Just Like Today

I was reading a post at Middle-aged Mormon Man discussing the prevalence of war in the Book of Mormon and then I as flipping through this month's Ensign where I saw an article that talked about the same idea.



And then I had a thought: although our world is somewhat frightening today (I would say more frightening than it has ever been) I almost feel like I was expecting it to be this way. I am definitely not saying that I like the fact that there are wars and terrorism and all sorts of scary people doing scary things all over the world. I am just saying that it comes as no surprise.

Every time I read the Book of Mormon I see our day being played out before my eyes. The wars are almost identical. The terrorism is exactly the same. The only thing that is different is that the conflict today is on a global scale, whereas in the Book of Mormon the conflict was mostly confined to certain regions.

But the principles are all the same.

And the fact that our day is identical (almost) to the Book of Mormon days makes the conflicts of our day come as no surprise to someone who has studied the Book of Mormon.

I am excited to study the article from the Ensign - How Disciples of Christ Live in Times of War and Violence. I also recommend reading MMM's post. It was excellent. As his posts usually are.

Have the conditions of our time surprised you? Or do you expect them, given the conditions we read about in the Book of Mormon, and knowing that that book was written specifically for our day?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

365 Days in my Journal

Last fall I made a goal to write 365 days in a row in my journal (I made it to 69 days). I am an avid journaler, and have been since about 1997 when my Aunt gave me my first real journal ever, with this message inside the front cover:


It reads:

To Rebecca - Writing Journal -
I've learned if you want to be a writer, you need to write everyday or at least every other day.
Happy Writing
Love
Aunt Wilma

When I was a child I dreamed of being a writer. I wrote short stories, children's books, and poetry almost obsessively since I was about 6 or 7. I still remember writing my first "real" story on Word Perfect '95 on an old IBM computer with a blue screen and F keys. Before that I would write stories on our Macintosh that had a program that would read aloud what you had written in this horrible computerized man's voice.

I have since grown out of writing stories (mostly). Although up until probably college I would write the first 15-20 pages of countless stories. Some of them were pretty good. I would also write by hand in my notebooks at school. In high school I continued to write poetry and was even published in my high school's literary magazine, which I helped edit. It wasn't anything amazing, but I really enjoyed creative writing.

Now I mostly write for my blog, and in my journal. I'm not a great writer - I think I just have a lot to say (if you know me in person you know that I will talk your ear off, given the chance). But I believe in writing.

At this point I have begun to ramble, and honestly I am not entirely sure why I starting writing this post in the first place.

I guess to just share with you my love of writing. For some reason I feel uninhibited when I write. I don't feel like I have to put up a facade or pretend I am not really who I am. I don't have to worry (too much) about tact or political correctness. I can just open up and share my thoughts. It's like ultimate access to the real me.

Honestly, that is probably the reason why I don't tell people who actually know me (i.e., my ward, my friends, my family) about my blog. In person I am able to gauge the response I get from others and mold and shift what I say and how I say it, and carefully choose the topics of conversation, so that no one feels threatened, so that no one feels uncomfortable. Unfortunately, that can also end up being kind of boring.

This ended up being a lot more personal than I intended, but I think it feels good to get it out there.

Here is a picture of my four journals:




The red and black journal spans from my first entry in December 1997 (when I received the journal) to June 2004 shortly after my graduation from high school.

The blue fairy/ballerina bunny journal was the next one I wrote in - I received it from a close friend for our high school graduation. I am still not sure why I used it... It was really not my style, as you can tell. I probably used it because I love that particular friend. That one spans from June 2004 to July 1, 2005. The black spiral journal is July 2005 to March 2010 and represents the fullest period of my life so far - that one contains my courtship, engagement, wedding, two pregnancies and births, and about 6 moves. It includes my husband joining the military, months and months of separation due to military training, and a lot of stress and anxiety. In fact, I think the 5 years in that journal were probably some of the most anxious years of my life.

The fat black leather journal on the far right is my current journal. From March 2010 until today, July 2012, and I am about half way through (the pages are pretty thick - probably 4 times as thick as the red and black journal).

My current journal is a journal of healing, a record of finding peace, understanding the refiner's fire, and growing so fast it hurt. I am hoping that the next several years can fill this journal with more peace, with joy, love, and strength.

I am going to start the 365 day challenge over again today. I was much more sane when I was writing every day. I dare you to join me!

Do you keep a journal? How often do you write? When did you start keeping a journal?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Isaiah on My Mind

So here I am slogging through Isaiah in the Book of Mormon.


I was originally going to take it slow and really try to soak up the symbolism and meaning of all the words.

