Finding Insights in the Psalms

I read a book this last year entitled "For Times of Trouble" (Spiritual Solace from the Psalms) by Jeffrey R. Holland.  I was so taken by the many insights Elder Holland found in these scriptures.  I realized I needed to spend more time looking for passages that would have meaning for me.    

He begins the book with these words: "One of the unfailing facts of mortal life is the recurring presence of trouble, the recurring challenge of difficulty and pain.  so often we find ourselves swimming against the tide in what Hamlet called "a sea of troubles."  Someone once reasoned that confronting problems is apparently the common denominator of the living - the great bond between the rich and the poor, the learned and the ignorant, the believer and the skeptic.  It is very clear that anyone, including the righteous, who enters the chaotic currents of life is going to face trials and tribulations along the way. "

He further states, ". . . the Psalms have been among the most personally applicable and the most privately embraced scriptures in the entire canon.  In that canon, this book is unique in its intense longing for deliverance, solace, and safety. . . pleas to a compassionate God, to the healer of broken hearts, to the Savior of the downtrodden and destitute."

As I began my sincere search of these psalms, I found exactly what Elder Holland said.  They are so personal and so easy to identify with.  

I also did a google search to see what others have said about the Psalms.  

“The most valuable thing the Psalms do for me is to express the same delight in God which made David dance.”  ― C.S. Lewis

“The more deeply we grow into the psalms and the more often we pray them as our own, the more simple and rich will our prayer become.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“Whenever I read the psalms, I feel like I am eavesdropping on a saint having a personal conversation with God.” ― R.C. Sproul

“When we read the Psalms, we are meant to learn things about God and about human nature and about how life is to be lived. Some poetry makes no claim to instruct the mind. The Psalms do. They are meant to be instructive about God and man and life.” ― John Piper

I probably identify mostly with the quote by C.S. Lewis although I feel the delight more in song and as you will see I find myself turning to the hymnbook quite often as I read because the thoughts lead me to favorite hymns.  

This is my journal for this year; a scripture journal wherein I stop to ponder with each reading what the psalmist is telling us.  Have I learned that same thing in my life?  How do his words affect me?  Where do my thoughts go as I ponder what each psalm is saying?  

I am no Jeffrey Holland.  His literary skills surpass mine by ions.  But I have years of living that have given me my own personal set of experiences and outlook on life and on the gospel - different than anyone else.  Maybe I will see something meaningful to me as I read and journal.  

Psalm 1 Happiness in Living the Gospel

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.  But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.  And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

Let me preface any remarks I make about these verses with a personal confession.

One - I don't like scriptures that classify people into the "righteous" and the "unrighteous" - the good and the bad.  That's too simplistic for me.  We are all sinners.  Even the worst of people have some good in them.  And, after all, we are all children of God.  So I must re-frame this language to find a meaningful interpretation and application for my own life.

I choose to see this dichotomy in terms of principles.  In this mortal earthbound phase of our existence we make a lot of choices.  There are principles we can choose to follow that bring happiness into our lives both as individuals and as societies.  The righteous are those who base their lives for the most part on these "true principles."  There is an overriding connotation to that word that evokes "goodness".

There are also actions or choices that have devastating consequences, that lead to unhappiness for both individuals and societies.  The unrighteous are those who having made such choices do not learn from the consequences and choose to repeat the bad choices.  The overriding connotation here is more like "evil".

But all the above - no matter what the choices they make are beloved children of God.  They are loved by Him.  I think it is too easy to think the Lord hates those who make unrighteous choices.

So as I study the scriptures I don't say I am looking for ways to be "righteous" because I cannot say  I am righteous without a sense of self-righteousness.  I must instead look for principles that make for a happy life - for goodness and joy.

I think that is what the word "blessed" means.  To be blessed is to live in a state of happiness. That state is a reflection of the principles we choose to live.  It reflects a deeper sense of life- not the fun of vacations and parties and sports; the activities of the day but of gratitude and forgiveness, of love and sacrifice, of service and commitment. 

Two - the scriptures often reflect another simplistic belief and that is instant reward for good choices and instant consequences for bad choices.  In verse 3 the final words are "and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."  I wish life was that simple but it is not.  Good people lose their jobs, have their homes burned or flooded, die in accidents, are cheated or robbed and so much more.  I think it is important to re-frame this idea also and I choose to re-frame this by distinguishing between our inner and outer lives. 

Our "inner life" reflects who we are, our character, our virtue, the person we have become. This is who we will be when we stand before the Lord having left all else behind.  The "outer life" is the trappings of mortality, the things we own, the ways we define ourselves in the world.  This is everything that can be taken away from us, everything we leave behind when we die.

The problem I see is that we begin to think that the Lord's blessings will come to us in terms of this outer life; that to "prosper" means less problems, more money, etc.  If we believe that way, we may find ourselves very disappointed with life and with the Gospel.  "I pay my tithing faithfully.  Why am I not being rewarded in my financial well being?"  That expectation and disappointment can lead to a frustration with tithing.  That person may stop paying tithing because obviously there is no reward.

