One

Isn't that a great picture! I wish I could say I have walked where this was taken. Since I am not a photographer or much of a traveler, I get to view such beauty from another thanks to Google. 1 Nephi 8 The vision of the Tree of Life and the iron rod running alongside the straight and narrow path. At times my path in life may be just as beautiful and awe inspiring as the photo above, if I choose to look up from the dusty trail. Other times the trail I tread is barren, rough in terrain and made increasingly difficult with stumbling blocks along the way. Then there are the times when the path is darkened and may require entrance into the unknown. Jesus Christ taught that He is the only path or “the way” that will lead to the Father (see John 14:6). Elder Lowell M. Snow of the Seventy testified of the constant direction the Savior provides: “Life is full of many intersecting roads and trails. There are so many paths to follow, so many voices calling out ‘lo, here’ or ‘lo, there’ [ Jos...

1 Nephi 7:15 Finally Utah is getting some snow this winter! My kids are so excited to play in it. I am content just watching it out the window as it covers the earth. Today's scripture 1 Nephi 7:15. Laman, Lemuel, their new sweethearts and a few others begin to rebel. They want to return home. Moment of honesty-can you really blame them? With the riches they gathered to persuade Laban it would seem that Lehi's family lived comfortably, for that time period. I like being born in this day and age where living is quite comfortable with its many conveniences. I might have "rebelled"/wanted to go back too. This is where faith and knowledge come in. Nephi had the faith to follow a prophet. This faith was then rewarded with a sure knowledge that the journey they were on was indeed inspired by the Lord. Laman and those influenced by him were not captives on the journey toward the land of promise. Nephi answered their desire to return to Jerusalem by declaring a fundamental do...

Nephi and Laban Ok, this part of the Book of Mormon bothers me everytime I come to it. I am a person that shuns violence. I have a deep love for newborns. I cannot resist them, partly because of their smell and partly because I love how I feel holding them. Each life is a gift from God. So today I tackle this event and hope for additional understanding and light. My studies took me to the Book of Mormon student manual(available at LDS Disribution). It's important to note that before Nephi reached this point, Laban was given two chances to part with the brass plates without requiring his life. Also, let's not forget the crimes Laban committed against Nephi and his brothers. Laban was a liar and a robber and at least twice sought to murder. These crimes were at that time punishable by death. Ok, but he was King and we all know how kings are when they are evil ones. They usually don't recieve the death punishment unless issued by God. This is where Nephi comes in. U...

Please excuse the iphone pics, I am not a photographer. Merely someone who enjoys writing and has only one fan following(thanks mom). I hope to get better at many things. A picture always adds to any entry. This one seems fitting merely for the fact that my cute 3 year old(complete with her Rudolph nose) looks like she is saying the word 'murmur' right in your face. By definition, to murmur is a mumbled or private expression of discontent. I am reading the Book of Mormon, again. Cover to cover. From the beginning there is murmuring. First from Laman and Lemuel then, much to the readers surprise, the good prophet Lehi even murmurs. Insert moment of personal justification, I can still be a good person even though I murmur at times. So why is this murmuring bad? Elder H. Ross Workman of the Seventy explained that “murmuring consists of three steps, each leading to the next in a descending path to disobedience.” First, when people murmur they begin to question. They ques...

The thoughts for this post began a while back, but since school started life has been full of PTA, homework, scouts, piano lessons, dance lessons and then the joyful Holiday season thrown in the muddle of everything. This is my shallow excuse for not choosing to drink in the teachings of the scriptures. My daily scripture reading has been more of something to check off the list, or get to tomorrow, or the next day. But with a new year comes new dedication. Truthfully I had thoughts of deleting this blog. My lack of "stick-to-it" has left many things undone and by the wayside along my walk of life. Each individual is blessed with certain gifts and talents. Let's just say that I didn't stand in the "stick-to-it" line in heaven when God was handing out talents. I loved this picture taken by my mother and thought it fit my thoughts this evening. It has my daughter and niece's shoe choice for the day. It was June and the sun was shining and it was snowing....