Mormon Morsels

Reduce the Drag

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Photo Source: Microsoft Office Clip Art

I was listening to an audio recording recently about streamlining household chores.  The speaker’s intent was to share ways to make everyday chores flow more smoothly and she used the phrase “reduce the drag” in describing this process.  This made me thing of airplanes, aerodynamic cars, and….swimming.

The Olympics are just closing down shop in beautiful London town.  One of my very favorite summer Olympic events to watch is swimming.  I know that swimmers do whatever they can to make their bodies flow more smoothly through water.  Certain swimsuits “reduce the drag” that a swimmer’s body has in the water.

This made me think of other things in life beyond household chores and swimming.  It made me wonder what things are producing a drag in my life.  A drag on my energy, patience, charity, motivation, intellect, happiness.

In a media world filled with nonstop images that tell us we are not enough, it can be difficult and challenging to fight off feelings of inadequacy.  We may be our own worst critic in nearly any and every part of our lives.  Finding a way to avoid this false humility can reduce a lot of drag.  How heavy life and it’s many responsibilities and challenges can feel to one who never quite feels good enough! President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said:

“Some people can’t get along with themselves. They criticize and belittle themselves all day long until they begin to hate themselves. May I suggest that you reduce the rush and take a little extra time to get to know yourself better. … Learn to see yourself as Heavenly Father sees you—as His precious daughter or son with divine potential.”

Learning to see ourselves through the eyes of Heavenly Father.  That’s a tall order, but an essential one.  Prayer, pondering the messages of the scriptures, exercising faith in the Lord and in ourselves….all these things and many more can begin to give us a glimpse of our true selves.  Once we begin to see this, the drag begins to get smaller and smaller and smaller.

What are some ways that you have been successful in overcoming this particular glitch in spiritual aerodynamics?  Or perhaps this is not a challenge for you….what, then, do you feel is creating a drag in your daily swim through life?

Faith

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“DOUBT IS A PAIN TOO LONELY TO KNOW THAT FAITH IS HIS TWIN BROTHER”…………Khalil Gibran

Stop a moment and really ponder this simple phrase.

We know that lightness and darkness cannot occupy the same space at the same time.

 “Somewhere in your quest for spiritual knowledge, there is that ‘leap of faith,’ as the philosophers call it. It is the moment when you have gone to the edge of the light and stepped into the darkness to discover that the way is lighted ahead for just a footstep or two.”—Boyd K. Packer

Faith IS an exercise.  Though my faith “muscles” have atrophied as of late, I will get up each new day and have the goal to exercise them, to bring those muscles to a state of being chiseled and honed, a spiritual 6 pack if you will.  I’ve got to “go for the burn”; no pain – no gain.  You get the picture!

Standing Firm

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We live in a world where we are constantly battling to find firm ground to stand on and the strength to go on. There are so many different struggles that we, as humans, face–so many ways to be pulled away from the gospel. Whether those are physical or mental infirmities, distractions, etc., it is sometimes hard to grasp hold of the truths that we know are important.

I found two quotes from our prophet, President Monson concerning testimonies–and really, if you think about it, testimony is that base that keeps us, as individuals, going. What do you believe? Why do you believe it? What experiences have kept you steadfast in the gospel? Everyone is so different and yet we all have the same goal. Exaltation. To be with God, and our families, FOREVER.

It is my personal opinion that the following is a key to getting there. And when we are living our testimony, we are a beacon to those around us.

President Thomas S. Monson:

“My…plea…is that you have the courage to stand firm for truth and righteousness. Because the trend in society today is away from the values and principles the Lord has given us, you will almost certainly be called upon to defend that which you believe. Unless the roots of your testimony are firmly planted, it will be difficult for you to withstand the ridicule of those who challenge your faith. When firmly planted, your testimony of the gospel, of the Savior, and of our Heavenly Father will influence all that you do throughout  your life. The adversary would like nothing better than for you to allow derisive comments and criticism of the Church to cause you to question and doubt. Your testimony, when constantly nourished, will keep you safe.” (April 2009, General Young Women’s Meeting)

