Corban and the Book of Mormon: Written by himself

I read the Book of Mormon reader and I told my dad. And he told me to go and say a prayer and ask if the Book of Mormon was true and I did.  After I said a prayer I knew the Book of Mormon was true. And I knew that Jesus loves me.  I felt like He really loved me.  And I knew the Book of Mormon was true.

Priesthood Power

A couple weeks ago we went to St George for labor day weekend to see my cousin Kaysha get sealed. It was an amazing experience to see that! On Friday as we drove down, Trenton became ill and had a terrible headache. My parents were down there as well and had invited us to go swimming at their hotel. We were staying at my grandparents trailer. When we got there Trenton was immediately down in a bed and still feeling awful. He asked me to give him a blessing.

In the blessing I felt to tell him that if he had the faith to believe that the Lord could heal him... And had the faith to get up and come with us, that the Lord truly would heal him. He got up and got ready and within minutes was completely fine! The power of God is real!

Priesthood Power

A couple weeks ago we went to St George for labor day weekend to see my cousin Kaysha get sealed. It was an amazing experience to see that! On Friday as we drove down, Trenton became ill and had a terrible headache. My parents were down there as well and had invited us to go swimming at their hotel. We were staying at my grandparents trailer. When we got there Trenton was immediately down in a bed and still feeling awful. He asked me to give him a blessing.

In the blessing I felt to tell him that if he had the faith to believe that the Lord could heal him... And had the faith to get up and come with us, that the Lord truly would heal him. He got up and got ready and within minutes was completely fine! The power of God is real!

Repentance: A Joyful Choice

So in our scripture study tonight we were in the Book of Enos.  One simple chapter, but very focused on the Savior and His redeeming mission.  We had a family discussion about how to repent and what the results of repentance are and how we know when we are forgiven.  A couple of the boys shared experiences when they repented and felt forgiven and shared their testimonies of Jesus Christ and how they know He will forgive anyone.

We then spent some time talking about some of the things that we each needed to repent of that day and how we would go about doing that.  We all shared some way in which we had offended God and a member (or multiple members) of our family or friends.  We discussed how to go about taking care of it completely and not just be forgiven, but to improve our lives and be better.  Jesus' grace is more than just forgiveness, it is also sanctifying... meaning that He wants to make us holy as He is holy.  However, that requires that we act in faith, however imperfectly.

Little Evelyn identified that she had yelled at her Mom today and talked about how she could fix that.  She apologized to Amber and gave her a hug.  I thought that might be the end of it.  However, it was her turn for the family prayer tonight, and after only one or two sentences she broke down crying and started asking Heavenly Father to forgive her.  Her emotions got the best of her to the point where she needed me to help her finish the prayer.  This little four year old showed why Jesus asks us on multiple occasions to become like a little child.  There was no effort to cover the sin, she was completely vulnerable to the Lord and pleading for that forgiveness.  She was ready to receive what God wants to desperately to give.

That is an experience I will not soon forget.  At the end of her prayer she hugged me, sobbing, and then went to Amber and hugged her again.  It was special, very special!  So grateful to have been present for that holy moment!

Mistilyn is home

Mistilyn gave her "homecoming" talk today. We all met together to listen to her and it was awesome to see what a spiritual power that she has developed in these last 18 months. The mission was a blessing for her and for all those around her.

We have had a lot of fighting at our house the last couple months and so we thought we might start reading the Book of Mormon again because of the promises about doing so in the home. We had been doing doctrine and covenants and it was going great, but we needed those blessings of more peace in the home and so we started the Book of Mormon again.

It has been a week and I have slowly seen some improvement in the levels of peace in the home and especially from me personally.  The only thing I can attribute that to is the power of the Book of Mormon. Today even Audrey and Evelyn who normally don't get involved at all were wanting to say things and I felt extremely grateful! Try the power of this Book in your own life!

Slacking again...

