Grateful for Temples and Temple Ordinances

Wow. It's been a while since I've posted anything here. Not to say that nothing has happened, because a lot of exciting stuff has happened since my last post, but I guess between all the writing in my journal, in letters to friends, and in emails to my missionary friends, I neglected my blog. Haha.
So, be prepared, because this is gonna be a long one!

In early March, I was interviewed by my Bishop for a temple recommend on temple grounds. What an incredible experience! I had my eyes shifting between him and the main entrance of the temple, knowing that soon I would get to cross over that sacred threshold. After we had both signed the recommend, he said my countenance had immediately changed, and that both the temple and I were glowing. I could feel it from the inside. I felt overjoyed and full of life in that moment. 

Flash forward a few weeks, and I'm finally being interviewed by my stake president. He had been away for a few weeks on a family vacation. It always amazes me that he knows who I am since I'm a convert and I didn't grow up in the Church. He interviewed me at the church building during our three hour block. Bishop Patron actually came to pull me out of the temple prep class to meet with President Jex. When I went back to class, everyone knew that I had my recommend all ready to go. I was so excited!

Bishop Patton and his wife were going to a wedding in Gilbert, Arizona; they invited me to go with them. They suggested I receive my endowments there, and then witness the sealing of their friend with them. I was all for it! We tried to arrange it with my Sisternaries, Kemp and Olsen, who were both home now from their missions. But it didn't really work out for them, so I told myself, "well, I could still go without them; but it wouldn't be the same." Besides, the ordinance is the same no matter where you go, so, it really didn't matter where I went so long as I had my friends there with me. Being the first member in my family, I knew that this was an experience I would not get to share with my family; so it was important to me that I got to share it with friends. 

Kemp was coming down to California for a week during her spring break anyway, so I thought it would be best to just arrange to go to the temple then. I decided on Friday, the 17th of April because Kemp would be here then; Sister Moore would be at the temple for her departing trip anyway, and I really wanted to see her, too! Olsen said she would make it down for that, and made arrangements, and every thing was good to go! 

Or so I thought! Turns out I would have a midterm on the 17th. I had to push my 9:00am session to the next one at 1:00pm; which meant I wouldn't get to see Sister Moore anymore. And then my professor said that if your last name was "A-J," you would take it from 9:30-10:30; and if your last name was "M-Z," you would take it from 10:30-11:30. I was freaking out because I was supposed to be at the temple at 11:30. But my professor allowed me to take it with the first group. She showed up late, and I was worried it would effect my punctuality. I imagined that if I was late to the temple, that I would have to do it later. I don't know if that's true because I ended up making to the temple by 10:45. I think my midterm went relatively well. I probably rushed through it, but I felt like I knew 90% of the material. 

When I got to the temple, I walked around a bit, and then met up with the Pattons, Kemp, Olsen, and another former SFV return missionary, Cottrell, at the Visitors' Center, and we kind of just killed some time by watching some videos there. 

By 11:15 we all figured we should start walking towards the temple. Kemp and Olsen wanted to take some pictures first. I'm not a fan of being in pictures because I feel like I usually end up looking stupid. Haha especially since my glasses always show a glare. But I indulged them. Haha 

When we went to the temple, all the workers there were super friendly. And they kept saying that it was all about me, and that I was a VIP, and so on; which made me a little uncomfortable because I'm not used to being the center of attention. Hahaha. But it wasn't so bad. Overall, they were just super friendly, so, I figured they probably do that for all own-endowment temple guests. 

Putting on my garments was the greatest feeling ever. I immediately felt the power that they have, and I have never felt so beautiful as I did in that moment. I did my initiatory, and after getting dressed, went to sit with Kemp and Olsen while we waited to hear from the temple matron. I tried to take it all in, and tried to process all that was said and promised to me. It was kind of overwhelming, but in a good way! 

When the three of us started talking, I felt so grateful to have them on either side of me. Here were two young ladies who traveled across a few state lines to be there with me, two young ladies who I admire and look up to, and who helped me to grow from the train wreck of a person I was before. I couldn't help but think that this was the way it was supposed to be. Not to say that it was destiny, because I don't believe in that, but I believe that God has a plan for us. Of course, our agency, our choices, can either get us closer or further away from His plan for us. I believe that me being at the temple with my missionaries was part of His plan for me. 

When we went up to the Creation room, and waited for the rest of the people to join us, I saw Sister Moore for a bit! It was awesome! I mean, I just waved to her from across the room, because she was leaving; so, I didn't really see her, but even that felt like a huge blessing!

When the session started, I felt so grateful that I had read the Book of Moses. It helps to understand so much! The whole time, I felt grateful that a member of the temple presidency allowed both Kemp and Olsen to be my escorts. Hahaha. Not to say that either of them was (or were?) lacking in their escorting abilities, but I had twice the amount of help, and I definitely felt like I needed it. Haha.

Upon crossing the veil, I felt a rejoicing in my heart because I made it into the Celestial room, a place I've been longing to go since that life-changing experience in the Gilbert, Arizona temple. And I saw a bunch of familiar faces standing in a half-circle, waiting for me. And that sight made me so happy, I felt like I could cry. But I didn't. Not a half a second later, I realize I was the center of attention again, and felt uncomfortable again, and I didn't know what to do, so I just said, "hi." And they all softly laughed at me. Haha I guess that's not normal. Everyone kept asking me how I felt, and I didn't even know how to put it into words. It's this incredible, slightly overwhelming, slightly confusing, but a mostly joyous experience. When you're in the temple, you start to realize just how much The Lord loves each and every one of us. I don't think I'll ever fully comprehend that love He has for us in this lifetime, but I know that through continual attendance to the temple, I can understand more, a little bit at a time.

Anyway, a few days later, I felt impressed to check my ancestry.com profile, as it's been a while since the last time I logged on. I had a few hints to review. My grandfather's name came up on a 1930 Mexican Census done in Sinaloa. The other names listed in that household matched the names of his parents. So, I asked my mom if her dad's family had ever lived in Sinaloa, and she said, "no, his family is from Jalisco, Guadalajara." And I was so confused, because as far as I had known, my mom's side of the family is from Durango, and Guadalajara has never been mentioned for my mom's side of the family. So, I was nearly heartbroken about it. I went back to look at the census, and looked at the other names in that household, and asked her if he had any siblings, and she started listing off the same ones that were on the Census. So, I asked again, "are you sure they never lived in Sinaloa?" And she was like, "OHHH!! Haha. I thought you were asking about your dad. Yes, they did."

