"He Loveth His Children"

I have to express what I'm feeling right now regarding the new mormonandgay.lds.org website.

It is so good, and y'all NEED to go and look at it ASAP.

Let me tell you why...

First, actually, let me give you a brief background on my feelings toward this subject that is so quickly gaining place in daily conversation among society.

I have not always been accepting of the idea of Same Sex Attraction (SSA), sad to say. Judge me if you want, but you better keep reading ;). I wasn't very tolerant in thought when it came to thinking about those who deal with SSA. In action, I feel like it would be very accurate to say that I have always been tolerant. I don't remember ever acting out in hate and ignorance, but fully recognize that it was there in thought. And even as I reflect back on that, I am ashamed that it happened.

However, over the years as I have come to know many family members and friends who deal with SSA or identify as "gay," I have simultaneously grown to love them for who they are. Although I don't necessarily agree or share the same views or feelings, I do love them. I do believe that now my thoughts have changed and are more in alignment with my actions--my actions even having changed to be better (if that makes sense).

But, you guys, I did not expect my feelings of love for those whom I know and love (and even those of whom I DON'T know) to grow as much as it has! And I know it will keep on growing! This is why...

GOD IS LOVE

Especially since I have started the "job" I have as an educator of religion, my eyes have been opened so much more to the love that God has for all of His children. ALL of His children. "...he first loved us." And it is that love that He has for us, if we truly take the time to become aware of it, that drives us to love those around us. It is as we show others the love God shows to us that the words "By this shalt men know ye are my disciples" are fulfilled ("Love One Another", Hymns, 308).

I know it's not really a comparison I can make, given the awesomeness and righteousness of the prophet Nephi, but after having gone through the "mormonandgay" website just a little to see what the Lord is saying about it through His servants, I truly do feel to say, "...I know that he liveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things." (1 Nephi 11:17)

I DO know that God loves His children and I commit to treating those around me, no matter what they may be dealing with in their lives at the time, as just that--God's children.

The website mormonandgay.lds.org does a absolute fantastic job with sending the message of love to those who deal with SSA, which is exactly how I feel the Lord would have us feel toward those of His children dealing with that right now in their lives. I talk to my kids in school all the time about how to the acquire spiritual knowledge we want/need and how keeping to divine sources (prophets and apostles definitely being one) will help us see things as the Lord sees them.

I repeat the words of Elder L. Whitney Clayton,

"As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are under a sacred obligation to follow the example set by the Master...we should not let division enter our families or congregations. The Lord Jesus Christ reached out with love and we are invited to follow His example.

...To church members who experience Same Sex Attraction, or identify as 'gay', 'lesbian', or bisexual. We want you to know, we love you. You are welcome. We want you to be part of our congregations. You have great talents and abilities to offer God's kingdom on earth and we recognize the many valuable contributions you make.

If any of you are unclear about where the Church stands on these issues, we invite you to please take the time to view the material published at mormonandgay.lds.org, prayerfully seek the Spirit to provide the answers you seek, and be assured that God loveth His children."

Leaving our Labors

I'm currently in Alma chapter 1 with my personal study of the scriptures. Verses 25-26 say:

"Now this was a great trial to those that did stand fast in the faith; nevertheless, they were steadfast and immovable in keeping the commandments of God, and they bore with patience the persecution which was heaped upon them.

And when the priests left their labor to impart the word of God unto the people, the people also left their labors to hear the word of God..."

As I read these verses I thought of a few things, but one I wanted to bring up here is about the part of the verse above that is red.

What do you think that means that the people "left their labors?" I actually thought of this student that shared something super awesome this past week in class.

We were talking about the importance and purposes of the sacrament and this student mentioned that something he did to help show to his Heavenly Father that the sacrament is important to him is leaving his phone home. He bore simple yet powerful testimony that the way in which he showed the importance of the sacrament helped him feel the Spirit testify to him of its true importance and significance.

I love my kids in Seminary!!!!

Anyway, that's what I thought of when I read the verses above, particularly 25. I am now wondering to myself, "What labors can I leave in order to hear the word of God on Sunday? What labors can I leave on a daily basis to help me hear the word of God?"

SLOW DOWN!!!

This a late post about these two women, but I thought I would include them because they taught me an important lesson that echoes what President Dieter F. Uchtdorf taught. But, before I get to what President Uchtdorf said, let me explain this picture.

This is just outside the building where one of my nieces had her graduation from preschool ceremony. It was awesome! The kids all said what they wanted to be when they grew up, giving answers like a "princess" and "ballerina." When asked why, most of them said, "Because they're pretty!" Guess what my niece said? Oh no, she's not about to join everyone else. In more or less words, she says, "When I grow up, I want to be a police officer!" When asked why, she responds with, "Because they put people in jail!" EPIC!!!!!

As we left the building, we were behind these two wonderful women. Their pace was rather slow; especially compared to that of the modern world where we tend to walk with a sense of "urgency" to get places we need to go.

As we were walking behind them, I couldn't help but think of the words from Dieter F. Uchtdorf:

"Have you ever been in an airplane and experienced turbulence? The most common cause of turbulence is a sudden change in air movement causing the aircraft to pitch, yaw, and roll. While planes are built to withstand far greater turbulence than anything you would encounter on a regular flight, it still may be disconcerting to passengers.

What do you suppose pilots do when they encounter turbulence? A student pilot may think that increasing speed is a good strategy because it will get them through the turbulence faster. But that may be the wrong thing to do. Professional pilots understand that there is an optimum turbulence penetration speed that will minimize the negative effects of turbulence. And most of the time that would mean to reduce your speed. The same principle applies also to speed bumps on a road.

Therefore, it is good advice to slow down a little, steady the course, and focus on the essentials when experiencing adverse conditions.

My dear brothers and sisters, we would do well to SLOW DOWN a little, proceed at the optimum speed for our circumstances, focus on the significant, lift up our eyes, and truly see the things that matter most. Let us be mindful of the foundational precepts our Heavenly Father has given to His children that will establish the basis of a rich and fruitful mortal life with promises of eternal happiness."

I couldn't help but slow down and pay attention to the little one sitting on my shoulders and the sweet hand I was holding at the moment. I am thankful for times like these that can cause us to stop and reflect on what we have right there in that very moment. I look forward to having more of these moments as life goes on and to be adding two little girls in the mix here soon!!!

Last Week of School!!!!

I can't even believe it's the end of the school year already!! Time has just gone by so fast this past year or so. With all that has happened within this last year (graduating college, being hired as a student teacher, moving into my parents' home, and getting hired as a full-time religious educator) comes feelings of gratitude, apprehension, joy, uneasiness, excitement, etc. But don't get me wrong, overall, I/we are super excited to greet these two beautiful daughters of our Father in heaven into this world.

With the combined waiting on these twinners and the job to come, time has just flown by.

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Yesterday, as students were coming by where we were handing out ice cream, and asking us to sign their yearbooks, I couldn't help but feel a little sad that we'll be saying our adieu's to these wonderful students here this week. I've come to really love these kids. I don't remember if I've told you about my trainer, Matthew Taylor, but he is such the example to me of how to truly love these kids we are teaching. I've been praying for the gift of charity so that I may love the students I teach, in the classroom and out!

I'm gonna miss these characters!

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This evening Russell and I went out for a walk to see the horses!

He was a little apprehensive to touch the horses, but he overcame his fears!

He wanted to pick some dandelions for papa!

IT'S ALL WORTH IT

I've had a few experiences over the past couple weeks that have, once again, been humble reminders of the importance of keeping a record of the experiences I am given. Today during stake conference President Wright of the stake presidency and Elder Alan C. Batt of the Seventy were among those who addressed us. The reason I highlight these two is due to their sharing of experiences in their talks. The experiences they related to us were very detailed, and Elder Batt had quite a few stories he told.

I realize that they have lived longer than myself, but I found myself just amazed at the detail they could give and the manner in which they related those details to the lessons they were trying to teach us. Anyways, just listening to them caused me to reflect on the experiences that I have had in the past and the value they have to my present. Looking at the lessons I learned today from the experiences President Wright and Elder Batt shared today is one of many testaments to me of the importance of our past to the way we live right now.

There are a few things that have happened recently that I have failed to record that I would like to take the opportunity to do so now.

One of the most recent, but definitely the most outstanding in my mind, happened just a few days ago on Friday, May 13, 2016. I closed the week with my class at Madison on a great note with my students and had arrived at Rigby to prepare for the same with my two classes there. I walk into my office to find everything where I had left them, except for one small note that I know had not been there the evening before when I left. The note was on a normal lined sheet of paper you would pull out of a spiral notebook, with purple penmanship clearly standing out on the page.

