He will help us find our personal happiness.

I know I already posted yesterday but I can't just not post on Sunday. That's not a thing. So that makes this a double post weekend. :)

So, I had a thought during the sacrament this morning. I'm pretty sure it's not for me because I already went through it for me, but I am going to post it still because it might be for you. :)

"Sometimes it's hard to tell if you've been forgiven by your Heavenly Father. But sometimes the problem isn't that we're not forgiven–the problem is that we have not forgiven ourselves. Once you've forgiven yourself, you can more easily feel at peace and recognize that your Heavenly Father has forgiven you. He doesn't want us to hurt or suffer, but that is sometimes what we have to do in order to trust Him and turn to Him. It may hurt and be hard, but with Him we can find peace."

Someone said something in their talk during sacrament meeting this morning that stood out to me. He said, "If we don't have charity, what good is our faith?" And I just thought about that. It makes sense. If you don't have faith–or if you don't believe–what is the point of doing or having charity? There is none. There cannot be faith without charity, nor charity without faith. They go hand in hand.

The last speaker also said something that stood out to me. She said, "If Heavenly Father loves us, and wants us to be happy, then He's going to give us the experiences that we need to be happy. He wants us to be ourselves, and to find ourself. He will help us find our personal happiness." That was something else she said. We all have a personal happiness. I thought that was very interesting and very true. Things that make me happy won't necessarily make you happy.

In Gospel Doctrine, someone said something that I loved. "Feeling sad is okay. You have to be sad in order to be happy." You can't know happiness unless you've known sadness. Just don't let the sadness overtake you. Turn to your Savior–He'll help you find peace.

Relief Society was great! I loved the lesson, based off of Bishop W. Christopher Waddell's talk in the April conference. One thing that was read/said was, "The solution to our problems is the strengthening of our faith in Jesus Christ." We talked about his three steps to peace, based off of the scripture in D&C 19:23: 1) Learn of me [Christ]; 2) Listen to my words; and 3) Walk in the meekness of my spirit. We can learn of Him in all that we do–scripture study, visiting the temple, standing in holy places, etc. I thought this was interesting: partaking (so, consistently doing/listening) is more of a commitment. And for the last one: the Savior invites us to come to Him. Always. He is the pathway to peace.

It was a great first Sunday in my new ward. I'm excited to get to know my new ward. I'm grateful for my Savior and my Heavenly Father. I'm grateful for the messages that were shared today. I needed them. I know Heavenly Father can help me find my personal happiness. I know that He can help me find peace. I know that life may be tough, and rough, and hard, but I also know that with Jesus Christ as my rock, I can be tougher, and stronger, and I can do hard things. And I know that you can, too. <3

Xoxo
Mattie

Quotes of the week, trials, forgiveness.

HEY!! So, I have been trying to have a quote of the week every week on my white board. The first week's quote was, "Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith." ~Pres. Thomas S. Monson. The second week it was, "Music makes me really happy." Last week's quote was, "Find your dream and follow your heart." This week's quote is "You are beautiful, capable, and strong. <3" I am loving this quote thing! The first week I found a quote, but all the other weeks I have come up with the quotes! It's a great reminder during the week to be happy/positive. Plus, it's been fun to make a quote look cutesy on my white board. :)

School is going as well as school goes, I guess. ;) But I'm not dying because of a homework overload [yet ;)]. 

(The following are out of order, but that's okay.)

Today in Relief Society we got our visiting teaching assignments. I am excited to get to know these girls better! Also!! I was set apart today. I am a Compassionate Service Leader. :) I'm really excited to be serving the girls in my hall!! 

Today we talked a lot about following the prophets in sacrament meeting, and how President Monson is the mouthpiece of the Lord, and we will be blessed if we listen to him. 

In Gospel Doctrine, we talked about overcoming tribulation, as well as forgiveness and forgiving others. Overcoming tribulation: Through our suffering, we become stronger and closer to God as we rely on Christ. Someone said something very poignant as we talked about forgiving others. She said, "Do what's best for the other." And I love that. It's better for them if you forgive them; and, in the end, forgiving them will bring you peace. Sophia said that "There is no peace in reflecting on old wounds." This all applies to forgiving others, yes, but we also shouldn't forget to forgive ourselves! I don't know about you, but I always have the hardest time forgiving myself. But it's true: there is no peace in reflecting on old wounds. If you can't let go and forgive yourself, it just makes it harder for you to live in the present, and for you to move on with your life. 

You have to learn to let go with the help of Jesus Christ. That's the only way to bring you the peace you need. He will help you heal, and He will help you be able to forgive whom you need to forgive. <3

Xoxo
Mattie