Tender mercies. God loves you. You are not alone.

For seminary, we have to have our bishop send something to the seminary so that they know that we are on track for seminary graduation. Well, I went in, and it came up that I was having some troubles.
And my bishop told me that God loves me. Doesn't matter what I do, my worth to Him will never change.
I am His daughter–I am a daughter of a King––the Almighty God––and He loves me––imperfect, and mistaken, and broken.
He wants me to turn to Him. He wants me to tell Him what is going on in my life. He wants me to turn to Him. He wants me to talk to Him, to pray to Him. That meeting was a tender mercy. I never knew until that moment that I had needed to hear that God loves me no matter what, and that I am His daughter, and that I am not alone. Such a tender mercy! I have always known those things, but I guess recently it hadn't really stuck with me, so hearing it from my bishop was a tender mercy. Because my bishop wants me to–and I really want to and I need to–I am going to try and be better about my prayers and scripture study. It's going to be a little difficult at first, but I know I can do it with Heavenly Father's help.

I give my love to all!

<3 Mattie

Never give up.

I just want you to know that you should never give up. It is better to try and fail than to have never tried at all. Keep trying! Don't give up. Life is good. Things happen for a reason. But don't give up. God has a plan for you. So keep trying and remember that things happen for a reason.

Saw this quote on Facebook and LOVED it! Thought I'd share:

Thomas S. Monson: Love doesn’t grow like weeds or fall like rain. Love has its price. ‘God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life’. That Son, even the Lord Jesus Christ, gave His life that we might have eternal life, so great was His love for His Father and for us.

Do you know that we are all human? We all make mistakes. But guess what? God loves us. We are imperfect, yet He still loves us. He gave His Only Begotten Son so that we could return to live with Him. He has to deal with us all day, all the time–sometimes we are worse than normal–but He still loves us. He will always love us. So don't give up. He will you give you so many chances, again and again, because He loves us. He will not let us go anywhere alone. He will not leave you alone.

Inspiration and the Holy Ghost.

The Lord knows how to guide us and teach us through the Spirit. The Spirit can help us in ways that man-made remedies can not. I was really nervous about speaking in Sacrament meeting today–my heart was beating out of my chest–so I prayed and instantly received the thought, "Be still and know that I am God", and my heart stopped pounding. I was still nervous, but my body was at peace, and that made it easier to speak. So, here's my talk:

“The Holy Ghost can do for us physically, emotionally, mentally, and intellectually what no man-made remedy can begin to duplicate.” I was asked to speak on inspiration and the Holy Ghost, and I feel like this quote encompasses both in a way that I’ve never thought of before. While I was searching through talks I came upon Sister Linda K. Burton’s talk entitled “Tuning Our Hearts to the Voice of the Spirit”. In her talk, she asked this question: “Why does discerning the whisperings of the Spirit seem so difficult?” and then goes on to say, “Perhaps one reason is that the Spirit communicates both to our minds and to our hearts…we sometimes confuse our own thoughts and our own emotions with the promptings of the Spirit. Another reason is that discerning the Spirit is a gift of the Spirit. Just as learning a language comes easily to some and not to others, so does the ability to understand the whisperings of the Spirit. Most often, learning an instrument or language takes a great deal of effort, including practicing and sometimes making mistakes. So it is with…learning the language of the Spirit.”

One of our scripture mastery scriptures in seminary is Doctrine and Covenants 8:2-3, and it says, “Behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart”. The Lord will give us inspiration from the Holy Ghost in our mind and heart. How many of us have difficulties discerning the Spirit from our own thoughts, though? Sometimes it’s hard to tell. In the Bible Dictionary, it says that the Holy Ghost “gives one a testimony of Jesus Christ and of his work an the work of his servants upon the earth.” So how exactly can we receive inspiration from the Holy Ghost? Well, in his talk entitled “How to Obtain Revelation and Inspiration for Your Personal Life”, Elder Richard G. Scott says that, “The Holy Ghost communicates important information that we need to guide us in our mortal journey. When it is crisp and clear and essential, it warrants the title of revelation. When it is a series of promptings we often have to guide us step by step to a worthy objective, for the purpose of this message, it is inspiration.” I found this interesting, because I had never really thought about the difference between revelation and inspiration, and he said it perfectly: “when it is crisp and clear and essential, it warrants the title of revelation. When it is a series of promptings…it is inspiration.” Inspiration is given through promptings from the Holy Ghost because Heavenly Father needs you to do to help His children. He says that emotions such as anger, or defensiveness “will drive away the Holy Ghost”, so we need to get rid of those emotions, and have emotions such as happiness and peace in order to receive revelation or inspiration. “Careful quiet speech will favor the receipt of revelation”. He says that he fasts and prays to find and understand scriptures that will help him. He ponders what the scriptures means, and he prays. He said that “spiritual communication can be enhanced by good practices. Exercise, reasonable amounts of sleep, and good eating habits increase our capacity to receive and understand revelation.” It is easier for the Lord to speak to us when we are healthy and rested.

In her talk, Sister Burton had a list of things that we can do to feel and learn how the Spirit talks to us. One thing we can do is to pray humbly and sincerely. Heavenly Father wants us to know that He is there. He wants us to trust Him. She says that “To pray sincerely means we intend to act on the answer we receive.” When we are searching for the right thing to do, we need to be prepared to do what God will ask us to do. Another thing she said we could do was to act promptly on spiritual impressions. We all know the story of when President Monson was Bishop and received a prompting to go visit the veteran’s hospital several times, but he didn't leave until after the stake president had spoken and it was too late; the man had already died. “Never postpone a prompting.”
Elder Bruce R. McConkie said in a talk entitled “Agency or Inspiration” that “We’re faced with two propositions. One is that we ought to be guided by the spirit of inspiration, the spirit of revelation. The other is that we’re here…to use our agency…and we need to establish an intricate balance between these two”. When we search for an answer, or for inspiration, we need to do all we can to look for an answer; we shouldn’t just ask God, and then let it be. We need to search for an answer. We need to study our scriptures, pray, and read the words of the prophets. God will give us our answer only when He knows that we are ready and prepared for it. When we have done all that we can, He will give us our answer. He said, “The Lord has all wisdom, all knowledge, and all power; he knows how to govern and control and direct us in a perfect manner. He lets us determine what we should do, but he expects us to counsel with him.” He also expects us to search for the answer ourselves.

I know that our Heavenly Father sends us inspiration through the Holy Ghost. I know that in order to recognize the Spirit, we have to search, and pray, and prepare ourselves for answers, but when we are ready, He will send us inspiration and revelation. I know that Heavenly Father loves us and that He wants us to become more like Him. I know that He will not leave us alone, nor will He leave us unprepared. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen.

Weaknesses can become strengths.

Wish me luck! I'm giving a talk tomorrow, and the choir is performing in sacrament meeting. I am super duper nervous!! I hate speaking in front of people. I do better performing–even though I still get nervous. I just know that that (being nervous when speaking/performing) is one of the things that is a weakness that the Lord can make a strength of mine if I turn and let Him. And I mean, I've gotten way better. I used to be so, so much worse. So that's a blessing. Well it is 11:30pm my time, so I gotta go! But I know that Heavenly Father loves you and I know that He can help make your weaknesses strengths. :)

Repentance leads to happiness.

I know, I know...another post today...I just couldn't let this one go.
From Elder Neil L. Andersen's talk "Repent...That I May Heal You":

"When we sin, we turn away from God. When we repent, we turn back toward God." "Repentance is turning away  from some things, such as dishonesty, pride, anger, and impure thoughts, and turning toward other things, such as kindness, unselfishness, patience, and spirituality. It is “re-turning” toward God." "Don’t be discouraged." "Repentance always means that there is greater happiness ahead."

I love these. Repentance is a change. It is not just turning to God, it is re-turning to God. We shouldn’t be discouraged because things will work out in their own time. Repentance is a change, and a process, but it is also a choice…a choice that leads to happiness. <3 I know from personal experience that repentance definitely is a choice that leads to happiness. Being forgiven and clean and promising to never do it again makes me happier than living in regret and continuing to sin. Remember that it is never too late to repent. <3

He loves us perfectly.

I love this! Even though we are imperfect people, He loves us perfectly. And that love will never change. There is nothing you can do to make Him stop loving you. There is a song, entitled "Miracle" that I love. The version I first heard of was by Daniel Beck (whom I love), but it looks like Celine Dion (who I also love) performed it first. Either way, it is an amazing song (You can find Daniel's version on iTunes or here and you can find Celine's version here). I love it because it's such a sweet song. At first, I thought the song was from the perspective of our Savior, so I looked up the lyrics (mostly because I couldn't figure out the title of the song or anything because I only remembered one line, "There is nothing you can do to make me stop loving you") and found that is actually the song of a parent to their child, and so it could be from the perspective of our Heavenly Father, who loves us so much, or our Savior, who loves us so much that He died for us. Nothing we could ever do would make Them stop loving us. We are imperfect people, yet They love us perfectly. <3

The Savior empowers us with His grace, not because
we've earned it, but because He loves us perfectly.

You can do it.

I know life is hard. I really, truly do. But that does not mean that we can give up. God will not give us anything we cannot handle. If He has given it to you, that means that you can do it. If you feel like you are alone, don't feel like that! There is one person who knows exactly how you feel, and His name is Jesus Christ. Heavenly Father will not give you trials, and then stand back and watch you slip, and fall, and stumble. He will be by your side every step of the way. He loves you. He won't let you fall. He won't let you fail. He won't let you down. So, stand up. Brush off your knees. Hold your head up high. And walk proudly. You are a son or daughter of a King. Not only is He a God, He is King of the Heavens. Of all His creations, we are His pride and joy. He made you, and He loves you. And don't you forget it. <3

He loves us anyway.

I was reading a blog today and I found this line that I thought was really deep: "Just because an unhealthy enticement comes to your mind . . . that doesn’t make you a bad person. It is what you do with your thoughts that will determine what road you will take" (The Moments We Stand "The Tempting Road"). I love this! We are all tempted with things that are unhealthy–unhealthy things to say, unhealthy things to do–but it is what we do with them that makes us who we are. If you do not act on them, you are stronger than Satan, and you have won that battle. If you did, however, try again; you can win the next one. Repent, and ask Heavenly Father for forgiveness, commit to not doing it again, and the next time that temptation comes along, kick it right out of the ball park, far away from you. Tell it, "You have no power over me!", just like Sarah from Labyrinth tells Jareth. We should always be trying to be a better person, but we are people, too, and we make mistakes, and that is okay. We are imperfect people trying to become perfect, and we make mistakes. God does not expect us to be perfect people trying to become a better perfect. He knows we are imperfect people trying to become perfect, and develop Christlike qualities, but He knows it will take us some time; we are slow learners. But He loves us anyway. Just remember that: He knows we are imperfect, slow learners, but He loves us anyway.

I can count on Him to be there.

I know, I know...this is my third post in three days. But so much has happened and I have so much to be grateful for. First, I got into BYU, which is super fantastic!! I'm so excited!!! I can't wait!!!! Second, third term is super hard, and I've been a little behind in my math class. I never thought I would get my math homework done this weekend because I had two assignments to do, test corrections to do, and a quiz to do, but I'm finished with one of my assignments and almost done with my second assignment, and my quiz isn't due until Wednesday, and I know that I couldn't have done it without my Savior. He has given me the strength to do what I thought was impossible. I'm so worried about passing my math class, but all my other classes I don't have to worry about, which means that I can spend more of my time doing my math homework if I need to (I don't want to, but sometimes I need to). He has given me the patience to do everything in a short amount of time. This isn't the first time that I have been behind in my math class (and I'm sure it won't be the last), but I know that I can count on my Savior to be there and to help me keep up with my work.