#mantis ramble

but as I got control of my breathing after the initial stress when President Oaks started off about the family proclamation, I got a very distinct feeling that kind of said “girl you are not smarter than me. I know what I’m doing, please trust me, I’m in charge.”

You are my people 

and I am right here 

Huddle under my steeple 

you have no need to fear 

For who are you, that you should  

be afraid of men I’ve damned? 

Who are you, that you should  

turn away my outstretched hand? 

My people, I want to cover you 

I want to be a sanctuary 

My people, I want to comfort you 

this weight is not all yours to carry 

I want to give you rest  

from sorrow and from fear 

If you will not be blessed 

tomorrow I will still be here 

Together we’ll weather this trial 

trust that there will be peace 

for yet a very little while 

and the darkness all will cease 

The bricks you stacked have fallen down 

but you can build with stone 

The sycamores have been cut down 

but you can plant groves of your own 

In my own time I’ll stop the riots 

which in your ears are ringing 

The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet

When I was in fourth and fifth grade, my best friend and I would spend every recess holding hands and walking around the playground and inventing fanfiction plots and telling each other we loved each other. She moved away in the middle of fifth grade, and I didn't hear from her again for a really long time.

I had forgotten until a few minutes ago a snippet of a memory of one rainy recess, the two of us doing our rounds, probably holding hands. She said, "what does gay mean?" and I said "um... it's dirty. I shouldn't tell you."

In a town you’ve never seen, 

in a house you’ve never known, 

a father younger than the one 

who you've loved as you have grown 

had sons you know as men, 

and a dream you know as truth, 

and commandments that you know 

caused tribulations in your youth. 

On a sea you barely saw 

while the waves rocked you to sleep, 

the rain sliced through the sky, 

and you heard your mother weep 

for one son bound to a mast 

and for two with wicked hearts, 

til God demanded ropes be cut 

and He made the storm depart. 

In a land hard-fought to reach, 

in a town your family built, 

with a brother strong and wise, 

and a father soon to wilt, 

you and Laman's children play 

while their parents mope and glare, 

and your father says “my son, 

you'll be safe in Nephi’s care.” 

In a time that’s not yet come, 

when you’ve grown in faith and love, 

when you've lived up to your name, 

you'll gain power from above. 

You will learn and know the Lord 

and be prepared by God’s design. 

Though for now, you are but little,