His Love is More.

I'm so grateful for the opportunity I had to attend Relief Society today. I'm reminded of two weeks ago when I almost didn't go because I wasn't feeling the best after sacrament meeting, but when I saw it was Relief Society, the Spirit whispered, "Stay." So I did. And how grateful I am. We discussed President Nelson's talk from General Conference "Overcome the World and Find Rest", and what a blessing the discussion was. For some, the holiday season can be tiring and stressful. Our discussion was enlightening and I received several answers and personal revelation. I am so, so grateful for Relief Society, and for the wonderful bond of sisterhood that I have been able to experience in the wards that I have resided in.

Treasure the moments.

My favorite thing about the Christmas season–besides the opportunity to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ–is celebrating with my family. This year, I was so excited and blessed to celebrate with my husband! It was our first Christmas together and it was pretty spectacular! I am so blessed to have the sweetest and most thoughtful husband!

This year has been crazy. Not only has the whole world been dealing with a pandemic because of COVID-19, but there have been hurricanes, fires, earthquakes, and so many other things. Events were canceled, rescheduled, or postponed til further notice. Churches and temples were closed. Once things opened up again, Zoom became extremely popular. Schools and church meetings have been held via Zoom, as well as other events like weddings and funerals. Theaters have mainly closed, and a lot of movies have been released to stream online instead of or in addition to theater releases. We have lost many people this year, not just to COVID, and I am truly sorry for the lives that have been lost, but am grateful for the knowledge that they will be with us again someday. 💜

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We've been studying the Book of Mormon this year, and I believe that this scripture found in Moroni 10 is a wonderful scripture that can sum up this year:

3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

I love reading the Book of Mormon, because it was written for our day, and because of the hope and blessings that come as I read and study the scriptures each and every day. While this year hasn't been quite a normal year as expected, it has been a blessing to go through it with my sweetheart. He fills my life with joy and love and I am so grateful for him. 💜

It's been quite a year, but I wouldn't change anything, because this is the year that I married my best friend. It was a really rough year at times, but having my best friend by my side throughout this year made it the best year. We have been so, so blessed, and I am so thankful to my Heavenly Father for that! Ricky and I have had so many adventures already and I can't wait to see what this year has in store for us!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday season with their family and loved ones. I hope that you have been able to feel the Spirit of Christmas, and the love of the Lord. I hope that this next year is full of peace, love, and joy for you and your family. I know that Heavenly Father loves you, and has great blessings in store for you. May you treasure this holiday season, and this year's blessings, and have a wonderful new year. 

Xoxo

Mattie

Christmastime is here! :)

Christmastime is here! It’s been a busy month for me! I’ve been working on Christmas gifts and decorating our home for Christmas. So my blogging has taken a backseat for a few weeks. 😬  However, I am mostly done with Christmas gifts (just a few left!) so I have a little more time!

I am so excited for Christmas!! I tell Ricky this multiple times every day, and he always says, “I know, you tell me every day.” 🤣 I was almost done with all my Christmas shopping the week of Thanksgiving! I have a love/hate relationship with having my shopping done early, because all I want is to have my husband open all his gifts, but we also have to wait for Christmas. 🤣

I am so grateful for the opportunity to read about and remember the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and what His birth means to me.

We read in Helaman Chapters 13 through 15 about Samuel the Lamanite's prophecies. 

In Chapter 14, we read about his prophecies about the birth of the Lord, Jesus Christ, and of His death:

2 And behold, he said unto them: Behold, I give unto you a sign; for five years more cometh, and behold, then cometh the Son of God to redeem all those who shall believe on his name.

3 And behold, this will I give unto you for a sign at the time of his coming; for behold, there shall be great lights in heaven, insomuch that in the night before he cometh there shall be no darkness, insomuch that it shall appear unto man as if it was day.

4 Therefore, there shall be one day and a night and a day, as if it were one day and there were no night; and this shall be unto you for a sign; for ye shall know of the rising of the sun and also of its setting; therefore they shall know of a surety that there shall be two days and a night; nevertheless the night shall not be darkened; and it shall be the night before he is born.

5 And behold, there shall a new star arise, such an one as ye never have beheld; and this also shall be a sign unto you.

6 And behold this is not all, there shall be many signs and wonders in heaven.

7 And it shall come to pass that ye shall all be amazed, and wonder, insomuch that ye shall fall to the earth. 

20 But behold, as I said unto you concerning another sign, a sign of his death, behold, in that day that he shall suffer death the sun shall be darkened and refuse to give his light unto you; and also the moon and the stars; and there shall be no light upon the face of this land, even from the time that he shall suffer death, for the space of three days, to the time that he shall rise again from the dead. 

21 Yea, at the time that he shall yield up the ghost there shall be thunderings and lightnings for the space of many hours, and the earth shall shake and tremble; and the rocks which are upon the face of this earth, which are both above the earth and beneath, which ye know at this time are solid, or the more part of it is one solid mass, shall be broken up;  

22 Yea, they shall be rent in twain, and shall ever after be found in seams and in cracks, and in broken fragments upon the face of the whole earth, yea, both above the earth and beneath.  

23 And behold, there shall be great tempests, and there shall be many mountains laid low, like unto a valley, and there shall be many places which are now called valleys which shall become mountains, whose height is great.  

24 And many highways shall be broken up, and many cities shall become desolate.  

25 And many graves shall be opened, and shall yield up many of their dead; and many saints shall appear unto many.  

26 And behold, thus hath the angel spoken unto me; for he said unto me that there should be thunderings and lightnings for the space of many hours. 

27 And he said unto me that while the thunder and the lightning lasted, and the tempest, that these things should be, and that darkness should cover the face of the whole earth for the space of three days.

Speaking of signs from heaven, I am so excited for the Geminid meteor shower tonight! I'm also excited for the Jupiter and Saturn "double planet" next Sunday. Ricky and I are going to try to get a look at the meteor shower tonight, and I hope to be able to get a look at the double planet conjunction next weekend too!

I am so excited for Christmas this year! It's our first Christmas as husband and wife, and it's really our first Christmas together, as last year he was in Florida with his family. I can't wait to see him open his gifts, and I can't wait to see my family open their gifts, either. It's going to be an amazing Christmas. I am so grateful to have the chance to experience Christmas with my husband for the first time. I am so grateful for my sweet in-laws, who sent us our Christmas presents this week and I am so overwhelmed at the love and support I have felt from them! I can't wait to open the gifts in 12 days!

I am grateful to be able to read the scriptures and study the words of the prophets, and to see how the words in the Book of Mormon, the New Testament, and the Old Testament all testify of Jesus Christ. I am grateful for the birth of the little baby Jesus. I am grateful for that night, so long ago, where a mother laid her baby in a manger filled with hay. I am so grateful that because of Him, we have the chance to start over. I am so grateful that because of Him, we have the chance to live with our families forever. Because of Him–because of the Holy Child–I have the chance to be part of a family. I have the chance to have my own family. I am so grateful to have been able to be sealed to Ricky forever this year, and I know that no matter what, we will always be husband and wife. 

I am grateful for the Christmas season, and for the love and blessings that I see in my life, and in the lives of those around me. I am grateful for the Christmas Spirit this time of year, and for the peace and joy that seems to envelop the world this time of year. 

If you missed the First Presidency Christmas devotional last week, you can watch it here. I highly recommend that you do watch it. It was really great to hear from some of our leaders and I really enjoyed the messages that they shared. 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours! I hope you have a safe holiday season, and a happy New Year! God bless you! 

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

Because He was born.

So grateful that I was able to have two Christmas-oriented sacrament meetings! My YSA ward last week, and my home ward this week. Both were absolutely beautiful meetings. So grateful for the power of music, and for the testimonies that were shared through the messages of the words sung today, as well as the Spirit that was felt throughout the whole meeting.

I would like to talk about Christ today, since this Friday is Christmas!! I can't believe it! It feels like I just started college, even though I literally just finished it on Friday. It's been a busy semester, and this month has been especially busy as I tried to balance school, work, and thinking about Christ and the true meaning of Christmas.

