Do you know about Christ, or do you KNOW Christ?

 What is the difference in knowing of Christ, and knowing Christ? There is a parable I have from my memories I would like to write down. I'm sure it came from someone else, but I haven't been able to find the story and source, so I will write what is in my memory.

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There was a long single file line of people being interviewed before they went into heaven. One by one, they were called into a room, asked a few questions, then went on. 

One person entered the room and sat down in front of the man behind the desk. The man asked, "Who is Jesus Christ?"

The person said, "He is the Son of God, He was born to Mary, He performed miracles, He healed people, and gave parables. He atoned for our sins, hung on the cross, died and then was resurrected." 

The interviewer said, "Thank you, you may go."

The person left the room then another came in.

The person who came in looked at the man, fell to their knees, bathed His feet with their tears and said, "JESUS."

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Do you KNOW Jesus? Or do you simply KNOW ABOUT Him? 

David A. Bednar asked," Do we only know about the Savior, or are we increasingly coming to know Him? How do we come to know the Lord?" 

There is facts and knowledge, and then there is experience and understanding. Have you ever asked yourself, "If Jesus walked by me on the street, would I know Him?" Your relationship with Him is what will help you recognize Him. Learn of Him, speak to Him, read about Him, ask for answers and listen for His answers. 

Elder Michael John U. Teh said, "As I studied and pondered, I came to the stark realization that what I know about the Savior greatly outweighed how much I really know Him. I resolved then to put more effort to know Him. I am very grateful for the scriptures and testimonies of faithful men and women disciples of Jesus Christ."

Ask yourself, "When have I felt the closest to my Savior? Where was I and what was I doing?"

We asked this question in Young Women's and a few answers were:

Reading my scriptures in my room

Walking out in nature

Being with my family

Girls Camp

Participating in Come Follow Me with my family

Drawing or sketching

Praying for specific things

When I'm in the temple doing baptisms

Evaluate yourself a bit more and ask, "What are some things that distance myself from the Lord?" 

Find ways to get rid of the 'distancers,' and prioritize your time to create more moments to come closer to God.

He knows you, do you know Him?

John 17:3.   "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast send."

John 8:12.   "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."

Ether 12:41.   "And now I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father, and also the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of them, may be and abide in you forever.

Focusing on those within arms reach

In a Stake YW training I will never forget, about 10 years ago, a counselor from the Stake and dear friend, Sister Summers, was an avid swimmer and rock star mom. I was a young mother at the time and her story really resonated with me. She gave a scenario in our training meeting I will always remember. It went something like this:

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“Imagine you are a lifeguard sitting in a seat in a large pool. You have a mother and father who are sitting in the kiddy pool with a toddler who is walking around them and in and out of their arms. You notice they have another child, about 8 years old who is walking to the diving board, calling to the parents, “Watch me!” 

Now, as a lifeguard, who is your primary focus? Who do you think is in most danger of drowning in this situation?

9 out of 10 times the toddler, who is within arms reach, will drown. 

What does that teach us about our focus on the youth? Are we so focused on those who aren’t coming, who don’t show interest, that we are forgetting those within arms reach? Those who ARE coming, those who ARE showing interest. We need step back and evaluate, we desperately need to strengthen those closest to us. Whether that be, family, friend, or brother and sister in the gospel. Focus on who is there, rejoice when they come, and help strengthen their testimonies. We need to be just as excited when the “regulars” come in the door as you are for those who are “occasionals,” “sometimers” or “inactives.”

We need to remind ourselves to keep our focus and love on those close to us that want to learn, without forgetting those who are occasionally open for learning. Sometimes we need to switch our attention to those who really want to learn and who desperately need to feel love and belonging.

I’m not saying to forget those who are calling out to us, even if they don’t come often, or come at all. Keep reaching out to the ones who occasionally want to learn and grow, some might come and change into eager learners! Keep an eye on them, watch them, help them, but DON’T FORGET to help and strengthen those right in front of us. They are often the ones that need us most.”

