Week 4 Day 22-28

— Day 22: ___________________  Date: ___________________            
Read: Alma 30-36 Mark & Ponder: Alma 32:21
Scripture of the Day:
“Wherefore, fear not even unto death; for in this world your joy is not full. Therefore,
care not for the body, neither the life of the body; but care for the soul, and for the life
of the soul.  And seek the face of the Lord always, that in patience ye may possess your
souls, and ye shall have eternal life.” (D&C 101:36-38)
Thought for the day:
“The gospel of Jesus Christ is not insurance against pain.  It is a resource in event of
pain, and when the pain comes...rejoice that you have resource to deal with your pain.”
(Carlfred Broderick)


— Day 23: ___________________  Date: ___________________            
Read: Alma 37-41 Mark & Ponder: Alma 36:18-19
Scripture of the Day:
“...I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised
up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood.”
(D&C 101:80)
Thought for the day:
“Nothing pleases God more than to have his children seek greater light and knowledge.”
(Hugh Nibley)
—
Day 24: ___________________  Date: ___________________            
Read: Alma 42-44 Mark & Ponder: Alma 34:32-34
Scripture of the Day:
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall
be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33)
Thought for the day:
“THOUGH CHRIST
A THOUSAND TIMES
IN BETHLEHEM BE BORN,
IF HE  I S  NOT BORN  IN THEE,


— Day 25: ___________________  Date: ___________________            
Read: Alma 45-50 Mark & Ponder: Alma 46:12
Scripture of the Day:
“Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be,
like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea,
the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men.”
(Alma 48:17)
Thought for the day:
“The central conflict in the premortal council was: Shall man have agency, or shall he
be coerced to be obedient?  Christ stood for the former, Satan for the latter.  The
conflict continues in mortality.   One of Lucifer’s primary strategies has been to restrict
our agency through the power of earthly governments...we live in one of history’s most
exceptional moments– in a nation and a time of unprecedented freedom.  Freedom as
we know it has been experienced by perhaps less than 1 percent of the human family.”
(Pres Ezra Taft Benson)

— Day 26: ___________________  Date: ___________________            
Read: Alma 51-54 Mark & Ponder: Alma 37:6-6
Scripture of the Day:
“And the Lord called his people ZION, because they were of one heart and one mind, and
dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.” (Moses 7:18)
Thought for the day:
“There is no real happiness in having or getting, but only in giving.” (N. Eldon Tanner)

THY  SOUL  I S     STILL FORLORN.”


— Day 27: ___________________  Date: ___________________            
Read: Alma 55-58 Mark & Ponder: Alma 37:35
Scripture of the Day:
“yea, they had been taught by their mothers.” (Alma 56:47)
Thought for the day:
“The family is the basic unit of the kingdom of God on earth.  The Church can be no
healthier than its families.  No government can long endure without strong families.”
(Pres. Spencer W. Kimball)
—
 Day 28: ___________________  Date: ___________________          
Read: Alma 59-63 Mark & Ponder: Alma 41:10
Scripture of the Day:
“For I was hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a
stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me;
I was in prison. and ye came unto me.  “Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done
it unto the least of these my brethren ye have done it unto me.” (Matthew 25:35-40)
Thought for the day:
“We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
(Aristotle)

Thanks Aunt Lolly

Last night we were at Grandmas house Wrapping gifts for a family that we are going to Secret Santa.  We had a great time getting everything wrapped.  These kids are going to be well dressed for awhile.

We were expecting someone to bring by something for Grandmas because she has been getting the 12 days of Christmas and one of the kids opened the door and noticed that there was a package from Aunt Lolly on the porch. They ripped open the package for Grandma and realized that Lolly had not wrapped the gifts.  Inside the box were handmade hats for each of the kids.  They look so cute.  Last night the boys set theirs carefully on the dresser before they went to bed.  Then they put them on first thing this morning.  Marissa just slept in hers.

Scripture study week 3

I am going to do this a little different.  Here is this weeks Scripture study.  I will post it once a week.  You can still find the whole plan here—

Day 15: ___________________  Date: ___________________            
Read: Mosiah 23-29  Mark & Ponder: Mosiah 4:27
Scripture of the Day:
“Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the
saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles
and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone; “ In whom ye also are
builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” (Ephesians 3:19-10, 22)
Thought for the day:
“Search the scriptures, search the revelations which ye publish and ask your Heavenly
Father, in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, to manifest the truth unto you, and if you
do it with an eye single to his glory, nothing doubting, he will answer you by the power
of his Holy Spirit.  You will then know for yourself and not for another.  You will not then
be dependent on man  for the knowledge of God; nor will there be any  room for
speculation... For when men receive their instruction from Him that made them, they
know how He will save them... Again we say: Search the scriptures, search the Prophets
and learn what portion of them belongs to you.” (Prophet Joseph Smith)
—
Day 16: ___________________  Date: ___________________            
Read: Alma 1-5 Mark & Ponder: Mosiah 4:30
Scripture of the Day:
“I am the way the truth and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
(John 13:6)
Thought for the day:
“If we desire to learn the ideal life to lead among our fellow men, we can find a perfect
example in the life of Jesus.  Whatsoever our noble desire, our lofty aspirations, our
ideals in any phase of life, we can look to Christ and find perfection.  So, in seeking a
standard for moral manhood, we need only to go to the Man of Nazareth and in him find
embodied all virtues that go to make the perfect man.”  (Pres David O. McKay)

—
Day 17: ___________________  Date: ___________________            
Read: Alma 6-10 Mark & Ponder: Alma 4:10
Scripture of the Day:
“...I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine.” (D&C 38:27)
Thought for the day:
“Nothing is so much calculated to lead people to forsake sin and to take them by the
hand, and watch over them with tenderness.  When persons manifest the least kindness
and love to me,  O what power it has over my mind, while the opposite course has a
tendency to harrow up all the harsh feelings and depress the human mind.”
(Prophet Joseph Smith)
—
 Day 18: ___________________  Date: ___________________            
Read: Alma 11-14 Mark & Ponder: Alma 5: 14
Scripture of the Day:
“...That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day
of judgement.  For by thy words shalt thou be justified, and by thy words shalt thou be
condemned.” (Matthew 12:36-37)
Thought for the day:
“ What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies
within us.” (Oliver Wendell Holmes)

— 
Day 19: ___________________  Date: ___________________            
Read: Alma 15-19 Mark & Ponder: Alma 11:40
Scripture of the Day:
“My God hath been my support; He hath filled me with his love; even unto the consuming
of my flesh. He hath confounded mine enemies, unto the causing of  them to quake
before me.  Behold, he hath given me knowledge by visions in the nighttime.”
(2 Nephi 4:20-23)
Thought for the day:
“The Lord works from the inside out.  The world works from the outside in.  The world
would take people out of the slums.  Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they
take themselves out of the slums.  The world would mold men by changing their
environment.  Christ changes men, who then change their environment.  The world
would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature.”
(Pres. Ezra Taft Benson)
—
Day 20: ___________________  Date: ___________________            
Read: Alma 20-24 Mark & Ponder: Alma 11:43
Scripture of the Day:
“Behold, verily, thus saith the Lord unto you: In consequence of evils and designs which
do and will exist in the hearts of men  in the last days, I have warned you, and
forewarned you, by giving unto you this word of wisdom by revelation”
(D&D 89:4)
Thought for the day:
“The great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we
are moving.” (Oliver Wendell Holmes)


— Day 21: ___________________  Date: ___________________            
Read: Alma 25-29 Mark & Ponder: Alma 30:60
Scripture of the Day:
“Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place?  He that
hath clean hands and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn
deceitfully  He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the  God
of his salvation.  This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face , O
Jacob. Selah.” (Psalms 24: 3-6)
Thought for the day:
“Peace is more than a spot of ink on a piece of paper or a sound upon lips.  It is the
application of the teachings of the Prince of Peace in our daily lives.”

