MaeLyn's Musings

I have been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints all my life. At first, I believed because that was what I was raised to believe. My parents believed it and taught it, and that was what I was used to. Last week , I wrote about personal experiences that I had which helped me to come to know for myself that the gospel of Jesus Christ is true. Is it important for people to figure out for themselves about what is true? If we just blindly obey what we are told is right, will we end up in the same place as those who search and struggle to learn for themselves? I don't believe so. I believe we must each find out for ourselves what is truth and right. In the Beginning... Before we came to this earth, we lived with our Heavenly Father and all our spiritual siblings. Our Father presented a plan that would give us experiences that would help us to progress and become more like him. He knew that we would make mistakes while we were learning, so he called for a volun...

Since I was called to be the ward music director, I get to sit on the stand at church until after the sacrament has been passed. A couple weeks ago, Steven had been asked to help pass the sacrament, and so the kids (minus John, who was also helping to pass the sacrament) were sitting on the bench without parental supervision. As I watched from the stand while the sacrament was being passed, my two younger boys started squabbling over something, obviously causing a distraction for the family behind them. I tried in vain to catch their eye, to motion to them to be quiet, but they were too involved with each other to look towards me. It wasn't until the brother in the bench behind them leaned forward and tapped them on the shoulder and gestured to me on the stand (with my finger on my lips) that they realized that they were being too loud. On fast Sundays, like yesterday, a young woman in our ward directs the music and I can sit with the family. Yesterday, again during the passing ...

In years past, during the month of November, our family has had a poster board on which we have written things for which we are grateful. Usually the Book of Mormon is on that list. Last night as I was laying awake, waiting for sleep, I started contemplating the reasons why I am grateful for the Book of Mormon. 1. The Book of Mormon teaches of Jesus Christ. Nephi said, "And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins." ( 2 Nephi 25:26 ) Hardly a page in the Book of Mormon doesn't contain some reference to Jesus Christ, or something which can teach us about him. The Book of Mormon is full of teachings about who he is, his ministry, his atonement, his love, his tender mercies. Some people may not believe that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (or Mormons) are Christian becau...

In my personal scripture reading the last few weeks, I've been studying faith. I began with the normal faith scriptures: And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith. ( Ether 12:6 ) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ( Hebrews 11:1 ) At one point, however, I turned to the Bible Dictionary, and was there referred to the Lectures on Faith, and so I spent a few days reading these lectures, and I think it has broadened my understanding of what faith is and how it works. According to the Lectures, faith is a principle of action. It is the cause behind everything that we do. (We would never plant a seed if we didn't have some faith that it would grow, or ask a question if we had no hope that it might be answer...

A very exciting event is coming up next weekend. We get to hear a prophet of God speak to us. We also get to hear the words of Apostles and other great men and women who have been called of God in these latter days. It is truly exciting! A couple years ago, in order to help my children to prepare for General Conference, I created cards with the pictures of the prophet and his counselors, as well as each of the twelve apostles. Separate cards had their names printed on them. We have used these cards to play memory match games, Go Fish, or just used them to become familiar with the names and faces of these men who have been called of God. I thought I would share them with you. (Clicking on the pictures below should bring you to a pdf file that you can print full size.)  Most of these pictures have the name printed in tiny print below them, which is great when you are just starting out. If you want the pictures without the names, click here . There are a lot of other resou...

A little after 10am on a Tuesday morning, the house is quiet except the whir of the dryer, my typing on the keyboard and an occasional meow from one of the cats. Wow. Does anyone else feel the huge relief of Christmas holidays being over, decorations put away, normal routines recommenced? I realize the change might not be so great for single people, empty-nesters, those with preschoolers, or those who home school, etc. but for me, with all the kids back at school and Steven away at work, the peace is amazing. I can finally hear myself think again! We had a wonderful holiday. The kids played with Legos, watched movies, played games and had fun. New Years Eve was spent at a party thrown by ward members talking and playing games. Yesterday the weather was nice and warm (40s and sunny, anyway... It is amazing what this California girl now considers "warm"!) and we rode bikes to the park to play. Steven has been working at his contract job at Richmond Homes for over a week no...

I attended my first LDS civil wedding on Saturday. The missionaries in our ward have been teaching a family for a while and they wanted to be baptized, but the parents needed to be married first. Our bishop officiated at the wedding, and there were several people in attendance - both their family and friends as well as many members of the ward. I think what struck me the most was the similarity between the words in the civil wedding ceremony and the temple wedding ceremony. It was like someone had taken the temple ceremony and crossed out all the good parts and just left bare bones.  "Kief, will you take Bridgette by the right hand?" "...before God and these witnesses... " "...enter into this state of matrimony..." As I listened, I felt the Spirit testifying to me that while the covenant of marriage between a man and woman is important, the temple ordinance really is a lot more wonderful. I am so grateful that I was able to receive those wonderful blessi...

I have bright blue eyes and brown hair that is usually past my shoulders. I have a long vertical scar on the right side of my face from where I had a basal cell removed when I was 23 years old. I'm about 5 feet, 3 inches tall. I hovered between 95 and 105 pounds through all of high school, college, and my mission, and only started gaining weight when I got pregnant with Hannah. Right now I weigh about 135 pounds.  I have a weak chin. I've never shaped my eyebrows or dyed my hair. I only recently began wearing makeup on Sundays and special occasions. I'm starting to get wiry grey hairs mixed in with the brown ones. I got my ears pierced at a mall in Brazil while I was a missionary. I tend to have weak joints and have had troubles with my ankles, knees, wrists, and back. I have a large mole on the side of my big toe, that I have always called my "eleventh toe". I don't like having my picture taken, and I don't like most pictures that have been taken of me. ...

I had a wonderful weekend. My sister April was here to visit. I got to watch all sessions of conference (all right, I kind of dozed off a bit at the end of the Sunday afternoon session... but I think that is all I missed.) The kids were surprizingly good for the most part. Hannah and John drew pictures and played Conference Bingo and Joshua and Peter mostly played in their room. I am grateful that we have the means to watch General Conference in our own home. Many of the talks seemed to focus on bettering our lives, becoming a true disciple of Christ by doing our best, living what we know, developing Christlike virtues and especially, by loving and serving others. That reinforced the feelings I've been having lately, that I need to find more ways to be of service to others, instead of being so wrapped up in my own life. I'm still trying to figure out how I can do that. I found the first couple talks Saturday morning to be especially meaningful to me as I seek direction for ...

There are Mondays when I heave a sigh of relief that the weekend is over. There are other Mondays when I wish the weekend could have gone on a little longer. I'm not sure what I'm thinking today. I loved my weekend, but it left me deep in thought. Saturday evening was the General Relief Society Broadcast. It was emphasized that Relief Society is established after the pattern of the Priesthood. We were told that Relief Society helps us to reach our full potential. We were advised to "mind the gap" between what we believe and what we know and do. We were reminded about the legacy of Charity that was begun by the first Pioneer Relief Society sisters and has been passed down through the years. I left the meeting feeling that I wasn't doing everything that I should be doing, and wondering what I could add to my life to make it more fulfilling. Over the last few weeks, I've been cutting back on the games I've been playing on Facebook, feeling that they were a wa...