A New Beginning

Well, Christmas has come and gone and the new year is approaching! I can hardly believe that a whole year has passed by since last Christmas. It's been a great year even though it went by way too fast. I'm grateful for all of the experiences that I've had this past year; I've learned and grown a lot.

When the year comes to a close, just as many, I reflect on how it went: what I did well and how I could do better. I also look forward to the next year to figure out how I can make it better than the last. I will be able to try new things and find new successes, while putting other things behind me and starting fresh. In Isaiah 43:18 it says "Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old." With the new year we can put the past behind us, but this is something that doesn't have to happen just once a year. We can have a fresh start every week!

Once a week on Sunday we are able to partake of the sacrament. When we do so we are completing the repentance process and renewing our promises with God. With this important ordinance we are able to start fresh for the new week...every week! We don't have to wait an entire year for a new beginning  Oh how amazing and merciful the Lord our God. What incredible opportunities He gives us!

I testify it is through the Savior Jesus Christ we are able to be cleansed of our sins, and this by baptism, and when we take of the sacrament our sins are forgiven and our promises renewed once more. I invite all people everywhere who have made those sacred promises with God to renew them this very Sunday, and again and again after that, so that you may feel the joy of a new beginning.

What Does it All Mean?

We recently had a Zone Conference in our Mission. It's where several of the missionaries in the area gather together for a meeting. This conference was special for Christmas; our Mission President, his wife, and several others worked very hard to make it memorable. There was a lot of singing - Christmas songs, and there was a gift exchange for the Sisters as well as a tie exchange for the Elders. It was a fun day and I learned a lot from everyone who spoke, but there was one thing in particular that stood out to me...

President Allen, a member of the Mission Presidency, was one of those who addressed us. He spoke of the birth of Christ. In reference to this he asked us to ponder two questions. The first question was, "What does it all (the birth of Christ) mean?" The second, was "How does it effect me?"

Those questions hit me deeply and I've thought about it since then. I always knew Christ was important and we needed him, but what does it really mean? In Luke 2:11 it says, "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord." We only have one Savior - Jesus Christ - who came to make a way for us to return back to live with our Heavenly Father which is something we can not do alone. "...he (Jesus Christ) descended below all things, in that he comprehended all things, that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth;"*


How does it effect me? The Son of God came to this earth in very humble circumstances, he taught, healed, raised the dead, submitted to the will of his Father, and suffered more than anyone can ever understand. He did that because he loves me and he loves you. This act of pure love by my Savior should and does effect every aspect of my life. This time of year is full of distractions; travel, shopping, decorating, gifts, etc... all of these things can be good, but remembering the birth of Christ is often left out of that list. President Thomas S. Monson stated, "There is no better time than now, this very Christmas season, for all of us to rededicate ourselves to the principles taught by Jesus the Christ."**



This Christmas season I'm going to refocus on Christ and truly reflect on what it really means. I would invite everyone to do the same and to remember Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer.







*Doctrine and Covenants 88:6
** "A Bright Shining Star," 2012 First Presidency Christmas Devotional, (Dec 5, 2010)

The Roots to Endure

In my last blog I wrote about trees and how much I love them. Well it turns out I have more to say about trees...

I've often looked at trees as an example for myself. They stand strong and steadfast whatever comes their way. It takes a very long time for a tree to recover from an injury, in fact they never do fully recover.There are many people who carve things into trees like initials and dates. People do that because it lasts so long. The tree heals around those things, but it always holds onto them; the scar is always there. No matter how many years go by the most a tree can do is cover up the scar.

A tree can stand strong through rough winds and hard weather.  However, if a tree has shallow roots then when a storm comes to rage it cannot stand. It's roots must be deeply planted in the ground; with strong roots it can bear almost anything. The tree just stands tall and steadfast enduring through whatever storm or trial is sent it's way.

We have been charged with that same responsibility, "Ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ...and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life." - 2 Nephi 31:20

The difference is that Christ has promised to be there for us and while a tree can never fully heal and must hold it's scar forever, we through Christ don't have to hold onto our scars. He is there to help us fully heal. Through the Atonement, we can be healed from the guilt of our sins and the pain we receive from the sins of others.

"Unless the roots of your testimony are firmly planted, it will be difficult for you to withstand...When firmly planted, your testimony of the gospel, of the Savior, and of our Heavenly Father will influence all that you do throughout your life." -President Thomas S. Monson

I can testify that if we trust in Christ and rely on him and his atonement we will have the strength to endure through all of life's trials and the ability for all of our scars to be healed.

A Refiner's Fire

First off... trees are amazing! I have always loved trees; and have never come across a type of tree that I don't like. I love that there are so many different kinds. They range from tiny bonsai trees to huge red woods. I've always believed that they must be one of Heavenly Fathers favorite things since he made so many of them. He also made all of us to be different as well.  Trees have always marveled me because they are of the most durable and resilient things in nature.

I've discovered trees to be very strong; my family has an apple tree in our backyard. Several years ago it got a type of fungus in it's trunk. I remember thinking how awful it was that we were going to lose our tree. Then one day my brother went out to the tree and he did a controlled burn inside the trunk, and he got rid of all of the fungus. We weren't sure if the tree would make it and for a while it didn't look very well, but then when spring came it had some leaves coming back, and by the time it was completely spring, it was fully blooming! I was amazed; I couldn't believe that our tree was doing so well with a huge hole burned in it's trunk! That tree is still alive in our backyard to this day.

Just like my tree, in order for us to become purified of those things in our lives that would weaken us, the Lord puts us through a 'refiners fire' to purge those impurities making us  spiritually stronger and steadfast.

Trees get bigger and tougher every year, and the way I see it, they keep enduring no matter what, this is how God made them.  In Malachi 3:2-3 "...for he is like a refiners fire, and like fullers’ soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify... and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness."

We all have trials in our lives, but we can remember that this life is our chance to be refined and purified and sometimes that comes with a trial of fire. As Job put it, "...he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." -Job 23:10

I can testify that once we make it through our trials we come out stronger, purer, and closer to God. However, it isn't until after we've made it through the fire that we look back and are grateful for the person we have become.

 

The Step of Faith

I grew up watching Star Trek and I'm still a huge fan. There are six Star Trek television shows. My favorite of the T.V. series is called Star Trek: Voyager. It is a story about a Starfleet crew that was pulled into a distant quadrant of the galaxy, far away from any other Starfleet people. They have to fend for themselves in a foreign, uncharted, and unfriendly place.

There is a specific episode that has often stood out to me; it is called "Sacred Ground." In this episode, the captain and a few members of the crew visited an alien world and one of the crew, a young woman named Kes, accidentally stumbled into an energy field that was surrounding a sacred artifact. The field severely injured her, putting her into a coma. Kes was brought back to their ship, the doctor discovered that Kes was not likely to survive. The crew learns of a legend where a King's son was injured the same way and the King went through a certain ritual as an initiation to awake his son. Hoping this would work for Kes, Captain Janeway asked the monks to allow her to go through the same ritual to awaken Kes. They agreed, but warned her that it will not be easy.

She agreed to proceed regardless of the risk. She went through several physical and mental challenges in order to learn how to help Kes. She had to paint pictures, stare at a stone until it lit up, and at one point she even had to climb a large rock wall free hand. Throughout the rituals, she had a guide who repeatedly told her that her tasks were meaningless, and that she already had the answer that she needed. Captain Janeway continues to push through, but after a long period of time with no success, she returned to the ship. She pondered on the things she went through and what her guide had told her. She realized that her guide was right, she had the answer all along. She told her crew that she would be taking Kes back to the energy field. The doctor told her that it would likely kill them both, but feeling that it was the right thing to do she went. Captain Janeway took a step of faith and walked through the field.

