Live Like You Believe

A great video, and a great song, by Jenny Phillips. Sorry I can't upload the video, but it's worth listening too, especially if you are in need of some uplift: Click HERE!

Worth More Than a Billion Baubles

"You have nothing in this world more precious than your children. When you grow old, when your hair turns white and your body grows weary, when you are prone to sit in a rocker and meditate on the things of your life, nothing will be so important as the question of how your children have turned out ... Do not trade your birthright as a mother for some bauble of passing value ... The baby you hold in your arms will grow quickly as the sunrise and the sunset of the rushing days."

- President Gordon B. Hinckley

Tiny Fingerprints

President Thomas S. Monson:
"If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will - to your surprise - miss them profoundly."

Seminary or Surfing

A Funny For Your Day - Parenting Tips!

New Mormon.org

From the new Mormon. org:

"New changes are coming to Mormon.org, the biggest of which is our profiles of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Our goal is to have 1,000 profiles of Mormons by the end of May 2010."

Hop on over and create your profile:)

Shhhh.... Listen....

"God does not send thunder if a still, small voice is enough."
-Neal Maxwell

Finding Solutions

Elder Dallin H. Oaks:
“We are often left to work out problems, without the dictation or specific direction of the Spirit. That is part of the experience we must have in mortality. Fortunately, we are never out of our Saviour's sight, and if our judgement leads us to actions beyond the limits of what is permissible and if we are listening to the still small voice, the Lord will restrain us by the promptings of His Spirit.”

The Prophet Joseph Smith taught : “We consider that God has created man with a mind capable of instruction, and a faculty which may be enlarged in proportion to the heed and diligence given to the light communicated from heaven to the intellect.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith).

It is a misconception to believe that we should consult Heavenly Father on every matter in life. He expects us to solve a portion of our problems without petitioning Him for potential solutions. It is through this process that we grow, develop, and become more perfect. He is not always concerned about mundane matters unless they are not in keeping with sacred principles. We should daily petition for the companionship of the Holy Ghost. With this presence of the Spirit, we will feel the promptings without petitioning Heavenly Father on every personal matter. This is the method in which Heavenly Father directs me. I have faith as long as my hand is in His that there are many things I don’t need to pray about, because Heavenly Father would tell me if I was going to be doing something wrong. I feel so strongly that members of the Church sometimes don’t act unless prompted, and don’t follow the Lord’s admonish to be “Agents unto ourselves”. We need to keep our feet moving.

Prayers Needed - A Plea

My friend Alisha is 19 weeks pregnant, and her waters broke a few days ago. They are hoping she can keep the baby in for another 5 weeks to give him or her a chance (she had her first baby at 34 weeks and 2nd at 26 weeks). I know if this was my baby I would want, and need, everyones prayers, miracles happen when faith is united. You can read a post her husband made about it all here, why don't you stop by and leave a comment sharing your love and support, I know it will lift her up.

Thank you so much, and here's a poem that Alisha has shared:

I thought of you,

and closed my eyes,

and prayed to God today

I asked ‘What makes a mother?”

and I know I heard him say

‘A mother has a baby’ this we know is true.

But God, can you be a mother, when your baby’s not with you?

‘Yes you can,’ he replied with confidence in his voice

‘I give many women babies. When they leave, is not there choice.’

‘Some I send for a lifetime, and others for the day, and some I send to fill your womb, but there’s no need to stay.’

I just don’t understand this God, I want my baby here.

He took a deep breath and cleared his throat,

and than I saw the tear.

‘I wish that I could show you, what your child is doing today. If you could see your child smile with all the other children and say…

We go to earth to learn our lessons

Of love and life and fear.

My mommy loved me oh so much,

I got to come straight here.

I feel so lucky to have a mom,

Who had so much love for me.

I learned my lessons very quick,

My mommy set me free.

I miss my mommy oh so much.

But I visit her every day.

When she goes to sleep,

on her pillows where I lay,

I stroke her hair and kiss her cheek,

and whisper in her ear,

mommy don’t be sad today

I’m your baby and I’m here.

‘So you see my dear sweet ones, your children are okay. Your babies are born here in my home,

and this is where there stay. And on the day that you come home, they’ll be at the gates for you.’

So now you see what makes a mother,

It’s the feeling in your heart.

