2014

10 blessings
1. Graduation
2. My first real job
3. My adventure out in Utah
4. I got to get really close to my cousins and Aunt Teresa and Uncle Cary
5. My first semester of college
6. "Prom"
7. First home evening with the singles ward
8. My first singles ward dances
9. My first 5k
10. Learned how to waltz

10 disappointments
1. I fought with my best friend
2. We didn't speak to each other for like three months
3. And then she moved
4. First bad ex-boyfriend (first ex-boyfriend ever anyway)
5. First car accident (I was and still am fine, I promise)
6. SAT (I HATE standardized testing)
7. First experience (and hopefully last) with shin splints
8. Had to fly with an upset tummy on the way back from Utah on a red eye flight
9. Drank way too much soda this summer
10. Had to get back into running after not running all summer (but being back in running is AMAZING)

3 Game Changers
1. Had to give a talk on missionary work
2. Started college and had reevaluate my career choice slightly
3. Attending the singles ward has really changed my view of my life before and after my mission (in a good way)

3 things I focused on
1. Mission preparation
2. Graduation
3. School

3 things I forgot
1. I'm not superwoman
2. I can't do everything
3. I need to be more organized


Reflections
1. I love running
2. I love Ruby's Inn and would work there every summer for the rest of my life if I could
3. The singles ward isn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be
4. Short hair is sooooooo much better than long hair because it is just so easy to take care of
5. Players gonna play, haters gonna hate,  heart breakers gonna break, and the fakers gonna fake, but baby I'm just gonna shake it off.

I challenge y'all to to do this for yourself and to look forward to 2015. I have loved looking at how God has guided my life. Have a lovely last few days of 2014 :).

Free to choose

At some point most people have felt hurt because of someone else's choices or situations, even if they do not mean to. I have had friends who were spiritually hurting, they were being destructive and wouldn't stop because they did not see what they were doing that was wrong. They knew they were in pain, but they didn't know what from. When they would talk about it and ask what I think they should do, I would tell them and sometimes they wouldn't take what I said to heart. This hurt me too. I felt responsible for their hurt and pain because I must not have tried hard enough, if I had tried harder, if I had hung around them more, if I had given more advice, if I loved them more they would be happier, they wouldn't be in so much pain. 

I came to realize that None of this was my fault, none of their pain was caused by me. I did nothing wrong. I helped when asked, and loved them as I could. But when you feel like you have done all you can do, do not feel guilty if they do something stupid. They are not you and you cannot control them. It's all up to them whether or not this is their path. Feel comforted that you have done all you can do.

You have to let it go. It is destructive and corrodes on your wellbeing, your well deserved happiness. You did nothing wrong, that person did. You have no responsibility for any saving of any soul but your own. You can invite, you can be kind, you can set the example, but you cannot take on their burden and you cannot blame yourself. You are your own person. God created you for your own problems and for helping others, not for them to drag you down. They may not mean to but sometimes people end up doing it anyway. Don't let it happen. 

When God created our spirits, he held a council full of everyone, everyone we know and love was there. Satan then stood up and said that he had a plan, that everyone will be forced to choose the right, no sorrow but also no happiness. Jesus then stood and said that he has a different plan: man will have the ability to choose from right and wrong. "Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself." (2 Nephi 2:27) There will be sorrows and there will be trials, life will be hard, but we will be able to have happiness and joy through choosing the right. Everyone on earth, everyone who has ever had a body chose Jesus' plan. There was a third of those precious spirits though who chose Satan's plan, they cannot ever have bodies. We fought for the right to choose, and so we must respect those who still choose wrong. It is their own destruction they ensure, not ours. If we do all we can, then we shall be blessed. 

Christ suffered for our sins, transgressions, heartaches, sicknesses, everything that hurts, but you did not. He died to to open the gates of heaven, that we may have the choice of going to heaven, that we may become pure like him. It is our own choices that determine that, not anyone else's. When we do something wrong, it is our own fault, not anyone else's. When someone does something wrong, it is their own burden that they choose to carry. 

This is not a burden you have to carry. These are not your sins! You have your own sins to worry about, repent for your own. Do not let others fool you, "this may be a look into the suffering of our Savior". He does not want others to suffer as He did! Not now, not ever. 

You are not alone, you are never alone. You have friends to buoy you up, but they are not there to be your weights. Bring your friends up, and help them but do not let their choices tarnish your happiness. 

I bear my testimony that I know thy God loves you and me, and he sent his Son as proof. He will comfort us as much as we ask. He will help us get up, but is our responsibility to reach up and take his outstretched hand. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. 

In my own way

Monday when I went running, I noticed that I didn't do too much better than I normally was doing. I realized this as I was running. I also noticed as I was running I was thinking, "Come on, just a little farther. This hurts, when is my timer done? Can I just start walking now?" Then I mentally froze. I was brought back to when my mom was talking about self talk, about how important it was to build yourself up, especially while working out. I determined I was going to do better. I started thinking, "Woo! I'm doing awesome! This feels amazing! I CAN do this!" And it worked. I was able to somehow speed up and go faster. I felt better while doing it. I reached the three mile mark and felt pretty good. 

On Wednesday I was looking forward to running all day. I started my warm up with a spring in my step. I couldn't wait to start running! As soon as the timer said to start running, I just flew. It was hard (the first mile is always hard) but as I pushed past that first mile, I started to fly. I don't run, I fly. I kept running and running. The timer went off to start walking, and I was genuinely sad. I wanted to keep going. The three minutes were up and I started to run again. That bad self talk started to creep in again. I started to slow, then I was done with negativity. I was done with being negative all the time. I was done with this cloud of depression and unhappiness I was in. So I pushed. I ran like I never ran before. I was going faster than I had ever gone, and I wasn't tiring. I was flying again. My times were 13 minutes for my first mile, 10:30 for my second mile, 8:52 for my third mile, and a roughly 16 minute cool down. I have never had such an amazing time. The time intervals were roughly 8 minutes walking, 10 minutes running, 3 minutes walking, 10 minutes running, and a 12 minute cool down.

