Brightening My Light

lds.org This was the part I wrote for my role in the pageant for our stake women's conference on women from the scriptures and Church history.  I am Hannah, mother of the prophet Samuel, from the Old Testament. I was in a polygamous marriage, and as if that wasn’t hard enough, my husband’s other wife, Peninnah, could have children, but I could not. Peninnah would tease me for being infertile because she was jealous that our husband loved me more than he loved her. Every year we went to the temple. One year, Peninnah was so cruel, I wept bitterly and couldn't eat. My husband tried consoling me by asking, “Am I not better to thee than ten sons?” Of course he was a good husband to me, but the love a woman has for her husband and the love she has for her children are not quite the same, and I wanted to experience that motherly love more than anything. I finally couldn’t take it anymore. I went to the temple alone and poured out my soul in prayer and tears. I vowed ...

I recently read the parable of the Prodigal Son ( Luke 15:11-32 ) during my scripture study, and it reminded me of this talk from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland , in which he discusses the older brother. The Mormon Message video below shares excerpts from it. This talk by Elder Brent H. Nielson  from last April discusses the point of view of the waiting father. Both of these general conference talks remind us there is more to the story than just the wayward son and his return. Parables are often multifaceted, and the more we study all their facets, the better we understand the deeper meanings and applications. Discussion: How does studying the perspectives of the faithful brother and the father help us better understand the parable and its application in our lives?

photo from lds.org I recently wrote an article entitled "Five Myths About Female Modesty" for a liberal feminist site. It addressed harmful ways we tell women why they should dress modestly. Since I wrote it for a broad, worldly audience and not an LDS one, some people misunderstood it. I thought this blog would be a better place to express my view from a gospel perspective and share better ways we can teach modesty. [Please remember that as much as I always try to back up my opinions with scriptural references, authoritative quotes, and other legitimate Church resources, these are still only my interpretations and should not be taken as official doctrine.] The first point I made was that we shouldn't teach women that the purpose of dressing modestly is so men won't have inappropriate thoughts. We are only responsible for our own thoughts and actions, not other people's. We are counseled in the Book of Mormon to watch our thoughts ( Mosiah 4:30 ) or they...

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has released a short video on the sacredness of temple garments and clothing and has included shots of what they look like. As you can see, the garments are similar to regular underwear for men and bodyshaping wear for women. The fabric shown is only one of many options we can choose from. There are some variances in design for the women's tops as well and longer bottoms available for colder areas. For more information on temple garments, click here . The temple clothing is worn over a modest white dress for women and a white dress shirt and dress pants for men. The clothing understandably may look strange or funny to you, but please be respectful of them and to us. Thank you. Discussion: Do you have any other questions regarding temple garments or temple clothing?

photo by Dominik Gwarek I have been gearing up for a post about the Ordain Women Movement, but this blogger beat me to it and did a great job. Plus, I love her style! "Mormonism, Feminism, and Being Snarky " I also encourage you to join the Facebook group Mormon Women Stand . The admins post powerful quotes and talks and invite discussion about gospel truths. Just some points to remember about women and men: Men are not better than women, and women are not better than men. Neither is superior over the other. We are simply different. We are incomplete without each other ( 1 Corinthians 11:11 ). We are supposed to become one, like two halves of a puzzle fitting together to complete a beautiful picture ( Genesis 2:24 ). We were given different innate qualities and different opportunities to develop those qualities. However, both men and women are supposed to develop all the qualities of Christ ( 3 Nephi 27:27 ). We share the most important role we can be given: p...

Discussion: What else can we do because of Him?

fanpop.com My mom told me that at a Young Women's workshop a year or two ago, a leader contrasted Snow White to Tiana from The Princess and the Frog to reveal that Snow White was more in line with Church standards. As a huge fan of  The Princess and the Frog , I was shocked. After reviewing the facts, the only thing Snow White has over Tiana is a more modest princess dress. Otherwise, The Princess and the Frog portrays just as many Church values, as illustrated below: Good Work Ethic Tiana is an honest and hard worker and she saves her money for a purpose. She is very goal driven. Although it is shown mostly through her career, it is evident throughout the whole movie as she tries to become human again. Furthermore, her dream was one shared by her father to bring people together through food, not to climb the social, corporate, or financial ladder, as is usually associated with career-minded individuals. When she does open the restaurant, she and her husband work...