Day 14

— Day 14: ___________________  Date: ___________________            
Read: Mosiah 16-22 Mark & Ponder: Mosiah 2:17
Scripture of the day:
“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and
with all thy might.”  (Deut. 6:5)
Thought for the day:
He ate and drank the precious Words–
His Spirit grew robust–He knew no more–
that he was poor, Nor that his frame
was Dust– He danced along the dingy Days
And this Bequest of Wings Was but a Book–
What liberty A loosen spirit brings–
  (Emily Dickinson)

It is hard to believe that When I wrote this post it was over a week ago.  By the time this posts I should be reading day 28.  Well on my way to making my deadline. I should finish the Book of Mormon on Christmas day what a great gift to give myself.

Day 13

— Day 13: ___________________  Date: ___________________            
Read: Mosiah 10-15 Mark & Ponder:  Mosiah 3:19
Scripture of the Day:
”And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom;
yea seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also
by faith. “Orgaghnize yourself; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even
a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of
glory, a house or order, a house of God.” ( D&C 88:118-119)
Thought for the day:
“We cannot be made perfect without our progenitors, neither can they be perfected
without us, and they are as much dependent upon us as we are dependent upon them.
We can build temples, they cannot; it is not their province to administer in them at
present, but it is ours, and we are called upon to do so.  They are interested in our
welfare, they are our fathers, we are their children;  they are laboring there, we here,
for our mutual salvation and exaltation in the kingdom of God.”  (Pres. John Taylor)

Day 12

— Day 12: ___________________  Date: ___________________            
Read: Mosiah 4-9 Mark & Ponder: Jacob 2:18-19
Scripture of the day:
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall tribulation, or distress, or
persecution, or famine. or nakedness, or peril, or sword” (Romans 8:35)
Thought for the day:
“A true Mormon home is one in which if Christ should chance to enter, he would b
pleased to linger and rest.” (Pres. David O. McKay)

Day 11

— Day 11: ___________________  Date: ___________________            
Read: Words of Mormon, Mosiah 1-3 Mark & Ponder: 2 Nephi 33:8-9
Scripture of the day:
“Why do ye adorn yourselves with that which hath no life, and yet suffer the hungry, and
the needy, and the naked, and sick and the afflicted to pass by you, and notice them
not?” (Mormon 8:39)
Thought for the day:
“But as a people we should endeavor in the midst of our troubles, difficulties, trials and
temptations, to remember that we are God’s people; that we are called to be His, and
we should put our firm faith and trust in Him and leave Him to work out the results.”
(George Q. Cannon)

Day 10

— Day 10: ___________________  Date: ___________________          
Read: Jacob 6-7, Enos, Jarom, Omni Mark & Ponder: 2 Nephi 31:20
Scripture of the day:
“Thou shalt not idle; for he that is idle shall not eat the bread nor wear the garments of
the laborer.” (D&C 42:42)
Thought for the day:
“I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I love.  I
rejoice in life for its own sake.  Life is no brief candle to me; it is a sort of splendid torch
which I’ve got to hold up for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as
possible before handing it on to future generations.” (George Bernard Shaw)

I think this scripture says it all
Jacob 6:12 O be ^awise; what can I say more?

Day 9

— Day 9: ___________________  Date: ___________________            
Read: Jacob 1-5 Mark & Ponder: 2 Nephi 31:13
Scripture of the day:
“...Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of
Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.” (2 Nephi 32:3)
Thought for the day:
“The Book of Mormon must be reenthroned in the minds and hearts of our people.  We
must honor it by taking its precepts into our lives and transforming them into lives
required of true followers of Christ.” (Pres. Ezra Taft Benson)

Great Scripture for the day.  Last week in Young Women we had a Scripture Feast.  We asked all the YW to come with their scriptures and share their favorite Scripture and why.  No two people shared the same scriptures.  We had 100% attendance from all youth and leaders.  It was a fun activity next year we are going to do it as a combined activity.

Day 8

— Day 8: ___________________  Date: ___________________            
Read: 2 Nephi 22-33 Mark & Ponder: 2 Nephi 28:8
Scripture of the day:
“And it shall come to pass, that if ye are faithful you shall receive the fullness of the
record of John.  I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know how to
worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name,
and in due time receive of his fulness.”  (D&C 98:18-19)
Thought for the day:
“I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, I just wanted to read the book.”
(Parley P. Pratt’s first reading of the Book of Mormon)

This was the longest reading to date.  It took me 50 minutes to read this.  I wish I was like Parley P. Pratt when he read the Book of Mormon.  I just got an infection and all I want to do is sleep.  I am on my second antibiotic hopefully this one will work.