We have to believe in ourselves and have faith. I was standing in my own way of going faster. We are the ones who determine where we go and how well we do in this life and the next. We are the ones who determine how much or how little we feel the Spirit. It is all up to us. I testify that if we determine to make the right choices, we strive to do better every day, and believe in ourselves and God's plan for us, we will do and achieve all He has planned for us. I close in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

Prayers and Running

I love my body. I just got back from a run where it was hard but absolutely glorious at the same time. I started this school year with no running since May, so I had to start my training all over again. I surprisingly found it hard to get back into it. I thought I could just springboard into running and it'll be ok. I was wrong. I was running in worn out shoes, I hadn't run in months, and I hadn't had very good running habits in the spring. 

After a few weeks everything started to smooth out. I was running on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I was doing yard work on Saturdays and I did some yoga on Thursdays. I had a good routine going. Then it started to get cold. I don't like the cold, at all, under any circumstances. I slacked off a little when it came to running. I would wait to go running till Tuesday, which set me up for failure because I knew I wouldn't go running on Saturday. I slacked off because it got hard. 

This can very much correlate to my scripture study. I read cover to cover for seminary, and I did again for the Doctrine and Covenants and Book of Mormon this summer. Almost immediately when I came I was out of my rhythm, I fell short in my daily scripture study and prayer. 

This week will be different. I plan on tomorrow jumping rope, running again on Wednesday, yoga on Thursday, running on Friday, and then doing an upper body workout on Saturday. I have now also been praying and listening to my scriptures in the car every school day, and at odd times (whenever I can get it in) on the weekends.

I am so grateful for my strong powerful legs. They are beautiful and I love how when I run I feel like I'm flying. They are a gift from God, and He wants me to run and be the best I can be.

I am so grateful for prayer. It is a glorious blessing to be able to communicate with my God every day, no matter the hour or circumstance. His scriptures are His word, and I love them (thank you Sister Cogdell and Sister Wright :) ). Our souls are our bodies and spirits, and when we take care of both we are stronger and able to serve better and more fully. I leave these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

Calling

I am the Primary Activity Days Assistant Leader. (Phew, that's a mouthful!). I just love my calling. I was home from Utah for only two weeks when I was called into the bishop's office. I knew that my dad (Ward Sunday School President) was in need of a gospel doctrine teacher because the current one is moving soon. I knew he put my name in, but I guess that the primary president got to me first. I went into the bishop's office and he asked if I would be an Activity Days leader.

I was shocked. I fully expected to be given a calling I wasn't prepared for in the least, now I was totally unprepared to wrap my mind around the calling he had in mind for me. But as I sat in that chair in his office, I warmed to idea, literally. I literally felt the warmth of the Holy Ghost saying that this was supposed to happen. I accepted the calling and I was sustained and set apart the following Sunday.

My first activity came around and I was terrified. I didn't know how many girls would come or even if I would get my message across. It was on service and we were going to be braiding each others hair. First I opened with a song and prayer, then I started talking about service and how important it is. I talked about when my dad was deployed and the youth from youth conference that year came and cleaned our house. I talked about how much it meant to my mom when the youth came, she just cried. She was so grateful for the wonderful Christlike service that the youth and their leaders gave was beautiful.

That lesson and handling those girls was probably one of the most challenging things I've ever done. But after four activities, I have begun to get a hang of this and see why I have this calling. It has become easier to plan these activities, and easier to understand these girls.

After our most recent activity, I realized that these girls understand so much more of the gospel than they realize. I am sure I didn't know as much as them at their age. They are so smart and they are such blessings in my life. In patriarchal blessing, it talks a lot about how I will be leading the youth of the church, I never imagined leading these bright young ladies. I am so grateful for modern revelation and callings. Callings have two parts to the blessings: for the person who is called, and for those serving under them. I know of a surety that people receive callings for very specific reasons, even if we ourselves don't understand, God does. I leave these things with you in the name of my Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen. 
 
P.S. I also learned that these girls are rubbish with my phone's camera.

Who we come from, not where

"May 1st, 1885. Having entered into the month of May this morning, I fervently thank God that He has led me, these thirteen years past, with a strong hand. Let me relate how he has led me. 

"Nineteen years ago I first knelt down before God; I then thanked Him, from my very heart, for bringing my wife safely through the great pains of child-bearing. That was the first time in my life that I knelt down to pray in earnest. It was at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea. I and my family had been attending the Presbyterian Church at Newbiggin, under the ministry of Rev. Dr. Robinson; through him the great God spoke, and the light dawned on my soul. For some years after that I attended places of worship in Blyth, after leaving Newbiggin in 1867. The 'little drop of the creature' was my stumblingblock. 

"I was persuaded by a gentleman of Blyth to join the God Templars; not only as a deal for myself, but that I might be a light to others. This was in 1872, thirteen years ago. Giving up all company and companions, I determined even to let business go, rather than sit in the scorner's chair for the sake of a livelihood. I flung my whole heart and soul, my wife and children, all I had, upon the Lord; and gave Him the reins to drive as He pleased. 

"A few days after joining the Good Templars I went to an evening meeting in the Wesleyan school-room, conducted by Rev. J. Reid, minister of the English Presbyterian Church in Blyth. His subject was "spiritual life." I came home and said to my wife, 'I am saved for ever; Mr. Reid has told me all things ever I did." From that day till now, I have never had a single doubt as to my salvation, that is, for thirteen years. 

