The Family Trifecta

Amy's bookshelf: 2024

The Weekend Away

by Sarah Alderson

So so good! Orla and Kate are long-time best friends off on a girls' weekend away. Kate is a bit of a player who is trying to get back at her soon-to-be-ex, causing her to spend frivolously and do drugs and hook-ups. Orla is a new mom ex...

tagged: 2024, audible-books, five-stars, thriller, and thoughtful

Written Off

by E.J. Copperman

tagged: 2024, cozy, easy, and four-stars

Maybe Next Time

by Cesca Major

Parts were a screaming 5 and parts were like “what?” And just irritated me. It is a Groundhog Day premise about a family of four - the mom is caught up in her own life and missing all that is going on around her with her kids and then he...

tagged: 2024, audible-books, fiction, four-stars, and thoughtful

book reviewsbook club

Captain Moroni and the Title of Liberty

The Title of Liberty, Title of Liberty, Captain Moroni

Book of Mormon – Lesson 26

INTRODUCTION:

Today’s lesson is about two men. Both men had both been given the truth and the gospel.

One man, Amalickiah had been born a Nephite but had completely lost his faith in the Lord and had forgotten his Heavenly Father. Because of his wickedness, the Lamanites made him their king. He wanted to be the king of both the Lamanites and the Nephites so he prepared his people for battle.

The other man, Captain Moroni was as might man who loved the Lord and his people. Because of his love for them, he swore on his life that he would defend his people against the Lamanites.

VIDEO:

Book of Mormon Videos Chapter 32

DISCUSSION:

Turn to Alma 46 to help answer the following questions…

What was threatening the Nephites? (v 1-2)

What did Captain Moroni do when he heard of the conflict? (v 11-12)

Rip off pieces of a shirt or fabric. Write “In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives and our children” on the fabric and hang it on the chalkboard.

What did he do after with the Title of Liberty? (v 13, 16)

Why do you think the words and actions of Captain Moroni inspired the Nephites?

What covenant did the people who followed Moroni make? (v 21-22)

What did Moroni want his people to remember? (v 23-24)

ACTIVITY:

When you see the flag of the United States flying high, what does it remind you?

Why do we wave the flag, especially on holidays like the 4^th of July, Memorial Day, or Presidents Day?

Our flag is a symbol of our freedom and a symbol of what we stand for.

If you were to create a flag that is a symbol of you or of something you stand for, what would you put on it?

Write these answers on the board

Now that we have a good list of things that we stand for, we are going to create our own titles of liberty.

Each student can write their own title of liberty or they can draw a picture of what they stand for, what they believe in or what they hope for.

DISCUSSION:

Captain Moroni did not go to battle without being prepared. Every day we are faced with a potential battle. There are ways that we can be prepared. Part of that preparation is putting on our armor of God.

What does it mean to put on the armor of God?

Let’s break the armor of God down in to pieces and determine how we can put on that piece every single day and what it can prepare us for.

First is the Loin armor: Truth. This means to know right from wrong, to love the truth, to protect your virtue, and to be morally clean.

How does being truthful help us against any possible battle we may come up against?

What happens when you lie?

How does being honest affect how people see/understand you?

Breastplate: Righteousness. This means to choose the right and follow Jesus Christ.

Describe a breastplate? What vital organ does it protect?

So if the breastplate is righteousness – or choosing the right, how deathly is it if you are not choosing the right?

Shield: Faith. This means to have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

How does faith help you daily?

What do you have without faith?

Helmet: Salvation. This means to be judged worthy to live with Heavenly Father forever.

Sword: The Spirit, or the Holy Ghost. This means to be directed by the Holy Ghost and the revealed word of Jesus Christ.

Shoes: The preparation of the gospel of peace. This means understanding the gospel so we will walk the strait and narrow path.

TESTIMONY:

I know that it isn’t always easy to stand up for what you believe. It isn’t always easy to make sure you are putting on your full armor of God. But it is important to remember what you stand for and let the world know. Just as Captain Moroni held his Title of Liberty high, we should too. I know that if we stand up for what we believe, and what we believe is good, we will be watched over and protected according to God’s will.

JOURNAL QUESTION:

Why did you draw the picture/or write the phrase that you did on your on Title of Liberty?

