An Easter Message

     I decided one Easter, while swinging on the swings, that it was officially going to be my favorite holiday.
     It's perfect. Great weather, the Easter Bunny comes, new church dresses, egg hunts, yummy food, and last but not least, jello eggs.
     I love me some jello eggs.

     Of course, once the 4th of July rolled around, I decided that it would be my favorite holiday. After that, Halloween.

     I like holidays. All of them.

     Easter and Christmas however, hold their own special and sacred meanings to members of our Church as well as people all around the world.
     And as fun as Halloween is, it could never come close to Christmas or Easter.

     Tomorrow... Easter... is a day that we should spend feeling grateful. Grateful for all that Christ did for us, and grateful that we can repent and overcome hard things because of Him. No matter how hard things get - and things could get really hard - just remember the following:

To every thing there is a season.
A time to every purpose.
A time to be born - a time to die...
A time to break down - a time to build up.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh...
A time to mourn, and a time to dance.
A time to get... a time to lose.
A time to keep - a time to cast away...
[See Ecclesiastes 3: 1-6]


AND... remember that trials aren't permanent. If you are faithful and trusting, they will go away eventually... even if it isn't until your earthly life is over. Always remember that "This too, shall pass."
(Phrase stolen from following poem!)

When some great sorrow, like a mighty river,
Flows through your life with peace-destroying power
And dearest things are swept from sight forever,
Say to your heart each trying hour:
"This, too, shall pass away."

When ceaseless toil has hushed your song of gladness,
And you have grown almost too tired to pray,
Let this truth banish from your heat its sadness,
And ease the burdens of each trying day:
"This, too, shall pass away."

When fortune smiles, and, full of mirth and pleasure,
The days are flitting by without a care,
Lest you should rest with only earthly treasure,
Let these few words their fullest import bear:
"This, too, shall pass away."

When earnest labor brings you fame and glory,
And all earth's noblest ones upon you smile,
Remember that life's longest, grandest story
Fills but a moment in earth's little while:
"This, too, shall pass away."

(This, Too, Shall Pass Away - Lanta Wilson Smith)

    And that leads us into the following quote:


Joseph B. Wirthlin, speaking of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, said in a talk once,
     "I think of all the days since the beginning of this world's history, that Friday was the darkest. But the doom of that day did not endure because on Sunday the resurrected Lord burst the bonds of death, ascended from the grave, and appeared gloriously triumphant as the Savior of all mankind."

He later went on to say,
     "Each of us will have our own Fridays -- those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our worldly life littered upon us in pieces. We will all experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. But I testify in the name of the One who conquered death -- Sunday will come.

(See a video about that talk here.)








Isaiah 53
3- He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4- Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5- But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Christ suffered more terrible pains than we could ever imagine. He did it for me. And you. He gave us the atonement, so that if we did our part and repented, we would never feel of those pains.

And then, on the third day, He rose again. He conquered death.
He rose above death... so that we could too.
And He succeeded... even though He went through great adversity. Following His example, WE can succeed amid great adversity too.

AND, perhaps the most significant knowledge that we gain from Easter... is that we can and will be resurrected someday... with a perfect body. Families... are FOREVER. 
That means so much to me... and I'm sure it does to you if you have lost loved ones.



Matthew 28
6- He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.


"Our Savior lived again. The most glorious, comforting, and reassuring of all events of human history had taken place—the victory over death. The pain and agony of Gethsemane and Calvary had been wiped away. The salvation of mankind had been secured. The Fall of Adam had been reclaimed. The empty tomb that first Easter morning was the answer to Job’s question, 'If a man die, shall he live again?' To all within the sound of my voice, I declare, If a man die, he shall live again. We know, for we have the light of revealed truth."
- Thomas S. Monson

And with that, Happy Easter!

Always Grateful...

"Recognize the blessings that are raining down on you
and enjoy them with thanks. (See D&C 105:12)"

     First of all, that video reminded me of this post...

     Okay. In my opinion, people should every night ask themselves if they saw God's hand in their life that day. I think that everyone, every day, could answer yes to that question.
     Here were my two favorite quotes from this video...
"The more often we see the things around us, even the beautiful and wonderful things, the more they become invisible to us." 


"Because we see things so often, we see them less and less."

