Genealogy work

Some people are blessed to do their genealogy work: They have journals, family bibles, letters, stories.  But, what about us that try to do our genealogy with nothing.  No matter where they turn to they don't find anything at all, no one shares any stories because no stories were shared with them, family bibles are non-existant because they were lost in moves or one family member held onto it and now poof it disapeared into thin air,  the letters that were written were thrown away, no one ever wrote journals,  or they just come from a different country that didn't really keep good records (which the further back you go the worse it gets in what ever country you look into)  I remember watching Harry Potter and when he and Sirius Black were in the Black home looking at the wall, I envyed the family tree that was painted on that wall!!! I was wishing that was my family tree.  It's a pain, it's frustrating and sometimes I wish my family just kept the stories and tales going, wrote it down, did something that I can work with.  But I guess that's why when I make a tiny little break through, like finding where my grandparents were born, it fills like I climbed one of the highest mountains in the world, of coarse on the other side of the mountain there is an even bigger one.  *sigh*

Mom's tortillas

Picture taken from: http://whatscookingamerica.net/CynthiaPineda/Tortilla/TortillaMaking.htm

Mom's home made tortillas were the best.  I never learned how to make them the way she made them, using her fingers for measuring cups.  But I am greatful mom wrote down her recipe and now I can make her tortillas when ever I want.

6 c. Flour

1 tb. Baking Powder

½ ts. Salt

¼ cup. shortening

2-2 ½ c. Hot Water

Add all ingredients into bowl, gradually add hot water (water must be hot to help melt shortening, the hotter the better as long as you don’t burn yourself) mix and knead until elastic.  Cover for 5-10 minutes and shape into balls for rolling. Flatten balls into round tortilla shapes on a floured surface.  (You can shape into balls and then let it sit it’s up to you)

Best rolling pin to use is a steel pipe.

Mormon=Me

Religion.  Church.  Jesus.  Scriptures. 

People wonder: Why am I Mormon?  They don’t see what I see in my religion.  Am I following just a religion or am I truly following Jesus Christ?  Am I following a man, or am I following God? 

What am I following?  Why Mormonism, Why not another religion? Do I want to explore the thought of going to another church?  Do I really have to go to church to believe in God?  Why go to church at all?  Maybe these are just some good topics for some of my postings…..maybe

So why Mormonism??? If you have read my “Why I am Mormon” Posting then you would have read my testimony of why I choose to be Mormon.  Yes I was raised in a house where my parents were Mormon.  My mother was active, while my father wasn’t.  But my road to my religion is in fact my road. It all comes down to the fact that I am choosing this way.  I could ask why are you catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, or non-denominational? What are your beliefs? Why do you believe that way?  Because, you and I believe how we believe. We are separate beings, we both have our own brain to think with.  But that doesn’t explain why I am the religion I am. 

Most people shun the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because of where it got it’s start.  From a 14 year old boy, at the time, who saw a vision of God and Jesus Christ and who told him not to join any church because none were the true church.  Now, if you believe your church, let’s say you are catholic, is the true church then you would have some trouble swallowing this wouldn’t you.  But as I have explored, pondered, studied and questioned this first vision, I have asked the same question as Joseph Smith did.  What church is the true church, is it my church I belong to or is it another church I haven’t found?  My answer has always been, there hasn’t been a true church on this earth since Jesus has left, most churches only have just a small piece of what Jesus’ church was like.  Think of it, the church that Jesus had on earth; his true church, as a sheet of glass.  Now when Jesus was crucified and returned to live with our Heavenly Father what happened to the church?  Like any sheet of glass when you drop it, it breaks.  The breaking off of the church was when Jesus died.  People took their piece of shattered glass and said I have the church.  Some has small pieces, some had large pieces, some even took  very small pieces and tried gluing them together to make a whole bigger piece.  Have I lost you yet? 

Maybe here is a better example.  Think of the…naw I am not going to use individual church names, so think of church A as a vase that has been glued together.  Somewhere, when the vase broke, some pieces were lost.  But the owner, or creator of that church, put the vase together with 10 missing pieces.  Church B had only 5 missing pieces but church D has 20 missing pieces.  They did their best to fix the vase, maybe even putting replacement pieces in the place of the missing pieces.

Okay where was I going with this?  My mind is working a million miles an hour. Now how do I justify thinking the way I was thinking?  Well it starts to show in the letters that the Apostils, who were still alive at the time, were writing to the churches.  Yes he was teaching them new things but at the same time he was correcting the error of their ways.  So already they were starting to stray away from the true church.  Coming back to now days: I think some churches out there have bits and pieces of the truth, some have larger pieces, some have smaller, and some have very bent pieces.  It just all goes back to man’s interpretation of the word. I’m not saying I know the word, in fact I know little of the Bible.  I haven’t read it cover to cover, but I can say I am kind of, sort of, reading the Old Testament. (I just get bored with it, that it’s self is a different topic.) But what I have read goes hand in hand with what Mormonism believes in. 

For example:  God makes it very clear for Moses to build a temple, or tabernacle.  And there are chapters of how to build it and how to sow the clothes, the tapestry, and how to anoint one’s self.  Has anyone really questioned why God would allow Moses to write such a long detailed account?  I have and I have also questioned why the LDS are so into their temples.  And one day it hit me.  Duh!!! So those of you who know the Mormon temples are sacred.  SACRED not secret. In the front of the temple it says “House of the Lord”.  We truly believe, as in the days of Moses, that our temples are the house of the Lord.  That is why we keep them Sacred and only allow worthy members to enter it.  After all the Temple is the Lords house and he has stated that he doesn’t allow any unclean person to enter into his house. What other churches out there put such a grand emphasis on temples like the LDS do?  There are other things also that I just can’t think of right now.

Another reason why I choose to stay Mormon is the fact that we believe in the Plan of Salvation.  When I lost my mom back when I was twelve, and it hurt so much.  I haven’t had anything happen that has hurt that much.  But I am very grateful of what the church believes in and that I have a chance to see my mom again when I leave this world. 

 I think the number one reason why I still believe in what the LDS believe in is, every other church that I have attended does not have the same spirit as our church does.  I can truly fell the Spirit in church & meetings.  The Spirit whispers to me this is true.  This is the church I belong to.  Mormon = me.

What to say

How to start my posting today?  What to say.  Thoughts that go through my head as I wonder, what do I want to write? What do I want to say? A couple of things run around in my head, some of it are good.  But then I think how, am I going to explain what I mean.  What examples am I going to use.  Most of my posting are leaning more towards the LDS in me, my spiritual side.  I wonder if I start writing about a certain topic am I going to be able to fully explain it correctly, can I use quotes from the scriptures? I look at other people’s blogs and they are so well written, so well said.  Then I look at my blog and go, “oh, Adri, you cannot write.  You cannot make it flow.  You sound like one of those actors in a movie that speak at 100mph.”  I’ve never been able to explain myself with bright beautiful colors or use words to paint a picture in the mind of the reader.  I guess this is just how I talk period. At least these are the true thoughts of my head.
For those of you who do read my blog, I thank you.  I know it is more about religion than anything else.  But that is because my religion is what makes me.  I am a MORMON, What we believe in is what makes me…me.  The loving, kind, sensitive, caring person I am is because of the Values that the church has taught my parents in return they taught me.  I hold on to them because if I didn’t, I would be someone totally different.  But most of all, I talk about religious things because I love my Heavenly Father and my Redeemer.

Plan of Salvation Visuals

Every time the Elders come to visit and teach a lesson they do not have visual aids.  I don't know if it is because I am used to the Sisters having visual aids or what but it just seems really weird not to have any shown.  Maybe I am just a visual person and I like seeing creative things.  It was really weird, Friday 4/12 I got this strong feeling to find some visual aids for the Missionaries.  I looked online to see if I can find some that I could color.  I did find one set that someone had drawn and posted online. Here  So I printed those out, colored them and then took them to church with me where I put clear tape over them and gave them to Elder Read.  I didn't know that he was being transferred this week and so it was kind of a present to him.  I told Elder White that I would make him a set.  His set I kind of took from different sites to make his.  But the majority came from Here.  So this is what mine looks like.  I will how ever be making a set and sending them to Sister Curtis in the Philippines, I am going to write on them in Tagalog.  I might even make one's for Sister Curtis who will be serving in the Adriatic Mission (she's at the mtc <missionary training center> right now.)

