A first for Trey

While I was at Cherish's Seminary graduation, Audrey was getting fussy. So, off to the foyer I went. After a few minutes Trey came out to get a drink and ended up sitting by me on the couch. After being out there, someone in the meeting began playing the piano. About the same time I noticed that Trey was looking into the gym where the refreshments were. On the table with the cookies and drinks was a bouquet of flowers.
me: Trey, whatcha lookin' at?
Trey: The flowers. They are so pretty. Yeah, they make me think of Cherish. She LOVES flowers.  Actually they make me think of all of my aunts. Like Mistilyn and Eliana too. They all love flowers. They are their favorite things in the world...well, no actually, they probably care about their family more than flowers. They LOVE it when I come over!

He sure makes me laugh. But it was what came next that I wanted to post about, because I never want to forget it.

me: They do love it when you come over. I'm glad that you love your family and that they love you.
Trey: I know. Mom...my throat hurts.
me: Are you ok? Are you getting a sore throat again? (He had had strep a few days earlier)
Trey: No. It just hurts right now because I'm thinking about my family. And it feels like I want to cry. But not the bad cry. I feel like I want to cry happy tears.
me: Trey, that is so cool bud. Do you know what you are feeling right now? That's you, feeling the spirit. I'm so happy for you! Isn't it such a neat feeling??!!
Trey: No. It hurts! (hence the discomfort in his throat.)

He then could no longer hold back the tears and began to cry.
What a sweet little boy. I was overwhelmed with gratitude at that moment because I was able to be there with him as he experienced being touched by the holy ghost for the first time. It is a precious memory that I hope to never forget. I'm thankful that families are eternal.
-Amber

Changing

President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985) taught that abandonment of sins often requires a change in our lifestyle: “In abandoning sin one cannot merely wish for better conditions. He must make them. He may need to come to hate the spotted garments and loathe the sin. He must be certain not only that he has abandoned the sin but that he has changed the situations surrounding the sin. He should avoid the places and conditions and circumstances where the sin occurred, for these could most readily breed it again. He must abandon the people with whom the sin was committed. He may not hate the persons involved but he must avoid them and everything associated with the sin. … He must eliminate anything which would stir the old memories” (The Miracle of Forgiveness [1969], 171–72).

Becoming as a child

So last Sunday at Cherish's Seminary graduation I took our rather noisy and restless two year old Corban out in the hall to see if I could get him to settle down.  I suppose after 3 hours of church and 45 minutes into another church meeting that requires sitting still for an extended period he had pretty much had it. 
I have always appreciated the beautiful artwork in our buildings - but never as much as when I have taken noisy kids into the hall to simmer down.  It is a great opportunity to see how the change comes over them when you hold them and they look at pictures of the Savior.  It is interesting to note that no matter how the artist renders Christ the child always recognizes Him.  Such was the case on Sunday with Corban.
As I walked by one of the paintings to go back to the chapel Corban said, "I need to say hi to Jesus!"  As I brought him over to the painting to "say hi to Jesus" I thought to myself that this is one of the ways that Christ wanted us to be like a child...always ready and willing to converse with Heaven at any opportunity.  Surely our Father in Heaven appreciates this sort of attitude.  I wondered if I am doing this?  Do I want to "say hi to Jesus" at every opportunity?  What are ways that I can do this?  It has given me some food for thought...
As we looked at the painting together I asked Corban if Jesus loved him.  He responded in the affirmative with one of his big cheesy grins and a giggle.  I hope we all know of the Savior's love for us and that the knowledge brings us the same obvious joy.  For surely He does love all of us...enough that He gave His life for us!

Cherish makes an appearance...

Well, I thought I would surprise you all with a spiritual experience I had the other night. I was having a rough past couple weeks for who knows why, I'm a girl... Anyways, I was laying in bed feeling pretty down when I got a text from a friend. He told me he felt that he needed to share a scripture with me. It was Alma 36:3. (You guys have to go look it up! ;)) I read it and my heart instantly felt lighter and I felt the spirit really strong. This friend then sent me like 6 pages of texts and everything he said was exactly what I have been needing to hear. I didn't feel like I was talking to this friend, but literally felt that he was speaking with the spirit and the message he had for me was from Heavenly Father. I then felt that  Heavenly Father was sitting next to me in my room. I felt loved and I felt a renewed strength that I could conquer anything that came in my path with my father in heavens help. I have never felt that he was so real and personal than I did the other night. I just laid in bed and cried! I told my friend that it didn't feel like it was him that told me everything he did. He told me that he had goose bumps because he couldn't remember anything he had just texted and that his fingers just felt guided! It was an amazing experience. :) Now after that, some of you were not home today and didn't hear the news that Dallyn and I had our first kiss last week. (Layton and Shaina). I was told it had to be posted on the blog. Well, peace and blessins, peace an blessins everyone. Loveeeeee, Cherry.

Our Little Cherish Is Growing Up

I just wanted to give a little shout out to our beautiful sister Cherish today as she is getting ready for Seminary and High School graduation. As much as many of us hate to admit it, she is growing up. While I won't be able to be there today for her Seminary Graduation, she is in my thoughts. I want to express my gratitude for her light and example she brings to everyone around her. There is a reason that she was selected as one of just four youth in the entire stake to be on the committee for her Seminary graduation. People look up to her. People want to be like her. Wherever she is, she brings a light. She makes people smile with her contagious personality. She doesn't care so much about what people think of her, but of what is right. We have all heard the stories of her being such a great example when it comes to that. She has a heart of gold.

Cherish and I have had our rough patches along the way, that's for sure. But as we have both grown and matured, we have developed a great friendship. Some of my fondest memories are of time spent with her, especially the opportunities I had to take a couple road trips to Idaho with her. While one of those trips was driving with the van full of loud high school girls, it was still fun to be with her and see how much people love her. We know she has had her difficult times and hasn't always had perfect relationships with family members, but she has grown so much in so many different ways. She is an amazing young lady. I am so grateful, and consider myself so blessed, to have her as my sister and friend.

Lastly, we have all been hard on her about Dalyn, myself probably more than anyone, but I know it's because we all love her and want what is best for her. She is and will be going through a hard time with Dalyn going on his mission, and I hope we will all remember them both in our thoughts and prayers. Cherish, we love you so much and we are so proud of the woman you are and the woman you are continuing to become.

Before I get to my thoughts, I just want to thank Tyrel and Amber for keeping up on the blog. I know for sure that I haven't done as much as I should or could, so I am grateful for the experiences and spiritual thoughts they have posted as an example to the rest of us. I want to echo Tyrel's sentiment that we need to more consistently post on the blog so that we can become more unified as a family in spiritual matters as well as more aware of the experiences each of us have in our daily lives. Anyway, the last two or three days have been simultaneously extremely busy and incredibly rewarding at the MTC. I worked for about 9 1/2 hours on Wednesday, a little over 11 hours yesterday, and today will be another 10-hour day spent here, with just a couple 30-minute to an hour breaks in between shifts. I love it though and wouldn't have it any other way. I love these amazing Elders and Sisters so much and am constantly blown away at the rate of their growth in Tagalog and in their testimonies and understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Every group that enters the MTC seems to be more and more prepared when they get here. I have had so many awesome experiences the last few days with the missionaries in my new district as well as the other missionaries in my zone. They are truly called of God and fully worthy of their calling. The other day I had the opportunity to participate in a Zone Coordinators Council where all the Zone Coordinators like myself in the entire European-Asian Area met with our Training Coordinators and the Manager of Training over the area in order to discuss the progress and needs of the teachers and missionaries in our respective zones. Our Manager of Training showed us a video of a talk by Elder Bednar from a leadership meeting in England where he talked about teaching to 'the one' instead of to a group. He explained that Christ always taught according to the needs of the individual, even when preaching to thousands, and that it was the best way to truly make a difference for both the individual and the group, because when one person is able to change and become more like the Savior, he or she will naturally be led by the Spirit to help another individual do the same, as will that person, and so on. The concept wasn't really a new one of course, but the way he explained it opened my eyes a little more and made the concept more clear than it had been previously. As I have kept that thought in mind over the past few days, I started to realize that one of the best ways to meet the needs of 'the one' as he said, was to make apparent to everyone around you your complete and absolute dependence on God, so that as they see the way your life is blessed because of that dependence or reliance on Heavenly Father and the Savior, they will come to realize that they must do the same in order to receive the blessings they most desire.

P.S. Tyrel, when I read your comment about this blog becoming a resource you can use for your lessons as a seminary teacher, I immediately thought of the things I shared above about teaching 'the one'. Hopefully I expressed myself clearly enough to provide at least some insight that may help you. Thanks again for all of your and Amber's posts.

Eternal perspective

“If we looked at mortality as the whole of existence, then pain, sorrow, failure, and short life would be calamity. But if we look upon life as an eternal thing stretching far into the premortal past and on into the eternal post-death future, then all happenings may be put in proper perspective.
“Is there not wisdom in his giving us trials that we might rise above them, responsibilities that we might achieve, work to harden our muscles, sorrows to try our souls? Are we not exposed to temptations to test our strength, sickness that we might learn patience, death that we might be immortalized and glorified?
“If all the sick for whom we pray were healed, if all the righteous were protected and the wicked destroyed, the whole program of the Father would be annulled and the basic principle of the gospel, free agency, would be ended. No man would have to live by faith.
“If joy and peace and rewards were instantaneously given the doer of good, there could be no evil—all would do good but not because of the rightness of doing good. There would be no test of strength, no development of character, no growth of powers, no free agency, only satanic controls.
“Should all prayers be immediately answered according to our selfish desires and our limited understanding, then there would be little or no suffering, sorrow, disappointment, or even death, and if these were not, there would also be no joy, success, resurrection, nor eternal life and godhood” (Faith Precedes the Miracle [1973], 97).

Just a quick thought from today as I was studying the Book of Mormon for Seminary.  (I hope that this blog can be a resource I can draw from for lessons, etc.).  I was studying 1 Nephi Chapter 8 where Lehi sees the vision of the Tree of Life.  In verse 7 he recognizes that he is in a dark place - note that he was following the Lord when he came to the dark place (an indication that faithfulness does not preclude us from trials). 

However, because he had been following the Lord he recognizes that he is in darkness and recognizes his need for the mercy of the Lord in verse 8.  When he prays with sincerity the Lord shows him a vision of the Tree of Life (which is a representation of the Love of God).  This was a testimony to me that through sincere, diligent prayer we can have God's love manifested to us.  It was also a testimony of this brief statement from a talk by Rex D Pinegar, "“The Lord’s peace comes not without pain, but in the midst of pain.”

A day at Thanksgiving point

Priesthood

Food for thought here...read the passage from Elder Ballard's last conference talk carefully and look for things that were done by the power of the priesthood..." Brothers and sisters, the power by which the heavens and earth were and are created is the priesthood. Those of us who are members of the Church know that the source of this priesthood power is God Almighty and His Son, Jesus Christ. Not only is the priesthood the power by which the heavens and the earth were created, but it is also the power the Savior used in His mortal ministry to perform miracles, to bless and heal the sick, to bring the dead to life, and, as our Father’s Only Begotten Son, to endure the unbearable pain of Gethsemane and Calvary—thus fulfilling the laws of justice with mercy and providing an infinite Atonement and overcoming physical death through the Resurrection."......thoughts?

So we have been talking to Trey lately about preparing for baptism and today after church we were getting lunch prepared and had a fun little experience.  Trey was being very "service oriented" and bringing food to his brothers.  There were some apples on the counter and Trey decided to wash them.  Wanting to take notice of his kind act I said, "Trey - did you wash these apples?"  He responded "Yes" and I said - "Thanks bud, someone must be preparing for baptism!"  He responded in the affirmative and so I asked Trenton, "What are you doing to prepare for baptism?"  Trenton responded in a sort of 'Duh Dad' tone and said, "I wash my apples before I eat them too!"  To which Trey responded, "yea Dad, he is serving his body!"  Hilarious!!!

