The Miracle of Righteousness

In the vision that Nephi and his father Lehi saw, they are shown the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. When Nephi sees them he is told that “These twelve ministers whom thou beholdest shall judge thy seed. And, behold, they are righteous forever; for because of their faith in the Lamb of God their garments are made white in his blood” (1 Nephi 12:10). There are two things in this verse that caught my attention.

First, we are told why the apostles are righteous forever. But the answer isn’t what you would suspect. It isn’t because they are so wonderful or marvelous or good. No! The apostles are righteous forever because of their faith in Jesus Christ. Too many of us are worrying so much about being righteous that we miss the point. Yes, we need to do good, but righteousness comes about by trusting in Jesus Christ not just by being good. Trusting means that when adversity comes or hard times, we trust that the Savior will guide us through the problems and that all that is happening is for our good. We don’t complain or become bitter or fret or stew—we trust.

The second thing that struck me is that the verse says the apostles “garments are made white in his blood.” Now I’m a woman who has done a lot of laundry and I know for a fact that you can’t make clothes white by soaking them in blood. So what does the Savior mean by this metaphor? What would it take to make clothes white in blood? It would take a miracle. And that is exactly what He offers us. The Atonement that will make us righteous forever is a miracle—the greatest miracle in the world.

We Need Each Other!

Thanks to all of you who left me birthday wishes here, on Facebook, or my email. It meant so very much to me! You helped make it the best birthday ever. There is something about facing the possibility of death, coming through it, and then celebrating your birth so soon afterward that makes that celebration more momentous.

One of the things that made it so meaningful is that through all this experience with Grizelda I have REALLY come to realize how much we mean to each other. The Savior’s words that we should be one with each other and with Him are not just nice advice. There is something about bonding with one another, caring about one another, sharing life’s experiences with one another, and rejoicing with one another that is essential to happy living here and Eternal living hereafter. We influence each other much more that we realize. A simple few kind words can change the course of someone else’s bad day. A smile, a hug, a heartfelt greeting can lift and encourage. And usually we don’t even know that we’ve done it!

So thanks again! It was the very best of birthdays. And I’m grateful I was here for it.

picture from: http://www.allposters.com/

Party Time!

All right, what can I say! I’m another year older. But I prefer to think about the fact that I've gained more credibility! Since last birthday, I know more. I have more friends. I’ve traveled more. I’ve read more. I’ve had new experiences. I’ve conquered new challenges. I’ve loved more. I’ve been loved more. I’ve heard new music. I’ve tasted new foods. In short, I don’t understand all this dread of getting older! Bring it on! The older the better! At least until my birthday means I know less because I forget, have less friends because they’re dying, I’ve traveled less because my wheelchair won’t take me very far, I’ve read less because my eye sight is failing, I haven’t heard new music because music makes my hearing aid buzz, I haven’t tasted anything because my taste buds don’t work, and I’ve conquered less challenges because I can’t stay awake long enough to conquer. Then maybe I won’t like birthdays. But until then, let’s party—with or without hair!

I'm So Lucky!!

I went to lunch with some friends today and somehow a rather sarcastic conversation started with everyone joining in on, “I’m so lucky because . . .” You know, “I’m so lucky I broke my leg because that’s how I met my husband.” Or “I’m so lucky I got in a car accident because I got a new car.” It almost became a game around the table, but it got me thinking that I’m going to make that my theme for the year.

“I’m so lucky I had to shave my head because now I get to see what I look like bald.”
“I’m so lucky my hair is ¾ inches long because soon it will cover my bald spot around my scar.”
“I’m so lucky I’m getting older because my friends took me to lunch!”
“I’m so lucky I’m out of work because now I can sleep in anytime I want.”
“I’m so lucky I had brain surgery because now I have something to blame all my forgetfulness on.”

All kidding aside, I have so many blessings and have received so many miracles recently that my “I’m so lucky” list is very long and not sarcastic at all. But even then (I’m ashamed to admit it), I sometimes start to think about the negative side of things. So turning everything into an “I’m so lucky” is going to be my goal this year because I really am lucky and I want to remember that!

Expecting Spring

I am expecting my crocus to push their way into the world any day now. I love how they suddenly brighten my lifeless yard and distribute color so generously. I’ve come to expect it now, but we moved into our home many years ago in August when everything was dying. We had no idea the crocus there, and how surprised we were that next spring to see rows and rows of crocus and then tulips and daffodils and hyacinths. After the long winter, the yard was ablaze with brilliant color that I hadn’t done a thing to make happen. The previous home-owner had planted it all, but God was in charge, and in the divine order of things He made it bloom.

Our lives are like that. We have our winters and our springs. We go through cycles and processes of learning. But through it all, God is in charge and His divine order is directing every summer and every autumn of our lives. What we must remember is that even through the crocus seems to suddenly appear, it has been developing and preparing the whole winter long. There cannot be spring without winter and no autumn without summer. Each season is necessary and can’t be rushed. Our only job is to trust in the divine order and be patient. God is in charge of our lives and He will make them bloom.

Prognostications

In Isaiah 8:19-22 there are some difficult passages to understand. Part of the problem is the King James translation which is very unclear and confusing in these verses. However, when we go to other translations of the original Hebrew texts, these passages become not only clear but extremely instructive for our times.

The gist of what Isaiah is saying in these verses is that it is useless for people to turn to mediums, astrology, or anything but God to get answers about life and what to do. One shouldn’t inquire of the dead to know what to do for the living. When people accept and speak words from any of these other sources they will have words with no light, and thus they will roam about hungry. (I assume this means spiritually hungry.) And in this state of hunger they become angry and they blame God for their problems. And as they look around everything will be depressing and full of anguish and gloom.

We live in tough times. The economy is failing. Sin abounds. Adversity hits us from every side. In our day most of us aren’t tempted to turn to mediums and astrologers for answers, but we are tempted to listen to worldly prognostications spouted by the stock market experts, newscasters, politicians, and academics. We hear them on television and read them in the newspapers. But as Isaiah taught, instead of listening to them, we should be listening to the Lord. The worldly forecasts give us advice as they guess at the future, but it is never comforting. We go away from them hungry and upset and sometimes even doubting or blaming God.

The Lord, on the other hand, will guide us as to what we should do and feed us at the same time. When fed and full of His comfort and love, we can see the problems around us and know what to do. But even more, we can live without feeling anguish, despair or gloom. We can be at peace knowing the Lord is with us and will guide us through the problems we face.

The Light That Leads

At one point in the New Testament, Jesus and His disciples are traveling through Galilee into Capernaum. When they reach Capernaum the Savior asks the disciples what it was they were disputing about while they were traveling. Mark tells us that the disciples, “Held their peace” (Mark 9:34). I can imagine the scene as the disciples lowered their heads and awkwardly averted looking into the eyes of the Savior. The reason they remained silent and didn’t want to answer is because they had been arguing about who was the greatest among them and they knew they shouldn’t have been doing that. It is interesting to me that their own hearts convicted them, not the Savior.

From time to time we all get caught up in doing something that we know isn’t right. And we know at the moment we are doing it that it isn’t right. How do we know? Because our hearts tell us it isn’t right. We don’t need a mother standing over us wagging her finger and saying, “No, no, no!” Each of us has been blessed with the Light of Christ (Moroni 7: 15-16) and that Light lets us know if what we are doing is right or wrong. If we heed that Light it is like Lehi’s Liahona. It will guide us to the things we should do. If we consistently disobey the light, it soon goes out and we are left with a guilty conscience and in darkness.

Learning to listen and obey our own internal promptings is one of the most important things we can do in life. We are wired with all the voltage we need. We just have to use the Light.