An Example of the Believers

There are many ways we can be an example of the believers, in faith hope charity word and many many other things. One I don't think we quite realize is in our humility, especially as manifest through sincere apologies.

So a little background: I am seminary president you guys! Now I would be excited about that, except that I'm a freshman, so it just causes tension between me and the seniors. All of them hate it. And I can feel it :/

Last week I was at a friend's house. It was great, I felt like I had friends again, I loved being there. But her brother and his friends were some of the afore-mentioned seniors. Hopefully, I thought, they would just leave me alone and we could all have a good time in separate worlds. But to my dismay, I became the victim of a prank. It ended up burning a lightbulb sized hole in my boot. The smell was awful, they could've set the house on fire. It was just a boot though, right? It didn't really matter.

Well, alone in the dark car on the drive home, it hurt. I felt like I could never measure up, these boys were unhappy with me as a new girl and freshman and someone who had a "power" over them. So they teased me, ruined my property, and didn't even say sorry. I know--super lame pity party.

I had completely forgotten about it. But then tonight at mutual, they came up to me and were so humble, so incredible. They apologized and offered to pay for my boots. Now can I just tell all the guys out there--GIRLS LOVE IT WHEN YOU CARE ABOUT THEIR FEELINGS.

Long story short, thank you boys. Thank you for being willing to be humble. It made my night. Sometimes, all someone needs is for you to genuinely care about them. :)

The Blessings of a Temple

Oh my gosh you guys! I am so excited!

This is the Washington DC temple. Isn't it so pretty?!

I am so grateful for the temple! When you are worthy to go to the temple, you get to go and receive priesthood ordinances, help others, and learn about the plan of salvation. The temple is different than a Mormon chapel, because you don't go for normal Sunday services. The temple is literally the house of God, and it is where he can visit and give instruction to His children on earth.

But what the temple means to me personally is one word- PEACE. when you go inside, you leave behind the world, the vainness and uncertainty. All your concerns and worries are put aside, and you get the opportunity to think on a higher level. The temple is a place of love, happiness, and sacred knowledge. To people who attend the temple regularly, God has promised that angels will have charge over them, and the power of God will be around them. The temple is also the place where my parents got married, so that by priesthood power, our family can stay together in heaven. I am so grateful for my eternal family.

I used to live an hour and a half away from the DC temple. Then I moved. Now I'm three hours from it. I live about two hours from the Manhattan Temple, which is an amazing beacon of light in a city full of filthiness, but the traffic is horrendous. But guess what?! Soon there is going to be a temple in Philadelphia! That is only an hour and a half away!

Some people live over a weeks journey away from a temple. Many only get to go once in their life, to get married and sealed as a family for time and all eternity. While I don't live five minutes from a temple (which would be wonderful), I am grateful to be able to go four times a year. And maybe with the Philadelphia temple, I will get to go more!

Along with a temple near me, there are a couple great things that will happen. In 2016, when it opens, the temple will have an open house for anyone in the world who wants to to take a tour of the inside. It is so pretty inside! If anybody wants to come, I can take you! It's going to be amazing! Then the prophet will come and dedicate the temple to The Lord, and I am so excited to go!

Also, because I live in the surrounding areas as a teenager. I get the amazing opportunity to participate in a huge youth cultural celebration where we do a huge performance with dancing and singing and so much fun, with thousands of LDS youth. It's going to be so much fun!

I am so excited! 

He Reaches My Reaching

Hey guys I finished it! See this post to understand my painting. It looks better in person...oh well. 

I'm done with the faith value project! Yay! 

Haha look I'm wearing the Young Womanhood Medallion!

He Reaches My Reaching is the title of this piece. No matter how many storms we need to go through, hold tight to the iron rod. Someday you will make it to the tree of life, and be able to taste the sweetest, purest fruit: the love of God. 

Run and not be Weary

Wow, my school is so far behind. Just finished finals. I'm gonna miss this semester. :(

Haha this is perfect. My mascot is the eagles!

Ugh, this semester brings one of my greatest fears and worst weaknesses:gym class. I'll be praying for the ability to run and not be weary. The problem is, you need to work hard and exercise your physical muscles in order to let those faith muscles carry on. ;) you gotta put the work into it.

One of the promises of the Word of Wisdom is to run and not be weary. For those unfamiliar with this, the Word of Wisdom was revelation given to Joseph Smith from God concerning a health code for Latter Day Saints. It promises us that as we refrain from drugs, alcohol, and other addictive substances, we will be blessed with knowledge and health.

I'm grateful for these commandments to keep me safe. I know that as we follow God's commandments for us we will be able to recieve all the promises he has for us. No eye hath seen, nor ear heard, nor has ever entered into the heart of man, the great things God has in store for those who follow him.

Another one of my FAVORITE promises is that Heavenly Father will help us with our weaknesses. In the Book of Mormon, in Ether 12, it says:

27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them. 

As we humble ourselves and ask God to help us with our weaknesses, he will help us turn our weaknesses to strengths.

Wish me luck in gym. I know God will give me strength as I exercise faith in his promises.

Sparrows/One by One

(Copyright Intellectual Reserve)

Okay first I'll share the scripture, and then ill share an experience I had. I couldn't decide which title this should be so I left both!

Matthew 10 says (and listen hard to this, because this is YOUR SAVIOR speaking:)

29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. 

Look at that sparrow up there. Now, I love birds. I spent a majority of my middle school years bird watching. But believe me when I say I had to look long and hard to find a sparrow picture that was pretty. And even that one is not as effervescent as a hummingbird or as glorious as an eagle.

So, I guess it's worth is not in beauty. Maybe function? The sparrow serves as prey for snakes and cats, it eats seeds, and lives a couple years. Not much of a niche to brag about (haha ecology word!). We can count out function. The sparrow is not valued for its strength, or cunning, or beauty.

It's the value of their meat then! That must be it! No wait, Christ just said they were only sold for half a farthing (I looked it up, it was the smallest roman coin in use, and small in Greek as well. Under the value of two US dollars)

So why is it that God is aware when just one falls? It is because God loves the sparrow, he created it, and nothing more is needed to earn his love.

What about us? We are of more value than many sparrows (thanks, that makes me feel a lot better :). But hold that sarcasm. Because God knows when each sparrow falls.  There can be no doubt in our minds that he knows our small victories and weaknesses, our service and shortcomings, our pity parties. We are God's children, and he is our Father, and he loves us. 

Never fear! God loves you. However, these things are easier said than applied. The world just wants you to get down on yourself.

These past couple months have been kinda a roller coaster. I have days when everything's great, I'm so grateful to have moved away from drama and into a great neighborhood, I have friends, and everything's great. Then it seems in a few hours I could be crying and pleading to feel God's love for me because I don't feel love anywhere else. Sitting alone at lunch is awful. People gossiping about you is awful. Not having inside jokes with people or knowing everyone's history is awful. But you can know that God is always there for you, and knows your struggles and joys.

One thing that is so great though, is that God gives tender mercies to all his children. I'm so grateful for the tender mercies I've been shown just this week. For this week, two people who i admire so much from Va emailed me to see how I was doing.  I don't think that's a coincidence. It really helped me see just how much my Heavenly Father cares about me.

God loves us one by one. He knows your name, and all your pain. He knows your smiles, and wants to help you. One of the greatest comforts to me has been this song. Listen to it, and remember, there is always someone who loves you.

Shine the Light

(Copyright Intellectual Reserve)

There are many messages the world throws us. Immorality is okay, glory is of utmost importance, you can cheat a little to get what you want. As long as you're not caught, you haven't done anything wrong.

That is so far from the truth.

Darkness is all around us. The storms and waves of the sea threaten to overturn us. You can see it on billboards, in newspapers, and peers. So many times we run into apathy, even disdain for anything virtuous.

In all this darkness, there are many who are searching for light, looking everywhere for a glimpse of hope.

We've all been given lights, in our testimonies and in our knowledge of right and wrong. But many of us choose to hide under umbrellas, "protecting" that little candle so that it won't go out. This hides our light from others though, and makes it unusable for ourselves.

As disciples of Christ in these latter days, as Christians and as morally keen people, we need to be in the world, but not of the world. Do men light a candle and put it under a bushel? No. They put it on a hill for all to see and be guided by it, for all to feel of it's warmth.

My friend once bought a homeless man some food, and cared for him. He tried to make sure the man had everything he needed to make it through that day. As he was leaving, the man called out to him and asked if he was Christian. He said yes. Make your life consistent with what you believe so that people recognize who you are.

One time I was on a bus, and this girl brought up the topic of religion. She asked me where I belonged and I told her I was Mormon. She got all excited and was like "I knew it, I knew it! All you Mormons have that smiling, bright face!" I was a bit surprised, but I was grateful to know that the gospel light is shining through me in the way that others can feel my happiness.

How often is your light on? How bright does it shine through your eyes? Shine so that others will want to know Christ, so that others will see him through you.

How can we get closer to God?

I was sitting in Young Women's and just felt a strong impression that you needed to hear this.

The topic of the lesson was "how can we know Heavenly Father loves us, and how do we get closer to him?"

The teacher took out three objects and laid them out. They were a cell phone, a flashlight, and a map. She said these were ways we can reach a destination. The most important place we want to get to is back to our Heavenly Father. We also have spiritual tools: the cell phone represents communication with God through prayer, the flashlight is the Holy Ghost lighting our path, and the map is the scripture which lay out God's plan for us and answers any questions we have about what directions we need to take.

First we talked about the Holy Ghost. Many times, the Holy Ghost will be sent to us in answer to our prayers. The Holy Ghost (aka Spirit) will tell us truth to our hearts and minds about anything we want to know. The Spirit is God's messenger and tells us what he wants us to hear, and as we feel the comfort and peace of the Holy Ghost, we can know for sure that God loves us.

The scriptures (bible, Book of Mormon, etc) shows us the will of God and gives us examples of other people who have had to overcome the same problems we are going through. Many times, as we read the scriptures after we pray, the Spirit will show us things we need to know at that moment in the scriptures. As we act on the answers we recieve, and follow what the scriptures say, we will come to know God better and get closer to him. For example, the scriptures tell us we should serve others. As we actually go out into the world and help people, the Spirit will witness to us that what we are doing is right and that God loves us.

Lastly we talked about prayer. Heavenly Father knows even the smallest sparrow, and he knows the thoughts and desires of your heart. Just like any father, he wants us to talk to him, to tell us our problems and victories, to ask for help. As you exercise faith in God by praying, he will answer your prayers. Miracles come by simple prayers.

God will answer EVERY prayer. But how will we recognize the answers to those prayers? Sometimes the answers will not be what we want to hear, or will not come as quickly as we want them to. But if you pray with real intent and listen for an answer with an open heart, the answers will come.

Answers to prayers may come as peace, the voice of the Spirit, an idea, a dream, calm, love, or through the words of the scriptures. This is called revelation.

There was a time when I needed an answer to a question I had, and I needed it NOW, because I felt uneasy and unsure of everything. But God didn't answer my prayer immediately, because he wanted me to learn patience and to trust him. He knows what is best for us, and will give us the answer we need in the exact hour when we need it. And he did. 

Remember, you are a child of God, and he loves you. 

(Copyright Intellectual Reserve)