Taking On the Name of Christ

I was recently asked to speak in our Church's Sabbath Worship, called Sacrament Meeting. This is the talk I gave. 

Sunday July 24, 2016

There I was, 8 years old, getting ready for my baptism, watching them fill up the baptismal font and watching the steam rise as it filled. Thinking of the warmth I would soon feel as I entered the waters of baptism.

Soon I was shaking a bit. Nerves? Yes, I was nervous, but also because that steam wasn’t because the water was warm… it was because the room was warm and the water was … FREEZING!

No, the warmth I felt at my baptism may not have come from the water, but it did come from the joy I felt at partaking of this most precious ordinance of the gospel.

Once baptized, we take on Christ’s name and with it the responsibility to act in his name, on his behalf. That seems like such a daunting task at times. But he has provided us ways to know how to do this.

One of the most beautifully written is The Living Christ. Written in April 2000 by the First Presidency and Quorum of the 12 Apostles, it is a declaration of the life and ministry of our living Christ.

Let me share with you the first paragraphs.

The Living Christ:

"As we commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ two millennia ago, we offer our testimony of the reality of His matchless life and the infinite virtue of His great atoning sacrifice. None other has had so profound an influence upon all who have lived and will yet live upon the earth.

He was the Great Jehovah of the Old Testament, the Messiah of the New. Under the direction of His Father, He was the creator of the earth. “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3). Though sinless, He was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. He “went about doing good” (Acts 10:38), yet was despised for it. His gospel was a message of peace and goodwill. He entreated all to follow His example. He walked the roads of Palestine, healing the sick, causing the blind to see, and raising the dead. He taught the truths of eternity, the reality of our premortal existence, the purpose of our life on earth, and the potential for the sons and daughters of God in the life to come."
Click here to read the entire document

1.)"He went about doing good

                Not only did Christ go about doing good works, he did good works that were hard and were NOT popular, or were tiring, or probably inconvenient! The story in St. John chapter 8 comes to mind of the woman that was brought before him who was caught in sin and the punishment was to be to stone her.

In his very loving way, he asked for those without sin to cast the first stone. But what I love besides that,  is the very next verse. It isn’t talked about much, but it’s the verse I need to hear the most!

 What did Christ do?
Vs: 8  And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.

Now the reason this means so much to me, is that I know myself, that when I am in the mode of  protective “mama bear” and stepping in to stop someone from being stoned, I can tell you I am not usually just going to quietly sit down. No, an eye to eye stare down with my arms crossed  and a “don’t mess with me” look on my face is more my style.

Christ just left them to quietly contemplate  what he said, not judgement and accusations.  he  acted with peace and goodwill  towards them, even  the accusers.

For me, it’s this tiny little action, of how he treated the accusers, the stone throwers,  that is such a bigger, deeper faith building lesson on the true divinity of Christ. It truly shows his true nature, and mission. He truly treated ALL men with peace and goodwill.

 Many of us are willing to step in front of stones, but how do we treat the stone throwers?
I need to work on this one.

As I've gotten more experienced with my responsibilities of acting on Christs behalf, I've learned to better recognize the promptings or whisperings of the Holy Ghost nudging me to do things that are out of my planned things for the day.

 A wise Christian will learn to heed those promptings right away without questioning them or delay. I usually tell my children when they were growing up. "If you get the idea to do something for someone, if it is a kind and good thing... then just do it. Don't stop to question whether it is a prompting or not. Just go and don't delay doing it." You'll be amazed at the blessings that will come to you and to others when you just make this a practice in your life.

My husband is such a great example of this.  Our next door neighbor, Bob, has passed away now, but we were very close and miss him dearly. One day while we were driving home from running errands we were literally just a mile or so from home when Jay felt the need to call Bob and just check on him. Although to me, I thought it could wait till we got home.. in like 1 minute, Jay proceeded to call him. It turned out Bob was in the parking lot of the grocery store   and was having such a low blood sugar he was nearly in a coma. We were just pulling off of the highway right where the grocery store is when we called, and Jay had some glucose with him and we were able to get him treated literally within a minute or so. Our beloved Bob had a few more years to bless our lives, and I am forever grateful for the lesson I learned from my husband that day to not delay a simple prompting as to pick up the phone and check on someone. "Even though I am almost home.... I will go and do the thing the Lord commands".

2) His message was of Peace and Goodwill:

In a BYU Devotional: Julie Franklin spoke of this:

When Christ was in situations where He was challenged, confronted, or pestered, we read of a man who stood firm and unshaken. When He rebuked individuals who needed correction, His words were measured and delivered with the precise level of emotion to bring about the desired result. During the events leading to the Crucifixion, Jesus Christ did not shrink. I love the account where Christ was taken into custody and Peter, the loyal Apostle, drew his sword and cut off the ear of one of the high priest’s servants. Jesus did not use the opportunity to run, nor to feel smug that someone else might suffer a fraction of what He had and would endure. He also did not criticize Peter. With a few of what I would characterize gentle words to Peter, He simply touched the servant’s ear and healed him.¹¹We have no evidence Jesus was ever out of control; instead, in all things He displayed peace.

As for finding evidence of a person who possessed good will, there has never been another person whose entire life reflected benevolence more completely than Jesus Christ. At the lowest level of good will, I believe we simply think kindly or hope the best for others. At the highest level of good will, I believe we have charity. At some point in the middle I think we are service oriented. It appears Jesus never acted without considering the impact of His behavior on others. He comforted, gave hope, taught, healed the sick, and raised the dead. We know the Savior possessed charity; He provided us with the Atonement. In fact, He possessed charity so perfectly that when Mormon defined the wordcharity as “the pure love of Christ,”

• Simply put, we just need more kindness in the world today.
• We need to treat others that are different than us without fear or judgment but with a kindness for a brother /sister in our Heavenly Father’s kingdom.
  
  
• Spread more joy, kindness, tolerance, goodwill, peace,
• Use uplifting words-language-and thoughts.
• Stand up for people who are not being treated well, even if they are outside of your comfort zone.

 The church has asked us all to reach out to refugees. We all can do more to lift up and bless the lives of  others and spread goodwill!

You may have seen the story on social media of the LDS scout troop that took this challenge to heart and teamed up with the international rescue committee and built/put together some donated bikes and then taught the refugees how to ride them. What a blessing! They may not have money yet to own their own cars to get around, but to now own a bike, and know how to ride it. What a blessing for them! And what a wonderful experience for the scouts as well on serving God’s children.

Since I shared a story about my husband I’ll share a story about  one of my children, and how easy it can be to make a difference in the lives of  those in need.

Our oldest son Joshua had a student move into his class in first grade that had come as a refugee from another country. He’s 26 years old now, so this was quite a few years ago, but the student spoke no English at the time.  Joshua buddied up with him instantly to help him learn English and make sure he knew what to do in class and around school.  I remember the teacher telling me how impressed she was that Josh would do that, but the part that made us chuckle a bit, but was so sweet was at that time, if you did something good, you could earn  “bobcat” bucks. Then at certain times of the year you could go redeem those earned “dollars” at the school office for certain prizes. Well, Josh was very concerned that his new friend did not have a proper understanding of the value of the good old American bobcat buck so he insisted on being allowed to accompany his friend to redeem his dollars to make sure he got his money’s worth and wasn’t  “ripped off  and given  junk” by some cunning office secretary! They became life long friends all the way through high school and each was such a good influence on the other. (and his grandmother made the BEST spring rolls ever! )

Helping others can be as simple as helping those in our neighborhoods and communities know what we know. Share what we have, the smallest things really do mean the most, and can bring about the biggest changes in their lives and in ours.

Let me close with the words of Ezra Taft Benson:

"Yes, Christ changes men, and changed men can change the world.

Men changed for Christ will be captained by Christ. Like Paul they will be asking, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6.) Peter stated, they will “follow his steps.” (1 Pet. 2:21.) John said they will “walk, even as he walked.” (1 Jn. 2:6.)

Finally, men captained by Christ will be consumed in Christ. To paraphrase President Harold B. Lee, they set fire in others because they are on fire. (Stand Ye in Holy Places, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1974, p. 192.)

Their will is swallowed up in His will. (See John 5:30.)

They do always those things that please the Lord. (See John 8:29.)

Not only would they die for the Lord, but more important they want to live for Him".

The Bigger Picture: Why I Force Myself To Be In Photos

Gramma, Pawpaw, and our 2 grandbabies

If you know me at all, you know I detest (Hate with a capital H) my picture being taken.

 I'd rather be behind the camera, thank you very much.

The Flaws:
When I look at photos of myself I just cringe. ugghh!  I dislike the way  I look, the double chin, glasses slightly askew, my hair.. always looks messy.. I could go on and on. 

What They See:
 BUT I learned along time ago that when the day comes that you are gone. Your children and grandchildren won't look at your photos and see all your flaws.