As a side note, Corban has been "struggling" with his prayers - essentially just saying "Heavenly Father Dear, AMEN!!!"  This morning he said the sweetest little prayer and included things such as thanking Heavenly Father for Jesus' ouies for us, etc.  Certainly those are moments when you feel like all of the prayers, scripture study and FHE's got somewhere!!!

Righteousness

“The man who stays with the kingdom of God, the man who is true to this people, the man who keeps himself pure and unspotted from the world, is the man that God will accept, that God will uphold, that he will sustain, and that will prosper in the land, whether he be in the enjoyment of his liberty or be confined in prison cells, it makes no difference where he is, he will come out all right” (Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed. [1939], 257).

Blog Posting/Journal

Here is some encouragement to post on the blog (aka our family journal) “How happy we are as we find our grandparents’ journals and follow them through their trials and joys and gain for our own lives much from the experiences and faith and courage of our ancestors.
“Accordingly, we urge our young people to begin today to write and keep records of all the important things in their own lives and also the lives of their antecedents in the event that their parents should fail to record all the important incidents in their own lives. Your own private journal should record the way you face up to challenges that beset you. Do not suppose life changes so much that your experiences will not be interesting to your posterity. Experiences of work, relations with people, and an awareness of the rightness and wrongness of actions will always be relevant. …
“No one is commonplace, and I doubt if you can ever read a biography from which you cannot learn something from the difficulties overcome and the struggles made to succeed. These are the measuring rods for the progress of humanity.
“As we read the stories of great men, we discover that they did not become famous overnight nor were they born professionals or skilled craftsmen. The story of how they became what they are may be helpful to us all. …
“Your journal is your autobiography, so it should be kept carefully. You are unique, and there may be incidents in your experience that are more noble and praiseworthy in their way than those recorded in any other life. There may be a flash of illumination here and a story of faithfulness there; you should truthfully record your real self and not what other people may see in you.
“Your story should be written now while it is fresh and while the true details are available. …
“What could you do better for your children and your children’s children than to record the story of your life, your triumphs over adversity, your recovery after a fall, your progress when all seemed black, your rejoicing when you had finally achieved? …
“Get a notebook, my young folks, a journal that will last through all time, and maybe the angels may quote from it for eternity. Begin today and write in it your goings and comings, your deepest thoughts, your achievements and your failures, your associations and your triumphs, your impressions and your testimonies. Remember, the Savior chastised those who failed to record important events” (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball [1982], 350–51).

Keeping Up With the Jones's

So I just wanted to make a quick post about how awesome it was to go to the temple together the other day. It's something I will look forward to whenever we do it and I'll especially look forward to when our group will grow. And no, I'm not referring to when Tennyson and I get married. Sheesh guys. Do you think about anything else? I was referring to Cherish, Talon, Mistilyn and all the others as they grow up.

I'm hoping our temple attendance becomes so large and frequent that they'll announce the building of a new temple specifically for us in conference someday. I'm not sure what they would call it. I wouldn't want it to be named after us because that would be somewhat sacrilegious, but I don't think it would be too much to ask that they name the street it's built on "Mansfield Lane" or something like that.

Seriously though, some of the happiest times of my life are the times we are able to be together in the temple and feel a sense of eternity there. So thanks to everyone for being worthy and able to attend the temple. Let's keep it that way :)

P.S. I'm glad mom asked the sealer about when he started his temple work. I'm convinced that was the only thing that kept him awake the last few minutes. Sister Jones would probably agree with me.

Taft

So today Taft and I had a discussion about how much we loved each other. He started out with stretching his arms out to show how much and I responded with the fact that I loved him to the moon and back. He promptly responded that he loved me "from my mouth all the way to the moon...and back here and then to Heavenly Father and back here...and into your nose"...I had a very good chuckle about that one...started out so sweet and ended up with a typical boy comment!

Motherhood: An Eternal Partnership with God

As we gathered as a family today to celebrate Mom, Amber, and Shaina in their eternal role as mothers, I realized just how blessed we all are as a family to have such amazing women in our lives (Cherish and Mistilyn are included too, of course). They each possess the incredibly rare and godly attributes of unconditional love for others, undeviating devotion to family, and complete dedication to and faith to and in the Savior Jesus Christ. They see the best in us men, despite our countless flaws, and encourage and help us become the Men of God and Disciples of Christ we are capable of becoming. Without them, we could not accomplish much of anything. I look at Dad, Tyrel, and Layton, and realize that the reason they are such great men and faithful husbands, fathers, and priesthood holders (this in no way is demeaning of them because they were close enough to the spirit to choose the women they married), is because of the women who stand at their sides. I am in awe of the women in our family, and I know that I am not alone in that, because you influence the lives of others for good on a daily basis, especially within our family. I want to testify that I KNOW that as wives and mothers, you are not only part of an eternal partnership with your husbands, but you are also part of a personal and eternal partnership with God, our very Eternal Father, just as Elder Holland teaches in the attached video. I love you, Mama; and I love all of you, Amber, Shaina, Cherish, and Mistilyn, and Eliana and Audrey too for that matter. Thank you for all you do and all you are.

MTC Experiences, Conversion, and the Atonement

So I was sitting here at the MTC during my roughly 45 minute break I have to grab a snack and just rest before my next shift and I realized I hadn't posted anything on our blog yet! Whoops! Anyway, I had a couple incredible spiritual experiences today at work. One was during my morning shift when I taught a district of missionaries who got here just yesterday. The entire shift was in Tagalog, but I was amazed at how much they were able to understand and how much they actually got from the class. It was a day of playing charades and having them read sections from Preach My Gospel in order to provide them with both a spiritual experience and a time when they are immersed in their mission language, but it was awesome. The last hour and a half or so of the shift was spent teaching them how to pray and how to bear testimony in Tagalog, so naturally at the end of the shift, I bore my testimony to them in Tagalog. As I was bearing my testimony about the Savior and also their calling as missionaries, I felt a powerful prompting to promise them that they could learn the language in six weeks (their time at the MTC) if they would work hard, pray daily for the gift of tongues, and trust in the Lord and in their calling as representatives of Jesus Christ. The Spirit filled the room and I knew that the promise I had just extended to them was coming directly from the Lord, and I could see clearly in their eyes that they actually understood and felt the truthfulness of that promise! It was so cool! The second experience I had was during our weekly Philippines area training meeting. We had a group discussion about conversion and how we can better help the missionaries understand and apply the doctrine of conversion. As we were sharing thoughts and scriptures with one another, I came to understand the Atonement in a different way and on a deeper level than I have before. I saw more clearly the link between the Atonement and the process of becoming converted or becoming more like Christ. In 2 Nephi 4:21, it says, "He hath filled me with his love, even unto the consuming of my flesh." I realized that conversion is love. We can only truly becoming converted to the doctrines of the Gospel and to Him whose gospel it is as we accept and receive the perfect love that the Father and the Son have for us and begin so see ourselves as worthy of that love. If we can see and understand that we as mere mortals are worthy of the love of immortal, perfect, and eternal beings such as them, we will believe more fully in our capacity to become like them. I'm sure this isn't anything earth-shattering or new to a lot of you, but it hit me more than ever before for some reason today, and I am grateful for that experience. Anyway, just wanted to share. Love you guys!!!

Trey and Trenton's run in

Trey and Trenton were being so good to help out their Mom with organizing their toys and had a little run in...Trey got the worst of it...

Obedience

James E. Talmage when he said, “Obedience to law is the habit of the free man; the transgressor fears the law, for he brings upon himself deprivation and restraint, not because of the law, which would have protected him in his freedom, but because of his antagonism to the law.” (Articles of Faith, p. 53.)