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This beautiful analogy can be used in any life situation or any church calling even if it was a catered to the youth at the time. How close are you with your family? Are you focused on personal pursuits or work more than your children, or marriage? Elders, RS, Primary, Single Adults, Seminary, and the MANY more callings in life. Who is your focus on? Step back, evaluate and prayerfully reach out to those who need you most. 

Realizing He is aware of every little thing.

 At my whits end. Exhausted from everyday life, and only two "free" days to finish three big projects. Projects that need to be done before we leave for a much needed, long, 'before Christmas vacation.' Why do I have to finish them NOW? We're not leaving for our trip for two more weeks! Well.... the people the projects are intended for are out of town for only two days and they won't be leaving again before Christmas. Some are permanent residents at the moment.

Projects 1 & 2, is something I work on all year. Not one, but I make TWO picture calendars for each set of parents. I work on it all year, gathering pictures and making sure each calendar page has the pictures that took place in those months. On Black Friday, the online platform always has a very good sale. If I can finish by that date, I can ensure delivery before Christmas and get a great deal.

Project 3, a t-shirt quilt I have made for my mother in law. She and my father in law have been "misplaced" for over a year and a half by building their home. They have been living in our basement for that entire time and have only left for full days, three times. During those three times I have been able to cut out the shirts, and simply sew them together. Today, I only need to add batting, add backing, and tie the quilt. Easy right?

Wrong. 

I tried to finish the two calendars but the website was down. I was given the spinning circle of doom that lies by saying, "LOADING." 

"Okay... " I say to myself, "I'll work on the quilt while I wait for it to tell the truth and ACTUALLY LOAD. "

I pull out the quilted top, I lay it all out and go grab the quilting needles my mom left me. Oldies but goodies. In a very small town you are grateful for things you can't simply go to the store to purchase. This is only my third quilt I've ever made. I've made each quilt with my mom. She is the expert, I just fake it. I call my mom to whine and tell her I am very disappointed she is a snow bird and has left me to do this all on my own. She reassures me that I can do it. I tell her she's a liar and whine some more. She says she's sorry, but not really sorry. That's the first truth she said. We giggle and hang up.

I trudge down to get the needles and yarn. My mom gave me her small stash of quilting needles that are at least 100 years old, (jk, but seriously they've been through it all!) and these needles have resided on a red piece of fabric FOREVER. I grabbed the red piece of fabric that held the precious ancient tools and set out to tie the quilt with yarn. I thread the best looking needle and get to work. OUCH, stuck my finger again with the pin. OUCH! This fabric is HEAVY DUTY! DANG IT BROOKLYN, YOU SHOULD HAVE GONE CHEAP. Sigh... no you shouldn't have, you're grateful you didn't go cheap. You wanted it to be a nice quilt, so suck it up buttercup! Be a Nike ad and,"Just DO IT!" OUCH, this is really hard to get through, OH MY GOSH!! YOU IDIOT! YOU DON'T HAVE MOM'S RUBBER THUMB! (They help you grip the needle and save your fingers) Well, a jar gripper will have to work. PULL!! (remove your jacket and wipe the sweat off of your brow) DANG IT, THIS NEEDLE IS STUCK! You are only four ties in and your fingers are already throbbing, you're such a BABY! 

Pitter patter...."MOM!!! WE WANT YOU TO COME PLAY WITH US!" What are you doing? Can I help? Mom, why do you have two bandaids on your fingers?" 

"Can you angels do the dishes and pick up dog poop, then watch a movie?" 

"Sure mom! Can you play with us when you're done?" 

"Yes I can!"

(I HAVE THE BEST OLDER KIDS EVER! Ages 10 & 9, they could obviously see that I was about to lose my mind or cry so they backed away and did their little assignments. BLESS THEM!)

I look down, and the needle is SUPER stuck. I grab a set of needle nose pliers. They must be called "needle nose" to help weaklings like me get NEEDLES through fabric! Ba ha hha. Just kidding, but seriously that was all I could find, and the name gave me the tiniest bit of confidence and hope. I grip it, and PULL! SNAP. I break the needle. I put my head down on the quilt. I take a deep breath, and grab the red fabric holding the other ancient needles. I grab the next best one. It's smaller but it will work, right? Wrong. The yarn won't thread. I try for at least 5-10 minutes just to THREAD IT! I'm DYING! My neck is aching from looking down and concentrating so hard. My pinching throbbing fingers are achy and I'm running out of time and patience. I grab a bigger needle. It looks a little dull, but it threads easily. I push it into the fabric, wait no, it doesn't go through. What? It's not even piercing the fabric?! It's so dull it won't go through ANY OF IT. UGGGHHHHHH!!! I drop the dull needle and thread. I put my hands up as if I'm being held up by a bandit and walk away before I cry. I walk over to my computer and try to reload the calendars. I need to work on SOMETHING that will work! JUST ONE CHECK MARK on my list!

Long story short, I sit down and it won't load. I sign out, I sign in, no luck. I finally break down and use the "support/help" for the website. They walk be through all of the things it could be. We "chat" for over an hour. During that time I am transferred to a "higher up," and have genuinely tried EVERYTHING to get my stupid computer to work. I want to cry because I know I can finish these last four pages in under an hour! I think I stumped them and finally they say, everything is fine on our end. The only thing we haven't tried is you completely restarting your computer. try that and let us know if you have any further questions. I say thank you and apologize for taking so much of their time. (Thank the heavens it's the day after Thanksgiving and we have tons of leftovers! My kids are hungry but are old enough to microwave their own food.) Dad comes home from work and sees me struggling on the computer and the quilt sprawled across the table. At this time I'm surprised I'm not bald from pulling on my poly tail, or my face isn't permanently indented from my fingers constant dragging over my cheeks. 

I sigh. I bow my head and I pray. I pray in my heart and pray in my head that this will work. I restart my computer and the miracle happens. It worked. My calendars loaded and I finish them in 30 minutes. 

I look over and get up. All of the other quilting needles my mom has are too big or too small. I feel like goldilocks but I really do need the one that is JUST RIGHT. Sigh... After I prayed I feel a little better. I know I grabbed all of the needles from my drawer that my mom gave me, but I better go make sure. I go downstairs, and start sifting through my drawer of odds and ends where I got the needles. I knew there weren't any other needles. The ONLY quilting needles were on the red fabric. Sigh... is this a doomed project? I move some more things around and there on the bottom, in a corner is another needle! It's not too dull and looks barely wide enough for the yarn to pass through. I see another needle that looks smaller but could be a possible extra. (With my luck another one will break.)

I start and the first tie gets stuck. I grab the gripper and pull. Nope, no luck. I grab the pliers and SNAP. These "NEEDLE NOSE" pliers LIED! NO NEEDLES SHOULD EVER BE PULLED WITH THESE THINGS! I want to throw them out the window, but I gently set them down like the mentally strained (or deranged) person I am. I grab my LAST NEEDLE. The one I thought I didn't have, the one that just HAPPENED to be there when I was at my lowest. When I knew there were no other quilting needles in the house. I thread it slowly, and I finish tying in 20 minutes. I pin, sew and finish the outer edge.

Miracles happen every day.

When I went to bed, I knelt down like every other night to say my prayers. I prayed and thanked my Father in Heaven for the day. I thanked Him for my amazing children. I thanked Him for a patient husband. I thanked Him for the kind people who helped me with my computer. I thanked Him for the needle that wasn't there when I grabbed the needles in the first place. I don't know how that needle appeared, but I know for a fact it wasn't there before. 

The Lord is mindful of us. He is aware of our needs. 

"Hey Brooklyn, I'm still here. You won't recognize it for a few minutes, but you'll see it later. I was always there. Keep going Brooklyn, if you need a needle, I'll find one for you, or I'll help open your eyes to see what you didn't see before. I'm right here, you're doing good. All you had to do was ASK. After you asked, I came. Next time, pray BEFORE you start your stressful projects, then I can help the whole way."

