Called and Qualified

As I was watching the young priesthood holders administer the Sacrament on Sunday, I was overcome with the spirit.  We have very reverent young men in our ward, and it is evident that they understand and respect this sacred ordinance. 

In just a few days, my middle son will be ordained a deacon and will be standing alongside these fantastic young men, as a witness and holder of the Aaronic Priesthood.  My older son also holds the Aaronic Priesthood, but, as with everything we experience with him, it is different.  There is not really an understanding of the importance and responsibility that comes with holding the keys to the priesthood.  As such, there is usually at least a little bit (or a lot) of murmuring when he has to do something that he doesn't really feel like doing, like passing the Sacrament or collecting Fast Offerings.  With my younger son, however, I can already see that he is taking his new station very seriously.  He understands that he is growing in the gospel.  He knows the power that will be bestowed upon him, and he doesn't take it lightly.

From a mother's point of view, this is a very tender and emotional experience.  I have watched as my son's best friends pass the Sacrament for the first time.  I have seen a definite change in their countenances, as they perform one of the most sacred ordinances in the gospel.  They are growing up.  And it happens so very fast!

As my sons accept and perform this humble duty, as their mother, I also take on a new responsibility.  I must do all that is within my power to help them honor their priesthood callings. 

The priesthood is not really so much a gift as it is a commission to serve, a privilege to lift, and an opportunity to bless the lives of others. (Thomas S. Monson, April 2006 General Conference)

Although the ordinances performed in the church by worthy priesthood holders are of the utmost importance, they are far from the only responsibilities that come with this sacred calling.  It is my job, as the mother of two (and someday, three) worthy priesthood holders, to ensure that my boys are equipped with the knowledge and understanding they need to truly magnify their priesthood.  I cannot teach them how to perform the ordinances, but I can be a shining example of lifting and serving others.  I can provide them with the opportunities to, as President Monson said, "bless the lives of others".  My calling as a mother and wife goes hand in hand with the priesthood.  It is of equal, if not greater, importance in the sight of the Lord.  If I magnify my sacred calling, it will make it much easier for them to magnify theirs.

Miracles are everywhere to be found when priesthood callings are magnified.  When faith replaces doubt, when selfless service eliminates selfish striving, the power of God brings to pass his purposes. (Thomas S. Monson, April 2006 General Conference)

My responsibility is to teach all of my children of faith and service.  By doing so, I am preparing them to execute their adult responsibilities to the fullest and with honor.  Sometimes this seems like an insurmountable task, one that I get overwhelmed with at times.  But, to quote President Monson again, from that same conference talk, "whom God calls, God qualifies."  And I have been called of God to raise this next generation of priesthood holders.  With his grace and love, I will be qualified.

Click here to read what I read today: Moroni 2

Click here to read what I read today: Moroni 3

Our Sacred Priesthood Trust, Monson April 2006

Only Love

©Darrell Wyatt

Maybe it's because I love to write, but I'm such a sucker for good, emotional written words.  And today's reading, although very short, was nothing if not good and full of emotion.  The thing that surprised me though, is the emotion that I felt.  In the times that I've read this chapter before, I found it to be somewhat depressing and sad.  This time, though, I felt completely the opposite.  I felt only love.

Now I, Moroni, after having made an end of abridging the account of the people of Jared, I had supposed not to have written more, but I have not as yet perished; and I make not myself known to the Lamanites lest they should destroy me.

For behold, their wars are exceedingly fierce among themselves; and because of their hatred they put to death every Nephite that will not deny the Christ.

And I, Moroni, will not deny the Christ; wherefore, I wander whithersoever I can for the safety of mine own life.

Wherefore, I write a few more things, contrary to that which I had supposed; for I had supposed not to have written any more; but I write a few more things, that perhaps they may be of worth unto my brethren, the Lamanites, in some future day, according to the will of the Lord.  (Moroni 1:1-4)

That's it.  That's the entire chapter.  In fact, most of the chapters in Moroni are just a few verses.  At first, I thought I would just combine quite a few of them into one post, but as I read, I discovered that in each of these very short chapters, there is an abundance of knowledge and instruction to be gleaned.

