October 2020 General Conference

 This October, I went into General Conference with one major life problem, two questions, and the prayerful intention to notice themes. We often re-read General Conference talks after they’re given, but rarely do we experience the messages as a whole. So, during Conference weekend, my goal was to keep my eyes, ears, and spirit open to themes - What words or phrases did I notice repeatedly? What is the Lord trying to teach me with that? 

I also prayed to hear promptings and guidance - what do I need to study and do after Conference? 

I don’t have children yet, so my home is pretty chill. I took LOTS of notes during each session, writing down phrases or ideas that stood out to me - from the speaker’s mouth and from the Holy Ghost. 

At the end of each session, I went through my notes:

• I marked invitations to study certain topics or materials (like the promises to covenant Israel or manual on financial self-reliance)
• I marked promptings of things to DO (like get a temple recommend, do more family history, etc)
• I marked words of phrases that appeared in my notes multiple times, and made a list of that session’s themes. 

I did this after every session. So on Sunday afternoon, I had five lists of things to study and do, and themes. I combined all this into a big chart. This chart is my focus board for the next six months - what to study, how to learn, what to do. 

I felt, as I watched Conference, that it was just so rich. I felt like there was so much information and inspiration and guidance, and so much that I missed just listening to talks once! So my hope is to work through each of the themes I noticed, studying them in the General Conference talks and scriptures. 

Some of the themes I noticed were:

• Become like Christ, be transformed
• Press forward, be diligent, by small and simple means
• Unity (many references to Enoch and 4 Nephi)
• Christ as the source of peace, joy, and hope
• Benefit of afflictions and trials (blessings, increased faith, exaltation)

So over the next 6 months, I’ll be studying and compiling quotes and insights and (hopefully) sharing here! 

Maundy Thursday: The Gospel Story is Our Story

A week that began with praises grows more difficult. 

One day, at the home of a friend, a woman anoints Jesus’ head with oil, preparing him for burial. 

Like Jesus, we have been prepared by loving companions for the difficult road ahead of us. 

Let us not turn our eyes away from the difficulty. 

Jesus tells his disciples to prepare a place to celebrate Passover. 

Like the disciples, we have been given commands from Jesus. How will we prepare for Him?

At evening, Jesus gathers with his friends to celebrate the Passover meal. 

A meal rich with symbolism, a meal that begins in the darkness of slavery and rejoices in God’s light of liberation. 

A meal that recognizes our own darkness, and hopes for God to bring light again. 

Jesus eats this meal with his friends. 

We eat this meal with Jesus. We, too, hope for God to turn our darkness into light. 

Jesus knows what his future holds. His heart is heavy. 

He takes the bread, thanks God for it, breaks it, and shares it - the Bread of Life.

He takes the cup, thanks God for it, and shares it - Living Water, the cup of Salvation. 

After the meal, Jesus and his friends sing a song of praise to God.

They go out to the Mount of Olives, to the garden called Gethsemane. 

Jesus says to his disciples, “Wait here, while I pray. I’m very sad - as if I’m dying.”

Like Jesus, we have felt grief so heavy it felt like we were dying.

Like the disciples, we have been asked to witness the heavy grief of our friends. 

Like Jesus, we retreat to pray. 

“Father, for you, all things are possible. Let this cup pass! Nevertheless, not my will but thine.”

An angel appears to strengthen Jesus. 

Like Jesus, we have received divine help in our time of need.

Like the angel, we have been a blessing and provided strength to those around us. 

Jesus returns to find his friends sleeping, overcome with grief. They have let him down.

Like the disciples, we have been overcome with grief, grief so heavy we feel we cannot move. 

Like Jesus, we have been disappointed by our friends. 

Like the disciples, we have disappointed our friends and our God. 

Judas arrives with a crowd carrying swords and clubs. 

Judas betrays his friend, and Jesus is arrested.

Like Jesus, we have been betrayed by those we called friends. 

Like Judas, we have betrayed our friends and our God.

Like this crowd, we have captured Jesus and taken him to be judged. 

All the disciples leave Jesus and run away. 

Like Jesus, we have been abandoned. 

Like the disciples, we have abandoned our friends and our God. 

Jesus is led to Caiaphas, the high priest. A crowd bears false witness, telling lies, and spits in Jesus’ face.

Like Jesus, we have been victim to lying foes.

Like the crowd, we have told lies. 

Like Jesus, we have been mocked and scorned.

Like the crowd, we have mocked and scorned the image of God in those around us. 

Meanwhile, Peter denies Jesus three times - just as Jesus predicted.

Like Jesus, we have been denied and left alone by those whose we thought would stay with us. 

Like Peter, we have denied our friends and our God. 

Like Peter, we have realized our mistake and cried uncontrollably. 

What will tomorrow hold?

Can it get worse than this? 

Hallelujah

Source: Google Images

Easter. Spring. For as long as I can remember, this time of year has been my favorite. Maybe it's just because my birthday is this time of year - spring is the first thing I knew. Maybe it's Easter eggs and bright colors and cute chicks. Maybe it's the gentle warm breezes that pull us out of a crisp winter. Maybe it's new life and sunshine and redemption and hope and promises.

As a kid, I liked spring. Maybe it was bright colors, or pretty flowers, or buying a new Easter dress. Even when I was in the traps of my eating disorder and bound by heavy depression, I still liked spring.

But when I came back to life, Easter and spring gained a new significance.

Though I began treatment in the fall, I embraced recovery in the spring. 
A year later, I was introduced to the gospel in the spring. 
Another year later, I was baptized, in the spring.


When I found the gospel, I was in the midst of a pretty bad relapse with my addiction and depression. I can remember one afternoon, sitting on the floor in my room, crying and desolate and desperate to just feel okay again. And I thought about the things I'd just head about Jesus Christ and realized - it would be okay. It's wasn't at the time, but it would be. And I would be okay. The gospel gave me permission to hope, something I hadn't done for a long time.

And that's what Easter is all about, to me. Hope. Redemption. Easter means that life can come out of the ashes. It means that like a phoenix, it doesn't matter how crushed our lives are, how much it looks like it's the end. Because of Christ, it doesn't need to be the end. Because of Him, we can ALL find new life.

Hallelujah.

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: Heaven is for Real

Title:
Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back

"Heaven Is for Real is the true story of the four-year old son of a small town Nebraska pastor who during emergency surgery slips from consciousness and enters heaven. He survives and begins talking about being able to look down and see the doctor operating and his dad praying in the waiting room. The family didn't know what to believe but soon the evidence was clear.

Colton said he met his miscarried sister whom no one had told him about, and his great grandfather who died 30 years before Colton was born, then shared impossible-to-know details about each. He describes the horse that only Jesus could ride, about how "reaaally big" God and his chair are, and how the Holy Spirit "shoots down power" from heaven to help us.

Told by the father but often in Colton's own words, the disarmingly simple message is heaven is a real place, Jesus really loves children, and be ready there is a coming last battle."

Author:
Todd Burpo, with Lynn Vincent

Publishing Info:
Thomas Nelson, 2010

~ ~ ~

When Heaven is for Real the movie was released a few years back, it caught the attention of my grandmother, who read the book and rented the movie. Not being a big reader back then, I didn't read the book, but we did watch the movie. And I thought it was mediocre (I guess I wasn't thinking about the part where this was an actual kid telling about his actual experience, but that's beside the point). 

Flash forward to this summer, when I started reading like crazy again. I've always loved books themselves (even when I wasn't particularly interested in reading them), so combine that with my renewed interest in reading, and the public library's bargain resale shelf - I bought over ten books thi summer. I found Heaven is for Real for 50 cents, and being a bargains shopper and book lover, I had to buy it, and figured I'd read it sometime.

Well, I finally got around to it. And, I still didn't find the story particularly engaging or interesting. I don't know (nor would I like to get involved with debates concerning) whether or not the Burpo's story is true,  whether is was a drug-induced vision, whether the parents embellished, or whether such heavenly trips are even possible for children (we know of a few prophets who have seen heaven, as relayed in scripture - Daniel, John the Revelator, Nephi). That's not my interest.

The main thing that struck me was how sick Colton actually was. That either wasn't emphasized or didn't stick out to me in the movie. Colton was so sick for five days, and on the brink of death for some of those, before the doctors correctly diagnosed him as experiencing a burst appendix. In the book, Todd says the nurses at the hospital were told by the doctor not to give the family hope - that they were operating on Colton, but his death was positively immanent. And he recovered so miraculously, through the prayers of his community. That, to me, was amazing.

Since the story wasn't to compelling, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite quotes:

• "I thought of the times where the scripture says that God answered the prayers, not of the sick or dying, but of the friends of the sick and dying - the paralytic, for example. It was when Jesus saw the faith of the man's friends that He told the paralytic, 'Get up, take your mat and go home.' [Matt 9:6] A that moment, I needed to borrow the strength and faith of some other believers" (p41-42). That's something I've had to be humble enough to do recently. Kind of reminds me of this from Elder Jeffery R. Holland: "If your faith is a little tested in this or any season, I invite you to lean on mine. I know this work is God’s very truth . . . Hope on. Journey on. Honestly acknowledge your questions and your concerns, but first and forever fan the flame of your faith, because all things are possible to them that believe" ("Lord, I Believe," April 2013; emphasis added).
• "God knows where He puts our children, in each family . . . God can reach anyone, anywhere, at any age" (p 143).

