Tribute to Mothers

I thought I should share this gem with you all. This is a video of my mom and Ashley's mom having a dance off. This is one of the reasons why I love moms so much! Love you mom and HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

P.S. I want an XBOX Kinect

Chariots of Fire

Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. [2 Kings 6:16–17]


"In the gospel of Jesus Christ you have help from both sides of the veil, and you must never forget that. When disappointment and discouragement strike—and they will—you remember and never forget that if our eyes could be opened we would see horses and chariots of fire as far as the eye can see riding at reckless speed to come to our protection. They will always be there, these armies of heaven, in defense of Abraham’s seed."

-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's "For Times of Trouble"

Reading List

One of the pros about being graduated is that I can now read for fun. I am no longer forced to read textbooks that I have zero interest in, it's great. Here's a list of books that I plan on starting this summer. If you have any other suggestions, let me know!

Sunday Walk

Yesterday we went on a nice little Sunday walk through Rock Canyon.



We the People  of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

From Elder L. Tom Perry:

Now let us go to the last poster, probably the most important to us, “America’s Future.” Today we are fortunate to live in a choice and promised land. It will remain free and blessed as long as its people remember the God who gave them life and this free land. We must remember that the family is the basic unit of a strong society. We are all part of God’s family; and as our Father, he expects us to build strong family units. It is in the family that the basic morality and righteousness should be taught that will keep America free. Each member of every family plays an important role in America. For several thousand years throughout this land the great fathers and mothers, the noble sons, the patriot sons, the choice daughters have forged America into what we have today.

It is America’s conscience that has preserved her. America is beautiful only when she is good, when children are laughing in her streets, and love abounds in her families. Without this conscience, civilization crumbles, as it has before on this continent. We are all part of America’s future. Our job is to remember the lessons of the past, to patch up the mistakes and the sins of everything that has gone before. The place to start is within our own families; and as we have been counseled, “No success can compensate for failure in the home.” That’s where we want to leave these people who come and have an opportunity of hearing our message, the most important message that will be taught during America’s Bicentennial year.

I want to issue you a challenge. I want you who are the best trained, the best educated, who have been given these great advantages here in America to literally become the conscience of America and the molders of its destiny and future. With your knowledge, your training, your understanding of how God works in the hearts of his children here on earth, let us obligate ourselves to temperance, to frugality, and to industry. Let us show justice, kindness, and charity toward our fellowmen. Let us demonstrate the love and reverence we should exhibit toward our Almighty God. Let us not trifle with the things that are holy to God.

Fifty-six men represented 2.5 million in 1776 to bring about a new nation that has literally blessed the whole world. That was one man to every 45,000. Today I’m calling on each of you to exert an influence over about 220 million people in this land. The odds are even better for you; the advantage is on your side. This is the time for you to be bold enough to stand up for what you believe, to let the world know that God still blesses this great land of America—if we will live righteously, according to that which he has commanded.

Will God bless us that we may have the courage to fulfill our responsibility here? I know by personal experience during these last two years that the heavens are still open, that he still does direct his work here. That message should ring from the hilltops of this nation during its Bicentennial. Will you have the courage to stand up with me and be counted with those who would preserve this land of the free through the righteousness of its people?

Read the full talk at http://lds.org/new-era/1976/07/gods-hand-in-the-founding-of-america?lang=eng

GRADUATED

Family

After the commencement

We survived!

Best handshake ever



Getting what's rightfully ours!

 

Awww thanks...



Turning Your Hearts Back

I recently just finished taking a family history class at BYU. To be honest, I forced myself to take it because I had zero interest in it, but knew it was something that I had to learn to do. It turned out to be a very interesting and useful class. I've learned a ton about the research process and more importantly some of my ancestors' stories. I ended up gaining a strong testimony on family history and have realized that there is SO MUCH work that needs to be done.

One thing that really opened my eyes was when we studied from D&C 128. Verse 8 says the following:

Now, the nature of this ordinance consists in the power of the priesthood, by the revelation of Jesus Christ, wherein it is granted that whatsoever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Or, in other words, taking a different view of the translation, whatsoever you record on earth shall be recorded in heaven, and whatsoever you do not record on earth shall not be recorded in heaven; for out of the books shall your dead be judged, according to their own works, whether they themselves have attended to the ordinances in their own propria persona, or by the means of their own agents, according to the ordinance which God has prepared for their salvation from before the foundation of the world, according to the records which they have kept concerning their dead.

We need to keep our personal lives and family lives recorded!!! That means writing in your journal, preserving photos/documents, making a book of remembrance, family bible etc. Anyway, this class inspired me to be better and continue to do more family history work.

Here are some useful tips and resources that I learned...

-If you don't have anything to start with, START WITH YOURSELF.

-Interview relatives and record them. Ask for pictures, documents, anything that can give you a lead.  

Useful websites:

new.familysearch.org-Here you can upload your family tree and print off temple ready names. I recommend taking the online tutorials before starting.  

Familysearch.org- Here you can find digital and indexed images of historical records. Under the "Library Catalog" search you can also find call numbers for mircofilms, mircofische, and books that are located in either the BYU library or Family History Library in Salt Lake City. You can also download an indexing program from this site and volunteer some of your time to indexing records.

wiki.familysearch.org- This website is location based and will give you useful articles and links according to the location that you are searching.

ancestry.com- This is a subscription database (highly worth it) which also contains digital images of all sorts of records (vital, military etc.). This site has personally been the most helpful to me.

familyhistory.byu.edu- Here there is a link to Script Tutorials. This will teach you how to read old styles of handwriting. There are also online lessons from the RelC261 class (BYU family history class).

lib.byu.edu/sites/familyhistory- Here you'll find links to other subscribed databases. On the bottom right of the main page you'll also find a link to the Family History Archive. There you can search call numbers that you found from FamilySearch.

lds.org- Under the "Tools" tab, you can request copies of your ancestor's patriarchal blessings. You must be related to them and they must be deceased.

Another useful program that's pretty cheap is called RootsMagic. You can download everything from NewFamilySearch onto it. You can add all kinds of source citations and digital images in this program. It basically keeps you very organized.

A good read would be "The Holy Temple" by Boyd K. Packer.

These are just a few of the many useful resources that are out there. Check them out and start looking up your ancestors. It kind of gets addicting. Feel free to ask me any questions and I'll try my best to help!

D&C 128: 22

Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel, who hath ordained, before the world was, that which would enable us to redeem them out of their prison; for the prisoners shall go free.