Today in Sunday school we talked about using social media to spread positive and uplifting messages throughout the world. Though we often talk about this in terms of "hastening the work" (missionary efforts) or increasing exposure to the church, I think social media can be used in multiple ways.
He are just a few:
1. Elder Bednar (one of the twelve living apostles) gave a talk called "Things as they really are." In his talk he described the danger of anonymity and creating virtual personnas online. When we get too virtual we can lose sight of reality and become detached from our physical bodies and physical reality. I think the first rule of thumb for me when it comes to social media is: Be real. Do not hide behind social media or create a false front. Do not let your social media presence outlive your presence outside of it.
2. What do you value? Does your facebook page agree? The scriptures talk about the existence of a record called the "Book of Life." It records our words, thoughts, and deeds in this life and will be opened at the judgment day. Facebook acts as a psuedo-book of life. It records what we like, what we view, where we shop (with cookies and tracks), etc. and caters advertisements, friends, groups, pages, etc. to us. Take a look at your newsfeed. Who do you follow? Who do you like? What groups have you joined? If someone else looked at your newsfeed what would they feel? Disgusted? Impressed? How would they describe you? Family oriented? Sporty? What do you value?
3. We can use social media to quickly and easily share positive and uplifting messages. In a follow up to the talk previously mentioned, Elder Bednar spoke about using social media to spread the gospel and influence others for good. This does not necessarily mean we need to be pulpit pounders only posting about religion. It does mean we should share what is important to us. If a scripture, video, experience, etc. helped you...share it. Send personalized messages to friends in need or family who might be feeling down. Social media does not always have to be so public.
4. Be familiar with all types of media so you know how to talk about it, use it, and guard against it. If you do not learn how to use twitter, how will you know how to monitor and teach your children how to use it appropriately. Be familiar with media resources you can use and how to present them in different mediums. Build a reservoir of positive messages from which you can share.
5. Moderation in all things. Do not forget to moderate the time spent, content viewed and received, etc. when using social media. It can easily become a distraction and soak up time with very little return on your investment.
In the past I have been more inclined to avoid social media sources that
I either do not understand or do not particularly like (twitter).
However, I have felt lately that by ignoring these phenomena I am only
doing myself a disservice and under-utilizing a tool for building the
Lord's kingdom.
I think we have a lot to gain from using social media and becoming more familiar with it regardless of our age or status in life. As we move forward I would add these last few points from Elder Bednar:
Be truthful. Seek to edify, not to argue. Respect intellectual property rights. Be wise, and protect yourself. As I said before, what you say online is recorded. Be sure that you are okay with the fact that everything you say can be accessed and shared by somebody. That is all.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Spirtual Musings
As I was sitting in church on Sunday scribbling notes on the edges of my program, I realized I needed a better outlet or medium for hashing out my spiritual thoughts and impressions. Rather than starting my own blog or journal to this end, I decided to post my spiritual musings to our family blog. If you have an interesting insight, feel free to add your comments to these posts.
Recognizing the Spirit
During our first Sunday meeting last week, a young man with depression stood at the pulpit and posed this poignant question: How do you learn to trust and recognize the spirit when you cannot trust your own feelings or often do not feel anything at all? I put it to you.
He made reference to Elder Boyd K. Packer's talk "The Witness" and added an additional question. How do we hear the the still small voice of the spirit over the competing voices of the world? Especially when those often negative, depressed, or anxiety ridden voices seem to originate in our own mind or create a deafening silence?
I do not have specific answers to share to these questions at the moment. But it caused me to think--it is hard enough trying to identify and follow the voice of the spirit as it is--how would I help someone or myself in times of anxiety, grief, or depression when the ability to feel is distorted or dulled. Thoughts?
Following promptings
In the new testament, there were men and women (disciples) who walked with and followed the Savior. After teaching the people about his divine mission as the Son of God, the bread of life, we read:
"Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? . . .[and] from that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him." --John 6:60, 65.
Whenever I read this story I am somewhat surprised. It is easy to think, if I saw the miracles myself or could just see Jesus in person, I would NEVER doubt. And yet, they stood in the company of the living Christ and still chose to go their own way. Why would this happen? Why do we sometimes struggle to follow Him, to keep his commandments or to follow the promptings of the spirit?
