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.