Ever Onward!!

This weekend I had the AMAZING opportunity to attend a 2-day conference for future missionaries. The first day, about 350 of us filed into the chapel and waited for the meeting to start.  This being a missionary conference, the opening hymn was, of course, Called to Serve. We stood to sing and it was so moving!  I had an overwhelming felling of love for everyone in that room, and I imagined all of us standing in the MTC together ready to go out and take the truth of this gospel to all the world!  For the first time, I really understood the words that we were singing!

Called to serve Him, Heavenly King of glory

Chosen e'er to witness for His name,

Far and wide we tell the Father's story,

Far and wide His love proclaim.

Called to know the richness of His blessing,

Sons and Daughters; Children of a King,

Glad of heart His holy name confessing

Praises unto Him we bring.

Onward, ever onward, as we glory in His name,

Onward, ever onward, as we glory in His name,

Forward, pressing forward, as a triumph song we sing:

God our strength will be, press forward ever

CALLED TO SERVE OUR KING!!!

I had never had a song just hit me like that.  This song outlines the whole reason that young men and women choose to leave their families for two years.  If you know something to be true, wouldn't you want to share it with everyone?  I think of all of the joy that this gospel brings to me, and I can't imagine not sharing it with the world!

As I was driving home the night of the first day, I had a thought to pray to my Heavenly Father and just ask Him if He truly loved me.  I said a quick prayer there in the car, with the radio off, and asked Him just that.  I sat in silence for the rest of the way home.  The next morning, I left at 7:30 to go to the second session of the conference.  The second day was full of great workshops about how to teach people about the church and some even taught how to get along with a companion!  Then we all met in the chapel for the closing meeting and Elder Summerhays was there, and he was the concluding speaker.  He gave an amazing talk, and at the end he paused for a few seconds then said, "Someone here needs to hear this" Then he looked right at me, sitting in the back row and said,

"Your Heavenly Father loves you more than you can imagine.  

He will ALWAYS be with you."

My jaw dropped!  He was talking right to me!  How could he know that I had asked that question the day before? I couldn't believe it!!  I know that Heavenly Father answers prayers and that He loves all of His children beyond measure!  I know that we can pray to know that anything is true!

Love is spelled T-I-M-E

What a week!  The other day in my institute class, we were having a discussion about how to find time to read the scriptures.  I get it, it can be REALLY hard sometimes!  Life can be stressful and busy sometimes and we feel like we don't have a spare second let alone a spare half hour.  However, there is definitely somewhere in the 24 hours we are given every day to study the scriptures.  If someone made a goal to study the scriptures for a half of an hour everyday, that would only be a small part of the day, really 1/48th of the day! Not bad eh? When you think of it like that it doesn't seem too hard.  Heavenly Father   wants to teach us, and those teachings come through reading, and more importantly studying His words.

"When we want to speak to God, we pray.  

When we want God to speak to us, we study and ponder the scriptures"

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, in the October 2010 General Conference said, "In family relationships, love is really spelled t-i-m-e".  I have always loved this quote!  I know that I feel loved when someone takes time out of their busy day to spend time with me, serving me, or even simply listening to me.  Our Heavenly Father is no different.  We can show how much we love Him by giving our time to listen to Him.  He wants to communicate with us so badly, but He will wait until we ask, and search for answers.  I know that my Heavenly Father loves me and I know that He loves all of His children.  I know that I can ask Him for help and guidance any time in my life anytime!

Shall be Scripture

My institute class this semester is titled, "Scripture Study: The power of the word",  and I have absolutely loved every minute in that classroom!!! There are so many incredible insights and tools that we have.  In the first couple of days, we tried to answer the question: "What is scripture?" At first, everyone thought... DUH, the four standard works! The Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, and the Bible!  But when our teacher brought up things like General Conference,  the Strength of Youth Pamphlet, etc... we came up with a new definition of "scripture": Anything that comes from the Lord or from one of His prophets!! Sounds good enough right?  That's what we thought anyway... Then Brother Simms showed us a scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants 68:3-4:

3. And this is the example unto them, that they shall 

speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost.

4.  And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon 

by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the 

will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall 

be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the 

Lord and the power of God unto salvation.

What does this mean you may ask??  It means, any words that the Holy Ghost has influence on is scripture.  It means that blessings from my dad are scripture.  It means that personal promptings that I receive are scripture.  It means that if a missionary is teaching a discussion, what he or she says, is SCRIPTURE!!! exciting huh??? I thought so :)

Becometh as a Child... a Child of God!

