As this semester comes to a close...

it occurred to me that one of the best ways to let someone know what MY family values are is to just tell them. These are MY family values. You may agree with them, you may not, but as of right now I am still allowed to express MY views. I don't have hatred for anyone who does not share my views, in fact I have friends who don't, that just means we agree to disagree. We can still love and support one another.

I believe that men and women are created differently for a reason. I believe we individually possess traits and attributes that compliment one another. It's not a contest to see which gender is better, when we all strive to be our best selves everyone wins. Especially our children...

I believe that marriage is ordained by God between one man and one woman. I believe the best case scenario when raising a child is that both mom and dad are involved. (Yes I know we don't live in a society where that is always available or likely. Men can be pigs. Women can be unreasonable. I get that...)

I believe that families are the closest thing to heaven. Whatever our background, we can always improve to make our family a place of love and support.

I believe my role as mother and my husband's role as father have different components. I'm really tired of society telling me that I can have it all and do it all by myself. I am very capable and I know that - however, I don't want to do it all by myself. That's why I have a helpmeet in my spouse. We don't always agree on everything and that's OK. I feel like the only thing I am giving up by working with my spouse to make our marriage and family something eternal is stress. When I don't have to be the only one to make our household run, I feel less stress so there is more of me to share with others.

I believe that my values are not unique. I know there are others who share them. The leaders of our faith (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) has counseled that we should let others know how we feel about our families. I am finding it increasingly difficult to do that as society changes and social media is now the way we receive our information. It seems that people can no longer disagree without names being called (on either side). Even writing this is a bit uncomfortable for me. Not because I am not convicted in my beliefs, but because in our day of social media intolerance seems to be the norm.

My hope to not offend, but for you, the reader, to know what I believe. It may be different from your personal views. That's OK. It doesn't make either of us wrong. It makes us different. The last time I checked it is OK to be different.

My family gives me great joy. My hope is that everyone can have joy.

Time is everything

As I was searching for more content for this blog I came across this video. It's dedicated to every parent who has tried to multitask...

For me it's a nice reminder of what is really important.

Another good man gone...

This past week my church leadership saw another good man die. Elder Boyd K. Packer was 90 and had been slowing down a bit, but his death still leaves a void.

While I did not personally know him, his words and deeds brought many smiles and tears to my eyes.

Since this blog is about what my views on family values are, allow me to share one of Elder Packer's talks. It might be from 1981, but the truth he tells of marriage is timeless.

Here's the link.

I hope you can feel the truthfulness of his words.

I am grateful for the time he was here on earth.

Music stirs the soul

This music video was shared this weekend on Facebook and it just sends chills up my spine...the rendition, the words...it's just one of the best versions available to move your soul.


I certainly hope you enjoy!

Happy American Independence Week!

Someone we can all learn from...

This woman's story is incredible. I hope you take the time to acquaint yourself with her story. If you know her story already - I hope you take the time to watch anyway.

What an amazing family!

Storms in our lives

I live in Oklahoma. We are a bit notorious for our weather.


In May of 2013 an EF5 tornado ripped through Moore, Oklahoma, again. The following video gives great perspective of how to look at the storms in our lives.

I hope you view this and are touched by the Spirit.

Building a happy family

When I watched this video I knew that the specifics this family uses would not be something I could mimic in my family. But the love and happiness they show made me want to find my own particular kind of fun to mimic so my family can be happy.

I hope if you watch the video you can see the joy this family has being together. After all, really that's what life is about!

Parents

When I started this blog I said I would be sharing things with you which promote LDS values and virtues. That post is here.

I came across this video shared by a friend of mine. This person is not LDS, but the truth in his message can be felt. I hope you take a few moments to watch it. Then go call your parents!

About converts to our church (International Hug a Convert Day)

I've posted a link to my page on mormon.org here.

I've shared about temples here.

In this post I'm going to link you to a blog that is sharing conversion stories. Stories told by people who have joined our church. Stories told in their own words. I'm sharing this because these stories touch my heart and are uplifting and I think the world needs more of that. I'm going to start with Katrina's story...here. But after you read her story, please dive into Middleaged Morman Man's blog. He's got a lot of good stuff to share!!!


Happy reading

Love is the answer

I came across this video on the Mormon channel on Youtube.com. I thought it might help others in the same situation. Love is really all we need!

Mormon.org

This has been a crazy Memorial Day weekend for me. I did want to publish a link to my new profile on mormon.org. This is a great website to find out answers to questions you may have regarding the Latter-day Saint faith.

Here's my page specifically. http://www.mormon.org/me/GRWV/Paula


Hope it helps you!

The Temple

I found this photo on the Facebook page I am LDS and I couldn't resist posting it here with a little information.

I love seeing any LDS temple because it represents my Heavenly Father's love for me. In temples families can be sealed together for time and all eternity, and that's how long I want my family to be with me! If you're interested you can learn more about LDS temples by clicking here.

A starting point

Hi everyone!

Some of you know I am working towards an associates degree in family history through Brigham Young University - Idaho (BYU-I). This semester one of my courses focuses on the family. I have chosen as my class project to have an active blog focusing on the family. Some of you may not know what "Mormons" or those in the LDS faith believe when it comes to our families. I hope to remedy this for you and that you may be able to find some of the answers here. I will post documents, videos, talks from our church leaders, etc. those things that can help you better understand your LDS friends.

Let me first start with: The Family: A Proclamation to the World. This was a proclamation made to the world in 1995 by the presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I urge you to click on the link and read the document for yourself. When it was issued in 1995 it seemed like the statement was not necessary, as most people believed the same way. Now...well you can decide if it is needed.