So, based off the title of this post, I would understand if you thought I had mis-typed the School of Family Life program at BYU, however, I actually wrote it as a reference to General Conference. I feel like 80% of the talks this weekend were about families, and I loved it!! Below are some of the my favorite things said this weekend:
"Seek to COMPLETE rather than COMPETE" --Sister Lind K. Burton
"Family is the center, it is the key to ETERNAL HAPPINESS." --Elder L. Tom Perry
"Love comes from you, but marriage from above, from God."--Elder D. Todd Christofferson
-a critical mass of families built on righteous marriages is vital for societies to survive and flourish, it has never been just about the love and happiness of adults --Elder D. Todd Christofferson
"Our claims for the roles of marriage and family rest not on the social sciences, but on the TRUTH that they are GOD'S CREATION"--Elder D. Todd Christofferson (I feel like this was an especially important reminder for me...)
"Dissonance in the HOME is like darkness in a room, it can only be displaced by LIGHT." --Elder Wilford W. Andersen
"The home is the basis for a righteous life." --Elder Russell M. Nelson
"No other work transcends that of righteous, intentional parenting." --Elder Russell M. Nelson
Maybe it was just me, but I expected a lot more talks about Christ, His Atonement, and His Resurrection. All the talk about families was peculiar (although wonderful!) to me considering that it was Easter weekend and I thought, "why wouldn't more general authorities discuss Christ?" Almost as soon as I asked myself this question, I remembered that the messages they shared ARE the messages that Christ and our Heavenly Father have inspired them to share. What they spoke about at conference are the things that we need to hear. I am grateful for inspired leaders who seek, listen to, and follow the counsel of God. I am also grateful that through Christ's Atonement families can be eternal, that because His love has no limits or bounds, ours doesn't have to either. And, I am grateful that at conference I can gain a little bit better of an understanding of what God wants me to know/learn. School for family life, yes please! #BecauseofHim
One of my favorite things of the weekend was to go online to social media and see that #LDSconf was trending. So cool!! I literally went through Facebook and liked anything that had to do with conference, got to bring it to the forefront, yeah know? My grandma commented on something I had posted that I think beautifully describes one of the reasons why conference is so influential:
"Isn't it wonderful that even though the miles separate us from those we love the words of our Prophets unite us."
I firmly believe that this life is about learning how to form and maintain loving relationships. Through the words of the prophets and apostles, we are instructed on how to better do that and why it is important. What my grandma said about the unifying power of the prophets' words is just one example. I am grateful for #LDSconf.
I love people. Being around friends is super invigorating for me and I feel rejuvenated after being with them. That said, I am not the most comfortable when I am with people I don't know well. Moving into new wards is therefore a bit difficult for me. Something unexpected that helped bond me with members of my ward were SNL skits. Watching and quoting these skits has provided ward inside jokes that are incorporated into everyday conversations, lesson plans, and even activities. Here is one of the more frequently quoted:
Isn't the bonding power of quotes in unexpected contexts interesting?!
You know how families have weird things that they do together? And by weird I mean things you would never do with anyone outside the context of your family relationship? Well, I love those things! I think they are bonding :) For example, in my family, we are all really good at speaking gibberish with one another. If you have having trouble thinking of what gibberish sounds like, think of Donny from the Wild Thornberrys and you'll about have it.
Yes, it is complete nonsense, and no the "words" we "speak" are not intelligible, but surprisingly enough, we do understand one another! Perhaps it is because we know one another so well, but we have a lot of hilarious conversations together. I always know I am good friends with someone when I am comfortable enough to speak gibberish around them. So, if you ever hear it, feel privileged :)
So in honor of the Academy Awards a few weeks back/just for fun, my ward is throwing together an Academy Awards night. Part of this event includes submissions by each FHE group of some video or another that the group created. The movies are due tomorrow night, so like any group of college students, my FHE group procrastinated filming until today.
I will be honest, our one-minute-and-seven-seconds "home-video" may or may not have a viable plot, theme, or purpose. It may or may not be entertaining to anyone outside of those of us who participated in making it. But, making that movie together was so much fun, however cheesy or senseless it may turn out to be.
The purpose of media is to convey some message or another from one source to another. In the case of this home-video we created, I think the message is most salient in it's creation. It's about the bonding and fun we all had, the memories we formed, and the endless laughter that kept us from filming half the time. Whether or not anyone gets anything out of this film, our group is closer for having had making it, which, in the end is the purpose of the ward activity.
