Importance of Family Prayer, Scripture study, and Family Home Evening

We as Latter-Day Saints we do believe that the most important things in the world is our family.  That's we do value our family and do programs to strengthen our relationship to each others. Our Savior teach us the importance of family Prayer, family Scripture study every day, and hold family home evening every Monday night.

Family Prayer is about praying together as a family. In our prayer it's not all the time the father who will say the prayer but all the members of the family has the opportunity to participate in pray. It shows humility when we kneel down to our God, and tell our Father in Heaven what is in our heart.  Prayer is not repetition of words or need to quote something to a famous authors or individual,  a simple phrase that comes from the heart is a brilliant words for our Father in Heaven. As far we give reverence, respect, love and its came from the heart and fell the Spirit of the Lord.

We  commonly say when we pray is we acknowledge Him of his divine love and mercy for us, thanking Him for the blessing we received, the life and everything. Asking Him for forgiveness, or our daily needs, direction, and other things that we want to tell Him. before we close we say it in the name of His Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Some things to remember, when we pray as a family, we also pray for our brothers and sisters who are afflicted and in need of help, our local leaders that they may guided and exercise wisdom so that they will lead righteously-prayer is not all about us but all of us.  Pray gently,  take time if you can say a word just wait , don't be afraid of silence-when you can't say a word your heart speaks. After praying ponder for a while to listen what the Spirit wants to say for answers.

Our Heavenly Father  loves us so much, He always wants us to talk to Him, He wants to update our status in our daily life. So if we want our family to be strong and united take time to spent together with our family in prayer every day. So that the Spirit of the Lord will dwell in our individual homes.

Our  Father in Heaven, He answers in different ways, in our thoughts and feelings,  through other people or when we read the Scriptures because it is the word of God. He commanded us to search the Scriptures that we may learn wisdom, guidance, protection, the love of God, the life of Christ and many more wonderful things .

That's why it is important that every family should have their own individual scriptures in their homes. The scriptures is not a cabinet member, why? most people put there scriptures inside the cabinet for so long that the scripture will be called as a cabinet member..true,  in doing family scripture study we need to start in prayer to guide us that we may edify and understand what we are reading. After praying, one of the member of the family will lead and the rest will follow, they  read together, after that individual can share their insights about what they had read. In this practice children will get use to it, so that when they also have their own they will apply this practices and for the generation to come and the children will be nurtured to be closer to God and to learn His ways.

Lastly family Home Evening-family home evening or FHE is held every Monday, the activity will started with singing an opening Hymn and a prayer,  one of the family member can say the prayer.  After that one of the family can quote verses in the Scriptures and expound it. After the Spiritual thought then, the father will say the goals and plans sample things to improve as a family, upcoming activities or events, household responsibilities and other stuff pertaining how to strengthen family relationship. After that, someone will give the lesson, favorite part of the children is the games. And it will be ended in singing a hymn and a prayer. After the closing prayer the family could share the simple food they prepare.

No material things can compensate, when we are failure in our individual homes.
Family First. . .

Because I have been given much, I too must give.

Because I have been given much, I too must give.
Because of thy great bounty, Lord each day I live.
I shall divide my gifts from thee with every brother that I see,
who has the need of help from me.

Because I have been sheltered, fed by thy good care…
I cannot see another’s lack and I not share-
my glowing fire, my loaf of bread-my roof’s safe shelter over head,
that he too may be comforted.

Because I have been blessed by thy great love dear Lord,
I’ll share thy love again according to thy word.
I shall give love to those in need. I’ll show that love by word and deed,
thus shall my thanks be thanks indeed.

                This Hymn that taken from the hymn book inspires me back in 2007 while serving as a full time missionary  in Quezon City. I remember I and my companion while walking in the street in my first area. I told him that I want to be assign in the mountainous part of our mission, I am not use in this area-because I live in the province we don't have lots of jeepney and pollution is not really a problem to us unlike here. He just smile at me and told me that whatever the Lords calls you that would be it. whenever it may be as far you serve.

                Still I didn't listen to him instead during our preparation day I wrought to our Mission President in that time and told him that the next time he will assign me in my next area I love to work in the province part of our mission. Novaliches is my first area after 4 transfer or 6 months I was transfer in kalookan, while in chapel during our District meeting, when our zone leaders announce that I will be assign in kalookan everybody in the zone smile and say congratulate me, they said that I will be assign in a great zone or area. With a smile I said really, that will be awesome, so I assume that God answer my prayer.

                The next day while travelling with my new companion,  I look in the window of the buss, I saw houses in the bridge they like a sandwhich and the water is so dark because of   pollution. I said to myself I wish it's not my area. But well, I am lucky to be assign in my perfect and awesome area Kalookan. While saying that to my mind smiling. My companion said that we are here, I was shock and said to him what, what are you talking about we are here, are you serious, this is our place?  and he answer me with a smile confirming that it is our area. 

