Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Finals Bro

So Fall classes have ended. How crazy is that!? This semester has flown by. The fact that I have finals this week and next has not sunk it. Luckily I only have 2 tests and a paper to write. Then I'm done!

But in other news, I got a job! Ready for this: Custodial from 4am-8am Monday-Friday. Yup. You read that right. 4AM people. But oddly enough I'm excited about it! I will be working with good friends and making good money! Should be a good time. Hopefully I wont die waking up that early. This will be my token college job though right?

Overall I am super excited about Spring semester at BYU. It will be filled with fun, friends, a real cute boy*, preparation for Africa, and hopefully good money! Oh and a little studying too I guess. Or maybe a lot. We will see.

Preparation for Africa is going great! Read about that here:http://anniedoesafrica.blogspot.com/

*Wanna know more about the "real cute boy"? His name is Josh but we all call him Doy. Not quite sure why, he should be the one to explain that. But he is so great! I am one lucky girl. Life is so good.

He is a stud, no?




Monday, April 8, 2013

How Can I Know Christ's Love?


This past week in New Testament we talked about 1 Peter 1:8, "Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full glory:" This verse got me thinking about my friends who don't necessarily believe in God or Christ. So to you dear friends, this blog is for you. 

I've been asked before, "how can you know Christ even exists when you haven't seen or heard Him?" My answer is probably never as good as it should be because it's a hard thing to explain. All I can think is that I feel His love. I have felt His hand in my life many times. I can recall specific instances when I knew without a doubt I was feeling Christ's perfect, unwavering love. When I am doing something that is in accordance to Christ's teachings I feel a new warmth enter my body that reassures me. 


Whenever I enter the Temple I receive that feeling of love. I've been striving to go to the Temple every week and so I have felt an abundance of Christ's love. His love is what makes me so happy. This gospel makes me happier than anything else can in this world and that is a testament to me that Christ lives and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true and correct church. 



I urge you to try to keep yourself open for Christ's love. Let His Atonement work in your life. Do something small to attempt to experience the feelings I have done my best to describe. Read a verse of the Bible or Book of Mormon. Serve someone. Pray and sincerely ask if God and Christ love you. I promise you that if you do any of these things with a sincere and open heart you will feel Christ's love. Let me know what happens. :) 

Here are some suggestions for verses to read:
Moroni 7:48
2 Nephi 1:15
2 Nephi 26:24
D&C 6:20 (Replace Oliver with your name, cool huh?)
John 3:16

Monday, April 1, 2013

Decisions, Decisions.


This last week in class we talked about how God gives us 3 different answers when we seek them: yes, no, and silence. Personally I hate the silence answer the most. I'd prefer a straight answer of how to move forward and I'll gladly follow whatever plan Heavenly Father has for me! Especially recently as I've had some important decisions to make in my life I've wanted clear answers on how to move forward. 

We compared our asking to Joseph Smith's asking when he asked what church he should join. He asked with the intention and determination to act on his answer. I think in all my decision making I hadn't asked with a sincere intent to act on my answer. But as I began to make decisions using my own agency I began to receive confirmations on my actions and my decisions. As I better understood how Heavenly Father's way of answer our questions I could better ask questions with a greater risk of receiving an answer.

God is good, and He takes really good care of His children. If we ask with sincere intent to act on the answers we receive we will receive greater promptings. As we grow to better understand the Lord's will we can easily align our will with His.