What are your thoughts?

Matthew 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

In reading over the assignment for this week, this passage in the Bible caught my eye. Instead of pontificating on it’s meaning to me, this time I’d like to hear what your thoughts are…

Self Reliance

We have noticed that since we moved to Southern California there is a lot of emphasis on self-reliance and preparedness within the wards. Maybe it’s because we live in earthquake country, but everyone is vulnerable to something even if it’s just a power outage, so this applies to everyone. Our last ward just finished a challenge to live off of their food storage for a week and avoid going to the gas station etc. to better understand what their family’s needs would be in an emergency situation. I haven’t heard about how it went yet, but would love to know. Our current ward has encouraged members to get a ham radio license so there would be a way to communicate if phone lines are jammed or down.

The following statements are from today’s lesson in Relief Society and really show how important the Lord feels self-reliance is:

The responsibility for each person’s social, emotional, spiritual, physical, or economic well-being rests first upon himself, second upon his family, and third upon the Church if he is a faithful member thereof.

No true Latter-day Saint, while physically or emotionally able, will voluntarily shift the burden of his own or his family’s well-being to someone else. So long as he can, under the inspiration of the Lord and with his own labors, he will supply himself and his family with the spiritual and temporal necessities of life… the highest achievement of spirituality comes as we conquer the flesh. We build character as we encourage people to care for their own needs. -Spencer W. Kimball

But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. -1 Timothy 5:8

It was mentioned today that the Church has a new strategy for home storage. It used to be that we were instructed to store a year’s supply of food and people would stack buckets of wheat and other things they never really used in their daily diets. The new instruction is to store a three months supply of foods you normally eat (non-perishable of course) and build from there. I have to mention that my mom has been saying this for years in the classes she’s taught and articles she’s written! But it’s not only about food and water. The first presidency has said:

“We encourage Church members worldwide to prepare for adversity in life by having a basic supply of food and water and some money in savings.

“We ask that you be wise as you store food and water and build your savings. Do not go to extremes; it is not prudent, for example, to go into debt to establish your food storage all at once. With careful planning, you can, over time, establish a home storage supply and a financial reserve.”

So, let’s all get our families in order so we can spend our energy helping others during an emergency without worry of ourselves.

Update: In response to Banna’s question and because I originally wrote this at midnight and was too tired to add links, I’m now including some links to helpful articles:

Making Space for Food Storage
By Carolyn Nicolaysen

The Self-Reliant Shopper
By Carolyn Nicolaysen

 Family Home Storage from Provident Living

Family Finances from Provident Living 

An Amish Lesson

This morning as we were hurriedly loading our children into the car so we could make it to church barely on time, Rob asked me, “Did you put those things there?” I looked to see the contents of our glovebox on the front passenger seat of the car. I then looked up and saw that the GPS navigator that was stuck to the front window was missing! Oh no, someone stole it. I’ve never been robbed before and was surprised at how violated I felt considering that it was a relatively small loss in comparison to what could have been taken. I thought, “that takes some nerve to get into our car and go through it as it sits in our driveway.” And then my mind wandered to who it might have been and I had a few guesses. I was upset all through the sacrament meeting at church and became mad at myself for leaving it in there and then not remembering to lock the doors either. Next my thoughts turned to how we never should have moved here and how frustrated I am with finding my place in this community. With Sabrina being 15 months old now I don’t always get a whole lot from the lessons at church, and since I was also a bit distracted by this incident, there weren’t any tidbits that got me thinking today. But since I have this goal to post something thoughtful on Sundays, I went in search of faith building stories and articles. I found what I needed on LDS.org (but Whitebinder is a good place to look too!).

I found The Healing Power of Forgiveness by James E. Faust

He tells this true story. I remember when it happened, but there are a few details here that were new and very touching:

In the beautiful hills of Pennsylvania, a devout group of Christian people live a simple life without automobiles, electricity, or modern machinery. They work hard and live quiet, peaceful lives separate from the world. Most of their food comes from their own farms. The women sew and knit and weave their clothing, which is modest and plain. They are known as the Amish people.

A 32-year-old milk truck driver lived with his family in their Nickel Mines community. He was not Amish, but his pickup route took him to many Amish dairy farms, where he became known as the quiet milkman. Last October he suddenly lost all reason and control. In his tormented mind he blamed God for the death of his first child and some unsubstantiated memories. He stormed into the Amish school without any provocation, released the boys and adults, and tied up the 10 girls. He shot the girls, killing five and wounding five. Then he took his own life.

This shocking violence caused great anguish among the Amish but no anger. There was hurt but no hate. Their forgiveness was immediate. Collectively they began to reach out to the milkman’s suffering family. As the milkman’s family gathered in his home the day after the shootings, an Amish neighbor came over, wrapped his arms around the father of the dead gunman, and said, “We will forgive you.” Amish leaders visited the milkman’s wife and children to extend their sympathy, their forgiveness, their help, and their love. About half of the mourners at the milkman’s funeral were Amish. In turn, the Amish invited the milkman’s family to attend the funeral services of the girls who had been killed. A remarkable peace settled on the Amish as their faith sustained them during this crisis.

One local resident very eloquently summed up the aftermath of this tragedy when he said, “We were all speaking the same language, and not just English, but a language of caring, a language of community, [and] a language of service. And, yes, a language of forgiveness.” It was an amazing outpouring of their complete faith in the Lord’s teachings in the Sermon on the Mount: “Do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.”…

Dr. Sidney Simon, a recognized authority on values realization, has provided an excellent definition of forgiveness as it applies to human relationships:

“Forgiveness is freeing up and putting to better use the energy once consumed by holding grudges, harboring resentments, and nursing unhealed wounds. It is rediscovering the strengths we always had and relocating our limitless capacity to understand and accept other people and ourselves.”…

If we can find forgiveness in our hearts for those who have caused us hurt and injury, we will rise to a higher level of self-esteem and well-being. Some recent studies show that people who are taught to forgive become “less angry, more hopeful, less depressed, less anxious and less stressed,” which leads to greater physical well-being. Another of these studies concludes “that forgiveness … is a liberating gift [that] people can give to themselves.”…

We need to recognize and acknowledge angry feelings. It will take humility to do this, but if we will get on our knees and ask Heavenly Father for a feeling of forgiveness, He will help us. The Lord requires us “to forgive all men” for our own good because “hatred retards spiritual growth.”Only as we rid ourselves of hatred and bitterness can the Lord put comfort into our hearts, just as He did for the Amish community …

…society needs to be protected from hardened criminals, because mercy cannot rob justice. Bishop Williams addressed this concept so well when he said, “Forgiveness is a source of power. But it does not relieve us of consequences.” When tragedy strikes, we should not respond by seeking personal revenge but rather let justice take its course and then let go. It is not easy to let go and empty our hearts of festering resentment. The Savior has offered to all of us a precious peace through His Atonement, but this can come only as we are willing to cast out negative feelings of anger, spite, or revenge. …

Let us remember that we need to forgive to be forgiven.

The Prodigal Son

In discussing this parable today at church our instructor suggested that this parable be called “The parable of the two sons,” because there are lessons to be learned from both the son that strayed and the son that stayed.

As this parable is well-known I won’t summarize it for you, but encourage you to read through it and notice the processes that each of the three men go through: The father who allows his sons their inheritances early and does not stop them from deciding what to do with it; the son who wasted his inheritance only to fall into despair and humbly return home; and the son who stayed with his father and lived well in spite of the famine in the land, only to be angry and jealous when his brother returned and was welcomed with open arms.

New Testament Study Lesson 17

My Dad sent out a challenge to all of his kids to follow the Gospel Doctrine reading schedule. This is something we should be doing anyway if we want to get the most out of our Sunday School lessons, but it’s so easy to let it slide. I actually did it Dad! Ok, I read today’s scriptures after the class was over, but I still did it.

Included in the lesson was the story of the widow’s mite; One of my favorites from the Bible that reminds us true worship is not about giving what is easy, but about giving all you have. There was one other thing I wanted to mention that caught my attention. Mark 10:31 reads: “But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.” The context of the lesson is to discuss what is required to gain eternal life. Taken as it is, this scripture seems to imply that those who are wealthy or that seem to have it all will not get eternal life. I read the JST which seems to add quite a bit. It adds: “There are many who make themselves first, that shall be last.” This seems to imply that it is not really about those who are wealthy, but about those that put the attainment of wealth or that choose to put their own interests before their God. It seems to be a caution of pride and covetousness, and these are traits we can find amongst people in all societies regardless of their class status. Anyone else have any thoughts on this lesson?

The Divine Role of Mother

This photo by Dorothy Lange is so expressive, and makes one question why life should be so difficult. Being a mother I have come to understand a little better the role of my Heavenly Father in allowing these difficulties. As a child, a teenager especially, and sometimes as an adult it is easy to ask questions like:

Why do we need to have rules?

Why do I have to do hard things?

Why can’t I be given an allowance instead of working for it?

Why should I serve others? What about me?

Now as a mother I understand His role in my life better, and why these things must be so. I have learned that children are actually empowered by rules. They know what is expected of them, and gain confidence when they follow those rules. I think it’s also true with adults. We like to know what God expects of us, and feel good when we make good choices.

When we stick through a hard task, the sense of accomplishment we feel can help us discover our true potential and give us the motivation to try more new things and better ourselves. The struggles we face will show us our strengths, and help us strengthen our weaknesses.

It’s true that when you work for something, you value it more than if it is given to you because of the feeling of accomplishment you get from the process. I remember starting to buy my own clothes by age ten and learning the value of work. If the Lord gave us everything we would not be as grateful for the blessings we have.

As much as we hear about the importance of knowing yourself, it is even more important to be able to put the needs of others before your own sometimes. Showing compassion for others helps you appreciate your own circumstances, and learn to see the world through another’s eyes. Empathy is a virtue that can be overlooked, but there is a peace that comes from seeing another perspective and being able to appreciate it even if you don’t agree with it.

It’s hard to watch your children struggle, and even harder when they resent you for letting them struggle, but I’m grateful that there is a purpose to it all, and that in the end, my children will be better for it.