General Conference 04/2020 - Sunday Afternoon Session

I'm always so sad when general conference is over. I never want it to end! As a kid, it took forever to get through one session and as an adult, I'm always catching myself thinking, "That was it? The last session already!?" So much goodness packed in such a short amount of time!!

Also, 8 new temples!?!?! I cannot believe it!!!! So amazing and exciting and of course, my home state (Utah) got another temple added to our list. I keep wondering why we get a new one each time but I have to say.... there are big plans in the making that need these new and smaller temples to be built. Such as closing the Salt Lake Temple... we needed to have newer, updated, and more temples to help with the amount of those that attend that temple while it is closed for four years.

Also, can we just talk about how President Nelson choked up after saying that China was getting another temple!?!?!!!!! I totally started crying when he choked up. The work is moving forward and the Lord knows what he is doing. It is amazing and I'm so excited for China!! Oh and Dubai!?!? Isn't that so cool!? Gosh. I love the temple!!!!

I always love making quote pictures from General Conference highlighting some of my favorite quotes. Please feel free to share or pin on Pinterest! That would make me so happy :) I used the Rhonna Farrer Designs app (with my in-app purchases) to make these graphics as well as a font by Amy Groesbeck that I purchased.

General Conference 04/2020 - Sunday Morning Session

I could not wait for this session!! After President Nelson made all these comments here and there about the surprises coming, I almost couldn't sleep!! Man, what a magnificent time to be alive!!! I love our prophet and not only his fun side to keep us on the edge of our seats, but being able to bring us back down to respect and reverence when needed. I love our prophet!!

My husband and I just moved to a new city and are still in the middle of unpacking so we didn't have our white handkerchiefs but still being able to participate was so amazing!! And that proclamation!?! So neat and amazing!!!! I love how far the church has come in such a short period of time.

I always love making quote pictures from General Conference highlighting some of my favorite quotes. Please feel free to share or pin on Pinterest! That would make me so happy :) I used the Rhonna Farrer Designs app (with my in-app purchases) to make these graphics as well as a font by Amy Groesbeck that I purchased.

General Conference 04/2020 - Saturday Evening Session

Okay, how cool was it to have YOUTH SPEAKERS!?!?! I mean, can you imagine!?! They both did a fabulous job!! I spoke at my seminary graduation and I thought that was nerve-wracking.... also, they didn't have to speak in front of 21,000 people so maybe that helped?? Still, I think even speaking in front of the prophet alone would be nerve-wracking!!! Man, what an experience they'll never forget. It was so wonderful to hear from the youth!!

I always love making quote pictures from General Conference highlighting some of my favorite quotes. Please feel free to share or pin on Pinterest! That would make me so happy :) I used the Rhonna Farrer Designs app (with my in-app purchases) to make these graphics as well as a font by Amy Groesbeck that I purchased.

I just realized I never made one for President Nelson from this session. I'll be adding that soon!

General Conference 04/2020 - Saturday Afternoon Session

Growing up, I never used to watch the Saturday sessions let alone the afternoon sessions. As kids, we were only "required" to watch the Sunday morning session as a family and my mom would leave conference playing for the rest of the day. Now I love watching all of them and I will definitely encourage my kids to watch them all too!

I always love making quote pictures from General Conference highlighting some of my favorite quotes. Please feel free to share or pin on Pinterest! That would make me so happy :) I used the Rhonna Farrer Designs app (with my in-app purchases) to make these graphics as well as a font by Amy Groesbeck that I purchased.

General Conference 04/2020 - Saturday Morning Session

You guys!!! I can't believe General Conference for April 2020 is over!! I feel like it took so long to get here and it was over in a matter of minutes. Maybe it went by fast because I had a new baby to take care of who may or may not have cried during some talks but man... I get so sad when conference is over!

I always love making quote pictures from General Conference highlighting some of my favorite quotes. Please feel free to share or pin on Pinterest! That would make me so happy :) I used the Rhonna Farrer Designs app (with my in-app purchases) to make these graphics as well as a font by Amy Groesbeck that I purchased.

