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.

He forces no one.

This weekend was General Conference!! I was so excited to be able to hear the messages of our prophets and leaders. I was not disappointed (never ever have I been disappointed)! I was blessed to be able to hear answers to prayers and questions that I have had, and also to questions I didn't know I had. There were some really powerful messages this weekend. I missed part of both of the Saturday sessions, so I cannot wait to read them again when they become available.

Though I loved them all, I'm going to share just a few of my favorite quotes (some may or may not be paraphrased). The bolded ones are the ones that really stood out to me. You can watch the messages or read them online when they become available at lds.org. :)

Pres. Donald L. Hallstrom:
-He allows some suffering because He knows it will bless us.

Elder Kevin R. Duncan:
-We can forgive, and we can be free.
-To forgive is not to condone.

Sister Bonnie L. Oscarson:
-It is a daily decision to choose faith over doubt.

Pres. Dieter F. Uchtdorf:
-There is no life so shattered that it cannot be restored.
-It matters not how you became lost. What matters is you are His child and He loves you.
-He will force no one to heaven. He will not rescue you if it is not your will.
-God sees us as we truly are, and He sees us worthy of rescue.

Elder Robert D. Hales:
-The Holy Ghost is not given to control us.

Elder Patrick Kearon:
-We must take a stance against intolerance.
-This moment does not define them, but our response will define us.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks:
-It is opposition that enables choice.
-Some things can only be learned by faith.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland:
-We all have to come down from peak experiences to deal with the vicissitudes of life.
-The Lord blesses those who want to improve.
-We are to deal justly...walk humbly...and judge righteously.
-If we give our hearts to God, then tomorrow and every other day is ultimately going to be magnificent.

Again, it was an amazing weekend filled with inspired messages and I am so grateful that I was able to hear answers to my prayers and questions. I know that Thomas S. Monson is the living prophet today. I know that Joseph Smith, Jr. restored the true church to the earth. I know that Heavenly Father sent His Son to die for us. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior, and I know that He atoned for us, and that He was resurrected for us. I know that we are loved by our Savior and our Heavenly Father. I know that the speakers this weekend were inspired by God to talk about what we most needed to hear. I am so grateful that I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I am so grateful that I know that this is the true church, and that I know that God loves us and wants us to return to live with Him again. I also want to repeat what President Uchtdorf said about how He won't force anyone to heaven. It is your decision to listen, and to apply, and to do, and it is also your decision to turn away. He loves you, but He won't force you to be somewhere that you are not happy; He will respect your decision. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Because of Him, I can forgive myself.

I know it's only Friday, but I've been thinking about this all week and this picture that showed up in my newsfeed in Facebook yesterday was the clincher for a post.

So, Monday or Tuesday night, I realized that I hadn't updated my quote of the week. I wracked my brain for a quote, and I settled on one that my roommate kind of brought into my head the other night when I was having a rough time. My quote this week is, "Because He lives, I can forgive myself." He bled and died for me so that I wouldn't have to so long as I turn to Him. I turned to Him for something a long time ago, and I guess I've never really forgiven myself for it. It's hard to forgive yourself, isn't it? But, with His help, and because of Him, we can be forgiven by our Father in Heaven, and, subsequently, we can forgive ourselves. If our Heavenly Father has forgiven us, then He has forgotten it! We, unfortunately, can't forget it. But it serves as a reminder to us that we can be forgiven, and we can be whole again. The Savior can wipe away our tears of regret, as President Uchtdorf says in this picture. He is always going to be there for us, but only we can let Him in. <3

This is the picture that showed up in my newsfeed yesterday. 

He lives!

Happy Easter! So grateful for my Savior, and for His sacrifice, and for His support, and His love. I know that He lives! I love Him and I am grateful for all that He has done, and all that He does, and all that He will do.

Today in Relief Society, we talked about being an example, and a light, but the overall message that I received (because we talked about it a lot) was about love. These are some small pieces of wisdom and truth that my friends said (or that I thought) throughout the lesson that I loved:
-None of what we learn (in church) matters unless we take action.
-Faith is not by chance but by choice.
-Our Savior is the greatest example of being an example in word and in conversation. He treated everyone with the same amount of respect and love, no matter their status.
-If we have it in our hearts to serve, anything is possible.
-There is nothing we could ever do to make Him stop loving us. (This reminded me of the song Miracle, originally done by Celine Dion but another version I love is by Daniel Beck, found here)
-Once you love those around you, everything else falls into place.
-This point that my friend made was beautiful and powerful. She said (going off of what I said that when we love and serve others, we are loving and serving Christ) that whatever we do to others, we do to Christ. Going off of that, another friend said that it's really hard to be mean or unkind to someone when you think of how much Christ loves them.

The last thing that was said was so powerful to me. The Spirit can help us focus and want to do things. The more good we do and put into our lives, the less room there is for evil/sadness in our lives. 

I am so grateful for the girls in my hall. I love and learn from these ladies every day, and I'm so blessed to have them in my life! I am so grateful for my Savior, and for the Atonement. I know that He lives, and I know that as I follow Him, I will become who my Heavenly Father knows I can become. 

Provo City Center Temple Dedication

So, today was the Provo City Center Temple Dedication!! It's such a beautiful temple, and I'm so excited that it is now dedicated! I hope to be able to do baptisms for the dead in it sometime soon!

I was able to watch the final dedicatory session in the Marriott Center with my friends. It was so special! I could really feel the spirit and I heard several things that I needed to hear. I'm going to share some of my favorite things that were said (some of them...actually, most of them are paraphrased).

-We are empowered when we come to the temple.
-The Savior will never give up on us.
-This temple is a reminder of the Atonement of Christ.
-There is always hope.
-Even when we fall, though the Atonement, the hands of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are extended towards us still.
-No matter the problem or difficulty we face, as we press forward, beautiful things will come through.
-We are His masterpieces. 
-He is so very patient with us.
-We do not overcome our weaknesses at once. Sometimes it takes years. 
-Faith and patience are keys to becoming and overcoming.
-From ashes to beauty.
-Every member is precious.

I was so blessed to be able to attend the dedication!! I was reminded that overcoming weaknesses takes time, and I have to have faith in the Lord (and in myself), and I have to be patient. That is sometimes a struggle for me, but I am working on it. I was also reminded that my Savior won't ever give up on me. Even if I give up on myself, He won't give up on me. I am so grateful for this new temple, and for the wonderful symbolism in its story–from ashes to beauty. This is so true for some of the trials that we have to go through. I know that it is definitely true for my biggest trial, and I am still being reworked into the person that God needs me to be. But I know that He knows what He is doing, and so I am putting my trust in Him.

Oh! I almost forgot that I wrote down some of my thoughts as we were waiting for the dedication to start:
"We're waiting for the dedication to start. I'm so excited!! Friday and Saturday were kinda rough days, for multiple reasons, but sitting here, in the Marriott Center, which is an extension of the temple [right now], and listening to the prelude music, I am feeling love, peace, and gratitude. I feel better than I have all weekend. I don't feel rushed or worried. Just peace and love."

It was so special. I'm so glad I got to go. <3

Conversion helps us become something better.

Okay, I've been thinking a bit about what to write today. Last week after thinking about what to write, I wrote a poem (which can be found here if you're lazy ;) ) and it turned out better than I expected. Pretty sure today won't be another poem.

Anyway.

Today in sacrament meeting the topic was personal conversion. So I thought that I would address that because I feel like since conversion is an ongoing process, we need to be reminded about how to be converted quite often. 

