Virtue is a pattern of thought and behavior based on high moral standards. It includes chastity and purity. The power to create mortal life is an exalted power God has given His children. He has commanded that this power be used only between a man and a woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife. Study the meaning and importance of chastity and virtue by reading Moroni 9:9; Jacob 2:28; The Family: A Proclamation to the World; and the section on sexual purity in For the Strength of Youth. Also read Article of Faith number thirteen and Proverbs 31:10-31. In your journal write the promised blessings of being sexually clean and pure and your commitment to be chaste.
The promised blessings of being sexually clean and pure are many! I love the promises to the youth in For the Strength of Youth-preparing themselves to make and keep sacred covenants; being prepared to build strong marriages; bringing children into a loving family; protected from emotional damage. And then the promises to a virtuous young woman as found in Proverbs: husband safely trusts in her; she will do good and not evil all the days of her life; clothed in strength and honor; wise and kind; her children call her blessed and her husband praises her. . .who wouldn't want that?
As we strive to have high moral standards, our thoughts and behaviors become and are virtuous. Being chaste is a way of life that does not end once you are married. It is a continous decision in the world today. I'm grateful that we have not made a family habit of watching television shows. As Ty reaches the age that he is interested in some shows he hears about from friends, I watch him as he makes decisions about what to watch.
Recently, he asked if he could watch a certain show. I didn't want it on where the rest of the kids could see it, so he rented them off the computer through Netflix. Although I wasn't totally comfortable with this, I was comfortable enough that he could make a good decision on his own. He began watching and by the third or fourth episode, he let us know that he wasn't going to watch it anymore. He just wasn't comfortable with what he was watching.
I think that the conscious decision David and I have made not to watch that kind of thing has also begun to make an impact on our children. Some may say we shelter them too much, but really - they see and hear PLENTY in their day-to-day at school. I'm not worried about them being too sheltered. I'm so happy that they can walk in our home and BE sheltered from the world whenever they want.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Individual Worth Value Experience #2
Learn about the importance of patriarchal blessings by studying about them in True to the Faith and recent conference talks. Find out why they are given and who can give them. Discuss with a parent or Church leader how to prepare to receive a patriarchal blessing and how it can teach you of your worth and identity and be a guide throughout your life. If you have not received your blessing, prepare to receive it.
In preparation for this value experience, I read two wonderful talks on the subject: President Thomas S. Monson's Your Patriarchal Blessing: A Liahona of Light and Sister Julie B. Beck's You Have a Noble Birthright.
How grateful I am to have been working on this experience, particularly at this time. I am touched by the things I read in the talks. I have felt the outpouring of love from Heavenly Father about my worth as I have pondered these talks and my own blessing. I have known it was inspired from the time I received it, a knowledge which was again confirmed to me as I studied. I had another one of those experiences this week when I was concentrating on helping a family member with something and a promise from my blessing suddenly came to my mind. It was just another little testament of the inspiration behind patriarchal blessings. How grateful I am for such a loving Father in Heaven!
In preparation for this value experience, I read two wonderful talks on the subject: President Thomas S. Monson's Your Patriarchal Blessing: A Liahona of Light and Sister Julie B. Beck's You Have a Noble Birthright.
How grateful I am to have been working on this experience, particularly at this time. I am touched by the things I read in the talks. I have felt the outpouring of love from Heavenly Father about my worth as I have pondered these talks and my own blessing. I have known it was inspired from the time I received it, a knowledge which was again confirmed to me as I studied. I had another one of those experiences this week when I was concentrating on helping a family member with something and a promise from my blessing suddenly came to my mind. It was just another little testament of the inspiration behind patriarchal blessings. How grateful I am for such a loving Father in Heaven!
Divine Nature Value Experience #3
Make your home life better. For two weeks make a special effort to strengthen your relationship with a family member by showing love through your actions. Refrain from judging, criticizing, or speaking unkindly, and watch for positive qualities in that family member. Write notes of encouragement, pray for this family member, find ways to be helpful, and verbally express your love. Share your experiences and the divine qualities you've discovered with that family member or with a parent or leader.
I realized that when I take some time to practice looking for positive qualities in others, it is so much easier to see their incredible potential. With that comes many more beautiful reminders that we are children of a loving Heavenly Father.
As we approach the end of each quarter during this graduate school experience, life seems to get more stressful. The weeks leading up to finals are filled with more stress for Dad, and he has much less time here with the family, so that makes me a little more stressed. When I take myself out of that equation and remember to take each day in stride, I can sit back and marvel at the feats Dave takes upon his shoulders. It has taken me several years of marriage to catch a little bit of a glimpse of the weight that rests on a father's shoulders to provide for his family. I know what we have to work with, and sometimes it isn't enough, but I also know we are doing what the Lord would have us do and I know things will work out. Not to say David needs to have more faith that things will work out. Feeling the necessity of providing for his family, as stated in "The Family: A Proclamation to the World", is by divine design. Just as mother's, as they worry about one of their children, have a need to always do more and frequently feel like they haven't done enough; that in some way, they could have nutured more, taught in a better way-father's have, at their core, the need to provide for and protect their families. Not only is the school work challenging, but I know this responsibility weighs heavily on David, particularly because there is not much he can do at this point. As I take time to think about and try to understand what he goes through, I have more patience and strength to do what I need to do for our family, to support him.
I think we can find this truth whenever we pay more attention to someone else and focus on their story. We forget ourselves and our needs and easily see divine attributes in others.
I realized that when I take some time to practice looking for positive qualities in others, it is so much easier to see their incredible potential. With that comes many more beautiful reminders that we are children of a loving Heavenly Father.
As we approach the end of each quarter during this graduate school experience, life seems to get more stressful. The weeks leading up to finals are filled with more stress for Dad, and he has much less time here with the family, so that makes me a little more stressed. When I take myself out of that equation and remember to take each day in stride, I can sit back and marvel at the feats Dave takes upon his shoulders. It has taken me several years of marriage to catch a little bit of a glimpse of the weight that rests on a father's shoulders to provide for his family. I know what we have to work with, and sometimes it isn't enough, but I also know we are doing what the Lord would have us do and I know things will work out. Not to say David needs to have more faith that things will work out. Feeling the necessity of providing for his family, as stated in "The Family: A Proclamation to the World", is by divine design. Just as mother's, as they worry about one of their children, have a need to always do more and frequently feel like they haven't done enough; that in some way, they could have nutured more, taught in a better way-father's have, at their core, the need to provide for and protect their families. Not only is the school work challenging, but I know this responsibility weighs heavily on David, particularly because there is not much he can do at this point. As I take time to think about and try to understand what he goes through, I have more patience and strength to do what I need to do for our family, to support him.
I think we can find this truth whenever we pay more attention to someone else and focus on their story. We forget ourselves and our needs and easily see divine attributes in others.
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