Free October 2015 General Conference Printables - Saturday Morning

Last weekend our family got to stay home all weekend in our pajamas, hang out, and watch General Conference. General Conference is a big, twice-yearly meeting that our whole church has, where we get to listen to the church leadership speak. People go to it in person, or you can watch it at our church meetinghouses, or on TV, or on the internet. I always find it so inspiring and uplifting. I love General Conference weekend for the spirit that I feel.

This year I decided that I wanted to make printables/picture quotes/memes/whatever you call them of some of my favorite quotes from conference. I'll be doing them in batches; today's quotes all come from the Saturday morning session of conference. Feel free to pin/print/share these!

"God will take you as you are at this very moment and begin to work with you. All you need is a willing heart, a desire to believe, and trust in the Lord."

- President Dieter F. Uchtdorf 

"If we look at ourselves only through our mortal eyes, we may not see ourselves as good enough. But our Heavenly Father sees us as who we truly are and who we can become. He sees us as His sons and daughters, as beings of eternal light with everlasting potential and with a divine destiny." 

- President Dieter F. Uchtdorf 

"Make no mistake about it: the Lord directs His Church through living prophets and apostles."

- Elder M. Russell Ballard

"Like the clay on the potter’s wheel, our lives must be centered with exactness in Christ if we are to find true joy and peace in this life."

- Elder Richard J. Maynes

"If we earnestly appeal to God, He takes us as we are—and makes us more than we ever imagined."

- Sister Neill F. Marriott

"When we offer our broken heart to Jesus Christ, He accepts our offering. He takes us back. No matter what losses, wounds, and rejection we have suffered, His grace and healing are mightier than all."

- Sister Neill F. Marriott

"As we travel along that strait and narrow path, the Spirit continually challenges us to be better and to climb higher. The Holy Ghost makes an ideal traveling companion. If we are humble and teachable, He will take us by the hand and lead us home."

 - Elder Larry R. Lawrence

"A perfect time to ask, “What lack I yet?” is when we take the sacrament...In this reverent atmosphere, as our thoughts are turned heavenward, the Lord can gently tell us what we need to work on next."

- Elder Larry R. Lawrence

"My dear brothers and sisters, life is not easy, nor was it meant to be. It is a time of testing and trial. Like the old ships in Bristol Harbor, there will be times when the tide goes out and it seems as if everything in this world keeping us afloat disappears. We may hit the bottom and even be tipped over on our sides. Amid such trials, I promise you that living and maintaining temple-worthy lives will hold together all that really matters. The sweet blessings of peace, happiness, and joy, along with the blessings of eternal life and celestial glory with our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, will be realized."

- Elder Quentin L. Cook

"Happiness in this life and happiness in the life to come are interconnected by righteousness." 

- Elder Quentin L. Cook

Many of the graphics I used were from Designs by Miss Mandee, We Lived Happily Ever After, Mandy Art Market, and Angie Makes.

He is the Gift

Merry Christmas! I hope you've had a wonderful day. I just want to share with you my testimony of Jesus Christ. I know that he is our Savior. I've felt his love in my life.

I can see how a lot of people would be like, "Why do we even need Jesus Christ? What's the point?" But I can tell you that knowing of him, and having his gospel in my life, has been an incalculable blessing to me. He promised: “He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” (John 8:12).

This awesome Christmas video came out a couple weeks ago. It's called "He is the Gift." We watched it last night on Christmas Eve, and loved it.

I hope you have a great Christmas night!

How Firm a Foundation

This week I was having a rough time with some anxiety (general anxiety, not about one issue in particular). As I was folding laundry one night, I started to sing one of my favorite hymns, How Firm a Foundation.

I love this song. I've always loved it; it's always been so powerful to me and such a strengthening hymn. But as I sang it this week, I felt like Heavenly Father was speaking to me directly through the words, reminding me that he is always, always be there for me. I just wanted to share this song with you, as it has been such a strength to me.

How firm a foundation, ye Saints of the Lord,

Is laid for your faith in his excellent word!

What more can he say than to you he hath said,

Who unto the Savior, who unto the Savior,

Who unto the Savior for refuge have fled?

In ev'ry condition--in sickness, in health,

In poverty's vale or abounding in wealth,

At home or abroad, on the land or the sea--

As thy days may demand, as thy days may demand,

As thy days may demand, so thy succor shall be.

Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed,

For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.

I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,

Upheld by my righteous, upheld by my righteous,

Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,

The rivers of sorrow shall not thee o'erflow,

For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,

And sanctify to thee, and sanctify to thee,

And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,

My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply.

The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design

Thy dross to consume, thy dross to consume,

Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

E'en down to old age, all my people shall prove

My sov'reign, eternal, unchangeable love;

And then, when gray hair shall their temples adorn,

Like lambs shall they still, like lambs shall they still,

Like lambs shall they still in my bosom be borne.

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose

I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes;

That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,

I'll never, no never, I'll never, no never,

I'll never, no never, no never forsake!

What We Believe - the Book of Mormon

Good morning! I know it's been a while since I've done a post explaining more about what we believe, but I really want to start doing that again, so here we go! Today I wanted to talk to you about the Book of Mormon.

I've already explained what we believe about God, and Jesus Christ, and God's plan for us. I've talked about the gospel of Jesus Christ, and how living prophets teach us today. I explained how God established his full gospel on the earth again after centuries of pieces of it missing, by calling Joseph Smith as a prophet and restoring his (God's) priesthood authority upon the earth. And I've given a short history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

So where does the Book of Mormon fit in? Why is our church so well known for this book? If you've heard of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, you have almost certainly heard of The Book of Mormon. It is, after all, where we get our nickname - "Mormons."

All pictures in this post are from the image library on lds.org.

So what is The Book of Mormon? What's in it? How do we have it? Why do we believe it?

In a nutshell, The Book of Mormon is the historical record of a people that lived in ancient America. It is another testament of Jesus Christ, just like the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Book of Mormon and the Bible go hand in hand. One is the record of God's dealings with the people in ancient Israel, and one is the record of God's dealings with the people in ancient America.

The Book of Mormon was written and recorded by ancient prophets, just like the Bible. It follows the stories of a group of people who God led out of Jerusalem before the city was destroyed in 600 BC. He led them to America, and the Book of Mormon covers their history from about 600 BC to 400 AD. And it's awesome.

It's got Nephi, who was seriously rock solid. He followed God's commandments even when it meant living in the desert on raw meat. And building a boat and sailing across an OCEAN. And having his brothers try to kill him a bunch of times.

And Abinidi, who stood up to a wicked king and his corrupt priests.

And these people, who all secretly got baptized while hiding from the king and his soldiers.

And Ammon, who saved a bunch of sheep and cut off a bunch of people's arms.

And Captain Moroni! Who was awesome!

And the two thousand stripling warriors! Who were also awesome! ("Stripling" means young, by the way. And I LOVE these guys! They're my favorite!!!)

And Samuel the prophet, who stood on the wall of a wicked city to tell them that Christ would be born in five years.

By far the biggest moment of the Book of Mormon is when Christ personally visits the people. After his death and resurrection in Jerusalem, he came to the people of the Americas. He taught them personally and ministered to them.

For several hundred years after his coming, the people lived in righteousness. But then they fell into wickedness again, and then they became really wicked. The two great nations of the Book of Mormon - the Lamanites and Nephites - had a huge war until almost all of the Nephites were destroyed.

Finally there were only a handful of Nephites left, including Mormon and Moroni, two righteous men whom God had protected. Mormon was in charge of the record of their people, which had been handed down from prophet to prophet to prophet over hundreds of years. He abridged and edited all the records together. The resulting book is named after him - The Book of Mormon. He gave those records to his son Moroni to finish writing and to protect.

After Mormon died, Moroni wandered around as the very last of his people. He finished the record and sealed it up, burying it in the earth so that it could come forth at the right time according to God's purposes. 

When Joseph Smith prayed to God in the early 1800s asking him which church to join (you can read my blog post about that here), the time had come. Joseph was instructed where to find the records abridged by Mormon, and was able to translate the book with God's help.

The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ, that was written specifically for us - the people living now at this time.

It was written to help us understand Christ's mission, and to gain testimonies of him. It was written, as Moroni said, "[to convince] the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations."

The only way you can know for yourself whether the Book of Mormon is true or not is to read it, and then ask God if it is true. Moroni, the prophet who finished the Book of Mormon, promised this:

"And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."

So see for yourself. Request a free copy of the Book of Mormon here. Read it. Read all about Nephi, and Mosiah, and Helaman and his two thousand warriors, and Alma and Ammon and Captain Moroni and Mormon, and most importantly - read their testimonies. Read their witnesses of Christ. And then "with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ," ask if it is true.


Further Resources:
1. This page, Mormon.org: The Book of Mormon, has very clear explanations of where the Book of Mormon came from and what it is. 
2. This video rocks.

Because of Him

Because of him I get to live with my loved ones forever.

Because of him I can be forgiven of the mistakes I have made and will make in the future.

Because of him I have hope.

Because of him I have joy.

Because of him I know that my life has meaning.

I know that Christ lives. I know that he really is the son of God. He lived a perfect life and suffered for our sins so that we can be forgiven through his sacrifice.

He loves us. He loves you. And I know that with absolutely everything that I am.

What shall we give to the babe in the manger?

I always love the last Sunday before Christmas. I love it because the music at church is always extra special that day - we get to sing so many of the Christmas hymns and listen to special musical numbers. And, at least for me, Christmas music brings the feeling of Christmas like nothing else can.

I saw this video yesterday, and loved it. It's a beautiful rendition of "What Shall We Give to the Babe in the Manger?" by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and it's got a great story to watch that goes along with it. It brought happiness into my heart and I hope it does to yours too.

Our Christmas Advent Calendar

For the last couple years I've really wanted to do a Christmas advent calendar every time December rolls around. I've seen lots of cute ideas on Pinterest (I especially like this book advent idea), but every year I forget to make one until it's too late. But not this year! This year I actually put one together! Last Sunday I realized it was the first day of December, and if I wanted to make an advent calendar I needed to make one that day. And I decided to go for it and just make a simple one so that we could do one this year.

I wanted our advent calendar focused on Christ, since he is the reason we celebrate Christmas and I really wanted him to be the focus of our home. And I found this awesome advent calendar that this woman put together, that's all about Christ! On the front of each day she has a picture of Christ, and on the back she has a scripture about him and an activity for the day. I used most of her scriptures (I switched a few out for some that I like even more) and a lot of her activities. Some of the activities seemed too old for Toddler, so I repeated a couple of the simple ones like "Read a Christmas Book" and "Sing Christmas Songs".

How I made our advent calendar was I made 25 squares out of scrapbook paper, wrote the scriptures and activities on the back and put a number on the front, and put those all on a corkboard that we have. On the top of the corkboard I put a picture of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus that I had from an old calendar that I kept the pictures from. And voila! Advent calendar. In the future I'll probably do a nicer, more permanent one like the woman in the link did, but this one's working just fine for this year. :)

What We Believe - a Short History of the Church

Sorry I missed last Sunday's "What We Believe"! I was powering through trying to finish the childhood photo album I had been working on. Today I'm back, and I think I'll try to write the next couple this week and schedule them to post beforehand, so that when the baby comes they'll still post on Sunday for the next couple weeks.

Last week (or two weeks ago, I guess), I talked about how we believe Jesus Christ's full and complete gospel has been restored on earth today, after many parts of it were lost and confused after his death and the death of his apostles. He called a prophet in our day, just as he has called prophets for thousands of years. That boy that he called as a prophet to restore his gospel was Joseph Smith. You can read all about how that happened in my last post. 

Today I want to share with you this video, which is the story of Joseph Smith and the restoration and establishment of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), told by members of the Church in Ghana, Singapore, Colombia and elsewhere.

