"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

We are here for a purpose.

I want to tell you a story. 

Once, a long time ago, there lived a child. Now, she (or fill in with 'he', boys) lived in a place where she was loved by so many! She had many friends and people who loved her. One day, she had to leave her home for another home, but in this home, she would have to forget who she was, and that she was loved. One day, when the girl was around 14 or so, she had a few questions: Who am I? Where did I come from? And what is my purpose? Well, in order to find the answer, she searched. She searched and searched the scriptures for an answer. And she found her answer: She is a daughter of God. She came from Heaven, and her purpose is to accept and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others, and to make a healthy home for more of God's children on earth.

I know that sometimes life is hard, and we lose our focus. But I just want you guys to know that we are here for a purpose. There is a God, and He does love you. I know it. I know that we are here to have a family, and to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others. I know sometimes we doubt, but it's okay to have questions. Just 'doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith.' Don't lose track of who you are. You are a daughter or son of God, and He loves you. He cares for you. He knows exactly what you're going through, and He knows how to help you. Life will get hard–I'm not going to lie to you. Life is hard–but if you have faith in Jesus Christ, you can do it! I know that sometimes there are unexpected curveballs thrown at you, and sometimes they're really rough, but you can get through them with the help of our Savior and Redeemer. I love those names for Him: Savior and Redeemer. They remind me that He is there–and wants–to save us, and He is there and wants to redeem us. He loves us and wants us to be able to return to our Heavenly Father. I know it and I love Him so much. He is there for me, even when I feel unworthy. Even when I feel alone. Even when I feel unloved, HE IS THERE! He will never leave you alone. He will never leave you. He will never leave. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Never give up.

I just want you to know that you should never give up. It is better to try and fail than to have never tried at all. Keep trying! Don't give up. Life is good. Things happen for a reason. But don't give up. God has a plan for you. So keep trying and remember that things happen for a reason.

Saw this quote on Facebook and LOVED it! Thought I'd share:

Thomas S. Monson: Love doesn’t grow like weeds or fall like rain. Love has its price. ‘God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life’. That Son, even the Lord Jesus Christ, gave His life that we might have eternal life, so great was His love for His Father and for us.

Do you know that we are all human? We all make mistakes. But guess what? God loves us. We are imperfect, yet He still loves us. He gave His Only Begotten Son so that we could return to live with Him. He has to deal with us all day, all the time–sometimes we are worse than normal–but He still loves us. He will always love us. So don't give up. He will you give you so many chances, again and again, because He loves us. He will not let us go anywhere alone. He will not leave you alone.

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 :). )