Joseph

Yesterday I was reading an article about Mary, the mother of Jesus.  It was a really fantastic article in the January 2018 Ensign and perfect for Christmas Eve.  It talked about how faithful she was, chosen to be the mother of the Son of God.  Choice above all other women.  Millions revere her.  Then I got to thinking about Joseph. He is an unsung hero in my eyes.  I think we do him, and ourselves a disservice when he is left out of the conversation.  We know Joseph was a righteous man. The scriptures say he was going to put Mary away privately, so he was compassionate.  Then the angel came and he married her instead. When Herod sent soldiers to kill all of the babies Joseph knew and fled to Egypt.  The angel came to him instead of Mary, that speaks of his sensitivity to the spirit and his willingness to obey.  I think Joseph was choice above men to be called as the Father of the son of God.  Sometimes people like to make the distinction very clear, he was not the Father, he was the step father.  Maybe it's the influence of growing up without a dad in my home, but I see Joseph as the father of Jesus as much as Mary is His mother.  I think Jesus saw Joseph as his father.
     Joseph must have taught him.  He taught Jesus to work with his hands, to be compassionate, to pray.  Joseph taught Jesus, by his example, how to be a good man and care for others.  I wish there were more in the scriptures about Joseph.  I don't wonder if he was a disciple, I believe he was, I know he was!  Did he live to see the great atoning sacrifice of our Savior?  Did a sword pierce his soul at the death of his son?  Or did he wait on the other side to see him again?
   

To my daughter

   
      My dearest daughter,
     You are beautiful.  You are strong.  You can be both at the same time.  I hope you never let anyone convince you that you have to stop wearing skirts and dancing to be strong.  There is strength in your femininity.  There is strength in your service and love.  There is strength in your sweet, kind heart.  You do not have to be tough to be strong.  You do not have to be harsh to be strong.  You can love ruffles and flowers and be strong.  You can love fire trucks and climbing trees and be strong. You can be you and love all of those things and  be strong.  You can love God and be strong.  There is more strength in knowing who you are and being that person, then there is in conforming to the ideas of another.  Your greatest strength will come from knowing that you are a child of God, a divine creation with limitless potential.  So go ahead and wear a dress every day.  Let pink be your favorite color. Keep loving fire trucks and science and math and singing and dancing all at the same time.  Keep being the amazing daughter of God that you were created to be.  Be you.  Be strong.  And remember, when you are weak, He will carry you and make your weakness become strengths.

Judge not

Simone Biles, Olympic gold medal winning gymnast. Misty Copeland, first female African American Principle Dancer at the American Ballet Theater.  Ryan Gosling, actor. Bethany Hamilton, world renown surfer, you know, the one who's arm was bitten off and she kept surfing. Christopher Paolini, youngest author to write a bestselling series. Emma Watson, actress.  Taylor Swift, country singer. Richard Lorenzo, founder and CEO of multi-million dollar business Fifth Avenue Brands, a public relations firm. (Which he started in 10th grade)  What do they all have in common?  They were all home schooled. So the next time you want to judge an entire community by that one person you knew pick one of these.  Also, keep in mind that some kids are home schooled because they have special needs and their parents stepped up to take their education into their own hands.  Maybe that guy you met who has no boundaries and doesn't get social cues is like that because he has special needs you don't know about and it has nothing to do with his way of being educated.