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| Dining room |
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| part of kitchen |
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| boys bath |
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| boys room |
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| playroom |
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| master bath |
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| master bedroom |
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| Girls bath |
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| Aubree's room |
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| Living room |
Friday, April 27, 2012
New Home
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Jake's talk on the Ressurrection
Resurrection
About eleven years ago I had a plan. For about three days I designed one of the most romantic proposals known to man. I had decided that my proposal would need to provide an adequate shock. However, I was certain that Renee was already quite confident that she won me over. I would need to shake her confidence in order to provide the required shock. Therefore, step one was to act totally disinterested on the day of the proposal. Romantic, I know. Also, the proposal would have to be at the perfect place. I knew the perfect place. My Eagle Scout project site would provide the romantic backdrop to the perfect proposal. Also, it would have to be at the perfect time. Sunsets in New Mexico provided the perfect time.
So the day arrived to implement “The Plan”. I asked Renee if she would like to go to Carlsbad Caverns with me, not really caring if she said yes or no. Naturally, she said yes. The hour and a half drive was uneventful on purpose. I kept the conversation light and unmeaningful. Then, we went to the caverns. The entire time she wanted to hold my hand, but I really was not interested. In fact, I think it was becoming obvious that I really did not want to be around her. So romantic. Then, we got in the car to return home. We were running a little early so I took her on some back roads around the caverns. It was on these back roads that I could tell that her confidence was shaken. Everything was working out perfectly. Then I learned something about Renee. As I came to a stop on one of these roads, Renee got out of the car. She sat herself on a rock. Despite my pleas to get back in the car, she said, “I am not getting back in the car until you tell me what is going on!” Man, this woman is stubborn. To my shock, my perfect plan was being unraveled. So at the place and time of Renee’s choosing, I knelt on one knee and asked her to marry me. After she said yes, it took her about half a second, I started to tell her my plan. I even took her to the place where the perfect proposal was to take place. My Eagle Scout project sat in the middle of the hot desert, in a pit, next to an oil pump, among the cow pies. “You were going to propose to me here?” was her response. I knew what she was really saying was “This is the place.”
Life can be like my plan at times. Sometimes we may think we know the path, but we may not be able to foresee all the twists, turns, or challenges that may arise. In fact the only perfect plan is the plan designed by our Father in Heaven. This plan has several different names, but my favorite is the plan of happiness.
This plan was presented to us when we lived with our Father before we were born. As part of the plan, we would come to earth to receive a body and to learn to apply the atonement that Renee spoke of in our lives. Only by doing this could we become more like our Father and obtain everything that He has. After our time on earth, our spirits and mortal bodies would separate through death. Our spirits would then await the time of resurrection.
THE STING OF DEATH
Despite being part of the plan, death rarely seems to be a happy occasion. It can strike anyone at any age. Sometimes death calls upon a caring grandparent, a young mother, or a best friend. It may even remove from the home the sound of a young child’s laughter. It may leave in its wake thoughts of memories never created, times never enjoyed, and dreams never achieved.
Death first impacted my life about nine years ago, though it feels like it has only been a few weeks. I recorded in my journal,
This morning Brother Traylor called. Travis and Wendy were killed in a car accident late last night. This comes at the time I am attending my Grandpa Farrell’s memorial.
To date, I still believe this is the most devastating news I have ever received. One of the first things I did was call his phone just to hear his voice again. This is Travis, leave a message. I love you man. My thoughts turned to his dying moments and I could only imagine the love he had for his wife.
I wrote again in my journal,
My heart at times, literally hurts. I hurt.
Losing my best friend was not part of my plan. Death was not part of my plan. However, it is part of the plan of happiness. This is the plan we accepted when we lived with our Heavenly Father before we came to earth.