So, I was able to take the names of my great-grandparents to the temple on the 23rd. As I was waiting for my turn in to the baptismal font, I sat there and just had the strongest impression that my great-grandparents were there with me. I could feel that they were pleased that I had joined the Church because it meant that they could have the work done for them now. And I felt overwhelmed with the Spirit, and I put my head down in my hands, and I just started crying and silently laughing in my happiness.
Something I realized yesterday, as I was sitting in sacrament meeting, listening to all the testimonies being given, was that I didn't cry when I was baptized, and I didn't cry when I received my endowments; but I did cry when I had that experience with my great-grandparents in the baptistery. I didn't realize it then, but I'm sure that I cried because these ordinances weren't just for me or about me; they were about my family. Yes, it's great that I joined the Church; in fact, it was the best decision I've ever made. And people are constantly telling me that my posterity will forever be grateful for me and the decision I've made, because I was the first; but I know that both sides of my family, both past, and future, are grateful for that. My children will be born in the Covenant, if I marry a solid member of the Church whom I can go and be sealed to in the temple for time and all eternity. And I know that (some, if not all of) my ancestors are desperately waiting for their turn to have the ordinances done for them. Finding them is going to be the hard part, but I know that I'll have help along the way!
So, this past Thursday, the 30th, I took my great-grandmother's name upstairs to do her initiatory. As I sat there waiting for my turn, I was thinking about the experience I had had the week before. And I started wondering, "how can I make it so that every name I am baptized for is that special to me? What can I do differently so that every person I'm being baptized for is that important to me?" And that's when it hit me; I went in with a different mentality because it was the name of a family member. I treated that name differently because I was her descendant. While I know I'm not actually related to the name I'm usually baptized for, I know that they are family members of someone. And I know that they are Spirit children of a Heavenly Father, as am I. And in that way, we are related. So, after I finished doing initiatories, I went back downstairs to the baptistery, and this week, I had been feeling a little under the weather; so, I didn't do baptisms. But I did do confirmations. Before they started, I reminded myself that these names were my Sisters from a Heavenly Mister, that these were the names of my Spirit family members. And boy, did that make a difference! I could feel that the veil was thin, and that they were full of gratitude towards me, for the fact I changed the way I looked at it, for the fact that I was not longer looking at it as some random people who died ages ago, but that I was now looking at it as my long lost relatives. There's a saying, "change your attitude, and you can change your life." I know that the same is true for the temple ordinances, only, if you change your attitude, you might change your experience. Not to say that you're going to have an amazing experience every time,  but I know it has helped me.

The temple has been such a huge blessing to me from the beginning. I know that it turbo-charged my conversion process. Haha. I have no doubts that I would still be a member today even if I had not gone on that temple trip last winter; but I think it'd would've taken me a lot longer to make that decision. I know that God gave me that amazing and overwhelming spiritual experience because He knew it would take a lot to convince me; I am pretty stubborn, after all. I think He knew that had I not gone on that temple trip, my investigating would have probably taken months.

Looking back at my life, I think it's funny that the things that I am internally fighting so hard are the things I end up loving the most. The harder I try to push away or distance myself from something, the more it means to me in the long run. I can say that about my travel experiences, I can say that about certain sports and activities, I can say that relationships, and now, I can say that about the Church. The "Mormon Church" literally weirded me out; I wanted NOTHING to do with it. I only bothered letting those Elders in because I didn't want to be rude. I was too afraid of being mean to them, that I couldn't bring myself to tell them I was not interested. And there were things about the Church that I had issues with. But I kept my very different opinions to myself, for the most part; but inside, I was struggling. I knew the way I felt in my heart, but the way I was thinking wasn't agreeing with what I was feeling. My intellectual side was fighting with my emotional reaction to the Church, But I started reading the Book of Mormon, and I attempted to give it a real chance, and I started praying; and slowly but surely, the intellectual side and the emotional side of me were agreeing. And then I had that experience in the Gilbert temple, and I knew that this was right. I knew that this was another one of those things that I fought against so hard, and that I would end up loving. And it has been. It has been such a blessing to me; and I cannot and do not want to imagine my life from here on out without the Church in it. Letting the Elders in that day in December 2013 was literally the best decision I have ever made, and I wasn't even happy with that decision at the time. Hahaha. Sometimes, the best things to happen to you are the things you didn't want to happen in the first place.

In this show I used to watch, "Parenthood," the matriarch of the family at one point tells her daughter-in-law, "I've never been so happy to be so wrong about anyone." I can't help but feel that way about the Church sometimes. Everything I knew, or everything I thought I knew, about the church was completely wrong. I'm constantly learning, constantly growing, constantly building my testimony of the restored church of Jesus Christ. And every time I go to the temple, I'm adding another brick to the foundation on which my testimony is mostly built upon. You'll constantly hear missionaries tell people to read the Book of Mormon, to pray about it, and if the Spirit tells them it's true, then that means Joseph Smith was a Prophet, then that means he really did restore the true church of Jesus Christ and all the keys of the Priesthood, and so on. And while I know all of that is true, I think for me, it kind of happened differently. I think I had a testimony of all that, but I don't think it was really solidified until I went to the Gilbert temple. In a way, my testimony worked backwards. I knew that the power of the Atonement I felt in the temple that day was real, I knew that the temple really was the House of the Lord, and I knew that the priesthood was necessary to perform the ordinances inside the temple, and then I knew Joseph Smith restored those keys, and then it confirmed to me that the Book of Mormon was true. For me, it all started with the temple, but it doesn't end there. As Elder J. Ballard Washburn once said many years ago, "we go to the temple to make covenants, but we go home to keep the covenants we have made." I know I must keep pressing forward, doing my best to keep my covenants, to follow the commandments, to be a disciple of Christ in all things and in all places. I just wanted to share my experiences with whoever felt like hearing about it. Haha.