This last week has been insane, and packed full of pretty rough trials and beautiful blessings. First off, last Friday was Sarah's, my adorable little sister's, eighth birthday.  The next day was her baptism.  She is the last of the six kids in our family to be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and we are SO proud of her.  At her baptism, our older brother Kyle gave a talk about the power of the Holy Ghost, and how He can be our best friend and mentor in this life.  I know that to be true.  The Holy Ghost will always be there to offer comfort when we need it.  But I also know that He will not fight for our attention.  If we are in a place or situation where He is not comfortable, He will leave until we invite Him back.  I was so happy and proud to see Sarah receive that beautiful gift of having the power of the Holy Ghost be with her everywhere that she goes.

The next day, Sunday, was my nephew Adam's baby blessing, and I gained a testimony that day that Heavenly Father truly cares about and loves His children to no end.  I know that my Heavenly Father loves that little boy.  Between Adam and Sarah this weekend, I understood better the commandment to become like children in Mosiah 3:19:

"For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been since the fall of Adam,

and he will be forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy

Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh as a saint though the 

atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek,

humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the

Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."

I have a newfound love for this scripture, and because of this, I have made myself a few goals for this next week:

1. Put off the natural man.  In a trying situation, have the courage to say "Get out of here Satan! No one likes you anyway!!" :)

2. Be submissive.  In other words, OBEY, even if I don't quite know the reasons why.

3. Be meek. Always treat others as if they are having a bad day.  An remember that everyone is going through their own trials.

4.  Be humble.  Be willing to admit that I am wrong and willing to accept someone else's ideas above my own.

5.  Be patient.  I have five siblings... three of younger than me... This will totally work! :)

6.  Full of Love.  See everyone around me as a son or daughter of a loving Heavenly Father and sincerely try to love them in that same way.  (The worth of souls is great in the sight of God.)

7.  Willing to submit to my Father in Heaven.  He has a plan.  A plan that is a LOT better than whatever I could come up with.  I'm going to completely put my life into His hands.

If you are reading this, whoever you are, I want to challenge you to meet these goals along with me, or create your own!  I promise that as you put forth the effort to draw closer to Heavenly Father, He will draw closer to you. 

Just One Prayer Away!

"As the road keeps getting longer,

And you're far away from Home, 

Remember someone loves you more,

Than you could ever know.

Every night and every morning,

In sunshine or in rain.

No matter where,

He's ALWAYS there,

Just one Prayer away!"

These lyrics over the last few months have gained more and more value to me.  Sometimes it's easy to feel like our Heavenly Father is far away and hard to reach, but in our deepest trials we find that he is closer than we think.  I have had times where I can almost literally feel Him behind me, cheering me on!!  He will ALWAYS be there when I need Him.

The word ALWAYS has really grown to mean something to me too.  When I say He is ALWAYS there, it doesn't mean He occasionally checks up on me.  It means that He is there when I am happy, when I am crying, and having a stressed day.  All I have to do is think for a moment that He is standing right beside me and I am NEVER truly alone in this life.  Really, try it!! If there is ever a time in your life, maybe now, when you feel like crying, screaming, or shouting for joy, pretend He is standing beside you, because He is!  What would He say to you in those times.  

"Life is a test.  

But in this test, all you have to do is ask the Teacher for help and answers! 

And if you listen to the Teacher, and do as He says, you will pass this test triumphantly!!!"

I truly KNOW that my Heavenly Father hears me no matter where I am, or why.  He understands. He listens.  He comforts. He sees every aspect of my life far better than I do.  I love Him with all of my heart and more.  We are far away from our Home, and this road does keep getting longer, with more twists and turns than we can count.  I know that my Father loves me.  I am His daughter.  And I hope I can be worthy to enter His presence again someday.

My Fellow Sisters :)

These are my amazing sisters that I met at Temple Square last Thursday :) The one on the end with the scarf is Sister Briggs, who made more of a difference in my life than she will ever know :) follow her blog here!! She is INCREDIBLE!!!!!!

You Know Enough

I know I know... two posts in one day, I'm ridiculous I know :) But I went to Relief Society today and we had an INCREDIBLE lesson that really touched my heart.  The lesson focused on sharing the gospel with those around us and not being afraid of what others might think of us.  It was based on a talk by Neil L. Andersen called "It's a Miracle" see full talk here!.  During the entire lesson, there was a platter of Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies (MY FAVORITE!!!) sitting on the table.  The lady giving the lesson didn't ever acknowledge them for the whole lesson, but of course, everyone in the room had most definitely noticed them.

AS she was closing her lesson she said something along the lines of, "Now, I have these cookies.  I really love them, and they certainly bless my life, but I'm too scared to share them with you.  What if some of you don't like them?  I'm not the best cook,  someone else could probably make better cookies for you.  So I think I'll just take these back home and share them with my family.  After all, they know me and it will be much less awkward if I share them with people that have already had them.  or maybe I'll just keep them all to myself"  She then related that to the gospel.

