Sorry about the length, I promise it is worth it. But, at least read the very last paragraph! :)
Wow. Do you ever have those Sundays where you go to church and get so much out of everything? Where it seems as if everything is relevant to what you are either struggling with, or what you need to be working on? Or where you just feel like you learn so much? Today was one of those Sundays for me. I haven't had one of these in a long time, and I am so grateful for the reminders I have been given. I recently moved back home and today was my first official day in the YSA branch here. I already love it. There is nothing like being in a YSA ward/branch. I can always feel the spirit much more strongly there because of the quietness and relate ability of the people around my age.
To start off, when I got in my car, I changed the radio station to the sounds of Sunday station. It always brings the spirit to my day. I was lucky enough to hear this tune on my way to church, which just so happens to be one of my favorites (I also heard it on the way home):
I was a little late to sacrament meeting, but only a few minutes. I was able to sit near the front, which is my favorite place to sit because it makes it easier for me to focus on the speakers. There were 3 speakers in sacrament meeting. They each spoke on 1 faith, 2 repentance, and 3 then Baptism and the Holy Ghost.
I am only going to share a couple of my favorite things from each talk.
In the talk on faith: Having faith is simply making a choice to have faith. All you have to do is make a conscious effort. In the talk on repentance: Christ will not condemn you for your sins, as long as you take the time to repent and become better. In the talk on baptism and the holy ghost: The past is to be learned from, not lived in.
After sacrament I was asked to give a talk, my first one in over a year. I am actually kind of excited. But only kinda. The funniest thing about it though, was that my assigned topic is something that I have had a lot of experience with in the past year. It was a reminder that no matter where you go, the church is always true, and the Bishopric/Branch presidency truly are guided men of the Lord. More to come on that talk later.
Sunday School was also incredible. It was on Mosiah 25-27. There were so many different things talked about, and I just loved so many things. But my favorite thing came from 25:10; When they thought of the immediate goodness of God.... God loves each and every one of us. He awaits the day that we want to come back into the fold or repent of something that has been keeping us from him. As soon as you decide to stop sinning, and come back to God, he is right there to immediately receive you and take you back. I know that this is true, even with small sins or something as simple as not regularly reading the scriptures. He is always willing to take us back.
Relief Society was downright incredible. The lesson was on two different conference talks from April 2012. The Laborers in the vineyard by Elder Holland and The Merciful Obtain Mercy by President Uchtdorf.
President Uchtdorf says in his talk:
"My dear brothers and sisters, consider the following questions as a self-test:
Do you harbor a grudge against someone else?
Do you gossip, even when what you say may be true?
Do you exclude, push away, or punish others because of something they have done?
Do you secretly envy another?
Do you wish to cause harm to someone?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may want to apply the two-word sermon from earlier: stop it!"
Towards the end of the lesson, she had us each think of one person who we need to forgive for something they have done to us or for someone who just drives us crazy. I thought of someone who I used to be really close with, but over the years we have become the opposite of close. There were a few exchanges between us that were a little less than friendly (okay a lot less), and I have despised her for about a year. I don't usually hate people, and I don't hold grudges for more than a few days, but with her it has been different.
The teacher then went on to say that she was going to give us one minute of silence to vent in our minds about this person that we had chosen. After that minute we had to let all of that go, and forgive them. We had to move on and forget it. We had to merely STOP IT! She said, "You don't get to be the one to decide if those individuals deserve to be forgiven. You must forgive them. The Lord will decide if they truly deserve that." You and I have no right to decide who deserves to be forgiven of what. Everyone is fighting their own battle. We each need to "strive a little harder, to be a little better."
Wow. Do you ever have those Sundays where you go to church and get so much out of everything? Where it seems as if everything is relevant to what you are either struggling with, or what you need to be working on? Or where you just feel like you learn so much? Today was one of those Sundays for me. I haven't had one of these in a long time, and I am so grateful for the reminders I have been given. I recently moved back home and today was my first official day in the YSA branch here. I already love it. There is nothing like being in a YSA ward/branch. I can always feel the spirit much more strongly there because of the quietness and relate ability of the people around my age.
To start off, when I got in my car, I changed the radio station to the sounds of Sunday station. It always brings the spirit to my day. I was lucky enough to hear this tune on my way to church, which just so happens to be one of my favorites (I also heard it on the way home):
I was a little late to sacrament meeting, but only a few minutes. I was able to sit near the front, which is my favorite place to sit because it makes it easier for me to focus on the speakers. There were 3 speakers in sacrament meeting. They each spoke on 1 faith, 2 repentance, and 3 then Baptism and the Holy Ghost.
I am only going to share a couple of my favorite things from each talk.
In the talk on faith: Having faith is simply making a choice to have faith. All you have to do is make a conscious effort. In the talk on repentance: Christ will not condemn you for your sins, as long as you take the time to repent and become better. In the talk on baptism and the holy ghost: The past is to be learned from, not lived in.
After sacrament I was asked to give a talk, my first one in over a year. I am actually kind of excited. But only kinda. The funniest thing about it though, was that my assigned topic is something that I have had a lot of experience with in the past year. It was a reminder that no matter where you go, the church is always true, and the Bishopric/Branch presidency truly are guided men of the Lord. More to come on that talk later.
Sunday School was also incredible. It was on Mosiah 25-27. There were so many different things talked about, and I just loved so many things. But my favorite thing came from 25:10; When they thought of the immediate goodness of God.... God loves each and every one of us. He awaits the day that we want to come back into the fold or repent of something that has been keeping us from him. As soon as you decide to stop sinning, and come back to God, he is right there to immediately receive you and take you back. I know that this is true, even with small sins or something as simple as not regularly reading the scriptures. He is always willing to take us back.
Relief Society was downright incredible. The lesson was on two different conference talks from April 2012. The Laborers in the vineyard by Elder Holland and The Merciful Obtain Mercy by President Uchtdorf.
President Uchtdorf says in his talk:
"My dear brothers and sisters, consider the following questions as a self-test:
Do you harbor a grudge against someone else?
Do you gossip, even when what you say may be true?
Do you exclude, push away, or punish others because of something they have done?
Do you secretly envy another?
Do you wish to cause harm to someone?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may want to apply the two-word sermon from earlier: stop it!"
Towards the end of the lesson, she had us each think of one person who we need to forgive for something they have done to us or for someone who just drives us crazy. I thought of someone who I used to be really close with, but over the years we have become the opposite of close. There were a few exchanges between us that were a little less than friendly (okay a lot less), and I have despised her for about a year. I don't usually hate people, and I don't hold grudges for more than a few days, but with her it has been different.
The teacher then went on to say that she was going to give us one minute of silence to vent in our minds about this person that we had chosen. After that minute we had to let all of that go, and forgive them. We had to move on and forget it. We had to merely STOP IT! She said, "You don't get to be the one to decide if those individuals deserve to be forgiven. You must forgive them. The Lord will decide if they truly deserve that." You and I have no right to decide who deserves to be forgiven of what. Everyone is fighting their own battle. We each need to "strive a little harder, to be a little better."
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