Joyful Journeys

I’ve discovered my own personal “Fountain of Youth”.  My life philosophy is that we are, or should be, constantly learning.  I believe that I'll only be old if I ever stop learning, or when I think I know everything on any given subject.  My goal is to never become old.

Over the years, I’ve sought out training to help me gain new skills and improve the skills I have. An excellent dentist I know (my older brother), attends seminars, conferences, classes, etc. to maintain and improve his skills.  He has stated that since his graduation his skill set has completely changed from the techniques he learned at university.  Governments in most countries require on-going training in order to keep professional licenses current. I feel greater confidence in the services I obtain from a professional who is consistently learning new skills.

Throughout my life, I’ve observed, heard of and worked with wonderful and not so wonderful management. I was recently promoted to be a supervisor at work.  I’ve been trying to incorporate the excellent traits I've seen and learn from the few bad examples.  

Being a supervisor involves training and correction.  There are, and always will be, mistakes made.  We are human beings, not robots.  Computers don't suffer from fatigue, stress or distraction. Sometimes, managers intentionally or otherwise, embarrass or humiliate over small or large mistakes.  Many employees either internalize and self-deprecate,or get discouraged and quit altogether.  

On the other hand, when the employee is given sufficient training done in a respectful, and supportive manner, they improve, office atmosphere improves, and everyone is benefited.  When correction is needed at my place of work, it’s all part of training. No shame, no guilt, just training.

Repentance is part of training for our lives, yet it often gets a bad rap.  When we make a mistake we tend to endlessly berate ourselves and others.  If you were to look up a picture to accompany a lesson on repentance, it’s almost always of someone crying or looking miserable. How well could you sell a training conference ticket if the ad was showing everyone sobbing or looking defeated?  Godly, not eternal sorrow is required.

I just read my thoughts to my wonderful, wise husband who is also an excellent supervisor.  His comment was “Mistakes can be either soul-crushing, life-ending events or  learning experiences.”

Global Positioning Systems (GPS) are excellent examples of good supervisors.  The technology helps us find where we are want to go.  If we don't follow exactly, or misunderstand the directions given, it simply gives us a quick warning sound, 'duhroop', recalculates a path to the correct route and helps us get back on our way to our destination.  I don't think a GPS app that insults the user would sell very well.

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, it has been revealed that we are to partake of the sacrament weekly.  When we partake worthily and ask for forgiveness, our sins are washed away and we are clean.  Our Father in Heaven knew that we would need to repent often and gave us the opportunity to do so.  It is part of His eternal Plan of Happiness.  


Our Savior lovingly invites all to "Come, follow me," (Matthew 4:19).  When we follow the Savior, the Holy Ghost becomes our spiritual GPS. He sends a spiritual duhroop when we've stumbled or left the Savior's path. He patiently, lovingly recalculates and waits until we're ready to try again. He shows us how to come back to the "strait and narrow way" (Matthew 7:14).

We then must heed the correction, follow the prompting, and do the work of getting back on the correct path. Sometimes the work we need to do is pretty quick and relatively painless. Other times we need a major course correction, some repairs, and a commitment to not repeat the mistake(s). But our Father and our Savior are always there for us, leading us onward through the promptings we receive from the Holy Ghost.

I hope that we can keep learning and be kind to ourselves and others on our journey through this life and thereby remain young in heart and in spirit. I've linked the song that inspired my thoughts below.  

 "Gentle" Michael Mclean (LDS composer)

Musing on Ministering

The Ministering program is part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, to which I belong.

"Ministering is learning of and attending to others’ needs. It is doing the Lord’s work. When we minister, we are representing Jesus Christ and acting as His agents to watch over, lift, and strengthen those around us."  https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/ministering/what-is-ministering?lang=eng

For years, I’ve heard this statement in regards to “Ministering” or what was formerly known as “Home and Visiting Teaching”,

“I don’t believe in assigned friends."

I was blessed with parents who home and visit taught.  I saw how they blessed other people's lives. Each with an assigned companion, visited assigned brothers and sisters. They taught, served and comforted them.  I knew I wanted to minister because of their examples. Over many years, I’ve met my dearest friends through these programs. Sometimes, I have struggled reaching out to assigned sisters I didn't know well.

When a member of our church is called to a volunteer position such as a teacher or leadership over an organization, they are given a priesthood blessing with hands placed on their head that is known as being "set apart". It confers  responsibility and stewardship in the role and blesses them in fulfilling it. Perhaps, it's because we are not formally set apart as ministering sisters and brothers that it’s hard sometimes to feel the spirit of the assignment to minister?

In pondering these things, the Holy Ghost reminded me that each of us have been called and set apart to minister. 

In the Book of Mormon, in Mosiah 18:8-10, the Prophet Alma teaches,

8 …Behold, here are the waters of Mormon … and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;

9 Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—

10 … if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, when we are baptized we take upon us these covenants.  When we enter the Holy Temple, we also take upon ourselves sacred covenants.  Each week we worthily partake of the Sacrament, we renew all of the covenants we have made.

