Brightening My Light

photo by Lenda Sar I found some notes to a baptism talk I forgot I gave back in May for one of my Primary girls. (In fact, it was my first baptism talk, as the rest have all been about the Holy Ghost.) She really loves the song "When I Am Baptized," so I found scripture stories and symbolism related to the lyrics. As the notes were minimal and it was months ago, I did my best to reconstruct the talk here. "I like to look for rainbows whenever there is rain" [I briefly reviewed the story of Noah and the ark]. The rain washed away all the wickedness from the earth so it could start anew. After the water dried up, God put a rainbow in the sky to represent the covenant He made to never flood the earth again, and the beauty that results from being clean. Just as a rainbow appears after every rain to remind us of this promise, repenting and taking the sacrament every week renews the covenants we made at baptism and reminds us of God's promise to always forgive...

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?

As the time approached for me to enter the temple before I got married, I was terrified. I had no idea what to expect and I don't like feeling clueless. I had read The Holy Temple by President Boyd K. Packer the year before, but didn't find it particularly helpful. I took a temple prep class while engaged and learned some of the covenants I would make. I knew some other things from what people had said here and there under various circumstances. The night before my endowment, my mom showed me her ceremonial clothing so I would know what each piece was. I didn't even know they existed. (The Church has since made the clothing public, as shown in this official video .) Despite all this and being raised in an active, gospel-study-focused family, my first time going through the temple was somewhat strange. It did not feel wrong, but it did feel unusual at times. Besides baptisms, the activities in the temple are only done there, so there is no way to prepare for them...

photo from disneystore.com Disclaimer: I normally take Disney movies at face value, as purely entertainment. I only wrote this to show that what you look for is what you will find, and I looked for and found the good.  Ever since Frozen came out, many have argued that it has a gay rights hidden agenda. While it can be interpreted that way, the directors revealed the message is that love conquers negativity--more specifically, fear. That statement may apply to fear of homosexuals, but it made me see the movie from a different perspective--a Christian one, in fact. When the king and queen bring Elsa to the troll leader, he tells her that "fear will be your enemy." Paul wrote, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear" ( 2 Timothy 1:7 ). Discouraging feelings do not come from God but from the devil, our biggest enemy, who seeks to destroy us. Elsa leaves the kingdom to avoid hurting anyone, but she is still a danger because she still operates under fe...

The Liahona [Adapted from my sacrament talk given June 15, 2014. Read the first part here .] Being able to make connections between the scriptures and our own lives takes practice; that is why we should have effective personal scripture study. Reading the scriptures is good for surface-level understanding and knowledge, but internalizing the message and gaining a testimony of the doctrine and principles require searching, pondering, and praying. Even if we have trouble finding a specific answer in the words of the scriptures, engaging in daily scripture study invites the Spirit to give and opens our hearts to receive personal revelation.  Such deeper study takes time and effort, but it is not impossible to achieve. Start by finding a consistent time when you can focus and be uninterrupted. You may have to be creative. Don’t worry about how much you read; quality is more important than quantity. Take advantage of cross references, institute manuals, and other study guid...

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...

lds.org The Lamanites to whom the sons of Mosiah preached embraced the gospel and became known as the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. "For they became a righteous people; they did lay down their weapons of their rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more, neither against any of their brethren" ( Alma 23:7 ). We are familiar with the story of these Lamanites burying their weapons and refusing to defend themselves, leading to their slaughter and later to the two thousand stripling warriors. But I think the above verse highlights a more important aspect of their conversion. It mentions first that they stopped fighting against God, then against the Nephites. While fighting righteous Nephites is also fighting God, I believe it was referring to all rebellion against God; that is, sin. The weapons of their rebellion were not just physical weapons but also everything that fights against righteousness. Their burying their weapons was a symbolic act of their complete repentance a...

We hear the sacrament prayers every week, but do we listen to the words and know the purpose of the prayers? I have broken down the blessing on the bread to help us better understand the sacrament, something I was advised to do in my patriarchal blessing. O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy son, Jesus Christ, First, we address Heavenly Father. Then w e ask Him in humility and verify that we are doing so in Jesus's name, as we are commanded to do all things in His name ( 3 Nephi 27:7, 9 ). to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it, The Guide to the Scriptures on lds.org defines the words bless and sanctify as follows: Bless: To confer divine favor upon someone. Anything contributing to true happiness, well-being, or prosperity is a blessing. All blessings are based on eternal laws ( D&C 130:20–21 ). Because God wants his children to find joy in life ( 2 Ne. 2:25 ), he grants blessings to them as a result...

lds.org Ever wonder how the story of the Holy Grail began? Why people believed there was a cup from which they could drink and live forever? I did, and here is the answer. One day when Jesus was teaching the people, He said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. . . . I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and that bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. ( John 6:47, 51-54 ) The Jews' response shows they did not understand what Jesus meant. Then, before Jesus was crucified, He dined...

A poem I wrote for my BYU creative writing class. My professor loved it, but the New Era didn't. I hope you appreciate it. photo by Pam Roth It’s about time the bathtub was cleaned. A detailed history of sweaty workouts, first dates, bad hair days, And all-night cramming stains the puky plastic. I snow the tub with Comet and let the dam loose, Warm water crashing down. I start to scrub. And scrub. The tub frowns back at me the same. I think I’m going to need a bigger brush. Scritcha, scritcha, scritcha . One layer gone. Scritcha, scritcha, scritcha . Two. Three. My wrist is as limp as a doggy ear. More Comet. More water. More slaving away like Cinderella. I think I can even hear my evil step-sisters laughing. If only, if only I had not waited until the grime came, saw, and conquered! The clock tick-tocks in rhythm with the scrub brush, but it doesn’t harmonize. Red knees, cramping arms, everywhere wet, wet, wet, Forehead and faucet drippi...

My favorite day of the week is Sunday. It is the one day I get to forget about worldly cares and just enjoy being with my family, focus on my spirituality, and participate in uplifting activities. I love how different the Sabbath Day feels from the rest of the week. On the Sabbath I dress up and put on makeup and stay that way all day. On the Sabbath I learn about the gospel of Jesus Christ. On the Sabbath I relax and rest. On the Sabbath I play with my husband and baby. On the Sabbath I read the scriptures and the Ensign . On the Sabbath I listen to beautiful music and feel the Spirit. I feel deep sorrow whenever I hear people say they dislike Sunday. I think their negative attitudes come from their misunderstanding of the purpose of the Sabbath. The Lord did not give us the commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy to punish us or to benefit Himself. Jesus said, "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath" ( Mark 2:27 ). This scripture means, as one of my BY...