One Fine Day...

 

Set Up for Success

"Baptism is a precious gift from Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Through faith in Jesus Christ repentance, and baptism, we are cleansed of our sins, become members of the Lord’s Church, and qualify to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. We make sacred promises to Heavenly Father, and He promises us blessings in return. As you prayerfully read the scriptures on this poster, you will learn about these promises, or covenants."

www.lds.org

Last night Sister Crook and I got to witness a baptism of one of the people we have been teaching. It was a BEAUTIFUL event. It was so neat to see him progress and enter the "gate" of baptism because HE had PRAYED and found out for himself. 

While Sister Crook and I were teaching him, we would come home at night and just say this is too easy, teaching people CAN NOT be this easy... As we continued to teach him, all we could think was when is something going to go wrong. To our surprise, everything went smooth. He was able to go through the steps and learn what he needed to come closer to Christ.

As Sister Crook and I got into the car, I said we just need to say a prayer of gratitude. As we prayed and thanked Heavenly Father, I realized something new I had learned. That missionary work is easy, because the message we are sharing is TRUE. Heavenly Father wants us to succeed; he has not set us up to fail!

www.mormon.org

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(C)LV2011

Making Clean a Teenager Thing.....

ITS TIME TO STAND OUT....BE CONFIDENT IN CLEAN THOUGHTS

Because “the Lord looketh on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7), youth whose thoughts are virtuous will be confident the Lord accepts them and will more likely live virtuous lives.

-2007 Mutual Theme

Youth, it is time to be confident, i have been thinking about how vital it is that we keep our thoughts clean. i know it is not part of the "normal" teenage scene to keep things clean, but that is why we have to stand out. we need to be the ones who have good feelings towards others, who keep their thoughts clean, and have our eyes centered on the lord so we can stand confident in front of him one day. 

(C)LV2011

www.mormom.org

Not just a one time thing....

Not just a onetime thing…

Yesterday, just happened to be a Christmas Miracle in November. We were working at the Hill Cumorah when I saw a box with all of the missionary’s monthly ensigns in it. I started to dig through it to find the one with my name on it. As I picked it up I had all of the feelings from conference rush right back into my soul. I had missed these beautiful talks.

 I ripped it open and started to read through many different talks. One of my favorite talks was by our beloved President Thomas S. Monson. He gave a great talk about prayer and listening to the Holy Ghost and the promptings he gives. I remembered back to the first time I had heard this message. It was right after I had received news of a possible medical release. While listening to his talk, my brain wandered many times thinking about what was going to happen, until I looked up and all I heard was “Follow it.” At that minute I realized my prayers had been answered, that whatever was going to happen I just needed to go with it.  As I read through the talk again, I was looking for those key words “Follow it,” I could not find them anywhere! It took me a few times to realize that those were not the exact words he had used, but it was the Holy Ghost that had whispered those words to me. It was so neat to realize that I received such a clear answer from God while listening to the Prophet. Now Youth, they did not print this pretty magazine for nothing, get one and READ IT. Read one talk a week, and then ponder and pray about it, and see how it blesses you! How lucky are we to have words that come from our Heavenly Father through his faithful worthy servants.

WILL YOU FOLLOW IT???

(C)LV2011

http://www.mormon.org/

SHOOT THE TUBE

 SHOOT THE TUBE

The summer of 2010 I was hired to be an Especially For Youth councilor in Logan and Salt Lake City Utah. We got to meet MANY youth from all over. It was a wonderful time to have youth with similar standards come and learn more about the Gospel. One of the weekends, we councilors decided to go and "Shoot the tube" a popular summer activity in Salt Lake. When my friend Kaitlin and I got there we looked up the tunnel and thought we might not make it...All we could see is the light at the end.

We were pretty nervous... What you had to do was walk in the water that was freezing all the way to the end; there was only a rope to hold onto as you walked. Kaitlin and I went in together and we held onto the rope and let it guide us. At the beginning we were scared to start walking in the tunnel, but we conquered our fears and continued. After making it through the tunnel it was our turn to be "shot down the tube." What would happen is a board of wood was put up to block all of the water from coming down the tube. As the water built up we put our tube down and prepared for the swift water that was that coming. When the board was taken out, the water RUSHED past us "shooting" us down the tube. The excitement was exhilarating...when we reached the outside we were shot into a pond that was filled with dogs and other treasures...Overall it was something that was good in the moment but did not end well...

                               

What I realized is that it was an experience that made me happy for a moment. After it was all said and done I smelled like a wet dog. It was defiantly something that gave me a rush of adrenaline but not something that gave me lasting happiness. Youth, as you go through High School you are going to find many things that make you feel good for the moment...but in the end you need to find something that gives you happiness forever. I know that living the Gospel Standards is what has brought me the most happiness...

