Faith Perspective
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Flashes of Light
Missing Home At the beginning of one of his early elementary school years, my son was nervous about going to school. He didn’t want to be away from home all day. My husband gave our son a small smooth red glass. He put it in his pocket every morning for weeks. It reminded him of home and of those who loved him. It was a tangible feeling of warmth and light. Have you ever hoped for light? Have you ever hoped for the Light of the World? I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world. Ether 4:12 Flashes of Light In a “flash of light,”…
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Pain into Beauty
I am a little girl, old enough to watch my younger brothers and sister, but too young to drive. I stand by the front window, the one in the dining room where I have a clear view of the driveway and the road in front of my house. I’m trying to quell a fear that my parents won’t come home. Not because they don’t want to, but for some reason outside of anyone’s control. Like a car wreck. I leave the window, with a knot in my stomach, only to return every few minutes to look down the road. Worry. It turns out they did come home, every time they…
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The Path of Discipleship
I was asked to speak at stake conference (a large church meeting that happens once a year). Invited to speak 5 weeks out, I had lots of time to study and ponder. Some of my best thinking happens when I walk (5 miles every week morning). By my calculations, I put 125 pedestrian miles into this talk. I loved studying some of Isaiah’s most beautiful prophecies of the Savior in the week leading up to General Conference. I loved listening to the talks of modern disciples of Christ. I loved my final preparation which was spending the last 10 days with 3 of my grandchildren, ages 5, 2-½ and 6…
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Hear Him and Never Walk Alone
What if you could hear God’s voice in the pages of a book? Last week was the 191st anniversary of the first printing of the Book of Mormon in which The Grandin Press published 5,000 copies. Today over 150 million copies of the book have been distributed. In 1830 the book was sold for $1.25 – $1.75 per copy. A few years ago, a first edition Book of Mormon sold at auction for $80,000. When I read these stats, I remembered an experience in the Northeast. My husband and I took our twins on a trip a few weeks after graduation. We experienced natural beauty, US history and dinners featuring…
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Feed My Sheep
The sky was clear and sunny, but the wind blew from the north. Spring took its time finding the Bar MK ranch — in the valley between Bear Lake and the Wasatch Mountains. The little girl, maybe 10 years-old, was named for her dad. The youngest of six kids, she would rather help with the animals and fields than be cooped up inside doing housework. And so it happened that she and her dad rode across the ranch one afternoon: he on his favorite horse and she on a horse named Copper. She heard the sounds of two tiny lambs before she saw them. Bleating and alone. No mama in…
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A Voice and A Hand
I decided to follow Russell M. Nelson’s example to learn all I can about Jesus Christ using the references in the topical guide. This week I studied Advocate, Antemortal Existence, Antemortal Appearances, and Postmortal Appearances. Advocate When my daughter was in 4th grade, she went to the high school football game. She wanted to be with friends, not watch the game. On the way to the snack bar, she saw a group of kids from school gathered around a boy who didn’t fit the mold. She heard loud voices and saw the boy get pushed to the ground. McKenna stepped into the cluster and said, “Hey! What are you doing?…
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True North
I walk out of the air-conditioned terminal onto the tarmac. I watch the ocean breeze lift palm leaves. The sun soaks into my jeans that I wear for the first time in a week. It’s January and I’m on my way home, back to winter. I walk up the stairs and find my husband, a few rows ahead of me. I scoot past two other passengers to the window, set down my backpack and lean back into the seat. I think about the uninterrupted time with my husband. I know we’ll both recall the days our schedule matched the rhythm of the ocean. I picture this morning’s sunrise and feeling…
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My Savior’s Love
I hear the piano music before I walk into sacrament meeting with my 13-year-old son. I’m wearing a hoodie, jeans and no make-up. My son, with an incision on his partially shaved head, wears hospital scrubs and pulls an IV pole. A woman with a kind face stands at the door and hands him a homemade fleece blanket. I think: this is what it feels like to be in the Twilight Zone. The familiar hymns remind me of church, but don’t erase the antiseptic smell nor the sterile, white walls of the hospital. I feel the sting of tears as we walk into a small auditorium at Primary Children’s Medical…
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Grateful Hearts and Fertile Ground
We start most of our Thanksgiving celebrations with a game of flag football followed by donuts and hot chocolate. Then home to prep the meal. The side dishes that are Thanksgiving to me are my dad’s stuffing (I’m so glad I made this with him several times so I know how to do it), creamed onions (add homemade cheese sauce to pearl onions — perfect companion to turkey breast) and strawberry pretzel squares (really a dessert, but we serve it as a salad). After dinner, we each add a page to our Great Big Book of Gratitude. It’s fun to reread our blessings and remember who has been with us…
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On Sacred Ground
Anyone who knows me even a little knows two things about me. My family is my orbit and my faith in Jesus Christ is my anchor. My church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and its history are important to me. I’ve experienced most of the U.S. church history sites with my family and have lived near several of them. When we lived near St. Louis, we were 3 hours from Nauvoo, IL. We took visitors 5 times that year. It is a place I love knowing. When we lived near Salt Lake City, UT, we were close to church history sites all over the state. It’s a…