In a birth book I've been reading, the author mentions the belief some have in the curse of Eve; that is, experiencing pain in childbirth as punishment for eating the forbidden fruit: "Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children" ( Genesis 3:16 , see also Moses 4:22 ). While it is true we women experience pain in labor, this verse has been misinterpreted. The above belief implies that had Eve not eaten the fruit, she would have had no pain in childbirth. However, we learn from the Book of Mormon that she would have had no childbirth at all: And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end. And they would have had no children; wherefore they would ...

Some people say they are spiritual but not religious; they don't believe in organized religion. With so many scandals across denominations, it is understandable why people avoid joining churches. So many are run by corrupt leaders or have judgmental members. Such evil has been found even in our church, unfortunately. So why did Jesus organize a church when He was on earth and have it restored through Joseph Smith? Why organized religion? A House of Order To receive exaltation we must make covenants with the Lord through special ordinances performed by one who has the authority to do so. We know who can do it and how they should do it because "mine house is a house of order" ( D&C 132:8 ). The Lord reveals everything we need to know through the proper channels: to the prophet for the whole church, to other leaders for their respective areas and callings, to parents for their families, and to individuals for their own lives. By following this order, we ensure that...

graphic by Ivan Prole Because we hear the modesty talk at church and related activities, we are well aware of the spiritual blessings of being modest. But there are other subtle ways in which the Lord blesses us for keeping this commandment. Better Skin When you get older you won’t have sun-damaged skin on your chest, shoulders, back, and thighs. Your skin is better protected from the sun’s rays and therefore will not show signs of aging as quickly or as severely as it would if exposed. More Flattering Figure Women who dress to their body types modestly look more flattering. Wearing clothes that fit and cover allows your body to look its best (just watch What Not to Wear for examples). More Outfits With all the t-shirts, camisoles, cardigans, and other layering devices in your wardrobe, you can mix and match to make numerous outfits and easily dress up or down an outfit as well. More Comfort You won’t experience the pain and discomfort from super ...

Today we had a regional stake conference, in which Elder Holland spoke. He ended his talk with what lowering the missionary ages really means and how missionary work affects all of us: 1. The change had nothing to do with convenience for young adults and everything to do with the large labor before us. The world needs more missionaries! 2. Time spent at the MTC has been cut down a third. The real MTC is the home, and preparation must start earlier. (I feel strongly about this, as I wrote in my post " This Is My Sacred Duty .") 3. Just as we want our children to have successful missions wherever they go, so do the parents of the missionaries sent to our area. We need to help them. 4. Tracting is no longer a reality today. We have to be the finders. Missionaries are simply the teachers. Discussion: What can we do to make missionaries successful, both ones we send out and ones we receive?

lds.org Our stake conference today focused on missionary work, a responsibility of every member of the Church. Some of us are very enthusiastic and fearless about sharing the gospel. Others are very intimidated and clueless as to how to start. If you fit in the latter category, here are some ways you can create missionary opportunities and bring up the Church or the gospel easily by arousing people's interests non-aggressively: Wear jewelry and clothing with LDS sayings on them, such as CTR or I love to see the temple . You can also put decals with LDS sayings and symbols on a backpack, tote bag, car, laptop, phone, etc. When someone asks you about your weekend, talk about any church activities you attended, like baptisms, ward activities, temple weddings, and, of course, church on Sunday. Display beautiful photos of Jesus and temples in your home and work area. Read the Ensign , scriptures, or LDS books at the doctor's office, bus stop, and other waiting a...

In conjunction with the articles " Priesthood Power vs. Keys " and " 'He Ain't One Bit Better' ": Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote : “ The priesthood is greater than any of its offices. No office adds any power, dignity, or authority to the priesthood. All offices derive their rights, prerogatives, graces, and powers from the priesthood. This principle may be diagramed by dividing a circle into segments. The priesthood is the circle; the segments of the circle are the callings or offices in the priesthood. Anyone who serves in a segment of the circle must possess the power of the whole circle. No one can hold an office in the priesthood without first holding the priesthood. “Thus it is that priesthood is conferred upon worthy individuals, and they are then ordained to offices in the priesthood; and thus it is that all offices in the priesthood and in the Church are specifically designated as appendages to the priesthood; that is, they grow out of th...

In my Doctrine and Covenants class at BYU, my professor gave us the following talk by Elder Ballard to read when we got to section 102: " A Chance to Start Over: Church Disciplinary Councils and the Restoration of Blessings ." Not having ever been in an disciplinary hearing, I did not know much about them, and this address really enlightened me. Church disciplinary councils seemed scary, but not anymore (though the idea of confessing something to that many people is still scary). Having had to talk to bishops, though, I can imagine that the love and encouragment a truly repentant person may feel in a hearing is hundredfold. Elder Ballard shared the following analogy in his talk: I remember as a child occasionally coming unkempt to the dinner table. My mother wisely sent me to clean up and then return. My parents would have been pained if I had taken offense and had run off—and I would have been foolish to do so. In the same way, the servants of the Lord occasionally ...