A prophet of the Lord, President Spencer W. Kimball said: “… the real purpose of the sacrament, (is) to help us to remember … [that which we have] covenanted at the water’s edge or at the sacrament table and in the temple.”³ The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1982), p. 112.

Everyone of us who has entered the waters of Baptism has covenanted to bear our brothers and sisters burdens.  Prophets of the Lord have asked us to help watch over our Father’s sheep and lambs.

I hope that we can all discover the joy of ministering to our Heavenly Father’s children - our brothers and sisters.

Each of us will be blessed as much and, in my experience, even more than those whom we minister to.

Empty Vessels

When life's concerns are weighing down on me, I go to my house of worship, the Temple, to find comfort, answers and relief from my cares and concerns.  

We believe that Temples are God's houses on earth.  In every Latter Day Saint Temple, there is a Celestial Room.  It is an exquisitely beautiful, peaceful place where we can rest and reflect, pray and ponder.  

One particularly hard day, I was noticing the furnishings in the room. On a side table, under a picture of the Savior, there was an empty vase.  I love flowers and I wondered why someone would choose to leave a vase empty.

This thought came almost instantly to my mind.  There is a tradition among native Americans known as a "worry" or "burden" basket.  Anyone entering the home is asked to symbolically place their problems in the basket and leave them there before they enter the home.  They would ask God to carry their burdens for them.  The Spirit whispered to my heart, "Give it all to Him. Trust him." 

Matthew 11:28-30  Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.  

Psalm 55:22 Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.  

I love the promises in these verses! 

As I've visited other Temples, I've noticed empty bowls and vases in every one.  I keep them in my home as a visual reminder to give my burdens to God and then listen for answers to my fervent prayers.

This life is a test. Some days my trials feel like I'm living in a nuclear bomb testing zone.  I continue to have days when I struggle but it gives me hope to know His promises are sure.

Receiving Personal Revelation

Personal Revelation

The Holy scriptures are so precious to me. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, an apostle of Jesus Christ, posed the question, what other books when they are read and re-read offer new insights to those who seek?

While reading in the scriptures the other day, I pondered about the promises, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you, ask and ye shall receive. I searched www.lds.org/scriptures and found the phrase “seek and ye shall find” quoted 60 times, “knock and it shall be opened unto you” quoted 24 times and “ask and it shall be given unto you” stated 63 times. It fills me with hope that in all three statements, the Lord uses the word “shall”, not maybe, not possibly, not probably, “shall”.  God covenants with us that if we actively seek Him, we will find answers.

What does it mean to seek, knock and ask? I’d always thought that all three statements referred to prayer but wondered if there was more to it.  I asked in prayer and these were the impressions I had. When we seek answers in the Holy Scriptures we shall find.  We knock by going to worship services and Holy Places including Holy Temples.  We ask by praying to our Father in Heaven. He loves us and wants us to grow by actively seeking, knocking and asking.  

Our Prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, taught...

"Even more amazing than modern technology is our opportunity to access information directly from heaven, without hardware, software, or monthly service fees. It is one of the most marvelous gifts the Lord has offered to mortals. It is His generous invitation to "ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”1

How can we know that the answers we are receiving are from God? President Nelson in the 2018 April General Conference said, "Revelation from God is always compatible with His eternal law. It never contradicts his doctrine." My litmus test for truth is that it fits like a puzzle piece with every other truth I know. The Holy Spirit fills my heart and I feel peace.

I love the pure and simple truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Further reading…

President Russell M. Nelson-Ask, Seek, Knock

Elder D. Todd Christoferson - Truth Endures

Claiming our Birthright

Claiming our Birthright

Imagine with me…you are going for a walk with your Father. It’s a beautiful day and you’re enjoying the beauty around you.  Your Father turns to you and tells you that he is planning on retiring in the near future and he’d like you to take over the multi-million dollar family business.  It is your birthright.  You are thrilled!  The family business is prosperous and you and your children and children’s children will have great wealth and stability. 

Your Father councils you that the business he has worked so hard to build is very complex and will require extensive training so that you will be prepared to take over.  Never having actually worked in the business, the promised rewards are so spectacular that the work required seems simple.  You are told that you start your training tomorrow.  Instantly visions of an office with a view, company car, business trips, and long lunches come to mind. 

The next morning you wake up and head to the office prepared for greatness. When you arrive, you are handed a broom and mop and instructed to clean the floor.  This is not what you were expecting.  How long will it take before you are ready to run the company? Is this how the future company President is treated?  You are the heir apparent.  Your first priority is to find out where’s your Father’s office is and explain to him the mix-up.  

Lunch time finally arrives and you rush to his office.  He listens patiently as you explain to him about the confusion and how you know you are ready to get to the “real” work.  He invites you to sit in on the Board of Directors meeting starting in the next few minutes and offer suggestions.  This will be great!

The meeting begins and suddenly you feel like you’re in another country where they speak a different language.  Your Father looks over at you from time to time with an expression indicating that he’s wondering if you have anything to contribute. You start to avoid his gaze.  After what feels like an eternity, the meeting is over. 

