You matter to Him. Never give up.

Why all this talk about God?

Ever wonder why I can't shut up about God and my religion?

Take 5-10 min to read this talk by David A. Bednar.  He explains why better than I can!

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/come-and-see?lang=eng

Peace out!

Our powerful roles as women, and men. As God's children.

Though I don't know everything, I know this:  

I am a daughter of God, my Heavenly Father, who loves me, and has great plans for my growth and happiness.  

This speech is pretty long (almost an hour), but it is worth listening to, especially if you have concerns about how Mormon's regard and treat women.  Please, listen with an open heart to the beliefs of Sharon Eubank, director of Humanitarian Services and LDS Charities.  I enthusiastically agree with her.  There is more to life than this temporary world!

Link is here

Heaven's help is there

this one-minute video is beautiful.

very, very well worth your time.  i promise.

#didyouthinktopray?

this video brought me back to my knees.

peace

This really hit my heart strings (and tear ducts) tonight.

I needed it.  

I hope it helps you, too.

<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>

"To the individual who is weak in the heart,

fearful in the heart:

be patient with yourself.

Perfection comes not in this life, but in the next life.

Don't demand things that are unreasonable,

but demand of yourself improvement.

"As you let the Lord help you,

through that, He will make the difference."

Peace in the knowledge of God,

and our identity as His children,

is beautiful.

<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>

We need food

Our bodies, this world, our lives... are all symbolic of eternal truths.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

{there is beauty in the seemingly insignificant}

peace.

What's in a face?

That's my face.

Isn't it beautiful?  ;)

^^^^^^^^^

Looking at another person's face is one of the most profound ways by which we can lose ourselves, 

and remember another person's innate human value.  Making both of us happier.

^^^^^^^^^

"Hearkening to the call of Christ from His Spirit,

or through another's countenance,

or both, we become genuinely honest, simple, solid, true--

often together with someone we may not have trusted before.

[do you want to be that?  genuine.  honest.  simple.  solid.  true.  i sure do.]

"Whether it is felt in His breast or in ours, 

the Savior's love can achieve what force cannot

because where force calls forth counterforce,

love calls forth love...

"How then shall we come unto Christ...?  

By sacrificing all taking of offense.  

By giving up criticism, impatience, and contempt....

By giving these practices their true name, 

violence, 

and abhorring even their first appearance.  

By renouncing war in every form and 

proclaiming peace....

"Listen attentively to the teacher whose lectures may be a little dry.  

Read with particular care the papers of students who struggle to write.  

Befriend the one who feels different, lost, or lonely.  

Embrace the child who seems to resist you.  

Take seriously the advice of parents who have trouble following that advice themselves.  

Invite to dinner those who lack the graciousness or the means to invite you back.  

Even 'love your enemies, do good to them which hate you' (Luke 6:27)....

"This kind of love is who we really are.... 

And anything less

--judging others and withholding our favor from them--

capitulates to Satan."

[Quote from this speech by C. Terry Warner]

{He's founder of Arbinger Institute, the group that wrote The Anatomy of Peace and Leadership and Self-Deception}

^^^^^^^^^

I have seen through personal experience how true this is.

Join me in putting these promises to the test.

Whether you're renewing your previous commitment, or turning over a new leaf.

Let us forget ourselves, and go to work.

Rethink how you treat others

It's only about 3 minutes.  You'd spend that much time trying to decide whether or not to watch this, anyways!  I promise you won't regret pressing play.

Beautiful:  The Savior loves each and every one of us, His children, more than we can comprehend.

Rolling waters

This quote really hit me this morning:

"You don't need an invitation before you start moving in the direction of your righteous goals.

You don't need to wait for permission to become the person you were designed to be. 

You don't need to wait to be invited to serve..."

- President Dieter F. Uchtdorf -

{photo from lds.org}

"How long can rolling waters remain impure?"

When you move forward in faith,

Everything else falls into place.

Now that's beautiful.

Our Savior's Love

I was so moved by how much the Lord loves and cares for this man.

He longs to embrace you, too.

peace.

Perfection

{Image from the Mormon.org Facebook page}

"There is certain frustration awaiting anyone who attempts to perfect themselves without the aid of the Holy Spirit.  It is not uncommon for someone to make a list of everything they feel they should be doing in their lives, then select a few to begin working on.  As wholesome as this sounds, it will only create feelings of impotence and frustration.  Read all the scriptures, and nowhere is there an account of someone achieving spiritual power by making lists of needed improvements, and then working the list!

They all did it by obedience to the voice of the Lord.  You must also; there is no other way...The Lord knows the exact course our lives should take, which sin should be eliminated first, which weakness should be addressed first, and which blessings we will need to accomplish these things...He will direct us, step by step...He will change and purify our hearts...

The way to perfection is not through the disciplining and reshaping of the soul by the will of man, but through the discipline of obedience and reshaping of the soul by God...To what are we to be obedient?  It is the voice of the Lord in our hearts and minds."
(see Enos 1:10-11, 1 Nephi 22:2)

- John M. Pontius -
From the book Following the Light of Christ into His Presence

between those ears

What do your thoughts look like?  Are they full of faith?

"Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not."

- D&C 6:36 -

This is a good depiction of how I visualize the God's admonition to "let virtue garnish thy thoughts." 

(click on the hyperlink for the scripture reference)

peace out

lovin the quotes

“The Lord has determined in His heart that He will try us until He knows what He can do with us.

