When it comes to living our lives, Christ doesn't make up the difference. He IS the difference.

I believe in families.  I testify that families are real.  We lived with God before we came to this earth and we will live with him again. Families are what our existence is all about.  Without them there would be no purpose and no meaning to life.  "Family is central to the Creator's plan for the eternal destiny of His children."  If you'll allow me to, I'd love to highlight some of the eternal principles contained in The Family:  A Proclamation to the World. the family is central to God's plan. we are all children (literal spirit children) of an eternal God and because of that, our nature is divine, as is our destiny. Gender is a part of who we were before we came to earth, who we are now, and who we will become. Before coming to earth, we wanted the opportunity to obtain eternal life, so we accepted God's plan for us. Ordinances, covenants and temples are essential and allow us to return to God's presence. God's first commandment was to ...

"I call upon members of the Church and on committed parents, grandparents, and extended family members everywhere to hold fast to this great proclamation, to make it a banner not unlike General Moroni's 'title of liberty,' and to commit ourselves to live by its precepts.  As we are all part of a family, the proclamation applies to everyone." This is my family.  Me and my three children.  Some would call us "non-traditional."  But it seems that anymore, the traditional family with both a father and a mother leading the way is becomming less common than "non-traditional."  What a shame.  When Elder M. Russell Ballard shared his warning just over 10 years ago, we did not understand the extent to which the family would fall.  The family remains the target of the attacks of society at large and Satan specifically.  How do we utilize and internalize the principles contained in the proclamation?  How do we strengthen families and establish...

     I will never forget attending my first General Relief Society Broadcast.  It was September of 1995.  I was in my first semester of college at Southern Utah University.  That was when President Gordon B. Hinkley presented "The Family: A Proclamation to the World."  I recall my feelings of awe.  I reflected upon the significance of his choice to present this to the women of the church before they presented it to the church in general.  I was filled with gratitude as I acknowledged that the mothers are central to the creation and success of families.  Presenting such a proclamation was most fittingly given to the heart of the home:  mother.      In 1995, most of the things presented in that Proclamation seemed a matter of common sense, and public opinion didn't vary much from what was shared.  However, it did not take long for the world to do a complete turn around.  The morals and values held by society...

     I would imagine that death is easier on those that die, rather than those left behind, but beyond the death of a loved one we will each experience some type of profound loss in our lives. "Profound loss is associated with suffering and comes in many forms:  illness as a loss of heath, disability as a loss of independence, infertility as a loss of hope of having a child, and bereavement as the mortal loss of a loved one in death."  (Ssuccessful Marriages and Families, p.237).      Losing loved ones to death is something that is familiar to me, and through it I have learned the value of the plan of salvation.  Families can be together forever.  Death is not the end, it is just a passing.      When I was 12 years old, I lost my 2 year old brother to an accident.  20 years later, I lost my husband to cancer.  I've lost other family members, roommates and friends throughout the years.  Life is unfair and f...