I would like to add my testimony to theirs that I know The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is God's church. Its gospel is simple and beautiful. I will continue to do my best to share with you what it teaches, and why it brings such happiness and peace to our lives.

What We Believe - Joseph Smith

In the last couple weeks here on the blog I've talked about what we believe about Jesus Christ, God, God's plan for us, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and prophets.

In a nutshell, what I've said so far can be condensed into this: God lives. He is our father, and he loves us. He created a plan where we can become more like him. Jesus Christ is at the center of God's plan; he lived a perfect life and sacrificed himself for us to save us from our mistakes. We can always return to God because of this redemption, no matter what we've done. To spread this message and to reveal his plans to us, God has called prophets throughout history to teach his word.

My post on prophets covers the question: Okay, if God has called prophets throughout history, has he called them today? Why don't we hear about prophets in this modern day? Well, there actually are prophets on the earth today. I talked about them here, in the post on prophets.

So the next question is, when did this line of prophets start? In the bible, we hear about Adam and Abraham and Moses getting called, and then we can read about their successors throughout the Old Testament, and then in the New Testament there's Jesus himself, and then Peter and Paul, and then...who? What happened?

The Loss of Priesthood Authority

The Church of Jesus Christ is built on the foundation of apostles and prophets (Ephesians 2:19–20; 4:11–14). These leaders have divine priesthood authority. Through revelation they direct the affairs of the Church. They maintain doctrinal purity, authorize the administration of ordinances, and call and confer upon others the priesthood authority.

After Jesus died, people persecuted the Apostles and killed many of them. When the Apostles died, the presiding priesthood authority - the authority to lead God's church and speak in his name - was taken from the earth. Consequently, there was no longer authority to confer the Holy Ghost or perform other saving ordinances. Revelation ceased, and doctrine became corrupted.

Without revelation and priesthood authority, people relied on their own wisdom to interpret the scriptures and the principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ. False ideas were taught as truth, and a lot of the knowledge of the true character and nature of God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost was lost. The doctrines of faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost became distorted or forgotten. This apostasy eventually led to the emergence of many different churches, each teaching their own docrines.

After centuries of spiritual darkness, truth-seeking men and women protested against current religious practices. They recognized that many of the doctrines and ordinances of the gospel had been changed or lost. They sought for greater spiritual light, and many spoke of the need for a restoration of truth. They did not claim, however, that God had called them to be a prophet. Instead, they tried to reform teachings and practices that they believed had been changed or corrupted. Their efforts led to the organization of many Protestant churches. This Reformation resulted in an increased emphasis on religious freedom, which opened the way for the final Restoration.

A Restoration, not a Reformation, was required. Priesthood authority did not continue in an unbroken line of succession from the Apostle Peter. To reform is to change what already exists; to restore is to bring back something in its original form. Thus, restoration of priesthood authority through divine messengers was the only possible way to overcome the loss of priesthood authority.

The Savior’s Apostles foretold this universal apostasy. They also foretold that the gospel of Jesus Christ and His Church would be restored once more upon the earth.

The Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ

When the circumstances were right, Heavenly Father once again reached out to His children in love. He called a young man named Joseph Smith as a prophet. Through him the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored to the earth.

Joseph Smith lived in the United States, which was perhaps the only country to enjoy religious freedom at the time. It was at a time of great religious excitement in the eastern United States. His family members were deeply religious and constantly sought for truth. But many ministers claimed to have the true gospel. Joseph desired “to know which of all the sects was right." The Bible taught there was “one Lord, one faith, one baptism." Joseph attended different churches, but he remained confused about which church he should join. He later wrote:

“So great were the confusions and strife among the different denominations, that it was impossible for a person young as I was … to come to any certain conclusion who was right and who was wrong. … In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often said to myself: What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?”

As Joseph sought truth among the different faiths, he turned to the Bible for guidance. He read, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (James 1:5). Because of this passage, Joseph decided to ask God what he should do. In the spring of 1820 he went to a nearby grove of trees and knelt in prayer. He described his experience:

“I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. … When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!”

