Love, happiness, and service.

I decided to write about several things today when I found a quote by President David O. McKay, which says, "True happiness comes only by making others happy." And I love this quote. It reminds me of the scripture "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God" (Mosiah 2:17, I believe). And in order to be happy, and full of love, you have to make others happy because that's the best thing. When I'm babysitting and the kids aren't happy, I do my best to try and make them happy, because, like the saying "when mom isn't happy, no one is", "when the kids aren't happy, no one is". Everyone is just miserable. But when everyone is happy, everything is just fine. Love, happiness, and service go hand in hand. Life is just better all around when everyone is happy. 

Influence.

Youth conference (June 11-13, 2014) was amazing! I learned a lot about my Savior and I grew closer to Him. It was an amazing experience. 

Today is Father's Day. I'm so thankful for my daddy, and my grandpas and all the men that have influenced my life for good. Like my great-grandpa Harker. He died a couple years ago, but I still remember him. 

People may leave us for a time--or for ever--but they will always stay with us in our hearts. They may never know the influence they had on our lives. And even though people leave, we are never alone, because Jesus Christ is always with us. 

Girls' Camp.

Last week was girls' camp. I had an AMAZING time!! I absolutely loved hanging out with all of the girls and our leaders. I learned a lot from all of them and I'm sure they learned something from me. I love them all very much and I'm glad I was able to go. Our theme was The Wizard of Oz and so we learned about love, courage, and knowledge throughout the week. One amazing thing that happened that really touched me was at the ropes course. We did the zip line first on Wednesday, which was also the day that we learned about courage. Every single one of the girls went. Even the girl who was quite determined not to go. She was so, so scared. But she did it; after another of the girls went first to show her it wasn't scary or hard (and she, too, was scared to do it. She froze up the last time she'd tried), she did it. She didn't like it, she said, and it was scary, but she did it. We were all so, so proud of both of them because they faced their fears and did it anyway. I love girls' camp with all of my heart. It's an amazing experience every time and I love it. I always learn and grow and I always gain a testimony or strengthen my testimony of the gospel or certain aspects of the gospel. And I always make new friends and strengthen friendships. Girls' camp is one of the highlights of my summer, and I will never, ever forget them. 

For good.

In our lives, we meet certain people who help us become who we need to be. They help us for better. We learn things from them that we couldn't learn from anyone else. And sometimes we teach without knowing. Like, this year, for instance. I'd met *Jane before, in one of my classes in ninth grade, but I can't remember if she transferred out second semester or not. Anyway, this year she was in my seminary class, both semesters. That rarely happens, where I have seminary with someone full year (because we've got so many teachers and students, it's hard to keep classes the same). And Jane thanked me at the end of second semester, because I'd been there the whole year and she had learned a lot from me. I didn't even know that I had that much of an influence on her. I was just being myself. She's a sweet girl and I'm glad I was able to help her. Also, on the flipside, several people in my seminary class and other classes helped me out just by being themselves and a good example to me. But that just shows how life is: God puts people in our paths to help us learn and grow, even if they have absolutely no idea. 

A really good example of this is the song For Good from Wicked:

I've heard it said

That people come into our lives

For a reason

Bringing something we must learn 

And we are led to those who help us most to grow

If we let them

And we help them in return

Well I don't know if I believe that's true

But I know I'm who I am today

Because I knew you

...

And, because I knew you

Because I knew you

I have been changed

For good

*Name has been changed

Fitting in. Or not.

I love this quote! It's comforting to me. I don't fit in sometimes because I wasn't meant to. The Lord has a plan for me and He's guiding me through it. I also know that I'm never alone, even if I am literally or figuratively. He is always there to comfort 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. 

Stand in holy places.

I was listening to a song, entitled "Stand in Holy Places", that our Young Women's group sang last year, and it's been over a year since we sang it, but as I was listening to the beginning intro I remembered it! And I sang the song along with the track. And part of the lyrics just hit me: "The Lord is coming quickly; we're preparing for His reign; we'll keep our lives sacred as we stand in holy places". And it was a great reminder to me that He is coming, and soon. So we need to stand in holy places, and keep our lives sacred so that we'll be ready when He comes again.