January 8–14 ❘ Killing Laban
Poem and discussion centering on what Nephi did to recover the Brass Plates as recorded in 1 Nephi 4:7–18.
Killing Laban
An awful gulf divides
foolish boy
who admires fine swords
from heart-sick man
who cuts through sinews
like Abraham offering sacrifice
if he hadn’t been stopped
by the angel who argues
and wrestles to submission.
I am not a mighty poet,
and these plates are small,
so I won’t write how I still wake at night,
but instead beg mercy,
wretched as I am,
for the part within me
that hesitates in retrospect
at what it means to always
go and do what God commands.
Read more of my poetry at www.facebook.com/latterdaysaintpoetry
Contact me at merrijane.rice@gmail.com
Read Why did some in Lehi’s time believe that Jerusalem could not be destroyed?
January 1–7 ❘ Testimony
Poem and discussion centering on the witness statements at the beginning of the Book of Mormon.
Testimony
It’s instinct—
we witness to each other
without effort,
build up or claw down
by what we give and withhold,
as if we were still spirits
at war over Christ,
who has now triumphed,
yet we bicker over who to follow.
Hold these words—
heft them. Bite down
to test for gold.
You choose what to believe.
Why not something beautiful?
Read more of my poetry at www.facebook.com/latterdaysaintpoetry
Contact me at merrijane.rice@gmail.com
December 25–31 ❘ Judgment Day
Poem and discussion centering on John’s descriptions of the earth in its celestial glory as recorded in Revelation 20:12; 21:18.
Judgment Day
History is deep sediment
melted together past telling
except where patterns repeat,
burn through to surface—
Sodom is Nineveh is Babylon is Rome.
There are those who regret
but don’t repent—
ears stopped tight,
hearts hard as bone,
senses dead to pleasure,
but your remorse throbs
with bottomless accusation.
When you reach breaking point,
break open to God.
He will read through you
as through transparent glass,
make you understand and understood.
Distinct yet enveloped.
Enduring and still malleable
as pure gold.
Read more of my poetry at www.facebook.com/latterdaysaintpoetry
Contact me at merrijane.rice@gmail.com
December 18–24 ❘ Anna, a Prophetess
Poem and discussion centering on the story of the prophetess Anna as recorded in Luke 2:36–38.
Anna, a Prophetess
I was blessed, really—
so many widows are left
with small children to feed
and no means to do it
but asking alms at the temple gate,
poor mites.
My husband was better than ten sons,
though he gave me none—
only affection and tenderness.
Wealth to keep me comfortable
after his death.
More empty time than I could spend.
I had enough to tempt new suitors,
hagglers over my loneliness.
But I didn’t want another husband.
Why try fate?
Instead, I did what other widows do:
went to the temple to beg.
And how I begged—
poured out my youth in prayer,
troubled heaven night and day
for some small morsel to fill my barren fast,
pled with a vengeance
for the Lord to hear me—
until today, after eighty-four years,
I heard Him
wailing in the courtyard,
over-tired and wriggling in his mother's arms.
Some days you see in an instant
how really blessed you are.
Read more of my poetry at www.facebook.com/latterdaysaintpoetry
Contact me at merrijane.rice@gmail.com
December 11–17 ❘ Last Days
Poem and discussion centering on the Apostle Paul’s final days in prison.
Last Days
Chill of stone and earth
seeps deep into my bones
as if I were buried in this cell,
beginning to decay,
so I write for warmth,
to feel the Spirit as I did
when I testified face to face,
setting the world ablaze
in preparation for the Lord,
whose foot is poised
at the threshold, ready
to fall at any instant—
though He tarries longer
than I expected.
But I met Him shining in the sky
on the road to Damascus,
and I know He will come again
for me, for us all.
Read more of my poetry at www.facebook.com/latterdaysaintpoetry
Contact me at merrijane.rice@gmail.com
December 4–10 ❘ Revelation
Poem and discussion centering on the vision that John recorded in the book of Revelation as recorded in Revelation 1: 10–15; 10:8–11.
Revelation
God usually whispers—
skillful Author, shaper
of story, He foreshadows,
never gives away.
But in this vision, He roars
abrupt as lightning,
intense as liquid metal
or melted glass, tremendous
as thundering waterfall.
He fills me with a message
bitter as unmet expectation,
sweet as sure promise:
I am coming!
The kingdom of heaven
presses forward,
leans into my words,
ready for the seal
to snap.
