Putting Dry Bones Back Together

This is a painting of a vision that Ezekiel had while in captivity.  A description of that vision is found in Ezekiel 37 (primarily verses 1-10).  Obviously everything about this picture is pretty sad.  Some words I would use to describe the scene are dead, dry, scattered, disorganized.  Now, there are a lot of messages we can get from Ezekiel's vision.  Here's one that I loved today, verses 5 and 6, 

"Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:  And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live..."

Ezekiel's prophecy has been and is being fulfilled in many ways.  One of the promises we have is that even after we die, we will live again because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  All mankind will be resurrected, their scattered bones will be gathered and put back together and life will be breathed back into us.  I like that the vision wasn't just bones, but dry bones.  Dry, we are talking really dead, no water to sustain life at all.  As we come unto Christ he gives us living waters.  Through Christ our lives can be put back together, we can be resurrected literally and figuratively.  Through Christ our lives can have vitality again.

I am grateful for Him this Christmas season and for the many ways that He has "put breath in me".  I am grateful for the hope that I have in Him that as grim as things may get in the future, there is nothing so dead or broken that Christ can't fix and bring back to life.  

Quote from Elder Kimball

"Young love is beautiful to contemplate, But old love is the finished tapestry stretched out from oaken floors to heaven's gate, we wove on earth for all eternity with threads made stronger by the steady beat of hearts that suffered, but knew no defeat."

Random Scripture Discovery

Mormon 8:12 And whoso receiveth ^athis record, and shall not condemn it because of the imperfections which are in it, the same shall know of ^bgreater things than these. Behold, I am Moroni; and were it possible, I would make all things known unto you.

I liked that scripture so I wanted to look up the footnote for "greater".  So, I went to...

D&C 42:15 15 And all this ye shall observe to do as I have ^acommanded concerning your teaching, until the fulness of my ^bscriptures is given.

Which made me look at the footnote for "scriptures" which led me to...

D&C 35:20 And a commandment I give unto thee—that thou shalt ^awritefor him; and the ^bscriptures shall be given, even as they are in mine own bosom, to the salvation of mine own ^celect;

 21 For they will hear my ^avoice, and shall ^bsee me, and shall not be ^casleep, and shall ^dabide the day of my ^ecoming; for they shall be ^fpurified, even as I am pure.

&

D&C 42:56  Thou shalt ask, and my scriptures shall be given as I have appointed, and they shall be preserved in safety;
57  And it is expedient that thou shouldst hold thy peace concerning them, and not teach them until ye have received them in full.

As I was looking at these last two verses I looked a little to the left on the same page and read these scriptures (still in section 42) which I found to be just as comforting and beautiful as the above scripture...

43 And whosoever among you are ^asick, and have not faith to be healed, but believe, shall be ^bnourished with all tenderness, with herbs and mild ^cfood, and that not by the hand of an enemy.

 44 And the elders of the church, two or more, shall be called, and shall pray for and ^alay their ^bhands upon them in my name; and if they ^cdie they shall ^ddie unto me, and if they live they shall live unto me.

 45 Thou shalt ^alive together in ^blove, insomuch that thou shalt^cweep for the loss of them that die, and more especially for those that have not ^dhope of a glorious resurrection.

 46 And it shall come to pass that those that die in me shall not^ataste of ^bdeath, for it shall be ^csweet unto them;

 47 And they that die not in me, wo unto them, for their death is bitter.

 48 And again, it shall come to pass that he that hath ^afaith in me to be ^bhealed, and is not ^cappointed unto death, shall be ^dhealed.

 49 He who hath faith to see shall see.

 50 He who hath faith to hear shall hear.

 51 The lame who hath faith to leap shall leap.

 52 And they who have not faith to do these things, but believe in me, have ^apower to become my ^bsons; and inasmuch as they break not my laws thou shalt ^cbear their infirmities.

Distinguishing my own thoughts and feelings from thoughts and feelings I have when the Spirit is trying to teach me.

I was reflecting on a few random memories from my mission.  I hope this all come out like a cohesive thought but it might not.  If it just seems like rambling I'm sorry.