"Brooklyn, you may have been chatting with those people online for over an hour, but they were there to help, just like I am here to help. Did you know that your kindness and appreciation helped THEM? I knew I could count on you to be kind to others when you yourself was struggling and frustrated."

Matt 7:7-8

7. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

8. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

More faith (or lack of) than you may think

You may have heard, "I think they have more faith in me than I do."

Yesterday that faith was tested.

Through miscommunication and not close directions, my daughter June and I got lost on a four wheeling ride yesterday. 

We were on a mountain that we have visited every year for the past 3 years. I haven't driven on those roads enough to know where I was going, I always simply followed the leader.  (Mistake on my part, I need to be better about knowing my surroundings)

We stayed a little ways back from the other two four wheelers so as to not eat dust the whole trip. As June and I were LOVING being together and asking funny questions back and forth, we realized we hadn't seen any dust in front of us for a while. We kept going and continued to have a lovely time. We came to a fork in the road. No one was waiting for us to tell us which direction to go. There was no dust in any direction due to the dense forest and hills around us. So, with a prayer in my heart I decided to go "UP" to the right. June said, "I was thinking that way too mom, the tracks looked fresh." (Ha ha, we know NOTHING about tracking!) We were headed to the lake and I remember that the lake was towards the top of the mountain, so the road that seemed to head "upwards" seemed the best option in my mind. 

We continued talking, and slowly our happiness faded. We became quieter and quieter because we didn't see anyone ahead. 

WHERE WERE THEY?!

Didn't they know we weren't behind them?

Didn't they ever look behind them and not notice us???

June started to cry and said, "Mom, I think we are lost."

We were on a main road and I felt good about the direction we were going, but I started to doubt. (Note to self, NEVER DOUBT)

We pulled over and said a prayer. I asked to give us guidance and fill our hearts and minds with the Spirit so we could know which way to go or what to do.

We ended the prayer and continued on the road. I started to recite some of my favorite scriptures to June;

Romans 8:31 "...If God be for us, who can be against us?"

Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed; for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."

Also in my mind, I instantly went to "survival mode." I said in a laughing manner to June, "Don't worry! We have water and food, toilet paper, baby wipes and some band aids, we could survive a few days our here!" 

Note to self: That reassurance wasn't very reassuring to a 9.5 year old. She said a shaky, "Ok mom." But from behind me, I heard her start to cry. 

I pulled over and hugged her.
(Stay strong for June, it won't help if we both cry! I felt like a kid left at a store, but I wasn't a kid, I was a mom! And a mom has to be strong!)
I reassured her that we would be okay. We prayed again and I asked how she felt. She said she felt ok, but she felt like we needed to turn around.

Well, I am the first to say that children are more than not, more receptive to the whisperings of the Spirit than I am. Their innocence and youth help the Holy Ghost communicate well with those little souls.

So, I took that and turned around. 

I remember the ONLY SOULS we passed on the road was a family with horses a few miles behind us. We turned around and drove back. We pulled up to the family and asked if they knew where the lake was. They said we were going the right way!

We were SO RELIEVED! 

June said to me as we continued, "Mom I feel so relieved! I'm glad we turned around to ask for directions. Now we KNOW that we are going the right way!"

I heartily agreed and we kept going with hearts a little lighter. 

In my mind, I was still a little frustrated that no one from our family who was ahead ever came looking for us. We had been separated for about an hour! But as soon as that thought entered my mind I thought, they don't know our four wheeling travel patterns of "look behind and wait," and they haven't been four wheeling for 15 years like I have. They must have simply thought I knew the way. Every day we learn and I am sure that ALL of us are learning today. I told June that we shouldn't be angry with our family, but happy when we find them. It would be easy to lash out once we find them, because there was no doubt in my mind that we would find them. But it wouldn't help the situation at ALL if anger prevailed instead of relief.

We continued up the road and saw a forest ranger pass us! We waved him down and asked him again if we were going the right way. He once again confirmed to us that we were on the right road. 

We continued on about 100 yards ahead of us my husband came around the bend looking for us!

We stopped and the first thing he said was, "Are you okay?"

