tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-428835132884517352024-03-13T19:53:32.324-07:00The Posts of My House"And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt... talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up... <b>And thou shalt write them on the posts of thy house</b>, and on thy gates."<br>Deuteronomy 6:6-9Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07570196379762814760noreply@blogger.comBlogger187125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42883513288451735.post-13224550864759047222018-04-15T15:09:00.003-07:002018-04-15T15:09:49.059-07:00Moving over to Exponent III've been pretty quiet here lately because I've been busy with work. I've just been invited to be a permablogger at <a href="http://www.the-exponent.com/">Exponent II</a>, so I anticipate that things will continue to be pretty quiet around here. I'm not shutting this blog down, but most of my religious blogging will be over at Exponent II from now on. I may post here from time to time if I have a topic I want to write about that's not a good fit over there.<br />
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Thanks to all of my readers over the years. I hope you'll come on over and see what my co-bloggers have to say!Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07570196379762814760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42883513288451735.post-2048204655522703112017-07-26T17:40:00.000-07:002017-07-26T17:41:30.245-07:00God's Inconvenient CallI wrote a <a href="http://www.the-exponent.com/guest-post-gods-inconvenient-call/">guest post at The Exponent</a> a few weeks ago about my new volunteer opportunity as a chaplain at the local jail. I hadn't gotten around to posting it here, so here it is. (Since the time I wrote it, I've been several more times, but I'm leaving it as-is.) If you want to comment, please comment over at The Exponent.<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Four years ago, I was living in the SF Bay Area, and I was volunteering as a chaplain at San Quentin Prison. It was a meaningful experience for me, and I felt, for possibly the first time in my life, that I was finally living up to the call to the ministry that I’ve felt my whole life but was unable to fully answer in the context in which the church is currently set up.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A year later, life happened, and I had to move. I ended up in a new city, in a new state, where I didn’t know anyone. It took me months to find a job, and I was really struggling - financially, socially, emotionally, and even spiritually. I was, to be honest, really miserable.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I remembered the last time I was happy, and it was when I was involved in ministry. I considered getting involved in my new city, but I was so wrung out that I couldn’t muster up the wherewithal to do anything about it. It was all I could do to get up and go to work every day. Eventually, I moved across town, which shortened my commute and put me in a situation where I had friends, which improved my social, emotional, and spiritual well-being.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Now that I had gotten my own act together, God started nudging me to get back into ministry. I was working two jobs at the time, just barely making ends meet. I decided to ignore the call, figuring that I had too much on my plate. I made a deal with God that as soon as I was in a financial position to quit my second job, I would revisit the issue.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">God backed off for a bit but every now and then would remind me of what I needed to be doing. I kept saying that as soon as I didn’t have to work two jobs, I would do it. This went on for almost two years.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Then back in March, I was studying the scriptures. I came across the following passage:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“So whoever knows what is good to do and does not do it is guilty of sin.” [1]</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Spirit pricked my heart. Then I asked myself what to do about it. I knew how to repent of things I had done, but I didn’t know how to repent of not doing things I hadn’t done. Within the next few weeks, on two separate occasions, someone in a church talk (one in a broadcast, one in my ward) mentioned volunteering in a jail or prison setting.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A week or so later, I ran into a friend at a party who I knew was volunteering as a chaplain at the jail. I asked him how he got involved, and he gave me the phone number of the branch president for the jail branch. I called the branch president a few days later to talk about it.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">At first, the branch president wasn’t sure he could use my services, but he called back a few days later and said that due to some staffing issues he hadn’t been aware of when we first spoke, he did need me. We got the ball rolling on getting me cleared to enter the jails. The process took months. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I still wasn’t sure how I was going to fit it all in; I was still working two jobs. Then, in mid-June, I had a few changes at work where I could quit my second job. (I should add, I’ve been wanting to quit my second job for a long time, completely unrelated to this.) The day after I gave my two weeks’ notice at my second job, my background check cleared.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I’ve been to the jail to minister to inmates once now. There are definitely some differences between jail ministry and prison ministry, [2] but I’m finding it a meaningful experience once again. It was extremely inconvenient to answer this call. On paper, it didn’t work, but I can’t deny that it came directly from God, and God provided a way for me to answer the call, even if it took me two years to do it. I’m looking forward to seeing what becomes of this opportunity.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">[1] James 4:17 (New English Translation)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">[2] Those differences are outside the scope of this post, but once I’ve settled in a bit more, I may write about them.</span></div>
Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07570196379762814760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42883513288451735.post-45168830587658370352017-05-21T16:17:00.001-07:002017-05-21T21:28:55.619-07:00Where the Streets Have No Name<blockquote class="tr_bq">
And it came to pass that there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people. ...neither were there Lamanites, nor any manner of -ites; but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God.<br />
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4 Nephi 1:15, 17</div>
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I'm always interested in seeing how religious themes are represented in art, especially in art that isn't explicitly spiritual. Yesterday, I went on a road trip to Joshua Tree National Park, and my traveling companion and I decided that the perfect soundtrack to our trip was U2's album The Joshua Tree.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Yucca brevifolia</i> in Joshua Tree National Park </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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The album starts out with "Where the Streets Have No Name". When I got home, I was curious what the song was about, so I looked it up. It's apparently a reference to the social divide in Belfast that was prevalent at the time. Upon meeting someone new, people would ask what street they lived on. The city was so segregated that, just by finding out what street someone lived on, you could tell immediately someone's religion and socioeconomic status. Bono envisioned a better world - one where those divisions didn't exist, i.e. where the streets have no name. Basically, it's a song about Zion - a place of unity where the pure in heart dwell.<br />
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Where the Streets Have No Name - U2 - 1987 - The Joshua Tree</div>
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That got me thinking about what our "streets" are these days. What divides us as a church and a society?<br />
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In the LDS context today, a few things come to mind. People are divided by whether or not they served a mission (and if they served, whether they served in the US or outside the US), whether or not they're married, how many kids they have, whether or not their kids have checked off societally prescribed boxes, whether a woman is employed, etc.<br />
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Let's work to create a society where our "streets" have no name.<br />
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And, just as a bonus, here's a picture from the trip I took to Belfast back in January.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peace walls were erected throughout Belfast during The Troubles to separate Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods. The violence has stopped, but the streets still have names.</td></tr>
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Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07570196379762814760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42883513288451735.post-83058005035141287692017-03-03T20:21:00.000-07:002017-03-03T20:21:57.949-07:00Hymns I wish were in our hymnalFirst off, my deepest apologies for dropping off the face of the planet for a year. I won't bore you with the details, but suffice it to say, 2016 was a pretty terrible year for me, and I was so busy keeping myself afloat that there wasn't really time for blogging. I'm back on my feet, so here I am.<br />
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Without further ado...<br />
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I love music. I've always said that I have three dream callings in the church - gospel doctrine teacher, seminary teacher, and ward music chair. A little over a year ago, I got called as ward music chair, so only two more dream callings to go. :-)<br />
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I used to collect hymnals. (I've lost most of them over the years, sadly.) There are so many really wonderful hymns that aren't in our LDS hymnal. For a while on Facebook, I had a Sunday feature where I would highlight some of them for my friends so they could see what's out there. I haven't done it in a few years. However, I still have a love of hymns.<br />
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Here are a few of my favorites that aren't in our hymnal.<br />
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1. Love Divine, All Loves Excelling<br />
This is probably my very favorite hymn of all time. The music is beautiful, and the words are comforting and uplifting. It's a well-known hymn tune called <i>Hyfrydol</i>. You'll probably recognize it as the tune that "In Humility, Our Savior" is set to.<br />
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2. When I Survey the Wondrous Cross<br />
I was first introduced to this hymn in the MTC when I joined the choir and we sang it for some occasion or other. (Fireside? Sacrament meeting? I don't remember.) It resonated with me instantly. The sacrament hymn selection in our hymnal is kind of small, and this would be a lovely addition.<br />
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3. Shall We Gather at the River?<br />
I first heard this hymn when I was rehearsing for a choir tour the summer between high school and college. In addition to the music we were traveling to debut, we practiced this one so that we could use it at another occasion on the trip. The other occasion fell through, so we never got to perform the song, but it stuck with me anyway. I love the hope that the song conveys. "Soon we'll reach the shining river. Soon our pilgrimage will cease."<br />
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4. Holy, Holy, Holy<br />
This one will probably never make it into a LDS hymnal because of the line "blessed Trinity" (even though the Book of Mormon is explicitly Trinitarian, though that's a subject for another day), but I love it because it brings out the wonder and majesty of God so beautifully. For what it's worth, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir performed a version that used the words "blessed Deity" instead.<br />
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5. I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say<br />
