By Alan on Jun 15 in Blog tagged cousin, love, marriage, music, partner, sing | No Comments

James Pinegar “Falls” – in Love and sings about it.

Note: This story is about Suzanne’s Cousin, James Pinegar!

OREM — After being hospitalized for bladder cancer and hip surgery from a bad fall, a man was afraid his time on Earth was short and wanted to let his wife of 66 years know that he loved her. Their sweet moment was caught on camera and the video has gone viral.

In a video posted on YouTube, James Pinegar, 86, or Orem, Utah, serenaded his wife, Colleen, 86, with the song “You Are My Sunshine” while recovering in the hospital. Beckoning her over to his bedside in the video, James grabs her by the hand.

“This is special to me,” he said before starting the song.

Colleen joins in with the harmony part and they share a kiss at the end of the song.

Last January, James saw his 90-year-old neighbor fall down in her yard on an icy, snowy day. He hurried outside to help her, but slipped on the ice as well and hurt his hip.

That’s originally why it was filmed. Not everyone in the family could come see him in the hospital and he wanted to share his feelings. I don’t think he knew he’d get so emotional, he just wanted to share something with the rest of the family. ” -Linda Whitaker.

He didn’t put on the right shoes and went over there and slipped on the ice trying to help,” said Linda Whitaker, 60, daughter of James and Colleen, who lives in Midway.

Pinergar went to the hospital. He was already recovering from bladder cancer surgery and ended up needing a hip replacement from the fall. After his hip surgery, he got a blood infection and had to stay in the hospital for a while.

The family wasn’t sure what was going to happen, so their grandson brought a video camera to capture James singing their favorite song to Colleen. The video was posted on YouTube by Whitaker for friends and family members.

“That’s originally why it was filmed,” Whitaker said. “Not everyone in the family could come see him in the hospital and he wanted to share his feelings. I don’t think he knew he’d get so emotional, he just wanted to share something with the rest of the family.”

It ended up going viral with more than 370,000 views since February. The video has touched thousands of people around the globe.

“I feel privileged to have witness this moment. Thank you so much for sharing,” wrote one YouTube commenter. “I can’t stop crying. This is so precious,” wrote another.

Their granddaughter, Andrea Jarvis, left this message on YouTube:

“This is my sweet grandma and grandpa…. things were not looking great and while we all hoped and prayed for the best we really didn’t know what lay ahead. This is a song that his children and grandchildren had heard them sing together many times. They are one of the greatest examples of true unselfish love that I have ever seen in my life. My grandma was by his side the entire time nursing him back to health. This is love.”

That was my dad’s third surgery and my mom didn’t leave his side for three months while he recovered. She would go home to go to bed, but be right back there every morning, either at the hospital or at rehab.

–Linda Whitaker

Whitaker says the most inspiring message they’ve received has been from a man in England.

“There was one guy from England who had recently gone through a divorce and said he didn’t believe in love anymore, but after he saw (the video he felt) there might be hope for him to find love again someday,” Whitaker said.

Whitaker agrees with Jarvis that their love is inspiring and says it has been amazing to see their marriage and love and devotion for each other.

“It’s always been full of love and kindness to each other and unselfishness,” Whitaker said. “They are very good examples. That was my dad’s third surgery and my mom didn’t leave his side for three months while he recovered. She would go home to go to bed, but be right back there every morning, either at the hospital or at rehab.

Whitaker says her father is doing well but still recovering from hip surgery. And he’s still singing with Colleen.

“Oh yeah, they sang to all my kids yesterday,” Whitaker said. “They enjoy singing… my mom just makes my dad sound good.”

—————————–

Our love for those around us increases when we remember that we are all children of God—that we are spirit brothers and sisters. The love that results from this realization has the power to transcend all boundaries of nation, creed, and color.

Our expressions of love for others may include being kind to them, listening to them, mourning with them, comforting them, serving them, praying for them, sharing the gospel with them, and being their friend.   . . . Also, by singing!

By Alan on May 19 in Blog tagged commitment, complement, Family, Father, fidelity, husband, Linda and Richard Eyre, love, man, marriage, married, mother, oneness, priesthood power, procreative power, relationship, stewardship, together, ways, wife, woman | Comments Off

I Love Marriage.

A short essay on Linda, love and being a husband by Richard Eyre

I love mariage.  I love everything about marriage, even the disagreements and tough times.  I love having someone with whom I share everything and who knows everything about me, sometimes things I don’t even know myself.

I love partnership with my wife, full and total partnership where we literally try to share everything, even bank accounts, even our emails, even everything; and where there are no secrets, even little ones.

Neither of us is anything remotely close to perfect, and neither is our relationship, but I love the synergy of that and how all of my weaknesses seem to be made up and compensated for by Linda’s strength, and where, on our best days, our total is greater than the sum of its parts.

I love that we each have our own ways of doing things, very different ways that, again on our good days, complement each other and make possible things that neither of us could do on our own.

I have come to acknowledge and partially understand that Linda is, like all women, a complex organism and that if you try to change one little thing or one little part of her you might set off some kind of chain reaction that would alter the whole and end up changing the very things you love most about her.  Therefore, I tell her, in total honesty, that I would not change one little thing about her.  I have told her that so much, and explained the reasoning behind it, that I think she finally believes me.

I love the word “husband.”  It means stewardship, it means care, it means cherishing and taking care of.  But I think it also means partnership — the kind with complete respect and unbending commitment and fidelity.

I love that Linda’s role in our family is the most important one — that her instinctive and intuitive love of our children has guided their lives more than any other thing and that the title of “Mother” truly is the most important and influential and indispensable and irreplaceable role on this planet.

I love the fact that we share both the procreative power and the priesthood power — that neither can be fully or fruitfully used by one of us without the other.  I love that Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve said in his recent conference talk that just as a woman cannot have a child without a man, so a man cannot fully and eternally use the priesthood without the woman.

I love the poetic quality of that statement — that both procreative power and priesthood power must be shared between a celestially married man and woman.

 I love that an individual man or an individual woman is not a perfectible entity, but that a man and woman together are.

