In this week’s Come Follow Me from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they had us read Doctrine and Covenants 98-101. In section 98 it explains that the way to peace is through forgiveness. I have to admit that it is hard to forgive the terrorists for the attack on 9/11. It’s hard to forgive the Taliban for overrunning the Afghanistan government one week after the US pulled out. Or those that allowed them to do so due to bribes and the like. Especially when you consider the deaths that ensued. Not only from 9/11 but from illnesses caused by the unbreathable air from 9/11. Or the burns and other injuries inflicted on that day. Then you take into account the soldiers that have fought in the war against their terror for the past 20 years and the number jumps up drastically. Or maybe even include the innocent native Afghan lives lost in Afghanistan this past month, decade, and on. “Let vengeance be mine” it states in the Doctrine and Covenants. It is easier said than done. I think the war on terror was a noble war. Fighting for the freedoms of women and children of Afghanistan. It is so hard to feel it was all for nought. But this scripture I read to my kids tonight gave me courage: Doctrine and Covenants 101:22-36
22 Behold, it is my will, that all they who call on my name, and worship me according to mine everlasting gospel, should gather together, and stand in holy places;
23 And prepare for the revelation which is to come, when the veil of the covering of my temple, in my tabernacle, which hideth the earth, shall be taken off, and all flesh shall seeme together.
24 And every corruptible thing, both of man, or of the beasts of the field, or of the fowls of the heavens, or of the fish of the sea, that dwells upon all the face of the earth, shall be consumed;
25 And also that of element shall melt with fervent heat; and all things shall become new, that my knowledge and glory may dwell upon all the earth.
26 And in that day the enmity of man, and the enmity of beasts, yea, the enmity of all flesh, shall cease from before my face.
27 And in that day whatsoeverany man shall ask, it shall be given unto him.
28 And in that day Satan shall not have power to tempt any man.
29 And there shall be no sorrowbecause there is no death.
30 In that day an infant shall not die until he is old; and his life shall be as the age of a tree;
31 And when he dies he shall not sleep, that is to say in the earth, but shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye, and shall be caught up, and his rest shall be glorious.
32 Yea, verily I say unto you, in that day when the Lord shall come, he shall reveal all things—
33 Things which have passed, and hidden things which no man knew, things of the earth, by which it was made, and the purpose and the end thereof—
34 Things most precious, things that are above, and things that are beneath, things that are in the earth, and upon the earth, and in heaven.
35 And all they who suffer persecution for my name, and endure in faith, though they are called to lay down their lives for my sake yet shall they partake of all this glory.
36 Wherefore, fear not even unto death; for in this world your joy is not full, but in me your joy is full.
That, in the end, Christ will conquer. All will be made right. And the things of this world will be but a small moment. C.S. Lewis stated:
“Mortals say of some temporal suffering, ‘No future bliss can make up for it,’ not knowing that Heaven once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory. … The Blessed will say, ‘We have never lived anywhere except in Heaven.'”
I have really seen my trials become blessings. So that is what I will remember. The good in the darkest of days.
Andy and I were able to go to the temple this week. It was so wonderful to finally make it there. We haven’t been since May of 2019! Between being pregnant, caring for a new born, and COVID it hasn’t been possible for us both to go. (Aside from my two sisters’ weddings I hadn’t been either). I remembered the promises I made, but also the promises that have been given to us– they are many! We left feeling renewed and at peace. Content and grateful for the family we have. We almost made it all the way home when we got a flat tire.
But, just like the other trials I’ve encountered in my life, I saw blessings. 1) we were only one exit away from ours– which is something considering the temple is an hour and a half away from our home.
2) This back right rear tire has been having problems so I kind of worried this would happen eventually and I have to say I’m extremely grateful Andy was with me when it happened– without all our kids!
3) A super sweet police officer pulled over minutes after it happened and called in one of his other patrol unit to bring a wrench we needed since the lug nuts did not fit the wrench that came with our car.
So when all was said and done we were back on the road in 15-20 minutes. As I was telling Andy all the tender mercies from that moment, he said, “Yeah, and who knows, I may have met that police officer for a reason.” As an ER doctor, they are the first to treat these officers when they’re shot or injured in the line of duty. I hope he never has to see that officer in that way again, but we assured the officer that if he ever was brought to the hospital that Andy would do everything he could for that officer. I know Andy would anyway, but it seemed to comfort the officer knowing he had an ER doc on his side.
Andy (and all of his coworkers) are running pretty ragged right now. They’ve run out of beds, telemetry boxes, nearly out of ventilators, and nurses are quitting left and right for a number of reasons. Please keep them in their prayers. And I urge you, if you are not vaccinated yet, please get vaccinated. Andy sees so many people in the ER and the ones that come in with COVID and end up on ventilators are not vaccinated. It is such a simple shot and could potentially save you and many other people’s lives. If you are vaccinated that is one less bed that will be needed at the hospital for someone else, perhaps a police officer in the line of duty. I keep thinking of scriptural examples of how simple it is to prevent yourself from getting life-threatening COVID. “Look to the staff and live” from the Old Testament when the children of Israel had been bitten by a snake.
Or again, when the children of Israel painted blood across their doors so that the destroying angel would pass by them.
I saw this clever TikTok (though I don’t even have TikTok) where someone calls in to “Heaven’s hotline” and prays for a miracle to keep them safe during this pandemic. The Customer Service Angel says, “Well, are you vaccinated? Oh? You’re not? Well, I tell you what, there are some people here I KNOW you’ll love. They’re Noah’s neighbors. Noah gave them all these warnings and they didn’t listen and well, you know the rest. Y’all will get along real great, because this year’s vaccine is our Arc.”
I urge you to protect yourself and others and help ease the work load of these healthcare workers. Please get vaccinated. Love you all.
Pics from our week:
Great post, Elise. Comparing getting the vaccine with looking at the brazen serpent hit me like a ton of bricks. Amazing. It is the easiest thing that will save people’s lives and help to end this pandemic, and yet people won’t do such a simple thing.