A Wish and a Prayer, Heavenly Father will answer both

Remember, remember...
Yesterday, I was sitting in Sunday school listening to a lesson on coming unto Christ and avoiding the flaxen cords of the adversary. Something stirred within me, and I began thinking about several times when Heavenly Father has answered my prayers. I thought of the big things; Dan getting a job in my hometown after being laid off, Elder Jarom Walz (an old friend of his) taking care of Ryan when he had to have a surgical procedure on his mission, when teaching the gospel to a dear friend, having the very things I should say come to me by power of the Holy Ghost, and when I had been striving diligently to share the gospel, I had a very sacred and overwhelming experience that let me know that Heavenly Father had forgiven me of my sins. Then some small, sweet things went through my mind, like hearing a favorite song when feeling down, or reading a scripture and feeling like it was written just for me to read that very day, or a kind word or deed from someone that was completely unexpected (which most are). I felt that Heavenly Father wants me to remember these things because I need to remember them. Not just on Sunday, but on everyday. I need to remember because He does answer my prayers, because He did answer them before, and will again and again. Not because I am deserving, because I am not. Not because He has to, because He does not. But because He loves me, no matter what. His answers to my prayers, both the big and the little are a testimony to me that this is the truth.
And I will remember. How I love Him!



Here is a Tender Mercy Story on ANWA Founder & Friends Blog. It really touched me, and got me thinking about how Heavenly Father really does take care of us all.

Tchaikowsky, Heavenly Father, and Me

Two Happy Things

Today I was dreading going to work for several reasons. So I procrastinated...well, I didn't go, which is different.
But anyway, while NOT going to work, I did dishes, laundry, checked my email, and looked in on some blogs. It is amazing the things you get done while procrastinating other things.
I had an email about Rob Gardner, composer of He is Jesus Christ, and Joseph Smith the Prophet, getting together a choir to sing the latter in the Salt Lake Tabernacle! I'm going to join them on April 25th, and 26th. I’m really excited because I love to sing Rob’s music!

The other happy thing was while I was linking over to another LDS webring blog, I saw the Misiego family blog and reconnected with Elder Javier Misiego of our “More Than Words” Tender Mercy story! Sometimes you do get rewarded for procrastination!!!

President Hinckley and the Prophet's Mantle

I've been linking through the LDS Webring, and reading tributes to President Gordon B. Hinckley So many of them have touched me quite deeply. I appreciate all the testimonies, antidotes, and thoughts about this great man.
I remember that I had a friend question something President Hinckley didn't do that she thought he should do when he was in the first presidency with President Benson. I didn't know much about him because I had been less active in my youth. Then after I truly studied and came to know of the truthfulness of the gospel during President Benson's stewardship, I felt President Benson was MY prophet. When he died, there was a hole in my heart for him.
I don't know where my mind was when President Hunter was the prophet. I think it was one of my baby years (being sick and pregnant and out of it). So when President Hinckley became the prophet, I remember turning the TV on and watching the beginning of a documentary. They showed a black and white clip of a man coming into the tabernacle and up to the pulpit. I felt that strong, sweet witness that this was MY prophet. I thought, "It's a documentary on President Benson." I was so excited. Then the camera zoomed in, and the narrator said something about Gordon B. Hinckley being set apart as a new apostle. I was so surprised by the strength of the witness. I hadn't really even been thinking about it, or questioning if I would accept him as my prophet. I still didn't know anything about him, but I knew he was the new prophet of God, MY prophet.
I think what I experienced at that time was much like what the people did when they saw the mantle go upon Brigham Young after Joseph died. The small doubt that was sewn by my friend was forgotten because of the witness of the Holy Ghost. I'm so thankful for it. How we will miss that sweet, dear prophet!

Quote of the Day:

"The act of putting pen to paper encourages pause for thought, this in turn makes us think more deeply about life, which helps us regain our equilibrium."

