Dying as a Witness

I first learned the story of Stephen during my sophomore year in high school, studying the New Testament in Seminary. His story has always captivated me.
First, because even in his last, dying breaths, he taught the doctrine of Christ.
Without fear.
Without hesitation.
And with complete assurance that the word of God was mightier than the sword . . . or the stone.

Secondly, Stephen was a witness of the Godhead.
For him the heavens were opened and he saw what others did not and could not see.
Knowing that the Holy Ghost was real, Stephen saw the Father and the Son.
A sure witness that they were and are two separate and distinct Personages, full of glory and grandeur.

Third, Stephen possessed a forgiving heart.
A heart without hate or malice or contempt.
His willingness to “stand as a witness of God at all times and in all things and in all places,  . . . even unto death” cost him his earthly life. (Alma 18:9)
But his death gave new life to one young man named Saul.

Abinadi is the Book of Mormon’s equivalent to “Stephen.”
Like Stephen, Abinadi faced his accusers without fear or hesitation as he taught the significance of the Law of Moses and prophesied of the coming a Savior.

Like Stephen, Abinadi was filled with light as he testified of truth and called the Nephites to repentance. His love for the Lord was greater than his love for himself.
Like Stephen, Abinadi was martyred.
Death by fire.
Burned at the stake.
A burnt offering of sorts, which only yielded one soul unto repentance.
And that one “Soul” changed the course of history for the Nephite people.
(Interestingly, “Alma” means “soul” in Spanish).

Recently, I read My Name Used to be Muhammad.
What shocked me most is that stories like Stephen and Alma are happening today!
Two thousand years removed from what was - is what is!
Life for those who are true disciples of Christ  will never be easy. Elder Russell M. Nelson said it quite frankly,

“Difficult days are ahead. Rarely in the future will it be easy or popular to be a faithful Latter-day Saint. Each of us will be tested. The Apostle Paul warned that in the latter days, those who diligently follow the Lord ‘shall suffer persecution.’ That very persecution can either crush you into silent weakness or motivate you to be more exemplary and courageous in your daily lives.”

How grateful I am that Stephen and Abinadi refused to be crushed into silent weakness.

Family Home Evening - River of Victory

This week for Family Home Evening we watched THIS video.

It made for a very healthy discussion - not only following the video, but all during the week.

Here are some themes we discussed:

* God's love

* Family

* Poverty

* Gratitude

* Faith and Healing

* Entitlement

* Excessiveness


On a side note, for a REALLY, REALLY, REALLY great fiction read . . . READ THIS!!

Tipping Points and Miracles

I just got through reading two remarkable books, both by authors Chris Stewart and Ted Stewart. The books are entitled: "The Miracle of Freedom: 7 Tipping Points that Saved the World" and "Seven Miracles that Saved America: Why They Matter and Why We Should Have Hope."

These books gave me reason to ponder more deeply the vibrant, undeniable assertion that God does live and that He does care about nations, kindreds, tongues and people.

God cares about the earth that He formed and created and placed man thereon to till and sweat and multiply and replenish.

God cares about agency, liberty, and freedom.

God cares about you and He cares about me.

It has been during these pondering sessions that I realized that even in my small and rather simple life, there have been tipping points and significant miracles in my life.

I guess I never thought them as so until reading these books.

So I made two lists.

One list is contains the "Tipping Points" of my life.

The other list is entitled "Miracles" and contains, for now, just a brief summary of events, of which I have personal knowledge of the hand of the Lord protecting and preserving my life.

By all means these two lists are not long.

But every, single thing on both lists are real happenings in my life that adds to my certainty that God lives.

It also adds to my conviction that not only does God watch over and care for the great and marvelous (such as ancient prophets and the restoration of His true and everlasting gospel), but He is ever aware of the seemingly small and simple who are largely unknown by the 99.9% of all mankind (like the lilies of the field).

In my paltry attempt to remember God's direct hand in the tipping points and miracles of my life, I am filled with the absolute witness, confirmed by the Holy Spirit, of His interest in my mission on earth.

Indeed, it is humbling and marvelous for someone as nothing as me to think that His hand has been a part of my existence, even before I could ever remember.  How grateful I am for recognizing the "Tipping Points" and "Miracles" that have happened in my life this far!

My New Book

If I wrote a book it would be about motherhood.

It would be non-fiction (in spite of the first four words).

It would also be considered the shortest non-fiction book out there.

Maybe, as everyone who writes a book hopes, it would be on the New York Times Best Sellers List.

But since I can’t find a publisher on such short notice, I will share my short, copyrighted, non-fiction book with you.

"Once upon a time I was a perfect mother . . .

then I started having kids."

Corner on His Love

It is ALREADY the LAST day of January!!

31 days in the New Year has already come and gone. And in that time I have read some incredible stories of remarkable people who love God and recognize His hand in their lives (see my Book List on the side bar.)

Over the years I have had to break myself from the terrible misconception that God only loved a certain people.

What is unfolding, as I read these stories of hope and faith, is that while members of the Church of Jesus Christ do have a corner on the fullness of gospel truths, principles and saving ordinances, no one - NO ONE has a corner on God’s love.

His love is given freely, openly, fully to anyone and to everyone.

I remember starting to understand that incredible concept just a few short days in Spain as a new missionary.

I had a great trainer who, American as she was, spoke Spanish to me e.v.e.r.y. walking moment on those terraced streets.

Don’t ask me what I remember from any of those conversations because I was just a little bit more literate than I was in understanding the spoken word (which doesn’t say very much).

But I do remember something that was placed in the depths of my heart those first few days I was getting used to new sights, new sounds, new smells, new tastes.

As we walked those streets and as my companion spoke to me in a language that I would come to learn and love, I became acutely conscious that the Lord loved these people – all these people.

As I gazed up at cement apartment six and seven stories high, filled with windows and people and hanging laundry, the Spirit whispered to mine that these people were loved by Him: that He knew their names, He was aware of their desires, He listened to their prayers, He was their Savior.

So the books I have read this month is yet another witness to me that God loves all His children.

I am still learning why He is no respecter of persons and why those who will listen to His voice and follow His teachings become favored of Him.

So I am grateful to read of others, not of our faith, who love God.

Who trust God.

Who follow God’s teachings.

And who exemplify Christlike attributes.

And share with joy their testimony of God’s hand in their lives!

Tidbit Tuesday - The Essence of the Gospel

“Stories of [the rescue of the Willie and Martin Handcarts companies], need to be repeated again and again. They speak of the very essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” - President Gordon B. Hinckley (Ensign, November 1996).

It was October 4, 1856 when President Franklin D. Richards and his group had just returned to Salt Lake City. The day was warm, past 70 degrees. It was that day that he informed Brigham Young that some 1,300 people were still on the trail – traveling by handcart, hundreds of miles from the Salt Lake Valley.

It would be two weeks before the first winter storm would arrive, but the prophet Brigham Young immediately sensed the urgency to send out rescuers to those who were still out on the trail.

The following day was General Conference, in which President Brigham Young opened by saying:

“On [this,] the 5th day of October, 1856, many of our brethren and sisters are on the plains with handcarts, . . . and they must be brought here, we must send assistance to them. The text [of this General Conference] will be, ‘to get them here’. . .


"That is my religion; that is the dictation of the Holy Ghost that I possess. It is to save the people . . . This is the salvation I am now seeking for, to save our brethren that would be apt to perish, or suffer extremely, if we do not send them assistance. . .”


“I will tell you all that your faith, religion, and profession of religion, will never save one soul of you in the celestial kingdom of our God, unless you carry out just principles as I am now teaching you. Go and bring in those people now on the plains, and attend strictly to those things which we call temporal, or temporal duties, otherwise your faith will be in vain; the preaching you have heard will be in vain.”

CLICK HERE to read about The Price We Paid
by Andrew D. Olsen

Wrong Hearts/Right Hearts

“As long as our hearts are wrong, we can’t do right . . . [But] when our hearts are right, the obligation we feel to treat others generously comes to us as an opportunity."


C. Terry Warner
Bonds That Make Us Free

Fire in the Bones

When it comes to History, I am lacking! It wasn't a subject I favored in school.

Maybe it was because my brain didn't make connections with now and then.  But what I suppose it means, looking back, is that I wasn't paying enough attention to how history affects our present and our future.

But I am repenting.

And I am learning.

So thanks to the April 2010 General Conference talk given by Elder D. Todd Christofferson and a lesson given in Relief Society, my mind and heart was softened to read about history, specifically about William Tyndale, who was responsible for the translation of the Bible into the English language.

Fire in the Bones by S. Michael Wilcox gives the incredible story of Tyndale's life's dedication to the Bible and the risks he took to translate and publish the Bible so that the even "a boy that driveth the plough, [should] know more of the Scripture" than clerics and the such.

And I have been amazed.

And humbled.

And thankful for men like Tyndale, who, like Joseph Smith, stayed firm and true to their death, for the Word's sake.

It has given me a desire to be more dedicated in my pursuit to love the word of God found within the pages of the Old and New Testaments.

And more confused at why today, in 2010, people or organizations think it's okay to burn holy pages from religious books with little thought of the sacrifices made by others long ago who risked their lives - and many, many put to death - because of their desire to worship as they may.

Tidbit Tuesday - Word Nerd

I love words! And I happen to find this book at the library that is filled with interesting info about the meaning of words, the origin of words and other cool facts. I thought I would share 26 of them. Enjoy!

Anger comes from an Old Norse word meaning “grief”

Buculets are the little bumpers on the underside of a toilet seat. (Important info for when you are toilet training).

Late-night refrigerator raiding is called cleptobiosis. (Personally, I like cleptobiosis of chocolate cheese cake).

To doattee is to nod the head when sleep comes on while one is sitting. (Hmmm.  A good word to know as a tired student to impress an annoyed teacher?!)

Exorbitant was originally a legal term for a case outside the scope of a law and since it implies going :out of orbit,” also first meant “deviating from the true path.”

A flick with the finger and the thumb is a fyerk.

A gump is a large umbrella. (Put that on your patio!)

The third eyelid of dogs or cats is the haw. (Haw, haw, haw)

The sparks and embers rising from a fire are izles.

Originally, a journal was a book listing the times of daily prayer (from Latin diurnalis, “belonging to the day”).

Kew-kaw is another way of saying upside down.

A child that cries or screams all the time is a lolaby.

Mutual applies to reciprocal relationships between two or more things. (WOW! Think about youth night!)

Minute or meticulous handwriting is niggle.

O is the oldest letter of our alphabet!

An apple seed or lemon seed is a pip.

A quidnunc is a gossip or inquisitive person who always wants to know what is going on – and the only word that ends in “unc.”

Render comes from Latin reddere, “give back,” and then rendere. (Think of what King Benjamin said, “ye are eternally indebted to your Heavenly Father, to render to Him all that you have and are). (Mosiah 2:34).

Sialagogue is anything that makes the mouth water; sialogogic is causing one to salivate.

A tittynope is a small quantity of anything left over. (Maybe I can use that as the title for my next dinner menu item!)

Umbra is the darkest part of a shadow.

Vaseline gets its name from the German word for water, the Greek word for oil, plus the suffix –ine.

WD-40 stands for “Water Displacement-40th attempt.”

Xanthodontous is having yellow teeth.

Yeepsen is anything that can be held in two hands, a double handful. ("I want yeepsen!  I want yeepsen!" are the cries of my children).

A zizz is a nap.

 

You can find over 17,000 over interesting words in the book Word Nerd by Barbara Ann Kipfer!

Tidbit Tuesday - Expectations

"The right dose of expectations can be as powerful as one of the strongest painkillers!"

-David Rock
from his book entitled How Your Brain Works

6x6 Saturday

6 sentences of 6 words on these past 6 days

1. My oldest is officially a T.E.E.N.A.G.E.R.!!

2. Finished Catching Fire! Ready for Mockingjay!!

3. Nothing deflates pride quite like humility.

4. Learned the story of Helmuth Huebner. (CLICK HERE and HERE and HERE)

5. When the Holy Ghost speaks – LISTEN!

6. Birthday Menu: Spaghetti + Peanut Butter Cake

Help Me To Understand

On this day of fasting and prayer I spent a lot of time reading (and finishing) a book that opened my heart to raw emotion.

To pain.

To heartache.

To unanswered questions.

I could feel my heart swelling with a genuine desire to understand.

To understand others whose lives and situations don’t mirror mine.

I have a loved one who is experiencing extreme depression.

She loves her family very much and yet, she so desperately wants to be solitaire. Solo. All alone for a little while. (Well, alone with a stash of really, good dark chocolate).

And sadly, I don’t understand depression . . .

But I do remember the weeks after post-partum and how unsettling the world appeared and how dreadfully insecure I was about the “new” normal that had so suddenly seemed to occur (you’d think nine months is NOT sudden but post-partum makes it seem that way) . . .

So my heart cries out to a Father in Heaven to help her with a burden that seems so difficult to bear, particularly when you feel like bearing it alone.

I have a deaf friend, who, this week, received cochlear implants.

I don’t know what it’s like to be deaf or what transitions will need to take place in order to hear after years of not hearing . . .

But I do know what it’s like to have throbbing, penetrating overnight earaches.

So during this week, I have offered several quiet prayers on her behalf.  That the opposition of her pain will turn to a present-day miracle!

There’s a couple I know who is fighting Leukemia.

He is in ICU. She is by his side as the tug of children at-home and sleep deprivation stalk her.

He went from bad, to a little better, to worse this weekend.

I don’t know what it’s like to be at the side of a cancer patient – in ICU – and still have all the responsibilities of motherhood . . .

But I once experienced a father-in-law on life support with machines doing the work for him and the decision was made to take him off all the machines.

And send him Home.

Back to Father.

And my heart remembers that bitter sweetness and the sustaining power of the Holy Ghost that Sunday in July.

So I pray for God’s tender mercies to continue to manifest in the lives of these faith-filled, Plan of Salvation loving people.  I pray that he can go back home – to his earthly family - and that Father will see him at a later time.

So back to this book I read and finished today.

It peeled open my heart and inserted a great measure of tenderness.

It carved the important message “Try Understanding Others First!” in the deep fissures of my brain.

And it left me with a greater desire to pray with all the energy of my heart to be filled with charity - the pure love of Christ.

The Routineness of it All

"We all have the choice whether to see the mundane or the beauty.

"Most of the time, our family life is dangerously mundane.  Most of the time, we are in the living room, plopped on the couch and it all seems pointlessly ordinary.  Now and then we get flashes - we feel tapped into a very intense parallel universe of unbearable feeling.  But we do not hang out in that state of connected grace for very lone. We tend to forget about it.  We are back on the living room couch.  We ask, What is it all for? So we could sit on the couch together doig nothing particularly significant?

"Do not be fooled by those incredibly orfinary stretches into believing it is not something profound.  Do not be fooled into forgetting about the special moments.

"We all undergo this trial.  We are tested by this very situation.  Routinely.  The routineness of this test is part of its trick" (from Why Do I Love These People by Po Bronson).

So today, I tried real hard to look beyond the routineness of it all while . . .
- cutting seven boys' heads of hair
- watching four additional children (making it 12 children all under the age of 12)
- shopping for milk and bread (the cashier really asked me if we were having a breakfast party because I was buying so much for this family of 10 we have)
- doing two full loads of dishes in the dishwasher
- washing seven loads of laundry (and it's still NOT done)
- saying family prayer

And you know what? There is beauty all around!

Beauty to seen, beauty to be heard, beauty to be felt - and all while undergoing this "trial" of being routine.

And tonight, before I go to bed, I will thank Heavenly Father for it.

For giving me the experience - even if it is mundane.

For today, I really tried to enjoy the ride!

Plaque Attack

Finding really great sayings to put on a plaque or to cut out of vinyl aren’t that hard to find. Here are just five of many I have found while studying scripture:

Many great things are hard to be understood, save a man should inquire of the Lord! (1 Nephi 15:3)

Be like a river – continually running into the Fountain of all Righteousness (1 Nephi 2:9)

The devil cheats souls (2 Nephi 28:21)

Deal justly. Judge righteously. Do good continually (Alma 4:14)

There is nothing in all the land to hinder me from prospering continually, except . . . transgression! (3 Nephi 6:5)


Book Review: The Year of Goodbyes

I read a wonderful book this week entitled The Year of Goodbyes. Taken from the poesiealbum (autograph book) of Jutta (pronounced YUH-tah) Salzberg in the year 1938, who was was a twelve-year-old girl living in Germany during the rise of Adolf Hitler. Jutta’s poesiealbum, filled with writings by her friends and family, sets the stage of what occurred during that year of her life and gives a glimpse of how this young girl felt as political and social views were changing.

This is a beautiful family history story written by Jutta’s daughter, Debbie Levy. And it would be a great read for ages 9-13!

In fact, I think I’m going to read it out loud to my boys!!  Ha - I’ll let you know what they think of that!

Book Review - "Sergeant Nibley, Phd."

I have never chosen to read about WWII.

I know, generally, what happened.

I tremble when I think about what happened that ended the lives of two and a half million Jews, not to mention the thousands of others who were killed in battle.

I know that the war had to do something with Americans, Germans, Russians, Japanese and the French. But I really have no clue about everything else: the strategy, the physical locations of the battles, the generals, the soldiers’ conditions etc. etc. etc.

I suppose my ignorance on the subject has been, clearly, my dislike of the subject of war.

This book, being the first book I have chosen to read about war, was captivating to me.

Alex Nibley, Hugh’s son, used his cinematographic/documentary approach to organize thoughts and insights using photographs and the written word. In so doing, the memories of Hugh Nibley are juxtaposed with other more well-known WWII authors who also had a first-hand account of what was going on.

As with the pioneers who crossed the plains, there is a general picture painted. A general idea of what happened. Perhaps even an overgeneralization, at that.

But once one starts reading the feelings and first hand experiences, the memories of people who lived through history, it is amazing what insights and strength comes from those who recognize God’s hand in all things.

Anyway, I was surprised how engaged I was to read this book! I found myself amazed a one man’s experience – one man’s ability to survive what he saw and observed, and then continue on as one of BYU’s great ancient religious intellects!

Sergeant Nibley, Phd. by Alex Nibley and Hugh Nibley

Book Review - "Mistaken Identity"

On April 26, 2006 a terrible automobile accident happened in Northern Michigan. Killed in the accident were five students from Taylor University. One female student survived. This book tells the story of the Van Ryn and Cerak families, both God-fearing, God-loving families who dealt with the reality that seems only dreamed up by Hollywood.

Because Whitney Cerak was misidentified as Laura Van Rynn, the Cerak family buried the girl they thought was their daughter, while the Van Ryn family camped out at the hospital for five weeks following the accident with the girl they thought was Laura
This book is a gripping, emotional reality of how each family dealt with the accident, the death and the recovery of Whitney Cerak; and how God’s hand can still be seen and felt in the most devastating of all circumstances.

I was uplifted by the faith of both families, their forgiving hearts, and deeply moved by their complete devotion to God and His will.

Whitney's sister Carly, set the stage for me when she discovered that her sister was found dead at the scene of the accident.  In her own words she said:

“Okay Carly, here is the big test. Do you love God even though your sister is dead? She looked up at her friends, tears running down her face, 'God is still good,' she said. 'This accident didn’t change that at all.'”

This book sustained and increased the deep awe I have for a loving, generous, merciful Father in Heaven who watches over and comforts all His children!  It gave me an even deeper appreciation for the Comfort of the Holy Ghost - that He is as real as the air we breathe!

As much as this book is one of tragedy, it is an incredible story of love and hope, and of commitment to the Lord.

Book Review - "The Power to Prosper"

I checked out this book because first of all, the title was interesting to me. I don’t know why, because I DON'T like financial books of any kind. But as I was I quickly thumbing through the pages and landed on a whole. entire. chapter. dedicated to TITHING, I decided to take it on home.

Michelle Singletary is an award-winning, nationally syndicated columnist for The Washington Post. She is also a member of the First Baptist Church of Glenarden. The ENTIRE book focuses on finances applying gospel doctrine!

And outside The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it fascinated me and it also brought me great joy in knowing that tithing works in any religion!

Needless to say, I have thoroughly enjoyed (surprise!) reading about how one can prosper when it comes to money! And it does not mean being miserly OR does it mean to be a spendthrift.  I have enjoyed reading the testimonies of those who have worked with the Lord through their money situations and have come out AMAZED what He will do if we are willing to put Him first!

I appreciated how Singletary used all 10 commandments and likened them to our fiscal responsibility between us and God!  Especially how she likened the seventh commandment to finances!

I think what I loved most about this book is that God’s blessings are irrevocably tied to commandments.

Elder Russell M. Nelson said: “If you really want a certain blessing, you’d better find out what the laws are that govern that blessing and then work on becoming obedient to those laws.”

Singletary has captured those laws of finance and has blessed so many in helping them see the blessings tied to obedience!

In addition, and the crux of the whole book, is her invitation to all readers to go on a 21-day financial fast. It is truly an incredible, eye-opening journey!

This book is worth purchasing and putting it in your personal library!

CLICK HERE for Michelle Singletary, The Power to Prosper: 21 Days to Financial Freedom

Book Review - "Nibley on the Timely and Timeless"

I really do love reading the writings of Hugh Nibley!

I suppose it is because my brain is SO small, SO non-knowledgeable, SO clueless compared to his, that so much of everything he writes is a new discovery for me!

