An Easter Message From a Prophet

Happy Easter everyone!

Scripture Sunday- The Power of the Sacrament

Today was a special treat for me when I went to church. I got to bless the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. Something that I haven't done since the start of my mission. as I did so, it really hit me what a sacred ordinance it was. During the Sacrament each Sunday we renew our covenants with God to stand as witnesses of Jesus Christ, and to always remember Him. As we do so we receive a continuing remission of our sins.

"O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it; that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he hath given them, that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen." Moroni 4: 3

"O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee, in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this water to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen." Moroni 5: 2

Testimony Tuesday- Dallas' Story

To start out, like many testimonies do, I’d like to bare my testimony that I have faith that this church is the true church. Growing up, I was never really part of a church. My parents would take us to a Lutheran church on Christmas Eve and Easter, but that was really the extent of it. When I was in middle school I started going to one of the “come as you are” Christian churches with some friends from school and just started learning what I could. Then I started high school and things just went downhill I wasn’t part of the church really anymore and I had no motivation from my mom and step dad (who after my sophomore year got divorced, that was hard) to be moral and make decisions that would better myself in the afterlife.
 Everything was based off of “what will help you get your higher education and support yourself in the future?” It was extremely easy to fall under sin in my house, and so everyone did. I knew a lot of LDS kids from school, but just was never interested in learning about it.

Testimony Tuesday- Aly's a new member!

Aly got baptized on the 27th of February 2011. Here is her testimony only 2 days later!

Testimony Tuesday- Olivia's Story

I am 18 years old. For 18 years and 8 months I attended my parents’ church. We went every Sunday and often had family bible studies. Being close to the Lord was (and still is) very important to my mother and she did well instilling this love in me.

When I was about 14 I started to neglect my relationship with God. I made it a chore to read scriptures and pray and over the years quit altogether. Of course I was still going to church and all, but honestly I was just doing what I was supposed to do, going through motions. There were times I attempted to rebuild my relationship but over and over I failed. This had somewhat of an effect on my high school years. But, I know that God was still watching over me and directing my paths, because after a terrible freshman year, I changed schools and made friends. There are three friends in particular that stand out because they have been a great support in my life and all play a big role in how I have come lay the foundations to build my testimony.

Random Thursday post!

I was listening to a talk by an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, Bruce R. McConkie today, and it led me to finding this slideshow about our Savior. The talk I listened to is called "The Purifying Power of Gethsemane". It is a powerful witness by a SPECIAL witness of Christ. I would highly recommend it for anybody who wants to know just a little more about the story of Christ's last 24 hours in mortality. For now, here is the slideshow. Comment and give YOUR testimony of Jesus Christ!

Testimony Tuesday- Megan's Story

Here is a little background on my history: All of my life, I grew up in a fairly secular home. I had attended a few protestant churches here and there, but I was never affiliated with one in particular. As I entered into high school, my parents were both remarried to religious people. Through my dad and stepmother, I was learning Jewish tradition. My mother converted to Catholicism after marrying my stepfather, so I had a couple major religions in my life to learn from. Although there were true aspects in both religions, I did not feel like I could commit to one or the other. Neither of them seemed complete to me.

Testimony Tuesday- Sacred Sunday Ordinances

This week, as with every week in church, I had the opportunity to participate in the ordinance of the Sacrament. Ordinances are just ceremonies where we make covenants, or promises, with God. The ordinance of the Sacrament is one that is performed weekly in the LDS Church and is a renewal of the covenants that members make at baptism to stand as witnesses of Jesus Christ and always remember Him. As we make this promise to God, He promises us a remission of our sins as well as the continuing presence and gift of the Holy Ghost.

As I sat in church pondering about the significance of the Sacrament the Holy Ghost confirmed to me once again that it is truly a necessarily and beautiful ordinance that is carried out under Priesthood authority and by Priesthood power. I know that it really is a renewal of our baptismal covenants. With it we can feel clean and pure every week just as we did when we were baptized. I invite all to prepare themselves to make those commitments where they could be baptized, so that they can enjoy all the blessings that God would have for them.

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Scripture Sunday- I believe in Christ 2.0

For anyone who didn't read my first Scripture Sunday post about my testimony of Jesus Christ you can look Here. In it I talk about a prophet named Nephi, from the Book of Mormon, who preaches and testifies of Christ. One of my other very favorite prophets from the Book of Mormon named Alma also talks about Jesus Christ and the sacrifice that He made for each of us.