But then I got kind of lazy and now I am just trying to get through them ASAP. I make myself feel better by telling myself that I will be studying Isaiah in depth next year. This year I am studying the character of Christ in the New Testament. It's bee great so far, although I should really write a few blog posts about what I have been learning.

In the meantime, Does anyone have any good resources on Isaiah for when I do try to break it down next year? I imagine the Church has a manual for institute or religion, but I am anxious to find more good resources.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Delight in the Scriptures

Book of Mormon Papers - a series of posts
containing papers I wrote for a
BYU Religion class my freshman year of college.

(Note: So this isn’t one of my best papers, but I was not surprised to find that I chose to write about delighting in the scriptures. Since, you know, that’s kind of my “theme” scripture for my life. I am so grateful for the influence of the scriptures in my life. I want my children to develop the same love for the scriptures that I have developed. I hope I am setting a good example for them – in real life, not just on this blog)

Image credit: LDS Media Library

After Lehi gave his blessings to all of his children, Nephi wrote the “things of his soul” and told of how his people separated themselves from his wicked brethren. In Chapter 4, Nephi recorded the reason for him including many scriptures, especially the writings of Isaiah, in his record. Nephi’s reason is that his soul “delighteth in the scriptures.” Earlier Nephi had stated that on the plates he would write “the things of [his] soul.” From these two statements, one can conclude that Nephi had made the scriptures, even the writings and the words of the prophets, a part of his soul. What does it mean to make the words of God “things of [one’s] soul?” Nephi gave a reasonable outline when he stated that “my heart pondereth them, and writeth them for the learning and the profit of my children.” In order to make the word of God a thing of one’s soul, one must delight in the scriptures, ponder them, and wish to teach the words to others. (2 Nephi 4:15-16)

Nephi’s delight of the scriptures comes from a more general feeling that his “soul delighteth in the things of the Lord…” As the scriptures come from the Lord, it would follow that Nephi would also delight in them. The dictionary describes delight as “to take great pleasure or joy.” Nephi must have understood the doctrine that men are on this earth to have joy. (2 Nephi 2:25) Nephi also understood what things bring men joy on this earth.

It is obvious from Nephi’s writings that he pondered the scriptures often. Many of his writings quote Isaiah and expound on Isaiah’s writings. The dictionary defines ponder as “To reflect or consider with thoroughness and care.” Surely in all Nephi’s writings and also through his actions which were consistent with the teachings of the prophets, it is made clear that Nephi pondered the words of God in great depth.

Before Nephi quoted the words of Isaiah for the first time, he stated, “that I might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer I did … liken all scriptures unto us that it might be for our profit and learning.” (1 Nephi 19:23) Nephi showed great care and concern for his family, and he showed this by teaching them of the words of the Lord. Countless times did Nephi rehearse the scriptures to his brethren, showing them the examples of their fathers and praying that his brothers would do likewise.

Nephi showed that he loved the words of God by delighting in the scriptures, pondering them, and sharing them with his family and others. Because Nephi understood the importance of the scriptures, he was able to internalize them and make them “things of [his] soul.”

Have you made the scriptures a part of your soul? Do you delight in scripture? Do you ponder them? Do you read them, study them, and teach them to your family members and others around you?

Sunday Study Link-up

Welcome to the first edition of my Sunday Reads Link-up! I am very excited about this (mostly because it will give me a place to stick talks that I want to remember to study on Sunday but also because you get to participate!).

Here’s how this is going to work. Each Saturday, I am going to post a few links to some of the talks/articles/blog posts/scriptures that I read/found that week that I either read and want to share, or were shared with me and I want to read. Does that even make sense? I think you’ll get the hang of it.

And I want you to share, too. I want you to link up talks/articles/posts/scriptures that you think would be appropriate Sunday reading material. Since I kind of have a thing with keeping the Sabbath day holy, I like to be armed with lots of good study material, so I don’t waste precious Sabbath study time (i.e., the kids’ nap time).

I haven’t really come up with a theme for this week, but some weeks I might have a theme. On “themed” weeks you don’t have to link to a talk/article/post/scripture that goes along with the theme. Anything will do.

I have a folder on my Bookmarks bar that says “Good Reads” and I bookmark things that I want to go back later and read, but I usually forget to do that. So this link-up party is more for me, I guess.

Without further ado, here are my Sunday Reads:

Teaching the Doctrine of the Family – Sister Julie B. Beck, Relief Society General President

Baptismal Talk on the Holy Ghost – Scriptorium Blogorium

The Remnant in the Book of Mormon – Feast upon the Word Blog

3 Nephi 20-21

What are you going to be studying this Sunday? Link up here!

