The Sabbath

 

One day out of seven is sacred.  One day to rest, to worship, to grow closer as a family, to "set aside the things of this world".

I love the Sabbath.

I quote from pieces of a talk by James E. Faust, an apostle:

July 31, 1920–August 10, 2007

"Ever since Adam’s day the divine law of the Sabbath has been emphasized repeatedly over the centuries more than any other commandment. This long emphasis alone is an indication of its importance. In Genesis, we learn that God himself set the example for us in the creation of the earth:

“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

“And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

“And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” (Gen. 2:1–3.)"

"Jesus reaffirmed the importance of the Sabbath day devotion, but he introduced a new spirit into this part of worship. (See Matt. 24:20.) Rather than observe the endless technicalities and prohibitions concerning what should and should not be done on the Lord’s day, he affirmed that it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath. (See Matt. 12:12.) He taught us that “the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day” (Matt. 12:8) and introduced the principle that “the sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath” (Mark 2:27). He performed good deeds on the Sabbath, such as healing the man with palsy (see Mark 2:1–12) as well as the man with the paralyzed hand (see Matt. 12:10–13). So the divine mandate of Sabbath day observance in our day is now more of a manifestation of individual devotion and commitment rather than a requirement of civil law.

The great modern-day revelation on Sabbath day worship is contained in section 59 of the Doctrine and Covenants:

“And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day;

“For verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High;

“Nevertheless thy vows shall be offered up in righteousness on all days and at all times;

“But remember that on this, the Lord’s day, thou shalt offer thine oblations and thy sacraments unto the Most High, confessing thy sins unto thy brethren, and before the Lord.

“And on this day thou shalt do none other thing, only let thy food be prepared with singleness of heart that thy fasting may be perfect, or, in other words, that thy joy may be full.” (D&C 59:9–13.)

This great commandment is culminated with a promise: “Verily I say, that inasmuch as ye do this, the fulness of the earth is yours, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and that which climbeth upon the trees and walketh upon the earth.” (D&C 59:16.) To have the benefit of all of God’s creations is a very significant promise.

Keeping the Sabbath day holy is much more than just physical rest. It involves spiritual renewal and worship. President Spencer W. Kimball gave excellent counsel on Sabbath day observance. He said:

“The Sabbath is a holy day in which to do worthy and holy things. Abstinence from work and recreation is important but insufficient. The Sabbath calls for constructive thoughts and acts, and if one merely lounges about doing nothing on the Sabbath, he is breaking it. To observe it, one will be on his knees in prayer, preparing lessons, studying the gospel, meditating, visiting the ill and distressed, sleeping, reading wholesome material, and attending all the meetings of that day to which he is expected. To fail to do these proper things is a transgression on the omission side.” (The Miracle of Forgiveness, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1969, pp. 96–97.)"

“Other appropriate Sabbath activities, such as strengthening family ties, visiting the sick and the homebound, giving service to others, writing personal and family histories, genealogical work, and missionary work, should be carefully planned and carried out."--First Presidency letter-- Feb 1, 1980

Today was sacred because I had the chance to take the sacrament, sing in church with my daughters, teach a lesson on obedience to some 7 year olds, take a nap and go for a little walk, watch my kids play a board game together, have dinner around the table with my family, and wait for our grandparents to come and visit!  All in all, a peaceful and wonderful day.  

Angels

Sometimes,  when I am having a lonely or ponderous moment, I will feel someone by my side.  I can't see her, but I know my grandma is there to comfort me.  She has been a guiding presence all my life.  Now that she has passed on to the other side, sometimes I feel that she is an even more powerful guide. 

We believe in angels.  Not angels with wings, but angels who look like us.  Patterned in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). 

In the history of Joseph Smith, he describes an angel who visited him:

     "While I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I discovered a light appearing in my room, which continued to increase until the room was lighter than at noonday, when immediately a personage appeared at my bedside, standing in the air, for his feet did not touch the floor.
 

      He had on a loose robe of most exquisite whiteness. It was a whiteness beyond anything earthly I had ever seen; nor do I believe that any earthly thing could be made to appear so exceedingly white and brilliant. His hands were naked, and his arms also, a little above the wrist; so, also, were his feet naked, as were his legs, a little above the ankles. His head and neck were also bare. I could discover that he had no other clothing on but this robe, as it was open, so that I could see into his bosom.

      Not only was his robe exceedingly white, but his whole person was glorious beyond description, and his countenance truly like lightning. The room was exceedingly light, but not so very bright as immediately around his person. When I first looked upon him, I was afraid; but the fear soon left me."

