Receiving the Ordinances and Blessings of the Temple

• The Saints are commanded by God to build temples.
• In the temple we learn the things of eternity and receive ordinances of salvation for ourselves and our ancestors.

“The doctrine of baptism for the dead is clearly shown in the New Testament; … it was the reason why Jesus said unto the Jews, ‘How oft would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!’ [Matthew 23:37]—that they might attend to the ordinances of baptism for the dead as well as other ordinances of the priesthood, and receive revelations from heaven, and be perfected in the things of the kingdom of God—but they would not. This was the case on the day of Pentecost: those blessings were poured out on the disciples on that occasion. God ordained that He would save the dead, and would do it by gathering His people together. …

“… Why gather the people together in this place? For the same purpose that Jesus wanted to gather the Jews—to receive the ordinances, the blessings, and the glories that God has in store for His Saints. I will now ask this assembly and all the Saints if you will now build this house and receive the ordinances and blessings which God has in store for you; or will you not build unto the Lord this house, and let Him pass by and bestow these blessings upon another people?”

“The question is frequently asked, ‘Can we not be saved without going through with all those ordinances, etc.?’ I would answer, No, not the fullness of salvation. Jesus said, ‘There are many mansions in my Father’s house, and I will go and prepare a place for you.’ [See John 14:2.] House here named should have been translated kingdom; and any person who is exalted to the highest mansion has to abide a celestial law, and the whole law too.”

“If a man gets a fulness of the priesthood of God, he has to get it in the same way that Jesus Christ obtained it, and that was by keeping all the commandments and obeying all the ordinances of the house of the Lord. …

“All men who become heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ will have to receive the fulness of the ordinances of his kingdom; and those who will not receive all the ordinances will come short of the fulness of that glory.”

• The temple is a place of holiness where we receive the greatest blessings God has for His children.

(For the full lesson, click here)

A Father Indeed

I was watching the clip below and it reminded me of all the blessings I've received in my life simply because I have a father who loves his family. I remember how hard he had to work to provide for us and the long hours he had to endure. I can also see the happiness a father brings into the lives of the many members of our branch. I remember Sister Shantelle expressing her joy in having her father come visit her. How precious it is to have a righteous father!

Happy Father's Day

Father's Day is around the corner again. I hope that we will pay tribute not just to our fathers and husbands but to all the great men who make a difference in our lives. We are indeed very blessed to know our Savior Jesus Christ and our beloved Father in Heaven through the restored gospel. Let us remember to say a special prayer of thanksgiving to God, our Eternal Father for all that He doth bless us with.

Quote - Coming to an Understanding with Ourselves

"President David O. McKay counseled: ' "The greatest battle of life is fought within the silent chambers of your own soul.". . . It is a good thing to sit down and commune with yourself, to come to an understanding with yourself and decide in that silent moment what your duty is to your family, to your Church, to your country, and . . . to your fellowmen' (in Conference Report, April 1967, 84-85)

--Thomas S Monson, "Choose You This Day," Ensign, November 2004, 68

Redemption for the Dead

In January 1836, many years after Alvin’s death, Joseph Smith received a vision of the celestial kingdom, in which he saw that Alvin, as well as his mother and father, would someday inherit that kingdom. Joseph “marveled how it was that [Alvin] had obtained an inheritance in that kingdom, seeing that he had departed this life before the Lord had set his hand to gather Israel the second time, and had not been baptized for the remission of sins” (D&C 137:6). The voice of the Lord then came to Joseph, declaring:

“All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God; also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom; for I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts” (D&C 137:7–9).

Lesson highlights:

1. God loves all His children and will judge all people according to the law they have received.
2. The Savior, Jesus Christ, offers the opportunity for forgiveness and deliverance to both the living and the dead.
3. God is perfectly just and merciful to all people, living and dead.

4. It is our duty and privilege to be baptized and confirmed for those who have died without the gospel.

   (For the full lesson, click here)

Are You Going To Finish Strong?

I am so grateful to President How-Hang Tan from the Melaka Branch for forwarding the clip below to me.

It reminds me of this scripture found in Ether 12:27: "And if men come unto me I will show unto them their ^aweakness. I ^bgive unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my ^cgrace is sufficient for all men that ^dhumble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make ^eweak things become strong unto them."

It is my hope and prayer that we will always remember to count our blessings and make sure that we finish strong! There is a purpose in all our lives!

Welfare Efforts Bring Jews, LDS Together

Rabbi Hirschfield recalled a statement from Jim Goodrich, manager of Welfare Square: "We are taught that you go to the temple to make covenants, and you come to Welfare Square to keep them."

Saying the statement moved him to tears, Rabbi Hirschfield added, "And the test of the covenants we make is whether or not they actually benefit other people beyond our community. And it was clear to me that I was in the presence of masters of that teaching, and so why not would I return? For me, this is a beginning of shared discovery of how to strengthen that capacity in two communities."

And Rabbi Borak said he witnessed the example of "love your neighbor as yourself" — a value shared both in the Jewish Torah and LDS scriptures — at Welfare Square, adding "nobody lives it better than those in the LDS Church, in my experience."

"I was humbled by what I saw, and at the same time was profoundly inspired by what I saw," he added. "So I want to support this organization and this effort, and I see it completely as a manifestation of God's will for man being in this earth. I want to learn from it, and I want to contribute in whatever way I can."

(For the full article, click here)

Gospel is Answer to Challenges in Life

"When I passed the memorial where the Germans were stopped, my heart hurt. I was 4 years old when the war ended. There have been too many wars. Be positive. Build on the future. As a 4-year-old, I saw an American Army move into my hometown. Then the American Army moved out and the Russian army moved in. I saw how a country was destroyed. When my family thought about the future, there was no future.

"When we found the gospel, it gave us strength and hope for the future. This gospel is the answer to any challenges in life. There are challenges, but we have to overcome them by living the gospel."

--Dieter F Uchtdorf, "A Faithful People: 'We Can Feel the Spirit'", Church News

(For the full article, click here)

How Can I Find Happiness?

I realize that all of us at some point in our lives, find ourselves in depths of despair.  I love how Elder Scott reminds us of the positive things in life, which we tend to overlook when we are wallowing in self-pity.  I am so grateful for the counsel of the prophets.  O how they uplift us and motivate us to be the best that we can be!

Quote - Forgiveness

"When we forgive and let go of that which has weighed heavily on our hearts and taken us off the path, a great burden is lifted from our souls, and we are free--free to move forward and progress in our pursuit of the gospel of Jesus Christ with an increase of love in our hearts. We will be blessed with an increase of enthusiasm for life, and our hearts will be lighter. A surge of spiritual energy will propel us forward in joy and happiness. The problems of the past will be cast away like old, worn-out clothes."

--Ned B. Roueché, "Feed My Sheep," Ensign, November 2004, 30-31

Faith in Action - Sister Tobi Sanders

I'm sure all of us know Sister Sanders by now but I was prompted to ask her to tell us her story so that those of us who hadn't had the opportunity to visit with her could get to know her. I am grateful that she and her husband were so obedient to the Lord to leave home, family and friends so that we could learn from their great example.

Thank you, Brother and Sister Sanders. We hope you will continue to enjoy your stay here.

OK, now for their story, in Sister Sanders' own words:

Dear Sister Seet,

Thank you for asking. I feel very strong that my husband and I are here for a purpose. What that purpose is I don't know but I do feel that the Lord's will is in this and that he is guiding me.

My husband retired from his job in 2007. Not long after he talked to me about putting in for an overseas assignment. Just the thought of that brought me to tears because I couldn't imagine leaving my home, family, Ward, and friends. I thought that was the end of it.

During the next year many things happened to me personally, professionally and emotionally that when my husband broached the subject once again I felt such a strong desire to get up and immediately go to the computer and see what job postings there might be available. There were two, one to Jakarta and one for Kuala Lumpur. Without a moment's hesitation I started to post for both positions. I knew next to nothing about either location except the general location. Since I had never done this before, I wasn't sure I was very competitive for the job. It was after I had posted for both of these positions that my husband and I decided to make this a matter of prayer. We knelt down and prayed about the decision we had just made and asked the Lord to help us know if this was right. We both felt an overwhelming feeling that we were being guided by the Lord to do this.

After I posted, I got online to see what I could learn about each location. The more I read about KL the more I hoped and prayed that I would be selected for that post. About two months later, I received an e-mail that was given to my Human Resource Director in my office. It stated that I had been selected for the Jakarta position. I was so excited but at the same time felt so strongly about KL. I called and left messages informing my headquarters that I gladly accepted Jakarta, but that if there was any chance that I could possibly have KL that would be my first choice. I got a call back a week later and they told me they never do this but that the Administrative Assistant position in KL needed someone sooner than Jakarta's did and if I would be willing to leave sooner I could have the KL position. I accepted gladly.

After I accepted this new position, Scott and I had eight long months before we could leave to come here. There were many trainings to attend in preparation for this assignment. I started to feel the stress of leaving home, family and friends. The amount of preparation it took seemed at times overwhelming. I was getting a lot of pressure from my boss not to leave and yet never once did I feel like changing my mind. In fact, I told my boss, who is also a member of the LDS faith that I knew the Lord was guiding me and Scott and we had prayed about this and I wasn't going to go back and ask him again because I already knew what he wanted and it wasn't going to change.

So here we are for what purpose I don't know but what I do know is that we love it here. We love the city, we love the people, we love the food. We feel like we are living a dream come true. Each week brings another adventure, like taking the trains to go visiting teaching. One of the wonderful surprises has been how wonderful the branch is. How impressive the teachers are, so knowledgeable and well prepared. How insightful the members are. Maybe we are here just to learn from you.

I love the Gospel and I love the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I feel the Lord with me constantly and know that each of us has a purpose here. I am grateful to have this opportunity to live a different life for a short while.

Sister Tobi Sanders

Self-reliance

Sisters, here's an example of a family in Kansas City, whom we can all really emulate.  Take a look at the pictures and see how organized they are.

This also gives us an idea of how to go about doing our own home storage, garden, etc.  I hope all of us will read this article before the Enrichment Activity on the 27th of this month.

(For the full article, click here, and for the photos, click here)

Be an Example, Kind in Word and Conversation

It's not just the big, public events where people are examples of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It's in the smaller things, too, said Sister Bonnie D. Parkin, former general president of the Relief Society.

"We're not required to do what Moroni did and ride through the town with the title of liberty, but we do need to be kind in word and conversation and speak with kindness and respect," Sister Parkin said during the Mothers' Week fireside at Brigham Young University-Idaho on Sunday, May 31.

(For the full talk, click here)

O Remember, Remember

I was amazed at how strongly I felt the Spirit even though this video is less than 2 minutes long!  There is power when the Holy Ghost speaks to us.

Find ways to recognize and remember God's kindness. You will be blessed as you remember what the Lord has done.

The Adversary's Attacks

Today I raise an apostolic voice of warning about the potentially stifling, suffocating, suppressing, and constraining impact of some kinds of cyberspace interactions and experiences upon our souls. The concerns I raise are not new; they apply equally to other types of media, such as television, movies, and music. But in a cyber world, these challenges are more pervasive and intense. I plead with you to beware of the sense-dulling and spiritually destructive influence of cyberspace technologies that are used to produce high fidelity and that promote degrading and evil purposes.

If the adversary cannot entice us to misuse our physical bodies, then one of his most potent tactics is to beguile you and me as embodied spirits to disconnect gradually and physically from things as they really are. In essence, he encourages us to think and act as if we were in our premortal, unembodied state. And, if we let him, he can cunningly employ some aspects of modern technology to accomplish his purposes. Please be careful of becoming so immersed and engrossed in pixels, texting, ear buds, twittering, online social networking, and potentially addictive uses of media and the Internet that you fail to recognize the importance of your physical body and miss the richness of person-to-person communication. Beware of digital displays and data in many forms of computer-mediated interaction that can displace the full range of physical capacity and experience.

--David A Bednar, "Things as They Really Are", CES Fireside for Young Adults, May 3, 2009, Brigham Young University - Idaho

(For the full talk, click here)

(Thanks Sister Tracy for sharing this talk with us)