You'll recognize this as the tune to "If You Could Hie to Kolob" (or if you're into Irish folk music and speed the song up to about double speed, "Star of the County Down"). I love the music, and this one has lyrics that are a little more traditionally Christian.<br />
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Honorable Mention: Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing<br />
No mention of hymns not in the current LDS hymnal would be complete without this one. It's lovely and grace-filled. I hope it gets put back in the next version of the hymnal.<br />
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<br />Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07570196379762814760noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42883513288451735.post-55086356986845739432016-02-05T19:23:00.001-07:002016-02-05T19:24:06.091-07:00The Gluten-free Bread of LifeMy new calling at church has me sitting on the stand a few times per month, so I get to observe things from a different vantage point. Last Sunday, a few minutes before sacrament meeting started, a woman brought a baggie with a piece of corn tortilla up to the priests at the sacrament table. She said that she was gluten free and needed an alternative way to take the sacrament. One of the priests placed the tortilla in a paper cup so that it wouldn't be contaminated by the bread and then put it on a sacrament tray.<br />
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I found this whole exchange very moving. It was beautiful to see an accommodation made so that a fellow saint can participate in worshiping with us without doing herself harm. The tortilla wasn't labeled as inferior, different, or non-ideal. When the priest blessed the bread, the tortilla was blessed right along with it. Both the bread and the tortilla became equally representative of the body of Christ.<br />
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This got me thinking about spiritual gluten. What things are we doing at church that nourish the majority but harm a few? So often, I hear people say things like "we can't worry about people who don't fit the mold because we have to teach 'the ideal'." That's the spiritual equivalent of telling someone with celiac disease to eat the bread and be happy about it because it's good for 98% of the population. To do this is to spiritually poison some of our fellow saints.<br />
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Sometimes we'll do lip service to different circumstances, but it often comes off as condescending and exclusionary. I'm reminded of how Mother's Day is often handled at church. Women without children are patted on the head and told that we matter, but it's immediately followed up with language like "motherhood is the most important thing you can do with your life." (Subtext: "so what you're doing isn't.") Our spiritual corn tortilla apparently isn't good enough. It's not just those without children who are subjected to language like this. Single adults, parents with children who do not practice the faith, people married to non-members, mothers who are employed, fathers who are stay at home parents, and many other people who won't be featured on the cover of the Ensign experience this to varying degrees.<br />
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How much better, how much more Zion-like, would our church be if, instead of merely tolerating differences, we <b>blessed </b>the spiritual corn tortillas our fellow saints brought to church? What would it be like if we truly believed that God's hand can be found in the lives of all His people, not just those whose lives look like the general authorities.<br />
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It would go something like this: "Brother and Sister Smith, your temple marriage is good and holy, and the ward is here to feed your soul. Sister Jones, your singleness is good and holy, and the ward is here to feed your soul. Brother Johnson, you are doing a wonderful job raising your children alone, and your single parenthood is good and holy. The ward is here to feed your soul. Sister Diaz, your marriage to a non-member is good and holy, and the ward is here to feed your soul."<br />
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Blessing and validating the lives of Sister Jones, Brother Johnson, and Sister Diaz does nothing to take away from the lives of Brother and Sister Smith. They are not harmed by the spiritual corn tortillas that others bring, but denigrating spiritual corn tortillas in the name of conformity - because wheat bread is good enough for most people - unnecessarily separates our fellow saints from fully partaking of the wonder that is the gospel.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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<a class="bookmark-anchor dontHighlight" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="2"></a><span class="verse"></span>For, behold, I say unto you, that it mattereth not what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink when ye partake of the sacrament, if it so be that ye do it with an eye single to my glory—remembering unto the Father my body which was laid down for you, and my blood which was shed for the remission of your sins.</div>
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Doctrine and Covenants 27:2</div>
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When we remember the body of Christ, it doesn't matter whether that body is represented by bread made from wheat or a tortilla made from corn as long as we have an eye single to God's glory when we eat. The church is often called the body of Christ. As long as we have an eye single to God's glory, the circumstances of our lives don't matter. Don't make our spiritually gluten free saints choose between eating something harmful or going away hungry. Our spiritual corn tortillas should be blessed alongside the bread.</div>
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Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07570196379762814760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42883513288451735.post-45453480002691856262015-12-13T14:53:00.000-07:002015-12-13T14:53:10.695-07:00Come, Lord Jesus<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Many followers of western Christianity celebrate Advent
beginning four Sundays before Christmas. It is a time of spiritual preparation
for and anticipation of the coming of Jesus. It’s viewed as a two-fold
celebration, both a commemoration of His first coming millennia ago as a humble
child in a manger and a hopeful awaiting of His future second coming in power
and glory to rule and reign on Earth for a thousand years of peace.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This Advent season has been particularly poignant to me as
I’ve been following the news. It seems that there is a new tragedy every day,
and much of that tragedy is caused by humans, compounded by other humans
heaping upon the tragedy by blaming the victims for their suffering. I’m a fixer
of things by nature, and I find myself feeling helpless because I’m powerless
to fix things that are so fundamentally broken. I find myself longing for Jesus
to come in power, take names, and set things right. </div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
This gives me greater perspective on the outlook of so many
people who lived at the time of Jesus. It is commonly taught among Christians
that many people missed the significance of a baby in a manger and a carpenter
turned traveling preacher because they were looking for a grand deliverer – someone
who was going to come in power, take names, and set things right.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This leads me to consider what portion of Jesus I might be
missing right in front of my nose because I’m looking for something larger and
more dramatic.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jesus said “For where two or three are gathered together in
my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20) In a symbolic, yet
very real, sense, Jesus comes whenever people gather in His name. What does it
mean, then, to gather in the name of Jesus?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The obvious basic answer is church meetings, but I think it
means more than that. I think to gather in the name of Jesus means to work with
others to do the kind of work Jesus did. Jesus fed the hungry, clothed the
naked, cared for the poor, healed the sick, and brought people to God.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If we wait for Jesus to ride in on the clouds to fix everything
that’s wrong in the world, we’re missing an opportunity to mitigate suffering
now. If we join together with other people who are working to alleviate
suffering, Jesus will be in the midst of us, unseen yet still ever present.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We all have different talents, interests, and life
circumstances that will influence what we’re able to do to further the work. We
shouldn’t feel that because we can’t do everything we can’t do anything. Some
people are great at sewing blankets and coats for those who don’t have anything
warm to wear. Others are good at helping the unemployed find jobs. Still others
are able to travel to war-torn or disaster-ravaged locations to provide medical
care and infrastructure. Some people are able to write letters to those who are
housebound and lonely. There’s more than enough suffering to go around, and
wherever you’re able to help, you will be inviting Jesus to join you.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since I moved, I haven’t been as involved in the community
as I was before. It’s something that I need to do better at, and this is a good
time of year to get started. I don’t know when Jesus is coming back in power
and glory, but I do know that until He does, He needs people like you and me to
do His work. Near the beginning of the Lord’s Prayer, we’re taught to pray “thy
kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.” As we do the works
Jesus did, we’ll be doing our part to make God’s kingdom come and to make Earth
a little more heavenly. Our actions will be our Advent prayer, “Come, Lord
Jesus.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07570196379762814760noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42883513288451735.post-45015787198624762702015-11-15T07:35:00.001-07:002015-11-15T07:35:59.854-07:00The Parable of the Bad Shepherd, part 2A shepherd had 99 sheep in his sheep fold. One day, a lamb came to the gate and said to the shepherd, "Your sheep fold is good and true and safe. I want to come in and be a part of your flock."<br />
<br />
The shepherd said, "You cannot. Your parents are black sheep. I am denying you entrance to the fold for your protection. Besides, most lambs with black sheep for parents don't even want in the fold. If you must, you may walk around the outside perimeter of the fold. Someday I might consider letting you in, possibly."<br />
<br />
The lamb sat outside the gate sorrowing. Then a wolf came. The sheep inside the fold were safe and protected. The little lamb left outside was devoured.Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07570196379762814760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42883513288451735.post-64825111822626544332015-11-08T10:24:00.000-07:002015-11-08T10:24:54.880-07:00The Spirit of ProphecyA story in scripture that I really like occurs in Numbers 11. The Israelites were wandering in the desert, and they stopped to camp for a while. Moses took 70 people outside the camp and commissioned them to prophesy. Two people who were still in the camp (and thus who were not among the number commissioned by Moses) had the Spirit fall upon them, and they likewise began to prophesy.<br />
<br />
Joshua approached Moses and told him what was happening, requesting that Moses tell the two people prophesying in the camp to stop. Moses responded, "Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the <span class="smallCaps">Lord</span>’s people were prophets, <span class="clarityWord">and</span> that the <span class="smallCaps">Lord</span> would put his spirit upon them!" (Numbers 11:29)<br />
<br />
Elsewhere in scripture, we are taught that "the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." (Revelation 19:10) What these two verses, taken together, mean is that all Christians should be prophets.<br />
<br />
One major role of the prophets is to tell people about Jesus. So, in that vein, let me tell you about Jesus.<br />
<br />
Jesus is loving and compassionate. He welcomes all to come to Him - every single member of the human family. He invited sinners (which we all are) to His table when the world rejected them <br />
<br />
I echo the words of Nephi who said:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation. <br />
<div class="highlight">
<a class="bookmark-anchor dontHighlight" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="25"></a><span class="verse"></span>Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith: Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price.</div>
<div class="">
<span class="verse"></span>Behold, hath he commanded any that they should depart out of the synagogues, or out of the houses of worship? Behold, I say unto you, Nay.</div>
<div class="">
<span class="verse"></span>Hath he commanded any that they should not partake of his salvation? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but he hath given it free for all men; and he hath commanded his people that they should persuade all men to repentance.</div>
<div class="">
Behold, hath the Lord commanded any that they should not partake of his goodness? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but all men are privileged the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden.</div>
<div class="">
2 Nephi 26:24-28</div>
</blockquote>
<div class="">
Some people have tried to add asterisks to this warm welcome. But Jesus didn't qualify His invitation. He said, "Come unto me <b>all </b>ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28, emphasis added)</div>
<div class="">
<br /></div>
<div class="">
People who cast humble seekers away from the body of the saints are gravely mistaken. People who say that casting those seekers away is the will of Christ are taking the name of God in vain and must repent.</div>
<div class="">
<br /></div>
<div class="">
When we meet our maker, we won't be judged on whether we checked all the boxes on the checklist. We'll be judged on what kind of person we have become. Are we kind, loving, grace-filled people, or are we self-righteous people who follow policies at the expense of people?</div>
<div class="">
<br /></div>
<div class="">
The people Jesus will welcome into His kingdom are those who love Him enough to become like Him - kind, forgiving, merciful, willing to mourn with those who are mourning, willing to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and afflicted. Let us be those people.</div>
<div class="">
</div>
Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07570196379762814760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42883513288451735.post-69580776661621145362015-11-08T09:36:00.002-07:002015-11-08T09:37:20.911-07:00The Sin Next to MurderIt's commonly taught in the church that the "sin next to murder" is having sex outside marriage. This view comes from a misreading of Alma 39.<br />
<br />
However, the sin next to murder isn't non-marital sex. The sin next to murder is using one's power and position to draw people away from God.<br />
<br />
Alma speaks to his son Corianton beginning in chapter 39. He rebukes Corianton sharply, listing his wrongs. Alma's chief complaint against Corianton was that he forsook the ministry. While he was forsaking the ministry, he visited a prostitute, which is what most people latch onto, but from the text, Alma is much more worked up over Corianton setting a bad example and leading people away from the word of God by his behavior.<br />
<br />
<div class="">
Alma goes on to say: "[T]herefore I command you, my son, in the fear of God, that ye refrain from your iniquities;<span class="verse"> </span>That
ye turn to the Lord with all your mind, might, and strength; <b>that ye
lead away the hearts of no more to do wickedly.</b>" (Alma 39:12-13, emphasis added)</div>
<div class="">
<br /></div>
<div class="">
The view that Alma sees leading people away from God as the sin next to murder is further strengthened in his counsel to his son Helaman in chapter 36. In this chapter, Alma recounts the story of his youthful activities with the sons of Mosiah as they went about trying to destroy the church. "Yea, I did remember all my sins and iniquities, for which I was tormented with the pains of hell; yea, I saw that I had rebelled against my God, and that I had not kept his holy commandments. <span class="verse"></span><b>Yea, and I had murdered
many of his children, or rather led them away unto destruction</b>; yea,
and in fine so great had been my iniquities, that the very thought of
coming into the presence of my God did rack my soul with inexpressible
horror." (Alma 36:13-14, emphasis added)</div>
<div class="">
<br /></div>
<div class="">
The Book of Mormon was written as a warning for our day. What we're being warned against in this passage is setting a bad example, and by that bad example, drawing people away from Christ. Anyone who professes to preach the word of God but then by word or action draws people away, either explicitly by pushing them away and telling them they're unwelcome, or implicitly by setting a bad example of what a Christian should be, from the healing power of Christ and the ordinances of the gospel is committing spiritual murder and will have to answer before God for that one day.</div>
<div class="">
<br /></div>
<div class="">
However, all is not lost. Alma, while counseling Corianton, shows the way to right the wrong of drawing people away from Christ. "[R]eturn unto them, and acknowledge your faults and that wrong which ye have done." (Alma 39:13)</div>
<div class="">
</div>
Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07570196379762814760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42883513288451735.post-10296677628367360612015-08-16T08:30:00.000-07:002015-11-08T09:36:59.857-07:00Sacrament Meeting Talk on the Atonement<i>This post is adapted from a talk I gave a few months ago at church. Several people have asked for a copy of the talk, and I'm finally getting around to writing it up. When I do public speaking, I never write my remarks out verbatim. Instead, I write notes of the main points I want to cover and then speak extemporaneously. As a result, instead of the text of my talk, what follows is an essay based on the same notes I used to give the talk. It will be similar but not identical.</i><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
[T]he atonement of Christ is the most basic and fundamental doctrine of the gospel, and it is the least understood of all our revealed truths.</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Bruce R. McConkie, "The Purifying Power of Gethsemane", April 1985 General Conference</blockquote>
<br />
This quote has two main points about the atonement, which I will address separately.<br />
<br />
<b>I. The atonement is the most basic and fundamental doctrine of the gospel.</b><br />
<br />
I would go further and say that the atonement <i>is </i>the gospel. The Apostle Paul describes the gospel in this way:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="">
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;<span class="verse"> </span>By which also ye are saved, ...<span class="verse"> </span>how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;<span class="verse"> </span>And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:</div>
<div class="">
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 </div>
</blockquote>
The most important reason we go to church is to take the sacrament. It's a memorial of the atonement, and everything else we do or hear at church is secondary and should never upstage it. I've been in wards where for weeks at a time, the only time Jesus is mentioned for the entire block of church is when talks and prayers are closed in His name. This should not be. When talks and lessons about secondary matters ignore Jesus and then purport to close in His name, that is the very essence of taking God's name in vain.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>II. The atonement is the least understood of all our revealed truths.</b><br />
<br />
Jesus died for our sins. This is our typical focus, and He did. But there is more.<br />
<br />
There are three main points we need to understand about the atonement:<br />
<ol>
<li>Through the atonement, we are saved by grace.</li>
<li>Through the atonement, Jesus suffered our pains and sorrows.</li>
<li>Through the atonement, the effects of the fall are overcome.</li>
</ol>
<br />
<b>1. Through the atonement, we are saved by grace.</b><br />
<br />
The word "grace" appears 239 times in the standard works, and 28 of those appearances are in the Book of Mormon. We often discount grace at church because we want to differentiate ourselves from a caricature of the beliefs of other churches. However, the scriptures are clear that we are saved by grace.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved.<br />
2 Nephi 10:24</blockquote>
There is a really great story in the book of Exodus that illustrates this point. When the children of Israel were in the desert, they were bitten by poisonous snakes. Many people became sick. Moses held up a serpent on a stick and told the people that they would be healed if they looked. Many people did look and were healed, but some people didn't look because they thought it was too easy and wouldn't work. The people who didn't look died from the snakebites.<br />
<br />
We do that, too. We think that "repent and be forgiven" is too easy, so we make extra rules and conditions that God didn't set. There is a tendency to misinterpret the "after all we can do" descriptor regarding salvation by grace as something works-based - that only after we have exhausted ourselves in trying to be better does grace step in. This is a misunderstanding, however. All we can do is repent. When we do, we are saved by the grace of God.<br />
<br />
[Author's note: At this point in the talk, I shared the parable of the airplane ticket - a story about how I was able to go home for Christmas. In the interest of space, I'm going to make that its own blog post. When I do, I'll link to it here.]<br />
<br />
<b>2. Through the atonement, Jesus suffered our pains and sorrows.</b><br />
<br />
Jesus suffered not just the pains and sorrows of humanity as a whole, but the pains and sorrows of each individual human. He suffered your personal pain and my personal pain. He did this so that He can know perfectly how to lift us up and support us in our sorrows.<br />
<br />
It's a remarkable thing. What can a man who lived in the middle east 2000 years ago and worked as a carpenter know of the life of a 21st century American woman who practices law? Because He felt it all in Gethsemane, He knows. There is an excellent quote by Chieko Okazaki, former counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency that beautifully describes this. It is quite lengthy, but it's too good to excerpt, so I'm going to include the whole thing. It can be found in her book <i>Lighten Up</i>.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
We know that Jesus experienced the totality of mortal
existence in Gethsemane. It’s our faith that he experienced everything-
absolutely everything. Sometimes we don’t think through the
implications of that belief. We talk in great generalities about the
sins of all humankind, about the suffering of the entire human family.
But we don’t experience pain in generalities. We experience it
individually. That means he knows what it felt like when your mother
died of cancer- how it was for your mother, how it still is for you. He
knows what it felt like to lose the student body election. He knows
that moment when the brakes locked and the car started to skid. He
experienced the slave ship sailing from Ghana toward Virginia. He
experienced the gas chambers at Dachau. He experienced Napalm in
Vietnam. He knows about drug addiction and alcoholism. </blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Let me go further. There is nothing you have experienced as a woman that
he does not also know and recognize. On a profound level, he
understands the hunger to hold your baby that sustains you through
pregnancy. He understands both the physical pain of giving birth and the
immense joy. He knows about PMS and cramps and menopause. He
understands about rape and infertility and abortion. His last recorded
words to his disciples were, “And, lo, I am with you always, even unto
the end of the world.” (Matthew 28:20) He understands your mother-pain
when your five-year-old leaves for kindergarten, when a bully picks on
your fifth-grader, when your daughter calls to say that the new baby has
Down syndrome. He knows your mother-rage when a trusted babysitter
sexually abuses your two-year-old, when someone gives your
thirteen-year-old drugs, when someone seduces your seventeen-year-old.
He knows the pain you live with when you come home to a quiet apartment
where the only children are visitors, when you hear that your former
husband and his new wife were sealed in the temple last week, when your
fiftieth wedding anniversary rolls around and your husband has been
dead for two years. He knows all that. He’s been there. He’s been lower
than all that.</blockquote>
[Author's note: When I gave the talk in sacrament meeting, I only used
the first paragraph because I felt the second paragraph was too graphic
to share in a meeting where children were present.] <br />
<br />
<b>3. Through the atonement, the effects of the fall are overcome.</b><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.<br />
1 Corinthians 15:21-22</blockquote>
<br />
There are several effects of the fall, but there are three major ones: death; sin and sorrow; and divisions among humankind. Death is conqured by the resurrection of Christ. Sin and sorrow were discussed previously.<br />
<br />
The atonement undoes divisions among humankind. We like to divide humanity into categories. We categorize by race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sex, etc. However, as Christians, we need to do better.<br />
<br />
One of my favorite verses of scripture is in Galatians 3:26-28.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.</blockquote>
<br />
This doesn't mean that we all need to become cookie-cutter and dress, look, and act alike. We are all parts of the body of Christ, and our differences are necessary to the building of the kingdom. But what it does mean is that we should not be creating divisions or hierarchies based on irrelevant worldly distinctions.<br />
<br />
This can be most clearly seen in the narrative surrounding the Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve lived in the garden, before the fall, there was no distinction between what Adam was to do and what Eve was to do. They were treated the same because they were the same. Then the fall inserted division. The curses placed upon them were just that - conditions of a fallen world, not the true and eternal order of things. Distinctions and hierarchies based on sex or gender are not Godly. They are devilish. Jesus came to set things right and remove those distinctions and hierarchies.<br />
<br />
When we perpetuate these distinctions, we are impeding the atonement. When we claim that those distinctions are the will of God, we take the name of God in vain. As Christians, we should be at the forefront of removing barriers that hold back God's children and squelch their spiritual gifts based on what kind of body they were born into.<br />
<br />
The atonement is a broad topic that takes a lifetime to fully understand, but it is worth the effort to do so. It is the gospel at its most basic. Christ grants the grace that saves us, bears our burdens, and undoes the effects of the fall.Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07570196379762814760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42883513288451735.post-60425463477171266232015-07-01T18:23:00.000-07:002015-07-01T18:26:14.952-07:00Finding God Alone in the DesertFifteen months ago, I moved to Phoenix from the San Francisco Bay Area. I didn't know anyone when I moved, and I didn't have a job. I had a few hundred dollars to my name. It was kind of scary, but desperate times call for desperate measures.<br />
<br />
When I arrived, I settled in to my apartment and began to unpack. The first Sunday I was there was General Conference, so I didn't get a chance to go to my new ward yet.<br />
<br />
The second Sunday, I checked the church website for the location and meeting time of my ward. I showed up at the appointed hour only to find out that I was 45 minutes late because my ward's meeting time had been changed and the site hadn't been updated yet.<br />
<br />
The third Sunday, things started to settle in to the new normal.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
People asked me what brought me to Phoenix. I said cost of living. They asked me what my husband did. I said I wasn't married. They looked at me like I was a space alien. They asked me what I did. I said I was a lawyer. They said "Do you mean legal secretary?" I said, "No. I mean a lawyer."<br />
<br />
The ward members were kind-hearted, but they didn't know what to do with a single woman in her 30s. I got a few invitations to dinner, which I appreciated. I asked the Relief Society President for visiting teachers.<br />
<br />
After a few months, I was at the church one night for a stake single adult activity. There was no midsingles program on my side of town, so I was the youngest one present by several decades. I serendipitously ran into the bishop. I introduced myself. He asked me what ward I was in. I said, "I'm in the [Redacted] Ward." He replied, "Really? I'm the bishop of the [Redacted] Ward. How long have you lived here?" My response: "Three months."<br />
<br />
Mind you, I attended church on a regular basis. We talked for a few minutes. I asked for home teachers and indicated my willingness to serve in a calling.<br />
<br />
I never did get home or visiting teachers, and I was never given a calling. I felt extremely disconnected from the ward, and going to church became very hard for me because I didn't really feel welcome. Plus, there was a lot less talk of Christ in the [Redacted] Ward than was necessary.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://postsofmyhouse.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-parable-of-bad-shepherd.html" target="_blank">Then my friends began to suffer, too.</a> Their suffering combined with the indifference of my ward made it even harder to go to church.<br />
<br />
This turned out to be a blessing.<br />
<br />
I kept going to church, but there was precious little spiritual sustenance to be found there. Instead, I had to find the Bread of Life and the Living Water on my own.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled."<br />
Matthew 5:6</blockquote>
<br />
I hungered and thirsted nigh unto starvation. But then I found God. And I found that I had never really lost Him in the first place. My relationship with the Almighty is independent of the church.<br />
<br />
About four months ago, I moved across town. Now I'm in a new ward in a new stake. My new ward is like a breath of fresh air. I have found Zion again. People talk about Jesus at church. I asked for a calling, home teachers, visiting teachers, and an opportunity to speak in church. So far, I've gotten most of what I asked for and all of what I need. I feel included in my ward, and people notice when I'm not there. Nobody thinks I'm a freak for being single or a sinner for having a job.<br />
<br />
I'm grateful that I have the support of a church community again, but I'll never forget the year where God called me alone into the desert to find Him there.Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07570196379762814760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42883513288451735.post-32959301709562162462014-12-04T07:06:00.001-07:002014-12-04T07:06:35.540-07:00My Mission - 10 Years LaterTen years ago today I returned home from my mission. While I had some great experiences on my mission, and I don’t really regret doing it all that much, it wasn’t the “best year and a half of my life” that it was billed as. They say that missions are hard, but words can’t quite convey exactly how hard, and 19 to 21 year olds aren’t likely to listen anyway. <br /> <br />I joined the church shortly before my 13th birthday, and through my teenage years, I decided that when I was old enough, I was going to serve a mission. I didn’t really know what missionaries did all day, and I was painfully shy, but I figured that if the guys were expected to do it, I shouldn’t be exempted based on something as irrelevant as my chromosomal makeup. <br /><br />People tried to talk me out of it, saying that I should get married instead. I thought that was kind of silly, since by the time I was a legal adult, I wasn’t in a serious relationship. It’s not like I could dial 1-800-Find-a-husband and be wed by the next month. There was a guy I sort of had kind of an on-again-off-again thing going on with, but he was totally supportive of me serving a mission. <br /><a name='more'></a><br />I powered through college in three years so that I could finish before going on a mission. I did this for two reasons. The first is momentum. I was afraid that it would be too hard to go back to school if I took a break. The second is that I didn’t want to wait until finishing 4 years of college to go on a mission. I had absorbed from YSA culture that women had an early expiration date on the marriage market, and I didn’t want to be too old to get married when I got back. (I’m currently 32 and single. I recognize the irony in this.) <br /><br />Because of my hurried rush through college, I feel like I missed out on a lot of things, and if I had it to do over again, I would have taken the full four years and either gone on my mission after college or interrupted college to serve a mission. I could have gotten the double major I was so close to getting, and I could have had more time for social activities. Live and learn. <br /><br />I began working on my mission papers in November 2002. I’m kind of a procrastinator, so I didn’t turn them in until January 2003. I blame Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year’s for that. I had been told that it takes 3-4 weeks to issue a call. By the time March rolled around and I still didn’t have a call, I began to wonder what was going on. <br /><br />I got a phone call from the medical department, and they had a few questions for me before deciding whether or not I would be issued a mission call. This was the first I had heard of the possibility that an individual who was spiritually worthy could be denied a mission call. <br /><br />I had a foot condition that I’ve had three surgeries and numerous other treatments for. Apparently, it’s the most serious case my doctor had ever seen in her career and she had no idea how I was able to walk without pain. (Oddly enough, I always considered the condition to be a painless mild nuisance. I had no idea I was a medical marvel. I was in sports in high school and ROTC in college with no problems.) <br /><br />I answered their questions, and they went back to their deliberations. I had no more contact from the medical department, so I was left waiting in limbo, and I began to wonder what my next step would be if the call didn’t come through. I had taken the LSAT before I began my mission papers, so I started the process of applying to law school. <br /><br />Finally, in late April, the big white envelope arrived. I was home alone because my parents and sister were out of town touring college campuses to decide where she would be going in the fall. I didn’t have classes that day because it was Good Friday and I attended a Catholic school. <br /><br />I opened the envelope and began to read the letter. I was called to Charlotte, North Carolina, and I would be entering the MTC on August 6. I called my family to tell them the news, and then I contacted my best friend and told him. I didn’t really tell anyone else that day, and I didn’t say anything about it at church that Sunday because I didn’t want to upstage Easter. <br /><br />I stopped working on my law school applications and devoted my energy to finishing up the last two months of college. I graduated from college in June and spent the 6 weeks after graduation putting my affairs in order and obtaining the necessary items. <br /><br />I entered the MTC full of energy and vigor, ready to take on the charge of St. Ignatius of Loyola to “Go forth and set the world on fire.” (You can take the student out of the Jesuit school, but you can’t take the Jesuit school out of the student…) <br /><br />I found the MTC to be pretty miserable. All of the things I hated about the ROTC, and all of the reasons I decided against a military career, were in full force there. If going on a mission is enlisting in “God’s army”, then the MTC is boot camp. My entire day was programmed from sunup until late at night, with no moments for quiet reflection or contemplation. Plus, in an effort to buoy up those with little in the way of formal learning, the MTC leaders basically gave the impression that education was a disqualifying factor in being a good missionary. So I was stuck in a rigid militaristic environment where the last three years of my life were being belittled on a daily basis and where I was told that I couldn’t be a good missionary because I had gone to college. <br /><br />When my three weeks were up, I was so glad to get out into the field. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere on this blog, the first six weeks in North Carolina were the worst six weeks of my life due to an emotionally abusive trainer who nearly destroyed my sense of self-worth. I almost threw in the towel because this was not what I signed up for. <br /><br />I stayed, mostly because I feared the stigma of coming home early. When I told my mission president what was going on, he transferred me right away, and my next companion was awesome. My next area was widely viewed by missionaries to be one of the worst, even being described as “the armpit of the mission”. I loved it and thought it was a wonderful place. I stayed there for six months and would have loved to stay longer. <br /><br />My third area was extremely rural and was a bit challenging for me, since I’m a city person. My fourth and final area was in a suburb of Charlotte, and it was another lovely place. A lot of the people there were transplants from the Bay Area, so I felt that I was among my people again. <br /><br />I didn’t have many converts. In fact, most of my meaningful work ended up being with other missionaries. I kind of felt like a cross between the mission’s HR department and chaplain. I had several opportunities to minister to and counsel with missionaries in my district in an informal way outside the mission hierarchy. Because I wasn’t part of management, people felt comfortable telling me things that they wouldn’t have told the zone leaders, APs, or the mission president. <br /><br />Serving a mission opened my eyes to a lot of things. It was the first time I saw poverty up close and personal. It was the first time I knowingly experienced sexism. It was the first (but sadly not the last) time I experienced sexual harassment while walking down the street. But it was also my first opportunity to step outside a classroom and make a difference in the world. Because of my mission, I developed the skills necessary to be an effective prison chaplain, and in a way, my mission probably helped me succeed in my career as an HR professional.Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07570196379762814760noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42883513288451735.post-68549612970294248302014-06-19T19:39:00.000-07:002014-06-19T19:44:08.185-07:00Your Sons and Your Daughters Shall Prophesy<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="btext4">And it shall come to pass afterward, <i>that</i> I
will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters
shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall
see visions: </span><span class="btext4">And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.</span><br />
<span class="btext4">Joel 2:28-29</span></blockquote>
<span class="btext4">This is one of my favorite verses of scripture because it describes a wonderful outpouring of revelation that is to exist in the last days. This revelation is to be poured out on both young and old and without regard to gender or social class. It's a realization of Moses's wish that <b><u>all </u></b>of God's people should be prophets. </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="btext4">Would God that all the LORD'S people were prophets, <i>and</i> that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!</span><br />
<span class="btext4"><span class="p">Numbers 11:29</span></span></blockquote>
These are supposed to be the last days. Where are our prophesying sons and daughters?<br />
<br />
Then it hit me. Throughout time, what have people done when confronted with prophets? At best, they ignore them, and at worst, they stone them.<br />
<br />
At least in the western world, it is rare for someone to be subject to physical violence for prophesying. However, it leaves me wondering. Are we ignoring or metaphorically stoning our prophesying sons and daughters?<br />
<br />
Prophets throughout time have called on people and institutions to repent. Are we stoning them because we don't like what they're saying? Are we persecuting and reviling them because they shine an uncomfortable light on our flaws? Do we feel safe in dismissing them because their only authority comes from the hard truth of their words and not from any high place in an institution?<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.<span class="p"></span><br />
<span class="p">Mark 6:4</span></blockquote>
<span class="p">Who of our own kin, and in our own house are we dishonoring? What good fruits are we rejecting because they come from an unexpected tree?</span><br />
<span class="p"><br /></span>
<span class="p">Let us not be the people Jesus laments when he says:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="btext4">O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, <i>thou</i> that killest
the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would
I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her
chickens under <i>her</i> wings, and ye would not!</span><span class="btext4"></span><br />
Matthew 23: 37</blockquote>
<span class="btext4"></span><br />
<span class="btext4">For if we stone our prophesying sons and daughters, this is the reward we will reap: </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="btext4">Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.</span><span class="p"></span>
<br />
<span class="p">Matthew 23:38</span></blockquote>
Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07570196379762814760noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42883513288451735.post-14677360279334839652014-06-12T09:02:00.000-07:002014-06-12T09:02:45.857-07:00The Parable of the Bad ShepherdThere was a shepherd who had 100 sheep in a fenced in pasture. The shepherd fed the sheep and did his best to keep them inside the fence. A few of the sheep began to question whether the boundaries of the fence could be expanded, and some even thought they would be better off without the fence altogether.<br />
<br />
A black sheep in the flock spoke with the questioning sheep and said that the fence, while imperfect, was overall good. She said that the architectural plans for the farm included the possibility of expansion in the future, but that for now, the sheep should stay in the fold.<br />
<br />
The bad shepherd caught wind of this discussion and said that the pasture was perfect and that the design was unalterable. He took the black sheep, threw her outside the fence, and she was devoured by wolves.<br />
<br />
When the other sheep expressed sorrow and concern at the fate of the black sheep, the shepherd said, "Yea, verily, the black sheep chose to leave the safety of the sheep fold of her own free will and is reaping her just reward."Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07570196379762814760noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42883513288451735.post-59538647822259259382014-06-11T22:11:00.000-07:002014-06-11T22:11:03.794-07:00What Battlestar Galactica Teaches Us About Faith and Prophecy<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I love science fiction. It’s rich in allegory and can teach
us many truths about life. In a way, I think that it can be our modern-day
parables. I recently finished watching the 2003 reboot of Battlestar Galactica
(hereafter abbreviated as BSG). It’s a television show filled with deep and
rich commentary on matters of spirituality, the human condition, forgiveness,
diversity, politics, life, death, and the mysterious workings of the divine. One
major religious refrain that is repeated throughout the show is “All of this
has happened before, and all of this will happen again.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Today I’m going to talk about what BSG teaches us about the
nature of faith and prophecy. In order to make this post comprehensible to
someone who hasn’t seen the show, I’m going to be giving a great deal of
background and detail. There will be spoilers in this post, but I’ve contained
them all to after the jump.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I. Summary</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
BSG is set in a spacefaring society of humans consisting of
12 planets that make up the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. The society is similar in
many ways to 21st century American society. The majority of the citizens follow
the dominant religion with varying degrees of devotion. The planets are nuked by their enemies, and about
50,000 humans survive. They form a ragtag fleet of ships and they set off in search
of Earth, which is described in their sacred writ as the location of a 13th
colony of humans.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of their scriptures is contained in a writing called the
Scroll of Pythia. The scroll was written a few thousand years before the start
of the show, and it contained several prophecies. The main prophecy is about a
dying leader who will lead the people to their new home on Earth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When the planets are nuked, the only survivor from the
government is the Secretary of Education, Laura Roslin. The morning of the
attack, she was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. 43rd in the line of
succession, she was sworn in as the new President of the Colonies and began to
lead the people.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She begins to have visions as a side effect of her cancer
treatment, and as a result, many of the survivors view her as a prophet and as
the prophesied dying leader. Over the course of time, she begins to believe it
herself as well.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Eventually, she is near death. At the last moment, her
cancer is cured by an experimental treatment. The dying leader is no longer
dying. Shortly thereafter, she loses her reelection bid and is thus no longer
the leader. A few years later, she regains the presidency and her cancer
returns. After much difficulty, following ancient maps and prophecies Indiana
Jones style, the fleet arrives at Earth in the hopes of being welcomed into the
13th tribe.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When they land on Earth, they are shocked and dismayed to
find only ruins. Their promised land was a barren wasteland that had suffered
nuclear devastation thousands of years previously. The band of refugees, now
numbering closer to 38,000 after deaths over the years, once again returned to
space.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Laura is devastated. She slides into a deep depression and
can’t bring herself to face the people. In a poignant scene, she is seen
burning her copy of the Scroll of Pythia while sitting on the floor sobbing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After a few more devastating battles against their enemies,
the fleet numbers only a few ships. The ships are nearly out of fuel and are
falling apart. In a last-ditch effort to save what’s left of humanity, the
ships use the last of their fuel to travel in a seemingly random direction.
Just as they are nearly done for, they arrive at a habitable planet populated
by a primitive hunter-gatherer society that hasn’t yet developed language
skills.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The viewers see an image of the planet from space, and it
looks startlingly familiar – there’s an outline of Africa visible.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They settle on the planet, deciding to send their spaceships
into the sun and integrate with the native population. Laura is near death, and
she asks what the planet is called. Admiral Adama, the military leader of the
fleet , says that it’s called Earth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When Laura replies that it’s not Earth because Earth was a
barren nuclear wasteland, Adama said that Earth is the dream of home for the
people, so this planet qualifies. Laura observes the animals frolicking on the
plains and breathes her dying words <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“so
much life”.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The scene then shifts to modern day New York City, with the
caption “150,000 years later”. We find out that a child born to two crew
members in the fleet ended up becoming mitochondrial Eve – the progenitor of
modern humanity.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
II. Analysis</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What can we learn from this story?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The first thing we learn is that prophecies (be they
scriptural, patriarchal blessing, or personal spiritual impressions) don’t
always turn out the way we expect. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the
prophecy is false or that we’re not a part of it. What it does mean is that, in
the words of the Apostle Paul, “we see through a glass darkly.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When Laura was cured of her cancer, and when she lost her
reelection bid, she didn’t cease to be the dying leader. When she arrived at
the first Earth and found it to be a barren wasteland, she didn’t fail in her
promise to lead the people to their new home. There was something different
afoot. She did lead the people to Earth – our Earth, and she saved humanity in
the process, just like she was prophesied to do.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The second thing we learn is that there will be doubts and
tests of faith. Laura was devastated after the discovery of the first Earth not
being what she had hoped and sacrificed for. She nearly lost her faith, going
so far as to burn the scriptures that had once given her such comfort and
peace. She even in a moment of desperation confided in the leader of a rival
religious faction that she thought she might be a fraud.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s hard to hold on to faith when things look bleak – when everything
we’ve put our trust in seems so impossible in light of an unexpected turn of
events – when that thing we’ve been promised turns out to be a radioactive
wasteland instead of a land flowing with milk and honey. But the real wonders
happen if we press through. In the end, the promised land really will be filled
with “so much life”.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The third thing that we learn is that faith is a team
effort. Laura had advisors and friends who counseled her and buoyed her up.
When she was in the pit of despair, some of her friends shouldered her
responsibilities, and others cared for her soul. Because of their help, she was
able to emerge and complete her journey.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Likewise, we have covenanted to “bear one another’s burdens
that they may be light” and to “weep with those who weep, mourn with those who
mourn, comfort those who stand in need of comfort”. And others have covenanted
to do that for us in our time of need. When we are weak, we have the right to
call upon those around us to strengthen us.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you’re <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>standing in
the ruins of a nuked Earth, don’t lose hope. Remember the words of John the
Revelator in the penultimate chapter of the Bible: </div>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="text">Now I saw
a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had
passed away. . .<sup> </sup>And God will wipe away every tear from their
eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no
more pain, for the former things have passed away.</span></div>
</blockquote>
Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07570196379762814760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42883513288451735.post-79176356970002048822014-03-17T13:16:00.000-07:002014-03-17T16:02:10.032-07:00For so persecuted they the prophets which were before youI have <a href="http://postsofmyhouse.blogspot.com/2012/06/heirs-according-to-promise.html" target="_blank">gone on record</a> explaining that the scriptures promise priesthood ordination to all followers of Christ, both male and female. God has promised that He will yet reveal "many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God" [1], and I firmly believe that extending the priesthood to all worthy members of the church is one of them. The restoration of the Gospel, which began in a grove of trees and is still ongoing, will not be complete until we have our latter-day Phoebes and our latter-day Junias. With that said, I have not at this point in time chosen to align myself with <a href="http://ordainwomen.org/" target="_blank">Ordain Women</a>, mostly because my style is more to skip the middleman and go straight to the source - petitioning God directly.<br />
<br />
I have many friends who have joined with Ordain Women, and their stories are heartbreaking. People, both to their face and anonymously on the internet, are calling them vile names, telling them that they are not welcome among God's people, and in some cases, even threatening them with physical harm. All because my friends, by bearing their testimony of the vision of equality the Holy Spirit has granted them, are obeying their baptismal covenant to "stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that [they] may be in" [2]. My friends are mourning that reality does not yet match this vision, and instead of their opponents obeying their baptismal covenant to "mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort" [3], they are persecuting my friends in the most un-Christlike manner. My friends are responding by turning the other cheek and showing grace in the face of adversity.<br />
<br />
We learn in scripture that in the last days, our daughters shall prophesy. [4] We also learn that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy [5] and that we will be able to determine the validity of someone's actions by the fruits that those actions bear.[6]<br />
<br />
Let's look at the fruits: My friends are following the scriptural tradition of the daughters of Zelophehad [7] by asking the prophets to seek revelation from God. They are being patient and kind even to those who mock and scorn them. My friends' opponents are following the scriptural tradition of persecuting the meek and humble followers of Christ [8] and are trying to cast my friends out of their worship spaces.<br />
<br />
My friends' actions are the ones bearing good fruit. They are the ones demonstrating a testimony of Jesus by showing love.[9] Since their actions demonstrate their testimony of Jesus, which is the spirit of prophecy, I would like to cheer them with these words spoken by our Savior when He preached the sermon on the mount:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="text Matt-5-10" id="en-KJV-23245">Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.</span><span class="text Matt-5-12" id="en-KJV-23247"><sup> </sup>Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. <sup class="versenum"> </sup>Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.[10]</span></blockquote>
May God soften the hearts of your persecutors, and may God rain down revelation on us all.<br />
<br />
--<br />
[1] 9th Article of Faith<br />
[2] Mosiah 18:9<br />
[3] <i>Ibid</i>.<br />
[4] Joel 2:28<br />
[5] Revelation 19:10<br />
[6] Matthew 7:20<br />
[7] <i>See </i>Numbers 27<br />
[8] <i>See </i>Alma 32:1-3 for a description of the Zoramite persecutors casting the meek and humble out of the houses of worship.<br />
[9] John 13:35<br />
[10] Matthew 5:10-12<br />
<br />Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07570196379762814760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42883513288451735.post-69174757508475685192014-01-30T14:16:00.000-07:002014-01-30T14:16:30.660-07:00No manner of -itesAt baptism, we covenant to “mourn with those who mourn”, not “make people who mourn go away so they don’t make us uncomfortable”.
<br />
<br />
Sadly, my friends were mourning this week, and some of our fellow saints refused to mourn with us.
It started out innocently enough, when someone carelessly implied that all Mormon women were married. After hearing the hurt this caused several single women, this person eventually apologized, but not before a huge dustup occurred where several of my friends were told by others (not the original person) that they were unwelcome because they were single. We were told that our pain at being excluded from our religious community was illegitimate and made-up, and that we should go and find a different place to be, so that they wouldn’t have to hear our pain.
<br />
<br />
This is not how we build Zion.
<br />
<br />
After Christ appeared to the surviving Nephites and Lamanites, they built Zion. The distinguishing characteristic of their society is that there were not “any manner of -ites; but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God.” 4 Nephi 1:17 This doesn’t mean that everyone was suddenly the same. It means that despite their different backgrounds, they were united. The stratifications that exist in the world should not exist in Zion.
<br />
<br />
Our community has too many -ites.
<br />
<br />
How do we overcome our natural tendency to stratify? Chapter 1 of 4 Nephi describes a righteous and happy society. Verse 12 says that they met together often. Verse 15 says that there was love in the hearts of the people.<br />
<br />
If we want a Zion society, we need to get out of our bubbles and listen to the lived experiences of those who are different. We can’t just dismiss them. The next time you’re at church, talk to someone who isn’t like you. And then listen.
<br />
<br />
Jesus said that all the law and the prophets hang on the commandment to love. This is the center of a Christian life. If we develop love in our hearts, we will develop a Zion society. Jesus also said that whatever we do to the least of society, we have done to Him. When we ostracize entire demographics, we are kicking Jesus out of Zion.
<br />
<br />
While the catalyst for this post was the exclusion and marginalization of the unmarried, those who aren’t married are not the only -ites. We have -ites of various racial or ethnic minorities, infertile-ites, and the list goes on and on. In Zion, there will still be people of various races and ethnicities, people of varying family compositions, and people from all walks of life. But let’s not turn them into “the other”. We should have no manner of -ites among us.
Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07570196379762814760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42883513288451735.post-4625251320534605622014-01-12T14:58:00.000-07:002014-01-12T14:58:28.752-07:00Improving Grace?Sometimes I'll catch myself singing hymns without spending too much time actually thinking about the words. Today at church, we sang hymn 240, <a href="http://www.lds.org/music/library/hymns/know-this-that-every-soul-is-free?lang=eng" target="_blank"><i>Know This, That Every Soul Is Free</i></a>. As I got to verse 4, I noticed a phrase that struck me as a bit odd.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="line">
Our God is pleased when we improve</div>
<div class="line">
His grace and seek his perfect love.</div>
</blockquote>
What does it mean to improve the grace of God? I've always viewed God's grace as perfect.<br />
<br />
I did a search in the scripture section of lds.org, where I typed the phrase "improve grace" into the search box. I didn't get any results.<br />
<br />
The only thing I can think of is in the context of real estate. A piece of empty land is said to be "improved" when a structure is built on it. So maybe what the hymn means is that when we have God's grace in our life, we should do something with it.<br />
<br />
That's all I've got. Any other thoughts on what it could mean?Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07570196379762814760noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42883513288451735.post-9457667289177802392013-10-06T12:31:00.001-07:002013-10-06T12:41:27.777-07:00Logical Fallacies and the 9th CommandmentThe most valuable course I took in my entire education was Introduction to Informal Logic. I took the class my second quarter of college simply because it fit in my schedule and didn't look horribly boring. I loved that class so much that I changed my minor to philosophy and almost decided to go on for a PhD in the subject.<br />
<br />
When I taught freshman composition, I made sure to introduce my students to the logical fallacies so that they could identify and guard against them. They're pernicious and tend to crop up everywhere.While there are several logical fallacies, there is one in particular that I'm going to discuss today that is unbecoming a Christian.<br />
<br />
That fallacy is the straw man fallacy. The straw man fallacy is where someone argues not against their opponents' position, but against a ridiculous, false, or weak characterization of their opponents' position. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man">Wikipedia </a>summarizes it nicely:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
To "attack a straw man" is to create the illusion of having refuted a
proposition by replacing it with a superficially similar yet
unequivalent proposition (the "straw man"), and to refute it, without
ever having actually refuted the original position.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-book_3-1"></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-files_4-0"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man#cite_note-files-4"></a></sup> This technique has been used throughout history in polemical
debate, particularly in arguments about highly charged, emotional
issues. In those cases the false victory is often loudly or
conspicuously celebrated.</blockquote>
Here is an example from real life:<br />
<br />
True position: Feminists believe that men and women deserve an equal opportunity to develop and use their talents and gifts both inside and outside the home.<br />
Straw man position: Feminists hate babies and want to become men.<br />
<br />
See how they're not even remotely similar? But many people skip right over the true position and go knock down the straw man because addressing the true position is harder than defeating an argument that you made up yourself and that nobody actually subscribes to. It's bad logic.<br />
<br />
It is also a sin.<br />
<br />
The ninth commandment states "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." Exodus 20:16. Going around misrepresenting your opponents' arguments in order to make them look bad is the very definition of bearing false witness. So, in the words of President Utchdorf, "Stop it."Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07570196379762814760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42883513288451735.post-597168139675151442013-10-01T14:09:00.001-07:002013-10-01T14:10:00.283-07:00I'm a lawyer now<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.
