Sunday Thoughts

Every morning as I get ready for work, I listen to a Conference talk or two on my iphone thanks to the Mormon Channel App. I used to download the talks as podcasts, but using the Mormon Channel has made it even easier.

The other morning as I was scrolling through my Conference talk options I went back to 2003 just for the heck of it and listened to Elder Oaks' talk entitled Give Thanks in All Things. There were multiple things in this talk that jumped out at me and made me say "whoa!" because of their pertinence to my life right now (I love it when that happens). 

He said...

“Verily I say unto you my friends, fear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks; … and all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good” (D&C 98:1, 3). And to Joseph Smith in the afflictions of Liberty Jail, the Lord said, “Know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good” (D&C 122:7). Brigham Young understood. Said he, “There is not a single condition of life [or] one hour’s experience but what is beneficial to all those who make it their study, and aim to improve upon the experience they gain” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young [1997], 179).

Pioneers like President John Taylor, who witnessed the murder of their prophet and experienced prolonged persecution and incredible hardships for their faith, praised God and thanked Him. Through their challenges and the courageous and inspired actions they took to meet them, they grew in faith and in spiritual stature. Through their afflictions they became what God desired them to become, and they laid the foundation of the great work that blesses our lives today.

Like the pioneers, we should thank God for our adversities and pray for guidance in meeting them. Through that attitude and through our faith and obedience, we will realize the promises God has given us. It is all part of the plan.

These words were comforting to me this week as I felt crushed by the money woes of our car repair, car registration and untimely Costco renewal (I just shouldn't have renewed it right then). It's easy for me to spiral into negativity in times like this, but I was able to shake it off (eventually) and move forward

**Thoughts??**

Comment Window Tidbit: I got a new calling today (but can't reveal it until I'm sustained next Sunday) and am in disbelief about it. You'll never guess what it is, but you're welcome to try.

Sunday Thoughts

Wasn't General Conference fantastic? Of course, it always is, but I am currently enjoying the broadened perspective and increased spirituality that come following a life trial (iron woes, questioning mortality, etc.,) so I feel more connected to all things spiritual (a great feeling) lately and watched conference with a strong desire to hear what I needed to hear.

I loved Elder Holland's closing talk about how each speaker was inspired by the Lord to choose their own topic, and that not every talk will speak to every person but that there is a talk (or 2 or 10) that will speak to each of us!

I enjoyed several talks this time, but the image that keeps coming to mind for me is from Elder Bednar's talk about revelation. He said...


"I invite you to consider two experiences most of us have had with light.The first experience occurred as we entered a dark room and turned on a light switch. Remember how in an instant a bright flood of illumination filled the room and caused the darkness to disappear. What previously had been unseen and uncertain became clear and recognizable. This experience was characterized by immediate and intense recognition of light.

The second experience took place as we watched night turn into morning. Do you recall the slow and almost imperceptible increase in light on the horizon? In contrast to turning on a light in a dark room, the light from the rising sun did not immediately burst forth. Rather, gradually and steadily the intensity of the light increased, and the darkness of night was replaced by the radiance of morning. Eventually, the sun did dawn over the skyline. But the visual evidence of the sun’s impending arrival was apparent hours before the sun actually appeared over the horizon. This experience was characterized by subtle and gradual discernment of light.

From these two ordinary experiences with light, we can learn much about the spirit of revelation."

After he said these things I realized that I think of revelation in a light-switch, instant illumination kind of way so I have always thought that I don't receive much revelation. But now I see that that kind of revelation is the exception for me while my norm is the so subtly gradual kind of illumination that I don't usually realize it's happening. Maybe this should have been obvious to me, but it wasn't until he described it this way (what can I say, metaphors work for me).

As I have been reading No Doubt About It (please tell me you're going to read it), I've been experiencing increased understanding about my life, what is important and why I am here. I have always been taught the answers to these questions, but recent life experiences (of mine and others) have changed my perspective such that upon reading the words in the book I feel like I finally get it and want to live it. This feels transformatively huge to me and worth going through the horrendous month of iron-related woes (though I definitely prefer this side of the experience).

**Thoughts??**

Comment Window Tidbit: Few things are a delicious as a pending Sunday Nap.

Sunday Thoughts

It was my turn to give our lesson for Family Home Evening a couple weeks ago, and up until 5 minutes before I still wasn't sure what I was going to teach, but then all of the sudden it came to me; it wasn't even one of the ideas I'd been thinking about so I knew it was inspiration.


We ended up discussing the difference between being converted to "the church" (i.e., our ward, our building, our experiences) and being converted to "the gospel" (i.e., The Atonement of Jesus Christ, The Plan of Salvation, The Restoration of the Gospel, etc.). The kids were not familiar with this concept at all and had big eyes as we gave them examples of instances that might shake someone's faith. We explained that if we're not fully converted to the gospel we could lose our faith and fall away, but how if we are fully converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ we can weather the storms that come our way and carry on.

We referred back to Helaman 5:12 (which we memorized a couple months ago as one of our scripture mastery verses). This scripture has become such a part of me and I feel the Spirit every time I recite it.

And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea when all his hail and mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo because of the foundation upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.

