The scripture I love more than any other isn't my favorite because of what the actual verse says. It's my favorite because of the story behind what is written.

"And now when Aaron heard this, his heart began to rejoice, and he said: Behold, assuredly as thou livest, O king, there is a God." Alma 22:8

When Ammon and his brothers set out on a quest to convert the Lamanites to the gospel, they seperated and the first story we hear about is Ammon's. We all love the story of Ammon, the oldest brother who had quick success in converting King Lamoni and all his people to the gospel.

I've noticed, however that not many people think about how difficult a time his brother's had in trying to convince the Lamanites to convert to the gospel. While Ammon was enjoying success and making friends with a king, Aaron, Muloki and Ammah were thrown into prison. When Ammon finally found out what happened to his brothers he came to their rescue as quickly as possible:

"And it came to pass that Ammon and Lamoni proceeded on their journey towards the land of Middoni. And Lamoni found favor in the eyes of the king of the land; therefore the brethren of Ammon were brought forth out of prison.

And when Ammon did meet them he was exceedingly sorrowful, for behold they were naked, and their skins were worn exceedingly because of being bound with strong cords. And they also had suffered hunger, thirst, and all kinds of afflictions; nevertheless they were patient in all their sufferings.

And, as it happened, it was their lot to have fallen into the hands of a more hardened and a more stiffnecked people; therefore they would not hearken unto their words, and they had cast them out, and had smitten them, and had driven them from house to house, and from place to place, even until they had arrived in the land of Middoni; and there they were taken and cast into prison, and bound with strong cords, and kept in prison for many days, and were delivered by Lamoni and Ammon." Alma 20:28-30

I love how it mentions that "it was their lot to have fallen into the hands of a more hardened and a more stiffnecked people" because it shows that it wasn't just chance that Ammon had more success than they did. This was a trail that the Lord knew they would face. I also want to point out that it mentions "they were patient in all their sufferings" but I have a feeling this was the most difficult trail any of them had ever faced. On top of it all, how frustrating would it be to learn that Ammon was completely successful in converting hundreds of people while they were stripped naked and thrown into prison.

Even though the scriptures don't emphasize it, I find it really incredible just how much the Lord blesses Aaron, Muloki and Ammah after they were released from prison. With all they had been through, instead of heading back home, they decide to take on the biggest challenge of all. They head straight to the king of all the Lamanites, Lamoni's father. After such utter failure so far, I honestly don't know how they found the courage to attempt something so bold. Unknown to Aaron and his brothers, at the time they decided to do this, the king of the Lamanites was searching his heart for answers. An encounter with Ammon had left him with many questions so he was ready to hear and believe everything they had to say. After entering the house of the king and introducing themselves, the king said:

"I will insist that ye shall administer unto me; for I have been somewhat troubled in mind because of the generosity and the greatness of the words of thy brother Ammon... What is this that ye have said concerning the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, this is the thing which doth trouble me." Alma 22:3,5

After more discussion, Aaron steps forward and asks the king:

"Believest thou that there is a God? And the king said: I know that the Amalekites say that there is a God, and I have granted unto them that they should build sanctuaries, that they may assemble themselves together to worship him. And if now thou sayest there is a God, behold I will believe." Alma 22:7

Can you imagine just how much joy Aaron is feeling at that moment? He has experienced nothing but failure from the moment his journey began. Now he has been given the opportunity of standing before the king of all the land; a king who has decided to put his complete faith in everything Aaron has to say. When he set out on his journey into the land of the Lamanites, Aaron's one desire was to be a successful missionary. At this moment, the Lord finally blesses him with success; not with just any Lamanite, but the one Lamanite who has more influence and power than any other in all the land.

That's why the next verse is my favorite scripture:

"And now when Aaron heard this, his heart began to rejoice, and he said: Behold, assuredly as thou livest, O king, there is a God." Alma 22:8

This is my absolute favorite scripture because Ammon's journey may have been far easier, but in the end Aaron and his brother's had far more success. The voice of the king of all the land has the potential to convert an entire people to the gospel and the Lord chose to give Aaron the opportunity to teach that king. Ammon may have stirred some questions in the king's heart, but in the end Aaron was given the blessing of answering them.

I also love this scripture because it's a demonstration of just how much the Lord loves Aaron. He knows what he's been through and the reward for his suffering is far greater than Aaron could have ever imagined. We also get a chance to experience a little bit of what Aaron is feeling in that moment. It says Aaron's "heart began to rejoice". I love when a scripture mentions what a prophet is feeling. It brings the scripture to life and makes it easier to relate to what they're going through. I've never been cast it to prison, but I've had times in my life when it feels like everyone one around me is succeeding with ease while I'm experiencing only failure. I love the story of Aaron and his brothers because not all of us have an easy time when we set out to accomplish something, even if our intentions are completely righteous.

No one can truly understand why some of us have an easier time while others suffer, but one thing this is for sure. The rewards given to those who are truly tested are far sweeter than the rewards given to those who've had it easy.

Article written by Shelly Hathaway.
Photos by Shelly Hathaway Photography

TAGS: book, mormon, LDS, church, scripture, verse, Ammon, Alma, Aaron, Muloki, Ammah, Lamoni, Lamanites, Nephites, missionary, work, blessed, Lord, Jesus, Christ, God, Christianity, convert, gospel, 22:8, "Book of Mormon", suffering, afflictions, trials, faith, patience, king, influence, rewards, easy, hard, difficult, frustrating, believe, favorite

My Brothers and Sister's Websites

01.31.12

I just wanted to take a moment to show off my brothers and sister's talents. If you enjoy what you see on my website, you will probably appreciate their websites as well. I have three brothers and one sister and all of us have creative talents that we love to share with others through websites and blogs. A few years ago, we got together and decided it would be fun to start selling the things we create, so we started a family business called Willowrise. Each of us have different projects we're working on at the moment, but it's all part of the same business. You know that I currently sell my photography and website templates, but here are the projects my brother's and sister are working on at the moment....

Shane Hathaway
wingcash.com

My oldest brother, Shane has always been an expert at computers and programming. Right now he is working on a project called WingCash. WingCash is a simple way for people and businesses to send and receive cash on the Internet and in person. It's a brilliant new idea and I'm excited to see just how big it gets. You can also visit his blog, Picklebytes.

Maria Spencer
riafineart.com

My older sister, Ria is an amazing artist. She produces beautiful colored pencil artwork and regularly posts new art on her blog, Ria Fine Art. She has a remarkable talent for capturing emotion and brilliant colors. She has won art contests and sells originals as well as prints of her work.

Chas Hathaway
chashathaway.com

Chas, is a lot like me when it comes to creative talents. Instead of picking just one thing he is a published author, composer and musician as well as a photographer. His website, ChasHathaway.com focuses on his books and music. The site also has a humor section where you can listen to hilarious phone conversations he's had with telemarketers.

Jake Hathaway
jake.willowrise.com

My younger brother, Jake is currently studying advertising at UVU. Jake and my Dad work together to advertise what we create at Willowrise. That's not all Jake can do, though. Jake creates artistic wood carvings and wood frames. He has also composed some beautiful arrangements to hymns on the piano. Visit his blog, The Wooden Tablet.

I enjoy visiting my brothers and sister's websites all the time, so I thought you might want to take a look. I'm proud to say that I come from a very talented family.

Article written by Shelly Hathaway.
Photos by Shelly Hathaway Photography

TAGS: shane, ria, maria, chas, jake, hathaway, willowrise, siblings, reccomendations, family, business, fine, art, wood, carving, frames, music, sheet, composer, musician, wingcash, programmer, computers, colored, pencil, LDS, author, photographer, projects, websites, links, brother, siter, dad, emotion, feeling, brilliant, beautiful, artistic, creative, talents, talented, sell, prints, original, unique, blogs, flute, colorful, pride

Being Kind Is More Important Than Being Right

01.25.12

How often do you correct what other people say when it's not actually necessary? My sister, Ria recently wrote a blog about this called The Things We Say. There are a lot of people who correct little things others say all the time. I'm not talking about conversations involving important things like religion or ethics. I'm talking about correcting little things like facts or vocabulary. Some people do it constantly and don't even realize what they're doing. Is it really necessary to correct someone when they accidentally call a sunflower a daisy?

It's far more kind to just let it go. More importantly, the fact that you've decided to interrupt the other person to let them know they are wrong shows you don't actually understand the point of human interaction. Are you having a conversation with this person because you enjoy being friends or because you are looking for opportunities to share the immense amount of knowledge stored in your brain with the world? I think there are too many people who find being right more important than being kind. For those of you who like to correct what others say all the time, this may be an entirely foreign concept to you, so I'll explain why correcting what other people say is rude.

When you talk with a friend or acquaintance, you both start out on an equal plain, exchanging opinions and commenting on each other's stories. However, if you decide to correct the other person when they accidentally call a Tiberon a Porsche you've decided to take a more condescending approach to the conversation. An equal exchange is no longer possible because you've now made the other person either feel annoyed or intimidated. No one actually likes being told they're wrong, especially if it's something they already know, something basic that they temporarily forgot. Constantly correcting someone is a way of telling them you are now the teacher, and they are the student. If you have a very dominant personality this may seem like no big deal, but you should be aware that not many people enjoy being talked to like that.

