Choose You this Day!

Thomas S. Monson.

Our Choice mean everything, and then some everyday choice are irrelevant. For example what shirt should I wear today. Some choice we make will not have huge consequences but every single choice we make does have a cause and effect. Whether it is a big choice or a small choice we make them, or choose not to make a choice at all, which in fact is making a choice.

So many times in my life I have heard the phrase, “whatever happens will happen" or, "whatever, if I am meant to die I will"

 My daughter often uses that as an excuse not to wear a seat belt. Of course I do not let her get away with it. I have told her many times. that even though God has the power to save us we still have freedom of choice, We can choose to obey the law and choose the right and our lives will lead as he guides us, or we can choose to throw our hands up in the air and have that attitude and he may not step in and save you from a bad choice you make. 

Your life is in your hands and your path can change by each and every choice you make. It is not all about what he wants, because you chose Christ plan before you came here. You either follow him or do the best you can to get every promise you deserve or you through caution to the wind, and let Satan take over. 

God has given all his children individual agency.  We must use it to gain exhalation in God’s kingdom. 

After watching and reading a talk from M. Russell Ballard  I decided I needed to set 

 a goal. Although it could be a long term goal and I hope it will become that, for now I hope to just accomplish it this week. 

My goal is to have family home evening. I have struggles with doing this because my husband never is home on Monday nights. I start and fail at this goal all the time. I want to have it regularly but then do not because it feels weird when it is just mom trying to hold it or we get super busy. 

Through the process of S.M.A.R.T Goal setting I made a choice.   I choice to hold it on Monday as suggested by the church and plan to do it without your husband for a while until his schedule changes. This is the best option. It is the only night the kids have free from other obligations with the church, scouts, YW, etc. It is also the night the prophets have asked us to hold FHE. I know it will be hard for me to do it without my husband but it is more important for the kids than it is for us so it needs to be done. 

What is a S.M.A.R.T. GOAL?

Roger D. Duncan and Ed J. Pinegar, Leadership for Saints, 2002, 94–95:  Taught that the best goals are smart goals. 

 SMART stands for the five characteristics of well-designed goals;

Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound.

• Specific: What will be the specific result of your goal? What are the specific steps needed to achieve it? Does the goal sound vague or too general in any way?
• Measurable: Do you have a way to measure your progress? When will you review progress?
• Attainable: Will you be able to achieve (attain) this goal? What are the reasons you believe you can accomplish this goal? Have you spoken to people that have achieved the same or similar goals?
• Relevant: Does this goal fit in with your larger life goals and your eternal purpose?
• Time-Bound: Do you have a specific date this goal should be achieved by? Is there a time-frame that you will work in to accomplish the goal?

When we  make our goals with the " SMART" method they become accomplished! 

Nephi Built a Ship!

Everyone that has read The Book of Mormon knows the Nephi built a ship. But How many of us stopped to really think about what that meant at the time?  For the first time in my life, as I was pondering this week chapters, it hit me!  We wouldn't have The Book of Mormon today with out that Ship!  Now perhaps the Lord would have found another way, but how grateful I am to Nephi For following God's commandments to build the ship and take his family across the sea.

It was at a time when they had just over come the hunger of the forest and finally made it the sea side, the land of bountiful, of honey and fruit. They were happy by the sea and certainly could have lived the remainder of their days there. Even Lehi himself had started to murmur against the Lord and wanted to go back to Jerusalem with the daughters of Ishmael after their father died and his sons Lamen and Lemuel. However Nephi was able to reach them, The spirit was able to humble them once again and the Liahona was able to direct them to food and get them safely to the sea side,

Then all of the sudden Nephi is ask to build a ship. If he had not done so, we would not have all the stories in The Book of Mormon that come after that time. The sons of Helman,  Captian Mornoni, Abinidi, Samuel prophesying of the Lord's birth, the Lords visit to the people here in this new land, and the stories of Mormon and Moroni. Of course there are more. My point is that the records Nephi wrote before he built the ship, would have been kept with the brass plates from Laban and over time would have found themselves back in the hands of the same people who pulled apart the bible.

The Bible as sacred as it is, is not complete. It does not have the fullness of the gospel, it only has part of the church of Christ and how it was set up in the new testament. What the Book of Mormon gives us is truly another testament of Christ and with another testament of Christ we have sort of a back up piece of evidence that says, "Yes the Bible is true, Yes Christ is our Savior, Yes he has a plan for his church and wants it set up a certain way. The Book of Mormon gives more meaning to the Bible and proves that he is our Lord, our Savior, our Redeemer, and without that ship, we could have lost it all. It could have ended there and What we know as the Book of Mormon could have ended up being part of the bible or even thrown out.  

I was telling my 16 year old daughter my thoughts on this, and she gave me a look and said, " Mom I already know this, We learned about this in Seminary last year." 

I graduated form seminary, and took 2 years of institute and I never gave much thought to Nephi's Ship. I think most of us think of Noah when we think of a ship being built.  I am glad she knows it is important! I know there are many key things that happened in order to get the church established here on the earth today. There were plenty of crucial things that happened in the scriptures that were a huge part of bringing us this sacred book. Just as we all know, without Joseph Smith we would not have the restored gospel the earth. I also truly believe the because we have freedom of choice if someone had failed to do their part the Lord would have found another faithful servant. 

I am truly thankful for the recent insight that I have had on this simple matter. It has strengthen my testimony.  I recently made a Necklace that had symbol of  The Book of Mormon on it. I have always loved The Book of Mormon, but I think the necklace has even more meaning to me now. However currently the Tree of Life is in the center of my necklace and the ship piece is quite small in comparison ow great it really it. But that is ok, as long as I know how important it is. who knew that after only one month of school, I could grow so much?

Challenge Accepted!

D. Todd Christopherson invited us to take on two invitation.

One Save money each week. The amount is not important. The habit of doing so and the small amounts will build over time.

The second invitation is to ponder a scripture each week. Pick a scripture and ponder it during the week. 

"Imagine doing this weekly for a month or a year. You will have a new spiritual perspective. Words and phrases will be written on your heart and mind. And memorising them will naturally. "

Well I am going to take it upon myself to do both challenges. 

I have been working on saving money for quite sometime, yet things keep happening that has caused me to use it. It would be nice to do it for a year and not have to use it.  Perhaps maybe to savings accounts are in order one I can use when I need and 1 I do not touch no matter what for at least a year. 

The second challenge I have never even heard of before but I like it. I choose three verse for my first week because they seem to go together and I am studying this part of Th Book Of Mormon right now in class. 

Nephi Chapter 16 Verse 1-3 

 1 And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had madean end of speaking 

to my brethren, behold they said untome: Thou hast declared unto us hard 

things, more than we are able to bear.

 2 And it came to pass that I said unto them that I knew that I had spoken hard

 things against the wicked,according to the truth; and the righteous have 

I justified,and testified that they should be lifted up at the last day; wherefore,

the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center.

 3 And now my brethren, if ye were righteous and were willing to hearken to the

 truth, and give heed unto it, that ye might walk uprightly before God, then ye 

would not murmur because of the truth, and say: Thou speakest hard things

 against us.

My Study Skill this week has been "List", So I have been listing possible reasons why people and myself would not listen to the truth.  First I asked the question?

Why would those who were not living the commandments have a hard time hearing the truth?

Some of the answers I have come up with are as follows;

Feel defensive because they knew they were not living right.

No one wants to be wrong.

No one wants to be told they are living wrong.

Self esteem is fragile when we are not humble.

It is hard to be humble

It is hard to admit when we are wrong.

It is easier to make an excuse for our behavior than it is to account for it. Having this attitude will result. in ; They will make their own truth to cover up the guilt. Eventually they will believe their own lies. 

Can  you think of more reasons?

Please share your thoughts?