Merry Christmas!

What does the birth of Christ mean to me?

In our relief society lesson sister Eddy and I were asked to participate in our "Christmas in Zarahemla" program. After reading a section of scripture from the Book of Mormon regarding the time of Christ's birth we were to respond to the question, "what does the birth of Christ mean to you?" 

What a question! There are so many ways you can answer that! Many different things came to mind but what my mind was always drawn back to was the word 'light'. 

Jesus Christ is the light of the world. He is the light that we are supposed to hold up. It is the light of Christ that all are given, that tells us what is good and right and true. When He came into the world light is what heralded him in. Light from a new star that led the wise men to him, light so bright that it was as if there was no night between two days on the American continent. Light around the Angels and the shepherds. Light in the hearts of the nephite believers who were about to be put to death because of their belief that the Messiah would come.  

Is it any wonder that we put lights up everywhere at this time of year? Lights on trees, on houses, in windows and, at my house, in milk jugs. These lights push back the dark and coldness of winter at least a little bit and remind us of Jesus Christ and the light and hope that he brings into our lives. 

I don't like physical darkness, I wish that the sun could stay up all day. I really don't like spiritual darkness. Darkness that comes from Sin and temptation, but I am so grateful for the light that casts out spiritual darkness that comes from Jesus Christ and repentance and partaking of the sacrament. The light that comes from Christ will always be available. We can always have access to it. It is the light that keeps me going even when things in my life seem dark. I know that I can come unto Christ and receive of his light and never be in darkness.

During this Christmas, I invite you to think about your own answer to the question, 'What does the birth of Christ mean to you?' And share it with someone else. I know that as you do, the spirit of Christmas will enter into your heart more abundantly.

Thanksgiving

So It has been a while since I have posted, but I wanted to make sure that I posted for one of my absolute favorite holidays! Thanksgiving is one of the best holidays, not because of the massive amounts of food, the turkey bowl, or the fun games we play after the eating is finished, but because it is a time for me to reflect on the things that I am most grateful for!

I have so much to be grateful for, in fact there is not much that I have to NOT be grateful for. I have been blessed with wonderful friends and family and the necessities of life; food, water, shelter, and clothing. But the thing that I am most grateful for this Thanksgiving eve is my relationship with my Father in Heaven.

Of course there have been times when I have not taken that relationship very seriously, or have neglected it, but I am so grateful that it is not in God's nature to give up on us even though we often give up so easily on Him. 

One moment where I truly felt that God was aware of me and my life was about 2 years ago. I had a very humbling moment in an institute class. It was one of those moments where I realized some of the weaknesses and flaws that I had. I went home and I really wanted to talk about it, to share my feelings with someone. I went around trying to find just about anybody to talk to, not really even thinking about talking to the person who understands me the most. I first tried to talk to my roommates, they were all busy. I texted my cousin, but she didn't answer back. I tried all sorts of people but none of them were available. Finally, I remembered another part of the humbling institute class. A girl said near the end of class that even when there is no one to talk to "you can always talk to God". I decided to try it out. I knelt down in my room and I prayed. I told my Father my feelings and I really tried to commune with Him. After I prayed I knelt there for a while but I didn't really feel anything special. As I stood up I went over to sit on my bed. As I sat down, I noticed a small pressed cherry blossom laying perfectly on my un-perfect mess of blankets. *a little background, I LOVE Japanese Cherry Blossom trees and the beautiful pink blossoms* At that moment I knew that God was listening to me, that he cared about what I was going through and even though I was (and still am) imperfect and have many, many weaknesses, He still loved me. He loved me then, and he still loves me now!

It is these tender experiences and the knowledge that I have of God and his love for me that I am most grateful this Thanksgiving. What are you most grateful for?

A Spiritual Feasting

"Feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell [me] all things what [I] should do" -2 Nephi 32:3

These are the words have been running through my mind for the last little while. With General Conference and a whole bunch of missionary meetings I have found myself sitting at an enormous spiritual feast at least 9 times and I have learned so much! I have feasted so much I feel like it has been a MONTH of spiritual Thanksgiving dinners. I'm going to share some of the thoughts that I have had and some of the things that have been impressed upon my mind from just the past couple of meetings I have been to.

