Wrestling With Comparisons

"Wrestling with Comparisons", J.B. Haws, Associate Professor of Church History and Doctrine, BYU Devotional, May 7, 2019 

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"Please, my beloved brothers and sisters, we must stop comparing ourselves to others. We torture ourselves needlessly by competing and comparing. We falsely judge our self-worth by the things we do or don’t have and by the opinions of others. If we must compare, let us compare how we were in the past to how we are today—and even to how we want to be in the future. The only opinion of us that matters is what our Heavenly Father thinks of us. Please sincerely ask Him what He thinks of you. He will love and correct but never discourage us; that is Satan’s trick.

Let me be direct and clear. The answers to the questions “Am I good enough?” and “Will I make it?” are “Yes! You are going to be good enough” and “Yes, you are going to make it as long as you keep repenting and do not rationalize or rebel.” The God of heaven is not a heartless referee looking for any excuse to throw us out of the game."

("Am I Good Enough? Will I Make It?", Elder J. Devn Cornish, Oct 2016 GC)

Dad brought this up during his Come Follow Me study

What Is the Meaning of the Phrase “Sufficient Is the Day Unto the Evil Thereof?”

From “Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread”, D. Todd Christofferson, CES Devotional, January 9, 2011

In the 1950s my mother survived radical cancer surgery, but difficult as that was, the surgery was followed with dozens of painful radiation treatments in what would now be considered rather primitive medical conditions. She recalls that her mother taught her something during that time that has helped her ever since:

“I was so sick and weak, and I said to her one day, “Oh, Mother, I can’t stand having 16 more of those treatments.”

She said, “Can you go today?”

“Yes.”

“Well, honey, that’s all you have to do today.”

It has helped me many times when I remember to take one day or one thing at a time.

The following is from https://bookofmormonstudynotes.blog/2019/06/02/what-is-the-meaning-of-the-phrase-sufficient-is-the-day-unto-the-evil-thereof/

In the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, as recorded by Matthew, the Savior cautions his disciples against excessive anxiety about the future. You can’t serve both God and mammon, He says. Therefore, if you really trust God, you will focus on the present, with confidence that He will bless you in the future (Matthew 6:24-33).

Then He gives the following admonition:

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof (Matthew 6:34).

When Jesus visited the American continent following His death and resurrection, He delivered essentially the same sermon to a group of people gathered at a temple in a place called Bountiful, but with some variations. The verse quoted above is different from the version recorded in Matthew:

Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient is the day unto the evil thereof (3 Nephi 13:34, underlines added).

Here’s how I interpret the New Testament version of this passage:

You have enough challenges to deal with today without piling on all of the challenges you may encounter in the future. Focus your time and attention on today’s problems, and you can work on tomorrow’s challenges when they come.

And here’s my paraphrase of the Book of Mormon version:

Every day, you have enough time to deal with the challenges and duties of that day.. Therefore, don’t burden yourself with worry that there won’t be enough time tomorrow to deal with tomorrow’s work. There will be enough time.

I like both versions of this sentence, and I think they both lead to the same conclusion. I ought to prioritize serving over planning. I ought to prioritize the duties of today over the duties of tomorrow. I ought to pay attention to the people I’m with right now and the tasks I’m working on right now, and not be distracted by the people and tasks I will interact with in the future.

Today, I will exercise my faith by living in the moment. I will trust God, believing that there is enough time to address any challenges which the future may bring.

"My Kindness Shall Not Depart From Thee"

https://youtu.be/_gWXIn6Et7c

I love this song. It touches my heart and fills me with hope and love. 

See 3 Nephi 22, Isaiah 54,  D&C 121:33, D&C 122::8-9, 3 Nephi 17:24, 2 Timothy 1:6-7, 3 Nephi 10:4-6, D&C 6:16 

Lyrics for My Kindness Shall Not Depart From Thee by Rob Gardner

For a little while

Have I forsaken thee

But with great mercies will I gather thee

In a little wrath I hid my face from thee

For a moment

But with everlasting kindness will I gather thee

And with mercy will I take thee 'neath my wings

For the mountains shall depart

And the hills shall be removed

And the valleys shall be lost beneath the sea

But know, my child

My kindness shall not depart from thee

Though thine afflictions seem

At times too great to bear

I know thine every thought and every care

And though the very jaws

Of hell gape after thee I am with thee

And with everlasting mercy will I succor thee

And with healing will I take thee 'neath my wings

Though the mountains shall depart

And the hills shall be removed

And the valleys shall be lost beneath the sea

Know, my child

My kindness shall not depart from thee

How long can rolling waters

Remain impure?

What pow'r shall stay the hand of God?

The Son of Man hath descended below all things

Art thou greater than He?

So hold on thy way

For I shall be with thee

And mine angels shall encircle thee

Doubt not what thou knowest

Fear not man, for he

Cannot hurt thee

And with everlasting kindness will I succor thee

And with mercy will I take thee 'neath my wings

For the mountains shall depart

And the hills shall be removed

And the valleys shall be lost beneath the sea

But know, my child

My kindness shall not depart from thee

 

Rising Strong

I am not sure if I can stop saying how much Brene Brown has benefited me. This book is no less good that the others I have read. This quote jumped out to me this morning.

In the absence of data, we will always make up stories. It’s how we are wired. In fact, the need to make up a story, especially when we are hurt, is part of our most primitive survival wiring. Meaning making is in our biology, and our default is often to come up with a story that makes sense, feels familiar, and offers us insight into how to self-protect. What we’re trying to do in the rumble --choosing to feel uncertain and vulnerable as we rumble with the truth-- is a conscious choice. A brave, conscious choice.

Robert Burton, a neurologist and novelist, explains that our brains reward us with dopamine when we recognize and complete patterns. Stories are patterns. The brain recognizes the familiar beginning-middle-end structure of a story and rewards us for clearing up ambiguity. Unfortunately, we don’t need to be accurate, just certain.

(“Rising Strong” by Brené Brown p 79)

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Heart Health

 Ragusa Fats, Carbs and health

https://youtu.be/Ji0ZFybqWD8

I Will Try to Fix You

"Lights will guide you home

And ignite your bones

And I will try to fix you"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VDAhbzTovo

https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/coldplay/fixyou.html

I love the Cinematic Pop version of this song. I imagine these words come from God. God will repair all if I allow His Grace in my life by working the path he lays before me. 

Which Part is Mine?

This is one of the most powerful songs I have ever heard. It is sung by Felicia Sorensen. The following has the lyrics to the song as well as the story behind as told by the author Michael McLean. 

Lynne and I just celebrated our 36th Anniversary, and I’ve been thinking a lot about the remarkable woman I married back in August of 1974.  She’s not only the reason my heart has a song, she influences every song I write, though not always as I would like.  Here’s a classic example of what I’m talking about.   The song is “Which Part is Mine?” and this story makes the most sense if you experience the lyrics to my first draft of the song first:

She was only a dairyman’s daughter.  She was only a child of thirteen,

But the stars on the radio brightened her nights with a dream    

So she called up her best girlfriend, Jenny, cause she thought

They would make quite a pair

She said, “Let’s you and me try to sing harmony

At the amateur night at the fair.

But she only had the range of an alto

So the part she knew best went to her friend

And when Jenny’s soprano drowned out the piano

They’d have to start over again.

And the dairyman’s daughter would then say

“Which part is mine, and Jen which part is yours?

Could you tell me one more time, I’m never quite sure

And I won’t cross the line like I have before

So please help me learn which part is mine

And which part is yours.”

She grew up and got married to Bobby

Kept him working on his MBA

They had two little red-headed children

And one on the way.

Everybody said she could work wonders and she

Wondered what everyone meant

She played so many roles it was taking its toll

And she feared that her life was mis-spent

So she opened her heart to her husband

They discussed everything on her list

From the kids to the job to her feelings for Bob

But what it really just boiled down to this…She said

“Which part is mine, and Bob, which part is yours,

Let’s review it one more time. I guess I’m not sure.

And I won’t cross the line like I have before

If we’ll just define which part is mine, and which part is yours.

 

-- interlude --

 

Every sleepless night knows many mothers who are

Wondering if they’ve done alright

And the dairyman’s daughter knew more than a few of those nights.

Had she give her son too much freedom?

Had she smothered her two teenage girls?

Did she spoil them too much or not trust them enough

To prepare them for life in this world?

So she opened her heart to the heavens and she

And she spoke of her children by name..

And the prayer that she prayed that her kids would be saved

Had a very familiar refrain…She said "Let's review this again"

“Which part is mine?  And God, which part is yours?

Could you tell me one more time, I’m never quite sure

And I won’t cross the line like I have before.

But it gets so confusing sometimes.

Should I do more or trust the divine.

Could you please tell me which part is mine and which part is yours?"

When I first wrote the song, that’s where it ended.  I played it for my wife who said… “That’s not the ending, is it?”

“Yes, it is…”

“Michael, it can’t be.  It’s too depressing.”

“Depressing?  It’s not depressing, it’s life.  Can’t you see, I have captured a truth about life in my song.  Everyday we wake up and we have to decide how much is up to us, and how much we can turn over to someone or something else.   Is today the day that if it’s meant to be it’s up to me, or is today the day to just let go and let God?”

I was on a roll…I think if you listened closely you could have heard a church organ underscore my little sermonette.

“Is today the day that when the going get’s tough, the tough get going…or is it a day you trust that you’ve done all you can do and show some faith.   Can’t you see, Lynne, this song, perhaps more than any other song I’ve written, has captured a truth about life.”

“Yeah…in a really depressing way.  Can’ you fix the ending?”

We’d been married a long time and I’d learned not to get defensive when my wife offered constructive criticism of my songs. So, I listened, actively, and when the mood seemed right I said.

.. “SO HOW MANY SONGS HAVE YOU EVER WRITTEN?”

“Goodnight, Michael. Play me that song again sometime, when it’s finished.”

I was NOT going to change that song.  The artist in me was not going to compromise just to make Pollyanna happy.  You know, I never discussed this with her, but I think my wife truly believed Romeo and Juliet should have lived.  

I was too riled up to sleep so I went to the “great room” of our house.  Perhaps I should mention here that at the time our place was sort of like THE WALTONS television show, and I was John Boy.  My mom and dad lived there, my wife and our three kids, and my sister and her husband and their three children.  The central gathering place of the house we called the “great room”. It had a wonderful piano in it, and with the logs and rock and high ceiling it sounded great.  

I played through the song again, imagining how it would sound, unchanged and recorded in a professional studio with terrific players and a great singer.   

When I got to the final few lines…. “It gets so confusing some times.  Should I do more or trust the Divine? Lord please help know which part is mine and which part is…..yours……”

When I came to the word yours I accidentally hit the wrong chord and it created an almost eerie texture to the song.  As the harmonics rang throughout the room, and put the context of the song into an entirely different key, I saw in my mind’s eye the dairyman’s daughter that I’d been singing about.  She was in her kitchen, grating carrots.  Then, dropped everything into the sink and leaned against the counter, with her head bowed and her fingers interlaced.  

And I heard her sing:

"DID YOU HEAR ME?

It was so faint I almost missed it.

I CAN FEEL YOU NEAR ME…

I could see her lower lip tremble.

THIS IS THE ANSWER THAT I’VE BEEN LONGING FOR

JUST TO KNOW YOU HEAR ME

AND TO FEEL YOU NEAR ME….

IT'S ALL THE ANSWER

THAT I’VE BEEN LONGING FOR

I could hear violins swelling and the woodwinds echoing.  It was so beautiful I couldn’t stop, and strangely I knew how she was feeling. Living under the same roof with so much family (nuclear and extended) all needing so much attention, understanding and love and not knowing if and/or when you’ve done enough can really make you yearn for answers to life’s big questions like “which part is mine, and which part is Yours?” Yet when you’ve been struggling for a long time, and wondering if anyone up there knows what you’re going through, and then you feel that closeness, it’s so healing you don’t ever want it to leave. It’s curious to me that what often brings the comfort is not a specific answer to a question, but knowing you are actually being heard.

Yes, I knew how my dairyman’s daughter felt and so I joined her, loudly in the refrain:

DO YOU HEAR ME???????

Throughout the house I heard unimagined voices saying: “YES, WE HEAR YOU…………GO…..TO……BED!!!!!!!!

But I couldn’t. Not yet.  I didn’t want the feeling to go away.  So very quietly I played that ending over and over and over again.  After I’d recorded the song people told me that the fade out was longer than HEY JUDE.   My explanation was simple.   People who are feeling heard don’t ever want that feeling to go away.  

And then the dairyman’s daughter was gone.  In my mind’s eye I couldn’t locate her anywhere. It surprised me when I heard myself sing what became the ending to the song:

AFTER I’VE DONE MY BEST

I KNOW YOU’LL DO THE REST

BECAUSE I KNOW YOU HEAR ME.

The recording of the song sounded just like it did in my head, and I sent it to my wife and daughter who were on an educational tour together overseas.  I express mailed a copy so they’d have something to listen to on the long bus rides.  Typical of my wife, she played the song for everyone and then called to tell me how much everyone responded to it. 

She’s never taken credit for the ending.

She should.

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Art Together Now

Art Together Now Announcement 2021: https://youtu.be/T7YCao8_Dlw

Original version: https://youtu.be/a5j50F4rlzA

OK Go Sandbox - Art Together Now (Symphony From Home Version):  https://youtu.be/i7va3BbNoSk

OK Go Sandbox - Art Together Now (Nature Version): https://youtu.be/g4EEtfNk1yk

OK Go Sandbox - Art Together Now (Kids Version): https://youtu.be/2hnhE7zlWNg

OK Go Sandbox - Art Together Now (Bunni Version): https://youtu.be/iCH9yM46FhY

OK Go Sandbox - Art Together Now (Space Version): https://youtu.be/nvhVTLk431U

OK Go Sandbox - Art Together Now (Praxinoscope Version): https://youtu.be/7JCEXOYOK9A