For example, in just these four short verses, I learned much about the character of Moroni.  He had believed that he would have been killed before he finished abridging the records of the Jaredites, yet he continued his abridgment.  Much like his father, Mormon, he could have spent his last days peacefully resting from his labors, but because he fully magnified his calling from the Lord, he did not.  I could just feel the kind of pleasant surprise that Moroni felt, that he was still alive to continue writing.

He also knew that he could still be killed at any moment because of his deep love for and belief in Jesus Christ, yet he plainly stated that he would never deny those beliefs.  He would rather stay in hiding for the remainder of his days.  What incredible bravery and integrity.

But the thing that struck me the most about Moroni in reading these verses, was his love for those whom he believed would eventually cause his death, the Lamanites.  He calls them his brethren.  He says that he will continue to write, as long as he is alive, that perhaps his words "may be of worth" to these Lamanites someday.  There is no bitterness or animosity towards this group of people who were literally making his life miserable.  Only love.  As it was with most of the Book of Mormon authors, it was Moroni's wish that someday these wicked Lamanites would turn to God in repentance.  He had hope that his record would, "in some future day", play a role in their conversion.

People always talk about Christlike or unconditional love, but it is rarely manifested so purely as it was in this chapter.  I am in awe of Moroni's capacity to fully love those people who caused him to fear daily for his life.  If I can take this lesson to heart and love with only one tenth of the love he showed, I would be a much better person.

Click here to read what I read today: Moroni 1

BEEP BEEP BEEP

©Darrell Wyatt

I can't have the alarm clock on my side of the bed.  We've tried putting it over there, but I simply do not hear it.  Only when I feel my husband kicking me or actually climbing over me to turn it off, do I wake up.  So, it stays on his side of the bed.  I'm not exactly sure why I don't hear it, but I do have a couple of theories.  Perhaps it's because I love my sleep, and I'm not quite ready to give it up yet.  I know that it's not because I'm a heavy sleeper, because there are many times I wake up in the night because of noises much more quiet than the alarm clock.  Perhaps it's because we've had this same alarm clock for the majority of our eighteen year marriage, and I've just become accustomed to the "BEEP BEEP BEEP" sound and learned to tune it out.  I have a feeling it's probably a little of all the above.

In today's reading, I finished the account of the Jaredite people.  They started as such a righteous and God-fearing people.  The Brother of Jared, who led them to the promised land, was even so obedient and righteous that he was able to see the Lord's finger and then His entire spirit body.  Christ walked and talked with the Jaredite people from within a cloud as they were making their long journey.  He was always with them, until generations later, when they gradually became so wicked that He had to withdraw his Spirit from them.

But behold, the Spirit of the Lord had ceased striving with them, and Satan had full power over the hearts of the people; for they were given up unto the hardness of their hearts, and the blindness of their minds that they might be destroyed;...(Ether 15:19)

Ether had warned them many times that if they did not repent, they would be destroyed.  He sounded the alarm, and the Jaredite people did not hear it.  Even when literally millions upon millions of their people had been killed, they did not hear it.  The Lord simply asked them to repent and turn to Him.  That's all they had to do.  And they would not do it.  Even when all were dead, except for 59 men - 32 on one side and 27 on the other - who were still warring with each other, they would not give up their wickedness.

And it came to pass that they ate and slept, and prepared for death on the morrow.  And they were large and mighty men as to the strength of men. (Ether 15:26)

On the morrow, they did die, all of them.  Except for Ether, the Jaredite nation was now extinct.  The really, really sad part of this story is that extinction could have been avoided.  The Lord sent prophet after prophet to declare repentance to the people.  He sounded the alarm.  And whether the people were just enjoying their actions and were not ready yet to give them up, or whether they had become used to the prophets preaching and tuned them out, they just didn't hear that alarm.

Because we have a living prophet today, we are constantly and consistently receiving revelation from the Lord that applies to us, in our day.  Are we listening?  Or have we become so accustomed to the sound of the prophets voice that we occasionally tune it out?

The gap between what is popular and what is righteous is widening...Revelations from the prophets of God are not like offerings at the cafeteria, some to be selected and others disregarded. (James E. Faust, Conference Report, Oct 2003)

The Lord has provided us with a living prophet.  A kind of alarm that sounds to let us know that we need to wake up and get back on the path.  Are we hitting the snooze button until eventually we just don't hear that alarm? Or are we jumping up the very first time we hear it?  I pray that I will always be able to do the latter.

Click here to read what I read today: Ether 14

Click here to read what I read today: Ether 15

Freaky

To use the words of my teenagers, my kids are freaks.  Just ask them. They don't have cell phones.  They don't have iPods (not that I would object, they just don't have them).  With the exception of the oldest two, they do not have Facebook pages. They don't do sleepovers.  They have chores and curfews and bedtimes.  They are not normal.  Poor things.

Do I sometimes wish that they had everything they wanted?  Of course I do!  Would it be easier most times if I could just pick up the phone and call or text my kids to see how they are or tell them that it's time to come home?  Absolutely!  But easier isn't always better.  And normal definitely isn't always better.

Now I'm not saying that giving a kid a cell phone is inherently a bad idea, because it isn't.  Giving a kid a cell phone with no boundaries is not only a bad idea, it's a terrible one.  The same principle applies to iPods and Facebook pages and even car keys.  And if those boundaries can't be followed, the privilege is removed.  It doesn't seem that difficult to me, but then again I'm finding out that I may be somewhat of a freak myself when it comes to parenting.  I guess freaky parents raise freaky kids.  I just happen to believe that it's my job to keep my kids moving in the right direction - towards eternal life with their Father in Heaven.  After my own salvation, theirs is the very most important.  It is the main purpose I'm here. 

In my reading this morning, I learned more about the prophet Ether.  Times were pretty bad when he was alive.  In fact, "there were none of the fair sons and daughters upon the face of the whole earth who repented of their sins" (Ether 13:17).  There was a lot of wickedness.  So much so that Ether went and hid in a cave during the day and went out only at night when he felt he would be protected from those who were seeking to take his life because of his beliefs.

©Darrell Wyatt

I've often joked that I wish I could hide my kids away from the world, that they would be shielded not only from the evils of the world, but from the pains that inevitably come during adolescence.  It's a tough place, this world.  Unfortunately, I cannot hide them "in the cavity of a rock", as Ether hid himself.  I can, however, provide a safe haven - a place where they can feel as if the world cannot touch them.  It is not only my duty as a mother, it is my calling and my responsibility.  One that I'm afraid I have shirked to some extent, and one that I must magnify if I want my kids to have any chance of making it through these difficult years.

I love my little freaks, and I hope that someday they will understand that my strict, freaky parenting style is just one way I can show that love. 

Click here to read what I read today: Ether 13

Hope and Change

There has been a lot of talk in these last few years about hope.  So much so, that I almost cringe whenever I hear the word.  It's on bumper stickers and billboards and t-shirts.  It's been on campaign signs and in headlines.  There was a time, in the not so distant past, where it seemed I couldn't go an hour without hearing the word hope.

The kind of "in" thing has been to put the two words, "hope" and "change" together.  I've just found this so frustrating.  How can things change if I only hope they'll change?  Don't I have to put forth some sort of effort in order to bring about real and lasting change?  I learned today, while reading, that hope really is an action verb. 

Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.  (Ether 12:4)

Real hope, true hope, comes from a foundation of faith.  A faith in the only One who has the power to effect real, positive change in our lives.  Faith leads to hope.  Hope leads to steadfastness and good works.  Steadfastness and good works lead us to glorifying God, which adds to our faith.  It is one eternal round.

©Darrell Wyatt

This is the Lovejoy fountain in Portland, OR.  Ever since the first time I saw this photograph, I have been taken with it.  The way the water flows over and around each of the sculptures is mesmerizing to me.  The fountain would likely be beautiful without one or more of the formations, but it would be much different.  Each pile of stones is placed in a way that the flow of the water will change as it hits it.  I can't help but liken these three rock sculptures to faith, hope and charity.  We are as the water, moving through our daily lives toward some distant destination.  As we let ourselves become impacted by faith and then hope and then charity, we cannot help but feel a change.  We are changed. 

Hope, true hope, is not a bumper sticker.  It is not a campaign slogan.  It is not a catchphrase.  True hope is a catalyst for real change.  As Moroni said, true hope is "an anchor to the souls of men".

