What
I Intend to Learn
As I began to read The Family: A Proclamation to the
World again, a word that stuck out to me within the first two paragraphs was
destiny. I have always thought in a way that we don’t really believe in destiny
in the same way it is explained by the world. I think this is true, because
although the Lord’s side will win over Satan’s fight, we still have agency. We
are not going to obtain salvation and the celestial kingdom just because the
Lord wants us to. As is said in the proclamation, “…family is central to the
Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of his children” (Family). We cannot achieve our destiny without family.
This is something that I really want to learn more about this semester, because
I want to be able to share with others this very important concept. People
believe that to become our best selves, we cannot have the distraction or set
back of family. This is such a worldly perspective.
I believe all of the principles in this proclamation lead
back to our destiny, which is dependent on family. Naturally, a family cannot
occur without a father and a mother and so it makes sense that this is where a
child belongs; in a home with married mother and father. I like that it is
stated that those who followed the Lord’s plan and came to Earth may “…ultimately
realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life” (Family).
My understanding and testimony of this proclamation seem
to change as I learn and grow. So very recently I have had a new insight into
one of the greatest teachings of the Lord. I hope that I may be able to have
the strength and courage to do all that I am asked to do and also the things
that I want to do. It is really hard to push on when you have been going in the
right direction, but things don’t seem to work out. In this class and through
my personal study of The Family: A Proclamation to the World, I want to be able
to understand more fully God’s love so that I can help others understand it;
namely my own family. It is something that I don’t understand now and may not
fully comprehend in this life.
I am very impressed with how perfectly laid out the
proclamation is and how it can be used as a complete guide, alongside the
scriptures, for how we should live our lives. I want to learn and practice the
way that I am supposed to be as a wife and mother; working alongside my family
with faith in my heart, pressing on, because I am on the Lord’s side.
I feel as though I already have a very strong testimony
of all of the principles in the proclamation, but what I want to truly gain and
what is going to be very beneficial for me is to learn how I can bless others
lives through the teachings of this document. This was written to the world,
not to the faithful latter day saints, but to all, to know how to return to
Heavenly Father. The gospel is the way to return to His fold, where we came
from and we know that we all chose His plan originally. My main goal or what I
want to learn is how to be an effective disciple of Christ.
The proclamation warns those who corrupt the ways of
family life and that warning won’t mean anything to them unless we, as
disciples, share love and tenderness to those who need it. Christ led by
example and it did not go unnoticed. I want to know how to be bold and unafraid
of being noticed, for being different and for being lovingly firm. To be this
and do this I need to be sure that I am doing all that I can to live all of the
principles of this proclamation, because you cannot testify of that which you
do not truly know.
I want to gain a stronger devotion to the teachings of
the Lord Jesus Christ and to the simple, daily acts that I have been taught
throughout my life to give me strength against the wiles of the wind. I want to
be more devoted to prayer and scripture study. These are some of the most basic
and important acts to strengthen testimony and relation with the Lord. The proclamation
is to help us with these exact things, so that we will recognize the importance
of them in helping those who we love the most.
As I read and reread this proclamation, it brings me to
one of my favorite primary songs that I learned just last year. The chorus sings,
“God gave us families to help us become what He wants us to be—This is how He
shares His love, for the fam’ly is of God” (Neeley). This song teaches so
beautifully the principles of the proclamation. Family is where we all want to
be.
References
The Family: A
Proclamation to the World. (1995). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Neeley, M. (2008). The
Family is of God. The Friend. 38(10). Retrieved from https://www.lds.org/friend/2008/10/the-family-is-of-god?lang=eng
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