This particular book is a compilation of some of his very best essays, published by Brigham Young University.

One of my favorite chapters is when he expounds upon the sacrifice of Isaac, which is a shadow and type of Abraham's sacrifice, which is a shadow and type of the Savior's ultimate, atoning sacrifice.
 
I do admit that there was one chapter I just had to forego because it when WHOOP - right. over. my. head.
 
I think the most amazing part for me, as if there is only one amazing part, is the fact that there are documents, plates and scrolls being discovered and translated daily that testify that there is a Christ!  They verify and stand as witness to the holy scriptures to which we have daily access!
 
This book is a fascinating discovery of ancient life, traditions and how other ancient documents parallel the history we know well in the Old and New Testaments and The Book of Mormon!  Not to mention that Brother Nibley is adept in some 14!!! languages!
 
For me, any work of Nibley' is a treat!
 
Nibley on the Timely and Timeless, Brigham Young University, 2004
 
P.S.
I just found that Timely and Timeless is accessible online!!  Read for yourself! CLICK HERE!

Book Review - "Peculiar in a Good Way" by Mary Ellen Edmunds

Mary Ellen Edmunds (a.k.a. MEE) is one of my favorites!

I LOVE the way she teaches the gospel so simply, and yet so full on truth and real life!!

In her book, Peculiar in a Good Way, she writes of different ways that we, as Latter-day Saints are uncommon and different from the rest of the world.

Some of the chapters in this book are entitled: “Can You Cook?” “Extreme Makeovers” and “Follow the Prophet.”

Sister Edmunds shares gospel doctrine and personal experiences so delightfully that you cannot read the book without laughing – at least twice – in every chapter!

What I loved most about this book is her ability to explore our peculiarity and then happily invite us to do even better!

Above all, I love that she comes across REAL, as you and me, with a whole lot of terrific insights about wonderful, everyday stuff!

I share one of her personal experiences that I really loved:

“When I was first a missionary, I went as far from home as I could without staring back. It was about 10,000 miles from Utah to Hong Kong. After spending a few days with President and Sister Taylor at the mission headquarters, I was assigned to Taiwan, a zone of the Southern Far East Mission.

“I arrive not knowing any Mandarin. I had spent a week in the Missionary Home in Salt Lake City, but although that was a fantastic experience, there was no language instruction.

“Mandarin did not sound like a language to me. It was like little bursts of noise, and each noise had a tone, and it was all new and strange to my ear. If was as if the people, including little children (who would really show off!), were singing a strange, unrecognizable song.

“Slowly but surely I began to learn how to get the right tone on some of these “noises.” Like many missionaries, I unconsciously nodded or bobbed my head to try to emphasize which tone I meant. If you saw a video of those early efforts, I think you would laugh. Or cry.

“Gradually I could say hello to people and understand a smattering of words. I even learned a little song from the children, only to learn later that I was singing I was a monkey, swinging from tree and eating bananas. Oh well . . . it seemed to entertain them.

“One of the first long tings we were to learn was how to tell of Joseph Smith’s experience in the spring of 1820. Each morning, my companion, Jan Bair, and I would ride our bikes to the outskirts of Tainan and she would help me go over and over this “Joseph Smith Story,” memorizing and improving it little by little.

“And then one day she said, ‘You’re ready.’ Oh! I actually didn’t want to be ready! It meant she expected me to share it with someone!’

“I admit it was hard not to pray that no one would let us in their home on the beautiful day in November. And it was hard not to pray that even if someone answered the door, they’d tell us to go away.

“Eventually we were in the home of Sister Lin, and she wanted us to teach her. Sister Bair began, and I did my best to put the right Chinese words on the flannel board (THERE’S an indication of how long ago this was – it was 1962). I couldn’t read any of the words on the flannel strips, but I had written on the back what went where, and when, I even had arrows so I wouldn’t get them upside down.

“At some point it became very quiet in Sister Lin’s small living room, and Sister Bair was smiling at me. It was time.

“In that terrifying instant, a realization came into my heart. At that moment in my life, all I could do was the best I could do.

“And so I began to say my little noises the best I could, likely bobbing my head around ever so slightly as I went along.

“Here was the miracle: the Holy Ghost was able to take me little noises over to Sister Lin, and they entered her ears, her mind, and her heart, she heard: A young boy named Joseph Smith went to a grove of trees to pray, and the Father and the Son appeared to him . . .

