by small and simple things

lately i have realized that Heavenly Father really does work by small and simple things. the down side to it is that so does satan. this is when life gets tricky.
  by the small and simple things do great things come to pass (Alma 37:6). it is those small instances, the small promptings, the small things that bring such great joy. have you ever sat and wondered how you got to be where you are today? i have, and i know that it by the smallest acts that i am where i am today. by following those smal promptings and doing the small acts of service and simply by believing in the small things. all things really do add up and that is what brings about the greateness in us all.
 one thing that i have really come to understand is that the church is true. how? well by the smallest things that the church does. by the principles that are taught and by the doctrine that the gospel is founded upon. it is those small things that i partake in everyday, and i realize that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true.
  the small things in life really are there for us to learn and to grow. it is also by the simple things that we come to understand.
  then the question becomes are we paying attention to the small and simple things or are we letting them pass by hoping for the big sign and big answer?
  i have a dear friend that once told me a great one liner, "they both know you but only one loves you, so who are going to follow?" it is quite clear when it comes down to it. Heavenly Father is the one that will lead you safely home while on the other side is total destruction and turmoil. the blessings and the love definitely outweigh the heartache and pain.
   so where do we turn and where do we look? remember that is by the small things that  great things are brought to pass, wether they be good or bad. we need to do all that we can to follow the one that loves us.
   i am so grateful to have such a loving Heavenly Father. i know that He loves me! i know that loves us all!
  

" ...I cannot say the smallest part of what i feel"

this morning in my studies i read Alma 26 when Ammon is speaking to his brothers and boasting of God and all of his power. it really is such a great chapter to read. it helped me to recognize how much Heavenly Father's hand really is in my life. He has blessed me so much and anything and everything i have is become of Him.
   in verse 16 it reads, " Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yea, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, i say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel."
   this verse really does say it all. who could ever say too much of the Lord? who could ever glory too much in the Lord? i think that we all need to say more and do more for the Lord. He has done so much for us. Heavenly Father gave us an opportunity to come down to earth, to gain physical bodies and to go through what we are so that we can be with Him again. He sent His only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us. Christ gave of his life for us. he was beaten, spit upon and hung all for us. he did it so that we can be with our Father in heaven again. he did it because he loves us. what an amazing blessing. do we not owe them respect and our love and our glory? WE DO! we owe them all we have. it is because of our Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ that we have what have and are able to do what we do.
   i know that there is still so much to learn and to do here on this earth. i thank my Heavenly Father everyday for all that He has given me. I know that i would not be here today if it was not for Him and His love. how grateful i am for such a wonderful and loving Heavenly Father who has blessed me in so many ways. i know that he loves every single one of His children and He wants them to return to Him.
   Alma 26 is such a great chapter. it really did help remind me of the love that our Heavenly Father has for all of His children. i encourage all to read it and ponder it. it definitely is one that will awaken your remembrance of why we are here and the importance of our duty.

Anti-Nephi-Lehies are my heros

this morning i was reading about the anti-nephi-lehies and all that they went through. they truly were a people that were converted to the lord and they knew what they wanted. here they are covenanting (promising) with the Lord that they would no longer shed the blood of their brethren, so they "...bury them deep in the earth, that they may be kept bright, as a testimony that we have never used them, at the last day..." (Alma 24:16). now because of this covenant that they have made they will wage war nor fight against those that come against them. when the lamanites did come against them they "...prostrated themselves before them to the earth, and began to call on the name of the Lord;..." (Alma 24:21). the anti-nephi-lehies really were being steadfast and immovable in the covenant that they made with Heavenly Father. they knew that they would be saved "...for we have no reason to doubt but what they were saved." (Alma 24:26). now because of this there were many lamanites that were converted. their hearts became swollen within them and they threw their weapons of war down, and they would not take them up again. it is great because there were more lamanites that had joined the people of God, the anti-nephi-lehies, than the number of those that they had slain. "...thus we see that the Lord worketh in many ways to the salvation of his people." (Alma 24:27)
    i really do love the anti-nephi-lehi people. they are a people of God. they gave of so much and taught so much that they have become my hero's.
   we had a great lesson once that was based off the story of the anti-nephi-lehi people. because the anti-nephi-lehies buried their weapons of war as a covenant and testimony to the Lord, they gave of something and truly repented for their sins and had forsaken them, gave up completely and to never return back to, what caused them to sin. so in our lesson we did just that. we were given little pieces of paper where we drew a sword on one side and then wrote down something that was an affliction in our lives, our something that we needed to change on the other side. after we did this we buried our "weapons of war, for peace." (Alma 24:19). it really was a great lesson. i learned that day that when we give up that which we have been holding to is a call for repentance, a call and time to change.
  the anti-nephi-lehies not only teach us about courage and diligence, but they teach us about repentance. i have asked myself many times before, " am i truly sorry for what i have done?", "am i willing to give it up completely and never return?" . repentance can definitely be a hard thing to do. however, life is not meant to be perfect but to be a continual process. repentance helps us to get one step closer to our Heavenly Father. it is all because of Jesus Christ that we have the opportunity to be with our Heavenly Father again and we can become perfect "...even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." (Matt 5:48).
   i am so grateful to have such a loving and merciful Heavenly Father. we truly can become like Him. i know that He sent His only begotten son down for us so that we can live with Him again. Christ died for us and he loves today. He will help us, we are not alone. always remember that prayer is the answer to everything.