So here is what I came up with:

• Side note, I am having trouble putting them all in a row, I had it once but then I wanting to put captions on them, and well it is not going =( Okay so something was done and I don't know what but everything is in a row now.  I am just going to leave this and close this entry!!

You Chose the Wrong Time (Dramatic Monologue)

Warning this contains strong language and sexual content

Now you’ve done it, haven’t you?  Look at your beautiful house, I bet it cost a fortune to build, and you paid every single cent.  I could tell you were about showing off your money, I can tell by what you have on.  I bet that’s Versace, Armani or is it Gucci? Even to kill yourself you dressed up for the occasion.  Look at those shoes; you know I bet I would have to have saved for a year just to buy even one shoe. If this is what you wear I wonder what you drove. But oh well, here it is 2:30 in the morning and here I am picking your brains up from off the ground.  Ugh, what a mess you made.  How in the hell did you get your brains up on the high ceilings? Come to think of it, your brains kinds of looks like my spaghetti dinner I had last night.  Oh the wife made it real good; she added the little tiny meatballs that I love. And she even made the sauce from scratch; you could taste the basil and Italian seasonings she uses.  She knows how to make it were it’s not too runny or to thick. She even made homemade garlic bread with sprinkles of parmesan cheese on top, but that’s one of the reason’s I married her.  I totally forgot it was our anniversary; I didn’t get her a present.  So the only gift I could give her was passionate love. You know the kind that would make her feel like she was Queen of the world, the kind that makes her toes curl and she begs for more but to stop at the same time. But right in the middle of this my pager went off and here I am with you.  What a selfish bastard you are!

            I wonder if you had a wife or a girlfriend or maybe even both. Mind if I look around?  Why am I asking for your permission, you’re dead!  Oh yes, here she is on your little mantel above your fire place.  Did she position it here, or did you do that so that why she would feel like you love her enough to look at her every day?  Wow what a looker she is, her long blond hair, that goes around all the down to her butt, and those eyes: as big and bright as the sky. Her body isn’t that bad either, she looks like she actually has a little bit of meat on her bones, just how I like them. Those legs, what long voluminous tree trunks they are, boy would I love to have those wrapped around me and pull me in tight!   So did you ever make love to her? Woo her in to your bed in a seductive dance? Do a love dance like the pigeons, bobbing their heads at each other, while they turn circles, cooing.  Or are you like a gorilla beating your chest to show you are big and bad, dominating her by throwing her around? I would have loved to fuck her.

            But I wonder what drove you to spread your head?  Come on let’s flip you over and examine your front side.  Weren’t you a handsome man, what a shame! What a pity!  So what did drive you to off yourself?  You had money, a nice house, a good looking woman.  If only I could read what you were thinking at the time of you death.  I bet it was because of your woman, or women.  I bet you they drove you insane, maybe they found out about each other, or maybe you actually had one woman and she cheated on you.  Wanting to leave you and take all your money with her.  Yeah my wife would drive me insane. One day I bet I am going to be the one with my brains spewed everywhere because my wife drove me to do it, and there is going to be a horny death picker-upper talking to me, like I am to you, because I disturbed him in the middle of love making.

Depressed writer

There she sits on her lonely bench,

With gray dark clouds all around,

As gloomy as the look on her face.

She seems to be lost in thought, with

A worry upon her face; But what is that,

A single tear falls from where it not dare.

Hurriedly she begins to write but, pauses for

A moment and then vigorously, at it again

With tears dripping from her lavish eyes.

Unsuccessful wads of paper laying on the

 Ground, till the thought hit her hard, like

A gigantic shock of Zeus’ lightning bolt.

The thoughts would come in a flash

And send the ink from her hand

Unto the willing, awaiting page.

Tears would run down her eyes,

The reoccurring thoughts of death,

Which would stare up from the pad.

Corpses of flesh in heaps of pile laying all

Around, carnage would come from her

 hands to paint such a beautiful picture.

But oh how she wished it was not

The same deep, dark, morbid thoughts

She always writes upon her page.

Chosen (poem)

Loving
Devoted
Savior
Chose
This
Rebel

Dear Heavenly Father (poem)

I come to Thee on bended knee!
Broken and Confused
Ready to grab the extended hand of Thee.
Ashamed and Forsaken
Wilt thou accept this plead of mine?
Contrite and Serene
I will read they words line upone line.
Faithful and Enduring
To the end I will follow Thee.