- The Atonement of Jesus Christ is the Center of everything that we do and it effects every part of our life Alma 7:11-13

- Christ Doesn't need a partner to win the game of life. He invites us to be His partner so that we can win because he already has. Matthew 11:29

- "The atonement of Jesus Christ has no end unless I put an end to it." Elder Hinton Alma 34:14

- Understanding the Fall is essential to understanding the Atonement. The Atonement changes negatives into positives. 2 Nephi 2

-We celebrate Easter each week as we partake of the sacrament D&C 59:12

- Prayer is IMPORTANT! No one can know of spiritual truths without prayer! Moroni 10:3-5

-The question Why is important and it is always answered by the Doctrines of the gospel John 3:16

-Attitude really is everything Alma 34:38

-It's okay to be afriad, but don't let that fear get in the way of doing what God has commanded. Numbers 14:9

-Satan won't stop at letting you sin a little, NEVER give in to him. He will just drag you down. 2 Nephi 26:22

-Form is good, but you bring power into a form when you don't worry about following the form but following the spirit and being yourself. Don't be a slave to a form. 1 Nephi 4:6

-Doctrine is Why? Principle is What? Application is How To? Without the Doctrine and Principles attatched to the Application, the Application is useless. Alma 12:32

-"Don't tell God how big your problem is, tell your problem how big God is!" -? Mosiah 4:9

I know that God does speak to us, he gives us direction and as we listen to the words of our leaders and in the scirptures we will know all the things that God would have us do!
 

BEAR Testimony

A little while ago I had a prompting to study the word 'bear'. Not in the "Lions and Tigers and Bears Oh my!" type of way, but in the "I want to BEAR my testimony" type of way.

I decided to go with a simple definition search first.  In my I-pad's dictionary there are many definitions of the word bear.  For example...

• carry (of a person)
• convey (of a vehicle)
• have or display as a visible mark or feature
• be called by
• carry or conduct oneself in a particular manner
• support
• take responsibility for
• be able to accept or stand up to
• endure
• give birth to
• produce
• bear fruit
• turn and proceed in a specified direction

So as I was thinking about how these different definitions relate to testimony, I really came to realize that bearing testimony is something that is more than just getting up on Sunday and sharing what you know to be true. It is living according to your beliefs.

Living in a way that your testimony is a visible mark or feature that will convey or carry the spirit unto the hearts of others. 2 Nephi 33:1 "...the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men."

You will take resonpsiblity and stand up for the things that you know are right. It is to endure in the specified direction that you have come to know is the right path.  Luke 9:24 "And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me."

As you truly bear your testimony it is something that will produce a greater testimony and greater faith not only in yourself but it will produce the desire in others to have the same light that you do. When you bear your testimony of Christ you are called by Christ's name. Mosiah 26:18 "Yea, blessed is this people who are willing to BEAR my name; for in my name shall they be called; and they are mine."

I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior, that He loves each one of us. I invite all who read this to live according to their testimony of Jesus Christ. Live in a way that you are truly bearing your testimony at all times.

Personal Confirmation

    So sometimes we get surprised in life...things don't go quite as we expected them. This is especially true of Missionary life. Every 6 weeks or so we have a transfer where we can be moved around. Our mission president prays over each of us and where we need to go and who we need to be with. He recieves revelation as to where God would have us go. We then get 'transfer calls' that tell us whether or not we will be staying in our area or leaving. Usually it is really hard because you really come to LOVE the area where you are serving and the people you serve with.

We had one of those this week. I was told that I would be leaving the Great Falls ward, a place that I truly had come to LOVE and I am so sad that I had to leave it, but unlike my other transfers, this one was different. After President Eyring's talk Continuing Revelation where he talked about the importance of Confirming Revelation I really tried to seek my own confirming revelation about what President Riggs felt should happen. It was amazing as I applied this principle in my life to truly feel the peace that came into my heart. I told my old companion a couple of times "This just feels right"

The best thing I learned from this experience is that what I am constently telling people to do, to pray and recieve their own revelation about the truths that my companions and I teach, really does work. You really can pray to recieve your own personal and confirming revelation. I know that I am supposed to be where I am now and I am supposed to be with who I am with.

My invitation to all is to remember that God wants to talk to you and to give you the revelation and confirmation you need to continue becoming the best disciple of Christ that you can be!

*Side note* I am now companions with Sister Adair who is one of the AWESOME people that I served with in the MTC. We are serving in the Ft. Belvoir Ward and I am so excited to work wtih all of the lovely Members Here!

Exchanges

  One of my absolute FAVORITE things that we do on missions is go on exchanges! Exchanges are when we trade our assigned companion for 24 hours with a missionary leader so we can learn and grow from someone else. They are great for  Yesterday I got to go with Sister Akin, one of the kindest missionaries I know. She came out to the mission field with me and I have known her for a long time and we always wanted to be companions.

  That hasn't happened yet, but it was such a tender mercy to get to be with her for a day. The whole day felt like the theme was Tender Mercies. Everybody we talked to shared some sort of tender mercy, from getting a job to getting a visa. Things were accomplished easily that would usually have been a long and lengthy process or even impossible. Each person recognized that it was God watching out for them. One of the best things about being a missionary is having the opportunity to hear so many different ways that God is working in others lives. It truly strengthens my faith with each story I hear. I hope that as you go forward this week, you will see the tender mercies around you! I know they are there!

The First Great Commandment

Today's blog post is brought to you by Sister-Dannika McBride, a former companion for whom I have only feelings of great love! While we were serving together she was asked to speak on a Talk by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland called the First Great Commandment. In it Elder Holland speaks about how Christ needs Disciples. Sister McBride shared this story from her own life that really touched my heart on how the discipleship of others really does make a difference in our lives, and with her permission I am sharing it with you. . .

"A few years ago, I turned away from the church. At the time I felt justified for what was a conscious decision. I blamed the imperfect people I found in the church, and felt as if expectations of my leaders for me to live up to my standards all the time was controlling and restrictive, but in reality, I had never developed more then a shallow testimony, so as soon as I went to college and was out of the influence of my parents, I simply left.

For a while I still believed in attending a church, it didn't necessarily mean the true church. I went once or twice to mass, and for a few weeks I thought I made quite a good baptist. But those never fulfilled me spiritually, and left them too. Eventually, I began to feel the wear and tear of every day life, stress and anxiety started eating at me, and as a result of my earlier choices, the gentle and

reassuring touch of Holy Ghost was no longer a regular and reassuring occurrence. This lack of the spirit affected me more deeply then I at first realized, and I began to be depressed. I began to wonder, if there was a God, how could he leave me so alone. It never occurred that I was the one who turned away from him. After a time I stopped believing in God all together. I don't want you to think that I was wildly different from now, but I had rejected anything that reminded me of God, and as a result I felt empty, unhappy, and my view had become more bitter.

 I would not be here today, or where I am in life if it wasn't for my mom, and a girl named Laura. Laura grew up a member, like I had, but unlike me she had developed her faith, and actively worked on growing her testimony. She was sweet, pure, and she shined with the light of Christ. She became my roommate for the second semester at college, and like any good future college roommate, she Facebook stalked me. Upon reviewing my status', she determined two things. I was not a member of the church, and, she thought I would make a great Mormon. With those two assumptions, she went forward in faith, and tried her hardest to convert me.

If you know me well, it shouldn't surprise you to know that I played along, and I didn't tell her I was already a member, if an inactive one. I let this tiny girl, pull me all over campus to various institute activities, missionary lessons, and even church a few times. I feel a bit sorry for those Elders now that I am in their position, I'm sure they thought I was a baptism ready to happen. Laura, in her pure and honest way softened my heart greatly, around her I felt the glow of the spirit once more. She wasn't even upset with me when I admitted that I was already a member. Instead, she seemed to consider me a great success story, and was proud to stand next to me as we told the missionaries.

    " well elders, we got her!"

 They were less pleased, but giving them a cake certainly helped erase ill feelings.

Without Laura's missionary efforts, I would never had been open to my mother as she approached me with the plea to read the Book of Mormon, and to pray. Without Laura and my mom, I would still be so very lost, and I will forever owe my life to their efforts.

As you spread the light and love of the gospel, It will fill your life and brighten your view, and it will help you to grow ever stronger in this faith. Not only that but you WILL feel the spirit more abundantly in your life, and never will you regret a life filled with the spirit of Christ."

I too know that one will NEVER regret a life filled with the spirit of Christ!