Carol of Joy

Carol of Joy

I have had the privilege of being in BYU Women’s Chorus for the last two seasons. It has been an incredibly rewarding experience.
Except there have been many moments when I haven’t felt this way.
There are those few moments when I get too wrapped up in the stressful times, or the busy times. But this last weekend we had our combined choir/orchestra Christmas concert and this one song put the Christmas season back into my heart. It is the ending song called Carol of Joy. The lyrics are perfect! They are joy. They express jubilation, triumph, exultation, rejoicing, elation, ecstacy, etc. But they express it in a peaceful way. And the most amazing thing about the lyrics/music is that they express this joy through the sorrowful times to. This parallels one of my very favorite scriptures:

"And it must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves; for if they never should have bitter they could not know the sweet"
- D&C 29:39

I think the beginning is just showing the contrast between good and evil by the devil "tempting the children of men" but what I love is that if you don't have the bitter you can't know the sweet.

This is what the song is. Carol of Joy is all about the brief sunset fading, the shadows, the darkness before the carol. The carol of our Savior and Lord and Redeemer – Jesus Christ. The message of this song is simple and complex. The meaning has so many layers, yet the most important layer is that Christ has come to give us our carol of joy through him! What a glorious message and feeling. And even though some of the world feels more sadness than joy, or even though we feel more sadness than joy right now, it will be okay. We will feel the sweet joy because we knew the bitter sorrow.

Green leaves all fallen, withered and dry;
Brief sunset fading, dim winter sky.
Lengthening shadows,
Dark closing in...

Then, through the stillness, carols begin!

Oh fallen world, to you is the song
Death holds you fast and night tarries long.
Jesus is born, your curse to destroy!
Sweet to your ears, a carol of Joy!

Pale moon ascending, solemn and slow;
Cold barren hillside, shrouded in snow;
Deep, empty valley veiled by the night;
Hear angel music
hopeful and bright!

Oh fearful world, to you is the song
Peace with your God, and pardon for wrong!
Tidings for sinners, burdened and bound
A carol of joy!
A Saviour is found!

Earth wrapped in sorrow, lift up your eyes!
Thrill to the chorus filling the skies!
Look up sad hearted
witness God's love!
Join in the carol swelling above!

Oh friendless world, to you is the song!
All Heaven's joy to you may belong!
You who are lonely, laden, forlorn
Oh fallen world!
Oh friendless world!

To you,

A Saviour is born!

When I Ruled the World

Thanksgiving is obviously a time to be grateful. It is obviously a time to remember all we have. It is a wonderful time. I love it. I love trying to only think of things I’m grateful for and express gratitude often. This Thanksgiving was especially filled with gratitude.

I went to CA for my cousin’s wedding and my heart was so full of joy and gratitude for these two wonderful people who were ready to move forward together. The day was beautiful, the reception was beautiful, the bride was beautiful, the flowers were beautiful, the decorations were beautiful, the pictures were beautiful, everything was beautiful. But the most beautiful part to me followed the first dance with Shannon and Nick.

The second song started playing and both families gathered to the center of the floor to dance their hearts and souls out to “Vive la Vida.” They were all smiling grand smiles. They were all dancing around in one circle. They were all truly, blissfully happy for this one evening, for this one moment. They were in the moment. They were loving the moment.

I have loved this song by Coldplay for a long time and for more reasons than one. I think about this song practically everyday. However, it took on a new meaning in that one unified moment. They all shouted:

I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own

I used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemies eyes
Listen as the crowd would sing
"Now the old king is dead! Long live the King!"

One minute I held the key
Next the walls were closed on me
And I discovered that my castles stand
Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand

I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can't explain
Once you'd gone it was never
Never an honest word
That was when I ruled the world

It was the wicked and wild wind
Blew down the doors to let me in
Shattered windows and the sound of drums
People could not believe what I'd become
Revolutionaries wait
For my head on a silver plate
Just a puppet on a lonely string
Oh who would ever want to be King?

I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can't explain
I know Saint Peter won't call my name
Never an honest word
And that was when I ruled the world

I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can't explain
I know Saint Peter will call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world

Here were two families that had experienced broken times. Here were two families that at one point “ruled the world.” Here were two families that were coming together to rule again. They could now rule together because of the complete unity formed that day.

Because their love and marriage and growth is based on Jesus Christ, the can feel one together. They have “come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4: 13).

