What is the Plan of Salvation?

Another name for the Plan of Salvation is the Great Plan of Happiness. Watch this video with your parents and talk about it with them.

Did you learn anything from this video? Why are families so important in Heavenly Father's plan?

This picture shows the different steps in The Plan of Salvation. Do you see the picture of the Earth? That's where we are now. The purple circle represents where we lived with our Heavenly Father before we came to earth. After we die, our body is buried, but our spirit continues to live in the Spirit World (the red and white circle). After Jesus comes to earth again, we will be resurrected. That means our body and our spirit will be together again. Then, if we have done our best to live the commandments and have repented of our sins, we will be able to live with our families forever. We will also be able to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus.

Can you draw your own Plan of Salvation or Great Plan of Happiness?

You can print this picture at the link below and cut out the pictures and put this together as a family.

https://www.lds.org/bc/content/shared/content/images/gospel-library/magazine/fr10aug37_plan.jpg

I love you all so much. I'm so grateful you're part of our family and that we can be a family forever!

I Love to See the Temple

I Love to See the Temple

I love to see the temple.

I'm going there someday

To feel the Holy Spirit,

To listen and to pray.

For the temple is a house of God,

A place of love and beauty. 

I'll prepare myself while I am young;

This is my sacred duty.

I love to see the temple.

I'll go inside someday.

I'll covenant with my Father;

I'll promise to obey.

For the temple is a holy place

Where we are sealed together.

As a child of God, I've learned this truth:

A family is forever.

(Children's Songbook, Janice Kapp Perry, 1980)

I find myself singing that song when I'm driving through my town. Do you know why? Because a temple is being built in Cedar City. It's almost finished. When Mikah stayed with us last summer for a couple of weeks we went on a hunt for the temple. Look at these pictures and see how the temple gets bigger as we get closer to the temple.

You may have to click on this picture to see the temple.

It's in the middle at the top.

It's getting bigger. Can you see it?

We're almost there!

We made it...right before it started raining!

Why is the temple so important? What happens there? When I go to the temple I feel very peaceful. I feel close to Heavenly Father and Jesus. Everyone is dressed in white in the temple. I feel very reverent when I'm inside. Right before I married Granddaddy, I went to the temple and made sacred covenants (promises) with Heavenly Father. Two days later Granddaddy and I were sealed (married for time and eternity) in the temple. Because we were married in the temple, all of our children were born in the covenant and are sealed to us forever. This means if we live faithfully and keep our covenants, we can be a family forever. There is nothing I want more than to be with my family forever.

Fathers are a lot of things...

 Fathers are lots of things. They are....

Silly... 

Spiritual...

  Kind...

Smart...

 Helpful...

Strong... 

 Loyal...

 Brave...

Playful...

Multi-talented...

Lovable...

 Silly...

Creative...

Fathers grow up! Your father used to be a child just like you. 

Do you think your father learned how to be a father on the day you were born? No, of course not! He spent his whole life learning things that help him to be a good daddy. He learned how to love his own mom and dad and his brothers and sisters, so that he would know how to love you. He helped around the house when he was little, so he would know how to help around the house when he was a father. He went to school and worked hard, so he could have a good job and provide for your family. He also learned how to have fun when he was young, so he can have fun with you now! Ask your daddy some of the things he has done in his life that has helped him prepare to be a good father.

What is a Nurturer?

What is a nurturer? Let's talk about something to help you understand.

Some of you have dogs as pets. Do you help take care of your dogs? What do they need? Even if you don't have a dog you can answer that question. :) You need to give them food and water every day. They need to be let out often to go potty. They need to go on walks. They need to be played with. They need to be trained to be obedient. They need to be loved and petted.

Clara's family and Todd

Sam with Tucker and Mia

Lily with her new puppy, Archer.

Lily has a new puppy. New puppies need even more attention. They need to be taught how to go potty outside. Sometimes they have accidents in the house that need to be cleaned up. They need to be taught not to chew on furniture and shoes. (Lily's dog likes both!) They need to be taught to sit and behave and not jump on company. They can also be taught to do lots of fun tricks. They are a lot of work. If they are so much work, why do so many people have dogs? Do you think it could be because people love their dogs and their dogs show love to them? When you take care of someone or something, you end up loving them.

When you take care of a pet and lovingly teach him to be obedient you are nurturing him. Now you can answer the first question I asked, "What is a nurturer?"

If you just answered that question, you probably just described your mother! Your mom feeds you, teaches you, encourages you, helps you, and cleans up after you. As you get older, you can do more and more things on your own, but there is one thing your mom will always do for you...LOVE YOU!

Heavenly Father has given you a mother because He loves you. He has given your mother a sacred responsibility to nurture you. In 1995, President Gordon B. Hinckley read "The Family: A Proclamation to the World" in General Women's Conference. Part of it says, "By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners."

You all have awesome mothers. They love you very much. Ask them what it means to them to nurture their children.