Environmentally Mental

Initially wide-eyed and eybrows up as I read the headline "Fireworks shows need environmental review", I felt my expressions change to the ugliness of disgust and shame as I read the article in its entirety.

Fireworks Shows Need Environmental Review

As I neared the end of the article, I couldn't help but to wonder what kind of environmental review will need to occur in order to exercise our rights of assembly in other aspects of life.  If a YM/YW fireside is held at the bishop's house, and that means there will be about 25 people in attendance, does that then mean that we must first have an environmental assessment performed? 

I'm certain there is some sort of environmental impact in having that many humans in a single place all at once.  Or is it possible that dear sweet Mother Earth can handle what we humans throw her way?  After all, the Lord did create this earth.  We are to be good stewards of the land, but this is just ridiculous. 

As my good husband and one of my email signatures say:  "Take care of yourselves, you wingnuts.  I'll be fine.  ~Earth"

I'm so baffled by the insanity that has swept so many seemingly intelligent people.  Again, we are to be good stewards of the land.  But the nonsense that driving my car to work daily and to church as often as I do is going to be the earth's undoing is just crazy.  We've been told that in these latter days a whole host of lies, deceit, and mayhem will be unleashed upon us.  We also know that wise choice people will be tricked.  I cannot help but to think that this is happening for certain in this whole environmental hoo-hah that has swept us in the past twenty years. 

We know that the Constitution was a divinely inspired document which would allow for the Restoration of the Lord's gospel on earth again.  Until this country of ours existed, there was no other land on earth which allowed for her citizens to govern themselves AND not have the Church and Government be subject to one another.  The Constitution gave us liberty, and every single day we give our liberty away by buying the notion that no, we don't know how to make decisions for ourselves.  No, we don't know what's best to do with our earnings/private property.  No we don't know how to choose foods we like or want.  No, we don't know how to educate our families.  It can go on and on and on and on....and it does.

For some reason, people have been pleased to trade in their liberties for the great great opportunity to have a "leader" tell us what we should do, be, say, etc.  'You are too stupid to manage your life on your own, so do it this way' is the message...but a quiet message.  Trading in our liberties has gotten us to apologize for being such lowly creatures.  How dare a human pretend to be greater than an oak tree, a fish in the sea, or the wind itself?!  Well, I happen to remember something along the lines of...

Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply and replenish the earth, and subdue it:  and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 

I believe the Lord.  I believe we need to be good to our land.  I do not believe, however, that we are in need of all this garbage and legislation which treats us like morons. 

My Husband's First Talk in Sacrament Meeting

The following was delivered in sacrament meeting at the Cape Henry Ward on May 15, 2011.  I am so very proud of my husband.  He did a marvelous job!


Good afternoon Brothers and Sisters,


When Brother Curtis came to me a few weeks ago and asked me to give this talk, I kind of assumed that since this was my first talk, he would assign me something basic, or elementary for a topic. I was wrong.

Brother Curtis told me the topic was a talk by Boyd K. Packer given during General Conference of October 2010.

Elder Packer’s talk was entitled ‘Cleansing the Inner Vessel’, and it is about the Church’s proclamation of 1995 entitled “The Family: A Proclamation to the World”. It’s only the 5th proclamation in the history of the church, so that alone should indicate its importance. And if you haven’t read it, I highly recommend you do so. In our house, we have it in a frame in our family room, and it’s a nice reminder of some of the things that are truly important. It gives us guidance on the family and warnings about influences in today’s society that would try to damage or even destroy our families.

The proclamation begins… “We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children.”

So one of the questions that came to my mind after reading this was “Why did we need such proclamation?

I got an answer to that question the other day at when I was at home… My wife and I have a dog. And he’s a clever dog and can often get into mischief. So Candace was talking to him - Because we all talk to our dogs, right? They can be good listeners. Anyway, after he had done something he shouldn’t, she said to him “Things would be so much easier on you if you would just listen to me.”

And just like we want our dog to be safe and healthy and happy, Heavenly Father wants the same thing for all of us.

 

In 1 Nephi chapter 8 verse 10, Nephi is retelling a dream of his father Lehi, and he is describing the tree and the narrow path and the iron rod… And he described the fruit of the tree like this… “And it came to pass that I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one HAPPY.”

