"Spiritually Fed"

Wow, today was a day I have been needing for a long time. Our Stake had an Enrichment meeting themed "Celebrating Righteous Traditions". I wanted to go to see what new traditions I could start in my family. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting; it was much better!

There were 4 speakers. The traditions they spoke about were nothing new. They spoke about the importance of prayer, scripture study, what we need to do to be the best moms we can be. It was 3 hours long!! I couldn't believe it. I was just sooo happy to be there and be fed by the spirit (it's hard to feel the spirit at church trying to keep 3 kids quiet all of sacrament meeting). I have all of these new goals now and I want to write the touching remarks down for myself to come back and read. I also thought there may be something that would touch those who read this too.

President Miller (our Stake President) spoke first. He first told us to ponder this question, "What are the traditions in my life and how do they affect me and my family?" All I kept thinking about were my different Holiday traditions. He wanted us to be thinking about about FHE, family prayer, personal prayer, and daily scripture study. Lately, I have been thinking a lot about how I need these more in my family. And I have been doing a little better. I set an alarm clock that goes off twice in the evening. First for reading scriptures with the kids, and second to do something spiritual with Bo. We haven't been perfect, but we are doing better than we have since the buzz began.

There were many things that hit home from his talk. Here are the two that influenced me the most. First, I MUST SET THE SPIRITUAL EXAMPLE. It is my responsibility as a mother and wife to find time to do these things.

Second, he told us a story. President Hinkley planted a tree in his back yard to block the wind and give shade to his home. After it was planted he forgot about it. It wasn't until years later that he noticed it was growing crooked. He went outside and tried pushing it back. It wouldn't budge. He did all he could but the trunk was already 1 food in diameter and it was going to be a great ordeal to get it to grow upright again. If he had started before the trunk was too thick it would have just taken a stick and some twine to hold it in place. He compared the tree to a child. They are so easy to influence and teach when they are small. But, as they grow it just gets harder to get them to listen and act.

As a mother of 3 young children. I just knew and felt that I'm not teaching my kids everything that I need to. I MUST to be better. They are going to have to be unbelievably strong to fight Satan and his army in these last days. I can't put anything off. I must start now. I must teach them the importance of daily scripture reading and teaching them to pray personally. THE TIME IS NOW I MUST NOT WAIT!

As I move on to the next speaker (Todd Hillman), I feel like I already have so much to do. But, there's more. The title of his talk was Strength Through Prayer. I just want to quote a few things and help understand my feelings. He talked about all of the activities we have in our lives. Athletics, music lessons, work, tv, internet... These things can be good things, but they can aim us in the wrong direction. They are of the world, we imitate them and become apart of the world. He talked a lot about the talk by Dallin H Oaks, "Good, Better, Best", Nov 2007 conference. These activities can be good, but are they the best things we can be doing with our time? We need to PRIORITIZE. We must have unstructured time with our families. This is when we can grow closer together and our love for one another will grow.

I haven't thought about that in awhile (Actually since Brother Oaks talk). It is great that we have activities that can help shape us, but we can have to many. Life is so busy with Bo and the kids. And we will just keep getting busier as we grow older. I must prioritize the our daily activities and make sure that I am doing the BEST things I can with my time.

First and foremost we need to make prayer number 1 priority. We need to teach our children to pray personally before we do anything else in our day. We also need to have family prayer. He had some great ideas to make family prayer more interesting. In the morning ask each family member what they are doing that day and pray for them. In the evening and talk about the events of the day and pray about it. This will make our prayers more meaningful and as we pray for each family member our love will grow tremendously.

I can't wait to try this and see how our family grows. I love to listen to the prayers of our children. They are so sweet and heartfelt. If we start young they will continue to be heartfelt.

The final thing he said was to PRAY TO NOT FALL INTO TEMPTATION. I have heard this but not the way he explained it. We covenanted at baptism to "Always remember him". We should always keep a prayer in our hearts. As we keep a prayer in our hearts we are always remembering him. As we remember him the spirit will be with us and we will be stronger and make better decisions.

Things just kept clicking and clicking as he gave this talk. Hopefully you can feel the just one tenth of the power he spoke with as you read this.

YOU PROBABLY AREN'T GOING TO READ THIS WHOLE POST. BUT, BE SURE TO READ WHAT"S NEXT!!!

The third speaker Kyle Black was amazing. He knows the scriptures so well. I made a goal to be like him. He loves the scriptures and knows them by heart. The title of his talk was "Scriptures, A Daily Tradition".