  He tried His Son Jesus….Before He came upon earth the Father had watched his course and knew that He could depend upon Him when the salvation of worlds should be at stake; and He was not disappointed.  

So in regard to ourselves.  He will try us, and continue to try us, in order that He may place us in the highest positions in life and put upon us the most sacred responsibilities.”

  

{Teachings of Lorenzo Snow}

beautiful thing Father:

God 

{and His complete understanding of us}

peace

My kindness shall not depart from thee

This song has pierced my heart.

It's a good thing I wasn't wearing much makeup when I listened to it this morning, or I would've had to reapply!  ;)  

(And that's saying something, because I don't cry very easily.)

The music is breathtaking, but listen closely to the words.

That's the most beautiful part.

And this doesn't just apply to mormons.
I think anyone who believes, or wants to believe in God will like this!

(And don't worry, the song itself starts a little after 2 minutes)

It's true.  It's all true.  

[peace]

Why we fear

[Disclaimer:  Most of what I post on this blog is not official LDS doctrine, as far as I know.  Just my thoughts and beliefs.]

Have you ever been afraid to come close to God?

Have you ever been afraid to really open your heart up to Him?

To truly be converted?

To commit all that you are, do, and desire, to Him?

To really feel His love, and accept it into your heart?

To believe Him, and trust His word?

If you've never felt that way... you're probably not human.  ;)  Or you're just a saint.

[no real reason for this picture, except that it's beautiful! :)]

It hit me the other day, why I'm sometimes afraid to come close to Christ.

I know He's all-loving.  I know He's true.  I know I can trust Him...

I found the answer in Ether 12:27: (these are the Lord's words:)

"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness."

That's it.  

I know that when I come unto Him, He helps me see things as they really are.  ...Which necessarily includes seeing my weaknesses.  And aren't we humans so good at avoiding our faults/failures/weaknesses?

But the verse goes on:

"I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

Don't I want to become stronger?

Don't I want to become more like Christ?

The only way that can happen is if I come unto Him and, through faith on His atonement, let Him turn my weaknesses into strengths, until every last impurity is refined into perfection... 

Slowly, but surely, with faith.

So I want to know my weaknesses.  

I want to know them so that I can do all that's in my power to improve on them, and let Christ take care of the rest.

I know that Jesus Christ lives.  He knows and loves each and every one of us, His children.  I know He has been through every little (and big) thing that we've ever been through, and will go through, and He knows how to succor His people.  

Come unto Him, despite any fears you may have, and you will never regret that decision.

{beautiful thing}

The infinite atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

peace out.

An Unexpected Gift

My attention fell upon this video clip as I was in the middle of studying for a final.

At first I thought, "I don't have time to watch this video--I'm sure it's good, but I need these 5 minutes to study."  

But I felt prompted to watch it anyways.  

And I'm so, so glad I did.

[here's where the video is found online]

Beautiful thing:

The unexpected gifts we find in our trials.  

There is a reason for every heartache we go through, 

and there is someone who understands completely--even Jesus Christ.

Let us all try to feel His infinite love this Christmas. 

He holds each of us in His loving arms.

Merry Christmas.

And may you feel the peace that comes from our Savior's atoning love.

You are divine within

click here for the song i tried and failed to imbed

beautiful thing:

you

[peace out]

Live Right Now

"...Isn’t language interesting?

For example, a bus station is where a bus stops. 

A train station is where a train stops. On my desk is a work station. It is where . . .

At church we hope those who sit on the stand understand how long we can stand to sit.

When they grow on vines, blackberries when green are red. 

Wireless BlackBerries when read in class make green instructors blue.

The title of my talk—Live Right Now—also has dual meaning. 

“Live right now” can mean “live—right now.” It can also mean “live right—now.” 

Both meanings testify to the supernal blessings of choice—what the scriptures call “moral agency” (D&C 101:78)."

[Gerrit W. Gong]

This is from an insightful, uplifting, and inspiring speech by Dr. Gerrit W. Gong called "Live Right Now,"about decision-making in our lives. 

You can find it here, on LDS.org.  

I mean, who doesn't wonder about quintessential existential dilemmas? :)

{Don't worry, definitions are included in the speech}

{From Google Images; think it's a good representation of how it feels to live right now!}

A quote from the talk: 

"The remarkable truth “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:25) assures us existential choice need not engender forlornness, anguish, and despair (as described by Jean-Paul Sartre) but, ultimately, the joy for which men and women are."

beautiful thing:

our power to choose

peace out.

We are America!

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came out with an 

official statement about the United States presidential election results:

[click here to read]

:)

peace out.

Perspective

"Isn’t it true that we often get so busy? 

And, sad to say, we even wear our busyness as a badge of honor, as though being busy, by itself, was an accomplishment or sign of a superior life.

Is it?

I think of our Lord and Exemplar, Jesus Christ, and His short life among the people of Galilee and Jerusalem. I have tried to imagine Him bustling between meetings or multitasking to get a list of urgent things accomplished.

I can’t see it.

Instead I see the compassionate and caring Son of God purposefully living each day. When He interacted with those around Him, they felt important and loved. He knew the infinite value of the people He met.  He blessed them, ministered to them. He lifted them up, healed them. He gave them the precious gift of His time."

- President Dieter F. Uchtdorf -