Grateful for gratitude.

Today was the perfect ending to Thanksgiving break! My newest cousin was blessed this morning and then I got to go to church with my family. So that was great. :)

My thoughts during the sacrament today were really just thankful thoughts but that's okay. :)

Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer. I am so grateful for Him. Thankful that He loves me, hears me, knows me, prays for me, and atoned for me. I'm grateful that I can repent, and start over each week. I'm grateful that I can be changed, and experience change, through my Savior and my Heavenly Father. 

Something someone said in sacrament meeting stood out to me. She said, "Gratitude isn't a nicety, it's a necessity." Gratitude also does more for us than it does for our Heavenly Father. Gratitude is really for us–I know that I am always humbled when I think of my blessings and the things that I have been given. Gratitude is an expression of our love for our Heavenly Father and our Savior. In the song "Count Your Many Blessings", there are many repeated lines, and for good reason. Repetition becomes a habit. So if you're repeatedly grateful, every day, it will eventually become a habit. Gratitude is essential to our wellbeing. I'm grateful for gratitude–it helps keep me grounded and humble.

One thing that I am grateful for, especially this weekend, is that I was able to come home, and that I didn't have so much homework. Because I needed to work on my prescreening stuff for my application into the school of music. And I was very stressed about it. But I decided to just let go and just do it. I need to put my songs on a CD, and I need to finish some write-ups I have to do, and I am going to try to meet with my career counselor for finishing touches on my resumé for it, and then I will send it in (I may mail it or just drop by the HFAC, I'm still undecided). Anyway, I had a ton of things to do this weekend and I was able to mostly get it done. :) I'm also thankful that this semester is almost over. I'm not entirely prepared for next semester lol but I'm ready for this semester to be over. I'm hoping to be able to get through this semester with nothing below a B grade. If I work really hard, I can do it. This weekend was a great break. Now it's time to get back to work. I'm in the final minutes of the fourth quarter–I'm so close!!

As this holiday season is starting, I just want to remind everyone to be kind (especially to yourself–you are an amazing person. I love you and your Heavenly Father loves you. Don't forget that. <3). Be grateful. Do service. Go out of your way to make someone's day easier or just a little brighter. You'll be rewarded in their gratitude and smile, and you will feel great, knowing that you helped someone. I know I always do. Don't forget to be safe when traveling! Especially when the snow starts to stick and it becomes icy on the roads. Be careful.

Xoxo
Mattie

Putting aside your needs and wants for the needs and wants of others.

I love my ward! I am so thankful for the beautiful souls that I get to see all the time. They've blessed my life and I learn so much from them. <3 <3

Today during the sacrament, I was thinking about patience, and this thought came to my mind:

Sometimes being patient and letting God take the reins is hard. When you want something to go one way, and it doesn't happen that way, or it happens down the road, can be frustrating. But honestly, God knows what's best. He knows what you need and when you need it. Trust Him. He loves you and wants what's best for you. Take your time and just know that it will all work out.

Here's some of my favorite things that were said in sacrament meeting:
Even when we're going through hard things, Christ is there. He is cheering us on. You can do hard things.
"Secure your own mask before you attempt to help others." You can't help someone if you can't breathe on your own. That won't help them or you. Be secure in your own testimony before you start to help someone else.
Forgiveness helps us.

In Gospel Doctrine, we talked about 3 Nephi 17-19:
We talked about how the Nephites might not have understood all that Christ said but they understood enough to know that what He was saying was important enough and they wanted Him to stay with them.
Even though He was probably exhausted, He stayed to heal their sick and afflicted, and He made time for the little children.
Christ put aside His own needs and wants for the needs and wants of the Nephite people. "If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat them as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming." ~~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Christ is the epitome of charity, which is why charity is called the "Pure Love of Christ".

Relief Society was great! We talked about charity. So it was kind of a continuation of Gospel Doctrine. :)

I loved this quote from Elder Marvin J. Ashton that was shared: "Real charity is not something you give away; it is something that you acquire and make a part of yourself...Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don’t judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet. Charity is accepting someone’s differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down; or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn’t handle something the way we might have hoped. Charity is refusing to take advantage of another’s weakness and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us. Charity is expecting the best of each other." 

I loved this. Charity is so much more than we often remember it is.  

The Savior taught us to love everyone, including those who may be difficult to love. "Excuses [not to do so] are easy to find; they spring up as readily and plentifully as weeds by the wayside." ~Elder James E. Talmage

I love talking about charity because I've had so many examples of charity and Christlike love in my life and it's something that I try to always do/be. Charity isn't something that I usually have trouble doing but sometimes I have trouble remembering all the things that encompass charity and so it's always a nice lesson to have because it helps me remember all the times I've had/done charity but also all the ways that I could be better at it. Charity is something that often is something we have to choose to do at first, but if you do it long enough it just becomes a part of you.

