Last winter, in spiritual and emotional preparation for giving birth to my third baby, I began to feel such gratitude for my female ancestors and their lives, faith, and sacrifices through giving birth. They experienced the pains of labor and so I knew they could empathize as I experienced it again. I imagined them, essentially, as my doulas on the other side, surrounding me in love as I delivered my baby. In fact, my great-great grandmother on my mom's side, Sarah Elizabeth Carter, was trained in obstetric nursing under accomplished LDS female doctor Ellis R. Shipp. Sarah Elizabeth delivered hundreds of babies in southern Alberta, Canada, taking care of them and their mothers at her home which they coined "The Stork's Nest". She surely was equipped to empathize with a charitable love as I delivered my baby Evelyn.
After feeling that love for these grandmothers of mine, I decided I wanted to create something my daughters could look to to feel that closeness to these women. I believe these women still care about me and all their descendants with a mother's love. I also looked at it as I meditated and prayed for strength in preparation for labor and delivery. Evelyn's arrival was peaceful and joyful even amid the physical intensity of it all. I believe this was made possible through the peace of the Holy Ghost and enhanced by my strengthened testimony of my divine nature as a glorious woman of God. To me it's not unthinkable that one or more of these ancestors played a supportive role as Evelyn sacredly crossed the veil into this mortal life.
I used PowerPoint to create to this chart, using photos I found almost entirely through Familysearch.org.
In October 2011, Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in a conference address encouraged us to memorize scriptures. He compared a memorized scripture to an "enduring friend that does not weaken with the passage of time". He also said, "Scriptures are like packets of light that illuminate our minds and give place to guidance and inspiration from on high." How comforting and powerful is that? In October of 2015, Elder Devin Durrant of the General Sunday School Presidency of the church gave a challenge to "ponderize" a new scripture a week, defining ponderizing as a "combination of 80 percent extended pondering and 20 percent memorization.”
As I have young children, I worked on a list of full or partial scriptures that even kids as young as two can work on memorizing, comprehending, and applying to their life. Here's a list of 52 (one for each week of the year) that I wanted to share! Of course there are endless possibilities of scriptures you could use for your family, not just the ones listed here. Let the Spirit guide you in what to choose and how to teach it:
1 Ne 3:7 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded…
2 Ne 2:25 Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.
2 Ne 32: 3 ...feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.
Mosiah 2:17 ...when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.
Alma 37:35 O, remember, my son, and learn wisdom in thy youth; yea, learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of God.
3 Ne 11:29 For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.
3 Ne 12:48 Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect.
3 Nephi 22:13 And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.
Alma 11:43 The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form...
Alma 36:3 ...Whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.
2 Ne 4:30 Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation.
Doctrine and Covenants 93:29 Ye were also in the beginning with God. Intelligence or the light of truth was not created or made, neither indeed can be.
Doctrine and Covenants 88:124 Cease to be idle; cease to be unclean; cease to find fault one with another; cease to sleep longer than is needful; retire to thy bed early, that ye may not be weary; arise early, that your bodies and your minds may be invigorated.
Doctrine and Covenants 10:5 Pray always, that you may come off conqueror; yea, that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work.
Doctrine and Covenants 25:12 For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads.
Doctrine and Covenants 58:26 For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.
Doctrine and Covenants 58:27 Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;
Doctrine and Covenants 59:9-10 And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day; For verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High;
Doctrine and Covenants 1:23 That the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers.
Psalm 145:9 The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
Col 3:2 Set your affection (mind) on things above, not on things on the earth.
1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
Psalm 150:6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.
Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Genesis 1:1 – In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth
Colossian 3:20 Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.
Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you...
Psalm 56:3 – What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.
Deuteronomy 6:5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
Romans 6:23 ...The gift of God is Eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Matt 11:28 Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.
John 14:6 I am the way the truth and the light. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
James 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead...
Isaiah 55:8-9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Ephesians 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
