Happy Sabbath!

"We strive to build an environment in our home and in our hearts 
where the Spirit of God may dwell."

- Rawlins Family Mission Statement

I look forward to Sundays!  I especially love the atmosphere of our home when we have hymns or conference talks playing.  My husband and I have playlists we've created to enrich our Sundays... and every day for that matter.  Last night my husband shared with me a song from his compilation,  "Nearer My God to Thee"  I love a-capella groups and men's choirs... Plus, this is one of my favorite hymns; so, a combination of these things was a real treat to listen to.  

What do you do to draw nearer to God on the Sabbath?

What sort of things invite the Spirit and help you desire greater commitment to the covenants you've made?

Moroni has some great verses that help us to keep our Sundays conducted after the manner of the Spirit:

• The Sacrament was administered "according to the commandments of Christ" "They [the elder or priest] did kneel down with the church, and pray to the Father in the name of Christ." (Moroni 4:1,2)

• "They came forth with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and witnessed unto the church that they truly repented of all their sins." (Moroni 6:2)

• "They took upon them the name of Christ, having a determination to serve Him to the end." (Moroni 6:3)

• "They were numbered among the people of the church of Christ; and their names were taken, that they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God, to keep them in the right way..." (Moroni 6:4)

• "The church did meet together oft, to fast and to pray and to speak one with another concerning the welfare of their souls.  And they did meet together oft to partake of [the sacrament], in remembrance of the Lord Jesus." (Moroni 6:5,6)

• "They were strict to observe... As oft as they repented and sought forgiveness, with real intent, they were forgiven... And their meetings were conducted by the church after the manner of the workings of the Spirit, and by the power of the Holy Ghost." (Moroni 6:8)

• "The power of the Holy Ghost led them whether to preach, or to exhort, or to pray, or to supplicate, or to sing" (Moroni 6:9)

The Sabbath is a day of rest and I’ve discovered that I find rest when  I am centered on the Savior (which can actually mean hard work, very hard work)  But the rest is real: it is comforting,  It is spiritual, it is encouraging, it is hopeful - always hopeful because it is found in truth, it is refreshing and rejuvenating.

Like Moroni, I find rest when I am with others whose focus is the same as we “meet together often to fast and to pray” and conduct our lives “after the manner of the Spirit”.  It makes my day and my week so much brighter and it nourishes my soul. 

Maybe that’s why it’s called “Sun”day?   

-Alicia :)
My Favorite Choral Hymn Arrangements for Sunday Take a listen!

https://www.lds.org/church/news/church-leaders-call-for-better-observance-of-sabbath-day?lang=eng

"To Bless and Sanctify"

Yesterday in my personal studies, I read where the Savior administers the Sacrament to the Nephite people saying, "He that eateth this bread eateth of my body to his soul; and he that drinketh of this wine drinketh of my blood to his soul; and his soul shall never hunger nor thirst, but shall be filled."- (3 Nephi 20:8)

I find it interesting that the Savior's administering of the Sacrament (or sanctifying moment) happened after a purifying moment.  When several disciples expressed through prayer their deep desire for the Spirit, the Savior then offered a prayer in response, "Father, I thank thee that thou hast purified those whom I have, chosen because of their faith..." (3 Nephi 19:28)

To purify and to sanctify something sound almost the same but they are different.

To PURIFY means to remove the contaminants from, to make clean.
To SANCTIFY goes a step beyond that, beyond just being clean... it means to make it holy, acceptable before God.

In the sacrament prayer we hear these words, "We ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread [and this water]." (Moroni 4:3 & 5:2)

Do you ever think of how awesome it is that we can take an earthly element and ask the Lord to make it heavenly (holy and acceptable before Him)?  We ask Him to "bless and sanctify" it.  The brother of Jared took molten rocks before the Lord and prayed for Him to touch them and make them shine, to be acceptable light in their journey across the sea. (Ether 3:1-5)

Thinking of the sacrament... or (sanctifying moment)... what other things have you laid before the Lord and prayed for Him to "bless and sanctify":  Yourself, your mind & heart, your marriage, your family, your efforts in your calling, your friendships, your relationships... what else?

I believe when we do this, He will faithfully honor the request, for the Savior explained, "What man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (Matthew 7:9-11)

Whatever we lay before our Father in Heaven, when we ask Him to "bless and sanctify" it, we might ask these questions:

What will this sanctification look like in our lives?
What changes may occur because of it?
How long will the process be?
Will it be joyful or painful... or a mixture of both?
How will it stretch us?
What perspective will we keep as the Lord answers this request?

These insights are helpful to me.  I have prayed with all my heart for certain things to be "blessed and sanctified"... yet, I haven't always been ready for exactly "how" the Lord would do that.
Ultimately, I believe we have to keep the faith, that whatever we lay before before Him, it will be handled with the greatest care...  and He will work wonders with it!

-Alicia

Healing Hearts That are Failing

In the Doctrine and Covenants 45 & 88 it says in the last days "the whole earth shall be in commotion, and men’s hearts shall fail them."

Commotion, unrest, fear, turmoil.... How many hearts will fail during the days we live in???  When I read scriptures like this, I desire to encourage, to help heal the failing hearts of those around me.  A couple of weeks ago I was fasting for a family who lives next to me.  They are an unmarried blended family. Living in the "tight quarters" that we do, it's hard to avoid hearing the constant turmoil in their home.  None of them are active in the church.  The daughter of the mother used to come but has since given up as well.

About a week and a half ago I sat on the steps of our porch and visited with the mother of the family.  I listened to her tell me about the stresses and difficulties she faced on a day-to-day basis.  The entire time she was telling me about the "commotion" in her life I wanted so badly to somehow take the experiences I have had with prayer, with the scriptures, with the words of the living prophets, and infuse them into her so she could instinctively know where to find peace and rest from such needless pain.
She said, to me, "Alicia I can't come to church because I'm living in sin."
I immediately responded, "Aren't we all? If we waited to go only when we were completely free from making any mistakes or having any sin in our hearts then no one would be able to go."
I had a small window of opportunity to bear testimony to her of our Father in Heaven's infinite love and I told her of President Uchdorft's talk from this last conference to just "start where you are."

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to speak in church very briefly about the hymn, "Where Can I Turn for Peace" I had invited my neighbor friend to come and hear my testimony and I was hopeful that she would because the night before she confirmed a couple of times.  When I stood, I looked for her in the congregation but I didn't see her.  I was disappointed.  I wanted to direct my words to her. If only she would turn.  I was grateful for the number of people who had come to church that day.

I had been thinking of a favorite hymn of mine as a child, "Did You Think to Pray?" and for a brief moment I imagined myself again as a little girl sitting in church with a family who went every Sunday.  No one knew of the turmoil and pain that went on under our roof, (maybe our bishop but no body else.)  I thought, "If there are families like the one from my childhood sitting in this congregation right now then there is certainly a great number of people who are suffering needlessly in the church as well."  I remember a former bishop of ours used to call the constant visits in his office, "The Parade of Pain."

The hearts of men and women need not fail if they would only turn.  In the Book of Numbers, chapter 21, the children of Israel were bitten by serpents. Many of the people were dying but God provided an escape from the pain, suffering, and death.  He commanded Moses to raise a serpent on his staff and tell the people if they would just look at the raised serpent, they would be healed.  How can we look? How do we turn?  I believe it is through the simple process of faith and repentance, sincere prayer, daily seeking God's word (modern and ancient), and weekly partaking of Christ's sacrament.  It's the primary answer, just as simple as "look."

The children of Israel were healed by looking to Christ, they defeated the Amorites and the people of Bashan who fought against them. I testify that as we turn and look to Christ as the children of Israel did, our hearts will not fail us in these last days, even though the whole world will be in commotion.

Where can we turn for peace?  Nowhere else but to God, to our Father in Heaven and His son, Jesus Christ - "He only ONE."

-Alicia

A Sign of Our Love & Faith

"Faith in God engenders a love for the Sabbath; faith in the Sabbath engenders a love for God... True believers keep the Sabbath day holy." - Elder Russell M. Nelson

What a great time in the history of the world to be alive!! As members of the church, we have innumerable teaching tools at our fingertips to help increase faith in the hearts of our children and invite a greater measure of the Spirit in our homes, especially on the Sabbath Day.

In our most recent General Conference, Elder Russell M. Nelson said, "I almost wish I were a young father once again. Now parents have such wonderful resources available to help them make family time more meaningful, on the Sabbath and other days as well. They have LDS.org, Mormon.org, the Bible videos, the Mormon Channel, the Media Library, the Friend, the New Era, the Ensign, the Liahona, and more—much more. These resources are so very helpful to parents in discharging their sacred duty to teach their children. No other work transcends that of righteous, intentional parenting!"

The vocabulary I love here is, "righteous, intentional parenting."  To me this is when we as parents are very deliberate about what we teach and allow to be taught to our children, especially in our homes.  When it comes to worship, it means we choose carefully only those things on the Sabbath that will direct us to Christ, things that elevate our hearts, our minds, and our actions, to be about His work in strengthening our own faith and the faith of others.  When our children see that our intent is sincere, they can be influenced in a righteous way and the same desires will begin to work within their hearts.  We can intentionally choose to have light and truth flood our homes with all the access we have to the wonderful resources Elder Nelson listed.

My son, Chandler is a great example to me of keeping the Sabbath Day holy.  He obsesses over watching football and has always wanted to have a Superbowl party.  Well, we have a rule in our family that anything we watch, read, or listen to on the Sabbath must be something that helps us focus on Christ and His Gospel.  This was hard for him, especially when February rolled around.
When he was 11yrs old, all his friends were talking about the upcoming Superbowl and he was relentless, "Please mom and dad, please let me watch the Superbowl.  All my other friends at church do."  We told him that he would need to make the decision himself.  We said we would not watch it as a family and that we'd be happy to find a way to record it so we could have an "after bowl party" the next day.  (Of course he thought that sounded lame and we couldn't really blame him for feeling that way.)
We encouraged him to study, fast, and pray about it.
It was amazing to watch this boy the next few days as he studied from For the Strength of Youth and Preach My Gospel under the subject of the Sabbath.  He also fasted and prayed.

After primary was over one Sunday, he pulled our bishop aside and counseled with him.
"Bishop Madsen, do you think it's alright for me to watch the Superbowl on Sunday?"
"Well, Chandler that's a really tough question. Some people do and some don't.  What are your thoughts?"
He answered, "I've been praying about it.  I've also studied in For the Strength of Youth and Preach My Gospel."
 "That's great Chandler! Did you get your answer?"
"Yes," he said with the sound of disappointment in his voice. "After all that I've read, I've concluded that I'm just going to have to watch other games."
The bishop was impressed and so were we.  This was not an easy choice for Chandler to make.  But from his own study of doctrine, he came to the conclusion what he felt was right.

Chandler is 14 now and continues to help nourish a spiritual home environment on the Sabbath Day.  Most of the time he returns to our house from church before the rest of us do.  For the last year I have arrived home to the sound of General Conference playing. It has become a habit for him to play it on Sundays and it always gives me something to look forward to when I walk through the door.

Recently it's been said by prophets of God that how and when we wear the temple garment becomes an "outward expression of an inner commitment."  I believe the same test of loyalty and love for God is revealed in how we choose our time on the Sabbath Day.  In fact, Elder Nelson expressed, "I learned from the scriptures that my conduct and my attitude on the Sabbath constituted a sign between me and my Heavenly Father. With that understanding, I no longer needed lists of dos and don’ts. When I had to make a decision whether or not an activity was appropriate for the Sabbath, I simply asked myself, 'What sign do I want to give to God?' That question made my choices about the Sabbath day crystal clear."

If we live by the Spirit and sincerely desire to show our love to God, the Lord will help us recognize those things that will help us elevate and enrich our Sabbath experience.  As we act upon these promptings, we will be blessed not only with a greater measure of His love in our hearts and homes but we'll be blessed with the ability to call down heaven.  I know this!  Meaningful worship and intentionally seeking Christ is worth more than anything the world has to offer!