The person, though, who pays his tithing because he is acknowledging that all we have is the Lord's and he wants to thank the Lord and help build up His work on the earth; well, each time he happily tithes he is prospering in his ability to share, to be grateful, to be selfless. The inner man has prospered.

So lets interpret that psalm.  Blessed or happy is the person who delights in the law of the Lord, who has based his life on principles that create happy living.  He prospers because of the contentment found in righteous living.

I testify that such happiness is found in living the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

However, it is also a fact of life that we learn from our mistakes.  The road to joy isn't always straight.  Mortal journeys are fraught with detours and wrong turns.  We want to make changes when necessary but not beat ourselves up along the way.  We are imperfect mortals. 

I like what Edison said about the light bulb. After all, he made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked, "How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?" Edison replied, "I didn't fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.". 

Dare we use that analogy in the religious sense?  I finally learned to forgive, to love unconditionally, to respond to hate with love, etc.  It took me 999 times before I got it right but at last I did it.   

The blessing of repentance and forgiveness is that we can use them over and over and over until we finally get it right.  The Savior died for us because He knew we would make mistakes.  His plan is so kind, so forgiving, so loving.  He always invites and never closes the door to any of us.  I love reading the new Testament and pondering especially His words and teachings.  To the extent I follow Him I am happy.  I am blessed.

Psalm 2 - A Messianic Psalm

The notes to this chapter call it a Messianic psalm. I must admit that I found nothing particularly inspirational here. So let's see what Elder Holland says:

He starts by reminding us that the theme of all the Psalms is that life is full of trouble; trouble for God as much as for men. Remember always that God our Heavenly Father is totally committed to and involved in our lives.

So Psalm 2 begins by pointing out that those without faith (the heathen) rage and people (any and all of us are incriminated here) imagine a "vain thing'. Vain has two meanings. Vain can mean self-centered and it can also mean futile. When we catch ourselves lacking faith and being vain; like the kings in verse 2 we may be angry and take counsel against the Lord and his Son, (the Anointed).

The Kings or leaders in Christ's time did that - they counseled together in VAIN to destroy him but their efforts were useless (futile) for the plan of salvation - God's work - Christ's atonement - could not be stopped. "I will declare the decree, the Lord has said unto me, this day have I begotten thee."

When we find ourselves raging and angry because life is so hard, we must summon our faith "Be wise now, be instructed, serve the Lord with reverence, kiss the Son, blessed are all they that put their trust in Him."

Elder Holland reminds us,  "We might rage and insist it be otherwise, but it is not. God has a plan for our exaltation, and His Only Begotten Son is central to it. So rather than rebellion and vanity, raging and conceit, the call is for wisdom and humility, for understanding and obedience."

It's time to exercise faith. I went through this process during and after my divorce. I was angry at the Lord. I was demanding that he explain to me how a family breaking up fits into the eternal scheme. I was angry that he did not reach for his hand and provide healing for us. Maybe this was just the angry stage of the grieving process but I distanced myself from the one true source of comfort.

When I finally got tired of being angry, I found myself longing for God - needing Him in my life. Humility brought me to my knees. I did not get my questions answered but once I began to feel God's presence in my life I was content. I could stop raging and begin exercising faith.

Wow, I am surprised at how much  there is here in Psalm 2.

Psalm 3 Thou Art a Shield for Me

Psalm 3 is a message we need to burn into our hearts and minds so that no matter what happens in life we can respond in faith and with courage.

It begins with mocking words: 

Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! Many are they that rise up against me. Many there be which say of my soul, there is no help for him in God.

The psalmist replies with his testimony - a statement of faith:

But thou, oh Lord, are a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his Holy hill. I laid me down and slept. I awaked; for the Lord sustained me."

I particularly like this psalm because of those words: "I laid me down and slept."

I have found over the years that my sleep is a reflection of my mental and spiritual health. And if my faith were to be rated by the quality of my sleep during difficult seasons of my life I would not have a passing grade.

Strange dreams and nightmares come randomly but their frequency during crisis increases dramatically. My mind continues to worry even when I manage to fall asleep and to be honest sometimes that sleep is Unisom induced.

So I am impressed that the person who wrote Psalm 3 - in his time of trouble - could lay down and sleep. To me that says everything. He knows God lives and cares for him. He communicates with God and shares his burdens and troubles there. He is confident the Lord will sustain him through his present storm in life.

My heart has always been touched by church music. It has a power to call me, to uplift me, to open my heart to the Spirit. I find that I am particularly drawn to the hymns that speak in the first person. They give me a voice for bearing my own testimony and for speaking the words that I have trouble verbalizing. The Psalms are so often written in the first-person and are powerful when spoken aloud. Here is an example from this Psalm.

Psalm 3:3

But thou, O Lord, are to a shield for me, my glory, and the lifter of my soul.