What should you link up?
1.) scriptures – link to the specific scripture at scriptures.lds.org
2.) talks/articles from Church magazines
3.) anything you can find searching on lds.org
4.) gospel related blog posts (try stuff from Women in the Scriptures, Diapers and Divinity, Scriptorium Blogorium, We Talk of Christ We Rejoice in Christ – there are lots of great blogs out there, just make sure the posts are gospel related)
5.) BYU/BYU-I/BYU-H devotional addresses, or Women’s Conference talks, or notes about talks from General Authorities
6.) anything else gospel related/Sunday appropriate reading material

I look forward to reading things you share!

Reading Again and Again

If you missed my post yesterday – I finished the Book of Mormon on January 31st at 11:30pm! I made my goal of finishing by the end of January (although my goal changed a few times along the way).

As I was reading about the destruction in Ether and Moroni, I started getting really excited to start at the beginning again. I already had a brand new economy copy of the Book of Mormon ready for service! Doesn’t it just look like it is ready to be devoured?

I did the calculations, and including the title page, witness pages, and Joseph Smith history pages, I need to read approximately 1.6 pages of the Book of Mormon every day in order to finish by the end of the year. I decided that I am going to round up to two pages, that way if I miss a few days, or if I can only read one page, or half a page, some days, I’ll be fine.

My desire to read the Book of Mormon each year stems from a desire to be like Elder Richard G. Scott’s wife. In October General Conference, Elder Scott said this about his wife:

“For I don’t know how many years, as the end of the year approached, I would see [my wife] sitting quietly, carefully finishing the entire Book of Mormon yet another time before year’s end.”

I want to read the Book of Mormon cover to cover every year. I can’t remember where I read it (probably on the Book of Mormon Forum blog hop last year) (edit 2-3-12: turns out that was Cocoa from Chocolate on My Cranium! Thanks, Cocoa!), that someone mentioned keeping a scripture journal each time she read the Book of Mormon, and that she wanted to give one of the journals to each of her kids. Instead of keeping a separate journal, I use an economy copy of the Book of Mormon each time I read it, and I just use a regular old ball-point pen and underline, box, and circle words, draw, and write notes in the margins of the pages. By the time I am finished with the economy copy of the Book of Mormon, it is my scripture journal. But I loved this sister’s idea to give a copy to each of her kids. I think I will do this with my economy copies of the Book of Mormon. Since I will have a copy of the Book of Mormon for each year, I think I’ll have plenty of copies to share with my children.

As I write my thoughts and insights and questions in the margins of the pages, I think about this scripture:

“And upon these I write the things of my soul… for my soul delighteth in the scriptures, and my heart pondereth them, and writeth them for the learning and profit of my children. Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard.”  (2 Nephi 4:14-16)

As I write my thoughts and feelings and questions in the Book of Mormon margins, I feel like I am writing my own scriptures for my children. And I hope that I can teach them to love the Book of Mormon as much as I do.

How do you study the Book of Mormon? How do you motivate yourself to read it over and over again? Do you read the Book of Mormon every year? How many times have you read the Book of Mormon cover to cover?

Exactly One Line

(find the talk here – The Book of Mormon – A Book from God)

You may not know this about me, but a few years ago I finished my bachelors degree in Mathematics with a minor in Physics from Brigham Young University. I love math. I even love geometry. I didn’t at first, but the more I studied physics, the more I realized I loved geometry.

One of the basic postulates of geometry is that through any two points there is exactly one line. When I heard this postulate spoken of in General Conference by Elder Tad R. Callister I almost cheered! I love when the General Authorities talk about math and science concepts in Conference. I feel that there is something really divine about math and science.

But I digress.

The Book of Mormon. Elder Callister says that with it there is no middle ground, “It is either the word of God as professed, or it is a total fraud.” From a logical viewpoint, this makes sense. It can’t just be a “good book,” since it talks about the atonement of Jesus Christ and professes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God it either has to be from the devil or from God – because you can’t just write an untrue book about Jesus Christ without it being false. So either Joseph Smith received gold plates from an angel and translated them by the power of God as he said he did, or he was possessed by the devil and conjured up this book.

Elder Callister compared it to C. S. Lewis’ argument of why a person must either accept or reject the divinity of Jesus Christ – not merely think of him as a “good person” or a “prophet.” Said C. S. Lewis,

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. …You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God:or else a madman or something worse. … But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

I love C. S. Lewis. I enjoy a little bit of logic when it comes to the gospel – even though the ultimate test of truth comes through the Holy Ghost.

