We Seek After These Things...

It's been a while since I blogged but the theme for Mutual this year (the 13th Article of Faith) has gotten our family really thinking about the things we have in our home.  We have always been very aware of what comes into our home through media.  Heck, I even rip off the covers of my husband's Runners World magazine when it comes with a half-naked woman on it because we wouldn't allow that kind of scanty clothing on anything else and I have puberty raging in my house with two boys.  We keep it clean!

We have had Clearplay since our kids were small and recently got TV Guardian since they started production again.  Profanity just doesn't happen on TV at our house.  On the rare occasion it slips through, you can hear my kids audibly suck in their breath.  They are assaulted all day at middle school with profanity, but they know that at home, it's a profanity-free zone.  

I was cleaning up DVDs today and realized that we have a LOT of LDS-themed videos and that my Deacon-aged sons willingly choose to watch them over and over.  There are a lot of cute, clean, good movies out there that have an LDS theme that your kids and whole family will enjoy.  While they usually cost a little more than other movies you could buy, our opinion is that we are investing in our kids by buying them. They will have good choices over the junk that the world usually offers.  

Here's the list you'll find at our house.  There are lots more - many we have watched but not purchased.  Every time we get to a Deseret Book, we usually come out with at least one more for our boys to watch.  Our list tends towards action/adventure/mission because of our boys, but there are plenty of others that would appeal to adolescent girls.  And, of course, we have many videos produced by the church like Finding Faith in Christ and Legacy that our kids also watch on Sundays.  

• Return with Honor
• Mormons and Mafia
• Baptists at our Barbecue
• Work and The Glory
• American Mormon
• Forever Strong
• The Best Two Years
• Outlaw Trail
• The Legend of Johnny Lingo (new version)
• Singles Ward series
• Money or Mission
• Liken The Scriptures Series (they are like a high quality roadshow - so funny)
• One Man's Treasure
• Church Ball
• Scout Camp
• The Other Side of Heaven
• Junior's Giants series (the kids still love to watch)

Courageous Parenting

This talk by Larry R. Lawrence at General Conference was one of the best talks on parenting I have ever heard.  Much of what he speaks about is already how we parent - right down to disallowing sleep-overs for the very reasons he cited.  We have many non-negotiables at our house that we have to enforce with courage because they are often unpopular with our kids.  It's not easy and often, it's not pleasant to have to deal with the arguing that ensues when we enforce the rules.  We try to explain why things are that way, but adolescents often don't want the explanation, they just want to argue with you about the rule in an effort to wear you down so you'll change it.    

Every parent should use this talk as a resource.  These are principles that will keep your children safe and help them grow up to be righteous, productive members of society.

Courageous Parenting

This talk by Larry R. Lawrence at General Conference was one of the best talks on parenting I have ever heard.  Much of what he speaks about is already how we parent - right down to disallowing sleep-overs for the very reasons he cited.  We have many non-negotiables at our house that we have to enforce with courage because they are often unpopular with our kids.  It's not easy and often, it's not pleasant to have to deal with the arguing that ensues when we enforce the rules.  We try to explain why things are that way, but adolescents often don't want the explanation, they just want to argue with you about the rule in an effort to wear you down so you'll change it.    

Every parent should use this talk as a resource.  These are principles that will keep your children safe and help them grow up to be righteous, productive members of society.

Courageous Parenting

This talk by Larry R. Lawrence at General Conference was one of the best talks on parenting I have ever heard.  Much of what he speaks about is already how we parent - right down to disallowing sleep-overs for the very reasons he cited.  We have many non-negotiables at our house that we have to enforce with courage because they are often unpopular with our kids.  It's not easy and often, it's not pleasant to have to deal with the arguing that ensues when we enforce the rules.  We try to explain why things are that way, but adolescents often don't want the explanation, they just want to argue with you about the rule in an effort to wear you down so you'll change it.    

Every parent should use this talk as a resource.  These are principles that will keep your children safe and help them grow up to be righteous, productive members of society.

Courageous Parenting

This talk by Larry R. Lawrence at General Conference was one of the best talks on parenting I have ever heard.  Much of what he speaks about is already how we parent - right down to disallowing sleep-overs for the very reasons he cited.  We have many non-negotiables at our house that we have to enforce with courage because they are often unpopular with our kids.  It's not easy and often, it's not pleasant to have to deal with the arguing that ensues when we enforce the rules.  We try to explain why things are that way, but adolescents often don't want the explanation, they just want to argue with you about the rule in an effort to wear you down so you'll change it.    

Every parent should use this talk as a resource.  These are principles that will keep your children safe and help them grow up to be righteous, productive members of society.

We believe in being honest...

Being frugal is almost an Olympic Sport for some Mormons.  I'm one of those.  Nothing feels better than not paying full price for something.  I will often tell my husband that he should be happy that I'm so cheap and low-maintenance - which he is, because he's just as cheap.  

Consequently, I have "Liked" a lot of pages at Facebook and followed a lot of blogs that alert me when products and services are on fantastic sales.  I have scored free magazine subscriptions, half-price Christmas gifts, restaurant coupons, etc. at these sites.  I have also joined The Grocery Game and make it my goal to try to come out of the store on Monday morning having saved 50% on my groceries.  The other day, I bragged on Facebook that I had saved 100% on my trip to Albertsons.  Of course, I bought a can of soup that was on sale for a dollar with a coupon from Albertson's good for one dollar off my next visit.  The receipt said, "TOTAL SAVINGS: 100%" and I was THRILLED!  

The benefit of our cheapness is that we are well on track for our retirement savings and college savings for kids.  I always look at families who have lots of fancy toys and expensive clothes and wonder if they have their retirement saved or their kids' college paid for.  They are often selling their future for some expensive stuff today.  We refuse to do that and are always looking for ways to save.  We don't just live WITHIN our means, we live BENEATH our means so we can save money for the future.  

That being said, I think there's a fine line between "frugal" and "dishonest".  The 13th Article of Faith starts out, "We believe in being honest...." and, one of the Temple Recommend questions ask if you are honest in your dealings.  To me, that means we are required to live in total honesty even when it costs us money or time.  There is no excuse for being a "little" dishonest to save money.  

Last week I saw a frugal blog post discount codes for a company.  This company was offering something with a retail value of nearly $30 free for NEW CUSTOMERS.  So, the blog owner recommended you use every email address and computer in your house to get as many of these FREE codes as possible.  Then, she posted a bunch of half-price codes for the same company and suggested the same for those.  Many women were thanking her on the comments section for such GREAT DEALS.  I'll admit, as a business owner, this really made me cranky.  Those codes all clearly stated "ONE PER HOUSEHOLD" and I know that the free product was meant for NEW CUSTOMERS to try out their company with the hopes they would then come back later and pay full price.  How long do you think that company can stay in business if it gives all their products away to people who are "gaming" the system with multiple email addresses?  It crosses the line between frugal and dishonest.

A few years ago, I sat in a Relief Society class about being frugal and listened to someone talk about saving money on groceries.  She said she loved it when a store was out of a product that was on a fantastic sale and she had to get a rain check.  Let's say it was 6 oz. regular Crest Toothpaste that was on sale for a dollar with a normal retail price of $2.49.  She said the store would usually just write, "Crest Toothpaste" and "$1 per tube" on the Raincheck.  Then, she would wait until the sale was over and go back to the store and get the ultra-whitening super large size Crest toothpaste that might be $4.49 a tube instead of the cheaper, smaller size that had been on sale.  She sang the praises of how FRUGAL and smart that was.  But, I sat there wondering if anyone else was as uncomfortable as I was about the dishonesty of that.  She KNEW which toothpaste it was and should have gotten THAT toothpaste. Actually, that same store now writes very detailed info on their rain checks - probably because they figured out that some were being dishonest when they redeemed them.     

So, as I look for good deals to save my family money, I will also consider the honesty of them.  I'm all for getting something free or at a steep discount, but if I have to lie or cheat the system to get more than my share, then I'll stop at one and walk away.  I would hate to stand before God and have to answer as to why I needed to get two of something that cost $30 when one was all the company was really offering me.  I will not sell my integrity for frugality.  

LDS.org - New Era Article - Are Mormons Christians?

I loved this book when it came out several years ago. I recently had a discussion with some people about this very thing. They used the closed cannon of Scripture argument. When I pointed out that the book of Revelations was written BEFORE some of the gospels and therefore discredited those books with the same scripture they were using to dismiss the Book of Mormon, they got strangely quiet.

They also said that it was clear that there were to be no more prophets to the world. How strange to me. My Heavenly Father loves me as much as he did the people in ancient times and, given the state of the world, we need prophets more now than ever. I can't imagine God leaving us to our own devices.

LDS.org - New Era Article - Are Mormons Christians?