Preach My Gospel FHE Lesson - How sweet is repentance!

I am working now to update the archive of our FHE lessons on Preach My Gospel. Visit the post here to access the ones that are done.

 

Tonight's lesson will be on Preach My Gospel Lesson 3, Heading 3  "Repentance."

 

This lesson uses the beautiful, powerful story from the Book of Mormon about the Lamanites who repented and buried their weapons. I love this story!

It also teaches about the bitter feelings of remorse and guilt we have when we sin, using chocolate (unsweetened and regular) to help your family compare those feelings to the sweet, peaceful feelings of being forgiven.

How everlastingly grateful I am for the Atonement of Jesus Christ! How overwhelmingly amazed I am that He would choose to feel those bitter, awful pangs of sin so that I can repent! I know He did this because He loves us. He is our Redeemer and our Savior.

Preparing this lesson was a joy and a reminder to me to repent more often. It is already paid for, and infinitely worth it!

Link to Lesson 3 Heading 3 pdf  ~ "Sweet Repentance"

Preach My Gospel FHE Lessons Archive

update 4/9/13: Because Scribd is making life difficult now, I have uploaded all of these to google docs as pdf's, and have changed the links accordingly. Hopefully google stuff will always be free. . . :)

I thought it would be helpful to gather all of these into one post, especially since I haven't managed to be regular about posting them!

-- Here's a link to my original post about why we started using these for FHE lessons and my feelings about using Preach My Gospel to teach my children. --

I will update this post with the new links whenever I post a new lesson. We have a bunch more done, just not uploaded and linked yet. Here's what we have so far. . . .

Note: We take turns preparing the lessons for Family Home Evening, so there is a wide variety in lesson style for these! If it's one I prepared it tends to be more elaborate. If it's one my 10-year-old son prepared, it tends to be very simple. :)



 Preach My Gospel
Lesson 1 - The Message of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ

Heading 1 "God is Our Loving Heavenly Father"
Heading 2 "The Gospel Blesses Families"
Heading 3 "Heavenly Father Reveals His Gospel in Every Dispensation"
Heading 4 "The Savior's Earthly Ministry"
Heading 5 "The Great Apostasy"
Heading 6 "The Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through Joseph Smith"
Heading 7 "The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ"
Heading 8 "Pray to Know the Truth through the Holy Ghost"

Lesson 2 - The Plan of Salvation

Heading 1 "Pre-Earth Life: God's Purpose and Plan for Us"
Heading 2 "The Creation"
Heading 3 "Agency and the Fall of Adam and Eve"
Heading 4 "Our Life on Earth"
Heading 5 "The Atonement"
Heading 6 "The Spirit World"
Heading 7 "The Resurrection, Judgment, and Immortality"
Heading 8 "Kingdoms of Glory"

Lesson 3 - The Gospel of Jesus Christ


Heading 1 "Through Christ We Can Be Cleansed From Sin"
Heading 2 "Faith in Jesus Christ"
Heading 3 "Repentance"
Heading 4 "Baptism, Our First Covenant"
Heading 5 "The Gift of the Holy Ghost"
Heading 6 "Endure to the End"


Lesson 4 - The Commandments

Part 1 "Obedience"
Part 2 "Pray Often"
Part 3 "Study the Scriptures"
Part 4 "Keep the Sabbath Day Holy"

Thank Heaven for Grace!

I've seen this a couple times over the last few months, and I just love it. I love the music - I've been thinking alot about how to learn about Christ, to focus more on Christ, and become more like Him. I know we're usually our own worst critics, but I've been feeling particularly inadequate lately. I keep remembering wise words from one of the wonderful women in my congregation at church -- to paraphrase, "If you feel like you aren't enough, like you can't do enough or be enough, it's okay, because it's true. That is why we have the Savior. It is only with Him that we are enough, that we can do enough, that we can be enough." I love the words, "Oh, to Grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be. Let Thy Goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee. Prone to wander - Lord, I feel it! Prone to leave the God I love.... Here's my heart -- oh take and seal it for thy courts above."

I love that the images in this slideshow are photographs -- so real. It reminds me that He really lived, and still lives today. It reminds me that His miracles are real, and were not just for the past, but are also for my present.

Now if I can just remember that the next time I break up a fight between my kids or the next time I have to tell them something 5 (or 10 or 20) times before they obey or the next time I have to clean up the spilled juice/milk/vegetables/soup/main dish off the floor after another unsuccessful attempt to get my three year old to EAT HIS DINNER....

