The music we use in Church meetings, which we refer to as hymns, is a significant and important part of our worship services. The hymn book we use has a preface from the leadership of the Church explaining this importance:
Inspirational music is an essential part of our church meetings. The hymns invite the Spirit of the Lord, create a feeling of reverence, unify us as members, and provide a way for us to offer praises to the Lord.
Some of the greatest sermons are preached by the singing of hymns. Hymns move us to repentance and good works, build testimony and faith, comfort the weary, console the mourning, and inspire us to endure to the end.
In addition to blessing us as Church and family members, the hymns can greatly benefit us as individuals. Hymns can lift our spirits, give us courage, and move us to righteous action. They can fill our souls with heavenly thoughts and bring us a spirit of peace.
One of my favorite hymns is called "Reverently and Meekly Now." I like it for a couple of reasons, one being that the lyrics are from the perspective of Jesus Christ, so it is like listening to the Savior speak to me. I have included all the text below. Another reason I like it is because it is like listening to the Savior tell me what He has done for me. Look at the last line of each verse. It is very personal. If I was speaking directly with Jesus Christ, these are the things He would tell me.
Ten Lepers, by James Christensen "This painting is about gratitude, about recognizing the gifts of the Savior in our lives on a daily basis," Christensen explains. "I think we too often fail to realize the blessings that He gives us and, even in our excitement to take advantage of our good fortune, we forget to acknowledge the source of all good things in our lives."
I have had some glum days recently and have been trying to figure out how to pick myself out of the gloom. I don't even have a reason right now to feel sad! Things are going well. So since we are now officially headed towards the "holiday season," the "most wonderful time of the year", I decided to try to cultivate a little more gratitude in my life and see if that will take the gloom right out of me. As I have been reading and learning about gratitude, two things specifically have stuck out to me. The first is this: Recognizing blessings from Heavenly Father in our life and then thanking Him for them brings more blessings and miracles into our life. The prophet, Thomas S. Monson, mentions this principle as he tells the story of the miracle of the loaves and the fishes (Matthew 15:13-28) in this talk.
“And [Jesus] commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.
“And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.”
Notice that the Savior gave thanks for what they had—and a miracle followed: “And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.”
That, to me, is a beautiful thing. The more we recognize and give thanks, the more we find we have to be thankful for in our lives. And the more miracles we see.
The second principle of gratitude that keeps appearing as I study what it really means to "live in thanksgiving daily" (Alma 34:38) is that gratitude makes you glorious. It fills your life and you, yourself, with light and love--and it's contagious. (see D&C 78:19, Alma 26, this, and this)
The best visual example of this idea of gratitude making us glorious is the way George Bailey looks and acts in the last few minutes of the movie It's a Wonderful Life. Sure, he is a bit frenzied in the way he expresses his gratitude--but boy is he full of life and light and just watching him makes me happier.
-Elin Whose experiment to live in thanksgiving daily and get out of the gloom began 2 days ago. I have had one glorious day and one not so great day. These things take practice, right?
"The grateful man sees so much in the world to be thankful for, and with him the good outweighs the evil. Love overpowers jealousy, and light drives darkness out of his life. Pride destroys our gratitude and sets up selfishness in its place. How much happier we are in the presence of a grateful and loving soul, and how careful we should be to cultivate, through the medium of a prayerful life, a thankful attitude toward God and man!" President Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, 5th Edition
While we have been living in South Carolina, I started volunteering at an animal shelter. I mostly just go clean cat cages. I have been very impressed with the shelter. It is very clean and they treat the animals well. It is run on donations and volunteers. It seems that new animals get brought in every day.
Lately, we have been working with a feral, or wild, kitten. He had climbed up in a truck and gotten stuck. After a couple days the owner of the truck was able to get him out and bring him in. The first time I reached my hand to pet him and hold him he hissed at me, got in the furthest corner of the kennel, and curled up in a tight ball. Kittens cannot be adopted until they are 8 weeks old and this kitten is estimated to be around 6 weeks. We have two weeks to prepare him to be adopted and not to be afraid of people.
The first day with him, Ben spent about three hours with him. He even named him, Lil Badger. Ben took the time to show him where his food was, feed him by hand, wrap him up in a towel and hold him tight. We were told that wrapping him in a towel or blanket while holding him would make him feel more secure. We were also told it might be a while before he stopped hissing and started purring. Near the end of the first day, while Ben was petting him, he began to purr.
