Jesus Christ is amazingly patient!

Good Morning my four little followers!

 I had a great walk this morning.  I have to brag.  4 miles in one hour with 1.5 miles going up the hill!  I feel invigorated, but my hands are shaking and it is hard to type slowly.  If I type fast, I don’t miss keys.

But, now on to the blog…

For the past few months, I have been studying patience in my personal scripture study.  I am sure everyone wishes that I had studied that topic earlier in my life, but I have been helping you all develop patience. 

Proverbs 14:29  He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly. 

I am very foolish very often and exalting folly all around me. 

Erik’s Scripture Sunday blog made a big impression on me.  He used John 13:2-3 which says that Jesus knew he had God’s power in His hands.  Yet he allowed all those around Him to use their agency, Judas, the Sanhedrin, Pilate, the Roman Soldiers, all were allowed to choose their actions.  After all Christ endured during the atonement, he patiently endured all the rest.  Is there anything more godly than having the power but patiently waiting to use that power.  How much love did He have?  I cannot comprehend His love.   For me, he resisted the impulses he surely had to strike those Pharisees if not dead, then at least with a little leprosy.   For me, he endured the taunting, whippings and indignities inflicted by the Roman’s.  For me, he endured the pain of crucifixion.  For me, he suffered the withdrawal of His Father. 

I cannot imagine what it must have been like because He has never withdrawn from me. When I have finally humbled myself enough to turn to Him, there He is, right where I left Him.

He is still patient.  He allows me to use my agency, never exerting any power over me, but always by persuasion, long-suffering (oh He is good at that where I am concerned), gentleness, meekness, and unfeigned love.  I feel only kindness and absolutely no guile (another incomprehensible aspect of Christ’s love for me…how can He do it?).  Oh, he reproves me very often with sharpness but it is with such love, stronger than the cords of death.  Yeah, His love is Charity!!!   It is pure and fully accepting and amazingly patient. 

I so desire to be like that.  I really do.  I am so far from that, but His example is there, His atonement gives me hope.  I loved Erik’s blog because it really showed me how patient my Savior is.  I gained another few cognitive synapses into comprehending His love for me.  Thanks Erik. 

Thank you all for being absolutely the most fabulous kids in the world.  What blessings you all are. 

All Things Typify of Christ

Went to my first inservice for Seminary this morning.  Imagine, June inservice.  Everyweek there is going to be an inservice.  Imagine, training!  Brother Fatheringham is quite different from Brother Haddock. 

Well, today he gave us the "key" for teaching the Old Testiment.  2 Nephi 11:4.
"Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ; for, for this end hath the law of Moses been given; and all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him."

He gave us a few items to compare with Christ.  He wrote the words "son" on one side of the board and on the other was the word "sun."  We each had to tell something that we new about the sun and then we discussed how that is respresentative of the Son of God.  Try it...The sun is in the "center" of our Galaxy.  It is "bright."  It ensures life upon the earth.  It's gravity hold the planets in their course. 

I am sure you get where this was going.  Christ is the "light", bright.  He is the life.  He is the center of the plan, the center of our life.  Following Him holds us on our proper course.  Etc. 

So the idea is that every lesson in the Old Testament will be centered on Christ. 

Brother Fatheringham asked to try this exerices often while we are preparing our lessons.  He challenged us to take one object found in the lesson and to make the same chart.  So in the first few lessons, we will be studying the creation.  His suggestion was to take something from the creation and compare it to Christ. For example, compare a blade of grass to Christ.  Write down everything you know about grass and then see how it typifies Christ.  After all, Nephi says that everything God has given us typifys Christ. 

So, here is my challenge to those of you who read my blog.  Can you try it.  Choose something from the creation story and write down everything you know about it and then see how it typifies Christ.  Then if you would share it with me, I will share it with everyone else and probably my class.  Yep, I am being lazy and letting the people I love most help me with my lessons.  But I thought it would be fun to share with each other what we discover.  So thanks.  I look forward to reading your comments.

Priesthood Power

When I started my Sabbath Studies, I found something to blog about.

Priesthood Power

One of the first scripture masteries for D&C seminary year is D&C 1:37-38 which tells us that whether it comes from God’s own voice or the voice of his servants it is the same.  The challenge was given…”What did the servants of God tell us to do in the last conference?”  I was pleasantly surprised to see that some students remembered some items.  I then asked them specifically to tell me what President Monson, the prophet, had said.  One or two items were remembered.  I challenged them to at least always read the prophets comments in the conference issue of the Ensign and to take notes of what he asks us to do and then to try to do them.  So in order not to be a hypocrite I am doing so with the April conference. 

