Life's Mortal Journey

The last few weeks I have not felt like myself at all.  Over the years I have had many health issues and some were nightmares to treat and heal.  But I was diagnosed  with a new health issue in 2019 that has never been resolved due to in 2020 I was diagnosed with breast cancer which usurped it.  That journey brought much heartache and survivors guilt along with other health issues which took some years to heal and stabilize myself from.  I have listened to many talks where the brethren warn you of the follies of self pity.  Alas I found myself starting to spiral down that self pity rabbit hole.  

During my pity party I found myself turning to my scriptures and Elder Maxwell who had been a member of the Quorum of the twelve and while serving was battling leukemia.  This great scholar understood pain, sacrifice and how to truly become a disciple of Christ.   During many a dark times I turned to his teachings and writings.  This last week was no different.  I found comfort in one of the devotionals he had given at BYU entitled:   "In Him All Things Hold Together."  

Because of my illness I had taken most the week off work and had promised myself I would try and go back Friday.  Little did I know the Spirit was pushing me to be back at work at the little store.  My manager was very gracious and upon seeing me encouraged me to take it slow and easy.  Which was not a problem because I was moving very slow.  It turned out to be a very busy shift which wiped me out but it felt good to be out.  

I have been at that little store for almost two years now and have made some amazing new friends.  One in particular has won my respect and admiration.  My mother used to always tell me, "no matter how bad you think you have it, there is someone out there facing worse."  This strong lady is the epitome of her words. She had lost both her children to drug overdoses and she was raising her grandchildren who were left behind.  Her quiet strength is inspirational to me.  Yesterday I was sharing with her about my husband's cousin reunion coming up in August and she shared with me that her family "did not have reunions" due to the different religious denominations within her family and an atheist.  She shared with me three denominations and that she had been baptized in all three and how she was still according to a religious family member "going to hell."  I replied, "Your not going to hell."  and then told her to introduce me and all the hatred and anger would be turned on me cause I was one of those "darn Mormons, who was for sure going to hell."  She smiled as I then told her, "I know of only one judge and that great judge has not come and anointed anyone who has the right to tell someone their going to hell.  We talked a bit more and she commented that she had no need of any religion due to she had witnessed it first hand destroy her family.  My heart was immediately stretched out to her as I shared with her that yes, I was a Latter-Day Saint but my husband did not want "mormon tattooed on his ass."  To that her grin widened and I sensed her questioning mind on how we made it work.  I hope one day we can sit down and I can let her know that our Father in Heaven never willed that families be destroyed in His name and that was not in His teachings in the Bible or any other scripture. 

On my way home the Christian radio station I listen to had a female comic who was sharing her family experience.  She was the daughter of a pastor who was manic depressive.  She had three sisters who they lost to death in their twenties.  She was the poster child of dysfunctional family.  She shared how her father was one man on Sundays and then a totally different man Mon-Fri.  Sadly, I have seen many Latter-Day Saints act one way on Sunday and then totally different Mon-Fri.  She shared how there was a medication available that would have helped her father but his "congregation" felt that medication would interfere with her father's faith and "God's miraculous healing power."  and they threatened to have him removed as their pastor if he took any kind of medication.  At that moment my heart was stretched out to this voice on the radio.  Our own beloved Prophet was a heart surgeon and many of the brethren have needed medical assistance and have been healed because the Lord had inspired good men and women to go into the medical field so that they could help His children when Faith alone was not enough.  She then shared that her childhood sweetheart whom she married turned into an alcoholic and she witnessed his slow and painful death.  She has an estranged daughter with a grandchild she has not been allowed to see.  But yet this strong woman quoted a song she had learned as a child.  I wish I could find the song the wording was so beautiful it was something about the Lord holding her and counting every hair upon her head and then he placed her in her mothers womb and her great worth to Him.  She had closed with that beautiful lyric on how in one paragraph she would describe herself.  

Then to top of my long day I visited with a sweet young lady who has been diagnosed with colon cancer.  Her journey is just beginning but she is in good hands due to she is under the care of my beloved Huntsman team.  I think my Heavenly Father made His point that my self anointed pity party was in vain and how I still had some good works to do.  Earlier in the day I had copied and pasted a part of Elder Maxwell's talk concerning "eternal" traits that helped one become more Christ like:

"1. Meek and humble—not self-concerned, dismissive, proud, seeking ascendancy. Blessed are the meek because they are not easily offended. Besides, those who “shine as lights in the world” have no need to seek the spotlight! (See Philippians 2:15.) The world’s spotlights are not only fleeting, but they employ inferior light!

2. Patient—not hectic, hurried, pushy.

3. Full of love—not demanding, dominating, manipulative, condescending, or harsh.

4. Gentle—not coarse, brusque, and vindictive.

5. Easily entreated—not unapproachable, inaccessible, and nonlistening.

6. Long-suffering—not impatient, disinterested, curt, easily offended. There are so many people in the Church, brothers and sisters, waiting to be offended. And it doesn’t take long. If one has a chip on his or her shoulder, you can’t make it through the foyer, so to speak, without getting it knocked off.

7. Submissive to God—not resistant to the Spirit, counsel, and life’s lessons.

8. Temperate (self-restrained)—not egoistic, eager for attention and recognition, or too talkative. In your life and mine, the great moments of commendation and correction have come usually in one-liners.

9. Merciful—not judgmental and unforgiving. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall know the caress of causality as their forgiving mercy restores others to wholeness! Though God is perfected in the attributes of justice and mercy, we read that, finally, “Mercy overpowereth justice” (Alma 34:15).

10. Gracious—not tactless, easily irritated, ungenerous.

11. Holy—not worldly."

In the craziness of our world it is so easy to forget what truly matters.  Elder Maxwell opened his talk with this paragraph, "I wish to talk about your unfinished journey.  It is the journey of journeys and will be described quite differently this Easter night.  It is an arduous journey.  The trek awaits--whether one is rich or poor, short or tall, thin or fat, white or brown, old or young, shy or bold, married or single, a prodigal or an ever faithful.  Compared to this journey, all other treks are but a brief walk in a mortal park or are merely time on telestial treadmill.  Your journey is embodied in an invitation from the resurrected Lord, who himself inquired 'What manner of men {and women} ought ye be?' Then he directed, 'Verily,  I say unto you, even as I am." (3 Nephi 27:27)

This journey is an "arduous journey" but this mortal journey is to teach us to become "more Savior like thee."  How grateful I am that my own personal journey though it has been strewn with thorns has been teaching me the Christlike portable traits that will continue with me in my journey back to my beloved heavenly home.

A mighty Change

 Today in Sunday school we discussed one of my all time favorite scripture passages.  It is found in the Book of Alma beginning with chapter five.

Alma's father had been a priest to a very wicked king who killed a prophet of the Lord because he did not like his sins being called out.  Alma the elder heard this prophets words and they sunk deep within his heart and he experienced a "mighty change of heart."  He became a loyal follower of our Lord Jesus Christ and he was an instrument in establishing the Lord's church and teachings.

His son, Alma the younger did not believe as his father had, so he and his friends went around "trying to destroy the church."  I have been taught to liken the scriptures I was reading to me and what I was facing in life.  Since 1997 I have felt a kindred love for Alma the younger in his conversion story and mine.  Like him I had been raised in the gospel and I have always loved my Heavenly Father but I  found myself being drawn to the shiny pretty packages the world had to offer and like Alma the younger I had my "come to Jesus meeting" which caused a "mighty change in my heart.  As it had in his life along with his four friends I too felt an urgency to right my wrongs.  I had wasted many years of doing what I wanted and not what the Lord needed me to do.  

I love their missionary story and for many years I have asked my Heavenly Father if I could place my little toe in Ammon's missionary shoes, so that I too could have a wonderful missionary experience.  I chose my little toe because compared to them I am nowhere near the spiritual giants they were.  Many of my prayers have been related to them and how they taught with "power and great authority, they were men of sound understanding because they fasted and prayed... and studied,"  Oh, how I wanted to just have a taste of their talents but knowing me, I tend to fall short on many days but "Oh that I were an angel,,,!"

Though I am far from their "sound understanding, and powerful teaching" I have been blessed to share my light with many and have had some cherished experiences.  Alma and his friends faced great adversity before they reaped their fruits and I have wondered how they did not get discouraged and just decide to quit, after all quitting is so much easier than rolling up one's sleeves and going back in for more.  But when I have those thoughts I am reminded by them the graveness of the loss if they had quit.  

