THE TREE OF LIFE
Families for us are forever. We have a family motto which is: "No Empty Chairs." We want all of our family to be together in the Celestial Kingdom; that is our goal.
I am now reading the Book of Mormon and writing in a Journal the thoughts that come into my mind. As I pondered on Lehi and Nephi's description of the Tree of Life it became apparent how very much Lehi loved his family and wanted them to come to the tree and partake of fruit. He beckoned to them; but, only Sariah, Sam and Nephi came to the tree to partake of the precious fruit. His other sons Laman and Lemuel would not come to him. I cannot imagine the pain that Lehi felt that his whole family would not come and partake. I myself want my entire family forever.
Nephi received the interpretation of the tree of life. In 1Nephi 11: 21-22 "And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father. Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw. And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the Love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things."
In this dream there was an Iron Rod that was on the pathway to the Tree of Life. This Iron Rod is symbolic of the word of God; the scriptures and the words of our Prophet and the 12 Apostles of today. We desire that all of our family members stay on the path and hold on to the Iron Rod which will safely guide them to the Tree of Life.
We live in a world where the standards and pride of the world beacon to us on a daily basis. We must not fall of the path into the mist of darkness, the filthy water or step towards the large and spacious building which is the pride of the world. I feel that it is essential to keep on the path taking moments to ponder where we are at and where we want to be. We need to evaluate those things that we do in our lives to see if they are valuable activities. Do the activities of each day reflect our testimonies of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In these last days it is going to require that we be faithful and obedient to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We must follow the Prophet President Thomas S. Monson and he will show us the way.
As I am reading and mediating on some of the recent Conference messages; I can clearly see that much of the focus was on families. I pray that all of my children will read these messages and follow the prophets. In today's world we must have family prayer, family scripture study, and family home evenings. As parents we need to study the gospel together and implement those teachings into our everyday family life. All of us should be reading the Book of Mormon daily and have our own prayers and seek to have the Holy Ghost with us at all times to protect us from both physical and spiritual danger. My desire is that my children will teach my grandchildren how to know and feel the spirit in their lives. The Spirit of the Holy Ghost along with the Iron Rod is the path and we must stay on it in order to reach the Tree of Life and partake of the precious fruit; "which is desirable above all others which will feel our souls with great Joy." My greatest Joy will be to have my family forever.
Nephi received the interpretation of the tree of life. In 1Nephi 11: 21-22 "And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father. Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw. And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the Love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things."
In this dream there was an Iron Rod that was on the pathway to the Tree of Life. This Iron Rod is symbolic of the word of God; the scriptures and the words of our Prophet and the 12 Apostles of today. We desire that all of our family members stay on the path and hold on to the Iron Rod which will safely guide them to the Tree of Life.
We live in a world where the standards and pride of the world beacon to us on a daily basis. We must not fall of the path into the mist of darkness, the filthy water or step towards the large and spacious building which is the pride of the world. I feel that it is essential to keep on the path taking moments to ponder where we are at and where we want to be. We need to evaluate those things that we do in our lives to see if they are valuable activities. Do the activities of each day reflect our testimonies of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In these last days it is going to require that we be faithful and obedient to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We must follow the Prophet President Thomas S. Monson and he will show us the way.
As I am reading and mediating on some of the recent Conference messages; I can clearly see that much of the focus was on families. I pray that all of my children will read these messages and follow the prophets. In today's world we must have family prayer, family scripture study, and family home evenings. As parents we need to study the gospel together and implement those teachings into our everyday family life. All of us should be reading the Book of Mormon daily and have our own prayers and seek to have the Holy Ghost with us at all times to protect us from both physical and spiritual danger. My desire is that my children will teach my grandchildren how to know and feel the spirit in their lives. The Spirit of the Holy Ghost along with the Iron Rod is the path and we must stay on it in order to reach the Tree of Life and partake of the precious fruit; "which is desirable above all others which will feel our souls with great Joy." My greatest Joy will be to have my family forever.
FAMILY TIME IS FOREVER TIME!!
Back row is Dave - 2nd row Sarah and Michael -Front row Kaitlyn, Tiffani and William
Here's the Birthday celebration for our daughter Tiffani. Our Son Sean and his family came down for the party
In May we had our son Travis and Amanda with their children come down from Idaho. We had a good time with these grandchildren. Their parents took off for a couple of nights for a much needed mini vacation. Here's some awesome pictures of our grandchildren riding a horse named Harry Potter
Pictures: Ethan, age 9 - Austin, age 11 - Justice, age 14 - Ryley, age 4 - Karli, age 6 - Kason, age 2
4 comments:
You must be a very fun Grandma
Hi!
You are so right about staying on the straight and narrow - It is so easy to be swept away by the world! I think that stress, and trying to do too much, and be too much will be the downfall of the younger generation. That said, I also need to remember lessons taught to me by my grandmother and just "stop and smell the roses" more often. I worry so much about my children and my grandchildren - how could they possibly cope in the world without the gospel? Thank you for the beautiful reminder.
I can't believe how much Tiffani and Dave's little family has grown, they are all so adorable, and she is such a beautiful woman!
I'm sure you had so fun with them!
How on earth did you get a horse on your driveway?? And where did you get a horse?? I know you wanted to be just like Annie Oakley, but really LeAnn, this is just going too far!!!! HEHEHE! What a fun time for your grandkids! You are such a wonderful grandma.
Love you,
Barb
Hi LeAnn, what a wonderful family you have! They look like they are having such fun!
Thanks for stopping by my blog. It's always good to see you.
Take care,
Cheryl
I loved seeing the pictures of your family. What fun to have a horse over. I will have to try that. Thanks for your good messages. I was also reading and thinking of Lehi's dream the other day and the same scripture popped out at me. And I thought how the love of God is the sweetest fruit there is. I am going to talk about it next week when I give my R.S. lesson. Take care. Melody (your cyberspace friend)
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