Christmas message

Each December, we have the choice opportunity to reflect in awe upon the birth, the life, and the selfless service of the glorious Christ, the beloved Savior of us all. Nothing could ever persuade me NOT to celebrate our Father's most glorious gift: our Elder Brother, Our Redeemer, our constant, compassionate Friend. In celebrating the miracle of Christ's life, we honor our Father in Heaven. We sing hosannas to the most high God, expressing our immense gratitude to Him for the incredible gift of His Son. Any gift we freely give is in similitude of that sacred gift.
President Gordon B. Hinckley said of the Christ: "I believe in Him as the Firstborn of the Father and the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh. I believe in Him as an individual, separate and distinct from His Father… I believe that in His mortal life He was the one perfect man to walk the earth. I believe that in His words are to be found that light and truth which, if observed, would save the world… I believe that through His atoning sacrifice, the offering of His life on Calvary's hill, He expiated the sins of mankind, relieving us from the burden of sin if we will forsake evil and follow Him. I believe in the reality and power of His resurrection. None so great has ever walked the earth. None other has made a comparable sacrifice or granted a comparable blessing. He is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. I believe in Him. I declare His divinity without equivocation or compromise. I love Him. I speak His name in reverence and wonder. I worship Him as I worship His Father, in spirit and in truth. I thank Him and kneel before His wounded feet and hands and side, amazed at the love He offers me." I echo every word of that sweet testimony.
Spencer W. Kimball reminded us that "Christ is our pattern, our guide, our prototype…" Our highest priority should be to emulate Him. Since the Christ offered kindness, dare we do less? Every word we speak, every step we take, every thought in our hearts should reflect our attempts to be like Him, who was perfect in every regard. Jesus Christ offered us, in humility and purity, the incalculably precious gift of His selfless and loving atonement.
At Christmas time, may we offer to Him our broken hearts, our contrite spirits, and our deep desire to follow in His pure and lovely footsteps! Merry Christmas, and may peace abide.
Each December, we have the choice opportunity to reflect in awe upon the birth, the life, and the selfless service of the glorious Christ, the beloved Savior of us all. Nothing could ever persuade me NOT to celebrate our Father's most glorious gift: our Elder Brother, Our Redeemer, our constant, compassionate Friend. In celebrating the miracle of Christ's life, we honor our Father in Heaven. We sing hosannas to the most high God, expressing our immense gratitude to Him for the incredible gift of His Son. Any gift we freely give is in similitude of that sacred gift.
President Gordon B. Hinckley said of the Christ: "I believe in Him as the Firstborn of the Father and the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh. I believe in Him as an individual, separate and distinct from His Father… I believe that in His mortal life He was the one perfect man to walk the earth. I believe that in His words are to be found that light and truth which, if observed, would save the world… I believe that through His atoning sacrifice, the offering of His life on Calvary's hill, He expiated the sins of mankind, relieving us from the burden of sin if we will forsake evil and follow Him. I believe in the reality and power of His resurrection. None so great has ever walked the earth. None other has made a comparable sacrifice or granted a comparable blessing. He is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. I believe in Him. I declare His divinity without equivocation or compromise. I love Him. I speak His name in reverence and wonder. I worship Him as I worship His Father, in spirit and in truth. I thank Him and kneel before His wounded feet and hands and side, amazed at the love He offers me." I echo every word of that sweet testimony.
Spencer W. Kimball reminded us that "Christ is our pattern, our guide, our prototype…" Our highest priority should be to emulate Him. Since the Christ offered kindness, dare we do less? Every word we speak, every step we take, every thought in our hearts should reflect our attempts to be like Him, who was perfect in every regard. Jesus Christ offered us, in humility and purity, the incalculably precious gift of His selfless and loving atonement.
At Christmas time, may we offer to Him our broken hearts, our contrite spirits, and our deep desire to follow in His pure and lovely footsteps! Merry Christmas, and may peace abide.
Each December, we have the choice opportunity to reflect in awe upon the birth, the life, and the selfless service of the glorious Christ, the beloved Savior of us all. Nothing could ever persuade me NOT to celebrate our Father's most glorious gift: our Elder Brother, Our Redeemer, our constant, compassionate Friend. In celebrating the miracle of Christ's life, we honor our Father in Heaven. We sing hosannas to the most high God, expressing our immense gratitude to Him for the incredible gift of His Son. Any gift we freely give is in similitude of that sacred gift.
President Gordon B. Hinckley said of the Christ: "I believe in Him as the Firstborn of the Father and the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh. I believe in Him as an individual, separate and distinct from His Father… I believe that in His mortal life He was the one perfect man to walk the earth. I believe that in His words are to be found that light and truth which, if observed, would save the world… I believe that through His atoning sacrifice, the offering of His life on Calvary's hill, He expiated the sins of mankind, relieving us from the burden of sin if we will forsake evil and follow Him. I believe in the reality and power of His resurrection. None so great has ever walked the earth. None other has made a comparable sacrifice or granted a comparable blessing. He is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. I believe in Him. I declare His divinity without equivocation or compromise. I love Him. I speak His name in reverence and wonder. I worship Him as I worship His Father, in spirit and in truth. I thank Him and kneel before His wounded feet and hands and side, amazed at the love He offers me." I echo every word of that sweet testimony.
Spencer W. Kimball reminded us that "Christ is our pattern, our guide, our prototype…" Our highest priority should be to emulate Him. Since the Christ offered kindness, dare we do less? Every word we speak, every step we take, every thought in our hearts should reflect our attempts to be like Him, who was perfect in every regard. Jesus Christ offered us, in humility and purity, the incalculably precious gift of His selfless and loving atonement.
At Christmas time, may we offer to Him our broken hearts, our contrite spirits, and our deep desire to follow in His pure and lovely footsteps! Merry Christmas, and may peace abide.

