Favorite Scriptures (Selected by YOU! Facebook Friends!)

I asked my Facebook Friends to share their favorite scriptures, and why.

Cecilia:

1 Thessalonians 5:26
Greet all the brethren with an holy ^akiss.

(She left no explanation. Haha.)

Cameron:

 Alma 44:4 Now ye see that this is the true faith of God; yea, ye see that God will support, and keep, and preserve us, so long as we are ^afaithful unto him, and unto our faith, and our religion; and never will the Lord suffer that we shall be destroyed except we should fall into transgression and deny our faith.

"the lord will always take care of you as long as you are true and faithful"

Lacie:

Mosiah 4:14 And ye will not suffer your ^achildren that they go hungry, or naked; neither will ye ^bsuffer that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and ^cquarrel one with another, and serve the devil, who is the master of sin, or who is the ^devil spirit which hath been spoken of by our fathers, he being an enemy to all righteousness.

 15 But ye will ^ateach them to ^bwalk in the ways of truth and ^csoberness; ye will teach them to ^dlove one another, and to serve one another.

Ellen:

2 Nephi 25:26 And we ^atalk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we ^bprophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our ^cchildren may know to what source they may look for a ^dremission of their sins.

"This is my favorite BoM Scripture, because it shows our true focus in the Gospel. We talk, rejoice, preach, and prophesy of Christ. And we will teach our children of Him and His atoning sacrifice. This is what I strive to do in my everyday life."

Hilary:

1 Nephi 3: 7 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I ^awill go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no ^bcommandments unto the children of men, save he shall ^cprepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.

"Teaching my kids that they can do hard things and Nephi DID DO hard things. We can all do hard things with the Lords Help!!!"

Rachel:

Mosiah 4:

 11 And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have ^atasted of his love, and have received a ^bremission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own ^cnothingness, and his ^dgoodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths of ^ehumility, ^fcalling on the name of the Lord daily, and standing ^gsteadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel.

 12 And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the ^alove of God, and always ^bretain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the ^cknowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true.

"It reminds me to be humble."

Julie:

 Jacob 6:12 O be ^awise; what can I say more? 

"You should be able to figure out why." 

Whitney:

Matthew 6:25 ^aTherefore I say unto you, Take no ^bthought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

 26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

 28 And why take ye thought for raiment? ^aConsider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

 29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

 30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, ^ashall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little ^bfaith?

 31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

 32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father ^aknoweth that ye have need of all these things.

 33 ^aBut ^bseek ye first the ^ckingdom of God, and his ^drighteousness; and all these ^ethings shall be ^fadded unto you.

 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take ^athought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

"or for a missionary variation see Doctrine and Covenants 84:80-84:"

 80 And any man that shall go and preach this ^agospel of the kingdom, and fail not to continue ^bfaithful in all things, shall not be weary in mind, neither darkened, neither in body, limb, nor joint; and a ^chair of his head shall not fall to the ground unnoticed. And they shall not go hungry, neither athirst.

 81 Therefore, take ye no ^athought for the morrow, for what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, or wherewithal ye shall be clothed.

 82 For, ^aconsider the ^blilies of the field, how they grow, they toil not, neither do they spin; and the kingdoms of the world, in all their glory, are not arrayed like one of these.

 83 For your ^aFather, who is in heaven, ^bknoweth that you have need of all these things.

 84 Therefore, let the morrow take ^athought for the things of itself.

"It calms my anxious nerves and helps me refocus :)"

Colby:

Mathew 11: 28 ¶^aCome unto me, all ye that ^blabour and are heavy laden, and I will give you ^crest.

 29 Take my ^ayoke upon you, and ^blearn of me; for I am ^cmeek and ^dlowly in ^eheart: and ye shall find ^frest unto your souls.

 30 For my yoke is ^aeasy, and my burden is light.

Defines missionary work, but most of all, it will bring comfort to those people you teach about harships.

Remember to smile, because you are a child of God.

FINISHED MEMORIZING!

I finished memorizing "The Living Christ" I encourage you all to do so! Or if you are of another Faith, memorize something that is an important part of what YOU believe. It was an awesome experience! I am so proud of myself, and I know it will be a blessing to me as I learn more about my Savior and the sacrifices he made for me!

-Kaeli

P.S. my friend Brianne made a similar blog, you should all go check it out! She's awesome!
http://keepthelight365.blogspot.com

Remember to smile, because you are a child of God.

Live Like You Know

I think Faith is one of the most paradoxical concepts I have ever encountered, and yet it makes perfect sense when we think of it like the little seed that it is. It's funny because you have to first choose to believe before you ever get to feel it, or know. And sometimes that's frustrating. I've heard all sorts of explanations, like that it's all just psychological, but I don't believe that either. I think that it's through our faith and dedication that we come to know because that is what puts us in the right places to be nourished. Of course there are all sorts of other things that play into it, and I think it's simply a law. I don't need to understand it completely to know it.

