Ramblings About A Kitten

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.

Matthew 11:28 says,

"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.

Ry-who's rocking it on xbox

In-laws and the Great Commandment

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: 

 Home can be a heav'n on earth

When we are filled with love,

Bringing happiness and joy,

Rich blessings from above—

Warmth and kindness, charity,

Safety and security—

Making home a part of heaven,

Where we want to be.

31243, Hymns, Home Can Be a Heaven on Earth, no. 298

Forrest 

--Who also includes his own parents' home in this category

Loaves and Fishes - When our efforts are somehow multiplied and magnified

Feeding the Five Thousand, by James Tissot

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.”

In Matthew 14:15-20, we read:

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.

-Marilyn

Who loves baking—and eating--bread.

Chocolate Chip Cookies and Sufficiency

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

When Jesus Christ Came

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.

Alma the Younger: Hope and Redemption

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.

Nephi: I Did Believe and I Will Go and Do

Nephi and his brothers returning with the record.

There is a lot to like about the story of Nephi. He plays such a huge part in The Book of Mormon that I won't even attempt to get it all into this post. One of the reasons I like Nephi and his story so much is because I can see development in Nephi; the story doesn't start with him as a wise and experienced prophet. In fact, he tells us right off that he was "exceedingly young," which I would guess is between 12 and 18.

A well-known scripture to member of the LDS Church comes from early in Nephi's story. He is asked by God, through his father (Lehi), to make a difficult trip and procure a written record of their people (the Israelites). Some of Nephi's brothers are resistant to this request, and Nephi says:

7 ...I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them. 

Everyone loves this verse and the idea that Nephi was so faithful, and rightly so. However, I don't think it is the key verse in Nephi's development. A chapter earlier we learn that Lehi has been teaching his children the gospel of Christ, and that Nephi desires to know if what his father has said is true:

16 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers...

 19 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Blessed art thou, Nephi, because of thy faith, for thou hast sought me diligently, with lowliness of heart.

Like all of us, Nephi had to find out for himself what was true; he didn't automatically know, but he was willing to make the effort to find out. And because he found out for himself, he could make the bold statement of faith that he would do whatever the Lord commanded.

The next part of this story (1 Nephi 3-4) is Nephi and his brothers 'going and doing.' I love this part, too, because even though Nephi knows what God wants from him, and knows God will help him accomplish it, the task isn't much easier for knowing. In fact, the group almost loses its life, they do lose property, and a sacrifice is required of Nephi that is greater than anything he imagined (I suppose). 

I have thought about this many times in connection to my own life. How many times have I received a witness from God regarding some principle of the gospel, committed to obedience, and then when the task became challenging, failed in my effort? Too many, I'll just say that. Which is why I love the example of Nephi.

Forrest

--Who is ready for a relaxing weekend.