Day by Day

When we are baptized we promise to remember our Saviour always and take his name upon us.  I really like the song "Day by Day" from the 1971 musical Godspell.  It's very simple message is repeated over and over because its demonstrating how we need to stay focused as life keeps bringing us a new day, often very similar from the last.

There is a scene in the movie Meet the Parents where Greg is asked to say grace for the family dinner.  He agrees but is very uncomfortable about what he should say.  Halfway through his prayer he remembers this "Day by Day" song and decides to recite it word for word as he concludes his offering.  This scene makes me really smile, okay truthfully it cracks me up.  But regardless of Ben Stiller's antics, I resonate these sentiments.

Day by Day
Oh Dear Lord
Three things I pray
To see Thee more Clearly
Love Thee more Dearly
Follow Thee more Nearly
Day by Day

Here is the scene

And here is the song performed by a revival cast, they sing "You are the Light of the World" as well.

Mary

If you love women in the scriptures, I must introduce you to my favorite BYU Religion professor, Camille Fronk Olson.  She has such a passion and shares her knowledge with a smile.  Here is a list of all her books she has published:  she has books on Eve, Mary and Martha, the Woman at the Well, plus a collection of all the women in the Old Testament.  Right now I am in the middle of reading Mary, the Mother of Jesus.

               I have always been drawn to Mary.  Here is some artwork for the Christmas season.

                           I couldn't find the name of the artist, but I think this picture is gorgeous!

                                  This is an interesting interpretation.  Artist: Steve Nethercott

                                                 "Kiss the Face of God" Artist: Morgan Weistling

                                                "Journey to Bethlehem"   Artist: Joesph Brickey

                                                    "A Light to the Gentiles" Artist: Greg Olsen

                                                        "Song of Angels" Artist: William Bouguereau

"Light of the World" Artist: Jay Bryant Ward 

Captain Moroni

Last week I found out I have shingles.  I was optimistic that my case wouldn't be as bad as others I had heard about. Yet in weak moments I found myself thinking "my body is infected, decomposing, this is the end of me".   Dramatic I know, but still a lesson in how fast things can go wrong, and how grateful I am to be healthy.

I decided to take it easy for a few days and I would catch up on my Top Children's Picture Books post this weekend.  Friday night Daniel asked me if I was up for an adventure.  "What kind of an adventure?" I asked.    He said he just got a call about a rental house in Newport Beach that had fall through, and we could have it for a discount, but we had to pack up and leave for California right away.  Wow.  For years we have been vacationing at this beach and fantasizing about renting a house so close to the action.  More to follow later.

Today I wanted to write about Captain Moroni in honor of my brother'n law Luke's birthday.  Luke is tall, handsome, happy, yet I hear can be passionate, he has a testimony of Jesus Christ and is turning twenty five this year.  So this summer when I read in the Book of Mormon about Captain Moroni, I pictured someone like Luke.

"And Moroni took all the command, and the government of their wars.  And he was only twenty and five years when he was appointed chief captain over the armies of the Nephites."  Alma 43:17

The story of Moroni's career is found in chapters 43 through 62 of the book of Alma located within the Book of Mormon. In chapter 48 there is a great description of Moroni and his character which I would like to share.  Verses 7 through 18.

"Moroni, on the other hand, had been preparing the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God....And thus he was preparing to support their liberty, their lands, their wives, and their children, and their peace, and that they might live unto their God, and that they might maintain that which was called by their enemies the cause of Christains.

And Moroni was a strong and a mighty man; he was a man of perfect understanding; yea, a man that did not delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and freedom of his country...

Yea, a man whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God, for the many privileges and blessings which he bestowed upon his people; a man who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people.

Yea, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ, and he had sworn with an oath to defend his people, his rights, and his country, and his religion, even to the loss of his blood.

Now the Nephites were taught to defend themselves against their enemies, even to the shedding of blood if it were necessary; yea and they were also taught never to give an offense, yea, and never to raise the sword except it were against an enemy, except it were to preserve their lives.

And this was their faith, that by so doing God would prosper them in the land, or in other words, if they were faithful in keeping the commandments of God that he would prosper them in the land; yea, warn them to flee, or to prepare for war, according to their danger;

And also, that God would make it known unto them whither they should go to defend themselves against their enemies, and by so doing, the Lord would deliver them; and this was the faith of Moroni, and his heart did glory in it; not in the shedding of blood but in doing good, preserving his people, yea, in keeping the commandments of God, yea and resisting iniquity.

Yea, verily, verily I say unto you, if all men had been, and were and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men."


Do you have a copy of the Book of Mormon?  Have I tempted you to read more?

Priesthood Power

My nephew Clayton turned twelve this week.  Do you know what that means?  He is old enough to be ordained as Deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood.

The Priesthood is Jesus Christ's power given to worthy men here on earth.  As a young man grows into a man he will receive more power through the Melchizedek Priesthood.

Here is a recent conference talk about the Aaronic Priesthood, if you would like to learn more.

God So Loved the World

I absolutely love the scripture  I shared last week from John 3:16. "God so loved the world..."

Here is the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing "God so loved the World" written by Carl J. Nygard Jr. along with a collection of art by Liz Lemon Swindle, Greg Olsen, Del Parson, and Corbert Gauthier.

I am working on creating my own word art of this scripture, and have just ordered myself a scanner! That means I'll be able to share my art with you and  I can start ordering custom fabric from spoonflower.com  That makes me very excited.

My Role Model

After four years of being the ward Choir Director, I have just been released and called to be to a Sunday School teacher.  I am very excited to become acquainted with the youth in my class and to study and share with them.

Already in my first lesson, my love for the Savior has grown.

Whenever I find myself losing my temper, I say to myself, "This response is not acceptable. How would Jesus handle this situation?"  So in terms of showing love and patience, I instinctively look to Jesus as an example.

My further "light" in understanding came from a lesson about Self Mastery.  Luke 22:39-46

 I'll just quote verses 41-44.
"And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed.
Saying, Father if thou be willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.  And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.  And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and he sweat as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."


Jesus was obedient.
Jesus did not take the easy way out.
Jesus prayed for strength.
Jesus endured to the end.


If we make the effort to make the right choices, we will be blessed with strength to perform great things.

We were put on this earth to succeed.

John 3:16-17
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."
                     

Keeping perspective

last month for our Relief Society Meeting we invited a local Seminary teacher, Brother Loss, to come speak to us about studying the scriptures.  He shared with us a verse from Isaiah, chapter 64:6

"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;  and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."  Brother Loss showed us images of people living on the street in worn out clothes to help us picture this analogy and to feel the humbleness of this statement.

Then we flipped back a few chapters to Isaiah 61:10.  "I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels."  Brother Loss taught us that as we read the scriptures, we need to keep in mind our past, present and future selves.  I thought that was a great insight.

Likening the Scriptures

The lyrics in my last post reminded me of a talk I read last year.  I wonder why some things stay in your mind, but most things fade away.  Anyway, I really liked the lyrics saying I am blessed like Mary, and the future of the world inside of me...I take that to mean all the possibilities and posterity that can come to be through our choices.

The talk that has stayed in my mind is "Teaching the Doctrine of the Family" by Julie Beck.  Here is the segment that I love.

"The stories of Abraham and Sarah and of Isaac and Rebekah are found in Genesis. Abraham and Sarah had only one son, Isaac. If Abraham was to be the “father of many nations,” how important was Isaac’s wife, Rebekah? She was so important that he sent his servant hundreds of miles to find the right young woman—one who would keep her covenants, one who understood what it meant to form an eternal family.

In Genesis 24:60, Rebekah is blessed to be “the mother of thousands of millions.” Where do we find those kinds of blessings? They are received in the temple.

The story of Isaac and Rebekah is an example of the man, who has the keys, and the woman, who has the influence, working together to ensure the fulfillment of their blessings. Their story is pivotal. The blessings of the house of Israel depended on a man and a woman who understood their place in the plan and their responsibilities to form an eternal family, to bear children, and to teach them.

In our day we have the responsibility to send “Isaac” and “Rebekah” forth from our homes and classrooms. Every young man and young woman should understand his or her role in this great partnership—that they are each an “Isaac” or a “Rebekah.” Then they will know with clarity what they have to do."

I underlined "their story is pivotal" because our story is also pivotal for our future.

Romans Chapter Eight

I stumbled upon Romans 8:24-39 this week and have loved it so much I keep going back to read it again.

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God....If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give all things?"

The passage that follows in verses 34-39 is so passionate. I love the excitement and optimism that comes from the gospel.

The Law of Consecration

Thursday night we watched Slum dog Millionaire and I was blown away. Completely loved it and felt such yearning for the people depicted in the film.

During the following Sunday School lesson, my teacher instantly had my attention as he asked us to consider our two most glorious goals for this life and how they relate to the Law of Consecration. After reading several verses and discussing with our neighbors, the class came up with a couple excellent thoughts.

1. Heavenly Father loves us and he wants us to love each other

2. One of the three main goals for the church is perfecting the saints, therefore by taking only what we need we are practicing SELF- CONTROL. (Always a hard one)

I was also struck by D&C 78: 6

"For if ye are not equal in earthly things ye cannot be equal in obtaining heavenly things;"

Women and Creativity

Yesterday as I dropped Arthur and George off at their Sunbeams class, I was informed it was their week for the Sharing Time presentation. I attended Relief Society and thought to myself that I would sneak out of Sunday School half way through to witness the boys' participation. The lesson was centered on Doctrine & Covanants Section 25, revelation given to Emma Smith. The teacher grabbed my attention right away when she noted this was the only revelation given to a woman in the entire book.

I ended up not being able to pull myself away. We discussed the roles of husbands and wives, supporting and comforting each other in their responsibilities. I always have an alert ear when the topic pertains to marriage.

Then a reference was given about Emma assembling a new hymn book, and we watched a brief film, the length of a commerical. I was surprised, but again intrigued when the word CREATE flashed up on the screen. President Dieter Utchdorf was speaking about women and their innate desire to create something of their own. I was thrilled to receive another confirmation that Heavenly Father wants me to develop my talents and expand my mind. But for this statement to encompass everyone, it goes beyond the sewing machine, paints, or piano. President Uchtdorf said there are many who feel they are not creative, but this is not true. We are all children of the most creative being and we have his genes in us. How empowering is that statement!