His question caught me off guard, and so, just to be sure, I asked him, “Which Joseph?”

“Joseph Smith.”

The consternation was clearly visible on his face. In his developing sense of the how the world works, only bad guys go to jail, and I could see he was having a very hard time with the thought that the Prophet had been where bad guys go. I want my children to feel secure in the world, to trust that the justice system ‘works,’ that it will keep them safe, and so I hate to have to explain that the unfortunate characteristics of human nature, such as fallibility and the capability for dishonesty sometimes get in the way.

Children come to us in such a state of perfect innocence, and it breaks my heart when the world must begin to encroach on that perfect sweetness, as, for their own safety, we have to explain to them that there are ‘bad guys’ who do horrible things. I wish so much that I could counter that fact with a vision of a world where it’s all white hats and black hats, and the black hats invariably get rounded up by the sherriff and locked up for good. Unfortunately, the reality is far more perilous and far less obvious or clear-cut than that, and on this day I had to tell my son so.

“Some bad men lied to say that Jospeh did things to get him arrested.”

“Why would they want to do that?”

“They wanted to get him arrested so that they could kill him.”

As my son’s feelings began to rise, it became touchingly obvious that it was those who lied, those who did the killing for whom he was feeling, and he said: “But he had good things for them! He had things of God. Why didn’t they listen???”

What a profound question–ages old. Why do men stone the prophets rather than listen to what will bring them to God? It’s a question that countless thinkers and theologians have asked through the ages. Even the great, learned Hugh Nibley, himself, had taken it on without truly answering it, and yet here is my four-year-old, in all sincerity, seeking his own understanding.

“Well, my love, I don’t know for sure. All I can think is that Satan pushed them to it. Do you know what Satan’s name means?”

Chewing on a nother bite of pbj, he shook his head “no.”

“I once learned in college that the word ’satan’ translated literally means ‘adversary,’ which means an opponent or enemy. Satan is Heavenly Father’s enemy, and sometimes he can have influence in the world and make people do things against Heavenly Father.”

I watched as that sank in, and it broke my heart to accept that my son has to understand the forces of danger, both spiritual and temporal, that are abroad in this world, but just as we have discussed ’stranger danger,’ for his safety, I need him to be aware that sometimes we can be driven by the very opposite of God. I just ache for wishing that he didn’t have to, that he and his sister could both lives lives of quiet peace, serving God, free from Satan’s flaming darts.

I know and see the wisdom in the doctrine that there must be an opposition in all things, but it breaks my heart so profoundly to consider that opposition that must face my children. How great must be the love that sent us to this life! How dire the need! How else could Heavenly Father have sent us here to face this???

I know that my children will be strengthened in the choosing, that the opposition will grow them in ways that nothing else can, but it does not make it any easier to let it happen. Be it bad guys on earth or that fallen son of the morning, I wish I could ‘build an hedge’ around my children’s lives to keep them all out. I know better, though, and I love them better than that.

Whether it’s a prophet imprisoned or any of the other paradoxical realities through which we will need to navigate, I can hold to the rod, and so can they. The world must encroach. The world is why we are here. I can only teach them as best I can, and then I just have to trust. The rest is up to them. I hope they always listen.

Whether you are new to the idea of family service projects, or already incorporate a great deal of service into your family life, 52 Weeks of Fun Family Service can help inspire you and guide you to ways to touch the lives of others and strengthen your own family in the process. Sister Boyack opens the book with a brief discussion of the benefits of service for the servers. Covering how the chance to serve touches both the individual and the family as a whole, she gives special attention to the benefits of service for children, how it can teach them certain eternal truths like nothing else can–and how it can be fun! From there, she starts us at the very basics, like cultivating an attitude of service in our home, setting a good example, and growing our family’s awareness of the very real needs in the world. At the end of her introduction, Sister Boyack reminds us:

And remember one thing: it is all about love. All of this. It’s all about love. Loving our children. Loving our brohers and sisters, wherever they are. We merely need to follow our Savior’s call: “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this, shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:34-35).
from p.36

With love in our hearts and our family’s well-being on our mind, Sister Boyack turns us loose with 52 fantastic ideas for service projects. Each idea includes modifications for teens or tots, if neeeded, as well as family discussion starters and Family Home Evening ideas. They range from reaching out to one single person who might be in need of a little extra love to helping provide materials for the Primary in a ward far overseas.

52 Weeks of Fun Family Service will inspire and motivate you to fortify your family by reaching together, both within and beyond the walls of your home, to grow your love and make a difference in the lives of others.