Birth of a Poem (Poetica style poem)

Sit on the edge of the bathtub,

Pick up the razor blade and slice.

The blood quickly flows from the wrist.

The surroundings all around become a bit murky,

Nothing else seems to be in the room.

Listen to the heart beat in a rhythmic

Thumpty thump-thump cadence.

A brilliant red pool forms on the ground,

Snap back to reality, what happened?

Noises seem to come from outside:

People talking; having a good time.

The animated laughter of children,

Seems to be the final sound to hear.

But ask which was the true birth,

The thought of suicide or

The actual act of death?

Her Life (Ekphrastic writing)

Misia by Pierre Bonnard

(Inspired by the Pierre Bonnard painting, Misia)

She was taught from a young age

Money and fame was to be her life

Proper posture, a woman needs to be a wife.

Etiquette and elegance was the way,

Grand balls she would attend every day.

There her mother would introduce her

To all the prim and proper suitors.

None of which seemed to fit her taste.

Then one day a rich man made haste.

To this elder man it would be an easy task

For the mom was greedy he just had to ask.

To his land he would take her for the marriage

At noon they left in his large carriage.

For the first few weeks he showed her love,

Showered her with extravagant gifts from above.

He was twice her age and a bit charming,

Maybe a little too much, maybe a bit alarming.

Then it happened that one fateful day;

He beat and raped her made her submit in some way.

The only thing she thought was she was taught from a young age.

KoRn songs (Found Style poem)

Am I going crazy? I’m hiding; no ones there.  Deep inside dead bodies everywhere

Are you ready to live?  Take a look in the mirror! Alone I break, one more time.

It’s gonna go away. Seen it all: love and luxury, here it comes again.

Issued, blind, lost, hating, fake: hold on

Make believe, embrace, wake up hate! Make me bad

Right now do what they say let the guilt go throw me away

No place to hide pop a pill no way lier good god

Everything I’ve known hypocrites faget wicked blame trash when will this end

Fear is a place to live wish you could be me lies kiss politics 4 u

Did my time starting over bitch we got a problem move on see you on the other side

Somebody someone my gift to you love song let’s do this now innocent bystander

Let’s get this party started break some off play with me children of the korn

Beg for me twisted transistor never around dirty clown

Falling away from me hallow life bottled up inside beat it up right

Counting the past coming undone shoots and ladders predictable

Need to wake up reclaim my place got the life I will protect you

Mr. Rogers counting on me ear ache my eye tear jerker evolution kill you

All in the family ass itch remember who you are pretty

Follow the leader lead the parade for no one side open up untouchables swallow killing it’s on

Thoughtless dead hey daddy heare to stay

Life is peachy freak on a leash started 10 or a 2 way

Daddy getting off divine ever be one

Hushabye

I’m done

There can be angels here on earth.

Today is my birthday.  I should be happy that it is my day, but I am not.  I don't have any money to enjoy a nice dinner, or even throw a birthday party, not even to put gas in my tank.  My checking account is over drawn, which I hate!!! I guess I am just being selfish. I should be happy. I should rejoice that I am alive, that I am so important that Heavenly Father has given me life, a wonderful family, and wonderful parents.  I should count my blessings, and say  "yes today is my birthday, no I can not celebrate, but I can rejoice because I am a daughter of my Heavenly Father who loves me and I love him. But yet, I don't.  I wallow in self pitty because I can not have a party, or a grand dinner. 

I was talking with one of my customers today, and I let it slip that today was my birthday but yet I was down because of my troubles I was having.  We talked a little bit, and I got busy here at work.  About thirty minutes later , could be longer,  she comes in with a pretty pink bag. (Of coarse I think it's pretty, its my fav. color) In the bag there is a Marie Calender's turtle pie and what looks like a small bag or book wrapped up on the bottom.  I told her she was going to make me cry and she said oh stop and took off.  I unwrapped the book and it is entitled "Jesus calling; enjoying peace in his presence" by Sarah Young.  It's a book of devotions for every day of the year, I opened it and started flipping through the front of the book.  She wrote on it Happy Birthday, Adriana. (how cute she missed spelled my name) and so I decided to flip to today's date.  The little book mark ribbon was in the middle of the book and I thought to myself, Maybe she marked today.  When I opened the book to that page there was a $50 bill folded in half with a sticky note saying "Do Something for You! :) Renee".  All I could do was cry!!!

