An Old House and A Young Garden

Do you ever feel discouraged about your progress in becoming like Jesus Christ?  I certainly do, especially near the end of a long summer with four intense children at home all day.  As we get to know Jesus better, we see more clearly the gaps between His character and capabilities and our own.  Paul indicated the way to gain patience with our progress when he taught, “We through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness” (Galatians 5:5).  Last month when I was feeling discouraged, the Lord through his Holy Spirit offered encouragement by reminding me of two things. 

 

First, I was reminded of the delight I feel to see a tired old house restored so its unique character can be appreciated again.  We are all like broken down houses.  We came to Earth all shiny and new with commendable characteristics and valuable gifts to share.  Then we were stained by sin, worn out by the storms of life, and broken in places by the imperfect people around us.  Our Savior Jesus Christ paid an immense price during His Atonement to gain the power to restore us, and He earnestly seeks to use that power.  Despite the heavy cost, He delights in the process of restoring us to our former glory.

The second encouraging thought that came to mind was my young garden.  I do not grow a lot of food; instead my garden is mostly ornamental.  It has been two years since we undertook a large landscaping project in the backyard, and there are some pretty spots but still a lot of bare ground.  I love to sit outside and imagine how the garden will look in five or ten years when the trees and other plants are more mature.  Even though there will be a lot of work between now and then, I look forward to the process of nurturing its growth.  We are all like young gardens.  The patches of goodness and beauty here and there in our current selves are just a small part of our infinite potential.  Our Savior never loses sight of that potential and finds much more joy from nurturing our growth than I receive from my nurturing my garden.  His Atonement provides plenty of grace to continue to support us throughout the long process of maturation. 

An old house and a young garden echo the changes that come to our hearts as Christ uses His Atonement to help us become one with Him and our Heavenly Father (John 17:21).  Jesus fixes the damage from our sins, the sins of others, and the perils of mortality; then He fills us with more and more of His attributes and strength.  He makes us whole again like an old house restored, and He makes us holy like a garden filled with growing beauty, light and life.  Our Savior delights in the completed goal ahead but also in the ongoing process.  If He sees goodness and finds joy in us now despite our sagging stairs, broken windows, barren patches and weedy corners, then we can feel optimistic about our progress, slow though it seems.  He can show us how to find joy in the journey because He finds joy in the journey.  With the encouragement of the Holy Spirit and steady streams of Christ’s grace, we can attend to the healing and growth of today with a bright hope in the righteousness to come.   

Family History Comes to Life

 Rather than try to distill inspiration and testimony into words (which is almost impossible anyway in the cacophony of four kids at home all day during summer break), in the past month I have been feverishly working on family history.  I feel a strong pull to learn more about my ancestors and to make that information more accessible to my children and other family members.  The two projects I have been working on are a family photo tree and a family history book.  

Thanks to photos sent from relatives and photo files on Family Search and Ancestry.com, I have found pictures of all of my husband's and my ancestors back to our second-great-grandparents.  Although the tree is technically upside down, with children at the roots instead of the branches, this six-generation photo tree has been a great addition to our dining room decor.  Our whole family has begun to get to know and love these ancestors whose work and sacrifice have greatly blessed our lives.  We frequently bring up a story about an ancestor during dinner conversation, and then we all look at the photo tree to find him or her.  The photos are very effective in helping us feel like we're getting to know the person.  Even my three-year old loves to point out 'his Joseph,' a second-great-grandfather who shares two names and three initials with my son.

  

 My second family history project is a family history book with each ancestor's life described on one page with a photo.  I actually started this book a decade ago, but with the creation of the photo tree I have been motivated to write more pages so each person on the photo tree has a corresponding page in the book.  I condense the information from longer life histories down to one page to make it easier for my children and other relatives to get to know many of their ancestors.  In some cases there aren't any stories or other information available, so I point out details based on the dates in Family Search like how many of the person's children died young, how old the person was during the Civil War, or what shipboard conditions were like when they came to America.  Although I have not found much specific information about some of my Scottish ancestors, I have been fascinated to learn for the first time about the Highland Clearances and how they likely affected many of these ancestors who immigrated to Nova Scotia in the early 1800's.    

         
My three children who are old enough to read have all perused the sixty pages I have completed so far.  One daughter searched the book to find all the ancestors who loved riding horses after she spent a couple of days at horse camp.  We have all chuckled over the stories of our spitfire grannies like Mary Ann Voorhees Snow, who burnt her own house down so a mob wouldn't have the pleasure of doing it themselves.

I have spent hours preparing family photo trees and history books for my parents, siblings, and in-laws, and I am excited to share them with the relatives that are gathering in a few days for my grandmother's memorial service.  After spending so much time working on these projects, I feel even more strongly that my grandmother is still close to us after her death.  I can feel the comforting love and concern of many of our ancestors for my family and me.
 

