Trust in God

Sometimes we don't understand why God asks us to go through certain things, but usually it makes sense after we put our trust in God and go forward.

I spoke in church a couple weeks ago about trusting in the Lord. Elder Eyring's talk, "Trust in God, then Go and Do," was my source material. What a beautiful lesson about trusting an all-powerful Father in Heaven.

At the beginning of my talk, I held up a dollar bill. One side says, "In God we Trust." Would that the other side said, "And God can trust us."


My favorite part of Elder Eyring's talk says this:

"If you trust God enough to listen for His message in every sermon, song, and prayer in this conference, you will find it. And if you then go and do what He would have you do, your power to trust Him will grow, and in time you will be overwhelmed with gratitude to find that He has come to trust you."

I guess the hard things we go through are little tests...to see if God can trust us.

I Celebrate the Day

The first time that you opened your eyes
did you realize that you would be my Savior

'Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus

Missionary Wisdom

"I write in my journal everyday and have not missed.  I write about what I did each day and I write about how it feels to be a missionary and certain experiences." 

- Elder Elder in Ecuador

I am a seed on a chaff of wheat, it doesn't matter what direction the Lord blows me, I will still go and grow the church there, in hard soil or perfect soil." 

- Elder Dyer in Baltimore

"I think the key to reactivating people is to teach about the temple." 

- Elder Elder in Ecuador

"The degree of care we give to something is a measure of our gratitude for it. For example, if we are grateful for our car, we will take care of it and keep it clean. If we are grateful for the scriptures, we will take care of them and study them and love them. If we are grateful for church, we will prepare wisely for it. If we are grateful for the Savior, we will honor His name through our actions and follow Him." 

- Elder Dyer in Orlando

New Temples

President Monson announced five new temples to be built. View a video compilation of talks from conference here.

A Living Prophet

I am looking forward to General Conference this weekend. Okay, I’m downright excited! How can you not get excited about hearing our very own Living Prophet? 

“Whether by mine own voice, or the voice of my servants, it is the same.” 

Doctrine and Covenants 1:38
 

Janette Hales Beckham shared this story in the April 1996 General Conference: “One day as a neighbor and I were talking about our beliefs, she became curious about what was different about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I told her briefly about the Restoration, and I explained that the restored Church of Jesus Christ has a living prophet today. This really seemed to pique her interest, and she wanted to know what the prophet had said. As I started to tell her about the Doctrine and Covenants and modern revelation, she said, “But what has he said lately?” I told her about general conference and that the Church had a monthly publication with a message from the prophet. Then she got really interested. I was so embarrassed to admit that I hadn’t read the current message. She concluded our conversation by saying, “You mean you have a living prophet and you don’t know what he said?”

I hope I can remember what the prophet has said recently, when asked.

Also, I hope to learn from the prophet’s life - I’m amazed at the lives of service and accomplishment the prophets and apostles lead.

Elder Nelson said something about following the prophet that has stuck with me - “My experience is that once you stop putting question marks behind the prophet’s statements and put exclamation points instead, and do it, the blessings just pour. I never ask myself, ‘When does the prophet speak as a prophet and when does he not?’ My interest has been, ‘How can I be more like him?”  (Lane Johnson, “Russell M. Nelson: A Study in Obedience” January, 1983 Liahona)

In the October 1975 General Conference, President Spencer W. Kimball said, “We hope you have made copious notes of the thoughts that have come to our mind as the Brethren have addressed you. … Many helpful thoughts have been given for the perfection of our own lives, and that, of course, is the basic reason for our coming.”

So, I am going to use this to take notes during conference:

 

Happy Conference Weekend!

Forever Families

I think forever families is one of the most beautiful doctrines in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love the temple and I love that I am sealed to my husband and baby; and to my parents and siblings. I love that we are all connected in a chain - my parents, grandparents, great grandparents. They make me who I am...and without them, I wouldn't be here. Just like searching for the lost lamb was important to Jesus, it is important to me to know who my great great great grandparents are - and to make sure they are sealed to our family chain.

