12/24/2014
MY CHRISTMAS MIRACLE
MY CHRISTMAS MIRACLE
I pulled out a halo and a set of wings from our dress-up box on Christmas Eve and handed them to my son-in-law Dallan. While he dressed his fragile son for his part in our annual family Christmas Eve pageant, I helped Mary, Joseph, several shepherds and three wise men find bathroom towels and turbans.
When everyone was ready and waiting in the kitchen for their entrance, I opened the Bible and began reading the nativity story. Joseph and Mary entered on cue and soon the shepherds found their way into the living room with staffs in hand.
When the moment arrived for my grandson to recite his part in the nativity play, Dallan stood. He thrust Caleb high in the air, inches from the ceiling. We all looked up and waited for Caleb’s angelic lines.
What happened next is impossible to describe. A low rich male voice recited the familiar words from the Bible. Though my physical brain told me I was hearing Dallan’s voice, my spirit told me Caleb was speaking. I glanced up in silence.
"Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord,"
I gasped.
Because he was missing his brain, Caleb had never been able to speak a word to any of us . . . but somehow that night, through his father, Caleb spoke to me that Christmas Eve. And may he speak to you . . .
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."
12/19/2014
LDS BAPTISM LETTER FROM GRANDMA
Happy Birthday! I’m so excited that you are
turning eight years old this year because that means that you are old enough to
choose to be baptized. I’m so happy you have made that choice.
I remember when I was baptized. I was baptized
on my eight-year-old birthday on a Saturday night in a little white church
across the street from my house in Union, Utah. My congregation had all the
children being baptized sit on small wooden chairs and talked to us for a
while. I don’t remember what they said, but I do remember what I felt.
I felt excited and a little scared before I was
baptized. When I was baptized, the water was warm and I felt clean. After I was
baptized and put my dry clothes back on, I walked out of the church into the
cold January winter air. I remember looking up and seeing lacy white flakes of
snow falling all around me. Even though it was cold outside, I felt warm
inside. I knew God loved me and was pleased I wanted to come home to heaven
someday.
I also knew that Jesus was my best friend and
that if I tried to live like Him that I would be happy. When I was your age,
they waited until Sunday to confirm me at church and give me the gift of the
Holy Ghost. I felt protected when the men with the priesthood made a circle
around me and put their hands on my head as my father confirmed me.
What I didn't know was that the man I was going
to marry someday was being baptized on the very same day, January 6th (my
birthday) in a little town called Spanish Fork, Utah. He was a little scared and
excited too. Because we both wanted to be like Jesus, we found each other many
years later. We recognized that we had the same dreams and plans for life.
When he got back from him mission to Samoa, we
got married in the Salt Lake City temple and made some new special promises to
God when we were sealed for time and eternity. Then pretty soon your mommy was
born. Then she grew up and married your daddy in the temple and then pretty
soon, you were born.
Being baptized was the beginning of everything
wonderful in my life. Being baptized is such a special time because we are able
to participate in our first saving ordinance and make our Heavenly Father our
first official promise. You are a son of God, Mitchell, and your Heavenly
parents love you very much. They want you to be happy so they have made a plan
of happiness for you to follow so you can return to them someday.
Up until now, you have been a child who is
learning, growing and maturing. You have made some mistakes; everybody makes
mistakes. That is how we learn and grow. Now that you are eight, God thinks you
are wise enough to know the difference between right and wrong choices.
Heavenly Father knows that some of the choices we make will not be wise.
Because He loves us, He wants us to know how to change so we will not be
trapped by our mistakes and bad choices. So He invites us to make a promise to
Him and then He makes a promise right back to us. When we make a special
promise to God and He makes one right back to us, it is called a covenant. Heavenly
Father never breaks a promise.
The promise you make to God is that you will
remember Jesus, follow Him and keep His commandments. Heavenly Father promises
you that He will forgive you if you make a mistake or do something that you
know is wrong if you feel sorry and repent. He also promises you eternal life.
He also gives you the gift of the Holy Ghost to help, guide, protect, warn and
comfort you.
When you choose to be baptized you tell Heavenly
Father that:
*You take on the name of Jesus Christ
*You will serve your fellowmen
*You will stand as a witness of God all the time
*You will obey the commandments of God
God
promises you that:
*You are accepted as a member of Christ’s church
*You can be forgiven of sin if you repent
*You can have the gift of the Holy Ghost
*You can live in the kingdom of God
Everybody makes mistakes after they are
baptized so Heavenly Father gave us the sacrament every week on Sunday. That is
when we remember the covenant we made when we were baptized. We think about our
week and decide how to be better during the coming week. We think about our
Savior Jesus Christ and how He atoned for all our sins, pains, disappointment
and grief. We also think about Christ’s resurrection and that we can be
resurrected too someday.
I hope
you will write about how you feel in your journal when you are baptized. Never
forget that you are a child of God and that you can inherit the eternal life
God has planned for you. And never forget that your grandma loves you with all
her heart.
Love, Grandma Baadsgaard.
12/17/2014
12/13/2014
Payson Temple Open House and Dedication is Announced
The following is information supplied from lds.org:
The free public open house for the Payson Utah Temple will be held from Friday, April 24, through Saturday, May 23, 2015, and run every day except Sundays, April 26 and May 3, 10 and 17. The cultural celebration will be held Saturday, June 6, and the temple will be dedicated in three sessions on Sunday, June 7.
The temple was announced by President Monson January 25, 2010, and ground was broken to begin construction October 8, 2011.
The new temple will serve approximately 27 stakes stakes from Mapleton to Delta.Temple-going members have been driving to Provo or Manti for temple services. The Payson Temple will be the 15th in Utah. Two more temples are scheduled for the Beehive State; the Provo City Center Temple is under construction and the Cedar City Temple has been announced.
The Payson Temple is located at approximately 930 West and 1550 South on the southwest side of Payson, a mile from the 800 South I-15 interchange. The property offers scenic views of the area as well as easy access to the freeway.
12/08/2014
HE IS THE GIFT
As we embrace the gift, we strengthen our faith in Jesus Christ and our desire to become more like Him.
As we share the gift, we follow in the Master’s footsteps,
who invited all to hear His message.”
–Russell M. Nelson
12/05/2014
Birthday Letter For a Thirteen-Year-Old
Dear Matthew,
Happy Birthday! You are thirteen years
old today – an official teenager. If you stop and think about it, you only have
five more years before you are old enough to go on a mission, start college or
leave home. Five years is not very long to get yourself ready for that day. Not
many people your age are wise enough to make the most of their teenage years.
These years are your preparation time for adulthood. The decisions you make
will start you on a course that will lead you to a life of selfishness or a
life of joy. This is the time to develop your talents, intellect and desire to
serve. If you keep learning, work hard and never give up, you will become a
remarkable young man. If you choose to be lazy and selfish, you will have regrets.
Just a few days ago I watched you
perform a piano solo in front of your school. I was so proud of you because you
did something hard. Hours and hours of regular practice and persistence made it
possible for you to perform well. I think learning to play the piano is a lot
like learning to live your life well. With the piano you start out as a
beginner not knowing anything. Then you are taught one musical concept at a
time. After you learn how to read music, you begin playing simple one finger
songs. If you keep learning, practicing, and listening to your piano teacher you
will make slow gradual progress over time.
We all make lots of mistakes while we
learn. Mistakes are part of the process of improving. If you don’t get discouraged
and keep trying you have the opportunity to keep getting better. One day you
may become a piano teacher and help others learn as you have learned. Helping
others learn is what we do when we grow up or gain maturity. It is difficult to
help others if we have not done the hard work of learning and reaching a
certain level of mastery.
Going through these next few years as a
teenager will be a lot like learning to play the piano. You can choose right
now how you want to make slow gradual progress over time. You do that by
choosing what kind of person you want to become. Do you want to be friendly,
happy, hard-working and service oriented? Or do you want to be closed-off, grumpy,
lazy and selfish? You simply choose who
you want to be and then start practicing.
The most important qualities we learn
first come from our interaction with our family. So the best way to practice becoming
who you want to be is by practicing the qualities you want to develop on your
parents and brothers. For example you learn how to be a hard worker by helping
your parents at home and in the yard. You learn how to be a hard worker at
school by regular attendance and careful study. You learn how to be friendly or
how to serve by practicing on your parents and brothers, the boys in your church
group and at school. If you want to be a happy person, practice getting rid of
all your negative thoughts and replace them with grateful thoughts. If you want
to become a loving person, practice forgiving someone . . . especially those
closest to you in your home and community.
In the same way you had regular piano
lessons each week where you reported to your music teacher, take the time on a
regular basis to pray to God with a sincere desire to listen and learn. God
wants you to know how to improve, but you must want to listen before you can
hear Him. Your Father-in-Heaven is the best Matthew-Becoming-Awesome teacher in
the universe. Remember to schedule regular lessons with Him.
I have loved watching you grow up for
the past thirteen years Matthew. I so enjoy seeing your smiling face come
through my front door. I love your passion for life your and joy for living.
You have an amazing mind and spirit and God will expect great things from you.
I will always be your biggest fan.
Love,
Grandma Baadsgaard
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