KEEPING ON THE PATH OF DISCIPLESHIP

January 1. 2016

Seems like I see more people wandering off the path of discipleship these days.  Lots of distractions and temptations out there for us all.  We have lots of lessons at church about the basic things we need to do to remain on the path, but reading a recently published article,written almost 100 years ago by Melvin J. Ballard, gave one clear-cut piece of advice that rings so true to me.

"...No man goes away from the Church and becomes an apostate in a week, nor in a month.  It is a slow process.  The one thing that would make for the safety of every man and woman would be to appear at the sacrament table every Sabbath day.  We would not get very far away in one week--not so far away that, by the process of self-investigation, we could not rectify the wrongs we may have done.The road to the sacrament table is the path of safety for Latter-day Saints. "

I would say that this is true for all Christians, regardless of the denomination.  Different churches probably partake of the sacrament more or less often than others.  In the LDS Church we take the holy sacrament every single week.  In fact, it is the focus of our Sunday worship service, which we call sacrament meeting.  Partaking of the sacrament helps us to remember and be grateful for the Atonement Christ made for us.  It affords us the opportunity to renew our baptismal covenants every Sunday, to remember our covenant with God to follow the example of Jesus in all we do and say with the promise that in turn we will have His Spirit to be with us.  It is a time to reflect on mistakes we have made during the past week, to repent, and to ask God's forgiveness and help in doing better for the next week.  It means starting with a clean slate each week.  

I would really be interested in comments from any of you reading this who may not belong to the LDS Church and hear what taking the sacrament means to you.  How often do you take the sacrament? It's been a really long time since I took the sacrament at the Baptist Church, or the Episcopal Church, and my memory of it is pretty foggy.  

THE SPIRIT OF CONTENTION

New Year's Eve, 2015

I read 3 Nephi chapter 11 this morning and in verse 29 it reads, "For verily, verily, I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirrith  up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another."

Christ came to bring us the spirit of love, the spirit of healing, and the spirit of peace.  This theme carries over when we look at the difference we feel inside when God lovingly uses the Holy Spirit to nudge us when we need to leave a bad habit or pathway which is destructive to us and how we feel when the advisary is speaking to us.  ( For example, when we realize we are being judgmental of friends or neighbors. )  God makes us aware of our need to change and improve, then guides us in our efforts with encouragement and support.  Whereas Satan will whisper to us, "You're not good enough, you're not nice enough, you will never measure up, so just give up now.  Besides, you are justified in your attitude toward your neighbors who can be jerks!"

When those kinds of negative and destructive thoughts come into our minds, we need to recognize their source.  We need to ask Heavenly Father to help us feel of His love, and ask to know of His true desires for the ways He can help us change and become more like the Savior. God will never tear us down or try to make us feel worthless.  His desire is to help us see that we have divine DNA and divine potential.

SIMPLE TRUTHS

12-28-2015.  I was reading Elder Rasband's testimony at the last General Conference when he had just been called as an Apostle. His testimony was simple and sweet. He reminded us that "The Lord said 'Love one another as I have loved you' . I am confident that there is no choice, sin, or mistake that you or anyone else can make that will change His love for you or them."  What a a wonderful reminder of His great love for us and His desire for us to make choices which will result in joy and peace in our lives.

7-31-2014. In the midst of the terrible wars going on in the world, particularly the bombing between Israel and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, I am extraordinarily blessed to be living in America.  I don't have to spend my days fretting with fear that my children and grandchildren might be killed by bombs day in and day out. I cannot even imagine the daily experiences of these women around the world. How easy it can be to take our peace and safety for granted.

CHANGING THINGS UP

Well, I haven't posted anything on here for a long time. In church today, one of the speakers spoke of how he had felt prompted to figure out a way to share his ponderings of the scriptures with his children.  He ultimately decided to start a regular blog and his family could choose to read his ideas and feelings if they wanted to, or not if they didn't wish to.  That got me thinking about how over the past 18 months or so I have been much better at regularly doing just that in a written journal.  So my New Year's resolution is to try to transfer some of those journal entries onto my blog and then add to them with new ideas.  I had always thought I would just keep journaling my feelings and notions until I die and then maybe my family would want to read those journals.  I hadn't considered what a big endeavor that would be for them.  Much easier to look at "Mary Ponders" regularly for short samples.  Although my first desire is to share my spiritual feelings with my family, I am leaving this as an open blog for any of my friends or relatives who may be curious.

(July 30, 2014)    Always nice to have a new journal.  I have challenged my Sunday school students (ages 12 and 13) to follow President Eyeing's advice to take the time to jot down one or two things each day which you are grateful for, or ways you have seen God's hand in our life that day.
     Kim came over to mow the lawn today and Finn came down to the nearby tennis courts to watch me play.  It felt good to have him there and he came with me to run some errands later on.  I felt a special close bond with him

today and it was a sweet experience.

IS FAITH A CRUTCH?

I am currently studying this book and hope to share some ideas and thoughts on my blog as I go through it.  These authors are deep thinkers and bring up some great spiritual points to ponder.

In the beginning of the chapter I started today the Givens' talk about how Jesus wasn't just bringing people some 'comfortable doctrine, easy on the ear'.  He upset the expectations of 'those who thought he spoke only soothing platitudes'.  His gospel was revolutionary. He proclaims to those who thought they were doing well not to kill or to commit adultery that now they must examine themselves and go beyond conduct to search out their innermost motives and desires-- just contemplating adultery in their mind makes them a sinner like unto those who commit adultery. Even his disciples complained sometimes of the difficulty of following His new precepts, saying, "This an an hard saying; who can hear it?"  And "From that time many of His disciples went back, an walked no more with Him."

As we strive to live Jesus's Christian doctrine the circumstances that define the reality of the human predicament are not a blatant choice between Good and Evil but a wrenching decision to be made between competing sets of Good.  There are very few simple choices. No blueprint gives us easy answers.  Life's most wrenching choices are not between right and wrong but between competing demands on our time, our resources, our love and loyalty.

The authors remind us that true religion is inseparable from suffering.  It tells us the truth about our condition without flinching, offers no cheap solutions, and conceals none of the costly price.  We feel unmoored if our religion fails to answer all our questions, if it does not resolve our anxious fears, if it does not tie up all loose ends. We want a script, and we find we stand before a blank canvas.  We expect a road map, and we find we have only a compass. 'It is curious, in this regard, that so many critics attribute to religion a kind of facile wish fulfillment, imaginative fairy-tale scenarios that reduce complexity and mystery to easy answers and glib forms of consolation.  As any disciple knows who has lived a life of faith thoughtfully attuned to rhythms of humanity's travails, to the demands of mercy and unconditional love, and to the call to patient waiting, religion is not the coward's way out of life's difficulties. As Flannery O'Connor wrote,"Religion costs.  They think faith is a big electric blanket, when of course it is a cross."'

Reading this chapter helped me to realize that religion is not a crutch to lean on when life gets tough.  It is not some easy way out of dealing with the tragedies we see around us every day.  Like I mentioned above, religion is not a roadmap, it is only a compass.  Our faith in Jesus Christ can shine as a light to help us cope with the tough parts of life we travel through, it can help us find peace in the midst of the madness, but it does not remove the madness or the challenges.  Indeed, it may even challenge us to make hard choices to do the 'right thing' when others feel no compulsion to do so. Following the precepts our our great Exemplar is not the easy way out, but for me it is the best way through it all.

LIVING YOUR COVENANTS EVERY DAY

I have been reading a little book, the one shown above, by a young mother whom I had the privilege of listening to recently at a women's conference at our church.  This author is packed full of wisdom it has taken me many, many years to realize, and plenty of great ideas that had not occurred to me.  Today I would like to share a few principles which I believe are worth investigating.

Jennifer reminds us that we should focus on living our covenants (with God) each day--deliberately and intentionally. This will help us remember what matters most: creating a life of discipleship. While taking doctoral classes she was confronted with academic teachings and theories which were sometimes in opposition to the faith she was raised with.  She wanted to align academic teachings with her doctrinal underpinnings.  She feels her conviction of the doctrines and principles of the gospel is firmer today because she truly wrestled with what she believes and why.  I completely agree with this notion.

Jennifer explains that claiming to value something but failing to consistently act on what we believe creates dissonance and discouragement.  We limit our capacity to feel the Lord's influence in our lives when we merely pass time and wait for life to happen.

She shares a personal story about having completed several half-marathons and then deciding to run a full marathon.  She registered and felt motivated and excited.  However, she let her busy schedule keep her from properly training.  When she took a short 3 mile run a few days prior to the race, she realized she could never run the marathon she had committed to.  So she decided she would prepare to run some shorter races.  However, getting up early each morning to run didn't appeal to her.  She was left feeling discourage and disappointed.  The morning of the race she had committed to she found herself looking out her window seeing the racers running past her home.  She had even forgotten that she had promised to run with a friend of hers, helping her have the courage to complete their goal.  She put on her running shoes and joined in with the group and ran about 3 miles to her local grocery store, then turned around and ran 3 miles back home.  On her way she started cheering on the competitors, encouraging them to finish their race.  "No longer was I self-focused and disappointed because I wasn't doing what others had worked to accomplish.  Instead of envying the runners, I was cheering them on.  I had done what I could that day and as a result, feelings of accomplishment replaced feelings of inadequacy.  I stepped away from the window of envy and joined the race!  My goal had been to earn a medal as a finisher at the end of the race, but I won a different prize that day.  I learned a life-changing lesson of trying and doing my best.  There is power in doing something instead of wishing life away."

According to Jennifer," the plan is active, it is daily, and it is centered on Jesus Christ.  As we are deliberate in making daily decisions to face challenges and obstacles along our course, we expand our potential and progress toward our desired goals.  Day-to-day behaviors either empower or debilitate us.  Choosing to run the course each day regardless of our pace, capacity, or ability moves us closer to the finish line.  Standing behind the window of shame, defeat, envy, or other destructive emotions will immobilize us.

GRAND CHILDREN ARE THE BEST

I just love being Nana, and nothing is sweeter to my ears than hearing little voices shouting, "Nana, Nana, Nana!" When your own children are growing up and you are in the midst of parenting, experiencing all the ups and downs, you may occasionally wonder if it is all worth it.  Well, being a grandparent is the big reward-- of course this is in addition to the reward we receive when each of our own children mature into loving adults.

Try as we may, we all make mistakes as parents, and at one time or another we feel as though we have come up short and not been the greatest parents around.  We play the "what if" game in our minds.  If only we had spent more time around the dinner table together, if only we had been more consistent at ready scriptures and praying together.....BUT NOW we get a second chance with our grandchildren!  Their parents are in charge, of course, and at the end of the day our grandchildren go back to their homes, but I believe grandparents can have a great positive influence in the lives of these little ones.  Since grandparents don't have to deal with the day to day, hour by hour, whining or fussing or tantrums of these little people, it is easier for us to spend a few hours here and there giving unconditional love and hugs.  We can sit down and cuddle them while reading or telling them a favorite story.  They can follow us around our houses and we can teach them skills with greater patience than we ever had with our own children.  We have more time now in our lives so we can take them on dates and shopping and we can come to their games and recitals.  We can teach them to pray and share our love of the scriptures and Jesus Christ with them.  As we develop our relationships with them they seem less likely to blow us off than they might their mom and dad.  We can watch them giggle and laugh their guts out, then take them back home when they are tired and cranky--what more could your ask for in life!  Thanks, God, for second chances.