Church – Page 28 – Letters from Home

What I learned at the Christmas devotional

My favorite lines from the First Presidency Christmas Devotional were spoken by President Henry B. Eyring. He spoke about Light. He began by talking about the angels who appeared to the shepherds who then visited the baby Jesus.

They were drawn on that sacred night to go to the Savior. What they saw with their physical eyes in the stable was a tiny baby. What they went to verify was visible only through spiritual feelings. We know that the Light of Christ is an influence we can recognize by its effects.

The Savior said, “For behold, it is I that speak. Behold, I am the light which shineth in darkness and by my power I give these words unto thee. Now verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good. Yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously. This is my Spirit. Verily, verily I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy.” (D&C 11:11-13, emphasis added) (I transcribed this by hand because the text wasn’t available. Hopefully I got it right.)

This was a good message for me. Although I only have the symbols of the Savior around me, I can still see Him with spiritual eyes. I love the scripture President Eyring used to tell us how to accomplish this. I learned that if we want to have a spiritual experience at Christmas, the Spirit of Christmas leads us to act, not just in tangible ways, but in the way we think of others. It is a call to be gentle in our appraisal of others. It is this kind of giving that will bring us the joy we hope to have at Christmas.

I’m focusing on being generous in my thoughts. This means I am giving everyone the benefit of the doubt in my mind and words. I’m avoiding criticism and negativity. It’s a simple formula to help me see beyond the well-intentioned busy-ness of Christmas.

What stood out to you in this quote? What are you doing to embrace the season?

We’ve had some good times

Photo from K. Nelson from Girls Camp 2014 (Can you spot the trained ballerina? That’s Paige.)

We celebrate Paige today because she received her Young Womanhood Recognition award by the Bishop in church. It’s another milestone in the hastening end of her days of “growing up”. That little rubied medallion signifies hundreds of hours of service, study, development of talents, and faith. We are so very proud of her.

We gathered to celebrate my niece Kaitlyn’s baptism on Saturday. There are many sweet things about the baptism of a child. I watch the younger siblings and cousins who look forward to their own baptism days. They watch so intently. They are curious! Some press their faces against the glass to be as close as possible. I am touched by the witnesses, who are often the grandfathers. Their job is solemn, but it must feel like the job is icing on the cake. The grandmothers are shiny in their bright jackets and full smiles. They often share their wisdom in a message about baptism or the Holy Ghost and in whispered words during hugs. There is usually a stressed-out mother, thinking of details, to whom the major part of the child’s gospel learning has fallen. The importance of the day settles deeply in a mother’s heart. All of this surrounds two people dressed in white. The tender father helps the child step into the water, offers a prayer, and carefully lowers the child under the water. It’s simple. It’s sacred. Kaitlyn’s special day had all of these elements, but her little light made it unique and her own. I smile when I think how lovely Kaitlyn looked and behaved. Congratulations!

It still looks like Christmas time because the light of winter is unmistakable, but there is no sparkly snow. Timothy pines for some and worries that there won’t be snow to make forts on his birthday in a few weeks. A white Christmas IS the ideal now. Something I have learned from living in several different places is that you can love wherever you live, and it’s possible to love different climates. We have!

For some entertainment on Saturday night we pulled out the home movies of Christmases past. “We’ve had some good times,” Richard said.

Yes, my dear, we have.

Marriage

This week President Henry B. Eyring represented our Church at the Vatican at a colloquium discussing traditional families.

I took notes as I listened to his 13-minute address. Despite current trends of the breakdown of families, he explained how there is hope to make things better. It begins with individuals, living righteous principles, such as holding family prayer, and the tradition passes to the next generation and then the next, growing stronger with each generation. He spoke a great deal about his wife and how they met and how she has helped him in his life.

Here are some of the words he said about his marriage:

I realize now that we grew into one, slowly lifting and shaping each other year after year. As we absorbed strength from each other, it did not diminish our personal gifts. Our differences combined as if they were designed to create a better whole. Rather than dividing us, our differences bound us together. Above all, our unique abilities allowed us to become partners with God…

Now, for my own thoughts on this. What have I learned about family life this week? It can be explained with a little story.

I came home late one night this week. I had missed dinner and family time. It makes me sad when I need to be away during the precious hours that we can be home together. I felt alienated as I walked into the kitchen and saw that the dinner I had prepared was now eaten and everyone was engaged in homework and other activities. But I didn’t get far into the kitchen before Richard and Mark ran upstairs to me and welcomed me home and gave me big hugs. That made me so happy. I’m convinced that successful marriages and families are built on very simple but consistent things. In this case, it was a warm welcome home.

The Miracles of Song and the Courage of Youth

This is my dad and his family as they sent him off on a mission. I’m not sure what’s going on behind those stoic faces. Dread? Sadness? Bewilderment? Not ready for the camera?

My dad joined the Church when he was 17 years old. His family was not religious, but he had a few friends who were instrumental in his conversion. There was the neighbor who gave the family a Book of Mormon which sat on a shelf for years until my dad read it clandestinely in his room while throwing a basketball against the wall to avoid suspicion. There were some darling girls who invited him to early morning seminary, which he attended faithfully, learning the Old Testament. And then there was the Oakland Temple Pageant. His friends took him there and when the choir of 500 youth voices sang The Spirit of God, his heart was deeply touched. He had found the source of peace in a time of real upheaval. It was the late 1960’s in the Bay Area.

My dad’s story of hearing all of those young men and young women singing is best heard in person, and I am sure I am leaving out details. However, I believe that it was one of the sacred events that changed the course of his life.

It’s my dad’s story, but it’s also a part of my story. If those kids hadn’t shared their love of the gospel…if they hadn’t sung their hearts out… if he hadn’t had the Book of Mormon in his home… if he hadn’t been courageous and decided to be baptized, he wouldn’t have met my mom and I wouldn’t be here.

I believe in the miracles of music and the courage of youth.

As I sing in this choir with 300 kids ages 12-18, I am having a powerful experience.There are songs that I still cannot sing the whole way through without stopping for tears.

I hope someone in the audience will be touched by this music. I know that music can change lives.

*Butler Middle School is actually on 2700 E.

Concert black

Timothy had his first band concert this week. Bravo! He and his band did an excellent job. I am so proud of Timothy, but not enough to let him keep my black music stand in his room where he practices. This week I carefully reclaimed my stand and left my old silver one in its place. Someday you’ll get a nice black stand, Timothy. But we’ve got to pay for that trombone first.

This next week I’ll probably see our older kids wearing concert black every day. Recently, the orchestra director for Les Miserables had a moment of panic when he realized that they had only two pianists for the show when they really needed three. Paige was recruited to play. When the kids practice their songs on the piano, I sing along. One minute I’m Eponine and the next I’m Enjolras. Ha!

With all of the show business going on with the church musical and Les Miserables, I’m taking this day to do a super amount of laundry, shop, and prepare mentally for what’s ahead next week.

I’ve got my housework pearls on. It’s go time.

On the Perimeter

I asked a friend to give me some photos that he took at Youth Conference last June. I took hundreds of photos that week but had few pictures of Paige and nothing of myself. I was hoping that someone had taken a picture of us when we were riding horses, but there weren’t any.

As I went through hundreds of pictures, I found a pattern in where I can be found in big groups. I am usually on the perimeter, watching silently. I started to feel pity for that woman who never seemed to be in the middle of things, but I caught myself as I entered this trap that would make me feel of less value.

I have good relationships with the youth, but it’s through individual conversations, teaching Sunday lessons, and writing that these relationships have been made. From the perimeter, I see many things that people in the middle of the action can miss. There is a place for each kind of personality. And I can join in the middle of things, too. It’s just not where I spend most of my time.

1-IMG_0733 — Fun on the Perimeter with both youth and leaders. Just after this photo was taken, I joined in the line dancing we were watching.

Hooray for the introverts of the world. (I’m not saying that the above people are introverts.) We seek to know people on a deep level, we think before we speak, and we watch before we join in a group or a conversation. When we talk to people, you can be sure that we are investing our hearts and a lot of energy to the conversation. These are all great attributes.

