Thought

Certain Women

January 19, 2025 Melodies of Light1 Comment

Happy Sabbath, all!

This week has been full of so many thoughts! One of my favorite has been about “Certain Women.” There is a General Conference talk by Sister Burton that talks about regular, ordinary women in the bible who were witnesses of our Savior’s ministry. Here’s a large excerpt from her talk:

“The New Testament includes accounts of [certain] women, named and unnamed, who exercised faith in Jesus Christ [and in His Atonement], learned and lived His teachings, and testified of His ministry, miracles, and majesty. These women became exemplary disciples and important witnesses in the work of salvation.”

Consider these accounts in the book of Luke. First, during the Savior’s ministry:

“And it came to pass … that [Jesus] went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him,

“And certain women, … Mary called Magdalene, … and Joanna … , and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him.”

Next, following His Resurrection:

“And certain women … which were early at the sepulchre;

“… When they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had … seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.”

I have read and passed over the seemingly unremarkable expression “certain women” numerous times before, but recently as I pondered more carefully, those words seemed to jump off the page. Consider these synonyms of one meaning of the word certain as connected to faithful, certain women: “convinced,” “positive,” “confident,” “firm,” “definite,” “assured,” and “dependable.”

As I pondered those powerful descriptors, I remembered two of those New Testament certain women who bore positive, confident, firm, assured testimonies of the Savior. Though they, like us, were imperfect women, their witness is inspiring.

Remember the unnamed woman at the well who invited others to come and see what she had learned of the Savior? She bore her certain witness in the form of a question: “Is not this the Christ?” Her testimony and invitation were so compelling that “many … believed on him.”

Following the death of her brother, Lazarus, Martha, the beloved disciple and friend of the Lord, declared with what must have been great emotion, “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.” Consider her certainty as she continued, “But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.” She further testified, “I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.”

We learn from these sisters that certain women are disciples centered in the Savior Jesus Christ and have hope through the promise of His atoning sacrifice.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2017/04/certain-women?lang=eng

I am in charge of planning the music for Stake Women’s Conference coming up we have been thinking about including this song as part of the program:

Beautiful, right? As I thought about who would be the best individual or group to sing this piece, the thought occurred to me that we could do a type of flash-mob musical number…picture this:

Many lines of the song could be sung by individual women who stand up where they are, sing a line, handoff the microphone, and then walk to the front. Some of the lines (like” I am certain that he lives”) could be sung all together. As women throughout the room stand and sing one by one, and the group in front testifying grows, it will help us all see ourselves as those “certain women”- who are imperfect, yet capable of carrying out a great work. We are the certain women of our time!

There are times that this responsibility to be in charge of the music has felt stressful or overwhelming. Today my heart is full of joy thinking about orchestrating such an experience for the women of our area, and how fun it could be to gather with other women to prepare and enjoy spending time together.

Love,

Laura

Uncategorized

Raccoons and Cotton Candy

September 30, 2024 Melodies of LightLeave a comment

This has been a wonderful weekend. It was Stake Conference weekend for us, so we had church meetings (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) gathering congregations from barely over the Canadian border to close to Spokane. There was one meeting last night and one this morning, both 2 hours long. I came away feeling that my soul had been nourished.

After those meetings (and a nap!) was a baptism. The girl who was baptised, Agnes, is in my primary class during the second part of church each week. More than that, our families have known each other for more than a decade and I’ve watched her grow up from being a newborn. She and I had a sweet connection when she was little- rocking her to sleep healed a part of me that I didn’t know needed healing. But that story is for another day.

One of the speakers at the baptism talked about this silly youtube video where a raccoon picks up a piece of cotton candy. Since Raccoons wash their food before eating, this raccoon washed the cotton candy and then looks perplexed because it has completely dissolved. He tries again, only to have the same thing happen!

Here is the video:

She then talked about how we can be washed clean from those sticky things in our lives because Jesus Christ in essence “dissolves” them when we repent. They are gone- and we can move forward. Isn’t that clever?!

That talk also reminded me of a line of a hymn that stood out to me last night in our church meeting. The hymn is “It is Well.” There is a verse that talks about what happens to our sins when we come to Christ: They’re “nailed to the cross and I bear them no more…” What a moving visual that is. I have thought about it in terms of sin, but today I felt differently about it as I contemplated other burdens I carry. They, too, are “nailed to the cross and I bear them no more” as I come to Christ.