And in 2 Nephi chapter 2 verse 22, “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have JOY.”

So we know Heavenly Father wants us to be happy. And we have the scriptures to guide us toward happiness on so many of our issues. But in these latter days, there is so much confusion and danger that many times it’s difficult for us to know what direction to go. But since Heavenly Father’s plan is perfect, we have modern day prophets to help guide us on modern day issues. And the issues in Elder Packer’s talk are modern day issues that threaten the family.

The family is the central unit of our society. And Satan is attacking it. With great success. Amoral relationships of all types… Young, single parents… You can see Satan’s temptations everywhere.

To me, it’s like seeing something in a store window that you want. You could smash the window and grab it, but there will be consequences. Getting arrested, for one, comes to mind. And in the same way, if you break God’s laws, there will be consequences.

Weakness is not sin - It comes with having a body. But acting upon those weaknesses is.



 

So as we heard in the opening paragraph of the proclamation, marriage is between a man and a woman, and ordained of God. And the gospel is very clear that the full expression of love should occur only after such a marriage. As Elder Packer said, “Any persuasion to enter into a relationship that is not in harmony with the principals of the gospel must be wrong. Wickedness never was happiness.”

I recently read a book that had the following line:

“That which is good, you pay for before you get. That which is bad, you pay for after you get it… And it usually costs a lot more than you expect.” Now the younger people might not quite understand that one, but I promise you that the older you get, the more it will make sense.





And further in the proclamation we read “We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.” And the word that caught me in that sentence is ‘commanded’. That is a commandment from God. So if you stop and think about common practices in today’s society, things on popular TV shows, it makes sense that so many people can easily be confused. I’ll further quote the proclamation “Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity.”

From our fountains of life will spring our children, our family. And If one is denied these blessings in mortality, the promise is that they will be provided for in the world to come.





Another source of confusion for some people, something that is quite common in movies, and TV shows, and just everyday life, is that some people in our society feel that they are ‘preset’ for impure and unnatural relationships. We are not. We are not preset. And when Elder Packer, an apostle of God says that, I believe it. We can be tempted, but as we learned in 1 Corinthians, Chapter 10 Verse 13 Paul promised that “God… will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

Some in our governments even feel that we need laws to affirm these relationships. As if a law against nature could be enforced. Like Elder Packer said, they might as well draft a law against gravity. And just because something is legal, it’s not a ‘get out of jail free’ card for doing things that are wrong or evil. There will be consequences.

I’d like to read 2 Nephi Chapter 2 verse 27 -

Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.

So Satan will try to tempt or deceive us into amoral relationships. But we have our agency, and Satan cannot take it from us. The only way he can get it is if we willingly give it to him. As Elder Packer said, (quote) “We can foolishly, blindly give it away, but it cannot be forcibly taken from us.” (end quote) The bottom line is, our agency is more powerful than the adversary.







The proclamation also states “We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God’s Eternal plan.” And in Psalm 127 verse 3 we read “Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord; and the fruit of the womb is his reward.” So again, the scriptures are very clear about the sanctity of life.

Life is to be created with respect. Life is to be treated with respect. It is not to be abused or thrown away.





Another issue that is currently threatening the family is Pornography … It is a plague that can be spiritually fatal. It ALWAYS repels the spirit, and very often disrupts relationships. We all need to be on guard to prevent this from influencing our families. Plain and simple, it is dangerous. And I don’t think people quite realize how dangerous it is…

In Luke chapter 6 verses 43 – 45 we read

43 “For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bringeth forth good fruit.

44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of bramble bush gather they grapes.

45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil; for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

And this is why this issue is covered in this talk about the family. We must have a clean inner vessel in order to bring forth the good of our family… Our fruit.

 

Another way that it’s a danger is to the Priesthood. I’ve heard it described that the Priesthood is basically a conduit… Like a pipe under your sink. Through the Priesthood, Heavenly Father delivers blessings to his children. And we all know how easily our pipes can get clogged if we put stuff down the sink we shouldn’t. And one of Satan’s favorite weapons in his attempt to clog those pipes is unclean images and the like. Because, as we know, it ALWAYS repels the spirit.

