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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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).

The Act of Forgiving

Salt Lake Temple 2016 © Ashley Ziegler

Did you watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional this past Sunday? It was wonderful! I really loved it and all of the simple, yet powerful messages shared! I thought that each message was my favorite and then I heard the next and it became a favorite. I ended up loving them all!

When President Nelson got up to speak, I wasn't expecting him to give an answer to a prayer that I had two months ago, during General Conference. I received my answer then but I think the Lord wanted to send the answer again. I was really surprised and wasn't expecting to hear his message but it was just what my heart needed.

I struggle with forgiveness. Mostly because my physical body can't figure out how to forgive in a way that my mind is asking it too. Does that make sense? For some reason, I feel like forgiveness is a physical thing and so I struggle with doing anything about forgiveness.

Forgiveness can be a really uneasy subject for most, and can actually turn conversations south. I really want to forgive in my life. I am really tired of carrying around hurt and angry feelings. It's only affecting me right? Not the other person? So why then, is it so stinkin' hard to do? How do you go on in life as if nothing ever happened?

One phrase from President Nelson's talk that spoke to me was this,

"Through His infinite Atonement, you can forgive those who have hurt you and who may never accept responsibility for their cruelty to you."

 That is where my issue with forgiveness lies. Accepting the apology you're never going to get. It's like a thorn stuck in your side that's been there for a very long time and you think it's time to pull it out but you just can't bring yourself to do it because it is going to be so painful. But you know it will make everything so much better once you finally do.

So how do I do this? How do I forgive and let go? How do I let my Savior's healing power, pull out this thorn stuck in my side? How do I go on with my life "as if nothing ever happened"? These are the questions I'm sincerely seeking answers for and I hope and pray that I can feel of God's love for me and that as hard as the act of forgiving is, I can actually do it with his help. I pray that His love will heal me from the hurt and anger that I feel.

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Is there someone in your life that is needing your forgiveness or someone that you are seeking forgiveness from? What is the act of forgiving like in your life and how are you able to apply our Savior's Atonement in your life?

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!