I live with a family who is not active in the church anymore, and although they live good principles and are honorable people and respect the fact that I love to live the Gospel that they once used to live, they don't live exactly the same standards that I do or as I do. As every Sunday morning, I was listening this morning to Mormon channel in my room while I was enjoying my regular Sunday morning activities as studying the gospel and writing about it. I love uplifting music; it fills me with deep emotions that bring peace to my heart and make me feel closer to my Savior.
I then went to the bathroom to get ready for church, so I opened my door, and BOUM, I heard that loud rock music! I entered the bathroom quickly and closed the door, but I still could hear some of the music. At that moment I could have just get frustrated and complain because my roommates don't understand how important the Sabbath is to me; or I could just have say to myself: "well, it's a good song, I should just enjoy it, I'm not doing anything bad, it's not my fault if they are listening to it right now, and it's their house, I can't tell them what to do". But I decided not to pay attention to it, and to just get ready as I had planned to do, and to ponder about the songs that I had previously listen on Mormon channel, so I just start to sing them and to ponder about it... I was thinking so deeply about it that I noticed I couldn't even hear the rock music that was playing downstairs anymore.
I had just heard a beautiful arrangement of "Where can I turn for peace?" and as I was pondering about that hymn, I noticed that at that same moment, I was looking for peace. I wasn't living a hard time, my morning had been wonderfully uplifting, I wasn't drawing myself apart with a wounded heart, anger or malice; my aching wasn't growing, I wasn't languish... I mean, I was feeling good all morning, I was already feeling peace! But then, I heard that loud music. It wasn't bad music. But it wasn't the best song to draw me close to my Savior. And instead of letting that ruin my Sabbath morning, I just turned to my Savior for peace, I turned to his teachings and his words shared through the sacred music I had been listening to on Mormon channel.
I was pondering about that and I thought about "being in the world but not of the world" and also about "stay ye in holy places"; and I noticed how sacred music can help us towards that goal. It doesn't matter how surrounded we are with things of the world, it is OUR decision to do the right things and to have peace in our hearts. It doesn't means that we have to go to unholy places and put our spirits in danger. But we still need to live in this world, to be surrounded by things that are not necessarily bad, but, if we partake to much of it or give them more importance than our God, it could lead us to a wrong path and make us being less sensitive to the Spirit. It is so important to have the Holy Ghost in our lives to make right choices and to be where the Lord wants us to be and do what he wants us to do, and sacred music can help us with that; it invites the Spirit, no doubt about that! I noticed how important it is for me to decide which things I will do every day to keep that Spirit in my life and to make of my world a sacred place. As the saying says: "you can't change THE world but you can change YOUR world". And is what I was doing this morning: my roommates can listen all the kind of musics they want any day, even on Sundays, I can't have control on that! But I have control on what I want to listen, and what I want to do! So I will make of my room a sacred place, inside I will listen to inspired music and I will ponder about the Lord and I will pray and I will ponder about ways to follow his example every day. It is MY duty to make of MY Sunday a Holy day. I can't control other's life, but where I have the control at, in my room, in my home with my future family, and any other situations where I can have an influence in those around me, I will keep the Sabbath day and help others to feel that same Spirit. I will turn to the Lord for peace and I will make of my day and the day of others a better day.
It was interesting that I was later trying to decide which Sunday School class I should go at church, and I felt as I should attend the Doctrines of the Gospel class, so I went there. And the topic was "Living righteously in a Wicked world". I remembered that when I had seen that topic a few weeks ago, I had told to myself that I wanted to attend that class, so I was glad I went even if I didn't knew that it was the lesson for today. As I was listening to that lesson, my thoughts went back to the experience I had that morning and how, yes, we need to be careful of where we go, but we need also to find ways to live the gospel in our daily lives, no matter where it is. It made me ponder about how I grew up in Quebec, a place where the church is not as big as here in Arizona. Yes, many things were different, and people's perception about religion is often not the best, but that didn't stopped me to believe and to live my standards. Now I am in Arizona, the church is more present, but it doesn't mean that I'm saved and that I don't need to do any effort to live the gospel daily. I am actually grateful to live with a family who knows a lot about the church, who respect it but who doesn't live it as I do, because that gives me more motivation to live the gospel daily and to be an example. They won't force me to go to church every Sunday, they won't remind me to do my visiting teaching, they won't even think about praying to bless the food or before leaving home as I use to do with my family in Montreal, they don't have a family home evening, they won't tell me to go to the temple and they are not watching me to be sure they I study my scriptures every morning. But these are things that I am doing by myself because I want to do it and to live them! That is what is important, that no matter our situation, we still live the gospel everyday, no because someone is forcing us to do it, but because we love the Lord and we want to follow him and to be an example of the believers. We can't change the world, but we can't change OUR world. I invite you to learn more about making of our world a holy place, or standing in holy places, in this talk, Your Holy Places, by sister Dibbs at the last Young Women general conference.
When I went back to my room after that experience this morning, Mormon channel was still playing and I finished to get ready while listening to it. As each time I listen to it, I was feeling so good! I was feeling peace! And this time it was even more meaningful to me because I realized how powerful sacred music is to help us to remember the Savior and to keep a good attitude in any situation of our life. It really gives us strength and our desire to do good and to live the gospel increases when we listen to it and when we let our hearts be touched by those beautiful melodies. I was so grateful that I knelt in my room and offered a prayer of gratitude to my Heavenly Father for the wonderful sacred music and for how it helps my Sundays to be a better day! And that experience definitely helped me to have a better Sabbath. I got to church happy and with a desire to grow and to praise the Lord. I had other toppings on my Sunday today, which I will probably write about later in other posts, but because of that experience and the wonderful feeling that sacred and inspired music brought to me this morning, my spirit was ready to partake of the sacrament and renew my covenants, to serve those who needed my help in different ways in my ward today, and to be uplifted by marvelous testimonies that were shared by the wonderful members from my ward.
So, if there is a Sunday where you are seeking for ways to be uplifted and to feel the presence of the Spirit, or any other day of the week, and you are asking yourself: "Where can I turn for peace?". Let me give you a suggestion: In sacred music! Listen to Mormon Channel, a delicious topping that I put weekly on my Sunday! ;)
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