We had a really great Region Conference this last Sunday. Elder Gary Stevenson spoke on three Christ-like attributes to practice every day: Humility, Obedience, and Virtue. I love how he defined virtue - that our private actions and conversations are in line with what we profess to believe in public in our churches.
I found his same HOV pattern in my scriptures this week where Alma counsels us, "to never be weary of good works, but to be meek and lowly in heart; for such shall find rest to their souls.... learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of God. Yea cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and withersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever." - Alma 37:34-36
I absolutely love it when I hear counsel from modern day prophets and apostles and soon after find something in my scripture study that coincides perfectly with what they just said. It happens all the time!
Just thinking about verse 36 of Alma where he admonishes that all our thoughts and affections be directed to the Lord, reminded me of this cool song, "I Point to You".
Enjoy!!
-Alicia
"I Point To You"
by, We Are Messengers
How can I forgive when I can't forgive myself
How can I move on when all I have is regrets
How can I fix you when I keep turning away
How can I make it past the noise with my shame
I need a miracle
Some healing for my heart
I need a revelation
A brand new start
I want simplicity
Where I can rest
But I need a miracle to put my past to death
I know You want my heart
My bruises and my scars
I'm coming as I am
The only way I can
I can't forget from where I've come
And what my heart's been rescued from
Yeah when they ask me who
I owe my whole life to
I point to You
I point to You
I want so badly just to finally get well
But I don't want a quick fix and emotional sell
I will be honest with my humanity
No I'm not perfect and I don't pretend to be
I need a miracle
Some healing for my heart
I need a revelation
A brand new start
I want simplicity
Where I can rest
But I need a miracle to put my past to death
I know You want my heart
My bruises and my scars
I'm coming as I am
The only way I can
I can't forget from where I've come
And what my heart's been rescued from
Yeah when they ask me who
I owe my whole life to
I point to You
I point to You
People say that I've lost myself
I'll say I'm found in You
People ask where does my story end
I'll say it starts with You
I know You want my heart
My bruises and my scars
I'm coming as I am
I know You want my heart
My bruises and my scars
I'm coming as I am
The only way I can
I can't forget from where I've come
And what my heart's been rescued from
Yeah when they ask me who
I owe my whole life to
I point to You
I point to You
I point to You
I point to You
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The Purest Love
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Showing posts with label Virtue. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Virtue. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
Friday, November 20, 2015
In the Middle of Babylon
I am so excited to be in the Book of Daniel now! I love the stories of these four young men, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Their greatest quality was truly their non-worldliness. Now, this is a story about four amazing young men and I love seeing this in the men and boys of today. I also love this quality when I see it in women.
It is so clearly obvious and apparent to me when I am with a Zion-hearted sister in my church, the way she talks about life, the way she consistently dresses, the way she handles social media or guards the media streaming in her home, they way she reaches out to others regardless of who they are (cliques are unheard of for her.) I love how she shares her faith, how humble she is (and doesn't even know it), how she views and speaks about her spouse or each of her children, and the list goes on. I love that she is so counter-culture. My best friend, Suzanne, is this way. My friend, Carol, is this way... My friend, Kanani, is this way... In fact all of my deepest and closest friends are this way. This is why I treasure and love them so dearly.
I found this really great talk given April, 2006 by, Elder David R. Stone - Zion in the Midst of Babylon I've copy-pasted the part that really jumped out at me.
"Daniel and his brothers refused to do that which they believed to be wrong, however much the Babylonian culture believed it to be right. And for that fidelity and courage, the Lord blessed them and 'gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom' Dan. 1:17
Seduced by our culture, we often hardly recognize our idolatry, as our strings are pulled by that which is popular in the Babylonian world. Indeed, as the poet Wordsworth said: 'The world is too much with us' (“The World Is Too Much with Us; Late and Soon,” in The Complete Poetical Works of William Wordsworth [1924], 353).
In his first epistle, John writes:
We can live as a Zion people, if we wish to. Will it be hard? Of course it will, for the waves of Babylonian culture crash incessantly against our shores. Will it take courage? Of course it will.
We have always been entranced by tales of courage of those who faced fearsome odds and overcame. Courage is the basis and foundation for all of our other virtues; the lack of courage diminishes every other virtue that we have. If we are to have Zion in the midst of Babylon, we will need courage."- Elder David R. Stone, Zion in the Midst of Babylon
-Alicia
It is so clearly obvious and apparent to me when I am with a Zion-hearted sister in my church, the way she talks about life, the way she consistently dresses, the way she handles social media or guards the media streaming in her home, they way she reaches out to others regardless of who they are (cliques are unheard of for her.) I love how she shares her faith, how humble she is (and doesn't even know it), how she views and speaks about her spouse or each of her children, and the list goes on. I love that she is so counter-culture. My best friend, Suzanne, is this way. My friend, Carol, is this way... My friend, Kanani, is this way... In fact all of my deepest and closest friends are this way. This is why I treasure and love them so dearly.
I found this really great talk given April, 2006 by, Elder David R. Stone - Zion in the Midst of Babylon I've copy-pasted the part that really jumped out at me.
"Daniel and his brothers refused to do that which they believed to be wrong, however much the Babylonian culture believed it to be right. And for that fidelity and courage, the Lord blessed them and 'gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom' Dan. 1:17
Seduced by our culture, we often hardly recognize our idolatry, as our strings are pulled by that which is popular in the Babylonian world. Indeed, as the poet Wordsworth said: 'The world is too much with us' (“The World Is Too Much with Us; Late and Soon,” in The Complete Poetical Works of William Wordsworth [1924], 353).
In his first epistle, John writes:
- 'I have written unto you … because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one... Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world' 1 Jn. 2:14–15
We can live as a Zion people, if we wish to. Will it be hard? Of course it will, for the waves of Babylonian culture crash incessantly against our shores. Will it take courage? Of course it will.
We have always been entranced by tales of courage of those who faced fearsome odds and overcame. Courage is the basis and foundation for all of our other virtues; the lack of courage diminishes every other virtue that we have. If we are to have Zion in the midst of Babylon, we will need courage."- Elder David R. Stone, Zion in the Midst of Babylon
-Alicia
Friday, September 4, 2015
The Vain Things of This World
A young women shared on Facebook the other day that she had just finished writing in her eighth journal. It inspired me to be more diligent with my own writing. I wish with all my heart that I could say I recorded as much as she did when I was in high school. (Honestly though, the stuff I wrote at that age is pretty embarrassing to say the least... so maybe it's for the better.) ;)
After I was married, I kept more of a consistent record. The other night out of curiosity, I pulled a couple of my old journals off the shelf and spent an hour reading. I feel grateful for what I have written but still wish I had recorded more . While flipping through the pages, I stumbled across this entry about a dream I had in July of 2009. It caught my eye because I've been thinking a lot about dreams lately and how they work in our lives. I've only had a handful of them through the years that have left a deep enough impression on me to capture them with my journal or retell them. I'm so thankful I wrote this one down because I forgot all about it.
I've been thinking about the interpretation of this one all day. I believe there's a powerful lesson to be learned from it and I take it like a warning to me as a daughter of Zion, just as the scripture found in Isaiah 3:16-24 proclaims.
...........
7-13-2009
I had a strange dream last night. I was looking around at a yard sale and found a old-fashioned vanity. It was slightly taller than me, with cabinet doors that opened to a large mirror on the inside. Make-up and perfume stacked in painted fancy bottles were arranged on the shelves and in the drawers. I gazed into the mirror at my reflection and to my horror watched it begin to age very rapidly and then crumble to dust. I turned away in disbelief, shaking my head at what I just saw. I looked back at my appearance in the mirror just to be certain I didn't imagine it. Again the horrible reflection aged within seconds and then crumbled to dust. "What is going on?! I thought, "This vanity is evil!"
There were other women at the yard sale. I ran to some of them and asked if they would come and look at this and tell me if they saw the same thing. The small crowd of women gathered around as I opened the cabinet doors to show them the mirror inside. Sure enough, as I looked at my reflection, it crumbled again from rapid aging into dust.
"Did you see that?! Did you see what happened to my reflection?!" I said, pointing to the glass.
The women standing around me answered, "No, we didn't see anything strange." They all agreed with each other, "Yeah, nothing happened, it was just a normal reflection."
They all walked away irritated and gossiped among themselves that there was something wrong with me. I stood there alone by the vanity and found a looking glass faced-down on the table among the perfume and bottles. I wondered as I picked it up if it would do the same thing. When I turned it toward me, I witnessed my image decay again. Disgusted and utterly terrified, I threw the looking glass down on the ground like it was some sort of poisonous spider, "It's pure evil!!" I shouted. I awoke in a panic until I realized I had only been dreaming. I took a deep breath and tried to get back to sleep but couldn't help but think of all that happened. I thought to myself that there must be a moral to learn from it.
As I lay there pondering, I remembered some counsel in my patriarchal blessing;
"Now when you leave this life, you leave the vain things of this world, Alicia. But there are many things that you won't leave - you'll take them with you and they'll become your eternal possession. It's like storing up your treasures in heaven where moth nor rust doth decay. You'll take all of the personality. You'll take all of the truth. You'll take all of the knowledge. You'll take all of the character. You'll take all of the virtue and the understanding of these sacred things and your sacred relationship with God and His Son, Jesus Christ."
I thought about the words "leave the vain things of this world". Vain means "hollow, pointless, no purpose." It's interesting that it was a "vanity" in my dream.
...........
