Hast Thou Not Heard?

NieNie and Me

For several days, I've been following the story of a young LDS couple from Arizona, Stephanie & Christian Nielson. They were in a private plane accident several weeks ago and both sustained severe burns to their bodies. (For more information, check here and here.) Their story, and their lives have deeply touched mine this week as I ponder their situation, and pray for them, and watch in wonder as their family picks up the pieces of horror, and turn them into something marvelous and inspiringly beautiful.

In turning my thoughts to their situation, I've thought a lot about the scripture posted above, found in Isaiah. As he teaches of the Atonement, Isaiah indicates that the Savior gives "beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning..." How can words begin to capture the immense gratitude I feel when I ponder the power of His eternal atonement in my mortal life? And yet, impossible as it is to understand, I know the transforming power of His atonement. I have felt it in my life. I have seen Him turn my sorrow, my ashes, my mourning into joy and praise and...beauty.

Elder Bruce C. Hafen quite eloquently testifies of this principle:

"Each of us will taste the bitter ashes of life, from sin and neglect to sorrow and disappointment. But the atonement of Christ can lift us up in beauty from our ashes on the wings of a sure promise of immortality and eternal life. He will thus lift us up, not only at the end of life, but in each day of our lives."

Do you think that you're too much of a weakling to access this power? Do you sometimes think your problems are too little--or too big--to hand them over to the Lord? Do you wonder if the Savior of the WHOLE WORLD could actually be aware of you? For those of us who wonder, who worry, who ask why me?, Isaiah boldly declares:

Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

He is there. The Savior of the World is there for you. He is there for me. He is aware. He is waiting. He is wonderful.

May we invite Him into our ashes, and discover...beauty.

Music for this Message: Welcome Home by Shaun Goves

~Sister McLay

How Can I Please the Lord?

Recently, I have pondered one of my favorite Old Testament scriptures, Micah 6:8:

“He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”

I first discovered this scripture as a missionary in Portugal. An excellent missionary, Elder Jason Smith, shared it with me and it has been with me ever since. The beauty of Micah’s words, to me, is found in their simplicity. In the preceding verses (6-7), he rhetorically asks the question “What can I do to please God?” He wonders if offerings of calves and rams, or ten thousands rivers of oil will please him. Or, what if he gave his firstborn—would that be enough? And then, in verse 8, he gives the answer to the question: HOW CAN I PLEASE THE LORD? His answer is threefold:

1) Do justly
2) Love mercy
3) Walk humbly with Him.

While there are several ways to liken this scripture unto us (see 1 Nephi 19:23), the heart of Micah’s counsel is summarized, for me, with three corresponding scriptures:

1) John 14:15—“If you love me, keep my commandments.” If we truly love the Lord, we will be obedient. We will do right by Him.
2) 1 Nephi 1:20—“…the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom He hath chosen....” There are at least two ways to “love mercy,” 1) We can love that we receive mercy (which is easy for most of us to do), and 2) we can learn to love to SHOW mercy to others (something that requires much greater effort).
3) Moses 7:69—“And Enoch and all his people walked with God….” I know that it is possible to walk with God. Only a humble person would choose to walk with Him. And, walking with Him helps us to remain humble!

I am grateful beyond words for the scriptures. With all my heart, I love them. We are blessed to have them in our lives! I invite you to join me in daily seeking to follow the counsel of Micah. I know the Lord lives and that He loves us. Let’s please and praise Him every day!

Anyone Need a Physician?

Recently, the McLay’s have spent several hours in Emergency Rooms and Urgent Care medical facilities. In fact, in less than one month, we’ve taken advantage of these resources three times! Two of these visits were for our youngest son, Jacob (who currently holds the record among our children for hospital visits); the other visit was for oldest daughter, Rebecca.

Jacob has become frighteningly accustomed to these visits. At one point while he was awaiting staples in his head (the second time for this remedy), I commented that some blood was on his hospital pillow. He popped up, turned around, saw the blood and said, “Awwwwesome!”

A minute later he said, “Dad, usually when I come to these places…” which, by itself, is a scary phrase for a child to make, “…they give me a bracelet with my name on it.” Just as he finished, a nurse came in with his ID bracelet. An enormous smile came to his face as she placed in on his wrist. As she left, he looked at me and held up his adorned arm like a trophy!

Sometimes, however, the pain is almost more than a child (or their parents) can bear. When Jacob went the ER on August 11, he was in excruciating pain. In the picture, you can see Sister McLay attempting to comfort (and distract) him from the pain he felt. Rebecca also went to the urgent care with immense anxiety. The pain of her deeply cut toe was present, but the possibility of having to get a shot and stitches terrified her. In fact, the anxiety of what might happen seemed to far outweigh the pain of the injury. She was significantly comforted when the doctor indicated that there would be no shot or stitches, but glue, a bandage, and a walking boot. Jacob, too, was relieved when a few hours later (and after a relatively simple remedy) the pain in his belly departed.

During a recent Seminary devotional, I was reminded of these recent encounters with doctors and nurses when Josh, one of my students, shared the following teaching of the Savior:

“…They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick” (Matthew 9:12).

I recalled the circumstances behind this statement. The Savior was eating with publicans and sinners, and when the Pharisees saw this, they wondered why Jesus would do such a thing (see Matthew 9:10-11). His response, quoted above, struck me. What a great answer! What a powerful statement of truth!

Then, days later in a Bishopric meeting, I had an epiphany (i.e. a sudden revelation of truth inspired by a seemingly insignificant incident). It was simply this: I am sick. This thought and its accompanying feelings came to me very quietly through the still, small voice of the Spirit. It was a simple, yet piercing (see D&C 85:6) reminder of my mortal condition and my absolute dependency on the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

As parents, it’s hard to see your children suffer. In fact, we sorrow when they sorrow. We feel their pain and often wish we could take it from them—but we cannot. Doctors, nurses, medication, bandages, and time can help—but, none of these things entirely erases the pain or altogether alleviates the suffering. In a like manner, parents and family members and leaders feel pain when those we love commit sin. We feel it when we ourselves commit sin. And yet, as with physical pain, we can only help one another with varying degrees of efficiency, but never completely.

It is my humble opinion that there is only One who can take care of it all. Only One who can help us completely make sense of the pain, sorrow, and suffering that each of us encounter. Only One who, eventually and in His way and with His power, will make it all go away. Only one who ‘feels our pain’—who knows exactly what we’re going through. Only Jesus.

So, again I ask: Does anyone need a physician? I do. I need THE Physician—the only ‘Healthcare Professional’ who can meet ALL of my needs. I need the Savior. Yes, I need Jesus.

How I love Him. And I bare my testimony of His divinity and His grace. He is the Promised Messiah. He lives. He loves. He heals. And He will come again. Until then, may we bring our burdens to Him and allow Him to be our Healer—to be our Physician.

~Brother McLay