Peace be unto You Because of your Faith

This week, I posted the scripture Helaman 5:47 on my wall.

"Peace, peace be unto you because of your faith in my Well Beloved, who was from the foundation of the world."

Today in family scripture study, we read about Alma (senior) and his people living peacefully before the Lamanites came and captured them. Someone pointed out that Alma and his people were righteous and listened to the Lord whenever He commanded them to do something. On the other hand, King Limhi's people (the ones who stayed behind when Alma and his followers fled) were sketchy at best.
But both groups were brought into bondage. The good guys and the not-so-good guys.
Why would following God's directions lead Alma's people into bondage?

When I think about the differences between these two groups, a few things stand out.
First of all, because each of these groups was brought into bondage they were motivated and given the opportunity to get back to Zarahemla to join the rest of the Nephites.
Secondly, while the people of Limhi were in captivity many of them died because of the many wars they fought. But the people of Alma were close to the Lord and knew the correct actions to take. When the people of Limhi were finally humbled and converted, they didn't have anyone with the authority to baptize them or receive revelation for them. But the people of Alma were almost all already baptized and close to God.

As we have a foundation of faith, I know we are able to find peace in our trials.

Thanks Giving

I think it's time for a thanks-giving! A time to give thanks.

I am thankful for a bedroom with a bed and a dresser. I'm thankful for my family and for the sacrifices they make for me (especially my grandma, grandpa, and uncles this past week).
I am thankful for pioneers in history and now days who blaze trails for me to follow.
I am thankful for modern day technology, and the gift it is to the gospel and to friends and family. I am thankful for people who reach out to me.
I am thankful for our cat Noemi (no-Amy) who is happy at our grandparent's house, but who still loves me. And I am thankful for our new kittens Noemi jr. and Tsunami. I am grateful for ribbons (and so is Tsunami :)).
I am grateful for yarn, crochet hooks, and the art of crochet.
I am grateful for examples in my life: Joan of Arc, Carmody, Uncle Tom, Captain Moroni, Megan, Sis. Edwards, Joseph Smith, Mom.
I am thankful for the scriptures and the truths they hold. I am thankful for the many places I can find the scriptures and words of the prophets.

What are you Thankful for?

(comment below)

The Recovering Perfectionist

One of my dear, dear friends recently started a blog called "The Recovering Perfectionist." In it, she shares her story. She gave me permission to share it here:

A couple of years ago I began to worry about my appearance. I looked in the mirror and pointed out- and even made up- countless flaws. I compared myself to others and I became distressed. I’ve always had a perfectionistic nature, and I believed the countless lies around me that I was never enough. Little by little I become more obsessed with how I looked, and I saw food as something bad- and I thought that the less you had the better. The media was saying that carbs were bad, and fat foods were bad, and sugar was bad. And in my attempt to do everything perfectly, I started to count calories and restrict my intake. I didn’t realize that little by little I was leading myself deeper into a pit of destructive mental habits. Pretty soon food became my fear and my enemy. I became an unhealthy weight and my family was concerned. I was miserable. I felt trapped. False body perception wasn't the only thing that contributed to my eating disorder. I indulged in this false sense of control. But never were things more out of control. I couldn't go to activities with friends for fear that they would try to get me to eat  certain things that weren't on my list of acceptable foods. If I didn't exercise one day I felt like a complete failure. My family began to notice that I would make excuses to skip family meals. Meanwhile these unhealthy habits took control over more and more portions of my life. My mom tried to tell me that she thought I had a problem, but I was in denial. "A mental disorder? No, not me- I was fine." I told myself. But deep inside I knew I wasn't fine. I was cold, dizzy, moody, sick and stressed out all the time. My hair was falling out in frighteningly big amounts.I was terrified. How had I immobilized myself in such a way? Finally, I admitted with devastation that I really did have a problem. That was one of the hardest things I have ever done, but it was the beginning of a new freedom in my life. My mom and I constructed a healthy meal plan and I stopped exercising to give myself a chance to recover.  The road has been difficult, but so rewarding. I share my feelings with my mom, who is always gives me further light and knowledge. I also decided to visit with a counselor weekly, even though I was gaining weight and doing better, because I still was having some irrational fears and concerns. This really helps me to see what skills I can work on and how I can achieve better self confidence. I share my story as a message of hope. We can and will win this war. Whether it be a battle of depression, mental illness, addiction- or any other thought habit holding us back. These wars of the mind can be overcome.

Now you may think that to all of her friends this was obvious. She describes how she became unhealthily thin and was avoiding friend gatherings; but the truth is... I had no idea. The way I saw my dear friend was as a sweet, gorgeous, talented young woman and a wonderful friend. I had no clue that she was struggling with an eating disorder.

Please be aware of this epidemic. My friend has some great resources on her blog and there are other places out there where you can also get help, or where your friends can get help. 

“Your Heavenly Father loves you—each of you. That love never changes. It is not influenced by your appearance, by your possessions, or by the amount of money you have in your bank account. It is not changed by your talents and abilities. … God’s love is there for you whether or not you feel you deserve love. It is simply always there” ~Thomas S Monson

Temple Trip!

A while ago, some friends and I took a trip around Utah, visiting all of the temples. My mom (who was our driver) posted about it here. I'll let her fill in the details, but would like to share some spiritual things that were shared or felt.

Multiple times people expressed that they felt the presence of those we were doing the work for or that of their family.

At the Bountiful Temple we had to wait for around 3 hours for all the other mutual groups. Even after us there were many more people waiting to do ordinances. Even though they were rushing through people, the young man doing the confirmation prayers for us emphasized each prayer differently as if he was doing it for the actual person, rather than doing it proxy. At the time I wondered why he didn't hurry up, but as I was changing I realized that he was able to make the temple ordinances special and feel the peace even when everything else was crazy around him. Other girls with us also commented on it. It was amazing.

Finally, we noticed that there was a profound peace to be felt just on the temple grounds. At the St. George temple we weren't able to go in because they were renovating their baptismal font, so we just relaxed around the grounds. Even though we were occasionally goofy and crazy we mostly just chatted and wandered, visualizing our weddings and talking about the different temples.

I received a stronger testimony of the power that temples have and of the work that happens in them.
Now, in New York, we are an hour and a half away from the closest temple. While this isn't a terrible distance, it's much different from being 15-30 min.s away from two :). I've made it a goal to visit the temple once a week, and to accept the LDS Church's Temple Challenge, which is approximately 1300 names, and I've already done 642!! Almost half way there and a few more months to go :S (I started late, that's my excuse).
The work that happens in temples is the work of God. You can grow so much closer to Him in the temples or even just on the temple grounds. I challenge anyone who reads this to visit an LDS temple sometime this month if it's possible. Even if you can't go inside, just take a moment on the grounds to "be still and know that I am God." He will bring you peace.
Amen.