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.

“I only put five pounds in the white wheat cans, too,” I confessed. I was the one who had told the sister across from me how much to load.

“You’re kidding?” was all the shocked sister missionary could manage.

I hoped the woman across the table from me had been smarter than I on the white wheat. No such luck.

Suddenly, there was a flurry of activity outside the room as the missionaries huddled together to figure out what to do. The activity in the canning room nearly came to a halt in the meantime.

I felt rather sick. I heard talk of remeasuring, refilling, redoing. That would mean discarding nearly 200 cans, lids, and oxygen absorbers. That was not exactly a negligible potential loss that I felt was largely on my head.

They got us going on carrots. We joked about making sure we had the right weights this time, but it was hard for me to laugh (or to even smile, for that matter). For all my detail-orientation and hard work, I’d goofed, and goofed pretty badly.

I was wishing I’d stayed home.

The sister missionary could tell I was discouraged. She came and put her arm around me, and told me not to worry. As silly as it sounds, I was fighting back tears. I. HATE. TO. GOOF.

But her kindness and love helped. She bore the burden with me, saying that it was as much their fault as mine. (Yeah, well, how hard is it to read a dumb chart?)

I stayed late to help clean up. Call it self-imposed penance. That wouldn’t make up for the lost time and effort, though.

I came out to find one of the sisters who worked in my group, cheerfully purchasing every one of those goofed-up cans.

As I looked at her a bit incredulously, she simply said, “Oh, we have our truck out there and we can load it up and I’m sure our ward members will snatch these up in a hurry. Don’t you worry one bit about it.” (She said it as though purchasing nearly 200 cans of wheat was simply like sweeping up a few spilled kernels.)

As silly as it sounds, I’m fighting back tears.

If fallible, imperfect people can show the kind of love and mercy that these people showed, what of the mercy of a perfect, loving Savior and Father?

I think I am glad I didn’t stay home.

It’s a stand-alone piece, just one brilliant, darling, hilarious poem exquisitely illustrated with spectacular mixed-media work of original oil paintings and vintage valentines amidst candy hearts and gaudy gilt frames that would do any Victorian parlor proud. The poem tells of Lily, lost in her distaste for all things Valentine, who experiences a sudden change of heart with an unexpected note from Ray, a boy just as romantically disenfranchised as she. I can’t help but see it as something of a bound printed matter version of performance art–beautifully crafted, flawlessly executed, and yet, tantalizingly obscure. While I loved it, I honestly didn’t quite know what to make of it upon first read. Luckily, I had the chance to exchange an email with the author, Sam Beeson, and was able to ask him a few questions.

Naiah: Being a high school English teacher, you no doubt have a very present view on young lovers of all types. I have to ask, though, if there are a real Lily & Ray. Did you witness such a transformation as you wrote about here, or are they each simply an amalgam of various students–or some of your own children, perhaps?

Sam: Yeah, as a high school teacher I see all types: the angst-ridden EMO, the altruistic puritan, the infatuated . . . well, teen. Lily is an over-simplified, journal-writing idealist. She doesn’t exist, but part of her exists in everyone, don’t you think? (My daughter, Eliza, is the model for Lily. She was ten when the photos were taken, then Jesse Draper, the artist, spent three years bustin’ out those amazing oil paintings. Eliza is 13 now and has more solid opinions of her own, much like Lily.) I was reading some student poetry today, written by a boy [in one of my classes]. He wrote a poem full of heartached and blood (the word “heart” appeared 6 times in 8 stanzas. “Death” three times), and his poem surprisingly ended in optimism. Just like Lily’s. After all the darkness came this beautiful line:
“I hope this ends in endless romance.” Nice . . . Nice. [His] verse tells me there’s some reality to someone who HATES things, but really, needs love.

Naiah: The romantic in me wants to ask if Lily and Ray might once upon a time have been yourself and your wife; have the gothic lovers found their happily ever after?

Sam: Nope. The UnValentine ain’t autobiographical. Although, I will say that Sarah and Sam, from day one, love to talk. The best part of my day is talking to Sarah. Words brought us together. Not written. Spoken. She used to be a D.J. and I was smitten by her wit and charm and man, just her ability to articulate her passion for everything and everything in between. Oh, and her eyes. Great eyes.

Naiah: Can you share a little of the story of how this book came about? What prompted you to write it?