Working on family history as the mother of young children has its ups and downs.  On one hand, I tend to get so involved with my dead relatives that I forget that my living family needs to eat.  I am grateful for the times my husband has supported my family history efforts by making dinner while I am busily typing on the computer.  On the other hand, I can't believe we have lived this long without knowing all of these ancestors.  I feel like a more complete person now that I am getting to know 'my people.'  It is delightful to see how eagerly my children delve into the stories and other information about our ancestors' lives now that they are easily accessible.  Their experiences and character are already lending strength to our family, and I expect the blessings will continue to flow for years to come.

Two Lengths of Iron and the Atonement

As I have taught the Old and New Testament in Sunday School over the past year and a half, I have been delighted to see how beautifully the Bible and Book of Mormon work together to help us understand what Jesus Christ does for us through His Atonement.  For example, in the Bible the prophet Isaiah describes a symbol of Christ* in this way:  “And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place” (Isaiah 22:23).  When Jesus was crucified, the Romans used iron nails to fasten Him to the wood of the cross.  Nails are connectors.  They secure things, hold them up, and provide support.  This symbol may remind us of another place in the scriptures where a length of iron provides support and connection.  In the Book of Mormon, Lehi and Nephi saw in vision an iron rod that formed a connection leading to the tree of life (1 Nephi 8, 11).  As we sing in the hymn, the iron rod is the word of God.  But back in the Bible, the apostle John described Jesus as the word made flesh (John 1:14).  Jesus is the word of God in person.  So the iron rod is a symbol of Jesus, and iron nails are a symbol of Jesus.  As the Book of Mormon teaches, because of Adam’s fall (Alma 42:6) and our own sins (2 Nephi 2:5), we are cut off forever from the tree of life and the blessings of the love of God.  Jesus is the bridge, the connector, the iron rod or iron nail that connects us with Heavenly Father’s love and blessings as represented by the tree of life.  The long iron rod reminds us that it takes time and work on our part to reach all the blessings.  The short iron nail reminds us that our connection with God’s love and blessings comes through Christ’s agony on the cross and in the garden of Gethsemane during His Atonement.  Isn’t it powerful how these symbols from the Bible and Book of Mormon work together to teach us of our Savior?

               
The Book of Mormon explains how Christ is the connector when we pray.  I remember years ago praying and telling Heavenly Father that I felt close to Him because I talked with Him each day in prayer, but I didn’t feel as close to Jesus because I didn’t address Him in my prayers.  In 3 Nephi 18:19, Jesus taught that we should always pray in His name to our Heavenly Father.  But in 3 Nephi 19:18, we see the disciples kneeling and praying directly to Jesus Christ, and in verse 22, Jesus explains that they are praying to Him because He is with them.  Then in verse 23 we see Jesus praying to the Father for the disciples as they continue to pray to Him.  From these verses, we realize that when we pray in Jesus’ name, it is as if we are addressing Jesus and asking Him to carry our words to our Father in Heaven.  Jesus is the connector that makes communication by prayer possible.  Each time we pray, it is actually a group conversation with both Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father involved, so we can feel close to both of Them through prayer.

               
Our connection with God's love and blessings grows stronger as the mighty change progresses in our hearts through Christ's Atonement.  We do not apply the Atonement the way we apply Windex to clean windows.  We don’t just spray it on to wipe off our sins, then put the bottle back on the shelf.  The Atonement literally means at-one-ment, or the process of becoming united with God.  It enables a very personal, intimate progression that happens between each of us and our Savior, involving scrubbing sins, wiping away tears, shouldering burdens, shoring up weak spots, and polishing strengths.  Jesus described this process in both the Bible, during the Intercessory Prayer (John 17), and in the Book of Mormon, when He visited after His resurrection (3 Nephi 19), so you know it must be important if it’s described in both books of scripture.  Jesus explained that we are purified through faith, and then He comes to be in us the way the Father is in Him (3 Nephi 19:28-29).  Through this process of becoming perfect in one (John 17:22-23), we are first cleansed and healed, and then we are blessed to begin to see, think, feel, speak and act more and more like Jesus and Heavenly Father.  In the Old Testament, Ezekiel gives us a beautiful explanation of this change.  In Ezekiel 36:24-28, the Lord promises to “take you from among the heathen . . . and from all your filthiness . . . will I cleanse you.  A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh . . . and I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes . . . and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.”  These teachings in the Book of Mormon and Bible help us understand that there is a higher purpose to our gospel ‘To Do’ list than just checking off the boxes so we feel like we’re earning our way into heaven.  In the Book of Mormon, King Benjamin made it clear that we can’t ever earn our way into heaven anyway (Mosiah 2:21, 24), and Paul taught the same thing in the Bible (Romans 3:23-24, 27).  All these commandments and covenants we’re trying to learn and live are the way to invite Jesus Christ Himself to use His atoning power to work a mighty change in our hearts.  It is His power that will change and save us, but He won’t force that wonderful change upon us (Alma 5:14,33-34; 2 Cor. 3:15-18).  We have to invite it through our obedience to His words.  This is how we offer our “whole souls as an offering unto him” (Omni 1:26, Mark 12:33), so He can fix us and then fill us with the love and joy that He and our Heavenly Father possess. 

