The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

No, this is not a movie review. But the title was one of the things I thought about when reviewing my current situation.

The Good--I will not be wearing make-up for a few days. Those of you that only see me at church probably thought that I never wear make-up, but I really do on most days, just not on my days off work.


I hate almost everything about make-up. I don't like the extra time it takes when I'm getting ready. I don't like taking it off. It seems like an awful waste of money. I resent the fact that people judge you on your outward beauty, therefore forcing us to at least make an attempt at the world's idea of beauty. So you see, I find not wearing make-up quite freeing and empowering. Plus I feel a little rebellious since two of my voice teachers that I really respect made a point of telling me how important it is to wear make-up every day.


The Bad-- The reason I cannot wear make-up right now is because of an ugly patch of dry skin/rash stuff that reacts horribly to anything I put on it. 4 days without makeup cleared it up, and then wearing make-up on Monday made it worse again. Besides looking awful, it itches so bad that I'm about to go insane. The insanity and the fact that I look like death is starting to affect my teaching (although I'm not sure if it is in good or bad ways.) Kids are asking what's wrong, which is OK. They are also really trying hard to do what I ask this week. Maybe having them feel sorry for me is not a bad thing.


The Ugly--The red, scaly, swollen patches of skin, plus the lack of make-up really does make me look like death. This wonderful self-portrait, caught mid-blink, gives you an idea of what my colleagues and students had to look at all day.







Does everyone feel bad for me now? Here's a slightly more attractive shot. Don't you wish you were me?

Hard Hearts and Closed Minds

Today, I read this:
"And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word..." Alma 12:10

And being the articulate, thoughtful person that I am I said,"Well, duh!" If you don't let it in, you are not going to get anything from it. For the first time, I made the connection that hard hearts are closed minds, and hearts that are not hard are open minds. Sometimes we miss out on the greater portion of the word because we've already decided the one and only thing that it can mean and we close ourselves off to all other possibilities.

"I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little" 2 Nephi 2:30 (Italics are mine.)

We talk a lot in church about the "line upon line" part, but it seems like we interpret the "here a little" part as referring to different times. My personal belief is that it also refers to different places and sources. Are we willing to open ourselves to truth from a source other than an approved church manual? The gospel encompasses all truth, and I believe that that includes some things that we don't talk about at church.

"Yea, wo be unto him that saith: We have received, and we need no more!" 2 Nephi 28:27

Hopefully I won't offend too many people here, but I worry about people that read only their scriptures, or maybe books published by Deseret Book. Yes, there is a wealth of information and truth there, but there is amazing truth outside of that narrow focus as well. My testimony has been strengthened by reading the writings of Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa, Jimmy Carter, Mary Baker Eddy and others. No, I don't agree with them on everything, but they have brought light and truth to my life. For me, 2 Nephi 28:27, in addition to addressing the issue of continuing revelation, addresses the need to look outside ourselves and the truths within an easy reach. It invites us to continue questioning and searching and growing. It invites us to open our minds and hearts to truth.