because I have been given much

Hello all!

With Thanksgiving and the holiday season coming up, I've been thinking about living with gratitude and serving others. I found this video today and I really liked it because it reminded me to hold dear everything God has given me.

I know that I am so blessed and have so much to be grateful for. This video reminded me that I need to be expressing my gratitude more often. I want God to know every day how grateful I am. I don't want to wait until a really hard challenge comes my way before I start praising God and showing thankfulness.


This video also reminded me of a verse I read a couple weeks ago that I really liked:
D&C 42:30 - And behold, thou wilt remember the poor, and consecrate of thy properties for their support that which thou hast to impart unto them, with a covenant and a deed which cannot be broken. 

Consecrate means "to make or declare sacred; set apart or dedicate to the service of a deity." So what does it mean to consecrate of your properties for the support of the poor? I liked what the man in this video said - "live simply so other people can simply live." 

What this verse taught me is that I should dedicate everything God has given me to the service of others. I have been blessed so abundantly, and I know that Heavenly Father wants me to use the resources I've been given to improve the lives of others. What an amazing calling - to be able to show your gratitude by dedicating all that you have to the service of others and therefore to the service of God.

I am so grateful for this time of year because the holiday season fills our hearts with the spirit of gratitude, love, and service. Let us be grateful servants all the year round. Decide now to dedicate all that you have to the service of God. 

Have a great Thanksgiving! 

Love, Haley. 

it always will be true!

Happy Sunday!

I'm not really sure what I want to write about, so let's just see what happens, shall we?

Lovely picture of the Barton clan in Oregon.

Girl's Camp - Love these girls with all my soul!!

St. George temple

I have a good couple scriptures to share.

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Doctrine & Covenants 6

 22 Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things.

 23 Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?

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It breaks my heart when I think about those who were strong in the gospel - served missions, etc. - and then fell away. It makes me so sad when they say 'I don't think I ever really believed it.' 

In times of doubt, remember back to the times when you knew. Think of the times when you felt the Spirit so strong. Did He not already give you a witness? This is why it's so important to keep written record and journals. 

It's true! It will always be true! 

I am making a decision right now to do better at journal writing. I have some amazing examples in my ward of girls who write in their journals all the time. I want to be one of those people! And my incentive can be to fill up the journal so I can buy another cute one! haha! 

My mom and I spent almost all day yesterday shopping for my trip to Fiji! I'm so excited and nervous! I am leaving a week from Tuesday! I will post lots of pictures when I return! (And I'll be sure to write in my journal a lot!) :) 

Have a wonderful Sabbath Day!

And a wonderful week!

Haley

i could never find the words...

Last Wednesday marked the anniversary of the martyrdom of our own beloved prophet Joseph Smith.




Elder Holland (as always) gave an incredibly powerful talk. To read the whole thing, click here.

"They were willing to die rather than deny the divine origin and the eternal truthfulness of the Book of Mormon."


Something has to be really really important to someone if they are willing to die for it.

I know that if a man were ever to wrongly claim that they had received divine witness of the truthfulness of a book that they had written themselves... Well... I'm pretty sure that power would be the motive behind such a lie.
And what power would they have after they were dead?

No, if a man is willing to die rather than deny the truthfulness of that book... then that book is true.

[did all that make sense?]


The 135th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants is my very favorite.

"the Book of Mormon, and this book of Doctrine and Covenants of the church, cost the best blood of the nineteenth century to bring them forth for the salvation of a ruined world;"
[taken from verse 6]

I could never find the words to express my infinite gratitude and respect towards my prophet Joseph Smith.

I could never say thank you enough.





P.S. Please find the time to watch the video embedded in this post. It can strengthen your testimony so much... Aaah. I just don't have words. Please watch it. You will be so glad you did.

Make. A. Change.

     You know... people say a lot that how bad you want something determines how hard you will work for it...

And I think that that's true, but I think there is more to it than that...

It's hard to motivate yourself to make a change...

I mean, someone who really wants to lose weight... that doesn't necessarily make it easier for them to go bust their tail at the gym...

Does it?

What I mean is...

It isn't just how bad you want the end result.

That little voice that pops into your head in the morning - that little "do it tomorrow" voice - wins over all too often. And that voice plays a huge role in whether or not your goals are accomplished.

At some point, you just have to dig down deep and find the motivation to get yourself started.



At some point, you have to decide that you are willing to commit to a change.

And to do that... you have to have some serious will-power.


You know what? Start easy.

Want to hear a story?


So a couple years ago... I really wanted to do better about reading my scriptures. I just wasn't consistent, and it was hard for me, because half the time I didn't even understand what I was reading.

So... I prayed for a desire.

Because I wanted to say that I was doing good about reading my scriptures, but I didn't really have the drive to actually pick them up and get started. I always thought, "I'll do it tomorrow".

Ha - and maybe even believed that sometimes.

Anyways... one day, I decided to switch from where I was at in the Book of Mormon to the Doctrine and Covenants.

And I read a section.

And I understood it.

The thing is... the Book of Mormon is easier to understand than the Bible because it was written more recently...

Well... the Doctrine and Covenants is way easier to understand than the Book of Mormon... because it was written even more recently.

The last section was written in 1918.

We read and study books in English class that are older than that.

