March Ensign Highlights

I completed my ward's Relief Society challenge again this month. I get such a feeling of accomplishment when I finish an issue of the Ensign. It is a spiritual boost that I enjoy gaining. I feel as if each issue has a few articles that deal with something that I have been thinking about or needing help with. When I flip back threw the pages to find some highlights I feel like I have highlighted almost the entire Ensign. It really is hard to find just a few items that I want to share. So bare with me if there is a lot that I am quoting or sharing.

Looking For The Good

by: President Uchtdorf

This was the first article in the magazine. As you can tell they start right off with amazing teachings. Here President Uchtdorf says "Those who look for the good will find a kind and compassionate people-a people who love the Lord and desire to serve Him and bless the lives of their fellowman. But it is also true that those who look for the bad will certainly find things that are not so ideal." This is something that I feel I need help with. Sometimes I am so critical and judgmental of people and don't really give them a chance. I jump to conclusions and it's hard to sway my thinking after that. I don't take the time of getting to know who they really are, I kind of just make assumptions from my first impressions. Next he says "The word of God admonishes the followers of Christ to be pure, peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy." I need to work better on not being such a hypocrite and show more mercy. I judge people on situations that I haven't had to deal with and assume that I would handle a situation differently. We all have the choice of seeing the good or bad in others. I need to remember to give others the benefit of the doubt that I would want from them. I'm not perfect by any means so I need to not expect everyone else to be.

Teaching the Doctrine of the Family
by: Julie B. Beck

There was a ton in this article that I loved. My focus in life seems to be on my family since I have had Cooper. I want our family to do the things we should and be prepared to teach Cooper and our other children the things we should about life and the gospel. We need to get prepared now and start habits that we want our children to have. This article states "Without the family, there is no plan: there is no reason for mortal life." I really take this to heart. I feel like everything I am doing now is for my little family. My goals and actions are really centered on my family and future children. I truly feel that my path in life was to be a mom. Yes, I got my college degree but I didn't do it for myself or for a career goal. I did it so I have something to fall back on and to be able to support my family incase anything every happened to Brad and also to show my kids how important education is. I didn't want to give them an excuse to not go to college. I know that college isn't for everyone but I wanted to be the best example I knew how for my children.

Raising children is not going to be easy. Especially if I want to teach them the gospel and show them how to be the kind of person the Lord wants. As Sister Beck says "Bearing children is a faith based work." I know that I am going to need help teaching my children and there is great comfort knowing that I can turn to the Lord for guidance. A part of this is teaching my children the true doctrine of the family. In order to do this we need to "Live in our homes, in our families, in our marriages so that youth will develop hope for eternal life from watching you." I know this is important for my own children to see but also for the youth in my ward. Serving in the Young Women has given me a new perspective on how the life I live is being seen. Every action or word spoken needs to show my own children as well as my Young Women that I believe in this gospel and eternal families. I know that I can't be perfect all the time and it gets really overwhelming when I think about all the things I could/should be doing better. It really helps to remember what Sister Beck says "Think in terms of precision not perfection." I need to work on one thing at a time and be precise with that habit before I move on to something new. We aren't expected to be perfect but we are to strive to be the best possible.

We hear all the time about how much harder the world has gotten and is still getting. We see all these things happening around us and it is really scary. It scares me for my own children and thinking about how the world is going to look when they are older. "This generation will be called upon to defend the doctrine of the family as never before. If they don't know it, they can't defend it." That is why it is so important for me to show my children how an eternal family can look and should act. I want them to know they are supported and loved. "The time will come when only those who believe deeply and actively in the family will be able to preserve their families in the midst of the gathering evil around us."

There is so much more from this article that I could share. But instead I would encourage you to read them yourself!

February Ensign Highlights

So as I have mentioned before the Relief Society in my ward has issued a challenge to read every issue of the Ensign this year. I wasn't successful at reading the January issue. My subscription to the Ensign was up and by the time I renewed it I wasn't able to get the January issue. I even went to the distribution center to buy a copy and they were out of them. I still am going to read it but I will have to do it all online. I did however successfully finish the February issue. I don't remember the last time (if ever) that I read an issue of the Ensign cover to cover. I really actually enjoyed reading it. It is nice getting a testimony boost from reading other people's stories and testimonies. I feel that my testimony grows stronger by hearing others testimonies than by just studying the scriptures on my own. Don't get me wrong both contribute greatly but I enjoy getting to hear others testimonies. I loved a lot about this February issue, but I just wanted to share a few of my favorite things.

