Brightening My Light

I read this post on my friend's blog and asked her if I could repost it here. Note, it has been edited for length and clarity. One Sunday an adorable 12-year-old boy was passing the sacrament for the first time, and I happened to be sitting in his line of duty. I have long since forgotten exactly what happened (and which new, adorable deacon it was), but that new, adorable deacon made some silly mistake, some noticeable breach of “protocol,” in passing the sacrament to me. My heart went out to him in complete and immediate forgiveness. I instantly excused his mistake, thinking, “It’s okay. He’s never done this before.” As my heart turned back to its repentant self-reflection, I realized that perhaps the Savior looks on us that way sometimes. “It’s okay. You’ve never done this before.” Never tried to get through sacrament meeting (or life) with three little kids while pregnant before. Never had this or that calling before. Never tried to x while also dealing with y before. Do we...

Need romantic ideas? Try spiritual activities. Marital success is dependent on a love triangle between you, your spouse, and Heavenly Father. The closer you both become to Him, the closer you become to each other. My favorite romantic activity is going to the temple with my husband. Every time I go, my love for him increases and my resolve to reach exaltation grows stronger. Other great activities include reading your patriarchal blessings, working on family history, reading the scriptures, reading the Ensign and Church books, discussing gospel principles, preparing gospel lessons together, going to a temple visitor's center or other Church-related site, having Family Home Evening even if it's just the two of you, doing service, or attending a fireside. Just spending time together away from worldly distractions is beneficial too. I like riding along in the cart while my husband golfs when the course is not busy and we can be by ourselves. We enjoy Heavenly Father's beautif...

For Mother's Day, the ward gave all women a booklet of a BYU Women's Conference talk by Elder Packer entitled "Blessings on the Hand of Women." In it he quoted this beautiful poem: Blessing on the hand of women! Angels guard its strength and grace, In the palace, cottage, hovel, Oh, no matter where the place; Would that never storms assailed it, Rainbows ever gently curled; For the hand that rocks the cradle Is the hand that rules the world. Infancy's the tender fountain, Power may with beauty flow, Mother's first to guide the streamlets, From them souls unresting grow-- Grow on for the good or evil, Sunshine streamed or evil hurled; For the hand that rocks the cradle Is the hand that rules the world. Woman, how divine your mission Here upon our natal sod! Keep, oh, keep the young heart open Always to the breath of God! All true trophies of the ages Are from mother-love impearled; For the hand that rocks the cradle Is the hand that rules the world. Blessings o...

This new Mormon Message has been floating around Facebook, and I can see why. This beautiful woman radiates peace, faith, and courage. We should all have her attitude with whatever trials face us. I like Elder Holland's quote at the end: "When suffering, we may in fact be nearer to God than we've ever been in our entire lives. That knowledge can turn every such situation into a would-be temple." Challenge: Use your trials as opportunities to come closer to Christ.

Bishop H. David Burton spoke at today's CES Fireside about achieving happiness through the plan of salvation. He compared our journey through life to a road trip: The scriptures are our road map The Atonement is our insurance Temptations are the detours A temple recommend is a driver's license Spiritual evaluations of ourselves are car checks before the trip Service is the sightseeing and joy of the journey Church guidelines are the rules and regulations of driving He closed with a kite analogy, reminding us that although it seems as if the wind (worldly ways) makes us fly higher and the kite string (Church guidelines) hinders our flight, it really is the string that allows us to soar and avoid crashing from the wind. Discussion: How else is life like traveling on a highway? photo from stock.xchng

Certain TV shows and previews reminded me of a quote from Sister Margaret Nagauld : "Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity." We need to be classy women--women with manners, discipline, integrity, virtue, sincerity, and charity. Sister Nagauld isn't the only one to have said this: 1. "It is, unfortunately, all too easy to illustrate the confusion and distortion of womanhood in contemporary society. Immodest, immoral, intemperate women jam the airwaves, monopolize magazines, and slink across movie screens—all while being celebrated by the world...

Washington D.C. Temple Thanks to my stat counter account, I have discovered that a popular search item is the temple garment. That is understandable since it is such a symbolic and sacred item in our Church and inspires much curiosity in the outside community. Therefore, I am going to address some frequently asked questions about temple garments. What are temple garments? Garments are white undershirts and underpants that many members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wear. Who wears temple garments? Members of the Church who have attended the temple wear garments. In order to attend the temple, they must be at least 18 years old and have received a temple recommend (card), which is given after two interviews with local Church leaders to establish personal worthiness to enter the temple. Most men receive their garments before going on their mission [at age 18 as of 2013]. Most women receive theirs before getting married or going on a mission [at age 19 as of ...