DEATH IS THE DOOR HOME
Elder Nelson taught of our premortal knowledge of death. He said, “but we regarded the returning home as the best part of that long-awaited trip, just as we do now. Before embarking on any journey, we like to have some assurance of a round-trip ticket. Returning from earth to life in our heavenly home requires passage through—and not around—the doors of death. We were born to die, and we die to live. (See 2 Cor. 6:9.) As seedlings of God, we barely blossom on earth; we fully flower in heaven.”
DEATH IS THE SEPARATION OF SPIRIT AND BODY
If birth is the union of the spirit to a body, then death is the separation of that spirit from the body. On the day of Travis and Wendy’s funeral I wrote,
If there is one thing that life and love testify to us, it is that this is not the end. I saw Travis and Wendy today, but it was not them. Tabernacles of flesh are nothing without the spirit.
CHRIST LOOSED THE BANDS OF DEATH
For me one of the sweetest doctrines of the gospel is that death is not the end. Amulek taught, “Now, there is a death which is called a temporal death; and the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from this temporal death.
The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time…
Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost, but everything shall be restored to its perfect frame (Alma 11: 42-44).”
How is this possible? Jesus said, “Behold we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,
And shall deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again (Matthew 20:18-19).”
Jesus would arrive in Jerusalem celebrated by those who would scorn him just a week later. They laid palms before Christ as He entered Jerusalem, but would later cry, “Let Him be crucified (Matthew 27:22).” Even Pilate asked, “What evil hath He done? But they cried out the more, Let Him be crucified.”
This was part of the plan. Jesus gave Himself to be the atoning sacrifice for all mankind. This He did willingly. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus said, “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, Thy will be done (Matthew 26:42).”
Even on the cross Christ had the power to save Himself. He also had the power to give His life. After suffering on the cross for hours He cried, “Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit (Luke 23:46).” Christ gave Himself for us.
His disciples felt the sting of death at this time. Even though Christ had taught them of His resurrection, their grief overwhelmed them. On the third after His death, Mary Magdalene went to the sepulcher where His body laid. There an angel of the Lord descended and declared, “He is not here: for He is risen (Matthew 28:6).”
Today we sing: He Lives! All glory to His name! He lives, my Savior, still the same. Oh sweet the joy this sentence gives: “I know that My Redeemer lives!”
CHRIST REMOVES THE STING OF DEATH
My brother gave an analogy concerning how Christ removes the sting of death. He had my brother and I hold hands. He spoke how this was symbolic of our relationship here on earth. Then he separated our hands symbolizing death. Then he spoke how our Savior is a bridge over death. He took both mine and my brothers hands in his, thus reuniting us in a single chain.
After my friends death I recorded,
“I want to hold onto everything that reminds me of them. I want to incorporate those things so it may seem that we are still connected.”
I can tell you today that our communication has been severed, but that our relationship has not. Elder Eyring quoted from Doctrine and Covenants section 130 verse 2: “And that same asociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with beternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy.”
It took me some time after my friend’s death to gain a testimony of this principle. For years after his death I hoped that he was still alive, and hoped that I would see him again. Then, while sitting at stake conference in the Walnut Grove building the thought came to my mind that my friend was still alive. The spirit testified to me that my friend indeed does live as a spirit awaiting the resurrection. That was only possible if Christ was resurrected. If Christ had not been resurrected than death would have victory, and we would rise no more.
Joseph Smith testified of the Savior’s resurrection. “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—“
TESTIMONY
Renee''s talk on the Atonement
Applying the Atonement
It is not uncommon for me to feel nervous or anxious when asked to give a talk but this talk seems a little more so than normal. Maybe for two possible reasons, I know that we are soon departing from this ward family or because today is a holiday, not just any holiday, the holiday that merely focus on the resurrection of our Savior. Christmas is wonderful because we celebrate the birth of our Savior and are grateful for his life. Easter, is a time to contemplate, exactly what He did for us individually, with the events leading to his death and the power He had to overcome death. He lived, died, rose again, and in reality lives for us still today.
Many of you here know that I am a mother, a mother of four active children, my four reasons that when I die, I can say I left this world a better place. There is nothing I want more than for my children to have a good life: a life where they feel loved, cared for, and their needs our met. Motherhood has taught me a plethora of life lessons, even from the beginning. Upon discovering that Jake and I were expecting our first child, a silent battle began: a battle that hospitalized me multiple times and made life unbearable at times for Jake and me, or it seemed unbearable. We had not been married too long, were living in New Mexico and in a new ward for me, so I had not yet established a relationship with my new ward. How were they to know that it was just not my personality to be un-noticed or miss church? There was even a point, while I lay helpless in a hospital bed that my husband was told that the baby or myself may not pull through the next couple months. I can only imagine the feeling of my husband, yet, I wanted nothing more than to give my unborn child life and to make the man of my dreams a father. We survived, and who would have guessed that we would do it three more times, despite the advice of different doctors, however each time became a little more bearable. And I do not regret our decision ever. After the birth of our second child, she became ill and after many tests in the hospital they were uncertain as to why. Days later, we received a phone call that test conclusions let the physicians to diagnose her with salmonella. What? How in the world? But, I knew her poor belly hurt and felt relief that she soon would be given medication since they knew what she was being treated for and this would help my sweet.
Much like, I wanted to anything I could do to give life unto my first child and ease the pains of my second, our Father in Heaven wants to do the exact thing for each of us individually. He also wants us not to feel alone, like I did for several months in New Mexico. The love that our father in heaven has for us must be incomprehensible that he was willing to offer the sacrifice of one of his children for his other children. And oh the love, that Jesus Christ has for us that he was willing to live and die for us. Many people often do not grasp the full concept of the atonement of Christ and believe it is merely for the sinner but are we not all sinners. I stand before you today to testify that the Atonement is for the saint and the sinner and equally as important that it is for me and for you alone. When I reflect on the atonement, I divide into four parts. The powers are: resurrection, redemption, healing, and strengthening.
Because Jesus Christ died and raised again, each person that has ever lived with have the opportunity to be resurrected, to live again. The other areas of the atonement are also free gifts but we must accept them, work for them, and live for them. The price has already been paid for our shortcomings and sins through the Savior’s suffering in Gethsemane. We can all be forgiven and redeemed from the fall of Adam to be able to live with our Heavenly Father again. Those two powers, resurrection and redemption, seem to be more common knowledge among people, so I would like to spend the remainder of my talk focusing on the two not so obvious, healing and strengthening. On my mission, I had a companion that always shared the same spiritual thought when we left a home. The thought came from the book of Alma and up until serving with this sister, it had not occurred to me that the atonement was so much more. The scripture is found in Alma 7:11-12:
“And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions
and temptations of every kind; and this that the word
might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him
the pains and sicknesses of his people.”
She proceeded to explain that every hardship we endure the Savior endured it for us. It was a few years later, when I was pregnant with my first that I grasped this concept…that I needed the atonement of the Savior for my everyday life. I needed the strength and support that comes with it. When Jake and I were given the assigned topics and left to choose between the two of us, whom would cover which topic, I contemplated both topics, and one evening last week, when I arrived home from work, Jake expressed the one he preferred and not by coincidence, earlier that evening I had the same thought. So, topics were chosen and I knew I could relate the previous two stories. Later, as I was reading the Ensign this week, a talk very similar stood out. Elder Bednar teaches us that the atonement increases our capacity to overcome desires of the flesh and temptations. He continues “it is one thing to know that Jesus Christ came to earth to die for us- that is fundamental and foundational to the doctrine of Christ. But we also need to appreciate that the Lord desires, through His Atonement and by the power of the Holy Ghost, to live in us- not only to direct us but also to empower us.” It provides help for us to overcome and avoid bad and to do good and become good. The enabling power of the Atonement strengthens us to do and be good and to serve beyond our own individual desire and natural capacity.
