Release

So sometime in October, I was sitting in Sacrament meeting listening to the new high councilor and his wife bear their testimonies and I had an over whelming impression that it was time to be released.  Pres. Mullen had told me he didn't really want to release me after Kim was called to be the Bishop and I told him I was good with that as well.  Several people  had felt like I should be released, that it was asking too much to be the Bishop's wife and the Stake Relief Society President.  I felt fine with doing both.  But that Sunday when the feelings came so strongly, I starting to cry--just a little, after all I was in Sacrament meeting.  I talked to Pres. Heaton who just happened to be in attendance at the meeting that morning.  He told me I should talk to Pres. Mullen.  He was one that thought I should be released all along.  I went home and prayed about it and cried about it (maybe bawled a little) and then I shot an email to Pres. Mullen, who was out of town.  He responded that he would go to work on it.  We had Stake Council on the 16th and Pres. Mullen announced that it would be my last council meeting because I would be released before the next meeting. Well, when November 6th came along and time for stake council, I had not been released.  But during the meeting, in which Pres. Mullen was absent to, Pres. Mullen came in with Sister Elaine Russell and announced that she would be sustained that day as the new Stake Relief Society President.  I bore my testimony.  I met with Elaine later that day and turned everything over to her.  My heart was still yearning for that calling, but I knew it was time to let someone else have the experience.  It was hard for a couple of weeks.  I kept thinking about the different ward presidencies and missing my association with them and with my presidency.  It was an amazing two years.  I learned so much.  I think the thing I learned the most was that the spirit talks to you.  The Lord qualifies those that are called.  He does not leave you alone.  My testimony was strengthened and I know that I can receive personal revelation.  I've had experiences where I know how that feels.  I know that God loves me.  I am grateful for the chance I had to serve.  I have rubbed shoulders with some pretty amazing girls.

What's most important to you?

Bishop Roper asked me to speak in sacrament meeting on September 11, 2011.  My assignment topic was a talk given by Julie B. Beck in 2009 to institute and seminary teachers.  It was reprinted in the March 2011 Ensign and titled, Teaching the Doctrine of the Family.  It was a great talk and I did a lot of pondering on it as well as reading other talks with the same topic.  Here is the talk I gave:

This being the 10-year anniversary on the attack of the Twin Towers, I’ve been watching the many stories of this event in the last couple of days.

Last night I watched a story where Matt Lauer interviewed a 10-year old boy whose father was a fire fighter and died trying to save others.  This young boy broke down and cried.  He’d lost his father.  A man he loved and looked up to.  I realized that’s what families are.  They are mothers and fathers and children who love each other.  They support and strengthen each other.  They teach each other.  They are patient and forgiving.  Families are the fundamental units of society.  This attack on the US was an attack on families.  It tore apart hundreds of families.  I’ve seen many stories in the past two days—“My son was only 24.”  “My daughter had so much going for her.”  “My husband didn’t deserve to die.”  And on and on. 

Then I thought about our world today.  Families are also being attacked but internally by unseen forces—forces that sneak up and tear them apart emotionally. 

On September 23, 1995 Pres. Gordon B. Hinkley addressed the women of the church at the General Relief Society Broadcast.  He entitled his remarks, “Stand Strong against the Wiles of the World.”  As he concluded his remarks he said,

With so much of sophistry that is passed off as truth, with so much of deception concerning standards and values, with so much of allurement and enticement to take on the slow stain of the world, we have felt to warn and forewarn.  In furtherance of this we of the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles now issue a proclamation to the Church and to the world as a declaration and reaffirmation of standards, doctrines, and practices relative to the family, which the prophets, seers, and revelators of this church have repeatedly stated throughout its history. I now take the opportunity of reading to you this proclamation:

He then read what we know now to be “The Family: A Proclamation to the World”.  I was at the meeting.  I remember well when he said that they were issuing a proclamation to the church and to the world that I perked right up and wanted to hear what this was all about. 

As he concluded he said:

The strength of any nation is rooted within the walls of its homes. We urge our people everywhere to strengthen their families in conformity with these time-honored values.

This proclamation is still viewed as very important and is a warning to all.   The church views families as such an important unit in society that in the new handbook, the first chapter is entitled: “Families and the Church in God’s Plan”.  I love this chapter and would encourage all of you to go to the church’s web site and read this chapter.  The first two sentences say, “The family is ordained of God.  It is the most important unit in time and in eternity.”   This is God’s plan, to come to earth, gain a body, prove our worthiness to be in his presence and to keep his commandments and ultimately return to live with him again.  BUT we cannot accomplish this alone.  We need the Savior and his atonement and we need our families.  The handbook also says, “As part of our Heavenly Father’s plan, we were born into families.  He established families to bring us happiness, to help us learn correct principles in a loving atmosphere, and to prepare us for eternal life.”  It’s a training ground.  I think we could say that we cannot return to God’s presence without families.   Parents are responsible to teach their children the gospel of Jesus Christ.  The church has the responsibility to support and strengthen the family and provide the means where the gospel can be taught.  It provides the priesthood authority to perform the ordinances of salvation and exaltation.  Without the family, God’s plan does not work.  Without the family, there is no plan.

 From the Proclamation and this 1^st chapter we learn several things.  I have picked out 10 things:

            1. We are children of Heavenly Father

            2. We existed with Him as spirits before this earthly life

            3. We have earthly experiences so we can progress and become more like our Heavenly Father

            4. Marriage is between a man and a woman

            5. Marriage is an essential part of God’s plan and we can only obtain exaltation in the highest degree of the celestial kingdom when we have faithfully lived the gospel and are sealed in the temple to our companion & family.

            6. We are responsible to have children and to rear them in righteousness—to love them, to develop relationships with them, to teach them about Jesus Christ—The commandment given to Adam and Eve has not been retracted.

            7. Children have the right to be born into a family that has a mother and a father—which means they have the right to remain in a family with that same mother and father.

            8. Married couples should be completely faithful to each other, physically, mentally and emotionally.

            9. Mothers and Fathers have different roles in the family, but they must work together as equal partners to be effective.

            10. The family is the fundamental unit of society.

Sixteen years ago, the Prophet of the church was concerned about how the world views marriage and families.  Today, our leaders are still concerned.  Sister Beck said in an address given to seminary and institute teachers in 2009 and which was printed in the Ensign this past March:

Evidence is all around us that the family is becoming less important. Marriage rates are declining, the age of marriage is rising, and divorce rates are rising. Out-of-wedlock births are growing.  Abortion is rising and becoming increasingly legal.  We see lower birth rates. We see unequal relationships between men and women. . . .  Many times a career gains importance over the family.

Many of our youth are losing confidence in the institution of families. They’re placing more and more value on education and less and less importance on forming an eternal family.  Many don’t see forming families as a faith-based work.  For them, it’s a selection process much like shopping.  Many also distrust their own moral strength and the moral strength of their peers.  Because temptations are so fierce, many are not sure they can be successful in keeping covenants.

Unfortunately we are not only seeing these trends in the world, but we are also seeing them in the LDS culture.

So what does that mean to you?

This is what this should mean—

We cannot follow the trends of the world and how they view the family.  You need to learn about and support the doctrine of the family—read & study the proclamation.  Read chapter 1 in handbook 2 found on the church web site.

You need to do all you can to find a mate—how do you do that?  By dating, by getting yourself out there to meet people of the opposite sex and talking to them, by being involved in ward and stake activities, by attending church meetings, by working and going to school.

You need to keep your baptismal covenants and for those of you that have been to the temple, you need to keep the covenants made in the temple—which means you have complete sexual abstinence before marriage and are prepared to have totally fidelity once you are married.  [Keeping those covenants all your life will greatly diminish your chances of getting a divorce.]

You must always strive for family unity by repenting and forgiving each other—both in your families now and in your future families.  In the handbook it states:  “Just as sin, mortal weaknesses, emotional hurt, and anger are conditions that separate God’s children from Him, these same conditions can separate family members from each other.”  If we are a church that believes in the atonement then we must be willing to forgive our own family members—our children and our spouses.

You need to be a good home teacher and visiting teacher and participate in family home evening.  What better way to prepare yourself to teach your own children, to be prepared to strengthen them and prepare them for a righteous life and home.

