I Know He Lives

I am grateful to know we have a loving, kind, gentle friend- Our Savior, Jesus Christ. I know He loves me. I know He suffered and died for me. I know He lives! I know He lives for me- that each day He saves and lifts me from difficulty, sin, from it all! I am thankful to know that through Him I can maintain peace and happiness. Thankful that He sees me through the good and not so good experiences. He truly is my friend. Below is a piece of a talk from Elder Robert D. Hales. I like it and want to share it. Masaya Ang Aking Puso :)

Elder Robert D. Hales (October 1997) In Remembrance of Jesus. "A knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ, was given to us by Isaiah—that the Lord will guide us always. He will satisfy our needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen our frame. We will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail (see Isa. 58:11).

We remember Jesus as the Bread of Life, as the Living Water, as the Light and Life of the World as we come and follow Him, that by Him and through Him we will be saved. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

When the time for the Atonement was near, the disciples were concerned how long Jesus would remain with them. He told them that He would not tarry with them for long but that He would leave a Comforter with them, the Holy Ghost (see John 14:26). For you and me, we have to understand the loving nature of our Savior. We are not left alone. He has given us this day, through the Prophet Joseph Smith, a restoration of the gospel in these latter days. He has provided another testament of Jesus Christ in the Book of Mormon. He has restored the priesthood and the keys that He gave to Peter, James, and John when He was with them and they were His Apostles. They came to Joseph Smith and restored those same keys in 1829. Additional priesthood keys were brought by Elijah, Moses, and Elias after the appearance of the Savior in the Kirtland Temple on April 3rd of 1836. These keys have been given for the ordinances of the temple (seeD&C 110).

We have not been left alone. We have the light of Christ and the Holy Ghost to lead and guide us in an otherwise very dark and dreary world. The keys of the priesthood have been restored to make available all of the ordinances that are necessary, that we may return to His presence.

May we follow our Savior, Jesus Christ, and always remember Him in all that we do and all that we say and in all of the acts of charity given one to another, that we may know that these things are done in remembrance of Him.

I testify that our Lord Jesus Christ lives and guides and directs His Church by revelation through His prophet this very day and time. “We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ” (2 Ne. 25:26). We believe in Christ, we remember Him, and we testify of Jesus Christ our Lord and our Redeemer with the knowledge that He will come again to earth to reign in glory as King of Kings.

May all who profess to be Christians, all who know and testify of Jesus, come unto Him and follow His teachings and example, being one as Heavenly Father and Jesus are one in purpose, to unite ourselves, to lift and strengthen each other, and take upon us one another’s burdens as our Savior has taken our burdens upon Him."

Faith. Patience. Diligence. Process.

A few weeks ago I received the below message from my mission president. (Each week he sends out a weekly thought of something he's been studying and learning more about.-I love it!) I have been thinking about faith and patience a lot a lot :)  

Faith, Patience, Diligence

Alma went to teach the Zoramites. From this experience we learn so many powerful principles and practices. From the conversion of Korihor through the teaching about Faith, to Amulek’s teaching about prayer, there is wonderful learning that benefits us very much.

The concluding verse in chapter 32 reads: “. . . Ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and yourdiligence, and patience, and long-suffering, waiting for the tree to bring forth fruit.” (Emphasis mine.)

I don’t know how many hundreds of times I have read this. As I read it yesterday it opened a whole new thought for me. In that verse we learn a “Process”.  Alma applied this process to the accumulation of Knowledge using Faith. As I read it I recognized that the process is the same in the accumulation of anything. The ingredients do not change, only the end goal changes.

When you decide you will have a great marriage it will take Faith, Diligence, Patience, and Long Suffering.

When you decide you want a healthy body, it will take Faith, Diligence, Patience, and Long Suffering.

When you decide you want happy and productive children, it will take Faith, Diligence, Patience, and Long Suffering.

When you decide you want good grades in school, it will take Faith, Diligence, Patience, and Long Suffering.

When you decide you want a successful career, it will take Faith, Diligence, Patience, and Long Suffering.

More than education, experience, or good breaks, these four powerful principles and activities shall lead us to success.

Once these principles and activities have been applied we will experience the “fruit” from the “tree”.

So, here is the process:

Identify the desired “fruit” (Goal).

Apply Faith, Diligence, Patience, and Long Suffering for as long as it takes.

Enjoy the “Fruit” forever.

I Stand All Amazed

I Stand All Amazed, Hymn #193

1. I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me,
Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me.
I tremble to know that for me he was crucified,
That for me, a sinner, he suffered, he bled and died.

[Chorus]
Oh, it is wonderful that he should care for me
Enough to die for me!
Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful to me!

2. I marvel that he would descend from his throne divine
To rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine,
That he should extend his great love unto such as I,
Sufficient to own, to redeem, and to justify.

3. I think of his hands pierced and bleeding to pay the debt!
Such mercy, such love and devotion can I forget?
No, no, I will praise and adore at the mercy seat,
Until at the glorified throne I kneel at his feet.

Text and music: Charles H. Gabriel, 1856–1932
Mosiah 3:5–8
John 15:13

He Lives!

I am enjoying the rain today! It has really come down here and there this afternoon. Walking from my car to class was peaceful and fun! It brought back lots of memories of walking in the rain in the mission. Today's rain has seemed to cleanse and renew the earth. As I was walking and driving today I noticed how the rain made everything look brighter- the grass look greener, the green budding on the trees is greener, the blossoms on the flowering trees look fresh and vibrant- the pink and purple are my favorite, the yellowing flowering bushes and yellow daffodils, as well as the tulips. This is day two leading to Easter Sunday. This week is Holy Week. I hope we will spend not only this week celebrating The Living Christ, but that we will each day as we seek to know Him, serve Him, and become like Him. We have great cause for rejoicing as remember that Jesus Christ is our Savior- that He not only suffered and died for us, but that He LIVES for us today! I know He lives. He loves me. I need Him. He needs me- to be me. Without Him I am nothing and could not accomplish anything truly worthwhile. Masaya Ang Aking Puso :)

Six. Amin. Roku.

Six years ago today I entered the MTC. Six years...at times it feels like it was just yesterday that I was sitting in that basement classroom studying the scriptures and Tagalog and laughing with people who would become some of my greatest friends. I loved my MTC experience! I learned many things why I was there and since I have left. Serving a mission is the greatest decision and also a difficult one I have made in my life thus far. I do not regret at all choosing to follow the Lord's command for me and serve a full-time mission. I am the woman I am today, because of that decision and the experiences I had while serving and what I still learn from it today. It has helped me in other decisions and experiences. Each day I think of it and at times long for my friends in the Philippines. I'm thankful Heavenly Father lead me to serving a mission and for the experiences I had while serving- the awesome positive ones and the not so awesome positive ones. :) And the things I continue to learn from them. Masaya Ang Aking Puso :)

*This picture I took this morning- being late for class has it's blessings and this is one them.

CHRISTmas 2010

This CHRISTmas has been awesome! Filled with family (cousins I haven't seen in ages and the surprise breakfast guest) testimonies of Christ, yummy yummy food, movies with sister, chillin in pajamas until mid-afternoon, laughing, surprises, and many others. I am so grateful for my family! I am grateful to our loving Heavenly Father for His many blessings, opportunities, and challenges. My faith has been and is being strengthened through them all. I am thankful for the CHRISTmas season where many many people come together to celebrate Him. I am grateful to know Jesus is the Christ, the promised Messiah, I know He suffered and died for me and that He now lives! He lives for me- for all of us! He like Our Father in Heaven know us completely. I will continue to do what They ask of me because I love Them. I trust Them. I am choosing to continue "God-ward" moving forward in God's way. Because I have more peace and happiness in His way than in any other way. Masaya Ang Aking Puso :)