Family

Those who know me know how much I love and care about my family. They mean everything to me. My parents are wonderul examples and my brothers and sisters are my best friends. I have learned so many things from them. As I look to the examples that my family members set I am given a guiding light which if I follow I will be led to goodness, happiness, and peace.

My Mom and Dad (Dave and DeAnn) with my niece Scarlett

Amazing brothers and sisters (L to R: Alicia, Scott, Laurel, me, Michelle, Brett)

I know that families make up the most important social unit that we are given by God. He places us in families so that we can learn (to love, to be kind, to be patient, etc.), grow (physically, spiritually, emotionally, etc.), and to become more like Him. Our loving Heavenly Father has provided our families with scriptures that we can study together and learn from with each other. There is a story in the Book of Mormon that describes what we must do to succeed in this life and feel the love of God. This story is referred to as "Lehi's Dream" or "Lehi's Vision" and is found in the eighth chapter of the first book of Nephi. Within this dream or vision Lehi (a prophet and father) finds a rod of iron (representation of the Word of God - scriptures) that leads directly to a tree with fruit (representation of the love of God) above the whiteness and pureness of anything that we can imagine. When one eats of this fruit one becomes happy. Lehi partakes of the fruit and immediately desires that his family partakes of it also. The account is written from Lehi's perspective and it states, "And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit. And as I cast my eyes round about, that perhaps I might discover my family also...I beheld your mother Sariah, and Sam, and Nephi; and they stood as if they knew not whither they should go...I beckoned unto them; and I also did say unto them with a loud voice that they should come unto me, and partake of the fruit, which was desirable above all other fruit. And it came to pass that they did come unto me and partake of the fruit also" (1 Nephi 8: 12-16). The full text can be found here.

An artist's depiction of Lehi's vision of the Tree of Life

What I love about this vision is that it clearly shows us the great importance of families and also the great bond that is found within them. Whenever I find something new, exciting, and fun I immediately want to share it with my family. This is especially true with something that is as spiritual and uplifting as the love of God. As described in the Book of Mormon and the other standard works the only way to truly feel the love of God is to obey His commandments and hearken to His words found in the scriptures. When Lehi partook of the fruit and tasted the love of God for himself he immediately thought of his family. He wanted them to feel the love of God in their lives as he had. He searched for them so that he could help them in their path as they held fast to the iron rod. Only when they stuck together and were obedient could they partake of the love of God together.

The fullness of Christ's gospel found only in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints helps us along the pathway to righteousness and the love of God. In 1995 under the direction of President Gordon B. Hinckley he and the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles wrote something called, "The Family: A Proclamation to the World".

As I read "The Family" I receive feelings from the Holy Ghost that families can last forever. I know in my heart that these words are from God and that they have been given to us through prophets. His prophets give us direction so that we may have pure happiness in our relationships. I know that as we abide by God's commandments we will have joy in these relationships. As we keep an eternal perspective on things we are blessed with clarity and peace.

I am excited to have a future family of my own. I do not know what my future wife's name will be. I do not know what she will look like. I do not know how many children we will have. BUT I do know that I plan to be married in a temple of God. I do know that my family will be together forever as long as we follow the commandments and honor our covenants.

This is why I hold my family so dear to my heart! I trust them and love them. They are good friends as well as blood relatives. This is the way that God wants our family relationships to be. He knows that we have the potential to stay together for all of eternity and that this life is the best time to make these relationships last. Be kind to your parents. Thank them for all that they do! Be an example and be a friend to your siblilngs. Love your spouse and hold your children in high esteem. If you are not married yet (LIKE ME) then prepare yourself (spiritually and emotionally) for marriage.

Twice a year we have the opportunity to hear from our living Apostles and prophets. Many of them focused on eternal families and marriages. Elder Richard G. Scott gave a touching talk called "The Eternal Blessings of Marriage" that was especially amazing. I advise you to read it and give it thought (as well as all of the other amazing talks!).

I hope to follow the great examples of my family members and carry their traits into my own fatherhood. I know that it is what God would have me do.

Forgiveness

We have a loving Heavenly Father who cares about and knows each and every one of us. We are His children. We lived with Him as spirits before we ever came to this earth. We agreed upon a plan developed and led by our Heavenly Father and our brother Jesus Christ that would allow us to come to an earth. On this earth we are able to gain a body and experience. Our goal in this life is to live our lives in the best way that we can so that we can return to live with our Heavenly Father again.

Our lives are difficult, challenging, and at times disappointing. We will make mistakes in this life but God has provided a way for us to correct these wrongs through a process called repentance. The Atonement of Christ (His suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, His death on the cross, and His resurrection) is what makes repentance possible. Through the Atonement we are able to access Christ's grace in our lives so that through Him and His mercy we can repent of our sins and shortcomings.

The 5 steps to repentance are A, B, C, C, and D. They are: 1) Acknowledge (that you have sinned). 2) Be sorry for what you have done. 3) Confess your sin to the proper authority (most confession is made to our Heavenly Father in prayer). 4) Correct wrongs that you have made. 5) Don't do it again. Once we go through this process and we feel the Spirit working through us we can be assured that we have been cleansed of our sins."Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool" (Isaiah 1: 18).  Again, all of this is only possible through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

There is an underlying principle within the repentance process that is absolutely critical. I am talking about forgiveness. In order to gain true repentance there MUST be forgiveness.

It is clear and obvious that we must confess our sins to God and seek forgiveness from Him but one thing that is often forgotten is that we must confess our sins and seek forgiveness from those who we have wronged. For example...if we have cheated on a test then must seek forgiveness from our teacher and perhaps even our classmates on top of seeking forgiveness from God. We must make right what we have wronged. Completely. This means that if we have told a lie or have stolen something then we must tell the truth and pay for/return what we have previously stolen. This is all a part of the "Correct wrongs that you have made" step in the repentance process.

"Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more" (Doctrine and Covenants 58: 42). Even though I have read this scripture many times I still have struggled to forgive MYSELF. I have indeed made mistakes in my life and I have sought forgiveness through repentance but if I continue to live in darkness and continue to doubt myself then I am only doubting Jesus Christ. If we have gone through the steps of repentance then we have no need to second guess ourselves. If we do that then we are second guessing the Savior. He loves us so much that He suffered for us. He trusts us so much that he provided repentance for us to return and be with Him and our Father. Repentance is real. Repentance is pure. Repentance is possible. In my life I have witnessed and experienced sin. I also have witnessed and experienced forgiveness. There is nothing more beautiful as being cleansed through Jesus Christ. A prophet in the Book of Mormon, Alma, described to his son the contrast of guilt and joy before and after the Atonement had brought repentance into his life. He said, "Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains. Yea, and again I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy" (Alma 36: 21).

One other thing that we must do is forgive others. Anger, hatred, and grudges are all terrible things! They slow down other people's repentance processes. There are those out there that need us to forgive them for wrongs that they have done unto us. I believe that this is something that all of us can work on a little bit harder. We must be kind to everyone. The Savior taught that we must even love our enemies. He said, "But behold I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them who despitefully use you and persecute you" (Matthew 5: 44).

I know that the Savior's Atonement is real. I know that His grace is sufficient for all of us after we do our part and repent. I love Jesus Christ and it is a privilege to represent Him and His church.