How could the Father tell the world of love and tenderness?
He sent his Son, a newborn babe, with peace and holiness.
How could the Father show the world the pathway we should go?
He sent his Son to walk with men on earth, that we may know.
How could the Father tell the world of sacrifice, of death?
He sent his Son to die for us and rise with living breath.
What does the Father ask of us? What do the scriptures say?
Have faith, have hope, live like his Son, help others on their way.
What does he ask?
Live like his Son.
The children sang out strong and clear; their voices proclaimed simple truths, their testimonies made powerful by the purity of their hearts.
Last week’s Sunday was our Primary program at church; the worship service featured the children, ages 3-11, sharing their beliefs through song and mini-messages. “Out of the mouths of babes” indeed! If we can learn all we really need to know about life in kindergarten, we can certainly learn all we ever really need to know about eternal life in Primary.
My life is a gift; my life has a plan.
My life has a purpose; in heav'n it began.
My choice was to come to this lovely home on earth
And seek for God's light to direct me from birth.
I will follow God's plan for me,
Holding fast to His word and His love.
I will work, and I will pray;
I will always walk in His way.
Then I will be happy on earth
And in my home above.
And…….
I'll seek the Lord early while in my youth,
And He will help me to know the truth.
I'll search the scriptures and find Him there,
Then go to our Father in fervent prayer.
I'll seek the Lord early, and I'll obey
His living prophets in all they say.
I'll keep His commandments; His love will abound.
I will seek the Lord early, and He will be found.
And….
Our Father has a family, it’s me! It’s you! All others too, we are His children,
He sent each one of us to Earth, through birth, to live and learn here in families.
God gave us families to help us become what He wants us to be,
This is how He shows His love, for the family is of God!
Tears just kept running down my face—the face of me, the hardened, not-a-fan-of-young-kids person that I claim to be. The children were so earnest, so intense, so sincere, and so, SO true.
I have been cerebrally wrestling with my beliefs lately—nothing drastic but lacking a feeling of complete conviction; do I really know that God lives, that He sent His Son, that there is an eternal plan that requires a Savior and atonement? Could this belief I share with millions (and that multiple millions of others do not share) be just a cultural accumulation of thousands of years of tradition? My footsteps of faith have not wandered but my mind has……….
How does one come to know the truth? I think truth seeking is universal human endeavor; we all want to know the truth, whatever field it encompasses. Is the mechanic honest? Does my friend have my back? What about global climate change? How does gravity work? Is God real?
I believe truth is universal and constant and that there are many paths leading to it. In science, truth seeking is evidence based. We relentlessly gather data and work to make sense of it, creating theories that fit all the pieces together. In a way, truth is evidence based in religion as well. As we learn and live gospel principles, we experience God’s grace, our conviction grows and we recognize when all the pieces fit together.
For me, the pieces came together again this week. I had fasted a bit and prayed a lot about my testimony. Tuesday, Elder Craig C. Christensen’s (Presidency of the Seventy) General Conference message was God’s answer to my query. Speaking of testimony, he said, “It is the calm, unwavering certainty we receive as we study, pray, and live the gospel. It is the feeling of the Holy Ghost bearing witness to our souls that what we are learning and doing is right.”
The data is in, the evidence speaks for itself. I have studied and prayed and lived the gospel and I know with a certainty that is calm and unwavering that what I am doing is right. I have experienced the evidence in my life and witnessed the wisdom in the lives of those who surround me. Forgiveness brings peace and revenge ravages; service brings joys and selfishness sorrow; love brings growth and hate destroys. What Christ taught is right.
And what His servants teach is right as well. Especially lately I have been struck by the “rightness” of the counsel given us by our ecclesiastical leaders, those I believe to be His servants here on Earth. Take, for example, the admonition to have daily family scripture study. Every night, the first member of our family who wants to go to bed (frequently me!) calls for scripture study and prayer. The spiritual benefits of this practice are obvious; just as nightly brushing does a lot toward keeping teeth clean and healthy, nightly contact with God’s word has a significant positive impact on keeping one’s spirit clean and healthy.
It is more than that, though. As is often the case in natural systems, everything is connected and actions frequently have far reaching and unanticipated consequences. So it is with nightly family scripture study; even if we never cracked a book, gathering together as a family every night would be an incredibly positive thing. We re-live old stories (….Remember when Chick wore his pants to school backwards…) and tell new ones (…Miles, the math whiz, bought an hour of math tutoring at the ward Christmas auction); we catch up on new news (…..Tanah got her first kiss….) and update old news (…After losing 14 inches of small intestine, Gram Noel is able to eat solid food again….); we giggle and gossip (only good things, of course), tickle and testify (..I swear I fed the chickens yesterday…), connect and communicate (….Remember that tomorrow we are going to spend the morning raking leaves!....). Meeting as a family once a day is brilliant, absolutely brilliant. Learning about the gospel in that meeting is a huge bonus.
I am living the gospel. And I know, with absolute certainty, that what I am doing it right.
My life is a gift; my life has a plan.
My life has a purpose; in heav'n it began.
I will follow God's plan for me,
Holding fast to His word and His love.
I will work, and I will pray;
I will always walk in His way.
Then I will be happy on earth
And in my home above.
