The Power of Jesus Christ

photo of the North Shore of Lake Superior because it is hoooome to me now

Twice a year, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints hold a conference for members in their geographic area or stake. Our stake is made up of 11 congregations, known as wards, in northern Minnesota, northwestern Wisconsin and one congregation in Thunder Bay, ON. I was asked to speak at our most recent stake conference. I was given a topic, 2 weeks to prepare and10 minutes of time. No other instruction was given. I enjoyed studying and preparing. Here are the thoughts I shared (in a stronger than normal Southern accent because I was nervous!). Also, I wrote a few notes at the end about what I learned from this experience.


September 15, 2019
How the power of Jesus Christ blesses my life.

Good morning brothers and sisters. I’m grateful for the opportunity I had to study and meditate on this topic the past couple of weeks. I’m beginning to understand how much I needed it and I’m excited to share with you what I have learned.

Power as electrical energy lights homes and hospitals. The power of combustion engines carries goods and people across the land, oceans and skies. For hundreds of years corrupt power enslaved millions of people. Corrupt power separates children from their parents. Here in northern Minnesota and Canada, corrupt and short-sighted power drove Dakota/Lakota and Ojibwe peoples from their ancestral homes and made a few industries rich in the fur, logging and mining trades of the backs of workers and to the detriment of our Earth. Corrupt power hurts the innocent, denies justice and sees evil as good.

What then of Godly power? What then of the power of Jesus Christ? The power of God is not about control, monetary gain or exploitation. Quite the opposite. God’s power is strength in kindness and mercy. It is unconditional love, peace, nurturing, healing, purifying, it gathers rather than separates, it is joyful, it is comforting.

Known as “the Moses of her people,” Harriet Tubman was born a slave and lived to gather her people. In her biography, she states that she was guided by God and that she spoke to God as a friend. In her own words, “I said to the Lord, I’m going to hold steady on to you, and I know you will see me through.” And at another time, “I prayed to God to make me strong” and “God’s time in always near. He set the North Star in the heavens; He gave me the strength in my limbs; He meant I should be free.” Risking her own capture and death 19 times, she went on to free 300 hundred souls and never lost one.

The power of Jesus Christ is illustrated in His unending love for us. When the Savior approached the woman at the well, He knew her sins (John 4, KJV). That did not alter His love and concern for Her. The Savior did not wait for perfect people to approach Him. As Sister Sharon Eubank explained, in almost every story, He is reaching someone who wasn’t traditionally accepted in society. The woman at the well left her water and went straightway to proclaim Him as the Christ. She had felt and knew of His power.

We might expect the power of God to be swift punishment or retribution to those who preach or work against the truth. But that is not the case. His power comes as LOVE to everyone. Everyone is capable of forgiveness through His mercy. Our Heavenly Parents are not permissive parents. We must all WORK to keep the household--the kingdom of God--going. But we do not earn their love. It is given freely. Forgiveness also, even as we fail. Our repentance and worthiness is rightly measured to gain access to temple blessings. But we never need to gain access to Their love.

Aukema Farms, photo by my brother Kacey Aukema.

I grew up on a small farm in NW Florida. I ran wild and free from milking barn to back forty to the outermost fence post and back. After seeing more of the world and now raising our 4 children, I see just how lucky I was to grow up the way I did. Many summer evenings were spent stretched out on my trampoline. With streetlamps and city lights miles and miles away, my view of the heavens was unobstructed. With my siblings, we found constellations and made up our own. We dreamed of and planned for the future. But my keenest memories of those nights involve my sheer awe at the immensity of God and His love for me. Those nights I felt the power of Jesus Christ.

In the children’s book, Just Plain Fancy by Patricia Polacco, two young Amish girls learn about the power of Jesus Christ in creation when they accidentally raise a peacock alongside their flock of chickens. When the full grown bird decides to show off his feathers at a large gathering, the girls are ashamed and worried he is too fancy to be Amish. They are comforted by one of the elders, Martha, who says: “Dry your tears child; this isn’t your doing. This be God’s handiwork. Only He could think up colors like that. This is no plain old chicken. This be one of God’s most beautiful creations. He is fancy, child, and that’s the way of it.”

