Tag Archives: The Gospel of Jesus Christ

Happy Thoughts

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Today, I found a list on a sticky note inside my pocket hymnal. Because of the items on the list, I believe I wrote it when I was traveling in the Middle East with my BYU semester abroad eight years ago. It’s amazing that the note is still sticky after all these years.

Happy Thoughts

  • laughing
  • the Ah Ha moment
  • blowing in the wind at the front of the boat [on the Sea of Galilee]
  • sunshine
  • blue skies
  • talking with friends
  • hope
  • clear, starry night
  • humming along with songs
  • a dance beat
  • finishing something
  • holding a sleeping baby
  • testimony

I wish I remembered what “the Ah Ha moment” is. It sounds so nice.

What is on your Happy Thoughts list? Was your list different eight years ago?

Lesson 12: Repentance is a Blessing (A Study of Twelve-year-old Behavior)

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I realize the 12-year-olds in my class are not committing murder or smoking or doing anything really bad. They are good kids. I may not have prepared my lesson as best as I could, but they really took me off guard yesterday. Here’s a rundown of my class yesterday (it’s kind of long):

(I’ll call the class Mary, Sarah, Elizabeth, and John, just for privacy’s sake.)

We started by reading Alma 38:8. Mary had forgotten her scriptures. Our meeting house library only has spare scriptures in Chinese.

  • Me: Alma had to recognize he’s sinned: he felt the pain of guilt. The first part of repentance is recognizing you did something wrong. Why do you think we need to recognize that?
  • Sarah: So you can repent. Duh! Ew! Stop–that is so gross.
  • [Mary has taken a pushpin from the bulletin board and is popping the blister on her toe with it. I decide to ignore her. Why? I don’t know.]
  • Me: Ok, let’s read Doctrine and Covenants 58:38. John, can you read that?
  • Sarah: Ew! Now I need to wash my foot! [She storms out of the room.]
  • Elizabeth: What happened? [That’s what I’m thinking too.]
  • Mary: I bumped her foot with mine! [I don’t blame Sarah at this point: Mary has been popping blisters on her toe. I would want to wash my foot too.]
  • Me: OK, so what those verses said: What do we need to do to repent?
  • Elizabeth: Confess and Forsake.
  • Me: Good!Can you write that on the board? [Elizabeth volunteered before class to be scribe.]
  • Mary: You dummy! Confess has two S‘s.
  • Me: Let’s not call names. It doesn’t matter how it’s spelled. What does forsake mean?
  • Mary: It means, well, like “For your sake.”
  • Me: Not quite. It means “to give up.” Why do you think we need to give up our sins?
  • John: So we don’t do it again. To show we’re sorry and won’t do it again.
  • Me, glad someone is focused: Right. To show we won’t do it again: we really mean it! Another thing we have to do is keep the commandments. (Can you write that on the board, too?)
  • [Elizabeth has by now drawn an elaborate design beside the list of steps of repentance. She’s also written CTR! CHOOSE TO REPENT!]
  • Elizabeth: Oh, what am I suppose to write?
  • [Great, has she heard any of this?]
  • John: Keep the commandments!
  • Sarah, storming back into the room: That was the grossest thing in the world!
  • Me: Anyway, as I was saying. We need to not do it again. So if we’re sorry we hit our sister and we’re repenting for doing that, we need to not do it again.
  • Sarah: Well, except, some things we will do again. Like, I know I’ll hit my brother again.
  • Me: Well, if we are sincere in wanting to repent, we need to stop doing it.
  • Elizabeth: But I have to hit my sisters!
  • Me: Remember how we talked about the premortal life where Satan wanted to let us return to Heavenly Father but he wouldn’t give us a choice? Instead, we came to earth under Heavenly Father’s plan with Christ as our Savior, so what did Heavenly Father give us?
  • Elizabeth: Our agency!
  • Me: Exactly! So you can choose not to hit your brother.
  • Elizabeth: No, I can’t.
  • Sarah: I have to hit my brothers.
  • Mary: There is no choice in the matter.
  • John: I don’t hit my brother.
  • Mary: You only have one brother.
  • Sarah: Yeah, I have six siblings. I have to defend myself.
  • [Sarah has five siblings. I correct her and she says, no, her dad counts as a sibling. Great.]
  • Elizabeth: I have to fight.
  • Sarah: Ew! Stop it! That’s gross. [Mary has renewed the pushpin technique. Now she’s pricking her fingers.]
  • Me: Mary, will you stop poking yourself with a pushpin?!
  • [Mary puts the pushpin back into the board and sits and sulks.]
  • Me, to Elizabeth: Well, if your brother is mean to you, what choices do you have?
  • Elizabeth: To defend myself.
  • Me: And what other choice?
  • Elizabeth: To defend myself.
  • Me: And…
  • Elizabeth: To fight.
  • Me: You can choose not to fight.
  • Elizabeth: No, they’ll all say “What’s wrong with you?”
  • Sarah: Right. I have to defend myself.
  • Me: Ok, so anyway, Heavenly Father’s plan is that we repent and that we actually feel sorry when we repent.

