it's been so long since i posted i couldn't even remember the last thing i'd shared. well this morning i did some reading in the book of mormon about how the good nephites experienced a schism - one group wanted to have a king and practice priest craft. the others feared they'd lose their right to worship the way they'd like. it got me thinking about how so many sacred things are turned and manipulated for selfish purposes. i can't help but wonder what i may be using for my personal gain. are my intentions of service truly selflessly motivated? do i act out of love and kindness or self gratification? maybe that's why it's so important that our motives are pure - if you can put yourself aside, deny selfish impulses, then it's likely your actions will be for the good of others. tough. anyway, i was planning to just keep all those thoughts to myself, but then my sister in law sent a picture that just made me laugh. and at the same time feel sad for the world. her brother currently lives in jerusalem. this is a flyer he received in the mail the other day. look closely, the details speak for themselves.
p.s. it's spring break starting tomorrow - hooray for a holiday! i'm headed to sacramento to see my good sister's family - the ones that like to put on an opera each year. the same sister who gave me the recipe for those delicious cinnamon rolls you see below. it'll be a really great break! oh, and in other good news, i just decided to NOT teach summer school this year. that means i'll have no job, which leaves me feeling unproductive, but at the same time super happy that i'll get a real summer break for the first time in all my years of teaching.
1 comment:
I'm glad you get a real summer break. Teachers earn their 3 months off, dangit!
I subscribe to Brigham Young's fake-it-til-you-make-it school of thought when it comes to purifying my motives. I think completely pure motives are very rarely (maybe never) achieved by sheer force of human will -- I think you go through the motions of serving because you're told it's the right thing to do and because you've covenanted to do so. If before serving you ask God to consecrate your imperfect service for the welfare of your soul (2 Nephi 32:9) he does the rest, over time -- gradually perfecting our natures, including purifying our motives, in spite of ourselves.
Post a Comment