The Chosen & Latter-Day Saint General Conference

So, my heart is full.  Very, very full.

I just finished watching the live stream for The Chosen, a show about Jesus Christ and his followers, which was on YouTube, though the rest of the show will be on their app.  It's free!  And it's AMAZING!!!!  They're on Season two (just started airing), completely crowd funded, and if you missed season one it's all on the app.  The show truly is amazing.  We forget how human they all are, and this show truly expresses that, makes it so relatable, and makes me want to understand the scriptures better.

And this, along with being Easter Weekend, was also General Conference weekend, where leaders from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints speak in televised sessions.  There's five sessions, three on Saturday and two on Sunday, and I watched all five.

This mornings session was just so beautiful.  Most of these talks were given by those around the world talking of their faith in Christ and thankfulness for the atonement.  Learned an interesting thing.  Apparently, I'll have to re-listen to the talks, but both Elder Gong and Elder Ballard spoke of how there's more singles in the church than married.  Did I miss hear that?  Singles as in never married, divorced, or widowed.  These two Elder's spoke such words of comfort.  It's so easy to feel alone when single.  And President Russel M. Nelson's talk was just so beautiful.  I need to re-listen to that and write down those five points of faith he spoke of, as I don't take notes while watching conference. 

Plus we're getting 20 new temples!!!!  Oslo, Norway. Brussels, Belgium. Vienna, Austria. Kumasi, Ghana. Beira, Mozambique. Cape Town, South Africa. Singapore, Republic of Singapore. Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Cali, Colombia. Querétaro, México. Torreón, México. Helena, Montana. Casper, Wyoming. Grand Junction, Colorado. Farmington, New Mexico. Burley, Idaho. Eugene, Oregon. Elko, Nevada. Yorba Linda, California. Smithfield, Utah.

We always get excited over new Temple announcements.  Like, really excited.  And we never know when they're going to be announced!  20 has to be the most they've ever announced at one time.  It's crazy.  So happy for all those people getting a temple closer to them so they don't have to travel as far.  It's such a blessing.  I love the temple so, so much.  It's such a warm, special place.

I'm cooking dinner.  Got something in the oven and need to start on the other things.  Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  It's so beautiful right now!  We got up to 77 degrees and I went with my Mom on a quick drive up to the lake and back in between the last session and The Chosen streaming.

Good Night,

Good Sabbath,

Happy Easter,

Sarah

P.S.  Classic Movie Monday will be released later tomorrow as I haven't written it.  I know I missed it last week!  But this week I'm comparing two movies, so two in one.

Spiritual Quotes That Have Helped Me Get Through

This is another one of those posts I debated on writing, mainly due to its spiritual nature lending to Latter-Day Saint theology.  

It was May, 2019, and President Nelson was finishing up his tour of the Pacific Islands.  It was an amazing tour, and he was finishing up in Tahiti when he said, "There’s trouble ahead.  Prepare for attacks from the adversary. Please protect yourself from Satan’s traps, including harmful drugs and pornography."  Pretty standard warning, really, as the Adversary is always attacking.  It's the "trouble ahead" that kept echoing in my mind.  I mean, there's always something to look out for.  Life is full of highs and lows.  Despite my internal dialogue I took the warning to heart, still living life, still hopeful for the future, just glancing at the storm on the horizon that seemed to circle as if in a holding pattern.

This year has been crazy, there's no denying it.  Memes abound for coping and remembrance.

The first quote is from Elder Neil A. Maxwell.  Funny enough I shared this quote about two years ago on this blog, and then removed it.  I was afraid it was too deep to share, but I'll share it again.  It's from 1984, when I was two years old, and Elder Maxwell is speaking to the children of the church: 

"It’s extremely important for you to believe in yourselves, not only for what you are now, but for what you have the power to become. Trust in the Lord as He leads you along. He has things for you to do that you won’t know about now, but that will be revealed later. If you stay close to Him, you will have some great adventures. You will live in a time when instead of just talking about prophecies that will sometime be fulfilled, many of them will actually be fulfilled. The Lord will unfold your future bit by bit.  All the easy things that the Church has had to do have been done, so you’re going to live in a time of high adventure. You were brought to this earth because you can handle that time of adventure, and you will do well."

This quote has brought me a lot of comfort these last couple years.  I look at that quote and think, "High Adventure."  What does that even mean, and does it mean what I think it means?  Are we in those times of adventure now?  Or are we not quite there?  Whenever it is, we have the strength to overcome.

On August 5, 2020, Russell M. Nelson tweeted: "Dear friends, the road ahead may be bumpy, but our destination is serene and secure. So, fasten your seatbelt, hang on through the bumps, and do what's right. Your reward will be eternal."

Here are two more quotes by President Nelson. "You were taught in the spirit world to prepare you for anything and everything you would encounter during this latter part of these latter days. That teaching endures within you!" "Plead with the Lord for the gift of discernment.  Then live and work to be worthy to receive that gift so that when confusing events arise in the world, you will know exactly what is true and what is not."

There's many more quotes that have helped me find strength through discouragement, but these are the main ones.  Life is crazy and uncertain, but we will survive.  We have the strength to overcome.

"The Father is at this moment aware of you, your feelings, and the spiritual and temporal needs of everyone around you." ~ Henry B. Eyring

 

Fully Love and Believe

“Problems will come into all of our lives; it’s part of just being here upon this earth. And some people think that religion or having faith in God will protect you from bad things. I don’t think that’s the point. I think the point is that if our faith is strong, that when bad things happen, which they will, we’ll be able to deal with them. … My faith never wavered, but that didn’t mean that I didn’t have depressions. I think for the first time in my life, I was pushed to the limit, and literally there was nowhere to turn, and so I turned to the Lord, and to this day, I feel a spontaneity of joy.” Jack Rushton, quoted in D. Todd Christofferson's talk "The Joy of the Saints"

Jack Rushton was an amazing man.  I don't remember him, as he counseled my parents when they got married and was my bishop when I was one to two years old, but all through my life I heard stories of his struggles and great faith.  A few years after my family moved to central California Jack suffered an accident while body-surfing in the ocean.  He became a quadriplegic.  Yet even in his struggles he continued to have great strength and the ability to believe.

It's been interesting not attending church in person these last couple months.  It's strange not dressing up and going to take the sacrament.  The real struggle has been making Sunday feel different than the rest of the week.  Michael and Krista have their kids dress up when they do their at home lesson and sacrament.  That's a good way to go about it.  I must admit that I study the lessons still in my pajamas.  And, won't lie, it's been kind of nice.

I've been finding different resources to highlight my studies.  One such resource is the Book of Mormon Central YouTube Channel.   Their Come Follow Me lessons remind me of past Institute of Religions classes, which I loved so much as a young adult.  Institute classes healed my soul when moving to Utah at 19.  Anything that reminds me of Institute gets me excited.  In their lesson for Mosial 4-6, they highlighted the verses for Mosiah 4, 9-10, bringing the most beautiful meaning:

"Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.  And again, believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart that he would forgive you; and now, if you believe all these things see that ye do them."

The lessons are taught by two teachers, one of which breaks down the meanings of words.  He broke down the word for "believe". "Be" = Fully, 100%.  "Lieve" = Love.  Believe can mean Fully Love when you look at the word's root.  Replacing "believe" with "fully love" in the above verses brings such a beautiful meaning.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.

I love nerding out over spiritual stuff. :0)

Peace in the Storm; Church at Home

In the October 2018 General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, President Nelson announced an adjustment to how we gather on the Sabbath, and a new focus: Home-centered Church.

"As Latter-day Saints, we have become accustomed to thinking of “church” as something that happens in our meetinghouses, supported by what happens at home. We need an adjustment to this pattern. It is time for a home-centered Church, supported by what takes place inside our branch, ward, and stake buildings.

"As the Church continues to expand throughout the world, many members live where we have no chapels—and may not for the foreseeable future. I remember a family who, because of such circumstances, was required to meet in their home. I asked the mother how she liked going to church in her own home. She replied, “I like it! My husband uses better language at home now, knowing that he will bless the sacrament here each Sunday.”

Our three hour church block was whittled down to two.  A new Sunday School course was introduced: Come, Follow Me. This is to be used while at church, but the greatest emphasis was for home study.  More home learning for individuals and families.

When it was announced a few weeks ago that we wouldn't be gathering for Church on Sundays, and to focus on Come, Follow Me and other resources, we as Latter-Day Saints we're shocked.  No church!!?  Until when? A few weeks? A few months?  Emails and other messages were sent out, telling us to study at home, use this new way to honor the Sabbath, and for families to partake of the sacrament in the home at least once a month.

Not gathering at a Church on Sunday was weird, but we were ready.  And what a blessing it was for President Nelson to announce a Home-Centered Church one and a half years ago, and for us to be prepared for changes.

