We Seek After
These Things
Recently returned from serving the people of Honduras for 3 years

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Merry Christmas from Honduras 2015

For all our dear friends and family and this special time of year.

When we say our 'dear' friends and family, that is the understatement of a lifetime . . .  We cannot even begin to recognize and rejoice in the many ways that each one of you have influenced our lives in some way.  When we say we miss you and wish our most happiest and most joyful wishes for you in the New Year ahead, it's doesn't even begin to express the heartfelt emotion that we experience as we think of each one of you.  You all touch our lives in so many ways.  From your kind caring concern, your actual physical service and good deeds, the good thoughts and prayers we feel in our behalf, to the support we have felt throughout our missionary service, to the friendships you extend to our family, especially our children . . . thank you just isn't a big enough word.  We feel emotionally connected across the miles to so many . . .





And a special thanks to our many many missionaries, serving and returned  . . . what a privilege it has been in our lives to be associated with you, and to serve alongside you as we accomplish our Heavenly Father's work here on the earth.  We extend our warmest Christmas wishes to you and your families and want you to know that not a day goes by that we don't think of and miss you all and appreciate the wonderful things you were and are able to accomplish during your missionary service.  Thank you.

The Savior of the World . . .

Even though life continues to be a roller coaster of challenges and adventures here in Honduras, life is good and we truly feel our blessings have far outweighed our challenges.  Our Heavenly Father continues to bless us greatly, and we feel privileged to have the opportunity to testify daily of the glorious mission of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  That He is the Savior of the world, the Son of God, our Redeemer. That He was born in Bethlehem, organized His Church with Priesthood power and authority upon the earth.  He is the only way by which we can return to the presence of our Heavenly Father.  




Jesus Christ suffered and died for the sins of the world, for you and for me, for us, giving each of God's children the gift of repentance and forgiveness.  And through His resurrection prepared the way for each person to overcome physical death as well.  These events are called the Atonement.  We testify that it is real, and is for you for me, for us. 

It's a privilege to share with the world that some day He will return to the earth again - 

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government
shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, 
Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.











Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and He will be our Lord, forever.





We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Wherever this Christmas season may find you, we testify that these things are real.  That God is our loving Heavenly Father.  That He knows us and loves us.  That He desires to bless us.  That we celebrate the birth of His son at this special season of the year.  May you enjoy this special season with your family gathered all around.  May you experience the fulness of life's greatest blessings in the year ahead.  






We send our love across the miles from the wilds of Honduras.  

Merry Christmas!

Norm and Kristin
President and Sister Klein
Honduras, San Pedro Sula East Mission
2013 - 2016

Monday, December 7, 2015

Missionaries teach A Savior is Born

(Sorry so long in between posts . . . I broke my camera in September and have finally received a new one! Hurray! So more photos on the way . . . in the meanwhile, enjoy these cell phone photos!  Thank goodness for cell phones!!)



The Living Christ . . .


As Missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it is our great privilege to testify daily of the important role of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Even though He came to earth, suffered and died for us upon the cross . . . 

Today He lives!






He was the Great Jehovah of the Old Testament, the Messiah of the New. Under the direction of His Father, He was the creator of the earth. “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3). 
 Of Him the Prophet, Joseph Smith, also declared: “And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!
“For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—“That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God” (D&C 76:22–24). 
(Excerpts from The Living Christ)

Saturday, October 24, 2015

Eternal Perspectives on Motherhood

I've always loved the beautiful line from the hymn by Eliza R. Snow entitled, "Oh my Father", that speaks of eternal parenthood and forever families-

 "Truth eternal . . . tells me I've a Mother there . . .



Something I've always felt in my heart is the presence of an eternal Mother in Heaven.  A sacred not secret point of doctrine not often mentioned in the doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (The Mormons).  Although infrequently mentioned, a no less important thought and principle than the fact that we are all children of a Heavenly Father who loves us.



 A tenet of our faith that has always drawn me closely to learning and following gospel principles is that the family unit, a mother, father and children, is at the center of our theology. It simply resonates within me that the family is the purpose of all other gospel doctrine and principles.  The earth was created for families, to nurture, strengthen and bless one another.  Our Savior, Jesus Christ came to earth, suffered, died and accomplished the Atonement, that we might all have the opportunity to be Eternal Families.  A beautiful scripture from the Pearl of Great Price, tell us what our Heavenly Father's purpose is -

 “This is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” 

I'm so delighted to read this beautiful essay, Mother in Heaven,  that appeared just recently on the essay site of the Church.




I'm linking to and copying the complete essay in it's entirety here because it's a subject I would love to ponder more about.

I've always loved catching the light of Christ in the eye's of women through my photography.  I believe that through our womanly and feminine images and roles we are able to catch a glimpse of the Heavenly Mother in whose countenance we were created.
To visit original article click here.
(Almost all of these are my personal photos, where they are not, I have given photo credit)





Mother in Heaven

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that all human beings, male and female, are beloved spirit children of heavenly parents, a Heavenly Father and a Heavenly Mother. This understanding is rooted in scriptural and prophetic teachings about the nature of God, our relationship to Deity, and the godly potential of men and women.1The doctrine of a Heavenly Mother is a cherished and distinctive belief among Latter-day Saints.2




While there is no record of a formal revelation to Joseph Smith on this doctrine, some early Latter-day Saint women recalled that he personally taught them about a Mother in Heaven.3 The earliest published references to the doctrine appeared shortly after Joseph Smith’s death in 1844, in documents written by his close associates.4The most notable expression of the idea is found in a poem by Eliza R. Snow, entitled “My Father in Heaven” and now known as the hymn “O My Father.” This text declares: “In the heav’ns are parents single? / No, the thought makes reason stare; / Truth is reason—truth eternal / Tells me I’ve a mother there.”5
Subsequent Church leaders have affirmed the existence of a Mother in Heaven. In 1909, the First Presidency taught that “all men and women are in the similitude of the universal Father and Mother, and are literally the sons and daughters of Deity.”6 Susa Young Gates, a prominent leader in the Church, wrote in 1920 that Joseph Smith’s visions and teachings revealed the truth that “the divine Mother, [is] side by side with the divine Father.”7 And in “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” issued in 1995, the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles declared, “Each [person] is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny.”8




Prophets have taught that our heavenly parents work together for the salvation of the human family. “We are part of a divine plan designed by Heavenly Parents who love us,” taught Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.9 President Harold B. Lee stated, “We forget that we have a Heavenly Father and a Heavenly Mother who are even more concerned, probably, than our earthly father and mother, and that influences from beyond are constantly working to try to help us when we do all we can.”10
Latter-day Saints direct their worship to Heavenly Father, in the name of Christ, and do not pray to Heavenly Mother. In this, they follow the pattern set by Jesus Christ, who taught His disciples to “always pray unto the Father in my name.”11 Latter-day Saints are taught to pray to Heavenly Father, but as President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “The fact that we do not pray to our Mother in Heaven in no way belittles or denigrates her.”12 Indeed, as Elder Rudger Clawson wrote, “We honor woman when we acknowledge Godhood in her eternal Prototype.”13


 (left - photo credit Cherise Gunter)


As with many other truths of the gospel, our present knowledge about a Mother in Heaven is limited. Nevertheless, we have been given sufficient knowledge to appreciate the sacredness of this doctrine and to comprehend the divine pattern established for us as children of heavenly parents. Latter-day Saints believe that this pattern is reflected in Paul’s statement that “neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.”14 Men and women cannot be exalted without each other. Just as we have a Father in Heaven, we have a Mother in Heaven. As Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has said, “Our theology begins with heavenly parents. Our highest aspiration is to be like them.”15





Resources

  1. Genesis 1:26–27; Moses 3:4–7; Romans 8:16–17; Psalm 82:6; Doctrine and Covenants 132:19–20.
  2. See “Becoming Like God”; see also Elaine Anderson Cannon, “Mother in Heaven,” in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, ed. Daniel H. Ludlow, 5 vols. (New York: Macmillan, 1992), 2:961. For an extensive survey of these teachings, see David L. Paulsen and Martin Pulido, “‘A Mother There’: A Survey of Historical Teachings about Mother in Heaven,” BYU Studies 50, no. 1 (2011): 70–97.
  3. Zina Diantha Huntington Young recalled that when her mother died in 1839, Joseph Smith consoled her by telling her that in heaven she would see her own mother again and become acquainted with her eternal Mother. (Susa Young Gates, History of the Young Ladies’ Mutual Improvement Association of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints [Salt Lake City: Deseret News, 1911], 15–16.)





  1. See W. W. Phelps, “Come to Me,” in “Poetry, for the Times and Seasons,” Times and Seasons 6 (Jan. 15, 1845): 783.
  2. “My Father in Heaven,” in “Poetry, for the Times and Seasons,” Times and Seasons 6 (Nov. 15, 1845): 1039; “O My Father,” Hymns, no. 292; see also Jill Mulvay Derr, “The Significance of ‘O My Father’ in the Personal Journey of Eliza R. Snow,” BYU Studies 36, no. 1 (1996–97), 84–126.
  3. “The Origin of Man,” Improvement Era 13, no. 1 (Nov. 1909): 78.
  4. “The Vision Beautiful,” Improvement Era 23, no. 6 (Apr. 1920): 542. At this time, Gates was the recording secretary of the Relief Society general presidency.
  5. The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2010, 129.
  6. M. Russell Ballard, When Thou Art Converted: Continuing Our Search for Happiness (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2001), 62.
  7. Harold B. Lee, “The Influence and Responsibility of Women,” Relief Society Magazine 51, no. 2 (Feb. 1964): 85.
  8. 3 Nephi 18:19–21Matthew 6:6–9John 17:1, 5, 21, 24–25; see also Matthew 4:10Luke 4:8; and 3 Nephi 13:917:15.
  9. Gordon B. Hinckley, “Daughters of God,” Ensign, Nov. 1991, 100.
  10. “Our Mother in Heaven,” Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star 72, no. 39 (Sept. 29, 1910): 620. Rudger Clawson was the editor of the periodical and likely author of this editorial.
  11. 1 Corinthians 11:11.
  12. Dallin H. Oaks, “Apostasy and Restoration,” Ensign, May 1995, 84.
The Church acknowledges the contribution of scholars to the historical content presented in this article; their work is used with permission.


flickr photo credit ~ Umer Malik Heaven on Earth



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