Well the courage that I had felt and the strength I was holding onto left. I cried a bit and said, "We're good. We got separated. I thought you would have waited for us at the road to know which way to turn but you kept going. We had to turn around and ask for directions and then we would have come to meet you. We're sorry we didn't stay close enough. I think you had too much faith in my directions of this mountain!"

He kept apologizing but we knew that we were fine. We continued on TOGETHER up to the lakes. 

There were a few spiritual lessons I learned today.

Lesson #1:

Never assume someone's strength of faith.
How often do we assume people know the way they should be going? Do we put too much faith in people, assuming they are thriving when they are actually struggling? 

Do we think their testimony is strong, when they are actually wavering?

Everyone needs strengthening. .i ugygggygy
No matter their calling, your calling, their perceived strength, EVERYONE needs a spiritual visit from a friend. Everyone needs a minister.
James 2:26
"For as the body without the Spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."

Lesson #2:

Know the plan and don't doubt yourself. Have a meeting with those around you. Ask what the plan is, for the day, for the year and for eternity. What do we hope to accomplish together and individually? How can we keep from doubting our potential? How can we keep from doubting our worth, our testimony and our strength? Heaven is calling to you, today and everyday helping you along your road.
D&C 6:36
"Look unto me in ever thought; doubt not, fear not."

Lesson #3:
Those who wander, may not know they are lost.
June and I didn't think we were lost at first. We continued down our merry little way, happy with life and enjoying our time.
Those around us, may not understand that they are lost. They are enjoying the scenery, they are happily on their path even if they may be going the wrong way. Until you teach them and show them by your example will they learn the true path that leads to eternity.
Help those that may not know they are lost. Give direction and guidance to help them make their own way to the path of discipleship.

Matthew 7:3
"And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye ?"

Take a minute to self evaluate your spirit. Have you been wandering? Are you a little lost without realizing it? Are you on the path the Lord wants you on?

Bury your wickedness and live in LOVE

This last week, we discussed as a family the account of the Lamanites who then changed their name to the "Anti-Nephi-Lehies." And they made a covenant to the Lord to not take up their weapons of war against their brethren again. They didn't want to risk breaking their covenant, and took extreme measures to make sure they would never physically hurt others or eternally hurt themselves gain. They buried their weapons and sealed them in the earth. 

In "The Friend" July 2020 edition there is a "find it" that shows a beautiful depiction of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies burying their weapons of war. It was very simple. It said, find 23 weapons in the ground and 30 hearts above ground. This simple rendition struck we very strongly, and thought to myself that they were burying their wickedness and choosing to live in love.  

We all make mistakes everyday. Repentance is real, it is hard and it is beautiful. A sister missionary in our ward bore her testimony and said, "Repentance was born of LOVE, not from punishment."
 I LOVED THAT! It struck my soul to quit thinking that repentance is a punishment, 

it is PURE - TRUE - ETERNAL LOVE.

We have the choice whether to live with our wickedness or we can choose to live in love. We can repent and forsake the evils we have done and live a beautiful life of love. Love for ourselves, our fellowmen and most importantly, love for our Savior.

I love the scriptures in this account Alma 24:7-10

7.... I thank my God, my beloved people, that our great God has in goodness sent these our brethren, the Nephites, unto us to preach unto us, and to convince us of the traditions of our wicked fathers.

8 And behold, I thank my great God that he has given us a portion of his Spirit to soften our hearts, that we have opened a correspondence with these brethren, the Nephites.

9 And behold, I also thank my God, that by opening this correspondence we have been convinced of our sins, and of the many murders which we have committed.

10 And I also thank my God, yea, my great God, that he hath granted unto us that we might repent of these things, and also that he hath forgiven us of those our many sins and murders which we have committed, and taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of his Son.

I love knowing that I personally have a "portion of His Spirit" with me. I have been baptized and made a covenant with my Savior to follow Him and be a disciple of Him. He then blessed me with "a portion of His Spirit." He has given me a way to repent of the things I have done, that through the atonement He might forgive me and help me to live my life in love as He did.

