My Growing Family

The Beginning

My Parents

                                   

                      Mom, Dad and My Older Sister                            Mom, Dad, Sister, & Me

                               

                      Mom, Dad, Sister, Me, Sister                                Mom, Dad, Sister, Me, Sister, 

                                                                                                                     and Brother

Then the family grew even more!

                      

Finally the family most recently!

(2012)

The 1970s

Elder M. Russell Ballard said, "When evil wants to strike out and disrupt the essence of God's work, it attacks the family. It does so by attempting to disregard the law of chastity, to confuse gender, to desensitize violence, to make crude and blasphemous language the norm, and to make immoral and deviant behavior seem like the rule rather than the exception."

This made me think of my life and the things I turn to for entertainment, when I have the time of course! :-) I like to watch old movies and television shows because of their goodness. Unlike today when writers think that adding all this JUNK makes for good tv, back in the 60s and 70s it really was good. Sure not all the programing was but more often than not, it was, today is just the opposite!

Just take a minute and think about the things going on around 45 years ago or so. What was really on television and what were the movies. Well I remember all the great family Disney movies. Herbie for one. And That Darn Cat for another. Even The Shaggy Dog. All of these movies have remakes now but it's the ORIGINALS that were class acts!!! There were no swear words uttered. There was not innuendos hanging. Sure there may have been love interests but not as you think of it today. Then there were The Apple Dumpling Gang or Hot Lead and Cold Feet. Okay here are a list of Disney movies from the 70s that I remember and have seen, many were seen at the drive-in with my parents and siblings! (Who remembers the drive-in....family movies? I loved that and have many fond memories of those days.

Herbie Rides Again
Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo
The North Avenue Irregulars
Pete's Dragon
The Saggy D.A.
Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Now You See Him, Now You Don't
Escape to Witch Mountain
Return to Witch Mountain
No Deposit, No Return
The Cat From Outerspace
The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again

Then there were the TV shows of the 1970s too!

Sesame Street
Gunsmoke
Little House on the Prairie
The Andy Griffith Show
The Brady Bunch
Bonanza
I Dream of Jeannie
The Beverly Hillbillies
Gilligan's Island
The Waltons
Family Affair
The Six Million Dollar Man
Emergency
My Three Sons
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Carol Burnett Show

I could go on and on. But these are some of the things that shaped who I am and I'm glad. These movies and television programs were things that we could feel comfortable about watching with anyone. I loved this time. If there is something in this list that you haven't seen, you really should. If your kids are "normal" and not too techy I know they'd LOVE to watch some of these, WITH YOU!! The key is with you! Have some family time.

Some More Thoughts

The following are a few things I've been learning in my religion course and as I've learned I've given much time to thinking on what I believe and think about such things. These are my thoughts and opinions only, of course. I wanted to share and maybe get others thoughts and opinions on these things as well!

The Family: A Proclamation to the World teaches us many important thing which we need to understand as we live and strive to return home to our loving Father in Heaven one day. This was counsel given to us through true prophets of God who live on earth today and talk and gain guidance from God as He sees fit to provide to them. In turn, they direct and guide us on how we should live our lives in order to gain the eternal blessings, which we have been promised.

We first learn that marriage and family are ordained of God and are essential to the eternal plan of our Father, the great Plan of Happiness. The Lord then provides instruction on our roles as parents.

Man is created in the image                            Woman is created in the

of God                                                                      image of God

** Gender is eternal – we always have been and always will be the gender which we were created to be period! **

We learn that in our premortal existence we lived as spirit sons and daughters and we “knew and worshipped God as our Eternal Father.” We accepted the “Plan” and chose to come to earth to gain a physical body by which we can learn and grow through our earthly experiences and become as our Father one day. We are promised that, “The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave.”

Our roles as parents:

Fathers                                                         Mothers

“By divine design, fathers are to                  “Mothers are primarily

preside over their families in love               responsible for the nurture

and righteousness and are                              of their children.”

responsible to provide the

necessities of life and protection

for their families.”

“In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. (emphasis added)

As a wife and mother, am I really doing all I can and all that is required of me? Am I giving my best self to those I love? What can I do better? What areas can I improve in myself? These are all some questions I've been thinking about and would ask that you think of these things as well. How do you answer these questions?

This Weeks Readings

Readings:

Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Priesthood Authority in the Family and the Church (General Conference, October 2005)

Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Love and Law (General Conference, October 2009)

Elder David A. Bednar, More Diligent and Concerned at Home (General Conference, October 2009)

Elders Oaks said, "In our theology and in our practice, the family and the Church have a mutually reinforcing relationship. The family is dependent upon the Church for doctrine, ordinances, and priesthood keys. The Church provides the teachings, authority, and ordinances necessary to perpetuate family relationships to the eternities."

I appreciate these words because it expresses what I see the whole purpose of our being is. We cannot just go to church and expect things to work out. We cannot appoint ourselves or declare ordinances upon ourselves. We must attend church to learn more about the gospel of Jesus Christ and the things we must do to live eternally with Him and our Father. We also need to partake of ordinances through the proper authority. So we need the church as much as the church needs us!

I also appreciated Elder Bednar's counsel on how we can become more diligent and concerned in our homes. We need to heed his counsel through prayer and faith as the Spirit of the Lord will lead and guide us. We need to express love, bear testimony, and be consistent!! I will be reading and rereading this one a few more times!

Family and Society

Why is it that when there is a decline in the family there is an even bigger decline within society? Isn't that curious at all to people? Does it even mean anything or is it just something I made up in my own mind? These are some questions to ask yourself and express your opinion and thoughts on.

I find it rather amazing as I look back on the past 47+ years and how things have changed in the world. I realize that a lot of the changes were small in the beginning but became HUGE over time. It's been so gradual that most people didn't even recognize it, otherwise if they had it may not have happened.

In the readings and podcasts for this weeks' class there was a quote from clear back in 1980 that is just as relevant today as it was then. It amazes me to see how our prophets were preparing us 35 years ago for how bad it is today.

President Spencer W. Kimball said, "Many of the social restraints which in the past have helped to reinforce and to share up the family are dissolving and disappearing. The time will come when only those who believe deeply and actively in the family will be able to preserve their families in the midst of the gathering evil around us.

"...There are those who would define the family in such a nontraditional way that they would define it out of existence...We of all people, brothers and sisters, should not be taken in by the specious arguments that the family unit is some how tied to a particular phase of development a mortal society is going through. We are free to resist those moves which downplay the significance of the family and which play up the significance of selfish individualism. We know the family to be eternal. We know that when things go wrong in the family, things go wrong in every other institution in society."

The last sentence is the big one. Where are you today? How do you view the world and your family? Are you on the same page as the world or are you on the same page with God? Are they different pages? In what way can you remain strong and steadfast to the things you know are right and good?

These are all personal questions I have asked myself. I am not as strong as I want to be but if I remind myself of these things I can stay the course. I want to always be on God's side but I can't just say that or think it will happen just because I want it to. It takes effort on my part. God has given me the guidelines and tools to stay on His side now I have to make the right choices and be firm in my convictions and help others along the way and I will stay on course! With His help and by surrounding myself with others who know and believe as I do we can all stay the course!