Thoughts on the Prodigal Son

Yesterday I had a conversation with some friends about how the Book of Mormon and the Bible go hand in hand in teaching the doctrines of Jesus Christ.   As I was preparing my lesson for seminary tomorrow, I found an example of this with the story of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15:11-32.  Our church produced a modern day version to the story of the Prodigal Son.  In the movie clip below the young man quotes a verse from the Book of Mormon which teaches us what we, just like the prodigal son, must do to return to our Heavenly Home.

You can also see this clip by clicking here

You can see the whole 30 minute movie by clicking here

Below is another clip of the Bible and a modern day story of the Prodigal Son

You can also see this clip by clicking here

Arcadia Stake Missionary for a Day

"My soul delighteth in the words of Isaiah" 2 Nephi 25:5

Seminary!  You've gotta love it.

First of all, I'm greeted every morning by wonderful smiling students.  Take Logan for example.  I couldn't help but snap this picture of him when he walked into class yesterday.  What a great t-shirt.  What a great smile so early in the morning.  What a great kid, as all my seminary students are! 

Second- When you are in seminary, you can study and learn more about the great prophet, Isaiah. 

The coming up week in seminary we are going to learn that "great are the words of Isaiah."  3 Nephi 23:1 

*Did you know that:

• Isaiah is the most quoted of all the Old Testament prophets.

• The writings of Isaiah deal with events of his day as well as events beyond his time. 

• The bulk of Isaiah's prophecies deal with the coming of the Redeemer.

• A major difficulty in understanding the book of Isaiah is his extensive use of symbolism, as well has his prophetic foresight and literary style. (I guess I'll brush up on my understanding of symbolism, prophecies, and his literary style)

*these tidbits about Isaiah are found in the Bible Dictionary

Below is a video telling of Isaiah's writings of the Savior

 

You can also see the video by clicking here. 

Is There Really a God?

Today one of my seminary students shared a question he had recently been pondering.  He said that after a discussion he had in one of his school's science class he began thinking, Is there really a God? 

Robert D. Hales said, "Gaining a testimony and becoming converted begins with study and prayer, then living the gospel with patience and persistence and inviting and waiting upon the Spirit." 

Elder Hales' quote makes me appreciate the effort my seminary students make each day to come to class so they can gain their own personal testimony that, yes, there is a God.  We are His children.  He sent Jesus Christ to show us the way to live and to also to atone for our sins so we can return to live with Him again.   

To answer my students' question, Russell M. Nelson reminds us that, YES, we know there is a God as we ponder the miracle of the human body.

You can also view the video by clicking here.  

This year in seminary we are studying the Book of Mormon.   In this video a young bishop in England describes how the Book of Mormon came to life for him and changed his perspective forever.

 You can also view this video by clicking here.  

SO......this will be a SEWING post....for an apron and child's bib

Thanks to my mother-in-law, aprons have always been part of the Magnusson family.

I ran across this idea for an apron on facebook.  It was posted by Terry Quinn, some random lady on facebook, with 2,929 followers.  I guess you will have that many followers when you post good ideas like this one. 

Sewing idea #1:   Old shirt apron

Need an apron? ... make one  from an old shirt!

Start with a man's shirt. Cut off the sleeves and the back.

Cut around the collar but leave it intact. I cut very close to the seam so that I wouldn't have to hem anything or have any raw edges.

Use your rotary cutter and ruler to make a diagonal cut from the armpit to the top of the shoulder.

Make sure both sides are even.

On the raw edge that you just cut, turn a hem under, concealing all raw edges, and sew it down. Do this on both sides.

The final step is to make the apron ties. You could use ribbon if you wanted, but I chose to cut strips of fabric on the bias to make the apron interesting.

Close all raw edges in and sew your straps on to the bottom of your diagonal cut. Be sure to backstitch several times for reinforcement.

And you're done!

A couple of final tips-

Flip the collar up until you are completely done with the apron. This keeps you from accidentally stitching it down and it just puts it out of the way!

Second, button the shirt all the way down at the very beginning. This will help your fabric stay straighter.

If you have a plaid shirt, that is a good starter since you can use the stripes as your guide for keeping it straight.

Sewing idea #2:    Kitchen towel bib.

My Sister-in-law, Karen, is a whiz at these bibs and kept me supplied when my children were little and now makes them for my grand kids.  This is just another reason why I have the best sister-in-laws!  

 

Happy sewing!

