Donald W. Parry’s insights may be just what you need to take your temple worship to the next level.
A blog with ideas to aid us on our life's journey to perfecting ourselves and our families. Crafts, Printable Pages, LDS lesson helps and more.
Quotation Source
A blog with ideas to aid us on our life's journey to perfecting ourselves and our families. Crafts, Printable Pages, LDS lesson helps and more.
Here’s your daily dose of what matters most! Jesus Christ is our personal Savior and He can strengthen us one by one. Scripture For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour.—Isaiah 43:3 Quote Because of His atoning sacrifice, the Savior has power to cleanse, heal, and strengthen us one […]
“I think the more open you are about these things, the less weird it becomes.”
We've all gotten sucked into that endless chain of memes and satires, looking for that one gem to brighten our day. Instead of coming away with a good laugh, all we end up with is a dozen cat pictures and a wasted hour.
The internet was invented for a few very important reasons. One was to further family history work. Another was to allow for the spreading of Latter-day Saint memes.
The newest LDS General Authority Chart has been released. You can view or download the chart and print at home.
This post may contain affiliate links. Thank you for your support! See the full disclosure. I remember as a youth having my eyes set towards the temple. This is something that no matter what our age is an important thing to have on our mind. The temple is a sacred holy place, were we can do essential work for ourselves as well as for the dead. It is a place of instruction and a place of peace. For our children it is important that they do have the desire to attend the temple, to take out their own endowments and make marriage covenants. For those who have already made those covenants for themselves. It is important to keep that desire to attend frequently to feel the peace, receive instruction, remember our covenants and to provide work for those who can not do it for themselves. I've compiled a list of lessons that would be great for Family Home Evenings, to bring the focus to the that of attending or working towards attending the sacred places of the Lord. (The Sharing Times can easily be adapted into Family Home Evenings) 2016 LDS Sharing Time Ideas for July Week 1: God has commanded His people to build temples. LDS Sharing Time Ideas for October 2015 Week 4: Temple work helps me and my family come unto Christ. LDS Sharing Time October 2014 Week 2: Marriage between a man and a woman is essential to God’s plan Family Home Evening on Preparing to go to the Ogden Temple Open House Family Home Evening on Priesthood Ordinances and Temple Work Bless My Family (June 2014 LDS Primary Topic) LDS Sharing Time June 2014 Week 3: I can prepare now to be worthy to enter the temple. LDS Sharing Time June 2014 Week 2: Temples make it possible for families to be together forever. LDS Primary Sharing Time June 2014 Week 1: Priesthood ordinances bless and strengthen my family. Family Home Evening- My Gospel Standards: I Will Live Now to Be Worthy to go to the Temple and do my part to have an Eternal Family. July 2013 Sharing Time- Week 4- Heavenly Father wants me to marry in the temple and have an eternal family Want a fun Temple Craft to do? Check out these Temple Blocks: These blocks are a great way for the kids to have a picture of the temple in their rooms. What about the family room, I have wanted to get a picture in my family room for a long time. I've found a beautiful one of the Logan temple, where me and my husband were married. There are tons of beautiful temple artwork at LDS Bookstore!
About this Image:In this image, a twelve-year-old Christ is found in the Temple at Jerusalem conversing with doctors and lawyers after three days of being missing while He and His parents went up to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. There is a stark contrast of His youthful face and penetrating gaze amidst a sea of heads of wise doctors and lawyers as they engage Him in an intellectual and scriptural discourse. He clearly was not intimidated by their academic knowledge and He managed to astonish them with His answers and understanding, a testament to His true identity as the Son of God.About the Artist:Filipina-American artist, ROSE DATOC DALL was born in Washington, DC and raised in Northern Virginia. She received her BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in 1990. Mrs. Dall's artwork is predominantly a contemporary figurative exploration in painting and printmaking. Rose is also known for her body of religious artwork. Mrs. Dall has received awards and honors for her work, and several are a part of permanent collections in public and private institutions. Currently, in addition to exhibiting, Mrs. Dall enjoys teaching private Figure Drawing and Painting Workshops and lectures on occasion as a way of giving back to her community. About Altus Fine Art: As individuals, we are all drawn, as Paul said, to seek after that which is pure, lovely, of good report, or praiseworthy. For the last 20 years, we at Altus Fine Art have been blessed to work with many artists who have bravely dedicated their talents to create artwork that lifts our hearts and souls and inspires us to live Christ-centered lives. Our mission is to take this wonderful artwork and create affordable products for the average family or individual while still using quality materials and design. Our prices range from small prints that sell for less than a dollar up to large breathtaking masterpieces that sell for thousands of dollars and everything in between.Altus Fine Art is a small company of individuals dedicated to making a difference in the world. We design, manufacture, and ship most of our products locally from our facility in American Fork, Utah. We welcome any feedback you have about our products or the way we do business. If any of our products have helped you in any way, we are grateful for the opportunity to serve.
