He Shall Feed His Flock

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir sings this song ("Consider the Lilies" album), but it didn't occur to me until yesterday that it might be scripture. It's a beautiful verse:

"He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young." -Isaiah 40:11

 

Guess What's in the Scripture Case!

And now it's time to play, "Guess What's In The Scripture Case"!!!

Today's scripture case is royal blue with black handles. It sports 1 exterior pocket, allowing an ideal spot to collect all sorts of treasures for a boy. 

If the scripture case's handles broke and a mother had to empty the contents of this pocket to fix them, what would she find?

If you guessed:

• Sunday socks that have been missing for weeks
• A golf tee
• A part for the Primary Program
• A bag of congealed Big League Chew bubble gum
• Artwork from Sunday school including- a somber group of children, a doubting Thomas?, and what appears to be an alien

...then you are a winner!

Perhaps I will someday treat you to a peek at the collection inside the pockets of MY scripture case. I am confident that some things date back to my college years. I suppose I could consider it a spiritual time capsule...

Quotes: Elder and Sister Holland

As promised, here are some quotes from the radio interview of Elder and Sister Holland that I really liked:

Sister Holland
"I just think at the heart of a woman's soul is that need to nurture and care for her children. She may not realize it at the time those babies are little when it's hard- they cry, it's demanding, 'How did I get into this?', 'How can I get out of it?' But, when you get to be my age you realize that's where you really needed to spend [your time]." 

Elder Holland
"We lived through the days when the Black Panthers and the Chicago Seven and, you know, when we thought the [Yale] campus was going to be leveled. We lived through that. I sent Pat out to live with somebody at a great distance from New Haven, because we didn't know whether it was going to be burned to the ground. So this is kind of first hand experience. It's a little old now, but we lived it. It was a tumultuous time. I think people were seeking for values. We know all that history. We don't have to relive the 60's and the 70's. But that's what was happening. ...
"But I think, what I believe was wrong, again if it doesn't seem coming from the wrong source for a man to say it, maybe a woman should say it. But I think the model was wrong. What seemed to be the talk was, 'How do I get out of the home? How does a woman get out of the home?' So to speak, or maybe even out of marriage or out of whatever. When I think that model should have been turned 180 degrees and it should have been, 'What do we do to guarantee that men stay in the home? Or that men contribute in the home?' I'm all for shared work load- we can do the dishes together, and we can do the laundry together, and we can pay the bills together, and we can figure out what the income tax is together. But it seems to me, to just think of ways to get away from family and away from home was exactly diametrically opposite to the model we should have been pursuing. And that is, 'In such times how do you keep fighting to stay in the home, including a husband, including a father?' That he does not just blissfully walk out the door and take his little briefcase, and go off and never have another thought all day, or all week, or all month about the greatest responsibility that he has. And that is to be a husband, and a father, and a grandfather.
"Now I know that sounds like someone from the LDS church who might be an Apostle saying that. Well, so be it. I believed it then and I believe it now. I think all the forces that spin us centrifugally away from the home, we have to fight that and have those forces reversed as best we can, and have that circle coming back into the home for men and for women. And it takes work, and we can do a lot more together than we do, and it can be terrific." 

Elder Holland
"This is a contest in which the victory has already been won. We already know who wins. The irony is we're still trying to figure out which team we're going to play for. Which seems to me crazy! You play for the winner. You go with the team that wins. And the Savior has already won all of this. He's overcome the world. He's handled the problems. He is the light at the end of the tunnel. That's why you keep going. And he'll send angels when you're a little weak in the knees, and he'll answer your prayers every time, in every way. Maybe not the way you want, but they'll always be answered."

Elder and Sister Holland

Last school year, I listened to several interviews of church leaders on the Mormon Channel during lunch time or my daughter's nap. They are in a series titled "Conversations" and found under the Radio Series menu. They are really inspiring and a neat way to get to hear our leaders talk in a more personal/informal way about their lives and challenges. It's refreshing to be reminded of the fact that our leaders are not perfect and have not had perfect or easy lives. But, they do have amazing faith and commitment. I listened to and highly recommend: Ep.1- Elder and Sister Bednar, Ep. 15- Sister Beck & daughters, Ep. 16- Elder and Sister Costa, Ep. 22- Elder and Sister Holland.

The other day, I reacquainted myself with the interview of Elder Holland and Patricia Holland conducted by Sheri Dew, Episode 22. They each have given talks that rank at the top of my "favorites", and I find them to be such inspiring and dynamic people. I loved listening to how they raised their family (particularly Patricia's strength) and the faith it took for them to fulfill their various callings. For my reference, and yours, here is a summary of the interview. Tomorrow I will post a few of my favorite quotes.

Minutes 1-32

• Discuss son being recently called as President of UVU 
• Raising children at BYU when working as BYU President 
• BYU football 1984 
• Building the Jerusalem Center 
• Juggling demands of BYU President/Jerusalem Center/Raising young family/Sis. Holland serving as General Young Women counselor 
• How they've made their marriage work

Minutes 32-59

• Childhoods and what impacted their development
• What forges a strong marriage/ Early challenges in their marriage
• Witnessing the attack on womanhood, motherhood, and home
• Elder Holland's message of not giving up, faith, and hope 

Minutes 59-90

• What it means to be ordained an Apostle
• What they've learned living internationally
• Reorganizing the Bahrain Stake
• One thing each wants the audience to know about the other
• Testimonies of the Gospel

The Past & Rose Colored Glasses

 About 6 months ago, I watched the movie "Midnight In Paris", and it became an instant favorite (my memory fails me as to whether there is strong language, so view at your own risk). It is not a laugh out loud kind of movie, but the humor is really subtle and enjoyable. I especially love its message- when we pine for simpler or "better" times in the past, we forget that the past is not as rosy and devoid of problems as we imagine it to be. Each era has its pros and cons, and we need to embrace our life now. You might say, "it's funny but it also makes you think."
As things feel like they are getting crazier and crazier, I thought this quote by Howard W. Hunter was relevant and comforting to what I've been feeling: 

"I am here tonight to tell you that despair, doom, and discouragement are not an acceptable view of life for a Latter-day Saint. However high on the charts they are on the hit parade of contemporary news, we must not walk on our lower lip every time a few difficult moments happen to confront us...

"Knowing what we know, and living as we are supposed to live, we really have no place, no excuse, for pessimism and despair.

"In my lifetime I have seen two world wars. ...I have worked my way through the Depression and managed to go to law school while starting a young family at the same time. I have seen stock markets and world economics go crazy, and I have seen a few despots and tyrants go crazy, all of which causes quite a bit of trouble around the world in the process.

"So I am frank to say tonight I hope you won't believe all the world's difficulties have been wedged into your decade, or that things have never been worse than they are for you personally, or that they will never get better. I reassure you that things have been worse and they will always get better. They always do—especially when we live and love the gospel of Jesus Christ and give it a chance to flourish in our lives. "

Nothing like some no nonsense, sound advice from an older and wiser man.

It's interesting to note, that even a Book of Mormon prophet (around 23-20 B.C.) found himself wishing for a happier time (Helaman 7:6-9). It is a sentiment that probably spans the history of man.

** Here is a link to the speech by Howard W. Hunter that the above quote came from, "An Anchor to the Souls of Men". It's definitely worth reading.

Dayton's Legs

Here is an inspiring video that will give you goose bumps- and possibly a tear or two. What an amazing 13 year-old.

Dayton's Legs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwwxBjpvDVQ

President Uchtdorf and (Im)Perfection

Over the past years I have enjoyed listening to talks by Elder Uchtdorf. Interestingly, it seems to me that a recurrent theme of his talks is perfection. Two of the three talks have been directed solely to women in the General Relief Society Conference. Perhaps these talks stand out to me because I am in need of their wisdom, but I suspect that the expectation of perfection (and resulting frustration from falling short) must be a pervasive problem amongst the women of the church, for it to receive such attention. In the mouth of three witnesses...: 

October 2008 "Happiness, Your Heritage"
"To me it appears that our splendid sisters sometimes undervalue their abilities—they focus on what is lacking or imperfect rather than what has been accomplished and who they really are."


October 2011 "Forget Me Not"
"I want to tell you something that I hope you will take in the right way: God is fully aware that you and I are not perfect.
"Let me add: God is also fully aware that the people you think are perfect are not.
"And yet we spend so much time and energy comparing ourselves to others—usually comparing our weaknesses to their strengths. This drives us to create expectations for ourselves that are impossible to meet. As a result, we never celebrate our good efforts because they seem to be less than what someone else does.
"Everyone has strengths and weaknesses."

