Come What May

“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:28 KJV). A few months ago I went in for a check-up with my doctor. As a neurologist he ran some tests to analyze my nerve functions.  Then he cheerfully went through his list of what was wrong with me.  Great.  I rolled my eyes and he quickly replied with great reassurance, “It’s not you, it’s your brain. You’re perfect .”  It’s not you, it’s your brain.  You’re perfect?   I don’t know how comforted I felt by his remarks, but it certainly made me rethink my definition of perfect. I believe in a literal God.  I believe He is our literal father, we are His literal children, and He gives us literal commandments. “Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal” (Exodus 20:13-15). I don’t think it’s a metaphor, but it’s not always so black and white.  I’ve been stuck on Matthew 5:28 once or twice before: “Be ye therefore perfect,”...

And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? (Luke 17:12-17) The other night I was working late answering phones and chats on the FamilySearch help line like I do every day.  Things can get pretty busy between school, social activities, and missionary work, so as the day winds down I can tell when it’s time to quit and take a break.  This was just such a time.  I had been answering question after question after question from one of...

(Written for a small group of girls at Girls' camp about staying strong in the mist of adversity. The theme of camp this year?  BOOT camp: Building Our Own Testimonies.) Dear Young Women, My name is Jennie and I am a Lieutenant in the United States Air Force. When I was a Laurel and deciding where to go to college I came up with the bright idea that instead of going to BYU I wanted to go to the United States Air Force Academy.  I’m pretty sure my parents thought I was crazy.  None of my family is military so when I announced that I wanted to go to a military college instead of BYU, everyone was a little surprised.  However, it turns out, that I didn’t come up with the idea to go the Air Force Academy all on my own.  It wasn’t until I received my acceptance letter that I realized the Spirit had been prompting me.  My first year at the Air Force Academy was tough.  I went through boot camp for six weeks before beginning my freshman year....

“God knows the desires of your heart” (my sweet friend). On January 30, 2013 I reported to the Provo MTC, as giddy and anxious a missionary as they come.  Officially I was supposed to come home from my mission at the end of July 2014. The health problems of 2013 changed my plans a little, but I am so grateful for the incredible opportunity I had of those seven months serving as a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the south of Chile.  What a wonderful learning experience it was and how much I have grown since that first day at the MTC! This next month was supposed to be the final stretch before my eagerly anticipated arrival home.  I always hear about how the mission just seems to fly by, so I’ve thought a lot about my last 17 months.  I had a good run and spent half a year working hard in Chile.  In July I got sick, in August I came home, in September I had surgery, in October I made new plans, in November I g...

“God is not the God of superheroes, nor of people without weakness—such beings do not exist…He helps people like you and me, those who recognize their limits and their weaknesses and seek His help…” (Bishop Gérald Caussé). The other day I clocked in for my FamilySearch service hours, said a prayer, got organized, answered the phone, and had a long conversation with a very grumpy person.  I’ll be honest, it wasn’t my pleasantest hour.  When I answer the help line I never know who is going to be on the other end—old, young, impatient, skilled, ignorant, cheerful, frustrated—there’s all kinds.  I am sometimes disappointed by the unkind criticisms that come primarily from members of my own faith.  I am well aware that just because we know how we should act doesn’t mean we always do, but for some reason listening to this man was particularly disappointing for me.  I was neither personally attacked, nor personally offended, but I was affected by this man’s cloud ...

"Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come" (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland).  I am so grateful for my mom—and my dad and my siblings and lots of other wonderful people; but for right now I’ll just focus on Mom because today is Mother’s day, which means we have all probably spent a little extra time thinking about our mothers!  Personally, I try to express appreciation and love to my parents more than once a year, but it is nice to have special holidays like these for some additional celebration.  Thank goodness for all of the dutiful, loving, and perhaps a little imperfect mothers that have blessed and impacted so many lives.  But not everyone gets to have their mom on Mother’s Day.  Some moms have been swept into heaven; some moms have chosen to leave their families; some moms are on their own struggling to make ends meet; some are still waiting for the opportu...

“For behold, are we all not all beggars?” (Mosiah 4:19). It has always been easier for me to offer service than it has been for me to receive it.  I don’t mean to say that I always serve whenever I can as cheerfully as I can without fail because that certainly isn’t true; I also don’t mean I am too proud to accept someone’s kindness because that isn’t true either!  I simply find that I would rather be in a position to give service than to receive it.  It is quite different to care for the needy than to be the needy. In high school I volunteered every Sunday at a local nursing home to play the piano.  Many of the residents suffered from various degrees of dementia.  I found myself among a very sweet collection of broken bodies and broken minds, though I sometimes failed to appreciate the fact. One afternoon I walked in to see an old, crippled man staring off into the distance while his son kissed him goodbye.  He didn’t move, he didn’t speak, he ju...