The first things I wanted to share are from the article "The Power of Early Preparation". In this article it states:

“We will need to have developed and nurtured faith in Jesus Christ long before Satan hits us, as he will, with doubts and appeals to our carnal desires and with lying voices saying that good is bad and that there is no sin. Those spiritual storms are already raging. We can expect that they will worsen until the Savior returns.

“However much faith to obey God we now have, we will need to strengthen it continually and keep it refreshed constantly. We can do that by deciding now to be more quick to obey and more determined to endure. Learning to start early and to be steady are the keys to spiritual preparation. Procrastination and inconsistency are its mortal enemies.”

This article really hit me. I feel like I have such a long way to get where I need to be spiritually. I know that I could and should be doing more to strengthen my testimony. But I think that I procrastinate and say I will do better tomorrow. It really makes me think when it says that procrastination and inconsistency are mortal enemies to spiritual preparation. I need to stop procrastinating and being inconsistent. If I don't I know that is going to be my downfall. The part about how the spiritual storms will continue to worsen until the Savior returns is scary. I see it all around with how things are changing and not for the better. Life for young children and teenagers as well as adults is more tempting and harder than it used to be. We need to continue to strengthen not only ourselves but those around us in order to get through the storms. It also quotes:

"If we are not preparing for eternal life, we are preparing for something else, perhaps something far less."

On Sunday I taught my young women a lesson on eternal families. It made me want to strive to do everything in my power to ensure I have an eternal family. We discussed how just because I was married in the temple that the blessings of eternity are not promised to me. If I don't it isn't only affecting me but will affect my family. I think of my Cooper and how if I'm not living the way I should be it will punish him in the end. I WON'T do that to my perfect little baby. I have to continually work and strive for an eternal life with my family. This leads perfectly into the last part of this article that I will quote:

"Rearing children in the gospel is a process, not an event. The secret is to start early, be consistent, plan for life's demands, focus on eternal truths, and study the gospel."

I know that Cooper is only 7 1/2 months old but Brad and I are dedicated to starting early with family prayer, family home evening, and doing everything possible that we can to teach our kids while they are young. Starting young and being the best example possible for our children is the key!

The next highlight that I found was in the Question & Answers portion and was submitted by Elaine Chamberlain from England. She said:

"Sometimes it may seem that if we get out of bed in the morning and by bedtime have not managed to feed and tend the children, bake homemade bread, finish all the housework, study the scriptures, do our home or visiting teaching, attend the temple, do family history, go to choir practice, prepare a lesson or talk for Sunday, and finish cross-stitching the Ten Commandments, we have failed.

Don’t worry—there is always tomorrow. The key is faith. When we stay close to the Lord and obey His commandments, we can be prompted by the Holy Spirit to know what our priorities are each day. We can also take comfort in the fact that Heavenly Father knows us. He knows our hearts, our trials, our strengths, and our weaknesses. We can start moving toward peace by accepting that He loves us, despite our imperfections and limitations."

I couldn't relate more to this statement. I always feel like there isn't enough time in the day for me to do everything that I should with regards to not only my duties as a mom/wife but with regards to me being a daughter of god and an ideal LDS member. There are so many things that I wish I could do in the day that just don't get done. I need to remember that the key is faith! If I am following the Lord's commandments and trying my hardest to do everything I know is right and all that I am capable of doing, He will let me know the priorities in my life. Like it states in the "Finding Answers" article that's in this issue "The sense of being overwhelmed is very much a part of the journey". I am just so blessed that I have finished school and that I am not working on top of all my other responsibilities. This gives me even more reason to be diligent and try harder at doing my best!

I am so grateful for the challenge to read the Ensign. It was a goal I had set for myself before I heard the challenge, this just gave me more incentive. I encourage those who can to read the Ensign. It is such a great tool that we have available to us. You can't read it and not gain something from it. I just got my March issue out of the mail yesterday and I can't wait to dive into it!