"Lord, I Believe"

Last weekend was General Conference. Members of the LDS Church (and the public) had the opportunity to hear from modern day prophets & apostles, the leaders of our Church. I love General Conference. It is such a spiritual feast.

My favorite talk was given by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. He spoke about faith. I was touched. (As I mentioned previously, I've been thinking about faith a lot lately.) View the whole talk here. I haven't really been thinking of faith as in whether or not I have faith that the Church is true (which I kind of felt like that's what Elder Holland was addressing in the talk. But, maybe not). But, rather, I've been wanting to grow my faith that the Lord can provide miracles in my life.

At the beginning of Elder Holland's talk, he gives an example from the scriptures where Jesus heals a boy. Before Jesus healed the boy, there was a conversation that took place between Jesus and they boy's father.

“If thou canst do any thing,”  [the father] said, “have compassion on us, and help us.

“Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

“And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”
The Lord can perform miracles in our lives, if we believe. Gaining that faith and belief is a process. But, Heavenly Father knows we are not perfect. He is patient with us. Thankfully, we don't have to be perfect to see miracles in our lives.

What touches me most in these passages of scripture is "all things are possible to him that believeth." ALL things. Even when it seems there is absolutely no way something can happen. (Of course, we must realize that the Lord has His will and sometimes His will is not what we want to happen. But, we can come to know that that the Lord has the power to do anything, if it is His will.)

One of my favorite church songs is by Felicia Sorenson. It is titled, "Just Like He Said He Would." Listen to it here. I love it. I tried to find the lyrics, but couldn't. So, listen to it. One of my favorite lines is, "Just like He said He would... He'll make a way when there's no way at all." I know that is true. Sometimes I have to ask for Heavenly Father to help me remember and feel that that is true, but that's ok.

I'm so grateful for the Savior. It is amazing to know that yes, He performed some amazing miracles while He was on the earth, but He can also perform miracles today - personal miracles for each of us. We just need to have faith.

I don't know if anyone actually reads this blog, but if someone does, I hope you find something here that helps you. Writing on this blog has been a great thing for me, so if nothing else, I am really loving it!

Faith

I don't have a lot of time to write tonight, but I wanted to post some thoughts. Lately I've been studying about and working to increase my faith. There are so many aspects of my life where I could really use more faith.

I recently came across a really neat chapter of scripture regarding faith. If you're interested, go read Hebrews 11. The chapter gives several examples of people who have had faith.

I also once came across the following quote that I really like: "Faith means trusting in advance what only makes sense in reverse."

Having faith can be really hard. But, life was never meant to be easy. The only way we truly grow and become who God wants us to be is by living a life full of Faith..

Just some thoughts to think about. I'll post more later.

There is a Plan

I posted a version of this post on my personal blog, but thought I'd post it here also. 

 One of my former roommate's sister-in-law (husband's sister) passed away in a tragic car accident on Monday. I've thought a lot about this. It breaks my heart, really. I didn't know her, I might add. She was twenty years old. She never got the chance to do so many things in this life. I've already experienced more than she got to experience by the fact that I've lived seven years longer than she lived.

These things really stop and make me think about what matters most. Life can change so quickly. I should be grateful to simply be alive and breathing. Here I am approaching my 27th birthday dreading the fact that I'm getting pretty close to thirty and am getting so old. But, oh my goodness! I am lucky to be alive. I once read the following quote: "Never regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many." That sure puts things into perspective, doesn't it?

We often take for granted the small and simple things. Boy, it so important to enjoy every moment we have.

I know God has a plan for all of us. One of the fundamental beliefs of Mormonism is that families can be together forever. Meaning, when we "die" we really don't "die." Our bodies may die, but our spirits go to the Spirit World. And one day we'll be reunited with our bodies and live as families forever. So,we don't believe in "till death do us part." We believe if we live righteous lives we can see our loved ones again.

This knowledge changes everything. It gives meaning and perspective to my life. I can't imagine what life would be like without this knowledge. It gives me hope and happiness.

Families are forever. God has a plan. I know this is true. If you don't know if it's true- think about it, study the doctrine, find out for yourself and pray to know if it's true.