She was right, once she walked through the energy field, Kes woke up. Captain Janeway asked her guide why she had been made to endure so many physical and mental trials when the solution was so simple. Her guide told her quite simply that she put herself through those trials. It turned out that the ritual was based on the participant's expectations; so because Captain Janeway had expected to have to go through such hard trials that she caused it to happen.

I'm not saying that we cause our trials, but sometimes in life we can be really hard on ourselves. We can expect more of ourselves than is necessary. Our Heavenly Father knows us and he knows our hearts. He does not expect us to do everything exactly right all of the time - it simply is not possible! What he expects us to do is turn to him and take a step of faith and trust in Him.

Elder M. Russell Ballard once said, "Recognize limitations; no one can do everything. When you have done the best you can, be satisfied and don’t look back and second-guess, wondering how you could have done more. Be at peace within yourselves. Rather than berate yourself for what you didn’t do, congratulate yourself for what you did."

I can testify that as long as we have faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and we are doing our best, He is pleased with us. He loves us, we are His children and he does not want us to be so hard on ourselves. Remember that the Lord loves you for who you are, not for who you think He wants you to be!

A Body of One

One of my favorite T.V shows growing up was Star Trek: Voyager. My whole family and I love Star Trek. Voyager is the story of two crews thrown together. It started with newly appointed Captain Kathryn Janeway of the, recently constructed, state of the art science vessel, Voyager, and Chakotay, captain of a Maquis vessel. The Maquis are a terrorist group; several Maquis members are former members of Starfleet, including Chakotay. They rejected a certain peace treaty that was formed between the federation and an alien race. Captain Janeway's  security officer was undercover on board Chakotay's vessel. When the Maquis vessel went missing in 'the badlands,' Voyager was sent on a rescue mission to find it.

Once they arrived in the badlands they were pulled by a beam into another quadrant of the galaxy. This was done by a powerful alien being known as the Caretaker. The crew of Voyager discovered that the same thing happened to the Maquis vessel. Chakotay's vessel was destroyed, but Voyager rescued the crew. There were many casualties including several high ranking members of both crews. The technology that was used to bring them there ended up getting destroyed along with the Caretaker. Both crews were stranded together in the Delta Quadrant! Captain Janeway and Chakotay discussed the situation and decided that their only option was to join together in order to survive. They agreed to become, "one crew, a Starfleet crew." Captain Janeway appointed Chakotay as her second in command and the two crews were forced to work together.

In life, often times we are thrown into difficult situations; whether it's being far from home, or being around people who we don't really know or get along with. We have to remember that we are all sons and daughters of God. Most of us are working towards the same goal - to go back home to be with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

Once they got their barrings they discovered they were over 70,000 light-years from home; which was at least 75 years at maximum speed. Obviously this meant they were going to be together for a long time.


Even though they all had the same goal - reaching home - neither crew had an easy time adjusting to being together. There were several confrontations that occurred for quite a few months. Eventually after going through many battles and trials together, they all discovered how much they needed each other and both crews became one.

In 1 Corinthians 12: 13-14 it says,
"For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit."

We are many members - but one body; in verses 15-26 it explains the importance each part of a body has. Just because we have a hand, doesn't mean we don't need a foot. Each part is important and they all come together to work as one body. Each part needing the other. It is the same in life, work, church, and home and family - we need one another. Like the crew of the Voyager discovered, we won't get very far if we fight against each other. By no means are we able to be best friends with everyone around us, but Jesus taught, "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." - John 13:34

It wasn't until the Voyager and Maquis crews began to have respect for each other and understanding of their differences that they began coming together as one crew. They became like a big family; they learned to love each other and endure together. "And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it." -1 Corinthians 12:26

The Deadly Compromise

Lehonti

There is a story in the Book of Mormon in Alma chapter 47 about a man named Lehonti that I found really interesting... There are two main groups of people in the Book of Mormon. The first group is called the Nephites - the people of God, and the the second group is called the Lamanites - the people who do not follow God. They have several battles througout the Book of Mormon. In one instance after a series of failed attempts to beat the Nephites, the King of the Lamanites orders his army to prepare to fight them again. Well, Lehonti and several others in the army don't want to fight because they know they will lose. Lehonti leads those men who will not fight away and they set up camp on a hill away from the rest of the Lamanites.

