Faith in the Atonement Through Our Mortal Adversities

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the General Relief Society Meeting of the October 2012 General Conference.

The addresses from the three members of the General Relief Society presidency touched my heart because they spoke of things that have strengthened me through my "classes" in this mortal boarding school.

Sister Linda K. Burton spoke of having faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ written in our hearts. I can never speak of the Savior without tearing up because I love Him and am so grateful for His mercy, grace and love. What is most amazing to me is that He loves me back, especially when I'm most unloveable. He never turns me away, and more than once I have felt His warm, strong arms around me in times of despair. I'm so grateful to be yoked with Him through covenants to journey through life.

Sister Burton said, "That supreme act of love ought to send each of us to our knees in humble prayer to thank our Heavenly Father for loving us enough that He sent His Only Begotten and perfect Son to suffer for our sins, our heartaches, and all that seems unfair in our own individual lives."

And it does!

Sister Carole M. Stephens talked about being "awake to our duty and continue with faith as we draw upon the comforting, strengthening, enabling, and healing power of the Atonement." For a long time after our son's death I felt like I was asleep, just going through the motions of living. I wanted to wake up but didn't know how to jumpstart my spirit and get going again. It didn't help that I didn't have a busy calling in the branch. I had too much time to be alone and lonely. Sister Stephens asked, "Have our hearts become gradually hardened as we have allowed too much of the noise of the world to distract us from the gentle promptings that have surely come from the Spirit?" I think that challenging circumstances can distract us too. Grief is such a hard thing to navigate for the grieving as well as family and friends. Again, Sister Stephens, "Each of us has had and will continue to have adversity in our lives. This mortal life is a time of testing, and we will continue to have opportunities to use our agency to choose what we will learn from the adversity that will surely come."

One thing I have learned from my adversity is to offer to serve in specific ways. Think hard and listen to promptings, then go and do. It is frustrating to hear over and over again, "Call me if you need anything." I feel as awkward calling you to ask for a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on as you probably do asking if you can come do my dishes or laundry. But if you offer something specific I would feel more comfortable saying, well, that's not what I need, but could you do this?

Sister Linda S. Reeves closed out her talk with this testimony, "That is our charge. We must feel and see for ourselves and then help all of Heavenly Father's children to feel and see and know that our Savior has taken upon Himself not only all our sins but also our pains and our suffering and afflictions so that He can know what we feel and how to comfort us." 

Another thing I have learned from my adversity is that I ought to leave my burdens with the Savior to carry, and then do more to serve others. There is always someone who is worse off than me. Serving others truly is a way to forget our troubles. It can be as simple as expressing gratitude for the service of others to me. Expressing gratitude is so important!

I miss the Relief Society sessions. I'm thankful for the technology that allows me to hear and read them over again. They feed my soul.

Stars Were Gleaming

Advent - Day 10

And behold there shall a new star arise, such an one as ye never have beheld; and this also shall be a sign unto you. And behold this is not all, there shall be many signs an wonders in heaven.
                                                                Helaman 14:5,6

The Unexpected Christmas

by Enid O. Ellis

     With wind howling down from the Cascade Mountains, December 1969 was bitterly cold and snowy in  Wenatchee, Washington. As a single mother, I and my children struggled just to stay warm and fed. I worked at minimum-wage jobs and attended nursing school, and often I went two or three days without eating at the end of the month to give the children more food. At times even the children went to bed hungry, and none of us had adequate winter clothing.

     Wendell was in grade school, Brent was in preschool, and my three year old twins, Michael and Michelle, stayed with a state-paid babysitter while I was gone. Just four months before, Wendell and I had joined the church, and as a result my parents, brothers, and sisters wanted nothing to do with us. With the holidays approaching we really had no one to turn to for help; as a new convert, I didn't know I could ask my bishop.

     Ten days before Christmas, after a great deal of whispering among themselves, my children approached me one evening while I was studying. Nine-year-old Wendell tugged my sleeve and asked, "Mama, when are we going to get a Christmas tree and some presents?" Brent piped up and asked, "Or are we going to Grandma and Grandpa's for Christmas this year?"

