After the Manner of the Lord

Dan had to give the 5th Sunday lesson in churh on Nov. 29. It just so happened that it was the day of our Homecoming and Farewell so I was home feeding a house full of people and didn't get to hear him. Danielle had helped him create a nice handout and develop his subject of developing strong families and marriages. She shared a scripture reference that she had pondered while on her misison found in the first verses of Mosiah 18:

1 And it came to pass that they did worship the Lord, and did go forth with me; and we did work timbers of curious workmanship. And the Lord did show me from time to time after what manner I should work the timbers of the ship.
2 Now I, Nephi, did not work the timbers after the manner which was learned by men, neither did I build the ship after the manner of men; but I did build it after the manner which the Lord had shown unto me; wherefore, it was not after the manner of men.
3 And I, Nephi, did go into the mount oft, and I did pray oft unto the Lord; wherefore the Lord showed unto me great things.
4 And it came to pass that after I had finished the ship, according to the word of the Lord, my brethren beheld that it was good, and that the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine; wherefore, they did humble themselves again before the Lord.

He made the connection that in raising our families we should not do it after the manner of men, but after the manner that the Lord has shown us. How do we get those blue prints of parenting? By following the words of the prophets and His word in His holy scriptures.

We are often asked how we have raised such great kids. I believe that the best answer I can give is that we have tried to raise them after the manner of God, not following the ways of the world. We are far from perfect, but we have a strong testimony that if we follow the commandments and promises of the Lord and his mouthpieces upon this latter-day earth, we will be blessed.

Some of our "secrets to raising great kids":

1. Hold daily family prayer
2. Read the scriptures daily as a family and individually
3. Hold regular Family Home Evening
4. Eat dinner as a family every night gathered around the table
5. Get all the education that you can
6. Exercise
7. Serve others
8. Learn from the mistakes of others so you don't have to go through the pain and suffering yourself
9. Go to church and worship every Sunday
10. Attend the temple often
11. Cherish your family roots and history

A few other things that we have done as parents that are different from the ways of men:

We do not have cable TV and watch very little TV (basically just the news occasionally).
We have never owned a gaming system for the TV.
We very seldom go out to the movies because we usually find questionable material.
If we watch movies at home, we do it as a family event.

So what do we do with our time instead? See numbers 1-11 above!

Consider on the blessed and happy...

I went for an early morning walk around my neighborhood and was pondering the fact that my daughter had just returned from a successful 18 month mission and that my son was preparing to depart on a two year mission and I felt extremely happy and blessed and tears rolled down my eyes. I kept thinking of the words of a scripture "Consider on the blessed and happy state". I couldn't recall how the rest of the scripture went, but I felt such peace as I considered how blessed and happy I was right then at that very moment! Life is good.

Later, I shared that thought with my family at family prayer time and and started to recite it and both Justin and Lindsey our returned missionaries piped right up and finished quoting the scripture and its reference:
Mosiah 2: 41

41 And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.

I am grateful that my children have chosen to keep the commandments. I, in no way, feel so qualified but the blessings promised in this verse are amazing. It certainly makes me want to try a little harder to be a little better. Knowing what great joy that I feel in this moment it makes me desire to have the promised blessing to "dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness!"

Consider...

So Blessed

In church on Sunday, Dan was conducting in sacrament meeting and was announcing the upcoming ward temple night. He remarked that Dawson would be receiving his own endowment at the next ward temple night and that our daughter, Lindsey, will have just returned from her mission the day before and would be with us. As he said these words I became over come with emotion and gratitude for my family. So blessed to have one child returning and one preparing to serve the Lord! I teared up as I felt the Love of the Lord envelope me with gratitude and joy! Sydne Davies remarked to me later that day that she experienced that same feeling of happiness when Dan spoke those words. She has a daughter serving in Canada as well.

I had told someone that I was glad that we get one month off in December from paying our $400. mission payment. When I considered that later, I realized that it was a priveledge to have a missionary serving and that $400. monthy payment is a small price to pay for the blessings that come from having a missionary serving the Lord.

With Andrew planning a mission in the future (he is age 15), it is joy to parents to have all four children choose to serve the Lord as missionaries.

Danielle Washington DC North and temple visitor center
Lindsey Vancouver Canada
Dawson San Jose California Spanish speaking
Andrew ?

