www.servingjesuspoetry.com
  • Author's Testimony & Introduction--FAQS
    • Table of Contents
  • 1 His Kingdom to Prepare
  • 2 My Choice Companions
  • 3 Companions
  • 4 Companions II
  • 5 A Mother's MTC Farewell
  • 6 Who Will Dare for Christ
  • 7 To a Chosen Generation
  • 8. I Feel Such a Strangeness
  • 9. Not Me
  • 10. My Brother's Father
  • 11. Not Far Away
  • 12. Questions for Our Leaders
  • 13. Questions From Our Leaders
  • 14. The Visit
  • 15. Show and Tell
  • 16. Within Our Slumber We Will Dream
  • 17. Servants in the Shadows
  • 18. Joya Escojida/Chosen Jewel
  • 19. Las Aguas Del Senor/The Waters of the Lord
  • 20. Come Fasting to the Meeting House
  • 21. As Voices Join in Sacred Sabbath Worship
  • 22. A Child's Baptismal Day
  • 23. In Temple White
  • 24. Temple Hill
  • 25. This Precious Day
  • 26. The Translators
  • 27. I Your Husband Who Have Fallen [First Poem of The Repentance Trilogy.]
  • 28. The Wife's Song
  • 29. Remember Not Past Years
  • 30. A Priesthood Lullaby
  • 31. The Season of Our Need
  • 32. Cherished Daughter, Valiant Servant
  • 33. Daughter, Hear and Heed Your Savior's Voice
  • 34. Bird Mom
  • 35. Eric's Song
  • 36. A Wedding Song of Praise
  • 37. Testimonies to My Daughters
  • 38. Prayer for a Caring Granddaughter
  • 39. Firstborn Son and Firstborn Daughter
  • 40. Father's Day
  • 41 The Hospital
  • 42. The Children of the World
  • 43. For the Healers of the World
  • 44. Simple Heroes of Our Day
  • 45. To This World So Prone to Peril
  • 46. Somewhere
  • 47. Servant of Servants
  • 48. We Wish That You Were Here
  • 49. The Teacher
  • 50. To Protect Marriage and Family
  • 51. Earth's Unborn Children Weeping
  • 52. Prayers for the Peacekeepers
  • 53. That Patriot Dreams Will Come to Pass
  • 54. We Would Do It All Again
  • 55. So Much More
  • 56. Passage and Pilot
  • 57. Because of the Son
  • 58. Growing Up
  • 59. The Olive Leaf
  • 60. Until All Are One With Him
  • 61. Death Has Not Won, But Lost
  • 62. Call to Arms
  • 63. When All Is Done
  • 64. How Rarely Have I Come This Way
  • 65. At a Place So Very Different
  • 66. My Best Years Lie Ahead
  • 67. Sons of Zion, Jesus Calls You
  • 68. Come, Sing Your Song to Me
  • 69. May It Be Always So
  • 70. Until Safe in Heaven's Embrace
  • 71. Seek the Spirit
  • 72. Undertow
  • 73. If I Am Given Time
  • 74. Sons and Daughters, Heirs of Promise
  • 75. Wrestling for a Call
  • 76. When Everything is Ready
  • 77. One Thousand Times
  • 78. Tearful and Fearful I Prayed Through the Evening
  • 79. Tell Us, How Do Servants and Teachers Like You Come Along?
  • 80. Blessings for Beloved Servants
  • 81. Our Gayla's Free at Last
  • 82. I Am a Witness of Your Worth
  • 83. I'll Live With You Again
  • 84. Brother, Friend, and Fellow Servant
  • 85. Grieve Not for Him
  • 86. Press On From Payson's Hill
  • 87. The Righteous Live in Me
  • 88. Homecoming
  • 89. In Honor of My Friends Unseen
  • 90. [An Invitation] We Call to You
  • 91. Fellow Americans, Let Us Talk
  • 92. Brothers and Sisters, Fulfilled Together
  • 93. What We Have Lost in Our Digital Paradise
  • 94. Running Out of Time
  • 95. Ere You Hear the Sound of Battle
  • 96. 21st Century Gadiantons
  • 97 The Setting Apart
  • 98. What Do You Say?
  • 99. To a Woman of Tempered Steel
  • 100. A Correction Soon Begins
  • 101. The Quiet of the Morning
  • 102. Slippery Slope
  • 103. Stormy--We've Got to Stop Meeting Like This
  • 104. Warriors of the Mind and Soul [Poetic Process Discussion]
  • 105. He Wrote Just as He Lived
  • 106. Life Singer
  • 107. Zion's Daughter Leanore
  • 108. Does Your House of Worship Now Seem Lonely
  • 109. Crucify the "Old Man of Sin"
  • 110. We Loved Them Once
  • 111. Winter's Mothers God Holds Most Dear
  • 112. Lord, Please Forgive Us Anew
  • 113. Patriot's Faith Will Triumph Yet
  • 114. Indexing
  • 115. I Am Liberty
  • 116. The Beauty
  • 117. To Aid the Innocents Abused
  • 118. A Noble Bugler Has Returned
  • 119. The Music of the Lord
  • 120. Frog Cat
  • 121. God's Storms
  • 122. The Daughters of the Lord
  • 123. Come Back, Before Our Souls for Error Yearn
  • 124. Don't Tell Me That My Time Has Come
  • 125. From the Dust [Comes The Book of Mormon]
  • 126 To See the Sun Again
  • 127. Mourning America
  • 128. For Baby Adam
  • 129. Despedida Ansiosa/Anxious Farewell
  • 130. Between the Lines
  • 131. Will You Ever Ask the Questions
  • 132. The Days I Spent With You
  • 133. For Nelda
  • 134. The Covenant Path
  • 135. Heartland Dream
  • 136 We Sent Our Very Best
  • 137. Sisters of the Covenant, Daughters of God
  • 138 Sisters Share Their Cheerful Hearts
  • 139 God Looketh On the Heart
  • 140 What of Me?
  • 141 The Return
  • 142 Latter-day Defenders
  • 143. "Come and See, Come and Help, Come and Share"
  • 144. The Best of Father's Seed I've Known
  • 145. [Complete, but pending.]
  • 146. When the Days of Wait Are Over
  • 147. Red Kettles and Silver Bells
  • 148. Victory
  • 149. He Lacks Not Faith
  • 150. "Am I a Friend of Jesus?" [Spring 2020 Semi-Final Examination]
  • 151. Christ is Our Refuge Once Again
  • 152. Until We Kneel at Our Savior's Feet
  • 153. Where You Stand, You Should Still Lift
  • 154. No Day Shall Pass nor Night Shall Fall
  • 155. We Pray for You
  • 156. Bountiful Harvest
  • 157. A Message of Peace and Love
  • 158. Israel, Israel God Shall Save Thee
  • 159. For Those Who Wait
  • 160. Friends Who Intercede
  • 161. Young Women's "Frog Camp"

161.  Young Women's "Frog Camp"

            [Meadows Ward, Bakersfield Stake, July-2022]

Father teaches crucial lessons, 
In myriad special ways.
Seeking to protect our souls,
From the perils of our day.
We see a world that crumbling, (1)
Some "friends" don't share our views,  (2)
And even those who lead us, 
May be battered by "the News".



So it was with some excitement,                                              
We left work and cares behind,                                          
As we headed for Big Meadow,   (3)                                      
And a camp both cool and kind.                                            
It was glorious intermission                                                   
From our harried “city life”,                                                      
To see God’s wondrous nature,                                               
In a setting free from strife.

There were hikes, and jokes, and camp songs,       
Served with savory meals each day.                         
The mountain air was clean and cool,                        
And we wished that we could stay.                           
But the best of every evening,                                   
With the setting of the sun,                                        
Was the fire that we gathered ‘round,                       
As we spoke of what we’d done.  


These were times of testimony,  
Bringing insights to our souls.
A chance to talk of what we’d learned,
And to share our hopes and goals.            
But a quite uncommon lesson,                   
We’ll recall all of our days,           
Arose as we saw common frogs,                         
Poised to jump into the blaze.     
                             
Were they excited by the flames?
Seduced by flickering lights?
Was warmth the threat to their demise?
Could they not see their plight?
One final hop would seal their doom.
No more they’d jump or play—   
So a leader quickly scooped them up.
To release, safe, far away.
 
