A Girl's Best Friend

"Whoever said diamonds are a girl's best friend, never had a dog."

Gabby's baptism day

Last Saturday, Gabby was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  She was excited and also a little nervous.  (She does not like to go underwater...she never has.)  Her Grandpa Mike baptized her.  Her  cute friend Claire was also baptized at the same time.  We met in the chapel and Sister Julie Cannon gave the talk on baptism.  Julie Cannon was just released a couple of weeks ago from serving as the Primary President.  She gave each of them a bear stuffed animal and spoke about the three bears of baptism "bear His name, bear witness, and bear one another's burdens".  Then Gabby was baptized by Mike and we moved to the YW room to have the rest of our program.  Michelle played "Jesus Came to John the Baptist" on the violin.  Ella gave the talk on the Holy Ghost.  I helped her a little but she wrote the talk.  Then Gabby was confirmed.  It was a beautiful, special day.  I am so happy that Gabby chose to be baptized.  I know that she made the right decision and hope that she will always choose to follow the Savior's example.

After the baptism, we had a luncheon at our house.  So many family and friends came to celebrate with us...either at the baptism, at our home or both. I got photos of many but not all.  I am so thankful to have so many wonderful people in our lives. 



Two of Gabby's cute friends, Gracie and Alyssa.

Gabby's friend Claire who was also baptized on September 3.

My aunt Suzanne, uncle Dan and cousin Emily with her son Noah

Jeanette, Patty and Nelson

Grandpa, Grandma and Gabby

Avy, Stacie, Eli, Jeremy and Gabby

Davlynn, Drake, Annette, Leo, Dante, Daphne and Gabby

Jami, Mike, Gabe, Madison and Gabby

Nelson, Patty, Elias, Jeanette, Laly, Suzy, Daya and Gabby

Our family

 

How Language Affects Us

On Sunday, I taught the Young Women.  The lesson was on how the language we use affects us and others. 

As I was preparing, I read this quote:  The prophet Harold B. Lee said, "The most important of all the commandments of God is that one that you are having the most difficulty keeping today."  Before beginning to prepare my lesson, I thought I was pretty good at using clean, respectful, loving language.  But as I studied and pondered and prepared, I recognized areas where I need to improve. 

I love the story that President Hinckley tells in his conference talk "Be Ye Clean".  It's a story of a dream that the prophet Joseph F. Smith had while serving a mission in Hawaii.  It's worth reading in its entirety but essentially, Joseph F. Smith was pretty destitute as were the people he was serving. One night he dreamed he was hurrying to a beautiful mansion.  As he neared the mansion, he saw a bathhouse.  He entered and bathed and changed into clean clothes and then hurried to the mansion.  When he knocked, Joseph Smith answered and said he was late.  He replied that he was late but that he was clean.  He entered the mansion where he saw many leaders of the Church. Joseph F. Smith said that dream had a profound impact on him and increased his confidence.


President Hinckley said, "The result of that dream was that a boy was changed into a man. His declaration “I am clean” gave him self-assurance and courage in facing anyone or any situation. He received the strength that comes from a clear conscience fortified by the approbation of the Prophet Joseph."  Being clean can also give us self-assurance and courage.  It also allows us to call down the power and blessings of heaven.  It's worth any cost to be found clean.

I'm not going to share my entire lesson, but I found many quotes that spoke to me powerfully.  I want to share them primarily as a reminder to me/my family of the importance of clean language but also in case they are of help to anyone else.

"...at least some things we say can be destructive, even venomous—and that is a chilling indictment for a Latter-day Saint! The voice that bears profound testimony, utters fervent prayer, and sings the hymns of Zion can be the same voice that berates and criticizes, embarrasses and demeans, inflicts pain and destroys the spirit of oneself and of others in the process. “Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing,” James grieves. “My brethren [and sisters], these things ought not so to be.”  --Elder Holland











" A woman’s words can be more piercing than any dagger ever forged, and they can drive the people they love to retreat beyond a barrier more distant than anyone in the beginning of that exchange could ever have imagined. Sisters, there is no place in that magnificent spirit of yours for acerbic or abrasive expression of any kind, including gossip or backbiting or catty remarks."   --Elder Holland

"I love what Elder Orson F. Whitney once said: “The spirit of the gospel is optimistic; it trusts in God and looks on the bright side of things. The opposite or pessimistic spirit drags men down and away from God, looks on the dark side, murmurs, complains, and is slow to yield obedience.” We should honor the Savior’s declaration to “be of good cheer.”...Speak hopefully. Speak encouragingly, including about yourself." --Elder Holland

Ephesians 4:32 "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” 




"So, brothers and sisters, in this long eternal quest to be more like our Savior, may we try to be “perfect” men and women in at least this one way now—by offending not in word, or more positively put, by speaking with a new tongue, the tongue of angels. Our words, like our deeds, should be filled with faith and hope and charity, the three great Christian imperatives so desperately needed in the world today. With such words, spoken under the influence of the Spirit, tears can be dried, hearts can be healed, lives can be elevated, hope can return, confidence can prevail."  --Elder Holland

"Let us oft speak kind words to each other
At home or where'er we may be;
Like the warblings of birds on the heather,
The tones will be welcome and free.
They'll gladden the heart that's repining,
Give courage and hope from above,
And where the dark clouds hide the shining,
Let in the bright sunlight of love.
Oh, the kind words we give shall in memory live
And sunshine forever impart.
Let us oft speak kind words to each other;
Kind words are sweet tones of the heart."


"Profanity displays poverty of language. We note the increasing coarseness of language and understand how Lot must have felt when he was, according to Peter, “vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked.” (2 Peter 2:7.).... Language is like music; we rejoice in beauty, range, and quality in both, and we are demeaned by the repetition of a few sour notes." --President Spencer W. Kimball

"May we try not only to talk, but to say something; not only to hear, but to listen; not only to write, but to communicate." --Richard Lederer (author of a book entitled The Miracle of Language

Last sleepover of the summer

I love summer!  My kids love summer.  I love staying up late and sleeping in.  I love seeing my kids outside running around.  I love the time to read, get better organized, blog, spend time as a family, and be more relaxed.  And I especially love that my children have such good friends.  So when they asked if they could do a sleepover before their friend Peyton moves this week, I said yes.  Ella organized it because Michelle was at Oakcrest.  So Peyton, DJ, Liv, and Tia came over.  We had pizza and cookies and chips.  They watched some shows and talked and hung out.  Gabby went with her friend Gracie...they went swimming and had a sleepover at Gracie's house. 

I love these girls.  I love serving in Young Women's and getting to know these sweet girls.  I am so glad that my girls have such good, good friends.

Unfortunately, the night wasn't completely without incident.  Michelle and Liv had been at Oakcrest all week together.   They were both tired and maybe having a sleepover the day they got home wasn't such a good idea.  As they were talking, Michelle said something that hurt Liv's feelings. Suddenly, one of the girls came out to tell me that Liv was crying.  Liv didn't want to talk about it; she just wanted to go home.  I took her home and then went in to try and find out what had happened.  Michelle was crying.  I had her come sit in the living room and talk to me.  She said she was pretty sure she had hurt Liv's feelings.  She didn't mean to be mean, and she felt horrible.  She said Liv had said that she felt like she was losing her best friend.  Michelle said she was tired and emotional and she also said that she had just had one of the best and most spiritual weeks of her life and she felt like she had ruined that.  She came home and wanted to be better and had already messed up.  We ended up having a good discussion about the Atonement and repentance and forgiveness.  She sent a text apologizing to Liv and I think their friendship is going to be just fine...perhaps even stronger because hopefully they will learn to be careful about how they tease one another and talk to one another.  They are both such good girls.  Genuinely good girls. 