You need to read from the Book of Mormon daily, say your prayers twice a day, follow the council in the for strength of youth pamphlet, have a current temple recommend and use it and act and not be acted upon.  If those don’t sound familiar then I hope it’s because your new in our stake—these are the things our stake presidency asks us to do.

Anyone who knows me well knows that my family is the most important thing in my life.  Kim and I have done our best to raise our four daughters to be obedient faithful daughters of God.  We set rules and boundaries we expected them to live by as they were growing up. We treated them with respect and expected the same in return.  We have tried to develop relationships through many activities together.  We still do things together.  We celebrate holidays and birthdays as a family.  Even though all but one are married, we still have family dinner together every Sunday.  It is the highlight of my week.  We try to have a family vacation every 3 to 4 years.  This is our year!  We are all excited and can’t wait for our Disney-World trip in November.   It is things like this that help keep our family strong.   The proclamation says, “Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities.”

We have got to be strong in defending families.

We have got to set the example—we have to have children & teach them and love them.

I have a testimony of the importance of the family.

We have to do all we can to have strong families.

We have to always be on the look-out for those “planes” that are sneaking up and trying to destroy our family.

Please stand up and defend the families throughout your life—and show the world your testimony of families by the way you have and treat and raise your own family. 

The Church is true. 

The doctrine of the family is the plan of happiness and salvation. 

It is through families that we can return to live with our Heavenly Father and with those we love. 

We are a blessed people. 

Our Heavenly Father loves us so much. 

Changes

Way back in May, my husband, Kim, was called to be a Bishop in the YSA 17th Stake but because of one thing and another, he wasn't sustained until Aug. 3.  He is now the Bishop of the 251st Ward.  It's very humbling for both of us.  We are amazed at the caliber of kids (men and women) in this ward.  They are great!  For the time being, I am still the Stake Relief Society President.  I have very mixed feelings about it.  I love the opportunity that I have had to serve and rub shoulders with so many amazing young women.  I don't really want to be released BUT I also want to be able to really get involved in the 251st ward and get to know all the kids.  I, for sure, will be able to be around for activities and FHE at our house and ward prayer and such.  In other wards, anything that is outside of the normal 3 hour block of Sunday Church time, I can go to.  But with ward conferences starting (next week) I'll be very busy going to other wards for the next 3 months.  That's almost the whole semester.  So I have mixed feelings.  But for now, I am staying where I am and will just have to do what I can, when I can and get to be involved with our new ward as much as I can.   So far I have been able to go visiting apartments with Kim and the Almeidas.  Gasper Almeida is Kim's first counselor.  The other counselor, Justin Weiss and his wife weren't available to go with us.  It was so fun to meet everyone on their own turf.  They were all so kind and accepting.  We had the leadership over to our home last week for dinner and FHE.  It was a great evening.  This is going to be a great calling.

BORN TO BE

In March 2011, we held a workshop similar to the one we did in March 2010.  We got to have it in the Harmon Conference Center.  It felt so official.  It was a perfect place to meet.  We had some of the same topics as last year available for the girls to learn about, and we had a few new topics:

Dating taught by Brother Justin and Sister Shannon Weiss
Decision Making taught by Bishop Kirk and Sister Kathy Benson
Presenting your Best Self by Sister Cassie Myers
Meal Planning and Healthy Lifestyles taught by Sister Sherrie Larsen
Budgets and Finances by Brother Kim Roper (my infamous husband!)
Balancing Life by Bishop Bob and Sister Celest Lott
Positive Attitudes taught by Bishop Reid and Sister Karen Heiss
Preparing to be a wife and mother taught by Sister Valerie Heaton

It was a pretty impressive outline if you do ask me!  We started in the auditorium where I was the keynote speaker and President Richard Heaton spoke for a few minutes after me.  We split up into our classes where they were able to attend two.  Afterwards we had lunch all together.  Sister Cherie Peterson and her husband, Terry, provided us with a delicious taco salad.  I think everyone enjoyed the morning.

Here is my talk:

A few months ago: My presidency and I visited each of your wards for ward conferences and I left you with 3 areas of council and 1 challenge. Who remembers the areas of council that I gave you?  (no one did :(  but one girl, Beth Yates, had her notes from ward conference and she looked them up.)

