Balance and Patience

Patience and balance are two subjects I have been thinking about for awhile now. Not really sure why, maybe because I notice I do better when these things are incorporated in my life and I also notice the lack thereof.

I think balance in life is really important. That includes having your physical, spiritual, and emotional needs met. I notice that when I exercise, eat right, get enough sleep, go to the temple weekly, read my scriptures and pray daily I am HAPPIER! Figuring out balance is a lifelong pursuit, not something that is perfected in a day either.

Patience also plays hand in hand with balance. Good things take time! I remember on my mission just wanting an investigator to hurry up already, but good things take time and the gospel is worth waiting for. In addition to that sometimes I find myself not being patient with my Father in Heaven. I find myself wanting things now, and not comprehending why he is possibly making me wait. Trust me, ALL my wants are righteous desires, okay maybe not. And just like waiting for a prayer to be answered good bread takes time to cook in the oven. If you open the oven too soon, the loaf will fall and not turn out. In my younger days I was perfectly happy eating the dough, so while I am waiting for good things to bake, I might as well eat some dough:)

Doing the Necessary things

About two weeks ago we had a regional conference featuring Elders Steven Snow, Jeffrey Holland, Boyd Packer, and Sister Beck. They each had significant things to say, but I want to focus on what Sister Beck said.

She talked about doing the necessary things in life. She told us to align ourselves with the Lord and prioritize. I like how she said that the computer is no more valuable to us then our other appliances. One of the important things she brought up was doing missionary work. Several months ago she felt prompted to ask her cousin to be baptized, but she did not heed the prompting. Months later while sitting in the temple she felt the prompting again and called her cousin up that day! He and his wife were baptized shortly there after.

My sister-in-law is a good example of missionary work. She recently shared the gospel with a co-worker, line upon line, not everything all at once. I am proud of her for doing the most important, necessary missionary work, which more importantly is about the worth of a soul. She has never been shy about sharing the gospel with anyone...I bet she would make a better missionary then her husband, lol, just kidding!

Sister Beck repeated a statement over and over that I think we could all think about when it comes to re-prioritizing our lives..."Your doing better then you think you are, but were not doing as well as we could be."

This isn't a race...

So lately I have been thinking a lot about running. Maybe because I love it so much, or because you have a lot of time to think while you are running.

Do you ever notice that we as humans tend to compare ourselves, see who has the bigger, better stuff? Even when people are telling stories they try to top the story being told with something better. IT DOESN'T MATTER! I constantly remind myself of that.

I think of the perfect scripture to illustrate this..."Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life." (2 Nephi 31:20) The point is to press forward, not race, but help each other stay on the path! I distinctly remember memorizing this scripture when I was a missionary. My companion helped me with each and every word and even added actions to help.

As we are running remember to help others, press forward with hope, and hey, it doesn't hurt to have a running partner either! I'm still looking for one, lol!

Dating and Marriage

I completely forgot about the CES fireside this past weekend, but was able to listen to Elder Scott's message today and I WAS IMPRESSED! There were so many funny comments and many tidbits of wise counsel interspersed.

Some of the funny things that were said...
"Everything she does makes me happy (spoken from newlywed husband). Men, remember that phrase when you become husbands (comment from Elder Scott)!"

"It's alright to go to the movie after your married, but it's stupid to do it beforehand. Get to know each other. If you want to have a wonderful wife you've got to be attractive to her."

"As I shake hands with members at the end of a meeting, occasionally I note a man that's in line in front of his wife. That's inappropriate, as a matter of fact it's just plain stupid! It's demeaning to her. The simple gestures like opening the door of a car or in a room for a woman shows how you want to give her the respect she deserves." (I guess this can be funny and also wise counsel, plus it can be turned around to showing respect towards men)


Some of the parts of the counsel we received...
"Young Men don't waste time in idle pursuits. Serve a worthy mission then make your highest priority that of finding a worthy, eternal companion."

"To love another righteously is to protect, to elevate, to keep pure, and undefiled. To sacrifice one self for the benefit of the other. To love is to hold and reserve sacred intimate experiences for the sanctity of marriage."

"There is a powerful difference between love and lust. Pure love yields happiness and engenders trust. It is the foundation of eternal joy. Lust will destroy that which is enriching and beautiful."

"For women the difference between right and wrong is as black and white. When many of us men see a wide range of gray."

"Some of you may feel lonely and unappreciated. You cannot see how it will be possible for you to have the blessing of marriage and children or your own family. All things are possible to the Lord and he keeps the promises he inspires his prophets to declare. Eternity is a long time. Have faith in those promises and live to be worthy of them so that in His time the Lord can make them come true in your life. With certainty you will receive every promised blessing for which you are worthy. I pray that it will be on this side of the veil."

Amazing words, I loved! If you want to listen, it's about 45 minutes long, the link is below.

http://lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?locale=0&vgnextoid=22dfd7256ec8b010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD

Unbroken Chain

Okay so if most of you have not been able to tell I have recently become obsessed with church history. Because of that interest I am taking a church history class in addition to a few others. In that class I thought of a talk President Hinckley gave a few years ago about not being the weak link in a chain. Part of that talk says...

"There was a dead tree I wished to pull. I fastened one end of a chain to the tractor and the other end to the tree. As the tractor began to move, the tree shook a little, and then the chain broke.

“I looked at that broken link and wondered how it could have given way. I went to the hardware store and bought a repair link. I put it together again, but it was an awkward and ugly connection. The chain was never, never the same.”(Gordon B. Hinckley, “Keep the Chain Unbroken,” in Brigham Young University 1999–2000 Speeches (2000), 108–9). President Hinckley's point in sharing that story with us was to illustrate that each of us is a link in a chain. If we break that chain things are never the same again, especially in regards to posterity.

I thought of this talk because I was thinking about Joseph Smith's heritage and the fact that there were quite a few strong "links" on the Smith side of the family. Asael Smith was Joseph's Grandfather and from his posterity there were 4 prophets! Look at this amazing pedigree from the Smith Family...

Nauvoo Temple

I wanted to post the pictures of temple things separate from all the rest of the church history photos I had, probably because of the sacredness of the building. I really enjoy going to historic temples because of the craftsmanship and the sacrifices that were made to build them. Nauvoo is a unique temple unlike any other I have been in and I am lucky enough to have been in it twice.

This is a timeline of events in relation to the Nauvoo Temple. It was very help for me because I had always wondered when certain things happened such as the tornado.





One of the original sunstones outside of the visitors center.


The pieces de resistance, the Nauvoo Temple, even more spectacular inside!