"Every human being who comes to this earth is the product of generations of parents. We have a natural yearning to connect with our ancestors. This desire dwells in our hearts, regardless of age." -Russell M. Nelson, Generations Linked in Love

“The greatest responsibility in this world that God has laid upon us is to seek after our dead." - Joseph Smith (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith (2007), 475.)

Time

I love being home with Jacob. I feel like my time is my own again. Teaching school took almost all my time and gave it to my students. Now that I can choose who to give my time to, I find myself wanting to give it all to the Lord, hoping that he will guide me to who needs it the most.

I was so inspired by this quote given by one of the missionaries in church yesterday:

“A morning prayer and an early search in the scriptures to know what we should do for the Lord can set the course of a day. We can know which task, of all those we might choose, matters most to God and therefore to us. I have learned such a prayer is always answered if we ask and ponder with childlike submission, ready to act without delay to perform even the most humble service.”

Henry B. Eyring, “This Day,” April 2007

“When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives. Our love of the Lord will govern the claims for our affection, the demands on our time, the interests we pursue, and the order of our priorities.”

Ezra Taft Benson, “The Great Commandment—Love the Lord,” April 1988

Parenting: Touching the Hearts of Our Youth

I love my little Jacob so much, sometimes it hurts. I want to cry when he cries! I want to comfort him when he's grumpy. I can't wait for every little milestone. Parenting is such a joy. I only hope I can "be there" every time he needs me.

Profiles of Latter-day-Saints

Mormon.org's new website has been launched! My profile is posted here. You can view profiles for all kinds of LDS people by entering search criteria, and then you can read their stories.

Our True Identity

True Loveliness

So, I've been studying the Book of Mormon, looking for little gems of advice for a new mom. I want to make sure my kids know all the important stuff. Today I got caught up on the phrase "vain imaginations" in 1 Ne 12:18. Elder Holland has given a few talks explaining his view of vain imaginations and I just had to share. Amazing insights.

"A woman not of our faith once wrote something to the effect that in her years of working with beautiful women she had seen several things they all had in common, and not one of them had anything to do with sizes and shapes. She said the loveliest women she had known had a glow of health, a warm personality, a love of learning, stability of character, and integrity. If we may add the sweet and gentle Spirit of the Lord carried by such a woman, then this describes the loveliness of women in any age or time, every element of which is emphasized in and attainable through the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ."  

"In terms of preoccupation with self and a fixation on the physical, this is more than social insanity; it is spiritually destructive, and it accounts for much of the unhappiness women, including young women, face in the modern world. And if adults are preoccupied with appearance—tucking and nipping and implanting and remodeling everything that can be remodeled—those pressures and anxieties will certainly seep through to children. At some point the problem becomes what the Book of Mormon called “vain imaginations.” 11 And in secular society both vanity and imagination run wild. One would truly need a great and spacious makeup kit to compete with beauty as portrayed in media all around us. Yet at the end of the day there would still be those “in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers” as Lehi saw, 12 because however much one tries in the world of glamour and fashion, it will never be glamorous enough."

- Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, "To Young Women" (2005).

"Someone or something is forever telling us we need to be more handsome or more wealthy, more applauded or more admired than we see ourselves as being. We are told we haven’t collected enough possessions or gone to enough fun places. We are bombarded with the message that on the world’s scale of things we have been weighed in the balance and found wanting. 6 Some days it is as if we have been locked in a cubicle of a great and spacious building where the only thing on the TV is a never-ending soap opera entitled Vain Imaginations. 7"

"No one of us is less treasured or cherished of God than another. I testify that He loves each of us—insecurities, anxieties, self-image, and all. He doesn’t measure our talents or our looks; He doesn’t measure our professions or our possessions. He cheers on every runner, calling out that the race is against sin, not against each other. I know that if we will be faithful, there is a perfectly tailored robe of righteousness ready and waiting for everyone, 14 “robes … made … white in the blood of the Lamb.” 15 

- Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, "The Other Prodigal," (2002).

Special

When Lance and I started teaching the 11-12 year old Sunday School class in our ward, we were told about a special member of our class. She always sat on the floor. She drew in her coloring books when she stayed in the class, but as time went on, she wanted to leave class more and more. Most of the time she wanted me to go with her to the bathroom, to the drinking fountain, or outside for some air. Then she started leaving a lot, so that Lance would take over if I was in the middle of teaching so I could go with her. I wished I could help her stay in class, but she didn't like that suggestion, and she didn't really like me! So I prayed that I would be able to really love her, and that she would be able to feel it.

