Happily Ever After

"My dear young sisters, you need to know that you will experience your own adversity. None is exempt. You will suffer, be tempted, and make mistakes. You will learn for yourself what every heroine has learned: through overcoming challenges come growth and strength.

It is your reaction to adversity, not the adversity itself, that determines how your life’s story will develop.

There are those among you who, although young, have already suffered a full measure of grief and sorrow. My heart is filled with compassion and love for you. How dear you are to the Church. How beloved you are of your Heavenly Father. Though it may seem that you are alone, angels attend you. Though you may feel that no one can understand the depth of your despair, our Savior, Jesus Christ, understands. He suffered more than we can possibly imagine, and He did it for us; He did it for you. You are not alone.

If you ever feel your burden is too great to bear, lift your heart to your Heavenly Father, and He will uphold and bless you. He says to you, as He said to Joseph Smith, “[Your] adversity and [your] afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if [you] endure it well, God shall exalt [you] on high.”³

Enduring adversity is not the only thing you must do to experience a happy life. Let me repeat: how you react to adversity and temptation is a critical factor in whether or not you arrive at your own “happily ever after.”

We all search for happiness, and we all try to find our own “happily ever after.” The truth is, God knows how to get there! And He has created a map for you; He knows the way. He is your beloved Heavenly Father, who seeks your good, your happiness. He desires with all the love of a perfect and pure Father that you reach your supernal destination. The map is available to all. It gives explicit directions of what to do and where to go to everyone who is striving to come unto Christ and “stand as [a witness] of God at all times and in all things, and in all places.”⁴All you have to do is trust your Heavenly Father. Trust Him enough to follow His plan."

I know that President Uchtdorf was inspired to give this talk. We all have things in this life that we feel alone and that no one knows how we feel but when reading this talk I could feel that Heavenly Father really knows me and is aware of me. All of us will experience adversity in this life and I know that what he says about how we react to adversity is true. When we turn to our Savior and focus on what we can learn from different trials in our lives we can be blessed. I know that God knows each of us and our individual circumstances. I am so grateful for my Savior and the atonement. It is the root of the gospel and without it we would be nothing. I am so grateful to be a member of this church and to have the knowledge of how to overcome adversity and how to return back to our loving Heavenly Father.

Kenzie

Perfectly Honest and Upright in All Things

Alma 27:27

27 "And they were among the people of Nephi, and also numbered among the people who were of the church of God. And they were also distinguished for their zeal towards God, and also towards men; for they were perfectly honest and upright in all things; and they were firm in the faith of Christ, even unto the end."

What an honor it is to be 'numbered among the people who are of the Church of God.' What a privilege it is to carry the name of Jesus Christ and to be a representative of Him, holding His Holy Priesthood, even the very power of God and the right to act, to bless, to serve, and to testify in His name!

Zeal... what a great word! Enthusiasm. Energy. Excitement. In other words, being ON FIRE with the testimony of this great latter day work! It reminds me of my mission, running up and down the streets of Argentina to catch the people who wouldn't stop as they passed us on their bicycles, standing up at the front of the bus and singing a Hymn and then bearing testimony of Christ and His Restored Gospel to all the passengers, standing on the park bench at the city center park and testifying to crowds of people that Jesus is the Christ, that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, that families can be together forever! What a BLAST! I loved every second of that time... and I hunger to have the FIRE again!

What a great example these people have given to us! I was recently asked what I would want said about me at my funeral... well, if I can live my life such that something even remotely close to this can be said of me when I die, then I will consider my life a great success! I hope we can all live so that it might be said of us and our families that 'we are perfectly honest and upright in all things; firm in the faith of Christ, even unto the end.'

Love You All.

Gun

Book of Mormon Trailer

1 Nephi Chapter 17

8 And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Thou shalt construct a ship, after the manner which I shall show thee, that I may carry thy people across these waters.
9 And I said: Lord, whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship after the manner which thou hast shown unto me?
10 And it came to pass that the Lord told me whither I should go to find ore, that I might make tools.
13 And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led.

Building a ship is not something Nephi knew how to do but he had such great faith that the Lord would provide a way. If we can have that kind of faith and trust in the Lord, He will be able to carry us through any trial or hardship. Heavenly Father knew what he was doing when he put us here on this earth. He has given us the scriptures, prophets, friends, family, and most importantly prayer. He wants us to succeed! I know we can when we give our WHOLE hearts to Him and trust that in His timing!

Love,
Kenzie

Prepare to meet God

Alma 34:31-32
"Yea, I would that ye would come forth and harden not your hearts any longer; for behold, now is the time and the day of your salvation; therefore, if ye will repent and harden not your hearts, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought unto you."
and then halfway through 32:
"... this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors."

Wow! I love how in vs. 31 it says: IMMEDIATELY shall the great plan of redemption be brought unto you. not maybe, or it's a small chance He might forgive you. It says immediately!! And all WE have to do is not harden our hearts and repent! Then in vs. 32 it says: this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God. How true is that! This life isn't about having the BEST of the BEST, your not trying to beat out your neighbor by having the best car, or having the most money. It's about doing what is right and repenting and making sure your always living your best so you can live with our Eternal Heavenly Father, and our family for, FOREVER! :) I love that thought! It really brings me so much joy! I know this Gospel is true, and I'm so grateful for it!
I love you all!!
Chels

Yielding Our Hearts Unto God

Helaman 3:35

35 "Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God."

How do we become pure? How are our hearts sanctified? Through the YIELDING OF OUR HEARTS UNTO GOD! He is not going to take away our agency to act and decide for ourselves. It is up to us to YIELD, TO GIVE UP, to voluntarily hand over our will and truly give Him our hearts, our whole hearts. How do we do that? This scripture sheds some light... it is done, at least in part, by fasting and praying OFT! I would add daily reading of the word of God, keeping and renewing baptismal and temple covenants, and serving others. Consistency, frequency, sincerity. This keeps God at the forefront of our minds and involves Him in our day to day lives. By so doing, we will 'wax stronger and stronger in our humility' as we are reminded of how much we rely on the Lord and how little we can actually do by ourselves. These things will lead us to wax 'firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ' as we learn of Him and walk in His paths. And the beauty of it all is that as we do these things and grow closer to our Father and our Savior, our souls will be filled, not just a sprinkle or a dab, but FILLED with JOY and CONSOLATION!

You will find as you yield your heart unto God, that He will make more out of your life than you could possibly make on your own. How grateful I am for these truths.

Love you.

Gun

True Happiness

"Let us realize that we are not to live to ourselves, but to God; by so doing the greatest blessings will rest upon us both in time and in eternity." Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 4:231

We are placed in this probationary state of mortality to learn to put off the natural, selfish, worldly man and become men and women of Christ. If we live for ourselves-our interests, our desires, our whims and wants-we ultimately end up empty and unfulfilled, ever longing for elusive peace and contentment. All the alluring things in this world will never fully satisfy the deep longings of the soul. We know, as Joseph the Prophet instructed, that "there is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundation of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated-And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated" (D&C 130:21-22). Indeed, great blessings of joy and peace await the obedient. We will be blessed both here and hereafter as we live with "faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God" (D&C 4:5).
Lloyd D. Newell

I'm so grateful to have the gospel in my life. I know that as I try my best to live closer to God and keep the commandments that he will bless me. True happiness comes from living the gospel. We are so blessed to know this and to be able to share it with others.

Alisha

Testimony of the Book of Mormon

We recently came across this short Mormon Message on The Book of Mormon and remembered the powerful testimony that Elder Jeffery R. Holland shared with us in conference. We loved this video and wanted to share.
Gun & Britt