Four Wheeling with the Holy Ghost

We recently went four-wheeling with our children. I had a wonderful experience that made me reflect on how the Holy Ghost works in our lives. 

I was driving the four wheeler with our 7 year old son. 

He then asked behind me, "Mom can I drive?" 

I said, "Sure! I'll be right here as you drive."

We switched spots and he was so excited that he pushed the gas HARD and we jolted into action, I immediately grabbed onto him and said, "WOOW, slow it down buddy, ease into it. Start slow and then get up to speed. Take your time buddy, no rush." 

He then slowly began down the road and we got up to speed. I looked ahead and saw some bumps coming. I thought he would slow down but remembered a little late that he was very much starting out his education on driving four wheelers. The bumps came VERY quickly and we jolted around a bit. I grabbed the break and again said, "WOOW... we need to slow down when we see a bump and go over it slowly. We don't immediately see what is on the other side, there could be water, or an animal."
He understood and we continued down the road. I kept encouraging him and would say,
"Great job buddy!"
 "Wow, you're getting  GOOD!"
"Keep going! You're awesome!"
He tried to stay on the right side of the road, as we drive on the road in our car (I was excited for his understanding of road and highway rules). I explained to him, "Hey buddy, we try to choose the smoothest course. We look ahead and see what could be coming that could make our journey rougher. We try to avoid any big bumps that could hurt us or the four-wheeler. We can go on the other side of the road as long as no one is coming our way. We concentrate on what is in front of the four wheeler and what is down the road."
He understood and quickly found that looking ahead helped him miss some big boulders and mud holes.
We continued on and enjoyed our lessons and our ride in the mountains. I loved to give him affirmations and small suggestions to his driving.

I couldn't help but think this is exactly how the Holy Ghost works. He tells us sometimes to "slow down" or to "look ahead." "Be cautious of those around you." "Good job! Keep going." "There is a bump ahead, proceed with caution." "A rocky path is up ahead, together we can make it." "No rush, take it at your own pace."

We simply have to LISTEN and OBEY.
We always have a choice in this life, we can listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost, or we don't. We can listen to someone who is infinitely wiser and understands the road ahead, or we can ride through life hitting all the rough patches; learning through many may trials and errors. Life is much smoother with the Holy Ghost, our constant companion and friend. He simply wants to help. He is there to help teach us WHY we take the bumps slowly, WHY we avoid the rocks and deep mud and he is there to remind us to KEEP GOING, our journey is long, but it is worth it. Together we can make it!

ARMORING OUR KIDS AGAINST PORN!

I feel very impressed to share with you what I learned at a recent RS Activity. IT WAS MARVELOUS! I feel confident and "armored" with what I need to do now in our home to guard my children and prepare them against pornography.

The speaker was PHENOMENAL! She was forward, knowledgeable and understanding. Her husband had been suffering from a pornography addiction from a very young age, he cleaned up, served an honorable 2 year mission, and thought that was the end of it, he got home and fell back in. He fell in love with his wife and they were sealed in the temple. He fell back in and she didn't find out until 1 1/2 years in their marriage that he had this struggle and addiction. She made it VERY clear, that pornography addiction happens to TRULY GOOD people.

In the world today we no longer have the luxury option "IF" my children ever see pornographic images. Today it is only 1 option, WHEN and will they be prepared and know what to do when that situation arises.

A lady spoke up and said, that her daughter had an issue with that in school, a young boy brought a phone to school and was showing pictures on his phone on the play ground. The little girl was in 2nd grade. Our world is only going to get worse. We need to ARM our children with the tools they need and have the confidence to understand WHY those things are bad and harmful to us.

A BIG discussion to have with our children is WHY they are bad. 

Q: Pornographic pictures are everywhere, so why are they so bad?

A:They give us false impressions of how relationships are, how we should look and act in marriage. Sex is an amazing thing, but there is an appropriate time and place for such a sacred act.

