My Sunday...

A wonderful day.  A great Sabbath! 

I wore a Christmas sweater to Church.  not one with tree lights or sleigh bells or etc.  A red sleeved one that has sort of a patchwork front with a snow flake patch and a sort of Nordic square also.  an assortment.  I really like it.  The man that sat behind me said...I don't think that is an ugly sweater.  I thought that was so funny!  What a thing to say! 

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We continue to just enjoy our listening reading of the Book of Mormon.  So relaxing.  It really comes to life.  The only book with a promise and I can feel the power as we listen-read along.  It fills our home and our hearts in such a sweet way.

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I'm really impressed with this sear/bake method for cooking meat.  We have a lot of chicken breasts in our freezer and no matter how I cook them...The WannaBeFoodCritic/Judge, is never really satisfied and enjoys them.  Well, viola! I found the way tonight!  I seared/baked/rested a big chicken breast and it was flavorful/moist/delicious.  I'm going to try salmon!  My salmon turns out fine but I'm just curious.  I am so impressed!  Yummy!

The technique is probably old and everyone knows about it and does it and I'm most likely arriving late at the cook stove but it is so quick, so easy, so fun to do and delish to boot!

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My mind has been mulling over The Family Proclamation to the World.  I've re-read it today.  Especially paragraph #7.  I've thought about the fact that we as LDS people are not the Lord's favorite
people but we are His favored.  (I know I blogged before about that fact)  When we are obedient...we are blessed....we are favored.  Sometimes members wonder how non-members or less-active etc. people end up with such marvelous families.  Maybe they haven't even had the chance to go to the Temple up to this point and they are active members of the Church.  Maybe they aren't even endowed yet.  And yet we look at their wonderful families and their close marriages and we marvel over ...how do they do that without those events happening in their lives?

The Family Proclamation is for the World.  Not just our membership.  It's for everyone and that includes those members that have less than what they desire as far as Temple ordinances etc. 

In my own life, I have two friends, such beautiful righteous women, that have wonderful families and it's because they live that paragraph #7.  They live #7, even though they technically await some ordinances and long, as many of us do, for family members to be involved wholeheartedly or to join the Church. 

What a gift this Proclamation is...yes, to the world and yes, to those of us that have threads of the world in our LDS homes.  It holds such promises and reassurance.

Today my heart is so happy for these two dynamic women that embrace/live/teach as the Proclamation challenges and are thereby favored and blessed....

paragraph #7....  (look at that bold print mandate!!)

The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.

Eighteen years ago?...that long ago?...

September 1995. Yes--Eighteen years ago!  Sitting and listening and enjoying the General RS Meeting.  President Hinckley had talked at length about challenges women have, no matter what age of life they are in.  Stand Strong Against the Wiles of the World

Then he surprised all of us by saying....

"I have touched lightly on some of the serious problems which confront many of you sisters.

"With so much of sophistry that is passed off as truth, with so much of deception concerning standards and values, with so much of allurement and enticement to take on the slow stain of the world, we have felt to warn and forewarn. In furtherance of this we of the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles now issue a proclamation to the Church and to the world as a declaration and reaffirmation of standards, doctrines, and practices relative to the family which the prophets, seers, and revelators of this church have repeatedly stated throughout its history. I now take the opportunity of reading to you this proclamation:"...

The Family:A Proclamation to the World

This proclamation was read by President Gordon B. Hinckley as part of his message at the General Relief Society Meeting held September 23, 1995, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

After he read the Proclamation he said...

"We commend to all a careful, thoughtful, and prayerful reading of this proclamation. The strength of any nation is rooted within the walls of its homes. We urge our people everywhere to strengthen their families in conformity with these time-honored values."

I remember feeling that this was historic for all 15 leaders to proclaim a message to the world.  For everyone!  I also remember thinking it was so neat to have him deliver it at our RS meeting.

I have shared before that I was somewhat abashed with them saying, as the very first statement after declaring their apostolic authority...marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God.  At the time I felt...well, of course it is a man and a woman!

Recently, when I re-read what President Hinckley said, as an introductory preface to this Proclamation, I realized this truly is, as he said--"...a declaration and reaffirmation of standards, doctrines, and practices relative to the family which the prophets, seers, and revelators of this church have repeatedly stated throughout its history..."

Everything we want to know about our Church doctrine on family life and and aspects of relationships is in this document.  I think it's in cement and won't be amended in the near future or even my lifetime and maybe yours also!

To me this document is akin to the 13 Articles of Faith.  Easily understood.  Definitive.  Succinct.

I find myself reading it and pondering it and wondering how it will play out in the world's confusion.  We will be confused also?  Will we feel as one feminist said...."the proclamation on the family is antiquated." 

My testimony is strong on Living Prophets and this Proclamation is powerful in many ways.  15 Apostles are in agreement that this is a viable document.   15 men, the General Leadership, all in agreement.  That makes this more than a paper hastily written and passing it around the table for all to sign.  This is what the Lord wants for us, expects of us, warns us and it is a dissolving factor of confusion on what our Church Doctrine is on Families.