Rambling Along

Today I was able to see Anna face her fears as she stood in front of hundreds of people and sang. She did beautifully, even as her legs shook, and her heart pounded. What an honor it was to sing with her! It also has me thinking about what fear does to us. Obviously there is good in fear--it keeps us from jumping off of cliffs and doing other stupid things, but it also keeps us from doing things that are good. How many of us have avoided sharing talents or even being kind out of fear? What if I'm not good enough, what if they think I'm stupid. Often, people quote the scriptures that say "fear not". But I think there is more than that. Sometimes we need to fear. That is why I love the phrase told to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, "fear not to do good". This past week at Disneyland, I made a concerted effort to thank every ride operator, ticket taker, bus driver, and other cast member that I came into contact with. At fir...

A long time ago, back when I was bishop, I was praying to know what I should teach my ward on an upcoming fifth Sunday. I was concerned that I hadn't really received any inspiration, and I needed to get ready. Then one night at about 3 am, I woke up, and the entire lesson plan was laid out in my brain perfectly. I knew exactly what I was going to teach and how. I quickly prayed to thank my Father in Heaven for answering my prayers, but I also included a question that went something along the lines of "Thank you, but couldn't I have received this inspiration when I was awake?" As soon as I had said this, the thought hit me like a ton of bricks, "No, I couldn't because you are too busy to listen to me during the day." I wish I could say that I have learned from that. Sometimes I do really well, and sometimes I completely forget. Lately I've been pondering on this concept again and again. The Lord repeatedly requests, in some form or a...

Running is boredom and pain mixed together. Please don't tell me about endorphins or a runner's high. I do not experience such things, and as a result I consider all discussion of them highly dubious. They are probably lies created in order to see how far runners can push people like me before they break down and beg for the sweet merciful release of death. I guess that is why scriptures about running haven't always resonated with me. You know, finish the race and all that. I don't like running, and I really don't want to consider life as one big experience in running. However, there is a phrase that has stuck with me since I re-read it a few weeks ago, "let us run with patience the race that is set before us.."(Hebrews 12:1). I suppose it jumped out at me because the words "run" and "patience" don't normally go in the same sentence, at least not for me. Running for me is moving faster than you need to, and I really don...

One of my favorite parts in Isaiah has a stranger bemoaning that he is not part of the family, and a eunuch crying that he is a "dry tree". Two individuals who have reached a point where they have no hope, and there is no solution to their problem. It is unfixable. Strangers don't fit in. Eunuchs never have children. There is simply nothing that can be done. I think every child has come to their parents with tears in their eyes, asking them to fix something that simply cannot be fixed. I think each of us, as adults, has looked at a situation and wished that we could fix it, but some things cannot be fixed. That is why the Lord's response to the cry of the stranger and the eunuch is so powerful, "unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off." (Isaiah 56:5) What a promise! Through Christ, strangers become family, eunuch...