Not too long ago, we were speaking with one of our friends, this was a very good person but they were having difficulties with another person. Unfortunately, it is not always easy like everyone or to agree with them. After a brief conversation, I challenged our friend to pray for their heart to be softened towards the person that offended them and to pray for the other person by name. A few days passed and we were speaking with our friend, they expressed that almost immediately after or maybe even during their prayer that evening, they felt a comforted and it worked. It was a manifestation in their life of the Spirit. I testify to you today that it was not only Spirit comforting that person but it was the Atonement becoming applicable in their live as well. The Atonement of Christ “healed” them, maybe not physically but it “healed” emotionally and spiritually, There is nothing more than the Father and Savior want than for us to utilize the saving power of the Atonement. The scriptures teach us that the desire of our Heavenly Father is to save the souls of man, we read in Moses 1:39 “For behold this is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” The Atonement is the only way that mission can be accomplished.
Last Sunday in general conference, Elder Uchtdorf, expressed some of the individual desires that we have and counseled us the solution. A bumper sticker saying, now famous among Latter Day Saints states: “Don’t judge me because I sin differently than you” and proceeded to state: When it comes to hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding grudges, or wanting to cause harm, please apply the following... STOP IT!
The solution to “stop it”, seems easy but we need the atonement to empower us to achieve this goal. The atonement of the Savior has a personal application to each person individually. Pregnancy was the first time that I recall a dependency upon the atonement. I learned, as Elder Bednar taught that “as you and I come to understand and employ the enabling power of the atonement in our personal lives, we will pray for strength to change our circumstances rather than praying for our circumstances to be changed.” Our afflictions and shortcomings will not be removed but we will have the strength to bear them or deal with them. Through the power of the atonement, we find strength to do things we could never do on our own. It is imperative that we rely on the atonement in every aspect of our life.
“The grace of Christ is manifest in every aspect of the Atonement—in deliverance from physical death and deliverance from fallen mortality. That is, the Savior delivers us from both the grave and ourselves—from carnality as well as from our carelessness and inadequacies. In short, the Atonement is not just for sinners: "The Atonement not only pays for our sins, it heals our wounds—the self-inflicted ones and those inflicted from sources beyond our control. The Atonement also completes the process of our learning by perfecting our nature and making us whole. In this way, Christ's Atonement makes us as he is".
Brad Wilcox explains how Christ's Atonement is not something we only need once in awhile but continuously throughout our lives, and that it's always available to us, no matter how often we sin. "If we view the Atonement as only a way to be resurrected after we die, what motivates us to live? If we view the Atonement as only a way to clean up after the messes we have made, what motivates us to avoid making messes? If we view the Atonement as only a comforting support when we deal with hurts and illnesses, why are we required to go through such trials in the first place? What motivates us to learn from those experiences rather than just endure them? In each case, the answers we seek are found only as we look beyond Christ's saving role to His redeeming role. As Latter-day Saints, we know not only what Jesus saved us from but also what He redeemed us for. We must be renewed, refined, and ultimately perfected in Him"
It is my prayer that we each apply the atoning blood of the Savior in our lives, all four aspects or powers of it: healing, strengthening, resurrection, and redemption. May we receive the strengthening power of His sacrifice in our silent battles and overcome them. Jesus Christ is not just our Savior but He is also our Redeemer. May we become renewed, refined, and perfected through Him.
Easter 2012
Easter was great here in the Farrell home this year. The Easter bunny came Saturday evening while we were outside watching the Bible videos of the Savior's life. Jake and I were asked to be the speakers on Sunday and after church we went to my parents for the dinner with the family. Papaw was there too, so it was a nice day. It will be the last Easter dinner in the home I was raised in as they are getting a new home. Michael and Amy came down that week to search for a home too. We are looking forward to them moving here.
As for our new home, we are hoping to close this coming week. We are excited but there are many things that I will miss about our place here. We have brought two sweet baby boys home from the hospital here and my girls have began to become little ladies. This has been a good home for us and a good ward. Jake has been in the bishopric going on four years and that calling has been wonderful for him.
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