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Sabbath Devotional :: A Christmas Parable
Shortly after we moved to Boston, I learned the story behind the Christmas tree on the city’s Common. Every year it is given by the people of Nova Scotia as an expression of gratitude for Massachusetts’ response to a devastating disaster. A few weeks before Christmas in 1917, a munitions ship exploded in the Halifax harbor, setting the city ablaze. Thousands were killed and thousands more were wounded. Almost immediately the Governor of Massachusetts reached out with a telegram offering assistance: “Massachusetts stands ready to go to the limit in rendering every assistance you may be in need of.” That telegram went unanswered — the telegraph system had been destroyed.…
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Sabbath Devotional :: We Bow Our Knees, and Hope Our Hearts Follow
O my deare hert, young Jesu sweit, Prepare thy creddil in my spreit, And I sall rock thee to my hert, And never mair from thee depart. But I sall praise thee evermoir With sanges sweit unto thy gloir; The knees of my hert sall I bow, And sing that richt Balulalo. This text, which I know from Benjamin Britten’s setting in the Ceremony of Carols has always amused me a little. A cradle in the spirit? The knees of my heart?? This afternoon, I went to my nephew’s baptism. The font had filled more slowly than expected, so the water was shallow. Before the service began, my brother coached his son…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Enduring Love
I love Christmas time. For me, part of the joy of Christmas lies in long-standing family and community traditions. I grew up in Utah and always associated Christmas with all things winter: snowy landscapes, hot chocolate, more formal family dinners with heavier foods, carolers clothed in scarfs and mittens singing about a winter wonderland, and dark evenings for viewing Christmas lights. When I was on my mission, I approached the idea of Christmas in the hot Australian summer with some apprehension. Traditions in Australia vary from family to family, of course. But it was common to think of Christmas on the beach or at a backyard barbeque. Some gatherings were…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Gratitude Grumpies
I was asked to give a talk, the week before Thanksgiving, on . . . you guessed it, gratitude. I was grumpy about it. And I wanted to talk about my grumpies and my right to feel grumpy and not be tone-policed about my grumpiness. And how I can be grateful and grumpy at the same time. And that gratitude is much, much more than a rosy-cheeked smile on my face. But I’ve been taught well to happily accept all callings and “invitations” to speak, so I threw myself on my bed and shed a few tears and then got to work making sense of this complicated (to me) topic…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Borne Our Griefs and Carried Our Sorrows
Isaiah 53:4-5 reads, “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” Alma 7:11-12 states: “And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Three Perspectives on Gratitude
I am by nature grumpy and ungrateful, so this month of being reminded to give thanks is sometimes hard for me. My own deficiency in this regard has prompted me to notice wise things others have thought and said about why and how to be thankful. Here are three of my favorites: Messenger–by Mary Oliver My work is loving the world.Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird—equal seekers of sweetness.Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.Here the clam deep in the speckled sand. Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?Am I no longer young, and still half-perfect? Let mekeep my mind on what matters,which is my work, which is…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Helping Hands
How do you frame your covenants? I can appreciate people finding meaning through the lens of dwelling in the house of the Lord, holding to the iron rod and following the covenant path, shepherding lost souls, or fighting the good fight. As I have aged, I have found little so meaningful as understanding my covenants though the symbol of the Body of Christ. Some years ago, my mind was awakened as I sat through the administration of the sacrament. I realized that my covenant to remember the body of the Son, was not only a promise to remember a weeping god, burdened with the weight of the human yoke and…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Shared and Sacred Grief
“This is an impossible week that contains an impossible grief, but it is made bearable by the love and care of a community” I wrote those words during a week when I received some crushing news about someone my family cared deeply about. While I experienced deep personal grief at the news, the bulk of my sorrow came on behalf of those who were suffering much more than I. How could I lift their burden? I knew from experience that there was no way around feeling pain at such a loss, that the only way ahead was straight through it. What could I do to support them through this process?…
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Sabbath Devotional :: All Are Alike Unto God
During the summer of 2020, that time of social distancing, many people I know were more active on social media — more active than either before or after. And they weren’t very nice about it. There seemed to be three major issues creating intense divisions in our country that summer. As I saw the memes, posts, and comments shared by my local friends and noticed the voices they were choosing to amplify, I found myself an outsider in my own ward on these three major issues. That’s fine with me. I do not mind having different opinions than my friends. It’s why I can be friends with you. It also…
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Sabbath Devotional :: In Justice and Equity
The day my oldest son turned 8-years-old, another precious boy lost his life. David was a member of our ward and had been my primary student and one of my husband’s scouts over the years. He was unarmed and 17 when he was shot and killed by an officer in broad daylight in an Austin, Texas suburb. On this, I want to be very clear: the officer who shot our friend was a good officer with a good reputation, and though he knew David was unarmed, he followed his training that day. What’s more, both David and the officer were Black. Still–David, in his fear, ran. And the officer, in…
