General Conference April 2014

Priesthood Session:
The first talk that I had the opportunity to listen to for this session of Conference was Dallin H Oaks. Ironic that it was during the Priesthood Session as I have never watched it live. I felt like it was not only very timely, but a needed talk for some of the Sisters of the church. Interesting that it was the first one of the Priesthood Session. I have been following this whole "ordain women" movement taking place. I know people that are on both sides and I have not verbally or in written form said where I stand in all of this because I feel like this whole protest or movement has brought negative publicity to the church. I am not one of those sisters that is sympathetic to their cause.

Do I think it is bad to be outspoken? No, I don't think so. Are these sisters bad because of what they think? No. Does speaking out about your beliefs or desires bring about good? It can.

People say that if these Sisters had not spoken up the Priesthood session would not have started to be broadcast to all to watch rather than waiting for it to come out later online or in the Ensign. That may have sped up the process in broadcasting it. This protest has been compared to Blacks receiving the priesthood and even polygamy but really those issues were based on waiting on the Lord. I have never heard anything about women receiving the priesthood in the future or questioned the Lord in who is "ordained" to the priesthood.  I feel that I understand their points as to why things should change when it comes to ordaining women. I personally feel that is not our mission in this life and I trust the Brethren and more importantly in the Lord. Could this change in the future, yes I suppose so, but I personally don't think it is part of His plan during this mortal life. If that changes I will learn my new responsibilities and do my best to uphold what the Lord expects and asks of me. As of right now I have plenty of things as a woman "unordained" that I can work on that can draw me closer to the Savior.

President Dallin H Oaks helped me think about my current and previous callings in a new light.
1)  I love that he said that there is no up or down in church callings, there is only forward and backward. How true that is I think in everything that you do in life. You can be a CEO or a janitor - but your attitude, how you choose to work every day causes you to move forward or to move backward. Does the Lord really care what your job is? Not so much (so long as it is something that is not against his commandments).
2) I never thought about how when I am in a teaching role or any church calling where I am set apart by someone who is ordained and holds the priesthood that I hold the priesthood as well.

Another thing that I pondered that President Oaks mentioned was how we need to forget about our "rights" and focus on our "responsibilities". As a world we are so focused on our rights rather than our responsibilities what a better place this world would be if we changed that.

Other thoughts from talks that spoke to me...

Donald L Hallstrom:
"When we say, 'That is just the way I am,' we give up our ability to change."
"Commonly accepted practices in the world choke our priesthood power."

Randall L Ridd:
"As important it is to leave home fully charged on your cell phone, it is far more important to leave home fully charged spiritually."

President Dieter F Uchtdorf:
Are you sleeping through the restoration?
Do I seek self-service over selfless service?  "Selfishness over selflessness skews our priorities"

Sunday Morning Session:
President Dieter F Uchtdorf:
See gratitude as a disposition.
Instead of being grateful FOR things - focus on being thankful IN our circumstances.
It means that "through the eyes of faith we look beyond our present day challenges."
"...We need to set aside the bottle of bitterness and instead drink from the goblet of gratitude".

Elder David A Bednar
Is the load I am carrying ...
         1) producing the spiritual traction that is enabling me to press forward on the straight and narrow path                and avoid getting stuck?
         2) creating sufficient spiritual traction so I can safely get home to my Heavenly Father?

"We often mistakenly think that happiness is the absence of a load"

General Conference - 183rd Annual

We celebrated the 183rd General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am proud to be a member of this great Church. Every 6 months we are able to listen to God's mouthpieces on the earth. I like to make note of some of the things that stuck out to me from the sessions that I was able to listen to. There is 10 hours of Conference - I was able to watch Saturday and Sunday Morning sessions - 4 hours of it. Omar also attended the Priesthood session for 6 of the 10 hours. I will have to catch up on the other ones later. 

Saturday Morning Session

President Monson  (President and Prophet)

• 2 new temples announced - Cedar City, Utah and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
• Since the change with the missionary age over 65,000 missionaries now - and 20,000 who have been called and 6,000 more in interviews with their bishops. 58 new missions created. Encouraged to donate generously to General Missionary Fund of the church. 

Boyd K Packer (Apostle)

• He is 88 years old now! He is such a cute old man - that poem sounded like it was a farewell poem 
• Discussed how Priesthood 
• Faith is a real power and not just an expression of belief - there is few things more powerful than the faithful prayers of a righteous mother. This is interesting because I was just talking about faith earlier today with my friend Allison Schreiber and how it seems like such an overused term a really undefined thing - faith. 
• Separate the difference between the sin and the sinner. Tolerance is a virtue - but when is exaggerated it becomes a vice. We need to be careful of tolerance that we don't exaggerate it and become swallowed up in it. 
• All of us have the light of Christ when we are born - what we do with that light is our test in mortality.