Sam: I’m in a writing group. The deadline came up: Valentine’s Day. I woke up around 5:00 sometime in early February 2004, and before heading off to school, I sat with my back to the front window’s February black, and busted out the verse.My writing group thought it was “okay” (literary types often think rhyming verse as (1) too simplistic, (b) a sign of someone “selling out,” or (III) a pasture only the un-learned novice grazes in.) I met Jesse Draper, the painter, shortly thereafter. He had just returned from Russia. He wanted a project, so I gave him “Cupid Shot a Daisy” (original title).

Naiah: How about you, are you much for Valentine’s as a holiday? How do you feel about the giving or receiving of ornate hearts of chocolate, paper, lace, or candy? Perhaps poorly written verse? [no jibes about your students’ work intended…]

Sam: I love Valentine’s day. Beginning February 1, my family gets out the Valentine’s box and writes love notes to each other and puts ‘em in the box. I got a gem of a wife, and five diamonds for kiddies. On February 14th, we take the phone off the hook, light candles, eat fancy food, and open the box. We read the cards aloud and cry, and laugh at our crying.

Naiah: Speaking of your students, how have they reacted to the book?

Sam: High school kids are a tough sell. If you aren’t making fun of something, or flawlessly quick-witted, you’re labeled, “lame.” I think they like my stuff. They tell me when they see my books in the bookstores, or when they hear me on the radio or see me on T.V. They don’t compliment. They just say they’ve seen or heard. It’s their way of complimenting me. I thank them. I have great students.

Naiah: You say that you try to write something every day; is there a chance that we’ll be seeing another book from you? If so, what do you anticipate it will be?

Sam: I’ve had a few published, previously: Kissing Kringle (Majestic, 2003); Santa’s First Flight (Covenant, 2007); The UnValentine (Shadow Mountain, 2008). The next one is called either How Laughter Saved Christmas or One Funny Christmas (it’s still up in the air). Covenant Communications will publish this one, too. There’s a funny song and video for Santa’s First Flight on youtube. The next bookwill be out for Christmas 2008. I like the holidays. I’m working on a halloween book, too: The Queen of Halloween.

Naiah: While it is a delightful piece of work, something akin to the literary version of performance art, what was your intent, as its author? Who was your anticipated audience, and what did you hope that they would take away from the book?

Sam: I want people to smile. Laugh. The UnValentine, unlike my other works, are meant for the 13+ age group. The others are for ages 6+.

Naiah: Is there anything else about the book, your experience writing and publishing it, or otherwise that you’d like to share?

Sam: Checkout “Grammar Punk.” For the past five years some friends of mine and I have tackled the elusive bandit called Grammar and Punctuation. I think we’ve slain the dragon. Everyone hates grammar, but our dice and board game 12 Tall Tales has solved a lot of writing problems for a lot of writers. www.grammarpunk.com

…

The book cleverly includes six removable “UnValentines” cards featuring the artwork from the book. While the author says that his students have been lukewarm in their praise, the small circle of young women from my ward who are regularly at my house all loved it, and more than once I had to convince the girls not to take the cards.

This brings me to my concern, that while it was written with a 13+ crowd in mind, I believe it would be more appropriate for a slightly older group, as it carries an overtone of preference for a serious romantic commitment at an age when children aren’t even dating yet. Also, one of the “UnValentines” at the end reads: “Hate Valentine’s? Me too! Let’s kiss!” I feel that such a sentiment in a children’s book dilutes the values that we try so hard to instill in our youth. So, if you plan to share it with someone younger, plan on a conversation to go with it.

So, there you have it for this Valentine’s, The UnValentine: a delightful diversion, rich in art as well as humor. It certainly made me smile, and made me laugh.

But behold, because of the exceedingly great length of the war….many had become hardened, because of the exceedingly great length of the war; and many were softened because of their afflictions, insomuch that they did humble themselves before God, even in the depth of humility. (Alma 62:41)

Life has its trials, and sometimes those trials can feel like a personal war. John Taylor quoted Joseph Smith as saying, “You will have all kinds of trials to pass through… and… God will feel after you, and He will take hold of you and wrench your very heart strings, and if you cannot stand it you will not be fit for an inheritance in the Celestial Kingdom of God” (Journal of Discourses, 24:197).

This scripture in Alma presents two options from which we can choose when we face our heart-wrenching “wars.” We can either harden our hearts (e.g., shake a fist at heaven, doubt God’s love, and, in self-pity, ask “Why me?”) Or, we can soften our hearts and humble ourselves (e.g., turn to God for strength, guidance, direction (and maybe even correction), and, in faith, ask “What am I to learn and do?”)