Hymn # 89 The Lord is My Light

The Lord is my light; then why should I fear?

By day and by night His presence is near.

He is my salvation from sorrow and sin.

This blessed assurance the Spirit doth bring.

Psalm 3:4

I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his Holy hill.

Hymn #104 Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me

Jesus, Savior, pilot me 

Over life's tempestuous sea.

Unknown waves before me roll,

Hiding rock and treacherous shoal.

Chart and compass come from thee.

Jesus, Savior, pilot me.

Psalm 3:4

I laid me down and slept. I awaked; for the Lord sustained me.

Hymn # 136 I Know That My Redeemer Lives

I know that my Redeemer lives.

What comfort this sweet sentence gives.

. . . He lives to bless in time of need.

Elder Holland gives a different and also helpful interpretation of the verse that speaks of sleep: "Not all problems disappear with a night sleep, but our ability to face them and see more constructive approaches to them improve dramatically with rest. . . Don't make important decisions or try to resolve serious problems when you are exhausted. Get some sleep. Your mind will be refreshed and your spirit will be quickened. You will have new strength for the task. God will hear you in His Holy Hill and with a lifted head you will see a new day dawning."

Psalm 4:3-8 Stand in Awe

Psalm 4:3-8

. . . The Lord will hear when I call unto him. Stand in awe, and; commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Offer sacrifice of righteousness and put your trust in the Lord. . . . Lord, lift up the light of thy countenance upon us. Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. I will lay me down in peace, and sleep, for thou, Lord, only make us me dwell in safety.

This song is a testimony more than a pleading for help. It is obvious that the writer has had some past spiritual experiences that have allowed him to face a current situation with faith and hope.

There are two particular phrases that I find remarkable. In verse 7  the writer says that the joy he feels in his heart comes from the Lord and is greater than all the choice of worldly prosperity. 

It is easy to get spiritually lazy in times of comfort, isn't it? We have busy lives and rush off in the morning without reading our scriptures and saying our prayers or we do them with little thought or meaning. We can also just be having so much fun enjoying life and the beauty of it that we forget the Maker of it all. This Psalm reminds us that once we truly know God and have experienced His love in our lives, there is a joy that exceeds all else. No wonder he uses the phrase "Stand in awe" back in verse 4. The writer himself stands in awe of God.

The second phrase that I like is in verse 8. "For thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in peace."

I struggle with both grief and depression after my divorce as I have said elsewhere. There was a terrible spiritual void in my life. I thought that just talking to caring friends and family would bring peace and that helped momentarily. But ultimately I was alone and I had to find peace in my loneliness.

It was when I finally stop being angry at the Lord and humbled myself and asked for help that my life begin to change. The problems were still there but I experienced a love and warmth in those moments of humble prayer that changed me. I found God. I experienced Him and knew He was with me. I changed inwardly and knew I was going to be okay. "For thou, Lord, ONLY makest me to dwell in safety."

Of course we need our friends and family. But they cannot give us a testimony of God and of the power of His love in our lives. That piece we have to do ourselves. 

There is a video that the church has recently done that talks about dance and music. It is called The Music of the Gospel. It likens the dance - doing the steps of the dance - to living the Gospel. We can go through the motions of the dance without the music being turned on but oh, what a difference there is when the music starts and your body responds to the beat, the temple, the

So it is with the Gospel. We can go through the motions of living gospel principles and never feel the music - never recognize this Spirit, never feel God's love.

If I had life to live over again, I would spend everyday helping my kids feel the gospel rather than just know it. I would rather help them experience a tender moment and help them understand how the Spirit touches our hearts than memorize the Articles of Faith or the names of the prophets.

We used to lay outside on a summer night identifying the constellations but did I bear testimony of the One who created them and help my kids to marvel at His creation?

I fear I taught the dance steps without the music even though I loved it. I fear I loved it more in my mind then in my heart or at least didn't know how to express my heart. I would speak more of love and joy in living the Gospel and of Jesus' love for us. I would add as much music as I could because joy and peace come with the music!

Psalm 5

Once again I have to battle with the language of the Old Testament so I will just say this once and for all and be done. I don't know why there is such a harsh language describing God in these books. I have to assume that there was a complete lack of understanding of His character. Or maybe this is where the "plain and precious truths" were lost over the years of translation and re-translation. I find it interesting that the LDS book of scripture, The Pearl of Great Price, dates back to the same time period and speaks of the "God Who Weeps" - the Loving Father.

Psalm 5 speaks of God hating workers of iniquity and how he will destroy them. Quite a contrast to our understanding of the Father who loves us dearly and continues to do all He can to teach us, implores us to follow Him and to find happiness in His teachings. He weeps at the pain we suffer when we err.

So I reject these negative descriptions of God emphatically. They frightened of me as a child and made me afraid of that being I called God the Father. I left Jesus who embodied everything that was good. Ironic that LDS doctrine teaches that Jesus is the god of the old testament - Jehovah.

Having said all that I find that I cannot let go of these inaccuracies. I feel sorry for anyone who is stuck in that negative interpretation of God. What joy they miss by such a gross misunderstanding.

In between these little vignettes of the angry God there are actually lovely poetic gems that are beautiful and inspiring. My favorite verse in Psalm 5 is verse 11 which says,  But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them; let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.

That verse reminds me of another favorite D&C 128:19

Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have received? A voice of gladness! A voice of mercy from heaven, and a voice of truth out of the earth; glad tidings for the dead, a voice of gladness for the living and the dead; glad tidings of great joy.

The gospel should bring us joy - on so many levels.

1. JOY because Gospel principles bring happiness as you live them. For example, we all know what it feels like to have done something wrong and then to be forgiven. Both actions - asking forgiveness (repentance) and receiving forgiveness are principles that bring joy and healing to relationships. I am grateful to have such principles to guide my life.

2. JOY  because the truth of who we are as children of God and the purpose of life here on earth gives us a way to keep life's challenges in an eternal perspective. Instead of despair we are given hope to guide us through the difficult days.

3. JOY  because we learn to get out of our own small worlds and to serve others. As we see what others experience and serve them we gain a deeper appreciation for what we have. Service to others brings joy.

4. JOY  because we know that God is supreme and goodness will eventually triumph. Our future is filled with promise. We will dwell forever in happiness with those we love, surrounded by truth and light and glory - worlds without end. We have every reason to be filled with optimism and joy.

Psalm 5:12

For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favor wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

The Lord does not build a wall around us that protects us from all difficulties. That would defeat the purpose of mortality. But he does compass us with the shield of faith and hope and testimony. He protects our hearts from fear, doubt and depression. He is always with us, loving us, enlarging us, for giving us, strengthening us.

Hymn #89 says it perfectly:

The Lord is my light, then why should I fear?

By day and by night, His presence is near.

He is my salvation from sorrow and sin.

This blessed assurance the spirit doth bring.

The Lord is my light though clouds may arise

Faith, stronger than sight, looks up through the skies

Where Jesus forever in glory doth reign.

Then how can I ever in darkness remain?

The Lord is my light.

He is my joy and my song.

By day and by night he leads,

He leads me along.

Psalm 6

One way to make the study of the Psalms more meaningful is to re-define the word "enemy" to match the challenges that you face. David was king and had to deal with matters of state. His enemies were most often the warring nations that surrounded him.

I do not have his problems although in this day and age we we have our own problems. I have never prayed for the Lord to destroy my own nation's enemies but I must admit it sounds nice to think we could be rid of them. I do pray often for the hearts of men everywhere to be changed so that they seek peace and understanding instead of war.

I do have personal enemies though. One definition of enemy is "something harmful or destructive". Religious people often label Satan as the enemy and lay the blame for every bad thing at his feet. I personally go by the saying, "I have met the enemy and it is me".

My own personal weaknesses and negative personality traits or habits are those things that give me the greatest frustrations in life. Therefore I identified with this psalm as it says: 

Psalm 6: 2-4

Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am weak; O Lord, heal me for my bones are vexed. My soul is also sore vexed; but thou, O Lord, how long? Return, O Lord, deliver my soul; oh save me for thy mercies' sake.

Perhaps the greatest battle I have is to maintain faith when problems come. I am a person of action. If something breaks I fix it. I do not like it when a situation arises that I cannot control or do something about.

I don't like to have to sit and wait and wait and wait. I pray and ask the Lord to fix things but He does not take orders from me. I rebel against free agency when others don't do what I want them to do. I fight anger and impatience.

"Wait patiently upon the Lord" it's not my favorite scripture yet this is probably one of the most important lessons I need to learn. Life does not unfold by my timetable. Trusting that it will unfold and that the blessings of the Gospel will be realized if not in this life then in an eternity seems like "never" to me.

This is my battle - the enemy of my soul.

Psalm 6:6

I am weary with my groaning, all the night make I my bed to swim, I water my couch with my tears.

I know those days and nights of tears of grief and frustration. And I also know that the answer to this problem - to conquer this particular enemy - is to develop greater faith and trust in the Lord.

Psalm 6:8

Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity, for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping.

The psalmist knows that God is real and has heard his prayers.

So often in life our outward conditions cannot be altered. Hurricanes this week reaked havoc in Florida. Last month it was floods in Houston.  Forest fires have destroyed homes all over the west this summer. And 8.2 earthquake hit Mexico. Mudslides wiped out lives in Sierra Leone. North Korea is led by a dangerous man who is developing nuclear weapons. A family member has lost his job. A son has recently divorced. Life is so very hard.

My peace comes when I make the effort to "spend time with the Lord". I have to slow myself down and quiet my mind so that I can have meaningful prayers and scripture study. Writing about what I read helps me to find application to my life. Meditation afterwards allows me to listen to the Lord, to experience His presence for He is always near.

I am not one who can say I know God lives because I have seen great miracles in my life. He has not manifested himself to me in these outward ways.

But He has let me feel His love and His presence in the quiet mornings as I sought to know Him. Like the psalmist I can say "The Lord has heard the voice of my weeping".

My first response to trouble is still the same - fix it! I'm not sure that is wrong. Should we not do all we can?  Does not even the grace of Christ demand that we do our part. But after we have done what we can and realize that we no longer have control, no more power in a given situation then we must "Let go, Let God".

Hymn #85 How Firm a Foundation

Fear not, I am with thee, Oh, be not dismayed

For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.

I'll strengthen thee, help thee and cause thee to stand

Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose

I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes.

That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake

I'll never, no never, I'll never forsake.

************************

Hymn #110 Cast Thy Burden Upon the Lord

Cast thy burden upon the Lord

And he shall sustain thee.

He never will suffer the righteous to fail,

He is at thy right hand.

Thy Mercy, Lord, is great

And far above the heav'ns.

Let none be made ashamed

That wait upon thee.

Psalm 7:14-16

Psalm 7:14-16

Behold, he travaileth with iniquity and have conceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood.  He made a pit, and digged it, and is falling into the ditch which he made.

His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate (head).

The apostle Paul said it more simply in Galatians 6:7.

Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

The common phrase is,"What goes around comes around".  It is just true that there are consequences to all behaviors and the most obvious of all is that how we choose to live our lives and especially how we treat others is how life (and others) will treat us.

This is especially true in our personal relationships and in our workplace relationships. Trust is built upon honesty and kindness, upon fairness and good works. When we find a business person who we can trust, we repay in references, don't we? We tell our friends and give recommendations.

When we are kind to others, they usually are kind back to us. Even in the midst of this crazy world, we are able to create our own place of love and safety because when we treat others right, it comes back to us!

We have a favorite story in our family.  One of the grandkids had to interview a grandparent and so they chose my dad to interview.  The very last question they asked was "Do you have a word of advice you'd like to leave to then next generation?"  My dad thought for a minute and then responded, "Do unto others as you would have others do to you.  Just don't expect others to treat you well in return."

Do what it right.  Be kind.  But just realize that everyone is not going to treat you that way.  That was the advice of a man who had had many disappoint him over the course of his life.  Yet he still chose to live by that golden rule.

His words of advice are good.  We never do the right thing because we expect something in return.  We do it just because it is the right thing to do.

And yet, life has taught also, that in general terms if not in every specific, we get back what we give.   This is a moral universe where there is more good than bad.  We wake each morning expecting good things to happen.  We are surprised when the opposite takes place and so it should be.  We trust that life will give back what we put into it.

Psalm 8:3-6

Psalm 8: 3-6

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained, what is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man that thou visitest him?  For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor.  Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands, thou hast put all things under his feet.

It is all too easy to get caught up in the daily business of life and never notice the absolute majesty of the world and the universe around us. 

My longing to see the night sky is part of my wanting to remember "God's heavens". We are just a small part of something that is so huge and magnificent and yet modern man rarely gets to even see the majesty of it all. So we forget the Creator because we don't see his creations.

I think that this why my husband and I love photography so much. To photograph a flower -and really see it - means we are looking at every angle, trying to see the pistil and stamen, and capturing those drops of pollen? is it better if the light is on one side or the other? Shall we get up early and catch it with the dew drops?

we feel the same with our birds. At first it was just the fun of seeing how beautiful they are. Now we try to catch them in flight, or bathing, or with the head turned just so. We are amazed at what they do.

Remember how psalm for said,  "Stand in awe"?the more time we spend enjoying God's creation, the more we are in awe at what this says about him.

Hymn #86. How Great Thou Art

Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder

Consider all the worlds thy hands have made.

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder

Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee,

How great Thou art, How great Thou art.

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to thee, 

How great thou art. How great Thou art.

The first section of this writing was to acknowledge God's majesty. 

This second part acknowledges what it must feel like to create something that is so beautiful and then to give the care and keeping of that something to someone you know is so very imperfect and has the potential to destroy your creation. And yet "God gave man dominion over the works of his hands".

As a result He has watched us through both ignorance and greed or desire for power

• Destroy species
• Destroy rainforest
• Pollute the lakes
• Create toxic sites that may never recover
• Create weapon of mass destruction
• Use what He has given us to kill each other 

The list could go on and on. The buzzword of these days is "global warming". As the polar ice cap melts and our glaciers disappear, as hurricanes rage with deadly force, we argue over whether the climate is warming. "What is man that thou art mindful of him?" 

Why would God allow us to have such power over his creations? What are we supposed to be learning in this school of mortality? Why does the power to destroy come with the power to create?

Abraham 3: 24-26

We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell.

And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.

And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon, and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate, and they who keep their second estate shall have Glory add upon their heads forever and ever.

Mortality is a learning time, a sorting time, a place where we discover who we really are and what ultimately matters to us. What we see here in God's creation is just a sampling of the glory and majesty that we can experience forever! 

Those things we love and value we will care for. We each create a microcosm of our own that reflects the person we are becoming. That little world is constantly changing as we continue to learn. Often we learn by making mistakes. If our little world were defined by the strength of the light emanating from it, then we'd see it dim at times, flickering perhaps, and hopefully often shining brightly.

D&C 50: 24

That which is of God is light and he that receiveth light and continueth in God receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.

That's how I see us. We cannot control the whole world and the complex politics and economics that man has created. But we each have our own place - the small microcosm that is our own world that we are constantly altering. To the extent that we fill it with light and truth and "continueth in God" it will grow brighter and brighter until that perfect day when we shall have glory crowned upon our heads. And then all creation is ours to enjoy, never to be destroyed again. We will have fulfilled "the measure of our creation" and will have proved ourselves worthy of "eternal dominion".

The world is a beautiful, majestic place. How privileged we are to live upon this, our amazing and beautiful mortal home.

Psalm 9: 8-10

Psalm 9: 8-10

And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall Minister judgment to the people in uprightness.  The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know Thy name will put their trust in thee; for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.

I read a sad story in the newspaper a few years ago. A young teen girl was involved in a murder. I don't remember the particulars of the story but she was sentenced and spent several years in prison.

After prison she began all over again. She had learned her lesson. She got him employment, met a guy. They married and had children. Now this is where the story got picked up. As a mom she was now volunteering at the elementary school where her children went. Someone at the school somehow recognized her and knew her story and felt that for the safety of the children the community should know this "murderer"  was at the school. Instead of just talking to the principal and making sure this woman had been cleared, he chose to notify the newspaper. It hit the front page the next day. Her past was not to be forgotten.

That was a heart-breaker for me. Where was the fairness in that?

Those beginning words of this psalm are so important: "and he shall judge the world in righteousness".

Isaiah 1:18

Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be like crimson, they shall be as wool.

D&C 58:42

Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.

Oh, to live in a world where gospel principles were accepted. This young woman deserved a second chance and in fact should have been praised for turning her life around. We all do stupid things and would not want to be judged by our past.

Verse 9 is equally beautiful. 
The Lord will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in time of trouble.

Once again the characteristics of our Heavenly Parents should guide our actions. 

It is estimated that there are 65 million displaced persons throughout the world, all seeking refuge. We cannot say to them "the Lord will be your refuge". Our prayers will not produce food and shelter and security.

Alma 34: 27-28

. . . let your hearts be full, drawn-out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you. And now behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, do not suppose that this is all; for after you have done all these things, if you turn away the needy, and the naked, and visit not the sick and afflicted, and impart of your substance, if ye have, to those who stand in need - I say unto you, if you do not any of these things, behold, your prayer is vain, and availeth you nothing, and ye are as hypocrites who deny the faith.

Amulek's words here are sharp but important. We who claim to be followers of Christ must become like Him. We must be "a refuge for the oppressed" just as the Lord is. And when we treat others justly and help them in their "times of trouble" as verse 10 says, they will come to trust us.

Psalm 9:18

Psalm 9:18

For the needy shall not always be forgotten; the expectations of the poor shall not perish forever.

I like to think of the church's new emphasis on helping us become self-reliant as a fulfillment of the scripture and others like it. In a society like ours with its emphasis on upward mobility and material success, we start believing we are successful because of our own actions - we are "self-made men". 

That is so far from the truth. Take me, for example. I was born in a loving home with parents who both worked and modeled industry. I attended a high school where teachers were preparing us for college and helping us set goals for our future. I was able to find a good job that was adequate to pay my college expenses. I had no college debt. 

Along the way I had adults who mentored me and helped me to succeed. Where would I have been without them? 

I was born in the United States. How would my life have been different if I had been born in rural Pakistan? 

I was born healthy. What if I had been handicapped in some way? 

So much was just given to me.

So what about those who are born with very little? Are they not often the forgotten ones?

My husband and I feel very privileged to work in our Church's welfare initiative and help some of those whose expectations perished long ago. Our missionaries bring hope. Our needy are not forgotten.

Psalm 12:6

Psalm 12:6

The words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried in a furnace of Earth, purified seven times.

When I am particularly distressed (and even though I love the Book of Mormon) I like to go back to the four gospels and read "the words of Jesus". Nothing brings me greater peace then reading His words.

When I am angry with someone He reminds me to "Go thy way and first be reconciled to thy brother".

When I am unforgiving He reminds me I must forgive "until seventy times seven", always asking me to grow and to trust that He will help me "for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

When I am sad there is great comfort in knowing He is there. I find peace as I read "I am the light of the world" or "whosoever drink of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life"

I could go on and on with words of the Savior that I love so much. The Savior's words have great power when I read them. They have guided my life. How grateful I am to have had access to them and the great privilege of reading over and over these beautiful words of scripture.

Psalm 13:1,2,5

Psalm 13:1,2,5 (compare D&C 121)

How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord, for ever? How long wilt thou hide thy face from me? How long should I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? How long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?

If there is a universal prayer, one offered by people of all faiths and times, it is probably this one. There are times in life when we feel broken; the weight of sorrow, pain, and grief beyond what we feel we can endure and it seems as if the heavens have closed and no one is listening. And so our prayer rises up with questions, "How long? Why? Where art thou?"

The answer of course is that He is always there, always aware of our suffering.  In fact, He suffers with us, feeling our pain. 

The real meaning of our prayer is more like this: "Lord, take away my pain, my suffering. I do not want this." We cry out for deliverance.  Unfortunately we want deliverance from the very situations that are the "refiners fires" that mortality was guaranteed to bring.

In the book, The God Who Weeps, the authors point out:

"In the garden story, good and evil are found on the same tree, not in separate orchards. Good and evil give meaning and definition to each other. If God, like us, is susceptible to immense pain, He is, like us, the greater in His capacity for happiness. The presence of pain serves the larger purposes of God's master plan, which is to maximize the human capacity for joy, or in other words "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man". 

He can no more foster these ends in the absence of suffering and evil then one could find the traction to run or the breath to sing in the vacuum of space. God does not instigate pain or suffering, but He can weave it into His purposes. God's power rest not on totalizing omnipotence, but on His ability to alchemize suffering, tragedy, and loss into wisdom, understanding and joy."

Grief is such a large part of life.  There are studies that talk about the stages of grief: unbelief, anger, acceptance, understanding. There are so many things that can happen to us that cause us to grieve. It is not just the loss of a loved one. It can be the loss of a job, the loss of health, of dreams, of a friendship. Our response to all loss of any kind is grief and grieving itself takes time. The Lord cannot wave a magic wand that fast forwards this process.

Some of life's challenges are temporary; we endure for a season. We lose a job but eventually find a new one. The time of unemployment is painful but as soon in the past and we move on.

Other situations are permanent. If maybe the loss of eyesight in an accident, a chronic disease, death, divorced, etc. Somehow humans have the ability to adjust, to feel the pain and come through these times. Like Job who lost everything we may at last let go of our anger at God. "Therefore have I uttered that I understand not..." It is after we have completed our grieving that life begins again. "So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning."

A second comment about those words "How long?" is that very often they are a stepping stone to meaningful prayer. In our times of ease we often succumb to a ritual of prayer with little meaning. But when life gets hard and we cry out for the Lord's help, we begin to really express our heart. We talk to Him about the reality of our life and acknowledge our own weaknesses and our need of Him. If we are sincere this can be a life-changing time that leads to a future of meaningful prayer, a deeper communion with deity, a testimony of the divine presence in our lives.

We don't always get answers to our prayers. We won't know why some things happen, why tragedy comes to one and not to another. Much of life will always seem unfair. Life's greatest tragedies like the Holocaust, can only be described as horrific and beyond comprehension. For many things, our only means of dealing with them lies in a testimony of the Gospel plan. God lives and loves us. Our life on Earth has a purpose - to refine us and prepare us for greater blessings in the eternities. Jesus is our Savior who conquered sin and death and will bring both healing and ultimate rescue from our mortal woes. We will live forever and be able to use our mortal experiences to become like Him. Our destiny is a glorious reunions with God, to share in all that He has - worlds without end.

When we truly believe in this, we can then say with the psalmist "But I have trusted in thy mercy, my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation."

Psalm 16:7

Psalm 16:7

I will bless the Lord, who has given me counsel: migraines also instruct me in the night season.

I am not one of those people who has constant spiritual promptings but at the same time I feel like I am sensitive to spiritual things. Dreams and visions are not my usual forte.  

However, I would like to share a meaningful dream I had the other night. It was a simple dream. I had gone over to the church building to get something. When I walked in, all of my church friends were gathered together enjoying some kind of activity. I was overwhelmed with the realization that I have not been invited. The dream was so powerful that I shared it with my husband that morning.

That very same day I received a letter in the mail from a church friend inviting me to join a small, private study group. I could not accept. The message of the dream was too real to me. I could not be a part of an exclusive group. 

Exclusive groups do not stay hidden. At some point in a Relief Society class or Sunday School class someone will say ," My study group was talking about this the other day". 

I just wish if somebody wanted to do a group of any kind they would open it to the whole Relief Society and invite all.

I am so touched by 2nd Nephi chapter 26 vs 24 to 33. The open invitation of the Lord to all.

"Wherefore he commanded none that they shall not partake of his salvation." 

"Come unto me, all ye ends of the Earth..."

 " Behold, hath the Lord commanded any that they should not partake of his goodness? Nay, but all men are privileged the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden."

". . .he invited us all to come unto him and partake of his goodness, and he denied none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile. '

Surely that should be our model.

Psalm 16:8 - I Shall Not Be Moved

Psalm 16:8

I have set the Lord always before me, because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

There is an old gospel hymn that is entitled" I Shall Not Be Moved".

