tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221136172024-03-07T16:26:08.541-05:00Fellowcitizen with the SaintsReflections of an optimistic, open-hearted grandmother.Rosalie Erekson Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985594370560172873noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22113617.post-43071675222236581452023-06-15T23:47:00.000-04:002023-06-15T23:47:44.304-04:00Being Called of God<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">There
has been enough evidence in my own life, and in the lives of others around me,
to lead me to firmly believe that I need never be too concerned about the exact
degree of inspiration involved in a particular call to serve in the Church. I
know that the Lord is indeed in charge. But from the time of Adam, he has
consistently allowed his children (including our leaders) to exercise their
agency in ways that enable them to have many and various “learning experiences.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">I
also believe that God can help us to grow and progress in important ways even
in the midst of situations that may cause us some frustration or unhappiness.
I have only half-jokingly declared that the reason that I was asked to be
in charge of Public Communications for a stake in Baltimore was probably so I would be
incredibly relieved to be subsequently called as a ward Relief Society
president!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Sharing with my priesthood leaders any real concerns about
my present circumstances which might indicate that a particular calling may be
(or may have become) inappropriate is something I’ve usually done. Sometimes, after prayerful consideration,
the leader saw fit to withdraw or postpone the calling, or extend a release. Sometimes I’ve been counseled to accept the call in faith, or to “soldier on” through my difficult situation––which I’ve done––and things have always worked out in the end.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">In unusual cases, I have seen how the inspiration to interview
someone for a call ends up accomplishing a different, but necessary, purpose.
The Lord may wish to reassure someone that they are worthy to be called to a
position, even though they are unable to accept the call because of health,
family, or other reasons. Sometimes the interview calls forth a needed
confession that may help someone along the path to repentance and peace.
Sometimes we may hold a calling only for a very brief, but necessary and
sufficient, period of time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Although
I think that often it really doesn't matter where we serve, or
who serves in a particular calling, sometimes it truly <i>does</i> matter. In
those cases, the person suggesting the name and/or extending the call often has
an impression that may not always appear “logical,” but that in hindsight
usually proves to have been providential.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">Some
of the ward callings I have held to serve on a committee or teach a class could well be regarded as callings from man by expediency, with God’s approval. In
all those cases, I was very grateful to have received a sweet personal
confirmation that the calling was exactly right for me at that particular time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">For me, it has been reassuring to know that I can always rely on God’s power to help me fulfill my callings. And I have witnessed how members who support each other in their callings (even in the midst of any struggles they may face because
of their own or others’ shortcomings, thoughtlessness, or errors in judgment) can be blessed to feel the Spirit and draw nearer to our Father in Heaven as they serve.</span><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "times"; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><br /></span></div>
Rosalie Erekson Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985594370560172873noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22113617.post-77640291893231633652023-02-25T10:19:00.001-05:002023-02-25T10:21:47.455-05:00Dealing with Weakness<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16pt;">I needed to recognize a serious weakness lately, when I was having my photograph taken to accompany a quote of mine that is going to be displayed with several others at an upcoming church Women's Conference with the theme "Fear thou not for I am with thee."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">After taking shots in several poses––front and three-quarter, smiling and serious––the photographer asked me to sit in profile with my hands clasped in front of me, as though perhaps in meditation or prayer. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">I hesitated, mentioning that I was a bit sensitive about my hands. I used to consider them one of my best features, but they are now noticeably deformed with osteoarthritis. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">She immediately said that pose wasn't necessary, but I responded, "I'll do it. I need to overcome my vanity!" And I took the pose. </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Nowadays I consider that my green eyes are my best feature, and I was originally hoping she would use a shot where they were visible. But now I realize that I'll be happiest if she uses the pose where one of my weaknesses began to turn into a strength.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p>Rosalie Erekson Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985594370560172873noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22113617.post-61970421887848431342023-01-09T10:50:00.005-05:002023-01-09T14:09:19.640-05:00Lessons for 2023 from an Amaryllis <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUr_gCEeoPbPqC7M7DZBUomVVzIEkV5JpiXjQkuSydh0tJUNbFvwbnTlgZYYMy5M2FgceGwffIwsQvQGj4P72lDvvUiLfUzNZxUG6rBsFuIRKrZLJc9AAV7U6JCfZ1n2FK5wfxRw05Jh8Ednrn-k3NROt_DQ74q7SeUhDSXmXSoX2Iem4vkQ/s320/IMG_0103.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="212" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUr_gCEeoPbPqC7M7DZBUomVVzIEkV5JpiXjQkuSydh0tJUNbFvwbnTlgZYYMy5M2FgceGwffIwsQvQGj4P72lDvvUiLfUzNZxUG6rBsFuIRKrZLJc9AAV7U6JCfZ1n2FK5wfxRw05Jh8Ednrn-k3NROt_DQ74q7SeUhDSXmXSoX2Iem4vkQ/s1600/IMG_0103.jpeg" width="212" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’ve often said that I have a “black thumb” because plants given to me have usually died rather than thrived. Thus, when my sister gave me an amaryllis bulb kit that was intended to bloom at Christmastime, I was worried.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Little did I know, as I valiantly tried to strictly follow the directions on how to plant the bulb in the included soil and pot, that observing the growing cycle of this lovely gift over the coming days would help me see how I could make 2023 become a year of increased joy and satisfaction. <span></span></span></p><span><a name='more'></a></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It took more than two weeks before one, then two, then finally three tiny bits of green poked through the top of the bulb and I could be sure that I hadn't accidentally killed it by giving it too much or too little water or sunlight. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">More weeks passed before buds began to appear on two stalks, one growing much taller than the other. It was more than two months before the first of three blossoms fully opened on the tallest stalk on Christmas day.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">While I watched and waited as the amaryllis went through its growth process, I was reminded of why patience is a virtue that brings peace of mind. Once I began to trust in the instructions on the box, I calmly waited for the bulb to put forth leaves and blossoms. In a similar way, I know that I can avoid anxiety about promised blessings that I long for when I willingly trust that they will come to me in the timing of the Lord––which may be far in the future.<o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> * * *</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Over and over, I was surprised and delighted by what seemed to happen overnight when I looked at new growth in the mornings. At times, the stalks seemed to shoot up several inches, or what I thought was a leaf suddenly swelled into a bud, or a blossom that was almost completely closed was suddenly fully open. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was reminded that I need to look for things that I can see in nature, in the events of my daily life, in social media, and in all my relationships, that can both surprise and delight me. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I must not allow depressing news of the world, or the knowledge of all the sicknesses, cruelties, tragedies, and sufferings continually afflicting our Mother Earth as well as millions of people––including those of friends and family whom I dearly love and deeply care about––to blind me to all the good and happiness in the world, as well as all that is sweet and beautiful in my surroundings, my relationships, and my situation in life. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> * * *</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A few days after enjoying the striking spectacle of seven gorgeous blooms, the first three blossoms started to shrivel and die. As I cut off their entire stalk, I pondered the realities of death and transformation. In the days since, I’ve watched as some small, green shoots at the side of the stalks began, day by day, to grow into five lovely, curving leaves poised gracefully beside the remaining stalk with its four brilliant red blossoms. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Today, I noticed one of final blossoms beginning to shrivel and droop, even as a small, new leaf has sprung up to join the original five that have grown over three inches since I took the photo above. Could it be that one of those sturdy leaves may touch the petals of the last blossom in farewell before it dies?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I have been reminded that both death and birth are essential transitional events in our eternal journey as sons and daughters of Heavenly Parents. Many beloved relatives and friends have left me behind as they passed through the veil to embark on the next stage of their existence. But new grandchildren have been born, and interesting people continue to enter my circle of acquaintances in this, my eighth, decade of mortal life.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Just as the new leaves of the amaryllis plant have added a refreshing, strong, and distinctive beauty to the remaining stalk and blossoms, many new and renewed friendships are now enriching my life; and many of my treasured relationships are either healing or strengthening and deepening in wonderful and amazing ways.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> * * *</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Before too long, all seven blossoms and six leaves of my amaryllis plant will have withered and died, and my windowsill will no longer be graced by the ever-changing beauty of its presence. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">But thanks to that thoughtful Christmas present from my sister, a host of brilliant mental images will gladden my thoughts whenever I gaze at the place where it flourished. I'll smile as I recall each important lesson that her gift prompted me to ponder.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> * * *</p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thank you, dear slow-awakening, fast growing, surprisingly glorious, winter plant! You arrived on my doorstep as a bulb in a box, and I stepped out of my comfort zone to try to help you realize your potential. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Because of what I have re-learned from you, I hope to be more mindful of and grateful for the blessings that each new day offers me. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Because of you, my now beloved amaryllis, I am now being more attentive to opportunities to do good to those around me. My heart grows happy at the thought of bringing a bit of amaryllis light and delight, either virtually or in person, to those whose paths may chance to cross mine during this promising new year, 2023.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> <span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>Rosalie Erekson Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985594370560172873noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22113617.post-46483023311582818502020-11-08T23:44:00.000-05:002020-11-08T23:44:15.096-05:00A Simple Phrase that Changed My Life Forever<span style="font-family: inherit;">Fifty-five years ago this morning, I woke up, knelt by the side of my bed in my off-campus apartment at BYU, and prepared to utter the same prayer I had been offering for the previous nine days. </span><div><br /><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ever since I had met David Stone, I had been pleading with my Heavenly Father to tell me if David was indeed the person whom I should marry and be joined to for all eternity. On our first date, arranged over the telephone after a friend of David’s had spoken highly of me, we both sensed that we might have met our future spouse. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">A few days before, the two of us had fasted and prayed to know the Lord's will, and although David felt he had received a positive answer, I hadn't. Before he left Provo the day before, we had agreed that we would keep in touch and see how our relationship developed.