5 Days and Counting

Kristine is busy packing and getting ready to leave for the Missionary Training Center.  Not only has she been packing and preparing the last few weeks for this experience, she has been preparing her whole life.

Click on picture to read what is says

 We  also enjoyed visits from family members as Kristine has spoken in two different congregations the past two Sundays. 

Sam, Kristine, and cousins Andrew, Michelle, and Camille

Sam, Rachel, Scott, Kathleen, Kristine, Craig, Lynn, Cula, Aliece, David

Great Aunt Cula

Uncle Craig and Aunt Lynn

Rachel, Kristine, and Sam

Something to Think About.....

What do I think? ......I think I need to be wise with how I use this wonderful tool called the Internet.

Monrovia/Duarte Seminary 2013

There is no better way to start the day
than with this great group of kids. 

This year in seminary we'll be studying the Book of Mormon.

You don't know what seminary is?  Check it out here  

Mormon.org explains what seminary is:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints organizes religious classes, called "seminary," during the week so that secondary school-age students of all faiths from around the world can grow spiritually at the same time they grow in secular knowledge.

Students today have to work hard to meet high scholastic standards, but many find that taking a #seminary or institute class actually helps them deal with the stress of their other school work. Mormons believe that when we apply the spiritual dimension of faith to our study— even of worldly things— we can amplify our intellectual capacity.

Humanitarian Efforts Around the World

I appreciate my church's humanitarian efforts along with other churches such as the Catholics and other charitable organizations, such as the Red Cross working together to help our borthers and sisters around the world.

You can also see the above video by clicking here

You can watch many more videos that show a brief overview of the history, doctrine, organization and practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, told through unscripted interviews with members and others familiar with the Church by clicking here.

Elder Aidukaitis

We enjoyed a wonderful weekend with a visit from Elder Aidukaitis.  He is a member of the Quorum of the Seventy in our church.  His assignment as a Seventy is to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ and build up the Church. 

Scott, Sam and Elder Aidukaitis

Elder Aidukaitis attended our Arcadia Stake Conference Saturday and Sunday.  I learned a lot from him.  He has a delightful personality and is a very jovial person. 

On Saturday night I learned that I must choose what direction I want my life to go.  If I have celestial goals, it with help me with my everyday decisions.

On Sunday I learned that as a family, can have a happy  life as we live the gospel and are obedient Christ's teachings. 

I was introduced to Elder Aidukaitis when he gave a General Conference talk in October 2008 entitled Because My Father Read the Book of Mormon.  He has a delightful accent that you can hear as you listen to the video.  I think his accent is from his unusual background.   His father was the son of Lithuanians, but  was born in Scotland. He moved to Brazil when he was still young. His father also had the ability to speak English.  Elder Aidukaitis can speak Portuguese, English and Spanish. 

If you can't view the video, you can get to it 

by clicking here.

Good morning, dear brothers and sisters. I feel a profound joy and honor in speaking to you today. I pray that God may guide my words and that His Spirit may be with us so that “he that preacheth and he that receiveth, [may] understand one another, and both [may be] edified and rejoice together” (D&C 50:22).

I consider June 2, 1940, to be a very important day in the history of my family. On this day my father was baptized into this Church.

Writing to his father, Elder Jack McDonald, one of the missionaries who baptized my father, described the day with these words:

“Last Sunday was an especially beautiful day. We missionaries went out to a secluded spot on the river’s edge, out in the country, and there Elder Jones and I [Elder McDonald] made our first baptism. Antony Aidukaitis entered into the icy waters and became a member of the Church. … Everything was perfect. The sky so blue, the countryside so still, so green, so lovely that none of us could help feeling the presence of some great influence.

“[As we walked] with our new member, he said that he just couldn’t explain how wonderful this day had been for him, how he actually felt like a new man. … That was our first baptism—no credit to me or anybody. He converted himself.”

This event changed the history of my life. I am not sure my father was able to foresee the wisdom of his act, but I love him for what he did that day. He passed away more than 30 years ago, but I will honor and bless his name forever.

My father was the son of Lithuanians, but he was born in Scotland. He moved to Brazil when he was still young. His ability to speak English facilitated his conversion since he could read the Book of Mormon in English, and there was not yet a reliable translation into Portuguese. This language barrier prevented my mother from joining the Church until a few years later, but when she did, she became a powerful example of dedication to others and love of God in our family. She is now 92 years old, and she is here today. It gives me great joy to say that I love her for her great faithfulness. I will also honor and bless her name forever.