I even love what Benjamin Franklin said — that a single man is like a half a pair of scissors.  And I love the gospel knowledge that tells us that every one of God’s children, whether on this earth or hereafter, will have the opportunity of everlasting marriage and oneness and family glory.

Oh, by the way, and in case you couldn’t tell, I love Linda.

Note: Richard and Linda Eyre are New York Times No. 1 best-selling authors who lecture throughout the world on family-related topics.  Visit them anytime at www.EyresFreeBooks.com or at www.valuesparenting.com.

For The Family

By Alan on May 05 in Blog tagged afraid, challenges, children, choices, courage, courageous, destructive behavior, discipline, Father, fear, Holy Ghost, Jesus Christ, liberty, listen, love, marriage, mother, motherhood, needs, Olive Osmond, parenting, peer pressure, permission, physically, pornography, protect, relationships, restraint, Satan, say no, speak up, spirit, spiritually, take a stand, temptations, time, warning | Comments Off

What The World Really Needs . . .

What the world really needs is courageous parenting from mothers and fathers who are not afraid to speak up and take a stand.

 ”MOTHER”

A sacred title referring to a woman who bears or adopts children.

Mothers assist in God’s plan by providing mortal bodies for God’s spirit children.

“Mother” in Scriptures:

           Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living: Gen. 3:20; ( Moses 4:26; )

            Honor thy father and thy mother: Ex. 20:12; ( Eph. 6:1–3; Mosiah 13:20; )

            Forsake not the law of thy mother: Prov. 1:8;

            A foolish man despises his mother: Prov. 15:20; ( Prov. 10:1; )

            Do not despise your mother when she is old: Prov. 23:22;

            Her children and husband rise up and call her blessed and her husband praises her: Prov. 31:28;

            The mother of Jesus stood by the cross: John 19:25–27;

            Two thousand Lamanite warriors had been taught by their mothers: Alma 56:47; ( Alma 57:21; )

                        Our glorious Mother Eve was among the great and mighty whom the Lord instructed in the spirit world: D&C 138:38–39;

EVE – The First Mother:

Latter-day revelation makes clear that the Fall is a blessing and that Adam and Eve should be honored as the first parents of all mankind.

Courageous Parenting

LARRY R. LAWRENCE

I would like to speak today to the parents of teenagers. Your bright and energetic youth are the future, and for that reason they are a prime target of the adversary. Many of you faithful mothers and fathers are praying for answers to help you guide your children through these important years. There are no perfect parents and no easy answers, but there are principles of truth that we can rely on.

From the book of Joshua. It begins, “Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid” (Joshua 1:9). This phrase from the scriptures would be a good theme for parents as well. In these last days, what the world really needs is courageous parenting from mothers and fathers who are not afraid to speak up and take a stand.

Imagine for a moment that your daughter was sitting on the railroad tracks and you heard the train whistle blowing. Would you warn her to get off the tracks? Or would you hesitate, worried that she might think you were being overprotective? If she ignored your warning, would you quickly move her to a safe place? Of course you would! Your love for your daughter would override all other considerations. You would value her life more than her temporary goodwill.

Challenges and temptations are coming at our teenagers with the speed and power of a freight train. As we are reminded in the family proclamation, parents are responsible for the protection of their children.  That means spiritually as well as physically.

There was a father named Alma who was counseling his wayward son Corianton. Alma loved him enough to speak very directly to the problem. He expressed his deep disappointment that his son had been immoral and explained to him the serious consequences of sin.  Alma said to his son,  “And now the Spirit of the Lord doth say unto me: Command thy children to do good … ; therefore I command you, my son, in the fear of God, that ye refrain from your iniquities” (Alma 39:12). This early intervention by his father became a turning point for Corianton. He repented and served faithfully thereafter (see Alma 42:31; 43:1–2).

Another father from the scriptures, Eli in the Old Testament. Eli served as the high priest in Israel during the childhood of Samuel the prophet. The scriptures explain that the Lord rebuked him severely “because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not” (1 Samuel 3:13). Eli’s sons never did repent, and all of Israel suffered because of their folly. The story of Eli teaches us that parents who love their children cannot afford to be intimidated by them.

Parenting is not a popularity contest. Sometimes we are afraid of our children—afraid to counsel with them for fear of offending them.

Years ago our 17-year-old son wanted to go on a weekend trip with his friends, who were all good boys. He asked for permission to go. I wanted to say yes, but for some reason I felt uncomfortable about the trip. I shared my feelings with my wife, who was very supportive. “We need to listen to that warning voice,” she said.

Of course, our son was disappointed and asked why we didn’t want him to go. I answered honestly that I didn’t know why. “I just don’t feel good about it,” I explained, “and I love you too much to ignore these feelings inside.” I was quite surprised when he said, “That’s OK, Dad. I understand.”

Young people understand more than we realize because they too have the gift of the Holy Ghost and can discern. They are trying to recognize the Spirit when He speaks, and they are watching our example. From us they learn to pay attention to their promptings—that if they “don’t feel good about something,” it’s best not to pursue it.

It’s so important for husbands and wives to be united when making parenting decisions. If either parent doesn’t feel good about something, then permission should not be granted. If either feels uncomfortable about a movie, a television show, a video game, a party, a dress, a swimsuit, or an Internet activity, have the courage to support each other and say no.

I would like to share with you a letter from a heartbroken mother about her teenage son. She explained: “All throughout my son’s teenage years, I worried and tried to stop him from playing violent video games. I talked to my husband and showed him articles in the newspaper that cautioned about these games. But my husband felt it was OK. He said that our son wasn’t out using drugs and that I should stop worrying. There were times that I would hide the controllers, and my husband would give them back. It began to be easier for me to give in … than to fight it. I really feel that gaming is just as addictive as drugs. I would do anything to prevent other parents from going through this experience.”

If your spouse doesn’t feel good about something, show respect for those feelings. When you take the easy way out by saying and doing nothing, you may be enabling destructive behavior.

Parents can prevent a lot of heartache by teaching their children to postpone romantic relationships until the time comes when they are ready for marriage. Prematurely pairing off with a boyfriend or girlfriend is dangerous. Becoming a “couple” creates emotional intimacy, which too often leads to physical intimacy. Satan knows this sequence and uses it to his advantage. He will do whatever he can to keep our youth from being worthy of having a pure and virtuous lives and worthy of sacred marriages.

It is vital that parents have the courage to speak up and intervene before Satan succeeds. President Boyd K. Packer has taught that “when morality is involved, we have both the right and the obligation to raise a warning voice.”

I have always believed that nothing really good happens late at night and that young people need to know what time they are expected to come home.

There is a great deal of wisdom displayed when parents stay up and wait for their children to return home. Young men and women make far better choices when they know their parents are waiting up to hear about their evening and to kiss them good night.

May I express my personal warning about a practice that is common in many cultures. I am referring to sleepovers, or spending the night at the home of a friend.  I discovered that too many youth violated the the law of chastity for the first time as part of a sleepover. Too often their first exposure to pornography and even their first encounter with the police occurred when they were spending the night away from home.

Peer pressure becomes more powerful when our children are away from our influence and when their defenses are weakened late at night. If you have ever felt uneasy about an overnight activity, don’t be afraid to respond to that warning voice inside. Always be prayerful when it comes to protecting your precious children.

Courageous parenting does not always involve saying no. Parents also need courage to say yes to the counsel of modern-day prophets. Our Church leaders have counseled us to establish righteous patterns in our homes. Consider five fundamental practices that have the power to fortify our youth: family prayer, family scripture study, family home evening, family dinner together, and regular one-on-one interviews with each child.

It takes courage to gather children from whatever they’re doing and kneel together as a family. It takes courage to turn off the television and the computer and to guide your family through the pages of the scriptures every day. It takes courage to turn down other invitations so that you can reserve that evening for your family. It takes courage and willpower to avoid overscheduling so that your family can be home for dinner.

One of the most effective ways we can influence our sons and daughters is to counsel with them in private interviews. By listening closely, we can discover the desires of their hearts, help them set righteous goals, and also share with them the spiritual impressions that we have received about them. Counseling requires courage.

Try to imagine what the rising generation could become if these five righteous patterns were practiced consistently in every home. Our young people could be like Helaman’s army: invincible (see Alma 57:25–26).

Parenting teenagers in these latter days is a very humbling assignment. Satan and his followers are striving to bring this generation down; the Lord is counting on valiant parents to bring them up. Parents, “Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid” (Joshua 1:9). I know that God hears and will answer your prayers. I testify that the Lord supports and blesses courageous parents.

Several scriptures back up the role of being good parents and proclaim that worthy husbands and wives who have been properly sealed in marriage in a temple of God may fulfill their role as parents throughout eternity.

            Children, obey your parents:Eph. 6:1–3; ( Col. 3:20; )

            Adam and Eve were our first parents:1 Ne. 5:11;

            The cursing may be upon the heads of your parents:2 Ne. 4:6;

            Teach parents that they must repent and be baptized:Moro. 8:10;

            Parents are commanded to teach the gospel to their children:D&C 68:25;

            All children have claim upon their parents:D&C 83:4;

                        The sins of the parents cannot be answered upon the heads of the children:Moses 6:54;

Olive Davis Osmond

A mother’s influence extends from generation to generation.

We honor our mothers and their ever important responsibility to love and nurture our children.  Perhaps the reason we respond so universally to our mothers’ love is because it typifies the love of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Lord has placed upon parents the primary responsibility for the spiritual nurturing of their children. Sometimes this responsibility falls to a single parent. My own mother was relatively young when my father died, leaving her alone with four children. But she faced her adversity with faith and courage, promising us that if we stayed on the road of truth, the end would be better than the beginning.

As a rule the mothers are the very best women that live in the world, the best that can be found anywhere. … The good influence that a good mother exercises over her children is like leaven cast into the measure of meal, that will leaven the whole lump; and as far as her influence extends, not only to her own children, but to the associates of her children, it is felt, and good is the result accomplished by it.

You do not know how far your influence extends. A mother that is successful in raising a good boy, or girl, to imitate her example and to follow her precepts through life, sows the seeds of virtue, honor and integrity and of righteousness in their hearts that will be felt through all their career in life; and wherever that boy or girl goes, as man or woman, in whatever society they mingle, the good effects of the example of that mother upon them will be felt; and it will never die, because it will extend from them to their children from generation to generation. And especially do we hope for this in the Gospel of Jesus Christ he, who is the Son of God was indeed no other than the Only Begotten of God in the flesh, and that, therefore, no other than God the eternal Father is his Father and the author of his existence in the world.

Great responsibility rests upon the mothers.

Motherhood lies at the foundation of happiness in the home, and of prosperity in the nation. God has laid upon men and women very sacred obligations with respect to motherhood.

Women that have the same conception of wifehood and motherhood are not exclusively intended for just this life. … We live for time and for eternity. Our affections and our desires are found fitted and prepared to endure not only throughout the temporal or mortal life, but through all eternity.

We shall prosper and upon the earth; for this is our mission, and the work of your mothers and daughters. Great responsibility rests upon you. Upon you depend the training and the direction of the thoughts and the inspiration of the hearts of your children, for they drink into the spirit of their mothers, and the influence of the mother over the children is the most enduring impression that can be made. There is nothing so imperishable as the influence of the mother; that is when she is good and has the spirit of Christ in her heart, and she has brought up her children in the way they should go.

Our mothers, and the mothers of our children, whose hearts are filled with solicitude for the welfare of their children, having had conferred upon them the gift of the Holy Spirit, can go to their secret chambers and bow down before God and commune with Him as no other mothers on earth can do, if they will only observe the principles they have embraced and will live up to their privileges. By the influence that they will thus gain over the hearts of their children they will lead them in the path of righteousness and truth, and bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, in the love of truth, in obedience to His commands, in such a way as others cannot do who are destitute of these privileges, blessings and endowments, so freely conferred upon our mothers.

There can be no genuine happiness separate and apart from the home, and every effort made to sanctify and preserve its influence is uplifting to those who toil and sacrifice for its establishment. Men and women often seek to substitute some other life for that of the home; they would make themselves believe that the home means restraint; that the highest liberty is the fullest opportunity to move about at will. There is no happiness without service, and there is no service greater than that which converts the home into a divine institution, and which promotes and preserves family life.

