Inconceivable!

I love flash mobs. From the moment I first saw one online, I was smitten.

Of course, some of this fondness stems from my great love for music, but that's not the only reason for my affection. Mostly, it's the idea that in a random place, at a random time, a crowd of random people can suddenly show itself to be not random at all, but a carefully planned and structured assembly where strangers express and spread joy with their musical gifts – without expecting anything in return but that joy that comes from sharing it.

It kind of restores my faith in the goodness of the world at a time when we are seeing so much news about the badness of the world.

Everyone knows what a flash mob is, but I thought it would be interesting to get a educated definition.

Flash mob: a group of people summoned to a designated location at a specified time to perform an unusual act for a brief time before quickly dispersing. Also called an inexplicable mob.

That got me thinking: By that definition, the events following the birth of Christ are something of a flash mob.

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes,

and laid him in a manger;  because there was no room for them in the inn. 

People were summoned – first, shepherds:

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.  And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

Then, Wise Men:

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judæa in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him . . . 

And they came.

The Shepherds came: And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. (Luke 2:7 - 17)

The Wise Men came: And, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

Gifts were shared.

And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. (Matthew 2:1 - 11)

And there was music.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

There will always be music at God's great events, because that is one of the ways He communicates His joy.

Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted. (Isaiah 49:13) 

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. (Isaiah 55:11 – 12) 

Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. (Mosiah 15:30)

And it is one of the ways we can show our love and gratitude to Him.

I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me. (Psalms 13:6)

For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads. (D&C 25:12)

If thou art merry, praise the Lord with singing, with music, with dancing, and with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving. (D&C 136:28)

Yea, Lord, thy watchmen shall lift up their voice; with the voice together shall they sing; for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion. (Isaiah 52:8)

These occurrences – the  birth of a baby whose coming had been prophesied for centuries and who would change the fate of all mankind; the appearance and voices of angels; a new, uncharted star –  were certainly inconceivable  – unexplainable by the logic of the world. The works of God are often inexplicable to mankind.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8 - 9)

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. (1 Timothy 3:16)

Behold, great and marvelous are the works of the Lord. How unsearchable are the depths of the mysteries of him; and it is impossible that man should find out all his ways. (Jacob 4:8)

. . . There are many mysteries which are kept, that no one knoweth them save God himself . . . (Alma 40:3)

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While I am enthralled by flash mobs of all kinds, my favorites are about Christmas, and the birth of our divine Savior and Redeemer. I'm sharing one I love – for all the reasons I've already given, and because in this one there is a moment here that gets me every time:

(You can watch the whole thing (it's really not a bad use of five-and-a-half minutes) or you can watch the last song, which begins at 3:03. The moment that steals my heart starts at 4:26.)

I am moved by the awe that boy sees in the representation of the baby Jesus. He is so struck by the holiness of the symbol that he drops to his knees – and others, perhaps older and 'wiser', follow.

The cynic might say that this was planned and rehearsed; that this young man was just doing what he had been told to do many times. And that might be true.

But I choose to believe otherwise. I choose to believe that in that moment those people felt the power of holiness, sacredness – and reverence.

Reverence is something we may not think about much, once we grow from wiggly children into self-disciplined adults. But maybe we should.

Reverence is a deep respect for sacred things; a feeling of awe and wonder. Paul Woodruff, a professor of humanities at the University of Texas at Austin, expressed these feelings on the subject of reverence:

Reverence begins in a deep understanding of human limitations; from this grows the capacity to be in awe of whatever we believe lies outside our control—God, truth, justice, nature, even death. The capacity for awe, as it grows, brings with it the capacity for respecting fellow human beings, flaws and all.¹

The scriptures give us a bit more insight into the actions of reverence:

And thus we saw the glory of the celestial, which excels in all things—where God, even the Father, reigns upon his throne forever and ever; Before whose throne all things bow in humble reverence, and give him glory forever and ever. (D&C 76:92 - 93)

And it came to pass that he stretched forth his hand and spake unto the people, saying:
Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world. And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning. 

And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words the whole multitude fell to the earth; And when they had all gone forth and had witnessed for themselves, they did cry out with one accord, saying: Hosanna!  Blessed be the name of the Most High God! And they did fall down at the feet of Jesus, and did worship him (3 Nephi 11:16 - 17).

For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. (Romans 14:11) 

Reverence is a sense of awe that can send us to our knees and leave us stunned. It comes when we truly consider that Jesus Christ was born, that He lived a perfect life, that His willingness to bear the inconceivable burdens of the Atonement can free us from guilt and sin, and that by laying down His life for us, He conquered death. This is the message of truth that can send us to our knees.

A beautiful hymn expresses some of that feeling for me:

I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me,

Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me.

I tremble to know that for me he was crucified,

That for me, a sinner, he suffered, he bled and died.

Oh, it is wonderful that he should care for me

Enough to die for me!

Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful to me!

I marvel that he would descend from his throne divine

To rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine,

That he should extend his great love unto such as I,

Sufficient to own, to redeem, and to justify.

I think of his hands pierced and bleeding to pay the debt!

Such mercy, such love and devotion can I forget?

No, no, I will praise and adore at the mercy seat,

Until at the glorified throne I kneel at his feet.

Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful to me!²

To stand all amazed, and then to fall to your knees – that sounds like good exercise for the soul. I think I'll try to make a daily habit of it. ☺


Merry Christmas!

¹Paul Woodruff, Reverence: Renewing a Forgotten Virtue (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), 3.

²I Stand All Amazed, Text and music by Charles H. Gabriel, 1856-1932

Givingthanks Day

Not long ago, I had a conversation with a woman on the subject of the Thanksgiving holiday. She told me that Thanksgiving was at the bottom of her favorite holiday list.

“It's all about food,” she said. “It's nothing but a display of an unhealthy, overweight society stuffing themselves with food that will make them more unhealthy and overweight, eating until they're sick and have to pass out on the couch in front of the football game.”

There is certainly some truth in what she said. But I can't help disagreeing with her and feeling sorry that her experience with Thanksgiving has made her feel that way.

I love Thanksgiving. It is, I think, the only major holiday that has not become ridiculously over-commercialized. You don't have to give someone flowers or chocolates to remind them that you still care. There is no digging around for a costume, or staying up to open the door to greedy candy-hunters. There is no need to put up a tree, or put lights on the house, or frantically wonder what to buy for everyone you know, or wrap things in a frenzy, or send out overdone cards.

I'm not saying that Thanksgiving is not a lot of work, or that it doesn't present a burden for some people. But our family has found some ways to simplify the meal preparation and to share some of the work – and the fun – of the tasks among the whole family. And I don't pretend that my affinity for Thanksgiving has nothing to do with the food. I look forward to the smells and the sight and the taste. I look forward to sitting down in front of an empty plate, loading it up, and making it empty again.

But a good share of the pleasure I feel at that table comes from looking around it and seeing people I love, and being glad that they are here again this year.

I've said it before,and I'll say it again: I have so many things to be grateful for. And the closer I look at my life, the more blessings I find. My resolution for this Thanksgiving (yes, I can make Thanksgiving resolutions) is to continue to look for and feel gratitude for blessings but also to be more active and deliberate in expressing my gratitude – to family and friends, to doctors and grocery store baggers, and especially to my Heavenly Father.

So I'm starting right now: Thank you all. Thank you for reading my blog, for saying kind things about it, and for sharing it with others. It means a lot to me to know that my sometimes wandering thoughts can make people smile.

Little Help?

Most patients who are recovering from a hip fracture spend several weeks in a rehabilitation center after they are released from the hospital. My surgeon recommended that course for me, but I talked my way out of it. I wanted to go home, and I assured the surgeon that I would have plenty of help there. “I have four teenagers at home. They'll take good care of me.”

After a few days, I found myself getting annoyed with my children, who seemed to be living happy free while I was stuck in bed. One evening when we gathered for family prayer, I expressed my disappointment. “I don't feel like you kids are helping me much,” I said. “I thought you would do more.”

There was a brief silence, and Ben asked the sincere question: “Did you ask us to help you?”

I had no sensible answer. “Um, well, I thought about it . . . quite often, really . . .”

Uh-oh. I had fallen into the “Read My Needs” trap. (Also known as Deduce my Deprivation, Predict my Problems, Perceive my Privation, Track my Troubles, Spot my Sorrow, Grasp my Grumbles, Detect my Difficulty, Foresee my Frustration.) It is not reasonable to expect that busy teenagers can anticipate their mother's needs. The problem was not in their unwillingness to help, but in my reluctance to ask.

I don't fully understand why this happens to me, but I do know I'm not alone in my hesitation to appeal for aid. It seems to be a fairly common issue. It happens at work, at church, at school, with friends, with medical personnel, and perhaps most often, with family.

Does any of this ring a bell?

“My husband will just walk past the trash bucket. Can't he see it needs to be taken out?”

Or:

“I'm trying to make dinner with a crying baby in my arms. Someone should come and take the baby!”

Or:

“I can't believe he gave me a weight-loss cookbook for my birthday! Why won't he give me something I want?”

Or:

“Why do I always have to organize family activities? Why is it my job?”

“I shouldn't have to ask. He should see what I need, and just do it!”

Maybe he should. I'm sure some people do. But I have one one of the best, most helpful husbands out there, and he doesn't automatically see what help I need. It took me a while to learn that I had no right to be annoyed or to complain about what wasn't happening if I hadn't asked.

Of course, this is not an issue that affects only women. But based on my experience, it does seem to operate differently in men.

     “Did you get the cornmeal I wanted?”

     “No. I couldn't find it.”

     “Did you ask an employee for help?”

     “No. I looked all over the store. They didn't have any.”

   

   “Are you sure we're going the right way? This looks like a dead end road.”

   “I know how to get there. I think we need to turn left after the school . . .”

    “Do you want to stop and ask somebody for directions?”

    “No, I don't need to. I know how to get there.”

Maybe we feel that asking for help is a sign of weakness. Or maybe we are afraid our request will be rejected or ridiculed. These explanations seem reasonable at first glance, but just writing them down made me see how puny they are.

“You want me to bring you a glass of water? I don't think so! Hey, guess what? Mom wants a drink of water! I know, she's so ridiculous . . .”

“Sure, I know where Waterton Street is. But I'm not going to tell you! Bwah wah ha . . .”

“So, this guy came in – I swear, I'm not making this up – and he asked me which aisle the cornmeal was on! What a wimp!”

These are not very realistic scenarios.

So maybe there's something else keeping us back. You might ask yourself this – do you really need help? Maybe you what you need is attention. Or maybe you are resentful because you feel that you are doing more than others? Are you angry at someone or something, or yourself, and you're looking for a little fight?

 No? Okay, then. Maybe that's just me . . .

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We are made to ask for help. We are not meant to live and grow and serve alone. Refusing to ask for help when we need it is not a sign of strength – it is a symptom of pride. If you ask right, you'll almost always get a good response. And when we ask people for help, we help them, by giving them an opportunity to serve, and feel the joy of service.

We should willingly – even cheerfully – ask for help when we need it. We should also be sensitive to the needs of those who cannot or will not ask.

Our unwillingness to ask for help when it is needed can cause problems in relationships, and keep us from feeling the happiness we should have as part of our lives. But when we neglect, for whatever reason, to ask God for His help, we miss out on a tremendous source of promised blessings, and stand in serious jeopardy.

The LDS Bible Dictionary contains this illuminating definition: 

Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them.

My son Ben, who is serving a full-time mission in Ecuador, recently shared this thought in his weekly letter home.

"That reminds me of an important spiritual truth I've learned recently: With the Lord, we will always get the answers to our questions. But if we never ask questions, how are we supposed to get answers? I learned that study is much more fruitful if you always have a question, because the Lord really loves answering questions (just check out the scriptures)."

Ben is right. The scriptures are chock-full of examples of this principle.

And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 

                            (Luke 11:9–12)

If thou shalt ask, thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things—that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal. 