In an April 2004 General Conference Address Elder Henry B. Eyring said this:

[Trials] give us the opportunity to prove ourselves faithful to God. So many things beat upon us in a lifetime that simply enduring may seem almost beyond us. That’s what the words in the scripture ‘Ye must … endure to the end’ seemed to mean to me when I first read them. It sounded grim, like sitting still and holding on to the arms of the chair while someone pulled out my tooth….

But the test a loving God has set before us is not to see if we can endure difficulty. It is to see if we can endure it well. We pass the test by showing that we remembered Him and the commandments He gave us. And to endure well is to keep those commandments whatever the opposition, whatever the temptation, and whatever the tumult around us (emphasis added).

Elder Eyring goes on to teach how we can pass the test – and that we can’t possibly do it alone. We need God’s help. We can receive that help as we continue in faith to pray, read our scriptures, go to Church, and serve others. We do these things because they unleash the Spirit in our lives, which unleashes the power of the Atonement and keep us connected to our Savior. These things give us spiritual strength beyond our own to endure well the trials we face.

Clearly, the people who endured well during the long war described in Alma opened their hearts to the Spirit. If we do the same, and endure (well) to the end through our own personal battles, we can fulfill our purpose on the earth to prepare to meet God and live with Him forever.

In Mark 10:7-9, the Lord says “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. ” True to this teaching, this sense of unity between the genders, there is a marked balance to all of Christ’s teachings:

The care with which Jesus provides stories and images that hearken to the experiences of both sexes has to be deliberate.

His actions were also similarly balanced. In the twelfth chapter of Luke, Jesus is shown teaching a man, answering his question with the parable of the good Samaritan. Immediately following that, he enters Mary and Martha’s house and encourages Mary to sit at his feet and learn. Later he heals first a woman and then a man on the Sabbath (Luke 13:10-16 and 14:2-6). Then he healed a Gentile’s daughter, followed by a deaf man (Mark 7:24-30 and 31-37). Still later, he healed a woman, raised Jairus’s daughter from the dead, and then healed two blind men (Matt. 9:20-22, 23-26, and 27-34). Another time he healed the centurion’s servant and immediately afterward raised the widow of Nain’s son.

At times, Jesus described himself using feminine images…[which] was something that his contemporary rabbis would never have done.

(Leaven: 150 women in scripture whose lives lift ours, by Jerrie Hurd, published by Aspen Books; pp. 39-40)

Not just his imagery, but even Christ’s treatment of women was downright revolutionary. Sister Hurd continues:

In fact, tradition was for a man to speak to a woman only through her father or husband. A widow spoke through her son. Jesus is never shown doing that. He speaks directly to women, inviting them to respond directly. There is no intermediary.

(Leaven; p. 40)

Christ’s words, for all that they came forth from a patriarchal society are for all, for men and women, brothers and sisters. Let us examine what messages He brought forth in such a revolutionary way—actions and expressions so simple and yet so important, delivered in such a way as to highlight that importance.

Upon entering their home, the Savior sees that Simon-Peter’s mother-in-law (his “wife’s mother,” as it is written) is sick of a fever and promptly heals her (Matt. 8:14-15, Mark 1:30-31, Luke 4:38-39). In every one of these accounts, she is said to have risen and ministered unto them. Her service, her act of gratitude was not taken for granted and forgotten, but rather was deemed worthy to record. That may seem inconsequential, but in light of what John writes in ending his Gospel, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written,” (John 21:25) we understand that there have been omissions, and yet, receiving service given Him by this woman made it in. It not only made it in, but was recoded in three of the four gospels. Issues of historicity and harmony aside, and accepting the hand of the Lord in the crafting of the scriptures as we have them, there is a special emphasis inherent in the repeated recording of an event. What expression of love is there in the simple ministrations of a meal and other home comforts. Time and again we are given her for an example, to show us that such humble service expresses love and gratitude so eloquently that such expression is worthy, even of the Savior.

In each of the three Gospels where their stories appear, the accounts of the raising of Jairus’s daughter and healing of the woman afflicted with a 12-year issue of blood are always intertwined. First, we see that Christ is leaving to go to Jairus’s daughter (Matt. 9:18-19, Mark 5:22-24, Luke 8:41-42). In both Mark’s and Luke’s accounts, we are told that she is but 12 years old. In days before modern medicine, and even centuries more recently than the times recorded in the New Testament, we must remember that many children simply did die long before adulthood, and yet, the Lord values even the life of a girl enough to arise and go to her.

On His way to the girl, as the crowds were thronging him, the woman who had been afflicted with the 12-year issue of blood, who “had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse” (Mark 5:26) and who believed that if she could but touch the hem of his garment that she would be healed, approached as part of the crowd, humbly and quietly doing just as she had planned, catching brief hold of the Lord’s hem. The Lord is instantly aware of the miracle that transpired, halts, and asks “Who touched my clothes?” (Mark 5:30, see also Luke 8:45). What a question to ask as the multitudes were all about him. Who close in among them had not touched him? His disciples are somewhat baffled by the question saying “Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?” (Mark 5:31, see also Luke 8:45) It was not an ordinary touch that he had felt, but a touch of faith. Christ immediately began to look around the crowd for her. He could easily have known that she was healed in body and gone on, yet He sought her out to heal her spirit as well. Despite the Mosaic prohibition forbidding a Hebrew man to touch a woman during menstruation, she receives no rebuke, only affirmation that it was her own faith that healed her (Matt. 9:22, Mark 5:32-34, Luke 8:47-48).

As they resume their way to Jairus’s house, they receive word that the girl has died (Mark 5:35, Luke 8:49), but Jesus perseveres, telling Jairus to “[f]ear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole” (Luke 8:50, see also Mark 5:36). In all three accounts, the Lord goes in to raise her despite the “scorn” of those in the house (Matt. 9:24, Mark 5:40, Luke 8:53). As if restoring her life were not mercy enough, the Lord takes a moment to even command that she be given something to eat. Like Peter’s mother-in-law, Christ shows love and concern through temporal ministration. (Mark 5:43, Luke 8:55)

In these same two stories, we have some beautiful examples of Christ’s kind words, which he does speak directly to the woman and the girl. As we look at the woman with the issue of blood, let us again draw attention to the custom of the day, wherein a man spoke to a woman through a male relative. Here she is, in the public square, in a state considered unclean, having violated Mosaic law by touching a man. She had hoped her infraction would go unnoticed, but “he looked round about to see her that had done this thing, But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.” (Mark 5:32-33) The Lord answers her fear with such touching words, repeated again and again in the three retellings: “Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. (Matt. 9:22, see also Mark 5:34 and Luke 8:48) Moments later, Christ addresses Jairus’s daughter, calling her “Talitha” (damsel) in one account (Mark 5:41) and “Maid” in another (Luke 8:54). Coupling such an address with his considerate call of food for her and we see a truly tender heart in the Lord. What precious gentleness He shows towards these sisters! Regardless of social custom, he sees and knows and acts according to their eternal worth as daughters of God.

Christ not only gave women the respect of speaking to them, but he even would honor their words. In the account of the woman with the daughter with an unclean spirit, the Lord rewards the mother’s reasoning by granting the healing requested (Matt. 15:22-28 and Mark 7:25-29). When she first approaches, the disciples seek to have her sent away (Matt. 15:23), but as she presents herself again, the Lord hears her out, even though she is one of “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt. 15:24). When the Lord tells her that “it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs,” (Mark 7:27, see also Matthew 15:26) she cleverly turns the Lord’s analogy around, saying that “yet the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs” (Mark 7:28, see also Matthew 15:27). Acknowledging in one account the faith inherent in the request and, in the other, the logic of her argument, the Lord honors her words saying “O woman, great is thy faith” (Matt. 15:28) and “[f]or this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter” (Mark 7:29, emphasis mine).

This is but a scant handful of the beautiful, meaningful interactions between the Savior and the women in and around His mortal life, not to mention the profound honor of his interactions with sisters in his resurrected form. I hope that even these few examples can stir in your heart a desire to read the Gospels with eyes to see how Christ valued us as women, sisters, and daughters well beyond the customs of his mortal day. We are beloved spirit daughters of our Heavenly Father, and Christ led out in example of that; may we open ourselves, our hearts to be touched by that love, and may it change us, enrich us, uplift us, and edify us against whatever human imperfections remain in this world. As we all seek to be more Christlike ourselves, may we also seek to see the world with eyes like his, eyes that saw both sister and brother with love.

In Old Testament times people traveled on foot. Later, the donkey and camel were used either to ride or carry goods. About 3,500 B.C., the wheel was invented. Soon chariots for the rich and carts for the poor were bumping along dirt paths drawn by horse, donkey, or ox. The earliest travel by sea was in canoes. By the time of King Solomon, one-mast sailing ships were hauling goods from port to port. To sail against the wind, however, large oars were needed.

In New Testament times, the Romans had built a network of roads across their empire. The vehicles that traveled those roads were a bit fancier, but the technology was about the same—chariots and carts. The Romans improved sea travel by building large merchant ships that could carry many tons of cargo.

At His ascension, Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). The only means of obeying His command at this time in the history of the world was by foot (human or animal) or by ship (rowing or sailing).

In the Middle Ages, land travel remained much the same, but several inventions advanced sea travel. The Chinese invented the compass, and the Europeans invented the rudder, making ships easier to steer, and these more modern ships now had three masts.

As Europe emerged from the Dark Ages, land travel remained about the same. Saddlebags had been invented so that a horse could carry supplies as well as a person. Carts became covered wagons, while roads stayed about as in Roman times.

In the 18th century, stagecoaches carried passengers and goods regularly between towns. The first turnpike road was built, taxing for use of roadways. But land travel was still so slow that waterways were thought to be the hope of the future. Canals and rivers became the cheapest and most efficient ways to move people and product.

Enter Joseph Smith onto the stage of history. The night he received the plates from Moroni, he and Emma went to the Hill Cumorah in a borrowed carriage. Then, what was fairly static for over five thousand years, suddenly changed. The gospel of Jesus Christ was restored! The small stone cut out of the mountain without hands started rolling. Ushering in the last dispensation to prepare fr the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, the Restoration brought with it accelerated transportation and communication technology, enabling the fulfillment of the prophecy “that the time shall come when the knowledge of a Savior shall spread throughout every nation, kindred, tongue, and people” (Mosiah 3:20).

In 1926, Elder Joseph Fielding Smith said, “I do not believe for one moment that these discoveries have come by chance…. They have come and are coming because the time is ripe, because the Lord has willed it, and because he has poured out his Spirit on all flesh” (Conference Report, Oct. 1926, 116-117).

President Spencer W. Kimball said, “I believe that the Lord is anxious to put into our hands inventions of which we laymen have hardly had a glimpse….

“King Benjamin… called together all the people in the land of Zarahemla, and the multitude was so great that King Benjamin ‘caused a tower to be erected, that thereby his people might hear the words which he should speak unto them’ (Mosiah 2:7).

“Our Father in Heaven has now provided us mighty towers—radio and television towers with possibilities beyond comprehension—to help fulfill the words of the Lord that ‘the sound must go forth from this place unto all the world’ (D&C 58:64) (Ensign, Oct 1974, 3-5).

President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “I am so deeply thankful that we have the wonders of television, radio, cable, satellite transmission, and the Internet. We have become a great worldwide church, and it is now possible for the vast majority of our members to participate in these meetings as one great family, speaking many languages, found in many lands.”

From B.C. 3500 to A.D. 1820, (5,320 years), not much changed in the mode of land travel and air travel was only for the birds. “Go ye into all the world” must have seemed all but impossible. Today, a letter that once took many months to reach the sender now can be transmitted in seconds. Travel that used to take months now is accomplished in less than a day. You can lunch in New York, dinner in L.A, and breakfast in Honolulu.

Laura Ingalls Wilder, who wrote of her subsistence-level life on the American frontier in the Little House series, believed she’d never see loved ones again because she was moving two hundred miles away. You can feel her anxiety as she awaited her father’s return from his multi-day hunting trips alone in the big woods. If someone had told her that in 150 years her descendants would carry a small device, push a few buttons, and talk to anyone who had a similar device anywhere in the world in seconds, she would call it foolishness or a miracle.

As expected, the enemy of the Lord’s work meddles in, abuses and misuses, new technology, but his perversions are not the topic here. We are simply rejoicing in the opportunity to watch the work of the Lord expand and thanking our Heavenly Father that this same technology that makes world-wide missionary work possible also makes our lives so much easier and nicer.

In the 2007 Church Almanac there is a forty-page article on technology and the Church titled, “A Steady Revolution” by Dr. James B. Allen. He writes:

“Where as in the 1950s missionaries still went to their mission fields by train and ocean-going vessels, sometimes taking weeks to arrive, in the year 2000 they went by jet plane, arriving almost anywhere in the world in a matter of hours after leaving a Missionary Training Center. The air travel of General Authorities [is] scheduled by computer many months ahead of time, correlated with the various stake or regional conferences they [are] scheduled to attend.”

Brother Allen explains that computer programs have changed almost every facet of how the Church does genealogical research, the temple endowment presentation, membership records, financial reports, (and now even temple recommends). He speaks of film and digital technology that puts videos on videotape or DVD for home as well as Church use.

