My sister sent me this darling picture of her kids after their Halloween party. I am not a huge fan of Halloween, but I had to share their cuteness with you!

Last week I had a discussion about Babette’s Feast and the related article titled “The Savior, The Sacrament, and Self-worth” by Truman Madsen. For a number of reasons,  I am repeating the online discussion again this Friday November 4. This discussion is part of my online Zion Finishing School. (Anybody is welcome to a class for free to try the course out and then if you continue you pay only $24 a month. We are meeting for three more classes in November and then we will take the rest of the year off.) Go here to learn more . http://treeoflifemothering.ning.com/page/an-online-finishing-school-for

If you decide you want to participate in the online discussion, please make a comment below or send me a message through this network so I can email you the link. The link to Brother Madsen’s talk is down this page a bit, just scroll down.

Babette’s Feast, is such a beautiful movie. I promise, you will like it as much as any Jane Austen story. Then the companion article by Truman Madsen is even more beautiful. Because of this movie and Brother Madsen’s essay/speech, I finally “get” the atonement!

My sister with her baby.

In the movie, Babette is a Christ-figure. She uses all she has to create a beautiful feast that is beautiful to look at and pleasing to the taste as well. That is like Christ. He gave all He had to atone for our sins to give us eternal pleasure by giving us immortal life and the possibility of eternal life. Brother Madsen explains in his article that Christ is like Babette. He is our host to a beautiful feast, the atonement. He has all goodness to give us through the atonement/feast. He is the only source of goodness. He offers up his atonement to us as a beautiful feast and delights to see us partake in the atonement so we can be with Him, the Father, and our families again, eternally, completely whole and clean. Here is the link to the article http://ce.byu.edu/cw/womensconference/archive/1999/madsen_truman.htm

He had a dream where he was thirsty and wanted a drink. Here are his words:

“That night I had a dream. I was beaten down to my hands and knees and was conscious of a burning thirst. In the illogic of dreams there was somehow a small cup filled with liquid—an unearthly liquid. It was radiant. It was delicious. It was cool. But as I lifted it to my lips it was as if two hands were placed behind me, not touching, but close to my head, and from them came a kind of throb, a comfort, a warm feeling, and then the miracle. As I drank in relief, the cup filled again and again. The more I sought to quench my thirst, the more it flowed. A wave of gratitude came over me to the Christ—for in the dream it was Christ. My impulse was to turn around, stop drinking, and thank him. But then came the sweet assurance that my drinking was His thanks—that this was what He most wanted—that this was His reward, even his glory, like a gracious hostess, who takes delight in seeing her family and guests eat heartily. I knew and I knew He knew, so I drank and drank until I was full. Only then was He gone.”

My other sister and my nephew at our last family feast, the baby blessing of our niece.

This movie and article will change your view on your role as a person, a mom, homemaker, and cook. Just as Babette is a Christ figure, every mom is a Christ-figure because of the power she has over the family kitchen and dinner table. You will be inspired to make dinner from sratch more often  instead of relying on whatever quick fixes you use when you don’t plan and grab something for your family, because a home-cooked meal is so much more satisfying, both physically and spiritually.

My three nieces.

After I watched it I felt so enlightened. Here was a woman who delighted in giving away all she had to give pleasure to others through a beautiful meal that delighted their taste buds and filled their stomachs. These people who partook of her feast had never been so satisfied before. They were common farmers in small Danish village who were probably used to eating drab food. These people were part of a church congregation who followed a Protestant minister. The minister labored all his life to teach these people about Christ, heaven, and the eternal happiness that awaited them in the next life. But in seeking for a heaven, these people and their leader neglected the happiness of the earth life here and now with the pleasures that come with satisfying a body’s physical senses.

Sometimes a cookie just hits the spot like nothing else!

It seemed to me that these people never achieved happiness in this life until they dined on Babette’s feast. It was because they were so focused on the spirit they neglected the body. They started quarreling with each other and bringing up old grudges. They did not feel Christian brotherly love. Ironically, it was only after these people were satisfied physically with scrumptious food that nourished the senses that they were able to feel total joy and live as true Christians by being nice to each other and forgiving past offenses.

So the next time you feel irritated or you have a family member angry, try out the power of food. Fix an extra delicious, truly nutritious and satisfying meal and see if the hurt feelings melt away. If you need some inspiration for recipes that use whole foods, go to my friend Tammie’s site to get her Scratch cookbooks, http://nourishingfamilies.blogspot.com