Words

I have often thought about how powerful words can be. I've written poetry, and found ways to use words to be very descriptive or convincing. but lately I have been noticing just how powerful they are. They can invoke the deepest feelings of love, joy and peace, lift the soul, comfort the weary, give hope, share humor and do many other wonderful things. but they can also, hurt feelings, damage relationships, change the future, tear apart families and create war. and many things in between. Once you have said something, you cannot UN-say it. You can not control how it will be received, interpreted, or effect those that hear it. speaking out laud is permanent, in that respect. This got me thinking. "Am I thinking about, and choosing my words with care?". Or do I just spit them out recklessly, not paying attention to their effect. I am now trying to think about and chose my words wisely.

O Say, What Is Truth?

I read this on the personal blog of Matthew Kastendieck, one of my blog followers. I couldn't have said it any better, and it really impressed me, as it's exactly how I feel:

D&C 93:24 says: “And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come;”

This grand principle is not generally known among mankind. In grade eleven, I had a teacher who defined truth as the accepted beliefs of how things are. She talked about how truth was subject to change as mankind learned more about the universe around them.

If this is the case, what principles ought we to build our lives upon? According to this definition, even truth cannot be relied upon because it may change.

I am grateful for the knowledge that truth is unchanging; it is more than a belief or opinion. While we do not have a perfect knowledge of the truth, God does. That is why we can trust in Him to guide us in this life.

In the tempest of changing opinions and beliefs in the world around us, we can always look to the lighthouse of God’s word, which guides us according to the absolute and unchanging truth.

The Lord's University

In a talk presented by our Stake President, he spoke of the Lord's University. It being the temple. That church and scriptures, seminary, etc are kind of like elementary, middle, and high school. They are very helpful and send you in the right direction, but if you really want to know what to do, how to do it, and everything else you have to go to the University. It will really give you direction in your life.

something I am continually learning....

To obtain knowledge and wisdom, requires patiance and faith.

This is just a friendly reminder to all who read and post here. This is not a Forum for discussion, a place for debate, advice or even a place to teach. If teaching takes place it is my hope that it would be because the reader seeks it personally. This is a place to simply share. I realize many have different views, beliefs and faith, and I want everyone to feel they can post here and not worry about having to defend or explain themselves. Appropriate comments on others posts would be along the lines of "thank you for sharing", "good luck" or "if you want to discuss that more contact me personally."

friendship

I know its been a while. I have learned lots of things. but the one that is coming to mind at present is one I am still learning. that is friendship. I am learning from my dear friend... how to be a friend. Having so many sisters that I have always been extreemly close to has kind of handicaped me when it comes to having a friend who does not have to still love me tomorrow and be my friend even if we have nothing in common. It actually is very different to have a friend who you are not related to. But is SO fun and incredibly rewarding.

Dedicating Home

Since none of the family were able to join us when we dedicated our home, I wanted to share some thoughts about that experience.

We had long thought of dedicating our home. Typically, the church does not dedicate a building until it is paid for and, as far as I know, all churches built currently are completely paid for upon completion. That is not reasonable for our home because it would never be dedicated under that criteria. We felt there were certain things we needed to do to make the home ours before we dedicated it: i.e. hang up pictures, make our doll display, etc.

Then I read about the Chilean Earthquake. A few days before the earthquake, a mission president's wife felt impressed that they should visit all of the missionaries and dedicate their apartments and have each companionship prepare a 72 hour kit. They did this. When the earthquake struck, all missionaries were safe, their apartments were relatively undamaged, and the missionaries were calm and prepared and able to help others.

I am persuaded that Heavenly Father will respect the freedom of choice he has given us even to our own destruction. The way we tell him we want his involvement and guidance in our lives is through prayer. If we don't pray about it, it is in effect saying, "This I want to do myself without your involvement." He will respect that.

I felt strongly that I wanted his help in protecting our house come what may in the future. Don thought sometime about what he wanted blessed in the house and we discussed it together. When he said the prayer, I felt the spirit very strongly. It was a manifestation of his priesthood power which was very sweet.

Latino Mormons

This week a friend at work sought me out to tell me he had attended his first Mormon church service. He said he was interested, even though he is Catholic. He was very surprised when I told him, "There are a lot of ex-Catholics in the Mormon Church."  In response to his questions, I pointed out that there are more native Spanish speakers in the Mormon Church than native English speakers, and that nearly all of them are converts from Catholicism. Blew his mind. I didn't realize it until later, but it may be that half the members of the Church are ex-Catholics.