In the book, Zion’s Hope, a collection of biographies of Pioneer midwives and women doctors in Utah, I was impressed with the life of Dr. Ellis Reynolds Shipp. Her story illustrates strength and foresight powered by faith in Jesus Christ. With her 5th child still an infant, she was asked by Brigham Young to go back east to Pennsylvania and become a physician to answer the incredible need for care providers, especially in obstetrics. She obtained her degree in medicine, came back home to Utah, had 5 more children of her own and trained 500 women in medicine. Her school of obstetrics and nursing ran for over 49 years. She caught over 6000 babies during her 50+ year practice. At the age of 92, she was still lecturing students. In her words:

"When called to maternal duty, pray unto God for His blessing. Pray in your soul as you hasten to your duty. I hastened through inclement storm, through blinding rain, deep snows, and muddy trails, speeding up and down the steepest hills, my inmost being pulsating with fervent prayer. I sought my Father and my God! He it was who inspired me with higher intelligence, helped me to know my duty in all of its details, enabled me to run and not be weary, to walk and not faint. And with those same principles, I tutored all who sought usefulness, enabling them to usher in a new life into this world--that life so precious to the suffering mother and most sublime in sight of God."

I am often touched that Christ is often described in the scriptures as the Great Deliverer. In Alma 58:11 it reads, Yea, and it came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with assurances that he would deliver us; yea, insomuch that he did speak peace to our souls, and did grant unto us great faith, and did cause us that we should hope for our deliverance in him. I do not think it is a coincidence that we use the same word deliver, to describe the sacred moment in which women bring life into the world.

Just as women carry, stretch, labor, deliver and receive our babies through the veil, Christ carries, delivers and receives us.

In this story shared by Kyle S. McKay in the April 2019 General Conference, we see Jesus Christ’s power as the Great Deliverer.

"On December 27, 2013, Alicia Schroeder joyfully welcomed her dear friends Sean and Sharla Chilcote, who unexpectedly showed up on her doorstep. Sean, who was also Alicia’s bishop, handed her his cell phone and solemnly said, “Alicia, we love you. You need to take this call.”

Alicia’s husband, Mario, was on the phone. He was in a remote area with some of their children on a long-anticipated snowmobile trip. There had been a terrible accident. Mario was seriously injured, and their 10-year-old son, Kaleb, was gone. When Mario tearfully told Alicia of Kaleb’s death, she was overcome with a shock and horror few of us will ever know. It dropped her. Paralyzed with unspeakable anguish, Alicia could neither move nor speak.

Bishop and Sister Chilcote quickly lifted her up and held her. They wept and deeply grieved together for some time. Then Bishop Chilcote offered to give Alicia a blessing.

What happened next is incomprehensible without some understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the immediate goodness of God. Bishop Chilcote gently placed his hands on Alicia’s head and, with quivering voice, began to speak. Alicia heard two things as though spoken by God Himself. First, she heard her name, Alicia Susan Schroeder. Then she heard the bishop invoke the authority of Almighty God. In that instant—at the mere utterance of her name and God’s power—Alicia was filled with an indescribable peace, love, comfort, and somehow joy. And it has continued with her.

Now, of course, Alicia, Mario, and their family still mourn for and miss Kaleb. It is hard! Whenever I speak with her, Alicia’s eyes well up with tears as she tells how much she loves and misses her little boy. And her eyes remain moist as she tells how the Great Deliverer has sustained her through every bit of her ordeal, beginning with His immediate goodness during her deepest despair and continuing now with the bright hope of a sweet reunion that is “not many days hence.”

Eternal Mother via ettakay art

Feeling and knowing more of the power of Jesus Christ has led me to a closer understanding of my Heavenly Parents. As a parent, it has become clear that in order for my children to serve, love and give kindness they must see me serve, love and give kindness continuously. So it makes me wonder, who taught the Savior these things? Whose life did He model His life after? In the book, Mother’s Milk, Poems in Search of Heavenly Mother, Rachel Hunt Steenblik suggests:


As One Whom His Mother Comforteth
She showed Her Son
How to mother, so He
Could show the world.

