Day of Grace

lds.org media library

Mormon was the great ancient American  military general, a Nephite prophet of his people, and record keeper of
their history (311-385 A.D.)

Mormon was  instructed to prepare himself to take charge of the records and record keeping.  At the time Mormon was 10 years old. Ammaron, the one who was keeping the records and preserving the records at that time, noticed that Mormon was" a sober, and quick to observe" child.  He told him that when he reached the age of 24, he was to go to the specific hill that he had hid all the records, and go there and engrave the things he observes with the people.  After recording the history of his own lifetime, Mormon abridged the large plates of Nephi on the plates of Mormon. He later turned this sacred record over to his son Moroni. These plates were part of the record from which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon (See also: Introduction to the Book of Mormon) )

Mormon lived during a very violent, corrupt, and evil stricken time of Book of Mormon history. Horrible scenes  were their everyday life, and can only be placed at the end of a civilization . (Mormon 1)

But wickedness did prevail upon the face of the whole land, insomuch that the Lord did take away his beloved disciples, and the work of miracles and of healing did cease because of the iniquity of the people. 

 And there were no gifts from the Lord, and the Holy Ghost did not come upon any, because of their wickedness and unbelief. 

 And I, being fifteen years of age and being somewhat of a sober mind, therefore I was visited of the Lord, and tasted and knew of the goodness of Jesus. 

And I did endeavor to preach unto this people, but my mouth was shut, and I was forbidden that I should preach unto them;

 At what we would consider now a days, a very young age, Mormon was called to lead the Nephite army. He was 15.  The people looked to Mormon as a savior.  To save them.  They looked to him as if he were their last and only hope of survival. Yet, it was without  hope because they would not listen to Mormon, and would not repent of their sins and come unto Christ so that HE could save them. 

Mormon went to great lengths and personal sorrow, to teach them to repent and come unto Christ. At times, he was hopeful that their sorrows would turn them to Christ. But it was not to be.

 Their Day of Grace had passed.

"And they did not come unto Jesus with broken hearts and contrite spirits, but they did curse God, and wish to die. Nevertheless they would struggle with the sword for their lives" Mormon 2:14

"And it came to pass that my sorrow did return unto me again, and I saw that the day of grace was passed with them, both temporally and spiritually; for I saw thousands of them hewn down in open rebellion against their God, and heaped up as dung upon the face of the land. And thus three hundred and forty and four years had passed away" Mormon 2:15 

Their day of grace had passed. Their day of grace had passed both temporally and spiritually.    I found that to be a powerful statement.

Did you know that there was a grace period with the Lord?

We have grace periods in our temporal everyday lives when it comes to the law. 

This definition of grace period can be thought of in a spiritual way with the Lord in mind.

Definition: A grace period is a time past the deadline for an obligation during which a late penalty that would have been imposed is waived. Grace periods, which can range from a number of minutes to a number of days or longer, depending on the context, can apply in various situations, including arrival at a job, paying a bill, for meeting a government or legal requirement, or in many other situations.

So with that definition, I learn that the Lord's Day of Grace is FILLED with mercy.  He has forgiven, He has given and shown mercy when mercy wasn't expected or deserved. He has gone on- and -on with waiting, showing mercy, forgiving, when the time was WAY past for change and repentance. Yet He still forgave and gave mercy.  It sounds to me as if HE the Lord, determines the time period of our day of grace and when it is passed.  Each specific and extremely personal to each one of His children.

The Bible Dictionary explanation of GRACE:

The main idea of the word is divine means of help or strength, given through the bounteous mercy and love of Jesus Christ.

It is through the grace of the Lord Jesus, made possible by His atoning sacrifice, that mankind will be raised in immortality, every person receiving his body from the grave in a condition of everlasting life. It is likewise through the grace of the Lord that individuals, through faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance of their sins, receive strength and assistance to do good works that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means. This grace is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts.

Divine grace is needed by every soul in consequence of the Fall of Adam and also because of man’s weaknesses and shortcomings. However, grace cannot suffice without total effort on the part of the recipient. Hence the explanation, “It is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do” (2 Ne. 25:23). It is truly the grace of Jesus Christ that makes salvation possible.

The Day of Grace passed for the Nephite people because they did not put forth any works of righteousness. Grace applies AFTER we have "expended our own best efforts"  "total effort on the part of the recipient"  "after all we can do"

If we give up, don't care, quit trying, and live a life of wickedness-grace cannot be applied towards us. At least that is how I understand it.

It is a gift given to us as we do our part.

Church History Tour- Which Plate Am I ?

Church History Tour: Brigham Young's Home

The Kitchen table in the Brigham Young home in Nauvoo
(Photo taken by Richard Rust, with permission)

B-A-C-K to the Church History Tour!  One of my favorite places of the whole tour was of coarse, Nauvoo.  I love that city and love visiting there.  It had been about 13 years since I was there last, so it was exciting to be back again.

While we were there we heard from various people and missionaries, "go see the Brigham Young house!"

We went inside and it was quaint and cute like all the other restored homes, smelling a little dusty, testifying to me that yes this place is old, and very authentic. 

[Update: The Atonement plates are in the Brigham Young home, but no longer used as a lesson for visitors coming in. They stopped teaching it because these plates were found on site before renovations, but they can’t prove they were Brigham Young’s. I decided to keep my post because the lesson remains powerful regardless of the ownership of the plates.]

At first I didn't quite see how it was "the best house in Nauvoo" or was any different than the other homes. I loved them all as there is some lesson or principle to learn in each house.

In the Brigham Young home the principle that they taught was the Atonement.  Just thinking about it now, I am taken back to the moment we stood in front of this table and were taught about plates and the Atonement.

The story: As they were beginning to restore the Brigham Young home, they found out by the cellar/or maybe in the cellar,  a dishes set, that was badly broken.  A Senior missionary serving in Nauvoo on a mission, knew about restoring plates like this and went about making these plates look as if they were  new and had never been broken. The process is interesting and remarkable how they can make something that is so badly broken and unusable, new again without even a mark or scar to be seen.

The missionaries compared these plates to the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  They explained how our Savior takes each one of us in a broken plate state, and through His mercy, grace, and the great power of His Atonement, redeems us, and makes us new again. 

I loved this lesson, and contemplated for days... Where  am I at in the cleansing process of the Atonement? Am I letting the Savior change me and redeem me? Which plate am I?

*All photos of the plates were taken in the in the Brigham Young home in Nauvoo
 by Richard Rust, with permission

Teaching the Atonement Using Comparisons

In preparing to teach my Sunday School class of energetic 13 year old boys, I asked them what they already knew about the Atonement.  I got a lot of blank stares.  They knew it had to do with this picture above, and faith, but in all reality, the whole topic was a little blurry to them.

I have been struggling with WHAT and WHERE to teach. So I decided this week to approach the teaching and learning through comparisons.

Comparisons is using a story or visual with symbolism to teach a principle.

"A man walking along a road fell into a pit so deep he could not climb out.

 No matter what he did, he  could not get out by himself. 

 "The man called for help and rejoiced when a kind passerby heard him and lowered a ladder down into the pit. This allowed him to climb out of the pit and regain him freedom."

"We are like the man in the pit. Sinning is like falling into the pit, and we can’t get out by ourselves. Just as the kind passerby heard the man's cry for help, Heavenly Father sent his Only Begotten Son to provide the means of escape. Jesus Christ’s atonement could be compared to lowering a ladder into the pit; it gives us the means to climb out.

But the Savior does more than lower the ladder, He comes down into the pit and makes it possible for us to use the ladder to escape. 

Just as the man in the pit had to climb up the ladder, we must repent of our sins and obey the gospel principles and ordinances to climb out of our pit and make the Atonement work in our lives. Thus, after all we can do, the Atonement makes it possible for us to become worthy to return to Heavenly Father’s presence." 

see Is faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ written in our hearts?

by Linda K. Burton



Do you know what I love about this particular comparison to the Atonement?
The principle that

 1) the Savior literally comes down into the pit where we are to help us out

AND

2) that He redeems us, making Him just what He says He is: our REDEEMER.
He doesn't just put us back where we were before we fell into the pit.

He puts us in a higher place. Making us better than we were.

