Why do you do what you do?

“Your love, like a flower, must be nourished. There will come a great love and interdependence between you, for your love is a divine one. It is deep, inclusive, comprehensive. It is not like that association of the world which is misnamed love, but which is mostly physical attraction. When marriage is based on this only, the parties soon tire of each other. There is a break and a divorce, and a new, fresher physical attraction comes with another marriage which in turn may last only until it, too, becomes stale. The love of which the Lord speaks is not only physical attraction, but spiritual attraction as well. It is faith and confidence in, and understanding of, one another. It is a total partnership. It is companionship with common ideals and standards. It is unselfishness toward and sacrifice for one another. It is cleanliness of thought and action and faith in God and his program. It is parenthood in mortality ever looking toward godhood and creationship, and parenthood of spirits. It is vast, all-inclusive, and limitless. This kind of love never tires or wanes. It lives on through sickness and sorrow, through prosperity and privation, through accomplishment and disappointment, through time and eternity.” -President Spencer W. Kimball SM pg 140

It is so sad that the world has come to the point where marriage is a seen to be a benefit for self and not a team where you are there to benefit the other. Now it is almost like having a roommate so that rent is cheaper, or so that you get better tax discounts and cheaper health insurance. We need to move back to the reason you get married is because you love one another and you do not want in any way to hurt the other person and thus will do whatever you can to help them to be a better person.

Your an idiot...

“One of the hardest things to live with in any relationship is criticism, real or implied. Yet some husbands and wives demand sharply, “Why in the world did you do that?” or “I wouldn’t have done it that way!” or “We don’t do it that way where I come from!” or “That was a dumb thing to say.” Repeated criticisms of this negative and acid nature can wear away the bonds of love until the marital fabric is weakened and ruined—with sad results for both parties.” –Elder Robert D Wells SM pg 287

This quote brought to mind the whole attitude and social way of my extended family, all my life I have seen as they, mostly my uncles, tear down and make fun of everyone in both joking and serious times. It is something that I have kind of picked up and have done with my brothers and it is very hard for me to stop and restrain myself from doing the same thing. I hope to remove this criticizing nature from myself so that when I get married it will not be part of my marriage.

You are what you eat?

“Without a strong commitment to the Lord, an individual is more prone to have a low level of commitment to a spouse. Weak commitments to eternal covenants lead to losses of eternal consequence” – Elder Russell M Nelson SM pg 157

I really liked this quote because it reminded me of something that one of my mission companions had said. He said something along the lines that that which you hate the most or love the most is that which you become. It was something that he had noticed to a degree in some of the people that he had met. I have a testimony of it because he was that which he hated so much. And the funny part was that he would never admit it but he was. The reason that this quote goes so well with what my companion said is because we need to love the Lord with all of our hearts and because we love him so much we will began to have him as a focus in our thoughts and eventually take on his attributes of loving everybody so much. With a strong love and commitment to the Lord we are able to feel charity, the Christlike love that he feels for everyone. And most importantly we will feel it for our spouse.

To Do or not to Do

“I also invite the Latter-day Saints to look to the temple of the Lord as the great symbol of your membership. It is the deepest desire of my heart to have every member of the Church worthy to enter the temple. It would please the Lord if every adult member would be worthy of—and carry—a current temple recommend. The things that we must do and not do to be worthy of a temple recommend are the very things that ensure we will be happy as individuals and as families” -President Howard W. Hunter SM pg 314

I really loved this quote; especially the part where he says “the things that we must do.” This makes the temple recommend that much more important. Not only should it be based on what we don’t do but on what we must do. There are so many things overlooked by us members of the church, we see the commandments as restrictions and restraints and not so much as commandments. For example, the Word of Wisdom (D&C 89) most take to mean don’t drink smoke or do drugs. But it also gives us a strict diet that we should keep to. My brother is a cross country runner and the diet that he lives off of is no different than the diet that God has commanded us to have. It is a long distance diet. It is there to help us make it to the end and if we not only keep the commandments but do what we must then we will really be worthy of a temple recommend. My question is how many less people would be going to the temple if they were asked about things like this?

How to decide anything really.

“. . . I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right. But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong; therefore, you cannot write that which is sacred save it be given you from me.” (D&C 9:8–9.)