We as Latter Day Saints have this AMAZING blessing in our lives and we are asked to share it with those around us.  Sometimes it can be scary and even awkward, but in the end, think of how many lives will be blessed and how many people will be saved. We may think sometimes, I don't know everything about the gospel, what if i don't say the right thing?  Well, as Elder Andersen says, "YOU KNOW ENOUGH".  We can always go back to what we DO know when faced with questions about what we DON'T know.  As long as we have a foundation and testimony built on Jesus Christ, we know enough to share what we know.

Temple Day!!!

Hello!!!! It's been a while since I wrote anything because lately I have been going through quite the rough time... But don't we all???  These past few weeks have made me so grateful for my Heavenly Father and the comfort and peace that this gospel brings into my life.  I know that there isn't a single trial that I can't get through with the His help.  I know that He gives us trials to help us become better and stronger people.

I started my first semester at Weber State University about a month ago, and I had no idea how hard it would be.  I am a full time student taking 15 credits in Math, Psychology, Nutrition, Microbiology, and Medical Terminology.  So needless to say, homework has not been kind. On top of that, my two best friends are miles and miles away.  One in Logan Ut, and one on a mission in Piura, Peru.  Caught up in all of this stress, I asked my friend Katy if we could go to the temple soon.  I knew that if I needed to feel peace, that was the place to feel it.

We left Ogden on Thursday at about 3:00 p.m. with plans to go to the Bountiful Temple and perform a few baptisms and confirmations.  We got there, did the work, and we were out in about a half hour.  I love that temple and had an incredible experience there that day.  As I was getting confirmed for a lady in Hungary, I just felt this OVERWHELMING feeling of comfort, and I realized how truly lucky I am to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  As my friend and I got back in the car, we had a feeling that we weren't done quite yet.  For us, that was over WAY too quickly.  So we decided to keep going and drive down to the Salt Lake Temple and do a few more.  The Spirit in that building was so strong, and we both had another amazing experience there.  I could feel God's love that he has for each of His children and the joy that He feels when they comeback into His arms again.

We walked out of the temple with wet hair and make-up gone, and ran into two sister missionaries who asked if we had just done baptisms.  We said yes and continued to talk to them for about a half hour.   One of the sisters in particular, Sister Briggs had this amazing smile on her face while she was talking about the joy that comes when we do temple work.  She asked me if I was planning on going on a mission, and I said OF COURSE!!!  Then I asked her for advice on how to best prepare for a mission, and she told me something I'll never forget.  She told me that just by living every moment of my life the way Christ would have me live it, I would learn more and more about being a missionary everyday.  She told me that She and her companion remind themselves everyday that they are representing Christ in everything that they say and do.  She said that the best missionary work that I can do right now is temple work.

After a while of talking to these sisters, I was just about in tears.  I knew that there was a reason we needed to go to Salt Lake.  Talking to Sister Briggs was an answer to my prayers.  Heavenly Father knew exactly what I needed that day, and I know that he answers prayers though others.  I know that My Father in Heaven loves me and truly cares about me.  I know that my Savior Jesus Christ lives and that through Him and His Atonement, we can live with our Heavenly Father once again.  I know that this Church is the true church upon the earth today.  It is the only place that I can find true peace on this earth. I'm proud to be a Mormon, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints!!! <3

UNBREAKABLE

"It is serving God and others that turns testimony of truth into UNBREAKABLE spiritual strength"
"The Savior has promised us angles on our left and on our right to bear us up, and he ALWAYS keeps his word!!"

Trials

"If our lives and our faith are centered upon Jesus Christ and his restored gospel, nothing can ever go PERMANENTLY wrong. On the other hand, if our lives are not centered on the Savior and his teachings no other success can EVER be PERMANENTLY right" -Howard W. Hunter.  Even when our trials seem to have no end in sight, there will be a way to find peace and happiness and it will never be permanent.  when we have faith through our trials, they will become easier and easier until we become champions.  WE can overcome anything.  I have learned this past week that whenever the Lord gives us a trial, it is his way of saying that He trusts us enough to stay near to Him, and He knows what we can and can't handle.

Grace

Only Heavenly Father knows how far we can really go.  We need to put COMPLETE trust in Him and His timing! We will never know how much we can accomplish unless we do our very best and let Him make up the difference :)

Origin- I know I can Ask of God

It comforts me to know that I can ALWAYS go to my Heavenly Father with any question I have.  He will be there, and He will answer my prayers!

I've never been much of a "Blog" person, but I wanted a way to keep track of my spiritual insights, scripture study, institute notes, and quotes.  I currently go to Institute every Tuesday night, and I have an AMAZING teacher from New Zealand!! His name is Brother Andersen, and he is brilliant! So naturally, I want to remember everything that he teaches.  So hopefully this page will be of help to anyone else who reads, and I know it will be of help to me!!