When the King finds out that they left he is very angry and sends a man named Amalickiah with the rest of the army to go and force them to fight. Amalickiah didn't really care what the King wanted, he himself wanted to be king. He told the King he would do as ordered, but for him to be able to be King he needs the support of the entire army of the Lamanites.

Amalickiah goes with his men to the bottom of the hill where Lehonti had camped. He sent a messenger asking Lehonti to come down to speak with him. Lehonti, being smart firmly refused. Amalickiah sent another messenger telling him that he wished no harm and would simply like to talk. After being told no a second time, Amalickiah went halfway up the hill and sent a messenger a third time and told him that he would only have to come halfway down and that he could bring guards with him for safety.

Lehonti, thought about it and decided that he could meet him halfway. That would be OK and he had his guards so he would be safe. This was his first mistake. He lowered his standard; he had originally decided that he would not meet with him, but he let himself be fooled into believing he would be safe.

This is something that Satan tries with all of us, if we would just be willing to step down only a little ways... but no, it's a trick!! It's never safe to compromise our standards or our safety. When I first read this story I though that Amalickiah would try to kill Lehonti and take over the army by force, but he didn't. He was more cunning than that. He made an offer to Lehonti that they could join their two armies together and refuse to fight the Nephites. He said that Lehonti could be leader and he would be second in command. Well that sounded good to Lehonti- to be leader over the whole army! He quickly agreed.

Amalickiah

This was his second mistake; once Lehonti agreed he was in Amalickiah's grip - fooled into believing he was in control.  He liked the idea of having all that power and the plan was presented so nicely - what could go wrong? - in Verse 18 it says, "And it came to pass that Amalickiah caused that one of his servants should administer poison by degrees to Lehonti, that he died."

Lehonti fell for his tricks and cunning. After Lehonti died, Amalickiah took over the whole army, killed the King, and became a ruler over all the Lamanite people just as he had planned.

There is a scripture, also in the Book of Mormon, in 2 Nephi 28:21 that states referring to Satan, "And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal security. . .  and thus the devil cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell."


I can testify of the importance of having our standards high and firm. Satan will try to fool us into compromising, but if we make the decision now to say no and stick with it we will be safe and far out of the reach of his poisonous grip.

A Slippery Course Change

When I was about eleven years old I got a brilliant idea. It was February and there was snow all around. I wanted to go sledding. Well there is nothing wrong with that, but my idea was more than just sledding.  I had just seen a movie about dog sledding and I thought it looked really cool. I had a couple of dogs and a sled surely it wasn't a big deal, right?

So I hooked one of my dogs, Diamond, up to the sled with a leash.  I had thought it all out perfectly. We lived on a hill and there was a downward slope in our backyard between some trees. I went to the top of the slope and I yelled for my dog to start running. It worked great! He pulled me smoothly to the bottom. However, that wasn't enough for me. I wanted to go even faster. So I decided to hook up two of my dogs and go again. Diamond was on the left and I hooked Goldie up on the right.

Just as I had wanted, I was going really fast and it was so much fun for about forty seconds, then something went wrong. Goldie started to go right-toward the woods, and Diamond was pulling the opposite direction. I tried to make them stop but I couldn't. Goldie was stronger so she was leading the sled more. The next thing I knew I was headed for the woods! Then a big tree was directly in front of us. Luckily my dogs saw that we were going to run into the tree...well lucky for them anyway. They split. Diamond went left and Goldie went right which pulled me smack into the tree!

 

I wasn't hurt too badly; just bumps and bruises. I did learn a lesson that day when I went inside and told my mom about how my dogs had gotten me hurt. I explained how it should have worked and that it was all their fault for not listening. She smiled and politely explained that it wasn't their responsibility... it was mine.

Looking back it reminds of a scripture in Matthew 6 verse 24. "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon."