Let's Be Shepherds

A shepherd goes after one lost sheep, leaving ninety-nine as he gathers in the lost one. The inclusion of the parable in scripture implies a gentle command to go and do likewise. It teaches us how to rescue.
The sheep that remained weren’t alone. They had safety in numbers. The wanderer, however, was vulnerable, and greatly in need of the shepherd’s concern. With the myriad pressures and lures of today’s world, any member who wanders from the safety of Christ’s fold is in grave peril.
This parable doesn’t mean the lost sheep was inferior, weak, or less valuable to the shepherd. A true shepherd would not leave his flock unattended without good reason, without a worthy cause: and to him, the lost one IS a worthy cause. It teaches that each of us is worth going after; each of us deserves loving hands embracing us.
There are those among us who are drifting, drowning, disappearing into nothingness because “no one cares”. If no one reaches for them, if no one notices their absence, what other conclusion will they draw? Most people don’t announce, “I’m drifting away. I’m in pain.” They simply drift away, in pain. Michael McLean’s “Safe Harbors” says, “There are refugees among us who are not from foreign shores, and the battles they are waging are from very private wars. And there are no correspondents documenting all their grief, but these refugees among us all are yearning for relief. There are refugees among us. They don't carry flags or signs. They are standing right beside us in the market check out lines; and the war they've been fighting, it will not be televised, but the story of their need for love is written in their eyes... Can you see through their disguises? Can you hear what words won't tell? Some are losing faith in Heaven 'cause their life's a living Hell. Is there anyone to help those who have no where else to flee? For the only arms protecting them belong to you and me.” In those lyrics, Michael McLean brought to life the parable of the shepherd.
As the song says, “This is a call to arms, to reach out and to hold the evacuees from the dark. This is a call to arms, to lead anguished souls to safe harbors of the heart.” Right in front of us, anguished souls long to matter, to be embraced by the rest of the flock, not in condescension or pity, but in respect and love. Let’s be those shepherds.

Life's Puzzles

I love crossword puzzles, the harder the better. I like the “mind-stretch” required to find the solutions. I like pondering the
possibilities for answers and unraveling the quirky clues. I like
learning things when I discover what goes in the blanks. I love the
moment when the answer suddenly pops into my head, aided by letters
that get added as I solve the “down” clues while wondering about
the “across”.
Sometimes I look at a new puzzle’s clues, and I can’t fill in the answers. I may read futilely down through a few dozen clues before I
find a single answer that I’m sure about. Sometimes two or even three
different answers would fit: When the clue is “Mauna ___,” is it LOA
or KEA? I’m reduced to waiting to write in one of the “correct” responses
until I have a few letters from the opposite direction which help me
know which answer fits.
Without answers for lots of the “down” squares, I could never find
answers for all the “across” squares. Down and across are inseparably
bound; incomplete without the other. People are like that, too. Different people have different talents and strengths, as well as different stores
of experience and knowledge. We need the support of those other people,
and they need our support. Together, we help each other, lead each other,
“clue each other in”, and assure one another that the answers we fill in
are correct. Alone, we can’t really finish the puzzle. We can’t be sure
our solutions are the best for a particular puzzle.
We should always be grateful to those who teach us and support us.
We should realize how vital these supports are in our successes. We should
also try to always be that kind of support to those around us, giving them answers when they can’t find them alone. If two people can’t come up with answers, they can search together through the resources available, and they
can kneel together and ask for access to the ultimate key. We should be
willing and anxious to solve life’s puzzles, and we shouldn’t give up,
even when the solutions seem impossible or far away.
In life’s crossword puzzle, there is always available to us a “list
of clues”. There is often the assurance of opposite fill-ins; we “acrosses”
can check with the “downs” and the “downs” can check our “across” answers. There is always a “crossword dictionary” and there are myriad sources for answers and ideas as we work our puzzles and stretch our stores of
knowledge. One day we will have full access to life’s ultimate “key”.
As we face life’s puzzles, let’s open the scriptures, seek answers
from the special witnesses of Jesus Christ, counsel with honorable people who’ve experienced similar troubles, and above all, let’s turn to the Lord,
who knows exactly what answers we need. Though we may feel “puzzled”, if
we do not doubt, God will deliver us-- in His perfect time frame.

As A Team

It’s said that youth stay active when they feel part of the church “team”. They’ll more likely “play by the rules” when they feel accepted and valued by their home team. As fellow ward members, are we a team? Do we support one another? Do we sacrifice for the team? Do we overlook flaws and seek the good instead? A house divided against itself cannot stand, and we’re all safer when we stay united and strong.
We’re imperfect, of course. We annoy each other at times. We let each other down. We step on toes and trample egos. We can be difficult. We forget the Golden Rule. We should still be a team. The worth of souls is great, and the Lord entrusts us with His precious children. How He must weep when He sees us push away those we should gather in our arms.
With the lure of the world so incessant and strong, can we afford to make anyone feel unwelcome? Do we dare take the chance of driving our youth away? No one really knows the secret misery, the private challenges, or the unfulfilled dreams of another. Today’s youth can face physical, mental, or situational struggles that are staggering in their breadth. If we knew the trials others face, we might just stand in awe of those who endure difficulties we can’t imagine. It’s never appropriate to tear down those in our care. Too many youth simply walk away from the gospel’s safety because they cannot bear rejection; and criticism, intolerance, and impatience are perceived by a child as rejection.
Wouldn’t it be wiser and more Christlike to see each other with kind eyes? Our youth are literally waiting to feel the acceptance they need to keep them in Christ’s fold—even when, especially when, they seem the hardest to reach. Their hearts are crying, “Love me anyway!” We have a solemn responsibility to seek out, gather in, to nurture, to lift and build. If we don’t fill needs, who will?
Mary Ellen Edmunds asked, “Have you ever thought that someone somewhere may be pleading with Heavenly Father for help, and you may be the one chosen to help answer that prayer? If we're willing, He'll use us. You likely have no idea how often you rescue someone.” Let’s rescue. Let’s nurture. Let’s be able to stand in front of the Savior with the knowledge that we did all we could to cherish His little ones.

There are so many kinds of theft! Just because someone doesn't shoplift or cheat on their taxes DOESN'T mean they don't steal. A person can steal that which can never be replaced, and they often do it with their words, which cannot be called back. (That which is irreparable is serious business.) If a person damages my reputation, they rob me as surely as if they held a gun to my head and demanded my wallet. Actually, those who gossip and slander and judge are more craven and cruel than a mugger packing heat. Gossips work in the shadows, harping and carping and spreading the ooze of their sick infection, but never, ever will they stand face to face with the person they assault with their half-truths, twisting of facts, and self-serving lies. In the light, such cowards attempt to appear so righteous and holy, so sweet and pure, but the facade is not the reality. Nope. They put on their phony faces and they think their charade is reality, but truth is truth, no matter what. Such ninnies believe themselves, and it's embarrassing to watch! They may fool themselves, but they never fool Heaven. They can close their eyes, plug their ears, and say all day, "Lalalalalala, I'm right, I'm right, I'm right," but that doesn't change fact. I recently learned to my disgust that someone posted online how "grateful" they were for help received from me. That probably made her feel just wonderful, absolved of the ponderous burden of guilt for what she did in return; but she did what she did, and the people she sucked into her fantasy did what they did-- without remorse, past feeling, with their feet cemented in ridiculous pride. This person is SO grateful for my help that she annihilated my family and me with sick, strange, and ludicrous accusations that will blight my life until it ends. So, Thief, you are what you are, and you can't escape it. I will run from you and yours forever, because you are dangerous, and you are cruel. Play any "victim" game you want, but you are what you are.

What's the Harm?

Ah, the lessons we learn about ourselves when we are in pain. Hundreds of thousands of “no on 8-ers” are puzzled and hurting, struck by what they perceive as a resounding slap. In utter sincerity, they ask, “Where is the harm in it?” They cannot see the pitfalls, and because they can’t, they shrink in revulsion and swallow the proffered lie that a “yes on 8” vote means a “no” vote for gays as people. Their painful question resounds: “Where’s the harm?”

