For so persecuted they the prophets which were before you

I have gone on record 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 Ordain Women, mostly because my style is more to skip the middleman and go straight to the source - petitioning God directly.

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.

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]

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.

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:

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.[10]

May God soften the hearts of your persecutors, and may God rain down revelation on us all.

--
[1] 9th Article of Faith
[2] Mosiah 18:9
[3] Ibid.
[4] Joel 2:28
[5] Revelation 19:10
[6] Matthew 7:20
[7] See Numbers 27
[8] See Alma 32:1-3 for a description of the Zoramite persecutors casting the meek and humble out of the houses of worship.
[9] John 13:35
[10] Matthew 5:10-12

Recap of General Conference

This past weekend was General Conference. If you want to watch or listen to it, you can go here. If you want to read a good summary and commentary, visit By Common Consent.

I did massive housework while listening to conference. Sadly, I only got halfway done with my fall cleaning. (I try to do spring cleaning, but law school got in the way this year, so now that I don't have that excuse, it's fall cleaning.) So now my apartment looks worse than it did before I started. But my kitchen sparkles. I'll take care of the clutter in my living room this week.

And in other news, I now have a second cat. My neighbor moved last week, and she had an outdoor cat that she couldn't take with her. I offered to take him in, and I introduced him to my cat a few weeks ago. After two meetings, it became clear that this wasn't going to work. The cats hated each other and were constantly hissing. So my neighbor found another neighbor to feed him.

On Saturday, my neighbor came by to check on Kitty. He had been sad and moping all week, but when she showed up, he perked right up. The manager walked by and said that she was going to call the pound because he had been abandoned. (Which was totally not true.) So after the manager left, I said I would take Kitty.

I brought him inside and miraculously the two cats are tolerating one another. They still hiss at each other, but they're learning to share the food and litter box. I'm hoping they'll become friends soon. Kitty stares longingly outside. I feel bad for keeping him in, but I know if the manager sees him outside again, she'll take him to the pound. (And she's so unpleasant that I'm sure she would remove his collar first so that the pound wouldn't know to call me to come get him.)

Thoughts on General Conference - Updated

This past weekend was General Conference. (If you missed it, you can watch it here.) I generally enjoy conference, and this one was particularly good, for the most part. So, I'll start with the one thing that bugged me, and then I'll go into a much lengthier summary of what I did like.

One thing I realized is that church leaders really have no idea what the lived experience of the single member is. Several talks chastised single members for putting off marriage, basically saying that we're being selfish and worldly for being single. I would invite them to spend some time talking to and listening to those of us out here in the mission field, where Latter-day Saints are a minority. There are only so many other church members around, so it's not like there are tons of options. It's not like in Provo, where if you aren't compatible with the people in your ward or stake, you can just go down the street and meet thousands more. Out here, if I'm not compatible with the few single LDS men in my area, I'm left with the choice of staying single or dating outside the church. It's not a matter of priorities, it's a matter of population. [Update: ks has a post at Beginnings New about the marriage talks at General Conference. She asks how we can teach the youth of the church the importance of marriage.]

As a nice transition, I really appreciated Elder Holland's remarks. I'm not normally a big fan of his talks; he's usually a bit too fire and brimstone for my tastes. However, I liked what he had to say yesterday. He said that he knows that not everyone is avoiding marriage. I'm sure most people will interpret that as an apology to the married people listening that they had to hear the single people get chastised. However, I interpreted that to mean that he knows there are plenty of people who are single and in good standing with God, and that the remarks of the prior speakers were not directed to people like me.

There was a lot more Jesus at this conference than there has been in the past. I'm quite pleased with that. Elder Grow's talk was particularly great in that regard. He talked about the cleansing power of grace, and he shared a poignant story of his brother's return to the fold. I also liked Elder Perry's talk and Elder Richards's talk. Elder Richards made the excellent point that not all of our suffering is our fault, and that Christ can heal us from the sins of others as well as forgive our own sins.

I also noticed a theme of caring for the poor and needy. President Eyring, Bishop Burton, and Sister Allred all spoke on this topic. Two things stood out to me. Bishop Burton said that caring for the poor and needy is more important than missionary work and temple work. Sister Allred said that caring for the poor and needy is pure religion. (Although she didn't quote the scripture, that comes from James 1:27.)

I've been thinking a lot more lately about prophets. During the sustaining of the church officers, I had a realization. When we raise our right hand and declare before God that we believe that the members of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are prophets, seers, and revelators, that's a big deal.

Happy (belated) Easter!

I was going to write up an Easter post yesterday, but my grandparents surprised me with a visit. (Well, technically, they visited my parents, but I took the opportunity to drive the 45 minutes to my parents' place to spend the weekend with them.) So, Happy Easter, a day late.

Easter was great! General Conference was mostly good, too. I especially liked President Uchtdorf's talk on Sunday morning. I also liked Elder Andersen's talk on Sunday afternoon, reminding us that we should focus more on Christ. I appreciate that the audio from the priesthood session is available for download so that I don't have to wait for the transcripts to find out what the men were told in my absence. I loaded the talks onto my iPod to listen to them while I commute.

Meeting Mom

I have several cousins who are adopted. They love my aunt and uncle and consider them their parents. They are in every way a part of the family, just as those who share a genetic link. That being said, they have each come to a point where they begin to wonder about their biological parents. They want to have a relationship with them, even though they don't wish to replace their adoptive parents.