My wife and I know a story of a girl that grew up in an LDS family whose father was struggling with this kind of addiction. As a child, she was looking forward to being baptized by her father when she turned eight. So on her eighth birthday, she asked her parents what Sunday she could be baptized on. And all her parents said was that she couldn’t. She was confused and just wondered what she had done. She took it as if she had been bad. Too bad to even be baptized. All she knew was that she wasn’t allowed to be baptized. She was finally baptized nine months later, but she always lived with the thought that she just wasn’t good enough.

And it wasn’t until after 25 years of believing that she wasn’t worthy did she learn it was because of her father’s addition to pornography. At that point in his life, he wasn’t worthy to perform the ordinance. 25 years is a long time to believe that you’re a bad person. And it took a long time to heal those wounds.

An innocent daughter of God was affected by a father’s seemingly quiet and hidden addiction.

It diminishes self-worth. It damages trust. It destroys families.

There’s a great sign near one of the doors at the stake center that says something like “No amount of success can compensate for failure in the home.” And I think that simple sentence speaks volumes.



 

So we are given our standards… We are taught in the church a standard of moral conduct, and these standards WILL protect us if we stick with them. Our standards lay out our goal as perfection, but of course, none of us are perfect. Brother Bosco gave a talk several weeks ago, and in it he quoted Vince Lombardi, the former NFL coach who said that “In pursuit of perfection, we find excellence.” And I thought this was a great way to describe our standards. “In pursuit of perfection, we find excellence.”

And in the areas where we are not perfect, we have the principles of repentance and forgiveness. Those of us that were in primary a few weeks ago got to see a great demonstration of this by Sister Nickerson. She started with a small glass jar with clear water. And she said this was like us without sin. Clean and pure. Then she added a drop of food coloring, and almost immediately it was completely dark and blue and you couldn’t see through it. And she said this represented us after we have sinned. But then it was time for repentance and forgiveness. She added some bleach to the water, and at first it really didn’t do much, but she sealed the lid and started moving it back and forth. And she spoke for just a few moments, but by the time she was done talking, the water was crystal clear again.

And even though this was an elementary demonstration I thought it made a great point that we all should remember, and that is that repentance is a process. The water didn’t immediately turn clear. Sister Nickerson had to keep working at it. But she did work at it and it did become clean again. And so can we.

And as we know from the scriptures in Doctrine and Covenants chapter 58 verse 42 “Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.” So not only are they forgiven, but they are forgotten.





 

So we have learned that God wants us to be happy. And how do we accomplish this? “Things would be so much easier on us if we would just listen to him.”

I think Moroni chapter 9 verse 28 says it very well…

Be wise in the days of your probation; strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts, but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to NO temptation, but that ye will serve the true and living God.





I’d like to close with a final point that I found in a YouTube clip while doing research for this talk… And it’s that, the entire story of Joseph Smith… He saw the vision, he translated the Book of Mormon, he restored Priesthood keys, he received revelation from Heavenly Father… I think it was President Gordon B. Hinkley that said “It either happened, or it didn’t.” And if you believe it happened, like I do… This isn’t the type of thing you can just passively believe in. If you believe these things, they motivate you to action. I mean, how can they not? Knowing that Heavenly Father did these things for our benefit, how can you not want to follow his teachings? I’m not saying it’s easy all the time, but when it’s difficult, this is what I try to remind myself of. Our actions signify a commitment to our belief. And our adherence to the teachings of the church signify a commitment to our Heavenly Father.

I bear my testimony that God knows us individually. He loves us. That the Book of Mormon is the true word of God. And that following the teachings of our savior, Jesus Christ, will lead to happiness today, and to glory tomorrow.

And I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Seeing the Lord's Hand in My Life

I, like everybody else, am tremendously blessed.  2010 was a most wonderful year, and 2011 holds so much promise. 

Yesterday, 1/1/11, my husband was baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  It was such a special event in our lives.  The Spirit attended and touched every single person who came to witness Dan in this ordinance.  I'm so proud of him, but humbled at the same time. 