Hyrum's legacy may not be well known, but Joseph counseled us to learn it and follow it. Here are 5 Things You Did Not Know About Hyrum Smith The Patriarch.
Elements from the Sermon at the Temple frequently reappear throughout the rest of 3 Nephi. One might wonder at first why there is so much repetition in this part of the Book of Mormon. However, when one reads carefully, it becomes clear that Christ is commenting on and clarifying the Sermon at the Temple throughout the rest of 3 Nephi.
Nauvoo Temple - NAUVOO NEWS - View the beautiful interior of the Nauvoo Temple and see a 170 years off Nauvoo Temple art. Plans to reconstruct the Nauvoo Templ
After the deaths of Helaman, Moroni, Shiblon, and Chief Judge Pahoran, the Nephites were left with a noticeable void in good leadership. When Pahoran’s three sons all sought for the judgment seat, political intrigue, assassinations, and social unrest ensued. Secretly influencing and guiding this social upheaval were the Gadianton robbers, who themselves were seeking to control the government through secret oaths and murder. From this narrative, modern readers can better understand the importance of good leaders, as well as how to identify and thwart secret combinations in their own day.
Stand For the Right (click above to link to our website to purchase poster visual kit) #1: Have a picture of President Monson. Hold up the picture and ask the children who this is? (President Monson, our prophet) Explain to them that the prophet tells us the things our Heavenly Father wants us to know. Our prophet is here on the earth to guide us. Ask the children to listen as you sing Stand for the Right. Tell them to listen carefully to see if they can pick out the words our prophet wants to tell them. Continue on like it says in the sharing time manual. Discuss some specific things our current prophet has asked us to do. #2: Focus on the phrase STAND FOR THE RIGHT. Ask them what they think it means. Does this mean to stand up (physically)? Does this mean to stand on the RIGHT, not the LEFT? You'll (hopefully) get a few responses such as: "To follow Jesus" or "Follow the Commandments" or "To Choose the Right", etc. Be sure to be positive about all their ideas. Ask them if they know what the word COURAGE means. Explain that courage means to act the way you believe in - NO MATTER WHAT. Some people may make fun of you, or tell you that you aren't 'cool' if you don't do what everyone else is doing. Having courage is believing and keeping promises you've made with yourself and your Heavenly Father. #3: Invite 2 children to the front of the room. Have one stand with their feet together, not firmly planted, just lazily standing. Have the other child really plant their feet firm. (think a football tackle stance). Gently push his/her shoulder this way and that, and they'll see how if you are standing firm, the little pushes doesn't affect you much. Relate this to someone who has made a decision to STAND FOR THE RIGHT. If you make up your mind now about decisions you'll make, it'll be a lot easier to Stand for the Right later on. Move on to the other volunteer who isn't planted firmly. If you don't have your feet firmly planted (if you haven't made up your mind on your choices) you will easily get pushed this way and that. You will easily fall or be swayed by other people. Emphasize that choices they make NOW may affect the rest of their life. Good decisions and bad decisions. Challenge them to choose now how they will act in certain situations so they don't have to choose later. #4: Share a personal experience when it took courage to stand for the right. If you don't have a personal experience to share then consider using a story from the scriptures. (examples might be: Nephi ((standing up to his brothers persecution)), Samuel the Lamanite, Joseph Smith, Strippling Warriors, Sons of Helaman, etc.) WEEK #4: "There is safety in following the prophet" The outline suggests you make road signs and use them for singing time. If you don't have a set of these yet, they are real handy for ANY song! Perfect for this week's lesson emphasis too. :) Simply right click - save as - print! There are a few more ideas in the sharing time outline you could incorporate into any of the above ideas... New to LDS PRIMARY POSTERS.com ? FAQ HERE WEBSITE HERE
Don't make the same mistake as others by preparing every needful thing. Here are 6 things that you'll want to make sure you bring on your mission.