From foolish frogs, a warning came,
Of the lure and peril of sin.
What might excite or attract us,  (4)  
Could end what we’ve yet to begin.
So we ask the Lord for leaders, true,
To keep us from evil’s flames.
 And rejecting the world’s temptations,
 We call, humbly, on Jesus’ good name.  (5)

© servingjesuspoetry.com--All commercial rights reserved
Unlimited non-commercial usage allowed. 


Notes: 


  1. Young Adult Theme Song for 2022, “Trust in the Lord”, first stanza:  “The world is crumbling at our feet, the skies are filled with grey.  The Savior’s calling to His sheep, and He will lead the way.”  VIEW HERE-- (1) https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/2022-youth-theme-album-and-website-released  (2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMNngnJ3u8w
  2. From that song’s chorus:  “Though tears many fall, and friends may leave, we see His light, and that is where we’ll go.”  [It really is an exceptional song and an inspired video. Please note from the video that the youth who first serve as guides and models for rejecting error are…the young women.  While this video presents the theme for all youth, the young men in the video are…a little slower to embrace light and honor (several are held captive by earphones and digital devices.  Maybe I’m “reading too much” into this. [No, I believe the Spirit whispers to me,  I’m not—but the reader is free to disagree.]
  3. LDS affiliated camp situated in mountains of Kern County.
  4. “In their yearning for a good time, young people are often tempted to indulge in the things which appeal only to the baser side of humanity, five of the most common of which are: first, vulgarity and obscenity; second, drinking and petting; third, unchastity; fourth, disloyalty; and, fifth, irreverence.” Teachings of the Prophets, David O. McKay, p. 81.
  5. Again, from the song:  “[Jesus] opens our eyes, fills us with peace, lifts up our weary souls.  He is the light, and we’ll never be alone.”
 
© servingjesuspoetry.com--All commercial rights reserved; unlimited non-commercial usage allowed. 


EXERCISE/QUESTIONS:

1.  As you watch the video, do you receive any PROMPTINGS, INSIGHTS, or other INSPIRATION from the Holy Ghost?  
2.  IF SO, is what you receive something that can/should be shared with others, at a proper time and place, or is it so personal and private that it should be held fast to your own soul, exclusively, for now?  ["MUST READ & PONDER" General Conference discourse by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of April, 2017 =  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMNngnJ3u8w  "Songs Sung and Unsung"]--Premise:  Some of our gospel experiences may be so holy, personal, or sacred, that we simply cannot speak of them here and now.  READ THE TALK.]


I do believe that I have been "prompted" to share another point from this video filled with insights, metaphors,  and more, viz:  The Lord trusts you so much that He is willing to convey the following truths to you: 
  1. "The world is crumbling at our feet"--a direct and powerful statement.  I recall "general warnings" from every General Conference for years and years which included "generic" warnings of "we live in perilous (or dangerous) times".  But this warning raises the "threat level" to a new and unmistakable high point.
  2. "The skies are gray"--likewise unequivocal. 
  3. "Though fires may burn and storms may rage"--while seemingly uncertain; I DEEM THIS WARNING PRESCIENT AND SURE.  Expect uncommonly epic disturbances--not the consequence of "Climate Change." **  {BUT, we can "see His light" if we "trust in the Lord"--therefore, we shall so trust!
  4. "Friends may leave"--a clear and stark warning. 
The video's other hopeful, prophetic, and divinely UPLIFTING messages remain, and triumph over the warnings.  However, my point is that the Lord loves and trusts you enough that He will say things to you He will not yet say to your "elders".  In October of 2020, President Nelson declared:  "Let God Prevail"--an awesome directive that is MANY-SIDED, applying to both personal righteousness, and perhaps...global "retrenchment".  The Lord is the Master of language.  Over time, not just His leaders but all Saints, little by little, acquire, more of that skill.  FURTHERMORE, THE HOLY GHOST "FILLS IN ALL THE BLANKS"; "CLARIFIES THE MYRIAD MEANINGS OF WHAT IS SAID", "PERSONALIZES THE COUNSEL GIVEN" AND "BRINGS ALL THINGS TO OUR REMEMBERANCE" WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT. 
 
** D & C 88:90--
"
And also cometh the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and the voice of lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds."                                    .