Unlocking the Mystery: A Peek into the Unique Prayer Journey of a Latter-Day Saint Dog Mom
Have you ever wondered about the intricacies of prayer in the life of a Latter-Day Saint? Perhaps you're curious if it differs from your own approach. Well, let's dive into the art of my prayer life and explore the beautiful connection I share with my Heavenly Father.
Understanding Prayer in the Church: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints defines prayer as a reverent communication with God, where gratitude is expressed, and blessings are sought. Addressed to our Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ, prayers can be spoken aloud or kept silent.
My Personal Prayer Rituals: Here's a glimpse into the various ways I connect with God through prayer:
Prompted Prayer Journal: I've designed a special prayer journal that prompts me to express my thoughts and feelings during my sacred conversations with Heavenly Father. I use the following prompted journals 8 minutes with God and The emotion Journal. I also like blank journals from Zion's Reflections.
Mealtime Prayer: Before each meal, I take a moment to express my gratitude for the nourishment and blessings.
Silent Family Protection: Silently, I offer prayers to God, seeking His protection and guidance for my family.
Written Scripture Prayers: I write prayers directly in my scriptures, thanking God for the wisdom and guidance found in specific verses that resonate with me.
Verbal Expressions: I engage in spoken prayers when I wake up, start my work, and whenever the Holy Ghost prompts me.
A Unique Journey: It's important to note that my approach to prayer is just one among the diverse practices within the Church. Every Latter-Day Saint has their unique way of connecting with God.
Join the Conversation: How do you approach prayer in your life? on our social media post published on Feb 6,2024 on our instagram and Facebook @doglovingsaints / Dog Gone Crazy Adventures
Today I rediscovered a wonderful conference talk that a companion and I had read on my mission while we were having an on-going discussion regarding the light of Christ.
The talk is titled simply Light, and it gives some great insights into the Light of Christ that I hope will introduce a topic I'd like to speak on very nicely.
Look to Light
Elder Brewerton, of the Quorum of the Seventy and the author of this talk, quoted bruce R. McConkie by stating, "How does light enter into us? How do we receive it? 'But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!'" (Matt. 6:23).
This is stating that we receive spiritual light through our "spiritual eyes" just like how we receive physical light through our physical eyes. And how do we receive this spiritual light? By turning to the savior. This reminds us of the case of the fiery serpents as found in the scriptures:
"And he did straiten them in the wilderness with his rod; for they hardened their hearts, even as ye have; and the Lord straitened them because of their iniquity. He sent fiery flying serpents among them; and after they were bitten he prepared a way that they might be healed; and the labor which they had to perform was to look; and because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished" (1 Ne. 17:41).
For those of you who may not be familiar with the story, Moses raised up a brazen serpent on a pole, where, if the Israelites would simply turn and look, they would be healed from the wounds of the serpents. Likewise, when we turn to the Savior by obeying the commandments, learning of him through prayer and the scriptures, we become healed and receive His light. Therefore, if our eye be single [to Christ] our whole body shall be full of light.
How Christ is the Light
Elder Brewerton quotes Bruce R. McConkie further:
"Our Lord is the Light of the world in at least three ways...
“1. Through the Light of Christ he governs and controls the universe and gives life to all that therein is.
“2. By this same immensity-filling light—and to certain faithful ones, by the power of the Holy Ghost!—he enlightens the mind and quickens the understanding.
“3. By his own upright, sinless, and perfect course, in [premortal life], in mortality, and in resurrected glory, he sets a perfect example and is able to say to all men: ‘Follow thou me.’” (2 Ne. 31:10.) (as cited in Light, 1991).
These little snippets are just some of the great insights that were presented in this talk that my companion and I treasured back on my mission, and that I feel serve as a great reminder for the greatness of the Light of Christ.
Different Types of Light
But now I'd like to conclude with some thoughts that relate to this topic, but that I think deserve their own post (if not, a book) to be done justice, and therefore I will only briefly go into them.
Truman G. Madsen spoke on the concept of light cleaving unto light (see D&C 88:40). He illustrated this concept by asking the listener to imagine two candles brought close together, and their flames combine into one large flame. This example is very insightful, and relates to several wise concepts; to name a few, the total being greater than the sum of the parts, unity in relationships (especially marriage), as well as that of communing which is the striving for the state of having two minds but one heart (or in this case, two wicks and one flame). I've always appreciated this interpretation of the scripture, but I believe there is another angle from which we can view this scripture, and that is from a scientific perspective.
A study of physical light will teach you that our mortal eyes only see a tiny fraction of the spectrum of light that exists in the universe. Hugh Nibley once stated that in God's kingdom there is infinite variety. Therefore, we can view this teaching on light as an illustration of the infinite variety that exists among God's children. The traditional way of viewing this scripture (D&C 88:40) is that if one is living the commandments and doing all that they are supposed to do, they will receive a greater portion of light and will then gravitate more to people that have a similar amount of light. I believe this is a fractional interpretation that perpetuates a faulty idea among the Latter Day Saints, which is that the more spiritual light we receive, the more we become the same as one another. However, this couldn't be further from the truth. The more light we receive, the more unique we become, for the act of consecration isn't about giving up your identity as much as it is about finding your true identity; and this idea seems apparent when we think of light as an endless (dare I say, eternal) spectrum that encompasses not only the Saints of God but the whole of His Kingdom, which is all within the reach of the one true Light, even Jesus Christ.
We do not discard something we know to be true because of something we do not yet understand...beyond the veil of death, we will clearly understand the sacred mission and divine calling of the Prophet Joseph Smith (Neil L. Andersen).
