Have you ever wondered how far you would go to defend your beliefs? Would you back down if confronted? Would you give up your scriptures, or your right to worship in the way you believe? There are two people that amaze me, and as I learn more about each of them, I have prayed that I would have their courage. Corrie Ten Boom and Helmuth Hubener stood up in the face of evil and struck back. Ten Boom saw Jews in her hometown disappearing, and began to believe that the Nazi's were indeed taking them. Her home became a stop along the way for Jews to flee the Nazi's in The Netherlands. For her brave actions, she was turned in and her entire family was arrested by the Nazi's...all while she had people hidden in a secret room, the secret room that was built to hide the Jews they were protecting from arrest if there was a raid. But, this time, it was the Ten Boom family that was arrested. Corrie's father died while in custody of the Nazi's; her sister, Betsie became so ill that she, too, died; Corrie lived. And she felt that her mission was not over. She opened a home for Nazi soldiers and for persecuted Jews that were suffering from PTSD (there was no name for it, at that time). She put them together, under one roof; and amazing things happened. They both overcame and were able to be friends. Ten Boom then began lecturing around the world about reconciliation and forgiveness. She wrote about the atrocities she lived through a book, "The Hiding Place". Helmuth Hubener was a 16 year old member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Germany when the Nazi's removed the Boy Scouts from his country and required all youth become a member of Hitler's Youth. He did so, as required. Then, Jewish homes, families, and businesses were being destroyed. He knew this was not right. He found his brother's short wave radio and set it up to listen to the BBC. This act in and of itself was treasonous. He learned that the BBC was presenting a view of the war that Nazi Germany media was not presenting. He knew his country was being lied to, and decided to relay that message as best he could. He began to write anti-national socialist texts and anti-war pamphlets. He enlisted two friends, also members of his Church, Karl-Heinz Schnibbe and Rudi Wobbe, to help him distribute the pamphlets. When he was found out, he was arrested. At his trial, when he was found guilty he stated to the judge, "Now I must die, even though I have committed no crime. So now it's my turn, but your turn will come." His friends, Wobbe and Schnibbe, were sentenced to prison terms. On the day of his execution Hubener wrote to a church friend, "I know that God lives and He will be the Just Judge in this matter… I look forward to seeing you in a better world!" The faith of these extra-ordinary people was stronger than the trials they had to endure. I pray that I, too, would have this faith to do the right thing. How do we get to that point? We make sure that we already have such a relationship with our Father in Heaven that we know without a doubt He will see us through, even if sure death is the end result. What steps do we take to have that kind of faith? Action. It takes action on our part. There are two things we need to do, pray and read the scriptures. When we do those two things, all other things will fall into place, we will be compelled to do good, to attend church, to give service, and we will be close to the Holy Ghost who will give us that direction we need in our daily lives. We will focus on those two things for next long while to prepare us to have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. One of my favorite scriptures to turn to when I see the world falling down around me through war, politicians that have only power in mind, entertainment media, and just seeing the world around us become more and more entrenched in evil (yes, I said evil, it does exist and it is not a pretty thing). We will start with setting the goal to want to be a better person, to look up to those who have left us an example to follow while living in the world at this time. There are three books and a movie that are good to impact one's life, and all are available. Viktor Frankl 'Man's Search for Meaning' Corrie Ten Boom 'The Hiding Place' Helmuth Hubener 'Truth and Conviction: The Helmuth Hubener Story There are several books on Helmuth Hubener.
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I've worked with youth in volunteer leadership positions and I have been taken aback when some of them, as teenagers, spoke to their parents extremely disrespectfully...as in worse that I have ever heard a child speak to their parent. And. The. Parent. Did. Nothing. In one case the parent even apologized. Ummm, the parent had nothing to apologize for, the child was in the wrong. I babysat for three children while their mother taught piano. These children were preschoolers, and one in Kindergarten. They were angels for me, then when their mother took over they became the worst children I have ever seen (up to that time!). They turned a table upside down, they yelled at their mom when she told them not to do that to the table. And, it got worse from there. I will say, to an extent this is the parent allowing themselves to be treated in this manner...so, that needs to change, too. But, as the children get older the lack of respect will be more defined. So, they will need to make changes within themselves as they get older. I've been on the sidelines as an adult spoke to her mother on the phone and proceeded to be short and rude to her mother who was in crisis at that moment. And, no, it wasn't a years or months long crisis, it was a minutes long crisis. Yes, she called her at work, but sometimes you have to take the call. Later I found out that that was actually how she spoke to her mom most of the time; not just at a crisis moment. Spouses, children to parent, parent to child, child to child. Respect, and being nice begins at home. This last month you focused on being nice to people you meet during your day. Now, the focus is going to be on those within your family. Take notice what you say to family; take the time to make sure you treat family with respect. Focus on doing something out of the ordinary for a family member each day...not each family member, just one. So, you are going to do one nice thing a day. Write it down, why you chose that person and the thing you chose to do. Then, at the end of the day come back and write down the person's reaction to your being nice. Do this each day, yes, each day. Sometimes it won't be something you planned, sometimes it will just happen; but write it down, and it is very important that you do the reflecting part, too. There should two reflections, one on how you felt and the other is how the person you were nice to felt. This will make a difference. It will. And, it will be a positive difference. Granted, there are some that it will be very difficult to be nice to, instances of abuse. That is beyond my knowledge, but I do know that the nice thing you do may be a simple prayer for yourself to be emotionally strong. I cannot, nor do I even try to know what the complete answer is in abusive situations. I can say, prayer and seek assistance. |
Carolyn Bendall"After years of teaching people how to develop their 'outside' image; we realized the 'inner image' need just as much work. Let's take this journey together!" Archives
August 2022
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