Family: The Unit That's Holds This World Together!

There seems to be a theme right now in the world that the family unit is not as important. That the roles of Mothers and Fathers are interchangeable and not really necessary for the development of children. So I feel the need to address this issue!

My family includes my dad, my mom, me, my little sister and little brother. We were raised by a stay at home mom who didn't work outside the home until my brother was in 1st grade. My dad has worked and worked, but always has time for us. No, we didn't live a glamorous life, but all us children were given the opportunity to develop our talents and had the support of our parents along the way. I'm so grateful for this! It is so important to have a mom and dad. Why? There are things I learned from each of them that have meant a lot to me, especially now that I am away from home.

My dad taught me what work ethic means. He is the hardest worker I know. He taught me how to shoot a basketball, which I'm really grateful for. That times he spent coaching me when I was little means the world to me! My dad explained to me how to do car maintenance. He taught me how to throw a baseball. Most importantly, he taught by example how a man should treat a woman by the way he treats my mom. That has been something that I will always be so grateful to have had. My parents have been married for almost 21 years and their relationship isn't perfect, but it is one of love and understanding and patience. This is something I want in my future marriage.

My mom taught me to always "Remember who you are and make good choices!" This phrase was always so embarrassing when she would say it in front of my friends, but now, I'm grateful she did. She instilled in me a knowledge that I am a daughter of God and that I can turn to Him no matter what. She showed me how to fulfill callings to the best of my abilities. And, I think the best example she set was that she served a mission. My mom served in the South Korea Seoul mission.  She loves her mission. I love that! It was an example to me growing up that having the desire to serve a mission as okay. I'm so happy because now I'm happier than I've ever been because I'm on the Lord's errand. That is because my mom made sure I was encouraged in my desire to serve.

Not only that, but my siblings have influenced me a lot.

My sister has the best sense of humor and always can make a negative into a positive with a good laugh. I really appreciate this! It's so nice to know all I needed back home to get a good laugh was spend a little time with my sister. I loved it! Plus, she's not afraid to stand up for what she knows is right. It's awesome.

My little brother is such an example of obedience. Not even joking. He is the most obedient person I've ever met. He knows the rules and follows them. He listens and takes direction really well and I've realized I needed to be more like him in that way.

This is my family in a nutshell! We are a bit crazy, but awesome. I'm so grateful for all they have taught me and know I wouldn't be where I am without them.

Family is so important. Our families influence our lives. Not only that, but when a family is sealed for time and all eternity, it takes on a different meaning. I'm so grateful my parents were married for time and all eternity in the Los Angeles Temple almost 21 years ago. This unit is amazing to be part of and I'm excited for the opportunity to enter the Temple in the future with my sweetheart and make the same promises.

Remember that your family is essential and the most successful families are raised and centered on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let's do this and take the chaotic world and make it better one family at a time.

I Love You All!

Love,
Sister Mackenzie Esmond

Why I Love Being An LDS Woman

We had a wonderful opportunity to meet as Sisters in the Arizona Mesa Mission. I love the time we have as Sister Missionaries. What sets us apart from the Elders is that this is not a Priesthood duty we have, but an opportunity. So each one of us is out here because we want to be.


Something I've grown to love though is being an LDS woman. Why? I have four reasons why.

1. Womanhood is Celebrated. It's a blessing to be a woman. Femininity is okay. We have our role in the world and I love to know that. Women are respected and honored for the calling they've been given.
2. Motherhood is revered. We believe that being a mother is the most divine calling on earth. How amazing is that? Because we can and should be mothers, we are respected for making the choice to do so. I often wonder why women want to sacrifice this for careers or fame or fortune. Because that is what the world wants, not when God wants. He sent us here to be mothers and nurturers. The gifts we have and the choices we make effect generations.
3. We are part of the largest women's society in the world. Relief Society. This is the women's group that meets each Sunday. This is tailored to help women use their talents to serve their fellow being. We learn the Gospel of Jesus Christ and are taught His word. So much good comes from being in the Relief Society. For the youth, we have Young Women's, which serves the same purpose.
4. We are taught that we are daughters of our Heavenly Father. This is vital to know. When we have that knowledge that we are daughters of God and He loves us and we love Him, what else do we need to know? We don't need to be successful based on the world's point of view, but based on God's point of view. We only need to know that we are fulfilling the role and our divine calling to be mothers. This needs to be respected, not looked down on. 

Now, you may think that having this point of view "limits" or "diminishes the value of women". But really, our divine nature is the most value we have. This is something that needs to be embraced! Be a woman, strong, smart, nurturing, ready to help when needed. This is who we are as women. This is who God wants us to be and we know that He is our Father in Heaven and that is what matters most. 

Don't hide this part of you! Own your divine nature, your divine calling.

I love you all!

Love,
Sister Mackenzie Esmond

O Remember Remember!

Today we had a wonderful district meeting. I learned a lot. I love this district. Things are always said when we are together that are exactly what I need to hear or answers to my prayers. Seriously, today's was amazing.  Today I was struck by something my district leader said though and thought I'd make it the topic of this blog post.

He quoted a scripture from the Book Of Mormon, in the book of Helaman, Chapter 5, verse 12. It says, 
    "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."

Remember, Remember. He challenged us to make a list of things we want to remember. This could be lessons in life, moments, friends, scriptures, anything. Anything that will help us be happy. Here is my list of things I want to always remember:

• I am a daughter of God. I love Him and He loves me. (Romans 8:16-17)
• I have a Savior who knows exactly what I am going through and has died so that I can be forgiven for my sins.
• I am serving a mission to bring other unto Christ and further their faith in the Savior.
• I want to be a disciple of Jesus Christ for all my life.
• I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ more than anything and know how much it can bless everyone around me.

These simple truths can change everything. When you are having a hard time, "Remember, Remember" that when we know we are children of God and our lives are centered on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it makes things so much easier. 

Love you all!

Love,

Sister Mackenzie Esmond

"O Be Wise; What Can I Say More?"

     Wow. What a blessing to have been given such a wonderful tool to use. Blogging and Facebook. The Lord is hastening the Work of Salvation. To give a little background on me, I have been serving as a missionary as part of the missionary program the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for almost 8 months now. I'm serving in the Arizona Mesa Mission and absolutely LOVE it here. Getting to see the sunshine everyday is just awesome. I have been so blessed in my life to have the Gospel of Jesus Christ and never have felt so much joy through any other work than sharing it. I love being a missionary and the things I have learned. My home state
is Oregon. Yep. The weird capital of the world. But hey, it's home!

Well, my current assignment is a wonderful little town called Globe, AZ. I absolutely love it here. It is so beautiful and the people are amazing! I have just fallen in love with it up here. Reminds me a little of home honestly. So I adore it here. I'm with a wonderful companion  by the name of Sister Chase and we are having a ton of fun and seeing some amazing miracles.

This week, our theme has been "God gave you a brain. Use it." Last week I was reading in the Book of Mormon, in the Book of Jacob. In Chapter 6, verse 12, it says "O be wise; what can I say more?" This verse made me chuckle a little bit and I read it to Sister Chase. As we discussed it, I made the statement, "God gave you a brain. Use it." Since then, we have thought about this as we have been journeying into our area. We have some roads that are very much back roads and don't have much of a shoulder and can be dangerous. Our GPS doesn't exactly know where it is all the time. So we have to rely on our brains and the Holy Ghost a lot. 

Thursday was a great example of this. We woke up in the morning to a leak in our closet... On my side. Clothing: SOAKED. Luckily I had a few things that weren't affected to be able to wear. Well, we called the landlady probably five times and couldn't get a hold of her. So we put a bucket under the worst leak and over the day it got even worse. Then both Sister Chase and I both felt strongly to ride with our ward missionaries to a lesson. Which was odd. We only needed a third Sister and ended up bringing her husband as well and rode with them to the lesson. Well, when we got to the lesson it ended up that we needed to go to the Chapel to teach it instead of in his home. We got there and ended up that the man we were teaching needed a Priesthood Blessing. The brother that came with us called the Bishop and they were able to give him a blessing. We were so glad we listened to the Holy Ghost and the brother came with us. This ended up being exactly what Heavenly Father knew we needed to do and it was such a blessing that we listened. Seriously, we went home and both realized what a blessing it was to actually use the Holy Ghost to get throughout our day that day.

Oh the leak? Getting fixed. We did all we could and it was fine. 

But that is what I've really learned this week, you can pray and ask God all you want. But unless you do something  about it, He isn't really going to be able to help you much. 

Love you all!

Love,
Sister Mackenzie Esmond