     It's so true. Noticing and being grateful for the little things in your life is so important, because that way you will never forget about all of the beautiful things that God has created.
     To so many people, what stands out are the bad things. Well... there are a lot of bad things going on in the world, but there are also so many good things. Ultimately, people are good. They were made to be that way.

"Our society is afflicted by a spirit of thoughtless arrogance unbecoming those who have been so magnificently blessed. How grateful we should be for the bounties we enjoy. Absence of gratitude is the mark of the narrow, uneducated mind. It bespeaks a lack of knowledge and the ignorance of self-sufficiency. It expresses itself in ugly egotism and frequently in wanton mischief. We have seen our beaches, our parks, our forests littered with ugly refuse by those who evidently have no appreciation for their beauty.”

- Gordon B. Hinckley 

FYI:

egotism: self-centeredness

wanton: deliberate 

     So... I offer you a challenge (It's an easy one). For the next couple of weeks, try to spend just five minutes each night thinking about the things that you have been blessed with that day. Like I said earlier, think "How has God touched my life today?" Doing this will help you to be more aware and to notice the good things around you. 

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Now... I need you to help me out. This wasn't a super long post, which might be a good thing... because some of my posts get pretty long. I don't suppose that you guys enjoy reading those long posts very much... because they are pretty wordy sometimes. 

     So... do you think that I should start doing shorter posts? If I did, I would probably post more often, as they are easier to write. I don't mean like, way short, maybe about the length of this one that you just read... give or take.

What do you think? Comment below!

Did one of my posts leave a lasting impression on you? I'd love to hear about it! Comment below! 

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Forgiving Ourselves

NO MATTER WHAT YOUR PAST HAS BEEN, YOU
HAVE A SPOTLESS FUTURE.

This lesson helped me a lot with the following post...


D&C 58:42 - Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.

     Let's say that you commit a sin - any sin - and you feel bad and repent. Pretty straightforward right? If you honestly feel sorry, and you've done all that you can to repent... you are forgiven. It is promised in the scriptures.

But what happens when you can't forgive yourself?


     Here's a good story that I found, told by Elder Sterling W. Sill...
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     “Sometime ago I talked with a woman 53 years of age who had committed a moral transgression at age 18. She understood that her sin was very serious, but because she had repented a thousand times we can depend on the Lord’s promise that he had forgiven her. But she had never forgiven herself. Because she felt unclean and inferior, she withdrew from her friends, refused to marry, and became a kind of social and spiritual recluse. For 35 years she downgraded herself with bitter regrets and accusations. Her life of looking back upon her sin has turned her into something far below the wonderful person that God intended her to be. Her sin at age 18 was very serious. But for 35 years she has been adding to her sin by wasting the most valuable thing in the world, which is a splendid human life” 


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     This is sad, and happens to people too often. Maybe not in such a large way, but still... too often.
     
     Why is it that we can't let go? There are many different reasons... but if you have done all that you can... try to have faith and trust that everything will be okay. 


D&C 88:33 - For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift? Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift.


     If you repent, God forgives you. Rejoice in that gift. 
This has been a pretty short post, but just a couple of quotes to end... and then a song... (For those of you who read my last post, this is NOT an entire post about a song. It just happened to contribute a lot to this message...)


“God’s forgiveness is often nullified because the sinner does not forgive himself. What good does it do for God to blot our evil from his mind, if we continue to let it dominate our thinking by rerunning it in our own?” 
- Sterling W. Sill


“Sometimes a guilt consciousness overpowers a person with such a heaviness that when a repentant one looks back and sees the ugliness, the loathsomeness of the transgression, he is almost overwhelmed and wonders, ‘Can the Lord ever forgive me? Can I ever forgive myself?’ But when one reaches the depths of despondency and feels the hopelessness of his position, and when he cries out to God for mercy in helplessness but in faith, there comes a still, small, but penetrating voice whispering to his soul, ‘Thy sins are forgiven thee’”
- President Spencer W. Kimball


     Okay. This may have been a very boring post, since very little of it has been my actual words, but I think that this is a really good topic that may not often be brought up. I just want you to know that it has been addressed, and you can click the link at the very top of this post if you are interested in more stories and quotes...
     I think that forgiving yourself is a talent. If it is easy for you, that is great. I know that it isn't easy for me. The following song is not supposed to have anything to do with the gospel. It is by Rob Thomas... not exactly known as a gospel singer... :) The following song however, is very inspirational. I have had times in my own life when I've felt bad about decisions I've made. I'm not perfect, and I tend to be a little hard on myself sometimes.
     When I listen to this song, it reminds me that I need to give myself a break. Sometimes I just need to let things go...

(I actually shared this same exact song in this post. Remember?)

Okay... you ready to hear it?



Little Wonders - Rob Thomas

     Like I said, forgiving myself has been a huge problem for me in the past. I've known about and listened to this song for a long time, but on one occasion, when I was unnecessarily beating myself up about some things, I heard it again. I just soaked the words in, and they meant a lot to me this time. I realized that I just needed to move on. I just needed to put it behind me, because it didn't matter anymore.

Did one of my posts leave a lasting impression on you? I'd love to hear about it! Comment below!

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Expressions of Love

   
With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I thought that this was a very appropriate video to share...



     (My favorite is the guy who says "It just has to be forever!)


"Love is what inspired our Heavenly Father to create our spirits; it is what led our Savior to the Garden of Gethsemane to make Himself a ransom for our sins. Love is the grand motive of the plan of salvation; it is the source of happiness, the ever-renewing spring of healing, the precious fountain of hope. As we extend our hands and hearts toward others in Christlike love, something wonderful happens to us. Our own spirits become healed, more refined, and stronger. We become happier, more peaceful, and more receptive to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit."
-Dieter F. Uchtdorf

     President Howard W. Hunter said that love is the only way the world will know peace. (source) If everyone in the world showed love all of the time - to everybody, the world would be a very happy place, no matter how different we all are from each other. 

For the Spirit to dwell in our homes, we have to show love and kindness for our family. 
When everyone in your home is kind to one another, it will be more enjoyable to spend time with them. You will want to be around them more! 


I found the following quote given by David A. Bednar in this article...

“Each of us already knows we should tell the people we love that we love them. But what we know is not always reflected in what we do. We may feel unsure, awkward, or even perhaps a bit embarrassed.

“As disciples of the Savior, we are not merely striving to know more; rather, we need to consistently do more of what we know is right and become better.

“We should remember that saying ‘I love you’ is only a beginning. We need to say it, we need to mean it, and most importantly we need consistently to show it. We need to both express and demonstrate love.”

     Show others how much they mean to you! Tell them often that you love them, and do things to show it. When you do this, they will always know that they are important and cared for. 


John 14:15 - If ye love me, keep my commandments.


Never forget that one of God's commandments is to love your neighbor...


And never forget that He loves YOU unconditionally.

The Song of the Heart

   
  I love music. Playing the piano is one of my favorite hobbies, so I've been wanting to do a post on music for a while now...

D&C 25:12- For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads.

     I believe that one of the easiest ways to feel the Spirit is through uplifting music. Many of the times when I've felt the Spirit strongest in my life were when I was listening to good music. 

 
 President J. Reuben Clark Jr. of the First Presidency taught, “We get nearer to the Lord through music than perhaps through any other thing except prayer.”


     Never forget that music can set the mood in your home. Just as spiritual uplifting music can create a great feeling and atmosphere in your home, loud and sometimes inappropriate music can create contention and put people in a bad mood. 


     Music is one of the best ways to invite the Spirit, and also helps you to worship. There is a reason why we sing so many hymns while worshipping at church. Just as a spirit of worshipping God should be carried throughout the week, it would also do us good to sing and listen to hymns frequently during the week.

     Music helps us to learn. Many of the beliefs of our religion are spelled out in our hymns. Try sitting down some time and reading the words of the hymns. They always have beautiful messages that can comfort us and teach us gospel principles.

     Work and exercise to music. Music always makes things more enjoyable, and can make it more fun to work and do things that wouldn't have been as fun before.

     Plain and simple, music adds beauty to life. 

PS: I used this article while writing this post... it's a good one.

In The Service of Your God

Okay... I'm ready for a real post. You?
Our church always encourages service. There are so many things that our church does so that we can help those in need.
Our tithing money goes to many good causes, but always, in some way or another, helps others.
We often do ward service projects.
We have humanitarian services, and the Bishop's Storehouse.

We do all these things because when we are in the service of our fellow beings, we are only in the service of our God.

Matthew 10:39- He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.



    When I was at EFY, our session director said something to us that I really liked.
Do the right thing
At the right time
For the right reason
With the right heart.

Maybe you are doing something really nice for someone. It could be at the right time, and you're doing it because it would help that person. Maybe though, you are only doing it because your mom forced you to, or you are doing it for recognition.
DO SERVICE WITH THE RIGHT HEART!!

God gave us everything, including free agency. He would never make us be obedient. He isn't going to make you do things with the right heart. Having a good heart and choosing to help others, while having a good attitude, is one of the greatest gifts we can give to Him.

Here's a cute video for you... if you follow mormon.org on facebook, you may have already seen it... (:
Pay attention to the scripture at the end... it's a good one!





... I read a wonderful story of service in a book I have... I looked for the same story online, and I don't have the book with me, so I can't exactly share it, but it's something along the lines of this:

   There was a man who was driving home from work. (Let's call him Paul, because I don't remember his name...) Paul was reflecting on all of his blessings and feeling rather happy about how his life was turning out. He realized that he was almost out of gas, and luckily happened to be right by a gas station, so he pulled in.
 
 While Paul was waiting for his car to fill up, he saw a very scruffy looking man pull into the gas station. The man was smoking tobacco and had a long beard. He looked pretty dirty. Paul looked down at his nice suit, and wondered how someone could possibly go out in public looking that bad. "He's probably some biker dude, just out of jail." Paul thought. "He doesn't have a chance in life!" His car finished filling up, so he went inside to pay.

   At the register, Paul reached his hand into his pocket to pull out his wallet. He was surprised to find that it wasn't there. He searched all of his pockets only to find that he didn't have his wallet with him. "I need to run out to my car to get some money." He told the cashier, "I'll be right back."
   
    Paul ran outside and started frantically searching his car. He noticed the scruffy man watching him and was annoyed. "Doesn't he know it's rude to stare?" Paul wondered. Soon after, the scruffy man walked into the building. After several minutes of searching, Paul realized that he had no money.
  
     On his way back inside, he passed the scruffy man, who was leaving. "Don't worry about it." the man said. Paul was even more annoyed. "Same to you, buddy." He said, although he didn't know what the man was talking about. When he got inside, he started telling the cashier that he had no money, but that he could hurry and drive home to get his wallet before coming back to pay. "You don't have to pay," the lady said, "That man out there just payed for you."
  
    Paul ran outside and barely caught the scruffy man as he was leaving. "Why did you pay for me?" he asked. The man simply replied, "I've been there."

     Overwhelmed with gratitude, Paul walked back to his car. He imagined himself and the scruffy man being judged before God at the last day. Sure, the man smoked. What if he didn't know how bad tobacco was for the body when he started smoking it? Maybe he realized later, and by then couldn't stop. Paul had never smoked tobacco before in his life, but had he gone out of his way to help others? Paul realized that if their lives both ended now, that scruffy man would be in better shape than he himself would.

     Paul left the gas station, grateful for the new perspective that he had gained, all because this scruffy man did an act of service for him.



NEVER forget that you could have a very significant impact in someone else's life. It doesn't have to be big, it could seem very small and insignificant to you, but it might still mean the world to someone else. Remember that.

All Blessings Come by Obedience

 
D&C 130:21- And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.

Okay, so nobody told me what subject they would rather read about... But did you really think I would write about chastity?? No way.

One of my very favorite quotes is about obedience, so I am using that as the subject of this post. Here it is:
"Obedience to God can be the very highest expression of independence. Just think of giving to Him the one thing, the one gift, that He would never take... Obedience- that which God will never take by force- He will accept when freely given. And He will then return to you freedom that you can hardly dream of- the freedom to feel and to know, the freedom to do, and the freedom to BE, at least a thousand fold more than we offer Him. Strangely enough, the key to freedom is Obedience."
                                                                                     -Boyd K. Packer

God gave us EVERYTHING! Without Him, we wouldn't even exist. He has already given us so much freedom, including the freedom to choose. The least we can do is obey His commandments. They are ALWAYS for our own good.

I found this awesome story that President Monson told in the Priesthood session of General Conference in October 2006. It is an awesome example of how obeying will bless us, even if it doesn't seem like it at the time.