Day 7

— Day 7: ___________________  Date: ___________________            
Read: 2 Nephi 13-21 Mark & Ponder: 2 Nephi 9:28-29
Scripture of the day:
“...they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound
understanding and they searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the
word of God.  But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting;
therefore they had the spirit of prophesy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they
taught, they taught with power and authority of God.” (Alma 17:2-3)
Thought for the day:
“The time is coming when no man or woman will be able to endure on borrowed light.
Each will have to be guided by light within himself.  If you do not have it, you will not
stand.”  (Pres Herold B. Lee)

Enjoyed Reading about Christs birth in 2 Nephi 19:6

Day 6

— Day 6: ___________________  Date: ___________________            
Read: 2 Nephi 8-12 Mark & Ponder: 2 Nephi 2:27
Scripture of the day:
“And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that
when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.”
(Mosiah 2:17)
Thought for the day:
“Few will have greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a
small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of
this generation.” (Robert Kennedy)


I enjoyed reading 2 Nephi 10 3-4.  3 Wherefore, as I said unto you, it must needs be expedient that Christ—for in the last night the ^aangel spake unto me that this should be his name—should ^bcome among the ^cJews, among those who are the more wicked part of the world; and they shall ^dcrucifyhim—for thus it behooveth our God, and there is none other nation on earth that would ^ecrucify their ^fGod.
 4 For should the mighty ^amiracles be wrought among other nations they would repent, and know that he be their God.

 I don't think I ever realized that it had to be the Jews that crucified Christ...

Day 5

— Day 5: ___________________  Date: ___________________            
Read: 2 Nephi 3-7 Mark & Ponder: 2 Nephi 2:25
Scripture of the day:
“Come unto me all ye that labor and are heaven laden, and I will give you rest. Take my
yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest
unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
Thought for the day:
“..faith too has different seasons.  It has its warm, sun filled days of spring and summer,
and its long, dark bitter winters...God will not remove the winters, for through winter
comes spring.” (Lisa Johnson Boswell)

Today it took me about 30 minutes to do the reading.  I have found that I have a strong desire to finish the Book of Mormon by Christmas.  Lucky for me I still had 20 days to do it when I realized it.  I am doing this challenge in double time.  So while this is day five I have finished the reading up to Day 12.

Day 4 are you with me?

— Day 4: ___________________  Date: ____________________
Read: 1 Nephi 20-22 and 2 Nephi 1-2 Mark & Ponder: 2 Nephi 2:11
Scripture of the day:
“Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea,
even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith,  maketh an anchor
to souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good
works, being led to glorify God.” (Ester 12:4)
Thought for the day:
Hope is the thing
with feathers–
That perches in the soul–
And sings the tune
without the words--
And never stops–at all–
(Emily Dickinson, Final Harvest)

link to the document is still found here.

Day 3 in 40 days closer to Christ

I am still on track and blogging about it along with all my mommy duties.  I think when you make time for the things you should do.  Heavenly father blesses you with the time to do the things you should do.  In my life I am more focused when I am done reading.

— Day 3: ___________________ Date: ____________________        
                                 
Read: 1 Nephi 16-19 Mark & Ponder: 1 Nephi 19:23
Scripture of the day:
“Behold I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I
will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” (Revelations 3:20)
Thought for the day:
“The promise is made to everyone.  There is no discrimination, no favored few, but the
Lord has not promised to crash the door.  He stands and knocks.  If we do not listen, he
will not sup with us nor give answer to our prayers.  We must learn how to listen, grasp,
interpret, understand. The Lord stands knocking.  He never retreats.  But he will never
force himself upon us.  If our distance from him increases, it is we who have moved and
not the Lord.” (Pres. Spencer W. Kimball)




My thoughts on today's reading 
The lord is very patient.  How many times is he going to forgive Laman and Lemuel?  We all know the answer to that as many times as they repent. I am glad that I have that option in my life.  I would hope that if I had the experiences that Laman and Lemuel had that I would have had more faith.  Nephi seems to have the I will go and do mentality I hope that I can emulate that.

