Follow the Recipe For Eternal Life

 I really love using life stories to create gospel analogies. It makes me happy. So here's one from this past weekend.

Once upon a time (two days ago) I found a super great recipe for sugar cookies and wanted to try it out. But, I realized we didn't have enough butter to make the cookies and the frosting, so I determined to make do with shortening for the cookies and use the remaining butter to make the frosting.

The cookies promised to be spectacular. I was so excited to eat them, and my family was, too. We each sat down around the table with a warm cookie in hand and took the first bite... of disappointment. The frosting tasted great, but the cookies were super gross. It turned out that the shortening I used in the cookies was embarrassingly old. Because of this, all of the cookies were rendered inedible.

The analogy:

The perfect sugar cookie is eternal life- it's our greatest desire and our expectation for the future. In order to achieve that, we must follow Christ's true gospel. If we don't have His gospel, then we only have bits and pieces of truth. But these bits are sometimes downgraded substitutions for truth (aka the aged shortening). If we follow Christ and His commandments for us (follow the recipe exactly), then we are sure to gain all He has in store for us- eternal life with Him in the celestial kingdom (the perfect sugar cookies).

I know that we can have so much happiness when we follow our Savior, Jesus Christ, and strive to be like Him.

Here's the recipe I used for the cookies. Don't they look amazing? They're pretty easy, too. I can't wait to taste them when I actually follow the instructions!

Chicken Soup, Hospitals, and Mother

There is something so comforting about chicken noodle soup. Even more so when it's homemade and the best soup you have ever tasted. And, it's even a step better if it was made with love. Does this sound cheesy? Perhaps. But it comes from the bottom of my heart right now.
Yesterday morning my mom came in and woke me up for church. Except instead of gently waking me and then arousing my sister, she urgently told me to get my sister ready for church that morning because she wasn't feeling well. After our shower and we were dressed, I heard my mom on the phone with a nurse. When they hung up, my mom told me that my dad was coming home from his before-church meetings to take care of her. As I finished getting my sister and I ready, my dad ran upstairs to my mother's bedside. He picked up the phone and called an ambulance. My mother instructed me to make up a hospital bag for her. The paramedics arrived, and my parents left.
My brother, sister, and I were picked up for church by some friends in the ward. During the sacrament, I sat reflecting on the events of the morning. Strangely, I wasn't that worried at all. I had kept calm. And I felt that things would be okay. Then, I glanced over towards my brother as he passed the sacrament. I remembered the deer-in-headlights look in his eyes when I explained what was happening that morning. As well as I had been doing, when I imagined little brother's fear I couldn't stop the tears from coming. And then I started to wonder about my mother. What if she were to die? I hugged my toddler sister closer to me as I imagined her growing up with only me as a mother. I saw my future before my eyes, mother-less. 
But it wasn't that bad because I knew then and know now that my family has been sealed in the temple and I'll be with them forever. Even though it was sad to think about my mother passing away, I knew I wouldn't be devastated because I knew she would be in a better place and that our family would be reunited once more.
Thankfully, my parents arrived home in the middle of the afternoon. My mother's condition isn't serious and once she rests up she will be back to normal. What a blessing this is!
When our ward found out that my dear mama was in the hospital, everyone made sure that we knew they cared. They're bringing meals for us since my mom has to stay in bed. Today we had delicious home-made chicken noodle soup which I know was lovingly prepared by a sister in our ward whom I adore. It's so comforting to have such a loving ward family.
I love my family so much. This small ordeal has brought us closer together. I am so completely grateful to my Father in Heaven for providing this wonderful gospel which lets me live with them forever in eternity. I know He loves us a lot.

"Today we had delicious home-made chicken noodle soup which I know was lovingly prepared by a sister in our ward..."

What Heaven Sees in You

I'm teaching the lesson in Young Womens' on Sunday. Topic is Temple Marriage. I made this video to show the girls. I hope you like it!

Music: What Heaven Sees in You; Mindy Gledhill

What Guys Want Girls to Know

This is a video I found by a group called Blimey Cow. They are not Mormons, but they are Christians. I really love this video. It's so great to know that some guys still care about decency, modesty, and chivalry.  He speaks the truth! And it's also good to know that LDS people aren't the only ones who care about this stuff!

