Covenants

This week we were learning about covenants and ordinances.As the pioneers left their homes and lives they had built in Nauvoo, itt was the fire of the covenant burned into the hearts that gave them the strength to keep going. I cannot imagine how difficult it would have been for them to leave their home. If the fire of the covenant gave them the strength to do that, I must be subject to the same kind of strength if I also have the fire of the covenants that I have made burned into my heart.It is Satan's main purpose to deter children of God away from their salvation. We must be mindful of this and remember to do all that we can to thwart him. Making covenants is an important step in the ladder of our salvation. But after making these covenants we must return to the temple often, and continue to strengthen our relationship with Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and our families. Bruce C. Hafen said, "May we restore the concept of marriage as a covenant, even the new and everlasting covenant of marriage. And when the wolf comes, may we be as shepherds, not hirelings, willing to lay down our lives, a day at a time, for the sheep of our covenant. Then, like Adam and Eve, we will have joy."Eternal marriage does not come easy. We must stand strong in our faith just to get to the temple. Making the covenants and performing the ordinances in the temple do not ensure our safety from "the wolf." Satan will work very hard to destroy a marriage that has been bound in Heaven. Although I fully believe this to be true, I find great comfort in the words from the apostles and prophets of God regarding the power of God we can receive if we make and keep our covenants.Elder D. Todd Christofferson stated that we will be, "Strengthened by Gifts and Blessings", "Strengthened with Increased Faith" and "Strengthened through the “Power of Godliness." I know that these promises are true and eternal. These promises give me the comfort and strength I need to endure the trials in my life. What these promises mean to me is that if I do the best I can to make and keep sacred covenants, the Lord will bless me with everything that I need to obtain salvation for myself. As my husband does the same, we will both be blessed with the resources we need to obtain exaltation. I cannot think of anything more beautiful and comforting than these promises made to all men. Keeping covenants that we have made let God know that we are serious and that we can be trusted with the blessings he is continually providing for us. 

However Real the Darkness, Still Shines Brighter the Light

Satan and his followers are among us and they are diligently trying to lead us away from the Happiness that our Heavenly Father wants for us. In this life it is sometimes difficult to notice when we are subtly being led away from that plan. This last week I have been very sick and so I have been also very tired. Yesterday I was mostly lying in bed trying to rest, but also thinking. I was thinking about my marriage and how little time I have had with my husband lately. I started to think that maybe spending time with me was no longer important to him. I started analyzing the things he does when he is not spending time with me. I even came to the conclusion that perhaps our marriage is not a priority for him anymore. When he got home from work last night I asked him if we could spend some time together. He voiced that he thought his son needed him. I was completely let down and I told him. I broke down and told him the things that I had been thinking that day. He was so confused by my thoughts. His version of the story was much closer to the reality. Last night I actually got a full night of sleep. Today I am thinking much more clearly. We have a very busy life with six children. It is the season of our life that we do not have a lot of time or energy left for each other at the end of the day. I realize now what had been happening as those thoughts came in to my mind yesterday. It was indeed Satan planting that seed of doubt in my mind. It was Satan trying to make me feel alone, and perhaps hoping I would believe those thoughts so that it would be pointless to bring it up to my husband. I am so thankful for the knowledge that we have from the Gospel and its teachings. At the end of our talk my husband reminded me to not let any darkness in. He said that I must focus on the light so that it will overpower the darkness. In the talk, "Finding Happiness" Elder Richard G. Scott spoke of a dream he had that seemed so real. In the dream he was told that his eternal companion no longer existed and that his marriage to her was not in fact eternal. As devastating as it was for him in the dream, he found a lot of comfort in knowing when he woke up that it was just a dream and that his testimony trumps a dream of darkness. This talk was a very good reminder and another testimony to how evil and cunning the enemy can be. We must always be on guard so that we may be open to guidance and inspiration from Heavenly Father, and not from the adversary. 

Family Foundations

This is a blog that I am starting up as a project for my Family Foundations class at Brigham Young University Idaho. Here I will post truths that I am learning in my class that are not only relevant for me and my family, but also for anyone that reads it. The truths that I will be discussing are not worldly truths, they will be eternal truths. My hope is that by documenting what I learn I will easier recall the information in my brain and here on this blog. I hope that what I post can be inspiring for those that read it as much as it is for me. I will also use this blog as a journal for my life as a member of the Elder family. I will record our family experiences and my own individual experiences also. I just created this blog today, so bear with me as I am in the early stages of creating my work of art.