you're invited...

to learn more about my mission! haha :) 

like any good first-grade journalist... i've decided to write out the "5 W's + H" of my mission {please tell me i'm not the only one who learned those in elementary school haha}

WHO 

Jesus :)

missionary me :)

Here's the thing... it's really not about me. It's mostly about Jesus, and it's mostly about other people. :)

WHAT

A mission is a voluntary act of service to God & humankind. We serve with the sole hope of making life better for other people. :)  My purpose will be to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. I'll be waking up early, studying my scriptures, meeting new people, sharing my testimony of Jesus Christ, teaching the gospel, and inviting people to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and follow His example :)
I'm dedicating this part of my life to Him as completely as possible, so I'll be very selective about the music I listen to, I won't be on facebook or twitter or anything, I won't be using my phone, and I'll just be emailing my family once a week. Every one can please write me letters though! :) :)

WHEN & WHERE

I report to the Missionary Training Center on November 14th. I'll be there for a couple weeks, and then I'm headed to the Wisconsin Milwaukee mission for 18 months! :) 

HOW

I'd like to quote a Book of Mormon prophet here:

"Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in His strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever." Alma 26:12

He is how. :) 

WHY

I first considered serving a full-time mission when I was like... seven. But mostly just because my aunt was the age to go and she was thinking about it. She didn't end up serving, but the idea stuck and it felt good :) So I've sort of always planned on it, and experiences during high school and college have only strengthened that desire. 

Then, while I was working at efy, it became less an option and more a necessity haha. I felt and still feel very strongly that a mission is where I need to be as soon as possible. The gospel of Jesus Christ is something I love more than anything, and I can't think of anything more important that I could be talking about or more beautiful that I could be doing.
 I know that God lives, and I know that He loves & is aware of us. Some people don't know that. How can I not at least try to share my happiness with them? Jesus Christ atoned for the sins of the world. Because of Him, we all can have hope. How can I not share this hope with people? God has a plan for our happiness. We can be with our families forever. There is life after death. There is a purpose to our life here on earth. Somethings are too important to keep to myself.

While I was at efy, my angel Amanda shared with a group of us a verse that hit me as very few verses have before or since. I knew I wanted to serve a mission, and my application was already in the works, but I was struggling with how much I'm going to miss the things I love... my friends, my home, my family... even stupid stuff like my music and my clothes haha. The Savior's question to Peter - Lovest thou me more than these? - hit me SO HARD, and I knew my answer. I knew that this is why I'm leaving everything else I love behind. I love home. I love my friends. I love my family. But I love Jesus more. And He has asked me to feed His lambs. So I'm going.

"Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of Him to declare His word among his people, that they might have everlasting life." 3 Ne. 5:13

From my call letter:

"The Lord will reward you for the goodness of your life. Greater blessings and more happiness than you have yet experienced await you as you humbly and prayerfully serve the Lord in this labor of love among His children. We place our confidence in you and pray that the Lord will help you become an effective missionary."

aaaaaaaamen! WISCONSIN HERE I COME. :) :)

motivation

First of all, a story. 

There was once a man who had a dream. And in that dream, he "beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy." He also "beheld a rod of iron, and it led to the tree by which I stood." He observes two different groups of people moving forward along that rod of iron, towards that tree and its fruit. The first is described thus:

"I beheld others pressing forward, and they came forth and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree. And after they had partaken of the fruit of the tree they did cast their eyes about as if they were ashamed. And after they had tasted of the fruit they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost."

He then saw a second group, described as, "other multitudes pressing forward; and they came and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree."

What makes the difference between the first group, who were afterwards ashamed, and the second who were not? The answer, I think, is found in the difference between "clinging" and "continually holding fast." Clearly in this context the word clinging has a negative meaning. The word "cling" can denote fear, and I think in this case it certainly does. By contrast, "continually holding fast" denotes the same amount of dedication to this rod of iron, but with a significantly different motivation.

Interestingly, the first group - the clingers - mentions a "mist of darkness," (certainly frightening) while those who continually hold fast do not. Did they just grab onto the rod of iron to help them escape the darkness, and not necessarily to get to the fruit?

So let's break the metaphor apart. Let's say that the tree is Jesus Christ, and the fruit is His love. Let's also say that the rod of iron is Christ, because He can do that - be both the Way, the Reason, and the Result. :)

What we have are two reasons for following Christ ~ fear, and the opposite of fear - love. Our first group, motivated by fear, eventually becomes ashamed and falls away from the Savior. The second group, motivated by love, does not.

I think this has an important message for us about why we should do the things we do and how we should motivate others. Do we follow Christ because we're afraid that if we don't we'll be somehow unbearably punished? Because we're afraid of what others might think of us? If so, that will eventually fall away, and we'll be left with nothing to stand on - no reason to stay.
Fear is infinitely weaker than love.

By great contrast, Dieter F. Uchtdorf taught that,
"His pure love directs and encourages us to become more pure and holy. It inspires us to walk in righteousness—not out of fear or obligation but out of an earnest desire to become even more like Him because we love Him.
 Divine love is the factor that transforms reluctant compliance with God’s commandments into blessed dedication and consecration. Love is the guiding light that illuminates the disciple’s path and fills our daily walk with life, meaning, and wonder. Love is the measure of our faith, the inspiration for our obedience, and the true altitude of our discipleship. Love is the way of the disciple." {emphasis added}


As a second witness of this truth, Henry B. Eyring testifies that,

"Love is the motivating principle by which the Lord leads us along the way towards becoming like Him, our perfect example. Our way of life, hour by hour, must be filled with the love of God and love for others... It is love of God that will lead us to keep His commandments. And love of others is at the heart of our capacity to obey Him."

May we be ever more motivated by love for our Savior, and not keep His commandments motivated by fear or obligation. As we come to know Him more and feel more strongly of His infinite and abiding love for us, we will be inspired by this love and be able to continually hold fast to Him and eventually taste of His Love and never be ashamed :)  

the love of a father

So I'm home with my family again :) Funny story though... friday morning I missed my 7am flight, and if you've never flown during the holidays let me just tell you that trying to fly standby is not going to work. All the flights are overbooked. So I called my parents and let them know what had happened. By some miracle, my Dad was able to find me a seat on a different airline leaving in about 4 hours (as opposed to the 5 I would've had to wait to maybe get a seat flying standby... but they probably wouldn't've had room for me on that flight or the 6pm one... so I would've been stranded in SLC for days.) Thank you Daddy!

Today I was listening to this song, and thinking about Christmas, and the Love God showed us in sending His Son, and how grateful I am to be home, and I started thinking about the love my father showed me when he bought me a new ticket home. I messed up, I missed the flight (it wasn't 100% my fault, but it partially was). We didn't really play the blame game, Daddy just brought me home. He provided another way for me, at great personal cost, because he loves me. I'm just so thankful that he was willing and able to do that for me. Even more, I am thankful that my Heavenly Father was willing and able to send his Only Begotten Son into the world, that I might live through him. That is how he shows me His great Love for me.

Let Love lead us; Love is Christmas.

:) merry christmas y'all ♥

xox

what is love?

baby don't hurt me..... ;)

So I re-read The Four Loves today
& it gave me some food for thought.

for a few weeks i've been trying to decide how to love somebody and if/when to just give up. trying to do what's healthy for me and what God wants for us.

this is what I read:

"We shall draw nearer to God, not by trying to avoid the sufferings inherent in all loves, but by accepting them and offering them to Him; throwing away all defensive armour. If our hearts need to be broken, and if He chooses this as the way in which they should break, so be it."

"It is probably impossible to love any human being simply "too much." We may love him too much in proportion to our love for God; but it is the smallness of our love for God, not the greatness of our love for the man, the constitues the inordinacy."

"In everyone, and of course in ourselves, there is that which requires forbearance, tolerance, forgiveness. The necessity of practising these virtues first sets us, forces us, upon the attempt to turn - more strictly, to let God turn - our love into Charity."

So i'm turning this over to God. asking Him to turn this "love" into Charity. offering Him everything (or trying to.) praying for increased love for Him & others. we'll see how this goes :)

a prayer for healing and peace

This morning as I got on facebook and started scrolling through the newsfeed, I noticed several posts by kids from my old high school about a lockdown. As I looked further into it, I learned that there had been a violent incident involving three young girls. {If you'd like the details, you can get them from the school website.} I called my mom and texted a few friends to see if they'd heard the news. I have three siblings at that high school, and I was worried about their safety and emotional well-being. I was able to talk to my oldest brother on the phone tonight, and he says they're all doing fine, though obviously shaken by what happened.

In thinking about what has happened, a few thoughts and quotes have come to mind.

One thing that always boggles my mind is the dichotomy of good and evil in the world. How can such awful and sorrowful events occur on the same day in the same world, same town, and same facebook page as such beautiful and joyful events?

Gordon B. Hinckley said,

‎I have seen much of ugliness in this world. Most of it is the work of man. But I think I have seen much more of beauty. I marvel at the majestic works of the Creator. How magnificent they are. And they are all the work of the Son of God. 

The ugliness of what happened today is shocking. But beauty is still present in this world, even in tragedy.

Today I have had a continual prayer in my heart for the girls involved in the incident, both the two who were victims and the one who attacked them. Everyone needs our prayers and our hearts. God's love is infinite. God's love is Healing. "I am the Lord that healeth thee." {Ex. 15:26} Please pray for healing for these girls, their families, and all who were affected today.

I have been inspired and brought to tears by the unity I've seen among people in my hometown who have banded together in prayer and hope, and by the courage demonstrated by a close friend of my brother who heard the girls scream for help. I know that, as Helen Keller said,

Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it. 

Witnessing my young friends and siblings overcome and unite has been inspiring. I pray that they will continue to be able to overcome, and that they will have peace.

It makes me terribly sad that my younger siblings and friends have had to experience this. No teenager should ever have to deal with the emotions that come when a peer and friend is involved in such a violent attack at school. It's unfair, and I feel for the young people involved. I pray over them, that they will have peace and healing at this time as well.

One of my young friends at the high school wrote,

Everyone has a story. God's taking care of those in need today. Praying for safety & compassion at our school.

I join in her prayer for safety and compassion and add a prayer for her as well. God's hand is over everything.

I believe in hope. I believe in thinking of others before myself. I believe in God's infinite love and care for all of us. And what I believe is what gets me through.

God has told us,

Fear thou not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy God. I with strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee.

Tonight, as I pray for peace and healing over all who were affected, I trust in God's great love and compassion for all of us. I know that I cannot fully fathom what happened today, but I know with my whole being that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, and that His Love brings peace, and healing, and that He understands. I know that He lives, that He loves us, and that He cares about each and every person in this world. I pray that others can know this as well.

I've been listening to beautiful things and there will be a day tonight, along with some instrumental hymns.

There will be a day

with no more tears

no more pain

and no more fears...

but until that day

we'll hold on to You always.

pray for love. pray for peace.

forgiving

This I know: God is all-loving, all-knowing, and all-powerful.

Because He is all-loving, He wants us to be happy.

Because He is all-knowing, He knows what will make us happy.

Because He is all-powerful, He can make us happy if we only use our will to choose His will.

One of of His commandments designed to bring us ultimate happiness is forgiveness:

"I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.. Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Matt 5:44-45, 48

Of course, this all sounds like a great idea until you're faced with actually having to forgive someone who doesn't deserve it, or love someone who persecutes you. C.S. Lewis wrote,

"I admit that this means loving people who have nothing loveable about them. But then, has oneself anything loveable about it? You love it simply because it is yourself... We have then to go on and apply the rule to all the other selves. Perhaps it makes it easier if we remember that that is how He loves us. Not for any nice, attractive qualities we think we have, but just because we are the things called selves." 

Dieter F. Uchtdorf teaches us more about how God loves us:

just fyi

God gives us calm

and forgiveness

and love

and peace

and i'm incredibly thankful.

what an awesome God we have

how loving, how kind,

how present

♥

Jesus takes care of us. 