Back to the geometry lesson -  Elder Callister described why we need both the Bible and the Book of Mormon.

The principles of geometry state that there are an infinite number of lines that can be draw through one point. In every direction – not just the lines we can think of on a plane, but an entire space. Lines going everywhere! Who wouldn’t be confused with all those possibilities?

But add just one more point, and suddenly you have only one possibility – through any two points there is exactly one line. There are absolutely no other possibilities.

When you think of it that way, it is easy to see why there is only one true Church of Jesus Christ, and why that Church is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. The doctrine of the Church is based on the Bible and the Book of Mormon, together as testaments of Jesus Christ. As Elder Callister puts it, “Only one interpretation of Christ’s doctrines survives the testimony of these two witnesses.”

In his talk, Elder Callister described several instances where the Book of Mormon clarifies doctrine put forth in the Bible, but says, “none is more powerful nor poignant than the Book of Mormon’s discourses on the Atonement of Jesus Christ.” I love reading about the Savior, both in the gospels, and in the epistles of Paul in which he teaches people about the Savior. I love reading the words of Isaiah, which are rich in prophesies of the Savior. But by far my favorite place to read about the Savior and His mission is in the Book of Mormon. Some of my favorite passages are Mosiah chapter 4 and Alma chapter 42 – although nearly every page is full of testimonies of the Savior and His mission and atonement. There is something about reading the Book of Mormon that seems to pull me toward the Savior. My thoughts are turned to the Savior more often, my life is more in line with the teachings of the Savior, and my testimony of His divinity and atonement is strengthened.

In the Book of Mormon, Moroni teaches, “For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.” Which is exactly what the Savior taught when He said, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every … house divided against itself shall not stand. And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?” So, the Savior himself taught that if anything persuades people to believe in Him, it must be of God – because Satan cannot persuade people to believe in Christ, otherwise he would be divided against himself.

The Book of Mormon draws me closer to Christ almost involuntarily – without even trying, it pulls me to the Savior with an indescribable force. Then, as the Savior himself taught, it must be of God.

To any who have not read the Book of Mormon and think they know whether the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true Church of Christ, I tell you that you cannot know if it is true if you do not know whether or not the Book of Mormon is true. Elder Callister testified, “An honest, unbiased reading of the Book of Mormon will bring someone to the same conclusion as my great-great-grandfather, namely: ‘The devil could not have written it—it must be from God.’”

And as the 14 year old girl testified, “I have read every page of the Book of Mormon and I know it’s true.”

I, too, have read every page of the Book of Mormon, and I know it is of God. Every page draws me close to the Savior and testifies of Him. How grateful I am for its power and its truths.

How do you know the Book of Mormon is true? Have you experienced “an honest, unbiased reading of the Book of Mormon”? Do you judge the truthfulness of the Church without having read that book?

Find more insight on this talk over at
Diapers and Divinity’s General Conference Book Club

I should have kept my mouth shut

Well, I got a new calling (two actually, but that’s another story) a few weeks before Christmas – choir director! Which wasn’t a huge surprise – what was mostly surprising was that it took them so long. That was probably because when we started attending this ward I complained (only a little!) about having had so many music callings, and I kind of just wanted to try out something else, you know?

Well, it turns out that callings are actually from Heavenly Father and we don’t get to pick, and I will probably be a choir director for the rest of my life (or in some other music calling) and I have finally realized that I don’t mind that one bit! I love music. Love it. I am passionate about music, especially music in the Church.

So, I gave a talk in Sacrament meeting several years ago when I was the choir director for a different ward (I posted an edited version of that talk here). One of the talks I read in preparation for that talk was Elder Dallin H. Oaks’ talk in November 1994 General Conference titled “Worship through Music.”

Last week I was talking with one of the counselors in the bishopric and he mentioned that the Bishop was thinking about spending some time during Ward Conference (in two weeks) talking about singing during Sacrament meeting, because he had noticed that a lot of the members of our ward don’t even pick up the hymnbook during the hymns. I mentioned that I had given that talk on the importance of music and had read that amazing talk by Elder Oaks addressing the exact topic!

That’s where I should’ve kept my mouth shut.

Because now I am giving that talk (well, another edit of it, since the other talk was actually about teaching children music) in Sacrament meeting next week.

And leading the choir in a special musical number.

Good thing I already taught today in Relief Society (oh yeah, I have three callings – but they call the RS teacher and ward organist “part time” callings…). I wonder how long until my ward gets sick of seeing me? (my husband and I gave talks in October, the same day that I gave the lesson in Relief Society. It was great).

