The strength we need and to spare

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Priesthood Session of the October 2008 Conference.

Elder Uchtdorf gave his great "Lift Where You Stand" talk this session, which I love, but my favorite talk was Elder Eyring's "O Ye That Embark." This is the summary passage at the top:

Our power to carry burdens can be increased more than enough to compensate for the increased service we will be asked to give.

I had read and marked this talk four years ago, but a part I didn't remember was this story from when Elder Eyring was a new apostle:

Shortly after I was called to the Quorum of the Twelve, I got a phone call from President Faust, counselor in the First Presidency. He asked me to come to his office. I went with some concern as to why he would take the time to visit with me.

After some pleasantries, he looked at me and said, “Has it happened yet?” When I looked puzzled he went on to say, “I’ve been watching you in meetings. It seems to me that you have been feeling that your calling is beyond you and that you are not qualified.”

I said that doubt had come to me, as if I had hit a wall. I expected that he was going to reassure me. I told him that I appreciated his being aware of my doubts and asked for his help. But I was surprised by his kind, firm reply. He said, “Don’t ask me. Go to Him.” Then he pointed up to heaven. Now years later I sit in that same office. When I walk into it I look up and remember him and how he taught me by example how to help those who are feeling overwhelmed in the Lord’s service. Find a way to send them with confidence to Him. If they will follow your counsel, they will gain the strength they need and to spare.

I have gotten used to reading about the doubts and fears of the general authorities when they first receive their calls. I know it's a hard and soul-searching time for them, and they often feel humbled and unworthy as they accept their new responsibilities. But then it has always seemed like they are fine after that. They grow into their calling and everyone starts to love them and they become powerful, confident servants of God. So I guess it never occurred to me that they might keep feeling overwhelmed and inadequate! Or start to feel that way again! It's a little sad to think that they have to keep feeling inadequate when from an outside perspective they are so great! But it's actually very relatable, because as Elder Eyring says elsewhere in the talk, "the more faithful service you give, the more the Lord asks of you." 

In some ways I hate that idea of lifelong progressively greater responsibility (it's scary!). But in other ways, it's so comforting to know that, 1. when I'm struggling with something it seems like I should have figured out by now, it's probably actually a harder version of the difficulty I've faced before, and my capacity is increasing. And 2. Heavenly Father actually does continue to give aid equal to the situation, which means his help is increasing in proportion to what he's asking of me. Elder Eyring says:

The tough part of that reality, however, is that for Him to give you that increased power you must go in service and faith to your outer limits.

It is like building muscle strength. You must break down your muscles to build them up. You push muscles to the point of exhaustion. Then they repair themselves, and they develop greater strength. Increased spiritual strength is a gift from God which He can give when we push in His service to our limits.

…Time and again over your life, the Lord has been giving you the experiences to build strength, courage, and determination.

It's not an easy process, becoming a disciple of Christ. I see that. But it's the path we've started on, and now if we just keep walking, He will help us finish it!

Other posts in this series:

General Conference Talks Answer Questions!—by Rozy

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Some of the field trips

I told you we were doing weekly "field trips" this year. So far the trips have all been to Thanksgiving Point (where we have a membership), since it is free and fairly close! There is a lot to do there and it's been fun to do it at a more leisurely pace, knowing there is no hurry. I love watching and being with these little kids, and I love the talks we have together. I hadn't realized how often the older kids monopolize the conversation (not intentionally, but just because they have so much…I don't know, so much going on and so many thoughts about things and so little time for the often inane things small kids want to go on and on about)—and it's been very sweet to slow down and talk with these little ones and hear their surprisingly perceptive gospel questions and see their curious minds at work! I love them so much.

Playing "animal doctor"

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Djanuary

(I don't know why I called it Djanuary. But I was thinking about books my dad read us when we were little. And one of them was "Djingo Django" by Sid Fleischman. Maybe I was remembering that.)

January usually seems so LONG! And maybe it did this year too. I really can't remember, now that we're halfway through February and I'm looking back on it. Now it seems like it flew by! Here is a very assorted assortment of pictures. First, some of the snowflakes which we are all so busily working on in the picture above. (We did them during the week after Christmas this year, and it was fun.)

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The shortest and longest Advent

First dinner all together after getting home from Quebec!

Advent season feels like it takes place "after Thanksgiving." So with Canadian Thanksgiving being way back at the beginning of October, it seemed like we could start thinking about Christmas extra early! When it snowed in Quebec and the Christmas lights were up, it felt very Advent-y indeed!

But then we drove back to Utah at what felt like "the beginning of December," and it took us almost a week, and by the time we unpacked and caught our breath and I looked at the calendar, I was astonished to see that Christmas was next week! (I'd thought all along that we'd have about two more weeks, but I should have known we wouldn't—Malachi's birthday is two weeks before Christmas and we'd been traveling for that.) So in that way, it felt like we really only got one week of Advent!

Well, luckily the Christmas presents had mostly arrived as I'd ordered them online (Sebastian had stacked the boxes in a big pile in my bedroom) and, as it was a weird and different year with different fun things to do, we only had a few more Advent things that felt like they had to happen.

First up—Malachi's (late) birthday! Seventeen! He had his cake even later than his birthday dinner and presents (I think it was nearly January by the time we got to it). AND, I told him we couldn't have his usual angel food because it takes twelve egg whites and I couldn't even find eggs at the store! (And when I could find them they cost practically a year's salary.) So, poor boy, he had to pick a different cake. But here he is looking pretty content with it.

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Pray always

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Saturday Afternoon Session of the October 2008 Conference.

There are several memorable talks in this session. Elder Wirthlin's "Come what may and love it," which everyone loved and still quotes all the time (me included), Elder Holland's "The Ministry of Angels" [it's SO good; I'm not going to write about it but it's definitely worth a re-read!] Elder Christoffersen's talk about building Zion, and Elder Bednar's "Pray Always." As usual, these talks seem to have only gotten better over time! 

I'd forgotten that this is the conference where Elder Bednar talked about our morning prayers being a form of "spiritually creating" our days before we actually "physically create" the experiences of those days. I feel like that's a concept I just heard recently and have kept intending to think more about and implement. Pretty embarrassing to realize I've been intending to do so for over 17 years now🤦🏼‍♀️. Maybe I also heard about it from someone else? Anyway, here is the relevant passage:

We learn…that the spiritual creation preceded the temporal creation. In a similar way, meaningful morning prayer is an important element in the spiritual creation of each day—and precedes the temporal creation or the actual execution of the day. Just as the temporal creation was linked to and a continuation of the spiritual creation, so meaningful morning and evening prayers are linked to and are a continuation of each other.…

Morning and evening prayers—and all of the prayers in between—are not unrelated, discrete events; rather, they are linked together each day and across days, weeks, months, and even years. This is in part how we fulfill the scriptural admonition to “pray always.” Such meaningful prayers are instrumental in obtaining the highest blessings God holds in store for His faithful children.

I love that idea of our prayers all being linked and building on each other. Someone in Relief Society the other day mentioned that she "opens" her prayers in the morning and, although of course she has to move on with her day and take care of other things, she doesn't say "amen" until the night prayer, so that anytime she has a free moment she sort of just takes up where she left off. I always worry that my prayer somehow won't be as good until I've said "in the name of Jesus Christ," but I still like the idea of it all really being one day-long prayer. I also heard someone else say once that she makes sure to say "in the name of Jesus Christ" at the beginning of her prayers…so if she gets interrupted or has to cut off abruptly, she has already made clear in whose name she is praying. Interesting ideas, both of them, but most of all I just like the concept that our hearts and minds can continually be turning back to prayer all day long, and as Elder Bednar says, even midday and in crucial moments, we

discern heavenly help and strength and humbly recognize answers to our prayer. Even in that moment of recognition, we offer a silent prayer of gratitude.

I also really liked this insight:

Just as expressing gratitude more often in our prayers enlarges the conduit for revelation, so praying for others with all of the energy of our souls increases our capacity to hear and to heed the voice of the Lord.

Though I know I have improved significantly in the past several years, I want to continue to improve the power and effectiveness of my prayers, and this talk seems like a great place to start. I will try not to take seventeen more years to get working on it!

Other posts in this series:

What General Conference Teaches Us—by Jan

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A courageous decision to hope

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Saturday Morning Session of the October 2008 Conference.

None of the passages I liked this week seem like they teach anything revolutionary. But as always, my experiences at this season of life make them seem more meaningful to me than they used to. I've had two friends with heart-wrenching circumstances this week, one enduring the sudden loss of her husband and another experiencing a church membership council. My heart has ached for both of them in their particular challenges. At the same time, I have rejoiced in the way "looking unto Christ in every thought" can make every difficulty more bearable. As I've imagined what sorts of fears and doubts might be going through my friends' minds, there is literally not a single one of them that isn't improved and lightened by the reality of Jesus' sacrifice for us. His mercy with our faults, His understanding of our circumstances, His victory over sin and death, His ability to heal us, His power to send angels to our aid. I'm so grateful that, though what I can do for my friends is so small, what Jesus can do is so great!

With those thoughts in my head, Elder Uchtdorf's words about hope become even more beautiful:

Hope is a gift of the Spirit. It is a hope that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the power of His Resurrection, we shall be raised unto life eternal and this because of our faith in the Savior. This kind of hope is both a principle of promise as well as a commandment, and, as with all commandments, we have the responsibility to make it an active part of our lives and overcome the temptation to lose hope. Hope in our Heavenly Father’s merciful plan of happiness leads to peace, mercy, rejoicing, and gladness.…

There may be times when we must make a courageous decision to hope even when everything around us contradicts this hope.

I love that idea—that when we "against hope believe in hope," we are being not naive, but courageous! It's so easy for me, when I'm facing something hard and discouraging, to feel foolish about my former hopes. I think, "I should have known it wouldn't be so simple. How could I have gotten my hopes up like that? How could I have been so dumb as to think things were getting better/working out/going to be okay?" It's so easy to let go of hope. I don't know why disappointed hopes are always accompanied by that "I'm so dumb for believing" feeling. I'm sure that's Satan trying to take away our hopes.

Anyway, but it's a lie! Elder Uchtdorf says hope is a "courageous decision" and I'm going to try to see it that way from now on. It's not "refusing to face reality"; it's having the vision to see a truer reality! The joyful reality of Jesus Christ overshadows any other despair that seems so real to us in the moment. And I want to share that hope with the people around me if I can. I want to let my mind "catch hold upon this thought of Jesus Christ" (as Elder Andersen talks about) and allow that thought to give me, and those around me, that "infinite power of hope" Elder Uchtdorf promises.

Other posts in this series:

The Sacrament: A Precious Gift—by Jan

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Lest we forget, lest we forget

Perhaps you are all thoroughly tired of Quebec posts, but I persist! This is the last one, I think: a little collection of details about the house and city, which we can read and smile at when we are old and grey. (Not so far off.) I think the kids will like remembering these things someday.

1. About the shape and character of the city:

Willa Cather wrote this about Quebec:

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The way has always been prepared

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Young Women's Session of the April 2008 Conference. 

I found a new favorite scripture this week in Doctrine and Covenants 3:1. I don't know why it's never struck me so forcefully before, but right now I love it:

The works, and the designs, and the purposes of God cannot be frustrated, neither can they come to naught.

!!!!

They CANNOT be frustrated! They CANNOT be for nothing! God has a work and a design and a purpose for me, and it CANNOT be frustrated. No matter how weak I am, no matter how badly I mess things up, no matter what Satan does to me and those I love, God's design for my life will prevail, if I let Him prevail! What more do I need to know in life than that? All I have to do is keep turning to God and his beautiful, wonderful, perfect plan for me will be made real in my life!

President Eyring gave a beautiful talk in the Young Women session that is a second witness of this:

…You have been protected and watched over by your Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. They know you. They know all of the forces and individuals around you. They know what is ahead of you. And so They know which of the choices you make, which of the desires you decide to satisfy, and which of the circumstances around you will make the most difference in keeping you walking in the light. I testify that by the Spirit of Christ and by the Holy Ghost, you may walk confidently in whatever difficulties will come. Because you are so valuable, some of your trials may be severe. You need never be discouraged or afraid. The way through difficulties has always been prepared for you, and you will find it if you exercise faith.

Other posts in this series: 

Testimonies that light the way—by Jan

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One Last Miracle

 

We planned at first to leave in the early morning on the Monday, but looking at the weather and other logistics, decided to leave on the Tuesday instead. It turned out well because that gave us one more non-Sunday day to do things—like get poutine one last time! We packed and cleaned like madmen so we'd be mostly done and free to have fun on Monday.

Sunday, after we went to church and said goodbye to everyone there, we were all very sad. We cheered ourselves up with my chicken soup. ("In June I saw a charming group/Of roses all begin to droop./I pepped them up with chicken soup!")

There was a snowy, blowy storm that night. We were happy to get to see it.

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Je me souviens

Every time we walked along the streets of Quebec City, explored the neighborhoods, or drove through the villages up and down the river, we saw churches. Beautiful, towering, prominent, empty churches. It was strange to me, and then interesting, and then unsettling—almost haunting. I wanted to understand it, so I read about Quebec's "Revolution Tranquille" in the 1970s, when the Catholic Church's influence in Quebec fell from pervasive to almost nonexistent. Church programs were turned into government programs, a huge church bureaucracy became government bureaucracy, and the entire character of the province changed overnight. The numbers are almost unbelievable:

• 95 percent of the population went to Mass weekly in the 1950s, but only 5 percent do so today. 

• The birth rate went from 40.6 births per 1000 in 1909, to 8.8 in 2023.

• The abortion rate ("voluntary termination of pregnancy") went from 1.4 per 100 births in 1971 to 40.2 in 2002.

• In 2003 (this was the earliest I found numbers for; it was probably higher later) there were 2746 churches in Quebec; by 2022, 713 of them had been demolished, closed, or converted into something else.

I think most people in Quebec aren't bothered by those statistics. They see it as progress, and consider themselves well rid of religion's controlling hand. Obviously I'm not qualified to discuss the ins and outs of Catholic influence in government; I'm sure you could make a case for corruption and overreach and coercion and whatever else. Perhaps church and state were too intertwined, and individual Catholic leaders may well have been as power-hungry and prideful as any politician. But, also obviously, I am sympathetic to the Catholic church, our sister church in Christ, and I think about all the generations of faithful people who built those thousands of churches scattered through every town and every village in Quebec. Surely there were people who kept the faith because they had their own connections to Jesus Christ; people who had many children not because they were "forced" or "intimidated" by the church, but because they loved God and loved their families. People who had generations of religious belief in their blood; who looked for miracles; who served and sacrificed because they chose to put God first. People who would be horrified by what their grandchildren and great-grandchildren have forgotten.

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