She did this out of the kindness of her heart.  Why, because she was showing charity.  Heavenly Father used (prompted)  her, to do his will.  She didn't have to give me anything, but because of her love and her willingness to follow our Lord, she did.  He worked through her to tell me, "My child, you are loved.  I am here for you, no matter what you go through. I love you, your sisters in Christ love you. No matter what you go through you are loved." Heavenly Father truely has angels here on earth that he works his ways through, today I was able to see one.

Genealogy....

For a few years I have been working on my families genealogy.  At first I started on my dad's side, only to go back as afar as my grandparents, I have a name of a great grandpa but that's all I have.  So frustrated I started on my mom's side, I got as far back to my great-great grandparents. But then I hit a snag, someone popped up on a census but ten years later they were no longer on the census with the rest of the family.  I have searched online for birth records, death record, nothing has seemed to pop up.  I even asked my uncles if they knew anything about this misterious family member and nope they didn't know, they thought grandma (their mom) was an only child. 
This is why I want to make these family trees, My family has kept their past quiet and so us future generation doesn't know anything about the past.  It's a shame that we don't know much.  Maybe since I have questions, wonder who people were maybe someone else in my family have the same questions.  Who was our ancesters?

Happy Birthday, Mom

It’s been 20 years since my mom passed away. But, yet instead of celebrating her death date, I choose to celebrate, remember, and think of her on her birth date.  Yup, today is my mom’s birthday!! If she were alive she would be 68 years old, wow 68 years old now that’s old.

            My mom, Rose Estrada Luna, was born to Jose Cuevas Estrada and Juanita Calderon on March 6, 1945 in Garden City, KS.  She was 3^rd oldest out of 6 kids, all of whom grew up in Garden City. Her family moved to California (don't know what year) and mom attended Redwood High School in Visalia, CA.  She met my dad, Pedro Luna, in 1964 (I think) and had my brother Pedro J. Luna on October 24, 1970.  They were then married on May 5, 1974 in Ventura, CA and on November 12^th, 1978 Mom, Dad and Petey were baptized and became members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. On March 28, 1980 that’s when I was born.  Mom had a couple of battles of breast cancer, and on December 31, 1992 at 8:15p.m. a wonderful soul left this earth to join her Heavenly Father in Heaven. 

            I know that is just facts that doesn’t really explain who she was…My mom was awesome! Growing up anyone of my brother’s friends would call her mom, that’s how loveable she was.  She was active in quite a few activities that her children were in.  She was band mom, room mother (my mom had a way with my teachers and they would offer her head room mother for the year), PTA member, and she always did things with church.

            My mom was spontaneous, growing up we would go for junk food rides all the time!! (for those of you who don’t know what they are where:  you buy junk food; sandwiches, chips, soda, any type of snacks.  Pack the car and cooler with all your snacks and pick a direction to drive, not knowing where you will end up.) Those were always fun drives, we would just end up somewhere, anywhere.  Sometimes it was in the mountains, or the beach, or just 3 hours away from home, no matter where it was we would end up at the destination spend some time there and then turn around and drive home.  The ones I always hated were when we would end up in the mountains, I am scared of heights and I hated those windy roads, but my mom always knew what to do, she would put on church music and have me lay down to fall asleep.  Another ride that she would do was our ice cream runs.  There was this small little ice cream shop in Visalia, CA called goochies, or at least that is what we called it.  She would come into my room, or find me out side and say, “you want to go to goochies.” Of course being a kid, who wouldn’t want ice cream, we would pile up in the car and go get ice cream.

            My mom was the best!!! If I had to do this life over, I wouldn’t trade her in for anyone else in this world.  The only thing I would ask for is for her not to leave this world so early, and for us to have many, many more years together. But, the memories I do have of her are wonderful (which I will write more stories about her) I love her so much, and miss her deeply.  But one day she and I will be together in Heaven and then I can tell her face to face

Happy Birthday Mom!!!!

Nauvoo Temple

            As the months in the year fly by, my heart is starting to grow heavy.  June is around the corner and my church family takes their camping trip to Nauvoo, Ill to visit the beautiful city and to attend the beautiful temple.  A couple of years ago, I worked so hard to get to the temple to do baptism for the dead and to be a proxy for my sister.  That was the first time I was worthy to enter into the temple, the peacefulness that was felt, the love…no words can describe it! I yearn to feel that again, no earthly thing can come 1/8 close to those feelings I had in the temple.  And the Spirit was felt so strongly, it hit me so bad that all I could do was weep.  And weep I did, couldn’t explain the reason why to anyone, all I could do was let the tears fall from my eyes and cry like I was a small child in my mother’s arms.  Outside the temple, the “old” city was so wonderful.  The houses are the same as they were back when the Saints were living there, they had pageants of when the saints were there in Nauvoo, old pioneer games, plays.  What fun it was! I am so glad I went, I had such a wonderful time.

            BUT the earthly fun is not why I am being drawn to that city again or why I even want to return.  There is a strong spiritual draw that is coming from the Temple, maybe it’s not the temple.  Maybe it is something else, someone that is beyond the grave, Or maybe it is my Heavenly Father whispering in my ear, “My child this is what you must do.” And how do I do it? How do I prepare myself in just 3 months to be worthy to go?  I am the one that has to do it, I can’t have anyone else do it for me.  I have to make the steps, no one can pull me alone.  I have to make the sacrifice, I have to do it.  I cannot do it alone, I have to have the power and strength from my Heavenly Father.

            AND when I do, I must have the strength to endure to the end.  Once I become worthy to enter the temple again, I must not falter and become not worthy for if I do I will be mocking God.  I do not want to mock him, I do not want to disappoint him anymore that I have. Maybe that is why I haven’t put my whole heart into starting the process, the fear of disappointing my Heavenly Father more than what I have. 

Snow is a four letter dirty word!

Yup you read the title right! S N O W is now a dirty word in my book.  Don't even think of saying "I think it is going to snow this week." You might get me yelling at you. Today I woke up to a horrible sight, the snow has finally hit Waverly Missouri and it is hitting it hard! Actually it's hitting the whole midwest pretty hard. They are saying we are supposed to get up to 12" of snow.  Talk about scary.  Yeah a foot isn't alot, but if you are driving in this.  Some people here around town are saying it is hard for them to see just driving across town.  I am currently sitting here, I've only had a couple of brave souls come in to get their mail.  I have seen about 4 cars pass on the road, and worst of all I haven't heard the scraper go by.  This morning when I got to work, I shoveled the sidewalk and I bet if I go outside and look it will look like I didn't touch it and it has been only about an hour since.  (I wish I could take the pictures off of my phone and post them to here.) This is just plain crazy, it is slowly turning into a blizard. ugh.

 

Thought today would be better....

                    I have come to realize that this blog is kind of more for me and my thoughts, like an online journal.  At first I thought it would be great to kind of make it where people can read it, but I think no one is reading what I post except for me. But it's OK if I am the only one who is a fan of my page.  Maybe when I have kids they will one day look at this blog and get to know their mom more than what they do.
                    Right now I am struggling with preparing myself to go to the temple and receive my endowments.  I am having a hard time over coming this smoking thing and I think it is because ciggerets are right there available to me since my hubby smokes.  I need to some how over come this thing, the rest of the things I must do is alot easier.
                     Today I have to go and get my gun, its a .22 revolver, but the way things are looking it's not looking too wonderful for me.  I called over to the office that is incharge of my post office to ask a question and they told me I have an express.  Now for those of you who don't know what an express is it is a package or letter that has been mailed with great urgency, tipically over night.  My office has a due time of 3 pm for the expresses but my work hours today is from 10-12 and the gun shop I am going to usually closes between 12-1.  I have to call to see if they will stay open for me.  Talk about frustrating because the weekend are the only times I can go and get this thing.
                    Right now I am just here in my office waiting for the mail to come in so I can put it up, I already have things ready for closing time. I honestly hate waiting.  I guess since I am here doing nothing I better read my scriptures.

Book of Mormon: A reading challenge for me.



This is not an official Book of Mormon from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints but this edition of the Book of Mormon is published by special arrangement with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah.



Example of how I am marking my new Book of Mormon



I have chosen to read the Book of Mormon again, from coverth to coverth.  Usually I start something like this and about half way through the book I for some reason stop reading.  Which is horrible because I really enjoy reading the Book of Mormon and I have fun trying to find different things to help me understand the words of the Lord.  For example every time I see the word baptism I take a green pen and write over the letters with the pen.  I do it for repentance (blue), faith (black), Holy Ghost(red), keep the commandments (purple), Lord or Heavenly Father or any other names for God (highlighted in Yellow) and Jesus Christ or any other names for him (highlighted in Orange).  I also have other colors that without my color chart in front of me I can not pull off the top of my head.  Its amazing to look back on what you have read and see the different colors and their meaning.   Did you know that on the very first page of the Book of Mormon, Where 1Nephi starts, God is mentioned 2 times with in 3 verses or if you flip to page 41 God (Lord, Spirit of God) is mentioned 20 times? In one of the chapters of Ether faith is mentioned around 32 times? (man I wish I had my book that has it highlighted in front of me so I can give the correct amount). The bad part is that no matter how many times I read the Book of Mormon and highlight different verses I can never remember verses off the top of my head.  Some people can say (I'm just making it up and looking up the verse, mind you I have a copy of the Book of Mormon next to me and the internet where I can look up these verses) Alma 32:15 says: Yea, he that truly humbleth himself, and repenteth of his sins, and endureth to the end, the same shall be blessed—yea, much more blessed than they who are compelled to be humble because of their exceeding poverty. I can't even begin to quote scriptures or even tell you where the verse was that I read it.  Like yesterday I read prophecy about the Book of Mormon and one verse said a Bible a Bible we already have a Bible, Oh man I better look that up because I don't know if I am quoting it right or even where it is.  That is how bad I am at memorizing the scriptures.....pause for looking up....Okay so it is in 2Nephi 29:3 and the actual verse is "....A Bible! A Bible! We have got a Bible, and there cannot be any more Bible." So I was close, but I still didn't know where it was, the only way I found it was because I had highlighted it.  I think I have gotten off coarse on what I was talking about.  

So anyways, I want to read it from cover to cover but I wanted to do some type of challenge.  I have been presented a few challenges from the missionaries in the past and I have forgotten what they were so I googled  and I found a blog that had a schedule that was for a 30 day reading cycle.  It comes off of a talk by  President Gordon B. Hinckley Click here if you want to read what it says:  http://www.maccabe.org/images/7/7d/90DayBOM.pdf 


Inside cover of my Book of Mormon

 So I copied the schedule and taped it to the front of my Book of Mormon,  which everyone says it is a good idea to start a new book when you decide to start over.  If only they knew how many times I start and stop reading.  I think I would have a million books.
I think I am doing alright in keeping to the schedule. I am a day or two behind, but I am striving to read it!!

I just want to say that I know this book, The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ.  And if you read it, with real intent, you will know it does testify of Christ.  For only things that testify of the goodness of the Lord are of the Lord, because the devil can not testify of the goodness of the Lord but only the Holy Ghost can testify of God and Jesus.  I hope you will seek the happiness this book brings and feel how closer to Heavenly Father you will become by just reading this book then asking Heavenly Father if this IS his words.

 

Update:

I suck at keeping up with my goals.  As of today I am 10 days behind schedule.  But I am proud to say that I am reading each day.

Love this: 33 Challenges of the Book of Mormon

When looking for a challenge to read the book of mormon I found this on someone's webpage.  I liked it so much that I just had to copy it:

