Recently, I have been thinking about a scripture in Helaman, in The Book of Mormon.
Helaman 5:12
12 "And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon thearock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your bfoundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty cstorm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."
There are a LOT of reasons why I like this scripture. I won't discuss them all at this time. The thing that I have been thinking about lately though is the use of the word "when" ("when the devil shall send forth...). It doesn't say "if", but "when". Storms are coming. Probably for most of us, we have experienced some storms, maybe some "mighty storm"s, or we may now be experiencing them. If not, don't worry, they will come. :)
A few weeks ago, I went to a class at a Relief society women's conference. Relief society is an organization for women in the church. We meet together to strengthen and serve each other, as well as our communities. The woman who taught the class handed out papers to everyone with trials on them. We talked about finding joy amid trials. After we discussed a few of the trials, she mentioned that all of them were examples from her life. There had to be at least 50! Wow! My life seems so mild compared to that. I am very blessed. However, I too have experienced storms.
Storms are no respecter of persons. All of us experience them. They are hard. They beat at our very core, and strive to drag us down "to the gulf of misery and endless wo". But, if we are built on a foundation of Christ, we "cannot fall". There is so much doubt in the world. So many would have us doubt our faith. But we need not doubt. As the Lord told Thomas, "be not faithless, but believing" (John 20:27). I urge you to believe. Even if you do not know everything, believe. It is okay to have questions, that is the only way to get answers. But approach your questions with faith, not doubt. And keep your feet firmly planted on the "rock of our Redeemer". So that "when" the storms come, you can not fall!
Friday, February 7, 2014
Thursday, January 9, 2014
A place for everyone
On the first Sunday of the month in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there is a special meeting called Testimony meeting. Members of the congregation are invited to share their feelings about the gospel. They share experiences and feelings that have influenced their belief in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, as well as the principles we believe and follow in the church.
This last Sunday, one sister stood and spoke about how she is very loud. She grew up always being told to be quiet. She felt like there is a "mold" for the perfect member of the church, and if only she were a "nice" girl, she might fit more into that mold. But, she concluded that she hoped there was a place for "feisty" people in the kingdom of God too.
I thought it was particularly interesting, because I had almost the opposite idea. I am very quiet. I am a "nice" girl. I have a younger sister who is loud and "feisty". My mom used to call her a barracuda. :) I have had conversations with my mother about this sister and how strong she is. I always felt like I was not strong enough to serve the Lord because I am so "nice". In the Bible, in his letter to Timothy, Paul says, "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord..."(2 Timothy 1:8). I sometimes worried that the Lord would think I was ashamed of my testimony because I shy away from conflict. I am not the warrior He needs in His kingdom.
Then, one day I was thinking about the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. If you haven't read the books, you are probably familiar at least with the films that have been made based on the story. There is a character in the books named Lucy. She is very firm in her testimony, and has a lot of faith. However, like me, she is a "nice" girl. In The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe, St Nicholas comes and gives Lucy and her siblings gifts to help them in an upcoming battle. To each of the brothers, he gives a sword, and to her sister, he gives a bow and arrows. But, to Lucy, he gives a balm to heal people, not a weapon. She receives a small dagger just in case she needs it. However, St Nick recognized that her strength was not in fighting, but in healing.
In every battle ever fought, there are warriors, and there are healers. The battles we fight for the Lord are the same way. My sister is a warrior. I am a healer. There is a place for both in the Kingdom of God. In fact, there is a place for EVERYONE. I am sure there are more categories than just warriors and healers, those are just the two I have thought about recently. I do not think there is a "mold" that we ares supposed to fit into. Each of us is unique. We have different qualities and gifts that make us who we are. And the Lord needs us! All of us! Each of us are like a unique piece of a puzzle that fit together to make a beautiful picture. If we try to fit in someone else's place, the picture won't come together correctly. He needs us in our place.
Whomever you are, please try to be the best YOU, not the best someone else. We all have room to improve, but we need not try to become someone we are not. Just be our best self. The Lord made you who you are, and He has a place for you. "Seek, and ye shall find"(Matthew 7:7). I know if you ask Him, He will help you know that He desperately needs you in His kingdom, and He will help you find your place.
This last Sunday, one sister stood and spoke about how she is very loud. She grew up always being told to be quiet. She felt like there is a "mold" for the perfect member of the church, and if only she were a "nice" girl, she might fit more into that mold. But, she concluded that she hoped there was a place for "feisty" people in the kingdom of God too.
I thought it was particularly interesting, because I had almost the opposite idea. I am very quiet. I am a "nice" girl. I have a younger sister who is loud and "feisty". My mom used to call her a barracuda. :) I have had conversations with my mother about this sister and how strong she is. I always felt like I was not strong enough to serve the Lord because I am so "nice". In the Bible, in his letter to Timothy, Paul says, "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord..."(2 Timothy 1:8). I sometimes worried that the Lord would think I was ashamed of my testimony because I shy away from conflict. I am not the warrior He needs in His kingdom.
Then, one day I was thinking about the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. If you haven't read the books, you are probably familiar at least with the films that have been made based on the story. There is a character in the books named Lucy. She is very firm in her testimony, and has a lot of faith. However, like me, she is a "nice" girl. In The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe, St Nicholas comes and gives Lucy and her siblings gifts to help them in an upcoming battle. To each of the brothers, he gives a sword, and to her sister, he gives a bow and arrows. But, to Lucy, he gives a balm to heal people, not a weapon. She receives a small dagger just in case she needs it. However, St Nick recognized that her strength was not in fighting, but in healing.
In every battle ever fought, there are warriors, and there are healers. The battles we fight for the Lord are the same way. My sister is a warrior. I am a healer. There is a place for both in the Kingdom of God. In fact, there is a place for EVERYONE. I am sure there are more categories than just warriors and healers, those are just the two I have thought about recently. I do not think there is a "mold" that we ares supposed to fit into. Each of us is unique. We have different qualities and gifts that make us who we are. And the Lord needs us! All of us! Each of us are like a unique piece of a puzzle that fit together to make a beautiful picture. If we try to fit in someone else's place, the picture won't come together correctly. He needs us in our place.
Whomever you are, please try to be the best YOU, not the best someone else. We all have room to improve, but we need not try to become someone we are not. Just be our best self. The Lord made you who you are, and He has a place for you. "Seek, and ye shall find"(Matthew 7:7). I know if you ask Him, He will help you know that He desperately needs you in His kingdom, and He will help you find your place.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Me
My name is Lynae.
I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I am not a writer.
So, if you are looking for great writing, this is probably not the blog for you.
However, I have recently noticed that some people I love are leaving the church, or at least not as converted to it as they once were. This breaks my heart because I love them, and I love the church, and I want them to feel the joy I know they can through active membership in the church.
So, I have been wondering what I can do.
And this blog is what I decided to do.
I am not contentious. Like AT ALL!
So comments or posts on facebook, or other social media sites don't really appeal to me. I don't think it is the best platform for sharing my feelings on the subject of conversion.
Hence this blog.
I don't really expect many people to read this, but this is as much for my benefit as for anyone else's.
So if you are reading this, I hope you enjoy it.
And I love you.
Even if I don't know you.
Because you obviously care enough to spend the time reading this.
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