When Lance and I were released from primary, I was called as the Beehive leader. I would still be working with my little friend, just during Young Women's instead of Sunday School. The whole Young Women's presidency and all the advisors had been changed and when we all went to YW for the first time, my little friend peaked her head in and didn't see anyone she recognized - except me. She came over and set up her coloring books and stuffed animals next to my chair. She wanted to sit on my lap and give me a hug. I was surprised that she actually wanted to hug me and talk to me, but grateful.

At mutual she stayed very close to me the whole night. The next Sunday she was excited to see me. A few weeks down the road, she said she wanted to talk to me "one-on-one." She said she wanted to get to know me better because felt like she could trust me. That night I realized that just how sweet and incredible she is. At church, she stayed in class the whole time because I was coloring with her. She told me what colors to use, and pointed where to color, and had a great time telling me what to do.

Last Sunday I spent a lot of time outside with her. She wanted me to help her pick berries from a the fern plants. We talked about Heavenly Father's love and fasting (it was fast Sunday) and how if she could fast for anything she wanted, it would be food. She's always eating.

Wednesday was Young Women's in excellence. Afterward, I walked in to the gym for refreshments, and she ran to me and jumped on me! "Sister Dyer! I just love you so much." She had a huge smile. She wanted to get cupcakes with me. Later on that night she said, "I can't believe I didn't like you before! I just love you so much now. I can't get enough!" I said, "I know you didn't like me in primary - what happened?" she said, "I don't know!"

We ran a couple laps around the church then packed up all her stuffed animals. She loves being outside.

Today I taught the lesson in Beehives, so I told my little friend I wouldn't be able to go outside with her at all. I wasn't sure how things would go, but another leader went with her to get a drink and go to the bathroom. Other than those two trips, she stayed in class the whole time. She wanted to hear my lesson, I was told me afterward. I am in awe! She never stays in class the whole time.

The Lord has blessed me with a special relationship with one of His precious children, and I am very undeserving. She told me today that she was in a terrible mood and only came to church because I would be there. What have I done to deserve the love of this little girl? I didn't do very much. Now she's my little friend and I really do love her. I kept praying to be able to love her, but it just took a little patience and time. My experiences with her have shown me how amazing Heavenly Father's love really is. It's a lot easier for me to love her now that she loves me, but Heavenly Father loves all his children, even those who do not love Him. How thankful I am for Heavenly Father's love.

Thankful

Thank you for bringing freedom loving people to this land.

"And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters." 1 Nephi 13:13

Thank you for supporting them in our country's founding war.

"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was ^awith them. And I beheld that their mother Gentiles were gathered together upon the waters, and upon the land also, to battle against them. And I beheld that the power of God was with them, and also that the wrath of God was upon all those that were gathered together ^aagainst them to battle. And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity were ^adelivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations." 1 Nephi 13:16-19

Thank you for teaching the principles of government to our forefathers.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." The Declaration of Independence

Thank you for creating the constitution of the United States of America.

"According to the laws and ^aconstitution of the people, which I have suffered to be established, and should be maintained for the ^brights and protection of all flesh, according to just and holy principles; That every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral ^aagency which I have given unto him, that every man may be ^baccountable for his own sins in the day of ^cjudgment. Therefore, it is not right that any man should be in ^abondage one to another. And for this purpose have I established the ^aConstitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the ^bshedding of blood." Doctrine and Covenants 101: 77-80

Thank you for the freedom that I sometimes take for granted.

My country,' tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing;
land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrims' pride, 
from every mountainside let freedom ring! 

Thank you for letting me vote for honest and wise leaders.