 The illustrated story above of the pit and the Savior was  from the October 2012 conference issue.  It was perfect for this lesson so I decided to add it with this teaching section.

You can see how simple it is, while teaching a great principle.   You can use it in FHE, Primary, or any environment where you are teaching someone else about the Atonement.

Being Free from Addiction

As I am approaching my 45th Birthday....I can't help but think back over my life...and all those experiences that have had long lasting affects upon me.  A few stand out.

One in particular comes to mind...with a lesson attached to it.

When I was nine years old, we lived in Bemidji, Minnesota.

If you are unfamiliar with where this is...this is in northern Minnesota . COLD country!  The Land of 10,000 Lakes, 10,000 mosquitoes and the best childhood you could ask for.

 We had a Paul Bunyan Amusement Park in our hometown...everyday!  We were a short distance from Lake Itasca State Park, the place where the Mississippi River begins.

Our lives revolved around the lakes that literally dot  that area.  In each town you will find many lakes, some right in your back-yard. We floated down canals, fished, swam in the lakes, skied, ice-skated, and ice-fished.

It was mandatory for every child to take swimming lessons.  I had  swimming lessons all year long. In the summer we were taught in the lakes, and in the winter as part of our PE coarse we were taught in pool which was a part of our Jr. High. When we weren't in swimming lessons we were just in the water.  I didn't dance, play soccer, or play any sport whatsoever. We swam, and swam, and swam. We didn't have time for all the other extra-curricular activities. We were having too much fun just swimming and being in the water.

When I was nine years old I did something really dumb.  I know, hard to believe.

It was in the late fall, and my younger brother and I were checking to see if the lake behind our house was frozen enough to walk on.  We did this by just looking, but also by walking a certain distance to see how far we could go. 

We were in full Minnesota gear, which was a necessity due to to the cold Minnesota weather.  The average Minnesota day can be 30 below.  Minnesota gear was a full snowmobile suit and boots designed for the temperatures. I remember them being warm, but clunky and heavy.

 As we were walking near the shore of the lake, a neighbor came out, and noticed our precarious activity. He specifically warned us to not walk on the lake because it wasn't frozen yet. {note to nine year old self:  great advice!  Wished I would have listened.} 

You know how WISE  a nine year old can be. They aren't always known for having the best ideas or using the best judgement. They are also beginning to think they know what they are doing and can take or leave certain advice. That would be me that day.


We left the view of the neighbor and walked closer to our home. Being the oldest, I walked out on  the ice the furthest, precariously stepping and getting lucky. 

My luck suddenly wore out. You know where this story is leading... I fell  through the 'not frozen yet lake', into the icy waters.

There was the initial shock of cold icy waters consuming me.

The waters were only chest high, but an overwhelming heighth for a frozen nine year old who is just learning to swim. 

Could I reach the ground?  I remember the tippy-toes of my boots barely being able to touch the bottom of the lake. I was far enough away that that wasn't a leverage I could count on.

So I grasped, splashed, and thrashed for a good amount of time trying to save myself. This was highly unsuccessful.  Each time I tried to get up on the ice around me, it was just break making the area I was in bigger and bigger.

The water seemed very deep and completely overwhelmed me.. The Minnesota gear I was wearing was completely saturated, very heavy, and difficult to move in. My boots were like a dead weight on each foot, pulling me down further and further.

I could see my brother on the shore, and longed to be where he was, safe and sound on solid ground.  Because of the precariousness of the icy lake, he couldn't get close enough to help me.  I can still see him standing on the shore screaming my name.

I honestly don't know how long I was in the water.  It probably wasn't as long as I remember it being. I do remember this: the last thought I had while I was stuck in my predicament- "well, I guess this is how I am going to die"  Very dramatic, but nonetheless, my last thought.

Then, suddenly out of no where, I  miraculously pulled  myself up onto the frozen ice around me.  How I did that, I dont' know. But it was very timely and I was so grateful. 


Why do I tell you this story? What is this all about?

This story has many lessons and has been an experience I have learned countless principles from. Mainly about the Atonement, and how the Savior saves.

Today, this leads me to think about addictions and how consuming and overwhelming they can be to those who struggle to free themselves.  We all know someone or of someone 'stuck' in an addiction. 

It doesn't have to be pornography, although that is destroying a lot of families right now. It could be perscription drugs, food, games, TV, computer time, sugar, or what ever has taken over your ability to stop the behavior and choose for yourself.

There is a feeling of hopelessness, of despair, of I cannot get out, of giving up. 

If you'll allow me to be symbolic for a moment:  in my nine year old story, I  got myself into a terrible situation through my own foolishness.  I got there on my own doing, but now I was stuck somewhere I didn't want to be. And I could not get out by myself.

Try as I might, I could not save myself.  The circumstances were too much. The water was too icy,  my Minnesota gear-too heavy, and I was too inexperienced to know what to do.

Like in an addiction, our options become very narrow, and actually narrow down to only one source: The Savior.

In my situation that is who ultimately saved me, and continues to save me time and time again.

Through the  Atonement of Jesus Christ  we can be freed from the addictions we find ourselves in.

If you are in an addiction, turn to the Lord.  Call upon His name, who is mighty to save. And have patience as this is a long process.

I am not an expert in this area, and don't have the answers except to turn to the Lord...He Will Save You.

As we walked back home, frozen, and me wet, we sang the song from the Alka-seltzer commercial of that day: "Plop, plop, fizz, fizz"  We tried to tell our mother of the experience we just had...but how do you describe to your mother an experience so frightening, you came desparetly close to not coming home at all.


After taking off my wet gear, I climbed into  bed with a warm electric blanket covering me. Nothing has ever felt so good.   Like the sweet feelings and power of the Atonement that covers each one of us,  that day, I was delivered and saved.

 _________________________________
Other posts I have written on the Atonement:

The Atonement is Like a Blanket
In the Strength of the Lord

The Atonement is like a Blanket

When I think of the Atonement, I think of a blanket that covers me.


By nature I am almost always cold.  I hate to be cold more than anything else.  If I am cold, I cannot sleep at night, and cannot concentrate during the day.  My mind just wants comfort and warmth.

Turning to the Lord, and having the Atonement applied in my life and letting it cover my pains, heart-aches, struggles, and sins...feels like the perfect warm blanket on a cold night warming, soothing, comforting, loving, and bringing healing to a needing body.

"The word atonement is from the ancient Hebrew word Kaphar, which means to cover. Isn’t it interesting that when Adam and Eve discovered their nakedness in the Garden of
Eden, God sent Jesus to make coats of skins to cover them? Coats of skins don’t grow
on trees. They had to be made from an animal, which means an animal had to be killed.
Perhaps that was the very first animal sacrifice. Because of that sacrifice, Adam and Eve
were covered. In the same way, through Jesus’s sacrifice, we are also covered."--see Brad Wilcox  Faith as an Anchor

Symbolism of the Sacrament

The Atonement of Jesus Christ

I once taught this as a young woman's lesson and made a sacrament card for each of them, to put in their scriptures and pull out during the sacrament to remind them of how sacred and  important this ordinance really is. 

Sunday best- The sacrament is the most important part of our Sacrament Meeting.  It is why we meet, to remember our covenants we made at baptism and to make new ones.  What we wear matters.  Those who are administering and passing the Sacrament wear white shirts representing  purity as they administer the Holy Emblems of the Sacrament.  It is symbolic and similar to the white we wear when we are baptized and the white we wear in the temple.  As young women and women it is our privilege to wear our very best while partaking and participating in the Lord's Holy Sacrament.

The table-The bread and water trays are arranged on the table.  A cloth is carefully placed over the trays.  Christ's body was also covered with a cloth in the tomb.  As we look at the table, we are reminded of the actual burial of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Water is poured-Water which symbolizes the blood Christ spilled for us, is poured into cups.  The Savior's greatest suffering occurred while in Gethsemane where it is recorded that He bled from every pore.

Bread is torn-As the Sacrament begins, we sing a hymn about Christ and the bread is literally torn.  Read the words to Hymn #181 ..."bruised, broken, and torn for us on Calvary's Hill"  We are watching the symbolism of His body being torn for us.

Sacrament prayers-Jesus Christ instituted His holy sacrament while He was on earth.  It is of such importance, it must be offered exactly, word for word, as written, offered as many times as it takes to get it right.  Isn't that like us?  We each struggle with our own weaknesses. The Lord, who has immense patience with us, allows us to keep trying, repenting, and trying again-as many times as it takes to get it right.  That is what the Atonement is all about.

Our covenant hand-Our right hand is our covenant hand, and therefore the hand we reach to take the bread and water.  We are literally partaking of the Atonement.  We are letting it enter us both physically and spiritually.

Covenants made-"That they may witness unto thee-to always remember him"  As we partake of the Sacrament, we are reminded of what the Savior did for us personally.  We promise to live as he would live, to say what He would say, to be as He would be.  We are saying that we are willing to testify of Christ.  We are saying, "if you want to know what a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saint believes, watch me!"  When I'm with my friends, watch me!  It is not enough to say His name.  It is not enough to learn about Him.  We must come to KNOW Him.  This is standing as witnesses of God at all times, and in all things, and in all places.

Spinning Plates and the Atonement

Sometimes I feel like a magic plate spinner. 

 Each one of the labeled plates above could also have its own set of spinning plates.

Many days I feel like I am running from plate to plate trying to keep them all spinning, spinning, spinning so that they don't fall. 

Do you ever feel like that?

 Elder Bednar  wrote this amazing talk that I needed today.  I opened up my new Ensign and there it was: The Atonement, and the Journey of Mortality

This talk is basically the same message as In the Strength of the Lord which is on my Must Reads list.

I even wrote a blog post about it {CLICK HERE}

What I am touched by this time as I read it, is how we need the Atonement so much in EVERYTHING! 

"The enabling power of the Atonement strengthens us to do and be good and to serve beyond our own individual desire and natural capacity."-Elder Bednar

The enabling power of grace is a must have in my life. 

I need it.

I need Him.

  I am so grateful for the Atonement. 

I know He lives. 

In the Strength of the Lord

In the Strength of the Lord

This whole concept of grace is fairly new to me.

For years I have heard the word "grace"in church and while reading my scriptures,  and had no idea what it meant. I am not totally embarrassed to admit that because we all learn line upon line, precept upon precept. We all seem to hear, see, and understand what we are ready to and we all do it at our own pace.

What a powerful principle this is.  I know I have not used "this divine means of help and strength, this enabling power,"  like I should have, because I didn't even understand what it was.

I think we may get confused and think the Atonement is for sins only, and do not understand it is for good people trying to be better. It also covers all of our emotional pain--all of it. The Lord never intended for us to do it all ourselves and to try to get through life through sheer grit, will power, discipline, and with our many limitations.  

The power of the Atonement is there for all of us to use, and I think because we don't fully understand certain principles of it, we do not have access to it's full power in our lives.

Elder Bednar uses the example of Nephi from I Nephi 7 and how he understood and used the enabling power of the Savior.  In this story Laman and Lemuel, have bound Nephi with cords and left him to die in the wilderness.  In verse 17 it says:

 "17 But it came to pass that I prayed unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, according to my faith which is in thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound."

Elder Bednar also points out that Nephi did not pray to have his circumstances changed (get me out of this mess), but instead he prayed for "the power to change his circumstances"   He did this because he understood and had experienced the enabling power of the Atonement (grace) in his life.

"I do not personally believe that the bands magically loosened.  Rather I believe he was blessed with both persistence and personal strength, beyond his natural capacity that in the strength of the Lord he was ultimately enabled to break the bands" -Elder Bednar

Isn't that how the Lord works in our lives as well?

Now, that I know what grace is: that it enables us, strengthens us, gives us the power to change our circumstances if need be; it is like a brand new best friend, and it is written in the front pages of my scriptures, highlighted and underlined.  I see it everywhere and notice, how much I need this enabling  power in my life on a daily basis.

I love grace and am grateful for the blessings of the Atonement.

Waiting on the Lord

Alyssa 20 yrs old

Waiting on the Lord is a concept we have learned, and re-learned, and re-lived each time we go through a trial or experience that requires a measure of faith, patience, and endurance,-more than what we normally live through.

 *********************************

I think back to the time when our 5th daughter, Alyssa,  was born with a cleft lip and  palate.

We first learned of her cleft lip at birth.   I had a normal pregancy in every way except I had an on-going feeling during my pregnancy that something was not right. A feeling mothers cannot ignore, although we might want to.  I honestly thought of anything and everything it could be, and mentally prepared myself for many possible scenarios. At the appropriate time, I had all the tests given to determine the health of the baby including tests taken for birth defects. All the tests came back normal. I still felt something might be wrong. 

 Having a child with a  cleft lip never crossed my mind because I thought cleft lips/ palates were only hereditary.   The many ultra-sounds we had during the pregnancy only showed the perfect side of her face, so her cute little cleft lip did not show itself until her birth.




Picture of my daughter Alyssa at 3 months old

The birth itself was quite dramatic, and I 'll save you the  details, but we ended up having an emergency C-Section delivery. It was so emergency my husband was not  allowed in the operation room.  The doctors and nurses worked quickly to deliver our baby daughter. There was not the normal chatter going on between doctors in nurses during a c-section (I've had 5). Instead there was concentrated serious silence, everyone waiting to see how the baby would be when she was born. When she was born, I heard nothing but more serious silence and Dr's and nurses moving quickly working on Alyssa. She wasn't crying and I wasn't sure when I would hear her cry for the first time. The Dr. then leaned over the blue screen which blocked me from viewing my own C-section surgery, and told me in a careful and compassionate way, that my baby had a cleft lip. I remember saying "okay", but felt shock, numb, guilt, and devastated at not having a perfect baby. 

How did this happen?        What do we do now?     How is this going to change our lives ?    

  

My husband Richard was having a different experience waiting for the delivery in the waiting area of the OB unit.  Soon a nurse came walking down the hallway carrying Alyssa in her arms and told him he had a new baby girl. She then moved the blanket and showed him she had a little cleft lip. It was a complete shock to see his baby imperfect with a birth defect and only added to the drama already experienced this day. He struggled with his own feelings as the nurse asked him if he wanted to hold her? His thoughts and emotions raced with this new reality that we now had a daughter with a cleft lip. We had never even know anyone very personally with a cleft lip. What kind of life would she have?  Having a child with a cleft lip was so foreign to us. 

However, from the moment Alyssa was born, I could literally feel the strength of this tiny infant. Her strength gave me strength. When the nurses showed me her in the operating room after she was born, I looked into her eyes and felt recognition, and noticed immediately what beautiful eyes she had. Everyone commented on her beautiful eyes. Somehow,  I did not feel sadness, or pity for me or her.   I would look into her eyes and there was a sense of recognition that we had known each other once before and that everything was going to fine.  I could  feel she knew something that I hadn't come to yet.   I had no doubt that she was very aware. We were not yet as strong as she was.

The first thing we did   was to turn this trial over to the Lord  and began waiting on Him, although not so patiently at first.  It was kind of a desperate needing in those early days, more than faith.  I learned that desperation is not the same thing as faith.

At 6 weeks old we scheduled her first surgery for her cleft lip at Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah.  It was February 25th, 1998.  It also happened to be the date  of the worst snow storm Salt Lake had seen in 20 years. We lived 3  hours away and drove out the day before and stayed with an aunt who lived a short distance from the hospital.

As part of the  preparation for surgery, Alyssa had to arrive fasting.  She could have water.  Keep in mind...she is 6 weeks old!    I was a nervous wreck with 6 week old fasting baby.  On top of that, because of the snow storm, the 15  minutes drive to the hospital, turned into 45  minutes of white- knuckle driving. The entire city of Salt Lake looked like a parking lot instead of a road. It was a crazy day to be on the roads driving, and we had precious cargo on-board, on a serious top-secret mission. That is how  critical this day felt for us. No snow storm, nor anything was stopping us from getting to the hospital for our daughter.  It was our turn to have a perfect baby. 

We finally showed up at the hospital, and Alyssa did amazingly well with the fasting. Once again. she was stronger in body and spirit than her parents. Miracles were on our side. However, we were already emotionally worn out, and wanting this surgery desperately for our daughter.  RIGHT NOW was how we felt inside.  Our situation was more unique, more critical, more needy than any other patient there....or so we felt. We were very self-absorbed. They honestly, couldn't perform this magic  fast enough.

