"...but care for the soul, and the life of the soul" (D&C 101:37)

#LightTheWorld #day21

I have to confess that I really love good food...all sorts of food. Like Thai yellow chicken curry (or pretty much any curry), mmmm hamburgers! Good bread! or candy, and most definitely chocolate...(I ate a whole pound of See's chocolate all by myself the other week- man that was so gooood!), and sweet breads. I love a good omelette, sausage, bacon, all kinds of cheese! And I haven't even begun to talk about fruits and vegetables! Ok, now I'm just making myself hungry...and I have only just started on good food. If I don't eat when I am hungry, I get "hangry". My family is well aware of this affect upon my body and mind when I haven't eaten enough or when I am hungry (to speak nothing of being tired, cold, and wet). So, I try and eat before that hangriness hits- sometimes I can do it, but other times not so well.

And there is another kind of food that I also love. It's food for the soul. Sometimes the easiest thing to do is to feed the body and neglect the soul. I love this scripture that teaches me to keep these things in perspective: "Therefore, care not for the body, neither the life of the body; but care for the soul, and the life of the soul" (D&C 101:37). When I focus on only feeding my body and do nothing for my spirit, I get out of balance...perhaps it's a form of being spiritually hangry?

To feed the soul is to care more about the whole person, and not just the body. As I follow the example of the Savior in forgiving others (see Matthew 9:2; D&C 62:3), letting go of anger (see Psalms 37:8), in serving others (see Luke 10:25-37, Mosiah 2:17), in doing good (see D&C 6:8; Matthew 7:12), then I am fed (see Psalms 37:3). And I am also feeding His sheep..."for I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat" (Matthew 25:35; see also John 21:16). This is when the hangriness goes away because I am fed physically and spiritually.

Spending time with loved ones is "doing good"! Feed their souls!

My mom enjoying her ice cream. Caring for others is serving, and feeds souls!

"I was a stranger, and ye took me in" (Matthew 25:35)

#LightTheWorld #day11
The phrase "she was no stranger to pain" keeps going through my head. Perhaps it's because every single one of us has experienced pain of some sort, be it physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual pain. Everyone suffers. And the last thing I want to do is contribute to the suffering or pain of others.

Christ knows our pain, even the hidden pains that we experience. "And He shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people" (Alma 7:11). Because of His suffering, "which suffering cause [Him] even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit" (D&C 19:18), He knows what we are going through. Christ is no stranger to pain.

As I have pondered that we all experience pain, this scripture has taken on a new meaning for me: "For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in" (Matthew 25:35). After enduring my own pain and suffering I know what a relief it is when I am offered comfort, a type of being invited into understanding, compassion, and love. I believe that we each have our own experiences we must endure. It's when we open our hearts to others to offer comfort and love that we can become strangers no more. Through Christ's suffering, He showed us the way to take others in, to feed them, and quench their thirst...and when we do, "no longer as strangers on earth need we roam" (Now Let Us Rejoice). This I testify.

"I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink..." (Matthew 25:35)

After having eaten my 4th piece of chocolate, several cinnamon santa's, and many other treats, nuts, and fruit (I did eat one tiny orange), the phrase keeps coming to my mind: "And blessed are they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness..." (Matt. 5:6; 3 Nephi 12:6). I believe it is a little different than just changing my eating habits of candy and other junk food...but then again, it's really about changing my habits of what I am hungering and thirsting for. I know there is a whole big blog on this...but that will have to wait or you can read this one.

On another note about water, the #Day2 of #LightTheWorld the scripture is Matthew 25:35: "For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in". I love this. We all get hungry. We all thirst. And sometimes, we are all strangers. I know that as we "hunger and thirst after righteousness", we are fed. And when we are fed, we can in turn feed others. And when our thirst has been quenched, we can help others drink of the Living Water.

Christ showed us the way.

Christ is the Living Water. This I testify.