I don’t think that means that we have to feel guilty if we carry a burden. The juxtaposition here is that sometimes we are called to carry a burden for a little while, and that’s part of our growing process- it’s part of what we came here to experience so we could grow and change. No matter how faith-filled we are. And even when we recognize that its time to move forward, letting our burden go and giving it to our Savior is a process- especially for big, challenging experiences in our lives. That’s all okay. It’s okay that it takes time to figure it out. We have a very patient Savior.

But I think there are times where tough experiences in our rearview mirror don’t need to burden us so much, and make it harder to move forward. For these situations, I think the hymn is so moving- for burdens of all sizes, shapes, and seriousness- “they are nailed to the cross and I bear them no more.” So much hope in one phrase.

Love,

Laura

Thought

Light the World!

December 10, 2018December 10, 2018 Melodies of LightLeave a comment

meme-bednar-light-1629580-mobile

Last night as Jon and I were chatting before bed, we realized that we’re already done with all the Christmas parties for this season (besides the actual Christmas Eve and Christmas festivities!). The work part was Saturday, the church party (we are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) was Friday, almost all of the Christmas concerts are done…It’s been a busy 10 days of December already! Now that those things are checked off the list, I want to turn my focus toward lighting the world- basically choosing to do what Jesus Christ would do if he were here. What a wonderful way to celebrate his life. Do you know what a big difference you can make?! This website has details that will help guide our family as we reach out through the Christmas season. I invite you to join us as we focus our celebrations on the Light of the World- Jesus Christ!

https://www.mormon.org/christmas/light-the-world

Love,

Laura

Quote

Re-oriented

November 19, 2018November 19, 2018 Melodies of Light1 Comment

A few years ago I went down to a Women’s Conference at Brigham Young University. I brought back a photo with me that was a reminder of the things that I learned. I can’t attach it here for copyright reasons, but you can go see it (and get a copy of your own if you love it as much as I do!) if you click on this link:

https://deseretbook.com/p/humility-3×4-print-simon-dewey-15276?ref=Grid%20%7C%20Simon%20Dewey%20%7C%20Taxon%3A%203301-81&variant_id=92818-3×4-print

I look back on that conference as having a personal theme for me (though it had very little to do with the speakers’ topics and everything about what I was learning through the Holy Ghost). This was it: “Let Him help you.” To me, that gorgeous photo represented that message. I was trying to do too much on my own, and it was stressing me out. I knew that they way to more peace was relying more on my Savior.

This weekend, I heard a quote at church that goes right along with that idea. The speaker quoted this article, which you can read if you’d like the full story:

https://www.lds.org/ensign/1984/10/i-have-a-question/can-you-help-me-see-the-significance-of-the-account-of-peter-walking-on-the-water?lang=eng

I’m just going to quote my favorite two paragraphs. For those of you who are not familiar with the biblical story of Peter walking on the water toward Jesus Christ, here’s a link to the verses that tell that story: Matthew 14:22-33

https://www.lds.org/scriptures/nt/matt/14.32-33?lang=eng#31

“As we learn the gospel and develop our faith, we reach the point where we feel strong enough to leave the boat; we determine to stand free from worldly supports and voluntarily walk by faith through the tempest toward our Savior. Each step for us may be a trial. The waves around us are as real in their way as Peter’s waves were to him. And, like Peter, we may slip! We may feel the awful descent toward destruction and, in confused desperation, consider the safety of the ship.

But wait! Our efforts to meet the trials of our faith—our footsteps over life’s treacherous waters—have somehow re-oriented us, and we reach out for safety, not to the boat, as we would have done in earlier times, but to the outstretched hand of the Savior. Hand grasps hand, and we are pulled to the Master of wind and water. No more is he seen vaguely through the storm; no more is his voice indistinct in the roar of the gale. Now we are home; now the trial is over.

And Jesus calms the storm.”

What a neat idea that in earlier times, our instinct would be to reach for the boat- to go back to what we perceive as “safe territory” and definitely less risky- at least less risky for the moment. And yet through our experiences of walking by faith, we begin to instinctively reach for the Savior, knowing in a new way that real, lasting safety from the storm is only found by reaching toward the Savior. Have a wonderful day, friends!