Anyway, I've gone on long enough now.

Wishing you all the best,
          Reeree

It's my "Baptiversary!"

A year ago, today, I was baptized and I became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I seriously cannot believe that it has been 365 days since then. It simultaneously feels like it was just yesterday and like it was a lifetime ago; I would argue that it feels like a lifetime ago because I was living a different life then. The choices I was making before I got baptized would currently have me on a very different path now had I continued to make those choices.

Last week, when I bore my testimony at our sacrament meeting, I had told my ward that without the temple trip last year, my conversion would've taken longer, or it might not have happened at all. But something my stake president said at our ward conference yesterday made me realize that that is just not true. He said something along the lines of "just as people on earth are sad that you've left when you die; people in heaven are sad when you're born." And it reminded me of this poem Sister Olsen had shared with me (it is so good!), but it also reminded me that I chose to follow God's plan in the pre-mortal life. I was a member of His Church then, and I wanted to come to earth to learn and progress and to follow the Savior and return to Him. I was set out to be a member of this Church from the beginning; it was only a matter of when. Recently, I was reading in the Book of Mormon, and I found a scripture that reiterated this idea for me. "And I bear record that the people of Nephi did seek diligently to restore the Lamanites unto the true faith in God (Enos 1:20). . . ."

I italicized the word "restore" because it really stuck out to me as I was reading this. The word basically means "to return or bring back to its former/original state." So, when I read this, it made me realize that at one point, the Lamanites believed in God. For whatever reason (wickedness, pride, bitterness, etc., I don't remember), the Lamanites had lost their faith in the Father. 

When we are born and cross the veil that separates our Heavenly home from this world, we lose our knowledge and memories of our Heavenly home. We forget our Heavenly Father, we forget we chose to follow Him, and we forget that we were already part of His church. Some of us grew up in the Church, so we are taught about the gospel from a young age, therefore some of us are restored to their faith before others. And some of us, including me, are those "others." We are those who didn't grow up with the gospel in our homes, who didn't know the truth. We needed to be restored to our faith later. 

Sometimes I wonder, "where would I be now if I had been a member sooner?" But I always think about the following three lyrics when I think about the way my life has gone. 

"Thank God for all I missed, because it led me here to this." -Darius Rucker, "This"

"I thank God I didn't get what I thought that I deserved." - Carrie Underwood, "Good in Goodbye"

"Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers." - Garth Brooks, "Unanswered Prayers"

My life has definitely not gone the way I would've expected it to, but I feel much happier with what I've got than I would've been had I gotten what I thought I wanted then. I know that God has a plan for each of us. He know what He's doing. He sees things differently than we do. We can only see today, but He sees what lies ahead for us. We just have to be patient, and faithful that whatever we're going through will be beneficial for us at some point. Someday, we're going to look back at the trials we're facing today and be glad for them. I never thought I would look back at all the things I've been through, and be able to say that I'm glad it happened. But now, I can. It has made me who I am; which I'd like to think is "a whole lot of tender, and little bit tough." :) 

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm glad I've been restored to my true faith. It's been a full year of this LDS life, and it has been a great one! And I know that while life not get any easier, it will still get better from here on out because I have the gospel!

Some picture-quotes that are food for thought!

A Year Since the "Spiritual Slap to the Face"

Yesterday marked a year since the day I walked through the Gilbert, Arizona temple open house for the second time (as I had walked through the night before), and I received what I call a "spiritual slap to the face." I've talked about this experience before (here), but to give you a short version, I was an investigator of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at the time, and a skeptical one at that. I wasn't sure if I had really believed any of what the Sisternaries had been teaching me, but I knew that I had felt good inside every time. They kindly urged me to go with the ward to the Gilbert temple open house, so I did. On the way there, I realized that I wanted to get baptized, but I wasn't fully committed to the idea just yet. I went through the first time, and it was incredible, but I didn't take it all in because we were kind of being rushed through it. The second time, I tried to walk a little bit slower, and I tried to take it all in. I said a silent prayer right before we walked through the Celestial room, and then I had a wonderful experience. All at once, I felt this peace and love from above that had been lacking in life. I felt the true and wonderful power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I gained a testimony of the love Christ has for us, and specifically me. When you are literally slapped in the face, your eyes tear up a little, and most often, you weren't expecting to be slapped, and you stand there in complete shock, unable to react to it. I call my experience a "spiritual slap to the face" because I had those "symptoms." And also because I am stubborn. Some people can feel gentle urges from the Spirit and know that the Church is true, but because I needed a little more convincing, I needed a bigger "sign." Just another testimony of the fact that Heavenly Father knows me, and each of us, so well!
Yesterday, I talked a bit about this as I shared my testimony. There were so many thoughts running through my head at the time, but I just let the Spirit guide me. And I shared a well-known quote by Oliver Wilde, and also a variation of it. The original is "every saint has a past. Every sinner has a future." But the variation I found on the internet added a few words.

Buy the patch here, if you want it.

Those words made this quote a hundred times more powerful to me than ever before. The quote itself gives people hope that they can be better than where they are now. But Christ is what provides that hope. Through the enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we have the power to change ourselves for the better. I know that I've changed in the past year since I've been baptized. In the song, "Baptism," by Randy Travis, he says "down with the old man, up with the new." The baptismal waters wash away our sins, our mistakes, and our past. But they don't wash away our bad habits. When you make the decision to get baptized, you make the decision to commit to be better. As one of the Presidents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Ezra Taft Benson, has said, "when you choose to follow Christ, you choose to be changed." Why? Because you choose to emulate him. You cannot be a follower of Christ without following and without living His principles. It takes time to do this; I know from experience. There are still bad habits that I'm working on. But God appreciates our effort in trying to change. "...it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do (2 Nephi 25:23)." 

I know these things are true. I know that Christ has made all the difference in my life, and I know that if you are willing to accept Him into your life, He can make a difference in yours as well.  

