To The Mothers In Zion

In To The Mothers In Zion by President Ezra Taft Benson, he gives a list of suggestions for mothers I'd like to share.

 10 Specific Ways Our Mothers Can Spend Effective Time With Their Children

1. Be at the Crossroads-take time to always be at the crossroads when your children are either coming or going-when they leave and return from school, when they leave and return from dates, when they bring friends home. 
   
   
   
   
   
2. Be a Real Friend-take time to be a real friend. Listen to your Children, really listen! 
   
   
   
   
   
3. Read to Your Children-take time to reach to your children. Starting from the cradle. 
   
   
   
   
   
4. Pray with your Children-take time to pray with your children. Family prayers under the guidance of the father, should be held morning and night. Have your children participate in family and personal prayers. 
   
   
   
   
   
5. Have Weekly Home Evenings-take time to have meaningful weekly home evenings. With your husband presiding and your children actively involved. Teach them correct principles. Make this one of your great family traditions.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   6. Be Together at Mealtime-take time to be together at mealtime as often as possible. Share happy conversations, sharing the day's plans and activities. Special teaching moments occur at the the mealtime table.
   

    

   
   

   7. Read Scriptures Daily-take time daily to read the scriptures together as a family.Individual reading is important, but family scripture reading is vital.

   

   
   

   8. Do Things as a Family-take time to do things together as a family. Make family outings and picnics and birthday celebrations and trips special times and memory builders. Attend family events where one of the family members is involved. Attending church meetings together and sit together as a family when you can. 
   

   

   
   9. Teach Your Children-take time to teach your children. Catch the teaching moments. This can be done anytime of the day. Early morning or the end of the day. You are your children's best teacher!
   

   

   
   10. Truly Love your Children-Mothers take time to truly love your children. A mother's unqualified love approaches Christlike love.
   

   

   
   In my own life I was blessed to be able to put some of these suggestions into action. Meal time at the dinner table was a must in my house. Even if it was just my daughter and I, we always ate at the kitchen table. That time allowed me to ask how her day was and allowed me to enter into her daily life a little easier.
   
   Although I was a working mother, I ran a business that allowed me to drop my daughter off most mornings and be there when she arrived home. I could have chosen a different career path, more money definitely would have helped, but I opted to continue doing what I was doing so I could have the flexibility to be home most afternoons when she arrived home. Family home evenings weren't always formal, many were spent watching Fear Factor or Dancing with the Stars, but we always knew that time was dedicated to spending the evening together. When we did have formal lessons or discussions, my daughter always amazed me at how much she loved to prepare and research information for those lessons.
   
   I think most would agree that loving comes natural, but truly listening to your kids can be a bit more challenging. Especially as they get older! It's not easy to just listen so just keep practicing and try to remember to turn your automatic response button off and just listen! 
   
   Let me close by just saying, give it your best shot moms. It's never easy..sometimes every day seems like a struggle. Just continue to strive to do a little better today, than you did yesterday. 

Why Do We Pay Thithing In the LDS church?

Prior to reading 3 Nephi, I had confirmation and a testimony of the commandments and principles we've been taught by numerous prophets throughout the Bible and Book of Mormon, but reading the commandments and promises received directly from the mouth of Jesus Christ in 3Nephi, really resonated with me the past few weeks. One principle in particular, is the law of tithing. Because I've struggled with this commandment over the years and just recently started paying tithing, I felt the prompting to research more and share my findings and thoughts. 

In Proverbs 3:9-10 it reads  “Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine”.  In the Old Testament and throughout the scriptures we are asked to give a part of our resources, as a way to honor and show gratitude the the Lord for all he blesses us with.

We can also think of paying tithing as a way of being obedient to the Lord.  In both 3Nephi 24:10 and Malachi 3:10 it reads "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse … and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” If we have a knowledge of what the lord has promised us, why do we reject the outpouring of our Lord's blessings?  In most cases it comes down to faith or not wanting to sacrifice.  Regardless if we are rich or poor, paying a tithe is a sacrifice. If we have little money, we have little to give. If we make more money, there always seems to be more we have to pay out. An old phrase I've heard shared many times is "I can't afford TO pay tithing", others respond with "I can't afford NOT to pay tithing".  Ask yourself, what are YOU willing to sacrifice in this temporal world to have everlasting joy?  By being obedient members in the LDS church, we are choosing to have faith and trust in our Heavenly Father. Not only have I questioned the "why" of paying my tithing, but I've questioned the "why" on other things I thought were not significant or would not "harm" me in an obvious or BIG way.  What I've come to realize first hand, is that by finally surrendering myself to the lord and not questioning these seemingly "small" actions, I have been immediately blessed.

 

In modern times we are not only asked to give one-tenth of our income, but we are asked to give of our time. In order to do either, we must have our heart in the right place. It's difficult juggling life in this day and age, but not only are we asked to go to church on Sunday for three hours, but as members of the LDS church, we are asked to hold callings to run the church as a whole, but also our local services each week.  Because our clergy is not paid, as members we choose not only to give our money to the Lord, but our time as well. Giving money and the time required to successfully fulfill or callings, does nothing for us or the Lord spiritually if we do so with a hardened heart. 2 Corinthians 9:7-8 “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always ha,ving all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work”.  

One of the last reasons I'll touch on is the happiness we can receive by giving to others. By paying a fast offering and a tithe, our local leaders are given the power to receive revelation on how the money collected can and should be distributed to those in need. In Mosiah 4:26, King Benjamin told his people “I would that ye should impart of your substance to the poor, every man according to that which he hath, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants". I love what Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said: “Down through history, poverty has been one of humankind’s greatest and most widespread challenges. Its obvious toll is usually physical, but the spiritual and emotional damage it can bring may be even more debilitating. In any case, the great Redeemer has issued no more persistent call than for us to join Him in lifting this burden from the people.”

I testify to you that by living the comparison of times I haven't paid tithing and have paid tithing, I have experienced the personal blessings promised to us by our Heavenly Father.  As my obedience grows, I keep asking myself "do I want the full blessings promised to me by my heavenly father" and by asking myself that question more frequently, I find making the right choice easier and easier.  We all have struggles and this has been one of mine in particular, but I find comfort in knowing that my Heavenly Father knows where my heart lays and he knows I'm working at becoming more obedient to his commandments each day.

In The Service of Your Fellow Beings

There are so many guiding principles King Benjamin taught throughout Mosiah, but the topic of Service is one that is particularly close to my heart. Let me share with you Mosiah 2:16-17; the scriptures I'll be focusing on in this post.  

16 Behold, I say unto you that because I said unto you that I had spent my days in your service, I do not desire to boast, for I have only been in the service of God.

 17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.

 18 Behold, ye have called me your king; and if I, whom ye call your king, do labor to serve you, then ought not ye to labor to serve one another?

In these scriptures he teaches that by serving others, you are directly serving God. He continues by challenging his people to service one another, as he has served them. He tells them not to thank him for that service, but to thank their Heavenly Father and if they give thanks, with their whole soul, they will leave in peace with one another. 

That promise of peace is why I've chosen to devote more of my time to serving others. Heavenly Father lived his entire life serving all of us and serving GOD. He gave everything for us, knowing the outcome, so I choose to repay him by making service a priority in my life. 

I've always gone out of my way to try and help others when needed, but in the last few years, I've dedicated the majority of my extra time to doing service and my heart has changed from that. President Henry B. Eyring wrote a Presidency Message in the March 2014 Liohona magazine titled "Service and Eternal Life". In that letter he talks about how "James the Apostle taught us how the desire to serve others springs from gratitude for what the Lord has done for us." I have a personal testimony of this desire I'd like to now share.

3 years ago in Dallas, I attended a Glenn Beck rally called Restoring Love. One of the planned days was called a "Day of Service". Mercury One had planned an entire day of service for thousands of people, at various locations around the city. When we all gathered at the Dallas Stadium, the shear site of all those people and the buses it required to transport all of us, was an life changing moment for me. 

My daughter and I were able to serve at a local church facility that provided assistance to the needy in the community. I served in the foot pantry and my daughter served in the nursery, where the kids could hang out, while the parents shopped in the clothing area for things they needed. The heat made it miserable that day, but when we left our hearts were filled with that desire to do more. 

That weekend I was blessed with meeting a group of people who had this same desire. The story behind Labor of Love is to long to share in this post today, but I've now found comfort serving with a group of people, from all over the United States, that has made their primary goal to service others as Heavenly Father has commanded.

President Eyring also wrote "The Savior teaches us how we can learn to serve others. He served perfectly, and we must learn to serve as He learned—line upon line (see D&C 93:12–13). Through the service we give, we can become more like Him. We will pray with all the energy of our hearts to love our enemies as He loves them (see Matthew 5:43–44; Moroni 7:48). Then we may at last become fitted for eternal life with Him and our Heavenly Father."

We use that example and choose to service those who others might now feel are worthy. We teach our children to with us side by side. We aren't always the most efficient group, because the people we are serving are the priority and not the project. In following these guiding principles, we often come broken, but leave with our souls healed. 

 Nashville-2015

 Birmingham-2015

If you do not have service in your life or have not made it a priority, I challenge you to do so. The opportunities are right in your backyard and if you can't find the right opportunity, MAKE the opportunity.  I have a testimony that our loving Heavenly Father will reward you for your service, with blessings in this life and in the eternal life.