To My Grandsons

Dear Little Ones,

I have been thinking so much about each of you and what is ahead of you in your lifetimes.  I worry that what lies ahead may be hard at times, discouraging and seem unsurmountable but I want you to know that NOTHING is beyond your grasp if you have faith.  There are things you can do in your life that will help you to have and keep faith even through the most difficult times.  I am going to share them with you and I want you to remember them always!

Be Happy - Be joyful no matter what.  There is so much to be happy about in life and when you came to this earth from Heaven above, you brought with you joy and goodness. Share it, express it and let it shine in everything you do.  When you are joyful, it is "visible in your countenance and you will be beautiful to look upon as the angels are beautiful to look upon" and people will want to be around you.  Most importantly, your Heavenly Father wants you to be happy so try to always find the things in life that will bring you joy and hang on to them in everything you do and say - just do it!  Being happy strengthens your faith.   

Always Offer Forgiveness - Forgiveness will bring you happiness if you practice it each day.  When people offend you, forgive them and be their friend - it may be hard but in the end, you will be glad you did!  When someone hurts your feelings, do an act of kindness for them and make a promise to yourself that you will always try to be good to others.  From this you will learn that it is easier to love everyone if you can be kind to even the most unpleasant person.  If someone goes out of their way to hurt you or put a stumbling block in your path, forgive them and go around or over that stumbling block.  Holding grudges and dwelling on what others have done to you only hurts you - not them.  Don't do that to yourself!  Forgiving others helps to build your faith by teaching you that looking past someone elses faults keeps you from focusing on their weaknesses or your own.  Find the positive in everything because it is out there! 

Serve Others - Serving others and loosing yourself in that service can be fun and it makes you feel so good about yourself and the person or people you are helping.  Serving others builds faith in yourself.  Faith that you can do things that you wouldn't normally do, faith that you are stronger than you thought you were, faith that you can bare things that are larger than you and faith that your faith is the rock on which you are building your life.  Service makes your faith stronger because sometimes it takes faith to serve others instead of yourself!   


Remember Who You Are - When your daddy's were young boys we had a plaque made for our kitchen door that they went out each day to leave the house to go to school.  This plaque read "Return With Honor" and it was a daily and sometimes hourly reminder to them that when they left our home, they should come back as good a person as when they left.  Every day you will be faced with challenges, temptations and tough decisions.  Don't be fooled by those things that want to pull you away from your testimony of Jesus Christ and the path that you should remain on .  If you come in contact with someone who you feel does not have your best interest at heart, go away from them.  If someone approaches you with something that you know is not good for you and would hurt you, get away!   

My heart is full of love for you and more than anything else, I hope that you will each remain true to the faith that your parents will teach you.  While you are young lean on the faith of your parents and as you grow, nurture your own faith and help it to grow and strengthen it by your words and deeds.  It is in you to live your life to the fullest while maintaining those standards and beliefs that will keep you on the straight and narrow.

I love you both,

Gma Meng!