Preparatory state

Hello dear friends and family! 

This past week in our reading, there were a couple of verses that really stood out to me in Alma chapter 42. Verses 10 and 30 hit me kind of hard with principles that I haven't thought about for awhile. Verse 10 is kind of fuerte (I am not sure what a good word for that in English is... but I guess it means kind of blunt or strong?) It says, "this probationary state became a state for them to prepare; it became a preparatory state". It made me think about how important it is to be striving to prepare to meet our Heavenly Father and Savior one day. This is the time right now that we have to prepare and we aren't going to get this time back! In my mind I related it to finals week (right now) because everyone here at BYU is so stressed and frantically running around trying to get all the assignments and extra credit and tests done. And not to mention studying for the actual finals! AHH! But everyone is so focused and is preparing everyday a little bit more for finals. I thought about what that might be like if we took that same motivation and energy that we have to prepare for finals and used it to prepare for the day that we will meet our maker. Wouldn't that be wonderful?? It's hard because that day seems so far away! But we need to strive to have an eternal perspective and try each day to prepare a little bit more and a little bit better to become like our Savior, Jesus Christ. And to do this we can follow the counsel in verse 30 where it says, "have full sway in your heart". if we can let our Savior, Jesus Christ, and the Gospel have full sway in our hearts that we might almost even burst, then we will want to become better each day and share that conviction with our people! In Relief Society this past week, our teacher taught about how neat it is to relate this to wildfires... when a wildfire is SUPER hot it just can't contain itself and starts spitting out chunks of fire around it. That's what we should be doing too... we should be on fire with the love and light of Christ and the Gospel that we just can't even contain it and we start spreading it all around us! 

I am so grateful for this Easter season when everyone is so focused on our Savior, Jesus Christ! Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could strive to focus on Him THIS MUCH throughout the entire year?! I think that would be a pretty amazing gift to give Him. And not only would it be neat, but we would truly be living covenants that we have made at Baptism to take His name upon us. I know that I can do a better job at striving to be more like Him and think about Him throughout my everyday life and do as He would.

Himni and Helaman

Hello Friends and Family!
Ethan and I read in the middle of Alma this week and I found some really neat insights that helped strengthen my testimony. I wanted to share something interesting from Alma 31 verses 6-7:
During these verses I thought about the conversations and thoughts that must have been going on when Alma decided to leave to go teach the gospel. He took with him Ammon, Aaron, Omner, Shiblon and Corianton. BUT he left Himni and Helaman there in the land of Zarahemla. If I were to be Himni and Helaman I of course would say "Yes Alma I will do whatever is needed of me" and then in my mind I would be complaining "But I really want to go with all my friends and family and go teach the gospel!!! I want to be a missionary too!!!" However, they didn't whine and complain, but they willingly stayed back to fulfill their callings and do what the Lord needed them to do to build up His church in different (but just as important) areas of the land. I thought about this a lot and how sometimes we want to do the thing that everyone else is doing and we want to go with our friends and be with our family doing what seems to be the "fun" thing or the "cool" thing that the "group" is doing. But that's not always what the Lord needs us to do. I thought about this in relation to two aspects of my life...
First, I thought about how I had to come home from my mission after only 9 1/2 months due to a stress fracture in my hip causing me not to be able to walk. In my mind I thought "Why? Why do I have to come home? I want to go out and serve with and like all of my friends" But reading this verse (and reflecting on my experiences and how grateful I am that it lead me to get married to my BEST FRIEND) I realized how important it is to go where the Lord needs us even if it isn't necessarily what we had in mind.
Second, I also thought about how this might relate to motherhood for me one day. I might feel like some days are long and I might think it would be nice to just go be with my friends or go to school or work or something. And again, reading this verse I thought of how special it will be to have an opportunity to raise some of Heavenly Father's special children and fulfill and sacred calling. And this I can do by following the example of Himni and Helaman. I am grateful for their examples and for the scriptures that open up the doors to so much personal revelation.
Hope you all have a great week!

Patience and Trust in the Lord

Hello friends and family! This week was very eye opening for me. I spent a lot of time in the ER and at doctor's appointments. As I was going through this horrible pain, Ethan and I came across a verse that struck me very strongly in our daily scripture study. Alma 26:27. I really think this verse is a powerful example of the people going against their enemies even when they are scared and feel like they won't succeed, but the Lord does a wonderful job at comforting his people in times of trial and affliction as long as they will turn to Him as the people in this verse demonstrated with great courage...   "Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success." 

I love that verse and realized that when I feel like I want to give up during trials, tribulations and afflictions that if we will just turn to the Lord and bear with patience our afflictions then He is going to give us "success". I felt that a lot in this past week as I dealt with this health challenge and tried to figure out what was going on. Sometimes I got a little depressed at times and wanted to "turn back" and wished the problems would just go away. But as we were reminded by this verse and so many general conference talks... that when we are patient and rely on the Lord through hard times and continue with faith in doing the little things, everything will work out in the end however the Lord needs it to in order for us to grow and progress in His timing!