• Conversion, as I said before, is an ongoing process. It's something we have to work at daily.
• Conversion is helping us become something better–a better version of who we were meant to be. If we're not becoming something, then we're not being converted.
• We will know that we are progressing when a couple of things happen: 1) When we lose our desire to do evil; and 2) When we see things, and people, as Christ does, and when we do what Christ would do.
• One thing that I loved that someone said was that personal conversion doesn't always happen because of some big event or some big thing. It's often because of small and simple things that great things are brought to pass (Alma 37:6).
• Another thing that I loved was that you can't become converted without a testimony. Your testimony is the basis of your conversion, and if you don't have a testimony, you can't become converted.
• Also, you can't share your conversion. Like, you can't say, "Hey, friend, I got converted because of this" and then your friend is converted. No–it doesn't work like that. You have to work on your conversion yourself. 
• Just like a testimony, your conversion begins with a seed. It is also deeply rooted to your testimony. 
• Our hearts should be continually changing. Because if it's not, then we're not being converted because conversion is a continual change/process; so, our hearts should be continually changing, too.
• This life was never designed to be easy. I'm sorry, but it's true. If it was meant to be easy, then we wouldn't have to go through such hard things, and we wouldn't be able to change our hearts and our selves. Trials make us stronger, can bring us closer to Christ, and they can help us on the path of conversion.
• Anything that stands in our way of personal conversion/testimony isn't worth it.

In Relief Society we talked about Joseph Smith and the Restoration. Kea shared a quote by President Howard W. Hunter that I loved: "No matter our status in life–no matter how much or how little money we have, no matter our possessions or careers–God can work through us and with us to do good in this world." I love that. Joseph Smith was a 14-year-old boy who had a question, and that question led to the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ on this earth. You don't have to be a giant world power or a famous person to be able to do something great for God, or to be able to speak to God, or to be able to receive an answer from God. Just be you.

Being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has shaped me into who I am today. Being able to depend on and turn to my Savior when I am going through something tough, or when I need forgiveness, or when I need comfort, has been one of the greatest blessings in my life. The other blessing is that I, in turn, get to help my friends and family (and sometimes random strangers). I get to help them physically, and emotionally, and spiritually, and it's the best feeling in the world!!! I love helping my friends and family with whatever it is they need help with. I love being Christ's hands. I know that He would love to be able to help us all physically, but He can't, so He sends us people. He sends us our friends and family, and sometimes He sends us random strangers. I love being the person that He sends. I love representing my Savior. I know that I won't always be able to represent Him as perfectly as I'd like to, but I do my best, and I am grateful that He is there to help me know what I need to do for each person whose life I touch. 

I'm not perfect, and I struggle with things, but the one thing I don't struggle with is helping others. I can't help it–seeing the smile on their face when I help them, or seeing the gratitude on their face, is worth it–it's worth more than all the mashed potatoes and gravy in the world. (FYI, mashed potatoes and gravy are my favorite food in the entire world, which says something about how much I love serving others: way more than my favorite food)

I'm so grateful for all of the opportunities that I've had and will have to serve those around me. I'm so grateful that those opportunities bring me closer to my Savior and my Heavenly Father. I'm so grateful for Their love and support, and I'm so grateful that They are there for me whenever I need them, and I'm so grateful for all of the people They've sent to me when I've needed them. I know that They love us, and that Jesus Christ died for us, to save us from our sins, and our sorrows, and our iniquities. I know that because of Him, we can live again. I know that we will be able to see those who have passed on again. Because of Him, we can be together again. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 

Don't forget.

I have been thinking about what to write for a little while. First, my idea was to write a poem. That is still an option but I can't think of what to write, how to start it, etc. Now I'm at an impasse.

So, as I said, I've been thinking for awhile...

And I want to say this:

Don't forget.
Don't forget you are needed.
Don't forget you are loved.
Don't forget who you are.
Don't forget whose you are.

You are a divine child of God.
You are His child.
He made you!
He loves you.

Don't forget your divine nature.
Don't forget your worth.
Don't forget why you came to this earth.

Don't forget to be–
Be you,
Be kind,
Be grateful.

People are imperfect.
People have moods.
People will come and go.
But God is perfect.
God is always constant.
He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
He will always be there for you.
He will always be with you.

So please don't forget:
Don't forget whose you are.
Don't forget to be you.
Don't forget that God will always be there for you.
~"Don't Forget" by Mattie Radke

I know that He loves you. I love you, too. You are precious to Him and He sent you here for a reason. He knew that you were needed here. Someone needed to meet you, or to learn from you. Someone needed you. In order for them to become their best self, they needed you. So don't forget that you are needed and loved. Because you are.