-Alicia

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/the-sabbath-is-a-delight?lang=eng

A Greater Measure of the Spirit

I wrote this post almost a week ago but didn't publish it... It has just been sitting on the side as a draft and I almost forgot I had written it until I was reminded about these principles in my religion class today.  How desperately do we want the Spirit to guide us in our lives?  I love the intent and desire in the hearts of the disciples in 3 Nephi 19.  If you could ask God for anything, what would it be?  These men desired most of all to have the Holy Ghost.  (3 Nephi 19:9)  How is this obtained?  How can we know we are being guided by the Spirit?

When you scan through this chapter, the word "pray" is mentioned twenty-eight times.  It's found in 22 of the 36 verses and if you include the verses that are referencing prayer but don't necessarily say the word, then it is found in 26 of the 36 verses.  I love discoveries like this!

 When the resurrected Lord ministered unto the ancient inhabitants of this land, He gave the sermon on the mount, He administered the sacrament more than once, many were baptized, and He taught and exemplified a very clear pattern of prayer.

The Lord calls twelve disciples who are baptized in His name and they are blessed with the power of His Spirit (3 Ne.19:4,9-13). As they kneel to pray, the Savior's "countenance did smile upon them, and the light of His countenance did shine upon them" (3 Nephi 19:25).  Now this is so cool because something happened to the disciples as they were praying...  They began to shine! "behold, they were as white as the countenance and also the garments of Jesus."
The Savior recognized this and thanks the Father in prayer saying, "I thank thee that thou hast purified those who I have chosen, because of their faith." (19:28)  They were shining because they were purified!

Let's look at that word "purified."
Purified = free from anything that debases, pollutes, cheapens, or contaminates.
sanctified, made holy, set apart, consecrated.

This is what they desired with all of their souls.  This is what they plead and prayed for! (19:24)
Do we desire this too?  How do we obtain it?  Christ says we can.  He says that as we hearken and believe on the words of these twelve we will also be purified, "Father, I thank thee that thou hast purified those whom I have chosen, because of their faith, and I pray for them, and also for them who shall believe on their words, that they may be purified in me, through faith on their words, even as they are purified in me."(19:28)

This solidifies to me the necessity to be aligned with the Bretheren! They are true messengers.

Can you imagine what that must have been like to witness, to be in the presence of, to see with our own eyes and hear with our own ears, prayers offered by the Savior Himself and His twelve disciples?!  "And the mulitude did hear and do bear record; and their hearts were open and they did understand in their hearts the words which He prayed... so great and marvelous were the words which He prayed that they cannot be written, neither can they be uttered by man." (19:33,34)

After this chapter the Savior administers the sacrament again.  Christ has declared that He is the "Bread of life" (John 6:35)  He gives this bread to the twelve and "when they had eaten He commanded them that they should break bread, and give unto the multitude." And He does the same with the wine. (3 Nephi 20:4-7)

This is significant because the sacrament has everything to do with sanctification and purification.  If we listen to the words of the prayer, we learn that this renewal of our covenants, this re-committing ourselves, opens us to refinement, that we may "always have His spirit" to be with us. (Moroni 4:3 5:2)

Prayer is a powerful, powerful tool.  It is an expression of faith!
I believe that the everyday prayers, morning and night, and the heart-felt ones in-between, all throughout our week, help to prepare us for the sacred ordinance of the the sacrament on the Sabbath.  I believe that when our desire is the the same as those twelve disciples, our hearts will be receptive.  We will hunger and thirst for His spirit to always be with us, we will be open to the words of the disciples He has chosen.  Their teachings will become our daily bread, they will become part of our very being, and we will be filled!

- Alicia

What is being taught?

In my religion class, we just finished studying in the Book of Mormon where the resurrected Christ visits and administers among the ancient inhabitants of America.  What must it have been like to feel the Spirit there, to sit at His feet and be taught by Him, and to partake of the sacred emblems He blessed?

In chapter 21 of 3 Nephi the Lord prophesies of the gathering of His covenant people to the truth in the last days, "that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.  For in that day, for my sake shall the Father work a work, which shall be a great and marvelous work among them" (3 Ne. 21:8,9)

He also prophesies that in the last days, He will purge the people of their wickedness, that He will "cut off the witchcrafts, the graven images, the groves, all lyings, deceivings, envyings, strifes, priestcrafts, and whoredoms" it will all be "done away." (3 Ne. 21: 16-19)

When I read this description of such wickedness, I couldn't help but think of the majority of media and movies and the steady diet of filth offered freely to us in our homes.  What becomes of us when we take partake of this?  After all... isn't it true that "we are what we eat?"