 They only see you, their mama, their gramma. The woman they love. The woman they miss.

•  They see the twinkle in your eye from the funny joke you just cracked, not your glasses. 
• They notice  that your hair was always "messy" because you never stopped moving, cooking, cleaning, helping with homework, etc to bother looking in the mirror at yourself.
•  Seeing you in your apron in the kitchen with flour all over yourself reminds them of the homemade pizza (or insert your famous recipe here).  They can almost smell it when the see the photo. 

Me (Gramma) and my granddaughter making her first pizza.

So you stop and smile: 

We Stop the negativity: Women, especially us women. We are so hard on ourselves. (me too!) We just avoid having our photos taken.
What message are we sending our daughters? What are we telling our sons to expect from their wives?  We teach our children about life, themselves, and how they should be by our actions even more than our words. What are we teaching them when we say: I hate my picture. I am so this, and so that.  We may never grow to like having our photos taken (I won't) but we can learn to suppress our angst over them. Stop sending out negative messages.

We Smile: We have all lost people we love suddenly with no warnings. What if that is you. How many precious pictures have you left for them? seriously..how many? 

You do not know when the last time to document those precious memories will be, so please, please, do it for them. sit for the pictures. Smile and hug, and laugh in them.

My children with their Great Nana Kelley. many years ago. It was probably the last one they all got with her.

Our Divine Nature and the Tigger Effect!

Many years ago I saw an episode of Winnie the Pooh. In this particular show, Tigger had lost his stripes. WIthout his stripes he thought he was no longer tigger. He went around trying to figure out what he was now... a rabbit?...no.  A Kanga?... no, on and on it went. His friends tried to convince him he was still a tigger, He still could bounce like tigger, he sounded like tigger....but without the visable stripes he couldn't be convinced.  Tigger had to  Iearn all by himself, that he had never stopped being tigger.

 I  walked away from watching that show with 2 questions for myself:

 1) How many times do I let myself feel less than what I am: "A beautiful daughter of a loving God" because of my appearance, or my obvious failures, of lack of any obvious talents, etc.  and yet all our friends and family can't convince us we are still a beautiful daughter of a loving God. We can spend time putting our selves down, spinning our wheels, getting in our own way.. and it changes NOTHING about the fact that you are STILL a beautiful child  of a loving God. No one else can make you believe this. Only each of us can do the work to figure that out. DON"T SPEND  ONE MORE DAY trying to be something you are not, or  treating yourself in a way you would NEVER let yourself treat someone else! Do as I say.. not as I do.. this one is a work in progress...

2) How often do I see others for less than they are: A beautiful son or daughter of a loving God? Maybe based on their appearance, lifestyle, religion, life choices.. sometimes we overlook people, judge them without knowledge of their true circumstances (Social media sure makes this easy).. I still don't know exactly how to spot the ways in which I may be dismissing people in my mind and heart as one that surely God loves less than the "rest" of us.. but I have a desire and prayer to know. I strive every day to do acts of small kindnesses ,even a smile to everyone I see.  This one will be a work in progress too.

I must run.. my stripes are missing  and I must go find them!

That Moment of Panic in the Dark and Keeping to God's Path

I deliver an early morning paper route. I always start in the dark and end in the dark. On the way home there is a slight curve in the road right as you are going through an intersection.

No big deal, there are a lot of those out there, right?

Well like most intersections, the middle dividing line between the lanes is not there. It picks back up as you get on the other side of the intersection.  The problem is that when they painted that line, they didn't start it immediately on the other side. Due to the curve in the road, the line being set further away, and the dark there is a moment nearly every morning where I feel like I've lost site of where the lane on the other side is.

If I don't adjust to the curve, I'll be in the oncoming lane, but with no edge lines on either side of the road, and no daylight to help you really need that middle line to help remind you of where you need to be.

You would think that after 20 years of driving on that road in the dark I'd have it down pat,but over and over again I have a moment of panic that I've lost sight of the lane.

It reminded me of the gospel, and holding on to the iron rod. (the word of god and his plan for how we should live.)

The commandments and all of the words of God that guide us as to how we should stay on the path that will lead us back to our Heavenly Father are right in front of us and available, but sometimes we lose sight of the path. Mostly due to our own choices and mistakes, but sometimes due to unforseen trials that mar our path.

Just like my moment of panic in the dark, when we lose sight of our Heavenly Father and the path he has laid out for us, we often have a moment of panic. Where do I go? Where did God go? How do I find Him? How do I get back on the path?

I have driven that road now long enough to know that the line is just a foot or two ahead and to hold steady till I see it. I do not need to veer too far one way or the other, When we lose sight of the gospel path we have a way back:

Lets just start with Prayer.  No mistake, no amount of anger or lonliness will stop Him from hearing you. The moment you turn away from prayer is the very moment you need it the most! Give him your sorrows, your pain, even your anger.. He will take it and help you find your way back.

Turn to His words through scripture as well as our modern day Church leaders. There is a saying.. If you want to speak to God, pray. If you want to hear from God, read your scriptures. It is so true! Put it to the test! Pick them up and try.

Talk with trusted church leaders.family and friends. Isolation will only keep the path to happiness further in the dark. Trust them to guide you back to the path of the gospel.

Don't stay off of the path to God any longer than you have to. Use the atonement to be forgiven if you need it, forgive others yourself, speak wtih God and Listen to him. Then take action.... actually move your feet back to the lane you know he wants you to be in!

Changing Lanes on Life's Highway

Do you ever have one of these days?  As i was driving home from work today a woman in an SUV kept weaving in and out of lanes, often at the last moment trying to keep getting ahead, but every stoplight found her right back in the same spot..in front of me. 

I don't know why she was driving crazy, we all do it sometimes, but it made stop and think, how often do we live our lives like that: choosing anxiousness. We spend our days zigging and zagging around, either "trying to tackle" or even "avoid" our , problems and thoughts. Only to find ourselves right back where we started. And,in the end we don't solve our problems or avoid them.

 Note to self: Every day is a new chance to choose peace and calm, clarity and decisiveness over anxiety and doubt. 

Don't just keep spinning your wheels!

The Sound Of My Grandma's Voice...

Sound memories may be one of the deepest in your heart!

A few years ago, when my oldest son was leaving home to live in Taiwan for 2 years as a Missionary, my parents came to visit. They brought with them an old vhs tape they had made when my oldest son, Joshua was a few months old. in the video, it was a backyard cookout at my parents home in Idaho.

 My grandmother was there, although you couldn't see her in the video. My grandmother had since passed away and at the time I was watching that video had been gone for quite a few years. At some point in the video all of a sudden I could hear my grandmothers voice talking in the background... At that very moment, the familiarity of her voice was instantaneous to my heart My heart hurt from missing her in that moment.. Oh, Oh, how I missed that voice!!!!! I loved how I had not forgotten the sound of her voice

. I loved how our relationship carries on even as one of us has past onto the other side of Heaven.

 I still feel her presence in my life, it is a real and active,continuing relationship. I have read somewhere that what may surprise us the most when we get to the other side is how familiar our Heavenly Father's face will be to us, and how we will remember the sound of his voice. Oh, how I believe that! 

The Restoration of the Gospel: A Wonderous Flood of Light

A Wonderous Flood of Light

The  Restoration of the Gospel

If we traveled at 25, 000 miles per hour it would take us 100,000 years to reach the nearest star outside of our solar system.  And there are one hundred billion such stars organized into our galaxy.  Individual stars are so distant from each other that light itself takes several years to get from one star to the next.  Light takes only 8 minutes to get to us from our sun.  To travel clear across the galaxy, light would require more than 100,000 years.  

That is pretty interesting but I bet you are wondering what that has to do with my topic of the restoration, huh?  Well, I will tell you… in a minute.

First, Let me talk about another light. 

 At the birth of our savior, who once identified Himself as the “bright and morning star” (Rev. 22:16), a new star appeared in the heavens (see Matt. 2:2; 3 Ne. 1:21). Shining brightly over Bethlehem, that star had been placed in orbit far in advance of the foretold event in order that its light could coincide in time and place with His blessed birth.  If it takes years for light from one star to reach the nearest star to it, how much careful organization do you think it took for the Savior who created the Earth and organized our very galaxy, to make sure that this  New star would  have it’s bright and wonderous flood of light reach Bethlehem  precisely on the very night he was born?

Literally, At the arrival of Him who is called “the light of the world” (John 8:12), darkness was banished as a sign of His holy birth (see 3 Ne. 1:15, 19).

Of course more than just the physical flood of light , the birth and ministry of Jesus Christ, also gave us a wonderous flood of spiritual light as well. 

The Savior taught us how to love and serve one another. Jesus spent his life serving others.  Jesus loved others with all his heart, even those who had sinned, he had great compassion. He taught them to repent and be baptized. 

The Savior organized His church.  He  chose and ordained 12 apostles to help testify of him.  They received His authority to act in His name and do the works they had seen him do.  He redeemed us from our sins, and saved us from both physical and spiritual death.



Now, Let’s fast forward  1800 years.  We have another Wonderous Flood of Light. 

As a young boy in 1820, Joseph Smith wanted to know which church was true. As he searched the Bible for help, he read that he should ask of God. Acting on this counsel, Joseph went into the woods near his home and prayed. Suddenly, a light shone above him and Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him. When Joseph asked which church he should join, the Savior told him to join none of the churches then in existence because they were teaching incorrect doctrines. Through this experience and many others that followed, the Lord chose Joseph to be His prophet and to restore the gospel of Jesus Christ and His Church to the earth.

Once again, the darkness was banished. Light and truth were restored on the earth.  A few of the blessings we have in place today is the knowledge that:

1)      Our Heavenly Father is a real being with a body of flesh and bones, so is Jesus Christ and that the Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit.

2)      We existed in premortal life as spirit children of God

3)      The priesthood or authority to act in Christs’ name is necessary to administer the ordnances of the gospel.

4)      We will be punished for our own sins and not for Adam’s transgression

5)      There are 3 kingdoms of glory in the heavens and through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, people will be rewarded according to their actions on earth and the desires of their hearts. 

6)      Family relationships can be eternal through the sealing power of the priesthood

President Faust tells us:

We receive light from the Lord.

This can happen to us when we study the scriptures and “our eyes [are] opened and our understandings [are] enlightened” (D&C 76:12). Daily scripture study turns on the light of our spiritual perception and opens our understandings to further knowledge. I try to read from the scriptures at the close of the day. It brings a remarkable peace. I sleep better by doing this.     

We receive spiritual light when we attend sacrament meeting. Partaking of the sacrament and the inspiration of the worship service weekly charges our spiritual batteries.

We receive spiritual light when we respond to calls. Serving in a calling in the Church blesses us more than it blesses others.     

We receive spiritual light when we pay our tithing, as the windows of heaven can then open up

We receive spiritual light when we sing the hymns. Singing the hymns strengthens us and brings us together spiritually.     UAdd a Note 

We receive spiritual light when we pray. As a young teenager, the Prophet Joseph Smith read, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally”     UAdd a Note 

I commend to you his account of the First Vision, which followed as he determined that he would seek wisdom from God. He wrote, “When the light rested upon me I saw …” What did he see? He saw the Father and the Son. As the vision ended, he said, “When the light had departed, I had no strength”      UAdd a Note 

Obviously, we do not expect a heavenly visitation, but we are entitled to increased spiritual and intellectual enlightenment if we first seek “the kingdom of God, and his righteousness”

Ok, Time for another story.  I would like to share with you a story of a woman living on the seacoast of Ireland at the turn of the last century. This woman was quite wealthy but also very frugal. Her neighbors were surprised when she was among the first in her area to have electricity installed in her home. Several weeks after having the power installed, a man from the electric company visited her to see how things were working. She assured him that everything was working well.

“I’m wondering if you can explain something to me,” he said. “Your meter shows scarcely any usage. Are you using your power?”

“Certainly,” she answered. “Each evening when the sun sets, I turn on my lights just long enough to light my candles; then I turn them off.”2

This story helps me ponder the following question:  “To what degree am I being true to the abundance of light and knowledge made available to me through the gospel of Jesus Christ?” Specifically I ask myself, “Am I continually walking by the ‘flood of light’ made available through the restoration of the gospel by the Prophet Joseph Smith, or is the path on which I am walking lighted in ‘some other way’”

 D&C Chapter 50 we read:

19And again, he that receiveth the word of truth, doth he receive it by the Spirit of truth or some other way?     

 20If it be some other way it is not of God.     UAdd a Note 

23And that which doth not ^aedify is not of God, and is ^bdarkness.     UAdd a Note 

 24That which is of God is ^alight; and he that ^breceiveth ^clight, and ^dcontinueth in God, receiveth more ^elight; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.     UAdd a Note 

 25And again, verily I say unto you, and I say it that you may know the ^atruth, that you may chase darkness from among you;

The gospel is  the glad tidings of great joy,  is the true guide to mankind; he restored the full gospel that we may have all the tools, and light necessary to chase away the darkness that befalls us.
I bear my testimony that if we will endeavor to light our lives more fully  by the light of the True Gospel, We will feel more peace and joy in our lives. We will be more mindful of serving our fellowman, and of following the Saviors example to do our part to spread the good news of the gospel.