A Lesson on Jesus

Last week in Primary I was supposed to share a lesson with my 6 year olds about how "Jesus Said to Love Everyone".  Rather than drone on about stories that my class has historically not enjoyed, of late I have ended up winging the lesson.  Not to put the parents into a state of worry, let me clarify.  We certainly study the scriptures and learn of God, but not in the recommended fashion.  See, we actually open up the scriptures, and devote most of the class to direct scripture.  Yes, they are only six.  But they seem to love it a lot more than the stories in the pink manual that really don't edify.

This past week we focused on this verse:

"And behold, I am the light and the life of the world..."

taken from 3 Nephi 11:11.  (Angel numbers there.)

Does Jesus mess around, when he talks?  Does he insert twists and half truths, or is it ALL truth?

I reaffirmed in this class that Christ is God, the source of ALL truth.  We discussed what LIGHT is.  What is light?

We turned off the lights.  We turned them on again.  We talked about the sun, and how the earth circles around it.  We talked about how without the sun, there would be no life.  The plants would not grow, for without the sun, photosynthesis would not take place.  (Ok, didn't use that big word!)  Gardens would not grow, we would not see one another.  We talked about the darkness that preceded Christ's visit to these people, and how after all the destruction, the tempests, the whirlwinds, the earthquakes, the cities being raised up and buried by ocean waters, how there was NO light for three days.  The light and the life of the world was removed, symbolically and literally.  Three days of utter and complete darkness.  I wonder if the Holy Spirit was permitted to remain with those righteous, or if all influence of God departed.  There was certainly a great amount of weeping and wailing.

Think about it.  Electricity is energy.  The sun emits energy, constantly.  Without the sun's radiance, we would have no life.  No purity, no cleansing, no fire.  The breath we take, every moment, every unconscious, unthinking second, every breath comes from God.  Christ is the center of it all.  Without him, we have no life.  He is within us, and without our spirit's connection to his, we would be nothing, for when his influence on our body leaves, it is left but a carcass.  Christ is the life of the world.

It was a very enlightening class.  I was touched to hear one of the children's mothers report on Facebook that her son (in my class) was excited to see a bright light in the sky and thought it was Jesus coming.  I always wonder the same, and wonder when it'll happen.  Hoping I'm ready, but realizing that I'm not there yet.  Thank Jesus for an atonement.

~Jen<3

When I Vote

I fully intend to never make this a forum for political debate.  However there are a few thoughts that I have been considering, as to why I vote without question for who I get to vote for this upcoming election.

(photo source - not sure if it's 100% the original)

I've been pondering a lot lately, the idea of "pro-choice" vs. "pro-life".  My body looks a lot like this one, and as I ponder that fact, it brings me to both gratitude and agency.

Gratitude – I am beyond thankful for my ability to easily and quickly be able to perpetuate life.  It was never a struggle for me, although I usually didn't enjoy the uncomfortable nature of being pregnant.  I am very petite, so when I am "great with child" I really look like a bus.  There is no where for the baby to go but OUT, so it looks like I have a full size basketball under my shirt at about, oh, 7 months along.  I'm jealous of the taller women, who don't become a walking projectile as fast as I do.  And I'm not that proud of sharing my stretched, saggy belly with others, but I also don't worry about it too much.  In heaven I trust all the stretches will be worked out.  Currently it reminds me of my ridiculously awesome children.

Agency –  this is something so powerful that the whole hosts of heaven fought over it.  Children of God found it so important that they took up sides, and some lost their ability to have life.  It is why we are here – those of us who supported agency got the chance to use it.  I am staunchly pro-agency, and I cannot stand it when someone condescendingly tells me to do something I don't want to do.

I am also staunchly in favor of letting the living live, or the conceived live, no matter the cause of their conception.

Life is so incredibly valuable.  The other day I read a very well done article which lays out many details of what is considered and what isn't, in terms of being pro-choice and pro-life.  The author writes in some gory detail many facets of abortion that most of us would rather not hear, and that many blindly ignore.  These are some of the details that affect my vote this upcoming election.

I don't pretend to go and tell people what they should do to their bodies.  I don't go telling strangers not to have sex when they're not married.  I don't tell people to not have babies when they have no ability or comprehension of what it takes to raise them.  I believe life is precious, and regardless of the source of the life, I believe it should have a chance to live, whether it be by rape, incest, or happily conceived in marriage.  Does that mean I think it is easy?  Is life easy for anyone???

When I vote, I will be voting for someone who supports any and all babies' rights to life.  In the United States, one of our candidates believes in letting the local states decide on the issue, although he is personally in support of life.  The other candidate is pro-abortion, and has voted in the past to support partial birth abortion, which is one of the most grotesque, evil, and horrific practices of our day.  I grieve for the state of the soul of the woman who allows this to be done to her child, and the doctors who are so hardened that they can perform it.  If most citizens were aware of what actually transpires in an abortion, I feel their stance on the issue would likely be seriously reconsidered.  Certainly I have never heard a woman brag about how proud she was that she killed the life within her.  And a woman who does this to a child outside the body is hauled off to jail.  The dichotomy makes no sense.

God has already decided what He wants us to do with life.  Jeremiah 1:5:

Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

We are to value it, above all the riches of the universe, no matter how it was conceived.  We had life before conception, and God knows us personally.  Does he not have a plan for us, who our parents will be, and when we come here, and why?

I hope and pray that politics aside, people will consider life when they vote, no matter who they're choosing between, no matter what country or what position they're voting for.

That's all I have to say about that.  



What do you think? Has this post impacted you in any way? Please share your thoughts, if so.