Stronger Through Him

  I was recently reflecting on a conversation with a friend who is a constant critic of Gospel principles and leaders.  It would seem that no matter what the topic, this individual has their own interpretation and suggested updates and changes that should be made.  Sometimes those ideas are in direct conflict with teachings from prophets and scripture.  So what do we do in situations like this? When Joseph Smith had that question, he was instructed in D&C 71:  7Wherefore, confound your enemies; call upon them to meet you both in public and in private; and inasmuch as ye are faithful their shame shall be made manifest. 8 Wherefore, let them bring forth their strong reasons against the Lord. 9 Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you—there is no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; 10 And if any man lift his voice against you he shall be confounded in mine own due time. 11 Wherefore, keep my commandments; they are true and faithful. Bear testimony of the truth in th

 One of the most successful techniques for improving our teaching practice in the classroom is to preplan intentional questions and question stems.  One teacher who I particularly admire is always printing out those stems and putting them at the top of her board, on her clipboard, on her desk and on her door to help her remember.  As a result she is regularly having meaningful conversations with her students.  In this week's study, D&C 68 talked about the importance of teaching our children the gospel.   In our last Conference President Joy D Jones further reiterated, "Simple, caring conversations can lead children to know not only what they believe, but most important, why they believe it. Caring conversations, happening naturally and consistently, can lead to better understanding and answers. Let’s not allow the convenience of electronic devices to keep us from teaching and listening to our children and looking into their eyes." President Joy D Jones Simple, caring

 We are always learning from those around us.  We can let that learning be more passive, or more intentional.  But we are always learning. Gaudí is a Catalan architect who took his love of God, nature and people and was then able to translate it into incredible, functional masterpieces that would bless many by refining his techniques. I wonder how often I try to start with my technique or skills or ideas and then force fit some love.   In Mark 12:32-33 the Savior teaches, "And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." All the following of the letter of the law in the world won't amount to much if we don't start with love of God and love of our fellow men.

  Last night we were on our way back to our apartment and there was a small crowd on the train.  As it came to a stop and passengers poured off the train and into the station, we needed to go up a steep flight of stairs.  The line at the escalator was shoulder to shoulder and people were pressed together.  According to our multiple Apple Watches, we had already climbed 25-40 flights of stairs that day and George and I moved into the throng to ride up.  I heard Kyrie and Ali next to me say, "President Nelson says he always takes the stairs."  And they took a breath and began the climb of the adjacent staircase. The others followed. It turns out that Ali had learned about President Nelson always taking the stairs in her Living Prophets class.  It gave me a quiet confidence in these kids I love and their futures.  It gave me a confidence in their whole generation looking to the prophet to follow.  As Kyrie explained when I asked her, "He didn't tell us to take the stair

  "Hearken, and lo, a voice as of one sent down from on high, who is mighty and powerful, whose going forth is unto the ends of the earth, yea, whose voice is unto men—Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." D& Prepare ye the way of the Lord. So how do we prepare?  This answer really resonated with me in its simplicity and yet its completeness.  Elder John Longden described someone who is prepared in this way.  "The gospel of Jesus Christ is their way of life, and it is that simple." Is the gospel of Jesus Christ my way of life every day?  If it is I will be ready for meeting the Savior whether it's at His return to earth, or my return to Him.  

  Today we visited the Acropolis of Athens.  We parked at the bottom of Mars Hill.  The very hill where the Apostle Paul gave his Areopagus Sermon. Knowing this, we gathered the kids for scripture study last night and George read from Acts 17. The structures and ruins that make up the Acropolis tell an amazing story of construction, of civilization, of intellect and of the worship of idols and pagan gods. This continued even until after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and as Paul was ministering and teaching. Elder Levi Edgar Young preached, "Paul, the Apostle, had become one of the disciples of the Lord. He went about preaching the gospel "with inspired eloquence and logic." He went to Athens. They took him to the Areopagus, saying: ". . . thou bringest certain strange things to our ears"  You read Paul's discourse for yourselves. "It is the shortest important speech ever made, excepting only Lincoln's undying Gettysburg speech

 We made our way through the cluttered hallways under construction of the O'Hare airport International wing.  Dozens of languages were being spoken and as it was 11:30 at night, everyone was starting the journey tired.   Airport shuttles to hotels are still discontinued in Chicago due to Covid. So we had to park two cars in airport parking for 12 days.  That won't be cheap.  The lines were long and excruciatingly slow with over an hour just to get baggage checked in.   They had to check passports.  They had to check vaccination records/Covid tests.  Then they had to input all the informations. Suitcases had to be weighed and items shuffled from one bag to another so that every bag was under 50 lb.  We are flying with a lot of teen and young adult girls.  That's a lot of stuff!  Then we had to make it through security.  Every airport's rules are a bit different.  In Chicago you take your shoes off and dump out water bottles before you get ON the plane.  Electronics come

  I once went to get a haircut and as I sat in the stool, with the cape freshly secured, the stylist asked, "What are we going to be doing today?"   Using my hand to indicate the length near my shoulder,  I replied, "I want it cut to here." Unfortunately she wasn't paying close attention and heard, "I want it cut to my ear." So she aggressively went to work with her scissors and in a few short clips I was left gasping and with the worst haircut of my life.   It was so bad that when I walked into our house a short time later, four year old Colton pointed at me and fell to the floor laughing hysterically. I survived.  My hair grew back.  But words and how we listen to them matter.   When it is the word of the Lord we fail to listen to and embrace, the results can sometimes be catastrophic,  and it often starts with subtleties. Conversely, when we listen closely to the word of the Lord and use it as our guide we can be assured of safe passage

Several years ago I was visiting my friend Tracy and we drove to Waco to experience the magic of the Chip and Joanna Gaines empire at Magnolia Silos.  We did some shopping and browsing and had plans to eat at their iconic restaurant, Magnolia Table.   In our excitement, we got onto a bus without checking its schedule or destination.   I know.  Pretty foolish.   We simply thought about where we hoped to end up and climbed on a passing bus hoping everyone wanted to end up where we would end up.  It turns out a lot of people take a whole city tour of Waco. Now we did eventually make it to the restaurant.  Just much later than we had planned.  And there was a great reward waiting.  We had a BLT to die for.  Seriously the best ever made with thick slabbed bacon, heirloom tomatoes and an herbed mayonnaise that was phenomenal. But we also had to walk a long way in the blazing sun simply because we didn't pause long enough to check the bus destination.  In life we have to know where it is

 In our school system we have a class period called SRT or Student Resource Time.  Each student is assigned to a group for this class and they remain together as a cohort through all four years of high school.  This class is assigned a teacher who also is with them for all four years.   The teacher takes a personal interest in the kids and helps make sure they stay on their path.  When graduation comes, the SRT teacher knows the students very well and has the privilege in helping congratulate their students as they come across the stage.  This year Alex had her Dad for her SRT teacher and so he was able to be on the field in his own cap and gown to help present her diploma.  Our photographer caught this beautiful moment.  A child checking in with her father and falling into his embrace as he tells her he is proud of her.  Heavenly Father knows us very well also. He is intricately involved in the details of our lives and will offer guidance and support.  He too will be waiting and somed

  Alex, my senior, has her high school graduation today.   As I turned on her slideshow featuring pictures of her life last night, I had a few tearful moments.   It's natural to stop at crossroads in life and contemplate how we've gotten there and where we are going next.   Graduation comes from the root word for "step".  It means to take a next step.  I know that I will see hundreds of students stepping across the stage and into the next phase of their life.  Why do we as people, tend to put so much celebration into these moments?  Because progress and continued steps, big or small, are the pattern which has been shown to us.  It is our goal. It is critical to Heavenly Father's plan of happiness. Jesus learned line upon line, precept upon precept.   Step by step.  We also are instructed to do that.  Without intentional spiritual steps forward, we can lose  our way.   Alma 37:41 teaches, "They were slothful, and forgot to exercise their faith and

  We live on what has to be one of the  richest sources of iron in a water table you could find.   In fact sometimes I've wondered if our neighborhood is  called Amber Meadows because of the yellow-orange stain on everything that the water touches.  Our house has rust stains.  Our garage door.  Our sidewalks.  Even our birch tree sports an unnatural  orange glow. We have tried scrubbing it off.  We've tried treating the water.  We tried paying our kids to scrub it off.  But ultimately we just sort of got used to it. This week we finally decided to call in the professionals and tackle the problem head on.  They were here for more than seven hours scrubbing and spraying.   It was a hefty budget item, but we determined it was worth it, but only if we made sure the sprinklers were adjusted so that the house wouldn't be hit by the iron-rich water.  It didn't make sense to try and get rid of the stains if we were just going to get them back.    That is equally as t

 The phrase "gird up your loins" is referenced many times in the scriptures.  While it is generally referring to men, it also is referenced specifically for women in Proverbs 31. So what does this phrase mean?  In biblical times men and women generally wore long, flowing tunics.  They were cool in the heat and protected them, but they would get in the way of body movement during work or battle.   So the tunic would be gathered up, wrapped around and tied in the front allowing them to have freedom to move and work. The phrase then was used to figuratively suggest that hard work or labor was ahead. I think it's sort of like saying "roll up your sleeves".   D&C 61:38 prompts, "Gird up your loins and be watchful and be sober, looking forth for the coming of the Son of Man, for he cometh in an hour you think not." We are not supposed to sit around and wait for the Second Coming of the Savior.  We are supposed to roll up our sleeves and get to work.