Blessed, Honored Pioneer!

Today is Pioneer Day (observed in Utah) - an important day in the history of the LDS church. On this day in 1847 the first group of pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley. This day is especially near and dear to my heart, as I have pioneer ancestors.

I have so much respect and admiration for these pioneers. They pulled handcarts and pushed wagons. They suffered through brutal winters without food. I don't know if I could have done what they did. They suffered so much. But, they remained faithful and steadfast. They deserve a day to be remembered. They deserve to be remembered many days.

I am proud of my heritage and so grateful for these wonderful people!

God Will Remember You

I came across this talk recently (given by Spencer J. Condie in the October 2007 General Conference). I really liked it (basically, if I post something about a talk on here, that means I like it. :) )

My favorite part of the talk was this: "In this age of one-hour dry cleaning and one-minute fast-food franchises, it may at times seem to us as though a loving Heavenly Father has misplaced our precious promises or He has put them on hold or filed them under the wrong name." Love it. I can SO relate to that. I've definitely felt that way.

Elder Condie goes on to mention that that's how Rachel of old felt. Rachel was barren for many years. Elder Condie says, "But with the passage of time, we encounter four of the most beautiful words in holy writ: “And God remembered Rachel” (Genesis 30:22)." "When heaven’s promises sometimes seem afar off, I pray that each of us will embrace these exceeding great and precious promises and never let go. And just as God remembered Rachel, God will remember you."

I love that! We are children of God. He will not and has not forgotten us. I've been on a quest lately to come to a better understanding of who I am, my relationship with my Father and most importantly right now in my life - how my Father sees me and feels about me. It's a process. As I've written before, I don't know if anyone reads this blog, but if you're reading this I want you to know that God does love you and has not forgotten you.

The Lord's Hand in Our Lives

While I was working today I listened to a recent BYU devotional address given by Cecil Samuelson and his wife, Sharon. The address is entitled, "The Lord's Hand in Our Lives." (It can be found here)

President and Sister Samuelson recounted several experiences from their lives that demonstrated to them the Lord's hand in their lives. I enjoyed the entire talk, but one quote in particular really stood out to me. Sister Samuelson said, 

"seeming disappointments and disasters are often the keys that open the doors to greater blessings and opportunities than might have ever been hoped for or even conceived.

For those of you wondering why similar blessings are not now yours, we can only remind you of Jesus’ promises and blessings that will yet be yours but that are not possible without significant trials and disappointments beforehand."

Wow. I just really liked that. It reminded me that I don't see the whole picture. I don't know everything. But, the Lord does. The Lord sees the end from the beginning and I've got to trust Him. 

I must say, I feel I have been blessed to see the Lord's hand in my life several times. I have been blessed to have a testimony that the Lord places me where I need to be when I need to be there. But, there are definitely times when I still doubt and need to be reminded that the Lord is in control. 

This all reminds me of my absolute favorite poem. I first came across it when I was 15 years old. At the time, my family was in the process of moving from California to Utah. I was devastated and didn't understand why we had to move. My Mom gave me a little card with the poem on it. I've loved it ever since. 

My life is but a weaving between my Lord and me;
I cannot choose the colors,
He worketh steadily.
Oft times He weaveth sorrow,
And I, in foolish pride,
Forget He sees the upper,
And I the under side.

Not ’til the loom is silent
and the shuttles cease to fly,
Shall God unroll the canvas
and explain the reason why.

I know this is true. Heavenly Father sees the whole canvas. Hopefully one day we'll be able too too. Until then, we've got to trust Him and appreciate the times when we can see His hand in our lives. 

Remind Me Who I Am

I recently discovered this great song by a Christian artist named Jason Gray. I love it. I don't know about you, but I need to be reminded every day that I am a child of God. This is a rough world we live in. We get messages from everywhere telling us who we should be. I know I can certainly relate to feelings of inadequacy. But we are all beautiful, loved and precious in our Father's sight! 

"Remind Me Who I Am"

When I lose my way,

And I forget my name,

Remind me who I am.

In the mirror all I see,

Is who I don't wanna be,

Remind me who I am.

In the loneliest places,

When I can't remember what grace is.

Tell me once again who I am to You,

Who I am to You.

Tell me lest I forget who I am to You,

That I belong to You.

To You.

When my heart is like a stone,

And I'm running far from home,

Remind me who I am.

When I can't receive Your love,

Afraid I'll never be enough,

Remind me who I am.

If I'm Your beloved,

Can You help me believe it.

Tell me once again who I am to You,

Who I am to You, whoa.

Tell me lest I forget who I am to You.

That I belong to You.

To You.

I'm the one you love,

I'm the one you love,

That will be enough,

I'm the one you love.

Tell me once again who I am to You.

Who I am to You.

Tell me lest I forget who I am to You...

FAITH

Love it. 

I Love Converts!

My friend and I were sitting next to this guy at institute tonight and found out he just got baptized on Saturday! I can't tell you how excited I was (and still am)!

I love converts! I love their faith and hearing their stories. This guy was contacted by missionaries on the street.

There are actually a few converts in our institute class. It makes me really happy. I hope I can bring someone (or many people) into the Church as a member (I had the opportunity to when I was a full-time missionary). I want everyone to know what I know and feel the joy I feel. The Gospel of Jesus Christ blesses lives. It changes lives! It is amazing and I am so blessed and so thankful to have it in my life! 

Hope

I've  been thinking about hope lately and I want to study the topic more. Tonight I read the talk, "The Infinite Power of Hope," by Dieter F. Uchtdorf, October 2008 General Conference.

I love the above quote. That really sums up what hope is. I should read that often. Hope can be a hard thing to have, but can bless our lives so much.