God's Laboratory of Love and Service

Dear Family:

As I walked with giants along the beach at Monterey Bay this morning, the crashing waves and starlit sky bore witness of God's power and majesty. The Holy Ghost spoke softly to my soul, confirming once again God's goodness and love for us. In that divine setting, I was uplifted by this divine counsel from Elder Nelson:

The home is to be God’s laboratory of love and service. There a husband is to love his wife, a wife is to love her husband, and parents and children are to love one another. ...

Do not try to control your children. Instead, listen to them, help them to learn the gospel, inspire them, and lead them toward eternal life. You are God’s agents in the care of children He has entrusted to you. Let His divine influence remain in your hearts as you teach and persuade. ...

As children of the covenant, we have met in this morning’s solemn assembly. Attention has been focused upon the sacred titles of prophets and apostles. But the final responsibility to prepare for salvation and exaltation rests upon each person, accountable for individual agency, acting in one’s own family, bearing another sacred title of mother, father, daughter, son, grandmother, or grandfather.

In those responsible roles, may we go forward in faith, led by Jesus Christ, whose Church this is, and by His prophet, through whom He speaks.

-- Elder Russell M. Nelson - Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Salvation and Exaltation, April 2008 General Conference, Saturday morning session.

Please know of the love I have for each of you. It is a singular honor to be a member of this family, working with you in a united and noble quest to walk back into the presence of God.

Love,

Dad/Mark

Exaltation is a Family Matter

While in Washington, DC, this past week, I stayed at a riverfront hotel east of the city in a newly developed area called National Harbor. Early each morning I took a solitary walk along the shoreline while listening to conference talks on my iPod.

One morning, I was particularly impressed with this comment by Elder Nelson:

"In God’s eternal plan, salvation is an individual matter; exaltation is a family matter.

"As children of the covenant, we have met in this morning’s solemn assembly. Attention has been focused upon the sacred titles of prophets and apostles. But the final responsibility to prepare for salvation and exaltation rests upon each person, accountable for individual agency, acting in one’s own family, bearing another sacred title of mother, father, daughter, son, grandmother, or grandfather."

Russell M. Nelson, Salvation and Exaltation, April 2008 General Conference, Saturday morning session.

We are all in this together. While each of us certainly has responsibility to gain individual testimony and individually learn how to claim the promised blessings of the atonement, all of us in the Dent-Dixon family have the sacred responsibility to assist and lift and bless the lives of each other. It is extremely heartening to me to see this happening, day in and day out, within our family. Somehow, I think that is the sealing power in action, operational within our family, helping us all in our collective effort to return home to God.

Love,

Dad/Mark

Covenants Protect Us

Dear Family:

Friday night, Ryan was endowed in the Mesa Arizona Temple. Being with him and other endowed members of our family that night brought unspeakable joy. In contemplating the significance of the covenants Ryan entered into that night, and knowing that five of our six children and all three of our married children's spouses have experienced the same covenants, I was inspired by reading the following quotations.

The first, from Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Council of Twelve Apostles:

"A covenant made with God is not restrictive, but protective. Such a concept is not new. For example, if our water supply is not clean, we filter the water to screen out harmful ingredients. Divine covenants help us to filter out of our minds impurities that could harm us. When we choose to deny ourselves of all ungodliness, we lose nothing of value and gain the glory of eternal life. Covenants do not hold us down; they elevate us beyond the limits of our own power and perspective." (Russell M. Nelson, “Personal Preparation for Temple Blessings,” Liahona, Jul 2001, 37–40)

The second, from Sister Bonnie D. Parkin, Relief Society General President:

"Covenants—or binding promises between us and Heavenly Father—are essential for our eternal progression. Step-by-step, He tutors us to become like Him by enlisting us in His work. At baptism we covenant to love Him with all our hearts and love our sisters and brothers as ourselves. In the temple we further covenant to be obedient, selfless, faithful, honorable, charitable. We covenant to make sacrifices and consecrate all that we have. Forged through priesthood authority, our kept covenants bring blessings to fill our cups to overflowing. How often do you reflect that your covenants reach beyond mortality and connect you to the Divine? Making covenants is the expression of a willing heart; keeping covenants, the expression of a faithful heart. ...

"May our individual covenants that bind us to our loving Heavenly Father guide us, protect us, sanctify us, and allow us to do likewise for all His children."(Bonnie D. Parkin, “With Holiness of Heart,” Ensign, Nov 2002, 103)

I know this to be true. I have experienced the protective power promised by our Savior. Our covenants with God do protect us in this troubled world. May we always be mindful of the covenants we have made and do all in our power to keep those covenants. Then, the great promises of protection, enlightenment and joy the Lord promises to the faithful will be ours.

Love,

Dad/Mark