The Work of His Hands . . . .

Cami Carpenter Smith
SthSepSohpotnseemsubeocerire mrdm2s7 ·

Some of you may have seen in the news that two, beautiful and precious sister missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints were brutally attacked in Houston TX a month ago. Here are the words and testimony of one of them as recorded on Facebook in the Missionary Mommas Group of which I am a member. I share with her permission as you will read here:
Hello! My name is Lauren Willardson I am a daughter of God, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, and I am one of the missionaries who was stabbed in Houston about a month ago. Because this week marks one month since I returned home from the hospital, I wanted to share the story of what happened in my own words, and more importantly share the path paved with miracles that I have walked with my Savior during this past month! It is my hope and prayer that by doing so I may bear witness of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and confirm to each of you that God TRULY IS our loving Heavenly Father, that Jesus Christ is the Master Healer and Savior of the World, that He gave His life because He loves you more than you can comprehend, and that through Him ALL THINGS truly can be overcome!
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As many of you know, on August 16th around 4 am a man broke into the apartment where my companion and I lived and started attacking us in our sleep. We fought and prayed, struggling for our lives for about fifteen minutes. After the struggle, through the power and mercy of God, the man left. My companion and I called 911 and were then rushed to the hospital. We found in the ambulance that I had sustained nine stab wounds. At the hospital, I had a life saving surgery and then received treatment for many days. Thanks to your many prayers on my behalf and the infinite Atonement of my Savior, Jesus Christ, I am so pleased to report that I am now at home recovering nicely I plan to return to missionary service as soon as my doctors will allow
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While this time at home is definitely different than my original mission plan, I have learned more about Heavenly Father’s love during this time than I ever could have in 18 months! As I look back on these experiences, I testify that His plan is perfect and that it is with perfect love that every part of His plan is prescribed! I can see His loving hand through this experience because Heavenly Father prepared me my whole life with a great support system from my friends and family so I could have a wonderful recovery. He prepared me with a confidence in my life purpose and faith in Christ, that sustained me during the ordeal, during those critical life or death moments in the hospital, and in all of the pain that would follow. He made sure we would survive the incident by placing my companion and I together in that apartment, because we are convinced that if either of us had been there with any other missionary, we would not have survived. Even though we were stabbed, He kept His promise that "thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less" (D&C 122:9) by sending angels to protect our vitals and main arteries. The surgeon who saved my life said that if the knife in my shoulder had been turned even a degree to the left or the right, it would have sliced a main artery and vein and I would have bled out before the ambulance ever arrived. What a miracle that we were protected and the knife glided in so perfectly! From all of this to having such experienced trauma surgeons...to having the president of the particular hospital I was taken to be LDS and let my parents in when no visitors were allowed with covid...to having my mission president and his wife led by the Spirit to the hospital in time to give me a life saving blessing......the evidence of God’s hand throughout this ordeal is overwhelming!!
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If these miracles do not convince you of the great and miraculous love of our Heavenly Father, then I beg you to consider the Greatest Miracle of All, even the gift and life of His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. He loved YOU...you reading this right now....Heavenly Father loved you enough to sacrifice His ONLY Son. He sent Him to die because He loves YOU and because He knew you were worth it. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ saved my life so many times that I cannot do anything for the rest of my life but witness of the INFINITE and INTIMATE love of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I will bear Their Names with every breath They give me, so long as I live
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It is with this opportunity that I would like to conclude: by bearing testimony of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. On that dreadful morning of August 16th, after the man had gone, I remember waiting for the ambulance to arrive while my companion was on the phone with 911. I remember noticing for the first time all the places I was cut because we had been fighting with too much adrenaline to notice the wounds previously. As I sat there with my limbs tensing up to the point I could not move, not knowing if I was going to bleed to death, I remember looking down at my hand and seeing that it had been stabbed through the middle. While you may think that this would be an alarming sight to behold, I remember feeling the greatest peace as my mind instantly thought of a similar wound in the hands of One much greater than I. As more wounds were discovered on me in the ambulance and procedures following, I soon learned that my intestines had been pierced near my side, and my ankle pierced through as well right above my foot. With these three wounds I have learned more about the Atonement of Jesus Christ than I had ever understood previously. As I thought of His pierced hands, and feet, and side, and felt the pain of my own wounds in similar spots, I finally understood a microscopic proportion of just what Christ went through to save us. There are no words that can describe the amount of agony Christ chose to endure to save us. I do not possess the ability to describe what it feels like to have your hand stabbed through, the searing pain that follows wounds like these, or what it feels like to almost bleed to death, but because I have experienced these things I now can say to all the world: NEVER DOUBT HOW MUCH HEAVENLY FATHER AND JESUS CHRIST LOVE YOU!! I went through this because it just happened to me, but to think that Christ CHOSE willingly to feel everything I felt, an eternity more, and eventually die just so He could be there for us even when we sometimes choose to turn our back on Him.....I cannot help but exclaim like Pontius Pilate, "Behold, the Man!" I testify that He suffered excruciatingly, so that when you go through your own Gethsemane, you do not have to suffer. He will carry you when you cannot walk. He will take away the pain when you cannot bear it. He will bring you peace when hope seems lost. He will do this for you because this is what He has done for me. None of this is unique to me. He does it for all of us. I just had to have a little tougher experience to finally learn it, but I hope and pray that each of you will not have to do the same. That you will use my experience instead and learn it now. Please learn and never forget JUST HOW MUCH YOUR SAVIOR LOVES YOU!!!
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I know with all of my heart that I am only here today because of God’s power and I am sustained every day through your many prayers! I am touched to see all the good in the world that comes from a community of universal faith! I just want to express my deepest and most heartfelt gratitude to every single one of you reading this story. I have read tons of posts from people who are praying for my companion, for me, and for our families. We are truly humbled and honored. I wish I could look every single one of you in the eyes and say how GRATEFUL I am for your love and support. Your prayers enabled me through every step of this journey and I hope you each know that they have quite literally caused modern day miracles in my healing process. THANK YOU!! I love you all! I would not be where I am today without you, and I am honored to be your sister in the family of God.
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If you would like to hear more about the miracles during this ordeal and how Christ enabled me through, I have started a Facebook/Instagram account (account info below) where I will post more details and spiritual insights throughout my recovery, until the day I return to the mission field! The account is called “The Work of His Hands” to highlight how every miracle worked in my life came from the hands of my Savior. I hope that through this endeavor many of you may come to know as I do that Heavenly Father’s hand is working miracles in your life through our Savior, Jesus Christ
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Please feel free to share this post to promote faith in Jesus Christ! However, we ask that you please also be sensitive to what is shared by word of mouth to prevent the creation of any more rumors I love you all! God speed! And please remember this story and never EVER forget how much Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love you
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Facebook account: The Work of His Hands

