Every new chapter of your life will demand a different version of you.

It's been a stressful, sad, long, exhausting week. I finished my finals (stressful, exhausting) and packed and cleaned to move out of my apartment (stressful, sad, exhausting, long). It's bittersweet to be home for the summer–I'm excited for the new adventures I will go on, but I'm going to miss my friends. I love my family and I love spending time with them, but after living and spending most of my time with other people for two years, I am really, really sad that things won't be the same. It was really hard saying goodbye yesterday even though I know I'm going to see them again. It's hard to say goodbye to the people who have really been an influence in your life for the past two years, and it's hard to say goodbye to the people who have loved you, served you, cared for you, and blessed you for two years. I love them so much, and I am going to have a hard time not seeing them every day. Even though I need change in my life every so often, it's still hard. It's way harder than I like it to be, but I'm grateful that goodbyes don't have to be forever. 

I loved the messages in church today! Today we focused a lot on ministering, and service, and one of the speakers in sacrament meeting gave a list of three things that encompass the idea of ministering:
1. Being aware (of their needs, of those who need help, etc.)
2. Invitation (invitations of healing, friendship, places of safety/love, etc.)
3. Reach out in sacrifice and service (sacrifices of your time, food, etc.)

I loved this! Ministering just involves loving, and being considerate and aware of the needs of those around us. Ministering is motivated by the pure love of Christ. If you see a need, fill it. Just find a way to bless and love those around you.

I am so grateful for the people in my life who have been amazing examples of ministering! I've been on the receiving end, the giving end, and I've watched my friends minister to others and I am so blessed! I learn so much from them!

I am so thankful for my Heavenly Father. He has blessed me so much in the past year, and in the past two years that I have been at Cinnamon Tree. I am quite a different person now than I was not only two years ago when I first moved in, but also a year ago. And I know that that is for the best. I needed to be a different person at the start of last summer, but I also needed to change to be a different person now. Change is hard, but change is always something that needs to happen. I am always striving to be better today than I was yesterday. Sometimes I don't succeed quite as much as I'd like to, but I do know that I am trying, and that is all that God asks of me. He sends me people who will love me, listen to me, empathize with me, and help me to not only yearn to be better, but will help me try to be better. I couldn't ask for better friends to surround myself with. 

I am sad to have left Cinnamon Tree, but I am grateful for the life that I had there. I am grateful for the people that He placed in my life to bless me, and help me know that I am loved, and I am worth so much! I was so, so blessed to meet some amazing people, and I am so grateful to call them my friends! I love them so, so much! I can't even express how much I have loved being in this ward, and how much I am going to miss it. I'm going to miss my friends so, so much, and I already do. I'm beyond grateful for my friends and for their love and support. I can't imagine my life without them. And because of them, I know God loves me. Sometimes I might not feel it, but I KNOW that He does because He gave me friends and roommates that I needed. He gave me friends and roommates that love me. And He inspired them to serve me when I needed it. I am sometimes amazed when I think that He places people in my life just for me. He puts them in my life because He knows that I need them. And I am beyond grateful for that. I know that He really, really loves me, because I met some amazing people whom I absolutely love and adore, and they love me, too! I am grateful to have such a hard time saying goodbyes because it means that I love, and I am loved!

I hope you have a wonderful week! Life is so good! I am so grateful!

Xoxo
Mattie

P.S. A couple of weeks ago, my ward had a Spring Musical Fireside, and I am so, so grateful for everyone who performed their own musical numbers, and for those who helped in the choir! It was such an amazing experience and it was the perfect end to my calling as choir director. I was able to have it recorded for some friends who were unable to come, and it can be viewed here. The sound quality isn't the greatest (get ready to fiddle with the volume a lot... *facepalm* I'm sorry), and I apologize for that, but I think you can still feel the spirit of the meeting. Enjoy! :)

Perfect love casteth out fear.

Conference weekend has happened once again! Loved the messages this weekend! Grateful that I had the opportunity to come home and hang out with my family (however rambunctious the boys became during the last session). Here are a bunch of my favorite quotes from this wonderful conference weekend!

"In a darkening world, the light of the gosepl will shine brighter and brighter until the perfect day." ~Elder Bragg

"Faith is a practical principle that inspires diligence." ~Elder Soares

"We embody Christ in not only what we say and do, but in who we are." ~Elder Hales

"Diversity is not cacophony."
"The loss of even one voice diminishes every other singer in this great mortal choir."
"Remember it is by divine design that not all of the voices in God's choir are the same. Don't disparage uniqueness."
"There is room in this choir for all who wish to be here." ~Elder Holland

"In order to be all in, we need to stand up inside."
"We may need to let go of the world so we can hang on to eternity." ~Elder Sabin

"Children are great imitators, so give them something great to imitate." ~Sister Jones

"Things work out when we stand firm in the trial of our faith." ~Elder Clayton

Fear doesn't change hearts.
"In the face of fear, let us find courage, muster our faith.."
The pure love of Christ is the antidote to fear. ~President Uchtdorf

"Sometimes those who raise a warning voice are dismissed as judgmental."
To warn is to care.
"Then Jesus, beholding him, loved him."
"Because of this love, and with this love, Jesus asked even more of him." ~Elder Palmer

"We should not be surprised by what may seem like 'small things' because of their simple and repetitive nature."
"Conversion to the gospel does not mean all our problems will be solved." ~Elder Cook

Hope you had a great weekend and that you have a great week!! I'm struggling with the last couple weeks of the semester and I am frightened for finals but hopefully I'll be able to get through them! I'm looking forward to reading the talks again in the upcoming months (at lds.org. Join me in reading them again!). I'm grateful for the prophets and leaders and for their inspiring thoughts and messages this weekend. A few of the overall messages that I heard/noticed were that we need to love everyone, perfect love casteth out fear, and faith is an essential principle of power. I'm grateful for my Heavenly Father and for the messages that touched me this weekend. I hope that I will be able to apply the lessons and become a better person.

