P I C T U R E T H I S

You have a question, and it’s been weighing on your mind for a while now.

Everywhere you turn for answers, leaves you with more confusion. Darkness. Until one day you read these words in the scriptures, and you feel a spark of light:

“If any of ye lack wisdom, let him ask of God.”

You could definitely use some wisdom. So you decide to ask God….

“Ask of God.” and He will answer. Think of a question you can ask your Heavenly Father in prayer, and then ask it – today!!

In an ever darkening world, there is… right in front of us…L I G H T.

From Followers of Christ in South Miami

Learn more about how this scripture in James changed the life of one young man…and changed the world: Jesus’ Church Restored

The post Seeking light appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

~by Michelle

The Book of Mormon is another book of ancient scripture, a companion to the Bible. We have the stories of God’s dealings with ancient peoples in the Old World in the Bible, and we have more about His dealings with scattered peoples from the house of Israel who were led to the Americas in the Book of Mormon.

The book begins with the story of Lehi and Sariah and their family. Lehi was a prophet in Jerusalem around 600 B.C. (around the time of Jeremiah), and people were plotting his death because he was preaching about the destruction that was coming (destruction that we know actually happened, historically speaking, after Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judah and destroyed the city and the temple ca. 589-587 B.C.)

But the people in Jerusalem weren’t the only people plotting Lehi’s death. Two of his own sons, Laman and Lemuel, who reluctantly followed their parents out of Jerusalem, did not believe in Lehi’s prophecies, and constantly wished for their life back in Jerusalem (even though Lehi had seen, once they left, that the city had indeed been destroyed).

Nephi, who writes the record of his family’s experiences, was the younger brother. He received his own answers and confirmations of the truth of what Lehi was teaching and doing, and so he tried to help his brothers see and understand. But repeatedly, they rejected what they both saw and heard (including angels).

Nephi says this to his brothers at one point:

 Ye are ^aswift to do iniquity but slow to remember the Lord your God. Ye have seen an ^bangel, and he spake unto you; yea, ye have heard his voice from time to time; and he hath spoken unto you in a still small voice, but ye were ^cpast feeling, that ye could not feel his words; wherefore, he has spoken unto you like unto the voice of thunder, which did cause the earth to shake as if it were to divide asunder. (1 Nephi 17:45)

It’s pretty easy for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to roll their eyes a bit at Laman and Lemuel, but I think there something for each of us in their story. Even though this family actually existed and this is a story of their lives, as is often the case with scripture, there is also archetype in the story.

As humans and spirit children of heavenly parents, we all have a divine spark in us that wants to follow light and truth (like Nephi wanted to). As struggling mortals, we also all have a part of us that wants comfort, ease, control, or other not-so-good things as a way to get through the hard stuff of life.

As I recently contemplated the above verse, I realized that the archetype can also capture elements of our mortal experience that may not always be about willful rebellion but could relate to struggles that are just part of what it means to be human, to be fallen creatures in a fallen world.

Take anxiety and depression, for example. A friend of mine named Wendi recently shared in a podcast about her struggle with bipolar disorder. She says,

There’s a spiritual dynamic of depression that people don’t always know about. It’s almost as if there’s like a force field around you where it’s very hard to feel answers to prayer. It’s very hard to feel the Spirit, it’s very hard to feel anything light, or good, or spiritual. That’s the most tragic part, I think, of depression is that the thing that can help most is sometimes the thing you can feel least.

Consider the pain of grief as another example. Words can’t really capture the examples I’ve encountered, particularly of friends who have lost children, but grief…grief can put one in a place where feeling God just isn’t possible for a time, and sometimes for a long time. A body and brain in trauma sometimes just have to do what they have to do to process the trauma in very temporal, sometimes tedious ways before the light of God’s peace can break through again.

I’ve also watched hundreds of women experience betrayal trauma (work here led me to create a separate space for such women, as their cries for help via internet searches stretched far beyond the confines of what this website was created to be). As I have walked with women suffering from intense, PTSD-like symptoms, they, too, often will start that journey of healing first in a place where they cannot feel God. They wonder where He could be in such agony. Sometimes they experience anger toward God. “Why would He have guided me to marry this person knowing that I would be betrayed?”

