Tender Mercies

            In Sunday School, my teacher has impressed upon my class the importance of tender merices. She even gave a journal to write down tender mercies that we recognize, but I haven't been good at writing them down or really recognizing them. In my young women's group, we are participating in a summer Book of Mormon reading challenge.
           As we have begun reading,I found a verse in the first chapter of 1st Nephi that stuck out to because it mentions tender mercies. In 1st Nephi 1:20 it states, "the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance."
            Reading this helped me realize that something I had experienced recently was a tender mercy. Though my mom had prayed for safety on the roads for our family and our cars, I didn't know that at the time. I was backing out of my parking space at Walmart slowly because a ginormous truck was obstructing my view when all of a sudden there was another gigantic truck zipping down the lane I was in. That truck should have hit my tiny car. There wasn't room for the truck to swerve because it should have hit the other cars, but somehow the truck managed to swerve without hitting anything. I should have been in an accident, but I wasn't. I wasn't harmed whatsoever. Both my car and the truck left without touching each other. Miracles happen everyday. This one for me was huge and a tender mercy because I have not been driving for very long and I am terrified that I'll get in an accident.

            Just another thought, tender mercies are not just from the individual to learn from. By sharing them with others and writing them down for future generations, others can see the good in a situation and learn to recognize the Lord's hand in their own personal lives.

The Atonement Even for the Small Things

About a month ago, I went to a state meet for BPA (Business Professionals of America) where I competed in Fundamental Accounting. I had been working for hours so that I could make it to nationals.

I opened my test packet and all of the breath was knocked out of me. I didn't know more than half of the concepts tested. Had I really been practicing all along just not to understand anything on that test?

During the awards ceremony, I was bouncing with anticipation for my event. I didn't actually think that I would get called up, but I had been praying really hard that I would make it to nationals because I know I wasn't the only one who didn't know what they were doing. In fact, when everyone had opened their test, you could literally feel all of the hope go out of the room.

Anyhow, going back to the awards ceremony, I kept waiting and eventually they began to announce my event and I am silent. Which is rare for me, but it was the moment I had been waiting for.My name had been called. But they call 8 people up there and only 5 qualify for nationals.

Once on stage, I could barely hear what the announcers were saying. When they called my name, I didn't realize they had called it till they were already moving on to the next name. I had placed sixth. That was amazing, but not what I wanted. I remembering feeling comforted before that I would make ti to nationals, but here is my shot and I've blown it.

Initially I was extremely sad.

HERE is where the atonement kicks in.

The atonement is what Christ did in the garden of Gethsemane. He suffered for our sins, afflictions and anything that ails us. Because Christ suffered, my burdened became light.

In that moment, just seconds of sadness, I prayed that I would be happy for the people who placed higher than me. That I would finally be able to be happy for people even if it didn't go my way. As soon as I finished that prayer, happiness filled my heart. Positive thoughts flooded into my mind about how hard everyone worked to make it this far in the competition and it wasn't fair for me to be so disappointed when we all deserved to win because we all did the work to get there.

Even though it seems like something so small and maybe even kind of stupid, it was important for me to actually see the atonement at work. I now know that the atonement is real. I knew it was real before, but I had never recognized the works of it. The atonement can be applied in any situation. Nothing bad has to happen, it doesn't have to be about a sin, it could be because of the actions of others. Heavenly Father will answer your prayer to feel the atonement work in your life. Big or small, your burden may be lightened. Your heart can be brought peace, love or happiness. Whatever you need, Heavenly Father can help you get what you need.

Just like it says in James 1:5-6, if you ask of God in FAITH, you will get an answer.

I challenge you to ask a question, or even just to talk to God today. He's waiting to hear from you. Though He already knows our hearts, it's best said when He actually hears how you feel and about your day from YOU.

Follow the Spirit

I haven't posted in a long time, but I wast to let you know that it's not because I haven't been to seminary. I had plans for this, but it has been a hard long year and I think I'm going to do something different than I originally planned on doing with it.

I didn't go to seminary as much as I should have, but I've been trying to keep the spirit with me, so that I could following any prompting he gave me.

In the last year, one of the things that has stuck out to me is the million times I heard people talk about understanding how the Holy Ghost speaks to you. I thought I knew how he spoke to me, but it turns out, I wasn't listening to him like I should have. He has spoken to me in more ways than I can count. 

Just in case anyone is wondering, he can speak through something on facebook, something someone says, or through music. These are just some of the ways the spirit communicates with me. This doesn't include any through scripture study or right after a prayer, but those three are the ones that have stuck out to me. 

I always thought I knew exactly how my life (for the next 10 years) would go when I was like twelve. And for a while it was going how I had planned it to go, but at the end of 8th grade I felt strongly impressed that I needed to do part of my high school career with an online program. Those two years were harder than I normally tell people. I mean I learned nothing from school. When I say nothing, I mean it. I didn't understand what I was reading and in some classes I barely passed. That in itself was a miracle.

Anyhow, I went back to public school as a junior and again I felt a strong desire to change something. I felt impressed to graduate a year early. That's been this year for me. It's been a transition for me and I stopped listening to the spirit after he told me to graduate a year early. That in its self seemed like a gigantic monster to me. I'll be an adult and I'll have to get a job. What else could Heavenly Father expect me to do???\

Heavenly Father was not done with me there. Because I wasn't listening, Heavenly Father sent one of my leaders after me. She talked to me about applying to BYU because I have always wanted to go and she really thought I should go. 

