Living Responsibly...

When I consider my life and the many, many detours I have taken on my journey, I have to ask myself if I have been living responsibly?  Have I studied the scriptures diligently to find answers to the many questions that have perplexed me through my life?  Have I followed the counsel of the First Presidency in conducting myself as the Lord would have me act?

My answer to these two questions is a resounding no, not always.  What is our responsibility to our God, to our parents, to our ancestors, to our leaders who pray for us daily?  Am I just an island, all by myself in this great universe?  Do I have to answer only to myself for my actions?  I have a desire to address these two questions, not only for myself, but for the readers who might visit here.

We all were sent here to this earth to fulfill a sacred mission.  It is my belief that each and every one of us came here number one, to obtain a body, and number two to work our way through cloudy examples to live as Heavenly Father would have us live...to learn the things He has revealed through various Prophets throughout the history of our world.  And to one day return to live with Him.  He did not leave us alone here to flounder.  He gave us messages...hints, if you will...that would guide us to the right path that leads back to Him.  It was through Him that our Scriptures were preserved so the whole world could have access to them.

He gave us parents, who were also on the path to return to our Heavenly Father.  They were the first teachers we would have and our responsibility to them would be to listen and learn.  Likewise, many generations came before us.  If we learn about them and their struggles, we should also have the responsibility to follow them.

Three significant things happened along the path that led us here.  The first, was in the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve (our first parents), using the agency given them from The Father, chose to disobey Father and partake of the "Forbidden Fruit."  The world calls this "The Fall of Adam" and places that sin on the heads of each and every one of us.  But, The Church of Jesus Christ does not see it that way.  In order for our Father in Heaven to complete His plan for us on this earth, we had to have a way to get here.  Had Adam and Eve not partaken of the forbidden fruit, we could not have come.

The second event of significance, in my mind (and in the minds of many of us) was the coming of our Savior in the meridian of time to rescue us from the consequences of "The Fall."  Because Adam and Eve disobeyed Father, they were cast out of the garden and would not dwell in His presence (the first death-spiritual death) and being mortal now, they must experience a physical death.  Jesus Christ rescued each of us from these consequences.  He died--he paid the ultimate price and willingly made the sacrifice--so that we might live...eternally.

The third thing that had to happen for us in these last days, was for the former Church of Jesus Christ (established by Him during His earthly ministry) to be restored to the earth.  It had been lost with the deaths of the Apostles (the heads of the Church in their time).  Joseph Smith was the prophesied Prophet who would bring about this restoration, and thus on April 6, 1830, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was officially organized.

I shall be eternally grateful for the blessings that have been delivered to me in my life for the responsible acts of many who have come before me.  From a very early age, I have known that "a large part" of the genealogy for my family would be done by me.  I am sorry to say that I have shirked that responsibility through the years.  But the Spirit of Elijah has prompted me to search my ancestors diligently...find their stories...and make sure that it is published into a book that can be passed down to many generations.  Three of my ancestors have already done a great deal of the work for me, but I find their works bulky and probably wouldn't be read by many of my great-grandchildren.  Like Nephi of old, I am a simple woman, with simple words and it is my desire to get these words down for generations to come.  If we don't write our own histories, who will?

Elder Allan F. Packer of the Seventy said this, "Each of us has some stories in our lives that are worth recording and worth remembering that are inspirational and can be motivational and helpful for future generations."  That is my challenge to myself...to be more responsible in these actions.

The theme of the past year's Women's General Conference was, "By small and simple things are great things brought to pass." (Alma 36:6-7)  What a wonderful statement that is.  I just pray that my small, responsible contribution to the effort of bringing my own family history alive, will have everlasting and great consequences for all who follow me.