The loss of more than a loved one

Over the years, I have posted, tweeted, Facebook-ed and Instagram-ed stories about my sister-in-law and my brother. Their life together has been full of adventures and love. Here’s a little background and an introduction for those unfamiliar with them…

Tom and Anne met Winter semester 1990 at school
They took their 4 children on an around the world trip 6 years ago for 11 months. (You can read of their travels at Six in the World)
They’ve lived in Connecticut, Utah, California and Atlanta
Nearly 2 years ago, Anne was diagnosed with an extremely rare and aggressive form of colon cancer (appendix to be specific)

In April we found ourselves rushing down to spend time with Anne and the family. Anne was recovering from a very scary and life threatening surgery that came a few short days after receiving word that her cancer had returned. And it had returned with a vengeance. She had twice been declared cancer-free and now it was back for a third time. We didn’t know if it would be the last time we got to see her alive. But we knew that it was incredibly important that we spend some time with her and the rest of her family.

My parents, my sister’s family and the four of us traveled to California to occupy the kids and be there for my brother, with the hope that we would get to see Anne. But we didn’t set our hopes up too high because we knew she was in a very touchy/critical condition. It was a trip that I will forever be grateful we took.

Our trip in April was the last time we would get to spend time with Anne. The time I got to visit with her at the hospital and walk through the halls while we prayed for her to “toot” as a sign the surgery was successful, was the last time I got to spend with her. It was the last time I got to sit with her and give her a big hug. She was so fragile and scared but knew she had to keep fighting. But eventually, the fighting was more than she could continue doing.

Anne passed away the morning of the Summer solstice.

My world came crashing down but nothing compared to my brother’s world and their kids’ world.

Anne wasn’t perfect but she was absolutely amazing. She changed the world while she experienced and shared the world with her family. There are families in Atlanta and families in Malibu and Santa Monica that have had their lives changed by her energy and her service. To get a taste of her spice for life and her tendency to live life to the fullest read their family’s blog. Tom’s eulogy only begins to touch upon her life. Hopefully one day, there will be a book that will inspire even more people through out the world.

One of these days, I’ll share some Anne stories with you and how each has inspired me over the past 20+ years she has been a part of my life. You will love her too.

Alma Teaches Faith

Alma Teaches Faith

Primary 4 – Book of Mormon – Lesson 22

Faith takes practice.

Faith requires patience.

Faith comes with hard work.

Faith is humble.

Faith isn’t easy.

Alma was a wonderful missionary. So wonderful that even today his words provide understanding and clarity to anyone who reads them. In Alma 32:36-39 we can read Alma’s lesson on faith.

36 Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither must ye lay aside your faith, for ye have only exercised your faith to plant the seed that ye might try the experiment to know if the seed was good.

37 And behold, as the tree beginneth to grow, ye will say: Let us nourish it with great care, that it may get root, that it may grow up, and bring forth fruit unto us. And now behold, if ye nourish it with much care it will get root, and grow up, and bring forth fruit.

38 But if ye neglect the tree, and take no thought for its nourishment, behold it will not get any root; and when the heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it, because it hath no root it withers away, and ye pluck it up and cast it out.

39 Now, this is not because the seed was not good, neither is it because the fruit thereof would not be desirable; but it is because your ^aground is barren, and ye will not nourish the tree, therefore ye cannot have the fruit thereof.

***While the scripture is being read, put illustrations on the board as the story is told.

What does it mean to have “barren ground” when dealing with a seed?

Let’s talk about what it means to have barren ground when it comes to faith. If we liken faith to a seed and a seed can’t row in soil that has no nutrients, where can faith not grow?

What can we do to give our soil the nutrients needed to nourish our faith?

I want more answers than the standard “read your scriptures”, “go to church” and “pray”. Although those are good answers and they are the right answers. I want specifics.

What can you pray for? And remember, be specific.

When you read the scriptures, what can you do while you are reading them?

What are you doing during church each Sunday to improve your soil?

Are trials a nutrient that will help our faith grow?

How do we make sure we are growing from our trials rather than having them kill our faith?

Water is also needed to nourish the seed.

What do you think represents the water that is needed to grow our faith?

