Skip to main content

Tender Mercies

I am preparing to take the AICP exam (it’s the planner’s certification program) in May. I have been given a study guide prepared by someone in Washington D.C. whose name does not appear in the text – at least, not that I’ve been able to identify. The last paragraph of the preface states, “A similar motivational concept from a Native American seer, Alma, advises that one should be ‘...looking forward with an eye of faith to the fruits thereof...’” quoting from Alma 32:40.

I don’t know who this guy is, but he’s obviously a member. I am also not sure what prompted him to include this verse in this particular text. It seems a little incongruous and out of context in this setting, but there it is. My mission president cited this scripture often and made it the focus of our mission work – to look with the eye of faith. I have cultivated the ability to look at others with this eye of faith and see them not for who they are, but for who they could be. It is something that has served me well over the years since my mission.

I’ve just never turned that eye inward.

Now I find myself having to do that. I have never afforded myself the same opportunities that I have so frequently given to others, never seen in myself the goodness and ability and talent that is there. It is a difficult thing, as I plumb the depths of my soul, to come to grips with who I am and realize that it’s good enough for God to love and for Christ to atone for. It’s something I think I knew academically, but has never come home to me before.

So here I am, finding myself in tears (again!) (it’s becoming a frequent occurrence for me lately)(I’m glad I work alone in my office… :D) and grateful for an anonymous writer who was brave enough to quote Alma in a scholarly forum. God really does love me, doesn’t He? Look at the simple, tender mercies He extends to someone like me....

Comments

Joy and Dennis said…
Yes, Bill,I do believe that He loves you, and it amazes me that someone who is so genuinely kind and outwardly warm and tender to others does not see that so obvious truth....it truly amazes me....

Popular posts from this blog

Ephesus

Paul got around. Ephesus is right on the Aegean Sea, on the coast of present-day Turkey. Yesterday he was in Galatia, which was much more towards the middle of Turkey. And when he actually wrote these letters, he was in Rome... So the man could travel. He probably walked. Today's item of interest comes from chapter one in Ephesians. Verses 18 and 19 are particularly interesting: 18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power This is not the first time Paul talks about an inheritance. In Galatians he talks about the inheritance that comes of being part of the Abrahamic Covenant. He notes that we are joint-heirs through and with Christ. In Ephesians, he uses the word "adoption" - that we are adopted as the Children of Jesus Chris...

Excommunication

My heart is heavy this morning. I read that Kate Kelly and others are being brought up on Church disciplinary action. For those who are unfamiliar with the process/proceedings of LDS Church discipline, it can be a bit mystifying. There are several levels of censure that the Church may impose. These range from a simple removal of some privileges for a short period of time to the most severe action - excommunication. When one is excommunicated, the person's membership in the Church is terminated. It is a very extreme measure, and for the faithful it can be a very difficult thing to consider. What people don't understand - what is nearly impossible for someone outside the proceedings to understand - is the amount of love felt. It's discipline. It's intended to be harsh (at times). And it's intended to be unpleasant. But it is done with love and care for the person. Since excommunication is such an extreme measure, it is really only very rarely applied. There are ...

The Other Art

I'm not sure we appreciate photography as much as we do other art forms. Part of this comes from the reality that surrounds and permeates a photograph - it's very, very real, and the photographer strives for clarity and crispness in the representations. Perhaps this is why black and white images continue to be relevant - they strip away extraneous information (color) and leave us with something that is at once familiar and also non-existent - for nothing exists in black and white. Nothing. I also think that pictures are becoming too common-place... Everyone has a camera in their pocket, and while that's a very democratic thing (everyone can express themselves in a picture easily and readily, and can find an audience for these images, which are casually taken and casually viewed, and perhaps just as casually forgotten) I think that we embrace that casual attitude, and it spills over to all aspects of the media, making it impotent. So I read this article this morning: h...