Three in a row and then slacking again! 😔 Today I took the day off and we went to Steed Pond a few miles away. We didn't catch much except for some 2-4 inch bluegill 😂. It was fun all the same. Then we came home and had lunch and then went to Hill Aerospace Museum. It was pretty neat and all the kids liked it.

We have been trying something new the last few days to have the kids read for family scripture study beforehand so we have more of a discussion and already have some things we've learned. I was impressed with the boys' answers and hope that we can keep it going.

It's been a rough couple months and I hope we can pull through and have less fighting at home. Putting our trust in the prophetic promises about the Book of Mormon and praying that we see those blessings 🙏🏼

Three in a row???!!!

Today started out with a morning study with Trey. He is preparing to receive the Aaronic Priesthood soon and so we decided to study together at 5:00 a.m. each morning so that he can learn the duties and blessings and responsibilities of those who are ordained to the priesthood. He was definitely tired😂, but he picked things up after a few minutes and I believe is starting to feel the importance of what is about to happen.

Trenton had been sick for a couple days and was feeling sick enough that he ended up asking me for a blessing which is saying something for him. The blessing did help him and he was able to feel better after a day or so and his pain decreased quickly. Tonight we had scripture study and talked about The Tender Mercies of the Lord and Trenton shared that that was a tender Mercy for him.  He has been very sweet the last couple days and very obedient.

We had a little scare with Jaren where they found a growth on his liver and they thought it might be cancer. We took him to Primary Children's last week and they didn't MRI and we found out today that it isn't cancer and so we were very grateful. our families did a special fast and so we feel the words mercy and grace through that blessing.

Taft came with me to work today and listened to summer seminary which was really fun.  I took him to Chuck a Rama for lunch because he finished all 9 volumes of The Work and the Glory!!! I would guess that is over 4,500 pages in total 😱. So proud of him!

Would you rather

So I have been letting the kids come with me to work one at a time and it has been really fun. Taft was supposed to come tomorrow but has swimming lessons. We told him to make the decision and he informed us that as he was thinking about what he should do (lessons or summer Seminary) he had the thought come to his mind, "do you want to learn physically or spiritually?"

I don't know if he just wanted to come to work with me or if that was a legit prompting, but either way it's awesome advice for all of us. Spiritual learning ought to be at the top of our priority list.

I also had monthly interviews with the kids today and Trey had a very emotional one as he is worried about Jaren's condition and what will happen and who might say things to him and what they might say. He is such a good boy and has such a tender heart. Love all of them so much!

In Taft's interview I felt impressed to invite him to pray to find out if Heavenly Father loved him. He forgot to follow through till later that night in our scripture study when we read the first chapter in the Book of Mormon and learned how Lehi prayed with all his heart. Taft informed us that after that he went in and prayed and as he asked he had a warm feeling confirming God's love for him and then had the words of a little picture that he had seen come to mind where the question was asked "How much so you love me?"  The Savior then said (obviously a non-scriptural quote but an accurate portrayal of John 3:16), "This much" and then He stretched out His arms and He died.

I thought it was a beautiful example of God sending the Holy Spirit to confirm an essential truth to my son that the greatest manifestation of the love of God is His willingness to give His Son for us that we might be saved and redeemed. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His Son!

Renewal and the power of the Book of Mormon

So this morning I began anew study of the Book of Mormon trying to do it as a word search for the word father so that I could learn from all father's in the book.

It has already been instructive and one of the first things I noticed was that Lehi wrote down his spiritual experiences which was a blessing to his children. I am renewed in my commitment to do this as well and felt impressed to do so here.

Other things that I noticed were that Lehi was the first person Nephi went to with his spiritual experiences. I want to be the kind of father that my kids will not only feel comfortable to talk to me but that their conmort level is so high that I am at the top of the list of people to share with.

I was also very impressed by a seemingly silly and insignificant verse... The one that all the young men use as their go to spiritual thought... "And my father dwelt in a tent."

