The old man then
looked at him and said, “Do you dance?” As the young doctor pondered the
strange question, it occurred to him that perhaps his patient was a tribal
medicine man who, according to ancient tribal customs, sought to heal the sick
through song and dance rather than through prescribing medication.
“No,” said the
doctor, “I don’t dance. Do you dance?” The old man nodded yes. Then the doctor
asked, “Could you teach me to dance?”
The old man’s
response has for many years caused me much reflection. “I can teach you to
dance,” he said, “but you have to hear the music.” The dance steps of the
gospel are the things we do; the music of the gospel is the joyful spiritual
feeling that comes from the Holy Ghost. It brings a change of heart and is the
source of all righteous desires. The dance steps require discipline, but the
joy of the dance will be experienced only when we come to hear the
music. Sometimes in our homes, we successfully teach the dance steps but
are not as successful in helping our family members to hear the
music. There are those who ridicule members of the Church for the things
we do. That is understandable. Those who dance often appear strange or awkward
or, to use a scriptural term, “peculiar” (1 Peter 2:9) to those who cannot
hear the music. Have you ever stopped your car at a stoplight next to a car
where the driver was dancing and singing at the top of his lungs—but you
couldn’t hear a sound because your windows were rolled up? Didn’t he look a
little peculiar? If our children learn the dance steps without learning to hear
and to feel the beautiful music of the gospel, they will over time become
uncomfortable with the dance and will either quit dancing or, almost as bad,
keep dancing only because of the pressure they feel from others who are dancing
around them." That's a big section but I really love that example. As
Paula told us how she believed that God's commandments are for our good I
thought of how blessed she is to have such a beautiful testimony. Sadly I think
these days when we use the word "commandment" we instantly think of
rules or restrictions. I love a story Sister Boyle (senior couple here) shared
with us once. A little boy was flying a kite with his dad and he said dad let
the kite go and let it fly away way up high. The dad said no the string helps
it stay up in the air. The little boy said no the string is holding it back! If
there was no string it could fly forever. The dad then let go of the string and
the kite came crashing down. If we don't "learn to hear the music" or
if we don't have the right perspective of God's commandments they may appear to
us as the string to the little boy. Holding us back letting us have no freedom
or happiness. When in reality, God's commandments are what set us free to a
life full of peace and happiness. I know God loves us and He knows what brings
true happiness a lot better than we do. As we trust Him we will learn to hear
the music and we will see the blessings in our life and it will be manifest to
us that they are true commandments from a loving Heavenly Father. It breaks my
heart to see people that are not willing to change. I wish they could
understand the blessings it would bring into their lives if they would only
allow it to do just that. I know the blessings promised in Mosiah 2:41 are
true. Keeping God's commandments brings blessings both physically and
spiritually. I've seen it in my life and I bear testimony of it. If you are not
sure if a commandment is truly from God, I invite you to live it and if you do
it with a sincere desire to know the truth it will be made manifest unto you. I
hope you all have a great week!! Mazotoa!
Working in the rice fields last week.
We caught fish in that mud we are standing in. We get there and they say ok great 4 in rice field, two catching fish, and two need to catch that chicken. We are eating the fish and chicken for lunch so hurry fast. Hahaha I love Madagascar!
Pics of the views on my split with Elder Blatter. The rice fields are so cool.