Pornography has changed the way people view sex. Sex is a wonderful, thing, we can't teach our children that sex is bad. Another lady pipped up and said her cousin was always taught that sex was bad, she was married in the temple and even now, after years of marriage, still has trouble getting intimate with her husband. She was taught at a young age that sex is BAD and to never talk about it. After years of marriage and counseling she still can't get that out of her mind that it is BAD. I DON'T wish that on anyone!

The speaker then talked about filtering our computers, and filtering our WIFI. THIS IS A NEED! ASAP!

My favorite quote of the night was,  "Our goal as parents needs to not be one big "The Talk" but many, small, safe, ongoing discussions."
My parents never gave me "The Talk," and I never felt like I was close enough to them to take my awkward questions to them. We need to be open with our children. It's NEVER too late to talk about sex and the proper boundaries!

She talked about teaching your kids DO NOT GOOGLE QUESTIONS! Google is an amazing tool that can help put so much information at our finger tips. But it also leads to terrible things. Google doesn't ask you if you are a certain age to view inappropriate images, google doesn't have moral standards, it just lets you have it! We need our children to come to US! WE as parents are the ones who need to be comfortable and KNOWLEDGEABLE to understand what is going on in the lives of our children. We need to know what the "new" inappropriate things are so we can talk to our children about them and help them understand WHY they are wrong. She mentioned a few things I had NO idea were going on. 'Sex-ting" is a new one, with naughty pictures and new abbreviated words that mean certain things, like how LOL mean Laugh Out Loud, well there are now dirty "moves" made into akranims now that people text each other.
There are plenty more that I'm not aware of, but I need to be, for when that time arrives when my children are exposed to that, I can be prepared.

She brought up something interesting that can bring good discussions. On TV or out in public you see people wearing practically nothing and everyone gets a little uncomfortable, they look away and no one says anything. IT IS CRUCIAL to use those times as teaching times. "Do you see that young women dressed like that? I wonder why she feels she needs that attention? I hope everything is alright at home."

Once we understand and make those people REAL PEOPLE, not just an image or figure in our mind, they become children of God.

Another thing is, seeing a commercial on TV, that everyone gets uncomfortable with, you say, I get a "funny/different" feeling when I see "practically nude" people on TV. That's human nature, EVERYONE DOES! Let your kids know that everyone gets those awkward feelings- its human nature to see bodies and react to them.

Another great thing she discussed, is that as parents we need to be non judgmental. Don't get mad at your children if they have seen this or struggle with this addiction. They need your help! They already feel horrible for doing it as it is. Don't be angry at your children- Be angry at the pornography.

She said statistically speaking, a child's first introduction is age 8. It's amazing that at the age of baptism and agency, Satan begins his temptations. We are all human, and we all make mistakes, but its NEVER to late to talk to our families about pornography.

Create that open line of communication with your kids, and their questions, how crazy or earth shattering they may be!

The speaker also said, if your child comes home and asks you a crazy sexual question, always ask, where did you hear that? What do you think it means?" one of her friends had her little girl come home and say, "Mom, whats a testicle?" The mom said,"well what did you hear it meant?" The little girl said, "I think like an octopus leg or something?" HA HA HA!
By asking that simple question she saved herself from A TOTALLY different conversation.

Also, if they come home with a REAL question, you can say, "That's a good question, lets discuss it after dinner." THIS GIVES YOU TIME TO GO INTO YOUR ROOM, scream into a pillow, and control yourself so you can also think of the right thing to say later.
I'm sure I will use that many times. It's important to keep that poker face so our children don't think we are shaken by such crude things. On the inside we might want to scream, but we need to compose ourselves and explain the TRUE meaning of things and WHY some things are bad.

This conference was a wonderful experience for me, and it gave me confidence that we can overcome situations that I know will arise. I know it's only going to get worse, but now I feel I have strong tools so my husband and I need can prepare and help our children be armed when situations arise.

One of my favorite quotes I had in my room growing up is;
"It's easier to prepare and prevent,
Than it is to repair and repent."

May we PREPARE and PREVENT our families and if needed REPAIR and REPENT.