"That the reader may judge for himself which is the best side of the question, I will now give a slight sketch of my life while without God, and and in the world. I was forty years with the window shutters on, and I have been thirteen years with them off, five years between as a half-and-half man." (The Lord's Dealings with William Horn, 1887) 

This is an excerpt from the intro to my great great great great great great grandfather William Horn's book. In this book it talks about his conversion to Christianity and his travels as a minister/missionary. I was overjoyed when I found this book. I love family history. I've really gotten into it ever since my rocking seminary teacher took the last two weeks of school to have us in the family history center. I began to collect all these names for the temple. Over the summer I was able to attend the Manti temple and do baptisms and confirmations for the female names I had at the time. I loved it.  It was such an amazing spiritual experience, and every time I even talk about it I feel the Spirit. I love these people and I've grown closer to them over time.

I was just looking at my family tree a while ago and I noticed that the man who raised my great great great grandfather wasn't his biological father, it was his stepdad. Something happened in 1848, I don't know if it was consensual or not, but Jane Duncan had her boss's baby. They were not married and Robert Lumgair (great great great great grandfather) was not interested in marriage. About five years down the line Jane married a man named James Robertson. My great great great grandfather was named William Robertson Lumgair, his biological father's last name and his step father's last name. James Robertson raised another man's child, adopted the little boy, and later on James and Jane had many more children. James was loving enough and enough of a man to love this woman and her illegitimate child, who he then made legitimate by adopting him. What love, what charity!

This Christlike act was so unheard of at the time. Women were shunned if they committed adultery, especially if a child came about because of it. James Robertson must have seen past that when he married Jane.

I bear my testimony to you that the temple can bring families closer through the sealing power. It is a glorious and sacred blessing to be able to know who you come from, not just where. In the name of my Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. 

This Christlike act was so unheard of at the time. Women were shunned if they committed adultery, especially if a child came about because of it. James Robertson must have seen past that when he married Jane.

I bear my testimony to you that the temple can bring families closer through the sealing power. It is a glorious and sacred blessing to be able to know who you come from, not just where. In the name of my Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.

"May 1st, 1885. Having entered into the month of May this morning, I fervently thank God that He has led me, these thirteen years past, with a strong hand. Let me relate how he has led me.

"Nineteen years ago I first knelt down before God; I then thanked Him, from my very heart, for bringing my wife safely through the great pains of child-bearing. That was the first time in my life that I knelt down to pray in earnest. It was at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea. I and my family had been attending the Presbyterian Church at Newbiggin, under the ministry of Rev. Dr. Robinson; through him the great God spoke, and the light dawned on my soul. For some years after that I attended places of worship in Blyth, after leaving Newbiggin in 1867. The 'little drop of the creature' was my stumblingblock.

"I was persuaded by a gentleman of Blyth to join the God Templars; not only as a deal for myself, but that I might be a light to others. This was in 1872, thirteen years ago. Giving up all company and companions, I determined even to let business go, rather than sit in the scorner's chair for the sake of a livelihood. I flung my whole heart and soul, my wife and children, all I had, upon the Lord; and gave Him the reins to drive as He pleased.

"A few days after joining the Good Templars I went to an evening meeting in the Wesleyan school-room, conducted by Rev. J. Reid, minister of the English Presbyterian Church in Blyth. His subject was "spiritual life." I came home and said to my wife, 'I am saved for ever; Mr. Reid has told me all things ever I did." From that day till now, I have never had a single doubt as to my salvation, that is, for thirteen years.

"That the reader may judge for himself which is the best side of the question, I will now give a slight sketch of my life while without God, and and in the world. I was forty years with the window shutters on, and I have been thirteen years with them off, five years between as a half-and-half man." (The Lord's Dealings with William Horn, 1887)

This is an excerpt from the intro to my great great great great great great grandfather William Horn's book. In this book it talks about his conversion to Christianity and his travels as a minister/missionary. I was overjoyed when I found this book. I love family history. I've really gotten into it ever since my rocking seminary teacher took the last two weeks of school to have us in the family history center. I began to collect all these names for the temple. Over the summer I was able to attend the Manti temple and do baptisms and confirmations for the female names I had at the time. I loved it.  It was such an amazing spiritual experience, and every time I even talk about it I feel the Spirit. I love these people and I've grown closer to them over time.

I was just looking at my family tree a while ago and I noticed that the man who raised my great great great grandfather wasn't his biological father, it was his stepdad. Something happened in 1848, I don't know if it was consensual or not, but Jane Duncan had her boss's baby. They were not married and Robert Lumgair (great great great great grandfather) was not interested in marriage. About five years down the line Jane married a man named James Robertson. My great great great grandfather was named William Robertson Lumgair, his biological father's last name and his step father's last name. James Robertson raised another man's child, adopted the little boy, and later on James and Jane had many more children. James was loving enough and enough of a man to love this woman and her illegitimate child, who he then made legitimate by adopting him. What love, what charity!

This Christlike act was so unheard of at the time. Women were shunned if they committed adultery, especially if a child came about because of it. James Robertson must have seen past that when he married Jane.

I bear my testimony to you that the temple can bring families closer through the sealing power. It is a glorious and sacred blessing to be able to know who you come from, not just where. In the name of my Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.

 

The Big Three

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Over the next few days I will be posting and Article of Faith (a key point of our gospel) and then breaking it down to what it means. 

We believe in God the Eternal Father, and in His son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. 

This basically means that we believe the Godhead are three separate beings: Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. Heavenly Father created us. Jesus Christ lived a perfect life so that he can suffer for our sins, die, and then live again that we may live again also. The Holy Ghost is the messenger from our Heavenly Father. He warns, prompts, inspires, and comforts us. The Holy Ghost tell us what we need to know in response to our asking. In the scriptures, you'll oftentimes see Jesus saying, "the Father is in me and we are one", but this just means that they are one in purpose. What is that purpose? To bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man (Moses 1:39). 

I know and love my Heavenly Father, who lives and love me too more than I can possibly imagine. I am grateful for my Savior and his sacrifice. I have felt the promptings of the Holy Ghost and I know they are from God. I leave these things with you in the name of my Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. 

I am the gardener, and you are the bush

I was gardening a few Saturdays ago and there was a bush and an out of control vine that were causing me trouble. The vine is a pretty one. The flowers are absolutely stunning, but it climbs, grabs, and takes over anything in that garden. That vine is strong and the roots are deep, the new shoots come up all over the front yard and the garden, and climbs, grabs, and takes over anything in reach. The bush is a butterfly bush that is absolutely lovely if is healthy and flowering. The butterfly bush does what its name suggests when it has enough blooms. Butterflies are drawn to this kind of bush and its blooms are a pretty purple.

The butterfly bush would have been a lovely big "bushy" bush if it had not been taken over by the vine. After I wound the vine up, on the banister on the porch, I went to work on the bush. As I pulled the vines off of the butterfly bush I noticed that many of the branches that I thought were strong and healthy, were actually barren, brown, and dead except for maybe one flower. The trunk of the bush was only about an inch long, which then split off into two branches. Those two branches should have been reaching up and should have been much stronger than they were. I took some yarn and tied the two branches closer with plans of tying it tighter each week to bring the branches closer and stronger. The bush was still leaning almost flat against the ground. I took a bamboo stick and used it to prop up the bush so that it may grow straight.

This experience strangely reminded me of a story I have often heard in church in regards to another bush. Hugh B. Brown's The Currant Bush:

"... I was living up in Canada. I had purchased a farm. It was run-down. I went out one morning and saw a currant bush. It had grown up over six feet high. It was going all to wood. There were no blossoms and no currants. I was raised on a fruit farm in Salt Lake before we went to Canada, and I knew what ought to happen to that currant bush. So I got some pruning shears and went after it, and I cut it down, and pruned it, and clipped it back until there was nothing left but a little clump of stumps. It was just coming daylight, and I thought I saw on top of each of these little stumps what appeared to be a tear, and I thought the currant bush was crying. I was kind of simpleminded (and I haven’t entirely gotten over it), and I looked at it, and smiled, and said, “What are you crying about?” You know, I thought I heard that currant bush talk. And I thought I heard it say this: “How could you do this to me? I was making such wonderful growth. I was almost as big as the shade tree and the fruit tree that are inside the fence, and now you have cut me down. Every plant in the garden will look down on me, because I didn’t make what I should have made. How could you do this to me? I thought you were the gardener here.” That’s what I thought I heard the currant bush say, and I thought it so much that I answered. I said, “Look, little currant bush, I am the gardener here, and I know what I want you to be. I didn’t intend you to be a fruit tree or a shade tree. I want you to be a currant bush, and some day, little currant bush, when you are laden with fruit, you are going to say, ‘Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for loving me enough to cut me down, for caring enough about me to hurt me. Thank you, Mr. Gardener.’”

"Time passed. Years passed, and I found myself in England. I was in command of a cavalry unit in the Canadian Army. I had made rather rapid progress as far as promotions are concerned, and I held the rank of field officer in the British Canadian Army. And I was proud of my position. And there was an opportunity for me to become a general. I had taken all the examinations. I had the seniority. There was just one man between me and that which for ten years I had hoped to get, the office of general in the British Army. I swelled up with pride. And this one man became a casualty, and I received a telegram from London. It said: “Be in my office tomorrow morning at 10:00,” signed by General Turner in charge of all Canadian forces. I called in my valet, my personal servant. I told him to polish my buttons, to brush my hat and my boots, and to make me look like a general because that is what I was going to be. He did the best he could with what he had to work on, and I went up to London. I walked smartly into the office of the General, and I saluted him smartly, and he gave me the same kind of a salute a senior officer usually gives—a sort of “Get out of the way, worm!” He said, “Sit down, Brown.” Then he said, “I’m sorry I cannot make the appointment. You are entitled to it. You have passed all the examinations. You have the seniority. You’ve been a good officer, but I can’t make the appointment. You are to return to Canada and become a training officer and a transport officer. Someone else will be made a general.” That for which I had been hoping and praying for ten years suddenly slipped out of my fingers.

"Then he went into the other room to answer the telephone, and I took a soldier’s privilege of looking on his desk. I saw my personal history sheet. Right across the bottom of it in bold, block-type letters was written, “THIS MAN IS A MORMON.” We were not very well liked in those days. When I saw that, I knew why I had not been appointed. I already held the highest rank of any Mormon in the British Army. He came back and said, “That’s all, Brown.” I saluted him again, but not quite as smartly. I saluted out of duty and went out. I got on the train and started back to my town, 120 miles away, with a broken heart, with bitterness in my soul. And every click of the wheels on the rails seemed to say, “You are a failure. You will be called a coward when you get home. You raised all those Mormon boys to join the army, then you sneak off home.” I knew what I was going to get, and when I got to my tent, I was so bitter that I threw my cap and my saddle brown belt on the cot. I clinched my fists and I shook them at heaven. I said, “How could you do this to me, God? I have done everything I could do to measure up. There is nothing that I could have done—that I should have done—that I haven’t done. How could you do this to me?” I was as bitter as gall.

"And then I heard a voice, and I recognized the tone of this voice. It was my own voice, and the voice said, “I am the gardener here. I know what I want you to do.” The bitterness went out of my soul, and I fell on my knees by the cot to ask forgiveness for my ungratefulness and my bitterness. While kneeling there I heard a song being sung in an adjoining tent. A number of Mormon boys met regularly every Tuesday night. I usually met with them. We would sit on the floor and have a Mutual Improvement Association. As I was kneeling there, praying for forgiveness, I heard their voices singing:

“It may not be on the mountain height
Or over the stormy sea;
It may not be at the battle’s front
My Lord will have need of me;
But if, by a still, small voice he calls
To paths that I do not know,
I’ll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in thine:
I’ll go where you want me to go.”
(Hymns, no. 75.)

"I arose from my knees a humble man. And now, almost fifty years later, I look up to him and say, “Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for cutting me down, for loving me enough to hurt me.” I see now that it was wise that I should not become a general at that time, because if I had I would have been senior officer of all western Canada, with a lifelong, handsome salary, a place to live, and a pension when I’m no good any longer, but I would have raised my six daughters and two sons in army barracks. They would no doubt have married out of the Church, and I think I would not have amounted to anything. I haven’t amounted to very much as it is, but I have done better than I would have done if the Lord had let me go the way I wanted to go.

"I wanted to tell you that oft-repeated story because there are many of you who are going to have some very difficult experiences: disappointment, heartbreak, bereavement, defeat. You are going to be tested and tried to prove what you are made of. I just want you to know that if you don’t get what you think you ought to get, remember, “God is the gardener here. He knows what he wants you to be.” Submit yourselves to his will. Be worthy of his blessings, and you will get his blessings."(January 1973, Hugh B. Brown.)


Oftentimes we may think we are happy. The gardener has plans you, so there'll come a time when he'll take off those vines, tie you up, and prop you up. He has plans for each and every one of us, and though we go through trials they are for a purpose. We may not know them now, but I promise that if we listen to The Lord and give in to His will, we will be built up and built up in the way we are meant to. I bear my testimony on God's plan for us and that He knows what is best for us, even when it sometimes hurts us. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Best 19th birthday present

Serving a mission will benefit any young man or young woman who decides to serve for forever, and their families, converts, and the people they just barely even talk to because some people don't always join the church the first go around. There are eternal blessings to serving a mission, and those blessings only come through serving a mission. "Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God... And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father! And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!" (D&C 18:10,15-16) God loves each and every one of us, and when we bring someone to the gospel we have joy, and if we bring several people to the gospel our joy will multiply a million times over. We don't serve missions just because we are supposed to, we serve because we love our fellow man and want them to share the joy in living the gospel just as we do. That's why it's called "serving a mission", that's all we do on missions, serve.

I felt the call one year and 20ish months ago (almost two years) when I heard the prophet announce the age change and I knew I had to serve a mission. Believe me, a mission, up until that day, was not in my plans in the least. I was planning to go straight into college and not look back. But I knew I had to serve a mission. I had a warm feeling in my heart and I felt something say that I am going to serve a mission. It was wonderful and shocking, haha. And then when I went with the sister missionaries, all by myself, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am going to serve a mission, and I will love it because I love people and I love my Savior. I want other people to have the same joy I have in His light and His atonement.

This confirmation became even clearer when I went to someone's house who was taking the lessons, and her mom told her, while the sisters and I were there, that she could just keep going to her church. She said, "No mom, I don't want to go to your church, I want to go this church." Her mom asked why. She said, "It feels right. Every time I go to church with them I feel this warm feeling that just tells me that it's the right place to be." I saw it click in her eyes, and it was the most beautiful thing I ever saw.

I can't wait to serve a mission. I look forward to it more than Christmas, my birthday, even attending SVU. It will be such a grand adventure! A mission is so important to me and I know I will do my best and I will try and please The Lord. I bear my testimony on the power of the Holy Ghost and it is the only power that converts people. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Home at last, but onwards and upwards

These past couple of weeks have been insane. I flew back on a red-eye flight to Notth Carolina (with something wrong with my stomach, so no sleep and I felt like I was going to puke). My mom and my sisters met me at the airport.

I was home for two and a half days before I felt truly at home, I felt at home at church. I love my ward, I loved being able to come home to all of my friends, my wonderful ward family. The ward in Tropic was lovely, but I love the ward that I grew up in. I am a military brat, so I grew older in a lot of different places. Fayetteville Third Ward is where I grew up, I grew into the young adult I am becoming. This summer was fantastic, and it was such an adventure, I do wish I could come back to Ruby's maybe next year, but Fayetteville is my home. It is the place where I have most of my important history so far in my life.

On another note, my life has only begun. This summer at Ruby's flew by, and so will this school year. Next summer will be absolutely crazy, mostly because I will be preparing to serve a mission. I have quite the adventure planned for the next few years, and I look forward to the surprises (mostly) and blessings (entirely) I have in store. "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 path." (Proverbs 3:5-6). I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us, and if we listen to his guidance we will find our way back to him.

I bear my testimony that God has a plan for each of us. I leave these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Bad Pancakes and Guidelines

Today I tried to make pancakes. I have always been able to make pancakes, but I guess I was more of a blonde yesterday. I thought everything was going fine, until I mixed in the milk. Flour doesn't dissolve like this batch seemed to. So, I added more. And more. And more. 2 1/2 cups of the powdery substance. Then my aunt came in and asked if I really added that to my batter. I said, "Yes, why?" She then pulled out the actual flour. I started to laugh sadly. This was supposed to be my lunch and dinner. I added some real flour to my batter and cooked it up, curious to see what would come of it. What came out was some shortbread sort of tasting, gooey in the middle, not so good pastry things. They smell good, but they aren't pancakes.

This is sort of like trying to live your life in resistance to the gospel, you will get mostly edible doughy sort of things, but you won't get pancakes. God have us rules and guidelines for a reason, and shortcuts aren't going to cut it. 

I bear my testimony that I know that God gives us commandments for reasons, not just to "oppress" us. I know that we will be blessed as we keep his commandments, I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Our Greatest Resources: Family and People

Yesterday, I was able to go visit my great great aunt Rainy, she is my grandma's mom's sister. I got to sit in with the adults (I guess I am one now, aren't I?) and listen to her talk about her life. She grew up a nonmember, in a home of five or six siblings.  She did not have a happy childhood, her father was physically abusive to her brothers and her mother, they were very poor most of her childhood. Aunt Rainy said she didn't like to talk about it, but stories like hers need to be heard. She was an amazing woman who sounded like a wonderful mother to her children.

I loved listening to her stories and what she knew about her family history. I loved finding out more information about the people who wrote the letters I have at home (some are written by her brother Porter, who died in WWII). 

She is so full of charity, the pure of Christ, that I just wanted to keep talking to her. She is such a loving person; she doesn't judge anyone. I loved talking to her and listening to her stories. Her patience and love made me want to become like her one day. She came to her challenges, and used them to springboard into becoming the wonderful woman she has become. I want to come see her again, but this time with my my mom and dad, and siblings. They will love her and she will love to hear from us.

I bear my testimony that families are eternal. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Service Doesn't End with Death

Yesterday, I went to the temple with my Aunt Teresa and cousin Keilani. I had brought names and I planned on being baptized and confirmed for them.

Unless a person is baptized by proper authority of the priesthood, taking upon themself the name of Christ, and then confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints with the gift of Holy Ghost, a person cannot go to spirit paradise. In the temple we are able to be baptized in behalf of  the dead so that they may go to spirit paradise also. 

While I was there I felt my family surrounding me, they were there, hugging me and thanking me as I did their work for them. I still have work for them, but it was the most amazing feeling. Their love and gratitude for allowing them to be with their Savior was overpowering. I cried with joy. 

All of my deceased relatives, I looked up their records, I knew a few of their stories, I felt like I knew them, and they knew me and I felt that. They had been waiting for me. I was able to be baptized for my great grandma, and I know who she is through the stories my dad tells me about her. Lorna Lovina Parker. I don't know if she would have been a member in this life, but I know she was grateful, I know she accepted the gospel from the spirit missionaries in the hereafter.

I am so grateful for my Aunt Teresa and cousin Keilani. They came with me and helped me with some of the ordinances that needed to be done. I am grateful I was able to share this experience with them. I am so grateful I am able to serve my family, even though they are not here with me now. I look forward to being able to more work for them, and many more. I know that Christ lives, and through His atonement all mankind may be saved, through the laws and obedience to the gospel. Family history isn't just looking up names, you are allowing your family to be with their Savior again and to be with you again. It is one of the best and most special feelings I have ever felt. 

Miracles and Answers

I remember when my dad had his heart attack almost four years ago. I remember being told about it two days afterwards (my mom had a lot on her hands); I had strep, and no one younger than twelve could visit my dad, but I was really really sick. That was so hard not seeing him. I missed my daddy! There were some brethren who came and gave him a priesthood blessing. I knew that he would be alright. He was able to come home not long after.

He had had some therapy that was meant to build up his arteries to make them stronger. It was about three years after he had his heart attack that he went to the doctor for them to poke around, and see what had become of the stint in the previously clogged artery. Normally people have three main arteries going to the heart, and it was one of those three that was clogged. After the appointment, we found out that his body had developed a fourth artery since his heart attack. The one that was clogged was weakened, but his body had developed a new passage for blood to pass through his body.

We have a bad history with cats in the house we live in now. We came with two cats, one ran away and got run over by a car. The next one had to be put down because she kept peeing on everything, and the vet said that she would do the same at other people's houses if we gave her away. One of the first cats that we came with died of old age. The next kitty also ran away and got hit by a car. The kitties we have now (Jimmy and Stewart) are indoor cats, so we thought they were pretty safe.

About six months ago, one of my indoor cats got outside. The kitty I'm talking about has crippled knees, he can do everything normal cats do, and he isn't in any pain, he just can't run very fast at all (comparing to his brother). Stewart, the cat, had never been outside for more than maybe a few minutes in his life. He was outside all day, and then all night. We prayed and prayed that he would come home. The next morning my dog was going nuts. She was running around the yard, making a ton of noise, and marking the fence. We didn't really think anything of it. I left for seminary, and then when I got back I found Stewart in the kitchen with my sisters.

Before flying out to Utah, I was so nervous. I was going someplace I've never been before, living with not my immediate family, and not seeing my family or friends for two months. I was so worried about making friends. I asked my dad for a blessing. I came here and I felt right at home with my cousins and aunt and uncle. I made a friend within a couple of days, and few more as time went on.

In January, I had a pretty big question on my mind and I needed an answer. This question was causing a ton of distress. I prayed and prayed for an answer. The answer came loud and clear during a lesson on the Holy Ghost. My Young Womens' president was reading a quote and I felt the Spirit very strongly, and then the answer just came. I knew it was right because I felt peace.

Answers and miracles have come into my life so frequently, I could only put a few down here (I know everyone has miracles that have occurred to them, and do feel free to put a few in the comments). I know that if we pray, we will be answered. I know that the priesthood is given to righteous and worthy men, so that they may serve those around them. I know that God has a plan for each of us, and I know that He gives us these little miracles so that our faith may be strengthened, and that we may strengthen others' faith also.

I bear my testimony that God still hears us and answers our prayers. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Women and Men

There were societies (I'm going to use Egypt in my first example) where women were treated as equals. Women could own property and do all the same thing men could. Does that mean they did them? Hardly. Women CHOSE to raise families and get married. Women were treated as equals in that they had a job just as important as a man's. The future of the Egyptian empire was resting on the shoulders of the women. 

My other example is Sparta. Sparta was a matriarchal society. Sparta had equal rights, and women took up most of the work force because the men were expected to serve in the army till the age of thirty. BUT babies were thrown to the wolves if they were considered imperfect in any way, shape, or form (which is abortion at its finest). This extreme form of feminism became destructive to the point where Sparta practically ate itself. Egypt only fell to a greater power (Rome).