So... my point is this:

I discovered that the Doctrine and Covenants is really easy to understand and full of amazing scriptures. Like, every other verse could be highlighted.
The Doctrine and Covenants made me love reading my scriptures.

So now I read in all different parts of the scriptures.


And I realized that it doesn't matter if you fully understand what is going on in every verse.


And don't expect to find deep, incredible insight on every chapter. 


Sometimes you just have to try and get the big picture... what that chapter or group of chapters is trying to teach you.


Pray for understanding. 


And sometimes... just accept that you don't understand it. Maybe you will later.


From one little step... reading an easy-to-understand section of the Doctrine and Covenants....


I learned to love the scriptures.


And now... instead of praying for a desire to read... I pray for a desire to study. 
(Because sometimes I still get a little lazy with that.)


But I have upped the ante a little bit. 


And I am proud to say that at least I read daily, and the whole taking-my-time-to-gain-insight thing will become more consistent as I work on it. 



This works with anything requiring motivation. 


Commit to at least taking a step - maybe a small step - but a step.


And go from there. 




Just dig deep, find an inkling of will-power...


And just make it happen. 







P.S. It gets annoying to keep typing Doctrine and Covenants over and over again... It's just such a long name... and "Doctrine" is a tedious word to type!

P.P.S. I had to look up how to spell "ante"... I suppose that isn't something that I write out very often... :)

The Big Picture... Because Hard Work DOES Pay Off!

Me right now. Sporting my new Coldplay shirt and SOOO happy
because I just finished my last test of the year.

I despise tests.

Well actually, I despise studying.

Which sort of comes with tests...

So I despise tests. By the transitive property.


Now. Is studying something that pays off?

Well, it does if you are wanting to get a good grade.

Which I do want good grades. As a matter of fact, I want excellent grades. I guess that's my motivation to study.

If I want something bad enough, I will work hard until I get it.


I know that I've shared this scripture before in this post, but I want to share it again.

Because it's my very favorite.

D&C 25:10 - And verily I say unto thee that thou shalt lay aside the things of this world, and seek for the things of a better.


You know... our spirits have existed for eons. And even before that, you existed as an intelligence.


You have always existed. 


And you will continue to exist... forever.


And ever. (If that adds emphasis)


So... when looking at millions and billions and trillions and jabrillion-gajillions of years... 


The years that you spend on earth... which are very few...


Seem like nothing.


And in a couple thousand years... probably less... your time on earth will seem like it passed in the blink of an eye.


And a fast blink at that.


So why would you throw eternity away... for something that will pass in the blink of an eye?


It drives me crazy all the time when I see that people don't have the right perspective on life, or that they aren't fully living the Gospel.


You guys... the Gospel is a way of life. It isn't something that you turn on and off. 


It isn't something that you live only on Sundays or in Seminary. 


Your scriptures don't disappear when church ends.


Don't teach a bunch of Primary kids that they should be praying daily... when you aren't. (Well... still teach them that, but you know what I mean, right?)


Fully live the Gospel every day.

Pray several times a day.


Read your scriptures. Study them. (and know the difference between reading and studying)


I mean, I read my scriptures every day, but would probably be lying if I said that I fully devoted my time to studying them daily. I mean, I do sometimes, but not always.


But I should be. I suppose I should work on that a little bit. 




Please please PLEASE do not give up everything in your future for little things now. 


Because even though we live in a beautiful world... there is a better one out there. 




So ask yourself... do I want that world enough to work for it?


I hope you answered yes, and I hope that you will always remember the potential that you have.

Remember what you can become.

Because temporal things don't last... so devote your time to the things that will last.


And always strive to be better.

Appreciating the Scriptures

You can learn more about the coming forth of the King James Bible and William Tyndale from the Fires of Faith documentaries. (If you haven't already watched them...)

I'd be willing to bet that there are many, many, MANY people that hugely take for granted the sacrifices of others.

I'm one of those people.

It happens a lot in life, and in our church.

Things that meant so much to people long - or not so long - ago... Things that they would die for... Mean little or nothing to many people nowadays.

The fact that we have all of this amazing scripture now... that is a miracle. 


Now... I can't always understand the Old Testament. I think that very few people can...

But.

Seminary has taught me so much about understanding the Old Testament... and any scripture for that matter.

First of all, if you need help understanding what's going on... use study helps!!
We have a bunch of Institute study books that I've used when reading the Old Testament. There are all sorts of books that you can buy to help you read the scriptures - no matter where you're reading!


And remember that you will gain a lot from really studying, not just reading the scriptures. Try and pick apart the verses and find the hidden meanings. Sometimes they're not even that hidden, we just tend to skim over them when reading quickly. 


And also, if you start getting frustrated, remember that you don't have to understand every little verse. Hopefully you will spend your whole life studying the scriptures, and you can get something different from them every time. 


If you can't figure it out, move on. Just try to get the big, general picture. 


The scriptures are full of stories. They are history books. If you don't understand every principle that's written, stop and figure out what's going on, what people are involved, and what's the general lesson to be learned.


And if you are still having a hard time getting yourself to read the scriptures... here's my tip.


Start with the Doctrine and Covenants. Because it was written more recently, it's easier to understand, and is filled with amazing and beautiful scriptures.


So here's to not taking sacrifices for granted. 


Learn to appreciate the scriptures. They really will add more meaning to your life.