Month: October 2017

“Behold, great and marvelous are the works of the Lord. How unsearchable are the depths of the mysteries of him; and it is impossible that man should find out all his ways. And no man knoweth of his ways save it be revealed unto him; wherefore, brethren, despise not the revelations of God.” (Jacob 4:8)

In this day of information overload and the transparency movement, we want to know everything and we want to know it right now. When we can’t find all the answers, we assume that there must be something intentionally being hidden from us to deceive us. We want to know all the secrets and all the mysteries so we can make “informed” decisions. When we don’t find satisfactory answers we take our doubts and run with them. I think this is what is leading many to leave the church right now.

It is GOOD to seek. It is GOOD to want more knowledge. We should be studying and learning and growing, but the veil is there for a reason. It is there for many reasons, but one of them for our protection. NOT having all the answers at our fingertips protects our agency and protects us from being held accountable for all of the knowledge. We are only accountable for what we know and understand and how we live up to that. God does not give us all of the mysteries of the universe right now and that is ok. We can seek and find and receive revelation but it will come line upon line so that we can build our knowledge as we build our faith and our capacity to handle that knowledge. We have to become more comfortable with doubt—more comfortable with unknowing, and trust in what HAS been revealed to us. We have to trust God that He knows the answers and that He will work it all out for us in the end. We can rely on the answers we have been given, the spiritual experiences we have ad and our relationship with God and trust that the rest will fall into place and will be revealed in time.

Meditation and Journaling Prompt: Why does doubt make us so uncomfortable? What is doubt? How can it serve us rather than hinder us?

“In an increasingly secular world, less emphasis is placed on the amount of spiritual growth necessary to become more Christlike and establish the foundations that lead to enduring faith. We tend to emphasize moments of sublime spiritual understanding. These are precious instances when we know the Holy Ghost has witnessed special spiritual insights to our heats and minds. We rejoice in these events; they should not be diminished in any way. But for enduring faith and to have the constant companionship of the Spirit, there is no substitute for the individual religious observance that is comparable to physical and mental development. We should build on these experiences, which sometimes resemble initial baby steps. We do this by consecrated commitment to sacred sacrament meetings, scripture study, prayer, and serving as called.” (Quentin L. Cook, “Foundations of Faith,” General Conference, April 2017)

Yesterday we talked about remembering those big moments. Reliving them can be a powerful way to remind us of the foundations of our testimony. But it is not sufficient to maintain our faith. If it were, so many formerly faithful members would not leave the church. We cannot rely on those experiences alone. We must continually build up our foundation of faith so that it has the strength to stand the test of time and flood of “information” that comes at us every day. We must turn to Christ and His teachings and rely on HIS information, not the thoughts and testimonies of those around us.

I studied hard in college. I loved my classes and I loved to learn. One of my favorite classes was a Biopsychology class. We learned about the structures and functions of the brain. I studied hard for that class and aced it. I could locate and label every part of the brain at a glance. But that was 15 years ago… today I remember very little of it. I cannot rely on my study from 15 years ago to retain the knowledge I once had. Now that I am out of practice, I can only remember a small part of it. The same goes for our spiritual knowledge. It is not a “one and done” sort of learning.

Elder Cook goes on to say, “Just as repetition and consistent effort are required to gain physical or mental capacity, the same is true in spiritual matters. Remember that the Prophet Joseph received the same visitor, Moroni, with exactly the same message four times in preparation for receiving the plates. I believe that weekly participation in sacred sacrament meetings has spiritual implications we do not fully understand. Pondering the scriptures regularly—rather that reading them occasionally—can substitute a superficial understanding for a sublime, life-changing enhancement of our faith.”

Meditation and Journaling Prompt: How are you building upon your foundation of faith?

Call to Action: I am doing a 3 day meditation challenge – 2 times a day, for 3 days, at least 10 minutes long with a focus on Christ and the foundation of my testimony. I would love for you to join me and share your experiences.

Mindfulness Tip: New to meditation? Try an app. I am using Simple Habit this week. I have also liked Headspace in the past. Both have a free learning series. Simple Habit has several so you can find one that works for you.

“And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yeah, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power of you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.” (Helaman 5:12)

With so many people I know and love leaving the church it is becoming clear that it is more important than ever to build on that foundation of Christ, and not on the testimonies of others. We must build it, seek it and reach for it every day. And then we must REMEMBER what we have learned and felt. We need to revisit it often and remind ourselves what we know to be true.

Ronald A. Rasband counseled, “When I have counseled individuals … I have explored their decisions made over the years which led them to forget sacred experiences, to weaken, and to doubt. I encouraged them, as I encourage you now, to recall, especially in times of crisis, when you felt the Spirit and your testimony was strong; remember the spiritual foundations you have built.” (“Lest Thou Forget,” General Conference, October 2016)

Meditation and Journaling Prompt: As you meditate today, try to remember those testimony building experiences. Try to recreate them in your mind. Use your senses – what did you see, feel, hear, smell? Then take some time to write down what you remember so that you can refer to it later.

Call to Action: I am doing a 3 day meditation challenge – 2 times a day, for 3 days, at least 10 minutes long with a focus on Christ and the foundation of my testimony. I would love for you to join me and share your experiences.

“Therefore, whoso heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock—and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. And everone that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand—and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (3 Nephi 14:24-27

“Brothers and sisters, none of us would knowingly construct our homes, places of work, or sacred houses of worship on sand or rubble or without appropriate plans and materials. Let us accept the Savior’s invitation to come unto Him. Let us build our lives upon a safe and sure foundations.” (Dean M. Davies, “A Sure Foundation,” General Conference, April 2013)

My mind is feeling unsettled tonight. I am turning towards a writing meditation to help me organize my thoughts and feelings on an issue and the “Wise Man and The Foolish Man” keeps running through my mind.

I have spent a lot of time studying faith in recent months. I know how vital it is to put my faith and trust in the sure foundation that is Christ and not in man. Today I came to the realization that, while I know that to be the case, I may be putting too much of my faith in other people.

As I grapple with my doubts and with difficult questions, I come to answers I feel comfortable with and that make sense to me and resonate in my heart. Then, when I hear other people whose I trust come to similar conclusions I find great comfort in that. Lately, however, like minded friends of mine whose faith I have relied on when mine has wavered, have been leaving the church in droves. I learned recently of yet another person who has made the decision that the church no longer fits into their life and I found myself shaken more than I ever expected. I start to fear that my searching will lead me on a similar or inevitable path if people whose beliefs aligned so much with my own or whose faith I admired can come to that conclusion. And I desperately do not want to lose my faith or my testimony of the gospel.

The answer that comes to my mind and speaks peace to my heart tonight is that I must not build my faith on the faith of others. I need to trust that still small voice that speaks peace to my heart and tells me that the doctrine of love that I believe in deep in my soul IS the truth. That the difficult questions have answers that come with love and peace. That the things that bring doubt and the truths I know can co-exist. That Christ is the way, this church is His and it will lead me to Him. I must be the wise man, and watch out for the foolish man within me that seeks validation and confirmation from other humans who are just trying to fumble their way this life like I am. I must continually seek that confirmation from God and live my life in a way that I can hear when he speaks to me. I am making a renewed commitment to study and ponder and meditate every day so that I can maintain that connection with him. I do not want my house to wash away when the floods come up, because up they are coming!

Meditation and Journaling Prompt: Where is your faith today? Where is your house built?

Call to Action: Commit with me to meditate twice a day for the rest of this week. Then please comment here, or on Instagram (or send me a DM if you don’t want to share publicly) and let me know how it went for you.

“Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto him with exceeding faith, and he will console you in your afflictions, and he will plead your cause, and send down justice upon those who seek your destruction.” (Jacob 3:1)

I, like so many of you, have been swept up in the podcast world. I love to listen to podcasts when I am running, cleaning my house, or driving my kids all over tarnation for their various activities. We live in a small, mostly rural area so it is a 30 minute drive to everything. I have a lot of time to listen to podcasts in the car… but I digress.

Recently I have been listening to a true crime podcast that explores wrongful convictions. I have been struck by how vital it is to have a good lawyer when you are charged with a crime regardless of if you are guilty or innocent. Without one, an innocent person can be convicted even when there is little evidence presented against them. It is a “he said, she said” situation a lot of times and if the defense attorney doesn’t know the facts of the case or the laws surrounding the presentation of evidence well, they can make errors which are hard to overcome. Overturning a wrongful conviction through appeals and post-conviction relief takes years. An innocent person can spend decades in prison as a result of not having a good advocate in their initial trial.

How wonderful it is, then, to know that we will have the best advocate to plead our cause at judgement. He has a perfect knowledge of all sides of the case. He love us unconditionally. He sees our hearts, and knows our strengths and weaknesses. He knows our past and how that affects the way we react to difficult situations. He knows how often we have prayed and how hard we have worked. He knows about our good days and our bad days. He has been there to console and comfort us through all our trials. And he will be there to stand at our side and plead for us. We are ensured fairness, mercy and love when we stand at judgment day. I am incredibly grateful for that knowledge.

Meditation and Journaling Prompt: What does it mean to you to have someone who will “plead your cause?”

Mindfulness Tip: “When thoughts are pressing in during meditation, rather than struggle with them, see them as a curious parade of strangers that you are watching from a bench on the sidewalk. Each passerby is different—some silly, some menacing, some dull. You wouldn’t hop up and try to stop a stranger you didn’t like the looks of; you’d just let him pass and see who was coming along next. Try treating your thoughts the same way.” (Rogers, Holly B. 2016. “The Mindful Twenty-Something.” Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications, Inc.)

“My brothers and sisters, how precious is the Book of Mormon to you? If you were offered diamonds or rubies or the Book of Mormon, which would you choose? Honestly, which is of greater worth to you?” (Russell M. Nelson, “The Book of Mormon: What Would Your Life Be Like Without It?” General Conference, October 2017)

I will be honest, as Elder Nelson implores… This question hit me pretty hard. Financial struggles and burdens seem to constantly be at the forefront of my mind. Decisions about where, when and how to spend our money are the root of a lot of disagreements in our house. The stress of a tight month, the fear of an accident that could put my husband out of work for an extended period of time, and just the wants of daily life are wearing. I find myself daydreaming often about what I would do if we won a million dollars, or an unknown rich relative left us a large inheritance. New cars, new furniture, new gadgets and traveling the world are, of course, fun to think about, but just not having to think so much about money in the every day sounds pretty wonderful. I certainly wouldn’t turn it down if someone wanted to give me rubies and diamonds—to wear or to fund my dreams of paying someone else to clean my house every day.

But sitting on the shelves just in the one room of my house where I am writing this I have 2 sets of scriptures, a computer with internet access to the scriptures, a tablet and a phone I carry around in my pocket all with the Book of Mormon—a treasure beyond riches. While I know its value and I am so glad to have it, I know I don’t treat it as the treasure that it truly is. Perhaps, if I turned my attention to the Book of Mormon and away from my dwindling bank account on a more regular basis, I could see things for what they really are. I imagine it would make a difference in the way I approach all things in my life—my spending habits and my long list of “wants” included.

Meditation and Journaling Prompt: Ask yourself the same questions Elder Nelson asks above, “how precious is the Book of Mormon to you? If you were offered diamonds or rubies or the Book of Mormon, which would you choose? Honestly, which is of greater worth to you?”

Call to Action: Try this with me this week: When financial worries or “wants” come to mind, open your phone and read a verse or two from the Book of Mormon. Bring your thoughts back to the real treasure that you already have and carry with you all day. Does this refocusing and reframing change your attitudes?