Two musicals this month

Paige and I are singing in the musical, From Cumorah’s Hill later this month. Paige is also being featured in a video section of this production. We invite you to attend on Thursday, November 20 or Saturday, November 22! It’s a big production with a gorgeous set, powerful music, and my favorite: the youth share their love for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Daniel is attending rehearsals for this, but he won’t be able to perform because he is playing piano for Les Miserables at his high school on those evenings. We invite you to come see Les Miserables on Friday, November 21.

8 years ago

Eight years ago my dad and mom began their missionary journey. They were asked to come to the Church office building in Salt Lake City for several interviews before being called as a mission president and companion and there was a lot of training which began 6 months before they went to the missionary training center. My mom learned Spanish. My dad revisited his Spanish speaking skills. He shaved his mustache.

They moved out of their home and said goodbye to the grandchildren. It was a big deal in our family to see this happen.

They served for 3 years in the California San Bernardino mission. My mom taught, cooked, entertained, cooked, taught, loved, and spent a lot of time on the phone dealing with the health issues of their missionaries while my dad presided over the mission. There isn’t time to list all the things a mission president does for the missionaries, the people who are being taught by the missionaries, the members, and the community. I saw both my parents shine as they did the work. It was a busy, busy time.

Just a few months after they came home they were called to serve in the Provo Missionary Training Center. My dad served in branch presidencies and as a Branch President for Spanish speaking missionaries. This meant they would be at the MTC usually 2 nights a week and all day on Sundays. It meant my dad would read and respond to letters from his missionaries on another evening each week. My family was able to attend a sacrament meeting at the MTC on Christmas Day a few years ago. The missionaries spoke Spanish at whatever level they could. I saw how they loved my parents and how parents loved them. My dad has a great zeal for the gospel and my mom has a quiet wisdom that the missionaries love.

They were released on Sunday morning, which means that their service was accepted and they are no longer serving as missionaries. My heart broke a little bit for them, especially my dad. I am so proud of my parents. It’s been a marathon… an 8-year marathon, and they have touched so many lives.

Some links from October

Here are some links to articles that have given me something to think about this month.

“Fundamental to looking after someone is finding where they came from and what they need.” This service to displaced women in Iraq really touched me.

Some of the benefits of writing are shared in this article. For the first two links, I thank Catherine.

This piece describes what it’s like to be a high school student, and it’s not about peer pressure and drugs. It’s about teacher-student relationships and restricted movement.

Mark and I needed these graphics a few weeks ago to show relative sizes of objects in the solar system.

Stephanie led me to this article that turned my heart. Go ahead and give those tall boys some candy on Halloween.

If you need a smile, here are some monsters for your Halloween delight, drawn by second graders and embellished by high school students. Brilliant! This one was from Russ.

Primary Program Smiles

Today these two boys spoke in church. It was Timothy’s last Primary program. How did that happen? We really enjoyed hearing all of the children speak and sing for us, but there is something special about being able to claim a few of them as our own.

Each boy carefully wrote and memorized his part. They were confident and prepared.

Here is a small quote from each boy today:

In our pre-mortal life we had free agency. Before we were born we chose to follow the Savior.

Satan had a different plan. He wanted everyone to follow him and be forced to obey. This is a bad plan because we wouldn’t be able to choose for ourselves.

The earth was made so we could gain bodies and be tested. It’s important to make our own choices on earth because it tests our faith. If we make good choices, we can be with Heavenly Father and our families in heaven.

-Mark, age 8

Part of the plan was that the Savior would die for us. This helps us all the time, at school, at home, and everywhere. We can repent and always have a good example to follow in Jesus Christ.

Part of the plan is to be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost has helped me in my life. I have learned that I can pray before tests and things I have to do at school and other places. When I do this, I am reassured that I will do well. Every time I have done this, I have passed the test. When we are sad, the Holy Ghost can comfort us. I know that the Savior understands what we are going through and helps us return to Heavenly Father.

-Timothy, age 11