 

This was the angel Moroni, one of the writers of the Book of Mormon.  He returned to visit the earth as an angel in order to help Joseph Smith bring forth and translate the gold plates.   

We learn a little bit about the ministry of angels in Doctrine and Covenants, section 130:5, which states:

there are no angels who minister to this earth but those who do belong or have belonged to it.

It makes sense to me, as a member of a family, that the Lord would ask those who have died to minister to their loved ones.  What angel would love me more than a grandparent?  

One of my favorite scripture stories is found in 2 Kings 6:16-17.  Elisha the prophet is surrounded by the Syrian army, ready to attack.  When Elisha's servant freaks out at the posing threat,  this is the prophet's response:

And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.

And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

Elisha showed the young man that truly, they were surrounded by angels, ready to fight their battles.  

I think we will be surprised after we die to realized how many times angels intervened in our behalf.  

 

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, in a talk entitled The Ministry of Angels, gives examples of angelic ministration in just one portion of the New Testament:

"When the time for this Savior’s advent was at hand, an angel was sent to announce to Mary that she was to be the mother of the Son of God. ³  Then a host of angels was commissioned to sing on the night the baby Jesus was born. ⁴  Shortly thereafter an angel would announce to Joseph that the newborn baby was in danger and that this little family must flee to Egypt for safety. ⁵  When it was safe to return, an angel conveyed that information to the family and the three returned to the land of their heritage." ⁶

 

 

The Bible and Book of Mormon are filled with such accounts, where angels are sent to perform the work of God.  

I know that angels continue to bless us today, and carry out the errands given to them.

Truly,

They that be with us are more than they that be with them!

 

Music

I'm sitting here listening to the Piano Guys radio on Pandora and loving it.  The mix of songs has lifted my spirits today as I made coffee cake and readied my children to go.

Music has a powerful impact on the brain.

From a CNN article, "This is Your Brain on Music", April 15th, 2013:

Health benefits of music

"We're using music to better understand brain function in general," said Daniel Levitin, a prominent psychologist who studies the neuroscience of music at McGill University in Montreal."....
 

"Listening to music feels good, but can that translate into physiological benefit? Levitin and colleagues published a meta-analysis of 400 studies in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences, suggesting the answer is yes.

In one study reviewed, researchers studied patients who were about to undergo surgery. Participants were randomly assigned to either listen to music or take anti-anxiety drugs. Scientists tracked patient's ratings of their own anxiety, as well as the levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

The results: The patients who listened to music had less anxiety and lower cortisol than people who took drugs. Levitin cautioned that this is only one study, and more research needs to be done to confirm the results, but it points toward a powerful medicinal use for music.

"The promise here is that music is arguably less expensive than drugs, and it's easier on the body and it doesn't have side effects," Levitin said.

Levitin and colleagues also highlighted evidence that music is associated with immunoglobin A, an antibody linked to immunity, as well as higher counts of cells that fight germs and bacteria."

Later in the article:

"Brain regions involved in movement, attention, planning and memory consistently showed activation when participants listened to music -- these are structures that don't have to do with auditory processing itself. This means that when we experience of music, a lot of other things are going on beyond merely processing sound, Abrams said.

One resulting theory is that these brain areas are involved in holding particular parts of a song, such as the melody, in the mind while the rest of the piece of music plays on, Abrams said.

The results also reflect the power of music to unite people, Levitin said.

"It's not our natural tendency to thrust ourselves into a crowd of 20,000 people, but for a Muse concert or a Radiohead concert we'll do it," Levitin said. "There's this unifying force that comes from the music, and we don't get that from other things."

In our faith, the most sacred meeting we attend is Sacrament Meeting.  This happens every Sunday, and we partake of the emblems of our Lord's Sacrifice.   During the Sacrament, we are encouraged to be reverent and quiet, and to ponder on the ways we can repent and grow closer to Christ.  We commit to involve Him more fully in our lives.  What sets the stage for this special experience?  A sacred hymn, sung together.  

One of my favorites:

1. 1. I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me,
   Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me.
   I tremble to know that for me he was crucified,
   That for me, a sinner, he suffered, he bled and died.
2. (Chorus)
   Oh, it is wonderful that he should care for me
   Enough to die for me!
   Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful to me!
3. 2. I marvel that he would descend from his throne divine
   To rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine,
   That he should extend his great love unto such as I,
   Sufficient to own, to redeem, and to justify.
4. 3. I think of his hands pierced and bleeding to pay the debt!
   Such mercy, such love and devotion can I forget?
   No, no, I will praise and adore at the mercy seat,
   Until at the glorified throne I kneel at his feet.
   
   
   The singing of a hymn greatly unites our congregation and prepares us for a special experience.  
   In the New Testament,  Christ had his disciples sing with him before he performed the atonement:
   
   
   Matthew 26:30 And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.
   Just before He was to give up His life, he found solace and strength in singing together with his beloved Apostles.  
   
   
   
   In our church history,  Joseph Smith asked a friend to sing this hymn to him as they were preparing for their inevitable attack from a mob.  
   
   
   Last night, when my children were a bit rowdy and needed help settling down for family prayer,  we sang this hymn.
   
   
   And later, as my child of three would not be comforted, I sang a little song to him, one of my favorites.   This seemed to help.
   
   
   We have this counsel from our leaders in the beginning of our Hymn book:  
   
   
   "Teach your children to love the hymns. Sing them on the Sabbath, in home evening, during scripture study, at prayer time. Sing as you work, as you play, and as you travel together. Sing hymns as lullabies to build faith and testimony in your young ones."
   
   
   I testify of the power of music.  It soothes my soul, brings me peace, teaches me principles, and makes me happy!

Promptings and Squirrels

Our Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, counsels us as members of the church to follow the promptings that come to us.  These could also be described as feelings or ideas that come from our conscience.  We have all had the experience of feeling like we should do something good or say something kind.  When we follow that feeling we are serving Christ.

In one of my FAVORITE scriptures there is the following phrase:

"...the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do."  
2 Nephi 32:3

I know this to be true!  The words of Christ come in various forms.  One, of course, is the revealed word of God spoken to us through Prophets.  We have these words in the form of scripture.

Another way Christ speaks to us is through the invaluable, beautiful language of the Spirit.  The Spirit will tell us what we should do and will not lead us down wrong paths.

I have started a simple exercise.  I am keeping a prompting journal.  In it, I write down the things I feel the Holy Ghost is telling me to do. (write a thank you card, give someone a call, treat a particular child with more mercy...)  I will keep this little notebook handy and write down the feelings that come to me.  When I follow through with that prompting, I put a check mark by it.  When I go to bed at night and see that I haven't carried out the Lord's desires and therefore can't mark that thing as done, I will resolve to do that the next day.

My (not so fancy) little notebook.



It is sooo easy to get distracted by the "shiny" things in this world, and to lose focus on the fact that there are people to serve all around us!

In the movie "Up", by Disney, there is a darling dog who is constantly distracted by squirrels.  He can't seem to focus on what he should be doing if there is a squirrel around! 

 

 I think we are all similar to this dog.  There are different distractions which appeal to each of us.  These distractions keep us from doing those things that are precious and important.  

Examples:  

We spend time flipping through our smart phone notifications when we are with people we rarely see (smartphones are the biggest squirrels sometimes!). 

We hesitate to do something for someone because the timing or our appearance or the climate or our mood isn't just perfect (perfectionism: squirrel)

We focus so much on how to decorate our homes that we don't pay enough attention to the people living in them. (home beautification websites can be a squirrel for me if I let them).

Today,  I'd like to try really hard to pray to know what the Lord would have me do with my time and then to do it!  

Here is a sweet story from the life of Thomas S. Monson, when he was serving as an Apostle:

One weekend in August 1974 an unexpected change of conference assignment came, sending Elder Monson to the Shreveport Louisiana Stake. The Saturday afternoon schedule was filled with a busy slate of meetings. Rather apologetically, the stake president asked Brother Monson if time would permit him to provide a blessing to ten-year-old Christal Methvin, who was afflicted with cancer. Brother Monson said he would be pleased to do so and then asked if she would be coming to the conference meetings or if she were confined to a Shreveport hospital. Almost reluctantly, the stake president said Christal was unable to leave her home many miles from Shreveport. 

 Elder Monson examined the meeting schedule and found that there simply was no available time. As an alternative, he suggested that she be remembered in the public prayers which would be offered throughout the conference. Surely, he consoled, the Lord would understand and bless the Methvin family accordingly. 

 Prior to the stake conference, and unbeknown to Brother Monson, Christal had lost her leg to surgery, only to discover later that the cancer had spread to her tiny lungs. A trip had been planned to Salt Lake City, where she might receive a blessing from one of the General Authorities. The Methvins knew none of the Brethren personally, so they placed before Christal a picture of all the Church leaders. She pointed to the photograph of Elder Thomas S. Monson and said, “I would like him to give me a blessing.” 

 But Christal’s condition had deteriorated so rapidly that the flight to Salt Lake City had to be cancelled. She was growing weaker in body but not in faith. She said, “Since a General Authority is coming to our stake conference, why not Brother Monson? If I can’t go to him, the Lord can send him to me.” At about the same time, Brother Monson received the unexpected change in his stake conference assignment which sent him to Shreveport. 

 As one final favor to Christal, the family agreed to kneel by her bedside and ask for just one more blessing; the chance to enjoy Brother Monson’s personal visit. 

 After receiving word from the stake president that Brother Monson would be unable to visit Christal because of the extremely tight meeting schedule, the Methvins were understandably very disappointed. They knelt again around Christal’s bedside, pleading for a final favor on her behalf: that somehow her desire for a blessing at the hands of Brother Monson would be realized. 

 At the very moment the Methvin family knelt around Christal’s bed, Elder Monson was shuffling his notes, preparing to speak at the concluding portion of the Saturday evening session. However, as he began his move to the pulpit, a voice whispered in near-audible tones a brief but very familiar message: “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.” 

 His notes became a blur. He attempted to pursue the theme of the meeting as outlined, but the name and image of Christal Methvin would not leave his mind. Then, ever faithful to the precious gift so demonstrably his, he responded to the spiritual message. He instructed that changes in the next day’s conference schedule be made, whatever the cost in confusion and disruption. Then the meeting continued. 

 After a very early Sunday drive over many miles, Elder Monson gazed down upon a child too ill to rise, too weak to speak. Her illness had now rendered her sightless. Deeply touched by the scene and the Spirit of the Lord which was so prevalent, Brother Monson dropped to his knees and took the child’s frail hand in his own. “Christal,” he whispered, “I am here.” 

 With great effort she whispered back, “Brother Monson, I just knew you would come.”

President Monson has a special gift of seeing the ONE.  One person who needs his love and ministry at that moment.  Is this not unlike our Savior?  There are sweet scriptural scenes of Christ serving one person, which led to great good:

Healing the woman with an issue of blood.

Speaking to the woman at the well.

Teaching Nicodemus of being born again.

Raising Peter from the depths of the sea.

Appearing to Mary after his resurrection.

Can you imagine how each of these people felt after having this interaction with their Savior?  Their lives were never the same as a result!  I hope to follow Jesus and seek for a moment with someone who needs lifting today. 

Marriage

Marriage can be wonderful and sweet and romantic....

and hard.

The adversary has so many tools he is using to thwart strong marriages!

I love this video, which has quotes from Elder Dallin H. Oaks on treating a marriage as a precious life!

What do we do with our time?

Time use is fascinating to me.  Time use and mind use.

We really have a very short life, even if we were to live a century.

There is only so much we can accomplish and become.

However, within our short days and years we can choose to consecrate ourselves to good causes.

 

A quote from our Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, puts things into perspective for me:

"In this fast-paced life, do we ever pause for moments of meditation—even thoughts of timeless truths?

When compared to eternal verities, most of the questions and concerns of daily living are really rather trivial. What should we have for dinner? What color should we paint the living room? Should we sign Johnny up for soccer? These questions and countless others like them lose their significance when times of crisis arise, when loved ones are hurt or injured, when sickness enters the house of good health, when life’s candle dims and darkness threatens. Our thoughts become focused, and we are easily able to determine what is really important and what is merely trivial.

I recently visited with a woman who has been battling a life-threatening disease for over two years. She indicated that prior to her illness, her days were filled with activities such as cleaning her house to perfection and filling it with beautiful furnishings. She visited her hairdresser twice a week and spent money and time each month adding to her wardrobe. Her grandchildren were invited to visit infrequently, for she was always concerned that what she considered her precious possessions might be broken or otherwise ruined by tiny and careless hands.

And then she received the shocking news that her mortal life was in jeopardy and that she might have very limited time left here. She said that at the moment she heard the doctor’s diagnosis, she knew immediately that she would spend whatever time she had remaining with her family and friends and with the gospel at the center of her life, for these represented what was most precious to her.

Such moments of clarity come to all of us at one time or another, although not always through so dramatic a circumstance. We see clearly what it is that really matters in our lives and how we should be living.

Said the Savior:

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

“But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” 

^{("The Race of Life, April 2012 General Conference)}

^{In the Screwtape letters, C.S. Lewis writes in the voice of devils who seek to bring men and women down.  Some of their tactics are illustrated here:}

“As the uneasiness and reluctance to face it cut him off more and more from all real happiness, and as habit renders the pleasures the vanity and excitement and flippancy at once less pleasant and harder to forgo...you will find that anything or nothing is sufficient to attract his wandering attention. You no longer need a good book, which he really likes, to keep him from his prayers or his work or his sleep; a column of advertisements in yesterday's paper will do. You can make him waste his time not only in conversation he enjoys with people whom he likes, but also in conversations with those he cares nothing about, on subjects that bore him. You can make him do nothing at all for long periods. You can keep him up late at night, not roistering, but staring at a dead fire in a cold room. All the healthy and outgoing activities which we want him to avoid can be inhibited and nothing given in return, so that at last he may say...'I now see that I spent most my life doing in doing neither what I ought nor what I liked.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

The object of the tempters in this story was to keep a man comfortable doing nothing and thinking of nothing very significant.  To literally waste his life away.

The challenge for all of us is to see the significance in our daily lives.  To seek to bless others in the few precious days we have on the earth.  

An apostle, Elder Dallin H. Oaks, gave a great talk on priorities entitled "Good, Better, Best".

    

"A childhood experience introduced me to the idea that some choices are good but others are better. I lived for two years on a farm. We rarely went to town. Our Christmas shopping was done in the Sears, Roebuck catalog. I spent hours poring over its pages. For the rural families of that day, catalog pages were like the shopping mall or the Internet of our time.

Something about some displays of merchandise in the catalog fixed itself in my mind. There were three degrees of quality: good, better, and best. For example, some men’s shoes were labeled good ($1.84), some better ($2.98), and some best ($3.45).

As we consider various choices, we should remember that it is not enough that something is good. Other choices are better, and still others are best. Even though a particular choice is more costly, its far greater value may make it the best choice of all."   (October 2007 General Conference)

Goal today:  try to make the best choices in the way I use my time and mind.

Slaying the Dragon

Today I...

Built a (Lego) castle

Read some fairy tales (of sorts)

Fell in love (again) with my "boyfriend"

Washed our carriage (mini van) with my hero

Was rescued from an evil, talking (stuffed alligator) Dragon by the Prince!

        I get jealous of my 3 year old.  Why?  Because he is constantly imagining, enjoying, and fully in the present moment.  I tried to get in his mindset as I spent a full day with him while the other children were in school.  We pretended to be characters on another planet.  We pretended our grapes were little people.  We went from playing blocks to animal hospital pretty seamlessly.  It brought me back to the time when I didn't have all of my adult worries, and yes, I got envious.  What would it be like to truly have the mind of a child right now?  Although I thoroughly enjoyed my day, in the back of my mind was: schedule, dishes, laundry, dinner, worries, obligations.

        My favorite chapter of scripture is found in the Book of Mormon.  3 Nephi, chapter 17.  Christ is visiting a people in the Americas after his resurrection.  He has been teaching them and finds that they are getting weak and tired.  He invites them to go to their homes and prepare for the morrow, when He will visit them again.  They weep at the thought of Him leaving their presence and hope that he will stay with them.  He senses their desires and THEN THE COOLEST STUFF HAPPENS.  

        He asks that anyone needing healing come forth.  He heals the blind, deaf, maimed, afflicted, according to their faith.  

        He asks that all of the little children come forth.   He has the children surround Him, and then asks everyone to kneel, and He prays.  And the prayer he offers is so beautiful that the words are too sacred to record:

17 And no tongue can speak, neither can there be written by any man, neither can the hearts of men conceive so great and marvelous things as we both saw and heard Jesus speak; and no one can conceive of the joy which filled our souls at the time we heard him pray for us unto the Father.

 18 And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of praying unto the Father, he arose; but so great was the joy of the multitude that they were overcome.

 19 And it came to pass that Jesus spake unto them, and bade them arise.

 20 And they arose from the earth, and he said unto them: Blessed are ye because of your faith. And now behold, my joy is full.

 21 And when he had said these words, he wept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.

 22 And when he had done this he wept again;

 23 And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them: Behold your little ones.

 24 And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them.

         Can you imagine this scene?  Can you imagine having your child receive a blessing at the hands of the Savior?  Can you picture the angels surrounding the children?  If I close my eyes and picture this, I feel peace and light.  

         So, the question is:  Why is it that He wanted the little children surrounding Him?  After playing with my son the answer is obvious.  They are pure.  Unobstructed by worldly views.  Ready to see and believe miracles.  

        I recently watched a movie called "Heaven is For Real".  In it, a little boy has a near death experience and goes on to teach his family, congregation, town, and the world about what he saw in heaven.  There are a lot of things I liked about this movie, but one thing I had a hard time with was the hesitancy of the adult characters to believe this little boy's story.  Why wouldn't Heavenly Father allow this boy to to have these sacred experiences?  He was a little child, who was purely receptive.

In the Bible, we learn the following from the Savior:

“Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

“Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven” Matthew 18:3-4

      If we had the mind of a child, we truly could slay the dragons in our life.  Dragons of greed, pride, self-consciousness, stress, and hopelessness.

      Off I go.  The Prince is calling me....