This week is Thanksgiving and I'm excited to be going home! I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to spend time with my family and I'm grateful for the holiday season that is upon us. It's a time to remember to be thankful, and a time to spread love, and a time to be and do so much to help those in need. At this moment in my life, it (life) is changing, slowly and surely, and oftentimes it's so crazy and I have a lot going on, but I always try to make time for my friends when they need me. And then things [in my life] go better than I thought they would. I know that putting aside my to-do list when a friend or family member needs me is not only what I need to do but what I want to do. I want to be there. I want them to know that I love them and they are more important to me than my to-do list. Because they are.  I would choose them over my to-do list. And I would do anything to show them that I love them, and that God loves them, and that they are loved and needed here on earth.

I hope you guys have a great Thanksgiving! Travel safely and enjoy your time with your family! :)

Xoxo
Mattie

"Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you."

Today was ward conference! It went by sooo fast!! It was a really great day!

My thoughts during the sacrament today were more of a reminder to me but I know that I'm not the only one who needs to hear them:

Hoping and wishing (and praying) for things in our life that we want or need is something that everyone does. But we forget to leave it to the Lord, or to do our part, and we get frustrated when things don't go the way that we wanted them to do. Sometimes it doesn't happen at all, and sometimes it doesn't happen for awhile. Either way, the Lord knows what He's doing. Sometimes you just have to let go and trust Him. He'll take care of it. 

We got to hear from Bishop Anderson in sacrament meeting today and I loved everything about his talk:
-All things change when we anchor on a future reward.
3 things that will help (us anchor on that future reward):
1) Diligence
-Anything that is good and righteous takes effort
-Don't stay down. Get back up.
2) Having the Spirit with you
-It's not how the sacrament is passed, but why it is passed.
3) Nourish your soul
-Don't worry about opposition/resistance. It will come.
-Scripture study, prayer, attending church, etc. is how you get spiritual nourishment.

President Acerson also spoke:
The theme of conference today was Doctrine and Covenants 88:63-64
-There are blessings that will come–maybe not in this life, but they will come and all will be made right.
-We understand doctrine through the Spirit.
"Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you"

The last two hours were absolutely fabulous! The stake Relief Society president, Sister Radmall, spoke and she's great! I love her!
First she mentioned three things she told her kids when they were looking for a spouse and I thought they were great:
1) They need to have a testimony and be committed.
2) Find someone who can make you laugh.
3) Someone you're somewhat attracted to.
Then we watched this video and talked about the three things that cause us to resist receiving blessings. They were Fear, Doubt, and Sin. The way to overcome these can be found in Doctrine and Covenants 88:63-43. :)
*Seek~through the scriptures
–Ask~in prayer
**Knock~through obedience
*Scriptures are little packets of light.
*They have potent power to heal and help.
–The moment you say "Father in Heaven", He hears you.
–Heavenly Father can helps us in things both large and small.
–Prayer can result in miracles.
**Obedience leads to tender mercies.

President Radmall also spoke:
-In life, we often want an alternate ending that we decide.
He decided to focus on one specific line of the conference theme scripture:
"That is expedient for you"
In order to come accept the Lord's answers to our prayers, especially when it is a non-answer or an answer we don't like, we should do a couple things:
-Express gratitude for all things.
-Ask the Lord "what lack I yet? Is there something I've forgotten that needs correcting?"

President Moon:
He focused on the line:
"Seek me diligently and ye shall find me"
-Start with why.
-It (the Gospel) is true, because He lives.
-There is a plan specifically for you.

One last thing President Acerson said was, "Heed promptings and allow the Lord to lead and guide you."

It's been a good day. I soaked up and learned so much today. The three hours flew by so fast, I didn't even think it was three hours. Around 12:30 I was like, "It's 12:30?? There's half an hour left? No way!" I was really surprised. It was a good meeting and I was sad that it was over. I'm grateful for the opportunity I had to hear from our stake leaders and hear messages that the Lord wanted me to hear. I heard some things that might be answers to my prayers but I'm not quite sure so I have to do some more looking. But that's okay, it'll be fine. Turn to Him, and walk to Him, and He will walk to you in return. :)

I'm grateful that I go to school at BYU; it's been such a blessing in my life. I love my ward, and my roommates, and my professors. I am so blessed to be where I am, physically and also in my life. I love my Savior and am so grateful that I can turn to Him, especially this semester as it's been tough in many ways. I'm grateful for my Heavenly Parents and for Their love and support. I am grateful for the heavenly help that I have been given in my life. Some things have been beyond my power but I've had help beyond the veil and I'm so thankful for that. I hope that everyone has a great week this week, and I hope that you know that you're loved and wanted and you're absolutely vital to this earth; you have so much to give to the world.

