Marie's Sunday Message - May 21st, 2023

I’m very excited today!! I’m on a new adventure! I have decided, that after working for over six decades, it’s time to do a few things on my bucket list. I will be away for the next two Sundays so I won’t be posting Sunday messages but when I get back I will tell you all about it! 🥰💖

Today’s message, though, has to do with finding balance. I have spoken before about the topic of balance and I know it can be very challenging for so many of us in today’s world. But I think it’s especially difficult when you’re trying to multitask, raise a family, and work at the same time. At this point in my life, though, I feel I can take a few more breaths and focus a bit more on ALL areas of my life. (You have to have goals, right!? 🤣😂🤣)

I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating, “Life is like a chair with four legs, and each one represents certain areas of our lives - For me, it’s social, physical, spiritual, and mental. Without one of these legs, the chair becomes unstable, and we fall over. My desire now is to give these areas equal time. Wish me luck! 😂 I know this is the balance Heavenly Father wants me and all of us to strive for. I believe it’s one of the most essential tools in finding peace and happiness in our lives.

The subject or topic this week touched my heart on many levels. It affects us mentally, physically, spiritually, and of course, socially.

The subject of peacemaking.

The Savior made its importance clear in His sermon on that mount - “Blessed are the peacemakers.”

“Whosoever shall smite on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” Then it really gets tricky. “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them, which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”

We need to strive to be at peace within ourselves. We affect those around us. Lately, our planet has been off balance in finding peace. Not only is it difficult to watch all this going on but also observing the contention brings disharmony to our souls and can affect our attitudes. I believe in being positive and having hope or faith. I believe in goodness, and I know by striving for these qualities within ourselves, we can make the world a better place. I believe it’s best done not in masses but in person… one on one, being kind to those around us.

We can be that one person because being a peacemaker isn’t hard…it just takes a little bit of rethinking, rebooting if you will.🤗

I was talking to one of my dear friends two nights ago, as I was packing for my trip, about this topic. I love wonderful conversations that lead to discoveries about ourselves. We have both strived this year to be better listeners with no agendas, no judgments, just listen, and it’s been incredible. I always become a little wiser as I listen and become the “student” 🤗 . I asked her if I could write down our conversation and share it with you. She said yes, but not to use her name… She said I’m still figuring it out 😂. Well, I think she’s amazing and very wise. This is what she said: 🤗

“I used to struggle with God with religion in general. It felt controlling." (she came from a tough childhood). she said, "I didn’t understand why God allowed all these bad things to happen to me. Why didn’t he prevent it? He would have if he loved us. Well, I have finally put in the work, psychologically and spiritually, and started reading the scriptures. I’ve grown to understand that God really is about love. He doesn’t cause problems; other people's choices do. That’s why he provided the Savior so we can go to him and heal our broken hearts. Choosing God's way is choosing peace. It's submitting to God's will, not to my stubbornness which I understand now is caused by my issues from my past. Now, I let Him guide me--Allowing me to make my decisions; to have a happy, peaceful life. He has foreknowledge; I don’t. So when I try to make decisions with the future in mind, I’m making choices from a place that's unknown to me. But God does know the future and wants me to be happy. So by choosing to follow Him and allowing God to guide me, He knows what choices will best serve me, help me grow, and ultimately help me be happy and find peace even in a storm. I don’t have to stress about what is best if I pray, then follow His Spirit, and follow my feelings of peace. It's so simple! I love following the peace. Anxiety, depression, confusion..all of those ramifications caused by fear are NOT of God. It says in scripture that God is not the author of confusion, that’s the other dude, and his way only makes us miserable like he is in his eternal tournament. God is a God of love and peace, and that’s what I want for my life now. I seek for it every day.“

I believe finding peace is like rebooting ourselves from our past understanding. Maybe that’s what the Savior meant when He said, “We become a new person through His atonement.” Becoming a disciple of Christ is becoming a peacemaker. We understand contention only brings in an evil spirit of unrest, and that drives away the spirit. Remember, contention never persuades anyone, it's not a tool in life that should ever be used.... ever. I wish I could say I have never used it, but I can't. I guess that's why we're told to “put off the natural man, which is an enemy of God.” We can't feel His guiding spirit when we're angry or mad.

Russell M Nelson said it best, “A soft voice without judgment will be the best every time!”

What's really helped me is that I try every day now to strive to remember whose name I believe in and carry. As Christians, we strive to represent our Savior and His kindness, understanding, and love. When we get “triggered” (and we all do🤣) by an incendiary statement - I try to take a breath and walk away. By doing so, we don’t comment, make statements, or, as my Mom would say, “Add fuel to the fire.”🔥 The best thing to do is avoid them altogether. But if you can’t, what we can control is how we respond. I have, at times, written down a few things and then lit the papers on fire. Hey, I felt it was better than creating them. 😂😂😂

A much better life!

An old man said, “Erasers are made for those who make mistakes.”

A youth replied, “Erasers are made for those who are willing to correct their mistakes.”

Attitude matters.

To find peace, I believe, especially at this point in my life, we need to make peace. Make peace with ourselves, those around you, and now that we have the internet…even the world. 🤔😉

Following the prince of peace who saw and went through everything still wasn’t worried. His faith was in His Heavenly Father.

As is mine.

#SundayMessage

May 22-28: Matthew 24-25, Mark 12-13, Luke 21

May 29-June 4: Matthew 26, Mark 14, John 13

June 5-11: John 14-17

June 12-18: Luke 22, John 18

Marie's Sunday Message - May 14th, 2023

Since today is Mother’s Day, this #SundayMessage is to all mothers everywhere…

Some are daughters… (I am blessed to have the BEST!)

Some are daughter-in-laws… (Claire is perfection)

Some are sisters…

Some sister-in-laws… (I love them all)

Some are aunts…

Some are cousins…

Some are friends…

Some are co-workers…

Some don’t have children of their own but are powerful mother mentors to many…

Some are Grandmothers… (I adored mine!)

Some are Mother-in-laws… (I had the best!)

But ONE is MY Mom, Olive…

No one could have worked any harder to be a wonderful mother. And not just to us her children but to everyone she came in contact with. She was an incredible example to us, yet she always found time for everyone else around her. She made sure no one felt left out. She was “Mother Osmond” to millions of you and one of the ways she’d do that was by writing her newsletters. She sent them to every single one of you she could. I remember when I was a teenager coming home from work late one night from the original Donny and Marie variety show; I saw her sitting at her computer writing her Mother Osmond‘s Memo…M.O.M. Do you remember those? Her M.O.M. monthly newsletters were kind of like social media is today. (She was always ahead of her time!) I walked up to her office door in our house, looked at her, and said, “You spend so much time doing those newsletters. I swear, I think you love the fans more than you love me.” I’ll never forget her response. With a great big smile on her face she said, “Well, honey, you’ll just have to get used to it,” giggled, and shut her door. 😂 Yes, I learned that night never to question how big her heart was. 🥰 She loved you all ferociously!!!! And so do I !!!! 🤗 I’m sure her example influenced my desire to write to all of you; it must be genetic. 😂 She loved keeping you all up-to-date about our family’s life and loved hearing about yours…she truly cared!

My dad would never allow anything but the utmost respect in our home for Mother. I remember him quoting scripture and often saying it was about our Mother. “Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: ‘Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.’” – Proverbs 31:28-31

So today, on Mother’s Day, I would like to honor her and thank her for the incredible example she was and is in my life. She’s my North Star for what a mother, wife, sister, daughter, friend, and more can be. Her chosen career path was always “mother,”… and for me, she was definitely the best!  She loved unconditionally to all who knew her and inspired so many to strive to be the best they could be. I was told by her that when I’m ready to leave this life, it won’t be my awards and gold records that will bring me comfort. It will be my children and grandchildren. She continued saying the only way that will happen is if I make them my absolute priority. I know today that she was absolutely correct in this statement. So today, I thank God for her. I love you, Mom…. Thank you for your example of what a complete, whole, and happy woman looks like. Happy Heavenly Mother’s Day. 

May 15-21: Matthew 21-23, Mark 11, Luke 19-20, John 12

May 22-28: Matthew 24-25, Mark 12-13, Luke 21

May 29-June 4: Matthew 26, Mark 14, John 13

June 5-11: John 14-17

Marie's Sunday Message - May 7th, 2023

This week has been a busy week! Not so much working, but the day-to-day life things like home needs, kid needs, Marie's needs, (I need to get into healing)…Age will do that to us.😂

With all that’s been going on this month, I have needed direction and turned to the scriptures. They have assisted me throughout my life. They have always been a great part of how I exercise my faith. It’s also how I find help and gain insight specific to my life. I was taught by my parents, “Ask questions in prayer and find answers in the scriptures”. I know the true teacher is Christ and we hear Him through the Holy Spirit. I love when the spirit teaches because I learn from a different angle of thought. For example, what we read today in the Bible can mean something different than it did a year ago. The scriptures open up our minds to personal insight which affects us differently and according to our circumstances. They are alive! They will touch our hearts and minds if we continually read them. Of course, the words don’t change, but we do…our lives change.

That happened to me this week:

I reread the story of the blind man In John 9. I’m sure he was outside his whole life by the pool of Siloam, every day, begging. He must have been a long-time fixture and those who lived there knew him. In the story, the Savior stopped and put a mixture of dirt and spittle on his eyes and then asked him to go to the pool and wash it so he could be healed. This story affected me differently…was it because my life is different? Is it because I’m going through some challenges and need a different perspective? Is it that I need to comprehend differently in ways I haven’t before? Is it that I’m getting older? 😂 Don’t answer that! 😉 All I know is it did!

John 9:6–7

6 When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.

We are told to liken ourselves or to put ourselves into stories that we read in the Scriptures. Several things stood out differently. First of all in this situation, and I knew this, the fact that the Savior, before seeing the blind man, Jesus had just proclaimed that he was the son of God and was fleeing from the rabbis, who were trying to take his life. In that hustle to get away, the Savior stopped to heal this blind man. He stopped…. My heart became very tender because it hit me that Christ was never too busy to help someone in need. It made me ask the question, “Am I that way”. Then when Christ spat, I wonder what the blind man must have thought. OR, did he feel the power of the person before him? Did he feel the peace and spirit of the Lord before him. Did he need eyes to know that the man before him was the Son of God?

Then he hears this:

7 And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way, therefore, and washed, and came seeing.

If that happened to me would my attitude affect my ability to heal? And how far away was that pool he had to wash in? Did he have to go downstairs? How difficult was it for this blind man to accomplish this task? Whatever he was thinking he DID what the Savior said, and he made the “effort” to be healed!  The Savior didn’t just give him sight straight away. Oh! He could have but he didn’t. He had this man make the effort. That fascinated me  He asked him to exercise hope… to use his FAITH. Faith is not something we can have just by saying it. Faith is an action word. It’s using thoughts to choose to have a positive attitude. It’s putting a desire in us to create or make things even miracles happen. And I believe we appreciate things much more when we work for them don’t you?

When God created the world He said “Be a firmament, be an earth, become mountains, etc. and it was so.” It makes me wonder what we create in our lives by our thoughts. Are they positive or do we create a negative environment? Do we have enough faith to see a better day…to be healed from our struggles, and trials, like the blind man.

I thought about another story in the Bible. The one about the 10 Samaritan lepers. When Christ told them they could be healed. He could have done it right then and there too but he didn’t. He told them to go tell the rabbis about their healing and as they went, on their way they would be healed. How far away was it for them? And the Samaritans had to go find the Jewish rabbis. We know how the Sadducees and Pharisees felt about Samaritans. Yet they did it. They put aside their fears and did with Christ asked them to do to be healed.  They put in the effort, and chose to have the right attitude… they believed in Jesus, they exercised FAITH in Christ, and that faith healed them.

So, going back to the blind man's story, this man had probably been outside the temple for most of his life begging…years of it. How did the rabbis—when they questioned if he was blind—not know him? Were they so blind in their pride of being special, of being rabbis, that they never took the time to see this poor man in need? Did they never see him, even once, begging for help over the years? How could they not know him? It made me ponder if I ever get too busy that I become blind to others' needs around me.

This week, as we seek Christ’s love, guidance, healing, and even miracles in our lives, my goal is to strive harder to better “see” those around me. We are told we find ourselves when we lose ourselves in service to others. If I’ve ever accidentally walked past some of you without seeing you I hope you will please forgive me. I love you all and I’m so appreciative you would take your precious time to come see me perform. I want to say I’m so grateful for your love and kindness towards my family and me through the years. May the Lord bless and help us all as we trust in Him. Our God IS a God of miracles He only asks that we follow His Son's example and exercise our FAITH to follow Him. By doing this, I know we will see miracles transpire in our lives.

May 8-14: Matthew 19-20, Mark 10, Luke 18

May 15-21: Matthew 21-23, Mark 11, Luke 19-20, John 12

May 22-28: Matthew 24-25, Mark 12-13, Luke 21

May 29-June: Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, John 19

Marie's Sunday Message - April 30th, 2023

I listened to a talk earlier this week on forgiveness that went straight to my heart. I knew I wanted to make it the center of my message today. What I didn’t know was how the talk prepared me for what occurred Friday night. I was on the freeway taking my granddaughter home. Some construction came up so I had to merge from the fast lane down to 2 lanes. All of a sudden a driver in a pickup truck came from behind me and tried to quickly squeeze past before the lane closed…..NOT. He completely sideswiped my car. It could have been a disaster but the car on my right must have seen what was happening and moved over which allowed me some space. If the car hadn’t done that, my granddaughter, who was on the passenger side, would have been hit too. All I could do was pray and stay calm🤦🏻‍♀️. Happily, everyone is fine and no tempers flared. 😉

The author of the talk I read was Jeffrey Holland. My husband and I got to know him when he was the president of BYU. Steve was playing college basketball and I was attending some classes there.  In the talk, he used the example of Lot’s Wife (From the Bible’s story of Sodom and Gomorrah) to reference the metaphor of “looking back.” The Lord was very clear…

”Escape for thy life, look not behind thee…; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed” (Genesis 19:17) 

God warned them all…don’t look back. So it wasn’t a surprise when his wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt. He presented the idea that the problem with Lot’s wife wasn’t just looking back—It was that she probably looked back “longingly”. In other words, she had doubts about her future and started remembering what she left behind. 

We often make the mistake of looking back longingly at what was lost or taken away from us. When the Lord has given us a fresh start, a new beginning, or even impressed upon us to give someone else a new beginning by forgiving them, it should be over… “We remember it no more”. If we bring it up over and over again—well, that’s the mistake. I love how he said bringing up the past is like throwing bricks through a window pane… But he spelled it P-A-I-N. Nothing good comes from breaking open old wounds or continuing to throw the past back at someone. It leaves everyone broken.

I know it’s easier said than done… but Christ’s gospel teaches us that if we don’t forgive we have not fully accessed the power of Christ’s Atonement. He helps us to forgive, especially when forgiveness is incredibly challenging!  I have been pondering this topic as a New Year’s resolution this year. The Apostle Paul so clearly taught:

“This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” Philippians 3:13–14]

There isn’t a prize for remembering the fights, the missteps, or the times you were hurt or wronged. The prize is calling on God through Christ Jesus to help us move forward. The prize is to let go of carrying a burden that holds us down. The prize is the joy we feel remembering all the goodness, kindness, and positive experiences that bring light, love, and especially good energy into our lives. Remembering the negative is like continually watching a horror show. It darkens the mind and can even affect our bodies. I mean, let’s be honest, negativity keeps us on the brink of living in the abyss of a black hole… Unfortunately, when we harbor negative experiences, we can use them as bricks to throw at people around us in order to justify our anger and bitterness. And sometimes we even throw those bricks at ourselves. Without our Savior’s help, we can spend what seems like years thinking we are ok only to have something remind us of the past and we’re right back in the saddle, feeling the same pain, guilt, remorse, and shame. 

When the Savior said, “I died for your sins” well, He did! He did that because He could and we can’t. But when we make mistakes, and we all do, just as the Savior knew we would, He simply asks us to sincerely ask Him for help. As we feel forgiven, move on! I assure you the Lord has moved on! His grace IS sufficient and He showed us this through His example that we need to do the same.  

