By Alan on Apr 25 in Blog tagged Aaronic, author, baptism, celestial, confusion, coovenants, day, dead, destiny, eternal families, eternal marriage, eternal plan, faith, Family, God, great and dreadful, heavenly parents, Holy Ghost, hope, if only knew, Jesus, marriage, Melchizedek, missing, origin, peace, power, premortal existence, priesthood, prophet, Redeemer, religions, resurrection, struggle, suffer, terresterial telestial, The World, to choose, truth, truths, Where Am I Going, Who Am I, Why am I here, word | 1 Comment

If The World Only Knew What They Were Missing

Here we are living in ‘a great and dreadful day’ with higher learning and so many comforts of life.  We have access to so much information and can advance so fast in society.  Yet, there are still so many who struggle and suffer, especially for knowledge and truth about their origin and destiny.  One of the most important needs we have is the knowledge of  who we are, why we are here and where we came from; religion.

If people would just stop and think about life and see those that are truly happy, they will find it is because they have searched their hearts with prayer and in their minds with studying and reading good books, have found peace within knowing that God is there; realizing He has provided the way to return as His children with with an eternal plan where marriages and families can be together forever!  May I share?

Over the history of this world, there have been many religious leaders who felt inspired and caused many people to follow.  Each of us has the right to learn with the freedom and power to choose ’The Way’ we wish to live our lives and believe.  That’s why we came here.  They also become set and immoveable and will not hear or listen to many truths that have come forth.  If the world only knew what they were missing!

Here are 10 facts about 12 major religions.

These pages summarise the main features of the 12 largest world religions, which together are followed by almost 80% of the world’s population. These beliefs are described without passing any judgment on their truth or otherwise. Not included here are so-called “tribal” and African religions (6%), spiritism, the Eastern religions Cao Dai and Juche (less than 1% in total) and non religious (16%). Source for numbers is www.adherents.com.

Baha’i, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism and Islam

	Baha’i	Buddhism	Christianity	Confucianism	Hinduism	Islam
Founder	Baha’u'llah	The Buddha	Jesus (Yeshua)	K’ung Fu-tzu (Confucius)	Brahmins – the priestly class of the invading Aryans	Muhammed
Place & time	Middle East (Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Syria), 1860s CE	Nepal, 500 BCE	Palestine, 30 CE	China 500 BCE	India, about 1500 BCE	Arabia, 620 CE
Local religion at the time	Islam	Hinduism	Judaism & Roman polytheism	-	Evolved from more primitive beliefs	Tribal polytheism
Written sources	Writings of Baha’u'llah & others – principally Kitab-l-Aqdas	Teachings of the Buddha written down much later & not treated as revelation	Bible, especially the New Testament	K’ung Fu-tzu’s writings	Many writings, mainly the Vedas (1000 BCE) & Upanishads (500 BCE)	Qur’an, written down by Muhammed
No. of adherents worldwide	2 million	376 million	2,100 million	400 million (combined with Taoism)	850 million	1,200 million
Nature of religion	Monotheism with revealed teachings – fulfils Judaism, Christianity and Islam	Dharmic. Way of life to achieve enlightenment	Monotheism with revealed teachings – fulfils Judaism	Taoic. Social & political ethics	Dharmic. Devotional rituals & tradition to achieve release from cycle of rebirth.	Monotheism with revealed beliefs – mixture of corporate & personal worship and ethics
Nature of God(s)	Monotheistic, ethical	Distant, unclear	Monotheistic, ethical, personal	-	Pantheistic & impersonal – life force (Brahmin) and many gods/aspects	Monotheistic, personal, ethical
How to please God(s)	Ethical living	Eightfold Path between extremes of asceticism & materialism	Repentance & faith in Jesus	-	Devotion, good works, knowledge & yoga to reduce karma (caused by bad behaviour) & maya (illusion)	Five Pillars – profession of faith, prayer/worshp, alms, fasting, pilgrimage to Mecca
Rewards & punishments	Life is a preparation for the next life (does this mean everyone enters afterlife?)	Life of acceptance & Nirvana	Life with God in this world and the next (or not)	Social harmony	Cycle of rebirth until karma dissolved & released.	Paradise for believers
Practices	Prayer & meditation leading to action – little emphasis on ritual (no churches or priests). Informal meeting every 19 days + festivals	Meditation, disciplined living to reduce suffering (recognising “impermanence, suffering & no-self”)	Weekly meetings, sharing faith & serving others	Respect for ancestors	Temples as homes to deities & shrines, priests & rituals, individual holy men	Five Pillars, Friday prayers at mosque, ritual washing and prayers
Distinctive ethics	Rational behaviour, peace, equality, tolerance, justice	Detachment, acceptance, meditation	Love your neighbour, humility, peace, justice	Cohesion of society. Living in harmony with environment	Do right, acquire wealth, enjoy pleasure, achieve release	Five Pillars, Jihad (holy struggle)

