"Kuhu tõmmata piir? See jääb vanemliku tarkuse hooleks, mida juhib Issanda Vaim. Pole ühtegi teist vanemlikku ettevõtmist, mis vajaks rohkem taevast juhatust või mille puhul olla altim seda kuulda võtma, kui on vanemlikud otsused oma laste kasvatamisel ja perekondade juhtimisel. See töö on igavene.

Olles silmitsi nende probleemidega, peaksid vanemad pidama meeles Issanda õpetust jätta need üheksakümmend üheksa ja minna kõnnumaale kadunud lambale järele. President Thomas S. Monson on kutsunud üles armastuse ristiretkele, et päästa meie vendi ja õdesid, kes on eksinud ükskõiksuse või rumaluse kõnnumaale. Need õpetused vajavad jätkuvat armastavat hoolt, mille eelduseks on armastusest kantud suhted.

Mõistagi peaksid vanemad meeles pidama ka Issanda õpetust, et „keda Issand armastab, seda ta karistab." (He 12:6) Vanem Russell M. Nelson õpetas oma konverentsikõnes tolerantsist ja armastusest, et „tõeline armastus patuse vastu vajab julget vastuseisu, mitte aga nõustumist! Tõeline armastus ei toeta ennasthävitavat käitumist."

Vanem Dallin H. Oaks
Kaheteistkümne Apostli Kvoorumist

Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: “Although our memory of it is withheld, before we came to this earth we lived in the presence of God, our Eternal Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ. We shouted for joy when given the privilege of coming to this earth to receive a body and to move forward in God’s plan for our happiness. We knew that we would be tested here. Our determination was to live obediently to be able to return to be with our Father forever. Part of that testing here is to have so many seemingly interesting things to do that we can forget the main purposes for being here. Satan works very hard so that the essential things won’t happen” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1997, 78; or Ensign, May 1997, 53–54 ).
The First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles: “The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan” ( “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 102 ).
Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: “Understanding the gospel of Jesus Christ and following him as our Savior and our Redeemer will influence every aspect of our lives, including all of our individual choices. Those who live according to Heavenly Father’s eternal plan will not want to absorb any information that is illicit or untoward, nor will they destroy their spiritual sensitivity through immoral acts or the consumption of any harmful substances. Neither will they search for doctrinal loopholes to find reasons to challenge the ordained leadership of the Church nor tamper with the simple truths of the gospel. They will not attempt to justify any lifestyle that is contrary to the plan of happiness. If they do any of these things, they will never find the inner peace and joy that living the gospel brings. All of our Father’s children can seek prayerfully to know who they are and can find real happiness if they obey God’s commandments and endure to the end” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1995, 31; or Ensign, May 1995, 24 ).

Ja nii ongi!

V

"A choice mother wrote: 'How did the pioneer women … respond to the challenges of their day? They listened to their prophet’s voice and followed him because they knew he spoke the will of the Lord. They met the challenges and reaped great blessings because of their faith and obedience. Their first priorities were not security, nice homes, or an easy life. … No sacrifice was too great for them to make for their precious husbands and children.'” ~Richard G. Scott

"Sisters, you are each like the lioness at the gate. This means that there has to be some prioritizing. I was taught years ago that when our priorities are out of order, we lose power. If we need power and influence to carry out our mission, then our priorities have to be straight."~ Julie B. Beck

Tavaline, eriline

Õues sajab valget lund,
see on lörts, mis muu, ei taha.
Lõpuks ometi see tulnd
saapad märjad olla paha

Vaatab igast aknast välja
mis see on see valge värk
Lõpuks täidab lumenälja
Maal on seljas puhas särk

Oh kui imeline, ilus
Haaran pihku sulab, miks
Märgi juukseid muudkui silun
tahan olla kena, viks

Külm, hall ja märg
porine, nii tavaline
Ilus, valge, kohev
puhas, eriline

Aasta viimane kuu...

on alati kuidagi natuke nukker aga samas täis lootust ja uue aasta igatsust. See on aeg kokkuvõtete tegemiseks ja mõtisklemiseks, uute eesmärkide püstitamiseks.

2011 on olnud tore, emotsionaalses mõttes veidi raske, kuid siiski kergem kui mõni eelnev aasta. Majanduslikult hea aasta ja võibolla just seetõttu on tänased mõtted just selle teemalised.

“Without self-reliance one cannot exercise these innate
desires to serve. How can we give if there is nothing there?
Food for the hungry cannot come from empty shelves.
Money to assist the needy cannot come from
an empty purse. Support and understanding
cannot come from the emotionally starved.
Teaching cannot come from the unlearned.
And most important of all, spiritual guidance
cannot come from the spiritually weak.”

~President Marion G. Romney (1897–1988)

Arutame asja kindlasti perena läbi aga päris kindlasti saavad mõned järgmise aasta eesmärgid olema seotud toidutagavara soetamise ja raha säästmise teemalised.


“We stand at the crossroads, each minute, each hour,
each day, making choices. We choose the thoughts we
allow ourselves to think, the passions we allow ourselves
to feel, and the actions we allow ourselves to
perform. Each choice is made in the context of whatever
value system we’ve selected to govern our lives. In
selecting that value system, we are, in a very real way,
making the most important choice we will ever make."

Benjamin Franklin
1706-1790

Mulle meeldib väga järgnev artikkel:
No matter how small the home, members find space for food storage. In Carmen Merisalde’s home in Bogotá, the telephone table covered by a lovely floor-length cloth is really a barrel filled with bags of dry-packed food.

Members are encouraged to save a little bit—even just a handful—of rice or other basic foods every time they prepare a meal. That way, even when money is scarce, they are storing little by little. When they have collected enough, they dry pack it for storage. The stake owns a dry-pack machine that rotates from ward to ward so everyone has a chance to use it. “You should see the tears in the eyes of many as they dry pack the first bag of rice they have collected handful by handful,” says President Saavedra.

Sharing with others. Some of the food in Ivonne Palacio’s kitchen cupboards in Bogotá will never appear on her table. It is reserved for others. The Area Presidency encourages members to store food to share in cases of emergency. “We call it ‘the Lord’s storehouse in the homes of the members,’ ” says Elder Costa. “The bishop asks families to always have on hand a certain amount of rice or other basic food items that they can donate. Then when he asks for it for a needy family, they donate it and buy more to replace it.”

This method has several benefits. “First, it encourages members to have their own food storage,” says Elder Costa. “Second, we are taking care of emergencies quickly. Third, we can save fast-offering funds for situations in which cash is needed, such as for medicine or rent. Although the Kénnedy stake is one of the poorest economically, almost all families have some food storage—and many have some to share. And the stake is self-reliant in fast-offering funds.”

“We are not storing just food and water, we’re also storing blessings!” says Sister Palacio. “Heavenly Father is teaching us to have the pure love of Christ.”

Liahona, 2005, March The Saints of Colombia: An Example of Strength

By Marvin K. Gardner
Church Magazines

Imeline! Kas pole?