Salvation is a personal matter; Exaltation is a family concern

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about my little brother, Brackin. The kid is a stud. He's good lookin, athletic, has the biggest heart in the world, and loves to help others. I love him! We know that all of us here on earth make up the family of God. God is our Father and we are His children. We are all brothers and sisters here and its pretty cool to stop and think about that every once in a while. When its thought about in that sense, all of us share a brotherly love. For example, I have the coolest friends in the world. We are all very close to each other and we trust each other with a lot of things. I love those guys, my brothers. I would do anything for them. With that being said, I am convinced that the love that I have for my "real" brother surpasses that of my brotherly love that I have for my buddies. Why? I'm trying to figure that out. It seems like those that we spend the most time around are those that we are quick to burn or to treat badly and we end up treating our friends who we are not around most of the time much better. Wouldn't it make sense if those that we love more are treated better than those that we don't love as much? There's a saying in my house that I took for granted growing up and it consists of two words. "Family First." I think about how often I didn't put them first back at home. I love this quote by Elder Russell M. Nelson, "In God's eternal plan, salvation is an individual matter; exaltation is a family matter." I hope that all of us can do more to put our families on the forefront of our minds and to make them a priority. I know that this is something that I have learned since being away from my family for a few months. I love them. A lot. They mean the world to me and I can say that they are a priority in my life. I will do more to show that love to them. To my little brother~ You are the man! I love you and respect you with all that I got. You may always be my little brother, {and don't ever forget that!} but I will always look up to you. I always have. You know what you believe and you are not afraid to stand up for it. You know the talents and blessings that God has given you and you are not afraid to share them. {Even if that includes knocking some kids out on the football field :) } You know that you are a noble and valiant son of our Heavenly Father and you are not afraid to share that. Thank you for being fearless. I love you Brackin. Go Get It!

I Stand All Amazed...at the joy that the restored gospel of Jesus Christ brings to a family.