Richard arranged for our family to enjoy one last camping trip this year. He reserved a large campsite in Midway with beautiful views of the changing leaves on the mountains and Heber Valley. It was chilly, but we enjoyed generous food portions, a break from phone service, plenty of hot cocoa, and singing around the fire with a guitar. Life felt pretty good. Happy 23rd Birthday to Daniel! And happy Conference weekend.
Today, the repeated phrase, “to the degree” stood out to me.
“Good women of the world will be drawn to the Church… to the degree that women of the Church”:
To the degree implies we can grow in our ability to repent, be seen, and be understood.
To the degree implies that we choose the depth of our discipleship to Christ. We also choose the level by which we are seen as disciples.
To the degree implies that our potential influence is vast.
What will we do with this call to be different, to reflect righteousness, to articulate truth, to have the courage to be seen?
We watched this video of the Salt Lake Temple restoration last night and we were left speechless at the painstaking, highly technical efforts to strengthen the foundation of the temple.
I see so many lessons in this video about how to strengthen my own foundation. Sometimes it will require chipping away, inch by inch, at old challenges. Sometimes it will require some intrusion on my precious ideas in order to affix necessary connections to higher things. It will require time, now.
I can’t take lightly this counsel,
We are sparing no effort to give this venerable temple, which had become increasingly vulnerable, a foundation that will withstand the forces of nature into the Millennium. In like manner, it is now time that we each implement extraordinary measures—perhaps measures we have never taken before—to strengthen our personal spiritual foundations. Unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures.
My dear brothers and sisters, these are the latter days. If you and I are to withstand the forthcoming perils and pressures, it is imperative that we each have a firm spiritual foundation built upon the rock of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
Russell M Nelson, October 2021
“It must needs be that we should be led with one accord to the land of promise.”
1 Nephi 10:13
I never considered this line from Lehi until today. He has seen a lot of disunity in his family on their wilderness journey, and chooses to emphasize the need to act with one accord.
“With one accord = all together”
Why?
Lehi sees his family as being important in the overall plan of our Heavenly Father for his children. He is looking for unity stemming from a common faith.
Maybe we should think of our families like Lehi thinks about his family. Hey, our family is important to God! Together we can help each other and the world, beyond anything you can imagine. First things first: we need to understand Jesus.
“Wherefore, all mankind were in a lost and fallen state, and ever would be save they should rely on this Redeemer.”
1 Nephi 10:6
In what ways can a family be led with one accord?
What has helped my family to live with one accord?
Never have we accomplished or needed to do all of these things well at the same time.
I note the first word in the phrase, “Led with one accord.” Our success doesn’t come down to how well we did all the things, and you know the long list of all the things. This is, above all, a journey in grace, God’s help, God’s path, and God’s love. Sometimes our self-imposed lists can be the biggest barrier to the grace that would lead us along. Being led by the Lord means being true to Him through keeping covenants.
We are here to learn how to allow ourselves to be led, together. That looks different, day by day, week by week, year after year. For us, it once looked like prayer and job charts, singing Primary songs, and even shouting “Bam!” when we heard an important word in the scriptures. Now, it looks like intentional mealtime conversations, different ways to study scriptures, and more fun time together. Being “led with one accord” is simply to allow the Good Shepherd to lead your family along.
It works to just ask in prayer, “What should I do today to help my family?” An idea or thought, phrase, or call to action will come. It will definitely be a simple instruction, manageable and meaningful.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye are little children, and he have not as yet understood the great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you.
“And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours.”
Doctrine and Covenants 78:17-18
On this wedding week, there is no such thing as the single kindest thing someone has done, but this story ranks near the top.
This is the Hernandez family. They live near Vancouver, British Columbia, and they love missionaries. They consistently and lovingly invite our missionary and his companions into their home to feed them dinner and offer support. Bishop and Sister Hernandez recently welcomed home both of their sons from missions, and they are enjoying a road trip in the western U.S.
Tim is flying to Guam on Monday night, experiencing the biggest transfer of his mission, and has a lot of winter gear for Canada that he will not need in the South Pacific. The Hernandez family arranged to drive his and another elder’s extra clothing to Utah.
They drive a sedan and there are four of them, so there was not a lot of room, yet they took Tim’s Blundstone boots and two bags of clothing, plus a similar amount for the other elder. Sister Hernandez reassured Tim that she wouldn’t mind holding a bag on her lap if there wasn’t enough of room in the car.
So, I met these lovely people at the Payson temple. They carried his bags to my car for me, smiling, and then we took pictures. I consider them instant and forever friends.
I asked my sister Susan to take photos with my phone so we could have some candid shots of the wedding day. I think these photos can be more fun and can tell a story better than professional photos.
Eventually we will see the professional photos, but the day after a wedding, I am anxious to relive the day in my mind. These candid snapshots are a blessing to me. Thank you, Susan!
Another reality about the day after a wedding is that I awoke this morning on the couch where I had collapsed the night before. But look! My hairstyle was still intact!
Our family reunions are over, there is one week until the wedding (pray!), Mark is on Pioneer Trek (pray!), and Timothy flies to Guam in two weeks to begin his missionary work there (pray!). I have exerted so much mental labor over Mark’s piano teacher dilemma and school schedule dilemma that I must have burned some calories with those mighty thoughts. Also, I am laboring to find a new counselor in the stake Primary after Susan’s passing. This is difficult spiritual work.
I have been reading in 2 Chronicles this week. I am trying not to be overly worried or stressed about all that is going on, but sometimes I just swim in concerns. When I read these scripture verses, the words center me a little.
“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect [completely] toward him.” 2 Chronicles 16:9
“For the battle is not yours, but God’s.” 2 Chronicles 20:15
Each member of my Primary presidency brings something unique and strong to the team. Susan brought enthusiasm, humor, and great quotes. Shelby brings warmth and resolute testimony. Anne brings evidence of her deep thinking and a faith that has been tried and fortified. I could list many more things for each person, and Anne also consistently brings music to our meetings. This week, as we met without Susan, and with the shock of her sudden passing still with us, Anne played this song. ♥️
“But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.”
1 Samuel 30:6
David was in a pretty bleak situation, and people around him were grieved. “But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.”
This is my personal scripture phrase of the week.
1. I can encourage myself, and not wait around for someone to fix things.
2. I can trust the Lord’s strength, not my own.
Last week, my favorite scripture phrase was,
“I perceive that ye are weak”
3 Nephi 17:2
The Lord does know that I am weak, but I find comfort in this: the same “weak” people who couldn’t understand all that the Lord had to share, Jesus also told them they had “great faith.” (3 Nephi 19:35)
I love when people are described by really different adjectives in the scriptures. Everyone has a lot of dimensions to their character, and the Lord understands this about us. He knows we are not perfect (complete) and being weak doesn’t mean we can’t have greatness in other areas. Being weak can also be the impetus for great faith.
The story of Gideon is my favorite in the book of Judges. When I taught seminary, I remember shocking my early morning students by smashing a clay pot in my living room where we met, just like Gideon’s army smashed their pitchers. With trumpets, shattering pottery, lights, and voices, Gideon’s 300-man army surprised the host of sleeping enemies, “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!” and their enemy was destroyed. This might have been the only day my students left seminary more awake than when they arrived, except maybe the day we cast “stones” at a life-sized mural of Goliath.
This week as I studied Gideon’s story, I focused on two contrasting verses during the exchange between the angel of the Lord and Gideon about his call to deliver Israel, verses 12 and 15.
The Lord sees Gideon as a mighty man of valor, while Gideon sees himself as poor and unimportant. Pretty much my only takeaway this week from Bible study is enough: God knows who we truly are, who we were before we came to earth, and who we can become. He sends messengers to remind us that He is with us.
I have had a few messengers in my life who have helped me live with courage. One was a friend named Jody who told me that I had the capacity to homeschool my kids. Bishops and stake presidencies have also been messengers of the Lord’s confidence in me, and reminded me that the Lord would be with me. Perhaps the most common messengers are the people who trust me to listen to them and help them. When a friend opens her heart to me, I see this is as a call to valor. Today, we help rescue Israel one by one