Awake, Arise, and Come Unto Christ

I taught Relief Society today. It was a fifth-week lesson, and I had to choose my own subject. After reading many conference talks and a couple of books, I decided to focus on the 2008 BYU Women's Conference, especially Sheri Dew's keynote address, "Awake, Arise, and Come Unto Christ." She says we awake by realizing who we are and what our value is; we arise by ministering to others as instruments in the Lord's hands; and we come unto Christ by walking away from the world and choosing Christ. "Those who think of life as a ministry tend to be less lonely, less likely to feel that life has spun out of control, more inclined to have a gentle heart, more filled with purpose."

In his talk at the same conference John Bytheway says, "Faith is not turning what we want into reality. That would be faith in what we want. The first principle of the gospel is not just faith, but faith in the Lord Jesus Christ."

I like to start my Sunday mornings by listening to BYU television, watching scripture discussions or the Tabernacle Choir or a devotional talk. This morning I was inspired by Douglas Prawitt's address given July 19, 2011, at BYU. He says, "We can and must be kind and merciful with ourselves even while being fully and deeply committed to the knowledge that we can and must do better...We can and must love ourselves even if we are not completely satisfied with what we are or where we are at the moment." It was such a wonderful talk! Sometimes I think that we teach our children, inadvertently, that they must be perfect and always choose the right all the time. Of course, none of us can live up to that! We need to teach more that even though we make mistakes, the miracle of the Atonement brings us back to our loving Heavenly Father through repentance. We have to forgive ourselves and keep trying.

Heritage Matters

Today is Pioneer Day, and again I marvel at the faith and fortitude of those early Saints who were chased from their homes under order of extermination or mobs of injustice and hatred to found a beautiful home in this mountain desert. I cannot even imagine the life of a farmer, let alone the trek leading up to the plowing and the planting and the plucking up of that which was planted. I wonder at my own faith as I think of them, burying their loved ones along the way and singing "And should we die, before our journey's through, All is well; all is well!" One thing kept them moving--FAITH that it was the Lord's will. The pioneer faith and fortitude is celebrated this weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah, and around the world. We can be told how we are today's pioneers, but I think little can compare with families and converts who sold or gave away all that they had and marched across the Plains to this salty mountain desert. I honor my own progenitors who were numbered among the faithful who came--mothers who buried their children under sea and under rocks, fathers who left their lands, language, and loved ones. "Blessed, honored Pioneer!"

The picture is from the beautiful Yosemite Park where we vacationed earlier this month.