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Sabbath Devotional :: Harness the Power of Creation
“If there is anything lovely or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things” (Articles of Faith). I’ve been thinking lately about the two driving forces in the world: the creative force and the destructive force. (We all know which eternal power represents which.) I conduct the choirs at a Title 1 (low-income) school, and many of my students are subjected daily to destructive forces at home and within their communities. They have parents that tear them down, peers that tear them down — a whole world, in fact, that seems bent on breaking instead of building them. It has been remarkable, then, to watch these students join…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Getting Acquainted
One of the things I love best about MWEG is our hope for a thoroughly integrated organization. We are intentionally not hierarchical. Whether as founders or occasional post readers, we each contribute to the sap that runs the system. In an effort to let you know a little about me, here is a quick sketch of my early years as a Mormon. My son Chase once described me as a “committed misfit” in the Church. I think he nailed it. I don’t fit the mold, but I’m here to stay. I was brand new to Mormondom in the early 1970’s. As a student at Wellesley College, I waited for two…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Thoughts on the Lyrics of Liberty
In many churches and chapels around the U.S. today, congregations will sing patriotic songs. One probable candidate is “America the Beautiful,” which was quickly drafted by Katherine Lee Bates in 1893 when she visited Pikes Peak. She wrote of the experience: One day some of the other teachers and I decided to go on a trip to 14,000-foot Pikes Peak. We hired a prairie wagon. Near the top we had to leave the wagon and go the rest of the way on mules. I was very tired. But when I saw the view, I felt great joy. All the wonder of America seemed displayed there, with the sea-like expanse. The…
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Sabbath Devotional :: To Love as the Savior Loves
I attended the adult session of stake conference tonight. Elder R. Scott Runia of the Seventy was there. He brought us greetings from our prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, and shared with us what he characterized, with great emotion, as “probably the last message I will hear directly from his lips.” What our prophet said to Elder Runia and the others leaders in attendance at that meeting was this: “Brethren, we need to prepare the Saints for the Second Coming. We all need to be better. We need to love more as the Savior loves.” Love. That is how, according to the living prophet of God, we need to prepare…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Jeffrey R. Holland Quote
“Someday I hope a great global chorus will harmonize across all racial and ethnic lines, declaring that guns, slurs, and vitriol are not the way to deal with human conflict. The prophet Ether taught that we should ‘hope for a better world.’ The declarations of heaven cry out to us that the only way complex societal issues can ever be satisfactorily resolved is by loving God and keeping His commandments, thus opening the door to the one lasting, salvific way to love each other as neighbors.” — Jeffrey R. Holland Shared by Erica Glenn, an original member of the core leadership team at Mormon Women for Ethical Government.
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Sabbath Devotional :: Be Thou an Example
In light of the important and moving Code Purple post below, I simply leave a scripture at the end of Second Nephi 26:33 to lead us into Sunday worship: “. . . He inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.” May we all reflect on God’s love for all his children and President Monson’s simple plea: 1. Fill your mind with truth; 2. Fill your heart with love; 3. Fill your life with…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Buds if not Buddies
We recently concluded our Operation Purple Rain. Every day since May 1st, I, like many of you, sent letters to Congressman Jason Chaffetz in purple envelopes to urge him to act aggressively as Chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform committee to explore Russian ties with our current administration. I wanted to add a little creative zest to the task so I wrote my messages in haiku. That choice made me focus on finding out more about the man and his actions. Since I’m only recently a resident of Utah, I didn’t know anything about him — including how to pronounce his last name. While looking for photos to accompany…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Find Your Calm Center
A few weeks ago, I came to myself in the middle of my family room late one night. I say that I “came to myself” because I’d spent that day, and the days before it, in such a frazzled mental state that I had hardly had a moment to check in with myself either physically or mentally. The last months in my life have been a study in balance: My career has been at an intense moment, my health has been struggling, my family has somehow still needed to be fed, and I’ve been trying to learn how to live with the constant emotional fluctuation that I’ve felt since the…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Open Our Hearts to Christ
We live in a world that is quickly becoming desensitized to subtlety and nuance. So much in modern society is loud, sensationalized, and overblown. Companies include more flavoring in gum than they did in the 20th century. Music is amplified. Substantive discourse is reduced to soundbites. Billboards are flashier. We crave more and notice less. So what is the antidote? Charity. That pure love of Christ (His for us; ours for Him and for each other) can soften the calloused spots in all of us and, by extension, society at large. As we open our hearts to Christ’s influence, we gain a greater capacity to empathize with our brothers and…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Betrayal and the Promise of Redemption
When I saw a recent NY Times article I had to double check that it wasn’t a satirical piece. Even two short years ago these words would have seemed like Saturday Night Live sketch comedy. Donald Trump giving Sarah Palin, Kid Rock and Ted Nugent a tour of our beloved White House, pausing long enough to mock a painting of former First Lady, Hillary Clinton? No. Not possible. Outlandish, fantasy! Yet, sadly, this is not some unimaginable alternative reality. it’s not an article written for the Onion or upcoming SNL fodder. And although it is indeed outrageous (and for many of us unbelievable), it is very much real. As I…