https://www.facebook.com/The-Work-of-His-Hands-120585573132101
Instagram Handle: the.work.of.His.hands

FOX NEWS - 

Former missionary recounts the night she and her companion were stabbed

https://www.fox13now.com/news/local-news/former-lds-missionary-recounts-the-night-she-and-her-companion-were-stabbed?fbclid=IwAR2fYkZoOh2MVdiG5Dak42O9Uq4XCnRxSchoRvNQu-fmcsUC9UllE6GOo2M

 

SLC Temple Dedicatory Prayer

April 6, 1893

"Heavenly Father, when Thy people shall not have the opportunity of entering this holy house to offer their supplications unto Thee, and they are oppressed and in trouble, surrounded by difficulties or assailed by temptation and shall turn their faces towards this Thy holy house and ask Thee for deliverance, for help, for Thy power to be extended in their behalf, we beseech Thee, to look down from Thy holy habitation in mercy and tender compassion upon them, and listen to their cries. Or when the children of Thy people, in years to come, shall be separated, through any cause, from this place, and their hearts shall turn in remembrance of Thy promises to this holy Temple, and they shall cry unto Thee from the depths of their affliction and sorrow to extend relief and deliverance to them, we humbly entreat Thee to Turn Thine ear in mercy to them; hearken to their cries, and grant unto them the blessings for which they ask.


Almighty Father, increase within us the powers of that faith delivered to and possessed by Thy Saints. Strengthen us by the memories of the glorious deliverances of the past, by the remembrance of the sacred covenants that Thou hast made with us, so that, when evil overshadows us, when trouble encompasses us, when we pass through the valley of humiliation, we may not falter, may not doubt, but in the strength of Thy Holy name may accomplish all Thy righteous purposes with regard to us, fill the measure of our creation, and triumph gloriously, by Thy grace, over every besetting sin, be redeemed from every evil, and be numbered in the kingdom of heaven amongst those who shall dwell in Thy presence forever."

A Clear Understanding of the Sarament Came To Me . . . A Testimony

~ The last Sacrament cup~

It was just before the new year, and we were visiting a ward in St. George, Utah, with our five little children—a ward that had no Primary or youth program because it was composed mostly of retired couples. No 12-year-old deacons bumped elbows on the front row; it was the high priests who were preparing to bless and pass the sacrament.

Normally, the ward would have gently filled the padded seats of the chapel, but on this holiday weekend the overflow divider was pushed wide, and we, with a number of other families, were nestled onto metal folding chairs that stretched to the back of the cultural hall.

The meeting progressed as usual, and I watched as a dozen older gentlemen carried trays of bread, then water, through the bursting rows. They were making great effort to manage the unusually large crowd. Their faces were kind. Some had rounded shoulders and bent spines. They whispered directions to each other. One wore cowboy boots. One winked at a little girl in front of us.

My daughters and I took the last cups of water from our tray and handed it to my husband, Doug, who passed the empty tray to the brother standing at the end of our row.

The bishop stood at the pulpit to assess the situation. When he asked who had not received the water, a few pockets of people, including Doug, raised their hands. So the brethren returned to the sacrament table, offered a second prayer on the new water, and delivered it to the waiting members.

Our row was last to receive the water this time, and I noticed that Doug offered the couple next to him the two remaining cups. The tray was empty, and it appeared to me that Doug was the only one in the congregation who hadn’t had the water. I wondered what he would do. Would he let it go? not worry about it this week?

Assuming that everyone had now received the water, those who were passing the sacrament partook of the water themselves, using all the remaining cups. But the bishop asked one more time if anyone had not received the water, and Doug raised his hand. He was, as I suspected, the only one. He looked at me and we smiled, conscious of the craned necks and curious eyes.

The brethren returned to the table for a third prayer on the water. And suddenly, as I heard that phrase “to bless and sanctify this water to the souls of all those who drink of it” (D&C 20:79), a realization crept into my heart—an understanding so keen it pried me clear open and God’s Spirit swept in. It was a reverence I hadn’t felt in too long.

They were praying over one cup. For one person. One soul.

The sacrament mattered. Even for one. Just as the Atonement mattered. For one.

For everyone.

Hundreds of members waited for the “amen.” Dozens watched as the last cup was delivered to my husband, and he put it to his lips, and drank.

I had to look away, my eyes were so wet.

I looked up in time to see these sweet men in suits cover the trays with white linen. Just as Christ’s body, broken for us, was covered. Just as His Atonement covers us. All of us.

You and I are indisputably tied to Christ’s suffering. All our sins, grief, hurts, and losses are held in the drops of His blood. He said He has “graven [us] upon the palms of [His] hands” (Isaiah 49:16*).

The emotion of watching Doug take the last sacrament cup changed me, changed my understanding of the Atonement.
Our Redeemer, the Mighty One of Israel, broke not just bread, but body and soul. For me. For you. As if we were the only ones who mattered.




*  Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.

The Best of Any Man, Is What Is Found In The Heart

 Shoes in Church

I showered and shaved................ I adjusted my tie.

I got there and sat................ In a pew just in time.

Bowing my head in prayer............ As I closed my eyes.

I saw the shoe of the man next to me....... Touching my own. I sighed.

With plenty of room on either side......... I thought, 'Why must our soles touch?'

It bothered me, his shoe touching mine.. But it didn't bother him much.

A prayer began: 'Our Father'............. I thought,

 'This man with the shoes, has no pride. 

They’re dusty, worn, and scratched.  

Even worse, there are holes on the side!'

'Thank You for blessings,' the prayer went on.

The shoe man said................. A quiet 'Amen.'

I tried to focus on the prayer....... But my thoughts were on his shoes again..

Aren't we supposed to look our best. When walking through that door?

'Well, this certainly isn't it,' I thought, glancing toward the floor.

Then the prayer was ended............ And the songs of praise began .

The shoe man was certainly loud..... Sounding proud as he sang.

His voice lifted the rafters........ His hands were raised high.

The Lord could surely hear.. The shoe man's voice from the sky.

It was time for the offering........ And what I threw in was steep.

I watched as the shoe man reached.... Into his pockets so deep.

I saw what was pulled out.......... What the shoe man put in.

Then I heard a soft 'clink' as when silver hits tin.

The sermon really bored me.......... To tears, and that's no lie.

It was the same for the shoe man... For tears fell from his eyes.

At the end of the service........ As is the custom here.

We must greet new visitors, And show them all good cheer.

But I felt moved somehow........... And wanted to meet the shoe man.

So after the closing prayer........ I reached over and shook his hand.

He was old and his skin was dark..... And his hair was truly a mess.....

But I thanked him for coming.......... For being our guest...

He said, 'My name’s Charlie............ I'm glad to meet you, my friend.'

There were tears in his eyes......... But he had a large, wide grin..

'Let me explain,' he said............. Wiping tears from his eyes.

'I've been coming here for months...... And you're the first to say 'Hi.''

'I know that my appearance...........Is not like all the rest.

'But I really do try....................To always look my best.'

'I always clean and polish my shoes...Before my very long walk.'

'But by the time I get here........They're dirty and dusty, like chalk.'

My heart filled with pain............ And I swallowed to hide my tears.

As he continued to apologize.......... For daring to sit so near

He said, 'When I get here............ I know I must look a sight.'

'But I thought if I could touch you....Then maybe our souls might unite.'

I was silent for a moment............. Knowing whatever was said

Would pale in comparison.... I spoke from my heart, not my head.

'Oh, you've touched me,' I said.......'And taught me, in part'

'That the best of any man..............Is what is found in his heart.'

The rest, I thought,............... This shoe man will never know.

Like just how thankful I really am.... That his dirty old shoe touched my soul.

Live each day as your last, for we never know our time here on earth. Love and Peace My Friends and remember that it is not how we look on the outside but how we look within .

Can't Attend Church With Hypocrites Anymore

A lady went to the Bishop and said, "I won't be attending church anymore."

He said, "May I ask why?"

She said, " I see people on their cell phones texting and typing during the service, some are gossiping, some just aren't living right, some are sleeping, some are staring at me, they are all just hypocrites."

The bishop was silent. Then he said, "Can I ask you to do something for me before you make your final decision?"

She said, "Sure, whats that?"

He said, "Take a glass of water and walk around the church two times and don't let any water fall out of the glass." She said, "Yes, I can do that!" She went and got a glass of water and walked around the church two times. She came back and proudly said, "It's done."

The bishop asked her, "Did you see anybody on their phone?; Did you see anyone gossiping?; Was anybody living wrong?; Did you see anyone sleeping?" She said, "I didn't see anything because I was so focused on this glass, so the water didn't spill out."

He told her, "When you come to church, you should just focus on the Savior, so that you don't fall. That's why Jesus said, "Come follow me, He did not say follow Mormons."

Don't let your relationship with God be determined by how others relate with God. Let it be determined by how focused you are with God.

Meet The Mormons - Bless 4 - Touching Rendition of "I Am A Child Of God"

I Am a Child of God 

Meet the Mormons: New Faces / New Stories

A popular Japanese musical group records 

"I Am a Child of God" 

to add a new segment to 

"Meet the Mormons" 

seen in Temple Visitor Centers.

One of the siblings is on a 

mission in Los Angles and joins 

in the recording from a 

recording studio in LA.  

Religious Freedom

Learn about religious freedom and what you can do to protect it.

On the church website -

https://www.lds.org/religious-freedom?lang=eng&cid=rdb_v_religious-freedom_eng

Elder Oaks Encourages Members to Understand, Promote Religious Freedom posted on Sept 11, 2016

https://www.lds.org/church/news/elder-oaks-encourages-members-to-understand-promote-religious-freedom?lang=eng

Our Country's REAL Christian Roots

http://forwardsfun.blogspot.com/2012/07/our-countrys-real-christian-roots.html

Heavenly Father's Many Wonderful Creations In Absolute Order!

This is really interesting…

When GOD solves our problems,

we have faith in HIS abilities.

When GOD doesn't solve our problems,

HE has faith in our abilities.

One may observe God's accuracy in the hatching of eggs…

those of the Canary in 14 days;

those of the Barnyard Hen in 21 days;

Eggs of Ducks and Geese in 28 days;

those of the Mallard in 35 days;

Eggs of the Parrot and the Ostrich hatch in 42 days. 

(Notice, they are all divisible by seven, the number of days in a week!)

See God's Wisdom in the making of an Elephant…

The four legs of this great beast

all bend forward in the same direction.

No other quadruped is so made.

God planned that this animal would have a huge body  …  too large to live on two legs.

For this reason He gave it four fulcrums so that it can rise from the ground easily.

The Horse rises from the ground on its two front legs first.

A Cow rises from the ground with its two hind legs first.

How wise the Lord is in all His works of Creation!

Each Watermelon has an even number of stripes on the Rind. 

Each Orange has an even number of segments.

Each ear of Corn has an even number of rows.

Each stalk of Wheat has an even number of grains. 

Every bunch of Bananas has on its lowest row an even number of Bananas,

and each row decreases by one, so that one row has an even number and the next row an odd number.

Amazing!    There's more… 

The Waves of the Sea roll in on shore

Twenty-six to the Minute in all kinds of weather. 

All Grains are found in even numbers on the stalks.

God has caused the Flowers to Blossom at certain specified times during the day.

Linnaeus, the Great Botanist, once said that if he had a Conservatory containing the right kind of Soil, Moisture, and Temperature, he could tell the Time of Day or Night by the Flowers that were Open and those that were Closed.

The Lives of each of us may be ordered by the Lord in a Beautiful Way for His Glory, if we will only Entrust Him with our Lives. If we try to Regulate our own Lives, we will have only Mess and Failure.  Only God, who made our Brains and Hearts, can Successfully Guide them to a Profitable End.  

When you carry the Bible, Satan has a Headache; when you Open it, he Collapses. When he sees you Reading it, he loses his Strength, and when you Stand on the Word of God, Satan can't Hurt you!

Life without God is like an Unsharpened pencil - it has no Point.  I pray God bless you in ways you never even Dreamed.

How We “Preach of Christ” in Our Home

By Darren E. Schmidt
The author lives in Utah, USA.

“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” 

(2 Nephi 25:26).

During Easter time one year, my wife suggested that we read as a familythe scriptural accounts of the Savior’s final week in mortality. Each night at bedtime, we read the New Testament and showed our children a short video clip of each event and discussed questions that arose. I was amazed at the questions our children brought up as well as the Spirit that permeated our home during our reading and discussions.

At the conclusion of the week, I felt a more profound gratitude and love toward the Savior, having reflected much on His sacrifice and the eternal consequences that result from all that He went through for us. Along with my own stirrings, I knew my wife had been inspired, and I sensed a deeper understanding and love for the Savior in our children as well as a greater desire to demonstrate Christlike demeanor toward one another.

Since then we have explored other ways that we might “talk of Christ” and “preach of Christ” more in our conversations and lessons, knowing that by building upon a foundation of Jesus Christ, we are promised great resistance against the storms of life (see Helaman 5:12).

Make the Savior the Focus of Your Teaching

One of the things we have discovered is that when we bring the Savior’s example and teachings into our family discussions and interactions, they have become much more powerful and purposeful. To use an analogy from the Savior Himself, He taught, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit” (John 15:5). If we apply this analogy to our teaching, we teach gospel principles not as unrelated ideas but as appendages of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, as the prophet Joseph Smith declared them to be.1 This is how we make the Savior the focus of our instruction and not just merely leaves that we have plucked from His true vine.