                              (D&C 42:61)

O Lord, thou hast given us a commandment that we must call upon thee, that from thee we may receive according to our desires. 

                       (Ether 3:2)

In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.

            (Psalms 86:7)

And again Moses said: I will not cease to call upon God, I have other things to inquire of him:                         (Moses 1:18–20)

Wherefore, now after I have spoken these words, if ye cannot understand them it will be because ye ask not, neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the dark.

             (2 Nephi 32:4)

I intreated thy favour with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word.       (Psalms 119:58)

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. (James 1:5)

And it came to pass that I did go forth among the Nephites, and did repent of the oath which I had made that I would no more assist them; and they gave me command again of their armies, for they looked upon me as though I could deliver them from their afflictions. But behold, I was without hope, for I knew the judgments of the Lord which should come upon them; for they repented not of their iniquities, but did struggle for their lives without calling upon that Being who created them.                            (Mormon 5:1-2)

As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice. 

           (Psalms 55:16 – 17)

Wherefore, now after I have spoken these words, if ye cannot understand them it will be because ye ask not, neither do ye knock; wherefore, ye are not brought into the light, but must perish in the dark.

            (2 Nephi 32:4)

Christ healed those who asked for healing, taught those who asked for wisdom, and lifted those who plead for peace.

And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: and they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.                                 (Luke 17:12 - 14)

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Those who have the privilege of parenting know that our most fervent need for help is when we are concerned about our children. The scriptural stories where a parent seeks divine help for his child are very moving to me.

And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judæa into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death. The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth.

               (John 4:46-51)

And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet, and besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.

             (Mark 5:22-23)

Alma the younger was divinely awakened to his rebellious ways and learned to become a faithful leader and missionary. This miracle happened because of the steadfast prayers of his father.

And now it came to pass that while he was going about to destroy the church of God, for he did go about secretly with the sons of Mosiah seeking to destroy the church, and to lead astray the people of the Lord, contrary to the commandments of God, or even the king—

And as I said unto you, as they were going about rebelling against God, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto them; and he descended as it were in a cloud; and he spake as it were with a voice of thunder, which caused the earth to shake upon which they stood;

And again, the angel said: Behold, the Lord hath heard the prayers of his people, and also the prayers of his servant, Alma, who is thy father; for he has prayed with much faith concerning thee that thou mightest be brought to the knowledge of the truth; therefore, for this purpose have I come to convince thee of the power and authority of God, that the prayers of his servants might be answered according to their faith.  (Mosiah 27:8-14)

The Lord loves us. He knows our strengths and our weaknesses. He knows our needs, and he is waiting to pour down blessings upon us. He will heal our damaged bodies, our broken hearts, our shattered souls.

Is it too much to ask?

Rise and Shout

I was fifteen, home alone and bored – so bored that I was flipping through some of the women's magazines my mother subscribed to. In one of them, I saw a recipe for English Muffin Bread. It looked easy, and all the needed ingredients were the kitchen, so I decided to make it.

No one had ever told me that yeast was hard to work with, or that yeast breads were not a good project for an inexperienced cook. If I'd known that, I guess I wouldn't have tried it. But I didn't know. And the English Muffin Bread turned out wonderfully.

Since then I've made thousands of loaves of bread, hundreds of batches of rolls, masses of bread sticks and an uncountable quantity of whole-wheat pizza crusts. I'm not perfect at it, and my results are not consistently good. But I've learned a thing or two about yeast by now.

I know a lot of women and men who are greatly accomplished with yeast and very comfortable using it. I know others who are a little afraid of it. What I hope to do here is alleviate those fears a bit.

Yeast is a single-celled living organism. When dehydrated live yeast meets water and a simple carbohydrate like sugar or potato starch, it starts generating carbon dioxide gas, which makes bubbles in the dough so it will rise. This process also strengthens the dough by helping it develop gluten, while the yeast endows the finished product with its distinct flavor.

Several years ago my son Adam put together a successful science fair project on the properties of yeast. I'm going to share some of his results.

The basis of Adam's research was that yeast rises better under specific conditions. We wanted to evaluate two factors: the temperature of the water that the yeast is dissolved in, and the presence  or absence of a sugar for the yeast to feed on.

