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Sabbath Devotional :: The Divine Complexity of Our Current Circumstances
The temperature here in Omaha has been hovering around 0 degrees for over a week now, often dipping into negative territory, with more frigid weather to come. And we keep getting new layers of snow laid on top of what came the day before, with barely enough time to chip away at them. It kind of feels like we will never be able to go outside again. Even when I am inside, I can feel the never-ending chill of the ice that seems like it is trying to break its way into my home. I have cold toes, cold fingers, and, if I am being honest, a cold heart at…
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Sabbath Devotional :: The Power of Personal Narrative in Creating Identity and Vision
As a junior in high school, I usually enjoyed my popular Thomas Hardy/Charles Dickens English class with Mr. Thompson. He had a quick wit and engaging teaching style that usually led to interesting discussions among my classmates about all kinds of social topics. On one particular morning, as I sat ready to participate in our literature discussion, Mr. Thompson began with the following statement: “As we all know, religious people are just looking for a crutch to explain their suffering.” As a devoted religious teenage girl living in a largely secular community in Northern California, I sat there shocked, but silent. I was not prepared to say anything to contradict…
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Sabbath Devotional :: MWEG Turns Four: Three Miracles and a Birthday Wish
This past Tuesday — January 26, 2021 — MWEG turned four. My little granddaughter, Lizzie, also recently turned four. Watching this miraculous little being flitter-tromp about in her princess tiara and dinosaur-green rain boots, chattering nonstop while showing off her new trick of hopping on one foot and then turning a somersault (whoops! there goes a boot!), fills me with unspeakable joy and delight. Four is a magical age. And it’s an age of tremendous growth and development–physical, intellectual, social. As it will be for Lizzie, so will it be for MWEG. Birthdays and other anniversaries are important milestones and provide excellent opportunities for reflecting on the past, for remembering.…
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Sabbath Devotional :: God-Reliance
Many years ago I was at a conference where one of the presenters spoke about living by what she called “the manna plan.” She referenced the story of the Israelites and the miraculous food from heaven that the Lord provided for them as they wandered in the wilderness for forty years. This edible substance, known as manna, appeared on the ground every morning. The Israelites were instructed to gather only what they needed for that day. If they gathered more than that to save some for later, it would spoil. The exception to this was the day before the Sabbath, when they were commanded to gather enough for two days.…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Learn of Me
I have been having moments of melancholy recently because of what has been happening in the country. COVID, the election saga, and other world issues take their toll on a person. There are times when it overwhelms me. I realize that I have been leaning on my own understanding (really dumb). So I have taken to reading material about the Savior and learning of him in my scriptures and other books I have in my library. One of those books is titled The Redeemer: Reflections on the Life and Teachings of Jesus the Christ. It contains essays written by several different authors. I have also started bringing a journal to sacrament…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Unprecedented
For the last week or so, I have woken up every morning feeling depleted. I am able to go about my work and accomplish methodical and thoughtless tasks, but those that require deep thinking seem overwhelming. It is almost as if my brain has decided to put itself to neutral and is just going to stay there. One day I was moving through the world reasonably well, and the next day everything just felt like too much. That is probably because everything really is Too Much. I don’t think that feeling is in my imagination, (it really is too much, isn’t it?) or that it represents a failure of character…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Finding Empathy Amid Trials
I recently met with an old college student of mine, Emilia, who asked for my help. She’d met three families in her Spanish-speaking ward in Utah who didn’t have money for Christmas gifts for their children. These families recently immigrated to the United States to seek refuge from dangerous and war-torn countries. They gave all they possessed to journey to safety, leaving nothing for the holidays. Emilia asked if I could contribute presents for one of the five-year-old girls who was hoping Santa would visit. I sat across from Emilia in awe, wondering why she felt responsible for the welfare of these families. Emilia, an international student from South America,…
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Sabbath Devotional :: The Master Peacemaker’s Diverse Responses to Conflict
As a mediator and disciple of Christ, I have often reflected on Jesus Christ’s varied approaches to conflict. He did not merely “turn the other cheek” or “agree with [an] adversary quickly” every time he was faced with disagreement or difference. Sometimes we oversimplify the Savior’s teachings about conflict resolution and miss opportunities to create peace. As “the way, the truth, and the life,” I believe Jesus would like us to learn from all of his life experiences and teachings to create more nuanced and diverse approaches to peacemaking. As Eva Witesman wrote in a 2017 Deseret News op-ed on peacemaking, “When I make peace, I want to build it.…
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Sabbath Devotional :: In the Bleak Midwinter
I have always been able to express my testimony best through music. So, this year, the MWEG Christmas devotional comes to you from my living room piano. The tune for Rossetti’s poem was written by Gustav Holst and then arranged by Wendy Lynn Stevens. As I prepared this piece for my MWEG sisters, I felt both the bleakness of this moment in time and the celebration of the miracle of the Christ Child. May you feel the warmth of these words and this music as you ponder His birth. Please know I am also holding space in my heart for your grief. I pray that you can hear both in…
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Sabbath Devotional :: A Gentle Heart
In thinking about the Church’s Light the World initiative, some recent personal experiences, this week’s GROW on compassion and empathy, and some stories and experiences of others I’ve seen recently, I’ve been struck by just how much good people do for each other. Are there struggles and hardship and moments of darkness? Yes. But there are also so many points of light shining through it. So many selfless acts and kind words and caring hearts that lift and bless and bring the light of Christ into the world. This past week, Elder Renlund shared a video talking about reopening temples. He said, in reference to proxy work in the temple,…
