Remembering Dec 26, 2004 Tsunami

Monday night, we chanced upon a program called The Passionate Eye.  It was airing an episode entitled Tsunami Caught on Camera, a compilation of videos of survivors of the 2004 Tsunami that began as a result of a 9.3 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Indonesia.  The Tsunami hit 14 countries and had a death toll of approximately 230000 people-a great deal more than the approx 20000 deaths from the Tsunami in Japan this past April. 

The footage and testimonials from the survivors is bone-chilling, terrifying, and devastating.  I cried almost the whole program, just watching the people get swept away by the water and knowing that they most likely died.  It makes me so grateful to live where I do, far away from any coast or large earthquake activity.  Here are just a few pictures of the devastation:

A stirring reminder that we are subject to powers greater than ourselves.


Until next time,
-J

Idols

I don't know whether it's because my students and I were discussing Moses and the Israelites the last little bit, or it's just something that has stuck with me, but the topic of idols has been in my head.  The dictionary defines an idol as:

1.an image or other material object representing a deity to which religious worship is addressed.

2.Bible .a. an image of a deity other than God.

b. the deity itself.

3.any person or thing regarded with blind admiration, adoration, or devotion: Madame Curie had been her childhood idol.

4.a mere image or semblance of something, visible but without substance, as a phantom.

5.a figment of the mind; fantasy. 

Upon the word idol being stuck in my head, I thought of all the ways we use it.  Teen idol, pop idol, American idol, Oktoberfest idol, immunity idol (Survivor), the list goes on!

The encouragement of these things or people being idols comes from, essentially, the mass media.  Magazines like People, OK!, Star, HELLO!, In Touch, Star, US Weekly, and Vanity Fair, all share intimate details of celebrities lives, and people actually buy these magazines and read them.  


People (myself unfortunately included) religiously watch tv shows that have no real substance and, more often than not, portray things like pre-marital sex, drug and alcohol abuse, and violence as normal and accepted.  When our 'idols' do something in a magazine or on tv, we may be persuaded that what they do is ok for us too.

So think about what idols you follow and whether they are worthy of your attention or if you should leave them behind and do as Moses pleads in Deuteronomy 4:15-16 "Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves...Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female".

Until next time,

-J

 

Letting Go

"We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the life that is waiting for us" 

--Joseph Campell

"'We hold fast by letting go.'  Letting go of our attempts to control things, our attempts to maintain control over every aspect of our life.  We've all heard the saying about if we love something, we should let it go, and then we'll know whether it 'belongs' to us when we see whether it comes back to us.  So much of our discontent and our dissatisfaction comes from our unwillingness to let go of trying to control things and trying to cause just the results that we think should occur." --Tom Walsh

Sometimes you have a plan.  Sometimes that plan means the world to you.  Sometimes you think that you cannot possibly live unless that plan comes to fruition.  Sometimes that plan is wrong.  Sometimes you need to let go of that plan in order to see another plan that is in front of you.  Sometimes we forget that there are greater things at work in our lives other than ourselves.

There are people who have come and gone in my life who I have wanted to hang on to.  People who I thought would be by my side forever.  When I was younger, I lived in denial.  I could not believe that they were actually gone and that they were not coming back.  So I continued to communicate with them as if they were here.  As I have gotten older, I have made similar mistakes, hanging onto friendships and relationships that were destined to fall apart.  

And now, now I try my hardest to let go.  I try my hardest to find peace in knowing that they are happy, even if that happiness does not come from me.  I try my hardest to believe that something or someone will come along that will not want to let me go.  

I need to stop trying to control my destiny and need to accept that my life is not my own.  "Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it." Luke 17:33.  I am losing myself in the work that I am called to do, and thus I am finding myself more deeply than I ever have before.  So let go.  Be patient.  Have faith.  There is a plan for you and this plan is the right plan.  Lose yourself in the work and you will find peace.

Until next time,

-J

Florida Trip

The lack of posting recently has come from my 10-day vacation in Florida (you're jealous!).  Our trip consisted of Christmas shopping, regular shopping, unnessesary shopping (lots of shopping!), going to St. Petersberg Beach, Disney Village, visiting the Orlando temple, sunbathing, and going out to various places to eat.  It was a good, relaxing time.  It was nice to know that I had no responsibilities while I was away so I got to relax.  Here are some pictures from our trip:

Orlando Temple

Orlando Temple

Hooked on Jesus

The one above it says "Dear Jesus, I love you, Love God"  The one I managed to get is "U + God = :)" Only in America LOL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First live cockroach I have ever seen.  So gross!!  They're everywhere down south!

So, essentially sky writing about God and the "Hooked on Jesus" things pretty much made my day.  They're hilarious!  Also, I got to see my first live cockroach (so disgusting).  They're everywhere down south and I just happened to see this one while I was outside one night.  Nasty little things. 

As for the highlight of my trip, I would have to say it was the Temple.  I now have a second US temple added to my list (Palmyra being the first) and that brings my temple tally (I like to keep track) up to 6 temples that I've done baptisms in.  Boo yeah! 

My mom and aunt went to do an endowment session while I headed to do baptisms.  Originally, I was supposed to be joining a group of 25 youth from the area in a baptismal session.  There were two other girls there (ironically from Cardston, AB) who were on vacation and would be joining in as well.  Well, the group never showed up so the temple workers decided that they would scrounge up some priesthood holders and do a session with just the three of us.  And they did!  We got to go down to the baptistry and the temple president and matron came down and spoke with us for about 10 minutes and then we did our session.  It only lasted about half an hour, but it was a very special experience for me.  I was really grateful for it. 

I've been extremely blessed with many opportunities to go to the temple recently.  I went once in September, once in October, and on top of my experience in Orlando, I'm going to the Toronto temple this weekend for the temple conference.  Four times in 3 months?  Not bad at all.  I'm grateful that we have temples so close! 

Also, this week I started a new job at Concierge Home Services, cleaning residential houses.  It has more consistent hours and I get to work on my own or with just one other person so it's pretty good.  Not that I don't like customer service, it's just nice having a break from that.  I'm still working for Subway a bit while they are training new people so I'm still pretty busy, but things are going well. 

Until next time,
-J

After the Trial of Your Faith

"And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith."--Ether 12:6

The past few weeks have indeed been a trial of my faith.  As I stated in my last post, it finally reached a boiling point and I was having a hard time getting rid of the rage I felt inside of me.  A few things happened this week to help me dispel it, and help me see the bigger picture.  I also think I know why this trial happened.

First of all, I received an angry message from a friend I was fighting with.  He quoted some scripture to me that really incensed me, but I decided that I would humble myself enough to read the scriptures and really think about it rather than responding negatively.  Once read in context, they spoke some words that I needed to hear.  This scripture, read in context, actually helped the situation, rather than make me even more mad.

Secondly, I had another scripture come into my mind that I dwelt on.  It is from the Sermon on the Mount, and it was a really powerful tool in changing my attitude.

Thirdly, institute on Wednesday night was particularly great.  I always enjoy our class, but this week, the things we spoke about really touched me and helped me hear what I needed to hear.  We were reading in 2 Nephi 31, verses 20 and 21.  What really stood out to me were the phrases, "feasting upon the word of Christ" and "endure to the end".  I realized that I was more "nibbling" than "feasting" upon the words of Christ.  Even though I have been studying hard to teach my seminary class, I had figured that I would count that as my personal study as well.  However, I realized that I needed to do separate personal study as well to keep up with my Book of Mormon class and it made a huge difference once I started reading separately.

Fourthly, I had the opportunity to go to the temple yesterday and do baptisms.  We joined a small youth group from Vermont, and it was a great experience.  For two of the people who came, it was their first time attending the temple and I was able to speak with them about the process and bear testimony of the work with them.  It was an amazing day.

Lastly, I realized just before arriving at the temple that I had a question I needed answered.  I prayed in the temple about it, I thought about it after, I had someone ask me about it, I ended up listening to a Relief Society podcast about it, and stake conference spoke about it as well (at least to me it did).  Something clicked inside of me that said, this is why the adversary has been doing a number on you the last few weeks.  He was trying to prevent you from seeking after this blessing and he wanted you to harbour resentment and anger so that you couldn't receive revelation.  But because I attended my meetings, because I continued to pray and read my scriptures, because I attended the temple, in short, because I endured, the Lord has blessed me with some personal revelation.

1 Peter 1:7 says "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:".  This trial of my faith was indeed a blessing in disguise.  Sometimes the adversary works extra hard on you when he knows that good things are coming your way because of your valiance.  But, as you continue to feast upon the words of Christ, pray, and endure to the end, I know that you will come out on top.  The Atonement is there as an amazing tool for us.  This I know with all my heart and I am grateful for the trials that I have experienced in the last few weeks.  I am grateful for the personal revelation I have received because I endured. This Gospel is perfect and can help you withstand any trial that comes your way.  This I know to be true.

Until next time,
-J

Solutions Welcome

Of late there have been multiple instances where I have had to ignore my immediate feelings to retaliate to the negativism that has been sent in my way and instead, respond in a mature, non-threatening way.  This required Hurculean effort on my part.  I take great pride in being able to defend my arguments and myself through intelligent and cohesive defense, so to not defend myself, to me, feels like giving up.  I hate that feeling.  I have been suffering with feelings of anger and frustration, mostly because I can't say what I want to say to the people I want to say it to, and it's getting all bottled up inside of me.  I'm frustrated with myself for not being able to let this all go.  I should be able to let it slide off my shoulders and forget about it, but I can't for some reason.  I know that the adversary can gain a hold very easily when there is anger in your heart, so I am trying very hard to be at peace.  However, I can't seem to block out the negative influx from other sources.  I have been praying for strength, praying for peace, and reading my scriptures, but my anger continues to be kindled.  I cannot seem to find a lasting solution to this problem.  So what I am asking is, is there any productive outlet that you can recommend to me to rid myself of these feelings of anger and frustration?  I welcome any and all solutions.


Until next time,
-J

It is a Hard Thing

In seminary this week we spoke about desires.  We spoke about identifying the difference between a righteous desire and a worldly desire.  Coincidentally, I've spoken with a few people this week that have also brought this subject to my mind and I feel the need to write about it. 

First off, identifying your righteous desires.  Consider Abraham and the things he desired:

"And, finding there was greater happiness and peace and rest for me, I sought for the blessings of the fathers, and the right whereunto I should be ordained to administer the same; having been myself a follower of righteousness, desiring also to be one who possessed great knowledge, and to be a greater follower of righteousness, and to possess a greater knowledge, and to be a father of many nations, a prince of peace, and desiring to receive instructions, and to keep the commandments of God, I became a rightful heir, a High Priest, holding the right belonging to the fathers." (Abraham 1:2)

Abraham wanted to receive the Priesthood, possess great knowledge, be a great follower of righteousness, be a father of many nations, be a prince of peace, receive instructions, and to keep the commandments of God.  All of these things are righteous desires.  If I were to apply this scripture to myself, this is how I would interpret these desires:

-Live worthy of the Holy Ghost
-Seek after life-long learning
-Attend all my church meetings and fulfill my callings to the best of my ability
-Become a spouse, and then a mother of righteous offspring
-Soothe contention and attempt to resolve conflict peacefully
-Be open to personal revelation and be willing to act upon it
-Do all the things the Lord wants me to do

I do have all of these desires and I know that they are righteous.  Thus, I can know that the Lord will help me to obtain them.  If I ask Him for help and do all that I can, no righteous desire of my heart will go unrecognized.  Let me quote a few scriptures to help our understanding:

“And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you.” (3 Ne. 18:20.)

“But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.

“When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice; … He will not forsake thee.” (Deut. 4:30–31.)

The main point I wish to emphasize in these scriptures is that it takes more than good intentions to receive blessings from the Lord.  Not only do you need the desires, you need to let them "work in you" (Alma 32:27) to the point where you are brought to action.  It is not enough to just believe that we will receive. "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." (James 2:26).  The only way that we can receive continual instruction from the Lord about how to live our lives and accomplish our righteous desires is if we accept that revelation/prompting and follow through with action.  

Many may be tempted with saying "it is a hard thing" (1 Nephi 3:5) that is required of us, i.e. to come to action and do what we need to do to accomplish our righteous desires, but I remind you that "With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible." (Mark 10:27).  Whatever it is you are struggling with, whether it be schooling, dating, your job, your church calling, if you have righteous desires concerning these things, the Lord will help you if you ask Him to help you.  And, once you ask and He gives you direction, act on that direction.  Remember Nephi:

 

"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." (1 Nephi 3:7 emphasis added)

I know that as we seek after the things of righteousness and stop waiting on the road to damascus, acting in faith, we can receive the desires of our hearts.  This I know to be true.

Until next time,

-J