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Sabbath Devotional :: Let God Prevail
When I was a young mother in the midst of some extraordinary challenges, I was often given “glimpses” of my future as I prayed. My oldest son had needs that completely consumed the two of us and I put my career as a professional musician on hold to care for him. I don’t think that most of us will need to make such a dramatic choice, but I did not see any other way forward at the time. My son needed me more than I needed my music and I had a clear sense that the work I was doing with him was noble and good. When I prayed I…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Good Inspiration is Based upon Good Information
For a few months I have wanted to share a particular story with all of you, but wasn’t quite sure why. It is deeply personal so I wanted to be very careful in my telling. Then this week, I have felt pulled to write a devotional about personal revelation and things started to come together. As you will see, my story is an example of what NOT to do, but I also hope to share some of the wisdom that was granted to me as I worked through my weakness. In this talk from the April 2018 General Conference, President Nelson said: “…good inspiration is based upon good information.” He…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Concentric Circles and Self-Care
“… and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death…” (Mosiah 18: 8-9). These are the covenants we make when we are baptized as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They can seem overwhelming, especially in this…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Knowing Christ Through Our Web of Community
In C.S. Lewis’ book “The Four Loves” there is an essay entitled “Friendship.” The following passage is a reflection on the loss of a member of Lewis’ close circle of friends: “In each of my friends there is something that only some other friend can fully bring out. By myself I am not large enough to call the whole man into activity; I want other lights than my own to show all his facets… In this, Friendship exhibits a glorious ‘nearness by resemblance’ to heaven itself where the very multitude of the blessed (which no man can number) increases the fruition which each of us has of God… The more…
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Sabbath Devotional :: The Creative Process and the Making of Peace
“Creation brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment. We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty.” When I first heard those words in Elder Dieter F Uchtdorf’s General Conference talk over 10 years ago, I was both intrigued and inspired. At the time, I was trying to grapple with being a full-time caretaker to my young sons while nourishing my own creative spirit. I am an adequate housekeeper at best, an introvert who would rather spend time alone with a book or at my piano than cooking, cleaning, or frankly, playing on the floor with children. But I grew up…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Infinite Loop of Agape
“An infinite loop (sometimes called an endless loop) is a piece of coding that lacks a functional exit so that it repeats indefinitely.” I have a faint recollection of the concept of an infinite loop from an undergraduate computer coding class I took over 20 years ago. When a young man in my ward used the phrase in a gospel context during his missionary farewell recently, I felt a jolt of recognition as it related to some of my personal spiritual experiences over the past few years. It was a way to describe a state of being that I felt gloriously “stuck” in. It began with love, then became marked…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Higher Ways
Isaiah 55:8-9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. These scriptures were my constant companion for about a decade. During those especially difficult years, I would read the verses over and over again, looking for meaning, support, and strength. I learned two broad lessons from…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Keep Trying
In my piano studio, the spring months are spent preparing for our annual recital. I work with each student to learn and polish pieces to perform in a formal setting. We carefully lay the foundation for success by first getting the correct fingers on the correct notes, then adding rhythm, dynamics, and articulations as they are ready. At every stage in the learning process, we pay close attention to melody and musicality. Of course it is crucial that the students are prepared to play the right notes; but it is just as important to perform those notes in an expressive way. As we approach recital time, we make plans for…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Pacifist Perspective on War in the Book of Mormon
I would not feel uncomfortable if someone accused me of being a pacifist. My brain tells me that there are times that war is justified, but my heart can hardly handle the thought of it. My distaste for violence grows out of an innate recoiling at the suffering of any living creature. I was just born this way. By way of example, earlier this year my son’s seven baby rabbits all became ill, one after another and on separate days. Each died quite terribly after an hour of seizures and suffering. I cried and held each one as they passed, reasoning that my presence and soothing touch could help ease…