The Good Shepherdhess
She taught her Son
to call His lambs by name,
and lead them.
When she puts forth
Her own sheep,
She goes before them,
And the sheep follow Her:
For they know Her voice.

Her Voice
Her voice is a whisper--
Still and deep.

art by J Kirk Richards

Sisters and brothers, we do not need to search blogs, social media posts, endless reviews or sponsored videos before accessing the power of Jesus Christ. His hand is outstretched still. Over and over...endlessly, He is patient for us to seek Him and His endless love. Like a patient and hopeful elder brother, He is excited for us to share in the estate of our Heavenly Parents.

I’m no scriptorian, my faith is simple. And at times I have wondered and questioned as a woman where is it that I stand in God’s plan? Those questions have shaken me. And my questions and concerns continue. But through the power of Jesus Christ--His love and mercy--have given me enough answers to help me carry on. The Atonement is real and can change our lives and the lives of our families. His power is in His love for us.

*************

Notes:
The night I completed writing this talk, I came across the article, Where We Find the Power of God from Sharon Eubank. I realized that, of course, the power of Jesus Christ is the priesthood. And I felt a bit silly that I had not made that connection while preparing. After all, I've been going to this church my whole life and I knew that. But ultimately I was grateful I did not make the connection because it would have completely changed my talk and I would not have learned so much. Part of my doubts and concerns about my faith are in regards to the fact that women in my faith are not "bearers" of the priesthood (ordained to the priesthood and do not hold priesthood office). But through the study I made for this talk, I realized that I participate in the priesthood, in God's power, much more often than I realized. I'm not just a receiver of priesthood blessings, I am actively participating in giving, receiving and creating all thanks to the power of Jesus Christ. My understanding around this will continue to evolve and I'm grateful for the learning process I'm currently in.

It should be noted that the pioneer obstetrician I mentioned was only able to do what she did because of the large household she was a part of. A polygamous household. Describing the relationship between herself and her sister wives: "She writes, 'We all lived under the same roof, ate at the same table, knelt at the same shrine, and humbly believed we were doing the will of our Father in Heaven...There still remains after many long years a most sacred bond of fellowship, a beautiful loving interest and sweet affection one for another, that is truly most akin to the divine!' Indeed, their loving service toward her proved indispensable when she left her children in their care to answer the call to attend medical school." I don't pretend to understand polygamy or its role in the history of my Church. I'm grateful I am alive at a time after it was discontinued. But Zion's Hope is full of similar examples of sister wives helping each other in ways that benefited the community at large.


Further listening:

This podcast is a great intro to women and the priesthood, especially if you are not a member of my faith.

Another great one that I listened to today and really appreciated.

And it looks like QMore just added a one today about the priesthood and I'm sure it's great but I haven't had a chance to listen.

My Medicaid Story

When Nate and I got married in 2010, I was removed from my parents insurance. I signed up for the cheapest plan from the university (it did not cover maternity care), planning to start our family sometime after graduation. However, I become pregnant about a year later, several months before my planned graduation. I called BCBS of Florida to return to my parents insurance. This was a no-go due to me now having a “pre-existing condition,” in this case, being a sexually active woman who become pregnant. This was pre-Affordable Care Act (or Obamacare), which removed the ability of insurance plans to prevent someone from receiving insurance w/ a pre-existing condition. The school’s insurance plan for pregnant students was extremely cost-prohibitive. I can't remember the exact cost but the premium was hundreds of dollars a month. Absolutely impossible for a full time student who was also working part time. So like almost half of all pregnant women in the US, I applied for Medicaid. I spent hours filling out all the forms, obtaining all the necessary documents. We qualified, to my great relief. After 2+ months of pregnancy, I was able to get prenatal care. Despite our “plan” Nate and I did not have full time employment after graduation, so Medicaid was a godsend for us since I had Bridger just a few months after we graduated.