… The strongest attachments of childhood are those that cluster about the home, and the dearest memories of old age are those that call up the associations of youth and its happy surroundings.

In the home the mother is the principal disciplinarian in early child life, and her influence and discipline determine in a great measure the ability of her children to assume in manhood and womanhood the larger governments in church and state.

I most sincerely hope that our mothers today will guard very zealously and very carefully the lives of their daughters and of their sons. I would if I had it in my power make it possible for all mothers to have the joy and the unspeakable satisfaction of rearing their sons and their daughters above the reproach of men and above the power of sin.

The love of a true mother comes near to being like the love of God.

No love in all the world can equal the love of a true mother. … I have felt sometimes, how could even the Father love his children more than my mother loved her children? It was life to me; it was strength; it was encouragement; it was love that begat love or liking in myself. I knew she loved me with all her heart. She loved her children with all her soul. She would toil and labor and sacrifice herself day and night, for the temporal comforts and blessings that she could meagerly give, through the results of her own labors, to her children. There was no sacrifice of self—of her own time, of her leisure or pleasure, or opportunities for rest—that was considered for a moment, when it was compared with her duty and her love to her children.

When I was fifteen years of age, and called to go to a foreign country to preach the gospel—or to learn how, and to learn it for myself—the strongest anchor that was fixed in my life, and that helped to hold my ambition and my desire steady, to bring me upon a level and keep me straight, was that love which I knew she had for me who bore me into the world.

Only a little boy, not matured at all in judgment, without the advantage of education, thrown in the midst of the greatest allurements and temptations that it was possible for any boy or any man to be subjected to—and yet, whenever these temptations became most alluring and most tempting to me, the first thought that arose in my soul was this: Remember the love of your mother. Remember how she strove for your welfare. Remember how willing she was to sacrifice her life for your good. Remember what she taught you in your childhood. … This feeling toward my mother became a defense, a barrier between me and temptation, so that I could turn aside from temptation and sin by the help of the Lord and the love begotten in my soul, toward her whom I knew loved me more than anybody else in all the world, and more than any other living being could love me.

… The true mother, the mother who has the fear of God and the love of truth in her soul, would never hide from danger or evil and leave her child exposed to it. But as natural as it is for the sparks to fly upward, as natural as it is to breathe the breath of life, if there were danger coming to her child, she would step between the child and that danger; she would defend her child to the uttermost. Her life would be nothing in the balance, in comparison with the life of her child. That is the love of true motherhood for children. …

I have learned to place a high estimate upon the love of mother. I have often said, and will repeat it, that the love of a true mother comes nearer being like the love of God than any other kind of love.

Perhaps the most perfect ideal in the art of healing is the mother whose tender and gracious love asserts itself in taking away the sting of a deserved or an undeserved punishment. How her love heals every wound! How quick her caresses bind up and soothe! The example of her life is the wisdom which love teaches.

There is nothing between me and the heavens that would compensate for doing something that would grieve or hurt my mother. Why? Because she loved me, she would have died for me over and over again, if such were possible, only to have saved me. Why should I grieve, why should I disappoint her? Why should I take a course contrary to her own life and her life’s teachings to me, for she taught me honor, and virtue, and truth, and integrity to the kingdom of God, and she taught me not only by precept but by example.

I cannot express the joy I feel at the thought of meeting my father, and my precious mother, who gave me birth in the midst of persecution and poverty, who bore me in her arms and was patient, forbearing, tender and true during all my helpless moments in the world. The thought of meeting her, who can express the joy?

God bless the mothers.

God bless the mothers and the sons and daughters; and keep our children from the ways of the world, from transgression and from temptation that will lead them astray. May the power of God be over all the household of faith.

I believe that with the Holy Spirit, every mother has the right to know what to do in her family and in her sphere, over her children, in their guidance and direction; and that mother and every mother possessing that spirit has the gift of revelation, the gift of inspiration and the gift of knowledge, which is the spirit of prophecy, the spirit of discernment, a gift of God to them, to govern their households and lead their children in the path of righteousness and truth.

I feel in my heart to bless you, mothers and sisters, with all my heart and with all the power and right that I possess in the priesthood which is after the order of the Son of God. … I have the right and the authority in the priesthood to bless Israel, and to bless those who are faithful, especially; and I feel in my heart to say I bless you.

Joseph F. Smith

Happy Mothers Day!
From The Family

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

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

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 18 in Blog tagged attack, body, commandments, eternity, Father, female, forgiveness, gender, Glory of God, God's plan, heritage, House of the Lord, Jesus Christ, male, marriage, mother, priesthood, proclamation, Proclamation To The World, responsible, selfishness, sexual purity, society, spirit, Strengthen, temple, The Family, together, transgression, under attack, warning, work | 1 Comment

By Alan on Mar 31 in Blog tagged man, marriage, partnership with God, woman | Comments Off

Marriage Is “An Eternal And Everlasting Covenant; A Partnership With God”

Every person is literally a son or a daughter of God, having been born as a spirit to Heavenly Parents before being born to mortal parents on the earth (Heb. 12:9). Each person on earth has an immortal spirit body in addition to a body of flesh and bone. As sometimes defined in scripture, the spirit and the physical body together constitute the soul (Gen. 2:7; D&C 88:15; Moses 3:7, 9, 19; Abr. 5:7). A spirit can live without a physical body, but the physical body cannot live without the spirit (James 2:26). Physical death is the separation of the spirit from the body. In the resurrection, the spirit is reunited with the same physical body of flesh and bone it possessed as a mortal, with two major differences: they will never be separated again, and the physical body will be immortal and perfected (Alma 11:45; D&C 138:16–17).

Genesis 1:28

“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth…”

Moses 1:39

“For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”

Marriage is a covenant or promise with God to fulfill His ‘work and glory’ to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.’

We provide the physical bodies for the spirit children of God.
It is a ‘partnership with God’ because we all are His Spirit Children.

