Not Just For Sinners

It's been a long time since I've posted much besides my missionary son's letters on my blog. He is now home! I have been wanting to take the time to share my thoughts on my blog again, even if it is just for me to have a place where my thoughts and the words of others that touch me are stored.

This morning as I was getting ready, I randomly chose a BYU devotional to listen to. As I was listening, I felt it was exactly what I needed today. It was Elder David A. Bednar's devotional from 2001 called "In the Strength of the Lord".

Directly after the sentence above, he goes on to say:
"We will become agents who 'act' rather than objects that are 'acted upon' (2 Nephi 2:14)." Elder David A. Bednar

For quite a while now, that idea has been in my mind because of counsel to me from a church leader to "act rather than be acted upon." This talk was another testament that we should not just hope that things get better when we have the power to change something. Elder Bednar gives examples of several people who prayed for strength to change the circumstance instead of just praying for their burden to be removed. We can pray for the enabling power of the atonement to strengthen us to do what we need to do when we cannot do alone. 

That is the part of Elder Bednar's talk that I was thinking about most when I again randomly chose another past BYU devotional. This time it was Sister Dew's talk "You Were Born to Lead, You Were Born for Glory". I have heard both of these talks before and I love SO much about her devotional address, but what I noticed as I was listening was that both of these devotionals stated that the atonement is not just for sinners, but also for daily use by faithful followers of Christ. I must have needed that reminder today.

"Brothers and sisters, do you know what I likely would have prayed for if I had been tied up by my brothers? My prayer would have included a request for something bad to happen to my brothers and ended with the phrase 'wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren' or, in other words, 'Please get me out of this mess, now!' It is especially interesting to me that Nephi did not pray, as I probably would have prayed, to have his circumstances changed. Rather, he prayed for the strength to change his circumstances. And may I suggest that he prayed in this manner precisely because he knew and understood and had experienced the enabling power of the Atonement of the Savior.

"I personally do not believe the bands with which Nephi was bound just magically fell from his hands and wrists. Rather, I suspect that he was blessed with both persistence and personal strength beyond his natural capacity, that he then “in the strength of the Lord” (Mosiah 9:17) worked and twisted and tugged on the cords and ultimately and literally was enabled to break the bands.

"Most of us clearly understand that the Atonement is for sinners. I am not so sure, however, that we know and understand that the Atonement is also for saints—for good men and women who are obedient and worthy and conscientious and who are striving to become better and serve more faithfully."
David A. Bednar

"Until I was in my thirties, I thought the Atonement was basically for sinners—meaning that it allowed us to repent. But then I suffered a heartbreaking personal loss and began to learn that there was so much more to this sublime doctrine.

"My solution initially to my heartbreak was to exercise so much faith that the Lord would have to give me what I wanted—which was a husband. Believe me, if fasting and prayer and temple attendance automatically resulted in a husband, I’d have one.

"Well, the Lord hasn’t even yet given me a husband; but He did heal my heart. And in doing so, He taught me that He not only paid the price for sin but compensated for all of the pain we experience in life. He taught me that because of His Atonement, we have access to His grace, or enabling power—power that frees us from sin; power to be healed emotionally, physically, and spiritually; power to “loose the bands of death” (Alma 7:12); power to turn weakness into strength (see Ether 12:27); and power to receive salvation through faith on His name (see Mosiah 3:19)"
Sheri L. Dew

I am so grateful for how much I have learned about the gospel and especially about the atonement as I have used it in my life to strengthen and lift me. The enabling power has helped me get through times when I thought it was impossible to make it through. I am grateful to know Jesus, not just about Him. I am sure that as long as I live, I will continue to learn more and to learn how to better use the atonement to bless my life and bless the lives of those around me.

Broken Bows

I have the pleasure of knowing Jennifer Paustenbaugh, the University Librarian at BYU, and her family, and hearing her speak many times, always engaging the listener and always bringing the Spirit into the room. She recently had the terrifying opportunity to give the BYU Devotional Address and I'm sharing it with you in case you didn't get to see it yet.

Jennifer recounts the Book of Mormon story of Nephi when he breaks his bow, leaving the family with no way to get meat, which was their main source of food and likens it to our own adversity.


"Like Nephi, each one of us is likely to experience the breaking of a bow—a major life challenge that has all the makings of a personal or family disaster or one that has all the makings of an opportunity to grow."

Jennifer states 6 principles that we can learn from this story and she uses personal examples to illustrate them.

• Pray
• Do
• Turn to Priesthood Leaders
• Read the Scriptures
• Feel Gratitude in Your Circumstances
• Expect Miracles

I feel like I personally am pretty good at some of these, but I need to work hard at others. For example, DO. I cannot just pray and read my scriptures and expect my problems to be worked out for me without my action. In that action, that doing, is where I will learn, progress and find blessings. I cannot let fear or indecision keep me from doing.

You can watch her devotional below or read the transcript BYU Speeches.
                                           Go, Jennifer! :)

Strange Family

No, I'm not talking about my family....this time.

 

Band members Matthew Orr, Jacob Hall, Jared Price Garret Williams, and Chris White make up Strange Family, the final band for me to post of the 3 that will be playing at the FREE Provo Rooftop Concert Series tomorrow, May 2. I’ve never heard them in person, but like their sound from the 2 videos I found online.

