Family is the most important unit we have here on earth. The L.D.S. Church  understands the importance of family so much they wrote "A Proclamation to the World. President Gorden B Hinkley read the Proclamation in a General Relief Society Meeting in September of 1995.  Hence forth at has been a key part of our beliefs and has been used a teaching tool for many non members and even members in understanding the importance of family unit.  I am so grateful  for the knowledge and understanding that has been taught. Family truly is of God and is so essential in returning to our Heavenly Father one day. The Proclamation reads as follows;

THE FAMILY

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A PROCLAMATION TO THE WORLD

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

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.

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.

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 FIRST COMMANDMENT that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. 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. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.

THE FAMILY is ordained of God. 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. 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, 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.

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.

This proclamation was read by President Gordon B. Hinckley as part of his message at the General Relief Society Meeting held September 23, 1995, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The Words of Mormon

My scripture study this week has lead me to ponder on The section in The Book of Mormon, titled, The Words of Mormon.


This takes place 385 years after Christ's birth.  Mormon has seen the destruction of most of his people. He knows that his son will be hunted and pursued, Yet he still has enough faith to put the records into his son Moroni's care.  By this time the records must have been so heavy to carry around and keep. Mormon knows the importance of these words. He knows that Moroni must keep them safe and he knows that the word in which he gives him will be for a important purpose. Mormon condenses these records and the words of Nephi into a small record. The words he chooses to keep are pleasing to Mormon, for he knows that the words, and section in which he puts in these plates are being selected by God. For these words will lead many back to Christ. For these records are now our precious Book of Mormon.

When reading this chapter so many things come to mind. I know that there are so many records that he do not have and it leave me anxious to someday know all the words of Nephi. How great will it be to learn of everything the people of Lehi had gone through. I can imagine those in heaven discussing such stories as if they were sitting around a camp fire in heaven. I also recognise the importance of the words in which Mormon choose to leave us and how fitting it is that this book be called The Book of  Mormon. When I was younger I always wonder why Mormon and not Moroni. After all Moroni had the plates last and kept them safe and buried them for Joseph Smith to obtain one day.  Now I know the book is call The Book Of  Mormon.

These things may seem small to some but it strengthens my testimony of this book as well as The Bible. I can not deny that The Book of Mormon is a true testament of Christ.

The Second Book of Nephi is alive today!

The second book of Nephi in The Book of Mormon is alive today.  I have been studying this book for the last few weeks now and as I read Chapter 28, I am very aware of the world around me these days.  The subtitle alone,  in the book says so much. 

Chapter 28

Many false churches will be built up in the last days—They will teach false, vain, and foolish doctrines—Apostasy will abound because of false teachers—The devil will rage in the hearts of men—He will teach all manner of false doctrines. About 559–545 B.C.

As I have read the verses in this chapter I am drawn to certain comments and post on Face book. 

The LDS church once again is under attack for our firm stand on gay marriage. Although we are a tolerant loving people, we still need to be firm on the truth. The world is finding anyway they can not to be accountable for their sin. No one wants to be guilty of sin, nor admit it is sin. Instead they seek to try and make their sin normal and those who do not agree with them are being told we are not Christ like. Since when is Christ tolerant of sin? 

Recently I saw this picture on the Internet. I was not only sadden by it but also disgusted that the changes to two definition in the LDS Church handbook have lead to such a horible picture. 

How could someone turn truth into such slander? 

Christ loves all his children. We are all sinners, that is why we came her, bled in the garden of Gethsemane and died on a cross and was ten resurrected for us. He did that for every man, child, sinner, parent and brother. He does not pick and choose who he loves. HOWEVER if we want to return to our Father in Heaven then we do need to come unto Christ. Obey God's commandments and atone for our sins often. We can not expect to be rewarded in heaven for sin. He is perfect and no unclean thing can enter his house. 

The truth on these  changes in the LDS church are as follows. 

The handbook now includes being in a same-sex marriage under the definition of apostasy and as a circumstance that requires the convening of a disciplinary council. The handbook also clarifies that the ordinance of naming and blessing a child may not be performed for children living with a parent in a same-gender relationship.

The new section of the handbook is listed under the heading "Children of a Parent Living in a Same-Gender Relationship." It states that "a natural or adopted child of a parent living in a same-gender relationship, whether the couple is married or cohabiting, may not receive a name and a blessing." Deseret news Published: Thursday, Nov. 5 2015 9:10 p.m. MST

The video should be watched! People are taking truth and turning it into something they can mock and changed to suite their own situation. This is where the church stands and this is what I choose to follow. The church is doing this to protect a child not to be cruel! 

Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained the changes.

https://youtu.be/iEEMyc6aZms

• 9 Yea, and there shall be many which shall teach after this manner, false and vain and foolish doctrines, and shall bepuffed up in their hearts, and shall seek deep to hide their counsels from the Lord; and their works shall be in the dark.
•  10 And the blood of the saints shall cry from the ground against them.
•  11 Yea, they have all gone out of the way; they have become corrupted.
•  12 Because of pride, and because of false teachers, and false doctrine, their churches have become corrupted, andtheir churches are lifted up; because of pride they are puffed up.
• 15 O the wise, and the learned, and the rich, that arepuffed up in the pride of their hearts, and all those    who preach false doctrines, and all those who  and pervert the right way of the Lord, wo,wo, wo be unto them, saith the Lord God Almighty, for they shall be thrust down to hell!
•  16 Wo unto them that turn aside the just for a thing ofnaught and revile against that which is good, and say that it is of no worth! For the day shall come that the Lord God will speedily visit the inhabitants of the earth; and in that day that they are fully ripe in iniquity they shall perish.
•  17 But behold, if the inhabitants of the earth shall repent of their wickedness and abominations they shall not be destroyed, saith the Lord of Hosts.
• 26 Yea, wo be unto him that hearkeneth unto the precepts of men, and denieth the power of God, and the gift of theHoly Ghost!

•  27 Yea, wo be unto him that saith: We have received, andwe need no more!

The entire chapter should be read and studied. The Second book of Nephi is all prophecy from the book of Isiah and can not be ignored. Now is the time for Latter day Saints to take a stand and be stead fast to the teaching of Christ.