"I, the Lord God, make you ^afree, therefore ye are free indeed; and the law also maketh you free. Nevertheless, when the ^awicked ^brule the people mourn. Wherefore, ^ahonest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil." Doctrine and Covenants 98:8-10

Thank you for letting me choose where I go to church.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." The First Amendment

Thank you for letting the restoration of your church take place here.
"Our Father in Heaven planned the coming forth of the Founding Fathers and their form of government as the necessary great prologue leading to the restoration of the gospel. Recall what our Savior Jesus Christ said nearly two thousand years ago when He visited this promised land: “For it is wisdom in the Father that they should be established in this land, and be set up as a free people by the power of the Father, that these things might come forth” (3 Ne. 21:4). America, the land of liberty, was to be the Lord’s latter-day base of operations for His restored church." Ezra Taft Benson

Thank you for a continuing to lead our country.

"Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be ^afree from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but ^bserve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written." Ether 2:12

Thank you for letting me make my own choices, even if they aren't always the right ones.

Therefore, ^acheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are ^bfree to ^cact for yourselves—to^dchoose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life." 2 Nephi 10:23

Thank you for freedom - when you created our country, but most of all when you created us.

"Wherefore, men are ^afree according to the ^bflesh; and ^call things are ^dgiven them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to ^echoose ^fliberty and eternal ^glife, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be ^hmiserable like unto himself." 2 Nephi 2:27

Jewel Making

D&C 101: 1-4 “Verily I say unto you, concerning your brethren who have been afflicted… I, the Lord, have suffered the ^aaffliction to come upon them… Yet I will own them, and they shall be ^amine in that day when I shall come to make up my jewels. Therefore, they must needs be ^achastened and tried, even as ^bAbraham, who was commanded to offer up his only son. For all those who will not ^aendure chastening, but ^bdeny me, cannot be sanctified.”

Zechariah 13:9 “And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will ^arefine them as silver is refined, and will ^btry them as gold is ^ctried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.”

D&C 136: 31 “My people must be ^atried in all things, that they may be prepared to receive the glory that I have for them, even the glory of Zion; and he that will not ^cbear chastisement is not worthy of my kingdom.”

Isa. 48: 10 “Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the ^afurnace of ^baffliction.” Alma 34: 29 “Therefore, if ye do not remember to be ^acharitable, ye are as dross, which the refiners do cast out, (it being of no worth) and is trodden under foot of men.”

Zech. 9: 16  “And the Lord their God shall ^asave them in that ^bday as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the ^cstones of a crown, lifted up as an ^eensign upon his land.”

Romans 8:16-18 “The Spirit itself beareth ^awitness with our ^bspirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; ^aheirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we ^bsuffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the ^asufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the ^bglory which shall be revealed ^cin us.”

Mosiah 5: 7 “And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are ^bchanged through faith on his name; therefore, ye are ^cborn of him and have become his ^dsons and his daughters.”

Mosiah 15: 10-13 “When his soul has been made an offering for ^bsin he shall see his seed… And who shall be his seed?  Behold I say unto you, that whosoever has heard the words of the ^aprophets, … and believed that the Lord would redeem his people… these are his seed, or they are the heirs of the kingdom of God. For these are they whose sins ^ahe has borne; these are they for whom he has died, to redeem them from their transgressions.”

D&C 132:19 “Exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds forever and ever.”

Moses 1: 39 “For behold, this is my ^awork and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”

God’s Glory is jewel making

Isa. 62:3 “Thou shalt also be a ^acrown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.

We are children of Christ, His followers and His jewels. When we are exalted, we will bring Him glory. If glory is a continuation of seeds forever and ever, then the highest glory we can give to our Savior is to be exalted.

Thank Goodness for Maps

I have been totally and completely reliant on maps.google.com since we moved to Arizona. I feel so much more confident about going someplace if I have checked google maps, printed out the directions, and checked the street view to see what side of the street it’s on:

I’m starting to recognize some streets, and memorize if they go north/south or east/west. I’m becoming more familiar with the different kinds of streetlights and road markings. Sometimes I feel like this is a different country because when you drive south towards Mexico, the signs change from miles to kilometers and meters:

I would not feel very comfortable going somewhere in this new city without checking a map, getting a little guidance first. Thank goodness for guidance in life’s journey too. Elder Nelson said,