               
As I have come to better understand in recent years how Christ’s Atonement works, I have felt so relieved to realize that I don’t have to be strong enough to save myself.  I don’t have to be strong enough to be perfect right now.  I don’t even have to be strong enough to love myself, because my Savior is strong enough to do it for me.  I just have to reach for His hand each day and keep offering my whole soul to Him as I keep growing in my ability to obey.  As we get to know our Savior better through sweet experiences with the scriptures and the Spirit, our hope becomes unshaken in His great atoning, connecting power (Jacob 4:6, Hebrews 3:6).  Christ’s grace really is sufficient for us (Moroni 10:32, 2 Cor. 9:8).  It is everything we need.  

* Isaiah described Eliakim, who was in turn a symbol of Christ. “Isaiah made a symbol of . . . Eliakim. His name means ‘God shall cause to arise,’ anticipating the Savior, who holds the ‘key of the house of David’ but was fastened ‘as a nail in a sure place’ until the burden of the Atonement was complete. Upon Him rests ‘all the glory of his father’s house.’ Isaiah recommended depending on Him for everlasting security (Isa. 22:20–25 and fn.)” (Ellis T. Rasmussen, A Latter-day Saint Commentary on the Old Testament [1993], 517–8).

The Blessings of Sharing Goodness Through Social Media

This is the address I gave as part of the Brigham Young University Women's Conference on April 30, 2015.  Of course these ideas are my own and do not represent the official positions of BYU or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

 

In his address at the 2014 BYU Education Week, Elder David A. Bednar extended the challenge to “sweep the earth with messages filled with righteousness and truth”[i] using social media.  I don’t have a cool job with the Church, and my efforts to share goodness have not taken the internet by storm.  Instead I offer the experiences of a regular woman of faith who is mostly a mother but who also shares goodness over the internet in small and steady ways.  We know the Lord is happy to work in small and simple ways (Alma 37:6) as well as large and polished ones, so there is room for all our efforts.  I am a witness that big blessings come even when sharing goodness on a small scale.
          
Seven years ago my third child was born.  Being at home with my children was the right choice for my life, but my brain felt like it was turning into oatmeal.  I had a horticulture degree from BYU and a desire to be useful with those skills.  These words from President Gordon B. Hinckley were inspiring to me: 
          
“To you women of today, who are old or young, may I suggest that you write, that you keep journals, that you express your thoughts on paper.  Writing is a great discipline.  It is a tremendous education effort.  It will assist you in various ways, and you will bless the lives of many—now and in the years to come, as you put on paper some of your experiences and some of your musings.”[ii]
          
“Well,” I thought, “I could start a garden blog.”  So I set up ‘VW Garden’ for free using Blogger.  On this blog I post about landscaping projects, favorite plants, floral arrangements, and gardens I have designed as part of my calling at the Spokane Temple grounds.  Beautiful flowers help us feel God’s love for us, and they can sometimes soften hearts when other efforts fail.   Lovely gardens nourish our spirits by reminding us of our heavenly home.  Some of the most important events in the Plan of Salvation occurred in gardens[iii].  Principles of landscape design such as unity, asymmetrical balance, and the rule of three are reflections of eternal truths.  It is a happy thing to share about these useful and uplifting topics by blogging. 
          
Although I do not write directly about the gospel on my garden blog, I have a link to my Mormon.org profile, my faith blog, and some Mormon Messages on the sidebar.  In this way I can offer light from the gospel to many blog visitors each day, even when I’m spending all day doing laundry. 
          
A little over a year ago, I felt the Lord nudging me to do a better job of recording the answers I had received to prayers and other bits of inspiration that have blessed my life, especially in regards to motherhood.  So I started another blog about faith and named it ‘Witness of a Mother.’ 
          
You are probably familiar with this quote from President Spencer W. Kimball:
          
“Much of the major growth that is coming to the Church in the last days will come because many of the good women of the world (in whom there is often such an inner sense of spirituality) will be drawn to the Church in large numbers.  This will happen to the degree that the women of the Church reflect righteousness and articulateness in their lives and to the degree that the women of the Church are seen as distinct and different—in happy ways—from the women of the world.”[iv]
          
I believe this prophecy may be fulfilled in part as we learn to articulate—to express fluently and coherently—then share our testimonies through social media.  With the wisdom of middle age, I have learned in my heart as well as in my mind that we do not have to be the biggest or best in order to make a worthwhile contribution.  When our purpose in writing is sharing goodness instead of earning money, we enjoy a broader definition of success.  Who can measure the importance of lifting even one soul toward God?  My faith blog is younger and has a smaller audience than my garden blog, but it feels more successful because of the souls it has lifted, including my own.
          
Do you find yourself studying more effectively when you are preparing to speak or teach about a gospel topic?  Preparing to share testimony through social media can have the same effect on our gospel study.  We know that answers can be found as we search, ponder and pray, and I have learned that answers come more quickly and completely when I also record and share those answers in appropriate ways.  This is because sharing our testimony of God and His truth is a way to keep our baptismal covenant as described by Alma, “to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places” (Mosiah 18:9).  Through covenants the Lord teaches us how heaven works, how His power works, and how we can invite more of that power to work in us and through us to accomplish His work.  Whenever we invite the Lord’s power to flow through us in keeping covenants and doing His work, that power blesses us along the way. 
          
Inspiration comes through Christ’s enabling power, or grace, and it requires a combination of humility and boldness.  This is taught in Ether 12:27, “My grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me” and in Hebrews 4:16, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace.”  Humility allows us to recognize that these answers won’t be the result of our own intelligence or creativity—though we will study things out, truth will come as we become good at listening to the Spirit.  Boldness is needed to ask the questions, seek the experiences, and record and appropriately share the answers.  Elder Bednar’s book, Increase in Learning[v], has been a great help in increasing my confidence that I can discover inspiration for myself by asking the right questions, digging into the scriptures, and listening.  General Conference is a reliable yardstick to measure personal inspiration.  If I hear thoughts and ideas in General Conference that parallel and echo the inspiration I believe I am receiving, then I know I am on the right track.  There are so many answers we will not receive and experiences we will not have if we are not humble and bold enough to ask. 
          
Thinking back on President Hinckley’s quote from earlier, I like his choice of the word ‘musings.’  It is a much more comfortable word than dissertation or book or even ‘five hundred word essay’.  We all have musings or inspiration when we’re hiking in the mountains, puttering around the garden, rocking a baby or folding laundry.  The repetitive tasks of homemaking are fruitful opportunities to ponder and listen to the Lord.  We also receive bits of inspiration as we sit in conferences that we jot down in little notebooks.  As women we have the “inner sense of spirituality” that President Kimball describes, and our nurturing responsibilities allow us opportunities to develop that spirituality even further.  As we learn to go about other tasks while keeping a part of our mind listening for the waking cry of a baby, we also learn how to live each day while keeping a part of our mind constantly tuned to the Holy Spirit.  As we develop our ability to recognize and respond to the needs of a child—even when those needs are unspoken—we increase our capacity to recognize and respond to the teachings of the Spirit, even when those teachings are not verbalized.  It seemed the years of caring for my babies were turning my brain into mush, but in fact that experience was an intensive training program for how to listen for, recognize and respond to the Holy Ghost.  The great thing is that nowadays we don’t have to write a whole book before sharing the inspiration we receive—we can share a line of insight into scripture or a paragraph about a personal experience with a gospel principle by using social media.
           
When the angel Moroni visited Joseph Smith in 1823, he quoted five verses from the book of Joel and said that those prophecies would soon be fulfilled.  Two of those verses in particular are inspiring to me:
          
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy . . . and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. (Joel 2:28-29)
           
We are daughters and handmaids of the Lord.  Have you felt the fulfillment of this prophecy in your life?  Could responding to Elder Bednar’s call to share goodness through social media invite the Spirit to be poured out in greater measure upon you and your family?  Could pondering “What shall I write about today” develop your ability to ask the questions that lead to personal tutoring by the Lord?  What other blessings would come as you answered this challenge?
          
Even though my faith blog is just over a year old, sharing testimony in this way has already brought great blessings for my life and for my family.  About six years ago, I began experiencing a series of health problems that were very painful, confusing, and scary.  After several years of one problem after another after another—with months at a time when I cried on the phone to my dear mother nearly every day—I  found myself feeling weak and shaken in body and in every other way.   “Who am I,” I wondered, “because I am not the confident and capable woman I thought I was.”  After seeing so much of my weakness, I didn’t see how I could ever become strong.  Looking back, I recognize that although I loved the gospel and had been trying to follow Christ, I was built too much upon the arm of the flesh—upon my own strength instead of the Lord’s.  As I sought to come unto Christ, He saw fit to scour me down to the base before beginning to rebuild me solidly on His foundation.  I had experienced the first part of Ether 12:27[vi], where the Lord promises to show us our weaknesses.  Next I needed to experience the second part of the verse and find strength in Christ’s grace.  But even if we know that we should lean on Christ’s grace, it is a challenge to learn how to actually do it.  I did not understand the nuts and bolts of how that worked.  What exactly was I supposed to do? 
           
It’s one thing to follow Christ on the path of life when we feel like we’re moving under our own power, but it’s quite another thing to see Jesus across the sea and climb out of the boat, trusting entirely in His grace to support us step by step in coming to Him.  I wasn’t as brave as Peter; I had to be lovingly but firmly tossed out of the boat through my health problems before I learned to walk by grace.  Have you, like me, ever been thrown out of the boat?  Have you, like me, spent a lot of time sinking and choking and feeling so exhausted that you sometimes wished you could just drown and be done with it all?
          
Peter walked on water, supported by grace, when he focused entirely upon his faith in Jesus Christ.  I have learned that articulating my faith in Jesus by recording and sharing testimony invites strength into my life through His grace.  Psalms 71, verses 12-16 illustrate this connection:
          
O God, be not far from me: O my God, make haste for my help. . . But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.  My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; . . . I will go in the strength of the Lord God: I will make mention of thy righteousness (italics added).
           
As I have ‘made mention’ of my faith in Jesus Christ and my increased understanding of and hope in the mighty change of heart, as I have praised Him more and more for what I’m learning about His love, I have felt Christ’s power buoying me up.  I’m starting to figure out how I really can be strong in His grace, every step of the way.
         
This faith blog has also been a blessing for my family.  Just before Christmas I compiled all the posts into a little book for my children and gave copies as gifts.  A few days after Christmas, I found my daughter up past her bedtime, reading with a flashlight under her covers.  I couldn’t be upset with her when I saw she was reading my little book of testimony.  “Mom,” she said, “I am so excited to be a mother!  It’s really hard, and we have to sacrifice a lot, and the world doesn’t understand, but we teach our children how to love, and that’s the foundation for the entire gospel, so it’s really important!”  I felt the deep significance of that moment, for my nine-year old daughter had internalized a vision of mothering that I didn’t gain until after my four babies were born, after a miscarriage, after many complications from childbearing, and after suffering through it all from painful questions about why mothering requires so much sacrifice.  My little book was a handmade shield of faith that would protect her in ways she might otherwise be vulnerable to Satan’s attack.  Perhaps the best part is that she has seen that when she has questions of her own, she can take them straight to the Lord in prayer and find answers through the scriptures and the Holy Ghost.  No matter how many other people read or don’t read what I have written, that moment made my faith blog a complete success.  And yet I don’t know if I would have had the motivation to get to that point if not for the encouraging words of friends along the way as I posted little by little to my blog.  It is beautiful to me how the Lord can stretch our efforts to share the gospel with others and send them back around to bless our own families.  How could your family be blessed by sharing your testimony through social media?
           
Blogging is an appropriate way to share longer messages, but shorter thoughts and musings can often be shared effectively over Facebook.  For example, I have stumbled into the role of a family historian and have found that it’s really effective to share an old photo and short story about an ancestor on Facebook, tag all the cousins and other interested family members so they are sure to see it, and at the same time inspire Facebook friends to get into their family history by showing them how fun it is.  If we have a photo and a story, then an ancestor becomes real to us.  Those of us who are pulled to read long life stories and dig deep into family history can involve our family members who don’t have the time or inclination by sharing snippets of the information that we find.  Blogging, email and Facebook are all useful in this effort.
           
When Elder Bednar extended the challenge to share righteousness and truth, he warned about the negative effects of letting technology take over our lives.  He encouraged us to produce steady streams of goodness instead of a one-time flash flood.  I have watched other bloggers who have let themselves be sucked too far into the blogging world for a time and have eventually become burned out and quit.  We can avoid that by setting reasonable goals and limits for our internet projects, depending on our season of life and other responsibilities.  I am mother to four really good but really intense young children.  Mothering them is not like herding cats; it’s like herding rocket ships, and I am not a naturally patient person.  I have to conserve my best energy for mothering if I am to have a hope of being the calm and kind mother I need to be to keep the Spirit in our home.  So I keep social media in its place with goals and limits.  I don’t have Facebook set up on my phone, and I gave up on Pinterest pretty quickly for lack of time.  I have even learned that I shouldn’t log into Family Search in the afternoon or my husband will come home to a trashed house, fighting kids and no trace of dinner while I’m glued to the screen.  We shouldn’t neglect the living too much in our excitement over serving the dead, and we must be alert and cautious to avoid missing out on ways to share goodness in real life by becoming too involved in sharing goodness over the internet.
           
When we consider ways to share goodness and truth, we may worry that our contributions will not be mighty and strong but ‘mitey’ like the widow’s mites in Mark 12.  She didn’t have a lot to contribute, but Jesus magnified her offering when He pointed it out to teach a lesson on generosity.  Who could count how many have been blessed because of the way the Lord magnified her example?  I have experienced how the Lord can magnify small and simple offerings of goodness.  He will do that for us all if we invite Him to do so by laying our gifts on the altar.
           
I will close by sharing an experience I had when preparing to teach a Primary class that consisted entirely of ten and eleven year old girls.  I knew these girls would not long remember the individual lessons I taught them, but I felt they might remember an overall theme if I wove it into each lesson.  As I prayed to know what this overarching message should be, I began to see in my mind again and again a picture of myself standing next to my Savior with His arm wrapped around my shoulders.  Although I could not see His features, I knew that He had a big, delighted smile on His face as He looked at me.   I could feel that He was delighted with the good things that I do and that I am, and I knew He felt the same way toward the girls in my class.  He feels the same way about you.  This was the lesson I most needed to teach my class, and it’s a lesson most of us need to be reminded of regularly.  Sisters, have you taken time lately to feel how delighted the Lord is in you?  Have you imagined Him smiling over the good things that you are and that you do, even on days when the not so good parts of yourself have been on display?  Our Savior knows that those not so good parts are going to go away eventually if we keep following Him, so He delights already in the good that will remain and grow.
          
I would guess that everyone here is already sharing goodness in their lives, probably in many ways every day.  Our Savior is already delighted in the good things that we do and that we are.  I hope you won’t leave this session feeling overwhelmed with something else to squeeze into your busy lives.  But if you feel Jesus Christ inviting you to collaborate with Him to share even more goodness, take that step.  He will magnify your offering in beautiful ways.  Working together with Him to share more goodness will bring greater delight to Him and more strength and joy into your life.

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[i] David A. Bednar, “To Sweep the Earth as with a Flood,” address given at BYU Education Week, August, 19, 2014; available at https://www.lds.org/prophets-and-apostles/unto-all-the-world/to-sweep-the-earth-as-with-a-flood?lang=eng; accessed 5 May, 2015.
[ii] Gordon B. Hinckley, One Bright, Shining Hope, (Salt Lake City:  Shadow Mountain, 2006).

[iii] Dennis Rasmussen, “Three Gardens,” Ensign, Apr. 1972, available at https://www.lds.org/new-era/1972/04/three-gardens?lang=eng; accessed 5 May, 2015.

[iv] Spencer W. Kimball, “The Role of Righteous Women,” Ensign, Nov. 1979, 103-4.
[v] David A. Bednar, Increase in Learning, (Salt Lake City:  Deseret Book, 2011).
[vi] Ether 12:27 - And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

Temple Power in This Life

One of the blessings for the Lord’s servants who worship Him in His temple is to “go forth from this house armed with thy power” (D&C 109:22).  While reading this verse several years ago, I realized I could not point to that power in my life.  Although I had attended the temple regularly for years, and although I had hope in an eternal family and other temple blessings in the next life, I felt a need to discover what the power of the temple meant or could mean for me in this life.
         
After studying, pondering, and praying about this for a few years, I am beginning to see temple power in my life.  In fact, spiritual sight, or discernment, is one of the powerful blessings to come through faithful temple attendance.  Discernment is “to understand or know something through the power of the Spirit” (lds.org, The Guide to the Scriptures), and the temple endowment is like an upgraded gift of the Spirit.  In the temple our vision of the spiritual gifts available to us—including discernment—is expanded, and we are taught more about the principles we must live to invite those gifts into our lives now and in eternity.  All of this comes through Jesus Christ.  Just as Jesus does “not judge after the sight of his eyes . . . but with righteousness shall he judge” (Isaiah 11:3), so He can empower us to start to see in His way, which He said is “higher than your ways” (Isaiah 55:9). 
         
The gift of discernment comes as the mighty, or powerful, or full-of-power change of heart (Alma 5:12) progresses in us, and the Lord’s power flows through the Holy Spirit in the temple to help that change along.  It seems like I check out a pair of spiritual glasses when I attend the temple, and those glasses enable me to look at life and people differently.  When I attend the temple regularly, I am able to look on others—especially my family members—and myself with more hope and compassion and less condemnation.  I am able to see the Lord’s hand at work when I might otherwise fail to notice.  I recognize more clearly the consequences of living or not living the principles that Jesus taught.  These glasses have become more powerful over years of temple attendance.
         
