Just Like The Brother of Jared Stones, Christ Touched Me

Dear Kids,

I am convinced that one of the most powerful ways you can get to know your Savior Jesus Christ is by visualizing Him, and inviting Him into your mind. Picturing Him being with you, giving you blessings, sitting beside you... so many things.

There are several people I know that don't feel like that is an "appropriate" thing to do. I completely disagree with them. How else do we invite Him into our lives other than picturing Him here with us already? We are told to "see with an eye of faith" in the scriptures. We are told to knock on the door. We are told that He is always near. This is a very powerful principle.

Today I took some time to meditate and ponder. I had some nature sounds on to listen to. I have to start with taking deep breaths and feel inside of my soul. Then today I went, in my mind, to a stream up in the mountains with aspens all around me. I had a comfortable red chair there by the stream that I sat in.

Then I visualized something I haven't done before. I started with my head and mind and I pictured Christ extending His finger and touching my mind... similar to the way I picture that He touched the stones for the Brother of Jared in the Book of Mormon. I just pictured His hand coming from out of the veil and touching my mind, then my eyes, my nose, my mouth, my neck, my shoulders, my heart, my vitals, my bowels, my legs. I felt and visualized light expanding from His finger into my body and filling my body with light and love and energy and power. His power.

Then I pictured that He held out a bag, it was a red velvet bag, and I placed all the things that are weighing heavy on my heart into the bag... some of them I don't even have words for... it was like a rope that kept coming from my heart and mind and the rope had all the string of thoughts and feelings that have been inside of my body. I kept pulling on that rope that connected my heart and mind and placing into Christ's bag that He held out for me until the rope stopped. The rope was different colors and textures as it came out of me.

This was SO POWERFUL for me. Picturing this was so powerful for me. It felt freeing and releasing. It was such a great way for me to picture Christ taking my burdens. Him taking them from me and telling me, "I will carry this for you."

I have SUCH A HUGE testimony of the power of meditation and pondering. Of picturing Christ in our lives and in our hearts. So many pictures and visualizations in order to help lighten our burdens. I invite you, and anyone else reading this, to do this exercise. It might take practice. It might take time to really get your mind and heart to "go there". But practice. Do it. It is worth it to have these sacred experiences.

The first time I visualized and meditated it was not natural. It takes time. But do it. And keep Christ close as you do. He wants to be close to you in those mind and heart expanding experiences.

I love you,

Your Mom