A Family Church

 

The Family-Centered Gospel of Jesus Christ

By President Dallin H. Oaks

President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles 

I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  We are Christ's church restored to the earth on April 6, 1830.  We are led by prophets called of God who are given priesthood power, authority, and keys to lead.  Our prophet, Russel M. Nelson, recently passed away at age 101.  Our new prophet is President Dallin H. Oaks.  I believe he is called of God to serve in this time.  Above is his conference address given in the interim of President Nelson's passing and President Oaks being sustained and set apart as our prophet.

I am listening to his biography, In the Hands of the Lord, and am very grateful for the many life experiences he has had and the choices he has made throughout his life.  One of the glorious truths of God is that of family.  We have The Family Proclamation, which teaches what family is and the importance families have in God's plan for his children.  

As I studied this talk, I was aware and mindful that this is good news and beautiful teachings, but some may find it difficult if they feel they have not been able to experience the ideal family life. I have been blessed to marry, have children, raise them, and see them with families of their own.  It has not been without its own difficulties and hard work.  And we are never done.  The thoughts I have are that God's purpose is to enable all his children, all people, to return to his presence.  His plan does not exclude those who are unmarried, or who don't have children, or who don't get along in their families.  He loves and wants each of us.  

The Church of Jesus Christ is sometimes known as a family-centered church. It is! Our relationship to God and the purpose of our mortal life are explained in terms of the family. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the plan of our Heavenly Father for the benefit of His spirit children. We can truly say that the gospel plan was first taught to us in the council of an eternal family, it is implemented through our mortal families, and its intended destiny is to exalt the children of God in eternal families.

Everyone belongs to a family.  It is where we begin. The church helps us have the best families possible, but God knows we are all imperfect.  We won't do it all just right.  Prayer and righteous desires help, but won't change the choices of people.  So God gave us his church.  I have heard some complain about the church emphasising family too much, but that is only if you limit your view of family.  It is a family church, not a church of families. That is where I am seeing the difference.  We share our families with each other, but the church itself is God's family. We call each other brother and sister.  We celebrate, worship, work, cry, mourn, serve, socialize, and do all the things that the ideal family life would include.  We are organized into smaller units, called wards, where we can get to know each other. We have a bishop who is the father of the ward. The relief society president (a woman leading the women in learning and serving) is a lot like a mother.  She is not seen and recognized in the public eye, but quietly works to help the ward run smoothly, nurturing the women as they care for one another and their stewardships.  We take care of each other. We watch out for one another.  We minister to each other so that no one gets left behind.  When a member (ward or family) is going through a difficult time, we provide help with food, offer services, offer financial assistance, and provide a listening ear.  When we possess a skill or knowledge that could help, we share it.  We each are needed.  Life and families are imperfect. Wards are imperfect.  We don't choose our family, but we can choose to love and to nurture those relationships.  We also don't choose our ward.  Sometimes there are disagreements, misunderstandings, difficult people, and hard burdens in our family and in our ward.  It is our choice to be an asset, to bring value, to love much, and to point to God.  Our goal is not a perfect life here.  It is to return to our heavenly home, bringing as many brothers and sisters with us as possible.  It really is beautiful and possible.  

I testify of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Only Begotten Son of God, our Eternal Father. He invites us to follow the covenant path that leads to a heavenly family reunion.

Elder Isaac is home

We arrived at the airport in plenty of time. We waited outside for a while so that we could skip the masks but it took so long we headed in and started doing more pictures.

Our tower of boys.  Simeon, Dane, and Josh

Posters made by Natalie. Thanks so much

Mom gets the first hug and now he is carrying his newest niece.

Dad and Isaac

Meeting the Porter's at home.

Isaac reported on his mission on August 21.  The day was shared with the blessing of Rae June given beautifully by her father John. (I am hoping Elise got some pictures of them) Isaac did a great job and shared some awesome stories.  We had dinner at the park.  This is a picture of all the Michigan Lansing Missionaries.

Isaac, Abby and Jay

Knoxville spring break

For a fun visit, we flew to Knoxville, TN to visit our loved ones there.  Dane, Erica, and Terry were so worth the trip.  We had so much fun. They spoiled us.

We flew Southwest with very tight restrictions on wearing a mask covering nose and chin.  People are flying again and this airlines had sold every seat.  No social distancing but we were able to make every flight and arrive in the right place with all our people and stuff.

We arrived in Nashville at 10:30 pm, rented a Ford Excursion and went looking for dinner in the fun district.  We walked along the streets with lots of people, lots of bars with their own live band and it was just fun to be out among people having fun. We found a place that was still serving food, had two bands and lots of 'happy' people.

We spent that first night at a hotel in Knoxville and then headed out to find our family.  Dane and Erica welcomed us with open arms to their family and their home.  This is where the real happy begins. We enjoyed a charcuterie board picnic lunch in the warm weather and green of Tennnessee.  They have a beautiful home that they are fixing up. They made room for all 4 of us and made it look so easy and natural to host us.

We got to visit Ijams quarry.  In this section it was a big water filled area.  It was only barely warm enough to be outside in a swimsuit but these brave kids just jumped right in and had fun swimming, doing cart wheels, and comparing bellies.  Erica is expecting Leo to make his debut in June.

Then we hiked to another section where we could see where the marble had been removed, stones cut from the mountain.

 

Look, its a bird!?

We had hoped to do more work in the "back 40" or in the house but time and weather had other ideas.  We couldn't even get this burn pile to burn with gas.  It had rained too much.

Sunday church was cancelled because of the rain. There were flash flood warnings and it was just better to stay home. 

It was actually pretty special to enjoy church together in their living room with our sacrament meeting on the laptop and then the sacrament with just us.

Dane and Simeon preparing the sacrament

We were able to wander the back woods. I miss being more spread out from neighbors.  So peaceful and full of natural beauty.

We explored downtown. We saw UT campus, the worlds fair park, and some fun city streets.

Viewed the city from a rooftop restaurant.

Brought our own special picnic lunch of ceviche.

This was a surprise in a tiny back alley of beautiful murals

The more I learn of Dolly Parton the more I admire her.  Such a sweet lady.

Milt and I

Debbie

Erica and Debbie

Erica, Dane and Terry

Debbie, Simeon, and me

We went to another part of Ijams and enjoyed a hike on the boardwalk and through the woods. Terry was full of energy and ran a good share of the way.

Debbie, Erica, Dane, Simeon, and Terry

Terry was done walking. He had warmed up to all of us and knew us by name.  He was willing to ride on Grandpa.  Simeon thought it looked fun and took a ride on Dane :)

We also drove around Cade's Cove and hiked to Abram's Falls. It was beautiful but a bit crowded.  Others enjoying the fine day and spring break.

We read books, played games, made food together, ate big delicious meals 3 times a day, slept well, sang, danced, had fun, worked and played with some of my all time favorite people.  Dane and Erica provided a perfect vacation for us.  I pray that they enjoyed it too.  They gave up work and time and energy - all invested in building relationships and memories. I am so very grateful.