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?

A Note on Progress

As I was laying in bed last night I was pondering the mysteries of the universe. Okay, not really, but I was thinking deeply about my current life. Lately, I've felt stagnant. I'm not digressing or doing anything wrong, but I haven't truly been progressing. And that's why we're in this mortal state- to progress! As I was mulling over the cause of my lack of movement I had an epiphany. Here's what went on in my head:

Whitney's Mind: "Why do I feel like I'm not progressing? It's so frustrating! I hate it when this happens. What can I do to start accomplishing things? I know! Maybe tomorrow I can do this certain thing. That will help me in this goal in my life. Oh, but wait. Man, I don't like doing that. It's out of my comfort zone. Hold on!!! Wait a minute! Duh! That's the key to growth! You have to step out of your comfort zone! Woah! That makes so much sense! Oh, and didn't I hear a talk about that a while ago? Yes, yes I did. Wow! I think I just discovered the key to success!"

And there was much rejoicing. In fact, my brain might have even danced a jig or something. It's completely possible.

Also, I did hear a talk about progression that mentioned leaving our comfort zones. Here are some profound things I learned form it:

• When we reach plateaus, that's when Heavenly Father sees if we really want to grow.
• As we take the sacrament each week, Father asks us, "My child, what did you do this week to grow?" He doesn't expect perfection, just growth.
• If we are going to stay above the growing evil, we have to keep growing!

So, today I applied my principle that stepping out of our comfort zones brings growth. I was practicing viola. I just got the music for an opera last night and I started practicing it today. Let me tell you- it is the hardest music I've ever played!!! I really didn't want to start practicing that music this morning. It seemed so scary!  But, I remembered that I needed to step out of my comfort zone if I wanted to grow musically. So, I practiced it. And yes, it was uncomfortable. I didn't really love it. But, I know for sure that I am that much closer to mastering the music, and that my skill in general increased ever-so-slightly because I exercised faith in that principle. I finished practicing with satisfaction and the beautiful feeling of being proud of myself.

It makes me wonder- what could each of us do if we stepped outside of our comfort zones? How would you grow? What could our world accomplish?

Coming Full Circle

Life is going really well for me right now. It is especially so in contrast to this time last year (See here, here, and especially here). Not everything about my life is perfect, but my life is so amazing! I've been able to see how the Lord comes full circle and delivers the blessings promised for obedience and as a result of several long-lasting hardships I've endured. Nothing is as rewarding as this.

Over the past three or four years, I've been working on a personal goal which I never achieved. This January I rededicated myself to this goal (again) and I'm finally making progress! It's a visible sort of progress that I can see all the time, and it's so incredibly rewarding to know that I'm beginning to conquer something I've been struggling with for so long!

As you can read in the links above, I've had a loooot of back problems over the past year and a half. I was in pain, I could hardly move, I couldn't play my viola, and didn't know if I ever would again (which, if you don't know, viola is my LIFE! I plan to major in it, etc.), I wore a back brace which looked terrible and was extremely uncomfortable... you get the picture. It was hard.But, a year and a half later, I have been extremely blessed! I now am in the highest orchestra in my school, and I'm first chair. Because my back is strong enough I am able to practice a lot, which helps me excel.  I also started a string quartet with some of my friends, and we now play for weddings, parties, and such. And, this year I am a member of the Honor Orchestra of America, which, if you're not a musician, is a big deal. I'm sooooo incredibly excited, and SO grateful to my Heavenly Father who has blessed me to make these things possible.

Most of my life I've battled severe chronic depression. This was especially hard to bear last winter in addition to the other trials I had. It became much worse. But slowly, I have learned how to combat the negative feelings which seem to constantly threaten to make camp in my brain. Through the Lord's help, I am able to feel peaceful, joyful, and optimistic nearly all the time. This is such a relief and beautiful blessing for which I am extremely grateful.

I feel so blessed right now. It's so wonderful to be in a season of my life filled with blessings. There are even more blessings I'm experiencing, but I can't list them all. I love my Heavenly Father, and I know He loves me.

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. 

 

Talents to Bless Others

I remember that a while ago I prayed and asked my Father in Heaven to allow me to be an instrument in His hands. I wanted with my whole being to help others and bring about the Lord's purposes. Immediately, I started noticing every-day opportunities to help others. These may or may not have been there before I asked, but the Lord helped me find and notice them.

I reflect on this as I wonder at how Heavenly Father utilizes the talents He has put in me to bless His children. The Lord places beautiful spiritual gifts and marvelous talents in each of us, and I feel the greatest sense of peace and achievement when I use those talents to serve my fellow men.

Some talents I've been blessed with are empathy and compassion. I've striven to further develop these qualities, and I'm amazed to see how it's blessed me.

I have a lot of close friends. They're not necessarily all "popular" or whatever, but I have a lot of friends. At an increasing rate, my friends have been coming to me when they are in emotional pain and need help. They visit me for comfort and rest from their oppression. It makes me feel so special that the Lord trusts me with a job so precious as this. He put me through specific trials in my past that help me understand where my friends are coming from and how to help them feel better.

I know that our Heavenly Father has blessed us all with very specific talents and abilities to progress His work on the earth. Even if you haven't found them yet, God created YOU to possess wonderful traits and qualities of Him. We are, after all, the spirit offspring of Heavenly Father. He gave us these gifts because He loves us.

And, of course, as superman, or spider man, or some other man said, "With great power comes great responsibility". We feel the most peace and the greatest sense of accomplishment when we use our talents to bless others. And in turn, they increase when we use them to be an instrument in Heavenly Father's hands.

So, here's the challenge I pose to you. Find your spiritual gifts and talents! Once you've found them, learn to use them! And watch as the Lord blesses you in return.

We feel the greatest sense of accomplishment when we use our talents to bless others.