LDS Women of God Blog

I am a sucker for Christmas movies.  I have collected my favorites, but I look forward to the Thanksgiving paper where they list the Christmas movies to be telecast during the season.  With the help of my trusty DVR, I am able to catch several and enjoy them while making various Christmas gifts.  Heaven!

Except, I have made an observation which is actually pretty disturbing to me.  Not surprising, but pretty disturbing.

Way back in the old days, Christmas movies had a glimmer of religious Christmas carols and spiritual purpose.  They talked about the Christmas Spirit, being granted second chances, accepting this warning and having a change of heart; i.e. A Christmas Carol, It’s a Wonderful Life.  These are movies not to be missed during the holiday season.  A personal favorite is A Muppet’s Christmas Carol, clearly not religious, but a whole lot of fun, and great music, with maybe a glimmer…okay maybe not.  My favorite is the one with George C. Scott.  Jacob Marley is so intense and desperate in that version, who wouldn’t stop, listen, and learn?

There are so many movies  that are not so much religious in nature, but full of good hearts and service toward fellow men.  These movies are often tear jerkers and I enjoy a flood of them; i.e. White Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, etc. 

Now a days if a movie has a Christmas tree in it, it counts as a Christmas movie regardless of the plot.

What I find interesting though, is that recently Christmas has become all about Romance.  I ask you, what does Romance have to do with Christmas?  Most of the movies are cheesy and pretty lame.  I guess happiness is what everyone is after.  Very noble and important, but clearly the true meaning of Christmas has been completely lost.  

Now we have to search for Christmas.  The reason for the season.  The very person we celebrate this holiday.  I am so happy when I actually hear religious music being played at Christmas time.  Yay to the Choir Directors who insist on breaking the present “secular” school rules.   

Clearly, watching Christmas movies is not the best way to celebrate the holiday.  Getting out to serve and change hearts is.

As part of the Thanksgiving Holiday, I thought, Thanks in Hebrew would be very appropriate.

Thanks in Hebrew is pronounced, Todah and looks like this:

תודה

The first character is the Tav, ת , and represents a sacred enclosure or specifically the Holy of Holies or Temple.

The second character is the Vav, ו , and represents the veil in the Temple.

The third character is the Dalet, ד , and represents man.

The forth character is the Hey, ה , and represents the spirit, a whisper or Christ himself.

Hence, Thanks in Hebrew symbolically means returning to the Holy of Holies by passing through the veil and having man or us being in the presence of Jesus Christ in His Temple. We give thanks to Christ, who is the only one that can bring us through the veil and return us to the presence of the Lord through His Atonement. That is something I am very very grateful for.

‘Tis the Season to be Thankful

I’d like to thank everyone for hanging in here with me.  I’m thankful for all the things I’ve learned as I’ve researched our Relief Society’s history.  I’ve thrown in some personal thoughts and opinions, and yet you continue to come back.  I hope I’ve caused you to think about things.  Maybe you’ve done some experimenting on your own.  I’m grateful for our sisterhood; we all have something to offer to move the work forward.

Our Relief Society teacher, this past week, shared with us her habit of writing down 101 things she is thankful for.  Usually she waits till the end of every year, but she went through the entire room and had us all list something we were thankful for.  It was really a great experience to share in our gratitude. 

I challenge all of us to take the time to run up a list of things we are thankful for.  You really start getting creative, thoughtful, and deep the more things you come up with.  It’s really a wonderful exercise.  Here are a few that we came up with on Sunday.

My Family                           My Friends                         The Gospel                         Music

Colors                                 Jesus Christ                         Food                                   Indoor plumbing

The Atonement                   Books                                  Lower gas prices               Sunsets

The Scriptures                     The Prophet                        Animals                              Being out of debt

Repentance                         Desserts                             Shelter                                Education

I have another friend who has kept a Thank You journal for years.  In a notebook (she graduated to recording on a computer eventually), she writes one thing she was thankful for that happened that day.  She began this when she was going through a particularly difficult time and found it hard to feel grateful for anything.  Having to think of just one thing a day helped her get through it.  And then she just kept going. 

Elder Bednar, in his recent talk at Conference entitled Pray Always, challenges us to use an occasional prayer to only thank our Father in Heaven.  He promises us that as we communicate with our Father, with a grateful heart, we will recognize more and more of our blessings.

Again, as you take the time to list, whether on paper or in your mind, all the many blessings you have in your life, your heart will be filled, your worth will grow, your awareness will peak, your love will overflow.  You will recognize that you love and that you are loved.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

This is a phrase that we are all very much familiar with but sometimes bristle at because it sounds so hard and difficult. In Hebrew the idea of end has a more positive thought or feeling. End means more like complete, full or perfect. We would endure to the end of the Plan of Happiness or Salvation in order to become perfect or better yet to complete our journey home to our Father in Heaven. Even the word for end in Hebrew has this connotation.

The word end in Hebrew is pronounced, kets and looks like this:

קץ

The first letter is the Qoph, ק , has the symbolical meaning of holiness.

The second letter is the Tsadee, ץ , and has the symbolical meaning of righteous or the desire to hunt for or become righteous.

Hence, our destiny or destination at the end of our life or the Plan of Salvation is to become holy and righteous, worthy to return to the presence of the Father and the Son. In other words, we complete the end of our life staying on the straight and narrow path so that we can become complete and perfect or holy and righteous by the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

I don’t know about you, but listening to Conference addresses is a wonderful experience and blessing in my life.  The words from our prophets are truly inspiring, thought provoking, and life changing, but only if we let them be.  I can’t ever pick a favorite talk.  When I get my Ensign, I read each of the talks and underline what is most meaningful to me.  Writing some of these talks on my blog allows me to take an even deeper study, which fills me with great love and appreciation for the Plan of the Father.

In The Infinite Power of Hope, Pres. Uchtdorf tells us that hope is a gift of the Spirit.  We all understand that that means we all have the ability to gain it, to feel its power and blessing in our lives.  And boy, do we need it in this day!  And also, because of this gift, we have no excuses.  We all have the power to endure to the end; all because of hope.

Pres. Uchtdorf explains how hope “leads us to peace, mercy, rejoicing, and gladness.  The hope of salvation is like a protective helmet; it is the foundation of our faith and an anchor to our souls.”  He explains it through a series of scriptures in this paragraph.  As I looked up each of these scriptures, I was filled with hope, and with the Spirit.  Look in the footnotes for the following scriptures (#7-13):

Romans 15:13  Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and ^apeace in believing, that ye may abound in ^bhope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.  (Pres. Uchtdorf: “Hope…is like the beam of sunlight rising up and above the horizon of our present circumstances.  It pierces the darkness with a brilliant dawn.”)

Psalms 33:22  Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we ^ahope in thee.  (Pres. Uchtdorf: “…hope…transcends the trivial and centers on the Hope of Israel, the great hope of mankind, even our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.”)

Romans 12:12  Rejoicing in hope; ^apatient in ^btribulation; ^ccontinuing instant in prayer;  ( Pres. Uchtdorf: “Hope is…the abiding trust that the Lord will fulfill His promise to us.  It is confidence that if we live according to God’s laws and the words of His prophets now, we will receive desired blessings in the future.  It is believing and expecting that our prayers will be answered.  It is manifest in confidence, optimism, enthusiasm, and patient perseverance.”)

Proverbs 10:28  The ^ahope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.  (Pres. Uchtdorf:  “…without hope we cannot receive an inheritance in the kingdom of God.” )

1 Thess 5:8  But let us, who are of the day, be ^asober, putting on the ^bbreastplate of ^cfaith and love; and for an helmet, the ^dhope of salvation.   (Pres. Uchtdorf:  “And what kind of existence can we hope for?  Those who come unto Christ, repent of their sins, and live in faith will reside forever in peace.  Think of the worth of this eternal gift.”)

Moroni 7:40  And again, my beloved brethren, I would speak unto you concerning ^ahope. How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope?  (Pres. Uchtdorf: “The brighter our hope, the greater our faith.  The stronger our hope, the purer our charity.”)

Ether 12:4  Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with ^asurety ^bhope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which ^chope cometh of ^dfaith, maketh an ^eanchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in ^fgood works, being led to ^gglorify God.  (Pres. Uchtdorf: “We hope in Jesus the Christ, in the goodness of God, in the manifestations of the Holy Spirit, in the knowledge that prayers are heard and answered…that God will keep His promises to us…things will ‘work together for our good’.”)

Pres. Uchtdorf concludes with this powerful message:

“God will wait with ‘open arms to receive’ those who give away their sins and continue in faith, hope, and charity. 

And to all who suffer—to all who feel discouraged, worried, or lonely—I say with love and deep concern for you, never give in. 

Never surrender. 

Never allow despair to overcome your spirit. 

Embrace and rely upon the Hope of Israel, for the love of the Son of God pierces all darkness, softens all sorrow, and gladdens every heart.” (Bold type added for emphasis)

In our busy lifestyles, especially during the holidays, we tend to be a little more impatient with the children, or hurry our precious time with them.  Sometimes the hardest thing of all is to spend a simple meal together.   I found this interesting little article and offer it as a gentle reminder.

“Not with reproof for any of that day’s sins of omission or commission.  Take any time but bed-time for that.  If you ever heard a little creature sighing or sobbing in its sleep, you could never do this.  Seal their closing eyelids with a kiss and a blessing.  The time will come when, all too soon, they will lay their heads upon their pillows lacking both.  Let them then, at least, have this sweet memory of a happy childhood, of which no future sorrow or trouble can rob them.  Give them their rosy youth.  Nor need this involve wild license.  The judicious parent will not so mistake my meaning.  If you have ever met the man, or the woman, whose eyes have suddenly filled when a little child has crept trustingly to its mother’s breast, you may have seen one in whose childhood’s home “Dignity” and “Severity” stood where love and pity should have been.  Too much indulgence has ruined thousands of children; too much love, not one.”    Woman’s Exponent, September 30, 1874, Fanny Fern

May we look for whatever ways we can to give our children the childhoods they deserve.  With domestic violence so rampant, may we stand tall to protect those who are too young to protect themselves.  It is our responsibility to preserve a loving family environment.  The parent, and especially the mother, sets the mood in the home of security, love, and trust.  I love the final line of this article:  “Too much indulgence has ruined thousands of children; too much love, not one.”   So, don’t worry about giving less material goods to your children, they probably won’t even notice.  However, giving them more love might shock them, but never kill them.

The number ten in Hebrew is very significant. Every Hebrew letter has a numerical equilivant. The Hebrew character or letter that equals ten is a Yud and looks like this: י, it is the smallest Hebrew letter. The symbolical meaning of the Yud is God’s Hand, meaning how God’s Hand works or interacts in our lives. Because the Yud is the smallest character in the Hebrew alphabet, it symbolically says that God’s Hand is always there but never forces us. The more humble and spiritual we are, God’s Hand can have more influence in our lives to be directed according to His will.

The Hebrew word for the number ten is pronounced, `eser and looks like this:

עשר

The first character is the `ayin, ע, and symbolically means to see, eye, discern, or divine providence.

The second character is the Shin, ש, and symbolically means the tree of life, burning bush, God’s spirit, etc.

The third character is the Resh, ר, and symbolically means a humble or penitent man like he is bending over in prayer.

So even the word for the number ten in Hebrew has a similar message, if we will be humble, we shall have the spirit to see or discern between right and wrong, truth and error, light and darkness so that we can partake of the fruit of the tree of life or arrive at the burning bush or the presence of God. Hence, if we are humble God’s Hand can direct our lives so that we can return and live with Him again.

Advent calendars used to be all the rage, at one time.  Now you might see some in homes here and there, but mostly they have all but been forgotten.  Maybe this year, instead of focusing on getting the right number of gifts for family members, we should focus on advent activities all month long.

I have seen so many cute and fun advent calendars over the years, but sadly I have been so focused on presents and getting everything ready for “the big day”, I just don’t follow through.  Often the month of December is crowded with concerts, parties, and shopping we miss out on the entire holiday spirit.  Here are some of the ideas I’ve collected over the years:

·         Everyone has seen the cardboard calendars.  They all have doors to open.  Some have activities printed inside the door; some have chocolate inside

·         There are so many cute miniature ornaments that you can hang in a variety of ways:  on a miniature tree, on a branch painted white, on a felt tree, on a fabric calendar

·         If you have a collection of old Christmas cards: string them up somewhere and attach an activity to each one and hang around the fireplace, door, or staircase

·         Use colorful baby socks, various styles, shapes and sizes.  Tuck an activity inside each one and again, hang somewhere in the house

·         Using a long tapered candle, or possibly a candle per week, and mark sections off to burn each night before Christmas

·         Print off a calendar from the computer and mark each day with a big colorful X or design as you count down the days

·         Create a long construction paper chain, removing or adding on with every night

·         Wrap a whole chain of hard candy in cellophane, tie them off individually and eat a candy every day till Christmas

·         Use blocks, ornaments, or maybe paper cranes, to count your days along a table, stairs, basket, or mantel. 

There are a number of activities you can dream up to do with your family.  Here are just a few ideas:

·         Go Christmas caroling

·         Make cookies

·         Watch a Christmas movie together

·         Visit the widows in your neighborhood with a homemade treat

·         Drive around and look at the Christmas lights

·         Go to a Christmas concert

·         Sing songs around the piano, fireplace, or around each other

·         Spend an evening making homemade gifts for one another or friends

You might want your advent calendar to be more specific:

·         Every night, read a scripture having to do with Jesus Christ

·         Every night, read a Christmas story together

·         Every night, sing a Christmas song together

·         Every night, do a Secret Santa to someone

·         Every night, spend any amount of time with one another; voicing gratitude and love

·         Every night, perform an act of random kindness to one another, or anyone outside of the home

·         Every night, pick someone you would like to thank for any reason, and write them a note, visit them, give them a treat, tell them in some way

Maybe you could do something really radical and suggest this Advent BE your Christmas.  On Christmas morning, instead of opening gifts, spend the time recalling the things you did during the whole month; act out or read the Christmas story and discuss the blessings you have received because of what Jesus Christ has offered you; sing praises unto the Babe in a Manger; take your gifts over to the shelter in case they didn’t have enough to go around; visit a Retirement Home and go from door to door singing to the residents; enjoy one another’s company without pressures or anxiety.

Our young women and girls should strive to understand the teachings of the gospel with regard to dress and conduct, and to live in accordance therewith.  In the guise of fashion, many false ideas of beauty have come among us, and the habit of “being in the style” has caught and carried many of us much farther than we realized.  Let us remember that the body is a gift from God and that it should be kept sacred.  Our girls should be instructed and helped to recognize the value of, and the protection that comes with modesty in dress and conduct.  Not one of them can afford to sacrifice such protection for the sake of fashion. 

Social Advisory Committee of

                                                                                                                Relief Society,

                                                                                                                Young Ladies’ Mutual Improvement Association,

                                                                                                                Primary Association      

Weather is not the reason why we wear clothing.  It’s a good reason, but there is a better reason.  We wear clothes to cover the body and not suggest alternate activities that can be done with the body (if you get my drift).  By looking around, we can judge pretty quickly everyone by their clothing.  We can spot the rich, the flashy, the conservative, the loose ideals (there are other words, but I choose not to use them).  Granted, all of these people are probably very nice, yet their clothes speak for them.  Don’t they? 

You know how we usually have our Presidencies sit in front of the room facing the members of their organization?  Have you ever been confronted with an unnecessary view up the leg of a sister?  I have, many times.  I ask you, how do you tell the sister she is immodest when she is crossing her legs?  How do you inform her of what you see?  How do you say politely-wear a longer skirt next time?  You can’t do it without hurting her feelings.  I have never said anything to a fellow sister about her dress.

Yet, women need to be aware of how they appear in public.  And more importantly, they need to be aware they are setting the standard for our youth: what is acceptable, what isn’t.

It is inevitable that a temple recommend holder will be spotted at a glance, because everyone else will be exposing themselves in one way or another.  Here’s the trick though, a temple recommend holder has to be solidly holding onto the standard; there can be no borderline.

Our girls, especially need to be taught, shown, and safeguarded.  We are not asking them to be odd-bodies and misfits.  We are asking them to consciously make a choice to be attractive, pure and beautiful, even in their grubbies; even when they’re dressed up to the nines; even when they are at a swimming party; even when they are at school; even when it just doesn’t matter…they should be conscious of the message they are sending with their appearance always.  And it starts with leaders, and especially parents.

I don’t know about you, but when I see our Young Women choirs singing at a conference, it often brings tears to my eyes (no exaggeration) to see these well dressed, beautiful young girls in bright happy colors.  We don’t see that out on the street.  Our youth are happy, when the world would teach them they have reason to be sad.  Our youth can be the light to the world; and it can merely be shown in the clothing they choose to wear.

Granted, it is hard to find anything decent to wear these days.  And if we do find something, it is often overpriced.  The modest clotheshorse cannot exist. 1) She can’t find enough things to buy, 2) She can’t afford frequent shopping trips, 3) She’s hogging all the decent clothes and leaving the rest of us with nothing.

However, there are basic things we should all consider before we leave the dressing room or bedroom closet:

When you are trying on a skirt or dress, here’s an idea.  Sit in front of a mirror.  Cross your ankles-and see how things look.  Cross your legs—and see how things look.  Relax your legs in front of you-and see how you look.  If you see anything remotely problematic in the mirror, don’t wear the skirt in public or even buy it.  You are treating anyone sitting opposite you with a full view.  Do the same for a slit, only include walking across a room forwards and backwards as part of the test.   

While you are at it, bend over forward.  Can you see down your blouse?  What exactly are you seeing?  Will you remember to put your hand to your chest to protect yourself?  Maybe you don’t even need to bend over to realize there is a problem.  I hate button down shirts that gap in the front (I admit it’s because they are too tight around me).  Those wide necklines are usually a real problem.  Cap sleeves are usually “safe”, but not always.  Watch that gap under the arm.  Why can’t people admit that it is just ugly to see someone’s bra strap, no matter what color it is?

We are above all of these issues sisters.  Let’s just avoid them completely.  And let us teach our daughters to avoid them.  There are other more important concerns out in the world that we should be focusing on. 

I already wrote once about Pres. Uchtdorf’s talk given in the General Women’s Meeting, but I feel to address it a second time.  He talked about achieving happiness and he used two ways to get there:  Creating and being Compassionate.  I would like to dissect the “Creating” part of his talk.

First of all he says “everyone can create.  We develop ourselves and others when we take unorganized matter into our hands and mold it into something of beauty.”  He told us that we “are spirit daughters of the most creative Being in the universe.  We were created with the express purpose and potential of experiencing a fullness of joy.  Our birthright—and the purpose of our great voyage on this earth—is to seek and experience eternal happiness.  One of the ways we find this is by creating things.”

How do we incorporate this into our lives and the Relief Society?

In the Woman’s Exponent I came across this little article:

The most perfect home I ever saw was in a little house into the sweet incense of whose fires went no costly things.  A thousand dollars served for a year’s living of father, mother and three children.  But the mother was the creator of the home; her relation with her children was the most beautiful I have ever seen; even a dull and commonplace man was lifted up and enabled to do good work for souls by the atmosphere which this woman created; every inmate of her house involuntarily looked into her face for the key-note of the day; and it always rang clear.  From the rose-bud or cloverleaf; which, in spite of her hard house-work, she always found time to put by our plates at breakfast, down to the very story she had on hand to be read in the evening, there was no intermission of her influence.  She has always been and always will be my ideal of a mother, wife, home-maker.  If to her quick brain, loving heart and exquisite face had been added the appliance of wealth and the enlargements of a wider culture, here would have been the ideal of home.  As it was, it was the best I have ever see.—Helen Hunt, May 15, 1874

We, the women of our homes (whether there are men or children in the household or not), are the creators of our environment.  Let’s be honest, when a man lives alone, the place is either a pigsty, or a home without heart.  Am I right?  It is the woman that is capable of bringing that home to an emotional level radiating comfort and love.  That is our innate ability to create; not to mention our innate responsibility to provide a cherished home for our loved ones.  It is that innate ability that allows us to expand and develop and enrich the lives of those around us in the very best way.

As women in the Relief Society, sometimes we like to do “what is safe” rather than “what is right”.  For presidents, this tends to be a burden.  You want all the sisters to be happy, so it is easier to provide the surefire techniques that have always been done in your ward.  I knew a RS president who changed up all the visiting teaching (a rather ambitious, daring move).  One of the older sisters threatened to go to the Bishop in order to get her visiting teaching sisters back.  There was a huge uproar in the system.  Same problems with RS overnighters, Super Saturdays, cookie exchanges, other such traditions that CAN NOT be touched. 

Sometimes, we shoot ourselves, or our society, in the foot by limiting creativity.  A failed attempt at creativity brings in bitterness and other such feelings of failure.  An avoidance of trying something new, becomes stagnant.  Tradition sets in and there is no other way to do things.  As I recall, “the tradition of our [mothers]” was a bad thing in the Book of Mormon.

Pres. Uchtdorf has just counseled us to be creative.  That is a gentle reminder to go to the Lord and find out what the real needs of our sisters are and come up with a program that will fulfill those needs.  It’s going to be quite different from what has always been done, but in the long run it will be a better, more fulfilling thing.  Above all, it will have the blessing of the Lord behind it. 

Have you ever experienced this before?  A situation comes up where there doesn’t seem to be any easy solution, without hurting feelings, without causing an uproar, without overhauling an entire program.  You just don’t know what to do and you go to the Lord with it.  While you are in the very act of praying about this “huge” problem, the answer comes softly and quietly.  As you sit and think about this new idea, still on your knees, more ideas begin flooding through you.  Suddenly the excitement is too much for you to bear.  You interrupt your prayer, with a hurried Thank You, and write everything down before you forget.  There, before your eyes is the act of creation presented to you by the Lord himself, for your particular need.  Let it happen to you, no matter what your calling is, no matter what responsibilities you have to bear, no matter what.  This gift is yours. 

When a sister has a new idea, support her in it.  Too many times I have seen tradition win and the act of creation lose.  One brainstorming idea can blossom into an array of beautiful ideas that will help individuals.  And when we help one, we help many.

“The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create.”  Pres. Uchtdorf  says.   Our destiny is to improve not only the world around us but the world within us.  We can change our situations, our problems, our struggles, our hearts, by creatively seeking answers.

Can I just mention another little thought?  Satan is not creative.  Nor does he have the power to create.  He copies, he counterfeits, he steals, he twists, he manipulates, he robs, he imitates.  Man recognizes that Satan is tempting, and sometimes even exciting, and always easy, and gives Satan credit for what does not belong to him.

Give credit where credit is due.  God is the father of creation; by being one of His creations, we are allowed access to this incredible gift.  Let us expand, share, enjoy, uplift and build new wherever we are and in whatever we are doing.  As long as we are in the mindset of helping others, God will bring us success.