Maybe I'm on a music kick this week. Actually I know I am. I've been looking for good stuff to take on my mission so I think I've listened to more religious music lately than I have before. And I love it. Anyway, here's the latest song that got me thinking about all that I've learned this year.


I challenge you, when you are struggling, to take this song into consideration. If you want to know, you have to show that you want to know. I know it's paradoxical, but sometimes you have to live it first.
Live like you believe,
Live like you know.
It's one sure way your faith will grow.

Ether12: 6 And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that ^afaith is things which are ^bhoped for and ^cnot seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no ^dwitness until after the ^etrial of your faith.

Remember to smile, because you are a child of God.

Endure to the End (This is not Your Home)

 

Life's goin' good. Just keeps throwin stuff at me. And I just keep saying "Fine. Now get on your way!" Then I found this song by Hillary Weeks. It's on a CD that my best friend Dorothy gave me. I like it.

I know, it's girlie! Haha but still... I've learned that especially when you are doing something that's right, there's just a ton of hard stuff that comes at you. I'm not sure that it's all Satan, I think some of it is just part of standing up and actively doing what's right. That's just hard sometimes. But overall... the fact is that no matter where all the trials come from, I can't really change them. And when they are things that are completely beyond my control, I just have to step back and remember it's not their home. They won't stay forever, and sometimes just knowing that I have to keep right on my way and do my best while the trials come and go, is all that can really help me get through them. It's hard, but it won't last forever.

Besides,

ultimately, this is not my home either. 

 D&C 14:7 And, if you ^akeep my commandments and ^bendure to the end you shall have ^ceternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.

Remember to smile, because you are a child of God.

Memorizing "The Living Christ" update #3

Alright, I am typing this purely from memory :) This is as far as I have memorized. Here we Go.

The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles

As we commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ, two millennia ago, we offer our testimony of the reality of His matchless life and the infinite virtue of His great atoning sacrifice. None other has had so profound an influence upon all who have lived and will yet live upon the earth.

He was the great Jehovah of the Old Testament, the Messiah of the New. Under the direction of His Father, He was the creator of the earth. "All things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made."(John 1:3) Though sinless He was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. He "went about doing good" (Acts 10:38) yet was despised for it. His gospel was a message of peace and goodwill. He entreated all to follow his example. He walked the roads of Palestine healing the sick, causing the blind to see and raising the dead. He taught the truths of eternity, the reality of our premortal existence, the purpose of our life on earth and the potential for the sons and daughters of God in the life to come.

He instituted the sacrament as a reminder of His great atoning sacrifice. He was arrested and condemned on spurious charges, convicted to satisfy a mob and sentenced to die on Calvary's cross. He gave his life to atone for the sins of all mankind. His was a great vicarious gift in behalf of all who would ever live upon the earth.

We solemnly testify that His life, which is central to all human history, neither began in Bethlehem, nor concluded on Calvary. He was the Firstborn of the Father, the Only Begotten Son in the flesh, the Redeemer of the world.

He rose from the dead to "become the first fruits of them that slept" (1 Corinthians 15:20). As Risen Lord, He visited among those He had loved in life. He also ministered among his "other sheep" (John 10:16) in ancient America. In the modern world, He and His Father appeared to the boy Joseph Smith, ushering in the long-promised "dispensation of the fulness of times." (Ephesians 1:10)

Of the Living Christ the Prophet Joseph wrote: His eyes were as a flame of fire, his hair was white like the pure snow, his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun and his voice was as the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah saying:

"I am the first and the last, I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain, I am your advocate with the Father." (D&C 110: 3-4)

Of Him, the Prophet also declared: "And now after the many testimonies which have been given of Him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of Him: That He lives!

For we saw Him, even on the right hand of God and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father...


And that's as far as I am memorized now. :) Still working on it, but I'm well over half way there :)



Remember to smile, because you are a child of God.