In this vision God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph Smith. The Savior told Joseph not to join any of the churches, for they “were all wrong” and “all their creeds were an abomination.” He stated, “They draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof." Even though many good people believed in Christ and tried to understand and teach His gospel, they did not have the fullness of truth or the priesthood authority to baptize and perform other saving ordinances. They had inherited a state of apostasy as each generation was influenced by what the previous one passed on, including changes in the doctrines and in ordinances such as baptism. As God had done with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and other prophets, He called Joseph Smith to be a prophet through whom the fullness of the gospel was restored to the earth.

After the appearance of the Father and the Son, other heavenly messengers, or angels, were sent to Joseph Smith and his associate Oliver Cowdery. John the Baptist appeared and conferred upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery the Aaronic Priesthood, which includes the authority to perform the ordinance of baptism. Peter, James, and John (three of Christ’s original Apostles) appeared and conferred the Melchizedek Priesthood upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, restoring the same authority given to Christ’s Apostles anciently. With this priesthood authority, Joseph Smith was directed to organize the Church of Jesus Christ again on the earth. Through him, Jesus Christ called twelve Apostles.

The time in which we live is referred to by Bible prophets as the last days, the latter days, or the dispensation of the fullness of times. It is the period of time just before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. It is the final dispensation. This is why the Church is named The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

A living prophet directs the Church today. This prophet, the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is the authorized successor to Joseph Smith. He and the present Apostles trace their authority to Jesus Christ in an unbroken chain of ordinations through Joseph Smith.

I know this is a long post, but it's an important one, and thanks for reading until the end. I want you to know that I know that this is true - that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and that the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to earth today.

Resources you might be interested in:

• Restoration of Jesus Christ's Church, a page explaining about what happened to the church after Jesus died, why a restoration was necessary, and how the church was restored.
• Chat with the Missionaries, where you can live chat with missionaries and ask them any questions you want.

What We Believe - Living Prophets Speak Today

Good morning! I know I've already expounded on it a couple times, so I won't give you the whole explanation again, but today we're listening to living prophets speak!

You can check out General Conference here.

What We Believe - Prophets

So next week is our church's semi-annual General Conference, where everyone gets together (whether in person or through watching on TV or the internet) and we get to listen to all our leaders. And I found this video about it that I wanted to share with you, which works out perfectly because today's the day I wanted to talk to you about prophets!

As we've talked about in previous weeks, God loves each one of us individually and wants us to be happy, and wants us to return to him after this life. To help us do this, God chooses prophets to lead us. A prophet is a faithful, righteous man chosen by God to speak for Him here on earth. Apostles are prophets chosen by God to be special witnesses of Jesus Christ and His divinity.

Prophets:

• Teach about God and are special witnesses of His Son, Jesus Christ.
• Receive revelation, or direction from the Lord.
• Teach the gospel to the world and interpret the word of God.

In order to speak for God, prophets and apostles must have the priesthood, or the authority to speak and act in the name of God to lead His children.

God has called prophets throughout history. In the Bible we read about prophets like Adam, Abraham, Moses, Paul and many others. We believe that God has also called prophets to lead us today. Joseph Smith was the first prophet called in the current dispensation, or generation, of the Church, and there has been a prophet on the earth ever since. The man called to speak for God and lead His church today is named Thomas S. Monson.

Thomas S. Monson

"For do we not read that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and in him there is no variableness neither shadow of changing?" 

- Mormon 9:9, Hebrews 13:8

By asking us to follow the prophets, God is really asking us to stay close to Him, just like when he asks us to pray often and read the scriptures. Listening to the prophets helps us learn or re-learn what we need to do to accept Jesus Christ's Atonement and become worthy of all the blessings God wants to give us.

Thomas S. Monson, the prophet of this generation, and the apostles will be speaking next weekend in General Conference. I invite you to come listen to the prophets that God has called in our day.

