My HEROes

I was asked to speak in church again, but directly to the kids.  Here is that talk:

I’ll have to admit I was kind of shocked and surprised when Brother Brown called me to speak in church, because coming from a ward of over 1000 you speak in church once and your pretty much set for the next 2 to 3 years, although I guess I should have seen this coming because a couple of weeks ago my husband woke up really sick on the day he had to teach and he was frantically going through the ward list trying to find someone to cover for him last minute and Brother Brown graciously accepted even on his wife’s birthday.   So I guess it’s only fair I speak in church to repay the favor.  Oh and brother Brown thanks for giving me a few more days notice than you were given.

For those of you who don’t know me I’m sister wood, and we’ve been in the ward about a year now and I have the amazing opportunity to spend each Sunday with all the wonderful kids in primary.  I hope bishop doesn’t mind me sharing this but after he had called me in to the primary he said something to the effect of if Christ were to come to our ward he would be down in the primary and I believe that..  Those kids have such sweet spirits and I’m truly blessed.

Ok so with that little introduction I have been given special instructions to speak directly to all you children out there about the scriptures, so adults you are off the hook, and kids I want you all to look at me get your listening ears on like this and try to stay awake and listen and I’ll try not to be to boring ok, and I pray for the spirit to touch our hearts today. 

I want to tell you a story. So I guess I should start like all good stories start with once upon a time when I was a baby I stopped breathing, which is not very good because your body needs air to stay alive.  So when I stop breathing so my dad and my uncle had to quickly give me cpr or blow air into my lungs so I could breath, and rushed me to the hospital.  When I was got to the hospital my heart stopped beating, I wasn’t breathing, and I actually died for a few minutes, which being a mother I’m sure must have been very very scary for my family.   My dad gave me a blessing and I’m sure the doctors where working really hard to save my life and by some miracle my life was saved, and I’m living my happily ever after, and my dad has always been my hero ever since.

Today I’m going to talk about some of my heroes and they all come the scriptures.  I want you to close your eyes and think about your hero or heroes for just a moment. Ok open them.   What makes a hero?  Do they have to have to have a really cool costume and wear tights?  Do they have to be able to fly, or see through walls, or be very very strong.  Well I think heroes are so much more than that and I hope from these example you too will see what make a true hero.    

On hero is Moses:  The story of moses is in Exodus.  When moses was a baby his mother put him in a basket and put him in the river to save his life, and an Egyptian princess found the baby and wanted to keep him and save his life and called him moses which means saved.  Moses grew up as a prince and later was told by God to save his people from slavery.  With great faith and by the power of God Moses parted the red sea so his people could walk on the dry land to their freedom.  Later Moses went into the mountains to receive the 10 commandments that we follow today.  Our favorite commandment in our house is Honor thy mother and father” right girls.   

Daniel:  Daniel was an honest and a hard worker and the king put him in charge of the whole country.  The other servants of the kings got really jealous and tried to get Daniel in trouble, so in order to get Daniel in trouble they tricked the king into passing a law that they knew Daniel would break.  The new law was that everyone had to pray only to the king and if they pray to God they would be thrown into the lions Den.  Pray was so important to Daniel he continued to pray to our heavenly father even though he would be punished by the king and thrown in with the lions with sharp claws and teeth.  Because the king was tricked he had to punish Daniel and through him in with the lions, and worried about him all night and hoped that he would be saved by the God he prayed to.  The next morning the King called out to Daniel to see if he was still alive and Daniel told the king that God had sent and angel to shut the mouths of the lions and he wasn’t hurt and the king passed a new law for everyone to respect the God that saved Daniels life.

Nephi:  Nephi is a great hero in the book of mormon.  He obeys his father and the lord and is obedient no matter what.  He risks his life in order to go and get the plates which were the scriptures to them.  He builds a ship, and endures being abused by his brother many times, but always trust in the lord, and follows the commandments. 

