Two Years Ago Today*

*Note: Keep in mind that Korea is anywhere between 13-16 hours ahead of the US, depending on where you are and if it's Daylight Savings. So even though the date in the US is 5 January, "today" in Korea is 6 January.


This is what I wrote in my study journal two years ago today. At that time I was on my mission, in 서울 (Seoul) 강서구 (the district Gangseo), with Sister Kaitlan Marsden:

6 January 2009
Ether 6:4-12 --> This story is a clear illustration of the principle that "smooth sailing" (literally in their case) is not always the best thing for us; and the absence of it [smooth sailing] is not evidence that God doesn't love us or isn't taking care of us. The Jaredites faced many dangerous winds and waves, and yet, they were always safe, and they recognized that the Lord was guiding and blessing them. Yeah, it wasn't exactly a pleasure cruise, no matter what happened, but no matter how violently they were buffeted by the winds and waves, they were still safe, still being guided and protected by the Lord. Sometimes the fastest way to the "promised land" is not always the most pleasant; but if we, like the Jaredites, "thank and praise the Lord all the day long" and "not cease to praise the Lord [when the night comes]" we, too, can "set [our] feet upon the shores of the promised land" and know "the multitude of His tender mercies over [us]."

Nov 2007 Ensign, Elder Wirthlin ["The Greatest Commandment"] --> Love is a purifying, unifying, sanctifying power. When we love God, we love ourselves, because He loves us and not loving and respecting ourselves would hurt Him. When we loved God, we love our neighbors, for exactly the same reason -- because we want to serve Him and make Him happy, and we do that by loving and serving others. As we do that, the Lord ours out HIs Spirit and His blessings upon us, and we become gradually more like Him, and increase our capacity to love Him. And so it becomes a self-sustaining cycle, if we put in the work, the energy to keep it going. Thus, we are transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. "It takes us as men and women of the earth and refines us into men and women for the eternities."

Matthew 22:39 --> There is an idea here that gets overlooked, I think. The second [great] commandment is to "love thy neighbour as thyself [emphasis added]" -- obviously, this is meant to mean that we should love them greatly. But if this is meant to mean that...surely that implies that we should then love ourselves as much as we love our neighbours? The Gospel was never intended to degrade the individual, but instead to lift him up -- we are each, individually, God's work and glory [see Moses 1:39], and as such, we should have great love and respect for ourselves.