Savior, Redeemer of My Soul

Having celebrated Easter this past week, I have been pondering and reflecting on what the Savior has done for me and how much I love Him. I had the opportunity to go to the Mesa Easter Pageant last week. Thousands of volunteers acted out scenes from the Savior's life. I was touched. As the person playing Jesus depicted the Atonement and the crucifixion, I was filled with so many emotions. He did that for me. He suffered for me. All because He loves me. I know I may never comprehend all that He went through. But I am so very grateful He did what He did for me. 

I honestly cannot even imagine what my life would be like without a belief in and a knowledge of my Savior. It affects every part of my life. It gives me perspective. It helps me to know I am not alone. I have a friend who knows exactly how I feel because He's suffered it all. 

Most of all, and what we celebrate at Easter is the fact that Christ lives. He is risen. We too will be able to be resurrected one day. 

I'm so thankful for my Savior. I love Him so much. I cannot wait for the day when I can see Him again. I want to live my life worthily now so I will  be able to see Him again. 

Where I Stand

I don't generally like to get involved with controversial subjects. I don't like conflict. However, I, like many people feel passionately regarding certain topics. One of those topics: same sex marriage. I stand with the leaders of my Church- marriage should be between a man and a woman. I believe that is how God designed it to be. I found the following statement puts my thoughts and feelings into words in a perfect way:

"..The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints affirms the centrality of doctrines relating to human sexuality and gender as well as the sanctity and significance of marriage as the union of a man and a woman. However, the Church firmly believes that all people are equally beloved children of God and deserve to be treated with love and respect. Church apostle Elder Quentin L. Cook stated, “As a church, nobody should be more loving and compassionate. Let us be at the forefront in terms of expressing love, compassion and outreach. Let’s not have families exclude or be disrespectful of those who choose a different lifestyle as a result of their feelings about their own gender."

(Quote taken from here.)

We are all entitled to our own thoughts and feelings on the subject. I am not saying you are a bad person if you don't feel the way I feel. I know where I stand and I feel it necessary to make my position known. If I am here when the Lord comes again to this earth I will be standing next to my husband (assuming I have one) and right behind my Church leaders.

The Millennium

I have to be honest, I haven't known a lot about the millennium or given it a lot of thought really. Until this week, that is. In my personal Gospel study this week I've been studying about the Second Coming and the millennium. Of course, I've been pretty familiar with the doctrine concerning the Second Coming. But, oh my goodness... the millennium sounds like a fabulous time to be living on the earth. Christ will personally be here on earth?!?! I can't even imagine. So many other cool things... like Satan being bound. People will still continue to have children as they do now. And, those kids will grow up without sin. Man, I sure want to have kids during the millennium! Those kids are super lucky! It sounds like a really good deal to me.

The crazy thing is, there's a really good chance you and I could experience this! The signs of the Second Coming are all around us. The Lord is hastening His work. I mean, just look at all of these missionaries going out. It is so exciting. A little scary to me, but mostly exciting.

I will post more on this as I study and learn more. I just had to share some quick thoughts because I am so excited about my studies this week.

Miracles Happen

I should be asleep right now, but I have so much on my mind. Mostly, I'm thinking about how completely loving Heavenly Father is. I absolutely know He is real. We are His children whom He loves and is mindful of. I've seen His hand in my life in recent months especially. It took a lot of prayers and guidance to get me where I am today. Heavenly Father has been by my side a lot and has really blessed me. He's answered so many prayers.

I've also seen the amazing miracles He can perform when we have faith. Last August, my sister-in-law's brother's wife was involved in an extremely serious accident. She should have died. Nearly every bone in her body was broken. Her head sustained severe injuries. Many people thought she would not make it. But, there were also many people who had a lot of faith. And now, several months later, she is starting to come out of a coma and to talk. I'm in absolute awe. You cannot tell me there is not a God. It is a complete miracle. Miracles still exist today.

So, this was kind of random. But the takeaways are: 1.God loves us. 2. God hears and answers our prayers. 3. Miracles happen.