The opportunity to work has been offered, and most women chose to decline the higher paying jobs for the very reason that we may just not want have those professions. I know that I will be in school attaining my doctorate long after I get married and have children. I WANT to raise a family, a career can wait until my youngest is in middle school. I will have a job that is just as important (if not more) than going out and earning an income. I will be preparing citizens of America to go out into the world.

I am a proud member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I believe that it is a woman's sacred duty to raise God's beloved children in love and prepare for life outside the home. I do believe that women can do as they wish and can have a career. I plan on having one. My family will come first. I do not believe that women should have the priesthood. 

Women have the power to create physical bodies for God's beloved children. Men hold the priesthood. It's just that simple. We each have our own job in what we are to do in this life and the next. God created us different, he meant to. We all have one purpose and goal, and that is "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man".

I bear my testimony that each of us have our own divine roles and that neither gender is greater or grander than than the other. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

A Very Small Helm

"16 You know, brethren, that a very large ship is benefited very much by a very small helm in the time of a storm, by being kept workways with the wind and the waves.

"17 Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed."

D&C 123:16-17

The little things in life are what make this life bearable, or unbearable, depending on what things and your point of view. The little things will get to you, lift you up, bring you down, or make it all worth it. 

My mom and dad have been married for 21 years. They've had their ups and downs, thick and thin, joys and heartaches, etc. They have stood by each other from the very beginning. I don't know what goes on in their heads, and I am still uncomfortable with whatever happens behind closed doors (aren't we all though?). But I know what I see, and I see all the little things that make them work. They talk about their day, they cook together, they make decisions together, they goof off and laugh together, they play with us kids together, they go on dates and spend time together, etc. All these little things make them work, make them happy (aka makes us kids happy too). My dad's deployments didn't destroy their relationship. Their big anniversary to New York didn't make their relationship fantastic. Their finding out that they were pregnant each time with us kids didn't make it all magic and butterflies, it just added to the already present magic. The magic of day to day.

The same goes for the gospel. Not all of us will receive big revelations and visions. Most of us live with small feelings from the spirit, the day to day spiritual boost we need, the fertilizer to our seeds of faith. During some parts of our lives, we need more of a boost than other parts, like seminary during high school. I know that I needed that boost from seminary. I needed the Spirit that it brought into my day. It created my love and adoration of the scriptures, one day at a time. 

Sins can also do the same. Satan has a replica of almost everything that God has to offer, except his version is always corrupt and will tear you apart. I was reading in Alma 47, when Amalickiah was tempting the king of the rebellious Lamanites. 

"10 And it came to pass that when it was night he sent a secret embassy into the mount Antipas, desiring that the leader of those who were upon the mount, whose name was Lehonti, that he should come down to the foot of the mount, for he desired to speak with him.

"11 And it came to pass that when Lehonti received the message he durst not go down to the foot of the mount. And it came to pass that Amalickiah sent again the second time, desiring him to come down. And it came to pass that Lehonti would not; and he sent again the third time.

"12 And it came to pass that when Amalickiah found that he could not get Lehonti to come down off from the mount, he went up into the mount, nearly to Lehonti’s camp; and he sent again the fourth time his message unto Lehonti, desiring that he would come down, and that he would bring his guards with him.

"13 And it came to pass that when Lehonti had come down with his guards to Amalickiah, that Amalickiah desired him to come down with his army in the night-time, and surround those men in their camps over whom the king had given him command, and that he would deliver them up into Lehonti’s hands, if he would make him (Amalickiah) a second leader over the whole army.

"14 And it came to pass that Lehonti came down with his men and surrounded the men of Amalickiah, so that before they awoke at the dawn of day they were surrounded by the armies of Lehonti...

18 And it came to pass that Amalickiah caused that one of his servants should administer poison by degrees to Lehonti, that he died." (Alma 47)

So, Amalickiah sent a message to the king, Lehonti, saying, "Come meet me at my camp and I will discuss a treaty with you." Lehonti wisely refused. Then again, Amalickiah said, "I will meet you half way up the mountain." Lehonti still refused. Amalickiah then said, "I will meet you outside of your camp, and let you surround my men as if we've been captured."  Lehonti accepted. The moment Lehonti accepted that agreement was when he signed his death certificate. Even after he had taken Amalickiah to be his second in command, Amalickiah poisoned him, little bit by little bit. 

An apple a day, keeps the doctor away. Ten minutes studying the scriptures a day, keeps Satan away. :). We can be made or broken by the little things, and The Lord loves to see us do the good little things in our lives. He loves to see us happy and succeeding. His heart breaks every time we snag something from the store, take a puff of something that should never be in our lungs, or look at something that disrespects our ability to procreate. I bear my testimony that the little things, our helm will steer us where our choices take us, and it's our choice where we go. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Hurdles

Today in sacrament meeting a sister gave an amazing talk in which she told the following story about her daughter: 

Her daughter, Kathy, decided she wanted to join the track team in her freshman year of high school. She practiced faithfully. Her first meet came along. The gun went off and she started to run. She made the first hurdle, the second, and then the third! She came to the next hurdle and she missed it. She came to the next one, and she missed it. She continued to miss them, but she kept going. The crowd was on their feet, she got to the last one, and she missed that one too. Her hands and knees were bloody, but she kept going. She crossed the finish line. 

That young woman has the very patience and character that I want! Don't we all? I know that oftentimes when I'm knocked down, I storm away or keep running, deliberately running past the hurdles. I have gotten better, I still struggle with the urge to give up, but don't we all? Adversity is one of the greatest elements of life that build us to be better people. I will be straight with you, life doesn't get easier. Life will never get easier, we only get stronger. I'll bet you anything that Kathy learned that she needed more practice, where she messed up, and decided to fix it for next time, or the hurdles weren't the event for her.