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<div></div></div></div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">I had also been seeking advice from my married sister and a roommate who was engaged. "How did you come to KNOW that you had found the right one?" I asked them. Their answers were essentially the same. They couldn't really explain how they knew––they just did. Sort of like gaining their firm conviction of the truthfulness of the restored Gospel, they told me, they had just come to have a sense of peace and certainty about it.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">To my great joy, as soon as I began my prayer that morning, the thought came forcefully into my mind, as clearly as if it had been spoken by someone in the room, "You don't need to pray about that anymore.</span>” </div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">My mind was immediately at peace. I knew that it was the right decision for me to marry David. My heart filled with joy, and throughout the rest of the day, I was walking on air and eagerly telling all the friends I ran into about how I had met the man I was going to marry! </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">From that day on, I never doubted my decision. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">But looking back on it, it seems like a miracle.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">With human reasoning alone, there is no way that David and I could have known each other well enough in that short amount of time to sensibly and reliably make such a serious commitment to each other. However, because David was 29 years old and I was 25, we both had had sufficient experience with personal revelation to recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit and to see the wisdom of following a strong spiritual prompting that could bring us longed for blessings with eternal consequences.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thus, on the anniversary of this special event, even though I sorely miss the physical presence of my eternal companion, my heart is full of happiness and love as I remember the circumstances that brought it about.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">That engagement eventually led to an LDS temple ceremony four months later that gave me the promise of a future joyful reunion with the love of my life. Our separation is temporary, and I know that we both have many things to experience and accomplish while we are apart.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">The incredible life that I have had in the intervening years came about because of my decision to marry David. All the exciting and enriching experiences I had while living in eight different states and ten different countries on five different continents; all the things I learned as we raised six amazing children and then welcomed equally amazing in-laws and grandchildren into our family; all the wisdom and understanding I gained through decades of trials and challenges, sorrows and joys––they all came to me because of that decision I made long ago. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">How grateful I am now, and ever will be, that on the morning of November 8, 1965, I had come to trust that a loving God could communicate His will to me in that simple phrase: “You don’t need to pray about that anymore.”</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>Rosalie Erekson Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985594370560172873noreply@blogger.com0Lewisville, TX, USA33.046233 -96.99417410.733563820009728 -132.150424 55.358902179990274 -61.837924tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22113617.post-591803632038899972020-09-29T22:57:00.012-04:002021-08-29T11:57:53.838-04:00My Attitude Made the Difference<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Many years ago, while living in Europe, I had an unusual experience that brought me some spiritual insight that has influenced my life for good ever since. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">As I recall, this took place during my first meeting with our bishop after I was sustained as the new ward Relief Society President. As I came into his office, I was greatly surprised to see that he had written quite a few names of sisters on the blackboard. He explained that their arrangement showed how he thought their visiting teaching assignments should be organized.
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I had assumed that one of my major new responsibilities as R.S. president in this different ward would involve my going through that long process once again. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Once I overcame my astonishment, and I realized that the bishop expected me to follow the inspiration he had already received, I recall laughing in my mind, and thinking, “Well, if he wants to take that over, let him!” I had recently given birth to our sixth child, and I realized that I now had one urgent project already well on the way to completion.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">In retrospect, I believe the Spirit prompted me to accept what he had done as a blessing that lightened my burden, rather than resent it as an intrusion on my stewardship, or take it as manifestation of his lack of confidence in my ability to carry out my new stewardship. Over the years, I have sometimes shared that experience, because to me it is a great example of how our attitudes can either help or harm us spiritually.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">I may have been wrong, but I saw our very intelligent and compassionate bishop as having the strong kind of personality that impelled him to get personally involved in all aspects of any calling he held. I sustained him wholeheartedly in his role as our ward leader, and we went on to have a very cordial working relationship.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">My personality is different from that of many leaders; and in many matters, I am happy to let others make the decisions. I can take charge and organize things when that is needful, but I also try to be a sympathetic listener, and to find ways of helping to reconcile and unify people when there is a problem with different factions within a group. In carrying out programs I have tried to seek input from others, especially those who might have a perspective different from mine. I have also been glad to delegate things to others whom I judged had greater competence––or to people with stronger personalities who had great ideas! </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Isn’t it wonderful how the Lord teaches us important things about relationships by having us learn to work in harmony with a variety of personalities to carry out his purposes? </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Since the Lord’s plan is to have his Church run by imperfect humans who come to learn important truths through sad experience as well as through receiving and following spiritual promptings, I’ve found that a positive attitude has always helped me to cope with the burdens of Church callings and to work openheartedly with my leaders. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria, serif; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">After decades of serving in many different callings under the direction of leaders with vastly differing personalities and leadership styles, I’m able to testify that the Lord will provide an abundance of his sustaining comfort and enabling power to all those who choose to look for the good in their leaders while humbly working together to build his Kingdom in these latter days.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><span><!--more--></span>Rosalie Erekson Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985594370560172873noreply@blogger.com4Lewisville, TX, USA33.046233 -96.994174-44.17355018665134 122.38082600000001 90 43.630826tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22113617.post-83235360783231252702018-11-09T11:07:00.002-05:002020-11-29T17:14:40.361-05:00Rosh Hashana Inspiration -- Sep. 10-16, 2018<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
My second week brought me spiritual experiences every day that I served in the temple––which is what you might expect, of course. <o:p></o:p></div>
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What you might find surprising is that one of my most memorable spiritual experiences that week occurred not in the temple, but in the small Orthodox synagogue of a congregation that meets on the second floor of a commercial building, above a furniture store. <o:p></o:p>
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During the 3 ½ hour Rosh Hashana service celebrating the first day of the Jewish New Year 5779, I alternately sat and stood with five other women in a curtained corner area of the L-shaped room, following in a book with the English translation on facing pages what was being recited in Hebrew, while my Jewish friend took an active part in the reading of the special and sacred High Holiday service.<o:p></o:p><br />
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I have always felt an affinity for the Jewish people, and although I can't credibly claim to be "Jewish," I was inordinately pleased to discover a 3.6% Ashkenazy Jewish component in my DNA. I have attended Jewish High Holiday services in Salt Lake City and Everett, WA, as well as in NYC, and have always felt welcomed by the congregations. During those services I have experienced many moments when what was sung or said resonated deeply with my personal sense of spiritual truth. </div>
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One of the highlights of the Rosh Hashana service was the periodic blowing of the shofar (ram’s horn) which has several symbolic meanings to the Jewish people. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The most meaningful moment of the day for me, however, was near the end of the traditional meal held after the fast that ended at the conclusion of the 3 ½ hour service. The Rabbi recounted the following story to those of us still at the table, which went something like this:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Long ago there lived a prince who was the only son of the King. He told his father that he wanted to experience other countries and cultures to learn their wisdom. His father sent him off with many servants and plenty of money. The prince spent all the money unwisely, more for entertainment than for education. Eventually, he realized that he greatly missed his father, and he returned home. He had been away so long that he had forgotten his native language, and when he arrived at his father’s palace, he was poorly dressed. The guards, not recognizing him, denied him entrance. As he gazed at the castle in frustration and longing from afar, he noticed someone standing by an open window, and realized that it was his father, the king. At that moment the prince knew that more than anything in the world he wanted to be reunited with his father. <o:p></o:p></div>
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As the rabbi came to this part of the story, he choked up, and with tears in his eyes he recounted how the son cried out in a voice filled with passionate longing, “Father! Father!” <o:p></o:p></div>
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He concluded by explaining that the blowing of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah expresses the cry of our soul, a cry that comes from the innermost part of our heart, symbolizing our longing to come closer to God.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As I listened to that story, and witnessed the emotion of the Rabbi, I felt the Spirit strongly confirm that God is indeed the Father of our spirits. It is because we are all His spirit sons and daughters with a divine destiny that even those among us who don’t yet understand this truth may at times feel the overwhelming emotional and spiritual pull and power of that concept.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I discovered that one of the missionaries here, Brother V----, is a distant cousin. We made the connection when a temple patron visiting from out of town had the name “Malan” and two of us claimed him as a relative! All three of us are some of the many thousands of descendants of Jean Daniel Malan who immigrated to Utah from the Piedmont Valley in the Italian Alps after being converted to the Church in 1851.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Sister Bench informed me that the sister missionary roommate who was scheduled to arrive Oct. 14 has medical issues that will take time to resolve, so she isn’t coming. At that time, I expected that there was another single/widowed sister out there somewhere who would turn out to be prepared to step in, just as I was so prepared. So it proved to be, and my new roommate will be arriving mid-December. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The Relief Society “Get Acquainted” dinner that week was a great success. The Manhattan 1st Ward congregation is very transitory, so it was fun to get to know some of the young mothers who are coping beautifully with raising children while living in apartments with no washers or dryers, and traveling everywhere by bus or subway train. It’s a very different life than most of them were used to, but so far everyone I’ve met seems to be enjoying the unique opportunities that New York City offers.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’ve been able to use my Spanish every day in the temple, and I had my first opportunity to use French during this second week. It’s a great feeling to see that these skills, which I had thought were no longer very useful, are greatly needed and appreciated where I am now.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Sunday was very special because I was able to hear my dear friend Holly V---- (who happens to be the sister of Jonathan’s wife, Audrey) give a wonderful talk in the Sacrament Meeting of the Singles Ward that meets in the chapel attached to the temple. Her parents were in town on vacation, so after church they came to see my apartment, which was freshly painted this week. We then took the subway to her apartment, where we enjoyed a delicious gourmet meal. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I continue to be unbelievably happy to be here in NYC. Although I do miss seeing family and friends, I don’t miss my former life––I’m totally comfortable with this complete change of routine and surroundings. I knew I was adaptable, but I’ve been surprised at how quickly I’m feeling at home here. I think it must be an additional blessing from the Lord––another tender mercy that I am very thankful for.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Friday, I attended my first musical concert since my arrival. After walking about five minutes from my apartment, I was seated in one of the Juilliard School concert halls where I enjoyed two cello recitals, the first by a high school student cellist, and the second by a member of the Juilliard Pre-college faculty. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I can hardly believe that I now have the opportunity of enjoying the best of two very different worlds––serving in the temple where I have deeply rewarding spiritual experiences every single day, and living in a vibrant city with endless opportunities to enjoy people-watching and cultural enrichment.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My heart overflows with gratitude for all my blessings, which include the love of my wonderful family and friends who may now be physically far away, but who are always close to me in spirit.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<style></style>Rosalie Erekson Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985594370560172873noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22113617.post-48106374330379751372018-11-08T13:49:00.004-05:002018-11-08T22:34:30.472-05:00Settling into my new life in NYC--Sep. 1-9, 2018<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
My first few days in New York City brought me a whirlwind of activity here in my new surroundings. I felt incredibly happy and grateful every minute for the amazing, totally unexpected opportunity to serve full-time in the Manhattan Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I had many spiritual experiences that reaffirmed the feeling that many blessings await me as I give my whole heart to this mission.<o:p></o:p><br />
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President and Sister Bench were waiting to greet me when I arrived in the lobby of my new home in the 37-story apartment building adjacent to the temple the night of September 1. They escorted me to my apartment, where I was warmly greeted by my roommate, Sister M----, a delightful person whom I was sorry to see leave to return to her home in Hawaii at the end of her mission September 10. She took me on a walking tour of our neighborhood after church the following day, and gave me lots of vital information about how things work in our apartment building, as well as what is expected of me as a temple missionary.</div>