This is what I have truly embraced and gratefully believe… Here’s the big point through all of this….If we do not forgive and forget it WILL diminish our ability to understand real truth. A damaged heart messes up our ability to think correctly. It affects our ability to move forward in life and diminishes our ability to be a positive force in the world. If we truly want to have peace in our souls and experience the joy God wants us to have in this life, we need to be wise. And I believe this wisdom comes through clear and positive thinking. Let’s pray that our thoughts are not based on hurt or pain, judgment or anger, and especially not on revenge. Nothing good ever comes from that. When we give all our pain to the Savior for true healing (even for the things we’ve done wrong ourselves) compassion and love will fill our lives. This doesn’t mean God wants us to stay in or allow others to hurt or abuse us… quite the contrary. Our Father in Heaven wants us to give our burdens to His Son. He will carry them so we can move on and experience the love and gratitude that comes from forgiveness. 

I loved Olivia Newton-John so much. We talked many times about these concepts and how the basis of all illness is stuffed anger, bitterness, and hurt. She said I know if we aren’t able to get these negative thoughts out of our minds they will cause dis-ease or “disease” in our bodies. As James Allen wrote, “As a man thinketh so is he”.  

“Remember Marie, people change, truth does not!” as my mother would say to me. “Follow the Lord and not the precepts of men because God is not a God of confusion” and I will add “And definitely not supportive of throwing bricks” 😉

I do not want to just forgive those who have wronged me, I want my experiences to help me have more compassion for others who are hurt. To learn to be a better person, reborn through God’s love.

I wish you nothing but love. I know we will find the joy the Savior has for us when we follow His teachings and example. My love to you all….

#Sundaymessage

May 1-7: Luke 12-17, John 11

May 8-14: Matthew 19-20, Mark 10, Luke 18

May 15-21: Matthew 21-23, Mark 11, Luke 19-20, John 12

May 22-28: Matthew 24-25, Mark 12-13, Luke 21

Marie's Sunday Message - April 23rd, 2023

This week has been a whirlwind! Honestly, I feel like I’m running from one thing to the next and trying to keep all my ducks in a row. I’m sure you’ve all felt this way. The beginning of the week was so much fun. We had a sellout show in South Dakota, and it was wonderful to see so many of you there. Then I came home to some appointments that needed attention and spent the remainder of the week being a Wife, Mom, and Grandma and in between accomplishing the long to-do list!!! 

Sometimes it can become difficult to do everything on your to-do list while also focusing on the to-be list. I know; I’m preaching to the choir here… but I don’t want to just do something kind; I want to be kind. I don’t want to do something charitable but to be someone full of charity. I don’t want to do something Christlike; I want to be someone who follows Christ. 

So, each day as I sat down to study my scriptures this week, it felt it wasn’t a coincidence I’d be studying Matthew 18 and the parable of the Good Samaritan. 

When the man from Jerusalem was beaten and left for dead on the side of the road, He was in need. Then when two different people, a priest, and a Levite, walked right by him and did nothing, I’m sure he felt so alone and hopeless. Both of these men were probably good men. They probably worshipped and worked in the temple--spending their time becoming closer to God. But, as I read, I couldn’t help but feel how unfortunate they were. They maybe spent too much time thinking about what they did in the temple that they didn’t spend enough time thinking about who they should be outside the temple. 

“But then a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him.”

I don’t think the Samaritan had it on his to-do list for the day to have compassion for someone or save a dying man. But I believe he was probably working on himself to be a better person every day. To try and become more like his Heavenly Father. So, he didn’t just help the man from Jerusalem by giving him a drink of water and finding him some shade to rest under; he…

“…went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.”

This was exactly the reminder I needed this past week as I pondered Matthew 18!! As I’m running around this coming week trying to get everything done on my to “do” list, I need to remember to “be” more like the Good Samaritan. I want to strive to be more compassionate, more charitable, and more loving to everyone I cross paths with. 

When asked what the first great commandment was, the Savior taught that it was to “…love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself”. Matthew 22: 37-39

As we head out to accomplish our busy schedules this week, I hope we remember to love all our neighbors a little more! 

