Saul and David we talked about the different strengths and weaknesses each one of these great men had.  Saul was grand in stature and was given every opportunity to be a great leader, however, Saul never really was able to increase his Faith enough to truly become a disciple of Christ, and ultimately this was his downfall.  

David on the other hand had practiced and utilized his faith often and brought about incredible miracles.  However, we know that David fell to temptation.  This made me wonder….was David reading his scriptures and striving to do the will of the Lord during this period of time.  I would guess that he wasn’t.  He may have forgotten all that God had done for him. 

As Disciples of Christ are we remembering what God has done for us?

In the scriptures we read “And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.

The Sabbath Day is the perfect day to study the doctrines with our families.

I wish I could say that the Sabbath Day has always been my favorite day, but I can’t…..Early in our marriage we walked our own paths on the Sabbath Day.

In the scriptures it says, “If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth.

Years ago I went to my Heavenly Father in prayer asking him to help me.  I was looking for revelation or to be inspired.

The answer I received was different than what I thought I might need.  It was strong motivation from a loving Heavenly Father encouraging me to change.

I was confused by the prompting, however, I made a list of things that I felt that I could change.  Some of the things were small changes and others would be a constant lifetime change, a change of heart.  Among the list was to improve my Sabbath Day Observance.

The three things I chose to change were; to fast more sincerely, prepare for the sacrament more sincerely, and to study the scriptures more sincerely on the Sabbath Day.

In 2012 President Gibbons then Bishop Gibbons introduced the Come Follow Me Curriculum.  He spoke of how we would teach our Youth to Learn, Act, and Become.  He said that Action would be required….I could feel the spirit so strong.  I decided to study the Come Follow Me Curriculum on Sundays with my three kids.

We have had some of the most precious moments talking about and learning about truth and light.

And I can truly say that I love Sunday!!

As I have tried to change my behavior on Sunday I have seen amazing things happen.  I didn’t know how many blessing we were missing out on until I read Isaiah.

8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward.

 9 Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;

 10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:

 11 And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

 12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.

I know that every single person in this room has the power to change.  With Heavenly Fathers help we can do anything.  Each one of us can be “Like” the watered garden, like a spring of water that will not fail.  We can touch the lives of our children and all that we come in contact with.

All we need to do is change….change to meet the will of the Lord.

I have thought about this talk deeply, and sometimes I think we take for granted the great miracles that God has given us.  We are so blessed to have the power of God in our lives.  He has delivered us from sin and death, and brought peace to our hearts.

When we in turn, love God with all of thine Heart, all of thy Soul, and all of thy Might we become examples to our children, so that when they fall into the bondage of sin they will know where to turn for deliverance.  Instead of turning back to Egypt (in our case the world)they will turn to God.

I have seen amazing miracles occur in my own home because of the scriptures and our signs to God on the Sabbath day.  I have seen members of my family be delivered from the bondage of sin and, in turn, be blessed with freedom, light, joy, peace, gentleness, love, and faith. 

If it wasn’t for the scriptures I don’t think this would have happened.

Think of how amazing it is that the thing that can change our lives the most is so easily accessible.

I am a witness of the power of God’s Grace; it has worked in my life and in the lives of those around me.  When we turn to God with all of our Heart, I know great miracles will follow.  I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Prepare Ye The Way

I am very grateful to be speaking today during the Month of December when everything around us is focused on the Birth of our Savior. 

I would like to welcome the Spirit to be here and I hope that your hearts will be touched by the messages shared today.

First I would like to share a personal story…..In 2005, we lived in Pearland Texas.  Pearland is located right on the outskirts of Houston and is about an hour away from the Gulf of Mexico. 

Three days before Hurricane Rita hit Texas; our local leaders warned the communities in the storm zone to evacuate.  This was insane because the population size was extremely large.  Houston alone has a population of about 2 million people.  If you add in the surrounding suburbs it was about 3 million. 

Three weeks earlier we had watched the devastating results of Hurricane Katrina.  Houston’s Reliant Stadium housed a small group of 100,000.  Our Stakes had received service assignments to help in many ways.  The individuals staying in the Stadium had lost so much, their family members, their homes, and their way of life.

As we saw the Category 5 Hurricane approaching Houston we packed up our children and headed to Dallas where my Sister lived. 

It normally would have been a 4 hour drive; however, we sat at a standstill on the freeway all day and all through the night with our frightened neighbors.

It was total kayos’ stores and consumers were running out of gas on the roads and there were altercations erupting throughout what seemed like a never ending journey to Dallas.  We were on the road for 16 long hours.

How grateful we were for the small blessings we noticed.  We somehow had enough gas to make the long journey to Dallas. We had two small children and one on the way, and we had food and water for them.  We were kept safe from the turmoil we saw all around us….and lastly as Hurricane Rita made its way into the Gulf it turned away from Houston and hit the eastern part of Texas.

There were 113 deaths reported from Hurricane Rita and out of those 113, 107 happened during the evacuation, because of weather and traffic issues.   

That experience caused me to ponder on two important questions.

1. In whom can we trust?
2. How can we be better prepared?

In Isaiah 41: 10 we are promised, Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

In 2 Nephi 4, it talks about how Nephi feels discouraged because of his weaknesses and iniquities.  His father Lehi has passed away and his brothers have turned against him. The words he spoke touched my heart.

16 Behold my soul delighted in the things of the Lord; and my heart pondered continually upon the things which I have seen and heard.

17. Nevertheless, notwithstanding the great goodness of the Lord, in showing me his great and marvelous works, my heart exclaimed: O wretched man that I am!

Yea, my heart sorroweth because of my flesh; my soul grieveth because of mine iniquities.

