Lessons from the Liahona

It was little and amazing; someone in the ward had made it from a Styrofoam ball and gold spray-paint. Fake jewels decorated it, shiny stones made from deep blues and rich reds. I turned it over and over in my hands, wondering what the real Liahona had been like. Did Nephi, Sam, and Lehi gaze into it as they drifted aboard Nephi’s boat?

The lesson in Sharing Time that day was all about the Liahona, and the adventures Lehi’s family had crossing the sea guided by the little ball of curious workmanship. Reluctantly I passed the home made model to the child sitting next to me. But I watched it as it made its way around to the rest of the Primary. I wanted it back. I wondered how true to life it was.

I never wondered about the story, whether or not it was the truth. I adored the stories from the Book of Mormon. I even had a special edition Book of Mormon that looked like the golden plates on the cover. Reading the description of the ball in 1 Nephi 16, I would imagine a jeweled ball very much like the model I held in Primary, though I never could picture the spindles in my head.

Pink Umbrellas

In my efforts to become a more balanced and thereby a more peaceful person, I am forever weighing my first reactions to people and situations against principles, such as withholding judgment without adequate information, treating people the way I would like to be treated, and checking personal prejudices at the door.

Some days, it’s a whole lot easier said than done. Today I let some things get under my skin. I feel compelled to rant just a bit.

Are you up for it?

I hate when people mess with little kids. Nothing is worse than being a bully. And to me, bullying around little kids takes a special kind of creep.