Love,
Teresa
He sent his Son, a newborn babe, with peace and holiness.
How could the Father show the world the pathway we should go?
He sent his Son to walk with men on earth, that we may know.
How could the Father tell the world of sacrifice, of death?
He sent his Son to die for us and rise with living breath.
What does the Father ask of us? What do the scriptures say?
Have faith, have hope, live like his Son, help others on their way.
What does he ask?
Live like his Son.
The children sang out strong and clear; their voices proclaimed simple truths, their testimonies made powerful by the purity of their hearts.
Last week’s Sunday was our Primary program at church; the worship service featured the children, ages 3-11, sharing their beliefs through song and mini-messages. “Out of the mouths of babes” indeed! If we can learn all we really need to know about life in kindergarten, we can certainly learn all we ever really need to know about eternal life in Primary.
My life is a gift; my life has a plan.
My life has a purpose; in heav'n it began.
My choice was to come to this lovely home on earth
And seek for God's light to direct me from birth.
I will follow God's plan for me,
Holding fast to His word and His love.
I will work, and I will pray;
I will always walk in His way.
Then I will be happy on earth
And in my home above.
And…….
I'll seek the Lord early while in my youth,
And He will help me to know the truth.
I'll search the scriptures and find Him there,
Then go to our Father in fervent prayer.
I'll seek the Lord early, and I'll obey
His living prophets in all they say.
I'll keep His commandments; His love will abound.
I will seek the Lord early, and He will be found.
And….
Our Father has a family, it’s me! It’s you! All others too, we are His children,
He sent each one of us to Earth, through birth, to live and learn here in families.
God gave us families to help us become what He wants us to be,
This is how He shows His love, for the family is of God!
Tears just kept running down my face—the face of me, the hardened, not-a-fan-of-young-kids person that I claim to be. The children were so earnest, so intense, so sincere, and so, SO true.
I have been cerebrally wrestling with my beliefs lately—nothing drastic but lacking a feeling of complete conviction; do I really know that God lives, that He sent His Son, that there is an eternal plan that requires a Savior and atonement? Could this belief I share with millions (and that multiple millions of others do not share) be just a cultural accumulation of thousands of years of tradition? My footsteps of faith have not wandered but my mind has……….
How does one come to know the truth? I think truth seeking is universal human endeavor; we all want to know the truth, whatever field it encompasses. Is the mechanic honest? Does my friend have my back? What about global climate change? How does gravity work? Is God real?
I believe truth is universal and constant and that there are many paths leading to it. In science, truth seeking is evidence based. We relentlessly gather data and work to make sense of it, creating theories that fit all the pieces together. In a way, truth is evidence based in religion as well. As we learn and live gospel principles, we experience God’s grace, our conviction grows and we recognize when all the pieces fit together.
For me, the pieces came together again this week. I had fasted a bit and prayed a lot about my testimony. Tuesday, Elder Craig C. Christensen’s (Presidency of the Seventy) General Conference message was God’s answer to my query. Speaking of testimony, he said, “It is the calm, unwavering certainty we receive as we study, pray, and live the gospel. It is the feeling of the Holy Ghost bearing witness to our souls that what we are learning and doing is right.”
The data is in, the evidence speaks for itself. I have studied and prayed and lived the gospel and I know with a certainty that is calm and unwavering that what I am doing is right. I have experienced the evidence in my life and witnessed the wisdom in the lives of those who surround me. Forgiveness brings peace and revenge ravages; service brings joys and selfishness sorrow; love brings growth and hate destroys. What Christ taught is right.
And what His servants teach is right as well. Especially lately I have been struck by the “rightness” of the counsel given us by our ecclesiastical leaders, those I believe to be His servants here on Earth. Take, for example, the admonition to have daily family scripture study. Every night, the first member of our family who wants to go to bed (frequently me!) calls for scripture study and prayer. The spiritual benefits of this practice are obvious; just as nightly brushing does a lot toward keeping teeth clean and healthy, nightly contact with God’s word has a significant positive impact on keeping one’s spirit clean and healthy.
It is more than that, though. As is often the case in natural systems, everything is connected and actions frequently have far reaching and unanticipated consequences. So it is with nightly family scripture study; even if we never cracked a book, gathering together as a family every night would be an incredibly positive thing. We re-live old stories (….Remember when Chick wore his pants to school backwards…) and tell new ones (…Miles, the math whiz, bought an hour of math tutoring at the ward Christmas auction); we catch up on new news (…..Tanah got her first kiss….) and update old news (…After losing 14 inches of small intestine, Gram Noel is able to eat solid food again….); we giggle and gossip (only good things, of course), tickle and testify (..I swear I fed the chickens yesterday…), connect and communicate (….Remember that tomorrow we are going to spend the morning raking leaves!....). Meeting as a family once a day is brilliant, absolutely brilliant. Learning about the gospel in that meeting is a huge bonus.
I am living the gospel. And I know, with absolute certainty, that what I am doing it right.
My life is a gift; my life has a plan.
My life has a purpose; in heav'n it began.
I will follow God's plan for me,
Holding fast to His word and His love.
I will work, and I will pray;
I will always walk in His way.
Then I will be happy on earth
And in my home above.
Love,
Teresa
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