Here's a one-minute video about General Conference and the prophets of our day:

What We Believe - the Gospel of Jesus Christ

Hi everyone! Sorry it's already Sunday night, I guess I'm a bit slow this weekend. :) Time for the fourth installment of "What We Believe."

Last week I explained what we believe about God's plan for us. Today I want to expand on following Jesus Christ. How do we do that?

"We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel."

 "We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost."

- from the "Articles of Faith"/what we believe explained in a nutshell

So we believe that the basics of the gospel of Jesus Christ are: 1. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, 2. Repentance, 3. Baptism, and 4. Receiving the Holy Ghost.

So, it begins with faith in Christ. We believe in him, trust him, and depend on him. When we have faith in Christ, we have a firm belief that he is the son of God and the Savior and Redeemer of the world. We accept and apply his atonement and his teachings.

This faith leads us to repent—to stop doing things that are wrong and continue doing things that are right. Our faith in him also makes us want to show our love by keeping his commandments, including baptism. Baptism is a "covenant," which is a two-way promise with God. When we get baptized, we promise to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ, always remember Him, and keep His commandments. As we keep our part of the covenant, God promises a remission of our sins and the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost (which I'll talk about more in a future post).

And it's that simple! The gospel of Jesus Christ = having faith in him and following his commandments. As we do so throughout our lives, we'll become more like him and have peace and happiness in our lives.

I have definitely felt more happiness in my life as I strive to follow Jesus Christ and as I center my life around him. Jesus Christ, and his gospel, make me so happy. :)

Resources you might be interested in:

• Jesus Christ, a page explaining what we believe about Jesus Christ (and goes into more detail about faith, repentance, baptism, and the Holy Ghost)
• Mormon.org, a website filled with answers to frequently asked questions about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• Chat with the Missionaries, where you can live chat with Mormon missionaries and ask them any questions you want. 

What We Believe - God's Plan for Us

Happy Sunday again! I'm continuing today with the "What We Believe" series of posts that I started a couple weeks ago. Today I want to talk about another basic thing we believe - what God's plan for us is. With the gospel, we understand who we are and what our purpose is. It gives us perspective and helps us feel peace and hope.

It's easiest to look at this in three parts - where we were before this life, what we're doing in this life, and where we're going after we die.

Where did I come from?

Before we lived here on this earth, we lived with God in heaven. God is the father of our spirits. We are literally his children; that's why we call him "Heavenly Father." God loves us and wants us to enjoy all the blessings that he has; but we couldn't do that if we stayed in heaven and never got a body and never had to choose between right and wrong.

So God created a perfect plan that would enable us to come to earth, gain bodies, gain experience, and return to him. We understood and accepted the plan before we came here.

Under the direction of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ created the earth as a place for us to live and gain experience. In order to progress and become like God, each of us had to obtain a body and be tested during a time of probation on the earth. While on the earth we are out of God’s physical presence. We do not remember our pre-earth life. We must walk by faith rather than by sight.

Why am I here?

We are here to get physical bodies, gain experience, and to use our agency to make the choices that will help us become like Heavenly Father. In a nutshell, we are here to become more like God.

Jesus Christ is central to this plan - Heavenly Father's plan. God knew that we wouldn't be perfect when we lived here, and we would make mistakes. But "no unclean thing" can dwell in his presence - so how could we return to him? This is where Christ comes in. It was always in God's plan that Jesus would come to the earth and live a perfect life so that he could redeem the rest of us - and he did. Because of Christ's perfect life and sacrifice, if we repent, his atonement pays for our sins and we are clean again. This is what enables us to return to live with Heavenly Father.

Additionally, Christ's resurrection (coming back to life) allowed each of us to also be resurrected - and to live again (in our perfected, physical bodies, never to die again) after we die.

Where am I going after I die?

For a time, before the judgement, we will live in what's called "the spirit world." This will be a place of peace and rest for those who chose to obey God during our mortal life. Those who did not obey God and did not repent will be unhappy. In the spirit world, the gospel is preached to those who did not obey the gospel and those who did not have the opportunity to hear it while on this earth. If they accept the gospel in the spirit world, it will be like as if they had accepted it here.