Yes, technology allows us to live more comfortably than ever before in history. In our ease, however, we have to remember these lifestyle conveniences are a by-product of the true purpose for these inventions. “For, verily, the sound must go forth from this place into all the world, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth—the gospel must be preached unto every creature” (D&C 58:64).

You may be wondering if the premise that Joseph Smith’s First Vision in 1820 could possibly pinpoint the beginning of this revolution in technology. Jeffrey D. Sachs, a noted economist, selected by Time magazine as one of the world’s hundred most influential people, gives this exact date, 1820, in his New York Times best-selling book, The End of Poverty, Penguin Books, 2005.(The date 1820 is used ten times, pages 26-30.)

Dr. Sachs writes: “In the period of modern economic growth, however, both population and per capita income came unstuck, soaring at rates never before seen or even imagined. As shown on Figure 1 (page 27), the global population rose more than sixfold in just two centuries, reaching an astounding 6.1 billion people at the start of the third millennium, with plenty of momentum for rapid population growth still ahead. The world’s average per capita income rose even faster, shown in figure 2 (page 28), increasing by around nine times between 1820 and 2000. In today’s rich countries, the economic growth was even more astounding. The U.S. per capita income increased almost twenty-five fold during this period, and Western Europe’s increased fifteen-fold…. If we combine the increases in world population and world output per person, we find an astounding forty-nine fold increase in total economic activity in the world… over the past 180 years (from 1820 to 2000).”

Eighteen twenty is the year when population and productivity of the world began to dramatically advance! Eighteen twenty! There is measurable purpose and design to the Lord’s plan.

Below is an abbreviated list of inventions that have come since that fourteen-year-old boy knelt in a grove of trees in Palmyra, New York on “the morning of a beautiful, clear day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty” (Joseph Smith-History1:1).

1823 electromagnet, 1825 passenger railway, 1827 microphone, 1830 sewing machine, 1834 refrigeration, 1835 propeller, revolver, 1837 Morse code, 1847 antiseptics, 1852 airship, 1856 pasteurization, 1859 internal combustion engine, 1861 bicycle, 1862 plastic, 1863 underground train, 1866 dynamite, torpedo, 1867 typewriter, telephone, 1868 traffic lights, 1877 phonograph, moving pictures, 1879 light bulb, 1884 steam turbine, 1885 automobile, radio, 1892 tractor, 1893 airplane, 1908 assembly line, 1916 sonar, 1923 television, 1926 liquid fuel rocket, 1928 antibiotics, 1930 jet engine, 1936 helicopter, 1938 photocopier, 1941 atomic power, 1946 microwave oven, 1947 mobile phone, 1948 computer, 1950 credit card, 1954 solar cell, robot, 1956 nuclear power, 1958 computer modem, 1959 lunar probes, 1960 laser, weather satellite, heart pacemaker, 1961 human space travel, 1962 communication satellite, 1963 cassette tape, 1964 computer mouse, 1966 fiber optics, 1967 portable calculator, 1969 Internet and manned moon landing, 1971 microprocessor, e-mail, floppy disc, 1973 barcode, space station, 1975 personal computer and laser printer, 1977 MRI scanner, 1981 space shuttle, 2000 molecular transistor, 2001 nano transistor, 2004 metal rubber. (See http://www.krysstal.com.)

The Lord has truly given us the tools to accomplish His work. And work we must! Jesus Christ said, “If ye believe me, ye will labor while it is called today” (D&C 64:26) “for the field is white already to harvest” (D&C 4:4).

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.

I was thrilled when I discovered that his talk had been made into a book. I wanted to be able to read and re-read and share and ponder the concepts that had had such an impact on me. Imagine my sheer delight when my aforementioned friend (also my visiting teacher) responded to a prompting to give me the book as a gift! And now, I get to share it with you!

Brother Wilcox’s book is a delightful little gem, just 62 pages long. It provides perspective, based on numerous scriptures, for those times when heaven seems far away, or when prayers seem to not be heard — when life just isn’t working out the way you had hoped it would.

Brother Wilcox reflects on the story of the Lord calming the sea in Mark 6:48-51, the story of the brother of Jared and the barges, the scripture in Luke 11:9-13about prayer and how our Father responds to our requests (as well as many other scriptures and personal experiences) to help us understand more of how God works His wonder in our individual lives. I don’t want to share too many specifics, because I want to let you discover on your own the way he beautifully likens the scriptures to answer the question, “Why does it seem heaven doesn’t hear or care?”

