Endure...Day 9 of 31 Days of Creating with Meaning

We sang this song in church today.  Nobody knew the song.  It must not be one of the more popular hymns.  But the words are comforting and powerful all at the same time...

I will not doubt, I will not fear;
God’s love and strength are always near.
His promised gift helps me to find
An inner strength and peace of mind.
I give the Father willingly
My trust, my prayers, humility.
His Spirit guides; his love assures
That fear departs when faith endures.

When Faith Endures Hymn #128

On the same note, the word endure is not one of the more popular words for me.  It sounds depressing.  It sounds like drudgery.  It sounds like nothing I want to do.  But I read this about the root of the word "endure":

The word endure comes from two Latin roots. The prefix en means “within.” The remainder comes from the verb durare, which means “to be firm or solid.” Thus, to endure means “to become firm within yourself.”

That meaning carries into the original languages of the Bible. In the Hebrew language of the Old Testament, the root word ’aman means “to render firm” or “to be faithful, to trust.” It was often translated as “faithful,” but never as “faith” alone. ’Aman meant more than faith. It was not a passive term; it meant “a firm resolve to be faithful.” ’Aman was also the Hebrew root for words that were translated into related terms, such as “verified,” “believe,” “long continuance,” “assurance,” “establish(ed),” “sure,” “trust,” “steadfast,” “stand fast,” and others.

In the Greek language of the New Testament, the verb hupoméno was used. It means “to remain,” “stay,” or “continue.” Hupo (or hypo) means “under,” as in hypodermic (“under the skin”) or hypothermia (“low temperature”). “To endure” connotes a commitment within one’s soul.

So if I look at ENDURE as "to become firm within my soul, having a resolve to be faithful and to trust, believe, and stand fast", the word endure becomes much more poetic, and much more doable.

Matthew 24:13 says:  But he that shall ^aendure unto the end, the same shall be saved.  

If you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.   D&C 14:7. 

The Prophet Joseph Smith included this concept of endurance in the thirteenth article of faith: “We have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things.”

That's what I can do; HOPE to be able to endure all things.   


Brian is on the swim team.  Part of the training is swimming with drag, or something that is holding them back and making them work harder.  All of that hard work breaks them down and then builds the muscles back up.  It teaches them endurance and how to work past the point of exhaustion.


Does that sound familiar?  Isn't that what "endure" means, to work through whatever is holding us back and keeping us down?


I hope to be able to endure all things.  

ALL things.


I can do all things through ^aChrist which ^bstrengtheneth me.  Philippians 4:13  

Because I have been given much...

Ever since the first time I heard Sister Beck, the Relief Society General President, speak, I've been struck by her no-nonsense yet spiritual messages. She is not afraid to tell it like it is in an inspired and knowledgeable manner.

Sister Beck recently spoke to a crowd of women at BYU-Idaho and I've been studying what she says about women, our role, and achieving balance.  The words that are in blue are from this article about that meeting.  I've highlighted and italicized the phrases that jumped out to me.

Finding Balance

Citing the Lord’s commandment in 2 Nephi 9:51 to labor not for things that cannot satisfy, Sister Beck counseled to find balance by going to the Lord, then setting boundaries and prioritizing.

• I love how she says to go to the Lord FIRST.  Shouldn't I do that in all things? Then I'll also go to the Lord once I've thought or planned it through.

“Some days you are going to feel guilty. . . . No woman ever has enough time, enough energy, and enough strength to do all the good things that are in her mind to do,” she said.

• I have so much that I want to do, and that I need to do, but unfortunately, the lists do not overlap.

Sister Beck encouraged the women to seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost in prioritizing their lives and promised that the Lord accepts their personal best and will bless them for their efforts.

• The words "personal best" obviously stood out to me.  Heavenly Father knows what I am capable of.  He knows exactly what I can accomplish in all aspects of my life.  He knows and will accept MY best and does not compare me to my sister, my neighbor, or my friend like I sometimes do.