For example, as I have studied and shared the stories of my ancestors, my temple glasses have enabled me to discern more about them.  I know through the confirmation of the Spirit in my mind and heart (D&C 8:2) that many of my ancestors are aware of and love me and my family.  This feeling was especially strong one day when I was scanning photos of my paternal grandmother’s parents and uploading them to Family Search.  As I sat in front of the computer and looked at their eyes, I was surrounded with a powerful feeling of love from my great-grandfather Nephi and my great-grandmother Emma, both of whom died before I could get to know them.  From my research I knew already that they loved their children and grandchildren, and that day I learned through the Spirit that their love extended to their great-grandchildren, including me, and to my children as well.  I was reminded that both of them experienced chronic health problems in their lives, and I felt they empathized with the health challenges I experience now.  I could see how they still looked on my grandma as their little girl, even though she is now old and widowed, and I felt they were pleased with my family’s efforts to cheer and honor her in this lonely time of her life. 
   

Emma and Nephi Swenson

       
In the scriptures we are taught that “the faithful . . . continue their labors” (D&C 138:57) in the next life.  Of course that includes missionary work for faithful elders.  When we consider that President Harold B. Lee taught “the most important of the Lord’s work that you will ever do will be the work you do within the walls of your own home” (Strengthening the Home, pamphlet, 1973, p. 7), then we see that the important labor of strengthening family must continue even after death.  Could we really believe that the loving grandmothers who come help at the birth of grandbabies, kiss boo-boos and attend the piano recitals of grandchildren, and who remember the birthdays of dozens of loved ones would just stop this labor of love at death?  President Spencer W. Kimball taught, “God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs” (Gen. Conf. Dec. 1974).  We see even greater truth in his statement when we discern that God often answers our prayers for comfort, guidance and encouragement through our good family members who know and love us but have already passed on to the spirit world.  Of course we do not often see these loved ones, but we may feel their words in our hearts since “angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost” (2 Nephi 32:3).   
         
The power of temple glasses has also helped me be more filled with gratitude by the lives of my ancestors.  As I look at the hundreds of names on a nine generation genealogy fan chart hanging in our home, I am overwhelmed with the realization that every one of the women on that chart had to endure pregnancy and childbirth before my husband and I could have the opportunity to be born.  Many of the men sacrificed physical or mental health as they fought to protect their families and country.  Both women and men endured miserable voyages across the ocean in the 1600’s, 1700’s and 1800’s when they came to America to build better lives for themselves and their families—which include me.  Many of our pioneer ancestors left familiar comforts, sacrificed their own health and even buried children as they journeyed across the plains to answer God’s call and gather with members of their church.  Every opportunity and blessing in my life has come through their work and sacrifice.  My little family today is the fruit of their labors, and I feel them encouraging me to continue to rejoice in and build on the strong foundation they have given us. 
         
The power of discernment flowing through the Lord’s temple has enabled me to better know and love my ancestors and to feel their concern and love for me.  This is a fulfillment of the Lord’s promise to “turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers” (Malachi 4:6).  Through these experiences and others, I can now say with confidence that I see the power of the temple in my life.  The truths I discern with my temple glasses bring strength and joy, and I look forward to continuing to learn more of the Lord and His higher ways through the power of the temple.

Chocolate Cherry Ice Cream and True Love

I glimpsed something beautiful last month.  My elderly neighbor was taken to the hospital in an ambulance after he collapsed at home.  He has endured many serious health challenges over the past year, and his wife has spent many hours sitting with him in hospitals and doctors’ offices.  I visited them in the hospital for a little while and watched as they held hands and talked quietly about what had happened, what might be the cause, and other details.  He did not look anything like a handsome prince as he wheezed in that hospital bed, and I suppose she would not win any traditional beauty contests at this point, but their mutual trust, respect, and tender concern for each other was so beautiful that it brought tears to my eyes.  When health and beauty are gone, when fancy dates and fun vacations are just memories, then we can see past shallow appearances into the foundation of true love.  The lovingkindness of my neighbors is a reflection of God’s love:  “Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love:  therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee” (Jeremiah 31:3).
         
This experience with my neighbors brings to mind a memory of my grandparents from years ago.  With so many failed marriages in our world, the idea of getting married seemed like a scary thing to me when I was in college.  How could someone be patient enough with my many failings to make a marriage work?  How could I get along with my husband when I am naturally stubborn and impatient?  Was it really possible for two imperfect people to build a marriage that was actually happy? 
         
They did not know it, but my grandparents soothed many of my concerns about marriage when they dropped by my college apartment one day and took me out to dinner.  They spent a good portion of the meal engaged in a passionate debate over whether they should have included the cherry juice or just the cherries in their last batch of homemade chocolate cherry ice cream.  As they expressed their differing and sometimes heated opinions on this important issue, I could see past their words to the bond they had developed during their decades of marriage.  I had seen them when they were tired and irritable as well as when they were merry and bright.  I knew they had found joy but also sorrow in their children.  Some things in their lives turned out well, but they also experienced great disappointments.  Grandma spent many years taking the children to church by herself while Grandpa chose to stay home, and then she brought them by herself for many more years when Grandpa came back to church, was quickly called to be a bishop, and had to go early for meetings and sit on the stand.  Their experiences while serving a mission together in Africa exposed their differing preferences and abilities.  When they came home the joke was that Grandpa would have returned to Africa in a minute, while Grandma would have returned for a minute.  Their road included many rough patches, but they chose to stick together through them all.  They had a bond of shared experiences and a deep love that was incredibly beautiful.  Their love had been refined through years of longsuffering together, which is another characteristic of God’s love:  “But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth” (Psalms 86:15).   I watched them and realized that I really, really wanted what they had, even if the road to get to that point was rough at times.   
         
How thankful I am for the example of my grandparents with their chocolate cherry ice cream and their longsuffering love for each other through all the ups and downs of life.  What a sacred experience to see the quiet lovingkindness of my neighbors in a hospital room and be reminded that the most beautiful love can develop after outward beauty fades.  As I continue to work with my husband to build a strong and lasting marriage, I am encouraged by the shining examples of these silver-haired couples.  Their love is a glimpse of heaven, and it is the most beautiful sight I can imagine.

The Errand of Angels

During my sophomore year at Brigham Young University, I signed up for a mentoring program through the local school district. I was assigned to meet each Monday with a fifth-grade boy named Israel Mendoza.  Although I did not at that time have a great love for kids in general, I quickly bonded with this little boy with big brown eyes and a sweet smile.  In addition to working on his math homework, we talked about his life.  Israel told me his family did not have a lot of money, and he was sometimes teased by his classmates because he wore the same sweatshirt to school most days.  I did the best I could to encourage him in his schoolwork and his life.  We were great pals.

         
At my first visit with Israel after Christmas, I learned that his teacher had organized a Sub For Santa type of project for Israel’s family.  Israel was very excited about his new basketball and that he no longer had to wear the same sweatshirt to school every day.  I was delighted to see the big smile on Israel’s face as he talked about the gifts of love that had been given to his family. 
         
After Israel told me about his Christmas, he asked me some deep questions.  He was concerned about whether death was scary and whether God was real.  Since we were in a public school setting, I did not know at first what would be appropriate for me to say.  I finally had the thought to ask him if his family went to church, and Israel said his family was Catholic.  I asked if they believed in Jesus, and he confirmed that they did.  Then I told Israel that death is not scary because we get to be with Jesus up in heaven, and He loves us so much that it will be wonderful to be with Him.  We felt the warmth of Jesus’ love for us as we talked about these questions for about half an hour, and then it was time for me to leave.
         
As I walked back to campus, I realized my visits with Israel were the highlight of my week, so I decided to tell him the next time we met together. Israel was proud of the fact that he was the first kid I had ever mentored, and I could not help but love my angelic boy.  Each time I walked back to campus from his school, I found myself thinking of ways I could keep mentoring him after that year so I could encourage him to continue working hard at school.  I hoped he would go to college and build a happy life for himself.  I had big dreams for my little friend.
         
On the next Monday, I walked to the school as usual and signed in at the office.  I had arrived a little early, so I leaned into the classroom to tell Israel’s teacher that I would wait in the hall until he came in from recess.  She looked at me with a strange expression on her face, and then she said Israel had been killed in a car wreck the past weekend.  I was shocked and heartbroken.  I cried all the way back to campus and often during the next week.
         
At the time, I could only see how sad it was for Israel to die so young.  I still cry when I think about him, especially when I think of how much his mother must miss him.  But as I look back on the experience, I realize the Lord knew Israel was coming to the end of his time in this life.  God did not want this sweet boy to be sad or scared, so He inspired Israel’s teacher to make his last Christmas a wonderful time for his family, and He inspired me with the right words to help Israel feel peace about death instead of fear.   Then He called His boy home.  It was all part of His plan.
         
Jesus taught, “Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14).  I feel the time I spent with Israel was a little taste of heaven, and I know that Israel really is happy with Jesus now.  A favorite hymn states, “The errand of angels is given to women; and this is a gift that, as sisters, we claim” (As Sisters in Zion, LDS Hymnbook, 309).  I believe the Lord sends angels from both sides of the veil to help children.  How grateful I am that the Lord chose to place a young and inexperienced college sophomore into that boy’s life, and that He gave me wisdom beyond my own to act as an angel in preparing Israel for the next step in his journey.