Glory, hallelujah, I shall not be moved

Anchored in the spirit I shall not be moved

Just like a tree planted by the water

I shall not be moved.

Though men assail me, I shall not be moved

Jesus will not fail me, I shall not be moved.

Just like a tree that's planted by the water

I shall not be moved.

That song became a Civil Rights song, We Shall Not Be Moved, that I sang many times during the 1960s.

We shall not, we shall not be

We shall not, we shall not be moved.

Just like a tree that's planted by the water

We shall not be moved.

We're fighting for our rights and we shall not be moved.

We're fighting for our rights and we shall not be moved.

just like a tree that's planted by the water

We shall not be moved.

v.3 We shall all be free...

v.4 God is on our side...

v.5 Black and white together...

The song is a powerful way to express what this verse in Psalms is saying: I have declared my faith and trust in the Lord. I shall not be moved.

The following story is from the series Standing on the Promises by Margaret Blair Young and Darius Aidan Gray.

Len Hope was a black man from Alabama who had listened to various preachers talk about the Holy Ghost and wondered how you can have the Holy Ghost to guide you always. He made it a matter of prayer. Shortly thereafter a couple of Mormon missionaries left a tract at his home, "The Holy Ghost - who is he? How is the spirit obtained?' All this happened after Len had had a dream where he was baptized and his life changed.

Len immediately sought out the missionaries and requested they bestow him with the Holy Ghost. The missionaries told him they could not baptize him until he understood what the gospel was and fully understood the commitment he would be making. They gave him a Book of Mormon, a Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price to read. He replied, "Whatever you give to me, I will read it through. Then I will come back here and I will ask you to baptize me and give me the gift."

World war 1 interrupted Len's plans but as soon as he returned home he found the missionaries and was baptized. It was 1919.

The persecution began immediately. The KKK went to his home to let him know he didn't belong in a white man's church. He told them, "I've been looking into the saints church from way back before I went overseas. Done decided it was God's church, so I come back and joined. That's the whole of it."

They let him know he needed to remove his name off the church rolls or else.

Len went to church the following Sunday and told everyone what had happened. They told him that if he felt the need to remove his name, it was still written in heaven. If he felt the need to distance himself it was okay. Len had to make a decision. What he knew in his heart drove that decision. "If you folks can endure persecution, why can't I? Maybe I get hung from a limb and shot full of holes, and Jesus take me if that happened."

I SHALL NOT BE MOVED

While all this was happening in Alabama, the KKK was parading in Salt Lake City even though President Heber J. Grant was speaking boldly against it. White America was not ready to change. Crosses burned on Ensign Peak.

Len left Alabama and moved to Cincinnati, hoping to escape the Jim Crow problems of the South. He had married, his wife was baptized in 1925. The two of them moved to that new city and looked for the church. There was no welcome for them there - only glares and whispers. When the sacrament was passed it was not offered to them.

"The next Sunday, the Hopes went to church again, after a long prayer. But you can't pray someone out of their life - held ideas any more than you can pray a window out of its built up dust."  

This second time they went to church was a repeat of the week before and soon after the branch president came to tell them they would not be able to attend the Latter Day Saints Church.

I know what I would have done it that point but for Len and Mary Hope - well, their testimonies burn deep in them.

WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED

They offered that branch president a compromise. They would come once every 3 months to a district conference, sit in the back row, invisible, pay their tithing and leave.

This faithful couple did just that. They studied the gospel at home, taught it to their children, attended district meetings where they greeted every missionary and their investigators. The missionaries responded to them and began visiting them every fast Sunday to hold a meeting in their home and offered them the sacrament. There they had their own testimony meeting.

Later an LDS newspaperman visiting Cincinnati heard about the Hope family and joined them for their home services. Mark Peterson took note of their worn scriptures and hymn book and asked his wife to send new ones. And then a young missionary visiting the Hope home for one of their Sunday meetings took ill - sore throat, burning fever, head so dizzy he could not stand. Mary Hope insisted she would care for this young man and he was too sick to refuse. That young missionary was Marion Duff Hanks. A friendship was formed between Duff Hanks and the Hopes. And they talked about the realities of being black in the Mormon Church. Elder Hanks, with all the caring and love he could have for the Hopes, expressed his regrets that Len could not have the priesthood. "There are some things I don't understand. I guess we both go on faith."

Of course Len wanted the priesthood, but what concerned him most was how he was living  the life God had given him.

I SHALL NOT BE MOVED

I need to finish Book 3 of Standing on the Promises (The Last Mile of the Way) before I know how Len and Mary Hope's story ends but I know this. They exemplify a deeper faith and trust in the Lord then I have ever had.

"I may not have the priesthood but I have the Restored Gospel, and that is rich bounty. Elder Hanks, priesthood will come. I don't know when but I believe it will come in God's time."  

"There's many people needs healing - not just in their bodies but in their hearts and in their souls. I believe they need to understand some things before the Lord going to change what is."

I SHALL NOT BE MOVED