“The Lord knows who you are because it is His work,” she said. “He will strengthen and magnify you.”

• It is His work.  Of course He will help me to go about His work.

She testified that “the Lord has blessings for His daughters. . . . We don’t have to be worried; we just have to be faithful.”

• I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
  Philippians 4:13

As we turn outward and serve others, we ourselves will be blessed. “The poor will always be with us,” she said, “the poor in spirit, the poor in heart, the poor in the things of the world. They’re placed there to sanctify [us]. It is as we work on the Lord’s work that we become sanctified, because the problems are bigger than we are and the solutions can come only from heaven.”

• This was quoted a couple of times this conference weekend:  God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs.
  President Spencer W. Kimball, Ensign, December 1974, p.5
• We did some service as a family recently, and the kids did not even grumble about doing it.  Manual labor, even.  They were excited!  When we serve our fellow beings we are also in the service of our God.

• "[The Lord] has created ways to bless both those who need help and those who will give it.” —President Henry B. Eyring

Preparing to Minister

In addition to suggesting prayer, fasting, scripture study, and other ways to prepare before making a visit or teaching a lesson, Sister Beck encouraged the sisters to engage in lifelong preparation, which will make them more useful in the Lord’s hands. 

“The longer I am at this business, the more I feel the privilege of helping our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, in Their divine work,” she said. “This isn’t about a job . . . in the Church. This is about a calling to serve as the Lord’s hands.”

Sister Beck asked the women to become articulate in sharing their testimonies by studying the scriptures.

• I've started a Scripture Journal, and I'm really having a good time with it.  I've jotted down scriptures and notes about them before, but this time I've got a three-ring-binder that I'm using, and I've divided it into topics. I'll share more on that later.

She encouraged them to develop their talents to be used to build up the Lord’s kingdom.

•  God's gifts put man's best dreams to shame.  
  ~Elizabeth Barrett Browning
• What are talents?  God's gifts.  So much greater than any of my dreams.  Reading my Patriarchal Blessing regularly gives me a glimpse of my potential.

She urged them to seek revelation by asking questions and to share what they know.

• Seek answers to my questions, share them, and my testimony will grow and be strengthened.

She challenged them to get over the excuses they have allowed to keep them from doing the Lord’s work.

• There is always something that seems to be more important to do.  Always.  I can come up with a million excuses to NOT be about my Father's work.  It needs to become a habit instead of making excuses.

Because I have been given much I to must give.

The Times In Which We Live...

I've been reading this article "The Times In Which We Live"  after hearing the talk again on the internet radio station. I remember well the feelings I had while listening to these words the first time, just weeks after the attacks on 9/11.  I can still feel my heart jump to my throat when I heard these words:  "a U.S. missile attack is under way."

These words reassured me:  "We are people of peace. We are followers of the Christ who was and is the Prince of Peace. But there are times when we must stand up for right and decency, for freedom and civilization."

They made me think:  "As we have been continuously counseled for more than 60 years, let us have some food set aside that would sustain us for a time in case of need. But let us not panic nor go to extremes. Let us be prudent in every respect. And, above all, my brothers and sisters, let us move forward with faith in the Living God and His Beloved Son."

 They lifted my spirit.  "Are these perilous times? They are. But there is no need to fear. We can have peace in our hearts and peace in our homes. We can be an influence for good in this world, every one of us."

I agreed with them, and still do:  “Religion offers no shield for wickedness, for evil, for those kinds of things. The God in whom I believe does not foster this kind of action. He is a God of mercy. He is a God of love. He is a God of peace and reassurance, and I look to Him in times such as this as a comfort and a source of strength.”

They gave me counsel:  "As we have been continuously counseled for more than 60 years, let us have some food set aside that would sustain us for a time in case of need. But let us not panic nor go to extremes. Let us be prudent in every respect. And, above all, my brothers and sisters, let us move forward with faith in the Living God and His Beloved Son."

And I am thinking about these things again as the people of Japan are struggling to make sense of their new reality. I am amazed by the dignity and  We feel helpless, like we can't do much, but we are going to send some blankets here to be sent on to Japan to hopefully warm some hearts along with some feet. Contact Juli at julinewman@gmail.com if you can help.

One more quote:  "Let us be prayerful. Let us pray for righteousness. Let us pray for the forces of good. Let us reach out to help men and women of goodwill, whatever their religious persuasion and wherever they live."

The people of Japan are in my prayers, as are my brother-in-law Mark, who is over there, and Elder Voss who is serving a mission from our ward.  Be safe.

Seeking What's Good...

We've been listening to this song a lot lately. Natalia first heard it at a Young Women's meeting, and it's got a great message!

The song goes along with this year's theme for the Youth, the Thirteenth Article of Faith:

"We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul--We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things."





For Family Home Evening we worked on the 13th Article of Faith. Monkey THINKS that he is in charge of FHE every Monday.  He wrote the agenda down on the bottom left hand corner of the board.  I'll translate for you:

• Oponing Prer = Opening Prayer
• Oponing Song = Opening Song (pretty obvious) 
• Toke = Talk (lesson)
• Aktevt = Activity (he wanted to watch 101 Damsos {Dalmations}) it didn't happen.
• Kosing Prer (Closing Prayer)

Artwork was provided by Natalia and Joe.

Here is a game on lds.org to reinforce and practice the Articles of Faith. There are three different levels, so it's fun for beginners or for those who already THINK they have them memorized!  We have used the songs to help learn and reinforce the Articles of Faith, too.  Joseph is memorizing them to sign off for the Faith in God program, too.

Most of the time, holding Family Home Evening is HARD!  I am tired at the end of the day.  I get up early, and by that time of night the house is a mess, the dishes need doing and the kids are all getting tired, too.  We try to keep FHE short, and sometimes the kids are cooperative and helpful.  Sometimes they are wrestling on the floor or pouting in the corner.  There is no telling how it will go, but again, we do try.  And I try NOT to pull my hair out.

Parenting...

...just a couple of thoughts that I'm drawing from.




This entire article is great advice!  Here is one quote:

"In our day, many children grow up with distorted values because we as parents overindulge them. Whether you are well-to-do or, like most of us, of more modest means, we as parents often attempt to provide children with almost everything they want thus taking away from them the blessing of anticipating, of longing for something they do not have. One of the most important things we can teach our children is to deny themselves. Instant gratification generally makes for weak people. How many truly great individuals do you know who never had to struggle?"
~Joe J. Christensen, “Greed, Selfishness, and Overindulgence,” Ensign, May 1999

Sunday Soliloquy (when I'm really just rambling on to myself and trying to make sense of it all)...

Last night was Stake Conference, just for the adults, and of course babes in arms are welcome, too.

Love being a part of a group of people who are trying their best to be their best.

Our Area Authority, Elder Scott D. Whiting was here from Hawaii.  He said "Aloha!" when he got up to speak.  Love that!

He spoke about keeping the family strong, and doing that by having a) family scripture study  b)family prayer  c)family home evening.  Radical ideas!

He also said that our main objective, what this all boils down to, is to have the Spirit in our home.

Now, I've been thinking.  How can I do this?  I suffer from a debilitating need to set the bar too high.  I have great expectations, and when those aren't met, I crash miserably.  I expect my children to participate in the above three activities, and when they cause problems, I get really irritated and, quite possibly, I will sometimes even overreact!  (I know, it's hard to believe.  I also know that my mom is laughing when she reads this.)

But then, do I just aim low and be grateful for whatever amount of participation I get out of them?

Is there a happy median?

It is also hard to feel the Spirit when I feel stressed so much of the time.  And again, I admit that some of that stress is self-induced -- if I were more organized, some of it would disappear -- but some of the stress comes from the day-to-day worries about money and kids.  Those are really the two biggest anxiety-producers that I have.  So, if anyone has some advice, I'm open to it.  And I'll just keep praying, and trying to knock some sense into my kids.  Because the older they get, the less they have.