2011 Christmas Address
“We have in our minds a picture of how everything should be—the perfect tree, the perfect lights, the perfect gifts, and the perfect family events. … [But] sooner or later, something unpleasant occurs … and the picture-perfect Christmas we had imagined, the magic we had intended to create, shatters around us.”  (Hmmm... I wonder if he reads my blog)

Gifts and Talents

"The gifts of the Spirit can guide and enrich our lives. They can strengthen us spiritually and temporally. They can help us bless the lives of others. Most important, they can bring us comfort in times of trial. They can help us magnify our callings. They can help guide us in our relationships. They can help us avoid being deceived." -Robert D. Hales

As a stay-at-home mom, I have found that one of my biggest challenges is losing direction in my personal goals. While I know that I am doing an important and meaningful work as a mother, this stage is very unlike the majority of my life's experience. I am in charge of my goals now. I am not working toward an educational goal whose path is mapped out, and I do not have deadlines or assignments given to me by other people. And I like that. I like being in charge. But in the routine of my day to day work, it is easy to forget the direction of my personal goals.
Lately, I kind of fell into studying about gifts of the spirit. I have been surprised by how relevant this topic is to finding direction in my life. Below are three resources that have helped opened my mind in understanding what gifts of the spirit are, how they can benefit us personally, and why/how we should discover the gifts we have been given or would like to be given. Looks like I have an assignment to work on now!:

"What is Your Calling in Life", Spring 2011 BYU Magazine
"Gifts of the Spirit", Robert D. Hales, Feb. 2002 Ensign
"Return: Four Phases of Our Mortal Journey Home", Robert D. Hales, 2010 

But, It's a Two Way Street

Here is a quote from the same talk by Boyd K. Packer that yesterday's quote came from, that is just as important:

"It was not meant that the woman alone accommodate herself to the priesthood duties of her husband or her sons. She is of course to sustain and support and encourage them."

I stumbled upon this talk, "A Tribute to Women" accidently, but found it quite profound. I think it does an excellent job of explaining men's and women's different roles, how they are of equal importance, and how they work together.

Peace, Be Still

I have been reluctant to write about the devastation in Japan, because natural disasters like that, and the tragedy that ensues, is hard to wrap my mind around- cities destroyed, families ripped apart, suffering, the terror and panic that must accompany it all. I tend to personalize the stories that I read about, and that does me no good. That being said, it seems pretty insensitive to ignore it all together, and write about underwear instead...
Over and over, I keep thinking the the only person who can make sense of any of this, or heal what seems impossible to heal, is our Savior. Events of this magnitude always remind me of that. So, I thought I'd share some quotes from a speech by Merrill J. Bateman, that provided peace to me at another time when I felt shaken:

"Even though we live in troubled times- and prophets have indicated that there will be turmoil in the last days- it is possible for each of us to feel peace, to have the peace of the gospel in our lives. We believe that is the most important message we have for the world."

"At the Last Supper, after finishing the meal, the Savior and his disciples sang the Hallel. The words of the Hallel are from Psalms 113 to 118..."
"So, at the Last Supper with His eleven disciples- Judas having left and Jesus knowing where he was going- Jesus is then singing about His own death.
"In that setting He went on to talk to His disciples about the most precious gift He had to give them. That gift was the gift of the Holy Ghost..."
"He knows where he is going, and there is peace in His heart. He knows He is going to the garden, and He is going to the cross. He is telling them He is leaving them His peace.
"'Peace I leave unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.' (John 14:27)" 

You Know Enough

"Challenges, difficulties, questions, doubts—these are part of our mortality. But we are not alone. As disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have enormous spiritual reservoirs of light and truth available to us. Fear and faith cannot coexist in our hearts at the same time. In our days of difficulty, we choose the road of faith. Jesus said, 'Be not afraid, only believe.' (Mark 5:36)
"Through the years we take these important spiritual steps over and over again. We begin to see that 'he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.' (D&C 50:24) Our questions and doubts are resolved or become less concerning to us. Our faith becomes simple and pure. We come to know what we already knew."