I think the answer is in verse 60 above..."This is an hard saying." Or in other words, what you are asking us to accept and do is hard. It is counter to everything the world is telling me. It does not mesh well with my plans for my self. It is hard. What else could this mean? Here's a few things I thought hard could mean for us:
A few people in the scriptures realized this and learned to follow promptings with faith. Alma, after being rejected by the people of Ammonihah (where he had been called to preach the gospel) moved on to another city, hoping to find a more welcoming brood. As he left, the lord called him back. He did not murmur or complain (at least that we have record of). He did not question the Lord or remind the Lord "I was just in Ammonihah and they were not interested." The scriptures tell us he "returned speedily." What happened? The Lord prepared Amulek, a local citizen, to welcome, care for, and join Alma. Together they taught and converted a small group of humble people and were met with success in their labors. Nephi, like Alma, went where the Lord commanded "not knowing beforehand what he should do." He also had the way prepared before him.
The Lord teaches that if we follow him, he will "Go before us" and his "angels will be round about you." Those are precious promises for doing seemingly "hard" things.
The apostles thought about these precious promises, I am sure, when they asked the Lord "What is man that you are mindful of him?" Romans 8:16 gives us the answer: "The spirit itself beareth witness with our spirits, that ye are the children of God." We are his children and he loves us.
Just say YES
On another note, we were talking in Sunday School about yielding to the Lord. I think we have been taught in our day to feel yucky when we hear the word yield, especially in the context of religion. We pay taxes without a thought, do not engage civically, go through years of education in a broken system and yet we cannot quite accept the idea of yielding to a Divine, perfect being.
We can define the word yield in a few ways:
1. To give way to, surrender, or submit
2. To produce or provide; bear or bring forth
In terms of these definitions, we too often look at yielding only in relation to definition one and only in a negative context. To yield, we think, means to follow blindly or give up our will and wants without thought.
I think an analogy can help us change the way we think about yielding to the Lord. In Utah there are many intersections without traffic lights or stop signs; however, in those settings, one direction of traffic always has signs posted recommending that we yield to the traffic that travels perpendicular to our path. What do you do when you approach these intersections and why? Typically a few things happen for me: (1) I look for and see the signs, (2) I slow down, (3) I look both directions for oncoming traffic, and (4) I yield to drivers who have the right of way. Why do I do this? I do this in order to keep myself and my family safe. I could say, screw that, plow through without a glance and end up in an emergency room or mourning over the tragic loss of a loved one...but I would rather yield!
When we yield to the Lord we are seeing the warning signs he lovingly places in our lives, we are deliberately and wisely slowing things down (to get out of the harried pace of the world and ponder), we are looking out for those who have the right of way (or the right way), and we are choosing to yield to or give way to those with that right. When we give way to the Lord we will be safe. If we choose to follow his path, we will always have the right of way (the right way). When you come to a cross roads in your life, see the signs, slow down, look, and yield to the Lord. Once you get on the path, keep yielding...bear one anothers burdens, bring forth good fruit (service, further education, family development), and lead the way for others to yield and get on the path.
Additionally, in our Sunday school class we talked about how we yield. One of the things that came up was the idea of preparing now for future decisions and being able to "Just say NO." I have worked with adolescents in mental health for the last 5 years. When you just say NO to a child you are teaching them to say NO and usually putting a bad taste in their mouth. I think we should move away from the just say NO model (although their a lot of decision scenarios where this is the appropriate response) and "Just say YES." Say yes when you receive a prompting to help your neighbor. Say yes when your relief society president calls you with an assignment. Say yes when a friend asks you to tell him more about the gospel. We live in a world where it is no longer enough to just say NO. So say YES.
Change your disposition
When we yield to the enticings of the holy spirit and just say yes, a wonderful thing happens; our disposition begins to change. Our disposition reflects our natural inclination and desires. By definition, it is our "usual attitude or mood" or our "our tendency to act or think in a particular way." It does not necessarily reflect our always/absolute behaviors, but it does reflect our "most of the time" behavior. If our disposition is to do good, we will choose to do good most of the time.
When the people of King Benjamin accepted and entered into covenants with Christ, a "mighty change" was wrought in their hearts that they "no longer had a disposition to do evil" and sin became "abhorrent." In other words, when we are obedient, repent, and turn to God it gets easier. Our natural inclination or disposition changes such that our desire and tendency is to do good. My hope is that we will learn to recognize the spirit, do hard things, and let the Lord change us for the better. In my mind, when we yield to the Lord and turn to the Lord we are also turning into the best version of ourselves. Turn away from the world and towards Him and your authentic, best self.
