The Precious Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ~

                                         

graphic by LeAnn

I loved to read, and I do a lot of reading. If I were to tell you my favorite book of all; it would be The Book of Mormon. I have read, pondered and studied this book of scriptures many times throughout my life. It has answered questions about life and has given me answers to prayers. I have had the privilege of teaching from it's pages to both family and classrooms. This is a powerful book and if read, will bless your life. 

First of all, I should tell you what The Book of Mormon is. Quoting from the introductory page of this book: "The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible. It is a record of God's dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains, as does the Bible, the fullness of the everlasting gospel. 

The Book was written by many  ancient prophets by the spirit of prophecy and revelation their words, written on gold plates, were quoted and abridged by a prophet-historian, named Mormon. The record gives an account of two great civilizations. One came from Jerusalem in 600 B.C., and afterwards separated into two nations, known as the Nephites and the Lamanites. The other came much earlier when the Lord confounded the tongues at the Tower of Babel. This group is known as the Jaredites. After thousands of years, all were destroyed except the Lamanites, and they are the principal ancestors of the American Indians. 

The crowning event recorded in the Book of Mormon is the personal ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ among the Nephites soon after his resurrection. It puts forth the doctrines of the gospel, outlines the plan of salvation, and tells men what they must do to gain peace in this life and eternal salvation in the life to come. 

After Mormon completed his writing. he delivered the account to his son Moroni, who added a few words of his own and hid up the plates in the Hill Cumorah. On September 21, 1823, the same Moroni, then a glorified, resurrected being, appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith and instructed him relative to the ancient record and its destined translation into the English language."

I have a fervent belief in and testimony of The Book of Mormon. I have had many sacred experiences while turning the pages of this wonderful book. The stories are ever relevant and have helped me in my marriage relationships, teaching children and other significant circumstances. 

If I were to suggest a book to inspire your marriage, raise your families or heal your soul; this would be the first that I would point to, followed by the Holy Bible. 

Many years ago I was struggling with how to help one of my children. They were having some deep struggles. I prayed and fasted mightily for him. I wanted to know how to help him. I took my Book of Mormon and headed for the temple grounds. While sitting in my car by the side of the temple I prayed and as I opened up the scriptures; the answer was right there. This has occurred countless times throughout my life when I have had deeply concerning questions. I know that this book of scriptures is true. I have tested it's principles and doctrines; they are sound. This book goes hand in hand with the Old Testament,  New Testament, and other sacred writings.

Here are just a few of the scriptures that I have loved and enjoyed. To me the most overwhelming chapters in The Book of Mormon are found in 3 Nephi. Here the Savior visited the ancient people of this land, following his resurrection. 

                                               

In 3 Nephi 17: 21-23; 

21."And when he had said these words, he wept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little children, one by one and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them. 

22. And when he had done this he wept again;

23. And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them; Behold your little ones. 

24. And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them........ "

Twelve years ago an infant granddaughter, Averi was fighting for her life in the Primary Children's Intensive Care. During those five months of not knowing whether she would live or die; The words from The Book of Mormon gave me great comfort. She is a living miracle through faith, the prayers of many, and priesthood blessings. She is blind but has continued to learn and to grow. We are grateful for her presence in our lives. I pray daily that I might someday witness her total healing through Christ. When the Savior appeared to these people He healed them. 

3 Nephi 17: 7 the Savior said; "Have ye any that are sick among you? Bring them hither. Have ye any that are lame, or blind, or halt, or maimed, or leprous, or that are withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner? Bring them hither and I will heal them, for I have compassion upon you; my bowels are filled with mercy. 

                                     

I look forward to that day when the Savior of the World comes and my sweet Averi and so many others like her, are healed. This compelling book gives me that hope. 

Here are some questions it will answer;

. Is there life after death? (Alma 40)

. What is the purpose of life? (Alma 34)

. Does God know me? (Alma 5:38, 58)

. Does God answer prayers? (Enos 1)

. How can I find peace and joy? (Mosiah 2,4)

. How can my family be happier and more united? (Mosiah 2)

. How can I strengthen my relationship with my spouse? (3Nephi 14)

. How can I avoid the evils that threaten my family? (Alma 39)

From the introduction in the Book of Mormon comes this invitation;

"We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true. Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost. (see Moroni 10:3-5).

It is my testimony that The Book of Mormon is a true book of scripture for our latter days. Come and see!

                              

Here you can order a free Book of Mormon -

 Here you can learn more about The Book of Mormon -
Here is a link to a message given by President Ezra Taft Benson entitled; "Flood The Earth With The Book of Mormon. He married us in the Salt Lake Temple many years ago. One of my favorite Prophets and President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 
Join in a week of the Book of Mormon here. Flood The Earth With The Book of Mormon~

"Patience - A Heavenly Virtue"~

 Photo by Debbie @ It's All About Purple - graphic by LeAnn

Patience is a virtue that leads to Charity. To me this particular attribute of Christ is a difficult one. I find in my own life that to be patient is hard. As a young mother I struggled with being patient with my children. I am often impatient with myself; expecting that I can do more than I realistically can. 

I think I am safe to say that everyone struggles with being patient in various circumstances. I know that my husband is impatient when driving of which sometimes so am I. I am often impatient when having to wait for something or someone. 

Waiting for things for me is always hard. We do live in a fast paced world with  instant messaging, fast food, long lines, difficult traffic and etc.  I get really impatient on the computer some days. I want to know how to do various things and I don't want to wait to learn them. I want everything to come easily with out a struggle. 

I can say that as I have become older and I hope wiser that I am also more patient. I can say for sure that I am more patient with grandchildren than I was with my own children. 

Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf in a talk entitled; "Continue In Patience" stated the following: "Patience -the ability to put our desires on hold for a time - is a precious and rare virtue. We want what we want, and we want it now. Therefore, the very idea of patience may seem unpleasant and, at times, bitter.

Nevertheless, without patience, we cannot please God; we cannot become perfect. Indeed, patience is a purifying process that refines understanding, deepens happiness, focuses action, and offers hope for peace".

Pres. Uchtdorf further states; ".......I learned patience was far more than simply waiting for something to happen - patience required actively working toward worthwhile goals and not

getting discouraged when results didn't appear instantly or without effort.

I remember when taking piano that I had a very difficult time being patient with myself. I wanted to play really well; but even with practice it didn't come easily for me. Perhaps, it isn't one of my gifts. However, because I like to play I have determined to play the best I know how too. This takes patience and practice. I don't believe I will ever be a great pianist but I would love to someday just be able to play the hymns fairly well. I continue to struggle with time to put this desire into practice; therefore testing my patience further. 

Pres. Uchtdorf further states: "There is an other concept here: patience is not passive resignation, nor is it failing to act because of our fears. Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all that we can -working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude, even when the desires of our hears are delayed. Patience is not simply enduring; it is enduring well!

We need to remember that the Lord's timetable may not be our own time table. 

Another thought by Pres. Uchtdorf in relationship to this is; "Everyone of us is called to wait in our own way. We wait for answers to prayers. We wait for things which at the time may appear so right and so good to us that we can't possible imagine why Heavenly Father would delay the answer". 

My husband and I had a moment when we had to wait for a period of time for him to find a new job. He had worked for a company for 17 years. It had been bought out by another company. In the midst of this change; he was let go. It was devastating to us. He was given a small severance package and we had hopes that he would find a good job quickly. That was not to be. He was out of work for 9 months. We prayed mightily, fasted, attended the temple and did everything that we thought we needed to for us to receive the blessing of a job. It seemed so right and yet this desired for blessing did not come. 

At the end of the 9 months he received three job offers all in one day. There was pressure to make a quick decision. We really wanted to go where the Lord would want us to go. We were in Utah and decided to walk around the Salt Lake Temple grounds. While walking and praying the answer came. It was so very clear that we were to move back to Salt Lake where we would be nearer more of our family and extended family. This particular job was the lowest pay and the highest cost of living. The answer was so profound that we just knew that if we came we would be blessed. We have been greatly blessed by this move. The answer to why we were to be here didn't come into full fruition until about two years later. Now we know exactly why we are here. This particular test took a leap of faith and a great deal of patience. We were so grateful for this answer to our prayers and the lesson we learned through patiently waiting upon the Lord. 

My challenge to us all is to learn to be more patient with ourselves, with others and especially to be patient in learning the path we are to be on. The Lord is aware of each of us. He has a plan for us and if we patiently wait upon him we will know the direction to take. 

I love this old Sunday School Hymn:

If the way be full trial; Weary not?

If it's one of sore denial, Weary not!

