OUR FAMILY: Monday, July 2nd, 2018

Atlanta, Georgia

21st operating temple

Dedication: 1-4 June 1983

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Creator

DC 14:9

Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, who created the heavens and the earth, a light which cannot be hid in darkness;

Book of Mormon

Alma 26:1-16

* How is it a blessing to be an instrument in the hands of God?

- Because we literally have the opportunity to do the things He would do if he were here.

*"Who can glory too much in the Lord?" (Alma 26:15-16)

Just as Ammon felt to glory in the Lord and to sing His praises, so should we. Sister Sheri L. Dew, while serving as a counselor in the Relief Society general presidency, taught us concerning the role Jesus Christ plays in our daily lives:

"Is it possible to be happy when life is hard? To feel peace amid uncertainty and hope in the midst of cynicism? Is it possible to change, to shake off old habits and become new again? Is it possible to live with integrity and purity in a world that no longer values the virtues that distinguish the followers of Christ? Yes. The answer is yes because of Jesus Christ, whose Atonement ensures that we need not bear the burdens of mortality alone. Through the years I, like you, have experienced pressures and disappointments that would have crushed me had I not been able to draw upon a source of wisdom and strength far greater than my own. He has never forgotten or forsaken me, and I have come to know for myself that Jesus is the Christ and that this is His Church. With Ammon I say, 'For who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of His great power, and of His mercy...? Behold,...I cannot say the smallest part which I feel' (Alma 26:16). I testify that in this, the twilight of the dispensation of the fullness of times, when Lucifer is working overtime to jeopardize our journey home and to separate us from the Savior's atoning power, the only answer for any of us is Jesus Christ (Ensign, May 1999, 67).

Old Testament

1 Chronicles 25-26

25 The Levite singers and musicians are assigned their duties by lot.

26 The Levites are assigned as porters - They have charge of the treasures, serve as officers and judges, and conduct the outward business pertaining to the Israelites.

General Conference

Am I a Child of God?

Elder Brian K. Taylor

"Brothers and sisters, how can each of us experience the power of understanding our divine identity? It begins by seeking to know God, our Father. President Russell M. Nelson testified, 'Something powerful happens when a child of God seeks to know more about Him and His Beloved Son."

FHE:

Even as Christ Forgives You, So Also Do Ye

Elder Larry J. Echo Hawk

"I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men."

July Ensign: "Knowing Who You Are-and Who You Have Always Been," Sister Sheri L. Dew; "My Conference Notebook: April 2018 General Conference."

Jesus Is the Christ, the Expected Messiah

Jesus is the Son of God. He was born of a mortal mother and an immortal father. He made an infinite atonement for man's sins.

He was resurrected, thus opening the doors of immortality and eternal life for all mankind. Jesus is the only individual who ever lived to have the details of his birth, life, mission, death, and resurrection spelled out in public documents centuries before.

Who could have written the life of any great man before it happened? Nothing but divine foreknowledge and power could have revealed the life of Jesus in such detail and then brought it to pass. No man could have done this. It was God's way of placing his divine stamp on the life and work of his Only Begotten Son, a means for letting all mankind know that Jesus was the promised Messiah, the hope and desire of the ages. President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., said:

"We of our faith know that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ. This is our knowledge. We must proclaim it at all times and under all circumstances. . . .

"So as I conceive it, we must stand adamant for the doctrine of the atonement of Jesus the Christ, for the divinity of his conception, for his sinless life, and for, shall I say, the divinity of his death, his voluntary surrender of life. He was not killed; he gave up his life . . . .

"It is our mission, perhaps the most fundamental purpose of our work, to bear constant testimony of Jesus the Christ. We must never permit to enter into our thoughts and certainly not into our teachings, the idea that he was merely a great teacher, a great philosopher, the builder of a great system of ethics. It is our duty, day after day, year in and year out, always to declare that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ who brought redemption to the world and to all the inhabitants thereof." (In Conference Report, October 1955, pp. 22-24).

I miss James. It's lonely here, so I turn on the TV.

I was glad that when I texted Jared this morning I found out that he has his kids for the 4th of July!

I have a comment to make regarding someone we were asked to pray for yesterday at sacrament meeting. He is not in our stake but is a temple worker. His name is Loran DeWitt. When I went to the Show Low stake center in December to see Elders Bednar, Cornish, and Heyman, I sat by LeRoy DeWitt's daughter, Loran's niece.

Loran had an accident back then which she told me about and he is still not recovered after six months. I have fond memories of Loran. As a teenager he was my Sunday School teacher. He made learning fun and I remember he took us to other churches to see how they worshipped. I remember going to St. Rita's Catholic church in Show Low and was so surprised that part of the service was in Latin. The priest said something we didn't understand and then everyone knelt on the kneeling boards in front of them. We weren't sure what we were supposed to do. Also, the sacrament was only taken by those who felt like getting in line and waiting for the priest to place the wafer under their tongue.

Sheri texted today and said: "Salt Lake called our stake President about Ben's application because we wrote that he sleep walks. I had to give David more information, so probably no mission call this week." I asked if his doctor couldn't prescribe something to help him. She said yes but he hasn't done it for awhile so there has been no need. Also he has never tried to leave the house or harm anyone, so that's good.

A quote by President Harold B. Lee in President Eyring's book:

"If you want personal revelation you must study and do your homework."

Had my own FHE, did my steps, and then watched some TV before going to bed by myself.