Wow...

That is the word of the week. It has been a big roller coaster of emotions.

So I found out a couple weeks ago that there´s a distribution center here, but they don´t have change for my 20 bills and they accept Visa cards, but I have a Master. So.... I had to wait for the mission president to hand us out our peso exchange before proselyting last week. 

So for proselyting, it was a lot of fun. At the beginning we could barely understand people and just preteneded to understand or asked them to repeat it. But by the end we could understand people pretty well. We contacted twice our goal and set up 4 appointments for this next Saturday. I´m excited to see what happens with those, and also a little scared. 

It was nice to talk to Mom and Dad on Sunday, even though I surprised them be calling at 6 my time instead of 6 their time :S. 

On Tuesday, the Latinos left for their missions (or for Argentinte missions if their American visas didn´t come yet). That afternoon, presidente (spanish for President :)) had us come into his office, and told us he was switching up the American districts. Previously, the 3 elders were in the other district, but now they´re in ours and three girls have gone from ours into the other one, and the girl whose companion left joined another companionship to make a threesome. It was a very emotional day, but I think everyone´s settled with it by now.

Cool thought from that day: in 3 Nephi 9:13-14 Christ is literally pleading with us to accept His Atonement.

Also, there´s also a scripture in Ephesians that says Let not the sun go down on your wrath. I always thought that was just a saying. It´s interesting that the verse after it says Neither give place for the devil. 

Yesterday was the part of the roller coaster where the track spins around and you can´t tell if you´re right side up or not. 

So the schedule was changed around literally after every class or event. The in the last class the teacher was uncomfortable with us and didn´t really look like he wanted to teach us. So that was the down part.

The confusing part was when the new Latinas that arrived got locked out of their room and while some sisters went downstairs to see if they could find anyone with keys, another sister climbed out the window onto the porch roof and would have gone over to the window of the room that was locked. But we convinced her to come back in, thankfully. 

The new people started arriving last night, first of which was an Australian sister!! I love hearing her talk. One of our new roommates arrived at around 6:15 this morning, and I was very impressed that I could kind of understand her and respond to her that early, having just barely woken up. (although I did keep on repeating Otra vez?? Más despacio, por favor?? :S) 

The high point of yesterday was ...

I GOT TO PLAY A VIOLIN!!!!!!

Presidente apparently keeps one for the people who can play. So after accompanying two numbers last week, I´ll be able to violin for another on this Sunday (All Creatures of our God and King). I´m so spoiled here, it+s so amazing. 

Random thing: last week, in the space of 2 days, three separate people tld my I look from the girl in the Adam´s Family. I don´t think I´ve ever gotten that before, so that was surprising (at least the first couple times, the last time I was expecting it :S). 

This next Sunday we´ll be speaking in Spanish for five minutes, which should be fun. I´m preparing a talk on the Atonement so it should be easy. I´ll just read scriptures and phrases from PMG and the pamphlet with maybe one story translated. 

Yesterday, when I was feeling drained, I played another game of Scripture Roulette (when you open up to a scripture to answer a question). The first verse I looked at didn´t help me at all, but then I look up one line and the end of the next verse said this: For behold, I know my sheep and they are numbered. (3 Nephi 18:31) It was perfect. I just sat there, literally stroking my scriptures.

I know God loves me, and He´s looking out for me.

Sister Tova S Biesinger

Argentina Buenos Aires South Mission

Week 2

So a quick apology to those who aren{t my parents or siblings. I originally wrote the last email for them, and then decided that it was what I was sending to everyone else, anyway, so I just sent it to all of you. Then looking back, I realized there were some references that may have been confusing. Sorry for that. I{ll do better this time :).

Hello everyone!!

So I told my mom im my letter that I wasn{t homesick... famous last words. I got super melancholy that night, and ended up sitting on my bed singing my dad´s favorite hymn and pretending to play ¨Come THou Fount¨¨ on a violin. But after that everything was good. :)

Right now my favorite song is Äbide with Me¨because I found it again that night, and it was like a message from Heavenly Father to me. 

I got a blessing a few days later to get rid of my cold and help guard my mind. I feel a lot better now, and only cough at night. 

