Leah & Rachel and the Principle of Compensation

For almost a year now, I've had the goal of working my way through the Bible. It's been always slow and not so steady.

Just a few days ago, I was reading in Genesis. I read about Jacob and his marriage. Jacob really wanted to marry Rachel, but Rachel's father gave Jacob the older sister on the wedding day, as it was not proper for the younger sister to be married first (Genesis 29:26). Jacob wasn't very happy, but he eventually was able to marry Rachel as well. And [Jacob] loved also Rachel more than Leah" (Genesis 29:30).

"And when the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren" (Genesis 29:31).

"And Leah conceived, and bare a son . . . for she said, Surely the Lord hath looked upon my affliction . . . And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the Lord hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also . . . And she conceived again, and bare a son . . . And she conceived again, and bare a son: and she said, Now will I praise the Lord" (Genesis 29:32-35, emphasis added).

Because the Lord hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son.  

Because the Lord hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son.

"Understand the principle of compensation. The Lord compensates the faithful for every loss. That which is taken away from those who love the Lord will be added unto them in His own way. While it may not come at the time we desire, the faithful will know that every tear today will eventually be returned a hundredfold with tears of rejoicing and gratitude" (Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, "Come What May and Love It," October 2008).

"The Lord compensates the faithful for every loss."

"All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ" (Preach My Gospel). 

Leah was faithful. Leah loved the Lord. Leah was in a marriage where her husband didn't love her - actually, the scripture says he hated her. Rough, huh? So, "The Lord saw that Leah was hated, He opened her womb." God blessed Leah with sons.

But! The Lord also caused Rachel to be barren. God made Rachel barren so Leah could feel something special that Rachel didn't have. Rachel had the love of her husband, Leah was able to bear children. Leah got something special. If Rachel had also borne sons, Leah's sons wouldn't be a special blessing. 

So let's look at Rachel now. While Leah was experiencing her blessings of compensation, Rachel is still here with no sons (bad news in that society). Rachel must have been pretty bummed - maybe angry. "When Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, Rachel envied her sister" (Genesis 30:1). Maybe Rachel wondered why she couldn't have any sons, when her sister was bearing many sons. When we read this story in the scriptures, it's short to us - seconds or a minute to read. But Leah had four sons. If her sons were born back-to-back, that's still a matter of five to six years that Rachel is watching and wondering why she can't have any children. That must have been hard.

But as I already said, this was Leah's compensation for being faithful - Leah's husband hated her, so God gave unto Leah to bear sons.

During these years when Leah was bearing sons and Rachel wasn't, Rachel may have wondered what she had done wrong, why this curse had some upon her (reminder: a prevailing belief at the time was that all affliction was the result of sin or God's disfavor). Rachel may have wracked her brain trying to figure it out. She probably poured her little heart out to Heavenly Father asking why she could not give sons to the husband she loved. 

Rachel's barrenness was in no way a result of anything she did. Rachel suffered this loss, as God blessed Leah, as Leah experienced the Principle of Compensation.

However, this isn't the end. "God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb. And she conceived, and bare a son" (Genesis 30:22-23). After Leah had been compensated - after she got a special blessing that her sister did not have - God remembered Rachel and opened her womb. Rachel bore sons.

Rachel, too, was blessed by this principle of compensation. The son Rachel FINALLY bore? She named him Joseph. 

Joseph, who would be hated by his brothers but loved by his father. Joseph, who would be sold into slavery by his brothers. Joseph, who would become ruler of Potiphar's house, and be an example of righteousness when he fled from the temptations of Potiphar's wife. Joseph, who would interpret dreams and warn Egypt of a famine. THAT Joseph.

Because of the Atonement and the merciful Principle of Compensation - we will be repaid for all unjust harm that comes our way. Just like Leah. Just like Rachel.

(Source)

Leah suffered, so God blessed her.

Rachel suffered, so God blessed her.

I suffer, so God will bless me. 

You suffer, so God will bless you.

The Gospel is Made for Us

The principles and patterns of the gospel are given that we may know peace and a fulness of happiness, in eternity, yes, but also here among the trials and afflictions of this life.

Yesterday was a very hard day for a few reasons.
1) I've been having some difficulty lately with my mental illness, and was told on Wednesday by a new professional that she wouldn't be able to help me.
2) Today I had a 10-page paper due, that yesterday was about halfway done.
3) My supervisor at work is moving ten hours away, with about two weeks' notice (her husband's company is transferring him), so she's training two of us to take her place, while trying to square away moving. On top of that, this week is one of the busiest of the year with a Christmas program this weekend.

So a lot of stressors. I was freaked out all day yesterday.


I have loved my advent study. I have loved filling my life with hope through the words of the prophets.

But yesterday, I needed peace.

So I bypassed my self-imposed rules and meditated on the concept of Week 2 - peace.