Adam put the test ingredients in small bottles and used uninflated balloons to measure the amount of carbon dioxide each combination produced.

 
 

We expected that that the yeast that was dissolved in warm water and fed with a little sugar would rise best, and it did. But I was a little surprised to see that all of the samples produced enough carbon dioxide to visually puff their balloons.

I turns out that the modern yeast we find in stores today is pretty reliable. That doesn't mean yeast bread is a no-fail project. Other variables ─ insufficient kneading, too much flour, an unsteady oven temperature (keep the door closed!).

It takes a little practice to make really good bread, but at least at my house, the imperfect loaves that pave the path will get eaten anyway.

Making bread is rewarding for me. When things go well, the dough feels good in my hands, smells good while it bakes, and tastes good when it's done. I like knowing that I can provide my family a healthy food choice, with no artificial flavors or chemical preservatives.

Of course, things don't always go well. I've had some problems to solve.

And I've had help solving them.

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For years I made eight loaves of whole-grain bread every week. When I became too sick to do that, some kind neighbors took turns bringing homemade bread every week, and Wes learned to make a few loaves to fill in the gaps.

Before too long I was up and trying. I didn't have the energy or strength to make eight loaves, but I found I could manage four, and that was almost enough. But not quite. I figured I could do one more without too much difficulty, and that would keep us in bread for a week.

This worked pretty well, but there was one little snag. It is easy to cut a chunk of bread dough into four pieces. But five was trickier. I thought I could do it, but one of the pieces was always ludicrously larger, and I'd pinch bits off it and add them to the smaller ones, and then the first one was too small, so I'd get the kitchen scale and weigh them, and do some bothersome mathematical calculations, and pinch and poke again until I decided they were close enough and put them in the pans. 

Really, not a big deal.

Then one morning, as I picked up the knife to begin the sub-division process, I had an unexpected thought. "Maybe there's a better way to do this." As I stood there, I seemed to see a five-pointed-star-shaped cookie cutter moving down into the center of the dough. Then I saw five lines, each leading from one point of the star to the edge of the bread dough circle.

It was so simple, but also thoroughly brilliant. I recognized the cookie cutter as one I had in the pantry and brought it out.

It worked perfectly.

Some might say that in my hope for a solution, I simply came up with one. But they would be wrong.

Believe me, my friends ─ I am not that smart.

         

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It was Elisabeth's birthday, and I was making the soft white rolls that we enjoy on special occasions. The dough looked good, and felt good, and I left it in a warm corner to rise.

When I checked on it almost an hour later, I was dismayed to see that the dough was still a small, firm ball. I couldn't guess what had gone wrong, but it had not risen.

I looked at the clock and knew I didn't have time to start over. I stood staring helplessly at the bowl.

I went to my bedroom and knelt in the closet. I explained to my Heavenly Father that although I knew that the rolls were a small, even minuscule, thing in the grand eternal view, I had promised warm rolls to my daughter and I didn't want to let her down. I asked for help.

A sentence formed in my mind:

 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.¹

I pondered the thought for a moment. I was certainly dealing with a lump. And I still had yeast to leaven it. But wasn't it too late for that? 

As I considered further, I had an idea. I went to the kitchen, put some warm water in a small bowl, and added yeast and a little sugar. When it became foamy, I mixed in some flour until it was a sticky glob, then threw the glob in with the dough I had made earlier. I used the mixer to combine the mess. I didn't know if the yeast would work, and I didn't have time to find out. I shaped two dozen crescent rolls, covered them gently, and set them in the warm oven.

I had done my best, and, there was nothing else I could do. Fifteen minutes later, I opened the oven and took a peek.

They looked good; full and puffy. I took them out and turned the oven on. We finished cooking the rest of the dinner and set the table while the rolls baked.

They were wonderful, gorgeous, and sweet.
 (A lot like the birthday girl).

Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.
(Exodus 16:4)

¹ Galatians 5:9

You can find the English Muffin Bread recipe here.

The Butter Crescent Rolls recipe is here.