Both of my dogs had paths they wanted to follow and I should have picked only one of them to take me not both. Although Diamond usually stayed in the yard, Goldie always went to the woods and I knew it, but I thought that if I had both of them together then it would go my way, but I was wrong. I needed only one of them to lead me, Diamond was strong enough to pull me by himself; but because I wanted Goldie to pull too even though I didn't need her, I got hurt.

I've discovered that this can happen in life - not just literally, but spiritually. Sometimes we can be going on the path and following the right leader. Everything can be going great, then we see something that looks like it could be even more fun. We don't want to leave the path we are on so we try to attach those other things to our sleds and keep going. This can make for a slippery course change because it is impossible to have it both ways; it will always cause us to be pulled in two different directions. It simply doesn't work. We can't have all of the good and some of the...not so good.

There is a scripture in Joshua 24 verse 15 that says "Choose you this day whom ye will serve...but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord"

I believe this verse states it perfectly... I can testify that it is important to make the choice now to stay on the right path following the Savior. I know He will never lead us astray, or lead us to harm in any way. He is the only one that will guide us safely to where we want to go.

The Guidance of A Brother

When I was younger there was a park we often went to and it had, what seemed to me, a huge wooden fort. It was so big, tall, and full of adventure. I would always go with my two older brothers. There were a lot of adventures had in that fort. It had three levels to it I was so proud when I made it to the second level; it was no easy feat there was a lot of climbing involved to get there. Then I discovered my oldest brother had not only made it to the Third level, but he was on the roof of the fort!! I didn't even know anyone could go that high. My other brother couldn't go that high either, but both of us wanted to. We had a lot of fun on those three levels of the fort, but it just wasn't good enough; we had to get to the absolute top!

After about a week or so my other brother made it to the top as well. Needless to say I was quite displeased. It wasn't fair that I was the only one who couldn't get to the top, not to mention the fact that I couldn't even get to level three. I never got to see how they got up there either. They were always very sneaky about it because they didn't want me to see them get up since I was small and might get hurt trying. Well that's what they told me anyway. One day I asked my oldest brother to please show me how he got up there. I used all the 'baby-sister' charms I had to convince him...and it worked! He said he would show me if I promised not to try it until I got much bigger.

I watched him climb from level three to the roof, and even though I wouldn't admit it at the time he was absolutely right... I never would have been safely able to reach the top. When he came back down he could see that I was a bit sad that I couldn't make it that far. I told him how much I wanted to go on the roof of the fort. Then my big brother looked at me and smiled. He then said "you've missed a step." I'm sure I gave him some kind of puzzled look. Then he told me, "You forgot about level three. You have to make it there before you can even worry about the top."

He was right I didn't even think about that. I still hadn't made it past the second level. My brother took my hand and led me up through the fort and showed me how to get to the next level. I was so happy that I forgot all about getting to the top. After I had become skilled at reaching all three levels I remembered my desire to reach the top. I asked my brother about it again and he told me to look at how far I had come and how much time it took to get there. He said to enjoy where I am and then he promised me that when I was big enough he would help me make it to the very top, but only when I was ready and could do it safely. I agreed and looked forward to the day when I would finally reach the top.

In life we sometimes focus too much on the bigger picture. We don't see how much we have accomplished already. I had made it to the first two levels all by myself. However I needed my big brother to help me go the next step. It was something I couldn't have done without him. In the same way Christ is there to guide us and to help us when we get stuck. We can know the way to go by following him. We also have to remember to trust him when he says no. I didn't want my brother to be right when he said I wasn't ready to go to the top, but he was. Christ knows what we should and should not do, and we can put our trust in him to take us by the hand and guide us in the right direction. He will always be there to help us to the next step when we are ready.

A Hope of More Than Things

Hope always seemed to me like a pretty loose term. I hoped for this or I would hope for that. I never really understood how wonderful hope really is until recently. Some of the best things I ever hoped for are nothing compared to the hope in Christ I have found.

