Prayer of the Walking Child

My brother sang this song in church last week to celebrate Pioneer day. You can hear a portion of the tune here. (click on Prayer of the walking child).

Father
Can you hear me
Will you listen to me for a while
Please, can you make the day warm
The sun will dry the dewy grass
And all will be well

And Father
Make my steps a little larger
I’ll try not to fall behind
Also bless my shoes
To help them last another mile or so

Father
I’m so hungry
I’ve had nothing to eat for a while
Please, can you fill our grain barrel
Mother can make a flour cake
And all will be well

But Father
When the food is gone, forgive me
I’ll try hard not to complain
Also, bless my mother
Dry her tears and help her smile again

Father
I’m so weary
Can I stop and rest here for a while
Please keep the cold from blowing
Bring on the night, so I can dream
And all will be well

But Father
If I sleep too long, forgive me
Wake me up, don’t leave me behind
But, if sleep still keeps me
Father in your arms please carry me home

And all will be well
All will be well
All is well

Mormon Pioneers

Art work from

I couldn't make a religious blog about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints without mentioning the pioneers whose faith was the foundation of generations of Mormons to come. On July 24th, the State of Utah celebrates Pioneer day. For those of us who are multi-generation Mormon, this is a very important holiday. This celebration gives us all an opportunity to stop and remember the sacrifices our ancestors made, and a also gives us a chance to honor them.

I would like to tell you about some of my pioneer ancestors. On my mother's side alone, 22 ancestors came across the plains. That may seem far removed from me, but the same values those ancestors cherished have been passed down from one generation to the next. We often use the term "dyed in the wool" to describe our church ancestry, and with good reason.

One of my grandmothers (I think a great, great) had her way paid to ride on a wagon all the way to Utah. But as she prepared to leave, she learned of an older woman who was sick who planned to walk with a handcart. She felt compassion for the woman, so gave to the woman her seat on the wagon, and pulled a handcart to Utah instead. She was young, and knew she had a better chance of making it than the sickly woman.

Another story is of a grandmother who brought her three children alone across the plains with a handcart. Her oldest was about 7, and the next child was about 3 years old. She also had a baby. As they walked along, the 7 year old would take care of the 3 year old. Occasionally, the three year old would get sleepy, and would go off the trail and take a nap. The 7 year old would stay with him to keep watch. Their mother would continue on with the rest of the company and make camp in the evening. Then she would hike back, sometimes many, many miles, to find her other two children. Then they would walk the many miles in to camp and sleep for the night.

When my great, great grandfather arrived in the valley, he did not have a wife, so the leaders of the church recommended he marry a Danish woman who had also crossed the plains, but did not have a husband. He didn't speak any Danish, and she didn't speak any English, but they agreed to marry each other. Years later they were asked how they were able to get along despite the language barrier. They said they used alot of grunting and pointing. :)

One thing I have learned from my pioneer ancestry is that you don't have to have lived back in their time to be a pioneer. We, today, can lead out in pioneering in whatever state of life we might find ourselves. What pioneering takes is courage and faith in the Savior.

Book of Mormon Sampler July 27, 2008

I decided I would like to start a new feature on this blog called "Book of Mormon Sampler". Here I will occasionally post favorite Book of Mormon scriptures for you to peruse. The advantage to this is that I have read the Book of Mormon many times, so I know some of the particularly choice passages (atleast they are choice to me). It's sort of like getting a book review I guess, but I thought this might give you an idea for what kinds of things the Book of Mormon has to offer. I'm not sure why I chose this first scripture other than that it has been on my mind. And so today, I give you the first scripture sampler:

"Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.

And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot."
" Moroni 10:32,33

Finding Faith in Christ

I'm going to be on vacation for a week, but I thought I would post the link for this online video for you to watch while I'm gone. The title is "Finding Faith in Christ", and shows many exerpts from the Savior's life. If you enjoy the video, you can request a free copy of your own. Click HERE to watch the video. Note: it takes a few seconds for the video to start, so you might have to wait just a moment. I hope you enjoy the video.

Click HERE to request a free copy.

Why Prophets?

This post is to help partially answer the same question that was answered in my last one about the Book of Mormon. I wanted to explain more in detail why we need Prophets. I think in recent years in our modern civilization, the term "Prophet" has received a bad connotation, but in ancient days, Prophets were revered.

