Church was wonderful…as usual = ) Again…I woke up to church music…and again…it’s the best way to start the morning! = ) In sacrament meeting, the talks were really good…but one in particular stood out to me. Later, I learned that the sweet lady giving the talk was giving her first talk…which I’m sure added to the beauty of it. She spoke on modesty…and one thing she said that struck me was that, after Adam and Eve had partaken of the forbidden fruit, God gave them coats of skin to cover their nakedness even though they were the only ones there. I think I always thought of modesty as necessary for others – like not giving boys inappropriate thoughts or presenting yourself in a clean, presentable fashion. But if it’s necessary to be modest even when we’re at home by ourselves, it must be that modesty is about much more. As I thought about it, it’s true that my thoughts and actions often go hand-in-hand with how I’m dressed. Anyways…just an interesting thought.
I missed most of Sunday School with Mandy and Chichi (poor Mandy…the African wear that the women usually wear to church is not conducive to breastfeeding), but I LOVED the third hour. It was combined, and we were discussing the talk “The Power of Scriptures” by Richard G. Scott. It was interesting because during the lesson, I found myself clearly remembering the talk from conference, yet I felt like I was gaining so much new insight. For example, he says, “Great power can come form memorizing scriptures. To memorize a scripture is to forge a new friendship. It is like discovering a new individual who can help in time of need, give inspiration and comfort, and be a source of motivation for needed change.” I thought this was kind of funny, comparing a scripture to a friend. But as I sat there, it hit me that the scriptures really have been a trusted friend as I’ve been away from so many friends that I usually lean on. And how much more constant of a friend would they be if they were committed to memory, so that we could take them anywhere we wanted to go! I also thought about how often I pray for missionary opportunities, yet we’re told in D&C 11:21, “Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men.” I think I would be so much more effective if I had more scriptures memorized, so that when I’m talking about the Gospel to people, I’ll be able to, not only have scriptures to quote, but have that promise from the Lord that I can have his Spirit and his word. Mandy made a comment about how, in Institute, when they’d be discussing doctrine, if people tried to convince others using their own thoughts and logic, arguments often arose. But if they went directly to the scriptures, the feeling of peace remained and people’s questions were answered. This goes right along with another of my favorite quotes from the talk, “Our Father in Heaven understood that for us to make desired progress during our mortal probation, we would need to face difficult challenges. Some of these would be almost overpowering … Throughout the ages, Father in Heaven has inspired selected men and women to find, through the guidance of the Holy Ghost, solutions to life’s most perplexing problems. He has inspired those servants to record those solutions…” So we have a book, or rather books, with the answers to all of life’s problems and questions! Why on earth do we not search them more? Why on earth don’t we ponder them more? Why on earth don’t we appreciate them more? Well…if I keep telling you my favorite parts, I’ll end up quoting the whole thing…so just go read it = )
When we got home it was lights out. It wasn’t too bad, and it came back on my evening, but then we went to Nana Yaw’s to watch a movie (called “17 Miracles,” I believe) and the power went out in the middle of it = ( I should be more grateful. We went upstairs to Marian’s apartment where the generator is hooked up to and watched a different movie on her tv (we couldn’t get the original movie out of the player), so what am I complaining about…but later that night, when we went home, it was just SO hot in my room and I was pretty miserable. The power kept going on for like a couple minutes and I’d feel this huge wave of relief, and then it’d go off again. It was so frustrating. But I took a shower at like midnight (I wanted to wait until the power was back on so that I wouldn’t start sweating again after my shower…but it didn’t look like it was gonna be coming on) and laid on my bed as still as possible and prayed that the power would come on, or that I’d be able to fall asleep in the heat, and both prayers were answered = ) I literally started to feel a lot cooler, and then after I had fallen asleep, the power came back on. It was a miracle = )
But yeah…back to the movie night. Natasha made these DELICIOUS vegan peanut butter cookies, and showed me the cook book where she got the recipe from. She was like, “I think you’ll love this cook book,” and I think she’s right. The cookies were just oats, peanuts, honey, and vanilla – sounds a bit like my oat cookies, huh? = ) And the movies we watched were both short films from a church history DVD, one about a man named John Tanner and the other about a man named John something. John Tanner was a wealthy man who had gone to listen to the missionaries to prove them wrong. He ended up feeling the Spirit so strongly that night, and asked for a copy of the Book of Mormon. He read it side by side with the Bible, and wanted to get baptized, but couldn’t because of a gross infection that had overtaken his leg. 6 or 7 doctors had all given him the same diagnosis; he would have to amputate it or it would take his life. He told them he had come into the world with that leg and would leave it with that leg. But the missionaries asked if he had faith that Christ had healed the lame man at the Pool of Bethesda and that his apostles had healed the lame man outside of the temple, and he said, “Yes. I know it with every fiber of my being.” And they told him to arise and walk – and he was able to walk on the leg that hadn’t been able to carry any weight for six months, and the infection immediately cleared up. He was baptized, moved to Kirtland, helped pay off the temple debt (he arrived the very day that they were going to repossess the land, answering the prayers of the Prophet Joseph and his apostles), and lived the law of consecration to its fullest. The other John joined the church with his family in England and went to America to be with the Saints. He was part of the first handcart company that traveled to Salt Lake City, suffering so much along the way. When he and his family arrived, they settled in present day Alpine and he received the call to be a stonecutter for the Salt Lake Temple. Each Monday morning he awoke at 2 am and walked the 22 miles to Salt Lake City, returning home each Friday. He did this every week, every month, every year…for over 20 years! When he was 77, he had returned home a little early one Friday evening and went to milk the cow. She kicked him, shattering the bones in his leg. He had to have the leg amputated, but during his recovery he fashioned a peg leg and started learning to walk on it. When his leg had healed, he went back to work on the temple, walking the 22 miles each way on his peg leg! He died 4 years before the completion of the temple, but his work remains for millions to see – the words “Holiness to the Lord.” What remarkable men (and wives!) and what great sacrifices they made. Their faith was so sure – and it was definitely inspiring! (Except that I went back home and had the nerve to complain about the heat and no power – aya…still learning = /)
