Closing Remarks

www.lds.org

Well, it's just about over. This semester has been one of great worth and I have learned so much more than I ever anticipated.

I would like to take this time and space that I have created to share my personal testimony on The Family: A Proclamation to the World. It is the world of God and exactly what He wants us to know in this day and age. We have so many people struggling to find the truth around us, and we are blessed enough to have a paper with everything we need to know about the family, raising children, and how we should treat our spouses. I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who always watches out over us to make sure, if we are paying attention, that we have all the help that we need.

I'm grateful for the chance that I took on this class in taking it because I have learned so much more, not just about the proclamation, but about myself as well. Through meeting with my group each and every week, I gained not only new insights, but new friends.

I love my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I know that the family is the preferred unit of God and that if we listen to the prophets and heed their council, we will be blessed and happy.

I leave this testimony in the name of my Lord, Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ, amen.

Chapter 32

The Eternal Family: A Plain and Precious Part of the Plan of Salvation 

by: Daniel K. Judd

emmasplacetobe.blogspot.com

This is the last chapter I will cover and one of the last of this wonderful book.

When we think about the term 'Eternal Family' usually we are given the analogy of a circle. There is no beginning, there is no middle, and there is no end. There is no top, no bottom. 

Even though it is, sadly, impossible for us to be able to understand this concept now, we need to keep this in mind so that one day when we are capable to comprehend it, we will have that and enjoy the happiness forever. 

But if we mess up now when we don't understand it, then one day when we do understand it we will be super upset and wish that a lot of things were different.

Judd makes some great statments in this chapter. He talks about Heavenly Father and how when he created His plan, it was perfect. His plan actually still is perfect, but we have the choice to do whatever we want. This led to the Fall of Adam and Eve. 

I love this story because of new insight that I have received through going to the Temple and there pondering and praying. 

Our destiny is to become like unto our Father, or in other words, become Gods ourselves. We need to try to to our best to grow up to be as our Father is so that we can have all that He hath and have the same happiness as well. Because He is perfect, that also means that His happiness is perfect. I, for one, would do anything to have perfect happiness. 

The atonement, of course, is the most important thing to ever happen on the face of the earth. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ died for us so that we are able to repent of our sins and be made whole through Him.

Because of the restoration, not reformation, of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we can now be married in a Temple of God for time and all eternity. This is the ultimate happiness that we want to achieve in this life. Luckily, I married up! 

I find that the Plan of Salvation ties in with The Family: A Proclamation to the World 100%. We need both in our lives. We need to study and understand both as much as possible, and we need to have testimonies of both. 

Chapter 29

The Proclamation: A Guide, a Banner, and a Doctrinal Summary

 of the Church's Emphasis on the Family

by: Lloyd D. Newell

One of the many reasons I love this Church is because that everything we do, we do to make life better for ourselves as well as others. 

Newell starts off this chapter by saying, "The Family: A Proclamation To The World has been used wisely and widely since President Gordon B. Hinckley first announced it on September 23, 1995, at the annual general Relief Society meeting. As the name suggests, it is addressed to all the world: all nations, all faiths, all families. It continues to be a light in a darkening world and a bulwark in defense of the family. Elder M. Russell Ballard (2005) called the proclamation 'a clarion call to protect and strengthen values and misplaced priorities threaten to destry society by undermining its basic unit.'"

The proclamation is the word of God, and being such, is scripture to all people of all nations of all races, of all sexual orientations everywhere in the world. Gods law is not the law of man, but a higher law that is no respecter of persons. If we don't obey it, we all will suffer the same consequences. 

I leave this post with another quote from Dan Roberts who is a former bishop from the Alpine Utah North Stake. 

"While serving as bishop I continually referred to the proclamation in my talks, in my meetings with the adults and youth, and in my counseling with ward members. I always felt that if I could just get our members to really internalize the principles of the proclamation, they would have the answers they needed and the pathway to a happy family life. The proclamation is truth, and I've seen its truth and power change lives."

I know that if we will all try to implement the proclamation into our own lives, we can have the same type of testimony that Dan Roberts is already enjoying. 