Some may find true hope to be elusive.  To them, I say, in the words of Moroni:

And now, I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father, and also the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of them, may be and abide in you forever. Amen. (Ether 12:41)

Click here to read what I read today: Ether 11

Click here to read what I read today: Ether 12

Footsteps

©Darrell Wyatt

I read a quote this week that really got me thinking.  It was by James Baldwin, an American author, and he said, "Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them".  So very, very true.

As we sit as a family and read scriptures each night, my kids all want a marking pencil in their hands.  They watch me intently to see which passages I am going to highlight, and they will not continue reading until they have highlighted all the same verses that they saw me mark.  It is times like this that I don't mind the six little copycats that follow me around the house.  On the other hand, every time that I watch my oldest daughter send her younger brothers and sisters down to her room to fetch something or speak to them in a less than kind voice, I am reminded that these kids aren't just picking up my good habits.  They're picking up on everything that I do and say and storing it in their sweet little heads for use at an appropriate (or inappropriate, as the case may be) time.

Now the people of Akish were desirous for gain, even as Akish was desirous for power...(Ether 9:11)

If there is a recurring theme in today's chapters, it's that wickedness begets wickedness and righteousness begets righteousness.  There was a lot of kingdom overthrowing going on in these chapters.  Sons removing their fathers from the throne, brothers fighting to restore their fathers.  The kingdom was most always passed down to a righteous son who would be overthrown or killed by a wicked family member.  When a righteous ruler would take the throne again, there was usually peace for few years before the cycle started again, because the new king would "fill the steps of his father"(Ether 9:15, 23).

As I am raising my kids, as much as I try to make the right decisions, I will make mistakes.  I will leave footsteps for them to follow in that may not be exactly what they should be.  I can only hope that they can look past the imperfect steps and choose to follow in the righteous ones.  I just need to make sure that the good footsteps far outnumber the faulty ones.

Click here to read what I read today: Ether 9 

Click here to read what I read today: Ether 10 

We CAN Do Hard Things!

©Darrell Wyatt

Thanks to my fabulous mother-in-law, all of my kids have their own set of scriptures now.  This seemed like a great reason to get back to our nightly family scripture reading routine.  We read the Book of Mormon as a family a few years ago, and it was very challenging.  Four of the kids were under eight years old, which posed some interesting struggles.  It was really tough to get them all to sit still and read when it was their turn.  Three of the kids weren't really reading well yet, and so we would whisper in their little ears and they would repeat the verse out loud.  Sometimes the chapter seemed to drag on forever.

So, now that the kids are older and they are all proficient readers, this nightly reading stuff should be a cinch, right?  Um, no.  There are unique challenges to every age, I'm discovering.  The older kids are off doing what pre-teens and teens do best - running between sports practices and friends' houses.  The younger kids are just running.  Everywhere.  When we do finally manage to reel everyone in, my autistic son is usually angry because his nightly routine has been ruined.  We try to make scripture reading at the same time every night, but it rarely happens the way we want it to, leaving my son's perfectly scheduled night in shambles.

So why do we do it?  First, because we've been instructed to.  We've been told time after time of the blessings that we'll receive from family scripture study.  Elder Howard W. Hunter said, “Families are greatly blessed when wise fathers and mothers bring their children about them, read from the pages of the scriptural library together, and then discuss freely the beautiful stories and thoughts according to the understanding of all.” (Ensign, Nov. 1979, p. 64.)   We frequently stop during our reading to discuss a certain story or verse and how it applies to our personal lives.  There is no better feeling that a parent can get than the feeling that comes when a teenage daughter volunteers her experiences, unprompted.  Or when a son remembers something that he has learned in primary that is applicable to our discussion.  It really is a feeling unmatched by any other.

The other, and probably more important, reason that we read is for the same reason that the ancient prophets kept the records in the first place:

Wherefore, I, Moroni, am commanded to write these things that evil may be done away, and that the time may come that Satan may have no power upon the hearts of the children of men, but that they may be persuaded to do good continually, that they may come unto the fountain of all righteousness and be saved. (Ether 8:26)

What more, as a mother, could I ever want for my children than for them to be free from Satan's grasp, doing good continually? This is the greatest blessing that comes from teaching them correct principles and taking the time to do the important things - the hard things - like nightly scripture reading.  It definitely makes the chaos worth it.

Click here to read what I read today: Ether 7

Click here to read what I read today: Ether 8