Thank Heavens for GRACE!

Quinoa

In our Enrichment Food Group this week, a couple of our sisters taught us how to cook using Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah). Have you heard of it? It is an amazing little "Super Grain". The Incas called it the "Mother Grain"

Our information says it is "packed full of protein (9 amino acids - making it a complete protein), calcium (more than milk), Omega 3 Fatty acids, a good source of manganese (necessary for metabolizing calcium), Vitamin E, magnesium, phosphorous, iron and copper and Fiber (1/4 cup has between 5-6.5 grams of fiber).

The sisters bore their testimonies about following the Word of Wisdom more fully and the blessings that come by eating meat sparingly and adding more grains into our diets.

"Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they are to be used sparingly;

"And it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine.

"All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life, not only for man but for the beasts of the field, and the fowls of heaven, and all wild animals that run or creep on the earth" (Doctrine and Covenants 89:12-14)

You can use Quinoa for substitutes... meat substitute in ground meat recipes, grains in rice recipes, and for beans in Mexican recipes. You can add it to soups, salads, salsas, breads, cookies, pilafs, and more. Cook it at a 1:2 ratio Quinoa:Water..(like rice) but it cooks a little faster.

She showed us how to cook it and let us taste test a bunch of different dishes. I am sharing a recipe that she gave us. I made it for dinner last night and my husband LOVED it!

Thai-Style Lettuce Wraps

1 chopped onion
3 chicken thighs, or 2 large breasts finely sliced
1 TB oil
2 garlic cloves, minced

In a large saute pan, combine all ingredients and cook over med-high heat until chicken is no longer pink. Add into the pan:

1 C water
2 TB soy sauce
2 square inches worth of grated fresh ginger root
1 chicken bullion cube
1/4 tsp Thai red curry paste (to taste)
1 tsp. curry powder
3 TB peanut butter (+/-)
1 tsp basil
Dash of nutmeg

Bring all ingredients to a boil, stirring continuously. Cook until a thick consistency is reached. If it gets too thick, just add more water. Now add in:

1 C cooked white quinoa

Stir to combine, remove from heat. Serve in lettuce leaves with lime juice.
Great toppings:
shredded:cucumber, carrots, red cabbage
Flaked coconut
Chopped peanuts
Cilantro, sweet peppers
Anything that you think would be great

You can also choose to leave out the chicken and just do a vegetarian wrap!
Enjoy!

A Return to Virtue

(A few random thoughts tonight)

I LOVED Sis. Elaine S. Dalton's talk in conference.
'A Return to Virtue'
A few of the points
~"I can do hard things" vs. "In the strength of the Lord, I can do all things."
~"..be the one to stand for right, even when it means to stand alone"
~"There is no friendship more valuable than your own clear conscience."
~"..slowly desensitized" >Lahonti - poisoned by degrees (tolerate - accept - embrace)
~change the world through our virtuous influence.
~"Never underestimate the power of your righteous influence"

Listen to the Conference Talks
I am so thankful for General Conference, I NEED and look forward to it every 6 months.

another thought-
We are strong, and our testimonies are grounded, but I just want to cry all day when I see how wicked the world is. My heart aches at the disobedience of Heavenly Father's children.

I received the video in an e-mail today about Proposition 8. It amazes me that this is an issue. The video is to the people of California but it could affect us all. I am so thankful for my beliefs and the things I was taught about on the importance of the nature of the family. I am grateful to the Prophets, SEERS, and Revelators of the Church for publishing, "The Family: A Proclamation to the World", when they did. They know what is to come and it is an amazing document.

some of what it says:
(click on the picture to view the whole proclamation)

"All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.

"The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife.
"Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children.

"The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity."

It says so many times MAN and WOMAN, HUSBAND and WIFE. I know marriage is ordained of God. That 'Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.' (1 Corinthians 11:11) I am so sad for the people who feel otherwise, that same sex marriages are okay or even good. I wish I could help them understand the beauty of marriage and family, the importance of husband and wife. The Proclamation says:

"We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets."

I guess all we can do is to be a good example. To declare in word and deed, to do our duty and vote. We need to do all we can.

