Force versus submission

We just finished reading aloud "A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeleine L'Engle as we drove 25 minutes each way to Fort Madison to exercise. It amazed me how much Christian symbolism was in it. You had to compare IT, an over-sized brain that controlled everyone to be identical, no aberrations allowed, to Satan who wanted to force everyone to obey.

So how is that different from submitting your will to Heavenly Father? I think it's a matter of choice, of having agency. Heavenly Father does not plan for us to lose our individuality. He wants to to choose the right and be blessed for it.

Meg learned in the end that love was the answer. It was the only way to rescue Charles Wallace from the bonds that held him tied to IT. At first she thought anger would do the trick, but that just made her start to become subject to IT. As Elder Soares said in his conference talk, "If our attitudes are bad, we are being influenced by the enemy because he persuades men to do evil." So when I get ticked off, I know who is influencing me!

Regarding love, Elder Koelliker said, "The feeling of love from our Heavenly Father is like a gravitational pull from heaven." Meg's love pulled her little brother to safety. Love is sometimes all we can do for those who have problems.

They gave us two copies of the conference issue so we've each been going through marking what impresses us. Then we'll sit down with a talk, compare markings, and discuss it!

PS Blooper of the day: I was trying to tell three brand new sister missionaries to take the spiral staircase to the next floor and I called it the "sterile spirecase." They were patient with me.