Jesus Christ was born in the humblest of places: He was born in a stable in Bethlehem. His first bed was a manger filled with hay/straw. His birth is the reason that we celebrate Christmas but Christmas is a time to remember the birth and life of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Last year, I found this quote that I love by Elder Holland:

“You can’t separate Bethlehem from Gethsemane or the hasty flight into Egypt from the slow journey to the summit of Calvary. It’s of one piece. It is a single plan. It considers ‘the fall and rising again of many in Israel’ [Luke 2:34], but always in that order. Christmas is joyful not because it is a season or decade or lifetime without pain and privation, but precisely because life does hold those moments for us." ~Jeffrey R. Holland ("Shepherds, Why this Jubilee?" 2000)

I love this quote. His birth and His Atonement are intertwined. They're part of the same plan. Because He was born, He was able to live a perfect life and be the perfect example to us. Because He was born, He was able to save us. Because He was born, He was able to die for us. Because He was born, He was able to be resurrected after His death. Because He was born, we can live again.

Have courage and be kind.

Well today was a great day! I performed "Oh Holy Night" in sacrament meeting and I was infinitely less nervous to perform today (that may be partly because I wasn't the only one performing today, but it may also be partly because it is a Christmas song and I love Christmas music. Who knows, though) and it was so good! I did so well, and I didn't mess up on some parts that I had trouble with when I was practicing. So that was great! Hats off to my accompanist because she's awesome. :) Sacrament meeting was just so good today. We had seven people/groups perform Christmas numbers, and it was so beautiful and spiritually uplifting. So grateful for my ward and all of the beautifully talented people in it. :)


In Gospel Doctrine, we talked about how God shows His love for us, and how we can show our love for Him. 

God shows His love for us in many ways, but one of the most important ways is that He sent His Son to save us. He loved (and loves us) so much that He sent His Son to die for us so that we could return to Him again. 
We show our love for God by keeping His commandments, and by being His hands and loving and serving those around us. 

In Relief Society, we talked about feeding Jesus' sheep. We talked about loving the people, and serving them. We talked about (for non/less active members) not pushing the gospel onto them. Just be there for them–be their friend, love them, serve them. Show them that you genuinely care, and that you see them. Show them that they mean something to you, and that they're not just a number. Just let them know that someone cares for them, and someone wants the best for them. I love my relief society. The girls in my hall are the BEST!!!! I love them all so much and they have all made me a better person, and they've helped strengthen my testimony and I'm so grateful for them!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

People are imperfect. People make mistakes. But that doesn't mean that God doesn't love them any less. That also doesn't mean that they are worth less. We are all precious in His sight. He wants us all to feel (and be) loved and safe. And since He Himself cannot be here to do so, He sends people to us. He sends us to others. We can be the answer to someone's prayers or needs. "Have courage and be kind." I literally just decided that that is going to be my quote this week: Have courage and be kind. But that quote is also kind of my life motto. I don't care who you are, or what you've done (yes, I accidentally quoted the Backstreet Boys, but I don't care. And it was an accident, I promise) but I will be kind to you. Even if you are not kind to me. I will always be kind to you. Because that is what Jesus would do, and I am trying to be like Jesus. I'm not perfect–far from it–but with and through Christ, I can become perfected. Life can be tough, but I love to make other people happy and I've found that making other people happy makes me happy. And by making other people happy, I make God happy. So it comes full circle because knowing God makes me happy. :)

My testimony of the birth of Jesus Christ, His life and mission, and His love for us.