I can think of many examples of people who like to correct what others say, but the one example that sticks out in my mind is a girl my older brother, Chas took on a few dates many years ago. I remember he brought her over to watch a movie with the family one night. As we watched the movie Chas would make comments now and then and I remember she kept correcting little things he would say; stupid things that didn't matter at all. I started to get really annoyed. All she did was try to prove how wrong he was almost everytime he opened his mouth. She did it in a playful way, mostly making jokes about what he said, but I was getting mad just listening to her. I didn't think this girl was good enough for my brother who talked to her with complete respect. I was very glad when he stopped seeing her a few weeks later. I knew it couldn't work out between them because who in their right mind wants to have a relationship with someone who spends all their time correcting and making fun of what you say?

Not everyone does it constantly, but all of us are tempted to correct silly things that don't matter now and then. The next time you are tempted to point out that the napkins on the table are pink, not red, take a moment to weigh the importance of making that correction out loud. Most of the time, it really doesn't matter. On the other hand, being kind and respectful to your friends and acquaintances is very important. Just because you know someone's wrong, it doesn't mean it's your place to let them know. Besides, talking on an equal plain is far more enjoyable then pointing out all the mistakes you see other people make.

Article written by Shelly Hathaway.
Photo by Shelly Hathaway Photography

TAGS: right, kind, kindness, wrong, rude, conversation, human, interaction, friend, acquaintance, talk, discussion, correct, mistakes, respect, disrespect, dominant, personality, sensitive, insensitive, unkind, dating, relationships, facts, vocabulary, correcting, little, simple, forget, accident

The #1 Dating Question: Why Are You Still Single?

01.21.12

If you're single like me, I'm sure you're sick of answering the same question over and over, "Why are you still single?" Or even worse, "How come you're not married?" I have to flat out say that this is the dumbest question in the world to ask someone, yet people ask me all the time. I admit, I can understand why it's asked. You want to know if there's a catch. Why hasn't someone snatched me up or purposed because it doesn't make sense to you at this point.

I suppose it can be viewed as a compliment when you're asked since the very question implies that they can't see anything wrong with you. But it's actually quite foolish to reveal that you're on the hunt for some sort of flaw that will prove this person is not fit for a relationship. You've decided to throw the question out there so you can get the inside info on the opinions other people have formed about this girl.

It sounds like a perfectly logical thing to do, except that once you've asked, it reveals something about your own character. Asking why I'm not in a relationship shows that your own opinion of me is not enough. You don't trust your own instincts and therefore have decided to let other guys who I'd dated before tell you what to do.

More than anything else, I hate this question because I honestly don't know how to answer. How can anyone possibly know the reason why social gatherings have not lead to getting asked out, why past dates have not lead to a relationship, or why past relationships haven't lead to long-term committment? You can make guesses, blame it on your own or other's mistakes. You can theorize or even delve deep into your own emotional psyche, looking for some flaw to change that will miraculaously alter the way you handle relationships with the opposite sex.

Instead of making a futile attempt to explain why I am still a single woman, I have found there is only one answer to this question. It's quite simple and absolutely true for every single person out there. It also keeps you from misleading the one who asked with some theory you've formed about yourself. The only way to answer this impossible question is simply to say, "I just haven't found the right one yet."

It's more true than any other answer. It may be vague, but since the question is absolutely impossible to answer, it's the best route to take. Believe me, blaming it on past boyfriends, letting them know something you dislike about yourself or discussing a theory you have about why you always have unsuccessful relationships is just going to make you look bad. It's far better to give give them a chance to form their own opinion of you, without a confusing theory that is most likely completely inaccurate.

So for all you guys who have ever asked me this question, as well as all the future guys who ask it, you now have my answer. The right one is out there for me, I just haven't found him yet. Go ahead and ask the question, but believe me, it won't do you any good.

Article written by Shelly Hathaway.
Photo by Shelly Hathaway Photography

TAGS: single, dating, why, still, #1, number, one, first, discussion, conversation, date, men, guys, girls, LDS, mormon, "Mr. Right", right, successful, women, ask, impossible, futile, question, answer, best, hate, poinion, theory, past, mistakes, reason, relationships, marriage, purposal, wedding, engagement, photography, shelly, hathaway, misleading, blame, girlfriend, boyfriend, foolish, advice, tips