Lioness at the Gate

"I have said lately that women are like lionesses at the gate of the home. Whatever happens in that home and family happens because she cares about it and it matters to her. She guards that gate, and things matter to that family if they matter to her. For example, if the lioness at the gate believes in the law of tithing, tithing will be paid in that family. If that family has a humble little portion of ten pesos coming in, that lioness will safeguard the one peso if tithing is important to her. If that lioness at the gate knows about renewing her baptismal covenants with God, she will be in sacrament meeting on Sunday, and she will prepare her children to be there. They will be washed, cleaned, combed, and taught about that meeting and what happens there. It isn’t a casual event, but it is serious to her, and it will be serious to them. The lioness at the gate ensures that temple worship is taken care of in the family. She encourages that participation. She cares about seeking after her ancestors. If the lioness at the gate knows about and understands missions, missionaries, and the mission of the house of Israel, she will prepare future missionaries to go out from that home. It is very difficult to get a lion cub away from a lioness who doesn’t believe in missions, but if the lioness believes in a mission, she will devote her life to preparing the cub to go out and serve the Lord. That’s how important she is. Service happens if she cares about it.

"Sisters, you are each like the lioness at the gate."

Julie B. Beck, Address Given at BYU Women's Conference, Thursday, April 29, 2010.

Re-posted from here

In Chile - The Lord's Earthquake Warning

I just saw this article about the LDS missionaries serving in Chile, and how the Lord had prepared them. It contains a letter from the Mission Presidents wife there, sharing their story and what has happened since. Here's a snippit:

President Larry Laycock and his wife, Sister Lisa Laycock head the Santiago Chile East Mission and had spent the two weeks prior to the 8.8 earthquake visiting each missionary apartment and preparing them for an earthquake. They brought specific instructions on what to do, supplied water purification bottles for the missionaries, told them how to create a 36-hour kit for emergencies and how to stay in communication should an earthquake strike. They prayed with each missionary and dedicated their apartments. Why? Because of a special experience that alerted them to what was coming. They told their missionaries, “If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear.”

They have 171 full-time proselyting missionaries in this mission.

Special thanks to the Laycocks for allowing Meridian to publish this letter that Sister Laycock sent to her family shortly after the earthquake sharing their remarkable experience of kindness from the Lord. They are in Chile with their son, Landon.

Read the rest of the aricle, here

Don't Let 'Reality' Cloud Your Judgment

"I once had an experience that taught me a great lesson about the way a highly developed tolerance for "being realistic" can inhibit the workings of the Spirit in our lives. When I had been on my mission in Germany about a year, I was assigned to work with a brand new missionary named Elder Keeler, who had just arrived fresh from converting--or so he thought--all the stewardesses on the plane from New York to Frankfurt. Within a few days of his arrival, I was called to a meeting in another city and had to leave him to work in our city with another inexperienced missionary whose companion went with me. I returned late that night.

The next morning I asked him how his day had gone. He broke into a big smile and said that he had found a family who would surely join the Church. In our mission, it was rare to see anybody join the Church, let alone a whole family. I asked for more details, but he had forgotten to write down either the name or the address. All he could remember was that the family lived on the top floor of a big apartment house. "Oh, that's great," I thought to myself as I contemplated all those flights of stairs. He also explained that he knew so little German that he had exchanged but a few words with the woman who answered the door. But he did think she wanted us to come back--and he wanted to go find her and have me talk to her that very minute. I explained to him that the people who do not slam the door in missionaries' faces are not all planning to join the Church. But off we went to find her, mostly to humor him. He could not remember the right street either, so we picked a likely spot in our tracting area and began climbing up and down those endless polished staircases.

After a frustrating hour, I decided that I really needed to level with him. "Based on my many months of experience," I said, "it is simply not worth our time to try any longer to find that woman. I have developed a tolerance for the realities of missionary work, and I simply know more about all this than you do."

His eyes filled with tears and his lower lip began to tremble. (That elder was no dummy--he recently graduated from Boalt Law School at Berkeley.) I remember it so well--he said to me through those tear-filled eyes, "Elder Hafen, I came on my mission to find the honest in heart. The Spirit told me that that woman is going to join the Church, and you can't stop me from finding her."

I decided that I had to teach him a lesson. So I raced him up one staircase after another until he was ready to drop, and so was I. "Elder Keeler," I asked, "had enough?"

"No," he said. "We've got to find her."

I began to smolder. I decided to work him until he pled with me to stop--then maybe he would get the message.

Then, at the top of a long flight of stairs, we found the apartment. She came to the door. He thrashed my ribs with his elbow and whispered loudly, "That's her, elder. That's the one. Talk to her!"