<br />
Proverbs 13:12</blockquote>
<br />
I started law school in January 2005, fresh off my mission, with $77 in my bank account. Since I had no money and no job, I lived with my parents in San Jose. I was going to school in San Francisco. My daily commute was 2 hours each way. My dad dropped me off at the train station at 6:30 in the morning on his way into work, and he picked me up at the train station around 5:30 in the evening on his way home from work. It was thoroughly exhausting.<br />
<br />
I kept that up for a year before I was fed up enough with the commute that I moved out. I ended up in Fremont, which was still a 45 minute train ride away, but it was much better. A few months later, my law school education was unceremoneously interrupted due to a whole bunch of bureaucratic nonsense that was out of my control. The day that I found that out, I also lost my job.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://postsofmyhouse.blogspot.com/2007/06/his-burden-is-light.html">I spent the next two years working and trying to figure out what to do with my life</a>, and then I <a href="http://postsofmyhouse.blogspot.com/2008/08/first-day-of-school.html">went back to law school somewhere else</a>. (At a school that was far better run and treated the students as respected colleagues instead of as obstacles.) Then I graduated.<br />
<br />
Then I took the California bar - and failed it - three times. (Seriously, if someone reasonably intelligent with a law degree can't pass the [expletive deleted] test after three attempts, maybe there's something wrong with the test!) Then I decided that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. So I took the Arizona bar in February. I found out in May that I passed it. In fact, I knocked it out of the park. It really was California and not me.<br />
<br />
I've been waiting for my background check to clear, and I found out yesterday that it did. Most law schools have big ceremonies a few weeks after exam results are released where all of the alumni who passed the bar are sworn in en masse. Since I'm being admitted to the bar in a different state, and I'm being admitted off schedule, I don't get that.<br />
<br />
I went to the UPS store on my lunch break today to get sworn in. So, nearly eight years of toil and effort was culminated by signing a piece of paper in front of a notary and dropping it in the mail. I'm practically allergic to ceremony, but it still felt a little anticlimactic.Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07570196379762814760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42883513288451735.post-58355167258269736282013-09-30T11:39:00.002-07:002018-08-20T21:21:38.419-07:00Prison Chaplain - Part 2<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-13ad50aa-7028-c645-9217-3e4983ff0edb" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This is part two of a three part series on what it’s like to be a prison chaplain. In <a href="http://postsofmyhouse.blogspot.com/2013/05/guest-post-at-feminist-mormon-housewives.html">Part I</a>, I explained the background of how I got involved with prison ministry. In Part II, I’ll address some frequently asked questions about the work.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>1. What is a typical day in the life of a prison chaplain?</b></span></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Many religious groups have a full-time chaplain who is an employee of the prison. However, there isn’t a full-time LDS chaplain at San Quentin. Instead, there are four of us who volunteer on a part-time basis. We divide up the responsibilities so that we’re able to attend to our respective employment, family, and ward obligations as well.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">San Quentin is a men’s facility with a postcard-worthy view of the San Francisco bay. We offer services for mainline inmates (the general prison population), inmates in administrative segregation, and inmates on death row. In addition, we are permitted to visit the cell blocks to see inmates who are unable to attend services. I do services for mainline inmates approximately two to three Sundays per month, depending on the schedules of the other chaplains.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The prison has a chapel complex that contains five houses of worship: a mosque, a synagogue, a Native American chapel, a Protestant chapel, and a Catholic chapel. LDS services are held in the library of the Catholic chapel at 6:00 on Sunday evenings. The chairs are arranged in a circle, and there is enough space for about 12 chairs. Usually 6 or 7 people attend.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I conduct the meeting, and we begin with a hymn and a prayer. After the prayer, one of the inmates gives the lesson. The lessons come from the same Teachings of the Presidents of the Church manual that is used for Relief Society and Melchizedek Priesthood meetings in a typical ward. At the prison, we’re about two weeks ahead of my ward, so I get a nice preview of things to come.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Because of the small group size, there is a lot of opportunity for discussion of the material. Everyone has very insightful things to contribute, and I’ve learned a lot. I especially have been touched by the stories that the inmates have shared about how being a follower of Christ has helped them to turn the other cheek and better handle conflict with the other inmates at the prison.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">After the lesson is over, we close with a hymn and a prayer. If there is time left over, we watch a talk from the most recent General Conference, since they did not have the opportunity to watch it when it was aired live. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>2. Isn’t it dangerous?! It’s a prison!!</b></span></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I’ve been volunteering in the prison teaching college classes for two years, and I’ve felt safe the entire time. In that time, there has only been one disturbance while I was present, and it occurred in a completely different part of the prison. If there is ever a threat, volunteers are escorted out of the prison to safety.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">San Quentin is a medium security facility, and most of the people I interact with are incarcerated for nonviolent offenses. Although I’ve only been a chaplain for a short while, I feel the same sense of safety in the chapel as I do in the classroom. Prison culture has a great deal of respect for chaplains, and it’s considered socially unacceptable to mess with the “God people”.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Death row has its own chapel, separate from the main area of the prison. I’m not yet cleared to go there to perform services, but when I am, I feel confident in my safety there, too. It’s set up with the safety of the chaplains in mind.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>3. Why do you do chaplain work?</b></span></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">As I wrote about in <a href="http://postsofmyhouse.blogspot.com/2013/05/guest-post-at-feminist-mormon-housewives.html">Part I</a>, I’ve felt called to ministry from an early age.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Plus, the words of Jesus in Matthew 25:36-40 stuck with me. “‘I was in prison, and ye came unto me.’ Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when saw we thee … in prison, and came unto thee?’ And the King shall answer and say unto them, ‘Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">it</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.’”</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Visiting those in prison and serving the people our society reviles is as much a part of the duty of a Christian as feeding the hungry and caring for the sick. I’m not very good at making casseroles for the hungry or the sick, but I can listen and I can preach, so I go with what I’m good at and leave the food to people who are good at that.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>4. How can you be a chaplain, since you don’t hold the priesthood?</b></span></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">LDS military chaplains have to hold the priesthood because a large part of their service involves the performance of ordinances. However, LDS hospital and prison chaplains do not have to hold the priesthood because the performance of ordinances is not a regular part of the service provided. The service provided by hospital and prison chaplains is mostly pastoral care - a listening ear, a reminder of the love of God, the teaching of the gospel, praying with and for them, etc.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Per church policy, worship services in prison do not include the administration of the sacrament. Non-members are permitted to attend, but they are not permitted to receive the ordinances of baptism or confirmation. If any member of the group were to request a priesthood blessing, I would arrange for one of the other chaplains to come in to perform it.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">On the ecclesiastical side, the high council for the stake where the prison is located sponsors me and certifies to the prison that I’m authorized to conduct LDS services for the inmates. Since I’m not a member of the stake where the prison is located, I imagine that they’ve been in contact with my bishop and stake president, though I don’t know that for sure, since my bishop hasn’t said anything to me about it.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">On the institutional side, my liaison is the Catholic priest, who is a full-time employee at the prison. If I have any issues or concerns related to the operation of the program inside the prison, or prison rules/regulations, he can help me resolve the problem by working with the prison staff.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><b>5. How can I get involved?</b></span></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">My initial involvement was fairly serendipitous, so I don’t know that there is necessarily a set path. If you live near a correctional facility (a jail or prison) and want to go inside as a religious volunteer, a good first step would be to talk to your bishop, stake president, or someone on the high council. They will likely be able to put you in touch with the right people. If you’re not in a situation to go inside a facility, there are organizations that provide pen pals for inmates. I haven’t worked with any of those organizations, so I can’t vouch for any of them, but I do know that the inmates love getting mail.</span>Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07570196379762814760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42883513288451735.post-54188491828543924542013-07-30T10:40:00.003-07:002013-07-30T10:41:35.747-07:00Beating my sword into a plowshare<blockquote>
But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the <span abp="698" class="small-caps" style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. . .and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.<br />
Micah 4:1-3</blockquote>
<br />
During law school, I took a temporary job as the receptionist at a software company. I was very quickly promoted into a role in the HR department, and I continued to develop professionally until I was second only to the vice president. Around this time, the company was acquired by a defense contractor.<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
I hadn't spent much time concerning myself with what the product the company produced actually did. I figured that was the job of the engineers making it and the sales people selling it. I was just concerned with making sure that everyone got their paychecks on time, administering leaves of absence, ensuring that there was no harassment or discrimination in the workplace, and generally being a good little Catbert.<br />
<br />
I was a bit curious as to why a defense contractor would want to acquire a software company - I figured they were usually in the business of bombs and airplanes. Then some world events started happening that made it very clear to me why. I started to think that I was probably involved in something that I was pretty uncomfortable with.<br />
<br />
At first, I tried to convince myself that I was misunderstanding the software. I mean, the party line was that it was network security software, and I'm not an engineer, so I figured that all of the nefarious uses for the software were in my imagination. Plus, I wasn't writing the code anyway, so it wasn't my fault.<br />
<br />
Then two things happened. The first is that I heard a striking story. In the 1960s, a journalist was invited to tour the NASA facilities. He walked around, talked to people, and took notes. Just as he was about to leave, he saw a janitor mopping the floor. He walked over and asked him what he was doing. The janitor proudly replied, "I'm putting a man on the moon." The janitor himself wasn't making rockets or doing physics. He was mopping the floor. But his floor mopping efforts contributed to the overall mission, and he was just as much a part of it as everyone else.<br />
<br />
The second thing that happened is that I saw a product demo at the company meeting. I had not misunderstood the software. And, just as the janitor was contributing to the moon landings, I was a part of what the software was doing.<br />
<br />
I started looking for a new job, but I was having little success. A few months later, I took the leap of faith and quit my job without anything else lined up.<br />
<br />
As I was redoing my resume, I felt very uncomfortable advertising that I had worked at that previous software company/defense contractor. It was a part of my life that I am not proud of. And I felt guilty for my part in it all.<br />
<br />
Now I work in HR for a retirement community, and I'm constantly drawing on my experience at the previous company. I was uncomfortable with that because I am benefitting professionally from something I consider to be unsavory. Then I realized that in a way, that job was my sword, and I have turned it into a plowshare.<br />
<br />Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07570196379762814760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42883513288451735.post-80966457204576209332013-07-09T10:28:00.000-07:002013-07-09T10:28:39.831-07:00PrayerA singles' ward in a neighboring stake has small FHE groups for the ward members. Back in October, one of my friends invited me to come to her FHE group so that I could meet more people. I decided to come, and I made some new friends.<br />
<br />
In April, the groups got changed up, so I started going to a new group, but I still kept in touch with people from the old group. Yesterday, I went back to the old group because the group leader for the new group is on vacation for the next few weeks, so FHE got canceled.<br />
<br />
At the end of the meeting, the person giving the closing prayer asked if there was anything in particular that we would like for her to pray for. One guy said he needed help finding a job. I said that I needed help with my toe healing.<br />
<br />
On Thursday, I was at the beach, and I stubbed my toe on a rock. On Friday, it was still hurting, so I went to the clinic, and the doctor told me it was broken. He taped my toe and gave me a walking boot and told me to wear it for 4-6 weeks.<br />
<br />
During the closing prayer, the person giving the prayer prayed for my toe, and for my friend's job. I got a call from the radiologist this morning, and it turns out it was a false alarm. My toe isn't broken. It's just bruised. I should be good as new in about 2 weeks.<br />
<br />
Now I just need to wait to hear that my friend found an awesome job.Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07570196379762814760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42883513288451735.post-4064523022358702762013-06-14T10:18:00.000-07:002013-06-14T10:18:20.055-07:00Surely He Has Borne Our Joy?One of the most beautiful truths of the Gospel is that Jesus carried our pains and sorrows.<br />
<br />
The prophet Isaiah penned the familiar words "Surely He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows." [1] Many composers have put these words to music, probably most famously G.F. Handel as part of the oratorio <i>Messiah</i>.<br />
<br />
<div class="">
This sentiment is also beautifully expressed by the prophet Alma. </div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="">
And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.<span class="verse"> </span>And he will take upon him death, that he may loose
the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him
their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according
to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to <sup class="studyNoteMarker"></sup>succor his people according to their infirmities. [2]</div>
</blockquote>
I've been thinking recently about whether the converse is true as well. If He carried our pain and sorrows, does He carry our joy as well?<br />
<br />
I think He does. I went searching in the scriptures for support for this idea, and I didn't find anything directly on point. I found several passages that refer to God's joy over repentant sinners, but nothing about joy over our joys.<br />
<br />
But I still think it's true. Jesus loves us and wants us to be happy. When people I love are happy, I feel happy, too. If I, as an imperfect person, feel that way, then how much more would our perfect and loving Savior feel?<br />
<br />
The scriptures teach that joy is the purpose of our existence. [3] So I think when we achieve that, we make God happy.<br />
<br />
----<br />
[1] Isaiah 53:3<br />
[2] Alma 7:11-12<br />
[3] See e.g. 2 Nephi 2:25Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07570196379762814760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42883513288451735.post-86902823009891321412013-05-30T08:26:00.002-07:002018-08-20T21:20:29.305-07:00Prison Chaplain Experiences - Part I<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I
went to a small Jesuit university for college, where I was one of only 6
LDS undergrads. There was no institute associated with the school, so I
enrolled in an institute class at the nearby public university. About
halfway into the semester, I was asked to be the secretary in the
institute presidency.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I
served in the presidency as the secretary for two years, under two
different presidents. Then, when the president moved out of state at the
start of my last year of college, I was asked to replace him. During
this time, I probably spent more time at the institute than I did on
campus at the university I was actually attending. I found the time at
the institute to be remarkably fulfilling, both taking classes and
ministering to the students.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I
studied in the philosophy department at school, and many of my
professors were Catholic priests. I began to really envy them because
they had a built-in opportunity to have a lifelong ministry. It was
their career. I wished that there were something like that available to
me.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I
graduated college right after my 21st birthday, so I decided to serve a
mission. This once again filled my desire to minister to people. While I
was serving, I had an opportunity to spend time visiting people in the
hospital and in juvenile hall, listening to their stories and sharing
the love of God with them. I found that to be way more meaningful than
riding my bicycle around town knocking on doors.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I
started law school a few weeks after I returned home from my mission.
Sadly, after a year and a half, my law school education was interrupted
without warning. I had to find a new path quickly. I thought back on the
times in life when I was the happiest, and I realized that it was when I
was deeply involved in the running of the institute.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So
I enrolled in divinity school. My plan was to become a hospital
chaplain. I didn’t tell anyone about it because I feared disapproval at
such a non-traditional career choice. The school I picked was all by
correspondence, and it wasn’t very good. I dropped out a month later and
tried to figure out something else to do with my life.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Eventually
I went back to law school. Instead of returning to the law school that
had treated me so badly, I was accepted to and chose to enroll in the
school I had attended as an undergrad. In my last year of law school, I
took a seminar on the prison system. I was uninterested in the subject
matter, but the professor came highly recommended, so I signed up
anyway.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In
order to graduate, I was required to write a paper of publishable
quality. I chose to use my seminar paper to satisfy the requirement. I </span><a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1760608" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">wrote about</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act and how it applies to the religious freedom of prison inmates.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The
next semester, I was attending an academic conference, and I met a
Muslim woman who volunteered as a chaplain at a women’s prison near Salt
Lake City. She mentioned that the staff was interfering with the
ability of the inmates to pray. I talked with her a bit about my paper
and about some things she could try in order to convince the staff to
work with her on the matter. I wanted to ask her how she carved out a
space for ministry while being a member of a religious tradition that
places limits on women’s public ceremonial participation (since it’s
something I’ve been trying to figure out in my own life), but I
chickened out because I didn’t want to offend her.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I
graduated a few months later, and by that time I had decided that I
want to become a law professor. I needed to get some college level
teaching experience. My prison system seminar professor had volunteered
in the past at San Quentin Prison in their </span><a href="http://www.prisonuniversityproject.org/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">university program</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. I decided to sign up, and I love it. I’ve taught math and English for the past two years.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Many
of my students are openly religious, and they often discuss spiritual
matters with me. In addition to being a good career move to gain
experience, I feel like teaching at the prison is a form of ministry.
But I still wanted to do more.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A
few weeks ago, as I was driving to the prison to teach my math class, I
was listening to the Mormon Matters podcast episode about LDS military
chaplains. I was fascinated and wondered if there was an opportunity for
me to do something similar at San Quentin. I had seen Buddhist and
Protestant chaplains at the prison, and I had heard that there were
Catholics as well. But I never saw any LDS chaplains.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">When
I arrived at the prison that evening, I saw an older man I had never
seen before standing at the gate. He was wearing a white shirt, a tie,
and a missionary name badge. I went over and introduced myself and asked
him if there was an opportunity to serve at the prison in a religious
capacity. It turns out he’s a ward missionary in the ward where the
prison is located. His assistant just had to step down due to an
employment conflict, and he will be moving next month. He said that he
could use some help.</span></div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Once
my background check clears, I’ll be good to go. I’m really excited for
this opportunity. The timing couldn’t be more perfect.</span>Trudyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07570196379762814760noreply@blogger.com0