All You Need Is Love

Sorry for not posting last week. I didn't realize it was Friday until it was Saturday. Does that ever happen to you?
I had a whole slew of things I have been pondering lately, but since the horrible tragedy that happened in Ft. Hood, TX yesterday I think my thoughts have been a little more focused on what we do in the name of Religion, and why.

Throughout history there have been so many atrocities committed by people in the name of God. Take the Crusades. Take the history of the Turks. The treatment of the Native Americans. The many cults. And more prominently (at least from what I can see) are the Extremists.

The first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, might, mind and strength. The second is to love your neighbor as yourself.

If you look at the ten commandments, every single one of them breaks down to fit into one of those two categories. If you love God, you will honor Him, keep the Sabbath day holy, have no engraven images etc. If you love your neighbor, you will not kill, steal, covet, etc. So to follow the most basic teachings of Christ, or even God, we are taught that we must love.

During Christ's ministry He taught us to go the extra mile with that love. To do everything with kindness and not to retaliate.

I am slightly confused how people can teach about a loving God. Someone who loves all His children and yet be so casual with human life. They say that they are justified because it is for their religion. They say people of their faith, or people who are not keeping the commandments deserved whatever. I say we are taught to love our enemies. I say true religion is about focusing on yourself, then your family, then your community. I say true religion is all about love.

Funny story (I hope you don't mind me sharing this, Tricia) all through HS people told me Tricia hated me. People told her I hated her. We didn't know each other so we couldn't have possibly hated each other. Since we took piano lessons from the same teacher, we decided to play a duet together. By working together we were able to get to know each other and become friends. Very good friends. Later room mates. Even later still friends. I never hated her. She never hated me (I think :) ) due to lack of understanding and listening to what other people told us rather than what we ourselves knew we missed out on a good couple of years of friendship.

I guess the point of this is just to encourage everyone to be more understanding. In the name of your beliefs and your religions, give an outpouring of love. Most problems arise from misunderstandings and nothing more. Look past the pride that naturally builds up and try to have more love and understanding. That is what this world needs. More love.

I know this sounds silly because I only know most of you through this blog, but I do love you all. I wish you the very best day and weekend, and know that as you go about keeping the two greatest commandments everything else will fall into place and the peace in your heart and surrounding you will amaze you. Go out and give this world some love!

Hey Everyone!

Thanks for the invite!
I'm excited to start sharing all these thoughts I have, and to have meaningful conversations with you all. I often wish every conversation could have roots in our purpose here, but we live in a world of much distraction, and I just don't get to do it very often. So I'm excited!

One of the first things I'd like to share with you is my little girl, Elizabeth, who came into our lives on April 27, 2006 and left for heaven the same day. I feel so blessed to have had her influence in my life, and continue to have her watching over me. It's amazing how we can go through something so devastating and realize it has become a great source of spiritual strength. I will have to share that story with you next week, as it may take some time to write it all out! But in the mean time, I made a video for her that I feel has a great message to it, and would be a good start to my spiritual sharing. You can see it at http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/share_view_player?p=153f9d37393215121ec4be
Make sure your volume is turned on because the music is one of the best parts.

Thanks again for this opportunity, and I look forward to reading what you have to share.

New Thursday author

We have a new Thursday author for our blog. The past author is feeling a bit overwhelmed with life and felt like she needed a break. Therefore I want to introduce Bethany as our new Thursday girl.

I first met her when I was working for the post office at the REC site. We were roommates for a short time and have been good friends thereafter. She is currently married to the love of her life, John and has a cute little boy named Isaac. Also she is expecting another baby to come soon. I will let her further introduce herself with however many details she feels comfortable sharing.

Welcome to the blog, Bethany!

Be Grateful

Since it is November and it's the traditional time of year for us all to remember what we're thankful for I wanted to share a scripture about gratitude from the Book of Mormon and then share our November tradition.

Behold, my beloved brethren (and sisters), remember the words of your God; pray unto him continually by day, and give thanks until his holy name by night. Let your hearts rejoice.

2 Nephi 9:52

I like that scripture because it reminds me to always be grateful for the blessings Heavenly Father has given me. It is links giving thanks to prayer. How can we really let our Father know what we are truly thankful for if we don't tell him?

In our family, each day in November we take a few minutes, usually around dinner time, to write down something, anything we are thankful for. We write them down on feathers which get placed into a styrofoam turkey who resides on our table (click here to see more). On thanksgiving, we'll go through the list and write it down to keep it for years to come. It's fun to see the little (and big) things we are thankful for; it's also nice to remember just how many blessings Heavenly Father has given us.

My Eight Copies: Part 3

[This is the 3rd part in an essay about the many copies of the Book of Mormon I have owned.]

My next set of scriptures came when I started seminary. This set lived at the church building and were there on the cart to greet every morning at 5:45. They are nearly unrecognizable as scriptures. The bindings are so bent and they are so full of quotes that my triple combination is the same size as a standard Bible. These particular scriptures taught me to diligently study them and to find strength in their pages. Up until this point, I had never been a consistent scripture reader, but at this point in my life I developed the habit of reading the scriptures daily. Building on these daily interactions with the scriptures, I gained my true testimony of the Book of Mormon.

President Ezra Taft Benson declared:

“Every Latter-day Saint should make the study of this book a lifetime pursuit. Otherwise he is placing his soul in jeopardy and neglecting that which could give spiritual and intellectual unity to his whole life.”

During my freshman year at BYU, I had the opportunity to focus my scripture study on the Book of Mormon. Naturally, I bought myself a new copy before the class began. I had excellent teachers and was uplifted and inspired during each class session. I was constantly being presented with interpretations and views that were new to me. There was a lesson to be learned in every chapter.

However, the lesson that changed my life the most was that the Book of Mormon was written for our day, for us. In Mormon 8:35, Mormon says:

“Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing.”

Thinking of the Book of Mormon this way, that it was written specifically for our hazardous times, brings great comfort to me and makes me anxious to seek advice from it. Elder Richard G. Scott said it so plainly:

“The Book of Mormon holds answers for the problems we face in everyday life."

It can't get much more straightforward than that! The Book of Mormon holds the answers. I hope you all may find the answers you seek in its pages.

To be continued...

Diamonds

Yesterday our RS lesson was about charity and service in the home. The teacher started off by comparing us as women to diamonds. We talked about the characteristics of diamonds and how they apply to us as well.

My comment was that diamonds reflect light. We as daughters of God can also reflect the light of Christ within us by cultivating charity and other Christlike attributes. Charity is not something you possess or give away, but it is something that you become.

Remember the phrase, "Charity never faileth"? Elder Oaks tells us why:

"The reason charity never fails and the reason charity is greater than even the most significant acts of goodness he cited is that charity, “the pure love of Christ” (Moro. 7:47), is not an act but a condition or state of being. Charity is attained through a succession of acts that result in a conversion."

I think we show our charity daily by how we respond to other people and in our day to day challenges. For example, a woman in RS told about how her daughter kept trying to help her in the kitchen. She felt like she could do it faster by herself but decided that her daughter mattered more than the task at hand. I think it is little examples like that where we can choose to exemplify charity in our lives.

My husband has shown me a lot of charity lately in this last stretch of my pregnancy. He is patient and understanding, even when I start whimpering about some pain I'm having in the middle of the night. His attitude shows me that he wants to be there to help me. He tries to understand what I'm going through and why I get so emotional sometimes. He gives me the benefit of the doubt, even sometimes when maybe I don't deserve it so much.

I pray that you all can know that you are just like diamonds in so many ways. Learn to reflect the light of Christ by cultivating charity in your character.

Love you all!

The Church is True

In 1896, during Wilford Woodruff's presidency, the first Sunday of the month officially became Fast Sunday where members of the Church have the opportunity to bear their testimonies. Since today is the first Sunday of the month I wanted to just post my simple testimony.

I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the only true church on the Earth today. I know that Jesus Christ is our savior and that he died for ALL mankind. He suffered on the cross, all alone, so that we would never have to suffer alone. I know that He lives! I know that He was resurrected, and that if we will repent of our sins we will be resurrected and gain eternal life. I know that God is our eternal Father in Heaven. He loves us and has given us a way to return to Him once more! I know that Joseph Smith is a true prophet of God. He restored the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Earth and he translated the Book of Mormon by the power of God. I love this gospel and I know that every principle in it is true. If we will live the principles that are taught by the prophets, both past and present, then we will be blessed during mortality as well as throughout eternity. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.