It’s the love you had so much of,

right from the very start.

Your Happily Ever After

Can Any of You Mothers Relate to This?

Mama Bear, Bjork, trying to shake her baby down from a tree! I know I can relate..... multiple times each day!

Happy Mothers Day, One and All!

"Be kind to women,

they take up half of the population...

and are mothers to the other half."

Gordon B. Hinkley

His Attention is Riveted on Us

"As we increase our interaction with Him, we learn for ourselves that He will never betray us, never turn away, never change His criteria for coming unto Him. His attention is riveted on us."

Sheri Dew

Faith

"Feed your faith and your doubts will starve to death."

A Morning Motto

Gordon B. Hinckley:
"Paul wrote to Timothy: God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord (2 Timothy 1:7-8). I would that every member of this Church would put those words where you might see them every morning as you begin your day. They will give you courage to speak up, they will give you the faith to try, they will strengthen your conviction of the Lord Jesus Christ."

NieNie - My New Life

Many of you have probably heard of LDS church member Stephenie Nielson, or follow her blog (The NieNie Dialogues), here is a video of her inspirational story, please view:

May 3rd Challenge - Elder Holland - YouTube

Forwarded from my Mission President, who works for the AudioVisual department of the Church:

Elder Holland's Testimony of the Book of Mormon YouTube video

On May 3, 2010 (perhaps as part of your Family Home Evening program) if all reachable members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints--and any non members interested-- would follow the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkKblIMfmjI and watch the YouTube video of Jeffrey R. Holland bearing testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, we could potentially achieve promoting that video to the YouTube homepage, based on volume of views.

TIPS ON HOW TO ACHIEVE THIS:

1. increased views - multiples views by one viewer count
2. comments - the more comments, the more valuable Youtube sees your video. Comments almost carry as much weight as views.
3. favorites - everyone needs to "favorite" the video.
4. thumbs up - **please take special care to do this as a group of individuals have banned together to "thumbs down" and this can negatively affect the popularity of the video.
5. subscriptions - daily subscriptions have a major impact on popularity. This also has longterm impact on the future videos coming to the channel because they will get emails from Youtube letting them know when MormonMessages posts new stuff.
6. reshare - the more things are shared on Facebook and Twitter the better the video's rankings will be.

The repercussions of this could be great. YouTube reports:

YouTube Stats (US)
(comScore MediaMetrix April 2009)

"The YouTube Homepage is the highest-profile placement on the site... eleven million unique visitors a day in the US [and] 89.7 Million unique monthly visitors."

The exposure that the Book of Mormon could receive in one day is astronomical. Please keep in mind though, while it is ideal that this video be promoted to the homepage, it is the spirit felt from the message wherein the success lies.

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints blessed with the knowledge contained in the Book of Mormon I seek to share with the world what I know to be true; what I know to bring happiness and hope in the times of travail; what I know to be the word of God.

For this challenge May 3 is calculated anytime in the 24 hour time period between 12 am to 11:59:59 pm Eastern Standard Time (for those participating from different time zones), but viewing before and after the event is helpful as well. Please invite both member and non-member alike to feel of the Spirit this message carries, mark your calendars and gather round in your families, wards and stakes and join me, May 3.

Fellowship of Pain

“One of Dr. (Albert) Schweitzer’s most important concepts is that of the Fellowship of Those who Bear the Mark of Pain. … Who are its members? Those who have learned by experience what physical pain and bodily anguish mean. These people, all over the world, are united by a secret bond. He who has been delivered from pain must not think he is now … at liberty to continue his life and forget his sickness. He is a man whose eyes are opened. He now has a duty to help others in their battles with pain and anguish. He must help to bring to others the deliverance which he himself knows.

“Under this Fellowship come not only those who were formerly sick, but those who are related to sufferers, and whom does this not include?”
(Thomas Dooley, “Worldwide Fellowship,” Words of Wisdom, ed. Thomas C.Jones, Chicago: J. B. Ferguson, 1966, p. 150.)

Trials stretch our hearts wider, and allow us to experience more of the Saviours love. Because of this, it is our duty and privilege to help others in their battles too. Heavenly Father rejoices when we share the burdens of others and when we help others to open their eyes to see how much they are loved by Him.

"As I have loved you, love one another".

(John 14:15)