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!