While waiting for a session in the temple last week, I found an interesting pattern in the scriptures about sacrifice. The scriptures that first got me thinking were in Genesis 22. In this chapter, Abraham is asked to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. The Lord calls out to Abraham by calling his name, and Abraham answers by replying, "Here I am" (1). The scripture says that God "did tempt Abraham," but the JST changes this to "test, or prove." I had been thinking a lot about sacrifice recently, so this story meant a little more to me that day. I was impressed with Abraham's faith in the Lord--he was willing to give up what he loved most just because the Lord asked him. Most of us are familiar with the story of Abraham and Isaac. I wonder, though, what Abraham was thinking on his way up the mountain. Was he pleading and begging with God in his heart to not make him do this? Was he thinking, "What am I going to tell Sarah? How will I go on without my son? How can you ask me to sacrifice the one thing I love most?" My guess is that these things crossed his mind, but he didn't dwell on them. He had so much faith in the Lord!
Just as Abraham is about to slay his only son with a knife on the altar, "the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham" (11). Abraham replies, yet again, by answering, "Here am I." Before, I had focused so much on the actual event of the sacrifice that I had never noticed what Abraham might have learned. I don't think that God called out to Abraham at the beginning because he was looking for him. God knows everything about us! I think God was calling Abraham's attention to where Abraham was spiritually before his trial. God was asking Abraham if he would be willing to come forward and sacrifice, if he'd be willing to improve himself. At the end of the trial when Abraham says, "Here am I," I see it as "Here am I now spiritually after that trial. I'm stronger spiritually and my faith is greater." The final "Here I am" is where God wanted Abraham to be in the end. Because of his sacrifice, Abraham was blessed with seed as numerous as the stars (22).
I was surprised at how many times that phrase appears in the scriptures. I found it again in Exodus 3 when Moses hears the Lord in Mount Sinai. Out of the burning bush, the Lord calls, "Moses, Moses" (4). Just like Abraham, Moses replies, "Here am I." Moses didn't know what the Lord was going to ask of him, but I think that just like Abraham, he was willing to step forward and sacrifice. Moses was hesitant at first, but like Abraham, he was blessed with so much after his trials. Of course, the greatest example of sacrifice the world has ever known is our Savior, Jesus Christ. When asked who would come forth, He also came forward willingly: "And the Lord said, Who shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man, Here am I, send me" (Abraham 3:27). I testify that Jesus Christ came into the world as a sacrifice for all mankind. Christ gave Himself for us in the ultimate act of love. I think that in order to gain salvation, we must be willing to sacrifice things in our lives, too. We must be willing to give up what we love most and put it on the altar of sacrifice. But, if we do, we'll be blessed more than we can imagine. Any sacrifice we make now will be swallowed up in the glory of heaven:
"That is what mortals misunderstand. They say of some temporal suffering, "No future bliss can make up for it," not knowing that Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory" (C.S. Lewis).
I was really moved by a talk that my bishop gave today in our ward conference. He spoke about the Savior's parable of the laborers in the vineyard found in Matthew 20 (you can watch the video above), where a householder goes out at various times of the day to hire workers for his vineyard. The householder promises all of the laborers a penny, but at the end of the day, the workers who were hired in the morning feel that they have been shortchanged. They feel entitled to more money, because they have been working longer than the others. The householder, however, explains that he had promised them all a penny, and therefore no one was being treated unfairly. My bishop quoted Elder Holland's talk titled "The Laborers in the Vineyard" to help explain this parable, and I personally learned a lot from it. Elder Holland teaches that if there is any sympathy to be felt, it should be for the groups picked later in the day. The laborers who began working at 6:00 or even 9:00 a.m. did begin earlier and had to work throughout the heat of the day, but they at least had the peace of having a job. Those workers who were finally chosen to work at "the eleventh hour" (or about 5:00 p.m.) went through almost the whole day with the anxiety of not knowing whether they'd find a job or not. Elder Holland says of those picked in the eleventh hour:
"Luck never seemed to be with them. With each visit of the steward throughout the day, they always saw someone else chosen. But just at day's close, the householder returns a surprising fifth time with a remarkable eleventh-hour offer! These last and most discouraged of laborers, hearing only they they will be treated fairly,accept work without even knowing the wage, knowing that anything will be better than nothing, which is what they have had so far. Then as they gather for their payment, they are stunned to receive the same as all the others! How awestruck they must have been and how very, very grateful! Surely never had such compassion been seen in all their working days."
This parable shows to me that the Lord is both just and merciful. Not one single blessing will be withheld from any of us just because of "luck" or "circumstance", or because we weren't picked earlier in the day. Everything that God has will be ours if we are patient and endure to the end. Something else that stood out to me from Elder Holland's talk was his advice to not worry about things that go on before 6:00 p.m.! Any grievance or distress that happens at 6:00 or 9:00 or 3:00 is swept up in the glorious payment at the end of the day! "The formula of faith is to hold on, work on, see it through, and let the distress of earlier hours--real or imagined--fall away in the abundance of the final reward." This is something that's really hard for me--to see past the temporary hiccups to the eternal reward. However, I know that God's grace is sufficient for ALL, even those in their eleventh hour.
"However late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don't have . . . I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ's Atonement shines."
Because of Christ's Atonement, we can start over again and again and again. When we feel like everyone's passing us by and we're the last to be "picked," Christ is there to comfort us. No blessing will be denied us! His grace is sufficient. I bear my testimony of these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Quisiera describir solo algunos de mis pensamientos sobre la expiación de nuestro Salvador, Jesucristo, que he tenido en estas ultimas semanas. Muchas veces pienso que tengo que ser limpia antes de usar la expiación, pero la verdad es que no puedo ser limpia sin la expiación. Si espero para sentir digna para arrepentirme, nunca voy a poder, porque es solamente a través del Jesucristo que puedo ser digna. Amo a mi Padre Celestial y estoy tan agradecida que Él envió a su Hijo Querido para morir por mi, una pecadora. Me agradezco la gracia y misericordia de mi Dios. Sé que mi Salvador, Jesucristo, murió por mi y que vive hoy. Sé que Él me ama. Asombro me da el amor que me da Jesús. Confuso estoy por Su gracia y por Su luz, y tiemblo al ver que por mí Él Su vida dió por mí, tan indigno, Su sangre Él derramó. Cuán asombroso es que por amarme así muriera Él por mí. Cuán asombroso es lo que dio por mí. (Asombro me da, un himno de la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos Dias) No puedo expresar mi gratitud y amor completamente, pero aquí hay algunos discursos por los apóstoles y siervos de nuestro Señor que hablan más sobre el tema de la expiación. Sé que ellos son llamados por Dios y que sus palabras son verdaderas. Lean sus palabras y oren por el espíritu, y les prometo que sus palabras van a tocar sus corazones. "El don de la gracia"--Por el presidente Dieter F. Uchtdorf "La expiación de Jesucristo"--por el élder Jeffrey R. Holland "La expiación: Todo por todo"--por el élder Bruce C. Hafen
Today in Relief Society, we read a lesson from the life of President Ezra Taft Benson, who was President of the LDS Church from 1985-1994. The lesson we read is called "Living Joyfully in Troubled TImes" from the book Teachings of Presidents: Ezra Taft Benson. I know that usually I write my own thoughts about things, but today this lesson touched me so much that I thought I'd share a few quotes from President Benson on how to find happiness even when things aren't looking so good. 1. Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said that President Benson always had a buoyancy and cheerfulness about him. "Such buoyancy," he said, "comes not from ignoring enveloping events, but from noticing these and yet looking beyond them to promises having to do with how the kingdom will finally prevail." One of my favorite quotes of all times is: "All the water in the world cannot sink the smallest boat--until some gets inside." Keeping ourselves afloat consists not of ignoring the bad things that happen to us, but of having the hope that the promised blessings will be ours someday. So, be buoyant! 2. "We have no cause to really worry. Live the gospel, keep the commandments. Attend to your prayers night and morning in your home. Maintain the standards of the Church. Try and live calmly and cheerfully. ...Happiness must be earned from day to day. But it is worth the effort." Maintain your standards and live calmly and cheerfully. 3. When President George Albert Smith was sick, "He [the Prophet Joseph Smith] told me I should never get discouraged, whatever difficulty might surround me. If I were sunk into the lowest pit of Nova Scotia and all the Rocky Mountains piled on top of me, I ought not to be discouraged, but hang on, exercise faith, and keep up good courage, and I should come out on the top of the heap." 4. "There are times when you simply have to righteously hang on and outlast the devil until his depressive spirit leaves you." My softball coach taught me, "When you're at the end of your rope, tie a knot and hold on." Sometimes all you can do is keep fighting and hang on! 5. "You can have that certain knowledge that in due time God will wipe away all tears and that 'eye hath not seen, not ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. (1 Cor. 2:9). Be cheerful in all that you do. Live joyfully. Live happily. Live enthusiastically, knowing that God does not dwell in gloom and melancholy, but in light and love." Remember that our God is a God of love and light--He has so many things in store for us. 6. "To live happily is to grow in spiritual strength toward perfection." God does not expect us to be perfect, but he expects us to try to grow spiritually everyday so that we can reach that perfection someday. 7. "Let us remember that the real source of our strength and happiness is beyond the measure of men and circumstances." Our happiness comes from doing what the Lord has asked us, and not what men of the world think of us. God is enough. 8. "Brethren," said Paul, "but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philip. 3:13-14)." We have to put our past behind us (credit to The Lion King) and press toward the mark. What I learned today from a prophet of God is that our happiness is largely up to us. When we get to that fork in the road, we can either choose to be bitter, or get better. Never give up! Just keep swimming. Have faith in promises that God has promised us. Be happy.
Siempre he sido una fanática del arte, aunque no siempre entiendo el "significado secreto" detrás de una pintura o una escultura. Estudio la literatura Inglesa, y siento que siempre estoy en busca de algún tipo de significado secreto a través de los temas o colores. Este semestre en la Universidad de Brigham Young estoy inscrito en una clase de historia del arte, y he sido capaz de aprender un poco más sobre el contexto histórico de obras de arte. Esta última semana de clase, nuestro profesor nos mostró una pintura del Renacimiento artista Tiziano, que representa a Cristo y María Magdalena a las afueras de la tumba del jardín. Nuestro profesor nos dijo que esta pintura específica de Tiziano definitivamente no era su mejor, pero se había hecho famoso por su importancia a Inglaterra durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial en Europa, Inglaterra tenía miedo que los museos de arte serían bombardeados y que el arte sería destruida, por lo que arrastró todo y lo puso en el almacenamiento. Sin embargo, los directores de la National Gallery de Londres pensaban que la gente necesitaba algo para mantenerlos, por lo que decidieron volver a instalar una sola pintura y girarlo a cabo cada mes. La primera pintura que pusieron de nuevo era de Tiziano "Noli me tangere". En la pintura, María llega a abrazar al Señor resucitado, sino que Cristo está espalda, diciéndole, "Noli me tangere", en latín significa "no me toques".
En la Biblia, Cristo dice a María: "No me toques, porque aún no he subido a mi Padre." En ese momento, María era probablemente llena de amor y devoción por su salvador y quería nada más que para lanzar sus brazos alrededor de él y alegrarse. Pero, como James E. Talmage sugiere en Jesús el Cristo, "ninguna mano humana debía ser permitido tocar el cuerpo resucitado y inmortalizado del Señor hasta después de que él mismo había presentado al Padre" (682). Talmage también sugiere que tal vez María se acercó a él con los sentimientos personales y de amistad que ya no eran apropiados para un ser tan divino. Por alguna razón, Jesús tuvo que detener María. Es por eso que la Galería Nacional eligió para mostrar este cuadro primero, porque así es como Inglaterra se sintió durante la guerra. Ellos sentían que el Señor estaba frenando sus bendiciones y su presencia de ellos. Al mismo tiempo, ellos sabían que con el tiempo serían capaces de abrazarlo; al igual que con María, el Señor vendría a ellos y bendecirlos con su incomparable amor y compasión. Él los salvaría de la guerra. Estoy seguro de que María estaba confundida en cuanto a por qué no podía tocar su salvador. En realidad, si yo fuera María, me preguntaría ¿por qué no puedo tocarlo? Creo que a veces nos sentimos así - que estamos siendo frenados de bendiciones que pensamos que podríamos recibir. Sentimos que Dios nos ha olvidado tal vez. Sé que es más fácil decirlo que hacerlo, pero tenemos que recordar que Dios tiene un plan perfecto. Esas bendiciones serán dadas a nosotros en el tiempo del Señor! No importa cómo las cosas duras consiguen, podemos tranquilizar a nosotros mismos con el hecho de que un día seremos capaces de tocar nuestro salvador y regocijarnos con él.