Alma says, " And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities."- Alma 7: 11-12

I testify that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. That through His sacrifice we all can be saved and return to live with our Heavenly Father again. That IS the central and most important message that any LDS missionary could share.

Here is one more video testimony from The Mormon Tabernacle Choir

Random Saturday Thoughts

When I was in elementary school my parents always used to have me walk to and from school. Of course it was always uphill and in 3 feet of snow. One fall morning in my first grade year it was particularly windy and cold. I was not excited to have to walk to school in that wind! I knew that walking out in the cold was necessary to make it to my destination, but it would be cold and hard and the wind was blowing hard enough that it could almost knock me over. I went to my dad and asked humbly for a ride to school since I was already late and it was so windy. He told me no, understanding that I needed to learn the valuable lesson of waking up for school on time, and bundling up for the cold weather. I cried and whined but couldn't convince him to take me to school. I started walking, wiping tears from my face, as the wind stung my exposed cheeks and nose.

I hope I can be hopeful!

During my Friday Free Day "Requests" post Trudi asked a question regarding hope and my favorite scripture that talks about that. One thing that I feel I have been blessed with in my life is hope. I say this not to brag, but to express thanks to my Heavenly Father, in a public setting, for one of the blessings that I see God giving me in my life. I believe that hope comes of faith, and faith in things like God and Jesus Christ is something that I've always been able to have in my life and such faith is able to give me hope. I'm reminded of a scripture in the book of Ether, from the Book of Mormon, "Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God."- Ether 12:4

One scripture that was recently mentioned by blogger Tiffany is in 3rd Nephi from the Book of Mormon. She says, " I love reading in 3 Nephi about when Christ comes to visit the Americas. After reading about all the wars and contentions, (in Alma specifically) and still more wars, then you read about the destruction of the earth and the darkness for days etc, it's so refreshing and peaceful to read about Christ coming after He was resurrected. He teaches, He blesses the little children, He lets people feel the nail prints in His hands, and it's lovely to read. All of those chapters give me hope."

I know that because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ we can hope for things to come, both in this life or in the eternal scheme of things. I'm really excited to see everybody's answers to questions on my blog as well! Any other ideas or topics that people would like to discuss? I would love to hear about them!!

Movie Monday- Practice makes Perfect!

When I was in high school I was into music. Well... I've always been into music, but in high school I had an organized outlet for my interests. I was in a couple of choirs in jr. high and enjoyed it so much that I decided to join some choirs while I was in high school! My senior year I had the opportunity to be in the large A Capella choir, as well as the chamber choir which sang the most difficult pieces that our teacher taught her students. It was a really wonderful experience and I learned a lot of things that I have taken away from it and incorporated into my life. One of those things is diligence and patience as we learn.

During my Junior year when I was in the large A Capella class we sang a song titled, "The Battle of Jericho". At first when we practiced it we sang it really, really slow. I wondered as we did it why we were practicing it that way. Having never heard the song before I wasn't quite prepared for the complexity and the difficulty of keeping everything exactly at the right tempo. Fortunately for me and the other people in my choir who complained about the tedious practicing, we had an excellent teacher who understood the importance of learning the basics with diligence and patience. When we finally did put the whole thing together it sounded like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hiz54OHyCAg

Our Gospel understanding is much like this. We sometimes don't realize the importance of the little things like saying our prayers or attending church. We rationalize by saying, "one time missing church will be okay." But I can promise when we are diligent and patient with the "little things", that we will be practicing and learning principles that will help us when the difficult things in life come. We'll be able to do such things as, recognize the Holy Ghost speaking to us, or be able to take comfort in our prayers during those difficult times. God will always be there to bless and help us. May the Lord bless us all that we might be diligent and patient as we follow the example of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Testimony Tuesday- Slow and steady...

Recently Elder Baird and I have taken up running as part of our daily exercise. Since we don't get much physical activity during most of our day we have the chance to spend time at the end of the day doing something active. Anybody who has been to our part of Provo, Utah knows that we live on the side of a mountain. It doesn't really matter the direction we go when we run because we are inevitably going to run into a hill at some point along the way. The first few times we ran, those hills terrified and discouraged me. I was not a good runner at first. This was not because I was unhealthy or out of shape, but because I did not think positively about the path ahead of me. I would think to myself, "How am I ever going to make it up that last large hill?? I've already run for several miles, and I am tired!" Always, this pattern of thought was crippling once I did reach that hill.