For The Family

By Alan on Mar 20 in Blog tagged Achieving, actors, America, American culture, apostles, athletes, authors, B, Brigham Young, children, church, David O. McKay, Donny & Marie Osmond, endowment, faith, Family, fourteen million, George Romney, Gladys Knight, Glenn Beck, government, Jimmer Fredette, Latter-day Saints, LDS, leadership, learning, marriage, Marriott, missionaries, Mitt Romney, Momonizing, Mormon, Mormonism, musicians, national stage, newscasters, NFL, Olympics, organizing, Osmonds, politicians, Presidential candidate, priesthood, progressing, prophet, religious value, religious vision, Revelator, sacrament, seer, sports, Stephen Mansfield, Steven Covey, successful, temple, Temples, The Book of Mormon, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, The Osmonds, Thomas S. Monson, upward motion, well educated, well spoken patriotic, willing to serve, worldwide | 1 Comment

The Mormonizing Of America

New York Times best selling author Stephen Mansfield

There are nearly seven million Mormons in America . This is the number the Mormons themselves use. It’s not huge. Seven million is barely 2 percent of the country’s population. It is the number of people who subscribe to Better Homes and Gardens magazine. London boasts seven million people. So does San Francisco . It’s a million more people than live in the state of Washington ; a million less than in the state of Virginia . It’s so few, it’s the same number as were watching the January 24, 2012, Republican debate.

In fact, worldwide, there are only about fourteen million Mormons. That’s fourteen million among a global population just reaching seven billion. Fourteen million is the population of Cairo or Mali or Guatemala . It’s approximately the number of people who tune in for the latest hit show on network television every week. Fourteen million Americans ate Thanksgiving dinner in a restaurant in 2011. That’s how few fourteen million is.

Yet in the first decade or so of the new millennium, some members of the American media discovered the Mormons and began covering them as though the Latter-day Saints had just landed from Mars. It was as though Utah was about to invade the rest of the country. It was all because of politics and pop culture, of course. Mitt Romney and John Huntsman were in pursuit of the White House. Glenn Beck was among the nation’s most controversial news commentators. Stephenie Meyer had written the astonishingly popular Twilight series about vampires. Matt Stone and Trey Parker had created the edgy South Park cartoon series–which included a much- discussed episode about Mormons–and then went on to create the blatantly blasphemous and Saint-bashing Broadway play The Book of Mormon. It has become one of the most successful productions in American theater history.

Meanwhile, more than a dozen Mormons sat in the US Congress, among them Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader. Mormons led JetBlue, American Express, Marriott, Novell, Deloitte and Touche, Diebold, and Eastman Kodak. Management guru Stephen Covey made millions telling them how to lead even better. There were Mormons commanding battalions of US troops and Mormons running major US universities. There were so many famous Mormons, in fact, that huge websites were launched just to keep up with it all. Notables ranged from movie stars like Katherine Heigl to professional athletes to country music stars like Gary Allan to reality television contestants and even to serial killers like Glenn Helzer, whose attorney argued that the Saints made him the monster he was. The media graciously reminded the public that Mormon criminals were nothing new, though: Butch Cassidy of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid fame was also a Mormon, they reported.

Most media coverage treated this “Mormon Moment” as though it was just that: the surprising and unrelated appearance of dozens of Mormons on the national stage–for a moment. More than a few commentators predicted it would all pass quickly.

What most commentators did not understand was that their “Mormon Moment” was more than a moment, more than an accident, and more than a matter of pop culture and fame alone. The reality was–and is–that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has reached critical mass. It is not simply that a startling number of Mormons have found their way onto America’s flat-screen TVs and so brought visibility to their religion. It is that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints has reached sufficient numbers–and has so permeated every level of American society on the strength of its religious value–that prominent politicians, authors, athletes, actors, newscasters, and even murderers are the natural result, in some cases even the intended result. Visible, influential Mormons aren’t outliers or exceptions. They are fruit of the organic growth of their religion.

In 1950, there were just over a million Mormons in the world. Most of these were located in the Intermountain West of the United States, a region of almost lunar landscape between the Rocky Mountains to the East and the Cascades and Sierra Nevada Mountains to the West. The religion was still thought of as odd by most Americans. There had been famous Mormons like the occasional US Senator or war hero, but these were few and far between. There had even been a 1940 Hollywood movie entitled Brigham Young that told the story of the Saints’ mid-1800s trek from Illinois to the region of the Great Salt Lake. Its producers worked hard to strain out nearly every possible religious theme, a nod to the increasingly secular American public. Though it starred heavyweights like Vincent Price and Tyrone Power, the movie failed miserably, even in Utah. Especially in Utah.

Then, in 1951, a man named David O. McKay became the “First President” of the Latter-day Saints and inaugurated a new era. He was the Colonel Harlan Sanders of Mormonism. He often wore white suits, had an infectious laugh, and under- stood the need to appeal to the world outside the Church. It was refreshing. Most LDS presidents had either been polygamist oddballs or stodgy old men in the eyes of the American public. McKay was more savvy, more media aware. He became so popular that film legend Cecil B. DeMille asked him to consult on the now classic movie The Ten Commandments.

Empowered by his personal popularity and by his sense that an opportune moment had come, McKay began refashioning the Church’s image. He also began sharpening its focus. His famous challenge to his followers was, “Every Member a Missionary!” And the faithful got busy. It only helped that Ezra Taft Benson, a future Church president, was serving as the nation’s secretary of agriculture under President Eisehower. This brought respectability. It also helped that George Romney was the revered CEO of American Motors Corporation and that he would go on to be the governor of Michigan, a candidate for president of the United States, and finally a member of Richard Nixon’s cabinet. This hinted at increasing power. The 1950s were good for Mormons.

Then came the 1960s. Like most religions, the LDS took a beating from the counterculture movement, but by the 1970s they were again on the rise. There was the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, a symbol of Americana when Americana was under siege. There was Mormon Donny Osmond’s smile and Mormon Marie Osmond’s everything and the three-year run of network television’s Donny and Marie in the late 1970s that made words like family, clean, talented, patriotic, and even cute outshine some of the less-endearing labels laid upon the Saints through the years. New labels joined new symbols. A massive, otherworldly, 160,000-square-foot Temple just north of Washington, DC, was dedicated in the 1970s, a symbol of LDS power and permanence for the nation to behold. Always there was the “Every Member a Missionary!” vision beating in each Saintly heart.

By 1984, the dynamics of LDS growth were so fine-tuned that influential sociologist Rodney Stark made the mind- blowing prediction that the Latter-day Saints would have no fewer than 64 million members and perhaps as many as 267 million by 2080.3 It must have seemed possible in those days. In the following ten years, LDS membership exploded from 4.4 million to 11 million. This may be why in 1998 the Southern Baptist Convention held its annual meeting in Salt Lake City. The Mormons–a misguided cult in the view of most traditional Christians, most Baptists in particular–had to be stopped.

They weren’t. Four years after the Baptists besieged Temple Square, the Winter Olympic Games came to Salt Lake City. This was in 2002 and it is hard to exaggerate what this meant to the Latter-day Saints. A gifted Mormon leader, Mitt Romney, rescued the games after a disastrous bidding scandal. A sparkling Mormon city hosted the games. Happy, handsome all-American Mormons attended each event, waving constantly to the cameras and appearing to be–in the word repeatedly used by the press at the time–”normal.”

The LDS Church capitalized on it all. It sent volunteers, missionaries, and publicists scurrying to every venue. It hosted grand events for the world press. It made sure that every visitor received a brochure offering an LDS guided tour of the city. Visitors from around the world read these words: “No other place in America has a story to tell like that of Salt Lake City–a sanctuary founded by religious refugees from within the United States’ own borders. And none can tell that story better than the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

Largely unchallenged, the Mormon narrative prevailed.

What followed was the decade of the new millennium we have already surveyed. Mormons seemed to be everywhere, seemed to be exceptional in nearly every arena, seemed to have moved beyond acceptance by American culture to domination of American culture. At least this was what some feared at the time.

But Mormons did not dominate the country. Far from it. Remember that they were not even 2 percent of the nation’s population as of 2012. True, they were visible and successful, well educated and well spoken, patriotic and ever willing to serve. Yet what they had achieved was not domination. It was not a conspiracy either, as some alleged. It was not anything approaching a takeover or even the hope for a takeover.

Few observers seemed to be able to explain how this new level of LDS prominence in American society came about. They reached for the usual answers trotted out to account for such occurrences: birth rates, Ronald Reagan’s deification of traditional values, the economic boom of the late twentieth century, a more liberal and broadminded society, even the dumbing down of America through television and failing schools. Each of these explanations was found wanting.

The Mormon Machine

The truth lay within Mormonism itself. What the Saints had achieved in the United States was what Mormonism, unfettered and well led, will nearly always produce. This was the real story behind the much-touted “Mormon Moment.” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had risen to unexpected heights in American society because the Mormon religion creates what can benevolently be called a Mormon Machine– a system of individual empowerment, family investment, local church (ward and stake level) leadership, priesthood government, prophetic enduement, Temple sacraments, and sacrificial financial endowment of the holy Mormon cause.

Plant Mormonism in any country on earth and pretty much the same results will occur. If successful, it will produce deeply moral individuals who serve a religious vision centered upon achievement in this life. They will aggressively pursue the most advanced education possible, understand their lives in terms of overcoming obstacles, and eagerly serve the surrounding society. The family will be of supernatural importance to them, as will planning and investing for future generations. They will be devoted to community, store and save as a hedge against future hardship, and they will esteem work as a religious calling. They will submit to civil government and hope to take positions within it. They will have advantages in this. Their beliefs and their lives in all-encompassing community will condition them to thrive in administrative systems and hierarchies–a critical key to success in the modern world. Ever oriented to a corporate life and destiny, they will prize belonging and unity over individuality and conflict every time.

These hallmark values and behaviors–the habits that distinguish Mormons in the minds of millions of Americans– grow naturally from Mormon doctrine. They are also the values and behaviors of successful people. Observers who think of the religion as a cult–in the Jim Jones sense that a single, dynamic leader controls a larger body of devotees through fear, lies, and manipulation–usually fail to see this. Mormon doctrine is inviting, the community it produces enveloping and elevating, the lifestyle it encourages empowering in nearly every sense. Success, visibility, prosperity, and influence follow. This is the engine of the Mormon ascent. It is what has attracted so many millions, and it is the mechanism of the Latter-day Saints’ impact upon American society and the world.

Mormons make achievement through organizational management a religious virtue. It leads to prosperity, visibility, and power. It should come as no surprise, then, that an American can turn on the evening news after a day of work and find one report about two Mormon presidential candidates, another story about a Mormon finalist on American Idol, an examination of the controversial views of a leading Mormon news commentator, a sports story about what a Mormon lineman does with his “Temple garments” in the NFL, and a celebration of how Mormons respond to crises like Katrina and the BP oil spill, all by a “Where Are They Now?” segment about Gladys Knight, minus the Pips, who has become–of course–a Mormon.

Mormons rise in this life because it is what their religion calls for. Achieving. Progressing. Learning. Forward, upward motion. This is the lifeblood of earthly Mormonism. Management, leadership, and organizing are the essential skills of the faith. It is no wonder that Mormons have grown so rapidly and reached such stellar heights in American culture. And there is much more to come.

President Thomas S. Monson
Prophet, Seer, and Revelator
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

For The Family

THE MORMONIZING OF AMERICA by Stephen Mansfield, © 2012. Published by Worthy Publishing, a division of Worthy Media, Inc., Brentwood, TN. 11/06/2012

By Alan on Mar 06 in Blog tagged kids, marriage, who to marry, written | Comments Off

By Alan on Feb 26 in Blog tagged children, commandments, Family, Father, God, home, legally and lawfully, man and woman, marriage, Merrill J. Baeman, mother, procreation powers, relationships, traditional | Comments Off

The Family – What Manner Ought We Be?

We are trying to preserve the traditional family—father, mother, and children—working together in love toward a common goal. In large measure we are succeeding against great odds.  

You are familiar with the fruits of broken homes.  ”I think the home is the answer to most of our basic social problems, and if we take care of things there, other things will take care of themselves.”   David Popenoe

We believe that society has a stake in marriage in that the physical, emotional, spiritual, and economic health of its citizens is determined by the quality and duration of marital relationships. We believe that procreation powers are sacred and are to be used only between a man and a woman legally and lawfully married. When they are used outside of marriage they may destroy relationships rather than build them.