I haven{t ¨Journalled¨as much lately becuase the main event is studying. Studying all day. 

In a couple days we´re going proselyting!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! We will be shipped out in buses to different parts of the city and set loose on the people. We were given a sheet of paper to write goals on. At the part that said ¨Baptism¨ my companion suggested we pray before setting a number. We did, and both came back with the answer of 3. So in two days we will invite 3 strangers to join the church-- and we will do it in Spanish :D.

For practicing here, our teacher pretend to be investigators, and we prepare a lesson for them every day. Right now we´re teaching Cecilia who is an aethiest with a mormon friend, and Sarah who´s daughter is baptized but is living with her boyfriend. In our last lesson with Cecilia we asked the right question and she opened up about her reservations. Her experience was much like my companion´s experience coming into the church so she was able to share her feelings. We cried a few times with her which was amazing!! It gave us a taste of what it´s really like. 

In my scripture study I read about Ammon converting Lamoni and his entire household. The enirety of his success was hinged on 2 things: love and service. Witnessing that love is what made Lamoni´s father become interested. I remember a story about a man who very rudely rejected the elders when they came to his door. As they left, he watched through his window. He expected them to joke or argue, but what he saw was the older companion reaching over and putting his arm on the younger one´s shoulder to comfort him. This touched the man. The next time the missionaries knocked on his door, he let them in.

On Saturday night we played ¨Scripture Roulette¨where we all thought of a question, prayed, and opened up our scriptures to find the answer. Everyone found something. The spirit was super strong. Then the next morning, in Fast and Testimony meeting, the spirit continued to be powerful. It was sooooo cool. I feel like we´re all pushing through the wall Satan kept setting up to block us. 

Sunday night we listened to a powerful devotional by Elder Holland where he told us just how important missionary work is. It was powerful, powerful, powerful!

Since coming here I{ve discovered the taste for two different smell: the doTerra oil ¨OnGuard¨ and menthalaetum (sp??). They were both coughdrops that I was given to help with my cough. The on guard one was okay, but the other one was disgusting. It was effective, though. 

I get plenty of opportunity to play the piano. This Monday I was playing ¨Nearer my God to Thee¨from the book Mom gave me and Sis. Adams was singing from the spanish hymn book. Half way through, Latinos started coming and joining in. They have amazing voices and an incredible ability to harmonize. When we finished, they wanted to sing again, so I played it again. Then we tried to find a song that was in my book and the spanish hymn book and that I could play. Unfortunately we weren{t successful. But this Sunday I´ll be played the ¨Nearer my God to Thee¨with my district for a musical number and playing ¨We´ll bring the world his Truth¨ with Sis. Adams and a Latino sister--Sis Fernandez. 

We went to the temple again today, and I was able to do a family name that I accidentally brought with me. It was amazing. 

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Sister Tova S Biesinger

Argentina Buenos Aires South Mission

Hello from BA!!

Hey everyone! 

So I couldn´t wait for today to write to you, so I wrote letters to you all at least every other day. So I´m going to just copy those for most of this letter.

Mom said to eat a healthy dinner (actually her words were a 'good dinner´) (this keyboard is really weird, I have to keep switching from english to spanish to english in order to get the punctuation right :S)

Anway, dinner ended up being an Arby´s sandwich from the airport. I was too shaken up to try somehting new, and that was what I would have eaten had I gone to Utah to be picked up by Oma and Opa. At the airport in Atlanta, there were 23 other missionaries. 20 sisters and 3 brothers. Two of them are above 6 ft. tall, and the other one was Kel´s height, and his name is Elder Kelly. I think that is a foreshadowing that Kel will look super short compared to all of his companions.

Right when I got off the plane I started to have a runny nose and it hasn´t gone away since. It has been joined by its friend the cough that sounds 3xs as bad as it actually is (so it isn´t bad, but it sounds like it is). 

Also, as we were walking up to customs I had my carry on balanced on top of my rolling suitcase, two purses on my shoulders, and carrying my other 50 lbs suitcase in my hand, one of my purse´s handles broke :O. So I tied them together and made a makeshift handle. I need to get a new one, but I don{t think I{ll be able to shop until I leave the CCM (MTC in Spanish). 

