The Mormon Church in a Glance

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (or Mormons) in a glance. It is a work of family. It is a work of love. It is the work of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

-elin
For me, it is a keep on trying work.

Making Room in Our Lives for Him

One of the lovely things left to me by my mother and father is a beautifully carved, wooden nativity. My family did quite a bit of traveling while I was growing up, and everywhere we went, my parents kept their eyes open for just the right pieces to add to the manger scene. Dad even found a branch of dried wood which he crafted into a gnarled tree for the shepherds to rest beside. The figures are small, but each piece is so delicately sculpted that you can read the expression on their faces.

The real heart of this nativity for me, however, is the stable itself. I remember as a child sitting in the carport watching my father build it, carefully fitting the crossbeams into place, chiseling the roofline, and sanding the base. It was truly a labor of love, and over time, it has come to represent something important and meaningful about the kind of person Dad was. Just as he physically made a place for that tiny wooden Baby, he always made room for the Savior in his own life.

My father was a man of many talents, a renaissance man. He loved music, art, literature, science, history, theater, opera, politics, gardening, traveling, architecture, and so much more. And he didn’t just want to know about them; he wanted to experience them. He had the voice of an angel. He wrote. He acted. He played the violin, the viola, the recorder, the guitar and the mandolin. He grew fruits and vegetables, beautiful flower gardens, and tiny bonsai. He traveled extensively and spoke French well, German a little, and even a bit of Farsi. He sketched. He served on community and university boards and committees. He had little patience when we, his children, complained of being bored. How could we be bored when there was always so much to see and do and learn?

All these “loves” could easily have consumed all of Dad’s time and energy, but at the heart of everything he did was my father’s love for his Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. He showed that love by serving freely in any church assignment he was given as well as by taking every opportunity to bless the lives of his family, friends, and neighbors on his own. He truly made “room in the inn” for the Savior every day of his life.

-Marilyn

Who tries not to be bored. . 

.  .

You might enjoy this true story about a kind Frenchman who made room in his inn on Christmas Eve.

Thanksgiving: The Five Fs

We will be going to my in-laws for Thanksgiving, and typically before we start the Thanksgiving Dinner we go around the table three times and each say one thing we're grateful for on each pass. Mine vary, of course, but on that particular day sometimes I think of the Fs in my life: Faith, Family, Friends, Football, and Food. (I think F has too much of a negative connotation, by the way. It's a very valuable letter.) I could go into detail about each one of these things and how they improve my life, but I won't; I will confine it to the first two, Faith and Family.

One definition of faith is "a system of religious belief." By this definition, I feel like the system of religious belief to which I ascribe is firmly fixed on Jesus Christ. My own personal system of religious belief is not as firmly fixed. I try my best to center my system of religious belief on Jesus Christ, and I am not perfect at it. Or even very good at it. But I try, and when I learn that I am off base, I make an effort to correct myself so that I am more centered on Jesus Christ. I can safely say that I know that all good things in my life have come because of Jesus Christ and my belief in Him as my Savior and Redeemer. And that all future good things will come from that same source.

One of the good things in my life, if not the best, is my family. Quick story: once when I was in middle school I was complaining to a teacher about something not being "fair." She responded that life isn't fair, to which I responded "I know, but why isn't it ever unfair in my favor?" (I was quoting a classic work, Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes.) She then said something very profound: "It was unfair in your favor when you were born into the family that you were." She was right. My family is my biggest blessing, and one that it's easiest to be grateful for, because of my frequent interactions with them. When the preceding conversation took place, my family was my parents and siblings. Now it includes my in-laws (see previous post for how I feel about them); and my wife, Elin (see her post about gratitude and thanksgiving); and little girl Evelyn. Soon there will be another in that group. These people are perhaps the greatest evidence of God's love for me, individually. They inspire me to be better and help me to be more centered on Christ. Which, in turn, leads to more good things in my life.

 

 

 

Forrest

--Who is in actuality grateful for friends, football, and food, too. They just would have made the post overlong.

 



What my Family is to me...

My mom and sisters and me

"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

I've never been quite sure what Tolstoy meant by saying this...because happy families are not all alike. But maybe he just means they are all generally happy when they are together and in that way they are alike. Or maybe he means that to be happy in family life, there are a few things that are essential: things like trust, working together towards some common purposes, and loving and supporting each other. So happy families are all alike in that they are doing the things that allow them to be happy together. But doesn't that mean that unhappy families are all alike in the fact that they are not doing those essential things? I think I must be missing something. Or maybe something got lost in translation from the Russian to English. 