In contrast, many people in the world treat marriage as merely an association by consenting adults. The association may or may not be based on a contract. Sexual relationships outside the association are widely seen as acceptable. Open marriages without a contract are more and more prevalent as young people live together on a trial basis. Some people are now asking that an association between partners of the same sex be recognized as marriage. It is clear that marriage is not considered a sacred relationship in many quarters. In fact, some argue that the state or society has no interest or stake in marriage.

What are the world’s views with regard to the family? There are many who assume that there is no plan because there is no God. Life is an accident. Marriage and the family are temporal associations. The association between consenting adults has as its purpose pleasure and individual satisfaction. If the association no longer serves that purpose, it should end regardless of the impact on one’s partner or children. Is it any wonder that marriages do not last given these views? More than half of all civil marriages in the United States end in divorce. Based on these philosophies, it is not difficult to propagate an argument recently heard in a Hawaiian court that children can be nurtured as well by two adults of the same sex as by the natural father and mother.  Also, if marriage is a temporary association that may end at any time, it is then simple to extrapolate that governments should assume primary responsibility for children’s training and education.

We believe that society has a stake in marriage in that the physical, emotional, spiritual, and economic health of its citizens is determined by the quality and duration of marital relationships. We believe that procreation powers are sacred and are to be used only between a man and a woman legally and lawfully married. When they are used outside of marriage they may destroy relationships rather than build them.

In contrast, many people in the world treat marriage as merely an association by consenting adults.  The association may or may not be based on a contract. Sexual relationships outside the association are widely seen as acceptable. Open marriages without a contract are more and more prevalent as young people live together on a trial basis. Some people are now asking that an association between partners of the same sex be recognized as marriage. It is clear that marriage is not considered a sacred relationship in many quarters. In fact, some argue that the state or society has no interest or stake in marriage.

A key purpose of God’s plan is the formation of eternal families. It is within the family that exaltation is achieved.  The family and its eternal nature are important. I am aware that some individuals do not have the opportunity to marry in mortality. For those who remain single on earth, there is still much that can be done to develop one’s talents, to help others, and to prepare for the blessings that will come. For the promise is that no blessing will be withheld eternally if a person is worthy (see Clyde J. Williams, ed., The Teachings of Harold B. Lee [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1996], p. 256).

When a man understands how glorious a woman is, he treats her differently. When a woman understands that a man has the seeds of divinity within him, she honors him not only for who he is but for what he may become. An understanding of the divine nature allows each person to have respect for the other. The eternal view engenders a desire in men and women to learn from and share with each other.

Men and women are created as complements. They complete one another. Paul told the Corinthians: “Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 11:11). Men and women complement each other not only physically, but also emotionally and spiritually. The apostle Paul taught that “the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband” and through them both the children are made holy (1 Corinthians 7:14). Men and women have different strengths and weaknesses, and marriage is a synergistic relationship in which spiritual growth is enhanced because of the differences.

The commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve to “multiply, and replenish the earth” remains in force (Genesis 1:28, Moses 2:28). Father and mother are important role models in nurturing and developing children. We believe that children’s self-respect and identity are partially determined by the love their father and mother have for each other.  “A father can do no greater thing for his children than to let them feel that he loves their mother”, said President David O. McKay.  My experience suggests that a child’s identity and feelings of security are threatened when parents argue and condemn one another. The home is the best place for children to experience the bonds of love and learn virtue, honesty, and good citizenship. The home is the primary place where children learn to treat others with respect.

Marriage is a sacred relationship. When performed in the right place by the right authority, an everlasting covenant is established between the man, the woman, and the Lord (see D&C 132:15–19). The covenant has the potential of creating an eternal unit.

The family is meant to be eternal. Each one of us may be part of an eternal family if we are obedient to gospel principles. A fullness of joy is found only within the framework of an exalted family. Some people may scoff at the seventh commandment, which requires chastity before marriage and fidelity afterward, but “political correctness” is not a substitute for the plan of happiness. Marriage is a sacred relationship between a man and a woman. May each of us live so that we may partake of the greatest blessing the Lord has in store for us, that of eternal life.  I ask these blessings on all of us in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Merrill J. Bateman

Merrill J. Bateman was the president of Brigham Young University when this devotional address was given on 6 January 1998.

For The Family

By Alan on Feb 24 in Blog tagged Celestial Kingdom, children, evil, God, good, Jesus Christ, l The Plan, life, marriage, next life, opposites, posterity, prepared, sacred, salvation, secret, temple, the Bible, The Book of Mormon, The Family | Comments Off

Can we talk?  Are you prepared for this world and for the next?

 In life, when we are young, our parents usually work hard to teach and train us so that we will be prepared to meet life’s challenges as we grow up in this world.  It is a joy for parents to see their children learn and improve and have all the opportunities that they had, or didn’t have, and more. They send us to schools, help us develop our talents, do things with us and take us places and have fun.  They are to teach us truths and principles of right and wrong and how to be organized, get a job, and learn to work for those goals we desire. They usually correct us in our mistakes and try to set good examples of how we should act and behave in order to help us ‘get on our feet’ and to become independent and to live full lives.  They spend much time and hopefully pray for our success and happiness so that we can receive the blessings that this life has to offer, or at least should have!

Those parents and their children who have prepared and have planned for their futures have put forth the effort and investment of learning and working for success in this world will usually find those things for which they had planned. But have they learned for themselves and taught their children about the next life?  Have we been prepared for life after death, how to deal with it; or do we even believe in such a thing?

This is a most important question that everyone must ask of themselves and to find their own answers which are available.  I remember when I did and expressed it in a song!

I wrote in my journal about a song that I wrote expressing these feelings called, “Are You Up There.”  My journal records:

“I was in my bed in California late one evening having read scriptures, prayed, and pondered for a great amount of time as to what it was that was in my bosom that I NEEDED to “say”. I could feel it as though it were a physical object inside of me trying to get out. I would stare at the piano keys that were located at the foot of my bed. I was wide-awake but totally still and quiet for around 4+ hours. At about 2 or three o’clock A.M., something happened.

