With Him, we can.

Normally on Sundays I reflect on the things I learned in church that day (which I might end up doing later). But right now I want to talk about something that I've kind of recently come to really understand.

It doesn't matter what others think about you. I know, I know–you care about people because they're important to you, and you want to know what they think about you. But, in the end, it really doesn't matter. They will never be able to fully understand you.

They don't know your story.

They may know some things, but it's hard to understand things that you yourself haven't been through. And sometimes there are just some things you might not want to talk about. They don't know the nights you cried because you felt lost and unloved. They don't know that your mother's aunt tried to commit suicide. They don't know the time your little brother disappeared and your whole family thought that he ran away and your mother was crying and you hated your little brother in that moment for making your mom cry. (Side note: I feel like I should make it known that none of these things happened to me specifically. I think I found most of these instances in books I read or heard about)

They don't know those things. They don't know why you do what you do. They don't know everything that makes you you.

The only person who knows your story exactly as you've experienced it is Jesus Christ–who's lived your story personally so that He could be able to help you through it, if you let Him.

He suffered for your pains, your sicknesses, your infirmities, your griefs, anything emotional, physical, or mental that you have/had to deal with, your temptations, and also for your sins. He suffered for EVERYTHING that you have experienced, and everything that you will ever experience.

He loves you SO MUCH that He wanted to be able to be there for you whenever you need Him. He wanted you to be able to turn to Him for anything and everything that you struggle with. You struggle with being patient? He's there to help you. You struggle with loving yourself? He's there to help you. You struggle with believing in Him?  He is there for you!

There is nothing that you have gone through that He has not experienced. He experienced everything so that He could help you. He walked alone so that you don't have to.

In sacrament meeting today, two of my friends performed the song "The Miracle" (which can be found here), and I love that song so much! Hearing them sing it made me cry because I could feel the Spirit, and it was just so beautiful and I felt like there was a message in it for me specifically. One of my favorite lines is, "But I know this: of all His miracles, the most incredible must be the miracle that rescues me." He loves you, and wants you to be able to live with our Heavenly Father again, and so He atoned and died for you so that that could happen.

"It is never too late so long as the Master of the vineyard says there is time," (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, "It Is Never Too Late," April 2012).

Today has been a great day, full of messages that I needed to hear and think about. I am so grateful for my Savior, and for the love that He had for me, and for all of us, and for His sacrifice in the Garden of Gethsemane, and on the cross at Calvary. His Atonement has helped me, has healed me, and has given me peace. I know that I am never alone, and with Him, I can get through anything. I had a super hard trial a couple of years ago, and I am still feeling its aftereffects, but I got through it with Him. I wasn't alone. That's such a blessing and comfort to me. And, because of that experience, I know that I can do hard things. I know that life is hard, and that sometimes there are things that happen that just put you so far out there that you don't think that you can return, but with Him, we can (that is also the title of a song that I love. It can be found here). He will never leave you alone. He will always be there to aid you. This I know, and bear testimony of in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Jesus Christ, Savior.

First, happy anniversary to my blog! It was exactly one year ago today I started this blog for one of my personal progress projects. Over this year I have learned so much about this gospel and who I am. It has been a privilege, followers, to share my testimony with you. Second, I am going to try and do something different this month. I am going to try and write something different about Jesus Christ every time I post something on my blog this month. Sunday—even though it was technically August—was the start, with Son of Man.

Today, I want to talk about Jesus Christ as the Savior. He's our Savior! He was tormented, mocked, and crucified for us because He loves us. He is our Savior. If you had been the only person on the ENTIRE earth, He still would have suffered for your sins and afflictions. He loves you that much. Can you imagine that? Imagine the person you love the most on this earth—imagine that love for them, times it by 300,000...no wait...times it by infinity, and that's not even CLOSE to how much Jesus Christ loves us. And guess what else? He loves us all individually. That's right. I said individually. Just like when He atoned for your sins and afflictions individually, He loves you individually. As a person. He knows your name. We talk about Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world—which He definitely is—and sometimes we don't focus on the fact that He is our personal Savior. This is very, very important to remember. He suffered and died for everyone, even for those that don't believe. In 1 Timothy 4:10 it says, "For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially those that believe." He died for everyone—especially those who believe in Him. But it's important to remember that He died for you as an individual. He died for you, and He died for me. And I will never, ever be able to repay Him. But He still did it—He never did it for the glory, or for the reward. He did it because He loves us—you and me. No one is perfect—we all make mistakes—and He still loves us. He suffered and died for us—for you and for me. I don't know about you, but I have made many, many, many, many stupid mistakes that I wish I could take back but I can't. But He paid for them. He didn't have to—He could have chosen to not accept His role in Heavenly Father's plan, or He could've wiped out all of the Jews who were planning to kill Him. But He didn't. We are that important to Him. Don't ever, ever, EVER forget how important you are to Him: He died for you. He will not EVER leave you alone. EVER. He will make sure you are taken care of. I love Him because of His sacrifice for me. I love Him because He loves me. I love Him because He's my Elder Brother and He wants me to be saved—He wants me to be safe and sound, back in heaven, so He died for me. I love Him because I am able to love Him. I love Him because I feel His love, and that's why I love Him: because I can. 

(I also love you, treasured followers :). Please let me know if you have any questions and I will try and answer it or I will help guide you to references that can help you answer it. Or, if you're too shy, lds.org is a wonderful place to start :). )