The Merciful Obtain Mercy

I know I normally just post the link for the Conference Weekly talks, but this one is too good to just gloss over with a, "Hey, go check it out sometime. You know, if you feel like it."

It is beautiful. It is perfect. It is something that we should all hear on a regular basis.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf is truly an inspired man of God. As the second counselor of the First Presidency of the Church, he has lifted me countless times with his words of guidance and encouragement. And for that, I could not be more grateful. For a basic rundown on how the church is organized, visit this link.

It is easy to hold on to things--to cling to them as if they were our only way to get through life. Fear, and hurt, and bitterness seem to offer us protection. "Nevertheless, we must let go of our grievances. part of the purpose of mortality is to learn how to let go of such things. That is the Lord's way."

"We must recognize that we are all imperfect--that we are beggars before God. Haven't we all, at one time or another, meekly approached the mercy seat and pleaded for grace? haven't we wished with all the energy of our souls for mercy--to be forgiven for the mistakes we have made and the sins we have committed?

"Because we all depend on the mercy of God, how can we deny to others any measure of the grace we so desperately desire for ourselves? My beloved brothers and sisters, should we not forgive as we wish to be forgiven?"

Please take the time to listen to these words--they are the words of God, delivered by His servant. Whether you are a member of the church or not, this will lift and guide you. I promise.

The text to the whole address can be found here.

I Am a Child of God

And so are you.

-----------------------

Conference weekly here.

Carpe Diem

Bucket list numbers 14, 21.12, 42, 55, and 62 have been completed. I won't bore you with the details.

In other news, well, it would appear that I currently have no other news. But, never fear, Robin Williams as John Keating in Dead Poets Society has come to save the day.

"Carpe diem! Seize the day, boys--make your lives extraordinary!"

In addition to that lovely thought, I would like to send you here for some of the best words I have read in a very long time.

To Love Life:

watch this video. 

I tried long and hard to come up with something to say along with this video--something slightly witty, but mostly conveying a feeling of reverence, awe, peace, and love in association with this video. And it just doesn't work. It speaks for itself--it's exactly what each of us need to hear, regardless of circumstances. 

Life is simply better when lived in accordance with these points. Life is simply better when you see that the Lord is, always has been, and always will be by your side.

Jonah: As Told by One Adorable Little Girl

Words cannot begin to express how adorable she is.

This is Why I Love College

Please watch in full screen mode to fully experience the moment.

Strength

Strength:

solidity without yielding

This is strength--moving past the struggles and rising with the sun. Coming to the Lord, and allowing Him to fill our lives. Absolute, unwavering, unyielding faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

Love

Love:

the sum of all excellence

First, let's start off with a request. If you have not yet watched the video that was the inspiration for the 50 Week Challenge, please do so now. The moment that this word and definition appear is arguably the most powerful of the entire creation. And if you have already seen it, go ahead and watch it again. It's worth it.

This Easter week and always, may we stand by Jesus Christ "at all times and in all things, and in all places that [we] may be in, even until death," for surely that is how He stood by us when it was unto death and when He had to stand entirely and utterly alone.

--Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, None Were with Him

There is no greater example of love than our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He did for each of us what none other could do. He, who could accomplish everything required of Him to live with our Heavenly Father on His own; He, who had a perfect understanding of who He was; He, who was perfect Himself, chose--willingly--to undergo the pains and trials that each of us must face. He chose to understand what it is like for the rest of us. He chose to clear a path for us, that we might receive the same blessings; that we might live with our Father in Heaven again.

He chose because He loves us. 

"It's Called the Plan of Happiness for a Reason."

Eternal

Eternal:

without beginning or end

of existence

How grateful I am to be blessed with the knowledge of this sacred truth--the family is an eternal unit. It has no beginning or end and, through righteous living and faith in God's plan, we can be sealed together through all of eternity.

Eternity is a concept that I never can fully comprehend. And how could I? It is so incomprehensibly larger than any experience this life has to offer. And yet, for all its grandeur and vastness and incomprehensible size, something about it rings so true to me. Something about it is familiar. Something about eternity whispers to me that I have known it all along, and suddenly I understand.

I understand because I feel it. Not because I can comprehend it, not because an existence that has no beginning suddenly makes sense to me, but because I simply know that it is true. I know that God the Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ, are eternal beings. I know that my spirit is eternal--that it existed before this life, and that it will continue to exist after. I know that His Gospel is entirely comprised of eternal truths. I know that my family has been sealed that we might be together for time and all eternity.

And, though I know that I do not know everything, I do not doubt for a moment the truthfulness of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for I know by the same whisperings of eternity that it is truly His church, restored in this day.

Darling

Doesn't this just make you want to be in love?

Rock On, Dove

Mean

I am a big fan of this song. Sometimes I just love it when girls stand up for themselves.

Good News for HP Fans

This is hilarious. Absolutely worth your time.

P.S. Some of the news briefs along the bottom are entertaining as well.

Do You Know an Amazing Woman?

Oh Yeah

Remember how I graduated?

Well, in addition to the typical musical numbers, speeches, walking, Pomp and Circumstance, clapping, cheering, sleeping, snoring, and drooling, we did a flash mob. Rockin'.

Consider #69 complete.

Salvation

Salvation:

deliverance; 

preservation from destruction, danger or great calamity

No matter the circumstances of life, if we choose to follow the Lord and live guided by Him--if we choose this every day--then we will be delivered, and we will be preserved. Not from every hardship and every trial, but we will be delivered from fear. We will be delivered from temptation. And we will be preserved to feel peace, joy, and love. By choosing--every day--to follow Him, we will achieve and receive salvation.

True Discipleship

If we are true disciples of the Lord, we must reach out to help those in distress. As long as this church has any resources, those resources will be made available as they are needed to help those in distress anywhere in the world.
--President Gordon B. Hinckely

P.S. I adore Zora May.

To Rise Each Time You Fall

The first video is the best for the majority of the race, the second has a clearer view of the finish.

The Race

by D. H. Groberg

"Quit, give up, you're beaten!"
they shout at you and plead.
"There's just too much against you,
this time you can't succeed!"

And as I start to hang my head
in front of failure's face,
my downward fall is broken by
the memory of a race.

And hope refills my weakened will
as I recall that scene,
or just the thought of that short race
rejuvenates my being.

Children's race, young boys,
young men, how I remember well.
Excitement, sure, but also fear--
it wasn't hard to tell.

They all lined up so full of hope,
each thought to win that race
or tie for first, or if not that
at least take second place.

The fathers watched from off the side,
each cheering for his son.
And each boy hoped to show his dad
that he could be the one.

The whistle blew and off they went,
young hearts and hopes afire;
to win and be the hero there
was each young boy's desire.

And one boy in particular,
whose dad was in the crowd,
was running near the lead and thought,
"My dad will be so proud!"

But as they speeded down the field,
across a shallow dip,
the little boy who thought to win
lost his step and slipped.

Trying hard to catch himself
with hands flew out to brace,
and amid the laughter of the crowd
he fell flat on his face.

But as he fell, his dad stood up
and showed his anxious face,
which to the boy so clearly said,
"Get up and win that race."

He quickly rose, no damage done,
behind a bit, that's all,
and ran with all his might and mind
to make up for the fall.

So anxious to restore himself
to catch up and to win,
his mind went faster than his legs,
he slipped and fell again.

He wished then that he had quit before
with only one disgrace.
"I'm hopeless as a runner now,
I shouldn't try to race."

But in the laughing crowd he searched
and found his father's face.
That steady look which said again,
"Get up and win that race."

So up he jumped to try again,
ten yards behind the last.
If I'm going to gain those yards, he thought,
I've got to move real fast.

Exerting everything he had,
he regained eight or ten.
But trying hard to catch the lead,
he slipped and fell again.

Defeat, he lay there silently.
A tear dropped from his eye.
"There's no sense running anymore,
three strikes, I'm out, why try?"

The will to rise had disappeared,
all hope had fled away.
So far behind, so error prone,
a loser all the way.

"Get up," the sound echoed low.
"Get up and take your place.
You were not meant for failure here,
get up, and win the race."

With borrowed will, "Get up," it said,
"You haven't lost at all.
For winning is no more than this:
to rise each time you fall."

So up he rose to run once more,
and with his new commit
he resolved that, win or lose,
at least he shouldn't quit.

So far behind the others now,
the most he'd ever been,
still he'd give it all he had
and run as though to win.

Three times he'd fallen stumbling,
three times he'd rose again.
Too far behind to hope to win,
he still ran to the end.

They cheered the winning runner
as he cross the line first place.
Head high and proud and happy--
no falling, no disgrace.

But when the fallen youngster
crossed the line, last place,
the crowd gave him the greater cheer
for finishing the race.

And even though he came in last
with head bent low, unproud,
you would have thought he'd won the race
to listen to the crowd.

And to his dad, he sadly said,
"I didn't do too well."
"To me, you won," his father said,
"You rose each time you fell."

My favorite line? "Get up and take your place. You were not meant for failure here, get up, and win the race." We all have a purpose, we are all watched over. Our Heavenly Father is watching over each of us. Perhaps He can't remove the dips along the path that make us fall, perhaps He can't keep us focused on the ultimate goal, but He can quietly watch over us. He can gently remind us to get up, to keep going, to finish the race as best we can. He is our ultimate support. When other onlookers laugh as we trip, He gives us strength. He knows our individual potential, He knows that none of us--not one--was meant for failure. Not here. Not now. No, He wants us to win our race. To get back up, to keep running, to keep pushing, to keep trying. Until we cross that finish line, we must continue on.

And when, in time, we do cross the finish line, we will know that we did everything in our power to achieve our best. When it is all said and done, we can know that the dips did not keep us down, that distractions did not cripple us, and we can know that, despite it all, we ran until the very end. We can know that we won our race.

My New Life

To me, beauty and motherhood are one. They're the same thing.

--Stephanie Nielson