Christopher is my husband. I call him Chup on my own blog. Anyway, Christopher (my husband) is a quiet guy, unless he is talking about high-end sports cars, but generally he keeps things on the down low.I, on the other hand, suffer from an Unquiet Heart and I “Go Tell It On the Mountian” to quote my least favorite Christmas song (no hard feelings) to anyone and everyone.
I explain all of this because I am recommending something that we are doing in our family. It’s a ritual called family scriptures and prayer. We try to pray in the morning and at night, on our knees, together. Also, at some point in the day we talk about doctrine we’re learning in our specific spots in the Book of Mormon. We technically don’t read the scriptures together, which is something that we’d like to do, for right now, our gospel discussion is (hard) working.
We’ve done a spotty job in the past. A couple months ago something clicked, and the energy we devoted elsewhere was re-routed to this new endeavor. We’re still not perfectly consistent, but we’re doing the old Try, Try Again. Also sometimes I talk Christopher into letting me pray lying down, cause I am too tired to kneel. Kneeling is a very energy-consuming activity. (I am taking Ginseng supplements.)
I must include in my testimonial, that family scripture study and prayer is hard work, which probably multiplies with more family members. You will most likely get the most cranky you’ve ever been moments before engaging in such behavior. This mood might expand, so that the last thing on this green-grassed planet you will want to do is read anything holy and/or pray. You’ve probably heard the quote by Brigham Young “It matters not whether you or I feel like praying; when the time comes to pray, pray. If we do not feel like it, we should pray till we do.” As much as I fight that statement, it’s true.
I am recommending the whole thing today because I’ve seen results! We are happier, have more energy, and the universe seems to be tipping its hat to us. It’s so good in fact, I am starting to think about the other commandments. Maybe I should really look into Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy or canceling my Graven Images subscription. Please pass the happiness!
Seriously, Ceej!
If they sold prayer at Whole Foods, it would be all the rage.
Because it’s better than organic - it’s intrinsic.
And I hear you about the kneeling. It exhausts me just thinking about it. (Have you had your thyroid checked ’cause that’s my excuse!)
Thanks for the infomercial. I have this image of a late-night half-hour show full of taped testimonials, and heck, even before and after pictures.
We do two verses per person in our family, which comes out to be ten verses a night. We have made it through the Book of Mormon once, and are in 3 Nephi on our second time. It’s slow. Slow, slow, slow. But it’s all our kids can digest. Also it only takes ten minutes this way.
What I wonder is how many of the many blessings we receive are related to our family scripture study? It’s hard for me to pick out a blessing and find a direct correlation. Do my kids get along pretty well together because of the Book of Mormon? Or is that just how they would be anyway? Are they learning to read well because of the Book of Mormon? Or would they have picked up on that anyway? Is it important to notice which commandment obeyed gets you which blessing? Mostly I just notice the blessings, and am grateful for them.
I am very behind on my commenting, but I will start here! I have to give a talk on (sorta) this topic and I agree, if you wait until you FEEL like doing it, it just may never happen. It always requires effort, but so worth it in the end. That’s our motto, just try, try again!
Hear here. And amen.
It works! It really works!
Emily — kids getting along? Yes. Kids reading better? You’d better believe it!
And also with you.
It’s certainly a struggle and a leap of faith. It seems like we do really good for a spell and then poof! something happens and disrupts the normal flow of things and then it’s the devil trying to get back insync.
Great advice on a great topic! You know you’re doing the right thing when, the second we sit down at the dinner table, our 18 month old folds his arms. He also throws a tantrum as soon as we say “Amen” in our night-time family prayers because he knows that Going To Bed is next on the list!
PS-Does watching scripture cartoons count? Cuz sometimes that’s all we have the energy for.
Way to go Cjane and Chup! Spencer and I aren’t great at praying together as a couple, but we have really made a commitment in the last year or so to have consistent family prayer and family scriptures. What a difference it has made. We usually only read 1 chapter a night, and with 3 kids we feel like it’s enough. It all pays off though when our 3 year old asks questions like, “What does bondage mean?” or “What is twibuwation?” At least we know that he is listnening! We have made it through the BOM once and are working on Mosiah right now. The kids are obessesed with Abinadi! Love it!
I’ve often wondered if our fights that begin and end with prayer (some people blithely call it Family Home Evening) are making a difference in our family life.
I wonder if barking at someone to stop elbowing their sister somehow discounts the prayer we are in the middle of.
I wonder if reading scriptures while eating breakfast really counts.
But then I remember that one time when someone, out of the blue, said to me, “So I was trying to explain the allegory of the vineyard to this kid at school. . .”
And then when my 7 year old bore her testimony that made me weep for how beautiful it was.
And so on, and so on.
They’re listening. The Spirit is teaching all of us. And I just can’t hear it through all the yelling.
This is great stuff.
I also want to add my testimony of just the fact that you are all doing something TOGETHER (as we know, it gets harder and harder to do stuff like that) that is important as well. Sure, it doesn’t have to be scriptures, but what a great thing. We also have the fights and sqabbles ALL THROUGH scriptures and FHE, but it is one of the few times of the day we are all in the same place at the same time, focused on the same thing…..
Love these comments. It is though you are adding your testimonials to my Infomercial–’cept without the cheese.
Emily- I know just what you are talking about.I ask Heavenly Father to show me, to help me be sensitive to the changes, or else I give up. Being aware of the existence of blessings that follow a principle is a blessing in of itself.
(does that make sense?)
j5t–I have suspected the correlation, but it’s hard for me to always believe.
Courtney– Yes, it does make sense… because awareness strengthens you for more obedience. And also because lack of awareness can lead to entitlement.
I sometimes feel like I live in a blessed haze. I know I have many blessings, but I don’t always see them as such, and I also don’t always see which commandment led to which blessing.
[Speculative Theology Alert] I wonder if there are angels responsible for certain blessings. Is there a Car Angel, who kept my in-laws’ car running for tens of thousands of miles past what it should have, when they could not afford to fix it? When you die, if you were a mechanic, do you get called to be a Car Angel? And assigned to keep a family’s car in shape, contingent upon their keeping some commandment? If they are in need of Strengthening Trials, does their Car Angel get called away to someone else? What angels are responsible for helping my kids behave so perfectly during my husband’s absence at a training meeting last week? Because that was a miracle too.
Emily, I love the Speculative Theory about Angels. I love it and I am accepting it.
It’s funny how these topics pop up everywhere when you, yourself have been thinking about them. Davey and I have started to have family prayer with Addie before we put her to bed at night. We kneel down in her room, say a quick prayer, (she now knows how to fold her arms, we are working on saying ‘amen’), and put her in her little crib. We figure now is the time to really kick our booties into gear. How are we supposed to teach her about these things if we haven’t been doing them ourselves!
I’m sold!