So I applied because when I finally opened up my heart, I knew that was what my Heavenly Father wanted me to do. And then I knew BYU-Idaho was the school for me. I didn't even know if I was accepted to Idaho or Provo, but I knew Idaho was the place for me. Even though it's cold and I hate the cold. (Seriously, guys. When I went to Arizona a couple years ago to visit my grandparents, it was 110 degrees Fahrenheit and I was still wearing a jacket.)

Anywho, my point here is open up your heart to the savior. Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father know what is best for us. If you don't know what to do or you just have a question, then ask it. You don't have to be kneeling. Heck, I don't always kneel either, but ask. Just talk to Heavenly Father. He loves you and only wants the best for you.

I've learned this in abundance this year. I have always wanted to go on a mission. Being stubborn, I decided to ask yet again (because I didn't get a definite yes or no the time I prayed before) whether a mission was right for me. When I prayed the last time, my answer was to go to mission prep because it would prepare me for life whether or not I went on a mission. Either way, in my stubborn mind I thought that if Heavenly Father could tell me that I needed to go off to BYU, then surely he could share with me this little piece of information to put my mind at rest. I really thought my answer was going to be YES, but he responded back with no. When I asked my young women's leader why Heavenly Father would tell me no, she told me he probably just wants me to go a year later than normal or something. As she said those words to me, I felt the spirit confirm to me that I am not supposed to serve a mission as a youth. 

Wow! Say what?!? Heavenly Father that's not cool, right? One of the members of the bishopric in my ward came to talk to me. He said that if the answer is no, then you aren't supposed to go. Don't push it with Heavenly father because he would only tell you no if there was something better for you waiting. 

There you have it, ladies and gentlemen. Let me recap this for you real quickly. If you keep your heart open to the spirit, then Heavenly Father can let you know what the plan is for you, well at least the part you need to know and then if you follow it, you will find that it really was the best thing for you.

I like to think I'm always right, but in all honesty, I mess up all the time. I don't know what's best for myself half the time. But if we know to what source we can look, then we can receive an answer and Heavenly Father will point us in the best direction for each of us.

If we have faith in God, then He will help and take care of our needs.

Faith is more than just a belief. It is the actions that we do and the choices we make because of a belief. Because of something that we know. Sometimes it's hard to make a choice that will cause a temporal hurt. Like choosing to find and make new friends because the ones you currently have are going down a path that is different than what you want.
In 1 Kings 17 Elijah, the prophet of the Lord, asks a widow with only enough meal and flour for one person to make him a cake. She believes that he is a prophet of the Lord, however this is the last of her food and she wants to give it to her son. But she has faith in the Lord. Because of her faith, the Lord supplies her with meal and flour until the there is food again in the land.
I know that if we have faith in the Lord, then He will help us and take care of our needs. Sometimes it may not be when or how we want, but He looks out for us. Our Heavenly Father loves us more than we know and by following him and doing our best we can also reciprocate our love for Him.

Psalms 119:105

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."

            Today our main question was, why do we need to read our scriptures everyday? There are many promises in the scriptures that will help us throughout our life. The one in Psalms 119:105 promises us that if we read the scriptures, then the Holy Ghost will light a path for us that we need to follow.
            The more that we read our scriptures each day and pray to our Heavenly Father, we will be able to have the Holy Ghost with us as we go about our lives. BUT we need to make sure we are making time to do those things which our Heavenly Father has commanded us to. Refering back to Moses 1:39 "Behold this is my work and my glory- to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." Heavenly Father gave us these commandments to make it easier for us to return to him. By following these commandments, it allows us to fully appreciate and understand the His plan.

Moses 1:39

"For behold, this is my work and my glory- to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."

            This year in seminary we are studying the old testament. This scripture is not in the old testament. Rather it is in the Pearl of Great Price. (for those who don't know that is another book, that I believe is true).
            To have eternal life you have to have a body AND you have to live with Heavenly Father. Their are three main parts to Heavenly Father's plan to bring to pass the eternal life of man, not just the immortality of man. (To have immortality we do not have to live with our Heavenly Father.) Those three things can be listed as:

1. The Atonement
2. Creation
3. The Fall of Adam and Eve

ATONEMENT- We are not perfect by any means. In fact, we are far from perfect. And there is no way on our own that we could make it back to our Heavenly Father without the help of our brother Jesus Christ. Jesus died for our sins, so that we could return back to our Heavenly Father. If this was taken away from the plan, then there would be no atonement and therefore no way for us to return back to God.

CREATION- To have eternal life we must gain a body. During the creation the Earth, man, animals, everything you can name was created. If there was no creation, then there would be no Earth for our bodies to go. We wouldn't be able to obtain a body, therefore we wouldn't be able to obtain the body we need to gain eternal life.

THE FALL- Adam and Eve had to sin, so that we could come to the Earth. They had to sin, so that man could replenish the Earth and everyone one of God's children could gain a body. In the Garden of Eden they didn't know right from wrong. They knew not happiness because they knew not sorrow.


Finally, all three parts of God's plan are equally important. If any pieces of the plan were to be taken away, there would not be a way for us to return to our Heavenly Father. That is His ultimate goal and it should be ours as well.