Protect Our Nestlings

Those "Sidewalk Prophets"

On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to have the YSA Sisternaries over for dinner.  I was so disappointed because I spent a good part of the day preparing my food several hours before the time I knew they would show up so it would all be perfect. And it was not. The food was still pretty decent, but it really got to me, and it was hard to enjoy their company during the actual dinner because I had my head so wrapped around the fact that the meal I had prepared didn't come out just right.

But, right after, I went with them to teach a lesson in Van Nuys. One the way there, we were listening to this mix CD I made them which contains music that "strikes me spiritual." Most of the songs were very obviously so, because they used words having directly to do with the gospel. But there are a few songs that are in no direct way spiritual, but they bring out the Spirit for me. One of the songs on there is "Jesus Take the Wheel" by Carrie Underwood. Sisters French and Forbush were both singing along, when the latter said "I want to go do karaoke." And Sister French responded with, "Ha. Carrie-okie!" It was so funny! :)
Anyway, the guy they were teaching was referred to them by some other Elders in the area. He didn't actually let us in his house, so we all just stood on his doorstep talking in the dark. It was really hard to see his face, making it hard to tell if he was actually understanding what the Sisters were saying or just saying he understood. Especially considering the fact that every time they asked him a question, he would only give one- or two-word answers. But after they would explain one thing about our Church, he would ask to hear more. It was pretty awesome.

At one point they asked him if he believed in the prophets in The Bible, and if he believed in the possibility of prophets on the earth today. And he said that there could be a possibility. And then the Sisters asked me to share my testimony of how I came to know if there was a prophet on the earth today, and how I came to know that President Thomas S. Monson is the true and living prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ. And I told him that I prayed about it, and I got this feeling in my heart that felt right. And by reading the scriptures in both the Bible and in the Book of Mormon, and then going and reading the words President Monson has given, and how, to me, they were the same words I've read in the scriptures, just in modern terms. He testified of the same things that prophets of old had testified about. But, here's the embarrassing part, when I was trying to say "Thomas S. Monson," I called him "Spencer." I know that Spencer is his middle name, but I felt like a total idiot for forgetting his name, his first name! I felt like I had screwed up so bad. In my head, I was thinking, "Yeah, I'm sure this sounds questionable now if I can't even get the prophet's name right!" But it didn't seem to affect him negatively, because he still seemed interested.

Then, baptism came up, and he said he might be interested in the idea of being baptized, of course, after he can know for himself if any of this is true. But he told us he had been baptized before. When he said that, I immediately thought of the scripture that talks about how without the proper priesthood authority, the ordinances performed are kind of all for naught. I felt like I should just let them do the talking at that point, and Sister Forbush handled it so well! She talked about priesthood power, but he didn't seem to comprehend her "missionary lingo," so I tried to break it down in simpler terms, and then (I think) he got it. And he kept asking them to share more with them. It was pretty great. He even asked them how long would he have wait before he could be a "sidewalk prophet" like they are. Haha, not quite, but pretty close! I think it was a really good lesson. It was hard to gauge his interest, or the sincerity of his interest, at first, but I really do believe he is genuinely interested. He even agreed to come to sacrament meeting on Sunday. 

The Sisters are so inspiring. It's so great to see them at work. I know they believe with every fiber of their being that the things that they are "preaching" are true, as do I. Every time I read my scriptures, with real intent, with the desire to learn something from them, my testimony grows. Every time I feed the missionaries, and they share a spiritual thought with me, and it is exactly what I needed to hear without having them known prior to then, my testimony grows. Every time I get to share my beliefs with others, whether it is with the Sisters or on my own, my testimony grows. I am so, so grateful that I opened the door to the "sidewalk prophets" who were roaming through my neighborhood over a year ago. It's changed me for the better. And every time I help the Sisters teach a lesson, I hope that those people will see that, and want that for themselves. Recently, I started re-reading the Book of Mormon. It has been so great. The first time around I was really skeptical, but now, that I know it's the Word of God, I'm reading it with a much more open mind, and an open heart. Anyway, there's this chapter where the patriarch of the family, Lehi, has a vision of the tree of life, and its fruit basically represent God's love. And the following verse stuck out to me. 

1 Nephi 8:12 - "And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit."

If you experienced something as amazing as that, wouldn't you want to share it with your family? Lehi had the desire to share it his actual family; his wife. his sons, and their wives. When I read this, I thought about my immediate and extended family, but I also thought abut my Heavenly family. WE are children of a Heavenly Family, and I want us all to return to Him. I want everyone to be able to taste of the fruit. I want everyone to experience that wonderful and eternal love for themselves. To not share it would be selfish, and well, that wouldn't be very Christ-like, would it?

:)

Is it really worth it?

Lately, I feel like I've been bombarded by people who ask me if I ever miss coffee, alcohol, or tea. When I made the decision to get baptized, I made a covenant with Heavenly Father that I wouldn't partake of those things anymore because He has commanded us not to. And there are times where I do miss tea, sweet tea to be exact, and there are also times where I do miss my previous occasional "strong drink." And after I tell those who ask me about it that I do sometimes yearn for those drinks, I usually get this follow-up question: "what keeps you from doing it?" Usually, because it's the first thing that pops up, is that I refrain from doing it because I hardly did it anyway, and I know I'm better off without it. Alcohol is dangerous, and to this day, my father is still a prisoner to his vice. Knowing that alcoholism can be genetic, I've always been careful to not make my drinking a habit. So, that has been my go-to answer when people ask me why I don't drink alcohol anymore.
As far as the coffee, well, I never really liked it anyway. So, I have no problem staying away from that.
For me, the hardest of all to give up has been the tea. I love iced tea, especially sweet tea. So, that has been a struggle for me. Especially because it's all my mom seems to buy anymore. Our fridge is always stocked with some type of iced tea. And it is so hard for me to say no to that.
But what I've come to realize is that every time I have an opportunity to have alcohol or tea, or do any of the things I vowed not to do anymore since being baptized, I think to myself, "is it really worth it?" A brief moment of pleasure for my taste buds is a moment of blatant and conscious disobedience to God; a moment where I would be disappointing my Heavenly Father, therefore disappointing myself; a moment where I would forsake the promises I made to Him, and would be driving away the Holy Spirit.
I may have "lost" out a few things here and there by vowing to giving them up when I got baptized, but I gained so much more. I've gained the gift of the Holy Ghost, who comforts me and guides me and reveals to me what my Heavenly Father wants me to know. And through Jesus, I've gained a friend, I've gained forgiveness, and peace and love. And everyday, I seem to gain more. I've been given so much from my Heavenly Father. While the tea, coffee, and alcohol seemed like a huge sacrifice a year ago, it is no big deal now. Satan tries to tempt me into it every now and then, but when I measure up the pros and cons, what Satan is offering me doesn't even come close to all that my Heavenly Father has given me, and all that He promises to give me if I continue on the right path.

Mormons, Mormons Everywhere

I was at work on yesterday, putting go-backs away, when a customer stopped me to ask a question. I was happy to oblige. I couldn't tell you what she originally wanted, but I lifted my right hand up to scratch my chin as I thought about the location of her desired items. And she cut me off. She said, "is that a CTR ring?!" Indeed, it was a CTR ring on my right hand. And we started talking about what wards we each respectively go to. Our wards actually meet in the same building! She goes to the Northridge family ward! And she asked me to tell her my conversion story, so I gave her the short version. We had a nice little chat for over ten minutes. She's a sweet lady! I'm glad I met her! I'll probably see her around the building in passing.

I love this Church. There are members from all walks of life and all over the world. I love that the Church is the same no matter where you attend. It's a safe place to get away from the world. It's a place of spiritual refuge. The Spirit is felt the same in every church building. I'm grateful that Heavenly Father truly guided this church, and that He is at the Helm of that "old ship Zion." I would be so lost without His direction; I know I have been before.

David, one of my mom's exes who has grown to be like a father-figure to me, keeps trying to convince me to move to Utah. He says I'll love it (because of all the Mormons there. haha! As if there aren't any here! We're everywhere!). And I'm sure I would. When I went to the Ogden temple open house, I definitely fell in love with the scenery I saw along the way. And Utah just has a different aura than the other states I've seen. It doesn't seem, I hope some people don't take this the wrong way, as "worldly" as other places. I think it's kind of cool. But I just get this feeling, and I could be very wrong, that the leaders of the Church don't want all non-Utah Mormons to be flooding to Utah. I feel like rather than have the world think that Utah is the "Mormon state," they'd prefer to make the "Mormon presence" stronger throughout the world. I think they would rather have us stay put, and help "build the kingdom" where we are now. But I could be wrong. And I'm not completely against the idea of moving there; I'm just not sure I'm ready for it now. Only time will tell. :)

Climbing Spiritual and Physical Mountains

So, today after I got home from a quick meeting I had to go to, I felt the urge to go hiking; it's a bit of a a rare "craving" for me. While I enjoy hiking and the outdoors, I'm also really lazy. But I thought to myself, "it's a beautiful day, and really, what are you going to do if you don't go hiking? Scroll through your Pinterest feed all day? No, go out, and enjoy the day."

I asked my sister if she wanted to go with me, but she said she had stuff to do. So, after I ate lunch, my dog, Lola, and I hit the road, and we headed towards O'Melveny Park in Granada Hills. I've heard a lot of great things about this park, but me, being lazy, have never been, though, I've had plenty of chances. Haha, One of the things I heard about this park is that there is a place that you can see both the Santa Clarita and San Fernando valleys. And I wanted to see it.

O'Melveny Park has an equestrian trail, and a nature trail, and various other trails that could be nameless. But don't quote me on that. Haha. Lola and I started on the nature trail; when we reached a fork in the road, I took the path less traveled. And we hiked way up the hill, but eventually we hit a did end. So we decided to go back down the hill. At this point Lola was so tired from that first hike, that I decided that we should take a break and catch our breath. We settled in this little grassy area.

Lola's got swag. 

If you walk along the fence, that is the horse trail, but I think that trail that's just behind the fence is called the Grotto Trail.

Lola got to play with another dog there for a while. The funny thing is she was exhausted, bu she kept playing. After the other dog left, and Lola caught her breath, she gave me this look like she was ready to go. So, I refilled her water bottle. Yes, she has her own. Haha. It's one of those that has a little bowl attached to it so she can drink from it. And then we were on our way, up the Grotto trail.

It was hard, but I was really determined to get to that viewpoint. We would climb up one hill, thinking the viewpoint would be there, only to see another, and sometimes, steeper hill. Every now and then, after a steep hill, we would take a break. But I found that after taking a break, it was a lot harder to find the drive or motivation to keep going. But I knew that the climb would be worth it once I saw that view. 

Stop 1: After climbing a pretty steep hill, Lola literally dragged me across from the other side of the trail to this tree for shade. :)

Lola enjoying the shade. 

The view from under the tree. 

It was kind of funny; every time we were climbing a steep section, I thought about some of the prophets in the scriptures, who used to climb to the tops of great mountains to talk with God. And while He didn't show himself to me, nor did I hear His voice, I knew I felt His presence through the Holy Spirit. I knew He was with me. 

Every time I reached the top of one hill, I would turn around and take in the view, and it was beautiful. I closed my eyes, and just tuned into the sounds of the nature around me. It was really great. But when I opened my eyes, I knew that this wasn't the view I came for. Not to say it wasn't good enough, but I still wanted a greater and grander view. 

So we pushed on, and kept climbing up the mountain.

Stop 2: After a steep, and slippery, section, Lola just threw herself on the ground.

Stop 3

Stop 3; different angle. 

Stop 3; another, different angle. 

 After this point, I was tempted to stop, and just go home. I almost felt satisfied. Then I noticed this path. I don't know why, but I was drawn to it.

Something about this path just spoke to me, so I had to investigate. 

 As soon as I was on it, I realized why I was drawn to it. On both sides of the path, all I saw was hills, and little flat areas, covered in dry grass. Sometimes I forget how beautiful the desert landscape can be. But what I loved most about it was that while you're on this path, for the most part, there is no sign of the city-life to the naked eye. It's like you're hundreds of miles away.

Lola and I continued on this somewhat secluded path, until we eventually came across a fence. It apparently belongs to a local gas company, or the city water supply. I, with my eyes, followed the fence to see where it led. That's when I noticed this tree on top of yet another hill, and a trail that led straight to it. At this point, I had already told Lola a couple of dozens of time that we were almost to the top, and I kid you not, she gave me this look that said "Yeah, I've heard that before," but this time, I really felt it!

Stop 4

Stop 4; different angle. 

Stop 4

Stop 4

When we finally reached that tree, I noticed there was a couple of trees. But one of them caught my eye, because there was this crate locked to it. 

Inside this crate, there are letters, and notebooks, and all kinds of stuff. Apparently, people who hike up here often, keep a record of their adventures. I thought that was pretty neat. 

We had, what I felt like was, the last uphill climb to the top. 

And it was the top! I was so excited! Getting up there was such a struggle, and with all of our breaks, it took us hours to get there. I honestly wanted to give up on multiple occasions, but I knew that what I'd get to experience from the top would make the climb all worth it! The view was glorious. 

The following are some spiritual thoughts that came to mind while I was hiking; forgive me if I repeat myself, or if I simply don't make any sense.

Getting to the top was my goal from the beginning. But there were distractions, and setbacks, and hiccups along the way, and it took me a while to get there.
As I was climbing up that mountain, I thought about how the top of the mountain was like the Celestial Kingdom. Our goal is to do everything we can do in this mortal life to get back to Heavenly Father in the eternal life.

Every time I took a break, it was that much harder to start up again, and keep going uphill. Every time, I was very tempted to turn around, and go back down the hill. Likewise, every sin I've committed makes it that much harder to keep living a gospel-centered life. It is easy to look at my mistakes and feel like I can't return from that point of despair. It is easy to feel guilty and to feel like I'll never be forgiven.But I can be forgiven. In fact, I have been. Jesus Christ has already suffered for me, for my mistakes, my sorrows, my burdens, everything. All I need to do is repent, and I can be wiped clean from that. But without repentance, I cannot move forward and upward. Without repentance, I would probably continue to sin,and it could lead to my own spiritual destruction. Repent, endure to the end, and eventually, I can reach the top of the mountain, and live with my Heavenly Father.

While I was climbing up steep hills, I thought about how hills are like the trials and blessings in our lives. It was so hard to climb the steep hills, but I kept my mind on what my goal was. I knew I wanted to get to the top. I kept that in perspective the majority of the time. There are times when I didn't. There are times where I lost desire to keep going. And while I was catching my breath, debating if I should turn around or keep going, I thought about gratitude. It is easy to be grateful during our times of abundances. But am I grateful for what I have when I don't have much? Am I grateful during my trials? Am I grateful for my trials? Am I grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow from my trials? Honestly, most of the time I am not; that is something I need to work on. But, as with hills, I can not enjoy the easy, enjoyable part of the trail of life without appreciating the hard part of the trail of life.

Going back to the path I was drawn to. . . Well, I guess every time I reached the top of one hill, and I turned to see the view of the valley, I was also worried about getting too far away from civilization because I was afraid of getting lost in the mountains. And when I found the path, and was able to look around and not see the city, I felt really great. In my mind, I related that path to the righteous path we must go on. The path led me to my destination, the viewpoint at the top of the mountain; just like the righteous path leads us to eternal glory. But we can only be on that path if we leave behind ways of the world. We must be in the world, but not of the world.

A similar thought I had was when I realized I had gotten high enough on the hill to see the cloud of  smog and pollution that looms over the valley. I honestly think that was when I had my first spiritual thought. When I thought about it, you don't usually notice the pollution when you're down there. It is only when you stand on high ground that you see how dirty the air really is. I related this to sin and immoral behavior. When you are around sin and immoral behavior, or when you participate in this behavior, you let your guard down. You become desensitized to it, and eventually, you don't even notice it. It is only when you stand on high moral ground that you can notice the sin around you. But we are not to judge or treat our fellow brothers and sisters, who are also children of God, for their behavior. We must love them as the Savior did.

Speaking of what the Savior would do, one of the lessons I learned while hiking was about "carrying" our brothers and sisters when they fall or need help. There were times were Lola was tired, and I was not tired. I could have kept going, but Lola needed to rest. I thought about how much faster I could have made it to my destination without her presence. But, then, I thought about how if she hadn't kept going, if she hadn't started taking those steps when I was ready to turn around, I never would've made it to my destination. While getting to the Celestial Kingdom is desirable, it is not a race, it is not an eternal finish line that we must all cross. The scriptures teach that "the worth of souls is great in the eyes of God (D&C 18:10);" one might say that the worth of every soul is great in His eyes. I believe He wants us all to return to Him. We must help ourselves get there, but we must also help others get there. Something as simple as a friendly hug, a thoughtful conversation, or a card in the mail makes a huge difference in the lives of those who need a friend but don't know how to turn to one. We must help our brothers and sisters in time of need. We must be like the Savior was. Every little act of kindness helps to soften the hearts of others. We need to do what we can to help others get there. They have their agency, and can choose to follow what path they may, but we must be diligent in being disciples of Christ to them, and being diligent in being their confidant.

Mission Peak

The Widower's Bench

This grove-type area at O'Melveny Park.

I really like their "fence."

Anyway, I just wanted to share my thoughts of the day.

You need to hear this! :D

I love country music. It is everything to me. It's all I listen to. These days, most of the top country songs are what people like to call "bro country," meaning that it's about trucks and drinking and partying and whatnot. And I like those songs. They're fun. But when it's all that country radio is playing, it starts to feel like it's not country anymore.

But every now and then, a great song like this makes it onto country radio. A song with a message, a song with heart, a song with Spirit, and it reminds me why I ever started loving country music in the first place.

Now, this one hit real close to home because I got baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints not too long ago. While I'm most certain that this was not the Church that the writers were talking about, the message stays the same. The Gospel changes lives. It changed mine. And it is so refreshing to hear a song that talks about those experiences on the radio.

I definitely felt the Spirit as I was listening to this song for the first time. I felt so overpowered with the Spirit that I was brought to tears. And now it's been stuck in my head for days. I only hope this song gets the exposure it deserves. It is too good not to be shared, just like this Gospel. :)

I Spoke at Stake Conference (Conversion Story)

Sunday, September 14th, 2014

So, on the 7th, Bishop Patton reminded everyone during Relief Society that Stake Conference would be the following weekend. And he also announced that I would be speaking at Stake Conference, which was news to me. 
Apparently, the Stake leaders meant to ask me, but they never got around to it. But I agreed to do it nonetheless. :)
I was pretty nervous. The largest group of people I'd ever spoken in front of was my own ward, and there were at most fifty people there. At stake conference, there was probably over 200 people there. Saturday night, I was so worried about it, I hardly slept at all. I tossed and turned all night. And I was going to be the first speaker after all the opening business and sustainings and all that jazz! 
But I didn't have to do much to prepare because they only asked me to share my conversion story, which I apparently don't have written up all in one place. I guess it's spread out in pieces over many blog posts. My bad! Just as well! I, being the type of person to ramble on and on if I don't have a premeditated thought process, wrote out my conversion story for Stake Conference. And people say that you should be able to tell it off the top of your head, and I can, but I also had to speak for fifteen minutes, and I didn't think I'd be able to do that if I didn't prepare in advance. 

Here it goes: 

• When I heard I was going to be speaking today, two different thought processes ran through my mind. The first of which was panic. I’ve only given a talk before once, and funny enough, I actually volunteered to give that talk. And that walk was only in front of about 50 people, which is probably the largest group of people I’ve ever spoken in front of. So you can imagine how scary the thought of speaking in front of several hundred people at stake conference sounded to me. But the other thought I had was, “Wow. What an honor! I’ve only been a member about seven months, and I’m being asked to speak at stake conference?!” It blows my mind.
• Anyway, I just wanted to share my conversion story with y’all today. But before I get into how I joined the Church, I wanted to share some pieces of my life story with y’all. I know some people groan when they hear life stories from the pulpit, but I feel that there are essentials bits of my background that affected my conversion in one or another.
• I didn’t really grow up with a stable religious background. I went every now and then with my Catholic cousins for holiday mass. I sometimes went to a nondenominational church with my best friend and her family, until a tragedy struck their family, and their faith dissolved. In my own nuclear family, we seldom went to church. I can only remember going a handful of times. My father was, and still is, a raging alcoholic. In fact, I can’t even remember ever seeing him sober. But I’m sure he had his sober moments because those moments lead to our short visits to church. His sobriety never lasted long, therefore our church attendance wasn’t consistent. It didn’t take long to realize that my father didn’t take his faith seriously. So I kind of grew up thinking that religion was a joke. For the record, I did believe in God and Jesus Christ, but my faith was not whole-hearted. I never attempted to develop my faith and let it grow. And I’m sure this next bit of information has something to do with it, as well.
• When I was a child, I experienced a bit of a traumatic event. Because I was so young, and I wasn’t able to comprehend or process what had happened to me, I swept it under the carpet. And I tried to make myself forget about it. But when I was about 15, one small argument with my mom led to the explosion of that emotional powder keg. And I had a postponed reaction to that event, and used it as an excuse to do things that are inexcusable. A couple of months into my rebellious phase, I realized how much resentment I had towards the person responsible for that event, and others whom I thought had “done me wrong.” I realized I wanted to move on from all of that; I wanted to forgive those people, but even more so, I wanted to forgive myself for all the things I did in response to that event. From that point up until last year, I prayed constantly. I was always asking God for the ability to move on, the ability to forgive those, and the ability to forgive myself. I honestly never felt like anyone was listening to me, and I definitely didn’t feel like I was getting the answers to those prayers. Last fall, I felt like I had buried myself in a whole of regret and resentment. It was certainly my lowest point. I prayed again, but I wasn’t just praying for those three things I had always asked for. All of a sudden, I found myself praying for help, for guidance. I wanted to know how I could better live my life according to His will. I found myself having the desire to know Him better, and to attempt to develop that half-hearted faith.
• Recently, as I was reading in Alma 32, I realized that that desire made all the difference. By having that desire, I gave “place for a portion of [His] words;” meaning that I created room for a “seed [to] be planted in [my] heart (Alma 32:27-28).” And because I had “neglected the tree” over the years, because I had failed to nourish it, I could not “pluck of the fruit of the tree of life (Alma 32: 38-40).” That is, until I began to have that desire. I was finally humbling myself enough to want to find the truth in religion. I didn’t want to think that it was a joke anymore. And because of all of that, the Lord answered my prayers. I am convinced that He knew that my heart was willing to do what I needed to do, but my mind was not. He knew I wasn’t going to take myself to church. So He brought it to me.
• A short time after that prayer, a pair of Elders knocked on my door and asked if I was willing to hear a message about Jesus Christ. My mind said no, but I had the strongest feeling that I should say yes. So I invited them in, and, if I remember correctly, they taught me about the Restoration. I remember thinking how absurd it all sounded. But when they asked if they could come teach me again, I said yes. A few weeks later, they passed me off to the YSA sisters. The day I met them, they asked me if I would commit to being baptized, and I remember thinking, “Whoa! Slow your roll! I only just met you!” But I know that it was part of God’s plan to have them teach me, because they turned out to be some of my best friends.
• It was almost a month before I actually went to a sacrament meeting. And I honestly think it was my pride that got in the way. My mind was not willing to accept it yet. I’m the type of person that needs some kind of sign. I wasn’t asking for one, because I was still unsure if I really wanted one. I was still unsure I was really willing to commit to changing my ways.
• The ward invited me to go with them to the Gilbert, Arizona temple open house. The day before we left, the sisters had asked me to pray about something personal while inside the temple. On the drive over there, I was thinking a lot about whether I should get baptized. And they had asked me every time they taught me, but I’m a quitter by nature. So I never wanted to commit to it because I was honestly afraid that I would do it, and just walk away. On the way to Gilbert, I realized that there wasn’t any real reason to keep me from getting baptized. I knew that this felt different. This didn’t feel like something I was going to walk away from. There were still things that I didn’t understand about the Church, but I also knew that I had never felt the Spirit as strong as I had since I met the Elders.
• So I sent them a text message simply stating, “I think I’m ready.” And I didn’t specify, but they knew exactly what I was talking about. We were able to go through the open house twice. The first time, I completely forget to say that prayer because I was just so awestruck by how beautiful the building was.
• But the second time, I got to say that prayer in a stairwell, on the way to the Celestial room. And it was the same prayer I’ve made many times throughout the years. I finished it just as we were walking into the Celestial room. And I finally felt like I was free from the emotional burden from that traumatic event. I finally felt from the hurt, free from regret, free from the anger I had felt. It was all gone. I finally understood the Atonement. I finally understood the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for me, the sacrifice He made for all of us. And once I knew that, I realized I didn’t need to have all the answers, but I knew in my heart that the Church was true, that the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ had been restored. And I knew I wanted to be a member of the church that built the temple where I finally received my answer. I knew I wanted to be a member of the Church that helped to free me from my past.
• I know that our Heavenly Father loves us. He loves us so much, He gave up His only Son to suffer for our sins, our pains, our transgressions, our afflictions.  He loves us so much, He restored His Church through Joseph Smith, and because of that, we have access to the power of the priesthood, we are able to do things just as Jesus Christ and his Apostles did them. And we are able to receive modern day revelation from living prophets. I love this Church. I don’t know where I’d be right now without it; but now that it’s a part of my life, I don’t want to ever live without it. It means so much to me, and I’m so grateful that I was led to it, or that it was brought to me.
• And I say these things in the name of our Beloved Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Amen