When I was serving in with H' Casady in AMPPyA one dark evening we were in the barrios nuevos in a part that was close to Eva Peron (a kind of dangerous area at night).  I think we were looking for a house that ended up not existing and we knocked on a door.  The woman let us in and we taught her about the restoration and the prophet Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon and how she could pray to God to find out if what we were saying was true.  We knelt down to pray as we were getting ready to leave.  My companion asked the woman to pray.  In her prayer she thanked God for sending us to her house.  I don't remember the specifics of the prayer but she was saying things that all seemed to add up to making a great missionary story that would wind up in the Ensign someday.  She got very specific in the prayer about how a few days before she had been praying and asking God how she could know the truth and get answers.  She acknowledged that God had sent us to her.  Even though everything in that lesson should have added up to something amazing and wonderful (conversion & baptism), I remember leaving that house and walking home at feeling a little dazed and confused at first and then I just felt underwhelmed.  I wondered why I wasn't jumping for joy.  After multiple attempts of trying to visit with her again and pick her up to attend church services (her kids lied to us a few times about her not being home), one night her husband answered the door (finally, someone had answered) and asked us not to come back.  I wasn't super disappointed.  To best describe my feelings throughout this experience I would say that I had moments with a little bit of confusion, a little bit of doubt, A LOT of ambivalence and a nagging feeling that something about it all was just too good to be true.

After we dropped her from our pool of investigators I hadn't really thought about that experience too many times (maybe a handful or so) until tonight.  I asked myself the same question tonight as always when I've remembered this story, "Why was that experience so weird?  Why wasn't I astounded and amazed at this woman's prayer to God?  Why, as much as I wanted to or tried to, couldn't I get excited about having a cool missionary experience straight out of the Ensign?".  I've concluded tonight that something about that experience was a false spirit--an imitation.  There was no miraculous amazing ending to the story because something insincere was happening.  Whatever else I say would just be speculation but I know that Satan is a good deceiver.

Not that I didn't feel the Spirit during the lesson, because if I remember right, I think I did.  But as this woman prayed and we left something just felt off.  I'm not saying something felt bad or that I felt some intense warning.  What I felt was a lack of a confirmation of the Spirit.  All of this brings me to the well known section 9 of the Doctrine and Covenants.

 8 But, behold, I say unto you, that you must ^astudy it out in your^bmind; then you must ^cask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your ^dbosom shall ^eburn within you; therefore, you shall^ffeel that it is right.

 9 But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a ^astupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong; therefore, you cannot write that which is^bsacred save it be given you from me.

When I was set apart as a missionary my blessing talked a lot about the Spirit and learning how to distinguish it from my own thoughts.  I'm still learning how to do this.  I know that I couldn't explain those ambivalent feelings I had (stupor of thought).  I now recognize that at that time I was learning valuable lessons about the many ways the Spirit speaks to me and how I can receive revelation and guidance.  I believe Hermana Casady and I did the right thing to try and follow up with the woman, but I also believe (and I can't explain how or why) that those hesitant/cautious/ambivalent feelings somehow protected us from danger (physical, spiritual...I have no idea).

I have always believed that the Holy Ghost is a language you must practice and use to become and remain fluent.  I'm grateful for the ability to recognize my current thoughts and feelings as the Spirit teaching me and not just my own thoughts and feelings.  If this makes sense to anyone else who might be reading, drop me a line.

I am a Child of God

Within each of us lie the latent seeds of godliness that can be given flower and fruition by His blessing and by following the path of strict obedience shown to us by Jesus. There is power in saying or singing the words “I am a child of God.”


Taken from THIS talk.

What Forever Will Be

Isaiah 54

 7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.

 8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.

10 For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.

I was contemplating this evening that two of the things in my life that were great sources of stress and anxiety for me (discouraging things that just didn't seem like they would ever get any better) started to get better after I read the following from Elder Uchtdorf's 2011 October Conference Talk:

"...please understand that what you see and experience now is not what forever will be. You will not feel loneliness, sorrow, pain, or discouragement forever. We have the faithful promise of God that He will neither forget nor forsake those who incline their hearts to Him."

