By Alan on Mar 31 in Daily Inspiration tagged a Daily Prayer, Jesus is first, joy, Others is second, The Family, Yourself is last | Comments Off

JOY – A Daily Prayer

‘A Morning Prayer’

Father, I’m grateful for the blessings of Joy. It comes when Jesus is first, Others second, and Yourself is last.

As we do so we find ourselves to be more like Christ who gives us fulfillment and joy as we serve others. We learn from scriptural teaching, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Show us the many ways we can assist and serve others and help us also to joyfully receive from others when they serve us.

In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Joe Ollivetti
For The Family 

(See more of The Family images and slogans at Alan and Suzanne’s Pinterest.com)

By Alan on Mar 31 in Blog | 1 Comment

Do You See What I See?

11 SHIPS OR 3 SHIPS & 8 ARCHES? 

DO YOU SEE FACES OR ALL HOUSES?

How many horses in this picture? Should find 7 

PEOPLE OR FACES ?

A PICTURE PUZZLE! 

HOW MANY PEOPLE ?

SEE MORE THAN ONE DEER?

Look at the middle column.
Where does it end? 

DO YOU SEE FOUR PEOPLE?

Who is the tallest?

A face? . Or, the word ‘liar’ ?

NEXT:
What do you see here?
Do you see the word ‘LIFT’?
Or, a bunch of black splotches ?

GIRLS ARE ABLE TO SPOT THE WORD ‘LIFT’ EASILY.
MEN FIND IT DIFFICULT TO SEE THE WORD ‘LIFT’!!!

NEXT? FIND THE FACES:

If you can’t see the baby in the picture, don’t give up.
It’s really cool when it actually appears.
This is not a joke and ~ NO ~ Nothing is going to jump out at you!

You have to have an open mind.
Don’t look for a Baby, and you will see the Baby!

Once you see it you wont see anything else!

This is so cool. Do you see the baby?

THE LAST ONE:

Kirk Matson
For The Family 

By Alan on Mar 31 in Blog tagged a day without laughter, after 70 years of age, forced to work, laughter, smile | Comments Off

 When We Are Forced To Work After 70 Years Of Age!

“A day without laughter is a day wasted.”
Charlie Chaplin

Paul Linford
For The Family 

By Alan on Mar 29 in Blog tagged America's Freedom Festival, become More, care about others, in enemy territory, make the world a better place, raising our children, Sarah Osmond, Sasha Osmond, Suzanna Osmond, than a princess, the Osmond Girls, The Princess Festival, things are gonna be alright | 3 Comments

 The Princess Festival

“Things Are Gonna Be Alright”

Sung by: The Osmond Girls
Sasha, Suzanna and Sarah Osmond
(Left to Right)

Great messages like this should be shared with our children, especially today  teaching them that
“You become MORE than a Princess when you Care about others”
and “Act to make the world a better place.”
Because . . .

 “Things are gonna be alright!”

In this day and age, we as parents are trying hard to raise good families, even though our religious leaders warn us that, “We are raising our children in enemy territory!”  Children’s entertainment with music and videos like the one below are good tools for parents to keep their children positive with hope for the future days ahead.

Yes, the voices you hear are three of
Alan and Suzanne Osmond’s granddaughters,
Suzanna, Sarah and Sasha Osmond.

“THINGS ARE GONNA  BE Alright”

Written and arranged by:  Al Huish  (retired choir and music director of Canyon View Elementary)
Played by the Al Huish Band

Sung by:  Suzanna, Sarah, and Sasha Osmond

Sometime terrible happens

And you don’t know if things are gonna to be all right

And then magically terrible disappears

We join hands become friends and sing along

Chorus

1,2,3  come and see we’re going to get things done

4,5,6  pickin up bricks, we’re going to have some fun

Talk:

Mila what’s that

It’s a Quizzle Rod

What does it do? Do you wave it?

It spreads magic all around and helps you find the magic within

All you have to do is say some magic words

Magic words like Ooga Booga?

Yeh, Ooga Booga,

Come on everyone,

Hey let’s say it all together Ooga Booga

Ooga Booga

Hey you over there come join us.

Wave it

Wave it again

Chorus:

1,2,3, come and see, we’re going to get it done

4,5,6  pickin up bricks, we’re going to have some fun, come on girls

7,8,9  make it shine, let the magic fly

8,9,10  do it again, tell your fears good bye

Everything’s going to be alright

Everything’s going to be alright

Everything’s going to be alright

Everything’s going to be alright

Everything’s going to be alright

.

If you would like your daughters to get involved in this years Princess Festival with The Osmond Girls as part of America’s Freedom Foundation Celebrations, CLICK HERE!

By Alan on Mar 29 in Daily Inspiration tagged become strong, Endure To The End, ETTE, humble, love is stronger than hate, theFamily, weak things, Weakness | Comments Off

Love Is Stronger Than Hate.

“ And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.”  Ether 12: 27

“Endure To The End”

For The Family

By Alan on Mar 29 in Blog tagged Elder L. Tom Perry, faithfulness, happiness, holiness, Joseph Smith, object and design of our existence, path of virtue, positive things, right and wrong, things good church members do, things we just don't do, You Can't Do Wrong When You Do Right | Comments Off

You Can’t Do Wrong When You Do Right

“Happiness is the object and design of our existence; and will be the end thereof, if we pursue the path that leads to it; and this path is virtue, uprightness, faithfulness, holiness, and keeping all the commandments of God”.  Joseph Smith

We live today in a world so full of choices. Television offers both the good and the bad. Bookstores are full of publications offering the right and the wrong. Very few movies are worthy of seeing because of the profanity, violence, and immorality that fill them. Advertising is full of enticements to lead us to violate the body with stimulants. Some music, with its monotonous rhythms, beats illicit thoughts into our heads.

Consider some wise counsel:

“Now may I make a recommendation? Develop discipline of self so that, more and more, you do not have to decide and redecide what you will do when you are confronted with the same temptation time and time again. You need only to decide some things once. How great a blessing it is to be free of agonizing over and over again regarding a temptation. To do such is time-consuming and very risky.

Likewise, my dear young friends, the positive things you will want to accomplish need be decided upon only once—like going on a mission and living worthily in order to get married in the temple—and then all other decisions related to these goals can fall into line. Otherwise, each consideration is risky, and each equivocation may result in error. There are some things good church going  members do and other things we just don’t do. The sooner you take a stand, the taller you will be!”  Spencer W. Kimball

We are at a time in the world’s history when Satan is marshalling all his forces to lead the people off the strait and narrow path. Fortunately, most Christian are clear about who it is that they will serve. Like Joshua of old, they proclaim, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15).

I hope and pray that you great young people will have the courage to consistently choose the right! Moreover, I suggest that each of you find or create reminders to help you and your loved ones choose the right when a choice is placed before you. There is power in a white dress hanging in the closet if we associate them with our desires for purity and righteousness. Even more important than physical reminders is to have the conviction deep down in our hearts to live the kind of life that will cause us to make the right choices, not only for peace and happiness in the world right now, but also for peace and happiness eternally.

I promise you that you will receive everlasting happiness if you consistently choose to do what is right.

“Say unto this people: Choose ye this day, to serve the Lord God who made you.”  
Moses 6: 33

By Alan on Mar 28 in Blog | Comments Off

Stress is a Choice

An Empty Pickle Jar

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty pickle jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “yes.”

The professor then produced two glasses of chocolate milk from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand.

The students laughed.

The Moral of the Story – The professor waited for the laughter to subside….

“Now,” said the professor,

“I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.

The golf balls are the important things…your family, your children, your health, your friends, your favorite passions. Things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.”

“The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your home, your car.”

“The sand is everything else…The small stuff.

If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are critical to your happiness.

- Play with your children.
- Take time to get medical checkups.
- Take your partner to dinner.
- Play another 18.

There will always be time to clean the house or fix the disposal.”

“Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities, the rest is just sand.”

Many of us hurry through life going from one place to the next, focused on conquering the next mountain, making the next deal, running the next errand, and believing we will never have enough time to do all the things we need to get done, yet, there is all the time in the world if we just realize that we are the creators of this life we choose to live. That’s right. Life is a series of choices and being free from stress is one of those choices.

