Gratitude and Happiness

"So to be happy and to avoid misery, we must have a grateful heart. We have seen in our lives the connection between gratitude and happiness. All of us would like to feel gratitude, yet it is not easy to be consistently grateful in all things in the trials of life. Sickness, disappointment, and the loss of people we love come at times in our lives. Our sorrows can make it hard to see our blessings and to appreciate the blessings God has in store for us in the future.


"We must ask in prayer that God, by the power of the Holy Ghost, will help us see our blessings clearly even in the midst of our trials. He can help us by the power of the Spirit to recognize and be grateful for blessings we take for granted. What has helped me the most is to ask God in prayer, “Wouldst Thou please direct me to someone I can help for Thee?” It is in helping God bless others that I have seen my own blessings more closely."

-President Eyring

love this.

The Prophet's voice

President Hinckley is so dear.

I simply adore him, and miss him terribly.

This story is one of my favorites of all time.

Between this beautiful story and hearing President Hinckley's voice again - I sob every time. 

Alma 29:16

I love this so much.

 16 Now, when I think of the success of these my brethren my soul is carried away, even to the separation of it from the body, as it were, so great is my joy.

You know how I feel about imagery and word painting. And this verse, this little short verse, has some of the most beautiful imagery I have found yet in the Book of Mormon. Have you ever been so happy that your soul was carried away, even to the separation of it from the body?
I have.
That feeling of elatedness (yes, that is a real word), of pure joy and bliss? It's real. And it comes from living the Gospel. Life can't be blissful all the time, it's true. Trials are a necessary part of this mortal experience. But the moments of bliss are there. Look for those beautiful times when life is simply good; when a miracle or a blessing enters your life, and trust me, those stormy clouds of trials will part (if even just for a second) and you will feel the warmth of God's love for you break through the darkness.

Our Relationship with Divinity

I was doing some intense, *hardcore studying today when I came across this quote in one of my Book of Mormon PowerPoints - a quote that I had missed in class.

“I find that when I get casual in my relationships with divinity and when it seems that no divine ear is listening and no divine voice is speaking, that I am far, far away.  If I immerse myself in the scriptures the distance narrows and the spirituality returns” (Spencer W. Kimball, Missionary Gospel Study, 3). 

Our relationship with divinity should never be casual. Let us always strive to lessen the gap between heaven and earth, between our spiritual selves and our mortal selves. How de we accomplish this? By immersing ourselves in the scriptures. We must "drink deeply and often from its pages," as President Eyring says. Then divinity will not seem so far away.
Divine deliverance can be a part of our daily lives if we but tighten the gap between heaven and earth.

*I love that "hardcore studying" in this case refers to reading the scriptures intently and feeling the Spirit in bucket loads. What a joyous University.

Expressions of love

This talk is one of my favorites of all time...Oh how I adore Elder Richard G. Scott.
This gives me hope.
Marriage is hard, I understand, but it can be done, and it can be beautiful, and I can't wait!

[Well...I can...cuz I'm 18...]
*sigh*
Awkward.

Anyway, you know what I mean :)

I'm still here.

The semester may be over, but this blog is not going anywhere.
Just because Book of Mormon class is over doesn't mean my passion for it has to be.
Yes, this started out as a project - an assignment in college...
But through this blog I am learning and growing everyday.
I am so grateful for the scriptures and for a wonderful Professor who helped me to fall in love with them on a whole new level.
Blogging about the scriptures is good.
Blogging about good things in general is good.
I think I had best keep it up.

God is great.

Life is hard, but God is good.
Finals are stressful, but God is still good.
Things don't always work out, but guess what. God will always be good.
God's goodness is so real.
His deliverance and love is available and accessible eight days a week.
All day E'ry day.

Alma 26

Alma 26 is in the runnings to be my favorite chapter in all of scripture. It is seriously so beautiful. I hope that if you have a second to spare, you will take the time to read the entire thing (only 37 verses). I also hope that if you don't have a second to spare, you will make time to read it anyway. You will not regret it. Ammon expresses his love for his God. He glories in God's goodness and rejoices in His power. Just to give you a little taste, here are two of my favorite verses:

11 But Ammon said unto him: I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God.

 12 Yea, 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; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.

Christmas Devotional

I hope you listened to the Prophet tonight.
I love him.
I sustain him.
I am so grateful for the guidance and love he showers us with every time he speaks.
This evening with the first presidency made me so excited for Christmas!
"It's the most wonderful time of the year..."

trials

Trials can make you bitter or better. It's up to you. 

Thanks to Eric Sackett for this inspirational Facebook status :)

I'm going there someday.

We are so incredibly blessed to have Temples. And especially to have half a dozen of them within an hour of our house! I love the Temple. Tomorrow I am going with my "brother" Vicente (who is living with us, from Chile) and my dearest father to the Salt Lake Temple. I am so excited. Just the deliverance I need to get my mind off of finals and the craziness in my life.
Make time for the Lord and go to the Temple...
The Lord always makes time for you.