I know this blog has just been sitting there since I created it. I promise to start up on it.
Today is Halloween. My friend Gwen told me it is a day that we as Christians celebrate lives of those who past on. I think thats a great way to incorporate my blue shirt day. Remembering my ancestors and the things they did to provide such a happy life for us now.
One ancestor that I am most gratefull for his my great-great-great grandpa Hyrum Smith. His Brother Joseph Smith reorganized the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints almost 200 years ago. I am so thankfull for his faithfullness to ask our savior and Heavenly Father which church he should go to, only to find out that he would become a prophet himself to restore all the keys and knowlege that we had when Christ reigned on the earth 2000 years ago. I have a firm testimony that things of this gospel are true, I can't explain the happy feeling it brings to have a testimony of these things. I know god wouldn't just communicate with prophets of old, and leave us abandoned in the last and most important times of this earth before our savior comes again. I believe it would be sad if we all had to fend for ourselves in learning about what our heavenly father wants for his children. I know President Thomas S. Monson was reserved for these latter days to be a prophet of god to lead his children and to prepare us for things to come. I am so thankfull for these things too. My grandpa Hyrum stood by Joseph and was probably his most helpfull companion in leading the church besides his beloved Emma. I am so thankfull to know that he loved the gospel so much to die for it himself on the night that our prophet Joseph also gave his life. I am so thankfull for my other ancestors who took faithfullness and courage to continue living this gospel and traveling across the plains, losing many loved ones to bring us to the Valley of Salt Lake to create a safe place for the gospel to grow and become one of the strongest religions in the world. I am so thankfull for the temple and the temple ordinances that we are able to recieve and perform for those who have died before us, that didn't have the opportunity to recieve those ordinances before they died. I hope we as latter Day saints, will be able to continue to do as much work as we can for them. I believe it is extremely important to get these ordinances taken care of for ourselves and the dead before our savior comes again, and especially while we have so many temples throughout the world.
I used to have a really negative perspective about Halloween, but I am gratefull to know the reason we celebrate it, and that its not just a day to dress up weird, and have evil and scary things happening. My husband loves horror movies. I could really care less for them. hehe
I like to find the happy reasons that we celebrate things, and not the worldly things.
By all means enjoy your Halloween holliday, and go have some fun with your little ones and trick-or-treating, but be safe. Hopefully this post will help you reflect on your loved ones that have past, and celebrate their lives, as I will be thinking about many more of my own loved ones and the things they have done for me!