FYI in his opening statements for this past conference he…

1.       Encouraged us to go to the temple more often and redeem our dead.

2.       Contribute to the mission fund.

I am attending the temple more often, but forgot about the mission fund thing. Will have to remedy that.

Next came his priesthood talk, Priesthood Power, pg 66.  I do not hold the priesthood, but I decided to follow Nephi’s advice and “liken” it to myself.  What an eye opener.

Now the first few things he suggests are not specific to the priesthood.  They are as follows (it is not a short list and I don’t think I got them all):

1.       Do not subject yourself, even to the innuendo of immorality in TV, film, or music.  Man, that takes away all TV watching.  That one will be hard to adhere to.

2.       Don’t swear.  I am doing pretty good with that one.  Don’t even think swear words much. 

3.       Don’t say or do anything of which you cannot be proud.

4.       Stay away from porn.  Good on that one, except for the innuendo’s I watch on TV.

5.       Avoid alcohol, drugs, tobacco and anything else that is addictive. 

6.       Read the Book of Mormon and ask God for testimony.

7.       Gain or strengthen your testimony.

8.       Obey the commandments

9.       Say your prayers.

10.   Read your scriptures.

11.   Repent.

12.   Reject false teachings.

13.   Get married in the temple (got that one).

14.   Avoid divorce.  Doing okay on that one too.

15.   Be fiercely loyal to spouse.

16.   Follow D&C 121

17.   If you want your spouse to be the right person, then you have to be the right person. 

18.   Monson says we should do whatever it takes so we can make our marriage as happy as it was when we first started out.  I don’t want to do that!  We are much happier now. 

19.   Be honorable and above reproach.

I was pleased to observe that I was doing most of these things.  But I would like to comment on a few of the things he said regarding marriage and the priesthood.  He quotes President Hinckley, towards the end of the talk, who was discussing D&C 121:41 (see 41-46).

Now, I know that a lot of women in the church just skip this as something that pertains to the priesthood and sure, we need to be kind and whatnot, but we don’t read it thinking how it specifically applies to us. 

Well, it does!  The ultimate priesthood unit is the home.  According to For the Strength of Youth, it is the most sacred unit in the church.  It is made up of a presidency, husband, wife and the savior.  It is a priesthood presidency and the wife is part of that presidency.  How well the priesthood works in our home is dependent on how well we live up to the criteria of section 121:41-46.  How well do we respect and treat the rest of that family presidency (all members)?.

 In the fourth paragraph before the end of President Monson’s talk he says,”

“President Hinckley taught that it is up to each of use who hold the priesthood of God (or share in its blessings as a partner, wife, mother, sister, or just a female) to discipline ourselves so that we stand above the ways of the world (which demeans men).  It is essential that we be honorable and decent men (and women).  Our actions must be above reproach (no gossiping, complaining, or degrading our priesthood holders).

“The words we sepak, the way we treat others, and the way we live our lives all impact our effectiveness as men and boys holding the priesthood (our behavior towards our fathers, brothers, bishops, uncles, sons, etc. affects how effective they are or can be). 

“The gift of the priesthood is priceless (how could we dare harm its effectiveness). It carries with it the authority to act as God’s servants, to administer to the sick, …”

I challenge my daughters and my cute daughter-in-law and any future ones I may have to really think about these verses.  Just as we want our husbands to live them, we must live them too and support our priesthood holders and let them know how much we admire and appreciate them.  Let us not do anything that would impede them in their work or ability to act in God’s name. 

Huh?

I had a muse this morning.  It was apparently a really good muse.  So I decided that after about a year, I would muse on my blog.  So I tried to find my blog.  I have a new computer and my blog spot was not on this computer’s favorites as it had been on the old one.  I could not even remember the name of my blog.   After some discussion with Erik, we both kind of remembered something about mother and musing and then I recalled it was mothersmorningmusings.  Well, if you don’t use your blog, they disconnect it.  So I filled out a great big long form on line to reactivate it.  The old one may come up sometime tomorrow or it might not. 

I wanted so much to record what I wanted to blog today, so I created a new blog.  But then I couldn’t figure out how to write and post a new blog.  So I had to call Elizabeth and after some time clicking different spots she suggested, I found the place to write a blog.  Well, now I am here, ready to blog and I have no idea what it was that I was going to write about in the first place. 

But I have a working blog!

This is a test

This has taken forever.  But I have a blog, again!