Manna

n. man-na. /ˈmanə/  

      1. Bread sent from heaven to the Israelites while they wandered through the wilderness (Exodus 16:4,15). 

      2. Spiritual nourishment.

Midterms have taken over my life and pushed family history to the backburner for a few weeks, but I still managed to find time to bake some Challah Bread.By definition, Challah Bread is the most delicious homemade bread one could bake. Actually, it is a traditional Jewish bread eaten on Shabbat and is symbolic of the Manna that fell from heaven while the Israelites wandered through the wilderness. 

During these busy few weeks I have received some personal Manna. Most prominently:

1. An amazing relief society lesson yesterday and about sanctifying myself. We discussed how our bodies are temples. Just like physical temples that are beautiful edifices on the outside, I need to take care of my physical appearance. But the most important part of temples in what happens inside of them, so I too, need to pay extra attention to what I let in my body. What media do I watch, what music do I listen to, what are my thoughts? Are they where they should be?

2. “You are good. But it is not enough just to be good. You must be good for something. You must contribute good to the world. The world must be a better place for your presence. And the good that is in you must be spread to others. … But in this world so filled with problems, so constantly threatened by dark and evil challenges, you can and must rise above mediocrity, above indifference. You can become involved and speak with a strong voice for that which is right…. you cannot simply sit in your laboratory or your library and let the world drift along its aimless way. It needs your strength, your courage, your voice in speaking up for those values that can save it. If this university meets the purpose for which it is maintained, then you must leave here not alone with secular knowledge but, even more important, with a spiritual and moral foundation that will find expression to improve the family, the community, the nation, even the world of which you will be a part." President Gordon B. Hinkley (Stand Up for Truth, 1996).

I could go on and on, but academia is calling my name.