Prayer and the Priesthood: our links to God

It is amazing how easy it is to settle into rote phrases and thoughts when praying!  I have been working on really communicating in prayer lately, and it is so hard!  My mind settles into certain phrases that, while certainly reflect how I feel in general (like "Thanks for this day" or "Thanks for the influence of the gospel in my life"), I recognize are not really communicating the depth of what I feel about those phrases...they have lost their meaning as it becomes a pattern.

And then, there's the mental wandering!  Now, I agree with a person I once heard or read that said that when our mind wanders, often it is the paths of inspiration and God is leading us somewhere.  This is true at times, but generally, for me, it is merely a reflection of a lack of focus.  I mean, I am approaching the feet of the Creator of the Universe, my life, my family,...everything around me!  And my mind is wandering?

As I have tried different things to help me focus--talking aloud, focusing visually on the tip of the beautiful mountain I can see from my window, pausing--one thing that I have tried less effectively is visualizing Heavenly Father.  Of course, I don't know what He looks like, and that is the thought I had this morning.

I think that, when I get to Heaven, even if the veil of forgetfulness that is over my mind is not removed, I would feel what God is like, from my many meaningful prayers that I have had with Him.  However, to be able to know what He looks like would be such an honor!

It was with these thoughts on my mind that I read through where I am at in the Doctrine and Covenants, section 84, which is about the priesthood and the amazing power and blessings that come from its presence.  The section I read stood out:

 19 And this greater ^apriesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the ^bkey of the ^cmysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the ^dknowledge of God.

 20 Therefore, in the ^aordinances thereof, the power of ^bgodliness is manifest.

So, thought I, the weekly ordinance of the sacrament, the ordinances in the temple...in these are the power of godliness, we get to feel and witness of the power of God.  How wonderful that we have the priesthood!

Continuing on--

 

 21 And without the ordinances thereof, and the ^aauthority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is ^bnot manifest unto men in the flesh;

It made me think of how important these "routine" things are.  Then this next verse really caught my eye:

 23 Now this ^aMoses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to ^bsanctify his people that they might ^cbehold the face of God;

That we might behold the face of God!  What a blessing to seek after!

In the meantime, I will continue to do my best to really make my prayers more meaningful and focused on Him, hoping for that day when I can see Him again.

"Saving your marriage"

There is so much discussion about marriage in the world around us--from society wide discussions about it's deterioration and definition (see a great article about the latter by my very own dad!-- http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765579204/Adjusting-the-definition-of-marriage.html),  to more local and personal discussions about individual marriages of friends and family members that are struggling.

My heart is very tender about this subject, having seen the suffering of those in abusive or strained relationships first-hand lately.

 So...when I saw the title of a clip on lds.org "Saving Your Marriage", I was naturally curious.  It is at the following link, and is only 2 min 15 sec. :)...
http://www.lds.org/pages/mormon-messages?lang=eng#saving-your-marriage

Then!  I was reading in this fascinating book, "Circle of Quiet" by L'Engle, in which she has her own opinion about why the youth are so jaded about marriage and promises in general:

They have trial marriages, or just share a pad rather than entering into relatinoships which are intended to last for life, often following the example of parents who have separated or divorced, with the concomitant philosophy that if you try marriage and it doesn't work, you quit.  They are rebelling not against our morality and discipline but against our lack of morality and our lack of discipline. They are are unwilling to commit themselves with promises of fidelity in relationships because they have known too many grownups make these promises and then break them as though they didn't matter.

Somehow or other, promises...must be redeemed.

[Some youth ask]: But isn't it better not to make the promises at all?  Isn't it more honest?

I shook my head. "No. I don't think so.  And I think i do have a right to talk to you about this, because I've been married to the same man for almost twenty-five years, and we love each other more now than we did twenty-five years ago.  When we were married we made promises, and we took them seriously.  No relationship between two people which is worth anything is static...There've been a number of times in my marriage when--if I hadn't made promises--I'd have quit."

...Perhaps we made [the promises] youthfully, and blindly, not knowing all that was implied; but the very promises have been a saving grace.

I thought this quote went excellently with the video article!

Article on counseling and unity

I read this great article on counseling as couples from the recent issue of the Ensign, and a couple things really struck me about being effective counselors together, whether in the church, as a couple, or in other organizations where we work with other people to gain a consensus.

http://www.lds.org/ensign/2012/06/counseling-together-in-marriage?lang=eng

"Elder M. Russell Ballard explained that the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles comes to a united decision before they act on any issue: “We discuss a wide variety of issues, from Church administration to world events, and we do so frankly and openly. Sometimes issues are discussed for weeks, months, and occasionally even years before a decision is made.”¹ Unity is so important that they will not move forward with a decision until unity has been achieved." (Under Principle 1)

I think some times we are so eager to move forward with decisions that we need to take time to stop, ponder, and really consider the viewpoint of one another.  Of course, even as I write this I think..."but, surely, there has to be exceptions!  How can we truly be united about every decision before making it?"  I think of the times that I tell two of my children who are quarreling that they must stay together until they work it out, and one of them deliberately withholds their consensus in a move of power over the other :S.  Argh!

I love the follow-up counsel, with my obvious favorite parts emphasized :)....

"It is not uncommon for couples to struggle in coming to a unanimous decision, especially when the issue at hand is significant. Further, when spouses are more concerned with being right than with gaining consensus, “communication with Heavenly Father breaks down, [and] communication between spouses also breaks down. And Heavenly Father will not interfere. He doesn’t generally intrude where He is not invited.”⁴ The key is to actually invite—rather than exclude—our Heavenly Father into our discussions. If we humbly work together and listen to each other, we gain the essential blessing of the Lord’s guidance.

It is important to make united decisions with the guidance of the Spirit—especially if the decision doesn’t seem logically to be the best choice. President George Q. Cannon (1827–1901), First Counselor in the First Presidency, explained that the Lord sustains the counsel of united leaders and that He will improve their less-than-perfect plan and will “supplement it by His wisdom and power and make it effective.”⁵ This promise is offered to all councils, including couples." (ibid)

Powerful!  I love that the key is truly to invite Heavenly Father to be a part of our counsels.  I am one that tends to drive Him away with my arrogance and stubborn pride in counsels.   It reminds me of when Joseph Smith was translating the plates, had an argument with Emma that morning, couldn't translate, and had to go and fix it first.  I have experienced this (obviously not while translating :), but while working on projects or parenting)-- we cannot do God's work if we do not have Him with us.

I also love, love, love the promise that "He will improve [our] less-than-perfect plan and will 'supplement it by His wisdom and power and make it effective.'"  INCREDIBLE!!  It reminds me of my recent favorite book--next to the Book of Mormon.  I read it for the millionth time this morning (I like talking like my kids, sometimes), and still found myself weeping over it's many meanings.  It is called "The Apple Pip Princess" by Jane Ray...available at libraries in Davis County and Salt Lake, but I had to purchase on for my own to take to Hungary.

Anyway, in "The Apple Pip Princess" the youngest sister is striving to show her father that she can do something, and she chooses a path that is riddled with meaning, but the part I want to emphasize that is relevant to the above quote is when she is discouraged, at the eve of the seventh day, the day before her Father comes to evaluate which of his daughters is worthy of His kingdom.  The once-desolate land around her is now green with the haze of fresh seedlings, evidence of her work over the past six days, but she knows that it is not enough.  Her friend turns to her and says, "your work with grow."  

The next morning, she awakens to find the land full of trees, shrubs and crops to feed the people that she and her family rule over, the people who in the past six days have rallied around her and helped in her work.  I felt so strongly that God will magnify our efforts, just as this little girl's seemingly "not-enough" efforts were magically multiplied to benefit her land. 

Then, reading this article, it struck me that He can do the same with the united decisions we make.  I have been in situations many times, where I feel the consensus was less than ideal, from my perspective, anyway :).  To think that He will honor the sacrifice, humility and trust of our consensus, when done in the presence of His Holy Spirit, and "supplement it by His wisdom, power, and make it effective"!!!  So cool!!

Have you ever grown anything in the garden of your mind?

Thank you, Mr. Rodgers!  Awesome...

The Garden of your Mind

Clip that makes you think...

Ad by Catholic Church
We talk in my Vanguard youth group about the role of religions in society...not to force people to join them or to rule over them, but to remind them of not only their moral groundings, but their obligations to God--whichever religion a person chooses to belong to.

Our founding fathers knew that for our nation's liberty and freedom to survive, we must be a moral and religious people.  This ad reminds me of that role of our churches.

I commend the Catholic church for reminding us the importance of voting and examining the issues that are most important to us.

Wonderful movie about moms!

My friend sent this to me for mother's day, and I finally watched it...so neat!

Best Job

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NScs_qX2Okk

Patterns- Koelliker's General Conference talk 2012

In my youth group (forgive me the term of possession :)...), I love to point out how important it is to find patterns in the world around us, in the books we read, in the lives we study, as patterns reveal true principles.  For instance, people may say something or "talk up" some new fad or idea, but until there is a pattern that proves the validity of it, you must be careful.

For instance, one "pattern" I have found that is true in my life is that when I feel a certain way, which I have come to recognize as being under the direction of the Holy Ghost, if I move my feet in the figurative or literally direction it tells me to go--however blind--therein lies happiness and peace, even after some struggles.  I cannot know the other paths or how I would have felt if I had taken those instead, but, like in Robert Frost's poem, I have taken the one "less traveled by" many-a-time, and "that has made all the difference."

Koelliker said something about patterns that I loved, along with the great scripture after it:
"Patterns are templates, guides, repeating steps, or paths one follows to stay aligned with God’s purpose. If followed, they will keep us humble, awake, and able to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit from those voices that distract us and lead us away. The Lord then instructs us, 'He that trembleth under my power shall be made strong, and shall bring forth fruits of praise and wisdom, according to the revelations and truths which I have given you' (D&C 52:17)." (Ensign, May 2012)

Sustaining our leaders

You know, it's funny how we can get so confident in where we are at or casual in our willingness to receive divine inspiration.  Just this morning, as I was flipping through the Ensign, I saw that the first article, from the First Presidency, was about sustaining our leaders who are called of God.  "I do that..." and was just going to flip past.  Then, something whispered..."but what if there is something I miss that Heavenly Father wants me to know?"

So I read it, and was blessed and humbled.

My level of "sustaining," the spirit whispered, is below where it should be...and it should be better so I can be blessed.  The story President Eyring told was touching, humbling, and the following quote really struck me:

"We can determine to pray daily for someone called by God to serve us. We can thank someone who has blessed us by his or her service. We can decide to step forward when someone we have sustained asks for volunteers.

"Those who uphold the Lord’s servants in His kingdom will be sustained by His matchless power. We all need that blessing." (Ensign, June 2012, pg 3?)

I know I could use "being sustained by His matchless power," and I know that the Lord always makes good on his promises. :)  Time to reflect on those that serve me in callings and how I can better sustain them.  Maybe I should even reflect upon what it means to be a citizen of the United States and support and uphold the government we elect?

It is oddly liberating to be shown a path of truth and choose to just follow it, rather than question or equivocate about "how well I am doing already."  I should probably do it more often. :)