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I know we ran a couple of threads on Chieko following her passing this summer. Those threads and others like it made me curious enough to buy and read her first book Lighten Up. I also spent time reading many of her online articles, as everyone else had mentioned she really does shed hope and light. Today as I listened to the GC talks I wished she were still here and could speak to us. This really isn’t a book review but an encouragement when you are down take time and read one of her articles. It will lift you, validate you, comfort you, and inspire you with personal hope all based on Christ.
I have all of Chieko’s books and am so glad her message is captured in them. She is a wonderful woman and is a symbol of that fresh insight that converts can bring to church membership. Chieko always advocated for the ones who struggle. She was a great woman! Thank you for bringing her up. I was thinking about her when they announced the deaths over the last 6 months. One of my favorite talks:
Quote:Brothers and sisters, we never know how far the effects of our service will reach. We can never afford to be cruel or indifferent or ungenerous, because we are all connected, even if it is in a pattern that only God sees. I am part of this pattern. Rosetta is part of this pattern. You are part of this pattern. And the Savior is part of the pattern. In fact, I like to think that the Savior is the spaces in the pattern, for there would be no pattern at all without them.
May we all deal kindly with one another, seeking in our lives the blessing of the Apostle Paul, that our “hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love” (Col. 2:2)
Cat’s Cradle of Kindness – Chieko N. Okazaki – April 1993Great Message!!
I miss her too! She was so inclusive and acknowledged the diversity of our membership instead of trying to put us all in the same categories. I have liked quite a few General Authorities in my life, but Chieko Okazaki and Joseph Wirthlin are my two favorites. I miss them both whenever I read or listen to one of their messages. The LDS Church is better for her service – and I hope that can be said of me when I die, even if not by as many people who can say it about her.
I don’t read news, and having been in India last year, I was unaware until now that Sister Chieko passed away last year. Heber13, quoting Cheiko Okazaki, wrote:…we are all connected, even if it is in a pattern that only God sees. I am part of this pattern. Rosetta is part of this pattern. You are part of this pattern. And the Savior is part of the pattern. In fact, I like to think that the Savior is the spaces in the pattern, for there would be no pattern at all without them.
May we all deal kindly with one another, seeking in our lives the blessing of the Apostle Paul, that our “hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love” (Col. 2:2)
Your quote above is almost verbatim from ancient chinese writings, from which the Zen Buddhist tradition comes. I find that very interesting. Although she converted from Buddhism to Mormonism at 15, from 11 to 15 she lived in and harmonized both traditions, in a very typical asian manner. In joining mormonism, she set apparently set aside the rituals of Buddhism, but it’s apparent from her writings that she retained the very heart of asian ontology: that we are all connected and part of an integrated whole.In the following excerpt, she quotes the Li Ji, a confucian text:
Chieko Okazaki, in 1991, wrote:Again, look around the room you are in. Do you see women of different ages, races or different backgrounds in the Church? Of different educational, marital and professional experiences? Women with children? Women without children? Women of vigorous health and those who are limited by chronic illness or handicaps? Rejoice in the diversity of our sisterhood! It is the diversity of colors in a spectrum that makes a rainbow. It is the diversity in our circumstances that gives us compassionate hearts. It is the diversity of our spiritual gifts that benefits the church.
This is what Confucius called “Unity among Diversity” — a principle so needed in the Church today.I like, as well, the idea that she made no attempt to appear anything but asian: her chothes and hairstyle often deliberately accentuated her brown skin in an environment of predominately white people.
What an amazing person.
Having had the opportunity to know her in person, I would love to still be able to hear her strong voice speaking out in her graceful, so graceful, way to include and love everyone. I know she also worked behind the scenes to help people individually. I am so glad to own her books because I do find myself going to them frequently just to hear her thoughts again. The fact that Chieko had and continues to have her own place in this kingdom on earth encourages me. What were the chances? She was not “the profile” in her circumstances. I truly believe she was called to her position in the General RS Presidency by inspiration. She was a convert, working mother and leader over others in the outside world, married a nonmember who converted. Her list can go on and on. Even after she was released from the General RS, she continued to speak and write books. She was not always liked by some men in the church…she knew what it was like to stand in her place and not let herself be bothered by gossipping men. She did what she felt was right.
There is so much we can draw on from her life and her writings to strengthen us. Thank you for starting this post Mom3.
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