Forgiveness is in His hands, and He's all I need to make me happy. :)

‎"It is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world’s healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself."
~Corrie ten Boom

love is

Earlier this week I was listening to "Someone Like You" by Adele {whom I love, by the way. such a fabulously talented singer.} And today the song was running through my head, and it got me to thinking. The gist of the song is her going back to visit an old boyfriend, and he's settled down, found a girl, and married now, but for her it isn't over. "Nevermind, I'll find someone like you," is the chorus. It's a good song, but what I wanted to write about is what it made me think.
And what it made me think is this:


Every time I've been the saddest, it's been because I was focusing on myself. Thinking about how miserable I was, and focusing on my own situation and how bad it was for me. It's true, what Henry B. Eyring said - "Sorrow comes primarily from selfishness, which is the absence of love." Anger is this way too. They're selfish emotions. My life is hard, I am sad, I can't believe this is happening to me. 
Last June I was sort of down about things, when we were asked to volunteer for the Special Olympics. I didn't really want to go, but I went anyways, and it was exactly what I needed. {I wrote about it here.} 
What I learned from that and from other experiences is to stop focusing on myself, and start focusing more on other people. It's happier that way :) Instead of being sad or angry, just try to love other people. Love is a purely selfless emotion. All the good definitions say so :)

"Charity suffers long, and is kind, and envies not, and is not puffed up, seeks not her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil, and rejoices not in iniquity but rejoices in the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." {Moroni 7:45} 


Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. {1 Corinthians 13:4-7, NIV}


Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person's ultimate good as far as it can be obtained. — C.S. Lewis


Joys come from putting the welfare of others above our own. That is what love is. — Henry B. Eyring

:) Life is happier when you put love first, and focus on others instead of yourself. 

trust

Let's start with a personal weakness of mine: I sometimes find it hard to picture God concretely, like as a real person. I know a lot about Him, but it's hard to know Him, especially when I can't see Him. Luckily, I believe He gave us relationships with other people to teach us about Him. So when I'm having trouble imagining God, I think about the people I know personally who sort of embody certain characteristics of Him.

Today, I'm thinking about trust. Trusting God to do what is best for me, and for the people I love. So I’m thinking about the people I know I can really trust. What is it about them that makes them trustworthy? Six main characteristics came to mind:

1. I know them. This might seem like an obvious one, but think about it. I have a basic trust in humanity just because I like to believe that most people are good, but I would never give a stranger the keys to my car. I know all the people I trust very well, and the more I know them them more I know I can trust them.

2. They are consistent. They don't change on me. If they say they'll be there, then they are. They've never not been there for me when I needed them. 

3. They are honest.

4. They are wise and/or knowledgeable. When we were younger, my dad would make up these silly rules for us. Like, don't jump on the banister. He said that he knew it would break because he had done it himself when he was younger. But we ignored the rule. What did Dad know? Turns out... he was right. The banister broke, and we got in trouble. Or what about when Mom said, I think you should do this, or not do that? What does she know. It's not like she was ever a teenager herself. Oh wait. Mom was right too. Maybe I should trust the people who know a little bit more than me about life. :)

5. They have power. You know that trust-fall game, where you fall backwards and trust the person behind you to catch you? I would never play that with a little kid as the catcher. I would crush them. They just don't have the power or ability to catch me. I like to play it with people who are strong enough to support me and hold me up :)

6. They love me. I am absolutely confident in the love that these people have for me, and that above all else allows me to trust them completely.

So then, if God is perfect in every way, I can safely assume that He is perfectly consistent, honest, all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-loving.  And I can assume that the more I know Him, the better I will be able to trust Him. So, let's learn more about Him and how He is trustworthy :)

a collection of quotes and verses on the subject of love

Jesus said, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." {Matthew 22:37-40}

"God the Eternal Father did not give that first great commandment because He needs us to love Him. His power and glory are not diminished should we disregard, deny, or even defile His name. His influence and dominion extend through time and space independent of our acceptance, approval, or admiration.

No, God does not need us to love Him. But oh, how we need to love God!

For what we love determines what we seek.

What we seek determines what we think and do.

What we think and do determines who we are—and who we will become."
dieter f. uchtdorf

"God the Father watches over us, fills our hearts with breathtaking joy, brightens our darkest hours with blessed peace, distills upon our minds precious truths, shepherds us through times of distress, rejoices when we rejoice, and answers our righteous petitions. He offers to His children the promise of a glorious and infinite existence and has provided a way for us to progress in knowledge and glory until we receive a fulness of joy. He has promised us all that He has. If all that is not enough reason to love our Heavenly Father, perhaps we can learn from the words of the Apostle John, who said, “We love him, because He first loved us."{1 John 4:19}"
dieter f. uchtdorf

Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments," {John 14:15} and, "A new commandment I give unto, that you love one another, as I have loved you." {John 13:34}

"I admit that this means loving people who have nothing loveable about them. But then, has oneself anything loveable about it? You love it simply because it is yourself... We have then to go on and apply the rule to all the other selves. Perhaps it makes it easier if we remember that that is how He loves us. Not for any nice, attractive qualities we think we have, but just because we are the things called selves."
c.s. lewis

"Think of the purest, most all-consuming love you can imagine. Now multiply that love by an infinite amount—that is the measure of God’s love for you. 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. He loves us because He is filled with an infinite measure of holy, pure, and indescribable love. We are important to God not because of our résumé but because we are His children. He loves every one of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken. God’s love is so great that He loves even the proud, the selfish, the arrogant, and the wicked."
dieter f. uchtdorf

Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. {1 John 4:11}

Charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endures forever. Charity suffers long, and is kind, and envies not, and is not puffed up, seeks not her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil, and rejoices not in iniquity but rejoices in the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Wherefore, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love. {Moroni 7:45,47-48}

"Love is the motivating principle by which the Lord leads us along the way towards becoming like Him, our perfect example. Our way of life, hour by hour, must be filled with the love of God and love for others... It is love of God that will lead us to keep His commandments. And love of others is at the heart of our capacity to obey Him."
henry b. eyring

"Joys come from putting the welfare of others above our own. That is what love is."
henry b. eyring

:)

to forgive

Growing up, I had forgiveness explained to me a lot of different ways.

One was simply that God asked us to forgive, so we should. This is a good reason. Sometimes we do things just because God said so; we don't need a reason, we just trust Him. But it's not very convincing to me.

So another reason offered is, how can we expect forgiveness if we do not extend it ourselves? Jesus said,

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." {Matt. 6:14-15, NKJV}

In the Parable of the Unjust Servant, Jesus teaches me that I can't expect God to forgive me if I withhold forgiveness from others, and reminds me that I have been forgiven a much greater debt than I can ever imagine. I owe Jesus Christ such a huge debt, and He frankly forgave me. How then can I withhold forgiveness from my fellowman, for such a pitiful debt in comparison? "Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?" {Matt. 18:33, NIV} C.S. Lewis wrote,

"To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgive the inexcusable in you." {“On Forgiveness” from The Weight of Glory}

I have done so many incredibly stupid things in my life, yet still I hope that I will be forgiven. Can I expect that God will forgive me, and not them? If I believe that I can change and be forgiven, then I have to believe that everyone can do the same; that nothing is outside the scope of Christ's infinite Atonement.

how does Christ love us?

Deeply and unconditionally. Without expecting anything in return. Individually, not collectively. If we love Him back, we will show it by keeping his commandments. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. His love for us is a free gift that He willingly offers us, but we have to do something about. We have to act and allow it to work in us, act on it and be changed.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. We are his friends, if we do whatsoever he commands us.
Because He loves us, He wants us to be truly happy, and He knows the only way to receive true happiness is from the Father through Him. He points back to God, always. He glorifies God. He is not proud or boastful or self-centered. He places higher value on us than himself. He put us above Himself - even though we do not deserve it! And he did it because he loves us. He loves us despite our rejection of him. He doesn't need us to love him - he loved us first! We need to love Him. He wants us to love him so that we can be happy. He was willing to sacrifice everything, just to give us the chance, the opportunity for happiness.
He is patient with our faults. He knows we are trying. His influence will bring us closer to the Father. He helps us reach this higher ground. He is never content with what we think is our best - He has better things in mind for us. He will never rest until we are safely home again. He will never give up on us. He cares about us and suffers with us. He mourns with us and rejoices with us.
There is nothing we could do to make Him stop loving us - he always will. He will protect and defend us. He is always there. He wants us to rely on Him. He fights for us. He gives us little blessings to brighten our day :) He has eternal hope for us. He bled and died for the sinner and the saint. His love is offered to everyone - the difference is who will take it and make something of it. He even loves the people who hate Him and do terrible things to Him. And he never, ever gives up on them either. His love has a purifying, perfecting effect. It is cleansing. It makes us want to be better people. It helps us to become better. It is constant. It improves our life. I should love people this same way - deeply and unconditionally. Love = service and sacrifice.

what does it mean to love my neighbor as myself?

Well, how do I love myself? I am very understanding. I dislike some of the things that I do, but I love and accept myself anyways. I hope the best for myself. I don't give up on myself. If I loved my neighbor in this way, I would always give them the benefit of the doubt. I would accept them, quirks and all. I would never abandon them or give up on them. I would do kind things for them.

to love

So here's what I think. It's not love if you feel like you have to win or earn the other person's affection. If you feel like they'll only love you if you're a certain person, it's not love. You should want to please them because you love them, and/or because you already know they love you. You shouldn't feel like you have to get them to love you, or that you have to be careful/on your toes for fear that they'll stop loving you. There is no fear in love; perfect love casts out fear :)
That being said, it does take effort to keep love alive. You can't ever mistreat it, disrespect it, or take it for granted. Don't give up on love just because it gets hard. Real love is everlasting. It takes effort from both sides.
Love is patient. It will endure many things. It doesn't give up. Christ will never give up on us. Love is kind. Never cruel or harsh. Caring, thinks about the other person. Gentle, soft. Love is not jealous. It is not proud. Seeketh not her own, puts the other person first. No pride - doesn't think a lot of themselves. High sense of self-worth, yes, but also meek and humble. Love is not easily provoked - goes along with patience, not envying, kindess. Even-tempered. Chill. Relaxed. Thinks no evil. Doesn't rejoice in sin. Rejoices in the truth. True love bears all things, hopes everything, endures everything, and believes all things. :) Christ perfectly embodies charity. If I want to be Christlike, so should I. Christ said, "I have loved thee with an everlasting love." True love is patient and kind - it never gives up. It endures forever. Nothing anyone can do can change this kind of pure, Christlike love. It's untouchable. Unrequited, it will still continue, always there, never boastful, never rude, never thinking evil or rejoicing in evil. If you really, truly love someone, you will put them first. You will always be happy for the good things that happen to them. You will take no thought for yourself. You will not envy them or any other. You will think kind thoughts. You will always hope, always endure, and always believe. Love is closely related to trust and faith. There is a peace and calm that comes with this sort of love. Love gives. It is a purely unselfish emotion. Think no evil - ever. Leads to action - serve those you love.

Perfect love casteth out all fear; I fear not what man can do.

If I love perfectly, then I will have no more fear. If I can love as Christ does, then I will feel only happiness for the good things in other people's lives. I need to see people as Christ does. That is what I will pray for - that I will love them with a perfect love. I need to pray to love more, with a Christlike love. Charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever, and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him. Charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in inquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Wherefore, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all those who are the followers of his Son, Jesus Christ. {Moro. 7:45, 47-48}
Charity will make me happy and bring me peace. Charity never faileth.

oh, how He loves

I can't imagine what it would feel like to honestly think that Heavenly Father didn't love me. That is the deepest most basic, purest, simplest part of my testimony. And I think sometimes we take that knowledge for granted in the church. Every Sunday me and all the other young women stand up and say, "We are daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us." That basic truth is so important, and vital! Everything in the gospel relates back to it. Oh if I could just implant one simple truth in everyone's brain, it would be that God loves them, absolutely and unconditionally. I know absolutely that God is real and that we are His beloved spirit children, and that He loves us infinitely and eternally and unconditionally. Everything in the gospel comes back to the love of Christ and God. Even if we reject them and work against them, their love remains. Always. It's incredible. I feel so blessed to know this. I need to share this with other people. God is love :)


"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." {John 3:16} 

"I have loved thee with an everlasting love." {Jer. 31:3}

"Having loved his own... he loveth them until the end." {John 13:1} 

"Greater love hath no man than this = that a man lay down his life for his friends." {John 15:13} 

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." {Rom. 5:8} 

"I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things." {1 Ne. 11:17}  

"The love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men... is the most desirable above all things... and the most joyous to the soul." {1 Ne. 11:22-23} 

"If ye love me, keep my commandments." {John 14:15} 

"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my bretheren, ye have done it unto me." {Matt. 25:40}


"He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation." {2 Ne. 26:24}