1.  Stay away from pornography and anything that resembles it.

2.  Don’t spend countless hours doing things that have no purpose.

3.  Be careful how you dress.

Challenge:

         Get rid of anything that is too low, too short or too tight.  Or at least modify it.  Don’t buy anything that fits into those 3 areas.

How are you doing?  Anyone have an experience with one of the 3 areas of council they would like to share??  [no one did!  :( ]

When I prepared for ward conferences, I felt very strongly that these were the things the Lord would have been saying to you.  This morning I felt like I needed to remind you of these things.  I feel strongly that the Lord will bless you for your efforts to follow that council.

Going along with challenge to stay away from pornography and anything that resembles it:   Pres. Monson said at a CES fireside in 2009,

"Whatever you read, listen to, or watch makes an impression on you.

Don’t be afraid to walk out of a movie, turn off a television set, or change the radio station if what’s being presented does not meet your Heavenly Father’s standards. In short, if you have any question about whether a particular movie, book, or other form of entertainment is appropriate, don’t see it, don’t read it, don’t participate."

Going along with how we spend our time:  Elder M. Russell Ballard talked a little bit about time in Nov 2010 CES Fireside:

“Are you giving the Lord equal time? You live in a world filled with technology, where there is such easy access to electronic information, entertainment, and social networks on your home computer, your iPad, or your iPhone. No generation before you has had so much technology available at their fingertips. Through Facebook and other social networks you can stay in touch with friends all over the world. While these are marvelous tools, I caution you not to let the use of technology capture your time to the point that you become addicted to constantly using them. Somehow you need to limit their use so they do not steal away from you what is essential, precious, and eternal.” 

Elder Bednar said at a CES Fireside in 2009,

 A young man or woman may waste countless hours, postpone or forfeit vocational or academic achievement, and ultimately sacrifice cherished human relationships because of mind- and spirit-numbing video and online games. As the Lord declared, “Wherefore, I give unto them a commandment … : Thou shalt not idle away thy time, neither shalt thou bury thy talent that it may not be known” (D&C 60:13).

I read several talks where this topic was mentioned.   I think our leaders are very concerned.  Since ward conferences, I personally have been very much aware of how I spend my time.  I’m also aware of my clothing and what I watch on TV and movies.

In D&C 130: 20 There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—21And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.

The Lord will bless you tremendously if you will do the things He asks.

At Ward Conferences, Pres. Mullen also gave you an assignment—does anyone remember what he asked you to go home and do: 

--Look in the mirror and tell yourself that you are AWESOME!!  Because each one of you are. . .

That brings me to today’s theme:  BORN TO BE! 

One of my favorite bible stories is the story of Esther. Esther was an orphan.  She was raised by her adult cousin, Mordecai.  When she was a young woman the queen of the land was dismissed, so the King was in need of a new queen.  He asked for all the available maidens to come to his palace so that he might choose a new queen.  Mordecai felt that Esther should go before the King.  She went and consequently she was chosen to be his queen.  The King loved Esther.  Unbeknownst to the King, Esther was a Jew.  The King, being advised by one of his men, issued a decree to have all the Jews killed.  When Mordecai found out, he told Esther she must go before the King and plead with him to take back the decree. Esther was frightened for the queen was not allowed to go before the King uninvited.   And that’s when Mordecai said to her:

Esther 4:14  “. . . who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

Esther realized the great responsibility and role she had to try and save her people.  She said she would do this and then said, “and if I perish I perish.”  She than asked for all the Jews to fast and pray for her for 3 days.  She prepared a great feast for the King and then went to him and asked him to take back the decree.  He did take back the decree and her life was spared as well.

Esther had a great role in her life.  She knew that God had a plan for her and she had the faith necessary to accomplish that plan.

God has a mission for each of you sisters as well.  I would like to alter that scripture to say,

“who knoweth whether thou art born on the earth for such a time as this?”

Elder L. Tom Perry:  CES Fireside March 6

“You are the generation which the Lord has saved for this day!”

You have been told that countless times.

Many of you if not all of you have patriarchal blessings that tell you that you were foreordained to come to earth at this time.  That because of the choices you made in the pre-existence you were saved to come to earth when the gospel is here.