Today in sacrement meeting, it was announced that I am to be called as our ward's Primary President.  My oh my!  My heart is so very full right now that I don't even know where to begin.  I'm excited, scared, thrilled, happy, nervous, and humbled by this calling...and I haven't even been set apart yet.  My mom and step-dad came down for Dan's baptism.  Ron actually gave the talk on baptism, and it was wonderful.  Today, my mom shared her testimony with our ward and it was beautiful.  I have a mother who loves me, the Lord, and her family...and I love that she can show it.

Life is good and I know it.  I recognize that the blessings I enjoy come from our Father in Heaven and our brother Jesus Christ.  The Holy Ghost comforts me, teaches me, and helps guide me in my life.  The picture is getting clearer.  I can also see so much better now that this clarity, the love I feel, and the knowledge I have, is all related to my obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Alma 32:27 teaches that it's okay to test the gospel...to go ahead and put it to an experiment.  This past year, I took it for face value and I did just that.  When my life wasn't giving me the results I longed for, I examined my choices and came to the conclusion that clearly in order to get different results, I would have to do different behaviours.  I put it to the test, and the results were astounding.  When I committed to going to church every single Sunday, I found that my desire to be in church on Sundays increased dramatically.  When I committed to reading my scriptures more, I found that the Savior became more of a person--not just a figure, a name, or someone I do not know.  When I decided to live other commandments that I had thrown by the wayside long ago, I found that the Spirit was more readily available to me...or that it at least felt that way.  When I discarded the spiritual junk/clutter/mess, I could hear and feel the Spirit more clearly.  He was able to teach me better.  He was able to dwell in my home more comfortably.  When I decided to really trust in the Lord, and share more of the gospel with Dan and not fear sharing it, he was more ready to hear it and feel the Spirit too, and I think quite possibly that's the best result of all.

My experiment yielded amazing and beautiful results.  I've always heard we should "Practice Random Acts of Kindness," but I daresay we should also practice random acts of faith.  Yes, we should always walk in faith, but I think every now and then our daily walks in faith become routine, and we ought to shake it up a bit here and there by increasing our faith by following the Lord's plan in one way or another a little bit better.  I know now that faith in the Lord leads to greater happiness.  What an amazingly beautiful and simple concept! 

My prayer for 2011 is that as I begin my new full-time job at Lee Halyard & Associates tomorrow, and begin my new adventure as Primary President, that I always work with faith.  I pray that I have the Spirit to lead and guide me, that I'm worthy to hear and feel his guidance and comfort, that I learn more than I'm even able to teach, and that Dan and I continue to grow even closer than we are now.  This year in all this busy-ness, we are preparing to go to the Temple to be sealed together and I know that if we both practice our faith, and continue to look for the Lord's hand in our daily lives, we'll do just fine.

I'm so in love with life!

Can someone please explain this to me?

Ethanol.

Where is the logic in leaving the oil in the earth and burning our crops instead? 

Seriously.

Oh the weather outside is frightful!

And if there were a fire inside, it would be so delightful. 

Instead, I shall delight in Kramer doing his business outside in the snow.  He's never seen anything quite like this.  So cute!

I just love watching Kramer bounding through the snow.  What got him to run back into the house was me yelling "dinner!"  He's a such sucker for dinnertime.

What a cool post-Christmas treat!

Have I mentioned I'm getting married?

I have to admit, I'm a bit peeved that I just typed three well-thought out paragraphs and they all disappeared.  Grrr.  The idea of it all is that I am making the best decision of my life.  I shall spend my life with an honorable, funny, sweet, tender-hearted man who is in tune with the Spirit and loves the Lord.  Life is good.  I love Danny White and I get to marry him!  Oh, and he gets to marry me too.  Ain't love grand?!

I love that he leads his life by what feels right and by what is right.  I love that he reads scriptures in the middle of his work day when he doesn't have a whole lot going on.  I love that he is a great dad to his two sons.  I love that he knows just how to hug me and hold me tight when I feel down or am having a teary day for whatever reason.  I love that he is willing to play Trivial Pursuit with me or watch Jeopardy! at any given time.  I love that he likes to say the blessing at dinner.  He is good, and he is mine. 

Where Were You When...

