He is patiently waiting.

I am so thankful for the opportunity I had to go home for Thanksgiving Break. It was much needed!! And even though I'm 100% not ready for the next 3 and a half weeks of school (and I'm super nervous about finals), I am 100% well-rested for the next 3 and a half weeks of school. So! That should carry me through the rest of this week. ;) But honestly it's been a fantastic weekend and it has been so relaxing to spend time with my family, and to not worry about school every minute of every day. :)

Life is tough. And decisions are hard. Mistakes are made ALL the time. And sometimes it feels like there is no turning back. But there is. God is there, patiently waiting (and I mean honestly, 100% patiently. No inward groans of "Why is she taking so long?" or "Who let him make that mistake again?" He honestly is just patiently waiting) for you to admit you made a mistake, or come to terms with your mistake and move on through the stages of repentance with His help.

Some of the ways that we can make less mistakes/sin less were talked about in a couple of meetings today, and I wanted to discuss a few of them. Also I had some answered prayers in Sunday School and Relief Society today, so that was absolutely wonderful!!

First thing we can do to help us make less mistakes to serve others. There are so many opportunities to serve all around us. We just need to pray for eyes to see, and opportunities to be there, and then we need to look and watch. They will be there. As we serve others, we won't be worried or focused on ourselves, and thus we won't make as many mistakes or sin as much.

Second thing we can do is to follow the prophet, and listen to our Heavenly Father, and obey His commandments as much as we can.

Third thing we can do is to read the scriptures. Specifically the Book of Mormon. Every day. Yep. I said every day. Or try to read it as many days in a week as you can. It's okay if you accidentally miss a few days. God understands. You should just be patient with yourself. You can't always have a perfect scripture studying record because you're human and you make mistakes. You forget things. It's okay. We've all been there. By reading the Book of Mormon daily (or mostly daily) you will be blessed with the ability to make better decisions. You will be immunized against the evils of today, and against harmful addictions like pornography. You will receive answers to your prayers. And you will receive hope. All these blessings were found in President Nelson's October 2017 Saturday Afternoon Session of General Conference talk entitled "The Book of Mormon: What Would Your Life Be Like without It?" It's an amazing talk and I need to go over it again because it is such a great talk! I'm so glad we talked about it in Relief Society today!

Fourth thing we can do (and the last one I am going to talk about today) is we can put on the whole armor of God. To do that, we need to:
1) Have our loins girt about with TRUTH. God's truth. By knowing His truths, we'll be able to run/go further in the gospel.
2) Have on the breastplate of RIGHTEOUSNESS. One way to do that is to keep your covenants. This helps keep us on the right path to God. Truth and righteousness give us a solid base and keeps us where we need to be. Remember that sometimes, though, we will lose battles, but also remember that we haven't lost the war yet!
3) Have our feet shod with the Preparation of the GOSPEL OF PEACE. The gospel of peace is like the spirit/attitude of being a peacemaker. We need to prepare for all different kinds of trials and hard times that we might go through. Spiritually and physically.
4) Take up the shield of FAITH which helps us quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. Faith helps protect us from our doubts. Unlike a real shield in war, the shield of faith gets STRONGER the more you use it! So, use it often! The focus of our faith should be centered in Christ.
5) Put on the helmet of SALVATION. Salvation is an individual matter, and the Plan of Salvation is focused in Christ. He can help keep us safe.
6) Take up the sword of the SPIRIT. And the Word of God. The best way that we can fight Satan, and the darkness, is with the Spirit and the Word of God.

I am so thankful for the Book of Mormon! I've been having to read it for my religion class and it has blessed my life! I've seen amazing miracles happen in my life and I know it's because I've been studying the Book of Mormon. I know that God patiently waits for us to take steps in the right direction, and He will always wait for us to come back. I love this cartoon because I think it shows us who Jesus is. He really does love us and is ready and waiting for us as soon as we turn back to Him.

I had a really wonderful Sunday and am so grateful for the time I spent with my family. I am ready to finish this semester (hopefully!) and I am ready to go out with a bang!

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you have a wonderful week this week!

Xoxo
Mattie

The Book of Mormon brings peace, clarity, and answers to my life.

I am so thankful for the sacrament. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to renew my covenants with God, and to start the week anew. Sometimes I make mistakes, and sometimes I make the same mistakes, but I am learning! I might make the same mistakes, but sometimes I quit while I'm ahead. I think to myself, "Mattie, you're better than this," or, "Mattie, you can overcome this. You're strong enough," and I choose to stop, or I choose to get up and change the situation, and go serve someone. Sometimes our trials and temptations seem like they are bigger than us, or have a hold on us so tight that they won't let go, but at some point, we can overcome. Not all the time, and not always right at the start, but a lot of the time, and early enough. One thing that honestly and truly helps me is reading the Book of Mormon. I have been reading every day for my Book of Mormon class, and it has helped me so much! Yeah, sometimes I slip in my trials/temptations, and I make a mistake again, and I fall backwards. But once every couple of weeks now versus sometimes every other day then is PROGRESS! And I welcome and am proud of that progress! 

We all have our own struggles, our own trials, our own temptations, and they're all different, and require different answers. But I know that the Book of Mormon helps us find those answers. It helps us find peace. It helps us find clarity. It helps us heal and become whole again as we turn to our Savior and trust in His Atonement.

Last night, my roommate and I were studying 3 Nephi 19, and I noticed that Jesus went away from His Nephite disciples three times to pray, much like when He was giving the prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Except this time, His disciples were still awake and praying when He comes back. One other thing I noticed is that in 3 Nephi, this is happening during the day, and there is a lot of mentioning how white and bright everything is. In the Garden, it's nighttime, and His disciples keep falling asleep. I don't think the similarity between these two events is a coincidence. I never made this connection between the two events before, and I thought it was just an amazing connection to make. (Another thing I just thought about is that three is such a powerful and repeated number in the scriptures. "Three is a magic number.")

I bore my testimony in sacrament meeting today and I honestly don't remember it at all! I was so terrified, my heart was pounding, and I was struggling to keep my body upright, but I knew I had to get up and say something because I had been thinking about the Book of Mormon during the sacrament and I knew that I had to express my gratitude for it, and how it has helped me through this semester, and through some of the trials I have been going through lately. (Of course, the moment I sat down after I was done bearing my testimony, my heartbeat was back to normal. Glad I can depend on it to keep me calm during moments of extreme terror ;) )

I'm grateful for the lessons I learned in church today. I didn't specifically take too many notes, I mostly listened today, which is all right. Sometimes you just need to listen. Today I just needed to listen, and feel, and take into my soul. I am grateful for my ward–I learn something new each and every day just from interacting with my friends, and they are all so wonderful and insightful and bring new insights to the gospel that I've never seen or thought of before. I'mg grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who knows just what I need and cares enough about me to send me what I need, and to bless me every day.

Xoxo
Mattie

Life is messy.

Today was our multi-stake conference, and I'm really grateful for the things that I heard today. I definitely needed to hear a lot of the messages today! I'm going to share a few of my favorites. :)

Even though we missed the beginning of Elder Cook's talk, I loved what he said about the Book of Mormon. He said, "There is power in the Book of Mormon." I fully believe it. I am reading the Book of Mormon for my religion class, and it's been a source of peace and comfort, and has given me strength as I've read it.

Sister Franco talked about being of good cheer.
1. Understand that we have a Father in Heaven and a Savior who loves us.
2. Understand that we have a Heavenly Father who gave us commandments to help us be happy.
3. Understand the importance of gratitude in our lives.
4. Understand that service brings joy to our lives.

Elder Uceda said that, "Mighty prayers overcome apathy." He said that mighty prayers are prayers from the heart. My favorite thing he said was, "As we search the scriptures, understanding comes to our mind, and doubts go away."

Elder Stevenson talked about humility, obedience, and virtue.
Humility:
Humility is willingness to submit to the Lord. The opposite of humility is pride, which gives honor to ourselves, it's competitive, and causes us to hold grudges or withhold forgiveness. He said that meekness, humility, and forgiveness are all cousins. I thought that was a great way of showing how closely related they are.

Obedience:
Obedience is the first law of heaven, and an act of faith. It's a safety and protection for us. It brings blessings, and those blessings bring happiness.

Virtue:
Virtue originates in our innermost thoughts. It is a prerequisite to receiving the Spirit's guidance. He said that reduced screen time and increased scripture study may increase virtue. I thought that was really interesting! But also true, I'm sure. I know I'm more focused and attentive when I'm spending a lot more time out doing things (though that's hard to do during the school year, especially when all of your math homework is online).

Diligent efforts can lead to Christlike attributes becoming or being second nature. Our journey to achieve Christlike attributes requires discipline.

He also shared this quote from Howard W. Hunter: "Mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust. Write a letter. Give a soft answer. Encourage youth. Manifest your loyalty in word and deed. Keep a promise. Forgo a grudge. Forgive an enemy. Apologize. Try to understand. Examine your demands on others. Think first of someone else. Be kind. Be gentle. Laugh a little more. Express your gratitude. Welcome a stranger. Gladden the heart of a child. Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth. Speak your love and then speak it again." 

I loved this quote so much! I think sometimes we often forget the beauty and grace that is around us. We forget how awesome it is to lift someone's spirits. We forget how beautiful the earth around us is. We forget who loves us. We forget how blessed we truly are, and we forget that those blessings will always come.

This week was the first week of school for me, and I honestly struggled a bit. The first day was fine, but after the second day, when I was looking to the homework I needed to do, I got overwhelmed at all of the homework I was going to have over the whole semester for all of my classes and I kind of had a panic attack. Friday was a little bit better, but Saturday was a giant mess, because I worked from 8-4 and then the football game was Saturday night and it was a struggle getting into the game. But my friends and I made it, and it was fun watching the game with them.

I realized some things about myself this week, and this weekend, and I really need to work on a couple of things. I'm kind of nervous, just because I hate adding to my pile of things to do, but I'm hoping that I can just work them into my life and not specifically have to worry about them or deal with it. It'll just kind of...be a part of my life, and exist. Except life is messy, so that might not happen.  But! I have God on my side, and He knows where I am going, and what I need to do to get there. So, even though things might not happen the way I plan or want them to, things will happen, and I will grow, and change, and become who I need to be.

I hope you have had a great Sunday and weekend! I hope you've learned some things, and made some goals to improve. There's always room for improvement. I am grateful for my Savior, who is always willing to help me improve and progress. I'm grateful for friends, and family, who are always willing to listen, and always willing to help. I'm grateful for new experiences, difficult times, and trials that help me stretch and grow, and get out of my comfort zone. I've never really said this before, but I'm grateful for emotions, and feelings, and the fact that I get to feel so deeply. Sometimes it's hard, and painful, and messy, and I just want to not feel so intensely, but the painful times are worth all the happy and joyous ones that I experience so often. God is good, and I am blessed.

Xoxo
Mattie

It's always your choice.

This year we are focusing on The Book of Mormon. I'm so excited! I love that book!! I know that it is true. If you want to know if it is true, then you should read it and pray about it. Pray about it a lot. It might take a couple of days or even weeks (because God's timing is different than ours) but the Spirit will testify to you that it is true. Only you can learn for yourself if the things of God are true.

In Gospel Doctrine, we talked about how "faith precedes the miracle". Seeing is not believing, someone said, because Laman and Lemuel saw an angel at the same time as Nephi and Sam, and yet, in the end, Laman and Lemuel lost their faith. Nephi desired to see the vision that Lehi had seen, and because his heart and desire was righteous, he was able to see the vision that his father had seen, and he was able to come to understand it.

In Relief Society, Jillian gave the lesson on prayer, which was so great and definitely inspired because I needed the lesson today (I'm trying to get back into the groove of scripture study and prayer and I'm not going to lie–it's a little hard. All of my homework this semester is reading, and not just one chapter or half a chapter. For two of my classes, we have to read giant chunks of reading, one of them due every class period, and the other due ever other Friday, I think. Anyway, it's been difficult to find time for everything. Even if I read all of my assignments for my classes for two hours, that's EIGHT HOURS! That's insane!! I just need to divide my time better. I'm still working on that. Anyway, so finding time for scripture study is a little hard. I'm going to try something different this week and we'll see if it works). Megan commented something that I've heard before but this time it really stuck with me. "If it's important to you, then it's important to Him." Heavenly Father knows all, but He still wants us to pray to Him! Tell Him about your day–tell Him about your worries, and your struggles–because He wants to hear from you. He wants to bless you–ask Him for help, and for blessings. He wants to have that relationship with you, but He can't do that if you don't do your part.

In sacrament meeting today, Paige said that you have to put "time and effort" into the scriptures/Book of Mormon". Honestly, they are just sitting there, waiting for you to open them. This same principle applies to your relationship with God. He is waiting for you to come to Him. He invites us to "come unto Him". You have to do your part. Also in sacrament meeting, Jared quoted Elder Neil L. Andersen: "Your faith will grow not by chance but by choice." This applies to your relationship with God, as well. You have to consciously make the decision to get closer to Him.

Every part of the Gospel and the Church is your choice. No one can gain a testimony for you. No one can develop your relationship with God for you. Only you can gain (or lose) your testimony, and only you can develop (or repress) your relationship with your Heavenly Father and your Savior. It is always your choice, whatever way you decide to go.

When we went to the temple on Friday night, after we had done baptisms, we sat in the chapel and read the scriptures for a few minutes before we decided to head back. I was trying to find something–anything–that would help me with a question that I had. I randomly came upon Mosiah 16. This chapter in general stood out to me, but several verses in particular hit home, a few of which I will share:

7 And if Christ had not risen from the dead, or have broken the bands of death that the grave should have no victory, and that death should have no sting, there could have been no resurrection.
8 But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ.
9 He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death.

I don't know why these ones stood out to me, but they did. Because of Christ, we can live forever. I guess I just needed the reminder that yes, people die, but because of Christ, we will be resurrected and we can live forever. So I need to try my hardest to be the best I can be. Yes, it will be hard, and yes, it has been hard, but I am not alone because Christ is always with me, and it will all be worth it in the end.

Just remember that it is your choice, not anyone else's. No one can force you to gain that testimony or relationship with God. If it comes to you, then it is because you realized for yourself that it is true.

Miracles and testimonies.

I KNOW without a DOUBT that I have seen the hand of The Lord in my life the past two weeks, and especially today. I had 35 chapters of the Book of Mormon to read today, and I finished them all within five or ten minutes of my interview with the bishop. It was a miracle and a testimony strengthener to me that with The Lord you can do miracles. I'm so thankful for this gospel. There is no way it isn't true, not after the miracles I've witnessed these last two weeks and today. I'm so grateful for Personal Progress and the strengthening that it did to my testimony, especially the past two weeks. 

I love The Lord with all of my heart and I love this gospel to the ends of the universe and back. Read the Book of Mormon. There's NO way it isn't true. I know, because I've read it. :)