Lyrics

It's all still the same

Everything's untouched but forever changed

Oh, we're all still the same

Everything's untouched but forever changed

All the colors we painted yesterday

They look so different now

And all those harmonies we sang yesterday

All sound so different somehow

Though they're all still the same

Everything's untouched but forever changed

Everywhere on earth

Every single soul, everyone there is, all together now

And everyone alone all together on the precipice

All that mattered then, all that matters now

All that matters after the world shuts down

All of it dissolved all together in the chrysalis

Together in the chrysalis

Nothing changes, until one day it does, then there's no going back

Our best selves and our worst selves live in that moment there

Sparring over who draws the new maps

And though their lines

May look the same

Everything depends on who wins that game

Everywhere on earth

Every single soul, everyone there is, all together now

And everyone alone all together on the precipice

All that mattered then, all that matters now

All that matters after the world shuts down

All of it dissolved all together in the chrysalis

Together in the chrysalis

And now the impossible's happenin'

A million knots that we were told can't be untied

Would always hold all unraveling

And even while the heavens fall

The fog's still wrapped around us all

And when it's snuffed out every last star

We'll see just who we are

Just who we are

All together now, all together now

All together alone in the chrysalis

We're all together now

All together now, all together alone in the chrysalis

We're all together now

All together now, all together alone in the chrysalis

All together now

All together now, all together alone in the chrysalis

We're all together now

All together now, all together alone in the chrysalis

All together now

All together now, all together alone in the chrysalis

We're all together now

All together now, all together alone in the chrysalis

All together now

We're all together alone

 

"Everything with eyes has some amount of eyes"

"Everything with eyes has some amount of eyes"

https://open.spotify.com/track/0RQ6ghOpbHURdOqn1ltRDy?si=c076891e0722475f

This reminds me to not take myself too seriously. And about tautology. 

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tautology

Triops Has Three Eyes 

Rabbits have two eyes

And whales have two eyes

And eagles have two eyes

But triops has three eyes

Triops has three eyes

Two eyes on a face

Are usually enough

But triops has got

One that looks up

And one that looks around

And one to keep an eye

On the other pair of guys

Triops has three eyes

Needles have an eye

Tornadoes have an eye

Potatoes have a lot of eyes

But triops has three eyes

Triops has three eyes

Everything with eyes

Has some amount of eyes

And triops has got

One that looks up

And one that looks around

And one to keep an eye

On the other pair of guys

Triops has three eyes

There are two sides to every story

But triangles have three

And the tricycle has one more cycle

Than the washing machine

Chickens have two legs

And varmin [unverified] have two legs

And monkeys have two legs

But tripods have three legs

Tripods have three legs

They've got more than you

'cause they need more than two

A tripod has got

One that points back

And one that sticks out

And one to be a friend

To the other pair of legs

Tripods have three legs

Look, there's an eye

Hey, there's another eye

And there's a third eye

'cause triops has three eyes

Triops has three eyes

Two eyes on a face

Are usually enough

But triops has got

One that looks up

And one that looks around

And one to keep an eye

On the other pair of guys

Triops has got

One that points back

And one that sticks out

And one to be a friend

To the other pair of guys

Triops has three eyes

Triops has three eyes

Triops has three eyes

How Far Are You Willing to Love?: Including isn’t Agreeing

 I loved this talk by Ben Schilaty. 

How Far Are You Willing to Love?: Including isn’t Agreeing | Ben Schilaty | TEDxBYU
https://youtu.be/63lwcxP8ZVQ

Years ago I read his blog regularly.  http://benschilaty.blogspot.com/

Love God, Love my Neighbor, "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." Matthew 22:40 https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/matt/22.40?lang=eng#p40

His talk reminded me of this video of Dallin H. Oaks, "Love and Law", https://youtu.be/SsrZ1XqwQlg

Occam’s razor: the simplest explanation is usually the right one

 Occam’s razor "the simplest explanation is usually the right one"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam%27s_razor

https://youtu.be/9GI0EJyBxIg

The useless Whys, What ifs, and If Onlys

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I have come to understand how useless it is to dwell on the whys, what ifs, and if onlys for which there likely will be given no answers in mortality. To receive the Lord’s comfort, we must exercise faith. The questions Why me? Why our family? Why now? are usually unanswerable questions. These questions detract from our spirituality and can destroy our faith. We need to spend our time and energy building our faith by turning to the Lord and asking for strength to overcome the pains and trials of this world and to endure to the end for greater understanding.

What a wonderful I quote I found in "Come Follow Me Insights (Doctrine and Covenants 37-40, Apr 12-18) at 31:10", https://youtu.be/9U9fQURv8EE?t=1870

It is from Robert D. Hales, "Healing Soul and Body" Oct 1998. 

Also from this episode is this quote from Richard G. Scott from "Trust in the Lord", Oct 1995

It really does no good to ask questions that reflect opposition to the will of God. Rather ask, What am I to do? What am I to learn from this experience? What am I to change? Whom am I to help? How can I remember my many blessings in times of trial?