In other words, channeling the language of the scripture above, sometimes one can struggle with mental or emotional or relational wounds or illness, or other life struggles, that can inhibit one’s ability to feel God and His words and His truth.

I recently read a book [The Power of Stillness: Mindful Living for Latter-day Saints**] that talked about how even just the pure overload of life stresses can leave one feeling past feeling — enough so that some may even doubt that their faith or experiences with God were ever even real at all.

Compounding the struggle for some can be a sense of self-doubt on top of it all which can look something like this: “What am I doing wrong? I must be doing something wrong because I can’t feel the Spirit. I can’t feel God’s love.” Or perhaps worse is the guilt of being angry at God in the process of experiencing grief, pain, or traumatic injuries (physical or emotional).

Perhaps you have walked your own Via Dolorosa that looks different from the above examples, but that has similar effects of leaving you feeling numb. Past feeling.

I have tasted some of that walled-off-from-heaven feeling many times in my half century of life. I have struggled with anxiety and dysthymia (persistent but low-level depression) for most of my life, and have also had a couple of pretty major depressive phases that left me feeling a bit like I was walking through a tub of tar.

During one of these difficult times, I told a bishop (leader of our local congregation) that I felt like I was living behind a glass wall. I could see things that were real and true in some sense. But I struggled to feel God’s love for such stretches that I felt like I was living in another space, separate from what I believed and knew to be true. It’s like it all felt true for others, but I couldn’t get past the glass to feel it again myself. I’ve also felt that proverbial “my prayers aren’t getting past the ceiling” feeling more times than I can count.

As I’ve gotten older and had more experiences with the ups and downs of my struggles with mental illness and other challenges — and even just with the ebbs and flows of life — I am more able to walk through these times knowing that the feeling may not always be there in the moment, but I can still find ways to find God.

I started this site years ago because I have such a firm belief in God’s love, and His love for women. He knows me, He knows you. He knows the number of hairs on our head (or those we people may have lost). He knows the number of tears we have shed. He knows of the sparrow’s song and its fall. He knows the prayers we speak and those we cannot utter (see Romans 8:26).

But when I cannot feel these truths, I look for tender mercies — because I can see them. They are tangible, even when I can’t feel God in any given moment or period of time.

I’m grateful for David A. Bednar who first helped me understand that I can treat such “coincidences” as real evidence of God’s awareness of me. He repeated three times in his talk that it is often the timing of things that can help us identify something as a tender mercy. When it just seems too coincidental, or when the universe seems to be lining things up in a perceivable way (some call this sychronicity), that can be a tender mercy of God at work.

Take bluebirds as a simple example. The string of stories is too much to share here, but suffice it to say that bluebirds are one way that God says, “I am here.” The painting at the top of this post was given to me by my daughter to remind me of this simple way God shows up for me. Tender mercies can include running into someone at just the right time, having patterns and themes of ideas or principles cross my path repeatedly in a short period of time, reading a scripture or having someone say something that was exactly what I needed to hear at that time. Tender mercies are like God telling me, as Elder Tai said as he shared his own tender mercy memory in April 2020: ““I am here, and I know where you are. Just do your best, for I will take care of the rest.”

The more I look for and pray for eyes to see tender mercies (and record them, wherever possible), the more I have stored up for the wilderness times when I my feelings are clouded with anxiety, fear, self-doubt, or other emotions. Of course, I continually try to use tools I have learned to foster good mental health, but my mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical health improve when I am seeking to practice gratitude and to look for and acknowledge tender mercies in my life. I’m often so delighted — even shocked — by what I see that I sometimes call tender mercies delightful surprises!

What helps you hold onto faith during hard times when it may be to feel God’s love?

**I received nothing for mentioning this book. I’m sharing because it was a helpful book for me to read. 🙂

The post When I can’t “feel His words” appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

Sometimes life can present what feels like impossible situations that we don’t know how to face. The scriptures can give us insight into how we can trust in the Lord in such times.