Read more of my poetry at www.facebook.com/latterdaysaintpoetry
Contact me at merrijane.rice@gmail.com
November 27–December 3 ❘ Life Eternal
Poem and discussion centering on some of the symbols John used to teach about Jesus Christ’s nature as recorded in Reference 1 John 5.
Life Eternal
is this:
to be
God-born
by water
for birth, washing,
death
by blood
for family, sin,
sacrifice
by Spirit
for truth, light,
cleansing fire
to all agree in one
by plan, by execution,
by Word
Read more of my poetry at www.facebook.com/latterdaysaintpoetry
Contact me at merrijane.rice@gmail.com
November 20–26 ❘ Refining
Poem and discussion centering on Peter’s counsel to beware false prophets and teachers as recorded in 2 Peter 2:17.
Refining
In the last days,
you will find wells without water,
but not empty—
they bubble over oily darkness,
fuel for all-consuming,
inward fires.
Don’t fill your lamps from them.
Don’t touch match
to that slick of pollution.
Let Christ burn you clean.
He will take you from ashes,
pure and ready to pour.
Read more of my poetry at www.facebook.com/latterdaysaintpoetry
Contact me at merrijane.rice@gmail.com
November 13–19 ❘ If Any of You Lack Wisdom
Poem and discussion centering on the famous scripture that prompted Joseph Smith to pray as recorded in James 1:5.
If Any of You Lack Wisdom
I wrote to my people
a few words of counsel
and though I always felt
the weight of God’s call
I didn’t know how one sentence
could strike rough stone
and ignite purifying fire
across time and space
to cleanse a foreign world
I never imagined—
truth is worth telling
even if only one person hears
even if you’re only talking
to yourself
Read more of my poetry at www.facebook.com/latterdaysaintpoetry
Contact me at merrijane.rice@gmail.com
November 6–12 ❘ Author and Finisher
Poem and discussion centering on Paul’s description of Jesus as the author and finisher of our faith as recorded in Hebrews 12:2.
Author and Finisher
He doesn’t stop us
from wielding words like swords
or cudgels in His name
after the manner of our language.
We quote scripture, spare not
the rod, reason that we need
land blows only once
and they will learn,
but we never learn.
Fallen, broken, stunned by grief,
we stammer toward God
who wraps wounds in Word,
daubs written ointment deep
in weeping sores, massages
life back into bruises
with balm of His cadence.
In His lines laid down
like red ribbons, we read
and are healed.
Read more of my poetry at www.facebook.com/latterdaysaintpoetry
Contact me at merrijane.rice@gmail.com
October 30–November 5 ❘ Strangers
Poem and discussion centering on Paul’s counsel to show hospitality to all strangers as recorded in Hebrews 13:2.
Strangers
If Abraham and Sarah
washed and fed
promised and laughed at
If Gideon
threshed and lamented
reminisced and pled with
If Jesus
healed and taught
fretted and bled for
Why not me?
The world is full of heavenly guests,
every one a child of God
Read more of my poetry at www.facebook.com/latterdaysaintpoetry
Contact me at merrijane.rice@gmail.com
October 23–29 ❘ Onesimus
Poem and discussion centering on the story of Onesimus as recorded in Philemon 1:10–19.
Onesimus
I don’t owe you anything beyond
what siblings owe each other,
so I return to you,
free, unashamed.
Christ has paid our debts
and secured us as equals,
children in an eternal family
full of quirks and griefs,
but also of love, faith,
and powerful good sense.
Read more of my poetry at www.facebook.com/latterdaysaintpoetry
Contact me at merrijane.rice@gmail.com
October 16–22 ❘ Children of Light
Poem and discussion centering on Paul’s counsel to the church in Thessalonica to watch for the signs of Christ’s return as recorded in 1 Thessalonians 5:1–6.
Children of Light
Routine is good for children:
feasts to keep,
seasons to celebrate,
signs to seek.
They eat, drink, rejoice
at all the proper times
and sleep securely.
But we are grown.
We struggle to prove all things,
to tell between boundaries
of letter and Spirit.
We remember anxious,
determined Peter in the garden,
unable to watch for a single hour—
we toss and turn in our beds,
restless as we wait
for a Thief in the night.
Read more of my poetry at www.facebook.com/latterdaysaintpoetry
Contact me at merrijane.rice@gmail.com
October 9–15 ❘ New Creature
Poem and discussion centering on Paul’s teaching that we can be made new by Christ as recorded in Philippians 3:8 and 2 Corinthians 5:17.
New Creature
It isn’t much,
these slivers chiseled
from my soul,
small offering of self
like sand or chaff,
worthless except in loss.
