In my church, ordinary members are invited to speak to the congregation each week during our Sacrament Meeting. This past Sunday was my turn, and I've had a couple people request my notes. So, herrrre goes. I ad lib a lot when I speak, so I will try to type out the details I didn't write down originally. :)
Helping Families Keep the 1st and 2nd Great Commandments
Family Introduction
David and I met in the fall of 2009 through a mutual friend. My mission companion, Cathy came to visit me in Provo and had a dinner date with a bunch of her BYU-I friends in Salt Lake City, so I tagged along. Cathy and David ran cameras together in the AV department on campus. We became Facebook friends that night, and the rest is history. I moved up to Rexburg after I graduated, and we got married in 2010. I was hired to teach elementary school up in Saint Anthony, but had a whole summer with nothing to do before school began, so I took on about 10 piano students. David started as a business major, but felt the need to pursue music to ended up graduating with a degree in piano performance and composition, with a minor in business. I taught 4th and 5th grade, David taught seminary for a year, and when I became pregnant with Hyram, things started to get busy! David took over my piano students and determined that he loved teaching. He began to add more and more throughout his years at school, and by the time he graduated, we had close to 60 students. We started hiring other teachers to take on more students and officially opened Love Family Piano in 2013. I started working as a professor on campus at BYU-Idaho to keep my toes in the education field, and, ya know...to pay rent. By 2016, we moved to a commercial space, added Gavin to the family, and we now teach several instruments to over 200 students. With that crazy year, we added a mortgage, a dog, lots and lots of taxes, a minivan, and most recently, our third little guy, Beckett. We are livin' the dream. I'm not quite sure whose dream...but someone's I'm sure. ;)
Keeping Commandments
As a family, we are trying to be like Jesus. We make mistakes, but we forgive and change, and keep working everyday to get better. We believe in the advice of King Benjamin when he taught his people in the book of Mosiah:
41 And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.
So how do we keep these commandments that will let us live in a blessed and happy state? What are the commandments? Moses helped us out with that. The children of Israel needed a little extra help. They were special. So we have these tablets…
What are the 10 commandments? Think about it…Do you remember all 10? I’ll help you out if you’re stuck. (Read 10 commandments) Here’s the thing though…some people are sneaky.
Micromanaging the Rules
In my class on campus, I teach my students that they can be effective teachers in many ways, but they must have three critical skills (From Harry Wong, The Effective Teacher) to be effective in their classrooms:
1. Teach Students for Lesson Mastery
2. Have Positive Expectations
3. Be a Good Classroom Manager
When I was teaching
elementary school, my students would sometimes try to trip me up…”But you
didn’t tell me I couldn’t put glue in my hair!” Or, “Mrs. Love! I didn’t KNOW
we weren’t supposed to throw our pencil boxes across the room…” Or, “It’s not a
rule that we have to learn math!”
At all of the elementary schools here in Rexburg, the rules are: Be Responsible, Be Respectful, and Be Ready. In my classroom, my rules were: Respect Yourself, Respect Others, and Respect Property. These kind of vague and overarching rules help us as teachers to keep things simple and teach our student basic behavioral principles rather than attempting to micromanage every detail of their lives. It gives them the opportunity to self-analyze and monitor their own behavior each day.
In the New
Testament, Matthew tells us about how there were some people talking to Jesus
who tried to be sneaky too.
Matthew22:34-38
34 ¶ But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.38 This is the first and great commandment.39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
How does this compare to my classroom rules? There’s nothing that didn’t fall under the umbrella of RESPECT. There’s not really anything naughty you can do if you are being respectful, responsible and ready. Just like a good classroom manager, Jesus taught that if you simply love God and love your neighbor like yourself, you are good to go. Let’s look at the 10 commandments again.
If we look at the first four commandments, we see instructions about how we can effectively love God. Keep his day holy, respect his name, only worship him, and lose the idols. Love God.
Commandments 5-10 tell us how to love ourselves and our neighbors. Basic stuff that helps us get along with others, right?...respect mom and dad, respect life, marriage and procreation, respect privacy and property, tell the truth, get rid of pride and envy. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
Helping Families Keep the 1st and 2nd Great Commandments
So, how do we become that great classroom manager (like me and Jesus J) in our own lives and in our families?
1. Practice What You Preach
As parents, siblings, spouses, friends…we can’t encourage others very well to do that which we are not willing to live and practice ourselves. Elder Uchtdorf quoted St. Francis of Assisi when he said: “Preach the gospel at all times, and when necessary use words.”
2. Teach Always
Christ was a master teacher. He used every chance he could to teach those around Him. In large groups and one on one settings, using every day objects and situations to relate to the people. Every moment was a teaching moment. The other day, I was listening to a talk by President Nelson in which he spoke of his service in the military. He talked about drill sergeants ordering soldiers to face certain directions...About face! Left, Right...but never up. As we look up to God, like Moses asked the children of Israel to do with the serpent on the staff, we find guidance in keeping the commandments. One of the other directions he spoke about facing was toward our families:
Facing Our Families
"Facing upward is crucial for successful parenting. Families deserve guidance from heaven. Parents cannot counsel children adequately from personal experience, fear, or sympathy. But when parents face children as would the Creator who gave them life, parents will be endowed with wisdom beyond that of their own. Wise mothers and fathers will teach members of their family how to make personal decisions based upon divine law. They will teach them that “this life is the time … to prepare to meet God.” They will teach them that decisions of a moral and spiritual character cannot be based on freedom to choose without accountability to God for those choices. With that understanding, parents and children will be rewarded with strength of character, peace of mind, joy, and rejoicing in their posterity."
