I’ve been feeling a little put upon lately. Well, to be honest, for the past several years. And it’s been ticking me off so much that I’ve gained 40 pounds. And that ticks me off too. And in the midst of my ticked-offedness this morning, I read this verse of scripture: “For behold, I have […]
Read More challenges, Christ, faith, hope, trials, trustHere in the United States, on the last Monday in May, we honor those who have given their lives in active military service. This is the official observance of our Memorial Day. For many of us, however, it has also become a day when our thoughts are drawn to other, non-military loved ones who have […]
Read More atonement, faith, spiritual lifeWe, as committed Latter-day Saints, are just as mortal as everyone else on the planet. We are prone to fear, codependency, doubt, worry, sin, and all the other beliefs and behaviors that lead to addiction and compulsion. When we find ourselves in these negative states, we are just as quick to turn to the material […]
Read More Christ, fellowship, honesty, imperfection, mortality, perfectionismWhen you boil life down to the basics, you only have two choices for dealing with the discomforts of mortality. Either you choose addiction to dull the pain or you choose the peace of God and live (Alma 37:47). You can choose to become and/or remain an addict to (i.e.: lust after) one or more […]
Read More addiction, atonement, Christ, mortality, peaceThink of your brethren like unto yourselves, and be familiar with all… (Jacob 2:17) These words remind me of one of the most healing effects of twelve-step recovery work. Only after entering the program did I begin to see “my brethren” (other people) like unto myself—not better or worse than me, but the same, and […]
Read More atonement, charity, humility, recoveryI bear my testimony to you that what we were sent away from our home and the direct association and protection of our Heavenly Parents not to learn that we could stand on our own two feet, but actually, to learn the exact opposite. We came here to be humbled, to be taught that without […]
Read More humility, imperfectionIf you were in an intensive care unit, would you want the electrocardiogram to suddenly start producing a straight line? Of course not! As long as that line is going up and down, it means you’re alive. Let the line go straight, with no valleys and no peaks, or in other words no ebbs and […]
Read More challenges, comfort, ebb & flow, faith, humility, mortality, peace, trustTherefore, he giveth this promise unto you, with an immutable covenant that they shall be fulfilled; and all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good, and to my name’s glory, saith the Lord. (D&C 98:3) As I consider the pain of those who hurt so badly over experiences in their […]
Read More agency, atonement, challenges, comfort, faith, hope, mortality, peaceLamentations is not just a short but depressing book in the Bible. It’s a testament to the mercy and goodness of God. In Lamentations, Jeremiah bewails the condition of his world—sorrow, misery, desolation, calamity, sin, iniquity… Sound familiar? Just listen to the nightly news. But Jeremiah lets us know that it’s okay to feel sorrow […]
Read More comfort, faith, lamenting, sorrow, trust, truthAs card-carrying members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we have a tendency to deny our mortality. But we can only live in denial for so long before the big fat truth of our understanding lands on us like the proverbial ton of bricks and we are forced to realize that we […]
Read More imperfection, LDS, mortality, perfectionism