“[God] provided a guide—a spiritual road map—to help us achieve success in our journey. We call that guide the standard works, so named because they—the Holy Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price—constitute the standard by which we should live. They serve as a standard of reference, as are standards of time, weights, and measures that are kept in national bureaus of standards.” (Living by Spiritual Guidance)

I am totally and completely reliant on my spiritual guides. Without them, I would often be lost. Thank goodness for maps in the scriptures. Elder Nelson calls these maps “the standard by which we should live.” Elder Bednar calls them “patterns:”

“A pattern is a plan, model, or standard that can be used as a guide for repetitively doing or making something. And the scriptures are full of spiritual patterns. Typically, a scriptural pattern is broader and more comprehensive than a connection. In the Doctrine and Covenants we find patterns for preaching the gospel, for avoiding deception, for constructing temples … and for a variety of other purposes.” (Elder Bednar – A Reservoir of Living Water)

The patterns and guides in the scriptures help and comfort me when I feel nervous or anxious or unsure. So do all the people who love me. I’m thankful for parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, friends, cousins and teachers for leading and guiding me. Most of all, I’m thankful that the Lord answers my prayers when I seek guidance.

“For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy ^aname’s sake lead me, and guide me.” (Psalm 31:3) 

This scripture reminds me of “I am a child of God…and so my needs are great. Help me to understand his words, before it grows to late. Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, help me find the way. Teach me all that I must do, to live with Him someday.”

“Be thou ^ahumble; and the Lord thy God shall lead thee by the hand, and give thee answer to thy prayers.” (Doctrine and Covenants 112:10)

I know the Lord is extending his hand to us, to lead us and comfort us.

Love to everyone who reads this!

“The desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose”

I walked around the neighborhood this morning and was stunned by all the pretty plants that I hadn’t noticed before. It’s interesting how you notice things when you’re walking and not when you’re driving.

I thought I was in the desert, where nothing grows and nothing blooms, but there so many gorgeous plants blooming in all the neighbor’s yards that it gives me hope! Maybe I can grow something here after all.

I thought of Isaiah’s prophesy that “the wilderness and the ^asolitary place shall be ^bglad for ^cthem; and the ^ddesert shall rejoice, and ^eblossom as the rose” (Isaiah 35:1).

Isaiah was talking about the day of restoration, building Zion, and Christ coming again – how the Lord would prosper Zion even though it seemed impossible, impossible like growing things in the desert. As the Saints gathered during the early church, this prophesy was fulfilled. In Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord uses the same language as Isaiah’s prophecy to reprimand the Saints who were nervous about giving up their possessions for Zion:

“Let them repent of all their sins, and of all their covetous desires, before me, saith the Lord; for what is ^aproperty unto me? …For have I not the fowls of heaven, and also the fish of the sea, and the beasts of the mountains? Have I not ^amade the earth? Do I not hold the ^bdestinies of all the armies of the nations of the earth?

“Therefore, will I not make ^asolitary places to bud and to ^bblossom, and to bring forth in abundance?

“… Is there not room enough on the mountains of ^aAdam-ondi-Ahman, … that you should covet that which is but the drop, and neglect the more weighty matters? Therefore, come up hither unto the land of my people, even Zion” (Doctrine and Covenants 117:4-9)

Nothing is impossible with to the Lord. If he can make the desert blossom as a rose, he can make us prosperous even when we seem to be in a desert. After all, He holds the destinies of the armies and nations of earth, He created the earth – we don’t need to worry about “drops” as small as property, cars, clothes, finances, 10% of our income – as long as we follow Him.

The Lord will take care of all the “drops” in our lives, if we will devote ourselves to the “weightier matters.”

Acting in Faith, Mailing the Letter

I substitute taught Lance’s mother’s seminary class last week, and as usual, I think I learned more than the students did.

I covered the book of Hebrews. I ended with a discussion about faith from chapter 11. Paul wrote to all the Jewish Christians about acts of faith from men and women in their scriptures (the Old Testament – they didn’t have the New Testament yet, it was still being written). Paul started by defining faith, a very similar definition to the one Alma gave:

Heb. 11:1 Now ^afaith is the ^bsubstance of things ^choped for, the ^devidence of things not seen.