There are many different ways to know who it is that we are to marry and when it is that we are to do so, we should not rush these things and we should not proceed without the confirming answer that comes from our Father in Heaven through his gift to us, the Holy Spirit. And the examples that Elder McConkie gives us with his own marriage I believe to be very insightful. We should make the decision and then take it to the Lord for his approval.

Choose your Spouse

“Be worthy of the mate you choose. Respect him or her. Give encouragement to him or her. Love your companion with all your heart. This will be the most important decision of your life, the individual whom you marry.” –Pres Monson SM pg 188


This is so true. I believe that you should be all of these things because it is the most important decision of your life. You do need to be worthy and respect her. If you do not then you will not love and cherish her. If you don’t cherish her then you will never help her and your marriage will probably fail. I have seen it happen and it is not something that you want to put yourself, her or your children through.

True Love

“Love is giving all of yourself while expecting nothing in return.” – unknown

To truly understand what love is you need to actually have felt and done it. The closest that I have ever come to true love is the love that I feel for my family. I always hope and wish for their wellbeing and feel that I truly would drop everything at any given moment and rush to their aid. I just hope that if the need ever came up that I would actually do it. That is why I have only come close; love must be tested in order for it to be known. As of yet I have not had a test, I don’t particularly want one but knowing that it would teach me what it means to truly love my family I would accept it. I hope.

What is Perfection?

“We must have the courage to be imperfect while striving for perfection.” –pg 369

“Competition and jealousy and envy now begin to have no meaning. Just imagine the powerful spirit that would exist in our … society if we finally arrived at the point where, like our Savior, our real desire was to be counted as the least among our sisters (and brothers).” –Sister Patricia T Holland (Eternal Marriage SM pg 370)


I couldn’t help but stop and think when I got to both of these quotes of Sister Holland’s. They both made me want to be better. The first one talking about perfection is a problem that many face including myself. The need to be ok with being imperfect while striving for perfection is almost contradictory in statement and is something that is very hard to do. We have to drop pride and the belief that we are better. This in turn leads to the second quote. Pride is the cause of competition and jealousy and if we can get rid of it then we can hope and desire to be “counted as the least among our sisters” and brothers. To desire to not be the best would be humbling indeed and is something that I fall woefully short in and definitely need to work on. I would encourage you all to do search for times and opportunities through the day where you can be counted as least and to take advantage of it. I believe that that action will cause you to partake of the fruit of the spirit in a greater proportion and you will receive milk without price (see 2 Nephi 9:50).

What Men Can Do

“The second question: What more can a husband do to support his wife, the mother of their children? First, show extra appreciation and give more validation for what your wife does every day. Notice things and say thank you—often. Schedule some evenings together, just the two of you. Second, have a regular time to talk with your wife about each child’s needs and what you can do to help. Third, give your wife a “day away” now and then. Just take over the household and give your wife a break from her daily responsibilities. Taking over for a while will greatly enhance your appreciation of what your wife does. You may do a lot of lifting, twisting, and bending! Fourth, come home from work and take an active role with your family. Don’t put work, friends, or sports ahead of listening to, playing with, and teaching your children.” –Elder M. Russell Ballard (Daughters of God)


In discussing what can be done to help mothers Elder Ballard says the above. I completely agree and don’t feel the need to expound on it other than to say that it’s a shame that it doesn’t actually happen often enough.

Those who wait for the Lord

"The people of the Lord shall not be ashamed. For the people of the Lord are they who wait for him; for they still wait for the coming of the Messiah." - Jacob, 2 Nephi 6:13

I have probably read this scripture a dozen times and it never really struck me with anything of importance. But this last time that I read it I couldn't help but feel awe and wonder. I asked myself the question, "Do I wait for the Lord?" We all seem to go about our daily lives, living as if there is no end to come, we seek to recieve the glories of those around us and to increase our station in life. When was the last time we actually waited for the Lord to come. Maybe that is when He will come again the second time, when we are actually waiting for him. Right now when we are not waiting for him, it is like saying that we don't need him. Why would the Lord come to us when we reject even the fact that we need him. When we show the Lord that we want and need him by waiting for him then he will come to us in glory and power and deliver us from the powers of evil that beset us. Then we will be the people of the Lord, those who wait for the Lord.

Apostasy: Men's Fault

“It is a remarkable blessing to be a daughter of God today. We have the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are blessed to have the priesthood restored to the earth. We are led by a prophet of God who holds all of the priesthood keys. I love and honor President Gordon B. Hinckley and all of our brethren who bear the priesthood worthily.” -Sister Margaret D. Nadauld SM pg 70


Reading this first paragraph of Sister Nadauld’s talk has really made me think. Men and women are very different and the difference, I believe, can be found first and foremost in the priesthood. We men need something to keep us in line whereas women are more Godlike in nature. We need responsibility to get anything done. Another thing that I thought was throughout the history of the church we often talk about apostasy, the falling away of the church from the path of that God would have it take. This in turn caused a removal of the Priesthood Authority. Why was it removed? Because there were no worthy men on the earth who could hold it. It is Man’s fault that the priesthood of God has left so often throughout the annuals of history, and when this happen the women of the earth raise their voices high in dread of a time with no one to bless them or their homes.

Covenant Hearts by Bruce C Hafen

Having read this book has not really changed my mind concerning much, but has more reinforced what I already believed. As a reinforcement, I believe that it has changed the amount of desire that I have to do what I know to be correct and true. The world is a harsh place that doesn’t value true family relationships and I found it strengthening to find it put in words the feelings that I have felt for some time. The one major thing that did change in my opinion is what I thought of as the state of the natural man. I will discuss both of these issues in my paper and hope that you will come to the same conclusions that I came to. Seeing as how the state of the natural man will back up what is reinforced I will talk about that first.

“For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticing of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord,” (Mosiah 3:19). This scripture is a fundamental belief that I have held throughout my life. I have studied philosophy and history which have backed it up. “The life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short,” (The Leviathan by Thomas Hobbs). These ideas and philosophies have led me to believe that we are naturally evil and thus cannot and do not desire anything really good.

But this is completely contrary to my “natural” feelings. I have often felt for and longed for stable relationship. The search for love, I guess you could call it, a place to call home. I naturally want and desire for a family, how then does this work with what is presented in scripture and modern philosophy? A little while back in class we talked about this scripture in Mosiah and compared it to a quote by Brigham Young, “We are the natural sons and daughters of our natural parents, and spiritually we are the natural children of the Father of light and natural heirs to his kingdom; and when we do an evil, we do it in opposition to the promptings of the Spirit of Truth that is within us. Man, the noblest work of God, was in his creation designed for an endless duration, for which the love of all good was incorporated in his nature. It was never designed that he should naturally do and love evil” (in Journal of Discourses, 9:305). This was my first step into what I would call further truth and light.

How I understand it is as follows. The natural state of our physical being is one that is characteristically flawed, and as such often attempts to persuade our other part of self to succumb to the will of the world. That other part is our spiritual being, and it by nature is an advocate of the Father, having dwelt in his presence for close to one hundred percent of Eternity that we have currently lived through. As such it is a constant struggle between an age old being and a young and carefree existence. The natural man is an enemy to God, but the natural son or daughter is an advocate of the Father. With this in mind it helps to explain the feelings that we have that seem to contradict what I have previously taken as truth.

Because of our inner spirit and its immense power of sway that it holds through emotion and heart, the yearnings of love and family are actually quite natural. They are what the Father would desire and so what our spirits would desire. At the same time our physical selves seek to satisfy this yearning for love and acceptance through personal gratification, in whatever form that may take. It is selfish while the spirit in seeking for completion is charitable. “Charity, suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). Our natural spirits are charitable and unselfish while our natural bodies are selfish and seek the now.

All of this in a way leads to the other aspect that I already knew to be true but which was reinforced by the book. Again as above there is no real spot in the book that can adequately describe what I search to say, but it is the spirit of the entirety of the book that has taught me these simple truths. I will describe them in a way that I feel them to be best applicable.

Marriage has always been a bit of a mystery to me. There have not been many marriages that I have seen in my life, none that have been real examples to me of what it is that I feel needs to happen in a marriage. Those major ones that have been part of my life have often fallen woefully short of expectations that I have felt need to be part of it. For example my parents marriage ended when I was still a little boy, about 12ish. My mom got remarried and that only lasted for about 4 or 5 months before it was over. She has remarried again and this time it is working out but only after a rough and rocky start. It has been a great opportunity for me to watch and observe, to see and to conclude what I feel a marriage should really be about.

One of the major things that I have seen is all the lovey dovey courtship that occurs during premarital relationships seems to fade off and disappear with the onset of married life. This I believe is wrong, with the onset of life it should in a way increase. There should now, after those covenants have been made, be an increase in expressions of love. The fighting and anger should never be allowed in the home. Keep the “wolves” at the door. They do not belong in the house and should not be invited into our lives. There are times for discussion and opportunities for expression of opinion, but more importantly there should be expression of love and charitable action. When entered into a covenant that nobody is forcing you to enter, you quite literally do so of your own free will. Because of this choice that you have made you should continue in the expression of that love that got you to that point. There is no need to stop telling your significant other that you love them. Continue to surprise them with small things including gifts and acts of service. Don’t look for opportunities to get away as you use to look for opportunities to spend time together. You have made a covenant of marriage that you will spend all time, that means now, and eternity, that means tomorrow, together. If you don’t then your breaking you covenant with your spouse and with God. It has in reality been a contractual marriage, and such marriages cannot be sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise and thus you cannot inherit the highest degree of the Celestial Kingdom, Exaltation.

One thing that I touched on earlier in talking about this is the lack of place for anger in your home. A wolf that I guess in all reality should not even make it to the door, let alone in it. Why would anybody want to fight or argue with someone who they have pledged every practical of their being to for all time and eternity? This is someone who you love and cherish and any amount of raising the voice or verbal and physical abuse is completely inappropriate. If you justify yourself in saying “well we only argue on occasion,” just think about God, I’m sure he doesn’t argue with his wife on occasion. I’m sure it never happens. He says in Jacob 2: 7, 9 through his prophet that our wives and children have “feeling (that) are exceedingly tender and chaste and delicate before God… (who) instead of feasting upon the pleasing work of God have daggers placed to pierce their souls and wound their delicate minds.”

Let us be sure that we are not the placers of daggers. Do not follow the nature of the physical self but follow the spiritual and we shall have the strength that we need to be obedient to the commandments of our Father. By so doing we remove the “wolves” from our homes and in their stead leave room for charitable acts of love and the Holy Spirit of Promise.

Family Communication: A Sign of Love

“It takes personal sacrifice to communicate when conditions are right for the other person—during the meal preparation, after a date, a hurt, a victory, a disappointment, or when someone wants to share a confidence. One must be willing to forego personal convenience to invest time in establishing a firm foundation for family communication.” – Elder Marvin J Ashton SM pg 32


I really like this quote, when I read it; it seemed to strike deep into the heart of my life. My family has a lot of communication problems, as long as I can remember it has always been difficult to talk to them about things of importance. I know that it is a two way road and so a lot of the problem lies in me, but I’m trying to be able to communicate with them more. To do this I have started talking to my Mom on almost a daily basis, usually about nothing but more often than not about something important that has happened in my life. It is really hard but with work it is able to be done. I testify of the importance of proper communication in family as a true and difficult expression of Love.

Being Self-Sustainers

“This is one of the more interesting stories we have in the scriptures because it tells of an instance in which the Lord provided help but then stepped aside to allow one of His sons to exercise his own initiative. I have sometimes wondered what would have happened if Nephi had asked the Lord for tools instead of a place to find the ore to make the tools. I doubt the Lord would have honored Nephi’s request. You see, the Lord knew that Nephi could make the tools, and it is seldom the Lord will do something for us that we can do for ourselves.” –Elder L. Tom Perry SM pg 308


We see lots of examples of this same principle in the scriptures all the time, including Abraham, the Brother of Jared and even Christ. The Lord wants us to do all that we can do because this gives us the opportunity to exercise the agency that He has so freely given to us. If he did everything for us he would be taking away our agency and in effect fulfilling that alternate plan presented by our other brother Lucifer. Moses 4:1 “Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.” Here we see the clear expression that he, Satan, would do it, not us. If all we ever do is beg and plead for the Lord to take care of our problems then we are also telling him that at that moment we would rather that Satan had been the chosen son. This also reminds me of another quote, not sure where it’s from but it’s good, “Why do we fall down, so we can learn to pick ourselves back up.” If the Lord took care of everything for us there would be not learning or experience. This is why we need to prepare ourselves. When we have prepared for all our needs then it is much easier for the Lord to help us out because he can direct us to that which we have already prepared.

Law of Chastity

The doctrine of the Law of Chastity can be summed up in just a few verses. The first is in Exodus 20: 14, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” This scripture compounded with the second one in Matthew 5: 27-28, words spoken by Christ, “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” I love these verses because they so clearly set forth the law. Fornication outside the bonds of marriage is against the Law of Chastity and to even look at women to lust after her is in effect the same.

This doctrine can seem quite confusing at times, why give two laws both of which are at the opposite ends of the Law of Chastity Spectrum? On the one side we have actual physical sin of fornication and on the other side we have thoughts. What about everything else, all the stuff in-between. Why can’t everything be simple and clean cut, like kissing is good but making out is bad. Wouldn’t things be so much easier if were all put out there so simply. You would think so, but the truth is that if all the answers were there then we wouldn’t ever have to make any decisions and our agency wouldn’t be able to be properly expressed. That combined with the fact that since we are all different we all have different needs and limitations.

You might wonder what I mean by that. Well let me tell you. Let’s say that there is someone who has had problems with looking at pornography in the past, now we both know that that is against the Law of Chastity. Anyways, say that someone had that problem and that the mere idea of kissing a girl brought to mind images that if dwelt on could cause him to want to break the Law of Chastity again. Should he in all honesty kiss the girl? Probably not. We wouldn’t want to put someone in a position that would cause him to sin. So why then do we not just ban kissing altogether if has the potential to cause someone to sin? Because kissing is an intricate part to a developing relationship. There are plenty of people who don’t have the problem previously described and they shouldn’t be punished for the sake of others.

This is why there are so few rules in the Law of Chastity, the things that we have are guidelines and principles to help us to develop our own personal sets of rules. Why is this important; for the reasons stated above. We are all different and we all have our own trials and temptations. Because of this we need to be aware of and set limitations on our own. These limitations that we self-impose are our opportunities to use our agency wisely. It is for this reason that we do not have a strict list of rules but instead a set of principles. As the Prophet Joseph Smith said in response to a question of the civility of the Mormon settlers in Nauvoo, “I teach them correct principles, and they govern themselves.”

"I AM AN ADULT!!!"

“I am not quite sure who has the right or responsibility to declare someone an adult, but I am quite certain that often the least qualified to make the declaration would be the individual himself. If a person is mature, he or she will not need to announce it. Personal conduct is the only true measurement of maturity.” -Marvin J Ashton SM pg 198

I really enjoyed this quote because it is I believe at the heart of the issue. Nobody can ever say that they are humble because so doing expresses pride. Having pride is a sign of immaturity, and when we say that we are an adult we are in a sense saying that we recognize that there times to give way to a more logical or correct argument. By using “I am an adult” in an argument is to deny yourself that attribute that so much desire.

OverComing the Natural Man

“How pitiful a sight is a man who is strong in many ways but who loses all control of himself when some little thing, usually of no significant consequence, disturbs his equanimity.” Pres Gordon B Hinckley SM pg 332

This is a sad thing to see these days, that men and boys who are strong often succumb to the idea that their strength gives them right or influence over others. Then when things do not go how they envisioned or in complete noncompliance to their will they explode in a rain of uncontrolled negative energy that brings pain and sadness to those they hurt. I was once like this and I found and discovered the source of this anger, and subsequently was able to overcome it. It is sourced in video games. The purpose in a video game is instant gratification for accomplishing a task; most of which center around violence. When one plays on a regular basis they come to believe that to when they do something they should be rewarded for it, this is a very selfish idea. When the rewards do not come they get frustrated and turn to what does give them this gratification, video games. Eventually the frustration with real life causes small outbursts of anger in which they get the attention that they desire. This in turn leads to a reinforcement of the belief that since violence in the video game worked to get rewards and the couple of times that anger, which is a form of violence, worked to get a reward, that what is true in video games must be true in life. So this leads to further outbursts in a spiral of destruction that can bring much sorrow and pain to those that they love. Having experienced this cycle I can say that nothing is further from the truth and that to overcome the natural man takes a lot of prayer and time. Time because that is the element that they disbelieve in, preferring instant results to patience and persistence to accomplish tasks, and prayer because I don’t think that it can be done without God.