Day 2 in 40 Days closer to Christ

Yesterday went well I even took the time to update my blog with my thoughts on what I read.  If you haven't started yet you still can.  I recommend a paperback version of the Book of Mormon.  Then get some colored pencils and don't be afraid to write what you are thinking in the book as you read.

Here is Day Twos reading


— Day 2: ____________________   Date:  ____________________  
                                   
Read: 1 Nephi 11-15 Mark & Ponder: 1 Nephi 15:34
Scripture of the day:
“..I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will
show unto you all things what ye should do.”  (2 Nephi 32:5)
Thought for the day:
“God is weaving his tapestry according to his own grand design.  All flesh is in his hands.
It is not our prerogative to counsel him.  It is our responsibility and our opportunity to
be at peace in our minds and in our hearts, and to know that he is God, that this is his
work, and that he will not permit it to fail.” (Gordon B. Hinkley)

You can download the 40 day plan here.


My thoughts after reading day two. It took me just under 30 minutes to read.
I love that Nephi did  not doubt that his father saw visions. He desired to see the visions for him self not to know that they are true like his brothers would have.  He wanted to see them because he wanted to have the same experience. He thought the visions were so precious he wanted to be a part of it.

What would be my reasoning for wanting to see the visions to prove to me they were true or to experience what I knew was an amazing thing?

40 days closer to Christ.

Today I am starting a reading program.  I will read and ponder the book of Mormon in 40 days.  I think I will give myself 47 days to finish it. That way there is room for for busy days(Christmas and New Years).  That means I will be finished January 21th. If I sitck to to the strict 40 day plan I will be finished Jan 14th. I am trying it out to see if it would be a good fit for our YW.  We are doing summer of the BoM (Book of Mormon) this year.  We want to encourage the girls to read the Book of Mormon during the summer.   The plan I am following is found here.

Here is Day one.

Read: 1 Nephi 1-10   Mark & Ponder: 1 Nephi 3:7
Scripture of the day:
“..Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes
of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make
them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.” (Ezekiel 37:19)
Thought for the day:
“There is a book we need to study daily, both as individuals and as family, namely the
Book of Mormon.  I love that book.  It is the book that will get a person nearer to God by
abiding by its precepts than any other book.  Let us continually reread the Book of
Mormon so that we might more fully come to Christ, be committed to Him, centered in
Him, and consumed in Him.” (Pres. Ezra Taft Benson)



My thoughts after finishing day one.
- The reading took me just over 30 minutes.  I broke it up into two reading periods.
-My family isn't the only one that fights on road trips.  Lehi's family makes our kids seem like angels.
-Is Nephi a little boastful he talks about his stature several times like in 1Nephi 2:16 and 4:31. I am thinking his brothers must have been big also to get away with how they treated him or maybe there needed to be two of them.
-Notice the only time Laman and Lemuel didn't murmur about going back to Jerusalem was when they went back for wives.

Yesterday I thought Marissa's primary class they are 8 years old.  I started to ask them how much they knew about Lehi and his family.  They all were very smart and each told a small story about the Family.  One boy went on and on and I was very impressed.  He started to make me feel guilty for not reading the Book of Mormon with my kids more.  When I told the boy I was impressed with how much he knew about the Book of Mormon he smiled and said  "I saw the movie."  I guess I need to get some movies for my kids so they can impress their Primary teachers.

Young Women 2012 theme

The 2012 Theme for Young Women is  D&C 115:5

 We are going to do a craft project the first week in January 2012.  It will be a temple block. Like the one found here.  On one side we are putting the ward theme "Stand in Holy Places" and on the other we will Put the YW theme for 2012. "Arise and shine forth"

The ward theme

This is my take on the YW theme. 

I hope it ends up being a fun activity.  We are going to have all the YW and their leaders make one for themselves then we are making them for the 12 new beehives that we will get in 2012.