Family Home Evening, Monday, January 29, 2008

Together again!
Dear Family, Happy Family Home Evening!

President Gordon B. Hinckley is going to be missed. What a wonderful, optimistic, inspiring leader. It's incredible what he accomplished in his life, and talk about enduring to the end! I treasure the memory of giving him a lemonade when he came to join the celebration of the Mormon Trail and being in his presence during the dedication of the Winter Quarters Temple in Omaha several years ago.

Sheri Dew says, "If mortals make mistakes--and we all know we do--then why are we so often tempted to listen to the world's experts rather than the Lord's? Why do we seem to favor earthly counsel over that of prophets, seers, and revelators?"

President Hinckley: "There is no greater gift that comes to anyone in this world than a certain, reassuring conviction that God, our Eternal Father lives and that Jesus is the Christ. I believe that. I think it is so very, very important."

"Believe in yourselves. Believe in your capacity to do great and good and worthwhile things. Believe in the nature within you, the divine nature, that you are indeed a son or daughter of the Living God. There is divinity within you, something that stands high and tall and noble. Get above the dirt and the filth of the earth and walk on a higher plane with your heads up, believing in yourselves and in your capacity to act for good in the world and in your capacity to make a difference."

"A two-way contract: When we are baptized we entered into covenant with [Jesus Christ] to keep His commandments and follow Him and do what is right. When we partake of the sacrament, as we do each Sunday, we renew that covenant. We take upon ourselves the name of the lord Jesus Christ. We agree to keep His commandments and He pledges to us that He will bless us with His Holy Spirit. That is a two-way contract . . . There is nothing sweeter, nothing better, nothing finer than the companionship of the Hold Spirit."

On education:

"You have a mandate from the Lord to educate your minds and your hearts and your hands. You must get all of the education that you possibly can. Each day we are made increasingly aware of the fact that life is more than science and mathematics, more than history and literature. There is need for another education, without which the substance of secular learning may lead only to destruction. I refer to the education of the heart, of the conscience, of the character, of the spirit--these indefinable aspects of our personalities which determine so certainly what we are and what we do in our relationships one to another."

"It is the little things upon which life turns that make the big difference in our lives. . . ."

"Recognize that there is a power greater than ours, that no matter how good, a man is, he is not good enough, that no matter how wise he is, he is not wise enough, that no matter how strong he is, he is not strong enough for all of the things which he will face in life, and that there is a source of power to which he can go with the assurance that he will be listened to and that there will be a response."

We thank Thee oh God for our prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley.

Love, Mom and Dad xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxxooxoxox