A Prayer of Faith

At the October 2006 General Conference, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke on Sunday afternoon. What struck me so much about his talk, “Prophets in the Land Again,” and still strikes me now as I read it and hear his voice in my mind, was the passion in his voice for his topic. It touched my heart.

What did he speak about? General Conference and what it means to us—or can mean, if we will let it. Read the rest of this entry »

We at A Prayer of Faith are happy to announce that, after two wonderful rounds of guest-writing for us, Mary has agreed to join our permanent writing staff. We are blessed to have her insightful, sweet, and supportive voice in our community.

Here, in her own words, she tells us a little about herself:

I was born and raised in Oklahoma and have lived here all my life (52 years–53 before the end of 2006), except for the 6 months I lived in Snowflake, Arizona, where I found, learned about, and joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the age of 21. I was married at the time and my then-husband also joined the church, although we were never married in the temple. We had a son and daughter, Jim and Dixie (named after grandparents), who died in a car accident in 1979. A divorce followed soon after, and I have been on my own since. I still talk to my ex-husband occasionally, and we are sort of friends. My parents have passed away, but I have a brother and his family, plus assorted cousins. I’m the only member of the church in my family, though. Read the rest of this entry »

When it comes to gardening and anything to do with growing things, I know very little. (My thumb is whatever color is opposite of green!) But I do have some deep feelings about growing spirtual things. There have been many things going on in my world that have caused me to ponder on the value and necessity of a firm and strong testimony. Read the rest of this entry »

The holiday season has officially begun. And, as much as we try to avoid it, the holidays usually bring stress — or at least full calendars and long to-do lists. I thought I would share a few main dish recipes that have helped keep dinner simple and not-too-time-consuming. (Some you can add veggies to and make a complete meal!) Read the rest of this entry »

O God, beneath Thy guiding hand
Our exiled fathers crossed the sea;
And when they trod the wintry strand,
With prayer and psalm they worshipped Thee.

Thou heardest, well pleased, the song, the prayer:
Thy blessing came; and still its power
Shall onward, through all ages, bear
The memory of that holy hour.

Laws, freedom, and faith in God
Came with those exiles o’er the waves;
And, where their pilgrim feet have trod,
The God they trusted guards their graves.

And here Thy Name, O God of love,
Their children’s children still adore,
Till these eternal hills remove,
And spring adorns the earth no more.

Leonard Bacon, 1833

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And I looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was separated from the seed of my brethren by the many waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in the promised land.
And it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of captivity, upon the many waters.
And it came to pass that I beheld many multitudes….
And I beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for their inheritance….
And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them. (1 Nephi 13:14-16)

To those of you in the United States, Happy Thanksgiving! (To all: It will be slow here for the next couple of days due to the holiday weekend.)

Naiah: Jenny, it’s so neat to have this chance to find out more about you, your life, and your music. Thanks for taking the time to correspond. I have absolutely fallen in love with your album, and I know that there are a lot of sisters out there who will love it, too. At Time Out for Women (TOFW), I was so relieved to hear that your voice is just as great in person as it is on the album. In this day and age of hyper-produced albums and studio tricks, it’s downright refreshing to see someone of true, profound natural talent releasing music.

You’ve been recording since you were 17; your voice has been on over 100 albums at this point. How did you decide that this point in your life–married with three children and one on the way as you went into the studio–was the time to come into your own professionally and record for yourself?

JJF: People ask me that all the time. I have been asked ‘where’s the album’ for at least the last 10 years! In all honesty, I just never felt that it was ‘my time.’ Read the rest of this entry »

Not only is this week’s review not a book, it’s not like anything else. After years and years of singing for other people, one of the best voices in LDS music released her very own self-titled debut album this past February. Of course, I just discovered it. I only bought the CD because she was scheduled to perform at the Time Out For Women (TOFW) presentation I was going to attend, and I enjoy music more if I have a chance to give it a good listen before the event. From the first listen, I loved the album–albeit cautiously. It’s almost scary how good studios have gotten at manufacturing pop music from artists with little to no natural talent. I liked the album so much that I found myself hoping with a near-intensity that Jenny was not one of those. Still, even though the music moved me, I wasn’t anything you could call a fan. Read the rest of this entry »

I have always hated admitting weakness, but I’m going to do it here. I have been insecure most of my life. I have struggled to feel worthy of the love of people around me, and especially to feel worthy of God’s love.

I have usually looked to mortal means to fill my I-am-lovable-and-worthwhile bucket. I did well in school and got good grades. I have tried to be and do good, and have looked for positive verbal reinforcement from those around me in the process. I have done things that add bullets to my résumé…. You get the picture. Read the rest of this entry »

There were several talks from General Conference this last time around that really struck me. One of them was by A. Roger Merrill. He talked about the concept of receiving by the Spirit.

In our Church meetings, in our personal and family scripture study, and even this day as we listen to the Lord’s prophets and apostles, some of us will receive more than others. Why? I am learning that those who truly receive do at least three things that others may not do. Read the rest of this entry »

O my sons, I would that ye should remember that these sayings are true, and also that these records are true. And behold, also the plates of Nephi, which contain the records and the sayings of our fathers from the time they left Jerusalem until now, and they are true; and we can know of their surety because we have them before our eyes.

And now, my sons, I would that ye should remember to search them diligently, that ye may profit thereby; and I would that ye should keep the commandments of God, that ye may prosper in the land according to the promises which the Lord made unto our fathers. Mosiah 1:6-7

As I was reading this passage the other day, specifically that phrase “because we have them before our eyes,” something jumped out at me. It’s not a terribly profound insight, very simple in fact.

Read the rest of this entry »