An Evening with the Missionaries

So you know, I'm not out serving my mission yet. And I'm sure it's going to be SUPER hard. I'm praying that I will have the strength to just put the hard stuff aside and get to work. Anyway, in all my preparing (which by the way, simply never feels like enough, and I'm thinking that's a good thing, because it keeps you humble, and focused on the fact that this is truly the Lord's work and the most success will come from his help)... but in all my preparing I've been keeping in touch with the Sister Missionaries in the area. They're sweet girls. And they invite me to come with them sometimes. I've mostly just gone with them to actual teaching appointments which are always uplifting and fun. It's pretty easy to just show up at a door with the Missionaries, who have already met the family and set up an appointment. Ta-da! Instant missionary experience. But tonight... I got to go with them for three hours of the really discouraging stuff... Contacting. So actually, here in Utah it's probably less of a bad experience, because most people are either members, inactive or completely uninterested, but very much accustomed to Missionaries and Mormons no matter what. I didn't get any doors slammed in my face, and no one said anything rude to me. I'm sure I'll get to experience that once I'm out in Arizona with a name tag... but today was just a glimpse of contacting. The sisters pulled out a Map of the area, with the members, in-actives and non-members all color coded on a chart. Then we started driving around to visit the people they already knew. Lots of people pretend they're not home. Haha. I can see how that gets discouraging after a while. Then, we went to visit this older man and his wife. He was from Scotland and his wife was from New Orleans. They had lived EVERYWHERE haha. He was so fun to talk to and visit with. He asked us all about our homes and what it was like growing up. We talked to him for a long time and then shared a scripture with him. He asked us where it came from and we explained that it was from the Book of Mormon. He listened to us explain a little bit about the Book of Mormon and then he talked to us about the scripture again. It was a scripture about Faith in Christ and how our prayers can be answered by God when we pray in Faith because he loves us. The man looked at us and said "You know...that's almost exactly what I... well... you know... that's true! If you believe it then you know it's true too! I have learned that God will help us and answer our prayers. I know that. I have lived all over the place, I've been to the Church of England, and the Baptist Church and a Church in Arkansas where we were just Christians and every time I have ever prayed to God with Faith, I have felt that He loved me. And he loves everyone. I've not met bad people yet. I know there are some, but the people I know, no matter where they were from or what they believed I knew that God loved them, because God loves us all. There's a saying my dad used to say it's in a different language but it just means "We are all children of God, and he loves us." And you know... that's true. It is."
This man spent a lot of time getting to know us and talking to us. He hugged us all and kissed us on the cheek as we left. That was rather unexpected... but you really could tell that that man had a love for all people and an understanding that we are all God's children. Sometimes I realize that though I know I have the truth in its fullness as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints, I can still learn so much simply by seeing the Faith and the beliefs of others. It just testifies more strongly to me that this Church is true, and that God loves every single one of his Children.

Remember to smile, because you are a child of God.

"The Living Christ"

Alright, still working on memorizing "The Living Christ" ready for this?
 I hit the half-way mark!!!
So here's where I am at, if you would like to catch up :)

As we commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ two millennia ago, we offer our testimony of the reality of His matchless life and the infinite virtue of His great atoning sacrifice. None other has had so profound an influence upon all who have lived and will yet live upon the earth.

He was the Great Jehovah of the Old Testament, the Messiah of the New. Under the direction of His Father, He was the creator of the earth. “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3). Though sinless, He was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. He “went about doing good” (Acts 10:38), yet was despised for it. His gospel was a message of peace and goodwill. He entreated all to follow His example. He walked the roads of Palestine, healing the sick, causing the blind to see, and raising the dead. He taught the truths of eternity, the reality of our premortal existence, the purpose of our life on earth, and the potential for the sons and daughters of God in the life to come.

He instituted the sacrament as a reminder of His great atoning sacrifice. He was arrested and condemned on spurious charges, convicted to satisfy a mob and sentenced to die on Calvary's cross. He gave his life to atone for the sins of all mankind. His was a great vicarious gift in behalf of all who would ever live upon the earth.

We solemnly testify that His life, which is central to all human history, neither began in Bethlehem nor concluded on Calvary. He was the firstborn of the Father, the Only Begotten Son in the flesh, the redeemer of the world.

He rose from the grave to become the first fruits of them that slept (1 Corinthians 15:20). As risen Lord, He visited among those He had loved in life. He also ministered among His "other sheep" (John 10:16) in ancient America. In the modern world He and His Father appeared to the boy Joseph Smith, ushering in the long-promised "dispensation of the fullness of times" (Ephesians 1:10)

It's really not too hard to memorize just take it a step at a time! What a great Testimony of the Savior.

This is the Testimony of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. There are, of course, Testimonies specific to our Religion and Doctrine in "The Living Christ" but I encourage all to read it and take what they will. It is, after all, a Testimony of the Life of our Savior and Redeemer. 

You can find the full Document HERE! on the Church Website.

Remember to smile, because you are a child of God.

