Because I Kept a Scripture Journal

Today something really cool happened to me at church. I got to Sunday School with my friends and we were waiting around for our teacher to come. We technically don't have a teacher right now because our previous one was just released, so we were waiting for the sub. But a while passed and no one came. My friends asked me if I would teach the lesson. I agreed, even though I hadn't prepared anything. So, I pulled out my scripture journal. Inside of it, I take notes when people give talks, at firesides, during lessons, general conference, etc. I opened to a random page, skimmed it, and was able to teach from the notes I had taken on a talk given in sacrament meeting five months ago. There were scripture references, analogies, and impressions I had felt. I used my own thoughts, impressions, and knowledge as well to give the lesson fluidity. We referenced the scriptures several times and drew upon at least three stories from the scriptures. Our teacher finally came in with only twenty minutes left of the class and let me continue teaching.
This was a very cool moment for me. I felt the Spirit confirming that Heavenly Father was proud of me. And I'm proud of me, too. I'm happy that I was able to take notes and that I could teach by using the promptings of the Holy ghost. I felt the Spirit in my lesson. It was so special because I knew the things to say and teach, even though I had only a list of bullet points in front of me. I truly know that Lord is mindful of us and loves us dearly. He wants to bless us and He wants us to be happy.

This is a slightly goofy picture of me with my study journals. The middle two are completely full. The journal on the left is halfway full, but I got bored of using it. Haha. And the notebook on the far right is my current notebook.

Seriously though, study notebooks are the coolest things ever. You can record impressions you receive during scripture study, info from talks, etc.

Here's a typical page in mine. I use different arrows and indentations and bullet points to keep things organized. And, notes don't have to be perfect.

You can even glue in handouts from class.

Here's a page in a past study journal where I really wanted to learn a lot about faith. So I printed out some information about faith from True to the Faith and glued it in. Then, I methodically went through and looked up every scripture reference and even some of the footnote scriptures of those scriptures. I recorded other scriptures I found and impressions I received.

I ran out of room on that page, so I glued in a piece of paper to fold down. The writing is on the other side.

 If you don't already have a study notebook, you should consider keeping one. You can use it however you want. You don't have to keep yours like mine. Everyone is different. But I am always so grateful that I record this information and the sacred impressions I receive from the Holy Ghost while studying. And I know that the Lord blesses us with more spiritual experiences if we show Him we treasure the ones he gives us by writing them down.

If you want ideas for starting a scripture journal or have any questions, let me know!

Conference for Teens

I watched the first session of conference this morning with my family, and it was so great! I'm so excited for the next session in a few hours!
My favorite part about conference is usually the beginning when President Monson talks about the growth of the church, the missions, and especially the new temples! A few years ago he announced a new temple that will be only thirty minutes away from me, instead of two and a half hours. Ever since, the announcing of new temples has a special new meaning to me because I understand the joy that people all over the world feel. It's incredible, and it's beautiful!
As a youth, there are many things we can listen for in conference. Even the words aimed towards adults about marriage and such can have unique meaning for us. For example, talks about marriage have huge significance to us even though we're not married. As teenagers in the church, we are on the brink of sooooo many giant life decisions! It is wise for us to heed these talks because it will help us know more about these choices as we prepare to make them.
The prophets and leaders of the church have so much knowledge and experience that they can impart to us. I know our lives will be blessed as we cherish conference. I have seen it in my own life. A few conferences ago, I picked out one piece of advice which stuck out to me that I was going to work on for next conference. President Monson gave the counsel. He told us to NEVER post-pone a prompting and to act immediately on inspiration. I instituted this counsel in my life and I saw immediate blessings! I became closer to my Lord, and the Holy Ghost. I learned to recognize the Spirit better, received more promptings and inspiration, and was able to be an instrument in the Lord's hands to further His work. Sure, I wasn't perfect, but the improvement I saw in my life by following teachings from conference was amazing!
So what can you do this conference to bring it in and make it personal? How can you act on the counsel given? Will you go the extra mile to be inspired and better your life? This divine knowledge from on high is being bounteously poured down to us. What will you do with it?

