He Is Our Father

I have always been told that I am a daughter of God. I even have "I am a daughter of God" painted above my closet. I am not only a daughter of my heavenly father but I also have earthly parents. I love my parents so much and they have always been there for me. Especially that I am now in college, I realized how much I need my parents in my life. They have helped me become who I am today, I honestly wouldn't be where I am without them. In Third Nephi, Chapter 9 vs. 22, it talks about children. It talks about how we need to be like children and come unto christ. When Brother Griffin talked about his little son it made me really reflect on my life. I am just like his little son. I make mistakes, a lot of them. I can try all I want to make them better by myself, but I am not capable of doing so. If I try by myself, I will make things worse. I need help. With Jesus Christ, my savior, brother and friend, I can clean up my mistakes and start fresh. He will wipe away my tears and say I love you, it will be okay. I love him so much!! Words can not even describe how much I love him, for everything he does for me. Just like a little child who clings onto is mom or dad when they are scared or sad, I need to do the same to my savior. He is always there for me and through the atonement, he has already paid for my sins. I need to take advantage of it and not let his efforts go to waste. He is always there for me, and I love him.

Helpless with out Him

Last week in Book of Mormon, something really hit me. I have always known it, but after reading and attending class, It hit home that without Christ I can't do anything. Not to say that I am worthless or have no purpose, but I can't save myself and I need Christ in my life. In Helaman 14:13, it says that if we "believe on his name, repent of all your sins, that thereby ye may have a remission of them through his merits." The key here is that it is HIS merits, we do not set our own terms, we do what Christ wants in order to be able to live with our Heavenly Father. We also had a lesson in sunday school that also helped clear this topic up. We talked about mercy and "by his grace we are saved." There is no set mark to where we need to be. There is no point to where we stop trying, or aren't good enough to be saved. As long as we do the best we can, to be the best us, through repentance and following the prophets, Christ will be there at judgment day begging for our salvation. It isn't going to be a checklist, but more of do you deserve to be here. We will not want to be anywhere we will not be comfortable. As long as I do the best I can and keep moving forward, through Christ I will become perfect and I can not do it alone. I love this gospel. With out it I would be so lost and confused. I am thankful for prayer and the opportunity I have to be able to talk to my Heavenly Father when ever I want/need. The church is true!!

One thing that has always bothered me was how hard it is for me to stay focused. In my Book of Mormon class, my professor addressed the issue. He strongly believes that your mind wanders for a reason, wither in scripture study, class, prayer or any situation. I have a crazy life and am constantly thinking about everything and anything going on. Whenever I attend the temple, I am not always focused on spiritual aspects of life, I think about what is going on, and what I need to work on, or what I need to do by the end of the day. Brother Griffin must have been prompted to say exactly what I needed to hear. Later that day, I went to the temple, I found myself once again thinking about everything going on, with friends leaving, school work, and all my personal struggles. I knew exactly what I needed to do. With each new thing that appeared into my mind, I pondered it and prayed about it. I asked for help with schoolwork and to feel at peace with everyone leaving. The next thing that came up was a recent mistake I had made. I then began to wonder why on earth would I think of that in such a holy place, especially the Temple! But then it all clicked, right then and there I repented for what I had done, and realized why that even kept on replaying in my head whenever I tried to focus. This morning I woke up, rested, and ready for a day full of productivity and ready to check things off of my to-do list! I love this gospel; God knows each of us, and what we are going through. He sends people into our lives to help us with all our trials and fears. I want to be worthy enough to be able to help others. I am going to everything I can to be able to be prompted, and to act on those promptings so that I will be able to help others. 

One of my very best friends lost her grandpa this past week. Death is always hard even though we know that we will see them again, it is just hard to not be able to see them every day, or to hear their voice. I was struggling and not knowing what to tell her. After having book of mormon, I realized that God has our best in mind and know us each individually. I was wondering what to say to her and in Book of Mormon, Brother Griffin told us something that someone important said. They said "A righteous man doesn't die before his time." After hearing that, I immediately thought about my friend and later on that day I told her that. She was relieved and a little more peace was brought to her. I know that this doesn't pertain exactly to the doctrine of the scriptures learned in class the past week, but it strengthened my testimony. The gospel is true and each and every day there are little sweet tender mercies that make me realize how much God knows us individually and knows exactly what we need. Another sweet tender mercy was that I received a letter from my missionary. It is hard not having the people you care about in your daily life, especially those you spend so much time with. But after having a long day, I had a surprise letter that I was not expecting. In this letter, he told me how reading the scripture helped him when he was doubting himself. I know not only in my mind, but in my heart that God knows us and blesses us with scriptures and prophets in our lives. My testimony is so strong, and nothing will ever change that, but make it stronger. I love this Church and I love my Savior. If ever anyone needs anything, ask God in prayer, he will answer them and help you through any trial.

Happiness

Right now in my life, I have to deal with much loss. Not in the sense of death, but "see you laters" for all my missionary friends. It is so hard sometimes when all the guys I know are leaving, and every time I get close to someone, they leave on their mission. It not only is heart breaking, but I am becoming sick of all the tears and headaches. This past week in Book of Mormon, we were in Alma, and specifically covered chapter 50. This fit perfect into my life right now, and was exactly what I needed to hear. In this chapter, it talks about all of the fighting in the well known war chapters. Verse 22 talks specifically about how the Nephites kept the commandments of the Lord, and so they were protected and were not killed. On the other hand the Lamanites did not keep the commandments and therefore suffered much death amongst their people. It goes on to say in verse 23: "there never was a happier time among the people of Nephi." It is hard to think at such a time when there was so much death and sadness around them how they could possibly be so happy. My professor, Brother Griffin told us that Happiness doesn't just happen, it is a choice. This impacted me so much and made me really think about my life. I need to be more positive and chose to be happy! If i just follow the Lord, and keep his commandments, I will be a much happier person, and hopefully the next two years will go by fast, but at least I will be happy! (:

The Past is the Past

In Book of Mormon, We have been asked to post every week about class, and our insight regarding the weekly discussions, or assigned reading. This past week, we covered Alma chapters 36-42. I am going to focus on chapter 36, because it had the most impact on me. It focuses mostly on the past, and how we need to put it behind us, and move on. A quote that comes to mind is: "Don't let your past dictate who you are, but let it be a part of who you will become." We all face trials no matter what we do. How we react to them, and the decisions we make, make us the people we are today. When meeting people, it is really important to remember that everyone has a past. I personally know that with the things I have done in life, I am not proud of all of them, but if I do my best to return to Christ, and to everyday try a little harder to be a little better, I will make progress in becoming who I want to be. When the judgment day comes, none of us will be perfect, only Christ is. We cannot come to Christ perfect that is why we have him. Through our savior, Jesus Christ, and the Atonement, we can become perfect and live with our father in Heaven, as long as we do the best we can. I need to remember to not compare myself to everyone else, but to become the best me, because that is all that I can do. The past is in the past, and when Satan tries to tempt me, and reminds me of the things I have done, I need to remind him of his future... he has none. We are all far better then we think we are, but not nearly as close to as good as we can be with Christ. "Inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of god, ye shall prosper in the land." The past is in the past for a reason, keep it there, and focus on the bright future ahead. As Brother Griffin always says, "just try a little harder to be a little better!" 

First Day Back!!

               Today is the first day back!! I had an amazing Christmas Break, I loved being home with my friends and family, but the whole time all I wanted to do was to be down in Provo with my college friends. They are honestly my closest friends, even though I have only known them for like four months, I feel like I can tell them anything and we are so close. 

                One of them that I am really close to is Michael Larson, he is leaving on his mission on Wednesday, and he was set apart tonight, and I don't know how I am going to survive the semester with out him, along with all the other guys that are leaving. Luckily enough, Alli and I were the last people he texted for two years, ( we are in a best friend group message) we are feeling pretty loved. We get to see him again on Wednesday before he leaves and we will spend all morning with him. The hard part is we have to say bye with handshakes, no hugs allowed. Kind of a bummer deal, but at least we get to see him! 

                After a full day of classes, Lauren, Alli, Kathryn and I are watching Pitch Perfect, our favorite movie, for the second time today! We watch it all the time, and quote it 24/7. I have so many memories with these girls, along with the rest of the fat five, and I can not wait for another full semester packed with fun and "studying." clearly, we are really good at focusing, and let's just hope we can survive another semester with better grades!