Xoxo
Mattie

Look for the blessings in your life.

I drove home this weekend to help my mom out while my dad was out of town.

I am grateful for the opportunity I had to go to church today. I heard many things that were helpful to me in my life right now.

My thoughts during the sacrament this week were short but (hopefully) sweet:

Nothing is more important to me than having the ability to turn to my Savior. I'm so thankful that He was willing to sacrifice Himself for me. I will never be able to repay Him.

This Sunday was fast Sunday, and as I was listening to some of the testimonies I had this thought:
"I am a daughter of a king. A child of God. A daughter with a divine destiny and of a divine inheritance. I am who I am for a reason. I'll find my way, and I'll find my true calling, as I look to the Lord and my Savior."
Sister Greer bore her testimony and something she said stood out to me very much: "Look for the blessings in your life." Turn to your Heavenly Father. He will give you strength.
I really needed that reminder–don't focus on all of the things that didn't go so well or aren't happening right now. Look for the blessings.

In Relief Society, Sister Worthington talked about the article entitled "The Perfect Lie" that popped around last week, found here. She talked about three things that we can do to help us become more like Christ, and they were:
1) Sacrament. The sacrament is the only ordinance that we do for ourselves over and over again.
2) Scriptures. Make your scripture study more meaningful. 
3) Prayer. Every relationship hinges on communication. Especially our relationship with our Heavenly Father. Stop and listen for an answer after your prayer. 

I didn't necessarily hear anything new this week but I did hear things that I needed a reminder of. Turn to the Lord when you need to. Listen to Him, and listen for an answer from Him. Focus on your relationship with Him because that's the only way it will grow and develop. Trust in Him. Believe that He knows what is best. I know that He knows what He is doing. I know that He will not let you fall. He will catch you, and He will carry you when needed. He loves you so much and He understands you. I promise He won't let you down.

Xoxo
Mattie

Faith can overcome fear.

Today was GREAT! I had an awesome thought during Gospel Doctrine that I'll share in a moment.

First, some thoughts I had during the sacrament.

Lately I've been thinking a lot about people and feelings (not sure why; it just happened). Sometimes we might offend someone by what we say or do, and sometimes we are offended by others. But there is no way that those who offended will know unless you tell them. Sort of going off of that, I read an article the other week that said something to the effect of, "you don't always have to forgive someone to bring you peace. If being angry at them makes you feel good, that's okay." And I remember thinking, "Well, that seems counterproductive." For me, I personally hate being angry/annoyed with someone for a long period of time. Sure, sometimes it feels good to be mad at them, and to not forgive them. But after awhile, there comes a point when the anger or annoyance starts to affect other parts of my life–and not in a good way. Yes, sometimes there are cases where extreme anger or frustration towards someone is warranted, but if you are always angry at them, they've won–maybe again. You are still thinking about them. Their actions still cause you anger and hurt. In forgiving them, though, you win. You've become the bigger person, and you can be at peace. Now, in no way at all am I saying that by forgiving them you approve of their actions. Not at all! But by forgiving them, you can let go of the hurt and pain that they caused you and you can finally begin to heal. Holding on to things for a long time isn't always the best cause of action. Sometimes you have to let go. If you feel like there is no possible way that you could forgive them (because it was too awful), that's okay, too. But don't hold on to it any longer than you have to. Just let it go.

 A couple of things stood out to me in sacrament meeting today:
-Obedience isn't black and white. It's greyscale.
-Sometimes obedience is selfish–we obey not because Heavenly Father wants us to, but because we gain something, like social acceptance or something.
-Sometimes Jesus lets us struggle through challenges in order to help us strengthen our faith in Him.
-Faith can overcome fear.
-Asking for help is the ultimate sign of faith and humility.

In Gospel Doctrine, I had an awesome thought. We were talking about the fulfillment of Samuel the Lamanite's prophecies about Jesus Christ. And we were reading in 3 Nephi 10, where Jesus Christ says, "How oft have I gathered thee as a hen gathereth her chicks?" And someone said that when a hen puts up her wings, the chicks can run underneath her wings, and sometimes she dies protecting her chicks. Immediately I had a thought about the analogy: Jesus is the hen. And when He was up on the cross, His arms were raised up, and He died for us. He invites us to come unto Him always, and His hands are always stretched out towards us. So of course I shared that thought in class (except the italics; that part I only thought of as I was recalling the story to transcribe it to you, dear Reader) and then wanted to share it here because I loved the imagery in that analogy and I'd never thought of that before.

Today was fifth Sunday, so we were combined (in two rooms, I think). Bishop talked about some things before the actual lesson. He said that sometimes challenges in life can help us in our lives. I loved that. Sometimes challenges in our lives help us become who we were meant to be.

The lesson today was on keeping the Sabbath Day holy. He shared four questions that we can ask ourselves (there are many others) to try and decide if we're keeping the Sabbath Day holy.
1. Is my action hold or of service to God?
2. Is it doing good?
3. Does it keep me unspotted from the world?
4. Is it honoring the Lord, or am I selfishly following my own desires?

After that, Sister Anderson spoke to us for a little bit. She talked about the new Thanksgiving Garden statues exhibit, about two of them specifically. The one that depicted the story of the woman who was found in adultery, and the one that depicted Jesus Christ carrying His cross up to Calvary. For the first one, she said that Christ was brought here to love us and save us. Not to condemn us. For the second one, she said that He is here to help us through and to love us. She said that we are going to have to fight and sacrifice to keep our testimonies. I know that is so true. You have to hold on to your faith and testimony. Hold on to what you know to be true. Just hold on.

I'm so grateful for a Savior who knows me, and loves me, and sacrificed His life so that I could return to live with my Heavenly Parents. I am so thankful for the sweet spirit that is in my ward; I love the people in my ward so much and I am always learning things from them. I'm so thankful for the Spirit, and for His love and direction to guide the right answers and actions into my life and for His guidance to me to be able to share with those around me. This has been a crazy couple of weeks and sometimes I was super worried and scared that things wouldn't work out, but they did. I'm lucky to have had my Savior with me to help me get through it. I'm grateful for the opportunities I've had to be Christ's hands this past week and I look forward to the opportunities I will have this upcoming week. Stay safe and remember you're so loved! <3

Xoxo
Mattie

He answers you in unexpected ways.

Loved today's lessons. Not quite what I was looking for but they were still great. :)

My thoughts during the sacrament today were short but sweet:

I've had much better luck reading my scriptures and praying this week. Still not 100% perfect but I'm working on it. :) I am so grateful for my Savior and for His love and grace. This past week was weird and started off okay (I think...I don't remember) but didn't end quite as well. I hope that I will find answers today as to why things happened/didn't happened. 

I was looking for answers but didn't exactly get the answers I was expecting. I did get answers today but just not what I thought I would get or that I wanted.

The topic in sacrament meeting today was conversion, which is a great topic and I learned some new things.
-We need our Savior to change. We can only do so much by ourselves; we can't fully change in the way that our Heavenly Father knows we can without our Savior. 
-You have to be born again/converted in order to inherit the kingdom of God.
Three things in order to have personal conversion:
-Listen (to the prophets, Holy Ghost, personal revelation, etc.)
-Commit (commitment is often a mental process)
-Do (what's a commitment if we don't act?)
-As we're converted we'll find ourselves doubting less.
-What is your attitude through trials? Do you try to rely on the Lord, or do you complain that you have to go through it?
-Yield your heart to Him daily. Conversion is a daily lifetime commitment.

We talked about baptism in Gospel Principles today. Someone said something interesting that I'd never thought about before. We were talking about one of the reasons for baptism is for a remission of sins. Someone said that when she thinks about remission, she thinks about cancer remission, and how that means it (the cancer) may come back. And you need to take care of yourself. And the same is for the remission of sins–they may come back so take care of yourself. Keep trying. You can get better over time. Another interesting thing that I suppose I should have figured out by myself was that strait (as in the strait and narrow) doesn't mean "straight". It means like rigorous, an uphill battle. It will not be easy. But it will be worth it.

In Relief Society we talked about the doctrine of Christ. Which is:
-Faith in Christ and His Atonement
-Repentance
-Baptism and the sacrament
-Gift of the Holy Ghost
-Enduring to the end
A couple of things that stood out to me today were:
-repentance is a daily process. And we can't expect more for ourselves than He does.
-if we recognize following the doctrine of Christ is the only way, we will be more inclined to do so.

I definitely wasn't looking for answers in any of the topics covered today, but I found some anyway. Funny how that works. I received an answer more in the way I was looking for yesterday but I wanted more of a confirmation in that way today but I got a different answer instead. I'm blessed to have a loving Heavenly Father who knows what I need to hear, even when I was looking for something else. I'm looking forward to my scripture study and prayers this week, as well as trying to find peace. I'm grateful for my friends and family and for their love and support. Life just isn't as sweet without them, and I'm grateful to love and be loved by so many.

