relationships, oh la la!

Not the, I have a boyfriend/husband type, maybe because I don't have either of those haha, but just relationships in general. Yesterday, was my birthday and I was just reminded of how many amazing people are a part of my life. I have the Church to thank for many of those.

I moved out of California, to Utah, and instantly had friends. Some of my greatest friendships have been from trusting that our Heavenly Father has a plan for us. Who knew that a broken engagement and last minute apartment housing would give me my best friends? Not only that, but they have set such examples and made me a better person.

The ward, our built in family. I am not quite sure how non-members do it without one. Anywhere in the world we go, there are people waiting to get to know us. You are not lost in the world, all alone. I testify and know that there is a purpose to how the Church is set up. It is inspired. Heck, we even have people check in on us at least once a month to make sure we are okay. Have to love those Visiting and Home Teachers,  I am so thankful for them.

Heavenly Father knew what he was doing when he had Joseph Smith help restore the gospel and church to the earth in these latter days. Giving us a prophet and apostles, down to our Bishop and other church leaders. I am not just a body, in a sea of people, listening to a worship service.

I think what I am getting at is, we have so much to be thankful for. He has given us so much! It's extremely easy to forget about the simple things. Our relationships here on earth are what matter most, not our cars, clothes, etc.

Earlier in Church someone mentioned that people get side tracked by the things we don't know, when we have SO much that we do know. We need to let faith take us all the way. I want to always remember that when I am doubting or worrying about things. Again in another lesson, Desi made a comment about worrying being a lack of faith in our Savior and that we choose every day if we are going to follow Him or not.

I can not say thank you enough to our savior, my family and friends, for making my birthday such a special day. Just being able to talk to and spend time surrounded by them made me even more aware of how loved I am.

Thanks to Alyssa and Rachel! Love them!

If you want to know more about the Church, please let me know! Or you can go to LDS.org and Mormon.org

self control

This has what has been consuming my mind lately. Now I just need to control it. Control your mind. Have control over yourself.

I really mean it though. The other day in Church I had this strong prompting that self control is something I need to focus on. In every aspect of my life....Healthy eating habits, exercising, dating, making decisions instead of just going with what is currently happening, making the extra effort to prepare myself to go through the temple.

We choose what type of people we want to be, what we want to do. I know this is getting a little repetitive, but I feel like I have lost myself and my will power over the past few months. I'm not sure what took it away.

All it takes is that step in the right direction, to get you moving again, going.

I took that step out the front door of my apartment a few minutes ago when I decided to give myself some thinking time. Some time spent with Heavenly Father.

The temple is such a calming place. You don't even have to be inside of it to experience that feeling. As I sit outside and read my scriptures, have a talk with Him, I feel his presence. It has filled me. Really. It's hard to explain that strong feeling of the spirit surrounding you. Maybe you can compare it to butterflies in your stomach? A shortness of breath? Who knows, it's probably different for every person. But, I love it.

"And now Alma began to expound these things unto him, saying: It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him.

And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full."

Alma 12:9-10 

You get what you give. The effort you put in, is the reward you get back.  I know everyone interprets scriptures in different ways, but this is what I have gotten from it. He gives us the strength and guidance we need to make better choices.

The more the Lord trusts you, the more he is willing to tell you.

how we treat people.

"Be one who nurtures and who builds. Be one who has an understanding and a forgiving heart, who looks for the best in people. Leave people better than you found them. Be fair with your competitors, whether in business, athletics, or elsewhere. Don’t get drawn into some of the parlance of our day and try to “win” by intimidation or by undermining someone’s character. Lend a hand to those who are frightened, lonely, or burdened.

If we could look into each other’s hearts and understand the unique challenges each of us faces, I think we would treat each other much more gently, with more love, patience, tolerance, and care.

If the adversary can influence us to pick on each other, to find fault, bash, and undermine, to judge or humiliate or taunt, half his battle is won. Why? Because though this sort of conduct may not equate with succumbing to grievous sin, it nevertheless neutralizes us spiritually. The Spirit of the Lord cannot dwell where there is bickering, judging, contention, or any kind of bashing." -The Tongue Can Be a Sharp Sword by Marvin J. Ashton

I think... no I know, there is a lot of hate in the world. We see it everyday on the news, through social media, even in our daily lives. The thing about that is, is that there is also good. We have the choice to be positive, optimistic, kind, loving, caring, etc. It is us, who ultimately chooses the type of person we want to be. 

Let us turn to our Savior as an example. I love our Heavenly Father. I can not repeat that enough. 

sin city and sensitivity

I took a trip to sin city this past week. As we walked around the strip, which I have made countless visits to in the past; I recognized a feeling that is always so present in my life, the gospel and spirit of the Holy Ghost. Things I am extremely grateful for and the perspective that they give.

Since I have lived in Utah, pretty much any trip I take out of the state is an immediate reminder of, what I like to call, “real life.” Where the majority of the people surrounding me don’t share my beliefs and standards. In a way it’s refreshing because I recognize choices in my life that have made me happier and who I am today. It pretty much scares me from ever going back to past life habits haha.

After my mini vacation was over, I had a nice drive home from the airport with a co-worker. Usually those drives consist of throwing the radio and myself a private concert, but with someone present it instead turned into a great conversation. I really loved something that she said and it has stuck with me since then.

She is grateful for the sensitivity the gospel gives us in relation to worldly factors. For example, I cringe a little bit every time I hear someone cuss or say the word God in vain. Not that I am judging or find that those things are the most horrible thing on the planet, but I recognize it. It’s something that stands out to me. Along with immodest clothing and other standards we hold ourselves too. There are many of us in today’s society completely unaware of the happiness so readily available. As members of the Church we can be examples and share knowledge and truth to those around us.

I think what I am trying to say, is that I love our Heavenly Father. I want to do everything in my power to follow his ways and I know that I can do that by following the Church standards. That guidance given to us in these latter days is in place for a reason. The sensitivity and recognition we feel in certain situations and surroundings, is what I believe to be the Holy Ghost looking out for us. Helping us to stay on the straight and narrow path Heavenly Father wants us to be on. He loves all of us, we are His children.

Mormonisms

Joining the LDS Church can be like learning another language. There were so many unfamiliar terms that I had to make sense of. Even the structure of the church itself was a task. No, not the physical structure, but how everything functions.

We have a living day prophet President Monson, who helps us to guide the church and his apostles. Then it trickles all the way down to our bishop, who we have a personal relationship with and is in a sense the leader of our ward. Your ward is the church that you attend, with the people that are living in the same designated geographical location as you. See where I am going with this? It isn’t that easy to have a conversation with someone who isn’t a member, without jumping into unfamiliar verbiage.

My youngest sister was visiting for the first time earlier this year. Throughout the week I must have mentioned FHE (Family home evening) and until the day before she left, she thought I was saying FAG. Major mix-up there! All along she was questioning why in the heck we would name something that.

There are times when I am conversing with my family, telling them about my week, and some church activity is involved. The first major things that come to mind are the day I received my Patriarchal Blessing or when I was assigned a new calling. Often, I type up a short paragraph explaining the said term and send it out to my wonderful fam. I wonder if that ever really helps. Mom, Dad, does it?

The thing about it is, all the programs this church has, and the way it is set up, is inspired of God. I love everything about it. It truly is His church here on earth. In a week, we are so lucky to be able to hear inspired messages from Heavenly Father, spoken through our prophet and his apostles. General conference is twice a year, it is amazing how every single person is able to listen and receive personal guidance.

Stay tuned, April 6^th and 7^th, 2013.

Mormon stereotypes

I was offered those super soft sugar cookies with colored frosting on top them tonight. Want to know the first thing I thought? One, I am too full for those. Two, I used to call those “Mormon” cookies.

