Write at the Heart

Crowned with... commandments?? I read the line a few times. Yet there it is. “Blessed are they whose feet stand upon the land of Zion, who have obeyed my gospel; for they shall receive for their reward the good things of the earth... And they shall also be crowned with blessings from above, yea, &with commandments not a few, & with revelations in their time—they that are faithful and diligent before me.” (D&C 58:3-4) Crowned with blessings, commandments, & revelations! Commandments are often seen as more old-fashioned & restrictive rather than, like, a crown of blessings.  But the more I thought about it, the more I was like OF COURSE. In fact, the next verse explains it all for me:  “I give unto them a commandment...Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy might, mind, & strength; and in the name of Jesus Christ thou shalt serve him. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (5-6) THERE IT IS. The first commandment is to LOVE GO...

My oldest daughter is kind, good through & through, & a bit shy. Starting her freshman year at a new school in a place she barely knew anyone was nerve wracking. Due to COVID, the students had 4 days to decide where they wanted to sit permanently at lunch for the rest of the year. My daughter sat alone day 1. And day 2. I told her, smile! Be brave & sit next to someone! Day 3... alone. The fear was too much. She could not find the courage to sit with someone else. She was so down & worried she’d sit alone the rest of the year.  Day 4 came & I prayed hard for that girl! At lunchtime, I got a text from her: “Lunch is going to be fun! I’ll explain later.” ❤️🎉 She came home & told me a kid asked if he could sit by her. She recognized him from their early morning seminary class. Then another kid from seminary joined them. These kind & friendly boys talked & laughed with my daughter & became her friend. Those three sat together all year.  I don’t...