On An Adventure of Hope

 I love what we can learn from marvelous adventures like those of Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee in J.R.R. Tolkein's The Lord of the Rings . One thing I learn over and over again is that extraordinary acts of tremendous courage come from those ordinary individuals who choose to take a stand. It's like Gandalf explains in The Hobbit , "Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay… small acts of kindness and love."  And truly it is these small acts that keep the darkness--of hardship, of loneliness, of sadness--at bay. I've seen it in my life in so many ways. On those days where I'm at the edge of giving up, Heavenly Father sends me one of those "thinking-of-you" notes in a small miracle. And most often, that small miracle is in the form of another person, just living as they should. The we...

Last month Wilford Andersen gave a talk in General Conference called "The Music of the Gospel. " He talked about how we need to learn the music of the gospel--feel it (the Spirit, the love of God, the music of the gospel) in our hearts and then act accordingly. I love this quote from the talk: "So if the basses in your family choir are too loud and overbearing, or if the string section in your family orchestra is a little too shrill or a little bit sharp, or if those impetuous piccolos are out of tune or out of control, be patient. If you’re not hearing the music of the gospel in your home, please remember these two words: keep practicing. With God’s help, the day will come when the music of the gospel will fill your home with unspeakable joy." However, being where I am--a college student on my own--I wanted to apply it a little more to now. I replaced the words "family" or "home" with "life" or something similar, and I saw...