I have a nephew that wrote an online book in 2015. I’ve been reading it over the last couple of days. It’s amazing! It’s about the last days. It’s about the time table of the last days. As you watch the signs of the times I know it’s close. It has made me think of panic. I think when we have a really good lesson on food storage and preparedness. The key is to not be fearful, but to have faith.
If you look at inside the church signs of the times, the upheaval of women holding the priesthood and the children in gay marriages and the conflict that arises within the church, that is a sign of the times.
Part of the parable of the 10 Virgins is that we are cleaning from the inside of the church out. Look at all the times just before the Savior came to America all the destruction, before he was crucified and the destruction, the pioneers and all the destruction. I don’t know ‘what’ to do, but the key is to know ‘what is coming’ and the vision.
If we follow the prophet we will know what to do. He is telling us exactly what to do is that we align ourselves carefully, completely, with super glue to the words of the prophet. It’s not just enough to listen to Conference. What did he say last time that you are doing? How have you changed? Do you see that is not good enough. If we want to be prepared for what is coming we need to already be glued to that iron rod. The mist of darkness is going to be like the mist that was there like the darkness during the destruction of the Nephites.
Hauns Mill…He went to Far West to visit with Joseph Smith . Joseph Smith counseled that he needed to bring in all the people into Far West. He didn’t tell the people the counsel of the prophet so they didn’t leave.
The prophet will always warn us. When something is repeated it is now at the top of the list. Usually when we hear the same thing over and over and over we tend to tune out. We need to tune in and evaluate our compliance with that commandment. Seldom will we hear “Thus saith the Lord…” We think it was a good talk. We don’t think Heavenly Father is telling me what I need to do.
Richard G Scott “Make the Exercise of Faith Your First Priority”
“When these tools become fundamental habits, they provide the easiest way to find peace in the challenges of mortality.”
Family Prayer, Family Scriptures, FHE, Temple Attendance + Sabbath Day
You will see the country and the church in turmoil. You will see members falling away because of the doctrines of men.
We know these are the guidelines, but what I really want to teach is the blessings. If you want the blessing you obey and he will give you the blessing.
Naaman….
He had leprousy. The prophet told him to go wash in the dirty River Jordan 7x. The servant said if you had been told to do something big you would have done it, so why not do the small things.
He had to obey the law with exactness. Naaman had what he thought was a ‘valid excuse’ not to do it. It was pride. How often when you don’t do one of these things is it because of some excuse you have made? The focus becomes the excuse rather than making obedience a quest. Instead you need to say how can I make this happen.
President Ezra Taft Benson put it most poignantly when he said, “When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power.”
Family Prayer…
Principle: Morning & Night
Promises: Ease family tensions, check the dread disease that erodes our society (pornography, immorality, apathy), children will remember the poor and the needy, hearts will be open in compassion, children will gain respect for parents, as we pray for leaders in our country they will feel the respect for liberty, children will grow in love for parents, they will know parents believe in God, your heart will fill with peace. It will protect your family day to day from the adversary and destroying angels.
Example: We had family prayer sometimes with sleeping children and sometimes with wakeful children. A lot of times you won’t know when the Lord has blessed you. Guardian angels are there to watch over your children. We were in Utah. The family was going different directions. Jana & Ashley were driving home from Provo. Jana had been an EFY counselor and was really tired. Ashley was going to keep her awake. Jana fell asleep for just a minute. She rolled the car 3 times. Jana was not conscious. The next car behind them had a doctor and a nurse from Mountain Home. They called 911. Ashley called me in Provo. I said I can’t get there. I said call your Dad in Boise. Mike usually worked out in Meridian. That day he was at the end of Broadway. He got there before the ambulance. Both of them went home. Ashley still has a big scar across her neck where the seatbelt was. Jana was black and blue and had a few stitches over her eye.
Example: Corey was on a scout activity. They were up on Mt Borah. There is a place called “Chicken Out Ridge” Corey was coming down it too fast and slid. Just before he hit the drop his backpack caught on the only bush that was in the shale.
The angels are there to watch over our children. It is more important that they are there to protect them from influences. There is a shield that is put around them to guard them when you kneel in family prayer. I wouldn’t send my children out into the world without that shield.
Practices:
- You have to make it regular. It has to be routine. One semester we had early morning seminary and 6 teens playing at night. We will get up at 4:30 and have family prayer and scripture study. There was mutiny. Children came down with blankets around them. Everyone else crawled back into bed. We would each go around a read a verse. They would open up their scriptures to where we were. They would doze until it was their turn. How much scriptural knowledge did they gain during that semester? None. That was not wasted. At the end of the semester my children would testify that I follow the prophet.
- If you forget, put one of your red children in charge if you give them that responsibility.
- Mom needs to be up a little bit before.
- As important as the prayer you say, is how you feel before and after the prayer.
- Discuss as a family who needs to be prayed for that day. Who has something that needs help. You discuss this just a moment.
- At night you come back and report back and give thanks for those things where you have seen the hand of the Lord.
- The father should be the one to call on someone to say the prayer. If he won’t do it then you are the counselor. You get everyone up. He is the king of the castle DO NOT de-throne him.
- Family Prayer and Personal Prayer are not a job list for Heavenly Father. They need to prayer for “What can I do to help Abby with her friend problem at school?” Instead of “Send Abby a friend.”
- Ask the guidance from the Holy Ghost and the power to through the Atonement to follow through.
- We need to teach our children to thank him, but then when we come to the ‘ask for what we need’. We ask in such a way that he handcuff the Lord to answer our prayers. He won’t come down and do it for us. He may put people in our paths to answer those prayers.
- Ask for things where they saw Heavenly Father touch their lives today. One of the key phrases in the temple is “Return & Report”….DAILY!!! Heavenly Father needs to feel welcome in our home.
FAMILY SCRIPTURE STUDY
Principle: Study the scriptures daily…family and personal.
Your responsibility is come to family scripture study and then have your personal scripture study.
By age 2 they are wanting a bedtime story. They could have a bedtime story from the scriptures. They need a Book of Mormon and the “Friend”.
I went to a Mother-Daughter thing. One question was what’s your Mother’s favorite thing to do? She said “Read the Book of Mormon”. I had never said that.
Promises….spirit of reverence will increase, mutual respect, more considerate of each other, spirit of contention will depart, parents will counsel in love and wisdom, righteousness will increase, children will be more responsive and submissive, peace, joy and happiness in your home, the strength to resist temptation will increase, strong faith in the grace of God, they will come to know they will be empowered through the Atonement to do those things that seem difficult.
Practices…start by age 2…Friend stories, own copy of scriptures.
It is essential that children hear the words of the prophets. The children repeat the words. When kids get to be about 5 and kids are just starting to read and it takes them forever as they stumble through reading a verse.
Class member: It will help them be a better reader. My son could read on a college level at a very young age.
Class member: When my kids were little, my son (who is red) argued with his teacher that it is “mine paper”….he argued with the teacher because that is what they are reading.
Class member: We would recap everyday in the story where we were. The first time he got the plates. The second time Spencer was 4 he said, “They forgot the cups and the napkins.”
Choose when you read (that is a practice). They put the Book of Mormon in their car. The power of doing it with exactness was important.
I challenge you from this point to accept that challenge…to read from the Book of Mormon every day.
FAMILY HOME EVENING
Principle: 1999….we counsel parents and children to give the highest priority to FHE, however worthy or appropriate other activities might be. FHE is for everyone.
No one is exempt. The picture just looks different. It’s Family Home Evening not hour. Your lesson may be very, very short, but the evening is where the family bonds together. It should be an evening of family time together.
Promises: It will take away stress, give direction to our lives, adds protection to our home (increase capacity to not listen to inappropriate music or watch inappropriate videos), love will increase, obedience will increase, youth will gain power to combat the evil influences that will beset them.
C Scott Grow---BYU Devotional
Somehow, a tradition has developed in the Church. In fact, you may have heard members say, "We hold our family home evenings on Sunday, and on Monday nights we have activities." Note that the First Presidency letter says that Monday Night is the time for family home evenings. Also note that Monday night is not for activities, but as they counsel, "to teach the gospel in their homes."
I hope that you can have vision to see what the prophets are seeing as they give us this counsel. Satan is targeting our homes and families. The day has passed when we can be casual in holding family home evening, daily family scripture study, or family prayer and still have real hope to hold our children close to the family and close to the Church.
I feel like this is one of the opportunities to obey with exactness. You pay 10% tithing…not 9%. I know that I am doing FHE on Monday night.
Practices---Every home is different. There are some things that have to be in place.
1. You have to be enthusiastic about it.
2. You need to get older children involved in giving the lesson. Particularly teenagers need to go to LDS.org and find material to have good lessons. You show them where to go and how to find new things.
Class member: My 7 year old reminded me that last night was FHE. I said what do you want to talk about. She got on the Ipad and found stuff on LDS.org. She found a video about Christ being baptized. She found a song about baptism.
I think we think we have to do it all. They learn to love it as they become part of it. From nursery we send home a paper every week that represents something they have done each week. Have them hold their picture and tell them about it. They are hearing about it one more time. That reinforces it.
300 Object Lessons (Website)
Teach a principle. Teach an application. Then DO IT!!! It needs to be applied or it’s not internalized. We are not there to teach knowledge. No one is converted unless they apply.
No cell phones, no texts during FHE!!! They are connecting somewhere else. They aren’t connecting with you.
Encourage the spirit of reverence. There are moments when you should. Teach children how to bear testimony. Little people need to learn reverence. Their attention span is short, but you had better start teaching it at home. They need to learn that now is appropriate to sit here and listen for a few minutes.
Sometimes our children are so uncomfortable with the Holy Ghost that they don’t know what to do with it. They do something to break the spirit. They make a joke. They do it in Sunday School. This is the time you teach them. It is to be invited and not chased out.
Make it fun! Make it exciting!
TEMPLE ATTENDANCE
Principle: Regular temple attendance (often and regular). For every person it is different.
I would recommend you make this a sacrifice priority. You need to give up something else to do it.
Class member: In Colorado I had a little guy at home still. The temple president had gotten up. I could feel my testimony slipping a little. He talked about this woman who had to drive for a long time and she had little kids. I thought if she can do it I will do it. I decided I would go every week for a year. There were so many tender mercies through that year. For the first 3-4 months I left the temple crying each day. So much was changing…just with me. It was amazing what it did! I decided just recently to do that again. I find it’s harder now even though he is older. I remember someone saying if you have a struggling marriage or a struggling teenager go to the temple. I just miss feeling that spirit all the time. I was doing mostly family names. I had such a connection to my ancestors.
The thing about going to the temple is that no one can tell you the blessings of the temple unless you go consistently. It’s the consistency of it. Have you ever been in a room where you go into the dining room where you have a dimmer switch. That’s what it’s like in going to the temple consistently, regularly. It’s like taking that knob. You have light. Then it turns up a little. You have the capacity that increases the light you have in you. Your capacity to learn, feel, study, know inside you. When you stop going the dimmer switch starts going down. For exaltation we want to increase our capacity to endure light. That light comes on a little at a time. Your ability to learn everywhere increases.
I went consistently, but working in the temple every week I just can hardly wait until Friday morning comes so I can go serve in the temple. You just have to experience it! It is amazing! Everything the Lord says about the temple is true.
Blessings…Increase ability to righteousness and light, understand the priesthood better, the veil becomes thin, become more receptive to divine guidance, more sensitive to receive light
Get your children involved. Get them to do baptisms. Get them to do family search. They can go to family search and put a memory of someone on there. When they start posting memories they feel the connection. They feel the bonding that makes them want to participate in the temple.
Elder Bednar says doing temple work will save our children in these days.
SABBATH DAY
It is imperative that we keep the Sabbath Day holy. We need to keep this day as a sign between us and the Lord of how we feel about Him. When you look at the activities you want to do on the Sabbath day teach your children “What sign am I giving the Lord about how I am using His day?”
This is one of the things that will protect us as we come into the last days. One of the key elements is the Sacrament. We can be tempted as mother’s to use digital devices to keep our children entertained for Sacrament meeting. Keep what you bring simple and keep it for only younger children. Children will rise to whatever standard you set. Even 3 year olds can sit at least through the Sacrament with nothing.
Teach them in FHE so they can do it in Sacrament Meeting. As you take your children out that it is a training moment, not an entertainment moment. If you let them run the halls, get a drink, or play do you think they want to sit in Sacrament Meeting. Parent intentionally!!! You want to teach even your little ones to come unto Christ to feel his love and companionship for him. That happens in Sacrament Meeting and on the Sabbath Day. They should come to him and feel his presence.
A picture of peace
There once was a King who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The King looked at all the pictures, but there were only two he really liked and he had to choose between them.
One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror, for peaceful towering mountains were all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.
The other picture had mountains, too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky from which rain fell and in which lightening played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all. But when the King looked, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest in perfect peace.
Which picture do you think won the prize? The King chose the second picture. Do you know why?
'Because' explained the King, 'peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace.'
Author Unknown
There will be turbulence all around. The only place to come for peace will be the temple or your home if you make your home a temple. The Savior wants to be there. Prepare your home to receive Him.
ADDITIONAL NOTE FROM ANDREA....
There are more "blessings" from obeying each leg of the table posted in the links from previous years as well as the actual references to the quotes. You can find those here....
4 Table Legs 2015
4 Table Legs 2014
4 Table Legs 2013
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