After everyone has left the room, he invites you to sit down. He then patiently explains that he wants you to learn the business from the ground up. By doing this, you will then understand each worker’s needs and be able to keep the company strong. 

Now, he tells you that it is your decision.  Do you want to pay the price required to receive your birthright?

Our Heavenly Father wants to give us everything.  He wants us to be like Him. We are given tasks and instructions, also known as commandments, as gifts so that we may be like Him.  We also have been given the gift of agency.  We can choose the level of our happiness and peace in this life and in our next existence. 

President Howard W. Hunter taught,

“To fully understand this gift of agency…it is imperative that we understand that God’s chief way of acting is by persuasion and patience and long-suffering, not by coercion and stark confrontation … He wants to help us and pleads for the chance to assist us, but he will not do so in violation of our agency. He loves us too much to do that, and doing so would run counter to his divine character.” ¹

Our Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ will never force us to obey the commandments.  They lovingly invite us to choose the right. We choose our actions but we cannot choose the consequences of our actions.

Anita Canfield, in her book, “The Young Woman and her Self-Esteem” tells a story of her teenage son who is frustrated with his parent’s rules.  He talks about wanting to be an adult so that he doesn’t have to follow any rules.  His Dad reminds him that adults must obey physical laws, such as getting enough sleep and obeying traffic and civil laws or there are adverse consequences. Not wanting to be out done, the son said he wanted to be a God someday so that he didn’t have to answer to anyone.  Her husband’s comment has stuck with me all these years, “God is God because he obeys all the rules.”

The Prophet, Brigham Young stated,

“The volition of [man] is free; this is a law of their existence, and the Lord cannot violate his own law; were he to do that, he would cease to be God.²

Sometimes, it’s hard to follow all the commandments. We want to skip to the blessings. Our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus the Christ had no home, no luxuries.  His entire life was spent teaching, serving and administering to others.  Elder Neal A. Maxwell said, “Jesus descended below all things in order to be able to comprehend all things (see D&C 88:6; 122:8). Thus he is not only a fully atoning Savior but is a fully comprehending Savior as well.³

My husband refers to this life as the ETC – the Eternal Training Center.  This is the time of preparation for eternal life with our Father, our Savior and our families. We can choose to follow his curriculum or we can choose to follow our own paths.  Brother Brad Wilcox taught, “We are learning heaven. We are preparing for it. We are practicing for it." ^4,5    

Our Father sent his son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins.  Because of his infinite Atonement, when can choose to continuously repent, follow God’s commandments and return to inherit all the incomprehensible blessings he has prepared for us.  Are we prepared to pay the price to inherit our birthright?

Elder Neal A. Maxwell taught, "How can you and I really expect to glide naively through life, as if to say, 'Lord, give me experience, but not grief, not sorrow, not pain, not opposition, not betrayal, and certainly not to be forsaken. Keep from me, Lord, all those experiences which made Thee what Thou art! Then, let me come and dwell with Thee and fully share Thy joy!'" 6

1. The-golden-thread-of-choice-lds.org

2. Journal of Discourses, 11:272.

3.  In Him All Things Hold Together-lds.org

4. https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/brad-wilcox_his-grace-is-sufficient/

5. Doctrine and Covenants 78:7

6. Neal A. Maxwell

Creating or Destroying?

I love the holy scriptures. I love to read them. The Lord teaches me great truths as I feast upon His words.

Recently, I was pondering about the Creation of the world. A friend once that told me that she wondered why it was so important for us to learn about the Creation, so, I asked our Heavenly Father in prayer.

What happened next came (how my dear friend, Lori describes it) as a truth download!  None of what came was new, it was just in a different format than I'd ever received it in.

Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ CREATE! They build up.

Satan DESTROYS! He tears down.

Satan encourages us to create evil things so that he can then make sure we are completely destroyed. He ensures our destruction.

Every thought and choice we make are either creating or destroying, ourselves and others.  

No matter how many times Satan inspires us or others around us to destroy by our thoughts and choices, the Atonement is INFINITE! (see 2 Nephi 9:7)

There is an ancient Japanese art called Kintsugi. Broken pottery is repaired with seams of gold or silver.  When we are broken by our own sins and mistakes and by the sins and mistakes of others, the Savior Jesus Christ can heal our souls when we repent. 

The Atonement of Jesus Christ is truly infinite. It will never run out. I picture myself as a broken vessel that is filled with seams of gold and silver every time I access the Savior's Atonement.

Our Father and Savior created the world, Satan sought to destroy it with the Fall of mankind.  The Savior, through the Atonement, when we choose to come to Him and follow Him, heals and repairs our souls and makes us more beautiful than we were previously.

One of the best talks ever about this subject is given by our prophet, President Russell M. Nelson...Constancy amid Change.

Our Father in Heaven invites us to build ourselves and others up and create beauty in this world.

Letting Go

Today this says it all....

Let Go and Let God via God 411