33 Challenges of the Book of Mormon

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Occasionally you hear someone say, "I could believe your Mormon Doctrine if I just didn't have to swallow the story about Joseph Smith being a man of God and that he translated the Book of Mormon from some golden plates which he claimed he had found on a hill side." It is even possible that you, yourself, have doubted his story. Well, let us consider some facts or conditions that must be complied with in order for you or someone else to produce a similar record under comparable conditions.
1. You must be 23-24 years of age.
2. You cannot be a college graduate, in fact, you can have only three years of schooling.
3. You must write a book with 239 Chapters, 54 of them about wars, 21 about history, 55 about prophecy, 71 about doctrine, 17 about missionaries, and 21 about the mission of Jesus Christ.
4. Whatever you write must be on the basis of what you now know; no research can be done.
5. You must write a history of an ancient country, such as Tibet, covering a period from 600 BC to 421 AD. Why? Cause you know nothing about Tibet.
6. You must include in your writings the history of two distinct and seperate nations, along with histories of different contemperary nations or groups of people, of which no one ever knew existed.
7. Your writings must describe the religious, economic, social, and political cultures and institutions of these two nations.
8. You must weave into your history the religion of Jesus Christ and the pattern of Christian living.
9. When you start to produce this record, covering a period of over 1,000 years, you must finish it in approximatly 80 days.
10. When you have finished you must not make any changes in the text. The first edition must stand forever.
11. After pauses for sleep and food, if you are dictating to a stenographer you must never ask to have the last paragraph or last sentence read back to you.
12. Your record must be about 522 pages with over 510 word per page. You must add 180 proper nouns to the English language. William Shakespeare only added 20.
13. You must announce that your "smooth narrative" is not fiction, but truth, yes, even that it is a sacred record of history.
14. In fact, your book must fulfill Bible prophecies; even in the exact manner in which it shall come forth, to whom given, its purpose and accomplishments (Respectively-Psalms 85:10-11, Isaih 29:11-14, Ezekial 37:18-21, etc.)
15. You must publish it to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, declaring it to be the Word of God.
16. You must include with the record itself, the marvelous promise; "And when ye shall recieve these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God the Enternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, He will manifest the truth of it unto you by the power of the Holy Ghost" -Mor 3:5
17. Tens and hundreds of thousands must bear record to the world for the next 145 years that they know the record to be true, because they put the "promise" to the test and found it to be true, the truth manifested to them by the power of the Holy Ghost.
18. Thousands of great men, intellectual giants, and scholars must subscribe discipleship to the record and its movement even to the point of laying down their own lives for it.
19. Your descriptions of the culture and people in these civilizations of which you will write include, the manner of their written and spoken languages, type of buildings, geographic locations, governmental types, monetary system, types of tools and materials used, and many other facts completely unknown to the rest of the world.
20. There can be no flaw whatsoever in the entire record.
21. Yet, you must not make an absurd, impossible, or contradictory statement.
22. Even so, many of the facts, ideas, and statements given us as truth in your record must be entirely inconsistent, even the direct opposite of the prevailing beliefs of the world where very little is claimed to be known about these civilizations and their 1000 years of history.
23. You must invite the ablest scholars and experts to examine the text with care. You must strive diligently to see that your book gets into the hands of all those most eager to prove it a forgery and who are most competent to expose and flaw in it.
24. Through investigation, scientific evidence, and archaeological discoveries for the next 150+ years must verify your claims and prove even the minutest details of your history to be perfectly true, even to the types of roads they built.
25. After 150+ years of analysis, no claim or fact in the book is disproven, but all is vindicated. Other theories and ideas as to its origin, rise, and fall, leaving your claims as the only possible ones.
26. Internal and external prophecies must be confirmed and fulfilled in the next 150 years.
27. Three honest, accreditable witnesses must testify to the whole world that an angel from heaven appeared to them and showed them the ancient records from which you claim your record is translated. These three witnesses must never deny their testimony, not even upon their death bed.
28. You must call out of heaven the voice of the Redeemer to declare to the three witnesses that your record is true and that it is their responsibility to hear the testimony. They must handle and feel the engravings on the plates, and bear record of it. Again, they can never deny their testimony.
29. Eight other witnesses must testify to the world that they saw the ancient records in broad daylight and they that handled them and felt the engravings on the record.
30. The first three and the second eight witnesses must bear their testimony not for profit or gain, but under great personal sacrafice and severe persecution, even to their death.
31. You must find someone to finance your book with the understanding that neither he nor you will ever receive and monetary renumeration from it. You must sell the book at the cost of, or less than the cost of, its production value.
32. You must tell the world that the written record you have translated from was engraven gold plates, even though up until the time you make the claim, no one has ever found anywhere in past history any civilization using gold as a method of keeping records, and not until about 100 years later were any similar engraven gold plates found.
33. Finally, after suffering persecution and revilement for 20 years after you finish the book, you must willingly give your own life for your testimony that the record is from God. All the time you never make a profit or any other type of personal gain save it be your testimony of the work you brought forth.
Surely, no one without God's help could produce a similar record and comply with all of the above conditions. Wouldn't you say that Joseph Smith was indeed a man of good and that he was an instrument in God's hands to bring forth such a record?
© Copyrighted by Peter C. Covino, Jr. 1974
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