All That He Requires of You

Ever stop to think about just how amazing God is? Sometimes, I honestly forget to think about everything He has done and everything He continues to do for the good of each one of his children. I was reading in Mosiah today- and boy oh boy do I sure love that king Benjamin though- and he's got some pretty dang great words of wisdom, if I do say so myself.

He reminds us that God has given us our bodies, that He is the father of our spirits and the reason for our very existence. King Benjamin also teaches of the plan of salvation, and if not for God providing us a savior, we'd all be toasted. "If ye should serve him who has created you from the beginning, and is preserving you from day to day, by lending you breath, that ye may live and move and do according to your own will, and even supporting you from one moment to another- I say, if you should serve him with all your whole souls yet yet would be unprofitable servants.
And behold, all that he requires of you is to keep his commandments."

For all the things He constantly does for us daily, and all throughout eternity, that's really not too much to ask. And really thinking about it, everything He commands us to do only benefits us. The commandments allow us peace and the ability to more fully feel His presence in our lives. They help us understand His will, they physically and spiritually protect us- and most importantly, they help us prepare to become like Him. Honestly- it is all about us. God doesn't do anything for Himself- His sole purpose is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. Think about that- I know I don't  enough. His WORK. His GLORY. His eternal joy- is making sure I have the opportunity to one day live with Him again. And that is His mindset for every single one of His children. He wants us all to have the opportunity to make it. And His love is so pure, so deep, and so understanding of each one of us, He has it all mapped out so that each of His children will end up in a state where they are comfortable. He knows not everyone will want to do and become what is required to live with Him- but He still wants them to be happy. Isn't that amazing? He is thinking about everyone!! Not just those that did "what they were supposed to"- but every single one of us. I know I want to do all I can in my life to live with Him again. And I want to better understand my role in the lives of my friends and family that will allow me to help them have that same desire.

I've been thinking about how I can better understand my role in other's lives- and my answer came in chapter 4 of Mosiah. If we personally understand our relationship with God, then these feelings will naturally follow: "If ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have tasted of his love, and have received a remission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, I would that ye should retain in rememberance the greatness of God and your own nothingness and his goodness and longsuffering towards you...
...and if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge which is just and true. And ye will not have a mind to injure one another, but to live peaceably...and ye [shall teach your children] to love one another, and to serve one another. And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor: ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need...
...I would that ye should impart of your substance...and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants.
And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength."

So what does God expect of us? To keep his commandments, which will lead us to remember Him, His plan, His love, and His mercy in our lives. By doing so, He promises to fill us with His love for each of His children, and that we will have the capacity to care for those around us. On our own, I know this is true, we will end up exhausting ourselves- but as we are diligent in remembering God in our own lives, we are given the power to help those in need all around us. I know that I really am nothing without God. I know that He has done so much for me, and I know honestly, there are times I really don't deserve His patience and love. But I am so so grateful that He loves me despite my mistakes, weaknesses, and imperfections. I am grateful that He has provided Jesus Christ to help me change and to allow me the chance to start over (A LOT) and become more like Him. And I know that as I keep His commandments and the covenants I have made with Him, He will allow me the opportunity to help others realize those same truths for themselves. All He requires is that I keep his commandments to the best of my ability. I won't be perfect all at once, but my heart is all he requires.

I love you oh so so much!
Emily

I'm All About That Faith- or least I'm trying

I had a lot of questions for God today. Yes sir, indeed I did. Do you ever get that feeling where your brain is on fast forward? Where thought after thought comes gushing at you faster than you can process and before you know it, there is hurricane brain tizzy all up in your head? I was feeling that very way this day. As I opened my scriptures, the first page I opened to was just for me. I felt like God had heard my frenzied freakouts and just went, Emily, you need to calm down- how bout you just read this and chill out for a second.

I saw the chapter and immediately, all my panic, worry, frustration, and anger melted away- I was overcome with relief. With peace, and with a, "Oh Heavenly Father- you know me all too well." Hebrews, Chapter 11 was starting up at me, ready to answer everything. Faith. It all comes back to faith in Jesus Christ. How do I move forward when I don't know what the future holds? Center my faith on Jesus Christ. What if I don't know if what I say will push someone away? Put my faith in Christ. What if I am afraid of man more than God? How can I change that? FOCUS MY FAITH ON JESUS CHRIST (Those were just some of the questions running around my brain as of late).
But seriously- after reading this chapter, it all comes down to faith- believing in Christ and putting that belief into action!

This chapter talks about so many different people- about Enoch, Moses, Rahab, Noah, Sara, Abraham- it spoke of what they were able to accomplish and also what they were able to learn because of their faith. And that is something that I love about faith in Jesus Christ. It is a constant learning process. When we exercise faith, we are showing God that we trust in Him and that we are willing to open our hearts to learn more about the gospel He has provided for us. In the Book of Mormon, Ether 12:6 states, "Faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith."

Really thinking about that last phrase "Ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith" made me realize that spiritual knowledge only comes when we are willing to put complete trust in God and in His son Jesus Christ. As we show our trust to them through our actions, they are willing to teach us what we need to learn:

• Abraham's trial= sacrifice his only son, leading him to learn and internalize the atonement of Christ in his own life
• Sara's trial= barren most of her life but blessed with a son, helping her understand through Christ all shall live
• Noah's trial= build an ark before it started raining, learned that only through Jesus Christ we can be clean (baptism yo!)....and probs one of the first prophets to endorse emergency prepardness!
• Moses's trial= (so many, so I will only pick one example for this champ) Leave life of luxury and riches to join his people, learned the importance of fearing God more than fearing man

All of these amazing people were able to overcome these seemingly impossible experiences- that's right- by putting their faith in Jesus Christ! They didn't fully understand why they needed to do what God asked them to do, but afterwards, they were enlightened. And that's how life works. We learn bit by bit, piece by piece as we are willing to put our best effort forward. Our faith in Jesus Christ will allow us the ability to move forward, understand God's plan for us, and help us assist others in their journey through mortality as well. The people in each of these stories were able to help countless others because of their faith in Christ, and as we leave behind our own legacies, we will also one day, be an example of the believers to those who come after us. I know that focusing my faith in Jesus Christ has brought me so much peace, clarity, and direction when things get stormy and unclear. I know that we won't know the answers all at once, but God will give us what we need, when we need it as we put our faith in Him.