Family

When a parent says, “We can do it! We can read the scriptures daily as a family,” the children will follow!

One such family with four young children writes: “We decided to start small because of our children’s short attention spans. Our oldest child was not yet reading, but she could repeat our words, so we began reading the Book of Mormon, just three verses each night. My husband and I would read one verse each, and then Sydney would repeat a verse. We progressed to four verses and then five verses as the boys began to repeat their own verses. Yes, it was tedious, but we kept going. We tried to focus on consistency instead of speed. It took us three-and-a-half years to finish the Book of Mormon. It was a great feeling of accomplishment!”

The mother continues: “Daily family scripture reading is a habit in our family now. Our children are comfortable with scriptural language, and my husband and I take opportunity to bear testimony of truths. Most important, the Spirit has increased in our home.”

Women

"Women should be women and not babies that need petting and correction all the time. I know we like to be appreciated but if we do not get all the appreciation which we think is our due, what matters? We know the Lord has laid high responsibility upon us, and there is not a wish or desire that the Lord has implanted in our hearts in righteousness but will be realized, and the greatest good we can do to ourselves and each other is to refine and cultivate ourselves in everything that is good and ennobling to qualify us for those responsibilities."

Eliza R. Snow

There Is Hope Smiling Brightly Before Us

Today the words of someone's testimony in sacrament meeting triggered my thoughts back to the topic of HOPE. I love these words from PREACH MY GOSPEL (Chapter 6 p. 117 emphasis added)

"Hope is an abiding trust that the Lord will

fulfill His promises to you. It is manifest in

confidence, optimism, enthusiasm, and patient

perseverance. It is believing and expecting that

something will occur. When you have hope,

you work through trials and difficulties with

the confidence and assurance that all things

will work together for your good. Hope helps

you conquer discouragement. The scriptures

often describe hope in Jesus Christ as the

assurance that you will inherit eternal life in

the celestial kingdom."

There is great power in knowing that good things are coming! It's easier to find joy in life. It's easier to be happy. It's easier to work though the hard times. Why is it sometimes so hard for us to trust that God will fulfill His promises to us?

A large part of this is understanding what promises God has made to us. We must go to the temple, study the scriptures, study the words of the prophets and our own personal scripture to find out what God has promised us.

I love the words in the hymn "We Thank Thee O God For A Prophet"

"When dark clouds of trouble hang o'er us

And threaten our peace to destroy,

There is hope smiling brightly before us,

And we know that deliv'rance is nigh.

We doubt not the Lord nor his goodness.

We've proved him in days that are past.

The wicked who fight against Zion

Will surely be smitten at last."

Even if we can only see the promises afar off (Hebrews 11:14) we can be persuaded of them, and embrace them. That is HOPE.

A Blood Donor Saved My Life

As I was taking the sacrament today and thinking about what the water represented, I had a quick flashback to the previous week. One of my favorite students, we will call her Becca, was wearing a t-shirt that caught my eye because it said "A Blood Donor Saved My Life". And I thought to myself, "Did she have a surgery or something? How did she almost die?" So I asked her, "Did a blood donor really save your life Becca? She just kind of looked at me embarrassed and said "not really". Well, a second later I looked at the shirt again and realized that the red cross was actually a Christian cross and then it all made sense.
As much as I am not a fan of taking sacred things like Christ's atonement and tying them to pop culture and commercializing...I am glad that the phrase "a blood donor saved my life" popped into my head as I partook of the sacrament today. I have come to realize that Christ really has saved my life in millions of ways both big and small. His blood really has sanctified me. I am grateful for the opportunity to become clean again after making mistakes, I am grateful for the strength that Christ affords. I am thankful for scriptures that teach me that He knows MY very own sufferings intimately the way that no one else could.

The Book of Mormon

I was reading through a study journal of sorts that I created for myself while on the mission and I came across a quote by Elder Marion G. Romney. As you read it, pay attention to the neat blessings that come from reading the Book of Mormon.

"I feel certain that if, in our homes, parents will read from the Book of Mormon prayerfully and regularly, the spirit of that book will come to permeate our homes and all who dwell therein. The spirit of reverence will increase; mutual respect and consideration for each other will grow. The spirit of contention will depart."

Who doesn't want a home with more reverence and respect and less contention? I sure do, and I have decided to read the Book of Mormon more prayerfully. I love the Book of Mormon for so many reasons. I believe it is the most powerful conversion tool and I believe that because of my own experience with it. My testimony of Jesus Christ and of His restored gospel were gained after I came to know that the Book of Mormon was true.

I recall my first Christmas in Argentina, we went to a small hospital and sang to the patients. This was a considerably poor hospital and through the horrible conditions and the tragic reasons many of them were there that Christmas Eve; I saw peace in their faces. I watched as some Elders handed out Book of Mormons to any who would receive them and I was struck powerfully by the fact that there was no gift more precious that we could have given them that Christmas.

Sariah

I was reading tonight in 1 Nephi chapter 5. What I always remember about Sariah is how she doubted Lehi, her husband. Verses 2 and 3 use the phrase "complained against" Lehi. That always sounded so negative to me, like Sariah was just a whiner. But something caught my eye this time in verse 1. Upon her sons' safe return Nephi says Lehi was filled with joy, "and also my mother, Sariah, was exceedingly glad, for she truly had mourned because of us." I can only imagine how a mother might feel to not know where in the world she was and to not know what the future would hold and to believe that my 4 oldest sons had failed their mission and died. The suffering and fear that she was experiencing is probably something I can't quite fathom. I would probably have reacted the same way she did. Nephi adds in verse 7, "my mother was comforted" because of their safe arrival back to the camp in the wilderness. And now, verse 8,

"And she spake, saying: Now I know of a surety that the Lord hath ^acommanded my husband to ^bflee into the wilderness; yea, and I also know of a surety that the Lord hath protected my sons, and delivered them out of the hands of Laban, and given them power whereby they could ^caccomplish the thing which the Lord hath commanded them. And after this manner of language did she speak."

What I believe is that because Sariah suffered the way she did and been brought to such a point of despair that caused her to murmer, when the miracle finally did come, she recognized it and knew that there was only One who could have brought her sons back to her safe and sound. Sariah needed to gain a sure knowledge that she was obeying the Lord and not just her husband, she needed a sure knowledge that the Lord would take care of them during their journey. Like Sariah I come to know and trust in the Lord more completely through the trial of my faith.

Leaving

So this is just a quick thought I had as I was reading Alma 35. Se trata de Alma the younger (when he's older) teaching the Zoramites. Verse 14 says, "And Alma, and Ammon, and their brethren, and also the two sons of Alma returned to the land of Zarahemla, after having been instruments in the hands of God of bringing many of the Zoramites to repentance; and as many as were brought to repentance were driven out of their land". I just thought it was interesting the way that sentence is worded. Any of the Zoramites who repented had to leave their land. And I think leaving probably helped them to have a fresh start somewhere else. Leaving is an important part of repentance. Whether it's figuratively leaving something behind (a bad habit, bad influences) or literally leaving (a bad movie, a bad party). You can't "move on" until you're ready to "leave" some other place.

Carta de Mayordomia

I have been slowly moving into my new house and while unpacking some things I found my "Letter of Stewardship". Basically it's something we do in the Mendoza mission to reflect on our mission, account for the things we have done and learned as well as discuss our future and set goals for the type of people we want to be. I wish I had included more memories from my last area in the letter so I will add them now in a different color font. Here's my Carta...

MY MISSION

What can I say about my mission? I have so many stories to tell my grandchildren.

Doctrines.
I learned so many things. I learned by study but I really grew learning by faith. I learned that faith in God means faith in myself. I can do whatever He wills if I put forth the faith (like sing the alto to "Come Thou Fount"). I struggled and at the same time succeeded throughout my mission to develop hope and patience. They are so connected! I am grateful to Hermana King and Hermana Throup who taught me important lessons and gave me excellent examples about those attributes. I'm learning how to patiently and cheerfully submit to all the will of the Lord. It's the cheerful part that's hard sometimes:) I'll never forget what Elder Turley taught me the week before he died, he said that the general authorities of the church are always talking about "the basics" reading the scriptures and praying EVERY DAY because it's impossible to go inactive with that type of daily constancy. There might be people in church on Sunday who don't do those things, but they may not stay active forever.

Culture.
I had to change a lot of my personal culture and learn to work HARD. I had to find joy in doing the same thing every day, knowing that I was fighting for a greater cause. I recognized how even without the tugs and pulls of worldly media for a year and a half I still had a need to consume. Spending money, buying anything, a piece of gum, oddly made me feel better. Wierd. I love the language; it really does shape the culture like Hermano Ivers says. I love the people, I love the colors of Argentina. I love that they give me candy instead of change, that the people wait 10 minutes in a bank line without getting angry, the expressive hand gestures, the besos, the home remedies for health, the bikes, the noisy motos, the dogs, the sequias, the mullets, the cumbia, zonda winds, chorillero winds, the meat, lampazos, overcrowded buses, crazy bus drivers, the trash baskets...I could go on for a few more pages, but I'll stop here.

Members.
So many of the members have taken me in and to me they are my heroes and my family and my dear friends. The Serra and Arenas families (San Luis), the Lombino family (San Martin), the Gonzalez, Montenegro and Suriano families (to name a few from Lujan) are people that I know will be my friends forever, they have all in very special ways taken care of me. They've been my mothers and fathers and sisters here in Argentina. Hermana Orozco (San Martin) and Hermana Casari (San Luis) are 2 of my Argentine heroes. They are such amazing, constant, steady women. They have both been through so much, but to them their trials are blessings. They continue to develop their talents. Lovely Hermana Buonamico (San Luis) taught me how to be the best wife I can be, no matter what the circumstances. It has been a blessing to be in their homes and love them.

Investigators.
I learned that the work is not about me. I had to overcome silly little fears but in the end witness great blessings like seeing Claudia and Fernando baptized and now so close to being sealed. What if I had never climbed up that green spiral staircase by myself? I realized it's the power of the spirit and the message of the gospel that touched Walter and Natalia so deeply that we seriously didn't do a thing. I learned that it's not what I say but what the spirit says...it's what made Mirtha Benegas finally get baptized after 5 years...it was the power of a humble prayer. I loved looking into their eyes and feeling how much God loved them...especially when they realized it too. They are not my converts, they are children of God who I got to help come unto Christ. I learned my job is just love love them. I've never had to give so much of myself. It was never so hard as it was with Agustin, Liliana (Matias, Emilse) and Luciana but I don't take back spending so much time to help them and how much I cried because I love them.

Companions.
It's been so fun to live and learn and work with 9 very different sister missionaries. They are wonderful friends. I am so glad Hermana Terrazas was patient with me, she showed me how to teach and let me help her--I grew a ton. Hermana Gunderson showed me how to love the mission, I have never laughed or cried more with any other companion. Hermana Casady showed me how to work hard "si o si" and we learned how to share everything. I mention these 3 sisters in particular because of the profound love I feel for them, I never doubted their love for me as they showed me in various ways. I hope that I can make other people feel as wonderful as they made me feel. My final companion was one of those. Hermana Goodwin was so incredibly sincere and I felt so much joy with her in my ultimate transfer.

Advice.
Don't forget that we are only instruments, it's not OUR work. This is the great work of the Lord Jesus Christ and it will not fail, it will triumph. Therefore as instruments and servants in this work, we too will succeed no matter what. Pray for eyes to see the triumphs--they are everywhere.

Testimony.
As a representative of Jesus Christ I testify that His church is again on the earth. I have seen miracles in this work that leave no doubt in my mind that it is His. I know that His atonement is real, it heals, sanctifies and strengthens us. Joseph Smith is the prophet of the restoration. The Book of Mormon is the greatest conversion tool we have, it testifies of Christ and is a treasure and a labor of love. Gordon B. Hinckley is the prophet today, he is God's mouthpiece and I sustain him. Every day of my 18+ months in the mission God has shown me in miraculous and simple ways that He loves His children, he listens when we speak to Him. I know that He loves me. I leave my testimony in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

March 2007

Something I read today...

"I fear that some of us understand just enough about the gospel to feel guilty--guilty that we are not measuring up to some undefinable standard--but not enough about the Atonement to feel the peace and strength, the power and mercy, it affords us...It's quite the irony--that the gospel of the great Jehovah, which contains the power to save every human being and to strengthen every soul, is sometimes interpreted in such a way that feelings of inadequacy result." -Sheri Dew

No Doubt About It

I'm just getting into a book by Sheri Dew called No Doubt About It. I really like the way she writes and I thought I would put up a few things she included in the book. The first thing is a quote by Howard W. Hunter, "Whatever Jesus lays his hands upon lives. If Jesus lays his hands upon a marriage, it lives. If he is allowed to lay his hands upon the family, it lives." It's a beautiful quote, but something important about Jesus laying his hands on anything is that He must be allowed to do so. Christ really does heal us, I know that for myself. So why not a family, why not a marriage? If we allow Him to, it is possible.

And now a quote by Gordon B. Hinckley, "Jesus Christ is the pivotal figure of our theology and our faith. Every Latter-day Saint has the responsibility to know...with a certainty beyond doubt that Jesus is the resurrected, living Son of the living God." I remember when I was about 15 I realized that if I was going to claim to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that I ought to have a testimony of Him whose church it was. There were some things that I already knew by that point---I knew that the Book of Mormon was true, and I felt that the church was true. I suppose I just didn't feel like I really understood that much about Christ and what was so incredibly amazing about Him. Well, I asked God, and of course He gave me an answer when the time was right (a few months later). My testimony of Jesus has had opportunities to be nurtured and continue growing ever since. It says in Doctrine and Covenants that what will separate those who gain exaltation is that they would be valiant in their testimonies of Jesus. I've got to keep working every day at it.

Alma 1

Reading chapter 1 of Alma tonight I read about this guy named Nehor that began to teach the people all sorts of false doctrines. The kind of stuff that people like to hear because it makes life seem easy and without consequences (and we all know life is hard and there are prices to pay--both good and bad). And so in verse 5 it says, "And it came to pass that he did teach these things so much that many did believe on his words, even so many that they began to support him and give him money." I thought to myself, "There you go, telling people what they want to hear for money. Sounds like a lot of churches I have come in contact with." The arguement I heard a lot in Argentina quickly popped into my head that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also requires that it's members pay a tithing. Tithing is the Lord's practice; one that He has used for ages (read all about it in Malachi) to build His kingdom. Now obviously if God wanted to He could make it rain gold and use the money to spread the gospel...but he doesn't. Tithing, therefore, is something God does for us by teaching us the princple of sacrifice more than it is something we do for Him. The interesting thing to note about a church/religious leader accepting money is what they use it for. Reverting back to Nehor in the first chapter of Alma we read that ..."he began to be lifted up in the pride of his heart, and to wear very costly apparel". Can you think of any examples of that in today's world? This is contrasted by the description of the true followers of Christ in that day, "and they did not wear costly apparel, yet they were neat and comely." I think about our day and how we are counseled to dress by a living prophet and apostles. I think about how none of the leaders of the Church come to General Confrence wearing Armani suits yet they are "neat and comely" and dressed appropriately and respectably. No tithing money in the Church of Jesus Christ is ever used to purchase or construct something gaudy or overly extravagant. I think about the beauty and grandeur of LDS chapels and temples and I think of respect and reverence. But then I think of some of the flashy houses I recently saw on CRIBS and I think about how excessive and wasteful people can be with their money. Also in Alma 1 it describes the followers of Christ, "And thus, in their prosperous circumstances, they did not send away any who were naked, or that were hungry, or that were athirst, or that were sick, or that had not been nourished; and they did not set their hearts upon riches; therefore they were liberal to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, whether out of the church or in the church, having no respect to persons as to those who stood in need." Which is again something that I see reflected in the modern Church.
Bottom line: it's interesting to watch how people manage money given or entrusted to them by others. "By their fruits ye shall know them".