These two quotes tell me 1) God hears our prayers, and the prayers we pray for those we love; and 2) God knows our families, and He put us together. 

"Well, Jesus told me He died on the cross so we could go see His Dad."

(p 111)

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

On Making Mistakes

I believe that God loves us more than we can fathom.

I believe that God always does what's best for us.

I believe that God is very patient with us, because I know I've made a lot of mistakes - but He's given me another chance by waking me up today. He is so patient with us.

(source)

Recently, I have been having a lot of trouble with my perfectionism, beating myself up for the smallest things and convincing myself that this one tiny mistake is the end of me. Something that has given me a lot of comfort is a principle that was emphasized to me by the Holy Ghost at my Church meetings last weekend.

That principle which has comforted me is this: Mistakes are not just accounted for by the Atonement, mistakes are not just understood by God, or even just expected. Mistakes are a vital part of the Plan of Happiness.

God did not send us down here grudgingly, saying, "Fall as few times as possible. Get back with as few scars as you can." No. He was not merely aware of the reality that we would fall. I think He excitedly looked toward the day when He could see us fall - and help us back up. He knew that the only way we could go up was by first going down. There can be no growth without mistakes. He wants us to grow, therefore He planned for mistakes. Mistakes are part of the Plan.



Now, I'm not saying that we should use this as an excuse to make as many mistakes as we can during our tenure in mortality. I'm saying that mistakes are allowed and planned - that's why there's and Atonement. So that we have the freedom to try things that don't work. That's why there's an Atonement. We don't have to stress about getting everything right the first time - because we won't. "Perfection doesn't exist on this side of eternity." That's why there's an Atonement. Remember, the Atonement does not just bring us back to pre-fall status - it elevates us. Then, we gain a little more strength to move forward and do better. Maya Angelou said, "I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better." When you know better, do better.

~ ~ ~

Live in the freedom that Christ offers. Freedom to try your best, fail, and try again, growing closer to perfection each time. Move up. Move down and up. Move. Don't stay still for fear of falling, because then you'll never be lifted. 

Learn more about how the Atonement can strengthen and empower us to get back up and try again, I suggest Elder Oaks' talk, "Strengthened by the Atonement of Christ." 

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: Kisses from Katie

Title
Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption

"What would cause an eighteen-year-old senior class president and homecoming queen from Nashville, Tennessee, to disobey and disappoint her parents by forgoing college, break her little brother’s heart, lose all but a handful of her friends (because they think she has gone off the deep end), and break up with the love of her life, all so she could move to Uganda, where she knew only one person and didn’t even speak the language?

A passion to follow Jesus.

Katie Davis left over Christmas break of her senior year for a short mission trip to Uganda and her life was turned completely inside out. She found herself so moved by the people of Uganda and the needs she saw that she knew her calling was to return and care for them. Katie, a charismatic and articulate young woman, is in the process of adopting thirteen children in Uganda and has established a ministry, Amazima, that feeds and sends hundreds more to school while teaching them the Word of Jesus Christ."

"I have absolutely no desire to write a book about myself. This is a book about a Christ who is alive today and not only knows but cares about every hair on my head. Yours too. I'm writing this book on the chance that a glimpse into the life of my family and me, full of my stupidity and God's grace, will remind you of this living, loving Christ and what it means to serve Him. I'm writing with the hope that as you cry and laugh with my family you will be encouraged that God still uses flawed human beings to change the world. And if He can use me, He can use you."
-Katie Davis

Author

Katie Davis

Publishing Info

Howard Books, A Division of Simon and Shuester, 2011, Updated and Expanded Version

Katie Davis moved to Uganda straight from high school to take a gap year before college. When she prepared to go back to the States from college, she left behind eight daughters. After a semester, she realized God was calling her to Uganda for the long haul, adopting six more daughter over the next two years. Katie truly accepted Christ's call to care for the poor and needy, for the widows and orphans. 

As one can imagine, Katie said moving across the ocean without friends or family was difficult. This was great for me to read, as God has recently called me to a new place, absent of friends. Katie was confident that this was what God was calling her to do, as I am confident that this is where God is calling me to be. Katie is gaining her strength not from her own ability to be in a new, scary place, but from Christ. I need to remember to take my strength from the reservoir of Christ's love. 

The other idea that stood out to me is that, not everything God brings into our lives is for our good. Katie experienced a lot of things in the poverty of Uganda and the system of adopted children that made her wonder, "How in the world is this for my good? for my loved ones to die, for my child to be taken back to her birthmother?" She learned that sometimes God uses us and asks us to deal with hard things for the good of others. And because she loved Christ and loved others, Katie did, for the the glory and the kingdom of God. 

When God moved my missionary and brought a new one to my city, I struggled to understand how taking one of my favorite people could be for my good. The Lord taught me that the world doesn't revolve around me. When He does things, it's not just for me and my good. It's for the good of the people Sister A is teaching in her new area, it's for the other people in my city that needed Sister D2, it's because Sister A and Sister D2 needed things, because I had something to teach Sister D2. While Sister D2 and I were in the same city (only 6 weeks), she taught me about charity, and she helped me learn that not everything is about me. So this move was for my good, for Sister A's good, for Sister D2's good, for Sister M's good, for the good of the members in Sister A's new ward, for the good of the people in my city, and most importantly, for His glory and the good of His kingdom. 

Favorite Quotes from Kisses from Katie:

"My candle is lit; I am on fire for God, for this place, for these people. My purpose here is to spread His light. One candle can light up an entire room. Jesus can light up this entire nation, and my flame can be a part of that. I am blown away that my God, who could do this all by Himself, would choose to let me be a little part of it."

"Everywhere I have looked, raw, filthy human need and brokenness have been on display, begging for someone to meet them, fix them. And even though I realize I cannot always mend or meet, I can enter in. I can enter into someone's pain and sit with them and know. This is Jesus. Not that He apologizes for the hard and the hurt, but that He enters in, He comes to us in the hard places. And so, I continue to enter."

"I sensed that God was calling me into my own kind of 'Canaan," a land I had never been before, a place full of His promises and barren of all things comfortable and familiar. I had to let go of my life at the children's home and let God fulfill the promise, His perfect will. I chose to believe that, like Sarah, my adventure would lead to laughter and joy."

"I believed, and still believe, that the God who created the universe did not create too many children in His image and not enough love to go around."

"I have learned along my journey that if I really want to follow Jesus, I will go into the hard places. Being a Christ follower means being acquainted with sorrow. We must know sorrow to be able to fully appreciate joy. Joy costs pain, but the pain is worth it. After all, the murder had to take place before the resurrection. I'll be honest: The hard places can seem unbearable. It's dark and it's scary, and even though I know God said He will never leave or forsake me, sometimes it's so dark that I just can't see Him. But then the most incredible thing happens: God takes me by the hand and walks me straight out of the hard place and into the beauty on the other side. He whispers to me to be thankful, and that even this will be for His good."

Hard Things

I've been attending college in a small town for years. Its Southern charm always gets me. The trees, the food, the mom-and-pop businesses. What I love most about this city, though, is the people - my people. Over the years I've created bonds with so many people. This is my hometown. This is home. I have so much family here. This is where my classmates are, my best friends. This is where I found the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This is where I received my first Book of Mormon, this is where I met the missionaries, this is where I found and nurtured my sprouting testimony, this is where I was baptized. This is my core.

For the past few months, I have felt prompted to move home to be with my family. So I'm listening. But honestly, I'm very nervous. I don't know anyone in my old city. I've never been to the ward (local congregation of members) there, either. I'm starting from scratch. My family doesn't get along as great as we should right now (maybe part of why I need to go back?), so I'm stressed about that. Basically, I'm worried about a lot of things.

However, as I've made these plans, I am remembering to have faith. Faith in what my Heavenly Father is asking me to do, faith in my ability to hear Him, and faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ to give me strength through these hard times. Faith over fear.

Henry B. Eyring said "If you are on the right path, it will always be uphill" (link). I know that we are on this earth to learn and to be tested. If life was always easy, we wouldn't learn. If Heavenly Father only asked us to do easy things, we'd never grow. The things is, God never asks us to do something that we can't do without His help. He might ask us to do something that is beyond our individual capacity, but when He does, He stands ready to help us. Because "in His strength [we] can do all things" (Alma 26:12).

In this life, we will have to deal with hard things, whether they come about due to our own sin, the sin of others, the fact that we live in a fallen world, or Heavenly Father giving them to us. Hard things is the whole point of us being here. But I know that Heavenly Father will not let us be tried above what we can bear. He is there every step of the way, encouraging, sustaining, uplifting us.

I know that He will help me accomplish the thing He's asked me to do (1 Nephi 3:7). Whatever trials you're facing right now, I know He can help you through, too. I know that He will help you if you ask Him. He stands ready to help, just waiting for you to ask. May we all seek His help, for if we seek, we will receive.



(To learn more about why we're here on earth, click here.)