The next day we went to pet him and again, he hissed at us. After 20 minutes he wouldn't hiss but would play with us.
The next day, he hissed again but not as much. After I vacuumed it was like starting at the beginning with him. He hid from us and wanted nothing to do with us.
Now, a week later, he trusts us. Occasionally he will hiss when he gets really scared; otherwise, he meows and purrs. He likes to be around us and wants to play constantly. As I'm typing this he is sitting under my chair.
I've been thinking a lot lately about trust. Trust and faith. They are necessary for us to feel peace. Faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ. Trusting that if we rely on the Savior that he will help, guide, and direct us.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who has experienced times of having a weak testimony and when my trust is almost nonexistent. Looking back, I realize I would try to comfort myself. I would try to find my own peace. It did not work. Luckily, I realized it didn't work and that I needed to change.
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
The Savior will help us find peace and by relying on the Savior through our struggles, he will give us rest. I know this to be true. Just as Lil Badger now feels safe and secure with us; we can experience security and safety in the arms of our Savior.
Me fixing a leaky faucet at the in-laws. Hat and headlight courtesy of father-in-law.
My family and I spent the Halloween weekend at my in-law's home, outside of Dallas. My wife, her sisters, an aunt and Mom were getting together for something they call a "sisters reunion." You might be asking how I fit into that group. Chauffeur.
The common depiction of in-laws in popular media shows relationships I would never want, generally in a home to which I would never want to go. A quick Google search brought me this succinct quote about in-laws from Mark Twain (I don't claim any authenticity), as well as much more that I wouldn't put on this post:
"Adam was the luckiest man; he had no mother-in-law."
I don't know how true that is in real life for the majority of people, but for me it couldn't be further (farther? I never know) from the truth. While occasionally I do get roped into fixing a fence or something like that, I look at my in-laws' home as a sanctuary from all that is bad about this world and as an example for what I want my home to be. My parents-in-law aren't perfect, but I'm not either and they know it and still love me.
What is it that makes their home such a great place? The hot tub. Just kidding, they don't have one. Them, obviously. What is so great about them? The short answer is that they believe and live the same answer that Christ gave to the lawyer who asked what was the great commandment of the law:
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
When those commandments are obeyed, any place can be a sanctuary. A hymn sometimes sung in our church meetings is called "Home Can Be a Heaven on Earth" and the first verse is as follows:
I recently watched this beautiful depiction of the miracle
of the loaves and fishes and found a very personal lesson there for me.
I—like many people, I suspect—often feel inadequate, that I don’t have much to
offer. But as I watched this video and reread the parallel accounts in the New
Testament of the Savior feeding the multitudes (see Matthew 14:15-20, Mark 6:35-44,
Luke 9:12-17, John 6:5-14), I was reminded yet again of His ability to
transform our “little” into “enough and to spare.”
15 And when it was evening, his disciples came to him,
saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude
away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.
16 But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye
them to eat.
17 And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and
two fishes.
18 He said, Bring them hither to me.
19 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass,
and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he
blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to
the multitude.
20 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up
of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.
Like the multitudes surrounding the Savior, there are people
all around us who are hungry—emotionally, spiritually, physically. Aware of our
personal inadequacies, we may be tempted to step back, to “send (them) away, that
they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals” (vs. 15). However,
one of the important lessons of these verses is that we should bring our “five
loaves and two fishes”—our meager “baskets” of time, talents, temporal means,
and most of all, our willingness--to the Savior and allow Him to bless them
(vs. 19). As we do, and then go forward to serve in faith, these imperfect
offerings are magnified into nourishing gifts of love that help others “eat”
and be “filled” (vs. 20).
I love the tender way that Elder James E. Faust teaches this
principle in this talk from the April 1994 General Conference.
I am a chocoholic, but not just any old chocoholic: I am a very discriminating one. For example, chocolate ice cream? Take it or leave it. Chocolate chip cookies? Take, every time. Chocolate chip cookies are my passion.
Over the years I have gathered several magnificent chocolate chip cookie recipes. Believe me, there are some gems out there. Nevertheless, my CCC receptors are highly sensitized to new ones and I am constantly on the prowl.
Funny thing, however, about chocolate-chip cookies and me: one is never enough. And since they are never found under the “Healthy Food” section of books or blogs, that is not a good thing. Sometimes--OK, frequently--I get a hankering for one, and I make a batch thinking, "I'll be good; I only need one." And one is never sufficient. Ever. I don't know if I've ever eaten ONLY ONE fresh-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookie in my life. Ever.