Speaking of the CCM, it{s really funny, because the sign says [Central de Capacitation de Misional] and whenever I see it, I think it says [decapitation] :D.

Anyway, we made it safely to the CCM, where I sent you that heartfelt email :P. My senor companion is Hma. Adams. She{s from Alaska and is part Native American part Tahitian. People keep on speaking to her in spanish, because they think she{ll understand. 

Thursday was pretty crazy, but by the end of the day I had enough time to start to crochet a passport pouch which I actually did need. I haven{t finished it yet, but I{m almost done.

So, I know you{re all wondering about the food and if I{m eating or not. Every morning we have cold cereal!! But we only get one bowl, so be grateful. I usually need a fruit and some bread to go along with it. We have beef for lunch or dinner every day and either chicken or pasta topped with meat for the other meal. I have eaten everything of my plate every day (besides one day when it was either a firm, soggy, piece of cornbread or a cake made of crushed pasta. But I still ate a thrid of it). Other comfort zoned that I have stretched: I turned off the light at 10:30pm and walked back to my bed in complete darkness and even managed to climbe the ladder without incident :D. And, on Saturday and spider fell from the ceiling onto my lap and the only thing I did was say [Oh, that{s gross] and brushed it off (and then I killed it). Also, I have been speaking in spanish to the other Latinos here. We have two Latina roommates and two sisters besides Hms Adams and me. The past two nights we were actually talking to them for too long and turned of the lights at 10_35 instead of 10:30. Oops...

Friday felt really rushed and confusing. The teachers kept getting confused as to where we were supposed to go, and kept giving us books and papers to study and fill out. Hma Adams and I managed to make a goal though, to learn 10 phrases and 22 words ea day plus one scriptures or other paragraph (ie, first vision). We{ve done well with the scriptures, but are behind on the phrases and words. 

When I first got here I was intimidated by the sentence [Somos misioneras de la iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Ultimos Dias] but yesterday I learned, [Y caunda recibir estas cosas, quisiera exhortaros a que preguanteis a Dios el Padre Eterno, en el nombre de Cristo, si no son verdadera estas cosas; y si pedis con un corazon sincero, con verdadera intencion, tenienido fe in Cristo, el os manifestara la verdad de ellas por el poder del espiritu santo; y por el poder del Espiritu Santo, podreis conocer la verdad de todas las cosas.]

Sorry, I really wanted to tell someone that, even at the risk of being a show off. 

Also on the first day, we taught our first [investigator] in spanish (she was our teacher). It didn{t go very well, but it was pretty good. We{ve taught her 2 more times since then, and she{s committed to be baptized. 

Two things I{ve loved that my mission pres and his wife have said: [The gospel isn{t weight, it{s wings.] and [Whereever truth is found, the dust of the battle may be seen.] Yeah!

For exercise almost every day we{ve played volley ball, although it{s really crowded because that{s where everyone who doesn{t play soccer or basket ball goes. But yesterday Hma Adams and I finally had the guts to join the Latinos in their game of basket ball. Playing with the fam really helped me then, because I could be aggressive enough to play, but not enough to be in awkward situations with the elders or hurt the hermanas who didn{t really play. 

On Sunday it was more relaxing. We had an hour to walk around the temple which is literally ten steps out the door of the CCM (and is in my mission, apparently!!) and take pictures. But I can{t send you the pictures because the computers at the CCM are connected and there would be too much happening if we all sent our pictures, so you{ll have to wait for a few more weeks . sorry. Anyway, Sunday we had cake for dessert, and the elder 2 people in front of me took the last chocolate one, so I had some strawberryjello-cheesecake which was delicious. 

For sacrament meeting, we were in our own room for the [Americans] but only had 3 elders, so they did some fancy moving around and handing off during the sacrament. Unfortunately, once one of the elders ran into the other and everyone started giggling. It was funny, but I tried not to laugh because I thought it was cool that they were trying so hard to help us get the sacrament. 

As far as weather goes, it{s super sticky becase of the humidity and is usually overcast and windy, although we do have sun for at least some of each day. (I apologize for the typos, but time is short :S). The temple is gorgeous, you should look up a picture. We{re going through it for a session today which will be amazing. 

That{s it for now. I love you all!!

Sister Tova S Biesinger

Argentina Buenos Aires South Mission

EXCITING NEWS!!

The layout of this blog will change in about a week. I'm about to serve a full-time mission for my church in Buenos Aires, Argentina (the South Mission).

Here is a little snippet by the church about missionary work:

"Imagine you found a cure for cancer. How urgently would you spread the news of your discovery? Who would you tell? The gospel of Jesus Christ is the cure for so many of life's ills that Mormons want to share the good news of eternal life with the same urgency.
The Lord's Church has always been a missionary church. Jesus Christ's life was the perfect example of missionary work. During His ministry on earth, he taught the gospel at all times, in all places, and to all kinds of people. Jesus taught the educated men in the temple, the sinners, the faithful and the unbelieving. He also called apostles and other disciples to preach the gospel so more people could hear about the blessings of His gospel. Most of their preaching during Christ's life was to their own people, the Jews. After Jesus was resurrected, He visited His apostles and sent them to preach to the gentiles. He commanded them, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15)."

I feel so excited to be able to be spending 18 months of my life serving people and helping them to find this healing. I will be sending weekly emails to my mom who will post the experiences here!

I know that this church is the Lord's church, and that He loves us. I know that everyone can find happiness and peace through His restored gospel.

Judge Not: Behind Every Face is a Heart

I love this video. It very effectively illustrates how we can't tell how people are feeling.
Imagine the man with a malignant tumor erupts in anger over the phone with a friend. If the friend knew about the tumor, might he be understanding with the man's anger?

There's a funny story my mom has told to me about her friend (put into my own words):

"Someone once told me that they don't get road rage. Whenever they started to feel angry they would think about why a person would do act that way. Like if someone cut her off, she would think 'Maybe they're having a baby.' When she shared this with me, I determined to do better.
"Surely enough, I was driving sometime later when a car whizzed around me--scaring me out of my wits! As the anger built up, I remembered what I'd learned. So I angrily yelled out the window, 'HAVE A NICE BABY!!'"

I love the line in the song "Lord, I would Follow Thee" that says "In the quiet heart is hidden sorrow that the eye can't see." We could replace the word 'quiet' with angry, gossiping, vicious, vengeful, unfaithful. Something drove those hearts to become that way. That doesn't mean what the person does is acceptable. It isn't.
But when someone is drowning in sorrow and sin, will it help them to abandon them--to shun them? Will it help them to add your own anger and judgement to the load that's dragging them down? When the woman taken in adultery was taken before Christ did he throw a stone at her? NO!

"He who is without sin, let him first throw the stone." 

"When my son Jack* was 14, he pierced his ears, quit going to seminary, and refused to go to church.
My husband and I tried everything we could think of to change this attitude. Nothing seemed to work. Jack was angry at the world and at us. We came to recognize that all we could do for him was display charity—the pure love we had for him. But we were amazed to see many other people abundantly extend love in ways that significantly helped my son.
Jack’s brothers and sisters were the first to show charity. His older brothers repeatedly invited him to social activities with their friends, even when having a little brother tag along might not have been popular. His older sister lived across the country, and she called him regularly to just chat.
Jack’s grandpa Oscar also made a huge difference. When Jack started choosing a different path, Grandpa Oscar began calling him once a week, and they talked about everything from horses to school to motorcycles.
Next door to us lived the Carlton family. They had a son who liked many of the same activities as Jack: rock climbing, hiking, camping, and ballroom dancing. Although Jack didn’t attend church, the Carltons didn’t exclude him. Rather, they welcomed him into their home, shared meals, and were interested in his activities. Their continued love and support were critical to Jack.
When Jack was 15, he decided to do a project for his Eagle Scout Award. Jack’s Scout leader, Brother White, opened his wood shop and spent hours with Jack and my husband building a large box in which to store food for horses. This helped Jack to earn his Eagle Scout Award.
We have also been blessed with wonderful bishops. Bishop Noble not only visited with Jack in an official capacity but also invited him to go on mule rides and hired him for odd jobs. When a new bishop was called, he recognized Jack’s needs and received inspiration on how best to meet those needs.
The members of our ward also showed great charity. Every time Jack attended church, our neighbors and friends greeted him warmly. They didn’t criticize his long hair or his choices; instead they shook his hand. In the neighborhood they were equally kind. One neighbor called Jack when she had odd jobs. She told me often what a great worker he was and offered to write letters of recommendation for him. Each of these acts of charity helped strengthen Jack’s self-esteem.
Each person who crossed Jack’s path with love played a part in helping him remember who he is—a wonderful son of our Heavenly Father. Collectively, these acts of charity blessed Jack’s life in incredible ways. At the age of 22, Jack decided to begin attending his local student ward. With the help of yet another encouraging bishop, he subsequently received his patriarchal blessing and was ordained to the office of priest in the Aaronic Priesthood.
I will be forever grateful to the people in our ward, our neighborhood, and our extended family who treated Jack with love. I know that charity, the pure love of Christ, can touch souls when nothing else can."

In contrast, I was at a meeting where a young man who didn't usually attend church showed up. He sat with his family until the bishop asked if he would like to pass the sacrament. The boy explained that he couldn't because he hadn't worn a white shirt and tie--the usual attire for boys participating in the sacred ordinance. The bishop said that he felt it was important that the boy pass the sacrament that day, and he gave him permission.
But when the boy went up by the other youth, they sent him away (and rather rudely) because he didn't have the white shirt and tie. Now maybe these youth were also hurting or were confused, but this boy left the church building that day hurt and embarrassed, and he stayed away for a long time.

There are so many people out there who are drowning. I hope that when you see someone struggling today that you will reach out to them--try to give them some comfort. I know that as we strive to have the charity Jesus Christ has for us we will be able to find it.
I know that Heavenly Father loves us and will be able to show us more love and shower us with more blessings than we could imagine as we move closer to him through our actions and our love.

Beautiful Story of Love

A hospital nurse led a tired, anxious serviceman to a bedside in the emergency wing. “Your son is here,” she said to the old man lying on the bed. She had to repeat the words several times before the patient’s eyes opened.  

Heavily sedated due to his heart attack, the old man dimly saw the young uniformed Marine standing outside the oxygen tent.
He reached out his hand. The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man’s limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement.


The nurse brought a chair so that the Marine could sit beside the bed. All through the night, the young Marine sat there in the poorly lighted ward, holding the old man’s hand and offering him words of love and strength.
Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest awhile. But he refused.
Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the Marine was oblivious of her and of the night noises of the hospital — the clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans of the other patients.
Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said nothing, and held tightly to his son all through the night.


Along towards dawn, the old man died. The Marine released the now lifeless hand he had been holding, and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do, he waited.
Finally, she returned. She started to offer words of sympathy, but the Marine interrupted her. “Who was that man?” he asked.
The nurse was startled. “He was your father,” she answered.
“No, he wasn’t,” the Marine replied. “I never saw him before in my life.”
“Then why didn’t you say something when I took you to him?”



“I knew right away there had been a mistake, but I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn’t here. When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, knowing how much he needed me, I stayed."

Judge Not: Eating Cookies

A friend of mine, returning to South Africa from a long stay in Europe, found herself with some time to spare at London’s Heathrow Airport. Buying a cup of coffee and a small package of cookies, she staggered, laden with luggage, to an unoccupied table. She was reading the morning paper when she became aware of someone rustling at her table. From behind her paper, she was flabbergasted to see a neatly dressed young man helping himself to her cookies. She did not want to make a scene, so she leaned across and took a cookie herself. A minute or so passed. More rustling. He was helping himself to another cookie. By the time they were down to the last cookie in the package, she was very angry but still could not bring herself to say anything. Then the young man broke the cookie in two, pushed half across to her, ate the other half and left. Some time later, when the public-address system called for her to present her ticket, she was still fuming. Imagine her embarrassment when she opened her handbag and was confronted by her package of cookies. She had been eating his.
~~Reader's Digest, Dan P. Greyling

 I love this story. It's a wonderful example of judgement being switched into understanding.
But imagine what the story would have been like if the young man hadn't been kind. What if he had snatched up the bag? What if he had yelled at the woman, maybe even calling her a thief? The woman may have responded in anger of her own--she didn't know they weren't her cookies.
How different could this story be, if the young man didn't chose to react with love instead of judgement or anger.

What about your story? Do you have a person in your life that acts out or acts angry? Maybe all you need is some understanding.

Another story tells of a mother whose son wet the bed every night. She got so angry! Hadn't he learned by now how to go to the bathroom? But no matter how much she lectured or scolded, he continued to wet the bed.
Many years later, doctors discovered that this mother's son had a serious medical problem. One of the symptoms of that problem was bed-wetting. 

How might this mother feel, hearing that all those years her son had wet the bed, it was only his body reacting to a sickness? If she had been able to find understanding with her son they might have discovered the problem early, or at least she and her son could have had a better and stronger relationship.

I know that a lot of anger, frustration, and resentment can be avoided if we strive for understanding. Heavenly Father can bless us with understanding or at least with patience until we can receive that understanding.

Judge Not: Dirty Windows

Matthew 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

In the above video, the woman's husband was able to help stop the judgement, but the only way he was able to do that was by looking not through the window at the other lady's laundry, but AT the window.
I know that we can gain guidance through the Spirit. And maybe the Spirit of God will tell us to go and get guidance from others, such as this woman's husband.

This is a beautiful story of a prophet not knowing the facts and not judging:
“A young mother on an overnight flight with a two-year-old daughter was stranded by bad weather in Chicago airport without food or clean clothing for the child and without money. She was … pregnant and threatened with miscarriage, so she was under doctor’s instructions not to carry the child unless it was essential. Hour after hour she stood in one line after another, trying to get a flight to Michigan. The terminal was noisy, full of tired, frustrated, grumpy passengers, and she heard critical references to her crying child and to her sliding her child along the floor with her foot as the line moved forward. No one offered to help with the soaked, hungry, exhausted child.

“Then, the woman later reported, ‘someone came towards us and with a kindly smile said, “Is there something I could do to help you?” With a grateful sigh I accepted his offer. He lifted my sobbing little daughter from the cold floor and lovingly held her to him while he patted her gently on the back. He asked if she could chew a piece of gum. When she was settled down, he carried her with him and said something kindly to the others in the line ahead of me, about how I needed their help. They seemed to agree and then he went up to the ticket counter [at the front of the line] and made arrangements with the clerk for me to be put on a flight leaving shortly. He walked with us to a bench, where we chatted a moment, until he was assured that I would be fine. He went on his way. About a week later I saw a picture of Apostle Spencer W. Kimball and recognized him as the stranger in the airport.’”2
Several years later, President Kimball received a letter that read, in part:
“Dear President Kimball:
“I am a student at Brigham Young University. I have just returned from my mission in Munich, West Germany. I had a lovely mission and learned much. …
“I was sitting in priesthood meeting last week, when a story was told of a loving service which you performed some twenty-one years ago in the Chicago airport. The story told of how you met a young pregnant mother with a … screaming child, in … distress, waiting in a long line for her tickets. She was threatening miscarriage and therefore couldn’t lift her child to comfort her. She had experienced four previous miscarriages, which gave added reason for the doctor’s orders not to bend or lift.
“You comforted the crying child and explained the dilemma to the other passengers in line. This act of love took the strain and tension off my mother. I was born a few months later in Flint, Michigan.
“I just want to thank you for your love. Thank you for your example!”

Judge Not: Diversity

Old Friends (values.com)

Love truly spans all boundaries. I love how diverse this world is. Heavenly Father could have created us all the same. Made up a mold, and put each of us through it. Dumped the same knowledge and experiences into our minds.
But instead, He chose to make us all different. He chose to allow cultures and languages to develop. He chose to have different skin colors, hair colors, and eye colors.