One of the initial steps prior to surgery is a check-up to make sure the children are healthy. It was in this initial exam, that we were told that our baby daughter had THRUSH, and would not be able to have the surgery until that was cleared up completely. Her thrush was so minor, I hadn't noticed it.

'Thrush usually develops suddenly, but it may become chronic, persisting over a long period of time. A common sign of thrush is the presence of creamy white, slightly raised lesions in your mouth - usually on your tongue or inner cheeks - but also sometimes on the roof of your mouth, gums, tonsils, or back of your throat. The lesions, which may have a "cottage cheese" appearance."-WebMD

It was the worst news we could have heard.  We didn't take it well.  We were upset.

We felt our world had come crashing in. 

W-H-H-A-AAA-T-T-T????!! ??????!!!!

 But, but, but,  we drove 3 hours the night before to get here, in the worst snow storm ever.....

 She  fasted..

...and we have been waiting and anticipating this since- her- birth.  We felt our circumstances were more special and more important than anything or anyone elses were. And more important than any medical obstacles.

 Needless to say, WE WERE DEVASTATED....and angry, and hurt, that they wouldn't do the surgery for us that day.  We weren't ready to accept our reality, and waited for the surgeon to tell these nurses what was up! However, that never happened. The hospital staff was sympathetic, yet their diagnosis was absolute.  There was going to be no surgery for our daughter this day.  It wasn't going to be happening.   It seemed the windows of heaven slammed on us and we were all alone.

On top of that because of the harsh weather that day we were also completely snowed in Salt Lake. We couldn't even go home!! We decided to go to  Temple Square and try to bring some joy back into our lives.   

By evening, the snow cleared up  and we were able to travel back home..although we were in the same place we were when we left.  Still needing a surgery for our baby. Except now we were on a mission to get rid of this  thrush that had turned our lives upside down.

It took another 6 weeks to get rid of the thrush. Alyssa was either allergic to every medicine we tried or it just didn't work.  The only medicine that worked was Genetian Violet. [ If you are unfamiliar with this medicine, it is the color and consistency of purple ink and you have to paint their mouths with it.  They look like they just ate a dark purple Popsicle].

 This second 6 weeks was like an endless procedure waiting, trying everything, and waiting some more. It was a purifying, unifying, and humbling time as we learned what it meant to wait on the Lord in faith.  Not faith in an outcome, but faith in Him.

 It was during this time of  WAITING that the Lord taught us, helped us, strengthened us, and made us into different parents.  It was during this 6 weeks that we came to accept our daughter's cute little cleft lip.  We became more patient and long-suffering as we waited on the Lord's time not ours.


From this experience I learned:

Waiting on the Lord is  a choice... because HOW we wait effects what we learn and how we grow. 

In fact, I don't think I am ever NOT waiting on the Lord for something. We are dependent upon Him for everything. Everyday.

What does it mean to wait on the Lord?  Here is an excerpt from Elder Hales talk:

 In the scriptures, the word wait means to hope, to anticipate, and to trust. To hope and trust in the Lord requires faith, patience, humility, meekness, long-suffering, keeping the commandments, and enduring to the end.

To wait upon the Lord means planting the seed of faith and nourishing it “with great diligence, and … patience.”

It means praying as the Savior did—to God, our Heavenly Father—saying: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done.” It is a prayer we offer with our whole souls in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Waiting upon the Lord means pondering in our hearts and “receiv[ing] the Holy Ghost” so that we can know “all things what [we] should do.”

As we follow the promptings of the Spirit, we discover that “tribulation worketh patience” and we learn to “continue in patience until [we] are perfected.”

Waiting upon the Lord means to “stand fast” and “press forward” in faith, “having a perfect brightness of hope.”

It means “relying alone upon the merits of Christ” and “with [His] grace assisting [us, saying]: Thy will be done, O Lord, and not ours.”

As we wait upon the Lord, we are “immovable in keeping the commandments,”knowing that we will “one day rest from all [our] afflictions.”

Elder Hales : Waiting on the Lord (read it here)