Medallion Moments

People really do notice the little things.

I received my Young Women's medallion in December. I was so excited!! I decided that I was going to wear it everyday because I loved how it made me feel. When wearing my medallion, I always knew my identity and my future, the temple. Having such a tangible reminder of my divine nature and worth helps me to feel close to my Father in Heaven and my Savior all the time. However, always wearing my medallion has blessed me in more ways than just that. In fact, it has blessed other people, too. 

It seems like EVERYBODY notices my medallion. All the time friends, teachers and random people comment on my necklace and ask me questions about it. The most common question being, "Is that the Disney World Castle?". (I find that hilarious, actually.) Being asked about my medallion invites a wonderful missionary moment to explain to that person about the temple. I am able to simply state, "Actually no. It's the temple." Most people know I'm LDS, but if they don't, it gives me the opportunity to share that with them as well. Depending on the person's interest level, I am able to explain varying amounts of information about the temple. I make sure that my love for the temple comes through the words I use. Then I'm sure to mention the temple that is currently being built in the state where we live, and how ecstatic I am for it to be completed. I have extended several invitations to people to tour the temple during its open house once it's completed, which invitations have been eagerly accepted by my friends. 

It's kind of mind-blowing to me how something so small as a necklace can have such a profound influence on me and those around me. I'm so grateful for the opportunities The Lord gives me to share His gospel. 

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?

Temple Groundbreaking

This morning was the groundbreaking for the temple we are getting!!!! I am so excited that there will now be a temple only half an hour away from where I live! One of the speakers at the groundbreaking spoke of how the time while the temple's being built will be a time of growth and development for us on personal, family, ward, stake, and temple-area levels. I really liked this. I also believe that it will be very important for us to share the gospel even more because the temple is coming. People are going to be curious about it, and I'm sure to have some wonderful experiences sharing about it with them.

This is the architectural rendering of  our new temple! It's going to be a medium sized temple. It has a unique and new design.

I'm sooooo excited! Can you tell?

When they announced in General Conference a few years ago that they were going to build one here, I literally jumped out of my chair (we were at home watching) and shrieked with joy! Then I started jumping up and down. :) Within the next ten minutes, family and friends were all calling us to make sure we had heard, and to speculate and be exited with us. That was such a precious and joyous moment for me.

Temples mean so much to me. The way I feel when I'm inside the temple is unlike anything else. Ever. It's so hard, yet so easy to describe what it feels like. It's like a peaceful energy lands inside of my chest and stays there. It's beautiful, and I feel the Spirit so strongly. I've had some amazing experiences in that Holy House.

I feel so blessed that a temple is coming close to me.

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

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!

The peace the temples brings...

One of my most favorite aspects of the gospel is the temple. I LOVE THE TEMPLE!!!!! I would go there everyday if I could!!!! The book True to the Faith, a study help that the church publishes, defines temples as the following:

Temples are literally houses of the Lord. They are holy places of worship where individuals make sacred covenants with God. Because making covenants with God is such a solemn responsibility, individuals cannot enter the temple to receive their endowments or be sealed in marriage for eternity until they have fully prepared themselves and been members of the Church for at least a year. Throughout history, the Lord has commanded His people to build temples. The Church is working to build temples all over the world to make temple blessings more available for a greater number of Heavenly Father's children.

To me, the temple is a house of peace. When you enter, you leave all of your cares and worries behind, and you are immediately filled with a sense of peace and awe. You can automatically feel that it is a House of God, and you can feel it's sacredness. Everyone speaks in whispers, and the Holy Ghost is felt strongly. I love the temple because of the peace I receive. 

To most people, peace means the absence of war. But to me, and to most Latter Day Saints, peace represents the truly blissful, spiritually relaxing happiness that comes from the Holy Ghost. In a world that is full of turmoil and hardships, I love to embrace the fully happy, peaceful, confident feeling I receive in the temple.

Many things are done in the temple. But before you can enter, you must prepare yourself to be worthy. This includes: being a baptized member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, being honest, staying away from drugs and alcohol, being morally clean, and having a testimony of Christ, among others. I keep myself prepared by: reading my scriptures everyday, praying morning and night, keeping a prayer in my heart, being honest, being modest, watching and listening to media (such as music, tv, books, internet...) that is clean and reverent,  and taking the sacrament every week. 

