He tells the story of three sisters: Sad, Mad and Glad. Though they each live different lives, they all face similar trials of rejection, ridicule, and hardship. The fist is often disappointed by circumstances around her, the second is angry at the world. The third finds joy and happiness in singing her song of eternal joy.
I recognize others, but more importantly myself in all three sisters. How do we become more like the third sister?
Just like the Book of Mormon account of the tree of life. We avoid the mist of darkness and the voices from the tall and spacious building that cause us to doubt our testimony, seek the 'easy' way out, or illicit pride in three ways:
1. Stay on the Path: ignore those who, through shame or flattery, try to pull us away.
2. Never forget you are a child of God: You have the spiritual DNA of God and have inherited the strength and gifts to overcome trials. You are in God's very good, loving and caring hands.
3. Find refuge in the Church: the organizations are waypoints along the path, a safe home where you can feel acceptance and encouragement.
For FHE I shared the story and reenacted the Tree of Life in the backyard. First by having the kids walk toward the tree blindfolded but without a rod to hold on to. It was interesting that even with the helpful suggestions of cousins trying to lead them towards the tree, the kids were still pretty lost and veered way off the path.
Which reminds me of the question Pres. Uchtdorf posed: why should you surrender your happiness to someone, or a group of someones, who cares very little about you or your happiness? Or, in this case, someone who may care about you but does not have the restored truth of the gospel to help lead you in the right direction?
Afterward, each child got a chance to do it again but holding onto the rod. It was still slow moving as they couldn't see and had to rely completely on the rod but they all made it to the beautifully lit tree.
For our treat, we all ate of the delicious fruit of the tree: caramel apples Stella, Andrew and I had made earlier that day.