19 And when I desire to rejoice, my heart groaned because of my sin; nevertheless, I know in who I have trusted.

20.  My God hath been my support; he hath led me through mine afflictions in the wilderness; and he hath preserved me upon the waters of the great deep.

Nephi continues

34. O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever.  I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh.  Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.

These scriptures allow us to see Nephi in a way that makes him very much like you and me.  We are not perfect and we all have struggles it is what we put our trust in, that makes us who we are.

Nephi gives us great words of advice when he says….“I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh”.  “Oh Lord I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever.

Because of Nephi’s desire to know the Lord he was able to overcome great hardships through the companionship of our Savior, and he was lead to safety time and time again.

There seems to be no end to our Savior’s desire to lead us to safety. And there is consistency in the way He shows us the path. He calls by more than one means so that it will reach those willing to accept it.

And those means always include sending the message by the mouths of His prophets, whenever people have qualified to have the prophets of God among them. Those authorized servants are always charged with warning the people, telling them the way to safety.

Apostle Paul wrote that “in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established” (2 Corinthians 13:1)

Prophets have been sent to us to prepare the way for our return to our Heavenly Father.  We will hear the message that God wants us to hear from one prophet to the next.  As we seek for God’s guidance we will hear the warning more than once.  We will have way more than 3 days to prepare.

President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote….Would it not be an extraordinarily strange thing if the Lord should come and begin his reign of peace, take vengeance on the wicked, cleansing the earth from sin, and not send messengers to prepare the way before him? Should we expect the Lord to come to judge the world without first giving it warning and preparing the means of escape for all who will repent?

-Noah was sent to the world to warn it of the flood. If the people had hearkened they would have escaped. 

-Moses was sent to lead Israel into the Promised Land, to fulfill the promises made to Abraham.

-John the Baptist was sent to prepare the way for the coming of Christ.

In each instance the call came through the opening of the heavens.

The Lord promised to have the same interest in humanity preceding his second coming.

-Joseph Smith was sent to prepare the way for this second coming, by the proclamation of the fullness of the Gospel and the granting to all men the means of escape from iniquity and transgression.

-In our day we have a loving Prophet, President Monson and many great Apostles who are placed here on earth to teach and guide us so we will be prepared for the day when our Savior returns.

President Joseph Fielding Smith once told a group of Latter-day Saints that he was “praying for the end of the world.” He said, “If it came tomorrow I would be glad.” In response to that declaration, a woman spoke out, loudly enough for others to hear. “Oh, I hope not,” she said.

How can we be better prepared?

If you find yourself feeling discouraged about your preparation for the second coming and you are searching for some help, here are a few suggestions from our Prophet and his Apostles.

The first suggestion is to Pray Always-

When Oliver Cowdery failed in an attempt to translate, the Lord told him:

“Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me.

“But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.

“But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings” (D&C 9:7–9).

President Packer shared a story illustrating that principle.

There was a little girl who was upset with her brother; he had built a trap to catch sparrows.

Unable to get help, she said to herself, “Well, I’ll pray about it.”

After her prayer, the little girl told her mother, “I know he is not going to catch any sparrows in his trap because I prayed about it. I’m positive he won’t catch any sparrows!”

Her mother said, “How can you be so sure?”

She said, “After I prayed about it, I went out and kicked that old trap all to pieces!”

How often do we pray without the Faith to accept Gods Will???

We should learn to pray. Pray often. Pray in your mind, in your heart. Pray on your knees. Prayer is your personal key to heaven. The lock is on your side of the veil.

President Packer reminds us that we should conclude all our prayers with “Thy will be done”.

The second suggestion is to Study the Words of God

 President Monson shared….When we came to the earth, we brought with us that great gift from God—even our agency. In thousands of ways we are privileged to choose for ourselves. Here we learn from the hard taskmaster of experience.

We discern between good and evil. We differentiate as to the bitter and the sweet. We learn that decisions determine destiny.

I am certain we left our Father with an overwhelming desire to return to Him, that we might gain the exaltation He planned for us and which we ourselves so much wanted.

 Although we are left to find and follow that path which will lead us back to our Father in Heaven, He did not send us here without direction and guidance. Rather, He has given us the tools we need, and He will assist us as we seek His help and strive to do all in our power to endure to the end and gain eternal life.

To help guide us we have the words of God and of His Son found in our holy scriptures. We have the counsel and teachings of God’s prophets. Of paramount importance, we have been provided with a perfect example to follow—even the example of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ—and we have been instructed to follow that example.

Said the Savior Himself: “Come, follow me.”² “The works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do.”³ He posed the question, “What manner of men ought ye to be?” And then He answered, “Verily I say unto you, even as I am.”⁴ “He marked the path and led the way.”⁵

As we look to Jesus as our Exemplar and as we follow in His footsteps, we can return safely to our Heavenly Father to live with Him forever.

Said the prophet Nephi, “Unless a man shall endure to the end, in following the example of the Son of the living God, he cannot be saved.”⁶

As we strive to place Christ at the center of our lives by learning His words, by following His teachings, and by walking in His path, He has promised to share with us the eternal life that He died to gain. There is no higher end than this, that we should choose to accept His discipline and become His disciples and do His work throughout our lives. Nothing else, no other choice we make, can make of us what He can.

We really have two choices during our time here on earth.  One we can turn away from our Savior in fear and frustration, or we can turn to him with full trust as we pray diligently and study the words of the gospel, allowing him to strengthen us and guide us back to him. 

I bear witness that Jesus Christ loves us, and he lives, he was a born into this world to make the atoning sacrifice for us.   He did overcome death and he is the almighty Master Teacher and if we will go to him with anything he will bring us Peace and Happiness no matter what we are dealing with.