Thanks be to God

Yesterday in my scripture study I read the following scripture:

1 Nephi 15:15 

"And then at that day will they not rejoice and give praise unto their everlasting God, their rock and their salvation? Yea, at that day, will they not receive the strength and nourishment from the true vine?  Yea, will they not come unto the true fold of God?"

This part, will they not receive the strength and nourishment from the true vine, gave me the reminder that, "Yes! I can receive both strength and nourishment from the true vine every single moment of every day!". This is what I believe it means to call upon the name of the Lord. He is the true vine and we are the branches. Will we not draw upon Him for strength and nourishment? Yes, yes I will. Thank Thee.

 

A New Year a New Beginning!

Well, hello there! Now that we have a missionary out, my heart and mind have been thinking about ways to keep our family connected. I have had a few different blogs over the years. The most recent, AllenTimesandSeasons, was recently totally erased because I didn’t pay the domain name fee. It was so sad! I had the prompting to look up Blogger and saw that the blogs I started when Seth was a baby were still intact! Now what do you think of that?!

In an effort to stay rooted in what has stood the test of time, I’d like to share our family updates here, along with personal insights and spiritual understandings received through the power of the Holy Ghost. Returning to this space feels especially timely as we step into a new year—happy 2026!

Over the past few days during my scripture study, the Spirit has filled my mind with deeper understandings. In short, the message of The Book of Mormon is an invitation—to ask, to seek, and to knock—with a soft heart and eyes to see (1 Nephi 15:11), and to do so with a sincere heart and real intent (Moroni 10:4).

When we do, the Lord does—and will—manifest the truthfulness of all things unto us (Moroni 10:5). It’s true. He, our loving Heavenly Father, will show His loving plan to us.

Even if others don’t see it. Even if others don’t believe it. Even when there is pain, heartache, and hard things in the world—the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is true. And it is written so clearly for us; as we seek with soft hearts and allow the eyes of our understanding to be opened, we will have understanding.