To The Families Of The World - A Proclamation~

                          

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The Family: A Proclamation to the World

The First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

 

President Henry B. Eyring, President Thomas S. Monson

Back Row - Richard G. Scott, Robert D. Hales, Jeffery R. Holland, David A. Bednor. Quentin L. Cook, D. Todd Christofferson, Neil L. Andersen,

Front Row - Boyd K. Packer, L. Tom Perry, Russell M. Nelson, Dallin H. Oaks, M. Russell Ballard

 

We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.

 LeAnn and Roger  -

Married in the Salt Lake Temple on June 1967

All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.

Our Great Granddaughters  - Lilly and Jadyn ~

Our newest Little Great Grandson - Sagan September 2012

In the premortal realm, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshipped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life.

The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.

The Salt Lake Temple~

The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife.

Adam and Eve ~

We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.
We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God’s eternal plan.

Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live.

Baby Clara and her cousin Averi, our granddaughter ~

Our Great Granddaughters - Jadyn and Lilly~

Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.

The family is ordained of God.

All of our Children, Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren. July 2012

Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity.

Our Granddaughter, Dana and Grandson, Jacob with their new little one ~

Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion,

work,

Our Great Granddaughter Jadyn at work ~

and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation.

 Extended families should lend support when needed.

LeAnn & Roger with their new little Great Grandson, Sagan~

We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.

We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.

I believe that the family is the fundamental unit of society and that we need to teach our families the importance of this Proclamation to the World.

 

The Family: A Proclamation to the World~

      I know  that there are moments when I feel the spirit speaking to my heart  that I need to share some thoughts.This week a group of Mormon women bloggers share thoughts on the family.  I thought I would join in this Celebration of the Family and share some spiritual moments.
     A week ago on Saturday, I thought my husband would want to watch the BYU and University of Utah football game during the evening. There was an adult session of our Stake Conference in our home ward. We had just attended a adult session of conference in our Inner City Mission Stake the week before. My husband spoke at that session. It was  a very sweet meeting. I was rather excited when he asked if I wanted to go to this session of conference instead of watching the game. As we walked over to the Stake Center, I felt in some respects like I was coming home. I have always loved the Stake Presidency members and I knew that it would be a very spiritual evening and it was.

     If there was a theme to the Stake Conference I would say that it was on The Family: A Proclamation To the World. and the  For The Strength Of Youth booklet. Our Stake President taught a great message on The Family: A Proclamation To The World. Some of the thoughts expressed were that the Family Proclamation is the scriptures for our family. This proclamation should be read, pondered upon and followed as the standards and doctrine of the church. He listed and discussed the recipe for our marriages and families that are found within the Proclamation. Here are the  elements of that recipe:"Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities." (The Family: A Proclamation To The World).
He talked on many of these principles. I learned that we need to follow this Family Proclamation because it is the Pattern of Heaven."
     The President of the Jordan River Temple told a sweet story about the Family Proclamation. He told of an experience that he had with his Dad  the weekend before this proclamation was announced. Here are a few thoughts that I learned from him.  His father, Elder David B. Haight of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles invited his family to come over to their home. He mentioned that the families always tried to go over when asked too.  His father made the comment that the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spent a year putting together this document. They prayed and fasted over what was to be in this great proclamation. Finally after a year President Gordan B. Hinckley gave the proclamation to Elder Neil A. Maxwell of the Twelve Apostles and told him that he was to go over every word and make sure it was ready. This is a sacred document and we should all read it, pray about it and ponder upon it.
     He encouraged us all to be more diligent in temple attendance. If you are faithful and do this great work your spouses and children will be blessed. I know that I have been encouraged to  keep the names of our family members and others in need on the prayer roll; especially when there are great and varied needs of those individuals that I love. 
     I felt that he was emphasizing that we attend the temple as often as possible. The temple has always been our favorite date night. The challenge was to attend weekly are at least monthly if possible. Here is where we can receive revelation for our families and ourselves. You can also take your children age twelve and older to do baptisms for the dead. This will help their testimonies grow.
For those of you who are not members of our faith; you can find information on the temples here.
     Our general authority was Elder Lynn Robbins. He gave a beautiful message and Dad and I couldn't stop the tears. Some of the thoughts expressed were that the temple should be the focus for the youth.  Never let your recommend expire. Do not let Family Home Evening relapse. In your Family Home Evenings teach lessons from; For The Strength of Youth booklet, Personal Progress for the Young Women, Duty to God for the Young Men and The Faith In God for the  girls and Faith In God for boys.
     Elder Robbins taught a powerful lesson about love. Some of the thoughts I came home with were; you can not fall out of love. Love is an action word both in your mind and heart. It is both a noun and a verb. In marriages and families you should be telling one another I love you frequently through the day. He reminded the men to always hold their spouses hands when together and to honor and respect each other. If you have struggles in your marriage then use love and forgiveness to bind the wounds. You can choose to love.
The next morning in our Stake session of conference; we were reminded to study the General Conference reports. You can find the latest Conference report here. They are the current direction that the Lord wants us to be guided by. Read them; they are just as important as the scriptures. 
I myself believe that "The Book of Mormon" is your greatest child rearing book. I know this to be true.
     Be strong in your commitments to one another and the gospel. Keep you standards high and dress and behave as a righteous daughter and son of our Heavenly Father. Be the example your children need to follow.
     Follow the Prophet and First Presidency.They can't lead you astray. Our Prophets and Apostles of today are sending the messages that the world needs. We desperately need their words.
     I have been studying the last Conference report for the last few months. I decided to see what subjects were discussed the most during our last conference. These are the topics that the Prophet and Apostles feel are important for our times. Here is the list:

1. Family 9

2. Jesus Christ 8

3. Priesthood 7

4. Holy Ghost, 6; Faith 6; Service 6.

5. Adversity 5,

6. Plan of Salvation and Missionary work 4 

     Our recently released Stake RS President gave thoughts from a message given by our President of the Church Thomas S. Monson entitled; "Love At Home". This is a short message that I hope you will all read. It is a powerful message from our prophet.

President Thomas S. Monson

     Some final thoughts on love and service; the Savior is the great "Good Samaritan". President Monson is the Good Samaritan of our day. His life is his great sermon. He will be remembered as a Prophet who loved his people and served them well."
    Take a moments and read this marvelous document; "The Family: A Proclamation To The World.

A Simply Woman's Daybook - A Birthday Celebration~

 

For Today - September 18th 2012
Be sure and drop by other Simple Day Book Entries here. Enjoy reading and perhaps join the fun!

Outside my window... I just see darkness. It's night and I am downstairs in the family room typing this on my laptop.
I am thinking...that I needed to do a post today. I just read a post from one of my favorite bloggers; "A Year From Oak Cottage",  I love reading her Simply Woman's Daybook entry.  You will enjoy her blog. She is extremely talented and has some great Christmas cards and a Christmas Recipe book coming out.  You should drop by her Etsy shop. 

 I am thankful for… to be losing a little bit of weight; a very loving and  good husband, an entertaining dog and awesome children, grandchildren and 2 adorable great granddaughters. Most of all I am grateful for a kind and loving Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ, whom I know love me and have given me countless blessings and answers to my prayers.
From the learning room…I am learning more about the hymns and I will posting some thoughts on this later. I am realizing that I need to get back to practicing the piano and learning to play more of the hymns. I hope someday to conquer  the fear I have of playing in front of people. 
From the kitchen... Well, my husband has been doing most of the cooking. Yesterday he fixed both lunch and dinner. Then tonight he fixed dinner again. I should feel guilty because he does work at home and usually works 10 hours a day. Now I am writing this I do feel guilty. I will have to get back in sync.

I am wearing....dark blue sports pants with white and green strips down the leg; a light green shirt that matches the strip, and white slippers. I am so comfy.

I am creating...my Aunt Della's Birthday gift. She turns 99 years old tomorrow. My husband and I are going out to her assisted living place and have dinner and cake with her. I have been working on completing her history for the last two days.  If I can get all the pictures into the history; she will get it for a Birthday gift. I have been working on it for a very long time. I have read the history part to her. She is blind and won't be able to read it. I added more fun things to it today. Once completed; I will read it all to her again. I am so excited to get it completed. I know that her son and his family will love having a copy. 

I am reading...The Book of Mormon and the May Conference Report in the Ensign. I want to complete the CR before the next General Conference in October. I am still trying to get through the novel I have been reading, which is about the Mormon Battalion. It is a slow go. I love to read; but haven't had the time to read novels.
I am hoping...that Mitt Romney becomes the next President of the United States. I am hoping that my son Travis wins the election for Sheriff of  Madison County, Idaho. He is an awesome son and has the best  credentials for the office. In today's environment the good seems to be losing against the evil. Enough said on that one thought.
I am hearing...the TV going. We are suppose to be watching the Real Salt Lake Soccer team but we are both working on our laptops. At least we are sitting close to each other. 

One of my favorite things...is to watch Country Music events. Lately, I have been thinking that  I might give up on Country music and just listen to Classical, Oldies and Religious music. I have always liked Faith Hill and she hasn't been on any of the Country Music shows for a very long time. Last night she was back and I liked her first song. I just think some of the country music isn't that desirable. She does have a new album coming out so I will see how that goes. She had a really good Christmas Album that I love. I like the range in her voice. I am impressed with her leaving the glitz and music world for a time to be a wife and mother to her three daughters.
Something new about me ......For the first time in a few years, I know just exactly what I am giving my children and grandchildren for Christmas and I am half finished with it all.
One of my guilty pleasures....this has to be chocolate cake with chocolate ice cream smothered in chocolate syrup. I don't think that will ever change.
Pet Peeves... my husband is in control of the TV remote. Enough said on that one.

 Here is picture I thought of sharing...

Happy 99th Birthday To My Aunt Della - We love her so much~

Goodbye August - The End Of Summer~

~Just a few thoughts and pictures on our activities for the month of August ~

Here is our family picture taken in July and put together in August ~ I am so amazed at our posterity and feel so blessed. However, my prayers are much longer and my moments of one on one's are limited. We just love them all and are so grateful for the place that each  of them have in our hearts.

Happy Birthday Celebration for Jonathan on August 2nd @ our home

Happy Birthday To Our Grandson, Ryley on August 3rd - Age 7

Happy Birthday To Our Precious, Averi on August 9th - Age 10

Happy Birthday To Our Grandson's Jeffery and Jed on August 16th

Jeffery, age 8~

Jed, our oldest grandson

 

Happy Birthday to Our Daughter, Amber on  August 19th

Happy Birthday to our Grandson Michael, age 13 on August 23

Happy Birthday to our Son, Brandon on August 26th

There were also celebrations of Anniversaries for the following~

James and Amber Williams on August 17th

Travis and Amanda Williams on August 20th

Dave and Tiffani Adamson on August 24th

Michael and Jenni Thomas on August 29th

 

Our Extended Family Reunion - LaMar Williams Family~

 The Brady Family

 My sister in law Gloria and myself

  Kaylene Williams and children

 Gloria, Lana and Kelly Jayne

 

There were sports events to attend~

 Here is Jonathan our grandson who plays goalie on his team.

He was in a big tournment in August

 

We made a quick trip to Idaho Falls to attend the Football game of two of our Grandson's who were playing against each other. It was an exciting game to watch.

 

 Averi ~

 Karli, Kason and Ryley

 Karli and Taylor Jo

 Austin, Grandpa and Christian

Austin, Grandma and Christian

 

Families are such a gift from God To Us All~

 

Here is the link to my new site for Grandpa and Grandma's Twitterings;

it will soon be made private - take a peek ~

http://williamsrlwlgw.blogspot.com/

"Christ And The Constitution"~

While driving in my car the other day; I was listening to a talk radio show. The narrators brought up the subject of the Constitution of the United States. There was a study  on the subject of how much do you know about the Constitution? The question was; how many of you have actually read the Constitution of the United States? The numbers were few that had.  How about you; have you read it recently? I know that I have read it a few times through the years. I certainly can't boast that I have read it recently. In today's political climate we should know more about what this precious document means to us all. Another question was how many of you can name the Supreme Court Justices? I don't know their names but I am going to learn them. We all need to know more about our Government. Here is a link for information on the Constitution.

