I read this verse today and it made my heart feel light:
"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away."
Can you imagine a state of being without death, sorrow, and pain? For some reason, I can. Maybe because there are places I have been and moments in my life where I have been relatively free from these things. So in times where I am feeling the death, sorrow, crying, and pain, it is helpful for me to know that if I can do everything I can to live the way our Father has asked us to live, it will be Him and His Son who will now or one day wipe away the tears from my eyes.
-elin
Whose 3-year old just swallowed a dime. True story.
Growing up I always loved the story of Alma the younger… who
wouldn’t love a story with angels and good overcoming evil? Now, I go back and
read it because it gives me hope and shows me the power of redemption and a
father’s love.
Under the reign of Mosiah there were many unbelievers and
they desired to lead members of the church to sin. The prophet at the time was
Alma. Alma and Mosiah watched the rising generation struggle with sin and
understand the word of God. Those who were members of the church of God were
persecuted. So great was this problem, King Mosiah sent a proclamation throughout
the land that persecution would not be tolerated between any groups. There
began to be peace in the land. However, there were still unbelievers. Alma’s
son, Alma the Younger, and Mosiah’s four sons, were among the unbelievers and
they desired to destroy the church. Mosiah 27:8 describes Alma the younger;
“He
became a very wicked and an idolatrous man. And he was man of many words, and
did speak much flattery to the people; therefore he led many of the people to
do after the manner of iniquities.”
One day as they were going about in their attempts to
destroy the church, an angel appeared before them and spoke with a voice of
thunder. These young men were so astonished that they fell to the earth, not
understanding the words which the angel spoke. The angel repeats the words and
they hear. Alma was so overcome by the experience that he could not speak; his
body was so exhausted that he could not move. The sons of Mosiah carried him
back to his father and told him of their experience. Alma, the prophet,
rejoiced because he knew it was the power of God; he gathered many together and
they fasted and prayed that Alma the younger would soon awake and speak to
them. After two days and two nights Alma awoke and began to speak to them. Here
is some of what he said, located in Mosiah 27:23-31;
“I have repented of my sins, and have been redeemed of the
Lord; behold I am born of the Spirit… all mankind… must be born again; yea,
born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of
righteousness, being redeemed of God…and thus they become new creatures; and
unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God…My soul hath
been redeemed from the gall of bitterness and bonds of iniquity. I was in the
darkest abyss; but now I behold the marvelous light of God. My soul was racked with
eternal torment; but I am snatched, and my soul is pained no more."
Alma the younger and the sons of Mosiah spend their life
teaching the word of God. King Mosiah proposes there be no more kings but a
system of judges to rule the people. The people chose Alma the younger as the
chief judge; he is also became the prophet when his father died. Later in life
he gives up his seat as chief judge so that he can devote his time to teaching
others.
I have spent a few days thinking about what it means to be
redeemed of God and Alma is a great example. To redeem means to make better.
When Alma was redeemed of God he was made better; so much in fact, he became a
different person. I have experienced this myself. As I seek to learn to the
word of the Lord and also seek repentance, I feel a change in my heart. I
become better as I learn to rely on the atonement. When I’m feeling low, like I just don’t
measure up, I think about Alma and the change that came upon him. It gives me
hope because I know I can change as well and become better.
-Ryanne
Who was too lazy to do anything for Halloween this year... except eat candy pumpkins.
One of my favorite stories from the Book of Mormon is about a missionary named Ammon. It has been a favorite for a long time, dating back to the illustrated Book of Mormon days (a simplified kids' version with pictures). My reason for liking the story has changed over time, though. Here is a brief summary of Ammon's story, beginning with his choice to be a missionary (Alma 17-20, 26-27).