Birtday Bashes

Our apartment LOVES birthdays! We get way too excited about them. We have stared a ritual that I love and that I have recently realized symbolizes a lot more than just birthday wishes. For each person’s birthday we begin at midnight, of course, by banging into their room singing and dancing and celebrating their new year. And all we carry with us are a piece of paper and a marker. Then we go around and tell them why we love them and why we are glad they were birthed J I’m not going to lie, sometimes, we have shed a few tears of gratitude and love for them. . . Then, we do the fun part, we go around the room again and make predictions for their next year and record them on the paper. These are always fun to see what people guess and to see what comes true. Many of mine have already come true. Ex, another Big Bang before December 12 (breaking a leg), etc

Then when we wake up in the morning we devote the entire day to that person. We love them and this is one day of the year we can show all of our love to them (and they can’t say anything to protest)!

So yesterday was Amelia’s birthday and while we went through our favored birtday traditions, I realized that our traditions are an outward expression of something more. First, as we went around and told Meals why we loved her, I saw how that reflected our personal attachment to her. She radiates goodness, happiness, joyfulness, kindness, thoughtfulness, youthfulness, and love. And we love her for it.

I know feel a part of what the apostle Paul felt when speaking to his brethren. He counseled them to “be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you” (1 Corinthians 13:11). We are all trying our best to live in complete peace and communicate to be of one mind. I think because of our efforts we have love and peace in our appt. That is why we wanted to share it with Amelia – to show her we love her.

The second part of the night we make predictions. I think that shows how much we want each other to succeed and feel joy. When others around you are happy and successful (in any area) you rejoice with them because of the love and charity and hope you have for one another. Also, when we were making predictions for Amelia I saw how much potential we all saw in her. She is incredibly talented in so many areas. But the remarkable and nearly unfathomable part is that she even has more potential to be even more amazing.

I just love birthdays. I love celebrating people. I love celebrating their joys. I love celebrating my family’s birthday. And I love celebrating with my roommates – at my home away from home.

Broken Bones and Humbled Hearts

For Ander’s birthday my roommates and I took him on a road trip to southern Utah, around St. George. It was one of the most eventful, bonding trips we have taken together. It was a blast. The first night we got there we slept in a tipi where we had a birthday cake, candles, Martinelles, and the whole enchilada for a big birthday bash. Of course we stayed up all hours of the night telling scary stories and trying to stay warm on the freezing November night.

In the morning we woke up early and Anders made a fire out of his bare hands, and went to spend the day in Zion’s National Park. It was such an amazing day filled with hours and hours of hiking mountains. We were all wearing our matching fiesta shirts, matching waterbottles, matching Utah–white skin, and matching smiles. It had been an adventurous day scaling mountains and climbing crevices. So we wanted to finish off the day with one last hike. Well, on the last 15 minutes of the last hike, I slipped down a little mudslide and broke my leg. Well, I didn’t know I’d broken it, so I tried to convince my roommates that nothing was wrong and that I could walk on it. So I did. I walked out on a broken leg. To make an already long story short, I got a surprise when the doctor told me it was broken with likely need of surgery and crutches for a while. Whoops. This is one of those comical experiences in life. At the same time, I have learned a lot, and this has been one of the most humbling experiences in my life.

Because I have never broken a bone despite my many klutzy moments, I began to think my body would never get hurt – that my bones were extra strong. So I was humbled in that way – to see that my body is a gift. When I don’t take care of my body or do careless things with it, I will harm it. That is when I find out that “I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak” (Alma 26:12).

I love this scripture. I have always loved it because of what it means spiritually to me. I know that Jesus Christ has done more for me than I can do for myself and because of that I am nothing without him. I still believe that. But my belief has been expanded to engulf physical weakness too. I know that without Christ’s creation and accuracy, my body would not be what it is today. I know that Christ formed the Earth and everything in it and that Heavenly father designed a plan for me to come to this Earth and obtain a body. I am grateful for it. More grateful than I can express. And it keeps me humble to realize my body is weak without constant gratitude for the gift it is.

Hands

There is a song by Jewel called Hands. I know this probably sounds cheesy, but I think it is one of the most profound songs. It is all about serving the world through what you’ve been given. She says that we should not be idle with despair, but rather gather yourself around your faith serve with your hands. Because “my hands are small I know, but they’re not yours they are my own and I am never broken.”

This reminds me of my little brother’s favorite scripture. It’s Mosiah 2:17, which states that “when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God.” When we serve those around us, we are serving God. And it doesn’t take super-human powers to serve with our heart. Just by using the hands, talents, and compassion given to each one of us, we can better someone else’s life.