Jainism, Judaism, Parsees/Zoroastrianism, Shinto, Sikhism & Taoism

	Jainism	Judaism	Zoroastrianism	Shinto	Sikhism	Taoism
Founder	Mahavira (“great hero”)	Abraham & Moses	Zarathustra (not sure if he was a real person)	Evolved	Guru Nanak	Lao-Tzu (& Chuang Tzu)
Place & time	India, 550 BCE	Iraq, 2000 BCE	Iran, date unclear,  1200 or 600 BCE?	Japan, 0-1000 CE	India, 1500 CE	China 300-600 BCE
Local religion at the time	Hinduism	Polytheism	Local	-	Hinduism & Islam	Less refined version of same ideas
Written sources	Scriptures, written 100 years after Mahavira	The Law (Torah given by God) & the prophets. The Talmud	Avesta (Zarathustra’s teachings, written centuries later)	-	Guru Granth Sahib (Nanak’s & other Gurus’ teachings, written down later)	Writings of Lao-Tzu (Tao Te Ching) & Chuang Tzu
No. of adherents worldwide	3 million	14 million	2.6 million	4 million	23 million	400 million (combined with Confucianism)
Nature of religion	Dharmic. Soul is imprisoned in matter – cycle of rebirth until achieve release, at length, by intense discipline.	Monotheism with revealed beliefs – mixture of corporate & personal worship and ethics	Monotheism but dualistic. Ethical, personal.	Taoic. Shinto = “the way of the gods”.  Mixture of polytheistic mythology & practical living. Little dogma. Co-exists happily with Buddhism	Dharmic. Practical religion about living in this world (not ascetic like some other eastern religions).  Cycle of rebirth.	Taoic. Tao = “the way”. Mythical religion with strong ethical component, yin & yang. A way to live with little dogma.
Nature of God(s)	Distant, unclear – close to atheism	Monotheistic, personal, ethical	Ahura Mazda (all powerful God)  is oposed by Angra Mainyu & supporteed by 7 created immortals.	Spiritual force manifested in “Kami” (nature, many gods or spirits, or ancestors)	Present everywhere in creation, unknowable, without form, beyond dogma, found in the heart. merciful.	Spiritual force (there is some polytheism in popular Taoism)
How to please God(s)	Ascetic life as a monk. Lay people can only hope to achieve being a monk in the next life	Obey Law – sacrifices for forgiveness of sins	Ethical living	Worship at shrines	Grace enables recognition of God’s word & hence ability to live ethically & devotionally and so earn salvation.	-
Rewards & punishments	Salvation = release from karma & cycle, then union with one’s true self	Pleasing or displeasing God	Life after death	A peaceful pure life?	Mystical union with God (on earth and in afterlife?)	Personal peace?
Practices	Fasting & extreme asceticism. Temples & images to assist meditation.	Worship & sacrifices in temple (but not since temple destroyed in 70 CE) & meetings in Synagogues	Ritual prayer & washings, fire ceremonies (fire is the symbol of God’s truth)	Worship, prayer & offerings at shrines to various Kami	Egalitarian, respect for other religions	Meditation, exercise (tai chi & Kung fu), detachment, festivals
Distinctive ethics	Do no harm (non violent & vegetarian), abstain from sex & worldly goods	10 Commandments, plus many detailed laws in Law and writings	Education, devotion, righteousness, non-violence, cleanliness	Purity & cleanliness	Love your neighbour, humility, peace, justice	Sensitivity, peacefulness,  live in harmony with nature.

For more information on the terms “monotheistic”, “darmic” and “taoic”, see the different types of religions.

With all of this confusion in the world and deciding what to believe, is there any wonder why there are so many religions today?  It is not God’s fault but man’s.

“For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”  
1 Corinthians 14:33

At some point in each of our lives we will each ask these questions:

Who am I?
Why am I here?
Where am I going?

Many ‘Plain and precious truths and  doctrines’ of the gospel have been restored:

The Physical nature of the Godhead

Our creation is in God’s image

Apostles and Prophets

Melchizedek Priesthood

Aaronic Priesthood

Mode of baptism

The gift of the Holy Ghost

Premortal existence

Baptism for the dead

Resurrection

The three Kingdoms of Heaven
(Celestial, Telestial, Terresterial)

Eternal marriage and families

Our potential to become like our Heavenly Parents 

By Alan on Apr 10 in Blog tagged Alan Osmond, diligence, fear God, fear man, fight, focus, FREE Newsletter, Get NoiZ, hearing impaired, heavenly parents, in charge, intelligence, Jesus Christ, Life is T.U.F.F., M.S., military, multiple sclerosis, noisy, Osmond Brothers, patience, Plan of Life, Power to choose, real challenge, say my prayers, scriptorian, scriptures, sin, Target, the resurrection, trophies, understand, Vietnam, Weakness, write it down, you can do it | 3 Comments

TheFamily.com publishes a FREE Newsletter Monthly Newsletter called, “GET NOIZ” (Noisy).

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Subject: GET NOI-Z (Noisy) NEWSLETTER
Date: Saturday, March 31, 2012 11:15 

‘LET’S TURN THE WORLD AROUND’

Life is T.U.F.F. but, So Are YOU!

By:  Alan Osmond

Life is T.U.F.F.!  But remember, when the going gets tough, the T.U.F.F. get going!  You must be motivated and see the steps that need to be taken in order to accomplish your goals in life.   You must believe in whatever you choose to do and to always remind yourself that “You can do it!”  You must be strong with a positive mental attitude.  If you think you can’t, you won’t!  If you have the desire to achieve, you will!  Where there’s a will, there’s a way. 

Whenever I face challenges, I remember this slogan that I created as the way to accomplish it and overcome it.  See if it works for you!  This is the way:

T = Target – What is it you are trying to accomplish?  If there is one thing that you wished to do, to accomplish or become in life, what would it be?  Write it down and make that your TARGET!

U = Understand – To achieve your target, you need to UNDERSTAND all you can about it.  Identify what it is and what the various factors that are involved; what needs to be done to affectively put it into your grasp so that you can achieve it?  Figure out those steps that you need to take in order to win the challenge and write them down.  Study the positive and the negative aspects of that which you are targeting so that you totally understand it and know what to do in order to take it on! 

F = Focus – Don’t just go at your target without first establishing a FOCUS point on what you are aiming to achieve.  Make a plan and a checklist of the do’s and don’ts and study it each and every day.  Besides just thinking of it, keep your eye on it and really be sure to “Rifle In” on your Target!  Do not just go at it with a “shotgun” approach.  You may only get one shot at it so never lose site or what you must do and keep your FOCUS!

F = Fight – Nothing good comes easy or without effort.  If you want something that is worth having, it will usually take a lot of effort and will be hard work to accomplish it.  So, you must FIGHT for it!

What is it that you wish to target?

-A health challenge?

-An education?

-A career or a job?

-A marriage partner?

-A great idea that you have?

Write it down!  Seeing believing!  You will then be able to visualize the steps that you have to take.  Start by following the T.U.F.F. format and fill in the details for each step.  Set goals and make in a daily effort.  Visualize it. Think about it.  Study it. Keep it in your mind!  Little by little you will accomplish those steps and with the best shot you’ve got, your Target will be accomplished with a bull’s-eye!   

It is very simple but, with patience and effort, it works!

Where in the world did I get this idea of being T.U.F.F.?  It came experiences I had in life but especially when I was told that I had Multiple Sclerosis or M.S..  I didn’t know what M.S. was and the first thing I thought it might mean, “Many Sons”!  My wife Suzanne and I were blessed to have eight sons. 

Yes, raising sons in today’s world is a real challenge but this challenge called “Multiple Sclerosis” was a physical one and the doctors didn’t know what to do to fix it!  I was in the prime of my life with a wonderful marriage and a family started plus my entertainment career was at its peak. I didn’t want this! So, instead of looking at it negatively, I asked myself,  “What is it that I am to learn?”

I first noticed that when I would walk and trip up on something, I’d look down for something like a nail or what ever it was in the floor but, nothing was there!  I also soon realized that when I played my trumpet, I couldn’t move my fingers as fast as before.  With time, my right side began to fail and would not respond as it should and it caused me to drag my right food and arm. 

With several doctors telling me “they didn’t know what it was but thought it might be M.S.”, and telling me that “nothing they knew could reverse it”, I realized I was facing this challenge alone with my wife and my family.  That’s when after many sincere prayers and fasting that I came up with the idea of being T.U.F.F. with a plan to achieve my goal of getting better.  I first started a positive approach by establishing an attitude in my mind and my heart by saying, “I may have M.S. but, M.S. does NOT have me!”  Other ways of dealing with it came with time.

What took place over the next while was in realizing that besides having a positive outlook on this health challenge, I needed a plan of attack, and I needed to be tough!  That is when the idea of T.U.F.F. came into my mind as I analyzed the steps that I needed to take in order to overcome my health weakness.  Over time with determination and a positive attitude It seemed to be working!  I changed my style of eating to mostly organic and healthy foods.  I worked at walking with a focus on picking my leg up and I “talked to those muscles” that wouldn’t respond.  I kept an open mind with a prayer in y heart and promised that I would do anything my Lord would ask of me to be able to live happily with my wife Suzanne and my eight sons and family who love me.

I was the oldest of our singing group, The Osmond Brothers, when my brothers Wayne, Merrill, and Jay, and I, and then Donny, were growing up.  We were at a very young age to be on stage with a weekly national television show called The Andy Williams Show.   Later on, my sister Marie and youngest brother Jimmy also joined the group.  Our father said to us boys when we were rehearsing, that there needed to be one person in charge of the group and that I was the leader and the “boss”.  I hated being call the boss and to have to be in charge of my brothers.  They didn’t like it either but, it taught me many things about being responsible and in making sure that we all accomplished what we were sipposed to do while getting along with each other and making it fun.  There had to be order and I was in charge.  It wasn’t easy. In fact, it was also pretty tough!  Besides that, my two oldest brothers, Virl and Tom were hearing impaired or deaf and often I would hear my parents say, “Alan, go get your brothers!”

I remembered when I turned nineteen and I got my orders to  report to Fort Ord, California for active infantry training or boot camp, and to be trained as a soldier in the army during the time of the Vietnam War.  I knew then that if I was going to succeed and become the best soldier I could, that I had better learn and remember all that I was taught and to do what I was supposed to do as it may someday save my life.  It was hard work and it was almost was like they were brain washing us with what was expected of us during the war.  It was so different from my civilian life and some of my fellow soldiers couldn’t take it.  Staying positive was most important while always remaining tough myself.  

I had never been away from my family like this before and for the first time I was on my own.  You know it reality hits you hard when you don’t have that support system around you of loving parents and family members who stand by your side.   Everything I did while I was in the military I tried to do well and to be the very best at it as I knew I was on my own.

The first day I was there in the army barracks, I heard more foul language and stories that I wish I had never heard.  I realized that I needed to fit in with the other guys but to always be who I was.  That night, I had a moment to prove it.  The lights in the barracks were turned off, I laid in my bunk bed in a room filled with strangers that I had never known before.  It was then that I realized that I hadn’t said my prayers of thanks to my Heavenly Father as I always do.  I always knelt down beside my bed at night and offered my prayers.  I hesitated thinking that these guys would all make fun of me and I didn’t want to stand out but to “fit in”.  Just then, it was almost like a voice within me that said, “Do you fear man. . . or do you fear God?”  I knew what I had to do and so I jumped out of my bunk and knelt down on the floor and said my prayers.  It was probably the shortest prayer I have ever said but I said it!  Before I could get back into my bunk bed I heard someone say, “Hey Osmond, say one for me!” 

