December 2024, Week 5

 *Today at church, Brother Young shared a poem by Eliza R. Snow, which seems to also have been used as a hymn.  Here is the poem, called "Think Not When You Gather to Zion."

1. Think not when you gather to Zion,Your troubles and trials are through,That nothing but comfort and pleasureAre waiting in Zion for you:No, no, ’tis designed as a furnace,All substance, all textures to try,To burn all the “wood, hay, and stubble,”The gold from the dross purify.

2. Think not when you gather to Zion,That all will be holy and pure;That fraud and deception are banished,And confidence wholly secure:No, no, for the Lord our RedeemerHas said that the tares with the wheatMust grow till the great day of burningShall render the harvest complete.

3. Think not when you gather to Zion,The Saints here have nothing to doBut look to your personal welfare,And always be comforting you.No; those who are faithful are doingWhat they find to do with their might;To gather the scattered of IsraelThey labor by day and by night.

4. Think not when you gather to Zion,The prize and the victory won.Think not that the warfare is ended,The work of salvation is done.No, no; for the great prince of darknessA ten-fold exertion will make,When he sees you go to the fountain,Where freely the truth you may take.
It's a good reminder about enduring to the end.  Travelling the Covenant Path is not quick, or over when baptized.  There is work enough to do, ere the sun goes down!
*Bishop Matheney also spoke, as today is the last Sunday of the year.  He said he would like our ward's focus in 2025 to be "Stand in holy places and be not moved."  We need to 1) find personal sacred spaces, which could be physical, or a state of mind, or a moment in time.  For example, for Joseph Smith, the Liberty Jail was a prison temple, for what he learned there.  2) Make our homes sacred places, with personal and family spiritual daily habits.  3) Remember that the Sacrament is the most important part of each Sabbath, and prepare before Sunday to partake of it.  Lay down burdens and make the time sacred.  Focus on the hymn.  4) Attend the temple, because every time you go you are blessed, and every time you leave you are better.  It blesses you with an eternal perspective and peace amidst challenges.  He challenged us to attend once a month, and to not let Satan deprive us from being in God's house.  We need to allow the Savior's Atonement to sanctify and strengthen us.  It can be a year for deep spiritual growth.

It was a delight!

December 2024, Week 4

 *Today at church we celebrated Christmas!  Hallelujah!   For the program, the Denny family narrated with scriptures with musical numbers between them.  The choir sang a beautiful arrangement of  "O Come, O Come Emmanuel"  (Caytie and I sang, and Ben accompanied on his viola).  The Primary sang their song, "If I Were There," with sign language, and it was so sweet.  PS--our Primary is HUGE again.  The young men sang "We Three Kings" (which I accompanied) and Ben and I did "The First Noel" on the viola and mandolin.  (It went all right.  They keep asking us to do musical things, so I guess the fact that we aren't perfect is not a deterrent.  I appreciate the challenge and the opportunity to practice, but not always the performance aspect of it.)  The congregation sang a couple songs, as well.  During the Sacrament, when thinking about taking upon His name, I thought of my favorite one for Christmas: Emmanuel, which means "God with us."  I'm grateful to believe that He IS here, with us-- with me.  It's the best Christmas message.

It was a delight!

December 2024, Week 3

 *Today at church, during the Sacrament, I reflected on how I did at being a friend that week.  There were some successes, and some things I could have done better.  Thankfully, this was not my only chance to try, and I really do want to be more like Jesus.  The name that came to mind this week was "Advocate."  I'm not sure why yet, but I'll try to be ready if someone needs me in that way.

*Sister Olsen gave a talk and mentioned how she listens to Conference talks while she folds laundry.  My first thought was that I'd rather watch TV or listen to an audio book than Conference during laundry-folding time, to make it more fun, but then I remembered that I miss attending my conference study group that doesn't meet any more, mostly because it encouraged me to read and talk about the talks (since I don't do that at church, due to Primary).  So, I'll try to add listening to Conference talks to my laundry time, too.

*In Primary we talked about faith, hope, and charity.  (We're almost done with the Book of Mormon!  Moroni is awesome.)  I had a substitute with me, and she asked how long I've been teaching.  It's been about two and a half years now!  I hope that those I've taught know that I love Jesus and the scriptures, and that the Lord answers prayers, and that He gives us commandments to follow because He loves us and wants us to come back to Him.  And that I love them.

It was a delight!

December 2024, Week 2

 *Today at church we had our second Youth-Led Sacrament Program.  The theme (which is the youth theme for the year) was "I Am a Disciple of Christ." This year Tessa and Emily Garcia played their clarinet and French horn while Kelsey Eves accompanied them for several songs for the prelude.  (They sounded really good, in my humble opinion.)  There were several youth who talked about different ways they can be disciples of Christ.  Caytie, Tessa, and Benson all sang for the musical numbers.  The Young Men sang "Israel, Israel, God is Calling," the Young Women sang "Love One Another" (a very pretty arrangement--they sounded like angels!), and everyone sang "I'm a Disciple of Christ" and "Hope of Israel," which was my unexpected favorite.  They started a capella (a little shakily) with just a few youth, and then each phrase added a few more voices, and then the organ came in, and then finally they had the congregation join in.  It was just so moving to me that this group of very normal kids are joining together to actually become the Hope of Israel, rising in might with truth and light, and getting stronger and stronger every day as they put in the effort to become disciples of Jesus Christ.

*During the Sacrament, I was thinking about taking upon myself Jesus's name, and I thought I'd like to take on the name "Friend."  I want to be a better minister to those around me.  I want to be a friend like Jesus.  I know he'll help.

It was a delight!

December 2024, Week 1

 *Today at church, Scott and Kaitlyn joined us, since they were here for Thanksgiving!  Scott bore his testimony, which is always nice to hear.  In Primary I was able to testify about faith, and how God makes weak things strong.  I told them about when I was a missionary, and how I had to rely on Him to do the hard things.  I am thinking a lot about that, since Gracie is in the MTC in Provo, learning to do the hard things, too.  She'll do great, because she has a strong foundation of faith already.

*Today we were listening to Christmas music in the car after choir practice.  I have a mix of music, including an Elvis Christmas album.  His version of "Here Comes Santa Claus" came on, and I almost skipped it, but was glad I didn't, because I forgot how that song is actually surprisingly religious!  The first verse says to "hang your stockings and say your prayers, 'cause Santa Claus comes tonight."  The third one says, "Santa Claus knows we're all God's children; that makes everything right."  The fourth verse says, "Peace on earth will come to all if we just follow the Light, so let's give thanks to the Lord above, 'cause Santa Claus comes tonight."  America has changed a lot since that song was written, but I'm glad we still have the freedom to sing it, and believe it.  We believe!

It was a delight!

November 2024, Week 4

 *Today is the week before Thanksgiving, and I am NOT at church, though I wish I were.  My family and I are at a scout camp, from Saturday to Tuesday.  I'm here to be the female leader for the girls' troop, and Benson is with his troop, though we're sharing a campsite with them.  This is most likely our last campout for the girls' troop, as they've almost all earned their Eagle Scout awards and Ben is retiring the troop at the end of the year.  I'm happy to help out, but I would really rather be at church.  Thankfully the weather is lovely, and I have time to sit at the campsite and read scriptures, as well as a book about the temple I brought.  I took pictures of all the rainbow colors of leaves I saw today, and Ben and I went on a walk on a nature trail while the kids were in their merit badge classes.  God is here, too, and He is good.  I'm grateful for the tradition in my life of formally worshipping Him each Sunday at church.

It was a delight, in a different way.

November 2024, Week 3

 *Today in church, I was happy to be there!  Nothing unusual happened--it was just good to fellowship with my fellow ward members.  A brother with a medically fragile child reminded us to put it all into God's hands.  We learned a new Christmas song in Primary called "If I Were There," which is very sweet.  

"Life is good.  Life in the service of the Lord is good.  It is beautiful; it is rewarding." --Gordon B. Hinckley

It was a delight!

November 2024, Week 2

 *Today at church, we had Gracie's friend Victoria, who she worked with this summer, as a first-time guest.  (Gracie has been doing home MTC for the last week, and she followed through on a challenge.)  I tried to experience everything as Victoria might, as a first-time attendee.  A youth (Emma--not mine ☺) spoke about the Holy Ghost's different names and how we can feel it.  Sister Craddock spoke about covenants we make in the temple, and how they make what we do in this life worth it.  Sister Brownlee spoke about using the Family Proclamation in parenting.  It teaches about using love.  Fathers guide and direct, and mothers nurture in many ways.  I think Victoria was exposed to a lot of good things.  She said she enjoyed it.

*Today I brought my physical scriptures to church for my primary class.  The kids are used to seeing and we're used to using our digital copies in our class, but I needed to use the books for a visual aide.  I was telling them that they were very old--I got them when I was eight years old.  Then I realized the math was easy, since I'm 48.  My scriptures are 40 years old!  That sounds...pretty old.  However, I'm grateful for every one of those forty years with my scriptures--those old brown ones, my black seminary ones, my mission quad, a few blue paperbacks I've used, and my digital scriptures.  My life has been richly blessed by these books.  What an age to live in, where we have the Word of God so accessible!  My testimony is founded in those words.

It was a delight!