Showing posts with label Bible. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bible. Show all posts

Thursday, March 10, 2016

God Magnifies and Elevates Our Talents and Gifts

Isaiah, the ancient prophet and poet, wrote poems and prophecies that are unsurpassed by any other scripture writing in his sophisticated poetic style, his elevated language, and his transcendent use of language to describe future events. I cannot get this out of my mind as I consider the canon of scripture available to me.

I believe the scripture was written by men who were inspired by God. The source of inspiration is the same for all the writers and yet they vary in style, tone, and message. I think in each case, each person or prophet had something unique to offer in their talents, their testimony, and their abilities which was needed in their particular situation.

God amplifies, magnifies, and elevates our talents and gifts when we put them to work in His service. I think you can see it over and over again with the prophets and ordinary people. Joseph Smith had a talent for humility, openness, and a willingness to see beyond himself which Heavenly Father used to restore the fullness of the gospel on the earth. Brigham Young's ability to organize people and direct them allowed God to magnify that to direct a mass immigration movement, colonize and cultivate a harsh environment, and build up the community of Saints.

I have a friend whose naturally cheerful and uplifting disposition has been amplified and magnified by God to make all around her feel loved and special. Another friend has used her musical talents unselfishly to uplift and inspire other at church. Over the past few years, her talents have been magnified and she is now performing professionally.

I have experienced things over the past few years where my meager talents or thoughts were amplified beyond their capacity so that I could be more useful and helpful to others.

Have you ever experienced this in your own life? Have you seen it in others?


© 2007-2016 TIFFANY WACASER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Friday, February 26, 2016

Friday Favorites: Summarizing scripture in a few verses, Learning Italian, and John Milton's Quest for Truth

Have you ever read the Bible summarized in 66 verses? I just stumbled across this post-written back in 2010. It's a stunning example of the thread that runs through the Old and New Testaments. The verses are wonderful and put together, gives a meaningful framework to reading the Bible.

A Mormon blogger was so inspired by this exercise that she summarized the Book of Mormon in 15 verses. Again, this provides a powerful framework for the entire text.

Jhumpa Lahiri's essay in the New Yorker three months ago about learning Italian is one of those landmark pieces, I will never forget. My own struggles with learning Swedish came to mind. Her essay encouraged me to return to my Swedish studies using the Duolingo app on my iPad.

When I was at university, I took a class on John Milton and it changed the way I thought about religious writing. Milton argued passionately in front of parliament about the freedom of press in his speech, Areopagitica, One passage in his address in particular gave me chills.

"Truth indeed came once into the world with her divine Master, and was a perfect shape most glorious to look on: but when he ascended, and his Apostles after Him were laid asleep, then straitarose a wicked race of deceivers, who as that story goes of the Ægyptian Typhon with his conspirators, how they dealt with the good Osiris, took the virgin Truth, hewd her lovely form into a thousand peeces, and scatter'd them to the four winds. From that time ever since, the sad friends of Truth, such as durst appear, imitating the carefull search that Isismade for the mangl'd body of Osiris, went up and down gathering up limb by limb still as they could find them. We have not yet found them all, Lords and Commons, nor ever shall doe, till her Masters second comming; he shall bring together every joynt and member, and shall mould them into an immortall feature of lovelines and perfection."

Milton was a passionate seeker of truth and recognized that the whole truth wasn't on the earth at the time. This passage reminds me to seek diligently for truth and also to seek for guidance to recognize truth when I see or hear it.

© 2007-2016 TIFFANY WACASER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED