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Sabbath Devotional :: I Will Just Be Me
When my daughter was little, she was drawing pictures during sacrament meeting. She drew a picture of a person wearing a cape. There was a word bubble that said, “I am a superhero. But I do not know how to be a superhero, so I am just be me.” Despite the glaring grammatical error, I thought that was profound, especially considering that she drew the picture on Mother’s Day. I had never seen such a perfect representation of motherhood, or womanhood in general. Those who praise women often make them out to be superheroes, saints, or angels. But back here on earth, women everywhere are saying, “I do not know…
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Sabbath Devotional :: From Grave to Garden
Earlier this month, I had an opportunity to attend a craft workshop on the Japanese art form of kintsugi, which involves gluing broken pottery back together and coloring the cracks with gold paint. Smashing a perfectly new white bowl with a hammer felt wrong, but the process of fitting the pieces in, repairing it, gluing it, painting it, and decorating it with gold flourishes, making an even more beautiful bowl, was very satisfying. The flaws and faults and broken parts are redeemed into an even better creation. God promises a similar redemption to each of us. I love the line in the hymn How Firm a Foundation: “The rivers of…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Eclipsed Expectations
This month, I joined millions of Americans in an effort to encounter the celestial: watching the total solar eclipse. The experience wasn’t what I expected; it was beautiful, but I couldn’t help feeling FOMO (fear of missing out), disappointed that it had been better for other people at other locations. This ambivalence can characterize many of our heavenly encounters. With the renewed emphasis on the temple at General Conference, how we can approach our interactions with the heavens with an eye towards gratitude, grace, and God? I missed the 2017 eclipse, but that increased my desire to see this one. Plotting maps years ago, Austin, Texas looked like a good…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Parental Love
I have always loved these verses in Matthew 7: 9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? 10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? As I move through the world, I am constantly reminded of the gifts of loving Heavenly parents and of their care and concern for me. Often I feel God’s love through the beauty and solace…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Mary Magdalene
As we begin Holy Week, my thoughts are drawn to Mary Magdelene on that first Easter morning. “The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre” (John 20:1) Thinking perhaps that the body of Christ had been stolen, Mary ran to tell Peter and John. They all ran back to the sepulchre to see for themselves. Not sure of what was going on, the men left to go home. “But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping” (John 20:11). She saw Jesus in the garden, but supposed Him to be the gardener,…
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Sabbath Devotional :: The Artifice of Fear
“God hath not given us the spirit of fear.” ~2 Timothy 1:7 “Perfect love casteth out fear.” ~ 1 John 4:18 Fear is a frequently invoked motivating force in our world today. Parents use it, marketers use it, and friends use it. It has been used for generations. On the lighthearted end, we have the phrase and culture of “fear of missing out.” On the darker side, we have politicians and forces who use fear to “other” and dehumanize, to divide and stir up conflict intentionally. Fear-motivated anything can lead to bad results; fear-motivated politics can lead to particularly horrific results, especially when coupled with violent rhetoric. History proves that.…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Blessed are the Peacemakers
I have been thinking of the Savior’s assurance in John 14:27: “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.” This is a remarkable promise that we will always have and be able to feel peace, as we draw near to the Savior and His teachings. In the verse prior, the Lord speaks about the Holy Ghost and its influence and this is another way we can experience the Savior’s peace. As I pondered on this verse, I considered what it means for the Savior to give versus…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Such a Time as This
As we leap and march into a new month, the calendar can feel a little unpredictable — Easter is early, and when does Fast Sunday fit in with General Conference? March is an opportunity not just to celebrate spring or Pi Day, but to celebrate strong women. There is International Women’s Day this coming week, and we’ll honor the founding of the Relief Society in Nauvoo with a church-wide female broadcast on March 17. This month, I am also thinking about Esther. When I put the MWEG conference on my calendar for March 23, I noted that that Saturday was Purim Eve, her holiday. Like Easter, the Jewish holiday of…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Rituals, Invitations, and Ordinances
A few months ago, my husband and I received a startling message from a friend with a chronic illness. They requested that we visit them that day or the next, for about 45 minutes, without children. We prepared our hearts for whatever we might hear. The suspense was weighty; even through pleasantries and catching up, our hearts were heavy until our friends announced that they’d invited us over to tell us that they’d gotten engaged! They hand-delivered a beautiful invitation and asked us to be part of their special day. That wedding, and another significant family wedding around the same time, sent me back to my time as an ethnomusicology…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Fruits of the Spirit
“Wo unto them that call evil good, and good evil, that put darkness for light, and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! . . . Who justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!” (2 Nephi 15:20, 23) A speaker recently quoted that passage in my sacrament meeting. I started contemplating how we often extol bad behaviors if we believe it makes us or “our side” achieve something desirable and I was drawn to these verses in Galatians: “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; . . . Idolatry, . . . hatred,…