“Can you imagine my feelings? Can you imagine the joy and wonder of it all! All I could do was the best I could do, and that was what He was asking.”

Mary Ellen Edmunds, Peculiar in a Good Way, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2006.


Other books I have read and LOVED by Sister Edmunds and that I HIGHLY recommend:
Love is a Verb
Thoughts for a Bad Hair Day
You Can Never Get Enough of What You Don’t Need: The Quest for Contentment

Book Review - "The Hidden Christ: Beneath the Surface of the Old Testament"

I am grateful that my Granny loved the Old Testament. My first memories of hearing the stories of Abraham, Samuel, Samson and David where those days as a little girl when I slept over and she would tell me these stories as we snuggled in her featherbed.

The Old Testament has always been a VERY hard book for me to read. And I make quite a revealing confession when I say that I USED to refer to the Old Testament as “the Dead Scriptures.”

Coupled with a sincere desire to understand our course of study in Sunday School this year AND in reading The Hidden Christ, I have REPENTED of my wicked definition! And it has been my fault, not the writings within the Old Testament, that I have not paid better attention to the divine teachings and parallelisms found within this incredible volume of scripture.

There are so many revealing insights, that I will not EVEN begin to name them. That is primarily for the reader to discover, ponder and apply. But one truth I learned is this: The Old Testament applies very much to me and very much to our day. Who knew? Not me. But I do now!

Here are jeust a few of the things that come instantly to my mind of things I learned from Bro. Ferrell's book:

1. I finally get the whole Northern Kingdom/Southern Kingdom division and how Israel was scattered and why there are TEN lost tribes! I know, I know! I have been in countless number of (specifically) Gospel Doctrine Classes where “The Map” was drawn on the chalk board and things division explained, but my “I-wasn’t-interested-in-History in-high-school” brain (that really wishes that I paid the least bit of attention now), never got it. Until this book!

2. Dispensations. There’s the Dispensation of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Joseph Smith - which is called the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times. I thought I understood the whole dispensation thing, but Bro. Ferrell puts it all into perspective and understanding and why the Great Apostasy was so great.

3. Okay. How about this one? I could never wrap myself around the story of David. I mean HE had everything to LOSE by doing what he did (adultery and pre-meditated murder). I could never understand why a man who was so great, could fall so far. I am grateful for Bro. Ferrell’s approach on how David’s spiritual anguish – his spiritual fall because of his great sin – can be seen as a archetype of the Savior’s suffering in Gethsemane. Now I appreciate the stories of David so much more!

4. A chiasm is “an ancient literary structure, developed in its most intricate forms by the Hebrew, in which the elements of a passage repeat themselves in reverse order.” Our WHOLE journey - from the beginnings of the Fall of Adam to today is a chiasm. Here is one incredible chiastic example set forth in the book from Bro. Ferrell, who proposes “that the spiritual history of the earth as . . . history unfolds (and refolds) [is] a chiasm (p. 208).

THE CHIASTIC HISTORY OF THE EARTH

A We lived with the Father and the Son
   B Satan and his followers were cast out
    C Creation of glorified earth
      D Man received an immortal body
        E There was peace on the earth among all creations
           F The Lord was present on the earth
              G Man fell due to sin and was cast out of the Lord’s presence (spiritual and physical death)
                  H The gospel was given to man, and preached throughout the earth
                     I A chosen people
                      J There was gross wickedness among man
                       K The fullness of the gospel was taken from the earth
                         L Christ loosed the bands of spiritual death
                         L1 Christ loosed the bands of physical death
                       K1 The fullness of the gospel was taken from the earth
                     J1 There was gross wickedness among man
                    I1 A chosen people
                 H1 The gospel was given to man, and preached throughout the earth
              G1 Man who, due to sin, will not be able to endure His presence, are destroyed
            F1 The Lord comes again to earth
         E1 There is peace on the earth among all creation
       D1 Man receives an immortal body
    C1 The earth receives its paradisiacal glory
 B1 Satan and his followers are cast out forever
A1 We live with the Father and the Son

This book is INCREDIBLE! Not that I have read a lot of books on the Old Testament, but this is surely the best book that I have read! It catered to my interest in WHY the Law of Moses is so significant and understand WHY the teachings found therein pertinent and applicable for me – TODAY!

Thank you, Bro. Ferrell, for sharing what you have learned so I can learn as well!

These two books by James L Ferrell are ones I also highly recommend:
The Peacegiver
The Holy Secret