In other news, my two year old came down from bed a little while ago with my economy Book of Mormon clutched to her chest. She loves the Book of Mormon, and she can’t even read yet! She mostly just loves carrying it around with her – but she doesn’t carry around any other book – just the Book of Mormon. In fact, she just fell asleep on the couch beside me snuggling it like a teddy bear.

All I know is seeing her hugging the Book of Mormon made my heart swell. I love my kids. Being a mother is the greatest thing I have ever done, and I love it. Absolutely love it. I try to remind myself how much I love it every day – especially when I am tempted to complain about how hard it is. It is hard! But what good things aren’t?

We Do Not Doubt Our Mothers Knew It

At the Denver Temple in Littleton, CO

On Fast Sundays in Sacrament Meeting (our main worship service) congregation members are invited to get up and share their testimonies. Our four year old, V, always wants to get up. Because four year olds can be… loquacious… and sometimes say things that don’t make sense, I always grill him before he goes up (out of principle, I don’t “help” our kids with their testimonies when they are at the pulpit saying it – if I were to help them, it would be my testimony, and not theirs – if they are going to bear their testimony in front of people, they need to learn to have their own testimony. I’ll help them at home, or even in the pew, but once they get up there, it’s all on their own).

I’m glad I grilled V on Sunday because at first he was talking about Santa Claus hurting Jesus or something crazy like that (four year old imaginations are… active). Usually I tell him that he gets to go up and tell everyone the things he knows are true (and then I give him some ideas, like “I know Jesus is my Savior”  “I know Heavenly Father loves me.” “I know the scriptures are true.”)

On Sunday, his testimony (which he ran by me in the pew, and then bore powerfully – as powerfully as a four year old can – which believe me, it’s pretty powerful – at the pulpit) was this:

“Jesus died on the cross for us.
If we obey Him we can live with Him again forever.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last night before bed I was reading in a little book I found (probably at DI? I have no clue where this book came from. Maybe my husband’s stash of books we got last fall from his folks’ house after we finally bought our own place? Who knows) called What Latter-day Stripling Warriors Learn from their Mothers. I reached for that particular book last night because I came to Alma 53 in the Book of Mormon in my personal scripture reading before bed.

For those of you unfamiliar with Alma chapter 53, it is in this chapter where the Nephites (who have been doing a great job defending themselves against the Lamanites, and even took a bunch of Lamanites prisoner – thanks to Captain Moroni and Lehi) start getting beat down a little by the Lamanites again (“thus because of iniquity amongst themselves, yea, because of dissensions and intrigue among themselves”) and the people of Ammon (who had “taken an oath that they never would shed blood more”) were “moved with compassion and were desirous to take up arms in defence of their country.”

Well, turns out breaking covenants is frowned upon, and Helaman (another mighty Nephite military leaders) helped persuade them not to break their covenants.

But it turns out those men who had made covenants had sons who hadn’t made a covenant not to fight. So they rose up, took up arms, and “entered into a covenants to fight for the liberty of the Nephites, yea to protect the land unto the laying down of their lives; yea, even they covenanted that they would never give up their liberty, but they would fight in all cases to protect the Nephites and themselves from bondage.” I think it is interesting that we always talk about the Stripling warriors and how much their mothers taught them – but what about what their fathers taught them? Their fathers taught them about making and keeping covenants. Although the purpose of the covenant for the sons was different than the covenant of their fathers, those boys knew how to make and keep covenants because they watched their fathers make a keep covenants.

I love the story of the Stripling Warriors, and I had never really thought much about what they learned from their fathers either, but I thought it was really profound that they were willing to enter into such a covenant to protect the Nephites.

Back to the book I was reading. As I was reading I thought a lot about what the stripling warriors said to Helaman “We do not doubt our mothers knew it.” and I got to thinking, “Do my kids know that I know?” and “What did their mothers know? What do I need to know and make sure my kids don’t doubt that I know it?” I thought about the characteristics of these young boys as described in Alma 53:20-21 “they were exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity; but behold, this was not all – they were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted. Yea, they were men of truth and soberness, for they had been taught to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before him.” Children model what they see, so if I want my children to be like the stripling warriors, I must be like them – courageous, strong, be active, be true, be sober. And I must teach them to keep the commandments of God (by keeping those commandments myself).

In Alma 56:47, Helaman describes what they learned from their mothers, “yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them.” So their mothers taught them faith in God. And they “did not doubt [their] mothers knew it.”

