(Todd...you have the better version of this picture...I know you're reading this! Send me that picture! please. :) love you!)
I'm not really sure how this keeps happening, but I keep getting lucky. First, we got last minute tickets to General Conference in October and then we got tickets to the First Presidency Devotional (you can watch the whole thing here) that was last weekend. But I'm not complaining. :)
Every time I go downtown and just sit in the presence of this Temple is so overwhelming. It's one of those places that no matter what, you can always feel the spirit. And the Christmas lights make it even more amazing.
Anyways, the devotional was exactly what I needed to really get me into the Christmas spirit. President Monson talked about how we need to not forget the true meaning of Christmas, which is the birth of Jesus the Christ and not to let it turn into a commercialized holiday. I've made an effort to do that this year. The reason we get to celebrate is because Christ chose to come to earth, knowing he'd have to die for all of us. THAT is the true meaning of Christmas.
This weekend was Conference weekend! And it was my first General Conference in Utah. T's mom got us tickets to the Saturday morning session. I can't tell you how blessed I felt that I got to go to a session my very first year in Utah. We got up far too early and got there far too early (I blame my mother for making me paranoid about being late to everything. ;) ) But it was way cool.
I got to hear a Prophet speak. I got to hear the second Provo Temple announced and felt the goosebumps when the entire conference center gasped at the same moment. It was a pretty gosh darn good session, and it was only the first one!!
I had a lot of 'favorite' talks this conference. I always do. I can usually find inspiration from all of the talks but President Uchtdorf's talk on Saturday morning was one of the best. (I about jumped out of my seat when he was introduced. He's one of my favorite general authorities.)
Some of my notes from that talk (these aren't direct quotes, but close to them. I didn't edit anything that I put in my journal) :
We are nothing compared to God, but to God we are everything.
No matter how meager your appearance, you are not invisible to Heavenly Father. He knows your humble heart and he cares for you.
What you experience now is not what it is going to be what it's like forever.
God sees you as his child. You matter to him.
How awesome is it to think about those things? We DO matter to Him. No matter how forgotten, invisible, or sad you feel, you are not forgotten. You are not invisible. You will not be sad forever.
Another one of my favorite talks was by Elder Niel Anderson. It was about the family, children and motherhood. His talk gave me two of my favorite quotes:
"Motherhood is not a hobby. It is a calling."
&
"Having children is not something you do if you have time, having children is what God gave you time for."
I cannot wait to be a mother. I can't wait to start a family. Elder Andersen's talk reminded me of that and he reminded me of how important the family is to our happiness.
In other picture related news, I failed to take ANY pictures of me & T at conference! Bummer dude! But here are some pictures from after. :)
Sunday morning, I watched the morning session by myself. It was nice to roll out of bed, roll onto the couch, turn on the TV and listen to amazing men and women teach me. I watched the afternoon session with T and his family. As much as I liked watching it alone, I like being with other people while watching conference too. :)
We went on a little drive before dinner. Every day I have to pinch myself to remind myself that I do really live in this beautiful place.
This is going to be the first of a few posts...a series, if you will, about how I came to know about The Restored Gospel, Heavenly Father, and his plan for our salvation here on this earth. I've wanted to get this written down for a while and I figured I'd start now so I won't forget again.
I can remember driving down Woodward as a kid and thinking to myself 'wow, that's a really pretty building' as we drove past the Detroit, Michigan Temple. I had no clue what it was or how precious it would become to me. All I knew is that I got this sense of wonder and awe every time I drove to work with my mom and we passed the building.
Flash forward to my senior year of high school. I'm in Mr. Chandler's 3rd hour (maybe it was 4th but I think it was 3rd) AP US History class. I was a shy kid and tended to keep to myself, so I didn't really have that many friends. By sheer luck and chance I ended up choosing a spot next to a girl named Amanda. She was quiet and reserved like me and we hit it off right away. I got to know Amanda and got to know what was happening in her life. In December, she met a guy. I still remember hearing her tell me the story of how they met at her uncle's Christmas party and how she had gotten into a fight with her mom or something and this boy offered to give her a ride home. He was a member of the Church and soon enough they were dating and he was taking her to Church.
I graduated and we lost touch. I was 3 hours away and she was still in high school. I went through a lot of heavy stuff my freshman year and got pretty lost for a while. I made some bad decisions and was in a really dark place for a while. I didn't really have any hope at that moment and felt so far away from God that I often wondered if I would ever be able to find my way back into his presence.
When she was 18, she was baptised and applied to BYU-I. I was shocked when I heard that she was going to school in Idaho. Over the next few months I watched (via Facebook creeping) as she grew and blossomed into this amazing, strong young woman. Somewhere deep inside, I knew it was The Church that was responsible for her happiness.
Why am I telling Amanda's story in a story that is supposed to belong to me? Well, Amanda's story is linked to mine. I watched a girl do something that I could never dream of doing at her age. I watched her meet her husband, fall in love, and get married. I regret not going to their reception in Michigan to this day.
Flash forward again to 2 summers ago (2009) and I'm doing my homework late one night at school. I'd always been intrigued by the LDS Church and had been wandering over to lds.org for a few months before and was curious. I hadn't really done more than look at the front page, wonder a little, then stuff the wondering feeling into the back of my mind and continue about my day.
So, back to the night at hand. I was seriously avoiding doing my homework and was just staring at the lds.org homepage. I noticed a little sidebar that said 'chat with a missionary'. That really had me wondering. My mouse hovered over the button as I contemplated clicking it. Should I do it? What would it really be like? What would happen if I talked to them? Questions zoomed in and out of my head as I suddenly felt this intense urge to learn more.
I clicked it and that one little leap of faith ended up changing my life.
