Confounding of Languages and An Understanding Heart

You will probably remember the scriptural account of the confounding of the languages at the Tower of Babel, I like how Jared and his brother responded to that experience:

"And the brother of Jared being a large and mighty man, and a man highly favored of the Lord, Jared, his brother, said unto him: Cry unto the Lord, that he will not confound us that we may not understand our words.
"And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did cry unto the Lord, and the Lord had compassion upon Jared; therefore he did not confound the language of Jared; and Jared and his brother were not confounded.
(Ether 1:34 - 35)

I thought about how important it was for him to be able to understand those he loved still, and I wondered what would have happened if they hadn't prayed for understanding. It reminded me of when the Lord appeared to Solomon one night, "and God said, Ask what I shall give thee". Solomon could have asked for riches, power, longevity, anything. – what he did ask for is more impressive than all of those things…. Can you guess…….. he said:
"Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart ……., that I may discern between good and bad:"
"And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing".
(1 Kings 3:5-10).

I am going to try and tie this altogether now.

The reason for the languages being confounded was due to sin brought about by pride and selfishness. Sometimes in relationships it is as if the languages have been confounded when it is difficult to understand another's soul and perspective, whether it is in families, friendships, or any other associations. The only way to really understand another is to do as Solomon did; to lay aside any selfish wants, and to pray as the brother of Jared did.

I hope today that we will have understanding hearts to those we come into contact with, and if we don't, that we will pray until we get one.

No Cussing Club

I just found this article and video on www.youth.lds.org that was really inspiring. It shows how far a little courage and example will go. You can check the video out here too, definitely worth watching, I dare you not to be inspired:)

https://beta.lds.org/youth/from-every-nation/article/no-cussing-club?locale=eng

Article:

When McKay Hatch of Pasadena, California, and his friends started middle school at age 12, he was bothered by the increase in bad language. “I think what bothered me most,” says McKay, “was that they were using it every other word. It wasn’t just that they used a cuss word when they stubbed their toe. It was becoming part of their everyday language.”

McKay got up his nerve, spoke to his friends, and basically said that if they wanted to continue hanging out with him, they had to quit using bad language. He wondered if he would lose all his friends, but they stuck with him and cleaned up their language. McKay came up with the idea of starting a club—a No Cussing Club.

The first club meeting was held June 1, 2007, at the end of the school year. “A lot of people came,” says McKay. “I was surprised. We talked about what our goals were going to be and what we could do.” Since that simple beginning, McKay reports having members or branches of the club in all 50 states and in 35 countries. They now have T-shirts, wristbands, and a Web site.

The club wanted to have a cuss-free week in their city. McKay wrote to the city council, who agreed, and last year, March 3–7 was declared Cuss-Free Week. In March 2009, the county of Los Angeles, home to over 10 million people, is also going have a Cuss-Free Week, with McKay receiving the proclamation.

It hasn’t all been smooth sailing. At first, McKay almost quit because of negative response. Sometimes people would yell bad words at him. Or they would accuse him of trying to take away their freedom of speech. McKay points out that he isn’t making them do anything. He asks them to challenge themselves to improve. “I’m just trying to bring awareness about people’s language.”

McKay is often asked to talk at elementary schools. He tells the younger kids that their words become their thoughts, their thoughts become their actions, their actions become their character, and their character becomes their destiny. “I tell them it all starts with your words.”