Apryl Flake Troyer Youth Missionary Story

Apryl,I did not know about your father's passing. Jim told me about your father's illness when we saw each other at Lois Wheeler's funeral, but I had no idea his time to cross the veil would come so soon. I sent your parents a Christmas card last December and your mother wrote back at that time. Please give her my love and best wishes next time you see her. I really thought a lot of your folks, and your father probably taught me as much or more of the gospel as anybody did, including the General Authorities who wrote books that I read.Tell Art I'm jealous that he gets to teach seminary full-time, but it's a good jealous and I'm glad for him.I plan to catch up more later, but for now I'll let you know our address:Ken & Martha Hurst1256 Norman DrLeeds, AL 35094(205) 699-3731We don't travel much, but if we're ever within half a day's drive of you, we'll certainly try to see you guys.Love and thanks,Ken H.---------- Original Message ----------From: Apryl Troyer <ateam8@yahoo.com>To: "kenwhurst@juno.com" <kenwhurst@juno.com>Subject: Re: New Era submissionDate: Tue, 25 Aug 2009 19:20:01 -0700 (PDT)Ken. . .that is really a neat story, I never knew your side of it. It was so good to hear from you and to learn life has treated you well. Good ole Northwest High wasn't one of my favorite memories but there were some cool things about it. Sounds like you have a neat family and an awesome testimony. I forgot where you said you were living now. We're in St. George Utah, Art teaches Seminary and loves it, I got a Real Estate license at a very bad time to start selling houses. All our crazy kids are grown and married, one of our sons is my Broker so that's kind of fun. My dad passed away in January this year and we have mom out here living next to the Temple where she serves. If you're ever in Utah come visit; winter is the best time, as it sure gets hot here in the summer. Thanks again for sharing your story. Take CareApryl________________________________From: "kenwhurst@juno.com" kenwhurst@juno.comTo: ateam8@yahoo.comSent: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 5:59:35 PMSubject: New Era submissionDear Art & Apryl,Here is the text of what I sent to the New Era. (What they print is another matter, of course. I sent a page and a half to the Ensign once, and they accepted 2 hugely edited paragraphs of it.)I plan to send you guys a second e-mail in the near future to catch up on what's gone on since we last saw each other -- when was that? Was that the time we went to SLC together to see President Carter get an award from President Kimball? Gosh, that was 30 years ago!Ken HurstHere's the article text:An Example, An Invitation, and the Book of Mormon “So what do Mormons believe?” Dale asked Apryl. “Do you believe in the Bible?” “Yes,” Apryl answered, “we believe in the Bible and in the Book of Mormon.” What in the world, I wondered, was the Book of Mormon? This was during study hall my junior year of high school. Those of us who took driver's education together during the first semester stayed together at study hall the during same period the second semester. Apryl's family moved into our Tennessee community shortly after second semester began, and Apryl was assigned to our study hall. We driver's education alumni decided to sit at the same table she was sitting at, and quickly absorbed her into our group. There was something different about Apryl, and it was a good difference. We eventually discovered she was Mormon. When Dale asked about believing the Bible and Apryl answered about believing the Bible and the Book of Mormon, I was too shy to ask what the Book of Mormon was. I expected someone else in the group to ask for me, but no one did. A few days later Apryl brought a paperback copy of the Book of Mormon to school with her so that she could mark selected passages for the missionaries. “Wonderful!” I thought. “Now I'll get a chance to learn about this thing.” However, that was the moment a teacher approached me with an errand to to for him. By the time I returned, study hall had ended and lunch had begun. I got my lunch tray and sat down at a vacant table -- vacant except for Apryl's books in a small stack. On top of the stack was the missionary Book of Mormon. I reached over and picked it up. “I'm looking at your book,” I told Apryl when she arrived a few minutes later with her lunch tray. “Okay,” she said, looking a little surprised. School lunch periods are not very long, and I did not get to see much of what was inside the book. I did manage to read the section titled “Origin of the Book of Mormon,” which told of the visitation of the angel Moroni to Joseph Smith, and the translation of the gold Book of Mormon plates. I was fascinated. I believed in God, but I also I considered myself a science-oriented type of person, and I normally would not give much credence to modern angel tales. What I read, however, had a ring of truth to it. It really could have happened. And if it did, then – what? It stirred my soul to think about it. Lunch period ended all too soon. I returned Apryl's book to her and went to my next class. I was excited about the possibilities presented by the Book of Mormon's existence, but I was still too shy to talk to her about it. A few weeks later I was working on homework during study hall. Apryl suddenly appeared beside me, an unusually serious look on her face. “Are you really interested in learning about my religion?” she asked me. I was, and I told her so. “There's going to be a special meeting this Friday that's for people who want to learn about our church,” she said. “I'm taking some of my friends. My father's driving. I wondered if you might want to go.” The special meeting was a presentation by the president of the Kentucky-Tennessee Mission describing the basic teachings of the church. Some issues he raised, such as what happens to infants who die unbaptized, were things I had wondered about before. Others, such as eternal marriage, were completely new to me. All of what he said made seemed to make good sense. I began taking the missionary lessons. On the one hand, what I learned was easy to believe. The apostasy, the need for a restoration of the gospel, and the way the restoration was carried out were all logical. The doctrines felt true, and were consistent with my understanding of the Bible. On the other hand, I was not instantly converted. I was reluctant to make any commitments. It took weeks and months of pondering and study before I was ready to consider leaving my protestant heritage and officially joining The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It wasn't until after fasting and prayer that I received my testimony and was baptized into the church. Since that time I have served a mission, married in the temple, and served in a variety of callings. For years I have told people that I was brought into the church by a member who was both a good example and who also had the courage to open her mouth and invite me to church. But I see now that there was a third factor: the Book of Mormon. Would I have accepted Apryl's invitation had I not peeked inside her Book of Mormon? I don't know. What I do know is that the story of its divine origin made me want to know if it was really true. When the Lord confirmed the truthfulness of it to me, I knew that I could trust what was written in the Book of Mormon to be the words of the Lord every bit as much as the words in the Bible were, and that they would show me all things that I should do (see 2 Nephi 32:3.) My life is very different from what it would have been had I not embraced the restored gospel, and it's a good difference.