We are never given a trial that doesn't have a purpose. Sometimes we may wish we didn't get such a low grade in a class, that person didn't break your heart, your disability didn't get in the way, or whatever your trial may be. Life is hard; the world isn't going to be what we want it to be. People will come along and disappoint us, embarrass us, and break our hearts. It's a guarantee, it is a part of life. It is our job to keep our head held high and keep moving forward. Don't let life and people knock you down. God created you strong and powerful, don't let anyone deceive you. He can help us heal and let us break free of our sadness and depression. He can help us forgive and love our enemies.

C. S. Lewis put it best when he said, "Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of—throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace."

He knows our trials and he knows us. He loves each and every one of us so much that we cannot comprehend this love. He will help us through our trials, if we let him. We must be humble enough to do our best, pray to do better, read our scriptures, and find all of the ways that we can be lifted up. I know this to be true, I have had trials of my own, and I have found comfort and safety in the arms of my Redeemer who has greater plans for me than I can imagine. I bear my testimony of the strengthening power of trials and the gift of grace. I leave these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Giving and Taking and Changing

Anyone who knows me well knows that I have a temper. There are a few things that get me really worked up, some are politics (please don't ask what party because if you can't see through the lines of my last post, then that's your mystery), when someone picks on my friend or sibling (seriously, don't go there, I have barely restrained myself in times past), and a couple of people who know exactly to get under my skin (seriously, one or two people on the planet). For a while I had let my temper and my mouth run the way it wanted go, I just didn't care. But, at a certain point I got sick of myself. I really just got tired if how heavy it was to carry around all of that anger and care-not-for-you attitude, anger is putting it mildly but I suppose it's the only word that fits.

Another turning point was when my seminary teacher created a class motto. It was Moroni 7:45-48. 

"45 And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

"46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail--

"47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.

"48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen."

(http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/moro/7?lang=eng)

What a beautiful scripture! It was when I started to take this to heart was when I felt myself change for the better. People began to see a difference in me, a real difference in my countenance. 

And then one of those two people came into my life again. I had pushed them out time and time again for my own sanity. But they just popped up again every few weeks/months. It just wasn't fair! Why did they have to come stomping back into my life? Why did I have to deal with them again? Hadn't I suffered enough? But I recently realized that I was thinking all about myself. I hadn't even tried to put myself in their position. I am trying, and so far it's going alright.

For the longest time I had prayed for a missionary opportunity, but Heavenly Father was preparing people for me at that time. At the time I obviously wasn't prepared to answer the questions I would need to answer and I didn't have the patience I would need. I didn't have the charity I needed to be a good missionary.

Finally when Heavenly Father knew I was ready he sent me one, then two, then three, by the last day of school I had given out four Books of Mormon and one friend had started reading the Book of Mormon all on her own. The love I have for these sisters,these fellow children of God is what drove me to continue answering their questions instead of brushing them off and changing the topic the way I used to. I LOVE them. They are the sweetest young women I have ever met and I look forward to being their friend and seeing their progression in life.

The Lord gives and takes in his own time and in his own way. What a glorious blessing He is! It is our responsibility to pay attention and endure the giving and taking he does and do our best with it. I bear my testimony that the Book of Mormon changes lives and helps develop charity and love towards our fellow man. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Land of Liberty

I have always loved the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence so much. These men were inspired, these weren’t ramblings from old men, these were real people with real stakes in America. The signers were merchants, clergymen, lawyers, plantation owners, inventors, brewers, scientists, etc. the average joes of the colonies. George Washington, barely a colonel when promoted to general in the American army, led an army of farm boys and shop apprentices, with little more than muskets and homemade uniforms, under a flag that was handsewn by a very young woman whose main business was upholstery. The American army consisted of a ragtag bunch that in all honesty shouldn’t have won. When they did, they shocked the world. A set of 13 colonies sent the world’s greatest army and navy of the time packing. It’s a wonder that we even lasted very long at all.

In the Book of Mormon, several times it talks about this land being a land of freedom as long as the people are righteous. “Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever. Wherefore, I, Lehi, have obtained a promise, that inasmuch as those whom the Lord God shall bring out of the land of Jerusalem shall keep his commandments, they shall prosper upon the face of this land; and they shall be kept from all other nations, that they may possess this land unto themselves. And if it so be that they shall keep his commandments they shall be blessed upon the face of this land, and there shall be none to molest them, nor to take away the land of their inheritance; and they shall dwell safely forever. … But behold, this land, said God, shall be a land of thine inheritance, and the Gentiles shall be blessed upon the land. And this land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles, and there shall be no kings upon the land, who shall raise up unto the Gentiles. And I will fortify this land against all other nations. And he that fighteth against Zion shall perish, saith God. For he that raiseth up a king against me shall perish, for I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king, and I will be a light unto them forever, that hear my words. … Wherefore, my beloved brethren, thus saith our God: I will afflict thy seed by the hand of the Gentiles; nevertheless, I will soften the hearts of the Gentiles, that they shall be like unto a father to them; wherefore, the Gentiles shall be blessed and numbered among the house of Israel. Wherefore, I will consecrate this land unto thy seed, and them who shall be numbered among thy seed, forever, for the land of their inheritance; for it is a choice land, saith God unto me, above all other lands, wherefore I will have all men that dwell thereon that they shall worship me, saith God.” (2 Nephi 1:7,9; 10:10-19)

I included the preamble of the Constitution and parts of the Declaration of Independence for very careful and humble reading. Many Americans have forgotten what we fought for in the beginning and our purpose. These I feel portray the original inspiration and thoughts of our Founding Fathers.

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” (U.S. Constitution)

“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world. ...

“In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

“Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

“We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” (Declaration of Independence)

This land was made to be a land of freedom and liberty, one where the gospel could be planted and would flourish. One where “[the] work and glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” could begin. 

I bear my testimony that as long as we are following God's commandments we will remain free and that God prepared this land for the gospel to born. I leave these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.