Zone Conference Training

I had a great time with the missionaries yesterday as my training centered on Budgeting. We discussed the principles that many prophets have commented on in recent history. Mainly, to "Avoid Unnecessary Debt" and that Income needs to be greater than your Expenditures. With the current economic problems we are facing, I don't think that it has ever been more evident that this is true! That and alot of "creative" financial management have made a huge mess of things.
I had a great conversation with one of the groups as they were hungry to understand how it is that the prosperity we had while they were growing up as well as the value of our dollar is based on something that isn't real. We discussed the concept of "the gold standard" and how our economy is no longer based on that and how that effect inflation.
We discussed how the goods and services people bought were paid for on credit, without any thought of how this would add up to unmanageable dept over time.
We talked about those who bought homes that they could just barely afford to make the payments on, but as soon as the terms in the loans changed or some emergency occurred or they were laid off, they were in crisis and had no savings to rely on.
This was such a great conversation and learning experience for their lives, as they have seen first hand what happened to Wilmington, Ohio when DHL closed there and the whole town is suffering(did you see the "60 minutes" show on that?) and the Branch there is suffering too, their branch president had to be replaced because the old one moved to find work.
This also brings the constancy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the minds of those who are frightened by the inconsistency of everything else in their temporal lives. But Heavenly Father is always there. He loves His children. He has appointed Prophets to lead us and guide us just as He did anciently. Those who have followed the Prophets of the past by heeding their instruction can now "sleep when the wind blows" because they are prepared. Those who haven't had the blessing of that instruction can begin now, to follow them. I am looking forward to hearing what they have to say in conference this April 5 & 6 (on BYUTV 10am to noon and 2pm to 4pm mountain time, on both days). I am so grateful for our Heavenly Father and His love, for sending His Son, Jesus Christ to provide the atonement so we can return to Him, for the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His perfect example, for the Prophet Joseph Smith's personal sacrifices in his life to be an instrument in the restoration of that gospel. For latter-day prophets who bring us God's instruction to guide us during our time. For the Book of Mormon which bears testimony of Jesus' ministry on this continent. how great are the mercies of our God! This is my testimony, in the sacred name of His Son, Jesus Christ, amen.

Why Love & Logic Works

I found the book Parenting with Love and Logic as well as the other books in the series a huge benefit to raising my 4 children. I went to a Love & Logic seminar when all 4 were teenagers. I found the principles based on how our Heavenly Father parents His children and values their agency while they are learning to become more like He and His Son, Jesus Christ.

When they were still at home, it helped them want to make good choices when they understood why their decisions were important and that their choices directly affected their lives, and they could control the quality of their lives. It is great now to see that our children know that they can act for themselves and not be acted upon.

As we have observed how others parent, they have been able to evaluate what works, what doesn't and why. Now that they know these things, I look forward to seeing them become much better parents that I was.