Month: November 2017

“And he was learned, that he had a perfect knowledge of the language of the people; wherefore, he could use much flattery, and much power of speech, according to the power of the devil. And he had hope to shake me from the faith…” (Jacob 7:4-5)

Do you ever find yourself giving more credence to the words of the “learned” over those of the faithful? I certainly do. A persons pedigree or having a lot of letters they can list after their name tends to give them some sort of power. If they are “smart” and educated, then they must know something I don’t. We tend to trust what they say because clearly, if they were smart enough to finish a PhD, or they are a doctor, then they must be smarter that the average person which means that the conclusions they have come to must be correct.

When you really look at it though, a brain surgeon is smart and knows a lot about brains. But does that make them more qualified to talk about computer programming? Or operating heavy equipment on a construction site? Of course not. A person who has studied molecular biology knows a lot about molecular biology, but that doesn’t mean they know more than anyone else about the gospel or the existence or non-existence of God.

Those who would try to sway us use “flattering words,” logic, and reason to make us feel like our faith is somehow less than their learning. But we can know better. We don’t have to play that game. We can listen and learn through the spirit and rely on those experiences so that we, like Jacob, cannot be shaken from our faith.

Meditation and Journaling Prompt: When someone tries to “reason with you” about your faith, how do you respond? Have you fallen into the trap of thinking that because someone is “smart” or well educated they must be right? Or that their words have more weight than someone else who might not be as educated?

Call to Action: We are on day 3 of our 2 week focused gratitude practice. Try this today: Take 3 minutes today – set a timer and list out loud everything you can think of that you are grateful for for the full 3 minutes.

For further study: Read the entire chapter 7 of Jacob. There are so many parallels to our present time.

“Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers” (Ephesians 1:15-16)

I love November. Halloween is big in our house and after the rush and stress and lack of sleep from creating the perfect costumes (I tend to go overboard… I don’t want to talk about it…), November feels like a time to reset and refocus. It gets colder and the cozy blankets and sweats come out. It is the calm between Halloween and the hustle and bustle of Christmas. The whole world is focused, just for a brief moment, on gratitude. It gives me a few weeks to refocus and prepare for the greatest season of all when we celebrate the birth of our Savior.
Today I am focusing my gratitude practice on people. I love this scripture because Paul takes time in the opening of his letter to express how grateful he is for the people. He wants them to know that he is thanking God for them and the good they are doing, and they are strangers to him. But he prays for them and is so grateful for them.

How often do we forget to be grateful for the people in our lives. Our children (even when they drive us nuts), our extended families, our friends, of course. But what about the person who lets us change lanes in front of them on the freeway, or the checker at our local grocery store who always has a sticker for the 2 year old. The smiling face at the front desk at the school. The teacher who takes a few minutes extra time out of her day to help our struggling child. The karate teacher who teaches with love. The girl at the drive through who makes the perfect dirty diet coke.

President Monson said, “A grateful heart, then, comes through expressing gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His blessings and to those around us for all that they bring into our lives. This requires conscious effort—at least until we have truly learned and cultivated an attitude of gratitude. Often we feel grateful and intend to express our thanks but forget to do so or just don’t get around to it.” (“The Divine Gift of Gratitude,” General Conference, October 2010).

I challenge you today to “get around to it,” Make a list – aloud or on paper – of all the people you think of or encounter today that you are grateful for. And then share that gratitude with as many as you can. Tell your family, tell your friends and thank your God for the wonderful people you are surrounded by. I can promise you it will brighten your outlook on life and the world we live in.

Meditation and Journaling Prompt: Who are you grateful for today?

Call to Action: Participate with me in a focused, intentional, gratitude practice every day for the next 2 weeks. Please share with us in the comments here or on instagram!

“Certainly our world has always been, and will continue to be, imperfect. Far too many innocent people suffer because of circumstances of nature as well as from man’s inhumanity. The corruption and wickedness in our day are unique and alarming.

But in spite of all this, I wouldn’t trade living in this time with any other time in the history of the world. We are blessed beyond measure to live in a day of unparalleled prosperity, enlightenment, and advantage. Most of all, we are blessed to have the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which gives us a unique perspective on the world’s dangers and shows us how to either avoid these dangers or deal with them.

When I think of these blessings, I want to fall to my knees and offer praises to our Heavenly Father for His never-ending love for all of His children.

I don’t believe God wants His children to be fearful or dwell on the evils of the world. “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

He has given us an abundance of reasons to rejoice. We just need to find and to recognize them. The Lord often reminds us to “be not afraid,” to “be of good cheer,” and to “fear not, little flock.” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Perfect Love Casteth Out Fear,” General Conference, April 2017)

Once again I find myself contemplating the craziness of the world we live in today. In just the last week there has been so much fear. So much violence. A random act that lead to a large portion of the city on lockdown for fear of a spree, then yet another mass shooting in a community. It seems like such a common occurrence that it has become the new normal. It is hard not to be fearful every time I drop my kids off at school, go to a mall or hospital, or walk through an unfamiliar part of town. It is exhausting and completely useless to be afraid. It doesn’t help me or anyone else, but it is hard not to fear when we are inundated with stories of violence and evil.

