My horrible learning experience:

So, I was doing some research on the computer today, and I accidentally typed ".com" instead of ".org" on the name I was looking up.  I was shocked and sickened by the images that popped up on my screen. I SCREAMED and tried to get out of that website.  It was awful.  My children were wondering what I was doing.  I just told them not to look.
It was so sad, and so sick and it hurt me so much.  It hurt me physically, it hurt me spiritually.  I went to clean the kitchen and I couldn't do it. I was just sad, and hurt.   I couldn't go back to the computer for about an hour.
I went into my room and I knelt down by my bed and I prayed to my Heavenly Father.  I prayed and asked Him to take the images out of my mind and to heal my soul.  I was crying, it wasn't just a tear or two, it was deep, heaving, deep down in my soul.  After a few minutes of being on my knees and pleading for help, I felt better.  I started to feel calm again, and my crying began to stop.
I am so grateful for the Savior.  I am grateful for the Atonement.  The things that happened in History, that we are celebrating this week, that made my repentance possible. That healed my soul. That healed my spirit.
I can now say that I know there are things on the internet that are harmful to us. I know why we are warned about them and I KNOW they do damage to us.  I have experienced it.
But the good news is, there is always hope! There is always a way to repent, and a way to return.

How it affects me:

There is so much talk about Marriage, and more particularly gay marriage.

I can only speak for myself, and the reason that I am against it.
In my church, in my religion, we go to the Temple. We believe that when we go to the Temple, we are married to our spouse for time (earth life) and all eternity (after we die) we believe that we can be together forever-even after death.
Do I believe this? YES with all my heart, might, mind and soul.  I have put everything I am and everything I do into this.
My husband and I have 9 children. We work hard EVERY single day towards this goal. 
We get up at 6:00 in the morning so that we can read scriptures and have song and prayer together as a family to to united towards this goal. 
We go to church every week.  We listen to our leaders and follow what they say.
We gather at night to have prayer together as a family.
We have Family Home Evenings on Monday nights together, we have lessons and talk about Christ.
We serve others.

We have a Prophet, just like there was a Prophet during Bible times. We follow our Prophet, we believe that he speaks with God.

I believe in God, I believe that He has spoken, and He has said that marriage is between 1 man and 1 woman. I believe that. I want to listen to Him and follow Him, even if it is not popular.

This isn't just about agency, I believe in that too. We have the 10 commandments:
Exodus 20:1-17 and also Mosiah 13:13-24.  We are to obey these commandments as well. We are not free to choose to commit adultery or murder.  We are able to choose how we respond to God's commandments.

This is the plan of the satan.  I don't see a big campaign for straight people to get married. The push for straight people is to live together, have babies out of wedlock. It is another way to go against what God has commanded. 

I am concerned that if we let gays get "married", the next attack will be towards my Temple.  The place that is sacred to me, that will be the next debate. The push will be to marry gay people together in my Temple. Will that ever happen--no, but the Government will try to make my Temple worship ILLEGAL because it discriminates against others. 

Do I know and understand all of God's plan? Of course not. Do I trust in His plan over my own. YES!

I am far from perfect, I have my own challenges and weaknesses.  I don't think anyone should be attacked or harmed because they are different, but this is much more of an issue than just being different and wanting to be equal.

I honestly wouldn't care if the gay community came up with their own ceremony...their own word for their union.  That way, my convictions and my beliefs wouldn't be threatened.

And that is how it affects me.

Our thoughts matter...

Ever have a bad day and wonder why?  I have, today is one of those days for example, I woke up just sad.  I don't have any reason to be sad...I didn't have a bad dream...
(I'm not saying someone is thinking bad about me-I'm not that vain.)

We hear all the time, pray for so-and-so, or I am sending you positive vibes.
What about the negative ones...if positive thoughts and vibes can help someone, can negative ones hurt? 
I think yes.

In Mosiah 4:30 it reads:
But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not watch yourselves, and your THOUGHTS and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of your Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man,remember, and perish not.

Our thoughts and words MATTER. Even if what we think or say isn't heard by the person we are talking about, it is still FELT by them. 

If prayer and positive vibes are important and can be felt by someone to lift them up and give them a boost. Negative thoughts can also be felt to hurt and tear someone down.

I think people can feel what is being sent to them whether it is positive or negative.

So, D&C 108:7:
Therefore, strengthen your brethren in all your conversation, in all your prayers, in all your exhortations, and in all your doings.

The end.

"My kind" or ("Your kind")

I am a little bit saddened by this phrase...
The first time I remember hearing this and that it really bothered me was during the Olympics with Gabby.
The only thing anyone could talk about after this incredible athlete won 2 gold metals was her hair. I was reading an article about how she was being made fun of and the worst part about her being made fun of was that she was being made fun of by "her own kind."
I was a bit startled by that phrase.  My thoughts are this, I want "my kind" to be people who think like me, who have the same morals as I do, who are striving towards the same goals...I don't want "my kind" to be people who look like me. I want it to be a matter of the heart, not the physical appearance.
I have a dear friend, who we think of as my daughters second mother. I love her dearly.  She is struggling with this same phrase.  She is a wonderful, kind, God fearing woman and "her kind" is just that. People who are WONDERFUL, who are KIND and LOVE GOD. She doesn't need to go searching for someone who has the same color of skin as she does, or someone talks the same way as she does to fit in. She fits in right here...in my heart. In my daughters heart.  We love her and miss her so much.  She is "MY KIND."
I hope in the future, when this phrase is spoken, people will speak of characteristics that come from inside a person and not characteristics on the outside.

I love you!!!  And you know who you are.

12-12-12

 

To Celebrate 12-12-12 I took the kids on an adventure to do 12 things:

 

 

First we went to the Dollar Store,

 

Next the kids gave out 12 hugs to their mom, this is Kaydee and her mom.

 

Then it was off to see Lexi at work,

 

then the park, swing 12 times, slide 12 times,

 

Then we went to GG's work to see her...

Then of course we had to see Emily at work too, while there, we had ice cream...

So we counted it.

The kids wanted to go to the car wash, that was number 8. I wrote an 8 on the van, but I don't know if you can see it.

 We decided to go check out the progress of the Payson Temple as number 9.

 

While there, I had the kids wave to people as their 10th thing to do.  Sam got into that one the most I think.

                                      
We got stuck in the round about 12 times, that was a little risky and I felt sick, but we made it...

And finally they wanted to do a Chinese firedrill, however, I am a chicken, so they had to wait until we were back on our road to do that.

 

I love this so much!

Family photo

Taken at Grandpa and Grandma's house.

Andrew's sword

Camille's Birthday!

Bri's birthday

Bri is now 20 years old.  She is so much fun, so happy and has such a zest for life.
I love you Bri!
She wasn't eating sugar-so I had to come up with a new idea for her cake.