Remember too, I love you all. 🥰Happy Sunday, and have the best week ever!!

#Sundaymessaage

April 24-30: John 7-10

May 1-7: Luke 12-17, John 11

May 8-14: Matthew 19-20, Mark 10, Luke 18

May 15-21: Matthew 21-23, Mark 11, Luke 19-20, John 12

Marie's Sunday Message - April 16th, 2023

I had so much fun this weekend at the sewing retreat I posted about. I’ve never done anything like this before! 🤗Truly, I am loving this next new chapter of my life! We got together, learned about our new machines, how to download patterns, and even created our own designs. We ate, watched movies, had snacks, laughed, and taught each other tricks of the trade.😉 It was “sew🧵” much fun!🤭 By the time the weekend was up, we had created a little family full of happiness and the beginnings of some great projects! The best part, though, was how everyone wanted not only to learn but to share ideas and tips to help others gain insights. It all makes sewing a little easier. 

So late last night, as I was pondering about what to write about today, I thought about how the retreat was very similar to these Sunday messages. I love sharing tips and stories from “material” (staying with the sewing theme!) I’ve learned about the gospel. The insights have blessed my life, and as we share them, we help each other. 🥰

I have been touched each week by the sweet comments you all leave. I don’t get to answer them all, but know I do read them all! 😊 I enjoy your insights and stories that enhance the topics each week. But mostly, I enjoy how we share God’s love with each other. We’re kind of a family too, like the sewing circle, and I thank you so much for the love I feel from all of you!🥰

Yesterday I read a few comments where you said I forgot to post my reading schedule for the Bible last week. I have to tell you it touched my heart. I love that we are reading the New Testament together! And don’t worry; I won’t forget again.☺️As I’ve reread the scriptures throughout my life, I’m always moved by how the Spirit keeps showing me deeper insights. And they vary depending on what I’m praying about or personally experiencing. The Spirit is real and moves within us to feel its reality, power, and presence in our lives. We can’t see it; we FEEL it! The Holy Ghost testifies that God our Father and His son Jesus Christ are real. It helps us feel God’s goodness and the peace that only He can give, even in the midst of life's storms.  

It’s always fascinated me how people throughout the ages want proof… a sign to then actually believe. But what I’ve discovered is you can rationalize away those types of manifestations. For me, the greatest way to attain this knowledge is to study, ponder and then pray if what you’ve learned is RIGHT… if the TRUTH was spoken. It is then through God's power that the Holy Spirit will let us know!!! 

As we’ve been reading the New Testament, I keep seeing how the Pharisees and Sadducees would keep demanding that Jesus show them “a sign from heaven”? Were His many well-known miracles not enough? What about His powerful teachings or the multiple ways He had fulfilled ancient prophecies? Their demands were prompted not by a lack of signs but by an unwillingness to “discern the signs” through the Holy Spirit and accept them. (See Matthew 16:1–4.)

Peter, like the Pharisees and Sadducees, witnessed the Savior’s miracles and heard His teachings. But Peter’s definitive testimony, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God,” did not come through his physical senses —his “flesh and blood.” His testimony was revealed to him by our “Father, which is in heaven.” Revelation is the rock upon which the Savior built His Church—revelation from heaven to His servants. And this is the rock on which we can build our testimonies —revelation that Jesus is the Christ. When we are built on this foundation, “the gates of hell shall not prevail against [us]” (Matthew 16:15–19)

Reading the scriptures daily invites the Holy Ghost into our lives, and this helps us know truth as we seek answers to our many questions. It is our spiritual compass, if you will. So as we read God’s word this week, (and I will continue to post my reading schedules😉😂) I encourage us all to pay attention to those spiritual feelings or promptings that come into our hearts and minds from the Holy Ghost. As we take the time each day to really absorb God’s words, His power and love will manifest for us all, and we will be strengthened and guided, and testimonies will grow. We all have individual journeys to get back home to our Father. That’s why the Holy Ghost was given. It’s there for everyone who asks! So today I ask you… How have you felt God's spirit prompt you this week? Let us all know.. after all; we’re family!🥰💖👈

This week's reading schedule! (Thank you so much for asking!) 