President Nelson April 1996
Joseph Smith, when being interviewed by a journalist, how he managed to govern his people. He taught that he would simply teach them correct principles, and they governed themselves.
2 Nephi 25 Nephi Teaching his People
23 For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.24 And, notwithstanding we believe in Christ, we keep the law of Moses, and look forward with steadfastness unto Christ, until the law shall be fulfilled.25 For, for this end was the law given; wherefore the law hath become dead unto us, and we are made alive in Christ because of our faith; yet we keep the law because of the commandments.26 And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.27 Wherefore, we speak concerning the law that our children may know the deadness of the law; and they, by knowing the deadness of the law, may look forward unto that life which is in Christ, and know for what end the law was given. And after the law is fulfilled in Christ, that they need not harden their hearts against him when the law ought to be done away.28 And now behold, my people, ye are a stiffneckedpeople; wherefore, I have spoken plainly unto you, that ye cannot misunderstand. And the words which I have spoken shall stand as a testimony against you; for they are sufficient to teach any man the right way; for the right way is to believe in Christ and deny him not; for by denying him ye also deny the prophets and the law.29 And now behold, I say unto you that the right way is to believe in Christ, and deny him not; and Christ is the Holy One of Israel; wherefore ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul; and if ye do this ye shall in nowise be cast out.30 And, inasmuch as it shall be expedient, ye must keep the performances and ordinances of God until the law shall be fulfilled which was given unto Moses.
3. As We Practice and Teach…Avoid Contention
3 Nephi11 Christ teaching Nephites
29 For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.
30 Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away.
Mosiah 4 King Benjamin’s Sermon
14 And ye will not suffer your children that they go hungry, or naked; neither will ye suffer that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and quarrel one with another, and serve the devil, who is the master of sin, or who is the evil spirit which hath been spoken of by our fathers, he being an enemy to all righteousness.
15 But ye will teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another.
4. Don’t Define Your Neighbor
As we strive to keep the commandments, namely to Love God and others, it is my testimony that our lives will align with that blessed and happy state King Benjamin spoke about. When we practice what we preach, other can look to us as a valid example of what to do. As we take advantage of teaching opportunities, the spirit will be able to communicate what the Lord wants his children to know. I believe that as we avoid contention and actively seek the spirit in our homes and our relationships, and as we love our neighbors without qualifiers, the Lord will bless all of our efforts.
Helping Families Keep the 1st and 2nd Great Commandments
Family Introduction
David and I met in the fall of 2009 through a mutual friend. My mission companion, Cathy came to visit me in Provo and had a dinner date with a bunch of her BYU-I friends in Salt Lake City, so I tagged along. Cathy and David ran cameras together in the AV department on campus. We became Facebook friends that night, and the rest is history. I moved up to Rexburg after I graduated, and we got married in 2010. I was hired to teach elementary school up in Saint Anthony, but had a whole summer with nothing to do before school began, so I took on about 10 piano students. David started as a business major, but felt the need to pursue music to ended up graduating with a degree in piano performance and composition, with a minor in business. I taught 4th and 5th grade, David taught seminary for a year, and when I became pregnant with Hyram, things started to get busy! David took over my piano students and determined that he loved teaching. He began to add more and more throughout his years at school, and by the time he graduated, we had close to 60 students. We started hiring other teachers to take on more students and officially opened Love Family Piano in 2013. I started working as a professor on campus at BYU-Idaho to keep my toes in the education field, and, ya know...to pay rent. By 2016, we moved to a commercial space, added Gavin to the family, and we now teach several instruments to over 200 students. With that crazy year, we added a mortgage, a dog, lots and lots of taxes, a minivan, and most recently, our third little guy, Beckett. We are livin' the dream. I'm not quite sure whose dream...but someone's I'm sure. ;)
Keeping Commandments
As a family, we are trying to be like Jesus. We make mistakes, but we forgive and change, and keep working everyday to get better. We believe in the advice of King Benjamin when he taught his people in the book of Mosiah:
41 And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.
So how do we keep these commandments that will let us live in a blessed and happy state? What are the commandments? Moses helped us out with that. The children of Israel needed a little extra help. They were special. So we have these tablets…
What are the 10 commandments? Think about it…Do you remember all 10? I’ll help you out if you’re stuck. (Read 10 commandments) Here’s the thing though…some people are sneaky.
