By Alan on May 31 in Blog tagged communication, deaf, feel, hearing impaired, may have deagness but does not have me, Osmond Family, The Family, theFamily, Tom Osmond | 2 Comments

I want to recognize a man who is a hero of mine.  He is my brother Tom who was born deaf with around an 85% hearing loss in both ears.  His older brother Virl, was also born deaf with only a 45% hearing ability.

My mother was told not to have any more children but, she felt his spirit and had Tom!

(Olive, Alan. Tom, Virl)

Tom was born with a very happy and loving personality.  He could not hear things well but he could feel them!  He would say, “What’s that?”  He was told that it was a railroad train passing by. Tom could feel the vibrations of the train coming even before we could heat it.

Tom went to the Utah School for the Deaf in Ogden, Utah and I remember a freind, Joe Deamer, always picked Tom up who waited across the street and took him to the deaf school.  The school  wanted Tom to live at the deaf school but my mother, Olive, said no, I want him here with the rest of my children and worked really hard to make sure that Virl and Tom were mainstreamed and could communicate in a hearing world.  She spent countless hours in our school room that our father built in the attic, teaching Tom and Virl how to correctly say their M ‘s . .  S’s . . T’s . . and R’s.  She bought a machine that light up a colored light when they would say the constanants properly.  It  really improvved both of them!

Tom and his brother Virl, missed out on singing with their brothers because of their deafness but because they loved rythmn, they took tap dancing lessons!  They both developed good rythmn and eventually taught their other brothers how to tap dance. Coming from a large family, there wasn’t enough money to afford all of the brothers to take lessons so Virl and Tom took them and then came home and taught their brothers.

Tom also taught all of his brothers and Marie how to do sign language.  This really helped when they were in a recording session and couldn’t talk so, they used sign language that Tom and Virl had taught them to communicate without talking during the recording.

In our church, young men when they turn nineteen years old leave the home and go and serve somewhere in the world for two years as a missiionary.  Virl and Tom were the first two deaf missionaries that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ever had serve full time missionaries!  They both went together as companions to Edmonton, Canada and did an excellent job!

Tom loves to talk with new freinds and is very gregarious.  He loves to teach others sign language. After he returned from his missionary service he worked as a printer for the Osmond Studios and printed all of the scripts for The Donny and Marie Shows and other productions.  He has a good eye and both he and Virl became really good photographers and photographed the celebrities and their perfoming brothers and sister for many years.

Tom then applied to become a postman.  He loved to drive the mail truck and continues to deliver mail to people every day except Sundays.  He has advanced so much that he has enough years of wervice for retirement soon.

Being deaf is a very hared thing to accept by anyone who is deaf!  Both Virl and Tom struggled like all deaf people do until they developed other talents and found acceptance in the community with friends.  It is so important for all of us to reach out and try to talk to deaf people and make them feel accepted.

Tom has great faith in God and tries daily to pray and to read the scritures and seek guidance from the Holy Ghost.  The Holy Spirit is a “still small voice” but, not to deaf people!  They are used to it and this helps them become very spiritual and humble people.  Tom has learned to understant that his “weakness” of being deaf is something that will eventually make him even a stronger person.  He quotes this scripture in Ether 12: 27

“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.”

Tom asked me to share with all of those who may be deaf to be patient and to trust in the Lord, Jesus Christ.  He healed the blind, made the lame walk, and even raised the dead.  Tom wants them to know that  Jesus will someday even make us hear again!

Tom is my brother, one of my best freinds, my example of great humility, a wonderful husband and a great father of five children. He has so many freinds who wait to see him deliver their mail to them each day with a big smile!  He loves nature and hunts and fishes besides taking great pictures of the out of doors.  He loves to learn and emails friends all over the world as he expresses himself so well.  He has been on stage with his family as they sing and does sign language of the words they sing.  He is a man of integrity and honesty, a worthy church and temple goer and is one of my greatest heroes in life.

Thomas Rulon Osmond

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By Alan Osmond
For The Family

By Alan on Jan 14 in Blog tagged achievements, bumps, death, experience, fears, feel, health, Jesus, jobs, laughter, life, lonliness, pain, pleasure, scars, share, sickness, success, tears, wise, years | 2 Comments

Life teaches a person many things that gives one experiences to make him wise.  What he or she goes throughout life with it’s many years of pleasures, pains, loneliness, success, failures, bumps, sickness, health, achievements, scars, tears, laughter, faith, fears, and death.

I have been a child, a teenager, a young adult, a soldier, a husband, an employee, an employer, a writer, a singer and performer, a businessman, a church leader, a missionary, an ordinance worker, a plumber and an electrician, and adult, a grandpa, disabled, broke, sued, hurt, lied to, kicked, laughed at, a veteran, I’ve received promotions, salary hikes, standing ovations, gold records, I’ve had M.S., sleep apnea, dreams, inspirations, embarrassments, police tickets, stitches, hiccups, nightmares, death threats, applause, heart stents, the best and worst of life.

So when a child, my wife, a son, a brother, a friend, or loved one, a student, a stranger, a phone call, a letter, a judge, a president, a celebrity or a tramp, a waiter, a hunter, the press, but especially a little grandchild comes to me and tells me how he or she feels . . . I can say…”I Know”.

By Alan on Jan 09 in Videos tagged again, belief, boys, brothers, child, faith, feel, God, heaven, inspiration, Jesus, LDS, love, meet, Mormon, music, Osmonds, Second Generation, testimony, video | Comments Off

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Osmonds and Osmonds Second Generation sing their heart felt songs of truth.

By Alan Osmond on Jan 07 in Blog tagged baptized, calm, comforter, direct, feel, feeling, Ghost, gift, God, guide, happy, highest, holy, Jesus, kingdom, LDS m Church, lead, light, listen, love, member, power, protect, pure, quicken, small voice, spirit, true, truth, warm, worthy | 3 Comments

Our Heavenly Father has not left us without “The Way” to understand His will and to keep in touch with His children while we are away from Him. So, He gave us The Holy Ghost to help guide and protect us, to receive inspiration and keep us on track, if we will but keep Him tuned in!

The Holy Ghost is the third member of the Godhead. He is a personage of spirit, without a body of flesh and bones. He is often referred to as the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Lord, or the Comforter.

The Holy Ghost works in perfect unity with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, fulfilling several roles to help us live righteously and receive the blessings of the gospel.  He “witnesses of the Father and the Son” (2 Nephi 31:18) and reveals and teaches “the truth of all things” (Moroni 10:5). We can receive a sure testimony of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ only by the power of the Holy Ghost. His communication to our spirit carries far more certainty than any communication we can receive through our natural senses.

He is the Comforter (John 14:26). As the soothing voice of a loving parent can quiet a crying child, the whisperings of the Spirit can calm our fears, hush the nagging worries of our life, and comfort us when we grieve. The Holy Ghost can fill us “with hope and perfect love” and “teach [us] the peaceable things of the kingdom” (Moroni 8:26; D&C 36:2).  Through His power, we are sanctified as we repent, receive the ordinances of baptism and confirmation, and remain true to our covenants (see Mosiah 5:1–6; 3 Nephi 27:20; Moses 6:64–68). He is the Holy Spirit of Promise (see Ephesians 1:13; D&C 132:7, 18–19, 26). In this capacity, He confirms that the priesthood ordinances we have received and the covenants we have made are acceptable to God. This approval depends on our continued faithfulness.

HOW TO DISCERN WHEN YOU HAVE THE SPIRIT

(WHEN YO HAVE THE SPIRIT)

You feel happy and calm;

You feel full of light with a clear mind;

Your bosom burns;

No one can offend you;

You feel confident in everything you do;

You are glad when others succeed;

You want to make others happy. You bring out the best in other people;

You gladly and willingly perform church services. You’d also like to attend the temple each day;

You are anxious to magnify your church calling;

You love to pray;

You want to keep the commandments;

You have food and sleep in moderation. Your behavior is calm and there is no anger in your speech. You are I total control of your appetites and passions;

You are glad to be alive.

(WHEN YOU DO NOT HAVE THE SPIRIT)

You feel unhappy, depressed, frustrated;

You feel unhappy and full of darkness. Your mind is muddled;

You feel empty, hollow and cold inside;

You feel selfish and self-centered;

Everything anyone does bothers you. You are always on the defensive;

You easily become discouraged;

You want to be alone. You avoid other people, especially your family;

You are envious of what others do, who they are and what they have;

You are critical of others, especially family members. You are also critical of secular and ecclesiastical authority;

You feel hesitant and unworthy to perform church ordinances. You don’t want to attend the temple; You don’t want to pray;

Commandments are bothersome and restricting;

You are a slave to you’re appetites and passions, over-indulging in food, sleep and stimulating entertainment. Your speech and behavior are angry and violent. You lack self-discipline in the critical areas of your life;

You wonder if life is really worth it.

Elder Parley P. Pratt said: “The Gift of the Holy Ghost quickens all the intellectual faculties, increases, enlarges, expands, and purifies all the natural passions and affections, and adapts them, by the gift of wisdom to their lawful use. It inspires, develops, cultivates, and matures all the fine-toned sympathies, joys, tastes, kindred feelings, and affections of our nature. It inspires virtue, kindness, goodness, tenderness, gentleness, and charity. It develops beauty of person, form and features. It tends to health, vigor, animation, and social feeling. It invigorates all the faculties of the physical and intellectual man. It strengthens and gives tone to the nerves. In short, it is as it were, marrow to the bone, joy to the heart, light to the eyes, music to the ears, and life to the whole being.

All honest seekers of the truth can feel the influence of the Holy Ghost, leading them to Jesus Christ and His gospel. However, the fulness of the blessings given through the Holy Ghost are available only to those who receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and remain worthy.

After a person is baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, one or more Melchizedek Priesthood holders lay their hands on the person’s head and, in a sacred priesthood ordinance, confirm him or her a member of the Church. As part of this ordinance, called confirmation, the person is given the gift of the Holy Ghost.

The gift of the Holy Ghost is different from the influence of the Holy Ghost. Before baptism, a person can feel the influence of the Holy Ghost from time to time and through that influence can receive a testimony of the truth. After receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, a person has the right to the constant companionship of that member of the Godhead if he or she keeps the commandments.

May we each add to the “Light of Christ”, which everyone has, and receive the Gift of The Holy Ghost and be worthy to have it direct us in making correct choices throughout this life. He is the “sanctifier” that prepares us to dwell in the highest kingdom in heaven, even the Celestial Kingdom.

May we all seek for further light and knowledge and be worthy to receive the Holy Ghost.  Once we have it, be sure to ‘LISTEN’ to that “still small voice”as it will show you “THE WAY” in which to go!

I testify with all my heart that this is true!

Alan Osmond