I'm not a hugely political individual.  I'm rather simple and plain in my beliefs.  I believe the Constitution was divinely inspired.  I believe that it will be challenged and torn in incredibly sad ways...and that it's happening now.  I also believe that the Priesthood will save it, because modern prophets have told us so.  I believe in truth, liberty and justice for all.  I believe the land on which we live is the Promised Land, and will remain so as long as we, the people, treat it as such.  Well, it's not difficult to see that we aren't treating it as such, and so many of us have forgotten, or have chosen to not acknowledge that we are children of Heavenly parents who loved us enough to bless us with this land.  Sigh.  In other words, my political beliefs are absolutely intertwined with my spiritual and religious beliefs.

There is a rally going on in DC tomorrow called Restore Honor.  It was organized by Glenn Beck.  It isn't a political rally.  It's to honor our military and other honorable individuals in our country.  There will be three awards/merit medals given out & the recipients have yet to be revealed.  I'm intrigued.  Because Mr. Beck is such a "controversial" character/host/voice, the nature of the honor rally has been twisted into a whole host of ungodly events by those who have forgotten who we are or refuse to acknowledge who we are and where we come from.  Double sigh.  I've been wanting to attend this rally to simply be a part of something bigger than myself, honorable, and journal-worthy.  I wanted my mom to go with me and she wanted to go too, but my step-dad won't let her go out of fear that the crazies will be rampant and we'll be harmed.  Perhaps he's right.  Dan won't go with me because he has stuff to do and he simply leaves all of his political notions in the voting booth.  I don't want to go by myself, but if I did go, it would not be the first time I've done a big thing on my own.  I'm a big girl.  I know how to put on my big girl panties and just do it.  But for right now, I'm left with a big choice. 

**It's now around 9 o'clock on the morning of the rally.  I began this around 11 p.m. the night before.  I was tired and frustrated, and just went to bed instead.**

The missionaries called Thursday evening inviting Dan & myself to a bbq at the stake president's house.  The bbq is for the missionaries and their investigators, and it will be held at 5 o'clock on Saturday afternoon.  If I were to attend the rally up in DC, then I would not be back in time to attend the bbq.  Now, I'm not a huge fan of attending events where I'm expected to be social with people I do not know.  I actually am a little shy that way.  A huge rally where there are tens of thousands of people is less frightening to me than a backyard bbq with 25 people and I need to mingle.  Eeek.  In any case, my choices are plainly either attend the big rally that I have longed to attend, or stay home and perhaps go to the bbq with Dan & make it another good missionary moment for him. 

Thursday night I stayed up very late.  I didn't go to bed until nearly 4 a.m.  (If I were to choose to go to the rally, the bus would leave at 4 a.m. Saturday, so a goofy sleep schedule somehow was making strange sense to me at the time)  I had dvr'd the Glenn Beck program that day just so I could see what's going on, or what's in store for the rally.  I don't religiously watch the show, so when I do catch it, I find it ever interesting.  The day's guest was Alveda King, the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  She is a tremendous woman.  I loved the message and peace she carried with her.  She will be speaking at the rally.  Hmm.  Well, in the middle of the night I was still unsure of what I should do regarding rally or missionary bbq.  I decided right then to pause the show and get down on my knees and ask my father in Heaven what I should do. 

I am certain that both are good choices.  I am certain given whichever option I choose, that I will wonder what the other option would've been like.  That's just who I am.  But I felt peaceful after my prayer.  I was confident that I would have an answer.  I again began watching the show and continued listening to Dr. King's words.  At one point when the host & guest were discussing the enormity of the event and day, Mr. Beck tossed out the question that we may be asked one day in the future, "where were you on 8/28?"  I heard this question once or twice before and only pondered the event itself, the largeness of it all, the message of the day.  This time, I actually heard my inner voice say "with Dan having a good missionary experience." 

My choice has been made.  I am happy with my decision.  I am at peace with my decision.  I am wondering about the Restoring Honor rally today, and wishing some way that I could still be there, but I'm okay with it.  I did just learn that it will be televised on Facebook today, but I have an obligation at 10 o'clock now, and guess what time the rally starts.  Yep, 10 a.m.  Oh well.  All is well, all is well.