“Poverty stole your golden shoes
But it didn’t steal your laughter”

We have all been so blessed. We have all been give hands to serve and laughter to chase away the worries. No matter how hard a situation seems, or no matter how much “poverty stole,” we still have our soul, we still have our laughter, we still have our hands.

Fasces

In Humanities, I just learned a lot fasces and they are surprisingly fascinating. They are used a lot in Roman architecture to symbolize power or unity. I was learning about little devises Napoleon or Jefferson used to show he was in control and wanted the society to support him. One of the tools he used was sculpting fasces into pillars of buildings, statues, etc.

A fasces looks like a bunch of while rods tied together with a red leather ribbon into a cylinder. It is meant to show the many coming into one. This makes better stability, persistence, unity, and strength. It reminds me of Moses 7:18 where he states "the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind..."

Zion is the ultimate form of unity, strength, and stability. And if Zion was created by being of one heart and one mind, then the fasces symbolize Zion too. fasces are a physical mirror of what Zion is in the hearts of saints or citizens or communities that feel unity.

Romanian Orphans

One thing I am passionate about is the beauty in every person. I think that everyone has enough power in them to impact the world – whether by dominating others or serving with their whole soul. I believe that the “worth of souls is great in the sight of God” (Doctrine and Covenants 18: 10). I know that the homeless are as intelligent as doctors with PHDs. I know that the lepers are as caring as a revered priest. I know that what everyone has in common is their worth. I just wish everyone can see the gem inside of them.

I wish that I could show each person their potential and how much they are loved. I want to show the orphans in Romania how to play. I want to show each of them sunlight. I want to show them how to laugh. I want to feel their loving arms. I want to see them smile. I want to see them grow. I want them to know true happiness.

I think that is why I want to serve a mission so badly for my church. I just want everyone to know how much they are loved and that there is true joy in this corrupt world. I want everyone to get a glimpse of what Heavenly Father sees in them. I want to share this love to everyone. I know that the happiness I feel comes from my church and being a Mormon. I cannot wait to serve a mission in a year and tell people about Jesus Christ.

Galileo and Christina

Today I was reading a letter from Galileo to the Grand Duchess Christina in 1615, regarding his scientific evidence supporting the geocentric theory. At the time, it was 100% contrary to the church so he was persecuted for his radical ideas. As I was reading his letter, he said one thing that really stuck with me. He was talking about how “the intention of the Holy Ghost is to teach us how one goes to heaven, not how heaven goes.” I loved that thought. I have always tried to figure out trivial, specific, random questions that are not pertinent to gain salvation. That is when I need the reminder that the Holy Ghost will teach us how one goes to heaven, not necessarily the menial questions.

Then I thought about the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 84:45, which tells what the Holy Ghost is.

“For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ.”

 I love this scripture because is shows it simply that the Holy Ghost is based on truth and teaching us truth and giving us truth so we can gain salvation. And that truth gives us light. And it is “given to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit.”

That is so comforting to know that the Holy Ghost can give us light and enlighten me if I listen to him. I hope that I will always listen to him and have Galileo’s view. I know that the Holy Ghost is pure. I know that he guides us through this life, helps us have perspective, and live righteously to achieve salvation. 

Jerusalem

I just got accepted into Jerusalem for a study abroad! I am stoked. I am leaving on January 6! I cannot wait to study Near Eastern Studies from actual residents of the Holy Land. I look forward to spending time there and understanding the different mindsets and perspectives as I interact with the people. The opportunity to actually live and receive an education in the Jerusalem Center will be an extraordinary cultural experience. Being there will allow me to take rough knowledge of the Middle Eastern world and apply real life experience to understand both the ancient and modern importance of the Holy Land.

When I think of going there, I remember one of my favorite scriptures in Doctrine and Covenants 76:22-24. Here, Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon are bearing powerful testimony of the divinity of the Savior and his role as the creator of the world. He declares that “by Him and through Him and of Him, worlds are and were created.” But what I love most about these verses is the declaration that “He Lives!”

I cannot wait to go to Jerusalem and be where Christ performed miracles and spent His ministry. This opportunity will bring me closer to the Savior, help me understand the reality of His Atonement, and bring His ministry to life. I cannot imagine a greater honor and spiritual experience than to live where Christ lived, to walk where He walked, to see the empty tomb and to kneel in Gethsemane.