"For there are many yet on the earth among all sects, parties, and denominations, who are blinded by the subtle craftiness of men, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, and who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it—(Doctrine and Covenants 123:12)

"Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed." (Doctrine & Covenants 123:17)

Children are so vulnerable and moldable, so innocent and trusting. If we don't act now, they could be the ones that are blinded by the 'subtle craftiness of men'. I pray that Heavenly Father will give me the wisdom and the words by the spirit when this subject comes up in our home. I am thankful to be a member of the church and have the Gospel in my life, and that I can teach it to my children. I am thankful for my testimony. I know that Heavenly Father loves us and that "In the strength of the Lord, I can do all things." I am thankful for my husband, and that together we can honor these sacred marital vows. That we can raise a family in righteousness, and that Heavenly Father has and will continue to show us the way to do that in a changing world.

Spotlight - Krysta Moes

It is past due for my turn to take the Spotlight - unfortunately! :) I have to say thank you to Laura for taking my place while I was trying to get things back to normal after Hurricane Ike. Thank you also to Andrea for being so patient with me and letting me get this done on my own time frame, which sometimes can be a little bit of a wait!

Where to start??? I'm really not that interesting, but we'll see what I come up with! I grew up in California. A place called Clovis, it's right outside of Fresno. After graduating high school, my parents and siblings moved to Dallas, Texas and I moved away to school. I started out in Rexburg at Ricks College and after a semester of that, I decided it was way too cold for my California blood and headed to Texas to spend a little bit of time with my family, then ventured on to Utah. Which is still a very cold place, but I fell in love with Utah! I knew that I wanted to be there for a long time. Shortly after moving there I also fell in love with my husband. We got married in the Salt Lake Temple and headed up to Logan to go to Utah State. He graduated from Utah State and I graduated from beauty school and became a cosmetologist. I worked in a salon for several years and even worked at home after having my kids. We had three kids there and were absolutely loving life in Cache Valley, when all of the sudden we decided that we needed to change things up a bit. We didn't want to leave Cache Valley, but we felt the need for a new job. Since there wasn't much to choose from in my favorite little town, we had to look outside and chose a job offer in the Houston area. This has been a blessing for us to stretch ourselves out of our comfort zone. There are so many wonderful missionary opportunities all around us. I need to keep stretching myself even more in that department! We have been here now for a year and we really love where we are in life right now.

Casey and I have been married for 10 years. He is a consultant for a small software company just about 8 miles from where we live, which is a blessing all in it's own. The Houston commute is AWFUL! We have 3 adorable, spirited children. Kaylee is 7 and in second grade. Jake is 5 and in Kindergarten and Drew is 3 and stays at home with me. I am blessed to be able to have "retired" from doing hair and now stay at home with my kids and take care of them, without having to squeeze in time for work. Somedays I wish I had somewhere to hurry off to... BUT there are always little moments in my day that make me realize, with absolute certainty, that I am doing what I know I should be doing right now. My family is my life. Everything I do, I do with them in mind. Even my hobbies are linked back to my family...how did that happen??? :) They are just so cute, I guess I can't help it!

In addition to my family, I have 3 passions in life that I just can't seem to escape.

SCRAPBOOKING - I have been an avid scrapbooker for as long as I can remember. Even in my years of growing up I remember putting albums together and adding extra things to make them special, instead of slapping just a picture on a page. I didn't realize what I was doing until I moved to Utah after high school and was opened to the scrapbooking world. A world of bringing pictures to life, making friends and treasuring family memories. I have since been converted to digital scrapbooking about a year ago and now I am trying to soak up as much information as possible about this new passion!

PHOTOGRAPHY - This also goes way back in my childhood. I remember wondering why my mom didn't love taking pictures. How could you not like to take a picture??? I would go and find my parents camera and snap shots all the time. I always felt the need to document important events and highlight the fun things that were going on. This passion has never gone away, it's only gotten more passionate! I love looking at good, quality pictures. I find myself on photography blogs all the time, staring at their pictures and wondering how they get them to be so...perfect! I have recently bought my first SLR camera and I am enjoying every second of it. I am also trying to learn everything I can about this, as well!

DECORATING/ORGANIZING/CLEANING - I love to decorate. Anyone who knows me already knows this. BUT, I also love to organize and clean. Sounds CRAZY, I know, but it's true. There is something soothing and so calming about it to me. I am not a very calm or soothing person when my house isn't organized or clean, so that's motivation enough for me. These 3 things: decorating, organizing and cleaning are great tools for me as a mother that I am constantly using to better myself and my family. I love to do anything that makes my house a home and a special place for my family to be.

The very most important tool I have as a mother, wife, friend and all the other titles I carry, is the gospel in my life. I am so thankful for the gospel to teach me what my purpose is in life: where I came from, what I'm to do here and where I'm going after this. I can't imagine not knowing this and that makes me want to be a better missionary. I also have a testimony of prayer. I absolutely know that every single one of our prayers are answered, no matter how big or small they might be. The power of prayer is real and it is there for us to use...daily. I am thankful for the scriptures and for the infinite amount of knowledge that is available for us through the words of our prophets. I know that the scriptures are here for us to search and ponder about...daily. (so hard to do sometimes), but every time I take advantage of this blessing, my day turns out so much better which makes it worth the daily sacrifice.

Thanks for reading about me. I can't wait to get to know all the other girls contributing to this blog even better!!

Edit: I forgot to choose someone to go next on the spotlight. Steph Austin...I pick you!

Personal Revelation

As General Conference draws near, I have been thinking about the wonderful gift we as church members share. That is the gift of revelation; personal and from our Heavenly Father through our prophet. I am excited to listen, and ponder on the revelation this next weekend.

However, my mind had been focused on the wonderful gift of personal revelation. Today, I wanted to share with you my feelings and testimony of this wonderful blessing.

Yesterday, at the General Relief Society meeting, Sister Beck said, "We can do the Lord's work if we seek, receive and act on personal revelation. We must heed all revelation. We must be still; revelation takes serious mental effort."

As sisters of the Relief Society we all have a responsibility to organize, teach and aspire all. I am thankful for personal revelation to assist me in this effort.

I would like to share a few things that I have learned about personal revelation. Elder Robert D. Hales said, that prayer is the firm foundation for revelation. We should then study it out in our minds. Revelation comes on the Lord's timetable, so we must move forward with faith.

Please note: I am paraphrasing from his talk. When it is a direct quote I will note.

President James E. Faust also taught that the church has flourished because of the divine direction that is given to all individuals. This direction is to help lead us to eternal salvation. I am so thankful for this wonderful blessing to help lead me. I am now working on using it, and listening to it.

How do we use it? Personal Revelation does not extend beyond our own Stewardship. This includes revelation for us, our family, and our calling.

Where does the revelation come from? The Holy Ghost is the revelator.

How do we recieve personal revelation?
I will tell you in your mind and in your heart. (D&C 8:2)
By the Still Small Voice (1 Kings 10:11-12)
A still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper, and it did pierce even to the very soul
(Helaman 5:30)

We really must listen if we expect to hear personal revelation, because most times it is a very quiet voice that whispers what we should know. I have often times had revelation when I am on a walk, in the shower or just quietly minding my own business. I will receive a thought in my mind, and it is often later on in the day that I recognize it as personal revelation.

President Faust gave us a few guidelines to follow when seeking revelation.
1. Keep the commandments
2. Be spiritually attuned
3. Ask in a humble prayer
4. Exercise your faith

Our responsibilities as members is to seek after revelation for ourselves, and listen to the responsibilities given to us. Just the other day I felt prompted to call a friend. I am so glad I did. She was in the hospital, and had just given birth to a new baby. I was able to wish her congratulations, and tell her I care about her. I am thankful I acted on the prompting to serve.

I have also had moments of revelation when I am reminded of the blessing I have been given. Almost as if, the Lord is telling me, "I gave that blessing to you to bless your life for this purpose." I love recognizing those thoughts, and knowing that they are put there to strengthen my faith. It also reminds me that I am loved by our Heavenly Father, that he knows me, and recognizes my needs. I know that it is through the small and simple acts of faith that miracles are wrought.

I want to close with this thought from Elder Robert D. Hales. He said, "Miracles will usually be tender mercies gently bestowed through impressions, ideas, feelings of assurance, solutions to problems, strength to meet challenges, and comfort to bear disappointments and sorrows."

I hope you can recognize the gift of personal revelation in your own life. I also pray that you can remember the blessing of Latter-Day revelation as we listen to our prophet this weekend. As one last reminder, President Wilford Woodruff said, "The church could not live 24 hours without revelation."

Resources:
Communion with the Holy Ghost by President James E. Faust
Personal Revelation by Elder Robert D. Hales