It was an emotional experience as I asked myself . . . “What are you trying to say?” “What is it?” It was like a light turned on . . . and got brighter. Here I was sitting up in bed with my pencil and pad of paper in hand and I started to write. Not only did I write lyrics to an inspired song but also, as I looked at the piano keys, I could see what the music cords and melody were to be. I hardly ever went back to check what I had written or made changes! When I finished I re-read the song and started to cry. I will NEVER forget that experience as long as I live! Someone was helping me. “

Are You Up There?

It could all end tomorrow,
 and where would I be?
Does life go on
or will it be the end of me?
Seems a bit unfair to think that all I’ve learned and done 
belongs to no one.

Why should I cherish living
if there’s no so called plan?

Why, I would have no future
 if it were left to man.

I can’t believe that we just happened
 and don’t know what for.
There must be more.

Why should I trust in a love 
that I can’t have forever?
Does it seem right 
to live a game of take-away?
Should I want for children 
if there isn’t any more for them to live for?

Maybe I’m a pessimist – then
 maybe I’m not.
One thing that I’d like to know 
is what I’ve got.
I don’t want a miracle 
or to see you in the air,
 but are you up there?
Are you everywhere?  
Do you really care?
  Are you up there?

“I prayed to my Heavenly Father giving Him thanks as I knew that I had been inspired from another source, a very, very good source, for I could NOT have written these words or music myself. I could hardly sleep the rest of the night. I would lie there for the next few hours and re-collect my experience and thoughts. I wanted morning to come very badly so I could share this experience and song with my Brothers!”

Everyone hopes and wants to believe that this life has purpose and reasons to live; that someone cares and is watching over us.  Even the atheist when facing death cries out, “Oh my God, please help me.”  We can fear death or prepare for it by asking and studying the Holy Scriptures which have God’s and Jesus Christ’s words recorded about these things.  We also can pray and ask if God is there and if the things the scriptures teach are true.  Will you be talking or praying in vain?  No!

As the lyrics to the song asks, it makes reason to believe that ‘there must be more’; that we didn’t just happen and that there was a ‘PLAN of Life’. Well, there is!

According to my faith and beliefs, we all lived before this world was with our Heavenly Parents and were born with a spirit body.  We were taught truths and learned many things.  We were told about God’s ‘Plan of Life’ and the creation that would happen.  We had free agency to choose to come to this world or not via our earthly parents in order for us to obtain a body of flesh and bones in which would house our spirit bodies and be able to create life.  This was all very sacred.

Without getting into a lengthy doctrinal article here, we all as children of God were prepared before we came to earth to gain a physical body like God, learn truths and choose between good and evil, and to become more like our Heavenly parents and to be given the opportunity or not to be proven or tested; to become parents and co-creators ourselves with God in bearing children here on earth.  We were taught the laws of chastity and marriage and “to multiply and replenish the earth” in order to fulfill “God’s work and glory in bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”  This is what God does as a creator.

The Lord Jesus, the Son of God , came to earth to teach us and show by example the way we must follow and become in order to redeem us from our sins. He knew we would make mistakes and that it would take a God, or son of God, to be able to pay the price for our sins, which He did for us!  “God is not the author of confusion “and “our ways are not God’s ways”, but we are His children and must obey His laws; and if not, we will pay a price.  As always, we have our free agency and the power to choose.

In today’s world, there is a tendency to ignore and even deny God’s existence and to choose evil versus good, which anyone can do.  That doesn’t mean that He isn’t still there!  “The natural man is an enemy to God.” It takes effort and good choices and work in order to do good. God has always shown to us those things we must do in order to return to live with Him once again.  He taught Adam and Eve and has spoken to us through His prophets over time about those sacred things and His plan of life.  He gave us the Ten Commandments through Moses and spoke through other prophets.  Jesus Christ was born and came to fulfill those commandments and we now must follow His words and laws that He gave us.

We have been promised all that God has with posterity and the blessings of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob through our various lineages of which we were born.  Our lineage is important and our posterity will derive us blessings.  Though God separated us into twelve tribes and confounded our languages at the time of the Tower of Babel, it was all done for a wise purpose.  God has not forgotten us but remembered each of us and His various tribes that He gave His words and promises to and commanded them to be recorded as with The Bible and The Book of Mormon.  He will soon gather all the tribes together once again along with their records which have been hidden up to come forth.  Jesus will also be returning once again.

God has continually told us that we can all return to heaven after we die  to come forth after the resurrection to be judged of our works.   He also has told us that, “In my house are many mansions.” “There is a glory like unto the stars, the moon and the sun.  So also is the resurrection.”  We will live in one of His mansions above of which laws we are able to live, or in everlasting darkness; hell.

Now the question:

So, have you prepared yourself to dwell with God once again?  “The next world?”  Have you read His words and listened to His prophets so that you know those things that you must do while here on earth in order to achieve the highest degree of glory In His Kingdom after this life?  We are to follow Jesus’s example and with faith, repentance, and baptism by one holding the authority from Jesus, (children under the age of 8 years of age are innocent and have no need to be baptized), and to receive the Holy Ghost.  There are also sacred covenants that the Lord’s people take upon themselves in The House of the Lord and have since the beginning of time.  These are most important promises between you and God.  This knowledge has always been upon the earth since Adam and Eve.

These truths are not secret but sacred and are available today but you must be worthy of receiving them.  They are performed in the Holy Temples or The House of The Lord.  Without them, you will not be able to return to live in the Celestial Kingdom, the highest kingdom of Heaven where God dwells, without them.  Yes, God has prepared other kingdoms for those who cannot or are not willing to live the higher laws yet  promises that you will be happy. “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”  1 Corinthians 2:9

Some records from the Bible with many precious parts have been taken out of it and were lost from the Bible during the time of Constantine about 3-400 AD.  The Lord knew this would happen and “will not be frustrated”.   Thus, He had the tribes in various parts of the world record His words as He visited them after He was resurrected.  These records with those missing truths will come forth before we are to be judged.

Again, it is WE, who must choose.  God’s blessings are available to ALL, if they but seek them, learn them, and live His laws and keep His Commandments.

THIS IS WHAT WE EACH SHOULD BE SEEKING TO LEARN AND PREPARED TO LIVE!

Alan Osmond
For family