These verses came to mind:

"I will not leave you comfortless: 

I will come to you. . . . 

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you:

 not as the world giveth, give I unto you. 

Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

(John 14:18, 27)

And He did. He calmed my spirit so I could get all of my work done. He restored my soul.

"Because God has been faithful and kept His promises in the past, we can hope with confidence that God will keep His promises to us in the present and in the future. In times of distress, we can hold tightly to the hope that things will “work together for [our] good” as we follow the counsel of God’s prophets. This type of hope in God, His goodness, and His power refreshes us with courage during difficult challenges and gives strength to those who feel threatened by enclosing walls of fear, doubt, and despair"

(Pres Uchtdorf, "The Infinite Power of Hope," October 2008)

This life is hard, but His love is bigger.

~ ~ ~

"It's love so undeniable, I can hardly speak

Peace so unexplainable, I can hardly think . . .

You're a Good, Good Father

It's who you are . . .

And I'm loved by you, it's who I am."

(Christ Tomlin, "Good Good Father")

 (source)

Reader Report: Carry on, Warrior

Title:
Carry on, Warrior

Author:
Glennon Doyle Melton

Publishing Info:
Scribner, 2013

I fell in love with Glennon a few years ago, when I saw her TED talk. So raw, so real, so exactly where I was in my life. And so hopeful. I began following her blog, and, when the book came out, of course I read it right away.

That was a few years back, before I had this blog. Since I just reread the book, love it so much, wanted to tell you guys about it, and haven't been writing often, I decided to write a post about it!

After the scriptures, this book is my favorite book. It's written as a collection of essays, which is really my favorite way to read. Glennon tells us about the "God-shaped hole" in all of us; how she tried to fill it with things that left her feeling emptier; how she gave that all up when she held a pregnancy test in her hand as a young, unwed mother suffering from bulimia, alcoholism, and substance abuse; and how the grace of God pulls her through every day - with many humorous anecdotes sprinkled in there, because Glennon's hilarious. 

Glennon is SO relatable. The reason she gives is this: She believes we all have a piece of God inside us. When she talks about her deep insides, and not just the shells we cover ourselves with, she's talking out of her "God-piece," so to speak. And since all of us are made up of the same amount of God, when she speaks from that part of her, that part of us hears it because it's the same stuff - it's the same divine nature in her and in me and in you. When we tell our truth, we connect. 

I don't know how Glennon came to faith (she doesn't really tell us about that), but I love how she looks at her faith now. She loves God just about more than anyone I know. She loves God fiercely, and since each one of us is made up of the same amount of God, she thinks that means she should love everyone fiercely, so she tries very hard to do that. Glennon believes in love, forgiveness, redemption - because she's sat at God's feet and received all that, and now she tries to give it all away to others. She knows that we're all lost and sad here. She says, "Life isn't hard because you are doing it wrong. Life is just hard."

Glennon used to think that something was wrong with her and that she had to hide. Now, Glennon knows that God made her and loves her, so she can stand on the rooftops and sing, because it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks - God already loves her big big. She knows that she did not come to this earth to find her worth but that she brought it with her. She knows about her divine nature. 

Glennon knows that she's not perfect. She knows that everyone else is not perfect either. So she forgives - forgives herself, forgives others, forgives a lot. Again, she knows that she's loved either way.

And my favorite - Glennon says life is "brutiful" - a combination of beautiful and brutal. Because it's true. It is. Life is brutal, but life is also beautiful. Both/And. Kind of reminds me of Nephi: "It must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my firstborn in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one" (2 Nephi 2:11).

If you want to laugh, if you want to cry, if you want to know that God loves you, if you want to find hope, if you want to sit down with a girlfriend and say "You know, life's really stinkin' hard," if you want to see the sun shining through another daughter - go to the library and check out Glennon's book. You won't regret it. 

Freedom and Agency

"Do what is right; let the consequence follow.

Battle for freedom in spirit and might;

And with stout hearts look ye forth till tomorrow.

God will protect you; then do what is right!"

"Do What is Right," LDS Hymnbook

(source)

I've been thinking a lot lately about the concept of freedom, and specifically freedom in Christ. What does this mean?

It's important to understand what Christ brings freedom from. It's sin. Sin is what chains us down and makes us slaves. Satan "is seeking to hurl away [our] souls down to everlasting misery and endless wo" (Helaman 7:16). As one speaker said in our sacrament meeting, "Satan is not your friend."

When we sin, we let the devil into our hearts. And when we sin again, we let him stay, have a drink, put his feet up, and eventually make residence - "he grasps them with his awful chains, from whence there is no deliverance. Yea, they are grasped with death, and hell" (2 Nephi 28:22). And, he is sticky. He doesn't like to leave. If we let him into our hearts, he won't leave. We can't kick him out. We don't have that power. Then, we have his evil, lying, deceptive voice in our heart, tempting us to do evil constantly.

When Christ performed the atonement, He broke those bands. He released us from the shackles from the devil.

When we accept Christ as Savior, when we exercise faith, and repent, feel godly sorrow for those sins, when we know that what we have done doesn't match up to our divine nature and potential - He can cleanse us. "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool" (Isaiah 1:18). Christ kicks the devil out. He can beat the adversary, because the devil never entered into Christ. Christ, the perfectly righteous man, is the only one qualified to get the devil out.

When that happens, when the devil leaves, we become free again. We are not trapped by the adversary living inside us. We can choose again. We can move forward, choosing to do good.

The freedom that Christ offers us is not freedom to do whatever we want. It's freedom that allows us to "shake off the chains with which ye are bound, and . . . arise" (2 Nephi 1:23). It's the freedom that breaks the grasp of the devil and allows us to "choose liberty and eternal life" (2 Nephi 2:27). When God says, "Ye are free to choose" (2 Nephi 10:23), He means the hold of our sins has been lifted and we are free to run towards Him.

So let's do that. Since our chains are broken, let's run to Him, as fast as we can, choosing righteousness and obedience all the days of our lives.

A prayer in the Methodist hymnal includes this line, which I love: "Free us for joyful obedience, through Jesus Christ our Lord." Joyful obedience. Not grudging or spiteful obedience, but joyful obedience. Imagine what would happen if you thought of the "can't" of the gospel as "cans" - when you say "no" to something of the world, you're saying "yes" to letting the Holy Spirit fill your life up more. Don't be upset when you can't do something "fun," be joyful that you're saying "no" to the devil and "yes" to our Eternal Father.

"Therefore, cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves—to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life."

2 Nephi 10:23

Reader Report: Standing for Something

Title:
Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes

Author:
Gordon B. Hinckley

Publishing Info:

~ ~ ~

Honestly, I didn't love this book. It was written much likea General Conference talk, but nearly 300 pages. Long talk, right? President Hinckley said amazing inspirational things, it was just long for something with a short attention span like me.

Instead of doing a summary/thoughts/quotes report like I usually do, I'm going to talk about my life and how this book fit into it. 

To start off, the layout of this book is simple: our world is great but in trouble, here are individual virtues that can remedy our situation, and here are ways to safeguard and grow those virtues. The first nine virtues are: love, honesty, morality, civility, learning, forgiveness and mercy, thrift and industry, gratitude, and optimism. This book had some great sections and one-liners, but there are just too many to share with you guys (these reports have been pretty long and boring lately). 

Here's my experience with the book: I checked it out from my hometown library in May. I wanted to read books written by prophets and apostles, so I found the Religion/Christian section, then the Mormon shelf. This was the only written by a General Authority, and I'm glad it was Hinckley because he's my favorite (I can't wait for his Teachings of Presidents of the Church book to come out!) 

If you've read personal posts on here, you might know that I'm the only member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in my family, and that my parents aren't too happy with my decision. Well, since I've moved back home from my college town, I've been going to church happily, but alone. Last Sunday, my parents asked me to go to church with them. This was hard for me, because I really want to go to sacrament meeting (and I know that Heavenly Father wants me to, also), but I also wanted to strengthen my family relationships (because I know that families are important to Heavenly Father). I prayed about it a lot. A lot. 

On Thursday, I watched a video. I won't go into detail because it's not uplifting. Basically, it was an interview about faith. And though it was meant to strengthen faith, it made me question. I wondered if I'd made the right choice in being baptized. Then, I opened my journal. I saw the bright colors and bulletins from church. The Holy Ghost reminded me of what I'd learned in these meetings, what I'd taken notes on in my personal studies, and what I'd cried to God about in these pages. In my journals, I learn that God loves me. I know that He's here, I know that He's listening to us. 

That night, my missionary, Sister A called. I didn't answer so she left a message, telling me to call back because she had a favor to ask. Oh my, I thought. The next day, I called her back. She said she wanted me to skype in for a lesson with a girl in her area who wants to be baptized but is experiencing opposition from her family. She thought I could help. I was very hesitant, considering what I'd been thinking and feeling regarding my own faith, but I agreed. 

On Saturday, I asked my parents if we could talked about going to church on Sunday. We ended up talking for hours about my joining the church and how they thought I'd made a wrong choice. And it got to me. What if I had made a wrong choice? Do I even know what I believe? I had been so sure, but then I'm wasn't. What was I supposed to do? How do I know what's right? And Sister A wants me to help this young girl keep the faith. How can I help her when I can't even keep it myself?

Then I looked at my journal. "First and forever fan the flame of your faith, because all things are possible to them that believe" (Elder Jeffery R. Holland). Keep going, I thought. And then, "Rescued by the Gospel." I remembered where I was before I found this. I remembered that this gospel had in fact, rescued me. I didn't want to go back to that life without this. I may not be able to explain that, but I know it. I thought, The Book of Mormon is true, and I need it in my life.

Then I picked up my book to read. The next chapter, the tenth virtue, was entitled: "Faith: Our Only Hope." I thought, how perfect to read about faith from a prophet of God, when I have so little of it. He said faith is real and strong and powerful. He said that we have no greater motivation than the knowledge that we are children of the Almighty and that He will help us achieve. He said, "Vibrant testimony comes of anxious seeking" (p 110). He said, "I know that He is intensely interested in our lives, that I can speak with Him in prayer, and that He will hear and listen" (p 110). I thought, I need to know that. That I am loved and heard.

Before bed that night, I sat writing in my journal.

I know the gospel is true. I know the Plan of Salvation is true. I know that the Savior walked the lonely path so I don't have to. I know that His love and mercy are stronger than my weaknesses. I know that I belong in this Church. I know that this is where God wants me. I know that this is where I will find peace, hope, and guidance, in the Book of Mormon and this Church, I know that Heavenly Father "doesn't intend to save just a few of His children" (movie, The Restoration, Intellectual Reserve, 2006), and that He didn't drop us here to grope in darkness. I know that we have a prophet today, who teaches the whole world about God and Jesus Christ. I know that he stands at the head of this, Christ's Church, which contains the fulness of ordinances, and all truth pertinent to salvation. 

This book renewed my faith exactly when I needed it. I encourage you to record your testimony periodically, so that when you are in times of doubt, you can go back and look at what you said. It's one things to have someone else tell you they believe, it's another thing entirely to have yourself tell you that you believe.

Keep the faith, and carry on.

"I believe that God will always make a way, even when there appears to be no way."

Reader Report: Aloha!

Title:

Aloha!

With the ringing Hawaiian greeting of "Aloha!" Chieko N. Okazaki welcomes us into a garden of goodness where the gospel has the zing of zest and ginger. . . . Sister Okazaki shares insights from the scriptures that are personal and practical. Christ is not just the way, the truth, and the life, she reminds us. He wants to be our way, our truth, and our life. The Christian way is not dramatic, flashy, or taxing. It is do-able, satisfying, and even fun.  

Author:

Chieko N. Okazaki

Chieko N. Okazaki describes herself as "a child of humble Japanese laborers on a plantation on the big island of Hawaii." Reared a Buddhist, she converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day-Saints at age fifteen, struggled to obtain an education, married Ed Okazaki (a Congregationalist who later joined the Church), bore two sons, and taught school in Hawaii, Utah, and Colorado before becoming an elementary school principal. Sister Okazaki became the first non-Caucasian to serve on any general board when she accepted a calling in 1961 to the YWMIA board. She was a member of the Primary general board when she was called as first counselor in the Relief Society general presidency in 1990. A woman of vision and a celebrator of women's achievements, Sister Okazaki sees Relief Society as a mighty sisterhood that can transform the lives of women. She believes passionately that strong individual women build strong partnerships in marriage, raise strong families, serve powerfully in the Church, and become "nursing mothers" to communities worldwide that need health, happiness, and holiness.

Publishing Info:

Deseret Book Company, 1995

~ ~ ~

Chieko N. Okazaki is, I think, my favorite general authority. I fell in love with her a few months ago when I read a blog series containing many excerpts from her books. Now that it's summer, I checked them out from my local library (and I can't wait to buy a copy for me to keep forever)! 

There were two main themes present throughout this book: have a personal relationship with the Savior and Heavenly Father (developed by sincere, ongoing prayer), and serve others (sharing the love that comes from that relationship). 

Here are some of my favorite quotes/points/ideas (there's a lot, because Chieko knows what's up).

• Build a stronger family by building a stronger you (p 2).
• "There's not just one right way to be a Mormon woman" (p 5). I feel like a lot of times we get caught up in trying to be this ideal Mormon woman, when really there is no ideal. There's no one right way. We are all different, with different talents and abilities, different interests, and Heavenly Father has a different plan for each of us. The beauty of this Church isn't the fact that we all do the same thing in the same way - it's that we're all different but we can come together to make something bigger than ourselves. 
• "It is possible, even in less than ideal circumstances, to have a Christ-centered home. The process of building a Christ-centered home can begin with a single faithful individual" (p 5). 
• "We do not need to wait for ideal circumstances before Jesus can enter our lives" (pp 8-9). 
• "His task was not only to give life to the dead . . . but to give increased life to the living with less than flourishing faith" (p 10). 
• Know the Savior's love in all circumstances (p 14). 
• "He has promised that He will be our never-failing companion. We can trust that promise" (p 35).
• "The way of Christ takes us straight to other people" (p 36). 
• "For me, great strength comes every week as I partake of the sacrament and remind myself that I bear the name of Christ, that I have taken it upon myself like something tangible. Sometimes, when I am lonely and tired, I take the name of the Savior upon me like a warm blanket. I wrap myself in it the way my two-year-old grandson wraps himself in his cherished 'blankey,' and I feel warmed and comforted. If I am feeling vulnerable, sometimes I take the name of Christ upon me like armor, feeling it solid and bright and impregnable, so that no opposition can puncture it and so that no wound can devastate me. Sometimes I take the name of Christ upon me like Joseph's coat of many colors, a beautiful garment in which to dance and rejoice and praise the Lord" (pp 49-50).
• "Pious rules and observances [exist] for one reason: to help the people of Israel learn to love the Lord. They [can] do all of those things and never love the Lord or do all of those things instead of loving the Lord. Sometimes we fill our lives with pious rules and observances too, or let other people do it for us. We forget the Lord. We forget to love Him. We forget to feel in our hearts His love for us. And that's when our lives get out of balance" (p 76). 
• "Jesus always did the right thing because He carried in His heart the divine image of His Father in Heaven. He could not say or do things that did not fit that image. That's what we need, a divine image so clear and powerful that we can recognize it and tell if our actions are matching it" (pp 82-3).
• "We have taken upon ourselves that name of Jesus and the way of the disciple. Our way will also lead to gardens of anguished prayer, to crosses, to tombs. At those times, we, like the apostles, must endure in faith and love. We must endure despite our pain, with our pain, in the depths of our pain, until the moment of the resurrection in us when we understand the greater purpose in the cross and the tomb. I testify to you that those moments of understanding and acceptance will come" (p 101). 
• "When we see a true Christian in action, we see Christ in action" (p 115). 
• "God isn't in the business of making us believe Him. Faith cannot exist if there is no freedom to doubt. And freedom means that terrible mistakes will be made. I don't believe that faith means God will remove all tragedies from our path or solve all of our problems for us. I believe it means that He will be with us, suffering with us and grieving with us and working with us as we deal with our own tragedies and work our way through those problems" (p 119). ("How can I increase my faith?" - Click here). 
• "The image of the path is a useful one, because it teaches us that there is a way by which we may come to our Savior. But in another way it is misleading. Paths lead from one point to another. The image suggests that we are over here and the Savior is over there and that we must follow the path to reach Him. It implies that there is a distance between us and the Lord and that we must traverse that difference to find ourselves with Him. Yet, in reality, He is already with us "(p 128). 
• "I don't have to rely on my own goodness to be good. . . . I don't have to rely on my own capacity for love to be loving. I can rely on the Savior's love the fill my heart so completely that it will brim over and spill irresistibly into love for the people around me. I don't have to rely on my own patience, my own generosity, my own forgiveness, or my own steadfastness to be patient, generous, forgiving, or steadfast in righteousness. If I am willing to make room in my heart for the Savior, if I invite Him into my life, and if I fix my thoughts and desires and hopes on Him, then in some miraculous way I can think the thoughts of Jesus, I can feel the feeling of Jesus, and I can do the works of Jesus" (p 131). 
• "I'm never afraid of what I'll hear [when I pray] because I know it will come in the tones of love" (p 134). 
• "The concept of choosing happiness is powerful and empowering, because it acknowledges that we are created to experience a fulness of joy, that joy is inextricably involved with our use of agency, and that other things besides happiness will come to us" (p 169). 
• "We need to have an ongoing conversation with God that shares our whole hearts with Him. That means we need to be honest about what we love and what we don't, where we succeed and where we fail, what were feeling and what we're thinking. One of the most human things about us is the strength and power of our feelings -- and some of those feelings are very negative. We feel grief so intensely that we think our hearts will break. We are consumed by a rage so fiery that our whole worlds seems angry. We feel discouraged. We feel depressed. We aren't always honest, always kind, always faithful. We aren't uniformly cheerful, compassionate, and courageous. And usually it's during those moments that we choose not to pray, because we think that God doesn't want to see that part of us, respond to such turbulent emotions, or accept us in our negative moments. . . . The scriptures teach a far different message" (p 172). 
• "The promise of Joseph Smith to the Nauvoo Relief Society . . . was this: 'Angels cannot be restrained from being your associates.' Has this promise come true for you? Both Joseph Smith and Alma promised the ministration of angels to women. Yet such is the respect of our Heavenly Father for our agency that He will very rarely I've us something for which we have not asked. What would happen, do you think, if we prayed for revelation, for knowledge, for the comfort of the ministration of angels?" (p 177).
• "God's patience with us means that we have all the time we need, as long as we're trying. We can start over as many times as we need. Life isn't a race. God isn't waiting at some mythical finishing line, tapping His foot, glancing at His stopwatch, and muttering, 'Hey, get a move on, will you?' . . . In fact, He's far from waiting at the finish line, He's there, right beside us, encouraging us and sometimes even lifting us over the rough spots" (pp 204-05). 

This was a great read. I thoroughly enjoyed it (as you can tell). I recommend it to anyone who is doubting their Heavenly Father's love, who thinks the Church has too many rules, who has set up themselves more rules than they can handle, anyone who feels they're beyond forgiveness, anyone who has forgotten the matchless power of our God's love. This is also great for converts (Chieko joined the Church when she was 15), for women (Chieko is also one of these), for mothers, for doubters, for those burdened with sin and shortcomings (I'm sure all of us fit into one of those categories). Really, read this book to be reminded of how much He loves you. 

"When we build for eternity, we need not make haste."

Aloha!, Chieko Okazaki, p 42

Reader Report: Dug Down Deep

Title:
Dug Down Deep: Unearthing What I Believe and Why it Matters

What are you going to build your life on?

Dug Down Deep is systematic theology like you’ve never seen it before. Readable. Relevant. Powerful. As best-selling author Joshua Harris shares his own journey from apathetic church-kid to student with a burning passion to truly know God, you’ll be challenged to dig deep into the truths of God’s word. 

With humor, conviction and compelling insight Dug Down Deep covers the basics of faith—God, scripture, Jesus, the cross, salvation, sanctification, the Holy Spirit and the church. Don’t settle for superficial faith, dig deep.

Author:
Joshua Harris is senior pastor of Covenant Life in Gaithersburg, Maryland, which belongs to the Sovereign Grace network of local churches. He is the author of Why Church Matters and several books on relationships, including the run-away bestseller, I Kissed Dating Goodbye. He and his wife, Shannon, have three children. Find out more at www.joshharris.com.

Publishing Info:
Multnomah Books, 2010



I found this book in a roundabout way. I hadn't planned on reading it. I was looking for Harris' most popular book - I Kissed Dating Goodbye, recommended for teenage girls by the Duggars on their website and in their books. When I went to the library, that one was checked out, but Dug Down Deep was available. I picked it up.

I started this book right after I finished my last - on May 9. Yikes. That's a long time. The first couple chapters were agonizing. I didn't agree with everything he said, I wasn't sucked in. Unsure whether I should keep trying or just not finish the book, I put it on hold, starting another book and reading more scriptures.

Yesterday, my family went to the pool, but I didn't feel like swimming, so I brought this book, thinking that this would be the last day and I'd decide whether I'd finish it or not. At the pool, I read about 50 pages. It got good. After my nap (6-9pm, why did I do that), I couldn't sleep and started reading again. I stayed up for hours reading because I couldn't put it down, and finished around 2 am (not typical for me).

So, I guess you could say I enjoyed it. Harris' book is basically an explanation of everything he believes. It's divided into chapters about the most important aspects of Christianity - God is very different from us (holy), the Bible is how God speaks to us, Jesus was fully God and fully man, in Jesus Christ we can find redemption, etc. I'll share some of my favorite points from the book.


Near But Not in my Pocket: God is utterly different from me. And that is utterly wonderful.

• "I would never dare to call God my divine Butler or Cosmic Therapist, but how often do I treat Him as if He were?" (p 41)

Ripping, Burning, Eating: When we read the Bible, it opens us up. It reads us.

• "Revelation is for relationship" (p 61). We have scriptures and prophets and answered prayers for one reason: so we can know the truth about God and be brought into relationship with Him through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. 
"God's Word meets us where we are. It meets us in the midst of doubt. It speaks to us in the midst of spiritual struggle. Maybe that's where you are. The teachings of a college professor has you feeling like a fool for trusting in an 'outdated, flawed book.' Or maybe you're just tired. Reading the bible feels like an empty exercise. God can meet you and me in these moments of life. The Bible isn't just for people who feel strong. I'm grateful we don't have to lead perfect lives to read God's perfect Word. Jeremiah's life teaches us this. Jeremiah suffered. He was discouraged. God's Word isn't just for the happy people of the world. We can find joy in God's word and the trustworthiness of His promises even when we lack joy in our hearts. Sometimes we have to work to find delight in God's Word. Jeremiah said that when he ate God's words, they became a joy. They don't become a joy sitting on a shelf. We have to taste them to receive them. The fact that this requires effort shouldn't discourage us. As we grow in our knowledge of how trustworthy and powerful scriptures is, our love for it will increase" (p 71).

God With a Bellybutton: Jesus is unique. And He came to accomplish something that no one else could. 

• "Jesus' resurrection shows that God's purpose is to make all things new--not just spiritually, but also physically. The promise of a new heaven and a new earth is glimpsed in the risen, glorified human body of Jesus Christ" (p 89).

A Way to Be Good Again: For too long the news that Jesus died for my sins had no real meaning.

• "The Cross wasn't the tragic upending of Jesus' plan; it was the fulfillment of His plan" (p 99). The Atonement was and is the plan. 

The Invisible Made Visible: God's plan has always been a group plan--He reveals himself through His people.

I really loved this chapter on the church. As many Christians do, Harris uses "church" to describe the worldwide community to self-professed believers, wherever they may be, and whatever specifics they believe. I however, know that there is only one real true and living Church, being the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. As I read this chapter, I read it with my worldview, reading what the bible says about the church (or the Church). And it was fascinating.

• "What if we saw that the church is more than a human program, more than what some disparagingly refer to as organized religion? What if we saw that it originated in the heart and mind of God himself and that His plan began before the dawn of human history and stretched into eternity? . . . What if the church is the means by which God has chosen to accomplish His purpose for us and for the world? And what if it is irreplaceable?" (p 199). He chose us to do His holy work. Isn't that amazing? 
• "God chose to join Himself to a ragtag group of humans. He set them apart as His special people and gave them the privilege of representing Him to the world" (p 201). He chose us. We imperfect, flawed, weak humans. He chooses to work though us. And it is our responsibility to represent Him to the world as best we can. When Latter-Day Saints take the sacrament (communion, the Lord's Supper), we "eat in remembrance of the body of [His] Son, and witness unto [Him], O God, the Eternal Father, that [we] are willing to take upon [us] the name of [His] Son" (Moroni 4, Doctrine & Covenants 20:75-79). Every week we take His name upon us and promise to represent Him to the world. "In [our] worship, in [our] obedience to God's laws, in [our] rituals and commitment to holiness, the character of God [is] displayed. . . . The Church, comprised of men and women from every nationality and ethnicity, is now God's chosen people in the world. The church is how God makes Himself known in the world." (p 201). "The world can't see God. They can't see His reign in our hearts. But we join our lives together in the church so they can see Him. They see Him when we obey his commands. When we love one another. When we preach His Word and proclaim His gospel. When we do good works and serve the poor and the outcast. On earth everything we do--our worship, our building of Christian community, our service, our work--is to done with an eye to spreading to fame and glory of Jesus Christ so the nations might know and worship Him with us" (p 207). People look at Christ's Church to learn about Him. Are we showing people what God is like in the way we act, dress, speak, use our time?
• "What is the church? It is the fulfillment of God's promises to Abraham to bless all the nations of the world" (p 201). "The mission of the covenant people is to serve the Lord by blessing others with the gospel" (Institute Student Manual Religion 301, p 72)
• "God's purpose for me is inextricably tied to His purpose for His people. My faith isn't all about me. It isn't only about my story and my journey" (p 207). This hit me, because it's a lesson I've just learned, and have thought about countless times. "My faith isn't all about me." When Sister A got transferred and I didn't want Sister D2, I wondered how in the world could this be for my good?! Why would God do this to me? He didn't move them for me, but He moved them and taught me through that. He taught me that the church and the world and His work don't revolve around me. Mt faith isn't all about me. My faith is about Him, and His people, and His work, and His Church. I'm not saved alone. This faith is for the whole human family. It's about the other people who need Sister A or Sister D2 in their respective cities. It is about every single person on this earth hearing the Word of God and coming to his banquet. I've learned of Him, I've been baptized, I attend church every week and read the Book of Mormon. I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8). I don't need the missionaries now like some others do. Other people need the missionaries to hear the word and be "snatched out of [their] awful, sinful and polluted state" by the mercy of God (Alma 26:17), as I have been. 

Harris ends his book with a chapter called "Humble Orthodoxy" (now a book itself). He says it's important to know truth, but it's more important to live truth - and live it humbly. 

This book had a lot of great things (as you can see). I would recommend it. I would also recommend that Harris publish a second version with the first chapters taken out or moved to later in the book because they're boring. So, if you can trek through the first couple chapters (or skip them), this is a great read! 

"Jesus Christ is the most famous, most powerful, most controversial and revolutionary person in all human history. And He has promised to come back."

Easter Sunday: He Always Comes

Easter is the most important day for any Christian. Of course I'll blog about it. I'm a day late because my Easter Sunday was spent with family. If I was a smart blogger, I would have written a post beforehand, knowing I'd be busy all Sunday. But I wasn't exactly in the Easter mood a few days ago. It would have been a really bad Easter post.

"Each of us will have our own Fridays—those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays.

But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death—Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come.

No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, Sunday will come. In this life or the next, Sunday will come."

-Joseph B. Wirthlin, "Sunday Will Come"

Last week was a Friday. A really long week, where my world was shattered and I was left to look at the pieces of what I thought had been glued back together. I thought I was healed, and then last week happened. I won't go into details about what I experienced, but it was bad. That's all that matters. It was bad. I had hope that the Lord would heal my life, but I didn't know when that would happen; I kind of assumed I'd be in a funk this week, too. 

I received a priesthood blessing (I get a lot of those) on Monday night for my anxiety. I didn't really feel healed. I had faith in the priesthood, but I couldn't think a coherent sentence enough to know that I'd feel better (I could use this opportunity to talk about the faith to not be healed, but that's a whole post all by itself). Tuesday was hard. Wednesday looked up a little bit, but I fell apart again that night. Thursday, I was dying again. I received another blessing on Friday morning. Friday afternoon, I left school to spend Easter week at home with my family. Saturday was average. 

But on Sunday morning, the power of the resurrection filled me. My family and I woke up with the sun to celebrate the Son. We sang of His rising, His victory, His living still today; We sang of His leading us through life, we sang He "is the life that will never, never die." We read scriptures describing that morning, when women looked for Him but the tomb was empty. He arose! We spoke of His atoning sacrifice, how He took our sins upon Him, that He gives us victory, that He gives us hope. We lifted prayers of hope and thanksgiving for the gifts of family and new life in Christ Jesus. I was filled with hope and joy and new life. The Savior lifted me out of my emotional grave with HIm on Sunday morning, and lifted me up to joy greater than I could have imagined. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There is sunshine in my soul today,

More glorious and bright

Than glows in any earthly sky,

For Jesus is my light.

Oh, there's sunshine, blessed sunshine

When the peaceful happy moments roll.

When Jesus shows his smiling face,

There is sunshine in the soul.

There is music in my soul today,

A carol to my King,

And Jesus listening can hear

The songs I cannot sing.

Oh, there's sunshine, blessed sunshine

When the peaceful happy moments roll.

When Jesus shows his smiling face,

There is sunshine in the soul.

There is springtime in my soul today,

For when the Lord is near,

The dove of peace sings in my heart,

The flow'rs of grace appear.

Oh, there's sunshine, blessed sunshine

When the peaceful happy moments roll.

When Jesus shows his smiling face,

There is sunshine in the soul.

There is gladness in my soul today,

And hope and praise and love,

For blessings which he gives me now,

For joys "laid up" above.

Oh, there's sunshine, blessed sunshine

When the peaceful happy moments roll.

When Jesus shows his smiling face,

There is sunshine in the soul.

-"There is Sunshine in My Soul Today"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I know that Easter is real, that Jesus Christ, my Savior and your Savior, did walk this earth, feel every pain and joy we feel, and did rise from His grave. Because of Him, we have help through the Fridays of this life. Because He lives, we know that Sunday will come. He rose from the grave, and so will we, the spiritual graves of sins and mistakes and sicknesses, and the physical grave. He is our salvation. He lives and He loves. 

Dancing Through Life

My university brought in another guest artist and we had a master class this evening (I promise we don't have them every week). This artist was also a mostly contemporary performer and choreographer, so that's what today's class was. I learned two important lessons from this woman.


1: "You have these still spaces - why wouldn't you dance through them?"

She gave us a few combinations that all had little pauses in them. She told us not to be stagnant in those moments, but to dance through them and connect all of movements. This is so relevant to real life, too. We at times have these "still spaces," where we may feel like we're not really doing anything, or we aren't sure what we should be doing. We should dance through them. Find something small to do. It will be of worth. The "glue" in a dance that takes you from one movement to another is what makes the dance good. Our "little" tasks in between great feats are what will make us as people.


2: "Life is short but the van ride is long."

When the guest artist said this, she was answering a question about what she looks for in an audition. She said a big thing is being nice. Life's too short to deal with mean people. The company travels a lot, and you're all stuck in a van together. She said she didn't want to be in a van with mean people, because the van ride is long.

This life is short. We don't have time to deal with people being mean to us. So what do we do? Show charity to them, and to ourselves. Show charity to them: do not use harsh words at your enemies. "Revenge is not the Lord's way." Show charity towards yourself: love yourself enough to get away from harmful people. Sometimes, we just won't be able to reconcile with some people. We're all imperfect, and sometimes our imperfections just hit at each other and we can't fix things in the present. If you're in a situation where someone is hurting you and you can't fix it right now, get out. You can still show charity towards someone without having them be an active part of your life.


Life is hard. Not because we're doing it wrong, but just because it's hard. Have faith and press forward. Know that this life is not all we have. When hard times come, know that "there must be an opposition in all things," and that "all things have been done in the wisdom of Him who knoweth all things" (2 Nephi 2, verses 11 and 25). When all else fails, dance it out. When life gives you still spaces, dance through.

Prayers for peace and joy to you reading <3