General Conference brings answers, blessings, and peace.

What a weekend it's been!! It was General Conference weekend!!! And there were a lot of messages shared that I definitely needed. 💜 And there were some changes to the Sunday meetings schedule that are going to have a wonderful impact on our church, I just know it.

I am so thankful for the love that our Heavenly Father has for us!! I am so grateful for the love that I have felt from Him this weekend!! I had many answers to prayers and questions that I've had, and I am just so overwhelmed with all of the love and knowledge that I've felt and heard. I'm grateful for my Father in Heaven and for all of the messages that I knew were just for me! The most amazing thing about conference is that everyone can find and hear messages just for them! The messages that we all hear are the same, but somehow we all get different things out of them. I love that about our church!

I am blessed to be able to to listen to and learn from our church leaders! General Conference is my favorite time of the year! God knows exactly what I need to hear long before I know that I'm going to need to hear it. Our leaders prepare for their talks long before conference. They prayerfully consider many topics, and they make sure that what they are going to be saying is pleasing to God. I am so blessed to have a loving Father in Heaven who cares so much about me!! He cares that I feel like I have no purpose, and so He inspires many of our leaders to help guide me, and answer my question: I do have a purpose! My purpose is to be God's disciple! My purpose is to help minister to my fellow brothers and sisters here on earth. I am here to share love.

Earlier this week I had an experience and wanted to share, so here's what I wrote:

Sometimes blessings come in disguise. You might be looking for a specific answer from God, but what you get instead is a prompting that–once you’ve followed it–results in the reassurance that you are doing His work. And you have a purpose. I’ve had a pretty interesting week, but I decided that I wanted to share messages with a few of my friends this week via text. I looked and looked through conference talks and the scriptures that I thought each person would need, and when I found one that resonated with me, I sent it to them, with a few comments of my own. And what happened surprised me, though in retrospect it shouldn’t have. Each friend responded with something like, “That was exactly what I needed, thank you”, and I can’t help but be grateful. I am grateful for my Father in Heaven, who showed me through a simple prompting just how much of an impact I make, and reminded me how I actually do have a purpose (I still don’t know how exactly to word said purpose 😂 but I do know that I have one). And I might not always see it, and I might not ever understand why I often feel like I don’t have a purpose or make an impact here on Earth, but I do know that if you ask Him to show you–if you ask Him for an answer, and for help–He will answer you. At the time that you need it the most, He will answer you. 💜💜💜💜

I know how to word my purpose now. My purpose is to be His disciple. My purpose is to share love. I am grateful for the prompting that I got this week to share some messages with my friends, and I am grateful for the blessing of receiving an answer to my purpose in life.

I am grateful for all of the messages and ideas that I have received this weekend through our prophets and leaders. There couldn't have been a better weekend to follow a rough week. I am feeling loved, blessed, wanted, needed, and full of purpose. I still have many answers that I need, but that's okay. I have what I need to get started, and I think that once I get started, more answers will come.

God is so wonderful. He blesses me, loves me, and reminds me that I do have a purpose, and that I am here for a reason. My life is unique–my story has never been told before–and He wants me to experience many things so that I can share my story with others, and so that I can empathize with others. He wants and needs me to be a blessing to others. I hope and pray that I have been a blessing to others in the past, and I hope that I can continue to be a blessing to others in the future.

God loves ALL His children!! I know He does!! He has a bigger plan for us than we can even see, I know it! We don't know everything about this world, about God's plan for us, or even about our purpose in life, but I do know one thing: We know enough. We do. I promise. I know that God is our Father, that He loves us (all of us–no matter what!), and that He wants what is best for us. Our idea of what is best for us is different than His idea, but He will bless us and help guide us to who He needs us to be.

I know that there are a lot of things wrong with the world, but I also know that there are a lot of good things right with the world. God has blessed us with the ability to choose for ourselves right from wrong. No one is perfect and we all make mistakes, but we can learn from our mistakes and start over.

God is great. I know He loves us, and I know that we are all His daughters and sons.

I'm grateful for the experiences I've had this weekend, and for the time I've spent with friends. I'm blessed to be surrounded by wonderful and loving friends, and that they are always there for me and are great examples to me.

Xoxo
Mattie

Allow yourself to be forgiven.

Well, today's the day of all the musics!! I was thinking a lot about it during the sacrament today.

I am so thankful for my Savior. It has been a crazy and stressful week, what with finalizing the Fireside tonight, writing papers, and preparing to sing my solo in sacrament meeting. I was able to get everything done but am now absolutely termed something is going to go horribly wrong. Also, I'm nervous, so that doesn't exactly help haha. It honestly is going to be so amazing but my anxiety kicked in this week/weekend and I've been struggling to kick it out. Luckily I have been praying for peace and calm assurance, so I'm feeling slightly better. I don't know where I'd be without my Savior's help and love. I need i each and every day. So thankful that He is always there!  💜

Well, first music of the day was me singing "Oh Holy Night" in sacrament meeting. And of course I was the first number right after the sacrament. So the whole time the sacrament was going on I was trying to be so, so calm, but I was honestly absolutely terrified (as you can see from my thoughts during the sacrament today). Afterwards, I was like, "I feel like I am simultaneously getting better and more confident at performing, but also more nervous each and every time." I don't know how that works haha but that's how it is.

In Gospel Principles, we talked about the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and we talked about it in an amazing new light that I loved. Some of the things that we talked about today were things that I needed to hear. One thing that we talked about was that forgiveness is you repenting of having hard feelings for them, and forgiving the debt that you feel they owe you. It isn't possible for them to pay that debt. Only Jesus Christ can do that. Another thing we talked about was that part of turning to God and Christ is allowing ourselves to be forgiven. If He says we're forgiven, we're forgiven.

(One thing I was thinking about, too, is that we need to allow ourselves to feel. Feel love, feel patience, feel forgiven, etc.)

I loved church today! It was so amazing and I received several answers, which is always the best! :)

Now, I am so nervous and excited for the fireside tonight!! We had choir practice at 2:30p today and we TOTALLY NAILED the song that has been the most tricky, so I am so excited!! It is going to be so fun! And so full of music and messages of the birth of Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for this opportunity, but it has been very stressful. I am so thankful for my friend (and choir pianist) Julia for all of her help. ALSO! I have always been very grateful towards those in charge of putting on concerts and firesides and things, and now I am 1000% more grateful and I totally understand all the things that they go through now. Like, I had an idea, but honestly, I had NO IDEA.

So grateful for this Christmas season! I'm grateful for #LightTheWorld and the opportunities for love and service that I have to share my love and to serve those around me. Hope you have a non-stressful and very pleasant week! I'll post how the Fireside goes later in a new post! Happy Sunday!

Xoxo
Mattie

Don't worry about it.

So I was listening to/singing the hymn "Lead Kindly Light" today and I came to the realization that the song is about Jesus Christ, seeing as He is the Light of the World. I don't know why I never realized it before. But I thought that was an awesome thing to notice today. :)
I've been thinking lately about a lot of things, and one of those is that I'm not doing enough. Sure, I'm doing a lot, and it's fine, but I'm not doing enough. And I can do better. I can be better. I might be struggling or in a hard spot right not, but I can do more. I can pray for guidance and assistance, and I can focus better, and try harder. Honestly sometimes I don't want to try or do anything, but I can. I have, and I will again. Sometimes life is hard and goes unplanned, or against your plans and wishes, but if you trust in God, and have faith, everything will be all right, and you will be blessed. 

I got a new calling today! I am the assistant ward choir director and I am super grateful and excited! I'm also grateful for my Bishop, who was inspired to bless me with what I needed to hear when he was setting me apart.

Church was SO amazing today. :)

Here's some of my favorite things from Sunday School today:
-Even though things can be hard here (on Earth), coming here (Earth) can make things better for us in the end.
-Knowing where we come from gives us purpose.
-It's God's plan for us to act, and to do what He wants/needs us to do.
-The Lord still has a plan for us that works around Satan's! Heavenly Father works with you as things change.