You have been blessed and fore ordained and endowed with special talents that are just waiting to be discovered and developed.  You are choice and noble daughters of our eternal Heavenly Father.  You have divine potential.

This is a great and exciting and wonderful time.   The world is filled with light and knowledge. There is so much available for you.  The best thing is the gospel of Jesus Christ and each of you has been given the opportunity to be a part of building the kingdom of God through His gospel.  With the gospel comes the Gift of the Holy Ghost.   And with the Gift of the Holy Ghost comes personal revelation!  Anything the Lord would like to reveal, HE can through this great power! What a great gift this is in our lives.  We also live in a time when the earth has been flooded with knowledge. I am ever so amazed at the new things that scientists and researchers are continuing to discover.

Elder M. Russell Ballard said: 

"Heavenly Father has an eternal plan for each one of you. Your birthright, the privilege you have of being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is like unto a miracle in a world of some six billion people. You made some very important promises and commitments to Heavenly Father while living with Him in the pre-mortal world."

You were Born to Be here TODAY!  To be here when the world is full of good and evil.  You were Born to Be the woman our Heavenly Father knows you can be.

You were Born to Be like our Savior, Jesus Christ.

You were Born to Be “examples of the believers, in word, in conversation, in faith . . .”

You were Born to Be someone who will make a difference in this world. 

You were Born to Be, “honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, lovely, of good report and praiseworthy”

You were Born to Be—stewards of your bodies.  We were given this physical body, to take care of it.  It is a temple of God.

Sometimes along the path of life, we may set our goals and ambitions and kind of decide what we want our lives to look like.  And we think we know exactly how it should look.  Which isn’t a bad thing as long as we are willing to let go when things don’t quite go the way we think they should.

        

Example:  When I was pregnant with our third child, a few days before she was due, I stopped feeling her move.  I became concerned and talked to a few people.  My sister-in-law who was a nurse, told me not to worry that it meant I was going to go into labor.  I tried to take her advice, but the longer it went the more I worried.  That night I remember waking up in the middle of the night and trying to get the baby to move and crying for fear that she was dead.  At that time, I begged and pleaded with Heavenly Father that he would make her live.  I knew He had the power to do that.  Jesus Christ had raised several from the dead, and if this baby was dead, He could make her live.  This was not in my plans to lose a child.  But it was in God’s plan and my baby was stillborn. I could have gone home after burying her, and curled up in my bed and spiritually and emotionally died.  But I didn’t. I didn’t loose faith. If anything it strengthened my faith.  I knew Heavenly Father loved me.  I knew that my Meggie had gone on to another phase of her life. I felt the peace that only a loving Heavenly Father can send.  I still am at peace.  I now have a granddaughter that bears her name.

We don’t always know what lies around the corner for us.  But we must trust in our Heavenly Father to know that He does know and He will never leave us alone.  He will never expect us to live this life without his help and support and guidance.  You made choices before this life that brought you here at this time.  So no matter how hard or how easy, You Were Born for a such a time as this.

You have to decide What are you going to do with your time here and with the cards you’re dealt?

In August 2008 a young mother went with her husband and his flight instructor in a small aircraft for a “day trip” from Mesa to New Mexico.  When taking off from an airport, they got tangled in some power lines and the plane caught on fire and crashed.  Stephanie Nielsen and her husband Christian survived the crash.  Christian had burns over 35% of his body.  Stephanie had burns over 83% of her body.  They had 4 young children waiting for them at home.   Stephanie was in a coma for 3 months. She spent 3 more months recovering in the AZ Burn center.  Stephanie was an avid blogger before the plane accident.  She had hundreds of followers because of her love for being a mother and wife.  She wrote about the good times and she wrote about the struggles and I think that’s why people loved her.  She was real.  After her accident, Stephanie no longer looked like Stephanie.  She, at first, didn’t feel like her old self.  Physically, she was in a lot of pain.  Eventually, with the persuasion of her family she started blogging again.  She now feels responsible to tell and share her story.  Life is still difficult Physically for Stephanie.  If any of you have seen her, you understand when she says, “I am not my body.”  

She also has said, “Some days I’m proud of this face. . . other days I think, oh man, I sure miss the old me.”  This experience has strengthened her.

She tells of an experience of while doing the laundry she went to her closet and touched all her clothing and she said she had a wave of emotion come over her.

  “I missed me again.  I mourned for that woman again. I felt that familiar sadness.  But then it was followed by a beautiful spiritual confirmation that this is my new life.  It is good.  It is OH so good.  Then I felt that I should bring home me.  Because it is still me and those clothes still fit.”

She had learned that even though she isn’t attractive to look at, and maybe some would find it difficult to look at her, she is still her.  She sees things differently and she sees life as being more than her physical appearance. She’s grateful to be on the earth.  Her role is more divine.  She is a mother who enriches and teaches the gospel of Jesus Christ and sees her life as a privilege. There is a plan for you.  It is a plan that will ultimately give you the greatest joy and happiness you will ever experience.  It can only be possible through Jesus Christ.  Stephanie Nielsen grateful for her challenges and trials.  She has a great relationship with HF. 

 “Spiritually, I have a better sense of who I am, what my divine purpose is, what I’m doing here on earth and why I’m still here.  Life has a different meaning than it did before.”

Stephanie has chosen to stand up and be an example to all women. She has chosen to have gratitude for her life.  She has learned to trust and rely on her Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  She has chosen to try and make a difference in the lives of others.  She has chosen to not sit in her home and mope about the way she looks and feels.  She has chosen to move forward with strength and courage.  She has learned that life is not about your physical appearance, it’s about what you do with your life!  She has found her true Beauty.

Jesus Christ said, “There will I be also, for I will go before your face.  I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round you to bear you up.”  D&C  84:88

Your lives do not have to have trials and tragedies for you to grow and become the woman our Father knows you can become.  There used to be a great lady that lived in our ward.  She came to BYU right after graduating from High School.  She had great plans.  She wanted to get a college degree, serve a mission, travel the world and then marry and become a mother.  The first week she was in Provo, she met this great guy.  He was a return missionary and well on his way to getting his education.  He was ready for marriage.  She fell in love with him.  He was everything she ever wanted and dreamed of.  There was only one problem, she was NOT ready to get married.  She had plans.  Marriage was not yet in the plans for this 18 year old girl.  But she did have faith in prayer and in her Heavenly Father so she prayed for guidance as to what she should do.  'I want to travel.  I want to go on a mission.  I want to get my education.  BUT here is this great guy who wants to marry me.'  Well, she felt prompted that if she would marry him she would still be able to do all the things she had plans to do.  So she married him, and it didn’t take too long for her to see answers to her prayers.  After he graduated from  BYU he got a great job  in Italy.  This woman got to travel the world, bear her testimony and teach the gospel to non-members and she got to have a family.  Never did she dream that she could have such blessings.

Sometimes life is so amazing and sometimes life is so hard.  You don’t need a tragedy to feel of God’s love.  You don’t have to lose things that are of great value to know who we are.  You need to trust in our Heavenly Father.  You need to see your role as so divine.  You are women of God.  You have great worth.   If you will have the same attitude regardless of how life is going, to fully rely on God to guide you and direct you, and totally trust Him, then you will feel great joy and you will BE the person that He knows you can be.  

You were Born to Be Great!  

You were Born to Be educated!

You were Born to Be a mother.  

You were Born to Be beautiful.  

You were born to be you!

Remember: “There will I be also, for I will go before your face.  I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round you to bear you up.”  D&C  84:88

In the name of Jesus Christ.  AMEN!