After a time, our bodies and spirits will be brought back together through the resurrection, and we will stand before God to be judged. We will remember everything we've done - both good and bad. If we've repented, we will receive mercy. Because God rewards us according to our works and desires, and everyone's not just all good or all bad, there are different kingdoms of glory to which me may be assigned after the judgement.

Those who continued in their sins and did not repent in this life will receive their reward in the lowest kingdom, which is called the telestial kingdom. This kingdom is compared to the glory of the stars.

People who do not accept the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ but live honorable lives will receive a place in the terrestrial kingdom. This kingdom is compared to the glory of the moon.

Those who have repented of their sins and received the ordinances of the gospel and kept the associated covenants will be cleansed by the Atonement of Christ. They will receive exaltation in the highest kingdom, also known as the celestial kingdom. They will live in God’s presence, become like Him, and receive a fulness of joy. They will live together for eternity with those of their family who qualify. In the scriptures this kingdom is compared to the glory or brightness of the sun.

*****

And so that's God's plan for us - which, in the scriptures, is called a merciful plan, the plan of salvation, the plan of redemption, and the plan of happiness. God wants us to be happy, and wants us to be able to enjoy all of the blessings that he has.

"For behold, this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."  - Moses 1:39

Resources you might be interested in:

• God's Plan of Salvation, a page explaining God's plan for us
• Mormon.org, a website filled with answers to frequently asked questions about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• Chat with the Missionaries, where you can live chat with Mormon missionaries and ask them any questions you want. 

What We Believe - God

Good morning! I hope you're having a wonderful Sunday. Today is the second post in my "What We Believe" series, and I'll be focusing on another fundamental of our faith - we believe in God.

(I'll be quoting a little bit from this page today, because it explains a little more clearly than I can.)

We believe in God. He is real. We believe that he is our Heavenly Father. We are His children. He has a body of flesh and bone that is glorified and perfected. He loves us. He weeps with us when we suffer and rejoices when we do what is right. He wants to communicate with us, and we can communicate with Him through sincere prayer.

Heavenly Father has a plan for us. He has given us this experience on the earth so we can learn and grow. We can show our love for Him through our choices and our obedience to His commandments.

Prayer is how I feel closest to Heavenly Father - I know that he listens to each and every one of our prayers. He knows and cares about us individually. I have felt his love so strongly in my life, and I feel it strongest when I am praying and communicating with him. know that God is real. I know that he knows and loves each of us individually. He wants us to be happy, and to return to him.


There is a simply child's hymn which I think sums it all up well. It's called "I Know My Father Lives." (If you'd like to listen to the music, you can do so here.)

"I know my Father lives and loves me too.

The Spirit whispers this to me and tells me it is true,

and tells me it is true."

"He sent me here to earth, by faith to live his plan.

The Spirit whispers this to me and tells me that I can,

and tells me that I can."

Resources you might be interested in:

• God's Plan of Salvation, a page explaining what God's plan for us is (I'll talk more about this next week)
• Mormon.org, a website filled with answers to frequently asked questions about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• Chat with the Missionaries, where you can live chat with Mormon missionaries and ask them any questions you want. 

What We Believe - Jesus Christ

I've been thinking for a while about writing a series of posts that explain more about what we believe. As most of you know, Jason and I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And I love it. And it makes me so happy. And it has been the biggest blessing in my life, of all my blessings, my whole life.

Because my faith makes me so happy, I want to share it with you, and explain exactly what we actually have faith in. I'm going to break it down into a series of weekly posts, until it's all here.

The first, and most important thing about what we believe:

We believe in Jesus Christ.

"And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins." 
- 2 Nephi 25:26

We believe that he is the son of God. We believed that he came to earth (just like us) and lived a perfect life (not like us), and because he was perfect and committed no sins, he was able to pay the price for our sins. He suffered in the garden of Gethsemane and died on the cross to pay for our sins. Because of this atonement we will be able to live with God after we die, even though we've lived imperfect lives here. Jesus Christ saved us, which is why he is called our Savior, and our Redeemer. 

          "He was the Great Jehovah of the Old Testament, the Messiah of the New. Under the direction of His Father, He was the creator of the earth. “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3). Though sinless, He was baptized to fulfill all righteousness. He “went about doing good” (Acts 10:38), yet was despised for it. His gospel was a message of peace and goodwill. He entreated all to follow His example. He walked the roads of Palestine, healing the sick, causing the blind to see, and raising the dead. He taught the truths of eternity, the reality of our premortal existence, the purpose of our life on earth, and the potential for the sons and daughters of God in the life to come.

          "He instituted the sacrament as a reminder of His great atoning sacrifice. He was arrested and condemned on spurious charges, convicted to satisfy a mob, and sentenced to die on Calvary’s cross. He gave His life to atone for the sins of all mankind. His was a great vicarious gift in behalf of all who would ever live upon the earth." - The Living Christ 

In addition to saving us from spiritual death, Jesus also saved us from physical death. As the son of a mortal mother (Mary) and an immortal father (God), he was able to take up his life again after he died. He rose from the tomb, which is called being "resurrected." And because he was resurrected and broke the bands of death, we will all be resurrected, too. After we die, we will live again - not just as spirits, but with our perfected, immortal bodies. 

Jesus Christ loves us individually. He knows each one of us. He wants us to be happy. To show us how to be happy, he has given us commandments. Keeping the commandments leads us to happiness and peace. When Jesus says to "Come follow me," he means to come know him, learn who he is and his love for us, and keep his commandments. If we follow him and try to be like him, we will be happy.

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." - Revelation 3:20

The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and First Presidency of our church has said:

"We solemnly testify that His life, which is central to all human history, neither began in Bethlehem nor concluded on Calvary. He was the Firstborn of the Father, the Only Begotten Son in the flesh, the Redeemer of the world. 

"We bear testimony, as His duly ordained Apostles—that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. He is the great King Immanuel, who stands today on the right hand of His Father. He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son." - The Living Christ

I'd like to add my witness to theirs that I know Jesus Christ is the son of God. He is our Savior. He lives. He loves us. He wants us to be happy. I know these things are true. I have felt them in my life.

If you have any questions about what I've written here, feel free to contact me through email or leave a comment.


Resources you might be interested in:

• Jesus Christ, Savior & Redeemer, a page on our church's website that explains what Jesus Christ means to us, how he is our Savior, what it means to have faith in Jesus Christ, and how to follow him
• Mormon.org, a website filled with answers to frequently asked questions about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• The Living Christ, a testimony of Jesus Christ
• Chat with the Missionaries, where you can live chat with Mormon missionaries and ask them any questions you want. 

Need Answers? Go to the Source.

I was browsing the LDS.org website this week (the official website for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), and I came across this cool section with resources for youth. They had some inspirational videos, and I watched this one first and loved it.

It's basic message is, if you're hearing a lot of different opinions and thoughts and theories about God and aren't sure which is correct, ask him. And he'll tell you.

I just really liked it, and like the way they showed it. :) The passages they're quoting are from here, Joseph Smith History.

I hope you have a great Sunday!

Courage

Hey everyone! I just watched this today and I loved it. It's about courage and faith, and it was just very touching.



I hope you're having a great Sunday. :)

LDS General Conference

This is going on today! Check it out here; it's awesome!

Earthly Father, Heavenly Father

I saw this video for the first time today. I love it. This is Jason, through and through. He's the best father, and I am so lucky to have him as my husband. I am also so lucky to know about our Heavenly Father, who loves us all individually and provides for our needs as well.

If you have a moment, watch this! You'll like it!

Mormon Temples vs. Chapels

One of my goals for my Happiness Project this year is to go to the temple at least once a month. I've had a couple people ask me what the difference between a chapel (or "church," as we usually refer to them) and a temple is. Well, this explains it really well!