Surprises!

The thing I am grateful for most this year was the opportunity I had to go home!!! My friends were constantly talking about how excited they were to see their families, and about their plane tickets, and all the fun things they were going to do. I couldn't stand to listen to it anymore because I wanted to go home so badly! It really is true that you don't know what you're missing until it's gone. I don't know what I would do without my family and I'm so grateful I get to be with them for eternity!
Things worked out and I got to drive home with my cousin Tim and his friend, Mike. We made the long 13 hour trek home to surprise our families! Waking up my mom at 1:30 in the morning was definitely the highlight. She had NO idea and I was so excited to surprise her! I'm glad she didn't know because I learned that I'm not a very good secret keeper and by the time I got home my dad, sister, and about 4 of my friends, plus my whole FHE group knew I was coming home haha!
I absolutely love Washington and just being home and the best part was that I sat around and did nothing! We watched movies and played games and just enjoyed being with each other. I could not have asked for a better thanksgiving. And what's keeping me going now is that there are only 3 weeks left of school and then I get to go back! I've already started counting down the days :)

On the Other Side of the Veil

Each week I go to the temple. Even though it's super close so the travel time isn't very long, it still is about a 2 hour trip. While being at the temple is always such a great experience, you get plenty of ponder time and get to enjoy the peace because you are waiting for so long just to end up doing only 2 or 3 names. Sometimes only 1. Now some would think, "Is it even worth it?" or "Someone else can do those 2 names that I would get to do and I can spend my time doing something else". But here is the thought...You may wait 2 or 3 hours do only do one name but think about how long that person has been waiting. These names come from the 1500's and 1600's which means they've been waiting for over 400 years! When the temple worker told us that yesterday it really put things into perspective. 2 or 3 hours of your time is really insignificant compared to how long the people on the other side have been waiting to be baptized. So now that I have that in mind, it makes going to the temple seem all the more worth it and it reminds me to keep an eternal perspective because that is what truly matters

Tender Mercies

On Tuesday in Book of Mormon class we were talking about why it's called the Book of Mormon. My teacher believes that it's named after the Waters of Mormon based on what Elder Maxwell has said. When I went home that day, I checked the mail and guess what I found. A postcard from Guatemala that was mailed on July 13, sent on October 29 and delivered on November 15. Crazy huh? But that's not the cool part. When I read it, my mom had written that they had been at the Waters of Mormon on that day! So I told my teacher about it today because I thought it was pretty exciting. He called me to the front of the room and looked up one of Elder Bednar's talks in General Conference. He says:

Six months ago, I stood at this pulpit for the first time as the newest member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Both then and even more so now, I have felt and feel the weight of the call to serve and of the responsibility to teach with clarity and to testify with authority. I pray for and invite the assistance of the Holy Ghost as I now speak with you.

This afternoon I want to describe and discuss a spiritual impression I received a few moments before I stepped to this pulpit during the Sunday morning session of general conference last October. Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf had just finished speaking and had declared his powerful witness of the Savior. Then we all stood together to sing the intermediatehymn that previously had been announced by President Gordon B. Hinckley. The intermediate hymn that morning was “Redeemer of Israel” (Hymns, no. 6).

Now, the music for the various conference sessions had been determined many weeks before—and obviously long before my new call to serve. If, however, I had been invited to suggest an intermediate hymn for that particular session of the conference—a hymn that would have been both edifying and spiritually soothing for me and for the congregation before my first address in this Conference Center—I would have selected my favorite hymn, “Redeemer of Israel.” Tears filled my eyes as I stood with you to sing that stirring hymn of the Restoration.

Near the conclusion of the singing, to my mind came this verse from the Book of Mormon: “But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance” (1 Ne. 1:20).

My mind was drawn immediately to Nephi’s phrase “the tender mercies of the Lord,” and I knew in that very moment I was experiencing just such a tender mercy. A loving Savior was sending me a most personal and timely message of comfort and reassurance through a hymn selected weeks previously. Some may count this experience as simply a nice coincidence, but I testify that the tender mercies of the Lord are real and that they do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence. Often, the Lord’s timing of His tender mercies helps us to both discern and acknowledge them.

So it's clear that some might think this is a coincidence. But with belief and faith in our Savior (the topic of our lesson today) it's easy to recognize that simple things like this really are tender mercies of our Lord. I'm so grateful for my Book of Mormon teacher and for the great impact he's had on my life the past couple of months and for all that I am learning about the gospel. I really do love it and I'm doing all that I can to help my testimony grow each and every day.

To read the rest of the talk: http://lds.org/general-conference/2005/04/the-tender-mercies-of-the-lord?lang=eng&query=tender+mercies

Time

As I sat and waited for the bus this afternoon I realized how long a minute really is. Sitting in the cold is not my idea of fun and really your only choice when you're waiting for something is to think. And trying to NOT to think about being cold makes you think about it even more! So as the minutes passed by, I realized how long 60 seconds can last and that amid all the millions of things I have to do this week it's really important to use your time wisely! What a concept, I know. My teachers and parents have drilled this my entire life but it's a lot easier said than done. So my goal for the rest of the week...BE PRODUCTIVE! Use every second to the fullest and get everything done that I need to so that I can have a relaxing Thanksgiving Break!