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The couple missionaries are assigned to work in different local wards and branches on Sundays, but we two single sisters attend the Manhattan 1<sup>st</sup>ward, which this year meets from 11:00 AM until 2:00 PM. The brother who plays the organ is a virtuoso, and he plays introductions and intervals between the third and fourth verses of the hymns that, in combination with the voices of many in the congregation who are professional singers, make us feel like we are singing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir! <o:p></o:p></div>
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The congregation is very diverse, and I love seeing people from all races and ethnic groups, and hearing different accents when people speak. There are always many visitors in attendance, so they set up chairs filling up the entire cultural hall. I will try to arrive early to be able to sit on the padded pews because I have always liked to sit near the front to see and hear the speakers to best advantage.<o:p></o:p></div>
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After church, I went with President and Sister Bench to the temple, where President Bench laid his hands on my head to set apart as an ordinance worker, and give me an inspired blessing that confirmed to me that this is one of the experiences God wishes me to have before I leave this earth. </div>
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All the missionaries are so friendly, helpful, and loving to me, as are the local volunteer ordinance workers, most of whom come to serve a shift weekly or bi-weekly.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I have enjoyed walking and using public transportation. I love people-watching, so I usually don’t read on the subway. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Saturday, September 9, I had two wonderful experiences in the temple that touched my heart: <o:p></o:p></div>
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At one point a sister approached me saying, “Sister Stone, I’m Hermana H----!” She was a Dominican sister missionary in our mission 20 years ago! We had a chance to chat a bit later, and she mentioned to those around us that I had taught her how to lead music [in a zone conference]. It made me think about how much I enjoyed the three years David and I spent when he was President of the Dominican Republic Santo Domingo West Mission. During our missionary zone conferences David always had me teach a 45 min. lesson, and one of them was on the fundamentals of directing congregational hymns, a skill that was greatly appreciated wherever the missionaries went.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The second special experience was when I was assigned to spend 30 minutes in the entrance foyer, helping patrons to know where to go. I overheard a Spanish-speaking brother say, “Soy Dominicano.” I immediately approached him to ask where in the Dominican Republic he was from, and when he said Santo Domingo, I mentioned that my husband had been a mission president there. He looked at my name tag, and his face lit up as he said he remembered Pres. Stone well. He particularly remembered that after David became a General Authority he gave a talk in General Conference,<a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1999/10/spiritual-hurricanes?lang=eng"> “Spiritual Hurricanes” October 1999</a> in which he equated the warnings of apostles and prophets about “spiritual hurricanes” to the warnings given to missionaries and members in the D.R. about the physical hurricane that hit the country 20 years ago this month. <o:p></o:p></div>
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My daughter Carolyn came to NYC on business, and I had a wonderful visit with her over our lovely dinner at the Tea and Sympathy English restaurant in Greenwich Village. After dinner she came back with me to see my apartment with its beautiful view of Lincoln Center and the Juilliard School across the street.</div>
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The evening of September 9, the temple missionary couple from Singapore, Bro. and Sis. T---- hosted a home-cooked Chinese dinner for over twenty people to bid farewell to my roommate. Sis. T---- had cooked seven different dishes, all of which were delicious! <o:p></o:p></div>
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After dinner we watched a video on the story of how the Manhattan temple came to be. In one scene filmed during the Fireside service after the cultural presentation at Radio City Music Hall, we saw me sitting on the stage, and David (who was conducting the meeting) motioning Pres. Hinckley to the stand. Precious memories of that special time connected with the temple dedication flooded into my mind, and I marveled again at the kindness of the Lord in allowing me to return to serve in this very special holy temple.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<style></style>Rosalie Erekson Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985594370560172873noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22113617.post-59152571270433999962018-11-04T23:07:00.001-05:002018-11-06T00:21:21.650-05:00How I Came to Embark on an Exciting New AdventureAfter David passed away in 2014, I had no plans to serve a full-time mission for my church. Since I had served a proselyting mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a young woman in France, and then had served full-time with my husband, David, for ten years––first when he was President of the Dominican Republic Santo Domingo West Mission for three years, and then while he served in Area Presidencies as a General Authority Seventy for seven years––I felt that my place henceforth was to serve my family and local ward members, not serve another mission.<br />
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However, a few months ago, after serving several years as an ordinance worker in the Seattle Temple in the summer, and the Dallas Temple the rest of the year, for some reason I began to think about the desirability of serving a temple mission for a year sometime in the future, perhaps in the spring of 2019.<o:p></o:p>
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I first thought Manhattan would be a wonderful place to serve, but immediately felt that thought might be influenced by a selfish desire to attend concerts and operas in my free time, since the temple is located across the street from the Juilliard School and Lincoln Center.<br />
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As my desire to serve increased, I started to focus on volunteering to serve somewhere in Latin America, where I could use my Spanish. If I went to, say, the Dominican Republic, I would be also able to enjoy the association with many people whom I had come to love when serving there with David. A hot, humid climate has always been a challenge for me, but I was sure that Lord would bless me to endure it well a second time if that was where He wanted me to serve.<br />
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When we had our Stone family reunion at the end of June, I mentioned my then firm resolve to serve a temple mission, everyone was very enthusiastic and supportive. I also mentioned my plans to my dear friends Mark and Dorothy Bench, who are presently serving as President and Matron of the Manhattan Temple, and they, too, thought it was a great idea.<br />
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In mid-July, I wrote down the strong impression I received during the Sacrament Service of my Mays Pond Ward in Washington that I should, “Pursue plans to serve a temple mission and the way forward will become clear in time.”<br />
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Thus, when President and Sister Bench called me August 6, to say they had thought of me when they were looking for a single sister who spoke Spanish to replace a Manhattan temple missionary who had to be released early to care for a seriously ill family member, I almost immediately felt that I should say, “Yes!” As my mind started churning thoughts about how I could possibly settle my affairs in both Washington and Texas, I felt I should not worry about the logistics of leaving for NYC as soon as possible. I was reassured that everything would work out. After receiving a strong confirmation through prayer, I told the Benches that I was sure this was the mission opportunity that the Lord had prepared me for, and I would do whatever was necessary to start serving as soon as possible.<br />
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After meeting with my bishop two days later, and beginning the online missionary application process, all the roadblocks that suddenly sprang up were soon cleared away, and in less than a month I flew from Seattle to Dallas to pick up winter clothes, and then on to New York City, which will be my home for the duration of my mission. I was able to serve as a local temple worker until my paperwork was processed, and on October 22 I officially started my service as a temple missionary.<br />
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Serving full-time in the Manhattan temple is indeed, “the way forward that [became] clear in time.” In the temple here I get to use both my Spanish and my French––skills I had come to consider of little use in recent years, but which are now greatly needed and appreciated.<br />
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And as an important side note, the abundant cultural perks of living across the street from Lincoln Center I now gratefully regard as coming to me not as the result of a self-centered wish, but as an unexpected tender mercy from Our Father in Heaven.<br />
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<style></style>Rosalie Erekson Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985594370560172873noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22113617.post-24580834804857196762018-05-16T14:58:00.000-04:002018-05-28T11:38:51.475-04:00The Envelope<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">It started with an envelope.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Yesterday, after we had played several board games, my Kindergartner granddaughter Paige was looking through the various kinds of paper in my craft box, intending to draw or write something during her after-school visit with me. She found a greeting card envelope, selected a piece of yellow card stock, and told me she wanted to make a card for “Grampa.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Grampa, aka my late husband, passed away when Paige was not yet three years old. I doubt she can really remember him, but on my kitchen counter are two digital photo frames that scroll through family photos including many of him, some even with her as a baby or toddler. When Paige is eating her after-school snack, she looks at those photos, and often either names some of the people in them, or asks me who they are. Some are of my parents and grandparents, and I have on occasion mentioned that they, like Grampa, have died, and are happily living in Heaven now. Whether seeing photos of Grampa keeps real memories of him fresh in her mind, or that she just continues to love her idea of him, I know not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">While writing, Paige periodically asked me about the spelling of some of the words, and depending on my response, she would write over, or cross out some letters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">“Is this how you spell “Dear?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">“Yes.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">“How do you spell ‘miss?’”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">“M-I-S-S.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">After seeing what she had written, she looked up and me and said, “No, not that kind. I mean I <b>miss </b>Grampa.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">“Oh! Well, both kinds of ‘miss’ are spelled the same way, but if it’s a person, like Miss Susan, it starts with a capital––an upper-case ‘M.’ If it’s the feeling, it’s a small, lower-case ‘m.’”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Paige repeatedly tried writing a lower-case “m” over the capital “M” she had written, but finally scribbled completely over the resulting mess, and squeezed a small “m” between the scribbled patch and “iss.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">The completed message, written in various colors of ink, and adorned with one large outline of a heart and one pasted on cut-out heart colored dark blue with an aqua center, read:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "casual"; font-size: 18pt;">Dear Grampa,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "casual"; font-size: 18pt;">I LOVE YOU So, So, much<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "casual"; font-size: 18pt;">XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo I<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: "casual"; font-size: 18pt;">[scribbled patch]</span></i><span style="font-family: "casual"; font-size: 16pt;">m</span><span style="font-family: "casual"; font-size: 18pt;">iss you.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: "casual"; font-size: 16pt;">[scribbled-out letter“I”] </span></i><span style="font-family: "casual"; font-size: 18pt;">That my<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "casual"; font-size: 18pt;">heart feels like a bird songs<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "casual"; font-size: 18pt;">and my heart feels like a flower.</span><span style="font-family: "casual"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Although she had asked me how to spell “heart,” “feels,” “songs” and “flower,” she explained that “like” and “and” were “sight words” she had recently learned. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">She put the finished card in the envelope, carefully licked and sealed it, and wrote “</span><span style="font-family: "casual"; font-size: 14pt;">To: Grampa” </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">on the front.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">It was then past time to take her home for dinner. As we hurried out to my car, she stopped to place the envelope on the corner of the counter where she has her snack, saying, “If he comes back here, he’ll see it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Greatly surprised and taken aback, I said nothing, but</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> suddenly wished against all reason that when I returned home I would find only an empty envelope on the counter.</span></div>
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<style></style>Rosalie Erekson Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985594370560172873noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22113617.post-950011238174300832017-07-12T01:18:00.002-04:002018-05-16T15:05:34.550-04:00Staying in the Lane<div class="MsoNormal">
As I was driving to the Seattle temple by myself for the
first time after my arrival in Washington last month, I began to feel very sad
that David, my late husband, was not beside me. I felt I had made great
progress in the last few months in usually remembering him happily, but at this
moment, thinking about how, long ago, he had carefully given me the driving
directions I was now carefully following brought tears to my eyes. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Suddenly, my mood completely changed. My mind was flooded
with joy as that memory from a decade ago came forcefully into focus. I
recalled David’s voice repeating to me the important advice I needed to follow
if I was to arrive at the temple on time, “Stay in the lane, Rosalie!” It now
struck me in a new way that I knew could help me deal with the waves of sorrow
that still threaten to engulf me from time to time.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since David had always enjoyed driving way more than I did,
when we attended sessions in the Seattle temple, he always drove us. Although I
noticed our surroundings, I mostly enjoyed our conversations, and didn’t pay
close attention to how we got there.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We had neither smart phones nor a GPS in our car in those
days, so when I decided one day to attend the temple on my own, I asked David
to give me detailed directions, which he cheerfully did. I realized that for
most of the way, I would recognize easily which way to turn from one street to
another. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What I did fear, greatly fear, was the last few miles, when
I needed to exit from the multi-lane I-405 highway, onto I-90--but then only go
as far as the second exit, because that’s the one that would immediately lead
me to the street leading to the temple parking lot. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had visions of getting trapped in the I-90 West entrance
lane when I needed to go east. Or, assuming I did manage to take the I-90 going
east, I was worried that in the confusion of traffic crossing in front of me from
both the left and the right, I would somehow end up exiting into an unknown
neighborhood. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I expressed these fears to David, he told me to calm
down, and concentrate on one particular important transition. He assured me
that as long as I got into the I-90 East entrance lane well in advance, I would
have no problem getting onto the correct exit lane that led to the temple,
because <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the one led directly into the other</i>.
He warned me to pay no attention to cars rapidly switching lanes around me. “Once you are in the I-90 East entrance lane,” he repeated, “stay in the lane, and
you’ll be fine.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now, ten years later, still working hard at understanding my
new role as a widow, I was finally feeling that I was doing fairly well at
re-framing memories of David in positive, uplifting ways. In addition to
focusing mainly upon the inspiring experiences of our marriage partnership, I
was increasingly becoming open to learning and growing in new ways, much as I
imagine David is learning and growing in the Spirit World.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In that moment in my car when I was tempted to forget that
new found equilibrium, and relapse into depressing and useless longing for
things that cannot be, it’s as if David came to cheerfully remind once again,
as he has in the past, to focus outwards, and to appreciate the opportunities
as well as the responsibilities that I am meant to have in this mortal life
until my mission on earth is completed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now that I have finally come to a mental, emotional, and
spiritual lane of travel that not only brings me joy and satisfaction on my
journey, but also promises to lead to the place where I want spend eternity, I
need to keep my hand steady on the wheel--and make sure I remember David’s good advice that
still holds true:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Just stay in the lane, Rosalie, stay in the lane, and
you’ll be fine.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<style></style>Rosalie Erekson Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985594370560172873noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22113617.post-42054895981741754652016-12-07T15:51:00.000-05:002016-12-07T15:57:06.927-05:00An Answered Cri de Coeur<div class="MsoNormal">
<span font-family:="" georgia=""><i>The anguished cries of my three-year-old grandson, combined with a
statement by Dostoyevsky and hymn lyrics by Isaac Watts, prompted me to ponder how we can discover and attain our
deepest desires. </i></span><br />
<span font-family:="" georgia=""><i><br /></i></span></div>
While visiting the family of our youngest son some years ago, the adults in our group were startled one evening by the sudden, impassioned crying of our three-and-a-half-year-old grandson, David. He was apparently having a nightmare. Our daughter-in-law attempted to calm him with soft words and rocking, but he continued to cry out and talk nonsense which related to what he was dreaming.<br />
<br />
She carried him downstairs to join the rest of us, and mentioned that this sort of thing had happened before. Once David was fully awake, she assured us, he would calm down. For a couple of minutes he continued to wail and display deep distress, despite his mother’s efforts to awaken and reassure him.<br />
<br />
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝";">Finally, his
sorrowful voice rose to a crescendo, “I want to go HOME!"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝";">His mother
assured him several times that he really was home, and that everything was all
right. She then asked if he wanted to go back to bed, and he assented. He awoke
fully from his bad dream while they ascended the stairs, became his normal,
cheerful self, and was soon peacefully asleep in his bed again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝";">As I
pondered what had just happened, I thought of Alma's assurance to
truth-seekers, which involves both desire and awakening:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝";">But
behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon
my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than
desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a
manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words. <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/alma/32://"><span style="color: #420178;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Alma
32:27</span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝";">How
reassuring to know that if we lack faith, <i>the desire to believe </i>can be
sufficient to effectively start us on our journey toward spiritual awakening
and learning the truth about God. But it has to be a sincere desire, or like
Hamlet, we will soon realize that, “My words fly up, my thoughts remain below:
Words without thoughts never to heaven go” <a href="http://www.enotes.com/hamlet-text/3333#words"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="color: #420178;">Hamlet</span></i><span style="color: #420178;"> (III, iii, 100-103)</span></span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
A startling
statement by Dostoyevsky about Christ, which I had recently heard on a radio
panel discussion, also came to mind:<o:p></o:p>
<br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
I
believe that there is nothing lovelier, deeper, more sympathetic, more
rational, more manly and more perfect than the Savior;...If anyone could prove
to me that Christ is outside the truth, and if the truth really did exclude
Christ, I should prefer to stay with Christ and not the truth. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(<a href="http://community.middlebury.edu/~beyer/courses/previous/ru351/studentpapers/God.shtml"><span style="color: #420178;">Link to quote</span></a>)</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
Now, I fully
recognize that there are other serious issues raised by that quote; but what struck me
when I heard it was that for that Russian author, all his doubting and debate
about the reality of God and His attributes eventually came down to <i>a choice
related to the desires of his heart.</i> All the supposed rational arguments
against Christianity, against the very existence of God, didn’t really matter
to him--Christ was what his heart longed for.<br />
<br />
Sometimes, a challenge to our beliefs may cause us to question them in profound ways, even
to the point of doubting what our hearts long for. This malaise has afflicted
many members of the LDS church as they have become aware of information that
seems to conflict with what they believed to be true regarding some doctrines
or events in church history. What is our response when some of the most basic
assumptions in our world view are under fire?<br />
<br />
Do
we accept all the interpretations of historical documents given by skeptics as
proven truths? Or are we willing to listen to the reasoning and conclusions of
scholars who are believers, as well as those who are not? Can we call to mind
all the evidences, including personal experiences, that previously led us to
believe that Christ lives, and that He restored His Gospel and church to earth
through the prophet Joseph Smith?<br />
<br />
Can we entertain the notion that when we feel
disillusionment or betrayal, we may be having the spiritual equivalent of a
nightmare? Can we then shake ourselves awake enough to remember that we know
and love the Savior in a way that enables us to remain firm in our loyalty to
Him, and to his imperfect servants? Can we look forward with an eye of
faith? <span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: x-small;">(Alma 5:15)</span><br />
<br />
In my personal struggle to gain a testimony of God, Jesus Christ, and The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it was painfully difficult for me to
overcome my pride (which had led to my focus on worldly philosophies), so that
I could begin to sense what my deepest desires <i>really </i>were. Only then
did my <span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝";"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/%E2%80%9Chttp://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/dictionaries/difficultwords/data/d0004028.html%E2%80%9D"><i><span style="color: #0000e9;">cri de coeur</span></i></a>, my <span style="color: #262626;">passionate
outcry to regain the Spirit in my life and return home to my Heavenly Father, eventually
fully awaken me from an atheistic nightmare to spiritual peace of mind, and allow
me to continue on the path towards heaven once again.<o:p></o:p></span></span>
<br />
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝";"><span style="color: #262626;"><br /></span></span>
When
my grandson called out, "I want to go HOME!" he was only half awake;
but he instinctively knew where his happiness lay. Hearing his mother’s voice
repeatedly assure him that he indeed was home, he finally came fully awake, and
realized he was safe.<br />
<br />
Heavily
influenced by the culture of our time, are we not often spiritually only half
awake? We are troubled alternately by pride and fear, confronted and confused
by temptations of the intellect, as well as those of the physical body. But, if
we are willing to arouse our faculties, and give place for the word, the Spirit
can fully awaken us to our identity and potential as children of heavenly parents.<br />
<br />
When our cry
to go home is truly heartfelt, we will eventually receive an answer. It may
require considerable effort, anguish, and patience, but that kind of <a href="https://www.blogger.com/%E2%80%9Chttp://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/dictionaries/difficultwords/data/d0004028.html%E2%80%9D"><i><span style="color: #0000e9;">cri de coeur</span></i></a> will not go unheeded by our
Father in Heaven.<o:p></o:p>
<br />
<br />
I find it supremely comforting to know that if we strive to follow the example of our Savior and
rely on the power of His Atonement, if we put our trust in Him (even when we do
not understand all things), we can receive strength and reassurance in our
times of doubt, turmoil and trials. We don’t have to wait until we get to heaven to be
blessed with peace and joy. As
we echo the words of Isaac Watts’ hymn, we can truly come to feel safe at
home while still in this mortal life.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
The
sure provisions of my God<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
Attend
me all my days;<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
O may
thy house be mine abode<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
And all
my works be praise!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
There
would I find a settled rest<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
While
others go and come,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
No more
a stranger, nor a guest,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: .5in;">
But
like a child at home.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/%E2%80%9Chttp://http://www.nomorelyrics.net/isaac_watts-lyrics/177400-my_shepherd_will_supply_my_need-lyrics.html%E2%80%9D"><span style="color: #0000e9; font-size: x-small;"> Isaac Watts, “My Shepherd Will supply My Need” 3rd
stanza</span></a></div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">This post was inspired by one I published in 2006 on the now defunct blog A Prayer of Faith.</i>Rosalie Erekson Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985594370560172873noreply@blogger.com0Lewisville, TX, USA47.6062095 -122.332070847.2636815 -122.9775178 47.9487375 -121.68662379999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22113617.post-23740278710536734972016-07-26T19:40:00.001-04:002016-07-27T21:18:36.032-04:00No Looking Back<div class="MsoNormal">
A little over nine years ago, my oldest son and I exchanged
good-bye waves and smiled at each other as he backed out of our driveway for
the last time. My husband and I had sold our house, and were moving out of
state to live nearer our grandchildren.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As he drove off, my son’s head was held high, and he didn’t
look back. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He had recently been laid off from his job; but he was now
excited about beginning a new career as a writer. Despite the known
difficulties of breaking into the ranks of literary professionals, his success
in getting several stories published during the last few years spurred him to
consider the loss of his increasingly joyless job as an opportunity to jump
wholeheartedly into that other field. With concerted effort, determination and
a bit of luck, he was hopeful that he would soon be able to make his living
doing what he truly loved to do. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As I watched his car disappear around a bend, the tears
began to flow, and my mind went back to another farewell experience that had
occurred when he was nineteen: <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Our family was
gathered at the Missionary Training Center in Provo to see our first child off
on his LDS mission to a European country where we all knew proselytizing was extremely
difficult. We were very grateful that he had a testimony of the restored
Gospel, was worthy to be called, and was willing to spend two years sharing his
testimony full-time, even though there was no guarantee of much success—at
least in terms of convert baptisms. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">We would miss him very
much; but we were proud--both of the man he was, and the man he desired to
become.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">When the moment came
for parting, we hugged, smiled at each other, and he turned to go. Head held
high, he strode out the door at the back of the meeting room without a backward
glance. At first I was surprised that he hadn’t stopped at the door to look back
for one last wave to the family, as many of the other missionaries had. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Finally, I understood; confident
that he was doing the right thing at the right time, there was no need for him to look
back. He was ready to face whatever the future might hold with courage, optimism
and faith in the Lord. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The succeeding months for
our son were filled with all the enthusiasms, frustrations, disappointments,
and joys that are common to hard-working, obedient missionaries laboring in
areas where most people have not yet broken free of the traditions of their
fathers. Slammed doors, broken commitments and a dearth of progressing
investigators might bring hours of discouragement, but he always knew he was doing
what he should be doing, and maintained his underlying optimism and faith. He
returned home with a deeper testimony, and noticeably increased emotional, intellectual
and spiritual maturity. No matter that he hadn’t baptized many people; going on
a mission had been the correct decision, and he was glad ever after that he had
gone.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Just as my son didn't look back to see the tears in my eyes in
the MTC, he didn’t see me cry as I watched his car pause at the stop sign at
the end of our street. He didn't know I lingered in the garage doorway to watch
him turn onto the main road, and finally disappear from my view as he rounded a
bend. At first I was disappointed that he hadn’t paused to wave to me one last
time at the end of the driveway.<o:p></o:p></div>
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After a moment of reflection, of course, I understood. Once again he was confident
that he was doing the right thing at the right time. Then, and in the nine
years since, <span style="font-family: Times;">he
has chosen to face the future courageously and optimistically, with enduring
faith in the Lord. </span><br />
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No need at all to be looking back.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">This is updated version of a post first published 9 June 2007 on the now defunct blog A Prayer
of Faith.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
Rosalie Erekson Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985594370560172873noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22113617.post-38551764264268239822016-07-22T02:53:00.000-04:002016-07-22T02:53:06.579-04:00Building Bridges rather than Walls <span style=“color: #333333; font-family: "georgia";"> About ten years ago, I
received very positive audience response to a talk I gave in church, probably because it
dealt with situations most people could identify with. I recently ran across a Word document that contains the post I subsequently wrote for this blog containing the substance of that talk. For some unknown reason, the original post seems to have disappeared. So here it is again:<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia";">
What are some of the things that prevent us from achieving more harmony in our
adult family relationships? Selfishness and pride are often the culprits. But
many times, I think it is misunderstandings that promote strife, hurt feelings
and alienation. We all have different personalities, and we see things from
different perspectives. We can't always find the right words to express our
feelings; and sometimes we let the emotion of the moment lead us to say things
we don't really mean, and immediately regret. If left unresolved,
misunderstandings in the family can foster mounting stress, anger, and
resentment, and may prevent us from enjoying the trust and confidence of those
we love most.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia";">
I’ve heard it said that when faced with difficulties in a relationship, we can choose
to build either walls, or bridges. A few years ago I had an experience with one
of our adult children which taught me how useful bridge-building can be in
uncovering and resolving misunderstandings.<br />
</span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia";"><br />
<br /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia";">
After living abroad for several years, my husband and I moved back to the States. Our
daughter C, who had been living on the East coast, but was moving to CA,
planned to visit us on her way West. She sent us an email shortly after our
arrival, part of which I quote (with her permission):</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10.0pt;">[Recently]
I [have] realized that over the years. . . as I tried to establish my own
identity outside of the family, I perhaps have also forgotten a bit of how much
I do not only love my family but also LIKE them, despite our differences. And
that I don't need to be so quick to assume that I'm being criticized or judged.
