Did you know...

DID YOU KNOW...

*Enoch had a speech impediment and was a young man before he was called to serve and preach to a nation, which changed from being a wicked city to becoming the most righteous city in the world? (Moses 6)

*Moses was a normal Hebrew that was called to lead a nation, and become one of the most influential prophets in the world? (Exodus)

*Ester was a normal Jewish woman, who because of her courage and faithfulness, saved her people? (Ester 4-8)

*Alma the Senior, Alma the Younger, and the sons of Mosiah were once the vilest of sinners, before they became missionaries that changed an entire race of people? (Note: That group of people became one of the most righteous group of that time.) (Alma 17-19) 

* Joseph of Egypt started out as a teenager, who for almost 20 years, lived the hardest times of his life, before he became a ruler over all the land of Egypt? (Genesis) 

*Joseph Smith was a 14 year old boy, who merely had a question, before he became the Prophet of the Restoration? (Joseph Smith- History) 

* There was Saul before there was Paul.

*Even Nephi had hard days in the wilderness, before his family was led to the Promise Land, where he then became a ruler and teacher for all his people, which eventually were named after him (the Nephites). (1st and 2nd Nephi)

*Peter was a fisherman before he became an apostle of Christ, who walked with him and talked with him, as well as other apostles. (Matthew)

        The scriptures are filled with ORDINARY people doing EXTRAORDINARY things.  

Why MORMONS are weird

My companion is so great! She came up with this and I absolutely LOVE IT! And with her permission, I am sharing this with you. :) 


WHY 'MORMONS' ARE WEIRD...
-We believe in God
-We believe in a God that LOVES his children (you are his child)
-We believe in a God that wants us to come back to him and live in Eternal Happiness with those we love
-We believe in Jesus Christ 
-We believe He came to earth so that He could redeem us from the fall of Adam and be able to live with God again.
-We believe in the Atonement of Jesus Christ, that is, that we CAN be forgiven of our sins and mistakes only through Him, our Savior, Jesus Christ 
-We believe that God will not leave us alone to figure out what this life is all about
-We believe the Bible
-We also believe that God talked to the other side of the world, so we believe the Book of Mormon
-We believe that God continues to guide his children, so we believe in a living Prophet
-We believe God wants us to be happy, so we believe the 10 commandments
-We believe God wants us to be healthy and strong, so we believe the Word of Wisdom
-We believe God wants us to live with him again someday, so we believe in Temples
-We believe that everyone should know the truth, so God called his youth to leave their families for 2 years to share the truth with everyone.
-We believe you should know the truth.
So why are 'Mormons' weird?
Because we have the truth and we LIVE it!

Quote by Sister Katelyn Nielson

It's a Given

What happens when you're stuck inside your apartment for 4 days due to intense "blizzardy" snow that keeps you from going out?

You read scriptures and have awesome thoughts! :) 

 

Yesterday, as I was stuck in my apartment, I was studying the scriptures. And I randomly but perhaps not so randomly, came across a scripture in Psalms 36:3-9

3."Trust the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
4.Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

5.Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
6.And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

7.Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

8.Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

9.For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth." 

SO! THIS IS AWESOME! WHY?? It's a pattern, or list, or whatever you want to call it. It's a "Cause and Effect" scripture! And this is just my take on it. So, this is what I thought of (going verse by verse):

3. When we trust the Lord, our physical needs will be met.

4. When we put our happiness and base our happiness on the Gospel and on the Savior, the desires of our hearts will be given to us. UNDERSTAND THOUGH, that may not mean, what we THINK we want, but rather, what the Lord KNOW we want, and what is BEST.

5. When we commit ourselves to the Lord, and set good righteous goals and commit ourselves to them the best that we can, the Lord makes those things that we want to accomplish achievable.

6. The Lord knows our actions, and he will bless us for our efforts.

7. When we have patience, that means to NOT FREAK OUT when things aren't happening the way that they should. We should be waiting on the Lord's time table, because he knows best.

8. Don't be angry when things aren't going the way that they should. If you are doing the previous mentioned things, and you are doing your best, there's not much you can do about it, and that just means that the Lord is leading you a different way. Keep up the good work.

9. As we do these things, we WILL be blessed.

The Lord always does His part, when we do ours.

It's a given. 

The Ladder

I've never really had the gift of words, music has always been my way of expressing my thoughts.

But my mind has been going a lot recently.

.....................

Life is unfigureoutable.
Our potential is kind of like a ladder......

We are perfect spirits living in an imperfect world. We lived with our Father in Heaven, the most perfect being ever, and we were in his presence all the time.
And then, he came up with a plan to be where we can come to earth, get experience, and become like him. We were probably super excited!
And then, we came here...... And realized, "Oh... maybe it's NOT so easy..."

*Before Earth*
                     .                         And therefore,
                      .                          in our now mortal
                       .                          bodies, we are realizing more and more
                        .                           that WE
                         .                                     ARE
                          .                                          NOT
                           .                                                PERFECT...
                             .
                               .*Earth*

Which, sometimes lead to frustration.
Because once upon a time, we did not have those kinds of experiences.
But........................
Why do we need these experiences?
WELL......

*Before Earth*                            *Reaching our full potential*
                     .                            .
                      .                          .
                       .                        .
                        .                      .
                         .                    .
                          .                  .
                           .                .
                            .              .
                             .*Earth*.

You have to go down, before you can go up.

It all starts with desire. Where do you want to go? What are you willing to do to get there?
Because, there is a way, and that's the Gospel. Being point blank here.

As we RELY on Christ, that potential can be reached.
Moroni 10:32:
"Come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and LOVE God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God."

You have a goal to accomplish and a work to be done.

You have a purpose.

D&C 121:8
"...[I]f thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes."


But, you're not going to get there alone.
You need someone to help you up that ladder.
And because of the Atonement of Christ, he can and WILL help you up that ladder.

The Whole Motion Picture... pt. 2

Sometimes, revelation continues! Pick up from last time!!

As I was continuing in Alma chapter 5, there were a few things that came to my mind, and it was a little scattered, but I hope to be able to put it all together!

Alma 5:14-16
"And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?
Do ye exercise faith in the REDEMPTION of him who created you? Do you LOOK FORWARD with an eye of faith, and VIEW this MORTAL BODY RAISED in IMMORTALITY, and this CORRUPTION RAISED in INCORRUPTION, to stand before God to be judged according to the deeds which have been done in the mortal body?
I say unto you, CAN YOU IMAGINE TO YOURSELVES that ye hear the voice of the Lord, saying unto you, in that day: Come unto me ye blessed, for behold, your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face of the earth?"
(emphasis added)

In Preach my Gospel, it defines repentance so perfectly: "Repentance includes forming a fresh view of GOD, OURSELVES, and the WORLD.

So...
Repentance= having a MIGHTY CHANGE OF HEART

So, according to Alma 5:14-16, and also that definition, I figured that repentance includes the following steps:
1. Having the desire to be one with God, and to be led by the Spirit, and to also want and allow his Spirit to dwell with us.
2. Making the necessary changes, if need, to make our lives in line with the father.
3. Exercise faith in Christ's ATONEMENT (it always come back to that!) which is the only way that repentance is even possible.
4. LOOK FORWARD! (The Gospel is all about looking forward!!)

                                      OK!!!!.... Cool. Repentance. Awesome....
                                              WHAT'S THE POINT????? 
                                                   Why do we do this???

Here's your answer... Alma 5:15 (just writing the main message!)
"Do ye exercise faith... and VIEW THIS MORTAL BODY RAISED IN IMMORTALITY, and this CORRUPTION RAISED IN INCORRUPTION..."

The whole purpose of repentance is to become clean. No unclean thing can dwell in the presence of God. But because we are in an imperfect world, we will be unclean. And hence, Christ performed the Atonement, that we can be cleansed. He fills in the gaps that we fail to fill. He makes it possible, and is our Advocate with the Father. And one day, we will come before the Father.

When you see him, how do you want to be?
How do you VIEW YOURSELF??
Do you see yourself the way that your Heavenly Father sees you?

In October in General Conference, Elder Russell M. Nelson said, "Your Heavenly Father has known you for a very long time."
Simple. But powerful.
Heavenly Father has prepared you for this life. And He is continuing to prepare you for ETERNAL LIFE. 

Because remember, he has seen the whole motion picture. He wants you to, too. :)

The Whole Motion Picture...

Scripture chases are seriously theeeeee BEST!!!!

I was reading in Alma 5 today, and didn't get too far, because I was hopping from scripture to scripture!

Alma 5:9 (part of it...)
"... Yea, they were loosed, and their souls did expand and they did sing redeeming love. And I say unto you that they are saved."
I looked in the footnote for this, and it led me to Psalms 147:5:
"Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is INFINITE." (Emphasis added)

Which led me BACK to Alma 5:12-13...
"And according to his faith, there was a mighty change of heart. Behold I say unto you that this is all true.
And behold, he preached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts, and they humbled themselves and put their trust in the true and living God. And behold, they were faithful until the end; therefore they were saved." (Again, emphasis added.)

                                                           CONNECTION!!!
Heavenly Father's understanding in INFINITE, which means ETERNAL, ALL-KNOWING. Not only is his general understanding eternal and infinite, but also, his understanding of each of his children (that means you!) is infinite and eternal! (That's a LOT of kids...)
His perspective of us is a lot clearer, because he not only sees us as we are NOW, but as what we can BECOME!

It's like if you were to go to a movie that you've just heard about and never seen previews for. Would you trust the opinion of someone who has only seen the sneak peeks? Or would you trust the opinion of someone who has seen the entire motion picture??

In life, we experience the SNEAK PEEKS. We think we know everything, because we use what we've seen. But, you see, Heavenly Father has touch-finished everything! He has seen the MOTION PICTURE. He knows the beginning to the end. He knows what is best. And so, everything that happens in our lives will strengthen us, and create us. And most particularly, the hard things are TRUE BUSINESS going to create you. The hard times, not only strengthen us, but they reveal us.

Therefore! He asks us to TRUST him, and HUMBLE ourselves, and to allow him to MOLD us, to become something FAR GREATER than we can even IMAGINE.

Alma 5:1-14
Psalms 147:1-7
Study :)

Put on the Armor!

D&C 26:15-18
"Wherefore, lift up your hearts and rejoice, and gird up your loins, and take upon you my whole armor, that ye may be able to withstand the evil day, having done all, that ye may be able to stand.
Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, which I have sent mine angels to commit unto you;
Taking the shield of faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked;
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of my Spirit, which I will pour out upon you, and my word which I reveal unto you, and be agreed as touching all things whatsoever ye ask of me, and be faithful until I come, and ye shall be caught up, that where I am ye shall be also. Amen." 

As I was Alma chapter 2 (Finished with Mosiah!) my mind reflected to this scripture in Doctrine and Covenants. I've always loved this scripture. Just as a soldier or knight would need to be fully prepared for a  battle, wearing the appropriate armor, we too need to be prepared, and wear the "Armor of God" as described in the above scripture. As we are prepared, we can be more sure that the Lord can be with us.

My mind started to think about each part of the Armor of God, and how it particularly relates to me as a missionary.

The Sword of the Spirit- Truths that we share come as we STUDY the doctrine. From study, we gain the knowledge, and we can teach with BOLDNESS. The truths that we share will touch, or pierce the hearts of those people that we testify to. The Spirit can then be a witness.

The Helmet of Salvation- The helmet protects our heads, which is what we use to FOCUS all of our effort and time as we serve the Lord. As we use this time that we have to dedicate to him, ours as well as others SALVATION will be ASSURED.

The Breastplate of Righteousness- Our NAMETAG is the first thing that people about us. They know INSTANTLY who we are. As we are righteous, people will recognize that we are disciples of Christ, and will want to follow his example. And even people who are not set apart as full-time missionaries, the still have the nametag "painted on their hearts." (Elder Neil Andersen)

The Shield of Faith- Our faith PROTECTS us during times of trouble. If we put down our shield, we would be exposed to all manner of danger! Faith is the FIRST FOUNDATION in the Gospel. It keeps us ENDURING.

Feet Shod in the Gospel of Peace- As we FOLLOW the laws and ordinances of the Gospel, we will have peace in our lives! The Gospel gives us the PEACE that we SEEK.

As we remember each day to put on the WHOLE Armor of God, we can be assured that we will have the strength that we need. Don't leave even on piece out! During times of hard or terrifying times, we will be protected. :)

Seek, Knock, Find

Sometimes, you just need a good reminder.
And yesterday, that's exactly what I got.

I went on another scripture chase, and this is what I learned! SHA-BAM! Starting in the Book of Mormon in Mosiah...

Mosiah 27:14
"And again, the angel said: Behold, the Lord hath HEARD the prayers of his people... therefore, for this purpose have I come to convince thee of the power and authority of God, that the PRAYERS OF HIS SERVANTS MIGHT BE ANSWERED ACCORDING TO THEIR FAITH."

