A Journey's Ending...

Ready??

I GOT MY YW RECOGNITION AWARD!

I am so happy! 

So here is a recap of my Value Projects, if you guys need ideas (and a huge thank you to all the YW I know who suggested great projects that they did that inspired me!).

FAITH:

I memorized 'The Living Christ'! So cool! My testimony of the Savior and His life was really strengthened and solidified through this.

 

DIVINE NATURE:

I organized, coordinated, and participated in an annual Christmas Cousin Gift Exchange on both sides of my family. I was able to start it for the first time on my dad's side, and continue the tradition on my mom's side!

INDIVIDUAL WORTH:

Family History! I was able to do ten awesome hours of searching for and reserving names and performing or sharing ordinances for my ancestors! Throughout this project, I visited the Jordan River, Mt. Timpanogos, and Draper Utah temples, as well my 'home' temple, Columbia South Carolina.

KNOWLEDGE:

I read D&C 89 and committed to ten hours of exercise and preparing a healthy snacks and meals for myself. Many summer evenings, I'd grab my brother and a cousin or two and walk, run, scooter, or bike around the block for 20-30 minutes. And I ate lots of salad!!! :)

CHOICE & ACCOUNTABILITY:

I took a week-long tech vacation! This was an interesting one and harder than I expected. Even though I don't have a phone, tablet, or iPod, I was still tempted. For example, the TV show Granite Flats (which is, btw, phenomenal, and produced by BYUtv) is premiering on TV and my siblings and I were anxiously awaiting its release. However, because of my project, I had to be able to suggest not watching the new episode. That was probably the hardest moment throughout the week. (I have caught up on all the episodes now!) I stayed away from tech for the majority of the week, but I must admit to giving in for a total of probably 1 1/2 hours. But we are all human, right? Anyway, I spent the time I would have used on technology to get more sleep, read, or finish schoolwork. It was so cool! 

GOOD WORKS:

All right, I really loved this one! I put together a recipe book of my favorite recipes, as well as others I've never tried that sound great! I still have lots of room for more as I grow up, but I have enough to give me a start. This is one way to ensure that my future college student self and her roommates won't be eating Chinese takeout every night! :) I think it will also be awesome for a mission. 

INTEGRITY:

You saw this, but I'll link to the post here:

Integrity, YW in Excellence, and Things People Hang on Their Walls!!!

VIRTUE:

I also posted about my reading of the Book of Mormon here. I love this book!!!

So, there's my Young Women's journey for you, project by project! Please tell me about yours in the comments, whether completed long ago or not yet through. I'd love to hear from you! 

Integrity, YW in Excellence, and Things People Hang on Their Walls!!!

I promised I would post pictures of my Integrity project, which I displayed at our Stake Young Women in Excellence last week, and I am following up on that promise! Photos courtesy of my awesome mom!

My Title of Liberty 

Quote Book on Integrity and Honesty

For those of you who are not familiar with Personal Progress, there are eight values in which six experiences and one ten-hour project are completed. For my ten-hour project, I chose to research quotes in General Conference on the subjects of integrity and honesty and compile them into a quote book. But that was only the half of it! I also made a Title of Liberty that I'm going to hang in my bedroom where I can see it every day. This was a great experience (do you expect anything less from Personal Progress?!), although I have to admit that I found that I am not a huge fan of sewing...:) Well, you learn something new all the time, right?

Our Stake YW in Excellence was way cool! The theme was 'light'. Light is just a great thing! I even wrote a post about the sun (and the Son!) and its light in March or April. Our ward YW sang "Keepers of His Light" by Tyler Castleton and Jenny Phillips for the closing song, and the Spirit was so strong! I love that song! Definitely worth looking up and learning yourself or with your local YW!

I was reading a fantastic interview with President Nelson earlier and at the end there is a series of pictures of the things President Nelson displays in his office. There is a bust of the Savior, pictures of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve, a polished rock, a wooden beehive, and President Nelson's triple combination, among other things. I wonder--how do these items influence President Nelson's decisions, thoughts, and actions throughout his day? How do the things we display in our surroundings influence OUR decisions, thoughts, and actions? For example, the polished rock on President Nelson's desk may remind him of the importance of building our testimony on the Rock of our Savior, or being steadfast and immovable. Perhaps it reminds him of the stone Daniel saw in vision, tumbling down the mountain. Maybe he envisions becoming as polished as that stone in the hands of his Master. Whatever he thinks of, it must be of some importance if the stone is on his desk where he sees it for much of the time he is in his office!

My Title of Liberty will hopefully serve the same purpose. Same thing with the quote book. I want them in places where I can see them and be reminded of my commitment to stand for truth and righteousness!

What are some objects you surround yourself with and how do they remind you of good principles?

The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ

mormon.org

I finished my Value Project for the value of VIRTUE last night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was beyond excited! I LOVE the Book of Mormon! I love to read overall, but this is definitely my all-time favorite book! It gives me the best feelings ever. The Spirit testifies to me that what I read is true and that if I follow its teachings I will be blessed! It contains the fulness of the gospel and, as Joseph Smith said, it is the most correct book on the face of the earth! (I'll get back to this in a sec--I've got some thoughts on it.) It is the keystone of our religion. (I'll talk more about this too.) It was written by prophets of God who taught His principles. It is God's word and a second witness to the Bible. The Book of Mormon does not replace the Bible and the Bible does not replace the Book of Mormon.

Now, as I said a minute ago, Joseph Smith said that the Book of Mormon is the most correct book on earth. But in Mormon 8, Moroni tells us that, even though it is from God, he used man to bring it forth and no man is perfect. Moroni says that there are faults in the text, but they are the faults of man, not God. There are people who would say, "Wait! Joseph Smith said that the book was the most correct on earth! But Moroni says that there are faults! Who is right? Who is wrong? Isn't God an unchangeable God? If so, wouldn't his prophets be consistent?" Well, the Book of Mormon is the most correct book spiritually speaking. Remember, the Book of Mormon often reminds us that there is a difference between spiritual and temporal. The same is true here.

I also said I would expound my thoughts on 'the keystone' concept. Many times the Book of Mormon has been compared to a keystone. The arch in this analogy is our religion--that of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Anyone who knows anything about arches knows that without the keystone, the arch will fall. But what about the other stones of the arch? Aren't they important, too? The other stones in an arch represent all of the other concepts of our beliefs. Families can be together forever, the Word of Wisdom, repentance, tithing, the list goes on. And without these stones, there literally would not be an arch. These principles make up our religion. So they are important--very! But the keystone is what holds the arch together. (If there are any engineers reading this right now, please tell me in the comments how that works!) If we didn't have the Book of Mormon, all of the other principles we listed would fail. They would crumble, and what would we have then? _____________ You couldn't fill in this blank with anything. We would have nothing, nowhere to turn. No iron rod to guide us!

The Book of Mormon is SO important! I urge you, as prophets have urged, to read and study the Book of Mormon if you haven't already, no matter what age, and no matter how long it takes you. Don't give up. And if you have read it, STUDY it over and over and over and over. You only get the important stuff  by STUDYING! Never stop! Don't let anything deter you from studying this Book day after day after day, for the rest of your life! It truly is the most correct book in principle on the whole face of the earth!

Happy reading studying!