I understand how disappointing it is to have a spiritual experience and have a desire to be better and then make a mistake...and I think situations like this are one of the reasons I love Alma 22: 18 so much.  Aaron is teaching King Lamoni's father and King Lamoni's father, the king, prays, "O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee..."  I love this because he has the DESIRE to give away all his sins in order to know God.  I am certain that he wasn't perfect from that moment on.  I am certain he still sinned, but he no longer desired to sin.  In Alma 41:3, 5 it says,

 "And it is requisite with the justice of God that men should be judged according to their works; and if their works were good in this life, and the desires of their hearts were good, that they should also, at the last day, be restored unto that which is good....The one raised to happiness according to his desires of happiness, or good according to his desires of good; and the other to evil according to his desires of evil; for as he has desired to do evil all the day long even so shall he have his reward of evil when the night cometh."  (bold added by me, not in the original)

I believe our Heavenly Father is very merciful and just and he rewards us not just according to our works but also to our desires.  I have desires to be patient and forgiving and full of love, but sometimes my actions don't meet up with my desires.  I believe that He knows my heart and blesses me based on my desires and my actions.  That's not to say that we shouldn't try to become better and try to give up our sins and try to make our actions match our desires.  But, at least for me, I often have better success having good desires and so I am very thankful for this merciful plan.

Elder Holland said,

"...surely the thing God enjoys most about being God is the thrill of being merciful, especially to those who don't expect it and often feel they don't deserve it....however late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you don't think you have, or however far from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love.  It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ's Atonement shines."

What a blessing that is!!  I hope I can do a better job of teaching my children to understand and use the Atonement.  How thankful I am for my merciful and loving Father in Heaven.

 

Oakcrest

Michelle spent 5 days at Oakcrest last week.  She had such a great time.  I was able to ride the bus up to Oakcrest as a chaperone on Monday morning, so I took our cute Beehives to the meeting place.  We had Michelle, Liv and Kate plus Kate's cousin Karli.  I was excited for them.  I didn't grow up in Utah, so I've never been to Oakcrest.  But I've heard great things about it.  I'm so glad she got to have this experience.  She and her friend Liv were cabinmates.

On the bus

Just arrived at Oakcrest....headed off...

On the bus ride home, we passed this pretty river...just about a mile from Oakcrest.  It's  a pretty area.

 Michelle's thoughts about Oakcrest (written by Michelle): The first day they had told us that we couldn't say any words like gosh, dang, stupid, hate, crap, and many more. My first thought was oh no this is going  be a hard week. But, throughout the week I realized that it got easier. On Tuesday, my cabin and another cabin did a thing called Whisper Grove. At first, we were blindfolded and held to each other. Then, we were separated and left alone. For awhile, I stood there alone just holding a rock in my hand, then I realized I had to kneel and hold the rock up (just like we need to kneel and pray.) I was then led to a rope which I held tightly and then thought, maybe this is like the tree of life and I need to move forward so I did. I realized after a long time that I was just moving around a triangle so, I kneeled down and held up my rock and was led to another rope the same thing happened over and over again then in the ending my blindfold was taken off to where I was looking at a picture of Christ and my counsler said " We always need help from our Christ throughout our lives just like you needed mine throughout this course" This was one of the most influential parts of my Oakcrest experiences. My second favorite part was the giant swing. There was a harness and a circular swing that I sat on then I was pulled from my cabin mates up to the top of a totem pole as soon as I got to the top I let go of the rope I was holding and started falling. To me, it was one of the coolest experiences ever. I also met seven new friends three of whom I got really close to. Their names were Paris, Angie, and Ella. Oakcrest was one of the greatest experiences I have ever had and I hope to always remember the friends I met and the fun I had.

This photo, and the 6 photos after it, were taken by Laurel.  Her husband is in the Bishopric and the two of them went up to Oakcrest for the stake night.  President Gustafson did a fun activity making bracelets where the knots they made in the bracelet reminded them to "Doubt Not, Fear Not" which was the theme for Oakcrest this year.  Laurel was kind enough to take the girls a treat and a note from us parents and to take several photos that she shared with us.

On Friday, we picked the girls up.  It was so good to see Michelle again.  I'd missed her.  I knew she was having a great time and I'm SO glad she got to go, but I was so glad to have her home.  She made new friends in her cabin and was excited to take her photo with them.  She hopes they will keep in touch and get together again soon.