This is where I may be sharing more my opinion than gospel. But to me, one of the absolute required elements to grow one’s faith is service. Faith without works is dead. Just as a seed without water is dead.

Sometimes it is really hard to serve. There are times we are too overwhelmed. Too tired. Too selfish. And sometimes we think it is someone else’s turn to serve us. But unless we are doing all we can to serve others, our faith cannot grow.

I don’t believe that means we ignore all of the responsibilities that we have so that we can “serve” more. I believe we can only run as fast as we have the strength to run.

The last thing that we need to have a seed grow in the ground is the sun. A very obvious answer to how that translates to faith is the sun is the Son of God. Without Him and without putting our trust in Him, our faith cannot continue to grow.

To close today’s class, we will watch the Living Scriptures video “Alma and the Zoramites”.

I am so grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am thankful for the very basic explanation Alma has given us to understand faith.

What helps your faith grow?

Because Sephora Told Me To...

I have a lot of dark spots on my face. If you have met me in person, you have likely noticed them but were kind enough to look past them. In pictures, I tend to Photoshop them away. (Is that vain of me to do? At least I’m open about it and that has to count for something). Unfortunately, I can’t Photoshop them away in real life and I’m not willing to wear foundation. People have always told me that once you start wearing it, you have a hard time going back to bare skin.

Because of my unwillingness to wear foundation, I sought help at Sephora. I’d hoped they would be able to show me the perfect product that would conceal my spots but blend in well. After trying 4-5 different products, the make-up artist threw up his arms and said, “Without foundation to blend, I simply cannot help you.” I pleaded and begged for some wonderful solution. He referred me to the aestatician over in the skincare department. She looked at my spots and declared I needed to get into the dermatologist. She pointed at several of my spots and said that they were just sun/age spots but there was one that was different. (In the picture it is the one closest to my eye).

This happened nearly a year ago. But I kept putting it off.

Last Friday I finally made it in to see the doctor. I wanted to go to one that would care about the cosmetic aspect of it and wouldn’t start cutting away just for the sake of cutting. So I went to the only young female dermatologist I could find. (I confess, I stereotyped).

I was sitting on the examination table in my hospital gown when the doctor walked in. First thing she said to me was “Wow, good thing you came in. That spot on your face is pre-cancerous and we need to get rid of that. You’ll want to watch it carefully and if it comes back you need to come back in.”

For just under a week, I’ve had a lovely scab on my face. Today it came off and now I will keep my fingers crossed that it doesn’t come back.

So, thank you Sephora.

And if you have any spots that look different, from your normal moles or freckles, please get in to your dermatologist. Skin cancer is not something to mess around with, just ask some of my friends who have lost a parent to melanoma.

Alma and Amulek in Prison

Primary 4: Book of Mormon – Lesson 16

Items needed for the lesson-

Jar of water
Ping-pong ball
Rope (a jump rope will work if you don’t have a rope)

Last week I did not prepare the lesson, nor did I attend. My team teacher wasn’t there either. So, for our sakes I will start with a brief refresher on some of the people we will be talking about today.

Alma – Alma was the High Priest and he chose to dedicate his life to missionary work
Amulek – He was a man who lived in Ammonihah where Alma was preaching. Amulek had a vision about Alma and was told to take care of him.
Zeezrom – A citizen of Ammonihah that argued with Alma and Amulek saying that they were liars.

Now on to Lesson 16…

What is faith? How does someone have faith? When and how do you use or exercise your faith?

If you take a glass of water and a ping-pong ball, what will happen when you push the ping-pong ball down and then let go? It will bounce again to the top. Now if we were to poke a hole in the ball and push it down, what would happen?

Faith is like the ping-pong ball. If we have faith, we will bounce back from our trials and we will continue to be lifted up in our trials. But if we let fear and doubt seep in, like a small hole would allow the water to fill the ball, we too will sink.

It is difficult to talk to 8-9 year olds about faith and how to practice it. Difficult, because it is something that I continue to work on and continue to strive for.

Alma and Amulek in Prison is a story all about how bad things can happen but ways that our faith can keep us safe. It is also about how one can gain faith.