Micromanaging the Rules
In my class on campus, I teach my students that they can be effective teachers in many ways, but they must have three critical skills (From Harry Wong, The Effective Teacher) to be effective in their classrooms:
1. Teach Students for Lesson Mastery
2. Have Positive Expectations
3. Be a Good Classroom Manager
At all of the elementary schools here in Rexburg, the rules are: Be Responsible, Be Respectful, and Be Ready. In my classroom, my rules were: Respect Yourself, Respect Others, and Respect Property. These kind of vague and overarching rules help us as teachers to keep things simple and teach our student basic behavioral principles rather than attempting to micromanage every detail of their lives. It gives them the opportunity to self-analyze and monitor their own behavior each day.
34 ¶ But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.38 This is the first and great commandment.39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
How does this compare to my classroom rules? There’s nothing that didn’t fall under the umbrella of RESPECT. There’s not really anything naughty you can do if you are being respectful, responsible and ready. Just like a good classroom manager, Jesus taught that if you simply love God and love your neighbor like yourself, you are good to go. Let’s look at the 10 commandments again.
If we look at the first four commandments, we see instructions about how we can effectively love God. Keep his day holy, respect his name, only worship him, and lose the idols. Love God.
Commandments 5-10 tell us how to love ourselves and our neighbors. Basic stuff that helps us get along with others, right?...respect mom and dad, respect life, marriage and procreation, respect privacy and property, tell the truth, get rid of pride and envy. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
Helping Families Keep the 1st and 2nd Great Commandments
So, how do we become that great classroom manager (like me and Jesus J) in our own lives and in our families?
1. Practice What You Preach
As parents, siblings, spouses, friends…we can’t encourage others very well to do that which we are not willing to live and practice ourselves. Elder Uchtdorf quoted St. Francis of Assisi when he said: “Preach the gospel at all times, and when necessary use words.”
2. Teach Always
Christ was a master teacher. He used every chance he could to teach those around Him. In large groups and one on one settings, using every day objects and situations to relate to the people. Every moment was a teaching moment. The other day, I was listening to a talk by President Nelson in which he spoke of his service in the military. He talked about drill sergeants ordering soldiers to face certain directions...About face! Left, Right...but never up. As we look up to God, like Moses asked the children of Israel to do with the serpent on the staff, we find guidance in keeping the commandments. One of the other directions he spoke about facing was toward our families:
Facing Our Families
"Facing upward is crucial for successful parenting. Families deserve guidance from heaven. Parents cannot counsel children adequately from personal experience, fear, or sympathy. But when parents face children as would the Creator who gave them life, parents will be endowed with wisdom beyond that of their own. Wise mothers and fathers will teach members of their family how to make personal decisions based upon divine law. They will teach them that “this life is the time … to prepare to meet God.” They will teach them that decisions of a moral and spiritual character cannot be based on freedom to choose without accountability to God for those choices. With that understanding, parents and children will be rewarded with strength of character, peace of mind, joy, and rejoicing in their posterity."
President Nelson April 1996
Joseph Smith, when being interviewed by a journalist, how he managed to govern his people. He taught that he would simply teach them correct principles, and they governed themselves.
2 Nephi 25 Nephi Teaching his People
23 For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.24 And, notwithstanding we believe in Christ, we keep the law of Moses, and look forward with steadfastness unto Christ, until the law shall be fulfilled.25 For, for this end was the law given; wherefore the law hath become dead unto us, and we are made alive in Christ because of our faith; yet we keep the law because of the commandments.26 And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.27 Wherefore, we speak concerning the law that our children may know the deadness of the law; and they, by knowing the deadness of the law, may look forward unto that life which is in Christ, and know for what end the law was given. And after the law is fulfilled in Christ, that they need not harden their hearts against him when the law ought to be done away.28 And now behold, my people, ye are a stiffneckedpeople; wherefore, I have spoken plainly unto you, that ye cannot misunderstand. And the words which I have spoken shall stand as a testimony against you; for they are sufficient to teach any man the right way; for the right way is to believe in Christ and deny him not; for by denying him ye also deny the prophets and the law.29 And now behold, I say unto you that the right way is to believe in Christ, and deny him not; and Christ is the Holy One of Israel; wherefore ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul; and if ye do this ye shall in nowise be cast out.30 And, inasmuch as it shall be expedient, ye must keep the performances and ordinances of God until the law shall be fulfilled which was given unto Moses.
3. As We Practice and Teach…Avoid Contention
3 Nephi11 Christ teaching Nephites
29 For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.
30 Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away.
Mosiah 4 King Benjamin’s Sermon
14 And ye will not suffer your children that they go hungry, or naked; neither will ye suffer that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and quarrel one with another, and serve the devil, who is the master of sin, or who is the evil spirit which hath been spoken of by our fathers, he being an enemy to all righteousness.
15 But ye will teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another.
4. Don’t Define Your Neighbor
As we strive to keep the commandments, namely to Love God and others, it is my testimony that our lives will align with that blessed and happy state King Benjamin spoke about. When we practice what we preach, other can look to us as a valid example of what to do. As we take advantage of teaching opportunities, the spirit will be able to communicate what the Lord wants his children to know. I believe that as we avoid contention and actively seek the spirit in our homes and our relationships, and as we love our neighbors without qualifiers, the Lord will bless all of our efforts.
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