With all the sunshine we have been enjoying lately, I have been doing a lot more outdoor work-outs, namely running. I don't like running alone, however, and will literally go door-to-door to see if anyone in my ward wants to go run with me. I don't care if my running partner is male, female, fast, slow, or even a "runner," I just want company. One of the girls I ran with last week played music from a speaker on her iPod as we ran.
I grew up running in high school on the track and cross country teams and always with teammates. We would chat as we run (unless our work-out was particularly strenuous), stretched, and generally worked-out and I love the camaraderie we developed. Because of this social aspect of running, listening to music has never been a thing for me as I work-out.
However, I have to say, that my friend playing background music on her iPod as we ran was a great way to set a pace for us. We still talked as we ran, so I didn't miss out on the social camaraderie that I so enjoy and the music was an enjoyable new element to my run.
Is there anyone else out there who has an opinion on the perks of working out with or without music?
I saw the new Cinderella film yesterday. I. LOVE. IT. It is so sweet and gives a beautiful message of kindness, love, and bravery that I find really uplifting. Because it is a Disney princess movie, lots of kids are going to see it and (hopefully) pick up on the messages this movie sends.
Cinderella's mom tells her to always "have courage and be kind." Throughout the movie I found it interesting and empowering to note how kindness and bravery seemed to be intertwined. In some circumstances, being kind is the brave thing.
This reminds me of a few verses in 1 John 4:
"Herein is our love made perfect, that we have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear has torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us," (v. 17-19).
Evidence of perfect love is the fact that we are willing to express it. This can be scary and requires vulnerability, hence the necessity for boldness (or courage), especially in situations where we may struggle to love someone (Cinderella with her step-family). Also, in the day of judgment, how is the Savior going to treat those He mediates for (aka all of us)? With SO much love, which is why He sacrificed His life to become our Savior and Mediator to begin with. Our goal is to become like Him, so how better than to love with equal boldness?
Then there's that part about perfect love casting out all fear. Cinderella was confronted throughout the film with many cruel and disparaging remarks and treatments from her stepmother and stepsisters. She felt alone and beat-down, however, despite her treatment, she still put forth constant effort to love. Her kindness was unfailing and because of that her spirit was unfailing, they couldn't keep her down aka her spirit wasn't tormented and her fear dissipated. I feel the same is true for all of us, if we truly strive to love and be kind without discrimination or reservation, we will be unfailingly happy. It will become inherent to our very being.
Another thing I love about this film, is that just towards the end, before Cinderella tries on the glass slipper, she asks the Prince an important question. She asks if he will still love and accept her for who she is as an independent-thinking, country/servant-girl. The prince, of course, says yes and he and Cinderella end up together, just as we all knew all along.
I love that for Cinderella what was most important was that she was loved for all of her, and not just her pretty face. In fact, throughout the film, others comment on how she is has lovely physical characteristics, but never does it ever drive what Cinderella or the Prince do. Her stepmother and stepsisters, however, are portrayed as vain women who seek after nothing but beauty and wealth and there is a distinct message sent that those things are frivolous, ridiculous, and unrewarding.
Attached to the message of kindness and love is also that of forgiveness. Sometimes those who are unkind to us are also unkind to themselves. I think it is important to let them know that we don't hold it against them and hopefully that will lead to them not holding it against themselves either.
A few mini messages within Cinderella include:
1. With time pain eventually becomes a memory; grief and pain are a part of our lives but don't always have to be sad remembrances.
2. "Just because it's what's done, doesn't mean it should be done."
3. Sacrificing for others is an act of love
4. Cinderella is not a damsel in distress, she isn't a push-over, she (kindly) sticks up for herself
And lastly, that final bit of 1 John I quoted above, "we love him, because he first love us," is a principle embedded into the Cinderella story. She loves everyone, no matter who they are: haggard old ladies, mice, geese, cruel family members, royalty, servants, her parents, etc. And, generally, they all love her in return. However, even when those who should love her most are mean and cruel, because she continues to be kind nonetheless, she is rewarded with a love she never expected (the prince).
There are probably a ton of other wonderful messages I missed, but needless to say, I am a fan of this film. Beautiful message, script, and filming.
Life is hard, but why not alleviate some of that with goodness? Let's all be a bit more courageous in our commitment to kindness and thereby spread some cheer and love to those who cross our paths.
