Friday, April 8, 2016
Thursday, February 18, 2016
How sacrifice is a manifestation of love
Elder Melvin J. Ballard:
"I think as I read the story the story of Abraham's sacrifices of his son Isaac that our Father is trying to tell us what it cost Him to give His Son as a gift to the world. . . .
[Abraham and Isaac] ascended the mountain, gathered the stones together, and placed the faggots upon them. Then Isaac was bound, hand and foot, kneeling upon the altar. I presume Abraham, like a true father, must have given his son his farewell kiss, his blessing, his love, and his soul must have been drawn out in that hour of agony toward his son who was to die by the hand of his own father. Every step proceeded until the cold steel was drawn and the hand raised that was to strike the blow to let out the life's blood, when the angel of the Lord said: 'it is enough.'
Our Father in heaven wen through all that and more, for in His case the hand was not stayed. He loved His Son, Jesus Christ, better than Abraham ever loved Isaac, for our Father had with Him His Son, our Redeemer, in the eternal worlds, faithful and true for ages, standing in a place of trust of honor, and the Father loved him so dearly, and yet He allowed this well-beloved Son to descend from His place of glory and honor, where millions did Him homage, down to the earth, a condescension that is not within the power of man to conceive. He came to receive the insult, the abuse, and the crown of thorns. God heard the cry of His Son in that moment of great grief and agony, in the garden when the pores of His body opened and drops of blood stood upon Him, and He cried out: 'Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me.'
I ask you, what father and mother could stand by and listen to the cry of their children in distress, in this world, and not render assistance? I have heard of mothers throwing themselves into raging streams when they could not swim a stroke to save their drowning children, rushing into burning buildings to rescue those whom they loved.
We cannot stand by and listen to those cries without its touching our hearts. The Lord has not given us the power to save our own. He has given us faith, and we submit to the inevitable, but He had the power to save, and He loved His Son, and He could have saved Him. He might have rescued Him when the Son, hanging between two thieves, was mocked with, 'Save thyself, and come down from the cross. He saved others; himself he cannot save.' He listened to all this. He saw that Son condemned; He saw Him drag the cross through the streets of Jerusalem and faint underneath its load. He saw the Son finally upon Calvary; He saw His body stretched out upon the wooden cross; He saw the cruel nails driven through hands and feet, and the blows that broke the skin, tore the flesh, and let out the life's blood of His Son. He looked upon that.
In the case of our Father, the knife was not stayed, but it fell, and the life's blood of His Beloved Son went out. His Father looked on with great grief and agony over His Beloved Son, until there seems to have come a moment when even our Saviour cried out in despair: 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?'
In that hour I think I can see our dear Father behind the veil looking upon these dying struggles until even He could not endure it any longer; and, like the mother who bids farewell to her dying child and has to be taken out of the room so as not to look upon the last struggles, so He bowed His head and hid in some part of His universe, His great heart almost breaking for the love that He had for His Son. Oh, in that moment when He might have save His Son, I thank Him and praise Him that He did not fail us, for He had not only the love of His Son in mind, but He also had love for us. I rejoice that He did not interfere, and that His love for us made it possible for Him to endure to look upon the sufferings of His Son and give Him finally to us, our Saviour and our Redeemer. Without Him, without His sacrifice, we would have remained, and we would never have come glorified into His presence. And so this is what it cost, in part, for our Father in heaven to give the gift of His Son unto men." (Melvin J. Ballard, Crusader for Righteousness, pp. 135-37)
"I think as I read the story the story of Abraham's sacrifices of his son Isaac that our Father is trying to tell us what it cost Him to give His Son as a gift to the world. . . .
[Abraham and Isaac] ascended the mountain, gathered the stones together, and placed the faggots upon them. Then Isaac was bound, hand and foot, kneeling upon the altar. I presume Abraham, like a true father, must have given his son his farewell kiss, his blessing, his love, and his soul must have been drawn out in that hour of agony toward his son who was to die by the hand of his own father. Every step proceeded until the cold steel was drawn and the hand raised that was to strike the blow to let out the life's blood, when the angel of the Lord said: 'it is enough.'