I admire the courage my father had to be baptized into the Church in spite of the circumstances he faced at the time. It was not easy for him. His wife did not get baptized with him. The vices of drinking alcohol and smoking were strong temptations for him. He was poor. His mother was against his joining the Church, and she told him that if he were baptized, she would no longer consider him her son. With fewer than 300 members in Brazil, the Church did not have a single chapel there. I am truly astonished by my father’s determination and courage.

How could he make such a decision in the face of so many unfavorable circumstances? The answer is simple: it was because my father read the Book of Mormon. When he read it, he came to know of the truthfulness of the message of the Restoration. The Book of Mormon is a proof that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. Preach My Gospel teaches that “the Book of Mormon, combined with the Spirit, is [the] most powerful resource in conversion” ([2004], 104).

President Gordon B. Hinckley declared: “Those who have read [the Book of Mormon] prayerfully, be they rich or poor, learned or unlearned, have grown under its power. …

“… Without reservation I promise you that if you will prayerfully read the Book of Mormon, regardless of how many times you previously have read it, there will come into your hearts … the Spirit of the Lord. There will come a strengthened resolution to walk in obedience to his commandments, and there will come a stronger testimony of the living reality of the Son of God” (“The Power of the Book of Mormon,” Ensign, June 1988, 6; see also “The Book of Mormon,” Tambuli, Oct. 1988, 7).

These promises came true for my father and for my family. In accordance with what we have been taught, we read the scriptures as a family every day. We have done so for many years. We have read the Book of Mormon several times in our home, and we will continue to do so. As promised, the Spirit of the Lord has come into the heart of our family, and we have felt a strengthened resolution to walk in obedience to His commandments and a stronger testimony of the living reality of the Son of God.

When you know that the Book of Mormon is true, you know that Joseph Smith was called by God to restore the Church of Jesus Christ to the earth. You know that Joseph Smith saw the Father and the Son. You know that there is only one faith and one valid baptism. You know that a prophet of God lives on the earth today and that he has all the keys of the priesthood and the right to exercise them, as Peter did anciently. You know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the only name whereby you can receive salvation. You know that God the Father lives and that He loves us. You know that His plan of salvation is perfect, and you have the desire to perform ordinances, live the commandments, and endure to the end.

I feel sad when someone who has been given the Book of Mormon and had these things explained to him still refuses to read it. I feel sad that some people allow themselves to be influenced by others, refuse to investigate the book, and set it aside as something without worth, never participating in the spiritual banquet it offers. To me, this is incomprehensible. It is as if a son or a daughter, separated from a loving father, refused to read a letter from him without even opening the envelope. Those who make such a choice are like spoiled children who refuse to even taste the meal tenderly prepared for them by their loving mother.

God reveals His truth when people follow Moroni’s exhortation in Moroni 10:3–5. Preach My Gospel summarizes Moroni’s instructions as follows:

One, “read the Book of Mormon and ponder its message concerning Jesus Christ.”
Two, “pray to God with faith in Jesus Christ to receive a testimony that the Book of Mormon is true and that Joseph Smith is the prophet of the Restoration.”
Three, “pray sincerely and have real intent, which means that they intend to act on the answer they receive from God” (111).

To those who may argue that we cannot know these things, I testify that we can, when we are humble enough to do as God has instructed us through His prophets on this earth. To believe otherwise would be to accept the absurd notion that God also does not know where truth can be found or does not have the power to show it to us. Just because someone has not acted on the promise of this book does not mean that others have not done so.

Why do I love and honor the name of my father? Because my father read and acted on the promise of the Book of Mormon. Why do I love and honor the name of my father? Because he did not recoil from the answer he received, even while facing great challenges. Why do I love and honor the name of my father? Because he blessed my life, even before I was born, by having the courage to do what God expected him to do.

I invite all who hear me today to read the Book of Mormon and to apply the promise it contains. Those who do will know that the book is true.

I bear my testimony that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. Because of this, I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. I know that he did not write the Book of Mormon but translated it by the power of God. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God on the earth today, the only man on the earth who holds all the keys of the priesthood and has the right to exercise them. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that He lives. I know that God lives and loves us. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Elder Aidukaitis also wrote an article for the New Era magazine entitled:  Caught in a Cumbuca.   He talks about how not to fall into Satan's traps and uses the analogy of being caught in a monkey trap  .   You can click onto the pictures below to read the article or click here to go the the link where the article is found.

 

 I feel blessed for the opportunity to have Elder Aidukaitis touch my life.