I Believe

He Is the Gift

Merry Christmas to anyone out there who might see this.

Because of Him

The Spirit of Christmas, the Spirit of Christ

On Christmas Day we got up earlier than we have in a while.  That is what happens when you are spending Christmas with small children.  We had a fun time watching the kids with their new toys and listening to their squeals of delight in what Santa Claus brought them. 

We opened thoughtful gifts from one another.  That is what happens when you are spending Christmas with older children.  We laughed at one another and wept with gratitude.

Then thirteen of us took turns in two bathrooms, showering, brushing teeth, doing hair and makeup, getting dressed in our Sunday best.  By 10:00 a.m. 18 of us were at Gramercy Court Care Facility, where my dad is the pastor each week in a short worship service.  We took turns singing Christmas songs to the residents of that facility.  Some hardly looked up.  Others clapped and sang along.  We passed out Christmas gifts (flashlights as a reminder to follow the Light of the World, small pictures of Jesus, and packets of Hershey's kisses) and shook hands and visited and said "Merry Christmas" dozens of time.

After about 45 minutes we changed into pants and went to North C Street, where ministries from the Sacramento area have set up all kinds of services for the homeless.  There are women's shelters, a preschool, a place for men to get clean, kitchens, medical clinics.  The City of Sacramento doesn't like this area.  They are afraid that if they create an organized place, the homeless will congregate there.  On this day, Pastor Joe's ministry was working with Loaves and Fishes to give sleeping bags and ground mats to the homeless.  There were about 300 sleeping bags donated.  We sang again, shook more hands, wished more Merry Christmases.

Then we followed Mo, who showed us the way he is spending his money, the way he chooses to minister for Jesus.  We toured the facility where homeless women can sleep and leave their children in a safe place and earn their GED, all without leaving the facility.  These women are told they are worthy of God's love, they are good, they are talented, and they are "potant!"  When they graduate, they get to go into the closet filled with formal dresses and shoes and choose an outfit.  A volunteer comes in and does their hair and makeup, and then they go downtown for a formal graduation ceremony.  They have their picture taken and their story written and posted on the wall.  (There are 800 of them!)  Then they come back and start looking for work.  Of the 41 (41!) women who graduated this fall, 22 got jobs.  When they get an interview, they go into a different closet and choose a business suit and shoes to wear to their interview.  They get a ride to the interview, during which they are told they are capable and worthy.

We saw people who were clearly mentally ill, mentally challenged, and/or addicts.  We also saw people who were good and kind and happy and, incidentally, homeless.

Perhaps most impressive was Mo, who has been involved in this "ministry" for nearly 20 years.  He, too, has seen many mentally ill people, many addicts.  He chooses, however, to focus on the people who clearly need the touch of the Master's hand--those who need to be told and shown that they are worth good efforts; those who need a little help in order to get on their feet.  He chooses to see in each face the face of one of Heavenly Father's children.  He chooses not to be jaded by those who are criminals.  He sees, instead, someone who might be brought into the fold of God.

Mo sees the truth.  I have been touched and changed.

Merry, merry CHRISTmas.

A Flood

The time is long overdue for a massive flooding of the earth with the Book of Mormon. 

Ezra Taft Benson

In case you didn't know, this past weekend was General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I am a member of this church.

At our Church's General Conference this weekend, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said:

The Lord expects the members of His church to open their mouths at all times, declaring his gospel with the sound of rejoicing…We have a glad message to share; we have a message of joy… When [people] asked us how our weekend was, we tried to skip the usual topics like sports events, movies, or the weather, and tried to share some religious experiences we had as a family over the weekend; for instance, what a youth speaker had said about the standards from For the Strength of Youth or how we were touched by the words of a young man who was leaving on his mission or how the gospel and the church helped us as a family to overcome a specific challenge we had…This often would lead to more indepth discussions…

Monday morning I had my weekly scheduled phone call with my school mentor.  The conversation started as it always does, "How was your weekend?"  Because I tried (with a desperate prayer for courage!) to follow the counsel of President Uchtdorf, I had the best conversation I've had with my mentor since I met him several months ago.