If I could have only one dessert the rest of my life, I would beg it be warm chocolate chip cookies.
One of these is never sufficient.
I would be much healthier (and lighter) if I could convince myself that one cookie is enough. One is sufficient.
Let’s talk about “sufficient.” To suffice means “to be enough; to be equal to the end proposed.” Now let’s talk about “sufficient” in a much more important arena than chocolate chip cookies.
As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we believe that God sent us to earth without him in order to learn, grow and prove ourselves worthy of returning to his presence. However, even though we are separated from him, God, like every great parent, still wants to be part of our lives, wants to guide and direct and help us as appropriate. He sends all sorts of help our direction: scriptures, prophets, Christ’s original church, saintly people, and personal inspiration, to name a few helps.
Sometimes in this testing period we sometimes think we need more, and sometimes we’re correct: we need more help, more wisdom, more strength, more resources. But sometimes, even though we want more, we have, in fact, been given enough.
Sufficient.
The “end proposed” by our Heavenly Father is us back with him, tried, tested, improved and worthy. He offers to help us along the way, but sometimes the best thing he can do is help us understand that we have been given sufficient for our needs.
When we learn that lesson, we have grown and become, in one aspect of our lives, more like him. Which is “the end proposed.”
--Miriam
Who has a two-year supply of chocolate chips in her storage room
The central point in the Book of Mormon is when the resurrected Savior visited the believing people in the Americas (3 Nephi 9-27). For 600 years, prophets of the Book of Mormon saw in visions and prophesied about the circumstances of the birth, life, atonement, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (I love what Nephi sees and shares about the life of Christ in 1 Nephi 11.) And then it happened. He came. And we not only have an account of His post-resurrection ministry to his disciples in Jerusalem in the New Testament, we also have an account of His post-resurrection visit and ministry to the people of the Americas in the Book of Mormon.
At the time of Christ's death, the people in the Americas suffered earthquakes and fire and darkness. They were scared and probably felt abandoned and alone. And then, a voice spoke from heaven. The resurrected Christ speaks to them from heaven, Heavenly Father speaks from heaven, and then Christ comes down and ministers to them. He counsels them, teaches them, spends time with their children, institutes the sacrament, heals them, prays for and with them, and calls disciples and organizes His church.
My favorite part of the account, however, is when the Savior first appears to them:
"And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake unto the people, saying:
Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world.
And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning [. . .]
And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto them saying:
Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.
And it came to pass that the multitude went forth, and thrust their hands into his side, and did feel the prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet; and this they did do, going forth one by one until they had all gone forth, and did see with their eyes and did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come."3 Nephi 11:9-15
I love this because the first thing the Savior does is tell the people to "Arise and come forth." He permits them to touch his hands and feet and wants them to know that everything He did, everything He taught and suffered, He did for them individually. And He allows them individually to come and feel and see.
President James E. Faust (former member of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), penned the following words about this Book of Mormon account and his own testimony of Jesus Christ:
They heard His voice, a voice so mild.
It pierced them through and made their souls to quake.
They saw Him come, a man in white,
The Savior, who had suffered for their sake.
They felt the wounds in hands and side,
And each could testify:
This is the Christ.
This is the Christ, the holy Son of God,
Our Savior, Lord, Redeemer of mankind.
This is the Christ, the Healer of our souls,
Who ransomed us with love divine.
I read His words, the words He prayed
While bearing sorrow in Gethsemane.
I feel His love, the price He paid.
How many drops of blood were spilled for me?
With Saints of old in joyful cry
I too can testify:
This is the Christ.
This is the Christ, the holy Son of God,
Our Savior, Lord, Redeemer of mankind.
This is the Christ, the Healer of our souls,
Who ransomed us with love divine.
I testify of Jesus Christ, as well. It is hard to explain to someone what His life and atonement and love mean to me personally, because it is something you have to experience to understand or know. But the longer I live, the more I know that He is real and aware of me. In difficult times, when I have cried and reached out to Him for help or just for comfort, I have felt and seen miraculous, inexplicable things. When I struggle with weakness or sin and have asked for help, I have been strengthened in ways I did not believe possible. And when I feel happy, I have felt love for people that is not my own--it is His love and He lets me feel it for myself and for others. I don't feel these things immediately all the time. I am a work in progress. But I know that Jesus Christ is real and His power to help and heal are real.
-Elin
Who is so happy to be with her sisters and mother this weekend.