It made perfect sense to them, even though it was something they had never had to consider before. And as we discussed the example of how some people lose their testimonies and leave the church when one of their leaders makes bad choices, or when a family member dies suddenly, or if they move to a different ward that doesn't quite feel the same, they came to see that none of those things really matter if you're fully converted to the gospel. Because when you're fully converted, you understand that all people are mortal and get to make their own choices, so if a leader decides to have an affair or to be dishonest in their business dealings or leaves the church, that doesn't mean the gospel isn't true, it just means they exercised their agency and chose for themselves.

We can't say we're converted only when things are going well for us. We have to be converted all the time, then because of that change of heart and strength of belief we can handle (even if it feels like just barely) the trials that come our way.

**Does this make sense to you?
Have you had your faith shaken
How firm is your foundation?**

Comment Window Tidbit: We've got rain and sleet happening outside so it's beginning to feel like winter! Bring on the cozy!

Sunday Thoughts

My brief Sunday thought for today came from our last speaker during Testimony Meeting today. She said, "I am so thankful for trials because they always bring something good. They're like little presents in ugly wrapping paper."

I'm going to remember this as I unwrap mine.

**Thoughts??**

Comment Window Tidbit: I am exhausted from overseeing our first run-through of the primary program today. It's a good thing we have next Sunday to practice and then a Saturday practice after that or I'd be crawling for the hills to hide out.

Sunday Thoughts

{Whitney at the Pioneer Day Parade}

"So where should each of us make our stand? As we demonstrate our devotion to God by our daily acts of righteousness, He can know where we stand. For all of us this life is a time of sifting and refining. We all face trials. Individual members in the early days of the Church were tested and refined when they had to decide if they had the faith . . . to put their belongings in a wagon or a pioneer handcart and travel across the American plains. Some did not have the faith.

Those who did traveled 'with faith in every footstep.' In our time we are going through an increasingly difficult time of refining and testing. The tests are more subtle because the lines between good and evil are being eroded. Very little seems to be sacred in any of our public communication. In this environment we will need to make sure where we stand all of the time in our commitment to eternal truths and covenants."
--James E. Faust, "Where Do I Make My Stand?" Ensign, Nov. 2004, 21

**Thoughts??**

Sunday Thoughts

I woke up late (snooze gone wrong) last Saturday (8:32) and had a moment of reconsidering my desire to attend our 9:00 Relief Society Women's Conference, but then the words to a primary song came into my mind "I will follow God's plan for me, holding fast to His word and His love." (I started rereading The Book of Mormon last week and have been thinking of how the iron rod is the word of God, so it's important to take in all the words I can. This was epiphany #1 for the day.) So I hopped out of bed and raced to get ready. I am not one of the lucky souls who can look decent without showering, so I showered, dressed and put on make-up and got there 9 minutes late but just before the opening prayer was said.


My pen hardly stopped moving over the 2 hours of speakers and music, and at one point I pictured myself sitting there with some of you bloggers lined up on either side of me because as I listened to the speakers I kept thinking of how these things might help you. It was a tender moment for me because I realized that I'm often thinking of things I can say or do to help people I know are struggling, and by being at this meeting I will be better able to do something. That was epiphany #2 for the day.


The speakers all spoke about the trials we face in life, what they've learned from theirs, and how we can better deal with them (definitely an inspired program topic). My notes from these talks could provide Sunday Thoughts posts for the next month, so here is the info from just one of the great talks.

This woman spoke about how our perspective during trials effects how we handle them. She gave the example of getting to go to the Conference Center for a great meeting, but how they came outside to a lot of slushy, wet snow and had a long, long walk to their car. She spent the whole time looking down, trying not to slip and feeling irritated that her feet were so wet and cold.

It wasn't until she got to the car that she finally looked up and saw a miraculously beautiful sky and the snow covered tree branches, then she realized she had missed looking at the temple! She said, "We were going to get to the car either way, but I chose the wrong things to focus on."

She also said...

--We all have losses, health, finances, life, love and so on and will be compensated for those losses in our next life. (It's interesting that no one really has everything. We all have losses, but tend to focus on
--Our challenges are for us to learn how we will handle them; the Lord already knows.
--Trials drive us to our knees.
--What's normal anyway? We can change our perspectives to accept our "New Normal."

She outlined 6 way we can help ourselves, as taken from a talk by Elder Wirthlin.
1. Stop worrying. Have righteous concern, but let it go.
2. Trust in the Lord.
3. Have hope (abiding trust) in the Atonement.
4. Do good (lift others).
5. Commit yourselves to being faithful.
6. Rest in the Lord (we have to humble ourselves to put on the yoke with Jesus. We can't be stiff-necked or prideful and still put on that yoke.) (I think this is a powerful image and is so true. This is a great metaphor for giving our burden away.)


Matthew 11

28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

She added these two steps to Elder Wirthlin's 6

7. Forget yourself and go to work. (Pray to know who you can help or who needs your kindness.)
8. Gratitude--Stop and count your blessings. If we're lacking in one area, focus on the things you DO have. Desire to believe. Don't miss opportunities and blessings because of dwelling on the wrong things.

**What do you think?
Any standout thoughts for you?**