Lift the Hands that Hang

“Whatever they do, eventually the guilty will face the Perfect Judge. Ultimately the unrepentant abuser will be punished by a just God.” Elder Richard G Scott SM pg 7

This is a wonderful quote by Elder Scott, and it applies in more ways than obviously seen. In talking about abuse we see that no matter what if the abuser does not repent then he will face the righteous judgments of a Just God. This is applicable in every situation, “the unrepentant abuser” he does not specify what type of abuser. Even though we know what he is talking about this can mean just about anybody. There are plenty of people out there who abuse drugs, alcohol, family, even those who abuse themselves. But ultimately they are all in affect abusing their God-given Agency. And when they do this they will be held accountable for their actions no matter what they are, and no matter the reason. Now guilt is not something that we can decide that is left up to the supreme Judge of mankind and the mercy bestowed on us by our savior, Jesus Christ. It is up to us to love those who fall short, and not only to love them but to support them in their endeavors to repent, because then instead of being “the unrepentant abuser (who) will be punished by a just God” they become “the (repentant) abuser (who) will be (blessed) by a just God.” How can one ever accomplish this seemingly impossible task if they are being put down and ridiculed by those around them? They cannot, that is why it is important for us to love and support them. “Mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in the need of comfort.” Mosiah 18: 9

We really don't care, we're just glad you're there.

“First of all, I want you to be proud you are a woman. I want you to feel the reality of what that means, to know who you truly are. You are literally a spirit daughter of heavenly parents with a divine nature and an eternal destiny. That surpassing truth should be fixed deep in your soul and be fundamental to every decision you make as you grow into mature womanhood. There could never be a greater authentication of your dignity, your worth, your privileges, and your promise. Your Father in Heaven knows your name and knows your circumstance. He hears your prayers. He knows your hopes and dreams, including your fears and frustrations. And He knows what you can become through faith in Him.”

“I plead with you young women to please be more accepting of yourselves, including your body shape and style, with a little less longing to look like someone else. We are all different. Some are tall, and some are short. Some are round, and some are thin. And almost everyone at some time or other wants to be something they are not!” Elder Holland (To Young Women)

It is so sad to view the women of the world today. Many have forgotten these simple truths that Elder Holland so bluntly put forth. Not just women of the world but women in the church. Just last Saturday I went to pick up a beautiful daughter of God for a date. When we had walked out the door and were walking away from her apt she said “Dangit, I wore purple with red.” Yes those colors may not go together by I can tell you that I didn’t notice or even care. It was disappointing that she cared so much about color coding. I can tell you know that rarely if ever does a guy care. Most of the time we are just happy that she is actually there and that we weren’t blown off. Dress modestly and don’t worry about your cloths because I can tell you this, we don’t.

Law of Chastity

"One aspect of that divinity given to virtually all men and women is the use of His power to create a human body, that wonder of all wonders, a genetically and spiritually unique being never before seen in the history of the world and never to be duplicated again in all the ages of eternity. A child, your child—with eyes and ears and fingers and toes and a future of unspeakable grandeur." SM pg 235 Elder Holland

To one day be a Father, that is all that I dream about. I love children and the knowledge that someday I will be blessed with children of my own is a blessing that is without measure. There is, in my eyes no greater inspiration or encouragement to keep the law of chastity. What shame would there be if I would not be able to look my children in the eye and be able to tell them that I had saved myself for their mother, yet what joy will there be when I’m able to do so. But most of all, above all else I look forward to the day when I will be able to hold my small perfect pure child in my arms and tell them that I love them and be able to have a clear conciseness of all immoral sin, to be pure myself.

Whos Better?

“And one good yardstick as to whether a person might be the right one for you is this: in her presence, do you think your noblest thoughts, do you aspire to your finest deeds, do you wish you were better than you are?” President Benson SM pg 51

This is one of my favorite quotes that I have ever heard. I have had this one in my quote book for over a year and use it in my social life on whether or not I should date a girl or even to continue dating her. Because of what I have seen from using this quote as a guide I have a testimony of it as it has gotten me out of relationships that would have never worked. I know that for you to truly love someone you have to feel as if you got the better end of the deal and that you didn’t “downgrade.” Those feelings will only lead to contention. When you feel that you got the better end of the deal you always want to do better so that you are both on “equal footing.” If you both feel that way then you will not have as many problems because instead of looking for ways that the other person can improve you will be looking for ways that you can improve. The great sin of pride is then eliminated allowing for the Holy Spirit to come and truly seal your marriage and dwell in your home.

The New and Everlasting Covenant

"Scriptures declare that “it is lawful that [a man] should have one wife, and they twain shall be one flesh, and all this that the earth might answer the end of its creation.” Another affirms that “the man [is not] without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.” Thus, marriage is not only an exalting principle of the gospel; it is a divine commandment." Celestial Marriage by Elder Nelson.

One really amazing insight that I received while studying Hebrew last year, was what it meant to be a man and a woman and how this applied to becoming a God. אישׁ(yish) is Hebrew for Man and is אשׁה(shaw) Hebrew for Woman. When you look at them they both contain the letters א(alaph) and שׁ(shin). When you take the remaining letters which have not been repeated י(yod) and ה(he), you get the Hebrew word for God, יה(yah), short for yahweh. I find it very interesting that with a man and a woman you can get God but if you remove one or the other then you get just another letter. Also if you have two men you get יי, not God. It’s the same if you take two of the women, הה don’t give you God. It is amazing that only through the prescribed way can we become as God.

The Rebekah Perspective

In reading Genesis 24 on Abraham's search for a worthy wife for Isaac, we come across a problem that was facing Abraham. Where to find such a women? In Proverbs 31: 10 we see the problem fully illustrated, “Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.” The truth in the statement is far more real than many realize and a problem that is faced today. At the time Abraham had gone to the land promised him by God for him and his descendants for a place to live. Currently dwelling in the land were people not of the Covenant, the Canaanites. Abraham did not want his son to marry outside of the Covenant so that meant that he would have to search for a worthy mate among his family where he came from.

There are many amazing parallels that can be found in this story. Many of which are character related. Abraham can signify God, our Father in Heaven, who does not want us to marry outside of the Covenant. Because of this desire of his he sends forth his servant, the Holy Spirit, represented by the Abrahams spirit. The servant seeks those who will obey the will of God and encourages those who would do so to do just that. The servant goes forth offering tests to see our worthiness, represented by Rebekah watering the servant’s camels. This serves a dual purpose in showing Rebekah’s willingness to serve even a stranger. In Matthew 25: 40 Christ says in parable, “Inasmuch as ye have done unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” This combined with the scripture in Proverbs shows the value of Rebekah as a humble servant of God and as one worthy of marrying into the covenant. The earrings and bracelets can represent one of a couple of things, fruits of the spirit telling you that you are on the correct path, and they can also represent the beginnings of Covenants made with God. Either way they are gifts given by God that can only be for your benefit. Obviously these are desirous and can only lead to further gifts. Isaac represents any man of God searching for a worthy wife with whom he can go and be sealed with in the Holy Temple of God. Rebekah represents a worthy women who as was discussed earlier is of more value than rubies and probably a lot harder to find. I believe that Laban, the brother of Rebekah, represents a temptation to stray from the course that God would have you travel and when he asks that Rebekah stay for a few more days before leaving is acting against the will of God.

There are a lot of insights that we can receive from reading Genesis 24. That our Father truly does love us, so much so that he asks his servants to help us out by giving us guidance that can be for our benefit. That there are many evils that are about us but with the right amount of persistence and rigorous living a worthy mate can be found. That if a wonderful woman is found but is not willing to keep the covenant that we should not marry her but cast her aside and continue in our diligent search for one who will. That it is important to live in the world but not of the world. That we should rely on the Lord in all our dealings, through prayer and revelation. That when a virtuous woman is found that we should not waste any time at all but marry her before she is married to someone else. That we should praise God when a virtuous woman is found. That we should be of service to our fellow men because we never know who is watching us. That we should never put off doing the will of God because we can never know what may happen. Finally that we should live virtuous lives so that we can be known as virtuous children of God.