“Although that testimony can continue to be fed spiritually and to grow as you study, as you pray for guidance, and as you attend your Church meetings each week, it is up to you to keep that testimony alive. Satan will try with all his might to destroy it. Throughout your entire life you will need to nurture it. As with the flame of a brightly burning fire, your testimony–if not continually fed–will fade to glowing embers and then cool completely. You must not let this happen.” (April 2012, General Young Women’s Meeting)

“What Matters Most”

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Thinking back on my life, the happiest times have been spent with family. Those people whom I love the most!  The people that matter the most. Letting them know how much I love them is important to me.  And really, its never been hard for me to share those feelings.  But, I know from experience that when I do tell them I love them or appreciate them, it makes a difference in their lives.  That is why we are family, to love and support each other.  To help each other find the way to Heavenly Father.  Love them, and tell them so.

Mind the Gap

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Image from Microsoft Office Clip Art

Several years back, our parents took us four girls on a trip to Great Britain.  It was a good trip and so interesting!  I loved soaking in local culture and learning new words and phrases.  One of my favorites was “mind the gap.”  This was an important phrase when riding the Tube (subway in London).  There is a gap between the train and the platform and you definitely do not want to step there!  You are probably wondering why I would name this post Mind The Gap.  Well last night my husband and daughter and I were having a discussion as we knelt for family prayer.  He was talking about the gap between where we are and where we think we should be.  Ladies, you know where I am going with this.  We all compare ourselves to others, thinking that we will never measure up and that we will never make it back to live with our Heavenly Father.  And you know where that discouragement comes from–the Adversary who wants to use that gap to his advantage.  However, Christ, with His infinite Atonement takes care of that gap and if we let the Atonement work in our lives the way it’s meant to, we can accept where we are and know that as long as we are keeping the commandments, living the gospel to the best of our ability, then that gap is bridged by our Savior.  He is minding the gap for us.
Have a wonderful Sabbath. Enjoy your church meetings and your families.

God Doesn’t Grade On The Curve

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God does not grade
On the curve,
I’m sure of it.

But we sit around
Like high school students
In an important class,
Whose teacher has drawn
On the blackboard
The tiny wedges
For the A’s and E’s.
And the great bulge
For the C’s.

We sigh in veiled relief
As the person down the row
Messes up,
Because it makes us
Look better
And probably means an E
For him, which is good,
Because while we have
Nothing against him personally
It means an A is more
Available to us.

And we secretly sorrow
When the person in front of us
Does really well,
Although we like her okay,
Because there goes another good grade,
Darn it and we’re looking
Worse and worse
And slipping further down the curve.

And God, I think,
Sits at the front of the class
Holding A’s enough for all,
Watching us
Working out our salvation
In fear and competition.

          -Carol Lynn Pearson

That last stanza really gets you doesn’t it?  I’ve read this poem a hundred times and it still hits me just as hard as the first time I read it nearly 30 years ago.  I’m still learning how meaningful AND powerful AND so very individual that the atonement really is.  Let’s try to visualize Him at the front of the class holding A’s enough for ALL and see if we can’t let some of the competition fall by the wayside.

What’s Your “Something?”

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“You can do something for another person that no one else ever born can do.”

            —President James E. Faust, former counselor in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, October 2005 Talk.

Pretty bold statement, don’t you think? I mean, think about all the billions of people who have ever lived and do live on the earth. No one else can do something that little old me can do? It’s hard to believe, isn’t it?

But a prophet of the Lord, Jesus Christ said it.

And I believe him.

So, why the random picture to go with this topic? Well, it’s random to you. It’s not random to me, however, and I am the writer so I get to choose the picture.

This is the Greenville 2nd Ward Primary as of Oct. 2011. Every man, woman, and child in this picture has effected me in a positive way. By their kindness, their examples, their words of wisdom (even the kids!), their random acts of service. They have touched me in ways no one else ever could!

The question now stands: What is the something that I was born to do? Have I done it yet? Is it still to come? And is it just one something, or is it many somethings?

I’m not sure the answer to that question. But the thought that my work here is undone, that I still have someone left to help in a way that no one else can, makes me want to BE better and to DO better, every day. It makes me want to be the kind of child that my Heavenly Father would be proud of.

What about you?

Parenting God’s Child

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Recently I have been blessed with another son. 🙂 He is wonderful. Prior to his coming, I was pondering the responsibilities of parents in raising and teaching their children. It’s no coincidence that I came upon this scripture in one of those times when you just open them up to some “random” page:

And again, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized, that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents.

For this shall be a law unto the inhabitants of Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized.

And their children shall be baptized for the remission of their sins when eight years old, and receive the laying on of the hands.

And they shall also teach their children to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord.

(Doctrine and Covenants 68:25-28)

What a wonderful blessing it is to have so many resources available to us, including the scriptures, that teach how to be good parents. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has said, “If you try your best to be the best parent you can be, you will have done all that a human being can do and all that God expects you to do.”

Of course, not everyone becomes a parent in this life. I really like Elder Neil L. Andersen’s conference talk “Children” in which he says, “As the Lord’s servant, I assure you that this promise is certain: ‘Faithful members whose circumstances do not allow them to receive the blessings of eternal marriage and parenthood in this life will receive all promised blessings in the eternities, [as] {sic} they keep the covenants they have made with God.'”

I encourage all of us who currently enjoy the blessing of being a mother or father to raise up our children in righteousness, to “bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).

I believe one of the ways we can be our best selves is to remember that we are each a child of our Heavenly Father. When we treat our children as such, we recognize where they came from and better honor their divine heritage.

 

Serendipity Moments

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I serve on the Power of Moms board.  We have a great goal-setting/reaching program called The Bloom Game where we are able to go up and set goals for ourselves in many different areas and it is kind of fun because you get to do it as a game.  Recently our board was put to a two month Bloom challenge by site co-founder Saren Loosli.  She needed some peer pressure to work on her goals, and I sure did as well, so we are all having fun doing this together–I was doing pretty well until this week, but that’s beside the point.  Anyway,  we set goals in 3 areas each week as well as sharing 2 “serendipity moments”–times when out of the blue we learn something or realize something or are able to stop and take a teaching/nurturing moment with our children.  I have actually experienced a couple of those kinds of moments since starting this challenge and it has been a truly good experience.  I will share one of those:
One of my goals one week was to really pray about what message the Lord wanted me to learn during my scripture study time and I set a goal to do that 3 times that week.  Now, this goal for me had two purposes–one was to actually study the scriptures 3 times (I am so slack in this area) and one was to actually look for something the Lord wanted to tell me.  One day I was reading from the ENSIGN–church magazine–in an issue that was all talks from our November 2010 (yes I am behind in my reading there as well) General Conference.  The particular talk was really more focused on the responsibilities of the men of the church.  It was a really good message for anyone, though, and when I got to the end I was thinking that maybe there was no specific thing there for me to take away.  Then it hit me!  An answer to a question that I had about how to recognize our young women in our congregation, as they accomplish milestones in their auxiliary of the church while they advance to the next level or age group.  That was my Serendipity Moment–seeing that the Lord does answer any question we have when we take the time to ask to receive his messages for us.
Other moments can be stopping what you are busily doing when your young child wants you to read with him and enjoying that time without worrying about getting the laundry done on time or finishing that scrapbook page or getting that blog post done on time.  Here are some others you might enjoy reading about.

Looking Through Windows

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I remember hearing President Thomas S. Monson tell this story at a recent General Conference.  I remember feeling both sides of it too.  I have been “in the kitchen”, looking through the dirty window…not knowing I had cleaning to do on my side of things.  I have also been “hanging laundry”, working hard but being misunderstood.

I think we have probably all “been there” on both sides.  But even when we have been the laundry hangers and have felt what it is like to be misjudged, we still struggle sometimes to not be the woman peering through the kitchen window.

Being aware of our own imperfections and weaknesses (being humble) can help us to overcome unrighteous judgement.  We all have our pet peeves and we are quick to find those pet peeves alive and well in others; but we fail to realize, sometimes, that others have pet peeves too.  And we are probably poster children for those pet peeves!

It’s interesting to me that the woman in the story would have found out very quickly that her dirty windows were to blame if she had simply gone next door to visit her neighbor….