I have also had several sweet conversations with friends at work over the past couple of days.  We all work for the Church; we all share the same values as members of the Church.  But we strengthen each other as we share our experiences, our beliefs, and the things that we know. 

Dear friends, there are many gospel-centered things that I know.  The most important thing that I know is that Jesus Christ is our living Savior and Redeemer.  He can heal you and me of our physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual ailments as we walk by faith in Him.  Let us flood the earth with His love and His goodness.

Aren't You Glad?

If I wasn't sitting alone all the time, you would not hear from me. Aren't you glad I sit alone all day long?

Today I asked Jesse if he would use _____'s account code and order me a fridge for my house. He said he was sure he could do that. But he was also sure that we would both be escorted off the premises. Permanently.

I replied that we might get escorted out of the Church. He said, "Yes. And you are the ward activities committee chairman. But I am the stake president. There is a place right on that form that asks if the person involved in losing their church membership was a leader."

A few minutes later I said, "Jesse, I'm really sorry you know what that form looks like."

He walked out of his office with tears in his eyes. He said, "I have learned that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, can make it right for everyone. If any one of us will do everything that we can to allow him to make it right for us, we can return to the presence of God our Father. THAT is what that form means to me."

Shortest devotional ever. Also the best one.

Ten Days of Giving Thanks...Day Ten

It's been a busy, busy time; but not too busy to continue thinking about what I am thankful for. (Just too busy to blog!)

I am thankful for Jesus Christ.

How to you fit all of that into one little blog? Without details, and without completion, I guess. Actually, even if I had all the time and space in the world, it would be impossible to say all that I feel.

Because of Jesus Christ, life is full and rich and meaningful and joy-filled. It all hinges on Him.

I am the oldest child in my family. This has given me the opportunity to be the leader in many ways (though each child is so, so important). This week I considered what it meant to Jesus when Father presented his Plan of Happiness in what I call the Big Family Home Evening. Jesus understood the Plan in ways that maybe some of the younger siblings did not. He knew that it would take courage and SO. MUCH. LOVE. to be the Savior for all of us. Perhaps He stood still, looking around at all of us and wondering if He was up to such a task. But in the end--and for all eternity!!--He did it. He volunteered to be our Savior, our Redeemer, our Advocate, our Exemplar. And then He completed the task, something that is completely incomprehensible but oh, so important to me. He did it with courage. He did it with love. He did it to completion. He did it perfectly. He did it for you. He did it for me. He did it for everyone. Ever. His atoning sacrifice is infinite and eternal. For eternity, I will never be able to repay or adequately thank Him for what He did--and does--for me and the people I love.

And all because He did what He said He would do--what He volunteered to do!--we have the tools for a beautiful today and the promise of a beautiful eternity with the people we love. We can return to our Heavenly Parents (this is meaningful to me because of the incredible love I have for my earthly parents); we can be sealed to our spouses and children (!!!! infinity) for eternity; we can continue to learn and progress forever; we can overcome the things that are difficult or painful or that hurt us; we can see beyond the diapers and the dishes and the other daily duties to something better.

And now, as pertaining to this perfect atonement, wrought by the shedding of the blood of God—I testify that it took place in Gethsemane and at Golgotha, and as pertaining to Jesus Christ, I testify that he is the Son of the Living God and was crucified for the sins of the world. He is our Lord, our God, and our King. This I know of myself independent of any other person.

I am one of his witnesses, and in a coming day I shall feel the nail marks in his hands and in his feet and shall wet his feet with my tears.

But I shall not know any better then than I know now that he is God’s Almighty Son, that he is our Savior and Redeemer, and that salvation comes in and through his atoning blood and in no other way. --Bruce R. McConkie