Coming Back

You guys. Where have I been? After President Russell M. Nelson invited the women of the Church to do a 10-day social media fast, I included my blog. That means, I've been gone since then and then some.

I didn't know what to share coming back because I just felt fine without social media. For once. I didn't have any of my creative juices flowing and wondered what it was that I need to share on here after that fast.

The social media fast was GREAT and I'm so excited to begin writing blog posts again. I missed all of my family and friends and staying connected. Social media can be a force for good but I definitely saw how it impacted my life negatively during this fast.

I'm going to be switching from Blogger to Wordpress in the coming weeks and I'm really excited about it! I love the free platform that Blogger is, but Wordpress is more familiar to me and gives me just a little bit more to work with.

I'm also working with Rio from Work + Wonder on some amazing things so be sure to give her a follow and watch for my sharing!!

President Russell M. Nelson's Invitation

Life post-General Conference is about to get really good!

General Conference was quite amazing this past weekend. We also held the Women's Session for the year! I miss having it at both conferences but the change is good. I had a few favorite talks but a lot of them I'm going to re-listen to.

I sat down tonight to work on some of the blog posts I had lined up but changed my mind for today's post. During the women's session on Saturday night, President Russell M. Nelson invited the women to do the following:

1. Participate in a 10-day fast from social media and other negative influences.
2. Read the Book of Mormon between now and the end of the year.
3. Establish a pattern of regular temple attendance.
4. Participate fully in Relief Society.

I'm going to be participating in this 10-day fast from social media! I'm nervous, just like everyone else, that it'll be really hard but I know that it will be good for my soul. You won't see any blog posts for those 10 days as well.

 I've also started my Book of Mormon reading today! I'm reading from a replica edition of the scriptures when it was first published. It's a really neat edition and because of its format, chapter one actually consists of chapters 1-5 in the current edition of the scriptures. It's going to be a great, spiritually uplifting week! See you all in 10 days!

Did We Know Him?

"Well Done” by Del Parson

 One time I attended an Institute class about Jesus Christ and the Everlasting Gospel. We began by turning to The Living Christ and a few scriptures in the Book of Mormon. The teacher asked us two questions when the class first began.

Who is Jesus Christ? and Why do you believe in him?

I remember everyone just kind of hesitantly looking at each other. I let a few other classmates go first because I knew we only had so much time. I shared that I believe in him because he believes in me. Simple, and probably a generic answer but we didn't have much time.

At the end of the class, my teacher shared a quote by Joseph Smith Jr.

“At the first organization in heaven we were all present and saw the Savior chosen and appointed and the plan of salvation made, and we sanctioned it” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 209)

After reading this my teacher explained something along the lines of: "here is this man... who stepped forward to atone for ALL of our sins." And then he said, "Did we even know him?" Which is where this blog post comes in.

Did we know Jesus Christ? Did we know anything about him? What made us agree that he be the one to come down to earth and make the ultimate sacrifice if we didn't know him? Which brings me full circle to the first question we were asked that night.

Who is Jesus Christ? And why do you believe in Him? Being able to bear testimony of our Savior while also pondering the thought that we may not have even known him is kind of cool! I'm not even sure if any of this is making sense, but it really hit me that night.

Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is my best friend, my Redeemer, my Heartache healer... He is so much of my life. It is because of his selfless act that I am able to pray to my Father in Heaven and ask for forgiveness, help, and comfort. I feel of Gods love for me and I know that he is there because of His Beloved Son, my Advocate.

I love this photo by Del Parsons. I feel so comforted looking at it. What a wonderful man Jesus Christ is! I want to take into action what President Russell M. Nelson did when he read every single thing about Jesus Christ in the scriptures. If you don't know what I'm talking about, click here. I want to come to know my Savior even better and more than I do now... scripturally and personally.

I love my Savior. I know that He lives. I know that He loves me, believes in me and supports me in all that I do. It is because of Him that I can be happy in this life and the life hereafter. And I know that He can do the same for you.

Temples Under Construction

 I really love this Facebook post that Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf made about temples and those temples that are closed. He said:

"During my trip, I received many inquiries regarding when the temples in Paris and Frankfurt would open. Certainly, the Lord is pleased when we want to enter His holy home and receive sacred ordinances for our families and ourselves. However, I couldn’t help but wonder if instead of being so concerned about when a temple would be completed, perhaps we would make better use of our time to spiritually prepare to be worthy to enter these temples at any time—regardless of their availability date."

  Having lived in Utah, we are blessed immensely with temples. As of April 2018, there are 19 temples operating, under construction, or announced in Utah. I know that the Salt Lake Valley is the only valley to have 4 temples in it. It's crazy! I know there are a lot of people out there who aren't near a temple, maybe they're miles or hours or days away or maybe.... they don't even have a temple. I have definitely taken for granted going to the temple in Utah. I knew that one would always be open if others are closed. I could always go to the temple, at any time-day, night, week, weekend, hour... anything. So, I often don't go.

The Jordan River Temple holds a special place in my heart. It was closed for over two years. I was so anxious for it to be open again! It's been the assigned temple in every ward I've been in. I love it there so much! I received my endowment there, my parents were sealed there, my husband received his endowment there, it was the first temple I ever went inside of to do work for the dead... there's just a lot of meaning to it for me and now it looks different! I was excited to see this long-overdue construction end!

Back to what President Uchtdorf said, I think he makes a really strong point. It is so important for us not to lose focus on the meaning of the temple. The influence of the temple in our lives can be really strong and we need to work on that continually. Whether we have 19 temples, 1 temple, a temple that is 5 or 6 hours away or days away, we should ALWAYS be working and studying and praying to be more righteous and worthy so that we may enter the House of the Lord anywhere and at any time. We cannot lose focus on the true meaning of going to the temple.

I encourage you to find a time to go to the temple yourself. I've had people make not so nice comments because sometimes I choose to go to the temple by myself - aka, without my husband. That's OKAY. There is nothing wrong with spending alone time in the temple, or going with your friends. You made covenants with the Lord too, spend some time with him in his house. You won't regret it.