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Seeing the prophet’s jet heading towards the Safford airport caused great excitement! It’s the little white line at the top of the mountain. We had made signs to welcome the prophet and got construction barricades for the signs to be put on. We heard the news that the prophet would be landing around 2:00 so we decided to wait at the end of my in-laws drive way so we could wave to him as he drove by. We had no idea that we were in for the treat of a lifetime!

Here comes his slew of cars….

The prophet instructed his driver to pull over. It almost caused the cars behind his to rear end each other.

You can imagine our AWE when the cars pulled over. I had been told to take lots of good pictures so I ran closer thinking they might get out and wave to us then get back in their cars.

Imagine my excitement seeing the prophet walking towards us. He was telling us to stay there and he would come to us, he didn’t want us in the road.

By great chance I happened to be the first person to greet President Monson. I shook his hand and gave him a gentle hug. I told him how happy we were to meet him. He said, “It’s good to be here and this looks like a good looking group!”

As he walked away from me towards the group of friends and family it was an amazing moment for me. I got the chills…the good kind, and I started to get emotional while trying to take in what was happening. I have always had a testimony that President Monson is a true prophet of God. But what a testimony building experience it was to have the Spirit testify to me while shaking the prophet’s hand that This Is The Lord’s Prophet On The Earth Today! I felt the Spirit so strong as I watched him walk towards the children and crowd. I am not normally a emotional person, but I got choked up and had tears of joy. I will forever be grateful for this experience.

The prophet took K’s hat and tried it on.

I have tried several times to help my kids understand what a rare and amazing opportunity they had to meet the prophet, Thomas S. Monson, and two apostles, President Henry B. Eyring [also currently a member of the First Presidency] and Elder Jeffery R. Holland. They also got to see a member of the Seventy, Elder William R. Walker. They not only had the chance to shake their hands they spoke like we were old friends. They asked the kids questions and listen to their responses.

In this picture the prophet took K by the face and told him and all the other kids right there to watch his ears. He proceeded to wiggle his ears! It was the cutest thing! The kids got quite a kick out of that. I was glad my children got to be right there to see that. It was amazing to personally witness his profound love for the children. The prophet and General Authorities were all so genuine and personable.

All the boys giving the prophet a hug.

This would be L hugging or better yet attached to the prophets leg. He told the prophet, “I Love You!” I was afraid L was going to knock the prophet over.

L, being four, was oh so confused about the prophet getting here. He asked, “Mom the prophet came here in a airplane right from heaven?” He then asked me, “Did he bring Jesus with him?”

The prophet shaking K’s hand. And yes that is L attached to the prophets leg.

All my kids individually had opportunities to hug, shake hands, smile, laugh and enjoy the presence of the prophet.

Here are the children talking to Elder Jeffery R. Holland.

I love L looking up to him. I have to say Elder Holland and Elder Eyring would be at the top of my most favored apostles, even before this experience I mean, and of course now after getting to meet them.

Henry B. Eyring is my absolute favorite church speaker. I have never heard a talk of his that didn’t touch me, regardless of the topic. He is so genuine and sincere.

What an experience to not just meet but actually visit with an apostle of Jesus Christ.

I just couldn’t take enough pictures to capture the intense feeling of joy, excitement and love that we felt.

The prophet laughing and sharing.

The prophet has a instantly great sense of humor. He is so quick witted!

I can’t fully express the experience to do it justice. To say it was a treat, a thrill, a treasure, exciting , amazing…would be a huge understatement.

As President Monson was leaving the crowd we sang, “We Thank Thee Oh God for a Prophet.” The prophet joined in with the singing. I got the chills again while our group, probably 40 people or so, were singing with the prophet.

We got to follow up this treasured experience by attending the GilaValley Temple Cultural Celebration.

A Day To Remember… Forever!

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To some, it may seem impossible to believe — a 14-year-old boy sees God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, who calls him to the work of restoring the Savior’s ancient church. An angel appears to the 17-year-old Joseph and shows him gold plates, which plates Joseph receives four years later, and then translates from a lost language into English in a matter of months.

The resulting book (The Book of Mormon), first published in 1830, contains the writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent, spanning over 1,000 years of time. A pinnacle part of the book captures the visit of the resurrected Savior not long after His death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven.

We believe Joseph Smith was a prophet like those in the Bible: Abraham, Moses, Joshua, and many others. We believe He was given priesthood power directly from those who held the keys of this priesthood in the Savior’s day (from John the Baptist and from Peter, James, and John). We believe in additional scriptures and continuing revelation, and in a living prophet today.

All of our beliefs really hinge on whether Joseph Smith was a prophet.

So, how can one really come to know if this is really truth?

Many will attempt to “prove” through facts that Joseph Smith wasn’t really a prophet, and that his claims of visions and revelations are silly fabrications of an uneducated mind.

On the flip side, I or many others could try to convince you, using logic of some sort, that we know that Joseph was a prophet.

But the answer to the question does not ultimately lie in logic alone — although the story *is* logical if one believes in the God of the Bible who once spoke to man, in angelic messengers who ministered to people, in miracles that go beyond mortal ability or understanding. The truths of the gospel can delight the brightest of minds, even while being simple enough for a child to grasp.

Ultimately, the way to know if Joseph Smith was a prophet is to find out from the Source of truth, even God Himself.

One of the things I love about our faith is that we invite everyone to study what we believe and then ask God if the things The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes are true.

But a “testimony” of Joseph Smith’s divine calling can come in different ways to different people. I think of my father, who grew up in the Church but who didn’t really “know” like he wanted to until he became a missionary and plead for a specific and clear answer. He wanted to be able to go out as a missionary and have his own distinct witness. He received it, and he likely could tell you the day (and maybe even time) he got that answer.

Many others could probably share similar stories — they prayed and got an answer on such-and-such a day. I’ve seen this happen to one of my children — he can still remember a distinct experience. His six-year-old vocabulary described the moment (we were watching a video at home about Joseph Smith) like being wrapped in thousands of blankets. (He had a specific number — it was in the 6,000s. At age 11, he still remembers that moment.)

I, on the other hand, had my testimony of Joseph Smith’s prophetic calling unfold over time. For years, my testimony in his role in the restoration of the Savior’s gospel and organization of the latter-day church of Jesus Christ was tied inextricably to my testimony of the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is a tangible result of Joseph Smith’s work, and because I had come to know the Book of Mormon was of God, I knew then that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.

I encourage anyone wondering about Joseph Smith to make the Book of Mormon a central part of their quest to know. Not only is it a key to knowing if what we claim is true, it’s also full of powerful teachings about the Savior and about God’s plan for His children.

I will add that I gained a more specific confirmation of the reality of Joseph Smith’s calling as I looked into people’s eyes day after day as a missionary and taught them about what happened to him, about that first experience where God and Jesus Christ visited him. It didn’t matter whether someone wanted to hear more or not — I consistently felt God’s Spirit testify to me that what I was teaching was true and real. It was thrilling to me to complete my mission knowing more than ever before that Joseph Smith was a prophet.

To those of you who are LDS and reading this, please consider sharing below how it is that you have come to know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.

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**Please note: The answers in “Ask a Mormon Woman” reflect the thoughts, perspectives, and experiences of individuals. Although here at Mormon Women, we strive to have our content consistent with the Church’s doctrine and teachings, we do not speak officially for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. For official information about or from the Church, please visit www.mormon.org or www.lds.org.

For more Ask a Mormon Woman questions/answers, please click here.

Do you have a question you would like to submit? Simply comment below, or send an email at gmail with the username ‘mormonwoman’

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While I generally throw a pity party for myself during his long days, sometimes a revelation pushes through my sorrow. Last week this happened.

In order for us  to re-register our car in our state, we must pass a safety test. We failed the test and are required to fix certain things. Expensive things. To afford this, my husband worked 80 hours straight while also juggling classes, papers, and finals. On top of it all, he worried about our little family. He worried about me.

Yeah, my overworked husband came home one night and apologized for working so much. I felt more than a little ashamed. The next morning, a sentence ran through my head from the The Family: A Proclamation to the World.

By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families.

This is what my husband does.

He presides. Even though he works in the evenings, he continues to look after our spiritual well-being.  He reminds me to hold Family Home Evening, to read the scriptures, and to pray nightly. When he is home, he plays with the children, listens to my stories, and expresses love and gratitude for each of us. We all look forward to when Daddy is home.

He provides. He works long hours, while attending school, so that we can have the necessities: shelter, food, and clothes.  He works extra shifts when needed–like when our car breaks down or if we will need to visit the doctor’s office.

He protects. Each day he leaves us with a prayer, asking the Lord to protect our little family. While he may not be at home, his faith is present.  His faith help keep us safe.

My husband worked on Father’s Day, but I still celebrated him. He came home too late for a dinner but we shared a little dessert–his favorite ice cream. I hope, though, I will continue to celebrate him throughout the year by my own actions.

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(Me with my dad at a petting zoo, circa 1982 or 1983)

One of my favorite memories is from when I was a little girl – I’m wearing a dress that my mom made me, my hair is curly and I’m standing on my dad’s toes. He’s wearing jeans and tee-shirt (a red one with a fish on it that reads “Every man must believe in something, I believe I’ll go fishing.”) and he is dancing me around the kitchen while singing the alphabet song. This is the way that I learned my ABC’s. We danced and he sang over and over again.

