How Great Shall Be Your Joy!

 The scriptures in Doctrine & Covenants 18:15-16 says, “And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!

And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!”

I’ve heard it said that the one soul you need to bring is yourself. Typically, when you think of this scripture you think of missionaries and the souls they teach and bring into the gospel. Today while hearing this scripture at the homecoming of a missionary in our family it hit me a little differently. What if those other souls it’s referring to are my children?!? 

I’m always working on my relationship with my Savior! The truth is I can only teach my children how to find Christ. They have to build that trust and relationship with their Savior themselves. I hope that they will follow my lead because if I can bring all three of these souls unto Christ my soul will surely be filled with joy! ❤️❤️❤️

Happy 4th of July

"Oh, thus be it ever, when free men shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation!
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the heav’n-rescued land
Praise the Pow’r that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust!”"
The Star-Spangled Banner 3rd verse (Francis Scott Key, 1779–1843)

"Oh, beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved,
And mercy more than life!
America! America!
May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness,
And ev’ry gain divine."
America the Beautiful 3rd verse (Katherine Lee Bates, 1859–1929)

While singing these songs in church this week I was touched! How blessed we are to live in a country with such amazing freedoms! I am so grateful for that freedom, and I hold it dear! God Bless America and the men and women who have sacrificed to make sure it remains a place of freedom! 

Happy 4th of July!!!

Off the Path

I enjoy hiking! A few days ago, my family and I were hiking at Capital Reef National Park. While hiking the trail to Cassidy Arch my family and I got a little lost. As you can see from the middle photo above there is a rock stair path with some rocks in front of it and loose rocks behind that. We should have turned to the right at this point. We were hiking along and visiting without paying much attention to the path. Instead of turning to the right we went straight and ended up continuing off the path for a bit. Thankfully my husband saw people on the path above us and realized that we needed to be higher up. We found a way to get back on the path and finish our hike to the final destination of Cassidy Arch. The view of the Arch was well worth the distance and climb!

So often in life we are careless and it's so easy get distracted and lose sight of the covenant path. Often times we see that we aren't where we are supposed to be. We see that we need to be on a higher path, but we don't know how to get there. This could mean that we don't reach our desired destination of Life Eternal with our Father in Heaven and Savior Jesus Christ. Thankfully, it doesn't have to mean that!

 After studying the crucifixion of the Savior as well as his resurrection the past few weeks I am reminded of the joy that comes from knowing that no matter how far off path we get there is always hope! Christ has paid the price so we can always return to the Covenant Path. It is true that it's important we are mindful of the twists and turns that may confuse us, and it always helps to keep our eyes focused on the pathway in order to return. Yet the joy and the good news of the gospel is that when we get lost we don't have to stay lost. Our Savior will always help guide us back to the path if we are willing to accept his gift of the atonement and follow him. I am so grateful for my Savior! 

I know that he lives and loves me and because of that I know that he loves you too!