Week 7

28 June 2010

Hello Family,

Well I was going to write you a long note, but some disgusting person is standing right outside the door smoking and its filling up the library and grossing everyone out so I will probably keep this short and leave. I hope everyone enjoyed the pictures. Also, Mom did you send the package to the mission home or my flat? curious because if it was my flat-it will be hard for them to find me home or what not...anyways moving on.

I hope all of you are doing well. Dana is now in Missippi and Mom is in Utah. Logan and Liz are well I don't know because they don't tell me anything =P. and Tanner is probably on Cloud 9 because England lost yesterday 4-1 to Germany in the World Cup and because its Tanner. Bob is Bob =). Erika has sent me a nifty little book of our christmas pictures this week so I will be passing it around all of the missionaries that are going home to find Dana a man haha. I love you!

Ok, so I will tell you a little bit about my studies so far. I am in Mosiah chapter 4. I have finished Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price and the JST/JSH. Haven't really touched the Bible. Logan was right, I never use anything but a Book of Mormon while finding.
I have learned a lot though. I am not sure what to pinpoint for all of you in a family message. OK-I used this for a lesson this past week sort of. so here it is:

Read through this.

Alma 56:43-48
43 And now, whether they were overtaken by Antipus we knew not, but I said unto my men: Behold, we know not but they have halted for the purpose that we should come against them, that they might catch us in their snare;
44 Therefore what say ye, my sons, will ye go against them to battle?
45 And now I say unto you, my beloved brother Moroni, that never had I seen aso great bcourage, nay, not amongst all the Nephites.
46 For as I had ever called them my sons (for they were all of them very young) even so they said unto me: Father, behold our God is with us, and he will anot suffer that we should fall; then let us go forth; we would not slay our brethren if they would let us alone; therefore let us go, lest they should overpower the army of Antipus.
47 Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the aliberty of their bfathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their cmothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.
48 And they rehearsed unto me the words of their amothers, saying: We bdo not doubt our mothers knew it.

And they went to battle as we know and then:

Alma 57:24-27
24 And it came to pass that after the Lamanites had fled, I immediately gave orders that my men who had been wounded should be taken from among the dead, and caused that their wounds should be dressed.
25 And it came to pass that there were two hundred, out of my two thousand and sixty, who had fainted because of the loss of blood; nevertheless, according to the goodness of God, and to our great astonishment, and also the joy of our whole army, there was anot one soul of them who did perish; yea, and neither was there one soul among them who had not received many wounds.
26 And now, their apreservation was astonishing to our whole army, yea, that they should be spared while there was a thousand of our brethren who were slain. And we do justly ascribe it to the miraculous bpower of God, because of their exceeding cfaith in that which they had been taught to believe葉hat there was a just God, and whosoever did not doubt, that they should be preserved by his marvelous power.
27 Now this was the afaith of these of whom I have spoken; they are young, and their minds are bfirm, and they do put their trust in God continually.

Mom asked me in her email, how she could have such wonderful children. We find the answer here with the 2,000 Stripling Warriors. We are the way we are, we have the Faith that we have, and we act the way we act because our Mother knows it. Yes, we all have to find our own way, our own testimony, and our own faith, but who set us down with our feet on the ground pointing in the right direction. We all ran back and forth from Mom to Dad and back to Mom. Mom didn't point us towards the street or down the steps. I believe in everyone of my brothers and sisters that they have been taught exactly the same way I have been taught and we have all heard the same words. You are accountable for the Faith you show and live by. Sometimes, we aren't very experienced, but as long as we are willing and know that mom knows it or at least we know that mom has known it and forgot it =P and has gone through it that we can probably get through it too.

What has formed mom to who she is today?
milking the cows
gathering eggs
hugging baby lambs?
FINANCIAL STRUGGLES
5 children
college
mission
loss of husband
marriage X2
cooking

she has done it. ASK!!! Don't be shy. I love you all, and I hope you learned something from this.

I love you,
Elder Blackburn