“Happiness leaves no bad aftertaste, it is followed by no depressing reaction; it calls for no repentance, brings no regret, entails no remorse; pleasure too often makes necessary repentance, contrition, and suffering; and, if indulged to the extreme, it brings degradation and destruction.”

-W. Eugene Hansen

The Search for Happiness 

 

(C)LV2011

www.mormon.org

CHUBBY BUNNY

CHUBBY BUNNY

"Testimony will come to you in pieces as parts of the whole truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ are confirmed. For instance, as you read and ponder the Book of Mormon, verses you have read before will appear new to you and bring new ideas. Your testimony will grow in breadth and in depth as the Holy Ghost confirms that they are true. Your living testimony will expand as you study, pray, and ponder in the scriptures."

-President Henry B. Eyring

Usually, I do not show pictures of myself stuffing my face...in this case I believe it’s going to be worth it :)

This morning we woke up at an hour that I did not even know existed…5 a.m.... So that my companion and I could attend early morning seminary and talk with the youth about serving missions. As we shared mission experiences, I realized that it was not just one experience that made my mission but it was loads that did. I started to think about my testimony and how I gained it . 

I remember as a young woman I was never confident in the church. I always felt that I was just there listening and not acting upon what was said. As I got older I realized that it was not going to be one event that secured my testimony, but many. When we think that one experience is enough that is when Heavenly Father sends us another one. Always remember that you must build upon what you have to continue to have that firm testimony that comes piece by piece. You can see in my pictures, it was not just one marshmallow that filled my mouth, but piece by piece I was able to get 13 in and win the chubby bunny contest :) 

***DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME***

(C)LV2011

www.mormon.org

Going Tagless...

…Trust In God…

COME WHAT MAY AND LOVE IT

“God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.”  The Lord Jesus Christ is our partner, helper, and advocate. He wants us to be happy. He wants us to be successful. If we do our part, He will step in.

He who descended below all things will come to our aid. He will comfort and uphold us. He will strengthen us in our weakness and fortify us in our distress. He will make weak things become strong.

-Elder Worthlin

Handing in my key :(

If there is one thing that I have learned while serving the Lord, it is to TRUST IN GOD. For the past few months, I have still been pretty sick. I have been able to receive many PRIESTHOOD blessings, which is a HUGE comfort to me, to know that my Heavenly Father loves me. I recently received the news that I will be going home early…I am receiving an Honorable Medical Release and will be going home in the middle of November. It has been a heartbreak to know that I was only able to serve a 10 month mission, but I do know that I did my best. I have come to know my Savior Jesus Christ; he has held my hand through every moment that I have been in pain. He is the only one that truly knows what I have been through; he has made my burden lighter.

My Testimony :)

When I heard the news my whole life changed once again, but my past has prepared me for this new challenge. All I have known for the past 9 months is serving the Lord. I felt like I was not ready to go back to the real world and move on with school. As all of the feelings of doubt crept into my mind, I remembered the talk that Elder Worthlin gave…Come What May and Love it. At that moment, I decided to not focus on things I did not get to do while serving, but focus on the many things that I have accomplished and the many things I can do when I get home! I have no idea what will come for me in the next few months, but I do know that it will be God’s will and I can still be a missionary without a black name tag. I know that there is a reason for everything and that even though I will say many tearful goodbyes, I will always remember the good things that have come from serving the Lord.

I know many of you are WONDERING if I will still blog… YES of course! You can expect me to keep posting :)

 

Tears Trail to Tender Mercies

The Principle of Compensation

come what may and love it...

“The Lord compensates the faithful for every loss. That which is taken away from those who love the Lord will be added unto them in His own way. While it may not come at the time we desire, the faithful will know that every tear today will eventually be returned a hundredfold with tears of rejoicing and gratitude.”

-Elder Worthlin

Youth, there are many times in life when you just don't get what you want. You may not get asked to the prom, you may not win the big game, and you may not think life is fair...to be honest, at some points it is not! As all of you know, in the beginning of my mission, I was reassigned to serve in New York. At first I thought this is an AWFUL time in my life to be sick. All I could think was, give me another chance! It was an experience that came with many tears. I was ripped away from friends, desires, and experiences. I was heartbroken... When I got to New York, I thought that, all was lost. However, I continued to be faithful and serve the Lord. As I did, I was able to see how the Lord was compensating me for that loss. I was able to learn HOW TO have a good attitude even when things are hard.Through out my mission, I have been blessed to meet thousands of people and bear my testimony to them. I have been able to see people change their lives because they came to know Christ. I have been able to witness TRUE HAPPINESS. Heavenly Father truly knows how to compensate us, maybe not in the way we want or the timing, but it is what he needs us to have. 

come what may and love it :0

(c)LV2011

http://www.mormom.org/