The Book of Mormon and Mental Health

This is a post about how I read the Book of Mormon and some things I am learning. I don’t think my way is better than your way, but it works for me.

For personal study, I try to read a certain amount of time each day. I focus on one topic as I make one complete reading of the Book of Mormon. I don’t mark my scriptures much, but I read with paper and pen in hand to take notes on the topic. I write on loose leaf paper, folded in my scriptures, and when I finish the Book of Mormon, I staple the note pages together and use the notes when I need them. My notes include quotes from the Book of Mormon, but more often, the notes expand beyond the words on the page and reflect what I think the Spirit is teaching me. Over the years, my topics have ranged from the gathering of Israel to qualities of the Savior, and strategies for facing family challenges to forgiving others, and more.

Currently, my focus is, “What does the Book of Mormon teach about mental health?” Holy hand cramps, Batman, there is a lot about mental health in 1 Nephi.

A few of the mental health tips I have gained this week from Nephi:

Keep a record of goodness in your life. (1 Nephi 1:1)

Acknowledge the goodness of your parents above their flaws. (1 Nephi 1:1)

Create things with your hands. (1 Nephi 1:17)

Show courage in your beliefs. (1 Nephi 1:18)

Find evidence that God delivers us and write about it. (1 Nephi 1:20)

Did he mention that murmuring is a bad idea? (everywhere)

Be community minded. It’s not all about you. (1 Nephi 1:5)

Understand you won’t always know what to do, but you can trust that the Spirit will lead you if you are obedient. Also, keep moving even if you don’t know how to proceed. (1 Nephi 4:6-7)

Understand that sometimes it’s necessary to go through really unpleasant things. The difficulty you are facing now may be essential, and may help countless others. (1 Nephi 4:13)

Identify when you have misplaced blame for your own crisis on a loved one, and identify poor logic in your thinking. Be humble, apologize, and share what you have learned. (1 Nephi 5:2-6)

Seek out your genealogy. It will fill you with the Spirit. (1 Nephi 5:14-17)

Search, make use of resources the Lord has provided to inform you and help you. Hint: they are not just the scriptures. (1 Nephi 5:21)

Create goals and value statements, identifying your righteous purposes and live by them. (1 Nephi 6:4-6)

Press forward through the mist, and hold on to your faith. (1 Nephi 8:24)

Nurture humility, practice awe in God’s greatness, and proclaim truth. (1 Nephi 10:8)

All of us have things to overcome, including mental health challenges, and God has prepared a way for each of us. (1 Nephi 10:18)

When you don’t understand something, or why something has happened, push forward in your mind the knowledge that God loves his children. (1 Nephi 11:17)

The Atonement of Christ is necessary in a journey to better mental health. Don’t forget that one fruit of the Atonement of Christ is joy. (1 Nephi 11:22-23)

Believe that angels minister to you, and prepare you for healing in Christ. (1 Nephi 11:30-31)

No one escapes mists in which the devil seeks to tempt, blind, and harden. No one escapes some degree of misery, but having an overriding perspective that good will triumph can be helpful. (1 Nephi 12:17-18)

We don’t draw up the contract of how we will be acceptable to God. Crippling perfectionism, and dependence on self mastery alone cannot save us. We must look to the words of Christ to know the terms by which he helps us and saves us. (1 Nephi 13:41)

I don’t think Nephi set out to write about mental health, and if you look up the references to what I have written, you will see that the scriptures that inspired these thoughts are not really about mental health. But that’s the beauty of the Book of Mormon. It is a means to receive revelation for what we need right now.

What have you learned from the Book of Mormon recently? It doesn’t have to be about mental health. Truly, I would love to hear from you.

Opera Night

My friend Anne invited me to join her at the Opera this week. This is what we saw. I especially loved the three-tiered set, the three leaders of men, and the scene in the snow where they sang about simple things of home. And the poppies.

Eagles

They did it, with so much help from so many people, they did it. There will be only one more post about Boy Scouts of America on this blog, and that will be when we hold their court of honor. But an Eagle rank will always stand for something great, and we are proud of our boys for persevering.

This is God’s Work, not Ours

There have been baptisms that took place on Daniel’s mission that he never told us about, and sometimes we piece together that he is a leader or training someone. He sent home a memory card of photos and we learned all kinds of things. He is not trying to be a tourist missionary, always remarking on the novelty of the people. I am glad of that. Some photos, such as this one, really grab my attention. He shared this photo with me to send to friends this week, and I have had more responses to this image than any other message he has shared.

He wrote,

“In these last few weeks it’s been made very clear that this is God’s work, not ours, and that there are people prepared to receive the gospel.


‘For there are many yet on the earth among all sects, parties, and denominations … who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it. Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed’ (D&C 123:12,17).


‘For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles; and I will show unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I work not among the children of men save it be according to their faith.'” (2 Nephi 27:23)

Elder Ross

The ritual of reclaiming the house

The ski passes are back in use and school has begun. Slowly, in quiet minutes and hours, I retake territory lost over Christmas by wrappings, wedding packages, Eagle project donations, furniture swaps, gifts, and decorations. During the past three months, many things expired in the fridge without my notice, and the coat collection grew out of bounds again in the mudroom. We ran out of some staples in the food storage room. On Christmas Eve or so, Timothy cleaned out his closet and I told him to just plunk his castoffs down in the middle of the craft/wrapping/sewing/printing workshop for me to deal with later.

I had everyone’s help, friend, family, and fiance to set up Christmas, but this year, I have taken things down by myself. As I stow each light, ornament, and dish, I find order, but also an expensive gift that I had hidden and forgot to give, and more cleaning supplies that need to be donated ASAP. Never mind, the peace still seeps in with each room reclaimed.

I thought I would need a couple of days to recharge after the wedding, but as I helped during a stressful Stake baptism day last Saturday and ventured to a friend’s home this week, I see that I am not ready for my usual routines. I am still in need of the gentle cycle of rest, reading, comfort, and quiet. January was invented for just such needs as these.

Paige and Michael’s Wedding Day in Pictures

Good job if you made it to the end of this post. Most pictures are by our niece Rachel (Rachel Angela Photography). Most of my memories, thoughts, and feelings are recorded in my journal, where they will stay. If you were there, I hope you found your face in a photo or two. We are very grateful to all who came and all who showed their support in any way. It really was the very best day.

Testimony

I didn’t realize this is how grown up our family looks. I’ve had lots of moments to reflect on life and our Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness in the past few weeks. This picture (even the absence of our adored missionary) represents all that the Savior has given us: absolutely everything that brings us joy. Here are just a few things this photo represents to me, made possible by our Savior:

repentance and forgiveness

the Gospel of Jesus Christ

covenants and ordinances

marriage

sacrifice

missionary work

miracles of healing and understanding

children

hope

testimony

faith in Christ

obedience to commandments

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

patience

love

Write every day

25 years ago, my sisters and I went to the film, Little Women, just before I was engaged. We decided to go to the newest version together this week. Now the group included sisters-in-law and daughters we could not dream we would have all that time ago. Our group became divided by a storm, and half of the women stopped at a different theater to watch the movie rather than risk the icy roads. That night, we had an epic text exchange among all of us, discussing the movie, the acting, the actors, the screenplay, and which characters we see in ourselves. The movie brought us together, and that felt sweet. In twenty-five more years what will our family be like? What will we have accomplished by then?

I don’t have Jo’s temperament, but her writing caused a lot of introspection for me. The ache to write is real. I feel it when I see someone’s published work, when I drive by myself, when I look at my collection of books on writing, and when I allow myself to make a wish. So, this year I will write something every day, whether it’s a blog post or private journal entry, a small story, or a memory. This year I will be a writer.