Ammon, three of his brothers, and some others decide to go preach the gospel to the Lamanites, who are not only uninterested in the message, but generally are enemies to Ammon's people, the Nephites. The missionaries feel like it is their duty to try and teach the Lamanites, no matter what. Ammon finds himself in a sub-kingdom and meets the king, who asks him what he wants. He tells him he would like to be the king's servant. His first task is to care for the king's sheep, along with some other servants. While watering the flock, a group of men drive the sheep away, hoping to claim some for themselves. Ammon leads the other servants in gathering the sheep and taking them back to the water. The men attempt to drive away the sheep again, but Ammon starts to fight them, by himself. He takes out six with a sling before the group rushes him with clubs. He then proceeds to cut their arms off with his sword, and kill their leader. The rest flee. (You can see why a young boy would like this story, right?) Ammon's fellow servants then gather the detached arms to show the king, because they're super impressed. The king ends up being super impressed, too, and is sure Ammon is more than a man. Ammon then gets the opportunity to explain to King Lamoni that the power he used to defeat the aggressors came from God, which then allows him to teach Lamoni all about God and His Son, Jesus Christ. The king is converted, along with his household and many in his sub-kingdom.
A short time later, Ammon is accompanying King Lamoni to see Lamoni's father, who is king over all the Lamanites. They meet the king on the way, and the king is not happy to find his son, Lamoni, with a Nephite, their sworn enemies. Lamoni tries to explain what happened, which makes his dad angry. His dad then threatens him before Ammon intercedes. His dad then tries to fight Ammon, and Ammon injures him to the point he can't defend himself. The king then tells Ammon he'll give him anything he wants, if Ammon will spare his life. Ammon says he'll only spare his life if he agrees to let Lamoni continue on his chosen path and free Ammon's brothers, to which the king agrees. A few chapters later the story is told of the king's own conversion through one of Ammon's brothers, and the king specifically mentions being very impressed by the obvious love that Ammon had for his son, Lamoni, to the point that he was willing to hear what the missionaries had to say.
I like this story because I see in it everything I would like to be. I would like to have the faith to appoach any enemy because I believed it is God's will; I would like to have the hope that no righteous effort is wasted; I would like to have the humility to serve in the lowliest position; I would like to have the courage to stand against attackers, by myself, if necessary; I would like to have so much love for those around me that others would be moved toward God by it; and I would like to be able to do all this without one thought for personal gain or glory, but for my love for God.
Cerulean Warbler, Photograph by Wil Hershberge, Nationalgeographic.com
“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all - And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -
And sore must be the storm -
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm - I’ve heard it in the chillest land -
And on the strangest Sea -
Yet - never - in Extremity,
It asked a crumb - of me.
Emily Dickinson, The Poems of Emily Dickinson Edited by R. W. Franklin (Harvard University Press, 1999)
To Emily Dickinson, hope was like a bird that "perches" within us and keeps us warm despite the problems and "storms" all around us. In Greek mythology, hope was the last thing Pandora (the first human woman, created by the gods) found in the jar (or what we think of now as a box) that was given to her as a wedding present. She was instructed not to open the jar, but naturally opened it anyway subsequently unleashing all evil which spread throughout the earth. But there at the bottom of the jar, hope remained.
I think it is safe to say that hope is a universal concept--something everyone has felt at some point in their lives; but it is a concept that has always been hard for me to wrap my brain around, especially the times in my life when I have felt hopelessness or despair. But writers and cultures and scripture promise that hope is something that is always there if we reach out for it. And that if we have hope, we will be happy (Proverbs 10:28) and when our hope is grounded in the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ, it will be an anchor (Ether 12:4) and protection (1 Thes. 5:8) to us--and a motivation for us to keep doing what Heavenly Father asks, even when it doesn't always make sense in the moment. (like Abraham who "against hope believed in hope" as explained in Romans 4:18-21.) I didn't really understand how hope could play such a vital role in our lives until I had an experience in a class while I was working at a University. I had already completed my Bachelor's degree and was working full-time for the University, but I decided to take a few classes related to some of my current interests. After reviewing the work I did for one of my classes, the professor took me aside and told me something like "I think you have a talent for this, Elin" and he told me I should apply to a graduate program related to the subject we were studying. That is all he said, but for some reason, it changed my entire perspective about myself and my capabilities and my future. I had faith in the professor's opinion because he had been studying and teaching the subject for years...it was a huge part of his life. And so those few words that he said to me gave me more hope in my own abilities and work beyond what merely believing in myself could do. (Don't get me wrong...Belief in self is absolutely necessary too!) That experience opened up to me the kind of hope that faith in God and his messages to His children can do for me and I can see how that kind of hope can move a person forward, even in the darkest times. (For more on hope, this talk is wonderful.) -Elin
Who really wants to eat an entire jar of candy corn at this very moment....disgusting, right?