There are several stories from Ken Alford

Personal applications of principles when going through...

"Ken, with out being too personal .. how did it affect your personal identity and who you are?"

- Leukemia in the family

- Other family challenges

"Heavenly Father can comfort infinitely. He knows the end from the beginning. We don't know how some of these stories are going to turn out yet, but it's going to be OK."

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Find Peace by Reading the Book of Mormon

I have known Melanie Wellman Stroud for well over 15 years. I remember attending a ward or stake fireside back when I first knew her. It was about how she studies the Book of Mormon. It inspired me. 

She has since had a roller coaster of experiences. She has been hosting a podcast called Come Follow Me for Us since January 2019. One of her perennial topics is how we all need to study The Book of Mormon every day. 

For many years now, I have had the goal of reading or listening The Book of Mormon every day.  For the last six months I have been reading or listening to The Book of Mormon for least 15 minutes every day. 

I don't know if I can say too much about what is does for me. It has been an anchor to me when many others had slipped away. It roots me to Jesus Christ who is my only hope. It has chided me in many ways. It has been a way for me to know that I have been having revelation. 

I love The Book of Mormon. It verifies the truth of the Bible. I know that as I live by its teachings, I will overcome the world through my Savior Jesus. 

Here is Melanie's podcast on the Book of Mormon.

https://comefollowmeforus.com/bomstudy/

Here are links to how to get it as a podcast.

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/3vCK5Xkn8WnybenySfrHv7?si=qTwLmQEsQASTXJF7fRUK8w

Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/come-follow-me-for-us-podcast/id1448229352

Here is a Google Doc that has some key quotes and promises and how Melanie was taught to study The Book of Mormon by her mission president. "The Book of Mormon:  The Liahona of our Lives"

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CFDrfwTnmbqGEuprDR0u1IpUxIWSMo3xfOxgPDkElw4/edit?usp=sharing

Melanie Wellman Stroud

From a FB Post, 11 Apr 2021

Why Multiple Accounts of the First Vision

I am listening to episode 5 of "The First Vision: A Joseph Smith Papers Podcast. Eight minutes in, a professor Steven C. Harper of BYU talks about the nature of memory and why there were different accounts of Joseph Smith's first vision. 

8:23 - 12:45 question "Why are there different accounts?"

Following is a selection of the transcription of “It Caused Me Serious Reflection” (The First Vision Podcast, Episode 5) from 8:25 - 12:45 in the audio that answers the question "Why are there different accounts?"

The four gospels of the new testament.

The way memory works. A present production of the shards of the past. 

We view the past through the lens of the present. 

From the transcription: 

Spencer: All this talk of record keeping brings us to a question that many Latter-day Saints have asked about Joseph Smith’s first vision. Why are there different accounts?

The answer: there are different accounts of the First Vision because Joseph Smith described the event to different audiences at different times. Naturally, the different accounts vary in emphasis and detail because each was told in a different context. Nevertheless, the various accounts tell a consistent story.

Now, historians expect differences in the accounts of historical events if they were created at different times and under different circumstances. In fact, such differences in detail and emphasis often help historians and other scholars piece together a fuller story.

For instance, think of the accounts of Jesus’s life and His resurrection in the Bible—the four gospels. There are four different accounts told in different contexts that emphasize different details. Scholars of the Bible and early Christianity do not reject the accounts because of the differences but instead understand the different accounts as a benefit to their scholarship.

So, the different accounts of the First Vision can be studied in a similar way. And they not only help us better understand the vision itself. The different accounts help us better understand Joseph Smith’s life and the early history of the church he led. As Steven Harper explains, this has a lot to do with the way that memory works, that in addition to Joseph relating the vision at different times to different audiences, the various accounts are also formed by the nature of memory itself.

Steve: So, the answer to why these different accounts to me lies in the science and the psychology of memory. Memory is not what we often assume it is. Memory is not a recording of our past that’s like this podcast recording. We could replay it ten years from now, and it’ll sound the same. It’ll be the exact same recording, no matter how many times you play it or how distant in time we play it. That is not how memories work, not at all.

A memory is a present production that is made from a combination of cues that are stored somewhere in our minds somehow. Nobody knows for sure how, but “traces” of the past, as Daniel Schacter at Harvard calls them. “Traces” is his word.

So, it’s the past or pieces of the past—you might think about it as shards of the past—and present. The present environment in which we are remembering has a lot to do with the shape that memory will take.

Spencer: What Steve is describing is really interesting to me. As I understand it, what is happening in the present influences the way we remember events in the past. Our circumstances in a given moment also influence what aspects of those events we choose to emphasize. When we are talking about memory, context matters. And it matters a lot.

In other words, we view the past through the lens of the present. That’s how our memories work.

So, how does this influence the way that Joseph Smith remembered and retold the First Vision at different times?

Steve: So, what is happening in Joseph’s present to cue the memory in the first place, and then help him recover some of the shards or traces he has at his disposal, and put them together in the particular way he does at the time—that’s the way to get at the differences in the accounts.

Spencer: If we want to understand the differences in the accounts of the First Vision and uncover new and deeper meaning from Joseph Smith’s experiences, then we need to ask what was happening in Joseph Smith’s life at the moments in which he recounted the First Vision. In short, to move beyond the question of why there are different accounts of the First Vision to the question of what insights can we gain from studying the different accounts, we need to look at what cues informed the way Joseph remembered and told audiences about the event.

A link to the other episodes of "The First Vision: A Joseph Smith Papers Podcast"

One Eternal Round

Scriptures that use the phrase "one eternal round"

"I perceive that it has been made known unto you, by the testimony of his word, that he cannot walk in crooked paths; neither doth he vary from that which he hath said; neither hath he a shadow of turning from the right to the left, or from that which is right to that which is wrong; therefore, his course is one eternal round." (Alma 7:20) 

"And it may suffice if I only say [The Book of Mormon records] are preserved for a wise purpose, which purpose is known unto God; for he doth counsel in wisdom over all his works, and his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round." (Alma 37:12)

"For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round." (1 Nephi 10:19)

"For God doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to the right hand nor to the left, neither doth he vary from that which he hath said, therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round." (D&C 3:2)

"Listen to the voice of the Lord your God, even Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, whose course is one eternal round, the same today as yesterday, and forever." (D&C 35:1)

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I also found this YouTube video by Greg Matsen who is "the founder of Cwic Media" and "has a strange passion for ancient history & religion." He talked about how the round is a symbol of the higher law and some of the ancient history of circles. Also how it related to the square and the lower law. 

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In addition, I found this from Scott R. Braithwaite, assistant professor of psychology at BYU, BYU Campus Education Week Sep 2014. "Deliberate practice is so intense you can only do it for one to four hours a day. It also involves seeking critical feedback targeted at improvement from an unbiased mentor." ("Improvement and Progression: One Eternal Round")

A study of students at the Academy of Music in Berlin was set up to determine what separated the best students from the average students. All of the students were extremely talented. “The key was not how many hours were spent in total because they all spent the same amount of time,” said Brother Braithwaite. “The key was how they spent their time. Elite performers spent 3.5 hours practicing alone and the lowest skilled musicians spent 1.5 hours.” The best students also worked in two defined periods at a deep level and took a nap and rested in between periods. The worst students were busy all day, never rested and never got intense, deliberate practice.

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Vulnerability

"I define vulnerability as uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure." (Brené Brown, Daring Greatly, p 34)

Worth Versus Worthiness

I am having an issue with how Brené Brown uses worthy and how my church uses it. “Am I worthy to have a temple recommend” does not jive with Brené’s definition. She might use “Am I recommended to have a temple recommend” Following use words different than worthy in a Latter-day context. 

- Can I answer all the temple recommend questions affirmatively?

- Am I congruent with the temple recommend questions?

- Am I aligned with the temple recommend questions?

- Am I straight with respect to the temple recommend questions?

- Am I loyal to the temple recommend questions?

- Am I to be trusted that I live the gospel to the extent that I can attend the temple?

- Am I living the gospel to the extent that I can attend the temple?

In contrast, in a Latter-day context what Brené Brown defines as worthiness is closer to being of worth or being deserving or being of value. This song shows our belief of individual worth. "I am of infinite worth" Janice Kapp Perry & Joy Saunders Lundberg, I Walk By Faith (2010)

“if we are continuously repenting and improving, then we are worthy to partake of the sacrament.” (“The Beauty and Importance of the Sacrament,” General Conference, April 1989).

What is the difference between being worthy and having a sense of my individual worth?

“Let me point out the need to differentiate between two critical words: worth and worthiness. They are not the same. Spiritual worth means to value ourselves the way Heavenly Father values us, not as the world values us. Our worth was determined before we ever came to this earth. “God’s love is infinite and it will endure forever.”3

On the other hand, worthiness is achieved through obedience. If we sin, we are less worthy, but we are never worth less! We continue to repent and strive to be like Jesus with our worth intact. As President Brigham Young taught: “The least, the most inferior spirit now upon the earth … is worth worlds.”4 No matter what, we always have worth in the eyes of our Heavenly Father.” ("Value beyond Measure", Joy D. Jones, Oct 2017)

Instead of asking “Am I worthy?”, ask “Am I of worth?”

Come Follow Me Podcasts that I listen to

Come Follow Me for Us
Melanie Stroud is the host of Come Follow Me for Us. Here is the Book of Mormon Daily Study program. Here is the link to the podcast. 

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/3vCK5Xkn8WnybenySfrHv7?si=qTwLmQEsQASTXJF7fRUK8w

Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/come-follow-me-for-us-podcast/id1448229352

Come Follow Me Insights
Here is the YouTube list for Doctrine & Covenants. 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhfh21X9suLfDM0oD8LbEDjFKiKd_Cu_T

One of the hosts is Tyler J. Griffin. He is an Ancient Scripture professor at BYU. 

Another is Taylor Halverson. He is an Associate Teaching Professor of Entrepreneurship in the BYU Marriott School of Business

Shame and Redemption of a President of the Church of Jesus Christ

I found this account moving. I did not know that Joseph F. Smith struggled with substance addictions. It is an inspiring story of hope, grace, accountability, overcoming shame, and the redemption of God. It is copied from a post from the Faith Forward Facebook page. She listed the following as her sources. 
“Chapter 6: Joseph F. Smith: Sixth President of the Church,” Presidents of the Church Student Manual (2004), 93–109
"Before The Beard: Trials of the Young Joseph F. Smith", By Scott G. Kenney, Sunstone Magazine, Nov 2001, 20-43

When he was a infant intruders broke into his home. They threw a mattress over him while they ransacked the place and he nearly suffocated.

He was still a baby when his family was forced from their homes. His mother was sick, his father in jail, and his aunt cared for him.

He was five when his mother lifted him to see his father's body, a cotton ball placed where a bullet had entered his father's face. Then whenever he saw strangers in the street he would hide, thinking they'd take him next.

Seven when he looked back across a frozen river to what had been his home and heard cannon fire, the beginning of another forced exodus.

Thirteen when his mother died after an eight week quarantine. When he was told he passed out. She had held him together, kept him in check, and now he said, "I was almost like a comet or a fiery meteor without attraction or gravitation to keep me balanced or guide me within reasonable bounds."

He fell into bad company. Maybe he was the bad company. Drinking and tobacco.

He loved his family. He lost his family. He had a sister left. The schoolmaster called her up on some infraction, had a leather strap. He cried out, "Don't you touch her with that!" The teacher invited him up to take the punishment in her place. Instead he strode to the front and decked the teacher. As I told this story to a group of teens they cheered. I told them no, we all get it. He lost so much of what he loved, but what he did was inappropriate. He let it get him. He hugely overreacted to what was then culturally acceptable.

He was expelled from school.

Fifteen when he was called to serve a mission to the Sandwich Islands. Some speculate it was because no one knew what to do with him; fiery, passionate, and broken. Oh, but the Lord knew. No one forced him to go, but he went. The teacher was there to wish him well. 

The Sandwich Islands where he was placed was then a place of poverty and disease. STDs, Small Pox, and others. It was humbling. He threw himself to work. He learned the language quickly and after six months became the lead over some 1200 church members in forty-one branches. He loathed the living conditions. Loved the people and hated their vices. Sixteen years old. Determined.

The addictions acquired hadn't yet left him. They don't leave, do they? Addictions don't walk out. 

He and all other missionaries were called home to Utah due to rumors of an impending military invasion. He enrolled in the militia. The forseen war fortunately petered out. 

There, though he "went into the president’s office. He whispered to me, I was obliged to whisper back. He smelt my breath, and started in surprise. “Do you

chew tobacco?” I could have shrunk out of existence, or anihilated myself from very shame, and he saw I was ashamed of myself, and pitying me said, "Keep it to yourself”!" 

He hated the hypocrisy he saw in himself. He hated himself. He determined to quit. The alcohol was easy as it never had much hold on him, but the tobacco took twenty years. Nicotine is more addictive. Many substance abuse centers put it in the top five most addictive substances. It held him. He hated it. He tried and failed, tried again. Withdrawals made him,"cross and crabbed", more apt to be harsh with his wife and children. He succumbed. And tried again.

Twenty years. Twenty years and then, "I conquered—and now, when I think of it, I feel ashamed that I was so weak, and strange to say the appetite, though still with me and perhaps as strong as ever, it is at my command. It is no longer the master, but a subdued, conquered enemy ever on the alert to revolt, but daily

growing weaker and more faint."

He urged others to conquer. He spoke harshly of addictions, praised clean living, put himself up as a standard and enjoined others to try. He did so with empathy. And when, as president of the church, he charged the people to give up their addictions as a prerequisite to temple attendance, he told the bishops that if there were those elderly and set in their ways for whom the new enforcement was difficult that they still ought to allow them their temple worship. He was determined and passionate. Fiery, but kind. His youthful wildness yolked to keen understandings and a determination to do justly, to lead as God would have him do, made him formidable: a champion for good. 

I told this story to a room full of teens. About the broken boy whose temper raged, who self medicated his grief with addiction, and how he became a worthy, powerful leader. And after I wondered if it were right to show these struggles in a man we revere, and the member of the bishopric I lamented to said, "Well yes, of course! Of course you tell them. Our is a gospel of redemption!"

Redemption. The boy was redeemed. Brought back. Cleansed. Loved, held, blessed, healed- by God. By Jesus. And he became a leader for Christ. 

As the president of the church he was attacked and vilified. His character was maligned. For a six year period one newspaper almost daily cartooned him as wicked. "He endured persecution, the revilings and ravings of the wicked, false accusations coming from the most contemptible and vilest creatures of the human family, and endured it all without a word of retaliation. … He took the stand that if Joseph Smith could endure the abuse and vilification which was heaped upon him; if the Son of God could endure it and not return in kind, then he, too, as the humble servant of the Master, could endure in silence, for his fear was not in the arm of flesh but in the Lord, and the time must come when truth would triumph and the falsifier would sink into oblivion and be forgotten.”  The boy who decked his school teacher now turned the other cheek. He insisted on forgiveness.

There is more. So much more. He testified before congress in such a way the detractors became defenders. The church, considered extreme, became more mainstream. 

He was compassionate. He led the church during World War I. He encouraged patriotism, supported soldiers, and urged those at home to practice thrift.

Section 138 of the Doctrine and Covenants was a revelation given by God to him. It teaches about heaven. 

He was Joseph F Smith, son of Hyrum Smith, nephew to the first modern prophet Joseph Smith, and I think he was magnificent. The more I learn the more I respect him. I think that for me, seeing the struggles makes me admire him more, not less. It makes him relatable. It gives me a glimpse of how God molds people. Troubled teen to Prophet. Self-loathing addict to advocate for Christ. 

How do I treat people who are trapped? I, who never struggled a day with addictions, have a lot to thank my ancestors for.  They broke the chains. I grew up with no alcohol, no addictive substances, in my home. Never saw them there. Was taught not to touch them anywhere. It an easy commandment for me. How do I treat those for whom it's hard? Do I consider myself superior for never having struggled? If I do, I'm wrong to. It was never hard for me, but I owe that to those for whom it was. Children of addicts are far more likely to develop addictions. It is often a familial disease. I owe a lot to the chain breakers. Struggled and conquered so I never had to. That's a beautiful gift.

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"that wretch will take control again"

 From "The Way of Kings" by Brandon Sanderson spoken by Kaladin. 

...that wretch will take control again. This time he'll get his way. 

This reminds me of the two wolves story.

A man is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”

He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

The old man simply replied, “The one you feed.” 

Which kind of person do I want to be? Which kind of person will I encourage feed and mimic?

There is Room in the Church

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Thanks for your letter of April 15, 1955. I am happy that you read my letter, which you refer to, as it expresses accurately my point of view. 

Given the differences in training of the members of the Church, I never cease to marvel at the degree of agreement found among believing Latter- day Saints. So far from being disturbed to find that Brother Talmage, Brother Widtsoe and yourself didn’t always see scientific matters alike, this situation seems natural and as it should be. It will be a sad day for the Church and its members when the degree of disagreement you brethren expressed is not allowed.

I am convinced that if the Lord required that His children understand His works before they could be saved that no one would be saved. It seems to me that to struggle for agreement on scientific matters in view of the disparity in background which the members of the Church have is to put emphasis on the wrong place. In my judgment there is room in the Church for people who think that the periods of creation were (a) 24 hours, (b) 1000 years, or (c) millions of years. I think it is fine to discuss these questions and for each individual to try to convert the other to what he thinks is right, but in matters where apparently equally reliable authorities disagree, I prefer to make haste slowly.

Since we agree on so many things, I trust we can amicably disagree on a few. I have never liked, for example, the idea that many of the horizontally lying layers with their fossils are wreckage from earlier worlds. In any case, the Lord created the world and my faith does not hinge on the detailed procedures.

Thanks again for your kindly, thoughtful letter.

(Letter from Henry Eyring to Joseph Fielding Smith, quoted in "Mormon Scientist: The Life and Faith of Henry Eyring" by Henry J. Eyring)

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From the father of Henry Eyring 

"Henry, we’ve ridden together on the range, and we’ve farmed together. I think we understand each other. Well, I want to say this to you: I’m convinced that the Lord used the Prophet Joseph Smith to restore his church. For me that is a reality. I haven’t any doubt about it. Now, there are a lot of other matters which are much less clear to me. But in this Church you don’t have to believe anything that isn’t true. You go over to the University of Arizona and learn everything you can, and whatever is true is a part of the gospel. The Lord is actually running this universe. I’m convinced that he inspired the Prophet Joseph Smith. And I want to tell you something else: if you go to the university and are not profane, if you’ll live in such a way that you’ll feel comfortable in the company of good people, and if you go to church and do the other things that we’ve always done, I don’t worry about your getting away from the Lord."
("My Father’s Formula" By Henry Eyring, Ensign Oct 1978)