I want my children to be able to say that about me – I want them to know that if they have faith, God will deliver them from whatever trial or tribulation they may face. And I want them to know that I have a testimony. How do I do that? I guess I share my testimony with them every day, and I live according to my testimony.

How can I show my children that I know the gospel is true? How can I show them that I have faith? What things do I need to know so that my children will be able to say “We do not doubt our mother knew it”?

Mysteries of Heaven

I started reading this morning in Matthew chapter 13, but instead of reading straight through I decided I want to study each parable a little more in depth. Before studying the parables, though, I want to study parables in general.

Whenever I read parables, or read about parables, I am reminded of my days in high school English classes, reading great literature and writing papers about what the author was actually saying. I remember getting annoyed at this once my junior year of high school. In fact, I wrote a poem, trying to make it sound all allegorical, when in reality I was just writing about the topic at hand. I remember having my English teacher read it and tell me what He thought it was about. I don’t think he fell for my little trick, but I do know that my attitude about analyzing literature got a lot better my senior year. I was really good at it, after all. I got to the point where I actually enjoyed reading literature and analyzing it.

I didn’t realize how perfectly that skill would translate into my gospel study until I got to Brigham Young University and took my first Book of Mormon class. My professor was not a religion professor – he was a Mechanical Engineering professor, and his class was probably one of the best religion classes I took my entire time at BYU. He really taught me how to study the scriptures. In his class, we had one assignment each day. We were to read an assigned section of the Book of Mormon, and then write a one page paper (didn’t matter what font size, margins, spacing, etc – whatever got our thoughts to fit on one sheet of paper, and take up the whole paper) asking a question about what we read, and answering it. Our midterm was a paper on the words of Isaiah, and our final was a paper about our own personal testimony. I learned so much about studying the gospel from following that pattern – ask a question, then find the answer.

Another thing I learned in high school (from a seminary teacher? from a Young Women’s leader? a Sunday School teacher? my parents? not sure…) was that truth can be found anywhere, and that the Spirit will help us discern truth. It was during high school that I started seeking for truth in all of my studies. As I would read textbooks and other reading assignments, as I would listen to my teacher’s lectures, I would carefully listen to the Spirit to discern what was true, and what was simple man’s philosophies. It wasn’t always easy, and I am sure that I wasn’t always accurate, but developing that ability to find truth in all things has been a real blessing in my life.

Between these two skills – being able to ask questions and find answers, and being able to find truth in all things – I have felt my study of the gospel has been greatly enriched.

One of the places I feel I have really been able to apply these two skills are in studying the words of Isaiah, and in studying parables.”

The word parable means “setting side by side, a comparison”. In a parable, gospel principles and doctrine are described by ordinary things – things in every day life. The Lord often taught this way (in parables) – and more so during his Galilean ministry. This is not really surprising, since the Savior was a Galilean, and His teaching was a lot harder to stomach by people who knew Him, and knew His family. Such an “ordinary” person could not be the Savior. Could he?

Why did the Savior teach in parables? He tells us in Matthew 13. “Because it is given unto you [the disciples] to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them [people who don’t believe Christ] it is not given.” We get as much truth from parables as we are ready to receive. I feel like we get as much truth out of life as we are ready to receive. My husband and I were recently talking about finding meaning in everything, and one of us made the observation that life must be more worth living if you can find meaning in everything. I think that is a true statement – because the more truth we are willing to see, the more truth we will find, and the more truth we have (light and knowledge) the closer to Heavenly Father we can be.

Do you find meaning in parables and the words of Isaiah? Are you able to find truth and meaning in everything? What is your favorite parable from the Savior? What is your favorite Latter-day parable?

Scripture Power

This is V’s favorite song these days. He hadn’t heard it before we started attending our English speaking ward. The first day he heard it he came home from Church singing “Scripture Power is the power to win!” and pumping his fist in the air like some crazy activist. But the words are true, and the tune is catchy, so it’s perfect for him.

Yesterday we read Elder Scott’s talk from October General Conference for GCBC, The Power of Scripture. There is definitely power in the scriptures. We have been trying to teach our children the stories of the scriptures.

Each day I try to have the kids pick a picture from the Gospel Art Book and then I read to them the story (direct from the scriptures), and ask them questions about what is going on in the book. Usually we do this at meal time – either breakfast or lunch. I find that my children are more attentive when they are sitting still (and eating helps them sit still). We have read the story of David and Goliath, the story of Captain Moroni, and the story of Jesus calming the sea. There are pictures to so many of the scripture stories in this book, I am excited to share them all with my children.

