Living After the Manner of Happiness

Gentle Healer by Greg Olsen I cannot explain how, but I found myself carried away to another place as soon as the dramatic organ started playing. What transpired those few minutes as I listened to the Tabernacle Choir sing “O Divine Redeemer” can only be described as sacred. This sacred tutoring continued during the thirty-minute drive home from that seminary inservice meeting. I had heard the song plenty of times before, but this time was very different. Little did I know how often I would return to this experience in the coming months.  The following week we received some news that made me stop and consider the days ahead. Life as I knew it was changing, and I wondered how we would get through this experience as a family. The next year was messy . . . really messy. Over and over again I found myself knocked to my knees with nowhere else to turn. Perhaps you have been there before. Maybe you are there right now.  Each time I prayed, I felt prompted to listen to this hymn agai...

As Conference ended Sunday evening, I sat for a time trying to make sense of all the thoughts running through my head. I believe COVID-19 has everyone mourning something right now. It might be your daughter’s last prom or your son’s graduation. Perhaps it’s a canceled wedding reception or missing the birth of a grandchild. All of us are feeling the ache of missing out on something. We all are feeling cut off from the people and things we love. There is so much to mourn right now. Yet, as I sat there Sunday evening trying to unravel my thoughts, the only words that came to me were HOPE and LOVE. Not just any love, but the all-encompassing love that comes only from our Father above. I have found these two words woven throughout my studies this week as I have focused on the people who witnessed the events of the Holy Week firsthand. Yesterday I studied the story of Thomas (see John 20:24-29). Like all of us, he felt the ache of missing out on something big. Des...