Am I Good Enough?

I had a different post in mind for today, and went to the youth website to find a resource I wanted to link to, but then I saw this video and clicked on it:



This is taken from a general conference talk by Elder Cornish in October 2016. I remember watching that talk and thinking how awesome and comforting it was. The teachings in that talk inspire me and remind me that as long as I am really trying, I'm doing enough! If I keep the commandments, and really desire to repent and change when I fall short, then that's enough. The Lord will make up the difference! That is what Jesus Christ does for us!

The Lord wants us to return home to Him, and He has made it as simple as possible - without taking away our agency. It is our responsibility to choose to do better, but as soon as we do that, the Lord will help us in that choice! Try it this week, and see if there is a difference in your answer to the question "Am I good enough? Will I make it?" Because if you really truly do your best, the answer will be yes.

You are always worthy to connect with God!

Can I just say that the Church blog is so incredible? There is always a post to inspire and uplift me, whether it be written by a young stay-at-home mom or the President of the Quorum of the Twelve!

Today I want to share a really neat post by a sister named Celeste Davis, titled "The Biggest Barrier to Our Connection with God". Celeste talks about how we often don't feel worthy to repent or even pray because we've messed up 'too many times'. But she reminds us of the story of the prodigal son, who went into the world and messed up for years before returning to his father. He expected that his father would be angry with him and that he would need to repay the debts he had incurred. He believed he would never be seen the same in his father's eyes after what he had done. But you all know the story - "But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him" (Luke 15:21). This surprises the young man - but it should not surprise us, because we know that in this parable the loving father is a representation of an infinitely loving Father. In Sister Davis's words, "You are a child of God. You can’t ever become more child of God by your merits, and you can't ever become less child of God by your imperfections." What an awesome reminder!

All right, I'll stop spoiling it now and let you just read the post here!

Deleting Emails...

My awesome, hilarious cousin is visiting me here in the 'deep South' from Utah for almost two weeks! We are having so much fun and laughing lots. 

What does she have to do with deleting emails? Well, she was checking her emails the other day, reading messages from people she knows. After she finished either reading or writing an email, most of the time I watched as she clicked the 'Delete' button without hesitation. 

I was horrified. What if she wanted to go back and read the exchanges she'd had with her friends as a teenager? What if she was in an emergency and had to search up that one email in which she'd typed only 'Yes' or 'Lol!' but she had deleted it? What if, what if, what if?

Obviously, those are totally irrational thoughts. You guys are probably scoffing or laughing (or both!) and thinking I'm exaggerating. Nope. Seriously. 

And even more astonishing, I have probably deleted only 10 emails in the entire 5 or 6 years I have had an email address. True. 

I mentioned this last bit to my cousin, and my mom happened to overhear. She informed me that every time I keep an email, more of the computer's memory gets used up.

Oops. 

Well then. I decided I should probably start deleting emails. So, just before I wrote this, I was on my emails, deleting like crazy. Of course, I checked to make sure that I REALLY wouldn't need the email later on, but I definitely deleted it. 

So I went through, deleting most emails, but some went into other folders, etc. It felt (and still does feel!) good!!!

Seriously though. What does this have to do with anything?? Why do you care if I am deleting emails? You don't. So I'll get to the point of this post.

Repentance. Yes, I know I have written lots about repentance. Why? Because it is so 
important! 

When we repent, it's like deleting useless emails. It feels good. And when you haven't repented or deleted emails for a while, and you're scooping all this muck out of your soul (or inbox), it feels really good. 

But the best feeling of all is when you delete the emails as you go so they don't build up and you don't have to spend hours and hours and hours deleting emails. It's like repenting immediately. Then your shoulders aren't always weighed down with the burden of sin. Or the thought of all of those EMAILS that you are never gonna read again! 

And then there is the 'putting into folders' part. That is compared to when you have committed a serious sin, but you have talked to your bishop, you know that you're forgiven. However, the memory of that sin will never go away, unlike some of the little sins, or stupid emails. These sins are like the emails that you don't want to delete, but you don't want them in your main inbox either. So you put them in a folder. It's not that they're totally gone, but they aren't in the way anymore. 

I hope you have enjoyed my quick analogy! Please leave me a comment or two!

What Does Repentance Mean to YOU?

This week, I was working on Choice and Accountability #4:

Read about repentance in Isaiah 1:18; Alma 26:22; 34:30–35; Moroni 8:25–26; and Doctrine and Covenants 19:15–20; 58:42–43. Record in your journal what repentance means to you. Study the process of repentance, pray for guidance, and apply the principles of repentance in your life.

Simple, right? Yes, it is. 

However, I started thinking more deeply when I got to the journaling part. What does repentance really mean to me? I know it's something deep, something not easily described in words. But what words could, even remotely, transfer what I feel to paper? What am I certain of about repentance?

So, I compiled a list that I think is probably the closest thing to my feelings I can get. Oh, why is the English language--or any language, for that matter--so limited?!

I know that repentance is a way to take away every mistake. In the words of Sister Julie B. Beck, former Relief Society General President, "Repentance is like a giant eraser, and it can erase permanent ink!" It is the key to the Atonement, and the Atonement is the key to heaven and eternal life. 

Have a wonderful weekend!

(P.S. No, I do not have a grandfather clock yet.)

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For Who Can Find a Virtuous Woman? For Her Price is Far Above Rubies

Yesterday was a gorgeous, sunny, spring day here in the Southeast! We were all so excited, especially since we've been having odd weather here lately--one day it's 80 degrees and the next it's literally back to 45 or 50. So we're happy whenever there's a halfway nice day out. 

Well, yesterday it was 80 or so degrees and we were all settling into our seats for our Beehive lesson when someone said, "Why don't we go sit outside and have class on the steps?" It was a novel idea and everyone happily agreed. So we headed out into the sun and started our lesson. 

Once every month or two, my Beehive teachers will look for a Personal Progress experience that correlates directly with their topic and use it as their lesson. Yesterday was one of those days. Our lesson was on repentance and was taken entirely from Virtue Experience #4:

Because the Savior loves you and has given His life for you, you can repent. Repentance is an act of faith in Jesus Christ. Read Moroni 10:32–33, the book of Enos, and the section on repentance in For the Strength of Youth. The Savior’s atoning sacrifice has made it possible for you to be forgiven of your sins. Read the sacrament prayers in Doctrine and Covenants 20:77, 79. Determine to partake worthily of the sacrament each week and fill your life with virtuous activities that will bring spiritual power. As you do this, you will grow stronger in your ability to resist temptation, keep the commandments, and become more like Jesus Christ. Determine what you can do daily to remain pure and worthy, and write your plan in your journal.

We read the scriptures in Moroni and Enos together and discussed what they meant to us. Then we read the Repentance section in the For the Strength of Youth to ourselves. In my pamphlet, I underlined some things that stood out to me:

Repentance is more than simply acknowledging wrongdoings. It is a change of mind and heart. It includes turning away from sin and turning to God for forgiveness. It is motivated by love for God and the sincere desire to obey His commandments. This kind of came as a slap in the face, to be honest. Up to that point, I hadn't really thought about this. I had only been acknowledging my wrongdoings and apologizing...but then the same thing would often repeat itself later and I would again apologize. This is NOT a true change of heart! I wasn't truly changed if I was still doing the same thing over and over. This is something I am going to work on in my life.

Then it continues: If you have sinned, the sooner you repent, the sooner you begin to make your way back and find the peace and joy that come with forgiveness. If you delay repentance, you may lose blessings, opportunities, and spiritual guidance. Again, I am guilty. Sometimes I feel like, 'Oh, I can repent of this when I say my prayers tonight. It'll be fine. I mean, it's not like I'm gonna die or anything between here and then.' Do you see the problem? Rationalization and delaying are not part of the repentance process! Who knows? Maybe I will die before the day is over!

When we finished reading, we had a nice discussion about what we learned, and others pointed out what I had noticed. 

We were going to read the sacrament prayers, but somebody suggested that we try and recite them from memory. We didn't think we'd make it all the way through, but guess what? We did it! It was kind of cool to note the differences between them that you wouldn't normally notice if you were just listening to the priests as they blessed the bread and water. I won't tell them to you here, but you can read them yourself and let me know in the comments what you notice. 

Blessing on the Bread | Blessing on the Water

Finally, we wrote in our journals our plans to remain pure and worthy. Mine was heavily based on the eye-openers I received as I read about repentance. This was the first experience I've done in Virtue, but it was a good introduction and a perfect lesson on repenting!

See you later! (Or in the comments☺)

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