"..there are times of moral danger when the hardest virtuous resolution to form is flight, and when the most heroic bravery is flight." Riah the Jew to Lizzie Hexam in Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
This quote resonated with me because I have recently been thinking about a time in my life when I looked at myself (my inner self) and did not like what I saw there. It had been a hard and emotionally taxing two or three years and when I wasn't feeling numb to everything around me, I felt anxious, lonely, angry, and with no visible way out. Up to this point, I felt like a victim of circumstance--I certainly didn't blame myself for the way I was feeling or acting. But after I truly took a look at what I had become, I realized that no matter what was happening to me externally, I did not have to be a person that I did not like or respect.
And so I started consciously trying to change my thought process, change the way I spoke and thought about myself and about other people, and even when I inwardly resisted the idea of reading scriptures and praying for help, I forced myself to do them...because I believed these things were the way I could get away from what I didn't like about myself and become what I wanted to be. What did I want to be? Happy. Not afraid. Someone who made positive contributions in the lives of other people--who made other people happy (even if just in small ways).
It wasn't easy. It isn't easy. I am not even close to being the person that I want to be yet. There are plenty of things still wrong with me. But one change happened almost immediately--I felt hope. I began to feel real, true happiness again, even if it was just for a few minutes at a time. And the hope and happiness made the rest easier to deal with. I know that God is real. I have felt hope and healing through the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
What does any of this have to do with the Dickens' quote? One of the hardest things I have ever done was realizing that part of the problem with "me", was, in fact, "me"...and then deciding to get away from the parts of me that were, in part, causing the numbness and anger and loneliness. It was not a "flight" in the sense that I was running away from myself. It was a flight, in the sense that I truly faced myself for the first time and then turned away from self-destructive behaviors and patterns of thought. And it was hard.
I believe we all have to do this to some degree. Sometimes it is fleeing from inner demons (like self-pity and self-doubt and fear) and sometimes it is fleeing from outer demons (like temptation or physical harm). And always, it is a realization that you need help, be it medical, physical, emotional, or spiritual or all of the above.
What I have come to realize about the gospel of Jesus Christ is that it is a gospel of change. It is a gospel of hope. It is the promise that "God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world. But that the world through Him might be saved." (John 3:16-17) He wants us to be our "biggest, brightest selves" (to quote a friend) and only He can help us become our biggest, brightest selves. One time when I too hastily judged someone else's actions, my dad said something along the lines of: "It is not where you've been so much as where you're going that really matters." And I am starting to understand what he meant.
"The first words Jesus spoke in His majestic Sermon on the Mount were to the troubled, the discouraged and downhearted. “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” He said, “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”1 Whether you are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or among the tens of thousands listening this morning who are not of our faith, I speak to those who are facing personal trials and family struggles, those who endure conflicts fought in the lonely foxholes of the heart, those trying to hold back floodwaters of despair that sometimes wash over us like a tsunami of the soul. I wish to speak particularly to you who feel your lives are broken, seemingly beyond repair.
To all such I offer the surest and sweetest remedy that I know. It is found in the clarion call the Savior of the world Himself gave. He said it in the beginning of His ministry, and He said it in the end. He said it to believers, and He said it to those who were not so sure. He said to everyone, whatever their personal problems might be:
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”2"
I can’t think of anyone I know who has not been harmed by
another’s actions, myself included. In minor instances, it is not too difficult
to forgive but for major, heartbreaking circumstance it can be quite difficult.