Develop an Eternal Perspective

"The treasures of both secular and spiritual knowledge are hidden ones- but hidden from those who do not properly search and strive to find them...Spiritual knowledge is not available merely for the asking; even prayers are not enough. It takes persistence and dedication of one's life... Of all treasures of knowledge, the most vital is the knowledge of God." Elder Richard G Scott pg 149

This scripture is so true. There are times when I want to know something so bad that I think that I would do anything to receive an answer for it. But what use is knowledge that comes free of charge. God expects us to seek after knowledge, "yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith." (Doctrine and Covenants 88: 118) These things come from as it says above "persistence and dedication," aka diligence. That is one thing that God always ask from all of us, to be diligent in keeping his word. When we receive something for free, we don't respect it, and when we don't respect it then we misuse it. For example a teen that just got his license also is given a car as a gift from his parents. He will treat that car with far less respect then if he had gotten a job, worked hard, and eventually saved up enough money to get the vehicle for himself. God works through us working, only when we work our hardest and "save up the knowledge" are we then given the wisdom, which is the application of the knowledge in our lives.

One thought that I had while reading this is agency. Maybe it was on my mind because of the devotional for the day but hopefully someone can have some more insight. Agency is something that is given to us, free of charge to us. Is that why it is so often misused and abused, because we don't respect it?

Adam and Eve

"And the Gods said: Let us make an help meet for the man, for it is not good that the man should be alone, therefore we will form an help meet for him... Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh." Abraham 5: 14, 18

I really enjoy reading these scriptures because not only do they have mortal implications, but they have eternal ones as well. In our mortal life we have stages, we start off with our parents who rear, teach, and protect us. When we reach the suitable age we leave the home and search for a wife. It is not good for us to be alone so it is best if we earnestly and actively perform this search, and the Lord is preparing an "help meet" for us. The man to help the women and the women to help the man. Then shall they cleave unto each other, "and they shall be one flesh." This applies to our eternal lives as well. We lived with our Father and Mother in Heaven where they reared, taught, and protected us. They loved us very much, we can know this just from the fact that there were so many of us and they didn't give up, but they kept trying so that most of us would past the test and reject the alternate plan that Satan had presented to us. When we came here to earth it was short time in our eternal lives where we had left our Father and Mother to seek out an Eternal Mate. "For it is not good that the man should be alone" in the eternities, for then is he damned being unable to have spiritual children. When we find our significant other we shall "cleave unto" them, we shall be sealed by the Priesthood of God in his holy Temple. Then shall they be one flesh. This short mortal term that we live in can only be a mirror of what it is that represents our Eternal lives. We do not need to see beyond the veil to know what happened there, we just need to see and recognize that which has occurred in our lives is the same that occurred in our premortal duration.

Proclamation to the World

"Understanding these truths ought to make it easier for us to feel like a little child, not just as we read the proclamation, but throughout our lives, because we are children-but in what a family and of what parents! We can picture ourselves as we were, for longer than we can imagine, sons and daughters associating in our heavenly home with parents who knew and loved us. But now we can see ourselves home again with our heavenly parents, in that wonderful place, not only as sons and daughters but husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers, grandsons and granddaughters, bound together forever in loving families. And we know that in the premortal world we were men or women, with unique gifts because of our gender, and that the opportunity to be married and to become one was necessary for us to have eternal happiness." Eternal Marriage pg 105

The aspect of an Eternal Family is one that I often think and ponder on. What it means and why it is so important? Viewing it as a child who is always so happy to go to grandma and grandpas house or to an aunt and uncles house rather then to a friend should show us the value that we as college students should also place on the family. The opportunity to spend time with family is often dismissed and talked down by the world focused on social connections and political movements. This view, to my belief, is one of distortional value. We need to love our family and seek for every opportunity to spend some time with them. Often it is after we lose someone that we realize how much we missed, we should not let the affairs of the world cloud the importance of the family. As I think of the premortal experience I am often left wondering who I spent my time with, often I wish to say that it was an amazing prophet or historical figure of importance. But upon further reflection I have come to believe that the ones that we spent the most time with were our families that we would have here on earth, and because in the postmortal life we will spend all of our time with our families it offers support for my belief. That of course in addition to our Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ. They were the ones who taught us and we take from those who we love most the attributes that we love most. Each of us has developed our personalities in concert with those who we are related to and those personalities obviously got along well enough in the premortal existence that the question arises, Why don't they now?