Getting Answers

Before General Conference I made a list of questions I wanted answered. I remember close to 10 years ago when an Institute teacher taught me to do this and promised we'd receive the answers we were looking for.

This year my list was a little longer and a little more specific. Some things have been bothering me lately and I wanted to know what I needed to be doing to overcome that. The first talk on Saturday morning I loved. The talk that followed addressed one of the things on my list and I was excited to receive more answers. However, my energy slowed as talk after talk came and I felt like it wasn't what I was looking for. It wasn't until Elder Hales' talk in the Sunday morning session I felt like I got another answer.

He said, "We may not know when or how the Lord's answers will be given, but in His time and His way, I testify, His answers will come." As I was thinking about me not receiving my answers, that stuck out to me and I realized that I didn't have to get all the questions listed on my paper answered right now. None of my questions were really about enduring trials, which I feel a lot of his talk focused on, but it was still what I needed to hear, in my circumstance.

A couple of my favorites from his talk-

"What, then, does it mean to wait upon the Lord? In the scriptures, the word wait means to hope, to anticipate, and to trust. To hope and trust in the Lord requires faith, patience, humility, meekness, long-suffering, keeping the commandments, and enduring to the end."

"Waiting upon the Lord means pondering in our hearts and 'receiv[ing] the Holy Ghost' so that we can know 'all things what [we] should do."

I just loved this, because even though I've had my recent learning experience of having patience through trials and trusting in God, I need to use those same tools to get personal answers. And with the companionship of the Holy Ghost, I can know all things what I should do.

So this talk brought me a lot of relief. While watching Conference I felt this pressure that I needed to get everything on my list answered or else I must not have listened closely enough. But during Elder Hales talk I felt like I got my answer to everything, even though they weren't direct answers. Keep living righteously. Be patient. Look and listen for answers.

I was at church the next Sunday when I received a Relief Society flier and I got really excited! It was soliciting for a meeting that Tuesday where the whole theme fit one of the things on my list. I felt, "Perfect!" This is where I am going to get my answers.

During the meeting Tuesday I listened for the spirit to nudge me on what I needed to do. And I am happy to report in one of the workshops I felt inspired to do two things and received a handout I'd still like to read through and see if there is anything else I need to hear.

So basically, I am grateful for General Conference twice a year where I feel a little more pressured to evaluate my life and see if there are any questions I'd like answered. To listen to a living prophet and apostles speak inspired words. And to be worthy to have the Holy Ghost to teach me and give me all the answers I need.

Clear Mind

So I've had a big learning month. I felt my testimony strengthened in a variety of ways. Yesterday was where everyone is given the opportunity to share their testimony during sacrament meeting. I felt like I needed to, so I thought about everything I have gained a deeper insight of or appreciation for. I prayed before going to church, that I would have the spirit with me to know what to say, and if or when I should go up to share.

Well our family left for church, but while the deacons were passing the sacrament our kids started their wiggles. And they kept it up, and it escalated. And my patience was doing the opposite. I was getting frustrated and felt the spirit leaving me. Testimonies started and after a minute of silence, my kids bothering me, I figured it was a good time for me to go ahead and get up.

I got up there, and my thoughts from before of things I've learned went cloudy. I couldn't focus. I didn't just turn around and walk back down :) but I didn't get to share the things I wanted to. Maybe some people were hopefully able to get something out of it, but it was a quick learning experience for me. The spirit keeps our minds clear and focused; it helps us to know what to say, and I didn't have it with me as much as I would have liked. Next time I need to wait until I am not flustered with my children and the spirit prompts me to get up. Testimony doesn't have the same power or effect when I don't.

Dissemble

There is a hymn we sing often and my Dad recently pointed out one of the words in it that I realized I never knew its meaning. The word-dissemble. I always figured it meant the opposite of assemble. We claim we will never dissemble, so we will stay united right? Wrong.

It means we won't pretend we're righteous. Dictionary defines it as "give a false or misleading appearance." If we say we are Christians, be a Christian. If we say we are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, then we need to stand for everything it stands for. I know people that put on that persona that they are living righteously, yet when no one is looking do not live up to all the standards, or when they are on vacation, it doesn't count, etc.

I just thought it was really interesting, that this song that we sing all the time, are saying we will not be "Sunday Mormons," but don't even realize it. And for those unfamiliar with the song:

Now Let Us Rejoice

Now let us rejoice in the day of salvation.
No longer as strangers on earth need we roam.
Good tidings are sounding to us and each nation,
And shortly the hour of redemption will come,
When all that was promised the Saints will be given,
And none will molest them from morn until ev'n,
And earth will appear as the Garden of Eden,
And Jesus will say to all Israel, "Come home."

We'll love one another and never dissemble
But cease to do evil and ever be one.
And when the ungodly are fearing and tremble,
We'll watch for the day when the Savior will come,
When all that was promised the Saints will be given,
And none will molest them from morn until ev'n,
And earth will appear as the Garden of Eden,
And Jesus will say to all Israel, "Come home."

In faith we'll rely on the arm of Jehovah
To guide thru these last days of trouble and gloom,
And after the scourges and harvest are over,
We'll rise with the just when the Savior doth come.
Then all that was promised the Saints will be given,
And they will be crown'd with the angels of heav'n,
And earth will appear as the Garden of Eden,
And Christ and his people will ever be one.

Text: William W. Phelps

Making Marriage Strong

I remember growing up and hearing President Hinckley say he never got in a fight with his wife. I looked at marriages around me and dreamed of having the perfect marriage. I totally thought it was do-able to never have an argument and be completely unified in everything. I was so disappointed when I realized, I would not be able to make that claim. But I don't think most people can. :)

However, my husband shared a lesson he taught to his seminary class and Elders Quorum that I really liked on how we can make our marriage strong.

The lesson can be found in the story of Noah's Ark. Now I know I can't compare to Jack in what he'd be able to teach and he would involve more principles, but there are a few things I remember him saying that stuck with me.

After a recent argument, it is what immediately came to my head.

Noah was commanded to build an ark. There are a couple important things we learn about the instruction he received in Genesis 6:14 when it says "Make thee an ark of gopher wood; ... and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch."

Wood. Wood comes from trees which are living. When the people made the tower of Babel they made it with brick. Clay that comes from the earth and dirt.

Pitch. Pitch is sap that comes from trees which are living. In the story of the Tower of Babel they use slime for mortar, from the ground.

So unlike the Tower of Babel, the ark is made with living things, something that reminds us of Christ.

The ark separated Noah from the wickedness of the world. But having an ark is not good enough. Sure he'd have a boat when the rains came, but the water would seep in. He needed to pitch it within and without. He needed to seal it to protect it.

This is where we can think of marriage. We can get married in the temple. That is us separating ourselves from the world, building our boat, but that is not enough. We need that pitch, within and without. The sealing power of the atonement. Remember the pitch, that sealing power flowed from inside the tree. So like Christ's blood, flowing from him during the atonement, is what will protect us from the waters of the world seeping into our temple marriage.

We may think our temple marriage isn't perfect. That may be discouraging at times. But as long as we are striving to use the atonement constantly and consistently in our lives, we will be protected when the storms come. We can seal in those little cracks where the world comes in, little by little, until we are completely protected.

I know the atonement has the power to make us perfect, in our lives and in our marriage.

Just another little note you may be familiar with. The hebrew word for atonement is kaphar, meaning, to cover. The same definition of pitch.

Be Happy Now

President Uchdorf is always fun to listen to, and his talk at the Relief Society Broadcast was no different. He titled it Forget Me Not. Yep, those little blue flowers that are beautiful, but are sometimes overlooked. So because they have 5 petals he went over 5 different things that we shouldn't forget. My favorite was "Forget Not to Be Happy Now."

He talked about the Golden Ticket from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. On the golden ticket was written "Greetings to you, the lucky finder of this Golden Ticket...! Tremendous things are in store for you! Many wonderful surprises await you! ... Mystic and marvelous surprises...will...delight,...astonish, and perplex you." Everyone wants to find this golden ticket, and some feel they cannot be happy without it. President Uchdorf says, "In their anxiousness, people begin to forget the simple joy they used to find in a candy bar. The candy bar itself becomes an utter disappointment if it does not contain a golden ticket."

How many of us can relate to this in practically any scenario in our life? I know there are some things that I used to love, are no longer good enough, because I am looking for more. I need to remember that, I still have a candy bar! And that's pretty good.

He also said, "There is nothing wrong with righteous yearnings-we hope and seek after things that are 'virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy.' The problem comes when we put our happiness on hold as we wait for some future event-our golden ticket-to appear...The lesson here is that if we spend our days waiting for fabulous roses, we could miss the beauty and wonder of the tiny forget-me-nots that are all around us."

It seems like I've often heard to treasure the moment, but for some reason this analogy had more meaning to me. I felt like I understood it more and could relate to it in a wider variety of circumstances. Maybe because he's using chocolate. :) But I was grateful for that reminder and insight and his whole talk is awesome if you want to read more you can find it here.