“Choose ye this day, whom ye will serve.”  Alma 30: 8

George Virl Osmond
For The Family 

By Alan on Mar 27 in Blog tagged agency of man, before we were born, between the fathers and the children, continue to progress, eternal life, Family History, firstborn, Heavenly Father's Plan, Jesus Christ, Kingdoms of Glory, life after death, Lucifer, mortal life, mortality, Newsletter, of the children, osmond.org, pass that legacy on to our children, plan of happiness, premortal, Premortal life, Son of the Father, The Family, The Plan of Life, The Plan of Salvation, to the fathers, turn the heart, welding link, Where did we come from, wherre do we go after this life, why are we here | Comments Off

…Turn The Heart Of The Children To The Fathers

Where did we come from?

Why are we here?

Where do we go after this life?

Through family history work, we can learn about our ancestors and increase our love for them. We can be inspired by their stories of courage and faith. We can pass that legacy on to our children.  All of the family history endeavors are directed to the need to form a “welding link—between the fathers and the children” (D&C 128: 18).

We are participants in Heavenly Father’s plan, and our eternal experience can be divided into three main parts:

1. Premortal life,

2. Mortal life,

3. Life after death.

   

As we come to understand the plan, we find answers to questions asked by so many: Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where do we go after this life?

Premortal Life

Before we were born on the earth, we lived in the presence of our Heavenly Father as one of His spirit children. In this premortal existence, we attended a council with Heavenly Father’s other spirit children. At that council, Heavenly Father presented His great plan of happiness (see Abraham 3: 22-26).

In harmony with the plan of happiness, the premortal Jesus Christ, the Firstborn Son of the Father in the spirit, covenanted to be the Savior (see Moses 4: 2; Abr. 3: 27). Those who followed Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ were permitted to come to the earth to experience mortality and progress toward eternal life. Lucifer, another spirit son of God, rebelled against the plan and “sought to destroy the agency of man” (Moses 4: 3). He became Satan, and he and his followers were cast out of heaven and denied the privileges of receiving a physical body and experiencing mortality (see Moses 4: 4; Abraham 3: 27-28).

Mortal Life

We are now experiencing mortal life. Our spirits are united with our bodies, giving us opportunities to grow and develop in ways that were not possible in premortal life. This part of our existence is a time of learning in which we can prove ourselves, choose to come unto Christ, and prepare to be worthy of eternal life. It is also a time when we can help others find the truth and gain a testimony of the plan of salvation.

Life after Death

When we die, our spirits will enter the spirit world and await the resurrection. At the time of the resurrection, our spirit and body will reunite, and we will be judged and received into a kingdom of glory. The glory we inherit will depend on the depth of our conversion and our obedience to the Lord’s commandments (see Kingdoms of Glory). It will depend on the manner in which we have “received the testimony of Jesus” (D&C 76: 51; see also D&C 76: 74, 79, 101).

Blessings through Knowledge of the Plan

A testimony of the plan of salvation can give us hope and purpose as we wrestle with the challenges of life. We can find reassurance in the knowledge that we are children of God and that we lived in His presence before being born on the earth. We can find meaning in our present life, knowing that our actions during mortality influence our eternal destiny. With this knowledge, we can base important decisions on eternal truths rather than on the changing circumstances of life. We can continually improve our relationships with family members, rejoicing in the promise that our families can be eternal. We can find joy in our testimonies of the Atonement and the Lord’s commandments, ordinances, covenants, and doctrines, knowing that “he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come” (D&C 59: 23).

For The Family

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By Alan on Mar 27 in Blog tagged cannot sue, comes before, congress, constitution, federal government, federal tax law, health care, Obama Administration, Obamacare, permissable, the power, The Supreme Court, The United States of America, vote, we the people | Comments Off

Obamacare Comes Before The Supreme Court

Rare is the occasion when the nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court gather to hear three days of arguments, and rarer still is when it is for a case like Obamacare — one that cuts to the core of the Constitution and whose outcome could fundamentally alter the role of the federal government and its power over the people. But today the Court will do just that when it open its doors and begins weighing the arguments on the constitutionality of President Barack Obama’s seminal health care law.

Were the American people to vote on the issue, they would fall decidedly against Obamacare, as recent polls have shown. But for the Court, the decision is not as cut and dried as an up or down vote, but one that involves the interplay of a series of issues raised by those who are challenging Obamacare — more than half the States of the Union and a collection of interested organizations and private parties — and those brought by the Obama Administration, which is defending the law. And they come to the Supreme Court after conflicting appellate court rulings which have left undecided the question of whether Obamacare is permissible under the Constitution.

The central issue before the Court is whether Congress has the power under the Commerce Clause and the Necessary and Proper Clause to impose the individual mandate on the American people, forcing them to buy health insurance or pay a penalty. If the Court holds that Congress was outside the bounds of its authority, it can strike down the individual mandate, leaving the justices to then decide whether all or part of Obamacare should fall along with it.

If the Court upholds the mandate, America will be in the same position it finds itself today — facing a law that vests untold power and resources in the hands of the federal government, that transfers health care decision making from individuals to unelected bureaucrats, and that increases costs while decreasing access. In short, America’s health care crisis will get worse, not better, and future generations will be left paying the tab. What’s more, if the Court allows the individual mandate to stand, it will unhook Congress from its Constitutional leash, empowering it to regulate commerce and individual behavior in new ways never before imaginable.

There are other issues, too, besides the individual mandate. Even before the Court reaches that subject, it must broach the issue of the Anti-Injunction Act, a 145-year-old federal tax law which could bar the Court from even hearing a challenge to the individual mandate. Under that law, one cannot sue over a tax until they have paid it. If the penalty for violating Obamacare’s individual mandate is considered a tax under that law, then the challenge could be brought at this time since the penalty has not yet taken effect. Obamacare’s challengers and even the Obama Administration agree that the Anti-Injunction Act shouldn’t prevent the Court from hearing the case, but the issue will still be heard, and some think that the Court could rely on the Act as a way of avoiding having to answer the question of whether the mandate is constitutional.

If the Court finds the Anti-Injunction Act doesn’t apply, it will move on to the individual mandate. Its decision on that issue brings with it a whole other set of problems — namely, if the Court finds that the mandate is unconstitutional, it must next decide the issue of severability — whether Obamacare will operate as Congress intended if it is stripped of the mandate, or whether all or parts of the law must be struck down with the mandate. If the Court finds that the mandate is severable, the Court can strike it down and leave it up to Congress to clean up what’s left, or, as the Obama administration has recommended, it can strike down the mandate and related provisions of the law that depend on it. Finally, if the justices find that the mandate is not severable, then it will throw out all of Obamacare, and it will again be up to Congress to enact real market-based health care reforms that bring down costs while increasing access to care.

There is another issue, too, tied to Obamacare, and that has to do with Congress’s decision to impose new requirements on states forcing them to expand the Medicaid program and abide by the federal government’s conditions, leaving them to shoulder much of the costs while operating Medicaid according to Washington’s whims. If the states don’t comply, they could lose all Medicaid funding, putting them in an untenable position in which both their autonomy and their sovereignty collapse under Obamacare’s weight.

It is up to the Court to decide whether Congress overstepped its bounds.

America waits for the Supreme Court to weigh the facts and the law, to consider the precedents and the policy, and to issue a decision that will have implications far into the future.

• Will Congress be limited by the Constitution, or will its authority expand beyond the limits that the Founders intended?

• Will Americans’ liberties stand?

• Will Obamacare fall?

No matter the outcome of the Court’s ruling in June, Congress can and should act now to repeal Obamacare and rid the land of this intolerable act.

Gilbert P Howe
For The Family 

By Alan on Mar 27 in Blog tagged a laugh a day keeps the Neighbors Away, cry, laugh, Marlon Snow, smile, The Family, the yolk is on you | Comments Off

A Laugh A Day Keeps The Neighbors Away

THE YOLK IS ON YOU!

A Friend of  The Family