The Church has made some major alterations recently, and not everyone is coping If you aren't up to date on the 'whiplash' that President Nelson has been giving everyone lately, allow me to fill you in: First of all, the changes in Home and Visiting Teaching happened. To me, a Millennial (I guess), this change was awesome. To me, it was the Lord giving us a higher law to live; it was the Lord moving us, elevating us, from the Law of Moses to the Atonement. I was genuinely surprised to hear peopl
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"Yes, I saw by vision and revelation this [Logan] Temple in the hands of the wicked. I saw our city [Salt Lake City] in the hands of the wicked. I saw every temple in these valleys in the hands of the wicked. I saw great destruction among the people" (Wilford Woodruff, "Discourses of Wilford Woodruff," Deseret Book Company).
I LOVE theming singing time for April General Conference! I feel it not only pumps the kids up for General Conference, but for myself as well! What’s even better is I usually take my singing time lesson plans home and use them with my own kiddos! I found this awesome activity from The Friend May 2018 HERE and […]
Sometimes I like to give the students a journal sized handout that goes with the lesson. As I do these handouts I will post them here for other people to use them. To use them just copy and paste them into your print program, or save it into your pictures. Enjoy! Doctrinal Mastery New Testament Teacher Material The Mortal Ministry of Jesus at a Glance (journal and scripture size) Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge Commandments Lesson 1: Introduction to the New Testament Lesson 7: Matthew 3 Lesson 8: Matthew 4 Lesson 12: Matthew 7 Lesson 17: Matthew 14 Lesson 19: Matthew 16 Do you ever get tired of listening to yourself talk during a lesson? I do, so every now and then I put together a simple group activity. This one is easy. After I give my mini lesson on Revelation, I am going to have each table brainstorm about it. They will write their answers on the rocks below, and then I will have them share it with the class. I have two similar handouts for this lesson. One has a quote from Joseph Smith, the other a quote from Joseph Fielding Smith. I decided to redo it this year. Joseph Smith: Joseph Fielding Smith: Lesson 20: Matthew 17 Here's a printout of the Priesthood keys to use in your lesson. Lesson 22: Matthew 19–20 Lesson 27: Joseph Smith—Matthew; Matthew 24 Lesson 30: Matthew 26:1–30 I placed a 1" mirror that I bought at JoAnn's in the center of the circle. Lesson 34: Mark 1 Lesson 37: Mark 6 Lesson 39: Mark 9:1–29 Lesson 42: Mark 11–16 Lesson 49: Luke 8–9 Lesson 53: Luke 15 Lesson 63: John 4 Lesson 68: John 8:31–59 Lesson 68: John 8 I wrote I AM on the board. I showed the class the Bible video "Go and Sin No More". I handed out the handout below and had them fill it out and crumple it up and leave it on their desk . We discussed the lesson and the words I AM. Then I gave each group and I AM scripture and had them tell what they thought it was about. Then I went through the class and had them all say and I AM statement about themselves and throw their sin into the garbage. Lesson 70:John 10 Tosee how I made this into a bookmark click here. For this lesson I printed out a large version of the door and a sheep for each student. I wrote the name of each student on a sheep. I put the door and the sheep on the board and drew a fence around the sheep. I gave my lesson and then at the end of the lesson I gave them a sheep and a small version of the door to add to their journals. Then I had them write their testimonies about how Christ knows them individually and how he protects them. Lesson 71: John 11 Lesson 77: John 17 Lesson 79: John 20 Review Worksheet: Since our semester ends at the end of John this year I had a day where I had the students write down a scripture and story about how they were influenced by Christ. I played some Christmas music and gave them about 10 minutes and then we all took turns sharing what we learned. It was during Christmas so I included the #LIGHTtheWORLD Lesson 87: Acts 8 Lesson 88: Acts 9 Lesson 98: Acts 27–28 I found this quote in the Institute manual, but it goes nicely with the above lesson. Chapter 34: Acts 21–28 New Testament Student Manual, 2014 Lesson 99: Romans 1–3 Lesson 102: Romans 12–16 Lesson 107: 1 Corinthians 9–10 Lesson 108: 1 Corinthians 11 Lesson 115: 2 Corinthians 6–7 Lesson 120: Ephesians 1 Lesson 123: Ephesians 5–6 Lesson 128: 1 Thessalonians 3–5 Lesson 142: James 3 Lesson 145: 1 Peter 3–5 Lesson 155: Revelation 6–11, Part 2 Lesson 156: Revelation 12–13 Lesson 157: Revelation 14–16 Lesson 159: Revelation 20 I got this quote out of the Institute Manual Lesson 56 Star Wars Day (May 4) May the Fourth Be with You! Here's a link to the game Scripture Man or Scripture Snowman
