Family and Father Experiences

Last week my oldest boy, who is five years old, started school for the first time. The very first day we as parents were invited to come together with our child. So Deborah and I got a babysitter and went. We had a great time.

On Sunday, as I contemplated this new experience for us, I thought about the many different ways my family and I had been blessed and have grown over the past five years. First, it was obvious to me how much my son had grown - from the day he was born to this first day of school. It's amazing how fast children develop and learn. As a father, I was very proud of all that Dallin had learned and the little person he had become.

But I also thought about how much I myself had grown. I have had many experiences over the past five years that have taught me much. I earned two degrees at Universities, I have moved three times to new and far away places from home, I have worked in new jobs with new people, and have served in different ways in the church. However, I became convinced that the one thing that has caused me the greatest and most important growth, was to become a father. As a father I have learned a much more about living with love, providing service, putting others first, being patient, how to teach, and how to be a good example.

Modern prophets have taught us a lot about the importance of families and I so grateful that for my own family and to the blessing it is to be a father. I am so grateful that the church helps me understand how to best teach my children and raise them to be good, honest people in our community, country and world. (What is the best way to teach a 2, 3, or 4, year old? The church has really helped me know how to do this much better than I ever could have done on my own!)
I am grateful to my Heavenly Father for these experiences and blessings and grateful for modern prophets and Priesthood leaders that teach me so much!

To learn more about the families and the church, please visit http://www.mormon.org/ or http://www.lds.org/.

Joseph Smith's Vision of God and Jesus Christ

I am grateful for the vision Joseph Smith had - now known as the First Vision. Joseph was born in 1805 in the state of Vermont in the United States. As a youth, there was a great deal of excitement on the topic of religion in his community. Joseph and his family sought to find which church they should join. While studying in The Holy Bible, Joseph read, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." (James 1:5) He decided to follow this counsel and pray to ask God which church he should join.

Joseph, just 14 years old, on an early Spring morning in 1820 went to a wooded area near his home and prayed out loud. Joseph later recorded, "I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other - This is my Beloved Son. Hear Him!

Joseph went on to talk to our Savior Jesus Christ and learned many great things from Him. Through this great experience and others, Joseph Smith was called to be a prophet - like Moses or Isaiah who were prophets anciently.

How grateful I am to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and their visit to the prophet Joseph Smith in 1820. I have learned so much about Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and their plan for us because of Joseph's vision, what he learned, and what he was able to teach us about this and other special experiences he had.

To learn more about Joseph Smith and his experiences, please visit www.mormon.org or www.lds.org.

Gratitude for Our Savior

I feel a deep sense of gratitude for our Savior Jesus Christ in so many ways. Jesus Christ, a member of the Godhead, willingly came to live on the earth to teach us, live as an example for us to follow, and to die and resurrect so all who come to earth could also live again. Most importantly, Jesus suffered and atoned for our sins so that it would be possible to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father clean and pure and without us having to go through this same suffering for our personal sins in a place where our Heavenly Father cannot be (Hell).

Some mistakenly believe that Mormons are not Christians. I assure you, that as a Mormon I am a Christian. I have dedicated my life to trying to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and work to become as much like Jesus as I can (obviously I am not very good at it - but I am trying). Perhaps most importantly, I try hard to seek the will of our Father in Heaven and willingly submit my will to His will, just as Jesus did and taught us to do.

I stand in awe of the great spiritual capacity of our Savior. I know that the life of our Savior on earth was full of great challenges, temptations, and trials. Yet because of his incredible spiritual capacity, he was able to live perfectly through all of it. When the time came for him to suffer for our sins, a suffering which caused such pain and agony that he bled from every pore, Jesus said, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." (Matthew 26:39)

Jesus then willingly went forward with this most difficult mission. He never uttered a word of complaint or regret. Later as he sat in terrible pain on the cross because of false accusations, being mocked, He asked Heavenly Father to, "Forgive them, for they know not what they do." What incredible and amazing love and spiritual strength and understanding!

Jesus now stands ready, able, and eager to help all of us through our trials and challenges with a perfect understanding of how we are feeling through ALL of our difficulties. What a blessing it has been for me to have been taught and given a knowledge of my Savior - and understand that He can guide me through my life with a perfect knowledge and understanding of what I am facing.

To learn more about Jesus Christ and/or His church, please visit http://www.mormon.org/ or http://www.lds.org/.

Sources of Truth

All of us, as children of God, have access to learning and understanding truth through direct communication with God. We can pray to God and ask Him to reveal truth to us, and our prayers can be answered. I have had special spiritual experiences when this has happened to me, and I am so grateful for them. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I have gained insights and instruction on how to effectively use this channel to learn the truths of God.

However, there is another channel or source of truth God has given to us to help us have success in this life and in the next. That source is through living Prophets and Priesthood Leaders.

God has ordained and appointed living men, to act as another source of truth for us. These men help us understand the true nature of God, the doctrine of Christ and of salvation (there has been and still is an obvious need for clarification on these matters in our world today), and the proper administration of the church of God on the earth. Additionally, these same men are given authority from Jesus Christ to administer the ordinances of salvation which will help us return to our loving Father in Heaven.

God has always used this other channel to guide and bless those on the earth throughout the hisotry of mankind. We have the writings of a few of these prophets from history which have been compiled and published together as The Holy Bible. Those men guided God's children in their day. We have men appointed to do the same for us in our day. What a blessing this source of truth has been for me!

To learn more about living prophets and Priesthood Leaders, please visit www.mormon.org or www.lds.org.

Gratitude For God

For my first post, I wanted to express the deep gratitude I feel to my Heavenly Father. He has guided my life and blessed it in innumerable ways. I feel of his love regularly and continue to be amazed that He knows me and each of his children!

Jesus Christ taught us that our Heavenly Father loves us so much, that He sent his only begotten son (Jesus Christ) to the world. I am so grateful for His love and for my Savior Jesus Christ coming here to earth.

Because of this great love, I try to show love and respect to others - ALL others (regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, age, nationality, etc). Of course, I fail at times - especially when it comes to those I am most close to! But I never stop trying.

Finally, I am grateful for prayer and the opportunity I have at any time and in any location, to communicate with my Heavenly Father. I do not claim to understand how He can do this, but I have had many personal experiences which has shown me this is true. I love my Heavenly Father.