     These were the questions I'd been dreading. I swallowed a lump in my throat and blinked away my tears and said, "I'm afraid we're not going to have any Christmas presents this year."

     "Why not, Mama?" they asked.

     "Well, Grandma and Grandpa have asked us not to come over since we joined the Church, and we just don't have any money for our own Christmas," I answered.

     "Oh Mama, nothing?" asked Wendell. "Santa won't forget us though, will he?"

     I replied that Santa probably wouldn't be able to stop at our house that year.

     For the next few days the children seemed somber. They often stood by the front window and looked out at passers-by and neighboring festive houses. While their playmates bubbled with excitement about the presents and goodies being prepared in their homes, my children quietly accepted the fact that no packages or decorations or other signs of Christmas were appearing in our house.

     Our ward had a Christmas party planned for Saturday night, 20 December, but we decided not to go because the meetinghouse was a mile and a half away and walking was our only means of transportation. However, a car pulled up at our house on the evening of the party, and our home teacher knocked on our door.

     "Come on," he said. "Let's go to the Christmas party! Get your coats on, kids."

     The party was the first real Christmas flavor to come into my children's lives that year. I don't know what they talked with Santa about, but they appreciated his gifts of candy and oranges, and their spirits seemed much uplifted afterward. Buoyed by my children's renewed enthusiasm, I used their watercolors to paint a Santa face on our front window. Now we had some decorations.

     When Christmas Eve arrived, I had only $1.25 in my purse. We walked to the grocery store, where I bought each child two tangerines and the cashier handed them each a large candy cane. Along with the story of Jesus' birth, that would be the extent of our Christmas. As we rounded the corner on our way home, Wendell shouted, "Hey, Santa came!" The other children echoed his cries upon seeing a beautifully decorated Christmas tree on our porch. Mounting the steps, we saw two large boxes, previously hidden from view, placed next to the tree.

     One box was full of food, and the other was full of presents. I could hardly believe my eyes. Wendell plugged in the Christmas tree lights as soon as we moved the tree inside, and the children pinched and shook each present as they set it under the tree. Their eyes were full of wonder.

     Next we unpacked the food in the kitchen. The children had never seen so much in one place except at the grocery store. Even Wendell couldn't remember having a whole turkey in the house.

     "We won't have to go to bed hungry tonight!" said Brent.

     I fixed the children a special Christmas Eve supper. Afterwards we sat around the Christmas tree and enjoyed the lights while I read the story of the birth of Jesus. "We have a lot to thank Heavenly Father for tonight," I said. We knelt in a circle and said a prayer of gratitude.

     When we opened the presents the next morning, each child received exactly what he or she had wanted. In addition, each child got a warm outfit, gloves and mittens, and money for boots. Someone had made clothes for the doll my daughter received. The food was enough to last us several weeks beyond Christmas.

     I may never know who played Santa that year or how they knew what the children wanted. Everyone in our ward denied involvement, but I'm certain it was some of them. I'll always remember that Christmas as the best of my life, and my grown-up children feel the same way. We felt the Spirit of Christ that day more than we ever had before and realized that our Savior does watch over his children.

Ten Questions for Ten Things of Thankful

Kristi, over at Thankful Me, invited others to answer these questions in a post. For once these are questions I can answer: 

1.  What small act of service have you received that has meant a lot to you?  
At a time of marital crisis a friend sent me a gorgeous floral arrangement. She knew I couldn't announce the crisis in church so was having to face it alone. When it arrived I bawled over her thoughtfulness and generosity.

2.  What was your favorite meal when you were a child?
My mother's tacos and enchiladas. She had learned how to cook authentic Mexican from the ladies in the Spanish Branch where she attended because of my dad's assignment early in their marriage.

3.  Do you enjoy camping?  
Yes. I enjoy the quiet, the fresh air, the challenge of "playing pioneer" and the stars overhead at night.