~Norbet Platt

Kathleen H. Hughes, "Remembering the Lord's Love"

"The Savior's invitation is clear and direct, and importantly for us, it is constant: 'Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden. . . . Take my yoke upon you, . . . for . . . my burden is light'(Matthew 11:28-30). This is the Lord's promise to me and to you."My prayer for each of us is that we will remember when the Lord has spoken His peace to us and has encircled us in the arms of His love. And just as important, will you, if you haven't felt that love for a while, seek to see it and feel it as you go about the ordinary tasks of your life. As you do this, over the days and months and years of your life, the memories of those interactions with the Lord will become sweet gifts to open a second time--or many times--to bolster you when life is difficult." 'Peace I give unto you,' the Lord promises, 'not as the world giveth, give I unto you' (John14:27). Peace. Strength. It is what we long for and what is possible. We only need to turn toward His reaching arms."

This was posted on Magic Valley Mormon Blog. I like what Sister Hughes said about spiritual memories being "sweet gifts to open a second time--or many times-- to bolster you when life is difficult." I believe that this is why I keep a journal, so that I can later remember the spiritual gifts from Heavenly Father and feel that same sweet warmth and gratitude from knowing that He loves me, and answers my prayers.

Kathleen H. Hughes, "Remembering the Lord's Love," Ensign, Nov. 2006

Reactions to Sister Julie B. Beck's Talk

There have been some negative reactions to Sister Julie Beck's talk, Mothers Who Know .
At first, I was surprised and baffled. I truly enjoyed her talk. As I listened, I remember thinking how pleased I was with my daughter, Mindy who is one of those really young "mothers who know". She is one of my heros, and examples of how to choose righteously in a world where righteous choices are not very popular.
But I was quite taken aback by the reactions to Sister Beck's talk. I didn't understand why it caused such a stir. It seemed like pretty standard counsel to me, nothing new or controversial. I read about the reactions to Sister Beck's talk online after hearing that a man in my ward had a pod-cast. I went to his website, and I listened as a panel of various women in the church discussed the negative reactions to her talk and was dumb-founded. I loved her talk. My thoughts, as I heard about the reaction reading from blog to blog, were not very kind toward the people writing them. My first reaction was that the wicked take the truth to be hard. Somehow I wanted to let Sister Beck know of the women in the church that felt the Spirit during her talk and said a hearty "Amen".

Then a few weeks later, I read an article in our local paper about the people in our community that signed the rebuttal/petition. One of the signers is a friend of mine. I know her and love her. She has taught what I felt were uplifting, spiritual lessons in young womens this last year. Reading that she signed this rebuttal compelled me to read it. Some of the items in it were just expounding on Sister Beck's ideas, taking more time to detail what they felt that was missing in her talk. Some things, in my opinion, were just "puffed up in their own understanding". But because of my friend signing it, I have tried to seek for better understanding of why so many were offended. I haven't come to any great conclusions, but I realize that Satan wants us to be divided, and that he wins a battle if we forget charity in the face of conflict. I have wanted to blog about this for a while, but have had such strong feelings surrounding it that I couldn't put my thoughts down.

Tonight as I was reading from one of my favorite blogs, ANWA's Founders and Friends, I linked over to Christine Thackeray's blog and read her thoughts on the reactions. I agree with what she said.

I was talking to a different friend in my ward about the uproar and she pulled a letter out of her purse from Sister Beck to herself thanking her for writing words of support. Then, I received an email from another friend about someone who was gathering signatures from people who wanted Sister Beck to know of the silent majority's love and gratitude for her message. Last I heard they had over 2500 signatures and had sent them on to Sister Beck. I was happy to sign it. Words and voices can be powerful and dividing things.

Are Mormons Christians?

What Mormons Believe about Jesus Christ

The question, "Are Mormons Christians?" comes up more than I would expect. I found this article, though lengthy, very friendly and clear on the subject.