April 17-23: Matthew 18, Luke 10

April 24-30: John 7-10

May 1-7: Luke 12-17, John 11

May 8-14: Matthew 19-20, Mark 10, Luke 18

I pray it will bring comfort and peace to all of us! Have the best day ever!!

#Sundaymessage 

Marie's Sunday Message - April 9th, 2023

I had my Sunday Message written, and then I got a call from a friend of mine and wrote this Sunday’s message instead.

This Easter will definitely be different for her as she celebrates the true meaning of Easter. You see, after years of trying to forgive a member of her family, it finally occurred.💖

You want to know how, don’t you?🥰

You want to know how a person who has caused a great deal of pain deserves forgiveness, don’t you?🧐

And you want to know how it can even happen. Right?🤔

Well, my dear friend grew up in an unusual home. No one was religious. No one said prayers, no one went to church, and they didn’t read scriptures--it was a home that just depended on decisions they made on their own. Her stepmother just didn’t like her very much, so until the end of her stepmother’s life, they had a kind of détente. My friend just always tiptoed around her so as not to set her off. One day the stepmother tried to apologize, but as my girlfriend said, “It was just too late.” Today my friend is one of the most God-loving women I know, but even with a strong testimony of the Savior’s atonement, she just couldn’t let her hurt feelings go toward this woman. But then, a week ago, she heard a talk about forgiveness, and something changed in her heart. She said to me, “Maybe it was just time, or maybe I felt my stepmother changed after being in heaven for 22 years,😂 but I could finally just let it go.”

She basically said to me when she truly and completely handed this lifelong burden over to the Savior, she really did feel the gift of forgiveness. She said, “It was a kind of superpower she hadn’t felt before.” Her simple act of forgiveness opened up an understanding of why her stepmother had treated her the way she did. Suddenly she felt tremendous sadness for this woman where just hurt had been before. “Forgiveness was easier, just like the Savior said. It was as though the stone rolling away to reveal an empty tomb was the weight lifted off my shoulders. And my sorrows were “washed away.” She continued. “That same day, I ran into two friends. I felt inspired to tell them what had occurred earlier that day. Oddly enough, both women had similar stories. One said her mother was 91, and she hadn’t been very nice to her lately and at times caregiving is very difficult.” I said I understood, and of course, we cried through it all. Then as we headed home to try to do better, another woman came up to see if we were ok (Women never cry alone😂). I explained to her what had happened to me and quietly, she shared the feelings she had about her own elderly mother. They had a very difficult relationship, and she expressed how bad she felt because she didn’t know how to fix it. She actually said it “weighed” on her. I explained she just needed to do what she could but let the Savior's love in to heal. I reminded her how many years I had carried hurt feelings and that it takes time. Then I told her, “Bring your best, and The Lord will give you superpowers!” Then my friend said to me, “Marie, there were 3 of us changed that day, and through these experiences, I can tell you, the Savior knows us… individually!! He knows YOU...ALL OF US!!!! AND HE LOVES US.”💖

Three women… their lives changed forever!!!! Today we celebrate the Savior’s victory over death, sin, pain, and sorrow. His sacrifice gave us not only immortality but a healing ability we could never have had.

I am so grateful for the Savior’s atonement because, without it, there would be no joy, no hope….just death with no purpose. I also share my personal testimony that I know the atonement is real! I have seen its healing power manifested throughout my life and I’m so very grateful for my Savior's love. His miracles are real…they are infinite!

Today, as we remember Easter, may it bring to mind a beautiful sunrise… the incredible story of Mary going to the tomb only to find it empty….and this profound statement, “Why seek ye the living among the dead?” Luke 24:5

The greatest miracle of all time and eternity…

Our Savior's infinite atonement🙏

#HeIsRisen

Just as I was getting ready to post another very dear friend sent this…. Please read and thank you to her for this post. It touched my heart deeply!!!💖

https://www.facebook.com/taywest/posts/pfbid022yukZFwHQP3GtTHiq3gVSqEXrHCezrYPa9hD6f39t3Qy8CZKREHZZaQSUbpCzRk2l