The current Republican leaders in Congress are now voting on new healthcare laws which would decrease funding for Medicaid and skyrocket healthcare costs. I promise you they are not thinking about the college students who are choosing life. They are not thinking about newborns who need quality healthcare. They are thinking of their friends in the pharmaceutical and insurance industries. They are thinking of their next elections, political gains and what praises their friends at Fox will give them.

Because of Medicaid, I was able to get high quality prenatal care. Because of Medicaid, I was able to give birth at a wonderful hospital with a caring staff. Because of Medicaid, Bridger had healthcare coverage for his entire first year.

When you think of a Medicaid patient, I hope you toss aside the uninformed stereotypes of people of color, unwilling to work who are greedy for handouts. Instead, I hope you think of a hard working college student ready and willing to bring life to earth. I hope you think of a system of healthcare that (perhaps imperfectly) facilitates the health and well-being of millions of children. I hope you think of me, I hope you think of Bridger.

“Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matt. 25:40).

A few months after Bridger was born, Nate started full time work. We happily now pay into a system knowing that other families like us are getting the care they need. And we will happily pay more to see even more families receive better healthcare. To us, that's just part of being human. We take care of each other.

If you disagree with Medicaid cuts and rising healthcare costs, please call your Senators and House Representative.

To honor my own testimony

After some unfortunate late night web browsing last week, I started formulating a text message in my mind for a friend. It went a little like this, "I've read too many 'I'm no longer a Mormon' blog posts so send me your favorite uplifting Mormon bloggers!" But I quickly caught myself and reminded myself of a goal I've tried to meet ever since my screen time obsession began (as soon as I got my iPhone, ahem): less consumption, more production! In that moment, what I really needed was to remember my own testimony, not to read someone else's. Thought this would be a good time as any to record my testimony...

I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ brings hope and light into the world. I know that He teaches truth. I know that abiding by His commandments helps me come to know Christ better and better. I know that only through Him can I return to live in His presence. My one true desire is to be with Him and my family forever, after we all leave this life. I know there is so much more than this life. I know that our time on earth is just a blink in eternity.

I know the full Gospel of Jesus Christ was lost after the death and resurrection of Christ. But I also know that it was restored through the power of God working in Joseph Smith. I know that His power, the priesthood, was returned to earth at this time. I am so grateful for that knowledge! I am so grateful we have His power and love at our fingertips.

I know that God is aware of and loves freely and fiercely each of us! I know that the distance from us to God is only the distance between our knees and the floor. I know that His truth and love is found in the scriptures and the words of our latter-day prophets.

Each sentence above starts with "I know" because that is simply the truth. I do not think or believe these things. I know them because I have tested them out for myself. Because I have asked my Heavenly Father and received an answer. My testimony is always molding, changing, renewing. At times I have a question that I do not understand or know the answer to. I take it to God and at times if I do not receive an answer, I wait and believe still in the knowledge that I already have, and always, in the fact that He loves me fiercely and deeply.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9

Image via The Good Vibe.

My favorite scripture

I felt Him here. Always.

My sister Kenzey challenged me to share my favorite scripture and I'm glad she did! My favorite scripture comes from modern revelation given to Joseph Smith in 1832. I believe it applies to me in so many ways!

Doctrine and Covenants 84:88
And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.

I feel God's presence everyday. I feel His Spirit when I stand in awe of His creations. I feel His Spirit lift my heart when I feel inadequate. I feel His angels protecting my children. I feel Him when my children snuggle up to me and share their love so freely. I am grateful to have this knowledge and protection! What a generous and loving Heavenly Father.

Preparing for a natural birth

I've been attending an amazing prenatal yoga class the last few months and it has made all the difference in my pregnancy. I LOVE this class. I leave feeling so relaxed and peaceful. Our awesome teacher usually begins class by helping us choose an intention. She usually quotes Buddha or some famous yogi to get us inspired. A few weeks ago she read this Lakota prayer and I felt so connected to it. I looked it up and finally printed it out so I could read it each day.

With each class, I usually have a mantra that I repeat to myself throughout the practice. I've collected several favorites that mean a great deal to me which I hope will be helpful during labor. I believe this prayer will be meaningful as well.

While this was intended to be said to their own Deity, this prayer relates so much to what I believe as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. "Teach me how to trust the blessings of my spirit." What a beautiful thought. Knowing my gifts and trusting those is something I need to work on.

How great thou art!

When through the woods and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees, 
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze, 
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee, 
How great thou art! How great thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee, 
How great thou art! How great thou art!

How Great Thou Art verse 2
LDS Hymnbook #86


Photo taken last October on the Squaw Peak trail

My favorite painting and an outing to the MOA at BYU

Last week we went to the new Carl Bloch exhibit at the MOA at BYU. Some of the paintings are on loan from a private castle/estate in Denmark and have never been loaned out before and will never be loaned out again. Pretty sweet we got to see them! I shared with Nate that while he feels closest to God outdoors, among His creations, I often feel closest to God viewing religious art (especially this one). Carl Bloch and others at this exhibit have a beautiful gift that speak to my soul. So glad we went.

Brian Kershisnik's Nativity 

I loved seeing this painting too (I think it's part of their permanent collection). It's larger than life, literally. And I love that it gives a realistic portrait of Mary nursing, with midwives looking on (as I believe it is unlikely in a city as large as Bethlehem that she did it all alone) and Joseph's prayer of gratitude. I find it interesting to think about all the unmentioned people that must have been involved: family and friends that Mary & Joseph traveled with, the innkeeper, midwives etc etc. And that contrasted with what we can't see, the numberless angels singing praises to our newborn Lord. I would love to have this in our house. I haven't been able to find prints of this. Only reproductions for $1400+ soooo..... 

We walked around a bit reminiscing with a mint brownie and old-fashioned donut. I made Nate drive all over campus so I could see the new buildings. Bridger enjoyed chasing the ducks! And while I am really jealous students now have a Chik-fil-a in the Cougareat, Nate and I agreed it's probably for the best it came after I graduated. I would have weighed 200 pounds. 

While in the Cougareat, I had some awkward eye contact with an old flame from before I met Nate. I couldn't help smile as we walked past, because here I am with my hunky husband with our adorable toddler on his shoulders. Just a good moment once again realizing I am so very happy with this path I have chosen. 

Also, I am so excited to take Bridger to the renovated Bean Life Museum this spring! It's gonna look amazing! I took some paparazzi photos as we drove by.

 

Gratitude

The last two years I have done a weekly post of things I am grateful for during November. That did not happen this year. I blame it on the toddler. So despite that and my lack of daily FB posts of gratitude, I am a grateful person.

I'm thankful for the perfect two little hands and two little feet we saw on the ultrasound last week. So comforting to know he is growing healthily and well.

I'm thankful for the little toddler lips that kiss me on the lips for longer periods of time everyday. He cracks up afterward each time, like he knows this is getting awkward. Love him.

I'm thankful for the strong hands that work for us everyday. So, so grateful I can stay at home to goof off, I mean be with Bridger ;)

I'm thankful for this weird old house. It's ugly but works for us. I think of Feist's song Mushaboom a lot. It's following our life creepily well. I blogged about it a couple years ago. We were dreaming about babies and living in a second-floor apartment back then. Now we are making a home from a rented house and dreaming about owning acres on a little dirt road. Let's hope it keeps following our lives!

I'm grateful for the word of God. Since I got my iPhone, I've been reading my scriptures using the Gospel Library app. But I've gone back to the real deal the last few weeks and I love it. I love seeing all the highlighting and notes I've taken since I was 8. There is just something special about turning a page and touching each word.

I'm grateful for breakfast. The last few months I've been making real breakfasts more and more often. I don't know why I was so lazy before. Cereal and milk for me. Dry cereal and a banana for Bridger. I'm a stay at home mom for goodness sake! I have the time to make breakfast. It started with these blueberry biscuits. I'm sad berries aren't in season anymore. Now it's often grits and eggs. Homemade biscuits and jam. (I hyperventilated when my mom's peach jam ran out this week!) Pancakes or waffles. Or even sausage or bacon with eggs and grits or biscuits. Makes me think of my dad. He always made breakfast for us everyday before school/seminary. Too many times I slept in and didn't show him any appreciation. But Dad, I noticed and I am carrying on the tradition!