In the recent LDS General Conference, church leaders spoke about a wide range of topics that comforted, taught, and inspired us. Many of the talks focused on personal conversion and our rela…
Many Mormons are familiar with the story of how then-apostle Wilford Woodruff had a vision of the Founding Fathers in the St. George Temple and how they asked him to do their temple work. Some Mormons may also be vaguely aware that when Woodruff did the Founding Fathers' work that he also performed the ordinances for about 45 “other eminent men” from history.
It was the summer of 2013 when members of the Cambria Ward, Queen Creek North Stake, Queen Creek, Arizona, were met by an unexpected sight. On entering the church building, they were greeted by a full-sized Christmas tree standing in the foyer.
This photo file was found in 2007 as a likely mis-named photograph in the Library of Congress archives. After extensive facial contour and body structure anal
Planetary symbols such as the sun, moon, and stars direct our attention to God and challenge us to contemplate matters of eternal significance as we work to emulate the life of our true Light, Jesus Christ. Many temples have earth, moon, sun, and star stones.
Many of the stories about this beloved temple are familiar, but here are some lesser-known but just as inspiring stories about the original and present-day Nauvoo temples.
Following King Benjamin’s proclamation, his people gathered together to go up to the temple to hear the words of their king (Mosiah 2:1). As they congregated around the temple, the people set up tents for their families, each tent having its door open towards the temple. The people remained in their tents as they listened to King Benjamin speak (Mosiah 2:5–6). LDS scholars have argued that this gathering at the temple to hear a speech was no ordinary occasion, but that the account in Mosiah 2–6 closely resembles what we know about ancient Israelite temple pilgrimage festivals, especially the Feast of Tabernacles.
By Alexis Tanner A couple years ago, back when cell phone batteries didn’t last longer than a day, my husband Alan and I were invited to his best friend’s wedding at the Draper temple. We stayed at my parent’s house so we could drop off our daughter, but we forgot our cell phone chargers so our phones had died the morning of the wedding, leaving us without a map to the temple. But we thought, we can see the temple, we can find it. However, that morning it was super cloudy and the temple was completely covered and we couldn’t see it. We tried our best to figure out the streets up to the Draper temple and even asked someone for directions, but we couldn’t find it and we missed the wedding. It was really disappointing. I share this story with you not so you remember your cell phone chargers when you travel, although that is important. But it also taught me that we can’t just hope to get to the temple, we have to prepare and we need to help our youth prepare. Recommend The first thing our youth need to get to the temple is a temple recommend. It’s important that we explain that a temple recommend is more than a piece of paper and it’s more than checking off a to-do list to be worthy to enter the temple. Having a temple recommend and being worthy to enter the temple blesses our lives every day. President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “It would please the Lord if every adult member [and I would add youth] would be worthy of—and carry—a current temple recommend. The things that we must do and not do to be worthy of a temple recommend are the very things that ensure we will be happy as individuals and as families.” Sometimes the youth may feel uneasy or worried that they aren’t worthy to enter the Lord’s house. I love what Elder Djarot Subiantoro said in his talk called “Always Having a Temple Recommend”, ”If we are striving to be true and faithful to the principles of the gospel, then we will always be temple worthy.” When we are trying our best and trying to live the commandments, then we can be sure that we are ready to enter the Lord’s house. I think it’s important to remember that God doesn’t ask for perfection, He just asks for you to try your best and want to follow Him. In the October 2020 General Conference, Elder Ronald A. Rasband shared a story about his father-in-law who was nearing the end of his life. He had asked the bishop to interview him to renew his temple recommend because he wanted to die being “recommended to the Lord.” I love this way of thinking about a temple recommend as a recommendation to the Lord. Having a current temple recommend is so important. Family history work One of my favorite things about going to the temple is the opportunity to do the work for our ancestors. My family has a lot of family history work to do. My mom is a convert and the only member in her family. And my dad’s side is pretty new to the church. So your family might be like mine and have more work than you’ll ever have time for. If you have the opportunity, help your youth take your family names to the temple. I have had some wonderful experiences at the temple when I have the name of my ancestors in my hands. But finding your ancestors can be really hard. Or you may be like my husband whose family work has pretty much all been done to the point of getting professional help. Or you may not know how to find your ancestors. There are still other ways the youth can connect families besides taking names to the temple. They can do indexing on familysearch.org, write their own personal history for their posterity, interview living relatives and get to know their stories, or learn about their ancestors as they explore their own family tree. Knowing our past helps our entire family. Studies have shown that people who know about their ancestors have higher self esteem and are better able to deal with the effects of stress. As we get to know our ancestors, we feel more connected to them and connected to the world around us. As I’ve done family history work, I have felt guided by some of my ancestors to find their records and records of their family. One of my favorite experiences was when I was looking at the records of my great grandmother’s sister Margaret. She had passed away as a young mother. She had a twin sister Catherine who married Margaret’s husband after she died, raised Margaret’s older children, and then went on to have children of her own. One afternoon, as I was doing family history work, I was looking at Margaret’s grave online. It was in Chicago which was near where I lived at the time. On the grave was listed a Baby Margaret, among a couple of other names, so I couldn’t tell who baby Margaret belonged to. After a lot of searching, I found the death certificate of a baby Margaret who died on the day she was born, the same day as her mother Margaret. When you find records of babies, there isn’t any temple work that needs to be done, but I was able to add her name to our family tree. Later that night as I was saying my prayers and thanking Heavenly Father for helping me find baby Margaret, I had a really special experience where I could feel the joy and happiness coming from Margaret and her daughter Baby Margaret. I didn’t even do any temple work for this situation, but getting to know a bit of their story and participating in finding their records was a special experience I will always treasure. Connecting with our ancestors outside of the temple also allows us to connect with them inside the temple and to better understand that families are eternal. Keep the Temple on Your Mind My third tip for preparing the youth for the temple is to help keep the temple on their minds. Something I like to do with my kids is to point to the temple whenever we see them. And in Utah that’s a lot. My kids can’t always remember the names of the temples so sometimes they’ll give them nicknames like the Provo temple was the “cupcake temple.” The Bountiful temple is called “the temple where mom and dad got married.” And to my younger kids, most of the other temples are the Salt Lake Temple. When we intentionally look for the temples around the valley and when we’re driving around, it keeps it on our mind. In our own home, we try to have pictures of the temple in each room. President Spencer W. Kimball said, “It seems to me it would be a fine thing if every set of parents would have in every bedroom in their house a picture of the temple so the [child] from the time he is an infant could look at the picture every day and it becomes a part of his life. When he reaches the age that he needs to make this very important decision, it will already have been made.” With the current COVID restrictions, getting an appointment to the temple can be hard. But when we look for the temple, have a temple picture in our room, and even spend time just on the grounds, we can begin to feel how sacred that place is and hopefully have a desire to be there as often as we can. In the last General Conference, President Nelson said, “If you don't yet love to attend the temple, go more often — not less.” As the world becomes a harder place to be in, the temple can be a place of strength and eternal perspective. Don’t let your youth get stuck unprepared like Alan and I were when we couldn’t see the temple and missed experiencing his friend’s wedding. Prepare your teenagers in whatever ways you can to make the temple a special place for them because it is a special place where we can better connect with our Heavenly Father, our Heavenly Mother, and our families. Alexis Tanner is a mother of five, podcaster, and writer. She loves reading, family history work, taking her kids on adventures, and podcasting with her husband at the Parenting In Real Life Podcast. You can find Alexis on Instagram @parentingIRLpodcast.
