Come Unto Jesus: Making Him More of A Priority in our Lives

I know I haven’t written a blog post in awhile and I apologize for that, but yesterday I had an experience I felt I needed to share. I learned something important and maybe it can help someone else out there.

I was heading to the temple feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, and exhausted.  I wanted to be at the temple, but after a busy week I found myself questioning do I really have time to be here right now? Today is Saturday, A day where I usually get lots of chores done that I haven’t managed to get to all week. I also wasn’t feeling great. I woke up that morning with a sore throat and a heavy head.

As I walked up to the temple I wanted to be angry and have my own little pity party, but I couldn’t. When I walked in the temple doors these feeling instantly departed. God simply would not let me be angry or frustrated in His holy house. Instead those feelings were replaced with peace and love.

As I was sitting in the Celestial room at the end of the session I offered a prayer of gratitude to my loving Heavenly Father for all that He has blessed me with. I felt a more sincere appreciation for my Savior and I emotionally thanked my Father for the beautiful gift of His divine Son.

A thought crossed my mind before I left the temple. When I walked in I was wondering if I really had time for this. And many times during my busy week I wonder do I really have time to read my scriptures, pray, attend church or the temple? Sometimes all those tasks can seem overwhelming. And then I heard these few penetrating words… do you really have time for me.

In that moment I couldn’t believe how selfish I was being. After everything Christ endured for me how could I not make these little sacrifices for Him. And in all reality these things aren’t sacrifices at all. In fact they are the very things that tie us to Him. Shouldn’t we all have a desire to better know Him? We are indebted to Him. Don’t you think He knows what it’s like to feel overwhelmed, to feel like life is unfair, to hurt, ache, and suffer. The Savior knew who He was suffering for. He suffered for you and He suffered for me. And although the Atonement was done for the entire world I know how individual it also was. Because of His sacrifice He knows us perfectly. I want to do more to know Him perfectly.

My mission President once said, “you came to earth to become something, to make something or yourself, to become like God.” In order to do this we have to better know and understand God and Jesus Christ. We have to understand how heartbreaking it was for the Father to send down His only Begotten and to watch Him suffer bleed and die. We have to understand how the Savior was prepared and willing to pay the price so that we can become better, so that we can become like God.  The Savior had every reason to quit; yet when all odds were against Him, He endured. He drunk the bitter cup. He did it for us. He did not give up because He knew how much each and everyone of us would need Him.

I learned in the temple yesterday that I need to make a greater effort to put God and Jesus Christ first in my life because when we do life is oh so good. I felt Him yesterday stronger than I have in awhile. I felt His pure love. I felt how real His sacrifice is. I felt His courage to leave His home above to redeem us. I love Him. I cannot adequately express how much I love Him, and I cannot fully understand the great love He has for us.

Are you working each day to improve your relationship with Him, or is He calling out to you don’t you have time for me?

Your Work is Not Yet Finished

I was recently asked by my mission President to write about a certain experience I had while on my mission. Every experience you have as missionary holds meaning, but this one for me is so precious and was a great reminder of God's power in our lives, and the importance of following promptings.

It was a hot, humid, summer Ohio day and my companion and I were tracting an old street in Delaware, Ohio. We had planned to be on this street for half an hour. We were reaching the end of our allotted time slot and were beginning to feel quite discouraged at the lack of receptiveness on the street. Only a single door had opened and as soon as we mentioned the gospel the door was quickly closed. I just wanted to shout out to everybody on that street, "don't you know we have the best message in the whole world and you're missing out on it!" There was only one house we hadn't tried, but we had somewhere else we had to be so we began walking to the end of the road where our car was. As we made it to the car and my hand reached for the door, a prompting from the Holy Ghost whispered as clear as can be "your work here is not yet finished." Without second guessing what I had just felt my companion and I marched all the way back down the road to the very last house on the corner, and there sitting on the front porch was an elderly man listening to his radio who looked somewhat confused, yet somewhat curious as we approached him.

We started conversation by mentioning that we were missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and promptly proceeded with a message about God's love. Here we were with a complete stranger, yet we felt the need to testify of God's love for him, and for his ability to live with God and his family again. The Spirit warmed our hearts and filled our mouths. We left his home knowing that God wanted us to be there in that moment.

For whatever reason we had the hardest time reaching Clarence again. Every time we showed up at his house he was never there, or he wasn't feeling well on the rare occasions that he was there. And the chances he would answer his phone-next to nothing. Many of the times we had showed up at the house Clarence's step-son Dan had answered the door. Initially he wasn't the friendliest, and really didn't want anything to do with the church. He seemed almost like a barrier between us and Clarence. After a matter of weeks of this we were about to give up because we simply could not get ahold of Clarence. My companion felt that we needed to try them one more time. We approach their house and prayed before we went in. I specifically remember praying to God and asking him to not let Dan answer the door so that we could finally see Clarence. We knocked on the door and who stood there to open it? Dan! I had to chuckle to myself because if I didn't know already I learned that day that God has a sense of humor and He is the one in charge...not me.  But a miracle happened that day. Instead of our brief conversations with Dan that went somewhat like this, "Clarence isn't home" he came out on the porch and started to talk with us. Already we could see a softer heart in him. He made us laugh and we made him laugh unintentionally when we extended baptism to him. We even had an opportunity to talk about the Book of Mormon. In the time we were talking with him, Clarence pulled up in his old blue pickup truck. From the look on his face he knew he was cornered when he got out of his car ;) We then all sat out on the front porch and taught them the first lesson. And guess what!? In all that time we hadn't seen Clarence he had still done the reading assignments we had given him.

From that point on Clarence McGuire never missed a single lesson and Dan even joined in during most lessons. Clarence was prompt, and always kept the many reading assignments we had given him either through the missionary pamphlets or the Book of Mormon. It took awhile for him to attend  church, but i'll never forget the pure smile on my face when he pulled up to church in his blue pickup truck. Clarence even ran up to the bishop after the meeting and said, "these girls are accomplishing miracles. They got me to pray out loud for the first time in my life and they got me to church for the first time in 40 years." Little did he know at that time that it had nothing to do with us, but everything to do with God and His plan.

On General Conference Sunday we went to the church with Clarence and were edified by the powerful Spirit the leaders of our church brought to the meeting. Clarence for weeks now had been praying about baptism. After the session had concluded he told us, "I think I got my answer." But that is all he told us! We had no idea if this answer was a yes or a no he was being so sneaky about it. We went over for a lesson a few days later and were in the middle of teaching him when I looked over at a calendar that was placed right behind where he was sitting. On the 18th (the day we told him to pray about for baptism) was written something in tiny little print. I jumped up from my chair in the middle of the lesson, probably even mid-sentence, to read what it said. On Saturday the 18th of October it read, "Clarence's baptism."

On that Saturday Clarence McGuire at age 76 was baptized and took upon himself the name of Jesus Christ. His daughter Tina, and step-son Dan both came to the baptism. The water was freezing, but the Spirit was warm. It was a day I will never ever forget.

A few weeks later I was transferred to a new area. When I signed up for a mission I had no idea how difficult it would be to leave those you love behind and go to a new area. This family had become my family, yet I knew and had faith in how inspired this work was. I knew I was transferred to a new area for a reason and while serving there I discovered those reasons.

Eight months later while serving in Pickerington Ohio, I got word that Dan had a baptismal date. Dan! Dan who wanted nothing to do with the Book of Mormon initially. Dan who opened his heart to God and let Him in. I was able to go back to Delaware for that baptism and as we drove in I felt like we were driving though sacred ground. It was such a memorable and special feeling. His baptism was beautiful. I was so proud of him and the strides he made to draw closer to the Savior.

I finished my mission in August but have never lost contact with this family that has become my own. During the holiday's Dan shared with me an incredible missionary experience he had had. Dan's son, who also happens to be named Dan, was joining the family in Ohio for Christmas. He happened to be in Ohio during a Sunday, so Dan invited his son to come with him to church. His son politely declined, but Dan's desire to share the gospel didn't stop there. Before his son was to head back to Alaska, Dan asked him if he had room in his carryon. He did, so Dan proceeded to give him a Book of Mormon.

His son made it safely back to Alaska, but Dan followed up and told his son that there were also missionaries in Alaska! In fact they are all over the word. Dan Jr. started meeting with missionaries and reading the Book of Mormon.

A little less then a year from Dan's baptism, his son was baptized in Alaska.

Dan is currently a perfect and patient primary teacher for 10 year olds, and Clarence attends the temple almost on a weekly basis. When I went back to visit my mission a few weeks ago he taught me an important lesson. He had just been to the temple the night before and was telling me the name of the person he did doing the work for, where they lived, and when they were born. He taught me that all the work we do in the temple is for people. Real people. They are waiting for the joy of the gospel. Next time I attend the temple and every time after that I hope to remember these precious souls as he does.

One prompting. Three generations were affected. What if we hadn't have listened to that prompting? Where would this family be? I imagine they eventually would have been found because God is very aware of His children, but who knows if the outcome would have been the same. God knew that day when I prayed that Dan wouldn't answer the door, that Dan needed the gospel too. The gospel can and will bless anyone and everyones lives. Looking back I feel so blessed that Dan was the one to answer the door that day.  God knew all along what He was doing, I just had to learn and put more faith and trust in Him.

A few months ago I was teaching a seminary class that focused on Proverbs 3. I shared with my class all the miracles of this particular story. I think through this story I really learned the truthfulness of the scripture, "trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths."

Trust Him.
Acknowledge Him
And He will direct our paths

I know that to be true. How grateful I am for this beautiful gospel that changes hearts and lives. Our Savior lives. That is the joy we have to share with the world!

God Is Oh So Good To Us

Life is full of disappointments. These past few weeks I was reminded of that principle, but I was also reminded how very much our Father in Heaven loves us. I was reminded how despite disappointment life is beautiful and we can choose to be happy.

In the competitive world we live in, it becomes quite normal to feel discouraged. In a sea of beautiful people at BYU who are incredibly smart and talented it's easy to wonder if I have anything to offer.  After having a rough week at school, performing horribly on a test, and not getting the job I desired my confidence was at a low point. And to top it all off after an exhausting week I had to run a half marathon I wasn't trained for! Now you know me and you know I'm fairly competitive in nature so having to perform in a sporting event I wasn't prepared for terrified me. I'm not telling you this to gain sympathy. I'm telling you this because we all have our own challenges and battles and God is very aware of them. He truly is in the very details of our lives. 

"He will console you in your afflictions and He will plead your cause." Jacob 3

This means that if we are on God's team we will not lose. He will comfort us. That is a promise! directly from Him. The very Being who created the universe will plead our cause. He is truly the worlds greatest fan there to support us every mile of the way.

One of the adversaries biggest traps to bring us down is discouragement! When we fall to him, the Spirit loses His power. In Preach My Gospel it says "discouragement weakens the Spirit." We cannot allow Satan to have the power and the Spirit to lose His. 

We all have those low points in our lives so how do we rise above them? 

"Above all never lose faith in your Father in Heaven who loves you more then you can comprehend." -Jeffrey R. Holland

Trust in God. Trust in His plan. Believe that when one door closes, another will open. See yourself as He see's you, because to Him you are more than worth it and guess what? He has full confidence in you! Do not be discouraged! You're doing better than you think you are. Be Believing and Trust in Him.

At the end of my long week I was able to feel strong as I crossed that finish line during my half-marathon. Heavenly Father helped me to do something I never thought I could do. He gave me strength to run, and he helped me to see that WE CAN DO HARD THINGS! 

"I know that I am nothing. As to my strength I am weak. Therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God for in His strength I can do all things." Alma 26

He is the source of my confidence. The more I understand who I am as a daughter of God, the more eternal confidence I have. It's different from the confidence of the world. It's not temporary. This type of confidence isn't based on being a size two or having the perfect hair. This confidence comes from knowing my worth as daughter of our Heavenly Father.

I couldn't help but smile as I ran through the finish line admiring the beautiful surrounds of Zion's National Park and thinking to myself how very good God is to us. And I realized that even, and maybe especially during the hard times the Savior walks with us. After all isn't that exactly why we have His atonement. So that He can succor us...run to us...and understand us during our hard times? He believes in us. His goodness is not limited. It doesn't depend on how we look, how many talents we do or do not have. His goodness is there for us even if we don't feel we deserve it. I am eternally grateful for His love, for His goodness that can reach all. Search for it. It is the reason for my happiness.

The Hope of God's Light

This week I have been reflecting a lot on the beautiful plan God has for us, and it has been confirmed to me over and over again that we have a Heavenly Father who knows, and loves us, perfectly, completely, and infinitely. In fact His love was so great He had the capacity to send us His only begotten Son as a means of us one day returning to Him. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." He is aware of us, and I know with all the certainly of my heart He is in the tiny as well as the great details of our lives. His whole purpose is to bring to pass our "immortality and eternal life." His greatest desire is our happiness. He longs for us to return home to Him. 

We chose to come to this earth knowing of the struggles, and challenges we would accept when we followed His plan, yet we trusted in our Father that somehow it would all work out. We leapt for joy when the Father created this beautiful place for us to dwell, and when He provided a Savior, an older Brother, a Guide, a Friend, so that we did not need to be on this journey alone. In John, The Savior said, "And this is life eternal that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." Everyday we are free to make choices that either draw us closer to the Savior or further away. We stumble, we fall, we slip off the path, and sometimes struggle to make our way back. We are imperfect mortals. Yet the Savior is not. He is perfect and His Atonement (His sacrifice) is perfect.  The Savior's Atonement is there whether you feel you deserve it or not. It will always be there. 

The Atonement however does not remove our trials. The path is narrow, and straight, yet there is nothing that says it will be without bumps or climbs. The beauty of the message though is that we have a Savior who reaches out His precious arms of mercy and walks with us, every painful, and every joyful step of the way. The Lord once said to the Prohet Joseph Smith, "Peace be unto thy soul. Thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high." God's peace is not the world's peace. It is perfect and lasting. It is not temporary, but eternal. It the source of light and happiness in this life when adversity enters our path. "All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ." 

Al Fox once said, "Hard times will be there, but so will Christ." Never lose sight of His love. I promise you that when you "seek you shall find." Seek out His love. His comfort will always be there, because He will always be there. His hands torn and scared are reaching out for you this very moment, this very day, and always.  

Alma 26:35 Now have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there never were men that had so great reason to rejoice as we, since the world began; yea, and my joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my God; for he has all power,all wisdom, and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a merciful Being, even unto salvation