As I picked up the note, I must be honest that I couldn't help but feel a little bit of nausea set in from thinking about all those stupid times I thought note passing was cool in middle school and high school LOL. ANYWAYS.......I opened the note and saw that it was from one of my seminary students in one of my classes! It was signed anonymous, so I don't really know who it was from. I'm pretty sure it was a girl though due to the handwriting being so legible (haha!).

I won't tell you everything the note said because it doesn't really matter. The only thing I wanted to share from the note was that the student was thanking me for helping them come to a greater knowledge that our Father in heaven knows who she is and she knows that she is His daughter.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Now listen to what I'm going to say~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I don't share that in hopes that it makes me seem like a better person in ANY way, shape, or form. I DO NOT care about how they perceive me, or how anyone else could perceive me. As I have been teaching, or at least ATTEMPTING to teach, I have come to a greater knowledge of just how important these kids are to our Father in Heaven.

The one person that has taught me the importance of loving these kids the most is my trainer, Matthew Taylor. You can visibly see the love he has for teenagers and teaching them the gospel doctrines and principles that are going to SAVE them. There are so many things that I have learned from that man, but this one has come to the surface more recently.

I will be ETERNALLY thankful to my God, my Father in Heaven, through my Savior, Jesus Christ, that I was blessed with this heavenly note from this divine student, child of God. This has been such a testament to me, the note and the WHOLE trimester, that God knows His children (including ME), He loves them and watches over them, and He is in control of His work. If we wish to be instruments in the hands of God, we need only to allow Him to use us as HE needs us and for His eternal purposes. As we trust in Him "with all [our] heart, and lean not unto [our] own understanding; in all [our] ways acknowledge Him...He shall direct [our] paths." -Proverbs 3:5-6

CAUGHT PRAYING!!!!!!

I feel like teaching is getting "better." I think I mentioned a couple posts back that I wasn't sure why it feels different, but today I think I'm beginning to understand why. My love for teaching has grown so much! And what's more, my love and desire to teach these young kids has increased SOOOOO MUCH! As I think about the value of the gospel of Jesus Christ to our lives, looking into the eyes of my students and think about what kinds of things I wish I could go back and tell myself to prepare for, I feel a sense of urgency to do my best in everything from preparing "lessons" to identifying principles and doctrines within the scriptures to the closing prayer after each class.

Even still, I know that there are MORE things I can do to become a BETTER teacher.

I am most appreciative of the other teachers in the building and their example. There are things that I have learned from them that have helped me improve the way I teach, prepare, and even study! I learn from them every day. Just today in fact, as I was leaving, I walked by one of the teacher's office to talk with him about the day, but I had to stop at the entrance because the door was shut. As I looked through the small window in the door, I saw him there on his knees, praying. Needless to say, I just went about my way; leaving the conversation for another time.

It was such a simple thing, but it's not the first time I've almost walked in on one of them praying in their office. It causes me to reflect on a couple things. As Saint Francis Assisi exclaims:

"Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words." 

It also causes me to do some self evaluation. Am I going to my Father, in heaven, enough when I'm in need of help? Do I really trust that I can receive answers if I humble myself before Him and rely on the Atonement of His Son?

I know I can spend more time on my knees in prayer and supplication to God, the Eternal Father who hears and answers prayers TODAY as much as He has in any other time. As I have been striving to do just that, I have felt His hand guiding me in more than just teaching, but I am thankful that it has been a part of my life that He has seen fit to magnify more and more.

FIRST DAY

Today started the new semester at Rigby! I am teaching 2 classes, 4th and 5th hour. And from the classes today, I can tell this trimester is going to be a fantastic experience!! I feel different. I can't really explain it, but I feel different. I feel different about teaching, I feel different about the students, I feel different about everything really! I feel like a new person if I can use such a cliche term.

There are quite a few students that I have a connection to that are in both of my classes. I'm even related to a couple of them! It should be quite the adventure!

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Russell's personality is really coming out every day! He now wants to go feed the dogs with me every morning and every evening. I love that he's wanting to do things like that with me. I hope to be the kind of father that teaches his son the value of work. That IS what we are known for in Idaho right?! Wish me luck!!