Spiritual
Knowing who I am, where I came from, why I’m here and where I want to go are critical. Without a strong sense of my spiritual side I would be seriously off balance.
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Resume:
I’ve never known life without spiritual direction. I was born and raised a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. As a daughter of God, I work every day to serve Him through my sphere of influence.
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Highlight Articles:
Family Home Storage I
Sowing Seeds
Things That Matter
I have been sharing LDS leadership resources online for several years now. I have found that women love to see what other women do and have done in their various callings. I created a site just for YW files and am still amazed at the daily traffic there. It showed me not only the desire for files like the many I create every day but also the value in having all my files backed up somewhere besides my home computer. Now that I’m more web savvy and am streamlining my efforts for efficiency I’m developing a new way to do this in one place: this blog.
This is the overview page of my church related items. If at any time you see something that you could use but need it modified or have an idea on how to improve it please feel free to contact me about it. I love to help when and where I can. I’m still working on finding the best way to share all this stuff but I’m trying to at least get a start now. Let me know if you have any suggestions!
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November 9, 2009
Today I am struck with the impression of how much better I need to be about recording doctrines and gospel principles that strike me with meaning. I have so many times heard something that struck a chord thinking I’d for sure remember it only to find later that the hazy memory cloud has consumed the details.
Yesterday in Sunday School, this quote was shared and it really struck me:
President Gordon B. Hinckley taught that each of us has a responsibility to bring to pass this vision of the gospel filling the earth:
“Now, what of the future? What of the years that lie ahead? It looks promising indeed. People are beginning to see us for what we are and for the values we espouse. …
“If we will go forward, never losing sight of our goal, speaking ill of no one, living the great principles we know to be true, this cause will roll on in majesty and power to fill the earth. Doors now closed to the preaching of the gospel will be opened. The Almighty, if necessary, may have to shake the nations to humble them and cause them to listen to the servants of the living God. Whatever is needed will come to pass.
“The key to the great challenges facing us and to the success of the work will be the faith of all who call themselves Latter-day Saints” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1997, 92; or Ensign, Nov. 1997, 68).
The phrases that caught my attention were “speak ill of no one” and “Whatever is needed will come to pass.” The first association for this in my mind is the recent state of so many people about our current government leadership. I couldn’t help but think about how we are retarding the very progress of missionary work that we are striving to build! These words, in association with this specific problem today, brought such clarity to both the instruction of what we should be doing and the peace of knowing if we’re doing our part the Lord will take care of the rest - we need not worry ourselves about it. It is counsel and instruction that will become my backdrop for future discussions when I find myself seeing or receiving comments contrary to this counsel.
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September 2, 2009
This past week I had a very tender experience with my daughter. She was preparing a talk for Sacrament meeting on the Family Proclamation and how it helps us be happy. As we read through some of it together I pointed out that she has a most unique perspective on how important it is to have both a mother and father who love her because of her adoption. She looked at me and asked how she could express that in her talk. I suggested maybe she use some of her birthmother’s own words shared with her through letters. So we went upstairs and reviewed some of those most precious letters together. Many tears later we’d found the perfect paragraph. This is the talk we put together:
Everywhere I look today I see families falling apart. There are a lot of people getting divorced. TV shows, movies and magazines would have us believe that families are not that important, or at least not the most important.
Because our church has “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” we know how important families are. We know that families are forever. We know it’s important for a man and woman to be married. We are taught how important it is for families to love and care for each other.
I have a personal knowledge of how important these truths are. I have been blessed to have two moms who love me. I want to share something my birthmother said.
“I once read that the best proof of love is trust and I know that you will tell Cidnie when you hold her in your arms that her birthmother loved her so much that I did not want anything else in the world but for her to be raised by the two people that Heavenly Father helped me to choose.”
She knew how important the Lord’s plan is for families. And so do I. Because of her I have been blessed to be sealed to my family in the temple to be together forever. I have a mother and father who love each other and love me and my brother.
I can’t think of anything that makes me happier.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen
When we got through she asked me how she could share that without crying. I hugged her and told her maybe that’s not the point.
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October 23, 2008
Today I had a new idea for this page. I realized how much of spiritual beliefs and roots I share in responses to groups I’m part of. So I think I’m going to start copying some of my better responses that hit the spiritual chords here on this page. This way people looking for spiritual content on my blog can find it easily.
On Personal Choice and Angecy-10.23.08
I think one of the hardest trials of this mortal existence is learning for ourselves, especially accepting that truth for everyone else too. It is so hard that we can’t do “brain dumps” of knowledge and experience. It’s even more difficult knowing that even if we could the person receiving still has the choice to accept it or not. *sigh* It makes me think of how our loving Father in Heaven must weep over us. This is just a sliver of what it must be like for him to watch all his children learn on their own. The longer I live, the more I experience, the greater appreciation and insight I have for the nature and unfathomable experience of our Heavenly parents.
I remember sitting in a religion class at Rick’s college many years ago and hearing something that your post brought to mind. The instructor shared the importance of recognizing the personal nature that progress is. He explained that we have to remember that while we may have progressed on the knowledge or testimony of any given thing those around may be at a different level on the same topic. He used an example of soda pop. He shared how his wife had received personal revelation that it was not a good choice. In short, he said that her level of learning on this topic was higher than his own. It was something she’d thought about, prayed about and received her answer. He simply wasn’t there yet and that’s why he as a bishop had no problem popping open his Pepsi. His point was that one day he might be at her level, but that was the difference in journey. And as much as she may want to pull him to her level that wasn’t an option. Progression is personal.
I will leave you with one more little story that I rely on most heavily when dealing with the questions you shared about learning how to let things go, how to deal with differences in decisions, views, opinions, etc. It’s one of my favorites and it too reminds me of our Heavenly Father who has unlimited vision:
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Limited Vision
Four people were in a barn and each one had a knothole to look through. One looked to the east, one to the west, one to the south and one to the north.
The person looking to the east saw the sun come up and said, “The whole world is nothing but sunrises”
The person looking to the west said, “You are wrong, the whole world is nothing but sunsets.”
The person to the north who could see nothing but a haystack said, “You are both wrong, the entire world is nothing but hay.”
The fourth person looking to the south said, “I can’t understand how all of you can be so stupid. The world is nothing but bales of straw.”
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From his own viewpoint, each was right. But, obviously, each one’s viewpoint was limited by the size and direction of the knothole through which he was looking.
Get on top of the barn, look in all directions before casting your certainty on a matter. Know that your ideas may be right, but this does not necessarily make the other fellow’s wrong. He may be seeing the same wide, wonderful world through a different knothole.
Hugs, Holly
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Like this article? 
I have been asked to put on this years Christmas party for our family. do you have any Christmas programs/skits? I really would like a quiet lesson something i could put together with pictures and songs as the story is being told so the little children can enjoy it as well as the adults. Maybe even have booklet that the older ones can follow along join in the songs and have different places were they could write there thoughts or answer questions? If you have any thing please send it to me or tell me were I could find it thank you very much.
Comment by alycemarie — April 22, 2009 @ 9:16 am