Wickedness Never was Happiness

Day 17&18 - (Alma 31-Alma 45) Okay. This one's a good one! Have you ever heard of the scripture: "Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die"? Well here is a scripture that will make you want to never ever follow that saying again. It's in Alma 34:35. It says, "For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked." So this is saying that whenever you sin, you should get down on your knees and repent then and there. Don't just sit around and think, "I'll just wait cuz I'm probably gonna mess up tomorrow too." That is not good to do. What if you died tomorrow or today even? You never know when your time will be up, and if you have procrastinated the day of your repentance, you're really gonna regret it. Sinning might be fun in the moment, but when you are in front of God on judgment day, remembering everything that you've done, you're going to be wishing that you repented a little more and sinned a little less. 

Man, as all of this was coming to my mind last night and today, I told myself that I need to kick it in gear. I will never be convicted of premeditated sin. When I sin, because sadly I will a time or two more before I die, I am promising to myself that I will repent immediately and try my very best, because that's all Heavenly Father asks, to never do it again.

It's Never Too Late

Day 14-16: (Alma 11 - Alma 31) In these 3 days of reading something has really stuck with me. It's never too late. 

So if you don't know who these 2 guys are, their names are Laman and Lemuel and I've talked about them before. (I don't think they actually look like this, but this is one that I just found on google...) They were the sons of Lehi who left Jerusalem. They really struggled following their father and the commandments of God. No matter what, it seemed like they just could not get the hang of the do-the-right-thing-always thing. So, eventually, they left their family behind and took their wives and children and became the notorious Lamanites. They were the cause of a TON of sorrow and bloodshed. But, after years and years of them killing every Nephite (or person of God) that they came in contact with, they started to slowly realize that the traditions of their fathers were wicked and that they really needed to repent and start doing the right things. So they did! The story of the Lamanites and their journey of coming back to the gospel is really cool to me because it shows that it's never too late. Even if you've committed a lot of sin, Heavenly Father will still forgive you and you will still be able to live with Him again because Christ already atoned for your sins. Doesn't that make you so happy? It makes me happy!! :)

Day 10 &11 &12 &13

Day 10-13: (Mosiah 16 - Alma 10) Have you ever done something bad, and felt really terrible for doing it? I have!! I hate that feeling. Sometimes I feel embarrassed to go to my Heavenly Father and tell Him what I've done wrong and repent, but I just have to remember that He already knows what I've done and He loves me and always wants me to come to Him and ask for forgiveness no matter what I've done. There is a scripture that I really like that goes along with this and it says, "...the Lord will be merciful unto all who call on his name." (Alma 9:17) 

So this isn't part of what I read, but I thought of it as I was reading one night so that counts right? Okay weeds are very easy to spread. Either the wind can blow seeds, or seeds can get on your shoe and then get planted somewhere, or (my dad told me this one) a bird can poop a seed out and it can plant a weed. And then the weeds flourish and keep growing for so long without any care. But, if you want to remove the weeds, it takes work and sweat and you have to keep pulling the weeds or else they'll be back! But this isn't the case for good plants such as fruit, crops, veggies, etc. If you want them to grow, you have to plant them in the ground, water them, nourish them, make sure they get enough sunlight, etc. Then you have to constantly watch over them and make they aren't getting too much or not enough of one thing or another. And then, at the end of the year, you finally get your crops IF you did everything right. IF. And then you start all over the next year, whereas weeds will start back up where they ended the summer before. So in life, unless we watch over ourselves and watch what we do and say and how we act, weeds will start popping up and if we dont do anything about them, they will start spreading and taking over. So, we need to constantly be "pulling the weeds" out of our lives.

I hope that made sense. I know it was a lot of rambling, and I'm not the best writer to ever exist, but you get the gist right? Hopefully? Sweet! Well I hope you have gotten at least one bit of knowledge from my brain. This is me. :)

!!!SLACKER ALERT!!!

Okay I'm really sorry! I promise, I have been reading everyday and staying on-track, but I just havent posted anything! Don't be mad at me okay?! I am now on Day 10! Times flies doesn't it? Especially when yer counting down the days (28 btdubbs...) to when you will be in South America for the next year and a half! AHHHH!! Okay so here's what I havent told you:

Day 4-9: (2 Nephi 7 - Mosiah 16) So I could go on and on and on for ages and tell you everything that I've learned in the books and chapters that I've read, but that would be one stinkin long post and aint nobody got time for that! Can I get an amen? So what I've decided to do is pick one thing that has stood out to me the most while I was reading the past few days. I picked something that is repeated so many times throughout the Book of Mormon. Keep the commandments and ye shall prosper in the land. If I had a dollar for every time that that saying is said, I'd be rich! But that's the sad part. It is said so many times and yet, the Nephites and especially the Lamanites still cannot seem to keep the commandments. Heavenly Father has said, "When ye do what I say I am bound, but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." So, Heavenly Father has promised us the world!! Literally, He has given us this world and everything on it, and all He asks us is to keep His commandments. And if we do, He will give us SO many blessings. More than we would even be able to count! But if we don't keep His commandments, "ye have no promise." We will no longer receive blessings from Him and our lives will be pretty rough. I know, that when I die, I want to be able to stand before my Heavenly Father guiltless and unashamed. Sometimes I am slow to keep His commandments, but I know that as long as I repent and go to my Heavenly Father with a broken heart and contrite spirit, He will forgive me and help me become stronger. And I love Him so much for that. 

People Those Days..

Day 3: (1 Nephi 17-22) Okay. I just have a titch of venting to do. That's what blogs are for anyways, right?! So as I was reading along tonight, I became more and more angry at Lamen and Lemuel. They see Heavenly Father and hear Him speak so many times in their lives and still murmur like no other! I mean, COME ON NOW! If I saw Heavenly Father just once...I would never EVER do anything wrong EVER again! I just get so confused every time I read the chapters about how much they speak against their father and brother even though they are almost killed by God so many times! Goodness...people those days. But as I was reading and thinking this, I realized that I do the same thing!!! Now, I've never seen God or heard His voice, but I've had quite a few miracles happen in my life, and I have the scriptures that have Him speaking in them, and yet, I still do dumb things and mess up all the time! What am I thinkin?? I'm not. I know that Heavenly Father has the power to do anything, I mean, He created this earth and everything on it, so He has the power to destroy it all so easily. I know that I need to be a better person. That is something that I work on every day. So here are my goals to becoming a better person:

1. No judging! I catch myself doing this all the time and it's gotta stop. Everyone is a child of God and is just as imperfect as I am.

2. Pray more. Heavenly Father wants me to talk to Him and sometimes I am "too tired" to just have one conversation with Him. Sad right? Well, that's gonna change.

3. Slow down. This world is going way too fast and I miss way too much when I get caught up in it. I'm gonna be leavin in 35 days so I need to focus on what's important and makes lots of memories while I can. :)

4. Do more random acts of kindness. Sometimes I feel like this world has become one focused on getting gain. Well sometimes, it's good to serve someone just for the heck of it.

Book of Mormon in 30 Days!

So the other day I was thinking about how short of amount of time I have before I leave for my mission. As of today, I only have 36 days left!! Crazy right?? :) Then, realization hit me. I ONLY HAVE 36 DAYS TO GET READY!!!! :O It's a good thing, but this girl has a LOT to do in order to be ready to leave America for 18 months to teach the people of Paraguay about the gospel! So, one thing that I know I need to do is re-read the Book of Mormon. I love this book sooo much and so it isn't a hard task to accomplish. BUT it is kinda lengthy and I don't exactly have much time, so I found this 30 Day Book of Mormon Reading Chart. I started yesterday so that will put me to finish on August 8th. Just in the nick of time I'd say! :) So I've decided that I will return and report to you er'y day on what I learned in reading in the Book of Mormon because even though I have read it through 4 times now, I still learn a ton every time I read it. :) Ready?!? 

Day1&2: (1 Nephi 1-16) I learned/realized quite a few things while I read these chapters. 1st, it takes a lot of faith to follow the will of Heavenly Father. Sometimes, what He wants me to do isn't exactly what I had in mind, but if my faith in Him is strong enough, I will always be able to accomplish whatever He asks of me. :) 2nd, in 1 Nephi 15:10 it says, "How is it that ye do not keep the commandments of the Lord?" All Heavenly Father wants is for me and all of His children to keep His commandments. He promises us so many blessings if we will follow Him. Sometimes it's really difficult to keep the commandments, but in the end it is so worth it because I am blessed with so much. "If you love me, keep my commandments." (John 14:15) 3rd, the gospel of Jesus Christ is so simple. Just try your hardest to be your best and that is enough. Heavenly Father knows the intent of my heart and so if what I'm giving is my all and I still mess up every day, which I do, then He is okay with that. Simple right? Satan is the one that complicates everything and makes everything so confusing. (1 Corinthians 14:33) And 4th, Satan is very powerful and can convince man to do many wicked things. He has even provided a way to be able to control people here on earth by taking away their agency i.e. drugs or alcohol. But Heavenly Father is much more powerful and is able to reign over Satan if you let Him into your life. Heavenly Father will always be there for me when I need Him. He is very forgiving and will never give up on me no matter how many times I turn away from Him or mess up. I am so lucky to be able to have Him watching over me and I hope to never to do anything to have that protection taken away.