Looking back, I see how much I learned from my father. He’s an attorney by trade. He taught me how important education is. He taught me how to work hard and how to play hard. He taught me the importance of being together as a family, too. People always assumed that since he was an attorney, we were well off financially. My dad worked in his own practice, going to work at eight in the morning and coming home at five. His evenings and weekends were always available for family time. Looking back I see that he could have worked for a different law firm and potentially made more money, but that wasn’t as important to him as having time to spend with the family.

My dad is not a practicing member of the LDS church, but he was (and is) supportive of us. He would help my mom to get the five of us kids ready for church. He would lead us in prayers over the food at the supper table. He presided over Family Home Evening. He came to church if one of us was speaking or if it was the Father’s Day program in sacrament meeting. In my teen years, my faith wavered because of this – in my mind, I didn’t understand how my dad, the smartest man I knew, didn’t believe. With time, I’ve come to understand that it’s okay that we don’t believe the same things. He respects what I believe, and I respect what he believes.

There were a few things that my dad did while I was growing up that really showed me that he loves me. One was always coming to watch me perform – whether it was the play I wrote and directed with my best friend in junior high school, church basketball games, or recreation league softball games. He and my mom even came to watch once when I was on a bowling league after high school. Another thing he did was read the books that I was reading. He didn’t always comment on them (whether he liked them or not), but it was something that bonded us together.

My dad expected a lot out of us – responsibility, honesty, respect, kindness, and more. But he always gave us the same in return.  I could not ask for more in a father.  I love him.

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Come at the dawn to the silent garden
Brightly beams the morning sun
Come at the dawn to the silent garden
See what wonder the Lord hath done!

Come to the tomb in the silent garden
Lo! the stone is rolled away
Linger in awe, for the tomb lies empty
See the place where his body lay

He is risen! He is risen! risen unto endless life
Weep no more in the silent garden
Death is swallowed up in Christ

Seek him no more in the silent garden
Seek him not among the dead
Find him in glory among the living
Risen even as he said

Victory is wrought in the silent garden
Joy is born of an empty tomb
Sing for the morning of our salvation
Christ hath brought us life anew

He is risen! He is risen! risen unto endless life
Weep no more in the silent garden
Death is swallowed up in Christ.

-Sally DeFord (for free downloadable sheet music to this song, click here)

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Mosiah 16: 7-8:  And if Christ had not risen from the dead, or have broken the bands of death that the grave should have no victory, and that death should have no ^asting, there could have been no resurrection. But there is a ^aresurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of ^bdeath is swallowed up in Christ.

1 Cor. 15: 55: O ^adeath, where is thy sting? O ^bgrave, where is thy victory?

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He Lives! How grateful we are for prophets and apostles today who testify of the Savior, Jesus Christ, just as ancient prophets and apostles did.

The post “Death is Swallowed Up in Christ” — He Lives! appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

This video shares some recent words from Elder Robert D. Hales on the subject. Videos below are in English and in Spanish.

The post We Believe: Becoming Provident Providers (Seamos proveedores providentes) appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

Not long ago, we had dinner with some Muslim friends of ours. We were treated with such kindness (and, I might add, served a wonderfully delicious meal!). We enjoyed a meaningful discussion about the importance of marriage in today’s society. Evidences of their faith were present in their home. I could tell that Allah meant much to them, and that family was important to them.

And we were important to them. I felt that they would give us the shirt off their backs if we needed them. (In fact, I still have a sweater loaned to me that day; it was a cold day for which I was unprepared!) I felt loved, cared for, respected. It was wonderful. I left with a happiness as we rejoiced in our common beliefs, in our desires to try to do and be good, and with a strengthened friendship.

While, of course, Mormonism and Islam have doctrinal differences, I have been impressed with so much goodness I see in Muslim people in general. I respect their dedication to God, to family, and to values and principles that I believe can strengthen individuals, families and societies. I am grateful for those of other faiths as well who also live lives of goodness, faith, solid values, and service.

Readers might be interested to note that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sometimes partners with Islamic Relief to help provide relief to those affected by natural disasters, such as the recent earthquake in Haiti. As another example of working together, see this article on our website that has a story about Mormon and Muslim women working together in a spirit of service. We as members of the Mormon Church appreciate the opportunity and blessing to work side-by-side with our friends of other faiths such as Islam to serve and help those around us and to take a stand on important issues of moral import.

I found this article that may be of interest to those wondering more about Mormons’ view of Islam (and/or can help LDS Church members understand more about Islam).

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**Please note: The answers in “Ask a Mormon Woman” reflect the thoughts, perspectives, and experiences of individuals. Although here at Mormon Women: Who We Are, we strive to have our content consistent with the Church’s doctrine and teachings, we do not speak officially for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For official information about or from the Church, please visit www.mormon.org or www.lds.org.

Have a question you would like to ask? Send an email to us at gmail, with username ‘mormonwoman’

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We have a family tradition that started because I needed one day of the week to be a no-brainer when I was planning menus.  One day a couple years ago, I decided that Fridays would be pizza nights at our house.  We like to make pizza together, and since not all of our kids have adventurous taste buds yet, we usually make more than one kind each time.

This night, we each made our own mini-pizzas.  I gave the kids a ball of dough and they helped roll it out and loaded up their own pizza with toppings.

After dinner, clean up is quick (one of the bonuses of pizza night!) and then we either play games or hunker down in the family room to watch a movie together.  This tradition started just because I was trying to simply our life and has become something everyone looks forward to each week.

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~by Jen H.

As a mother of five, involved with many many things, I am challenged to find privacy anywhere. Just the other day after a long and exhausting day, I laid in bed and pondered how impossible it was that throughout my day I had not had a single moment where I was not being touched, rubbed, tugged at, sung to, talked to, hollered at, cried at, complained to, questioned, argued with, negotiated with, laughed at (or with) and on and on. I realized how hungry I was for a little simplicity and quiet.

I love (love love) being a mother, I love my children intensely and never wish my life was anything different than it is… However, as I have grown in to motherhood I have realized a weakness of mine that I wish to change.  I am by nature a very focused person. If I over-schedule and over-commit, the most important things in life unintentionally become subordinate to the less important things.  When I discipline myself and take the time to listen,  ponder and pray to my Heavenly Father, He reveals to me just what I need to know, right when I need to know it.

In this case, I was able to recognize my discomfort, realizing there was a larger need not being met. Had I not taken the time to reflect on the importance of quiet and the tremendous value of simple things (two things I have to work hard to obtain but essential for my quality of life) I would have missed this tender messages sent direct to me FOR me from my loving Father in heaven.

Every summer we take an extended hiatus to Utah and visit my mother  on “The Ranch.” A quick departure from the hustle and bustle of reality, to a slower paced, relaxed, paradise like environment. When I am there, my testimony grows almost spontaneously. While at home, it is very challenging if not nearly impossible to coordinate quality quite time with all the coming and going but it is nonetheless imperative for proper planning and prioritizing of a big family. Effective listening to those promptings of the spirit is KEY to proper self mastery. When I “plan my life” and prioritize effectively, I permit myself the opportunity to slow down and breathe and listen…. I then am flooded with little nuggets of personal revelation/inspiration and am embraced in the arms of quite reflection. Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin said:

“… We should lower the noise level in our homes so that the noise of the world will not overpower the still, small voice of the Holy Ghost….”

Though I have a wonderfully noisy home, our home can and should be “still” too. If it is hard to come by, than that probably means I need it most and should strive harder to lower the noise level, redirect my schedule to allow times for meaningful, uninterrupted reflection and conversations between myself and the Lord.

Distractions… There are OH so many distractions. It is easy to be thrown off track with often times essential and inevitable distractions,  that is part of life, the key is knowing how to get myself back on track. Elder Russell M. Nelson said:

“Some people on life’s journey forget who they really are and what is really important. Without sure identity and priority, blessings that matter most are at the mercy of things that matter least…. Eternal principles that govern happiness apply equally to all. “

Isn’t that the truth, when noise and distractions are present “blessings that matter most are at the mercy of things that matter least…”.

Every time I adjourn our visit from that wonderful paradise in Utah, I am filled with a new commitment to increase the quite in my home, to simplify and sanctify my home. It is not the things that are important, it is the people. Elder Dallin H. Oaks said:

“In contrast to the institutions of the world, which teach us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something.”

I want my home to “become something”… a quiet still haven from the noisy world and the battle ground of the adversary even amongst the chattering, wrestling and big family banter. Though this requires a great deal of strategic discipline and commitment, the blessings are profound which I have personally witnessed.  I have a found a new love for quiet and bear testimony to the importance creating space in my life to have that time. Striving for a more peaceful home free of unnecessary noises of the world and distractions which will then lend itself to a home full of important, meaningful, eternal relationships, home where “eternal principles that govern happiness” will be available to all.

“[S]eek not the things of this world but seek ye first to build up the kingdom of God, and to establish his righteousness; and all … things shall be added unto you” (JST, Matt. 6:38; see KJV, Matt. 6:33, footnote a)

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