                While in the apartment I saw lots of rubber boots,  I wonder why they are using rubber boots, my companion said to me that I will choose one and when we are out I am going to use it-but I didn't listen. After we arrange everything, I and my companion go to work. But still he remind me again to use the rubber boots.  I refuse again and said I'm not use to wear that and I had never use that before. 

While in the street, rain came. But still because we need to go to our investigator  that we are going to share the Gospel we continue to our walk in spite of the rain. When we reach the street near to our appointment  the street is flooded, and I saw that the water is dark and dead rat and garbage is floating..I am gonna die in here I said..I been there 7 and half months I suffer cough for 4 months.

                One lesson I learn in my mission is that.  The more challenges I experience in that area its became more valuable in my life, the memory, funny and emotional experience and the people I met.  Seeing the changes in their life.  

                My purpose is to share the Gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ . This is His work, I love that area in all my area, I love the smell, the people the environment.   Every time I remember this experiences in my life after my mission  I just smile and said they are right it's an awesome place. How great thou art for the experiences and memory I had in my mission. I will cherish those memories for eternity.

My wife gonna edit my grammar and spelling later tonight.

My mother thought me something in life

     I became a member of the LDS Church since 2004, since I was a kid I am interested in  religion, I was born as a catholic my family is devoted into that sect especially my grand mother.  My mother even she is not well verse in the scripture she thought me to love God and there is a supreme being that can help me every time I have problems and challenges in life.

     I love my mother so much, I remember when I was a little boy she will wake me up in the morning to prepare in school and when I go to the bathroom I know that the water is warm, she bowl the water in the pot and put it in the container so that when I take a bath its not cold for me. When I  go to the table to eat my meal is ready, and after eating my toothbrush is ready. And I start a day thanking God for having a mother like here.

     I remember certain situation in school when I was in grade 3, our teacher made a policy-well her own policy that if anyone in the class will find or caught doing something that are against in her  rule will be punish by putting a chilly a hot chilly in our face or lips. And one day, me and my classmate have an arguments and we fight, don't know the reason why but we fight. And suddenly I just felt that my lips and face are getting hot-i just realized that our witch  teacher put chilly in our face.

     Our witch teacher keep on yelling us telling us bad things:( and I am scared in that  time but I didn't show to any one that I am scared, I didn't say a words just to hide what I felt and so that I will not burst out in tears and my classmate not laugh at me. I wait for the class to be over. After the the class when I am home I open the front door to our home and saw my mother, I just standing in front of her while she's preparing for lunch, she look at me and I start to cry, I run to her and embraced here so tight keep on crying and tell her that my teacher get mad at me and put chilly on my face. I saw my mothers prostrations, anger and concern.

     She immediately wipe my face with cold towel and keep on telling me that everything's gonna be find. That I will not worry, she will handle it-I ate my lunch still emotional but have an assurance that she is there we are always be buddy.  After everything's settled she accompanied me to school, and when she meet my teacher I said to my self, now meet the dragon.  

     Honestly my mother she just attain grade school maybe grade 3.  She don't know rules but she know everything being a mother that's here lifetime eternal profession. Anyways  after  they talked I wonder my teacher been good to me since then-obviously now I realized maybe my mother tell her that if she will do it again she will get my fathers gun and put it into her mouth. nah, just to make the story exaggerated. I don't know what my mother told her but one thing I know that every good mother always protect their children even giving their own life.

    I didn't openly say this to her but I love here so much.  I love you Mama.

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Vera's dream by: Howard L. Biddulph

Vera was one of the early converts in Kiev.  Since the time she was a young girl, Vera periodically had a special dream.  In the dream she was promised that the true way to God would one day be shown to her and that it would bring her great happiness.  At times of great tribulation for her, the dream would come again, assuring her of  the Lord's love and the future blessings she would receive if her remained strong.

As a young girl during World War II, Vera was separated from her family and held in a work camp in Germany.  After the war she was reunited with her mother in Ukraine.  In every destitute conditions, Vera nursed her beloved mother until a lingering, painful death of this loved one left Vera alone again.

     Vera married, and a daughter was born.  Then she cared for her husband in his illness and watched him die, leaving her alone again, this time with young child to care for.  As she grew old,  Vera also suffered serious health problems that took her to the brink of death.  Yet she was always comforted by the recurring dream that promised a future way of happiness.

Shortly before a very serious operation, in which her life hung in the balance, this aged widow again had her special dream.  She was assured that she would survive the operation and be restored to health.  Shown the beautiful faces of two fair-haired young men who would soon teach her the true path of God,  Vera was promised great happiness and peace if she would accept their message.  These were unique, unforgettable faces she saw, unlike any young men she had ever seen in Kiev or Ukraine.  She assumed they would be foreigners.

     After her recovery,  Vera was shopping in downtown Kiev when she recognized with unspeakable joy the faces of two young men dressed in suits and ties-the very faces she had seen in her dream! Like aged Anna in the temple at Jerusalem (see Luke 2:36-38), she had waited throughout her life for the messengers of God.

     Elders Aaron Love and Rony Allen were assigned to the area of Kiev where Vera lived, and their own apartment was very close to Vera's home.  As a result of meeting them, she received the gospel with joy and was baptized.

     In spite of her age,  Vera has become a great gospel scholar and teacher of the Book of Mormon and the Bible.  One of my choicest experiences was to attend and Easter Sunday service in her branch and to hear her give one of the truly great sermons I have heard in my lifetime on the Savior Jesus Christ, his suffering and death, his atonement for sin, and his great resurrection.  on that sacred occasion, Vera blended movingly the testimonies of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Nephi, as well as her own gentle, loving witness of these events.

Vera lived and saved her widow's mite for the time when she could travel with other members of the Church to the temple of God in Freiberg, Germany, to receive her ordinances and to be sealed to her husband and deceased family.  Many years before, by the German troops that had occupied her country in World War II.  Now, with Joy, Vera returned to the same area where she had receive her first dream of the gospel, this time to partake of all the ordinances of eternal life.

***The End***

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Benbow Farm by: Wilforf Woodruff

March 1st, 1840, was my birthday, when I was thirty three years of age.  It being Sunday, I preached twice through the day to a large assembly in the City Hall,  in the town of Hanley, and administer in the sacrament unto the Saints.

In the evening I again met with a large assembly of the Saints and strangers, and while singing the first hymn the Spirit of the Lord rested upon me, and the voice of God said to me.  "This is the last meeting that you will hold with people for many days."

I was astonished at this, as I had many appointments out in that district.

when I arose to speak to the people, I told them that it was the last meeting I should hold with them for many days.  They were as much astonished as I was.

At the close of the meeting four persons came forward for baptism, and we went down into the water and baptized them.

In the morning I went in secret before the Lord, and asked Him what His will was concerning me.

The answer I got was, that I should go to the south, for the Lord had great work for me to perform there, as many souls were waiting for the word of the Lord.

On the 3rd of March, 1840, in fulfillment of the word of the Lord to me,  I took coach and road to Wolverhampton, twenty-six miles, and spent the night there.

On the morning of the 4th I again took coach, and rode through Dudley, Stourbridge, Stourport and Worcester, and then walked a number of miles to Mr. John Benbo's, Hill Farm, Castle Frome, Ledbury, Herefodshire.  This was a farming country in the  south of England, a region where no Elder of the Latter-Day Saints had visited.

I found Mr. Benbow to be a wealthy farmer, cultivating three hundred acres of land, occupying good mansion, and having plenty of means.  His wife, Jane, had no children.

I presented myself to him as a missionary from America, an Elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, who had been sent to him by the gospel of life unto him and his household, and the inhabitants of the land.

Mr. Benbow and his wife received me with glad hearts and thanksgiving.  It was in the evening when I arrived, having traveled forty-eight miles by coach and on foot during the day, but after receiving refreshments we sat down together, and conversed until two o'clock in the morning.

Mr. Benbow and his wife rejoiced greatly at the glad tidings which I brought unto them of the fullness of the everlasting gospel, which God had revealed through the mouth of the Prophet, Joseph Smith, in these last days.

I rejoiced greatly at the news that Mr. Benbow gave me, that there was a company of men and women-over six hundred in number-who had broken off from the Wesleyan Methodists, and taken the name of United Brethren.  They had forty-five preachers among them, and had chapels and many houses that were licensed according to the land for preaching in.

This body of United brethren were searching for light and truth, but had gone as far as they could, and were continually calling upon the Lord to open the way before them, and send them light and knowledge that they might know the true way to be saved.

When I heard these things I could clearly see why the Lord had commanded me,  while in the town of Hanley, to leave that place of labor and go to the south, for in Hereford shire there was a great harvest-field for gathering many Saints into the kingdom of God.

I retired to my bed with joy after offering my prayers and thanksgiving to God, and slept sweetly until the rising of the sun.

I arose on the morning of the 5th, took breakfast, and told Mr. Benbow I would like to commence my Master's business, by preaching the gospel to the people.

He had a large hall in his mansion which was licensed for preaching, and he sent word through the neighborhood that an American missionary would preach at his house that evening.

As the time drew nigh many of the neighbors came in, and I preached my first gospel sermon in the house.  I also preached on the following evening at the same place, and baptized six persons, including Mr. John Benbow and his wife, and four preachers of the United Brethren.

I spent most of the following day in cleaning out a pool of water, and preparing it for baptizing in, as I saw many to be baptized there.  I afterwards baptized six hundred in that pool of the water. . .

The whole history of this Herefordshire mission shows the importance of listening to the still small voice of the Spirit of God and the revelations of the Holy Ghost.

The Lord had a people there prepared for the gospel.  They were praying for the light and truth,  and the Lord sent me to them,  and I declared the gospel of life and salvation unto them, and some eighteen hundreds souls received it, and many of them have also been called officiate in the bishopric, and have done much good in Zion, but in all these things we should ever acknowledge the hand of God, and give Him the honor, praise and glory, for ever and ever.

***The End***

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Real Intent by: Elder "C"

Not all of a missionary's "contacts" come from knocking on doors.  This young man we taught the gospel over the backyard fence.  He was a young man, only twenty-eight years of age, lived next door to the apartment we were renting.

This man was extremly intelligent-well read, well versed in the current affairs of the world-and an atheist,  he felt that if there was a God, as we had explained our conception of God to him, that God would not have created the mess in Christianity that is prevalent in the world today.  Therefore, he concluded that is prevalent in the world today.  Therefore, he concluded that there was no God.  But he also believed that to be able to communicate with a Supreme Being would be one of the most sublime experience in the world-an experience which he said he had never felt before, nor did he believe would ever happen.

Spiritually, the Church was not of interest to him, but he enjoyed comparing the doctrines of the Church with other churches, both Christian and non-Christian.  As with any new subject that caught his interest, he delved deeply into the subject, reading the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great price, and Talmage's Jesus the Christ in just a matter of weeks.

As there "Over the backyard" discussions continues, we soon exhausted our resources, without any indication that he was gaining testimony from his extensive reading, or our discussions.  In our frustration at not knowing how to better proceed, we began to encourage the man to pray to gain a spiritual testimony of the gospel, instead of just  studying it as a sociological organization.  As a result of our persistence, finally one night he said,  "I'll put your teaching to a test.  I'll pray, and if I recieve an answer, I'll join your Church. If not, you can never come back into my home as a minister!"

We agreed to those terms.
My companion and I retired to bed about ten o'clock that night, as we usually did.  We sound asleep when the phone rang.  I was little groggy as I answered the phone, and on the other end was our next door neighbor, obviosly very excited.

"Elders!Come over, quick!" he said.  "I've got to see you.  Right now!"

"It's late," I mumbled.  "It's one o'clock in the morning!"
"I know it's late, but I've got to talk to you. Come quick!"
So we quickly dressed and went to his home to find him sitting on the sofa, shaking, obviously very upset, and very white.  He exclaimed very excitedly,  "Elders, I've got to be baptized! Tonight!"

We looked at our watches and said, "It's only a little after one o'clock in the morning.  The water would be cold.  Besides the chapel is locked."

"I don't care! I'll go get baptized in the river! We've got to do it right now!"
"Well, what happend?" we asked.
"Elders," he said, "something wonderful happend tonight! I suppose the most wonderful thing I've ever experience.  I was able to communicate with a source higher than my self.  A Supreme Being! I do believe in God, Elders! In fact," he said,  "I know there's a God!"

He then went on to relate what had happened to him that night.  He had waited until his family had gone to bed that evening to fulfill the commitment that he had made to us to test prayer, and see if it really did work; to find out if there really was a Father in heaven and put the Book of Mormon and the truthfulness of the gospel to the test.

He prayed as we had told him to, although very mechanically.  When he got up after having not felt anything, he said to himself, "Well, that's just what I expected-nothing!"

But, as he sat there thinking about that prayer, he said, "I thought to my self that if there was a God as the elders told me there was, he probably would not have answered that prayer because of the motives that I had.  I was doing this purely for an intellectual exercise.  I was just curious about this knowledge merely from a worldly standpoint."

He then began to wonder what would happen if he promised God, if there was a God, that he would join his Church and serve him and build up his kingdom on earth, if he would only communicate with him tell him the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.

So this young man again down by the side of his bed and pryaed with a different intent,  And as he started to pray, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him to such an extent that, as he reached out to touch his wife to awaken her, he found that he could not, as he was paralyzed.  He could not move.

Then his eyes were opened, and a vision of the story of the Book of Mormon was unfolded to him.  He saw Joseph recieving the "Golden Plates," the translation of the Book of Mormon, and the apostles giving Josep Smith and Oliver Cowdery the priesthood.

After the vision left him, he immediately called my companion and we requesting, almost demanding, baptism into the Lord's Church.  The Lord had honored his sincere request for a knowledge of the truth, and now he was determined to keep his commitment to that Supreme Being.

This man is now the branch president in his small community, having been truly converted by the communication that he experienced that night with our Father in heaven.

***The End***

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