We also talked about making restitution (apologizing, making up for what was wrong) after we do something and we read some more scriptures, but I couldn’t get them to stop claiming they must fight with their siblings. They don’t believe me when I say they have a choice. I couldn’t get Mary to participate after I called her off of her disgusting pop-the-blister kick.

Now, I know I fought with my sister. But I know I chose to fight with her. I know when I still argue with people that I’m choosing to argue. It’s my fault just as much as anyone else’s. It takes two to fight. I also think family discipline has something to do with it. I know Sarah’s family — they are a bit violent to each other in church; I can’t imagine how they would be at home. Case in point: John, who claims he doesn’t fight with his older brother, is a perfect, focused class-participant (most Sundays).

I really don’t remember what was like being twelve. I asked my husband what I can do. His answer? Don’t teach twelve-year-olds.
Here are my questions for you:

  1. Are all twelve-year-olds determined to fight with their siblings?
  2. How do I emphasize repentance when they think they have no choice in the matter (other than using a better example)?
  3. Also, when a class member is being distracting and popping blisters or being gross, how do I ask her to stop without making her annoyed and sullen the rest of the class?

Lesson 12 of 45

I Love General Conference

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I haven’t been reading many books or posting on my blog much this week. I’ve been distracted.

It began Sunday morning at 4:30 a.m.

As all of you were sitting down for 10 a.m. General Conference Saturday morning, I was asleep. It was 2 a.m. Sunday morning. My son awoke at 4:30 a.m., and after attending to his needs and putting him back in bed, I decided I couldn’t wait until next Saturday: I wanted to know who the newest Apostle was. I went online and found out.

D. Todd Christopherson, I read. How exciting! I thought.

I decided I wanted to hear how it was announced. Then I remembered that it was not even 5 a.m. I had to leave for church at 7:45 a.m., and I needed to stay awake during Sacrament meeting. So I went back to bed.

We went to church and came home. When we got home, I started to watch the first session. I am so grateful for the Internet! I could watch the solemn assembly Sunday afternoon in my living room. It was so special. I loved watching it, but I didn’t watch the whole session: there were other things to do.

Monday afternoon, what should appear in my feed reader but all of the mp3 files for the audio of four sessions of General Conference. I subscribed to the feed in December and promptly forgot about it, since, of course, it is only updated twice a year.

I couldn’t wait until Saturday. I listened to President Monson’s talks, then President Eyring’s and President Uchdorf’s talks. They were so excellent, and I was so inspired, so I listened to the rest of it, reverse alphabetically as it appeared in my feed reader. (I listened in reverse because President Thomas S. Monson was the last alphabetically and I wanted to start with him.) I did a lot as I listened’care for my son, work on photographs, etc. So I wasn’t just sitting around.

It has been great. I feel so uplifted and ready to be better. But I guess that’s the key: listening isn’t making me any better. I need to do what I’m learning! Listening doesn’t do any good for the world.

My favorites the first time around:

  • President Uchdorf’s talk (the faith of our Father, our Heavenly Father)
  • Elder Child’s talk on tithing
  • Elder Ballard’s talk to the young mothers
  • Elder Bednar’s talk on prayer
  • Elder Oaks’s talk on testimony
  • Elder Zwick’s talk on fortifying yourself

Which were your favorites?

I get to listen and watch all of them again Saturday and Sunday. (We need to be there this weekend.) What do I do for eight hours Saturday and Sunday as I watch them? I’m going to be sitting on an uncomfortable bench in the chapel.

Ah well; I’ll be inspired all over again. I love general conference!

Winds-day and Lesson 11: Faith in Jesus Christ

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Yesterday, I watched a wind storm.

Paul was napping. I sat at my desk, at my computer.

When I heard a strong wind whip through the trees, I looked out. Our house is on a hill so I see trees for miles.

The sky was cloudy and gray. And there was quite a wind. Autumn leaves fell out of the sky–yellow and orange–but so did bunches of green leaves. A branch whipped across the roof. The neighbors’ garbage cans across the highway toppled over, the “for sale” sign was uprooted, and trees seemed to bend. Our lights flickered. One tree bent close to our home, and I heard something banging against our roof.

I worried: I rushed to Paul’s room.

Paul slept soundly. His eyes remained closed, and he sighed in his sleep. He brought his hand nearer his mouth and bumped his pacifier, which rested on the mattress now. He sighed again and turned his head to look at the wall. I heard the wind, but it was distant. All was calm.

I watched him sleep for a few minutes. Then I left his room, closed the door, and sat at my desk again. I don’t know why I panicked and raced to him during the wind. We were safe inside our home. The wind wasn’t going to knock down our walls: they are strong. We were safe.

But as I watched him sleep, I felt this sudden out-of-control feeling: He’s going to grow up. He’s going to go outside, into the world, away from me. Will he be strong enough against the winds, or will they topple him?

And now, my [son], remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

— Helaman 5:12

After a little while, the winds calmed, with only an occasional burst. The clouds didn’t retreat, but the sky lightened a bit.

And then there was a burst of wind, and a full-grown tree toppled over, right through our neighbor’s yard and our neighbor’s fence and our fence and into our backyard.

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As I’ve thought about the tree (and watch it sitting rudely on our lawn), I realized it was only after the worst of the storm was over that the tree succumbed. It had been weakened. In a very real way, the tree it wasn’t strong enough against the winds.

I had thought that the lesson for Sunday school this week was about faith; most of the manual discusses what faith is and examples of faith from the scriptures. But then I looked at the title: Faith in Jesus Christ. It’s not just faith; the first principle of the gospel is “faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.” Believing, a general faith, is not enough to sustain us through the “mighty winds” that the adversary will send our way.

We can have faith that the sun will rise tomorrow; we can have faith that a seed will grow. But we must have faith that Jesus Christ truly did atone for our sins. That is how we return to our Heavenly Father. It is only in and through Christ that we can return to Him.

Joseph Smith called faith “a moving cause of action” and “a principle of power.” It is not a passive concept. The power of faith is incredible: the walls of Jericho came down, Enoch moved mountains, Jared beheld the finger of the Lord. I think of what those people had to do to exercise such faith. Then I think of the power I can receive by exercising faith in Jesus Christ: the ability to return to my Heavenly Father, despite my shortcomings. Wow! That’s more than moving a mountain in my mind.

I must actively build my foundation in Christ, and I must teach my son to build such a foundation. I can only do that if I rely on my own foundation: I am imperfect, but through Christ, I can be perfect.

I must teach my son that he belongs to God, for he is a child of God first. God has entrusted his spirit to me. What a responsibility!

I suspect I’ll always want to check on him when the winds come, even when the day comes that I must let him go outside, into the world. How will his foundation fare against the “mighty winds?”

Lesson 11 of 45

Preparing for Exaltation

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I teach course 12-13 in Sunday school, which follows a different manual than the regular gospel doctrine course. Thus, last year I taught from The Presidents of the Church manual. I began my calling in August, so I only started with President George Albert Smith. I’ve really enjoyed the overview of the prophets’ lives and teachings. I found myself eager to begin anew with Joseph Smith in 2008.

Last week, the Sunday school president told me I wasn’t to teach from that manual in 2008. I was disappointed, until I took a look at the manual I am to teach from: Preparing for Exaltation. It is an excellent manual.

The first two months talk about the various aspects of the plan of salvation (i.e., premortal life, earth life, the spirit world, and the three degrees of glory). Then the remainder of the year discusses various aspects of the gospel that can help us return to live with our Father in Heaven again.

This manual is a wonderful return to basic gospel principles that seems very appropriate for youth just about to embark on their teenage years. I look forward to building my testimony of the basics this year.

Question for you: Do you think 12-13 year olds would want a CD of primary songs? Are they too “cool” for primary songs? I keep thinking of the following songs and how appropriate they would be on a “theme CD” for the entire year:

  • I Am a Child of God
  • I Lived in Heaven
  • I Know My Father Lives
  • A Child’s Prayer
  • I Pray in Faith
  • He Sent His Son
  • Did Jesus Really Live Again?
  • The Church of Jesus Christ
  • I’m Trying to Be Like Jesus
  • When He Comes Again
  • The Golden Plates
  • I Love to See the Temple
  • Faith
  • Search, Ponder and Pray
  • Keep the Commandments
  • Dare to Do Right
  • I Will Follow God’s Plan
  • Teach Me to Walk in the Light
  • Families Can Be Together Forever
  • Love is Spoken Here
  • My Heavenly Father Loves Me

Am I missing any songs?

Why I Blog and Elder Ballard’s Challenge to Bloggers

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A year ago, approximately, my sister started “blogging.” I wrote in my journal:

[My sister] has taken to writing a blog online every couple days. I’ve been logging on for the past few weeks. I think it’s the kind of thing that will fizzle out and die eventually.

Umm…OK, so I was wrong? I laughed when I reread that the other day.

I have always been a compulsive journal writer. At one point during college, I wrote in my journal every single morning for an entire semester. I got up at 5 or 6 a.m., before my five roommates even stirred, and wrote a few paragraphs. I wrote about what I did the day before. I wrote about my classes. I wrote about what I was reading in the scriptures. I wrote about my personal feelings and relationships.

Then I started working full time, and life, I guess, was boring. I decided my journals were boring, so I wouldn’t write every day. Well, it’s very easy to go from every day to never, or, at least, rarely.

A year and a half ago, I started grad school because I wanted to write again. I wanted a forum in which to share my thoughts and develop my writing talent and improve myself. After one course (and $1,800), I realized a school setting was not what I wanted. I thought I wanted someone to tell me to write and to read what I wrote. But I didn’t want the format of school. I wasn’t ready for the homework. I wasn’t ready for a teacher telling how much to read and write each week. It’s too much fun to not be in school. What did I really want?

That is the setting in which I was critiquing the blogging movement. I guess I don’t think I had any idea then how addicting it is to write for an audience and to feel like I have a place to share my thoughts.

I was being silly to critique it because just three months later, in March, when my husband and I decided to move to Australia, I changed our webpage (previously a page with our wedding pictures) into a “blog.” I did that because we were about to leave the country (I didn’t know it would still be four months) and I wanted a format to easily communicate with my family and share pictures and thoughts.

When I started my webpage, I really felt certain that it should not be a blog. I thought a blog implied revealing too many personal things. By definition, a blog doesn’t really imply any of that. However, I still think a blog should not replace a journal. There are things I write in my personal journal that I’d never write for the world to see. I want to guard my personal problems. They’re personal for a reason.

Also, along a similar line, I have wanted to keep this page in the family. There are weirdos out there. I don’t want strangers finding pictures of my son or stalking our family. I am blessed with a very common name, so I’m only one of many people named Rebecca Reid on the web (try to find me — go on, I dare you!). I have no intention of hiding behind fake names if I do make my page public. But as of now, my page is not searchable by internet searches, like Google. The only way someone gets here is if they know the webpage to begin with, or they link to it. That’s also why I require a person to login before commenting. I just feel safer that way.

Elder Ballard recently made a statement about blogs. (Yes, he’s nearly 80 and he is aware of these things!) Here is part of what he said (emphasis added):

The Internet allows everyone to be a publisher, to have their voice heard, and it is revolutionizing society. …. The emergence of New Media is facilitating a world-wide conversation on almost every subject including religion, and nearly everyone can participate … There are conversations going on about the Church constantly. Those conversations will continue whether or not we choose to participate in them. But we cannot stand on the sidelines while others, including our critics, attempt to define what the Church teaches. … [M]ay I ask that you join the conversation by participating on the Internet, particularly the New Media, to share the gospel and to explain in simple and clear terms the message of the Restoration. Most of you already know that if you have access to the Internet you can start a blog in minutes and begin sharing what you know to be true.

After Paul was born, I started thinking that I didn’t need my own page — I’ll just use Paul’s Page to discuss all family news. But then I started thinking about what I could write about on my page, and I found myself writing pages of outlines of things I’m interested in writing about.

I realized that I need my own outlet to write and expand on my hobbies and dreams. That is my way of continuing to develop myself. After reading Elder Ballard’s talk, I feel that I also need to discuss my testimony and publish it for the world to see. He said,

How will you use these marvelous inventions? More to the point, how will you use them to further the work of the Lord?

As a New Year’s goal, here are some things I plan on discussing on my page in the coming months:

Hobbies

  • Cooking (What I’m learning)
  • Family history (Yes, I will do it again at some point!)
  • Reading (Book reviews as I read)
  • Photography (Pictures I’ve taken of my travels and what I’m learning about photography)

Spirituality

  • Conference talks (requires me to read them)
  • Scriptures I’m reading (requires me to read them)
  • My Sunday school lessons (requires me to prepare before Sunday morning!)

My life

  • What I’ve been writing about all along

Elder Ballard’s talk is a great talk. Read it. If you have a blog, I challenge you to respond to his challenge in a post of your own, telling what you are going to do to answer it. Make it a part of a New Year’s resolution.

As for comments to this post, I’m interested in your thoughts. If I do write about the things I described above,

  1. Will you be bored to death? (I am not sure that I care if you are; ‘m still going to write about them, but I thought I’d ask.)
  2. Should I make my page searchable through a web browser?
  3. If I make it searchable, how do I protect my family from the weirdos?
  4. If I don’t make it searchable, how am I fulfilling Elder Ballard’s challenge? Do you all count as part of the conversation, too?

If you don’t like the “log in to comment” requirement, send me an email. I’m interested to know if that stops people from commenting.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

Come, Listen to a Prophet’s Voice

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Today I finally received our first Ensign since we moved to Australia. It is the November Ensign. Why did it come so late in the month? I don’t know, but it was mailed from Sweden, so that might have something to do with it.

Of course, because it is the November Ensign, it contains the conference reports. How blessed we are to receive counsel from latter-day prophets twice a year! I am so eager to read them again. I was in labor during the first two sessions of conference, so I wasn’t paying much attention (to say the least). (Yes, we really were watching the BYU TV broadcast of conference at 5 in the morning while I was in labor.)

Of course, we did download the audio and text files for conference, and I’ve read and listened to them in the past months. But for some reason, it is so comforting to see pictures of church members at the conference center, and to see all the conference talks in the familiar format of the Ensign. It makes the United States feel not so far away. Also, it is so wonderful to realize once again that the Church is the same and the gospel is true no matter where I go in the world.

I sure it’s the same Ensign, even if it was printed and mailed from Sweden.

A Child of God

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The first night I held Paul in my arms, I began to sing him a familiar song as a lullaby:

I am a child of God,
and He has sent me here,
has given me an earthly home,
with parents kind and dear.

As I sang, I was overcome with the meaning of it: I am one of the parents kind and dear. I am the one the song is about. When Paul thinks of this song and his own earthly home and parents, he’ll be thinking of me!

It’s intimidating to realize how much Heavenly Father trusts me–He’s sent one of His precious spirit children to me! My husband points out that He sends His children to all sorts of different homes and families. But I know my role. It’s up to me (and the others in Paul’s life) to fulfill the chorus of the song for Paul:

Lead me, guide me, walk beside me.
Help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do
To live with Him some day.

I hope and pray I can lead Paul as he deserves to be led–back to the presence of our Heavenly Father!

“I Can” Versus “I Can’t”

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I’ve never had incredible self confidence. I second guess my abilities to do just about everything. So taking on the new role of mother is very daunting. Heavenly Father trusts me with one of his precious spirit children. Me!

I’m sure I’m not the only new mother a bit overwhelmed.

As I mentioned previously on this webpage, I loved being pregnant! But while I can’t say I loved the giving birth part of the adventure, I did love the incredible spiritual experiences I had during the entire process (in retrospect only; I didn’t love it at all at the time). I’ll share some of it because I feel it has so much to do with how I’ll approach motherhood and everything in my life now.

