The power to heal.

Today was the Sabbath day.

I hope you all enjoyed it, wherever you are and whatever the day brought you.

I taught a little about the priesthood today.  I teach the five and six year olds in Primary.

It seems that the topic of priesthood has been all around me recently.  Not just in Primary, but in drafting posts on recent Institute lessons, as well as conversation in the home and thoughts in my mind.

It really is hard to comprehend the power of the priesthood.  It is some intangible force, a massive power, by which everything (like you and me!) was created.  When God said "let their be light", it was through His priesthood power that that was done.  When Jesus healed the sick, it was through His priesthood power that that was done.

How wonderous.


Today in Primary we discussed being healed by the power of the priesthood.

At first we looked at some random first aid items you may have lying around your home.  I don't have a first aid kit (eek!) and I had to go rummaging around our packed boxes for anything relating to sickness or injury.  I gave them clues as to what I had in my bag, and they were pretty quick to guess.  We looked at the items one by one - the medicine, the bandage/wipe, the cream.  Yeah, that's all I could find.  I guess we don't even have band-aids.  We briefly talked about how these things can help people feel better.

Everybody gets sick now and then.  Sometimes we get hurt or injured.  The first aid kit can come in handy, but we usually need someone - parents, doctor, etc - to help us heal.  I then mentioned that there is another way we can be healed when sick.
When Jesus Christ was on the earth, He blessed many sick people.  He used the power of the priesthood to heal.

We looked at an example.  In almost all the four gospels in the New Testament, a story is recorded of faithful Jarius, who knew the Saviour could heal his daughter.  This is a story worth noting, because the daughter wasn't just ill.  She was believed dead.  People laughed at Jarius for thinking she was able to be healed, and they thought the Saviour shouldn't waste His time with the scenario.

But Jarius had great faith.  Which was key.  He truly believed that Jesus Christ could bless and heal his possibly dead daughter.  And that is what happened.  The Saviour, after shooing all the laughing people out, took the young girl's hand, and commanded her to arise.

Jarius' faith + Jesus' priesthood enabled the healing.

We then spoke about how it would have felt to be healed personally by Jesus, and that this is what still happens today.  It turned out that each of the kids in class had a father that held the priesthood.  One also had a brother that passes the sacrament each week.  We talked about the priesthood in the home, and their own experiences with it.  Because each of us can be healed just as if Jesus himself were here.

I also showed the class my husband's small bottle of consecrated oil.  It's oil that has been blessed for the specific purpose of blessing sick people.  We call it administering to the sick, being administered to.  Turns out the kids knew what it was ("Hey, my Dad has one like this!") and that was fun to pass around, reverently inspecting it one by one.

By the end of the class, with a few games and fun bits thrown in, these kids knew all about using the priesthood for healing people.  They understood that we believe in the gift of healing.

Have any of you been administered to, or blessed by the priesthood?  I'd love to hear about it. 

After church concluded, I was set apart for my two callings.  I had several men, who worthily hold the priesthood, confirm me to my church assignments in Primary and in Institute.  I'm now entitled to legitimate inspiration.
Not sure what I was acting on before ... ;)

Testimony meeting.

This is a topic I have been wanting to write about for a long, long time.  It is a topic close to my heart - what not to do during testimony meeting.

Seriously,  I become an overly anxious soul during testimony meetings.  The potentially-ever-painful monthly thank-timony meeting.  And having these meetings coinciding with Fast Sunday doesn't help either.

We have been instructed what this meeting is for, and how to appropriately speak during it.  We have also been instructed on the importance of brevity and conciseness when bearing testimony.  [1] 
Elder Jensen once told us (and I summarise):  [2]

A testimony is not an exhortation. And it’s not a sermon or a talk. Don’t you be banging your fist and calling me to repentance. That just offends me and the spirit.
A testimony is not an experience. Sure you can share a short experience to illustrate your belief. But don’t be giving me the long-winded version of what you did that week.
A testimony is not an expression of gratitude or love. Are you shocked? Again, it may be appropriate to include some gratitude or love in there, but that is not the point of a testimony or the meeting.
A testimony is not a public confession. Enough said.
A testimony is not a long explanation of how you know, but rather what you know.

And yet, this is what I regularly hear:
1. I'd like to thank that mystery person for delivering cookies to my door when I really needed them.  I like cookies.
2.  I love this ward.  You guys are great.  My last ward wasn't nearly as friendly, but you guys are great.  And I love my family - I don't tell them nearly as often as I should. 
[Elder Bednar once said these comments make him silently squirm in his seat.]
3. I'm so grateful for the birds in my backyard.  They are nice and chirpy, and remind me of the time ...
4. I really like Young Women's.  Yeah, it's way fun.  But I don't like getting up for seminary much.
5. This week I did this, and this; and then this happened; and then my grandson called and this happened; and then I planted a tree, and watched it grow.  I like trees.


I remember being taught by my parents (now translated) that I should get up and say one or all of the following only. 
I now pass this on to you. 
When you share, bare, or even expose** your testimony to others, you should say one or all of the following only:

1. Your belief in God, our Heavenly Father.  You could extend this to your belief in the Godhead - God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.
2. Your belief in Jesus Christ and His atonement for us.
3. Your belief in Joseph Smith being a true prophet of God, and in his role in restoring Christ's church.
4. Your belief in the current-day prophet, leading and guiding Christ's church.
5. Your belief in the Book of Mormon, being scripture alongside the Bible.

Some also teach that a belief in Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon is actually the same, allowing for a belief in the temple as number five on the list.

** I once heard a special someone get up and say:  I don't just want to bare my testimony.  I want to expose myself.  No joke.


These five basic principles should be the foundation of your testimony, and what you say during testimony meeting.  They are the foundation of a testimony.  We should say the things which set us apart from others, the things we believe to be true.  We can expand on other principles of the gospel we know to be true and our appreciation for them, e.g. your knowledge that Heavenly Father loves you and how you appreciate that love;  your knowledge that Jesus Christ lives;  your knowledge that tithing is a principle from God because you exercised it and now understand it.

This parental advice was echoed by Bruce R. McConkie, who wrote the three great truths that must be included in every valid testimony were:
1. That Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Saviour of the world (D&C 46:13);
2. That Joseph Smith is the Prophet of God through whom the gospel was restored in this dispensation; and
3. That The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the ‘only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth.’ (D&C 1:30). [3]


Note:  I understand that testimony grows through experiences.  Our knowledge of what is true will gradually increase as we exercise faith and practice what we know, but the pulpit is not the time and place to elaborate for 5-30 minutes.  We do have other opportunities to share our testimony - usually during Relief Society meetings, Sunday School meetings, etc.  If you don't have those opportunities to share your testimony-building experiences, ask for them.  Or hold a Family Home Evening dedicated to testimonies.


The following are examples of how testimonies should sound like from the pulpit:
1. "I know the Book of Mormon is true."
2. "I believe in God.  I know that President Monson is our prophet today."
3. "I know Jesus Christ died for me.  I understand the atonement more fully from my recent scripture study, and I know it to be true."
4. "I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.  I know he restored the fullness of the gospel, and that the church is the same as it was in the days of Christ.  I also know we are led by a living prophet today, and that we are able to know of these things for ourselves."


Do I need to bring out the Testimony Glove?  (Oooh! It's currently on sale ....)

Want to know what puts me on edge in Sacrament talks? 
Read my post on what not to do when giving a talk in Sacrament meeting.


[1] First Presidency letter, May 2, 2002; see also M. Russell Ballard, “Pure Testimony,” Ensign, Nov. 2004, 40–43
[2] Jay E. Jensen, ‘Bearing Testimony’, Ensign, Oct. 2005
[3] Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. [1966], 785–86

How to not break the Sabbath.

I have just returned from a weekend away with half of my sister-in-laws and some of their cousins.  I have many women floating around in my life now, and so when a crafty-quilting-getaway weekend was proposed, I decided to take the chance of getting to know these women better.  And watch them be all crafty-quilty-like.

Whenever travelling, I like to try my best to keep the Sabbath day holy.  It should always be a reverent day, set apart from the rest, no matter where we are.  I have travelled a lot - both with family and by myself - and I always think the following when compiling my ‘What to Pack’ list:  

• Where will I be on the Sundays I’m away, and is there a chapel close by?
  I always use lds.org to look up and print the meeting times and location details
• What can I take with me (whether physically attend church or not) to keep the Sabbath day holy?

For this particular weekend getaway, knowing that attending church wasn’t an option, I chose to pack my scriptures and study journal.

And so we sat in the sun, next to ducks and running water, and read our scriptures for a while.  I felt happier, knowing that I had still remembered the Sabbath.


I feel it is so important to remember the Sabbath Day.  It needs to be set apart from the rest. 

All of us have a birthday.  It’s a day for us to eat cake.  To be remembered.  It’s your day.  Simply put, that is what the Sabbath day is – it is Heavenly Father’s day, and so on that day we treat it differently to other days of the week.

There’s a story about Eli Herring, an offensive lineman at BYU, in the October 1997 New Era magazine.  Eli was a very big guy - according to John Bytheway, he looked “like a major appliance with legs”.  And everyone was sure he would be picked in the first round in the NFL draft. But as the time approached, Eli announced he didn’t want to enter the draft.  The media didn’t understand that decision at all.  Eli explained to the media it was because the games were on a Sunday, and he didn’t want to play on Sundays.

The media still didn’t get it.

“Now I have to tell you, I know some people personally, professional athletes, that play on Sunday” said Bytheway in this great clip.

“They have made that decision.  They have been prayerful about it, fasted about it I’m sure.  My point is not that some people have to work on Sunday, some do.  My point is what Eli Herring’s father said.  … ‘Our great-grandfathers called it the Holy Sabbath Day; our grandfathers called it Sabbath; our fathers called it Sunday; and now we just call it the weekend.’”

Where is it with me? 
Is it Holy Sabbath, the Sabbath, Sunday, or is it just kinda the weekend?