Reading this entry reminded me of a fireside I attended in college at the Salt Lake Tabernacle. I can't remember who spoke but I remember them saying that our physical appearance, no matter who we are will reach a peak and then go downhill. There is no investment of time or money, wardrobes, makeovers, fashion consultants, work out routines or diet, that will stop our physical bodies from deteriorating. Yes, some things may slow the process down but eventually we will all turn to dust. On the other hand, our spirit, the substance of who we really are doesn't have a limit of beauty. There's no peak that it reaches before it begins to drop out. Our soul will never grow old and actually has the potential to grow more beautiful and bright with every passing day, long after this life is over and into eternity. It cannot be faked or worn as a mask. It has nothing to do with appearances or the outward show. It's all about the sincere focus of the heart.
"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light." - Matthew 6:19-22
I pray the Lord will help me recognize when I am getting caught up in the vain things of this world and save me from myself. I pray I will learn to focus more on those things that matter most and lay up treasures in heaven.
-Alicia
After I was married, I kept more of a consistent record. The other night out of curiosity, I pulled a couple of my old journals off the shelf and spent an hour reading. I feel grateful for what I have written but still wish I had recorded more . While flipping through the pages, I stumbled across this entry about a dream I had in July of 2009. It caught my eye because I've been thinking a lot about dreams lately and how they work in our lives. I've only had a handful of them through the years that have left a deep enough impression on me to capture them with my journal or retell them. I'm so thankful I wrote this one down because I forgot all about it.
I've been thinking about the interpretation of this one all day. I believe there's a powerful lesson to be learned from it and I take it like a warning to me as a daughter of Zion, just as the scripture found in Isaiah 3:16-24 proclaims.
...........
7-13-2009
I had a strange dream last night. I was looking around at a yard sale and found a old-fashioned vanity. It was slightly taller than me, with cabinet doors that opened to a large mirror on the inside. Make-up and perfume stacked in painted fancy bottles were arranged on the shelves and in the drawers. I gazed into the mirror at my reflection and to my horror watched it begin to age very rapidly and then crumble to dust. I turned away in disbelief, shaking my head at what I just saw. I looked back at my appearance in the mirror just to be certain I didn't imagine it. Again the horrible reflection aged within seconds and then crumbled to dust. "What is going on?! I thought, "This vanity is evil!" There were other women at the yard sale. I ran to some of them and asked if they would come and look at this and tell me if they saw the same thing. The small crowd of women gathered around as I opened the cabinet doors to show them the mirror inside. Sure enough, as I looked at my reflection, it crumbled again from rapid aging into dust.
"Did you see that?! Did you see what happened to my reflection?!" I said, pointing to the glass.
The women standing around me answered, "No, we didn't see anything strange." They all agreed with each other, "Yeah, nothing happened, it was just a normal reflection."
They all walked away irritated and gossiped among themselves that there was something wrong with me. I stood there alone by the vanity and found a looking glass faced-down on the table among the perfume and bottles. I wondered as I picked it up if it would do the same thing. When I turned it toward me, I witnessed my image decay again. Disgusted and utterly terrified, I threw the looking glass down on the ground like it was some sort of poisonous spider, "It's pure evil!!" I shouted. I awoke in a panic until I realized I had only been dreaming. I took a deep breath and tried to get back to sleep but couldn't help but think of all that happened. I thought to myself that there must be a moral to learn from it.
As I lay there pondering, I remembered some counsel in my patriarchal blessing;
"Now when you leave this life, you leave the vain things of this world, Alicia. But there are many things that you won't leave - you'll take them with you and they'll become your eternal possession. It's like storing up your treasures in heaven where moth nor rust doth decay. You'll take all of the personality. You'll take all of the truth. You'll take all of the knowledge. You'll take all of the character. You'll take all of the virtue and the understanding of these sacred things and your sacred relationship with God and His Son, Jesus Christ."
I thought about the words "leave the vain things of this world". Vain means "hollow, pointless, no purpose." It's interesting that it was a "vanity" in my dream.
...........
Reading this entry reminded me of a fireside I attended in college at the Salt Lake Tabernacle. I can't remember who spoke but I remember them saying that our physical appearance, no matter who we are will reach a peak and then go downhill. There is no investment of time or money, wardrobes, makeovers, fashion consultants, work out routines or diet, that will stop our physical bodies from deteriorating. Yes, some things may slow the process down but eventually we will all turn to dust. On the other hand, our spirit, the substance of who we really are doesn't have a limit of beauty. There's no peak that it reaches before it begins to drop out. Our soul will never grow old and actually has the potential to grow more beautiful and bright with every passing day, long after this life is over and into eternity. It cannot be faked or worn as a mask. It has nothing to do with appearances or the outward show. It's all about the sincere focus of the heart.
"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light." - Matthew 6:19-22
I pray the Lord will help me recognize when I am getting caught up in the vain things of this world and save me from myself. I pray I will learn to focus more on those things that matter most and lay up treasures in heaven.
-Alicia
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