The next morning I was approached by several of those “tough talking” guys that asked me what I believed and what happens to someone if they died.  With us facing this war, it was definitely on everyone’s mind and in their hearts.  It was then that I had the opportunity to teach them some gospel principles of faith in Jesus Christ and His ‘Plan of Life’ with life for all after death.  It brought several of us much closer together.

That period of time was really challenging for me

 but I was successful and ended up receiving three basic training award trophies as a soldier.  After completing my active infantry training,  I received the highest grade on the overall testing, the highest scoring on the rifle marksmanship shooting skills test, and I was voted by all of the military training staff as The Outstanding Trainee.  I had no idea they gave trophies for doing what I did, but I got them.  The best thing that happened though was when the loudest and foulest mouth guy who became our platoon sergeant came to me before we got our orders to go to Viet Nam.  He said, “Osmond, can I talk to you?  … Alone?”  I said, “Yes”, and we went int the empty barracks. He said to me, “You really believe that there is someone up there don’t you? (Meaning that therer is a God.) I said, “Yes”.  He said, “Oh I wish I knew somebody loved me.  When I was five years old, my Dad made me go out and steal money and stuff just so I could stay at home.” (I listened and just let him talk.)  He said, “Would you teach me to pray?” I said, “Sure”, and explained a simple way to approach prayer. I then told him I would say one first to show him how, and then he could say one.  I did and then it was his turn.  He said a simple yet touching prayer and became somewhat emotional.  We stood up and he gave me a bear hug and said, “Now, I can go to “Nam”!   These were some of the experiences that I related to when I came up with a way to achieve my new challenges and goals and in being T.U.F.F.!

I come from a family heritage of school teachers and educators on my Mother’s side of the family (Olive May Davis), and a strong, driving, hard working and a ‘never give up’ style from my Father, George V. Osmond, and his side of the family whose life had always been one of hard work but with a “you can do it” attitude.  In fact, when I was doing my physical test in the army to see if we could run a mile in full battle gear in under 6:00 minutes. I was running as hard as I could and I felt like I was going to die.  I kept pushing hard and came in second place just behind a fast running athlete soldier.  You see, it was then that I had remembered my Father’s slogan “You Can Do It!” . .  … and I did!

My Mother, Olive Osmond,  who was also a theologian and knew the scriptures very well,
taught us about God’s plan of life.  She taught us much about gospel truths and about the beliefs of various other religions.  In knowing and understanding this, and as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, (Mormons) I studied and developed a burning testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ.  My mother also instilled into me her positive attitude and desire to gain as much truth and knowledge as I could by reading from the best books.  She love to read and taught us the scripture that supported her thinking like this scripture says, “Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.  And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.” D&C 130: 18-19 

She explained to us that knowledge is more about the information of many things but that intelligence is the knowledge of those spiritual things that are eternal and that are good yesterday, today and forever.   This understanding became a guide for me to follow in deciding which books I chose to read and which movies and entertainment I would go and see and for those choices that I targeted to understand and know.  

So, when you think of something that you want to accomplish and “Target” to achieve, I hope you will ask yourself if it is a worthy goal and worth your time.  Is it something that will be long lasting and become significant enough in that it makes you a better person and which fulfills your life long dreams and ambitions as well as sets the course for your eternal existence?

One thing we all have is the “Power To Choose” ; to make decisions and choices of our own free will and choice.  Those choices that we make in life, we will be held responsible and held accountable.  This is why good principles are important in one’s life.  When lived, they will influence you in the kinds of choices and decisions you will make in your life.

Your good choices will probably take a definite amount of time and effort on your part and will  require some extensive work as well.  But that is okay!  This is why we are here in this life; to learn and to grow.  We are told that the Glory of God is intelligence and if we attain more truth and knowledge in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.  So it’s an investment in you and your future!

