After reading The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World by A. J. Jacobs,who took on the daunting task of reading the Encyclopaedia Britannica from A to Z. I took on a challenge of my own: to read all of the Ensigns available online. And thus, this blog began.
For more info about this challenge and for a review of the above book see my first post.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
My First Bite
I went online to Lds.org today to access my first conference address. I found that the actual conference talks were only available without extra digging from 1997 . That wasn’t far enough! I had been thinking of going back at least to that ancient date of April of 1967 which would have been the first conference for which I was alive.
So then I decided to try looking in the Ensigns and found I could go back further-to 1971. Not quite as far as I had hoped but a sufficient beginning. After all, in April of 1971 I would have only been 4. I clicked on the May issue but it didn’t appear to be a summary of conference. Hmmm…. I decided to tackle all of the Ensigns instead and I have already benefited.
The first article entitled: “Message from the First Presidency” (then President Joseph Fielding Smith, his First Counselor President, Harold B. Lee, and his Second Counselor, President N. Eldon Tanner) informed me that this was actually the very first issue of the Ensign! Wow! I didn’t know that. President Smith was excited about this new and “rare opportunity to reach members of the Church.” He estimated that it would be received by nearly 350,000 families. I wonder how many families now access lds.org?
President Smith reminded us of “just how important the family unit is in the overall plan of our Father in heaven. …the Church…exists to assist the family and its members in reaching exaltation.”
Surprisingly enough his message sounded very familiar. He said, “…the adversary has turned much of his attention to the destruction of families in our society.” And so it has become “critical for Latter-day Saint parents to maintain and strengthen the family.”
“He asked if we spend as much time making our families and home successful as we do in pursuing social and professional success. “Are you devoting your best creative energy to the most important unit in society- the family? Or is your relationship with your family merely a routine, unrewarding part of life? Parent and child must be willing to put family responsibilities first in order to achieve family exaltation.”
This is a wakeup call! I often find myself just going through the motions of being a mom with very little creative energy being devoted.
He warned that parents who ignore Family Home Evening are “gambling with the future of their children.” I know not to gamble!
He told me that I will benefit greatly from my quest to read all of the Ensigns!! Cool I have the endorsement of a prophet! Not exactly in those words but this is what he did say: “The Ensign… is another effort on the part of the Church to help individuals and families stay closer to the Lord. This magazine can be a great influence for good IF YOU WILL READ IT.” ( I added the emphasis.) And that is what I am setting out to do! No more mere gathering of and displaying the Ensign! I am going to feast upon it!
In the same message President Harold B. Lee told us to “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesisans 6:11-12)
Hey I’ve heard this before! How relevant!
I know this is a long post, but there is the message of one more member of the First Presidency to consider. And after all, it is the Word of God! So we really shouldn’t complain about more.
President N. Eldon Tanner said, “The most important thing that Jesus Christ taught when he was on earth is that we must love one another. He told us that “love is of God” and commanded us to love one another.” (1 John 4:7)
Thus I make a mental note, since I easily forget things these days. If I forget all else, don’t forget to Love! Love is the most important thing to remember!
However I have observed and experienced personally that loving is not always easy. But we should just keep trying to love. President Tanner said," we learn to love by loving. We need to express our love to those around us by telling them everyday that we do love them.... it is even more important to show people that we love them than it is just to say "I love you." Where else is a better place to practice love than in the home with our families? President Tanner taught that if we are "kind and thoughtful and courteous, then ...our home can become a little piece of heaven." Who wouldn't want that?
And so I see I have a lot I can work on in this little message given 37 years ago. Now I am going to apply a little of what I have learned and show Cami I love her by playing catch with her.
So then I decided to try looking in the Ensigns and found I could go back further-to 1971. Not quite as far as I had hoped but a sufficient beginning. After all, in April of 1971 I would have only been 4. I clicked on the May issue but it didn’t appear to be a summary of conference. Hmmm…. I decided to tackle all of the Ensigns instead and I have already benefited.
The first article entitled: “Message from the First Presidency” (then President Joseph Fielding Smith, his First Counselor President, Harold B. Lee, and his Second Counselor, President N. Eldon Tanner) informed me that this was actually the very first issue of the Ensign! Wow! I didn’t know that. President Smith was excited about this new and “rare opportunity to reach members of the Church.” He estimated that it would be received by nearly 350,000 families. I wonder how many families now access lds.org?
President Smith reminded us of “just how important the family unit is in the overall plan of our Father in heaven. …the Church…exists to assist the family and its members in reaching exaltation.”
Surprisingly enough his message sounded very familiar. He said, “…the adversary has turned much of his attention to the destruction of families in our society.” And so it has become “critical for Latter-day Saint parents to maintain and strengthen the family.”
“He asked if we spend as much time making our families and home successful as we do in pursuing social and professional success. “Are you devoting your best creative energy to the most important unit in society- the family? Or is your relationship with your family merely a routine, unrewarding part of life? Parent and child must be willing to put family responsibilities first in order to achieve family exaltation.”
This is a wakeup call! I often find myself just going through the motions of being a mom with very little creative energy being devoted.
He warned that parents who ignore Family Home Evening are “gambling with the future of their children.” I know not to gamble!
He told me that I will benefit greatly from my quest to read all of the Ensigns!! Cool I have the endorsement of a prophet! Not exactly in those words but this is what he did say: “The Ensign… is another effort on the part of the Church to help individuals and families stay closer to the Lord. This magazine can be a great influence for good IF YOU WILL READ IT.” ( I added the emphasis.) And that is what I am setting out to do! No more mere gathering of and displaying the Ensign! I am going to feast upon it!
In the same message President Harold B. Lee told us to “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesisans 6:11-12)
Hey I’ve heard this before! How relevant!
I know this is a long post, but there is the message of one more member of the First Presidency to consider. And after all, it is the Word of God! So we really shouldn’t complain about more.
President N. Eldon Tanner said, “The most important thing that Jesus Christ taught when he was on earth is that we must love one another. He told us that “love is of God” and commanded us to love one another.” (1 John 4:7)
Thus I make a mental note, since I easily forget things these days. If I forget all else, don’t forget to Love! Love is the most important thing to remember!
However I have observed and experienced personally that loving is not always easy. But we should just keep trying to love. President Tanner said," we learn to love by loving. We need to express our love to those around us by telling them everyday that we do love them.... it is even more important to show people that we love them than it is just to say "I love you." Where else is a better place to practice love than in the home with our families? President Tanner taught that if we are "kind and thoughtful and courteous, then ...our home can become a little piece of heaven." Who wouldn't want that?
And so I see I have a lot I can work on in this little message given 37 years ago. Now I am going to apply a little of what I have learned and show Cami I love her by playing catch with her.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment