Pioneers

I love pioneers! I love to read pioneer stories and hear about their faith promoting experiences. I love the bravery and determination of pioneers who ventured into a world unknown to them. I love the sense of adventure and sacrifice that the pioneers themselves represent.

I come from pioneer stock. I have ancestors who crossed the plains when they were forced from their homes in Nauvoo. I have ancestors who crossed the ocean to join the Saints in America, leaving their native lands. I have modern day pioneers who, against the wishes of their families, joined the LDS Church and forged a way for me and my children to follow.

I associate with pioneers each day. As a member of an LDS Young Single Adult Branch I am surrounded by modern day pioneers. These brave young adults have ventured out of a world they were familiar with to join with a group of other young adults who have welcomed them in with open arms. These new converts to the LDS faith are brave, determined, adventurous, and know the meaning of the word sacrifice. I feel the need to honor them, along with the many that have gone before them to make the path easier for those who will follow.

Joshua, Brooke, James, Sabrina, Frank, Steven, Alysa, Natalie, Daviana, Scott, Mehgan, Monica, Sally, Bill, Shelly, Tamara, Tarnue, Tim, Tyson, and many others who I have probably neglected to mention.

This video is for you.

An Offering in Righteousness LDS Temple Worship

Today Zion is on my mind.

Perhaps it is because my adventure to the San Diego Temple last night is fresh on my mind.

I had the opportunity to go with a group of Young Adults and do a special “after hours” session of baptisms for the dead as we contributed our portion to our Stake’s “offering in righteousness”. I knew it would be a perfect time to take some family names to have work done for them in the Temple, so I decided to do some research for a friend of mine who gives many hours of service to the Young Adult Branch where I also am privileged to serve. As I entered the names of her family into the New Family Search Program I marveled once again at how fast and easy it is now to contribute and clear names for ordinance work to be done.

My research on her family line led me to a group of collateral relatives that needed their work done. The interesting thing about these people is that they were all from Independence, Jackson County, Missouri. Their time on this earth is precisely the time that the Saints would have felt persecution from those of the area. I felt a feeling of peace and healing as I researched this family line and contributed them to the Temple so that they could have their ordinance work done. It was a beautiful “come to Zion” moment for me.

Elder Neal A. Maxwell who creatively taught, some “people know they should have their primary residence in Zion, but they still hope to keep a summer cottage in Babylon” also stated, “Since there are no instant Christians, to withhold what we can do to accelerate the process of the perfection of Zion until Zion is nearly perfected is to misconstrue mortality. To withhold all (or even much) of our fellowship, our talents, or our tithing until the Church and its people meet our “high” standard is like trying to book passage on Noah’s ark without driving a nail in a plank. We simply walk on board and ask to be shown to our stateroom and inquire as we enter the stateroom about what time dinner is served at the Captain’s table! We must sign on for the voyage with all our imperfections, and commit to help each other.”

I am grateful for the blessings of the Temple and the healing power it brings into our lives by application of the covenants we make there. It is a beautiful “ritualistic, ceremonial, memorial” that we are allowed to participate in to remind us that the power to save is only by the “strong hand of God.” It is an illustration of what it takes to live a consecrated life. It is a visual teaching of the process we need to follow to learn to “walk with God” as our Father Abraham did. But, last night, for me, it was also a moment to reflect on how we need to help each other, imperfections and all.

Six Tips For More Effective Scripture Study

I have the blessing and privilege of being a Young Adult Institute instructor in my Stake. What that means is that I have a wonderful opportunity to "rub shoulders" with some of the greatest people I know on this earth. I believe that one of my Young Adult friends summed up the character of these “Children of the Promise”, or this generation, best when he observed:

“Our generation will do things different from generations past. We are strong enough to do it. We were prepared that way in the preexistence. We have more scripture and examples to learn from. It's prophesied that we will come through, so we have that positive mindset. Nevertheless, it will still take great faith. When others have fallen in the past we will rise up because of our faith. We are still reliant on the Lord. We need to serve him in faith, love and humility. We will realize more fully than past generations and the Lord will lift us up.” Zeb Shockley

I believe that because of their desire to know, and willingness to study, they will be blessed with that strong foundation that is needed to combat the evils in the world coming at them with equal force and frequency as the good.