I love you oh so much!

Emily

You Can Regain What You Have Lost

Sometimes reading about the pride fall of the Nephites just breaks your heart.  They have received so much light and knowledge and blessings.  Yet still they fall.  But we aren't so different from them.  If we don't learn from their mistakes, we too will fall into the pattern.

As I've been studying Alma, not only have I learned a lot about how to avoid the pride fall, I've learned how to recuperate from it.  By Alma 55, the Nephites have risen and fallen a couple of times.  After contentions among their own people. the Nephites were left weak, the Lamanites took control, and for a couple of chapter now the Nephites are working to gain their power, land, and people back.  I love that God is so merciful that He always gives them a chance to repent, rebuild, and strengthen themselves again.  In this chapter, there is a GIANT IMPORTANT MESSAGE:

YOU CAN REGAIN WHAT YOU HAVE LOST!

Through a very cool plan that basically involves getting the Lamanites drunk and stealing back the Nephite prisoners, the Nephites "began again to be victorious, and to reclaim their rights and their privleges."  The Lamanites tried everything to get the power back; they tried to get the Nephites drunk, poison them, attack them at night, but nothing worked.  Why?  What is different about the Nephites now?

"The Nephites were not slow to remember the Lord their God in this their time of affliction.  They could not be taken in their [the Lamanites'] snares."

So far in Alma, we have learned that the number one way to keep yourself from falling into the pride cycle is to always remember God and Jesus Christ.  Alma 55 shows us that the number one way to regain what you've lost after falling into the pride cycle is the same thing: to always remember God and Jesus Christ.  Isn't it interesting that this is a part of our baptismal covenant?  What a loving Heavenly Father we have who gives us all of the tools we need to be successful in this life and avoid the pitfalls of the natural man!  We have all that we need to get back to Him.  We just have to apply it. 

I know that if we remember God and Jesus Christ in our lives, we will not fall into the snares that Satan puts before us.  They may hurt us a bit, and we may struggle and feel sad or lost, but we will not fall.  Because remembering Jesus Christ means we have built our house upon Him.  With the rock as our foundation, we will not fall.  It is a promise from God. Whether we are avoiding the pride fall or regaining what we have lost after falling, as we do our part to remember and follow Jesus Christ, we will receive the promises of God. 

Love,

Rachel   

Is Anger Bad?

I love reading about Moroni in the Alma chapters of the Book of Mormon, because he actually gets angry quite a bit.  Many people are uncomfortable with this idea.  Isn't anger bad?  Shouldn't we squelch that?

Remember when Jesus Christ got mad when people were using the temple to make a profit?  And he turned over the tables and cast them out?

Remember when Moroni got mad at Ammoron for causing so much death and pain for the Lamanites and Nephites?  Remember when he threatened to go after him and kill all his people if he didn't stop what he was doing?

Remember when the prophets describe God as angry when His people don't obey Him or when they cause a lot of problems for other people?  Or He gets angry when His people don't repent?

But wait....anger is bad, right?  Why do Moroni, Jesus Christ, and even God himself get angry?

To understand this, we must first look at motives.  Truth and goodness versus lies and evil always come down to motives.  Second, we must look at how they decided to use their anger.

Motives:

• Christ was angry at the people in the temple because they were warping and degrading a sacred place, His Father's house.
• Moroni was angry because of the injustice of Ammoron and the Lamanites.  
• God was angry because of the spiritual state of His children.

Second, what did these three decide to do with their anger?

• Christ used his anger to right a wrong and jolt the people into repentance and change.
• Moroni used his anger to protect his people, stand up for the cause of God, and warn the Lamanites of their spiritual danger.
• God used His anger to humble His people, so that they repent and can return to Him.  Although sometimes He gets angry, He always emphasizes that His hand is stretched out still.  

So what do we see?

These three men are not controlled by their anger.  Moroni, for example, could have killed the Lamanites a long time ago.  He even had an opportunity to kill the Lamanite leader, but instead gave them all a chance to covenant to change.  His anger is sparked by injustice, but he uses it to promote change and fight for goodness.  Jesus Christ also has the eternal perspective in mind during the scene at the temple.  We can see he was not out of control because while turning over the tables, he took great care not to hurt the animals.  But the people needed a big statement to jolt them out of their hardened mindset.  Christ used his anger to motivate others to repent and keep their covenants.  God loves us so much, and He is willing to do anything to help us get back to Him.  Sometimes the thing that we need is discipline and truth like a sword.  Sometimes we need a difficult trial in order to humble us enough to see from a eternal perspective and have a desire to change.  His anger is always motivated by an eternal perspective and His perfect love for us.

Thus, anger is NOT BAD.

I know it sounds weird...because many people say that anger is inherently evil.  But if you look at the prophets' words about anger, they are always condemning uncontrollable and unjust anger.  Anger that cuts and hurts and destroys, but not anger itself.  We can't let our anger control us.  But anger is an indication of injustice, that something we see is not right.  Once we define what is wrong, we can use our anger to do good.  It is a tool through which we can promote change as long as we use it with a basis of love and an eternal perspective.  If we use it well, we can help God's children on their path to eternal life.

I'm sure I will develop this line of thought more since I am so fascinated by the topic of emotion...I'm almost positive that it will be my life study.
 
Any thoughts about this?

I love you!
Rachel

The Importance of God's Love in the Process of Repentance

Inspired by Emily's post today, I decided to focus my studies on the topic of a broken heart and repentance.  I feel like whenever I am bogged down by a heavy weight that I just can't seem to carry anymore, it may be a sign that I haven't been using the atonement enough in my life, and I need to redouble my efforts.  Because many people in the scriptures were living in difficult situations like captivity, yet they were still free and happy.  I believe that no matter our circumstances, we can be free of weight.  When we take the yoke of Christ upon us, our burden is light.  I guess my yoke has been slipping off recently, or I haven't been taking what I need to to the Lord.

In order to repent, we need the grace of God.  Sometimes I think of grace like a gift that I receive after I put in all I have or a result of my own efforts.  But that's not how it works.  We can only be cleansed when we repent AND rely on God's saving grace.  Even in the act of repentance, we must depend on God.  Grace must be a part of our repentance process, not something we expect after we are done or have earned it.  I think a tactic of Satan is to convince us that we need to earn the love of God.  That we need to earn the grace of God.  The only thing that we need to receive the love and grace of God is a broken heart.  That is why God requires it.  He wants to give us his love and grace because He knows that is the only way we can repent.  We cannot repent alone.

Repentance is an act of faith in Jesus Christ.  I love what lds.org says about what this means.  Acting in faith is acknowledging the power of Christ's Atonement.  It is accepting the terms that He set when He paid the penalty for our sins: use His gift!  And (this is my favorite part because I hadn't thought about it before) we must GRATEFULLY recognize His Atonement and His power to cleanse us from sin.  I think gratitude is the key to maintaining a broken heart.  Seeing God's hand in our lives helps us remember that He loves us, that Satan is wrong and lying to us, and that we will be okay.  With that knowledge, we don't close our heart in fear.  Thus, the only way that we are even able to exercise our faith unto repentance is by acknowledging Christ's power, fulfilling His requirements by using His gift, and recognizing it with gratitude.  Only then will our hearts be prepared and open to receive God's love and grace, the two necessary enablers in the process of repentance.

I know that God's love is always there.  God's love can cast out the dark clouds that sometimes surround us.  I know that God wants to heal us and will forgive us, because I have felt His redeeming power in my own life.  He knows exactly what we need to get to a greater degree of happiness and freedom.  Many times what we need is a trial, and while we are struggling and trembling, we must recognize that even the trial itself is an evidence that God loves us.  He gives us hard things sometimes to guide us to an abundance of blessings.  I am so grateful for Jesus Christ who stands by us with patience, acceptance, and love and never loses sight of what we can become.

With gratitude,

Rachel    

"Of You, It Is Required to Forgive All Men"- Yourself Included!

I've been pondering a ton on repentance lately. It is a crucial part of our lives- not just a one time occurrence, but daily acts of changing and aligning our heart with God.

One of the most important steps of repentance that I believe truly is one of the hardest, comes at the end- being able to forgive yourself after you have brought it all to God. Most of the time, it is much easier said than done. But I am discovering as we come to more fully understand the savior's perfect love for each one of his children, us included, we will understand why we should forgive ourselves. When a gift is given, in this case, the gift of repentance is given because of christ's atonement, the giver of the gift (christ) rejoices when we use it to it's fullest. But if we neglect any portion of the gift, it cause him pain, rejection, and a whole lot of sadness. What would have been the point of his agony and suffering for you- to completely free you of your sins, mistakes, and pains- if you won't allow yourself to be forgiven? I definitely have to learn this one the hard way- but Christ puts it much more eloquently than me in the following account:

In Mosiah 26, the church is experiencing a whole lot of drama. But let's be honest, when is that ever new? The rising generation, too young to understand and internalize king benjamin's sermon, are not converted to the gospel of Christ. Because of their unbelief, their transgressions end up leading even faithful members of the church to mess up- some of them real big time. Alma the younger, the head of the church at the time, had never seen such a crazy amount of falling away before- and was so distraught as to what he needed to do. He knew these people were still children of God, he knew they had eternal worth in God's sight. He was probably nervous about how to go about disciplining them- and ultimately, he wanted to make sure that he was acting properly in the name of God as to what the consequences of their actions would be. The Lord tells Alma, "because thou hast inquired of the transgressor, thou art blessed.  And he that will hear my voice shall be my sheep; and him shall ye receive into the church, and him will I also receive.

For behold, this is my church; whosoever is baptized (taking the sacrament weekly) shall be baptized unto repentance. And whomsoever ye receive shall believe in my name; and him will I freely forgive."

The main reason we covenant with God to take Christ's name on ourselves is to give us the ability to repent when we do mess up. Does God really expect us to never ever make a single mistake after we're baptized? Heck no! He knows we are all mortal, that we all have weaknesses- but He knows through making our individual mistakes, we will come to know the need for our savior personally. He knows through the savior's atonement we will learn through repentance and that we will desire to continue to leave behind the habits and actions that take us away from Him. If we can't forgive ourselves once we have repented, then we are blocking our own eternal progression.

For it is I that taketh upon me the sins of the world; for it is I that hath created them; and it is I that granteth unto him that believeth unto the end a place at my right hand. Therefore I say unto you, Go; and whosoever transgresseth against me, him shall ye judge according to the sins which he has committed; and if he confess his sins before thee and me, and repenteth in the sincerity of his heart, him shall ye forgive, and I will forgive him also.

Yea, and as often as my people repent will I forgive them their trespasses against me.

 And ye shall also forgive one another your trespasses; for verily I say unto you, he that forgiveth not his neighbor’s trespasses when he says that he repents, the same hath brought himself under condemnation."

Honestly, only God can judge the position of the heart. It is our job to introspect our own hearts daily. As we come to better understand the atonement of Christ and its ability to heal and grant us the ability to change, we will better be able to forgive ourselves, and in turn, forgive those who may be following similar paths or just dealing with their own issues.
I know that I have made mistake after mistake in my life. I know there are so many experiences that I cannot even begin to comprehend why God would forgive me for doing it- especially when I feel like I know better. But I have come to learn that I am not my mistakes. I am a daughter of a Heavenly, perfect, whole being. He is a kind, loving, and also a just Father. Because of His love, He created a way for me and each one of His children to experience mercy and change through our savior Jesus Christ: "And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety...only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption." Alma 34:16

If we truly have faith in Jesus Christ, that his power will completely cleanse us of our past mistakes and pains, then our faith will allow us to truly repent- to change and to believe we are forgiven. Isn't is wonderful how each step of the gospel is intertwined? You won't repent if you don't have faith, and you can't fully repent unless you believe in Christ all the way- it's all connected. Once you do change, your repentance will strengthen your faith, and your increasing faith will inspire you to continually repent. I love my Father in Heaven and I know He wants you to continue to draw nearer to Him. One of the most important ways we can do that is remembering to forgive ourselves.

I love you so much!
Emily

It is Never too Late to be Free!

After reading Alma 53 today, I couldn't help but think about how difficult the situation would be for the people of Ammon who originally were bloodthirsty Lamanites but had converted to the gospel and fully repented, taking an oath to never take arms again.  I can't imagine their feelings as they saw their brethren go out to war to protect the right to liberty.  I can't imagine their feelings as they saw their own sons vow to fight for the people, to take the place their dads normally would have taken.

I would have felt powerless.  I would have felt frustrated.  But most of all, I would have felt confused about what is the right thing to do in this situation.  Do I break my oath?  It is for a good cause.  It is for a good motive.  Isn't it wrong of me to sit here watching these people fight for my liberty while I do nothing?  But God teaches us a valuable lesson: there is no reason that we should put ourselves in eternal danger.  No matter how great the cause or how pure the motive.  There is no good reason to break covenants with God.  There is no reason that we should ever put ourselves anywhere near our past sins again.  We must do everything we can to protect ourselves, just like the people of Ammon had to do.

At first I was thinking, how sad!  After they changed their lives and fully repented, they are still restricted by their past sins.  It reminds me of Elder Scott's talk about this a while back where he said that sometimes our decisions create very long term consequences.  And even though we've repented of our sins, sometimes we still experience the effects of those sins in our lives.  We must protect ourselves from the long-term spiritual vulnerabilities that our sins and experiences have created in us.  We cannot let any motive or action, even if it seems like a good one, push us towards the line.  Our choices do impact us and the lives of those around us.  But God never lets the consequences of our past actions get in the way of our full happiness when we have fully repented.

For example, the two thousand stripling warriors go out and fight for their families.  Not one of them is lost.  I feel like a part of that is because of the faith of the stripling warriors.  But another part of it is the faith of their fathers.  God would not let the consequences of our past actions control our lives.  There is always a way to overcome it.  The people of Ammon might not have been able to fight, but their sons could fight for them with the promise that if they were faithful, they would come back alright.  The repentance of the fathers enabled the freedom of the sons.  What a beautiful and hopeful message!

Sometimes I become afraid that my past experiences are negatively affecting me in the present and that I may never be free.  But now I can remember that the faith of the fathers enabled the freedom of the sons.  God did not let the past impede the present.  I know that even if my choices or the choices of others have created negative consequences in my life or the lives of people around me, God will provide a way to free everyone when they fully repent and exercise their faith.  I know that every single person can be free of the experiences they have had and the choices they have made.  We can be truly happy, and the only way of doing that is through Jesus Christ and His Atonement.  I am so grateful for the mercy of God and His grace that enables us to move past not only our decisions but the consequences of those decisions.  He loves us so much!

So although my first reading of this chapter was more bleak and sad and restricting, after pondering about things, I realized that this chapter contains one of the most hopeful messages of all of the stories in Alma.  God's promises are real.

Love,
Rachel

What will you choose to do with your fear?

The book of Alma is filled with cycles of fear, pride, falling, repenting, and peace.  Again and again, the nephites and lamanites go through this pattern.

I believe that it all starts with fear.

Fear is the opposite of faith, and its only remedy is the pure love of God.  Our faith is measured by our obedience.  Thus, to overcome fear and pride, we must exercise our faith by repenting and being obedient.  By doing so, we become a pure vessel and move from heart-heartedness to open-heartedness.  The pure love of God can then enter us and heal the weakened state our fear caused within us.

We choose what we decide to do with our fear.  Do we let it control us and plunge us into the cycle that plagued many Lamanite and Nephite people in the Book of Mormon?  Or do we choose to exercise our faith through obedience?

Alma 51 shows us the consequences of letting fear overcome us.  After Moroni and his people had worked so hard to be free and to have peace, some Nephites started to be contentious over a political situation.  The Nephite dissenters wanted to change some of the laws and replace the chief judge with a king. But the chief judge, Pahoran, was a man who wanted to uphold the liberty of his people and was determined to be faithful to the promise he made to do so.  He courageously choose the right, despite the reactions of the people.  Many supported him, while others only became angry.

While the bad guy Amalickiah was inciting the hearts of the lamanites against the nephites, Moroni had to deal with those Nephite dissenters who rejoiced in their hearts that the lamanites were coming to battle and refused to take up arms to defend their liberty.  Moroni was pretty darn mad.  He used his anger to do good, to reach his primary goal: stop those dumb contentions among his own people!  He knew that if he didn't fix those contentions, they were toast against those Lamanites.

So he got that all fixed by going to war...Nephite against Nephite.  The problem was that while Moroni had to deal with the contention between Nephites, he could not focus so much on preparing the Nephites against the Lamanites.  Amalickiah began slaughtering a ton of people.  The Nephite-Nephite conflict had weakened them, so that when the opposition came, many were not prepared.  

Why was there even a Nephite-Nephite conflict in the first place?  Aren't they brothers, united in purpose and religion?  Some Nephites had forgotten their purpose and began to want power.  They began to want to be better than other people by creating their own laws based on their own way of thinking rather than God's.  Fear lead them to pride which lead them to contention which ultimately caused many problems for the Nephites when the opposition arrived.

We can learn a lot from this example.  We must remember that we are on the same team as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  We must love, support, and uplift each other.  Not tear each other down because of our own fears of inadequacy, of a lack of control, of a want of power.  When we don't listen to the prophets, when we don't take their counsel and start wanting the power of man over the consent of God, we will fall.  This fall will leave us weakened and unprepared for when the opposition hits us.  We may even lose our freedom.

That is why we must always look for God's will.  We must always take our fear to God rather than letting our fear overtake us.  We must choose to obey, even when it may be hard, because it enables the love of God to enter us and free us from the fears that so easily beset us.  Perfect love casteth out fear and the only way to tap into that love is through exercising our faith, repenting, and obeying.  I know that if we do so, we will be prepared for whatever opposition or battle comes our way.

Love ya!

Rachel        

  

Fortify Your Line Between Good and Evil

Towards the end of Alma 50, Moroni has helped the people reach a wonderful phase in their progress:

• Moroni with his armies increased daily because of the protection they had.  
• The Lamanites had no power over them because the Nephites had cut off Lamanite strength and power.  
• The Nephites could begin the foundation of a city called Moroni and a foundation for another city called Nephihah.  And even more cities in the north called Lehi.  
• "They did prosper exceedingly, and they became exceedingly rich, and they did multiply and wax strong in the land."  
• "There never was a happier time among the people of Nephi."  Their years were filled with peace.   

What on earth did Moroni do to help his people reach this great state of being?

