LDS Resources

Mr. Patriot, Leader (age 8) and I took an unexpected trip back east again this past week.  Mr. Patriot's grandfather died, but he lived to the age of 86 and had a full life.  It was a fast trip and it  involved a lot of driving.  Usually we fly, but this time we drove.  We were gone six nights and three of those nights were spent in the car driving.  Not so fun. 

We were able to enjoy some Church History stops along the way.  Some we could not see due to time restraints and the fact that it was two AM when we were driving by some of them.

Here we are at the Sacred Grove for the second time in six weeks.  I love this place... (Leader apparently was smiling silly).

We were also able to visit Kirtland; what another wonderful place.  I was especially impressed and blessed to stand in the small room above the Newel K. Whitney store where the "School of the Prophets" was held and section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants was revealed (among many other marvelous things).  Below is Thankful Pratt's, wife of Parley P. Pratt, headstone; one of the many courageous women of the Restoration.

I am so very grateful for all the historical sites that the church maintains.  Here is a list of them.  I have been able to see many of them.  I have always been blessed with an out pouring of the Spirit as I've visited these places.  I encourage you to make plans to see them in your lifetime!

I have also been enjoying the Mormon Channel.  There are so many thought-provoking interviews from church leaders.  There are also inspiring stories of many others.  I have also been enjoying the Relief Society History interviews. When I have a chance I'll download a couple that look interesting and then listen do them later during family work time.

As most of you know the church as a new version of a family favorite: Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration.  They have changed 40% of the movie to help reach a non-LDS audience.  You can learn about the changes to the film and other information in this news article.  The movie is available for download on the Mormon Channel and YouTube.  You can access it off of the news article or on this link. We were able to share this as part of a FHE lesson with a part-member family we had over a week and a half a go. They enjoyed it very much.  They had their first missionary discussion at our house last night one hour after we got home! I recommend this to you!

I am grateful for these resources that compliment my scripture study in increasing my faith and personal righteousness.

Books for Teaching/Learning Government

I recently read the book, "10 Books Every Conservative Must Read: Plus Four Not to Miss and One Impostor" by Benjamin Wiker, Ph.D. Dr. Wiker presents a book list that would be worthy reads for those pursing further study in government. I appreciated his list of four extra reads-which are fictional literature-that portray the values of conservatism. One book shows women embracing the role of marriage and nurturing and another book shows men acting in courage to protect their family and their lands. The correlation between living strong moral values and having limited government were intertwined. I understood more deeply the importance of moral character in public life. We have slipped from this.

With each book he presents a short biography on the author, information about the work itself that he choose and why the author's message should still be impactful today. Dr. Wiker's writing may provide help as a mentor of sorts to wade through difficult readings. His thoughts were particularly helpful to me recently as I reread "The Abolition of Man." Perhaps you will find this list helpful. Here is his book list:

1. "The Politics" by Aristotle
2. "Orthodoxy" by Gilbert Keith Chesterton
3. "The New Science of Politics" by Eric Voegelin
4. "The Abolition of Man" by C.S. Lewis
5. "Reflections on the Revolution in France" by Edmund Burke
6. "Democracy in America" by Alexis de Tocqueville
7. "The Federalist Papers" by Hamilton, Madison, Jay
8. "The Anti-Federalist"
9. "The Servile State" by Hilaire Belloc
10. "The Road to Serfdom" by Friedrich August Von Hayek

Here are is four not to miss:

1. "The Tempest" by Shakespeare
2. "Sense and Sensibility" by Jane Austen
3. "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien
4. "The Jerusalem Bible"

I will let you discover his imposter for yourselves. He makes a great case against its use to teach conservatism. Besides the fact that is devoid of all moral codes.

Sword Play

I've mentioned before that I want our boys to grow up to be real men.  I want them to learn how to respect and defend women and children.  I want them to be tough and brave. Thomas Jefferson said, "virtue is not hereditary." (Read more good quotes here). Therefore I must teach them.  It is hard finding things that will help them do this!  For Christmas we bought the boys, "high impact battle swords."  We love them.  You have to be tough to play with them.  No whining.  We purchased them from Vision Forum.  Here is the link and you simply must watch the video demonstration.