As a busy young mom without social media, she could feel bad about herself within herself. Only looking for some good opinions from her best friend, husband, and God. This generation is bombarded with so much external noise, which affects them.
“When we are consumed with what our legacy says about us, we invite torment into our lives. When legacy matters to us because of what we can do for others, we invite God, purpose, and meaningful achievement into our lives.” Kate Holbrook, “Weight of Legacy.”
Is this a celestial law? No. What is God’s law? It is a marriage between one man and one woman; polygamy is an occasional step outside of that law.
I spent many years of my life hiding, distracting, turning away, or ignoring discomfort, and I still can find myself running at times against my better judgment. Instead of asking the hard questions, feeling the difficult feelings, and facing what felt scary to face, I learned to run away.
As we rounded a bend and happened to look up onto the wall of the canyon, there before our eyes, tucked under a Pine tree, was a fully mature big horn sheep, a ram. It watched us pass along the trail, and as we continued, I experienced a deep spiritual witness that Jehovah was the creator of this world, the ram that was sacrificed for it, and He who submitted to the will of the Father because He loves us.
So, what does this look like in our lives—to turn aside from the ordinary and lean into the holy? To sanctify the ordinary moments of our lives? I love the idea of turning away from the ordinary like Moses did. And there’s another great clue in Helaman 3:35, where it says that sanctification comes because of their yielding their hearts unto God.
I love the healing power of gratitude, but I also love the power of laying bare our anger, dismay, frustration, and hurt in front of the only One who can truly heal it all.
The creation story and plural marriage go together—if we believe God is merciful, plural marriage is not the norm—It is Eve and Adam, one woman and one man. This is the story that begins humanity and serves as the model for God’s law of marriage.