Bread half baked

"But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7 http://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/1-sam/16?lang=eng)

This morning I made more artisan bread (haha I almost have a problem but that's beside the point). I let the dough rise over night and then stuck it in the oven this morning. The oven at my extended family's house is different than the one at home, and the elevation is much higher here than where I am from. So I did not know exactly how long to leave the dough in the oven, so I knocked off about ten minutes assuming it will take less time to bake.

I took the bread out of the oven and it looked perfect. I stuck the thermometer in the center of the bread, but I found that the bread only reached about 140 degrees Fahrenheit. When bread is cooked all the way through, it is between 180 and 200 degrees. When I pulled out the thermometer, there was a bit of dough stuck to it. I was so dissappointed. I was so sure that it was ready, but the poke and temperature test doesn't lie. My bread was not ready. I then put the dough back in the oven for ten minutes and baked it till it passed the poke and temperature test. 

Sometimes we think we are ready for things in our lives, and when we think we know that we know better. When the Holy Ghost and our commandments tell us one thing, but our minds tell us another thing, which do we choose? In high school i had a reasonably sized testimony, and believed I could withstand anything. In the For the Strength of the Youth pamphlet, a set of commandments specially made for teenagers and that tough time in our lives, it talks about many things including dating. In that pamphlet it says that we should go on double dates and group date, and not to have a boyfriend or girlfriend until after high school. In my junior year I met a guy, and we began individual dating (aka boyfriend of girlfriend). I was happy and fine till we split. *trumpet noise* "Enter the emotional roller coaster and a whole mixture of trials that came for about seven months!" I do wish I had listened to my leaders. Sometimes our bread isn't quite ready to come out of the oven, and good things are worth waiting for. 

I bare my testimony to you that God doesn't just give us commandments because he wants to; He gives us commandments for a reason. We may not know the reason, but God can see everything and has blessings for us when we follow His commandments. I leave these thing 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.