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Sabbath Devotional :: Embracing the Period of Great Humbling
Many years ago, in the mythical days just before the internet sped up communication, I was a student studying abroad in London. General Conference had happened somewhere, but it hadn’t happened yet for us, and just as we left to head out on a month-long trip in Europe, a friend got a package containing homemade conference cassette tapes. Because of this, a few days later I found myself on a train, struggling to get discernible words out of a small portable cassette player. Suddenly, a voice came through clearly. Gordon B. Hinkley was reading a talk that President Benson felt too unwell to give himself, and for some reason it…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Prayer of the Peacemaker
As a kid, I had kind of a love/hate relationship with the story of Abinadi. I loved the example he set of testifying of truth but, honestly, was a little terrified by how things ended for him. I was also fairly shy, and extremely conflict-averse, so the thought of standing up in front of a group of people and telling them a whole bunch of things that made them angry was nearly as terrifying as Abinadi’s untimely death. And yet, I knew it was important to follow the example of people like Abinadi, to use my voice to “stand for truth and righteousness.” At the Mormon Women for Ethical Government…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Perspectives on the Pale Blue Dot
This week’s diet of news includes: a platter of pardon for a confessed criminal a fresh gumbo of cooked-up conspiracy theories a pallet cleanser of a whistleblower’s account about specious miracle drugs and a bulk order of Funeral Potatoes for the nearly 90 thousand souls in the US who have died so far this year from COVID-19. This maelstrom of chaos has been unrelenting for years now. We muster our courage and contact our civic leaders on important matters — often feeling like we’re howling in the wind. We protect the vote and encourage our communities. We send aid, lift banners, and inform ourselves from reliable sources. We reach way…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Reflections on Remembering
During more than one lesson I was taught at church during my youth, I learned that President Spencer W. Kimball once said the most important word in the dictionary is “remember” (Spencer W. Kimball, “Circles of Exaltation,” June 28, 1968). This really stuck with me, and I have thought of it often over the years. There have been times in my life when “remember” has been an especially painful word. There have been traumatic events that replay in my mind that I desperately want to forget. There have been losses that sting and ache, and remembering is accompanied by waves of sadness and grief. Still, I recognize that remembering some…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Mighty Prayer
A group of disciples had stopped on the side of a road. The work of teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ was just beginning. There was so much to do, an abundance of knowledge to gain, and many many miles to go before their journeys would end. Their work would span throughout their mortal life and carry on through the eternities. Gathered in a circle, these faithful disciples united in prayer. The scriptures tell us it was a “mighty prayer” (3 Nephi 27:1). Their prayers were full of humility and sincerity of heart (D&C 5:24). Their faithful offering, individually and collectively, brought our Savior, Jesus Christ, before them asking them,…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Succor
As we continue to stay at home all over the country for COVID-19, many thoughts run through my mind. Many of us look at the isolation negatively at times. We miss the touch of loved ones — those handshakes at church or hugs from friends. We miss the freedom of travel and the ability to enjoy family and friends across the country. Many deal with becoming instant homeschoolers. Personally, we had looked forward to more travel, attending sealings, sporting events, and more. Those plans are on pause. For most, we are isolated in bubbles. We are safe at home, antsy for our norms. For far too many, jobs are gone,…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Navigating the Now — and Planning for the After
Has anyone figured this out yet? How to make Now work? We all knew what to do in the Before. Even if there were lots of days when I didn’t like Before, I understood it. I could walk its well-worn paths without needing to pay much attention to the obstacles, vistas, or valleys. But Before is gone, and given how solid and permanent it seemed at the time, it went away surprisingly quickly! So I am figuring out Now along with the rest of you, and while we need to understand Now and make it work, it is still both weird and temporary, because though it feels interminable it isn’t.…
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Easter Sabbath Devotional :: All Glory, Laud, and Honor Anyway
During my time in college, I spent a semester on a study abroad in Jerusalem and the surrounding Holy Land. In Jerusalem, one of the most popular sayings on tourist tchotchkes is a verse of scripture: If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither. It’s written on wall hangings, keychains, and T-shirts in almost every shop in the Old City. The words come from Psalm 137, traditionally attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, who relates in narrative verse the lament of the Israelites taken captive into Babylon. The psalm begins, “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Every Person Counts
Scripture is replete with references to God and His servants counting their people. As our nation prepares for its decennial census, a count of our country’s population, let’s reflect on some of the instances where we see a census or numbering taking place. In the first chapter of the book of Numbers we read of God asking Moses to take a count of the Israelite community according to their ancestral houses, listing each and every name. Several chapters later, Moses is again directed to take a census or count and use it to apportion the land accordingly. In the Quran, we read in Maryam 19:94 of a Father that “has…
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Sabbath Devotional :: Knowing Christ Through Our Web of Community
In C.S. Lewis’ book “The Four Loves” there is an essay entitled “Friendship.” The following passage is a reflection on the loss of a member of Lewis’ close circle of friends: “In each of my friends there is something that only some other friend can fully bring out. By myself I am not large enough to call the whole man into activity; I want other lights than my own to show all his facets… In this, Friendship exhibits a glorious ‘nearness by resemblance’ to heaven itself where the very multitude of the blessed (which no man can number) increases the fruition which each of us has of God… The more…