--The Prophet receives revelation for the church as a whole. Another term for this is "Seer". We believe that individuals can receive revelation for their own lives, but you can imagine the chaos if any church member received revelation to guide the church. Each person receives revelation, or inspiration for their sphere of responsibility and authority. Just as the prophet Moses led the children of Israel, the prophet today receives revelation about what direction the church as a whole should go. "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7)


--The Prophet receives scripture for the church. Once again, you can imagine the chaos if every member were allowed to add scripture. In modern day scripture we are told, "Behold, mine house is a house of order, saith the Lord God, and not a house of confusion." (Doctrine and Covenants 132:8)

--Prophets testify of Jesus Christ.
"18 But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled.
19 ¶ Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began" Acts 3:18-21

---Prophets act as "watchmen on the tower" to raise a warning voice about danger that is coming. Many times our prophets have warned us of things that would be dangerous for us. For example, Joseph Smith recieved the revelation known as the "Word of Wisdom". It counseled us not to drink alcohol, tea, or coffee, and to not use tobacco. This was given many years before it was known the dangerous effects of these substances. While tea and coffee are generally not thought to be as harmful to the body as alcohol and tobacco, still physicians will agree that we are better off without them.

The Bible dictionary had this to say about prophets: "The work of a Hebrew prophet was to act as God's messenger and make known God's will. The message was usually prefaced with the words "Thus saith Jehovah." He taught men about God's character, showing the full meaning of his dealings with Israel in the past. It was therefore part of the prophetic office to preserve and edit the records of the nation's history; and such historical books as Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Sam., 1 and 2 Kings were known by the Jews as the former Prophets. It was also the prophet's duty to denounce sin and foretell its punishment, and to redress, so far as he could, both public and private wrongs. He was to be, above all, a preacher of righteousness. When the people had fallen away from a true faith in Jehovah, the prophets had to try to restore that faith and remove false views about the character of God and the nature of the Divine requirement. In certain cases prophets predicted future events, e.g., there are the very important prophecies announcing the coming of Messiah's kingdom; but as a rule prophet was a forthteller rather than a foreteller. In a general sense a prophet is anyone who has a testimony of Jesus Christ by the Holy Ghost, as in Num. 11: 25-29; Rev. 19: 10." (Bible Dictionary..."prophet")

Teachings of the Book of Mormon

I was asked what the Book of Mormon gives to us that is important in the plan of salvation that can't be found in the Bible. Here is a list of some of what the Book of Mormon has to offer, although it is by no means a complete list.

--Teaches the importance of repentance in the plan of salvation

--In general, makes clear teachings in the Bible about which many religions disagree.

--Stands as a second witness with the testimonies in the Bible that Jesus is the Christ, and that He resurrected from the dead. "This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established." 2 Corinthians 13:1

--Describes the purpose and meaning of the atonement in greater detail. Dallin H. Oaks taught, "For example, the word atonement appears only once in the entire New Testament but twenty-eight times in the text of the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is clearly the most profound treatment of this supremely important subject found anywhere " Dallin H. Oaks, "'Another Testament of Jesus Christ'," Ensign, Mar 1994, 60

--Describes the resurrection, judgement, and our life after death in greater detail.

--Makes clear that infant baptism is not necessary. Because of the atonement of Christ, little children are saved if they die before the age of accountability

--Teaches the proper method of baptism

--Teaches of the blessing and cursing that was put upon this land (the American continent) which are that as long as the inhabitants serve God, they will be blessed and will prosper in the land. But if they do not serve God, they will lose these blessings.

--Gives greater understanding to the words of Isaiah

--Gives us examples of the cycle of pride to help us to learn to avoid this cycle.

--Teaches of our life before this Earth life

--It was written for our day, to convince us to come unto Christ and to obey His commandments.

--Teaches more about the sacrament.

--Why death is necessary

--The workings of the evil one, and how to combat temptation.

--Teaches about the order of the priesthood

--How to distinguish between good and evil

--The true nature of God

--How to retain a remission of your sins

--It restores main "plain and precious" things that were lost from the Bible during its compilation

Protect Marriage

Here is a website in support of traditional marriage. I hope you will check it out and support this ammendment when it goes on the ballot. Click here for the website.