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Sabbath Devotional :: More Than One Story and Our Part In It
This weekend we honor and commemorate Pioneer Day in our church and for some, in our state. And for many, this commemoration can be much more complex than we sometimes make it. Pioneer Day seems to predominately celebrate those in the mid-1800s who migrated westward from the eastern United States or Europe to Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, Idaho, and other states. We honor those who often saved and sold nearly everything they had to follow a prophet’s call to come build Zion and then to come west by handcart or wagon. Recently, the church has made great effort to acknowledge other types of pioneers — the pioneers of today who still…
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Sabbath Devotional :: On Patriotism
Ten years ago, my husband got a job teaching music in the Bronx. We packed up our four kids and took the scenic route from our home in Utah to New York state, where I had never been. As we followed the GPS, we drove into upstate New York from Pennsylvania, and I was awestruck by the beauty. I was also surprised by the emotion I felt. I felt as if I were coming home, to the place where I belong. I felt the spirit very strongly telling me that I was on sacred ground. Well, that made sense. Upstate New York is where Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Beautiful Things That Do Not Transform Us
Many of us recently read the story where the Israelites build a golden calf. Moses is up on the mountain talking with God and receiving God’s words for the people, and the Israelites are at the bottom of the mountain waiting for him to come back down. Or rather, they are sick and tired of waiting for him to come back: “When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, ‘Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’” (NIV,…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Remember
Alma delivered a stirring sermon to the people of Zarahemla, consisting of dozens of questions: Have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts? Can ye look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands? If ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now? (Alma 5) The questions have a single purpose that is summarized in verse 33. “Behold, he sendeth an invitation unto all men, for the arms of mercy are extended towards them, and he saith: Repent, and…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Efforts in Peacemaking
The principles that anchor my own efforts and the work all of us do at MWEG are the Six Principles of Peacemaking, each so important and insightful that we probably aren’t supposed to have a favorite one. But over the last few years I’ve developed a love for the Third Principle: “Peacemaking demands great tolerance for people and none for injustice.” Having grown up in a family full of strong-willed relatives, I didn’t always have a “great tolerance for people,” and so I feel drawn to this idea because it has not been one of my strengths. But as I have become more involved in MWEG’s peacemaking efforts and through my…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Holy Time
There are lots of commandments I don’t especially enjoy, but I have been an enthusiastic Sabbath keeper for most of my adult life. In college, I enjoyed sanctifying my laziness by declaring that I wouldn’t do homework on Sundays, and I loved explaining (while wearing a black turtleneck, of course!) that I was being radically countercultural by refusing to participate in the capitalist economy for one day each week. When my children were small, Sunday sanctified my generally inept housekeeping and let me feel virtuous about putting them in front of a churchy video and taking a nap. But it was reading a sermon by the Jewish poet Maxine Silverman…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Musical Sighs, the Mercy of God, and Collective Redemption
Note: I gave this as a talk on Easter Sunday, but as I was working on it, I was also thinking about my MWEG sisters, so it was written for you as well. I made a few minor adjustments to turn it into a devotional, but it is mostly as I gave it two weeks ago in Omaha, Nebraska. Almost 300 years ago, on Good Friday 1727, in the town of Leipzig, Germany, there was a premiere performance of one of the greatest pieces of music ever written: “The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the Evangelist Matthew.” The composer was Johann Sebastian Bach, a man whom we revere…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Resurrection
“He is not here: for he is risen” (Matthew 28:6). An angel spoke those triumphant words to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary on that glorious Sunday morning. On Easter, we celebrate the resurrected Christ. Several years ago, my friend brought the following scripture to my attention: “But behold the resurrection of Christ redeemeth mankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the presence of the Lord. Yea, and it bringeth to pass the condition of repentance, that whosoever repenteth the same is not hewn down and cast into the fire” (Helaman 14:17). My friend pointed out that the antecedent of “it” is “resurrection.” Samuel the Lamanite taught…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
The Spiritual Practice of Celebration After a few too many episodes of Bridgerton*, my kids decided to throw a ball. Music blaring, my son invited me to dance and with lots to do, I half-heartedly committed to “be there soon.” The second time he summoned me, he reminded me “Don’t miss it!” and a stirring in my heart propelled me to the dance floor. While I danced this devotion took shape in my mind. Dancing at the Living Room Ball reminded me of some recent reading (geeking out) I’ve done about women in ancient Israel. In both religious and secular settings, singing, dancing and drumming were considered women’s work. Scholars…
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Sabbath Devotional :: A Loving Vigil
My ancestors immigrated to Salt Lake City from Wales in the 1850s. One of my first forays into family history was learning about the nation of my ancestors. As a freshman at BYU, I took a Welsh language class on a whim. My professor was an expert in the history of early Latter-day Saints in Wales and knew much more about my family than I did. His stories about MY ancestors still inspire me. I learned that Welsh people love to sing together — at church and pubs and rugby games and everywhere else. So as part of our class, we sang Welsh folk songs. I regret to tell you…