The temple is a place to rest from the cares of the world, but we also do several things in the temple. When I go to the temple, I do baptisms for the dead. This is a sacred ordinance where a person is baptized for a person who did not get that opportunity while living on earth. Also, worthy adults can make sacred promises and covenants with the Lord, and learn more of Him.

This is a really great video that explains about LDS temples.

 Temples are beautiful. I love feeling the peace that I receive when I go there. I know that the Lord is pleased when I go to His house. I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to go there. Soon a temple will be built in the city where I live, and I will be able to go even more often than I do now! I really can't wait until I am able to go through the whole temple and make those sacred promises my Heavenly Father. I know that Christ atoned for us, and that because of His ultimate sacrifice, we can have peace and eternal life.

To learn more about temples, click here. 

Modest... Reasons Why you should be.

Modesty. Some girls cringe whenever the word is mentioned. They wonder why they shouldn't be able to wear what their friends and peers are wearing, and why it has to be so difficult. Some girls believe that modesty is outdated. I used to think all of those things. I noticed that in all of the magazines, all of the beautiful models were wearing revealing tops and short skirts, shorts, or dresses. What girl doesn't want to be like a model? I always dressed modestly, but I always wondered why I was being modest, besides the fact that my parents told me to be modest. So. Why should you be modest? I have come up with a list.

1. It is physically more comfortable.Whenever I have worn clothes that weren't the most modest, I felt really awkward. And it felt like everyone was staring at me. Especially when wearing tops that were too low cut. When you dress modestly, you feel comfortable because you just feel good.
2. Most of the time, only models look "good" in immodest clothing. It is much easier to love your body when you dress modestly.
3. You know that people love you for who you are, not just your body. Sometimes a person will hang out with you only because you are "sexy". This leads to heartbreak because after a while, the person will find someone they think is "sexier" than you, and leave. When you dress modestly, you know that people around you will love you for your personality and not for your body.
4. You know that you are doing the right thing. This is so important because it will give you confidence. You will have more confidence because you know you are doing the right thing, and becasue of that, God is pleased with you and will bless you.
5. You will have higher self esteem. Because of the confidence you will get, the comfort, and knowing that poeple around you love you for who you are, you will be confident in yourself.
6. You will have the Holy Ghost with you to guide you. This is so super important. With the guidance of the Holy Ghost, we recieve comfort, and help with all of the trials that being a teenager brings.
7. You will have an easier time making good choices. Not just because you aren't being revealing (
   which is important) but because you have the Holy Ghost with you, and because you are confident in yourself.
8. You will gain the respect of other people. When people look at a girl who is dressed immodestly, they think that she has no respect for herself and has a low self esteem. But when you are being modest, people respect your opinions, ideas, and personality more.
9. You show others that you know you are a princess. Yes. I just told you that you are a princess. You are a daughter of God, your Heavenly Father who loves you. You were born to be a queen. You can prepare for that role, and show Heavenly Father that you are doing your best to live up to that by dressing modestly.
10. You will be worthy to go to the temple. We believe that temples are holy houses of God, which are the only places on earth that can compare to the holiness of heaven. Only individuals who are spiritually worthy may go to the temple, and you must be modest to be worthy.

These are only a few of the reasons why you should be modest. Modesty includes:

• Shorts/Skirts/Dresses come to at least your knees.
• Shirts have sleeves.
• Clothing is not too tight.
• Tops are not very low cut in the front or back.

I know that when I am modest, my Heavenly Father is proud to call me His daughter. I know that He loves me, and I know that when I am modest I am showing Heavenly Father that I appreciate my body, which is a gift from Him. I know that when I dress modestly and live worthily, I can go to the temple, which is such a tremendous blessing!

If you would like to learn more about modesty, click here.

If you would like to learn more about temples, click here.

If you would like to learn more about the Holy Ghost, click here.

If you would like to learn more about Heavenly Father, click here.

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.

Great Vid

 

This video is great!  I really felt the spirit when I watched it!! I learned a lot about youth temple dedicatory performances. It was amazing to see the light on their faces! I really sincerely hope that we can do this when our temple is finished!!!

Temples

This is a great video explaining some aspects of why we build temples.  And, it shows some of the sacred rooms inside.  I love to go to the temple because it brings me so much peace in an ever-changing world.  I can definitely feel closer to my Savior there.  And, I learn more about myself, and gain a clearer understanding of my divine nature.