Not long ago, brothers and sisters, up on Maple Lane a few blocks from here, that woman's husband sat in our living room. He was here for general conference because he is the bishop of the Mannheim Ward. His two boys are preparing for missions; his wife and daughters are pillars of the Church. That is a lesson I can never forget about the limitations of the skepticism and the tolerance for ambiguity that come with learning and experience. I hope that I will never be so aware of "reality" that I am unresponsive to the whisperings of heaven."

(Love Is Not Blind: Some Thoughts for College on Ambiguity and Fait, Hafen, Bruce C., January 09, 1979, BYU)

A Believer's Prayer

Sang by one of my friends:)

Our Personal Conviction

Straight to the point: "The intensity of our desire to share the gospel is a great indicator of the extent of our personal conversion."

Dallin H. Oaks - Ensign, Nov. 2001, 7

Happiness - Learning from the Past

In April 2003 conference, President Thomas S. Monson shared ways in which we can gain more happiness. He said:

"Today I have chosen to provide the three pieces of your treasure map to guide you to your eternal

happiness. They are:

1. Learn from the past.

2. Prepare for the future.

3. Live in the present.

Let us consider each segment of the map.

First, learn from the past. Each of us has a heritage—whether from pioneer forebears, later converts, or others who helped to shape our lives. This heritage provides a foundation built of sacrifice and faith. Ours is the privilege and responsibility to build on such firm and stable footings.

A story written by Karen Nolen, which appeared in the New Era in 1974, tells of a Benjamin Landart who, in 1888, was 15 years old and an accomplished violinist. Living on a farm in northern Utah with his mother and seven brothers and sisters was sometimes a challenge to Benjamin, as he had less time than he would have liked to play his violin. Occasionally his mother would lock up the violin until he had his farm chores done, so great was the temptation for Benjamin to play it.

In late 1892 Benjamin was asked to travel to Salt Lake to audition for a place with the territorial o

rchestra. For him, this was a dream come true. After several weeks of practicing and prayers, he went to Salt Lake in March of 1893 for the much anticipated audition. When he heard Benjamin play, the conductor, a Mr. Dean, told Benjamin he was the most accomplished violinist he had heard west of Denver. He was told to report to Denver for rehearsals in the fall and learned that he would be earning enough to keep himself, with some left over to send home.

A week after Benjamin received the good news, however, his bishop called him into his office and asked if he couldn’t put off playing with the orchestra for a couple of years. He told Benjamin that before he started earning money there was something he owed the Lord. He then asked Benjamin to accept a mission call.

Benjamin felt that giving up his chance to play in the territorial orchestra would be almost more than he could bear, but he also knew what his decision should be. He promised the bishop that if there were any way to raise the money for him to serve, he would accept the call.

When Benjamin told his mother about the call, she was overjoyed. She told him that his father had always wanted to serve a mission but had been killed before that opportunity had come to him. However, when they discussed the financing of the mission, her face clouded over. Benjamin told her he would not allow her to sell any more of their land. She studied his face for a moment and then said, “Ben, there is a way we can raise the money. This family [has] one thing that is of great enough value to send you on your mission. You will have to sell your violin.”

Ten days later, on March 23, 1893, Benjamin wrote in his journal: “I awoke this morning and took my violin from its case. All day long I played the music I love. In the evening when the light grew dim and I could see to play no longer, I placed the instrument in its case. It will be enough. Tomorrow I leave [for my mission].”

Forty-five years later, on June 23, 1938, Benjamin wrote in his journal: “The greatest decision I ever made in my life was to give up something I dearly loved to the God I loved even more. He has never forgotten me for it.”

Learn from the past."

Distractions

Nephi had just received the interrpretation of the dream his father had seen, and it says he had "seen all things".

I bet he would have loved to come home, maybe take some time to internalize what he had seen and felt, maybe share with his family some of the parts - just dwell in the Spirit.

Well, this is what he came back to:

"And it came to pass that I behled my brethren, and they were disputing one with another concerning the things which my father had spoken unto them".
"And I Nephi was grieved becasue of the hardness of their hearts...."
(1 Nephi 14:2,4)

Maybe we've all had times like this when we have felt the spirit, or the Lords love, and something has happened which seems determined to drive out feelings of peace, and to encourage us to question what we have felt. A few verses later it says "after [Nephi] had received strength" he spoke to his brethren about it. I take comfort in this experience, that this is a pattern which sometimes happens, and if we feel like there a million other people have felt that too, that we too will receive strength. We must never forget what the Lord tells us, other peoples opinions can't change that, and the Lord will give us strength to help them too, when the time is right.

"Shape up and Say your Prayers"

"Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?"
(ECCL 3:22)

"Love the work. Don't do it grudgingly. Smile about it. Be happy in your duty. Shape up and say your prayers. Everything will be all right".
(President Gordon B. Hinckley)

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Isn't President Hinckley amazing. So straight to the point - "Shape up and say your prayers", I find, that for me, a lot of my problems are exasperated because I haven't done those two things - It's just great counsel:)

I hope you have a wonderful day.

My Thoughts on Fishing - Part 2

A few days ago I shared some thoughts about the experience of Simon Peter & co fishing and the miracle of catching the fish provided by the Saviour. Well, another thing I really liked was Simon Peter's reaction to receiving this huge blessing, Luke
records:

"When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’
knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man,
O Lord.
"For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:
"....And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men." (Luke 5: 8-10)

This showed what a humble man Simon Peter was, and imperfect too - like the rest of us - and he definately did not feel worthy of such a great blessing. Nevertheless the Lord saw fit to bless him, and showed His grace in the miracle He gave, showing
that the Saviour looks for opportunities to bless us, and that He uses those who are imperfect who know they need the Redeemer in their lives, and who show gratitude for what they have received.

I hope you have a wonderful day and feel of the Saviours love for you, and that you feel Him smiling upon the good things that you are doing.

Leaning into Trust

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding".
“In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths". (Proverbs 3:5-6)

This scripture was mentioned at least a couple of times during General Conference April 2005. I have always loved it, but have always abbreviated it in my mind to: 'Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; ….and he shall direct thy paths.'

Two other parts really struck me this time though, and have stuck with me since. I thought about the word ‘lean’, and what we lean on. It seems the Lord is saying to us: “give your heart to me, don’t solely rely on your own thoughts/opinions”. Sometimes we can work things out in our minds, trying to see what makes sense or what is logical, and ‘lean’ on that. The image that I had in my mind was that of walking down a path, and along this path we have to make decisions,we come to some ‘forks’. I then thought, “well how can we progress if we are leaning on something?” - I imagined leaning against a wall, and therefore halting my progress, as your feet are no longer moving. I’ve seen that in my own life, times where relying on my own understanding and trying to work things out in my mind has stopped me being directed, because I have closed my heart to divine guidance.

I remember when my best friend had asked me to pray about going on a mission – I remember thinking “are you crazy, what would I want to do that for?” – but I prayed because I loved her. For 3 months or so, my prayers sounded something like this: “Heavenly Father, do I have to go on a mission? Amen”. My heart definitely wasn’t open, whilst my mind definitely thought of all the fun I could have at home, the thought of talking to strangers (or anyone!) about the gospel was just so scary, and I really couldn’t imagine contributing to the building of the kingdom in that way. I don’t remember what happened, but one day I remember thinking, “Sarah, sort yourself out! Pray and have faith, and Heavenly Father will do the rest”. So that night and prayed and said, “Heavenly Father, I will go if Thou wants me to, and I know that Thou wilt change my heart so that I will be excited to go, I just want to know Thy will for me.”. Well, that night I had a dream and woke up, with the first words being “I’m going on my mission”, and as I heard myself say these words my heart changed in an instant, and I was filled with a great desire to serve in this way –which I will always be grateful for.

The Lord says: “And I will give them one heart, and Will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:”
“That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people,and I will be their God.”(Ezekiel 11:19 - 20)

The Lord can and does change hearts. Progress happens when we take leaps of faith, trusting the Lord, even at the expense of what we sometimes think is wisdom, knowing that the Lord desires our happiness, and will change our hearts so that the journey will bring joy to us.

I find that so exciting. I hope your day is happy, and once again, thanks for listening to one my rambles:)

More Than These

After the Saviours resurrection he appeared to Simon Peter whilst he was fishing. They then dined together:

'So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.' (John 21:15)

I’ve thought about the phrase 'more than these'. The Saviour here was referring to the fish, asking maybe “do you love me more than fishing?”, I wonder what 'these' things would be for you and I?

Maybe the Saviour says to us, “do you love me more than………your job, the TV programme you’re watching, your studies, the clothes you wear, your money, your friends, your bed” (which is hard to get out of sometimes:), really there is a never-ending list of things which could be 'these'.

After Simon Peter had responded that he does love the Saviour, the response from Him, in effect, was “prove it” [Feed my Lambs]. If we do really love the Saviour, we’ll turn off the TV and go and do our Visiting & Home Teaching, we’ll get out of bed and read our scriptures, we’ll wear clothes that are modest and clean, we’ll help those in need, we’ll share the gospel, we’ll 'feed his sheep'.

I hope that our love for the Saviour is easy to detect.