the holy ghost tells it like it is.......

however, are we willing to listen? is our heart soft to the promptings of the holy ghost? are our minds and ears open to listen and act? these are questions that i ask i myself constantly everyday.
   the holy ghost is the one that is our teacher and if we are not willing to listen to him and do as he asks us to do then we will not recieve of his help until we are willing. the holy ghost is the one that testifies of the truth, he is the one that can help us and prompt us to do that which our Heavenly Father has in store for us. moroni 10:5 states, "And by the power if the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." it truly is by the power of the holy ghost that we can know the truth. it is by the holy ghost that the "mysteries of God can be unfolded" (1 nephi 10:19). it is hard to understand sometimes the role of the holy ghost, but he truly is the one that teaches us and helps guide us to where Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are. what a great and heavy role he does play.
    so how do we know when he is teaching us and helping us. well we all feel and hear the holy ghost in many different ways. in galatins 5:22-23 it reads, "But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentelness, goddness, faith. Meekeness, temperance:...." . the holy ghost can come in a still small voice or by ways of emotion and feeling. it can be a burning or in some cases the chills. the holy ghost touches us all in very different ways.
    the reason i write about this is because it is something that i have been thinking a lot about lately. i have been thinking about those who we are teaching and inviting to come unto christ, and wondering how is it that they are knowing the truth to what we have to teach them, because i know that i am only speaking words to them. then i realized that i may be only speaking words but it is the holy ghost that is testifying to them the truthfulness of the gospel, i am merely and instrument in the hands of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
   i am so grateful for this oppurtunity that i have to share the gospel with others and to invite others to come unto Christ. what a great and noble work it is and i am so glad to be apart of it all. there really is nothing more special to me than to see a child of our Heavenly Father enter into His kingdom, and it is through the Holy Ghost that it all begins.
   so i pose the question again are we willing to listen? is our heart soft to the promptings of the holy ghost? are our minds and ears open to listen and to act?

for the beauty of the earth



lake cadillac on an october's night

 i was thinking about to blog about and all i could really think about is how grateful i am for Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ who created this most wonderful world for us to live in. there really is so much beauty all around us.
   we are here today so that we can gain experience and become like our Heavenly Father. this world was created just for us! how cool is that? pretty darn cool if you ask me.
   i wonderful it is to be surrounded by so many beautiful things on this earth. we have mountains and trees and amazing sunsets, as well as flowers and lakes and animals. we really are surrounded by so manywonderful and appeasing things. i am so grateful for it all. i really can feel of my Heavenly Fathers love every morning when i wake up and see the sun rise.
  Heavenly father truly does love us, that is why we are here. what a beautiful world it is!