Alma 32:21 ^aFaith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye ^bhope for things which are ^cnot seen, which are true.

James taught that faith isn’t just a mere hope, it is accompanied by works, or an action: “I will shew thee my ^afaith by my ^bworks” (James 2:18).

The seminary manual had a GREAT illustration of faith:

When you go to the post office, and drop a letter in the mail to your brother, you are showing faith that will be delivered. You aren’t actually going to see the letter as it is loaded onto an airplane, flown across the country and delivered by a post man to your brother’s mail box. However, you mail the letter – an act of faith – because you know that it will be delivered. How do you know? Maybe you had a previous experience with mailing a letter and it was successful. Maybe trusted friends have testified to you about the result of mailing a letter.

It was so fun to apply the “mailing the letter” definition to the examples of faith that Paul lists in Hebrews 11.

Heb 11:7 By faith ^aNoah, being ^bwarned of God of things not seen as yet, ^cmoved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the ^drighteousness which is by faith.

When did Noah “mail the letter,” or show his faith? He acted in faith when he built the ark. He “mailed the letter” – followed God’s commandment to build an ark because his previous experiences had taught Him that when he obeyed God’s commandments, he was blessed.

Heb 11:8 By faith ^aAbraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an ^binheritance, ^cobeyed; and he went out, not ^dknowing whither he went.

When did Abraham act in faith, or “mail the letter”? When he obeyed God to leave his home and wander in the wilderness. What was the evidence that “the letter was received” – that his act of faith led to a result that could not be seen at first? When God blessed him with a land of inheritance.

Sometimes by following God’s commandments, we feel like we are wandering in the wilderness. This strange desert land that I am now living in feels very wilderness-like, but I know I’m supposed to be here. From experience, I know that the Lord takes care of those who keep his commandments.

Ye Are My Friends

 I just finished reading Villette by Charlotte Bronte. It is a remarkable novel that illustrates profoundly the pain and despair that come from friendlessness – yet also the joy found in even the tiniest of friendships.

After a difficult childhood of abandonment and loss, Lucy Snow feels that no one loves her, and that the future would yield no such love. She becomes an English Teacher at a French girls’ school, and experiences a painful summer all alone at the school – the schoolmistress, other teachers, and pupils leave for vacation. Lucy becomes sick and bed-ridden. A stormy day intensifies Lucy’s despair:

"I do not know … why the raging storm and beating rain crushed me with a deadlier paralysis than I had experienced while the air remained serene: but so it was; and my nervous system could hardly support what it had for so many days and nights to undergo in that huge, empty house. How I used to pray to heaven for consolation and support! ... Methought the well-loved dead, who had loved me well in life, met me elsewhere, alienated: galled was my inmost spirit with an unutterable sense of despair about the future. Motive there was none why I should try to recover or wish to live;" (Villette, p.157-158)Bronte wrote as if she personally knew this emotion. And she’s not the only one to have described loneliness as “paralyzing” and “crushing.” Elder Holland recently described the Savior’s suffering using similar words:

"I speak of those final moments for which Jesus must have been prepared intellectually and physically but which He may not have fully anticipated emotionally and spiritually—that concluding descent into the paralyzing despair of divine withdrawal when He cries in ultimate loneliness, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (None Were with Him, Elder Holland)

The imagery of the wine-press helps us understand a bit more the depth of the pain our Savior endured. Those who have felt the crushing and paralyzing pain of despair, abandonment and loneliness in their lives certainly understand, in a small way, more of what Christ felt in Gethsemane and at Calvary.

"I speak of the Savior’s solitary task of shouldering alone the burden of our salvation. Rightly He would say: “I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me … I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold [me].”¹ … He ventured into the Garden of Gethsemane alone. Falling on His face in prayer, “sorrowful … unto death,”⁸ the record says, His sweat came as great drops of blood⁹ as He pled with the Father to let this crushing, brutal cup pass from Him." (None Were with Him, Elder Holland)Truly, the Savior felt all of what humankind is capable of feeling, and also knows what will bring relief to each kind of pain. The author of the character Lucy Snow understood well what would cure her protagonist:

“The mere relief of communication in an ear which was human and sentient, yet consecrated—the mere pouring out of some portion of long accumulating, long pent-up pain into a vessel whence it could not he again diffused—had done me good. I was already solaced." (Villette, p.162) If only a listening ear is required, a warm heart, someone willing to comfort, what greater undertaking can we aspire to than a friend? That is what Christ is to us, our greatest friend. He offers us His comfort, His peace, His embrace, His friendship when we are friendless. It shouldn’t be a one-sided friendship either – Elder Holland said we must be a friend to the Savior, by being His disciple; following Him.