***

This weekend!

So excited for General Conference this weekend! Watch here.

A thought for your Sunday

My friend Rosemary shared this with me today and I had to pass it along: 

“Consider the miracle of prayer…While we should pray every day, continually, there is nothing ordinary or automatic or formulaic or common about prayer. Every time we pray sincerely to the Father in the name of the Lord a unique sacred miracle occurs. And the miracle is not simply that you found your lost car keys, or that you remembered the right answer on a test, or even that you received an urgent answer to a life question, though these might be miracles that you would recall. The miracle is you actually talked with God and He in fact heard you and answered you.” 
BYU-I devotional by David L. Frischknecht, Director for Temporal Affairs, LDS Church

Instagram photo taken today of beautiful Utah.

My brother

We walked over to the MTC today and dropped off my little brother. I am so proud of him! He is going to be an excellent missionary!

P.S. Little Bridger is snuggled in my awesome yard sale find: a Moby Wrap for $10!

Manti Temple Trip

Last weekend we joined our ward for a visit to the Manti Utah LDS Temple. It's one of my favorites. We visited several months ago on the way back from a hike, but this weekend was the first time we were able to spend time inside. I am so glad we went! The interior is so beautiful and ornate! Being in the temple is always a sacred experience.

I have come to realize that maxi dresses maybe aren't the most flattering for pregnancy, but they are so darn comfortable! And one of the few things that fit me!

Kacey's mission call

I cannot believe my brother is old enough to go on a mission. I am so proud of him!
I am thrilled I was at home in Florida when his call came!

If you couldn't hear that, he will be serving in the Nicaragua Managua North Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! If you don't think he is acting surprised/excited in this video, it's because he already read his call in private before reading it to us. :)

Happy Easter!

He is Risen!

On my nightstand

Source: blog.hgtv.com via Lacey on Pinterest

I usually like to write little book reviews about what I've read lately. However, I have gotten behind. So here is a quick re-cap of what I've enjoyed reading lately:

Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer.
This came as a result of a recommendation from my husband. It is a personal recount of the Mt. Everest tragedy that happened in '96. The author did some major research after the disaster to gain the most truthful depiction, which I applaud him for. Despite it being a "manly" topic, I really enjoyed it. It is shocking and factual. He writes to non-climbers which makes the technical portions more understandable. I recommend it. Also by Jon Krakauer is Into the Wild, which I read last summer.

Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child by John Gottman.
This was actually a required text for one of my classes last year. Several of my professors have recommended it. John Gottman is one of the foremost researchers and experts in child and family life of our generation. He knows his stuff. Basically it teaches the importance of teaching your children empathy and how to express their emotions effectively. It's one you don't have to read cover to cover. Just learn the 5 steps of emotion coaching and then read the chapter on application. I definitely recommend this to any parent or future parent.

Covenant Hearts by Bruce C. Hafen.
My mom recommended this to me when Nate and I got engaged. Several professors (family life and religion) have also recommended it to their students. I like to flip through and start at a random chapter each time I pick it up. His experience and insight into marriage is compelling. A good inspirational read.

This Is Not the Story You Think It Is by Laura Munson.
I read this article several weeks ago (via Designmom) and was intrigued by this woman's response to when her husband said he was leaving. Then, Designmom recommended her book on the topic and I ordered it within days. I loved this one so much I want to do a whole post on it, so stay tuned! In the meantime, you should read it yourself! The article will pretty much tell you the ending of the story, so don't read the article if you don't want to know the ending before reading the book. :)

The Book of Mormon.
I am currently reading in Alma and loving it. Last night I read the famous chapter 32 on faith. In verse 27, Alma describes the beginning of faith. By simply having a desire to believe, the word of God can be placed within our hearts and will bring light to our minds. I love that!

On my to-read list: 
West With the Night. (Simply because we already have it and Nate recommended it. Which is a big deal, he rarely finishes a book).
The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay.
Possibly the Uglies series since it's been recommended to me so many times recently.

Any more I should add to my list? Now that I am done with school forever, I need good books to fill up my evenings when Nate is studying!

Come Listen to a Prophet's Voice

I am so excited about General Conference this weekend! I love hearing our leaders speak. The whole world is invited to listen. Learn more at gc.lds.org.

On parenting

Made this on Picnik after reading a talk tonight by Richard G. Scott. 

I know it's going to be the hardest thing I have ever done, but I really can't wait to be a parent. I won't be perfect. I will make mistakes. But I will love our kids with everything I have. That is a promise.

Book Review: To the Rescue

To the Rescue: The Biography of Thomas S. Monson 

(Prophet and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints)

Author: Heidi S. Swinton

I started this during Christmas break and just finished it! If you know me, that is a long time for me to get through a book! All I know is to be honest, so I'll tell you straight up that I thought much of it was boring!  In my defense, this was my first biography. I suppose I'm just not used to the factual style that lacks a storyline.

Now before any of you start thinking I find President Monson boring, let's move on to what I did like in the book. Nate and I read aloud much of this together. This biography is good for picking up at the beginning of any chapter and not feeling like you are missing anything. Learning about his childhood in the Great Depression was really interesting. I particularly enjoyed learning more about his time as a mission president in Canada (chapter 13). There are many faith-promoting stories surrounding missionary work in this chapter. One example is when President Monson was inspired to send a certain missionary to a particular area, not knowing that he was the only missionary in that mission who spoke Italian. An Italian-immigrant family was waiting for the elder in his new area to hear about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

My very favorite portion included the time President Monson, serving in the Quorum of Twelve Apostles,  was assigned to Europe. (Pages 275-278 and Chapter 19). Much of Chapter 19 focuses on the the growth of the Church in East Germany, behind the Iron Curtain. It's nothing short of miraculous. President Monson emphasized the importance of always "going through the front door" when working in East Germany. Because of this, over many years, he was able to gain the trust of East German officials who approved the building of church meeting houses and even a temple! (Also, here is an interesting article about this temple.) Construction of this size was unheard at this time in East Germany. As I read I was just more and more amazed at the hand of the Lord in helping these members receive temple blessings. Something I should also add is how amazed I was at the faith of the LDS members in this area while behind the Iron Curtain. Anyone claiming a religion was "suspicious" to the government. Because of their faith, anyone involved in religious activity was watched, not allowed advancement in the workplace and denied higher education. Church meetings were watched by government officials. Can you imagine how hard that would be? Despite their struggles, these members continued in faith and never gave up the hope of having their own temple. I'm so grateful for their wonderful pioneering faith and example!

In general, what I really learned from this book is that I need to be more aware of "the one." President Monson has spent his life caring, lifting and loving individuals. I want to follow his example and be more service-oriented. "As we look heavenward, we inevitable learn of our responsibility to reach outward." (quote via) I know that President Monson is a prophet, seer and revelator. I am grateful for his example!

Another interesting article about President Monson.
Another post about President Monson.

P.S. Thanks Aunt Janet for getting this book for us! :)

P.P.S. If you are in the area and want to borrow it, let me know!

Manti Temple!

On the way home from Crawford Draw, Nate and I stopped in Manti to see the temple. Neither of us have ever been!

The grounds were so simple and perfect. No big flower garden or anything, just the natural environment of mountain pines.

 We spotted a few deer on the hill behind it!

The setting is perfect! The hill is gigantic! (and perfect for sledding ;)

It's now our new favorite! We can't wait to come back!

The Lights at Temple Square

A couple weeks ago we got together with some friends and drove up to Salt Lake for a fun date night. We shopped around first at H & M (not as impressed as my first time). Later we ate at the cutest and yummiest little diner, Hire's Big H (great root beer!). To end the night, we walked around Temple Square to see the lights. As always, it was beautiful! Although, I think when we have kids it will be more fun. 

Others highlights of the night included walking 7 blocks for hot chocolate and then Star Bucks being closed, gasping at the price of paintings in Deseret Book and finally getting hot chocolate. :)