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"[Young] Rupert stood by the side of the road watching an unusual number of people hurry past. At length he recognized a friend.
'Where are all of you going in such a hurry?' he asked.
"The friend paused. 'Haven't you heard?' he said.
" 'I've heard nothing,' Rupert answered.
" 'Well' continued [the] friend, 'the king has lost his royal emerald! Yesterday he attended a wedding of the nobility and wore the emerald on the slender golden chain around his neck. In some way the emerald became loosened from the chain. Everyone is searching, for the king has offered a reward to the one who finds it. Come, we must hurry.'
" 'But I cannot go without asking Grandmother.' faltered Rupert.
" 'Then I cannot wait. I want to find the emerald,' replied his friend.

"Rupert hurried back to the cabin at the end of the woods to seek his grandmother's permission.
'If I could find it we could leave this hut with its dampness and buy a piece of land up on the hillside,' he pleaded with his grandmother.
"But his grandmother shook her head. 'What would the sheep do?' she asked. 'Already they are restless in the pen, waiting to be taken to the pasture, and please do not forget to take them to water when the sun shines high in the heavens.'

"Sorrowfully, Rupert took the sheep to the pasture, and at noon he led them to the brook in the woods. There he sat on a large stone by the stream.
'If I could only have had a chance to look for the king's emerald!' he thought.
Turning his head to gaze down at the sandy bottom of the brook, suddenly he stared into the water. What was it? It could not be! He leaped into the water, and his gripping fingers held something that was green with a slender bit of gold chain [that had been broken].
'The king's emerald!' he shouted. 'It must've been flung from the chain when the king [astride his horse galloped across the bridge and the current carried] it here.'

With shining eyes Rupert ran to his grandmother's hut to tell her of his great find.
'Bless you, my boy,' she said, 'but you never would have found it if you had not been doing your duty, herding the sheep.'
And Rupert knew that this was the truth."

The lesson to be learned from this story is found in the familiar couplet: "Do [your] duty; that is best; leave unto [the] Lord the rest!"
(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)

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I promise that if you obey the Lord, and obey His commandments, and TRUST HIM, then you will be blessed beyond your wildest dreams.

The Importance of an Eternal Perspective

Matthew 16:26- For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?


     Living on earth, we can only see a little tiny piece of a huge picture.
     Imagine a never-ending string of Cheerios. Our earth life is one Cheerio on that never-ending string. Would you trade an infinite number of perfect Cheerios for one little misshapen one?

Imagine the sorrow you would feel if you didn't achieve your most important goal - to be in the Celestial Kingdom. What if you didn't achieve that goal because of something silly that you did on earth... a silly choice that won't profit you anything after you die...

“As we pass through the trials of life, let us keep an eternal perspective, let us not complain, let us become even more prayerful, let us serve others, and let us forgive one another. As we do this, ‘all things [will] work together for good to [us] that love God.’ ”

James B. Martino “All Things Will Work Together for Good,” Ensign, May 2010, 103

(click here to read the rest of the article)

   This quote reminds me how important it is to serve others and keep the commandments. Some people criticize our church and our commandments. Those people think that obeying God's commandments will limit them.
     Think of a commandment that is hard for you to keep. It could be paying your tithing, going to the temple, or anything really... Maybe to you, it seems as though paying tithing limits you. You don't have as much money, and that is especially hard if you are struggling financially. Maybe you don't see that your life is being blessed because of it. Does that mean you stop paying your tithing? No. Blessings are eternal. Sometimes you don't see that you are being blessed, because those are blessings you must wait for.
    I promise... In the end, it WILL all pay off. You WILL be blessed for keeping the commandments, and you will NOT be limited in any way, shape, or form.

Keep the commandments. Love God. All things will work together for your good.

1 Corinthians 2:9- But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

Just because you can't see the good things waiting for you in heaven, doesn't mean they are not there. If we could have one glimpse of the heavens, we would want nothing but to be there.
Don't give it up for a worldly pleasure.

There are many things that we can do to gain  an eternal perspective.
Pray to God. Ask Him to soften your heart and to help you.
Read your scriptures. Your scriptures are a wonderful gift and often their words will answer your prayers. They will educate you on what's important. You will gain more treasured knowledge reading the scriptures than you could ever dream of.
Serve people. Possibly one of the greatest ways to gain a new perspective. There is always someone in a worse state than you. There is always someone who could use your help. Let yourself be an instrument in the Lord's hands, and your eyes will be opened.

Don't forget to leave comments! What are some other ways that you can gain an eternal perspective?