I’ve been told that the labor for first babies is usually a very long time. I figured once I got to the hospital, I’d get an epidural to deal with the pain. How else do women get through it these days? There’s pain medicine, so take it, I say.

When I first entered the delivery room last Sunday, I asked how long I should expect to be in labor. The midwife suggested that normal progress would be 4 hours for every 2 cm dilation. Since I was only 4 cm at that point, that would leave me with 12 more hours of labor! I just about died. I couldn’t stand the thought of such a long time. Because it seemed there was so much time left, I decided to wait until I seriously couldn’t bear it anymore before asking for the epidural. It would be a long time stuck on my back.

It was only another hour and a half before I asked for it. I couldn’t stand the pain. With each contraction, I told my husband, “I can’t do this!” He calmly reassured me that I could. (He was very good to me the entire time!)

Well, by the time I asked for the epidural, the nurse told me that it was too late–I was fully dilated. I couldn’t have an epidural at that point. It was nearly time to push.

In some respects, it was exciting to know that Paul was so near to be born. It’s very good to have a shorter labor! But I just knew I couldn’t have a baby without numbing all the pain!

“How long?” I asked.

“Within two hours.”

Two more hours! I couldn’t do it. I would die. I firmly decided that if the baby hadn’t been born by 3 p.m, I would succumb to death. But I’d make a valiant effort before I did. I owed that to my husband and this baby that wanted to be born.

The contractions were horrible. But then the most amazing thing happened: in between I was able to breathe and get ready for the next one. During each contraction I would feel so horrible and I’d tell everyone in the room I couldn’t do it. But then I’d get a moment to catch my breath. And I’d realize that the baby was coming.

Whenever I said “I can’t do it!”, my husband would say “You’re doing great” and the midwives would say “You are doing it!”

Well, Paul sure took his time. It was more than 2 hours. 3 p.m. came and he still hadn’t been pushed out. But he was nearly there. I decided not to die. And then, with one long push, there was Paul. He was born. The midwife put him on my belly, and there he was.

I can’t describe my first emotional impression of seeing my son. Here’s the physical description: He was blue and squirmy and tiny. (And yet, he was so huge for having just come from inside of me!) It was an incredible thing to finally hold him.

That night, my husband left the hospital and I was left with our newborn son. He was fussy and wouldn’t go to sleep. I was exhausted and the adrenaline was wearing off. I’d been up most of the night before with contractions and so that hadn’t been very restful sleep. As a new mom, I think I must have felt I would be betraying my new son if I put him to sleep all alone in his bassinet if he wasn’t yet asleep. (I was cured of that pretty quickly!)

As I paced the floor, I thought to myself “Come on! Go to sleep, Paul! I can’t stay awake much longer!” It was a silly thought, but like I said, it had been a long day.

And then it happened: I realized I could never truly say “can’t” again.

I had just been through childbirth without pain medication of any kind. I certainly hadn’t thought I’d be able to do that. And yet, I had done it. Certainly, walking the room with my baby was nothing compared to that! I can handle whatever comes!

I know I will forget and I will doubt myself again. And if I’m labor, I will probably say “I can’t do this!” It’s how life is. We forget. But I have had an experience that solidifies the fact that I can do so much more than I think I can do.

When I am up late, exhausted, with my horribly ill infant, toddler, child, or teenager, I can handle it. When my son hurts himself and is screaming and bleeding, I can handle it. When I am ill myself and my house is full of kids needing care, I can handle it. I may not feel like I can, but I didn’t feel like I could deliver a baby without medicine either. We don’t know what we are able to do until we are called upon to do it.

I thought of this again as I listened to President Eyring’s talk in priesthood session this week. (While I wasn’t invited, of course, the audio is available online so I listened to it when my husband did.) President Eyring said:

What is impossible for you is possible with God’s help in His service. … All of us, whatever our callings may be, face tasks that are beyond our own powers. I do and you do.

I certainly feel that my new call of Mother is beyond my own power. But I know that God sustained me during the birth of my son. And, with His sustaining power in my life, I no longer can say “I can’t” to any “call” or challenge along the way in this journey called Motherhood.

I won’t tell anyone to go through childbirth without drugs. I certainly wanted them! Like I said, we have been blessed with pain medicine, why not use it? In general, however, I think we need to stop telling ourselves “I can’t” if we truly don’t know our ability. Our Heavenly Father knows us better than we know ourselves. We shouldn’t let our perception of how bad things will be (or are) cloud our ability to actually do them. Anything truly is possible with God’s help. We can!

Wisdom from Our Fathers and Mothers

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On a Bad Temper

“I have a terrible temper, but I control it, it doesn’t control me.”
–Edmund Z Carbine, 1864-1926

I think I may have inherited the temper. Edmund Z Carbine could honestly say “I haven’t been angry in over 15 years.” I wish I could say something similar.

On Church Membership

…the Mormons as they are called are my people, their God is my God, where they live I live (If I can) where they die I die, and there will I be buried. You see that I cannot come back.
–Adelia Rider Carbine, 1846, Iowa

Despite being driving from her home in Nauvoo, she still knew where she stood when it came to the gospel. It was true. It is true. What else matters?

On Conversion

When I was 14 years old I began reading the New Testament. I could see that the Lutheran doctrine did not correspond with it, so I must find something in accord with the New Testament. The more I read, the more I was convinced. Then I had an opportunity to go to some Mormon meetings. I found the spirit of God was there and the love of the brethren was great. I then began to pray in secret, alone by myself, and investigated the Mormon gospel [for three years]….I believed that the Mormons had the true gospel. But I wanted to be absolutely sure that Joseph Smith was a prophet for all people ridiculed him and told lies about him, but I did not believe it….I was sleeping in our barn on the hay in the month of August. I had prayed out by the fence before I went to lay down, but when I laid down I was seized upon with some evil power so I knelt down by the bed to pray again but the evil power was tormenting me and held me in torment; Then I lifted my voice in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, then the power left me. I was on my knees. I felt a wonderful change. I was looking and listening and heard a still voice but low saying “Joseph is a true prophet of god. The gospel is true. Why are you waiting to be baptized and receive the gospel?”…I then went up outside the barn to give thanks to God for answering my prayer. I raised my hands up high and said “Halleluia! Praise be to God and the Lamb for answering my prayer” and said “Yes, Lord, I will be baptized into the Church soon as I can.”
–Hans Olaus Sorenson, 1849-1944

Answers will always come to our honest prayers, even if it takes a long time. Are we senstive to the Spirit’s whisperings?

On Forgiving

They robbed and stole from me my life time earning….Two long years rolled by and I never had a good night’s sleep thinking how I could get some way to recover that which had been stolen from me. Then a messenger appeared to me and called me by name, and told me not to do as I was thinking, as that was a cowardly act. And he said, “Look”, and he showed to me many great and marvelous things, and said to me, “All you have suffered and lost is not as much as a pencil dot on this paper compared to what there is in store for you. Now be contented and be happy, and do not as you were intending to do.” I awoke and found it to be a dream or vision, and jumped right out of bed and wrote it down, and I have not been troubled since, and I don’t want to harm a hair on any man’s head, but want to do all the good I can. I called that my Savior, as it kept me from doing that which I ought not to do.
–William Benona Graham, 1852-1926

Sometimes I want to hold a grudge. But that’s not the way of the Lord. I hope I can keep an eternal perspective.

On Revelation

[Anna Clementina Hawkins] kept company [with Lucien] for about two years. He asked [her] to be his wife. But he was not a member of the Church and didn’t want to become interested…. And [she] felt that she couldn’t marry one who was not a member of the church and was not interested, so she dismissed him, which wasn’t an easy thing to do, as she cared a great deal for him. [She] had always prayed that she would choose the right one for a husband. So now she decided to fast and pray about it….Her prayer was answered and she saw in a dream her future husband just as she later saw him as he sat talking with her father, the night he came to apply for the teaching job. She was looking through a glass door behind him. And as she went back through the kitchen, her mother said, “Is that your young man?” and [Anna] replied, “Yes, that’s him.”
–Anna Clementina Hawkins, 1865-1944

It’s sometimes hard to have faith that Heavenly Father will provide for us and guide us. But He always will. Even without dreams to guide us.