Eternal, Pudding, Prophets, Moses Came, Clouds of Glory

The Eternal Family

We  began teaching a new course of study for institute, The Eternal Family.  We are grateful for this unique opportunity to teach this most beautiful plan.  The family is central inn our Heavenly Father's plan for His children.  One of the greatest evidences of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ’s love and wisdom is the doctrine of the eternal family. Our trust in Them and in the Father’s plan can help us navigate the world’s differing views on family matters.  Because all families are different, we need to discuss the Lord’s pattern for families in a thoughtful and sensitive way.  Elder Richard G. Scott, an Apostle, said:

As your Father, His purpose is your eternal happiness, your continuing development, your increasing capacity. His desire is to share with you all that He has. (“Obtaining Help from the Lord,” Ensign, Nov. 1991, 86)

Dinner at Heather's

We had "Tea" (dinner) with Sister Heather Thompson, the sister missionaries in North Shields Ward (Sister Frampton and Sister Victor), and Evans Moses, a Nigerian Prince, who accepted the invitation to be baptized on this evening-- will share more about Evans life and path next week.    

Trailing Clouds of Glory... 

When we saw this picture of a new born child passing through the veil at birth we were inspired to look up the poem by William Wordsworth: "Immortality Ode".  It expresses our immorality so beautifully.  As spirit children of Heavenly Parents, we lived before we were born into mortality.

Acts 17

28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. 29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.

Hebrews 12

9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

Immortality Ode

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:

The Soul that rises with us, our life's Star,

Hath had elsewhere its setting,

And cometh from afar:

Not in entire forgetfulness,

And not in utter nakedness,

But trailing clouds of glory do we come

From God, who is our home ...

(William Wordsworth, written in 1804)

Pudding and Prophets

There is a tradition in the Sunderland Stake where we live to have a gathering of young adults at 5:00 PM (10:00 AM Mountain Time in Utah) on Saturday evening of General Conference weekend to watch the opening session of General Conference together ("Prophets") and to enjoy dessert together (in England it is called "Pudding"), hence the name of the activity is "Pudding and Prophets".   We held two of these events simultaneously, one in the North Shields ward building, organized by Grace Cadle, and one in Rachel Potts' flat. Three friends who are studying the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the missionaries attended.   We loved it and after the prophets and pudding part,  played games.  

We were thrilled to hear from our beloved Prophet, President Russell M. Nelson and his counsel to "Think Celestial".  We feasted on his inspiring messages of hope, comfort, and encouragement.  

We rejoiced with the beautiful music and counsel to remember that... joy cometh in the morning, we can have hope in Christ as we wait upon the Lord, in our Father's house are many mansions, the Gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to BECOME something, covenants are transformational, we are invited to judge less and love more, and when the path feels overwhelming - we are enabled by His grace, and strive to be peaceable followers of Christ.  We testify of these Holy Truths!