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Sabbath Devotional :: Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself
A few years ago I had an impactful epiphany, a shift in how I was thinking about one of the core passages of Christ’s gospel and ministry: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:37–39). When Christ counsels us to “love thy neighbor as thyself,” we rightfully often focus on what loving our neighbor would mean, relative to how (or how much) we love ourselves. He urges us to consider others’ needs alongside our…
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Sabbath Devotional :: ‘Incalculably Diffusive’
Not too far from my home there is a beautiful garden cemetery. It was designed from the outset to be a place of beauty and inspiration, offering solace to those who mourned, while inviting the living to reach higher. For well over 100 years all of Boston’s “good and great” were buried here under imposing monuments or in its hills and dales. This place is special to me, and I have been going there regularly for decades. It has been a place of Sunday rambles with my family and friends, and quiet walks of personal reflection and solace. It has worked on my psyche as the founders had hoped —…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Silence: Your Soul Needs It!
I saw this sign touring a historic church: “Silence. Welcome to the church. A room for prayer and silence. So try to be off-line for 5 minutes. Your soul needs it!” At first I was dismayed because further signs clarified: no photos allowed (of the historic statues!), no recording (of the resonant evensong organ music!). However, there is a gift in putting down the screen. I thought of the Hebrew word “selah” which is often found in various Psalms (71 times, in fact). It’s a musical term, indicating a pause (although its exact meaning is debated). This reverent biblical verse came to mind: “The Lord is in his holy temple,…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Women and Work; Goodness and Mercy
For this Sabbath devotional I want to share two things that have been in and on my mind lately. The connection between them may be a bit tenuous, but these things have had a similar resonance for me in the last week and fit together in my mind as I was considering what to write for this week’s devotional. I was asked to speak in church last week for Father’s Day. My bishopric member who invited me to speak first discussed with me my thoughts on how I might approach speaking on that day, knowing that the holiday can be fraught with melancholy or sorrow, or simply complicated for many…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Weak Things Become Strong
Alma the younger is described as “a man of many words” who spoke “much flattery to the people.” As a young man, he “led many of the people to do after the manner of his iniquities” and he “became a great hinderment to the prosperity of the church” (Mosiah 27:8-9). We know Alma’s miraculous and astounding conversion story. Following his conversion, he became the first chief judge in the newly established Nephite democracy. He continued in this position for only a few years until he stepped down to devote all of his time to his ministry. He chose to “preach the word of God” to his people, “seeing no way…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Friends of the Last Supper
My husband and I were teaching our little primary class a few weeks ago about the waters of Mormon. We asked what they had promised when they were baptized. “To be good and repent,” they said. What else? I pressed. “To take Jesus’ name up on us,” they replied. Anything else? Crickets. In fairness, their confusion makes sense. I think there is some tendency to talk about baptismal covenants in individual terms. Your sins are washed away. The Spirit will guide you in your life. It’s a step in your development of following Jesus’ example and hoisting yourself towards heaven. And that’s not inaccurate. But I think it is incomplete. If Alma’s sermon (which, for my money is…
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Sabbath Devotional :: The Allegory of the Olive Tree
There have been times in my life where I have muttered the words, “Just burn it all down.” Of course I don’t mean in the literal sense that I would ever wish for anything to be lost to fire, but surely I am not the only person who has been in the thick of a personal trial and just needed a do over. Recently I was teaching about Jacob 5 and the Allegory of the Olive Tree, being reminded that every once in a while we require pruning and sometimes burning of branches, but our efforts are not worthless. In my personal vineyard I am able to have a clearer…
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Sabbath Devotional :: What Do You Want to Tell God About?
Visiting my brother in Finland, we toured a historic church that had seen wars, plagues, and fires — its brochure noted that it “had been through tough times.” There, my four-year-old niece was intrigued by what looked like a bowl of marbles on a low table. When I came over, I saw this sign in three languages instructing worshippers on what to do with stones of each color: What do you want to tell God about? Place stones in the large bowl Like my niece, I suddenly had the urge to grab handfuls of each color stone. I had so many things I wanted to tell God about, on all…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Community
I think one of the most beautiful things about my faith tradition is the ways it embodies community. This week I was reading a social media post from a political/community organizer I follow who recently had a medical procedure, and they were mourning the lack of community in their life as they were dealing with their recovery and some of the limitations and hardships they were experiencing. I thought back to the many times my ward communities have shown up for me, from my ministering sisters bringing me dinner after I had a minor surgery a few years ago, to a bishopric member sending a thoughtful text to check in…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Daughter, Be of Good Comfort
This is a complicated holiday for so many of us. I remember leaving a Mother’s Day Sacrament Meeting many years ago after one of my miscarriages and crying in the car in the parking lot, clutching the potted geranium. You are not alone. And I’m guessing most of us have sorrows and heartaches and inadequacies that a flower or chocolate today won’t fix. What we thought would be happily ever after is hard. And what was meant to be a day to honor women ends up idealizing unmet expectations and highlighting perceived inadequacies. And even if it is not hard for you personally, it is a valuable opportunity to practice…