Recognizing the Spirit
During our first Sunday meeting last week, a young man with depression stood at the pulpit and posed this poignant question: How do you learn to trust and recognize the spirit when you cannot trust your own feelings or often do not feel anything at all? I put it to you.
He made reference to Elder Boyd K. Packer's talk "The Witness" and added an additional question. How do we hear the the still small voice of the spirit over the competing voices of the world? Especially when those often negative, depressed, or anxiety ridden voices seem to originate in our own mind or create a deafening silence?
I do not have specific answers to share to these questions at the moment. But it caused me to think--it is hard enough trying to identify and follow the voice of the spirit as it is--how would I help someone or myself in times of anxiety, grief, or depression when the ability to feel is distorted or dulled. Thoughts?
Following promptings
In the new testament, there were men and women (disciples) who walked with and followed the Savior. After teaching the people about his divine mission as the Son of God, the bread of life, we read:
"Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? . . .[and] from that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him." --John 6:60, 65.
Whenever I read this story I am somewhat surprised. It is easy to think, if I saw the miracles myself or could just see Jesus in person, I would NEVER doubt. And yet, they stood in the company of the living Christ and still chose to go their own way. Why would this happen? Why do we sometimes struggle to follow Him, to keep his commandments or to follow the promptings of the spirit?
I think the answer is in verse 60 above..."This is an hard saying." Or in other words, what you are asking us to accept and do is hard. It is counter to everything the world is telling me. It does not mesh well with my plans for my self. It is hard. What else could this mean? Here's a few things I thought hard could mean for us:
- Uncomfortable or scary
- Inconvenient
- Hard to Understand, Incomprehensible with our current knowledge
- Contrary to our current path or to what is popular
- Difficult to accomplish due to lack of time or ability
A few people in the scriptures realized this and learned to follow promptings with faith. Alma, after being rejected by the people of Ammonihah (where he had been called to preach the gospel) moved on to another city, hoping to find a more welcoming brood. As he left, the lord called him back. He did not murmur or complain (at least that we have record of). He did not question the Lord or remind the Lord "I was just in Ammonihah and they were not interested." The scriptures tell us he "returned speedily." What happened? The Lord prepared Amulek, a local citizen, to welcome, care for, and join Alma. Together they taught and converted a small group of humble people and were met with success in their labors. Nephi, like Alma, went where the Lord commanded "not knowing beforehand what he should do." He also had the way prepared before him.
The Lord teaches that if we follow him, he will "Go before us" and his "angels will be round about you." Those are precious promises for doing seemingly "hard" things.
The apostles thought about these precious promises, I am sure, when they asked the Lord "What is man that you are mindful of him?" Romans 8:16 gives us the answer: "The spirit itself beareth witness with our spirits, that ye are the children of God." We are his children and he loves us.
Just say YES
On another note, we were talking in Sunday School about yielding to the Lord. I think we have been taught in our day to feel yucky when we hear the word yield, especially in the context of religion. We pay taxes without a thought, do not engage civically, go through years of education in a broken system and yet we cannot quite accept the idea of yielding to a Divine, perfect being.
We can define the word yield in a few ways:
1. To give way to, surrender, or submit
2. To produce or provide; bear or bring forth
In terms of these definitions, we too often look at yielding only in relation to definition one and only in a negative context. To yield, we think, means to follow blindly or give up our will and wants without thought.
I think an analogy can help us change the way we think about yielding to the Lord. In Utah there are many intersections without traffic lights or stop signs; however, in those settings, one direction of traffic always has signs posted recommending that we yield to the traffic that travels perpendicular to our path. What do you do when you approach these intersections and why? Typically a few things happen for me: (1) I look for and see the signs, (2) I slow down, (3) I look both directions for oncoming traffic, and (4) I yield to drivers who have the right of way. Why do I do this? I do this in order to keep myself and my family safe. I could say, screw that, plow through without a glance and end up in an emergency room or mourning over the tragic loss of a loved one...but I would rather yield!
