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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…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Agency
“Look unto me in every thought. Doubt not, fear not.” (D&C 6:34, 36) “Be not faithless, but believing.” (John 20:25) Recently, a friend joked with me about how she’s a mother in favor of Satan’s plan: “Follow my orders and stop causing me grief with your mistakes and failings!” “Ah, theoretical fancies!” I thought as I imagined a group of faithful LDS women sporting black t-shirts with “Moms for Satan’s plan” blazoned across their chests. I had to laugh and admit that my children’s complete submission to my will and wisdom sounded pretty amazing. I know the way they should go and the steps to avoid, right? It’s funny how…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Opening Doors and Hearts Through Curiosity and Compassion
I value maintaining curiosity and compassion for people with a wide spectrum of viewpoints. The gift of curiosity to understand more deeply starts with a desire to understand. The Book of Mormon prophet Alma taught, “if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, . . . even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you” (Alma 32:27). Proverbs encourages curiosity: “incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;” (Proverbs 2:2). I desire to incline my ear and apply my heart to understanding by listening to diverse perspectives, especially among those within the Christian world and the Church of Jesus Christ…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Repairing the Breach
“. . . and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.” (Isaiah 58:12) The word “breach” means a hole or gap in a fortress, usually caused by an attacking army. The stakes of Zion are “for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm” (D&C 115:6). In other words, Zion is a fortress. Our wards and stakes should be refuges and defenses against that which would destroy. Unfortunately, as we know too well, breaches have damaged our fortresses. We have breaches in our personal and community relationships — some are newly created, and some existing holes have been recently enlarged. My…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Hope Against Hope
“We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.” ~ Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. If anybody had reason to lose hope, it would have been Rev. King. In many ways, his life was full of disappointment, and he never got to see the fruits of his lifelong labors. Rev. King also experienced several bouts of severe depression — experiences that he kept closely guarded due to stigmas and fears his mental health struggles would be used against him. Hiding his struggles must have been lonely and heavy to carry. He often reflected that his work left him feeling like he was “giving, giving, giving” and…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Gratitude
I live in a rural area in the American West. Last spring, our stake president talked about the severe drought conditions. He said the stake presidency and high council had discussed whether to call for a stake-wide fast to pray for rain. He wondered if it was selfish to ask others to pray for rain. He is a farmer, so would it be like asking everyone to pray that his business was successful? But then he remembered that people like to eat. He made me laugh. We all depend on farmers to eat. I am happy to want anyone working in agriculture to be tremendously successful. As they prayed and…
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In Memory of Isabella Faith Tichenor, Who Was Loved
Author’s Note: This article is about the humanity of a child of God. There are many of us who have experienced bullying and segregation. This article is solely about how we as communities accommodate those who stand but need support, how we treat those who are different or differently abled. Isabella Faith Tichenor was all of these. Isabella Faith Tichenor, aged 10, died by suicide. Saying that is enough to make anyone heartsick. Her story is more than her death. She was a student in the Davis School District in Utah, at Foxboro Elementary School in North Salt Lake. Her family nicknamed her Izzy. She loved and was loved by…
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The Power of Real Humility
Humility is not the absence of confidence or the act of putting yourself or others down. Humility is recognizing from where you get your strength. Whether you think that you can do everything on your own or that you can do nothing at all — that is pride. Humility is being confident because of the Lord. I wrote that summation on my mission. Humility, when properly understood, is such a beautiful, inspiring, and power-giving principle. And yet, sadly, it’s a topic that has been so distorted within both our Christian and American cultures. Two stories illustrate this misconstruction for me. Story one: I was in Primary when a boy said…