Xoxo
Mattie

Charity never faileth.

Today in Gospel Doctrine, we talked about the Liahona, when Nephi broke his bow, and when he was commanded to build a boat. Here are a few of the things that I learned as we talked about these events and applied to them our day:

• Lessons from their experience with the Liahona:
• The Liahona only worked when Nephi and his family were faithful and righteous.
• The words of Christ (the scriptures, words of the prophets, etc.), the Holy Ghost, our patriarchal blessings: these are all examples of Liahonas in our day.
• By small means the Lord can bring about great things. 
• Lessons learned from when Nephi broke his bow:
• Be faithful and proactive. If you try to work things out by yourself first, the Lord will let you know when you need to do something different than what you are doing.
• Don't be afraid to ask your parents. They are more experienced at life than you are and they are there to help you and to guide you.
• Lessons learned from when Nephi was commanded to build the boat:
• Nephi trusted God; he had never built a ship before, but he trusted the Lord and listened to His guidance and direction.
• He prayed for help and inspiration. 
• Heavenly Father knows where we are in life, and how much knowledge we have gained, so He will guide us from where we are to where we need to be. 
• The Lord will seldom do for us what we can do for ourselves. Nephi asked God where to go to find ore to make tools to build the boat. He did not ask God for tools, but rather the materials he could use to build tools.
• The Holy Ghost speaks to us through our spirit, and our mind, and we have to be open and willing to hear him.

In Relief Society, we talked about charity. The Relief Society motto is "Charity never faileth." In the Bible dictionary, it says that charity is "the highest, noblest, strongest kind of love, not merely affection; the pure love of Christ." Charity is Christlike love. We read several scriptures about charity, and in Moroni 10, it says, "Except ye have charity ye can in nowise be saved in the kingdom of God." We also listened to President Nelson's talk from last conference,  "A Plea to My Sisters", and it was so powerful. As he talked about the deaths of Elders Perry and Scott, and President Packer, at the beginning, he was so emotional and I wanted to cry all over again. 

He said a couple of things stood out to me:

"Your virtue, light, love, knowledge, courage, character, faith, and righteous lives will draw good women of the world, along with their families, to the Church in unprecedented numbers! We, your brethren, need your strength, your conversion, your conviction, your ability to lead, your wisdom, and your voices. The kingdom of God is not and cannot be complete without women who make sacred covenants and then keep them, women who can speak with the power and authority of God!"

"Today, let me add that we need women who know how to make important things happen by their faith and who are courageous defenders of morality and families in a sin-sick world. We need women who are devoted to shepherding God's children along the covenant path toward exaltation; women who know how to receive personal revelation, who understand the power and peace of the temple endowment; women who know how to call upon the powers of heaven to protect and strengthen children and families; women who teach fearlessly."

And then he said this, and it stood out to me so much:

"My dear sisters, nothing is more crucial to your eternal life than your own conversion. It is converted, covenant-keeping women...whose righteous lives will increasingly stand out in a deteriorating world and who will thus be seen as different and distinct in the happiest of ways."

I love that. I have so many wonderful examples of converted, covenant-keeping women to look up to, and I am so grateful for them!!! They may not see it, but I see them changing the world every day. There is a song by Hilary Weeks that I love called "Hero" and every time I hear it, I think of these women. I love them dearly and I know that I can always ask them about/for anything and they will always help me. They are all wonderful examples of Christlike love and service. <3 <3 <3

I try so hard to have charity in my heart and to love everyone. I love to serve people and make them happy or ease their burdens. But sometimes it's a little hard, and so I remind myself that they are children of God, too, and He loves them just as much as He loves me. And, though that doesn't automatically make it easier to love them, it helps me remember that they are imperfect–like me–and they are just trying to do their best, like me. Charity never fails, and everyone needs charity because that's the best kind of love: Christlike love. That is what I am trying to show and have every day. I am trying to be like Jesus, and I am trying to be His hands, and one of the best ways to do that is to have Christlike love for everyone around me.

Faith, hope, and charity.

Today in seminary we talked about Moroni 7. In the first verse it says "And now I, Moroni, write a few of the words of my father Mormon, which he spake concerning faith, hope, and charity" and I underlined faith, hope, and charity, because that is what the whole chapter is about. It is what the gospel is about: how we need to have faith in Jesus Christ, and hope that we can make the world a better place using charity, which is the pure love of Christ. 

Service in your heart.

Today I want to talk about service. I think that service is work you do for others without expecting to receive anything in return. It's any sort of volunteer work, or anything you do for others in secret, or without being asked. Service is the best kind of work. It's forgetting yourself and working for others. If you're having trouble in your life, stop what you're doing and serve others. You'll feel better and you'll be able to get through your trouble. Visiting someone who's sick or doesn't often receive visitors is also service. Writing letters to people who are sick, or on missions is also service. Sending a cute little package with a card and some little figurines inside is also a service. Anything you do out of love for others is service. Anything you do in place of Christ is service. Service can also be listening to the promptings of the Holy Ghost and following them. It can also be something as simple as saying hi to someone in the hall. Or offering babysitting services for a couple of hours so that someone can go out on a date. Anything you do with love in your heart for others and with no intention of receiving any sort of reward. You just need pure intentions. Service is charity, and charity is the pure love of Christ.