Mother's Day

It was pretty good this year. I stayed home from church so I could sleep in, as a gift to myself. My mother-in-law said that at church the sisters had fruits and veggies served to them by the youth who talked about how much they loved their moms. We had pizza for lunch, then I went to my mom and dad's for dinner. I had been there the day before so I could clean up the kitchen for my mom. She had to work this weekend and wanted to get that done, so I did it for her as my Mother's Day gift to her, which she greatly appreciated. My sister's mother-in-law brought stuff over to make for dinner so mom wouldn't have to. My mom gave me a couple new shirts and some nice-smelling hand soap. My missionary brother called and talked to everyone for a while. It was good to hear his voice again; he sounds so much older!

All in all, it was a decent day.

Happy Easter!

Yeah, Easter is actually tomorrow, but I don't think I'll have time tomorrow, so here it goes.

I don't think we really have any religious traditions when it comes to Easter in the church. We have Easter lessons for the primary classes, and there are talks on Easter in sacrament meeting, but that's about it. Actually, our stake conference is tomorrow, and general conference was last week, so we'll probably postpone our Easter lessons until next week.

I read a few blog posts this week, one about the Jewish seder (and how the symbolism points to Christ, but it does talk about the ceremony and some of the meaning behind it) and one on a Catholic Easter Mass (which for the life of me, I can't find). I say that because I have experienced both ceremonies.

When I was a kid, maybe about ten or so, my sister and I had a friend a year or so older than I was, whose family was Jewish. We had them over on Passover and they shared the seder ceremony with us. There's a part near the end where a door is opened to let the spirit of Elijah enter the house. Well, I don't know if Elijah made it in or not, but our cat did. ^_^ A friend of mine was baptized into the Catholic church when she was about 19 or so, and I was able to go to the mass for that. The symbolism there is neat as well.

I think it's neat to experience something in a church other than your own, and to feel the same spirit there that you'd feel in your own church.

...

I've been writing this post on and off for a few hours today, and during one of my off times, I got to thinking about how good I've felt when reading about some of these traditions and ceremonies. Now I'm thinking about how neat it might be to include some of these traditions in my own life. I'm not talking about going all out, even though it'd be cool to do so, but to add in bits and pieces into my own worship of God, you know what I mean? The 13th Article of Faith says, "If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things." President Hinckley also talked about recognizing the truths in other religions, and I know of people who are LDS but also use the truths they see in other religions and incorporate them into their own lives. I don't quite know where I'd start, but it is something to think about.

Anyway, whatever spring celebration you ascribe to, have a good one!

Lovely to see you again...

I know it's been a while since I've updated, and even then the posts are very sparse. But I should probably try to write something.

My husband's family had their monthly home evening tonight, and my mother-in-law gave the lesson. It was about what the church meant to her and ways to better ourselves spiritually. She had us go around the room and have every person say one thing that the church means to them. There were the standards: forgiveness, hope, being together as a family, etc. I had no clue what to say at first. Then something popped into my mind. Because of the church, I know that I am a person of great worth. I am literally a daughter of Heavenly Parents, who love me unconditionally, no matter what. My husband's response had to do with knowing that there is a purpose for just about everything, and knowing that things will get better in time.

I've been teaching the CTR 7s this year, and it's harder than I thought it would be. I know they're not totally mature yet, but I was hoping they'd be at least more grown up than the Sunbeams I used to teach. There are five girls, and sometimes things get out of hand. I've had to come up with some class rules, which I should have done a long time ago. It's kinda sad that I have to tell them not to climb on the table and to leave the chalkboard alone. We had ward conference today, which meant there would be no second or third hour classes, so I slept in. And boy was it a nice break.

Yayness!

I get to teach an older Primary class next year!

I've been through the nursery/Sunbeam manual at least five times or so, having been in the nursery twice and the Sunbeams twice (sometimes for more than a year). I did get to teach the Valiant 9s for a few months with my husband, but that's been the extent of my experience with older kids.

This year, I get to teach the CTR 7s, which consists of four girls that will be turning seven this next year. Instead of the simple lessons I'm used to, like being thankful for plants and trees, I get to teach more advanced concepts, like choosing the right and having faith in Jesus Christ.

Wish me luck!

History repeats itself

Well, except for a few things.

I read an article today about a Peruvian woman who gave birth on Christmas morning. That's not the interesting part, though. Her name was Virgen Maria (Virgin Mary), and she named her son Jesus Emanuel. His father is not named Joseph, but he is a carpenter.

By the way, Merry (Belated) Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm thankful for so many things; too many to list here. The list I came up with last year pretty much covers it all. I can't think of a thing to add, since the little things fall under those twelve categories.

I try to remember every day all the blessings I have, and to thank my Heavenly Father for what I've been given. I can't say that saying, "At least I have X" always makes me feel better on a bad day, but if I want to be uplifted, it can be.

Anyway, enjoy your Thanksgiving!

Thoughts on a sensitive issue

I believe that we are all children of our Heavenly Father and have a divine nature, regardless of one's gender, sexual orientation, race, creed, etc. As such, we all need to love and respect one another.

I can understand the plight of the LGBT community. Many groups of people have been persecuted for what they believe is right. (Sadly, a lot of it still exists, as has been seen in the news recently, coming from both sides of the argument.) All they want is for their relationships to be seen as normal and accepted by others.

I personally don't care what a person's sexual orientation is. I may not agree with the homosexual lifestyle, but I try to be respectful of the decisions of the few people I know who are gay or bisexual (I don't know any transgender/transsexuals). One of the greatest gifts we've been given on this earth is free agency, the ability to be, think, act, worship, and love the way we feel is right for us.

Despite all this, I have a hard time finding myself accepting gay marriage. Yes, I want to love everyone and give everyone the opportunity to do as they wish without recrimination (as long as it's not destructive, i.e. murder), but I cannot vote for something I don't believe is right.

I belong to a religion that has a bit of history when it comes to the definition of marriage. We used to practice polygamy, albeit only in a minor sector of the early LDS community. Still, there were men that had more than one wife. But that was taken away from us. Polyamorous marriages are illegal; a man can only have one wife, and a woman can only have one husband.

Now, I'm not trying to equate our persecution with that of the LGBT community. We Latter-day Saints seem to get along pretty well without polygamous marriages. I don't see a lot of people, LDS or not, trying to get polygamy recognized as a legal definition of marriage (at least, not on the same scale as gay marriage). But gay marriage is something that will not fall by the wayside.

I'm sorry that my trying to be open-minded and fair to all doesn't yet quite extend to gay marriage. Maybe I'll change my mind in the future. Still, I will use my free agency to believe, and my right as an American to vote, the way that I see fit.

I hope that those who feel so bitter about the passing of Prop 8, and similar other measures taken in other parts of the country, will have their hearts softened, and that they will take their message of tolerance and peace and apply it to this sensitive issue. Remember that you live in a country where you may exercise your right to vote and to try to change things to make this country a better place to live. This particular battle was lost. But what about next time?

MTC, here he comes!

My oldest younger brother enters the Missionary Training Center today, where he will learn how to share the gospel for the next few weeks. If I'm not mistaken, he officially enter the mission field (Phoenix, Arizona) on the 17th of June, and will be there for the next two years.

We had a family party on Sunday after church. My parents and my brothers flew out to Utah on Monday to spend some time with family, and the three remaining members will be coming home Wednesday night.

I'm so pleased with his decision to go on a mission. He's known for most of his life that he was going to go be a missionary, and I'm excited to see it finally happen.

Good luck on your mission, little brother! I know you'll do great!