4.  Have you moved (changed houses) more as an adult, or as a child?  
I never moved as a child, except to change bedrooms. As an adult I've moved twenty-three times. I've become a gypsy. Actually, I moved some as a young adult, as a missionary, and then I married a Marine and have moved following him around. I'm so used to it that every three or so years I get an itch to move again. I like the challenge of a new place.

5.  Where would you like to retire, and why?  
Somewhere close to children and grandchildren, hopefully somewhere south of where I am now so the winters would be milder. But maybe we'll stay here and just be snowbirds travelling south for the winter. We're about ten years from retirement.

6.  If you had a free day next week, how would you spend it?
If I had a WHOLE day free I'd use it to re-organize my Family History paperwork. I need to, but just can't quite get to it.

 7.  If you could suddenly develop a new talent or skill, what would it be? 
In 2008 I enjoyed four months of violin lessons. I regret that I couldn't continue because I thoroughly enjoyed it and wish I'd had the opportunity when I was young to develop that talent.

8.  Do you know where your grandparents and/or great-grandparents were born?
Grandpa Joe was born in Dundee, Scotland, his wife Grandma Fern was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. Grandpa Hansen was born in Kvitver, Norway, Nana Hansen was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. Joe's parents were born in Scotland, Fern's parents were born in England and Salt Lake City; Grandpa Hansen's parent were born in Norway, Nana's parents were born in Denmark.

9.  What is one trait that describes you?
Knowledgeable. My children think I'm an encyclopedia; the people at church believe I know everything (they've never met anyone like me); and a dear friend informed me that one of my spiritual gifts is the gift of knowledge, I never knew that, I thought everyone who studied or read knew what I know. I'm not bragging, sometimes it feels like a curse.


10.  What is one of your family traditions?
Using brown paper bags for "wrapping" presents. That got started when our first two children were two and one. We went to a friends home for Christmas Eve dinner and I expected to be home in time to wrap presents. Wrong! We enjoyed ourselves so much that we didn't get home until almost midnight. I stuffed the presents in brown grocery sacks, stapled them shut and wrote names on the bags. Noble and Lt. Lehi enjoyed the bags so much that I never worried about wrapping things again. They played with their presents, putting them in and out of the bags all day. I use wrapping paper for gifts for other's because they don't follow our tradition, but I don't use much wrapping paper for our family gifts. A couple years ago I began making reusable gift bags for our Christmas presents and that has been a fun new tradition, based on the older one.

I Like High Council Sunday!

I know there's a common joke that High Council speakers are boring, even referred to as Dry Council, but in our little Twig (Branch) I LOVE the High Council speakers, and yesterday's were wonderful.

We usually have only one High Councilman, who brings a companion of his choice to speak with him. Yesterday's companion was a youngish (anybody younger than me is young!) man who had served in Iraq in 2003, married with a few young children. He told his conversion story through the theme of Trust in the Lord. It was a great story! I hope he writes it down for his children. He told how the Lord had gently led him and sent people to guide him to the Church. He is excited to be able to baptize his oldest son, this spring. He also talked about the importance of sharing the gospel with those around us so they too will have the opportunity to feel the joy we feel and receive the blessings we have.

The actual High Councilman also spoke about trusting in the Lord as we go through the trials of life. His wife died about two years ago and he had to learn to trust God and grow from his trial. His testimony was poignant and sweet, much like those of the handcart pioneers. He was grateful for his adversity because he grew to know and love the Savior through it.

The Spirit was so strong in the meeting; I felt refreshed and filled. I had gone to church fasting because I felt the need of some extra help in teaching the Relief Society lesson. The talks filled my reservoir enough that I could teach with the Spirit and lead a good discussion about Strengthening our Families.

On another subject: Last night for FHE we read a couple of chapters in Genesis as we had missed family scripture reading in the morning. Joseph, who was sold into Egypt made himself known to his brothers and sent for his father; then the generations of the family are listed. We ended up laughing ourselves silly as we read all the names, wondering how they ever came up with them. Our favorites are Muppim and Huppim, sons of Benjamin. Do you think they were twins?