Josie

LisaJo, it is great that you get to spend some of that time with your friends too. That is alot of what holidays are all about, family and friends and being together to celebrate all that God has given us. We have been so blessed with so many things and if we can all remember to truly thank the Lord for his bounty upon us, then that is the other best part of these holidays. Some of us will not have the opportunity to be with family, but we still have so much to be thankful for, that we cannot really complain. (And yes, I have done more than my share of complaining about not having what I want, when I want it, and feeling sorry for myself when I am alone. But that does not mean I have the right to complain about anything as much as I have been blessed.)

"Freedom of Religion" like many other of our rights in this country, in many ways seem to get trampled under foot. The more wicked the people get, the harder it will become for all of us to maintain these freedoms. Satan is working very hard in this world right now, to limit our freedoms as much as possible, so he can reign and drag as many of us away with him as he can. Someone threw out some thoughts about Satan, that really helped me understand his anger and frustration over us. Satan will never have a body, he will never know what it is like to feel physical pain or joy, take a swim or run a marathon. He will never hold a grandchild on his lap or have a child to kiss him on the cheek and say, "I love you, Daddy." Satan will never feel the joy of entering a temple of God and feeling the spirit bare witness to him that what he is doing is right. If someone is offended by me innocently wishing them a "Merry Christmas" that is their problem. This land is blessed by our Father in heaven, it is his choice land, and as long as I have the freedom to celebrate his birth, life, and resurrection, and be thankful beyond what words can express for his atonement for me, I will. When I cannot express my beliefs in the open, I will express them in my heart to my Father in Heaven. I am thankful for every day of freedom I have in this country. We sometimes feel like we are loosing freedoms and rights that we once had, but we must remember, we have it so much better and have so much more freedom than any other country in the world. Wicked men desort and tear down that which is good and right, but we know that they will not prevail. This is God's world and His promised land and He will not have his plan distorted and run amuck by the evil doings of men. They may have their way for a while, but he will step in and He will set things right. The day will come when all will know who God is and that he will prevail over one and all and the word will take notice. Please don't take me wrong, I am not saying that anyone that does not believe as I do is wicked. I am saying that wicked men that take away our rights to promote their own good, will know what they have done.

I am with Ben. Let the French solve their own problems. They don't back the US in anything we do. We are always wrong in their eyes and can do nothing right. We are spread too thin now. They neither need or want our help, and if they do want our help, that is too bad. Where were they when we needed their support? Let the French take care of their own problems and then they can find out just how smart they really are....

In 3Nephi, Christ is speaking of the covenant he made with Abraham, to my understanding. You can read about the "Abrahamic Covenant" in the Bible Dictionary. This covenant has a few parts to it. 1. Baptism - the covenant of salvation 2. Priesthood & Celestial Marriage - Covenant of Exaltation. 3. Blessing to his posterity - Gave these promises to Abraham a. Christ would come through his lineage b. His posterity would receive certain lands for their eternal inheritance. We should also know that it is Abraham's lineage that has been given the responsibility of carrying the gospel to the world. We receive the blessings of this covenant as we receive the ordinance of Temple marriage and live in obedience to God's commandments. We are living in the fulfillment of these promises. The chief purpose of restoring the Priesthood and it's keys to the earth, was to fulfill this promise. Our temple marriages are opening the door for us to have these wonderful blessings. We have to live worthily and do all that we can, but God has promised us much in return for this obedience. The thought of maybe being worthy to live with God in the Celestial Kingdom is beyond my comprehension, yet I know that it is true. The references to how wonderful this place is, should make it the desire of everyone's heart.