He loves you.

During the sacrament today, I just kept thinking about the fact that Jesus Christ died for us, but He also died for me. He suffered for me. If I had been the only person on earth, He still would have suffered and died for me. He loves us that much. No matter what you do, He will always love you. You can always turn to Him. He will never leave you, nor will He turn you away. He loves you so much. He loves you so much that He will send you people when you need them! He loves you so much that He will bless you beyond anything you've ever imagined.

Today was fast and testimony meeting, and a lot of people repeated the phrase, "I know we're here for a reason." It was just reassuring to me to know that I am in the right place, and there's a reason why I'm here. I don't know the reason yet, but there is a reason. One of the guys who bore his testimony said that, "It's our choice." It's always our choice–we're all adults and it's our choice as to whether or not we go to church, or go to class, or do our homework. It's our choice, but we don't get to choose the consequences of our actions. 

Sabrina (my roommate) and I gave a lesson in Gospel Doctrine (my first lesson ever), and we talked about switch points in our lives, and how they can change our lives. President Hinckley gave a story about switch points:

"Many years ago I worked in the head office of one of our railroads. One day I received a telephone call from my counterpart in Newark, New Jersey, who said that a passenger train had arrived without its baggage car. The patrons were angry. We discovered that the train had been properly made up in Oakland, California, and properly delivered to St. Louis, from which station it was to be carried to its destination on the east coast. But in the St. Louis yards, a thoughtless switchman had moved a piece of steel just three inches. That piece of steel was a switch point, and the car that should have been in Newark, New Jersey, was in New Orleans, Louisiana, thirteen hundred miles away” (Elder Gordon B. Hinckley in Conference Report, Oct. 1972, 106–7; or Ensign, Jan. 1973, 91)

We talked about a lot of things that can be switch points in our lives, like the relationship between you and your spouse and God, the Sacrament, Spiritual Gifts, and the Resurrection and the three degrees of glory, and how they can be positive or negative switch points in our lives. It's amazing how a few inches (in the case of President Hinckley's story) or a small event/action in our lives can change it, for better or for worse. It was a really good lesson; there was a lot of participation, which was great. :)

I just want you to remember this:

He

     Loves 

           You

I know that He loves you. I know that He will always love you. I know that He will bless you and send those that you need to you when you need them. I know that, as you pray and read your scriptures, and begin to serve others, you will be able to feel His love more. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen.