My map of the US

Thanks to the SS blogger (lisaroo) who found this. I am impressed with how many states I have visited. Well, mostly it is how many I have driven through on the way to somewhere else. But, it is still fun!



create your own visited states map

Our breakfast conversation

Breakfast time--it isn't just for eating! This morning, over frosted flakes, we discussed the meaning of life. My son Benjamin is 6 years old and has always been very wise and a deep thinker. He often asks questions about the nature of God and the purpose of life. Courtney, age 4, occasionally joins in, too. This morning, the conversation went something like this:

Me: How is your breakfast, Ben?

Ben: Mom, why did Adam and Eve eat the fruit in the Garden of Eden?

Me: Well, if they didn't, they would get to stay in that beautiful garden and walk and talk with God. But they would never progress beyond that. No children, no learning to live for themselves. They chose to eat the fruit to obey God's command to have children. They also knew that God wanted them to "move away from home" like you will when you get older to learn to make choices for themselves.

Ben: Oh. Were Adam and Eve ever children?

Me: Courtney, eat your cereal please. No, Ben. Heavenly Father and Jesus made them out of dirt and they started as adults.

Ben: Hmmm. Dirt and water right? Did they use the water to be their blood? (I don't know Ben. Maybe.) They started older cuz they needed to be able to start having kids, huh. Mom, Adam couldn't have been a prophet--he had no one to teach!

Me: Well, yes he was a prophet. Adam and Eve lived for like 900 years because they needed to have lots of kids to fill up the earth with people. He had many many people to teach.

Ben: Can we meet any of his kids?

Me: We are his descendents Ben. He lived 6 or 7 thousand years ago. His kids are long gone.

Ben: Mom, why do we need to come to earth?

Me: So we can have a body like Heavenly Father and learn and grow and gain faith and learn how to make good choices on our own and learn to rely on our Father's help in our lives. Satan and his followers didn't get bodies and having bodies must be pretty important because Satan sure is mad that he doesn't have one. That's why he works so hard to try to get us to sin.

Courtney: It's sad that the Holy Ghost doesn't get a body.

Me: Well, he has a special job to do for Heavenly Father that he couldn't do if he had a body.

Ben: Mom, I don't think I will know what to do after I die. Can I have some more milk?

Me: Huh?

Ben: I won't be able to see without my eyes or hear without my ears, since I won't have my body.

Me: (smiling) Our spirits will still be able to see and hear, I'm sure. Don't worry Ben. You will be just fine. Heavenly Father will not make us do something we are not ready for. When we die we will be able to do what is necessary. But it won't be all that long before we are resurrected and we will have our perfect bodies like Heavenly Father and Jesus. Cool, huh!

Ben: Yeah.



And so it was. We learned a long time ago that with Ben, we can't give him "milk and honey" answers. He is ready for the "meaty" answers. I don't know how much longer I will be able to answer his questions. I might have to start asking HIM the questions, soon!