HAD I BEEN THERE

Had I been there when He stood up in the temple
Would I have known that instant that Immanuel had come?
Had I been there when He preached the hillside sermon
Would I have listened with my heart, believed, and then obeyed?
Had I been there when He walked along the seashore
Would I have left my fishes when He said, “follow me?”
Had I been there when He stooped and wrote in the sand
Would I have tried to cast a stone; would I have been so blind?
Had I been there when He passed through crowds of people
Would I have had the simple faith to touch Him and be healed?
Had I been there when He told me to go washing
Would I have returned to Him with my leprosy washed cleaned?

Had I been there when He suffered in the garden
Would I have stayed awake, would I have held Him up?
Had I been there when He hung upon the cross
Would I have looked into His eyes and known He’d died for me?

Had I been there I hope I would have called Him
By the same names that I know Him by today:
Master, Savior, Christ, Redeemer, Messiah, Brother, King
I know I’d follow Jesus
Had I been there

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DEEP DOWN

Looking up at the night sky
I wonder if He’s really there
I’m such a small unimportant one
Does someone like Him really care
I can’t comprehend eternity
And get chills when I think of infinity
And sometimes I feel lost and so confused
But then a voice whispers
From somewhere in my heart
And deep down I know that answer

Looking into my daughter’s face
I wonder if I’ll do it right
I fall and I fail and give in to the dark
How can I teach her to walk in the light
Can I trust in a God above
To teach me to teach her of His love
So that she won’t feel lost and so confused
But then a voice whispers
From somewhere in my heart
And deep down I know the answer

I can’t comprehend eternity
And get chills when I think of infinity
Can I trust in a God above
To embrace us all in His wondrous love
And bless a world that’s lost and so confused
But then a voice whispers
From somewhere in my heart
And deep down I know the answer

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MORONI

Time, time passing by
I wish that there was someone I could talk to
Time, time passing by
It hurts to know that I’m the only one
They say they’ve taken all of us
But if by chance there’s any more
The only way they’ll live will be denial

But I will not deny
I will not forsake
That which I feel and know and witness is true
I will not deny
And that is why I sit and write to you

Time, time passing by
And one day these lost words will find a voice
Time, time passing by
I see you and I know that you’ll see me
You say that He is dead today
That He no longer shows His face
Brother, sister, hear me testify

That I will not deny
I will not forsake
That which I feel and know and witness is true
I will not deny
And that is why my words are meant for you

I was the last
I was the first
I am the voice crying from the dust
I am the angel in the midst of heaven
Now join me in proclaiming truth restored

I will not deny
I will not forsake
That which I feel and know and witness is true
I will not deny
And that is how you know my words are true

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ALMA

I can’t help but notice as I sit here on my bench
How something just seems missing, something just doesn’t seem right
I should be glad with my position as high priest of the king
But I just realized it’s not what I want

Now suddenly before me, I see him for the first time
He’s bound in chains from head to foot
He’s old and beaten
He starts to speak

His words are water to my parched spirit
He talks of One who will come to save me from wrong
He speaks the truth! I know he speaks the truth!

Do not let this man burn, he has saved my soul
He has answered all, he has taught me priceless treasures

How can I let this man die? Let me die with him!
No, I must not flee
But something in his face tells me I must
I flee before my old friends; they chase me to the wilderness
I see smoke and hear him cry, I know he must be gone

I cannot keep what he has given, I cannot store it inside
I must share what he has taught with everyone I meet

And if you believe, follow me into the water

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THE DREAM

I wander disoriented and lost through this fog
I cannot see the path ahead
I hold on with my hand and faith to this rod

All hope is lost, the rod is slipping away
The blackness is too deep
I must pray

A sudden light, a break through the dark
I see it ahead, it beckons
I’ve found the light!
It’s leading my path, the fog is lifting
Nothing but light

It’s a tree! A beautiful white tree that showed me the way

I eat of the fruit that’s glowing with light
And I’m filled filled filled with love
How can this be? I eat and I feel Christ’s love for me
He loved me enough to give His own blood to save me from death and death
He loves me, I love Him, I am filled
I must share

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WHAT DO YOU THINK?

I don’t believe George Washington ever lived
I’ve only ever seen paintings of him in museums or on a dollar bill
What? You say I’m crazy? That’s nonsense, of course he lived, you say?
Did you ever meet him? Have you ever heard his voice?
Oh sure, you say, he’s in all the history books, about how he saved our young nation from the king’s tyranny
You say he was a great leader with many followers who would die for him and how he established the government on which we rely.
But I don’t believe it, you can’t prove he lived.
Why do you keep saying it’s in that history book? I don’t believe that book
You must be crazy

You don’t believe Jesus Christ ever lived
You’ve only ever seen paintings of Him in churches or in Jerusalem
What? I say you’re crazy? That’s nonsense, of course He lived, I say
Did I ever meet Him? Have I ever heard His voice?
Oh sure, I say, He’s in the Bible, about how He saved our souls from hell’s grasp
He was a humble leader with many followers and died for us after establishing God’s gospel on which we rely
But you don’t believe it, I can’t prove He lived.
Why do I keep saying it’s in that book?
You don’t believe that book.
I must be crazy

What do you think?

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HUMILITY

I came in a tie and nice shoes and an ironed-up white shirt

You came in blue jeans and no socks and a wrinkled, faded tee shirt

I listen and think “yes, the speaker’s right, my friends need to shape up.
I need to show them how good I am so they’ll follow my example and give me praise.”

That look on your face, those tears in your eyes, saying “Yes, he’s right.
I need to change, I need to do better. I give up my soul and promise my all.”

So I in my costly apparel and pride in my soul
Am taught by you in your old beat-up clothes

I’ll leave behind the building and go towards the tree, partake of the fruit
Because of what you taught me

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REMEMBER

Remember me
Remember you
Remember how
Remember through

Remember all
Remember where
Remember truth
Remember there

Remember three
Remember why
Remember one
Remember high

Remember when
Remember pain
Remember love
Remember gain

Remember faith
Remember cope
Remember what
Remember hope

Remember triumph
Remember who
Remember me
Remember you

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THIS DAY 911-01

I am afraid as I see the pictures
Lives lost
Hope gone
Security destroyed
Peace ended
Innocence corrupted

I know the stories
Intruders overtaking
A world of insanity
Fear universal
Structure collapsed
Ultimate sorrow

Can you hear it?
The thunder from the sky
The cries of the injured
The silence of the dead
The tension in their voices
The evil that surrounds us

And yet…

THIS DAY we become America
THIS DAY we realize who we are
THIS DAY we triumph in our spirit
THIS DAY we fight back with all we have

…our will

We will not die
We will not lie down
We will not surrender
The freedom that we have
The freedom that we hold
The freedom that we heed
And the dream that binds us together

Victory has a name
Her name is Liberty
And THIS DAY
THIS DAY
THIS DAY
We will see victory!

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WHAT IF BRAD PAISLEY WAS LDS? (to the tune of “Me Neither”)

It’s been three years since I last wore my little CTR ring
Six more since I went to church or heard the MoTab sing
But now a knock is at my door at 1 p.m. Sunday
Thinkin’ it’s my gal I get the door and hear the bishop say

Primary…we need ya really bad
Primary…please, son, don’t be mad
Primary…there’s only eight or ten
Primary…hallelujah, amen!

I don’t know why I agreed, it must have been the meds
Come Sunday next at 9 a.m., when I should have been in bed
I’m in a room too small to breathe and wiping slimy noses
And checking pants and callings moms ‘cuz it don’t smell like roses

Primary…is this a punishment?
Primary…solitary confinement
Primary…could someone call a nurse?
Primary…could this get any worse?

Lessons, music, sharing time
Practicing for sacrament…hey, teacher, what’s my line?

Now all my friends are four years old, they call me superman
And I call them my little heroes, I’m their biggest fan
I know every song in the big book, all four hundred ninety-four
And I’m sure glad that way back when I answered my door

‘Cuz now I know about God’s love for children big and small
And that we’re here to lead them home, and I learned all in…

Primary…yeah, what a rockin’ time
Primary…yeah, I feel just fine
Primary…heaven on earth
Primary…didn’t know what it was worth

Primary…(yes, bishop? You want me where? Elders quorum? Oh no…)

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My oldest daughter loves animals, so on her second birthday we went to the pet shop and bought her three cute little mice. A few months after moving into a basement apartment in a new town, the couple upstairs notified us of a wild mouse roaming around the house, and warned us to keep our eyes open for it.

Our mice tended to be rather noisy, so we set their cage in our bathroom to stifle the noise while we slept at night. Sure enough, the wild mouse showed up in the bathroom. I determined that the wild mouse must be attracted to our tame mice and decided to use them as “bait” to catch it. I didn’t want to kill the mouse, but I knew we needed to get rid of it, so I bought a mouse trap designed to catch mice alive in order to later set them free. The trap was a clear plastic rectangular cube that had a door the mouse could push through to get to food, but couldn’t push back out of. The directions said to smear a little peanut butter on the door to attract the mouse and place a cracker with peanut butter inside the far end of the cube. I followed the directions and set the trap by our mouse cage knowing that the wild mouse would come to visit them again.

Over the next two days I saw the little brown mouse running away from the trap and mouse cage every evening at least five times. He had licked all the peanut butter off the door to the trap, but would not go inside it. Growing impatient, one Saturday night I set up a normal, flat mouse trap that kills the mouse as it eats the bait. I left the non-killing trap out and set the new trap by the mouse cage and said to myself, “Okay mouse, you now have a choice.” Sunday morning my husband found the mouse dead in the newer trap. He kindly disposed of it for me, knowing that I was a little disturbed by the whole situation.

While my kids were still asleep that morning, I lay in bed thinking about the mouse and why it chose death rather than eventual freedom. As I was pondering I felt a connection between this mouse and its choice of traps with the choices we face every day.

In my mind I could see how the non-killing trap was like the Church and its teachings. The mouse was offered a reward inside the box trap, but the circumstances to get the reward seemed confining. To the mouse, going in an enclosed area seemed restricting to his free agency, but in reality it was a means to eventual freedom. The commandments can at times seem restricting and confining, but they are truly the only way to freedom and eternal life. All we have to do is be willing to go through “the Door” (John 10:1-10).

The flat trap, however, seemed to offer the mouse the reward of food out in the open, with no apparent consequences. Satan portrays sin as appealing and without punishment. The open trap leads to death for the mouse just as sin leads to the spiritual death of the sinner.

Heavenly Father is bidding us to go through the door (Christ) and keep His commandments while the world is loudly announcing to come and freely partake of sin without alerting us of the inherent consequences. We just need to choose if we are going to be “free mice” or “trapped mice!”

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