To summarize:

 ”As Spirit children of God, we all left our Heavenly Parents to come to this world to prove ourselves. A veil covered our momories which was necessary so we could exercise our agency to choose good or evil without our Heavenly Parents influence.  Our earthly parents gave us a body of flesh and bones and we learned the purpose for us to progress in order to have a fulness of joy. We learned that we would be deceived, choose other paths, and lose our way; that we would have trials in our lives like sickness, disappointment, pain, sorrow and death. We understood that these would be given to us for our experience and for our good and that these trials would purify us rather than defeat us. They would teach us to have endurance, patience, and charity.  (To be T.U.F.F.)

We also learned that because of our weakness, all of us except little children would sin.  We learned that a Savior would be provided for us so we could overcome our sins and overcome death with resurrection.  We learned that by placing our faith in Him, obeying His word and following His example, we would be resurrected, exalted, and become more like our Heavenly parents and live forever!   That’s when we receive a fulness of joy!  

That is God’s Plan of Life.

So… “Let’s Be T.U.F.F.” and ‘GET NOI-Z’ (Noisy) FOR GOOD because it is WORTH IT!

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By Alan on Mar 17 in Blog tagged caring, caring involvement, child's potential, clear standards, family life, father's primary responsibilities, fatherhood, fathering, governance of the family, heavenly parents, high ideals for men, Honor thy Father, influence, Key principles and practices, left to man's wife, moral behavior, nurturing environment, power in righteousness, primary responsibility, Sean E. Brotherson, son or daughter, teaching, the Church, the live of their children, the school, worthy of honor | Comments Off

Key Principles and Practices in Fathering

“Honor Thy Father”

From SINAI long ago rang a sacred invitation from  the God iof Israel.  “Honour thy father and thy mother”  (Exodus. 20: 12).

There is much to consider in this invitation and divine command.  A perspective of fathering that embraces the divine injunction to “honor thy father” suggests a set of high ideals for men in family life.  Indeed if men wish to receive honor in their efforts as fathers, then it is essential that they be worthy of honor.

Clear standards of moral behavior and caring involvement defines a father’s primary responsibilities in family life.  The teaching and governance of the family must not be left to a man’s wife alone, to society, to school, or even the Church.  To father a child is more than a biological act or fulfillment of a social role.  To father a child is to accept a divine calling, a moral stewardship, and a lasting commitment across generations.  A father’s calling is an eternal calling from which he is never released.

Fathers have the ability, for good or ill,
to exercise great power and influence in
the lives of their children and families.

Power alone, however, is not what a father truly needs, nor does he need only the ability to influence and direct a child’s life, thoughts, and feelings.  A father needs the power to bless his children.  Men do not bless by the mere exercise of power.  They bless only by the exercise of power in righteousness.  To be a holy figure in the life of a child, in the life of a family, requires an association with powers that exist beyond our own mortal abilities.  Power in righteousness comes only as we associate ourselves through prayer and sacred living with the powers of heaven.  “The powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness.”  D&C 121: 36

The importance of fatherhood and in shaping men and children is linked to our

Heavenly Father’s divine plan of happiness.  The divine pattern for human development establishes that family life is the primary context for the unfolding of our eternal potential.  The journey that each child of God undertakes in the plan of salvation is a developmental journey, a journey of progression, designed to help us acquire spiritual knowledge and character virtues that allow us to grow toward perfection.

Fathers may engage differing aspects of care and involvement at different developmental periods in a child’s life, such as playmate and nurturer during infancy and interpreter of the outside world during middle childhood.  The importance of fathers nurturing and supporting each child’s potential through each phase is affirmed; that the bonds of parents and children are revealed “in family relationships, in attributes and virtues developed in a nurturing environment, and in loving service.”  As fathers practice these essential principles in their lives and relationships, they fulfill their own potential and guide the rising generation toward achieving the divine potential that resides in each of us as “a beloved spirit son or daughter of Heavenly parents.”

Sean E. Brotherson
“Successful Marriages and Families”
For The Family

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By Alan on Jan 24 in Blog tagged Alan and Suzanne osmond, anguage, clothing, crowd, crude, darkness, eternal. klight, Everybody is doing it, forever, goody goody, grooming, heavenly parents, kindness, lazy, manners, modesty, music, natural man, old fashioned, parent, sermon, sloppy. slang, standards, teenager, tendency, the way, Today, trend, yesterday | Comments Off

There is a tendency today to follow the crowd and to do things that one may not usually do!  But, now it seems that it is okay because, everybody is doing it!  You need to ‘get with it’ and ‘stay up with the times’!  ”You weren’t born yesterday!”

Trends come and trends go, but we seem to follow the “easy path” of “The Natural Man” which is ‘an enemy to God’.  Styles of clothing, music, language, movies and modesty and attitudes also can change thus lowering one’s standards and raising the length of a young girl’s skirt. Temptation to teenagers seems like we as parents are a bit old fashioned ; that you are ‘not with it’ or you are too ‘goody goody ‘and need to be more like today!

Really? Being dedicated, educated with thankfulness, having manners and showing courtesies are often forgotten and not used as they should; along with poor grooming, uncleanliness, sloppiness, laziness, over eating, slang, swearing and just being crude and rude is The Way of the day.  Well, That’s NOT True! God’s ways are not our ways.  We are His children and are here on earth to become more like Him!  That was ‘The Plan’ of Life. I was always taught that truth is ‘the same yesterday, today, and forever’!

What is reverence today? Reverence should be having modesty and in being extra cautious about how we deal with sacred things; the way we act and live our lives remembering whose heavenly children we really are.  So many people are so casual and wear their pants down below the underwear line if  they have any, with loosely fit and more revealing clothing or just the opposite and so tight that it looks like it their clothing was sprayed.  Now, even those that go to church to worship go wearing their jeans and sports wear.  Shouldn’t we be wearing what we called, “Sunday’s Best” where we dress up in our very best attire to attend church and where we are more reverent and soft spoken showing acts of humility and sacredness?  Is there nothing sacred any more? It really is Reverence versus Irreverence. Our actions and attitudes show the Lord our God where our hearts are!

When a parent challenges a child, often the response is, “What’s the matter, don’t you trust me?” No, I don’t!  I don’t even trust myself says the parent!

We parents who have had more experience and are ‘older and wiser’,  who have seen the world and know of those things that are out there, must not miss the moments to teach our children and to remind them that we are all susceptible to weaknesses and temptations. Lets not fool ourselves.  Jesus and His influence is ever present but so is Satan and his! Yes, bad thoughts can come to our minds but, just like a bird flying over our heads, you can’t stop it from flying there but you can sure stop it from making a nest on your head!  Don’t watch pornography, X rated films and videos, violent video games, take drugs and over do prescriptions, curse and swear and take the Lord’s name in vain!  We seem to have taken God out of our Nations Pledge of Allegiance and Prayer in our Schools but we sure never forget to use His NAME  in VAIN when we express ourselves!

One can never be sure unless he or she makes a strong effort and puts up boundaries, walls, standards, and holds on to ‘the iron rod’, or, ‘the word of God’ and draws strong lines in the sands of life that one will NEVER CROSS! Personally, I know that when one is seeking for truth and light, that it will be in the light … as evil is found in places of darkness.  It’s a truth!  Scriptures are very clear about ‘THE WAY’ we live our lives and the choices that only we can make.  That is to CHOOSE ‘THE WAY’ of EVERLASTING DARKNESS . . . OR . . .’THE WAY’ of ETERNAL LIFE! 2 Ne. 10: 23

“O be wise; what can I say more?”   Jacob 6: 12“ (One of my favorite scriptures).

We parents need to set the example by showing our family and friends that we ourselves are living and keeping the same standards that we expect them to keep.

A Poem:

“I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day.
I’d rather one would walk with me  than merely point the way.
The eye is a better pupil, more willing than the ear.
Fine council is confusing but example always clear!
The best of all the preachers is the one who lives his creed.
To SEE good put in action is what everybody needs!”

If each of us can really want to BECOME WHAT WE WANT TO BE . . . then we should BE WHAT WE WANT TO BECOME!

We CAN be A LIVING SERMON FOR GOOD . . . and then pretty soon,… EVERYBODY WILL BE DOING IT!

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.  Prov. 22: 6

Let us raise the standard of our families and let others SEE … ‘THE WAY’ we live our lives.  Someone is always watching!  It is our Heavenly Parents From Up Above!

Alan and Suzanne Osmond
For The Family