If we make Him the center of our instruction, we are promised nourishment, strength, and growth, including fruit-bearing branches—in other words, that our discussions and lessons will have greater converting power and long-term results. One way that we have found to do this is to teach a gospel principle and then ask our children a question such as “How did Jesus demonstrate this principle or teaching?” or “What did the Lord say or teach about this very thing?”

An Example of Teaching about Prayer

For example, let’s say that you are teaching the importance of prayer. You might use Doctrine and Covenants 10:5, where we are instructed to “pray always,” or Nephi’s counsel that the “evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray” (2 Nephi 32:8). These scriptures teach the doctrine of prayer powerfully. As you discuss them, let’s say you ask something like “How did the Savior pray?” or “What were the Savior’s prayers like?” If you have younger children, you might ask, “What do you think the Savior’s prayers were like?”

Take a moment to think of how you might personally answer this question by considering the scriptural accounts that come to mind. I think immediately of the Savior’s visit to the Americas, when “he prayed unto the Father, and the things which he prayed cannot be written. … Eye hath never seen, neither hath the ear heard, before, so great and marvelous things as we saw and heard Jesus speak unto the Father” (3 Nephi 17:15–16).

Later in the account we discover that the people tried to pattern their prayers after His and as a result “did not multiply many words, for it was given unto them what they should pray, and they were filled with desire”(3 Nephi 19:24; emphasis added). At this point, you might invite your children to share a time when they were filled with a desire to pray, or you could share a time when you were given the very words to say while praying. Then you could testify of how different a prayer is when it is given this way, as the Savior taught.

Think of the difference you could have on your children if they were to act on the principles of prayer found in these verses and in the testimonies you and they have borne. Think how this could improve their ability to feel and recognize the Spirit, magnify their callings, give priesthood blessings, and later raise a family of their own, being directed by the same Spirit that “teacheth a man to pray” (2 Nephi 32:8).

If the Savior’s example or teachings were left out of this instruction, we could still have a good discussion on prayer, but including His example and teachings adds greater depth and power.

Gospel-Centered Artwork

Another thing we have sought to do to establish a more Christ-centered home is to have pictures of Christ, the temple, and other gospel-related things where they can readily be seen and where our children can know what is truly important to us.

A few years ago, while sitting with our children at tithing settlement, our bishop invited our 10-year-old son to take a small picture of the Savior and decide where in our home to place it, where it would be a constant reminder of our family’s commitment to follow Him. After returning home, he placed the picture on the front door, where, our son said, “each of us would see it the most.” This has been a great blessing and constant reminder to all of us every day in a small but powerful way of our promises to follow Jesus Christ.

Regardless of where pictures are placed in your home, it would be worth the effort to note the pictures on the walls and the messages you are sending to your children. Is the art in your home portraying the message that you are committed to following Christ?

Other Ways to Teach of Christ

I admit I have laughed on more than one occasion when one of my children has asked me if Jesus was tougher than a cartoon superhero, yet I have found that my child’s inquiry has always made for a great discussion about what makes the Savior superior to a superhero. Along with everyday conversations such as these, here are a few additional ideas that you might consider in order to make your home more Christ-centered:

• Use the Book of Mormon to teach your children about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The word Atonement or atone appears 39 times in the Book of Mormon.
• Use Mormon Messages videos, Bible videos, and other Church media that teach of Jesus Christ to enhance your family home evening lessons and scripture studies.
• Learn and sing the hymns about the Savior together and discuss their teachings and meanings.
• Find ways to emphasize that prophets are powerful witnesses of Jesus Christ.
• Seek consistently to improve your own relationship with the Savior.

I have come to know through careful study and fervent prayer that Jesus Christ lives and that His great gift of the Atonement is real and gives our lives, and the lives of those we love, meaning and purpose, with the grand and glorious hope that our families can and will be ours for eternity. May each of us realize the great importance of establishing a Christ-centered home, recognizing “that there is no other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ” (Alma 38:9).

Note  
  1.  See Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007), 49–50.