Build Faith through the Book of Mormon

Stake Conference Time again (February 2011) and guess who got to speak in the main session.  Yes, it was me.  My favorite thing to do. ha ha!  I was really nervous.  That morning as I said my personal prayers, I felt the words, "where is your faith?"  So I decided I just needed to have faith that Heavenly Father would help me to present this talk.  I got to the Wilkinson Center, greeted a few people, and then went up front and was just going to glance through my talk and make sure it was in my head.  I looked and NO first page.  I went through all of the pages again and NO first page.  I looked through all of my things and again, NO first page.  WHAT?  How could that happen?  Where could it be?  Then I thought of my youngest daughter Abbie.  I knew she was coming to hear me speak, (as well as all of my children.  Aren't they awesome to support me!!)  Anyway, if she still was at home, she could grab my first page and bring it. So I quickly called her, (yeah for cell phones), but unfortunately she had already left the house and was on her way.  Talk about having a prayer in your heart.  I had to silently pray that Heavenly Father would help me to remember the things that were on the first page.  I could easily remember the story of Brinley.  And I knew there was the comment by Pres. Hinkley and the story of Parley P. Pratt.  Could I remember it well enough to present it???  I kept remembering the words I heard as I prayed, "where is your faith?"  I had prepared, now I just needed to have faith that God would bring what I needed to remember to my recollection (the blessings of the Holy Ghost!)  And I must add, that yes He did.  It was a great faith building experience.  My family said they had no idea that part of my talk was not right before me.  Here is the talk:

Last weekend Brother Roper and I went to Phoenix to visit our daughter and her family. With both of us being educators by profession and I particularly being a reading recovery teacher we are always interested in how her daughters are doing with their reading.  She has two daughters, ages 9 and 5.   So we spent some time talking about reading and how they are doing in school.  My 9 year-old grand-daughter told us about the book she is reading at home and the book she is reading at school.  Later that day, we were walking through the botanical gardens and I thought, I wonder if Brinley is reading her Book of Mormon.  I knew her mother had covered a Book of Mormon for her a couple of years ago and that her parents had given her a nice set of scriptures when she was baptized.  So I decided to ask her, “Brinley, you told me all about the books you are reading earlier, are you reading your Book of Mormon too?”  Her reply was, “Yes, but I only read 2 pages every day!”  Wow, if a 9 year-old girl will read her Book of Mormon only 2 pages every day, then I know she will gain the testimony she needs and the faith that is necessary to make correct choices in her life.  She is on the right track. And what a great example for all of us to follow.

Joseph Smith said:  ‘I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book’ (History of the Church, 4:461). …

Pres. Hinckley said: “Read the Book of Mormon itself.  Read it again and again. Ponder its beauty. Reflect upon its many magnificent passages. Think of the complexity of the detail of its historical accounts. Pray about it, and the Holy Ghost will bear record to you, as he has to me and to millions of others, that it is the word of God, a voice crying from the dust to this generation in declaration of the divinity and the reality of the Lord Jesus Christ as the living Son of the living God.  The Lord Himself has spoken concerning our study of this great latter-day work. He has said: “Search these commandments, for they are true and faithful, and the prophecies and promises which are in them shall all be fulfilled.” (D&C 1:37)

I love the story of Parley P Pratt when he was first introduced to the Book of Mormon.  He said:

“I opened it with eagerness, and read its title page. I then read the testimony of several witnesses in relation to the manner of its being found and translated. After this I commenced its contents by course. I read all day; eating was a burden, I had no desire for food; sleep was a burden when the night came, for I preferred reading to sleep.

“As I read, the spirit of the Lord was upon me, and I knew and comprehended that the book was true, as plainly and manifestly as a man comprehends and knows that he exists” (Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, ed. Parley P. Pratt Jr. [1938], 37).

We all need at least a little bit of that hunger that Parley P. Pratt had for reading the Book of Mormon.  As we read this book, it will build our faith.

Throughout the book there are countless examples of people who had sufficient faith to do what they were commanded to do.

        

This book begins with the great example of Lehi and how he had faith to take his family and leave Jerusalem and go to the unknown. 1 Ne 2: 4  And it came to pass that he departed into the wilderness. And he left his house, and the land of his inheritance, and his gold, and his silver, and his precious things, and took nothing with him, save it were his family, and provisions, and tents, and ^adeparted into the wilderness.         What great faith!

        

Lehi had faith that he needed to send his sons back to get the brass plates.  He knew that they would need the scriptures to give them the guidance and foundation they needed to start their new lives.  Nephi showed his father that he exemplified the same faith that he had: 1 Ne. 3: 7 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I ^awill go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no ^{bcommandments} unto the children of men, save he shall ^cprepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

Nephi also had faith to go back to Laban the second time, even though he didn’t know how he was going to get the plates from him, he knew that the Lord would guide him and help him to accomplish that task. Nephi was unwavering in his commitment to obey the Lord’s commandments. He reasoned with his brothers this way: “Let us go up again unto Jerusalem, and let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord; for behold he is mightier than all the earth, then why not mightier than Laban and his fifty, yea, or even than his tens of thousands?” (1 Ne. 4:1).

Alma had faith in the words of Abinadi and was willing to not only write his words down so that they wouldn’t be lost, but he also began preaching his word to others, even after seeing Abinadi’s horrible death. Mosiah 18: 7 And it came to pass after many days there were a goodly number gathered together at the place of Mormon, to hear the words of Alma. . . . . And he did ^ateach them, and did preach unto them repentance, and redemption, and faith on the Lord.

        

This same Alma had faith in God enough that he never stopped praying for his wayward son.  He had so much faith that an angel visited his son Alma.  Mosiah 27: 14  And again, the angel said: Behold, the Lord hath ^aheard the prayers of . . . his servant, Alma, who is thy father; for he has ^cprayed with much faith concerning thee that thou mightest be brought to the ^dknowledge of the truth; therefore, for this purpose have I come to ^econvince thee of the power and authority of God, that the ^fprayers of his servants might be answered according to their faith.

And as you young sisters should know, my favorite example of faith was the 2000 stripling warriors who had faith enough to obey with exactness.  They didn’t deviate.  They went forward with faith and battled bigger forces than themselves, and came out so victorious that not one soul of them was lost.

There are countless more examples that I don’t have time to mention, but I don’t want to leave out Mormon and his son Moroni, who had so much faith that they gave their whole lives in preserving the plates so that they could come forth in our day.  They knew that these plates, these records of so many valiant people, were never intended for their time.  Mormon speaks directly to us about our day and why we need this book.  He says:

35  Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing.

President Ezra Taft Benson reaffirmed the fact that the Book of Mormon is of particular value to our time when he said: 

“The Book of Mormon was written for us today. God is the author of the book. It is a record of a fallen people, compiled by inspired men for our blessing today. Those people never had the book—it was meant for us. . . .  God, who knows the end from the beginning, told Mormon what to include in his abridgment that we would need for our day” (“The Book of Mormon Is the Word of God,” Ensign, May 1975, 63).

Mormon said that our day would be filled with pride, whoredoms, deceiving others, all manner of abominations, robbing, lying, murders, envying and strifes, malice, persecution, all manner of iniquities, lovers of money, hypocrites, secret works, and more.  He truly saw our day.

With so much evil going on around us, we would be stupid to not take a few minutes everyday to immerse ourselves in this book.  It will give us the strength and faith needed to avoid becoming involved in any of these things.

Faith converts and faith teaches.  It takes faith to be obedient.  We have to have faith if we are to have testimonies.  We have to have faith if we want to progress and grow in this gospel.  So as we read the Book of Mormon it teaches us the ways of God and of Jesus Christ.  And as we learn, it builds and increases our faith and blesses us with the companionship of the Holy Ghost.  It then gives us strength and courage to be obedient.  And as we are obedient and listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost, our faith is strengthened.  It is a vicious circle, continually in motion.  

We often hear the phrase, if you want more faith, be more obedient.  So today I’m going to say:  If you want more faith, read more from the Book of Mormon.  (Which is in itself being obedient).

With sufficient faith, you will be able to resist the ever battling temptations that come before you.  You will be prepared to make the decisions which you are faced with, whether big or small.  It will help you make educational and eventually career decisions and you will be able to continually move forward in your life.  You will be the person your Heavenly Father knows you have the potential to be.  Your ever increasing faith will help you to spread the gospel, to follow the words of the prophet and be obedient, to prepare you to make sacred covenants in the temple, to prepare you for the 2^nd coming of Jesus Christ and be prepared to receive eternal life. 

I know I am not perfect and I know I need all the help I can get, so I am going to read my Book of Mormon, even if it’s only 2 pages each day.  And when I have finished it, I will start again.  I will study and read and ponder so I can have the faith I need to be obedient to God’s laws and be blessed with the Holy Ghost in my life.  So I can have eternal life.

 I know this is God’s work.  This is Jesus Christ’s church.  We are lead by a prophet of God.  The Book of Mormon is true and contains the words we need in our lives.