Nuggets from a coupel Sundays

I didn't write after sacrament meeting last week. I fell asleep instead. It was the weekend of our Turner side's girl's night out in Park City and we had gone to bed late and gotten up rather early so I could make it to church on time. I was impressed I even made it through church without falling asleep. But, alas, it caught up to me in the afternoon and I slept most of the remainder of the day. Despite my diminished mental capacity last week, (and in truth this week too) I remember it being a very good block at church and even enjoying the "Meet the Stake Presidency" fireside that evening. We also had a good block of classes today and a lovely ward prayer thought. I've decided I would just write down some notes from my journal instead of commenting on one theme in this post. But who knows, maybe I'll get drawn off by something in the middle of my list, maybe I won't. We'll see...

• Being virtuous is being like Christ. Being virtuous is having power- power to act, power against sin...
• Don't judge, just have compassion. The Savior is described a few times as 'being filled with compassion'. As we are compassionate we will be filled with charity.
• Start your day with prayer, but remember- you don't have to pray about yourself. There are way too many people who need blessings for you to only pray for yourself- ever. 
• Fast and pray about relationships.
• Just worry about being the best sister you can.
• Want to be Christ's friend? Give your life for him.

In truth, that's probably 60% of the notes I've taken the last 2 Sundays. But at least they're good notes. To end I want to just throw out a question that I thought while I was reviewing my journal. It actually arose from notes on the last CES broadcast by Elder Nelson. He left an apostolic blessing at the end. This is what I wrote down "Feast upon the word of Christ and live their teachings. Live as Christ desires and be an example. [We are promised]  success in school and work that [we] may serve others. [Promised] health and strength to fulfill God's destiny for me".
Now, first of all, it's interesting to think about "God's destiny for me". I've been feeling lately a lot like there's no big plan. I was just brought to this point and sent out into the ocean of life to swim about as I wish within the safety guidelines and wherever I end up it doesn't really matter- it's the obedience that matters. But at the same time a part of me keeps saying 'No, that's not right. There's a plan, there's a destination. There must be things at work here that I just don't understand yet'. Yet, it's hard to see how this could ever come into focus as a time of preparation or growth. It just feels like a time of hanging around, waiting to figure out what's next... But that's not the point.
The point was the line before that "Success in school and work that I may serve others". I am in school right now as a grad student at USU studying math. I also teach a math class on campus as part of this grad program. How will my masters, my education, my knowledge of random unapplicable math, allow me to serve others? I don't know. Maybe at this time it will be more of a I'll have success so I don't have to spend every waking moment studying and then I'll have time and energy to serve others. Yeah, that sounds nice. I'll take that.

Skip the heartbreak

Our Relief Society lesson today was based off of an article written by Elder Quentin L. Cook when he was a member of the 1st quorum of the 70. (http://www.lds.org/ensign/2006/02/lessons-from-the-old-testament-in-the-world-but-not-of-the-world?lang=eng) and one line stood out to me as a quote was read. So for my blog post about church today I've chosen to find and copy over this quote. Said Elder Cook:

"A derogatory comment occasionally made about members of the Church is: “They are like sheep waiting to be told what to do by their leaders. Why can’t they think for themselves?” While this comment may sound plausible on its face, the truth is that faithful Latter-day Saints, in a thoughtful and prayerful manner, study the doctrines and principles in the scriptures and in the counsel from living prophets and then seek to receive a confirming witness from the Holy Ghost. They don’t have to make every heartbreaking mistake in life. They know what is right and what is wrong. They don’t have to decide over and over again how they will live. They can benefit from the life experiences of all those generations that have preceded them and from instructions from our Father in Heaven and His anointed servants. They can turn away from temptation.

We inevitably must make choices. If we know the doctrines and principles of the gospel, we can make wise decisions. If our lives are pure, the Spirit will guide us."

Italics added. The italicized part is the line that stood out to me during the original reading in class today. I'm an observer. I learn quickly because I can watch how people do things and then do a pretty good job of doing it myself. Thus, I really like this idea. You don't have to experience everything. You can read and study and watch and listen and avoid mistakes that lead to heartbreak and struggles in life. Why would anyone want to learn all on their own? I would hate to have learned to ride a bike on my own; or imagine learning to be a tight rope walker or trapeze artist without aid. It's dumb. You'd get hurt or die. Why then shouldn't we look to those before us and guidance from a loving heavenly father to assist us in our learning and growing? I just makes sense. SO- read your scriptures, listen to your parents and elders and prophets, and most of all your Heavenly Father. Avoid heartbreak, be happy. 'Nuf said.

I can do hard things

After church today I decided it might be a nice way to remember and assimilate what I learned in church today if I wrote a small entry about it here each Sunday. Today, especially in Relief Society, we talked a lot about doing hard things. The lesson was, I think, on why we have trials and how we can overcome them. Well, most of what I was thinking about wasn't regarding trials so much as just things that happen in life. Cars wear out, you get injured, something doesn't go as planned. I don't really see things like that as trials, I just see them as natural consequences of the fall and living in an imperfect world. But whether it's a trial, a consequence, or an opportunity sometimes things in life are just not easy. When those times come we have 2 options: 1. Bail or avoid it, 2. Get to work and do what you gotta do to get through it. I think in general Heavenly Father would council us to go for approach #2.  I remember a member of the general Young Women's presidency, Sis. Elaine S. Dalton I think, giving a talk once where a friend had a sign that said "I can do hard things". She changed it a touch to say "With God, I can do hard things" or something. I suppose I can find the actual quote and citation since I am at a computer and using the internet already...
(http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2008/10/a-return-to-virtue?lang=eng, A Return to Virtue, CR Oct. 2008, Elaine S. Dalton)
so, “In the strength of the Lord, I can do all things.” it is. And it's true. I don't know how many of the hard things in life Heavenly Father directly prescribes for us and how many we choose or just happen, but I know that where there is a hard thing there is a way to get through it stronger and better than before with Christ and our Heavenly Father helping us. So I don't need to fear hard things, but welcome them as they will mean a stronger, better me. An example from right now, I have chosen to do grad school. It's looking like it's going to be much more of a hard thing than I anticipated (I'm not an undergrad anymore... sigh. it was so easy.) But I shouldn't let myself get scared away. I chose it, and I can do it. I think it's probably about time I did something hard. I've spent 2 years just hanging out and doing different things. Yes, seminary teaching was hard- but for entirely different reasons. That was hard emotionally and mentally. This will be hard mentally and physically. I won't have the time I'm accustomed to for fun and friends. I won't have the leisure of leaving my work at work and having the rest of the day for myself. But I'm confident that when I receive that degree it will mean more to me than just about anything else I've done because it was hard. And who knows, maybe in a few weeks this won't seem like such a hard thing, once I'm back in practice and going full throttle again. But no matter what I know I will be a better person for not running away to find another path that's easier for me to climb.