Anyway, I had to continue to sit at the stand for the remainder of stake conference. I really had to go to the bathroom, and I couldn't get up and leave. That kind of sucked. But, the next couple of speakers: the Stake Relief Society President (or was it counselor), the California -  San Fernando Mission President's wife, then the mission president himself, the Stake Patriarch, and the Stake President; gave such incredible talks. I learned so much from them. 

And by the time we got to the closing prayer, I could barely hold it anymore. But the man who gave the closing prayer gave such a long one, I wanted to leave before it was over. Haha. 

And a lot of people came up to talk to me, and they told me they were grateful to have heard my testimony, that they learned from me. A few people told me that they had a few of their own prayers answered in my story. I find it so amazing that I didn't really plan on teaching anything with my talk. It was almost entirely just about my life. But people learned from it anyway. You never know what kind of influence you have on people. 

Which reminds me, you should totally watch the new Mormon Message "You Never Know." It is so good! I definitely shed a few tears. 

I don't know why I bother posting this stuff because I think I only have one or two readers, if any at all. But I feel the need to share. And while I may not see the results of any of this right now, I hope that, in the long run, it helps someone out in whatever way it can. 

Ogden Temple Trip!!

I honestly wasn't sure I was going to be able to go on this trip because I just started at my new job, and I wasn't able to ask for that many days off on such short notice. But by the grace of God, I "lucked" out and I was only scheduled on Saturday, the 16th, and on Monday, the 19th. But my sister was willing and able to cover for me on both of those days.

So, we left on Thursday from Bishop Patton's house, and we drove to Las Vegas. There, we stayed at the home of one of the Elders he served with in Sweden. He is the recorder at the Las Vegas temple, so he shared a few spiritual stories/experiences that others have shared with him. My favorite of which involved an elderly couple that is super devout, and goes to the temple every week. One week, they both got the impression that they should go serve a mission. So, they put in the paperwork, and said they were willing to serve anywhere except where it is cold. Sure enough, they got called to Anchorage, Alaska. One day, they had an appointment, but they had 45 minutes to kill; they didn't want to waste any time, so they decided to go tracting in the meantime. The very first door they knocked on, a young man answered. That young man happened to be their estranged son!! They reunited! 

I love stories like that!!

Friday morning, we drove to Las Vegas to St. George. We did temple baptisms there. It was so beautiful!

After that, we stopped to eat at Freddy's! Apparently, there's only two locations in the entire country!! It was pretty good!

Then we drove from wherever the Freddy's was, to Ogden. 

I have no idea what temple this is...

Or what temple this is...

Then, we finally got to the Ogden temple!! 

I tried to take a selfie with Gilbert, and I just looked like a creep. Hahaha!

Sister Kemp met up with us!! :)

The House that the girls stayed in, located in Eden, Utah. It is so huge!

Their neighborhood!

Girls' slumber party!

Us, on Saturday morning!

 Saturday morning, we went through the Ogden temple a second time. We had Farr Better Ice Cream as ward, and then everyone split up to do their own thing. My friend, McKenzie and I went to the Salt Lake Temple to do baptisms. We met up with others for lunch. Then everyone split up again. Gilbert, Mark, and I went to the Deseret Book Store, then we visited the visitors' centers, and then we took a tour at the Conference Center.

The Ogden Temple on Saturday morning!

GilBERT and Ernie!

This was at the South Visitors' Center!

The Salt Lake City Temple

 Sunday morning, we went to Music and the Spoken Word at the Conference Center, followed by Sacrament meeting at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. The whole ward walked around temple square for a bit; we went to the Tabernacle. Then everyone split up to start driving back to St. George, since we would be staying there for the night. Bishop Patton, Sister Patton, EmRod, and I went to Sister Olsen's house to drop off some stuff that she had left at the Pattons' house. Her parents are so sweet!

Music and the Spoken Word at the Conference Center

The ceiling in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building! 

Joseph Smith, in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building

Yay! Selfies!

"Papa" Olsen, one of their grand-kids, Bishop Patton, her brother, me, "Mama" Olsen, and EmRod. :) (I'm horrible with names, and I had forgotten what they were almost immediately. BUT I never forget a face!!) 

The Provo Temple. 

Right next to the house we stayed at in Washington, Utah!

The Musical Road, in Lancaster, CA. 

I had a video, but it won't play the audio. :( It's supposed to be the "William Tell Overture," also known as "The Lone Ranger" Theme Song. 

So, just a little over six months as a member, and eight months since the Elders knocked on my door, I have now been to SEVEN temples now! Gilbert, Los Angeles, Newport Beach, Redlands, St. George, Ogden, and Salt Lake. I can not believe it!!