That Our Children Might See the Face of the Savior

That Our Children Might See the Face of the Savior

Click on the link to watch or read the whole talk

Of all the conference talks that I have been able to listen to so far, this is the one that has stood out to me. I didn't get to watch them all the way through when they were live... hard to do with three babies running around... I have been playing catch up at nights, watching one or two after the little ones are in bed.

I love this one because it, of course, gives amazing insight into raising our babies in the light of the gospel.

First she shared a story about how a toddler, not even old enough to say his own name, when he saw a picture of Jesus, touched his face and said his name. My babies were the same way. They all reach for him. And Rocket, at the age of 11 months, would say Jesus every time we passed by the painting in our stairwell.

But as they get older it will be easy for them to get caught up in the world. And so it is our duty as mothers and fathers to keep them in that light.

Sister Lant gave three suggestions:


"First, we must learn how to love the Lord and our families. This takes time, experience, and faith. It requires selfless service. Then, as we are filled with the love of the Lord, we can love. He might weep over what we do, but He loves us and is always there to help us. That is how we must learn to love our children.

 Second, we must become worthy examples. This is also a process. If we want our children to come to Christ so that they might see His face, it is important that we seek to see it as well. We have to know the way in order to show it to them. We must put our own lives in order so that the children can look to us and follow. We might ask: “What do my children see when they look at my face? Do they see the image of the Savior in my countenance because of how I live my life?”

 Now remember, none of us will be the perfect example for our children, but we all can become worthy parents and leaders. Our striving to be worthy is an example in itself. We may feel as though we are failing at times, but we can keep on trying. With the Lord and through Him, we can be strengthened to be who we need to be. We can do what we need to do.

 And third, we have the process of bringing our children to the Savior by teaching them the truths of the gospel from the scriptures and the prophets and by helping them to feel and recognize the Spirit. Even very young children can understand and accept things of an eternal nature. They love the scriptures, and they love the prophet. They intuitively want to be good. It is up to us to help them keep that connection to heaven open. It is up to us to protect them from influences that detract from the Spirit. We can find help and direction in the scriptures. Then we can teach our children to find their own answers there. We can teach our children correct principles and help them apply those principles to their lives. We can direct them toward the Spirit so that they can receive their own witness of the truths they are learning. We can help them find the joy of living the gospel. This will build a firm foundation of faith and obedience in their lives that will strengthen them."

#1 Love them
#2 Be an example
#3 Teach them

I love that having your own heart in the right place and being an example come before the focus on teaching them the doctrines of the gospel. Imagine the damage, if the first two principles were ignored... We cannot teach our children properly if we ourselves are becoming more like the Savior like we would like our children to be... In fact, they are more like the Savior being pure from birth, that if we start when they are young they are more sure to stay in the way.

But I like how she emphasized that is a process, both for them and for us and that we aren't perfect but that we can still be worthy of such a great task as to raise God's children. Remember, although we are no longer children, we will always be God's daughter or Son. He loves us perfectly and gave us the perfect example and through his scriptures, prophets and weekly church meetings we are being taught that we might also, see the face of our Savior one day. And that will be a precious day.

Pencil drawings by Jean Keaton

Moral Discipline

I am not usually a fan of the, "In the _________ dictionary (insert Webster here), _________ is defined as _________. But when I read the talk, "Moral Discipline" given by Elder D. Todd Christofferson at the 2009 Oct. General Conference, I was so thankful there exists such a format:) 

"President Faust recognized that we all possess the God-given gift of moral agency—the right to make choices and the obligation to account for those choices (see D&C 101:78). He also understood and demonstrated that, for positive outcomes, moral agency must be accompanied by moral discipline.

By “moral discipline,” I mean self-discipline based on moral standards. Moral discipline is the consistent exercise of agency to choose the right because it is right, even when it is hard. It rejects the self-absorbed life in favor of developing character worthy of respect and true greatness through Christlike service (see Mark 10:42–45). The root of the word discipline is shared by the word disciple, suggesting to the mind the fact that conformity to the example and teachings of Jesus Christ is the ideal discipline that, coupled with His grace, forms a virtuous and morally excellent person."

Why have I never put two and two together... It's funny how we can speak a language so fluently but hardly think about the meaning behind the words we are saying. There is so much richness in the words if we just pay attention to them with our hearts. 

One other quote in this talk also stood out to me...

"I have heard a few parents state that they don’t want to impose the gospel on their children but want them to make up their own minds about what they will believe and follow. They think that in this way they are allowing children to exercise their agency. What they forget is that the intelligent use of agency requires knowledge of the truth, of things as they really are (see D&C 93:24). Without that, young people can hardly be expected to understand and evaluate the alternatives that come before them. Parents should consider how the adversary approaches their children. He and his followers are not promoting objectivity but are vigorous, multimedia advocates of sin and selfishness.

Seeking to be neutral about the gospel is, in reality, to reject the existence of God and His authority. We must, rather, acknowledge Him and His omniscience if we want our children to see life’s choices clearly and be able to think for themselves. They should not have to learn by sad experience that “wickedness never was happiness” (Alma 41:10)."

If we are to be true disciples of Jesus Christ then it is our duty to instruct the young as well as remain disciplined in our every day lives. 

 "There must be constant teaching, mostly by example."

President Henry B. Eyring expressed the vision we strive to attain:“The pure gospel of Jesus Christ must go down into the hearts of [our children] by the power of the Holy Ghost. It will not be enough for them to have had a spiritual witness of the truth and to want good things later. It will not be enough for them to hope for some future cleansing and strengthening. Our aim must be for them to become truly converted to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ while they are with us. . . .  Then they will have gained a strength from what they are, not only from what they know. They will become disciples of Christ."

They will see His light through our example. Through the choices me make. How we interact with others around us. How we treat the less fortunate of the world, our spouses, our friends and our family... And what we would be like if we were before the Lord. 

I love this gospel. I know God lives. And I love Him. 

What Do You See?

I know I wrote up a post about this picture just a few days ago, but I couldn't help but think about it some more when I heard of a family that has had to endure the trial of losing a baby... Really, one of the most painful things anyone will have to endure in this life. 

What Do You See?

His arms are extended

His heart is exposed

He shuns no one away.

With this giant expression

He shares his love

For you

For me 

For everyone.

He calls out to all 

Who are laden with grief

Sorrow and pain

And need some relief

Come unto me

All ye who do labor

And thrust onto me you cares.

Our arms are extended

Our heart is exposed

He shuns us not away.

What the Lord giveth, he also recieveth... He gave us life and one day he will receive us into his arms... I can only imagine the day, when all is said and done and I will get to run back into his arms... the arms he has always extended out to me. I am so thankful for the life he gives us:) It is glorious and beautiful, even though, at times, the pain seems unbearable. Just remember that even Christ, the Son of God, himself, was comforted by an angel in his most painful hour... So, too, are we.

Luke 22: 42-44

Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.

And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

My Rock

Helaman 5:12


"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."


This is one of my favorite scriptures in The Book of Mormon. And it was one of the first scriptures that I memorized with Rod when we were first married. It has helped me stay focused and not get lost in my depression and anxiety, which is so much better now, but affects me still every now and again. With depression it is hard to feel anything except alone and worthless and unable to do anything good in your life. I don't understand it and probably never will but I know on whom I trust and where I stand. I love my God and I love my life. And the better I understand my relationship to Christ, I can more easily feel the love he has for me:)

Comfort in Christ

Tonight I read:

Alma 31:31
 O Lord, my heart is exceedingly sorrowful; wilt thou comfort my soul in Christ. O Lord, wilt thou grant unto me that I may have strength, that I may suffer with patience these afflictions which shall come upon me, because of the iniquity of this people.


For so many years I struggled to know what it meant to have a relationship with Christ and suffered so much because I didn't know how to accept that his suffering was for me. I kept missing the mark and thinking there was more to it than just accepting him. But there isn't. I always believed in him, and knew that he is the Son of God and such and that he did what he did for all of us so that we could return to live with God again. But somehow that didn't translate to my heart and soul. It's crazy, right? What was I missing?

Well, I know God has been patient with me and has taught me every day of my life what it means to have a relationship with His Son. And I am grateful for that testimony. In my times of trial he has shown me that he is my closest friend. I used to feel so alone and abandoned by everyone in my life, now I just feel his love even more when I am by myself. He truly does comfort me. I know of no greater peace.

John 16:33


These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.