Father's Day Talk and some pics

Birthday boy!!!! And Happy Father's Day as well.



She is pretty darn cute.
These are some of the pictures we turned in for the Parent's magazine cover contest.

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I was asked to speak on Father's Day this past Sunday. I blubbered through most of it. Here is my talk for any that are interested.

Our Essential Relationship With Heavenly Father

Kallie loves shoes. She loves to take them out of the shoe baskets that sit at our back door and carry them around the house. She loves to try them on. There have been many times that she has struggled with diligence to put on Bryan’s shoes. When she thinks she successfully has them on, she then tries to walk in them. This is quite a site, most often ending in a stumble of sorts. Bryan wears a size 13 shoe. His feet are 2/3rds the size of Kallie’s. But still, she struggles and tries to wear her daddy’s shoes.

She is on the right path in this desire. I would be thrilled if she grew to (spiritually) fill her fathers shoes. He is a wonderful man. A spiritual giant. He puts God first in his life and he teaches both Kallie and myself the truths of the gospel. He is gentle, understanding, unbiased, and a great listener. We love him very much and we feel very blessed to have him to celebrate today.

I do want to talk about our temporal fathers today though. I want to discuss our Heavenly Father and the importance of our relationship with Him. Just as it is important for Kallie to have a trusting and personal relationship with Bryan, it is much more important for her to have that relationship with her Heavenly Father. As much as he would want to, Bryan will not always be able to be there for her, but her Heavenly Father will.

He has given us the knowledge that we are His children. We KNOW that. I find joy in that understanding. That I am a daughter of God. That he is MY father. We sing in primary “I am a child of God, and He has sent me here.” If I did not have the knowledge that I would have some guidance while I was here, I am not sure I would have been so willing to come. This is not something that I would want to do alone. This is not something I feel I could do alone!

Can you think of a better friend to have? A better relationship to have than that of Heavenly Father and child? He is unbiased, all knowing, all powerful, has great advice, helps us to stretch, learn and grow in an effort to make us better. He helps us feel good about ourselves and gives meaning and worth to our lives.

Joanne B. Doxey, 2nd counselor of the G. Relief Society in 1987 said “True personal worth comes from a secure relationship with Heavenly Father.”

She continues, “How can we build a secure relationship with Heavenly Father? ...fervent prayer, being directed by the Holy spirit, and searching the scriptures daily, all which will help us live virtuous lives. “Then,” say the scriptures, “shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God” (D&C 121:45)

There are times when I feel my relationship with Heavenly Father is one of habit. I have fallen into the routine of the day and before I know it, my communion with my Father has come and gone with an emptiness of effort. These days are the hardest for me. I have a hard time listening to His promptings, my patience is thin, and my wants overcome His will.

Fervent prayer

The relief society message this month is on fervent, sincere prayer. Elder Bruce R. McConkie says “Prayer changes our lives. through it we draw near to the Lord, and he reaches out his finger and touches us, so we never again are the same.

“Prayer is a great tower of strength, a pillar of unending righteousness, a mighty force that moves mountains and saves souls.”
D&C 112:10 reads: “Be thou humble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand and give thee answers to thy prayers.”

President James E. Faust shares with us that: "First, prayer is a humble acknowledgment that God is our Father and that the Lord Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. Second, it is a sincere confession of sin and transgression and a request for forgiveness. Third, it is recognition that we need help beyond our own ability. Fourth, it is an opportunity to express thanksgiving and gratitude to our Creator. It is important that we frequently say: 'We thank Thee . . . ,' 'We acknowledge before Thee . . . ,' 'We are grateful unto Thee . . . ' Fifth, it is a privilege to ask Deity for specific blessings.

" . . . Sincere prayers come from the heart. Indeed, sincerity requires that we draw from the earnest feelings of our hearts" ("The Lifeline of Prayer," Liahona, July 2002, 62; Ensign, May 2002, 59–60).

This is the basis of our relationship. This is what allows us to communicate with him. You can not have a relationship without some form of communication.

Alma 37:37 “Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct you for good.”

Make time in your day for more fervent prayer.

