August 2025, Week 3

 *Today at church we sang one of the new hymns, number 1007: "As Bread is Broken."  I know I keep quoting hymns here, but I suppose that's the reason we keep singing them--their messages are clear, concise, and important.  Anyway, the phrase that stayed with me was from the third verse: "May our repentance be sincere.  Unto our pleadings incline thine ear."  Sometimes with the emphasis on daily repentance, I think I get a little repetitive and less sincere, and that's something I can improve on.  I also like the mental image of Heavenly Father inclining His ear, perking up and listening, to my pleadings.  I know He does hear me every time, but I appreciated this reminder.

*One of our sister missionaries shared a story about her grandpa, who lived in a rural area and was driving to work on a cold, snowy highway.  He saw something dark run onto the road, so he stopped to see if he had hit it.  There was a little lamb, hiding under the tire of his truck, thankfully unharmed.  He picked up the lamb, tossed it to the side of the road, and got in his truck, but the lamb ran right back to the shelter of the tire.  He got out again, picked up the lamb, walked further away from the road, tossed the lamb, and headed to the truck, but the lamb beat him back.  He picked it up again, walked much further away, tossed the lamb, and ran back to the truck, but the lamb beat him again, looking for the shelter of the tire.  Her grandpa finally took the lamb to a small hill and tossed it down (she assured us that the lamb was okay), ran back to his truck, and was able to drive away.  She related this to how Jesus Christ knows what is best for us.  Sometimes we think we have found a good place, but it is actually dangerous for us to stay there.  He will move us and try to keep us away from danger, even if it is uncomfortable or scary or cold.  The good news is that He won't drive away from us. ☺

It was a delight!

August 2025, Week 2

 *Today at church one of the Primary boys, my friend F. B., gave a talk about the Holy Ghost.  It was so sweet.  He said, "Here are three ways I feel the Holy Ghost."  He's nine--and can already identify at least three ways.  I think that's remarkable.  One of the ways he shared is that he feels the Holy Ghost telling him "I matter."  He is on a good path.

It was a delight!

August 2025, Week 1

 *Today at church, we sang "In Humility, Our Savior" (172), which includes the words, "Then when we have proven worthy Of thy sacrifice divine, Lord, let us regain thy presence; Let thy glory round us shine."  I am sometimes sensitive to the word "prove," because of the area we live and the resistance of many in other religions to the "works" we are invited to do as we are on the covenant path.  They say, "Faith is all you need!  No works!  You're trying to earn your way into heaven!"  We had the sister missionaries over for dinner on Saturday, and they were talking about encountering this resistance, so it was on my mind when I sang, and it made me pause.  I looked back over the words of the hymn to see what we needed to do to prove ourselves worthy of Jesus's sacrifice, and I found 1) be humble, 2) Remember Christ, 3) forgive, 4) have tolerance and love, and 5) offer prayers.  That is a valuable list of things to do, and if I need to prove myself worthy to enter God's presence in these ways, I'm willing.

*Sister Bond shared her testimony about the temple, and how she loved to take her girls to see the Los Angeles Temple when they were young, and it was a place to find peace.  I related, not only because my parents would take us to see the Los Angeles Temple when we were young, but also because of our trip to Las Vegas last week.  Ben and I stayed on the strip and watched several shows, but we didn't rent a car, so we walked up and down and through several casinos to get to them.  One of the mornings, we took an Uber to the Las Vegas Temple to do a session, and it was so lovely.  Twice Ben commented that he felt like we were "home" at the temple, though we'd never been to that one.  As we were waiting for our Uber back to the hotel, I could look down from the hill and see the strip in the distance, and I noted the contrast in where we were to where we were going--the feeling of peace versus the feeling of chaos, excess, and extremes.  I'm grateful to have the two, and to recognize where I prefer to be.

It was a delight!

July 2025, Week 4

*Today at church I appreciated the Sacrament Hymn's message of peace.  (Maybe because we just returned from an anniversary trip to Las Vegas at 1 am, and I had been asked to play the organ, but didn't have time to practice.)  It was Hymn 178, "O Lord of Hosts," and actually I appreciate any message of peace in these last days.  The world won't find it at large for a while--but we can find it in our hearts through Christ.  

*Brother Whitaker spoke, and he is a physical therapist.  His talk assignment involved Doctrine and Covenants 81:3-5, and he spoke of how, in his work, he literally succors the weak, lifts the hands that hang down, and strengthens the feeble knees.  He gets satisfaction in seeing people improve their lives with his help and training.  We have so many opportunities to serve and lift people, and to see them improve their lives.  Jesus showed us how to lift others (literally, as with the man who lifted his bed and walked, and symbolically, as with the woman with the issue of blood).  He performed true miracles, but we can be part of miracles for others, too.

It was a delight!

July 2025, Week 3

 *Today at church Josh Matheney told a story about a pioneer family.  At one point, their little baby died, and they were unable to bury it, so they wrapped it in a blanket and left the body behind.  The mother was worried about the wolves getting to the body and wanted to go back to the baby once they had made camp for the night, but no one thought she should.  In the middle of the night, she had a prompting to go get the baby, so she did, and once she found it, she found that the baby was alive!  It was a miracle, and she was able to bring the baby back to camp and with them for the rest of the journey.  There were so many miracles along that pioneer trail.  He reminded us that miracles come from covenant-centered lives.  We can trust in God's promises.  And the Atonement of Jesus Christ was the ultimate rescue, of everyone's souls.

It was a delight!

July 2025, Week 2

 *Today in church, I co-taught our lesson with Caroline about Doctrine and Covenants 76, about the three degrees of glory.  I usually give my girls the topic and references, and let them take as much time as they want, and then I fill in the rest of the time, but she was so well prepared and taught a great lesson for the whole time we had available.  The girls in our class are good about answering questions, too, so we had some thoughtful discussions.

It was a delight!

July 2025, Week 1

*Today at church one of my sweet young women bore her testimony.  She was adopted last year from foster care by a family that we are good friends with, and then decided to get baptized a couple months later.  She attended FSY this week, and she loved it.  She shared that life is better in the church than out of the church.  I thought that was an insightful observation, and it's a privilege to watch her grow.

*A brother shared that he's suffered with pretty intense anxiety during his life.  He was talking with someone about having one wish granted, and he thought he'd love to have his mind healed from this anxiety.  But he reflected that if he didn't have anxiety, his personal, professional, and spiritual life wouldn't have developed the way is has, and he wouldn't have the life that he loves.  God knows our needs, and he puts us in the path to get there.

It was a delight!