_____

Alma and Amulek continued to teach the people of Ammonihah the truth about Jesus Christ and the importance of repentance. During one particular time-sharing the message, Zeezrom was in attendance. While he was standing there listening, he began to have a strong emotion and was astonished by what had been spoken. He was also overcome by the damage he had done by way of his words for the people who were gathered.

What was Zeezrom feeling?

Why would he feel that way?

During our lives, we are going to make choices. Sometimes these choices are made without a full understanding or without knowing who our choice may affect. As we grow, we may learn something new that will suddenly make us realize that what we had done minutes, days, weeks or months before was wrong. We too can have that feeling of guilt come over us.

That is exactly what happened to Zeezrom. For some reason, something that was said that day opened his heart up to feel the spirit and his mind was opened so that he understood the damage he had done. He began to cry out to the people that he was the one that was wrong, not Alma and not Amulek.

What do you think the people did when he cried out that he was wrong?

Rather than taking a moment to listen to him this time, they persecuted him and threw him out of the city.

Why do people persecute those that believe differently than they do?

These people continued to persecute the believers in ways that you and I could not even imagine. Actually in ways that you just don’t see happening today. All of the women and children that believed were thrown into a fire.

From the scriptures, we know that these women and children died in that fire. Even though the persecutors expected Alma and Amulek to save them – if they were telling the truth.

Why did the Lord not let Alma save the women and children? In Alma 14:11 we read the answer.

Taking the time to read this scriptures can help us to understand that bad things do happen to good people. But, we also know that those who die defending the truth are blessed. Alma 60:30

“For the Lord suffereth the righteous to be slain that his justice and judgment may come upon the wicked; therefore ye need not suppose that the righteous are lost because they are slain; but behold, they do enter into the rest of the Lord their God.”

At this point, I would like to share the Book of Mormon video – Chapter 22 Alma’s Mission to Ammonihah. The video will recap to this point and will finish telling the story.

From the video, we learned that Alma and Amulek were thrown into jail and beaten. The chief judge told them that if they had the power to free themselves he would believe.

Was the chief judge showing any faith?

Faith is believing in that not seen.

What is something that you have never seen but you believe?

I have never seen God. But I know because of my faith that He is our Heavenly Father and that He created us and this earth.

Alma and Amulek prayed and asked God to free them.

If you have a piece of rope, try to break it by pulling it apart. Difficult, if not impossible? Now imagine it being wrapped around you and tying you to a pole. Could you do it?

In answer the their prayer, what happened?

Let’s read directly from the scriptures what happened in Alma 14:26-28.

How great was the faith of Alma and Amulek?

Was their faith greater to release them from the ropes or greater to save the women and children? I believe that their faith was the same. The difference was the Lord’s will. Those women and children were taken into the arms of their Father in Heaven. They were saved eternally while the men who did the damage are forever paying for those sins.

This is the part of faith that I think is the hardest part to accept. When I hear that people have lost their faith or that they have no faith, I can see how they could get to that point. But, when we have trials so great as women and children being thrown into a fire, or more relevant for today, a parent with cancer, a child that has been hit by a car, a mother that dies during child-birth – without faith we would sink. Back to the ping-pong ball. No matter how long I hold that ball down, or how far down I am able to hold the ball down, it will ALWAYS bounce back up.

_________

After Alma and Amulek walked from the prison, they went outside the walls of the city to the land of Sidom. Zeezrom was on his death-bed with a high fever in the same city. Alma and Amulek were asked to go to Zeezrom to heal him.

Alma took his hand and asked him if he believed in Christ. When Zeezrom answered yes and that he believed all that Alma and Amulek had taught, Alma responded that if he believed, he could be healed.

Zeezrom was healed from his sickness and forgiven of his sins.

Zeezrom was then baptized and began to preach the gospel.

The fourth article of faith states…

We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

How did Zeezrom achieve each of these four steps?

What about you?

_______

Faith is something that we have to CONSTANTLY work on. It is not something that comes easily nor grows without work. But faith can make us whole. It can make us whole physically and spiritually. I know that Christ is my Savior and that through him, we may be as Zeezrom and forgiven of our sins. I know that the faith of Alma and Amulek is something that I too can have. But I have to remember not to let the weight of my trials to let the fear and doubt seep in. Faith is the only way to bounce back from our trials.

Journal entry:

How can you work to grow your faith?

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