Direction of the Holy Spirit

Richard G. Scott, “You can learn vitally important things by what you hear and see and especially by what you feel, as prompted by the Holy Ghost. Most individuals limit their learning primarily to what they hear or what they read. Be wise. Develop the skill of learning by what you see and particularly by what the Holy Ghost prompts you to feel. Consciously seek to learn by what you see and feel, and your capacity to do so will expand through consistent practice. Ask in faith for such help. Live to be worthy of it. Seek to recognize it. Write down in a secure place the important things you learn from the Spirit. You will find that as you write down precious impressions, often more will come. Also, the knowledge you gain will be available throughout your life. Always, day or night, wherever you are, whatever you are doing, seek to recognize and respond to the direction of the Spirit. Express gratitude for the help received and obey it. This practice will reinforce your capacity to learn by the Spirit. It will permit the Lord to guide your life and to enrich the use of every other capacity latent in your being.”

Moroni tells us that “by the power of the Holy Ghost, ye may know the truth of all things” (Moroni 10:5) Our task is to be worthy of it and heed to it. It is essential to our relationship with our Father because it is how He communicates with us. Seek to learn how the spirit communicates with you.

Searching the scriptures daily

Elder L. Lionel Kendrick Of the Seventy, “Scripture study is such an essential part of our spiritual development that we must take time and make it a priority in our daily schedule. Our spirits should never be deprived of the much-needed spiritual nourishment which comes from scripture study.”

Elder Sheldon F. Child Of the Seventy, “Daily scripture study helps us to anchor our faith in Christ.”

Julie B. Beck “If you have not already developed the habit of daily scripture study, start now and keep studying in order to be prepared for your responsibilities in this life and in the eternities. Through your habit of daily scripture study, you will be “led to believe the holy scriptures, yea, the prophecies of the holy prophets, which are written” (Hel. 15:7).

Preach my gospel: We show our faith by studying, believing and obeying God’s revealed word. We diligently search the scriptures to understand the truth. We feast upon them because they open the door to revelation and show us what we need to do and become. We search the scriptures to learn about Jesus Christ and His gospel. Faith in Jesus Christ is a gift from God and comes through studying and living His word and His gospel.

I confess, I am not the greatest at this. I find myself in the evening reading a few verses before bed to fulfill my personal responsibility, we read a few verses with Kallie to fulfill family responsibility and a few verses together as a couple to do the same. We are only depriving ourselves of the blessings and knowledge that we could be receiving. On my mission it was so easy. I had time specifically for studying of the scriptures. Hours in fact. There were not any distractions of daily life. We have time specifically for it now, but it is not adequate. It does not allow us to fully study and receive the blessings of that come with diligent study.

A strong relationship with our Father can help us greatly in this life and the life to come. He knows what we do not. He sees what we do not. He WILL guide us along our way as we trust and have faith in him.

In an effort to come closer to Heavenly Father I have taken the challenge given to us a by Pres. Henry B. Erying. Part of this relationship building is seeing what the Lord does for us in return for our keeping His commandments and doing the things he has asked of us to do. The talk was entitled “O Remember, Remember” We were asked to keep a daily journal and before writing in it each evening asking ourselves the question, “Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?”

He says that as we do this, the spirit will bring to our remembrance the hand of the Lord in our lives daily and that “we will come to see the hand of God more clearly, so clearly that in time we will not only remember Him, but we come to love Him and, through the power of the Atonement, become more like Him.”

It proved to be harder than I thought in the beginning. As I continued though, I felt the love of the Lord more abundantly in my life. I am grateful for the spirit that helped bring these things to my remembrance at the end of each day.

Conclusion

Just as Kallie tries to wear Bryan’s shoes around the house to be more like her Daddy, we need to do things in our lives to help us to be more like our Heavenly Father. The relationship will come as we strive to be like Him and keep His commandments. We will come closer to Him and He WILL bless us. His trust in us will grow as we do these things. Eventually, as Kallie grows and preservers, wearing Bryan’s shoes will come with a bit more ease for her then it does now.

My greatest desire is to be able to know Heavenly Father and His son I when get the opportunity to see them once again. It will be impossible not to know Him if my relationship with Him is strong and secure.

If you do not feel you have a strong relationship with Heavenly Father, I urge you to seek for it. It is going to take time, but he is one of the best friends you will ever have! He is ALWAYS there and he is ALWAYS awake! I promise you that the blessings will flow in your life and the lives of those around you as you seek Him.

I testify that He loves us! That we are His children. That He sent His son for a sacrifice so that we could live in His presence again. He has given us truths to live by to help us return to Him. He knows all the things that we have need of and desires to give them to us and He will, as we seek him.

I testify that this is His true church. I am grateful for this knowledge.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.