Seeds and Things

Today I was reading in Alma 32 about seeds of faith. This is a very well known and loved chapter for most people. And though I have read it dozens of times, today I was struck by something.

Alma 32:33-35

33. And now, behold, because ye have tried the experiment, and planted the seed, and it swelleth and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, ye must needs know that the seed is good.

34. And now, behold, is your knowledge perfect? Yea, your knowledge is perfect in that thing, and your faith is dormant; and this because you know, for ye know that the word hath swelled your souls, and ye also know that it hath sprouted up, that your understanding doth begin to be enlightened, and your mind doth begin to expand.

35. O then, is not this real? I say unto you, Yea, because it is light; and whatsoever is light, is good, because it is discernible, therefore ye must know that it is good...


I think what stood out to me most was in verse 34, where it says "Yea, your knowledge is perfect in that thing." I don't think I had ever noticed the transition here. Faith starts small, as a seed, and as it is planted and as it grows, so does our faith and knowledge. This I understand, but I love that it comes in degrees. It starts in little incriments. Here, he is specifically talking about how our knowledge is perfect in relation to the experiment on his word. If we plant the seed of faith, and it grows, then we know that it is good. We know that it is true. It is no longer a matter of faith. As he says our "faith is dormant." He likens it unto the light "because it is discernible." I love that. So many say that religion and science do not co-exist, but this illustration is so beautiful - a scientific experiment on religious principles. If we feel the seed begin to swell, then we have our proof that it is a good seed and we can know that it is true - just as we know light is discernible from darkness.

But that doesn't mean we have to understand everything yet. In fact, at the end of verse 35 he asks if our knowledge is perfect, to which he answers in verse 36 that no, it is not. We cannot lay aside our faith. We have our proof - our knowledge - that the seed is good, but we do not stop there. It is beginning point of a long relationship with that seed. We must continue to nurture and to take care of it - and eventually as it grows, so will our knowledge and understanding.

Again, this is nothing new to me - but I just loved the idea that we can have a perfect knowledge of small things - pieces of a puzzle, links in a chain, all pulling together with faith, work, and prayer to help us gain a more perfect state. It is a journey, just like growing a garden. It doesn't just happen. It take time, and work, and patience. But we do have those moments, those pieces of absolute knowledge. We build our blocks of knowledge along with our mortar of faith until one day...

This gospel is amazing. It is, for me, the definition of peace and purpose. I know that it is true. I don't understand everything yet. I have a long way to go for that. Life times. Eternities. But the seed is growing, and I can say without any doubt, that the seed is good.

Dodger Tested and Approved

This last week my boss gave me a coupon she found for a free baby carrier sling using a promo code. You pay shipping and handling.

I went to the website, www.sevenslings.com, and looked through the designs. I laughed at all the pictures - these tiny little models that have probably never had kids - sporting little tots they have likely never seen before the day of the shoot.


I mean look at those girls! That is not normal...

Anyway, I decided I would try it out. Shipping plus their return insurance came to about $15. Still kind of pricey for shipping - but it looked pretty cool, and a lot better than $48 plus shipping which is what they normally run. The idea is that it works for tiny kids up to 6+ months. You just change the way you carry them.

The sling arrived within a couple of days. Since I had purchase the return/exchange insurance, I figured I should probably figure out if it would work. It was a little difficult since the baby is still inside and my belly is kind of in the way, but Ryan had a genius idea of how to figure out if it would work...


Enter Dodger - about 10 pounds, about as wiggly as a real child, and just as thrilled to try it out too. Hahaha. He said his modeling price has recently gone up and wasn't sure if we could afford him... but a few milk bones sweetened the deal. :)

See, I think I can pull off that pose from the website too.


Hands free. Dodger was clearly wondering when the ordeal would be over.

And he even managed to worm his way into the side-hip 6+ month pose. Well done, Dodger. You were an excellent model.

My impression? Well, the return insurance won't be necessary because we got the right size. I think they are pretty neat. The coupon said that the promo might end at any point without warning, but just in case you want to try it out, the code is VP9. You can use the same one at www.uddercovers.com for a free nursing cover, or the code "seven." No guarantee how long it will last. I didn't get one of the nursing covers because I bought fabric to make my own for a fraction of the price.

I am pretty excited to use my hip new baby carrier. And Dodger is thrilled that soon it won't be him being carted around the kitchen for kicks and giggles.

According To A 4-Year-Old

Yesterday I had a surprisingly frank baby discussion with my 4-year-old nephew, Preston. (The one that has been convinced for months now that I am growing a baby dinosaur.

He approached my belly cautiously and gave it a very soft pat. (This is great improvement over his typical over-zealous punch-to-the-gut welcome.)

"Your baby's growing!" he said.

"Yes, it is! He is getting bigger, huh?"

"It get bigger and bigger?"

"Yup. It will keep getting bigger and bigger."
"Then it pop?" He made a great whooshing motion with his hands and arms - like a dam breaking.

"Yes, then it will pop." Technically it's true - even if his visual was something like this:

"It make you dead?" he asked.

"No, it won't make me dead."

He seemed to consider how it was possible that I could survive something like my stomach popping. The next question was a perfectly logical next step.

"Then you swallow it again?" He mimicked popping something small, like a seed, into his mouth and swallowed. He mentioned something similar to this the day I announced I was pregnant. He was quite convinced the only way the baby could have shown up in my stomach in the first place was if I had swallowed it and allowed it to grow. It appears I am growing a watermelon after all.

"No," I answered, "I won't swallow it. The baby will grow and grow and when it's big enough it will come out and go, 'Whah! Whah!'"

At that he giggled hysterically like there couldn't possibly be anything more absurd and walked away.