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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…
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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…
