Act In Doctrine- Book Review

I loved this book by Elder Bednar!  I learned lots about how I can be a better person.
He talks about the character of Christ, and how we would not have the atonement if it had not been for the righteous, humble, and obedient character of Christ.

About moral agency-it is not just an act of exercise in keeping or not keeping commandments and covenants; if we choose not to keep them, we are breaking God's laws and disobeying him.  It is a serious thing.

"Once we pledge our willingness to take upon us the Savior's name and to act in holiness, disobedience brings more serious and spiritually devastating consequences:  we offend God."

He walks us through a conversation for those who are not coming to church, to see why they are not coming, and to teach them how they are cutting themselves off from the blessings of having the gospel and priesthood and temple ordinances in their lives, and leaving barriers that will impede the spiritual growth of their children and for generations to come.

Then he talks about being offended.  No one can offend us, only we can choose to be offended, because we have that agency.  In the Book of Mormon, Pahoran chose not to be offended when falsely accused of not supporting the cause of freedom.

A test of our spiritual maturity is how we respond to other's weaknesses and potentially offensive actions.

Moral agency enables us to turn from ourselves to the Savior, and to bind ourselves to act faithfully in His doctrine.

Earnestly coming to Christ and giving our whole souls as an offering requires much more than knowing.
Our level of commitment and understanding will significantly affect the blessings we are privileged to receive.

Honoring and keeping our sacred covenants will help us set aside the weapons of rebellions in our lives.  Our capacity to live more in alignment with what we know will be enlarged.

The way we live affects generations and generations to come.

The best teachers refuse to give simple answers, but direct where to find it and challenge the learner to find THEIR answer.  The tuition of diligence and learning by faith must be paid to obtain and personally "own" such knowledge.

We are like fiber-optic cables which transmit light long distances-CHRIST is the source of LIGHT.
Discernment-seeing with spiritual eyes and feeling with the heart falsehoods of an idea, goodness in a person, how to help next, etc.

Be quick to observe.  :)

Memorial Day 2014

I am so thankful for all who have served our country so selflessly and have sacrificed much to give us the freedoms we enjoy today.  God Bless America!
We enjoyed a little trip to see relatives in Winnemucca and were able to help with some work there; painting, building a hay barn, getting balers hooked up and ready to go.  Also enjoyed lunch together.  Johnny drove us there and back, so he got some big hours for his log book there :)

 

Another potential driver:)

So excited that Jonathan got his learner's permit.  That means 6 months till we have another driver in the family, and with Brent going off to college in the fall, we will be anxiously waiting for help at the wheel:)

 This is a tractor that Brent completely restored.  He rebuilt the engine, changed the hydraulic pump, painted, etc.  Now that's what I call a great education:)

Sister Wadsworth's first week of mission

Sariah is LOVING her mission!  We've received a couple of letters from her, and she sounds sooo happy!  We are so happy for her.   Here are a couple of pictures and bits from her letters.  If you would like to know more, you can check out her blog:  http://sistersariahmarie.blogspot.com/
She loves her companion and they are working really well together.  They are teaching investigors, some online with Skype.  She is very busy and doesn't want to waste any time because it is the Lord's time.  They got to hear an amazing talk by Elder Bednar, "The Character of Christ", and then he walked in and they had a 2-hr question and answer time.
She says she is able to focus well and hasn't been homesick at all.  She testifies of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and that if we go to it with a question in mind, we WILL find an answer, and that is is somewhat pointless to read without having questions in our mind.  She said they pray before they read anything, and it makes all the difference.  She appreciates everyone's prayers and support.

Community Clothing Give-Away 2014

We are starting the preparations for this year's Annual Community Clothing Give Away.   It will be held August 2nd in the Oats Park Gym, in conjunction with the Fallon Community Day.  We will be setting up starting Thursday night, July 31st, at 7 p.m. when we unload the truck.  We are looking for young, strong helpers to unload, and then lots more volunteers to help sort and hang clothes all day Friday, August 1st.

Growing up Duggar -Book Review

I really enjoyed reading the Duggar girls' book, Growing Up Duggar.  I really admire many things about their family and the standards they uphold.  Although it was written to a younger audience, as a parent, I really enjoyed learning the things that they do and believe about dating, courtship, and marriage.  I think one of the best things is that they purposely don't date at a young age, but rather spend that tine to develop their relationship with Heavenly Father and spend time in service to Him.  I think that is very wise.

There is also a list of things that are unchangeable for us, that are the way God intended it to be for us, such as what family we are in, our nationality, when we are born and when we die, etc.

I also like the lists of things that the parents talk to children about in their interviews, the list of things to look for in a spouse, both in male and female.

I like what they said about the 4 points of obedience:
1. Instant
2. Cheerful
3.Thorough
4. Unconditional

Jim Bob and Michelle have a motto of "Praise in Public, Correct in Private".  That is a really good one:)

They also have ideas for remaining pure, choosing creativity, learning, and building, over being entertained, our Life Skill Toolbox, our Heart Conditions (murmering heart, pure heart, humble heart) that are described in the Bible, and the choice we make in challenges, to be BITTER OR BETTER.

It was a really great book, I love what I learned from it, and I would recommend it to anyone for a great thought provoking and inspirational read.

Visiting the Grand Canyon

As if my kids hadn't already scared me bad enough going to the top of Zion's and hanging over the edge, they about finished me off when we went to the Grand Canyon.  We went on a less traveled route, called Tuweap, or Toroweap.  It took us right to the edge of the canyon, and a fantastic and terrifying (to me) view.

 It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and the views were fabulous!

 Does this activity not strike fear in the heart of a mother?

 We tied Jed and Ada with a rope to Dad, so that they would go running off and get themselves in trouble.

 It worked pretty good!

 We had a little picnic lunch there.

  The wildflowers were amazing-and very plentiful.  I wish I knew what they were called.