2 Nephi 9:51Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy. Hearken diligently unto me, and remember the words which I have spoken; and come unto the Holy One of Israel, and feast upon that which perisheth not, neither can be corrupted, and let your soul delight in fatness.
If you think about feasting, you probably have visions of a great Thanksgiving-type meal with everything you love to eat before you. You don't just take a nibbling of food and be done. NO-you feast!
Most of us probably eat too much at these holiday meals. We fill up on turkey, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, salads, veggie trays ,sweet potatoes, rolls etc. As we are feasting, we are having this wonderful experience with the food on our plate. It tastes so good! Our taste-buds are dancing with delight. There is a part of us that doesn't want it to end. We'll ask Aunt Helen "how did you make these delicious rolls? They are so soft and buttery!" We go on and on fully engaged and partaking of this feast before us.
After a while, we then fill up on the fatness mentioned in the scripture above. And oh how we love that part of the holidays! We love the pies and desserts.
This is feasting. This feels good to the soul to be able to indulge like this physically every so often.
After we physically feast on food, our stomachs eventually empty, and we want it all over again. Although the meal is momentarily satisfying, it is not eternally lasting.
The Lord says, "...come unto the Holy One of Israel, and feast upon that which perisheth not"
We are reminded that a true feast, is a spiritual one.
John 6:35And Jesus said unto them, I am the abread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never bthirst.
Interesting that the Lord uses the word FEAST when talking about reading and studying the scriptures. He could have said read, glance over,flip through, skim, apprehend, or learn. Instead he used the word FEAST, which conjures up all kinds of emotions, visuals, and meaning inside us. Being mortal, we love to eat.
As we were discussing this verse in Sunday School, it really made me ponder..
Marriage is one of my favorite topics to talk about. If I could have my dream job without all the schooling to get there, I would love to be a family or marriage counselor. I love to help others in their relationships to be happy and successful.
I look around me and have seen several close friends who are struggling in their marriages or whose marriages have failed. There seems to be this epidemic going around!
To be honest, it scares me! All of these families are no different than ours and those marriages seem very equal to our marriage. The realization that if this happened to them, it can happen to us. It really can happen to anyone.
We must nurture our marriages and our families! They matter so very much!
Last week I was so privileged to be apart of a World Wide Training session via satellite, for all auxiliary leaders in our church. Two hours f-l-e-w by as we were taught by prophets, apostles and other church leaders.
I feel such a great LOVE for these brethren and sisters who are instruments of the Saviors work here on the earth. The Church is so true! That is what I felt over and over again while I watched.
I was so happy to go on to lds.org and see that they have the World Wide Training available for everyone to listen, read, or download. Go {Here} for that link.
Elder Russell M. Nelson
I love Elder Russell M. Nelson. He spoke about marriage and family. That seems to be a topic he feels strongly about and speaks of often. We had a Stake Conference last October via satellite, and he gave a great talk there on marriage. He is so cute with his wife Wendy.
You can go {here} to read his talk in its entirety. I am going to highlight a few key points that he spoke on:
"In the Church, we stress the significance of marriage, children, and the family because we know the doctrine. And we, as leaders of the Church, know that the adversary incessantly aims attacks at the family. In the past 50 years the birth rate has dropped in nearly every nation of the world. Marriages are being postponed until later in life, and families are getting smaller, even in the Church."
"Our task to defend the family is not an easy one. Trends in the world diminish the significance of the family. Sadly, the sacred powers of procreation are desecrated by many people. And the divinely designed nature of marital intimacy is tarnished by the addictive, pernicious, and poisonous plague of pornography."
"In reality, we are raising our children in enemy-occupied territory. The homes of our members must become the primary sanctuaries of our faith, where each can be safe from the sins of the world."
"Our Master depends upon us to live according to His truth. Please teach our members that marriage is ordained of God. It is doctrinally based and eternally significant. "(he said this in very strong tones)
"Three times in sacred scripture the warning is made that “the whole earth would be utterly wasted” at the Lord’s return if certain conditions were not in place (see D&C 2:3; 138:48; Joseph Smith—History 1:39). In each instance, that warning relates to the condition of the human family without the sealing ordinances of the temple. Without these ordinances of exaltation, the purposes of creation would not be realized. "
"Teach that family relationships start with the love of a husband for his wife, and of a wife for her husband. Marriage brings two very different and imperfect people together. Husbands and wives deal with their imperfections best with patience and a sense of humor. Each should stand ready to say, “I’m sorry! Please forgive me.” And each should be a peacemaker."( I thought that was a powerful statement. We should both be peacemakers. Alot of marital arguments can be nipped in the bud if we both seek to be peacemakers.)
"Each personal imperfection is an opportunity to change—to repent. Repentance, at any age, provides needed progress. It leads to a mighty change of heart, which leads to a love of God and your neighbor, especially that neighbor to whom you are married. Repentance includes forgiveness, and forgiveness is a commandment. The Lord said, “I … will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men” (D&C 64:10). When repentance is complete, you even forgive yourself."
"Differences of opinion occur between husband and wife. But one’s objective in marriage is never to win an argument, but to build an eternal relationship of love.
Marriage is sanctified by family prayer morning and night and daily scripture study. Marriage is stabilized by careful financial planning, avoiding debt, and living within a budget with willing obedience to the Lord’s law of tithing. Marriage is energized by making prime time together. Marriage is protected by an absolute commitment to make it successful." (this is worth reading carefully)
"Remind each married bearer of the priesthood that his highest duty is to care for his wife. She enables him to qualify for his greatest blessings. And when the children leave the nest, a husband and his wife will have each other in what can be a wonderful and exciting phase of life together."
"Teach that parenting is a joint venture. The father exercises his leadership with light and love, never in any degree of unrighteousness. The mother provides the intuition, the inspiration, and the nurture that come from her so naturally." (how beautifully said!)
Years ago there was an LDS video called What is Real? It was about a father worrying about his newborn daughter and what she was going to face in her life and how he was going to protect her.
When this video was made, which was state of the art at that time, (early 1990's), the focus was on bad friends, drugs,and alcohol. I don't mean to minimize how serious these concerns are. They are still on the short list. BUT technology and how fast and accessible and addictive it is, is What is Real right now.
I am so inspired by the Ensign magazine. I L.O.V.E it! While I was waiting in the orthodontist office I read this article in the February 2012 issue:
How applicable and needed is this article!! At least that is what I was thinking the whole time I was reading it.
As far as parents go, I am about as normal as normal gets. My kids spend way too much time on facebook in my opinion. They are also really into You tube videos that I have mixed feelings about. Some are really funny I admit, and others super inspirational. It has its mix, but my husband and I are worried about all the other garbage on there that usually pops up on the side-bars.
Maybe you can relate to some of that.
I am concerned how much time by girls spend on facebook. Maybe it is more of a girl thing as we as females are naturally have more social needs. We don't have issues with our Wii at all. It is there, and we like it, but they never think of playing it unless friends come over. Moms of boys seems to have more problems with video games and regulating that. I don't know if that is a true stereo-type or not. Just an observation.
We have tried many different rules and regulations to keep face-book under control. I noticed it was taking that WAY too long to do homework because they would flip to facebook every few minutes. Ya, see my issues?
We only have one computer in the house which is in our kitchen area, so whenever they are on, we are aware of it. That helps.
My main concern, and this if for myself too...is although there is good in facebook and most technology, it is going extremely fast, and I am worried if I can keep my children spiritually grounded, tuned in, and safe.
Here is what we have tried:
giving them a day that they can be on facebook
setting a timer
putting little sticky notes on the computer "Computer is off limits today"
Yelling: "Get off the computer...now!"
Teaching them correct principles of WHY
etc...
If I had to pick the post effective ones, I would say setting the timer and teaching them principles has been the least contentious and most effective.
I am always up for inspiration and revelation on this subject. I know my example is very important, so I have to watch myself too. I do so much on the computer from preparing for young women lessons (huge), e-mail, face-book, and just basic research on products I buy, some shopping, photo editing, and blogging ; ), etc. Your list is probably very similar. It is kind of taking over my life!
The more time we spend in front of a computer screen, the more desensitized we feel to the real world going on behind our backs. Face-book is extremely addicting if we constantly check it.
It is a place where we feed that side of us the yearns to be noticed, appreciated, and validated. We all love and need to be noticed...and face-book is great for that. See the addiction? It is not bad, we just have to make sure we are grounded in the real world more than we are in the virtual world.
How do we find the balance on what is real? How do we stay safe, grounded, and stay tuned in to our Heavenly Father?
Elder Bednar gave a must read talk at a CES fireside called Things as They Really Are
Here is a short You Tube Video that goes along with this talk
2 questions to ask ourselves in the use of the various technologies-
Does it invite or impede the Holy Ghost?
Does it impede or restrict your capacity to live, love, and to serve
Staying connected to our Heavenly Father and our Family--that is what is real!
