There's something about Christmas.
Red and green.
Silver and gold.
Hope and good cheer.
Home and home away form home.
Resting with no sleep.
Eating when full as can be.
Loved ones far and near.
Hearts full and happy.
Hearts missing others.
Smiling to hear those we miss most.
Thoughtful presents and last minute ones too.
Grinches and Scrooges.
Scott Calvin and George Bailey.
Stockings and gifts.
Chocolate and turkey.
Nativities and hymns.
The Gift.
The Son.
The Light.
The Life.
The Reason.
My hope. My life. My light. My reason.
"Oh come all ye faithful,
Joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem
Come and behold him!
Born the King of Angels
O come let us adore him
Christ the Lord"
Merry Christmas Everyone!
Wednesday, December 25
Wednesday, December 11
Consecration
My talk form this last week in church. Really great opportunity to look into consecration especially at this wonderful giving time of year. Merry Christmas!
Good morning everyone my name is Emma Luthi for those of you who don’t know me. I’m a Humanities major here at BYU with an emphasis in English and a minor in Editing. I’ve been in this ward since April and have loved every minute of it. We are so blessed to have so many wonderful people here who work so hard and are such wonderful examples of Christlike charity, service and love. We have a superb bishop and bishopric who loves each one of us and desires nothing better than for all the blessings of heaven and earth to be ours and will council us with us on how to get there. Be careful getting to know them too well though, because if you do, Bishop might call you out TWICE in sacrament meeting for ACCIDENTALLY missing tithing settlement. They can also call you to give a talk even when you had given one over the summer. In other words, you are NEVER safe. But we love them anyways.
We’ve been blessed to hear some wonderful talks about tithing and fast offerings and how it blesses our lives. The topic I was given is a natural extension of these but that I know, for me, can be more difficult to understand and a times more difficult to enact. Consecration. Now the law of consecration is not one the Lord is requiring us to live at this time and we are instead preparing ourselves for the law of consecration with the laws of tithing and fast offerings. This preparation is very necessary and follows our Father’s pattern of teaching his children, For he will give unto the faithful line upon line, precept upon precept; and [our Father] will try [us] and prove [us] herewith.” Through tithing and fast offerings, we are asked to give a portion of our income back to the Lord’s church for the furthering of his work on the Earth.We are asked to sacrifice of ourselves for the glory of our Father’s kingdom - feeding the poor, clothing the naked, providing funds for temple and other church buildings, missionary work. But, the thing that is most interesting thing to me about the principle of consecration- of voluntarily dedicating our “time, talents, and material wealth to the establishment and building up of God’s kingdom.”- is that the Lord ASKS us. It is not automatic or something that is in any way easy but the Lord ASKS this of us.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie said, “We are not always called upon to live the whole law of consecration and give all of our time, talents, and means to the building up of the Lord’s earthly kingdom. Few of us are called upon to sacrifice much of what we possess, and at the moment there is only an occasional martyr in the cause of revealed religion.
But what the scriptural account means is that to gain celestial salvation we must be able to live these laws to the full if we are called upon to do so. Implicit in this is the reality that we must in fact live them to the extent we are called upon so to do.
How, for instance, can we establish our ability to live the full law of consecration if we do not in fact pay an honest tithing? Or how can we prove our willingness to sacrifice all things, if need be, if we do not make the small sacrifices of time and toil, or of money and means, that we are now asked to make?”
As college students, it is really easy to focus on all the things that we don’t have. We don’t have enough money at this time to buy the things we want to, to keep our thermostat at a higher, more comfortable temperature but the Lord stills asks to give our means, however small, which is sometimes is money we don’t have, to the Lord and to trust that he will provide. The Lord asks us to do it. We are not compelled to do it, which can make it all the more difficult to do. It is OUR choice on what we are willing to give back to the Lord. The law of consecration then goes a step further and asks for us to be willing to give up everything he has blessed us with and more. Becoming completely converted to the Lord means continually working, and striving, and reaching and hoping and praying on our part for “the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which [will] wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.” We sacrifice our former selves - our sins, our pride, our judgments, our spite, our anger, anger at others for the ease they seem to have in their lives, anger at ourselves for our shortcomings and the disappointments these shortcomings cause. We put it on the altar of the Lord and consecrate our new selves to the Lord. A life of service to our brothers and sisters, time spent bringing ourselves and our friends and families closer to Jesus Christ, our hope strong and our minds dedicated to the one cause that elevates us all to the eternal light and joy of the Kingdom of God. This doesn’t mean that our lives will be easy. On the contrary, it can make life that much harder.
Elder Neal A. Maxwell said, “As one’s will is increasingly submissive to the will of God, he can receive inspiration and revelation so much needed to help meet the trials of life. In the trying and very defining Isaac episode, faithful Abraham “staggered not … through unbelief” (Rom. 4:20). Of that episode John Taylor observed that “nothing but the spirit of revelation could have given him this confidence, and … sustained him under these peculiar circumstances” (in Journal of Discourses, 14:361). Will we too trust the Lord amid a perplexing trial for which we have no easy explanation? Do we understand—really comprehend—that Jesus knows and understands when we are stressed and perplexed?”
Our Savior was the ultimate example of what it means to live a consecrated life, showing us in every way, the best way to come and live with our Father in Heaven again. One of my very favorite scriptures comes in Luke 4:16-21 wherein Jesus describes his mission by quoting the words of Isaiah. “And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” The thing I love most about this passage of scripture is that from the beginning of his ministry, our Elder Brother Jesus Christ knew exactly what the Father needed him to do and accomplished it as He “went about doing good”. Now even after Christ had lived his life, in perfect harmony with all gospel principles, our Father needed more. Every single thing Christ had learned in his life came down to a decision on bended knee in a quiet garden two thousand years ago. When pain was imminent and sorrow all consuming, our Lord said those powerful and humble words that have echoed through eternity “nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” Alma described the following time as “And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities. Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance.” Christ’s infinite and all powerful atonement was and is for us - He is the healer of our Hearts. The mender of our broken spirits. The redeemer of our lost souls. His life and his death was consecrated for us.
Elder Maxwell said, “The complete consecration which effected the Atonement ensured Jesus’ perfect empathy; He felt our very pains and afflictions before we did and knows how to succor us (see Alma 7:11–12; 2 Ne. 9:21). Since the Most Innocent suffered the most, our own cries of “Why?” cannot match His. But we can utter the same submissive word “nevertheless …” (Matt. 26:39).” He gaeve us the ultimate example now we have the choice whether to follow it. Elder Maxwell continued, “The submission of one’s will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God’s altar. The many other things we “give,” brothers and sisters, are actually the things He has already given or loaned to us. However, when you and I finally submit ourselves, by letting our individual wills be swallowed up in God’s will, then we are really giving something to Him! It is the only possession which is truly ours to give! Consecration thus constitutes the only unconditional surrender which is also a total victory!”
Good morning everyone my name is Emma Luthi for those of you who don’t know me. I’m a Humanities major here at BYU with an emphasis in English and a minor in Editing. I’ve been in this ward since April and have loved every minute of it. We are so blessed to have so many wonderful people here who work so hard and are such wonderful examples of Christlike charity, service and love. We have a superb bishop and bishopric who loves each one of us and desires nothing better than for all the blessings of heaven and earth to be ours and will council us with us on how to get there. Be careful getting to know them too well though, because if you do, Bishop might call you out TWICE in sacrament meeting for ACCIDENTALLY missing tithing settlement. They can also call you to give a talk even when you had given one over the summer. In other words, you are NEVER safe. But we love them anyways.
We’ve been blessed to hear some wonderful talks about tithing and fast offerings and how it blesses our lives. The topic I was given is a natural extension of these but that I know, for me, can be more difficult to understand and a times more difficult to enact. Consecration. Now the law of consecration is not one the Lord is requiring us to live at this time and we are instead preparing ourselves for the law of consecration with the laws of tithing and fast offerings. This preparation is very necessary and follows our Father’s pattern of teaching his children, For he will give unto the faithful line upon line, precept upon precept; and [our Father] will try [us] and prove [us] herewith.” Through tithing and fast offerings, we are asked to give a portion of our income back to the Lord’s church for the furthering of his work on the Earth.We are asked to sacrifice of ourselves for the glory of our Father’s kingdom - feeding the poor, clothing the naked, providing funds for temple and other church buildings, missionary work. But, the thing that is most interesting thing to me about the principle of consecration- of voluntarily dedicating our “time, talents, and material wealth to the establishment and building up of God’s kingdom.”- is that the Lord ASKS us. It is not automatic or something that is in any way easy but the Lord ASKS this of us.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie said, “We are not always called upon to live the whole law of consecration and give all of our time, talents, and means to the building up of the Lord’s earthly kingdom. Few of us are called upon to sacrifice much of what we possess, and at the moment there is only an occasional martyr in the cause of revealed religion.
But what the scriptural account means is that to gain celestial salvation we must be able to live these laws to the full if we are called upon to do so. Implicit in this is the reality that we must in fact live them to the extent we are called upon so to do.
How, for instance, can we establish our ability to live the full law of consecration if we do not in fact pay an honest tithing? Or how can we prove our willingness to sacrifice all things, if need be, if we do not make the small sacrifices of time and toil, or of money and means, that we are now asked to make?”
As college students, it is really easy to focus on all the things that we don’t have. We don’t have enough money at this time to buy the things we want to, to keep our thermostat at a higher, more comfortable temperature but the Lord stills asks to give our means, however small, which is sometimes is money we don’t have, to the Lord and to trust that he will provide. The Lord asks us to do it. We are not compelled to do it, which can make it all the more difficult to do. It is OUR choice on what we are willing to give back to the Lord. The law of consecration then goes a step further and asks for us to be willing to give up everything he has blessed us with and more. Becoming completely converted to the Lord means continually working, and striving, and reaching and hoping and praying on our part for “the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which [will] wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.” We sacrifice our former selves - our sins, our pride, our judgments, our spite, our anger, anger at others for the ease they seem to have in their lives, anger at ourselves for our shortcomings and the disappointments these shortcomings cause. We put it on the altar of the Lord and consecrate our new selves to the Lord. A life of service to our brothers and sisters, time spent bringing ourselves and our friends and families closer to Jesus Christ, our hope strong and our minds dedicated to the one cause that elevates us all to the eternal light and joy of the Kingdom of God. This doesn’t mean that our lives will be easy. On the contrary, it can make life that much harder.
Elder Neal A. Maxwell said, “As one’s will is increasingly submissive to the will of God, he can receive inspiration and revelation so much needed to help meet the trials of life. In the trying and very defining Isaac episode, faithful Abraham “staggered not … through unbelief” (Rom. 4:20). Of that episode John Taylor observed that “nothing but the spirit of revelation could have given him this confidence, and … sustained him under these peculiar circumstances” (in Journal of Discourses, 14:361). Will we too trust the Lord amid a perplexing trial for which we have no easy explanation? Do we understand—really comprehend—that Jesus knows and understands when we are stressed and perplexed?”
Our Savior was the ultimate example of what it means to live a consecrated life, showing us in every way, the best way to come and live with our Father in Heaven again. One of my very favorite scriptures comes in Luke 4:16-21 wherein Jesus describes his mission by quoting the words of Isaiah. “And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” The thing I love most about this passage of scripture is that from the beginning of his ministry, our Elder Brother Jesus Christ knew exactly what the Father needed him to do and accomplished it as He “went about doing good”. Now even after Christ had lived his life, in perfect harmony with all gospel principles, our Father needed more. Every single thing Christ had learned in his life came down to a decision on bended knee in a quiet garden two thousand years ago. When pain was imminent and sorrow all consuming, our Lord said those powerful and humble words that have echoed through eternity “nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” Alma described the following time as “And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities. Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance.” Christ’s infinite and all powerful atonement was and is for us - He is the healer of our Hearts. The mender of our broken spirits. The redeemer of our lost souls. His life and his death was consecrated for us.
Elder Maxwell said, “The complete consecration which effected the Atonement ensured Jesus’ perfect empathy; He felt our very pains and afflictions before we did and knows how to succor us (see Alma 7:11–12; 2 Ne. 9:21). Since the Most Innocent suffered the most, our own cries of “Why?” cannot match His. But we can utter the same submissive word “nevertheless …” (Matt. 26:39).” He gaeve us the ultimate example now we have the choice whether to follow it. Elder Maxwell continued, “The submission of one’s will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God’s altar. The many other things we “give,” brothers and sisters, are actually the things He has already given or loaned to us. However, when you and I finally submit ourselves, by letting our individual wills be swallowed up in God’s will, then we are really giving something to Him! It is the only possession which is truly ours to give! Consecration thus constitutes the only unconditional surrender which is also a total victory!”
We have victory through him that redeemed us. We can consecrate our lives through living the gospel. By following our Elder Brother's example we can walk through this life, however dark the way or broken the path is, dedicating not only everything we have but everything we are and hope to be to the Lord -- the Lord can then pull us up form whatever we are struggling with and mold us into the people He knows we can become. Our Father is totally invested in us and the question we must ask ourselves is how invested we are in the cause of the Lord? In the cause of our salvation and the salvation of our friends and family? Are we willing to consecrate all? Are you?
Sunday, September 29
Weariness
Falling from the standards of continual change in
Thousands of shades of amber, rust and burgundy to
Lose living and regain the earth being
Stripped away bare after being
full and
fresh so
Weak and penetrable with gaps coming between
Wings of feathered emerald and
Things ascend and shatter and
Descend to scour the raggedness of
The exterior until
frost and
Chill are the closest of companions with the
Blackness punctured by brilliance that
Stripped wings frame in glorious torturous
Separation to reach higher and diminish into
Renewal with hopes for ascension as a part of
Enduring glimpses of immutable execellence in
Prayers for relief from
failing and
falling when
Warm breath stirs shades into powers of
Growth with hopeful beams of
Strength in enlivening transformation to
Supersede the weariness of change to
Continue in all powerful love,
As the greatest of equalizers and
The most electrifying of spirit and
The greatest of risks to cure the despondency of
Imperfection and ultimately lift into the blazing stars.
Monday, August 26
Perfection
So in my various wanderings through the UK and the rest of Europe, I was inspired by so many different things. In the countryside of the UK and then in the hearts of the ancient cities of Italy, I saw so many beautiful rocks (granite and marble especially) covered with greenery but they looked like they were struggling so hard to pierce through their covers to be seen. Huge slabs of unformed rock just waiting. This is what came of those thoughts. A poem of sorts...?
I am white, cool, rugged and supple. I glisten and spark, day and night, rain and shine.
I am steadfastly stuck in a space apart from my brothers since the first chisel chipped away the ruin to see my light. The unworthy stone was discarded and I remained, unworthy to be broken or sliced or carved.
My brothers are shown to be exceptional, beautiful and are shaped into their true selves. The shape, the movement, the creature that has been captive within a rectangular prism of icicle dust and will be brought to light by caring, cutting, cooling hands.
Not I.
Too many have passed me over. Too many have examined me from every angle and decided that I was too good to be good enough. I give light rather then reflect it. Wouldn't I make a spectacular Pieta? Wouldn't I make an astonishing Kiss? Wouldn't I shine to create a work glorious and joyous in it's silent stoic presence?
But no.
I feel no hint of a chisel. I feel no wisps of breath from an anxious sculptor. Closed. Obstructed. Unsure.
I will not be seen because they all see too much. Can I break into a new, stupefying, miraculous . . . something? I need someone to see something other than perfection. I need someone to see my captive self. I need someone to break me from my prison of light, white, ice. I am apprehended by the beauty they see and by the potential I do not meet. I can't do more.
There is no enjoyment in this unformed stasis.
I am one of the most enduring of substances but I cannot be relied upon to be patient. Patience is waiting with hope. What hope have I? I stay and everything changes. Will there be no change for me? Time changes. I wait. Time weathers. I corrode. Time breaks. I disintegrate.
I am white and cool. I glisten, I spark.
I am dust.
And dust,
blows,
away.
Monday, August 19
Which is mine?
Which is mine?
I stand on the brink
Between left or right
Night or day
Friend or foe
Love or hate
Joys or woes
Which is mine?
I fall paralyzed
Between northeast and northwest
Dawn or twilight
Acquaintance or opponent
Tolerance or aversion
Comforts or burdens
Which is mine?
I flip, spinning round
Two sides of the coin
One heads
One tails
50/50
Which is better?
Which is worse?
Which is black?
Which is white?
Which is mine?
I stare at the crossroads
The hardest path to find
Each difficult
Each rewarding
50/50
Which happiness?
Which struggle?
Which goodness?
Which sorrows?
Which life?
Which is mine?
The choice is mine.
Wednesday, August 14
Not My Own
This my friends, I give this to you. To new and old, some leaving, some coming, I give you my gratitude and my love."
Not My Own
I wasn't whole until I broke apart.
I didn't break apart until I was opened.
When scattered lines of experience
Sealed in memory and laughter and tears
Seared into my skin,
Melted through,
Reducing me to corners and edges.
I could suddenly cut.
I could cause damage,
I could hurt.
Then sandpaper.
Rough and shocking
Reprimanded. Rebuked.
Reproved. Redirected.
Smoothing and defining.
Reassured. Reassessed.
Recovered. Remade.
Honed by vulnerability
Chastened by kindness
Encouraged by weakness
Strengthened by fragility
I am newly formed.
I am wholly changed.
I am a sum of parts.
Revived and redesigned.
Restored by pure love.
By concern, by curiosity,
By compassion, by constancy.
I am their work.
My refiners. My stabilizers.
My rescuers. My guardian angels.
Myself is not my own.
I am theirs.
"God make me worthy of my friends."
Not My Own
I wasn't whole until I broke apart.
I didn't break apart until I was opened.
When scattered lines of experience
Sealed in memory and laughter and tears
Seared into my skin,
Melted through,
Reducing me to corners and edges.
I could suddenly cut.
I could cause damage,
I could hurt.
Then sandpaper.
Rough and shocking
Reprimanded. Rebuked.
Reproved. Redirected.
Smoothing and defining.
Reassured. Reassessed.
Recovered. Remade.
Honed by vulnerability
Chastened by kindness
Encouraged by weakness
Strengthened by fragility
I am newly formed.
I am wholly changed.
I am a sum of parts.
Revived and redesigned.
Restored by pure love.
By concern, by curiosity,
By compassion, by constancy.
I am their work.
My refiners. My stabilizers.
My rescuers. My guardian angels.
Myself is not my own.
I am theirs.
"God make me worthy of my friends."
Tuesday, May 28
The Influence of the Holy Ghost
This is a talk I gave last Sunday in church on the "Influence of the Holy Ghost." And heck, I thought it'd work as a nice blog post too. Cheers!
So I’ve been
thinking about this talk for some time now and thinking about the topic Brother
Tolman gave to me of “the influence of the Holy Ghost.” Now several thoughts
ran through my mind detailing the different attributes of the Holy Ghost and
how it has blessed my live. But then I thought of something I hadn’t before.
The Holy Ghost is not an it, the Holy Ghost is a He.
He is the third member of the Godhead, working in perfect unity with
Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, fulfilling several roles to help us live
righteously and receive the blessings of the gospel as a personage of spirit.
After we are
baptized we have the opportunity to receive this “unspeakable gift of the Holy
Ghost” when we are confirmed a member of Christ’s church. In True to the Faith
we read, “quote Before baptism, a person can feel the influence of the Holy
Ghost from time to time and through that influence can receive a testimony of
the truth. After receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, a person has the right
to the constant companionship of that member of the Godhead if he or she keeps
the commandments. End of quote” Now I know many of you have young cousins or
siblings or nieces and nephews who are just learning the art of how to get into
everything. The parents of these children or some other caregivers are always
at their side in an attempt to make sure they do not hurt themselves, get into
things they shouldn’t and when worse comes to worst and these children are sad
and crying often because no matter what their parents did, they were determined
to still explore until they got scared or even hurt. The caregivers do not
respond angrily but with soft words of peace and comfort and sometimes with a
little bit of exasperation, to ease the troubled hearts of these children and
to let them know that they are truly loved. Does not the Holy Ghost respond to
our lives in such a way? Does He not constantly stand by our side so we “may
always have His Spirit to be with” us if we remain worthy by keeping the
commandments and coming unto Christ?
Now the attributes
of the Holy Ghost are varied and He is often spoken of as a Comforter, a
Witness, a Protector, a giver of gifts and a Sanctifier. Indeed, to quote the
gospel principles manual, whilst “Heavenly Father is our Father and ruler,
Jesus Christ is our Savior, The holy Ghost is the revealer and testifier of all
truth.” As we read in 2 Nephi 31:18,
“the Holy Ghost . . . cwitnesses of
the dFather
and the Son”. He witnesses of the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ
and his role as the Savior and Healer of worlds without end. He witnesses of power
and glory of our Heavenly Father as the Ruler of the universe and He witnesses
of the Father’s eternal, infinite and individual love for each and every one of
us as His children. I can think of no more powerful reminder the Holy Ghost
gives to us but of how much our Heavenly Father and our Elder Brother Jesus
Christ love us. Heavenly Father gives us the Holy Ghost’s presence as a free
gift of love. And think of it, the Holy
Ghost himself is a being of infinite and eternal love and compassion for us as
children of God as His mission is to help us come unto Christ and fulfill our
true destiny of becoming heirs of the kingdom of God. What a powerful testimony
of the Godhead’s love for us. I know many of you are reading the book “Man’s
Search for Meaning” by Viktor E. Frankl for the ward book club and I thought
the following quote from it describes almost perfectly the power of the love
which the Holy Ghost feels for us. And I quote, Now “Love is the only way to
grasp another human being in the innermost core of his personality. No one can
become fully aware of the very essence of another human being unless he loves
him. By his love he is enabled to see the essential traits and features in the
beloved person; and even more, he sees that which is potential in him, which is
not yet actualized but yet ought to be actualized. Furthermore, by his love,
the loving person enables the beloved person to actualize these potentialities.
By making him aware of what he can be and of what he should become, he makes
these potentialities come true.” End of quote
As our constant
companion, guide, protector and reassuring friend He knows our hearts and minds
in a way only a member of the Godhead can and knows how to help us in our every
struggle. Last week, I was thinking about the path I am walking in my life kind
of having a hard day and was thinking about all the things I need and want to
do with my life. I felt I needed to go and do so much more but I was stuck
feeling that I didn’t know how to do enough. The thoughts came to me as a short
poem which says, “Nature is never finished. Trees live and grow and sprout and
fall and die But they are not finished. Trees decay and break and are soiled
and are soil. But they are not finished. (breathe/pause) They become. Books
leap off pages and imprint onto my conversation. Music extends in my ears and
whistles through my lips. People eternalize moments and my mind keeps them. There
is movement, there are cycles, there is change. (breathe/pause) They become. I
am not finished. I wake and run and wonder and smile. But I am not finished. I
hope and forget and sigh and love. But I am not finished. I become. Constantly.
I am not finished.”
Now at that time and throughout this whole
last week the Holy Ghost has helped me by His still, small whispers saying,
“You are not alone, you are loved, for you are a child of God and are entitled
to the infinite blessings of heaven if you go forth with faith and carry on.
Because you are not finished and I am not finished with you yet” He loves us
for who we are and what we can become and what we are becoming. It’s hard to
imagine how much the Holy Ghost loves us because every time we slack in our
commitment to stay on the strait and narrow path and wander into dark roads,
can you imagine how he feels if he has to leave us? This Being who has been our
caregiver since our spiritual infancy is sure to weep with the Father and the
Son when any of the children of God fall away and forget who they are. However,
the power of the Holy Ghost is never
lost to us and He is always ready to come to us again to comfort us and inspire
us as to how we can never leave the path again. Even though we are struggling
and imperfect, by constantly recommitting ourselves to the Lord’s way like we
did this afternoon with the sacrament, we can be on our way to being all that
The Father and the Son and The Holy Ghost know we can be. It is true that I am
not whole or complete yet. Yet. But because through the constancy of the gift
of love and strength that is the Holy Ghost, I know that if I follow the gospel
of Jesus Christ and remember that I am a child of Heavenly Father entitled to
all the blessings of His eternal kingdom if I remain faithful.
Terryl and Fiona
Givens wrote in their book “The God Who
Weeps” that “What we choose to embrace, to be responsive to, is the purest
reflection of who we are and what we love.” If we choose to embrace the
power of the Holy Ghost as witness of the truthfulness of the gospel and our
royal heritage, to respond to his every prompting or warning as a step towards
becoming our truest selves, we are well placed on the strait and narrow path
through this at times, dark, troubled, despondent world. The Holy Ghost is
given to us as a powerful token of our Father’s eternal love and by taking it
into our hearts and letting it radiate outwards from us through our love for
and our service to others, we openly and truthfully declare our love for Our
Father, Our Brother and last but not least Our constant Friend the Holy Ghost.
I quote the Givens’s again as I say “The divine nature of man, and the divine
nature of God are shown to be the same—they are rooted in the will to love, at
the price of pain, but in certainty of joy.” The members of the Godhead love us
so much that no matter how much sorrow and even pain we may cause them by our
disobedience and our wandering off the path, the simple act of recommitting
ourselves to following their way, we can bring them and ourselves true joy. We
will always find, not just momentary contentment or just plain happiness but
eternal joy and infinite love by following the direction of the Holy Ghost in
keeping the commandments of God the Father and Jesus Christ.
If you are interested in finding out more information on the Holy Ghost or any of the other points I made, please click on the "My Faith" button on the right side of the page to learn more!
Tuesday, May 21
Salute and Reminder
"Poetry may make us from time to time a little more aware of the deeper, unnamed feelings which form the substratum of our being, to which we rarely penetrate; for our lives are mostly a constant evasion of ourselves."
T. S. Eliot
"People who matter are most aware that everyone else does too."
Malcolm Forbes
Sunday, May 19
I am not finished
Nature is never finished.
Trees live and grow and sprout and fall and die
But they are not finished.
Trees decay and break and are soiled and are soil.
But they are not finished.
They become.
Books leap off pages and imprint onto my conversation.
Music extends in my ears and whistles through my lips.
People eternalize moments and my mind keeps them.
There is movement, there are cycles, there is change.
They become.
I am not finished.
I wake and run and wonder and smile
But I am not finished.
I hope and forget and sigh and love.
But I am not finished.
I become. Constantly.
I am not finished.
Thursday, May 16
Neither are you
I found this whilst browsing others blogs and posts that are a part of the finalists of the Mormon Lit Blitz Competition. This is really powerful in its simplicity. Many thanks to the author for his insight.
Actionable Intelligence
You revolve around the sun, and not the other way around.
Stoves are often hot. Knives are often sharp.
Animals have teeth and claws, even the ones we keep as pets.
Cars are not toys, unless they are toys.
Spouses are to be loved and cherished, as are children, though differently.
Children have to be raised. Spouses need to be uplifted.
Respect and deference are not the same.
Deference and submission are not the same.
Submission and worship are not the same.
Loyalty matters. Fidelity matters. Joy and suffering matter.
Money doesn’t matter, unless you don’t have any.
Happiness doesn’t matter as much as you think, unless you don’t have any.
If you prick them, they bleed. (Don’t prick them.)
Peace is a decision, not a consequence.
Cheaters occasionally prosper, but they eventually feel bad.
Laughter is not medicine, but it is good for you.
We want the same things, unless what you want is sinister or twisted, in which
case we do not want the same things.
Hope doesn’t actually float.
People lie. People also tell the truth.
Age doesn’t always beget wisdom.
Feelings are not facts, but they feel like it.
God is, and great. (Your assent is not a requirement.)
Waste mocks want. Haste makes it.
Rebirth is symbolic, not literal, and needn’t be avoided on those grounds.
Babies cry. A lot. It’s not their fault.
Teenagers are worth it. Dogs are not.
Shakespeare. And Robert Frost. And sometimes Dylan Thomas.
Fruits and vegetables.
You are more than you bargained for. (Take advantage.)
Friendship. (Don’t take advantage.)
Love given is love received. Love received is love given.
Give and receive gracefully.
Knock and someone will open. Unless they don’t. Knock anyway. Politely.
The race often goes to the swift, unless it’s an endurance race.
Beauty isn’t just skin deep.
Neither are you."
Jonathon Penny
Neither are you.
Actionable Intelligence
You revolve around the sun, and not the other way around.
Stoves are often hot. Knives are often sharp.
Animals have teeth and claws, even the ones we keep as pets.
Cars are not toys, unless they are toys.
Spouses are to be loved and cherished, as are children, though differently.
Children have to be raised. Spouses need to be uplifted.
Respect and deference are not the same.
Deference and submission are not the same.
Submission and worship are not the same.
Loyalty matters. Fidelity matters. Joy and suffering matter.
Money doesn’t matter, unless you don’t have any.
Happiness doesn’t matter as much as you think, unless you don’t have any.
If you prick them, they bleed. (Don’t prick them.)
Peace is a decision, not a consequence.
Cheaters occasionally prosper, but they eventually feel bad.
Laughter is not medicine, but it is good for you.
We want the same things, unless what you want is sinister or twisted, in which
case we do not want the same things.
Hope doesn’t actually float.
People lie. People also tell the truth.
Age doesn’t always beget wisdom.
Feelings are not facts, but they feel like it.
God is, and great. (Your assent is not a requirement.)
Waste mocks want. Haste makes it.
Rebirth is symbolic, not literal, and needn’t be avoided on those grounds.
Babies cry. A lot. It’s not their fault.
Teenagers are worth it. Dogs are not.
Shakespeare. And Robert Frost. And sometimes Dylan Thomas.
Fruits and vegetables.
You are more than you bargained for. (Take advantage.)
Friendship. (Don’t take advantage.)
Love given is love received. Love received is love given.
Give and receive gracefully.
Knock and someone will open. Unless they don’t. Knock anyway. Politely.
The race often goes to the swift, unless it’s an endurance race.
Beauty isn’t just skin deep.
Neither are you."
Jonathon Penny
Neither are you.
Wednesday, April 3
To ease one life [from] aching
In my life, I have
seen how being looked over or even people assuming you are doing alright can
break a person down more completely then saying the most hateful thing to them.
When people are hateful, its easy to put up a barrier of anger and resentment but
neglect; that is a whole different story. Emily Dickinson has a few quotes that
seem to sum up my thoughts on the subject quite nicely.
They might not need me; but they might.
I'll let my head be just in sight;
A smile as small as mine might be
Precisely their necessity."
Emily Dickinson
"If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain."
Emily Dickinson
It is no secret that there is pain in the world but most of the worst kinds of it is unseen. It is often that inner penetrating, stabbing pain that breaks people most and molds their actions towards others. Its usually not a nice outcome and whether they are the living breathing examples of bitterness, irritability or brooding silence, we MUST give them the benefit of the doubt. Live them up that are sinking down, be "willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; Yea, and [be] willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort , , , at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death." (Mosiah 18:8-9)
Follow the example of the Man who knew the pain of a universe. A universe - an infinitely expanding space that saw and sees the lives of an infinite number of people alive and dead. Because of Him, our suffering does not have to extend throughout this earthly sphere and the eternities.
Through His eternal pain, His harrowing death and His glorious resurrection, He broke the chains of death on heaven's gate that all may enter who follow his gospel and believe on his name. A Man who chose to love despite his pain for his pain - great and eternal - did what God intended and prophets foretold. Alma prophesied, "And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the PAINS and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him DEATH, that he may LOOSE the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with MERCY, according to the flesh, that he may KNOW according to the flesh how to SUCCOR his people according to their infirmities.: (Alma 7:11-12, emphasis added). He made our pain easier and through Him, it can be taken away entirely, so why shouldn't we soothe the wounds and bind the hearts of those who need it most? We owe it to Him.
They might not need me; but they might.
I'll let my head be just in sight;
A smile as small as mine might be
Precisely their necessity."
Emily Dickinson
"If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain."
Emily Dickinson
It is no secret that there is pain in the world but most of the worst kinds of it is unseen. It is often that inner penetrating, stabbing pain that breaks people most and molds their actions towards others. Its usually not a nice outcome and whether they are the living breathing examples of bitterness, irritability or brooding silence, we MUST give them the benefit of the doubt. Live them up that are sinking down, be "willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; Yea, and [be] willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort , , , at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death." (Mosiah 18:8-9)
Follow the example of the Man who knew the pain of a universe. A universe - an infinitely expanding space that saw and sees the lives of an infinite number of people alive and dead. Because of Him, our suffering does not have to extend throughout this earthly sphere and the eternities.
Through His eternal pain, His harrowing death and His glorious resurrection, He broke the chains of death on heaven's gate that all may enter who follow his gospel and believe on his name. A Man who chose to love despite his pain for his pain - great and eternal - did what God intended and prophets foretold. Alma prophesied, "And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the PAINS and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him DEATH, that he may LOOSE the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with MERCY, according to the flesh, that he may KNOW according to the flesh how to SUCCOR his people according to their infirmities.: (Alma 7:11-12, emphasis added). He made our pain easier and through Him, it can be taken away entirely, so why shouldn't we soothe the wounds and bind the hearts of those who need it most? We owe it to Him.
Thursday, March 14
simply this
There is something outstandingly beautiful about sitting in a small living room, with a friend in each corner, quietly working away on one thing or another. I have made such wonderful friends here in London and I am so grateful for them that I got inspired to finally post something on my long neglected blog. And that post is . . . .
I am grateful. I am humbled to be around so many men and women (mostly women here in London anyways) who are so excited about living a happy and gospel centered life. They inspire me. Just one example of these wonderfully influential people in my life are my TA and my religion professor. Ha didn't see that one coming did you? Jacob and Anna are very caring people who every day help me to expand my horizons and because of their example make me want to develop a stronger relationship with my Heavenly Father. There is more than likely, no one at all who read this blog but if someone does read this, go find friends that uplift you. Those that increase your desire for all the good things in the world are the ones that are the best to keep around. They are the ones to buoy you up when your heart fails you and who teach you how much the Lord loves you. If you can feel that much love and peace form friends, think of your family and then your Heavenly Father with His infinite capacity to love you. Even in the harshest circumstances of all, you are surrounded by those that love you waiting to help you up to be the great version of yourself. Be strong and keep the faith my friends!
Hopefully a more organized and more in depth post will come soon. Cheers!
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