God loves us enough to gift us with testimonies.

Friday afternoon/evening and Saturday morning I had the opportunity to go to Heber Valley Camp with my YSA stake for an overnight camping trip. I had so much fun! Friday night we had a fireside speaker, a Casey Hermanson (spelling?). He talked about a lot of things that were just absolutely great but I was so enthralled I forgot to take notes while he was talking. So I took a couple mental notes about some of the things that stood out to me the most.

One of my favorite things that he talked about was that I'm a child of God (and you are too!!). We have deity in us. He talked a little about The Lion King, and how Simba forgets who he is. You need to remember who you are: a child of God. :) "He lives in you." Build upon the rock that is Christ and you cannot fail.

Another thing he talked about was Elder Bednar's talk "Converted unto the Lord", and the parable of the ten virgins (you can find that talk here). He (Brother Hermanson) said that a testimony is not enough. You need conversion. Do all the things you need to—scripture study, pray, attend church, go to the temple, etc.

He quoted someone who said, "You can't quit five minutes before the miracle happens." I love that. You have to keep going! I know it's hard and you don't want to go on anymore, or you just want the pain to end. But a miracle will happen. Blessings will come. Maybe not in this life, but Elder Holland has promised us that "they will come".

So I typed up all that^^ before I left for my friend's homecoming talk this morning (he came home at the beginning of this month. That whole week I was like, "Wait a minute! It's been two years already?" It's like...at first it seems like two years is a long time, but then BAM! It's two years and they're home) and he and the other speaker both talked about conversion, and my friend talked about Elder Bednar's talk! I was like, "Oh my goodness, that's so funny! I just started writing my blog post this morning and talked about that a little bit." I thought that was so cool.

Anyway, first I'd like to talk about something that I noticed for the first time about the hymn "In Humility Our Savior" during the sacrament. The line "when thy heart was stilled and broken" hit me today. I realized that that line is talking about the moment that Jesus Christ died and gave up the ghost–He died of a broken heart, and for some reason that line never clicked with me until today. I am so grateful to my Savior for His love and sacrifice. I will never be able to repay Him, but I certainly can try by following His example and preparing to return home to my Heavenly Father.

Okay, so one of the things that my friend said today really stood out to me. First, though, definitions: a testimony is a gift from God through revelation, and conversion is a deepening and broadening of a testimony. So my friend said (and I'm paraphrasing here), that we convert ourselves in order to give gratitude to God for our testimonies. I loved that. He also said that as we have doubts and questions, we need to put those aside in order to gain revelation. We have to have an open mind in order to receive revelation from the Holy Ghost.

I'd just like to finish by saying that it's been a great weekend. Life is actually really good right now, and I'm really grateful. I've been blessed lately to be able to not stress and worry so much and to just let things be (don't get me wrong, sometimes I still worry hahaha; that won't ever go away). I'm grateful for the people in my life who know just what to say and do to help me. I'm grateful for those who just let me talk when I need to. I'm grateful for those who, by doing simple things, just remind me that I am in their thoughts and they love me. Most of all, I'm grateful for my Heavenly Father and my Savior, who send me these people when I need them. :) I'm grateful for the love and peace that I feel from my Savior when I need it. I'm grateful for His example and His sacrifice. I just realized I don't think I've ever been quite this happy and at peace for a little while, and it's a great feeling. I am saddened by the events that have happened recently, and I pray for the families of those that were lost. I hope and pray that we will all be kind to one another, and that we will all be courteous towards those that we might not agree with on some issues. I know that things happen for a reason, and though we may not know that reason right now, someday we will all have answers to all of our questions. I know that someday everything will make sense. I hope and pray that someday we can all feel happy, at peace, and that we can all feel the love of our Savior and our Father in Heaven. 

He makes up the difference.

Well, I made it through last week!!! It was super tough, but I know that my Savior was helping me. :)

Today in church, the focus was on Christ. Well, it always is, but it was more of a focus on Him.

Sacrament meeting was so beautiful!! <3

Hannah talked about service as an attribute of Christ:

• God blesses us through others! I know this–countless times I have needed to hear something or I've needed someone to listen, and someone said exactly what I needed, or they asked to hear about me and my day. 
• She said that we need to let others serve us. Sometimes it's hard to let them, but we need to let them. It's hard to serve someone who won't let you serve them.
• Even small acts–they may seem insignificant–but even small acts can have a significant impact on someone's life.
• Service will help us come unto Christ, and it will help us become more like Him. <3

Batchlor talked about how to come to know and find Christ:

• We need to read the scriptures.
• We need to obey the commandments.
• Loving others makes all of the other commandments fall into place.
• We need to find comfort in the right places–we need to find comfort in the Savior and in our Heavenly Father. Only they can bring us true comfort.
• Just know that He will carry you through your trials.

Charity's talk was about our relationship with Jesus Christ. She read this absolutely beautiful letter that she was given at a youth conference, I believe, that was written to us from the perspective of our Elder Brother, the Savior. It made me cry! It was so beautiful, and just exactly what I needed to hear. 

• She said that if we don't put in the effort, the relationship won't be there. This is so true. Christ is ready and waiting–all we have to do is knock. 
• It's our responsibility to draw near to Him. We have to have a desire for the relationship. 
• He knows what is best for us, and He wants us to choose that.
• Blessings will come as we seek to develop that relationship with Christ.

Nick talked about missionary work, and coming unto Christ. He read an amazing poem that I loved, and I am going to share it with you because it spoke to me. 

It's called "After All We Can Do", by Robbie Pierce:

"I had been in that hole for a very long time—In the dark and the damp, in the cold and the slime. The shaft was above me; I saw it quite clear, but there’s no way I ever could reach it from here. I could not remember the world way up there, so I lost every hope and gave in to despair. I knew nothing but darkness, the floor, and the wall. Then from off in the distance I heard someone call: "Get up! Get ready! There’s nothing the matter! Take rocks and take sticks and build up a fine ladder!" This was a thought that had not crossed my mind, but I started to stack all the stones I could find. When I ran out of stones, then old sticks were my goal, for some way or another I’d climb from that hole. I soon had a ladder that stood very tall, and I thought, “I’ll soon leave this place once and for all!” I climbed up my ladder, a difficult chore, for from lifting those boulders, my shoulders were sore. I climbed up the ladder, but soon had to stop, for my ladder stopped short, some ten feet from the top. I went back down my ladder and felt all around, but there were no more boulders nor sticks to be found. I sat down in the darkness and started to cry. I’d done all I could do and I gave my best try. But in spite of my work, in this hole I must die. And all I could do was to sit and think, “Why?” Was my ladder to short? Was my hole much too deep? Then from way up on high came a voice: “Do not weep.” And then faith, hope, and love entered into my chest as the voice calmly told me that I’d done my best. He said, “You have worked hard, and your labor’s been rough, but the ladder you’ve built is at last tall enough. So do not despair; there is reason to hope–just climb up your ladder; I’ll throw down my rope.” I climbed up my ladder, then climbed up the cord. When I got to the top of it, there stood the Lord. I’ve never been happier; my struggle was done. I blinked in the brightness that came from the Son. I fell to the ground as His feet I did kiss. I cried, “Lord, can I ever repay Thee for this?” He looked all about. There were holes in the ground. They had people inside, and were seen all around. There were thousands of holes that were damp, dark and deep. Then the Lord looked at me, and He said, “feed my sheep." And he went on his way to save other lost souls, so I got right to work, calling down to the holes,“Get up! Get ready! There is nothing the matter! Take rocks, and take sticks, and build up a fine ladder!” It now was my calling to spread the good word–The most glorious message that man ever heard: That there’s one who is coming to save one and all, and we need to be ready when He gives the call. He’ll pull us all out of the holes that we’re in and save all our souls from cold death and from sin. So do not lose faith; there is reason to hope: Just climb up your ladder; He'll throw down His rope."

I just love that! At one point in my life, I felt like I was in this hole, and not only was my Savior there, helping me to get out, I had a beautiful friend who's been a great example to me who was helping me, too. Finishing his talk, Nick said that coming unto Christ starts by exercising a particle of faith and nourishing it.

In Relief Society, we talked about how we can live a Christ-centered life. True joy is found in living a Christ-centered life. I am so blessed to be a member of this church and have the true Gospel of Christ! I wouldn't be who I am today without my Savior, and I know that He has delivered me from many things that I couldn't do myself. I have to rely on Him every single day, because I need Him every single day. He gives me strength when I can't go on by myself anymore. He makes up the difference because He loves me, and He wants me to be able to return to live with my Heavenly Father.

After much tribulation, blessings come.

"For after much tribulation come the blessings." ~Doctrine and Covenants 58: 4
I love this scripture! We all have trials, and they’re always difficult and hard to go through, but as you turn to Him, the blessings will come. <3

"Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come." ~Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Trials are really difficult.

They're always difficult.

But they make us stronger.

Sometimes things that don't seem like trials are trials, and you wonder what you can learn from it.

Currently, my biggest trial is biting my nails. I am super nervous for college, but I must be way more nervous than I thought because I keep biting my nails and it's really bad. It's really painful sometimes, and I just don't know what I can do to stop! I've tried everything, and some will work for a little while but then I go back to biting them. I think that this trial is teaching me patience and determination. I am determined to stop biting, but it is taking a long time; I have to have patience and I have to work on it consciously. I have to tell myself to stop biting my nails.

Another trial that I am having is studying my scriptures. This trial is also teaching me determination and patience (I am determined to make it a better habit, but it is taking time), but it is also teaching me time management. I have to manage my time so that I will have time for my scripture study, but also for my school studies once I start college.

There are tons of trials in our lives, and they will always teach us something–whether it be now, or later; whether we realize what we are learning or not. Whatever our circumstances, trials will always teach us something, and blessings will always, always come. Blessings come after a trial of our faith.