We are commanded to forgive all and putting our faith and trust in the Lord can
help forgiveness com easier. This commandment is in D&C64:10, “I, the
Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive
all men.” How can we expect the Lord to forgive us our trespasses, when we can’t
forgive our fellowmen?
When I am harmed or someone has offended me, before I feel
anger I feel sadness. During those moments of sadness a scripture usually pops
into my head, Matthew 18:21-22, and the following parable of the Unmerciful Servant found in Matthew 18:22-35 (<--- watch the video in the link);
“Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my
brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times? Jesus saith unto
him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but until seventy times seven.”
We are expected to forgive always… not just a couple times
and there is no chart saying which actions we should forgive and which ones we
shouldn’t. I am grateful that this scripture pops into my head when I need to
hear it. Generally, I feel humbled by these words and the anger never comes.
Christ can help heal our wounded hearts for "he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows”. He knows us and he knows what we are
going through. It is only through him that our broken hearts are mended. I know
this to be true.
In closing, I would like to share a quote and a video. They
both give me hope and faith to forgive. Happiness is possible for those who are
hurting due to another’s action. The future is bright.
“When someone has hurt us or those we care about, that pain
can almost be overwhelming. It can feel as if the pain or the injustice is the most
important thing in the world and that we have no choice but to seek vengeance.
But Christ, the Prince of Peace, teaches us a better way. It can be very
difficult to forgive someone the harm they’ve done us, but when we do, we open ourselves
up to a better future. No longer does someone else’s wrongdoing control our
course. When we forgive others, it frees us to choose how we will live our own
lives. Forgiveness means that problems of the past no longer dictate our
destinies, and we can focus on the future with God’s love in our hearts.”
Have you experienced peace? During difficult trials and
trying times?
Where is peace found and how can it be achieved?
I am only 28 years old. I have, like everybody else, experienced a couple tough
trials in my short existence. There have been times when I felt completely surrounded
by darkness, a thick pressing darkness. It felt as if I would never find my way
out.
Then,
Camelight, a small light, but still, a light.
That light was hope, hope found in Christ.
As I realized I had the knowledge to get me through the
darkness, that light grew. My hope grew and eventually,
Peace.
I experienced peace amidst trial. Peace while experiencing
pain.Peace took the place of fear. Did I know what was in my future? No, but I
did know that I could find peace in the Savior. He would be with me on my
journey.
My journey to find peace is, sadly, a repetitive one. Even
when life seems like it couldn’t be better; I need to rely on my Savior to find
peace. Living righteously brings me closer to Christ; being close to Christ
brings me peace and joy.
Elder Quentin L. Cook said,
“We all long for peace. Peace is not just safety or lack of
war, violence, conflict, and contention. Peace comes from knowing that the Savior
knows who we are and knows that we have faith in Him, love Him, and keep His
commandments, even and especially amid life’s devastating trials and tragedies.”
For those of you in darkness, I know that you can find light
and peace. Christ knows you. He knows what you are experiencing; He has
experienced it all. Take His hand and let Him lead you to peace.
Here are the lyrics to the Hymn, “Where can I Turn For
Peace?” by Emma Lou Thayne, that is always a good reminder for me:
1. Where can I turn for peace?
Where is my solace
When other sources cease to make me whole?
When with a wounded heart, anger, or malice,
I draw myself apart,
Searching my soul?
2. Where, when my aching grows,
Where, when I languish,
Where, in my need to know, where
Can I run?
Where is the quiet hand to calm my
Anguish?
Who, who can understand?
He, only One.
3. He answers privately,
Reaches my reaching
In my Gethsemane, Savior and
Friend.
Gentle the peace he finds for my
Beseeching.
Constant he is and kind,
Love without end.
Two great talks on peace can be found here and here
-Ryanne
Who is craving some peppermint patties at this very moment