Xoxo
Mattie

Have faith and step into the darkness.

Loved everything about the lessons today.

So my thoughts during the sacrament today were a little scatterbrained but that's because it was a crazy week last week and I'm still on a high from meeting Peter Hollens (!!!) last night. So I apologize for that but I did say some good things:

Personally, this past week was insane for a number of reasons *cough* midterms *cough* but I was able to get through it! Eventually. The week started on a low note and as the week went on I swore it was just getting lower and lower, but it did end on a super high note: we won our football game Friday night and then I was able to go to the BYU Spectacular Saturday night with my friend! I had such a blast and got to meet Peter Hollens (definitely a highlight). I am so grateful for the hand of my Savior this week. Many times I just wanted to quit and give up because I thought I couldn't do it or I didn't want to do it. But I persevered and was able to do everything  I needed to this week (admittedly some things had less than pleasant outcomes but that is okay) and then I was blessed with a great weekend. There are some things that I have been working on for a while that I am getting better at, and slowly and surely it's working. I need to focus harder, however, because even though I'm working on them, I could still be working harder. That's my goal this week, and I am so glad I have my Savior to help me. <3

Sacrament meeting was really great today. And it didn't fly by like it normally does. It went slowly and took some time, which was great because I needed to focus today. Today the main message of sacrament meeting was temples and coming unto to Christ. Here is a collection of some of the thoughts that stood out to me:
-God gives us second chances and do-overs because He loves us.
-Do you know His (Christ's) voice? Will you drop everything and come unto Him?
-Learn about Him; come to know Him by reading the scriptures.
-It doesn't matter how far off the path you are, you can always come back, and you will be blessed just for trying.
-One way to come unto Christ is through temple worship.
-Put your trust in Him.
-As we stop fighting against the Lord and try our best, He will make up the difference.
-We come unto Christ by trying and trying again.

In Gospel Doctrine Johanna shared a quote from C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters which I have been meaning to read for awhile now but just haven't gotten around to it yet. Anyway, the quote was, "It is funny how mortals always picture us as putting things into their minds; in reality our best work is done by keeping things out." We talked about how Satan often tries just to keep us busy enough so that we don't have time for scripture study and prayer–sins of omission instead of commission. We were in Helaman 13-15 today, and the story is the story of Samuel the Lamanite. We talked about how opposition is required in order to be able to tell the difference between right and wrong. We also talked about how God wants to save us! He loves us. God loves broken things because He is the only one who can fix them, and so He wants us to come to Him because He can fix us. That reminded me of a song by Kenneth Cope, found here. It's a good song. It talks about how God loves broken things, including us. God chastens those He loves because He wants us to grow and become better; much like when a parent chastens their child, they are only doing it for their good. One other thing that was mentioned was the fact that Satan is trying to do something with us, but God is trying to make something of us.

In Relief Society we talked about faith and testimony. There were three main things that were mentioned:
1. Through faith we can find God and know that He lives.
-Our greatest quest in this life is a search for God, and our purpose in this life is to grow our faith.
2. We must believe in order to see.
-Faith is the step in the darkness before the light.
-"In order to find God as a reality, we must follow the course which he pointed out for the quest."
-Faith is a process, and it oscillates. Sometimes we have more faith and sometimes we have less.
-We can't wait until the result; that's not how faith works.
3. Acting on faith leads to personal testimony.
-Heavenly Father will take care of me (I loved this! One of the girls said that she just said this one time and it is so true. I don't know all things but I don't have to worry too much because Heavenly Father will make sure I'm taken care of).
-Hold to the rod; don't hold onto the world, but make time for Christ.
-God knows you. Have faith and step into the darkness.

Loved the messages shared today! I also had the opportunity to be set apart today and heard some things that I needed a reminder of. I'm looking forward to trying to be better about certain things in these upcoming weeks. I know that if I turn to my Savior He'll help me. I'm not alone, and I am capable of so much more than I think I am. I am so grateful for my Savior and my Heavenly Father. They do so much for me, and help me so much. I would not be who or where I am today without Them. I have had many times in my life where I haven't known what will happen or where I will be going but I have stepped into the unknown in faith and it has lead me to be who I am today. I would not change who I am for the world.

I hope that we can all come to accept those around us and accept the differences between us. This world is changing in many ways but I hope that the innate human nature to be kind will always be around in people like me and my friends.

Xoxo
Mattie