You Raise Me Up
When I hear Josh Groban’s song, You Raise Me Up, I always think of Christ. It has become a little bit cliche with all of the times I have heard it sung to honor people, (I think the one that was the weirdest for me was seeing it sung for Oprah) but I still love the emotion and spirit of this song. In my mind there is a little slideshow that plays out as I listen. I thought about trying to put one together myself, but made a stop on youtube first to see if anyone had beat me to it. Of course there were several, and this one was my favorite.
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxRHHpv8yjw
Read MoreElder Ballard at BYUH
Recently there have been several talks given in church encouraging us to become more vocal about what we believe. More specifically, we have been told that we must communicate better with the world around us so that others know what we are really all about, and so that we aren’t defined by rumors or stories people have heard. In order to do this we need to be more diligent in our study of church doctrine and church history. I would like to be a part of making my faith better understood and will be doing my best to keep up on continually educating myself and keeping my mind and spirit sharp so that I can have a conversation at anytime and feel comfortable with it.
Here is Elder Ballard’s address to graduating students at BYU Hawaii on this topic. I think it is wonderful, and hope that it will give members a boost to realize that we can be more vocal and involved when it comes to the perception of our faith.
“…We are living in a world saturated with all kinds of voices. Perhaps now, more than ever, we have a major responsibility as Latter-day Saints to define ourselves, instead of letting others define us. Far too many people have a poor understanding of the Church because most of the information they hear about us is from news media reports that are often driven by controversies. Too much attention to controversy has a negative impact on peoples’ perceptions of what the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints really is…
…That you may make your contribution wisely, carefully, lovingly, filled with the promptings of power of the Spirit of God, that you too can join in declaring with your words and your voice, the great and glorious message of the restoration to the earth of the fullness of the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ…”
-M Russell Ballard 15 December 2007
Farewell Dear Prophet
A few weeks ago we had a satellite Stake Conference and our prophet, President Gordon B Hinckley, spoke to us. He looked a little unsteady, but delivered a wonderful message about the importance of respect within marriage and family. It was pretty clear that his testimony and concern for all was still strong and vibrant even if his body was fading. So it wasn’t too surprising to hear of his passing tonight. He mentioned frequently that he missed his wife terribly after her passing, so it is comforting to know that he is now with her again.
There is a very nice article about his full life on the Deseret Morning News:
President Gordon B. Hinckley, who led The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through explosive growth during his more than 12 years as president, died at 7 p.m. today of causes incident to age, surrounded by family. He was 97.
He traveled the world during his tenure, which was marked by a number of significant milestones, including the “Proclamation to the World on the Family,” construction of dozens of small temples and the creation of several new quorums of the Seventy. He called for increased fellowshipping of new converts and reaching out to other faiths. Church membership has grown from 9 million to more than 13 million members during his administration.
His ministry was characterized by a strong desire to be out among the people. He traveled more than half a million miles and spoke to hundreds of thousands of members in more than 60 nations, employing his mastery of electronic media to bring unprecedented press attention to the church.
Read MoreThank Goodness for Sisters
I have a wonderful sister and fabulous sisters-in-law, but I’m writing today about one of my local sisters. On Friday afternoon I got a call from my friend Heidi checking in on me because she knew I wasn’t feeling well. She said, “let me come get your kids for the afternoon, we’ll go to the park or something.” I told her that they would be fine and I was planning a movie afternoon. She then persisted that she really wanted to do something and suggested dinner. I said, “no, no, really it’s ok.” She insisted that she do something to help me, and pretty much made me pick either taking the kids for a while or bringing us dinner. As everyone knows, dinner is the part of the day I dread the most, so I picked dinner. Heidi arrived with all 3 of her children helping to bring in a nice dinner for my family. What a great example of service and providing relief for me when I was not even sick enough to need the help, but knowing that I could really use the help. She is a great example to her kids and a very kind friend. Thanks again Heidi!
It’s Great to be Eight
Tonight was Emma’s “Great to be Eight” night. All of the children in our stake turning eight years old this year came together to learn about what their baptism will be like. There were several speakers that gave short talks about different aspects of baptism and the logistics of their actual baptism day. So mark your calendars, Emma is scheduled to be baptized on October 11, 2008! We are ready to welcome as many visitors as we can for her special day. She is so excited to make this important step and wishes she could do it now!
We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.
10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:
11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
I found this great letter in a Friend magazine from 1971 and took the liberty of substituting Emma’s name for the original “Tommy.”
Dear Emma,
I have just heard that you were baptized this month, on your birthday. It made me happy indeed, because your baptism will mean so much to you all the rest of your life.
When we are baptized, when we reach eight years of age, we enter the Church of Jesus Christ, and we receive the many blessings of the Church. We must be baptized to fill the Lord’s commandment.
Baptism is not just a custom in our Church. It is something we do because the Lord commands it. Baptism is as old as the gospel. Adam was baptized, and by immersion, just as you were. And millions of people since that time have also been baptized.
It was Jesus who gave us baptism. He gave it to Adam, and he gave it to all of us who have lived since that time. And he himself was baptized, to show that everyone over eight must receive this ordinance.
Do you know why it is that we are immersed in baptism? Some churches believe in an ordinance which they call baptism, but it is merely the sprinkling of some water on the head of a child.
Immersion is the only true way of baptism, and it has a real meaning. All your life you have believed in Jesus. You have learned how he taught the people, blessed little children, and even raised two boys and a little girl from the dead. But then he was taken by cruel men and crucified.
Our Heavenly Father used that crucifixion, though, to bring us many blessings. Jesus suffered greatly when he died, but his Father, who is also our Father in heaven, permitted Jesus’ suffering to pay the penalty for our sins if we repent of them.
It is when we are baptized that our Heavenly Father allows Jesus’ suffering to pay for our sins. In this way we receive forgiveness through baptism.
But why are we immersed? It is to represent the burial and resurrection of Christ. As he was buried in the tomb, so we are buried in the water. As he came forth from the tomb to a newness of life as a resurrected person, so we come forth from baptism in water to a newness of a religious life on earth, serving the Lord and keeping his commandments.
So you see, our immersion is to help us remember the burial and resurrection of Christ. This is one reason baptism is so important to us. It will always remind us that Christ died for us, and that he was resurrected. As surely as we come forth from the waters of baptism, just so surely will we all come forth from our graves after we die, and live forever with the Savior who made all of this possible.
So Emma, be thankful for your baptism, and know that now you are a true member of the Church of Jesus Christ. He expects that from this day on you will always remember him and keep his commandments, so that someday you may see him and live with him in the eternal heavens above. May the Lord bless you always, is my prayer for you.
Yours sincerely,
Mark E. Petersen
Read MoreNew Resolutions
It’s almost 2008, and time to start making that list of New Year’s Resolutions. I am trying to make mine a little bit difficult so that I can stretch myself, but vague enough so that I can still say I have accomplished them at the end of the year. Here they are:
–Learn Italian and get my passport. Rob and I have been saving up points for years to pay for a flight to Europe, and this may be our year. I made it my 100 Day Challenge to learn Italian, but it all sort of fizzled after about 30 days. Time to try again.
–Establish and calendar a monthly family activity. If it’s on the calendar for one Saturday each month it’s more likely to happen. (Hunter is our calendar enforcer)
–Read my new scriptures daily. After 11 years of marriage I finally got (Rob picked them out and gave them to me for Christmas) a set of beautiful scriptures with my married name on them. I thought I’d wait a decade to make sure it would stick. 😉
–Compliment each member of the family daily. This doesn’t take much time, but sometimes I get to the end of the day and wonder if my kids know how much I love them.
–Go up and down my stairs 15 times daily. Sometimes I do this anyway, but it was the only exercise thing I could think of that didn’t take too much time or preparation so I won’t have an excuse not to do it.
What is one of yours?
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