I've always been an art fan, although I don't always understand the "secret meaning" behind a painting or sculpture. As an English major, I feel like I'm always searching for some kind of secret meaning through the themes or colors. This semester at BYU I'm enrolled in an art history class, and I've been able to learn a bit more about the historical context of artworks. Just this last week in class, our professor displayed a painting from the Renaissance artist Titian, depicting Christ and Mary Magdalene just outside the garden tomb. Our teacher told us that this specific painting from Titian was definitely not his best, but had become famous due to its importance to England during World War II. During World War II in Europe, England worried that the art museums would be bombed and that the art would be destroyed, so they hauled it all out and put it into storage. However, the directors of The National Gallery in London thought that the people needed something to keep them going, so they decided to reinstall just one painting and rotate it out each month. The first painting they put back was Titian's "Noli me Tangere." In the painting, Mary reaches out to embrace the resurrected Lord, but Christ stands back, telling her, "Noli me Tangere," Latin for "touch me not." In the Bible, Christ says to Mary, "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended up to my Father." In that moment, Mary was probably full of love and devotion for her savior and wanted nothing more than to throw her arms around him and rejoice. But, as James E. Talmage suggests in Jesus the Christ, "no human hand was to be permitted to touch the Lord's resurrected and immortalized body until after He had presented Himself to the Father" (682). Talmage also suggests that maybe Mary approached him with personal and friendly feelings that were no longer appropriate for such a divine being. For whatever reason, Jesus had to withhold himself from Mary. That's why The National Gallery chose to display this painting first, because that's how England felt during the war. They felt that the Lord was holding back his blessings and presence from them. At the same time, they knew that eventually they would be able to embrace him; just like with Mary, the Lord would come to them and bless them with his matchless love and compassion. He would save them from the war. I'm sure Mary was confused as to why she couldn't touch her savior. Actually, if I were Mary, I would wonder why on earth he would hold himself back like that. I think sometimes we feel like that--that we're being held back from blessings we thought we would receive. We feel like God has forgotten us maybe. I know it's easier said than done, but we need to remember that God has a perfect plan. Those blessings will be given to us in the Lord's time! No matter how hard things get, we can reassure ourselves with the fact that one day we will be able to touch our savior and rejoice with him.
Just last week, my roommates and I watched the movie Joseph: King of Dreams on Netflix. I grew up listening to the soundtrack to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with Donny Osmond, so the story of the prophet Joseph has always been one of my favorites. In the movie (as well as in the Bible), Joseph is first thrown into a pit by his twelve jealous older brothers, and then sold into Egypt as a slave. Joseph begins to work for a man named Potiphar, and is actually promoted to work in his household, until one day Potiphar's wife gets a little too friendly: "And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out" (Genesis 39:12). Joseph is unjustly cast into prison and left there to rot. While in prison, Joseph meets Pharaoh's butler and baker, and is able to interpret their dreams. The baker is sentenced to die, as Joseph had predicted, but the butler is set free, as Joseph also predicted. Joseph pleads with the butler to please mention his gift to Pharaoh. Joseph is then left all alone in prison, starving and alone. In the movie, Joseph climbs his dungeon wall towards a small opening in the ceiling and yells angrily at God, asking why He has abandoned him. Joseph grabs at a root growing out of the wall, which gives way and Joseph falls back to the rock hard bottom. It isn't until Joseph hits rock-bottom that he sees that the root he yanked out is actually a tiny tree with a single green leaf growing from one of the tiniest branches. The music begins as Joseph then plants that tiny sapling in a crack in his prison. The song that plays is called, "You Know Better Than I," and I thought the lyrics were so good that I'd just include the video right here. So, it turns out that God had a plan for Joseph all along. Joseph ends up saving his entire family from a famine and brings them to live with him in Egypt, although Joseph couldn't see or understand that when his brothers sold him for silver, or while he sat starving in prison. What I learn from the story of Joseph is that God knows better than us what we need, and who needs us. He knows better than us who we can become. We may not understand the trials we are going through, but God does. I hope we can trust in the Lord's timing, trust that He loves us and only wants to help us become like Him. I hope we can remember that "He knows Better" than us. Here's the video with the lyrics to "You Know Better Than I." Check it out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oL6HlzQZLo
In the spring of 2012, I hopped on a plane and flew over the ocean to London, ready for a BYU study abroad and a new adventure. There were 42 of us, and along with touring the city and doing some major sight-seeing, our professors split us up into groups and assigned us to different wards all around London. I went to the Catford ward, so every Sunday we'd take an hour and a half train ride up to the chapel. I served with the young women, and was so excited when the missionaries came to sit with one of their investigators, the only girl who ever came to Young Women's. One week in class, our teacher (a spunky older sister from New York) gave us a lesson that I've never forgotten, a lesson that I thought a lot about in my own mission actually. She told us to always "plant people in a big pot." Give people room to grow and improve; even if they start out really small, they will at least have room to grow into something bigger and better. I knew that this New Yorker didn't literally mean I should throw somebody in one of those orange, terracotta pots that people put on their porches. But, what exactly did she mean? One of my favorite stories in the Book of Mormon is the transformation of Alma the Younger from a wicked troublemaker to one of the best missionaries in history. I mean, Alma started off as a "very wicked and idolatrous man... a hinderment to the church of God" (Mosiah 27:8,9). He "was going about to destroy the church of God" (Mosiah 27:10). What changed? The scriptures tell us that one day, Alma and the sons of Mosiah were going around causing trouble as usual, when an angel suddenly appeared in front of them. They were so startled that they all fell to the ground in fear. The angel told them that he had been sent there to stop them, and that the Lord had heard the prayers of Alma's father (also named Alma). The whole time that Alma the Younger had been going around rebelling against the church and God, his father had continued praying in faith, believing that his son could still change. In other words, he planted his son in a big pot. Because of Alma (the elder's) faith, his son was able to completely turn his life around. So, what if Alma would have decided that his son was too far gone to worry about anymore? What if he would have given up on him? In his 2010 talk "The Best Is Yet to Be," Elder Jeffrey R. Holland said, "Let people repent. Let people grow. Believe that people can change and improve. Is that faith? Yes! Is that hope? Yes! Is that charity? Yes! Above all, it is charity, the pure love of Christ." Planting someone in a big pot means you don't judge them, but rather you forgive them and let them leave behind their old mistakes. Sometimes we even need to plant ourselves in a big pot, and just forgive ourselves and move on. I believe in the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I know that each one of us can truly change if we repent and rely on the Savior. The Atonement will not only heal us, but make us better than what we were before.
While waiting for a session in the temple last week, I found an interesting pattern in the scriptures about sacrifice. The scriptures that first got me thinking were in Genesis 22. In this chapter, Abraham is asked to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. The Lord calls out to Abraham by calling his name, and Abraham answers by replying, "Here I am" (1). The scripture says that God "did tempt Abraham," but the JST changes this to "test, or prove." I had been thinking a lot about sacrifice recently, so this story meant a little more to me that day. I was impressed with Abraham's faith in the Lord--he was willing to give up what he loved most just because the Lord asked him. Most of us are familiar with the story of Abraham and Isaac. I wonder, though, what Abraham was thinking on his way up the mountain. Was he pleading and begging with God in his heart to not make him do this? Was he thinking, "What am I going to tell Sarah? How will I go on without my son? How can you ask me to sacrifice the one thing I love most?" My guess is that these things crossed his mind, but he didn't dwell on them. He had so much faith in the Lord!