I remember when I was younger I would hope for a certain toy for my birthday or for a raise in my allowance. It was fun to hope for things and to dream of how great it would be when I got whatever it was I wanted. Hope can be entertaining and exciting, but it can also be devastating when our hopes fall through. At least that is how it usually was for me when I didn't get what I was hoping for.

People often say "don't get your hopes up." I always said "why not?" It's my hope and I can do whatever I want with it. Regardless, hopes can be deflated no matter how confident I may have been in them; maybe I didn't get the doll I wanted or I didn't get a raise in my allowance like I expected.

 

There are a lot of things out in the world to hope for. A new car, a better job, the perfect birthday present etc... I've recently discovered hope for things often isn't worth it, or isn't worth the ups and downs that can come with it. I still think hoping for things is just fine, but I've discovered a deeper hope of more than just things. I've discovered a greater hope in the Lord. Our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ can be trusted with our hopes; after all the only way they can bring them is up. We can safely 'get our hopes up' when it comes to hope in Christ...

"The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel." 

                                              - Joel 3:16

The Lord has promised us that we can trust Him. We can let our hopes rest on Him; after all who better to put our hope on than the Lord? It helps me to remember the promise as stated above "the Lord will be the hope of his people."

The Miracle of a Flower

Life, as wonderful and amazing as it can be also happens to be difficult at times. It's a simple fact: everyone has days or times that are hard and we can feel alone during these times. I learned a lesson last week about having a difficult day. In fact it's a lesson I've learned a few times before, but somehow I forget it. This time it really stuck out to me. I, like many, have grown accustomed to difficulties, but sometimes life can be really sweet as well.

Last week my companion, Sister Williams, and I were walking down the street with the heat and the sun beating down on us. We had had a rough and frustrating visit with someone. I was not very happy about it and I was feeling just a little bit down. It wasn't a really big deal in the long run, but Heavenly Father knew we could use a little pick up.

As we were walking we both stopped at the same time and turned to each other. We had both smelled something wonderful! Sister Williams and I said almost in unison... 'It smells like home.' We turned back to find the source of the smell. Then we discovered a flower bush! I didn't recognize the flowers, yet somehow they gave us both a good comforting feeling. We knew that God had sent those flowers to us. He knew what would be needed to effect both of us in the same way, and it was that simple flower bush.

It may seem like a small silly little thing, but for us it was a miracle. It was our Heavenly Father telling us 'okay, you've had a rough day, I acknowledge that, but you can keep going because I'm here with you.' We both went on walking with flowers in hand and a smile on our faces. It really made a difference for me that day, and it still serves as a reminder of His love.

I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are there for us especially during rough times big or small. If it matters to us then it matters to Him.  When we need just a little support, love, or encouragement then we can always know He will be there for us. As Christ said in John 14:18 "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you." Each one of us can count on that promise of love and comfort.

A Never Ending Adventure

I've been thinking about the 'happily ever after' that comes at the end of most fairy tales. As a child when my mother would read stories to me it always seemed nice when there was a happy ending, but I never wanted the story to end. I wanted the adventure to continue on. All I would ever know about these people in the stories was that everything worked out in the end (for most of them anyway). That was not enough for me because I never knew what really happened. 'Happily ever after' doesn't say much, so I always wanted more.

In my own life I never wanted a 'happily ever after' kind of ending; not because I don't want to be happy, but because I don't want an ending. It was when I first started to learn about the gospel that I learned there doesn't have to be an ending; in fact there won't be one at all. God has a plan for all of us and there is no end to it. Our life here on Earth is only a small part of what He has in store for us. The adventure of life and existence really does continue. There is so much more for us to learn and do after this life is over. We don't need to be concerned about an "end."

It has been a great comfort for me to know the plan that God has for me. I have lost close family just as most people have. Knowing that our adventures together will continue brings peace and joy in my life now , and hope for my life to come. As it states in 1 Corinthians 15:19 - "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." Through Christ there is hope of a 'happily ever after' just without the ending...