Yet less than 48 hours since Proposition 8 passed in California, the answers to that plaintive question begin to emerge. A people who’ve longed to be seen as harmless and peaceable came forth en masse and disturbed the peace of those who also voted from their hearts, just as passionately, and with just the same desire to promote right. With the first angrily-scrawled picket sign, ugly seeds were strewn; and they’re quickly taking root.

Heedless of the needs of innocent drivers and their schedules and worries, people swarmed into the street, effectively proclaiming, “My needs trump yours”. That was a small selfishness, but it was a beginning. It grew. Police resources were siphoned away from averting existing dangers, and who can catalog the pain that ensued when cries for help went unanswered, or when help was delayed?

Some protestors marched on the short access road to private property: a holy place for millions, some of whom chose to vote no on 8. The crowd spat. They profaned. They shouted and raged, but no matter, because the people they bullied disagree with them. And so it became acceptable to mock and malign.

They came back the next day, emboldened and angry, although there had been no retaliation, no rebuttal in kind. (In fact, the opposing campaign was markedly void of contention, derision, or hate.) Shrieking and hurling obscenities, even making a mockery of things sacred to others, they flung their vitriol at peaceable people who spoke no ugliness but who simply stood up for their beliefs and voted their consciences.

Watching the news, we could quickly see the harm; and nothing in their behavior demonstrated anything else but the intent to force into our lives their “rights’, even if those rights infringe on children’s rights to innocence, parents’ rights to teach the things they embrace as sacred, or workers’ rights to refuse to perform actions and speak words that are in violation of their beliefs. It speaks volumes when someone, even in rage and pain, is capable of viciousness, of force. In the moment that they turned their anger into active, undulating hatred, their true colors emerged. If within hours of an election people use brute force and intimidation to further their agenda, then what else will they do? What else will they demand? Who else will they terrorize into compliance? The forecast is tragedy.

If people are so quick to denigrate, deride, and blame an entire ethnicity that was but a tiny part of a vote, then what hypocrisy! The insistence on silencing those of opposing views borders on fascism. I stand stunned, because this mob mentality is in stark contrast to the gentleness I thought I’d felt from the gay community. So, to those who sincerely ask, “Where’s the harm?” I answer sadly, “It’s in the headlines”.

Points of (Un)view

How differently people can see things! Sometimes that makes for thought-provoking debate, affording glimpses into nuances that expose a spectrum of hues encased in the thoughts of another. That enriches us as we welcome diversity. After I learn about another way of “being”, I turn it over and over in my head as if it were an unusual seashell. Thoroughly enjoying the exposure to something new, I feel improved somehow, enriched, stretched. It’s a delightful form of sightseeing, art appreciation, “study abroad”. I know others who love to delve like that, respecting that which differs from our own little cosmos.

I believe I’m in the minority, though. Pride is so entrenched in some hearts that growth is stunted and progression ends. And everyone exposed to them is smeared with something filthy. I’m brought up short by evidence of a rigid and condescending mind, bolted shut and impervious to light or air. Enslaved by rigid, self-serving interpersonal bigotry, some folks reek of that implied “how dare you”, making them laughable if they weren’t capable of such carnage. Narrow minds refuse to see another possibility, another point of view. The result can be deadly to those who foolishly trust them.

As sad as it is, there are people who squirm at the very idea of another “take” on a situation. Logic and even irrefutable evidence will not unbend a twisted mindset. It’s far too comfortable to bask in complacency; far too entertaining to posture and snort. Compelled by the need to punish those who disagree, they degrade and discredit, even when their argument exposes the breadth of their ignorance. Taken to the extreme, their hapless victims die in collapsing towers, or are hijacked or tortured in prisons. The difference in intolerance is only a matter of degree. Because I’ve seen how far a personal vendetta can go, I avoid those who cannot abide that they could be wrong. Infected with psychological anthrax, they’re capable of emotional slaughter—-even eager to inflict it! These extremists are past feeling.(Shudder.)

When people coldly declare their irrational wars, considering a refusal to kowtow as justification for jihad, their “superior” views get wielded as weapons: verbal bashing to one’s face or, more frequently, behind one’s back. Ick. I relegate the latter to the level of seventh grade. When exposed to it, I feel vaguely embarrassed and repulsed, as though I’ve caught the speaker nose-picking and then eating the result. When a difference of opinion degrades to the “unh-UHN”, “uh-HUH” stage, I’m reminded of my jump rope days, and not in a good way.

What lures a person into flat intolerance? What causes them to so easily set aside ethics and speak (or even think!) in direct opposition to the teachings of the One they profess to follow? It baffles me. I was raised to offer the benefit of the doubt, to open my mind and heart to those who aren’t my clones. I’ve learned to listen, to consider, to mull over ideas—-not abandoning my morals, but living tolerance. I’m the richer for it.