It's hard sometimes, when you have a lot of history, to just take something at
face value instead of reading it through years of filters.<br />
So, I want this trip to really be about getting past a lot of
"issues" that perhaps I don't need to cling so tightly to and just
enjoy being around my fabulous, smart, funny family. I realize that I may perhaps
be a TAD stressed out about my move and new life in [CA], but I'm also excited
for it, and excited to see you. So try and bear with me through the tumult of
mid-August. In other words, if I become very annoying, please have patience. I
probably don't mean to be annoying. :)</span><br />
<br /><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia";">
This message came when we were in the midst of all the chaos that accompanies
an international move. Although we had a laptop computer, I didn't even check
our email until several days after C sent us that message. When we read it, David and I were very touched and happy, and we commented to each other how wonderful
it was of her to send it, and what a great time we would be having together
when she visited us. But I then answered only a subsequent email from her,
because it contained what I regarded as urgent questions about what we would be
able to do together when she arrived. We then received a follow-up email from
C:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Just a
question. I didn't get a response from either you or Dad about the letter I
sent talking about trying to get past some issues. Did it offend you in some
way? It's hard to know with email because people might not write back just
because they don't think about it, get busy, don't think they need to respond,
etc. Decided maybe it was better to ask rather than just assuming I knew (see,
trying to change my knee jerk responses!) </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia";"><br />
<br />
I responded immediately in a positive way, and the misunderstanding that had
come to light was quickly resolved. The subsequent time we spent together was a
very joyful experience. How grateful we were that C essentially followed the
advice Christ gave in Matthew 5:23-24:<br />
<br />
</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10.0pt;">"Therefore
if thou bring thy gift to the alter, and there rememberest that thy brother
hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before the alter, and go thy way;
first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift."</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "georgia";"><br />
<br />
David and I had no idea that our failure to answer C's email had caused her to
wonder if it had fallen on either deaf or hostile ears. Had C not sent the
follow-up message, she might have incorrectly assumed that we held resentments,
and that might have prompted her to raise additional defensive barriers. We
would never have given full expression to our mutual feelings of love and
appreciation during our reunion, which made that time we spent together such a
sweet and fulfilling experience for all three of us.<br />
<br />
Even though C suspected that we might "have ought against" her, she
was willing to risk possible further rejection by stating her concerns clearly.
As it turned out, no offense was intended on either side. It was only a
misunderstanding that was quickly resolved as soon as it was uncovered. But it
was only uncovered because, when faced with what appeared to be mounting
difficulties in her relationship with us, C chose not to build another wall.
How grateful we are that she chose instead to build a bridge. </span></span>Rosalie Erekson Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985594370560172873noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22113617.post-25045064500851636602015-09-07T18:45:00.001-04:002015-09-07T19:18:49.623-04:00Maintaining Trust When God’s Ways Seem Inscrutable, Part 2: Reflection vs. Reality<i>“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” I Corinthians 13:12 </i><br />
<br />
In the verse above, from a letter the apostle Paul wrote to the relatively new church members in Corinth, he used an analogy that was particularly meaningful to them when he described how we understand God and his ways. That analogy becomes clearer for 21st century English speakers if we know that the words translated into English as “glass” and “darkly” have slightly different meanings in the original Greek. “Glass” meant a looking-glass, or mirror, many of which were manufactured in Corinth out of polished brass. Those mirrors often revealed a distorted or discolored image of the thing being reflected. The Greek words translated as “darkly” meant “in a riddle or puzzle, by an enigma.”<span x-small=""><a href="https://www.blogger.com/%E2%80%9Chttp://linguistics.byu.edu/classes/ling450ch/reports/greek2.html%E2%80%9D">[1]</a> </span> Paul’s analogy helped the Corinthians resolve questions that were creating disunity in their congregation. I believe it can help us, in our day, to deal with questions about spiritual matters that some find puzzling, or even disquieting.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
We often wish we could understand absolutely everything about certain revelations given to church leaders, or given to us as personal revelation. We would like to have all the gospel principles and church practices (both present and past) perfectly explained. But an overview of Heavenly Father’s communication with his children during this earthly probation reveals that it has usually been a matter of God giving us line upon line, precept upon precept. He corrects misconceptions and mistakes both gently and firmly from time to time. But, just as earthly parents allows their children to learn to walk by letting go of their hands, God often lets us stumble, fall, and get up repeatedly as we work out better ways to put into practice the principles he reveals. That seems to be the best way for Him to allow us full moral agency, as well as to grant us the privilege of using our minds to learn, to study and imagine, to discover, create, invent and build things that expand our capacities and enrich our lives. We are God’s children, with the potential to gradually grow to become like him, not his puppets enacting a detailed script with no provision for change.<br />
<br />
Infants and toddlers are often frustrated to the point of tantrums because they are as yet incapable of understanding many things about the world into which they were so recently born. As adults, do we sometimes forget that compared to our Father in Heaven, we are still very young in terms of our capacity to understand all that God knows? We can be tempted to criticize church leaders, doctrines, policies or programs, if we come to view them as not in harmony with our particular interpretation of what is just, or right. Can Paul’s analogy help us more willingly accept that some things will only become clear when we are no longer seeing them, as it were, in a flawed mirror?<br />
<br />
Because during our mortal probation truth is sometimes revealed only in part, in the form of a riddle or a puzzle, or in the form of an enigma (as parables were given by Christ to the multitudes), I hope and pray for the humility to remember that even though I may think I see certain things of God very well, because my mirror has imperfections, I may actually be seeing a very poor reflection of the real thing.<br />
<br />
My understanding of spiritual things and my trust in God seem to continually reinforce each another. Because my comprehension of many doctrines and policies which I once found enigmatic has grown significantly as I have studied and prayed about them, I trust that God will grant me more light and knowledge in the future. I know enough to want to know more, and to try to follow the Savior, Jesus Christ.<br />
<br />
My growing knowledge, many answered prayers, and all the good I see coming from obeying commandments and following the counsel of latter-day prophets, are things that increase my trust in God’s infinite beneficence, and enable me to be at peace with what I still find inscrutable. I look forward in faith to that joyful day when we can cast all imperfect mirrors away, because “that which is perfect is come.”[2] <br />
<br />
<span x-small=""><a href="http://linguistics.byu.edu/classes/ling450ch/reports/greek2.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">[1]</span></a> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 10pt;">http://linguistics.byu.edu/classes/ling450ch/reports/greek2.html</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[2] <span 10pt="" font-size:="" imes="" new="" roman="">I Corinthians 13:10</span></span>Rosalie Erekson Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985594370560172873noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22113617.post-53781996976462656692015-09-07T01:39:00.001-04:002015-09-07T19:20:04.560-04:00Maintaining Trust When God’s Ways Seem Inscrutable, Part 1: Understanding the Meaning of RevelationsWhile a student at Brigham Young University, my husband had a very intriguing personal experience with President Hugh B. Brown (an apostle and a counselor in the First Presidency of the LDS church at the time), his wife, and one of their granddaughters who was a good friend of David’s. The four of them had lunch together in a restaurant in Salt Lake City sometime in 1963 or 1964.<br />
<br />
Considering himself a lowly university student, David remembered feeling very much in awe of President Brown. One part of the conversation in particular stuck in his mind, and he told me about it after we were married in 1966, because it raised such interesting questions and possibilities regarding the policy of Priesthood ordination not being available to men of black African ancestry at the time.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
As I remember the story, President Brown mentioned that he had recently returned from meeting with church members in South Africa. After one meeting, he was approached by three young adult single women, who asked if they could meet with him privately. He agreed to do so. They told him that they were officially classified as “White” by the South African government, but in doing their genealogy, they had all discovered that they had black African ancestry. They asked Pres. Brown whom they should marry, taking into account that they were considered “white.” Pres. Brown asked them to allow him to consider the matter overnight. He prayed fervently for guidance in how to deal with this sensitive situation. The next day, he again met with the three women. He told them to marry young men in the same situation as they were in, and promised them “their sons would hold the priesthood.”<br />
<br />
While Pres. Brown was relating this experience, David recalled thinking that such a promise might only be fulfilled in the Millennium. He also recalled having the impression that although Pres. Brown definitely felt inspired to make that promise, even he might have believed it would not be realized until far in the future.<br />
<br />
When the revelation granting the Priesthood to all worthy men came in early June of 1978, David remembered what President Brown had told him, and then did the math that revealed what a glorious and amazing revelation President Brown had received. From then on, when David spoke of what President Brown was inspired to tell those three young women, he would add, that if you allowed a year or so for the women to get married, and another year for them to give birth to a son, a son of theirs might have turned 12 in 1978, and he would indeed have been eligible to be ordained a Deacon in the Aaronic priesthood.<br />
<br />
I hope I have learned to trust in the Lord enough to believe that although some of His ways still remain inscrutable to me, in His own due time--perhaps much sooner than I may now imagine--all will become clear.Rosalie Erekson Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985594370560172873noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22113617.post-69491993698636304382015-06-03T01:56:00.000-04:002015-06-03T01:56:36.045-04:00Being of Good Cheer<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<i><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia; font-size: xx-small; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;">Inspired by a post I originally published
on “A Prayer of Faith” in 2006.</span></i><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Nine years ago this month, my father passed away peacefully
just eighteen days short of his hundredth birthday. Even as his physical
capacities gradually diminished during the last few years, he continued to live
by himself, fixing his own meals, and using his own recipe to bake his
super-nutritious bread. Both he and my mother, who had died seven years
previously, impressed all who knew them with their positive, cheerful outlook
on life, even in the midst of their challenges. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I have sometimes wondered if my own basically cheerful
nature was inherited, or more a result of seeing and following my parents’
example. Both genetics and observation no doubt come into play, but shortly
after my father’s passing I found evidence that they were actively trying to
teach me the value of being cheerful when I was very young.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a name='more'></a><o:p></o:p></div>
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In going through boxes of my parents’ papers, I came across
a note my father had written to me when I was not yet four years old. He wrote
it on a small piece of paper, folded it in half, addressed it to me
personally, and enclosed it with a letter mailed to my mother when we were both
away from home visiting her side of the family in another state. It reads in
part:<o:p></o:p></div>
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“I hope you enjoyed your very long ride and that you were a very
happy and obedient girl all of the time. It is so very easy to be cheerful some
of the time that a little bit of cheerfulness is hardly worth a thimbleful of
sand, but it is so very, very difficult to be cheerful all of the time that if
you can accomplish it the value to you will be greater than a hundred tea sets
or forty-seven [dolls] or thirty-nine doll houses with real wooden chairs and
tables and pianos that make music. So try very hard, won’t you?” <o:p></o:p></div>
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As I read that note, I thought of the Savior’s admonitions
to “be of good cheer,” which are usually accompanied by very good reasons why
such cheer is possible even when in the midst of sore trials. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p>When bowed down with remorse for our sins, we can remember
that Jesus said to the man sick of the palsy, “Son, be of good cheer; thy sins
are forgiven thee.” (Matt. 9:2)</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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When we feel forsaken, we can be heartened by the Savior’s
words in D&C 68:6: “Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the