Today I want to share with you a few parts from a pamphlet that was written by Ezra Taft Benson in December of 1964. Ezra Taft Benson was a great patriot. He served as Secretary of Agriculture during the eight years of the Eisenhower Administration. He was a scholar of world-wide repute. He was an Apostle and member of the Council of the Twelve of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He was also a Prophet and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He married my husband and I in 1967 in the Salt Lake Temple. He asked us at that time to come and visit with him within the next year. Two years later we did go to his office for a visit. He at that time talked about the dangers of communism and bore testimony of his great love for this nation.

" Nearly two thousand years ago a Man walked the earth; a perfect man who was Jesus the Christ. He was the son of the Heavenly Father and an earthly mother. He is the God of this world, and more. In His life, all of the virtues were lived and kept in perfect balance. He taught men truth-that they might be free; His example and precepts yet provide the great standard for all mankind. Among us He became the one who had the power to reunite His body with His spirit after death; and by His power all men who have died shall be resurrected. Before Him one day we all must stand to be judged by His laws. He lives today, and in the not too distant future shall return, in triumph, to subdue His enemies, to reward men according to their deeds, and to assume His rightful role to rule and reign in righteousness over the entire earth.
 Nearly two hundred years ago a diversity of inspired men walked this land, Not perfect men-but men raised up by the perfect Man to perform a great work. Foreordained were they, to lay the foundation of this Republic. Blessed by providence in their struggle for liberty and independence, the power of Heaven rested on these Founders as thy drafted the greatest document for governing men -The Constitution of the United States.......The hand of the Lord was in it. They filled their mission well. From them we were endowed with a legacy of liberty - a Constitutional Republic.
But today the Christian Constitutionalist weeps as he walks about His country. He sees the spiritual and political faith of his fathers betrayed by wolves in sheep's garments. He sees the forces of evil increasing in strength and momentum under the leadership of Satan, the archenemy of freedom. He sees the wicked honored and the valiant abused. He senses that his own own generation faces Gethsemane's and Valley Forges that may yet rival the trials of the early Apostles and the Men of '1776'. And this provokes him to pause and to ponder. It provokes a reflection that bears him to the heart of reason, to the most basic of fundamentals - the reason for our existence.Once we understand that fundamental, the purpose of mortality, we may more easily chart a correct course in the perilous seas that tear at the very masts of our ship of state.
........That the Lord is displeased with wickedness is true. That He desires that it not occur is true. That He will help those who oppose, it is true. But that He allows wickedness to occur at all through His children here in mortality is proof of His having given them their freedom to choose, while reserving for Him a basis for their final judgment. And here in lies the hope of all Christian Constitutionalists. Why?
Because the fight for freedom is God's fight. For free agency is an eternal principle. It existed before this world was formed -it will exist forever. Some men may succeed in denying some aspects of this God-given freedom to their fellow men, but their success is temporary. For freedom is a law of God, a permanent law...So when man stands for freedom he stands with God. And were he to stand alone he would still stand with God-the best company and the greatest power in or out of this world. Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty; and because truth is eternal, any man will be eternally vindicated and rewarded for his stand for freedom........
Can freedom triumph now? What are we doing to keep freedom alive? ........Men receive blessings by obedience to God's laws. And without obedience there is no blessings. Before the final triumphal return of the Lord, the question as to whether we may save our Constitutional republic is simply based on two factors-the number of patriots and the extent of their obedience.
That the Lord desires to save this Nation which He raised up-there is no doubt. But that He leaves it up to us, with His help, is the awful reality."
.........To His disciples, the Lord said that they should be of good cheer for He had overcome the world-and so He had. And so can we if we are allied with Him. For time is on the side of truth and the wave of the future is freedom. There is no question of the eventual, final, and lasting triumph of righteousness. The major decision for each of us is the selection of that part which we will play in helping to bring it to pass.
This is a glorious hour in which to live. Generations past and future will mark well our response to our awesome duty. There is a reason why we have been born in this day. Ours is the task to try to live and perpetuate the principles of the Christ and the Constitution in the face of tremendous odds. May we, with God's help fill our mission in honor. That is my humble prayer; let us pray it together."
Yes, let us pray for this great nation that we may always be free to choose. May we pray for the leaders that can help the dreams of this nation be realized and fulfilled before the Coming of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Another article by President Ezra Taft Benson can be found here.
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