Mission Call :)

Alright, I've got about ten minutes to write this post and then I have to go get ready for work.
But...
My mission call came on Thursday.
I leave august 15th for the Provo MTC. I am super excited. You know what's funny? I was pretty sure I'd be stateside because of my heart problems, but I figured I'd go somewhere farther away. Before I got my call I was so sure I'd be disappointed if I got called somewhere close, but as soon as I read it... Tempe, Arizona became my new most exciting intriguing place. People keep telling me they are sorry that I didn't get called somewhere cool. I finally got upset at someone and was like "It's a mission, not a vacation, not a cruise. If I wanted to be a tourist I'd pay a lot less money and go on a trip where I could CHOOSE the location. I'm not going for the sightseeing or the places. I am going for the people and I can love the people in Tempe, Arizona as much as I can love the people anywhere else. THAT'S why I'm going." I didn't realize I felt so strongly until I had this episode. Haha, but I'm glad I said it, because then I felt how true it was :)
Anyway it's English speaking.
Pretty close to home, right? But honestly... I'm so excited. I can hardly wait.
But OH GEEZE! I thought getting the papers in would be the end of the Stress. NOPE. I have SOOO much to do in Two months now.
But it does get better. And happier, because you just know you're going to the right place. Even if it's only one state away. You can feel it. I can already feel the love starting to grow in me for these people. And I am so excited :)
 Well that's that!
-Kaeli

Remember to smile, because you are a child of God.

The Living Christ

So currently, I'm trying to memorize "The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles," I have the first two paragraphs down pretty well.

Here it is:
As we commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ two millennia ago, we offer our testimony of the reality of His matchless life and the infinite virtue of His great atoning sacrifice. None other has had so profound an influence upon all who have lived and will yet live upon the earth.

He was the Great Jehovah of the Old Testament, the Messiah of the New. Under the direction of His Father, He was the creator of the earth. “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3). Though sinless, He was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. He “went about doing good” (Acts 10:38), yet was despised for it. His gospel was a message of peace and goodwill. He entreated all to follow His example. He walked the roads of Palestine, healing the sick, causing the blind to see, and raising the dead. He taught the truths of eternity, the reality of our premortal existence, the purpose of our life on earth, and the potential for the sons and daughters of God in the life to come.

If you would like a link to the whole thing, Click Here!

If you would like to join me, that's as far as I am right now but I'm working on the next part. Feel free to catch up or do it at your own pace! Let me know how it goes, if you start memorizing it too. I think it's such a powerful testimony of my Savior.
-Kaeli

Remember to smile, because you are a child of God.

Life is like an Oreo

"Life is like an Oreo. In between the dark stuff and the hard stuff, there is the good stuff."

This was a saying I came up with during my high school years. It was a time when popular kids ruled the world and my insecurities were through the roof. I remember during a certainly difficult time, I would spend my lunches in the Seminary Building with my favorite Seminary teacher and a group of other struggling teens like myself. I would "vent" about all my hard times, struggles and short comings. He would say, "Now that you've pointed out all the negative, let's look at the positive."

The attitude he was trying to teach me was exactly what I needed. I didn't see it then, but I certainly do now.

Everyone has heard the saying, "In order to appreciate the sunshine, you must first experience the rain," or something along those lines. Bottom line is in order to know happiness and joy, we must know pain and sorrow. In this wonderful world Heavenly Father created, he created an opposite to all things.

In high school, I remember being so traumatized when walking into a restroom and seeing my name and mean things on the stall walls. I never stopped to think about the friends that I had that would walk in, see my name, pull out a marker and scribble it out. I remember being so hurt I wasn't invited to a party. I never stopped to think about my loving family at home that decided to eat pizza and watch movies outside all night.

Now, if you think about how an Oreo is made up, it becomes a lesson in gratitude. Or maybe I'm just crazy. Have you ever grabbed an Oreo and just ripped it open, licked up all the icing and threw the cookies away? Who hasn't?? I'm sure that's what we would all like to do with our lives. Just lick up all the good, sweet, happy times and get rid of the hard and crunchy difficult parts. But then, it's not really an Oreo... is it? You might as well go buy a can of frosting and just eat that. And that is like life. If you just had all the perfectly happy times, you wouldn't really be living, would you? Because that is LIFE. In fact, you wouldn't even be happy. Because those "happy" times aren't really happy until you know what it's like to be sad. So in the end, it wouldn't be much fun! (And you'll be extremely unhealthy!)

You can take an Oreo and just eat it all by itself. It's not the absolute best, but it is still amazingly good. Have you ever taken an Oreo (yes, the WHOLE thing) and dunked it into a nice, refreshing, cold glass of milk? Mmmmm isn't that the best?? (Here comes the life comparison. Maybe I am a little crazy... Sorry!) Like the Oreo by itself, life can be lived and still be good. But what can make it better? What can make those hard, dark, difficult times become soft, and easier for us to handle? For me, it's the cool, refreshing taste of the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life.


We are all meant to go through hard times, and good times. Because that is life! But we are not meant to do it alone! We have a Heavenly Father who loves us and knows us! He knows our struggles and our challenges. The Attonment is not just for sins. It is also for the grief and the pain and the personal struggles we deal with. Physically or emotionally, spiritually and mentally. He is there with us EVERY step of the way!

So, how you choose to eat your Oreo is entirely up to you. But so is how you choose to live your life. Don't be afraid of the "dark stuff" and the "hard stuff." Because you are not alone. Even through the "good stuff," you have someone who loves you by your side. Always.

~Avery