Here, Rachel, a Latter-day Saint college student, writes some insights from chapters 21-23 in Mosiah (in The Book of Mormon) about relying on God in times of trial.

In the Book of Mormon, Mosiah 21 talks about the people who were living under King Noah until captured by the Lamanites. This bondage was prophesied by Abinadi when he was speaking to King Noah and his priests (Mosiah 12:2). The promises the Lord makes in the following verses describe this bondage, stating they will be smitten (verses 3-7). These promises are “shall” and “will” statements, completely unconditional. However, in verse 8, there is one conditional statement. The Lord (through Abinadi) states that the people will be completely destroyed EXCEPT they repent.

In Mosiah 21, we see the fulfillment (a lot of the same wording from Mosiah 12:2-7 is in Mosiah 21:3). In verse 5 it states, “there was no way that they could deliver themselves out of [the Lamanites’] hands.” Yet verses 7, 11, and 12 tell of three attempts by the people to deliver themselves.

To put this in the context of our lives, how many times do we try to save ourselves from “bondage”? Our sins, sadness, fear, anxiety, etc. can only be taken away through help of Jesus Christ and His infinite Atonement. These people in chapter 21 suffered major losses because they tried to save themselves, but were not destroyed because, as it says in verse 13-14, “they did humble themselves… and they did cry mightily to God.” God slowly helped their situation, softening the hearts of the Lamanites (verse 15) and helping them “prosper by degrees” (verse 16). Ammon later comes and frees them from bondage. 

In contrast, Mosiah 23 tells of the bondage of the rest of King Noah’s people. Even though Alma and the righteous people who followed him had escaped King Noah’s guards and started their own lives, the prophesy of bondage still applied. The Lord followed through, but their reaction was different. Before the Lamanites even arrived at the land of Helam, the people ran to Alma, the prophet, and he calmed the people, and told them to rely on God (verse 27). They were in the same situation as the people of Limhi; verse 23 says that “none could deliver them but the Lord.” But because they chose to rely on His strength, instead of their own, in Mosiah 24:15, the Lord makes their burdens light. Because of their faith, the Lord helped them escape bondage the next day. 

If we choose to rely on God, and his strength and power, before, during, and after the bondage comes, our burdens will be made light.

Both of these groups of people eventually arrived in the Land of Zarahemla. One just took a longer and harder road. Burdens and trials will come, so we might as well make it easier for ourselves by relying on God.

The post Relying on the Lord in impossible situations appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

I recently read a friend’s blog post that I haven’t been able to get out of my mind. She was quoting her missionary son about how missionary work works. Essentially, he noted that his companion often tells people that anyone can lie to them — a pastor, a parent, a friend, a missionary. But God doesn’t lie. He then teaches them that one of the things that is so central to our message is that people can get answers from God. People don’t have to rely on anything a Mormon says. They can get answers from God directly through the Holy Ghost.

For example, Mormon missionaries invite people to ask God about the Book of Mormon, whether Joseph Smith was called as a prophet, whether the Church is true.

This personal connection with God also extends beyond asking Him what is True in terms of Mormon teachings, but can reach into every facet of our lives. God cares about us. God knows each of us personally. God wants to help us and give us guidance, direction, and assurance about His love through the channel of personal revelation.

This seeking for personal revelation, personal answers, personal connection with God really is central to Mormon faith and doctrine.

Bruce R. McConkie and Loren C. Dunn both spoke about the importance of personal revelation and experiences with the Holy Ghost in their 1971 General Conference talks.

In his talk, “The Lord’s People Receive Revelation,” Elder McConkie said:

Joseph Smith said that a man could learn more about the things of God by looking into heaven for five minutes than by reading all the books ever written upon the subject of religion. Religion is something which must be experienced.

I know people who can talk endlessly about religion but who have never had a religious experience. I know people who have written books about religion but who have about as much spirituality as a cedar post. Their interest in gospel doctrine is to defend their own speculative views rather than to find out what the Lord thinks about whatever is involved. Their conversations and their writings are in the realm of reason and the intellect; the Spirit of God has not touched their souls; they have not been born again and become new creatures of the Holy Ghost; they have not received revelation….

Religion comes from God by revelation and deals with spiritual things; and unless and until a man has received revelation, he has not received religion, and he is not on the path leading to salvation in our Father’s kingdom.

In Loren C. Dunn’s talk, “Drink of the Pure Water,” he shares a powerful quote from Brigham Young about what experiences with the Holy Ghost (the vehicle for personal revelation, sometimes called the Holy Spirit, the Spirit, the Lord’s Spirit) can be like:

“There is no other experience known to mortal man that can be compared with the testimony or witness of the Holy Ghost. It is as powerful as a two-edged sword and burns in the breast of man like a consuming fire. It destroys fear and doubt, leaving in their stead absolute unqualified, and incontrovertible knowledge that a principle or thing is true. …

“This same testimony has sustained faithful saints to the present day and will be a lamp to their path forever. The effect of this testimony reaches above and beyond all physical or earthly things and makes relationship with God the Father a literal, pulsing fact. Every fiber of both body and spirit respond to the witness of that testimony and the soul knows and lives the truth.”

I’m reminded of a quote from Elder Richard G. Scott:

I witness that as you gain experience and success in being guided by the Spirit, your confidence in the impressions you feel can become more certain than your dependence on what you see or hear.

I love this reminder that personal connection with God is central to religion. It seems so obvious, and yet how often is the spiritual crowded out in our busy lives, even sometimes by busyness in religious service?

As we start a new year, I desire to keep this principle about personal revelation front and center in my mind and make sure to make room for spiritual connection with God every day…not in some checklisty way, but to give God space in my heart to speak to me and let me know of His love and His truths — both the general ones that are given for the world, and the personal ones that are just for me.

I’m so grateful to know God is real and that personal revelation really can and does happen.

– – – –

Following are my friends’ posts from this week’s readings:

Comforting the Afflicted and Afflicting the Comfortable – Nathaniel Givens
A Rebuke from President Harold B. Lee and Debunking the Iron Rod vs Liahona Taxonomy – J. Max Wilson
The Eternally Durable Iron Rod – John Hancock
Harold B. Lee on The Millstone of “Liberal” Religion – Ralph Hancock
“And If It Be In You It Shall Abound” – Walker Wright

The post Religion, Revelation, and Resolutions (#ldsconf Odyssey) appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

The post To the Momastery crowd: My thoughts on yoga and meditation appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

I pray when…

…I am lonely
…I have a question
…I am stressed
…I’m having a bad day
…Before I eat
…I am sad
…I am scared
…I am stressed
…I feel like I need some uplifting
…I need help
…In church
…People are mean to me
…I need courage
…I’m in bed
…I’m happy
…I see someone in need
…I get ready for a race
…I’m afraid
…I’m driving on my way to school
…I have a question
…I’m hurt
…Go to bed
…I need help
…I’m grateful
…I need to feel God’s love
…I feel sick
…I walk over the bridge at school
…I see others struggling
…I go to bed
…I’m sad
…[when I need] guidance
…estoy cansado
…I’m sick
…I’m sad
…I’m in a weird place
…#because of Him
…I see others in need
…I need a smile
…I wake up
…I feel small
…I’m late to class
…I need help
…I see Amber
…I’m grateful
…I’m lost
…I’m sad
…I’m grateful
…teachers call me in class
…I need courage
…I feel lonely
…I need strength
…I’m about to eat
…I’m running cross country
…Math test today? #didyouthinktopray?
…I am grateful
…I am scared
…I need comfort
…I don’t like people
…I need strength
…I go night night
…I feel alone
…I am sad
…I need confidence
…I feel alone
…I go nighty night
…I’m grateful for the success of my life
…I need help
…I am sad
…I need help
…I need extra help in a situation
…I’m worried about others
…before I go to sleep
…I need help
…I take a test
…I need strength to choose the right
…Having a bad day
…I have an idea I want to share with Him
…I’m grateful
…I need help
…I begin my day
…I don’t feel safe
…I need comfort
…I need sleep
…I am happy
…I eat
…my friends need one
…I am mad at someone
…I wake up
…I see someone that looks like they need a friend/a prayer
…I can eat yummy food
…I’m frustrated
…I’m scared
…I can love everyone
…I go out in public
…I’m having a bad day
…I eat
…I need answers
…I need help
…I’m annoyed
…I sleep
…I need help
…I am sad
…for the sick
…I’m struggling
…Bless the food
…I’m scared
…I’m about to take a test
…I need to wake up on time
…before I eat
…I want to help someone
…before I take a test
…I need to focus in class
…I’m scared
…I am with my family
…I need help
…I need answers

…wait! I pray every day!

The post #IPrayWhen #DidYouThinktoPray appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

This is an inspiring story of a young man whose life was changed from drug and alcohol addiction and suicidal thoughts to faith and hope. The change happened gradually, through small and simple things: by prayer, fasting, patience, responsiveness to the still and small voice of God’s Spirit, and the simple and kind action of a friend.

(The next time I think a ward party or picnic is not a big deal, I will remember this story. God works through small and simple things!)

You never know where, how, or when God will answer your prayers. Or where, how, or when you can be an answer to someone’s prayer.

The post Through Small and Simple Things appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

I had the privilege of attending a class at BYU Education Week given by Stephanie at Diapers and Divinity. I was thrilled to see that she was able to share it on her blog. There is nothing like hearing her in person, but her blog post is excellent and thorough. Her presentation was both practical in nature but also inspirational. Be sure to watch the video clips she includes.

One of the ways we as Mormon women are able to tap into God’s power is simply to tap into His truth. As we seek Him through becoming devoted students of the gospel, we can find more about Him, about ourselves, about His plan, and about His Son.

p.s. I love her plea to “ask God, not Google.”

The post Women as Gospel Scholars appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

Editor’s note: I never did get the additional motherhood posts posted around Mother’s Day; I often bite off more than I can chew when it comes to all the ideas I have for what to post. So when I saw this essay from my friend, I figured I had a chance to redeem myself, maybe a little. I love my friend’s honesty. I, too, struggled with my temper when my kiddos were small, and I, too, have found that God has helped me become better. It gives me hope as I struggle against other weaknesses that are part of this mortal condition.

“Losing my temper: Utah’s Young Mother of the Year confesses all” was written by a friend of mine whom I admire a great deal. I appreciate how real she is, and the testimony that God can help us with our weakness when we ask for His help. It won’t always come immediately (after all, we are here to learn and progress and grow line upon line), but He does care about our desires to be better.

I’m reminded of a talk on motherhood by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland.

The work of a mother is hard, too often unheralded work. Please know that it is worth it then, now, and forever.

One young mother wrote to me recently that she felt like the world expected her to teach her children reading, writing, interior design, Latin, calculus, and the Internet—all before the baby said something terribly ordinary, like “goo goo.” She worried because she felt she didn’t measure up or somehow wasn’t going to be able to be equal to the task, the mental investment, the spiritual and emotional exertion, the long-night, long-day, stretched-to-the-limit demands that sometimes are required in trying to be and wanting to be the mother God hopes she will be.

But one thing, she said, keeps her going. I quote: “Through the thick and the thin of this, and through the occasional tears of it all, I know deep down inside I am doing God’s work. I know that my motherhood is an eternal partnership with Him.”

I truly believe heaven heralds the work of mothers. It is worth it, moms, now and forever. God knew He would send His children to imperfect parents. He will help us and our children as we (and they) turn to Him.

The post “Losing my temper: Utah’s Young Mother of the Year confesses all” appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.

At times of darkness and difficulty in our lives, when it feels like light and warmth will never come, we testify that God hears and answers prayers. This excellent video portrays a young woman reflecting on Joseph Smith’s experience about asking God about his questions about his faith.

The reflections relate to a recent post we had on going to God for answers. God is really there. He will hear you. You can come to know how He answers prayers for you. We testify that He has spoken to prophets again, and also that He speaks through His Spirit directly and personally — and through tender mercies — to His children, individually.

The post Got questions about life, God? How can you know what is really true? appeared first on Women in The Church of Jesus Christ.