I recently picked up the February Ensign and read the article by Elder Cook entitled "The Doctrine of the Father". I love it! He beautifully discussed many things that I have been thinking about and seeking answers on. I love the quote below because truly emphasizes that ALL things created and instituted by God are for the express purpose of drawing us closer to Him. Here are a few of the quotes that have imprinted light into my soul.
1. "The purpose of all that the Father has revealed, commanded, and initiated for the inhabitants of earth is to help us come to know Him, emulate Him, and become like Him so we can return to His holy presence. Eternal life is to know the Father and His holy Son, Jesus Christ (see John 17:3; Jacob 4:5; Moses 5:8)."
When we live according to the divine pattern instated by God, we are blessed with the greatest blessing of all, to truly know God. That divine pattern is the pattern of the family. God himself lives this celestial family order. We eventually can become like him, so He has given us the opportunity to have a family and be apart of families here on earth. What a big stewardship! My husband puts it well when he says, "you can't learn how to play soccer by playing football." Likewise, we cannot learn to become Heavenly Fathers and Mothers if we are not living the pattern of Godhood here on this earth.
2. "Central to knowing the Father is understanding the revealed pattern of family. The family is the most important unit in time and in eternity and is ordained of God.1 Living in loving family relationships not only brings us great happiness, but it also helps us learn correct principles and prepares us for eternal life.2 In addition, family relationships help us know, love, and understand the Father. " (emphasis added)
3."In God’s revealed pattern for righteous families, the birth of a child is the result of a conscious and loving choice. It is the miraculous result of caring and deliberate actions taken by parents to participate with Heavenly Father in the sacred process of creating a mortal body for one of His spirit children. Knowing that our life is the result of a loving choice and a deliberate act can give us a sense of our great personal worth in mortality. That sense of worth can reassure us of our potential and protect us from temptations." (emphasis added)
This goes hand in hand with what I have been studying about conscious conception, or intentional parenthood. There are actually physical, emotional, and spiritual implications that occur, positive, or negative, in the unborn child depending on how the parents conceived. I agree with Elder Cook that righteous parents do not postpone, hinder, or have 'accident' babies that come as a result to failed birth control. When we are consciously conceiving and turning our fertility over to the Lord, He blesses us and our families with a multiplicity of blessings. As mentioned in the family proclamation to the world, the means by which life is created is important to the Lord. This means how babies are conceived, carried, birthed, and raised are very important to our Heavenly Father.
4." Righteous parents not only make deliberate and loving choices to bring children into the world, but they also prepare, pray, and eagerly wait during the period of gestation, anticipating the birth of their child. After birth they delight in holding, talking to, caring for, and protecting their child. They learn the baby’s individual patterns and needs. They know the child better than the child knows himself or herself. Regardless of the number of children parents have, each is an individual to them."
This statement combats a lot of the worlds beliefs about families that the more kids you have, the less love and attention they receive. I do not doubt that in some cases parents have failed in this regard, but Elder Cook firmly states that 'regardless of the number of children parents have, each is an individual to them." Parents, if close to the Lord, will receive direction and intimate guidance as to how each of their children need love and companionship. God cares about His children. Parents are doing the work of God, and are thereby entitled to receive His loving help and guidance. I truly believe that parents know the needs and wants of their children, and God can help them fulfill those needs and wants regardless if they have 2 kids or 12.
It is very important to have a testimony of the Doctrine of the Family and parenthood because not only do we need to defend it, but we can receive great blessings by doing so.
Showing posts with label Defending the Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Defending the Family. Show all posts
Monday, February 13, 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
U.N., and Other Threats to the Family Unit
Henry B. Eyring ("The Family," Ensign, Feb. 1998, p. 10)
"The family unit is fundamental not only to society and to the church but to our hope for eternal life."
Dallin H. Oaks ("Why We must Act to Preserve the Families of the World," World Family Policy Forum, Jan 1999)
"I am grateful that some watchmen on the tower have alerted us to enemies and conditions that threaten to undermine the family, which is the foundation of societies and nations in every part of the world. Ironically, some of these enemies are working through the United Nations and using its stature and authority on the world stage to pursue anti family efforts that must be of concern to all of us."
Ezra Taft Benson (An Enemy Hath Done This, p. 201)
"After many years of observing the U.N. in operation, after carefully researching the less publicized aspects of this organization, and after a great deal of soul-searching, I reluctantly have been forced to the conclusion that the U.N.'s potential for evil far outweighs its potential for good."
