Last updated on February 25th, 2024 at 10:39 pm
February 18, 2024
Here is the best thing I heard (What?), saw (Eye.), and read (Read.) this week, as well as the best idea (💡) I developed.
What?
Y Religion Podcast episode 98: Unique Voices in the Book of Mormon (John Hilton III):
- “More than half of the invitations in The Book of Mormon to be baptized come directly from Jesus Christ. Baptism is important to Him, and that helped me realize how it should be important to me.”
- Additional resource: Voices in the Book of Mormon
Eye.
Two men testifying during the Bluffdale Utah Independence Stake Conference that President Russell M. Nelson is the prophet of God on the earth today:
- President Christiansen (Oquirrh Mountain Temple Presidency): In the mid-1980s, shortly after President Nelson had been called as an Apostle, President Christiansen was serving as a Stake President. Then-Elder Nelson was assigned to attend President Christiansen’s Stake Conference. Elder Nelson indicated that he wanted to join President Christiansen on the stand early, well before the meeting was scheduled to start. Then Elder Nelson sat on the edge of his seat and asked President Christiansen to tell him about individuals who were walking into the chapel. After President Christiansen shared what he knew, Elder Nelson would respond: ‘Yes, I thought so.’ President Christiansen testified that, since that time, he has known President Nelson to have been blessed with a wonderful gift of discernment.
- Elder Paul N. Clayton (Area Seventy): Elder Clayton has known President Nelson since the late 1970s. While in medical school, Elder Clayton participated in a 4-week rotation with President Nelson, who was then Dr. Nelson. Elder Clayton has continued to interact with President Nelson over the years, but has noticed a visible change in President Nelson’s countenance since becoming the President of the Church. He knows that President Russell M. Nelson is the prophet of God on the earth today.
Read.
‘The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics‘
- “[Pocock] suggested that Joe think of a well-rowed race as a symphony, and himself as just one player in the orchestra. If one fellow in an orchestra was playing out of tune, or playing at a different tempo, the whole piece would naturally be ruined. That’s the way it was with rowing. What mattered more than how hard a man rowed was how well everything he did in the boat harmonized with what the other fellows were doing. And a man couldn’t harmonize with his crewmates unless he opened his heart to them. He had to care about his crew. It wasn’t just the rowing but his crewmates that he had to give himself up to, even if it meant getting his feelings hurt. …
“He told Joe to be careful not to miss his chance. He reminded him that he’d already learned to row past pain, past exhaustion, past the voice that told him it couldn’t be done. That meant he had an opportunity to do things most men would never have a chance to do. And he concluded with a remark that Joe would never forget. ‘Joe, when you really start trusting those other boys, you will feel a power at work within you that is far beyond anything you’ve ever imagined. Sometimes, you will feel as if you have rowed right off the planet and are rowing among the stars.’ …
“For Joe, who had spent the last six years doggedly making his own way in the world, who had forged his identity on stoic self-reliance, nothing was more frightening than allowing himself to depend on others. People let you down. People leave you behind. Depending on people, trusting them – it’s what gets you hurt. But trust seemed to be at the heart of what Pocock was asking. Harmonize with the other fellows, Pocock said. There was a kind of absolute truth in that, something he needed to come to terms with.”
💡
Start each day with 5-10 minutes of stillness. Also try starting a second hour meeting of Church with 5-10 minutes of stillness (no electronic devices allowed!).
- Inspiration for this idea came from Y Religion Podcast episode 97: The Power of Stillness (Ty Mansfield)
Additional Content
Previous Newsletter (February 11, 2024 – The Hero of Ages, crooked trees, and fear is good)