Blessed is the home where
               God is at home and where the spirit of Christ rules.
 Blessed is the home where children are welcomed and given their rightful place.
        Blessed is the home having a church home where father, mother,
                    and children worship regularly together.
        Blessed is the home where each puts the other's happiness first.
   Blessed is the home where all show their love in ways that mean the most to
  those they love. Blessed is the home where each seeks to bring out the best in
                                  the other
                   and to show his own best self at all times.
          Blessed is the home where all have learned to face their daily
    Problems in a Christian spirit and to disagree without being disagreeable.
   Blessed is the home where children grow up and grown-ups do not act like
                                   children.
         Blessed is the home having the assurance of a heavenly home.
Goodnight Kiss
 

I count it as a privilege,
I count it cause for praise
to kiss my children goodnight
at the close of everyday.

For I know too soon they're up and gone,
and walking out the door
And I'll never have a child
to kiss goodnight any more.

It's very strange how times have changed
from the present to the past.
When did they grow so quickly
the time has flown so fast.

For it seems like only yesterday
I helped him with his shirt,
Or pat my baby on the back,
Or kissed away a hurt.

Tell a story, read a book,
wipe a nose, or tie a shoe.
They never ask me to rub their backs
the way they used to do.

Once it was a bother,
just a troublesome kind of chore.
but now I would give anything
to do it just once more.

Mommy, bounce me on your knee,
Daddy, flip me in the air.
Throw a rubber ball to me
and help me comb my hair.

Mommy, tickle my tummy...
Daddy hold me high.
Lets go outside, for a while,
or make a kite to fly...

I count it as a privilege
I count it cause for praise
To kiss my children goodnight
at the close of everyday.

For I know too soon they're up and gone
And walking out the door
And I'll never have a child
to kiss Goodnight anymore!

- Author Unknown
(Submitted by Glen Stewart)
                To Believe
 

To believe is to know that every
day is a new beginning.
It is to trust that miracles happen,
and dreams really do come true.

To believe is to see angels
dancing among the clouds
To know the wonder of a stardust sky
and the wisdom of the man in the moon.

To believe is to know the value
of a nurturing heart,
The innocence of a child's eyes and the
beauty of an aging hand,
for it is through their teachings we learn to love.

To believe is to find the strength and
courage that lies within us.
When it is time to pick up
the pieces and begin again.

To believe is to know we are not alone,
That life is a gift and this is our
time to cherish it.

To believe is to know that wonderful
surprises are just waiting to happen,
And all our hopes and dreams
are within reach.

If only we believe.

- Author Unknown
(Submitted by Glen Stewart)
 

                         ON THE WINGS OF PRAYER

                   Just close your eyes and open your heart
                    And feel your worries and cares depart,
                     Just yield yourself to the Father above
                    And let him hold you secure in His love -
                     For life on earth grows more involved
                            With endless problems
                             that can't be solved -
                     But God only asks us to do our best,
                           Then He will "take over"
                              and finish the rest -
                            So when you are tired,
                            discouraged and blue,
                 There's always one door thah is open to you -
                             And that is the door
                           to "the house of prayer"
                          And you'll find God waiting
                              to meet you there,
                  And "the house of prayer" is no farther away
                     Than the quiet spot where you kneel
                                  and pray -
                  For the heart is a temple when God is there
                    As we place ourselves in his loving care,
                          And He hears every prayer
                            and answers each one
                          When we pray in His name
                              "Thy will be done"
                         And the burdens that seemed
                              too heavy to bear
                   Are lifted away on "the wings of a prayer."
 

THE PARABLE OF THE KEYS

The truth the parable attempts to amplify is stressed in section 128 of the
Doctrine and Covenants. There Joseph Smith wrote: "My dearly beloved
brothers and sisters, let me assure you that these are principles in relation to the
dead and the living that cannot be lightly passed over, as pertaining to our
salvation. For their salvation is necessary and essential to our salvation, as Paul
says concerning the fathers that they without us cannot be made perfect neither
can we without our dead be made perfect?. Neither can they nor we be made
perfect without those who have died in the gospel also." (VS 15,18)

 Once there was a little boy and a little girl who loved Jesus very much, and He
loved them. They were kind and always told the truth, and whatever Jesus
wanted them to do they tried their best to do.

"You may come to my house," Jesus told them one day, "and there I will give you
a gift."

They put on their best clothes, made sure they were clean, and went to Jesus'
house.

It was a beautiful house, and it made them feel beautiful too, just to be inside it.
They met Jesus, and he gave them his gift. It was a key - a wonderful key.

"Take care of this key," He said. "Put it next to your heart. Don't let it tarnish or
get rusty. Always keep it with you. One day it will open a wonderful door.
Whenever you wish, you may return to my house, but each time, I will ask to see
the key."

They promised him they would, and they went home. They returned often to
Jesus' house, and each time he asked if they still had the key. And they always
did.

One day he asked if they would follow him. He led they to a hill covered with
green grass and trees. On top of the hill was a mansion in the middle of a
beautiful garden. Even in their dreams they had never imagined anything so
magnificent.

"Who lives here?" They asked him. ' "You may," he answered. "This is your
eternal home. I've been building it for you. The key I gave you fits in a lock in the
front door. Now run up the path and put your key into the lock."

They ran up the hill and through the garden to the front door.

"If it's this beautiful on the outside," they said, "it must be even more wonderful
inside!"