In that instance, it jolted back memories. Why in the world did I call them that? Is it because Mormons tend to be good at baking and those are delicious? Who in the heck knows, but I kind of let out a little laugh.

Which brings me to another more recent event. My family has become huge on the group text. Needless to say, I get them often and my brother enjoys sending pictures of himself. He might kill me if he sees this, I am not sure if he ever reads this. Moving forward, I was so pleased to be included in one that said something along the lines of, “Haha, I’m turning into/look like a Mormon.” No picture was attached. I kindly responded… Well, I can’t see a picture, but if you are in some way hating on Mormons I am going to beat you. Okay okay, I didn’t say that haha, but I did say I hope you are not making fun of us! In which the reply was, I’m not, I am just looking fresh with a white shirt and black tie.

Perfect. If he would like to us associate us with dressing nicely and looking good, I am all for it.

It is funny to think of the way that society and non-members view us Mormons. In those two instances, I was/am proud to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. If there is a stereotype of being good at baking, dressing nicely, having morals, serving others, being happy, being generally good people, I am all for it. The sad thing is, sometimes we are being laughed at for those same things!

I guess sometimes it is not the “cool” thing to strive to be the best people that we can. In that case, I am perfectly happy being uncool. 

Anyone have any other great Mormon stereotypes? I'd love to hear them. 

purpose of life

You know what I am grateful for? The people that surround and support me. The other night Becky and I were sitting on our couch, the new leather one. Not the old comfy one I so dearly miss, and she asked me if I had read my scriptures for the day yet. I said no, but I need too, so we went and got them. I’ve really become accustomed to reaching for my computer or phone in times of boredom and I feel like there are so many other productive ways I can spend my time. So we got rid of those and locked them in our room so we could concentrate.

Even though we were on different parts of the book, we would stop and discuss certain topics or thoughts. Which lead me to a question I always had growing up. It was a question that I could never really formulate and always pushed out of my mind when thoughts crept in. It upset me that I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to ask and didn’t know the answer to.

My thought, that I now know was basically this… Why are we here? What are we even? Where in the world did we come from? How does this world even exist?

I find comfort in knowing about the Plan of Salvation. It explains everything. Pre-mortal life, mortal life, life after death. Yes, it takes a lot of trust and faith to believe in these things, but I know that they are true and I have a testimony of that. My testimony has grown and it’s easier for me to wrap my head around these difficult concepts because I put effort into understanding. I put the effort into drawing myself as near to Heavenly Father as I possibly can and I notice the difference.

I was talking to a coworker today and we discussed how being a Latter-Day Saint isn’t easy. Some people may say our religion is full of rules, and granted it is in a sense, but they are there for our protection. Things like drinking and smoking, breaking the law of chastity, all drive away the spirit. That is not the way that Heavenly Father wanted us to return to him, with an unhealthy and impure body and mind.

In my life thus far, I have been on both sides of the religion and faith aspect. Life without the spirit isn’t a distant memory, it is a clear reality of what I was missing out on. The thought of falling away from the Church scares the crap out of me, I will never let that happen. It is so easy to fall into worldly temptations, to be selfish, to be ungrateful, etc. And you know what, some days I do get down and think only of myself. But now when that happens, I usually get a mental kick in the behind reminding me of everything I have been given. I cant fathom going through certain trials alone, not understanding where we go from here. 

We have our agency and we make the choices. We decide if we are going to draw ourselves nearer to God. We choose whether or not we want to live a life without the person who created our life. We are in control of whether we are happy or not. We have chosen or not chosen to have faith in Christ, and not only that, but live a Christ like life. We put ourselves in control of the people and examples we surround ourselves with. We can make the effort to fill our life with morals and values that are pleasing to God, or not.

I love Heavenly Father, the gospel, the plan of salvation, the Bible/Book of Mormon/Doctrine and Covenants, my family, my faith, the people I am surrounded with that I can discuss and learn things from.  It’s a meaningful life.