Dean M Davies (2nd Counselor Presiding Bishopric)

• Temple construction look at any type of calamity or weather catastrophe that might come - they are built on very strong foundations
• Daily prayer, daily studying of scriptures, weekly partaking of the Sacrament and participating in Priesthood ordinances are what should create our foundation - if we don't participate in these we will have a weakened foundation
• Paul in the Bible also refers to our foundation 
• These items should come to us as naturally as breathing and eating! If that is the case - I have a lot of work to do for it to be more natural for me

Elaine S Dalton (Young Women General President)

• Nice testimony

Craig A Carden (Quorum of the 70)

• he doesn't excuse us in our sins or condone us to return to our past sins. he is able to forgive sins on earth too not just at the final judgement. 
• the Lord verbally told Joseph Smith that he was forgiven multiple times even though he had not completed any grave sins. this is a good example of his willingness to forgive 70x7. 
• the Lord wants to forgive

M Russell Ballard (Apostle)

• The power by which the heaven's and earth were created is the Priesthood
• that same Priesthood power is the same power Christ used to perform miracles and other things during his mortal ministry
• The man cannot fully utilize his Priesthood without a woman. 
• analogy of the tomato plant - we can become like a wilted tomato plant drifting away being spiritually malnourished. we can come back with light and power of god in our life like the tomato plant comes back with light and water. 
• never realized his great grandmother is Mary Fielding Smith

Elder Eyring (Apostle)

• When we serve Him or follow the call to leave our families to serve Him it will cause our families to become closer to Him. 
• the scripture he shared in D&C about Hyrum and Joseph's family was one that helped strengthen me on my mission.

Sunday Morning Session

Dieter F Uchtdorf (Apostle)

• Often we feel we are surrounded by darkness - He will illuminate the way and help us out of the darkness
• Turn your heart to the Lord

Neil L Andersen (Apostle)

• Put your missionary tag somewhere that it can be seen
• Pray for missionary opportunities

Rosemary M Wixon (Primary General President)

• To speak to a child's hearts we must know a child's needs
• Choose a time of the day to disconnect from everything and reconnect to each other

L Whitney Clayton (Presidency of 70)

• Watch and Learn how to have a happy and eternal marriage
• Practice patterns of faith (sacrament weekly, FHE weekly, honest tithing, personal and family scripture study, etc.) - they don't pick and choose which ones they should do like a buffet
• Repentance - have honest self-examination to repent and improve
• Respect - don't treat others as 2nd class partners - each have an equal vote - cooperation - not negotiation - forego personal entertainment and electronics to share in home roles - work side by side 
• Transparency - no secret - make all decisions about finances together
• Fiercely loyal to each other 

L Tom Perry (Apostle)

• "Obedience to law is liberty" - why does this ring true to us? Look back to our Pre-mortal life
• Victory of the war in heaven was a victory for man's agency
• Each choice is a choice between liberty and eternal life or captivity and death
• Coveting has been far too common way of life
• We shouldn't pick and choose which commandments we follow

Thomas S Monson (Prophet)

• Be obedient and do it willingly

Millenial Day Temple Weekend

Twice a year our Stake has a specific day that everyone is encouraged to go and do work in the Temple. They call it Stake Millenial Day and it takes place on a Friday every 6 months. Omar and I both got off work so we could go. My mom and Naomi were able to meet us for the session. It was so nice to be in the temple.

After the temple my dad and Naomi's mom, Jeanne, met us for lunch at 4 Rivers. Now that is some amazing bbq. I think Omar ordered a little of everything because we had SO much bbq!

After lunch we all (except Jeanne) went to Winter Garden and walked around. We had a nice time. They have a free museum and let me tell you the guy that ran the museum was SO excited about all the history he had to share.

We had a great day!

Drive that Tractor Na

LOVE all the florida orange crate labels - it is amazing how the Orange industry is not like it used to be

Dad doing what he does best - reading the paper

General Conference April 2012

Omar and I were fortunate to be able to watch all the sessions of conference in real time. I love conference and how it motivates me to improve my life. 

The themes that I kept hearing over and over was regarding Forgiveness, and Preparing for/Partaking of the Sacrament. There are over 40 talks during General Conference each year. I can't possibly change everything at one time. Here are the main talks that meant something to me. 

Jeffrey R. Holland
*I heard his his parable in a different way it reminded me of the Gospel and how I am one of the early ones who was given the blessing of the Gospel for my whole life and there are people that come into the Gospel maybe at the 11th eleventh hour but they can have the same blessings that I have had. They can have mercy, justice, forgiveness and the possibility of eternal life. This parable was about God's goodness and that every person will have the chance to come.
*Why should you be jealous, when I choose to be kind? There will be times
*Envy is a mistake that keeps on ungiving.
*formula of faith is to hold on and the stress along the way will fall away.

Robert D. Hales
*I need to work on my sacrament preparation - let go of the worldly thoughts so that there is room for the Holy Ghost to speak to me. I can be more prayerful and make more "specific, personal commitments" for the following week.

Dieter F Uchtdorf
*"Don't judge me because I sin differently than you." (from a bumper sticker)
"*Do you harbor a grudge against someone else?  Do you gossip even though what you say might be true? Do you exclude, push away or even punish others for something they have done? Do you secretly simply envy another? Do you wish to cause harm to someone?"
*"In the end it is the merciful that obtain mercy."

Russell M Nelson
*I should be more grateful toward my Creator. The degree of my gratitude is my measure of my love for Him.
*Regarding the Big Bang Theory: "If there is an explosion in a print shop, is a dictionary formed as a result? The possibility is most remote, but even so, it would never have the ability to heal it's torn pages."


L Tom Perry
*Like Abraham faced his tent toward the Altar he build to the Lord, and King Benjamin instructed his people to have their tent openings face the Temple, I should have my direction in life facing the Ordinances and Covenants of the Temple.


Russell M Ballard
*All become lost at some point in time. The Holy Ghost can turn us back to the Savior's Atonement


Larry L Wilson
*Job as parent is to help their children establish the pathway to heaven
*They that are wise and take the Holy Spirit as their guide are not deceived

*If you are a controlling parent then it can cause a child to have a hard time connecting to and feeling the Love of God.

*Best thing you can do is show people you have their confidence that they are on the pathway back to the Father 

Super Saturday

We actually didn't make these plates but I really liked it, the Young Women made them. 

Ashley and I with the cute Santa Cupcakes we made

November we had Super Saturday at church which is basically a craft day. This was my first time being able to participate in one. It was a lot of fun. I made a Christmas block, and a temple block, as well as did some etching on my dishes.

LDS Cannery

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes strongly in the importance of not only being self-sufficient, but in preparation for the future through food storage. During this economy there have been plenty of people that I know that have lived off their food storage due to job loss and financial difficulty. Omar and I have been working on our own personal food storage. We have a long way to go and I still need to learn how to really use it, but at least it is a start. Last year was the first time I was able to actually go to the cannery and it is a lot of fun. I mean who doesn't love wearing cool aprons and hair nets! 

Quotes from Latter-day Prophets of God:
"Nothing destroys the individuality of a man, woman, or a child as much as the failure to be self-reliant." - President Heber J. Grant
"Get out of debt, pay off your mortgage and get food in your homes." - President Gordon B. Hinckley
"Plan to build up your food supply just as you would a savings account...if you are saving and planning for some item which merely adds to your comfort or pleasure, you may need to change your priorities." - President Ezra Taft Benson

myself and Brianna's friend Amy

Bri and Amy

The Newlywed Game

Omar's Elders Quorum was in charge of the first ward activity of the year, Valentine's social which consisted of a dance and newlywed game.

Brianna was in charge of the decorations

We had our own DJ, next time we need a little more exciting music

I helped teach some line dancing, cotton-eye joe, boot scoot boogy, electric slide, etc.

we WON!

I was in charge of the cheese fondue and was told to use velveeta - thanks to a delicious recipe you wouldn't have known it was velveeta. Yummy chocolate fountain too

Us playing the game

Of course we participated and actually won our round of the newlywed game, we are that amazing.

Some of the questions we had were: 

What is your husband's most prized possession? Omar just got the huge TV he wanted and so I thought, as well as others in the audience thought, hands down he would say the TV. Much to my surprise, NO...he said his Playstation 3!!!

Fill in the blank...my husband has more ____ than anyone else. My answer "back hair". He said "hair" at which point everyone laughed because obviously he is going bald (sadness). He then clarified to back hair.

If your wife could represent a road sign when she is angry what would it be? He said "Stop." The only sign I could think of was "Slippery when wet."
Which part would your wife most excel in during a beauty pageant? We both answered "interview"
What other guy would your wife ended up with if he would not have come along? This one was easy because Omar was my only boyfriend. So the answer was no one
If pilgamy was to come around again and you were the first wife, what one job would the 2nd wife be in charge of? The main job that I am in charge of is laundry so it would be laundry

Part 2: The Lord's Blessings, The "Hard" Things

Brother Rowland did not end up having surgery. When he was first taken to the hospital a pace maker was put in and it seems that the pace maker is doing well. Brother and Sister Rowland felt that at this time the surgery is not needed to fix the problem with his heart, as it is a very risky procedure. My mom is Lena's (Brother Rowland's daughter) seminary teacher. My mom shared this with me regarding seminary this past week...
"I love that Lena likened it to D & C 82:3 (a scripture mastery) - "I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say, when ye do not what I say ye have no promise"  She said her dad's patriarchal blessing said he would live a long life if he followed the Lord.  This experience was a witness to that."

I have thought about Michael, Brother Rowland's oldest son, who is on a mission currently in Italy. I find it interesting that "hard" things seem to happen when missionaries are away from him. I am not sure if Michael is aware of what happened, but I think that maybe the Lord allows these things to happen while someone is serving Him and His children full-time so he can bless and help the family. Sometimes those blessings and help are not what we would desire or see as a blessing or help.

I think back to the "hard" things that happened in mine own family while I was serving and there are a few lessons that I learned.
Hard things:

*Help prove the faith of the one serving. To realize that the Lord is in control, and even though the missionary might think it is best to go home and help, that really there is nothing they can do to help and the best help is by being the Lord's hands so he can take care of the family.

*Teach the missionary to decide who is #1 in their life, the Lord or their family. Our goal ultimately is to return to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, if we live worthy for our family to be eternal than we will be with them later FOREVER, we need to prove now who we trust so we can accomplish an eternal family. I think of Elder Bednar's (one of the 12 apostles) triangle that he shared before. Even with our own spouse, the Lord is the tip of the triangle and the only way we will get closer in the triangle to our spouse is by getting closer to the Lord. When things happened to my family on the mission I created something to help remind me of this and sent it out on May 1, 2006.

*Allow us to give our will to the Lord. When Christ was on the cross he said, "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done (Luke 22:42)." Christ always did the will of the Father, and we must become like Christ. The only thing we truly have to give is our will.

*Strengthens testimony. Something that hit me on my mission was when Elder Jeffrey R. Holland (one of the 12 apostles) came a few weeks before the end of my mission to speak to us as his best and oldest friend is my mission president. He asked us why serving a mission is so important. His answer was a surprise to me. He told us that it is great that we find souls looking for Christ and we baptize them, but ultimately the importance of a mission is that they, the Prophet and Apostles, truly care about saving our souls - the missionaries!!! I was astounded.

The scripture in D&C 18:15 is true: "And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!" That one soul is me, He cares about my soul first before I can go help save the souls of others. The whole goal of a mission was to truly convert me. Hard things help that conversion because you have to trust the Lord is in control. If you are not able to trust that then you are not truly converted.

*Sometimes cause us to question, "WHY?", when really we need to question, "What am I to learn from this?" This is still something that I sometimes struggle with the "hard" things that happen to me.

A cowgirl, an Indian, a Night of Mystery

The Assassins

Omar is in the Elder's Quorum Presidency and they have been planning their first activity for the Quorom which was the other night...a Murder Mystery Dinner. It was a ton of fun and people got really into it.

Omar was hilarious and had a perfect part for him, an Indian. Omar told me he thought he was chosen to be an Indian because of his color, I didn't think someone would have thought of that. I asked the Quorum president and he told me that was exactly why. I just laughed...but Omar was perfect with the horrible English and throwing jokes in all over the place. Boy did he look the part too!

I was a cowgirl and ended up being a main character in the plot. I enjoyed dressing up to, but had a wicked hard time of finding a gun! I finally bought a nerf gun as all the toy stores no longer sell cap guns or guns that look like real guns since kids have been killed by cops because of it. Someone told me they found a gun at Walgreens and I bought it an hour before the event, it was a working cap gun! It was perfect and completed my get-up.

The perfect couple...but not in this show

He was hilarious he was the lover that stole all the girls hearts

I totally want to host my own party now...have been wanting to for a while. I guess I will need to get on that...so many parties and so little time to host.

Sunday School Class Party

2 of my students - Madison and Gretchen - aren't they so cute!

The girls have so much spunk I got Allison to come help me out.

We made cinnamon rolls - can you see how much brown sugar is on there - Allison kept saying, I think it needs more - a bag and a half later!

I threw a party for my 11 year old Sunday School Class. Allison helped me with it so I wouldn't be all by myself with the girls, not that there are many of them or anything. We ate pizza, played rock band, board games, baked cinnamon rolls and talked. It was fun. The girls were mesmorized by all the remotes and intercoms in our house. It was a very fun evening.