I will share one thing, however — the concept that has stayed with me the most. In the scripture in Luke 11, God tells us to ask, and promises that we will receive (see also references in Matthew and in 3 Nephi). He says that if an earthly father will respond with love to his son, how much more our Heavenly Father will respond to our requests! But it doesn’t always feel that way, does it? Brother Wilcox says this:

There are times in our lives when I think the Lord says, I gave you bread, but it wasn’t the kind of bread you wanted and because you keep thinking about the kind of bread you wanted you’ve turned my bread into a stone. I gave you a fish, but it wasn’t the flavor of fish that you wanted, and you’ve turned the fish into a serpent. Or I gave you an egg, but I cooked it differently from how you ordered it, and you think I’ve given you a scorpion.

C.S. Lewis speaks of two kinds of good — the expected good and the given good. There are times in my life I have to remind myself God does not give stones,…only bread (p. 36, emphasis his).

God does not give stones! That concept has changed my life. Whatever is happening in my life, if I am doing all I can to follow the Lord, it is bread. It is there to help me, to nourish me, to give me the chance to grow. God does not give us harmful things; He gives us what we need (in an eternal-growth, big-picture sense) — but not always necessarily what we want. If we focus too much on what we want, we might turn the heaven-sent bread (our own manna, perhaps?) into a stone, the fish into a serpent, the eggs into scorpions. He does not give scorpions or serpents or stones. He feeds us with those things that He knows will be for our good.

This one truth has opened up God’s love to me in unspeakable ways, and has helped me see life with a completely new perspective. I also appreciate the extra insight in Luke’s version of this scripture — that no matter what, our Father can give us “good gifts, through the Holy Spirit” (JST of v.13), and that in and of itself is a wonderful blessing in response to our pleadings.

If you or anyone you know has struggled with feeling that prayers have been unheard or unanswered (or is wanting to better understand the concept of prayer), I would highly recommend Deseret Book’s When Your Prayers Seem Unanswered by S. Michael Wilcox.

Cover image © Deseret Book. Used with permission.

However, hasn’t the feast just begun?

Conference talks are now available for review on lds.org. We will all be receiving our Conference issue of the Ensign in a few short weeks. Will we continue to study and ponder the words of our prophets and other inspired leaders?

President Ezra Taft Benson (13th President of the Church) once said:

For the next six months, your conference edition of the Ensign should stand next to your standard works and be referred to frequently. As my dear friend and brother Harold B. Lee said, we should let these conference addresses ‘be the guide to [our] walk and talk during the next six months. These are the important matters the Lord sees fit to reveal to this people in this day.’

Following the example of a former bishop of ours, we plan on buying each member of our family a copy of the Conference Ensign, so we can study the addresses together as a family. My husband likes to listen to recordings in the car. I love to listen on my computer while I do housework or exercise, and am anxiously awaiting the Conference Ensign.

Whatever medium we choose, I hope we can all continue to feast on the counsel we received in General Conference this past weekend, making the words of our leaders our “walk and talk.”

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.

On the one hand, I should like to end it there, to let the fascinating aftertaste of such questions infuse your thoughts, but Callister’s very next paragraph has also captured my mind, though in a slightly different way. Still from page 65:

We do not know with exactness when Christ became aware of his divine mission, but a consciousness of his godhood was emerging at an early age. With every breath of every day his divine qualities were manifesting themselves until his mortal frame was immersed in godliness. Then came the time of his appointed mission. All that could be remembered had been recalled; all the powers that could be summoned had been retreived. The designated hour had arrived. The long anticipated moment of confrontation was here. Godhood and evil had traveled their diverse roads. Christ was ready to save his children; ironically, they “sought how they might kill him” (Luke 22:2). This was the showdown—the climax. It was focused on the power of the Infinite One versus the power of the Evil One.

Callister’s words imply that there were two phases to Christ’s mortal life—a ‘preparatory’ phase and the mission itself. I find myself wondering if there is such a duality in each of our mortal sojourns. We all have much to learn; we have better, more perfected selves to become. Is there a quota–a point wherein we are fully seasoned, where we become truly ready to assume our missions in this sphere? Granted none has a mission so great as the Savior’s, but we know that we have work to do in this life. Is there a “designated hour” that arrives for each of us? Are there many? Do we have missions as children and missions as adults? As our knowledge, experience and wisdom grow and change are we charged with proportional tasks? Are we actively seeking to prepare ourselves for those moments? Are we learning, praticing, and doing all that we must do to be ready?