Dear Family:
In our scripture study this morning, we read this wonderful verse:
Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves—to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life.
What a wonderful thing it is to have the freedom to choose! I pray that we may all exercise that agency to choose the way of eternal life – together, as an eternal family.
Love,
Dad/Mark
Dear Family:
A scripture that gives me hope each time I read it:
Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God. Behold, they were in the midst of darkness; nevertheless, their souls were illuminated by the light of the everlasting word …
May we all be filled with the light that emanates from the only one true source of light and truth, the Savior of the world.
Love,
Dad/Mark
Dear family:
During my early morning walk, I was impressed with these words from President Monson:
… look to the lighthouse of the Lord. There is no fog so dense, no night so dark, no gale so strong, no mariner so lost but what its beacon light can rescue.
Thomas S. Monson, A World at Closing, April 2010 General Conference
May we all look to the Lighthouse of the Lord as we meet the challenges of our everyday lives.
Love,
Dad/Mark
Dear Family:
Three passages of scripture that inspired me during Gospel Doctrine class this afternoon:
… Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. (Joshua 1:9)
… cleave unto the Lord your God (Joshua 23:8)
… choose you this day whom ye will serve; … as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:15)
Love,
Dad/Mark
Dear Family:
It seems to me that living by the second concept makes it possible to accomplish the first. We have been taught many times about “holding to the rod,” but this is the first time I had heard the concept of “holding to the rod and each other.” We are bound together as a family by the sealing power. Taking advantage of that eternal blessing, we should cling tightly to each other in our own little family units, and across the generations to our larger, extended eternal family. As we do that, empowered by the strength we receive from the iron rod – the Word of God – we will be able to enjoy the joy and peace of living Celestial Lives in a Telestial World.
Love,
Dad/Mark
Dear family:
Isn’t it wonderful that we could listen to conference last week and already have access to all the talks via video, sound and written word on the Church website?
I really enjoyed Elder Christofferson’s talk when he addressed the subject of Moral Discipline.
President Henry B. Eyring expressed the vision we strive to attain:
“The pure gospel of Jesus Christ must go down into the hearts of [our children] by the power of the Holy Ghost. It will not be enough for them to have had a spiritual witness of the truth and to want good things later. It will not be enough for them to hope for some future cleansing and strengthening. Our aim must be for them to become truly converted to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ while they are with us. ...
“Then they will have gained a strength from what they are, not only from what they know. They will become disciples of Christ.”6
I have heard a few parents state that they don’t want to impose the gospel on their children but want them to make up their own minds about what they will believe and follow. They think that in this way they are allowing children to exercise their agency. What they forget is that the intelligent use of agency requires knowledge of the truth, of things as they really are (see D&C 93:24). Without that, young people can hardly be expected to understand and evaluate the alternatives that come before them. Parents should consider how the adversary approaches their children. He and his followers are not promoting objectivity but are vigorous, multimedia advocates of sin and selfishness.
Seeking to be neutral about the gospel is, in reality, to reject the existence of God and His authority. We must, rather, acknowledge Him and His omniscience if we want our children to see life’s choices clearly and be able to think for themselves. They should not have to learn by sad experience that “wickedness never was happiness” (Alma 41:10).
We are truly blessed to be guided by living prophets and apostles. In these this challenging time of the world, what a comfort it is to know that we have access to the truth.
Love,
Dad/Mark
Dear Family:
During my personal study his morning, I read the following scripture, concentrating on the phrase “The Lord is … my deliverer.”
“The Lord is my arock, and my bfortress, and my deliverer; my God, my cstrength, in whom I will dtrust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.”
The definition of “deliver” includes:
The origin of the word is from ME delivren < OF delivrer < LL dēlīberāre to set free.
Just think – to “deliver” is to “set free.” This theme is prevalent throughout the scriptures. Moses led the children of Israel to freedom. Lehi led his family to freedom. Brigham Young led the early saints to freedom. They were all empowered by the great deliverer, Jesus Christ. I think all those examples were put in the scriptures to lead us to Christ and the great acts of delivery he offered - the atonement and resurrection that set us free.
At each stage of our lives, we are delivered to freedom, if we are willing:
In order for us to be exalted, we must “deliver” our hearts to Christ. Through this act of faith, we surrender that which we hold most precious, to him. In return, he will “deliver” us to a great life of freedom in eternity.
Love,
Dad