He was very bold and did not sugar coat anything. He started off by saying that he didn't want to waste our time. In order to do this we need to go home and actually apply these things to our lives. He said members are great listeners. BUT THEY NEVER CHANGE. We go home and think or say to ourselves, "That was a great talk or lesson!" But do we do anything about it? WE MUST CHANGE! Or we are just wasting time time to church activities.

He talked about how hard it is for many people to read and enjoy the scriptures. But, it shouldn't matter if it is hard. THE SCRIPTURES ARE VERY IMPORTANT! He talked about Nephi and what he had to do to get the brass plates from Laban. We are commanded not to kill. But, THE SCRIPTURES WERE SO IMPORTANT THAT Nephi was commanded to kill Laban to get the plates. Laban died because we NEED the scriptures.

He also said that WE SUFFER IN IGNORANCE IF WE DO NOT STUDY THEM. IF WE STUDY THEM WE PROFIT MORE THAN WE KNOW.

Brother Black went on talking about how scriptures teach doctrines and principles of the gospel. We all know the principles of the gospel. Principles are what we are suppose to live by. But, do we know the doctrines? Doctrines are gospel truths that help explain why we follow principles. Do we know why we are suppose do this and say that (principles)? Do we know where to find these doctrines in the scriptures? This is where I was humbled spiritually more than I have ever been (I think in my entire life). He began giving examples of principles and doctrine. First example was the word of wisdom.

Let's say our teenage child comes home from a party and you smell alcohol on their breath. You say "Child, what are you doing?" They say, "I know I broke the word of wisdom." "But, WHY do we even need to follow the word of wisdom?" If all we know how to answer is, "cause", Brother Black says our child WILL sin again. But, if we can take them to the scriptures and explain that alcohol is bad for our body. Not only our body, but our soul. They are more likely to not break the word of wisdom.

Another example was Chastity. Our child spent too long in the car parked in the driveway. We say, "You were in the car too long; this can lead to things." They say, I know it's wrong to break the law of Chastity, but WHY?" If all we can say is, "cause". We are in trouble and they are more likely to sin. But, if we can pull out our scriptures and show them where they tell us it is devastating to our soul and we have no right to do those things if we are not married then they are more likely to not sin. He also talked about the principle of tithing and the doctrine of why.

I was humbled because I didn't know the exact answers and I didn't know where I could find them in the scriptures. Here I am bringing children into this world, teaching them the gospel principles, but I don't even know the doctrine (the truths) behind them all. I need to study, study, study, so I can teach my children answers to the "why" questions. I have already missed some of those teaching moments from the scriptures. I must study so I won't miss anymore.

The final talk was by two moms Kristie Christensen and Marci Inskeep. By this point my emotions were pretty high and I was overwhelmed by everything I had heard. But, these speakers did an excellent job showing me that I wasn't the only one who wasn't perfect. We all make mistakes. We need to do our best. They had tons of great advice:

Our parenting should come from the gospel. If it does, we can't go wrong.

We should pattern our home after the temple. Peaceful and clean. Use kindness in our voices. Anticipate any questions our children may have and give them guidance. Teach them to feel the spirit

The way we treat and speak to our children shapes them and shows them how we feel about them; more than just saying I love you.

Plan time to be lazy. Then we can use the rest of our time wisely. (I am surely going to do this. I have too much lazy time at night. I need more structure)

Live in the NOW.

We must connect our Celestial goals to everyday life so they feel reachable

We as moms must keep our "personal wells" full (spiritually and physically). If our well is empty, or even half full we cannot give as much as we can if it is full.

All I could think of by the end was, "Okay, I need to repent and do better!" "Where do I start?"

Well, I started right here. Typing down the most meaningful moments. I know I should be praying more often and studying the scriptures with more meaning. Those talks were an awesome reminder of why I need to be doing reading and praying.

Sorry, I know this was very long and if anybody actually read it all the way through, I hope the spirit spoke to you as it did me and you will understand the things you can change in your life to strengthen your home and family. I love this gospel and the happiness it brings. I love the peace I feel knowing that I have a Savior who suffered and prepared the way for me so I can repent when I make mistakes (like being selfish with my time). I am so grateful to know I have a Father in Heaven that cares so much for me that he sent his Son to suffer for me. He prepared Joseph Smith to restore this church. I am grateful and will never know how much he suffered here also. With his love we are guided through a living, loving, prophet today, President Monson. I am so grateful for my family and that we do have eternal families. I know we will be together forever in happiness. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen