Seek ye first to build up the Kingdom of God

Dear Sisters,

A couple weeks ago, I was gifted an old sturdy dresser. Doug wasn't too excited, but I convinced him I would spruce it up, and that it was a good idea.  Last week, I was sanding down the dresser to paint it; however, my project was interrupted with other duties and I decided I would have to finish it the following day.  While I was at work the next day, we got an abundance of rain, and I came home to a completely ruined dresser.  It was totally warped, and the water damage was beyond repair.  I was discourage and frustrated with myself for not finishing the project, then to add insult to injury, as Doug and I were lifting this extremely heavy dresser to put it in the back of the truck and take it away, Doug's hand got stuck in between the trail-gait and the dresser while I lifting and pushing hard.  Due to our lack of communicating, I just kept right on pushing, and in pain, he dropped the dresser, which landed directly on my big toe.  Even with shoes on, it smashed the nail and took the skin off of top.  It was very painful for both of us.

I know... this is kind of a sad series of events, and I'm sure you are wondering why I would depress you with my silly first-world problems, but I learned two lessons from this experience that I was wanted to share.

1) Simplify.  We didn't really need the dresser in the first place.  Sometimes, it's ok to pass up a good deal or let something go. (Just not on your toe ;)  In the end, it's just stuff, and we can't take it with us.

"The prophet Alma taught, “Seek not after riches nor the vain things of this world; for behold, you cannot carry them with you” (Alma 39:14). You’ve probably heard the saying “You can’t take it with you.” Well, it’s scriptural.

So where should our focus be? The Savior has told us to look beyond the way station of this world toward our final destination. He said, “Seek not the things of this world but seek ye first to build up the kingdom of God, and to establish his righteousness” (Joseph Smith Translation, Matthew 6:38). He also taught, “Thou shalt lay aside the things of this world, and seek for the things of a better” (D&C 25:10)."

2) It is so important to communicate.  If Doug and I would have talked through our "lifting the dresser" job, we both would have been spared a lot of pain.

One LDS marriage counselor has written: “Effective communication is more than just ‘talking,’ it is the type of interaction that gets the job done: solves problems, builds self-esteem, enhances the relationships, relays important messages, reinforces mutual respect, and helps bond the couple together as an effective unit.” 1

Maybe, these lessons seem obvious, but I had to learn them the hard way, so hopefully this week, you remember to keep life simple by seeking first the Kingdom of God, and communicate.  

I care so much about you and hope you have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,

Lydia

Allegory of the Icy Driveway

Dear Sisters,

So… how about all this snow? J  It is actually all this white stuff that inspired my thoughts this week.

I recently had the “opportunity” to chip away at a driveway full of frozen packed ice and snow.  We have often had sweet neighbors take care of us, so I don’t want to dismiss their kindness, but they had plenty snow of their own to worry about.  Doug gets to plow snow at the temple whenever it comes down and I’m at work, so between the two of us, we don’t usually get to it very early.  We had both come home tired and quickly forgot about our driveway.  We left it for a day thinking the sun might melt it, but the frozen mess remained. 

Finally, after I nearly got stuck trying to pull into the driveway, I decided I had better address it.  As I chiseled away at the ice with a metal shovel so that my van could get through, I kept thinking, “I wish I would have just shoveled this when the snow was fresh.  It would have been so much easier!  Why didn’t we do that?!”  I found myself repeating this question several times throughout this tedious, labor intensive process.  I usually do my pondering during the menial tasks, when my mind wanders.  It was at this point that I recognized that there was a lesson to be learned here. 

While I chipped at the ice, I considered how it could represent our unrepentant sins, mistakes, or even grudges.  The longer we wait to address them, the more difficult the process of repentance can become.  It is hard work either way, but if we “frankly forgive” or “speedily repent” in the beginning when “the snow is soft,” then the heart might not have quite as much time to “freeze and harden.”  If you have something you need to repent of, don’t wait another day—get the shovel out and chip away at the ice.  Schedule an appointment with the bishop if it is something you need help addressing.

“When we sin, we turn away from God.  When we repent, we turn back toward God.  The invitation to repent is rarely a voice of chastisement but rather a loving appeal to turn around and to “re-turn” toward God.  It is the beckoning of a loving Father and His Only Begotten Son to be more than we are, to reach up to a higher way of life, to change, and to feel the happiness of keeping the commandments.  Being disciples of Christ, we rejoice in the blessing of repenting and the joy of being forgiven.  They become part of us, shaping the way we think and feel.”  -Elder Neil L. Anderson

Although my hours of hard work on the ice were unpleasant, it was satisfying once it was complete.  I still had some rough patches here and there, but was happy to find that when the sun came out the next day, it was just warm enough to melt the remaining slush away, resulting in a clear driveway.  I felt that the sun could represent the Son of God’s atonement.  He heals without a scar.  He promises that if we forsake our sins, he will remember them no more.

 “Any pain entailed in repentance will always be far less than the suffering required to satisfy justice for unresolved transgression.  The Savior spoke little about what He endured to satisfy the demands of justice and atone for our sins, but He did make this revealing statement:

“For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup.” -Elder D. Todd Christofferson

Sisters, I testify that the Savior can heal you.  If there is something in your life that you know you need to change or fix, don’t put off clearing that driveway any longer—catch it while the snow is fresh.  And if it’s already frozen, it’s not too late… pull out your shovel and get to work. J You will not regret your efforts.

Whatever the cost of repentance, it is swallowed up in the joy of forgiveness.

I hope you have a wonderful week.  Stay warm.  Travel save.  And truly, good luck with your driveways. ;)

Sincerely,

Lydia

Turn Around and Face God

Dear Sisters,

Happy Sabbath!  I haven’t forgotten about you!  Life just got a little busy and eventful on this end.   I’ve been taking a couple classes to keep my teaching certificate current.

Maybe it’s because things have been so busy around here, that I have been simplifying things in my mind.  It hit me recently how simple the gospel really is.  Here are some simple truths I pulled out of my reading in Alma chapter 9.  (This is when Alma left the judgment seat to do missionary work and returned the second time to cry repentance to the wicked people of Ammonihah who threw him out last time.)

• Don’t harden your heart or have a “stiff neck”.
• Keep the commandments and you will prosper.
• Disobey the commandments and the Lord can’t be with you.  You loose the light of the gospel and potential blessings.
• We are “highly favored” and have the fullness of the gospel.  The Lord will hold us accountable for it.
• We need to “remember” our ancestors and our past and how we got here. (Doubt your doubts before your doubt your faith.)
• The Lord is merciful if you call on him.  Repent and he will forgive.

I think the phrase “stiff-necked” is fascinating.  I especially think it is interesting when you know that the original word for repentance in ancient Hebrew is “shuv” which means to turn around and go a different direction.  Eventually, repentance became “teshuvah” which means “to turn around and face God” or “to turn to God.”

A stiff-necked person is unwilling or unable to turn their head to face God.  Their neck is stiff.  They WILL NOT repent and turn to the Lord.  I think in our day it takes an interesting form.  We rely on the arm of flesh often.  Our neck is set with our head looking down to earth for all our needs.  We won’t or can’t look up to God because our neck is set in place.

I have so enjoyed visiting with many of you as we have gone around on our Presidency Popsicle visits over the last couple weeks.  We still have a few of you to visit, so don’t think we’ve forgotten you, and if we have, remind us because we want to see you. J  Anyway, occasionally we have visited a sister or two that is upset with the church or offended about something.  It is usually clear that they are not “prospering”.  Their heart has become hard and their neck is stiff, and they are unhappy.  It breaks my own heart.  I wish I could always have the right words to say, that might soften their hearts.  I would just encourage each of you to keep the commandments and make sure you are regularly repenting.  If your heart is hard, allow the Lord to heal it.  Sacrament meeting is a wonderful setting for this process to take place!

We would do well to take a moment to ponder on the state of our “neck”. (As funny as that sounds. J)  If we find that it is stiff, we can always repent or “turn around and face God”.  I testify that our lives will be richly blessed and we will prosper if we do.

Sincerely,

Lydia 

PS.  Happy Independence Day!  

​I hope you have a happy, safe day celebrating our blessed country and the freedoms we enjoy!

In this there is Safety and Peace

Dear Sisters,

I meant to get an email out all last week, and the time just got away from me, but you have been in my thoughts and prayers.

I thought I would just share a few thoughts from my lesson last Sunday.  I apologize if you are hearing it for the second time, but I miss you primary and young women sisters, too. J

With our ward Relief Society theme of “Faith to Follow the Prophet”, I have felt impressed for some time that I needed to emphasize the importance of keeping the commandments, especially since that was the title of one of our prophets most recent talks.  He reminded us that the commandments are not restrictions that keep us from being happy, but are in fact they way to happiness.

This spring, we were able to enjoy the fruit of our fall planting labor, as we watched the beautiful bulbs pop up. 

At one point, I noticed a plant growing around the tulips.  I didn’t recognize it, so I decided to leave it and see what it might turn out to be.  I described it to my husband and asked what it was, and he warned me not to pull it out, but let him spray it or it would come back more aggressively.

​

I soon found out he was right.

This weed craftily bound itself around the nearby tulips and choked them out.  It curled itself around the stems to climb high, but in the end, they all fell.

This experience caused me to ponder how, like the weed, Satan tried to bind us and take away our precious gift of agency.  And also, how sometimes, when the weeds are really bad, we might need "an expert" or “the Savior” to help us remove them.

·         2 Ne 2:27: (Note the way Satan is described in this verse.)

o    27 Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, 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 miserable like unto himself.

Sisters, just as the song says, I testify that there is great “safety and peace” in keeping the commandments.

“When we keep the commandments, our lives will be happier, more fulfilling, and less complicated. Our challenges and problems will be easier to bear, and we will receive His promised blessings.” 

(Pres. Monson)

I hope each of us will "choose liberty and eternal life" by clinging to the Savior.  Please take a moment this week to reflect on how keeping the commandment has made your life happier, more fulfilling, and less complicated, and express gratitude to the Lord for giving you commandments to live by.

I love you and hope you have a wonderful sunshiny week!

Sincerely,

Lydia

Remember...

Dear Sisters,

As I have been reading through Alma in the Book of Mormon, I find it interesting that most of his sermons begin with a brief history of their forefathers.  (See Alma 5:3-6) 

I think this is very intentional.  These people needed a call to repent, and what better way than to urge them to remember their ancestors, who, not so long ago, were in captivity and losing battles because they would not repent.  He is encouraging them to change their ways so that history does not repeat itself.  He follows the account with a series of questions:

 6 And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, you that belong to this church, have you sufficiently retained in remembrance the captivity of your fathers? Yea, and have you sufficiently retained in remembrance his mercy and long-suffering towards them? And moreover, have ye sufficiently retained in remembrance that he has delivered their souls from hell?

Alma’s “history lesson” and questions are good for us to ponder today.  Our ancestors and history are important.  Remembering is vital to salvation.

Elder Marlin K. Jensen said:

“If we pay close attention to the uses of the word remember in the holy scriptures, we will recognize that remembering in the way God intends is a fundamental and saving principle of the gospel. This is so because prophetic admonitions to remember are frequently calls to action: to listen, to see, to do, to obey, to repent. When we remember in God’s way, we overcome our human tendency simply to gird for the battle of life and actually engage in the battle itself, doing all in our power to resist temptation and avoid sinning” (emphasis added “Remember and Perish Not,” Ensign, May 2007, 36–38).

I am grateful for Alma’s bold invitations to “remember” our history.  We are richly blessed, living in a good land, but if we don’t remember our pioneer ancestors and consider our family history, we might forget the sacrifices that were made for us to enjoy this good life.

Take some time this week to remember your ancestors.  Perhaps we could even take it a step further, and do some family history research, or record some memories.  I know our lives will be happier and fuller by “remembering.” (And I think nothing would delight our good Bishop more.)

Spencer W. Kimball said:

“When you look in the dictionary for the most important word, do you know what it is? It could be ‘remember.’ Because all of [us] have made covenants…our greatest need is to remember. That is why everyone goes to sacrament meeting every Sabbath day—to take the sacrament and listen to the priests pray that [we] ‘may always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given [us].’ … ‘Remember’ is the word” (Circles of Exaltation [address to religious educators, Brigham Young University, 28 June 1968], 8).

I love you sisters and hope you have a wonderful week “remembering” your blessings!

Sincerely,

Lydia

A Change of Heart

Dear Sisters-

On to "Matters of the Heart". 

 

No, really.  I came across an interesting scripture chain that I wanted to share, so watch for what it says about the heart.

To set the stage, Abinadi is attempting to convince the people to repent of their sins and change their ways:

(Mosiah 11)

 23 And it shall come to pass that except this people repent and turn unto the Lord their God, they shall be brought into bondage; and none shall deliver them, except it be the Lord the Almighty God.

 24 Yea, and it shall come to pass that when they shall cry unto me I will be slow to hear their cries; yea, and I will suffer them that they be smitten by their enemies.

 25 And except they repent in sackcloth and ashes, and cry mightily to the Lord their God, I will not hear their prayers, neither will I deliver them out of their afflictions; and thus saith the Lord, and thus hath he commanded me.