The worth of souls are great in our Heavenly Father's' eyes after all, He created each and everyone of us.  I feel sadness when I witness His children who know nothing but what the world offers because they have never known who they are.  Alma and his friends along with Joseph Smith and I'm sure all our prophets "could not bear the thought of any being cast out..."  Joseph Smith commented that "He would carry them on his back..."  That goes hand in hand with no greater love.  

After all, aren't we asked to love the Lord with all our heart, mind, might, and strength? and then we're asked to love our neighbors as ourselves.  In one of our recent conference talks an area seventy mentioned a talk which had been given by Elder Dale G Ruland entitled:  "Through God's Eyes,   "To effectively serve others, we must see them through a parent’s eyes, through Heavenly Father’s eyes."

This address was one of Elder Rulands first talks he had given since being called to the quorum of the 12.  He shared an experience I totally relate to when he had been called to serve as a Bishop.  A good friend said, "You need to know that the Lord hasn't called you because of anything you have done.  In your case, it is probably in spite of what you have done.  The Lord has called you for what He needs to do through you, and that will happen only if you do it His way."   Recently I was called to a leadership role in my beloved branch and like Elder Ruland "...my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world.  I am one of those weak and simple..."  

Elder Ruland explained perfectly the why Alma and his four friends missionary experiences spoke deeply into my soul, "Something wonderful happens in a missionary's service when he or she realizes that the calling is not about him or her; rather it is about the Lord, His work, and Heavenly Father's children...This calling is not about me.  It's about the Lord, His work, and Heavenly Father's children.  No matter what assignment or calling is in the Church, to serve capably, one most serve knowing that everyone we serve is a 'beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and as such,...has a divine nature and destiny."  Now I understand Alma and his friends and Joseph Smith's "sound understanding."

Because of my realization that I am on the "Lord's errand" I have not limited myself to serve in just one area. The Lord has blessed me to serve in many areas and in many situations.  This is the first time I have been able to serve with full time missionaries and meet new friends and with the missionaries I get to share my love of Heavenly Father's beautiful plan.  Though I have just asked to place my little toe in Ammons missionary shoes how grateful I am for all the wonderful blessings that have come because of that one little hearts desire.

I'll close with Elder Rulands words since he says it more beautifully than I ever could:  "

With all my heart I want to be a true follower of Jesus Christ.  I love Him.  I adore Him.  I witness of His living reality.  I witness that He is the Anointed One, the Messiah, I am a witness of His incomparable mercy, compassion and love..."  Along with Elder Ruland I leave my testimony that "Jesus is the Living Christ the immortal son of God...He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world."

If you would like to read m favorite missionaries story feel free to pick up a Book of Mormon and start reading the book of Alma. :) 

Reaching out to the One

I have always loved the parable of the "Lost Sheep:  "What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?  And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.  I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance."  (Luke 15:4-7)

In the middle East Shepherd's stay with their sheep day and night.  "he depends on the sheep to follow, and they in turn expect him never to leave them..."  (George M. Mackie,  Bible and Manners of Customs 33-35)

Recently President Nelson invited members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to "reach out to the one who is feeling lost or alone."   As  gift for him as he celebrates his 100th birthday on September 9th.  

Below is his invitation:

“I am soon approaching my 100th birthday,” President Nelson wrote in a social media post on Saturday, June 1. “One of the places where the Savior used the number 100 in the scriptures was the parable of the lost sheep. Though 99 of his flock were safely by his side, the shepherd went in search of the one who was lost.

President Russell M. Nelson speaks during a worldwide Relief Society devotional on March 17, 2024. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

“At age 99, I have no need of physical gifts,” he continued. “But one spiritual offering that would brighten my life is for each of us to reach out to ‘the one’ in our lives who may be feeling lost or alone.”

What could this spiritual offering look like? President Nelson invited all to prayerfully consider a few questions over the coming months:

• “Who do you know who may be discouraged?”
• “Who might you need to reconcile with or ask for forgiveness?”
• “Has one name been on your mind lately, though you haven’t quite known why?”

As these questions are brought to the Lord, “He will inspire you to know how to reach out and lift one who needs help,” President Nelson wrote.

“What a beautiful example the Savior has shown us — that through each of us ministering to just one within our reach, we can spread the love of Jesus Christ throughout the world,” he concluded his social media post, using the hashtag #99plus1."

May we all be inspired to reach out to the one as our beloved Prophet has asked.