A Prayer of Faith

I went to the cannery yesterday.

Ordinarily, I love the cannery. I love the spirit that is there, a spirit of industry, unity, self-reliance, and obedience.

We were cruising: 50 cans of orange drink, 140 cans of white wheat, many cans of sugar, 50 cans of red wheat….

“How much wheat are you putting in those cans?” the missionary asked the sister across the table from me. She was weighing cans just as I was.

“Five pounds,” was her reply.

He proceeded to tell her that she wasn’t putting enough in. The chart read 5 pounds, 13 ounces. (How did we all miss that?)

Feelings of panic and dread came quickly. Read the rest of this entry »

I have read some posts on prayer lately, and heard some amazing talks on the subject, and while it was on my brain, I thought I would share again this review because the insights in this book meant so much to me. The book really helped me gain a greater appreciation for how prayer works, and how a spiritual perspective can help me through hard times. I hope it might be helpful to someone else as well.

I’m sure you know how it feels when you hear or read something that is exactly what you needed at that point in your life. That’s what S. Michael Wilcox’s talk-made-into-a-book, entitled When Your Prayers Seem Unanswered, was for me. One of my dear friends had heard Brother Wilcox speak, and she shared some insights she had received in a Relief Society lesson. Shortly thereafter, I found a talk he had given where he discussed the concept of unanswered prayers. And my life was changed. Forever. Read the rest of this entry »

I love General Conference. I’m always a bit saddened when the spiritual feast comes to an end and the “conference is adjourned for six months.”

However, hasn’t the feast just begun? Read the rest of this entry »

I have been reading The Infinite Atonement, by Tad R. Callister, and I came accross a passage so sublime, which has left me with much to ponder, that I have felt inspired to share it here. From page 65, referring to the Savior:

One wonders about his emerging godhood, as he grew from infancy to boyhood, and boyhood to manhood. What were his feelings? What was it like to be a god among mortals? With whom did he discuss his burdens? True, the bodies of other men walked by his side, but none was his intellectual and spiritual equal. None could see and feel and understand as he saw and felt and understood. What was it like for Christ to walk the dusty trails of his own creation, to see his divine works through mortal eyes? When did he come to know that the birds that sang music to his ears, the flowers that scented the air, the hills and valleys on which he loved to run and play, the sunsets and stars upon which he longed to gaze and ponder were his creations? He was their designer, their architect, their framer—yes, their very creator.

Read the rest of this entry »

This was written by Marilynne, one of our new writers. Welcome, Marilynne!

The Book of Jarom in The Book of Mormon teaches about economic cycles wherein the righteous prosper, pride grows, sin abounds, and afflictions such as war, natural disasters, and/or famine come. Then prophets preach, hearts mellow, repentance follows, and peace and prosperity return. The pattern repeats itself over and over, with succeeding generations often failing to learn the foremost lesson of history: violate the laws of God and negative consequences are inevitable. Read the rest of this entry »

A few weeks 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.

As he drove off, my son’s head was held high, and he didn’t look back.

He had recently been laid off at work; 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. Read the rest of this entry »

My grandmother on my mother’s side has always been a great inspiration to me. She was 75 when I was born and lived another 18 years, so I had a chance to know her and spend some time with her, although we had moved halfway across the state when I was five.

Grandma came to northwestern Oklahoma in a covered wagon from Kansas. She and her husband (who died before I was born) lived in a dugout for some time before they could build a house. They were farmers and raised wheat and cattle.

Life was filled with hard work for Grandma. Read the rest of this entry »

The online archives of General Conference are up and ready, in text and audio formats. You can find them here. Isn’t technology great?

If perhaps you are dancing with doubt, it’s important to remember that the gate swings both ways. Sure, commiseration feels good, and *nothing* feels quite like having your own feelings validated by seeing them articulated by someone outside yourself. You might even find someone who tripped along the same path where you find yourself caught and pick up their breadcrumb trail. You also might inadvertently snag someone else and land them in your quandary. Make sure you leave a trail of your own breadcrumbs for them to follow out.

Sure, as you pass through the trail you might pick up a few stragglers and be able to help guide them out having found some crumbs that they missed. You might also leave some stragglers from your own party you brought with you. As on any wilderness trail you might hike, ‘pack it in, pack it out.’ Be true, be honest, leave no crumb unshared. Where two worlds meet with nothing but agency between them, never forget that the gates swing both ways. Make sure you’re not holding the gate open for someone hitting the trail unprepared.

If it’s your hand that’s on the gate as they pass through, it’s your head their loss could be on if they don’t make it back.

I compiled these recipes for our neighborhood “gift” this year and thought I would share it here. These are some of the foods that say “holidays” to me. I’d love to hear some of your favorites!

Merry Christmas! Read the rest of this entry »