Tuesday, September 15, 2015

The Three Little Pigs and Helaman

Once a month we do FHE with my husband's family. I love having this experience with extended family and wish that I got to do it with my family once a month too! I'd be up for traveling to AZ every month! Yesterday I had the kids tell the story of The Three Little Pigs while each father built a house out of either straw, sticks, or "bricks." Now these men are secret engineers so I believe that they probably built far superior houses than the Three Little Pigs. The kids then had fun huffing, and puffing, (and maybe a little flicking) to blow the houses down. 
The men building their houses
 Heleman 5:12 "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." 

A blurry little picture of our "brick" house. 
 We read this scripture in Helaman and discussed how the "Big-Bad Wolf" was like the devil. We talked about how living in today's day and age, we have these mighty whirlwinds, and tempests. We talked about how the only house that had a foundation, was the one that withstood these mighty whirl winds. We then sang the wise man and the foolish man from the Children's song book.
Our stick house
 "Anchor your life in Jesus Christ, your Redeemer. Make your Eternal Father and his Beloved Son the most important priority in your life--more important than life itself, more important than a beloved companion or children or anyone on earth. Make their will your central desire. Then all that you need for happiness will come to you." --Richard G. Scott (Ensign, May 1993, pp. 32-34)
Our "straw" house
"The place to cure most of the ills of society is in the homes of the people. Building our homes as a fortresses of righteousness for protection from the world takes constant labor and diligence. Membership in the Church is no guarantee of a strong, happy family. Often parents feel overwhelmed... The righteous molding of an immortal soul is the highest work we can do, and the home is the place to do it. To accomplish this eternal work, we should make our homes gospel centered. When peace and harmony abound, the Holy Spirit will ever be present. The storms of the evil one can be stopped at the very entrance of our homes. Let us be sure the spiritual foundation of each home is the rock of our Redeemer, as Helaman taught his sons:[Hel. 5:12]. The Lord's standards for building a temple apply also to building spiritual strength in our homes; 'Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God' (Doctrine and Covenants 88:119) Do we heed this counsel from the Lord? Do we do what He asks? We would do well to build our homes according to this plan or they are destined to fail." --Joseph B. Wirthlin (Ensign, May 1993. p. 69)

I am watching the tempests of the adversary raging. I am wondering what we can do to build these lives on the foundation of Jesus Christ. I am thankful for the direction and guidance of the Lord. "Building our homes as a fortresses of righteousness for protection from the world takes constant labor and diligence." 

This is exhausting work, but one that I am happy to be engaged in. The exhausted parent in me, salutes the exhausted parent in you. 

1 comment:

  1. What a wonderful post! Such great quotes. Lately after my miscarriage, I've felt I must have done something wrong to have this happen. My abilities to serve anyone past my own front door has been limited. Finally I am arising past my self and home. These quotes remind me that even though the focus, method and outreach changed a little, I was always engaged in the most important work. Love the family night lesson and song and all, and it looks like on top of it all, it was fun too. :) You are an inspiring mother, Tiffany.

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