Relief Society was so amazing today! I'm going to miss Candace but am so excited for her to move forward with life!
-Strive to go to the temple. Do what you need to be able to go, and even if you can't, you will be blessed.
-Holiness is in striving and the struggle to keep the commandments.
-Anything worth having is hard to get.
-Holiness is making the choices that will keep the Holy Ghost in our life.
-You can make things holy by the attitude you have as you go about doing them.
-Jesus Christ is the center of holiness, of happiness. He sees us as His daughters and He loves us.
-Through His atonement, I can be redeemed, born again, changed, and righteous.

We went to the temple today to just walk around and ponder, and it was so peaceful! All my anxieties about my struggles melted away. I had all these questions, about why I've been struggling, why am I struggling, how could I fix it, and I couldn't find an answer in the scriptures, so I just sat there, and listened and felt the breeze brush past me, and listened to the birds singing. And I had this thought. "Don't worry." I was like, "What? But I have so many things that I am struggling with and need help to work on." Again, "Don't worry about it." So then I got up, headed down the path down to the front and there was this point where I just stopped, and I turned to look at the temple. It was so pretty. And I closed my eyes for a second, and this thought passed through my mind, "Thine adversity shall be but a small moment." And then I smiled and opened my eyes and walked down to where we were meeting to close. That was such a comforting thought and I needed it.

So grateful for the messages today! I'm so grateful for the Spirit that I've felt and for the promptings that I received. I'm also grateful for the little tender mercy that happened as we were walking to the car back from the temple. This guy pulled up in his car, kind of blasting his music, but not really. Anyway, the song was "See You Again". Which was my graduation song two years ago today. And I don't know why but I needed that, and thinking about it now, that moment helped me remember who I am. Where I've come from. How far I've come. Where I've been. Where I am now. How I'm changing. How I'm wanting to change. How I'm trying. And that reminds me of my blessing today. How God sees me. He sees my efforts. He sees my struggles, and He is so proud of me. He is proud of who I am. How far I've come. How hard I try. How much I love and care. And how much He loves me.

Kiera played "Savior, Redeemer of My Soul" in the car on the way home. I love that song so much and am so grateful for its message! Especially today. It's so amazing–I have a Savior, who loves me. Cares for me. Died for me. And every day He is there for me. He is my Savior. My Redeemer. I wouldn't be who I am today without Him. What a blessing it is for me to have Him with me always. And what a blessing He is to me.  ❤️❤️

Xoxo
Mattie

There are so many out there who need you.

What a weekend it's been!! It's been a good weekend but because I've been little off/not myself lately, this weekend was also a little hard and a little bit of a struggle. But God know what He's doing and He gave me the BEST roommates for the summer, and that's been such a blessing. They've helped me a lot this weekend and I know that they'll help me more as the summer goes on. Saturday afternoon was probably the most difficult time, but I went to Kristin Chenoweth's concert at the de Jong hall last night and it was FANTABULOUS and made up for the whole day; I couldn't stop smiling when I was walking home. That is, it did make up for the whole day until I got home and saw that one of my roommates had decorated my wall with things about me and had written me a card, and so together those things made my day one thousand percent better. I'm so blessed to have them in my life, and I'm so grateful for my Heavenly Father and my Savior. I've got the best support system and I know that they love me and will always be there for me.

I heard a LOT of things that I needed to hear today, so I'm just going to share my favorites from each meeting:
Sacrament Meeting:
-Press forward. We are to endure. We need to allow our journey to shape us.
-Oh this was my favorite. So in Matthew 5:48 it says, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which in heaven is perfect." And in 3 Nephi 12: 48 it says, "Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect." And I loved what Cheyenne said about it. She suggested that "being perfect" means "being FINISHED" ( i.e. completing our mortal mission on this life) because in 3 Nephi Jesus added that we should be perfect even as He is, and this is after He's been resurrected.

Gospel Doctrine:
-You need to prepare your heart to go to the temple.
-The Lord will bless you when you are ready.
-Be worthy to be there.

Relief Society:
So the lesson was entitled "Nurturing the Eternal Partnership of Marriage". Which is funny, living in a singles' ward. BUT Clarissa took the perfect spin on the lesson and it was something that I SO needed to hear, so I'm grateful for her and her special way of approaching this topic. Relief Society was absolutely perfect, and I needed it, and I'd like to thank Clarissa so much for the lesson! 

-"Because you do not happen to be married does not make you essentially different from others. All of us are very much alike in appearance and emotional responses, in our capacity to think, to reason, to be miserable, to be happy, to love and be loved." ~President Hinckley
-We still have worth. We are still valued.
-"You are just as important as any others in the scheme of our Father in Heaven, and under His mercy no blessing to which you otherwise might be entitled will forever be withheld from you."
Someone said later, "The blessings aren't being held back; you're just not there yet."
-Living a righteous life will make you happy. You have to find your happiness now. Someone else said that getting married won't fix any problems, and by itself it won't make you happy. You have to find your happiness outside of any other person.
-What we do does matter, and we can make a difference in the world.
"Do not feel that because you are single, God has forsaken you. The world needs you. The Church needs you."
-The experiences that we're having now are building us up.
-"There are so many out there who need you... Keep you spiritual batteries at full charge and light the lamps of others."

I'm so grateful for the lesson, and for the words of President Hinckley and all of the women in Relief Society today. It was perfect and just what I needed to hear. I'm needed and I can make a difference in this world. I'm still loved.

Sometimes it amazes me how well God knows me and knows what I need. Like, most of the time I don't even know what I need or want! But God is all-knowing, and He made me, and He loves me, and He knows who I am going to be, and He knows how to take me there. He also knows what I need to hear, and when, and who I need to hear it from.

I went hospital singing again today and it was SUCH a blessing! I love singing with my friends and bringing the Spirit to those in the hospital on Sundays. It might be a day when they were feeling lonely or when they were feeling sad. Every time, though, it puts a smile on their face, and more often than not, tears to their eyes, and I can just feel God's love for them so strongly! He truly does love us, and care for us, and He knows what we need, every day.

Xoxo
Mattie

"My kindness shall not depart from thee."

Oftentimes a lot of thinking goes into what I'm going to post. Sometimes I don't know exactly what I want to say or focus on. Today was one of those days.

I was thinking all day about what to post–and today I've been up since 7. I turned on my church/inspirational playlist on my iPod this morning, hoping that something would stand out, because usually it does. Nothing was standing out to me. Disheartened, I headed off to the singles ward with my sister this morning. What followed was perhaps the best answer to unspoken prayers and pleas that I've ever received.

Today is Fast Sunday, so everyone was given the opportunity after the sacrament to bear their testimonies. The Bishop was the first one to give his testimony, and I am so grateful for his testimony! He mentioned a couple of things that I specifically needed to hear, and he talked a lot about hope. One of the things that he mentioned that I loved was that we don't need confirmation for all of the decisions in our life. He then followed with the thought that Heavenly Father will let us know when we're off the path–not necessarily because of sin, but maybe we took a wrong turn–and He will direct us back. I had kind of already known that, but the way he said it and then followed it was so profound to me. 

In another testimony, someone said that Heavenly Father answers our prayers, even when we think He's not listening. And then they said that He wants us to be happy–truly happy–and we can't do it on our own. And they were right–we can't do it on our own. 

One of the last people to give their testimony said He is aware of us and wants us to succeed, and He sets us free from the things that hold us back. And He does–He puts people in our lives to help us, and He removes those people that we don't need in our life anymore, as well as many other things, to help us succeed.

Pretty much every single person (hahaha that was an accident, I swear) that bore their testimony talked about God's love for us, which I felt was for me.

In Relief Society, the trend continued, and one of the first things that the teacher said was that Heavenly Father's love for us is perfect. It's hard for us to imagine, seeing as how we live in an imperfect world, but His love for us is perfect. His purpose is to help us return to Him (Moses 1:39). Sometimes, someone said, He lets us struggle. But He's always there to help us. 

Sort of going off of that, one of the sisters said that she, too, (though to her it wasn't an "as well" moment) had noticed the message of God's love and that she had needed it. 

And that made me think: I've always known that we all have struggles, but usually they're all different struggles at the same time–one person may struggle with feeling the Spirit, or with doing visiting teaching or whatever–and I've never really had people with the same struggles mention it, at least. Never has it ever been so real to me that we all struggle. And sometimes we all struggle with the same things. 

She also said something about her niece and brother and then related that to our Heavenly Father that I definitely needed: her niece has muscle problems, and she said that she was watching her brother and niece, and they were both on their tummies, and he was facing his daughter, his face right in her face. She said her niece hates tummy time, so she was trying to push up. Her brother said (paraphrasing), "I know, baby, I know it's so hard right now, but it's good for you, and someday you'll have it down and it'll be so easy, I promise." And she then said that Heavenly Father is right there with us, watching us, helping us. He knows it's hard, and that we're struggling, but He also knows that we can do it. We can do it, and He is right there to help us when we need it. 

While I was writing this up, my playlist was playing in the background, and this song stood out to me. This song is sung from our Heavenly Father to us. He's saying that He will be there for us! He loves us and He will be with us. His kindness will never leave us because He will never leave us. One of the lines in the song is "How long can rolling waters remain impure?" and that stood out to me because during sacrament meeting, someone bore their testimony about that and said that they can't; we are given trials and struggles to help refine us. Then she said that Christ walks on those rolling waters, so fear not. I also want to throw in this line of the song that is my absolute favorite: "So hold on thy way, for I shall be with thee. And mine angels shall encircle thee. Doubt not what thou knowest, fear not man, for he cannot hurt thee." The bolded phrase is my favorite because it reminds me of President Uchtdorf's famous quote, "Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith."

I was blessed today in many ways that were unexpected but needed, and I am so grateful for those that were willing to share their thoughts today. 

God loves us so much! He loves me, and He also loves you. He is always there for us when we need help, strength, and guidance. He sends us people and experiences that we need when we need them, or before we need them, and often also during the time that we need them. He lets us walk our path on our own, but when we are going the wrong way, He will guide us back. He will never let us walk alone, and He will never leave us alone. 

You are loved, you are wanted, you are needed, and you are here for a reason. Find that reason! Find your passion, and go after it. You have something to give to this world that no one else can give. God will help you find your reason, and He will help you to be able to give what you can give. <3

Take a leap of faith.

I had the opportunity to go to my friend's farewell today, and he did a great job!! He and his brothers also sang a beautiful a cappella arrangement of "I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go" and it gave me goosebumps!!

He gave his talk on the importance of the Holy Ghost, and the importance of living worthily to have the Spirit as a companion. He based his talk off of President Henry B. Eyring's talk entitled "The Holy Ghost Is Your Companion". He said that the Holy Ghost gives us the power to discern truth from falsehood, and that the truth that matters most is verified only by revelation from God. The Holy Ghost also gives us hope and comfort; we are able to know of things that we otherwise might not see or feel. We need the Holy Ghost so that he can give us guidance and direction.

I know that this is so true!! Sometimes I've felt like I should say something or send something to a friend and I didn't know why, but I would later find that what I said or sent them was something that they really needed at that time. So grateful for the Holy Ghost and so grateful for the opportunities that I have had to be the answer to someone's prayers. <3

The speaker after my friend was a man in his ward. He based his talk off of Elder James B. Martino's talk entitled "Turn to Him and Answers Will Come". He talked about Lehi's dream. He said something very intriguing. He said that our parents led us to the iron rod. And then he said that missionaries lead the lost and wandering to the rod. I thought that was very cool; I've never thought about that before, but that's what the missionaries are doing.

