Marriage is Ordained of God

Hey Everyone!

SO I just wanted to jot down a few thoughts that have been on my mind lately about one subject in particular.... MARRIAGE. I know, classic RM.

With a lot of changes happening in the world with regards to marriage and the who, what, when, where, and why of it, I wanted to share my beliefs.

I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. I believe that God established it to be that way from the beginning and we have zero authority to question or change that. Men and women were made to complement (is that the correct version of complement? I've been out of school too long) each other. One is not greater or better than the other. We are supposed to work together, to use our unique skills, abilities and traits to move the Lord's work forward, one of those ways being through child-rearing.

Just for the record, I am very proud to be a woman. I'm okay with the fact that dudes can beat me in an arm wrestle. Its fine with me if the guy wants to open the door. I like being soft and cuddly and sweet-smelling and soft-spoken and gentle. Because all of those things are going to make me a good mommy. God made me that way so that I can learn and develop the attributes of Christ and fulfill whatever it is that God needs me to do here on earth.

Just as important to me as the who and what of marriage is the where. God established marriage to last much longer than just "till death do you part". In fact, it's supposed to last for eternity! That's a pretty long time. So choose your spouse wisely... :) The place where those marriage bonds are made eternal is in God's Holy Temples. Getting married in the temple is top priority for me. And if that is my goal, then I need to live everyday keeping that in mind. Every decision I make is either moving me closer to or farther away from that goal.

Sidenote: The adversary is going to try and get us through distraction. He may not always be able to get us through the big no-no sins. But if he can get us to take our eyes off of our goal, its a victory for him. As a missionary, we were taught to filter every decision through Our Purpose. As missionaries our purpose was to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. Before we did anything we had to make sure that whatever it was was going to help us to fulfill our purpose. In life, we could say our purpose is to live in such a way that we can return to live in the presence of God and Jesus Christ. We should filter everything we do through this purpose... Does this TV show help me to be worthy to live with God again?... I know this might seem a bit extreme, and it definitely isn't easy. But life is short, and we need to be using this time wisely. That was a long sidenote... sorry.

ANYWHO! Marriage between and man and woman in the House of God. It's important. I may not fully understand the WHY of marriage, but I do know that it is important. And I know that there is strength and blessings that will come when we make this a priority.

BUT, and this is a big but, while we must stand firm and stand up for our beliefs, we CANNOT judge and belittle others because they believe differently. We must be kind. We must be loving. We must do and say things like Christ would. Because despite differing opinions and beliefs everyone is our brother and sister and God loves them a whole heck of a lot. SO SHOULD WE!

I know God loves us. I know His plan is perfect. And we need to trust Him.

The Family: A Proclamation to the World

Ye Shall Bear Record of Me

Hey Everyone! It's Kait!

So I have decided that I'm going to continue this blog. Not sure how long, probably just until I get sick of it. I'm pretty much doing it for my own sanity's sake, I have to get my crazy thoughts out somewhere. I apologize ahead of time...

I'm home now! It feels like my mission was just a dream. Life is getting back to normal, I will hopefully start work this coming week. This week has been full of reflection and attempting to make decisions. Its hard being a grown-up. I'm half-tempted to go out on a search for neverland! (anyone want to join me?) I am so grateful for the foundation for life that my mission gave me. I have learned how to set goals, and how to work hard to reach them. I've learned what is really important in life. I learned how much my Father in Heaven loves me and each and every one of His children. And because of that fact, the most important thing we can do is to share the gospel.

I got this little daily verse app on my ipod and today the scripture is found in Revelation 14:6-

"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people."

It got me thinking... you know, Tuesday I took off my nametag and I was released from my call as a full-time missionary, but other than that, nothing changed about me. My testimony is still there. My love of the Gospel. I am still a representative of Jesus Christ. We all made that promise when we were baptized, and we are reminded of it every time we partake of the sacrament. And there are still so many people who need this gospel. And we are the people that need to share it with them!!

Now, I am in the same boat as y'all now. I'm on the member side of missionary work, but how exciting is that?! We have the most important job. We are the finders. Those poor missionaries are far away from home, in a strange land, where they know nobody! They don't stand a chance. But here we are, most of us have lived here our whole lives. We know this place, we know these people. And most importantly, we love these people.

So this is going to be an adventure for all of us. We are going to figure out, one step at a time, how to be member missionaries! How to share the gospel.

Even those of you who may not have a testimony right now, or maybe it's a little shaky, you will find the answers you are looking for by reaching out and helping others to find their answers. I know that to be true, because I have experienced it!

So this week my goal and challenge for myself is to get in touch with my friends that I know are struggling. I am going to reach out to them in love and help them in any way I can. And maybe it would be fun for you to do the same, and let me know how it goes!

The biggest reason we don't share the gospel, in my opinion, is fear. Here's a scripture that helped me to overcome my fear on my mission, maybe it will help you too!

Doctrine and Covenants 68:6- Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come.

One more:

Doctrine and Covenants 35:13-14- I call upon the weak things of the world... to thrash the nations by the power of my Spirit... and their arm shall be my arm, and I will be their shield and their buckler; and they shall fight manfully for me...

I know that sharing the gospel in love in the most important thing we can be doing. And that includes sharing in our families and our church callings. But that is not enough. We must reach outside of our comfort zone and invite all of our brothers and sisters to taste the joy we are filled with. It is our sacred privilege and responsibility. And I know we are blessed for it!

Have a wonderful week! And look for those that you can reach out and lift higher this week:)

Kait