• His overall goal was always to preserve his people's liberty, strength, families, and ability to freely worship.  
• Even after a victory over the Lamanites, "Moroni did not stop making preparations for war, or to defend his people against the Lamanites."  
• Moroni prepared strongholds to prepare themselves for when their enemies would come:
• He placed timbers on ridges of earth around the cities.
• He build strong and high pickets on those timbers
• He caused towers to be built to overlook the pickets.  
• He made places of security on those towers to protect themselves from the stones and arrows of the Lamanties.
• They were prepared with stones to hit anyone who got close to the walls of every city. 
• He took his army to drive all the Lamanites back into their own land. 
• He caused his army to possess the land in the east wilderness and then erect fortifications to secure their armies and people against their enemies. 
• Through that, he cut off all the strongholds of the Lamanties in the east wilderness. 
• The land of Nephi did run in "a straight course from the east sea to the west." 

Why did he work so hard to put fortifications on fortifications to prepare the strongholds?

To FORTIFY "the line between the Nephites and the Lamanties."  To fortify the line between good and bad.  

So what can we learn from this?

• Our main goal should be to fight for God's cause: eternal life for all men.  We should fight to preserve our families, our liberty, and our right to worship God.  
• Even after a personal victory or a moment where we have reached a greater degree of success, freedom, or happiness than we ever have before, we cannot stop making preparations for war and to defend ourselves against "the Lamanites," or the temptations, sins, and opposition that we are going to experience in the future.
• We must prepare strongholds within ourselves and our families.
• We must build up mounds, place strong and high pickets on the timbers on those mounds around our strengths and weaknesses.  A mound is not enough, nor is a timber.  We need strong and high pickets of protection.  
• We must constantly self evaluate through the towers of observation that we build inside of ourselves to overlook our pickets of protection.    
• We must arm ourselves with stones to cast down any temptation, sin, or opposition that comes close to our walls of protection.  We must not let them get close.  As soon as we see something, we kick it out.  
• We must take our armies, the principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ, to drive out all of the Lamanites (sins, temptations, opposition) within us to push them to their proper place: outside of the walls of our cities.  Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can be cleansed from all of the Lamanites we have let into our walls in the past and fortify our weak spots.  
• We can gain the ground we have previously lost to the Lamanites by kicking them out through the power of the Atonement, replacing them with our own armies, and fortifying our newly gained cities so that the Lamanites cannot get back in.  
• We must cut off all the strongholds of the Lamanites in ourselves, so they can't affect us or weaken us anymore.  
• We must live in "a straight course."  The only straight course there is is the gospel of Jesus Christ.  
• The ultimate goal is to fortify the line between us and the Lamanites.  We cannot let the temptations get into our cities.  We cannot let the Lamanites attack or weaken us.  We must fortify the line that lies between us and sin.  

If we do all of this:

• Our armies will multiply and strengthen each and every day which means our sins, weaknesses, temptations, and oppositions will have less power over us.  
• It is possible to completely cut off the power and strength of temptation, just as the Nephites cut off the power of the Lamanites.  
• With the protections we have built, we can lay the foundation for great cities, whether that means a personal success, a strong family, a greater conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ, or other foundations.  
• If we are living the gospel of Jesus Christ, we will prosper.  We will be happy just like the Nephites were, and we will enjoy continual peace.  Even if Lamanites come right up to our city walls, even if they beat us down, try to tempt us or weaken us, we know that we have prepared ourselves, armed ourselves with the principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and we will not fall.  

To emphasize this even further, Helaman who is now keeping this record, tells us that what happened to the Nephites means that:

• God is merciful, just, and keeps His promises: "thus we see how merciful and just are all the dealings of the Lord, to the fulfilling of all his words unto the children of men."  
• God had kept the promise He had given to Lehi way back when which said that his children would be blessed for keeping the commandments.  But if they didn't keep the commandments, they would be cut off from the presence of the Lord.  
• Those promises had been verified to the people of Nephi.  Their quarrelings and contentions and other sins had brought upon themselves their wars and destructions.
• But "those who were faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord were delivered at all times, whilst thousands of their wicked brethren have been consigned to bondage, or to perish by the sword, or to dwindle in unbelief, and mingle with the Lamanites."

I know that if we keep the commandments of God, we will prosper in the land.  We must be like Moroni and never stop preparing and strengthening ourselves against our weaknesses, temptations, oppositions, and sins through living the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We have the power of the Atonement and we can use it to drive out any Lamanites that have gotten through our walls of protection.  And it will enable us to strengthen our weak walls to prevent them from coming back in the future.  It is a process, but if we continue with diligence just like Moroni, we will be a prosperous, happy, and peaceful people to enjoy the liberty that God grants to those who comply with His promises.  

Love,

Rachel

Third Time's the Charm....or Maybe the 50th

Today I was reading the good old story of Nephi, my homeboy. In today's episode, Nephi, Lemuel, Sam, and Laman are attempting to get the brass plates from Laban. They were instructed by a prophet of God, Lehi (who also happens to be their dad), to return to the city they'd just escaped. Kind of seems like a contradicting order, doesn't it? God says to them, take your family out of Jerusalem or you will be destroyed, and not too much later, He tells them to go back and get a set of plates. I'd probably be pretty confused if I were that band of brothers.

What's the difference between Nephi and the older brothers? Nephi, earlier in the story, gets on his knees and goes straight to God. He wants to know if it really is God's will to leave Jerusalem. After taking the effort to ask with his heart, Nephi is given an answer from God- now he knows for himself! With that answer, Nephi trusts his father's words and departs in the wilderness with the fam. Laman and Lemuel? Didn't bother to pray, but went. Nephi: 1, L&L: 0.
Once commanded to go back to Jerusalem, Nephi and crew scheme up a way to get the plates- they just send Laman to ask for them. Fail. Laban tries to bump him off and Laman returns to the brothers. Round 2- Nephi thinks- oh, we left our stuff behind, this is what we need to use it for, we'll bribe Laban into giving us the plates! And again......nope.

Frustrated that they keep failing over and over, Laman and Lemuel take out their anger on the younger brothers. An angel appears to intervene and gives further instructions, "...Behold, ye shall go up to Jerusalem again, and the Lord will deliver Laban into your hands."
After receiving that revelation from God (a PROMISE that the lord will deliver Laban to them) Nephi finally gets it. What had they been missing in every experience beforehand? God. They were relying on themselves to get the plates- they didn't pray about the decisions they'd made, they didn't check in with God at all. But Nephi takes this experience to heart. He recalls a scripture story- the Isrealites crossing the Red Sea, to illustrate that the impossible can happen with the Lord's help, "Therefore, let us be strong like unto Moses; for he truly spake unto the waters of the red sea and they divided thither...Now behold, ye know that this is true; and ye also know that an angel hath spoken it unto you, wherefore can ye doubt? Let us go up, the Lord is able to deliver us.."
Armed with the knowledge of the scriptures, and personal past experiences, Nephi decides to put his faith in the Lord and makes his way to the plates, stating, "And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do."

I cannot tell you how many times I have felt this way- like I am groping in the dark and just taking it one clueless step at a time. Why does God do this? Give us commandments that seem so impossible and that don't seem to make any sense? And then appears to leave us in the dark (seemingly forever!)?
All I can say is He is teaching us. He is allowing us to learn and internalize truth for ourselves. He could have just as easily told Lehi and Nehi everything on the plates and had them write up a new set. He could have had them grab the plates before leaving Jerusalem the first time. But He didn't. Why not? He wanted Nephi to exercise his faith. Nephi had only just gained a testimony of prayer, and he needed to expand on that before really setting out on their journey. Why? Because God can see the whole picture- He knows what lies ahead for Nephi and family. God knows they will hit some hard times in the wilderness, and that they'll need help building a boat, getting food, sailing across the ocean, etc. Prayer connects us to God. We show our humility to Him, admitting we cannot make it through this life without Him. We show Him our love and dedication when we make plans and choose to counsel with Him through prayer. And ultimately, we show our trust in Him as we let go of what we know (or don't know) and move forward with faith.

So in an nutshell, what I learned from this story:

• Prayer=shows trust in God more than self, connects us with His will, not ours
• Scripture Study= Power to overcome discouragement, provides inspiration, comfort
• Obedience= grows faith, brings knowledge and understanding, qualifies for spiritual guidance 

Every time we turn to God and pray, every time we open the scriptures and read, we are preparing for an experience to learn truth. Who knows what it will be that we learn and when we will need the truths we are receiving, well, acually God knows, but the thing is, we don't. But as we put our trust in God and in Jesus Christ, we will better understand why things are unfolding the way they are, and our role to play. We might not know what is coming next, but we can trust that God will provide His spirit to take us one step at a time:

"I will not leave you comfortless...but the comforter, which is the Holy Ghost...shall teach you all things and bring all things to your rememberance...Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid." John 14: 26, 27

I know God is guiding your steps, and that He has it all mapped out. Just take it one step at a time.

Much love,
Emily

Prayer: My Daily Bread

Elder Christofferson in a Mormon Message that I just watched talked about a moment in his life where he was going through an economic crisis.  He was worried, confused, afraid, and stressed and did not know what the future would hold.  What did he do?  PRAY!  Instead of focusing on all the things in the future that he did not know, or all the things in the present moment that he did not understand, he focused on depending on God for his daily needs.  There are times of dark clouds of confusion or doubt when the only person we have to turn to is God.  But if we focus on living day by day, and depending on God for what we need to make it through today, our relationship with Him will be strengthened.  Our trial will turn into one of the most meaningful experiences we have had as through it, we have learned how to depend on our Father.

I REALLY needed this message today.  I've been feeling like I'm in a giant cloud of confusion and doubt where I can't seem to discern what is right and wrong anymore.  I've been focusing so much on what is going on around me, that I've lost sight of where I am, how I feel, and where I need to be.  Sometimes I get so swallowed up in my environment, or so focused on the storm, that I start to sink.  Right as I got home from the mission, the same storm was there, but I felt like I was walking on water!  I was looking to Christ with faith, trusting that I would receive everything I need.  But like Peter, I started seeing just how big those storm clouds were, just how loud that lightning is, just how much opposition I actually had around me, and I started to be afraid.  I started to look around me with more doubt than faith.  And I started to sink.  However, because God loves me, He is patient with me and gives me little nudges to get me back on track.  Now I've realized what has been going on, and I am determined to look again with an eye of faith.  Put my confidence in God instead of desperately trying to prepare myself for the storm by trying to anticipate what is going to happen when I really can't.  Doing that just feeds my fear and leaves me feeling vulnerable.  It leaves me with a lack of confidence, a hole in my heart.  I'm sick of being afraid, of letting myself sink, of letting the storms around me get to me. I've been feeling trapped by my environment, forgetting that no matter what is happening around me, with Christ, I can walk on water!  I've got to start walking with faith again.  

The only way that I can get back to my walk of faith is by doing what Elder Christofferson did.  I must focus more on my prayers.  I must just focus on one day at a time and trust that God will provide everything I need for today.  Instead of thinking about all the things that will happen tomorrow, this week, this month, in an unknown future, I can keep focusing on today.  I know that if I do that, I will remember that God is with me in every moment, and I will recognize Him more in my life.   I will grow my muscle of faith and even though the storms will still be there, I will be walking on water.

Love,

Rachel

  

"Blessed Art Thou, for Thou Hast Been Faithful"

Did I mention how much I love my main man Alma? After my study yesterday, I couldn't resist revisiting his tale of hardship and triumph in good old Ammonihah (this story has an extremely special place in my heart, both because of experiences on the mission and within the last several months).

Just to fill you in, Sir Alma the younger has just given up his judgement seat position to dedicate his time to preaching dat gospel. He's had a ton of success- people incredibly receptive to the teachings of Christ and he was able to see immediate results of his labors. 3 Cities in a row, he had people excited to change and start fresh in Christ- I bet he was elated! Then, God instructs him to go to his next assignment: Ammonihah, trip. Eager to do as the Lord asks, Alma makes his way over to said city. Once he starts preaching, however, things start taking a turn for the worst. Alma chapter 8 states "Satan had gotten a great hold on the hearts of the people; therefore they would not hearken unto the words of Alma." People recognize him- possibly by reputation, possibly even from way back in the day before he turned to Christ. And instead of hearing him out or politely declining his message, they tell him he has no business in their city, then "reviled him and spit upon him and cast him out of their city."

Can you imagine the confusion, anxiety, and heartbreak Alma must have been experiencing? He decided to press forward and preach in a different city, "being weighed down with sorrow, wading through much tribulation and anguish of soul, because of the wickedness of the people who were in the city of Ammonihah...[when] behold an angel of the Lord appeared unto him, saying:

 Blessed art thou, [insert you name here]; therefore, lift up thy head and rejoice, for thou hast great cause to rejoice; for thou hast been faithful in keeping the commandments of God...And behold, I am sent to command thee that thou return to the city of Ammonihah, and preach again unto the people of the city; yea, preach unto them."

Heavenly Father must have been so proud of his son, Alma. He's seen the changes he's made in his life, He's watched him faithfully keep the commandments and continue to faithfully obey His commands. God recognizes that Alma is in bad shape emotionally and mentally, and He takes the time to deliver a personal message to lift him. God reminds Alma of the good he has done, reminds him that he is not doing anything wrong, and let's him know that this task is possible by commanding him to return. Alma gets the strength he needs to move forward and accomplish God's will- and I loved this next part:  "And he entered the city by another way."

I love that Alma has the faith to keep moving forward, despite the opposition he is facing. And because he was willing to do as the Lord asks him, he is led to the most excellent companion- Amulek!! Combined, they make the most spiritually unstoppable force ever!! I think my favorite part of this story is that if you keep moving forward in faith, you will not have to accomplish God's will alone. He will send you angels, both in this world, as well as the other side of the veil, and he will guide you to specific people that need your help and you need theirs as well. He's got it all planned out. We just have to trust in His timing and His will. Easier said that done- But it sure is the truth.

Much Love,

Emmaline

Hope you know I've had a hard time

Well, this post doesn't have anything to do with Elder Cook's talk "Hope You Know I've Had a Hard Time" but I just feel it is perfect to express how I feel after this week.  Holy cow, it has been HARD!  But, like Elder Cook says, it isn't bad to express emotions like that.  It isn't bad to say, "Hey, God.  I trust in You.  I know that You are there.  I know that everything will be okay.  I just feel beat up, sad, exhausted, and I just keep having to fight.  I'm having a really hard time.  But don't worry, I'll keep going.  I know that this is happening for a reason.  It is just....hard!"  That is where I'm at right now.

Luckily, we have the scriptures, the words of the prophets, the Holy Ghost and PRAYER.  I love prayer.  I am trying to be more honest and open and to put forth the work necessary to pray, because for whatever reason, sometimes that is hard for me to do.  I'm sure I'm not the only one.  After I prayed today, I opened up my scriptures and Moroni was peering his courageous face at me, his standard of liberty in his hand.  What a great moment and man to read about on a day where you feel like you are floating, you don't know what to do, and you don't have much left in you.  You are starting to feel that the opposition may be getting to you a little bit.  You start to fear that maybe you'll fall or forget or you won't do the right thing.  But let's take a look at what Alma 46 says to a person in this state, a person like me:

Moroni put on his armor and poured out his soul to God that the freedom of the land might be favored (or personal freedom...freedom from fear, doubt, darkness).  

He says, "Surely God shall not suffer that we, who are despised because we take upon us the name of Christ, shall be trodden down and destroyed, until we bring it upon us by our own transgressions."  

What an empowering statement!  We need to pour out our souls to God to preserve our freedom, and then be accordingly obedient so that we may not be destroyed by our enemies.  In my current state, I have fears and doubts and confusion about a lot of things.  I feel pretty beaten up in all aspect of my life.  But I won't let those feelings get in the way of what I know: God is my Father who loves me and is taking care of me.  He wants me to progress, and He knows how to help me do it.  Opposition is happening right now so that I can get to the next point in my progress.  Sometimes it feels like I am constantly being beaten down by so many things, but I know that it is because God trusts me and loves me, and He will help me through it all.  

I must be as the people in this story who after Moroni rent his garment, came running, ready to make a covenant of obedience to God, a covenant that meant that they would never be ashamed of taking upon them the name of Christ.  A people who were "faithful...[who] took upon them, gladly, the name of Christ."  Taking upon the name of Christ is NOT easy.  I have seen this, and a part of the reason why things have been so difficult is precisely because I've been doing that.  When you spread a lot of light, you in turn get a lot of opposition.  When you follow Christ and do God's will, you are becoming a force for good and guess who is going to be mad about that...you-know-who.  But good always wins...in fact, it has already one.  Christ already paid!  He is the light and the hope of the world.  Thus, I gladly take upon me the name of Christ, willing to go through whatever it is that I need to to have the blessings that God has in store for me.  I trust Him.  I know that I'm in good hands because I'm in His hands.  And I have the One on my side who already paid, who already overcame all the darkness that ever existed, exists, and will exist.  I GLADLY go forward with faith that even though I'm having a hard time, I'll eventually be okay.  I'll figure it out with the help of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.  

Thank you Moroni!  I just have to keep focusing on obedience, because like he said, that is the only thing that will keep us from being destroyed.  At least I have a battle plan.  Phew!  Here I go into this next week, willing to do whatever it is that happens.  I know that I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.  

Love ya,

Rachel

    

Who You Gonna Call? Those Scriptures!

Some questions have been floating around in my mind lately- and I feel through reading the Book of Mormon during my studies today, quite  a few of them were answered. Here are some of the questions I've been mulling over lately:

How do I best help people around me want to change?
How do I help a loved one understand their worth to God?
How can I better understand my own worth to God?
How will this understanding help me interact with other people?
And how can I forgive myself when I keep messing up again and again?

Alma the younger- ma man!- will help us find answers to these profound questions of the soul. Which is pretty appropriate, seeing as his name is "soul" in spanish- woooow- didn't even realize that until just now. Must be fate. Anyhowsers, I was reading in Alma 36, when he is bearing his testimony of Christ and the gospel to his son, Helaman. He starts off his testimony by stating what he has found to be true after a life time of service to the Lord and dedication to the gospel: "For I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day." (3) See what he did there? Pure, simple statement of truth. How did he know what he said was true? Let me tell you- he has lived quite a marvelous life:

• Alma the younger= Son of a prophet, extremely rebellious, sinful, messing with people's lives
• After receiving a warning from God, chose to turn life around
• Became one of the most excellent missionaries this fine world has seen
• Successfully preached to receptive people in a few major cities
• Went through intense rejection, physical abuse, mocking, and watched martyrdom of others in Ammonihah 
• despite these challenges, kept faith in God and was delivered from opposition
• Preached gospel to apostate Zoramites
• When he teaches the Zoramites, you can tell he understands the importance of small and simple things, consistency (alma 32)
• Knew how to teach to the individual (Helaman, Corianton, Shiblon)
• One son= Overzealous, needed encouragement
• Another= Sinned, needed to understand why he had to change
• Other son= Hard on himself, needed to understand the atonement
• Through his experiences, the spirit guided him what to say to each of them

Yup he's incredible. What kept Alma continually faithful and growing in the church?

• He remembers the WHY of what he's doing
• He remembers both the negative and positive experiences in his life- how badly he felt when he realized the mistakes he'd made and the pain he'd inflicted on himself and others, as well as the joy, peace, and light that came from turning it all over to Christ
• Believes he is loved, forgiven, and valued by God, so now he wants other people to experience the same joy, healing, forgiveness, and peace that has come into his life since changing (it has to start with your own personal experiences with God and the atonement before you can help other people know it's true)
• He is alright sharing his past mistakes with other people, when appropriate. He knows he is forgiven and recognizes if he is open with those past mistakes, they can help others desire to change as well

What caused Alma to want to change in the first place when he was living a life so contrary to God's will? The pure doctrine the angel spoke to Alma helped him realized he needed to change. And once he remembered the words of his father, about the promise of Jesus Christ's ability to save all men, he had the desire to turn to Christ with a whole heart.
Until someone understands why they need to change and how it is possible, nothing will happen. I think the biggest the to remember as well is that it won't be on our time, but it will always be God's time. Alma's dad probably would have had a heck of a lot less grey hairs had he decided to change earlier in life- but because Alma the Younger experienced what he did, he was a wonderfully powerful instrument in God's hands.

And Alma the younger kept true to his faith by living simple, consistent principles:

• Turned to the scriptures for guidance, comfort, truth
• Remembers his own experiences: where he's been, how far he has come with God's help
• Takes time to learn his ancestor's stories and testimonies to strengthen his faith

"And I have been supported under trials and troubles of every kind, yea, and in all manner of afflictions; yea, God has delivered me from prison, and from bonds, from death, yea and I do put my trust in him forever and he will still deliver me.
And I know that he will raise me up at the last day...[and] he has brought our fathers out of the land of Egypt...and led them by his power to the promised land...yea and he also brought our fathers out of the land of jerusalem...and I have always retained in remembrance their captivity." alma 36:27-29

Alma recognizes that God has always been mindful of his people, and that He will continue to deliver them. Alma also recognizes that there will still be opportunities for him to teach, to grow, to be stretched, and to dedicate his time to God. We will experience a variety of challenges in this life- that will not change. But we can decide to change for the better because of them with the help of God. I know He delivers us from our pains when we do as He asks, and He will continue to do so as we give Him our very best.

Each of us has a completely different story and we all have a unique and individual opportunity to come to know God through these experiences. We wants us to reach our full potential while here on earth, and that is possible as we turn to Christ. As we improve ourselves through the Lord, we are also committing to leave the world better than we found it. And that is most definitely what Alma did while he was here. I am grateful that his story was recorded so I could learn from him, and I hope to continue to glean all I can from the scriptures and those who came before me the rest of my life. Take time this week to remember- your own life as well as the scriptures and those who came before you. I know this knowledge will protect, guide, and comfort you as you navigate the crazy storms of this world.

Much love,

Emily

God is Good

Holy Cow. What a week it has been!

I am oh so grateful for the uplifting, inspiring, and thought provoking messages shared in each session of conference this weekend! Although I definitely wasn't able to share all the things I learned this week on a day to day basis, this day in history I shall relate to you my thoughts, impressions and lessons from the spirit I have learned.

The biggest messages that stuck out to me over these last couple days while watching conference were:

• Stay focused on the eternal: eliminate distractions
• Anchor you heart in the basics of the gospel and the rest will follow
• It all comes back to the atonement- Christ's atonement has the power to heal, strengthen and cleanse us of all experiences here on earth
• Pay attention to promptings!! God knows each of us and what we are experiencing- if we have the courage to respond to those promptings, we can be the answer to someone's prayers
• Everyone is struggling with their own "mists of darkeness": Be kind, give time, listen
• CONSISTENCY IS EVERYTHING, the small things often have the most intense consequences, whether for good or bad in the future

Those are the main ideas and truths that have come up over and over this week, as well as all throughout conference.

I think the thing that stuck out to me most was the importance of remaining consistent both in times of trial and when things are going well. There is a natural tendency for people to cry out to God when they are struggling, but as soon as life is calm, they no longer make Him a priority. I know I am guilty of that quite frequently in my own life, but I am sure do aim to change that, yes sir! I am so grateful for God's willingness to provide us with prophets, with inspired leaders that guide us through our journey here in mortality. I feel so much more at peace, so much more capable of taking life one day at a time. I know that we each have the ability to endure any challenge, overcome any barrier, and enjoy our trials as well as our good times as we focus our hearts and minds on our savior Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for him in my own life! He has been through so much for me, He has healed me when I thought there was no coming back, He understands the pains, worries, fears, and doubts I experience, and He helps me continue to be my best every day. I know that you are not alone, wherever you are- because Jesus Christ has been where you have been. I know He knows you perfectly and is aware of everything you have and are experiencing- and the amazing thing about Him is He has the desire to help you, no matter where you start. 

I know that there is a lot I need to improve on- but for the first time, in quite a long time, I know that not only is change possible- but it is a joyful, learning experience through Christ.

 "And now, my [peeps], remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."

Helaman 5:12

It's been really interesting to see that when you pray for specific opportunities to help people, or when you need help from them, God does not hesitate to place who you need to meet in your path. Even when it seems scary, he will guide you to what to say, when to listen, and ultimately, allow each of us to play a special part in each of his children's life. I am grateful for all that God does for me, all that He allows me to feel and go through in order to learn truth for myself, and His patience and love in all things. I know He loves you too and is very proud of the progress you are making.

I hope you have a wonderful week!

Emily