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Spiritual Growth through Agency and Grace

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  Podcast Link [Oftentimes we are like the young merchant from Boston, who in 1849, as the story goes, was caught up in the fervor of the California gold rush. He sold all of his possessions to seek his fortune in the California rivers, which he was told were filled with gold nuggets so big that one could hardly carry them. Day after endless day, the young man dipped his pan into the river and came up empty. His only reward was a growing pile of rocks. Discouraged and broke, he was ready to quit until one day an old, experienced prospector said to him, “That’s quite a pile of rocks you are getting there, my boy.” The young man replied, “There’s no gold here. I’m going back home.” Walking over to the pile of rocks, the old prospector said, “Oh, there is gold all right. You just have to know where to find it.” He picked two rocks up in his hands and crashed them together. One of the rocks split open, revealing several flecks of gold sparkling in the sunlight. Noticing a bulgi...
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The Definition of Love

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https://www.flickr.com/photos/billyrowlinson/3193773937 Elder D. Todd Christofferson gave a talk titled “ Abide in My Love ” in which he gives the account of Helen Keller who was blind, deaf, and dumb at an early age. Growing up in this way was dark and lonely for the little girl. Her mentor, Anne Sullivan, did everything she could to ease the burden of her parents who struggled to raise a child with such a disadvantage of learning about the world around her. To help Helen learn words, Anne would spell the names of familiar objects with her finger on the palm of Helen’s hand. Helen enjoyed this ‘finger play,’ but she didn’t understand until the famous moment when Anne spelled ‘w-a-t-e-r’ while pumping water over Helen’s hand. Here is the account Helen gave of this awakening moment:  “Suddenly I felt a misty consciousness as of something forgotten … and somehow the mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew then that “w-a-t-e-r” meant the wonderful cool something tha...
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Centering our Homes on Christ

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[If the wonders of the world hadn’t stopped at seven, Cobble’s knot would have been number eight. Nobody knew how it got there… one morning, as [Cobble] unlocked the front door for business, he saw the knot.  It was dangling from the flagpole…  He got out a pair of scissors and was about to snip it off, when he noticed what an unusual and incredible knot it was.   And then he got an idea.  He could offer a prize to anyone who untangled the knot...  If you look at old pictures in the Two Mills Times , you see that the knot was about the size and shape of a lopsided volleyball.  It was made of string, but it had more contortions… than the brain of Albert Einstein himself... [Maniac] lifted it in his hands to feel the weight of it.  He touched it here and touched it there, gently, daintily. He scraped a patch of crust off with his fingernail.  He laid his fingertips on it, as though feeling for a pulse... After an hour,...
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Integration of Church and State

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Podcast Link As I stood there, phone in hand, filming my daughters being strapped into the miniature Ferris wheel, I saw two looks on their faces. One of apprehension in not knowing quite what to expect and the other of excited suspense. The ride began with the turn of the wheel; the whole contraption jolted momentarily. The two girls firmly grasped the bar across their laps as they looked at each other with wonder shining in their eyes and smiles plastered on their faces.  I continued taking video as their seat rose up and swung back down multiple times. I remember thinking that this is what it is all about. Being there at the state fair with my wife and kids, was entertaining and fulfilling. A magical memory not to be forgotten. I was content and comfortable, and my family was happy.  After a few more rides and a visit to the petting zoo, we took a stroll through the large tented area where booths from community vendors and organizations had been set up. We l...
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To Feed a Hungry Soul

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https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/bc/content/ldsorg/media-library/features/nephi-kneeling-in-woods-to-pray-ca3413-features.jpg “Oh, my soul hungered, My heart cried out” These are the first two lines of a very powerful song written by Kurt Bestor . I believe that a big reason these lyrics are powerful is that it strikes a chord with everyone. The term hunger denotes that there is a void that needs to be filled. On a daily basis, we have to eat food to fill a physical void of energy in order to function properly and perform the tasks at hand. But often the need to feed our spirits goes unnoticed or underprioritized. In mortality, it is easier to recognize the wants and needs of the natural, physical man but harder to pay attention to the needs and progress of our spirits.  The lyrics of ‘ MySoul Hungered ’ recognize that deep pang we feel when we are unhappy and recognize a void in our lives. I believe that having a void and being unhappy are synonymous. I...
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