Family
Probably the best thing I can do for my future family is to
make our home a Christ-centered home. I
truly believe that lasting happiness will occur most likely when founded upon
faith, forgiveness, repentance, love, and prayer. I have wondered before if there will ever be
a safe place to raise my children.
During the most recent conference, President Boyd K. Packer said that
there is a safe place. It is in a gospel-centered home. I believe that the home is where we learn how
to be good friends, neighbors, citizens, disciples, etc. We were put in families for a reason, and we
are supposed to learn from those relationships.
I am grateful to have been raised in a family wherein the doctrines of
the gospel were taught. Without a doubt,
I can say that my home was gospel-centered, and it is where I have been taught
and molded into the woman I am today. I
look forward to raising my own family, where I hope I can be successful in
teaching them the gospel.
Atonement
Without the atonement in this life, Heavenly Father’s plan
of happiness could not be complete. It
is through the atonement that we are given the opportunity to repent and to
become better people. I need to help my
children understand when they are young that they have the great gift of the
atonement. It can be used by anyone, and
it is very personal to everyone. It is
not by repentance alone that we are saved.
After all we can do, God’s grace is bestowed upon us. True repentance, is the condition by which we
can feel God’s forgiveness in our lives.
True repentance blesses us with the effects of the atonement. We will feel that guilt and sorrow have gone
away. We will be filled with hope, and
more prepared to live with Heavenly Father.
I also know that the atonement was performed not only for our sins, but
also for any feelings of sadness, being afraid, discouragement, and doubt.
Agency
This was the difference between Heavenly Father’s plan of
happiness and Satan’s plan. Under Satan
we would have no agency, and we would be obligated to follow his laws with no
option to choose for ourselves. People sometimes think that it doesn’t matter
what I do because it’s my choice. What
they don’t always understand immediately is that they don’t have the right to
choose what the consequence is for those actions.
Pornography
I agree with Elder James E. Faust when he said that there
are no completely private choices. The
“private” choice to look at and indulge in pornography affects families,
societies, and the world. Because of
this, how could someone justify the sin when it literally affects
everyone. These days, it is not hard to
find pornography, even when you’re not actively trying to find it. It’s all over the media and everything we see
every day. Those images we see (whether
by choice or not) are engrained into our brains. Unfortunately, it is not simple enough to
just get rid of bad thoughts or images.
They stick. And they stain.
Commonly, this sin is associated with men, but anyone can become
involved in it. Becoming involved with
pornography will drag a person down as sure and as fast as anything in this
world…just like a drug. It is highly
addictive. If someone is worried about
becoming involved with it, the best answer is to simply avoid it.
Marriage
First of all, marriage is sacred because it is a covenant
that involves you, your spouse, and the Lord.
Because of this, if done correctly, the greatest blessings and amount of
happiness can be obtained. A happy,
successful marriage will thrive when both are doing their best to improve
themselves. The more spouses serve God
and each other, the greater their chance will be for ultimate happiness. Don’t
forget repentance and forgiveness! The
world looks at marriage simply as a contract that can be broken just as easily
as it was made. This is evil
thinking. If the world only understood
how fulfilling marriages can be (with one spouse), then I’m sure that the world
would be a more kind, hopeful place to be.
The first sign of trouble or disagreement in marriage should not be a
sign to run away. Spouses should learn
to work together, compromise, serve one another, and forgive each other. When done this way (the right way), the
marriage will thrive. Despite what the
world thinks, spouses should not rely on other sources to fix marriage
problems. Successful marriages will
require God’s help done by fervent prayer.
Raising Children
This topic goes hand in hand with my “family” topic. Having a Christ-centered home for a family is
just as important as teaching children the gospel… in fact, they are
practically the same thing! I know that
the most important work I will ever do will be within the walls of my own home. The way I raise my children will be so much
more important than any career, position or social status I could ever achieve. I cannot be casual in the way I raise my
children, and it is never too late to prepare myself for that sacred calling I
have as a mother.
Faith
Faith is not simply a good attitude or hope alone in
something. Faith starts out as hope, but
hope fuels action, and that is what is necessary in order for faith to be
faith. Every time our faith is tried, or
in other words, any time we act worthily on an impression, we receive
confirming evidence from the Spirit.
Those feelings of confirmation will fortify faith, and as this pattern
is repeated, faith will grow stronger.
Charity
Charity is literally the pure love of Christ. It is the opposite of judgment and
criticism. Without faith and hope,
charity could not exist. When faith is
eroded because of sin, disappointment, discouragement, and procrastination,
then hope is there to uphold our faith.
When impatience and frustration challenge charity, then hope is there to
help us deal with unmet expectations and unconditional love. I can see now how faith, hope and charity go
hand in hand. I have seen this in my own
life without even realizing it.
Service
Only when we have a love for Heavenly Father and Jesus
Christ are we able to serve others effectively.
Unless we devote our lives to service for others, then honestly what is
the point? Service does not have to be physical labor. I think it also includes unconditional love,
a listening ear, and thinking of someone else before yourself. If we can’t learn to do these things with
others, we cannot expect to become disciples of Christ.
Repentance
Repentance can be the key for happiness and hope during this
life. Putting off complete repentance
from sins leaves us without many blessings we otherwise could have had. A troubled conscience and turmoil are the
results of having not repented. No
matter how we try to cover it up, or gain temporary healing, we end up still
feeling sick about having not repented. Peaceful conscience can be regained
only through complete repentance. There
is nothing we cannot do, no darkest corner that we can hide, where we are no
longer able to repent. There is always a
way back, and there is always hope for healing in our lives.
OK. This is all good stuff.
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