Miracles

Because I've recently found myself with more time on my hands than I'd like to admit, I decided to share a few of my thoughts and feelings about the events of the past few days.

The best word I can use to describe what has happened is "miracles".  This may not make a lot of sense, but let me explain.

I have been serving as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for 16 months now.  It has been the most glorious, difficult, frustrating, and fulfilling months of my life.  I have grown in ways I didn't know were possible and I have healed from wounds I didn't know I had. This truly is Christ's church, and if you open your heart, you can know for yourself it is true.

Throughout a mission, Satan works really hard to get you discouraged.  Because this is God's work and we are His messengers, Satan will do everything in his power to stop us.  He works on our lives, our families lives, and the lives of those we teach to bring us down and make us feel like we aren't good enough.  He does that throughout our entire lives, but if you currently have a missionary in your life, whether it's because you are a missionary yourself, you have a missionary in your family, or you are learning from the missionaries,  you are likely to face greater trials than ever before.  Don't be afraid, it is just another testimant that this truly is God's work.

I broke my leg this weekend, which has been one of the greatest trials on my mission thus far.  Aside from the pain is the feelings of inadequacy and failure.  The feelings that I have let so many people down.  I know this really isn't true, but given the hours of sitting on the couch with my leg elevated, it's really hard not to let my thoughts be pulled in that direction.

I've been battling questions of "why me?" and "what now?" and if I let myself ponder too long I get incredibly discouraged.  I want more than anything to serve my Father in Heaven.  I know how much He loves each of His children, and I am so grateful for the gifts He's given me, and in order to put aside the negative feelings that are swarming over me, I have taken the time to write down some miracles that I've seen in my life.  They may seem silly, but these little miracles show me that God loves me.

-When I fell, two very worthy Elders were right there to give me a blessing
-After a faithfilled prayer, an operation room opened up two hours earlier than expected
-People called to see if I was okay
-My companion has experience in nursing
-Another sister happened to bring me a piece of my favorite pie
-The elders in our ward had a car to use while we couldn't drive
-I serve my mission in one of the most sacred places on earth
-The Holy Ghost really is with me and comforting me
-People truly are inspired as to what to say and how to help
-I have been able to sleep without waking up too many times during the night
-I get to stay on my mission


These are just a few miracles from the last few days, but as I started writing down the miracles I've been seeing, more and more come.  It's just like what Alma says in Alma 30 in the Book of Mormon.  ALL things denote there is a God. We just have to open our eyes and acknowledge those things.  I love this gospel, I love my Savior.  I know He gives us trials for a reason, and I know that He will be with us every step of the way if we will let Him.

The Atonement

Here are some great quotes about the Atonement of Jesus Christ from the scriptures and from modern prophets.  I am so grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ and for the enabling power of the Atonement. :)

Atonement

"The enabling power of the Atonement strengthens us to do and be good and to serve beyond our own individual desire and natural capacity."
—David A. Bednar

"For it is expedient that an atonement should be made; for according to the great plan of the Eternal God there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish; yea, all are hardened; yea, all are fallen and are lost, and must perish except it be through the atonement which it is expedient should be made. For it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice."
—Alma 34:9-10, Book of Mormon

"I say unto you, that I know of myself that whatsoever I shall say unto you, concerning that which is to come, is true; and I say unto you, that I know that Jesus Christ shall come, yea, the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, and mercy, and truth. And behold, it is he that cometh to take away the sins of the world, yea, the sins of every man who steadfastly believeth on his name."
--Alma 5:48, Book of Mormon

"I do not know who in this vast audience today may need to hear the message of forgiveness inherent in this parable [of the laborers in the vineyard], but however late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don’t have, or however far from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines."
—Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

"The message, ministry, and Atonement of Jesus Christ, our Savior, is our essential family curriculum. No scripture characterizes our faith better than 2 Nephi 25:26: 'And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.'"
—Elder Quentin L. Cook,

"I believe that none of us can conceive the full import of what Christ did for us in Gethsemane, but I am grateful every day of my life for His atoning sacrifice in our behalf. ... The darkness of death can ever be dispelled by the light of revealed truth. ‘I am the resurrection, and the life,’ spoke the Master. ‘He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.’"
—President Thomas S. Monson,

People are Prepared

To everyone who is looking for a chance to share the gospel, I would like to direct your study to Alma 13:24:

"24 For behold, angels are declaring it unto many at this time in our land; and this is for the purpose of preparing the hearts of the children of men to receive his word at the time of his coming in his glory."

People ARE being prepared to hear the gospel!  The real question is, are we prepared to recognize them?

Two years ago I had the incredible opportunity of attending a summer music camp at Julliard School of Music in New York City.  I knew going into this program that I would be the only member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I was really excited for this opportunity to share the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ with someone.

Before I left I made sure I had a copy of the Book of Mormon that I could give away.  I knew that the gospel blessed my life so much and I really wanted to share it.  I prayed that I would be able to have the courage to share the gospel.

When I got to my dorm room I met my roommate, Liz.  She's the second one on the left.  I just KNEW I was going to tell her about the gospel.  All week long I looked for opportunities to talk to her, but it just wasn't happening.  She knew I was a member of the church, but she didn't seem to care.  I invited her to come to church on sunday but she had plans and I began to get a little discouraged.  I really wanted to share the gospel.  Why wasn't this working?

On the last day I was in New York I began to accept the fact that I probably wasn't going to share the gospel with anyone.  I was a little sad because I really wanted a missionary experience.  Growing up in Utah makes it easy to miss those experiences.  As I was packing my bags, Shirin, the girl on the right, came up to me and asked me why I was different.  She noticed I was happy all the time and that there was a peace about me.  I told her it was because of my belief in the gospel and we ended up talking for two hours about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith.  The spirit was so strong testifying of truth as I invited her to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it.

I haven't heard from her since that day and probably will never know what the end of that story is, but I will forever be grateful for the missionary opportunity the Lord blessed me with.  Because I was prepared, He gave me the opportunity to share the gospel, but it wasn't with the person I thought it would be.  People are being prepared.  Hearts are being softened.  Heavenly Father's children are looking for peace and forgiveness that comes through the Atonement of Christ, 

AND

Heavenly Father knows who those people are.

I would invite everyone to pray for missionary experiences.  Not just a chance to tell people that you don't drink coffee because you're a mormon.  Pray for experiences to teach people about the gospel of Jesus Christ and to invite them to act!  Pray to have Heavenly Father put people that have been prepared in your path and seek to recognize them. If we are preparing and seeking missionary opportunities, the Lord will put people in our path who are searching and ready to accept the fulness of His gospel.

Happy Thought for the Day

Here's a good uplifting message for the week.  Enjoy!!

Religion and Science

I often find myself wondering why it's easier for some people to believe we just happen to be here because of some big bang than it is to believe that we were created by God.  We live in an increasingly scientific world where people are constantly demanding proof.  What I find interesting is that in the matter of why we are here, there is no proof.  No one can prove WHY we are here.  They may try to and be fairly accurate in proving HOW we got here, WHAT caused us to be here or WHERE we came from.  People can usually trace WHO we came from and WHEN.  But the reason why I believe the gospel of Jesus Christ is because it answers WHY we are here.

Our Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us.  We are here to "prepare to meet God."  We came to earth with the desire to learn what is necessary for each of us to return to live with our Heavenly Father and become like Him.

The Book of Mormon is full of teachings from ancient prophets about the Plan of Happiness our Heavenly Father has for us.  God continually calls prophets to teach His children how to return to live with Him.  The prophets teach about His plan and invite each of us to repent and turn to our Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Book of Mormon also gives us messages of hope.  There are many who fall away from the truth, who lose faith, who aren't sure where to turn, who were raised in less than ideal situations.  Through the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ we have hope.  We know we aren't lost and we know we can return.  Our Heavenly Father loves us and wants us to return to Him.


I once heard the comparison that believing this world could be created by a big bang is the same as believing that if a printing press exploded you would get a dictionary.  You may laugh, but think about it, this world is an amazing place, with so many things going on.  There are billions of people, all unique.  Everyone has something to contribute.  Everyone has hopes, dreams, desires, and fears.  It makes me sad to think that people really believe that all happened by chance.

God knows each on of us.  He created each of us.  And by learning about His plan we can understand WHY we are here.  Like I said, the why can't be proved, but it can be felt.  If we exercise faith in our Heavenly Father and learn of Him, we will begin to see why.  We may not understand everything, but we can know that He loves us, and we can know that things will work out.

Don't let science rob you of faith.  In an article I recently read it says this: "While it was once an integral part of the landscape of society, the place of religious belief in public space is now frequently contested by polarized ideological camps. But the categories of faith and reason, scripture and science, religious and secular do not have to be mutually exclusive. These spheres overlap and can benefit from one another when approached with fair-mindedness, humility and wisdom. Mormons welcome truth from whatever source and take the pragmatic view that where religion and science seem to clash, it is simply because there is insufficient data to reconcile the two. "
(http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/mormon-and-modern)

Satan wins when he gets one of God's children to think that they aren't important, that they are merely the result of some random explosion, with no purpose, no progression, no hope.  We are so important to our Heavenly Father, and we must not forget it.

I Love To See The Temple

I love to see the temple



I'm going there some day



To feel the Holy Spirit



To listen and to pray



For the temple is a house of God



A place of love and beauty



I'll prepare myself while I am young



This is my sacred duty




When I was a little girl this was one of my favorite songs to see.  We have a video recording of me when I was two years old jumping up and down on my moms bed singing this song.

The temple really is a sacred place.  It is the house of God, a place where we go to learn about our Heavenly Father and to strengthen our relationship with Him. 

When I was little I also thought that the blessings of the temple were outside of my reach.  I thought that you had to be extra special or extra good to go inside.  I thought that only the really important people could go in.  What's wonderful about the temple though, is that the requirements to go into the temple are within all of our reach.

In order to be worthy to attend the temple we need to be living the standards of the church.  If we are in good standing with the doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and we have a testimony we are qualified to enter the temple.  What a blessing that is! 

Temples are a place of peace.  The world is in so much turmoil and it is really easy to get caught up in everything and not be able to see straight.  As we enter the house of the Lord our understanding is clear.  We are reminded of our purpose on earth and we are able to set our priorities straight.

I am so grateful for the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  One of the greatest blessings of the gospel is the knowledge that we are given in the temple.  My family can be together forever!!  I am so grateful for this knowledge!!  I know that the Priesthood power of God is on the earth today and this is the reason why we have these wonderful blessings of the temple.

I pray that we all can prepare to go to the temple.  If you have already been, go again.  If you have not yet been, prepare to go.  As we live worthy of a temple recommend we are entitled to the blessing and guidance of the Lord. 

To learn more about temples, please go to http://mormon.org/faq/#Temples

Dare to Stand Alone

I don't have a whole lot of time to write today, so I just thought I would share an uplifting message.  I would just like you to know though, that you are NEVER alone.  The Savior, Jesus Christ, has been where you've been.  He knows you and He loves you and if you will turn to Him He will wrap His arms around you.