Our children also watch the Church’s Scripture Story videos. They are produced by the Church and are simply still motion videos of the Scripture Story books also produced by the Church. I love these books because they are a very simple introduction to the stories of the scriptures. Of course, they do not replace reading the actual words of the scriptures, but the nice thing about the books is that they include the scripture reference for each picture, so if you want, you can read the actual text from the scripture to go along with the pictures. We often do that for our family scripture study.

I am always excited to share the scriptures with my children, and it is a blessing to have all these materials made available by the Church to help us teach them about the scriptures. I need to be more consistent in sharing the scriptures with my children so that they will develop a testimony of the power of the scriptures in their lives.

How do you teach your children about the scriptures? Do you read to them? Do you show them pictures? Do you have a schedule? Are you consistent? What resources do you use?

The Power of Scripture

(find the talk here)

I love the scriptures. Just last night my husband and I were talking and reading to each other from the scriptures and I got excited over them! It felt like when I was in college and I would understand a new physics or math concept and I just got all warm and fuzzy inside, knowing that I had just learned something amazing. The feeling I get from reading the Book of Mormon is usually more like an old friend, hearing the plan of salvation explained the way it is over and over again in the Book of Mormon makes my heart leap for joy. But in the same moment, I get the excitement of learning something new, as I did in college when I was learning so many new things.

Elder Richard G. Scott’s talk at October General Conference resonated deeply with me. As you can tell from the title of this blog, My Soul Delighteth, I love the scriptures. I always have. My favorite part about Seminary as a youth was memorizing the scripture mastery verses. Unfortunately, as I graduated and moved on from Seminary, I didn’t keep all of those scriptures memorized – I didn’t refer to them as I should have, and I didn’t add to my “collection” of memorized scriptures. They have faded away, like an old friend we loose touch with.

Elder Scott’s talk inspired me to re-memorize those scripture mastery verses, as well as add new scriptures to my arsenal of memorized scriptures - “packets of light.”

The scriptures are incredibly important in our lives. They are one of the tools Heavenly Father has provided for us to “be successful in our mortal probation.” The scriptures are “a type of handbook.” If you wish God had written a handbook about life, He did – it is the scriptures. If you wish God had written a handbook for parenting, He did – it is the scriptures. The scriptures can enlighten our minds and help us find solutions to all of life’s difficult challenges. Elder Scott said that scriptures “can become the key to open the channel to communion with our Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ.” If you are wondering how to communicate with Heavenly Father, the answer is to read the scriptures. Through the scriptures you can find answers to your problems, and they will open the door to personal revelation and inspiration from Heavenly Father.

“Learning, pondering, searching, and memorizing scriptures is like filling a filing cabinet with friends, values, and truths that can be called upon anytime, anywhere in the world.” Over and over again as Elder Scott spoke of the scriptures, I felt inspired to memorize scriptures. Scriptures that I have memorized have come to my mind at important times in my life, and have been those “friends” that I have needed. I was intrigued by Elder Scott’s declaration that “Scriptures can calm an agitated soul, giving peace, hope, and a restoration of confidence in one’s ability to overcome the challenges of life. They have potent power to heal emotional challenges when there is faith in the Savior. They can accelerate physical healing.” I knew the first part, sure – that scriptures can help us overcome the challenges of life. However, when he spoke of the scriptures healing emotional challenges and accelerating physical healing, my curiosity was piqued. Really? I have been enduring so many emotional challenges lately, and I desperately need healing. Perhaps as I immerse myself in the scriptures I will receive a more powerful healing.

The interesting thing about life is that our perspective changes every day – nearly every minute. The more we live, the more our perspective changes, just because we are having more experiences. “A scripture that we may have read many times can take on nuances of meaning that are refreshing and insightful when we face a new challenge in life.” Just last night I experienced this as I read the story of Amalickiah and the Lamanites in the Book of Mormon. I was reminded of Governor Bogg’s extermination order in Missouri. I was reminded of Hitler’s attempted extermination of the Jews in Europe, and the brave people who helped Jews hide and escape. And then I gained new insight about the way Satan works to carefully lead us down to @#!*% . I have read this story before, but as I have grown in the gospel, my perspective has changed and my understanding has increased.

One of the scriptures that Elder Scott quoted struck me today. He quoted Samuel who said, “Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel  15:22) Last night my husband and I were talking about how interesting it was the the descendents of Lehi and Ishamael had the fullness of the gospel on the American continents (even though they still obeyed the Law of Moses) while in the middle east, the children of Israel could barely even keep the Law of Moses. We compared Laman and Lemuel to the children of Israel who saw miracles, and yet continued to harden their hearts. And then, I read the scripture in Samuel which Elder Scott quoted. “To obey is better than sacrifice.” That is part of the fulfillment of the Mosaic law – the sacrifices that the Jews performed under the Mosaic law were symbols of obedience and of the atonement of the Savior. But the actual obedience was the most important part – and that was the part the children of Israel had a hard time with. But it wasn’t a completely unknown truth. I imagine the prophets tried to get the Israelites to live God’s law more fully, and I wonder how heartbroken they were when they realized that the children of Israel were often not even willing to keep the Law of Moses.

Elder Scott said, “the Book of Mormon teaches truth with unique clarity and power.” I also believe that to be true. There is a feeling that I get when I read the Book of Mormon that I don’t really get anywhere else. However, I am realizing that I need to expand my study of the scriptures and search out truth in all of the Standard works. Elder Scott asked, “Do you use all of the standard works, including the Old Testament?” To be honest, I use mostly the Book of Mormon in my study of the scriptures. One of the goals I took away from Elder Scott’s talk was to read all of the standard works. I am going to try to complete the entire standard works before next General Conference. That might be a little ambitious, and I won’t be completely sad if I don’t make it, but I want to make the effort, and I want to read all of the scriptures. I am going to make sure I pick out some verses to memorize from the Old Testament. There is a lot of really good truth in the Old Testament, and I want to make it a bigger part of my life.

My final goal came from listening to Elder Scott talk about his wife, Jeanene. I have a feeling he will probably mention her at least once in every conference talk he gives from now on. How he loved his wife. I admire her a lot, just from the way Elder Scott speaks about her. This talk was no different. “My precious wife, Jeanene, loved the Book of Mormon. In her youth, as a teenager, it became the foundation of her life.” I am not a teenager any more, although the Book of Mormon was a large part of my life when I was a teenager – but it is not too late to make the Book of Mormon the foundation of my life. “For I don’t know how many years, as the end of the year approached, I would see her sitting quietly, carefully finishing the entire Book of Mormon yet another time before year’s end.” This was my final goal from Elder Scott’s talk. To read the Book of Mormon at least once all the way through each year.

I purchase an economy copy of the Book of Mormon each time I read it, so that it is a fresh slate and I can mark it up new again and write in the margins. I put the start date and the finish date. So far in the past several years I have only used two copies (I am almost finished with copy #2). At the end of this year, though, when I finish the Book of Mormon again, I am going to read the Book of Mormon once each year. If I start new in January with a new economy copy, I will be able to judge my progress as the year goes by. I am really excited to start reading the Book of Mormon each year. My husband, who speaks several languages, is going to read the Book of Mormon in a new language each year and I get to surprise him with the language.

In summary, the goals I came away with from Elder Scott’s talk are:
1.) Memorize the scripture mastery verses from Seminary, and add other scriptures, including scriptures from the Old Testament
2.) Read the entire Standard Works (including the Old Testament)
3.) Read the Book of Mormon once every year

How do you study the scriptures? How do you memorize scriptures? Do you keep your memorized scriptures around like an old friend? How often do you read the Book of Mormon? Do you read the Old Testament and the other standard works? What goals have you made concerning the scriptures?

Find more insight on this talk over at
Diapers and Divinity’s General Conference Book Club

That Our Children May Know

I put my two year old down for a nap in my bed a few weeks ago. When I came back to check on her, this is what I found:

If you can’t tell or don’t know what the book is, it is an economy edition of the Book of Mormon (I have a picture of one on the sidebar over there ----> ) I use an economy edition when I read the Book of Mormon straight through so it is like a fresh slate and I leave myself open to new inspiration.

She even had a pencil (she was marking her favorite scriptures, I’m sure!)

“And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.”

                               ~2 Nephi 25:26

And in Church on Sunday during sacrament meeting, our four year old pulled out his Book of Mormon and started underlining the words. I showed him the word “Cristo” (Christ, in Portuguese – it was his Portuguese edition) and “Deus” (God, in Portuguese). He proceeded to go through the pages, underlining those two words when he found them. This honestly surprised me, because he doesn’t read (yet). What touched my heart, though, was how excited he was to be finding “Christ” and “God” in the scriptures (and I’m sure part of it was how excited he was to write in his scriptures).

“For my soul delighteth in the scriptures, and my heart pondereth them, and writeth them for the learning and the profit of my children.”

                           ~2 Nephi 4:15

This is why I study the scriptures. This is why I write about them. And this is why I talk to my children about them. I may start adding a post for Tuesdays and Thursdays about teaching your children about the scriptures.

How do you teach your children about the scriptures? How do you feel when your children seem to understand something important about the scriptures?