-Elder Neil L. Andersen, "You Know Enough"

Discerning Truth

I came across this 1972 talk by Harold B. Lee, "A Time of Decision", doing some research, and found it very enlightening. I have put a link to it, and other talks I find inspiring, on my sidebar. Here are some of my favorite points (with my own summaries):

"Today we are constantly hearing from the unenlightened and misguided, who demand what they call free agency, by which they apparently mean, as evidenced by their conduct, that they have their agency to do as they please or to exercise their own self-will to determine what is law and order, what is right and wrong, or what is honor and virtue.
"These are frightening expressions when you reflect upon what I have just quoted from the revealed word of God. A moment’s reflection will help you to see that when one sets himself up to make his own rules and presumes to know no law but his own, he is but echoing the plan of Satan, who sought to ascend to God’s throne, as it were, in being the judge of all that rules mankind and the world. There has ever been, and ever will be, a conflict between the forces of truth and error; between the forces of righteousness and the forces of evil; between the dominion of Satan and the dominion under the banner of our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ."

"Now in the exercise of the God-given right of free agency, or freedom of choice, how may one distinguish between what is truth and what is error?"

1. The Light of Christ (conscience/"the voice of the divine within one’s own soul")
2. The greatest weapon against false philosophies are the positive teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ / Have faith in power of God, not the wisdom of men (1 Cor. 2:5)
3. "...do your business by the voice of the people" (Mosiah 29:26) / Be active in business and political interests. The greatest danger is apathy.
4. Vote for men who will ask, “Is it right and is it good for the country or the community?” instead of those who may merely ask, “Is it politically expedient?” / Pray for our leaders (D/C 58:22)
   
5. Use eternal gospel principles to detect truth from error (Moro. 7:16-17),

"But through the lights and shadows of my life, I also have the assurance that aided by God’s holy power, doubts can be resolved into certainties, burdens can be lightened, and a literal rebirth can be realized as the nearness to my Lord and Master becomes more certain..."

Black and White

In college, I became acquainted with a 1997 conference talk by Henry B. Eyring entitled "Finding Safety in Counsel". There is one quote, in particular, that seared my mind because of its power and plainness:

"When we reject the counsel which comes from God, we do not choose to be independent of outside influence. We choose another influence. We reject the protection of a perfectly loving, all-powerful, all-knowing Father in Heaven, whose whole purpose, as that of His Beloved Son, is to give us eternal life, to give us all that He has, and to bring us home again in families to the arms of His love. In rejecting His counsel, we choose the influence of another power, whose purpose is to make us miserable and whose motive is hatred. We have moral agency as a gift of God. Rather than the right to choose to be free of influence, it is the inalienable right to submit ourselves to whichever of those powers we choose."

Uncle Tom's Cabin

I just recently finished reading "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe. This was my first time reading it- and I have to truthfully admit- watching the Siamese interpretation found in "The King and I" was the closest I'd ever been to reading it before! Sad, I know. I knew it was about slavery, but that's about it.
I was blown away. There are several gripping plots within the book, and not only is it a thorough illustration of slavery at the time (slave treatment, opinions/attitudes, etc.) but I was surprised to find that it is largely an inspiring and beautiful story of faith and hope in God. I highly recommend it. I'll be sharing quotes from it in the future, but here's one of my favorites:

"Ye said the Lord took sides against us, because he lets us be 'bused and knocked around; but ye see what come on his own Son,-- the blessed Lord of Glory,-- wan't he allays poor? and have we, any on us, yet come so low as he come? The Lord han't forgot us,-- I'm sartin' o' that ar'. If we suffer with him, we shall also reign, Scripture says; but if we deny Him, he also will deny us. Didn't they all suffer?-- the Lord and all his? It tells how they was stoned and sawn asunder, and wandered about in sheep-skins and goat-skins, and was destitute, afflicted, tormented. Sufferin' an't no reason to make us think the Lord's turned agin us; but jest the contrary, if only we hold on to him, and doesn't give up to sin." - Uncle Tom

The Future is as Bright as Your Faith

Does the evening news, lessons on signs of the Second Coming, or life got you down... or scared out of your pants? Here's a quote from April General Conference that helps me:

"I testify that our promised blessings are beyond measure. Though the storm clouds may gather, though the rains may pour down upon us, our knowledge of our Heavenly Father and of our Savior will comfort and sustain us and bring joy to our hearts as we walk uprightly and keep the commandments. There will be nothing in this world that can defeat us.
"My beloved brothers and sisters, fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith."

- President Thomas S. Monson