He said that to continue holding on to the rod, and staying on the right path, we need to:

• be converted to the Gospel (and to Jesus Christ. That's my two cents)
• continue in obedience. We need to follow the commandments. Remember when you've felt the Spirit. He said that a lack of spiritual habits seems to make you forget those times that you've felt the Spirit. He said don't give up. Never give up.
• Trials! I thought this one was interesting. Our trials are a great teacher. They give us experience and are for our good. It's never occurred to me that trials help us stay on the path–so long as you turn to Christ. If you let your trial take over your life, then it can lead you astray. So long as you turn to Christ, and Heavenly Father, your trial will help you grow.

His talk gave me a few insights into Lehi's dream, and staying on the path, that I'd never thought of before.

After my friend's farewell, I went back to my home ward. I pretty much missed Sunday School, but in Relief Society, Sister Nelson talked about adversity!!! I was like, "HEY! I had a trial this week!" It's still a trial, but man, was this lesson a blessing! 

We talked about how everyone has trials, and we always have trials. We are here on earth to have trials. Trials help us grow. When we remember that our Heavenly Father has helped us through our trials, that helps us be positive–we've been through them before, and He has always brought us through them, so He will bring us through this one. The Savior is also with us, and we are never alone. He is always there to help us. You just need to turn to Him and ask. 

We then talked about how the world is becoming more and more dangerous. But we don't have to fear because we have the Gospel, and we have the Savior. He will never leave us. He will come when the time is right. We need to remember that the Lord knows what He is doing. He will always be in front, beside, and behind us. "Doubt not, fear not."

Then we talked about things that can help us not fear the tribulations of the last days:

Faith and hope:

-They can dispel fear.

-Faith and fear cannot exist at the same time.

One of the ways to dispel fear is to stop fearing and just do it. Trust in the Lord. Take a leap of faith, and just step into the darkness. He will not let you fall.

In our trials, there is always a lesson to be learned; you just have to find it. The Lord is watching out for us. Our trials are for our good; they are to make us better. Some things we can only learn through our trials (as I posted yesterday). Our Heavenly Father is molding us for something more–He knows who we can become. 

And because today is Valentine's Day, I want to say something about that. :)

I am single this year (not that that's a significant change from any other year). And this is to all of my other single friends (and also to those who already are in a relationship). You have to love yourself first! You are the person who is going to be with you forever–even when no one is around. You're sort of stuck with yourself. So learn to love yourself. Figure yourself out first. That's what I'm doing right now. I am learning about myself. I've had to take some leaps of faith–I am still a shy person, so it's been difficult sometimes, discovering things about myself, but on the whole it's been fun. :) I'm grateful for my Savior, and my Heavenly Father, who love me unconditionally. I'm grateful for my friends and family–they love me, even on my bad days. They're always there for me, and I know that I can turn to them whenever I need them. This year has been great so far, but hopefully it will be even better than I imagine it will. :)

It's always your choice.

This year we are focusing on The Book of Mormon. I'm so excited! I love that book!! I know that it is true. If you want to know if it is true, then you should read it and pray about it. Pray about it a lot. It might take a couple of days or even weeks (because God's timing is different than ours) but the Spirit will testify to you that it is true. Only you can learn for yourself if the things of God are true.

In Gospel Doctrine, we talked about how "faith precedes the miracle". Seeing is not believing, someone said, because Laman and Lemuel saw an angel at the same time as Nephi and Sam, and yet, in the end, Laman and Lemuel lost their faith. Nephi desired to see the vision that Lehi had seen, and because his heart and desire was righteous, he was able to see the vision that his father had seen, and he was able to come to understand it.

In Relief Society, Jillian gave the lesson on prayer, which was so great and definitely inspired because I needed the lesson today (I'm trying to get back into the groove of scripture study and prayer and I'm not going to lie–it's a little hard. All of my homework this semester is reading, and not just one chapter or half a chapter. For two of my classes, we have to read giant chunks of reading, one of them due every class period, and the other due ever other Friday, I think. Anyway, it's been difficult to find time for everything. Even if I read all of my assignments for my classes for two hours, that's EIGHT HOURS! That's insane!! I just need to divide my time better. I'm still working on that. Anyway, so finding time for scripture study is a little hard. I'm going to try something different this week and we'll see if it works). Megan commented something that I've heard before but this time it really stuck with me. "If it's important to you, then it's important to Him." Heavenly Father knows all, but He still wants us to pray to Him! Tell Him about your day–tell Him about your worries, and your struggles–because He wants to hear from you. He wants to bless you–ask Him for help, and for blessings. He wants to have that relationship with you, but He can't do that if you don't do your part.

