Quote

On Sunday, I got the special honor of attending Relief Society for the first time in a long time.  (If you are not a member of the church that I belong to, click here if you would like to learn more about what I am talking about.)  I am in charge of the Primary (the children) and so I usually have to miss out on Relief Society.  Anyways, this past Sunday I did receive the honor of attending Relief Society because it was our Visiting Teaching Conference.  I loved this conference and it really helped me with certain aspects that I have always had a hard time with.
One of the quotations from this conference was from Julie B Beck of the General Relief Society Presidency who was talking about what she learned from Sister Camilla Kimball, and it says this: "Never suppress a generous thought".  When I heard this quoted at my Visiting Teaching conference it reminded me that over the years, I have always had this thought with me in some form or another.  It is a motto that I have tried to live my life by.
When Otto and I were living in the Married Student Housing at the University, we were so lucky to have 5 other families from our ward living in the same courtyard as us.  Because of this, we were all in daily contact with each other and I would spend hours outside in the courtyard with the other wives and our little children, talking about our days and visiting.  It was a really fun time in our marriage!  Otto and I had some friends that we knew fairly well, but not extremely well who lived directly across from us and they had a son who was a little bit older than Abby.  The wife and I were pregnant at the same time and we had our second babies 4 weeks apart.  Having 2 children within a year of each other is REALLY hard, (but worth it later on) and I knew this because I would spend most of my days that first month crying all day long. 
After Jen had her baby neither of us went outside very much because I think we were both a tad overwhelmed.  There was one day that changed my life forever.  It is a day I will never forget.  I was having a pretty good day and I hadn't cried very much that day and so I was feeling pretty good about myself.  However, I kept on getting this really strong feeling that I should go over to Jen's place and see if she would like for me to take her older son for awhile.  I quickly rationalized this feeling away because I was pretty sure that I would end up overwhelmed and crying, and I didn't really know Jen all that well, and I had a new baby too, etc. . . .   The feeling never went away though.
That night, her husband stopped by (I can't remember why he did) and I asked him how his wife was doing.  He looked really sad and said that she had had the worst day ever and that she was feeling really overwhelmed and was really upset.  He also said that he had had to leave school early just to be with her to calm her down.   I FELT TERRIBLE!  I KNEW that I should have listened to that feeling.  It just wouldn't go away.  Ever since that day I have tried to follow all strong impressions when I feel them.
This brings me back to the quotation that I mentioned earlier.  We always hear that when we do good things for others, we receive blessings in return.  I have learned, from experience, that this is the case.  However, I have also learned that you don't always feel a warm fuzzy feeling inside, and you don't always get the thanks you deserve;  sometimes it even backfires on you and people get really angry.  However, you do get blessed.  The blessings may come in different shapes and forms than you would expect, but they do come! 
Service is an attitude.  I have learned that from my Grandma Bennion.  She is the ultimate example of service to me.  When I think about service I see her face.  Grandma Bennion taught me through example how to serve.  When a friend of yours has a death in the family, don't call them and see what you can do to help, go over there, listen to them and just do things.  Randomly show up and steal their kids for a few hours, bring them muffins and other snack foods for them to put out because they usually have to host families, attend the funeral service so that you can be there for your friend.  Do things that YOU would like to have done for you if that ever happens and never tell them to ASK you for help because it won't happen.  I can't even begin to tell you how many times people have done things for me when I have been in my weakest moments and it has completely changed my outlook on life and has given me the strength to go on.
So, learn from Sister Camilla Kimball and "Never supress a generous thought."  It WILL pay off.  I promise!

Religion in schools?

So I was reading Mandy's blog and it really got me thinking. She was talking about how she was considering home schooling her son because of a book that she is reading called "The Thomas Jefferson Education". I have not personally read this book, and so I cannot make direct comments on said book, however she wrote about something that I think is an issue that many people take offense to, which I see as not a problem.
The issue is of the topic of religion in schools. From Mandy's point of view she believes that "they" (I believe that she means the school board) are taking taking God out of schools altogether and not allowing kids to make the choice. I want to quote the next part of her blog directly because I want to make sure that you understand her point of view before I comment on it. It reads:

I think the people who are so worried about this (not allowing the teaching of God in schools) are most likely people who have no strong religious affiliation and are concerned that their child will be easily influenced to believe something else. Why should that matter? We live in a country where we are supposed to be able to worship freely, right? So how does controlling the topic of religion allow that freedom to citizens of the country?

I can see and understand her point of view. I have heard it many times. I also know that Mandy reads this blog and I want her to know that I respect her for her opinion and that I am so glad that she has it. I am hoping that maybe I can offer a slightly different perspective on this whole topic because I believe that hearing different opinions actually helps us in the development of our own beliefs.
Before I tell you what I think, I want you to know where I am coming from because that, obviously, influences my point of view. I have a very strong testimony of what I believe to be true. I am an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and I do have 5 living children. 3 of my children do attend school, and it is a Spanish school. I live in a city (as opposed to a small town) and I am really involved in my children's school because I believe that I should know what my children are doing all day and who they are spending their time with.
I can understand that people think that they are taking "God" out of the schools, but I don't really believe that they are. People are upset that they don't call "Christmas Break" by that name anymore and now it is merely "Winter Break". But, can you understand it from someone else's point of view? This isn't an issue in our school because our school is big on immersing the children in the Latino culture and so we celebrate Christmas as part of the curriculum. I LOVE it because I happen to be a HUGE fan of Christmas, and my children even learn about why we celebrate the birth of Christ. The catholic religion is HUGE among Latino cultures and so we also learn about Lent and Dios de los Muertos (day of the dead). I, personally, am not Catholic, but I don't mind that my children are learning about those religious holidays because I make sure that I teach them at home and at our church meetings about OUR religion.
I know that our school is the exception and not the rule, however I also want to make it known that I do encourage my children to learn about other religions and cultures. I believe that by learning about them, it can increase their faith in their own religion. I have always been curious to learn about other religions and it has not taken away (in fact it has added) to my own beliefs in my own religion. I believe that the school board is trying to look at the topic of religion as an all-inclusive option rather than "forcing all children to learn about one religion". I can understand why the schools acknowledge Kwanzaa and Hanukkah and Ramadan. Can you imagine moving into a country where you are told you have the freedom to worship the way you believe but then your child is forced to acknowledge a type of "God" that you don't believe in? I know that I would not appreciate it if my child couldn't worship the way that we believed if we moved into another country. I believe that the school board is trying to do what our country claims we believe in and that is to have a freedom to worship as we see fit.
We do have an article of faith in our church that does go along with that and it says that "We claim the privilege to worship the Almighty God, according to the dictates of our own conscience; and allow all men the same privilege. Let them worship how, where or what they may." I am a big believer in this. I don't believe that it is my right to take away another person's freedom to worship how they see fit. I don't think that my children are losing their convictions if they can't learn about God in the schools.
I believe that it is my right and responsibility to teach them at home what we believe and then to help them understand that it is okay to believe something different from someone else. I believe that we do have the amazing right to be proud of what we believe and to be able to talk about it freely with others. The schools have not banned the discussion of religion in the schools, they have simply tried to include the many different religions from the different ethnic backgrounds of the children in their schools. We can look at it from two opposite sides. We can take the stand that our right to worship our God in schools has been taken away, or we can look at it as an opportunity to stand as an example of our faith and learn about other religions and cultures. I believe that this is an amazing opportunity, and one that we should take advantage of.
I am a descendant of Pioneers. I have been to Nauvoo and to Missouri where my ancestors were persecuted. How I wish that they were shown the same compassion and courtesy that we are now able to show to other immigrants and people of different religious backgrounds. I am always saddened that my ancestors had to fight so hard in order to worship as they wanted, free from persecution. I would like to think that the right of religious freedom is something that they fought hard for and because of it they have blessed the lives of millions of people.
So, please don't take offense at this post. I know that it is a sensitive topic and that people can easily internalize this. I am no scholar, I am just a mom. I love the hope, peace, joy and comfort that my religion brings to me and I believe that other people should also have the right to have those same feelings. I do not believe that by not being taught about God in school my children are losing a piece of themselves. I just believe that it gives them more opportunities to learn about acceptance and it opens the door to a better understanding of other religions. I also believe that it puts a greater responsibility on myself to teach them about our religion and all that it encompasses.
I would love to hear your thoughts. I won't get offended if they are different from my own. I love to hear different opinions as I mentioned at the beginning of this post.

Interesting

Last night and Monday night, I watched a documentary that PBS did called "The Mormons". It was interesting. I think that the creators of the documentary tried to be as unbiased as they could and there were some great things on there, and there were some things that I didn't agree with. I probably wouldn't watch it again, but I am glad that I did watch it the first time. There were some things said about Joseph Smith that I didn't like hearing. It made me sit back and reflect on my own testimony of Joseph Smith. I am so glad that my family did the church history tour a couple of years ago because the feelings that I experienced there when I learned about Joseph's life and the life of the early saints has stayed with me. As I was listening to what these people were saying about Joseph, the thought kept on coming to me that all these people need to do is go to Navoo and just feel the spirit that is there. It is an incredible experience and it is one that I will never forget. There were lots of times, during the program, when I felt the spirit leave, and it made me realize that I had a choice to make. I could either choose to look further into some of the allegations that people were making against the church, or I could choose to be unwavering in my testimony and continue to feel the peace and the love that the Spirit brings into my home. I may not know everything to do with the gospel and its history, but I don't need to. For me there are 3 basic truths that keep my faith in my religion strong. They are:
1 - Jesus Christ is the Son of God and he suffered the atonement so that I could return to live with my Heavenly Father again.
2 - Joseph Smith was a prophet and did restore the gospel again to the earth
3 - The Book of Mormon is true.

I have had many powerful witnesses and experiences in my life that have caused me to learn these things. Because of these experiences I cannot deny what I know to be true. I think that I would be a much sadder person if I didn't have the beliefs and convictions that I do. I wouldn't have the knowledge that I will get to be with my sweet baby again one day. I wouldn't have the knowledge that my family will be together forever. I wouldn't have the knowledge that there is something after death. . . .we don't just cease to exist. I know who I am. I know where I came from, and I know where I want to be when I die. Can a religion that gives me all of those answers be so bad???? I don't think so!