What Guys Want Girls to Know

What do you think of this video?  Comment or share! (Oh, and BTW, I've added a facebook comment feature at the bottom of my blog if you would like to comment there.) :D

Knowledge of What's Right

Hey Everybody! I am pleased to inform you that you are about to read the FIRST EVER GUEST POST on The Life of a Mormon Teen. Yep, that's right. You officially are about to be a pioneer of guest post-dom on this blog. Don't you feel special? ;) I would like to thank Becca of My Soul Delighteth for this fabulous post! It's awesome and every one of you should read it because of it's sheer awesomeness! Becca did a marvelous job ob this post! So, here it is! Enjoy!

My dad, who taught me that I am the Daughter of a King, with my mom

When Whitney asked me to write a guest post for her blog, I was delighted, but at the same time, a little nervous. I have never associated well with teens (even when I was one!) and so I am not sure really how to approach them. So I am writing this post with a lot of humility and a prayer in my heart that I will be able to say the right things.
Whitney asked me to write about what I wish I had known when I was a teenager.
I wish I had known that I already knew what was right.
Teens get a lot of flack these days from the media, from their parents, from society in general – you are confused, trying to find yourself, stubborn, disrespectful, disorganized, lazy.

Sisters - and daughters of God

There is a whole list full of negative things to say about teenagers. Society’s expectations of teenagers are pretty low.
But you know what is right. I am sure that most of you teenagers already know, deep inside, what is right, what is true, and what is good. That’s because Heavenly Father planted a seed of divinity in you. You chose what is right in the pre-existence, and all of you have the light of Christ within you – and if you have received the gift of the Holy Ghost, and you are worthy, then you have him as your constant companion.
As adults, I think we are afraid to trust your ability to follow the prompting of the Holy Ghost. And it’s probably because we made a lot of mistakes when we were learning how to follow the Holy Ghost and we’re afraid you will make the same mistakes.
So I am telling you now – I trust you. Heavenly Father trusts you. He knows that you know what is right, and that you are courageous enough to do it.

One of my many amazing YW leaders

Growing up, I was blessed to have great parents, leaders, and teachers who truly recognized my divine nature, and verbally acknowledged that divinity daily.

My amazing mother who showed me that God loves me

They trusted me to make my own decisions based on the promptings of the Spirit, and they told me that they knew that I could. Not every teen is blessed with those great parents and leaders, and so if you aren’t – if you are surrounded by adults who don’t recognize your divine nature or belittle you or doubt you, I want you to know that Heavenly Father is loves you and recognizes your divinity. He trusts you. He believes in you.
You will feel Heavenly Father’s love for you as you pray and as you read the Book of Mormon. Read it every day. Read it cover to cover multiple times in your life.

my senior year of high school

At October General Conference in 2011, Elder Richard G. Scott said,

“[T]hose who consistently read the Book of Mormon are blessed with an added measure of the Spirit of the Lord, a greater resolve to obey His commandments, and a stronger testimony of the divinity of the Son of God.”

Make the right choices. You know what is right. It might be hard to choose the right when expectations are so low. But remember that Heavenly Father has high expectations for you. He knows that you have the potential for exaltation embedded in your very nature.

He wants you to choose the right.

He knows you can do it. And that is what matters.

This post was brought to you by:

Becca
My Soul Delighteth

No Ordinary Beings

We all have those times when we doubt ourselves. I have them, you have them. I love this talk by President Uchtodrf. He explains in such powerful words just how powerful and loved we are.He says (at 2:55) "You are no ordinary beings. You are glorious and eternal." How true this is. Here are excerpts from his talk, with beautiful music in the background.

Next time you look into the mirror, I challenge you to look past your hair, clothes, acne, weight, height. Know that all of these imperfections are the mark of mortality. These are not permanent! When you look into the mirror, try to see yourself how your Father in Heaven sees you; He sees the divine beauty, power, and potential you have.

Doctrine and Covenants 18:10:  "Remember the ^aworth of ^bsouls is great in the sight of God"

I know that Heavenly Father loves me. And I can feel my innate beauty and divinity when I pray, adn especially when I'm in the temple. I know that you can too.

This is such a beautiful, inspiring and empowering video. I really hope you watch it!