Friday, December 14, 2012

Scripture Keys for Today:  Mosiah 8

-The working of miracles is to benefit fellow beings

-The wisdom of men is blind


 17 But a seer can know of things which are past, and also of things which are to come, and by them shall all things be revealed, or, rather, shall secret things be made manifest, and hidden things shall come to light, and things which are not known shall be made known by them, and also things shall be made known by them which otherwise could not be known.
 18 Thus God has provided a means that man, through faith, might work mighty miracles; therefore
 he becometh a great benefit to his fellow beings.

 20 O how marvelous are the works of the Lord, and how long doth he suffer with his people; yea, and how blind and impenetrable are the understandings of the children of men; for they will not seek wisdom, neither do they desire that she should rule over them!

Wednesday, December 12, 2012


I've had this exact question...and so have my friends

A new Post from Spencer, Answering E.

Question for Spencer–How do you keep a balance of living in this world (i.e. the culture of this world) with striving for Zion? As I have read your story, I too am filled with joy and a deep desire to prepare myself for a Zion life. I find myself becoming more and more serious and my conversations becoming “heavy” to those around me. I have intense desires for a Zion life–I have ever since I was a young child and became “aware.” I find that this is not good for my children who need a mother who is “light” and unburdened by the call. Yet when I learn these things of Zion, the cultural norms of our world (I’m speaking of things that would be considered “acceptable” to our LDS culture–movies, TV, books, politics, medical practices, to name a few) seem to repulse me and I become more unrelatable–respected, but unrelatable. How then do you, knowing what you so definitively know, operate as a father, husband, friend, community member, etc.?
(Spencer)
E, I will attempt to discuss this process. May the Lord be with me.
When we are shown the great love and compassion the Savior has for all that He has been given by the Father. Who we are, every one of us has been given to Christ by the Father or we would not be on this site.. He knows our needs, and our wants. When we see this clearly, our needs and wants diminish considerably, we change and we see the process so much clearer and far more deeply. This clarity is then imparted to us in regards to what all of us must past through so we can lay this mortal by and put it all, everything, holding nothing back on the altar and consider each person in their present place, in their present progression in a new light. The Lord gives us this vision and we become changed by it. Dificult, Yes. Necessary, for sure. He then shows us our standing before the Lord, as we progress through this veil of tears and into the place where Zion penetrates our wanderings and daily walk until it consumes us. The things of this world then seem to start taking care of themselves. A transition takes place in us and our efforts can then become multiplied, blessed and sanctified. People then begin to know instinctivly that we love them in ways that are higher then how we used to Love, act and how we used to be. Higher than the lone and dreary world which bogs us down and causes us to flee from the world because we are fearful it might splash on us and contaminate our efforts. Because it certainly has the tendency to drag us down with it.
We then no longer are motivated out of attraction, lust or the desire for status or power or gain. Our pride becomes swollowed up in the Love He shows us and the purpose that burns in our bones like a fire shut up within them. Our desire to do this and become this, is known by the Lord in the same fashion that we are known.
We than start treating others as He treats us. They become caught up in the rapture of His purposes and begin to accept all other souls in the place they dwell and our desires become the spark which moves them to see with new eyes and feel with a new heart. Others than begin to lift up their heads and turn to the Lord and transform themselves bit by bit till they are no longer comfortable with where they reside and live. The discomfort of it all cause them to shift, move and reevaluate their present status.Through this they then begin to look to Him and Do all that they do in the Name of the Lord, that He may begin to sanctify their service, work, thoughts and actions to their own good and the good of all that are around them. We can not become a community of Monks and bring this wortk forward.
Thus Zion is established. For the desire of Zion is to become one. One in heart, one in purpose, one is spirit. O N E ! Even as The Father and the Son are ONE. This becomes a mighty work. The energy continues to grow and like “ Hurricane Sandy” it becomes a mighty force that desroys, shakes up and causes change, all old things are taken away or destroyed and the only place to move is to stand still and mourn or move forward and learn of Him who is the author of this change.
Recall with me in the garden of Eden, on the Tree of Good and Evil, on this very tree which the Father and the Son had planted, we find opposition. Good and Evil. Change comes from loss, pain, struggle movement. We must recall, the Lord said, “Be ye therefore even as I am”. To align with Him we must be like Him. And often that takes going below it all while also being above it all. Can we receive only those parts of sanctification which are glorious, without seeing, and experiencing that which is painful, trying and difficult? I do not believe this is the path. He will succor us. He will lead us along. It is the path to Him and the Path to Zion. Jesus is the Way the Truth and the Life. I testify of Him in the Name of Jesus Christ Amen. (Spencer)

Monday, December 3, 2012

To contemplate

“[The Latter-Day Saints] are a warlike people, easily distracted from our assignment of preparing for the coming of the Lord. When enemies rise up, we commit vast resources to the fabrication of gods of stone and steel — ships, planes, missiles, fortifications — and depend on them for protection and deliverance. When threatened, we become anti-enemy instead of pro-kingdom of God; we train a man in the art of war and call him a patriot, thus, in the manner of Satan’s counterfeit of true patriotism, perverting the Savior’s teaching: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:44-45).
“We forget that if we are righteous the Lord will either not suffer our enemies to come upon us — and this is the special promise to the inhabitants of the land of the Americas (see 2 Nephi 1:7) — or he will fight our battles for us (Exodus 14:14; D&C 98:37, to name only two references of many). This he is able to do, for as he said at the time of his betrayal, 'Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?' (Matthew 26:53). We can imagine what fearsome soldiers they would be.
“What are we to fear when the Lord is with us? Can we not take the Lord at his word and exercise a particle of faith in him? Our assignment is affirmative: to forsake the things of the world as ends in themselves; to leave off idolatry and press forward in faith; to carry the gospel to our enemies, that they might no longer be our enemies.”
— President of the LDS Church Spencer W. Kimball6

Sunday, December 2, 2012

We need BIG Desserts for BIG Families....and so today I went searching for a killer Chocolate Cake recipe and I found this recipe over here:    I am Baker

I did it a little differently, of course.

First off, my recipe is doubled from the original if you check the link and now are confused as you begin to peruse the indgredients.

I creamed all of the wet ingredients and then just kept whipping them until I was done mixing all the dry ingredients.  It was pretty fluffy by the time I added the flour and such.  I mixed on low until it looked really creamy....and since we don't do coffee.. I substituted 1/2 cup hot water and 1/2 cup real vanilla extract to mix in gently at the end.  The last step is not officially doubled since I would have needed 2 cups of watery liquid...but it seemed like enough, so I quit adding.

I baked it in a large cake pan, almost like a sheet pan size but with higher edges at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.  This should feed around 24 people generously.
  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
  • 4 cups sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups good cocoa powder
  • 4 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cup buttermilk, shaken
  • 1 cup softened butter
  • 4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
  •  1/2 cup vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup hot water