Last updated on May 26th, 2024 at 05:41 pm
May 19, 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?
followHim Podcast – Mosiah 11-17 – Dr. Ryan Sharp:
- [Dr. Ryan Sharp] “Hank, I know you were recently on the Y Religion podcast, and shared some of your experiences which were beautiful and moving, talking about how the sting of death has been swallowed up in Christ in your experiences. I want to share one from a member of my stake where they had a son who had relatively recently come home from his mission. He was going to school up at BYU Idaho. He was home, and he had to leave for work early in the morning. One of those crazy snowstorms that we sometimes get here in Utah comes in, and this young man, as he’s driving, ends up getting hit by a truck. It puts him in a coma for several days. First of all, I cannot imagine what that would be like, the fear and concern and the questions and all of those emotions.
“In the midst of all of this, while their son is in a coma, and they don’t know if he’s going to make it or not, his mom sent an email to me and then to some others in the stake. I just want to read part of what she wrote in this email. She wrote this to her daughter who was serving as a missionary at the time. So, this daughter wasn’t even home to help with all of this. Then she forwarded the email to several of us. She said, ‘There are two types of miracles. We are all praying for a miracle.’ She said, ‘The first is the kind where you get what you want.’ Where miraculously, in this case, their son and brother is miraculously healed. He comes out of this coma, and goes on to live an incredible mortal life, but she said, ‘The second type is maybe when that miracle doesn’t happen, but you feel peace, even though the first kind of miracle doesn’t happen. He can give us peace even when things don’t turn out the way we want.’
“She said, ‘I’m trying to stay positive. I know miracles are possible. I also know that with the number of wonderful people praying for [our] son, there is plenty of faith for a miracle to happen. And if it’s meant to happen, it will, but we also have to be willing to accept the second kind of miracle if that is in God’s plan.’ The second kind of miracle, again, is, ‘Can I somehow have peace if my son or brother or friend passes away? Can the sting of death truly be swallowed up in the atonement of Christ?’ In this case, he ended up passing away a few days later. I was at the funeral, and I heard this same woman share her testimony with positive confidence, grieving obviously, hurting clearly, but the sting of death was swallowed up in Christ because of the second kind of miracle that they found peace and hope in the atonement of Jesus Christ and in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
Eye.
‘Lessons Learned in Inviting Christ to Author My Story‘ by President Camille N. Johnson (BYU Women’s Conference Message; May 3, 2024)
- 28:22 – “Sisters, I invite you to cultivate your testimony of foundational truth. Yes, it requires effort, but as we understand and embrace foundational truth, our desire to let God prevail in our lives will increase, we will invite Jesus Christ to be the Author and Finisher of our faith and of our stories.”
- 29:02 – “I invite you to stay at the trunk of the tree. Spend your precious time striving to understand foundational points of doctrine that nourish the roots of the tree. For example, the nature of my covenant relationship with God, the Savior and His Atonement, how to exercise faith in Him, the glorious Plan of Happiness. Then, when you have a ‘leaf’ question, consider how it connects back to the branch and then to the trunk or core fundamental doctrine of the gospel. For example, when I am firmly rooted in the truth that God loves us and directs His work through living prophets, when I know that ‘trunk’ doctrine, I can be content in not knowing the answer to a ‘leaf’ question. We need to pay the price to know that God’s prophets are His mouthpiece, that Jesus Christ is actively leading His Church, and that we can trust Him with complete certainty, even when we don’t understand completely. Then the leaves draw context and spiritual insight from the trunk of the tree.”
- 30:30 – “I had a woman ask me recently, paraphrasing, ‘Sister Johnson, you are so sure about the Prophet, you keep quoting President Nelson with such conviction. How do I get my own testimony of him and of 15 prophets, seers, and revelators?’ I said to my new friend, and I say to all of you: Experiment upon their words. Desire to believe that this is Jesus Christ’s Restored Church because it has been organized just the way the Savior organized His Church when He was here on earth, with Twelve Apostles. Exercising faith, plant the words of President Russell M. Nelson in your heart by prayerfully studying his messages. They are a good seed and will enlarge your soul. They will enlighten your understanding. Keep nourishing that seedling as it begins to grow by applying the counsel of President Nelson. Sisters, I promise your seed will grow, with faith and diligence, and the reward will be delicious fruit. For me, the delicious fruit is optimism in the face of uncertainty. It is confidence in not having an answer to every question. It is joy and grief happening at the same time. It is trusting Jesus Christ to be the Author and Finisher of my story.”
Read.
‘The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work‘ by Shawn Achor
- “Shelly Gable, a leading psychologist at the University of California, has found that there are four different types of responses we can give to someone’s good news, and only one of them contributes positively to the relationship. The winning response is both active and constructive; it offers enthusiastic support, as well as specific comments and follow-up questions. (‘That’s wonderful! I’m glad your boss noticed how hard you’ve been working. When does your promotion go into effect?’) Interestingly, her research shows passive responses to good news (‘That’s nice.’) can be just as harmful to the relationship as blatantly negative ones (‘You got the promotion? I’m surprised they didn’t give it to Sally, she seems more suited to the job.’) Ouch. Perhaps the most destructive, though, is ignoring the news entirely. (‘Have you seen my keys?’) Gable’s studies have shown that active-constructive responding enhances relationship commitment and satisfaction, and fuels the degree to which people feel understood, validated, and cared for during a discussion – all of which contribute to the Happiness Advantage.”
- I am committing to doing a better job of “offer[ing] enthusiastic support, as well as specific comments and follow-up questions” when my wife and children share good news with me. I would invite you to do the same with those you love!
💡
Each time someone tells me that they listened to one of my podcast episodes, ask them: What was your biggest takeaway?
- This inspiration has already led to interesting discussions. If you have a takeaway that you’d like to share with me from a recent General Conference Applied Podcast episode, please respond to this email and let me know. I’m always looking for feedback.