But when they reached the front door, they stopped. It was the strangest door
they had ever seen. Instead of one lock, the door was covered with locks,
hundreds of locks, thousands of locks. And they only had one key.

They put their key into one of the locks. It wouldn't fit. They put it into another. It
didn't fit that one either. They tried many different locks. Finally they found the
one that fit. They turned the key and the lock clicked. But the door wouldn't open.

They ran back to Jesus. "We cannot open the door," they said. "It discovered
with locks and we only have one key."

He smiled at them and said: "Do you think you would be happy living in your
mansion all alone? Is there anyone you would like to live with you there?"

They thought for a while and then answered, "We would like our families to live
with us."

"Go and find them," He said. "Invite them to my house, and I will give each one
their very own key. Soon you will have many keys." They rushed out eagerly to
find their families. They found their fathers and mothers, their brothers and
sisters, and all of their cousins and brought them to Jesus' house. Just as he had
promised, he gave each one a key. When all had been given a key, together they
returned to the great door of the mansion.

Now they had dozens of keys, but there were thousands of locks, and the door
still wouldn't open. They needed more keys.

Once again they returned to Jesus. "We have brought our families," they said.
"But the door still won't open."

"Do your parents have a mother and father and brothers and sisters?" He asked
them. "Do you think they will be happy living in the beautiful mansion without
them? If you look hard enough, you will find many, many people. Bring them all to
my house, and I will give each one a key."

They looked very hard, just as Jesus had told them. They found mothers and
fathers. They found brothers and sisters. They found grandmas and grandpas
and great-great-grandmothers and great-great-great grandfathers.They found
aunts and uncles and nieces and nephews and cousins.

They found them in big cities. They found them in tiny villages. Some lived by the
seashore.

Some lived in the open prairie. Some lived near the mountains. Some lived far
across the ocean. And some lived close, just over the next hill.

Some were blacksmiths and some were farmers. There were cobblers and tailors
and fishermen. There were teachers and mechanics and shopkeepers.

Some were tall with strange looking hats. Others were short and wore wooden
shoes. They spoke different languages and came from many different countries.

They found some with long blond hair that hung far down their backs in braids.
They found some with short red hair that stuck straight up and had to be hidden
under a hat.

The boy and girl search until they had found everybody and all their families.

They brought all the fathers and mothers, the brothers and sisters, the aunts the
uncles, the nieces, and nephews, the grandmothers and grandfathers to Jesus'
house. Inside he gave each one his or her, own key.

Soon all the families were gathered before the great door. There was a lock for
every key. They turned the keys, but the door remained closed. There was one
final lock, a great big one right in the middle of the door, and no one had its key.

The boy and the girl returned to Jesus, "We have found all our families," they
said. "But the door still won't open. We're missing a key and don't know where to
find it."

Jesus smiled, put his arms around them, and gave each one a kiss. "I have the
last key," he said, and he held it up. It was bright and shining beautiful.

"This is the key of my atonement," he said. "Am I not a member of the family? Do
you think you will be happy living in your mansion without me?

Do you think I would be happy living without you? Now that you have found the
whole family, all my brothers and sisters, all our Father's children, together we
will enter our eternal home, for home will always be where families live and love
together."

He took their hands, and the whole family opened the door, entered the mansion,
and spent an eternity of happiness together.

"In my Father's house are many mansions," Jesus said. "I go to prepare a place
for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you
unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and
the way ye know." (John 14:2-4)
 

 Explain God
 

 It was written by an 8 year old, of Chula Vista, CA, for his
 third grade homework assignment. The assignment was to explain
God. Wonder if any of us could do as well???

 EXPLAIN GOD

 One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace
 the Ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of
things on earth.  He doesn't make grown-ups, just babies. I think
 because they are smaller and easier to make. That way He doesn't
 have to take up His valuable time teaching them to talk and walk.
 He can just leave that to mothers and fathers."  God's second
 most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this
 goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at
times beside bedtime. God doesn't have time to listen to the
radio or TV because of this. Because He hears everything, there
must be a terrible lot of noise in His ears, unless He has
 thought of a way to  turn it off."

 God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere which
 keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting His time by
 going over your mom and dad's head asking for something they said
 you couldn't have."

 Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think there
 are any in Chula Vista. At least there aren't any who come to our
 church."

 "Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work like walking
 on water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people
 who didn't want to learn about God. They finally got tired of Him
 preaching to them and they crucified Him. But He was good and
 kind, like His Father and He told His Father that they didn't
 know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said O.K."
"His Dad (God) appreciated everything that He had done and all
 His hard work on earth so He told Him He didn't have to go out on
 the road anymore. He could stay in heaven. So He did. And now He
 helps His Dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which
 are important for God to take care of and which ones He can take
 care of Himself without having to bother God. Like a secretary,
 only more important."

 "You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to help you
 because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the
 time." "You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes
 God happy, and if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's
 God. Don't skip church to do something you think will be more fun
 like going to the beach. This is wrong. And besides the sun
 doesn't come out at the beach until noon anyway."

 If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will
be very lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with
you, like to camp, but God can. It is good to know He's around
 you when you're scared in the dark or when you can't swim and you
 get thrown into real deep water by big kids." But...you shouldn't
 just always think of what God can do for you.

 I figure God put me here and He can take me back anytime He
 pleases. And... that's why I believe in God."

 -Danny