The Lord answers prayers. That much is certain. I've had too many experiences when my prayers have been answered to deny that.
And though the Lord will and does answer prayers, he does it when
1. It is the right time 
2. When we are ready to accept His answer

Which led me to this particular scripture in the Old Testament...
Daniel 10:12
"Then said he unto me, FEAR NOT, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst SET thine heart to understand, and to CHASTEN THYSELF before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words."

Interesting...
I took the liberty to research the words that I highlighted:
FEAR NOT- Don't be afraid, and be happy!
SET- to seek the Lord in prayer, seek His counsel and His answers
CHASTEN- to humble yourself

Sometimes, we may feel that we aren't getting answers to our prayers.
But, perhaps it's not that Heavenly Father is not answering, but rather, he's patiently waiting for us to be READY and WILLING to accept HIS answer.
Have you ever prayed for something, or for help with something, but somewhere deep inside, you know your heart is not in the right place? How can Heavenly Father give you the answer that you need if you're not ready or willing to change?
Or perhaps, you are praying for the wrong thing. Analyze yourself. Is whatever you're praying for in line with the will of the Lord?

Heavenly Father has blessings for you, and He's just waiting to give them to you. He knows us better. He knows what we want, but even more importantly, He knows what we NEED. Have we've done all that we can to humble ourselves to receive that answer?
When we do all that we can to HUMBLE OURSELVES, and SEEK the Lord, then are we able to receive those answers that we NEED. It all starts with us.
Heavenly Father keeps His promises. He gives us answers. But He also expects us to do our part. It has always been that way.

We do our part, and we grow. He helps us, and we become even stronger. Just as a loving father here on earth would do anything for his child, our Father in Heaven loves us so much, that He helps us. He gives us strength when we are weary. He gives us peace when we are anxious. And through the Savior, we come closer to Him.

:)

Enos 1:4
"And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul..."

"So when life gets dark and dreary, don't forget to pray."
                                                                                        - Don't forget to pray Hymn 140

Our Support and Foundation

Sometimes, revelations takes more than a day to figure out. And so it was with this particular drop of awesomeness!

On Thursday, the ASL Sisters were able to do a scripture study with a member, and we studied Exodus, talking specifically about the Law of Moses (Super interesting, just FYI... I want to research that later.) Studying that made me curious, and so I decided to take a little break and read something different. Genesis is touch-finished, so I started reading Exodus.

Moses is awesome... Just sayin'. Here's a little something I learned :)

Think back to the moment when Moses finds the burning bush... When Moses finds the bush, he is intrigued. And that's when God calls out to him "out of the midst of the bush," saying, "Moses, Moses." And then, God says something that I thought was curious... "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground."

... Why would God require Moses to take off his shoes?
I'm really like a little kid when it comes to the scriptures.... "WHY WHY WHY WHY?????" So... RESEARCH!!!!

I found something that talks about a lot of the symbolism in the scriptures... And I looked up the word "feet." Check it...

FEET: Mobility, Support, Foundation

I thought about these words, and about what they could mean. So, perhaps this may not be EXACTLY but, it's what I thought about... NOT EXACT DOCTRINE...

Mobility- Our feet lead us to where we want to go. Once we decide that path that we should take, we must take the necessary steps to get there. We are not placed on this earth to be stagnant. Christ asks us to follow him. To do that, taking that first STEP of faith is required.

Support- Keeps us upright, and moving forward. If we fall, we get right back up, and keep going. We have a goal in sight. We don't turn back. Having a strong support will keep us strong, and keep us going. Because of the Atonement, when we fall, we CAN get back again.

Foundation- If you don't have the right FOUNDATION, then the SUPPORT and the MOBILITY really doesn't matter. What should our foundation be anchored in? HELAMAN 5:12 (Back to the Book of Mormon and Bible, it ALWAYS supports!) "... It is the Rock or our Redeemer, who is CHRIST, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation." Christ is the sure foundation! Through his Atonement and through his grace and mercy, he gets us to where we want to go while here on earth...

Where's that?
The TEMPLE. (AKA Holy Ground)

As I thought about that, my mind kind of randomly (or maybe not so randomly) thought of a story in the New Testament. A moment that happened just hours before Christ performed the Atonement.
In John 13, Christ washed the feet of his disciples, an act that has so many symbolism (much to my happiness!) And something that stood out to me was something that Christ says to Peter in verse 10:

"... He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit..."

I footnote the word "clean".

CLEAN=PURITY.

So, why did Christ wash the feet of his disciples? My thoughts: It's interesting that it's the feet of his disciples that he washed. Looking at the symbolic meaning of feet, and the meaning for clean, I thought that the washing of the feet was a symbol. Christ is the only one that can cleanse us from our sins and mistakes. He is the only one who can pick us back up when we fall, and the one that we look forward to with a steadfast hope, and he is our foundation.

REFERRING BACK TO MOSES AND THE BURNING BUSH...

MOSES AND THE BUSH                                                  US AND THE TEMPLE
*Moses was in the presence of God,                                     *When we enter the temple, we enter with
which required him to be as clean as he                                   clean hands and pure hearts. It requires us to
possibly could. By taking off his shoes, it showed                     follow the Savior to the best of our abilities.
that he was willing to follow Go, and walk to path                   It requires us to allow his Atonement to work
that he would be asked to take.                                              in our lives, to keep us going forward and                                                                                                     cleaning us by removing our sins and                                                                                                             mistakes.

Just my little take on Exodus today :)
As we strive to follow Christ, we can come closer and closer to him.

Burdens become Light

SHA-BAM!!!
That is how I felt today as I was doing personal study!!

Some days, you learn about something that you already know, but you learn it in a completely new and awesome way! And for me, that day was today!
While reading in the Book of Mormon, in the book of Mosiah, a particular verse really stood out to me. The Lord is speaking to a prophet, whose name is Alma. And this is what he said, about helping us with our struggles.

In Mosiah 24:14, it says:
And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.

The first thing that I noticed was the word "burden." How is it possible, that our burdens can be lifted?? So much so, that we can't feel them? So, my curious mind started thinking, and I started a scripture chase!

If you look down in the footnote for the word "burden" it will lead you to Isaiah 46:3-4. So, curious little me decided to check it out, and this is what it says:

Isaiah 46:3-4
Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb.
And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have MADE, and I will BEAR, even I will CARRY, and will DELIVER you.

(FYI: Hoar means grey. So, hoar hairs is grey hairs... Therefore...)
MODERN DAY TRANSLATION: I've known you since before you were even born. I created you, and I will be with you even when you've grown old, and forever after that.

I read that, and my mind started running! And this is what I thought...

IN DEPTH WITH THE BOLD WORDS:

MADE: Heavenly Father made us, and therefore, he KNOWS us, personally, and desires us to be happy. We are of goodly Heavenly parent, who wants us to return to live with them. That is only possible through Jesus Christ.

BEAR: Christ was willing to BEAR our sins in the Garden Gethsemane, which is the first part of the Atonement, and the second part of the scriptural pattern. To bear something means to ENDURE to the END, even when it becomes hard. Christ, while praying in Gethsemane, asked, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." (Matthew 26:39) Regardless, he did the Father's will, and BORE our sufferings, because he knows who we are, and he loves us.

CARRY: Christ CARRIED his cross to the Hill of Calvary. Here, he is bearing his own burden, AFTER bearing each of our burdens. Christ puts us before him. He carries his burden, that we may have his strength to bear ours. He carries us when we are lost.

DELIVER: 3 days after Christ's death, his body and spirit were reunited. Because of the Resurrection, Christ fulfilled the Atonement, and is now able to DELIVER us from our fallen natural man state. Christ had to wait 3 days before he was able to be in his perfect state. We, too, have to wait for the blessings to come. And when we endure, the blessings always come, because of Jesus Christ. And he will deliver us.

So, to go back to the Book of Mormon (because both scriptures support each other). How is it possible that our burdens may be lifted?

Answer: The Atonement of Jesus Christ. Because he loves us and knows us, and knows how to lift the burden.

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!!! ONE MORE ONE MORE!!!!

The second part that I noticed... The Lord said unto Alma, "...and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions."

...So wait... So sometimes we are given trials and afflictions, not because we deserve it, but because they will help us become stronger?

Not only will we be made STRONGER... But we will come closer unto Christ.
And because we come closer unto Christ, we will know HIM.
And because we will know him, we can be witnesses of Him, and testify of Him.
And we will be able to say, "I am His disciple."       

Wouldn't that be the coolest opportunity? To be His witness?
I think so too. :)