The “sackcloth and ashes” were used in ancient times as an outward sign of one’s inward condition.  It acted as a symbol that visibly demonstrated grief, repentance, and a change of heart.  Now skip ahead a couple chapters to see how they responded to Abinidi’s teachings.

(Mosiah 13)

 32 And now, did they understand the law? I say unto you, Nay, they did not all understand the law; and this because of the hardness of their hearts; for they understood not that there could not any man be saved except it were through the redemption of God.

So rather than changing their hearts as Abinidi had previously urged, they “hardened their hearts” and as a result, they “did not understand.”  I believe that when our hearts become hard, we doubt the truth and the gospel becomes difficult for us to understand.  The opposite is also true: as our hearts are softened, the truths of the gospel become easier to understand and the Holy Ghost can testify and teach us.

Now jump forward even further to see what happen to these “hard hearted people.”  If you recall, they were attacked and captured by the Lamanites.  They basically became their slaves, giving them half of everything.  This became so difficult that they decided to fight for their freedoms; however, they lost…. FOUR TIMES!  And they lost big—they buried thousands and suffered greatly.  They were forced to humble themselves and admit defeat:

(Mosiah 21)

 13 And they did humble themselves even to the dust, subjecting themselves to the yoke of bondage, submitting themselves to be smitten, and to be driven to and fro, and burdened, according to the desires of their enemies.

 14 And they did humble themselves even in the depths of humility; and they did cry mightily to God; yea, even all the day long did they cry unto their God that he would deliver them out of their afflictions.

 15 And now the Lord was slow to hear their cry because of their iniquities; nevertheless the Lord did hear their cries, and began to soften the hearts of the Lamanites that they began to ease their burdens; yet the Lord did not see fit to deliver them out of bondage.

These words should be familiar.  Do you remember what Abinadi had warned against in the beginning?  It all happened just as he prophesied.  The point I wanted to make was that once they finally “changed their hearts” the Lord actually softened the hearts of their enemies.  He didn’t take their problems away, but he lightened their load. 

 

Sisters, soften your hearts so that you can understand, and so that the Lord can ease your burdens.  I testify that He will do this.  God does not lie.  He has given us a modern day “Abinadi” through Thomas S. Monson, and we need to heed his words to avoid the terrible heartache that results from hard hearts.  I am looking forward to General Conference.  Let’s all try to prepare our hearts for the messages so that we can understand.  I know this is true, and I hope you will ponder these scriptures and make discoveries of your own.  I look forward to hearing about them.

I love you and hope you have an excellent week!

Sincerely,

Lydia

In faith we'll rely on the arm of Jehovah

Dear Sisters-

I hope you had a wonderful Independence Day!  I had the privilege of standing next to a veteran soldier as the National Anthem was sung, and somehow it meant so much more, knowing him and that he was willing to leave his young family to defend what we stand for.  

Don’t you feel so grateful for our freedoms?  What a blessing it is that we live in this good land, and that we have brave men and women willing to form and defend it!  I missed you today, but I was able to attend a Sacrament Meeting in Mountain Home, and just felt so grateful for freedom to worship, and for a place to partake of the sacrament, even in our travels.

I missed Marilyn’s lesson in RS, but I read the article from the Ensign she was going to study in preparation, and I LOVED this thought about the Book of Mormon coming forth:

“This treasure would signal that after centuries of general spiritual darkness and confusion, the heavens were again open. This treasure would show that Jesus’s ministry was far more expansive in both doctrine and geography than the Christian churches of that day could possibly know. This treasure would affirm that, in miraculous fashion, God is sweepingly active in the affairs of men across time, languages, and continents. And this treasure would promise teachings so pure and powerful that if you planted them deep into your soul, you could personally be transformed, tasting of something so delicious as to make it the ultimate and unmatched feast of your desires.” (The Path to Palmyra)

I testify that God is active in the affairs of man.  I know he works through a living prophet to guide us.  I know that this gospel and the Book of Mormon really are treasures.  We need to treat them as such.  Be active!!!  Come to Relieve Society!  We need you there.  Be actively reading and studying the Book of Mormon.  I know we live in troubled times, but I was comforted today listening to the words of this hopeful hymn:  “In faith we'll rely on the arm of Jehovah to guide thru these last days of trouble and gloom.”

I feel confident that as we remain faithful and active in the gospel,

 “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28

You have been called!  You committed at baptism to “bare one another’s burdens,” comfort, and stand as a witness of Christ, and the Lord will help you fulfill those promises.  Please fulfill your call as a visiting teacher.

Enjoy your week and I look forward to seeing you soon and love each of you!

Sincerely,

Lydia