The Bean Counters

I remember reading an essay in high school entitled "The Bean Counters" which chronicled three theories made by a very observant girl regarding the Bean Counters of life. Her conclusion was that she was not here merely to count beans; but to count them, organize them, and even make them in to bean soup should the mood strike her.

So often I find that to be the case in life, and especially in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are welcome to become preoccupied with counting our beans, carefully cataloging and organizing, making sure that everything is just so-so. Or we can refuse to count beans all together, and miss out on the joy that is the bean! These two extremes rarely lead us to the place that we want to go. This place that I am referring to is, of course, safely back into the presence of God, our Heavenly Father.

Testimony Tuesday- A prophet of God

I had the opportunity last weekend to be part of an MTC Choir that sang in the Priesthood Session of General Conference. It was a really special experience for me, and probably something I won't get the chance to do many more times in my life. The sweetest part of that trip though was the chance I had to hear President Thomas S. Monson speak. I can tell you that watching him on TV is a great experience, and that you can feel the Spirit as you watch. But there is also something special and powerful about seeing him in person. I testify that He is a prophet. He is the 16th prophet since the reorganization of Christ's Church to the earth in 1830. Find out for yourself! :) Go watch him speak. Pray about it. I know he is a prophet. You can know it too. Just in case you can't find one of his conference addresses for yourself, here is the one from Priesthood Session that impressed me. :)

Movie Monday- General Conference!

So of course all my posts today and yesterday are going to have something to do with General Conference which occurred this last weekend. However, I believe that there are prophets and apostles on the earth once more. They have very important things to share with us, and to teach us. In order to be able to learn many of the things they want us to know, we have to listen to General Conference. So hopefully a little exposure will help each of you to come to a similar appreciation of the special witnesses of Jesus Christ to the one I have.

Scripture Sunday- Come Listen to a Prophet's Voice

This weekend was a very special weekend for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was the weekend when we have our semi-annual General Conference. The time when the entire worldwide church is able to come together to be instructed and uplifted by Prophets and Apostles; Special witnesses of Jesus Christ that convey to all of us those things that our Heavenly Father wants us to know.

In Amos chapter 3, verse 7 it reads, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." When we listen to General Conference we are able to better understand the counsel and advice that God would have us know at this specific time.

It has been confirmed again to me today that there is a living prophet on the earth today. His name is Thomas S. Monson. He stands as the leader of this church, under the direction of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. I promise that as we follow the counsel that he gives we will have a pure joy in this life. We will be able to follow the commandments that God would have us follow, and we can one day return to live with our Heavenly Father again. For anyone who missed any session of Conference, I would urge you to watch it, and to be open to the Holy Spirit as it speaks to your heart and mind about the truthfulness of the doctrines that were shared. Here is a link: http://lds.org/broadcast/gc/1,5161,9199,00.html

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Elder Thompson's Last Day

Part of missionary life is the constant change. For good or for bad, missionaries really never can plan for the next 6 months, because who knows what will have changed! One of those changes that happened today is Elder Thompson reaching the end of his mission. He served faithfully in 2 different missions; First in San Antonio, Texas and then here in the Referral Center. He was an example of faith and dedication. He bore a testimony today to all of us that He knew that God lives, and that He loves each of us, and that this is His work. I echo that testimony that I know that God lives, and this IS His work, "For behold, this is my work and my glory- to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."- Moses 1:39

E. Thompson's motivational scripture reminds me of my duty and privilege as a missionary: "Shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad..."-D&C 128: 22

Running through the mud of life

Anyone who has talked with me before knows that I have a real love of any off-road vehicle, especially Jeeps! I love looking at pictures of modified vehicles and watching videos of those vehicles conquer seemingly impossible obstacles! One of my favorites to watch are called "mud-boggers". These are trucks specifically designed to go through thick, gooey mud. One of the keys to safely navigating through this mud is building up speed and momentum, and not letting the mud bog you down.

I've noticed that sometimes in life we are faced with challenges or temptations, that if we let them, can act like sticky, gooey mud for us spiritually. If we don't have the momentum of staying close to the Lord we can get caught in the "mud bog". I've come to know those momentum-builders are easy things to do; simply reading your scriptures, and praying daily. Attending church and searching for the opportunities to make correct choices in our lives. If we try and start when the temptation or challenge comes... It's often too late. We have a much better chance of getting stuck by starting late than we would if we had built up the speed in preparation for the difficult times.