Chapter 26

An LDS Family Law Professor's 

Perspectives on Same-Sex Marriage

by: Lynn D. Wardle

www.nomorestrangers.org 

This could be a very tender subject for some, but not for me! I have my opinions that are very strong on this topic because I know what the latter day prophets have said and I know the will of God for the family in these days. 

Charles Reid is quoted in this chapter and I'll share the quote just because I love the verbage of the quote.

"The family is the original cell of social life. It is the natural society in which husband and wife are called to give themselves in love and in the gift of life. Authority, stability, and a life of relationships within the family constitute the foundation for freedom, security, and fraternity within society. the family is the community in which, from childhood, one can learn moral values, begin to honor God, and make good use of freedom. Family life is an initiation into life in society."

God is very specific when it comes to this subject. He has left no room for doubt, but somehow people are still defying Him. We read,

 "WE, THE FIRST PRESIDENCY and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children."

So, what do we learn from this? Marriage is between one MAN and one WOMAN. That is the only way that it is ordained of God. 

This chapter is great, but that's really all that needs to be said.

Chapter 20

Repentance and Forgiveness in Family Life

by: Elaine Walton and Hilary M. Hendricks

www.tillhecomes.org

Repentance is something often preached about in church, but how about in our own families? This chapter touched me the most in class because we were posed a question that went along the lines of, what is the thing that someone in your family could do that would be the hardest to forgive. Of course, most people said that betrayal or cheating/adultery would be the hardest thing to forgive.

After thinking about this for some time, I find that my testimony has grown even more because of the feeling that I've felt on this subject. Jesus never committed these sins,  but He suffered for all of them. I have a hard time admitting that I could forgive someone for doing something like this to me, but He has already forgiven all those who have, are, or will commit this most grievous sin. He truly is amazing.

Walton and Hendricks do a great job in this chapter of talking about forgiveness and then putting it to the family level. They share that it's an interactive process that takes more time than we usually want to take. I've found this is true, especially when it involves forgiving those closest to us.

Something that my mother has always tied in with repentance is improvement. Repenting and then improving is something that we always need to do, because, as the authors stated, it's not repentance if your going to just do it again and again and again. 

Chapter 11

Parenting in Gospel Context: Practices Do Make a Difference

by: David A. Nelson

whatthebeepamidoing.com

I've heard a saying for a long time that says, "Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent." I always liked this saying and thought that it made great sense. When we practice, we just do the same thing over and over and over and over again. This just ensures that you are doing it the same way every time, but what if you're doing it wrong every time? 

Nelson says, "The family proclamation makes clear that Heavenly Father expects parents to have significant influence in the lives of their children. God's plan for His children may be ideally characterized as the placement of children into homes where parents are committed to their development and proclamation principles are practiced. No other arrangement is as effective, as demonstrated by the First Presidency's call to parents ... 'to devote their best efforts to the teaching and rearing of their children in gospel principles which will keep them close to the Church. The home is the basis of a righteous life, and no other instrumentality can take its place or fulfill its essential functions in carrying forward this God-given responsibility...'"

In this chapter, Nelson talks about parenting styles vs practices and it's great to be able to see the difference. I don't have kids yet, but this chapter will come in handy when I start to grow my family! The major difference I saw was that several practices go in together to make up your style. 

I will try to base my parenting style, and life style, after my Lord and Savor Jesus Christ. He always helped others and cared for them unconditionally. I think that anyone who treats their children like this and teaches them to do the same, will be a great parent in the eyes of the Lord. 

Chapter 33

Drawing Specific Inspiration from the Proclamation

by: E. Jeffrey Hill

mormonapologeticstudies.org

In this chapter, the author chooses to teach us through a story and not by research or any other teaching method. The story starts of with Hill telling us about the first time that he heard The Family: A Proclamation to the World. His story is great, and I would like to have one like it, because I don't really ever remember not knowing about the proclamation. 

Hill goes on to share an experience on how he came with a story to send in to the ensign. It is inspiring how accomplished he is and I would love to do a lot of the same things as him. I, too, enjoy writing and would like to be able to submit something to the Ensign, but we will see if that ever happens. 

This chapter was a great testimony builder as it was full of rich stories and experiences that helped me understand his personal conversion even better and the tool that The Family: A Proclamation to the World can be in the conversion of others.