Singing for Elder Ballard

Hello wonderful people! So on Friday a very special opportunity presented itself to all the youth who live in my state. Yes, state, not stake. Elder Lansing, from the quorum of the seventy, Bishop Stevenson, the Presiding Bishop of the Church, and Elder M. Russell Ballard of the quorum of the twelve came and gave us a fireside. It was incredible! But, the fireside was even more special for the girls in my ward and me because we were the musical number. We sang for all of the youth in our state, all of the bishops and stake presidents, and our guests.
It was spectacular to look out into the sea of faces of kids my age. These were the faces of righteous, loving youth who loved and value the same ideals as I. When we sang, I felt the Spirit so strongly. Usually, when I feel the Holy Ghost, it's a very still, tender, sweet feeling that makes me cry. This time it was joyful, and exuberant. I looked at all of the beautiful people as I sang to them, and made eye contact with as many as I could. I wanted them to feel the power of the words I sang just as acutely as I was feeling them. I was smiling so much that my face hurt. :D Afterwards, my friends who were in the audience said, "I could tell that you were just feeling it! It was like something was emanating from you." and "You sang like an angel.". Singing for the youth in my state and for Elder Ballard was an incredible experience!
So, after we sang, the three visitors gave an awesome fireside where they were speaking directly to us, youth. Here are my favorite parts of what they said:

Elder Lansing:

• “Right now the eyes of the Lord are focused on the youth” –Elder Lansing
• President Monson is the most youth-oriented prophet there's ever been. He's 85. Most people at that age are looking back on their lives, but he is looking forward into the future of the church. President Monson has brought to pass:
• New For Strength of Youth
• New Youth Curriculum
• Missionary Age Change

Bishop Stevenson:

• Satan tries to make us look at things as they aren't. He tries to confuse us. But we have the proper tools to combat the confusion.
• We have the Plan of Happiness.
• We have these formulas:
• Obedience/Righteousness --> Blessings --> Happiness
• Disobedience --> Punishment --> Misery

Elder Ballard:

• "We have experiences in our future we can't even dream of."
• "Keep the beam of heaven guiding our thoughts and minds."
• He explained how we can be like Nephi by using this scripture: 1 Nephi 2:16:
• "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature, and also having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers."
• 1) Have a great desires to learn about God
• 2) Pray and sincerely study about Him, develop a relationship with Him
• 3) He will come unto you

• We need to kindle the desire
• "We all have challenges. That's why we're here."

I know that the Lord's servants speak His truth and His gospel and that when we follow their counsel we can't go wrong. I'm so grateful for this opportunity I had. 

 

Some Random Thoughts and Stories...

Good Friday to you all. Someone posted the words which are on the picture below as a facebook status, and I thought they were so great that I had to make a meme. I hope you like it!

This week has been pretty awesome. Our high school is putting on the show "Guys and Dolls". I went and saw it yesterday. It was phenomenal!  I had lots of friends who were in it, so it was tons of fun.

These next two weeks are fall break for me. I may or may not write any posts. But, I'm super excited for the much needed break!

Ohh, guess what? I gave away a Book of Mormon today. I think this will make either the second or third one this school year. I gave it to a friend in orchestra who always teases me about being Mormon. When I gave it to him, he looked through the index and said "Where does it say you can't drink coffee? Why do you have a dictionary in your book?" He was teasing me, but I also gave him a mini copy of the For Strength of Youth. Even if he doesn't read these anytime soon, he may eventually read them.

Here is the link to his extremely awesome conference talk from last week!

Hope everyone has a stupendous weekend full of donuts, sleeping, and watching Phineas and Ferb. Wouldn't that be a wonderful weekend? :D Anyway, even if your weekend isn't like that, I hope it's wonderful!

General Conference!!!!!!!

Heyyy. Today I'm going to talk about General Conference.
I love General Conference. And, for those who may not know, General Conference is a semi-annual church meeting that is broadcasted world-wide. There are 5 ten-hour sessions in which the Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, the Twelve Apostles, The Quorum of the Seventy, and other Church leaders.  This is a time when these leaders share with the world the things that the Lord wants them to know.
I'm going to share my thoughts/opinions/notes/feelings/favorite talks (haha) from this General Conference.

• I really loved President Boyd K. Packer's talk because it was focused on the youth.  He told us that even though there is opposition, we need not fear. He also said that because so much is expected from the youth, we will be blessed.
• I also enjoyed Elder Robert D. Hales' talk about humility. Everything that Jesus did on earth was The Father's plan and will. Trials are given to everyone. THey are given to see if we will use our agency to follow God.
• I really love the words of Elder D. Todd Christofferson in his talk: We should always have a smile on our face when we talk about repentance. 
• Ian S. Arden, of the Seventy, spoke of time. He said that time cannot be sold or bought. When wisely used, it's value is immeasureable. We are all given the same amount of time. If we are busy, busy must equal productive. People who are close to the Savior won't be distracted by distracting pursuits.We should always review what we are doing to prepare to meet God.
• Carl B. Cook, of the Seventy, also had a fantastic talk. He said that "We should always look up!" We can be healde and strengthened by the Atonement. To "Look Up" is a metaphor for looking to Christ. We should Look up, step up, and cheer up. Looking up isn't a one-time experience.

I really love General Conference.And I have a testimony that the Lord truly speaks to us through the mouths of the prophets and apostles.

If you would like to watch, read, or listen to General Conference, click here.

If you would like to learn more about living Prophets and Apostles, click here.