Our Father in heaven wen through all that and more, for in His case the hand was not stayed. He loved His Son, Jesus Christ, better than Abraham ever loved Isaac, for our Father had with Him His Son, our Redeemer, in the eternal worlds, faithful and true for ages, standing in a place of trust of honor, and the Father loved him so dearly, and yet He allowed this well-beloved Son to descend from His place of glory and honor, where millions did Him homage, down to the earth, a condescension that is not within the power of man to conceive. He came to receive the insult, the abuse, and the crown of thorns. God heard the cry of His Son in that moment of great grief and agony, in the garden when the pores of His body opened and drops of blood stood upon Him, and He cried out: 'Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me.'I ask you, what father and mother could stand by and listen to the cry of their children in distress, in this world, and not render assistance? I have heard of mothers throwing themselves into raging streams when they could not swim a stroke to save their drowning children, rushing into burning buildings to rescue those whom they loved.
We cannot stand by and listen to those cries without its touching our hearts. The Lord has not given us the power to save our own. He has given us faith, and we submit to the inevitable, but He had the power to save, and He loved His Son, and He could have saved Him. He might have rescued Him when the Son, hanging between two thieves, was mocked with, 'Save thyself, and come down from the cross. He saved others; himself he cannot save.' He listened to all this. He saw that Son condemned; He saw Him drag the cross through the streets of Jerusalem and faint underneath its load. He saw the Son finally upon Calvary; He saw His body stretched out upon the wooden cross; He saw the cruel nails driven through hands and feet, and the blows that broke the skin, tore the flesh, and let out the life's blood of His Son. He looked upon that.
In the case of our Father, the knife was not stayed, but it fell, and the life's blood of His Beloved Son went out. His Father looked on with great grief and agony over His Beloved Son, until there seems to have come a moment when even our Saviour cried out in despair: 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?'
In that hour I think I can see our dear Father behind the veil looking upon these dying struggles until even He could not endure it any longer; and, like the mother who bids farewell to her dying child and has to be taken out of the room so as not to look upon the last struggles, so He bowed His head and hid in some part of His universe, His great heart almost breaking for the love that He had for His Son. Oh, in that moment when He might have save His Son, I thank Him and praise Him that He did not fail us, for He had not only the love of His Son in mind, but He also had love for us. I rejoice that He did not interfere, and that His love for us made it possible for Him to endure to look upon the sufferings of His Son and give Him finally to us, our Saviour and our Redeemer. Without Him, without His sacrifice, we would have remained, and we would never have come glorified into His presence. And so this is what it cost, in part, for our Father in heaven to give the gift of His Son unto men." (Melvin J. Ballard, Crusader for Righteousness, pp. 135-37)
Monday, December 14, 2015
Saturday, December 12, 2015
Top 10 Countdown of the Best Things I Have Learned about the Family: #10 Offer Contact Freely to Children
Parents need to offer contact freely. Many times, it is hard to understand how to treat children.
Why? A video once said that we should see children with lab coats, safety glasses and calculators. Children are always experimenting, trying to understand the situations that they are going through. Psychologically, children experience more stresses throughout their growing-up years than many adults do. Many times, they don’t even understanding how they are feeling. Therefore it is the response of parents that can greatly influence the child’s reaction or response to any situation.
One thing that I learned in my Family Relations’ class is that one of the greatest needs of children is a feeling of the sense of belonging. When children do not feel like they belong, then they resort to undue attention seeking.
Brother Williams told us a story of a children’s (infant) hospital with two wards. The first ward was experiencing more deaths and a longer recovery process. The second ward was noted to be a significantly healthier ward. The administrator’s decided that they wanted to find out the source of the problem in the first ward. Was it infection? Was it the staff? They decided to switch up the staff from one ward to the other. They tried to provide a healthier atmosphere for the first ward through cleaner practices. Yet, even with the changes, the first ward was still experiencing more deaths and longer recoveries. Then, one night, they found a potential solution. The nightly cleaning lady, who was in charge of cleaning the second ward, loved to cradle the children and babies in between her cleaning visits. She would hold them, and sing to them. They decided to switch her to the other ward. When they switched her to the other ward, the babies/children responded better and recovered quicker!
When our children are experiencing sorrow or difficulties, it is important for us to offer contact freely. One girl in our class taught us that in the first nine months we need to always go to a crying baby, so they can learn to trust in us.
Why? A video once said that we should see children with lab coats, safety glasses and calculators. Children are always experimenting, trying to understand the situations that they are going through. Psychologically, children experience more stresses throughout their growing-up years than many adults do. Many times, they don’t even understanding how they are feeling. Therefore it is the response of parents that can greatly influence the child’s reaction or response to any situation.
One thing that I learned in my Family Relations’ class is that one of the greatest needs of children is a feeling of the sense of belonging. When children do not feel like they belong, then they resort to undue attention seeking.
Brother Williams told us a story of a children’s (infant) hospital with two wards. The first ward was experiencing more deaths and a longer recovery process. The second ward was noted to be a significantly healthier ward. The administrator’s decided that they wanted to find out the source of the problem in the first ward. Was it infection? Was it the staff? They decided to switch up the staff from one ward to the other. They tried to provide a healthier atmosphere for the first ward through cleaner practices. Yet, even with the changes, the first ward was still experiencing more deaths and longer recoveries. Then, one night, they found a potential solution. The nightly cleaning lady, who was in charge of cleaning the second ward, loved to cradle the children and babies in between her cleaning visits. She would hold them, and sing to them. They decided to switch her to the other ward. When they switched her to the other ward, the babies/children responded better and recovered quicker!
When our children are experiencing sorrow or difficulties, it is important for us to offer contact freely. One girl in our class taught us that in the first nine months we need to always go to a crying baby, so they can learn to trust in us.
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
In a Time Where Love "Wax(es) Cold" because of Iniquity
Chastity is more than teeth-clenching abstinence. Properly lived, it is a happy state of mind—peace of mind—which allows us to receive guidance, reassurance, and comfort for our present daily life, now as well as the future. Instead of focusing on pleasing ourselves, we can focus on serving others. (Elder Neal A. Maxwell--What is Real Love and Happiness? June 1992)My testimony is that pure and Christlike love is the greatest solution to our dilemma today!
Saturday, December 5, 2015
5 Tips to Great Parenting
What are children going through?
They psychologically experience more stress. For example:
1. Bullying
2. Increased sexual desires, but they can't use them
3. Drugs/Alcohol
4. So many other factors: body image, school, work, family problems, friend problems, etc.
It's no wonder children are so hard to understand. They have so much that is being thrown upon them, and they have so many choices to make! It's crazy but 500,000 children attempt suicide every year!
So, how can we help our children and teens out? Many times it seems that they don't listen to what we (as parents) have to say, so how can we get them to open up? What skills of parenting can we use to teach them?
I have created a list of five things that I think are important for all parents to use:
1. More important than talking and lecturing, is listening and allowing them to teach themselves. When parents actively listen to their children, (note the word active, meaning a conscious effort) they can better assess the problem by addressing their needs and not all of their failures.
2. Encouragement leads to greater growth in children. Children have a great need to feel that they are important and that they belong. We need to take time to focus on their good achievements, and their good intentions (even when their good intentions do not produce the best results)
3. Allow children to have a part in the problem prevention discussions. For example, when we establish rules for our children, we need to hear their opinions and sit down with them.
4. We need to allow them to assume responsibility. Giving children tasks and allowing them to take responsibility for their actions is an important and vital step for their progression. We must never yell or degrade them when they do what is wrong, yet we must not act as "doormats" and do nothing when they do not follow through.
5. Mutual respect is something important for children to learn. Mutual respect occurs through proper communication. Remember you cannot not communicate. Good communication is fostered through love, interest, and trust.
They psychologically experience more stress. For example:
1. Bullying
2. Increased sexual desires, but they can't use them
3. Drugs/Alcohol
4. So many other factors: body image, school, work, family problems, friend problems, etc.
It's no wonder children are so hard to understand. They have so much that is being thrown upon them, and they have so many choices to make! It's crazy but 500,000 children attempt suicide every year!
So, how can we help our children and teens out? Many times it seems that they don't listen to what we (as parents) have to say, so how can we get them to open up? What skills of parenting can we use to teach them?
I have created a list of five things that I think are important for all parents to use:1. More important than talking and lecturing, is listening and allowing them to teach themselves. When parents actively listen to their children, (note the word active, meaning a conscious effort) they can better assess the problem by addressing their needs and not all of their failures.
2. Encouragement leads to greater growth in children. Children have a great need to feel that they are important and that they belong. We need to take time to focus on their good achievements, and their good intentions (even when their good intentions do not produce the best results)
3. Allow children to have a part in the problem prevention discussions. For example, when we establish rules for our children, we need to hear their opinions and sit down with them.
4. We need to allow them to assume responsibility. Giving children tasks and allowing them to take responsibility for their actions is an important and vital step for their progression. We must never yell or degrade them when they do what is wrong, yet we must not act as "doormats" and do nothing when they do not follow through.
5. Mutual respect is something important for children to learn. Mutual respect occurs through proper communication. Remember you cannot not communicate. Good communication is fostered through love, interest, and trust.
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