Let No Man Despise Thy Youth

This past week in New Testament we talked about 1 & 2 Timothy. I love the scripture in 1 Timothy Chapter 4:1, it says, "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." It just makes me think of the mission age change and how Heavenly Father is trusting younger people to go spread His son's gospel. We may be told that we are too young or too inexperienced but God has a patterned of trusting younger people. 

God trusted a 14 year old boy with probably one of the biggest tasks in these Latter-days. If He could trust a 14 year old, uneducated boy to bring about the last dispensation and return the fullness of the gospel to this earth He can trust young people like us to push Christ's work forward. 

I know I sometimes forget the trust Heavenly Father has placed in me. But if I step back and take time to remember that He has placed me on this earth at this specific time to further the work then I can gain confidence in the trust He has placed in me. Not only has He trusted me for this time, but He prepared me for this. He trusts me enough to have blessed me with the knowledge and faith of the true church from a young age. It is now my responsibility to honor that trust Heavenly Father has given me. I need to honor His will and follow the plan He has for me, no matter what it may be. 

Fruits of Righteousness

This week in New Testament we went over Philippians and in Chapter 1:11 it talks about being filled with "fruits of righteousness." We talked about how that means using the gift of the Atonement that Christ has given us to it's full potential. Not only does the Atonement let us be forgiven of our sins but it can also empower us in Christ. The more we come to understand the gift of the Atonement and the power it can have in our lives the more "fruits of righteousness" we can see in our lives.

When I read "fruits of righteousness" I think of that being the consequences of the good things that I do. For example, I have been trying to go to the temple every week this semester and every time I go I feel such great peace and it gives me precious time to think through the tough decisions I have before me. Each time I go my testimony of temples is strengthened and I can see more blessings from being obedient to the prophets council of worthy temple attendance.

The more righteous acts that I do the stronger my testimony grows of this gospel. I am working completely replacing fear with faith and something that has helped me is finding strength in the Atonement. Christ will help me along the way and as I make big decisions. As I come to better understand the Atonement of Christ I can become better myself and begin to see more "fruits of righteousness" in my life.

I Will Follow God's Plan for Me

This past week in New Testament we talked about how the Prophets are always right. And with this past weekend of soul searching I am newly determined to follow my Heavenly Father's plan for me. A huge part of that is listening to and following the Prophets. We are so blessed to have living Prophets on the earth today and have the technology to have their counsel so readily available to us. I am so excited to have General Conference right around the corner where we get to receive guidance and answers to our prayers. Without the guidance of our Prophets and revelation it would be so difficult to know how to make decisions and I have a hard time doing that with their help! 

I find such peace and comfort in the words and counsel given by the Prophets and I am so grateful to have them. I have such faith in the Prophets and am confident that they are the true mouthpieces for God and they are leading this church the same way Christ would if He were here on the earth. I am amazed that I was trusted with the knowledge and blessing of being raised in the true gospel here on the earth. I can only hope and pray that I am living the way Christ would to push His work forward. 

Taken Care Of

These last couple days have been perfect days. I am so blessed. I'll admit it all started with a depressing movie I watched by myself. In this movie the main character is a fun-loving, pretty girl with amazing friends and life. She meets a charming doctor and falls in love. But the reason she met this doctor was because he was the doctor that diagnosed her with late-stage colon cancer. SPOILER ALERT: She dies in the end and I could not hold back the tears. Something about her life ending so short made me scared for my life. Not scared that I was going to die, but scared that I don't know what my life plan is right now. I couldn't sleep after that and began furiously searching for answers in my scriptures, in talks, and in prayer. I didn't come to any major conclusions that night but I did come to the conclusion that I needed a blessing and a chill pill. I then said a prayer that I could have some kind of peace just to get me through the night. God is good and blessed me with that peace.

I then woke up the next morning and texted my home teachers to come over to give me a blessing. They answered eagerly and assured me they would be there later that evening. I then continued to search for answers every way I know how. Then another tender mercy, my best friend Conner called me and asked to come over. He must have known I needed some help, he always knows what to say. He helped me realize that I don't need to have a plan right now. God has a plan and if I continue to move forward with faith that plan will be presented to me in due time. Most importantly, Heavenly Father has taken care of me thus far and there is no reason that would ever change.

Later that day my faithful and ever diligent Home Teachers came over as promised. They gave me a perfect blessing of peace and comfort to know that Heavenly Father is aware of me and my needs and desires. The blessing only left me with peace and joy knowing that I will be taken care of.

The next day I had the amazing opportunity to go to the Draper Temple with good friends from the ward. The Draper Temple is so beautiful, I was just amazed by the views and the peace that surrounded and filled that temple. Inside the temple I had a permanent grin on my face, I was experiencing pure joy. I was again overwhelmed by the confirmation of Conner's point, that I will be taken care of.

That day continued with only great things, spending quality time with people I love and the continued feeling that I will be taken care of. 

Then to top all this spiritual uplift-ment off I again had more peace and tender mercies given to me today at church. The lessons and talks were all perfect topics of things I needed to hear. I was yet again overcome with the feeling that I will be taken care of. 

So, in conclusion, of all the many things I don't know about my future, there is one thing I know for absolute certain- I will be taken care of. 

Forward with Faith

This last week in New Testament we talked about moving forward in faith instead of being paralyzed in fear. This is something that is really difficult for me. I would just like Heavenly Father to just tell me the plan that He has for me, sparing no details. But that's not the way He works unfortunately. We have to take a step into the dark to see the light. (Some prophet or apostle said something to that effect, forgive me for not having the exact quote.) That's super hard for me because I am a girl who likes to have a plan, so when I don't have one it stresses me out. Slowly but surely I am learning to take those steps of faith to progress instead of remaining idle and just waiting around for an answer that wont come. I need to be actively moving forward and looking for the answers and have the faith that it will all work out. Which I know will happen because I completely believe that Heavenly Father will not let me go astray if I am doing all that I can to follow His plan for me. God is so good, and He always makes sure everything works out, so I need to keep reminding myself that.