School of Life

The School of Life: Learn to school your toughtest opponent.
I have been using this program in my teacher adisory class at Millcreek High School for several years. It is great, simple advice for all ages. Attached is a news clip about the program featuring myself and several of my colleages commenting abaout the program.

http://www.kcsg.com/news/local/35781284.html?video=YHI&t=a

Tender Mercies from the Lord

I just received this email from a former student that I had taught last year. I had filled out a referral card with her name on it and given it to the sister missionaries that I had been working with earlier this summer. The timing turned out to be just right as I had forgotten to give it to them a few times. The Lord knows and loves Jamie and her young son Raymond. As I read this email to my family, I choked up and was overcome with the love and tender mercy of the Lord.

hey mys flake its me jamie brinkerhoff.
you might want to sit down for this cause i have some wierd news to tell u that u might be shocked about.
well i got a call from the st george temple 2nite (june 25, 2009) they called and told me u went there and that u thought about me the whole time u were there. well this might sound wierd to you but tuesday night (june 23, 2009) i talked to my parents about wanting to go back to church and going through the temple. so thanx for telling them to call me and getting me signed up for the missionaries. it means alot to me that u did that so thanx. i think this can help me reach my goal.sincerely jamie brinkerhoff :) thanx again love ya

On Becoming a Mother for the First Time

As I anticipate the birth of my first grandchild, I reflect on my experience of giving birth to Danielle on March 28, 1984. (Dan and I were married on July 28, 1982. I was 21 years old when I got married and 23 years old at the time of her birth. This worked well for us.) The following is what I recorded in my journal after her birth.

“What a beautiful baby! Boy, you sure had a lot of hair, real dark. I kind of knew from the start, that you would be a girl. I even bought your blessing dress before you were born. (Ultra sounds were not common then.)

The day we’d been anticipating for so long, finally arrived. I had a real easy pregnancy—a few bad headaches and a little nausea but nothing compared to a lot of women. I didn’t get real big and people always commented about that. You were a real mover. I told people you’d be a good dancer. I loved it.

When you were born, it was hard to imagine that you had actually been what had been making me fat. How did you ever survive in there and that exhilarating delivery?
No words can describe a mother’s feelings when she gives birth to a living child. It is so special. I feel excited for the next one.

I tried to nurse you for a month, but you weren’t gaining weight like you should have, so we put you on formula. You were a very good baby. You didn’t sleep through the night very good, but Daddy was always really good to take turns getting up with you. We are always so proud of you. I like to take you with me just because I can show you off. I am so glad that you are really pretty. I guess parents always worry about that!”

I’ll try and find what I wrote after each of the other children was born…Good luck Steve and Danielle. You will be great parents!