it is all about prayer

so lately in studies it has all come down to prayer. here are something  that i have learned.
  in the bible dictionary it says:
         "We pray in Christ's name when our mind is the mind of Christ, and our wishes the wishes of Christ- when his words abide in us (John 15:7).... Many prayers remain unanswered because they are not in Christ's name at all; they in no way represent his mind, but spring out of the selfishness of man's heart."
   how true it is that when we pray in the name of Jesus Christ that out prayers are heard and answered. all things are done through Jesus Christ. he is the one that made it possible for us to be able to return to live with our Heavenly Father and he made it possible for us to be forgiven and to truly overcome anything and it is trough our prayers and our faith that we are able to recieve answers and to be blessed.
   here is a cute story....
    sister miner and i were out one day in an area where we so not get very good cell phone reception. well our appointment had just cancelled on us, so we decided that we would try and get a hold of someone to see if we could come over. so we were sitting in the car just hoping that the phone would work. well i started saying, "Heavenly Father please let it work, please let it go through". well it was not working very well. sister miner then spoke up and said, "sister remember that your prayer will not be answered unless you close in the name of Jesus Christ." so i said the prayer again, "Heavenly Father please let the call go through, in the name of Jesus Christ amen." and by and by the call went through. Heavenly Father really doew answer our prayers when we are in line with His will and when we say it in His son's holy name.
   i know now that Heavenly Father really does love us and He wants to help us in every way possible. He wants us to be happy. He wants to hear from us, we just need to turn to Him in prayer and have the faith that He will answer. prayer really is the souls sincere desire!

oh the blessings of the temple



the detroit temple


in the month of june we as a mission had the blessed oppurtunity to attend the Detriot Temple. it was defintely a great blessing for us to be able to go. you see since we are in the michigan lansing mission and the temple is in the detriot mission we are unable to attend. well President Jones being the amazing man that he is got permission for all of to able to go for our half mission conference. now we did not all go at once, it is quite a small temple, so we went at different times throughout the month.
    for me it was definitely a special treat because i had not been to the temple for about a year. to able to attend the temple was a great blessing for me. it was such a spiritual experience a just the boost that i needed. going to the temple for me is not just something that i do but it something that i live for and truly respect.
       the temple is place where, we as members of the church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints, are able to go to and do do service for those that have past on. it is a vicarious work that we do, meaning that we do it in  behalf of those that have passed (i.e. just as the Savior died

me and sis king

in our behalf for our pains, sorrows, weaknesses and sins.). what a great service it is that we can do for them. we do this work because we know and understand that one must be baptized to inhert the kingdom of God (2 Nephi 9:23). there are also many who have not heard of the gospel and they do the oppurtunity to after this life in the sprirt world, where we go after this life as we await the second coming of the savior. however, the ordinances of the gospel can not be performed by spirits, so we have the oppurtunity to be able to baptize and perform other saving ordinaces ( such as, reciving the gift of the Holy Ghost and sealing families together for all of eternity) in the temples. it really is a very sacred work and obligation that we have while in this life. i do feel so blessed to be able to do this work.
  the temple is also a place where we are able to become eternal

detroit temple

families. this means that we can be as families even after this life. i know that for me that is such a blessing. my parents were sealed in the temple, which makes us eternal. i am so grateful for the choice that they made to be sealed. it has given my family a lot more strength and we have become a lot closer knowing that we will be together for eternity. it gives us reason to work harder and with a purpose to fulfill our Heavenly Fathers plan. as for me it something that i am definitely striving towards as i knoow that it will bring my future family closer and it also brings me closer to my Heavenly Father. i would not have it any other way. this is not a "death do part" kind of life it is an eternal promise kind of life.
  i know that the temple holds great blessings for each and every one of our Heavenly Father's children. He really does love us all and he wants us to be happy. through the blessings of the temple we can achieve and have that eternal happiness (Mosiah 2:41) that Heavenl Father has promised us. i am so grateful that we have temples on the earth today. in total there are 130 in use trhoughout the world and there are more in construction. what a great blessing it is that we have temples, and eeternal blessings awaiting us.
   i kow that the gospel is true and i know that Heavenly Father wants all of His children to be with Him again. i know that the Savoir did come down to die for us so that we may recieve of the eternal blessing that his Father has in store for us. i know that the temples really are a scared place for us to go to and to be able to serve and help those that have passed on before us. what a tremendous blessing the temples are.

the beginning

bear with me one and all. this is an adjustment for me to be on doing this. i am so excited about though. this blog will be a great way to learn about what it is like to be a missionary and the love that is found in sharing the gospel. i am hoping that it will inspiring for all, and for me it will be a way to share all the wonderful experiences that i have had and continue to have as a missionary.
   always remember that you are children of a loving Heavenly Father who wants to be happy.