I whole heartedly agree with Robert L. Miller, former dean of religious education at BYU, that it should be possible to "lay aside theological differences long enough to address the staggering social issues in our troubled world." Why can we not "have lively and provocative discussion on our differences"? And have those interactions without them being "threatening, offensive or damaging to our relationships?"

I am a Mormon. I do believe that only through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ can I be saved, that He is the only way to return home to live with God, after all that I can do.

Discussions of Faith

Today we had a lesson in Relief Society on missionary work. It brought back precious memories of living in Mesa and being in school at Mesa Community College. I felt like one of the "kids" in my classes, young, eager to learn, excited about life, the future and all its possibilities. I loved that time.
One primary reason that I cherish those few years is because of the missionary experiences that I was able to have. I enjoy meeting new people and hearing their stories. I also love to share stories. My favorite stories to both hear and share are stories of faith, and the goodness of God. I have missed living in Mesa and going to college immeasurably. I miss the opportunities that I had to meet people of different faith and life experience. I'm back in Utah surrounded by members of my own faith, or people who "know" about it. I am mostly at home taking care of my own family. I'm not working where I can develop any new friendships. There are only seven people in my office. I have felt a void.
But today during the Priesthood lesson on missionary work it was brought up that M. Russel Ballard "urges students to use new media." In his talk at BYU Hawaii commencement, he said that "conversations about the Church would take place whether or not Church members decided to participate in them". He encouraged students to participate in blogs. "He said students should consider sharing their views on blogs, responding to online news reports and using the “new media” in other ways. But he cautioned against arguing with others about their beliefs. 'There is no need to become defensive or belligerent,' he said."
I wonder if blogging is a way I can continue meeting new people and sharing my faith. I hope that it is.

All Good Things

These flowers were sent to me last spring after I had been longing for tulips in my yard.
My sweet friend, Kathy Gerhart sent them.

A Second Witness

This year has been a challenging one for me. Just recently I was thinking that I hadn't felt the Holy Ghost as much as I had previously. I wasn't sure what I was doing differently or incorrectly. But I missed His constant companionship and knew that I needed to do something. But what? I needed to know.

So, as I was praying during the first week of October(2007), I got the strong impression, again, that I should write my Tender Mercy stories. I had felt two years ago that I should, at the very least, write them for myself and my family. I know that when I am having a dry spell in my spirituality, I can reread my journals and often find my own testimony, experiences, or insights that help remind me of the things that are most important. I determined that I would do it and start again, now.

I knew it was the answer to my prayers. I felt the warm reassurance that writing my stories would help me not only feel the Spirit more in my life, but that what I had felt two years ago was still valid.

But Heavenly Father really wanted me to know this was His will for me. In the Sunday morning session of General Conference, President Eyring's talk "O Remember, Remember" was a second witness. The words of his talk, how they hit me! He said, "...it is not easy to be worthy of the Holy Ghost’s companionship in a wicked world.
That is why forgetting God has been such a persistent problem among His children since the world began. Think of the times of Moses, when God provided manna and in miraculous and visible ways led and protected His children. Still, the prophet warned the people who had been so blessed, as prophets always have warned and always will: 'Take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life.'"

Was I like the children of Egypt who had been fed manna both spiritually and temporally and was forgetting? Yes. I had felt a whole two years ago that I should write my sweet spiritual experiences down and I had only written one. And it was on my computer for no one to read. Everyone that knows me very well has probably heard the one I've posted here on my blog, but I've now posted it! I have a couple more to follow.

So to continue, President Eyring told me (and you), "The key to the remembering that brings and maintains testimony is receiving the Holy Ghost as a companion. It is the Holy Ghost who helps us see what God has done for us."

After Elder Bednar's talk in the spring of 2005, I had been jotting down in my palm pilot notes of the small Tender Mercies that Heavenly Father had granted me. I have a list of twenty or more, in two or three word descriptions. I wanted to write them in greater detail. I knew it was important. I wanted to share with my family how blessed we were. I had a hectic summer that year, and a crazy fall. I quit writing my list. But I still shared my stories.

Then I quit sharing my stories. Life continued through it's normal ups and downs, with a few more downs than normal. But I felt the Holy Ghost with me through those trials, directing and comforting me.

But after finally landing with both feet on the ground back in Logan, things calmed down. I got busy setting up house, finishing our basement, learning a new job, and adjusting to being back "home".

But something has been missing. Not that I haven't had the Holy Ghost with me, but I haven't had His constant companionship like I had. I couldn't place what was different. Because of the answer to my prayers and the second witness of President Eyring's talk, I know what I was told to do, why, and that now I must do it!

President Eyring;
"Heavenly Father has given a simple pattern for us to receive the Holy Ghost not once but continually in the tumult of our daily lives. The pattern is repeated in the sacramental prayer: We promise that we will always remember the Savior. We promise to take His name upon us. We promise to keep His commandments. And we are promised that if we do that, we will have His Spirit to be with us.6 Those promises work together in a wonderful way to strengthen our testimonies and in time, through the Atonement, to change our natures as we keep our part of the promise.

It is the Holy Ghost who testifies that Jesus Christ is the Beloved Son of a Heavenly Father who loves us and wants us to have eternal life with Him in families. With even the beginning of that testimony, we feel a desire to serve Him and to keep His commandments. When we persist in doing that, we receive the gifts of the Holy Ghost to give us power in our service. We come to see the hand of God more clearly, so clearly that in time we not only remember Him, but we come to love Him and, through the power of the Atonement, become more like Him."

And this is my desire.

Again, President Eyring, "Tonight, and tomorrow night, you might pray and ponder, asking the questions: Did God send a message {in this General Conference} that was just for me?" (Boy, did He!) "Did I see His hand in my life or the lives of my children?" I do, again and again. And I hope and pray that I always will acknowledge His Hand and His Tender Mercies in my life.
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

More than Words

I remember clearly the day I took my oldest son, Ryan, to the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. There were a few hundred missionaries entering the MTC that day. They had a forty-five minute program for the families and missionaries. It consisted of singing a couple of hymns mixed in with talks by the MTC president and his wife. Everyone enters into one side of the chapel and at the end they usher the families out one way and the missionaries out the other, not to see each other again for 18-24 months.
As a mother, I expected this to be emotional. There aren’t words that can adequately describe the emotions that I felt that day. The MTC president’s wife talked about her experience with sending her own missionaries off and then watching others send out their young adults and how gut-wrenching it was. She talked about the jumble of emotions that conflicted and flooded through us all. I felt so pleased that Ryan had chosen to serve the Lord for two years by serving his fellow man and telling others about Jesus Christ. I knew it would be hard and trying work. I knew that he would learn and grow in ways that I could not imagine. I also knew that I would miss him terribly.
As I listened to the program, my heart was full of excitement, joy, peace, and pain all at the same time. Then, at the end, we rose to sing "Called to Serve". I couldn’t sing the words. They caught in my throat and the tears poured down my face. I looked at Ryan and had a small inkling of how Heavenly Father must have felt sending His Only Begotten Son on His mission. I was so proud of him, so pleased with his willingness to go, so sad about his being gone for two years, and so sure it was the right thing to do. When he saw me crying, Ryan reached over and took my hand and said, “It will be okay, Mom.” My heart felt like it would break from all the feelings that were swelling inside. Yet, I knew he was right, that no matter what we had to endure during his mission, we would be better from the experience, all of us.
There were a few things that my older sister, Wendy, had warned me about. One of them was how much a mother misses the mere physical presence of a child when they are gone. And boy, did I! For the first few weeks things felt pretty odd and empty, and I went about my usual work with less enthusiasm than normal. (OK, that’s an understatement...I’m trying to sound brave.) Then, as I focused on my remaining children and college starting again for me, things settled in. But the things I continually missed were Ryan’s constant guitar playing, singing, and quirky, wry wit.
I looked forward to every letter and email. He continually told me that he was doing well other than a few homesick days at the beginning. He sent wonderful stories of how Heavenly Father answered his prayers and how challenging the work was. He usually included some funny story that would crack me up as I read it. Then He would ask about his guitar and if anyone was playing "her". No one was.
His regular correspondence helped me feel close to him, except I still missed his music. So I downloaded some of the songs from the internet that he played often. My favorites were More Than Words and Sweet Home Alabama. He seemed to play them almost every time he picked up his guitar the months before he left. Hearing them would make me smile. But it didn’t quite fill the hole.
Our family would have the local missionaries over often for dinner. I figured if we fed them often that Heavenly Father would continue to bless Ryan. We got close to one set of missionaries that first winter after Ryan was gone. Elder Waters and Elder Johnson would come over and share their stories with us and we would share our food. I asked them if either of them played the guitar. I told them that Ryan’s guitar was lonely and needed someone to play her. Neither of them could.
Then one evening the missionaries came for dinner. Elder Waters showed up with a new missionary companion named Elder Misiego. The first thing that Elder Waters told us about him was that he played the guitar and would play Ryan’s guitar for us after dinner.
During dinner, Elder Misiego told us his story. He was from Spain and had gone to Texas as an exchange student his senior year of high school. Because of that, he didn’t have any money for his mission. He took his problem to the Lord and told Him that he wanted to serve his mission as soon as he could when he turned 19. He needed a way to earn the money. A friend told Elder Misiego that there were auditions for the percussion group "Stomp" and that he should try out. So he did. He was picked for the group and made all the money he needed in just a few short months and went on his mission on time. He had an incredible testimony and light about him.
Elder Misiego told us that he wrote music. Because of his being from Spain, we expected that he would play Spanish music for us. When we brought the guitar out, one of the children joked that Ryan would be so happy that someone finally played her and gave her some attention. We were all sitting and waiting for E. Misiego to start and when the first chords hit our ears, there was an audible gasp from the family. He was playing "More Than Words"! The sweet warmth that spread through me testified to me that my Heavenly Father was aware of the hole in my heart and wanted to let me know that He loved me. The affirmation of this brought tears to my eyes. The girls and I sang that song with Elder Misiego and then told him how that was a song Ryan always played. He laughed and started to play his next song for us..."Sweet Home Alabama"! We couldn’t believe it! It was as if the guitar had willed him to play those two songs, but we all knew better. We knew that Heavenly Father inspired him to. E. Misiego finally did play some of the amazing music that he wrote in his native tongue. We enjoyed his visit that day so much.
The miracle was a small and simple thing really, but so tender to me. The music that day filled that hole in my heart with a precious proof that my Heavenly Father loves me and is aware of my private longings. The ache for Ryan’s music was gone after that. I still smile when I think of that evening and the Tender Mercy that was given to me, and I’m so thankful for it.

How Great are His Tender Mercies

This past April I was listening to Elder David A. Bednar,
of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, give his second conference address after being called to be a new apostle of Jesus Christ. He was giving his talk called The Tender Mercies of the Lord
(For full talk ). In that talk he asked what tender mercies are and said, "through personal study, observation, pondering, and prayer, I believe I have come to better understand that the Lord's tender mercies are the very personal and individualized blessings, strength, protection, assurances, guidance, loving-kindnesses, consolation, support, and spiritual gifts which we receive from and because of and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Truly, the Lord suits "his mercies according to the conditions of the children of men"
As I listened to his talk the spirit whispered to me that I had received many of God's tender mercies. As soon as I could get a hold of the text, I read and reread it. And in the weeks that followed I started a list on my palm pilot of the tender mercies that I have had and continue to receive. There are so many that I can't begin to write them all down. But there are a few that I would like to share on this blog.
Also, I welcome any Tender Mercy stories you may have and want to share here.
Thanks for being part of my life and sharing your amazing stories with me. May God bless you with His tender mercies!
For "truly, 'the Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works'" (Psalm 145:9).