Category: LDS Quotes

2015 Family Theme: Building a foundation on Jesus Christ

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Each new year I like to pick a scriptural theme for our family. Having one verse to focus on gives me something to direct my personal and family study and Family Home Evening lessons. I have known since October what the theme for 2015 should be.

It started with General Conference, when I noticed that many of the talks were focused on Jesus Christ, and how we should know him and build our foundation on him. (This isn’t really a surprise, since we belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints after all, but it was the overlaying theme that stood out to me).

As I have reviewed and studied the talks, I found three speakers who quoted the same verse of scripture. Heleman 5:12 has always been a favorite of mine, so I noticed when it was quoted.

“The gospel of our Lord and Savior provides a sure and solid foundation…Jesus is the great Exemplar. The only way to find lasting peace is to look to Him and live.”  Elder L. Tom Perry, “Finding Lasting Peace and Building Eternal Families”. October 2014 General Conference.

“That sure foundation is Jesus Christ. He is “the Rock of Heaven.” When we build our house upon Him, the rains of the latter days may descend, the floods may come, and the winds may blow, but we will not fall. We will not fail, for our home and our family will be founded upon Christ.” Elder Robert D. Hales, “Eternal Life–to Know Our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ”. October 2014 General Conference.

“When we heed the words of the prophets, we build our homes and our lives upon an eternally sure foundation.” Carol F. McConkie, “Live According to the Words of the Prophets”. October 2014 General Conference.

So Helaman 5:12 will be the focus for our family this year.

“And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.”

I found this pretty graphic at LDS Printables, which I will display in a prominent place in our home all year long. We will work on memorizing it as a family.helaman-5-12

I am planning to introduce the theme tonight at Family Home Evening. When talking about building a foundation on Jesus Christ, a lesson with young children will naturally lead to the Parable of the Wise Man and the Foolish Man (Matt 7:24-27 ). A Year of FHE has a great lesson here, complete with printables and directions for an object lesson. A few other resources to consider: Scripture Figures: The Wise Man and the Foolish Man or this colored and enlarged version and Sharing Time: Build Upon My Rock.

Our Christmas Menu

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For most of our married life, we have lived far away from our extended family. Since traveling at this season can be difficult and expensive, we have opted to make the most of Christmas celebrating with our own little family in our own little home. Over the years we have developed a holiday menu that we really look forward to!

Christmas Eve the theme is Chinese Food. You can follow the links to view the recipes. This year I am planning to serve:

Sweet Sriracha Chicken-purchased from Sam’s Club

Egg Rolls-purchased from Sam’s Club

One pot wonder Chicken Lo Mein

A couple of other items I am considering: Chow Mein, General Tso’s Chicken, or these Thai Peanut Noodles.

Fried Rice: my recipe is mostly of the make-it-up as you go along variety, and it varies overtime. Take a guess at the proportions! Saute sliced onion and garlic. Add sliced carrots and bell peppers, then frozen peas. Or you can just use a bag of frozen mixed vegetables. Scramble 2-3 eggs. Add prepared white rice (2-3 cups, cooled). Toss in some soy sauce until it tastes good. If you want a real recipe, try this one.

For dessert we always have Fried Ice Cream balls. Not actually fried, so at our house we call these Cruncy Ice Cream balls. These are especially good with peppermint flavored ice cream, but with the picky eaters at my house we will stick to vanilla ice cream this year.

Christmas Day breakfast is Butterscotch Caramel Pull-Aparts (made by my husband). We also have hard-boiled eggs, and the oranges that are in everyone’s stockings. Perhaps this year I will try this Bacon & Egg Breakfast Casserole.

Dinner on Christmas Day is the traditional ham and potatoes. I am going to try the Orange and Brown Sugar glazed ham posted by Our Best Bites, as well as Funeral Potatoes. Most likely green beans for a side.

Ever since we moved to Florida I have been trying to learn how to make rolls. My husband’s family makes fabulous rolls, which I have been trying to replicate with moderate success. I think the elevation and humidity have something to do with my failures, but let me just say that bread making is not really my thing. Last January my good friend kindly gave me a one-on-one lesson on roll making. I made them for Thanksgiving this year and they were my best ever. So this is my roll recipe for this Christmas.

Dinner Rolls from Stacey

Proof yeast:

1 Tbs. yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1 Tbs. sugar

Mix the first four ingredients in Bosch (I use my Kitchenaid)

2 cups milk (or 1/4 cup powdered milk and 2 cups hot water)

1 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp. salt

Add:

2 beaten eggs

8-9 cups bread flour

1/4 cup melted butter

Heat butter, milk, sugar, and salt until warm. Combine beaten eggs with milk mixture then add yeast mixture (make sure liquid is not too hot before you add the yeast mixture). Gradually add the flour until dough leaves the side of the bowl. Cover and let rise until double. Punch down. Knead and spread out onto a floured surface to make a circle (actually rectangle shape works better for me) and spread with melted butter. Using a pizza cutter, cut 24 even wedges. Roll each wedge beginning at the wide end. Place on a cookie sheet and bend slightly to make a curved roll. Cover and let rise until double. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Butter tops while hot.

What do you think? Anyone want to join us for a meal?

“Ponder the path of thy feet” (Highlights from President Monson-Oct 2014)

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President Monson’s most recent General Conference talk comes from this scripture in Proverbs 4:26 “Ponder the path of thy feet”. This is an excellent talk and made for a great FHE lesson. I had the children each trace an outline of their foot while we discussed the highlighted quotes below. 

“As we look to Jesus as our Exemplar and as we follow in His footsteps, we can return safely to our Heavenly Father to live with Him forever.”

“Physically walking where Jesus walked is less important than walking as He walked.”

Walking-as-He-Walked-Quote2image via Simple As That

Like Jesus, we can walk the path of: obedience, service, and prayer.

Read the scriptures to find instructions given to us by the Savior: be merciful, be humble, be righteous, be pure in heart, be peacemakers, stand up for beliefs, let our lights shine, be morally clean, love and serve our neighbors, improve our talents, rescue others.

“As we strive to place Christ at the center of our lives by learning His words, by following His teachings, and by walking in His path, He has promised to share with us the eternal life that He died to gain.”

“Nothing else, no other choice we make, can make of us what He can.”

President Thomas S. Monson, “Ponder the Path of Thy Feet”. October 2014 General Conference.

Guidelines for the smart use of technology (Highlights from Brother Ridd-April 2014)

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“You have agency. It is the power to not only act on your desires but also to refine, purify, and elevate your desires.”

Principles to guide your use of technology

1)Knowing who you really are makes decisions easier

2)Plug in to the source of power

“Every time you plug in your phone, use it as a reminder to ask yourself if you have plugged in to the most important source of spiritual power—prayer and scripture study, which will charge you with inspiration through the Holy Ghost”

3) Owning a smartphone does not make you smart, but using it wisely can

“Don’t do dumb things with your smartphone.

4) The Lord provides technology to accomplish his purposes

“The divine purpose of technology is to hasten the work of salvation.”

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From New Era Magazine

Randall L. Ridd, “The Choice Generation.” April 2014 General Conference.

A Disciple of Jesus Christ (Highlights from Sister Burton-April 2014)

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“As true disciples, may we offer our willing hearts and our helping hands to hasten His work. It does not matter if, like Brynn, we have only one hand. It does not matter if we are not yet perfect and complete. We are devoted disciples who reach out and help each other along the way. Our sisterhood reaches across the generations to those faithful sisters who have walked before. Together, as sisters and in unity with living prophets, seers, and revelators with restored priesthood keys, we can walk as one, as disciples, as servants with willing hearts and hands to hasten the work of salvation. As we do so, we will become like the Savior.”

Sister Linda K. Burton, “Wanted: Hands and Hearts to Hasten the Work”. April 2014 General Women’s Meeting.

“The Savior makes all things right.” (Highlights from Elder Christofferson-April 2014)

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“Having satisfied the demands of justice, Christ now steps into the place of justice; or we might say He is justice, just as He is love. Likewise, besides being a “perfect, just God,” He is a perfect, merciful God. Thus, the Savior makes all things right. No injustice in mortality is permanent, even death, for He restores life again. No injury, disability, betrayal, or abuse goes uncompensated in the end because of His ultimate justice and mercy.

“By the same token, we are all accountable to Him for our lives, our choices, and our actions, even our thoughts. Because He redeemed us from the Fall, our lives are in reality His.”meme-christofferson-savior-1240579-gallery

Elder D. Todd Christofferson, “The Resurrection of Jesus Christ”. April 2014 General Conference.

“Family history centers are now in our homes”. (Highlights from Elder Cook-April 2014)

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The doctrine of the family in relation to family history and temple work is clear. The Lord in initial revelatory instructions referred to “baptism foryour dead.”13 Our doctrinal obligation is to our own ancestors. This is because the celestial organization of heaven is based on families.14 The First Presidency has encouraged members, especially youth and young single adults, to emphasize family history work and ordinances for their own family names or the names of ancestors of their ward and stake members.15 We need to be connected to both our roots and branches. The thought of being associated in the eternal realm is indeed glorious.

“Family history centers are now in our homes”.

Elder Quentin L. Cook, “Roots and Branches”. April 2014 General Conference.

“Families are the treasure of heaven.” (Highlights from Elder Anderson-April 2014)

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“While many governments and well-meaning individuals have redefined marriage, the Lord has not. In the very beginning, God initiated marriage between a man and a woman—Adam and Eve. He designated the purposes of marriage to go far beyond the personal satisfaction and fulfillment of adults to, more importantly, advancing the ideal setting for children to be born, reared, and nurtured. Families are the treasure of heaven.”

“The way you feel in the temple is a pattern for how you want to feel in your life.”

Elder Neil L. Anderson, “Spiritual Whirlwinds”. April 2014 General Conference.

Be a disciple of Christ (Highlights from Elder Rasband-April 2014)

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“Jesus Christ continues to extend the call “Come and follow me.”5 He walked His homeland with His followers in a selfless manner. He continues to walk with us, stand by us, and lead us. To follow His perfect example is to recognize and honor the Savior, who has borne all of our burdens through His sacred and saving Atonement, the ultimate act of service. What He asks of each one of us is to be able and willing to take up the joyful “burden” of discipleship.”

“Focusing on serving our brothers and sisters can guide us to make divine decisions in our daily lives and prepares us to value and love what the Lord loves. In so doing, we witness by our very lives that we are His disciples. When we are engaged in His work, we feel His Spirit with us. We grow in testimony, faith, trust, and love.”

Elder Ronald A. Rasband, “The Joyful Burden of Discipleship”. April 2014 General Conference.

Caught living the gospel

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While studying the June 2014 Ensign magazine, the following thought by Elder Holland really stood out to me:

“When He comes, I so want to be caught living the gospel. I want to be surprised right in the act of spreading the faith and doing something good.”

That is how I want to spend my life. Am I living each day of my life so that I might be caught living the gospel and doing something good???? Something to think about and strive for each day.

In the article, Elder Holland offered three lessons to remember in our call to be Christlike:

1) Never cheek your religion at the door

2) Be compassionate but be loyal to the commandments

3) Use gospel values to benefit communities and countries