Christ Knows You

Today I had the wonderful opportunity to go to an LDS Young Single Adult Conference here in St. George and was blessed with so many wonderful lessons and testimonies. One meeting we had was a testimony meeting, but time ran out before I had the chance to share mine. I feel that what I had to say then is still important for someONE out there, so I hope that someone will hear it from here. This little piece of my testimony is about how well Heavenly Father and Christ know and love YOU--as an individual, as the person you are, as the son or daughter you are! If visual comparisons help teach the point, here's something to think about. Take a simple leaf from a tree, it's simple, not much, yet beautiful. Zoom out to the 2nd power. Now you're looking at a full tree. Go to the third power and you have a forrest. Continue this pattern and at the 14th power, the Earth has become a microscopic speck in the galaxy, which is just a freckle in the universe. How amazing is it to think that all of that was created by Christ?! He knows every part of it, how it functions; every piece has a role. Now start back at the leaf. Again, it is something so simple, yet beautiful. Zoom in to the 2nd power and you can see the details of the texture and physical structure of the leaf. Go to the 14th power, and now you're looking at the tiny atoms which follow direct rules of construction to make the molecules work together and create everything about that simple leaf. Within the one leaf, Christ has created millions of pieces and tools which work together with a purpose. How amazing is that?! Christ Knows Everything! Knowing this, Is it not evident that Christ Knows You? Looking again at physics, our bodies, inside and out, are created with such care. Every single molecule has a purpose and is known individually by Christ. The simplest things as one DNA molecule is what makes you who you are, seperate from everyone else. And Christ, our Savior, knows that. If He and our Heavenly parents put so much care and time into every part of you, is there not a purpose for us? Would they not want each of us to return to them? I'm sorry this is so long, but I feel it's important to know that CHRIST KNOWS AND LOVES YOU INDIVIDUALLY! You have been created and brought to this Earth with purpose and with love. No matter where you are in life, Christ knows everything, and all you need to do is follow Him. Be all you can be. Pray to Him; He is listening. "Love is the measure of our faith, the inspiration for our obedience, and the true altitude of our discipleship...Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost and without compass, God’s love encompasses us completely." Deiter F. Uchtdorf p.s. Here is slide show (yes, it's in spanish) from a mission president which brought this whole concept into play for me.

Temples of The Lord

Over the fall break, a few friends and I took a small 2 day trip to visit some of the LDS temples here in Utah. We made our first stop at the Salt Lake City temple, stopped at Jordan River temple that evening, then spent that night with family. We started our journey back south the next day by going first to the Draper Temple, 2nd the Oquirrh Mountain Temple, and then made our last pit stop at the Provo Temple. During these visits, we took as much time as we could doing temple work, as well as simply enjoying the wonderful spirit and comfort the temple grounds offered. It was such a wonderful experience! Spending two days doing the Lord's work gave such an overwhelming spirit and love! It was something I wish every person could feel! It felt like a 2-day mission :)
The temples of the Lord are the closest we can be to Heaven while here on this Earth. I believe we need to take that into account and take advantage of any opportunities we have to go and do the Lord's work. And if time doesn't offer itself, create time to at least visit the temple grounds and give yourself the blessings of the spirit that are there.
I believe that the more we do this, the more we can take on in life. Not that life will necessarily be any less demanding, but we will be stronger to stand through it. The temple grounds can be your place of refuge. There, your heart and mind can be free from distractions of life and will be open to receive messages, understandings, and comforts that you may need at the time. The more we do this, the more 'regular' it can become; staying in tune with the spirit can become as a second nature.

Cookies

Often times we tend to take simple tasks and make them more complicated than they need to be. My story today is about not following the recipe when making simple chocolate chip cookies.

Every once in a while, it's fun to make some cookies and secretly take them to a few friends. I usually do this with at least one other friend, but tonight It was just me in the kitchen. I pulled out the recipe book, scanned over the ingredients to make sure I knew what I needed, and quickly started putting things together. I put the first tray of cookies in the oven, and left the kitchen for a minute. When I came back, my sister was in tasting the dough and mentioned that it tasted a bit bland. I tasted it--terribly bland!--and realized I'd forgotten to put the sugar in!

Without thinking too much,I put the full 1 1/4 cups of sugar in the remaining dough and mixed it in. ...then after looking at it and tasting it again, I caught another mistake. I'd put too much sugar in for the amount of dough I had. I felt pretty silly by now. I figured though that if I added just the right amount of the other ingredients, things would even out well enough. Well...long story short, it didn't. The 2nd pan of cookies was just as..interesting as the first.

Well, through the rough trial I faced today, I have learned a couple lessons.
One of them is comparing the recipe book the the scriptures. Like the cook book, the scriptures clearly tell us each ingredient that is absolutely necessary to become as perfect as we can be and to come unto Christ. It tells us the commandments and teachings as directions of how we apply the principles and ordinances of the gospel into our lives. If we read carefully and study the book(scriptures) and follow the directions with direct obedience, we will be blessed with the final product of an eternal life back home with our Heavenly Father and Christ.

Now, the second lesson I learned is that when making chocolate chip cookies, if they don't turn out quite right, the trash can is always open for more. ;)

Agency=Accountability

In Helaman chapter 14, Samuel the Lamanite is preaching to the Nephites about repentance. I've read this chapter and heard the story many times, but this time I learned something new. After I read verse 8, I had the feeling and thoughts of confirmation that I knew this was the true gospel and that if I stay faithful and strong to Christ through it, I will be able to return to Him.
8: And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall believe on the Son of God, the same shall be saved.

Another insight I had was in the end of the chapter with verses 29-31. Samuel teaches and reminds us that we have every bit of freedom to choose our actions--but when we pick up the stick with action on one end, we also pick up the other end which is the consequence. We must realize that we have no ability to determine the consequences of our actions. If we want certain things to happen, we must be willing to take the action which leads to that consequence--good or bad. I believe the main point of this within the gospel is the fact that if we want good things to happen, we must take the action of following Christ. If we want bad things to happen(who would do that?!) then we follow Satan. Such a simple concept that, for some reason, seems to be difficult for us as humans to grasp.

Helaman 14:28-31:
"...whosoever will believe might be saved, and that whosoever will not believe, a righteous judgment might come upon them; and also if they are condemned they bring upon themselves their own condemnation."
"And now remember, my brethren, that whosoever perisheth, perisheth unto himself; and whosoever doeth iniquity, doeth it unto himself; for behold, ye are free; ye are permitted to act for yourselfves; for behold, God hath given unto you a knowledge and he hath made you free."
"He hath given unto you that ye might know good from evil, and he hath given unto you that ye might choose life or death; and ye can do good and be restored unto that which is good, or ye can do evil and have that which is evil restored unto you."