 “These scenes of Christ’s lonely sacrifice … must never be reenacted by us. He has walked alone once. Now, may I ask that never again will He … find only unresponsive onlookers when He sees you and me along His Via Dolorosa in our present day…May we declare ourselves to be more fully disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.” (None Were with Him, Elder Holland)

Why Eggs and Easter Bunnies?

This weekend I wondered why we celebrate the resurrection of Christ with dyed eggs and the Easter Bunny. I did a little investigative work on Wikipedia and the history channel website. I learned about some pagan influences, symbols, the connection to Passover, and mostly I learned about Christ. All things testify of Him!

Pagan Influences

It seems to me like a few of our holidays have been influenced by traditional pagan celebrations. Even the origin of the name “Easter” supposedly comes from a Germanic pagan goddess “Eostre,” who had a month in the Anglo-Saxon calendar named after her – the month that we call April. Celebrations for this goddess during the springtime included feasts and perhaps even eggs and hares.

Symbols of New Life

The ancient Germanic egg and hare symbols were most likely brought to the United States in the 1700s by Germanic settlers. Their children would make nests which would be filled over night with colorful eggs by the mythical egg-laying Easter bunny or "Oschter Haws."

Eggs have long symbolized new life and it is logical that they would be used to celebrate springtime, along with the newly hatched chicks. Some say that the egg represents Christ’s emergence from the tomb.

Rabbits are known to be “prolific procreators,” also appropriate animals to celebrate the coming of spring and new life.

These symbols that we use in our celebration of Christ’s Resurrection are certainly appropriate as we celebrate that all will be resurrected because Christ conquered death.

My History Mind…

Most of the original converts to Christianity were raised Jewish. They were used to celebrating Passover every year, a feast which commemorated the Israelites’ feast in Egypt before they were freed from enslavement. Christ’s last supper was most likely a Passover Seder, or dinner.

Then, when Christ died and fulfilled the Jewish prophesies that a Messiah would come and die like the “paschal lamb” (a symbolic part of their Passover feast), Christians began to celebrate His death and resurrection with an Easter feast instead of a Passover feast. In other languages, Easter is translated as a derivative of the word Passover.

Evidence that early Christians switched from celebrating Passover to Easter is found in 1st Corinthians 5:7-8:

^aPurge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are ^bunleavened. For even Christ our ^cpassover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the ^afeast, not with old ^bleaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of ^csincerity and truth.

New Life

I’m thankful that Jesus Christ condescended below all pains, sorrows, afflictions, and a terrible death, in order to more fully understand our pains and sorrows. I’m thankful that he then rose from the tomb, triumphant over death!

This beautiful Easter season, as we celebrate the new life that Spring brings after a long, dark winter, I am thankful that though all things die, in Christ, all things shall be made alive. The trees outside my window that lost their leaves will soon be bursting with green and life. All things truly do testify of Christ:

“All things denote there is a God; yea, even the ^bearth, and ^call things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its ^dmotion, yea, and also all the ^eplanets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator.” (Alma 30: 44)

I think that our creator gave us the seasons of the year to remind us that though the winter is fierce, dark, cold and lonely, with dying plants and flowers without bloom, springtime will come. Though our loved ones die, resurrection will come. As Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin put it, Sunday will come.

“Each of us will have our own Fridays—those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays. But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death—Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come. No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, Sunday will come. In this life or the next, Sunday will come. I testify to you that the Resurrection is not a fable. We have the personal testimonies of those who saw Him. Thousands in the Old and New Worlds witnessed the risen Savior. They felt the wounds in His hands, feet, and side. They shed tears of unrestrained joy as they embraced Him.” (“Sunday Will Come”)