New Beginnings and Old Times

Hello There!!!
I am sooo sorry that it has been so long since I've been on the blog! It has been pretty insane the last little while. Things are settling in more now, so I am really excited to be posting today! :)

Going with the title today, tomorrow marks one year since I began my mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

It has certainly been a crazy and miracle filled year!
Also, I am blessed to currently be training a new missionary. She has been out for one month. She describes the last month as, "A roller-coaster of emotions."

The experiences I recall as I look back upon the last year, and for her the last month, are entertaining for sure. It has also been incredible for me to see the growth that can happen in a short period of time for an individual as we draw nearer to Christ.

I was reading today a talk by President Dieter F. Utchdorf of the First Presidency of the church. The talk is titled He Will Place You on His Shoulders and Carry You Home, which you can access HERE.
This talk is incredible! I love in it how he talks about how obedience brings about faith and by faith we are able to be changed. He says,

 

The light of the gospel comes through obedience to the commandments. Wherever we are on our journey; whether we are experienced travelers or beginners we all have to do the same things to progress. We all need to keep the commandments and we will be blessed in the gospel. 

Through the new beginnings we can have faith and hope. And as we reflect on the old times we will be filled with joy, if we have done what we needed to. 

Choose to Obey

Hello!!
It is truly a beautiful day!!
I wanted to talk, again (sorry!), about choices.
I know I seem to talk about it a lot, but it is SO important! There are so many choices that we face everyday. If we do not understand the consequences of our choices, our ability to choose wisely and righteously will be lessened.
Today I wanted to talk about a choice we really only need to make once in our lives, but it will affect us for the rest of our lives.
This is the choice to keep the commandments of God.  
This is the single most important choice of our lives. Everything we do stems from this choice. If we want to be happy, we choose to follow the commandments (Mosiah 2:41). If we want to be free from... well anything, then we choose to follow Christ, by keeping the commandments (2 Nephi 2:27). If we want to know who we are and where we are going, we simply to ask God, and keep the commandments in faith (Romans 8:16). 

In all of the choices we make we should ask ourselves how this affects us in the future. How do our choices now, whether to obey or to not obey affect us eternally.
It can be difficult to follow the commandments, especially to follow them willingly. However, I know how incredibly rewarding it is to do so. To truly give it all over to God and obey His commandments. Then in the end we have the assurance that we will recieve the greatest blessings and joy available to us; living with our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and our families for eternity.

Thankful for a Prophet's Voice

Hi There!!
Wowza! The last little bit has just been crazy for us! Lots of traveling! But it has been so worth it and I have learned a lot!! :)

Today I wanted to share some of my thoughts on one of my favourite people in the history of the world!

This is the Prophet Joseph Smith. 

My dear companion and I have been listening today to different talks about his life. It is amazing to know that such a man, as he, lived. A man so concerned with the welfare of his soul and humility enough to ask God where the truth was to be found. And then, the spiritual strength to endure through all that he was called to endure in his mortal life.

As a prophet called of God some would think that his life would have been easier. On the contrary his life was anything but easy. Many times he was wrongly accused and imprisoned, beaten, tarred and feathered, and drive from his home. And through it all, although he sometimes struggled, he remained faithful to the truths that he had learned from his Father in Heaven.
One of my favourite verses of scripture is found in Doctrine and Covenants 122:7-8,

" 7 And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.

 8 The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?" 

These verses mean the world to me. I doubt that I will ever be called upon to suffer as Joseph did, or to even endure half of the things listed in verse seven. BUT through what I do go through I, have the promise that Christ knows exactly how I feel. He knows exactly what I am experiencing. And He knows exactly how to help. 
And the BEST part is, that this is not a promise just for me, or for some random person along the way. This is a promise for ALL of us as children of God.

I am incredibly grateful to the Prophet Joseph Smith and all that he taught us about moving forward with faith. Through trials and test we can truly feel our Saviour there with us. I know that this is true. I have felt it so many times in my life. I also know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. He was truly called to restore the many truths that had been lost.

The Parable of the Pizza

Hi-ya!
So first off, please don't laugh to hard at the ensuing story. And I promise it will all make sense in the end. :)

So once upon a time Sister Smith and her companion decided they wanted to make pizza for dinner. So they did... or they attempted to.

Their hopes for a delicious pizza were crushed.

But there is a lesson to be learned, and not just a cooking lesson.
A lesson on FAITH and on CHRIST.

Through the scriptures we learn how true faith in centered on Jesus Christ and His Atonement. And that as we learn to apply the Atonement we are able to be forgiven, recieve the help and strength that we need, and be with our families again.

In our desire for a quick meal we failed to think thoroughly about the decisions we were making. This is like us in life in sooo many ways. We get busy, distracted, and have differing desires and we fail to think about the consequences our choices have on us in our lives.
When this happens, like our pizza, we begin to fall, to get caught in the traps of Satan. And Life is No fun!

With in these traps, we are faced with another choice, to remain where we are, or to look for help and relief through Jesus Christ.  I love this quote by Sister Beck:

  We cannot do it by ourselves! When we are in these traps, and even if we are not. We can only making lasting changes through Faith in Jesus Christ. I know that I have been able to experience the power of His Atonement in my life. And I know that there is true freedom in keeping His commandments and striving to be a little better today than we were yesterday. Although it is hard, it is ALWAYS worth it. 

Heading Down the Path of Life

Hi there!
I'm pretty excited to post today! :) Its just been a glorious day!

So today I wanted to share some thoughts I had while listening to a talk with my wonderful companion in the car. :) (Super fun eh?)
This talk has been kind of eyeopening for me. In it the speaker was describing how the limitations we have are the ones we place upon ourselves.
This really hit home.
There are many things that I know that I want to accomplish in life, many things I know I can accomplish in life, and many fears I have in working to accomplish them.
This has lead to me to think of one of my favourite scripture heros, Ammon the son of Mosiah.
Ammon was one of the greatest missionaries there ever was. At the end of his mission we are able to find out why it is that he was blessed with so much success in his work.
Alma 26:11-12 reads, "11 But Ammon said unto him: I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God.

 12 Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever." 

That is the key! We have to know how we can accomplish our hopes, dreams, and desires. It is by the help of our Saviour Jesus Christ and our Father in Heaven.
All of us have these hopes, dreams, and desires. There are many "limitations" placed on us based how who we are, where we live, even how we dress. But I know that it is possible to achieve all that we set out to achieve as we turn to God and Jesus Christ. 

Will it still be hard? For Sure!!
But it will be possible and it will be worth it. :)
Never give up on your dreams! And never forget that Heaven is on your side! I know that I would only be where I am today by the help of Christ. I know that His power is real and can truly give us the strength that we need to do all that we are called upon to do. 

Nearer My God to Thee

Hi there!!
I hope you have had a fabulous day! Because today has sure been fabulous here! :)
And if not I hope your day gets better!

On Sunday my wonderful companion and I had the opportunity to sing with a primary girl at our church service. We chose the song Nearer My God to Thee. Which is a favourite of mine. :)
I love the lyrics of this song, and especially in the third verse as it says,

 There let the way appear,

Steps unto heav'n;

All that thou sendest me,

In mercy giv'n;

Angels to beckon me

Nearer, my God to thee,

Nearer, my God to thee,

Nearer to thee!

I love the power in this verse. That angels are beckoning us towards God and towards Christ. It made me think of this quote from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland in this last April Conference (you can get the link HERE) 

This quote really touched me. Heaven is cheering us on.

I know that I have felt the power of heaven cheering me on in my life. There have been times when I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to take one more thing. 

Or I didn't think my family could take one more hit. 

And yet, we made it. 

Each and every time. 

BECAUSE

Heaven Cheered Us On. 

I testify that it can be the same for each of you. God is no respecter of persons. He loves each and everyone of us as His son or Daughter and He will bless us as we draw nearer to Him.  

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Like Clay on a Wheel

Hi-ya!!
I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying themselves!! :)
So I found this beautiful picture quote today and I just wanted to share my thoughts on it, and possibly a fun little story. We'll see :)


There was a wonderful story shared in conference last October. You can read the full talk HERE
But it relates how it is that we need to live a Christ-centered life, just as the clay on the potter's wheel must be centered exactly on the wheel. If it is not, the clay will fly everywhere and create a major mess.
I was really touched by this. I feel like in my life I have been fairly good at centering my desires on Christ and on following Him faithfully.
However, it must be exact. We cannot let the slightest things pull us from being centered on Christ. Whether it be fear, doubt, uncertainty, or laziness. There is no excuse good enough to keep us from following Christ.

When I was attending University I made it my goal to wake up early and study the scriptures each day for 20-30 minutes before preparing for the day and heading to class. I kind of amazed myself at my resolve to do it. As every time previously I had tried to do this I had failed.
However, God helped me in achieving this goal, even with keeping up with classes and the small social life I was attempting to have. :)
When I returned home at the end of my semester I was feeling pretty good and confident in my ability to continue to study daily.
I failed, just as I had before.
Why? Because I allowed other things, other GOOD things (Like going running) to keep me from devoting time to study.
I know that there is a power that comes from giving all that we can to the Lord. As we make the necessary sacrifices to Him in order to centre our lives on Him and His teachings all things will be possible. I know this because I have seen it many, many times in my life.