I searched online and even their own Facebook page and website  are very lacking on info about the band so I can’t share much with you. Their music sounds like Bon Iver, Band of Horses, and Fleet Foxes. The Daily Herald’s The Ticket claims “Rootsy southern rock mixed with subtle ambient vibes is Strange Family’s specialty.”

kk

Desert Noises

Warm weather is coming back and I’m excited for all the fun things you can do outside, including outdoor concerts like Provo Rooftop Concert Series, which is a once a month FREE concert (first Friday of every month May through October) up on the top level of a parking structure at 100 West and 100 North in downtown Provo. Music starts at 7:30. May 2^nd is the first concert of 2014 and there are 3 bands playing. I thought I’d introduce you to them, one at a time, so you can see if it’s the kind of music you’d like to listen to so you can go have fun too. They are lots of fun for the whole family so bring your blanket or chair and some snacks (or buy food from the delish restaurant row they set up in the alley next to the parking structure) and listen to some amazing music!

Desert Noises is one of the bands performing. They performed last May at the Rooftop Concert, where I saw them and you can see that night's performance of 27 Ways in the first video below. They are 4 young guys from Provo, who are currently out doing a US tour to promote their new album “27 Ways”. The oldest member is Kyle Henderson, 24. The other three members are Tyler Osmond (Donny Osmond’s nephew), Pat Boyer and Brennan Allen. Together they make a unique sound with awesome music. According to their bio, “Desert Noises makes music for shouting into canyons, jumping into rivers, and getting married to the wide-open road.” I really like their sound and no two songs sound the same, like some bands, so make sure to listen to more than one. If you are like me, you'll listen to all of them...over and over.







 

Learn how to place music on itunes at ReverbNation.com

Go Forth

Today as I was getting ready for church, I decided to listen to a BYU devotional since it has been a while since I have. Before church, I have been listening to podcasts that go along with the Sunday School lessons since I love the scriptures, but am not at all a scriptorian and want to learn more. But I felt I needed something maybe less academic. I feel very blessed to have listened to Anthony D. Perkins of the Quorum of the Seventy. His talk was entitled "Nevertheless I Went Forth" and given February 4, 2014.

The title is from verses where Nephi is speaking about how he was commanded to move forward even though he did not know what was in store for him in the future, even the immediate future, yet he acted in faith.

 “I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do. Nevertheless I went forth.”
 1 Nephi 4:6–7

I am in a very uncertain time in my life and I feel like it takes more courage than I have sometimes to just go forth, not knowing what my future holds. But I am promised, as we all are, that if we stay close to the Lord and do His will, we will be blessed.

Ye are little children, and ye have not as yet understood how great blessings the Father hath in his own hands and prepared for you;  And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along.
 D&C 78:17–18

I especially appreciated this from the very end of Elder Perkins' talk.

I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
 John 10:10

 "Be confident that the Savior will fulfill His promise to lead you along to an abundant life, even when the immediate path sometimes seems uncertain."

I'm grateful for the blessings that our Heavenly Father gives us when we are living righteously that we may feel His peace and the certainty of His presence in this unstable, sometimes scary world. These words make me feel that I was just scooped up and given a big, reassuring hug from Him Who Knows All Things.

Caleb Blood

I've been listening to Reverbnation a lot this week and wondering why I haven't done a local music post in a while. I have so many artists I want to feature still so I choose one today from the song that's been in my head. I've had Caleb Blood's song Lovely Obsession, along with others of his, on my playlist for a couple of years. Love it! Caleb is a BYU student and has been playing at Velour in Provo, The Wall at BYU and other places recently.

Check out his website (not updated much) or like him on Facebook to find out when he's playing next so you can check him out in person. He even had an article written about him recently in The Salt Lake Tribune. He has a great pop sound and his music sure sounds radio-ready and very catchy. He is very talented and I can't wait to see him make it big nationally.

Caleb's new album is called +one and you can listen to the whole album on Spotify (some songs are on the player below, but there are others too) or buy it from his website or on iTunes. Support artists so they can keep making music! And check out his older music there too! He also has a YouTube channel. How did I not blog about him before???

I've posted one of his videos and his Reverb Music Player where you can listen to several of his songs.

Weekend Full of Free Music

Over the weekend I went to 2 different music shows and loved them!

On Friday, I went to Central Utah Gardens in Orem.

One of the singers was April Meservy, who is also a songwriter and producer and I've seen her play the guitar and the keyboard. She has even won 5 Pearl awards. Her music is soft and soulful. She sang The Light that is on the 2004 EFY album, so you might have heard of her. I just gotta say that she is so kind and friendly. We just happened to be sitting in the front row and she came and sat at the end, next to Alex. She recognized me just from a comment I left on her Facebook page and she introduced herself and after the show she emailed me to thank me for coming. I thought that was really nice since I wanted to be there and had a great time listening to her sharing her talents.

This video below was on YouTube and is from the house concert where I saw her perform last year. This one makes me cry it's so sweet.

Catherine Papworth, another fun singer/songwriter, also performed on Friday. I had already heard some of her music online and "liked" her on Facebook, but I don't think I ever saw her perform before that. She was in Noteworthy, the female a cappella group at BYU and later was the director of it and produced for them. She had the song He'll Answer Back on the 2012 EFY album. She seemed very down to earth.


Then Saturday I went to Rock the River Battle of the Bands at Provo's Shops at the Riverwoods where the music was just as great, but had a different vibe. Definitely faster and louder. And we even got to dance while the judges were deliberating on the winner at the end. I'll just tell you about my two favorites of the night.

The Blue Aces seriously KNOCKED me off my feet with how good they are and how natural they seem to be up on stage rocking it in front of a crowd, especially since it's a girl band from Orem with one 14-year old and three 16-year olds! They write their own original music and are lots of fun!!!

Yesterday I looked them up online and found out that they were on Good Things Utah. Pretty cool, huh?



The New Electric Sound, who call themselves a retro surf rock band, seemed like they were having lots of fun on stage. They used the old-time microphones and wore cardigans, looking retro from the 50's and 60's. They were the winners of the whole battle and had lots of fans out there that night. The lead singer, Scott, used to be in a rap group and they sang one song that had a rap part in it that made the crowd go wild.