My sons are often fearful—sometimes completely irrationally so. Tonight my son told us to stop saying the word “Mercedes” because it was creeping him out and he didn’t want to have nightmares. I’m not sure what is scary about a Mercedes… I had one in high school and sure, it was slow and old and loud, but it wasn’t scary! But when my kids are having a hard time I always tell them, “fear does not come from Heavenly Father. It comes from Satan. He wants us to be afraid because you can’t be afraid and feel the spirit at the same time. So if you don’t want to be afraid, do something that brings the spirit. Pray, sing a song, read some scriptures and think about Jesus.”

Those simple instructions to my boys are still true for us. Fear does not come from God. Satan wants us afraid and to feel like we are alone. We are not. God is with us. Right now I find the best way to combat the fear of this big, scary world we live in is with gratitude. I start listing, out loud if necessary, all the things I am grateful for: My family, the trees growing in my yard, baseball coaches, teachers, grass, heavy whipping cream, new running shoes, kisses from my 2 year old, the sun shining through my kitchen window, my pillow. I list as many things as I can think of—big or small. And it helps. Gratitude and Love. They are what chase away fear and combat the darkness.

Meditation and Journaling Prompt: What are you afraid of? How can you chase out the fear and invite the Spirit into your heart?

Call to Action: Being that it is November, it seems fitting to start a gratitude challenge. For the next 2 weeks until Thanksgiving, instigate a daily gratitude practice. There are many ways to do a gratitude practice. I like to do mine out loud while I am walking outside (yeah, I probably look a little crazy, but that’s ok). A gratitude journal to write in daily works great. A daily prayer of just gratitude is another option. Find a gratitude practice that works for you and incorporate it into your meditation time for the next 2 weeks. Lets chase away the fear and hate in the world by flooding our lives with gratitude!

“Behold, he was spoken of by Moses; yea, and behold a type was raised up in the wilderness, that whosoever would look upon it might live. And many did look and live.
But few understood the meaning of those things, and this because of the hardness of their hearts. But there were many who were so hardened that they would not look, therefore they perished. Now the reason they would not look is because they did not believe that it would heal them.” (Alma 33:19-20)

When the snakes came raining down and the people of Moses were being bitten, God provided a simple way out. All they had to do was look at the staff and they would live. The bright shining staff that was mere inches away was the solution to all their problems. The answer was so simple and it seemed unbelievable. It defied their human logic so they looked around for some other solution that made more sense to them and as a result, many died.

So often when we are searching or struggling through life we turn to the wrong sources looking for the answers. We look for “reasonable” solutions to the problems we face believing that such big problems cannot be solved by something we can’t see. We tell ourselves we have faith in Christ, but when it comes down to it, we refuse to just look at the staff. If we will just turn to him, he will give us the solutions. We don’t have to make it so hard on ourselves. We just need to trust him and believe that he CAN do what he says he will do for us, even when it seems illogical or miraculous. Because it is. The Atonement IS miraculous. It is the greatest miracle there is. But it is also real. It happened. And it is there for us every day if we will just look.

Meditation and Journaling Prompt: Where are you looking for your answers?

“The Church in its divine mission and we in our personal lives seem to face increasing opposition today. Perhaps as the Church grows in strength and we members grow in faith and obedience, Satan increases the strength of his opposition so we will continue to have “opposition in all things.”

“Some of this opposition even comes from Church members. Some who use personal reasoning or wisdom to resist prophetic direction give themselves a label borrowed from elected bodies—“the loyal opposition.” However appropriate for a democracy, there is no warrant for this concept in the government of God’s kingdom, where questions are honored but opposition is not (see Matthew 26:24).

“As another example, there are many things in our early Church history, such as what Joseph Smith did or did not do in every circumstance, that some use as a basis for opposition. To all I say, exercise faith and put reliance on the Savior’s teaching that we should “know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16). The Church is making great efforts to be transparent with the records we have, but after all we can publish, our members are sometimes left with basic questions that cannot be resolved by study. That is the Church history version of “opposition in all things.” Some things can be learned only by faith (see D&C 88:118). Our ultimate reliance must be on faith in the witness we have received from the Holy Ghost.” (Dallin H. Oaks, “Opposition In All Things,” General Conference, April 2016)

This passage from Elder Oaks fits well with our study and focus of the past week on staying strong and relying on our faith when those around us are waivering. The opposition feels palpable right now. Instead of just coming at us from outside the church, it is coming from within our own ranks. I think that kind of opposition can be even harder to fight because we feel like we should be able to rely on our fellow members to strengthen us, rather than drag us down. I am reminded of conversations I had as a college student at BYU-Hawaii. Members of the church from outside of Utah would call my testimony and faith levels into question saying that I had not been challenged much because I was from Utah and everyone around me was LDS while they had had to fight for their values and faith on a regular basis as one of only a few members in their high school. I vehemently disagreed. They could rely on their religion as their excuse for not participating when offered a drink by a friend. When I was presented with a similar situation, it was more than likely by another member of the church. I had to stand up for my values among those who purported to have the same standards. In the end, opposition is opposition and we have to be able to stand on our own two feet and hold our ground whether that opposition is coming from the outside world or those sitting next to us in the pews. Our faith must be based in Christ and not rely on the strength of those around us to carry us along.

Meditation and Journaling Prompt: Where are you feeling the opposition right now?

Mindfulness Tip: Try meditating outside today. A connection to the earth and to nature can add a new dimension to your meditation practice.