IF it now be one weeping,

There will come a joyous greeting,

When the Harvest we are reaping--Weary Not!

Do not weary by the way,

Whatever be thy lot;

There awaits a brighter day

To all, to all who weary not!

 Photo by Debbie @ It's All About Purple - graphic by LeAnn

One final thought that perhaps the next time you have to wait a long time in a grocery line; stop and observe those around you and see if someone needs to go ahead of you. Maybe you can be pleasant and extra kind to the checker. Next time let a car go ahead of you when leaving a busy parking lot.  Do a kind deed in your impatient moment; you will be so happy you did. This will be one more step towards gaining Patience - A Heavenly Virtue.

Precious Family Moments~

Quote and Photo by LeAnn

Here is the celebration of our Grandson, Jonathan's 13th Birthday - 

Oh dear, another teenager~

Upper picture; Mary, our daughter in law, our Grandson's Jonathan, Joshua and Jeffery

Lower left; Jonathan opening presents.

Right middle picture; Our Great Granddaughter Lilly, LeAnn (me) and Great Granddaughter, baby Myah;  Our Granddaughter,

Gillian with arms around our Granddaughter in law, Jessica

Right lower picture; a group of family. 

My dear husband's family reunion with his siblings - Upper picture: His brother Steve and Laddy; on the bench, Toni, our Niece. In the background; sister in law, Kaylene. 

Left lower picture; Toni with her daughter and LeAnn (me)

We took a trip to Ogden Utah for a Tour of the new Ogden Temple.
Left middle picture;  Michael our son in law with our daughter Jenni. 
Lower left picture; our grandchildren, Emma, Benjamin and Alyssa. 
Upper right picture; all of us. 

Another Happy Birthday moment for our Grandson, Jeffery. Upper left picture; my husband, Roger; on the couch my son
Sean and Daughter in law, Mary.Upper right picture, Jeffery opening presents.Lower picture; Mary and our Grandson's; Joshua, Jeffery and Jonathan.

Here is Sammy, he had to stay home during most of these events. 

He is never happy to be left. He loves to go for rides and he is such a fun little pet.

 He is really a big part of our family~

We went on a family event to Temple Square in Salt lake City, Utah.
We had such a good time walking through the beautiful temple grounds. At the top is our Grandchildren; Emma, Benjamin and Alyssa - 
This picture was taken the top of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.
Left middle picture; Jenni, Alyssa, Emma, Benjamin and Michael.
Left Lower picture; Alyssa, LeAnn and Benjamin, Roger and Emma. 
Right middle picture; the Salt Lake Temple.
Right Lower Picture; our Grandchildren; Emma, Alyssa and Benjamin
 It was a lovely day and the weather was perfect. 

While at temple square our oldest son Sean, his wife Mary with her mother Virginia,
 plus their four boys came for part of the time. 
Upper left corner picture; a group of us. Left middle picture is Virginia. 
Right upper picture; Sean and Mary. 
Right middle picture;Joseph, Jonathan, Joshua and Jeffery. 
These boys are sometimes difficult to take a picture of. 
Lower picture; Sean, Mary with Virginia. Back ground Jeffery 
and foreground Joshua and Jonathan

On This day 12 years ago minus a day; our daughter Jenni was married for Time and All Eternity to Michael in the Salt Lake Temple. At that time Michael and Jenni had wedding pictures taken on the steps of the temple. 12 years later we are back with the addition of
Benjamin, Emma and Alyssa! A sweet precious moment~

After touring the temple grounds we returned home to celebrate Virginia's 79th Birthday. 

Two more families came to the celebration. 

Upper Left corner; Jacob, our grandson, his wife Dana, Virginia and Mary on the couch.

Left Middle picture; our Great Granddaughter, Lilly; Granddaughter, Alyssa, Great Granddaughter, Jadyn; Grandson, Benjamin and Granddaughter, Emma.

Upper Right picture; Grandson, Joshua; Granddaughter, Alyssa and Grandson, Jeffery.

Right Middle picture; Granddaughter in law, Dana; background; Granddaughter in law, Jessica with new Great Granddaughter, Myah. 

Mary, our daughter in law with our Great Grandson, Sagan.

Lower picture; LeAnn, Jacob and Jed our Grandson's in the background; 

and Virginia, Dana with Sagan. 

We had such a delightful time with part of our #family during the month of August. We truly enjoyed every precious moment with these families.