At any rate, I am part of a happy family and think I must be one of the luckiest human beings alive. I never doubted my parents loved me and would help me through anything. And my siblings are still my best friends. Growing up in a family like that gave me confidence in myself and in God and showed me, in a real way, that every person can make a positive difference in the world. 

Now I am married and we have our own little family. My parents made it look so easy, and I realize now, that it is not easy...I'm sure it wasn't for them and it isn't easy for us either. There is so much that gets in the way of family happiness: selfishness, pride, packed schedules, stress, finances, mistakes, outside pressures, not getting enough sleep, health problems ... I could go on forever. 

However, I believe in the principles taught by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints about the family and I want to live them, in a large part because my parents lived these principles (and living these principles takes work!) and it made our home and my life happy. 

"HUSBAND AND WIFE have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.

THE FAMILY is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation."

 The Family: A Proclamation to the World

-Elin
Whose brain feels fried from staring at a computer screen.

Meaningful Relationships

Last weekend was fabulous; it was uplifting. We were able to spend several hours listening to the Prophets and Apostles speak. We call it General Conference and it occurs every six months. When conference is over I always feel spiritually nourished. On Saturday Ben and I watched two 2-hour sessions together. There was a two hour break between the two sessions and, somehow, we have started a tradition of going on a run together during that break.

We jogged to a beautiful park and began running the trails. There are huge trees along the paved path that shadow it completely. I have very weak joints so I was running off the pavement trying to strengthen those joints so I can do an off road course. Moments after I stepped off the path I tripped on a tree root. I fell pretty hard and there was quite a bit of pain. Ben reached me quickly, pulling me up out of the dirt and hugged me to give me time to compose myself.

There was no way I would be running anymore that day. Ben has been training for an upcoming race and so I told him to go on ahead and run. I was in pain but I could make it on my own just fine. When I told him to go ahead he looked at me as if I was a crazy person then put his arm around me. He took my hand and stated very clearly that he was going to stay by my side. We made our way to some bleachers where I could stretch and rest. When I felt a little better we slowly walked home side by side. He pretty much had to carry me up the stairs to our 3^rd floor apartment.  We got back just in time to start the next session of conference.

That night I couldn’t sleep so I took some time to review the day in my journal. I contemplated my relationship with Ben mostly but also my close relationships with family and friends. It is inevitable- a time will come when, due to physical, spiritual, or emotional weakness, you or someone close to you will fall. My hope is that someone will be there to help you, as Ben was there for me this day. When the Savior was on Earth, He gave two great commandments in Mark 12:29-31:

And Jesus answered him, the first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all they mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 

And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater.

I don’t think there is much that brings our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ more joy than when we reach out and help one another. Service is a great way to show our love for Him. I am fortunate to have a wonderful husband and family that I can lean on when I need extra support. Having meaningful relationships gives us opportunities to carry those who need help and also loving support for those times we find ourselves down in the dirt and looking for a hand to grab. 

Mosiah 2:17:

And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.

-Ryanne
Who is going on the town with her husband right... now 

My Family, My Grandpa, and Life After Death

Me, Grandpa, and my sister

Ever since I can remember, the first weekend in October meant watching the prophet and other leaders of our church speak at General Conference. As a child, I remember those Saturdays and Sundays felt very long. (There are 4 general sessions of the conference, each 2 hours long.) But I always liked the feeling of being with my family, gathered around our computer screen, watching together. I liked the "togetherness."

When I was in college, I would drive 2 hours to get to my grandpa's house and watch conference with him. Grandpa was my hero in every sense of the word. He was handsome and tall and strong (even at 80+ years old). He was independent and a hard worker. He was intelligent and inquisitive and liked reading and solving brain teasers and word problems--and even at 80+ you could find him sitting in his chair solving problems out of a calculus book to "keep his brain sharp." He complained about the multiplying feral cats that ran wild outside his house, but would go put out pans of milk and scraps for them (the old softy). He was the best storyteller and teacher I've ever met. He was never preachy. He asked questions and told stories and talked to you like you mattered. But he loved his family with a strong, enduring love. And he had a strong, enduring testimony of Jesus Christ and lived his life according to the principles and standards taught by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

It was sitting in his creaky old house, watching General Conference with grandpa, that I realized for the first time that watching 8 hours of conference no longer felt long to me. I cherished that time with him and loved the way he talked to me about the messages that were being shared. Now, this time of year especially, I really, really miss him. And more than anything, I am so happy to know that death was not the end for him and it will not be the end for any of us.

-Elin
Who did not inherit her grandpa's ability to make sense of calculus...

One of the things that helps strengthen my already existent belief in life after death is hearing the words of others who believe the same--like this:

(You can read the full message here.)