A couple weeks ago my brother Michael came over to administer the sacrament to my Mom and I, and the spirit was so strong.  We felt such peace while partaking of the sacrament.

Today we have General Conference again, which happens twice a year, first weekend in April and October. It's broadcasted on www.churchofjesuschrist.org at 10:00 am, 2:00 pm, 6:00 pm Mountain Time today, and then again Tomorrow at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm.  Each session is two hours.  What a blessing it is to find peace and feel the spirit.  I look forward to watching all the talks today and tomorrow. :0)

Visiting the Latter-Day Saints Rome (Roma) Temple Open House in Italy

 

The real reason many of us wanted to visit Italy.  The Rome (Roma) Temple Open House for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  I've blogged in the past about other temple open houses, this is the furthest I've ever traveled to visit one.

That morning our tour group visited the Vatican City.  We saw the Sistine Chapel.  Saw the grandeur.  Marvelous works of art and architecture.  So it seemed visiting the Latter Day Saint temple open house would be a let down, but it wasn't.  This Temple is simple in comparison to that found in Rome and elsewhere, and yet it is elegant, the insides beautiful.  Sun light streamed through the stained glass windows in the most wonderful way while we stood in the Celestial room.  I didn't want to leave this room, looking over my shoulder to catch one last glimpse as I walked through the doors.

 First views of the Temple.

The visitors center.

There's a model of the Temple showing each room in miniature.

Christ and his apostles.

Early missionaries to Italy.

That Sunday we attended a church service in Florence.

There were 5 tour buses in total!  There were over 350 people scattered between the upstairs chapel and the lower rooms.  It took about 30 minutes to serve the sacrament to everyone.  Most of our tour opted to go to the other rooms were there was an English translator.  My Mom, Aunt, and I stayed in the chapel.  I don't understand Italian, but I wanted to hear the sacrament talk, given by one of the sisters in the ward, in the Italian language.  I didn't understand, but I felt what she was saying.  I felt her deep testimony and love for the Savior.  This was a truly beautiful experience.

It was also fun singing in Italian.

Before the meeting started a boy handed out these little papers to the visitors.  He was also waiting outside to say goodbye to everyone leaving.  He was probably 8 or 9 years old, and yet such an exceptional young man.

I really loved this visit.

The Power of Faith

"Hope on. Journey on. Honestly acknowledge your questions and your concerns, but first and forever fan the flame of your faith, because all things are possible to them that believe."

~ Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, from "Lord, I Believe" 

A truly powerful talk.

I've been thinking a lot recently about faith and the World.

And I've been thinking a lot recently about light waves, or more specifically the Electromagnetic spectrum. 

We're suppose to believe what we see, right?  Seeing is believing.

And all we can see, what's been seen for centuries, is apart of the visible light spectrum, the classic colors of the rainbow.  That's all we've known.  Yet it wasn't until the 1800's when William Herschel discovered infrared and  Johann Ritter found ultraviolet. Parts of the light spectrum beyond what we can see, yet bees use ultraviolet sight to find flowers.  So, did ultraviolet just come into being in the 1800's because that's when we found out about it, or has this form of light always existed?  It's always been around.

After the discovery of infrared and ultraviolet came microwaves and x-rays and radio waves.  Waves you can hear.  Waves that allow you to see bone.  Finally gamma rays were discovered in the early 1900's, the last part of the electromagnetic spectrum.

But sometimes I wonder if this spectrum is finished.  Are there other waves we've yet to discover?  Are there other waves of light that are experienced in ways beyond sight?

And where does faith come in?  

Do I need a hard defined spectrum of some sort, "spiritual promptings exists at so and so megahertz", to believe promptings of the spirit to be real?  No, I don't.  What I've felt exceeds anything the scientific community tells me.

One of the greatest trials of faith I've experienced was when I tried to get into the music program at Brigham Young University, Provo, auditioning for the classical voice department.  At the time I was attending Utah Valley State College, now a university, and was going to wait a year to finish my general eds and get an associates.  But when my Mom and I were driving by BYU one early Winter day, we both felt, at the same time, an overwhelming feeling that I couldn't wait, I had to transfer as soon as I could.

After some research I found out that the music auditions were at the end of January, so I had about a month or so to prepare.  And I had to be academically accepted by BYU as well, which I doubted would happen.  I didn't feel smart enough to get into BYU.