As we think of those who gathered to be taught around the feet of our Savior, how they ate of the bread and wine...  we would do well to ask ourselves what is being taught in our homes?  What do we gather around?  If our T.V. programs and sitcoms of today could take on a physical identity, whose feet do our children sit at and receive teaching from?  What are they being fed?  Just think about it.  If the Lord came to our home to do some purging, where would He start?  I imagine He'd start by unplugging the television!

President Hinckley spoke at an American Mothers convention in May of 1994 and said, 'I am more concerned about the moral deficit than I am about the budget deficit.  The strength of a nation lies in the homes of its people.’  He then decried the ‘filth, the rot, the violence and profanity’ spewing into the home via television.  ‘If we could follow a slogan that says, ‘Turn off the TV and open a good book,’ we would do something of substance in strengthening another generation,’ he insisted.  (Sheri L. Dew, Go Forward with Faith: Biography of Gordon B. Hinckley, 477)

"A moral deficit?" Can we see this?  That was back in 1994 and I submit that the junk on T.V. is far worse today that it was 21 years ago...  And yet so many mothers leave movies, popular shows, and sitcoms, to 'babysit' their children every day. With a ratio of three hours of worship on Sundays to well over twenty hours of 'the world’s teachings' the rest of the week, who do we think our kids are going to imitate??  Mothers, we cannot do this!  It is irresponsible!!  We've got to turn it around!  We need to step up in being "guardians of the hearth."

The family is under attack on all fronts. In 1995, why did the First Presidency choose to announce the proclamation on the family in a general Relief Society meeting? After President Hinckley read it, he provided an answer to that question. “You are the guardians of the hearth,” he told the sisters. “You are the bearers of the children. You are they who nurture them and establish within them the habits of their lives. No other work reaches so close to divinity as does the nurturing of the sons and daughters of God.”  -(Daughters of My Kingdom "Guardians of the Hearth")

"You... establish within them the habits of their lives." What habits are we establishing, mothers? Watching hours and hours of television a day?!

My children give me a hard time because I am so strict with media.  I let them have 20 min. each of screen time per day and on the weekends they get to watch a movie or two.  We don't have cable so we don't get T.V. programs but we have the internet.  And as deprived as my kids might sometimes feel, one day they'll thank me for laying down these restrictions, for trying to establish other habits, noble habits, like serving a neighbor, expanding their talents, reading the scriptures on their own, listening to conference talks in the middle of the week, being creative, and the list goes on.  I can see good fruit bearing from this already.

I believe mothers, especially Latter-Day-Saint mothers who have made sacred covenants, will see a tremendous difference for good in their families if they personally  love and apply the standards outlined in the  For the Strength of Youth pamphlet.  Do we know what is in this?  Have we studied it?   I testify and promise that when we adhere to these teachings, it will result in wonderful, specific blessings:  

1. We will have an increased measure of the Spirit in our homes and contention will decrease. Our tone of communication and choice of words will improve.
2. Our identity, the identity of others, and the identity of our children will be more clear and centered on truth. We will lose desire for popularity and gain a stronger inner confidence.
3. Our children will be more receptive to the Gospel, they will be more sensitive to the things of the spirit, and they will feel closer to the Savior.

Those who wrote this pamphlet are true messengers from our Father in Heaven.  They were inspired by God in each and every one of these standards.  Are we giving strict heed??

The Lord promises the righteous gatherers in the last days that "all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children." (3 Ne. 22:13)  This is more than a message to the House of Israel... It is to the mothers of Zion, the teachers of the home.  “Great shall be the peace” not only of our children but WE, will have peace as well, knowing that we didn't take the "easy road" but we took "the road less traveled."

Why wait for the second coming of the Savior when we can invite Him in our homes today?  Let His feet be the ones our children gather around.  Let His Spirit be what feeds them.

-Alicia