2014
It seems like changes are often revealed personally a bit at a time.
Last year (2013) I threw away some of our more grotesque Halloween
decorations because I didn't want my kids looking at them. Not much
deeper thought than “Hmm, bloody eyeballs pasted on the window
don't seem appropriate for a 2 & 4 year old.” This year, after
learning that there are people who actively choose not to participate
in Halloween, I debated getting out the Halloween box at all. In
talking to another friend about Halloween, she said that when she
drives around the neighborhood and sees a yard with a cemetery,
severed limbs sticking out of the ground, and a corpse hanging from a
tree – she can't help but wonder how much time the Spirit will be
spending there this month. I believe our ability to feel the Holy
Ghost depends more on what's happening within us than around
us. However, the situations in which we place ourselves can greatly
affect what is happening within us.
2015
So
I pondered...what do
I want to have around my house all month?
There
are usually pictures of our family, the temple, Jesus, this week's
art projects, little notes from my son. Do I really want to have
those things compete with severed limbs, zombie babies and tombstones
or even cute witches and little black cats? Fall is such a beautiful
season with the changing leaves, brightly colored produce, and the
last flowers of the year. I decided why not celebrate this season by
adorning my home with these same beautiful creations God chose adorn
the earth?
2014
Later
in the month, I was looking at my Halloween costume and realized that
it, too, needed a change. As I mentioned in the last post, I have a
pretty cool Vampire costume. I love seeing people's clever costumes –
especially when the whole family has a theme. I'm a sucker for that.
Dressing up has long been my favorite part of Halloween. It's fun
getting to be someone else for a night. It used to be that was
someone a little more sexy or a little darker. This blog
http://happycrazylife.com/2012/10/11/reformation-day-part-1-escaping-halloween/
eloquently illustrates the not so subtle shift from cute and fun
little girl's costumes to their often pornographic adult version.
My
costume certainly wasn't as bad as all that, but I had to think about
how it made me feel. Why is it so fun to dress up? There was a show
on Hulu called “Behind the Mask”. It's about people who are
mascots. Like for sports teams. There's one poor little feller who is
a high school mascot. He is painfully awkward and shy. However, when
he puts on that costume, he can talk to girls, inspire school spirit,
and make people cheer. He can be who he wants to be without worrying
about who he is. In this case, putting on a costume gave an insecure
boy the confidence to be more outgoing than normal. It even carries
over a bit to his life outside of the costume. But what if that
costume didn't stand for school spirit? What if the costume we put on
lowers our inhibitions in a bad way or changes our standards or
represents something dark and sinister?
Quentin
L. Cook gave a talk to young people in which he spoke of their great
potential. He cautioned, “In view of the enormous potential for
good that you possess, what are my concerns for your future? What
counsel can I give you? First, there will be great pressure on each
of you to act out of character—to even wear a mask—and become
someone who doesn’t really reflect who you are or who you want to
be.” He notes poignant times that men have hidden their identity in
order to act in a way they normally would not have acted.
https://www.lds.org/broadcasts/article/ces-devotionals/2012/01/what-e-er-thou-art-act-well-thy-part-avoid-wearing-masks-that-hide-identity?lang=eng&query=avoid+appearance+of+evil
When
I became a young women leader, I found myself wanting to be a good
role model. That year, my costume became a bit more modest. But
there's more than just covering up skin. The test for me is found in
1 Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil. When
President James E. Faust was a young man, he was in a position to
represent the church and was counseled “From now on, you must not
only avoid evil, but also the appearance of evil.”
https://www.lds.org/new-era/1997/02/on-the-edge?lang=eng
Despite many stories and movies lately blurring the lines of which
characters are good and which are not, I felt like whatever
character/costume I put on needed to reflect what I wanted my true
character to be.
2015
As I have considered our family
traditions for this holiday and others, I realized I didn't want to
just have fun. I wanted to be sure the things we celebrate bring us
closer to Christ, to invite the Holy Spirit to be with us, to help us
learn of good things. 2
Nephi 25:26 And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in
Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write
according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what
source they may look for a remission of their sins.
Here are some other excellent articles that speak to this idea of
avoiding the appearance of evil and making Christ the center of our
life every day of the year:
https://www.lds.org/ensign/2004/05/how-to-live-well-amid-increasing-evil.p1?lang=eng
& https://www.lds.org/ensign/1975/11/opposing-evil?lang=eng
&
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1979/04/fortify-your-homes-against-evil?lang=eng
& many more can be found by searching “appearance of evil” on
LDS.org.Part 3 to follow...
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