Lord am with you, and will stand by you. . . .” <o:p></o:p></div>
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When we are discouraged by our weaknesses and failures, we
can ponder D&C 78:18: “And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be
of good cheer, for I will lead you along.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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President Gordon B. Hinckley taught, “I come to you with a plea that
we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. I am
suggesting that as we go through life we try to ‘accentuate the positive.’ I am
asking that we look a little deeper for the good, that we still the voices of
insult and sarcasm, that we more generously compliment virtue and effort.” (from
<i>Ensign,</i> Apr. 1986, 2–4)<o:p></o:p></div>
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As we forget ourselves and reach out to others in
friendship and love, we can more fully feel Heavenly Father’s love for
us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Happiness fills our souls as we act
as instruments in God’s hands to bring to pass good in the world around us.<o:p></o:p></div>
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President Hinckley also taught: “The Gospel is a thing of joy.
It provides us with a reason for gladness. Of course there are times of sorrow.
Of course there are hours of concern and anxiety. We all worry. But the Lord
has told us to lift our hearts and rejoice.” (from <i>Ensign,</i> Nov. 1984,
91–92).<o:p></o:p></div>
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In the eight months since my husband passed away, I have had
countless opportunities to see my pain turn into peace as I have placed my
trust in the Lord, and allowed his grace to calm my troubled heart. Whenever I
have chosen to lay my burdens at His feet, I have been reassured that although
I am now separated from my dearest love, that separation is temporary, and I have many, many reasons to rejoice.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My earthly father, Arthur B. Erekson, did me a great
service, both in writing me that note when I was a little girl, and in teaching
me the value of being cheerful by his life-long personal example.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At this time in my life, I am even more sure I can continue to follow his advice to “try
very hard” to “be cheerful all of the time,” because I have learned that I don’t
need to do it on my own. <o:p></o:p></div>
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* * *</div>
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“In the world ye shall have tribulation: but <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">be of good cheer</i>; I have overcome the
world.” (John 16:33)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Rosalie Erekson Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985594370560172873noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22113617.post-35740252732511218362015-04-29T09:58:00.000-04:002015-04-30T02:07:02.459-04:00Oh Say, Where Is Truth? Part 3: Facts or Feelings?<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">This final post in a trilogy on discerning truth recounts a poignant example of memory distortion that has bittersweet connotations for our family now that my husband has passed on.<o:p></o:p></i><br />
<br />
Genuine tragedies have occurred when false memories have
resulted in false accusations. Fortunately, most false memories are relatively
harmless, and easily corrected when brought to light. Our family has a “false memory” story, which we laughingly bring up whenever we doubt one
another’s recollection of an event.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
During a time before everyone had cell phones, when we were
living in a suburb of Baltimore, our seventeen year-old daughter J called from
a friend’s house to ask for an extension of her curfew. My late husband, David,
was in Europe on business, and as I listened to J’s request, I prayed I would
make a decision that he would agree with.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
J explained that, because she had been unexpectedly asked to
close the store where she worked part time as a cashier, she had left the store
much later than usual. She then got lost while trying to find the home of the
friend who was hosting the party. She finally arrived about 15 minutes before
she was due home. After considering the circumstances, I felt prompted to give
her permission to stay out later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When J returned home, she explained how grateful she was for
the curfew extension. Her friends (most of them not LDS) had encouraged her to
make up a story about a flat tire or something similar. She had told them that
she never lied to her parents, and that they were generally understanding and
reasonable about modifying the rules in special circumstances. The fact that
she obtained a curfew extension when telling the truth, greatly surprised and impressed
them. I was very thankful that I had followed my spiritual impression to grant J’s
request. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Soon after this experience, David phoned me from Europe, and
I explained in great detail the extenuating circumstances, hoping he would
agree that I had done the right thing. He was very impressed with the positive
outcome of this event, and the details stuck in his mind. Some years later, when David was speaking of this experience to some friends. I was shocked to
hear him tell it as though <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">he</i> had
been the one who had spoken with our daughter. I didn’t interrupt him at the
time, but I later reminded him that J had spoken with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">me</i>, since he was in Europe at the time.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
David didn’t believe me. Apparently I had recounted the
experience to him in such vivid detail, including my emotional and spiritual feelings
about what had happened, that he had internalized it completely. Thus, many
years later, when recalling the event, he was fully convinced that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">he</i> was the one who had granted the
curfew extension resulting in J’s relief and justification in the presence of
her skeptical peers. I was incredulous, thinking that he must be joking (a
pastime he frequently engaged in) when he continued to insist <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">he</i> had answered the phone that night
David was so confident and forceful in his assertions that I eventually began
to wonder if I had fallen prey to early onset Alzeheimer’s.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fortunately for me, some time later, when our daughter
confirmed my version of the experience, he graciously conceded that he had
obviously been mistaken.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
Once there was a second witness, my husband had to admit
intellectually that he must have remembered the event incorrectly. However,
judging from stray comments he made about the incident over the succeeding
years, I suspect that false memory may have remained in his mind until the day
he died as a strikingly clear and vivid record--of something that never
happened.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Rosalie Erekson Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985594370560172873noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22113617.post-57624234038930257062015-04-28T12:33:00.002-04:002015-04-30T02:08:15.447-04:00Oh Say, Where Is Truth? Part 2: Do We “Remember It Well?”<i>Part 1 of this trilogy of posts about truth posited that fiction could sometimes be more “truthful” than non-fiction. This follow-up post deals with the challenge of finding truth in memories.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
When faced with conflicting memories of our past, my husband
and I often smiled as we quoted the opening lines from a duet “I Remember it
Well.” They epitomize the tendency to we have to believe that we personally
remember things correctly, even when faced with evidence that others remember
the same events quite differently. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
We met at nine.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We met at eight.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
I was on time.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>No, you were late.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Ah yes! I remember it well<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=22113617#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We all tend to believe that we remember things correctly,
and often misunderstandings arise when people disagree about what “really”
happened. But psychologists have discovered that our minds definitely can be
fooled. <br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Elizabeth Loftus, a an American cognitive psychologist and
expert on human memory who did considerable research into the phenomenon of
false memories, stated in 1996, “In the last two decades, a body of research
has been published showing that new, post-event information often becomes
incorporated into memory, supplementing and altering a person's recollection.
New ‘information’ invades us, like a Trojan horse, precisely because we do not
detect its influence.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=22113617#_edn2" name="_ednref2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Laying aside the possibility of deliberate deception, we can
expect that many of the recollections of past events recorded by believing
members of the LDS church could have been distorted over time because of
subsequent events.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In my experience, even journal entries written at the end of
the day are subject to error. I remember the time I was emailing a friend, and
when I quoted a humorous remark of my husband’s, I realized that even though
only a few hours had passed, I wasn’t sure I remembered his precise phrasing. I
had concentrated more on the emotional boost his words had given me, the truth
I perceived in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">concept</i> he
communicated to me, than his exact words. However, although in this instance I
am fairly sure I interpreted his intent correctly, misunderstandings sometimes
arise between us because one of us takes offence at a word, or even a tone of
voice, which we later realize we have interpreted quite wrongly. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
Discovering the truth found in memories is indeed a
challenge, but it need not lead us to abandon our faith in the callings of
those whom we sustain as prophets, seers and revelators. When faced with
conflicting accounts of a past event, I have learned to forebear becoming
seriously concerned. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
Chances are, if I could see all the circumstances of the
event as God is able to see them, including the intents and purposes of all the
imperfect human participants, I would understand the truth of not only what
actually happened, but also why the Lord doesn’t deem it necessary to correct
all the errors involved in the recordings of that experience. <span style="color: #262626; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;">If we
exercise faith in what truth we know, when perfect knowledge is presently
absent, we can find peace as we await further clarification of any issue that
may be troubling us. As Mormon wrote, “And whoso receiveth this record, and
shall not condemn it because of the imperfections which are in it, the same
shall know of greater things than these. “</span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Times; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/morm/8.12?lang=eng#11"><span style="color: #107eae; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Mormon 8:12</span></a>
</span><span style="color: #395aa8; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 18.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our memories may not be as perfect a record of the past as
we believe them to be. But as we seek to record our own spiritual experiences
as best we can, as well as study the experiences recorded in the scriptures,
the truths that exist even in the imperfectly remembered events can become a
source of great comfort. Written accounts of the Lord’s tender mercies, of
answered prayers, of succor in time of need, of revelations given to prophets
in the past, even if those accounts are not completely accurate, can help us to
open our minds and hearts to the encouragement and direction we need from the
Holy Ghost to draw nearer to God today. For me, right now, those kind of
memories are enough, and to spare.</div>
<div style="mso-element: endnote-list;">
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
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<br />
<div id="edn1" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=22113617#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
“I Remember it Well,” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gigi</i>, Alan Jay
Lerner, Frederick Loewe, 1958.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="edn2" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=22113617#_ednref2" name="_edn2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Memory Distortion and False Memory Creation”
Loftus, Elizabeth (1996) Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the
Law, 24 (3) 281-295.<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Rosalie Erekson Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985594370560172873noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22113617.post-44046593359574756602015-04-27T15:13:00.000-04:002015-04-30T02:08:59.706-04:00Oh Say, Where Is Truth? Part 1: Fact or Fiction?<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">This is the first in a trilogy of
posts about finding truth.</i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
While traveling across Australia by train with my husband in
2006, I became engrossed in a highly-acclaimed biography of one of the prophets
of this dispensation, which was written by a believing, committed member of the
LDS Church. As the author began referring to the accounts of certain incidents,
however, I became at first uncomfortable, and finally very disturbed. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My unease did not come from fears that my testimony would be
shaken, but rather because I sensed that much of what was being considered as
"history" or "facts" was not really how things actually
happened. I doubted the accuracy of some of the original reporting, and the
memories of those being quoted, because they didn’t ring true to me. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I put the biography aside, and resumed reading a work of
fiction which is loosely based on the life of a prophet of this dispensation,
and which was written by another believing, committed member of the LDS church.
A few pages into my reading I was struck by the realization that I felt a much
stronger sense of "truth" while I was reading that fantasy novel,
than I did while reading certain parts of the supposedly non-fiction biography.
How could this be?<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
The people in the biography were real people, and the events
chronicled had really happened (at least most of them!). The events and the
characters in the novel, although inspired by real events and people, were an
invention of the author. What was the “truth” I was sensing?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A reputable biographer is expected show to his objectivity by
including contradictory material in his work. He may qualify some material as
suspect and classify other material as reliable, but if he omits evidence that
runs counter to his personal opinion, he risks his reputation.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However, even the best of intentions cannot guarantee the
objective “truth” of the events a biographer or historian chronicles. Every
author has both conscious and unconscious biases that may color the
interpretation of the source materials they use. In addition, we all know from
personal experience that we often mishear what is spoken, misinterpret what we
see, remember things inaccurately, report them incorrectly and succumb to the
influence of others when we are asked to chronicle events we may have
witnessed. Eye-witnesses to crimes have sometimes proved unreliable, as
evidenced by the number of convicts being cleared of crimes on the basis of new
DNA evidence. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Like me, you have probably been frustrated and annoyed when
a trusted news source publishes an article, or broadcasts an investigative
report on a subject we know very well, because we see glaring errors in the
reporting. Upon reflection we might surmise that it is likely that other
stories in the media are similarly error prone, but since we usually don’t have
the depth of knowledge to judge properly, we tend to think we are usually
getting the straight story. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
In contrast to the biographer, the novelist is expected to
control the worldview of his novel. He demonstrates his art in the creation of
characters whose motivations, relationships and philosophies of life are in
harmony with that worldview.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While reading the biography, I believe I often experienced
tension because much of what I was reading did not seem to harmonize with
things I knew spiritually to be true.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While reading the novel, I felt strongly that author and I
shared the same fundamental worldview. Within the imaginary world he created,
the characters (including their motivations, reactions and interactions), as
well as the events portrayed (including their genesis and the resulting
consequences) fully resonated with my sense of the underlying truths of our
universe. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I continue to read works of fiction and non-fiction, both to
increase my knowledge, and to be entertained. But for me, the best books of
both genres, the ones I choose to reread many times, are those that not only
inform and delight me, but also speak truth to my soul.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Rosalie Erekson Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985594370560172873noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22113617.post-84001978092422218552015-04-23T18:53:00.000-04:002015-04-30T02:10:38.136-04:00Strength through Submission<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The following is a revised version of
a post originally published on “A Prayer of Faith” 6 July 2006. It was inspired
b</span>y </i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Elder Henry B. Eyring’s talk <a href="http://www.lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-602-4,00.html">“As
a Child”</a> delivered in the LDS General Conference of April 2006:</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
From the time I was a child, foreign languages fascinated me. Growing up, my father taught me some Esperanto and a few German phrases; and after dabbling
in Latin and Spanish in high school, I decided to take on the challenge of
Russian at Brigham Young University. Soon after beginning my study, I began to
have an intense desire to visit Russia—to see for myself the land of
Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov, Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky, which was then under the
iron rule of Communism. This was back in the early 1960’s, when the Soviet
Union under Khrushchev routinely issued dire threats to the free world, but
welcomed the chance to earn dollars by conducting carefully chaperoned showcase
tours for Americans.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
I was thrilled when BYU announced that they would be participating for the
first time in a Russian summer study program. I immediately applied, was
accepted, and started saving money for the trip. I obtained a passport. My
whole family sacrificed to help fund my study abroad experience, and I was
elated at the opportunity to realize my dream.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Suddenly, only a few weeks before I was due to travel, I was shocked to hear
that the Board of Trustees (at that time consisting of the First Presidency and
the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles) had cancelled BYU’s participation in the
program. Although the Board gave no reason for the cancellation, we were told
it was <i>not</i> saying that it was unsafe to go, nor that no BYU students
should go to Russia. Faculty members would help any of us who so desired to
apply for open places at the other universities participating in the program. I
had to decide immediately whether to go, or to abandon my dream—at least
temporarily.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
After consulting with my parents, and being told it was up to me, I sought
my answer in prayer. I definitely wanted to go to Russia, unless there was a <i>very</i>
good reason not to. At first I prayed that I would know if the Board’s decision
meant that there was definite danger in going to Russia–was nuclear war imminent?!?
No answer.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
After some struggle, I was finally able to sincerely tell Heavenly Father
that more than going to Russia, more than anything else, I wanted to do His
will. Even though this choice may not have been a life-changing one, I then
experienced a moment similar to the one Elder Henry B. Eyring spoke of in his
General Conference talk in April, 2006, <a href="http://www.lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-602-4,00.html">“As
a Child”</a>:<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 5.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 5.0pt;">
“In that moment I felt as quiet inside as I had ever felt. And the
message came, and I was sure who it was from. It was clear what I was to do. I
received no promise of the outcome. There was only the assurance that I was a
child who had been told what path led to whatever He wanted for me.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 5.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 5.0pt;">
<br /></div>
The answer to me was simply, “Don’t go.” So I didn’t go to Russia that
summer. Nothing earth-shaking happened in world affairs, and even after more than 50 years I don’t know all the reasons why I was prompted to cancel my trip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I am sure of is that my desire to know
and submit to the Lord’s will in that case definitely helped me to seek and
accept His will in many future decisions that truly were life-changing.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
In his talk, Elder Eyring invites us to study and accept the doctrine and
advice King Benjamin gave in his final sermon, with emphasis on how, “Our
natures must be changed to become as a child to gain the strength we must have
to be safe in the times of moral peril.” He concludes that the only way we can
avoid shrinking in the presence of the Lord when we stand before him to be
judged, is<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
“. . . if we find the way in this life
to have our natures changed through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. That is the
only way we can build on the sure foundation and so stand firm in righteousness
during the storms of temptation.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<br /></div>
King Benjamin describes that change with a beautiful comparison, used by
prophets for millennia, and by the Lord Himself. It is this: that we can, and we
must, become as a child—a “little child.”<o:p></o:p><br />
In a logical progression, Elder Eyring leads us through a description of the
process of changing our natures. He clarifies that being “like a child” is not
being “childish,” and includes his personal experience with prayer (as quoted
above), additional scriptures from the New Testament and the Doctrine & Covenants,
and his insights on how following what King Benjamin taught will lead us to
greater faith in, and love for Our Savior, Jesus Christ. Faith will lead to
repentance and keeping the commandments. As we follow the promptings of the
Holy Ghost, <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 5.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 5.0pt;">
“our natures will change. We will become as a little child, obedient to
God and more loving. That change, if we do all we must to keep it, will qualify
us to enjoy the gifts which come through the Holy Ghost. Then we will be safe
on the only sure rock.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 5.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 5.0pt;">
<br /></div>
I love these words of counsel and testimony from Elder Eyring: <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 5.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 5.0pt;">
“With the help of the Holy Ghost, we can watch over ourselves. We can
pray to recognize and reject the first thoughts of sin. We can pray to
recognize a warning not to speak words which would hurt or tempt someone else.
And we can, when we must, pray for the humility and faith to repent. . . . I
bear you my witness that the Savior lives and that He is the sure foundation. I
know that by acting on our faith in Him we can be cleansed and changed to
become pure and strong, as a little child. . . . I know that we can choose the
promised joy of eternal life, however perilous the times.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 5.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 5.0pt;">
<br /></div>
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<!--EndFragment--><br />
Looking back on my experience as a college student, I can see how submitting
to the Lord’s will in that relatively small thing, and experiencing the peace
that resulted, has greatly helped me in my strivings to overcome my “natural
man” tendencies, to receive the blessing of an open, loving heart, and to find
peace in perilous times. I still struggle with the temptations of pride and
selfishness, but I know that my confidence waxes stronger in the presence of
God<a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/121"> (D&C 121:45)</a> as I
humbly and gratefully seek to bring my will into accord with His.<o:p></o:p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22113617.post-42685152536441498252015-02-24T13:42:00.000-05:002015-02-24T13:42:39.697-05:00Getting it Right<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Inspired by a post
originally published on “A Prayer of Faith” 12 October 2006</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sometimes I think that the main reason why we have computers
is to help us develop one of the most important virtues for a Latter-day Saint
woman: patience.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Back in 2006, I got a new laptop computer to replace my old
built-in-a-third-world-country-and-updated-over-the-years PC. I was able to
transfer everything I wanted to keep, and all was well—except that on my new
laptop, my preferred software for copying my music CDs to my hard drive now
gave me an error message: I couldn’t copy and save anything in the MP3 format,
because for some unknown reason there was supposedly no MP3 encoder on my
computer. After following a lengthy series of links to other messages, I
finally reached one that told me to contact my computer manufacturer.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Through the fascinating procedure called “remote connect,”
the technician I was speaking to on the telephone was able to view what I could
see on my monitor. He could then direct me verbally and by drawings that
appeared on my screen, so that together we could discover why my software was
not functioning properly, and exactly how to correct the problem. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After about half an hour of interaction with the technician,
I was told to change just one letter in an entry in the Windows registry, and
from then on the program worked perfectly. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Just
one wrong letter</i> kept a program from doing what it was designed to do. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That set me thinking. How often do I fail to live up to my
potential, or fail to be an effective instrument in the Lord’s hands, because I
have put off repenting of just one small sin; or neglected to open my heart to
the influence of the Spirit. Am I letting pride or selfishness keep me from
doing what I was designed to do, or being what I was designed to be as a
daughter of God? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was very pleased to allow a qualified technician access to
my computer so that he could guide me through a diagnostic procedure until I
could rectify the error on my computer. Am I as willing to allow the Lord to
help me discover and correct the errors in my actions, my attitudes, or my
thinking? Do I take full advantage of the divine “remote connect” available to
me through prayer and Scripture study? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Getting a computer problem fixed often takes considerable
time and patience. Getting our spiritual glitches corrected obviously requires
a lot more time and patience. I hope I can remember that more peace and joy
will come into my life as I accept correction and make the changes I need to. Because
of the Atonement of our Lord, eventually “getting it right” is indeed a reachable
goal.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22113617.post-66499488232074423972015-02-22T20:09:00.001-05:002015-04-30T02:12:16.443-04:00Why the Prohibitions in the Word of Wisdom?<i>Originally published on “A Prayer of Faith” 04 November 2006</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />
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For years, many Latter-day Saints have focused heavily on
scientific findings to support the Word of Wisdom prohibitions on tobacco,
alcohol, coffee, tea, and illegal drugs. Perhaps for many of us, the Word of
Wisdom has come to represent 1) scientific truth about nutrition, and 2) obedience
to a commandment of God. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Now there seem to be an increasing number of articles in the
media reporting the results of health studies which can be interpreted as showing
that green tea, black tea, wine, and even coffee may have significant health
benefits. Marijuana has been advocated by many in the medical profession for certain
kinds of pain relief. Although tobacco, the over-consumption of strong
alcoholic drinks, and the use of certain drugs may always remain frowned upon by
scientists, we may soon find that moderate amounts of wine, black and green
tea, coffee, and even presently illegal drugs are routinely recommended by
researchers and doctors to treat or prevent certain illnesses. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Is it possible we have the priorities reversed?<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Maybe caffeine is not as bad as we thought; but maybe
caffeine is not the real reason the Lord told us to abstain from “hot drinks,”
which were defined as coffee and tea by the prophet Joseph. Maybe the
possibility of addiction is not the only reason why the Brethren have extended
the scope of the Word of Wisdom to cover illegal drugs.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Has the time come for us to rely less on the precepts of
men, or our personal interpretations of those precepts, and trust more in what
may actually be the primary reason God gave us section 89 of the Doctrine and
Covenants in this, the last dispensation—to allow our obedience to set us apart
from the world as the people of the Lord?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Think about it: is there a prominent culture in the world
today that does not have some form of alcohol, coffee, or tea closely
interwoven in its social mores? And even in this age of general enlightenment
about the ill effects of tobacco and illegal drugs, there are many countries
and sub-cultures that still regard smoking or chewing tobacco as a kind of
status symbol (“I am rich enough to buy cigarettes!”), and drug use as a kind
of badge of membership.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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How many times has your abstinence from one of the
prohibited substances led to a religious discussion with those around you?
Could it be that our observance of that inspired counsel is a significant way
for us to raise an ensign to the nations, and attract the attention of those
who are seeking spiritual truth?<o:p></o:p></div>
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Perhaps the Word of Wisdom for us today is similar to what
the dietary laws of Moses were to ancient Israel: useful in promoting general
good health, yes, but primarily a prominent, obvious, outward sign of obedience
and allegiance to the one true God of this earth. <o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22113617.post-18218740061833041782015-02-22T20:03:00.003-05:002015-04-30T02:12:44.600-04:00Entering a New Stage of Life, and Returning to BloggingOctober 4, 2014 marked the beginning of a new stage in my life. My beloved husband of more than 48 years passed from mortality into the Spirit World, and I passed from being a wife, to being a widow.<br />
<br />
As I have been pondering what I would like to spend my time on, the thought of returning to blogging has come back into my mind. I originally used a pseudonym in my writing, because my husband was serving as a general authority in the LDS church when I started to blog, and I didn’t want him to suffer from any backlash that my opinions might engender. But he was released from that calling many years ago, and now that he has embarked on a mission in another realm, I am content to allow those who read my words to know my real name.<br />
<br />
While I mull over what new subjects to write about, I have decided to publish here some of the essays that originally appeared on “A Prayer of Faith,” a group blog which has since disappeared from the Internet.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22113617.post-58604598754849201732009-05-18T13:46:00.005-04:002016-07-22T02:06:19.460-04:00Saying "Thy Will Be Done" in AdvanceAlmost twelve years ago, my daughter Julie became aware of how seriously Alzheimer's disease had affected her grandmother's memory and personality. She, along with several other relatives, visited her in a care center where she was recovering from a serious fall. I was living abroad at the time, on a mission with my husband, and in answer to a letter from my daughter I wrote the following:<br />
<br />
<em>Dear Julie,</em><br />
<br />
<em>We appreciated your information on the visit to see Grandmother in the care center on the day of the [family] reunion. I am grateful that you understand things the way you do. I feel the same way. It certainly is terribly sad to see Grandmother suffer, and to realize that she will probably soon leave this mortal existence. But she is ready to go, and she seems to be trying her best to be brave and endure whatever she needs to right now.<br /><br />We talked to Uncle [D] Friday, and he said that he thought that it was an eye‑opener for most of the grandchildren to see her as she was. He mentioned that perhaps many had not realized the extent to which Grandfather stage‑managed visits when he was present to help her deal with her Alzheimer's disease. Apparently she has times when she is more lucid than others, and times when her memory is sharper than others. (Michael said that his visit with her on Tuesday went well, and that she remembered their conversation when he talked to her on Thursday). But her short term memory is definitely unreliable, and seems to be deteriorating rapidly.<br />
</em><br />
<a name='more'></a><em><br />
<em><br />Uncle [D] said that Thursday she was still very confused as to where she was and why she was there, wondering if she were lost, and needed to go home. But Friday she was much calmer, and accepted the fact that it was best for her to stay in the care center for now. Grandfather realizes that he cannot carry her around; but they are hopeful that in a week or so the therapy will enable her to walk again, so that she can go home. If it turns out that she will not be able to walk, then they will need to consider whether to adapt their condo with a stair lift, hospital bed, etc., or to move somewhere else.<br /><br />Apparently when you all arrived at the care center, Grandmother said something like, "I'm old, I'm dumb, and I'm ugly." When Uncle [D] mentioned that she had said that, I cried. I thought about how difficult it must be to FEEL that way because you can't take care of yourself, and you can't think straight, make decisions, or remember things.<br /><br />Her entire life has been one of cheerful, unselfish service to those around her. She always had a high energy level, and whether it was vacuuming, sewing or doing crafts, she was incredibly quick. It wasn't until she was in her fifties that I noticed that I could work comfortably at her pace!<br /><br />As age and infirmity began to slow her down, she came to terms with her situation, but continued to try her best to do things for others. These last few years she even struggled with her arthritis to keep making cards and [ribbon] roses for friends and family even though it was painful and time‑consuming. She always loved to cook and bake, and she has had to turn all the meal preparation over to Grandfather. She always took pains to be well groomed for Grandfather, as well as for the world in general. Now she probably can't even put on makeup by herself. She was a marvelous teacher and administrator, both in church callings and in the community. Now she realizes that she has to ask others to decide everything for her, and help her with the most basic every day tasks. She IS incredibly brave.<br /><br />In the zone conferences this month I have been talking about maintaining our enthusiasm as missionaries, and overcoming discouragement. Some of the scriptures I am using seem to me to apply to Grandmother, and I hope they will always apply to me, too: </em><br />
</em><br />
<blockquote>
<em>"And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord." <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/mosiah/24/15#15">Mosiah 24:15</a></em><br />
<em>"Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed." <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/123/17#17">(D&C 123:17)</a></em></blockquote>
<em>
<em>Grandmother has always been an example to her children, and she continues to be a light and an inspiration to all her posterity as she deals with her problems now. She is a righteous woman, and whatever she may have to suffer until Heavenly Father determines that it is time for her to leave this mortal sphere, it could be said to her as it was said to Joseph Smith: </em><br />
<br />
</em><br />
<blockquote>
<em>"all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good" <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/122/7#7">(D&C 122:7)</a></em><br />
<em>"peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high" <a href="http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/121/7-8#7">(D&C 121:7‑8).</a></em></blockquote>
<em style="font-style: italic;">Truly her faith in Christ and her life of good works have given her the sure hope of a glorious resurrection.<br /><br /><em>Once again she and Grandfather face the refiner's fire, and I know they will both emerge even purer and stronger. Although in the future Grandmother may lose so much control that she can no longer be as cheerful and accepting as she is now, I firmly believe that her spirit has already said, "Thy will be done." </em><br /><br /><em>I love her. I honor her. I pray that I may demonstrate that love and honor as I try to follow her example, even unto the end. </em><br /><br /><em>With all my love, Mother </em></em><br />
<br />
Although my mother recovered physically enough to return home, she became bedridden a few months later. My father installed a hospital bed in the living room, and lovingly cared for his eternal sweetheart until she passed away at the age of 91 in August 1999.<br />
<br />
I will turn 69 shortly. As I see the effects of aging manifest themselves, I can't help but wonder if my life will follow a path similar to that of my mother.<br />
<br />
Will I end up with a body unable to move from a bed on its own? Will my mind cloud over and fall prey to degenerating nerve connections? Will my spirit go dormant; or will it remain totally aware of being trapped in a mortal housing that is cut off from all meaningful communication with those around me?<br />
<br />
No matter what the coming years may bring, my trust is in the Lord. I will continue to strive to make the best of whatever circumstances I may be in, and my goal is to truly internalize the wise advice of Elder Joseph P. Wirthlin's mother, as he explained it in his General Conference talk, <a href="http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=b5f44bb52a73d110VgnVCM100000176f620a____&hideNav=1">"Come What May, and Love It."</a><br />
<br />
I want all my loved ones to know that I say now to Our Father in Heaven, while in full possession of all my faculties, and with all my heart ( just as I believe my mother did), "Thy will be done."Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22113617.post-89573240836182172582008-10-02T12:12:00.003-04:002009-01-19T18:06:47.021-05:00A Worthy Challenge --Completed Early!Blogger Mormon Soprano has invited her readers in a post yesterday to <a href="http://mormonsoprano.com/2008/10/01/join-the-hinckley-challenge/">Join the Hinckley Challenge</a>, which is to re-read the Book of Mormon in 97 days in honor of President Gordon B. Hinckley. <br /><br />She also gave a link to the website <a href="http://www.hinckleychallenge.com/">The Hinckley Challenge</a> that explains the challenge and has a useful tracker to help monitor our reading.<br /><br />I followed the link, and decided to register at the site, because I think it is a great way to motivate me to participate regularly in a worthy effort.<br /><br />The Book of Mormon has been one of the most powerful influences for good in my life, and I know that a complete reading of the entire book right now will bring me added inspiration and blessings, just as it did when I accepted the original challenge from President Hinckley in 2005.Rosalie Erekson Stonehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01985594370560172873noreply@blogger.com3