Now that it is December, it's time to celebrate the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, and His life and mission. He was born to save us. I'm so grateful for His mother, Mary, who was so very courageous and brave in taking on the role of being His mother. I'm so grateful for Joseph, His earthly father-figure who, even though it was difficult, still married Mary and took care of Jesus and taught Him to be a carpenter. I'm so grateful for my Saviour, who was always conscious of His mission in life—doing His Father's work—and who did everything in His power to teach His apostles what He needed to teach them so that, when the time came, Joseph Smith Jr. would be able to read the Bible and know to ask of God. I know that Jesus lives. I know that He was born to His mortal mother, Mary, and I know that He lived as Heavenly Father would have lived, and I know that He suffered for me. I know He suffered for you. Even if you don't believe in Him, He still suffered for you. He loves you so much that He suffered and died for you, even when He knew that some of the people on Earth wouldn't ever believe in Him. I know He loves me. I know He loves you. And I really hope that you know that there are people out there who love you. I love you, even if I don't know you. I love you because I know that you are a son or daughter of a King—our Heavenly Father, who loves you so very much. You are so, so precious to Him, and I hope that you know that. I hope and pray that you will come to know Him and know that He loves you, and I hope and pray that you will come to know that this gospel—the Gospel of Jesus Christ—is true, and that God exists, and that He loves you. Because I know it is true, and I know that He loves me and I know that He loves you. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 

Gratitude.

So I feel kind of bad because I wasn't able to post yesterday! I got home from choir practice super late and then I was super sleepy and went to bed after I read my scriptures. This month is Thanksgiving! People always try and keep Christmas and Thangsgiving separated, but it's the holiday season! We should be grateful for Christ, because without Him we wouldn't have a reason to celebrate...He was born to save us, and it bothers me sometimes that people think that they are two separate holidays, because they go hand-in-hand with each other. Thanksgiving gets us into the mood of gratitude. And then we celebrate Christ's birth. I'm so grateful for Jesus Christ. Without Him, we wouldn't be able to return to Heavenly Father. So, even though some people believe Thanksgiving and Christmas should be separate, I believe they should go hand-in-hand. What's your opinion? Should November be about Thanksgiving and December about Christmas? Do you listen to Christmas music earlier than December? Comment below; I'd love to know what you think. :)

One meaning of Christmas.

Christmas is on WEDNESDAY. I can't believe it. This year has gone by so fast, and yet, so slow. A lot has happened in short amounts of time. I have seen many miracles, but I have also seen some tragedies. I am constantly reminded of the sacrifices that have been made for me, especially at Christmastime--like the sacrifice made by my Savior, Jesus Christ. He came to earth to save us all. He came to be the perfect example to those He met, but especially to those He did not, including you and I. Whether or not you believe in Him, He died for you. He atoned for you. He loved us beyond anything you or I could ever imagine. And Heavenly Father loved us all so, so much that He sent His Son to die for us, and be resurrected so that, someday, we can all live with our families forever. I am so, so, so thankful for the example of my Savior, and for the love He and my Heavenly Father show me all day, every day, especially when I don't deserve it. 

Remember the reason for the season.

It is December 10, 2013. I honestly cannot believe that 2013 is almost over!! This year has passed by so, so, fast, and I can't believe the school year is almost halfway through, either! It seems like just yesterday I was a sophomore, learning my new school in and out and making new friends. Granted, every year I make new friends, but! the point is still the same. Time is passing me by like no other. In two days Bridger will be 7!! I still remember when we were naming him. Christmas is also soon to be upon us, and this year I am so blessed. I've got lots of friends (old and new) who all love me; I've learned a lot from almost everywhere I've been, everything I've done, and everyone I've interacted with; I have a family who (mostly/usually) loves me; I live in a nice area with nice neighbors; and I have technology to stay in touch with friends and family. This year, I don't want much for Christmas. Maybe a new pair of headphones, or a belt, or some CDs. But all I really want is for my siblings (and my friends and family) to learn/remember/understand (whichever applies to them) the true meaning of Christmas and the true spirit of Christmas. We need to remember the reason for Christmas. Christmas is all about Christ, and I want them to know that. He was born so that He could be our Savior, our Redeemer, our Lord. He was born so that He could be the perfect example of how to live. He was born to suffer for and bear our sins, pains, and afflictions so that He could know EXACTLY how we feel, all the time, 24/7. He was born to be crucified; He was born to die for us. He was born to save us. He was born to save me. He was born to save you. He loves us all very much, and Christmas is a time to remember this. We should always remember it, but Christmas is a time to remember that He was born to die for us so that we can be resurrected and live again someday. We need to remember the reason for the season, and we need to remember it always.