Write at the Heart

Years ago my son flushed some toys down the toilet. We called the best repairman we knew! My dad. He snaked it, plunged it, put it in the tub to flush water through it, and a ball came out! He reinstalled the toilet. But to our chagrin, it STILL wouldn’t flush! What. He removed the toilet AGAIN, repeated everything he’d just done, and even stuck a wire hanger all the way through it! Nothin’! Well, we got a new toilet. 🤷‍♀️ THEN we brought the old toilet outside and with GREAT anticipation smashed it with a hammer! And wouldn’t you know, in the S-curve was a small, seemingly insignificant plastic orange! That little clogged orange had completely destroyed the functionality of the toilet! I realize comparing the flow of a toilet to the spirit in our lives is a little weird, but they’re both pretty important, and yes, I’m going there! In Mormon 1 we read about such evil and blasphemy that the disciples were taken away, miracles and healing ceased, all spiritual gifts were gone, and “the ...

Since we weren’t able to have an “official” tour of the Sacred Grove when we walked the grounds a few weeks ago, we signed up for a virtual tour last week! I’ve been there twice and had the “tour,” so I knew this would be great for the kids to hear stories and see inside the Smith homes. In my mind, this Zoom call was mainly for THE KIDS. What I didn’t expect was the Spirit hitting me like a TON of bricks as I listened to the missionaries testify. I was in tears! I feel it again right now as I write this.  I’d had a beautiful experience at the grove a few weeks ago. I love that sacred place! But, Isn’t it interesting that the Spirit was JUST as powerful, if not MORE, sitting in my living room watching a computer screen of the Sacred Grove as actually sitting IN the Sacred Grove?  I keep thinking about this! Pure testimony invites the Holy Ghost, and the Holy Ghost testifies of truth. He can testify of truth no matter where we are, what we have seen, or HAVEN’T seen with our ow...

I was in 10th grade when I realized I was practically blind. Squinting at the board was my first clue, but I was shocked when I stood in front of the eye chart in driver’s ed! No amount of squinting would turn those fuzzy black blobs into letters!  The day I finally got glasses was MAGICAL! I walked in having NO IDEA what I was missing out on. I walked out looking at a WHOLE. NEW. WORLD. A world that was 3-D and full of vibrant color! A world where leaves, grass, and carpet had texture! A world where I could see who people were in the school hallways, and stop signs while driving!🙌🏼 I couldn’t believe I’d lived so long thinking the way I saw was good enough! Once things were clear, I was not going back. The Nephites saw many great wonders, signs, and miracles surrounding the Savior’s birth. The prophesies were true! They were “astonished” and “the more part of the people did believe” 3 Ne. 1 They saw! But after awhile “the people began to forget those signs and wonders which they...

We visited Niagara Falls a couple weeks ago. Everyone was excited except my 6-year-old, who sobbed on the way there! Poor kid was still traumatized by our canoe incident a few weeks ago (it tipped & he fell out). So when he found out we were going on a boat, he was terrified. After a million questions (does the boat go fast? Does the boat go down a waterfall? Is the water deep?) we calmed him down. He bravely stepped on the boat and LOVED it all, afterwards declaring that it was “the best thing I’ve done in this world!” Niagara Falls is incredible! It’s an adrenaline rush just standing next to it! You can’t help but feel awe at its power. Funny how water can be feared and awed, a source of destruction and power. Did you know the power plants at Niagara Falls have the capacity to output 4.9 million kilowatts of electricity- the ability to power 3.8 million homes?! As a child, Nikola Tesla imagined harnessing the power of Niagara Falls. His dream came true when he designed the first ...

A few years ago while visiting San Antonio we went to see the temple. As we drove into the parking lot, we gave the kids a simple little talk about the importance of the temple. Suddenly I felt a distinct rush of emotion, of reassurance, of comfort, of peace, of truth. I couldn't hold back the tears. This is often the way the spirit confirms truth to me, and I've learned to recognize it. When I am in the right state of mind, I get these flashes of complete light and understanding. Everything makes sense. It is a powerful manifestation to me saying this is true. It is these moments that I try to write down. And I did. It's so easy to forget. It's so easy to look back and rationalize our feelings and think maybe we made them up, that maybe the spirit was just our own brain, a psychological fabrication to make us feel better. But gosh, those moments when I feel the witness of the Holy Ghost... it is as real as my hand in front of my face. I can't deny it. It's hard...

I, along with every other parent, am wrestling with what to do with the kids this year for school. I go back and forth, back and forth, and as I seek for answers through prayer, I am frustrated. Why can’t I get like a CLEAR answer for once? Like, BOOM, “Thou shalt do THIS!! THIS is what’s best for your children, THIS path is what I want you to do, and you will NOT ruin your children with THIS PATH!!!” Alas, I’m not hearing that. Sigh. Instead, I’m reading everyone else’s back and forth debates online, trying to get a read of what everyone ELSE is doing... cause I’m kind of a follower. Personal revelation is hard sometimes, yo. And I’d like to get better at it. I really really want to “hear Him” a lot better than I do. Don’t get me wrong, I try, and I have definitely been guided throughout my life. But sometimes it’s just so dang subtle and I am weary of guessing and hoping a certain direction is right... after a few steps in, more clarity always comes, but it requires so much patience!...

When I was a teenager I remember someone bearing their testimony about faith. How faith is not a perfect knowledge- it starts with a hope and a desire, and that’s all! I remember feeling a sense of relief! I had been struggling with the idea of a testimony- did I have one? I didn’t know everything and I didn’t know for sure! BUT I DID have a desire. I could work with that! This is exactly what Alma taught. If ye have no more than a DESIRE to believe, let THAT work in you. Exercise a PARTICLE of faith! “Give place that a seed may be planted in your heart.” As I made space for my testimony to grow, as I let Him in, as I humbled myself and was ready to hear, truths came, they swelled, they bloomed. My experiences with the Holy Ghost are indescribable. They keep me all in. They “enlarge my soul” and “enlighten my understanding.” That’s truly what it feels like! It’s transcendent. And I can’t deny it. It is “most precious” and “sweet” to me. As I have planted seeds of faith again and again,...