In sacrament meeting today, Paige said that you have to put "time and effort" into the scriptures/Book of Mormon". Honestly, they are just sitting there, waiting for you to open them. This same principle applies to your relationship with God. He is waiting for you to come to Him. He invites us to "come unto Him". You have to do your part. Also in sacrament meeting, Jared quoted Elder Neil L. Andersen: "Your faith will grow not by chance but by choice." This applies to your relationship with God, as well. You have to consciously make the decision to get closer to Him.

Every part of the Gospel and the Church is your choice. No one can gain a testimony for you. No one can develop your relationship with God for you. Only you can gain (or lose) your testimony, and only you can develop (or repress) your relationship with your Heavenly Father and your Savior. It is always your choice, whatever way you decide to go.

When we went to the temple on Friday night, after we had done baptisms, we sat in the chapel and read the scriptures for a few minutes before we decided to head back. I was trying to find something–anything–that would help me with a question that I had. I randomly came upon Mosiah 16. This chapter in general stood out to me, but several verses in particular hit home, a few of which I will share:

7 And if Christ had not risen from the dead, or have broken the bands of death that the grave should have no victory, and that death should have no sting, there could have been no resurrection.
8 But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ.
9 He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death.

I don't know why these ones stood out to me, but they did. Because of Christ, we can live forever. I guess I just needed the reminder that yes, people die, but because of Christ, we will be resurrected and we can live forever. So I need to try my hardest to be the best I can be. Yes, it will be hard, and yes, it has been hard, but I am not alone because Christ is always with me, and it will all be worth it in the end.

Just remember that it is your choice, not anyone else's. No one can force you to gain that testimony or relationship with God. If it comes to you, then it is because you realized for yourself that it is true.

Such a blessing.

I had the opportunity to go to the Payson Temple yesterday (Friday) with some friends. It is such a beautiful temple! I am so grateful that my friend thought to invite me! I love her dearly and I am so grateful for the inspiration she had to invite me. I haven't been to the temple in awhile and I really needed to go. It was such a blessing. I felt the Spirit strongly and I was able to receive answers to my prayers. I'm so blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful friends, and I'm so blessed to live in Utah where there are so many temples! :)

If I Could.

If I Could:
If I could feel my Savior's love, would I ever feel unloved?

If I could feel His arms around me, would I ever feel sad?

If I could feel His presence, would I ever feel alone?

If I could understand His grace, would I ever feel lost?

If I could understand the Atonement, would I ever feel unforgiven?

If I could understand the Plan, would I ever falter from the path?

If I could love as He did, would I ever impede my neighbors?

If I could serve as He did, would I ever leave someone in need?

If I could care as He did, would I ever ignore someone in need?

Because I have felt my Savior's love, I feel loved.

Because I have felt His arms around me, I am happy.

Because I have felt His presence, I know I'm not alone.

Though I do not fully understand His grace, I do not feel lost.

Though I do not fully understand the Atonement, I do not feel unforgiven.

Though I do not fully understand the Plan, I try not to falter from the path.

Because I try to love as He did, I love my neighbor.

Because I try to serve as He did, I serve those around me.

Because I try to care as He did, I help those in need. 

Because He loved–and because He loves–I, too, love. 

~~A poem by Me

I know He loves me. I know He is always there for me. I know that He loves and is there for you, too. And because He cannot serve us personally, He sends people to us to help us out. I love being the answer to someone's prayers, because sometimes being the answer to someone's prayer answers my prayers. Plus, I just love making people happy. :) I know that God loves it when everyone is happy, too, so I am always trying to make those that I meet happy because I know that that's what Jesus would do. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.