Blessing #11: High Mountain Experiences

There is a pattern in the scriptures of prophets going up into the mountains and having incredible spiritual experiences that they are able to use to teach the people living below. These experiences broaden their sense of purpose and understanding of the eternities, and the knowledge they receive profits generations.

I have been blessed with many of my own "high mountain experiences" throughout my life. While they are nothing like the visions and miracles of the ancient prophets, experiences like when I first received my endowment in the Timpanogas Temple, received my mission call, was baptized, etc. have likewise increased my understanding and love of the gospel.

This week, I will report to the Provo Missionary Training Center, where I will study for 6 weeks. After that time, I will go to Madrid, Spain, and serve there as a full-time missionary for about 18 months. I look forward to this being yet another "high mountain experience," and I cannot wait to serve the Lord in Spain!

It is a tradition in our church that missionaries give a "farewell talk" during church service on the Sunday before they report for their missions. I've linked to a copy of my talk here, for anyone interested: farewell talk


See y'all in 18!

Blessing #10: Accomplishment

I'm going to take a break from my usual kind of posts, because I've always wanted to share my thoughts on having a strict goal-setting/ achieving mindset.

Personally, I've found that this frame of mind can be a little disheartening at times, simply because we often neglect to give ourselves credit for our efforts (however successful) if they didn't amount up to exactly what our goal was trying to achieve. 

Now don't get me wrong, goal-setting is fantastic. When done correctly, it gives purpose to our lives, and it is a vital element in leading a motivated, successful life. I have lots of goals for myself, and yes, I do have a bucket list. 

But, have you ever considered looking at your life in the other direction?
It is with that thought that I created my "Done It" list, a sort of backwards bucket list, separate from my journal, recording the cool things I've done in my life, in no particular order. Making a list of life experiences that I've already had and cool accomplishments of mine has been a great boost of confidence! It has given me immense gratitude for the opportunities I've been blessed with, and I have definitely enjoyed living life a bit fuller, knowing that I have this list here on my laptop- and it needs to keep growing!

So, ladies and gents, I highly encourage you to start your own "Done It" list. You might be surprised at how rewarding and awesome your life has been. And remember- it's a work in progress!

...And yes, I'll share mine: Done it.

Blessing #9: Opportunities to Reflect

I'm grateful that the Lord is so aware of how much I need reminding, and I'm grateful for the opportunities He is constantly giving me to reflect and remember what I know. Seeing as it is Easter Sunday, today is one such opportunity. I love Easter, and this day has come to mean so much to me over the years. It is an annual reminder to me and the world of the atonement of my Savior, Jesus Christ. And if I may, I'd like to share with you what I have been reminded of as I've taken the time to reflect throughout this week:

Christ is the Creator of my world, of all that I know. He is my older brother and selfless friend. He is my perfect example to follow, and my guide in difficult times as well as in times of joy. He understands me perfectly,and wants me to be happy. I want to live my life in a way that makes Him smile, and I take comfort in knowing that He mourns and rejoices with me.
I know that He is real, that He did truly walk on this Earth as the Son of God. I know that it is only by the atonement, when He condescended from the presence of Heavenly Father as a mortal being, that we can live after this life. He is the only being that, though perfect, will have scars on His resurrected body, scars that He received for us, while we, as imperfect beings, will have perfected bodies after the resurrection.
I know that He has faith in me to do what He has asked me to do for Him and for my own progression, as well as for the benefit of my brothers and sisters. Unlike Satan, who has doubted my abilities from the very beginning, Jesus Christ knows that I am capable of returning, in exaltation, to Him and my Heavenly Father. I know that I am very blessed because of this understanding, and there is a lot that is expected of me because of it. 
I know that I cannot fulfill my mortal mission without Him, and I know that I have no hope of redemption, of eternal life, true joy, success, or an eternal family without Him and His infinite sacrifice. I hope to emulate Him in the way I live, and in the person I am. He is everything I need Him to be for me, and though I am often frustrated by how weak my efforts are, I will try forever to be what He needs me to be for Him.

I hereby testify, in the name of my Savior, Jesus Christ, that the things I have learned of Christ are true. I bear witness of Him, and I know that through Him, I will someday return to the place where I am no longer a stranger or a guest, but a child at home.

Happy Easter!

Blessing #8: Understanding

As a Mormon, I find that, even though our beliefs and values are truly very simple and they bring indescribable joy to those that live by them, my faith is frequently misunderstood and misinterpreted. What a blessing it is when those not of my faith are willing to make the effort to understand what we are all about! 
I am sincerely grateful to Mike Jensen, one such non-Mormon that did just that in writing his article, "The Mormon Effect." 

Please take the time to check it out! You won't regret it.
(When you click on the link, you may need to scroll up to see the article)

PS - While I think that his explanation of the Plan of Salvation is beautiful, I have to say I think he is missing one thing: Life on Earth is more than just a test to see if we could return to live with God (why leave in the first place?). It is a choice opportunity for us to learn and progress in ways we could not without mortal bodies. Living a righteous life gives us the chance to inherit all that God has, including all of His wisdom. We are here on Earth to have the chance to be like Him.

Blessing #7: A Call from Lord

I have finally received my mission call! It came in the mail last week, and I was so blessed to be able to be in the company of friends and family to open it and read aloud where I was assigned to serve. I had just completed reading the Book of Mormon in its entirety for the 4th time in my life, and the spirit was so present in the lobby of my dorm building as I eagerly opened my call.

Here is the beginning of the letter:

"Dear Sister Grover,

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Spain Madrid Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 months. 

You should report to the Spain Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, July 24, 2013. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish language."

I'm going to Madrid!! I absolutely cannot wait to immerse myself in the Spanish culture and in the Gospel for the next 18 months of my life. And I know that it is all according the Lord's plan that this is what I do in this next stage of my life. As soon as I read where I was called to serve, I immediately knew that it was God's will. I had a sense of peace, excitement, and almost a feeling of familiarity (as though I had always known that I was going to Spain). I am so grateful for how Heavenly Father has prepared me to receive this call, as I have gone through stages of fear, excitement, feelings of inadequacy, fear again, (etc.), until I finally just felt truly worthy and absolutely ready to serve!

This will not be an easy time, however, but I look forward with faith to this year and a half of whole-hearted service. I am so blessed to have the support of all of my friends and family in this journey, and I know that the Lord will be by my side every step of the way!

(One of the General Authorities of the Church, Elder Rasband, talked about how a mission call is made in his talk, The Divine Call of a Missionary, I highly recommend checking it out!)

Here's a picture of the LDS temple in Madrid!

Blessing #6: Eternal Progression

It is an enormous blessing to be here on Earth. To have the chance to live a life here, and to experience everything from the suffering and failures that makes us appreciate the joys and tender mercies, to the love and successes that give us the strength and motivation to do amazing things.
But what for? For what purpose? 

It can all be wrapped up in one word:
Progression.

God loves us so much that He has given us the beautiful opportunity to have all that He has, and to become all that He is. We are here on Earth to love, to work, to prove, and most of all, to grow. And the best part is, we are not expected to achieve in leaps and bounds. All He asks of us is that we work everyday, just to take that next step forward. 

One of the greatest men of all time (seriously, though. I love this guy), President Gordon B. Hinckley offered this guidance, to simply:
"Try a little harder, to be a little better."

It's what God asks of us. If we want to show our love for Him, then we should be working daily to head in the direction that will lead us back to Him, as the son or daughter He wants us to be.

Blessing #5: A Knowledge of My Savior

Jesus Christ is, in every literal way, our Savior and Redeemer. There is no description adequate for all that He has done for us and all He will forever do for us, but we know that He lived a perfect earthly life, took upon Himself every pain and affliction of mortality, and suffered the crucifixion for us. For every single one of Heavenly Father's children.

It is a common belief that Jesus Christ has not appeared again on the Earth since just after His crucifixion, when He appeared in Jerusalem after being resurrected. I know with all my heart, however, that these people that He appeared to are not the only ones to have this sacred experience. 

In John 10:16, in the Bible, we read of Jesus Christ mentioning the people of the Americas, His "other sheep." When He again departed from Jerusalem, He went to minister to those people, an experience we read about in the Book of 3rd Nephi, in the Book of Mormon. It is in this beautiful account where we can become much more acquainted with the love that the Savior has for us as individuals, and we can better understand exactly how He ministers to us.

Mark Mabry, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, illustrates the Savior's visit to the Americas with this slideshow:

Reflections of Christ: Another Testament

I strongly encourage you to watch this short video. And I want you all to know that I know that the accounts we have of Jesus Christ in the scriptures are all true. I know that this knowledge has immensely blessed my life, as I have felt of His infinite love for me, personally. 

There truly is a Savior of the world, and He will always be whatever we need Him to be for us. Will we be what He needs us to be for Him?

Blessing #4: A Loving Heavenly Father

Of all the little elements making up my testimony of the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ- there is one not-so-little piece that I am confident will never, ever falter. Other beliefs that I have may waver, and I may have weaknesses in my certainty of parts of the gospel, but this I will always know: I am a daughter of God, and He LOVES me.
There is simply too much evidence to deny it. To name a few...

1. We know about Him
    And we didn't make it up, either. Our loving God sent us here to Earth, and He didn't send us to be here alone. We have access to the paths that will lead us to a testimony of His existence and love, and if we watch for it, we can see how His hand influences our lives every day. We have had dispensations of prophets on the Earth all throughout history,and we are in the midst of one of those dispensations today, with President Thomas S. Monson as our living prophet. We have the Book of Mormon, in addition to the Bible, to guide us through this mortal existence so that we can know how to return to live with God, sealed to our earthly families in a beautiful plan of progression, for eternity.

2. He sent us His Son
    I believe that the greatest source of peace that we have access to is in feeling the love of our Savior, Jesus Christ. His love is so infinite, and His mercy is so great, there is just no mortal feeling that can compare. Heavenly Father sacrificed Him for us, in a perfect plan for our redemption.

3. He offers us perfect examples of how to live
    And I don't just mean the prophets, or even the Savior. Heavenly Father Himself is a perfect example of, among other things, parenting. Ever noticed? As parents (or future parents), we should always keep the line of communication from our children to us wide open, and what better example of that do we have than God's. He has made it possible for us to pray to Him anytime, anywhere, always. Even if it is just a prayer in our hearts, we can use that to ask Him for blessings, for protection, for help. And even though He knows exactly what the very best way to live our lives would be, He allows us to find the way ourselves. His counsel is there, His advice is wide open for our use. We just have to ask, and to look. Never has there been record of Him shoving His advice, discipline or doctrine down our throats. 
   Want to know how to be a good parent? Look to how Heavenly Father has loved us unconditionally, looked upon us in sweet mercy, and promised to always, always forgive our trespasses.

...And that's just a few. But you get the idea, yeah?
     

Blessing #3: Divine Potential

Over the last several months, as I’ve been preparing to accept the call to serve a full-time, 18-month mission, I’ve seen many blessings- some miracles- but I’ve also had many moments of inadequacy. Moments where I just don’t feel like I’d ever be able to reach my potential as a missionary, so shoot, why even go?

Moments similar to this are all too common in all of our lives. Feelings of doubt, of worthlessness, creep into our thoughts and are often very difficult to dispel. People will try all sorts of crazy nonsense to try to get rid of that frame of mind. Yoga, acupuncture, reading self-help books, meditating, exercising, vacationing, gambling and more. What I’ve found, though, is that the very best, sure-fire way to a cured self-confidence is found in the Gospel.

Today, in my Book of Mormon class, my professor talked to us about Samuel the Lamanite, a man that was called of God to prophecy to wicked people of the coming of Christ back in about 6 BC. This Lamanite had no pomp and circumstance given to him in the record of his teachings. He was not the prophet at the time, there is no lineage given of him, nor is there any record of what he did later in his life. As described in scripture, he was the simplest, most generic of human beings. And yet, his was some of the most profound prophesying we have record of.

Samuel the Lamanite is one of the best theologians we have. He discusses deep, sacred doctrines, brings the great knowledge of the existence of the Savior to many people, and provides us with the most specific prophecies we read about in the Book of Mormon. Though he was a simple man, as he showed determination to fulfill a calling of the Lord in preaching to the people, he was strengthened, protected, and blessed richly with success. We can learn so much from this incredible man's example, as I did during my class today.

Of course, this is not the only time the Lord has lent a hand to pick me up. I remember a time in high school, when I would often look in the mirror and feel a little disheartened. Not exactly dissatisfied or self-conscious, just not terribly pleased with the reflection I was seeing. 

As I sat thinking about it one night, a beautiful thought occurred to me, and I decided to experiment upon it right away. The thought was this: What am I thinking of when I look in the mirror?

I had my answer as soon as I turned the corner and looked in the bathroom mirror. I had, in my mind, pictures of athletes, of school-mates, of celebrities, of the great success-story stars that I hear and read about daily. I felt Heavenly Father gently tell me that I was not intended to become any of those things. He had something a little different and much more specific to me in mind. 

After thinking hard and praying to know what it was He was intending, the answer became clear. I returned to my reflection and looked, this time, for a righteous mother. A hard-working missionary. A good friend. A loyal wife. 

As I looked into the mirror, I felt my will slowly conform a bit more to the will of my Father, and I couldn't help but feel peace, and satisfaction. I know that I am moving in the right direction, and I will never feel poorly about my personal image again. So long, of course, as I maintain this understanding.

I know that the Lord has a plan for each of us. I know that with all my heart, and I can't imagine trying to go through life without that knowledge. As we strive to learn what His plan is, and work hard to move in that direction, we will be so very blessed. It will become impossible to deny His hand in our lives, and we will know to whom we can turn for confidence, strength, and unwavering love.

Blessing #2: Women of God

There are so many blessings available to us as women in this church, and no one describes it in a more accessible, clear way, than Elder Maxwell did in 1978 with his talk, "The Women of God." My Book of Mormon professor out here at school recommended that we read it, and I extend that as a challenge to anyone that may read this post. It. Is. AWESOME.
There are women out there that look at the roles men play in the priesthood and feel envious, or neglected. To those women in our church that have strong testimonies of God's Great Plan of Happiness and the divinity of the role of women in the world, this is never a concern, however, it does come up occasionally. 
We as women have the beautiful opportunity to bear, nurture, and love God's choice spirits like no one else on Earth ever could. Elder Maxwell says:

"We salute you, sisters, for the joy that is yours as you rejoice in a baby’s first smile and as you listen with eager ear to a child’s first day at school which bespeaks a special selflessness. Women, more quickly than others, will understand the possible dangers when the word self is militantly placed before other words like fulfillment. You rock a sobbing child without wondering if today’s world is passing you by, because you know you hold tomorrow tightly in your arms."

In this, Maxwell explains that a mother has the capacity to understand selflessness in the way she cares for and rejoices with her children. I know, with all my heart, that this is true. I feel a special connection to my future children now as I try so hard to live my life in a way that I would want them to emulate. I know that there is power, and incomprehensible blessings that will effect the eternities in being a mother. I look forward to the day when my preparation and diligence will be rewarded with every difficulty, challenge, and joy of motherhood.

Blessing #1: Able, Worthy, With a Desire to Serve

I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Fellow member or not, you've probably stumbled across one of those "I'm a Mormon" videos floating around the internet. Yep, that's us. 
Those videos, in fact, are actually very helpful if you're curious about the church- again, fellow member or not. I highly recommend checking out the website where they're posted: mormon.org. (I tried out the chat feature on that site to ask a quick question yesterday --totally awesome.) 
I even have my own profile on that site, check it out sometime! 

Anyway, we have this cool thing called General Conference, which is pretty self-explanatory if you just take it literally. The General Authorities (those that lead the church under the direction of our living prophet, Thomas S. Monson) all get together and speak to us as a world-wide church twice a year, and that's where the blessing I want to talk about was revealed.

Prior to the October 2012 General Conference, the age requirements for full-time missionaries were age 19 for men, and age 21 for women (check out that website if you'd like to know more about mormon missions). I've always planned on serving a mission when I turn 21, but have always been a little jealous of all of my dude-friends that get to go out in the field so much earlier than I do. Well, during the first general session of this conference, President Monson got up and announced that the ages had been lowered, and all able, worthy men that had a desire to serve could do so at age 18, and women at age 19. Tears of joy, prayers of gratitude, and hopelessly long wait-lists for Missionary-Preparation classes commenced immediately following the announcement.

I am thrilled that I have the opportunity to go forth to do the Lord's work earlier than I'd anticipated, and I can't wait to find out where I'll be assigned to serve for a year and a half! (I find out in less than a month!)

Welcome!

Well, folks, here it is! My very first blog post. I swore I'd never have one of these, but hey, this was (almost) an assignment from my religion professor, so I figure buying into social media is justifiable with a GPA at stake, right?

Anyway, the intention here is to use this blog to share some spiritual insights about the Book of Mormon and on my preparation to serve a full-time mission for my church, and maybe some random college-student musings while I'm at it. 

Here we go!