Honestly, I love giving talks. Really. It’s the teacher in me. So when I was assigned via email to speak in Church this week I was pretty excited. I don’t think that’s normal. My assignment was to speak on ‘Fear Not, Be Of Good Cheer’ for seven minutes. That’s the tough part. Then I got there today and found that there were two speakers [and the Bishop which I didn’t know initially] and so I felt free to go a little over 7 minutes. I did start rambling a bit at the end but overall it was good. I also realized this morning that since I don’t have a printer yet I would have to write out any quotes that I wanted to use. So with an outline, two quotes, marked scriptures and a few Holland passages committed to memory I headed off to church. It went fairly well. Anna wanted notes and so I thought I’d write some up for her and then I thought I’d pretty much write up the whole thing and blog it. For my non-Mormon blog reading friends I hope you enjoy this because I believe we know each other well enough and have enough common beliefs to rejoice in a blessing of faith and peace. :)

So before I lose my nerve, it went something like this...

At home my dad teaches the 11 year old scouts. One Sunday in class he asked the boys if they would like to be visited by an angel. Most of them agreed that that would be pretty cool. They weren’t quite so sure when he pointed out to them that when angels appear they almost always quote scripture. I was reminded of this as I thought about how Christmas is a season of angels. And these Heavenly Messengers all had something in common.

The angel who appeared to Zacharias in the temple said, “Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.” Luke 1:13

The angel who appeared to Mary said, And the angel said unto her, “fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.” Luke 1:30

The angel who appeared to Joseph said, “fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife.” Matt 1:20

The angels who appeared to the shepherds, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” Luke 2:10

Catching the pattern? Why is the first thing they say, Fear not? Besides the fact that I think most people would be freaked out actually seeing an angel I think that it goes deeper than that. Fear is the opposite of faith. Faith is the first principle of the gospel. It is ‘by faith’ that the Lord does all things. [Ether 12] It is through our faith that we allow the power of the Lord to work in our lives. Over and over in His ministry the Lord commended people for their faith which allowed Him to work miracles in their lives. On the flip side he also chastened those who were ‘of little faith.’ He pleads with us, Have faith do I can bless you.

So why do we fear? Often because the Lord asks us to perform or endure difficult things and we’re not sure that we can do it. In the Doctrine and Covenants Oliver Cowdery missed his opportunity to translate because, “it was expedient when you commenced; but you feared, and the time is past, and it is not expedient now.” [D&C 9:11] And later He commands Joseph Smith, “ fear not what man can do.” [D&C 122:9]

Another prime example is Peter walking on the water. He was eager to do it.

“And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” Matt 14: 26-31

I love Peter. He was so willing and desirous to believe and yet in the waves he feared and called upon the Lord. He was walking on the water then what? He started thinking about it too much? He lost the eye of faith? I love throughout the Gospels watching Peter being taught and tutored by the Lord to become a great leader.

Then I went on for a while about Moses’ experience with adversity after revelation. Most of these thoughts were drawn from my favorite talk ever, “Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence” by Elder Holland. If you have not read/watched/listened to this before, or recently for that matter, I highly recommend it.

That brings us to the Sea of Galilee.

“And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? Mark 4:37-40

“Think, for instance, of the Master and the roiling Sea of Galilee, tossed by the “wind boisterous” and “contrary,” and the anguished cry of His followers as in the lyrics we sing, “Master, the tempest is raging” (see Matt. 14:22–33; Hymns, no. 105). Yet that tempest actually occurred on a tiny little sea only 12 miles by 7 miles! Nevertheless, for that moment, Galilee constituted the real world for those anxious disciples!” Jesus the Perfect Mentor by Elder Maxwell [watch read]

Peace, be still. The Savior was there with them the whole time.

“The Savior said, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. … Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). I submit to you, that may be one of the Savior’s commandments that is, even in the hearts of otherwise faithful Latter-day Saints, almost universally disobeyed; and yet I wonder whether our resistance to this invitation could be any more grievous to the Lord’s merciful heart.” Come Unto Me by Elder Holland

So when our lives get stormy do not fear. The Lord is there with us. Remember how He has blessed you in the past.

“Sometimes we think of the power of the Atonement as something that works after this life, as though it were something that applied only at the Judgment Day. But that is not true doctrine. The redeeming power of Jesus Christ works during our lives, day by day, moment by moment, as He gives us strength to overcome, as He forgives us of sin, and as He brings us, through the Holy Ghost, comfort, peace, and joy.” The Prince of Glory by Bruce D. Porter

“None of us makes it through this life without problems and challenges—and sometimes tragedies and misfortunes. After all, in large part we are here to learn and grow from such events in our lives. We know that there are times when we will suffer, when we will grieve, and when we will be saddened. However, we are told, “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.”

“How might we have joy in our lives, despite all that we may face? Again from the scriptures: “Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you.”

“The history of the Church in this, the dispensation of the fulness of times, is replete with the experiences of those who have struggled and yet who have remained steadfast and of good cheer as they have made the gospel of Jesus Christ the center of their lives. This attitude is what will pull us through whatever comes our way. It will not remove our troubles from us but rather will enable us to face our challenges, to meet them head on, and to emerge victorious....Though the storm clouds may gather, though the rains may pour down upon us, our knowledge of the gospel and our love of our Heavenly Father and of our Savior will comfort and sustain us and bring joy to our hearts as we walk uprightly and keep the commandments. There will be nothing in this world that can defeat us.

“My beloved brothers and sisters, fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith.”

Be of Good Cheer by President Thomas S. Monson

“What is the lesson for us today as we enter a new Christmas season? Who will minister to those in need? Who are the angels that will prepare the way for His return? I have noticed that during the early stages of a dispensation, angelic ministers come from the other side of the veil, but as time elapses and the number of faithful members increases, more is expected of those in mortality. For example, when a new country is opened to the gospel, missionaries learn that many have been prepared in miraculous ways to receive the gospel, and miracles occur with some frequency to advance the work. Once a core of members is established, however, the Lord’s assistance changes as He provides opportunities for the members to become the miracle workers.

“Consequently, miracles during this Christmas season require our faith and works. As we sing the hymns of Christmas and speak of angels sent to earth to witness the Savior’s birth in the meridian of time, may we rise to the occasion and minister to those in need in our day. May we be reminded of our promises to “bear one another’s burdens, … to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places … and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that [we] may have eternal life” (Mosiah 18:8–9).

A Season for Angels Merrill J. Bateman

I was deliberating whether or not I was going to get a Christmas tree this year and it started me thinking about Christmas trees past...

In looking through my pictures I found these two of my Dad from 1950 and 59.

When we started out our Christmas trees were rather stragly. A little Charlie Brown. This 1980 tree with me and my mom just had some red balls and a few candy canes.

By 82 you can tell that we were helping trim the tree with strategically placed tinsel and garland. It's hard to believe that my mom is just a little older than me in this picture.

The 83 addition, besides Suzie of course, was homemade clay ornaments, twisted candy canes that we baked in the oven.

By 87 we had moved into our apartment in Lynnwood. The tree is still narrow but has filled out in the middle enough to hold onto everything we could possibly throw at it.

Over the years our trees got fatter and fatter and fatter and a little less tree shaped. It didn't help that we started using giant out door lights and so the whole effect was oversized. We went through ornament phases. One year in Young Women's they taught us how to make folded start ornaments out of ribbon and so that year the whole tree was covered in them. There are probably still a few in the box. Basically anything that we could put on the tree went on the tree.

I had two Christmas' on the mission. One at the beginning in Stratford. We mostly decorated our tree with pass along cards. We did a lot of living Christmas cards where we would go to people's houses and sing for them a show them the Nativity Video. I loved it. Then we had a great dinner at the Wigelsworths.

The next year we went up stairs and had Christmas morning with the Gregsons and watched all their kids open presents.

[Caroling in Downtown Hamilton, ON]

That apartment had at least two artificial trees that members had donated to the missionaries.

Then as we got older the date of bringing in the Christmas tree would get pushed back and back. We are after all a family of musicians and so we're just swamped with gigs until about the thrid week of December. Then we come out of the storm look around and say, well I suppose we should shop and decorate now. We waited so late one year that one of Mom's violin students asked if we celebrated Christmas. Then of course someone has to venture into the garage in search of the ornament box. They're getting a bit sad these days but you just never want to toss them.

Our lacsidasical approach to Christmas decorating contrasts starkly with that of my roommate Missi. The two Christmas' that I was living at her house she had three trees up. It was quite the production, the unveiling of all her thematic ornaments and giant Nativity town.

The first year we had a great Christmas party at her house, for which Ben played the piano, and this last year I convinced my parents to just come over and have Christmas at our place and let all Missi's festive decorating be enjoyed while she was off having Christmas at her mum's.

So this year the question was to trim or not to trim. Why should I spend money on some decorations for a few weeks that I'm not taking home with me. But at the same time a little festive spirit goes along way. I just love having a Christmas tree in the house. It's so warm and cozy. Our family always has real ones (I don't think you could manufacture some of the ones we've had.) I loved getting up in the morning and plugging the lights in. So this year I decided I would see what I could do and at the very least get a string of lights. I just love lights through the branches and so here you go....

Charlie Brown eat your heart out.

2' tree= £1

lights=£1

wired ribbon=£1

A little Christmas cheer in my tiny flat. Priceless.

I don’t remember how old I was when I first had puffy pancakes at Grandma’s house but the memory stuck with me. I thought it such a fantastically indulgent thing to have for breakfast and she made the most divine peach sauce to go with it. It wasn’t until a few years later that I thought about it and thought, “Hey, how do we make those and why don’t we make them more often?” I some how broke through the mental block that it was some kind of magical food that could only be produced at Grandma’s house.

Puffy pancakes, called by some German Pancakes consist of an egg, flour, milk mixture that bakes floating on melted butter and inflates in the oven. Once I realized how easy it was, that even I could make it, it became a family favorite. It’s the peach sauce that takes effort. Suzie is such a die hard that she nearly always insists that we make the peach sauce although recently we have been able to convince her that syrup may substitute in dire circumstances. Sometimes I just eat them plain with a little powdered sugar. I love the contrast of the salty butter with the sugar.

Suzie 2000

[At Nicole's place 2004]

On my mission I made it a little tradition to make puffy pancakes for each of my companions. One time in Stratford we made them for a District Meeting breakfast. We were making the sauce and Elder Matthews poked his head over my shoulder and looked into the pot. “What cha makin? Gravy?” “Yeah. Peach gravy.”

[Christmas in Stratford 2000]

Most breakfast pancakes of one variety or another share a similar recipe. It’s all somewhere on the spectrum of fluffiness with your German pancakes inflated, regular American pancakes in the middle and crepes and Swedish pancakes on the flat side. I had to laugh when I realized that it was nearly the same recipe to make yorkshire pudding. I would say that yorkshire puddings have less egg and they’re baked in muffin tins and served with roast and real gravy. Ironic since I now live in....Yorkshire.

So the other day I had a craving for french toast and then I thought puffy pancakes! I should give it a go. Since I have a very minimalist kitchen this took a grocery trip. I got a half dozen eggs. They don’t refrigerate them here, they’re just in the cooking aisle. Then I got the cutest little bag of flour.

Milk I ALWAYS have so that wasn’t a problem.

My roasting pan for my oven is 8”x10” so I used fewer eggs. I also had to improvise and use one of my drinking glasses for a measuring cup. That worked just fine, my major oversight was a lack of a mixing bowl. So I tried to mix everything up in a plastic ziploc lunch container. This was really hard. Especially since I’m not patient enough when it comes to adding the flour and getting it mixed in well. But fortunately it worked out. I had found one kind of syrup at the store, real Canadian stuff but it was £4 so I passed. I ended up improvising with some brown sugar and apricot jam. It was fun. I think a mixing bowl will be on my next shopping list.

6 eggs

1cup flour

1cup milk

melt butter in a 9x13 pan and pour the mixture in. Bake for 18 minutes at 450. Yum!