One of my favorite children's books is "The Sandwich Swap." A typical American girl makes friends with an American-Indian girl. They have lots of fun together, until one day at lunch when they each notice that the other girl has a weird looking sandwich. Unwilling to see past that little difference, they stop being friends and eventually lead the whole school in a huge food fight.
In the aftermath of the food fight, the girls look at what happened when they weren't able to accept the other's unique differences. You'll have to read the book to learn the rest. :D

Sadly, this has happened with adults as well as children. ISIS, the KKK, the Nazi-Holocaust are all examples of terrible actions stemming from an unwillingness to see past differences.

One of the biggest lessons both my dad and uncle have taught me is this:

Everyone is a child of God; Judge not.

I know that that is true. We are all God's children. He loves each of us the way we are, and desires that we progress to become even better. But it is not our job to govern that progression. He knows our weaknesses and our neighbors' weaknesses. He can take the judgement from our hearts and help us to see each other has His children. I have felt His love for His children a few times in my life and it filled my soul with light and joy. 

I know that if you pray to feel His love for others, you will be able to feel that love and understand what He wants you to do.

The Anti-Nephi-Lehies

One of the most inspiring stories in the Book of Mormon is the story of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies--also known as the people of Ammon.
These people were Lamanites who had separated themselves from the other Lamanites because they had been converted and now believed in God. The other Lamanites were angry with the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. They probably felt betrayed and confused by the change in their friends and former brothers-in-arms. The Lamanites prepared to go to war against the Anti-Nephi-Lehies.
When the Anti-Nephi-Lehies heard about the preparations, they were naturally scared. The king and the prophet counseled together and with God to decide what to do. They felt inspired that they should not fight against the Lamanites.
In fact, they gathered together all of the people and challenged them to make a covenant with God: that they would never raise a weapon against anyone ever again. As a symbol of that covenant, every single person took their weapons and threw them into a pit, burying them where they couldn't be reached.
When the Lamanites were ready, they came and attacked the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. As they'd agreed, the Anti-Nephi-Lehies didn't fight back. Instead they knelt down and prayed to Heavenly Father.

22 And thus without meeting any resistance, they did slay (1,005) of them; and we know that they are blessed, for they have gone to dwell with their God.
23 Now when the Lamanites saw that their brethren would not flee from the sword, neither would they turn aside to the right hand or to the left, but that they would lie down and perish, and praised God even in the very act of perishing under the sword—
24 Now when the Lamanites saw this they did forbearfrom slaying them; and there were many whose hearts hadswollen in them for those of their brethren who had fallen under the sword, for they repented of the things which they had done.
25 And it came to pass that they threw down their weapons of war, and they would not take them again, for they were stung for the murders which they had committed; and they came down even as their brethren, relying upon the mercies of those whose arms were lifted to slay them.
26 And it came to pass that the people of God were joined that day by more than the number who had been slain; and those who had been slain were righteous people, therefore we have no reason to doubt but what they were saved. (Alma 24)

 When I read through this story last, I had a few cool thoughts I'd like to share.
I wondered why, when Heavenly Father had saved so many people who placed their trust in Him, He chose not to save the Anti-Nephi-Lehies. Then I remembered that only a generation after these people came the 2,000 Stripling Warriors (read that story here). These young men were protected by the mighty power of God... and maybe by 1,005 angels as well.
The example of faith that their uncles, fathers, mothers, sisters, aunts, grandparents, cousins, and many others who died for their covenants must have also been a powerful force for the young men.

Finally, I thought of the question in "The War Room" (amazing movie, you should watch it). "Do I just let him walk all over me?"
The Anti-Nephi-Lehies not only were walked over, they were killed.

For a man to lay down his all, his character and reputation, his honor, and applause, his good name among men, his houses, his lands, his brothers and sisters, his wife and children, and even his own life also—counting all things but filth and dross for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ—requires more than mere belief or supposition that he is doing the will of God; but actual knowledge, realizing that, when those sufferings are ended, he will enter into eternal rest, and be a partaker of the glory of God.   ~Joseph Smith

Although many of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies were killed, many more people were converted. And through the scriptures we can know that those who were killed were taken up to heaven.

This story has come to mean much more to me. To me it is now a story of how a large group of people, unified in faith, can find new life through conversion and through the resurrection.