The thought came to my mind that Lehi had shown through example what he was willing to sacrifice for the cause of truth. He left his home and all his comforts to hearken to the Lord. He didn't have to teach sacrifice, he was living it!

I also was listening to Bro Durrant's talk on teaching in the home from April 2018 conference and felt impressed that I need to read scriptures and talks with Trey to prepare him for the receipt of the priesthood in a month and to also prepare him for the temple. I pray that I will have the strength to follow through on these commitments and thank the Lord for the Book of Mormon, latter day church leaders and the Holy Ghost that all help me and give guidance to my life. Truly the words of Christ tell us all things what we should do (2 Nephi 32:3).

A New Prophet

Last weekend was General Conference.  I always look forward to it, but this one was especially exciting with a new prophet being sustained.  During the solemn assembly the spirit was powerful in our basement living room as we watched the sustaining.  Each time the camera went to President Nelson I could see and feel in his face what it meant to him to have those sustaining votes and I could feel that he was truly called by God for this time.

This feeling began not only for President Nelson but for his counselors as I watched the press conference and saw how each of these men were specifically prepared for their specific responsibilities and have talents and abilities that are needed at this time.

Then, over the course of the conference that feeling grew stronger as the announcements regarding the welding together of  Melchizedek priesthood quorums and the new ministering program were announced.  The Holy Ghost confirmed to both my mind and heart that these announcements were the Lord's will for His church and will be a blessing to many as we implement them with all our hearts.

President Nelson's talk on revelation was sorely needed for me and is a veritable gold mine of truths about how to receive personal revelation and the blessings that can be ours as we go to the source of all truth.

This weekend left little doubt that God is at the helm in this church and He is directing it through the power of the Holy Spirit and my words echo Elder Stevenson's (although his were in reference to the actual day that the ordinations took place): "This was a deeply sacred experience, with an outpouring of the Spirit. I offer to you my absolute witness that the will of the Lord, for which we fervently prayed, was powerfully manifest in the activities and events of that day."

Elder Stevenson offered additional words that struck me powerfully and resounded as truth: "Interestingly, as President Nelson’s call to the Twelve 34 years ago ended a professional medical career of strengthening and repairing hearts, it began a ministry as an Apostle devoted to strengthening and repairing hearts of countless tens of thousands around the world, each having been lifted and healed by his words and acts of wisdom, service, and love."

Everything that happened this last weekend leads me to echo Elder Stevenson again. "Brothers and sisters, what we have witnessed and participated in today, a solemn assembly, leads to my witness that President Russell M. Nelson is the Lord’s living mouthpiece for all humankind."

While this was a marvelous experience and I love our prophet, I also stand by Elder Andersen's words that, "While we sustain the prophet as the Lord’s anointed, let it be clear that we worship only God, our Heavenly Father, and His divine Son. It is through the merits, the mercy, and the grace of our Savior, Jesus Christ, that we can one day enter again into Their presence."

The Same Doubts Over and Over

I don't know about everyone else, but I tend to have the same doubts about myself and my abilities over and over again. It's a constant struggle.  Questions plague me all the time like if I am a good enough dad for my kids and if I really have what it takes to be the rock I need to be for them. Questions like do I really have enough talents and spirituality to teach 100 teenagers every day. Do I have what it takes to really fulfill my calling? Self doubts are constant and pressing. They are one of the banes of my existence.

Everyone has them I suppose, and I think it is a fairly serious matter to determine how to deal with them. Tonight I just tried to focus on the good. When the kids had destroyed the kitchen, I just thought of how grateful that I am that they are here and healthy. I will miss the messes even though they drive me crazy. Even though I am tired I know I will miss when my daughter wanted me to snuggle with her at bedtime. I know I will miss those things and seeing them in their true light as tender mercies from a loving God helps me realize that despite my inadequacies that this is my reality and that God has entrusted me with these responsibilities, so I should enjoy them!