My morning pep talk from God

 I am facing another week of hours of dress rehearsals with two performances at the end. It is a little stomach-clenching because I don’t just find the best of the best and find a way for them to shine. I take those who have seldom if ever acted and thrust upon them great roles and seek to help them discover the capacity within each of them. It is nerve-wracking but has thus far produced 100% incredible results.

They say that the more work, sweat, frustration and love a an artist experiences with a piece of art, the more the viewers can feel it.  I realized that this is the way with me.  The audience feels that our plays are a little different as they sense the vision of potential that goes into it.  For this is not just my work, but God’s.  Actors and actresses stretch and grow under the vision and tutelage of someone who sees them for more than they see themselves. 

But I honestly get a little stressed at this stage.

As I went to my scriptures for comfort this morning, I started flipping from the back and got caught in Abraham 3:22-23-

22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the aintelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the bnoble and great ones;

23 And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast achosen before thou wast born.

I too was chosen for this role as a director of these youth plays, just as I chose the youth in their roles. And the product that I have seen in the past and continue to see as their vision of themselves change--the confidence they gain--is glorious.

I kept working my way backward in my scriptures and this is what I found:

Moses 1: 4 And, behold, thou art my son; wherefore alook, and I will show thee the bworkmanship of mine chands; but not all, for my dworks are without eend, and also my fwords, for they never cease…

6 And I have a work for thee, Moses, my son; and thou art in the asimilitude of mine bOnly cBegotten; and mine Only Begotten is and shall be the dSavior, for he is full of egrace and ftruth; …

7 And now, behold, this one thing I show unto thee, Moses, my son, for thou art in the world, and now I show it unto thee…

12 And it came to pass that when Moses had said these words, behold, aSatan came btempting him, saying: Moses, son of man, worship me.

13 And it came to pass that Moses looked upon Satan and said: Who art thou? For behold, I am a ason of God, in the similitude of his Only Begotten; 

16 Get thee hence, Satan; deceive me not; for God said unto me: Thou art after the asimilitude of mine Only Begotten.

I am His daughter, made in the similtude of the Son of God.  That’s powerful.

I ended in Moses 6:27 with Enoch:

27 And he heard a avoice from heaven, saying: bEnoch, my son,...

31 And when Enoch had heard these words, he abowed himself to the earth, before the Lord, and spake before the Lord, saying: bWhy is it that I have found favor in thy sight, and am but a lad, and all the people chate me; for I am dslow of speech; wherefore am I thy servant?

32 And the Lord said unto Enoch: Go forth and do as I have commanded thee, and no man shall pierce thee. Open thy amouth, and it shall be filled, and I will give thee utterance, for all flesh is in my hands, and I will do as seemeth me good.

33 Say unto this people: aChoose ye bthis day, to serve the Lord God who made you.

34 Behold my aSpirit is upon you, wherefore all thy words will I justify; and the bmountains shall flee before you, and the crivers shall turn from their course; and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you; therefore dwalk with me.

Best pep talk ever. We are not only His servants; we are His sons and daughters. He walks with us in His beautifully impossible work...which led me to what I read yesterday morning about a key component that made Captain Moroni so great and successful:

Alma 48:16 And also, that God would make it known unto them ^awhither they should go to defend themselves against their enemies, and by so doing, the Lord would deliver them.

God will lead us where we should go and then our Savior will deliver us. And their track record is very impressive.

May this bless you, my dear missionaries, who are present so often in my heart and my prayers.

Beauty from ashes...