Preparing for General Conference

Does anyone remember President Russell M. Nelson's call to prepare for April 2020 General Conference?

You may wish to begin your preparation by reading afresh Joseph Smith’s account of the First Vision as recorded in the Pearl of Great Price.

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A post shared by @marycox.art on Jan 12, 2020 at 9:30pm PST

This image was entered into the Work + Wonder Co's workbook submission for April 2020. It's probably one of my very favorites I've seen. I have been giving it a lot of thought, what President Nelson said.

I have read the First Vision in the Pearl of Great price what feels like a million times. I have marked up my scriptures with so much insight I'm not sure I could mark anymore! But that's not the point. I'm not going to lie. I definitely slacked when it came to studying the Restoration and here we are, only 2 weeks until General Conference.

One thing I have done is watch the YouTube videos that Dave Butler did on the Restoration. They are so amazing and have been a light in my life these past couple of weeks. I absolutely loved Seminary and Institute and it felt like I was in a class again watching his videos. I also love the podcast he does with Emily Belle Freeman. This video, in particular, is my favorite for many reasons but one of them is that there are actual books that were owned by church leaders in the glass case he's standing by. In fact, he even gets to hold one with his bare hands.

I have dreamed many times of holding actual church artifacts with my own hands. I know many people who have had the opportunity, Elder Holland being one of them. But as I experience those feelings and the excitement I would expect to feel while holding those items, I am reminded of my love for the Book of Mormon. I am reminded of my love for Joseph Smith and the sacrifices he made so that I can hold this book of scripture in my hands today, by my own free will.

I am so excited about this upcoming General Conference and I have absolutely no idea what it will be like but I can say this... preparing for it (or the lack of preparation) has brought back so much strength to my testimony of Joseph Smith and the Restoration. It has brought back a motivation and inspiration to study my scriptures more and to dedicate time to the word of God. I hope you have found the same in your preparation (or the lack thereof).

He Is Showing Up For Me

Before motherhood, I felt like a huge piece of myself was missing. Now that I’m a mother, I feel it’s absence even more. I pushed it away a few years ago because I wanted to be accepted by those around me. I wanted to be loved and wanted regardless. I pushed it away and I buried it because being accepted felt more important than possibly standing alone. It has been so hard to find a balance of keeping that part of myself alive while also being accepted by my friends and family and society to be honest... The part of me that has been missing is my faith. My religion. My beliefs. Being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is becoming a difficult thing to be. We are hated and looked down upon. It’s a heavy burden to bear in today’s world. I have many friends and family who have left the church or who aren’t members. I still wanted them to love me. I still wanted them to want me in their life. I didn’t want our beliefs to separate us. So what did I do? I put my faith on the shelf and walked away. Nobody asked me to. I felt like I had to in order to keep these relationships.

I’ve been staring at my faith sitting on this shelf and feeling this need to get it down. I am missing this part of my soul. I’m missing this part of who I am. Why can’t I be loved by everyone too? Why can’t they accept this part of me too? I need this to survive. I need this to live and to be happy. I need God. I need to show up for myself but I’m struggling. Then I came across Courtney Casper and my life changed. She showed up for me in my life the way I need to show up for myself. She became the inspiration I needed to dust my faith off and find God again. I have been reading her book, “Choose Yes,” and it has been unbelievably good. It has been everything my heart needs and everything my faith needs. It has been everything I want for myself.

I worry every day which friendships I’ll lose for being a member of this church or which family member won’t feel connected to me because all I care about is my faith? I care what people think... and maybe too much. Courtney has helped me so much in finding my faith again. She has helped me restore that missing piece that I’ve been dying to find. I don’t even know her personally... I’ve never met her. But her example has been an answer to my prayers.

I just wanted to share this because it’s been on my heart for some time now and as a new mom, I’m getting tired of putting society before myself. I think daily about what I want to teach my daughter. I know that I’ll be loved even if it’s only by God. I want to work harder to be better about my faith. I don’t want to abandon it again. Don’t give up friends. Find what sets your soul on fire and don’t let it go.

God Is In the Details

If you remember my blog post about SALT Gathering then you'll remember how I mentioned the wonderful Kim White who was our concluding speaker.

Kim White recently passed away and she (and her family) has been on my mind every single day. I lost my dad to cancer almost 4 years ago and the feelings have been weighing on my heart as I think about the pain her family is currently going through. I know the feeling all too well and it's no good.

Kim was a light to all who knew her and were touched by her story. I had the privilege of hearing her speak at SALT and tell her story of battling cancer every single day. It was the most incredible thing I've ever listened to. She never forgot God. Not once did she give credit to anyone or anything else without first giving credit to God. God showed up for her. He showed up for her in many ways. It probably wasn't always the way she wanted or hoped or imagined he would... but he always did.

As I've been thinking about her this past week, I've been thinking a lot about the details in my life that God has been apart of. Where have I seen him? What has he shown up in or as? What details am I not paying attention to because I'm giving too much attention to details he's not in?

I am beyond grateful for Kim and her constant inspiration in my life. I remember right after she spoke I walked up to give her a hug and say thank you. I, of course, cried as I told her how happy I was that someone elses cancer story turned out differently than my dad's. I told her that it makes my heart so happy to see her still fighting and living and breathing. She gave me a big smile and said thank you. I do remember that as I was telling her this she was focused completely on me. She wasn't looking elsewhere or quickly waving hi to someone in passing. She gave me her attention... someone she didn't know a single thing about. She was probably in so much pain, and maybe very very tired but she didn't let it show.

That detail is how God showed up for me that day. He showed up for me as Kim. He showed up to tell me to look at the details. He gave me an inspiring reminder that he is aware of me and that he loves me. That no matter how many punches my life takes or how often I'm pushed to the ground... he is there with me. Every single time. I just need to look for him and thank him for showing up. Period.

I miss Kim's posts and seeing her fight so hard every single day. I will miss her dance parties and encouragement to just breathe and love life. I pray for her family every day as they mourn her and live through this difficult time. May we do our best to honor Kim and look for God in the details because he's there.

Goals for 2020

Howdy! It's 2020!! Can you believe it!? I'm back with another blog post about my faith-based 2020 goals! I didn't do very well in my 2019 goals but, I tried! It's hard when you aren't truly specific about your goals so I'm going to try and do that this year.

My blog posts have been few and far between because I'm pregnant and my baby is due this month and the exhaustion is REAL! But I'm going to try and set some goals for this blog and try really hard to stay in-tune with the Spirit about where the Lord wants me to take it.

• Stop, drop, and find. Courtney Casper has been a huge influence in my life lately when it comes to scripture study. I want to work really hard to stop, drop and find in at least 5 minutes of my day. We're reading the Book of Mormon this year for Come, Follow Me and I want to spend a lot more time in the scriptures, especially with a little one on the way!
• Post 1 blog post a month on this blog. Like I said earlier, my posting has been few and far between but I really want to try and get at least 1 up a month. I say that because I have no idea what life will be like with a newborn and I don't want to set the bar too high.
• Read 5 faith-based books. Last year, I read way more than my goal and I'm really happy about that! I'd love to shoot for the same amount but we'll see so I'm going to set my goal for at least 5! I love using the Deseret Bookshelf PLUS app!
• Print off a habit tracker and track my morning and evening prayers. I really want to spend more time in prayer this year. I have a big life change happening and I want to stay close to God. I also want to track doing my Come, Follow Me for the week with my family as well!
• Email newsletter. I have always been intrigued by learning how to do an email subscription list. Not everybody uses Bloglovin' to follow their favorite blogs nor do they follow IG/FB pages for post updates so I'm wondering if an email would be better! I'd like to learn this but if I don't achieve it during 2020, no big deal!

I think that's a good amount of goals for me and this blog and my spirituality. If I feel like adding more or forget something then I will add when it comes ;)

What are your spiritual goals for 2020?