When we yield to the Lord we are seeing the warning signs he lovingly places in our lives, we are deliberately and wisely slowing things down (to get out of the harried pace of the world and ponder), we are looking out for those who have the right of way (or the right way), and we are choosing to yield to or give way to those with that right. When we give way to the Lord we will be safe. If we choose to follow his path, we will always have the right of way (the right way). When you come to a cross roads in your life, see the signs, slow down, look, and yield to the Lord. Once you get on the path, keep yielding...bear one anothers burdens, bring forth good fruit (service, further education, family development), and lead the way for others to yield and get on the path.
Additionally, in our Sunday school class we talked about how we yield. One of the things that came up was the idea of preparing now for future decisions and being able to "Just say NO." I have worked with adolescents in mental health for the last 5 years. When you just say NO to a child you are teaching them to say NO and usually putting a bad taste in their mouth. I think we should move away from the just say NO model (although their a lot of decision scenarios where this is the appropriate response) and "Just say YES." Say yes when you receive a prompting to help your neighbor. Say yes when your relief society president calls you with an assignment. Say yes when a friend asks you to tell him more about the gospel. We live in a world where it is no longer enough to just say NO. So say YES.
Change your disposition
When we yield to the enticings of the holy spirit and just say yes, a wonderful thing happens; our disposition begins to change. Our disposition reflects our natural inclination and desires. By definition, it is our "usual attitude or mood" or our "our tendency to act or think in a particular way." It does not necessarily reflect our always/absolute behaviors, but it does reflect our "most of the time" behavior. If our disposition is to do good, we will choose to do good most of the time.
When the people of King Benjamin accepted and entered into covenants with Christ, a "mighty change" was wrought in their hearts that they "no longer had a disposition to do evil" and sin became "abhorrent." In other words, when we are obedient, repent, and turn to God it gets easier. Our natural inclination or disposition changes such that our desire and tendency is to do good. My hope is that we will learn to recognize the spirit, do hard things, and let the Lord change us for the better. In my mind, when we yield to the Lord and turn to the Lord we are also turning into the best version of ourselves. Turn away from the world and towards Him and your authentic, best self.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
The Move: Part 2
Our drive over was the northern route. Garrett served his
mission in colorado and Wyoming. We had the opportunity to stop in Laramie and
visit some old mission friends. One family was kind and let us stay with them
at their vacation house in a neat area called Vedauwoo (veedavoo). We had a fun
time clambering about the clay-like mountain piles, and then enjoyed a
fantastic dinner of steak and potatoes. I'm not normally a steak and potatoes
person, but this was delicious!
We had chocolate time in the car, hahahahaha....
I get excited about chocolate. And annoyed with Slow drivers.
Old cathedral in Laramie.
I was surprised the Wyoming was so pretty. It's definitely unique with the miles and miles of grass, but the skies were wide open and gorgeous.
Vedauwoo!
The rock formations look like a giant dropped goopy piles of clay all over the place.
Day two was a longer drive into Missouri. While traveling
through Nebraska we noticed several large semi-trucks on their sides, off the
road. We weren't sure what had happened (apparently the incident was old), but
it is rather alarming to see large vehicles in such a state. Areas with the
worst drivers: Lincoln Nebraska, Atlanta Georgia, and Kentucky. If you want to
go five miles under the speed limit, move to the right people! I've also never
seen so much corn in my life. The whole way from Nebraska through part of South
Carolina had fields and fields and fields of corn. Our goal was to hit up some church history
sites, so we chose a newly renovated Super 8 in Cameron, MO. The next morning
we hit up Adam-Ondi-Ahman. We were the only people there and it was lovely and
quiet.
We also decided to see Haun's Mill, about thirty minutes of driving from Adam-Ondi-Ahman. We expected a more pronounced tourist site, but we turned onto a gravel lane, which progressively grew narrower as it wound further into the fields. Our consternation grew as the ruts grew larger and pools of water began to appear in the tracks. While our little "Dory" a blue Honda Fit, is a trouper, we decided that pushing her out of the mud would not be conducive to a good sigh-seeing expedition. When we were about .75 miles out from our destination, we decided to park the car and hoof it the rest of the way. Mud-hopping down the cornfield, we eventually reached a large cleared field near a river. Garrett, scouting around, discovered a small plaque that discussed the massacre. A small marker also stood where the mill had been. We were surprised at the simplicity of the area; not a single building still stood. It was hard to picture the chaos that would have occurred, standing in the peaceful sunny fields, with butterflies and birds.
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