My talk in church last week, Capitol Hill 1st Ward: Sacrament observance in the home.

I learned so much from being asked to speak on this topic and wanted to document it here. I was so intimidated to speak in our ward full of scholars, senators, general authorities...but I know Heavenly Father gives us power to do the things he asks us to do. 

Good morning my name is Nikki Smith and my family moved into the ward two weeks ago. My husband is Collin; we've been married for almost 7 years. He's from Florida and I'm from Phoenix. We met at an institute Halloween dance in fl while I was there visiting cousins. We feel in love. I was living in PHX and he decided to go back to BYU to finish school. We dated lost distance for a while then got married in the Mesa Temple. We lived in Provo, and then Washington DC, and then back to PHX, where we have spent the last 4 years. That's where our two children were born, Fredrick will be 4 next month and Harriet is 20 months. We are a family who loves our home but we also love being outside and around other people and having adventures. We moved here for my husbands job. He works for the church doing social media strategy for seminary and institute. It's a little scary starting over and not knowing anyone or the area but we love it here. I love being so close to the temple and church history. We know this is exactly where we are supposed to be. 

My talk today is about---

Sabbath day observance in the home 

In a recent article in the church news, Elder Ballard of the 12 Apostles said that with the input from women leaders of the Church, “we felt that it was urgent that we strengthen the faith of our people. The world seems to be getting a little …more difficult…

A committee was formed to focus on the issue and one of the results is that leaders of the church are telling us that we can strengthen our faith by observing the Sabbath day with greater purpose. 

-we are to rethink, refocus how we spend our time on Sunday. 

Sister Rosemary M. Wixom, general president of the Primary, shared one of her ideas...she said she sees the importance of holding sacrament meeting first. “From a mother’s perspective, it is so important. Children are fresh. And as we prepare our families, husbands and wives or single parents—any parent who is preparing their family to come to sacrament meeting on Sunday—that preparation happens … before we leave, before we walk through the door at the chapel, and it happens in the car sometimes on the way.”

I will agree with that statement. I believe a big part of being able to keep the sabbath day holy is preparing in the home before hand. 

While preparing this talk, I have felt the spirit so strongly testify to me that my own habits on the Sabbath day need to be rethought and refocused. 

We try and we have good days sometimes but we can do so much better. 

Too often the scene is that we we wake up late because we are tired from doing too much the day before. we have to rush to get the kids ready, bathed. we have to get ourselves ready and feed everyone and as we are rushing out the door grab some books and stuff for the kids and maybe some snacks. 

If we are really late or stressed sometimes we snap at each other a little bit.  We get to church and try to get a seat before it starts.  The kids are kind of wound up now and they want to run around. This is no way to start a day of worship. 

I don't know if better preparation will change my kids having lots of energy and wanting to run around in church but I think we will show a better example and there will be more calmness. I want to commit personally and I want to challenge you all to commit to prepare at home for better Sabbath day worship of our Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ. I really believe that it will strengthen our relationships w them and that we will be more open to personal revelation and to what we can do to be happier.  

I need all the help I can get. I have my own struggles right now, one of them is also one of my greatest blessings. I am a mother. I'm in charge of two of heavenly fathers children.  With every awesome new milestone comes a new hurdle to overcome and as they grow up they become more aware of my faults.  I just want them to grow up and become normal human beings who are loved and able to love others.  and who know that the Gospel Jesus Christ is true and is the way to eternal salvation. I love being a mom and we have so much fun.  I have times when it scares me and I worry so much. I need that extra boost of deepened spirituality and closeness with my savior that the sabbath brings.  I need to think of him and what he did for me and how what he did makes everything ok. I need to be obedient so that I can be blessed. And I need a rest from the rest of the week. 

 preparation in the home is key, whatever that means for you. 

For me it means getting everything ready the night before, probably including breakfast. 

It also means making sure that our evening doesn't end too late on Saturday so that we can get to bed on time and we can be cheerful and energetic on Sunday morning.  

So let's talk about the rest of the day...

Elder Ballard said:

We’re hoping that home activities will be more centered on learning and knowing more about the life and ministry of the Savior and the great plan of happiness that our Heavenly Father has given us to live by.”

We have a small amount of specific council on what to do and not to on Sundays but other than that we have to decide for ourselves how to best worship on this day. 

For the Strength of Youth suggests spending quiet time with your family, studying the gospel, fulfilling your Church callings and responsibilities, serving others, writing letters, writing in your journal, and doing family history work. 

Sister Wixom adds- "what we do should be in connection to Him and for Him. But that doesn’t mean we can’t load our children in our cars and go visit grandparents or family or relatives. It doesn’t mean that we can’t take time to laugh together.” 

I think that's so important. The sabbath should be a happy day where we really rest from our cares and we focus on the Lord and our families! Pondering the atonement will help us forget our worries. 

Sabbath day observance is probably going look differently for us at different stages in our lives.

At this time my husband and I are away from both of our families so we spend a short time on Sundays Skyping w them so that our kids can keep the connection with their grandparents and cousins as much as possible. We also have a great desire to develop relationships in our ward family and want to get to know all of you. 

We have young kids so we need to usually do something that's creative or that can get energy out ...

We talk about what we learned in church lessons, and read the friend and ensign together.  

We love music in our family and we know it can bring us closer to God. It is a form of worship. and it's a great way to keep kids interested

In the first presidency preface to the hymn book it says,

"Music has boundless powers for moving families toward greater spirituality and devotion to the gospel. Latter-day Saints should fill their homes with the sound of worthy music.

Ours is a hymnbook for the home as well as for the meetinghouse. We hope the hymnbook will take a prominent place among the scriptures and other religious books in our homes. The hymns can bring families a spirit of beauty and peace and can inspire love and unity among family members.

Teach your children to love the hymns. Sing them on the Sabbath, in home evening, during scripture study, at prayer time. Sing as you work, as you play, and as you travel together. Sing hymns as lullabies to build faith and testimony in your young ones.

This morning I was up before the rest of my family.

Instead of going to the usual social media sites  I went to  Los .org. I learned so much! I read about the Indianapolis temple dedication, and the manuals for next year and there were a ton of resources for sabbath day worship. 

They have printable family plans and cards where you can write down ideas and share them together with the family. 

There's an article about One woman who heard president Nelsons talk on making the Sabbath day a delight and desired to be obedient. She shared her experience w counseling w her family about their plan for the sabbath day. Some of the things they came up with together were a special scripture study where Instead of reading a chapter like they usually did, Sunday mornings they would come together with questions they had or topics they wanted to learn more about. She and her husband would focus on teaching their children how to find real answers to their questions through the spirit. 

They also decided to choose a family member or friend they didn't usually talk to and give them a call on Sunday.

And they wanted to make and deliver treats to a neighbor each week to spread love in their neighborhood. 

The last and most important thing they discussed was how to make this all stick. They decided they would each be in charge of one of the activities. One would pick the family member to call, one would gather the family for the Sunday morning scripture discussion, one would choose a neighbor and take the lead on making a treat to deliver. The children all became excited and were invested in the plan because they helped make it. Through family discussion they discovered that Sunday was more than church and naps and it can all be delightful. 

-Things on Sundays won't always go smoothly, but I think the important thing is that we are trying to show heavenly father that Sunday is a special day. 

As I become more intentional and committed in my Sabbath Day worship, I am more aware of the blessings that come from keeping this day Holy and more aware of the hand of God in my life.

I know that this is the true Church of Jesus Christ and that our leaders are inspired by God. I know that God  gives us everything. Everything we are and do and have is because of him and he asks us to be obedient. It shows God that we have faith in him and that he is most important in our lives. 

Exodus 31:13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, oolo my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.

I say this In the name of Jesus Christ Amen. 

My talk today in Ray 2nd Ward

Freddie---

Collin is my dada

Nikki is my mama

I'm freddie and I'm 3.5, my sister, Hattie, is 1

We just moved into a new house. 

I love to look at the book of Mormon with my family. It makes me feel really happy. 

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.  

Me!!--

Thanks Freddie. He saw all those boys get up here last week and he thought it was so cool and wanted to get up and speak too, so thank you so much for your good example to my son.  Hi, I'm Nikki smith and We were asked to share our thoughts on Linda k Burton's talk from this past general conference called, We'll Ascend Together. After studying it I feel impressed to talk to you about Love. 

Galatians 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

We have a lot of relationships in this life. W Our families, ward members, coworkers, neighbors, classmates, people we talk to at the grocery store, park, library... We interact w people all day long.  

My family is among the most important relationships to me. I need them and they need me. We look to each other for support, for help, for answers to problems. 

Linda k Burtons says, "As covenant-keeping women and men, we need to lift each other and help each other become the people the Lord would have us become."

In our 6.5 years of marriage Collin and I have lived in 6 different places. We are very social people we love jumping right in and getting involved in the ward and community where we live. We love getting to know people and making good friends and going to activities and throwing parties. Sometimes it's been really hard and scary. But We have found that when we go out of our comfort zones and make the effort to get to know people, we are so blessed. Some of the people we have met over the years we have stayed in touch with, some not so much. Some we have crossed paths with again and some we will never see again in this life, but everyone we have met has touched our lives one way or another and have helped us grow and learn something. 

The church is amazing. No matter where we go, we have this support system and structure.  No matter how hard change and transition is, I know My kids are going to have primary, and my husband is going to go to elders quorum and have brotherhood and I'm going to go to relief society and have sisters. We are going to have a bishop who loves us. 

We don't ever have to be alone. I think God gives us this because he loves us.  I think it's up to us whether we take advantage of these things or not. 

In the short time we have been here in Ray 2nd Ward, we have seen 4-5 missionaries get their calls, give farewell talks, go through the temple or leave for their missions. We have met people who have touched our souls and even people who I completely trust and have asked for help. There is a lot of love in this ward. 

Thomas S Monson:

Brothers and sisters, some of our greatest opportunities to demonstrate our love will be within the walls of our own homes. Love should be the very heart of family life, and yet sometimes it is not. There can be too much impatience, too much arguing, too many fights, too many tears. Lamented President Gordon B. Hinckley: “Why is it that the [ones] we love [most] become so frequently the targets of our harsh words? Why is it that [we] sometimes speak as if with daggers that cut to the quick?”⁹ The answers to these questions may be different for each of us, and yet the bottom line is that the reasons do not matter. If we would keep the commandment to love one another, we must treat each other with kindness and respect.

Collin and I, are both opinionated loud people plus we are both oldest children who think we are right about everything. When we were about to get married one of our bishops counseled with us and told us we will probably butt heads a lot but that our opinions and passions could become strengths if we could learn to work together. 

He was totally right. 

Over the years we are learning to not be so competitive. We have  been humbled and have gone through trials that have brought us together. We are learning to work together and be less contentious. We have the desire to have peace in our home and raise our children in confidence and love. But we still mess up. 

Isaiah 63:9 speaks of Jesus Christ:

In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.

-the motivation behind the atonement was love. Love makes it all possible. God asked us all to love each other as ourselves. To me that means that we should give others the benefit of the doubt that they are doing the best they can with what they have been given. 

The perfect love Jesus Christ has for us was again demonstrated when he was visiting the people on this continent after his resurrection....

3 Nephi 17

1 Behold, now it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words he looked round about again on the multitude, and he said unto them: Behold, my time is at hand.

2 I perceive that ye are weak, that ye cannot understand all my words which I am commanded of the Father to speak unto you at this time.

3 Therefore, go ye unto your homes, and ponder upon the things which I have said, and ask of the Father, in my name, that ye may understand, and prepare your minds for the morrow, and I come unto you again.

4 But now I go unto the Father, and also to show myself unto the lost tribes of Israel, for they are not lost unto the Father, for he knoweth whither he hath taken them.

5 And it came to pass that when Jesus had thus spoken, he cast his eyes round about again on the multitude, and beheld they were in tears, and did look steadfastly upon him as if they would ask him to tarry a little longer with them.

6 And he said unto them: Behold, my bowels are filled with compassion towards you.....

he asked for all the sick to come forward and blessed them one by one.

Then he asked for all the little children to come forth and one at a time, he blessed them, prayed for them and spent time with them. 

11 And it came to pass that he commanded that their little children should be brought.

He had important work to do. He is a God. But he is also our older brother. The scripture doesn't say that they begged him to stay or that they even said anything at all...It says that he looked at them, observed what their needs were and he had compassion on them. He made time for them. This is how he showed his love for them.  

This reminds me of my mother. I have a 16 year old brother-he's the last one at home and he is super busy with school and sports and church responsibilities. And my mom and dad are super involved with everything he's involved in. This is how they were w all of us. 

My mom specifically is so busy and she's late a lot of times, she over schedules herself, she can't say no to anyone....it drives us a little crazy sometimes!!! but when my mom comes and visits us at our house, we're the most important people in the world. She always leaves my house later than she supposed to because she's finishing up reading books with her grandkids, or just talking or taking out the trash. And she's probably going to be late to her next appointment but she'll get there and then they will be the most important people in the world. She and my dad are very generous with their time. I love them.

Linda burton in her talk recalls the times of having small children and the difficulties from day to day that come with that and how she was so happy when her husband would come home every evening.  but she also shared that she regrets how she often focused on the long list of to-dos and what was on the schedule that night instead of focusing on having fun with her family and things that mattered most. I'm so grateful to read her words and feel the spirit touch my heart and remind me of what's most important and that I can change to be more focused on them. 

I challenge you all to listen to the spirit. If you have not yet felt the Holy Ghost today tell you something you can do or change, I encourage you to pray to Heavenly Father and ask him for guidance. I have a testimony that God hears and answers our prayers. 

Robert D Hales shared this proverb: 

“Thee lift me and I’ll lift thee, and we’ll ascend together.”

I know that relationships are so important. God made this earth for us to come get bodies and become like himself and our savior. And he also sent us here to find love, and to learn from each other. I know the relationships we make are eternal. 

I love my husband so much. He's my best friend and we are working at becoming better together, everyday. I love my babies and I love being a mother. It's the hardest and best thing I've ever done. I love my parents and family so much too and I'm thankful for everything they've taught me. I love Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I know this gospel is true. 

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.