I have an eternal longing that is similar. I love my Father in Heaven. He has been an ever-present force in my life. However, I long to know my Mother. Who is She? What is She like? What does she do? Did She have a hand in creation? (I believe She did, but I don't know.) What does Her eternal state have to say about what mine can eventually be? Why don't we know more about Her?

I have wondered for several years, but I have been afraid to ask the questions. I get the impression that the subject is somewhat taboo.

I placed this longing on the back burner for a while, but General Conference brought it back to the forefront. On Sunday morning, the choir sang one of my favorite hymns, #286 Oh What Songs of the Heart. The fourth verse particularly struck me.

Oh, what songs we'll employ!
Oh, what welcome we'll hear!
When we kneel at our dear Savior's feet.
And the heart swells with joy
In embraces most dear
When our heavenly parents we meet!
Oh, what songs we'll employ
As the heart swells with joy,
When our heavenly parents we meet!

I was reminded that one day I'll get to meet Her. Before I do, I want to know more about Her. Once again, the fear cropped up. As I was driving to school today, I was pondering. James 1:5 came to my mind. We often focus on the part that promises askers that wisdom will be given liberally. However the part that stuck out to me was that when someone seeks wisdom, God "upbraideth not".

I'm going to ask my Father, who I know, for an introduction to my Mother, who I don't know. I'm confident that I will get a warm and loving response. I'm looking forward to the results.

General Conference

I love General Conference. It's like a twice-yearly holiday. I'm usually not a fan of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, but there's something about them singing the hymns with gusto that just says conference to me.

I haven't gotten to see Saturday's talks yet because I have to work on Saturdays. I downloaded the sessions to my iPod to listen to on my commute. Sunday's sessions were quite good. I especially liked President Eyring's talk on Sunday morning. It seemed to me that building Zion was a theme for the conference.

I watched the Sunday morning session online, but it kept buffering, so I decided that online wasn't going to work for the afternoon. I planned on going to the church to watch the afternoon, but my parents invited me over to their house. I headed over to my parents' house, watched the afternoon session, and we had dinner. It was nice. I especially liked having someone to discuss the talks with. As a teenager, I was the only active church member in my family, so it's nice now to be able to have family gospel discussions.

What I Got Out of the Relief Society Broadcast

This post is a few days late. The General Relief Society Broadcast has been discussed in numerous places on the Bloggernacle over the past few days. I got something totally different out of the conference. In fact, it was something I wasn't even actively seeking.

Here's a little bit of background to make things make more sense. I'm single, I'm a grad student, and I'm old enough that if I were a guy, I would be a menace to society, but since I'm a woman, I'm merely the cat lady. Every so often, I wonder why guys are totally interested in being my friend, but totally uninterested in dating me. I got some insight from watching the broadcast.

You'll see above a picture of my right hand. The lighting is bad, but the inscription reads "True Love Waits". It's a chastity ring, a reminder of the promise I've made to abstain from premarital sex. I have worn this ring ever since I got home from my mission. Only a few people have asked me about it, and I'm always happy to explain.

Well, fast-forward to Saturday's broadcast. All of the talks were excellent. My big epiphany came not from any spoken word, however. As President Uchtdorf was giving his talk, he was gesturing animatedly with his hands. I noticed that he was wearing his wedding ring on his right hand instead of his left. I filed this away in my brain to research later.

After the broadcast, I looked on Wikipedia. It turns out that wearing a wedding ring on the right hand is traditional in many European countries. I live in an area that is culturally diverse, with people from all over the world living and working side by side. It occured to me that perhaps I haven't been getting attention from guys because they think I'm already married.

I put the ring on a chain to wear as a necklace yesterday. Maybe my un-ringed fingers will make a difference.

Anyway, the point of this story isn't about my ring at all. The point of the story is that inspiration can come at any time, even when the subject of the inspiration is totally distinct from the subject of the circumstances, and even when we aren't actively seeking answers on a particular subject. I love the Spirit.

I'm looking forward to General Conference next weekend to see what other inspiration I can receive.

General Conference

I love modern technology. I work on Saturdays, so I didn't expect to be able to watch yesterday's conference. However, I miraculously had exactly enough downtime at work (and the foresight to bring my laptop and headphones) to watch the talks for the sessions. I was going to go to the church to watch the morning session today, but since I was on call last night, I decided that I was too tired. Hooray for byutv.com! My cats and I sat on the sofa and heard the good word preached.

The talks were great this time. I loved Elder Wirthlin's talk, reminding us that we're all different and that we need to embrace those differences. President Uchtdorf's talk on the faith of our fathers was good, too. Of course, he has so much charisma that I would be transfixed if he read the telephone book over the pulpit. Elder Ballard's talk was amazing. I really appreciated him boldly declaring that there isn't just one right way to be a mother. I also like that he didn't treat womanhood and motherhood as if they're the same thing. Many speakers tend to use the terms interchangeably, and I'm glad he didn't.

However, the talk that stood out the most to me was Elder Scott's talk on abuse. As some of you may remember from an earlier post, I was the victim of verbal and emotional abuse. I have not yet fully recovered, and this talk was a balm to my soul. I felt like he was speaking directly to me when he offered his words of comfort. I could feel his love and concern for those who suffer, and his faith and knowledge that Christ has the power to heal. I have felt the beginnings of this healing from this ordeal, but the wound is still there. I look forward to the day when it is gone, and I know that Christ has the power to make wrong things right again.

I am truly grateful for the opportunity to listen to general conference twice each year. I look forward to the printed messages so I can study them again in greater detail.