In the most recent BYU Devotional Elder Jay E. Jensen of the Presidency of the Seventy spoke to the BYU students in attendance and emphasized to them the importance of building their testimonies on the rock Helaman spoke of.

Helaman 5:12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

Elder Jensen gave six tips that he promised would help any student of the scriptures gain more insights from their studies when used. They are as follows:

First was to pray. He told of a time when he was waiting for his airplane to take off — he thumbed through the in-flight magazine and then began to flip through his scriptures. As he did so, he felt the Spirit tell him that he should pray before studying the scriptures instead of treating God’s word as he did a common magazine.

Second, pay the right price. It’s important to search, ponder, analyze and compare instead of merely reading.

“Going through the scriptures regularly is good,” he said, “but to have the scriptures go through you and have them change you comes with a price.”

Third, look for patterns, using whatever study aides necessary.

Fourth, have a pencil and notebook ready to write down impressions. He said we have the 138th section of the Doctrine and Covenants because President Joseph F. Smith wrote down the inspiration he received while studying the scriptures.

Fifth, mark, annotate and write in the margins. Jensen is on his fourth set of scriptures since serving as a mission president in Colombia. He said well-marked scriptures serve as a “portable revelatory filing system.”

Sixth, teach what you learn. He said he does not consider a principle mastered until he can articulate it to someone else. He said it is our responsibility to teach others.

We are long past the days of reading simply out of habit or obedience, and have moved into a time where it is imperative to read for direction in our lives. These Young Adults have been taught better than any other generation how to do this. Where much is given, much is expected.

What are some techniques you find helpful when you study the scriptures?

Proposition 8 and the Call to Action

Just today California has been joined by Connecticut in the battle to save traditional marriage. One of the best reasons for the definition, other than that of being ordained by God was given today, in my opinion, by one of the opposing Judges in the Supreme Court decision in that state. He said, "The ancient definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman has its basis in biology, not bigotry." I loved that!

The state of Connecticut following the state of California in their decision to challenge traditional marriage is exactly what was expected would happen, only it happened a little earlier than I thought. Our Church leaders have warned that the world has their eyes on this monumental decision that is being fought here in California, that of preserving traditional marriage. What happens here will be a standard for things to come.

Our LDS leaders in a broadcast from Salt Lake have encouraged us, as an LDS people, to come out boldly and speak of our commitment to traditional marriage and of our values and teachings. Now is the time to act and be courageous.

I have spent the last two days on the Internet watching as Young Adults throughout the stake have boldly defended the truths they believe. They have posted blog posts and posted videos supporting Prop 8 on their Facebook pages. There have been some that have had the courage to take the discussion to the open forums and engage in conversation there. Many have met with opposition to this action that they have taken, still they press on.

One of the most eye opening things I have seen is two loving brothers who, have conflicting opinions, stand true to their opposite sides, each unbending in his ideals engaging in persuasive conversation, desperately trying to make the other see his point of view. It was a stark realization of what the war in Heaven must have been like. This war is not one of violent actions but of opposing views, a war over truth versus deception.

These bold, noble, youth have been more courageous than others half their age, in defending what they know to be true. Being called "narrow minded" and labeled as prejudiced they have endured the battle front over the last couple of days, valiantly. The words to the Hymn, True to the Faith, have come to have new and emotional meaning to me.

"Shall the youth of Zion falter in defending truth and right? While the enemy assaileth, shall we shrink or shun the fight? NO! True to the faith that our parents have cherished, true to the truth for which martyrs have perished, To God's command, Soul, heart, and hand, Faithful and true we will ever stand."

I have witnessed this in action and have renewed hope for the future.

We must all support these Young Adults as they battle this battle, or have it counted against us! I know this is true. Make sure you do "all that you can do to support Proposition 8" as our leaders have asked and have it counted unto you as righteousness. I love these young people!