Family Action Council International (FACI: An Introduction)
"The mission of Family Action Council International is to promote measures designed to maintain and strengthen family as the fundamental unit of society."
"At the conference, attendees heard presentations from a wide variety of social workers, sociologist, political leaders, humanitarians, religious leaders, and other scholars-all concerned for the future of family in their respective nations and throughout the world.
"In addition to hearing these timely and eternal truths about the family, those in attendance also learned of the war being waged by organizations at the United Nations to persuade that body to adopt international policies, programs, and treaties to promote, among other things,
*abortion-in particular, state funded abortions, even in those countries where it is now legal, and including abortions for minors with out parental interference.
*Recognition of same-sex unions, to include the ' reproductive right' to artificial insemination for lesbian couples.
*the decriminalization of prostitution, to include government-funded medical and retirement benefits for what advocates now call workers in the sex trade; and
*mandatory quotas for the percentage of women working in government (50% of all civilian positions in national, state, and local governments to be women; 35% of all military positions).
"...in 1946, at the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women...(it was) proclaimed that the concept of the traditional family should be replaced by a new social model, one in which women would stand by men "as comrades" and children would become the responsibility of the state. ..(It) advocated loosening anti-abortion laws, making contraception readily available, including sex education as part of the regular school curriculum, enforcing population limits, and eliminating the legal distinctions between married and unmarried adults."
"Perhaps the most significant anti-family policy to date is the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women...The U.N. established a committee that regularly reviews the extent to which governments are implementing the terms of the convention. While some of the CEDAW's Goals are sound (such as securing a woman's right to vote and freedom from employment discrimination), its primary focus is the reconstruction of sex roles or,...gender mainstreaming."
Dallin H. Oaks, ("Why We Must Act to Preserve the Families of the World," World Family Policy Forum, Jan 1999)
"Threats to the Family"
"As Church leaders we have observed many worldwide trends and conditions that threaten the traditional family.."
1. As a result of increase in divorce and separation, the traditional two parent family is decreasing as the setting within which most children are raised.
2. Increasing numbers of women are working outside of the home and devoting less attention to their responsibilities as mothers.
3. As more and more people travel great distances to enjoy flexibility in where they reside, extended families are scattered and the nurturing and disciplining roles of grandparents, aunts and uncles are felt by a smaller portion of children.
4. The network of mothers who kept an eye on one another's children in a tight knit community is likewise weakening.
5. The competitive demands of a variety of community and school activities weaken family activities and togetherness.
6. Current attempts to redefine the family by treaty or law to include everyone who has keys to the same house threaten to dilute the legal concept of family beyond the point where it merits special protection."
"The family unit is fundamental not only to society and to the church but to our hope for eternal life."
Dallin H. Oaks ("Why We must Act to Preserve the Families of the World," World Family Policy Forum, Jan 1999)
"I am grateful that some watchmen on the tower have alerted us to enemies and conditions that threaten to undermine the family, which is the foundation of societies and nations in every part of the world. Ironically, some of these enemies are working through the United Nations and using its stature and authority on the world stage to pursue anti family efforts that must be of concern to all of us."
Ezra Taft Benson (An Enemy Hath Done This, p. 201)
"After many years of observing the U.N. in operation, after carefully researching the less publicized aspects of this organization, and after a great deal of soul-searching, I reluctantly have been forced to the conclusion that the U.N.'s potential for evil far outweighs its potential for good."
Family Action Council International (FACI: An Introduction)
"The mission of Family Action Council International is to promote measures designed to maintain and strengthen family as the fundamental unit of society."
"At the conference, attendees heard presentations from a wide variety of social workers, sociologist, political leaders, humanitarians, religious leaders, and other scholars-all concerned for the future of family in their respective nations and throughout the world.
"In addition to hearing these timely and eternal truths about the family, those in attendance also learned of the war being waged by organizations at the United Nations to persuade that body to adopt international policies, programs, and treaties to promote, among other things,
*abortion-in particular, state funded abortions, even in those countries where it is now legal, and including abortions for minors with out parental interference.
*Recognition of same-sex unions, to include the ' reproductive right' to artificial insemination for lesbian couples.
*the decriminalization of prostitution, to include government-funded medical and retirement benefits for what advocates now call workers in the sex trade; and
*mandatory quotas for the percentage of women working in government (50% of all civilian positions in national, state, and local governments to be women; 35% of all military positions).
"...in 1946, at the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women...(it was) proclaimed that the concept of the traditional family should be replaced by a new social model, one in which women would stand by men "as comrades" and children would become the responsibility of the state. ..(It) advocated loosening anti-abortion laws, making contraception readily available, including sex education as part of the regular school curriculum, enforcing population limits, and eliminating the legal distinctions between married and unmarried adults."
"Perhaps the most significant anti-family policy to date is the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women...The U.N. established a committee that regularly reviews the extent to which governments are implementing the terms of the convention. While some of the CEDAW's Goals are sound (such as securing a woman's right to vote and freedom from employment discrimination), its primary focus is the reconstruction of sex roles or,...gender mainstreaming."
Dallin H. Oaks, ("Why We Must Act to Preserve the Families of the World," World Family Policy Forum, Jan 1999)
"Threats to the Family"
"As Church leaders we have observed many worldwide trends and conditions that threaten the traditional family.."
1. As a result of increase in divorce and separation, the traditional two parent family is decreasing as the setting within which most children are raised.
2. Increasing numbers of women are working outside of the home and devoting less attention to their responsibilities as mothers.
3. As more and more people travel great distances to enjoy flexibility in where they reside, extended families are scattered and the nurturing and disciplining roles of grandparents, aunts and uncles are felt by a smaller portion of children.
4. The network of mothers who kept an eye on one another's children in a tight knit community is likewise weakening.
5. The competitive demands of a variety of community and school activities weaken family activities and togetherness.
6. Current attempts to redefine the family by treaty or law to include everyone who has keys to the same house threaten to dilute the legal concept of family beyond the point where it merits special protection."
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Must go to Education Class!
From our friends at latterdayconservative.com.....I definitely want to go! It looks like it is going to be a very insightful class! Be sure to read the quote on Education at the bottom.
Enjoy!
Kylie
Upcoming Event:
From my friends in Highland, UT...
If you have any school age children or grandchildren you might want to plan to come to our monthly Highland Wake Up meeting next Friday evening
Highland Special Event: Friday, February 3rd @ 7:00 pm
Guest Speaker Wendy Hart.
Location: Old Highland City
Our guest will be Wendy Hart who is currently serving on the Alpine School District Board, here in northern Utah County. She will be speaking on the good, the bad, and the ugly of Common Core and the take over of public education. She will show how once implemented, there will no longer be "local control of education" by parents and locally elected individuals. You're right. The Constitution does not say a word about Federal or global involvement in education. Well, think about it. When has that ever stopped them before?
You thought "No Child Left Behind" was bad? You ain't seen nothing yet. This is "No Child Left Behind" on steroids! And it has been planned and incrementally implemented for decades as Charlotte Iserbyt described in her best selling book The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America. It is a great read. This is just one of the final nails in the coffin.
Wendy is in a unique position in the belly of the beast and will give you a insiders perspective of what is really going on in so called public education. This is not just a Washington thing, or a California thing, or something down the road in 20 years. This is already upon us here in Utah.
Think your kids are safe because they are in a Charter school, a private school or even Home School? Guess again. Wendy will show you how the tentacles of this new invasive and pervasive super grab may be able to reach all the way into your little Johnny's home school program. All in the name of government money. Surprise America! Surprise Utah! The net is tightening. Here are two short clips as an intro:
Come early to guarantee your seat. We hope to see you there. Feel free to pass this on.
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Ezra Taft Benson on the Danger of False Educational IdeasAs a watchman on the tower, I feel to warn you that one of the chief means of misleading our youth and destroying the family unit is our educational institutions. President Joseph F. Smith referred to false educational ideas as one of the three threatening dangers among our Church members. There is more than one reason why the Church is advising our youth to attend colleges close to their homes where institutes of religion are available. It gives the parents the opportunity to stay close to their children; and if they have become alert and informed as President McKay admonished us last year, these parents can help expose some of the deceptions of men like Sigmund Freud, Charles Darwin, John Dewey, Karl Marx, John Keynes, and others.Today there are much worse things that can happen to a child than not getting a full college education. In fact, some of the worst things have happened to our children while attending colleges led by administrators who wink at subversion and amorality. Said Karl G. Maeser, “I would rather have my child exposed to smallpox, typhus fever, cholera, or other malignant and deadly diseases than to the degrading influence of a corrupt teacher. It is infinitely better to take chances with an ignorant, but pure-minded teacher than with the greatest philosopher who is impure.” Vocational education, correspondence courses, establishment in a family business are being considered for their children by an increasing number of parents. (Source: Ezra Taft Benson, General conference address, October 1970) |
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