Chip by chip,
what I release
reforms me
into something new
not made with hands
but by God
and by letting go
of stone that encases
His masterwork within.
I am raw,
rough-hewn,
but becoming.
Read more of my poetry at www.facebook.com/latterdaysaintpoetry
Contact me at merrijane.rice@gmail.com
October 2–8 ❘ Good
Poem and discussion centering on John’s view that the reason we love God is because He first loved us as recorded in 1 John 4:19.
Good
It was good of you to see me in my box
and not pull me out,
but instead climb inside to admire
dovetail joints and woodgrain waves,
to sit on worn cushions where I think
and ask questions, guessing at answers.
It was good of you to coax me to stand,
to steady me as I peered over the edge
at green plains rippling like water
and flat mountains at the horizon
like torn blue paper,
promising I would visit one day.
It was good of you to boost as I climbed over,
to hold as I slid down,
to not sigh as I hugged the wall,
standing still for so long.
You walked with me in halting circuits,
always returning home.
It was good of you to love me first
so I would know how to love others
in all their comfortable boxes.
Read more of my poetry at www.facebook.com/latterdaysaintpoetry
Contact me at merrijane.rice@gmail.com
September 25–October 1 ❘ In Tension
Poem and discussion centering on my thoughts on how Christ frees us from a yoke of bondage based on Galatians 5:1.
In Tension
Like Frost’s silken tent
I balance on a pinnacle,
held upright by cords
of love and law
that both bind and support.
Like paper kite,
I fly when tethered,
fall when cut loose.
Like one who meets God
by road or in grove,
I am freed but not free,
yoked by choice and necessity,
for after seeing the light,
who am I to withstand it?
My Kite by Erin Camp Worland
The Silken Tent by Robert Frost
Read more of my poetry at www.facebook.com/latterdaysaintpoetry
Contact me at merrijane.rice@gmail.com
September 18–24 ❘ Disguised
Poem and discussion centering on Paul’s warning against people who disguise their evil intentions as recorded in 2 Corinthians 11:13–14.
Disguised
Satan masquerades in robes of light,
pretends to be all things to all men,
by turns playful, slight, canonical, scholarly—
he knows what people want
and when.
He aims to rip your sails
with twisted winds of doctrine,
capsize your heart on tides of whim.
Smiling, he turns your chin away
from plain-faced, sharp-tongued
mortal angels around you,
but when you hear them plead from shore,
turn back. Catch their rough hands
as they reach imperfectly
through storm to rescue.
Read more of my poetry at www.facebook.com/latterdaysaintpoetry
Contact me at merrijane.rice@gmail.com
September 11–17 ❘ Godly Sorrow
Poem and discussion centering on Paul’s discussion about how godly sorrow leads to repentance as recorded in 2 Corinthians 7:9–10.
Godly Sorrow
I have a pocket in my heart
where I tuck sorrow,
worthless tin treasure
too weighty to discard.
I try to shift,
to turn toward mercy,
but rough-cut edges
sting and slash me through.
I need someone to sit with me
and count the debt,
to pocket it within
His own great heart.
Read more of my poetry at www.facebook.com/latterdaysaintpoetry
Contact me at merrijane.rice@gmail.com
September 4–10 ❘ Celestial
Poem and discussion centering on a reference the Apostle Paul made to celestial bodies as recorded in 1 Corinthians 15:40.
Celestial
The sun rises quietly,
filters through green leaves,
feeds and refreshes
with tenderness.
At noon,
it beats down past bearing,
burns and purges,
sweats clean.
At dusk,
it sets in blood,
releases us for now
to rest.
At midnight,
it reflects on us as we sleep,
sends bright dreams
of rising again.
Read more of my poetry at www.facebook.com/latterdaysaintpoetry
Contact me at merrijane.rice@gmail.com
August 28–September 3 ❘ Saints
Poem and discussion centering on Paul’s “body of Christ” metaphor as recorded in 1 Corinthians 12:12.
Saints
I cannot escape this body
of Christ and all its earthy,
imperfect parts:
arthritic hands slow to grasp,
unshod feet unwilling to move,
spindly limbs too weak to lift,
eternally underfed stomach,
cloudy eyes always squinting
and considering.
What would I be on my own?
Kneecap, single follicle,
unattached tip of little finger.
Together we can inch forward,
reach out again and again,
touch just the hem of His robe
to be healed.
Read more of my poetry at www.facebook.com/latterdaysaintpoetry
Contact me at merrijane.rice@gmail.com
Download sheet music here: Latter-day Ministering