We read in 1 Nephi 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, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

Joseph: we can learn about Joseph in Genesis.  Joseph was blessed with a gift of interpreting dreams and was favored by his parents, and when he was given a coat of many color, so his jealous brothers sold him into slavery. Jealousy seems to cause a lot of problems in the scriptures, so we should learn from others mistakes and try not to be jealous. Joseph worked hard as a slave and when his master’s wife lied and said Joseph tried to hurt her he was thrown in prision and was a prisoner for many years.  Even though Joseph was wrongfully punished and lived many years as a slave and then a prisoner he had faith in the lord, and eventually he was able to use his gift of interpreting dreams to save and entire nations from a drought and famine and loved and forgave his brothers, and saved their families too.

David:  David was a very brave and courageous boy, and agreed to fight a giant even when all the soldiers in their armor were too afraid.   He had faith in the lord and was able to kill  the giant with just a slingshot and stone.

Job:  Job was very bless with many things, and always honored and worshiped our heavenly father.  Satan thought that the only reason Job was good was because he was richly blessed, so heavenly father allow Job to lose everything he had even his health.  Job had very painful soars all over his body and was in pain in his body and in his heart because he had lost his family, but even though everything was horrible for him he still loved heavenly father so he was blessed with even more than what he lost. 

Captain Moroni:  captain Moroni is a great hero in the book of mormon.  He was a young warrior that led his soldiers to great victories, and always prayed and followed the prophet.  Even though he was at war and his enemies were wicked he still loved them and tried his best to find ways to win battles without killing his enemies.  He is a hero in so many ways and I love how he fought for what he loved.  He ripped his coat and wrote on it,  lets read it from the scripture alma 46:12 it’s good.-- In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children—and he fastened it upon the end of a pole.  That was called the title of liberty.  Moroni was a very righteous man it even says in the scriptures in

alma 48: 17 Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto ^aMoroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the ^bdevil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men. 

These are just some of my heroes and we can learn to be heroes too just like them.  We can learn forgiveness from Joseph, we can be courageous like David and Daniel, we can be obedient like Nephi when he says I will go and do.  I like that, Kids next time your parents ask you to do something I want you to try and say I will go and do mother or father.  I bet they will really like that.  We can endure and always love the lord like job, and we can always hold our families dear and fight for what is important to us, pray and always follow the prophet and try to live so righteously that satin will have no power over us like Moroni

Kids the scriptures are filled with so much excitement and adventure and really great stories of heroes and examples of how we can live our lives so we can make it back to heaven.  In 2 Nephi 32: 3 we are promised we will be guided and directed by our loving heavenly father so we can find our way back home to heaven it reads.

"Feast upon the words of Christ;

for behold, the words of Christ

will tell you all things what ye

should do."

(2 Nephi 32:3)

I know some of you can’t read yet and that’s ok.  Try to remember some of the stories I have talked about today.  Ask your parents, your older brothers or sisters, or teachers to tell you about their heros and their favorite scriptures.  You know something pretty cool all the songs you learn in primary are from the scriptures.  “I will go I will do the things the lord commands” sound familiar that’s from Nephi 3:7.  So try to learn the songs and you will be learning all about the scriptures ok.

I want to tell you about one more hero.  The greatest hero of all time and I hope he will become a hero to each of you today.  Look up her behind me.  That’s Jesus.  Jesus Christ is my greatest hero.  He died for us so we can all be saved.  He is the perfect example of who we should strive to be.  He walked on water, calmed the ragging sea, healed the sick, made the blind man see, raised the dead, he is the perfect example for us, A true super hero full of love, compassion and power.  Brothers and Sisters, boys and girls I want to bear my testimony that the scriptures and true.  I love them.  I know that by studying and pondering them everyday we can BE filled will the spirit and guided and directed in all thing.  The lord loves us and wants to communicate with his beloved children so open your scriptures and let his words fill your mind and heart and be showered in his goodness and love.  I’m so grateful  for a little boy named joseph who love the scriptures and followed the council in James “ if any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God, which led to the restoration on the only true church on earth and the wonderful book of mormon.  I love being in primary.  You kids are perfect.  I love each one of you and you are all my heros.  I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen.