Memorial Day Remembrance

I saw this amazing scene at the Utah Veterans Cemetery & Memorial Park today, Memorial Day, 31 May 2021, while taking pictures of graves in response to requests on Find A Grave.

Anxiously engaged in a good cause (Come, Follow Me)

I'm so grateful for agency and the Savior's invitation to use it to do good!  I feel like the more people recognize that they are free to act--to bring about good in the world--and not simply subject to the challenges of life and the choices of others, society would be transformed.

Men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause,
and do many things of their own free will,
and bring to pass much righteousness;
For the power is in them, wherein
they are agents unto themselves.
Doctrine and Covenants 58:27-28

The Design of God (Come, Follow Me)

Maintaining an eternal perspective and trusting in God has helped me through much tribulation.  I have also made an effort to recognize when the design of God has been realized in my life, which has strengthened my faith.  What have others done to trust and recognize the design of God?

"Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time,
the design of your God
concerning those things which shall come hereafter,
and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation."
Doctrine and Covenants 58:3

Art:  "By Design" by Joshua D. Baird

Rise Above Clouds of Doubt (Michael John U. Teh)

Today in EQ, we studied the General Conference talk, Our Personal Savior, by Elder Michael John U. Teh.  I love this quote from the talk:

Just as the Savior
 came forth from His stone grave,
may we
 awake from our spiritual slumber
 and rise above
  the clouds of doubt,
  the clutches of fear,
  the intoxication of pride, and
  the lull of complacency.
Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father live.

Rest to their souls (Come, Follow Me)

 From this week's Come, Follow Me reading (D&C 51-57) comes this truth that brings me such comfort:

Be patient in tribulation until I come;

and, behold, I come quickly, 

and my reward is with me, 

and they who have sought me early 

shall find rest to their souls.

Doctrine and Covenants 54:10

Forgiveness (Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month)

This is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and as I think about my many friends whose ancestors called Asian and Pacific nations home, I'm reminded of my love for them.  This month also reminds me how grateful I am to live in a country whose people forgive and help even those who sought to oppress and destroy us.  

In WWII when the Japanese Empire attacked the United States and many of its Asian neighbors and imprisoned, mistreated, enslaved, tortured, and killed millions, the U.S. and its allies sent many from the Greatest Generation to defeat Japan and restore freedom to Japan's Asian neighbors and even to the Japanese people themselves.  Hundreds of thousands of America's youth never got to live the lives they had imagined but gave them up for their brothers and sisters around Asia and the Pacific.

After victory, the U.S. helped to rebuild Japan and its economy, gave the Japanese their freedom, and even defended Japan from other military aggressors.  A few generations later, Americans look at Japan with a kinship and fondness that could only come from forgiveness.

That's what Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month reminds me of.

Dust devil near the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple

 Yesterday, we saw this dust devil near the Saratoga Springs Utah Temple which is under construction.

It's kind of symbolic that we see this outside the temple but can find peace inside.

That which is of God is light (Come, Follow Me)

From our Come, Follow Me reading this week (D&C 49-50):

That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.
Doctrine and Covenants 50:24

Who do I want to become?

How do we want to be remembered?  I found these while visiting the Utah State Veterans Memorial Park yesterday.  This gives me perspective that can help me become the person these people were.

Forgive your worst enemy

"Forgive your worst enemy.  It will heal your soul and it will set you free."
 - Eva Mozes Kor, an Auschwitz survivor, who forgave Josef Mengele, the "Angel of Death" who conducted medical experiments on her and her twin sister

This is an amazing story of forgiveness of one's former oppressor and the surprise felt at the freedom and peace that resulted:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hk87MXtt5qg (if you want to pass some of the description of what she endured, you can start at 6:15)

The Culminating Act of All Creation

 

Anchored Firmly to Eternal Truth (President Nelson)

If our faith is anchored in the foundation of Jesus Christ, our Rock, we can weather the storms of life (Matthew 7:24-27).  This knowledge has been a blessing in my life.

The foundation of one’s individual faith, if anchored firmly to eternal truth, allows each of us to reach upward with an eternal perspective. That faith will give hope when there is no hope. It will give us joy here and eternal life hereafter.
Russell M. Nelson

That Ye May Not Be Deceived (Come, Follow Me)

In this week's reading, we learn a recipe for truth that's critical for our time.  Doctrine & Covenants 46:7-8 says, 

"that ye may not be seduced by evil spirits, or doctrines of devils, or the commandments of men" and "that ye may not be deceived":

• ask of God, who giveth liberally; and
• that which the Spirit testifies unto you even so I would that ye should do in all holiness of heart, 
• walking uprightly before me, 
• considering the end of your salvation, 
• doing all things with prayer and thanksgiving, 
• beware lest ye are deceived; and 
• seek ye earnestly the best gifts, 
• always remembering for what they are given

Hear His Son (Come, Follow Me)

Our Father knows that when we are surrounded by uncertainty and fear, what will help us the very most is to hear His Son.
Russell M. Nelson

As we read and study Doctrine & Covenants 45 this week, look at the invitations to hear Jesus Christ:

• "Hearken, O ye people of my church" (verse 1)
• "hearken ye and give ear to him who laid the foundation of the earth, who made the heavens and all the hosts thereof, and by whom all things were made which live, and move, and have a being." (verse 1)
• "hearken unto my voice" (verse 2)
• "Listen to him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading your cause before him" (verse 3)
• "Hearken, O ye people of my church" (verse 6)
• "ye elders listen together" (verse 6)
• "hear my voice while it is called today, and harden not your hearts" (verse 6)
• "hearken ye together and let me show unto you even my wisdom" (verse 11)
• "hearken and I will reason with you, and I will speak unto you and prophesy" (verse 15)

Be not troubled (Come, Follow Me)

"Be not troubled, for, when all these things shall come to pass, ye may know that the promises which have been made unto you shall be fulfilled."
Doctrine and Covenants 45:35

I take great comfort in this verse and in President Nelson's invitation to study the promises made to Covenant Israel.  As we witness the many signs of the times, we can know with certainty that the Lord will fulfill His promises to us.  Such promises include these:

• "the day of redemption shall come, and also the restoration of the scattered Israel" (verse 17)
• "a light shall break forth among them that sit in darkness, and it shall be the fulness of my gospel" (verse 28)
• "my disciples shall stand in holy places, and shall not be moved" (verse 32)
• "they shall look for me, and, behold, I will come" (verse 44)
• "the saints that have slept shall come forth to meet me in the cloud" (verse 45)
• "Satan shall be bound, that he shall have no place in the hearts of the children of men" (verse 55)
• "they shall not be hewn down and cast into the fire, but shall abide the day" (verse 57)
• "And the earth shall be given unto them for an inheritance (verse 58)
• "they shall multiply and wax strong" (verse 58)
• "their children shall grow up without sin unto salvation" (verse 58)
• "the Lord shall be in their midst, and his glory shall be upon them, and he will be their king and their lawgiver" (verse 59)
• "the righteous shall be gathered out from among all nations, and shall come to Zion, singing with songs of everlasting joy" (verse 71)

#ComeFollowMe