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are frequently labeled Mormons/the Mormon Church or Latter-day Saints/the LDS Church. No matter what people call us, they never reference Christ, the Son of God, whom we worship and for whom our church is named. We are never called Christians. Who are Christians? According to Merriam-Webster's dictionary , a Christian is "one who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ." There are many things wrong with this definition: 1.) it implies that to be Christian you only need to profess belief, 2.) the belief is in Christ's teachings, not in Him, and 3.) there are many interpretations of what His teachings are. The last problem is why people do not consider us Christians. The first two are why I don't consider many people Christians. Of course, to be Christian you need to believe in Christ. We do. We believe He is the Son of God and atoned for our sins. We worship Him and only Him--not ...

John 3:16 reads, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." This verse reminds us of the Atonement and how grateful we are that Christ died for us so we could return to Him. However, I do not think we understand the true depth of this scripture. When we are enduring trials not brought about by sin, often the questions "Why me?" or "What did I do to deserve this?" are at the forefront of our minds. Many cease to believe in God on the basis that if He really cared He wouldn't let terrible things happen to innocent people. Such thoughts are the result of not understanding the plan of salvation, especially the Atonement. Elder Richard G. Scott said in an October 1995 General Conference : Now may I share some suggestions with you who face the second source of adversity, the testing that a wise Heavenly Father determines is needed even when you are l...

Christ commanded us to be the salt of the earth ( 3 Nephi 12:13 , Matthew 5:13 ). What is so special about salt? The Israelites had to use salt in their sacrifices to symbolize the Lord's preserving them just as salt preserves food ( Leviticus 2:13 , Numbers 18:19 ). Christ fulfilled the law of Moses and did away with sacrifices, but He still used salt symbolically when He called us the salt of the earth. Salt is obtained by evaporation, the removal of moisture by sunlight. We become the salt of the earth by allowing Christ, the source of all light, to remove our sins. Salt is white, the color of purity. We too must be pure. Salt preserves food, drying out moisture that allows it to spoil. We can preserve souls by bringing them to Christ and showing them how to repent of all soul-spoiling sin. Salt draws out and intensifies the natural flavor of food. Likewise, we can draw out and intensify the natural goodness in others by being an example of good. Salt adds flavor to bland food. ...

Bishop H. David Burton spoke at today's CES Fireside about achieving happiness through the plan of salvation. He compared our journey through life to a road trip: The scriptures are our road map The Atonement is our insurance Temptations are the detours A temple recommend is a driver's license Spiritual evaluations of ourselves are car checks before the trip Service is the sightseeing and joy of the journey Church guidelines are the rules and regulations of driving He closed with a kite analogy, reminding us that although it seems as if the wind (worldly ways) makes us fly higher and the kite string (Church guidelines) hinders our flight, it really is the string that allows us to soar and avoid crashing from the wind. Discussion: How else is life like traveling on a highway? photo from stock.xchng

Washington D.C. Temple Thanks to my stat counter account, I have discovered that a popular search item is the temple garment. That is understandable since it is such a symbolic and sacred item in our Church and inspires much curiosity in the outside community. Therefore, I am going to address some frequently asked questions about temple garments. What are temple garments? Garments are white undershirts and underpants that many members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wear. Who wears temple garments? Members of the Church who have attended the temple wear garments. In order to attend the temple, they must be at least 18 years old and have received a temple recommend (card), which is given after two interviews with local Church leaders to establish personal worthiness to enter the temple. Most men receive their garments before going on their mission [at age 18 as of 2013]. Most women receive theirs before getting married or going on a mission [at age 19 as of ...

Ah, yes, everyone's favorite topic of guilt. And we have good reason to be guilty: visiting/home teaching results in more blessings than we realize, and when we do not do it we deny ourselves and others these blessings. Foremost, we learn more about the gospel from preparing the message and sharing our insights. We are supposed to discuss the message and edify one another. I think too often we do not give this part of the visit as much focus as needed. We provide or receive service by being or having a constant support system. We make friends! This is my favorite blessing of visiting/home teaching. It's fun getting to know others and becoming close to some of them. Also, the relationships we create strengthen the ward as a whole. If everyone were friends, there would be less drama, gossip, hate, and offenses. We would be unified and feel loved and cared about. We learn to be selfless by serving and we increase our spirituality by praying for those we teach. We grow closer to th...