Long/short of it.  I auditioned.  Cried after the audition because I thought I messed up, and failed the listening portion by a single point, only to learn I didn't have to take the auditory test due to the fact I completed two semesters of music theory at UVSC.  Got accepted by BYU.  Earned a 1/2 tuition academic scholarship.  And then . . . around March or so I found out I was on the waiting list for the school of music.  I emailed and was told if I didn't hear anything by April/May, to assume I wasn't accepted.

What was I to do?  What was I to say?  I knew I needed to go to BYU, because I felt the spirit so strongly.  What should I study?  I didn't hear anything from the music department, so I signed up for English courses.  The whole Summer passed, I did telemarketing to earn money, and it broke my heart every time I told someone I was going to major in English instead of Music.

The only thing that kept me going and focused, and that I was on the right path, was when I prayed sometime in the middle of Summer.  I pleaded to God, begging to know if I was doing the right thing.  I loved UVSC.  I wanted to go to BYU, but was intimidated.  Then, as I was praying about English, I couldn't say the word in my mind.  I didn't even try to speak it.  I couldn't.  And then, all of a sudden, with my eyes closed, I felt the most amazing feeling of love pour over me.  It was sudden and powerful.  So overwhelming that it felt like I was bathed in light.  That's the only way I can describe this feeling, it was the most exquisite outpouring of love and light.  All my fears were calmed and I felt peace. 

Then, a week before the Fall semester started, a FedEx guy knocked on the front door, handed me a large expedited envelope to sign for, where I found a smaller envelope inside, return address: BYU School of Music.  Shaking I opened the letter, my acceptance into the School of Music, voice department showing in bold letters.  I had 24 hours to accept, or it was going to the next person on the waiting list.  That day I headed to campus, accepted my entry into the music program, met a councilor, changed my schedule, and marveled over the power of faith.

I know God lives.  I have a testimony in the power of the Holy Ghost.  And during this Christmas season I celebrate our Savoir and Redeemer.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

How Latter-Day Saints Like to Party

My sister-in-law Lindsay and I had a little laugh when we saw how much Sparkling Cider, and other variants, were stored in the fridge for Thanksgiving.  Honestly, it's nice that there's such a good variety.  Thank you Martinelli and Welch's.  Having options make it easier for those of us who don't drink alcohol.

As I was just getting over a mild case of the flu last Thursday I could only muster a little drink and tried the Rosé.  Tasty.  A little different, but good.

It's funny, though, living in Utah Valley.  You know Holiday season is just around the corner because grocery stores will suddenly get in carts of sparkling cider.  There was a huge section, cartons of sparkling drinks, at Winco a few weeks ago, in preparation.  A funny sight.  I can't remember if I ever saw such a thing in California growing up.

Be Happy Now

"Don't wait for tomorrow.  Don't wait for the right job, the right house, the right salary, the right dress size.  Be happy today.  Be happy now." ~ Joseph B. Wirthlin

This quote was just what I needed to read.  I do get caught up in the waiting, thinking when this, this, this, and so on are accomplished or received I'll be happy.  I am happy, for the most part, but I do have the habit of getting caught up in worry and negative thoughts.  Oh, and goodness, "Don't wait for the right dress size," hit me pretty hard.  That's something I struggle with.

Okay, inner me!  Stop it!  I can be happy now.  Stop stressing.

That's a good goal.

Walking Around the Latter-Day Saint Paris France Temple

Less than two weeks ago I had the pleasant opportunity to walk around the Latter-Day Saint temple grounds in Paris, France.  It's located close to Versailles about 2.3 kilometers.  This new temple was under construction when I visited Versailles in April, 2016, so a visit then wasn't practical.

This temple was announced in 2011 and completed in 2017.

What makes this temple unique is that it doesn't have an angle Moroni on its top, and the overall design is different than other Latter-Day Saint temples, blending beautifully with its surroundings.

I loved walking around and taking these gardens in, looking up at the beautiful facade.  There's also a small visitors center with elder couple missionaries, ready to answer any questions.  In the visitors center there's also a small replica of the temple with rooms you can look into.

It's interesting, I visited this temple after visiting Versailles, taking in those gallant gardens with their fountains spraying in magnificent fashion.  Yet I loved visiting this temple.  It's not grand like Versailles.  These gardens are small and simple.  Even so, no amount of grandness can compare to the sweet feeling of the spirit.  I'm so glad I had the chance to visit this beautiful place.